#and i wish i had more time on the new telescope before taking it to the big leagues like this but yolo i GUESS

[albeckett]

in less than 24 hours i will be out on a field in the middle of nowhere for the Big Star Party. the weather forecast is looking very good for the next 3 nights, almost shockingly so. wish me luck

[kit-williams]

Sentience Husbandry Black Templars Thoughts plus more about Brother Arnault

ya'll want unhinged ramblings about Black Templars in Sentience?

And plus Black Templars are such an INTENSE chapter I feel the need to go over how they handle bonds as well as talk about Arnault and Roland.

@sleepyfan-blog and I had a small chat about Black Templars and I decided to share some of it.

@egrets-not-regrets @liar-anubiass-blog @barn-anon @bleedingichorhearts @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan

If these sort of deep dives into chapter specific behaviors helps feel free to ask me for another

So I will first of all say it will probably take the Astartes awhile to figure out where they are when they first get here. Given how stars will (from my understanding) will shift in 30 and 40 thousand years respectively.

Sure they will look up into the night sky and see the utterly beautiful sight of the milkyway's arms... they all have probably seen it. But then they get a hold of some maps of the milkyway and when they ask where they are in relation of course the human will be helpful and point to where we are... right. at. holy TERRA.

When more powerful telescopes are made and the Astartes... borrow the facilities they do in fact check the eye of terror (because a lot of them are "oh god who is going to stop the demons from coming out) and they are very surprised it's not there (and wont be for awhile because the Eldar haven't fucked up yet)((HEHEHEHEHE Puns)) so that is how they are able to provide evidence to new arrivals that "yes this is ancient terra"

Every. Single. Astartes. Is. N O R M A L about this. (No no they are not. Know who is SUPER normal about this? Every single Imperial Fist and successor) So when they find out they are on Ancient Terra this is when a large number of resistant loyalist space marines actually accept their bonds and when a LARGE number of Imperial Fists integrate (a small play on the Last Wall Protocol)

However Black Templars do not wish to bond. Black Templars are not human killers but they literally seem to only have two bond types... weak or intense and while some might try to sever a weak bond with killing their human Black Templars are sons of Dorn and have a sacred duty to protect Terra and her people. However, Black Templars see bonds as very warp related (deny the witch and all) and do their best to break bonds.

For brothers with weak bonds this is easy as the "warband" (basically nomadic groups of Astartes are just called a warband though the Black Templars are trying to get their called a crusade) will travel a couple hundred miles away/get the battle brother away. At some point the bond snaps and he feels the minor backlash which is just sweating and some anxiety for a bit but usually its all very calm.

However intense bonds do not break as Arnault and his brothers discovered. But first a bit about Arnault.

Arnault is the Black Templar author from this. Arnault is from M40 and by the time he died he became an Emperor's Champion (as that resulted in the end of his life). Arnault has ice blue eyes and striking white hair. Arnault is a renown duelist amongst his brothers and later brothers know of techniques that he had utilized. He has his sword always by his side even in civilian clothing it is wrapped around his waist with a chain that he can easily wrap it around his arm. Arnault like many other Black Templars rejected the concept of a bond, he had a few weak bonds before his current bond and of course broke them...

Bonds are precious things don't you know...

Arnault got struck by an intense bond and simply walking away wasn't helping... in fact it was killing him. The further away he got the more he deteroriated violent fits of vomiting... tremors... sweating... basically he was being punished for rejecting his bonds. But because his later brothers knew he was destined to become an Emperor's champion they couldn't let him die; which is what the fear was if they didn't bring him back... to what he would call his angel. (Funny enough her name is Angela)

Arnault was not an author before he met his bonded. In fact the only reason he started writing and eventually (under a pseudoname) published his first series called "of the flesh" (there are 4 books Sins, Desires, Healing, and Redemption) ((This is the series written about a human and a CSM)) he started writing to try and process his feelings for Angela. As because he tried to break his bond with her... when he was reunited the bond violently "snapped" or solidified into a very intense bond (also into a carnal bond). Before his first series he wrote a novella and some reason got it published and it was VERY popular.

He felt initially disgusted with himself for writing and sharing his writings. The publishers that he works with are Astartes and one is a Dark Angel so they keep his secret very tightly of who their prized author is. But Arnault eventually would start his "- of the Flesh" series writing it twice basically as one would be for mortal readers (this is the "edited" version) and the other would be for Astartes.

SIDE NOTE on smut written for Astartes. Besides it being written in gothic it is written very differently. There are a lot of scenes that when translated sound completely unappealing... example like describing the mortal in what we would think would be unflattering terms like how their scent is... near medical text descriptors of their skeletal structure... using chemical formulas to describe scents and tastes... it reads very clinical at times. Which I see as being far more... stimulating for them because Space Marines interact with the world very differently... because saying that their mortal's lips had a sweetness akin to C12H22O11 does something to them than simply saying Sugar.

Back to Arnault... eventually when he actually got comfortable enough to admit his feelings for his bonded is when the guilt went away and he started another romance "series" (loosely related novellas) involving a Black Templar and a mortal. Somehow someone found out that the prolific lurid author was a black templar and told the higher ranking Black Templars that it was Arnault.

Arnault and Roland were already social outcasts because they had embraced their bonds. Roland's other sin was that he also had sex with his bonded. Arnault's additional "sin" is that he writes tawdry Slaanshi novellas (which would be a death sentence for any Brother normally) HOWEVER because Arnault hasn't become the Emperor's champion yet and for later Black Templars he still does become the champion they argue that Arnault clearly makes up for his sins if the Emperor still chooses him to be his champion.

So Arnault might have accidentally caused some conflict amongst the several different warbands. (His and Roland's standing is vastly different depending on which warband you ask) And that for the sake of other lower ranked brothers who look up to Arnault's eventual sacrifice for the Emperor to not tarnish that image they have of him they keep it under wraps and simply say because he embraced his bond in an impure way he is a social outcast.

Which is how amongst the majority of the Black Templars Roland and Arnault are simply known for their sins of not being able to break free of the warp bond and also human fucking (serious crimes). Arnault is pissed that someone tried to get him executed and declared a traitor but what he does is a secret between him and the heads of the black templar warbands at this point. (That lovely Dark Angel at the publishing house helped in finding the traitor marine that tried to get Arnault killed and everyone had a great time.) ((except for the traitor))

So what are Black Templars in Intense bonds like? Like most other space marines in intense bonds. Again it doesn't have to be a carnal bond (aka the sex bond) but for black templars they basically love their human in a same way as they love the Emperor of Mankind. (Some say that a Black Templar bond is akin to an intense Word Bearer bond) There is no in between for them it's either a weak bond (which they go about breaking) or an intense bond.

They are doting towards their human but the real change comes from how they are willing to interact with Traitors and Renegade marines if their human is willing to (Oh they are more than happy if their human doesn't like the filthy traitors also!).

[anxresi]

So, it turns out Chloe IS going to return for S6... this hot off the press from her voice actor... (actually from back in Jan, but who's counting?)

...So why, my dears, couldn't I give a damn?

Probably because, as arguably the writers had no idea what to do with her in S4 and S5 other than strip her of all personality, agency & likability, what's the point in her still remaining?

*She's not going to be a hero again, Manbaby Astruc has made this PERFECTLY clear thankyouverymuch. IMHO, she's far more useful as a tool for him to take out his warped misogynist humiliations on, apparently. Why he doesn't just buy himself a blonde mannequin, call it 'Chloe' then beat it with a wooden stick whilst shouting various profanities within the privacy of his own bedroom, IDK. Maybe it's good therapy for him to expose his weird hang-ups in front of a mass audience? Hey, if it works for him... good for you, buddy! I just wish the rest of us didn't have to suffer to aid his treatment.

*As a villain, Chloe's threat level is arguably less than 0%. She is now written to be dumb as a post, no-one trusts or likes her and everything she says and does seems more cartoonishly infantile with every tortuous appearance since S3. The ONLY time she posed any vague threat is during her massively overhyped team-up with Lila where basically she was little more than a pawn to the Mary Sue Of All Lying B*tches... and those two episodes where she took over Paris as Mayor with a bunch of robots were undebately the most stupid ones of S5. Which if you've seen the competition, you KNOW that's some achievement.

*My prediction is: They're gonna rehash the same tiresome schik we saw before she got on that plane at the end of S5... perhaps they'll give us a one episode Hope Spot upon her unexpected arrival back where it looks like she's changed after attending a 'tough school' in New York/London but OH MY WORD WHAT A SURPRISE it turns out to all have been a ruse to become Queen Bee again. YAWN. She'll move straight back into her old room... Andre and Audrey will reconnect... and it'll be like nothing ever happened. In case you hadn't noticed, this show handles plot continuity or character development about as well as Marinette keeps her distance from her crushes.

*'But where does that leave Zoe?' You might ask, to which I can only respond with a succinct 'If you had the Hubble Space Telescope on full power, you still wouldn't be able to locate how little I care about that particular subject.' Maybe she'll carry on as Vesperia. Maybe she'll get a girlfriend. Maybe she'll do something halfway interesting, and give the viewership a heart attack out of sheer shock value alone. It doesn't matter to me one jot... less because I curse the ground this insipid plot device masquerading as a serious character walks on, but simply because I have no faith in the utterly abysmal writing this show has displayed for years and years now. Chloe could take over the lead role in a SHOCKING twist, they could change the name to Miraculous Queen and I STlLL wouldn't give it a second glance. The fish rots from the head-up, guys.

(Okay, so that's a bit of a lie. I would probably sneak a peek at ONE episode out of sheer curiosity, but you and I both know with HIM in charge the standard won't improve one iota. Plus, it isn't gonna happen anyway... so why am I tying myself in knots speculating about an impossible scenario?)

Anyway, I've nattered on for too long. I'll just leave you by answering Selah's somewhat disingenuous last question there about 'your favorite Chloe line of season 5'.

This implies we were watching 'Chloe'. As far as I was concerned, we weren't. Not the Chloe I fangirled for in the very beginning and got me involved in the show in the first place because I could relate so much. Not the Chloe who got so many other fans emotionally invested in her personal and familial struggles, before her character was comprehensively trashed by a ruinous creator with a grudge.

So in answer to your question Ms Victor, none. Because it simply wasn't Chloe.

[pariahsparadise]

starstruck | s. h.

nav. | m.list

requested: nah, i've just been daydreaming about this the whole week so

wc: 0.9k

pairings: steve harrington x gn!henderson!reader

warnings: unedited work, not proofread, swearing, kissing

a/n: this was better in my head. also, i'm literally so in love with steve harrington that it's not even funny. anyways, board exams soon so this is probably the last you'll see of me for a while. OH ALSO, i've literally never learnt astrology before so my information is probably wrong, i got it off wikipedia. so yeah, don't be too picky about that lol

Steve has no idea how he ended up in this position: stargazing at Lover’s Lake, taking in the beautiful sights of the sky while desperately trying (and failing) to keep his eyes off the real beauty next to him, you.

Your brother naps somewhere to the right of you both, his huffs gentle and features relaxed. You had joked that he was only ever tolerable when he was unconscious, and Steve’s immediate agreement had both of you muffling chuckles into your hands, not wanting to wake Dustin up. Although, this had been all his idea.

Dustin had been the one to drag the two of you out here, talking your ears off about this new telescope Suzie had been designing. He had enlisted Steve’s help early on, so you saw Harrington more around the house than usual, something you didn’t know was possible. The two had holed up in his room for weeks on end, trying time and time again to build a functional model, before finally achieving a working, albeit kind of collapsing, telescope. Dustin insisted they try it out that very night- smart, considering it was held precariously in place by various pieces of tape- and invited you along.

Which brings us back to Steve’s current predicament: you. You look unfairly gorgeous right now, he decides, bathed in the light from constellations he couldn’t name. You’re lying on your back on one of the soft blankets you had the foresight to grab on your way out of the house, him next to you. He can feel the heat of your shoulder as it presses into his, feel the softness of your thigh when you shift to get more comfortable, the blanket little protection from the rocky ground underneath you.

“Look!” you exclaim suddenly, and Steve’s eyes jump, following the point of your finger to the sky, squinting at the little lights shining in the distance. 

Taking a glance at Steve’s furrowed eyebrows, you explain further, “It’s the Big Dipper. You know, the asterism in Ursa Major?” 

“Oh yeah, totally,” Steve bluffs, wishing he was even half as smart as you or Dustin are. You mistake his cluelessness as disinterest, biting your lip in nervous regret as you say, “Not a big astrology fan?”

“I guess? I never really understood the point of it, or how to tell which constellation was which. I, uh, actually don’t know any.” Steve offers a little quickly, having noted your slightly crushed expression and wanting to be rid of it as soon as possible.

“Really?” you ask him, raising an eyebrow, eyes darting over his face.

“Yeah. Why’s that so surprising?” Steve asks, cheeks heating as your eyes travel the bridge of his nose.

“Because you’ve got so many right here,” you say, your hand coming up to cup Steve’s face delicately, a soft thumb brushing over his cheekbones.

Steve stops breathing.

You don’t notice his still body, opting to continue. Gently, you dot five freckles on his left cheek, before tracing them in a figure. “That’s Aries,” you whisper to him. You gently poke his nose as you shift your hand to the right side of his face. Steve can’t even count the amount of moles you touch before you’re stringing them together, linking them with the warm trail your finger brands on his skin. “Perseus,” you say simply, unphased, while Steve’s heart practically beats out of his chest at the attention and proximity. 

“Oh! And my favourite,” you say, hand cradling his jaw as you crane it up slightly. You tap three freckles in a sequence before tracing them together, “Orion’s belt.”

“I like how it’s hidden away here,” you say quietly when Steve doesn’t move to speak (he literally can’t though, his throat almost hurts with the words warring against each other.) “You kind of have to look a little harder for that one.”

“You’ve really been studying me, huh?” is all Steve can come up with after a few seconds of tense silence.

You grin at him, “You could say that. You have more on your back, by the way. It’s really cool.”

Steve wonders if knocking the air out of his lungs comes naturally to you, considering how easily you always manage it. The thought of you going out of your way to look at him, to really see him, to see beauty, constellations, where others saw only imperfections and blemishes causes emotion to lodge in his throat. “No one’s ever said anything like that to me before,” He admits to you weakly, “I always thought they were ugly.”

You sit up, indignant, aghast. Steve follows your motion with surprise, sitting up next to you, but still wishing you were closer.

“How can you say that?” you choke out the words, your hands going to Steve’s cheeks to once again smooth over the beautiful markings on his face.

“Steve Harrington,” you say quietly. He finds your eyes, the grave seriousness in them strikingly beautiful to him.

The crickets have stopped chirping, and Dustin no longer snores. Or maybe Steve’s just so focussed on you that he’s blocking all other noises out. Either way, when you next speak, it’s all he hears.

“Your face is made of the stars, Steve,” you tell him honestly, “You contain multitudes of beauty.”

