#and lots of other characters had to be moved or adjusted to fit the wings in

[salty-an-disco]

*stumbles onto the stage, barely being able to keep standing as I grab the microphone*

I did it. They all have wings (and some tails) now

(you can’t see Para’s cus she keeps them hidden)

*falls over and dies*

[bigjuice34]

Private Affair (Year One)

Chapter One

A/N: Hi!! This is my first Empyrean fic so please bear with me! I have a lot planned for this series and more Fourth Wing characters will eventually be introduced as well. This series can be found on a03 as well! Feedback is greatly appreciated! I hope you enjoy :)

Word Count: 4k

Freya felt like her heart might pound out of her chest. Maybe it was the reality of what she was doing finally catching up with her, or maybe it was that she’d just climbed up a steep 250-step staircase and had yet to catch her breath. Either way, she needed to calm herself down.

It was Conscription Day. A day she knew was coming whether she liked it or not. The black swirls of the relic that peaked out from beneath the long sleeve of the tight-fitted shirt she wore were a constant reminder of why she was there.

As the seconds passed, Freya kept her eyes forward. She was silent, not bothering to interact with those around her as she knew just how high the chances that they, or herself, wouldn’t be alive following what was to come next for them all. Gradually, she and the other candidates who successfully made it to the top of the stairs filed into somewhat of a line as they waited for the real challenge of the day—the parapet.

“Woah,” a female voice gasped before Freya was bumped from behind slightly. She went stiff and quickly glanced over her shoulder, feeling even more on edge, and watched as a girl with shoulder-length dark auburn hair quickly straightened herself out. She noted that at full height, leather boots and all, the girl was still a bit shorter than she was. Somewhere around 5’7, Freya assumed. “I’m so sorry.”

Panic and fear flashed through the girl's faded blue, almost grey-coloured eyes, making Freya relax. The girl meant no harm.

“It’s alright,” Freya assured as she adjusted the strap of her rucksack on her shoulder. “No worries.”

“Maybe watch where you’re going. You do know what quadrant you’re trying to get into, right?” Another female voice spoke up from behind the girl, her tone was rather rude. Freya leaned to the left to look around the girl who accidentally bumped into her, and saw another girl with strawberry blonde hair. A girl that Freya, unfortunately, recognized and with the way the girl's eyes widened, she recognized Freya too. “Freya?”

“Amber,” Freya responds, tightening her jaw. One of the last people she wanted to speak to, especially during a time like this, was Amber Mavis. “Still can’t keep yourself out of other people’s business I see.”

“I forgot I’d be seeing you here.”

“I’m sure you did.”

Freya exhaled, then moved her gaze to the girl standing between them, sending her a slight smile before facing forward again. Hoping that Amber would take the hint that she had no intention to continue their conversation.

“I’m Nova,” the girl with auburn hair said softly, which made Freya genuinely smile.

“Freya,” she told Nova and glanced over her shoulder again, trying to seem less standoffish than she felt she was being. “It’s nice to meet you. Sorry, I’m just trying to stay focused.”

“No, I get it! Me too.”

With one more smile and a nod, Freya faced forward again and watched as the candidate in front of her, a taller, very muscularly built boy with a buzzcut, stepped ahead. She followed and tried her best to keep a clear mind as she gradually got closer to the front of the line.

After a couple of minutes, Freya could tell she was near the entryway to the parapet. Despite not being able to see much ahead of her other than the very large candidate’s back directly in front of her, Freya knew she was getting close because she could hear other candidates state their names for the Scribes to record.

One after another, Freya wondered if any of the names she heard would end up on the list of those that don’t make it to the next day. She quickly shook her head, knowing her name could easily be on that list too. With a deep breath, Freya calmed herself again, but that calmness went away when she heard the next candidate state their name.

“Garrick Tavis,” he said and Freya’s eyes widened.

She quickly leaned to the side so she could see around the candidate in front of her and sure enough, preparing to step onto the parapet, was one of her oldest friends. One she hadn’t seen in almost three years after being relocated following the execution of their parents.

Freya’s heart swelled at seeing Garrick. She missed her friend dearly and hated that this was the circumstance she was finally seeing him again. She knew he’d be there. He was forced to be for the same reason she was, but it still felt surreal. Then her mind wandered to the remaining member of hers and Garrick’s trio.

“Name,” the female rider standing next to the scribe at the parapet’s entrance spoke up.

“Xaden Riorson,” an all too familiar voice stated, making Freya’s breath hitch.

Despite the familiarity, she felt hearing the voice of the tawny-skinned, black-haired boy standing only a few feet in front of her, Freya knew she was looking at a different version of the Xaden Riorson she once knew. He’d always been tall, but now he was more muscularly built and mature-looking than she remembered. Freya couldn’t be surprised, though. She knew the years between then and when their parents were executed aged her an unfair amount too. She wasn’t the same Freya her old friends once knew, either.

However, there was just something about Xaden that continued to draw Freya in. She couldn’t look away from him. It could’ve been the fact that she was seeing him for the first time in almost three years, but it felt like something more. It was like a shock to the system.

“Name,” the female rider said to the candidate behind Xaden and Freya finally moved her gaze away from the relic that swirled up his neck, matching the one that was permanently etched on her arm. God, she missed him.

And then, he was gone. Xaden stepped onto the parapet and out of sight, creating a new type of anxiety for Freya.

Three.

Only three people were separating her from the entrance. Three people between her and watching and making sure both Garrick and Xaden got safely to the other side. She couldn’t bear to think of the other possible outcome.

Two.

The next candidate stepped onto the parapet but given the high-pitched scream that came from the girl, a scream that gradually sounded further and further away with each passing second, Freya could only assume she didn’t make it very far.

One.

Finally, the candidate in front of her moved to the entrance and without the large body ahead of her, Freya was met by an intense gust of wind coming from outside. A couple of dark brown strands fell in front of her eyes. They came loose from the tight braid she’d put her long hair into that morning and wisped around, but Freya tried to ignore it as the female rider made eye contact with her next.

“Name?”

“Freya Tarlor,” she stated as she straightened out her posture, putting her brave face back on.

“Tarlor,” the rider repeated as she wrote, then looked Freya up and down, her eyes landing on Freya’s marked arm. “Another rebellion kid, huh? There’s a few of you this year.”

“Is there a problem with that?” Freya snapped, feeling defensive against the second or third-year who knew nothing about her life.

“Not in a place like this. If the parapet doesn’t take you out, someone or something else will.”

Freya was fuming, however, she realized the rider wasn’t expressing a personal vendetta, but a general one. Being a marked one made her an outsider, there was no denying that.

“So, there’s a target on my back. Got it.”

The rider didn’t say anything more and neither did Freya as she stepped in front of the entrance of the parapet and took a breath when she finally got a look at it. She didn’t know what she was expecting, but whatever she imagined was nothing in comparison to the narrow, uneven stone walkway that seemed to go on for miles.

It was raining, luckily not too heavily, but the strong wind and dark clouds in the distance warned of a looming threat. But, Freya shook her head free of the creeping thoughts. All she had to do was make it to the other side and that’s exactly what she planned to do one way or another.

After taking another breath, Freya stepped toward the entrance but stopped when a voice spoke up.

“Freya, your boot!” Nova stressed and pointed down at the ground.

Freya followed her gaze and noticed the laces on one of her leather boots had come undone. The same one that had a dagger tucked inside of it, and probably would’ve cost Freya her life on the parapet had she not realized it was untied.

A gasp left Freya’s mouth as she crouched down so she could quickly tie it securely. Once done, she made sure the lace on her other boot was still tied nice and tight before standing up then looking back at Nova and nodding.

“Thank you.”

Nova nodded back and smiled. “Good luck.”

“You as well,” Freya responded, returning the smile. “I’ll see you on the other side.”

Then, she took a step forward onto the parapet.

Instinctively, she held both hands out to keep her balance as she stepped across the uneven stone. It was slippery, but Freya accounted for that, her boots keeping their grip on the slick surface.

“This isn’t so bad,” Freya spoke to herself, not missing the shakiness in her voice as she kept her eyes down and watched each careful step she took. The rain was more like a mist by then, but still enough to create beads of water that fell down the leather pants Freya wore the more she moved. Once Freya felt somewhat steady enough, she looked up for the first time since leaving the entrance to the parapet.

The boy that went before her wasn’t as far as she expected. Given his size and just how muscular he was, Freya expected him to be a powerhouse when it came to combat. Everything about him exuded power, well, at least from what she saw. The parapet seemed like a minor blip in this guy's path, but then Freya noticed how unsteady he was. He was wobbling like crazy, going slower than most as he battled to keep his balance and was even slipping a bit with what seemed to be every other step. She made a mental note to not judge a book by its cover as the boy was nowhere near being prepared enough for this type of challenge.

She kept her eyes on him, though, watching where he stumbled so she could be prepared for when she got to those same points. A bit over a fourth of the way, Freya was still fairly steady when she watched the boy trip over a particularly uneven piece, a stone that wasn’t level with the rest of the parapet and caused him to stumble a bit. Freya held her breath watching, hoping, he’d regain his balance and just when it seemed like he might, as if on cue, incredibly strong gusts of wind rushed toward them.

Freya gasped at the sudden force and wobbled as she fought to keep her balance. When the wind didn’t subside, she crouched and held onto the ledges as firmly as she could, refusing to look down past the walkway at the dark nothingness below her and was able to regain her footing. After a moment to calm her pounding heart, Freya inched forward in her crouched position and looked back up only to see the boy flailing his arms around, still unable to find balance.

“You’ve got to get low!” Freya called toward him, hoping he’d listen. “You won’t get steady in this wind!”

“I don’t need advice from a separatist’s kid,” the boy spat, glancing over his shoulder at Freya with nothing but disgust.

Freya felt a pang in her chest at the boy’s words, but she didn’t argue. She couldn’t blame him for a narrative he didn’t create, but it still hurt. Freya nodded and then lowered her gaze back to the walkway in front of her and inched forward again, however, her gaze snapped upwards again just in time to see the boy lose his balance entirely and fall off the left side of the parapet.

“No!”

“Oh, Gods,” Freya heaved and squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to watch anymore. The boy was silent falling to his death, making the continuing noise of only wind and rain hitting the stone bridge that more eerie.

After a few moments, the wind died down and Freya opened her eyes again. She shakily stood up straight and held her arms out for balance, taking a deep breath before she continued. After a few steps forward, once she passed the protruding stone that initially sparked the boy's unfortunate ending, she looked ahead to those in front of her.

There was only one candidate between her and Xaden now. Freya could see him fairly well despite the rain and him being quite ahead. Xaden was nearing the final stretch of the parapet as Garrick rushed to the safety of the walls at the end ahead of him, giving Freya a sense of relief that at least he made it before focusing back on Xaden.

“I’ll find you, Freya,” the sound of his voice making a final promise in the last memory Freya had of him before they were separated played in her mind. “That’s a promise, Fern. I mean it.”

Fern. The thought of the nickname only he called her caused a different kind of pang in her chest. What most people thought was just an odd name Xaden came up with to call her instead of Freya was actually an ode to the fern-green colour of her eyes. A colour that had always been complimented by many.

The thought made Freya smile, but she was quickly brought back to reality when she watched Xaden come to a stop. She wasn’t sure why he stopped, he didn’t show any signs of struggle, but when Xaden looked over the edge of the narrow bridge to the valley below, Freya knew what he was doing. He was getting in his head, considering what would happen if he didn’t make it to the end, but Freya refused to let him do such a thing.

“Go, Riorson!” She pleaded, not caring about the desperate tone of her voice as she yelled. Even with the distance between them, Freya could see the way Xaden stiffened before he looked back at her, his gorgeous features softening once they made eye contact and he realized who was calling to him. “You have to keep going, Xaden! You’re almost there.”

Freya’s voice cracked at the end of her statement, but with the way Xaden smiled, she knew she got her message across.

“I’ll find you!” Xaden promised again, making Freya’s heart pang before he looked forward again and made it across the last bit before disappearing behind the security of the walls.

Freya couldn’t help but smile to herself as she continued walking, past the halfway point and onto the final stretch. That was until a surprise yelp sounded from behind and Freya looked back to see Nova on the verge of falling.

“No!” Nova screamed as her right foot lost traction and slipped off the edge of the bridge a few feet back from where Freya was.

Freya watched in horror as Nova fell but caught herself just in time, one arm wrapped around the width of the parapet while the other held on to the ledge and her feet dangled below her. Nova was quick in trying to swing her left leg up over the side so she could pull herself back up, impressing Freya with her upper body strength, but was unsuccessful when her leg slid right off again.

“Gah!” She cried and continued hanging on for dear life. “No, please!”

Freya had to do something. She couldn’t just stand there and watch after Nova had already helped her, but she was so far away. Then she noticed the same protruding rock that had knocked the boy candidate off his balance in that same spot.

“The rock, Nova!” She yelled, making Nova look at her as she pointed. “The one sticking out behind you! Swing your leg back up, but don’t try to use your knee as an anchor. Press your foot against that rock then straighten your leg and use that to help pull yourself up!”

Nova looked at her with wide eyes then looked at the rock, studying it before nodding and doing exactly what Freya said. She swung her left leg up again, but instead of trying to use her knee against the ledge to help pull her up, she extended her leg until the rock until her boot came in contact with it. Given how her leg wasn’t fully extended, she was able to press all of her body weight against the rock and readjust her arm’s positions to help pull herself up the rest of the way. Once she carefully put one foot flat against the bridge, bringing herself into a kneeling position as she gripped the sides, she let out a cry of relief.

“You just saved my life,” Nova said as she looked at Freya once again and gradually stood back up. “Thank you. I wouldn’t have noticed that rock was there before it was too late.”

“We’re not in the clear yet,” Freya reminded her. “But glad I could help. It was the least I could do.”

Nova smiled at her again in thanks before Freya looked forward and continued on her way. The wind stayed strong, but not powerful enough that Freya felt she had to remain crouched. She was able to stay upright, keeping a careful balance even as the rain began to pour.

Thunder and lightning cracked in the distance, posing even more of a threat, but Freya was over three-fourths of the way there. The security of the citadel’s massive walls was within reach and at that point, nothing was coming between her and who was waiting behind them. Or so she hoped.

Once the walls of the citadel secured her on both sides, Freya crossed the remaining ten feet of the parapet quickly and with ease. Relief flooded through her as she reached the end and stepped down from the ledge, exhaling deeply. Then, she started looking around for her boys.

“Name?” A male rider waiting off to the side asked, making Freya jump, but not even looking at her as he waited to write down the name she provided.

“Freya Tarlor,” she stated, still trying to catch her breath as she stood up straight again and looked at them.

“Hmm, the rebellion kids are three for three,” the rider stated, raising his eyebrows in amusement. Freya’s immediate response was the want to make another snarky comment about the label that continues to be thrown around regarding her parents. But, before she got the chance to, Freya was cut off by a familiar voice and someone tackling her into their embrace.

“There she is,” Garrick greeted happily, pulling Freya to the side where he could engulf her in a bone-crushing hug, showing just how much she was missed. “I knew the parapet wouldn’t get you.”

“Garrick,” Freya replied, chuckling as she hugged him back as tightly as she could and tried to blink back the tears she could feel welling in her eyes. “Gods, I missed you. And how did you know something else wouldn’t take me out over the last few years before I could even get here, huh?”

She was teasing, which Garrick knew and showed as he leaned back to look at her and then shook his head.

“Because it’s you,” another voice said and Freya felt like she could melt a bit just at the sound of it. “I didn’t have a single doubt that we’d be seeing you here in one piece, Fern.”

“Xaden,” Freya whispered, not being able to prevent the tears from escaping her eyes as she saw that her oldest friend was only an arm's reach away.

“Come here,” Xaden said softly but firmly and held out his arms as Garrick stepped to the side. Freya wasn’t long rushing to him, wrapping her arms around his middle as she slammed against his chest. Instantly relaxing at being back in his comforting embrace. “I told you I’d find you.”

“You’ve never broken a promise to me, I was really hoping you wouldn’t start now.”

“Never, Freya. Not to you.”

The two squeezed each other for another moment then smiled as they moved away. However, the trio’s nice little reunion was cut short when a female cleared her throat from behind them.

“Why aren’t you stopping them?” Amber questioned the rider standing nearby as she stepped down from the parapet and gestured to Freya, Xaden and Garrick. “They’re committing a criminal offence!”

“Name?” The rider responded, unbothered by her.

“Are you blind? This needs to be reported.”

“Name?”

Amber scoffed.

“I’m not going to ask again, cadet.”

“Amber Mavis,” she huffed. “Now are you going to do something or what?”

“And what exactly is it you’d like me to do?” The rider asked, still looking as unbothered as ever.

“They’re marked ones, you imbecile! They can’t be in groups of three or more, it’s the law!”

“Actually, the law is that they can’t gather in more than groups of three,” Nova spoke up from where she stood nearby as well, waiting for a chance to properly thank Freya for her help on the parapet. “They’re not doing anything wrong and you’re making a scene over nothing.”

Amber’s eyes widened as she clearly had more to say, but the male rider cut her off.

“She’s right,” he stated. “Marked ones, children of those who took part in the rebellion, cannot gather in groups of more than three according to General Melgren’s law.”

He recited the law word for word, and Amber flinched at his condescending tone.

“I may seem blind to you, cadet, but I know how to count.”

“I-,” Amber stammered, then gulped.

“As the stickler you seem to be for the rules, maybe you should try knowing them correctly before involving yourself in stuff that you have no business being part of. If not, well, I’m sure you’ll have a great time making alliances in here.”

