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dcforts · 4 years

Text

[help]

ao3

the laundry room -

Dean simply cannot sit around all day, not since Michael, not since they’ve turned the bunker into a shelter for hunters from another world, not since his brother is working his ass off day and night. He is not into the whole hunter network thing, but he knows that it’s a good thing, it’s the right thing.

Only, he can’t sit around all day, so he keeps busy, trying at the same time to stay as much as possible away from all the others. He doesn’t need their eyes on him. They are respectful and kind, but Dean knows. Dean knows that deep down they are asking themselves how could he, after seeing what Michael did to their world – how could he, and since he could, what is wrong with him, what is he hiding, can he really be trusted?

Dean doesn’t want to think about that, so he stays away. He puts himself in charge of all the things that need to run smoothly in the background to make sure the hunters don’t need anything. He fixes pipes in some bathrooms, air vents in some bedrooms, opens up some more rooms to accommodate researchers and nappers alike.

He runs into Cas in the hallway one afternoon as he’s going to the laundry room. They almost crash into each other, but they both take a step back just in time. Cas says “Dean” as if he was looking for him, and studies his face for a long moment as if he’s able to check the history of his facial expressions of the last few days, those he wasn’t around to see, as Sam had sent him to meet Claire somewhere to take down a nest of vamps.

“Hey, you’re back. How did it go with Claire?”

Cas’ face immediately softens at her name. “Surprisingly well. As you know she -”

Dean interrupts him and motions to follow him “Talk and walk, there’s something I need to do.”

So Cas trails after him to the laundry room and keeps talking as Dean reaches the first dryer on their left, takes out the fresh load to dump it in a pile over a counter and checks the other cycle that’s still going in the second dryer. He keeps talking as Dean grabs an empty basket form a corner and puts it in front of him on a stool and one after the other, starts neatly folding towels and kitchen rags. Pinch the corners, fold once in a rectangle, turn to the side, fold again in a square, done, into the basket.

Dean likes doing laundry. Not exactly the time he spends collecting dirty clothes from dirty hunters that understandably - after years of living in an apocalypse and in a constant fight and flight mode - didn’t prioritize washing their clothes regularly; and not really the part when he has to grab handfuls of wet, blood smeared, smelly towels to dump them in the washing machine, but he likes this part a lot. When everything comes out new, neat, clean. Whatever goes in, no matter how bad it is, comes out reborn.

And he likes how the smell of the softener fills the room, likes the warmth fabrics under his fingertips and how quiet his head gets as he does the same movements over and over again, once, twice, three times. In there, he can’t get it wrong. He never gets it wrong.

Cas takes in the surroundings, as he does when he enters every place and then he gets closer. He is still talking.

“…I think she’s grown a lot. She misses Jody and Alex, I can tell, but I think she found her balance. I may be worried about her but I’m happy that -”

As soon as he approaches the basket Dean unceremoniously throws a kitchen rag at him. Cas catches it but stops talking and looks at him confused.

Dean shurgs. “You could help.”

Cas is dumbfounded for a moment. He looks down at the striped rag in his hands like he has never held one before.

He seems about to talk then he settles for a: “Um -”

Finally he looks at Dean intently and replicates his moves. Fold, rectangle, side, fold, square, done, basket.

“As I was saying” he starts again, as he dubiously picks up another kitchen rag from the unfolded pile, this one with white daisies embroidered on the hem, “now that Sam is mostly the one who passes hunts onto her, I’m glad that we can direct her towards things that are not as dangerous as they could be. I know that when you were her age you were thrown in all sorts of situations, but you had your father, and then you had Sam. She is alone and -”

He picks it up pretty easily and soon enough a rhythm has settled between them. Their hands don’t reach for the same piece of laundry anymore and Cas interrupts himself and loses his thread of thought more than once as he focuses on his task. Then he moves to fetch another basket, takes the kitchen rags pile away from the bathroom towels and keeps going.

“Have you asked her if she wants to come here? Be part of the Lebanon squad?”

Cas shakes his head, “She values greatly her independence. I suggested the idea of a hunting partner but she is not interested in that either.”

The kitchen rags are all gone and there’s a moment of silence. Castiel rests his hands on the edge of the basket and looks up as Dean folds the last of the bathroom towels.

“She is still thinking about Kaia” he adds with a tinge of a sadness in his tone.

Dean catches his eyes and nods in understanding. “Yeah, I figured.”

Then the dryer at his right beeps and Dean moves to take out the new load and drop it where the first one just disappeared. Castiel looks at it with a frown like it personally offended him.

This time Dean doesn’t need to say anything before he moves to resume his task. Silence falls upon them. Dean sneaks looks at Castiel as he works. He looks at his hands, strong and efficient but careful, as gentle as they can be as they hold something that is not lethal, pointy or dangerous in any way.

Dean has to admit that it’s an endearing sight. He looks at his sturdy frame, his messy hair, what he can see of his features from this angle, as he keeps his head low and his actions meticulous. It’s just – nice to share that space with him doing such a mundane task. It’s like seeing him under a different light.

Dean catches himself smiling dumbly right when Sam passes by the door. He instinctively raises a hand towards Dean as a greeting, then does a double take when his eyes register Castiel. He makes a disbelieving face at Dean behind Cas’ back and Dean just shrugs in response. They share a smile as Sam walks away.

Then the second pile is also done and they carry their baskets down the hallway; stop at the linen closet where Dean stuffs in the bathroom towels, and then they go towards the kitchen where Cas dumps the content of the kitchen rags basket.

He turns to face Dean “What else?” he asks matter-of-factly.

Dean huffs a laugh and slaps his back. “We’re done, Cinderella. Good job though. Did you have fun?”

“It wasn’t unpleasant.”

“Yeah? This was the easy stuff. I’ll have you fold sheets and sofa covers, we’ll see what you think then.”

the kitchen -

Dean dumps the groceries on the kitchen table with a sigh right when Castiel pokes his head in.

“Hey, where’s Jack?” asks Dean. “He was supposed to help me with this” he says gesturing towards the overflowing bags.

It took him three hours to get everything from the store. Even when they had enough money, he and Sam never really were the kind of people that bought a lot of food. They had no place to store it first of all, and even when they first got to the bunker, they never knew for how long they would stay away, hunt after hunt.

But time had changed a few things and Jack had changed a lot of other things. Packing long shelf life items, experimenting with flavours to teach him and show him, working through their supply at the speed of light were just a few of these things. They spend a lot more time at home and Dean for the first time in his life is not in a rush anymore when he goes to buy something. He takes his time, does his maths, ponders his choices, has favourite things now – not just chips and beef jerky, but things like favourite kind of pasta sauce - and he likes it.

“Still training with Bobby. Can I help you?” Cas asks taking a step forward.

Dean shrugs “If you want”, he says, but he looks more cheerful as he grabs the yogurt from the top of the closest bag and goes over one of the mini fridges. He looks back. “Pass me the things that go in here first”.

So Castiel goes from bag to bag for items that need to be refrigerated looking like a bee flying from flower to flower.

“This is a lot of food.” He says as he selects and passes on.

“Yeah, well, I wanted to make sure we had enough for a while.” Dean says as they meet in the middle of the room and Castiel hands him a pile of trays of different kinds of meat.

They keep going, settling into their roles. Castiel takes out the items from the bags and arranges them neatly for types on the table and Dean moves through the kitchen to put them back in their designated places.

The kitchen has plenty of storing space. Sam has organized everything in a way that he thinks is the most practical, so now they have things like a spice cupboard and a candy and chocolate drawer. Dean likes that.

Castiel on the other hand has not really familiarized with the space yet. He knows only where the basic stuff is: the coffee, the cups, the glasses, the beers. He knows where they keep their cutlery. So when there’s nothing more to take out of the bags and he tries to be helpful, he ends up opening cupboard after cupboard and then looking at Dean to ask “Where do these go?”

Dean snatches the instant noodles from his hands. “Away from Sam,” he says holding the little plastic cups against his chest like they are puppies. “He won’t ever make me hear the end of it.”

Castiel huffs a laugh. “I have seen nothing then,” he promises as he goes back to the last items on the table.

“Where’s Krunch Cookie Crunch?” he asks then and Dean stops in his track in the middle of the room to turn on his heels and look at him in disbelief.

“Excuse me?”

“The cereals. For Jack” he explains.

Dean feels a smile growing on his lips. “Oh, right.” He shakes his head. “It must be in there somewhere. It was the blue box, right?”

Castiel holds up the only blue box of cereals on the table. It has a cartoon version of a white haired official of some kind on the front. “You mean this? This is Cotton Candy Crunch. It’s different” he says affronted, as seriously as if they were talking about matters of life and death.

Dean cannot believe this is a conversation that he’s actually having with an angel of the lord. He tries very hard not to laugh and not sound like he’s making fun of him when he says “Yeah, you’re right. Sorry, my bad.” It doesn’t really work.

Castiel is still wearing a frown as he turns the box in his hands and looks at the ingredients. “I suppose Jack will like them anyway. There is a dangerous amount of sugar and chemicals in these as well.”

Dean goes over to him and stops right behind his back to look over his shoulder. Maybe he takes a step or two more than it is necessary because when Cas turns his face on the side to catch his eyes he find himself a little too close “Perhaps is best if we hide this from Sam as well,” he suggests conspiratorially and his breath brushes over Dean’s cheek.

Dean laughs then, puts a hand on his shoulder and says “Yeah, good idea.”

Cas looks at him expectantly for a moment, then frowns slightly and drops his gaze and it takes Dean a beat or two to follow it and realize that Cas is holding out the box for him to take. He was too focused on his face to notice it and when Cas says “Dean?” his eyes go to his lips and it makes things even worse.

Dean clears his throat and takes a step back, snatching away the box and turning his back. He hurries to the designated breakfast cupboard to strategically place it on the far back, behind other bottles and boxes.

“Next time you can tag along and show me the right kind” he says to break the silence, throwing a strained smile over his shoulder.

the garage -

It’s the middle of the night.

Sam is yawning in the passenger seat and Castiel, who Dean can see form the rear view mirror, seems lost in thought. They decided to skip the stop to the motel and go back to the bunker right after the hunt and although it’s been a long and mostly quiet journey, Dean doesn’t feel tired. He is still fuelled by the adrenaline that has washed over him when he’s found himself way too close for comfort to a set of werewolf’s teeth. It had taken him all he had to shove the werewolf away enough to swing his machete and cut her head off.

He brings the car to a stop and Sam is the first to get out and go towards the trunk to take out the duffels with their clothes and weapons.

He hands one to Dean as he comes out from his side but Dean doesn’t take it.

“Can you bring it in? I’m gonna stay here and wash the blood off the car.”

Sam blinks a few times as if it’s taking some time for him to register what he’s heard. “What? But it’s late. You just drove seven hours straight. Aren’t you tired?”

Dean shrugs and takes off his jacket to shove that in his arms as well. “It’s not gonna take long. I just want to take the worst out of it.”

Sam shifts his gaze towards the blotches of blood on the windshield and the doors, on the windows and the headlights. They had been surprised by the pack during their stake out when they thought they were well hidden in the woods. That was also the reason why they opted out for an extra night in town. The police would have knocked at their door in the morning for sure if they’d parked that bloodied thing out in the open.

“You go” adds Dean reassuringly, knowing that Sam is probably considering staying behind to help him.

“Alright” Sam concedes “I’m gonna grab a shower and get something to eat. I’ll leave you a sandwich in the kitchen, then I’ll head straight to bed.” He yawns again. “I’m exhausted.”

Before he turns around to go his eyes stop somewhere behind Dean. “Cas?” he asks, and Dean remembers then that Cas is there too, just a few steps behind them.

“I’m staying with Dean.”

Sam nods and disappears through the door, leaving the garage in silence.

Dean gets to work, grabs his usual tools, his bucket, his brush, his towel and the car-wash soap. He turns around and Cas is right behind him.

“What should I do?” he asks.

“What?”

“I wanna help.”

“Oh.” Dean considers for a moment the idea of telling him that he doesn’t need help. This is the thing that comes so easily to him he could do it with his eyes closed. But he doesn’t want to turn Cas away.

There was a moment during the hunt when Cas had reached towards him - as he sometimes does - to step in front of him, to face the danger himself and shield Dean from it, but he was intercepted and thrown against the car and before Dean could do anything, that werewolf had jumped him, almost killing him – so it’s like that moment they had, suspended, never completed, left him with a sense of loss and now he wants Cas close. He wants Cas to always be able to reach him.

So he looks down at the items he is holding and he hands him the bucket that Cas promptly steps forward to take and without another word goes to fill in the sink in the corner. Dean walks around the car trying to decide where it would be best to start.

A little soap in the water, an extra brush for Cas and soon enough they are going after the blood smeared on the roof.

Dean hovers around Cas to make sure he’s being gentle with that brush and doesn’t forget any spot.

Castiel feels his eyes on him. “I’ve washed a car before, you know.” He says, and there’s a playful tone hidden underneath his low voice.

“Have you? When?”

Castiel shrugs, “Cars were around a long time before you were born, Dean. I was there to see it.”

“Well, I still need to make sure. Cause no car is this car. My car.”

Cas rolls his eyes. The water washes away the pinkish suds and Dean towels her off like he himself is a well-oiled machine, making always the same movements, always in the same shapes, with the same kind of towel in his hand, and underneath it, always the same solid, black and silver surface.

Dean looks up to see Castiel focused on doing the same on the other side. The hems of his sleeves are wet and he can see splashes of suds on his tie and trenchcoat.

The sight makes him smile and as he keeps towelling the hood, he walks around the car to get closer to Cas. When he’s within reach he holds out a hand to grab his tie and tug a little at it, forcing him to stop and turn towards him.

Dean uses his thumb to rub the suds on the blue fabric. “You’re gonna need a wash too.” he says.

Castiel looks down at his clothes. “Oh”.

Dean huffs a laugh and lets go of the tie but his hand refuses to retreat and it goes and pokes at the wet spots on Cas’ white shirt, right above his right pec, and all down to his side.

As he does so he looks up at Cas, who is standing like a pillar of salt now, and if Dean didn’t know that he didn’t need to breathe he would have been worried.

He smiles fondly. “You’re a mess.” he says, and the same bold, brave, uncontrolled hand goes to pinch the wet hem of the trenchcoat collar.

It stays there as Cas says, “You are in no better condition” and reaches up, unsure, to brush his fingers in his hair, right above his ear.

Dean follows his eyes, he feels them travelling down his neck and on the front of his tshirt, soaked and sticky on his chest. Cas doesn’t touch though.

Instead, he steps back and looks away. Dean’s hand has to let go of the hem, and he feels a pang of disappointment that surprises him. He hadn’t even realized that he was expecting something.

“About earlier -” starts Cas and from his tone nothing good is coming “I’m sorry I wasn’t able to help you with that werewolf.”

Dean sighs and gets his legs moving, picks up the bucket and goes over to the sink to empty it and wash out the dirt. He says “Cas, come on, it’s nothing.”

Behind him, he hears Cas say “It’s not nothing. I wish I was -” he sighs. “I wish I could do more. I never seem to be able to help you when it matters.”

Dean closes the tap and turns around. “This must be the stupidest thing you’ve ever said.” he says firmly, “You help me all the time.”

Cas smiles ruefully and his tone drips sarcasm when he says “In the laundry room and the kitchen. Does that matter?”

“Yeah,” he says earnestly. “Look, hunting is our job. Sometimes we can control what goes down, sometimes not. It’s not our fault. But then the curtain falls or whatever you wanna call it and - it’s what’s behind that matters.” He gestures towards the car “This -” he says “you chose to spend your time helping me. This – matters to me.” He takes a breath as if he’s trying to say something that just won’t come out. “Cas y- You’re always talking about -” he struggles. He closes his eyes for a moment and Cas is unsure if he should say something. But then Dean starts again, “You want to give me what I need” he says, and it sounds like a question so Cas nods. Dean drops his head and his voice, “and that’s just us.” he manages to say in the end “It’s all I need.”

As soon as he says it, he turns around again.

He doesn’t even wait for a reply, and Cas is too taken aback to give one anyway, and he adds hastly, a little embarrased: “Now, get over here and help me wring out these towels so I can go to bed before dawn, will you.”

Cas steps foward then, covering the distance in a few strides and stopping right next to him by the sink. Dean hands him one of the towel, their fingers brushing, their eyes meeting. Dean’s smile is a little strained after his little speech but it’s there, cause this - them, like this, side by side - it feels right. Dean looks back down shaking his head a little, as if he’s regretting something he has done or something he can’t still bring himself to do.

He feels Cas’s gaze studying his profile and tries to relax his face as much as possible. Then he can’t resist and sneaks a look his way that Cas intercepts. They both open their mouths at the same time but nothing comes out.

The case, the hunt, the long drive; the things he can’t say, do, want they all catch up to Dean at once, in that moment. He dumps his towel in the sink and takes a step to the side, crowding Cas’ space. Against him, Cas feels as solid as a statue and Dean wants nothing more than to rest his whole body against his. He feels worn out, he longs for closeness. He searches Cas’ eyes for some kind of warning, a stop sign, an I’m-about-to-flee sign, but there’s none of that. It’s just Cas. Maybe, if he had a breath, Dean thinks he would be holding it, but it’s just Cas.