Once again, Steve wholly regrets not being as intelligent as you, as poetic. But when his lips touch yours, unable to hold back any longer, when his hands slide around your waist, fitting into the grooves there that may as well have been built for him, it doesn’t matter anymore. Nothing matters except for you and the stars, the ones you make him see.

[intynidad]

yandere oc

Isaac the customer 

it was a quiet evening that day, the cafe you worked at was in a slow period and you were enjoying yourself listening to music behind the counter.

That's until the bell indicates the appearance of a new customer. you sadly put your headphones away and prepare yourself to go into your Costumer-service mood.

“hi, and welcome to the magnolia cafe. what can I get started for you?”

“ill take my usual, Y/N.”

“oh! sorry, Isaac I didn't notice it was you, so a black coffee with sugar and a cinnamon roll?”

I want you

“yeah, just make sure the cinnamon roll is not you, I don't know if I can handle all that sweetness” 

omg, that was so cringe why did I say that now they'll hate me I'm so stupid i-

“pff you are so silly, give me a minute and ill get back to you!”

of course, Isaac knew that it was a slow time

of fucking course he knew you were all alone in the cafe and it would be the perfect moment to strike up a conversation

he would be a fool if he didn't know, mainly because he has been watching you through the abandoned building a block away with his telescope 

you were just so pretty and so smart and he loves how you smell and how he wishes he could kiss youandholdyouclosebuthellprobablydieifhedoesthatomgtheyhopetheyarenotdroolingbutofcoursetheywoulddrollforyoulikehaveyouseenyourself-

“aac?”

huh?

“you got lost in your thought for a second there, haha”

“oh, umm yeah sorry about that. just a lot of work and I lost myself for a second”  lost thinking about you “what did you just say?”

“I said, here is your order”

“ oh yea thanks, sugar cube” I'm literally so cringe I wanna die

“Anything for my best customer,” you said giving him a small wink

oh how he adores you 

he remembers the first time he meet you. he was cold and shivering. a storm had broken up out of nowhere and he was fucking soaking.

he had taken shelter under the entrance of a small building. but before he could continue to curse his luck. the voice of a literal angel broke his thoughts

“my god! are you ok?”

he looks.

one blink

two blinks

three blinks

“Sir, are you ok?”

four blinks

“Please come inside, you'll freeze if you stay in the rain”

is he dreaming?

and then you take him by the arm and offer him a cup of coffee and a warm cinnamon roll.

is this what they call love at first sight?

a few days later Isaac comes back

and again

and again

and again

and again

and again

he becomes a regular. ordering the same thing you gave him the day your souls crossed paths 

if he wasn't so much of a coward he would ask you out 

—--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The customer

Name: Isaac Barlowe

Age: 26 

Pronouns: He/they

Personality: an emotionless businessman that was bored of life until he meets his darling. life still sucks but not when he is with you 

Backstory: a man that works in the chemistry field. they got stuck into an endless cycle of monotony and boredom that made them uninterested in life and other people in general. That's until he meets you and you give him color to his life. he slowly starts to circle into more obsessive thoughts about you, since you are the only thing that makes him feel alive.

he realizes at some point that what he is doing is not healthy.

he doesn't like to call himself a stalker (he totally is). he is just so enamored with you that he H A S to see every beautiful movement you make. how can you be so breathtaking without trying 

Trivia: 

he actually doesn't like coffee

he is 6’2 ft

he has thought to use his knowledge in chemistry to drug that customer that is way too clingy for his liking. but then he remembers that you might get in trouble if somebody gets sick by eating on your cafe 

he has freckles (a little insecure about them tho)

[genshinemblem564]

Chapter 2: An Unexpected Reunion

Sorry for the delay on posting this, I was trying to research Askr's environment, to no avail, and I was going to start pulling hair out looking for this information, that I'm convinced does not exist after all that, so I just said " Fuck it, I'll make it up!!" but anyways, please enjoy.

TW: trauma response

_______________________________________________

A few moments prior to the events of chapter 1.

The goddess and the traveler were standing on the Jade Chamber in Liyue, while Ningguang was busy she had Ganyu tend to their guests, normally one of the other servants would suffice, but things seemed to be much more important this time.

Ganyu: Your grace, may I inquire as to why you are here?

Goddess: The traveler has informed me of something that may be able to reunite me with my sibling, if it works we will need a good view of Teyvat, the only point higher than this is Celestia and I refuse to go there after what I've heard.

Ganyu: T-Their grace will return? Here?

Goddess: Possibly, we don't know anything for certain.

The goddess then turns her attention towards Aether.

Goddess: Now how does this work again?

Aether: Their grace would often complain about it's randomness, but it always gave them what they asked for, a good weapon, a new vessel, they probably just weren't specific enough.

With that, the goddess holds out her hand, which held an intertwined fates wishing star. She brought the star close to her face before whispering her wish.

Goddess: Please let my sibling live a happy life in Teyvat.

Almost instantly, the star shot into the sky, before a blue star fell, turning purple, then gold, then glowing a pure white before landing in the ocean.

Goddess: What does that mean?

Aether: I don't know. One it's never glowed white before, and two it's never landed in the ocean before. It's always either landed next to a vessel or in front of their graces current vessels in the form of weapons, this is outside my realm of knowledge about these things.

The goddess looked rather worried, but before she could express her concerns, the ocean where the star landed erupted with a blinding light, causing everyone near Teyvat's coast to shield their eyes. When the light dissipated an entire island the size of a second continent had appeared. They couldn't believe their eyes.

Aether: I never knew these things held that kind of power, that's incredible.

Goddess: But, why an island? Where is my sibling?

Ganyu: Perhaps their grace is on the island, the traveler did say their grace complained about the randomness of those things.

Suddenly Ningguang burst out of the Jade Chamber's entrance, giving the others quite a scare.

Ningguang: YOUR GRACE, WHAT HAPPENED? WHAT WAS THAT LIGHT? WHAT....

Goddess: Calm down Ningguang, sit and I'll explain. In the meantime, Ganyu could I ask you to retrieve captain Beidou?

Ganyu: At once.

Later.

Beidou was looking out from the Jade Chamber, almost refusing to believe her eyes, but everyone else sees it to, so she can't stay disbelief for long

Beidou: So, you want me to explore this new island? Haha, you don't even have to ask, my hearts drawn to adventure, I'd have gone there on my own eventually. Their grace potentially being there however, makes this rather urgent, but...

Everyone sat in silence waiting for the captain to finish her sentence when she suddenly pulled out a collapsible telescope and began studying the island.

Beidou: That's quite a large one, it could take a few months for that endeavor, I'll need to gather enough food and water, not to mention maintenance equipment for our gear and my ship.

Ningguang: Leave that to me.

Beidou(surprised): Seriously?

Ningguang: This is a matter concerning their grace, simply say so and the Qixing shall provide what's needed.

Beidou: Alright, you won't here me complaining. Just one more thing, I'm curious why me your grace? You have the entire millelith at your back, and only send one ship, can't help but ask why?

Goddess: It's that Kazuha boy, with his attunement to the wind he'll recognize my sibling the moment you meet them.

Beidou: I see, well I'm off got to get the crew prepped to set sail.

A few weeks later.

You were on your usual patrol with a few heroes and Askr soldiers when you came upon your destination, a small fishing village on Askr's coast. Due to being only a fishing village it's docks and boats are rather small, the boats holding only two or three people. So why is there a massive ship docked next to it?

You immediately move to investigate, but the closer you got the more you felt like you've seen this ship before. Looking at where the ocean met the land you saw two figures that immediately jogged your memory,Beidou, captain of the Crux crew, and Kaedehara Kazuha, wandering samurai who spends most of his time with said captain. Seeing them, some of your trauma from the imposter hunt begins to reemerge.

Cordelia: Is something the matter summoner? Why have we stopped?

(Y/N): I-It's nothing, just zoned out is all.

Cordelia can feel that your lying, but now's not the time or the place for such a conversation so she simply nods as you continue towards the Alcor. Once you draw close enough, you are noticed by Kazuha, who brings you to Beidou's attention. Once she sees you she's quick to make her way over with Kazuha in tow.

Beidou: Hey there you lot, mind giving us a hand? We're not from here and could use some directions, also if you could tell us this place's name that'd be great to, the villagers here seem rather jumpy around outsiders.

You manage to calm down after hearing such a friendly tone in her voice, so you're able answer her.

(Y/N): You are in the kingdom of Askr on the continent of Zenith, don't mind the villagers, we just got through fighting a war, they don't mean anything personal by it. Speaking of nothing personal, I'll have to ask you two to come with me, don't worry it's nothing serious, just some paperwork and a background check, they've become rather common for all our visitors recently.

Beidou: Alright then, lead the way.

You nod and motion the soldiers to return to base. Once you get there you have the two of them seated at a table with food and drinks.

(Y/N): Apologies, but before we can begin we'll have to wait for the prince and princess to return.

Kazuha: Wait, aren't you supposed to be the one performing this background check?

(Y/N): The problem with me being in charge of that is that I'm an optimist, I like to see the best in people a little too often.

Kazuha (annoyed): I see, very well then.

Despite Kazuha's annoyance, he was grateful for this moment of quiet. Everyone was so loud and boisterous earlier that he could barely concentrate on the wind, not even the Crux crew were that loud, but now that he could concentrate on it, he noticed it felt familiar, but where does he remember it from? That's right, when he met the masked civilian who was unjustly caught up in the imposter hunt.

Later, Sharena and Alfonse return from patrol, you're convinced Anna got distracted trying to sell something, or earn gold in some kind of way. You explained the situation and they performed the necessary procedures.

Alfonse: I'm sorry, but I've never heard of this Teyvat.

(Y/N): Alfonse wait, gimme a second.

You walked to another room and pretended to look something up on your phone.

Beidou: What was that about?

Sharena: Ooh!! Let me explain.

Sharena explained how the Order of Heroes records other worlds and how you explained that your world recorded worlds beyond just the world's of emblems, as you referred to them.

Sharena: So they must have heard something familiar and left to look it up on that device of theirs.

Beidou: device, could you describe it?

Sharena: Well, it's like a small stone box polished smooth with a glass surface that emits light based images, that's the best I can do I'm afraid.

The longer Kazuha stays here the more certain he grows of his hunch, you're the one they're searching for, that was certainly faster than expected if so. You return shortly after their conversation ends.

(Y/N): Right everything they said seems to check out, their titles, occupations, everything matches up.

Sharena (excited): So they're from another world? Does that mean we have a new gateway on the sea? Are we going to meet new heroes!?

(Y/N): Whoa whoa, calm down. Yes they're from another world. We might meet new heroes. I'm fairly certain there's no gate way on the ocean, I'm more convinced this has something to do with that crazy light show the other day.

Alfonse: That's right, we know you came by boat but we never inquired beyond that. Did you pass through a gateway?

Beidou: Nope, never even knew portals to other worlds existed before today. Your summoner was actually spot on, there was this crazy burst of light off the coast and when it cleared there was a new island.

Kazuha has spent a good chunk of time staring at your hand as you forgot to put away your phone. An other worldly device that allows one almost instant access to knowledge, that pretty much seals it for him.

Kazuha: Captain, I think it's time to leave.

Beidou: Huh, but we just got here, why would ...

Kazuha: I believe our business is concluded and we must report back.

Beidou gives an exasperated sigh.

Beidou: Alright, alright. Hey you lot of you ever want to visit Liyue there's a festival next week, the exact date is (your birthday), if you're interested. Anyway, gotta split before Ning grows any grey hairs, see ya.

(Y/N): Hold on, here take this it'll help you if you ever want to visit again. Your paperwork is all done, so no real reason drop by here again unless you feel like saying hi.

You handed Beidou one of your many maps of Askr. She nodded in appreciation, and the two were on their way. Later Anna returns and just as you suspected she begins to vent about her failed money schemes, afterwards the three of you fill her in on what happened.

Alfonse: So about this festival...

Sharena: I think we should go.

(Y/N): Huh?

Anna: I agree, it could be fun, not to mention we have no idea what caused our worlds to fuse like this or if it's permanent, we should take this opportunity to make a good impression and learn about our new neighbors.

Alfonse: I suppose you're right. Summoner are you alright? You look a little pale.

(Y/N): Oh, yeah, I'm fine, well I think I'll turn for today, goodnight.

As you left, everyone had looks of both confusion and concern. You were pacing around your room, your fear from the hunt resurfacing, your ignorance of the state of Teyvat wasn't helping things. Was the hunt over? Did it get even worse? No matter your fear, you're almost certain you'll be dragged along, maybe bringing a few heroes along would help your nerves, if things turn out okay then they'll get the chance to kick back, if things go bad having them around is definitely a good idea.

[blueraineshadows]

Heart Breakers: Chapter 3A - When Seb wins

I strongly advise you read Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 if you haven't already. Written from a request from @simpy-slytherin F!MC is called Leina in honour of her MC

Sebastian x Leina x Garreth

This is 1 of 2 alternate endings. In this chapter, Sebastian is end game 💚 Chapter 3B will see Garreth get the girl.

He wasn't in the Undercroft or in the clock tower. Leina avoided the spot where she had seen Trixie all over Sebastian, hurrying on in her search for him. Eventually, she found herself standing outside the Slytherin common room, students wandering about giving her curious looks.

Maybe they were hoping more drama was about to kick off. She really hoped not.

After about 15 minutes of waiting and hoping Sebastian would appear, Ominis came down the staircase, wand out flickering. He headed for the door but paused, head tilting slightly. "Leina, is that you?"

"Yes," she said, stepping forward. "How are you, Ominis? I feel like we haven't spoken in a while."

"You have had your hands rather full it seems, no time for chit chat," he said. "What are you doing here?"

"I was hoping to catch Sebastian. Do you know if he is around?"

"Hmm, yes, you two do need to sort out this new mess of yours," he sighed. "He has been an absolute monster to be around lately. I'm growing rather tired of it."

He paused in thought and then moved a little closer. "You won't find him here. He mentioned needing to catch up on some Astronomy assignment work and headed that way after dinner. I would assume he is still there in the tower."

"Thank you, Ominis, I will give it a try."

"Before you dash off, may I say something?"

"Of course."

His brow pinched and a glimmer of sadness washed over his face. "I know he has upset you terribly, but please, don't go too hard on him. He is the bane of my life sometimes, but he is also like a brother to me. I know when he is hurting, and he is definitely suffering. He still hasn't got over the events of 5th year. And as for Trixie, well, her behaviour has been disgusting to say the least. Sebastian was in a very bad place that night, and roaring drunk to boot. She took advantage of him. Had the roles been reversed, a boy would have been reprimanded within an inch of his life. I do not believe he set out to hurt you. In his own stupid way, he thinks he protects people with his wild ideas and protective nonsense. Anne being a case in point. I think what I am trying to say, is that he feels deeply for you, and that is why he tangles himself up in knots."

"Feels deeply for me?" Leina felt like her lungs had been squeezed at those words. "He has never said such a thing to me."

"He would never admit any of this to himself, or anyone else for that matter, he is far too stubborn for that. But he doesn't fool me."

