#anya is such a wild child I adore her

[wordswhisperinthedark]

I'm late to chp 71 but DAMIAN?!😭😭😭

[robbyrobinson]

How Spy x Family Depicts Children

Another thing I love about Spy x Family has to be how the show conveys kids. Normally in some anime, it would feel that they get how children behave wrong. Or sometimes they would have an actor that would be unsuited for the role. Instead of hearing a child, you instead have a grown actor trying hard to sound the part of a child which...makes it hard to take seriously.

But when it comes to Anya and the other kids at Eden's, so far the show has done a very believable job. Anya sounds like an actual child and the other kids also act their age. They say mean things to each other, taunt each other, and even resort to name-calling all something a child would do.

What also helps with the illusion are the mannerisms and traits Anya has. It is charming how she would come up with a plan but it obviously ends up not working because she was being thwarted by her childish demeanor. Or take when she gets on the bus. She has difficulty getting on with her struggling to climb up the steps because of her tiny legs. So adorable, and accurate.

Or when Damian and his friends were having an extreme "training montage," you see them climbing the edge of a mountain and one falls...only for it to turn out they were just climbing on the monkey bars. And Damian charges a Kamehameha ball but in actuality, he and his friends were just pushing a tire swing.

I don't even need to tell you how many times I have seen young kids perform moves they saw in anime whether from Naruto or the Dragon Ball franchise. Kids really do have that wild imagination where their perception drastically differs from what is actually going on IRL.

[stan-fixations]

The 100 Character Rankings

Character names found on: https://the100.fandom.com/wiki/Category:Characters

Only characters I found interesting and important to the story are listed

Warning: slight to extreme spoilers if you haven't watched the series!! Mentions of death/death related topics!! Long list ahead!!

A.L.I.E. : 2/10 def in the running for my least fav villain. She just annoyed me beyond belief and I see why everyone wanted Becca to stop trying to create her cause she's so annoying. However the whole city of light concept was somewhat interesting.

Abigail Griffin: 5/10 I loved Abby up to s3. In s4 she started getting annoying and after s4 I just hated her. Everything she did made me mad and I just didn't agree with a lot of her actions. When she died I laughed cause her death was long overdue.

Aden : 9/10 I love this kid with all my heart!! He was so freaking adorable and the fact that he was clearly lexa's fav student made him even better. And he clearly looked up to her cause he swore allegiance to Clarke and I was so ready to see him as heda. The only reason he's not 10/10 is cause he let ontari kill him in his sleep

Anders : 0/10 easily one of the lamest villains I've ever seen. Cult leaders have to be the lowest of the low for me so I really didn't vibe with him. He brought no flavor to the show and I would've preferred if they'd introduced Bill right away and made it so he had some crazy Sci fi tech way of staying young and alive for as long as he did (maybe like the mind drive tech or something).

Aurora Blake : 2/10 those 2 points are because she gave birth to Bellamy and octavia otherwise I'd give her a 0 cause she's literally not a good mom. How can you get pregnant twice knowing it's against the law and your second child would live a bad life and you would be executed if found out. When O was born she told Bell "You're sister, your responsibility" like girl YOUR CHILD, YOUR RESPONSIBILITY!!!!! We didn't get much of her but something tells me bell took better care of Octavia than their mother did.

Becca Franko : 4/10 she's intelligent I'll give her that but otherwise I don't see much else. She created A.L.I.E. which clearly wasn't her best moment. She created the eligius tech that sent criminals found to be disposable to outer space to mine for oil. When raven had her tumor she hallucinated someone she looked up to a lot and surprise surprise that person was Becca and Becca tried to get her to commit suicide. She's just a mind I don't see personality.

Bellamy Blake : 7/10 he's my eldest child in this show. While I love bell (especially in s1 & 2) s3 was rough for him and s4 was hard to watch cause he was just so broken. S5 I loved cause you could so clearly see the mental development and how much he matured since s1. S6 I feel is when he really started doing some wild ooc shit. And we don't talk about s7. Bellamy isn't a full 10 because he sometimes does the most toxic shit and then claims he did it cause he cares when he clearly knew his actions would hurt ppl. And he treated Octavia like shit after he came back from the ring but then turned around and kept fighting for Clarke even when she turned her back on them all while Octavia was just trying to save everyone but Clarke was trying to save herself and Madi.

Bill Cadogan : 0/10 he's an asshole. He treated his daughter and wife like they were insignificant and completely ignored his son. Becca warned him they weren't ready for judgment day and all that but he didn't listen and Anders's stupid sheep cult was born from this mans stupid idea that he was the most superior human being to ever exist and he knew what was best for humanity.

Anya : 10/10 even in the beginning when she was made to be a villain by being at war with the delinquents I loved her. One of the strongest characters in the show. Great female representation. I'm still mad cause there's no way a warrior like her could be taken out by a stray bullet I refuse to believe that bs.

Artigas : 10/10 super adorable kid. I thought he was gonna become Octavia's right hand man/protégé but unfortunately Finn happened. He had a lot of potential and it would've been sweet to see him grow up throughout the seasons.

Atom : 5/10 he's such a slut for the Blakes. He sucks Bellamy's dick and kisses Octavia's ass. He's like a dog following them everywhere and doing everything he's told. Honestly he's babyboy material even though he likes to act tough. I liked Atom though and I would've loved to see where his and Octavia's relationship went and how bell reacted. I think he had a lot of potential to be a main influence on the story.

Cage Wallace : 0/10 he's stuck up and arrogant in the worst way. I just didn't like this guy at all. Everytime he popped up on the screen I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

Callie Cadogan : 7/10 I loved Callie but there just wasn't enough of her to give her a 10. I was so looking foward to the prequel cause I wanted more Callie and I wanted to see how she formed grounder culture. Shitty mom, even shittier dad, somewhat shitty brother, amazing girl.