The rider’s sarcastic tone left Amber speechless. She didn’t say anything more, just let out a frustrated noise and stormed off toward where the other cadets were heading.

Freya, Xaden and Garrick all looked at one another and then shook their heads. Then Nova spoke again.

“She seems like a real fun person to know,” she said, making Freya smile. “Anyways, Freya, I wanted to thank you again for what you did on the parapet. You didn’t need to help me in any way, but I know I would’ve fallen if you hadn’t pointed out that rock. I appreciate it.”

“I owed you one,” Freya responded simply. “And again, it was the least I could do. I didn’t want to see you fall.”

“Thank you. If you ever need any help or backup at all, I’m your girl. Even though I can see that you’re pretty covered.”

A small smile tugged at Freya’s lips as she glanced up at the two boys standing protectively on each side of her, knowing that’s what Nova was referring to.

“Likewise, Nova. I’ll see you in there.”

With that, Nova nodded and went on her way toward the courtyard with the other cadets.

“Come on,” Xaden said and gently grabbed Freya’s hand, igniting fiery tingles on her skin from the sudden contact as he led her in the same direction the others were going. “We have to wait for the last people to make it across. Until then, we have a lot of catching up to do.”

[mushroom-for-art]

M a bit of an amateur, your writing’s great, what are some tips you have?

I'm honored you think my writings great! As for some tips well, I'm not a professional writer by any means but I'll try to explain my writing process.

I know when I start writing I already have a lot of plot thought out in my head I imagine the actions and dialogue and how to word and describe it, I think it's really important to imagine your story as if it were happening like irl animated whatever however you interpret it because that really helps for me making sure nothing feels too stiff.

It also helps because sometimes as you're translating thoughts to writing certain characters take on a life of their own and can make scenes more interesting, at least for me they can but obviously sometimes this spontaneousness does need to be cut out of it muddles the plot it's a lot of adjustment knowing what to keep what to let go ect

With my characters I try to keep them animated, with mewtwo I mention how their tail sways or flicks thumps to relate to emotion and just to show movement content sway, a sharp flick to swipe at someone ect.

As well it's good to work movement in a way that fits a character, May for example she's not a confident character she'll grip her own arm for comfort or fiddle with her hands opening and closing her palms go get thoughts or for self soothing. Also keep track of what a character has done, with my last fic May held Syns face but he had looked away, while I hadn't written it we can infer he's moved away from her touch by moving his head so she had to put her hand back, if that makes sense? Try to imagine cause and effect that way.

I also try to make their dialogue sound like it makes sense, I let my writing program correct some things but other times I just ignore because i don't care if its grammatically incorrect it's real actual speaking. I also like to break up dialogue with movements between speaking because you're often not static when talking either with arm movements head nods ect.

Also like imagining how a character emotes helps, I often find myself pulling faces as I'm writing to capture the vibe of the character at hand to describe their reaction it's why there's a lot of brow movement a lot of blinking ect it might be over exaggerated at times but it makes people more active dynamic ect

And like obviously if you're gonna write with other people's characters get permission and research that character try to understand their behaviour motives ect and if you are stuck message the original creator for help but I personally tend to research a character try and really imagine them and then wing it and pray XD if the original owner goes yo nah then that's okay but so far Ive been okay, and it also helps to wing it because you don't stress too much on perfection like with my written Syn he has a lot of feelings about the weather doesn't like morning sun in his eye or the rain. Is this canon? No clue at all but it's a little spicy extra tidbit I've given him for writing him makes him a bit more interesting with him responding to nature.

And like try to have fun with your writing, do it because you enjoy it or because you wanna evoke feelings write it so you cry write it so a mutual cries because "how DARE right in the feels," write so an owner of a character used goes "THERE MY BOY!!"

I hope this helps? My asks are always open though if you have more questions!! And thanks for the ask!

[askthekirbysquad]

You don't hav eto draw a comic or anything if you don't want to, but I had the question of how would the cast react if theu turned into human/gijinka for a day?

answering this one ooc because it's easier than doing it in character

First off, I'm going to assume that they all become Adeleine-sized humans rather than average-sized real humans. I believe Kirby is canonically like 8 inches tall, so like. Everything on Planet Popstar is Small. A real human would be a Giant there and probably wouldn't fit into most buildings lmao. So yeah, everyone stays within a reasonable enough range of Adeleine's height.

Putting the rest of this under a cut since it's pretty long

Marx has arms and hands now, oh god oh fuck. Who allowed him to have this kind of power. He is going to commit even More atrocities. It'll take him a bit of time to figure out how to use those hands, sure, but you just gave him powerful instruments of Chaos. He will learn how to use them, and once he does you'd better run. After him. Please, catch him before it's too late.

Magolor now has arms attached to his hands instead of just having them floating around. That's gotta feel weird. I just imagine him trying to move his hands around in some sort of weird way that he's normally able to do, but can't because his arms are in the way dgdshs. Also legs. He's got those now, and that's definitely also weird. Though if we want to assume that everyone keeps their powers through the transformation, then he'd probably just use his magic to float and continue denying the floor lmao

Speaking of which, Susie also gains arms and legs, and unlike Magolor she's not gonna be able to avoid having to use those legs if she wants to move around (unless she uses some sort of technology to help her out?). Aside from that though she doesn't change too much physically, since she already looks very humanoid. Though since I personally like to deny canon and see her as a robot, the transition from being mechanical to an organic being would definitely be Very Weird.

I'm kind of inclined to say that Dedede would have it the easiest out of everyone? It'd still be strange for him, of course, but at least he doesn't have to get used to any new limbs or anything. He'd just have to adjust to slightly different body proportions and a completely different facial structure, which, again, still would be strange, but isn't as bad as everyone else, who have to deal with all of that on top of other things.

Meta Knight, meanwhile, I think might have it the worst. Yes, in terms of new changes he's on equal ground with Kirby and Bandana Dee, who are all mostly spherical creatures who need to adjust to having longer limbs and a head separate from their body. However, Meta Knight has been training for most of his life to be an agile and powerful fighter, and all of what he's learned is going to go out the window when he's in this clunky new human form. His combat capabilities are going to be pretty stunted as a human; even after he adjusts to things better I doubt he'd be able to move as swiftly as he does in his normal body. And he is Not going to be happy about that. And then there's also his wings, which I think he might still keep? Since I personally see them as being part of his body (though I think the newer games might be trying to imply that they're actually just his cape). But either way, even if he does keep his wings, flying would definitely be much more difficult as a human. So all in all, Meta Knight's pretty upset about everything, and has probably hidden himself away from everyone else so he can grumpily brood in peace until things go back to normal (assuming there's nothing he can do to get things fixed quicker, that is).

Kirby has a lot of changes to get used to, but he's nothing if not adaptable. It can't be much worse than being split into ten smaller versions of yourself, or becoming a literal ball with no limbs, or being completely made of yarn, right? And in all of those cases he didn't have access to his copy ability, so he can still fare well enough without it. So, after the initial adjustment period, I think Kirby would be pretty much okay! He'd still be happy to go back to his regular body, of course, but during the day he'd be in a much better mood than most of the cast.

Bandee also has a mouth now, on top of everything else that's different.  I've never given much thought to how Waddle Dees communicate, but it does make me wonder if Bandee would have to do it differently from his usual way when he's in his human form?

[we-pay-for-everything]

Charles Gunn... The Myth, The Legend, The Best of Us All

AKA: 5 things we can learn from Charles Gunn.

5. “I was cool before I met you all”, aka “Love yourself.”

I’m finally finishing this series. I didn’t know what to do, but I saw this scene from Waiting in the Wings making the rounds and I wanted to use this quote.

Gunn is endearingly unpretentious. He’s genuine, honest, direct. One of the many reasons why season 5 was a terrible idea was because of what they did to Gunn. Had Gunn ever truly been that insecure about himself? It felt like the writers were preying on the fact that he was a black man who fit all the stereotypes - he was uneducated, poor, had a former gang; naturally, all he wanted to be was a rich, white man, so he became a lawyer. That was a great disservice to his character. I don’t think Gunn ever expressed a desire to be an evil lawyer of all things. (I’m sure Wesley is to blame though, because he had power over Fred, so Gunn felt jealous. The reason why Gunn and Fred didn’t work out was because Gunn was too “vanilla” and not on Fred’s “level”. The whole thing with Frunn was rigged in Wesley’s favor.)

On the bright side, after Fred’s death he finally accepted himself, but I still don’t like that storyline. I want to write about post-season 4/5 Gunn.

There’s a sort of duality that the Angel characters had. Angel had his Angelus side, of course, but Angel himself had a lot of darkness; Wesley had a lot of darkness too, and that was hinted at from the beginning; Fred was both sweet and crazy; Lorne was nice and lovable, but always secretive and somewhat unreliable; and Cordelia... for a while she was as straightforward as Gunn. 

Gunn didn’t exactly have a hidden side. His trauma with his sister and his past were known, he was well-adjusted and not likely to come undone like Fred or Wesley, all of his “darkness” was as transparent as his “light”. He embraced both his past and his present. He had skeletons in his closet, of course (he sold his soul for a truck), and shame and regrets, but that was just part of him. 

The beauty of Gunn is that he was normal. There is always a “normal” character, and that character is often rather underappreciated. Gunn isn’t normal because he’s uninteresting, shallow, or average. He’s normal because his behavior and personality are consistent and balanced, because he speaks and carries himself more like a normal person would. He’s unrealistically brave, good, strong, funny, charismatic, attractive, etc. But he’s wholesome and approachable. Liking a character because they are normal often feels like a backhanded compliment, but why should it be? It’s the normal characters that have the power to inspire us, normal people, to do better; their real flaws or unsavory traits can help us self-reflect and become more understanding and compassionate of each other’s shortcomings. 

Gunn is a great character, and J. August Richards did a lot of heavy lifting to make Gunn so tridimensional and complete. 

I believe Gunn is inspiring. He’s realistic yet hopeful. He knows how to enjoy life when there isn’t much to enjoy. He knows how to let go of his past regrets and failures to move forward. He’s funny, polite, helpful, kind, always. He’s smart too. And he’s so consistent. People change, but why do we seem to change for the worst? We become bitter, less forgiving - or too forgiving to the point we forget to respect ourselves. But Gunn was never bitter and callous. He accepted that which he didn’t understand and focused only on what he could do. He believed he could only do so much and nothing more. He was just himself, a tiny speck in the universe, and he enjoyed it as much as he could. 

He was so cool. Charles Gunn, you will always be cool. I wish to see the world the way he did. He embodied Angel’s message of hope. A core aspect of Angel’s messaging was that we do have the chance to make the world better, but we’re fighting a losing battle - the world will never truly improve in our life time, if ever, and there’s very little we can do about it - however, even if our efforts are in vain, they are not worthless. And Gunn always believed that. He always believed there was something he could do and that his actions mattered. And through everything he was just... himself. You can only truly be yourself if you know who you are and accept that person. The idea of Gunn being “himself” may seem separate from my point about him being “normal” and “whole” but it’s not. You can only be yourself, singular. Our many facets make up a whole, but we spend our entire lives trying to chip away at the bad bits and keep them separate from the rest. It’s impossible. 

We must be our own best friends. I’m not saying this to be cheesy. I’m saying it because I need to hear it. I don’t know how to accomplish that. I don’t even believe I deserve it. But I want to be myself - as I deeply value my own identity - and stop trying to hold on to a past version of me I thought was normal. So, I need to be more like Gunn. I need to forgive and forget, to live with all of me. Gunn had many problems, and I’m not at all trying to paint him as the poster boy for self-love, but I believe he knew how to live with himself better than anyone else on that show - better even than Cordelia who sometimes just lived in denial. I admire that. He’s beautifully human. Only humans can see the world as it truly is, and the people in it, and still choose to cherish and protect it. 

[ofpineapplesanddawns]

❛ you smile a lot more since we’ve met. ❜ with Emmett/Aziraphale?

Ooooh, the rarest of rare ships I like!

On with the fic!

--

Being with Aziraphale was... a different experience from what Carver was used to in his life.

This isn't to say it's a bad thing, but it was quite different from how he had gone about interacting with people.

For one, the man was practically an angel in human form. Constantly doing what he thought was best for everyone, though selfish at times he was also selfless, and he was always, always there when Carver needed him. Even when he didn't know he did.

He found himself sitting in his bed, looking at the sleeping blond next to him. Strange, usually Aziraphale was up and about before him, but then again, it was a quarter to five in the morning, and technically Carver's alarm isn't supposed to go off until six, usually Aziraphale was up by then.

He brushed at the man's soft face, seeing him smile just a little in his sleep, mumbling something about a snake. Must be having an interesting dream. Slipping from bed, Carver decided to go down to his kitchen, make himself a cup of coffee and maybe look over those files he left on the table while he waited for the other man to get up.

As he prepared the coffee pot, he looked about his kitchen, finding little things here and there that reminded him of his boyfriend. Cups were about, always left forgotten, usually with a few gulps of liquid still in them. One was sitting next to the coffee pot, clean, but still out of the cabinet. It was white, with an angel wing handle, impractical design but fitting for Aziraphale to use.

There were bits and bobs that were clearly Aziraphale's when he went about baking, something he liked to do when he was over and visiting for a bit, before returning to England for whatever it was he did over there. What sort of bookshop keeper didn't like to sell books?

Carver found that there was something on the counter, under a bell jar cover that he didn't believe he owned. Freshly baked banana bread, from the looks of it, when had Aziraphale done that? Was it last night, after Carver went to bed?

Still, he grabbed a piece, it was good for his health, he was sure of it.

Actually, his health had been better in the year or so since he had been dating the Englishman, since shortly after the Solano case when he met the guy. Maybe he was less stressed? Was all that bullshit that his doctors told him to do really paying off?

Heh, maybe it was his so-called 'angel' that was up in his bed.

Nah, it was probably the medications and diet he was on, along with all those annoying stress-relief activities he was forced to do.

Pouring himself a cup of coffee, Carver took his mug and his slice of bread to the table, sitting down with his paperwork. He took a bite of the bread, smiling a bit, it was perfect.

"You smile a lot more since we’ve met."

Carver coughed, startled by the voice, and turned to see Aziraphale in the doorway, wrapped up in a robe. He was smiling so sweetly as he approached. "I see you found my latest project, Emmett, do you like?"

"Yeah." Carver finished the bite, taking a drink of coffee to wash it down. "Up late again, I take it."

"Oh, it's so hard to adjust to time differences and all that." Aziraphale sighed as he moved to get himself some coffee, he liked it how Carver did, black, but sometimes with milk when in the mood.

He sat down across from the detective, still smiling. "You know, I am right."

"About what?" Carver asked.

"About you smiling more. It's subtle, but I've seen it so often nowadays. Back when we first met, you never smiled, I don't think you were doing anything other than smiling, but... well." His own smile was bright and lovely.

"Well, I've got reasons to be happy, Aziraphale." Carver shrugged, taking another bite. Aziraphale seemed to understand what those reasons were as he smiled around the rim of his angel mug.

--

Carver is so utterly depressing as a character, which is amazing because he's just American Hardy, so I think an angel boyfriend is a good way to bring him some joy.

Especially with being stuck with the people in Gracepoint, yikes.

[myelocin]

heart | iwaizumi hajime

synopsis: all his life, he lived for the thrill of the fall, and the high that life brought him as he lets gravity catapult him back to the earth. then enters you, who easily becomes his life, his life--his home. 

how hajime realizes all of this, at 12 midnight; standing at a half empty parking lot, sharing an umbrella with you under the rain. 

characters: iwaizumi hajime, you

genre: fluff, domestic!flulff, slice of life

wc: 1500+

a/n: part of series: in the midst of creation

iwaizumi hajime likes to think that he’s lived life always with a parachute. 

failure didn’t scare him, nor did the notion of taking risks. uncertainty, on the other hand, was just something hajime deemed to be an avoidable factor you could live without. 

if you were to ask him if he wanted to jump off a plane or lean a little bit more towards the edge of the cliff just to feel that rush, he would say yes within a heartbeat. life, he thinks, is better lived with the thrill of the fall. where the height that was measured with the fall was only a number. calculated, measured, comprehensible to the human mind where numbers would be enough to reel it in. 

for as long as he’s known life, the jump, the thrill, and the fall, he knows that he doesn’t have anything to fear. 

risk, hajime thinks, as present as it was, was only a figment of his imagination at best. when he leaped past the edge, he knew he could always afford to spread his wings and soar because before he could hit the ground, the parachute he always had would be the very thing that kept him above ground just for moments longer. 

and the horizon, hajime smiles, has always been the grandest sight for him. the earth, as big and beautiful as it always is from just the window of his car or at the top of the summit could never look as vast as it does when he’s freefalling from the air. 

a rush of just the right amount of wind that feel like kisses instead of blades against his skin, a sky so big and so blue that contrasts with the hue of earth that have always been trapped in hajime’s eyes. it’s like diving into the unknown, but even with the darkness and the depth that loomed under his feet and with the fall, he knew where he would land each and every time.

hajime knew he would land home.

home, that sometimes is just the one bedroom apartment in shibuya that you found on an ad two weeks after the both of you decided to move in together. where the sky and the grand world meant the sight of you; golden like the sun, and blossoming like the life of the earth that steals hajime’s breath away every time. 

the genkan with the mismatched pair of slippers tossed to the side rather than placed in the cabinet he knew you bought to try to keep organized. a potted plant by the windowsill; leaves green and the petals he found himself counting every time he stood to water it the hue of a pastel yellow. your mug, next to his, sometimes on the corner of the table or in the sink after a meal.

the noodle packets with the kind of flavoring he never really bought for himself all those years ago, but now finds himself lining up at the cash register for all because of a text from you. 

home, where a good morning was said with a cup of coffee and two sizes too big of a sweater on you that smell like him more than they did you. 