Leina stood there taking this speech in with her eyes wide. She took a long, shaky breath as she tried to process all of it. She reached out a hand and placed it on Ominis' arm. He flinched a little, but didn't push her off.

"I understand," she said. "Don't worry. The last thing I want to do is hurt Sebastian. I just want to try and make things better because they can't go on as they are."

"Then we are agreed," he said with a smile. "I wish you luck."

.....*.....

Sebastian rolled up his parchment now that his ink was dry and put a stopper in the ink bottle. The Astronomy Tower was now deserted and quiet and he liked it that way. It was peaceful.

He sighed and moved towards a railing to look up. It was one thing to stare through the telescope and mark the detail of the stars, but when you stood and took in the whole blanket of them across the sky, it just hit you differently. It was huge, beyond comprehension, and you remembered that you were one small thing before it. Your troubles a mere wisp against the great, and therefore, should be more manageable to carry on your shoulders.

He wished that were true. He rubbed a hand across his eyes and gingerly moved them to his neck. The bruises there were less tender, the sticky salve on them seeming to do the trick. He scowled about the how and where of the salve, hating that he had to go begging to Leander Prewett, of all people, to ask for help. Wiggenweld just didn't seem to budge the dammed things and he hated the way people were staring at them, sniggering behind their hands.

Most of all he hated that Leina had seen them. His heart wrenched at the way her eyes had dimmed, losing their usual spark and fire. He hated that he hadn't been able to take her hand and try to soothe away the hurt. But, it was on him. He had nobody but himself to blame.

And now, he owed fucking Leander Prewett a favour for bailing him out with a Herbology trick for getting rid of bruises. The smugness on the idiot's face made his wand hand itch something terrible.

But he had been desperate. Desperate to hide the marks that had left him feeling dirty, stained. He shivered at the memory of her tongue violating him. It made his skin crawl. Never mind the stares of others, he needed to scrub all the evidence away that she had ever touched him in the first place.

Footsteps on the stairs signalled the end of his peace and quiet. He sighed and turned to gather his things, not really in the mood to stay for small talk. He froze when it was Leina that appeared at the top of the stairs, though. Alone, and looking right at him.

"Hello, Sebastian,' she said softly. "I've been looking for you."

.....*.....

Now that Sebastian was there, right in front of her, any words she had been trying to piece together on the way up here slid right out of her mind. He stood stock still, eyes wide and fixed on her like she would startle if he so much as blinked.

She stared at him in the moonlight, drinking in the sight of him, that heavy feeling in her chest shifting, feeling as though it might shrink a little. It was just him, and her, just like she was used to, and that had never been a bad thing. Not really.

She pressed her lips together, tears burning the backs of her eyes and then she was running, crossing the gap between them and throwing herself at him. Her arms wrapped about him and she buried her face deep into his neck, breathing in his scent like she had been holding her breath since the last time she had touched him.

He had stiffened at first, shocked perhaps, but then his arms circled her waist and crushed her to his chest.

"You're such an idiot, Sebastian Sallow," she said, her voice thick with emotion.

"I know," he said. "I know. And I'm sorry."

His voice cracked on the last word and she pulled back to look at him. He gulped, a hand reaching to swipe quickly at the tear that rolled from his eye. He tried to look away from her, but she wouldn't let him. "Its alright," she whispered. "It's just me. You're alright."

His lip wobbled and she pulled him in tight again, her fingers sliding into the hair at the back of his head as the dam broke and he cried into her robes.

The moment wasn't lost on her. It was the mirror of what she had done to Garreth, and Garreth had not questioned her need for comfort. She would not question Sebastion either, not if he wasn't ready. But she could hold him, she could soothe him and, maybe, it would help.

"I'm alright, honestly," he said. He pulled back and wiped his face. "I don't deserve your hugs, as lovely as they are."

"Everyone needs a hug at some point, Seb," she said. "How could I not comfort you if you need it?"

"I should be the one comforting you. I...I've been a fool, Leina." He hung his head. "There aren't enough apologies in the world to make up for it. But, I would like to try."

"Then, let us try," she said.

Her eyes drifted down to the marks on his neck and she swallowed, her nose wrinkling in distaste at the goop covering them. "Blimey, Sebastian, what on earth have you smeared on your neck?"

He groaned. "Don't ask. It's some nasty salve to get rid of bruises. I can't wait to be rid of them."

"You and me, both," she said, grimly.

An awkward silence filled the air and Leina shivered, the cold evening breeze cutting through the dampness of her clothing. Perhaps she should have changed after all.

"You're cold," he said. He rubbed at her arms.

"A little, unfortunately my clothes are a bit damp," she said. She tugged at the front of her jumper, wrinkling her nose, and he frowned in curiosity. "There was an incident during my Potions detention, I got a bit soggy."

His frown deepened. "I assume Weasley is just as damp?"

Leina stepped back out of reach of his arms. They dropped to his sides, fists clenched. She wrapped her own arms about herself, maybe because of the chill, maybe because she felt like she needed to protect the soft feelings she was harbouring in her chest for Garreth.

"I didn't come here to argue with you, Seb," she said. "But, let me make one thing very clear. I won't hear a word said against Garreth. He doesn't deserve it, not one bit."

She could see the clench in his jaw. Clearly, there were words fighting to get out, but he held his lips firmly clamped. Let them stay there. She didn't want to hear it.

"If we are going to have any chance at moving forward from this point on, then Garreth is non-negotiable. He is someone important to me and I won't give him up. Not even for you."

He processed that. He didnt like it, his eyes flashed, but he nodded. "Okay, so Garreth is off the table," he said slowly. "What did you want to talk about? Why did you seek me out?"

Her heart pounded. Yes, why did she seek him out? Did she want his confession of undying love for her? Now that she was here, she wasn't sure if she could handle it. It felt too huge, too all encompassing a thing, and she felt her chest tighten. It didn't feel heavy anymore, although she definitely hadn't forgotten the image of him wrapped up with Trixie. She wasn't sure if she ever would.

But, was that fair? He didn't owe her exclusivity. They weren't a couple. She had clearly spat the words into his face that a few kisses didn't lay a claim on each other. Also, how would he feel to see her wrapped up with Garreth? Livid, thats how, if his rage in the Undercroft was anything to go by.

Even here, in the chill wind cutting right through the tower top arches, she felt her cheeks warm. What if she had kissed Garreth on the floor of the Potions classroom? What if Sebastian had walked in on that? If Sharpe hadn't caught them, she thought it was quite likely she may have kissed him, and the thought threw her into a spin.

It was all too much. Her mind was fudge, and she didn't know what on earth her body was trying to tell her. He was there, waiting for an answer and she didn't know what to say.

She backed up a step, two, her lungs burning for air but she was gasping it in.

He frowned. "Leina, what's wrong?"

"I...I..." She threw a look towards the stairs, the exit, escape. Coward. "I accept your apology."

Inwardly, she cringed. Gods that was so formal. So cold. She didn't mean to be, and the flicker of uncertainty on his face made her want to run.

He took a careful step to the side, slowly lifting his hands. All the times they had been in a duel, fought dark wizards, trained together, it had given them a bond, an understanding of each other. He knew she was going to bolt just as much as she knew he was going to try and stop her. Their bodies were in tune, they could read each other in a split second.

She stepped back and to the side, one eye on him, the other on the exit. He stepped as well. Her heart hammered right up into her throat, her ears roaring with it and she forgot about the chill of her clothes.

Tension, electric and hot, sizzled. To her shock, she felt it in her abdomen, curling like some wild thing. Would he chase her? If she ran for those stairs, would he chase her? What if he caught her? Unbidden, a small sound came from her throat at the idea.

What the fuck was wrong with her??

He lifted an eyebrow at that sound, she was so distracted by it, and the slow curving tilt of his lips, that she had let her guard slip. He was closer than before. Damn him!

"I will catch you," he said. His voice was low, dark. Filthy.

She swallowed, her throat working double time. She shook her head in denial, but it was a pathetic shake, weak. Gods, he made her weak and she couldn't be. She had to get a grip on herself.

Her eyes darted to the exit and back to him. Where would she run to? That was a lot of fucking stairs to get down, she would no doubt end up tumbling to her death, if his smile didn't kill her first. Look at him, his smirk, that wicked, wicked mouth. Fuck!

She ran. Her feet bounded across the Astronomy deck and into the stairway, cloak and hair flying as she took the stairs in a leap. He was right behind her, feet pounding on the wooden steps, she could hear his excited breaths.

She ignored the shooting spear of fire that shot through her, if she didn't she would falter, and if she faltered then it would be too late. He'd catch her.

Oh, but what if he did?

Legs trembling, she skidded across the landings on the switch back steps, hands shoving off from walls for momentum, before hitting the next flight of stairs, curving down, and down, to her inevitable doom.

Leina was almost at the Room of Requirement. For a split second, she considered it an escape, but the door needed to form, it would take too long, and he was gaining on her. Was that the brush of finger tips on her cloak?

A cry left her lips, a cry that sounded far too excitable for her liking, and she pushed harder, feet slapping against wood as she hurtled down the corridor past her secret haven.

The corridors were getting smaller, portraits and statues whizzing past as she ran, legs beginning to burn, every breath now a fight, and still, he was right behind her.

He wasn't going to quit, it wasn't his style. He could be near death and he would keep chasing her. Now, that thought nearly made her stumble as she burst out into the Defence Against the Dark Arts Tower.

She barely had time to glance at the shocked faces of the students in the seating area as she made a desperate sprint for the switch back stairs going down, down, down.

She hadn't planned on it, but her feet were carrying her closer and closer to where it all began. That Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom where she had knocked him on his arse on her first day. And, what was underneath it? The Undercroft.

She risked a glance back, he was so close, face flushed but determined. A laugh, rasping and breathless trailed behind her as she kept going, on and on until she thought her legs might just give out from under her. She was flagging as she passed the rhinoceros skeleton and she felt fingers catch hold of her flapping cloak.

He had her.

They both stumbled to a stop, his hands tugging her closer and she braced her hands against his heaving chest. They barely had the breath to laugh, but somehow, they did.

"So...now what?" He puffed. "I caught you...what's...what's my prize?"

She stared at him, fighting for every breath. This was crazy. Stupid. Reckless. How very them.

She smiled and grabbed his hand. A quick glance told her that the coast was clear, no prying eyes to see as she tugged him towards the secret entrance of The Undercroft.

He did the spell to open it, she watched him, couldn't tear her gaze from him. She remembered how she had realised how alive he made her feel, living life on a dangerous edge. It was exciting. Was it enough? What was enough?

She needed to know, her heart and soul had a choice to make. Was this love?

.....*.....

Leina was holding his hand. He stared down at their interlocking fingers as if to fully confirm that he had her in his grasp. All he had to do was keep her there.

He was fucking knackered. Chasing her down all those stairs had damn near killed him, but he would do it again, in a heartbeat. He would run after her until he dropped dead if he had to. She was worth every burning breath, every screaming muscle.

She led him in to the centre of the Undercroft. The last time they had been here, they had fought. How many times had he gone over it? He wished he could turn the clock back.

But they were here now. The anger was gone from her face. He looked at Leina, her cheeks flushed, eyes bright, her hair was some kind of chaotic right now, but he didn't care. She was beautiful!

He asked her again, his breaths more regular now. "What's my prize?"

He gave her his best smirk and watched her gaze drop to his lips. She was trying to pretend she wasn't looking, but she definitely was. He loved that. When she had done it up in the Astronomy Tower it had turned him on, the force of the burn overwhelming. How could he resist chasing after her?

She let go of his hand. Disappointing, but she wasn't turning away from him. "Alright," she said. "Your prize. But first, a truth for a truth."

"What?" He frowned. "Play fair now. I've already won, I caught you."

Her lips twitched. "Maybe I let you."

Dangerous smirk. "You wanted me to."

Her lips parted, little pants of breath slipping out. He wanted to make that sound come out of her with his touch, his mouth on her, her mouth on him.

"Alright, I'll play," he said. He tilted his head, thinking. She wanted a truth. He grinned. "When I was six, I stole Anne's favourite doll and tried to cast charms on it with my Father's wand. I accidently made it explode. To this day, she still doesn't know it was me."

She gaped and then frowned, folding her arms. "That's just mean, and totally not the kind of truth that I meant. And you know it."

Oh, he knew it. He just got a kick out of the little huff she did when he wound her up. He leant towards her, smirk in play. "Your turn."

She hesitated and damn if a little flush didn't colour her cheeks. He lifted a brow, waiting.

"I...I punched Trixie in the face. And I liked it.' She winced.

"I know," he said. "Have you seen her since? That was quite a punch, Leina. I'm impressed."

Impressed and so fucking turned on. Beautiful, and she could throw a mean punch. He tilted his head thoughtfully, still playing the game. "That wasn't a truth I didn't know, you're supposed to tell me something I don't know. So, spill it. What's your deepest, dirtiest secret?"

Wow, now that was a glorious blush she was sporting now. She pressed her fingers to her cheeks, her eyes darting away from him.

He hesitated. Something slippery, cold and sickening filled his gut. Gods, no. Surely not. Would she? Did something happen with her and Garreth?

His fists clenched, her warning up on the tower coming back to him. She said Garreth was important to her, that she wasn't prepared to give him up.

Suddenly, this game didn't seem so fun anymore. Not when he was terrified of what might come out of her mouth.

"I...oh, Merlin," she whispered. She touched her fingers to her lips. His stomach clenched. "I can't believe I'm going to say this..."

Don't say it, don't say it. His hands ached they were clenched so tight.

She looked him right in the eye, cheeks crimson. "I touched myself in the bath while I was thinking of you."

Her fingers clamped over her mouth and the silence that followed seemed to swallow him whole. His eyes burned because he was so frozen in shock, he didn't think he could blink. She did what, now?

Well, fucking hell, he was speechless. He asked for her deepest, dirtiest secret, and she had delivered. That was definitely dirty.

Her saw her begin to regret the words and snapped himself out of his stupor. Come on Sallow, bring the charm. Somehow, he pulled a quip out of nowhere. "Why didn't you just ask? I could have leant you a hand."

He heard her sharp intake of breath, her fingers twitched. He smiled. This was back to being fun.

"Your turn," she said, quickly. "And you need to better mine."

Oh, you clever girl. Nothing like throwing a challenge down in front of him. Although, his heart skittered at the thought of speaking these next words out loud. But she wanted the truth, and he always wanted to be able to give her what she desired. He tried and failed not to imagine her, naked and wet in the bath, her name on his lips...yep, definitely worth running after.

He nodded. His mind was made up and he was terrified. But he hid it well. "I love you."

.....*.....

I love you.

Three little words. One, two, three. So simple, and yet so big. Earlier, she had been too scared that he would say it. And now he had.

He looked more vulnerable than she had ever seen him, even more so than that day he had been slumped on the floor of the catacombs after taking out Solomon.

She swallowed. They had been through so much. The webs that surrounded their lives had thickened and strengthened, and how could it be anyone else?

Garreth. He flashed up behind her eyes and her heart squeezed. Oh, she loved him, she really did, but it wasn't like this.