Callie Cartwig : 10/10 another one with lots of potential. I think she would've been chancellor after Kane and Abby decided to stop passing the title around. Personally the biggest thing to me in any type of relationship is loyalty and you could see how loyal she was to her best friend Abby so I have so much respect for her. I thought that Abby would get floated in the beginning which would cause her to go into a badass era and overthrow jaha and Kane and then take the rest of the arkadians to the ground and fight the war against the grounder and win but sadly she just disappeared completely from the story.

Carl Emerson : 3/10 I only liked Emerson because I love that he survived and was made into a way for Clarke to physically face her demons and her guilt from what happened at Mt.Weather. Other than that I didn't care much for him.

Charles Pike : 0/10 hated the guy I hated him so much. I get that he had a bad experience with the azgeda grounders but that's not an excuse to how he acted. His death was long overdue too and I'll never forgive him for what he did to Lincoln.

Charlotte : 2/10 FUCKING CHARLOTTE BRO!!!!! I'll give her a 2 cause she's a kid and she was traumatized but she did my boy Wells wrong. Charlotte is such a clown like really girl you thought you could murder someone to help you sleep better at night, let someone else take the blame and almost be executed, and then admit to your actions and you would be set free? Sorry sweetie that's not how life works. Honestly I'm grateful Charlotte existed cause she's the reason I joined team Murphy. Him being wrongfully accused made me feel for him and I agree the person who committed the crime should take responsibility. Sure Charlotte was a bit younger than them but they were all kids and it's not fair that they had no problem hanging Murphy but felt sorry for her.

Charmaine Diyoza : 9/10 I'm not giving her a 10 cause she could've easily killed McCreary and taken control of all the eligius prisoners which would've prevented the setting change from earth. Other than that I hated her in the beginning but loved her in s6. Strong female representation, well written, I don't see any problems here.

Clarke Griffin : 5/10 I have a strong love hate relationship with her. She's the character I flip flop the most with. She's 1/2 of the main character (with Octavia being the other half) and she's 1/2 of the definition of morally grey (with Octavia being the other half). Clarke is just Clarke I find it hard to completely love or completely hate her.

Costia : 10/10 any lover of lexa's is a fav of mine. I wish we would've gotten to see more costia (or see her at all for that matter) def would've loved to see her love story with Lexa so I could compare it to Clarke's love story with lexa.

Daniel Lee : 2/10 he was a prime and I thought the whole prime eligius mission concept thing was interesting.

Dante Wallace : 4/10 I thought he was kind of a sweet old man but his son pissed me off. Also he didn't have much power in the story and was a bit forgettable.

David Miller : 10/10 I love the millers. From the beginning when nate was trapped in Mt.Weather he was read to fight to get to his son. When they were having the raffle to see who could stay in the bunker he wrote down nates name to give him a better chance . He cared about his son form the beginning to the end and I see a lot of him in nate. For me he wasn't a character with a big part in the story but he's def Memorable and lovable.

Delilah Workman : 10/10 she was pretty, she was nice, she was in love with my grandson what's not to love here? I loved Delilah and I loved her first love thing she had going on with Jordan. I would've loved for her to join the group and help bell rescue Clarke and all that shit but sadly she was devoted and believed strongly in something that just wasn't true.

Dev : 10/10 guys he literally showed up in a MONTAGE. He had a MONTAGE!! that's it. That's all we saw of Dev after seeing his skeleton. To me that's the funniest thing cause like how did I grow to love a character through a long montage?? Loved him loved him loved him. That's all I have to say. I'm kinda glad that he was only a short time thing cause it was done in the most perfect way and it moved the story along really well.

Diana Sydney :0/10 her and jaha deserve each other cause they're the freaking worst. I wouldn't be surprised they had a past fling cause she's like the female version of s2&3 jaha mixed with s1&2 Kane. She's just shitty there's no excuse or reasoning.

Echo : 9/10 I won't give her a 10 cause of how she betrayed us at Mt.Weather in s2 (clearly the grounders had a thing for betrayal in that season) and also because her name is ash not Echo. Echo was her best friend that she killed and than stole the name from. Other than that I love her. Another strong female representation. Def one of those characters that makes you wanna learn archery. I just love her. She's very logical and not with the bs and I so respect that.

Emori : 10/10 I have a million hearts and she stole them all. Def in my top 5 female characters list. I loved her since s2 when I first met her and when she first met Murphy. I was like "awww Murphy got a little grounder gf" (on a sidenote the fact that Murphy called Octavia bellamy's "grounder pounding sister" then went and got with emori is so fucking funny to me like who's the grounder pounder now Murphy?!?) She's so fucking hot and honestly such a baddie but I love that it's clear she has a soft side and isn't afraid to show emotions to those she cares about. Also that she is vocal about what she feels and thinks cause everyone else in this show loves to keep secrets and expects others to read their mind, but emori will tell you what's on her mind whether you asked or not and she doesn't care if you like it or not. She's a queen.

Eric Jackson : 9/10 I just wish he was a bit more assertive at times. nate was def the dom in their relationship. I loved him and nate together. I loved that he was always friends with everyone even through the infighting he never got involved and he saw things from all sides. I think that's why I love him so much. He reminds me of myself in the past. Lots of friends who get involved in a lot of drama but I'm somehow never in it myself.

Faye Lee : 2/10 another prime. Not much to say here I just found the concept interesting.