Part of him knows that there’s something that he should be saying, that one of them should be saying at least, but nothing is said. Maybe it’s their bodies that do the talk for them somehow. Cause one moment Dean wishes very hard to be wrapped in Cas’ arms and the next, there he is. Everything else disappears as he sighs and melts completely in his embrace, his face in the crook of Cas’ neck. He smells like blood and car wash-soap. Cas’ arms hold him as he sinks.

His own hands cling at the back of the trenchcoat, and when he moves his head a little so that his lips brush against Cas’ neck he says “Dean” in a breath. It makes him smile.

It doesn’t feel like an event or anything new, really. It feels like letting go. It feels like there was something that they’ve restrained and held back for a long time and now it’s free. Their bodies can naturally crash into each other, right where they were always supposed to be.

Cas slips his fingers through the hair on the back of his neck and presses his cheek against his.

“What are we doing tomorrow?” he asks after a while.

“I need you to help me stay on the couch all day, how does that sound?”

“It sounds good,” whispers Cas, his hand in his hair.

Dean keeps his eyes closed.

#deancas #deancas ficlet #destiel #destiel ficlet #deancas fanfic #4.1k #domesticity is my vocation #i wrote this the day before my exam when i was actually supposed to study #but deancas folding laundry together was too important to postpone #i dont regret anything #this is set in s14 FYI #but just backgroung info - there's nothing of the heavy stuff in here #i hate writing endings cause everything always gets much more intense than i wantedd at first #destiel fanfiction #deancas ficlets #my writing

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borealis-strange · 3 years

Text

Chapter 5 “Maybe one day”

Link

Summary.

Franco and regina arrive at the pine tree of gold. They expect it to be a smooth ride until they meet a harlequin who will make things difficult for them.

Notes:

So... this was supposed to come out last week but something came up. I'm sorry about that.

Tag-list: @freesiafields @bambirexwrites @whitequeen-ofwillowgreen @vaeya @sirenlovesqueen @moreofthatqueen @eileen-crys

If someone wants to be added or removed from the tag-list just tell me :}

The next morning we left the Poppy Garden early, the fairies gave us a warm goodbye, and a good breakfast, and told us that if we needed anything, we should not hesitate to return. I was grateful for the gesture, but I wouldn't go back here even if I was crazy.

When I was finally able to put my armor back on, it was glorious. I was finally protected again.

And we left for Gold Pine, fortunately, this time we got a friendly traveler who would take us there.

The trip was short, just as Franco had said, and without much to see.

Upon arriving in the city, the first thing I noticed was ... its peculiar architectural style, it was more modern, I would say. In addition to the wide stone streets, where carriages passed without rest.

Gold Pine was… quite different from what I expected, rather elegant. Besides that people dressed in great dresses and suits of high society; and the women wore jewelry.

It was strange, people looked at us occasionally, as if we were not worthy of their city. Franco told me to just ignore them.

We ended up in the town square, where there were people dressed more casually. There were several street stalls that sold all kinds of things, especially food and crafts. Franco and I went to see different things, he said something about wanting to see the watches.

I approached one of the stalls, they sold necklaces made of silver and semi-precious gems. Some even had pearls (I didn't know if they were real), they were all beautiful and if I had had more money, maybe I would have bought a ring.

I continued to look at the charms, hoping to find one that was not very expensive. After looking at them for a while I found one that I liked, it was like a half moon, it was made of silver with some opal inlays. It was beautiful.

I asked for the price and luckily it was only a gold coin. Without much thought, I decided to take it.

I paid and with a little difficulty I put it on. With a small mirror that the boy had, I saw how it looked, unfortunately, it was not too visible because of the armor, but I'm sure that when I wear a dress it would look beautiful. He couldn't wait to show it to Franco.

Franco continued to look at the pocket watches. I approached him when the laughter of a crowd diverted my attention.

In the distance, there was a large group of people in a circle near the kiosk. They laughed and sang together, they must be seeing something.

— Look Franco! — I exclaimed as I took him by the arm to get his attention —They're doing a play —

We both got closer and made our way through the people so that we could see everything well.

In the center of the circle was a makeshift stage with a few wooden boxes, plus there was a piece of paper with a few poorly painted trees that served as scenery.

There was a boy, who seemed strangely familiar to me, dressed in a blue harlequin suit and on the other side was an albino enderman with a paper crown. The enderman looked quite upset.

The harlequin took a small guitar and began to sing a lively and joyous song.

"A voice orders me to do things

La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la

Medication is not enough

La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la "

The boy sang while he pirouetted around and the audience followed his song happily.

"I'm fatal, I'm changing, I'm scared

I wake up every night running around a field

And it is this smell that is not removed

How stable, how stable

And I even made a scarf with my hair "

I didn't pay attention to the rest of the song, I was trying to remember who the boy was, his voice had also heard it before. It wasn't… it had to be… Vandal!?

The same silly songs and the same energy from the boy. It was him.

— Are you alright? — Franco asked.

— It's just that ... the harlequin is the book thief — I said in a low voice — We have to do something -

— What do you want to do? Attack him in front of everyone? — I considered it for a second— Don't do it now, we don't want to attract unnecessary attention. At least, let him finish his play —

I returned my attention to Vandal's play. Apparently he was already done with his silly song.

— Oh no! —Vandal continued with the play — Our little Killer is in trouble. Who can help us?—Vandal said with exaggerated movements.

— It’s Killian, not Killer — Corrected the enderman annoyed.

— What's that? Vandal continued his story as if Killian hadn't said anything. — Isn't it the great sorcerer? — He said dramatically while pointing away.

The audience turned to see and sure enough, it was a pig in a purple wizard robe with stars and a matching pointy hat. The pig pushed his way through the audience until he reached the center of the stage.

— IT 'S ME! — Exclaimed the pig — Kaky! After my journey of reflection, I have realized how much I love you Killer — The enderman rolled his eyes in disgust — And now after increasing my power off the scene, I will save you from this horrible harlequin! —

— I will never let Prince Killer go! — You will have to pass over me! — Vandal yelled dramatically.

The boys pretended to fight, it was pretty bad, with wooden swords and magic effects made with colored cloth. Besides that they made the sounds of the attacks.

— You can never defeat me, Vandal! — Kaky exclaimed dramatically.

— Why? I am more powerful than you —

— You could be more powerful than me, but you don't have ... The power of love! —

The pig threw several pink ribbons at Vandal's chest and he pretended to be hurt by each of them.

— NOOOOOOOO! — Vandal yelled as he lay down on the ground feigning his death.

— Killer! — Kaky exclaimed with emotion — My love, we have finally met again —

The pig approached Killian but Killian pushed him away with one hand.

Vandal jumped up from the ground. And he began to bow while the pig accompanied him. The enderman stayed in his place looking even angrier than before.

— Thank you very much to all! This work I have been perfecting for years — Vandal thanked the audience making exaggerated bows. Rather it seemed that he had planned the play in one night — And voluntary donations are accepted —

Vandal took off his hat and put it on the ground. Some people just left and others came to leave coins inside the hat. Little by little they left the free space and the boys picked up their makeshift stage.

We got closer to them. Vandal was the first to see us.

— Hello Franco! — Vandal greeted animatedly — How have you been these last years? —

— Vandal, how long without seeing us — Franco greeted.

— You know each other? — I asked in a low voice.

— How not to know him? That bastard kept stealing my things a few years ago —

— You must admit that I made your life more interesting for a few years — Laughed Vandal.— And what did you think of the play? —

— It’s horrible — I replied with disgust — We come because I know you’re planning something bad —

— Me? — Vandal feigned innocence — Since our last meeting I have changed. Now I have a traveling theater, so I will not go back to that thief life —

— You don't even believe that — I said contemptuously.

— Yes of course! — The enderman touched his shoulder and gestured with one hand to go— I have to go.—

The three of them walked away, occasionally turning to see us.

— You should leave them Regina — Franco commented once they were out of sight — I don't think they really going to do bad —

— I don't know Franco ... There is something in me that tells me that his intentions are not good —

— And what will you do about it? — Franco asked, raising an eyebrow.

— Go after them — I answered quickly and before Franco could say something I ran down the street where the boys had gone.

I could practically feel Franco's disappointed look on the back of my neck. I ran down the street for a few seconds until, out of the corner of my eye, I could see that there were a few people in one of the alleys. I walked over to see if they were who I was looking for. As I sneaked past, I managed to visualize the albino enderman.

— Today we made a lot of money — I heard Vandal's voice

I approached carefully so that they would not see me, and I hid behind the wall. I had no sight of them but I managed to hear coins and other metal objects.

— I did not know that the people here had diamonds — Vandal was surprised.

— They are not, Vandal — Killian spoke — They are false, we cannot use them —

— How long until Rich lets us go back? — Kaky asked.

— One more day, I would say — Killian said with annoyance — You already know how exquisite that bastard is. You can't be a penny short, or else he starts screaming that his plan is ruined —

— Will I have to write another play? — Vandal asked.

— I don't see it necessary — Killian replied — You saw how they loved this work, they were so spellbound that they didn't even notice when we stole them —

I was right! I came out of my hiding place to face them.

— AHA! — I exclaimed while he pointed at them accusingly — I knew they had something on their hands —

The boys looked at me in some surprise, except for the enderman. They were sitting around a wooden box, which they had used as a table. They had hundreds if not thousands of silver and gold coins, plus a few necklaces and rings.

— Of course not! — Vandal said offended as he hit the "table" — All these are donations —

I watched as the pig and the enderman began to quickly put away their great loot.

— Give back what you have stolen — I demanded.

— Never! — Vandal yelled, raising a fist to the sky.

The enderman took the two boys in his huge hands and carried them slightly above the ground. And they just disappeared leaving little purple particles in the air and a few coins on the ground.

Demons. I left the alley and looked around. They couldn't stay very far from there; An enderman cannot teleport more than 20 meters and since he was carrying the two of them he must stay closer.

They were nowhere to be found, had they sneaked into a house? Or, they were very good at hiding.

After running for a minute, I saw Franco in the distance. I quickly approached him.

— Where did you go? — Franco asked before he could say something

— I was right! Vandal had stolen from a lot of people. They are close here, we have to look for them — I tried to run but Franco had taken my arm preventing me from continuing.—What? — Franco let me go.

— You must let them go — Franco said seriously.

— But… They are thieves! I can't ... just let them go. It’s ... wrong — What had bitten Franco? He had gone crazy!

— I know Regina, I know. But you're getting into where you shouldn't. If you keep getting where they don't call you, you'll get in trouble with a bigger fish — Franco said seriously — Look Regina, it hurts me to do something like that too but something in me tells me that they work for someone dangerous, with someone who you will not like to know —

As much as it hurt to admit it, Franco was right. I was not yet ready to face the three of them, and whoever they worked for.

Franco indicated that I followed him and I did. We walked through the stone streets of the city, apparently aimlessly. Franco hadn't said anything about today's plans, if he had planned anything.

— And what will we do today? Learn about swords and bows? Will you teach me to use the bow? Or will we fight a giant beast again? — I asked excitedly.

— We will learn history — Franco answered.

— History? — I asked disappointed

—History of the Empire. There is a museum that you will like a lot —

I snorted a bit annoyed. The least he wanted to do now was learn history.

Franco took me to who knows where, rather it seemed that he was more lost than ever.

The only good thing is that I was able to enjoy the view of the city. At least here I could stop for a few moments to appreciate it.

After several minutes, asking a few people, we finally arrived at the much appreciated Franco museum.

The museum was made of dark stone, which stood out against the sea of white buildings, with large pillars at the entrance. We climbed the steps and entered.

The museum was completely empty, except for one person, which made it even more grand.

The museum was fascinating in a way, just as elegant as the rest of the city. There were some paintings of ancient knights fighting huge beasts to protect the Empire.

I thought it would be a more or less interesting visit, until Franco dragged me to the deepest part of the museum and therefore the most boring part.

He wanted me to see some of the ancient civilizations that created the Empire and the troubles that occurred during that time, probably the most boring thing in the entire history of the Empire.

Why wasn't he teaching me about the royal guard? Or about those great knights who spent their entire lives protecting the Empire. Or about the Netherite knight even. Anybody really. I didn't want to hear him talk about the beginnings of the Empire.

Franco went to each of the objects on display, and he told me the fantastic story of its importance and stuff. I don't know how much time could have passed, we probably only lasted half an hour in this room, although to me it seemed like an eternity.

Why did Franco keep talking? I already knew all this by heart, my uncle made me memorize the entire history of the empire to the letter. I already know that at the beginning only The Shelter existed and that they built the walls to protect themselves from the giants that attacked the city. I know that later the different tribes of magical creatures came together to seek the protection of the walls. And so the six regions of the Empire came together and built more walls. The rest are a lot of political problems that nobody cares about, a lot of weird people wanting to be in power and betrayals, plus a few problems with droughts.

— During the drought of ... — Franco continued — Are you listening to me? —

I quickly sat down properly on the bench.

— I'm sorry Franco, but this is all too boring — I said with annoyance — Besides, what's the use of knowing this by heart? I will be a knight, a woman of action, not a… historian. Besides that I have studied it thousands of times! —

—You must learn history because if you want to protect the empire you must understand it— Franco said seriously — You must understand why the walls have been created, why the empire is divided into six regions. Our ancestors fought to protect this region so that a young lady does not want to understand and forget everything that has happened before her —

-—Whatever — I said with disgust

Franco sighed heavily.

— Okay, I guess I should have another approach. — Franco sat next to me — Have I ever told you how to make Netherite armor? —

—But, you weren't only an obsidian knight? — I questioned.

—Yes ... but I was in the process of being one of Netherite. — Franco said with a certain mysticism. —I didn't finish the process because ... well, I started having health problems.—

Was it not the fall of Farfania? Or did he have to interrupt the process for that?

— Come. Accompany me — Franco told me as he got up with difficulty.

Franco guided me to what it was, the deepest part of the museum. There it was, hidden among other things, a Netherite armor.

— This is Netherite armor? — I asked puzzled — It is very beautiful —

The exhibit was about the ranks of the royal guard. There was armor to exemplify each rank: Iron, Gold, Diamond, Obsidian, and Netherite

The Netherite's armor was completely black but had a certain sheen that made it feel… magical. On the shoulder pads, it had a blue gem, and on the other one was orange. To be honest, it looked like quite heavy armor, and it was probably true, I had heard that those armor were practically indestructible and even withstood the high temperatures of fire.

— And what is the gem in the helmet? — I asked as he pointed at it.

— I don't know — Franco said with a small laugh — Many said it was to show off his rank —

I looked back at the armor. On the small poster that he had said that the gem had to be chosen by the knight as part of his initiation, that it was a representation of his skills.

— And how do you make it? — I asked for

— Let's say Netherite is one of the rarest minerals found in the Empire. It is obtained in the depths of The Shelter, from a mineral called Ancient Debris. As you might imagine, it is hard to get it, plus this quest one does just to prove that he is worthy of being a Netherite knight. The search can take up to months, and you cannot leave the caves until you get everything you need, so very few dared to achieve that rank. After obtaining all the necessary Ancient Debris, you have to melt it with gold to create the Netherite and thus create your own armor and sword — Franco explained with a certain mysticism.

I couldn't help but imagine myself in one of those armor. It would look great for sure! Maybe my eyes would look threatening under the helmet. And it would even be like a legend in that black armor. I hope they give the titles again.

— Do you think that one day I will have the skill to be one? — I asked excitedly.

Franco didn't answer, he just looked at me askance. I sighed heavily and returned my gaze to the armor.

— And what happened to them? — I asked in a small voice.

Franco looked at me as if he was already waiting for that question. He closed his eyes and breathed heavily.

— All Netherite knights were in the service of the King of Farfania. I knew each of them, we were not friends but we did get to work together. When… they died… it was pretty hard for me. When I found out, something in me told me that I could have saved them. I know it is a lie, but it was an idea that until now I have not been able to get out of my head — He said in a low voice.

It was obvious that it was not his fault, but I did not judge him. It must have been a strange and even sad feeling, that all those people that you knew, that you lived with for years, simply one day are gone. Those smiles, those songs and those stories were gone, you couldn't be with them anymore. In a way I understood it, that guilt of knowing that you could have done better, even knowing that it was not true.

Franco sat down heavily on one of the benches as if all the memories were too much for him. Franco ran his hand through his gray hair and then put it on his face, as if he was avoiding crying. I walked over to him and just wrapped him in a warm hug.

— It's not your fault, Franco. — I said in a low voice. Franco hugged me back.

Now I could feel that he was genuinely crying.

__________________

Franco regained his composure quite quickly, although he had a certain sadness on his face. He did not speak again on the subject and I did not ask any more questions.

To try to cheer Franco up a bit, I thought it was a good idea to go eat somewhere. We left the museum shortly after noon and headed for the city center.

We went to eat at a place that seemed cheap enough, and luckily we got it right. And best of all, the food did taste good. We didn't order anything very elaborate, just some meat patties.

We ate quietly while I tried to make Franco talk about his adventures, to distract him a bit from the bad memories. After a few minutes, it worked, Franco told me a little about his service on one of the walls of Illusia. He said they were the worst months of his time as a knight, as there was not much to do, just walk and walk looking for suspicious activity. Although, he met quite a few interesting people and for entertainment they used to throw stones to see who would throw it further.