It wasn't running so fast, waiting for him to catch her, wanting him to catch her, it wasn't knowing each other so well that when one moved, the other did, like a dance. It wasn't covering up murder so you didn't lose them. It wasn't punching a girl in the face because you couldn't stand that she had touched what was yours.

Yes, that's right. He was hers. Sebastian Sallow was hers, for better or worse.

She walked up to him, slowly, savouring every step. He watched her, lips parting, eyes darkening. Smirk for me baby, show me that wicked mouth, she thought. Better yet, let me taste it.

She stared at that bottom lip, swiping her tongue over her own as she reached up on tip toe. He didn't move an inch, watching her as she slowly kissed that bottom lip, teasing it ever so gently.

And then, there it was. His delicious smirk. She gave him one of her own. "So, you love me?"

"I do," he said. His voice was deep, silky dark, full of promise. "I love you. I always have."

She could drown in those eyes. If she wanted. And, oh she wanted to. "I love you, too," she whispered.

He looked like he was afraid to believe it. Her Seb, so smooth, so cheeky, and yet so vulnerable, so deep and dark, so passionate, if only one cared enough to take the dive and see.

"Kiss me, Seb," she whispered against his lips. "Make me burn."

His kiss stole her mouth, and this time it wasn't about making a point, this time it was making a fire, and she was ready to burn. His tongue slid over hers, dominant but sensual. Her toes curled in her shoes and she let her body melt into his hands.

Her robe slid to the floor, his hand slid under her shirt, fingers grazing the skin of her back with trails of fire. Her head fell back, a soft sigh escaping as his mouth slid to her neck, tongue swirling up under her jaw. Her hands luxuriated in his soft hair, trailing against his scalp, drawing a moan from his lips.

Impatiently, he tugged her collar loose, his mouth dipping lower. Her hand skimmed down from his hair and slid through the sticky balm on his brusies. She froze.

She winced. She couldn't help it, she could see that bitch sucking his neck and her chest twisted.

"Don't," he said. He shook his head, voice strained against her throat. "Don't say it, please."

She released him and looked at those bruises. The balm had made some effort to erase them, but they were still there, taunting her. She took a deep breath and flexed her fingers.

She had promised herself she wouldn't use it. It was too powerful, too dangerous. People died when she threw that much power around. But, she had been practising. She was getting better at controlling it.

She took another breath and placed her fingers on his bruises. He stared at her. "What are you doing?"

His lips were damp from her kiss. Nobody gets to kiss that mouth but her. Her mouth, and her mouth alone gets to taste him.

"Trust me," she said. She focused, careful, controlled, and a delicate wisp of blue curled from her fingers.

He gasped as they swirled against his skin. "That's cold."

"Hold still." He did. She traced his bruises, erasing them, wiping every last trace of her. She had to fight to focus, to keep a lid on the fury that tried to awake at the thought of her. But then, all the marks were gone. She drew her fingers back and he watched as the delicate, blue wisps were absorbed back into her skin.

"There, much better," she smiled.

He put a hand to his neck, eyes wide. "They're gone? You...you healed them?"

"You look like my Seb again," she said. Her eyes narrowed. "If she touches you again, she will live to regret it."

If she wasn't mistaken, she thought she saw a flicker of fear in his gaze. She couldn't blame him. She scared herself sometimes.

She took his hand. "Now, I don't know about you, but I could do with a bath. You coming? I might take you up on that offer of a hand."

His smirk was perfect. "I fucking love you, Leina."

"I know," she said, grinning. "Let's go."

Notes: You guys are awesome, thank you for reading! And, yes, I admit it. I went in to Hogwarts and had my MC run down from the Astronomy Tower for that scene 🤭. This got so long and I didn't get to the smut (angst came first, sorry 😏) However, I might do a bonus Smut part for Seb and Leina. For now, let's get to 3B and give Garreth some love. ❤️

[niyana-the-ambiguous-mobian]

Hello! Hope your well.

I was wondering if maybe you could think about some headcannons about Tails and Knuckles on their birthday, I think it would be kinda cool.

Wow, this was hidden deep within my inbox XD. I think I made a headcanon or two before with this idea in mind but I don't mind making some more of these.

Tails

Its the first birthday he can remember spending with anyone, so he does get a little shocked when the Wachowski’s offer to throw a little party for him on the day of his birth. At least by Earth's yearly calendar.

He speaks up on not wanting it to be a big thing but at Sonic’s request to try it, he decides to give it a shot.

His party is held in the backyard, with a few selection of guests coming to the party. Like Wade, Crazy Carl, that guy Allen that lives near an alleyway, basically people who already know of their existence.

For his cake, they got him a yellow butter cake with green, mint icing and vanilla cupcakes with lemon frosting. Poor kid only eats 2 pieces before he gets a intense sugar rush that rivals Sonic’s.

They have a few party games for the kids to play, but Tails just wins each one due to his exact precision with his quick calculations on hand. Except that one where they were playing ring toss cause Sonic kept using his speed to make Tails' rings miss the pole, even though he kept blaming it on the wind when confronted about it. (He's totally guilty of BTW)

Tom gets him a new telescope while Maddie gets him a do-it-yourself chemistry set as gifts while Sonic makes him a "double brush" to use for his tails, which is just two hairbrush tied together.

Knuckles attempts to give him a raccon he captured while he found it sneaking around the garbage, thinking it would be a good pet for him. The fox awkwardly declines, knowing how much diseases those things tend to carry and tells the echidna to release it.

Tails still feels a bit odd with all the attention put on him in a positive light, but he does get a little emotional when they sing the happy birthday song to him and needs to take a moment before he can blow out the candles.

Once he gets the chance, he makes his wish. "I wish I can stay with this family...for good this time."

Knuckles

This boy straight up doesn't even know what a birthday party is. His tribe usually celebrated their yearly growth by showing off what they had learned within the year through combat and are judged upon what they demonstrate.

So it's best to say when he was told how earthlings celebrate their yearly growth, he was pretty flabbergasted and somewhat horrified at that idea.

His party is more in the form of a surprise party, which doesn't go well when everyone shouts "surprise!" at him in a almost pitch black room and he almost takes Wade's head off with his startled fists flailing all over the place.

One of the gifts he receives is his very own punching bag that Tom and Maddie got him to get practice in the basement, which was fine until he ends up throwing one punch to where it blows a hole straight through it and shoots it across the room.

They managed to get him quite the unique cake, a upside down pineapple cake with red velvet cupcakes with ube frosting as a side dessert. It's not completely grape flavored like he originally wanted, but he tears into the 4 pieces he gets in an instant and almost devours all the cupcakes until he has to be dragged away from the snack table (I've never had either of these but the cupcakes do sound pretty good 😋)

Needless to say, he still didn’t see the point of this "exuberant, fun day of the births" but was glad he got some more earth knowledge due to it, and get some free desserts thrown in the mix.

[palialaina]

(This is gonna get diary-like because why not RP like a goofy goober? Also, I really do miss the ingame screengrabber they had in earlier versions.)

Jina gave me a journal today. That was sweet of her. I'm honestly pretty lucky that she was the first person I met in the world. It feels weird to write in what she and all the other Majiri call 'ancient Human' but...

I dunno, that's just confusing. Bright pink void to suddenly new life? I still can't wrap my head around it.

But I've been here for a while now, so I guess it's not as bad as it could have been. Wish I could remember where I was before this, but like...

Ugh.

So, I finished building my hallway earlier. It's... well, I need to get another couple blueprints for it because that really is a *short* hallway and not really condusive to what I was wanting it for. Good thing I have a big garden and lots of seed makers. Veggies might take a while to grow, but they're easier than trying to hunt or go gathering for my coin.

I do think I finally got my yard set up near-perfect. I want more garden plots, but I also want to expand my house and stop sleeping in the front room, so like. Choices. Maybe I'll go see Uncle B in a couple days and get another plot to make what I've currently got more even? Not sure.

The kitchen finally feels set up right. Turning between stations is easy, and I didn't almost throw the butter in the oven again! I think I'm getting the hang of this cooking thing. (Though Reth doesn't need to worry. I don't plan on putting him out of business.)

Jel seemed happy to see me today, and was thrilled with the crystal lake lotus I found for him. I worry about him some; when does he sleep, I swear? I mean, I don't really have an excuse for staying up as late as I do either, but Jel gets like... four hours of sleep per day? I don't remember much, but I swear that can't be healthy.

I feel like him and Reth should have an Insomniacs Club or something.

Oh, Reth told me about the whole Majiri Path thing, and man. I thought Eshe and Calari could be strict, but the whole society seems really rigid. I don't know how it worked when humans were around in great number (we're coming back in great number though, I do worry about that...) but I don't think it was as inflexible as "if you step off your Path, you're an untrustworthy person." like..

Ugh. I feel like if you realize something's not working for you, then you should be allowed to pick a different job. Lettuce soup aside, Reth is a really good cook! People should be *proud* of him for figuring out something he likes!

...I really do wanna know what Zeki's got on him though. He does day shift at the inn, and then works Zeki's night market? What the heck? I am amazed he hasn't faceplanted into one of his own soup pots.

Um... Hm. Oh, I made a new tent for the loom and the glass maker, though I think I might put that in storage again. Tish's faith in my ability to make lamps and things is a *bit* misplaced... The worm farm will be handier right now.

I also finally made Dad's iron axe recipe.

....whoops.

*Ashura's* iron axe recipe. (Man, I have almost called him dad to his face like... five times this week. He just feels like a dad, the way Barduu is Uncle B! But like... Uncle B found it hilarious and told me to keep it up. I feel like Ashura would just get sad...)

Anyways, I made an iron axe, and I can finally get down thos ebig trees on my property. Now I just need to convince Hodari I've earned the right to make an iron pickaxe and then those big stone can go away too!

....well, I need to go get more stone any iron, so maybe that's what I'll be able to manage tomorrow. I can pop by and say hi to Najuma on the way, maybe she'll let me know what's bugging her? I need to bring her something to say thanks for helping me get Chanye the stuff he needs for his telescope anyways.

Okay. Plan for tomorrow! Mine all the stone and iron I can find over in Bahari (and hunt that stupid snail. Why are stripeshell snails so damn hard to find????), bring Najuma a copper bar? and see about finishing my second hallway piece, getting a third, and then saving up for more rooms. And more garden plots.

[supersaiyanjedi14]

RWBY COMBAT ANALYSIS: PENNY POLENDINA

“Now that I'm the official protector of Mantle, I don't really have a team anymore. General Ironwood says I don't have time for friends. […] I feel like I wish I could do both the things I need to do and the things I want to do. Is that normal?”

My analysis of Penny Polendina will be based exclusively of her appearances prior to Volume 8 Episode 11, “Creation”, and her transformation into a human girl by the Relic of Creation.  The strengths and limitations of robot Penny are simply more interesting to discuss, and the narrative framing makes it abundantly clear that Penny’s humanization had a drastic effect on her combative capabilities.  It’s the same reason why Anakin Skywalker and Darth Vader are treated as separate entities despite being the same person; they have been, for all intents and purposes, been given a new body and therefore cannot fight in the same way they used to. With all of that out of the way, let us begin.

PHYSICAL

The brainchild of the Atlas military’s greatest scientific minds, the P.E.N.N.Y. Project was another step among countless in James Ironwood’s perpetual mission to strengthen the kingdom’s defenses.  In this case, Dr. Pietro Polendina used some of his own Aura to infuse a high-grade android with his own soul, creating an artificial intelligence more advanced than any at the time.  Taking the form and mannerisims of a young girl, the android was dubbed “Penny” and raised by Polendina as his own daughter.  As much as Pietro wished for the girl to experience her own life to the fullest, military protocol took precedent, and Penny was outfitted with the programming and equipment needed to serve the defense of Atlas and Mantle.  However, Ironwood’s designs would take an unexpected turn when Penny was brought to Vale to participate in the 40th Vytal Festival.  Wandering off on her own, Penny encountered the rising stars of Team RWBY and played a critical role in disrupting Roman Torchwick’s operations.  Despite Ironwood’s attempts to rein in his asset, the bonds she forged with these girls, especially Ruby Rose, and the influence they would have on her would set the stage for Penny’s eventual transformation from a simple machine to a real girl in every sense of the word.

Despite her overly happy and friendly personality, Penny was first and foremost a piece of military hardware designed for the rigors of battle in the world of Remnant, from swarms of Grimm to the deadly agents of Salem.  Essentially a combat drone in the shape of a human girl, Penny stood at 5’5” and was made of a heavy-duty metal chassis concealed by fair synthetic skin and a mop of auburn hair.  Her green eyes housed military grade sensors and scanning equipment that allowed for night, infrared, and telescopic vision, her hands contained interface terminals that allowed her to access computers and other technology, rocket thrusters built into her feet allowed for sustained flight at extreme speeds, and a heads-up display built into her eyes allowed for regular monitoring of her systems and “vitals”.  Befitting her intended role, Penny’s athletic performance levels were specifically designed to match and surpass the greatest Huntsmen of her day, making her a surprisingly devastating physical combatant.  Possessing monstrous physical strength, she has manhandled and overpowered giant Grimm, deformed metal with her bare hands, and has casually lifted and thrown objects weighing hundreds of pounds.  Penny has stopped a speeding van with only her outstretched palms, hefted around a severed Megoliath tusk before impaling the creature on it, and in easily her greatest feat of physical might, aided in pushing the gargantuan Amity Tower satellite into the upper atmosphere following her duel with Cinder Fall.  Even without her rockets, Penny was quick on her feet, covering ground with powerful leaps and running charges, while evading attacks with quick sidesteps and nimble dodges.  Compared to her contemporaries, Penny has matched the swiftness of high caliber opponents like Pyrrha Nikos, Cinder Fall and all four surviving Ace-Ops simultaneously, with Harriet Bree being the only member of the group to come close to outpacing her.  Though her weapon set left her hands free, negating the actual need for developed dexterity, Penny still demonstrated incredible reflexes and precision in her core fighting style, manipulating her blades to do everything from deflecting projectiles to outfencing opponents to slicing cakes.  In virtually all of her fights, she has spun and thrown her blades to land critical hits at weak flanks, and she has even caught a thrown sword with only her hands while in midair

While Penny’s Aura meant that she had a natural defense against minor wounds, her nature as a designed-and-built combat drone made that part somewhat redundant.  Pietro Polendina claimed that his daughter could withstand anything so long as her core was left intact, and as such, she has taken an inconceivable amount of punishment.  She has shrugged off incoming strikes without even acknowledging them, suffered only cosmetic damage when struck by a speeding delivery van, endured a heavy crash to the ground from a Goliath in Mantle, was slammed through the walls of the Atlas medical facility during her initial confrontation with Cinder, and later walked casually through Fria’s magic blizzard when the Maiden unleashed her power.  Furthermore, Penny’s limbs and extremities were little more than add-ons, and while amputations would certainly impede her overall performance, it would not be nearly as detrimental as it would to a flesh-and-blood person.  Stamina wise… well, it’s kind of moot considering she literally has no way of producing fatigue toxins.  In what is easily her greatest show of durability, after she was hacked by Arthur Watts, Penny endured a fall of several thousand feet from the Amity tower base before crashing into the Schnee manor driveway, and despite suffering severe blunt force trauma that caused lubricants and other fluids to leak from her chassis, she remained alive and was still able to walk after only minor “medical” attention from Klein Sieben.  Even accounting for Watts’ virus taking over when she grappled with the Hound, the simple fact she could maintain combat performance without any noticeable difficulty despite what she went through is awe-inspiring.  However, as tough as she was, there were limits to Penny’s resiliency.  While she was naturally resistant to blades and gunfire and could technically fight indefinitely so long as her systems were functioning, she could still feel pain, seen when Cinder tried to forcibly steal the Winter Maidenhood from her at Amity.  Furthermore, her joints were vulnerable to focused cuts, her original body being destroyed when Pyrrha Nikos repelled her weapon and got her limbs tangled in the wires, dismembering her.  But considering how she’s almost literally built like a tank, effectively exploiting these vulnerabilities would take nothing less than a miracle.