Finn Collins : 8/10 my overhated king. I loved Finn. He lost 2 points cause he cheated on raven with Clarke and I love raven so that's a big oopsie no no in my book, and also because of the whole trigger happy crazed teen boy looking for his lost love thing that happened in s2, you know when he killed Artigas, yeah that kinda made me not like him as much. But other than that let's be real Finn never did much wrong. I really think he's overhated.

Fio : 10/10 not a major character but I saw him as Indra's right hand man. His loyalty is commendable and his pride and love for his clan was beautiful. I liked him.

Fox : 8/10 I liked this girl. Def a background character but a good one.

Gabriel Santiago : 9/10 daddy? Sorry. Daddy? I love Gabriel given that his og body died long before his mind did and the body he had belonged to someone else but still he's so fucking fine. I just wish he was also more assertive at times. But he's intelligent. I loved the trio between him, Echo, and hope. His little thing with Octavia was cute too.

Gaia : 6/10 sometimes forgettable but I love that she was so strong in her faith even when everything went to hell she kept going and it payed off on quite a few occasions. Gaia and clarke were a couple I wouldn't have been against cause the moments they shared were always so pure and you could tell though they weren't super close they always kept it real with each other and cared for each other.

Gina Martin : 10/10 GIINNNAAAAAAAA COME BACCCKKKKKK!!!! SO MUCH WASTED POTENTIAL HERE!!! THEY COULD'VE DONE SO MUCH I'M FUCKING PISSED TO THIS DAY CAUSE WTF YOU CAN'T JUST WRITE AN AMAZING CHARACTER IN SUCH A WAY THAT THEY BECOME AN INSTANT FAN FAVORITE AND THEN KILL THEM OFF!!? THE WRITERS OF THIS SHOW ARE ALL A BUNCH OF OCTOPUS PUSSY KISSING WHORES!!!!!!!!

Grace Cadogan : 2/10 forgettable and she married a douchebag guy. Her daughter is wonderful though.

Gustus : 2/10 I respect his loyalty to Lexa and I see that he was just trying to protect her but because of him my babygirl raven was put through even more pain, even though she's already been through a lot.

Hannah Green : 1/10 she was so close to beating Aurora for the worst mother award. I thought if monty is so amazing his parents must be even better. The writers gave us the wrong parent. Instead of killing his dad they should've killed his mom and let monty reunite with his dad. Hannah was a big miss for me.

Harper McIntyre : 10/10 this is my daughter in law. I fucking love her so much. Easily the sweetest girl in this whole show. I love her with monty and I love her with herself. Her and monty are a lot like finn with the whole love over war thing but the difference is they did it the correct way and never not once willingly committed a violent act or let their selfish wants get the best of them. Harper is honestly such a role model. Like if I had a kid and they wanted to sleepover at their friends house and their friends mom was Harper I'd def let them go cause I trust Harper with my kids life and mine.

Hatch : 9/10 I can't remember what crime he committed. I think it was robbery then turned into murder but I'm not sure. Either way he was an eligius criminal so it was definitely something bad. But he was so sweet in his love with that one girl. That convo he had with Murphy was EVERYTHING. He knew he wasn't coming out of that reactor alive but he still went in to save the person he loved and that to me is precious.

Helios : 10/10 guys if you don't remember or haven't watched the show I'd like to let you know that Helios is a horse. He's a horse. He's octavias horse. My headcanon is that he was originally lincolns horse or a horse that Lincoln got for her and that's why Octavia's always riding him. He's strong and reliable but also gentle what more could you want from a horse? Idc what anyone says this horse def deserves an award cause he was amazing.

Hope Diyoza : 8/10 she's just like her mom but with a worse temper and less patience. I like hope but the fact that she likes to rush into things annoyed me sometimes. I also wish her and Jordan had more of a personal and platonic relationship. Sure they got close when they went back to the bunker to hide madi from sheidheda or whatever and I get that they were the new generation and the only ones that had actual parents that belonged to the group of main characters but the thing is they just didn't spend enough time together to be in a romantic relationship. Other than them being automatically put into the main circle they had no other connection so I think their relationship was rushed. Other than that I like hope and I feel she was a good addition to the show.

Ilian : 6/10 this boy is hopeless. He should've stayed on the farm cause my goodness he just doesn't have a clue. Man really burned down ravens hard work and humanities last hope cause he hated technology like sweetie if you don't like something STAY AWAY FROM IT!! ITS LITERALLY THAT SIMPLE! But the thing is I love Chai Hansen (the actor) so I couldn't bring myself to not like illian less than a 6 cause Chai is an amazing actor.

Indra : 10/10 Indra reminds me of an African warrior girl. As an African girl this was a big yes for me. Especially seeing her natural hair the way it is instead of a wig or weave or something to me that was so amazing. This was a win for strong black female characters in TV. I love that she was clearly strong and a leader among her people (that spot was well deserved and hard earned I'm sure) but also that she wasn't written in a way where that was all she was (like most black female characters are written to be strong 24/7) you could see her soft side. You could see her emotion and how much she cared especially when it came to Gaia and octavia. She had moments where she was weak and beaten down and didn't hide it. She let it show. She held others up and I turn they did the same for her. The way I see it indra was the best mother in the show, not only to Gaia but to the other kids as well. She was also an amazing teacher to octavia and a great friend to Kane, Abby, and Jackson. She was even good to jaha (thought imo he didn't deserve it) For this I applaude the writers cause indra is definitely a success for them.