 -

though at times, hajime thinks, home can also be both anywhere and everywhere. home in the little moments.

like this, hajime smiles, watching you as you shake a closed umbrella free of its raindrops, the expression on your face happy despite the stray drops of rain on your shoulder. he knows he’s at the new supermarket a few miles over the usual one at eleven pm, but even if the street names on the lamp posts around are unfamiliar, he still feels a sense of home.

home, in the little moments such as this because the smile you wear is familiar just like the scent of the perfume he knows you’ve worn for years now.

a sense of belongingness that grounds him right back down to earth at the sound of your voice, even as you’re calling him over from one end of the produce section to another, asking him if you should get some spinach for tonight’s dinner. the quick ok, you tell him, coupled by the kind of smile hajime knows is for him has always been enough to have his heart racing.

he thinks that it’s sometime around twelve, where he’s standing next to you at the cash register, where the greatest epiphany in life finally hits him.

it comes to him slowly too, where he knows that when he thinks back on it later on, he’ll smile to himself because the memories will trickle in instead of crash into him all together.

“haji?” he hears,  and when he looks at you, your hands are carrying the groceries he realizes the two of you picked together to take home.

he thinks of the raindrops that are waiting to be met with your smile outside, the puddles that look clear against the pavement that are keeping their form for you to skip on with a giggle, and hajime bites his lip.

life, he thinks in the moment is this. it’s the address that’s keyed in the gps labeled home, and the adjusted seat on the passenger seat of his car adjusted to the way he knows you’re the most comfortable in.

and love, on the other hand, hajime awakens to, is you.

It really is this, because when he watches you first smile at the slow drops of rain, second giggle at the puddles saying hello on the pavement, then third press your shoulder closer to his as you walk slow steps with him under the umbrella, hajime knows that in the moment—he’s soaring.

he fears, that in the moment perhaps you would be able to hear just how hard his heart is beating. so with cheeks flushed, eyes a little watery, and fingers trembling ever so slightly, hajime turns and faces the left, focusing his eyes towards the streetlights in the distance. the sound of raindrops on the umbrella, blending with the soft lull of your voice as he listens to you talk about how you’d go about and make dinner for two later has his head spinning.

for two, hajime thinks, his heart bursting in his chest. dinner for two.

and even if he’s probably eaten at least a few thousand meals with you by now, he swears to every deity above that cares to listen to a man in love, that every moment with you still fills him with the same high everyone talks about.

love really is you, hajime smiles, exhaling softly as he wills his heart to still before turning to his left and facing you, who stares at the half empty parking lot in front, a smile on your face.

he’s struck with the realization that he wants to cry. he wants to run to the next ledge and jump, because gravity in the moment feels as if it doesn’t exist. a light covers the both of you as you walk past a street light, and as hajime turns to stare at your profile, he’s rendered speechless because he sees the world—his world—in front of his eyes.

then like always, before he plunges into the raging seas, it’s suddenly clear to him that this whole time it’s you who is the parachute that kept him soaring above the water his whole life.

“let’s go home?” he hears you say, voice light like the sound of raindrops tapping on wind chimes.

hajime inhales, and for a moment just allows the silence to still time as he stares at you, the blur of raindrops falling before it suddenly pauses, looking like a scene straight out of a movie.

“haji,” you laugh, and at the sound of your voice, the world is in motion again.

because more than love, it’s you, he thinks again.

the sight of life beyond the ledge; beautiful, grand, and vast. then at the same time, the love that grounds him back to earth and reminds him to feel the roots of the very soil that molded his limbs before he could take flight.

but in the midst of it all, it’s you—his parachute that reminds him to be fearless against the unknown.

-

“let’s go home,” he says, and you smile, thinking that his voice fits with the sound of raindrops on glass.

taglist: @boosyboo9206​, @wisepandaslimeland​, @haiikyuuns​, @flavostella02​ , @pen-observing​, @geekynicki​, @shinhiromi​ , @volleybloop​, @momoinot​, @tsumtsumland​ @glassykaashi​ @orchid-tea-party​

if you want to be added/removed just let me know! :)

[ka-writes]

——————

Notes: I was at camp. Sorry for posting late... in return I gift a long chapter!

——————

In Case you missed it:

Chapter 1:

Chapter 2:

——————

Inspired by:

Humans are Space Velociraptors

By:FreshRoses_InMyGarden_NeedTheRain

Some kids come from storks, others come from crashed spaceships

By: mmmajora

Home Again, Home Again

By: teeth_eater

All works can be found on Ao3

——————

Warning: Characters being trapped, mentions of IVs, Cussing, yelling, characters being restrained, nightmares, mentions of murder, a guy being arrested.

——————

“Humans are [add text here]”

Chapter 3: A Wild Crow Father has Appeared

Phil wasn’t expecting to be returning to Planet A112 so soon but Wilbur had sent a distress signal and that was the Dream Team Craft’s next stop.

The planet itself stood as a port market place. There were many of these planets around the galaxy, but it was probably the more popular ones for criminal ships and such. Poachers and Scientists alike came here to get supplies to take the biggest beasts in the galaxy, Humans.

Phil never understood the appeal, but both of his sons had gained that sort of adventurous aspect that he had lost so many celestial years ago. He assumed the only reason people ever chased the creatures was to fill their pride.

That was the exact reason Techno had joined the poacher ship three years ago. He only returned when it had crashed three months ago. To this day he has yet to reveal what horrors had gone on the ship.

Wilbur had another reason to go after the infamous creatures. His crave for knowledge was eating him up as was for most scientists. He joined the Dream Team Craft only six months ago and was already heading back to the SBI Craft.

Techno was pacing around the marketplace studying different weapons and supplies. Phil had been standing off to the side, leaning on one of the building walls. Every once and a while he would check his communicator to see where Wilbur was. Thankfully he had turned on his location so Phil could easily watch as he made his way through the maze-like market.

“Is he getting close?” Techno asked running low on patience.

“He’ll be here in two minutes or so.” Phil bit his lip, “You can head back to the ship, I don’t mind waiting for him.”

“I am not leaving you. Prime knows what Wilbur brought back this time.” Techno replied. Wilbur always had a knack for bringing back things he found interesting. This wasn’t the first time he had left the SBI Craft. This would be the 37th since he turned 14. Now he was 24 and the Craft had been designed to handle whatever he brought back. There was a holding room fit for literally any species, a mechanics room full of technology he gained an interest in. A garden and a gardener which was also retrieved by Wilbur. And of course Wilbur’s pride and joy, the laboratory.

“If you want mate..” Phil said, shaking his head.

Not even two minutes later he saw Wilbur coming from the middle of the crowd. He was carrying what looked like a hurt child.

“Well this should be interesting.” Techno mumbled as he spotted Wilbur.

Once the phantom saw them he strode over and they made their way over to him.

“What do you have this time mate?” Phil asked, curiosity filling him to the brim with questions.

“Someone I can’t explain till we get to the ship.” Wilbur states with a tone he had never heard from his son.

After a second of standing awkwardly they had come to a silent agreement to head to the ship.

It took less than five minutes. Wilbur was half sprinting to the lab before Techno’s assistant had even registered that Wilbur was back. Phil gave a quick greeting to the gardener and assistant before following Wilbur to the medical part of the lab. He almost fainted when he saw what was laying on the medical bed.

“I know it looks bad, but I couldn’t help myself.” Wilbur said apologetically, “I know you’re gonna want answers but I really don’t have a lot of time before serious damage is done to him. I’ll explain after I fix him up.” He glanced up with a face full of sincerity.

Phil sighed pushing aside any fatigue and collecting his thoughts. “How can I help?” He states without an ounce of shown-fear in his voice.

Wilbur took a moment before answering. Prime the silence was loud. “Keep everyone out of the lab, and set up another room.. that would be great.” Wilbur said. The worry in his voice was apparent, but Phil said nothing of it. Instead he started on the tasks that came with being the captain of the craft.

——————

He woke up to LED lights blinding him. Tommy blinked a bit before sitting up.

He was sitting on what appeared to be a hospital bed. An IV was attached to his wrist and there were strange alien restraints attached to his legs but not to his wrists. That would be a mistake if he knew how to take the sticky black cuffs off. Which he didn’t. Plus he was too weak to attempt.

He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and looked around. The bed was pushed into the back corner directly across from a window. There was no glass or plastic covering the window, only a shiny force-field looking thing. The window also was the length of the wall. To the right of the window was a little slot and shelf, clearly used to deliver food. To the left of the window was a place for a door. The only thing was there was no visible door, just more of the light blue painted wall. To the left of the space was a bunch of shelves with a bunch of weird toys, games, books, and puzzles. Across from that was a card table and two comfortable chairs. At the end of the bed was a bench looking thing in which the lid lifted up.

All in all the room was clearly used to keep people occupied while keeping a close eye on them. The inhabitants of the ship had prepared it so it could withstand most things. The furniture in the room had been nailed to the floor. The chairs could move either closer or farther from the table with whoever was sitting down using a strange contraption. None of the toys on the lower shelf could be eaten and all games and puzzles were on higher shelves. The books were also all hard covered. There were even plastic bookmarks in a small container next to the shelves. The window was clearly impossible to get through and looked like it would absorb whatever you threw at it. The food shelf had three mechanisms that wouldn’t be easy to get through. There were no vents or places to hide. It was very apparent they had done this sort of thing before.

The last thing Tommy looked for was a light switch. By some sort of luck he spotted it. It was a weird sort of dial thing that was right by the IV stand. It was currently at 100 and he then dialed it down to 35. It was dim enough to sleep but bright enough to see everything clearly. Not even five minutes later he fell into a deep sleep.

——————

“YOU BROUGHT A HUMAN?!” Tubbo yelled, fluttering his wings furiously, making him hover ever so slightly.

Ranboo swiftly put his hand on Tubbo’s shoulder pushing him back onto the ground. The enderian shifted anxiously making Techno ponder if he was also gripping Tubbo to keep himself grounded. Phil stood near Will expectantly. Wilbur shifted from foot to foot and rubbed his arm, yet kept his head up to look at everyone. Techno was leaning against his security desk, side eyeing the now asleep human.

“I knew you were stupid, I just didn’t know you were this stupid.” Techno stated without a hint of remorse. Wilbur scoffed before attempting to collect himself.

“I couldn’t just leave him there! It was a mission built for researching humans. Meaning they would be doing nasty experiments for prime knows how long!” Wilbur snapped, with a seriousness Techno hadn’t seen since Wilbur brought back the other children on the ship, “He is a kid. Not an adult that had nowhere to go and was doing prime awful things. He is a kid with no family, no home, and barely making it through the day. I read through his file and he has gone through awful shit. I wasn’t gonna let him die in misery too. If you don’t want him on the ship, then I will get myself my own ship.” Wilbur threatened with a tone not to be questioned. Techno took a moment to think through Will’s response before coming up with an answer.

“He can stay. As long as you keep him in line and take care of his rations. He is not to leave his room until we make sure he can do no damage. If anyone wants to visit him, you are either outside the window or I am present. No excuses.” Techno finished satisfied with his answer. Phil may have been the legal captain of the ship, but when it came to rules Techno was always the one to make them.

Phil nodded in agreement. The two children nodded aggressively, both of which clearly had no intention of going near the human’s holding cell. After a minute Wilbur nodded.

“Fine. If those are the rules I will comply.” Wilbur said, “I need to adjust some things, I will assume Techno will be coming with me?” He asked reluctantly.

“Yes.” Techno bluntly said.

“So be it.” Wilbur snapped. Techno just brushed it off as they headed towards the lab cells.

——————

Tommy was running through the forest on the edge of town.

It was his favorite trail and the only one his parents let him go on alone. Which cost a long series of promises and supplies he had to go with.

Usually he would be running on the trail for fun but this time it was a sprint home. He didn’t know what was wrong but he knew something was wrong. Especially when he saw the blue and red lights light up the evening sky.

“I didn’t do anything you bastards!!” His dad yelled over the sirens. They had him in cuffs repeating the Miranda rights to him as they pushed him into the back seat.

“What’s going on?” All Tommy could manage his throat was tight and he was struggling to hold back angry tears. He caught one of the officers' attention. She smiled softly.

“He got caught doing something bad to his wife.” She said sadly.

“What did he do?!” Tommy cried even louder this time tears slipped down his face. At this point the officer got more serious.

“I am not obligated to say.” She bit her lip before continuing, “Why don’t you go back to your parents?” She replied softly. This was the first time Tommy got angry, not annoyed or that childish angry. The kind of anger that makes you wanna burn the world down. It was a quick flash but enough to make him snap.

“You took my dad…. What did he do to my mom?” Tommy answered coldly. His answer clearly shook the officer.

“Aw kid, I- .. I am sorry.. he killed her.” Tommy already knew the answer. He shouldn’t have been surprised, but he was. He heard someone scream from far away. Maybe it was him, maybe someone else. They pushed him through a series of questions all of which he could barely answer. His mind was somewhere else. He couldn’t calm down. Everything was too much.

He woke up in a cold sweat. Tears were running down his face. His breath was rapid and uneven. He hadn’t had a dream like that for a couple of months, granted he barely slept. After a few shaky breaths he calmed himself enough to grasp where he was. He wiped the tears just in time for the spot where the door was to open.

In stepped Wilbur along with a really tall alien. The tall alien stood in front of the door as Wilbur rushed to Tommy’s bed. Tommy lost control of his breathing, barely calming down.

Wilbur grabbed his hands to which Tommy snapped his head towards the alien. “I want you to breathe with me okay?” Wilbur said softly. He moved Tommy’s hand to his chest and started taking deep breaths. After a minute Tommy managed to even his breath to Wilbur’s pattern. “Good, good. I am gonna take off your IV since you don’t need it anymore. After that I can get you some food and water, then we can talk alright?” Wilbur said, keeping his tone soft and slow. Tommy rubbed his eyes and nodded.

Wilbur took his arm, there was a small pinch then the IV was off. Wilbur quickly left and came back after about two minutes. Within those two minutes Tommy got a better look at the other alien.

The alien had light pink ruff skin with neat pink hair tightly braided. They were wearing a puffy cream shirt that was tucked into dark brown pants, which were tucked into black boots that went up to their knees. Their knees bent backwards and the boots were shaped weirdly, like they were built for hooves. They had hooves where their hands would be, that somehow had thumbs. They also had tusks poking out of their mouth. Along with blood red eyes that had white pupils. Their ears poked out of their hair and were both torn and pierced with gold earrings. They also had a gold chain necklace with a stone that resembled an Emerald. They also wore a black belt with a gold clip. Attached to the belt was an alien sword leaning against their right hip, on the other side was what resembled a gun.

Tommy swallowed down food that was threatening to come up. He waited patiently for Wilbur to come back, trying his hardest not to stare at the other alien.

“My name is Techno. He/him. Same with Wilbur and most of the crew. The only one who has other pronouns is Ranboo who goes by he/they.” Techno, stated bluntly. Tommy collected himself before responding.

“I am Tommy Innit, er- he/him.” Tommy finished with a shaky voice.

Luckily the awkward tension didn’t last long as Wilbur practically sprinted through the door, shoving Techno out of the way. He pulled a tray that was neatly folded out of the wall and put a glass of water and some food on a plate.

“Some parskey with hatatoes. It tastes good I promise.” Wilbur explained. He then went to grab something he left outside and sat at the card table. He put two plates down and Techno joined him. The door closed after that. There was no button or anything, it just closed. Tommy was a little baffled by it but looked towards the food put in front of him.

It was a white meat, similar to chicken, with a brown version of mashed potatoes. He looked over to the other two who were talking in a different language while eating the same food. With that Tommy decided it was okay to eat. Just like what it reminded him of, it tasted like chicken and mash potatoes with small differences. Like the meat was dryer and more salty and the potatoes were a little sour. Either way it was still good. He then drank the water. There was no odd taste this time so he assumed it wasn’t drugged.

Once he finished he attempted to listen in but was only met with a series of strange sounds. He gave up and pushed the tray away. Almost too quickly he fell into a deep sleep. He didn’t even notice when the visitors took their stuff and left.

——————

Ranboo poked at his food glancing up every once and awhile. The two crew members had returned from the human’s room and decided to finish their food with the rest of the crew. Everyone sat in a tense silence.

“So,” Phil clapped his feathered hands and turned towards Wilbur. “What do we know about the kid?” He asked.

“His name is Tommy Innit, pronouns he/him. He is 14 and was living on the run for six months. No family according to him and he’s allergic to nuts.” Wilbur answered.

“From what I can tell he isn’t super dangerous, just fearful. He already trusts Wilbur, somehow. Though I think it is due to Wilbur saving his life. It will be harder for the rest of us to gain his trust.” Techno added. Ranboo swiftly wrote the responses down, making sure to keep major notes.

The rest of dinner was uneventful and everyone awkwardly washed dishes and went to bed. Assumingly to sleep. Everyone except Ranboo that is. He couldn’t wash dishes due to his biology and he didn’t really sleep. Every time he tried the void would wake him up or he would go into a half-conscious state that the crew deemed as enderwalking.