Given that she was a robot, armor was relatively redundant for Penny, as her body was already durable enough to protect her from all but the most severe of injuries.  Furthermore, as she was typically masquerading as a normal girl, such combat-related gear would have been far too conspicuous for her liking as well as clashing with her own preferences.  Instead, Penny dressed in casual civilian clothing that was as far removed from her military affiliation as possible.  When she was rebuilt by her father following the Fall of Beacon, Penny wore a white blouse with frilled sleeves and a green overall skirt, with a black ascot tied around her neck.  She further accessorized with lacy black gloves, black shoes, and a large pink metallic bow atop her head, exemplifying her innocence in spite of the weapon she was designed to be.

RANKING: Tier 1, Baseline Superhuman

Penny Polendina possessing the highest physical ranking is obvious and inarguable by the simple fact that, at least on a physical level, she ISN’T human.  Her body was specifically designed and built, not just out of metal, but for hard combat.  Her strength, speed, and durability are naturally far beyond human limits, her foot rockets provide her with unlimited mobility, and worst-case scenario, she can even shrug off amputations.  While her original destruction and the circumstances of her hacking prove that there are limits to Penny’s resiliency, reaching that point is such a high bar that most conceivable opponents cannot hope to reliably exploit them.  As warm as she is, Penny Polendina is nonetheless one of the most terrifying physical threats in the RWBY setting, a true killing machine.

MARTIAL

Penny Polendina was armed with the Floating Array, ten single-edged short swords that could be converted into energy pistols.  These weapons were attached to near-invisible wires that extended from a compartment built into Penny’s back, connected to her central processing unit to allow for coordination without physically holding them.  Each blade was collapsible, appearing to be about two feet long when fully extended, and featured a concave bend in the center similar to an ancient Mediterranean kopis or falcata.  The swords featured a simple black handgrip with a circular handguard which housed the electronics compartments.  As firearms, the swords kicked back the blades and bent the handles, capable of firing small beams of green energy for swarming volleys and precision shots. Furthermore, these beams could be combined, forming a single powerful blast of energy that has been shown to destroy bullheads with ease and stop a charging Goliath in Mantle.

Specifically designed to be the pinnacle of Atlesian military defense, Penny’s programming featured a heavy focus on combat, essentially turning her into a war droid in the shape of a young girl.  While Pietro Polendina raised her to be a kind, amicable and noble individual, traits elevated by her friendships with Team RWBY, Penny remained a committed and highly capable martial combatant, cutting her teeth in the months leading up to the Vytal Festival by stomping a contingent of White Fang operatives at the Vale docks.  Despite a serious lack of combat experience and little formal training, Penny made up for it with programming, her brain functioning as a combat computer that allowed for the skillful coordination of her multiple blades.  To put it mildly, Penny’s physical moveset was a multi-angled circular saw and flachete launcher all rolled into one.  By manipulating the wires connected to her back, Penny swung her swords as a devastating swarm of blades, favoring wide cleaving slashes, rotary spinning cuts, launching stabs, and windmill deflection parries.  However, despite this heavy offensive focus, Penny was not a single-minded machine, and in her battles, she clearly emphasized technique over brute force.  Though she was perfectly capable of unleashing a singular rapid-fire slashing onslaught, she preferred attacks form multiple vectors simultaneously, coordinating multiple weapons for different purposes to subvert and undermine to opponent’s defenses.  Extremely fast and agile, she supported her defensive component with nimble evasions both against projectiles and close quarters, even seen using her blades as grappling hooks to influence her environment, ranging from manhandling vehicles and Grimm to allowing for greater maneuverability.  Her use of her firearms function shared this emphasis, usually resorting to multiple guns firing at different places to box the opponent into a corner and cut off escapes, reserving the massive beam cannon to concentrate her power onto higher-grade targets.  Though she overwhelmingly favored the use of her weapons, Penny was perfectly capable of resorting to unarmed combat as well, supporting her bladework with punches, sweeping kicks, and arm sweeps.  Furthermore, upon becoming the Winter Maiden, Penny expertly leveraged her new magical powers into her overall fighting method, typically gusts of wind to off balance large groups of enemies.

In her tactics and conduct, Penny typically operated as a polished machine of war, deftly executing her style with calm efficiency and advancing with determination and fearlessness.  However, the influence of her father and friends, as well as the nature of her technique, meant that Penny was not a straightforward dervish reliant on simply overwhelming her enemies.  Instead, Penny worked towards the path of least resistance, using her range of techniques to control the flow of the engagement.  She demonstrated an emphasis on targeting weak flanks and subverting defenses, working around her opponents’ guard rather than just beating into it like a sledgehammer.  This approach was enabled by her use of multiple weapons, often drawing the opponent’s attention with one form of attack before blindsiding them with several more.  On the battlefield, she deftly unleashed her blades to overwhelm targets quickly and efficiently, quickly recovering her guard and keeping her might in reserve.  In single combat, Penny applies this same mentality to attack at multiple angles simultaneously, tying up the opponent’s weapon and attention to prevent them from bringing their full might to bear against any one attack.  She supported this offensive stance with a retaliatory defensive component, blocking incoming attacks before instantly countering.  The volume and variety of her offensive output combined with her speed, precision, and mechanical focus made Penny an extraordinarily adaptable and lethal combatant.  Against the White Fang, Penny tore through the mooks with ease before moving on to the Bullheads, using two blades to anchor herself to the ground before sending the others to tear one out of the sky.  She followed this up by opening up distance and firing her energy beam to dismantle the remaining ships.  However, though quite proactive and decisive, Penny had difficulty adapting to abrupt style shifts, and her approach could be undercut if she is distracted or blindsided.  Arguably the greatest demonstration of Penny’s tactics in single combat was her duel with Pyrrha Nikos during the Vytal Festival Singles Bracket, during which her multangular offensive was able to strike at all of Pyrrha’s flanks simultaneously and pressure her defenses, while her own defensive component was strong enough to fend off all of Pyrrha’s counters before quickly retaliating.  The fight functionally ended when Penny disarmed Pyrrha, though this victory was rendered hollow when Pyrrha, under the influence of one of Emerald Sustrai’s illusions, lashed out with her Semblance, entangling Penny in her own wires and dismembering her.

After her reconstruction, Penny continued to operate as the protector of Mantle, killing Grimm infestations that threatened the city while Ironwood continued his Amity project.  The activity in Atlas proved to be the greatest demands made of Penny, both martially and emotionally, as Salem’s machinations and Ironwood’s oversights came to a head.  During the Battle of Mantle, Penny aided the defense by cutting through Grimm hordes, later coordinating with Ruby and Harriet Bree to take down a rampaging Alpha Megoliath.  When Cinder Fall infiltrated the Atlas compound, Penny and Winter Schnee were dispatched to secure the venerable Winter Maiden Fria, though Penny actively voiced her dissatisfaction with this turn of events despite Winter’s reassurances.  However, this debate was aborted when Cinder followed them to the medical center, the pair joining forces to defend Fria.  Though they kept her on her toes and matched her power where and when it counted, Penny’s rapid-fire attacks proving a good foil for the Fall Maiden’s dual-wielding style, Cinder’s ferocity was too great, and Penny was forced to abort the fight to save Winter after her Aura broke.  Fortunately, Cinder’s assassination attempt was foiled when Fria cut loose, giving Penny the opportunity to comfort the old woman and inherit the power herself.  Defecting from Ironwood as he prepared to abandon Mantle, Penny assisted Ruby, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna, Nora Valkyrie, and May Marigold in infiltrating the compound themselves to obtain the launch codes for Amity Tower.  Intercepted by the surviving Ace-Ops, Penny refused to give in to Harriet’s manipulations and engaged the quartet after being forcibly separated.  Though she was blindsided by Bree’s speed and Vine Zeki’s Aura Vines, Penny still acquitted herself extremely well, leveraging both her versatile weapon set and her new Maiden powers to keep them off their game and respond in kind.  Penny was only subdued when Marrow Amin froze her with his Semblance, though Nora’s destruction of the office door provided an opportunity to escape. Ultimately, the fight was rendered inconclusive when Penny received reinforcements and Ironwood ordered Bree to simply steal one of Penny’s swords for Arthur Watts.  This confrontation would soon be followed by her rematch with Cinder Fall at Amity.  Here, Cinder initially gained some ground by using Penny’s own tactics against her while also leveraging her ferocity and power to bully through her interference and attempt to steal her powers.  Luckily, Penny managed to break free and continue fighting, ultimately besting Cinder when she saw through Emerald’s illusions and blasted Cinder with a sustained energy barrage.  Only Emerald’s threat to continue damaging the tower stopped Penny from killing Cinder outright.  After crashing at Schnee Manor, Penny was hacked by Watts’ virus and attempted to mindlessly leave for the Relic Vault, though she was intercepted by the Hound, who used his extra limbs to manhandle her and subdue her.

RANKING: Tier 2, Advanced Mastery

Penny Polendina’s advanced skill level makes her one of the most dangerous martial artists in the RWBY setting despite lacking the dedicated training and experience of more established Huntsmen.  She possesses an incredibly versatile and flexible fighting technique that shows emphasis on leveraging power, precision, and control to control the flow of the engagement, going for the throat by creating a path of least resistance.  However, while she has proven her mettle against many of the premier warriors of her day, she is not without her limits.  Penny’s initial death and her stumbles with the Ace-Ops prove that she can be subverted in turn, her encounters with Cinder and the Hound show that she can have difficulty contending with overwhelming force, and she simply lacks the experience to deal with the unorthodox.  Furthermore, her style is based on programmed attack sequences rather than developed techniques, so her performance level is capped somewhat.  Fortunately, these issues are only really relevant when she is faces with opponents at or around her own level, and Penny never repeated her mistakes, learning from experience and adjusting her pattern accordingly.

SPECIAL

Penny’s Semblance, if she has one at all, is unconfirmed, nor is there any parallel to be made with her father.  As a scientist and academic, Pietro’s Aura was likely developed solely for practicality rather than combative application, so any Semblance he may have is unlikely to have been discovered.  However, the Aura that Pietro sacrificed to create Penny was clearly more than enough to provide her with all the benefits of a flesh-and-blood person’s, her Aura being just as strong as anyone else’s.  Even without a supernatural superpower, Penny’s body was built with various gadgets and tools that provided her with special abilities.  Though most of these were covered in the Physical breakdown, Penny’s varied visual processors, computer interface, and propulsion systems still provided extranormal traits and abilities that furthered her combative viability.  Specifically, her vision provided her with unparalleled capabilities for rooting out infiltrators, seeing through Emerald Sustrai’s illusions by targeting Cinder Fall’s heat signature and revealing Tyrian Callows during his massacre in Mantle, though the chaos created prevented her from apprehending him.  Furthermore, the heads-up-display in Penny’s eyes allowed her to regularly keep track of her own systems, and could be updated with blueprint data to support navigation, seen when she casually calculated the fastest route to the control center at the Atlas base.  Practically speaking, the concentrated energy beam created by the Floating Array was her most readily available and commonly used combative ability, generating massive blasts capable of destroying heavy machinery and incapacitating high-caliber Grimm.

During the upheaval caused by Cinder Fall following the Battle of Mantle, the Winter Maiden Fria passed away, leaving Penny to inherit the power.  Like her contemporaries Cinder, Amber, and Raven Branwen, Penny possessed tremendous elemental powers and control over the weather, these abilities stemming from a source independent of her own Aura.  Among the various abilities offered by the Maiden powers, Penny appeared to favor wind manipulation, using powerful gales to throw the Ace-Ops around during their battle and keep them from regularly closing the distance.  During this same encounter, Penny created a contained thunderstorm as an anti-personnel attack, releasing hail on the Ace-Ops, and she was likely capable of using lightning in a similar fashion.  During her subsequent duel with Cinder at Amity, Penny demonstrated her proficiency in utilizing ice when she halted Cinder’s attempts to melt the support beams, using freezing streams to stabilize them.  Though this gave Cinder an opportunity to close in with her claws, Penny broke free and attacked her with an ice replica of the Floating Array.  While she was fighting Arthur Watts’ computer virus at Schnee Manor, Penny lost control of her powers, unleashing storms of magical energy that struck out in all directions and would have likely caused significant damage to the surrounding area had Nora not snapped her out of it.  Given this storm was visually similar to the blizzard Fria conjured in her last moments, it is entirely possible that this was a glimpse into Penny as a “fully realized” Maiden, indicating what she may have been had she been allowed to continue training with her powers.  However, I do not believe that this feat is something Penny can consistently use on her own, instead being a circumstantial loss of control on her part.

Penny’s use of her special abilities were similar to her martial skills in that they had the mechanics of direct, robotic application of power, yet her programming and ingenuity allowed her to wield them as a fluid array of multitools.  Penny’s displays against the Ace-Ops are a perfect demonstration of her continued emphasis on undermining and subverting her opponents rather than just overwhelming them with almighty displays of god-like power.  Instead of ripping into them with tornados, fire storms and lightning, she used calculated bursts of power to escape their traps, keep them off their game, and whittle away at their defenses, the incident with the hail is easily the best specific example.  Against Cinder Fall, Penny negated her counterpart’s overwhelming onslaught by evading her attacks and used her own powers to strike at Cinder’s weak points when she was exposed.  However, while Penny’s programming allowed her to compensate for her inexperience using the Winter Maiden’s power, she seemed to display a lack of confidence in directly leveraging her might in battle, instead relying heavily on martial might wherever possible.  The incidents with the virus offer a glimpse into the destructive juggernaut Penny might have become had she lost these inhibitions, though they also demonstrate the limits of her skill.  As it stands, her inventive and tactically oriented use of her powers were typically enough to make up for this hesitation, and Penny was never truly defeated upon receiving Fria’s power.