Jacapo Sinclair : 10/10 no surprise there. Sinclair is like indra and Harper. You can't dislike this guy. Like it's literally impossible. When it comes to the best father figure/mentor it's real close between him and Kane. I love Sinclair with all my heart. His relationship with raven was the sweetest thing. It hurt when he died cause he was all raven had in terms of family. Her parents were gone and she lost Finn. Sinclair was the last one and she had to watch him die just like she watched Finn die. Everytime raven cries I cry even harder. He was so sweet and he believed in her the most out of everyone. He never pitied her cause he knew she didn't need it. He knew all she needed was to believe in herself. Guys when raven hallucinated him in s4 I fucking cried so hard cause I missed him so much and I'm pissed cause he should've made it to the very end. He deserved to be happy. He deserved to die a good death on a comfy bed in a room full of flowers facing an open window with the sunset outside and raven sitting next to the bed holding hands and sharing sarcastic comments and wisdom until he finally slips into death as the sun sets and he gets a beautiful candle lit burial on top of a peaceful hill overlooking a large lake where everyone is wearing white and they all sprinkle rose petals over his grave and say their final goodbyes.

Jade : 4/10 I respect the drive she has to be good at her job and how loyal she was. Be it she was loyal to a lie. She reminds me of nate and his dad in the sense that they're all soldiers. They prefer the role of following orders and having a clear leader more than being a leader. I really don't have much to say on her.

Jake Griffin : 5/10 there wasn't a lot to go off here. Just a few memories and short appearances. I love that he was righteous and believed in humanity. He died trying to do the right thing and I love that.

Jasper Jordan: 9/10 this is my 5th child in this show. The only reason I'm not giving him a 10 is because he chose death. He left monty. He stopped fighting and I hate that. He had so much fight left in him I could see it. There was still so much greatness for him to accomplish. I'm disappointed that he chose a beautiful hysterically sad suicide but I'm glad he died on his terms. Jasper was put through so much and I see a lot of hate for him. Ppl say he was annoying after Maya died but I find that Jasper had the most realistic reaction to death. He went through depression. He lost it, he started drinking, he broke down. He loved her and clarke killed her, he had to see clarke all the time and he had to be there while everyone was praising clarke for being a hero. She hurt him and her apology was sorry but it had had be done. Even though they could've saved Maya who did nothing but help them clarke killed her and then had the audacity to tell Jasper to move on. They all told him to move on. Nobody but monty bothered to try to help him. They just decided he was helpless and left him to fend for himself when he fought to protect them in Mt.Weather. It was clear that Jasper wasn't very mentally strong when Fox got taken in Mt.Weather after he promised he would protect her. He lost confidence in himself then and when Maya died after he said he'd protect her he lost hope in life. Jasper needed help he needed someone to be there. Monty was there but there's only so much one person can do. He needed his friends. He needed the Clarke that stayed up at night changing his bandages when he got speared. He needed the Octavia that cared about him and looked at him with heart eyes. He needed the Bellamy who wouldn't let anyone kill him even though he was keeping them up at night with his screams of agony. He needed his friends and they weren't there so yeah he lost it and he became suicidal. At least his suicide made him happy in the end. My baby deserved so much better.

John Mbege : 5/10 I just like the fact that he was one of Bellamy's bitches.

John Murphy : 10/10 he's my 3rd child in this show. All I'm gonna say is he's my fav male character in this show and maybe of all time. I'm not gonna get into all the reasons why cause then this will turn into a Murphy love post. I love him I want him he's mine he will always be mine. John Murphy best boy.

Jordan Green : 10/10 my grandson my sweet babycakes. He's so innocent. But kind of a slut I mean this guy had his first crush on the first person he met who had no connection to his parents and shared his first kiss with that person and lost his virginity to her that same night. If that's not slut behavior idk what is. But other than his slut tendencies he's innocent. He's just like his parents too (casting did an amazing job cause I would totally believe it if Chris and Chelsey had a baby and it looked like Shannon). He's sweet and intelligent but strong in his beliefs and doesn't waiver. They didn't deserve him. Monty and Harper asked one thing of clarke and Bellamy and that was to watch over Jordan and protect him. Jordan fuckin went missing for more than one episode and it's like he wasn't even on their priorities list. They were like " la di da oh it's Jordan he might just be out making friends la di da" They didn't bother looking for him kind of like when monty was taken to Mt.Weather and Jasper was the first to try to look for him and they were like "la di da no Jasper we'll look for monty later la di da" AND THEY NEVER FUCKIN LOOKED FOR HIM!!! We finally saw him when clarke woke up in quarantine. Both monty and his son were missing for multiple episodes and nobody but Jasper bothered to search. My boys were too good for this group. Also raven and Jordan's relationship was adorable. Seeing raven as an aunt was cute. You could tell in the way she looks at him and talks to him that Jordan reminds her of monty so it makes sense that she cares about him cause raven and monty were a dream team in intelligence and raven and Jordan were following that path. Also his name is Jordan Jasper Green named after his dad's best friend Jasper Jordan hskdlakfhzlLxjj I can't I just can't.

Josephine Lightbourne : 10/10 in the running for best villain ever. I loved Josephine she was literally so perfect. I looked forward to her scenes cause it was one of the few good things about that mess of a season.

Judge : 0/10 wtf. I still don't get the Judge. Like Yeah we got a Lexa reappearance but still wtf. There was no base for this idea and it doesn't make sense cause why did they accept the judge and accept transcendence but fight their asses off to get rid of A.L.I.E and the city of light like bro they're basically the same thing. The s7 writers were completely cursed cause how else can you come up with such bs. Like the idea itself could work but the problem is it doesn't fit with the direction of the story and the original plot of the show. Like honestly s5 is when the story started to stray but at least it kept the same themes. S6 was acceptable because it happened due to previous events from s5 but s7 just came out of nowhere. I swear they pulled the entire script our of their asses cause it was so bad.