So for what felt like the hundredth time they stayed awake laying in bed. This time however their mind was racing with thoughts. Traveling through situations that used to seem impossible before the human boarded the ship. Still curiosity was eating their insides.

With a half made up mind Ranboo shot up in bed. They stalked over to where the human was being held and peered into the window.

Almost instantly the human sat up. After yawning and getting into a position he was comfortable in he just stared at Ranboo making them incredibly uncomfortable.

“Who are you?” The human asked, Ranboo couldn’t remember his name.

“Oh! Uh, I am Ranboo.. I am kinda like an assistant, I-I guess.” Ranboo said, fidgeting with his fingers.

“Ah cool. I am the biggest man! Tommy Innit. You should be grateful to be in my presence.” The human practically flowed with confidence making Ranboo question if all humans were like this. He shook off the questions and turned back to the human who was now playing with the light monitor.

“So… what was your planet like?” Tommy asked, startling Ranboo a bit. “I-I mean you don’t have to answer of course.. just wondering..” the human stuttered. They took a moment to go through their thoughts, narrowing down what they could.

“I guess it was peaceful.. in a way.. no one really fell out of line. It was unified, creating a peaceful haven. It wasn’t like people couldn’t fall out of line it’s just they didn’t want to. M-most of them were content with the way they were… but if there was something wrong they would absolutely take any measure to destroy it.” Ranboo finished bitterly, trying to shake off his old hurt of how they treated him. “W-what about your planet?” Ranboo asked.

“Ah.. Earth is interesting to say the least… We don’t all follow the same rules. And there is a lot of falling out of line… But I guess that’s what gave it a certain charm and a certain aspect that made it brutal.” Tommy finished his serious tone melting in an instant, “But that’s there not here! I wanna know what everything is like.” He said looking at Ranboo with curiosity.

That’s how Ranboo created a bond with the strange blond creature. They bounced from topic to topic mainly ending with one of them going into a deep explanation of one thing or another. They talked until both of them ended up passing out sitting next to the window.

——————

Chapter 3- End

Words- 3,212

——————

Techno- “Don’t go near the human without my presence.”

Ranboo- ._.

Ranboo- Ima do it... >:p

——————

(That was a bad one but oh well..)

——————

End Notes: I got carried away a bit... I have a few more filler chapters before we start actually getting into the plot.. also after this should I start a super hero AU?

Ignore minor mistakes... I did reread through it this time so there shouldn’t be too many...

As always likes are nice but reblogs are better! Please share this with people of you enjoyed, I hope you did!

Go get some water, sleep, eat food, and stay safe!! Love y’all <3

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Chapter 4:

[twinkleallnight]

A Twisted Tale

Chapter 3

Book: The Royal Romance AU

Word count: 2162

Characters: Liam, Drake, Riley, Olivia.

Disclaimer: All characters belong to pixelberry.

Rating: Mature

Warning: None

A/N: We are participating in @flashfictionfridayofficial  prompt: "Main attraction".

Catch up here

An AU of The Royal Romance paving it’s way through mixed emotions of wants, needs and desires, of revenge and regrets, of trust, faith and hope.

A joint venture brought to you with love by  @annekebbphotography and @twinkleallnight .

Riley's POV

I look out of the window of this massive room that they say will be mine. Liam has been extremely sweet the whole time and I can’t help but swoon a little. I can see why they say he is the most eligible bachelor King. I don’t care that he is the king. To me, he’s just someone I find attractive and interesting. I want to get to know him, and I will see as I will be working with him.

Now, I don’t know what is going on with Liam and the duchess, but she looked pissed seeing me here. If they have something going on, I won’t get in the way. But if Liam is single, then I am definitely going to try and get to know him on a more personal level.

I start packing my things away still thinking about Liam and how he was so kind and sweet on the plane. And then when we got here, it was as if he couldn’t wait to get rid of me. Guess only time will tell, what is going on.

I start exploring my place.

It has a lounge, bedroom and a bathroom. What more could I need? I’m busy putting my things in my bathroom, when there’s a knock on my door. My heart does a little flip hoping that it’s Liam.

I walk over to the door and open it to find a damn good-looking guy on the other side. I wonder if all the guys around here look like some kind of Greek god.

“Are you done?” He raises his brow at me and I can feel my cheeks burn with embarrassment of being caught staring.

“Sorry, can I help you?” I look down trying to hide my blush.

“You are Riley, right?”

“Last time I checked. And you are?” I bite my bottom lip as I look back at him.

“Drake Walker.” He moves his fingers through his smooth chestnut hair. “Liam wanted me to check if you needed something.”

“Mmmmm, there’s a lot that I need Mr. Walker.” I turn and walk into my room. I look over my shoulder waiting for him to follow me. “Well are you coming in or are you going to be the door?”

He smirks at my comment and steps in. His eyes survey the room. “Have you made a list?”

“A list for what?” I stare at him and he keeps on looking around the room.

“Shopping. A shopping list... list of things you wanna buy.” His eyes focus back to me and when he looks at my puzzled expressions he speaks, “Oh, I forgot to mention. Liam wants me to take you shopping for things you need, like… Like.. office wear and stuff like that. The girlie stuff.”

I burst out laughing as he tries to find the right words, but my laughter dies down immediately when I see his stare. “Sorry...You looked really cute just now.”

“I have heard handsome. But cute?” He gives a puzzled smile, “I will accept that.”

I fiddle with my hair nervously. “I don’t need a list. I will just get what I feel like I would need.”

“So, when do you want to go? Shopping?” He again falters.

I smile at him. “How about now?”

He bows and stretches his arm out for me to lead the way, the smile still plastered on his face, enticing me.

“You’re a real charmer, aren’t you Mr. Walker?”I say as I walk past him. He smirks at me and damn that smirk!

“Only for a beauty like you.” He flirts openly. I feel the blush heat my face at his words.

“Tell me about yourself. We have all afternoon.”

“If you keep up the game. I tell you something and you tell me about you too.”

“Mmm, I like the sound of that. First tell me how you know Liam?”

He gives out a guttural laugh. “It’s like asking how I learnt breathing. We are childhood buddies. Don’t remember since when and how.”

As we both walk out to his truck, he says, “I know how you met Liam. So next question please.” His lips curl to tug my heart again.

I give him a gentle smile. “What do you do around here? I know you aren’t a babysitter or a shopping expert. Why did Liam ask you to take me shopping?” I know Liam has his reasons for asking Drake to take me, but I want to hear it from Drake.

“Definitely not a babysitter. There ain’t no babies here yet. Shopping expert? Maybe. You will soon know. Why me? Cause I am his best friend, and he prefers leaving things in my safe hands if he can’t be there.” He opens the truck door for me and curtsies. “Your knight in shining truck is here for you. “

If he left me in Drake’s hands, that must mean that I am special to him. “Trust me, you don’t look like the shopping type.” I smirk a little, feeling satisfied with myself.

“ I can fit well. Try me. “ He gets behind the wheels next and speaks while he buckles his seatbelt.

“ I work with the security wing of the royal palace.”

“That sounds interesting. Do tell me more.”

He gives me a side glance as we drive to the market. “You know you are not following the rules of the game very well. That’s the fifth question in a row for me.”

I know he is smart. He politely evaded giving me details of security and his role in it.

I shrug as I look out the window before turning back to him. “You had your chance and didn’t take it. You could have asked me anything five questions ago. Now stop stalling and tell me. Do you have a…..” I stop talking before I say too much.

“Smart. I like that. Let me ask you back. Do you have a….? Cause I have none. I have a heart. But it’s reserved for the one who deserves.”

“Well I don’t. But I have my eye on someone.” I smirk and see him lick his lips.

“I hope that someone is here in Cordonia, and close to you.” He measures the distance between us with his eyes

“Mmm. He is definitely in Cordonia, and maybe close to me…. I haven’t decided yet.”

He nods and parks the truck in a lane. He jumps down and comes around to open the door on my side. “We are here, my lady. Where do you want to start from? Dresses, shoes, accessories?”

He extends a hand and almost pulls me out of the truck. Suddenly we are very close to each other and I can smell his musk cologne. He is looking into my eyes and I forget to answer him.

“I can continue staring without blinking, you know. I am good at that game.” He teases me.

I break out of my trance and push him away. “You caught me off guard. I want to start with dresses, then shoes.” I walk towards the mall and he stares at me dumbfounded.

“Are you coming or are you going to stare at my ass the whole time?”

He stifles a laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. He walks to me and says, “you should appreciate the eyes of the beholder, beautiful!”

I giggle and walk off with him, following me. He does small things the whole time like touching me or giving me a wink here and there.

After some time we are in a shop and I step out of the dressing room in a pink form fitting dress. I see Drake gawking at me.

“Do you think this will do?” I ask as I do a little twirl.

Drake adjusts himself and he nods. “That looks amazing on you. But for lunch with me. Not office wear. Definitely not for work with Liam. NO.”

“I was hoping for lunch with Liam….” I stop when I realize what he said. “Why not ‘for work’ with Liam?”

“ Won’t you be having an official lunch with him with other people around? Why do you want pink? Choose a nude or black.” He fumbles over his words trying to explain. “That colour brings a different side of you. It may bring you unnecessary attention… I mean prying eyes… You know what I mean. A lighter shade will be better.” He wipes the unseen sweat on his forehead.

I raise my brow at him. “Pink is perfect for me. I am not changing it.”

He looks away, I feel I saw his jaw clench but the next moment he gives a weak smile. “Sure, let’s go ahead with Pink.”

“I was going to go with pink anyway.” I walk back into the dressing room.

We do the rest of the shopping but it is, as if Drake has changed. He doesn’t talk much anymore and doesn’t comment on my clothes. There is something off but I can’t put my finger on it.

I walk a bit and then look at Drake. “What’s your favourite drink?”

“You are buying me one?”

“What? No, I am making conversation. Are you seriously pissed cause I took pink and not black or nude? “ I huff as I walk a little faster.

His firm hand grasps my wrist to stagger my speed. “Hey Yorkie!” He comes to stand in front of me, apologetically looking into my eyes. “ I am sorry if you didn’t like that. It was just .. just that.. “ he hangs his head low. “Never mind. Let’s have a drink together.” He tries to give a meek smile “Coffee?”

“Sure, I could use a coffee and a cronut or something.” I wonder what that was all about.

He stands pondering…”Croooo… Nuuuuut?” His fingers playing on his lips.

After thinking for a while he beams with a fresh confidence and says, “Now you talk like an American.” He is suddenly happy to catch on the American part. “Okay. I know where we can go.”

We drive to this cute little bakery near the beach and I can’t help but admire the beautiful shoreline.

“This place is amazing.” I smile as Drake leads me into the shop.

“I can get you here some other day. When you are not loaded with shopping bags full of dresses. Rather on a day when you plan to get rid of the only one you are wearing.” His eyes move ravenously over my body making a shiver run down my spine. “And walk barefoot with me on that sand” he points out at the shore.

I am pretty sure he understands I ignored his looks when I bubble up to look like a little kid before Christmas. “I can’t wait. I want to see the beautiful ocean. Liam showed it to me just as we flew over it.”

“Liam won’t have time or the luxury to walk it through with you. I can. I will. We can. If you come.” He speaks in broken sentences.

“That sounds fun…. Will have to see if Liam gives me a day off.”

He seems annoyed. “You are not a machine. You are human and you deserve breaks. He cannot take that away from you.”

He stands up wiping the cream of coffee from his lips and my knees go jelly. “I will make sure you get your day off and we are coming to this beach together.” He says with quite a firm tone.

My eyes flicker between the softness of his lips and the heat in his eyes.

“Thank you Drake. I am sure Liam won’t be unreasonable. But it’s nice to know I have someone in my corner.” I stand up and give him a kiss on the cheek.

His fingers rest on the place I kissed him and he mellows down again. “If I am going to get such sweet treats I can make this corner my home.”

I giggle a little as we walk out of the coffee shop together. “So what are we doing now?” I yawn a bit and feel embarrassed. “Sorry, guess I am a bit tired after the long flight.

He gives me his killing smile “Maybe I am carrying you to your quarters, in that case.”

In a swift motion, he sweeps me off my feet and holds me bridal style walking to his truck.

“Drake! Put me down. I can walk just fine.” I swat his arm as he puts me in his truck.

“Enjoy the Cordonian hospitality Yorkie!”

We buckle up and drive back.

I stare at the window as we drive off. How can I be in this country and have two sweet men by my side. Liam has been amazing even though he disappeared on me and now Drake is treating me like I am the only one he sees. This might just get interesting.

***********

Tags: @alj4890 @anjanettexcordonia @bascmve01 @charlotteg234 @choicesficwriterscreations @cordonia-gothqueen @drakewalker04 @eadanga @gkittylove99 @krsnlove @hopefulmoonobject @iam-the-kind-and-thoughtful @idontknowwhysblog @indiacater @jessiembruno @kingliam2019 @lisha1valecha @mom2000aggie @neotericthemis @ntoraplayschoices @princess-geek @princessleac1 @secretaryunpaid @sirbeepsalot @speedyoperarascalparty @queenrileyrose @texaskitten30 @txemrn @sfb123 @sweatyrysconnoisseur @theroyalheirshadowhunter @aestheticartsx @yourmajesty09 @efecom @grsarco-blog @lovelyladyk88

[fmdrioharchive1]

𝖒𝖎𝖉-𝖍𝖎𝖆𝖙𝖚𝖘 𝖚𝖕𝖉𝖆𝖙𝖊 𝖎𝖓 𝖗𝖊𝖌𝖆𝖗𝖉𝖘 𝖙𝖔 𝖕𝖑𝖔𝖙𝖙𝖎𝖓𝖌, 𝖙𝖍𝖗𝖊𝖆𝖉𝖘, 𝖊𝖙𝖈.  —  hi, friends ! long time, no talk. while i’m in the middle of a much-needed break from rp right now, i’ve put a lot of thought into my muses and their trajectories, as well as their plots with current muses, etc. as i love them and really want to continue writing them for a long while. being that plenty of muses i had established plots with have left the rp, i’m going to use the new year as an opportunity to accrue more substantial, important-for-development connections for my two active characters. i’m in need of updated threads and basically everything else, and in this post, i’ll be focusing on 𝖞𝖔𝖔 𝖗𝖎𝖔𝖍 ! he’s a muse of mine i enjoy writing as he has this really sweet energy about him, and he’s still so confused about life, and he’s still young and dumb, and still unsure what the hell he’s going to do once its time to enlist and slowly move on from his life as an idol. below the cut you’ll find some ideas i’d love explore further with him, and if we’ve plotted in the past and you’re still in the rp, let me know if you would like to continue all we’ve discussed so far ! i’m happy to continue things if anyone is still interested, of course ! ♡

𝖊𝖘𝖙𝖆𝖇𝖑𝖎𝖘𝖍𝖊𝖉 𝖕𝖑𝖔𝖙 𝖕𝖔𝖎𝖓𝖙𝖘,

note, these typically require chemistry between the muses and muns, as well as those who are comfortable discussing more serious topics in relation to platonic friendships, romantic endeavors, and so forth. all romantic plots listed are only available to males and masc-presenting non-binary individuals as rioh identifies as homosexual. same goes for all plots that lean sexual in nature. all mentioned plots can be adjusted to better fit your muse, so don’t hesitate to let me know if you’re interested in an idea that doesn’t fit 100%, but could with adjustments.