RANKING: Tier 1, Dominating Combat

Despite her gross inexperience, Penny Polendina’s fast learning allowed her to develop into a tremendously powerful Maiden in a very short span of time.  Her proficiency was likely another outgrowth of her combat computer, funneling the same programming that allowed her to subvert and overwhelm her enemies in swordplay into her use of her elemental powers.  In fact, I would argue that no other Maiden, except possibly Raven, has mastered the kind of skill-based applications of their powers to the same degree as Penny.  She combines subtle and creative uses of her various abilities with overwhelming power in all areas, channeling the might of nature itself through the precision and focus of a military-grade computer.  While this means her effectiveness is based on programed skill rather than developed skill, the sheer magnitude of her abilities guarantees that any attempt to combat her is going to have to be top tier at minimum.

OVERALL RANKING: TIER 1, SUPER HUNTRESS

Penny Polendina’s strengths and weaknesses are tied to the fact that she is a designed and built combat module implanted with the soul of a young girl, making her a Super Huntress despite her unusual circumstances.  Her body is specifically built for hard combat, providing an athletic performance level that the overwhelming majority of combatants cannot replicate by the simple fact that their biology prevents it.  She is armed with an incredibly versatile and powerful weapon set that she uses to both overpower and subvert her opponents with deadly precision and devastating volume.  And she combines military grade gadgets and software with the powers of the Winter Maiden, mixing elemental destruction with technological focus.  Everything about Penny in a practical sense provides her with a varied approach to combat that she can use to bypass her enemies’ defenses and hit them right where it hurts in turn, elevated above and beyond by military-grade cybernetic enhancements and god-like magic powers.  However, Penny is still limited to the conflicting nature of her living and mechanical components.  Her skill is based on programming rather than training, meaning that she very much sticks to her own patterns and is not experienced at evaluating her opponents in the way truly developed masters can.  She is, essentially, a prodigy who took shortcuts, getting around the need for dedicated training by way of a superhuman body, magically inherited superpowers, and a combat database in place of a living brain.

While I do not hold anything I just said against Penny on a personal level, she does have her limitations that tie into her own unbalanced sense of identity.  Penny is a real girl, that is not up for debate.  But at the same time, she is conflicted over the developing feelings and understanding of real life and how they mesh with what she is programmed to do.  Everything that makes Penny one of the most powerful and dangerous combatants in the RWBY setting also, at least to her, alienates her from the joys of life she loves so much.  She is a caring, compassionate, and noble young woman who values her friends and family more than just about anybody, and a dedicated Huntress driven by a desire to protect the world and her kingdom from the threats of the world of Remnant, all the while being constructed as a living weapon to be used and abused as her superiors, James Ironwood in particular, saw fit.  Penny Polendina’s greatest strength in battle and greatest weakness in her personal life was that she was a true, and literal, killing machine. And yet, she chose to fight for every life.

*originally posted on RoosterTeeth Community page on 03-27-21*

* all images taken from RWBY Wiki *

RWBY Combat Analysis

[purplesurveys]

1674

Can you write in cursive? Well, yeah we had to take it up in school. We were also required to write in cursive in some classes in high school so to this day I can adjust easily between print and cursive.

Have you ever viewed the moon through a telescope? Sure, once. We had an overnight stargazing activity in school and they rented out a few telescopes to let us see the moon and some planets.

Where do you like to sit in the movie theater? Anywhere in the center section is ideal, but if those happen to be booked then I don’t mind sitting at the back-ish rows, as long as it’s not the literal last row.

Do you know how to properly eat food with chopsticks? Yup. I’m 100% sure I don’t actually hold the chopsticks properly when I use them, but I can at least keep my food up and that’s good enough for me haha.

Have you participated in a marketing survey? Eh, sure. You know those websites that send you money when you answer their surveys? I used to take those when I was a jobless fresh grad during the pandemic as a way to try to get some sort of income, no matter how small. I earned all of ₱30 during that time LOL because I wasn’t qualified for most of the surveys that were available.

Do you normally finish one book before starting another? No. I’m bad at reading in the first place so I usually jump from one to another without ever finishing any of them.

Do you prefer Chinese food, Mexican food, or Italian food? None of these are my go-tos but at this moment I’m feeling Italian the most. Then Chinese, then Mexican.

What genre of film do you usually watch? Drama.

What was the last TV show that you watched? Seventeen’s 13 Castaway Boys.

Which branch of science do you find the most interesting? I liked biology; I enjoyed the memorization that came with it. Also astronomy!

Do you prefer reading books, comic books, manga/graphic novels, magazines, or the newspaper? Magazines and the newspaper. I’ve always been partial to nonfiction.

Do you believe that people can change? Yes, but it doesn’t come easy.

What book are you reading right now? I’m not reading anything at the moment.

Was there anything that inspired you today? No. I actually felt down today, so I’m not in the best headspace. I did turn on a few songs that I usually listen to when I seek comfort, but it wasn’t to get inspired but rather so I can push myself to cry because I’ve been needing to let the tears out for some time now hahahaha.

Are you more of a leader or a follower? Follower. I can lead, too, but I always appreciate a little bit of guidance.

What is something that you’re looking forward to? My trip to Thailand.

If you were an animal, which one would you be? Dog.

What was the last performance/concert you went to? Seonho’s fanmeet back in January.

What is the last dream that you remember? Good one. I can’t actually remember the last that I managed to remember upon waking up.

How could today have been better? I wish I didn’t have to dedicate half the day for work. I wish I could’ve just rested. I wish I didn’t have to mentally prepare for a work event tomorrow (Sunday).

Salty or sweet? Salty; was never one for dessert.

What is the last song you listened to? Life Goes On by BTS.

Is there anything you’d like to buy right now? CLOTHES. I need to get new stuff for Thailand so my photos can look cute!!!!!! I also still need a concert outfit!!

How would you describe your job? Requires a lot of grit and patience.

What was the first thing you ate today? Siomai.

Do you know how to play chess? No, I never understood how it works :(

If you were given the chance to be immortal, would you take it? Nah.

What is your favorite hot drink? Not big on hot drinks.

Which meal of the day is your favorite? I usually splurge for dinner, so that.

Do you believe in aliens? Extraterrestrial life, sure, but I don’t exactly subscribe to how aliens are usually depicted in films.

Is there anything right now that you’re craving? Not really, I’m feeling pretty full.

[pookha]

A Promise Ring Chapter 3

Wishing Stars and Charming Experiments

Harry and Luna go to the top of the Astronomy Tower to watch the Centarurid meteor showers and wish upon stars. Harry tells her that they won't be able to live together at Hogwarts unless they're married. Will they get engaged?

Later, Harry has a talk with Filius who wants Harry to take on more. Harry shows Filius some of his experiments.

Luna’s hand was warm and soft in Harry’s as they walked to the Astronomy Tower. They began the long trek up the stairs to the roof.

“We won’t get in trouble for being up there after hours?” Luna asked. Her voice was curious, but unconcerned.

Harry grinned; he looked his age for once instead of like someone who’d seen too much, too young.

“I got permission from Professor Sinistra. Our new status as…um…apprentices? comes with a few privileges as long as we don’t abuse them.”

Luna nodded. She’d been allowed in more of the Forbidden Forest than before, albeit with Hagrid.

“What are we going to do up there?” she asked.

“Well, I thought we’d sit and look at the stars and talk; Hermione tells me that the Centaurid meteor showers should peak tonight and I thought we could make some wishes on falling stars.”

“Not planning any snogging?” Luna squeezed his hand.

“Well…some,” Harry admitted, squeezing her hand back.

She dragged his hand to stop him. He turned to her curiously and she stood on tiptoes to kiss him. It was a sweet, gentle kiss and Harry started to pull away, but she pulled him closer and tangled hands in his hair. He bent and his lips slid down from hers to her neck. She gasped at the gentle bite and pulled him tighter. He kissed across her neck to the other side, just under her ear and she moaned lightly. She released his hair and he pulled back.

“Thought we’d get a head start,” she said and laughed. He laughed with her, took her hand again and they trekked the rest of the way up the stairs to the roof. A frigid breeze had stripped the roof mostly clear of snow, leaving only a small drift against the crenellations on the far edge. The telescopes had been taken down and put under charmed tarps to protect them against the wind and cold.

Harry let go of her hand and they both began digging in packs. He threw down a blanket and activated some charms on it with a few words. At the same time, Luna took their windbreak out of her pack and snapped it open. She put it behind the blanket which was now emitting visible heat shimmers. The windbreak snapped and jittered in the wind.

“Watch this,” Harry said. He pulled his wand, touched the windbreak and did a charm. It immediately stiffened and stopped snapping.

“Oh, that’s a nice one,” Luna said, admiring Harry’s Charm.

“It’s reversible, too, so when we go I can make it pliable again.”

They sat down together, hip to hip on the warm, charmed blanket then Harry took another blanket out, put it over them and activated the charms to warm it also.

Harry pulled two pillows out of his pack, placed them under the blanket and said, “We’ve got about an hour before we’ll really see any of the shooting stars.” 

He laid down on his back, head on a pillow. Luna turned and watched him, her eyes catching the reflection of the moon again. He was never going to get tired of seeing her eyes reflecting in the moonlight. She slid down next to him under the blanket and turned on her side to face him. He turned his head and they both got lost in kisses and caresses. When they surfaced, the moon had shifted subtly and Luna’s eyes were dark. She turned onto her back and snuggled closer into him.

“I…I was talking with Professor Flitwick about housing…” Harry trailed off.

“Yes?” Luna asked curiously.

“He said that we won’t be able to live together on Hogwarts grounds because we’re not married.”

“Oh.” Luna’s voice was small and Harry sighed.

“So the way I see it, we could live in Hogsmeade, but neither of us wants that?” It was a question. He felt Luna’s head shake next to his.

“We could get married before school starts next year.” Harry turned to face her and she turned on her side facing him.

“That sounds nice.” She said and kissed him. The kiss started to deepen, but he pulled back.

“You’re not worried about getting married so young? Or if I don’t get the Charms position?”

She smiled at him and kissed him again. This time when she pulled him deeper, he didn’t resist.

She slid her mouth to his ear and he felt her warm breath.

“No, not worried. Molly and Arthur got married young and they’re still together. My parents got married when Dad was 20 and Mum 18. I think; no, I know we’ll be okay. And I know you’ll get the Charms position, too. Professor Flitwick wouldn’t be spending so much time with you if he didn’t believe in you also.” She nipped his earlobe and then his neck under it, the first one gently, the second one not so gently.

He twisted his head until they were kissing again. Their hands moved under the blankets, then under clothing. Both of their breathing grew heavier. Harry pulled back first.

“We can’t go too far here,” he said regretfully.

Luna pulled back after one last, wet kiss.

“No, you’re right.” Her tone was light, but her voice was thick and heavy. Harry had heard that only the few times they’d made love before school had started back and knew it was hard for her to stop now.

“We’ll have time,” he said, and sat up.

He dug in his pack and pulled out a ring case. When he opened it, it held only a plain gold band. She sat up and he slid it on her finger next to the moonstone promise ring. It nested against it perfectly.

“Will you marry me?” he asked, his voice husking to match hers unconsciously.

“Yes,” she said simply. Her eyes filled with tears that didn’t fall until her lashes brushed his cheek as they kissed. They spilled down his cheeks and mingled with his tears that spilled down hers. When the kiss broke a lifetime later, she wiped his cheeks with the back of her hand and then her own.

“When?” she asked.

“June 21st, the Summer Solstice?” Harry asked.

Luna thought for a moment.

“That would be a good day, but it’s also right in the middle of N.E.W.Ts isn’t it?”

Harry shook his head.

“It’s the Saturday after they’re done and the start of the dead week with no classes.”

“Mmm, that would be nice then. It’ll give us a few weeks after school to go somewhere and enjoy ourselves before we have to come back in the summer to prepare for next year.” She snuggled in even closer.

“Where would you like to go?” he asked.

“We can decide later.” She saw a bright flash behind him. He saw her glance and turned just in time to catch the fading light of the shooting star.

“I wish happiness for us,” she whispered in his ear.

Another star brightened behind her.

“I wish peace for us and our children and our children’s children.” He closed his eyes as he said it.

“Children, plural?” she asked, her breath in his ear again.

“Two, three?” he said.

“Two or three sounds good,” she agreed. She licked his ear in a long lick from lobe to tip and he laughed then licked her cheek. They’d done this before and it always devolved into giggles and more serious kissing. It was no different this time. It was even harder to stop themselves this time, but they did, finally.

When Harry came into breakfast the next morning, the Great Hall grew quiet and he felt eyes following him as he crossed to sit beside Hermione. As soon as he sat, the hubbub increased in volume.

“What’s going on?” he whispered to Hermione.

She rolled her eyes at him.

“Your engagement is big news on the gossip train,” she whispered back.

“How?” he started before she interrupted.

“Padma was still awake when Luna came back and she saw Luna’s new ring. She messaged Parvati, and then it spread from there. Honestly, it would only have spread faster if Lavender were…” she stopped and sighed.

“...still alive,” Harry finished.

“Yeah, I never thought I’d miss her, but I do.”

Hermione suddenly faced him.

“It’s true?” she asked and he nodded.

She squealed in a very un-Hermione-like way and hugged him tight.

“Congratulations!” she said.

Her hug was the breaking of the dam and soon there was a ragged queue waiting to congratulate Harry. After Dennis Creevey shook his hand, he caught Professor Flitwick’s eye at the staff table and Filius winked at him. Harry smiled and winked back. There were only a few minutes left for breakfast, so Harry started shoveling food down and almost choked when Hermione told him it was like having Ron back. He’d just finished when the morning mail arrived and two different owls swooped down with letters for him. The first one was a thin envelope written in a looping cursive. The second was a larger envelope that was printed with careful, blocky letters. Hermione saw the return address on the first.

“Is Andromeda okay? Teddy?” she asked. Her face wrinkled with concern.

Harry slit it open with his wand and read the short letter.

“She’s fine and so is Teddy, but it’s hard for her to raise a baby on her own, especially having just lost her husband and daughter recently.” Harry sighed. He handed the letter to Hermione who read it quickly and smiled.

“Oh, this looks like it might be a good solution. Do you think Kreacher would want to go there? I can’t see him ever wanting to leave Grimmauld Place.” She handed the letter back to Harry.

Harry had opened the other letter and pulled out a thick sheaf of parchment. He read it carefully and then handed it to Hermione also. She scanned it and handed it back.

“I see. You’re selling Grimmauld Place,” she said. She started to say something then stopped; thinking before speaking again.

Harry caught the look.

“Don’t worry, I’m going to ask him what he wants. I hope he’ll want to go help Andromeda with Teddy, but if he wants to come to Hogwarts to work, either with the Hogwarts Elves or with Luna and me, then that’s fine, too. I don’t think he’ll want to be released or signed over to the new owners of Grimmauld Place, but I do want to respect his wishes.”

Hermione’s face darkened at ‘signed over,’ but she sighed resignedly.

“This is something I want to address when I get to the Ministry, but it’s more complicated than I thought at first.” She stirred around her leftover eggs with her fork.

“Yeah,” Harry agreed. “I wish I had a good solution for you, for the Elves.”