Kara Cooper : 1/10 she was loyal to octavia but it only took nearly getting all the arkadians killed and losing her own life to make her see reason and stop being an annoying crybaby bitch.

Kaylee Lee : 2/10 She was a prime

Knight : 9/10 I actually liked knight. He made the mistake of challenging Indra yes but I see where he was coming from. He saw an opportunity to rise in ranks and become a big leader so he took it. He failed obviously but it was a commendable attempt. Also he's sexy.

Kyle Wick : 5/10 I loved Wick with raven and thought they were super cute. I'm def someone who believes in separating the artist from the art. That being said the actor himself I don't like and that's why I'm rating a 5. He's done stuff that I just can't ever agree with and it's to the point where it had an affect on how I view the art but the character he portrayed I liked. I thought Wick was a refreshing addition to the show. His humors and sarcasm was a mood lightner and in this show any mood lightner is a good one and is fully accepted.

Levitt : 7/10 a little boring for me. He was cute with Octavia but he's no Lincoln. I love that he was able to bring Octavia some type of happiness after everything she endured. He's cute in a nerdy boy next door has no friends except his grandma loves to talk about electrons type of way.

Lexa : 10/10 I'm sure we all saw this coming. I love Lexa. I'll never forget the great s2 betrayal but let's be real that's all she's done. Well that and take the risk of others dying from a missile. But she did kick that guy off the top of her polis tower which was pretty badass. And she was a cute little raccoon leader so yea I love her. Little lesbian heda.

Lincoln : 10/10 when I tell yall I dream of this man. I DRREEEAAAAMMMMMM. He's looks so delicious. But no he's so hot but no he so sweet. Oh goodness gracious I'm done so done. There was never a better lover. LINCTAVIA 4 LIFE!!! The way I cried when this man died. I'm serious when I tell you I stopped fucking watching for a month cause I just couldn't deal with his death. I would open netflix and zoom right past this show to find something else cause I missed Lincoln and I still miss him. He deserved a beautiful death just like Sinclair.

Lorelei Tsing : 0/10 she's a bitch. Argue with the wall.

Luca : 10/10 this boy is so disney channel middle school crush. He's adorable. His little love story crush thing he has going on with Madi is adorable. His little friends are adorable. Everything is adorable.

Luna : 7/10 ngl I loved Luna when she refused the flame. I was like "yes girl make things hard for Clarke she's so spoiled and always gets her way. Make her work for it!!!" But then Luna kinda got annoying. I get why she fought in the conclave cause she didn't think humanity deserved to survive but it doesn't make sense cause she's so against violence yet she had no problem killing. And the reward was the bunker so clearly she knew the death wave would kill her and she didn't want to die just like everybody else so why did she have no problem fighting to kill everyone when she swore she'd never fight or kill again? There's so many holes here for me.

Macallan : 10/10 it's SHAWN MENDES. What do you want me to say?! No but Macallan was a cute little thief. I thought he and raven were gonna be in a relationship cause when they met she told him to sing as payment meant she knew who he was and he knew he could sing. Like maybe they'd met before on the ark. Anyway I love Macallan.

Madi Griffin : 9/10 I love Madi really I do but somewhere between s6 & 7 she just got a tiny bit annoying and whiny. But then again so did clarke in s5 so i see why Madi behaved the way she did. Madi and luca were literally living their own disney channel romance while everyone else was fighting tooth and nail for their lives. But yeah lola was absolutely amazing in this role.

Major Byrne : 1/10 I could do without her. She had potential but I don't think the writers played on it well enough. It felt like they intended to make her a major character but the story took a different track so they just dropped her.

Marcus Kane : 8/10 s1 & 2 were terrible. I hated Kane he was was bitch and I was wanting them to kill him off. S3 and onward I loved him. He was amazing. One of the best character developments in the show. I'm sad they dragged out his death. I think he deserved a better death but they didn't give him that so the least they could've done was let him die in peace and leave it alone instead of trying to keep him alive.

Maya Vie : 10/10 i didn't trust her in the beginning. She was too nice. But then I loved her. I wish she didn't get killed off cause I loved her with Jasper. She brought out this aggressive fierce side to him which was very different to the nerdy somewhat loner boy we'd seen the season before. I miss her. She was nice.

Michael Vinson : 9/10 I've watched this show 5x over and Vinson still scares the crap out of me. He was in a way a physical manifestation of abbys addiction which was cool but this dude is so scary. Of all the eligius prisoners I can see why he got sent to space. This dude is a psychopathic cannibalistic murderer. THEY LITERALLY HAD TO KEEP HIM IN AN ELECTRIC SHOCK COLLAR TO CONTROL HIM!!!! I don't know why I ranked him so high but there's something about him. Idk if it's the concept or what but I like him as a character even though he scares me.

Miles Shaw : 10/10 MY BAABBYYYYY!!!! I miss you Mr super adorable been through so much struggled to survive deserved better. I wanna give him all the hugs in the universe. He's so precious. I miss him with raven. Like really the fact that they can't let her be happy is bs. Not 1 season went by without her facing something traumatic. I though Shaw was going to be her happily ever after but I guess not. I wish he made it to the final lineup cause he was a great character.

Monty Green : 10/10 my 6th and final child in this show. My sweet precious marshmallow cinnabun chocolate teddybear cotton candy skies pink butterflies strawberry shortcake gummie bear slushie cupcake loml rainbow child. He's EVERYTHING TO ME! He's so cute and smart and kind and sassy and funny. He was a great friend to everyone and I loved his relationship with everyone. He kept it real even when he knew the truth was never what they wanted to hear he said it anyways. He was literally their subconscious voice of reason and guilt. The literal moral compass. I miss him SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!! But at least he got a happy death (one of the few happy deaths in the entire 7 seasons). He died after living a long happy life with his wife and son and the knowledge that he saved the human race by finding another home for everyone. MONTY GREEN BEST BOY!!!