𝟎𝟏.  something i’ve discovered about rioh the longer i’ve written him is that he seems dead-set on trying to find his other half. he’s a hopeless romantic who, given the circumstances of being an idol and the fact that he spent pretty much all of his youth in the entertainment industry, has not ever really had a chance to explore what it’s like to have a boyfriend. this, of course, is only made more complicated with south korea’s views on homosexuality and how it’s still considered fairly “taboo” there. either way, i don’t want to say that he’s desperate for a relationship, but he thinks about them a lot and can’t help but wonder what it’s like to have someone in his corner, especially in such an intimate fashion. however, the road to finding mr. right isn’t always easy, and i feel like he’s at the point where he wants to put himself out there more, and ask guys out on dates; to put more energy into dating, in general, no matter how hard it seems. all that said, if you want to write a thread of rioh asking your muse on a date, your muse actually going on a date with rioh, your muse rejecting his advances, your muse being flirty with him, etc., that’d be great ! i’m up for literally anything and everything, so if you have ideas you’d like to add, do let me know !   (  romantic-leaning, masc locked, any age, chemistry dependent  )  ♡

𝟎𝟐.  another idea that i’ve had in mind for awhile that isn’t exactly romantic, but has some tiny elements of that, is one where rioh felt brave when he was mad young and still a trainee, and like, wrote your muse ( presumably a débuted idol ) a love letter confessing his feelings after they helped him work on dancing, or singing, or literally whatever else, and your muse had to turn him down for very obvious reasons, but maybe thought it was sweet that he even went out of his way to do that at his age. nowadays, the muse in question sort of tucked him under his wing and he’s rioh’s biggest confidante. someone who never judges him, who helps him, and sort of fills the role of a “big brother” away from home. sure, rioh has a lot of older brothers, but they’re nowhere near as patient or as nice with him as this muse is, so he’s likely the first person he goes to when he’s confused, or lost, or upset !   (  platonic, masc locked, 89-99 liner, bonus points if from bce / the muse is queer, as well  )  ♡

𝟎𝟑.  a girl near his age who, back in his trainee days / early idol days, he tried to date after his brother made it a point to confuse him with one single question: how do you know you’re gay if you’ve never even dated a girl before? completely ignorant of him, but thankfully, his siblings understand him more now. back then though, he decided to explore his sexuality more, and in doing so he pursued your muse because he found her to be really pretty, and very talented, and they got along well, but maybe after roughly one year of dating, he confirmed with himself that it wasn’t as fulfilling to him as it would’ve been had she been a guy, so he broke up with her. now, they remain on good terms because he loves her, and he loved her back then, but just couldn’t be the boyfriend that she deserved. she’s also someone that’s an important figure in his life and likely always will be.  (  platonic, femme locked, 99-02 liner  )  ♡

𝟎𝟒.  rioh has never been incredibly confident in himself as a singer, but it’s what he’s known for in his career. as a kid, he participated in “the voice kids” and lost, and that fact was used a lot whenever cloud 6 was airing on tv. after his debut, he was made a main vocalist, and even took part in “the king of masked singer,” but didn’t win that either, so he feels pretty inferior as a main vocalist and needs to work on his confidence. this is where your muse steps in. not only would they be an individual who assists him with his vocals, but also a collaborative partner who he’ll hopefully work with musically in the future. they’ll know a lot about his insecurities and he’ll find it easy to open up to them.  (  platonic / collaborative, any gender, any age  )  ♡

𝟎𝟓.  friends-with-benefits, anyone? this hasn’t ever happened for rioh, and this was something in the works awhile back, but it never fully blossomed into fruition. this muse doesn’t have to be in anyway serious about anything, but i can’t promise that rioh won’t catch feelings sometimes. he’s... pretty quick to fall, and so naïve, and he needs to sort of... get over that, in my opinion. we can discuss possibilities to see what works best for all.  (  nsfw, masc locked, any age, chemistry dependent  )  ♡

𝖌𝖊𝖓𝖊𝖗𝖆𝖑 𝖕𝖑𝖔𝖙 𝖕𝖔𝖎𝖓𝖙𝖘,

note, this section is a little more loose; smaller ideas that can grow into things, but they also don’t have to. i realize that some people ( myself included, at times ) like to dive right in and see how things go, so here are some starter ideas, plot points, etc. we can expand on either in the writing process, in plotting, etc. !

a dance partner ( any age, any gender ) ! rioh always finds himself restless in the middle of the night, and sometimes, he wishes he had someone who’d meet up with him on a couple sleepless nights to just come up with super cool choreo.

as plain and simple as it is, rioh’s always wanted to learn a second language. it could be literally any language your muse speaks. if they’re willing to help him out, he’ll return the favor somehow. maybe in free meals? he’s a good cook!

for some reason, i feel like rioh would be 1,000% down to coparent a pet with someone. this could be even more fun if the two of them are roommates, too!

maybe a scenario where rioh was trying to be smooth and pass his phone number along to a cute boy at a music show ( like at the end when they all shake hands ), but the paper with his number got into your hands by accident. 😬

the two of you somehow and someway end up stuck in an elevator together. maybe at a company? not sure if they have elevators, but one can assume... anyway, you talked for around an hour and a half, then decided to grab lunch.

[procrastinatorimagines]

Helping Hand

Fandom: The Originals / The Vampire Diaries

Characters: Reader, Elijah, 

Warning/s: none

Word Count: 4,171

Request:  Hi! Can I get an imagine where the reader is a teenager (about 16) who has powers and she learns that Elijah Mikaelson has a necklace that belonged to her ancestor that will allow her to keep her powers under control and asking him for help?

+

hey ,can u write something with elijah???? love your blog

Summary: The reader moves to New Orleans with her family after her grandmother dies, leaving them with a large property and inheritance. But the reader also starts to develop powers, powers she cannot control, not without the help of Elijah Mikaelson.

Note: I’ve had this first request buried in my drafts for a very long time, I don’t even still have the actual request anymore so idk who sent it but here it is

Your magic was... volatile, to say the least. They’d started to show themselves last year, around the time your family had moved to New Orleans, but despite your best efforts, you were still unable to keep them under much control. It felt like there was a well of power deep inside of you, but no matter how far you reached, you’d yet to find the end. 

You longed to reach the end of your power, to finally know your limits. By understanding what you were capable of, maybe you could begin to learn to control barely contained power within. It was a miracle your family hadn’t found out yet, especially given the whole you’d accidentally made in the back wall of the house, but as much as you wanted to tell them, you didn’t know how they would react. 

The timing of your powers couldn’t have been a coincidence, at first you’d thought it was related to your age maybe, did 15 mean something magical? You obviously had no idea, but the longer you were in New Orleans, you started to realise that that wasn’t the case. Your estranged grandmother had died last year, you’d only met her once as a baby and your mother never talked about her, but she’d left behind a massive estate and inheritance in New Orleans, and following the divorce from your father, your mother had decided maybe it was a good chance for a fresh start. So she’d packed you and your younger twin brothers up, ripping you away from your lives, friends, everything you’d ever known, and taken you to the Crescent City.

It had been an adjustment, especially with the added problems of your powers. Needless-to-say, discovering you had magic was a shock, a big one. At first you thought you were dreaming, or seeing things, but eventually you’d accepted that this was real... and you should really plant a few trees to make up for the damage you’d accidentally done to the ones on the edge of your property line.

That’s where you were now, headphones on, beads of sweat on your brow as you tried to concentrate your magic at a single tree stump about ten metres away from you. Taking slow breaths you listened to the beat of the music pumping in your ears, letting all else slip away as you felt that familiar opening inside of you, leading to the well of magic you could feel stirring in anticipation. It always gave you a bit of a rush when you started, but you had to be careful you didn’t dive in too quickly. 

Too much too fast was your problem, and you’d spent many, many... many, frustrating days trying to master it. You were sure there was a better way, maybe an instruction manual? But who could you ask, New Orleans may have been full of stores and stalls promising knowledge of the occult and the supernatural, but nothing had seemed to do you any good. Parlour tricks mostly, so you were alone.

Feeling that familiar build up of power, you yet again tried to steady it, tried to send a concentrated blast only. You felt your hands tingle, then warm, focusing intently as you felt sweat drip down the side of your face. Almost there...

A bird landed on the tree stump, catching you off guard as it cawed, stretching its wings but refusing to move. At the last second you threw your hands to the side, a blast of power flying into a nearby tree as you tried to reign it back in. 

“Damn it!” You swore, clenching your hands into fists and pulling them to your sides as you stared wide eyes at the giant smouldering hole in the tall tree, the creaking and groaning sound it was making as it began to splinter at the break.

You took a slight step back, casting a dirty look at the black bird still perched on the stump as it watched you, regarding you with a more curious look than you were comfortable with. A loud snapping sound caused you to look back to the tree, now unable to support the weight on top as it began to topple.

“Crap...” you mumbled, pulling your headphones down to your neck as you watched it start to fall slowly. Not again, you thought as it fell, crashing into another tree before falling back and slamming into the ground. 

You stared at it in stunned silence for a minute, glad you were too far out for anyone to have heard. The bird let out a small noise, still watching you, seemingly unaffected by the sound of the toppling tree. “What are you looking at?” You demanded, the bird cocking its head like it was listening, “this is your fault,” you told it, pointing to the mess behind it. 

The black bird actually turned its head, looking to the tree before turning back to you, cawing and flying off over your head. You ducked as it flew past you, wind blowing your hair. Well... that was weird, but honestly, talking to a bird was probably the least strange thing that had happened to you recently.

So with a shrug you turned on your heels, grabbing your school bag and heading back down the overgrown path you always followed back to your house, checking your watch to make sure you wouldn’t miss the bus. Your 16th birthday had been a few days ago, and the balloons your mother had insisted on putting up on the railings of your front porch were still flying as you appeared out of the clearing in the woods.

Your brother’s were waiting by the road as you picked up your pace, noticing the school bus turning down the end of your road and heading to where the boys were stood. “Cutting it close,” one of your brothers, JJ, commented as you rolled your eyes, ignoring him and Nick as you rifled in your bag for your pass, finding it just as the bus pulled up and the doors opened. 

You sat away from your brothers once you got on, headphones back on as you thought about how you were ever going to get a hang of your powers. 

The rest of your school day when like it usually did, you went to class, did your work, ate lunch alone, and researched magic whenever you had some free time. You’d had losts of friends back home, but being the new girl struggling to control dangerous powers didn’t leave you with much opportunity to be anything other than the loner who talked to the librarian more than any of the other kids. 

Your brothers fit in just fine, and the party your mother had been expecting to throw you over the weekend had been embarrassingly empty, so now she was worried about you. Great, another thing you had to worry about. 

Thankfully, your magic hadn’t really ever acted up at school, expect in gym once or twice, but nothing too noticeable. Heightened emotions seemed to make it worse, and the boredom you felt at school seemed to subdue it the most. 

After school you debated getting the bus home with JJ and Nick, but your mom was working until late so you decided to walk into the city instead, trying your luck again at one of the supposedly magic stores or stalls, you never knew, maybe someone might actually be able to help you.

It was a warm day, even into the afternoon as you strolled along the crowded streets. Okay, you actually liked New Orleans, the people, the buildings, the atmosphere, you felt like you could disappear here. If you hadn’t come into uncontrollable powers when you’d moved here... well, things would be very different. 

You ended up walking through the French Quarter, definitely lost but not caring too much, you’d just use your phone to find the best way home when it got a little later. You were so lost in your music and surroundings that it took you a while to realise you were being followed. 

It felt like a cold breeze on the back of your neck, like your magic warning you of danger. But there was so many people arround that you wouldn’t have been able to tell who was following you even if you saw them, so you picked up your pace.

That feeling didn’t leave, cold going down your spine as you weaved your way through the crowds of people milling about the square. You probably would have thought you were paranoid, but you’d learned enough to not doubt your magic right now. 

Spotting a side street you slipped down it, only realising once you were half way down that it was a dead end. You quickly tried to double back, heart pounding as you turned to see a man at the end of the way, blocking your exit.

He was a sharp dressed man, black suit crisp as he leaned against the cool shaded bricks on the wall, hands in his pockets, regarding you with a cool but intrigued gaze. There was something... off about him, something you couldn’t quite put your finger on as your magic buzzed in you with warning. 

“Hello there,” he said casually, pushing himself up off the wall and strolling towards you, hands still in his pockets. He didn’t look threatening, but there was something in his eyes that made you want to run, but where?

“H-Hello,” you got out, not doing well to pretend you weren’t scared as the man smirked at you. There was a lot of times over the past year where you wished you didn’t have magic, this however, wasn’t one of them. You’d never used your power on another person before, but the more scared you got, the more you could feel it burning in your core, ready to burst out to defend you if needed. 

“I’m Elijah,” he introduced himself, British accent clear as he slowly spoke the words. Was he expecting you to introduce yourself? Stranger Danger 101, you were not giving this man your name. He seemed to realise that when you didn’t respond, but he didn’t seem offended. “Very well, I apologise for startling you, but you looked like somebody I knew once.”

“We’ve never met,” you replied, you were sure you would have remembered this well dressed individual.

“No...” Elijah mused outloud, “no I suppose we haven’t, a relative maybe?” The only relative you knew in the city was your late grandmother, you supposed your mother had lived here, but not for the better part of 20 years.

“I don’t think so,” you answered, itching to get away. He seemed to register this, but he still seemed curious about you. What was this guys deal? You scrunched your fists at your side, palms warm with power, your fight or flight response sounding alarm bells in your head as your power threatened to spill out. 

He took another step towards you, glancing down at your hands like he knew what was going on inside of you. Was that possible? You knew that you couldn’t be the only one in the world with power like this, but still...

“I have to go now,” you told him quickly, trying to simply quickly walk past him back to the crowded street, determined to get home as you regretted not just getting the bus with your siblings. 

“On second,” he said, just as you passed him, hand reaching out to grab your arm. As you as he touched you, you exploded.

It happened so fast, one second you were trying to twist out of his grasp, the next a blast of energy had sent him down the street. Breathing heavily, your heart pounding in chest, you didn’t look back to see what you had just done, instead all but running out on the street and making your way back home. 

What had you just done?

-

You made it home before your mom, ignoring your brothers questions about where you had been as you ran up the stairs two at a time and into your bedroom, slamming your door shut and locking it. Only when you heard your lock click into place did you let out a shaky breath and try to relax, leaning against the back of the door and sinking to the floor. Your mind was racing as you tried to process what had just happened.

Had you killed him? You didn’t think so, you hoped not, but he had provoked you, scared you, it had been out of your control the second he’d put his hand on your arm. What were you going to do now?

You groaned and wiped your hands over your face, exhausted and drained. You just needed to think. Reluctantly pulling yourself up you went into your bathroom to take a shower. Every bedroom in this house seemed to have it’s own bathroom, what your grandmother did alone in this place was beyond you.

The water was scolding as you slipped in, but you didn’t care, standing there for a long time as it poured down your face and body, eyes glued to your hands as you thought about the power they contained, the power you possessed.

Your eyes drifted to the pale blue wall tiles, you grandmother had had most of the house redecorated before she died, she’d been sick for a while apparently, but your mom had never told you any of that. This was the room she’d decorated for you, the one she’d instructed you to take in the will, and you had to admit, she’d done a damn good job of decorating it to your taste. Eerily good, considering you weren’t exactly doing much talking the one time you’d met her. 

She’d left you a note too, on the bed when you’d entered. Old people rambling about how you had more potential than you realised, you were special and important and she wished she was there with you... You hadn’t thought much about it at first, but a part of you kept going back to those words in your mind, had she meant this? Had she known?

It seemed crazy, but there had been something not right about that man, Elijah, something cold and... not human? If he had known your grandmother, maybe he would have had more answers about what was going on with you?

With a sigh you finally turned off the water, drying yourself off as you thought about your grandmother alone in this big old house. As you did you walked over the creaky floorboard outside the bathroom door and paused, leaning back on your heel and making it squeek again. You shook your head, thinking you must be reading too much into everything that had happened to you. But as you stepped off of it and listened to it creak again you let out a defeated breath, what the hell, why not? You thought, kneeling down and prying at the sides of the board. 

To your slight surprise it budged, were you really looking for hidden compartments in your room? But your grandmother had left it to you, if your suspicions about her were correct, maybe she’d left you more than you realised. She did, you realised as you got the board free, a dusty box beneath it. This was crazy.

Taking it out you set it on your dresser and got dressed, eyes barely leaving to box until you tentatively tried the latch, it didn’t have a lock on it so you carefully lifted up the old lid, revealing a leather bound book within. It looked like an old-timey journal as you slowly pulled it out, your magic buzzing at the touch. What was this?

You went to sit on your bed, book on your lap as you opened the first page, careful not to tear the pages as you did, it felt fragile but it was definitely well worn, the spine was basically coming apart. The language inside looked like it was mostly... Latin? Maybe, you hadn’t exactly studied it in school, but there were annotations in the margins in English, fresher than the original text, the handwriting appearing to match the writing in your grandmother’s letter.

The more you flipped through the pages, skimming passages and trying to understand illustrations, the more you thought this was a spellbook of some kind. You assumed that was a thing anyway, especially with your grandmother’s notes. 

“Y/N!” A knock on your door had you slamming the book shut probably a little too hard and rushing to put it away, your mother calling you from the otherside. 

“Yeah?” You called back, frantically trying to replace the floor board, barely managing to as she entered, uniform on as she look at you, on your knees n the floor. “Dropped by earring,” you lied with ease and she believed you, it’s not like she’d have believed the truth anyway.

“I’ll have dinner ready in 20, okay?” She smiled and you nodded, standing back up, “how was school?”

“Eh same old,” you told her, deliberately not mentioning your strange encounter with Elijah, she’d freak out if she knew, and you didn’t want her involved in any of this.

“Okay, could you set the table when you come down?” She asked and you nodded again, more than eager for her to leave your room. 

She did after that and you breathed a sigh of relief, you couldn’t be doing any of this in the house, you’d go out into the woods again with the book tomorrow, maybe it was time for a new approach to your magical problem. You just hoped the answers you were looking for had been right under your nose, or feet, the entire time.

-

It was a quiet morning as you made your way down the familiar walkway into the woods, switching into autopilot as you stepped over the roots and stones you had been avoiding nearly everyday for the better part of a year.

You’d tried to sleep last night, but your mind was wide awake, thoughts of that book swirling around in your mind until you finally caved and switched on your lamp, reading through the pages until you’d eventually fallen asleep in the early hours of the morning, book in hand. 

It had been eye opening. Vampires, werewolves, witches... well, you were a witch then, but the fact that the others existed too was nearly too much, your brain becoming so overloaded with new information you barely thought was possible. You’d fallen asleep at a chapter on New Orleans, the different factions there and information on the ‘Original Family’ that had once ruled, the name Elijah Mikaelson had caught your eye, was it the same Elijah you’d met yesterday? It would explain a few things, but it didn’t exactly make you feel any better.

You made it to the area you had been the previous morning, the fallen tree a reminder that you really needed to get your powers under control. You sat on the stump you’d been trying to blast yesterday and pulled the book out of your bag, a torn piece of homework bookmarking a page with a spell you’d decided to test out. It seemed simple enough, and this far into the woods you only had to worry about the damage to the trees, which was nothing new when it came to your magic. 

Leaving the book open on the correct page you stood back up, focusing your breathing as you held out your hands, facing the fallen tree as you reached down into that familiar well of power. But instead of firing blindly like you usually did, you now had a spell that you hoped would at least concentrate the energy.

“Motus,” you said when you were ready, feeling your power blast out of your hands, absolutely shattering the tree you had previously felled... along with a handfull of others in the vacinity. 