When we were paying for food, I heard Vandal screaming in the distance.

— Come closer! Come closer! — Vandal shouted with great enthusiasm. He was on top of his makeshift stage — Come closer and admire this beautiful play! —

The people got closer little by little.

The boys had prepared again for their play, which made me wonder how many times a day did they do it? And more importantly, how long have they been scamming people?

I couldn't tolerate this anymore. I approached the front of the "stage", winning several protests from the people.

— They are stealing money from you! — I yelled at the audience — They are just distracting them with their silly play! —

People didn't do anything, they just looked at me disapprovingly.

I managed to hear that several said: "What a ridiculous girl" "She is surely crazy" "She should not be here"

A large lump formed in my throat. What had gone through my head? I should have thought this better, or at least a more convincing excuse. I stood there for a few seconds not knowing exactly what to do.

— Miss ... — Vandal touched my shoulder lightly — It would be so kind to stand aside. We are trying to start a play —

I returned to Franco's side looking at the ground. He could feel the gaze of the people glued to the back of his neck.

Franco looked at me compassionately.

—"We'd better go — Franco indicated, putting a hand on my back.

When we were walking away, I managed to see something out of the corner of my eye. I stopped for a second, to see better, and to confirm that I was not crazy.

It was a small, rat-like, insect-like creature with silver skin and black eyes. It moved with great speed among the people, rummaged in her pockets, and then went elsewhere.

It was a silverfish! Known for their great attraction to shiny things of great value. So that's how they were stealing a lot of money!

— Regina, do you want to stay? — Franco asked when he saw that he did not move me.

—Look — I said in a low voice as I pointed to the silverfish. — We have to catch it —

—And how do you plan to do that? —

True, we occupied a more or less decent plan. To start with, I needed something shiny. I rummaged in my pockets but I only had a few coins, that would not be enough. My necklace! It would work perfectly.

— With this — I said as I showed it to him with a smile.

Franco looked at me somewhat puzzled. He didn't need to say anything, I knew he didn't think it would work. Without waiting for him to tell me something, I went to complete my mission without him.

I rejoined the crowd, I decided to stay in the middle, lost among the people so that Vandal would not try anything.

I didn't pay attention to the play, my mind was on the ground.

Please make this work, otherwise the boys will get away with it again and I will lose the only nice thing I could buy myself.

I clutched my necklace tightly and continued to wait. After a few minutes, I saw the silverfish carefully approach. It raised his head slightly, as if it was trying to get a better look at the necklace. It came to my side and took the necklace with its invisible mouth. Before it could go away with my necklace, I quickly took it with my other hand. The silverfish squirmed in my hand trying to escape. I couldn't help but smile a little at my great ability.

I removed her necklace before pushing my way through the crowd to center stage. People looked at me in disgust and I rushed to speak.

— They've been stealing money from you with this. The play is just a distraction — I yelled and showed them the silverfish — Check your pockets and you will see that you have nothing —

People gasped and began to listen as they rummaged through their things to find their money or jewelry was stolen. From the expressions on their faces, I deduced that I was correct. A murmur could be heard all around.

I managed to see Vandal out of the corner of my eye, the boy was panicking like the pig, the enderman seemed not to care.

— That thing? — Vandal exclaimed nervously, taking a step forward — It's not even from us. It hasn't even stolen things and you can't confirm anything — He pointed an accusing finger at me. —

I shook the silverfish slightly, and a few gold coins fell to the ground. I shook it slightly again, and some necklaces and bracelets fell off. A woman approached the necklaces to confirm that it was hers.

Even more murmurs could be heard from the crowd. I decided to move away, I didn't want to upset people anymore.

Angry people approached the boys demanding that things be returned to them, cornering them. The enderman simply disappeared, leaving his companions behind.

— This ... this is a misunderstanding. The silverfish ... no ... it's not ours — Vandal stammered in an attempt to save himself — FENTON! - Vandal yelled with all his might. —

From a dark alley, the boy's giant spider sped off. The spider was running like crazy. People quickly parted to give him the step.

As soon as the spider was in front of the boys, they climbed onto it. They sped away.

The silverfish began to squirm even more in my hand until it finally broke free from my grasp. It went so fast that I didn't even have a chance to catch it again. Unfortunately, I couldn't get the other people's stuff back, but at least I had unmasked the boys. Although I doubt they would stop this, most likely they would go elsewhere to keep scamming people.

— Not bad Regina — Franco congratulated me while he patted me on the back.

— Seriously? Do you think I can one day be a Netherite knight? — I asked with some enthusiasm, although I think I knew the answer.

— There is still a long way to go, but ... maybe one day — Franco said with a smile. That caught me off guard but I didn't care.

I smiled hugely and jumped on Franco to hug him. Surprisingly, he hugged me back.

#queen fic #queen fanfiction #fem queen #between faith and the sword #my fic #roger taylor #magic au #fantasy au

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bytheangell · 3 years

Text

Seeking Peace

Bingo Square Fill: The Seelie Realm (Read on AO3)

It seems as if the lingering effects of the Alliance rune are mild for the others - Alec has the occasional rogue spark from his fingertips that’s entirely harmless, and Clary ate her steak at Magnus and Alec’s wedding practically rare that night, but other than that everyone seems to be back to normal.

Everyone but Jace.

He covers it by spending more time than usual in the rooftop greenhouse tending to the plants and volunteering for Patrols near the parks where he can wander among the trees for hours on end. It’s the only place he feels calm, the cold concrete of the city and the stone walls of the Institute both feeling oppressive all of a sudden.

He should hate being alone with his thoughts just then, it’s never been something he’s good at, but it seems the only peace he can find is in nature. It’s the only thing that grounds him when Alec goes on his honeymoon and Clary leaves their world entirely. Jace is lost, he’s damn near spiraling out of control… except when he’s grounded by nature. It’s the only comfort he has for days but he can feel it start to slip, feel the moments of restfulness growing fewer and further between. He wants to get them back.

He needs to get them back.

It isn’t until two nights in a row find him drawn to the entrance of the Seelie realm that he admits to himself what he needs to do, his suspicions confirmed by the sudden appearance of a Seelie Knight.

“I was wondering how long it would take you to come here,” Meliorn says expectantly. “You fought the pull of the Seelie Realm much longer than I anticipated.”

“You were watching me?” Jace asks, eyebrow raised.

“I could sense you,” Meliorn corrects. “Stronger the closer you came. It seems our alliance took quite intensely to you, Shadowhunter,” Meliorn adds, glancing down toward Jace’s feet. It’s only then that Jace follows his gaze and notices the grass and flowers around him bending toward him slightly enough that he probably wouldn’t have noticed if Meliorn hadn’t directed his attention toward it.

“Ever since we got back from Edom, I’ve been restless in the city. It’s like…” Jace trails off, suddenly feeling foolish trying to voice his problem aloud.

“Your body is more attune to the natural world around you, now,” Meliorn supplies when it becomes clear Jace isn’t going to finish his sentence. And then, when Jace remains silent, adds, “Would you like to explore it further?”

Jace tenses at that. He isn’t sure he should be exploring it at all, not when the rune is so obviously against the Angels’ wishes, but the invitation is too tempting to turn away. Jace nods.

“Follow me,” Meliorn says without hesitation, stepping behind a nearby tree, re-opening the portal to the Seelie Realm, and gesturing for Jace to go through first.

The moment Jace steps through the portal it’s as if his entire body, mind, and soul come alive at once. He feels sharper, more grounded… more powerful.

“Woah,” Jace says, breathing out the word.

Jace walks over to a nearby tree, reaching out to place his hand on the end of a vine. It immediately begins to grow, wrapping itself around his hand, his wrist, and up the length of his arm, the movement almost like a snake.

“I’m doing this,” Jace says, the hint of a question behind his words.

“You are. The power is stronger here - all Seelie magic is. So long as you reach out with no ill will, nature here should respond to your call not just willingly, but eagerly,” Meliorn explains.

“And if I do hold ill will?” Jace asks, out of curiosity. He doesn’t, and wouldn’t dare risk something like that in the Seelie Realm, but he has to wonder…

“Our realm shares our desire for self-preservation,” Meliorn says with a shrug. “It looks out for us as much as itself. I wouldn’t recommend it.”

“Noted,” Jace says, watching with continued fascination as he focuses on pulling his arm away from the vine, watching as it twists away to let go of his arm and wrap back around the tree once more.

“Do I have like, Disney Princess wild animal powers now, too?” Jace questions.

“...I don’t know what that means,” Meliorn says, brows furrowed together in confusion.

“Don’t let Clary or Simon hear you say that,” Jace warns, only half-jokingly, since that is how he came about the knowledge. “Never mind, it doesn’t matter. I don’t think this is going to last much longer anyway. The others have already faded almost entirely, I’m not sure why I even still have mine.”

“Most likely because you haven’t used it, not the way the others did. There wasn’t much use for it in the wasteland of Edom.”

It makes sense. “So if I use it now, it’ll probably fade for good afterward?” Maybe that would be a relief, to go back to feeling entirely normal without these strange pulls away from the city life he normally finds comfort in… but instead the idea of losing this feeling of natural focus brings a frown to his face and a heavy weight to his chest.

Meliorn nods. “It is likely. The rune is temporary, as are the effects.”

Jace originally came here to find a way to keep the feeling of peace he needs so desperately, and though he hasn’t brought himself to ask for it yet he hasn’t written the idea off, either. He just has to get the words out, but no matter how lost and broken he feels he can’t bring himself to admit it to Meliorn, of all people.

Instead, Jace manages, “...and if I wanted to extend the effects?”

Meliorn arches an eyebrow at that but remains silent. He’s going to make Jace say it, isn’t he? Jace sighs then takes a deep breath and continues.

“I need it, just for a little while longer. The calmness. It’s been fading, fast, and I- I can’t lose it, not right now.” Jace hates admitting it. He hates every word that leaves his mouth, the vulnerability of it all, but he knows it’ll be the only way to convince Meliorn to figure out a way to help him. At least Meliorn knows he means it because he can’t lie.

“We could re-apply the rune,” Meliorn suggests.

“You’d do that for me?” Jace asks, surprised because he doesn’t think Meliorn is getting anything out of this exchange that he actually wants, at least as far as their shared abilities go. “Why?”

Meliorn eyes Jace curiously. “Because you interest me, Jace Herondale. This bond interests me. I told you it was more than just pointy ears,” the Seelie reminds him. Jace suddenly remembers what else Meliorn told him about the powers too, and meets his gaze to see something intense that wasn’t there a moment before.

You’ll learn your true power the next time you take your lover to bed, Meliorn had joked, except what if it hadn’t been a joke. What if now that Jace is here, alone, and looking to keep a bond with the Seelie…

“I could show you how to channel the power properly,” Meliorn offers, as if reading Jace’s mind. “For peace or pleasure… or both. You can keep your solitary serenity, but you could also find deeper connections if you’re open to them.”

There’s no shame there, and unlike what Jace suspected when Meliorn made his first comment while they were in the larger group before Edom, there’s no reason to say it simply for the shock factor now that they’re alone.

“And if I’m not?” Jace asks. “If I choose my ‘solitary serenity’?”

Meliorn shrugs. “I’ll still assist you. I want nothing from you that you aren’t willing to give.”

It’s a genuine offer to help as much, or as little, as Jace wants. Maybe there’s something he’s missing, something Meliorn will ask for later in return the way that Seelies sometimes do, but right now it truly feels like an offer from an ally. From a friend.

The only question now is how much does Jace want?

“So?” Meliorn asks again, this time waiting for a firm answer.

For the first time since all of this began, Jace finds himself glad for his inability to lie, because it means Meliorn will know the weight of certainty in his response. It’s impulsive and selfish, but it’s honest.

“Yes,” Jace agrees.

Meliorn smiles and nods. “Then let’s get started.”

Meliorn turns and begins to walk away, deeper into the Seelie Realm, and Jace follows without hesitation.

Peace or pleasure, Meliorn had offered, and Jace wants both. He deserves both. And maybe, just maybe, this time he can keep them.

#jeliorn #jace herondale #meliorn #shadowhunters #hmdiscord #my first bingo square fill!! <3 #long post #elle writes a few deadbeat lines

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singingmountainwitch · 4 years

Link

I found a great article about Egg Cleansing. Just in case you don’t want to click on the link or it, unfortunately, gets removed here is the low-down.

By Dagmar Thomson

Spiritual egg cleansing is also known as “limpia” in Spanish. It is an ancient spiritual healing practice that was commonly used in Mexico and Mesoamerica. It can ease suffering by getting rid of spiritual, emotional, physical, and mental blocks that affect the soul. Spiritual cleansing is used to clean the soul, body, and mind from negative energy. It also removes magic spells, bad luck, bad karma, fears, addiction, imbalances, and confusions. It is so powerful that it removes spiritual illnesses and even helps with health problems. However, this does not mean that you can stop visiting your doctor for regular checkups.

Spiritual cleansing is as important as everyday cleaning since you can never do too much. Every person encounters different energies daily. These energies are obtained from people you meet and can have a good or bad effect on you. The effects can build up in your body and cause you harm. Here are some of the times when you can perform a spiritual egg cleansing: • When you start to have insomnia, nightmares, or mysterious accidents • When you are in a bad mood, tired, or you feel sluggish • When you want to start a new business or project • When you lose your job or encounter unforeseen expenses • When you want to get rid of negative energy or black magic spells cast on you • When you feel distant from your partner or friends for no reason • When you get the feeling that your path is blocked

How to Do a Spiritual Egg Cleansing

1. On yourself

For you to perform a spiritual egg cleansing, you will require the following items: a white candle, an egg or two, salt, and a glass of water. First, light the candle and let it burn as you do the ritual. Do not put out the candle; just let it burn out on its own. Start the cleanse from the top of your head as you say the Lord’s Prayer, praying that the evil inside you is removed by the egg. Slowly rub the egg all over your body from head to toe. Once you are done, break the egg into the glass of water. This will enable you to see what is going on in your body and soul. When you want to dispose of it, just add salt, dump it in the toilet and flush it away.

2. On The House

You can also carry out a spiritual egg cleansing when you want the environment you live in to be free of negative energy or evil spirits and to feel safe. Ensure that you are alone in the house as you do this. Before you start, also make sure that all the windows are open to release negative energy after the cleansing. The first thing you need to do is to light a white candle. Take an egg and walk in every room of the house with the egg held in your outstretched hand. As you do this, say the Lord’s Prayer as you ask for help to remove any evil spirits or spells cast on you. Once you have moved throughout the whole house, take your egg and dispose of it. You can do this by breaking the egg in a glass of water, adding salt, and flushing away the contents of the glass in the toilet.

Egg Cleansing Meanings and Interpretations

If you have already done the egg cleansing ritual and broken the egg, here are some interpretations of the different meanings found in the egg. 1. When you break the egg and the yolk comes out with bubbles surrounding it or shooting upwards, it is a sign that the negative energy around you is too much, meaning you are very tired. This could be the reason why you have not had the strength to do anything. There are people who even feel dizzy or get headaches. 2. When you see a figure that looks like an animal or a person in the yolk, you should be concerned. If it is a person, the interpretation of this image is that he or she is envious of you. If it is an animal or object, you must recall if you have dreamt of it or if it is a problem in your life at the moment. 3. When you break the egg and you see pointy images in the shape of needles or nails, this means that there are people who have cast black magic spells on you, meaning they do not want you to succeed. 4. If you break the egg and a coat covers the yolk, it means that someone is always disturbing you and provoking you to make you angry. 5. When you see red or black spots on the yolk after breaking the egg, you should be attentive to the warnings. It is a sign with the interpretation that you have a disease in your body.

6. When the yolk is cloudy, black, or grey, this is a bad sign meaning there is an evil eye sent your way through magic spells. 7. If you see spikes facing downwards in the egg yolk, it is a symbol with the interpretation that you have a lot of anger that you have not let go. 8. If you see figures curled in the egg yolk, this is a bad sign warning you that you could fall ill and you need to go for a checkup immediately. 9. When you break a normal egg, the yolk always goes down. However, if the yolk remains in the middle or goes up, it is a bad sign meaning that someone is sending evil your way by casting magic spells. 10. When you see eyes in the egg yolk, this means that someone is jealous of you and is watching you. That is why you have been feeling discomfort and your path has been blocked.

11. If you see geometric figures in the yolk, they have different meanings. Triangles are interpretations of the lies you have been telling and your guilt. Squares tell you that you need to move forward and forget the past. 12. White halos surrounding the yolk mean that you make decisions too quickly and you need to slow down to get back in line. 13. If the egg yolk is hot, looks cooked, and the white appears extremely white, this is a sign that there is negative energy surrounding you. It means black magic spells have been cast on you. You should do another egg cleansing ritual to remove them. 14. Clouds or swirling figures in the egg yolk mean you have emotional problems that are affecting your relationships with other people. 15. If the egg yolk has many threads going up, it means gossip is disturbing your life and there are people who want to see you sad. You should do another egg cleansing to clear your path.