Nathan Miller : 10/10 yall know I love the millers. Nate is just like his dad. Yes I know they call him Miller in the show but I call him nate so get over it. He's a great guy. So precious. Like he has a special place in my heart. My secondary character king. This man is def one of the funniest characters. His relationship with Jackson is super cute. I kinda feel bad for him cause let's be real all he ever wanted was to live happily ever after with Bryan by a beach raising chickens or sheep or whatever it was. He never asked for the chaos. I'm glad the writers decided to give him a bigger role instead of just letting him fade away. I also really love his friendship with Octavia. Easily one of my top 15 in this show. I love nate.

Nia : 0/10 this lady was vicious. I feel bad for Roan cause his childhood must've sucked.

Nikki : 1/10 this was hatch's wife. I thought she was badass but I like her mostly cause I liked her husband.

Niylah : 10/10 I think niylah is the only background character that I'm glad remained a background character cause it's so perfect. They gave her a bigger role in the story when it was needed but when it wasn't she went to the background which was beautifully done. I love niylah she was one of the few obviously good ones like Harper, monty, Lincoln, and Sinclair. I'm glad she made it to the final lineup cause she's awesome.

Nygel : 1/10 she's a snitch ass bitch. I don't like her. The only reason she's a 1 is cause I thought she was gonna have a big role and cause drama. (I love watching drama play out) but other than that she's not special.

Nyko : 10/10 it makes sense that he was friends with Lincoln. He literally reminds ne of Lincoln so much. I liked him. He was peaceful and quite handsome. Def deserved happiness and love.

Octavia Blake : 10/10 my 4th child in this show. The better Blake sibling if you ask me (but don't tell Bellamy I said that). She's absolutely amazing. Best character development in this show. Best female character. Best hero. Best villain. Best everything. I loved her when she was bellamys butterfly chasing grounder pounding sister. I loved her when she was skairipa. I loved her when she was blodreina. I loved her when she was bellamys sister but not his responsibility. I loved her when she was aunty O. I loved her from beginning to the very end. This is my fav character if you didn't know. Octavia Blake carried this show 50% of the time. When I say I watch the100 for the plot I'm mostly talking about her. I love her.

Ontari : 4/10 I kinda liked her. I didn't like that she basically raped Murphy or that she had the audacity to wear lexas Armour or that she pretty much cheated in the conclave. But I thought she was an interesting character. It was interesting cause Roan was raised by queen Nia and he turned out completely different than ontari who was also basically raised by queen Nia. And Echo was kinda raised by her too and was one of her closest and best spies but she turned out different than ontari but all 3 of them were loyal af to azgeda so it's kind of a glimpse into the personality of Nia cause she influenced 3 different ppl and they all turned out differently. I liked Rhiannon in this role though. She did great.

Orlando : 9/10 annoying at first but super nice. Sucks he believed in that Sheppard sheep cult thing though.

Otan : 1/10 I thought he was mysterious and interesting. But he followed jaha so that's a no.

Paxton McCreary : 4/10 I hated this dude for everything he did to raven, Murphy and shaw. But I have to admit he made s5 interesting.

Picasso : 7/10 I don't like dogs but he was cute. Also he's one of the very very few animals that the humans interacted with that wasn't deadly.

Priya Desai : 4/10 one of the better more entertaining primes.

Raven Reyes : 10/10 my 2nd child in this show. LITERAL DEFINITION OF DESERVED BETTER. ABSOLUTE QUEEN. Yall I got so scared when she and Bellamy fucked cause I was like "no way is she sleeping with him to get back at clarke for sleeping with finn?!?!" But no she was just horny and angry. She was...horngry??? But yeah raven is my babygirl. I love her love her love her to death. She's wonderful. One of the best characters in the whole show. She deserved a happily ever after. I'm convinced that halfway through the writers just liked pissing off the audience by making her suffer so they purposely wrote raven into some really traumatic experiences. But she still survived cause she's a boss bitch. Incredible female representation. Incredible poc representation. Incredible disability representation. RAVEN REYES FOR PRESIDENT.

Reese Cadogan : 3/10 this kid's a dog. He follows his dads' every step and does everything he says. I understand that he just wanted his fathers approval and attention but my goodness he was trying WAAAYYYY too hard. The only reason I give him a 3 is cause I pity him.

Rex : 10/10 AHDHFKSLLKDHALAKDJA stop. Stop everything he was so adorable. Rex Madi and Luca I loved this trio. They were just so adorable.

Riley : 1/10 RILEY?!? Bro I was so confused when they first introduced him cause everyone had a big reaction and they were all shocked to see him but I didn't know how he was important to the story. I thought he was one of the delinquents who went missing and I forgot about him but no he was just someone they all knew from the ark apparently. I didn't like how he was volunteering to go out and be around grounders knowing he had grounder ptsd but whatever. He wasn't that special. Kind of annoying.

Roan : 10/10 big daddy Roan. I loved him. He's sassy which is so attractive. He's so strong and beautiful and has eyes that I could get lost in for the rest of time. I loved Roan he was such an amazing character and I'm so glad we got him. I think his death was appropriate for the character like yeah he died fighting cause he's stubborn and it's def in character for him.

Roma Bragg : 9/10 I liked Roma. She was a delinquent with a lot of potential. Kinda miss her ngl.