“No, no, no,” you muttered. It hadn’t worked, you’d just wanted to hit the one tree, now what were you supposed to do? 

You were so lost in your thoughts you hadn’t noticed that you weren’t alone, jumping and whirling around when you heard a twig snap behind you. Suddenly you found yourself face to face with Elijah. 

“Impressive, uncontrolled and reckless, but impressive nonetheless,” he commented, standing there in a suit as crisp as he had worn yesterday, seemingly unaffected by the blast you’d sent into his chest at your previous encounter. 

“How...?” You stammered, looking around to see where he had come from all of a sudden, what your grandmother’s book had said about Elijah the Original ringing in your mind as you faced him.

“I’m a vampire,” he told you, waiting for your reaction, “so you know what I am then?” He asked when you didn’t flinch.

“I did some reading last night,” you said honestly and he glanced down at where you’d left the book open on the tree stump, recognition flashing in his eyes.

“I can see that,” he noted, wandering over to the book. You wanted to stop him as he reached it, but your feet were firmly planted. What did he want now? “My apologies for yesterday by the way, you just looked so much like your grandmother that I let my curiosity get the better of me, I’m sorry if I scared you.”

“How did you know her?” You asked and he smiled, like he was thinking of fond memories.

“She was one of the oldest witches in New Orleans, most went to her for guidance, she had a gift of sight you see, I went to her from time to time as well, her passing was tragic,” he explained, “how long have you known?”

“Well I found the book yesterday so since then really,” you admitted.

He looked at you in confusion, “but you powers...?”

“Yeah I’ve had those since I moved here, but I never really knew what they were, or how to use them,” you elaborated.

“I can see that,” he said with a nod to the destruction behind you. You looked down sheepishly, embarrassed by your lack of control after so long.

“You know, your grandmother had the same problem,” he began, your head shooting back up to face him, finding that very hard to believe after what he’d just told you about her. “It’s true,” he insisted, noting your hesitation to believe him, “the witches in your family are born with an immense amount of power, more than most could handle, which is why she wore this, to channel that energy and take control,” as he finished he held out his hand, an amulet dropping from it. 

“What is that?” You asked him, drawn closer by the power radiating from the small half moon hanging from his index finger. It looked old, but it also felt oddly familiar in a way you couldn’t quite explain.

“It belonged to your ancestors, passed down from generation to generation since before my family even reached these shores in the early 18th century, your grandmother gave it to me for safe keeping, so it could be given to you,” he told you and you shelved the comment about the 18th century away for another time, your eyes unable to leave the amulet as Elijah held out his hand, offering it to you. 

“Can I?” You reached out for it slowly and he nodded, letting you take it. It felt cold in your palm, so different from the heat you always felt when you were using your power. Elijah offered to fasten it for you and he did, a sense of calm and clarity washing over you as soon as he fastened the clasp and stepped back. 

“Try it now,” he suggested and it took you a second to realise he meant the spell. You swallowed, here went nothing.

Turning until you found a target you held out your hand, your well of magic seemingly contained by the amulet, a smaller opening available to you now as you whispered, “motus,” and sent a beam of energy into a nearby tree branch.

Usually, the whole tree would have been blown apart at least, but you your surprise and delight, only the branch was sent flying off. You’d done it. 

Smiling you turned back to Elijah, “thank you,” you breathed, hand going to the amulet around your throat.

“Of course, I gave your grandmother my word that I’d help you when the time came, but I’ll admit, family matters kept me from even checking to see if you’d arrived in the city,” he admitted, “for that I’m sorry, but if you’d let me, I’d like to help you now, it’s the least I could do for your grandmother.”

Although you barely knew this strange man, this vampire, he seemed genuine and it’s not like you really had many other options. So you straighten up and nodded. “Where do we begin?”

[bookofmirth]

I believe these people don't really care about Elain and just want to see the hot scene because they skip important parts of it.

If people really looked at what they read, they would see that Sarah gave signs that Elain was struggling to fit into the night court. She makes it clear in a few moments through Cassian's thoughts and even Rhys realizes she's just following what appeared to her. We see through some thoughts that she is always on the side of whoever she thinks is stronger, that maybe she is not so loyal, that she would love another courtship. And that makes us see that she's trying to fit in, like, is it to play happy family? so let's do that, let's move on.

Apart from that, if we put the extra chapter in the right place and look from Elain's perspective, you'll see situations that she didn't feel right about. Like the Court of Nightmares, or the fact that Azriel spent the night dancing with his sister and didn't ask her to dance. We see that they didn't speak after that and when Azriel asked about her she didn't want to speak.

After that we have the near kiss scene where Azriel describes the pain he saw in her eyes. She felt rejected, so rejected to the point of returning the gift he gave her. We don't know if she overheard the conversation or had a vision, but if she did or heard she didn't like it and wanted to close what she had started.

After that we have Feyre having a child and probably not just her and Azriel must have thought about it. They saw Feyre die from the baby's wings. It would be very insignificant for Sarah to put this scene + Nestha getting her and Feyre to have Ilyrian babies and still add a character she can have that has scenes with Azriel. Including making him give the necklace Elain gave him back, and him giving it to her and hoping it's nothing.

To me people just like to look at Elain's side when she's with Lucien. with others it seems that they close their eyes.

I agree with you, I think that there was actually a lot of Elain content in the book that tells us how she is doing - not necessarily what she wants or what she thinks about anything - but we can see how she is adjusting to life in the Night Court and how content or happy she is. There was a lot of body language, although we had no explanation for it and so we have multiple possible interpretations. There were observations from other people, and the interactions that we witnessed. We also did have her asserting herself with Nesta and Feyre. Baby steps.

I love this ask because it puts a lot of focus on Elain's experience throughout acosf! Since she didn't have a ton of interactions or really any role in the plot, it's a nice reference. 💕

Regarding what you said about people just looking at the "hot" scene of Elain and Az interacting... There is a lot of "analysis" of this series where people hone in on a specific word or phrase, and then they fail to take into consideration the context in which it is used, or other times that word or phrase is used and how. That's why people think Gwyn glowing when she sings is significant. But a quick search of the word "glowing" just tells us that it's a super common occurrence when someone's powers are being used. Everyone glows, so Gwyn glowing isn't necessarily a lightsinger thing (especially since we don't know that they glow).

I never wrote my post on analyzing stuff in books. I guess I could finish that, it's in my drafts.

I would suggest that any time someone sees a theory they are a bit 🥴about, look for the word being analyzed throughout the series. If someone decides to make a post about "shadows", you can double check their "analysis" by looking at how that word is used in the entire series. Because it's always possible that OP has been cherry-picking their evidence.

To me people just like to look at Elain's side when she's with Lucien. with others it seems that they close their eyes.

I do genuinely wonder if there is analysis of Elain's character from non-eluciens that takes into account who she is as an individual. I don't see everything in the fandom because 1) I have a ton of people blocked, 2) I'm pretty sure that at this point a ton of people have me blocked, and 3) I check the tags maybe once a month. But it's unfortunate to me that the analysis I do see from people who ship differently than I do always relies on her relationship as a major, foundational part of her character. It's not. Who Elain is and wants to be as an individual is the most important, followed by her family, and then? Then, maybe, we can think about a relationship.

[kitkatopinions]

Mercury Black.

Mercury for the RWBY asks post! One of my favorites in the Villains Group!

My top three ships for the character

I’ve shipped some pretty weird things for Mercury via fan fiction, so this list is a little bit weird, but uh... Mercury/Yang could have such an interesting dynamic and relationship if Mercury gets redeemed and works hard to be better. Another fun one is Whitley/Mercury. I’m sorry lol, but while writing a fic with a mutual wherein Mercury and Whitley were forced to interact as Watts was living in Schnee Manor and using Jacques, and the two of them ran away from their abusers together and had to rely on each other to survive... I started kinda shipping these two! It only works in AU fics right now (and was less weird when I thought Whitley was fifteen and Mercury was sixteen/seventeen.) Also, I don’t hate Mercury/Emerald. I tend to see them more as siblings, but dang, there’s some good artwork that has made me start seeing the chemistry there.

My three least favorite ships for the character

Mercury/Oscar is... Not my favorite. XD They’d have older brother, younger brother energy only and that’s it. Nora/Mercury is something I don’t think would work at all. And Adam/Mercury... Ew, I mean, it’s kinda ew. But I literally had to look up a list of ships and go ‘I don’t hate that’ for a lot of them to find three I definitely don’t like. He’s pretty easy to ship with a lot of people!

My biggest criticism for the character

There isn’t enough of it. The character Mercury does have is pretty good, but he’s used so sparingly that I almost forget he’s a character at times. He should’ve had a bigger role in the story, they should’ve put more emphasis on his relationships with more than just Emerald, they shouldn’t have dropped him out of season eight before he could do anything. We need to know more about him and see him vulnerable and have him be relevant to the plot again, or he’s in danger of becoming boring.

My favorite thing about the character

I love his versatility. I already talked about him being easy to ship with a lot of people, but it’s more than that. The knowledge that he just goes with things even if they’re crazy (”I killed my dad and then this lady showed up talking about destiny and took me to a castle with a magic demon woman so here I am”) makes him a character that can be put into a lot of situations. You want to get him redeemed? Throw him into a situation where he’s with the right people and away from the wrong ones and his character naturally starts adjusting to fit that. You want him to be sad and whumped? Isolate him with someone like Tyrian or Watts and let him suffer. Want him to be a hero from the get go? If Ironwood or Qrow had found him instead of Cinder, he can be! He can go to Beacon or be in Atlas as the friend of Penny! He’d adjust to that! Want him to be a wildcard grayer scale character who isn’t on the heroes side or Salem’s side? If Roman and Neo had found him instead of Cinder, he can be that! He can view Roman as a father figure. He could’ve run away from home when he was younger, found Ren and Nora, and become attached to them. He could’ve been friends with Team SSSN if he’d been sent to Haven before moving to Beacon. He could’ve been found by Raven and the tribe and become attached to them. He’s a character you can put into almost any scenario on any side and it’d work!

A headcanon I have about them

In my headcanons, Mercury was raised isolated and didn’t go to school, so Emerald saying he’s socially awkward wasn’t a lie at all. Mercury can’t hold a real conversation with anyone outside of talking about plans and illegal action... And Emerald, who he doesn’t want to admit is his best friend. Also when he went to Beacon, he started getting interested in all kinds of hobbies and things he’d never heard about before. He liked going to the library because there were always kids reading and playing games that looked interesting. He loved checking out the booths at the Vytal Festival and trying foods and wondering what the hell cotton candy even was. Emerald was constantly rolling her eyes about it, but she secretly found it endearing and it made her feel a little less cynical herself.

What I would change about them if I was making a re-write

He needs to be involved. I don’t know why he constantly got shafted, but he should’ve had a proper second fight with Yang, he could’ve gotten dropped into Atlas with Watts instead of Tyrian (or along with Tyrian.) And I know this is a bit of an unpopular opinion, but I think Mercury should’ve been the one to start his redemption in season eight and Emerald should’ve been given time to work through her Cinder issues some and get redeemed maybe in season nine. Like I said, Mercury is versatile, he never had someone who he was committed to and believed in amongst Salem’s followers outside of Emerald, he didn’t care about the cause, and he’s deeply connected to the trauma of being abused by his father. Like many Merc fans, I think he should’ve gotten a wake up call when he saw Oscar getting abused, and tried to convince Emerald to leave with him, and I think Emerald should have said she had to stay and try to talk to Cinder about what she’d heard Oscar tell Hazel. Mercury is reluctant, but agrees, and he’s the one who starts escaping with Oscar. Yang’s frustration and hesitance in trusting him would be more personal, but at the same time, it wouldn’t be Penny’s murderer that everyone (and Penny!) is working with so easily, then, either.

What I I think of their character allusion and what (if anything) I would change about it

Mercury (mythology) was the god of messengers, thieves, commerce, travelers, and trade. His predecessor in Greek mythology, Hermes, was a messenger of the gods and called ‘a divine trickster.’ If that sounds weird, it’s because it is. If that sounds like it fits more with Emerald, that’s because it does. Emerald, the thief, who steals from sales people and takes the reins in every deception and most conversations with other people, who carried out Cinder’s orders from Salem and was arguably one of the biggest contributors to the Fall of Beacon (messenger of gods,) who was the one to tell Salem why they’d failed in Haven, and then later was the one delivering Oscar back to the group and the first face Ironwood sees when he realizes he’s been tricked by Ruby’s group. Emerald could be argued as the messenger role here. I truly believe that they made Mercury based off of the god of Roman/Greek mythology only because he has special shoes. Mercury does connect to Hermes/Mercury as a guide to the dead, leading them to the Underworld. As an assassin, this is treated literally in the RWBY world, but he isn’t really utilized in that way! Other than murdering his abusive father, Mercury’s direct kill count is at one the same as Emerald (who is Penny’s murderer, period.) The only other connection is a very lose one - Hermes’ role as a boundary crosser reflects Mercury’s loose morals and his easy slide into villainy, but also his potential to cross over to another side at the drop of a hat as I already established. As I already said, I’d have Mercury either replace Tyrian when Watts goes to Atlas, or I’d have him join the two, and act as an assassin there, increasing his role of guiding the dead to the Underworld. And having him be the one to deliver Ozpin/Oscar makes him more of a messenger of the gods, but I would also give him some important information about Salem to deliver to Ozpin as well. And I’d also have Salem ask him and Emerald to tell her what had happened at Haven and have him play more of a role when Cinder went to talk to Raven in the mid seasons. I’d have Mercury used to deliver information from Cinder to Roman in the early seasons, and just over all increase his connections to the various big names around him and give him a lot of information. I might also have Watts add some sort of Iron Man/Shadow the Hedgehog sort of flight capabilities to his boots in the seventh and eighth season sort of like Penny’s flight abilities just to get the whole ‘winged shoes’ thing. But I’d make sure that his flight is sporadic and rough-around-the-edges, worse than Penny’s, and something he can’t always rely on or use for long. Idk, I just think that’d fit with his personality really well.

[seiin-translations]

2.43 S1 Chapter 1.7 - Young Yunichika

7. (COOL BUT WORST) PLAYMAKER

Translation Notes

1. The term used here, 球威, means “pitcher’s stuff”, which basically refers to how effective a pitch is at being the pitch it’s supposed to be

2. Refers to the popular myth/saying/action that writing the character for “person” on your hand and then pretending swallowing it will relieve stress

3. Some neat wordplay here. アタッカー並み means on par with an attacker, but 並みのアタッカー means average attacker

Previous || Index || Next

He felt like he could see Haijima’s smug face painted on the raised set. It was after the opponent blocker fell for the decoy in front of the net and jumped. Kuroba jumped in from behind the decoy with a back-row attack. From the point of view of the opponent blocker, a new shadow suddenly shot out from above the decoy’s head. This was the combination they were best at, called a pipe attack, and it should have been already analyzed by the opponent, but it felt great to be given a face of astonishment that said, “How did you appear there!?” every time. This is the moment when I’m the coolest one on the court.

Haijima’s sets were completely different than his senpai setter’s sets from last year. Kuroba still couldn’t explain it in theory, but even though his senpai’s sets were a big arch that “went up and fell down,” Haijima’s sets “didn’t fall down.” The ball was thrown “straight” to the place where it could only be reached by stepping in the fastest, jumping the highest and swinging his arms at the highest point. If he didn’t stop it, it would just whoosh past him. In practice, he constantly missed the timing and missing the ball, which ended into arguments. While he became reckless everyday, desperate to stop the ball next time for sure—a strange phenomenon occurred today.

As long as he jumped and swung his arms with all strength, the ball would be there. The sets fitted into his hands so cleanly, like they were sticking to his hands, that there was not even a millimeter of deviation. All he had to do was to add power and hit it out with a nice feeling. He cut through the gaps in the opponents’ defense, who were unable to take a step, and landed after seizing the ball with his eyes until it pierced the court. “Yes!” he pumped his arm into the air, still on his knees.

“Yuni!”

“You were so cool!”

While his gathered teammates messed up his hair, he searched for Haijima. He caught a glimpse of Haijima, who was always on the outside of circles like these. Haijima smiled thinly and nodded.

The rotation moved once, and Kuroba came up to the front row right after he did a back-row attack in the back row. When Haijima went down from the front row to serve in exchange, they exchanged a low high-five as they passed each other.

July 26th. The first round of the boys’ volleyball division for the Prefectural Middle School Summer Games, taking place on the two courts of A and B in the Suzumu City Municipal Gymnasium. In the first game on Court A, Monshiro Middle already took the first set. For the second set, the other side came close in the middle of the game because of a disordered receive, but they didn’t allow them to form a comeback and extended a wide lead again to close out the set. It was a three-set match, so if they took this set, they would have a straight-set win.

Haijima moved back considerably in the service zone, almost to the wall, and got into the serve position. He put the ball in his left hand and extended his arm straight out in front of him. His narrow eyes were narrowed even more sharply and he stared at the other side of the net with a fixed gaze. For a moment, the stands that were cheering loudly fell deathly silent. Everyone held their breaths at the clear, intimidating something Haijima was clad in.

Taking just one second to lightly adjust his breathing, he tossed the ball up high without any perceivable jump and hit a powerful jump serve from a beautiful, textbook-like form. The gym became filled with cheers that bordered on roars once again.

But it was a bit too long. It’s out—Kuroba could see it in his eyes, but there was no time for the receiver to avoid it. The ball bounced up all the way to the ceiling with such tremendous power (1) that the receiver nearly fell over.