16. Silhouettes in the egg yolk are signs you need to watch out for. It means that the spirits surrounding you want to give you a message. 17. Cobweb shapes in the yolk mean that many people are jealous of you and want you to fail in something you want, like a business, a project, or a promotion. 18. When you break an egg and see flowers in the yolk, this is a good sign. It means that negative energies are going away and good times are coming your way. 19. If the water in the egg yolk has blood or an odor, this is a sign that there are evil spirits around you and you need a cleansing ritual. 20. If you break the egg and see an eye in the yolk, it is a sign of the evil eye watching you. You should get rid of it through a spiritual cleansing.

21. When you find that the water is clear after breaking an egg, it means that nothing bad is happening and there are no evil spirits around you. 22. If you see the shape of a person in the egg yolk, this is a sign that you have an enemy. A slim face means that the enemy is male and a round face means it is a woman. 23. If the egg yolk has a symbol of a bird like a vulture, owl, or crow, this means that a magic spell has been cast on you and you need to do another cleansing to be free from it. 24. The color of the white part of the egg is also important when it comes to meanings and interpretations. If you break the egg and the white appears murky or dark, it means that you are scared and you need to have more confidence. 25. When you break an egg and you find many bubbles surrounding the yolk, it means that there are good spirits watching out for you.

26. If you find big balloons in the water, it is a sign of a cage. It means that you are trapped in a situation and you will not get out of it quickly. It could be someone has trapped you in that situation or you are trapped because of wrong things you have done. You need to do many cleansings to get out of such a situation. 27. If you happen to break the egg during a cleansing, it is a sign that evil spirits are trying to stop you from cleansing yourself. You need to do the cleansing again to get rid of the evil spirits.

Tips for a Better Egg Cleansing

Here are some tips that can help you have an effective spiritual egg cleansing: • The best time to do an egg cleansing is on a Sunday or a Monday. This will help you to start the week with lots of strength. You can also do it at the beginning of a month or a new year. • The cleansing can be performed at any time of the day. • You can do the cleansing at any lunar phase, but the best time to do it is when the moon is waning. • You can do the cleansing in any room you want but ensure that the room has a window to remove any negative energy. • Ensure that you have all the ingredients necessary before doing a cleansing. • Do the cleansing when you are alone unless you want to perform it on someone. Spiritual egg cleansing is an effective ritual that gets rid of negative energy from the body and the environment. Whenever you feel like there is bad energy surrounding you, just do an egg cleansing to know what is wrong. It will leave you feeling brand new.

#limpia #egg cleansing #cleansing #oomancy

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silverinia · 3 years

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I came for Baranski, I stayed for Baranski - a quick Christmas On The Square review someone* actually asked for

(* thank you, anon)

Disclaimer: I am in no way a professional of any sorts when it comes to film and I'm not a journalist either. The last movie review I've written was probably for a school assignment in eighth grade. I didn't do research for this and I've watched the movie exactly one time, so this is just for fun.

It was a Sunday, Sunday the 22nd of November, nearing the end of the train wreck of a year that is 2020. I woke up on an air mattress around seven am, my head aching, my throat itching with pyrosis and light nausea, it was still dark outside behind the closed blinds in front of the windows, when I slowly realised where I was, one of my best girlfriends sleeping next to me in her bed. I had crashed at her place after a warm, fuzzy evening of mulled wine, tacky Christmas movies I would never watch alone (Christmas Chronicles and Holiday Calendar, which I quite honestly didn't enjoy at all, but the company made it fun anyway), doing our nails, wearing the fun kind of face masks for a change and smoking too many cigarettes, as the soft pain in my head informed me right now. She woke up an hour later and the morning went by with coffee and reheated pizza for breakfast, when we decided to watch another movie and I realised that it was THE Sunday I'd been waiting for through Zoom interviews and Dolly Parton twitter memes and the infamous wig gate that will be briefly discussed in the following, and so we clicked on the small icon in the Netflix menu that said "Christmas On The Square".

And oh boy, was it a ride.

To start off, I should mention that I have a hard time watching most modern day American Christmas movies, as I noticed quite vividly again when I watched the two aforementioned Netflix productions last night. The character development is always foreseeable to say the least, the plot lines are plain clichés hunting each other like they're the kids in The Hunger Games, and the writing is generally so bad that you can join the actors in reciting the entire scripts on your first watch. I watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas once a year while I'm gift wrapping and pause every fifteen minutes to shamelessly stare at forties Christine Baranski (I think we should all turn away from the birth of Jesus and instead count our years based on Christine Baranski's date of birth) in flamboyant nightgowns and short Christmas themed dresses, looking so fabulous that every interpreter of Santa Baby ever could only dream of it, I watch Love Actually at least five times a year to lust over Hugh Grant, cry with Emma Thompson and miss Alan Rickman, I enjoy Bridget Jones, which I would definitely consider a Christmas movie, and that's it. That's my yearly Christmas time entertainment routine and I can barely tolerate anything beyond, because I'm still traumatised from the time when I was around five years old and on a holiday family visit where had to sit through National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, the dumbest movie I have ever seen (my apologies if you like it but also, who hurt you?), with my cousins. I hated it. I hated every minute of it. And it scarred me for life.

But this was a Christine Baranski movie, I knew she was going to play the lead and so I was pretty much as excited about this as I could. And the fact that Dolly Parton wrote the whole thing didn't hurt either. As I said earlier to my friend I was watching it with, I have the pop cultural taste of a fifty year old gay man, a quality I am most proud of, and this simply ticked off all my boxes.

I expected something similar to a Mamma Mia experience that wouldn't cause me to crave packing my bags, give Covid the finger and run off to Greece. Light-hearted entertainment, easy to stomach, uplifting music and so little plot that the simplicity feels like a creative choice. That's what my pained, hungover brain knew it could cope with and that's not what I got.

The movie started and I was immediately in the zone. I saw Christine Baranski's name in the front credits (an experience that never fails to make me scream "Yass Queen" at the screen, regardless of where I am and who I'm with, as if I'm the sobering result that pops out of the package when you order Jonathan Van Ness on Wish), the setting was wonderfully corny (I grew up watching Gilmore Girls once a week, so give me warm fairy lights and a gazebo and I'm perfectly happy) and as my friend wondered whether Dolly Parton, in her exaggerated homeless attire that didn't make her look shabby at all, was green-screened into the setting because she stood out so much (which she was because the background dancers were dancing in slow motion, but to be fair, we were probably still a little too drunk to notice that from the start) and I told her I thought that it was just the natural glow someone who's Dolly Parton simply carries with them everywhere they go, I was happy. This was the movie I was prepared for. A movie in which the most problematic thing would be stereotypical characters and the wig they hid Christine's real, flawlessly handmade by God herself hair under.

And then, around five minutes in, Christine Baranski's childhood love interest was revealed as she pressed her perfect pointy nose against the window of his shop and sang about her unrequited love.

And suddenly, things started taking turns at a pace I was still way too sleep-deprived for.

Suddenly, in the middle of my general amazement at seeing Christine Baranski do literally anything and laughing loud at her impeccable comedic delivery, there were unresolved daddy issues, hanging prominently at the wall in her marvellously designed house (she literally says "Daddy" at one point and I couldn't help but think that only someone with her vocal skills could keep from making it sound cringe-worthily kinky). One moment, I was clutching my chest above my heart while she was bonding with little bartender Violet and munching on pretzels while downing some whiskey in that elegant way only Christine Baranski can bond with ten year olds who had it rough, eat pretzels and down whiskey, and the next she felt responsible for said girl's mother's death (which she kinda was too, but I'm not the boss of her). I was still busy making fun of how the very annoyingly, but when you're snacking on pizza with extra cheese at nine in the morning also highly funny, slow talking pastor's name was Christian, and suddenly there was a cancer scare.

It was a lot, a hasty sprint from major issue to major issue with a hint of comedic relief every now and then, and it didn't get any less until the very, rather poorly resolved, end.

The entire, constant up and down was followed by the movie's peak of suspense, the near death of precious Violet, something I couldn't even get too invested in because I was still so busy worrying about Christine's MRT results (I was truly fucking worried), not to mention that I hadn't even started to really process the sudden revelation of the love child and how it had affected her character's actions until this point. Was her constant tendency of pushing people away, as we've seen most clearly with her angel in training assistant who's name I cannot recall right now, the result of her broken trust in her father who practically ripped her son away from her after she had just given birth to him? Was it a result of her never getting the closure she needed with plaid flannel wearing Carl she was clearly still in love with? Maybe both? And what of the many issues was it that made her so incredibly shaken up when Violet blamed herself for her mother's death? Was it 'just' due to the fact that the closed pharmacy was on her, or was there more to it? Was it because she had grown up without a mother herself? Or did I miss a major piece of information because I was momentarily distracted, dumbfoundedly staring at Christine's very blue eyes? No time to ponder on that, little Silverinia, because here comes unconscious Violet in an ambulance, WEE WOO WEE WOO WEE WOO!

I'm not going to go in depth about what plot lines I thought were especially carelessly handled and why, real standouts were the sudden forgiveness towards her father who had still acted like a shitty asshole even though he might have had his reasons, because giving the baby up for adoption just wasn't his choice to make, and the fact that I kind of didn't buy how quickly Regina managed to forgive herself, especially for Violet's mother's passing, considering how deeply her tall, slim, dare I say angelic and entrancing figure was buried beneath the weight of all her issues. It felt rushed and incomplete, but that's as detailed as it gets because my major point is something else.

I think this movie made the great mistake of trying to be more than your average, flat, happy ending Christmas movie. I think no one involved thought it was possible to make it a big hit if the only real plot would've been great Dolly Parton music, fun ensemble dance choreographies, Christine Baranski's outstanding acting skills, fun settings and costumes and a redemption arch with as little plot as it could possibly take to make Christine likable to those who aren't already lost forever in the rabbit hole of being obsessed with her (poor fuckers, can't relate). They didn't notice that with the legends that were involved, they could've easily gone the Mamma Mia way. And I think that's why they tried to include heavier plot lines than most creators would've chosen, experiencing loss at an early age, struggling to find closure, dealing with sickness, teenage pregnancy, parents forcing their choices on their children when they affect their childrens' lives first, adoption, and the fear of losing your kid.

It was a lot and I don't want to say that it didn't work because my friend was crying, like, pretty hard and I questioned my entire existence all through the movie in not the worst way, and I did enjoy it a lot while watching. The "grief is love with nowhere to go" line was a real standout, for example, where the attempt of complexity DID work. It positively gave me fleabag season two, "I don't know what to do with it now, with all the love I have for her." - "I'll take it. It sounds lovely. You have to give it to me." feels, and that's about the biggest praise I can come up with. BUT (and this is written in capital letters because it's the big but) I'm also totally convinced that I wouldn't have enjoyed it if they hadn't cast Christine Baranski for the lead role. In my humble opinion, the hasty, not really at all resolved plot of this movie only worked because Christine Baranski is just a fantastic actress. She quirks a mocking eyebrow and you laugh. She parts her perfectly painted red lips and you immediately hang on them because you don't want to miss a single breath she, a literal goddess, graces us mere peasants of people with. She smiles and you're happy. She laughs and even while she's still laughing, you can't wait to hear her do it again. Her eyes fill with tears and you feel goosebumps on your arms, her voice slightly trembles, a breath hitches in her throat and you feel your heart shattering to pieces. As Chuck Lorre once said, this woman could read you the phone book and you would end up laughing tears because she just gets the job done. She knows what she's doing, she's an absolute pro in her game, and it doesn't matter, not even a little bit, what she's working with, because the work she eventually delivers with it is always at a minimum of 200%. I forced my friend to watch this movie with me because I adore this woman, and I felt for this movie because I felt for her. It wasn't the plot that sadly brutally overestimated itself, it wasn't the songs that I obviously enjoyed, nor the comedic elements that truly made me laugh a lot, it was all her. I came for Baranski, and I stayed for Baranski. This woman can do anything. She can even look graceful in a terrible wig job.

(side note / unpopular opinion: I actually didn't think the wig was all too bad. It wasn't good, actually far from good, but for me, nothing can match the awful wig game of Mamma Mia 2. I loathed that wig, I absolutely cannot stand it. So this didn't feel all that terrible. It definitely wasn't the most problematic part about the movie.)

I enjoyed watching this. It was a nice distraction from all the bullshit in the world. Watching it today was the first thing this year that actually brought me something close to excitement about the holiday season, even though everything will be very different and probably not quite as jolly this year. But it just gave me good vibes and as someone who did not watch this as a film reviewer, that's the biggest part of what leads me to enjoy a movie.

Will I watch this again? For sure. Will I enjoy it when I'm not hungover, having freshly done nails and munching delicious pizza for breakfast? Probably not as much, but it'll still have Christine Baranski in it. Would I recommend watching this? If you share my obsession with Queen B, one hundo. If you don't, probably not.

#Christine Baranski #Christmas On The Square #dolly parton #shitty movie reviews by yours truly

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readingsbylibramc · 4 years

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birth chart reading for @keemias

hello! welcome to your reading. I’m gonna give you a quick overview of what I’m going to analyze about your natal chart. feel free to ask me anything if something isn’t clear, of course. you’ll find out your dominants’ influence on your persona, your physical appearance, impression on others and the way you approach the world; your ego, identity, the real you; your reactions, your desires, inner emotions; your way of expressing your feelings, your mind and ideas; your desires and approach to love; your energy tank, instincts and temperament; in-depth analysis of each house with their rulers and analysis of heavy aspects; love life + soulmates/karmic partners interpretation; your relationship with your friends; your family life; your approach to career and work in general + possible jobs suggestion; your style, fashion sense analysis; life purpose and past life description; basic transits’ analysis to describe your current mood and, last but not least, your secret skills, how to make the most out of your soul and manifest what you desire based on your birth chart.

🦋 chart shape, dominants

your chart is a bowl shape. all of your planets are focused in half of the chart. this usually makes the owner of the chart feel uncompleted, as if a part of their life is missing. in your case, it would be something regarding your identity, your mind. you may look for this missing part of yourself in your partner, or maybe in your friends, or even in stuff like work, passions, spirituality etc. this may cause you to be too dependant of others, or maybe you become obsessed and overindulge in what makes you feel complete.

your dominant planets are mercury, pluto and the sun. you're an intelligent, mature and deep person, but you also know how to have fun. you know what you want, and you're very bubbly with people you feel comfortable with. you may be more logical than intuitive, or in the best case you're able to balance both these energies.

your dominant sign is virgo. with virgo as your dominant sign, I assume that you're very astute and practical. you have great problem-solving skills, and you have the ability to stay collected even under stressful situations. you're quite logical, but you also a warm, generous heart. you love helping others, as long as they don't try to take advantage of your kindness.

your dominant element is air. in your life, you adore seeking for knowledge of any kind. you may be interested in studying different subjects, from those you study at school like science, maths, literature etc. to more unconventional ones, such as astrology, psychology, criminology and so on. you enjoy interacting with people; even if you’re not that sociable, you’ll still be interested in their point of view and their ideals, as you see it as a way to expand your own mind. you’re also interested in vintage, and you may have a retro aesthetic or just like history in general.

🌍 ascendant in scorpio, 20° / 3rd decan ruled by pluto and the moon

your scorpio rising makes you quite pessimistic; you see the world as a place full of dangers and malice, hence it’s hard for you to trust people. this may be translated through fear; you’re either scared of other people, and hence you look more vulnerable, or maybe you’re the one who prefers to look intimidating to avoid problems. I don’t think you look unapproachable, though. there are other placements in your chart that say the opposite, so I imagine you project an image of yourself that makes you look quite naive. you can sense others’ emotions very well, so they have no secrets for you. you can perceive any single emotion in people just by looking into their eyes. while this is good, as you understand who’s best for you and you’re aware of the dangers you may face, scorpio risings tend to take advantage of this and be a little manipulative. this awareness of the world makes you look mysterious and secretive, as if you always know something more than others (and you probably do). pluto is also the planet of transformation, and you might experience a lot of rebirths throughout your life, both physically and emotionally. you might lose/have lost a big amount of weight, for example, which makes you look like a different person. or maybe, you like dying your hair of a different colour, giving you a different vibe. you wish you could be softer and show your inner emotions more easily, as scorpio is a water sign. the thing is, since it’s a fixed sign, it’s hard for you to be flexible and adapt to changes. when they happen, they’re usually out of your control as they’re literally life-changing. physically, I see you having a square or long face with high cheekbones and a pointy chin. overall, your bones are very prominent and you’re naturally skinny. your eyes are extremely magnetic, and they could also be almost-shaped. you might have either very pale skin, or just an olive skintone. sometimes, even a mix of both. your hair, eyebrows and lashes are very thick and dark too. you could also have full lips, or at least a quite defined cupid's bow.

scorpio ascendant conjunct scorpio venus: you have the planet of beauty (venus) conjunct your appearance (ascendant). you're surely very attractive! even if you're not a conventional beauty, there's still a certain charm that can't get overlooked. you're very feminine and polite, especially with strangers. you care about the impression you make on others, even though you shouldn't worry that much, as it's generally good. you're probably very sociable, it doesn't matter whether you're introverted or not. you still have amazing social skills, and you also have a very charming voice. you literally draw people to you, I imagine it's not hard for you to make new friends and engage in conversations randomly. you also care a lot about the way you look, hence you probably have a skincare/workout routine, and you're fond of shopping and selfcare in general. you want to always look at your best; that's caused by the fact that you're secretly kind of insecure about your looks. you may have the tendency to think that the compliments you receive aren't honest, and people are just trying to be nice to you. another downside to this placement is that you may attract people's jealousy. even though this could be a self-esteem boost for someone, it may be hard for one to handle, in your case especially in relationships, maybe with your friends.

scorpio ascendant square leo jupiter: you probably learn a lot from people around you. you're most likely surrounded by wise, spiritual and possibly foreign individuals in your life. they help you to grow up, both spiritually and mentally. this placement also softens your rough scorpio image, making you look more outgoing and approachable. you're also very open-minded, and you rarely have prejudices. the downside to this placement is that you may depend too much on your friends or lovers, especially when it comes to your beliefs. you're easy to influence, and you may change your mind often if others disagree with you. you could possibly have high expectations from others, creating a false idea of those who surround you. at least, you're aware of your abilities and you have the potential to make the most out of them, but you're modest about it. you don't come off as bossy, as other jupiter - asc aspects would.