Rose : 10/10 that girl is so adorable. It sucks that they were gonna try to use her for that glory and grace of the primes shit. Sweet kid.

Russell Lightbourne : 6/10 lowkey boring as a villain cause he tried to act like he wasn't a villain and never did anything wrong. But I love JR (the actor) he did such a phenomenal job. Like going from playing one villain to an even bigger villain. He had 2 roles and did fantastic with both of them.

Ryker Desai : 6/10 I like ryker and I thought he was quite cute with raven but he was a prime and while yes he didn't fully agree with the actions he still did nothing to stop them so that's a no for me.

Sgt. Lovejoy & Little Lovejoy : 0/10 & 10/10 hated the dad loved the kid cause the kid was a kid who did nothing wrong and he as so adorable and when Bellamy realized that he killed that kids father he got so sad and it broke my heart a little.

Sheidheda : 9/10 I love sheidheda as a villain but seriously dude like you had nothing better to do than terrorize a little girl. He messed with madi so much. He was all in her head and shit and it was so sad to watch. But he def brought flavour to the later seasons. Like he was one of the most interesting parts. JR did amazing with the role. But also the other actor who played him (idk his name) he did a really freaking awesome job too. Def in the running for best male villain.

Shumway : 0/10 douchebag. He tried to screw bell over. I don't like him.

Simone Lightbourne : 4/10 this girl was powerful. I liked watching her. Unfortunately she annoyed me too much to rate her any higher. Great female representation though. Def a boss bitch.

Sterling : 10/10 AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH MY UNDERRATED KING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS BOY HAS MY WHOLE FUCKING HEART. HE'S SO ADORABLE AND HE'S SO BEAUTIFUL AND THERE'S SO MUCH POTENTIAL AND I CAN'T BELIEVE HE FELL OFF A CLIFF AND I MISS HIM AND HE WAS SO FUCKING HOT LIKE PLS RAIL ME DADDY! FUCK ME SENSELESS!! PLS!!KALDLFJALDJDA HE'S SO PRECIOUS MY BABYBOY GOT A HEART OF GOLD I'M HERE FOR IT. WE NEED MORE STERLING APPRECIATION IN THIS FANDOM CAUSE HE'S NOT LOVED ENOUGH. LIKE PLS I CAN'T BE THE ONLY ONE WHO SEES HOW AMAZING HE IS. HE'S SO PERFECT!!!!

Thelonious Jaha : 3/10 he's a good leader. Possibly the best leader in the entire show I won't lie. But he's annoying. I liked him in s1 then I hated him. This man done lost all his senses and quite frankly I feel his death was dragged out and long overdue.

Oh shit I genuinely didn't mean to do that but I ended with 100 names. How fitting. Well anyways that's my very long opinion. Hope you enjoyed. Feel free to let me know your thoughts on anything I've said. I love having discussions.

[shepard-ram]

Hello again this is Ender-anon with the next chapter of this story as we move on to Wilbur. p.s the poem will be at the bottom.

The most important day of your life so far.

Everything was chaos, as people rushed back and forth getting everything ready for you coronation the next day, dignitaries from other countrys ariving with gifts, the kichens had to order food from abroad inorder to fully cater the event. You however were nervous for a different reasion between going over the speechs with Enciodes and practicing the holy vows you would undertake tomorrow with the current Saintess Anya Silverash ( Enciodes and Ensia's sister), the Arctic Empires delegates had yet to arrive you knew thanks to Tommys latest letter ( and hadn't that been a surprise learning that you friend was the third prince, but you had assured him that it would change nothing between you he was still Tommy to you) his brother prince Wilbur second in line to the throne would be arriving with them since Tommy father had said that Tommy couldn't go. Which is why when the Arctic Empire arrived (with so many gifts Tommy really had gone overboard you though) without the prince saying that he had gone on ahead of the main group a wave of panic sweeped through those in attendance. The wilds were dangerous for outsiders at night the beasts of the land wouldn't attack your citizens ( ancient magic prevented them from doing so a spell cast by an allie of your venerated ancestor) but a lone prince was a different deal. Jumping into action you asked the nobility in attendance the Silverash,Rostova,Schwire and Nearl to search their grounds as they were the few nobles with manors outside to capital and on the way to get your winter coat discretely ordered a hidden member of the Armourless Union to imform the three Obsidians that finding the prince was their new hightest priority and to sent everyone Platinum, the two Lapis Lazuil and to track what woodlands hadn't been searched yet. Rushing out of the capital, lanturn in hand rushed into the nearby woods, woods that you had explored as far back as you could remember, woods you knew like the back of your hand as such when you heard the wolves howling in the distance you knew the quickest route to take after all those seconds could be the difference between finding the prince or finding a corpse.

Leaping over a ridge you found yourself between a terrified Wilbur and a pack of 5 wolves both pausing with your entrance. Wilbur snaped out it first yelling " Kid get out of here, I can distract the wolves RUN" you instead turn towards the wolves and told them to leave as they do you grab the stuperfied princes hand and lead him back towards the capital where you hand him off to his countrys dignitaries while you returned to the palace to get some sleep ready for your coronation tommorow. You looked at your reflection now dressed in your ceremonial outfit based on you ancestors outfit minus the black helmet of course looking over at your soon to be ex-regent Enciodes who looked at you with pride in his eyes, after gathering your nerves you follow him knights flanking you to the second biggest building in the capital after the palace, the temple to the Karlan Goddess. Kneeling before Anya at the goddesses alter you swore to protect your people, your nation and to uphold you nations values rising after Anya placed neatherite crown upon your head. Turning to look at those in attendance you saw Enciodes with tears in his eyes, Buldrokkas'tee with his daughter Yelena holding her up so she could see and curiously prince Wilbur looking at you with a weird look in his eyes that was a strange combination of pity and longing all while clutching a piece of paper close to his chest. During the after coronation celebrations you did manage to start a conversation with him by talking about Tommy of all thinks but he was what you two had in common you both cared about him a great deal before you left you handed him a letter to give to Tommy once he got back to the empire, he staired at it for a moment before handing over the piece of paper you saw him holding earlier you looked at it to see a poem on it "Its my gift to you, as thanks for saving me" he proclaimed after reading it you saw the themes of close bonds and friendship ( at least thats how it looked to you) and as such you thanked him for such a thoughtful poem giving him a hug " I must admit I can most certainly see why my baby brother is so attached to you" and with that he turned and left with the other delegates back to the Arctic Empire.