“I’ve got to go to class. See you later, Harry. Congratulations again; Luna’s good for you and I can tell you really love her and she loves you.” She kissed Harry on the cheek, rose and left.

Harry shook a few more hands and answered a few more congratulations, then left for his new small office. It was not much larger than a Hogwarts broom closet, but it was quite a bit larger than his old cupboard under the stairs at the Dursleys. He’d been given it a week ago, complete with a desk and a chair. Its small window looked out over the back of the castle. It was already cluttered with some notepads he was experimenting with, a small crystal ball and a piece of charcoal. He cast a Supersensory Charm on a clear marble that had been affixed to the  door, and the familiar vertigo came back as he could now see from a third eye located in the marble. He closed the door, crossed unsteadily to his desk and sat heavily. His hand trembled slightly as he put his wand to his temple. When he pulled it away, a strand of purplish-red vapor trailed behind it. Harry touched his wand to the crystal ball and the strand of vapor disappeared into it, formed a cloud, then cleared into a view of the hallway outside. A few straggling students late to class passed by. Harry closed his eyes until the dizziness stopped.

He wrote some notes down on one of the notepads and it immediately duplicated them with the Doubling Charm. He held both notepads up and examined them, but wasn’t able to see a difference.

He opened his desk drawer and pulled out a small  round mirror. He could see the kitchen of Grimmauld Place in it. He touched it and said, “Kreacher?”

It only took a few seconds for Kreacher to come into view.

“Master Harry” he said with a bow. He was spotless, as was the kitchen. Harry knew the rest of the house was getting that way, but the years of neglect had made it hard for Kreacher to keep up. He’d absolutely refused help and Harry could tell it was hurting Kreacher’s pride.

“Kreacher, I have some news for you and I think it’s going to upset you. I forbid you from hurting yourself and I ask that you let me finish completely, then I’m going to ask what you want to do.”

Kreacher’s eyes bugged out and he nodded.

“Luna and I have decided to take positions at Hogwarts after we get married in June. I won’t be able to give Grimmauld Place the attention it needs and I’m going to have to sell it.”

Kreacher made an upset squeak and raised his hands to his tufty ears to pull them, but then stopped.

“I have some options that I thought you might like, but I want to do right by you, too. I can offer your contract to the new buyers of the house, I can transfer your contract to Hogwarts if you want to work here, you can stay with us in our new cottage at Hogwarts, I can release you from your contract…”

Kreacher made a gulping sound, halfway between a sob and a hiccup.

“I’m sorry; I know it’s upsetting,” Harry said gently.

“Or I can sign you over to Andromeda Tonks. She needs help raising her grandson, my godson Teddy Lupin. I know you know she was born a Black and this way, you’re staying in the family, even if the Black line has died off.”

Now tears streamed from Kreacher’s eyes and he sobbed.

“Master is angry with me?” he wailed.

“No, Kreacher. I am very happy with you and that’s why I want to do whatever you want.” Harry sighed.

“I want to stay here with you and Mistress Luna and help with your children,” Kreacher said between sobs.

“I know, but I can’t live there and I don’t want Luna to live there; it has too many bad memories for me and bad associations and the monetary upkeep on it is ruinous if I’m not living there. I just can’t keep it, Kreacher. I’m sorry it affects you, too.”

“Master Harry is looking out for me?” Kreacher half-asked.

“I’m trying to,” Harry said, sympathetic tears in his eyes now, too.

“May Kreacher have a little time to think about this?”

“The estate agent will be there in a month to start the process, you can have all that time. You should visit Hogwarts and Andromeda and talk to the estate agent.”

Kreacher bowed.

“I will, Master Harry, and I will also make sure the house is presentable before then. May I be excused?”

Harry nodded and Kreacher Disapparated noisily. Harry sighed again and stowed the mirror in his desk.

He ripped off the top sheet of the notepad and copied it, then copied the copy until he’d copied it twenty times with the Doubling Charm. He held up the original next to the 20th copy and ran his hands over the errors it had introduced, most of them being slight variations in his handwriting. The crystal ball blinked, which grabbed his attention and he turned to it. It showed Professor Flitwick standing just outside the door, hand raised to knock. Harry waved his wand at the door and it opened. Professor Flitwick lowered his hand awkwardly.

“Come in, professor,” Harry said politely.

Professor Flitwick pointed at the marble.

“Supersensory Charm? Be careful, overuse can lead to migraine.”

Professor Flitwick entered and closed the door. Harry stood, copied his chair with the Doubling Charm and put it down on the other side of the desk. Professor Flitwick sat on it.

“I’ve tied it off to the crystal ball, so I don’t have to deal with the headache. It’s not perfect, but the sympathy of the clear marble to the crystal ball is pretty good.”

“May I?” Professor Flitwick gestured at the crystal ball.

Harry nodded.

Professor Flitwick leaned over and picked it up. He looked into it, then turned it this way and that. After a moment, he pulled out his wand and touched the crystal ball with it. The image grew more clear. He put it back on the desk on its stand.

“It had a slight flaw on the interior that didn’t match the marble, so that should help with the resolution.”

“Thank you, sir, uh Filius.” He smiled. It was going to take a while to get used to being on a first name basis with the professors.

“Experimenting with copying error?” Filius asked. He pointed at the two sheets next to each other.

“Yeah, I’m trying to see if it’s worse with a Muggle or machine-made product like these notepads, or if it’s worse with parchment, or if it makes no difference.”

He slid the sheets over to Filius, who looked them over carefully.

“And?” he asked.

“It’s too early to tell yet, but my initial observation is that it doesn’t seem to make a difference.”

Filius started to say something, but Harry pulled a book out of his desk drawer and held it out.

“I know that Cubberson said much the same thing, but that was nearly fifty years ago and Muggle manufacturing processes have changed a lot and I thought I should see before I tried to mass-produce these notepads for friends.”

“I was just about to suggest Cubberson’s research, but as you say, it’s fifty years old.” Filius ran his finger over the book's spine.

“This goes to what I came to talk to you about.” He leaned forward.

“Sir?” Harry asked nervously.

“You’ve been very diligent in learning more and it’s good to see some academic curiosity from you. I can tell you’re working very hard and I think it’s time you take on some teaching. For the rest of the year, you’re going to be teaching the second and third years on Tuesday and Wednesday, under my direction. I’ll be there to help, but mostly I’ll be there to observe. In the evening, when we have my philology talks, we’ll go over your approach. Sound good?”

Harry gulped audibly.

“Yes, sir, uh, Filius.”

“Excellent, I’ll see you tomorrow at one for the first class.” He took a folder out of his pocket that it definitely couldn’t fit in and slid it across the desk to Harry. Harry glanced at it and could see it was the lesson plan for the next few weeks.

Filius stood to go, but Harry asked, “Do you have five more minutes, Filius?”

Filius nodded and sat back down.

“I’ve been working on something else, too and I wanted to show you.”

Harry waved his wand at the window and it darkened, then he made a dim red witchlight float just over his desk. He shoved all the papers on the desk over and waved his wand at them. They straightened into a neat pile. He pulled a glossy sheet out of his desk drawer and sat it near the crystal ball which was still showing the scene in the hallway outside the office.

Harry drew his wand in a circle around the crystal ball twice anti-clockwise then once clockwise and the red streamer of the Supersensory Charm clung to his wand. He touched it to the glossy sheet which immediately started developing into a picture of the scene shown on the crystal ball. Harry held his wand to it for twenty seconds, then lifted it away and shook it vigorously. The picture moved in a loop, repeating the same twenty seconds over and over. After two minutes, Harry dismissed the red witchlight and lightened his window.

“I’m trying to figure out how to extend the time of these photos, so we can use the Supersensory Charm, tie it off to an object and have it be a record, but the photographic paper seems to have a limited capacity of about twenty seconds. Also, the potions needed to make it instant like this are fairly fiddly to make…and expensive.”

“Why do you want to do this?” Filius asked.

“I thought the castle could use some enhanced surveillance, especially outside entrances. Muggles have a thing called CCTV that can watch and record almost anything and I wanted to see what we could do here.”

Filius took the moving photo and stared at it before answering.

“And the right to privacy?” he asked.

“I was thinking it would only be used at entrances and common areas like the Great Hall, but that’s a question for the Board of Governors.”

“I don’t know how I feel, honestly,” Filius sighed.

“More surveillance and security seems like a good idea, especially with what happened last year, but sometimes the cost in invaded privacy exceeds the benefits in enhanced protection.”

“Yes, sir,” Harry said. “Should I stop this research, then?”

Filius slid the photo back and tapped it.

“No, it’s interesting and I may have some ideas about how to improve this. We’llt talk about it next time we meet in my office, okay?”

Filius stood and so did Harry.

“Thank you, Filius for the opportunity and believing in me.”

“You’re welcome, Harry and I’m looking forward to working even more with you.”

Filius left and Harry sat back down at his desk and continued working on his duplication experiment until it was time to go to class.

[bluemoonfantasiesiii]

Lily chuckled at what Ruby said about Mona "she's always short on mora~, because she always buysa really heavy and big books and high priced stuff~. She once allowed me in her house~, because Papa was helping her with some works~. I only wanted to draw, so she gave me three papers and a pencil so I can draw like papa always do~. The room I was left in, was so big and filled with a lot of things that I don't understand~" Lily explained thinking that everyone knows about this "and no! You are no monster~, Angel~! So stop say that~!" Lily pouted at what he said about himself.

"Well~, technically~ there is no monsters around~, if we count any elemental creature as living being but in their simple and pure form of each element in Teyvat~ and the hilichurls are some cursed people~, then there's no monster really~" Susu said while she was thinking about the idea "you know~, Ruby~, if you have no constellation up there, that means you are a part of the elements in this world~" she said with a genuine smile at the boy, softly caressing his cheek as if he was her own child.

"Yes~! Because Ruby is a Cryo whooperflower~! And he is the guardian Angel of the mountain~! And he's my friend~!" Lily agreed with big smile, seems so proud to have Susu to support her way of thinking.

Susu chuckled at the girl's way of arguing and patted her head lovingly. She didn't wish to make her feel sad or anything so she helped take her mind off the matter by teaching her how to use the telescope. Once she learned, Lily looked where Ruby was pointing and she was so happy to see it.

"This is my first time seeing a constellation~!"she exclaimed and handed the lady the device so she can see it too "who's that one for~, Ruby~?" She asked her friend with wondering eyes.

Susu was glad to see it too "I found it~ too~" she said with soft giggle.

---

Unaware of the person following him, Vincent sighed like the third time while he was still stuck in his letter "come on.. I need to get this over with" he mumbled to himself. The pencil could only write one line of words but no more.

(Dear Rosa, Friend Rosa, Rosa,

.)

"Ugh, I don't even know what I should write in this letter.. should I send Lily to her alone as I work there..? ... but what if she wasn't honest..? Can I really trust her again..?" He asked to no one.

"I should learn how to transfer my shield to Lily's bracelet, so she can be safe even when my eyes are not on her. That's one idea to go with" he said looking for his personal note to write down the first test of his shield.

(Charge the bracelet to be protective in dangerous times)

"I should be able to find a way for it. I'm already capable of using my Hydro as a healing cover and a memories projector. I should be able to enhance this by getting some pieces from the crab like ruin machine" he thought out loud and a smile came to his lips as he found a good way to keep his daughter safe now.

He started to write down the things he might need and should get when he is in Liyue "with this, I can leave Lily any place and she should be fine, but of course, I won't~" he said as if he was replying to a question no one asked.

The adventurer let a sigh and shook his head with a soft smile resting on his face "she truly had it her way with me, my dear daughter" he said with lighthearted giggle as he kept working on that one page before he moves to a new one to start a new diet schedule for the Captain as a way to say thank you to him.

“Aww, you guys are too sweet~” Rubedo said. “You’re right, even if I don’t have a constellation, I’m still a person!” He looked back up at the doll-like constellation and tried to remember why he was so curious about it before.

“Some legends from Inazuma say that hundreds of years ago, the Electro Archon made a living puppet with her own hands to hold her Gnosis for safekeeping. But he was too soft-hearted for the task, so she let him go free. No one knows what happened to him after that. According to expert astrologists, Peregrinus is his constellation, and his birthday wasn’t too long ago.”

———

“You really do care for that girl, huh?” Nigredo thought. He’d silently taken a seat on one of the beds as he observed the young researcher. “The ‘her’ he’s talking about… Is he referring to Lily’s real mother? Is she out in the desert somewhere?”

“It is entirely possible,” Durin replied in the gardener’s head. “Especially if she is a student of the Akademiya. Many of them leave everything behind to pursue their research.”

“Tch,” Nigredo scoffed in his mind. “Sounds familiar.”

[sidra-the-scrybe]

Haya hated having to ask for help, but the particular card she had been attempting to inscrybe-… the wishing star, was unfortunately unable to be crafted on her own. The stars was of another domain, one that Haya previously had little connection to and hardly realized it existed. She had spent so much time isolated at sea that speaking to others wasn’t something she was used to, nor good at. With that in mind, rapping her fist against a small door to what appeared to be an observatory, she would remind herself of the basics of etiquette.

Smile, shake their hand, introduce yourself; Pray that your manny eyes, and missing eyes, didn’t scare them into thinking you were a monster too. This was necessary for her deck to be completed, she reminded herself as she ran a hand through her hair quietly, a sigh escaping her lips as she stretched her wings. She’s sure this ‘Sidra’ would understand-… probably, maybe.

“Hello? Is anyone there?”

@scrybeofchance

Inside the observatory, there stood the main inhabitant of the building, who was immersed with their telescope. They observed the sky through it, and while it was only dusk, it seemed they were quite eager for what was to come. That night, there was meant to be a great shower of shooting stars-- the perfect opportunity to create more cards for their deck.

Of course, in due time, as the Scrybe of Stars realized. She set down their tool for inscrybing the stars and stepped back to take a break, letting a small huff as they did so. It'd still be some time before she could get anything done. In the meantime, perhaps they could organize their things, make sure that none of her champions had gotten their needed jobs done for the day. (It didn't really matter though, since they were pretty responsible and she could trust them with all of their heart.

Wait a minute-...does that sound like... knocking? Is someone here?

Right off the bat, her entire body swerved to face the entrance to their observatory, where a disembodied voice could be heard on the other side. Someone was here! Instantly, their iconic smile grew on their face, and in no time, they were racing down the steps of the observatory to reach the main floor, speeding past the multiple shelves of old wares she had collected and the plants that grew all over the place.

Once they were nearing their front doors, they dusted down their garments and gingerly opened one of them. Their head peaked out for a second, observing their guest, before opening the door entirely to her, their partially obscured face gleaming nonetheless.

"Ah, why hello there! I do hope that the journey up here was a hassle! Might I ask what brought you here, today?"

Their head tilted to one of their shoulders in curiosity as they waited for a response. Their tone, while friendly at it's core, also felt a little rusty-- as though they weren't quite used to talking with others much either. To be fair though, that was the case. Not many were eager to trek the entire way up to the observatory, so there weren't too many guests at a time. To see someone new though, it felt refreshing to them.