🌞 sun in libra, 11° / 2nd decan ruled by venus and uranus

this is the most intelligent and creative libra decan. you are very intuitive, you understand others’ real feelings very easily. you’re very polite and mannered, you have this innate elegance about you that could make people jealous. you may even come off as snob. even though your scorpio rising may make you look intimidating or even shady, once people get to know you you’re actually very reliable and trust-worthy, as you are a person of strong morals. you may unconsciously manipulate people, but you don’t do it with malice. in fact, you’re probably not even aware of it most of the times. you’re reserved, and you don’t like being the centre of attention, despite craving compliments. nonetheless, you still like getting to know new people; you’re the type to know everyone, but you may struggle to find actual best friends, as your bonds with people are quite undeveloped and superficial. you have a nice sense of humor, and you may rely on sarcasm a lot. you’re also the type that doesn’t like to accept their mistakes. probably, when you were a child you used to scream 'it’s not my fault!’ in every occasion. in life, you strive for equality and fairness. for example, you don’t want to give less than someone else, you would feel guilty about it. at the same time, you don’t want to be the one that gives more either; you’re afraid that people could take advantage of you. therefore, balance is what you find the most pleasant.

🌙 moon in virgo, 16° / 2nd decan ruled by mercury and saturn

this is the truest virgo decan. you want to have everything under control, you can't bear not being organized. you most probably write down your appointments and stuff on an agenda, or perhaps even in the notes app of your phone. you're extremely precise, you want everything to be perfect. mixed with your libra sun, you probably care a lot about your appearance; you most likely have a skincare routine, workout... just anything that makes you feel healthy. you love taking care of yourself, especially of your hygiene. you also put a lot of effort in your outfits, you fear not being at your best state. you're a perfectionist, after all. this also project in your home environment; you may clean your house thoroughly, it's most likely all neat. in addition, this mania of yours of being perfect makes you have high standards; in fact, you need people in your life that try as much as you do. you despise lazy people. you probably have a reputation for always being calm and elegant, as you try to avoid conflicts as much as possible. you're very smart and insightful, and you strive for perfection; you want to prove your power to yourself, as it helps you boosting your self-esteem. in fact, it depends a lot on your achievements; if you don't meet your expectations, you start going through a hard time of insecurity and struggles. you love communicating, but you may struggle to find the right words, especially with your mercury squaring saturn. your eyes talk for you, though. you're also very introspective, and you're fond of art and creativity in general. you're very critical, both of yourself and of others. you don't do it with malice, though, but as I've already mentioned you want to frequent people that try to be at their best all the time, just like you after all.

🗣 mercury in virgo, 28° / 3rd decan ruled by mercury and venus

you have a very logical, pragmatic mind. ironically, this creates a great balance with your libra sun, as you have both logical and creative skills. you try to be as well-spoken as possible, especially with strangers, but when people get on your nerves you can’t help but kill them with your words. before expressing your opinion on a certain matter, you like making sure that your thought actually has proof to be supported. you’re very analytical, and hence you also overthink a lot. especially when it comes to people you care, you start overthinking so much about little things like late replies to messages that you create a variety of hollywood-worthy scenarios in your head. you also pay lots of attention to details, and you can’t tolerate typos and grammar mistakes. you always try to speak and write in the most correct and polite way as possible. you may have an elegant, yet neat handwriting. your voice probably sounds very calm and collected, yet you don’t have any problems speaking at a louder tone, especially with your mercury being conjunct your mars.

virgo mercury conjunct virgo mars: this placement makes you slightly more aggressive with your words. in fact, it makes you look more assertive and almost bossy. you could often attack people with words when you get angry, and you can get quite provocative too. while you are quick-minded and it's hard for you to be tricked, you have a very sharp tongue that could hurt others. other people may not understand your sense of humor for example, and they could get offended. you love debates and expressing your opinions, as you take a lot of pride in your thoughts. yet, may also take things very personally, you get defensive extremely easily, and that makes it hard to have a healthy discussion with you as you're very fiery. you could often get into arguments.

virgo mercury square gemini saturn: this placement gives you limitations and lessons regarding the way you think and talk. it may be that you’re too shy to approach others and to say what you think, so you just don’t try. otherwise, if you actually take action and try to overcome this problem, you could get into troubles. that’s probably caused by the fact that you don’t really pay attention to your words. you’re quite straight-forward, and due to your scorpio ascendant you always seem as if you’re up for a fight. you may be particularly pessimistic, or maybe you lack confidence in social interactions due to these problems, which could be possibly caused by your parents, or perhaps interfer in your relationship with your family. in fact, you may argue quite often, and misunderstandings are also common. this is something that gets naturally better with time, but in order for it to happen you need to take action. you may for example start speaking more in school, perhaps you could apply for class president. anything that allows you to challenge your mind and voice, in order to make you gain experiences and become a master at it. many celebrities, once they mastered this hard aspect, got loads of success. you can do that too, you just need to work on it.

❤️ venus in scorpio, 14° / 2nd decan ruled by pluto and neptune

this placement is extremely intense; you have very high standards when it comes to love. you're a passionate, loyal lover, but at the same time you also want and need a lover that is willing to go as far as you go with your feelings. you may often test your partner to see if they're worthy of your love, for example. you have this sort of self-destructive behaviour that makes people stressed, just because you have extreme trust issues and you feel the need to control everyone, especially if 'everyone' is your lover. you find yourself being more attracted to 'darker' types; that is, you may be into bad boys / girls, someone with an edgy / grunge aesthetic. I've noticed that many scorpio venus individuals have a thing for people wearing leather jackets, for example. you're probably into the idea of that passionate, even kinky love, despite being quite afraid of opening up to others. you despise too much intimacy, especially since you may often attract and / or fall for self-centered players that don't care about the intensity and purity of your feelings. as I've already mentioned above, you may have a few trust issues that lead you into being extremely jealous and / or possessive. you could even get quite stalker-ish at times, but in the best way possible of course. that isn't because you want to take over your partner's life, but you need to feel secure and understand whether you're dedicating your time and your heart to the right person or you're just wasting yourself. a betrayal would hurt you deeply, as you'd literally die for the one you love.

scorpio venus square leo jupiter: you come off as a very positive, happy-go-lucky person. you're extremely friendly, and this makes you be good at social relationships. you may have lots of friends, or at least you have the potential to make many if you open up and talk to other people. yet, while this energy gives you positive vibes, some people may take advantage of that, as you could easily be mistaken for naive. people can try to dominate you unconsciously (sometimes even on purpose) not only in relationships but even in friendships. aside from that, I don't think this placement causes you many problems. you may have the tendency to procrastinate and not work. you could be quite lazy and get easily distracted, as you're constantly with your head in the clouds. yet, thanks to your virgo energy, you still manage to find some motivation to do your work.

☄️ mars in virgo, 22° / 3rd decan ruled by mercury and venus

your life revolves around being productive. you don't like to waste your time, you always try to learn and gain something useful from everything you do. that's caused by the fact that you're motivated to be perfect in what you like; this, combined with your competitive nature, may often cause you to burn out. in fact, the downside to this placement is that you may overwork yourself too much. this is bad, even though you may actually not feel this effect that much, as virgo is literally your dominant sign. you're used to work hard, and you may actually enjoy it, it's a way to stimulate yourself both physically and mentally. on the other hand, you're an hard-worker, you're most likely capable of achieving any goals you have, as you have both motivation and precision.

virgo mars square sagittarius pluto: with this placement, I assume that when you were younger you were some sort of victim. you could have been bullied, for example, you used to be insecure about the way you looked and were. you could have felt different from others, and they took advantage of that to make you feel even more insecure. or maybe, it was a parent, or every authoritative figure in your life, that restricted you from following your own ideals. because of that, now you constantly feel the need to prove yourself. you probably tend to accumulate a lot of anger all together, which you need to let all out or you could explode. you could find comfort in physical ways to relieve stress, like punching bags, slamming doors, etc. or perhaps, when you're angry you just get overwhelmed by all of your emotions. you may cry, scream, even throw up in certain cases. on the other hand, you are extremely magnetic and attractive to others, you naturally draw people towards you. you're also extremely passionate in whatever you do, you put your whole heart in doing things you love. you're very hard-working and determined to achieve your goals. with this aspect, you're probably more dedicated than the common virgo dominant.

virgo mars square gemini saturn: this is another placement that indicates that something or someone is trying to restrict you, they're trying to prevent you from following your dreams and taking your own choices for your life. that someone is most likely an individual that has a lot on impact on you, it's someone very authoritative. or perhaps, it may even be a bully or abuser of any sort. as a result, you either rebel and get extremely angry, or you hide all of your disappointment inside of you. but soon or after, all of your intense feelings are going to eat you alive if you keep going like this, it's a very unhealthy behaviour. you could find it extra hard to achieve your goals, as when you try you always come across some hardships. what matters the most, is that you try to be more positive, you could even try manifesting more patience or serenity. you can't hold onto anger so much, or it will just fill you with negativity that could damage you. let it all go, focus on your goals and try to understand how to be more patient. in fact, you may often feel like you need to do everything as soon as possible, when it's not like that. you can allow yourself to be more calm and live life as it comes, it will make you feel much better with yourself and you'll also get more mature, which is crucial to learn your saturnian lessons and increase your self-confidence.

🏡 houses

your 1st house is in scorpio. you fulfill your ego when you deal with intense situations that satify your needs. that is, you find strenght in getting out of your comfort-zone. even though you may be afraid of it. you’re an enigma: you know everything about others, but others know nothing about you. it’s your way to protect yourself from eventual enemies, as you’re prone to have a few of them throughout your life. pluto is also here; your scorpio energy is enhanced even more in this way, and since it's opposite mars you may usually come off as aggressive or too impulsive. you indeed come off as someone very fiery, and you may be when you get angry, but deep down your libra energy just wants calm and peace. physically, you may also have stronger features: you could have a strong jawline, a wide forehead, a distinctive nose and thinner lips.

your 2nd house is in sagittarius. you tend to overindulge in 2nd house matters, hence you may spend too much money, you could overeat, or even overestimate your own skills. you could have an exaggerated vision of yourself; maybe, you’re too confident, or perhaps it’s the opposite. that is, you underestimate your worth way too much. since you spend so much, you may find yourself lacking money from time to time, therefore be careful to how you spend them. in addition, chiron is also here: your deepest insecurity is your appearance, your self-confidence. it may be that when you were younger, you used to struggle a lot with your appearance. you could have been bullied, or perhaps you could have suffered from an eating disorder. luckily, this placement can get better. in fact, you can gain wisdom from this wound of yours; you can heal others who have self-worth issues once you start loving yourself. you may also have troubles with money, it could be that you may be too dependant from them, or you struggle to save or even earn them. you may even come from a poor family. the ruler of the 2nd house is in the 9th house: you may earn money through foreign languages, you could be particularly skilled at them. you may also earn money abroad or thanks to foreigners or perhaps even thanks to teaching.

your 3rd house is in capricorn. you enjoy listing and talking about your duties and goals. you’re the type to write down your tasks in your agenda, e.g. tidying up your room, feeding your plants etc. the problem with this placement is that you may struggle to take action, and procrastinate. or maybe, you could do the opposite and overwork yourself. no inbetween. also, when you were a child you probably started speaking later than other kids, or you speak so fast that you end up stuttering. uranus and neptune are also placed in this house: you could have 'unexpected' siblings, meaning that probably your mother didn't expect to have one of her children. also, you may have a very dreamy and melodic voice, even though it could sometimes be hard for others to understand you since it's also quite nasal. the ruler of the 3rd house is in the 8th house: your job may involve communication, you'll most probably interact with other people in your future career. or maybe, you might write stuff, hence you could be a writer, a journalist, etc. possibly, you would do well as a therapist too. you could also be quite spiritual and intuitive, and you may be able to speak to ghosts, read tarots, birth charts, etc.

your 4th house is in aquarius. when you were young, you probably didn’t feel at ease with yourself. you might have been the outcast, that one kid that stood out in the daycare. you probably didn’t have many friends either, and it could have been painful for you. even though you enjoyed playing, drawing and watching your favorite cartoons alone, you're very sociable, and you've probably always felt the need to be surrounded by others. you find emotional comfort and security in your home, in your parents and in just family in general. you used to be very attracted to arts when you were a kid, and you kept this love with you while growing up. maybe, you were the type of child to lie to your parents. with the ruler of the 4th house in the 3rd, you probably feel comfortable and secure in your home enviroment, especially with your siblings. you may actually feel more attached to them than to your parents. also, your parents could be very successful academically speaking, and you may still live in your birth city / country, or you may return there when you get older.

your 5th house is in pisces. you have a variety of talents and creativity, but that may possibly be covered from you at first. you’d do very well at stuff that involves art and drawing. in love, you’re attracted to artsy people; if they’re into art, singing, dancing etc. they’re your ideal of soulmate. you may be very fond of children, and you wish to have at least one in the future. you find joy and comfort in your hobbies, so it's extremely important for you to nurture your artistic needs and talents. actually, your creative talents are actually the key for you to achieve the best success and joy. you may have lots of children too, and they'll bring happiness to your life. the ruler of the 5th house is in the 3rd house: your hobbies include communication of any sort. you could write poetry, books... possibly, you could be interested in foreign languages and you may also communicate in more indirect ways, hence through photography, dancing, videos... especially since your 3rd house is ruled by neptune, the planet of images.

your 6th house is in aries. you work hard to be the number #1 in what you care about, especially if your goals involve school, work, health etc. your days are usually quite busy, and you may tend to overwork yourself. combined with your virgo stellium, this placement usually makes it hard for you to be healthy, both physically and emotionally, and you may have the tendency to overwork yourself. you could even have bad luck at work. in addition, since the 6th house also rules health, you may also suffer from some sort of disease, your health status may not be the best. you could also be a bit clumsy and hurt yourself easily, you may find yourself having a lot of bruises and / or scratches all over your body. with the ruler of the 6th being in the 10th house, you'll most likely pursue a career where you'll have to work daily, like a sort of routine. you may become a teacher or professor for example, or you may even work in the healing field; you could be a nurse, a doctor, a therapist...

your 7th house is in taurus. in a marriage you seek security, both emotional and financial. you want a loyal partner that would never do anything to hurt you, and that has a wealthy job as well. intimacy and trust also matter a lot for you in a long-term relationship. you may attract very conventionally beautiful partners, and they'll most likely be homebodies. that is, you don't attract very sociable people, or at least you don't hang out with people that attend clubs, parties, etc. frequently. possibly, you may often attract jealous, possessive people too, so beware of that. the ruler of the 7th house, venus, is in the 12th house: you may often have karmic encounters. that is, you may befriend or even date people that were a part of your past lives, they're your soulmates. your dreams may often involve other people, and you could even dream of your future spouse. you may also attract people that have some sort of addiction, like an addiction to drugs, alcohol, or even more ordinary things like internet, sleeping, etc.

your 8th house is in gemini. you may frequently find yourself thinking and studying occult/taboo topics, such as paranormal events, thrillers, tarots, astrology etc. you’re interested in finding out the truth, not only among your peers but in the whole world. you have a desire that all the malice that is hiding behind the government etc. gets exposed, even though you may be so interested in them that you could get used to it and end up overlooking them. you may also be very secretive, you tend to keep your thoughts and ideas private, especially due to saturn's presence in this house. in fact, you may actually be afraid of darker topics and embrace them. for example, you could have little or no sex drive at all. this is something that gets naturally better with time as you make more experiences and grow mature. you may also be particularly sensitive to or even tame physical pain. last but not least, this placement also indicates that you may have a painful, even violent death. the ruler of the 8th house is in the 10th house: your future career will most likely involve secrets and private matters, and hence you may work as a therapist, as a counselor, you could even handle others' money or become a detective. you may also be involved in more logical, scientific jobs like a scientist, a mathematician, etc.

your 9th house is in cancer. someone close, important and intimate with you may teach you the biggest lessons in your life. you could also live abroad with your family, or become a teacher in a daycare/primary school. jupiter here indicates that you have a knack for philosophy, and you may be interested in foreign culture, music, fashion etc. actually, those matters are the key to achieve success in your life, as you're most likely skilled at foreign languages, teaching or even writing. with the ruler of the 9th house being in the 10th house, this placement confirms what I've already mentioned above: you may pursue a career abroad, or you may have to travel to work. or perhaps, you may even work with foreign people and hence you could have to speak foreign languages. you may also work as a teacher / professor, or even as a writer, poet or philosopher.