Ah——.

His body moved naturally before he could think about it, and he jumped. Above the net, he caught hold of the ball that returned directly and knocked it down to the opponent’s court.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

Since sixteen schools participated in the first round, the passages behind the gym were crowded with players in jerseys of all sorts of colors, teachers, and management staff.

“Somehow while I was in a daze…”

“We won!”

“With a team of only eight people!”

“Yuni, you reacted well to that direct one.”

“Well, I guess. For some reason, I feel like I can see the ball really well today. Also, when I see the opponent’s faces, I somehow know what they’re gonna do.”

“What the hell’s that, that sounds cool. I’m falling for you!”

“We should have talked to the girls from class more. All I could hear was the moms’ voices.”

“Agh, I was switching the moms’ voices with the girls’ voices in my head, but you just dragged me back to reality!”

Having finished their match in good time, everyone was still in good spirits, and there was a constant stream of excited chatter. It seemed that the match that started at the same time in Court B was carried over to the third set, so muffled cheers and the sound of the ball bouncing could be heard. When he wondered why this extremely stupid conversation never ended, he realized that it was because Haijima wasn’t there to chop through the mood. He was supposed to be with them when they left the court, but…

Their advisor, who had said he was going to drop by the management headquarters, came back just then.

“Sensei, do you know where Haijima is?”

“He went back inside. The second match in Court A is about to start soon. He said that he’s going to go watch it since it’ll decide who we face in the second round.”

“Eh…He didn’t have to go alone.”

If it’s for our next opponent, then shouldn’t we all go scouting them out, not just Haijima? A tinge of dissatisfaction sprouted in his heart as he thought that he should have at least called out to them.

“Didn’t Haijima want to give you guys a break because he was worried? You’re fine now, but if you get too excited, you won’t enough energy for the second round.”

Haijima worried about them? It was a phenomenon that seemed like it wouldn’t happen even if the heavens and earth were turned upside-down. It was exactly a phenomenon. It was equal to a natural disaster that only happened once every few hundred million years or so.  

But, it was true that playing two games in one day was unfamiliar terrain for them. Although everyone seemed to be in good condition right now, it was hard to predict how tired they would be in the second game.

“But, you know, I knew Haijima had volleyball experience, but I didn’t expect him to be that good. Even when I stopped by the headquarters earlier, teachers from other schools kept coming up to me and asking who that player was.” 

“Hey, what about me? They didn’t ask about me?”

“Hmm? They didn’t.”

“Tch. My efforts always get overshadowed by Haijima.”

When he pouted and grumbled that, he was soothed with “You’ve got this from now on.”

“Keep this up for the second round. Don’t get too worked up about it and just have fun with everyone.”

He thought he was in good form and stood out quite a bit, but he guessed that Haijima’s skill was so outstanding that his own level wasn’t enough to leave an impression. He couldn’t believe that he was getting noticed by the volleyball team advisors from other schools, who was probably much more discerning than their own advisor.

“We’re gonna win”—Haijima was extremely confident, but at the same time, he was a realist. He never gave lenient assessments to himself or others, and he wasn’t the type of guy who would say soft and easy effort goals like “It would be nice if we could win.” He said that back then because he had a serious expectation that was possible.

He had a feeling now that it really might not be a dream if Haijima was there.

If they won four times, they won the championship. They had already cleared one match. Three more to go.

We can…reach it…?

I want to win, he thought. I want to win next time too. And after that. And then if we win after that—. When he heard it in June, he felt a lot of bewilderment, but now for the first time, he definitely wanted to win. His heart began to beat fast.

***

Right when they entered the venue since the time for the second round’s official practice was approaching, cheers similar to an angry roar rose up, and the entire team leaned back in the same direction despite themselves.

A horizontal banner—which wasn’t there in the first round—with the words “Monshiro Middle School Boys’ Volleyball Team” written with excessively good handwriting was hanging from the second-row bleachers. And next to that, there was a square flag with “Spread your wings! Kuroba UNIVERSE!”

His face turned hot.

“Wow. Yuni’s cheering squad is amazing.”

“It’s like we’re at Koshien.”

His teammates were more taken aback and put off rather than being jealous. Their parents formed a small cheering squad for the first round, but it was just a modest thing where they cheered for their children on the spot, with no bells and whistles or anything else. The huge cheering party that newly appeared completely swallowed that up, sounding their megaphones loudly and as for his relatives, they were shouting in voices that couldn’t be called refined.

“…That’s Grandpa’s writing.”

On a pure-white cloth, the words “Monshiro Middle School Boys’ Volleyball Team” were written in bold, stirring letters like a rampaging dragon in all black ink. Come to think of it, when he went out this morning, his mother was in a hurry making phone calls to here and there. It would have been better if his family had just come here modestly instead of taking the time to organize something like that and be late for the first round.

The other one, “Spread your wings! Kuroba UNIVERSE!”, had a black background and decorated with sparkly gold tinsel, and it was a lot more lowbrow than his grandfather’s single brush stroke. Right above where that deathly embarrassing flag—which he thought of as more like harassment—was hanging, he saw Itoko shouting into a huge megaphone. …If she had the time to prepare that, she could have come for the first round. You should have seen that really nice back-row attack in the first round.

Yorimichi…didn’t seem to have come. He couldn’t spot him as far as he could see. He was sure he would have heard that there was a game today through Itoko.  

“Oh, Haijima, your grandma came. I wonder if my mom also invited her.”

He tugged on Haijima’s uniform and whispered that into his ear. “Huh…” Haijima didn’t look all that happy as he looked up at the stands, straining his eyes as a wrinkle formed between his brows.

“Can’t see her.”

“Right there. She’s above ‘team.’”

“Even with contacts, my eyes aren’t as good as yours. It’s fine.”

He immediately gave up and returned his eyes to the court.

“Concentrate, Kuroba.”

He said in a low tone. He can see Haijima’s consciousness narrowing and condensing. As though saying that the world he needed only existed inside that nine-by-eighteen-meter court, he raised his awareness by shutting out outside gazes and cheers. He could feel that the power of his concentration that made his skin tingle just by being next to him.

“Y-Yeah. Got it.”

Kuroba responded vigorously with all his might, but even if he took his eyes off the stands, he couldn’t get rid of the feeling of being surrounded his relatives’ faces, faces, faces from 360 degrees.

The rotation started with Haijima on the right back as the server and Kuroba “diagonal” to him on the left front. The rotation was made so that Haijima, who was strong at serving, got to serve as much as possible, and either one of the tall Kuroba and Haijima was always in the front row. There were six people, so there were three pairs of players connected by diagonal lines, and one’s partner was called one’s “diagonal.” The diagonal relationship was always maintained even when the rotation moved. However, when he became absentminded, he sometimes lost track of his current position, which was quite confusing.

Back-row players weren’t allowed to jump up to block, and they could only spike by doing a back-row attack from behind the attack line (the line three meters from the net).

As though saying that victory went to the one who made the first move, Haijima smashed in a jump serve with all his might from the very beginning. A jump serve was hit with a lot of force, and consequently had a high risk of error. In practice games, Haijima used a low-risk jump float serve, but right when he wondered what he was going to do in the official match today, he was actively using a jump serve.

Regrettably, it went behind the end line and was out, giving their opponent their first point, but the air in the opposing court was frozen for a moment.

“Don’t worry about it!”

His teammates called out to him, but Haijima didn’t seem to care about the mistake in the first place and unashamedly responded lightly with one hand, staring over the net with a brazen expression as though that was his substitute for a greeting. Even though it didn’t result in a point, he had successfully planted the seed of fear in them that made them think, “What would happen if that had gone in?”—Their amount of experience was different by one or two orders of magnitude. And more than anything, the fearsomeness of Haijima was that he had such nerves of steel.

Haijima was making the game in a literal sense. As a setter, he didn’t just set up his teammates’ offensive, but also controlled the mood in the opponent’s court. He of course knew that the difference between their amounts of experience couldn’t be filled in overnight, but he felt strangely impatient.

He felt like it took an awfully long time for his own first serve order to come around. He impatiently waited for the rotation to move, and when he went down into the service zone and was about to receive the ball,

“…ba! Kuroba!”

Haijima’s voice burst into his ear, and he jumped. He was so out of it that he didn’t hear him, as though there was a membrane around his head. He looked and saw Haijima pointing to the right position of the front row with an unusually anxious look on his face.

The color drained out of his face. The rotation was wrong. He was in the front row for one more time. Nagato, who was in the original service order, was standing confused in a halfway place.

“S-sorry.”

“No, it’s my fault too. I thought I got it wrong when Yuni moved back…”

He talked to Nagato and hurried back to his defensive position. Haijima was about to go to him to say something, but the whistle prompting Nagato to serve sounded. The cheering squad was noisy in the stands, probably because they didn’t understand why the server was suddenly changed.

Something’s wrong…I can hear the voices from the stands well, but the voices on the court are distant. He almost felt like he was standing in the bleachers right now, not on the court.

He felt the rotation was moving quickly, contrary to earlier. His sense of time wasn’t stable. The wrong service order came around this time, and he ran to the serve zone and received the ball. He stood facing the net and took a deep breath to try to calm down, but couldn’t breathe in deeply.

Haijima’s first jump serve suddenly replayed in his mind. Kuroba also practiced the jump serve. He was getting able to hit the ball squarely more and more, and practice could be exhilarating sometimes. It would no doubt feel good to carry out that kind of thing successfully in a game. He would be able to show the cheering squad his good points, but of course his accuracy was not yet usable, so he made sure to do a jump float serve as usual…

Huh? Which foot do I usually step forward with? What’s the timing for the toss? What’s ‘usual’?

His usual way of doing things had completely slipped out of his mind.

Beep—.

The whistle sounded.

He didn’t immediately understand what the signal meant. Something was wrong. His own court was in a panic. After the referee showed the opposing team’s score, he made an “8” sign with his fingers.

An eight second violation!?

The spectators were buzzing once again about the point loss that was difficult to understand to the layman’s eye. If you didn’t serve within eight seconds after the whistle sounded, your opponent scored. It wasn’t like he didn’t hear the first whistle. And yet, he himself had absolutely no idea why he made such a basic mistake.

Haijima made a hand gesture towards the bench, and the advisor, who received it, hurriedly requested a timeout.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

“You’re nervous, aren’t you.”

Haijima poked him above his heart with his fist. He didn’t seem angry, but he was definitely fed up. A series of careless mistakes that had nothing to do with the play itself.

“Do you have stage fright or something?”

“Ugh… I’ve never really been in a situation where I’ve gotten stage fright, so I don’t know.”

Was he nervous? He was aware that he was overly concerned with unnecessary things. During the first round, he was able to see the court so well and concentrate on his own task. He knew what he should do without thinking about it and his body moved. It was as if he was being made use of by being incorporated as a part of the organic matter that was the game Haijima finished weaving. He wasn’t displeased with that at all; rather, he felt euphoric. And yet, after they entered the second round, that feeling suddenly stopped, his field of vision abruptly narrowed, and only the voices in his mind increased.

Haijima sighed at him.

“Write down ‘people’ and swallow it.” (2)

“Can’t, can’t you give better advice?”

“I’ve never been nervous. I could tell you all about play, though.”

He felt like he was being shown the disparity between them again. “Can’t be helped, Yuni. If that many of my relatives came, I’d get nervous too. Don’t worry about mistakes.” Though everyone else encouraged him, the sigh Haijima alone had given him weighed heavily on him.

The thirty second timeout went by in the blink of an eye. In the end, he noisily dashed back to the court without putting his feelings in order.

Anyways, there was nothing to do but to recover from here. Right when he moved back to the rear, he immediately got a gesture for a pipe attack from Haijima. It was a fast back-row attack from the middle using the center’s A-quick as a decoy, which was the source of their points in the first round. The shocked face of the opposing blocker who was drawn in by the decoy and jumped at it when he jumped in from over the center’s head was so satisfying—.

“!?”

This time he kept blocking. The do-or-die expression of the opposing blocker appeared from the other side of the net that was like a towering wall, blocking the course. How—!? The ball crashed straight onto the block and was knocked down onto his own side. While falling on his behind from the excess momentum, words such as “What?” came out of his mouth.

As he let his mind wander for a moment and stared at the opposing court, where there were fervent roars, from beneath the net, his teammate was held out in front of him. After he borrowed that hand and stood up, he reflexively drew back his hand when he saw that it was Haijima.

“Sorry.”

An apology slipped out of his mouth. For what? Getting blocked? Drawing back his hand?

“It’s fine. There was no helping that. They’ve already guessed that you’re the only one who could hit it properly. We should have marked them thoroughly.”

Haijima seemed to have accepted the former’s apology. His eyes never left the opponent’s court, where they were exchanging high-fives and celebrating, and spoke quickly. If the only decent hitter was Kuroba, and he was marked for it…then what were they going to do?

Haijima gave him a sharp side glance. He looked fed up again.

“I told you not to let it show on your face… Shake off the guy blocking you as much as possible. However, don’t think you’re not being marked, stay calm and watch the block. I told you about straight and cross. They’re not at a level where you can’t get rid of them.”

Well, from Haijima’s level, middle school volleyball in a rural prefecture like this would seem like a piece of cake. The prefectural finals in a place like this was probably the same size as a subdivision preliminary in Tokyo. It was no consolation for him, as it only deepened his inferiority complex.

⋆﹥━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━﹤⋆

Haijima scattered his sets to other attackers, but Kuroba always had a block on him whether he hit or not. The opponent seemed to think that as long as Kuroba was suppressed, the rest of the team couldn’t hit too hard, so they could respond with receives. Unfortunately, it was an effective strategy.

Although the team was able to score some modest points with Haijima’s skillful direction, they still were unable to score consecutively due to the lack of a decisive blow. The seesaw game where stress accumulated continued. No, in terms of overall team morale, the flow was completely on the other side. There were more and more situations where the receives were so disordered that even Haijima had trouble covering them, and when he couldn’t get the set, the rest of the team couldn’t do anything.

Far from regaining his composure, Kuroba was experiencing the sensation of gears steadily becoming less and less aligned. Even though his mind was panicking, his body wouldn’t work together with it. It was like his head and body were doing on their own thing on this side and the other side of the court. While his spike success rate had decreased, moreover, at the beginning there were many times where he would slam the ball into a block and get shut-out, and it became noticeable that he was making the mistake of getting it caught in the net himself, let alone hitting the ball into the blocking.

“Just stop looking at the blocks. It’s better not to. Don’t think about avoiding them, just hit it where it’s easy to hit.”

Haijima pulled on his uniform and whispered that, but he was only extra confused by the change in instructions. Didn’t he say “Watch their blocks” earlier?

Did my jump power go down? Aren’t my legs getting tired? The instant he realized that this is what it was to play two games in a day, his body suddenly became heavy. Are my knees okay? Don’t I feel more burdened than usual? He suddenly started to worry about the growing pains that should have been unrelated to this. What if that thing that hurts so much I couldn’t sleep at night hits me during the match? What do I do? What do I do? What do I do——?

Haijima was saying something from his diagonal position to him. But he couldn’t hear his voice. He could probably hear him physically, but his heart was blocking his ears. Listening to Haijima’s just reasonings now was of no use whatsoever.

Do you, who's completely disconnected from nervousness or agitation, have the words that I want, the words that will help me? I don’t think so.

He didn’t remember at what point—Haijima turned away with a look of resignation on his face. Ah, if Haijima has given up, then this was already a complete loss, he thought.

For some reason, only a small click of his tongue and the word “useless” reached his ears without being cut off.

***

“Get in line, Yuni.”

It was only when Nagato called out to him that he realized that the game was over. A smattering of applause came down from the stands. When he absentmindedly looked at the score board that was still standing on the court, he saw that the set count was 2-0, and the winner—Monshiro Middle School.

…Wait, what? Did something…happen…? I have almost no memory of touching the ball…

Even when he looked over the faces of his teammates standing in a line along the end line, he didn’t actually feel like they had won at all. Were these really the faces of a winning team? The atmosphere was not as merry as it had been when they won the first round, and everyone looked somewhat apathetic and subdued. And maybe it was just his imagination, but the applause from the stands seemed like it was just done out of politeness.

When he was about to line up next to Haijima, who was standing there with his expression erased, he recalled it along with the flashbacks of some scenes—it was all Haijima's doing.

Haijima’s play changed after that tongue click and badmouthing.

The jump serve was of course incredible, but Haijima’s original domain was at the net. At the net, the control of the ball was not passed over to anyone—neither opponents nor even his own teammates. Rather than entrusting the set to the attacker, the cases where he hit the ball by himself by performing dumps increased dramatically. A dump was a surprise attack where the setter pretended to set the ball and returned it to the opponent’s court with their left hand, but the power of the dump released from the left hand of the ambidextrous Haijima was not confined to the level of a surprise attack. He smashed it into the opposing court with the same power as an attacker spiking with all of their strength. It should have temporarily made the opponents agitated and close the score gap considerably.

However, it was from there that Haijima showed his demon-like true power. When the opponent marked his dumps and started to block it, he switched from hitting hard to deliberately hitting the ball lightly at the head of the block where they jumped with power in preparation for a strong hit to make it drop to his own side. He pulled off the feat of getting down low to pick up the rebound that gently dropped down without a moment’s delay and swinging it to a nearby teammate with an underhand pass and the instructions “Give it to me!” This time, he used his right hand to smash the ball that was set to him by his panicking teammate into the opponent’s side.