[foreignerabroad1994]

Stars: Short Story Writing Prompt

My response to u/PROMETHEUS-one's prompt on the r/WritingPrompt subreddit to the following prompt:

"The first time humanity learned about extraterrestrial life was when distant stars slowly began to disappear from our nighttime sky."

"Hey, Tobes," Ben nudges him in the ribs a bit too hard. "Teach me about the stars again."

Toby sighs and turns to his friend. They're, once again, plastered on the roof of a rusting old car, not far from the edge of the family's farm grazing pastures. The one true piece of entertainment in this remote little hole of a farming town, in Toby's opinion, has always been the sprawling night sky, littered with constellations. Before Ben moved to their town and suctioned himself to his side like a chubby octopus, he used to come here alone every night with his book about the stars, and find them above, abandoning his telescope to try to feel like a true, old astronomer.

Well, it wasn't his book, but the library hasn't called yet with any fees, so he liked to pretend he'd return it one day.

"You always forget everything I teach you."

Ben huffs. "I'll remember this time! Maybe teach me an easy one."

"I don't think any of them are easy ones for you."

"Hey!" Ben protests. "That's not true! I remember plenty!"

Toby smiles up at the sky, casually tracing the edges of Orion. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Like what?"

Silence. Toby holds in a snort of laughter.

"Fine! Don't tell me!"

A pang of guilt hits Toby, and he sighs, more so at himself. "Let's find Cassiopeia then, yeah?"

Ben seems to bristle in excitement, his ire easily forgotten.

Toby points up, taking Ben's short hand with him to make sure he really sees what Toby means. "See this star over there? There, next to that. See that 'W' shape there? Thats'-"

Toby stops, drops Ben's hand, and frowns. Something is off. He knows, for a fact, that's where Cassiopeia is. He could find the five bright stars that make up each point of its shape with ease. But today, one star is clearly missing. He scans the sky, confused, sitting up as if it would bring him closer.

"What is it?" Ben whispers, seeming to sense something serious is on Toby's mind.

"One of the stars is missing."

Ben blinks at him, but he barely registers his dumbfounded expression before he looks up again, already searching for other constellations, confused.

"It can't be right..." Toby mumbles to himself, wishing he had his book with him to confirm, but he'd left it at home tonight. He scrambles off the car, scraping his palms.

"Tobes, what are you-"

"Go home, Ben, I'll meet you tomorrow. I just... remembered something, okay?"

"But Tobes-"

He stops and turns to Ben, his eyes pleading, "please, Ben. Tomorrow."

Ben swallows but nods silently, and Toby sprints back home. He barely registers his sister's shout when he nearly topples her on the way up the stairs, grabbing the book from his room in a rush as he keeps running up. Climbing up into the attic, he clambers out of the narrow window onto the roof, where his rickety old telescope waits.

He adjusts the telescope, his book open on Cassiopeia, and looks closer.

There's no mistaking it. The beautiful, glowing constellation is missing one of its five brightest stars. But that can't be right.

He spends the night searching the sky, confused, for hours. His mother eventually forces him in and into bed, but he tosses and turns.

At school, Toby is restless. His bouncing knees make his classmates frown or huff at him all day, and his teachers seem to target him for his restlessness. He tries his hardest to pay the small anomaly no mind - surely this would show up in the news, or maybe the stars just weren't as visible. There must be an explanation.

He drags Ben with him to the rooftop the next evening, scooting to place his friend in position. "Do you see the same shape as here?" He points to the clear image depicting Cassiopeia, before pointing at the telescope.

Ben looks at him with a frown before peering into the telescope. He does it several times.

"No, Tobes, I don't. Are you sure it's the right position? Maybe-"

"No, it is... I-"

As if a god clapped once in the night sky, a deep, resonant thud falls on their shoulders from the dark, starry sky, like a blanket of force, nearly knocking them off the roof.

"Oh, fuck, my telescope-"

"Tobes..."

"What the hell was that? Maybe the military-"

"Tobes."

"I can't afford another one, damn it-"

"Tobes!"

Toby snaps his head up from his telescope, and notices Ben pointing up. He looks, and feels his heart drop. One by one, like scattered fairy lights turning off, glowing stars disappear, as if in a blink, from the night sky. It is much too fast, happening all at once, to be anything but trouble.

"Tobes, I don't think this is good."

Toby hears muttered, panicked voices through the downstairs open patio. A news broadcast murmurs in the background. He hears his dad step outside, seeing him standing below them and looking up at the sky, his jaw unhinged.

"No, Ben." He says. "This isn't good."

Toby and Ben, it turns out, were right.

[mariesdeluluworld]

𝙈𝙚𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙤𝙞𝙖 |𝘿𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙤 𝙈𝙖𝙡𝙛𝙤𝙮 𝙭 𝙈𝙖𝙡𝙚 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧|

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐢𝐯𝐞: 𝐆𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐨𝐭𝐭𝐬

Y/n couldn't think or speak. The magic of Diagon Alley overwhelmed him as he stared at the shops. Once the archway appeared Hagrid led him and his brother through before the archway shrunk instantly back into a solid wall. Y/n turned his head away from the now solid wall, letting his eyes wander all over the Alley. The sun shone brightly on a stack of cauldrons outside the nearest shop. Cauldrons—All Sizes—Copper, Brass, Pewter, Silver—Self-Stirring—Collapsible, said a sign hanging over them.

"Yeah, you'll be needin' one," said Hagrid, noticing Y/n and Harry staring at the nearest shop, "but we gotta get yer money first."

Y/n and Harry wished they had about eight more eyes. He and Harry turned their heads in every direction as they walked up the street, trying to look at everything at once: the shops, the things outside them, the people doing their shopping.

A plump woman outside an Apothecary was shaking her head as they passed, saying, "Dragon liver, sixteen Sickles an ounce, they're mad. . . ."

A low, soft hooting came from a dark shop with a sign saying Eeylops Owl Emporium—Tawny, Screech, Barn, Brown, and Snowy. Several boys of about Harry's and Y/n's age had their noses pressed against a window with broomsticks in it.

"Look," the boys heard one of them say, "the new Nimbus Two Thousand—fastest ever—"

There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments Y/n had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon . . .

"Gringotts," said Hagrid. They had reached a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops. Standing beside its burnished bronze doors, wearing a uniform of scarlet and gold, was—

"Yeah, that's a goblin," said Hagrid quietly as they walked up the white stone steps toward him. The goblin was about a head shorter than Harry and Y/n. He had a swarthy, clever face, a pointed beard and, Y/n noticed, very long fingers and feet. He bowed as they walked inside. Now they were facing a second pair of doors, silver this time, with words engraved upon them:

Enter, stranger, but take heed

Of what awaits the sin of greed,

For those who take, but do not earn,

Must pay most dearly in their turn.

So if you seek beneath our floors

A treasure that was never yours,

Thief, you have been warned, beware

Of finding more than treasure there.

"Like I said, yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it," said Hagrid as Y/n studied the text, a lump forming in his throat. "Uh-huh,"

A pair of goblins bowed them through the silver doors and they were in a vast marble hall. About a hundred more goblins were sitting on high stools behind a long counter, scribbling in large ledgers, weighing coins in brass scales, examining precious stones through eyeglasses. There were too many doors to count leading off the hall, and yet more goblins were showing people in and out of these. Hagrid, Harry, and Y/n made for the counter.

"Morning," said Hagrid to a free goblin. "We've come ter take some money outta Mr. Harry and Y/n Potter's safe."

"You have his key, sir?"

"Got it here somewhere," said Hagrid, and he started emptying his pockets onto the counter, scattering a handful of moldy dog biscuits over the goblin's book of numbers. The goblin wrinkled his nose. Harry and Y/n watched the goblin on their right weighing a pile of rubies as big as glowing coals.

"Got it," said Hagrid at last, holding up a tiny golden key.

The goblin looked at it closely.

"That seems to be in order."

"An' I've also got a letter here from Professor Dumbledore," said Hagrid importantly, throwing out his chest. "It's about the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen."

The goblin read the letter carefully.

"Very well," he said, handing it back to Hagrid, "I will have someone take you down to both vaults. Griphook!"

Griphook was yet another goblin. Once Hagrid had crammed all the dog biscuits back inside his pockets, he, Harry, and Y/n followed Griphook toward one of the doors leading off the hall.

"What's the You-Know-What in vault seven hundred and thirteen?" Harry asked suspiciously. "Can't tell yeh that," said Hagrid mysteriously. "Very secret. Hogwarts business. Dumbledore's trusted me. More'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that."

Griphook held the door open for them. Y/n, who had expected more marble, was surprised. They were in a narrow stone passageway lit with flaming torches. It sloped steeply downward and there were little railway tracks on the floor. Griphook whistled and a small cart came hurtling up the tracks toward them. They climbed in—Hagrid with some difficulty—and were off.

At first, they just hurtled through a maze of twisting passages. "Blimey," muttered Y/n. Blimey is right, thought Harry as he tried to remember, left, right, right, left, middle fork, right, left, but it was impossible. The rattling cart seemed to know its own way because Griphook wasn't steering.

Harry's and Y/n's eyes stung as the cold air rushed past them, but Harry kept them wide open, while Y/n squeezed his eyes tight, disliking the cold air whipping around his face and hair.

Once, Harry thought he saw a burst of fire at the end of a passage and twisted around to see if it was a dragon, but too late—they plunged even deeper, passing an underground lake where huge stalactites and stalagmites grew from the ceiling and floor.

"I never know," Harry called to Hagrid over the noise of the cart, "what's the difference between a stalagmite and a stalactite?"

"Stalagmite's got an 'm' in it," said Hagrid. "An' don' ask me questions just now, I think I'm gonna be sick."

He did look very green, and when the cart stopped at last beside a small door in the passage wall, Hagrid got out and had to lean against the wall to stop his knees from trembling.

Harry turned his head to Y/n and elbowed him in the ribs. "Oh!" his eyes popped open. "Bloody Hell, Harry," he muttered angrily as he rubbed his bruised ribs. Harry rolled his eyes and climbed out of the cart with Y/n behind him muttering about Harry's bony elbows as if he didn't have bony elbows as well.

Griphook unlocked the door. The door creaked open, drawing Y/n's attention as a lot of green smoke came billowing out, and as it cleared, both Harry and Y/n gasped simultaneously. Inside were mounds of gold coins. Columns of silver. Heaps of little bronze Knuts.

"Are-are those . . .?" he couldn't get the words out properly, shock took over his body as his eyes traveled from each mountain and heap of the magical currency.

"All yours," confirmed Hagrid, a giant smile on his face.

All his. And Harry's. It was bloody incredible. The Dursleys couldn't have known about this or they'd have had it from them faster than blinking. How often had they complained how much Harry and Y/n cost them to keep? And all the time there had been a small fortune belonging to them, buried deep under London.

"Well? Come on then!" Y/n dragged his brother closer to the vault as he scooped up some of the money as Hagrid gave them a velvet pouch with a wand embroidered on it. "How does this work? The currency I mean," said Y/n as he picked up a gold coin.

"Well, that one there is a Galleons," he explained. "Seventeen silver Sickles to a Galleon and twenty-nine Knuts to a Sickle, it's easy enough." Harry and Y/n nodded as they scooped a pile of the coins into the bag. "Right, that should be enough fer a couple o' terms, we'll keep the rest safe for yeh." mused Hagrid as Y/n pulled the leather strings of the bag, closing it.

Hagrid turned to Griphook. "Vault seven hundred and thirteen now, please, and can we go more slowly?" Y/n had to agree with Hagrid, he did not enjoy the ride down here in that blasted cart. "One speed only," said Griphook with a sneer. Y/n never glared harder in his life.

The three of them climbed back into the cart, Y/n scowling at the goblin as the cart started moving. It gained speed quickly and Harry felt the adrenaline pumping in his veins. They were going even deeper now and gathering speed. The air became colder and colder as they hurtled around tight corners. They went rattling over an underground ravine, and Harry leaned over the side to try to see what was down at the dark bottom, but Hagrid groaned and pulled him back by the scruff of his neck. "What yeh think you're doin'??!" he shouted over the wind. "I just wanted to have a look―"

"Are you MAD?!" shrieked Y/n as he stared at his twin in shock. "You could've fallen over! You could've DIED!? What were you thinking?!" Harry looked at his twin, then to Hagrid, both shared looks of shock, anger and worry. For some strange reason, their reactions―especially Hagrid's―made him happy, content, and brought him to tears. No one, besides Y/n, had ever cared for Harry as did Hagrid at this moment. He was a complete stranger to this giant, yet he gazed at Harry like he was his own.

Vault seven hundred and thirteen had no keyhole. This confused Harry as much as it did Y/n. How was Hagrid supposed to retrieve something within this vault if it had no key hole? Griphook answered the question before they asked.

"Stand back," said Griphook importantly. He stroked the door gently with one of his long fingers and it simply melted away. "Woah!" whispered Y/n, awe shimmering in his eyes.

Griphook smirked. "If anyone but a Gringotts goblin tried that, they'd be sucked through the door and trapped in there,"

"How often do you check to see if anyone's inside?" Harry asked.

"About once every ten years," said Griphook with a rather nasty grin. Y/n shared a look with his brother and visibly gulped in fear. Note to self, he thought, never mess with goblins.

"Something really extraordinary has to be inside this top security vault," whispered Harry. Y/n nodded in agreement. As the vault door opened, both he and Harry leaned forward eagerly, expecting to see fabulous jewels at the very least . . . nothing. There was nothing in there. It was empty.

Y/n sighed aloud and rolled his shoulders. "Well, that was a waste of a trip now was it?" Before Harry or Hagrid could retort back to him, he noticed a grubby little package wrapped up in brown paper lying on the floor. Hagrid picked it up and tucked it deep inside his coat. Both Harry and Y/n longed to know what it was, but knew better than to ask.

"Come on, back in this infernal cart, and don't talk to me on the way back, it's best if I keep me mouth shut," said Hagrid, which drew a smile from Y/n. One wild cart ride later, they stood blinking in the sunlight outside Gringotts. Neither Harry nor Y/n knew where to run first now that they had a bag full of money. They didn't have to know how many Galleons there were to a pound to know that he was holding more money than they'd had in their whole life—more money than even Dudley had ever had.

"Wish Dudley could see us now," smirked Y/n. "Thirty-six??! That's two less than last year, Mummy!! Ohh poor me, I only have thirty-six presents for my birthday!! Waahh!" Harry laughed at Y/n's impression of their cousin, tears streamed down his face while Hagrid looked at them, confused.

"Inside joke Hagrid," explained Y/n. Hagrid nodded. "Ohh, always wanted ter be in one," he said. "Anyway, might as well get yer uniform," Hagrid nodded his head towards a shop called: Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. "Listen, Harry,Y/n, would yeh mind if I slipped off fer a pick-me-up in the Leaky Cauldron? I hate them Gringotts carts." He did still look a bit sick, so Harry and Y/n said their goodbyes to Hagrid and wished him well before entering Madam Malkin's shop.