your 10th house is in leo, with also mars, the moon and mercury sitting there. you want to be recognized and stand out. you may want to be a celebrity, or at least you want to be the one people look up to in your work place, you like being praised. luckily, your future career will most likely allow you to be the leader you want to be! in fact, this 10th house mars combined with your whole virgo stellium gives you amazing leadership skills. you're very responsible, you don't need others to guide you, and if you work hard you can achieve pretty much anything you want. you probably don't see work as a burden, it's pretty much the opposite. working is literally your energy tank. the moon and mercury sitting there are other placements that indicate that your future job will involve communication of some sort. you could become a writer, a translator, a therapist... also, as I've already mentioned above, you may have to speak foreign languages for your career. with the ruler of the 10th house being in the 11th house, your future career may actually be a long-term dream or goal of yours. for example, let's suppose you've always wanted to be a writer when you were younger; this placement indicates that you can actually become one if you work on it. you may also work with your friends, or find your friends at your job place. you could also get popular or even famous for your career.

your 11th house is in virgo, with also your sun placed there. this placement, together with your heavy scorpio influence, makes you very picky with friends. you may frequent and feel happy with different people, but you only call friends a few of them. you also have friends with similiar ideals and approach to yours, hence it’s easy for you to get along as you see eye to eye. your sun in this house makes you crave human contact. even if not directly, since I assume that you're quite introverted, you still like hearing about others' opinions on different matters, but you may prefer interacting with others through internet for example. or perhaps, you may actually hear about others' points of view through books, blogs, etc. you're also very fond of your friends, and you may often be very liked by them. you could be the loyal, caring friend in your group. the ruler of the 11th house is in the 10th house: this placement pretty much confirms what I've said above, that is you may pursue a career that involves your long-term dreams. you could meet your friends at your job place too, and they could also boost your reputation and popularity. you may often befriend known people.

your 12th house is in libra, with also venus sitting in this house. you find beauty in neptunian topics, such as astrology, spirituality, dreams, art etc. you may actually be quite skilled at things that involve beauty and aesthetics. you may also be afraid of being judged, especially for your interests and/or physical appearance. you could often idealize the idea of love and partners; that is, you could daydream of marrying the perfect, royal spouse that would always be by your side. yet, you could often find yourself daydreaming so much that you actually see people as what they're not. that is, they turn out to be different from what you thought. the ruler of the 12th house is in the 12th house: you may have some escape tendencies to detach from reality; maybe, you use retail therapy as a coping mechanism. you could also oversleep, pray or maybe meditate to stop thinking about your worries for a while. you usually have very peaceful, romantic dreams, and your past life was quite pacific too. in fact, you don’t seem to have many karmic lessons to learn.

❤️ love life, soulmates

in love, you attract taurus, libra, pisces, aries placement and / or traits. your future spouse is probably going to have prominent libra/venus/7th house placements, as well as some pisces/neptune/12th house dominance too. they will be extremely soft and kind-hearted, maybe a little clingy, but true sweethearts. they may be very fair and balanced too, even though they could be a bit flaky sometimes. they may also be one of your soulmates, and hence you could have this 'I've already seen you before' vibe to you when you meet them. your children are probably going to have prominent pisces placements, or at least they’ll have pisces/water traits: they’ll be spiritual, calm, artistic and sleepy, yet they may also develop a rebel/emo attitude during their teenage years.

👼🏻 family life

your mother is probably a very caring person that knows how to stand up for herself when she has to, but she may struggle to do that. in fact, she looks very emotionally detached, and she could also be quite moody and unpredictable. she also has very strong beliefs that you inherited from her. your father is a bit softer and more romantic, he knows how to have fun and used to play a lot with you when you were a child. he may be very intelligent and smart, and he could also be the dominant figure in your family. if you have siblings, they probably have prominent capricorn/pisces/aquarius placements in their chart. you may sometimes fight with them, but you still have a very deep bond with each other. in the worst case, your mother might have had a miscarriage, or maybe they were stillborn.

📊 career

honestly, your chart indicates that you could do well at a variety of jobs thanks to your virgo stellium! you may find yourself being interested in teaching and learning, you would make an amazing teacher or even professor in university. you could also become a successful writer, as your mercury sharing the same sign as your moon shows that you're able to fully convey your emotions and feelings in your speech in a clear and correct way thanks to your virgo dominance. you may also do well as a therapist or even as a nurse or doctor, you seem like the type of person that is good at impacting others with your words. with your virgo energy, you can probably help others thanks to your skills.

👚 fashion sense, style analysis

you may have lots of dark, edgy clothes in your wardrobe, from leather to animal prints. you could possibly also fancy velvet in your clothes. your style is mostly quite classy and expensive/expensive-looking (you probably love formal and elegant clothes), but still with a touch of boldness to it. as for the colors, I assume you also enjoy wearing darker shades, from dark blue, purple, burgundy… to just directly black. you could possibly be fond of total-black fits too.

👁 past life, life purpose

in your past life, the focus was on yourself. maybe, you had troubles with self-esteem and identity in general. you had to work hard and finally understand who you were to fulfill your past life purpose. hence, this lifetime your focus will be on the bonds you create with others. even though at first you might feel almost scared to the idea of marriage, especially having mars in the 7th house, this lifetime you're here to develop this matter. after all, you may despise love for your troubled past. with your north node in the 7th house, you're naturally lucky in love. there's nothing to be afraid of, you only need to take small steps and open your heart to someone, putting your worries and insecurities aside.

🤔 major transits analysis / october 10th

transit venus is going to be conjunct your natal moon very soon. you could be feeling very affectionate lately, you may be craving a relationship and peace in your day-to-day life. with transit mercury in your 12th house, you may also feel a bit tired and / or stressed, you probably prefer spending time by yourself daydreaming instead of going out and socializing lately. also, the north node is about to enter your 8th house; you may come across unexpected or sudden issues regarding financial matters, but that will help you understand how to deal with and earn more money. it could be painful and stressful at first, but it'll just make you improve.

🧿 manifest what you want, secret skills

your secret skills revolve around finances and just security in general. with a positive attitude, you may attract material luck: money, clothes, houses… everything that you desire. since you’re a logical person, I assume the most efficient way for you to manifest through the LOA is writing! take a notebook and just write down positive affirmations, such as 'I have the car of my dreams’ etc. you may also write them on post-its and glue them around your house, so that you can accelerate the progress. you can also try to idealize your wish before trying to manifest it. for example, if you want a new sweatshirt, try to imagine yourself wearing it. you could also go into a shop and actually try that sweatshirt it on; being in contact with it will boost the law of attraction even more.

this is the end! thank you again for booking a reading, hope it resonated :)

#astrology #birth chart #birth chart reading #astro notes

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hourglasscinnarose · 5 years

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CLOWNS

Circus Clowns 1.) White Face What people normally think of when they hear the word "clown". White Face make up with Red/Black make-up over it. They're the ones that wear the ruffles and sometimes they wear a pointy hat. These guys are the "top banana", meaning that with other clowns, they're basically the main clown.

2.) Auguste/Red Clown They usually accompany White Face Clowns. These clowns are the ones who get stuff done to them [Pie in the face, squirted with water, sit in paint, ect.] These clowns start their make up with either red or flesh tones, then they go into outlining their eyes, mouths, and noses in Reds and Blacks. Their eyes and mouths are encircled with white beforehand. These clowns have the large plaids, long neck ties, big shoes, colorful polka dots and strips, and the big wigs.

3.) Character Character Clowns are clowns with a distinct character attached to them, like a firefighter, policemen, baker, ect. Their makeup is usually a slant on the human face, kind of like the Red Clown, though Character clowns may end up leaning more to White Clowns, themselves.

4.) Harlequin Though they used to be paired up with the Pierrot, they've been more so paired up with White Faced Clowns recently. [Hence why I'm putting them here instead of in the Pantomime section.] Harlequin Clowns are kind hearted, light hearted, nimble, and astute servants. [They usually end up pursing a love interest of some kind and are usually seen as more clever than the upper-people.] They sometimes are only there to make sure the plot flows rather than to make the plot, themselves. They usually wear colorful diamonds, squares, triangles, and, on occasion, things like stars and moons. Instead of makeup, they more so wear masks, though it's not unheard of seeing one with makeup rather than a mask.

Pantomime 1.) Mime Mimes act out stories without using their voice. Sometimes their stories are funny, other times they are very serious. They usually wear black tights and white face makeup, but contemporary mimes sometimes do not wear make up, just as they sometimes make small noises [like grunt] rather than staying completely silent. There's an entire other sub-genera centered around dance, but I don't believe they really "count" as being Mimes or even clowns.

2.) Pierrot A Pierrot is a sort of Sad Clown. These clowns only have white face with no other makeup, with loose shirt and wide buttons and big pants. Sometimes they'll wear a skull cap. Like Mimes, Pierrots tell stories, though they're often the butt of the jokes in comedies. Pierrots are sympathetic characters and are usually something the crowed can relate to.

Tramp Vs. Hobo [Though technically a type of character clown, they deserve their own spot.] 1.) Sad Tramp Tramps are clowns that are down on their luck. Things never seem to go well for them and they usually appear tattered and sometimes dirty, something against the rules of being a clown. [Other things include smoking as a clown, drinking as a clown, and cussing as a clown. Clowns are suppose to be clean and innocent.]

2.) Happy Hobo Hobos are in the exact same situation that Tramps are in, down on their luck, except they are much more optimistic about their situation. Their outfits will be almost identical to the Tramp Clowns: tattered, however their clothes will never really be dirty.

Other 1.) Rodeo Rodeo Clowns are clowns that work in bullfighting. It use to be [and in some, it still is this way, but] that protecting and comic relief were one in the same, but now a days, you'll usually find two Rodeo Clowns in the ring: one to protect the bullfighter if they are thrown off of if they get off the bull, and one to entertain the audience. These clowns put themselves in harms way quiet often to save the riders. They wear bright and lose cloths that is made to be easily torn away with protective gear underneath. They're usually speedy and agile. They also need to be able to read a bull's movement. [As a side note, most don't wear clown make up anymore, but some will.]

2.) Jester Jesters can do a variety of things and are usually personally hired for a family rather than act on stage or on the street. They can do anything, from story telling to juggling to physical comedy. But they're also very political, making political jokes and sometimes even acting on political movements. Some Jesters are used as icons in these moments. Jesters wear just about anything, though it's usually something like this:

3.) Pueblo/Sacred Clown These clowns aren't really to be put in a category, since they are literal clown spirits that people worship. They come from the Kachina regions are are practiced by the Pueblo Indians. These clowns are Jesters and Tricksters. There's an entire ritual dedicated to these spirits that happen during spring and winter. In order to be used in comedy, the clown's identity must be kept a secret. Instead of wearing face makeup, these clowns wear full body paint and a headdress. There's another variant called Mudheads, which use pinkish clay and wear cotton bags over their heads.

#Circus Clowns #Clowns #White Face #Red Clown #Auguste #Character Clowns #Harleqiun #Pantomime #Mime #Pierrot #Tramp Clown #Hobo Clown #Rodeo Clown #Jester #Pueblo Clown #Pueblo #Sacred Clown

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animatewarriorcats · 5 years

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Do you have any tips for making animation-friendly designs? My designs are intentionally accurate to real-life cats, and I love them, but I know they would be super tedious to animate, or even use in a comic! How do you make such simple designs that are still so amazing and beautiful?

Well, it just takes practice and iterations I think! Mostly. But I have a few tips that I fall back on frequently I could share so Here’s my quick hot take on making animation designs:

Simplicity is your friend. I had a professor that used a term “simplexity” to describe the balance needed in order to make a character unique and easily recognizable, but also not hell to render out in a full animation. This is going to mean different things for different productions, for example something on the scale of Disney can have a character like John silver with a multi faceted robot arm whereas if we’re trying to do something low budget (*COUGHforfreeCOUGH*) you’re going to want to minimize the headache people have when drawing your character by leaning into the simple side of this term, so that they don’t want to murder you and will still be your friend after the project is over. (more under the cut!)

So what does this mean exactly? You’ll want to keep the line mileage to a minimum. For cats, this means limit the amount of detail and rendering you give the fur in your linework. I’ve seen Artists who break this rule magnificiently (like Raevi goddaMN GIRL) but for a design it is much easier on artists to streamline down to core body shapes and key character Accents in the fur (like tail shapes, cheek floofs ect). This can be pretty diverse, but I’d minimize it as much as possible (if possible down to three accents, more on this later).

For examples, On lionblazes design (line art only at this point) his Character traits are his tail shape, Mane, and Scribbly eyebrows, all aspects that mean more strokes are being taken and work done, but that are easily recognizable between frames, and artists. I also have brought up Dovewing’s design because it’s more complex in it’s line art, but I could simplify it down even more to just her butt shoulder and ear floofs and still recognize her character silhouette. In fact, paring it down even further would strengthen her recognizability.

The amount of strokes you have people draw in cleanup will drastically change the amount of time it takes to render a character. Between Firestar and Bramblepaw in this shot Bramble easily took twice as long to line (or more!) thanks to his beautiful luscious curls.

Next! Principle I use in simplexity is the rule of three. For whatever reason, the number three is your best friend. It’s not as weirdly symmetrical as two or four, and maintains a unique organic-ness to it without getting carried away by five or seven. Now what am I even talking about? Pretty much everything. This is the secret of markings. This is the secret of character accents. This is the secret of color picking. The Rule of three is your best friend.

Take Brambleclaw for example. I gave him three stripes/markings on his face, and three on his side. It feels nice and natural and organic, without being overwhelming. I also gave him three specific fur accents in his line art, his ear tips/eyebrows, Belly floof, and shoulder puff. I used the rule of three in picking his colors, three main pelt colors, and three accent colors (eyes are always gonna be more complex if desired, people love rendering the shit out of eyes) and even so, three colors for the eyes. I used his lightest pelt color in only three places, and his Pink color in only three places, and his darkest color in only three places (eyebrows, Tail tip, and if I had thought to write it down, his paw pads). Even his forehead marking has three parts to it. You do it enough and it becomes really natural and subconscious. Of course, like all rules, you can still break it if you need to, but It has been one of my best friends.

Alright last thing to think about for now, (see what I did there? There are more things, but it helps people remember better to learn Three at a Time), are Shapes. Specifically using Simple identifiable shapes when constructing the body or face of your character. This is going to sound similar to the line mileage point, because they are related, but they are different. This is focusing on the macro details of a silhouette whereas Accents are about Micro details. This point also has the added benefit of helping characters look and feel related to each other if you use it potently!

Let’s take Hawkfrost and Mothwing for example. Specifically their faces. Hawk I designed first, and I wanted him to feel dangerous, and maybe a little twisted. So I decided to integrate a lot of triangles into his design because, a triangle’s shape language reads as dangerous. They’re pointy, and sharp, like teeth claws, and knives. We can’t in good conscious put an especially triangular object next to a baby because it inherently feels dangerous. They’ll poke their eye out with that tall prism. Other shapes have their meanings as well, Rectangles (cubes) are sturdy, and circular objects are the opposite of triangles, they’re the shape of eggs, fluffy pillowy things, and babies. They’re inherently safe, and soft.

Pull back from digression. Look at hawkfrost and his triangles. They have sharp claw like tips, which are emphasized even with a noticeable downward curving to their points. This motif is repeated multiple times, in his cheeks, his ears, his eyes, his chin, his nose. This becomes unifying, and inherently feels dangerous and curved, or twisted.

Now look at moth. She has triangles too, but I deliberately went through the effort to make them rounder, softer, inverting the angles of her eyes to feel sad and not cruel. Yet she remains similar in enough ways that she feels related. Her nose curves in a similar downward manner, her ears retain the out down curve without the dangerous point to them. The fur accents of her cheeks add to the roundness, making her feel softer while sharing hawks cheekwings.

Let’s take another example, Bluestar and Snowfur. They are proof that similarities do not have to be reserved to face shapes alone to give that strong feeling of relatedness. In some ways I think theirs is the strongest sibling bond I’ve read in the books, and that obviously translated to how I designed them haha! The idea behind their design was ‘curvy sturdy’ which is reflected in their circular based hourglass figures emphasizing Bluestar’s ‘broad shoulders’. I tried to make their heads more of a squashed circular shape, to give it more sturdy strength while feeling soft and maternal. Her ears are very rounded at the tips, and the particular downward turn is easy to identify and reflect in both cats. Lastly, their square “pants” because let’s be honest, both these she cats wore the pants in their families. There are also enough differences that in pure silhouette you would still be able to tell Snowfurs bushy tail apart from Bluestar’s thinning fur, and snows’ cheekfluffs from blues wide round jaws.

Of course I am not perfect at all of these elements, and there are even more things I could say that make designs unique and easily animatable while also identifiable. If you are looking for more or different suggestions, I liked Tenielle Flowers’ Video she released on the subject: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lO-kNlyHn8A .

And good luck!

#shadedfantasy #Tips n tricks #Tutorials #art advice #advice

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awkwardpenguinproductions · 4 years

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sorry if you've had this one before, but what do your yuyan archers actually look like? aside from the obvious. i need basic descriptions for them for... reasons.

Oooh, I like reasons!