The venue was stunned by the powerful spike that was on par with an attacker’s, or even stronger than an average attacker’s (3), and even the referee’s whistle was a beat late.

How was he able to do that…? It was technical, but more than that, what kind of nerves did he had that enabled him to play in a way that overturned the foundation of team sports like that in front of people?

To be honest, Haijima, you’re…disgusting.

When he heard “Thank you,” he hurriedly matched them in a small voice and bowed. For an instant, he felt as if the shadow of Haijima standing next to him broke out of its human shell and swelled up into a warped shape, and a shiver ran down his spine.

Previous || Index || Next

[sepublic]

Best Dad Perry Porter

           Anyhow, I think Perry Porter is up there as potentially being one of, if not THE best parent in this show? At least, potentially tied with Eda?

           I say this, because the state of a kid is usually a reflection of their parent’s skills in raising them. And Gus… Gus is honestly one of, if not the most, well-adjusted characters in the show! In Episode 6, he says he knows what he’s good at- Gus understands himself well and has no reservations about who he is, no insecurity. He has the charisma and self-confidence to be a leader and even an MC at Grom, skills he no doubt picked up from Perry. And Gus… This kid CLEARLY loves and looks up to his dad and thinks he’s the coolest person ever, with how much he emulates Perry, and how seriously Gus treats his interview in Understanding Willow! He really wants to live up to his dad’s legacy, but it’s not out of some sense of expectation from his father, either… It’s all Gus’ genuine choice, I doubt Perry is putting him up to it!

           Because again… Gus is clearly happy with himself. He outright alludes to being proud of his Porter lineage, as Eda jokes about him being a dweebus- And Gus proudly asserts that he comes from a long line of dweebuses! He knows who he is, Gus has no shame and openly revels in it. And that… that says a LOT about Perry, probably- As a parent who likely engages with his kid often and lets him know about their family lineage. As someone supportive of Gus’ interests, because Gus has no reservations about his intrigue in human culture… And as someone who Gus actually admires and wants to live up to, not because anybody is expecting him, but because Perry is his own role model! It all points towards Perry being someone who reassures Gus on who he is, that he doesn’t have to be what he’s not for others, and that he can take pride in it…

           And, sure. We can all look at Something Ventured, Someone Framed. Gus has insecurities about being overlooked because he’s younger than the rest, and moved up a few grades. But the thing is… well, Gus is a person. Everyone is going to have insecurities, no matter how good their life is. He’s not perfect, he’s flawed just like anyone else, and I doubt it points towards any bad parenting of Perry’s anyway. While there is SOME social apprehension that Gus has over moving up multiple grades, it’s still a decision he’s continued to stick with. If the show’s handling of Willow’s discomfort in Abominations is any consideration, then if Gus genuinely had issues with being in a higher grade, we probably would’ve had this addressed and changed by now.

           But despite the drawbacks here or there, I think it’s a decision that Gus willingly made and accepted, and I don’t think he regrets advancing a few grades! It’s what he wanted, it’s just that in life, not everything is perfect, not even the best option… And even if it was, again. Gus is still allowed to feel imperfect about things. And as a parent, there’s only so much that Perry can do for his kid… And as it stands, I think he’s done a LOT. Because when Gus hijacks Perry’s broadcast in the season finale, bar some embarrassment… Perry doesn’t seem too upset? He’s a very accommodating and open-minded father, which likely relates to his profession. Not only that, but he allows Willow and his son to take over the broadcast, and his expression and body language clearly allude to Perry legit listening to what these kids have to say, and taking that into account.

           Like Eda, Perry is someone who knows that he doesn’t know everything, neither as an adult nor as a parent; And while he knows a lot more than his son and is the one meant to guide and educate him… Perry still recognizes the value and worth of what his son and another kid has to say. He knows that good information and points can come from anywhere, and he’s willing to listen and take into consideration, and seems somewhat convinced no less! I can see him encouraging and feeding into the rebellion against Belos…

          Not to mention, as a reporter Perry no doubt has taught Gus a lot about how to be critical of authority and information, to always question what’s given to you, and to think carefully about things and the way a situation presents itself! While it’s possible he was never given the chance to say so, it’s worth noting that Gus never expresses any of Belos’ propaganda as a fact he believes in- When even Willow briefly alludes to Belos’ way of magic being the ‘correct’ way, even after suffering from his system for a while. As a reporter, Perry has probably done at least some research and investigation, or is at least more aware of what the Emperor’s Coven does an outsider, than anyone else.

           So, we have Perry probably educating Gus on anything sus on Belos’ behalf… In addition to encouraging his kid’s interests, probably having caused them as well; I can see Perry’s reports on abnormal things here or there (like a giraffe sighting as evidenced by one background detail) leading to a discussion of humans, which sparked Gus’ curiosity. I can see Perry doing his own research for Gus’ sake… Maybe enjoying hobbies and mutual interests with his son as both a father and best friend! Because Perry is clearly someone that Gus feels safe around, that he can be open and completely honest. Gus was someone who lit up Willow’s life and made her feel so much better, prior to Luz’s arrival…

          And I think we can guess where Gus got these welcoming qualities from, that willingness to engage with others socially and get them to open up more about themselves. Reporters tend to be great listeners or are at least meant to be… And I can see Gus’ receptiveness contributing to his desire to create a space where others can feel heard instead of ignored, as he once did with the H.A.S.! Gus is a supportive kid, someone who gives a voice to others… We see this literally in Episode 6, when his spell amplifies the volume of Luz’s voice. And his illusions can buff up Willow’s plants as well. As the son of a reporter, he gives people a platform to speak on, as he encourages with King during Grom… Gus clearly embodies the best qualities of his father’s profession, so I think it’s safe to say that Perry has been an overwhelmingly positive influence in his life!

           Not to say that Perry CAN’T have his faults… But so does every parent, and I think Perry is doing an amazing job as-is. I suppose in many ways, he’s like Eda as someone who likely interferes with the Emperor’s Coven in their own ways, while allowing a kid to feel heard and listened to, while reminding them of their value as a person and helping them acknowledge and embrace who they are! Granted, Perry doesn’t exactly have much competition either… There’s the Blight Parents, who are objectively the worst. Then there’s Camila and the Park Parents… And while those latter options are no doubt amazing, kind, and considerate people –if their kids are any indication- admittedly their parenting has been marred by a bad decision here, or there… Camila wanted Luz to suppress herself, and Willow’s dads encouraged her to join Abominations instead of her Plant passions, because it had better opportunities.

           Which, that can be its own discussion entirely, on how Camila and Willow’s Dads truly want the best and would love to let their kids be who they are and self-actualize, but because of their position in society, they need to prioritize their kid’s success in life… Because it’s obvious that Luz and Willow regard their parents with a lot of love, and with good reason! I think that Camila and Willow’s dads are just stuck in a scenario where they used to be super-supportive of their child and still are… But pressure by the system mandates that they want their kid to be less lonely, and there’s not much they know or can do in this circumstance. That gets into the idea of how being an ideal parent is difficult, when in order to survive in a conforming system you have to play by its rules… And how a lot of people just don’t have the luxury nor privilege to be the best parents they can be.

           So, I guess that could open up for debate, the idea that Camila and Willow’s dads could be just as good as Perry, if in the same situation as him… And, I’m not exactly sure of Perry’s social standing, and I don’t know how well-off being a reporter is. But with the evidence as it currently is, with what we’re working with? I think Perry and Eda are tied and deadlocked as the best parents in this show… Just as Luz and Gus are among the most well-adjusted of the cast, all things considered! They’re both kids who uplift others… Fitting, given Luz’s associations with flight and Owls, amidst the way the show’s own opening initially frames her!

          And these two kids serve as a contrast to the Emperor’s Coven, with its gilded, angelic imagery and wings meant to uplift others above the rest to a heavenly degree… But it’s a false uplifting based on forced hierarchy and putting others down, while Gus and Luz allow others to self-actualize, fly free, and be who they truly are! You can tell their parents really tried and left their impact, huh? Obviously Luz and Gus are their own people with their own agency in who they become- But having a healthy environment and support network is ALWAYS helpful in allowing others to utilize that agency. And I think Eda and Perry did good, if not great, in giving their kids the platform and environment, the safety net needed, to work and make themselves into the best witches they can be!

[floatingfish626]

MC Server ಥ_ಥ

Me and a group of friends made our own MC server. Unfortunately, the server was abandoned. Me, being the person I am, still feel the server has potential, so I still play/write lore for it. This may be wayyyy out of the usual for my page but lets be honest, who actively stalks my tumblr page? This is mostly gonna be a place for me to dump the failed server ideas/backstories. So, here goes nothing. If you wanna read them, random stranger, feel free to! I wanted this server to last a while, and we made it almost 2 months with about 12 people in total. So, enjoy!

Word Count: 2,603  (11,679 Characters)

**ALL ORIGINS ARE WRITTEN BY SEPERTE PEOPLE, ALL EDITED BY ME, NONAME**

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Character Origin 1, Seven: Seven was born into a life of poverty, shortly after he was born, he got sold to work as a slave on a sea village, quickly being transferred to a sand village outside of a prison. He did is work as a farmer to a small, yet kind and caring family, who adopted him as their own. His name, Seven, coming from a number tattooed on his neck while in the market. During Seven’s time at this small village, they had a fatal accident, having a berserk enderman ruin the home he had grown custom to. He rebuilt the fallen Village, only to have a Piglin army slaughter whomever remained. Seven only escaped with his life, befriending a Guardian named Marvin, who became his best friend (RIP Marvin, we miss you <3). The Guardian helped Seven grow stronger, and learn to fight. A few years later, he came across two children, Tex and Rox. Seven, taking sympathy for the two, took them as his own. As the revenge grew further from his mind, his children grew older. As they grew, he taught them what he knew about farming and combat. His kids grew older and left him, a crazy old man in a dirt hut with the guardian, forgetting the revenge he wished for many years.  On a normal day, Seven had witnessed something unforgivable happen. He had met Oxlo, Void, and Levi. After spending every waking moment together, the three ended up falling for each other, having adopted Levi and marrying the other two, Seven had have a happy life, with his 3 stolen adopted kids and poly relationship. (End Seven.)

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Character Origin 2, Levi:  Levi was born into captivity from a hybrid mother. By the time he could walk, he was taken from his mother, and raised like a solider. Levi had large, beautiful wings, that got removed as a child, leaving him scared and unsure of who he was all throughout his ‘childhood.’ Being he was a hybrid being, he was used on for testing, by horrid endermen. Having experiments done constantly, he had mutated a mouth (basically Venom from the movie Venom) that he had grown to hate. As Levi grew older, he became rebellious against the unfair people. He gained many cruel and inhumane (lol) punishments. During one of these ‘rebellious moments,’ he had expected to be caught. instead, he was left alone to do so. He heard a loud crash and began to investigate. He had walked outside to see 2 large entities trying to fight against the endermen, and winning. Levi took this as an opportunity to escape. He left the end before the two closed the portal to the end. He blacked out and woke up to a short, sandy blonde man and 2, really tall men, resembling endermen, staring at him. After many, many years of building trust and learning how to communicate, Levi became one of their family.  He Moved out many years later, only to return to his home town to find everything left barren and abandoned. (End Levi.)

Looks: Light blue, messy hair, dark blue eyes, scarf covering his mouth/nose, unhinged and slimy mouth, white and blue tshirt, black jeans  (you can tell this one is my, NoName’s, OC cause he is a lot more detailed LMAO)

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Character Origin 3, Tex:  Tex is 15-17, a strider hybrid. He comes from a Nether village called Riften, but now resides in Toadstool Field. He works as a dealer and supplier for the Midnight Mafia. He can easily build and mine, and is also good at navigating the Nether and finding gold (piglins wanted gold all the time so he grew accustomed to getting it) he's obsessive and goes into a blind rage near piglins, and gifts objects and builds often. Tex was a runt in his village, so when it was attacked by piglins when he was 6-8 he was left behind for a offering, after years of being with piglins he came to despise them. He escaped around 11-14. (He isn't good with remembering his age) He had multiple siblings, but cannot remember them very well. He assumes they are dead along with the rest of his village and now only is comfortable around Seven, Void and Levi Tex has pointed ears, and scars from water/staying with piglins. He has sharp teeth. He cannot see well, water is hurtful to him and his memory is bad but he can easily swim in lava/fire resistant. He is twitchy and quick, he has curious movements and is very touchy and talks quickly and mumbly. He wears a magenta sweater, black overalls, purple flowers scattered about and no shoes Tex wants to be renewed in his new family's eyes, he wishes not to be known as a runt he thinks everyone sees him lower bc of him being a runt. Tex doesn't understand human feelings/ striders don't have many emotions, his anger was very new to him he is scared of Piglins/hoglins and hates water

Looks: Messy, dark hair, pointed ears, black eyes, fangs, darker, loosing fitting clothes

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Character Origin 4, Amber:

So amber was born in a town called Fransin in the nether and lived there with her single mother, she was bullied a lot as a kid because she didn't have spare money for the nicest clothes or shoes she stayed there until about 15 when her mother had kicked her out because it's the same as her mother did when she was younger, she stumbled upon a portal and went through which lead into dark woods and after wandering around for a bit she came upon Toadstool Fields. She was a bit scared, but after meeting the town's folk she adjusted to the overworld, yes she had a few bumps along the way (especially when her friends suggested they go swimming, as she’s part blaze), but she has grown more and made more friends, plus they even let her build her own home! She has always been grateful because they've always helped her and given her everything she needs, especially since she grew up kinda rough

Looks: Light brown hair, Golden eyes, ash colored freckles, Bee striped shirts

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Character Origin 5, Rox: When Rox was young around 4, she was made as a science experiment, (hence the endwalk state that will eventually happen later) she was later sent out to the street after all of those tests (for over 3 years), that she hated so dearly, After about one week on her own in the world, she was soon adopted by seven. She was taught how to fight and defend herself. As she got older, he became smarter and was filled with anger from the past. (hence chaotic good and neutral evil yknow?) So yes, around 16, she married milly and has been with her for a year now, she is just trying help people with her bakery and fight people if necessary (Since she’s in the mafia clan thingy).

Looks: short, pink hair, glasses, blue eyes, dark clothes

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Character Origin 6, Void: Void was born in the end, to a noble Enderman, though they don't remember that. They don't remember their original name, or their parents, or anything about their life. All they know is that they're not welcome in the End anymore, being ostracized after a series of unfortunate events in the End. Their first interaction with the Overworld wound up in them in a village and slaughtering everyone in it due to someone making eye contact with them, shortly afterwards picking up the masks to avoid eye contact and avoid looking at the scars on their face. They fled the premises with their sister Redacted and hid deep into the woods, starting on making a mansion for themself and their sister, where they would be safe. They want to keep all those dear to them safe, bordering a bit on possessiveness with the protectiveness. They have a lot of secrets, and in general are an unknown entity to those around them. They're extremely morally ambiguous and run a mafia, with their pet as their right hand man. 

Extra: -Redacted is not Void's blood sister. -Void has worn their masks for so long they don't know what they look like. -Void only takes their mask off to threaten people. -They have such a love of birds because the first mob that didn't run away from them was a parrot. -They hate government because one tried to kidnap them once and study them as an Enderman, using water torture against them. Void escaped and killed a few people, grabbing two masks off the wall as they went to hide their identity.  -Void's eyes are different from fellow Enderman, and if you look into them it's an unpleasant experience for you both. -Void is a peaceful entity until provoked, just like Enderman. -Void has an immense hatred for sand. -Void likes gazing at the stars because it reminds them of gazing into the void in the End, which is where they got their name from. -Void has a dog named Spark because shortly after they found him they were struck by lightning, which they found hilarious.

Looks: Tall  (height unspecified), Dark, fancy clothing, Mask (smile, no he isn’t dream), dark, messy hair)

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Character Origin 7, Milly: Milly is a neko hybrid, she's part feline, part human. Her existence came to be when her mother, a neko, and her father, a human, fell in love. She grew up in a small town which wasn't very popular, she wasn't picked on but she did get pushed around by some people growing up. Despite bullies, she had a normal upbringing; her parents were nice and supportive, teaching her everything they could. Her mother often told her how horrible the world can be, teaching her how kindness is a must and how no matter what, she should always help people in need and keep up a smile if she could. Milly followed this advice the best she could. While her mother taught her things through talks, her father tried to teach her things physically: he told her how he agreed, how the world was horrible, so he taught her to fight- to defend herself and protect others with her fighting skills and feline abilities. Although Milly loved her parents and the friends she had, she grew adventurous when she turned the age of 15- she wanted to explore, to see and meet more than she has. Her parents respected her wishes since they loved her dearly, they gave her all the supplies and advice they could before they hugged her goodbye. It wasn't long after that she met Rox, an enderman hybrid who she grew to cherish being around. So, her and Rox got married at 16 and  She moved in with Rox, in the smp she loved living in for all her days. Hence where the story starts. 

Headcanons: -Milly has about five cats she keeps, she loves cats. -She likes to draw, collect flowers, bake sweets, and help out people. -She's a lawful good person and pacifist -She likes dogs but they don't like her :( -She has special feline characteristics: she can jump two blocks higher than a normal person, she can purr, she will take random naps sometimes during the day, she has fangs, and she gets distracted by cat toys sometimes

Looks:  Long pink hair, light pink eyes, collar (it has a bell), white shirt and a pink skirt

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Unmentioned Characters (ones without backstories): Sammy, Oxlo, Will

this took me an hour. JUST EDITING- (ó﹏ò｡)