To be perfectly honest, I haven’t really thought about individual descriptions. I found this picture

at the Lost Lore of Avatar Aang Tumblr, and I’ve been mostly going off of that, since I head canon that the Yuyan are a distinct ethnic group that all have pretty similar features. I also can’t really draw worth a damn, and haven’t yet found a really good online character creator that I like, so I haven’t really focused on what my characters look like. However, since you asked…

Kai: Kai is eighteen, and recently had a growth spurt, so he’s just brushed 5′11″ and is a bit on the gangly side. However, he’s been practicing archery for the better part of ten years or so, so he’s got the muscles in his arms and chest to match. He has dark brown eyes, and his hair is also dark brown but can show up slightly reddish in bright sunlight. Like all Yuyan archers, he keeps his eyebrows shaved to make applying his facepaint easier, and his face is slightly more square in the chin area than the dude in the picture is. His default expression is a big shit eating grin.

Mika: Mika is thirty years old, about 5′, and has a classic hourglass body shape. People underestimate her for her size and shape, but she can and will kick ass with her bare hands. Being an archer, she also has the archer arms, shoulders, and chest, which just makes idiots who underestimate her underestimate her MORE. She’s got the Yuyan coloring, although her hair is a much darker brown, almost a warm black. Her eyebrows are shaved, and her face is more heart-shaped. Her default expression is a small but warm smile, like a mom watching her kids being adorable idiots.

Toshiaki: Toshiaki is thirty three years old, 5′10″, and built like Matt Fraction’s Clint Barton. He’s very square and blocky, and very muscled. His hair is cool dark brown, with streaks of premature gray, and his eyes are a stormy gray, rather like Aang’s. His default expression is very solemn and world-weary.

Jiyoti: Jiyoti is nineteen, 5′2″, and pretty slender and willowy. She hasn’t been practicing archery as long as Kai and Mika, so she doesn’t have the same musculature. She’s more of a runner, with a runner’s build. Her hair is a slightly lighter, cool brown, and her eyes are silver gray, in a narrow face with a pointy chin. Her default expression is a shy smile.

Hiroki: Hiroki is twenty six, 6′, and looks like a Yuyan version of Chris Evans’ Captain America in terms of body type. His hair is warm black, and eyes are chocolate brown. His default expression is one of warm, friendly confidence.

Atsuko: Atsuko is forty two, 5′7, and pretty lean and trim, with an inverted triangle body shape (shoulders wider than hips). Her skin tone is a shade or two darker than Zuko’s, and her hair is steel gray (it used to be a dark chestnut brown, but Atsuko went gray pretty early in life due to her career as a front-line medic). Her narrow eyes are a light bronze, and her face is pointy and severe, with sharply defined cheekbones and thin eyebrows. Her default expression is a tired scowl, and she keeps her hair in a simple, neat topknot with as few loose pieces and flyaways as possible (medical professional, after all). Atsuko is not Yuyan, she’s actually from the Fire Nation Capital Island, although not from the Palace city of Caldera.

Master Ryoichi: Ryoichi is forty five, 5′8″, and whipcord lean and fit. His skin tone is light tan, and his hair is a shiny pure black with silver streaking from the temples. He wears his hair in a half-up style with a topknot, and the length trails down just past his shoulders. He’s got a short, neat beard, the same black as his hair. His eyes are a warm brown, set deep in a weathered face with thick black eyebrows. His default expression is a focused frown.

Zheng: Zheng is twenty, 5′6″, and a bit on the scrawny side. He’s got a long, narrow face, small, dark brown eyes, and his face is in a constant sneer. His hair is dark brown.

Hope that helps!

#ask awkpen #ask me stuff #ask meee #dragon of the yuyan #my continually growing list of ocs #chihese squad and friends #character descriptions

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shatteredglassanimated · 4 years

Text

Shattered Glass Animated Season 1 Episode 6 - Blast From The Past

Overlord Sumdac is preparing a new kind of battle-drone to take out the Resistance and with his new unholy alliance, the threat is getting greater. Meanwhile, Blitzwing tries to teach Lugnut to be more amicable.

“Aw, come on!” Penny pouted up at Lugnut, hands propped on her hips. Miles was cowering at his usual place behind her. He threw nervous glances up at the Decepticon. Unlike his human companion, he was well aware of Lugnut’s annoyance.

“I am busy, human,” Lugnut snapped. “Find someone else for your rituals.”

Penny threw her arms up in frustration. “Who? All of you are always busy talking to Aaron or Cyrus lately! It’s boring.”

Lugnut turned away from the platform he’d put his damaged arm on to give Penny a one-optic glare. “Hard as it may be to believe, we all have more important things to do than participate in meaningless activities for your enjoyment! If that is a problem to you, I suggest you find a way to make yourself actually useful and leave me be.”

Penny stared at him for a moment. Then her eyes started watering. She sniffled, turned on her heels and ran out of the room, Miles hot on her tail. She passed Blitzwing on her way out. The Triplechanger looked after her with a worried expression.

“Did something happen?” he asked.

Lugnut shrugged. “Organics. Always leaking over every little thing.”

Blitzwing frowned. “What did you say?”

“Evidently something she didn’t like,” Lugnut grumbled, turning back to his arm on the table.

Blitzwing ex-vented and leaned against the door-frame, crossing his arms. “Lugnut, would it really put you off-line to be a bit more friendly?”

Lugnut huffed.

“I am just saying, it might be hard to get the rest of the humans to like us if you keep being so hostile.”

“I do not need to be liked,” Lugnut snapped.”What use is bonding with them in any case? We’ll be leaving this planet eventually.”

“But we still don’t know when that’ll be,” Blitzwing retorted. “Megatron, Blackarachnia and Professor Black are still working to establish a way for us to communicate with New Kaon. We need what help we can get.”

Lugnut said nothing, though his movements grew a tad more aggressive. Blitzwing walked over, picked up the bigger mech’s arm, ignoring his protests and firmly put it back in Lugnut’s empty socket.

Lugnut stared at him for a bit, then moved the arm around. It stuck.

“..Fine. What would you have me do?”

Blitzwing smirked. His faceplate switched over to Hothead, who gave a bellowing laugh. “Oh, you will hate this next part!”

---------------------------------------

“I’m failing to see how this relates to my new body,” Optimus Prime said drily, his single intact optic narrowing.

Sumdac chuckled, tightening another screw on the gigantic, metal structure before him. “Oh, quite a lot my decapitated friend. What I am constructing here, is a new form of battle-bot. Once it’s finished, it will give us the edge we need to overpower the resistance and your metallic “friends” aiding them.” He took a few steps backwards to admire his work. Three gigantic metal bodies stood against one wall of his laboratory.

Optimus narrowed his optics at the things. To him, these creatures looked laughably boorish.

The one in the middle was the biggest, with a square body, ending in a long tail, two powerful hind legs and, as if to offset them, two very small arms with three claws on each one. It’s head was almost as big as it’s body with jaws the size of a scrap press. The one to the right was smaller, with more equal proportions and stood on all fours. It’s head was framed by a shield-like plate. It had two horns on it’s forehead and one were it’s nose should have been. The one to the left seemed tiny compared to it’s companions. It was barely two heads taller than Bumblebee, with two long winged arms and a narrow head that seemed like it had been pulled apart on both sides, forming a pointy beak and a crest. It stood upright on two spindly legs with sharp talons on it’s pedes.

“Stunned speechless, I see,” Sumdac said, grinning. “Not that I would fault you for that. These new models were made to resemble creatures from our earths’ Jurassic era. Roughly two hundred million years old.”

“That’s hardly impressive,” Optimus replied bluntly. “Cybertronians have existed for ten billion years.”

Sumdac’s face grew red and he took a deep breath. It was at times like these that the concept of just pulling the plugs connecting the head to his building’s systems grew ever more tantalizing.

“In any case,” he continued through gritted teeth, “These dinosaurs, as we call them, especially the three I modeled these drones after, were apex predators and fighting machines. If properly motivated. Luckily, all the motivation my creations require, is the push of a button. And once they defeat and capture the Decepticons, I will have all the blueprints I need to construct you the body you so desire.”

With a self-assured smirk, Sumdac stepped up to a control panel positioned in front of the drones and pressed down a few buttons.

The drones’ eyes lit up red. They started to twitch, moving their limbs. Then the drone in the middle let loose a roar that echoed off the walls of the lab. Sumdac’s grin grew downright manic as he watched his creations come to life.

Then the drone on the left flapped it’s wings a few times and rose into the air. Sumdac’s grin vanished.

“Not in here you imbecile,” he shouted, waving his arms. “This room is nowhere near big enough to-”

The drone, in it’s eagerness, shot up and crashed right into the ceiling. It’s head got stuck in the countless cables in the air. It flapped, screeching furiously. Finally, it’s thin neck snapped under the unevenly distributed weight. The screeches subsided. It’s body crashed into the drone in the middle, taking one of it’s small arms off. The middle drone roared again, stumbling to the side.

It stumbled over the right-most drone and buried it beneath itself, completely crushing it’s body in a mess of bent metal and sparks. Smoke filled the laboratory. Right on cue, the sprinklers set in, immediately extinguishing the small flames coming from the mangled bodies.

Sumdac quietly stood there and watched the mess, fists clenched so tightly they shook.

“Evidently there was a reason they died out so soon,” he heard Optimus snark behind him.

---------------------------------

“Alright,” Blitzwing announced, hands propped up on his hips. “Before you start being friendlier to humans, I believe we should practice with you being more friendly to fellow Cybertronians!”

“I’d just like to remind everyone that I have things to do,” Blackarachnia spoke up, arms crossed and a scowl on her faceplate.

She, Blitzwing and Lugnut were standing in one of the mine’s empty tunnels. Blackarachnia and Lugnut were standing across from each other, with Blitzwing positioned in the middle.

Lugnut’s optic narrowed and he opened his intake, but Blitzwing quickly stepped in front of him. “Which is why Lugnut is very grateful you took the time to help us anyway.” He elbowed the bigger mech slightly. “Right?”

Lugnut rolled his optic, but relented. “Yes, my gratitude knows no bounds.”

“Well that didn’t sound very nice,” Blackarachnia said, giving a mocking pout.

Lugnut’s optic narrowed again, but Blitzwing shot him a warning look and he ex-vented, shoulders drooping. “Thank you, I suppose.”

Blackarachnia shrugged. “Eh, it’s a start.”

“Alright, let us begin,” Blitzwing said quickly, clapping his hands together. “We’ll start with something simple. Lugnut, imagine Blackarachnia had done something to irritate you. Something like, taking the last energon cube. What would you do?”

Lugnut gave a long vent. “Blackarachnia, I wanted to take that cube. That was quite rude of you.”

“Didn’t see your name one it, big guy,” Blackarachnia smirked.

Lugnut’s optic narrowed. “Why you-!”

“Lugnut,” Blitzwing said warningly.

“I... suppose there is some truth to that,” Lugnut said through gritted denta. “Still, I really wanted that cube. You know I am a flight frame. I need more energon than you.”

Blackarachnia put a hand to her chin as if in thought. “Hmm, you’ve got a point there.” She let her servo drop to the side and grinned. “But then again, you could stand to lose a few megatons. Maybe you would actually hit something, if you were lighter.”

Lugnut lunged at her before Blitzwing could stop him. Blackarachnia jumped out of the way with ease, grin never leaving her faceplate. Lugnut crashed against the wall. The impact knocked several rock loose. The three of them managed to vacate the tunnel just in time before it came down.

They were still busy padding off dust from their frames and peeling smaller rocks out of their systems when Megatron, Starscream and Professor Black came running around the corner, the two Decepticons with their weapons raised and the mutant with one acid-dripping arm out of the sleeve of the special suit he’d taken to wearing.

“We heard an explosion! Is everything alright?” Megatron asked.

“Yeah, we’re good. That was just Lugnut trying to be nice,” Blackarachnia answered drily, flicking a pebble off her shoulder plate.

-------------------------------

Optimus let his optic wander over the destroyed bodies of the drones, deep in thought. For all his taunting, he had to admit the drones were commendable for what they were. Though he wouldn’t be caught off-line admitting that to Sumdac.

The human had stomped out in a huff after his inventions had chosen to destroy each other instead of their shared enemies. Which had given Optimus ample time to study what remained of their body and circuitry. Like everything else on this planet, they were far too primitive as constructions to serve as potential new bodies for him.

But they were formidable enough to serve as his arms, metaphorically speaking. All they needed was a steady servo to guide them. Also metaphorically speaking, given his current situation.

Optimus let parts of his consciousness seep into the laboratories’ computers and machinery. It didn’t take long to reassemble the bodies and implant a signal beacon. They would be at his beck and call at a thought now.

When Sumdac re-entered the room, he found his drones fully repaired and operational.

“Spare me the thanks,” Optimus said, feeling a smug satisfaction at the sight of Sumdac’s disbelieving expression. “I suggest you have these things brought to the city. I’m sure our heroic friends would just love to meet them.”

------------------------------------------------

Blitzwing looked out over the water from the spot on the beach he was standing on. He had to admit, the way this planet’s sun reflected off the gleaming surface made for a very calming sight. Almost peaceful. Neither the Cybertronian colony he had been forged on nor New Kaon had a sun as bright as earth’s.

The sound of Lugnut barrelling through through the thick foliage behind him tore him out of his thoughts.

“Oh don’t complain,” Blitzwing said, as Lugnut opened his intake. “I told you to land on the beach. This island will be the ideal place to train you. No humans to watch us and nothing else you could break or cause the collapse of.”

“I suppose,” Lugnut huffed, bending a small tree out of the way.

“Since practicing doesn’t seem to agree with you, I guess we’ll just.. talk about this.” Blitzwing scratched the back of his helmet nervously. He had to admit, this hadn’t been going how he’d planned it out to. “Let’s star with, um... why do you feel you have to be so harsh to the humans?”

“I am not being harsh, I am being straight-forward,” Lugnut said, crossing his arms. “Would you want me to tell them sweet lies and deceive them, like an Autobot?”

“No, of course not! But Lugnut, there is a middle ground between lying and being polite.” Blitzwing ex-vented. “Humans have feelings and thoughts just like we do. And perhaps you should consider that the next time you speak to them. A little empathy can go a long way.”

Lugnut went quiet for a short time. His optic expanded a little. “Blitzwing-”

“Lugnut, Blitzwing, come in!” Both Decepticons flinched slightly at the sound of Megatrons voice in their comms. They both reached up to their aduials.

“Where are you?” Megatron asked.

“At an island not far from the city,” Blitzwing responded.

“What? What for?”

“That is.. a bit hard to explain,” Blitzwing said, fiddling with his insignia and hoping the embarrassment didn’t seep into his vocalizer. He had completely neglected to tell anyone but Blackarachnia about his and Lugnut’s little trip.

“In any case, we need you back here and fast! It seems Sumdac’s machines are attacking the city!”

“Understood,” Blitzwing replied. “We’ll be there immediately.”

Him and Lugnut nodded to each other, then transformed and took off.

-----------------------------------

Downtown was chaos. Civilians were running through the streets in a panic, screaming and crying. Three humongous drones were rampaging through the streets, overturning vehicles and trampling everything in their way.

The drone who resembled a Tyrannousaurus, turned it’s head back and forth, as if looking for something, even sniffing the air a few times. It completely ignored the panicked young woman trying to dodge it’s claws. Before it could squash her, a laser-blast collided with it’s chest throwing it back.

Megatron lowered his arm cannon and turned to Blitzwing and Lugnut, who had just touched down a few feet away, already turned back into robot-mode.

“Blitzwing, Lugnut, evacuate the humans! The rest, help me contain these drones!”

The other Decepticons nodded. Blitzwing and Lugnut split up, each leading a group of humans away from the fight. Lugnut suppressed an annoyed growl. It was like these organics didn’t want to be saved! Every few steps they would stop to turn back and gape at the fight. Some managed to stumble over their own feet so often, Lugnut wondered if they perhaps hadn’t been assembled right at forging.

“Will you move, humans?” he finally snapped, when one of them once again threw a hasty look over their shoulder instead of running. They stared at him, eyes big and fearful. Lugnut flinched a little, remembering Blitzwing’s words.

“Now look,...The situation might be less than ideal, but, um...” He was no good at this. And now what little movement he had managed to bring into this group seemed to have stopped entirely.

He heard a noise behind him and extended his right arm just in time to catch a van that had been sent flying by the fight.

“Lugnut, what are you doing?” he heard Megatron shout behind him. “Get those humans away from here!”

“Do you think I haven’t tried?” Lugnut snapped back, turning around with a narrowed optic.

His anger lowered his spacial awareness. The servo currently clutching the damaged van collided with the wall of a nearby building. A part of the wall broke in, with a couple pf brick raining down on the streets and the still terrified humans. The sight of several heavy objects seemed to kick them into gear at least.

The humans started screaming in fear again and ran into the alleyways and side-streets. Lugnut stared after them, feeling somewhat guilty. He hadn’t meant to frighten them or put them in danger. At the very least they weren’t in harms way anymore. He turned to go back to the fight.

Megatron was busy engaging the drone with the enormous jaw, holding it back with his swords. Blackarachnia and Blitzwing were trying to subdue the other two, together with the humans. Starscream was currently chasing the sole flying drone through the air, trying to shoot it down with his pulse canons. being a seeker, Starscream was a fast flyer, but the drone was small and very agile, dodging his shots at every turn.

When the drone bearing three horns on it’s head tried to snap it’s jaws around Blitzwing’s servo, Lugnut punted it in the stomach, sending it flying into it’s companion and away from the Decepticons and the humans.

“What are those things?” Blackarachnia asked, looking down on Cyrus and Amicable Archer. “I thought you said this planet didn’t have any Cybertronian life-forms except for us.”

“It does not,” Archer responded, setting in an explosive arrow. “‘Tis another ploy of Overlord Sumdac! He built these vile beasts in the image of animals long perished.”

“Just without the skin,” Cyrus shrugged. “We call ‘em dinosaurs.”

“And what weaknesses do these ‘dinosaurs’ have?” Megatron asked, readying his sword at the sight of the two drones slowly picking themselves back up.

“Err, I dunno. They died out, like, billions of years ago,” Cyrus replied, assuming a battle-ready stance.

“Then we shouldeth repeat that process,” Archer grinned, letting his arrow loose.

The explosive hit the three-horn in the head, but did little but make it stumble. Starscream touched down beside the group, frowning.

“I hate to admit it, but this thing is too small for me to hit. You’d think fighting Autobots for stellar cycles would have prepared me for that.”

“And those other two seem particularly stubborn, for all that they have no combat skills, “ Blitzwing added, rubbing a new dent on his side. “We should-”

The tyrannosaurus charged without warning, aiming right for Megatron. Megatron pulled his sword up just in time to block the drones jaws. The drone let out a furious roar, before clamping down on the blade, tearing it out of it’s owner grip and tossing it across the street. Before Megatron could react, the drone buried it’s jaw into his now weaponless servo, biting hard enough to make the plating crack and draw energon.

“Get away from him!” Starscream shouted. A bright light flashed from his eyes and the next second, his intake shifted. A sound-projector-like device assembled itself inside of it and shot a mixture of a strong acoustic wave and proton blast right at the drone.

The drone screamed as the blast hit it, letting go of Megatron. The blast threw it backwards, right into the three-horned drone who had just started to get up again.

Starscream’s intake transformed back to normal. The Decepticons and humans stared at him in shock. Starscream himself seemed just as shaken. He brought a hand up to his now regular intake, as if to make sure it was still there.

“Wow. Guess I know why they call you Starscream now,” Cyrus joked, crossing his arms.

“Starscream” Blitzwing said, “I’ve known you for stellar cycles and this is the first time I’ve seen you use this power. How did you do that?”

“I..I don’t know,” Starscream admitted. “I suppose I was just really angry and then... this. But, that never happened when I fought before!”

“In any case, it is a useful power to have,” Megatron said, laying a hand on Starscream’s shoulder-plate and giving him a smile. “I would have been short of a servo if not for you.”

“Ha, yes,” Starscream chuckled, face-plate flushing a little. “Though we were pretty lucky I made the thing let go before blasting it into a wall.”

Megatron looked thoughtful for a moment. “Do you think you could do it again? At will?”

Starscream hesitated for a second. “I think so.”

Megatron smirked. “Then I believe we just found a way to deal with these ‘dinosaurs’.” He turned to the others. “Round up the drones in one place. Make them as easy a target as possible. Starscream, do you think you could do the same with the flyer?”

Starscream grinned. “I said I can’t hit it. I didn’t say I couldn’t scare it.”

With that, the Decepticons and the humans took off.

Lugnut lowered his arm to allow Blckarachnia to download. When she was finished, the two of them with additional help from Cyrus, surrounded the three-horned drone. It lashed out for Cyrus, only to be kicked aside by Blackarachnia. When it tried to lunge at her, Lugnut and Cyrus tackled it towards the middle of the street.

The drones with the large jaws tried it’s luck with Blitzwing, only to slip on a pool of ice suddenly appearing under it’s feet. It screeched and dug it’s claws in, trying to anchor itself. A blast of energy hit it in the side and propelled it towards the same spot the three-horned drone was currently busy fighting off Blackarachnia, Lugnut and Cyrus.

The flying drone was back to dodging Starscream’s proton-blasts, though it’s movements were a fair deal more frantic now. When a shot grazed it’s right wing, it let out an ear-shattering screech and dropped down onto it’s two companions.

“They’re all together! Now, Starscream!” Megatron shouted.

Starscream opened his intake. There was no light this time, but the sonic canon appeared anyway, firing a blat that seemed even stronger, now that it’s owner knew what he was doing.

The drones screeched, trying to cover their non-existent ears. Sparks jumped over their frames and they collapsed on top of each other, motionless.

“Sumdac’s really upping his game,” Cyrus commented, walking over to the drones to get a closer look. “That’s the first time he tried Dinobots.”

Blackarachnia raised an eye-ridge. “‘Dinobots’?”

Cyrus blushed a little. “We gotta call ‘em something, don’t we?”

“In any case,” Megatron said, re-sheathing his swords. “We should retreat back to the mines fro now. These things don’t pose a threat anymore.”

“Shouldeth we not take them with us?” Archer asked. “They seemeth to resemble your kind a great deal.”

“Not exactly,” Blitzwing said, picking up his human friend. “They have a semblance of a spark in them, but... they don’t have free will like we do.” He hesitated for a second. “I think.”

“Decepticons, transform and rise up!” Megatron commanded.

The group transformed into vehicle mode and took off towards the woods. Blitzwing couldn’t help but throw a glance back at the seemingly lifeless bodies of the Dinobots before following.

-------------------------------------------

Optimus scowled at the pathetic scorching husks that had once been his attack drones. When the one wit the large jaw had sunk it’s teeth into Megatron he had almost been able to taste victory. But then came that annoying second-in.command and his sonic pulse.

Through their link, Optmius had felt it when it hit the drones. It had been... unusual. There was something else behind the sonic waves, an energy comparable to a spark. But as his connection with the drones had been severed shortly after, he hadn’t been able to analyze it further.

Sumdac had raged and huffed and thrown tools around and in the end he had retreated to his private quarters, not even bothering to look at the re-captured drones. For once, Optmius couldn’t fault him for his behavior. If he’d had a body, he would have done the same.

The drones had been the closest he’d come to being mobile again in solar cycles. Now they wouldn’t even twitch at his signal.

“If even the greatest mind of this planet can only produce you,” he told their still bodies, “Then my chances of ever getting my body back are grim. Locked in this lab-”

“’Grimlock’? I do say, ‘Grimlock’... It’s quite a nice name.”

Optimus’ optic widened. The drone with the large jaw had talked. And now it moved. Slowly, carefully, like a proto-form making it’s first steps, the drone pushed itself back onto it’s legs and turned it’s head from side to side, as if seeing the room for the first time. It’s two companions followed suit.

“Looks like the Decepticons didn’t destroy you after all,” Optimus said slowly. “So what did they do?” His optic lit up for a split-second, then dimmed again. “You don’t respond to my Cybertronian commands anymore either. But you still function. As if you had sparks.”

The big-jawed drone, tilted it’s head from side to side. “Yes, that’ll do nicely. I am Grimlock,” it muttered, as if it hadn’t heard.

Optimus fought down a surge of annoyance at the thing ignoring him. “Well, Grimlock, my name is Optimus Prime. And I am your leader.”

Grimlock turned to look at Optmius, his own, small, blue optics narrowing just the slightest bit. “Beg your pardon my good Sir, but I am quite certain that I, Grimlock, am the leader of our trio. Though I admit I do not know much else...”

“Obey me!” Optimus snapped, optic lighting up again.

To his anger, the drones once again did not respond. But one of the many screens on the wall switched on, rattling off a documentary.

“-and so the remnants of the dinosaurs, known as fossils, serve as fuel for today’s cars, trucks and air transports. Furthermore-”

“Not you!” Optimus groaned.

He prepared to retract from the system to shut the voice down. But then he noticed the drones. All of them seemed focused on the screen now. Grimlock’s expression, what little of it could be read, seemed apprehensive now, almost disturbed.

“How barbaric!” he exclaimed, the other two drones squawking in agreement. “So these... ‘cars’, ‘trucks’ and ‘air transports’ consume our kind?”

If Optimus still had an intake, he would have grinned. “They do! Airs transports especially consume a lot of fuel. They feed off your fossils and at the rate they’re currently going, you’ll be extinct in no time. Your only chance of surviving is to destroy them.”

Grimlock’s optics narrowed. “It would appear so.”

“And do you want to know what’s worse than air transports?” Optimus asked amiably. “Air transports that transform into robots!”

He pulled up the security camera feed, showing the Decepticons in battle. The Dinobots seemed to believe him.

“It makes you angry, doesn’t it?” Optimus asked. “Use that anger. Let it out!”

Grimlock and the other two drones roared and opened their jaws. Three streams of fire surged through the air, consuming the screen on the wall until their was nothing left but melted metal.

“My word!” Grimlock said, examining the said remains of the monitor. “Were we always capable of such destruction?”

“Yes,” Optimus lied. “I built you like this. And if you manage to destroy the air transport robots, I’ll built and entire army of drones just like you. What do you say to that?”

Grimlock drew himself up to full height, snorting out a small fire ball. “I say, to battle, fellow Dinobots!”

--------------------------------------------

The gate to the Terrordome opened. A procession of huge vehicles exited the building, driving towards downtown. The few civilians that had come back to garner what was left of their belongings saw the ironclad trucks and quickly retreated.

The trucks stopped side by side in the middle of the streets. The police drones that had accompanied them stood aside. The trucks transporters opened.

The Dinobots stepped outside, looking around curiously, as if they hadn’t been there only hours ago. Captain Fanzone exited one of the driver’s cab and looked up at his cargo with a wide grin.

“Well fellas,” he said. “Knock yourselves out! Just give us a call once your done!”

He re-entered the vehicle and gave the driver the sign to drive off. As the trucks rolled back towards the Terrordome, Fanzone heard a roar behind him. When he turned, he saw the Dinobot he had been told was named Grimlock pick up one of the parked cars and sever it in half with a single bite.

Fanzone chuckled as he settled, shaking his head. “This is why I love machines.”

------------------------------------------------

“Don’t these things ever learn?” Lugnut asked, irritated, as the Decepticons once again made their way through the sky and towards downtown.

Below them the Dinobots were on a rampage, tearing up streets and throwing cars around.

“No longer shall we, the Dinobots, be food!” screamed the one with the large jaws.

“Apparently they learned how to talk,” Blitzwing said nervously.

In that moment, the flying drone opened it’s beak and released a stream f fire into a nearby car underneath it.

“As well as a few other tricks,” Megatron commented.

“Well, what’re we waiting for?” Cyrus spoke up from withing Lugnut’s cockpit. “Let’s give ‘em the old sonic shout and send ‘em back to the stone age!”

“Wait!” Lugnut called. “Perhaps we should lure them away from this area first. I’ve seen a few humans who have not yet evacuated when we flew over these buildings.”

“That... is a very good idea, Lugnut,” Megatron answered, sounding surprised.

Lugnut huffed, hoping his vocalizer wouldn’t give away his embarrassment. “I simply think the humans would be very grateful if their housing units stayed intact this time. And it will be easier for us to fight without them getting in the way.”

“Aww, no worries big guy,” Blackarachnia cooed mockingly from her sitting spot on Blitzwing. “We won’t get any crazy ideas about you having a spark after all.”

With that Megatron swooped down close to the ground Starscream and Lugnut following after him. Each of them rammed into one of the Dinobots, hard enough to knock them over, but not hard enough to do damage.

All three of the Dinobots let out infuriated roars.

“You wish for a fight?” Grimlock growled. “You shall have it!”

The Dinobots spit fire at their attackers, but the Decepticons had already taken to the air again, easily avoiding their attacks. Letting loose irritated snarls, the Dinobots followed suit. The Decepticons led them well outside of town, onto the road.

There, they touched down to the ground and transformed back into robot-mode, weapons out and at the ready.

The Dinobots stopped dead in their tracks, seemingly dumbfounded by this chain of events. Their optics wandered over their opponents, then came to a halt at Blackarachnia.

“Um, wereth they not going to attack?” Archer whispered to Blitzwing, confused.

“They were supposed to,” Blitzwing said.

“And what are they staring at me for?” Blackarachnia asked indignantly. “It’s not like I’m the only organic thing on this planet!”

The Dinobot in the middle perked up at her voice, then shook his head. “Ah, you must forgive me, fair spider-lady. I, Grimlock, seem to have been awestruck by your beauty.”

Blackarachnia blinked. “What?”

The three-horned Dinobot and it’s flying companion made a sound that sounded a lot like gurgling and pressed themselves on the ground.

“But how can this be?” Grimlock asked, seemingly talking more to himself than anyone else. “How can such a lovely creature be accompanying the vile flying transport robots who consume our kind?”

“Er, I’m confused,” Cyrus admitted, scratching his bald head. “Are we gonna fight or what?”

“We might not have to,” Megatron said grimly. he turned to Starscream. Starscream, do you think you could hit all of them at once with that new power of yours?”

“Starscream blinked. “I... yes, I think so but...will that be necessary? They’re fairly peaceful now.”

Megatron shook his head. “We don’t know if it will stay that way. We need to at least put them out of commission for now.”

Starscream hesitated, the nodded. He took a step forward. His intake transformed into the sonic gun. The blast hit the Dinobots with full force. With a pained screech, they stumbled backwards, then collapsed.

“Blitzwing, freeze them,” Megatron called.

Blitzwing lowered his ice cannons and encased the Dinobots in a wide block, big enough to take up most of the road.

“Well that was easier than I thought,” Cyrus commented. He looked up at the frozen Dinobots, frowning. “What do we do with ‘em now?”

“We destroy them,” Megatron said curtly.

Blitzwing flinched and turned towards his leader, optics wide. “Wait, what?”

“Blitzwing, you’ve seen what they can do. What they did. They are dangerous. We can’t allow Sumdac to find and repurpose them again,” Megatron said gravely.

“But...but,” Blitzwing stuttered. “Isn’t that a little extreme? You heard them, someone clearly told them we were some sort of threat! And besides that...” He looked at the Dinobts, optic thoughtful. “I felt like something was different about them this time. They seemed like they were aware. Like... like they had sparks. What if they’re more than simple attack drones?”

Megatron shook his head. “These are far too many ‘what ifs’ than we can afford right now. I would be lying if I said it didn’t irk me a little bit, but it has to be done.”

“I agree,” Lugnut spoke up, stepping forward. “I propose me, Blitzwing and Blackarachnia stay behind to take care of matters. You and Starscream should fly Cyrus and Archer back to our base in the meantime. Just to be safe.”

Megatron gave him a surprised look, then quickly got ahold of himself and nodded. “Thank you, Lugnut. I’ll believe we’ll do just that. Come along, Starscream.”

Starscream nodded, throwing a suspicious glance at Lugnut as he did so. Lugnut didn’t blink. Starscream shrugged, transformed and let Archer enter, before following Megatron, who had done the same with Cyrus, into the air.

Blackarachnia, Blitzwing and Lugnut watched them fly away.

“Now,” Lugnut said, when the two of them were out of sight. “I believe we have work to do.”

-----------------------------------

“Gotta say, big guy,” Blackarachnia commented, looking down the edge of the giant crater into the lush, green valley before her. “I really wasn’t expecting that.”

Donw below her, the Dinobots were roaming around through the grass, sniffing here and ther and letting out a joyful squawk or screech now and again.

“Me neither,” Blitzwing admitted, smiling slightly. “I was sure you would actually destroy the Dinobots, when you proposed it to Megatron.” he turned to look at Lugnut, who was watching the Dinobots as well, expression unreadable. “May I ask what made you change your mind?”

Lugnut huffed, crossing his servos. “I have seen Cybertronians like the Dinobots during the war. Young, naive, still barely protoformed. Easy to manipulate in their youthful zeal. It was obvious they had no idea what it was they were getting into when they fought us.” He lowered his head a little. “Had we destroyed them, Sumdac would have found their remains and rebuilt them eventually. And then they truly would have had a reason to despise and fight us. What good will it do us to make more enemies on this planet than we already have? This island is remote enough to be a good hiding place from Sumdac. Here, they’ll be able to carve their own path, their own identity. Far away from any wars.” He looked up again. “A respected fellow Decepticon once told me ‘A little empathy can go a long way.’ I suppose I decided to heed that advice today.”

Blitzwing’s smile widened a little.

“Welp,” Blackarachnia said, stretching. “Since that’s all wrapped up for now, we should get going. It’s been a long day and I have a comfortable berth back at the mine with my name on it.”

“And I need to find a certain small organic,” Lugnut said quietly. “Whom I owe an apology.”

Lugnut and Blitzwing transformed, Blackarachnia jumped onto Lugnut’s wings and the three of them departed.

Back in the valley, the Dinobots were still wandering around. Grimlock looked around.

“I, Grimlock, must say I quite like this ‘nature’.”

He took another step forward. The humming of machinery inside of him intensified. His claws retracted. His massive jaw pulled in and onto his chest. His small, scrawny arm stumps were pulled into his body to be replaced by two mechanical arms. A helm with a red visor and a riffled intake popped out where his jaw had been pulled down from a second ago.

“But I must say. I like this even more,” Grimlock said, grinning.

He pulled a sword out from his back and watched as it engulfed itself in flames.

#shattered glass animated #sga #episode 6 #transformers animated fan-write

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