The most important encounter of his life

Wilbur was pretty sure even before meeting this ruler that he would hate them even though he hadn't met them yet. Why you may ask? First they charm his precious baby brother into letting them call him Tommy something that he only allowed family to do but he wouldn't stop carrying that doll dressed in black claiming that it was a gift from you, then whenever post would arive he would all but tear the poor messenger apart just on the chance you sent him a letter he remembered after he sent the letter informing you of his status he was sure that that would end this farce and he would have his adorable little brothers attention again but nooo you sent a letter telling him that it didn't matter Tommy was still your friend and that reguardless of his title he you wouldn't treat him any differently and to your credit you didn't. But thats nothing compared to what he's currently going through no since Tommy is to young he has to be the representative of the royal family to your coronation (despite Tommy throwing the biggest tantrum he had ever seen), so now he's walking along a poorly constructed road with a the other delegates with the mountain of gifts that his brother has bought you using every coin he had. Tired and just completely done with this day he told the others that he would be walking on ahead and they would meet back up at the palace, that was the plan at least he thinks to himself as he runs before he had strayed from the dirt path and stumbled upon a wolf pack that was now chasing him so his day has gotten even worse great. As he hits a dead end he turns to face the wolves looking around for a way to clime up the ridge above him as the wolves closed in, only for a kid in a winter coat holding a lanturn to jump down inbetween him and the wolves startling them both thankfully he snaped out of it first and yelled at you to run he wasn't about let a kid only a few years older than his baby brother get torn apart by these wolves but instead of fleeing you gave him a reassuring smile before turning to the wolves " He is no enemy of our nation, leave now" you commaned and to his surprise they obeyed his mind going blank trying to process what he just witnessed as you lead him out of the woods. It wasn't till he was in his room in the newly built embassy that he realised he never learned his saviors name after interrorgating the delegates he learns to his suprise that his savior was the person that took his place in his brothers heart.

Maybe he misjudged you he thinks as he spends the time before your cononation collecting information about you pretending that he was merely a curious tourist and when he returned to get dressed into his formal wear he thought about what he had learned, the most dishearting information was how alone you were you had no surviving family no cousins,no siblings and no parents but you still found reasions to smile, to try you best to be the ruler you nation would need despite the fact that said nation in his humble opinion was undeserving.How he had missjudge you so much, of course his brother would try and give you family that you never had he couldn't even think of a world without his little brother, his twin or his dad but you had to endure a world where that was the norm for you, and now he though bitterly this nation would be your burden to carry alone without family to turn to for help. He of course need to thank you and in his own way apologize for his incorrect image of you, he didn't bring his guitar so a poem would have to do, perhaps he could put an offer of family in it so you knew that you wouldn't be alone, yes that sounded good. As he stood with the others of importance during you coronation he couldn't help but think how small you looked in that all black outfit dispite knowing you were older that Tommy in this moment you didn't look it to him as you made vows that in the eyes of your nation, in the eyes of your goddess would forever bind you to a nation undeserving of you, a nation that had caused you to grow up alone surrounded by advisers and (if his brothers rants were anything to go by) a schemeing regent. He truly pitied you and wanted to take you away from this back to the empire where you could be a child for once not be forced to be a ruler, Tommy would be happy if he wisked you away and he realised as they placed a neatherite crown on your head he wouldn't mind having being your big brother. To his surprise you can over to talk to him during the after party, as the subject of conersation shifted to Tommy he saw your eyes light up as you trades stories back and forth acting less like royals from different countrys and more like siblings talking about their younger brother. Its only when you press a quickly written letter into his hands and asked for him to hand it to Tommy that he remembered his poem as such he handed the poem over to you and exsplaned that it was a thank you gift for rescuing him (and for him being so wrong about you) he searched your face as you read seeing if you got his hidden message before you thanked him for it and gave him a hug , hun he could in this moment certainly see why his baby brother was so attached to them oh if the look on your face was anything to go by he just said that aloud time to leave he thinks.On the plane ride home he can't help but read the letter you wrote for his baby brother only for his eyes to widen as you ask Tommy whats its like having a big brother like Wilbur or what its like having a big brother in general but a infuriated look fills his face as you say you think your starting to see Enciodas ( the scheming regent his brain supplied )and his sisters as your big siblings as your family,oh that seals it he thinks he is going to be big brother and save you from you misguided loyaltys at least he count on Tommy to help rescue their future sibling from themself.

Wilburs poem

It's hard to put into words, what I want to say.

But I want you to know your thought of, in a very special way.

Though the distance in between us, keeps us continents apart.

There will always be a place, for our bond within my heart.

Poems are strange arn't they, two people could read the same poem but come away with comletely different ideas as to what it means... Ender-anon

Okay I might stop talking all together on this entire FICS but this- yes absolutely very good

[mylifeincinema]

My 22 Most Anticipated Films of 2022!

I don’t have much of an intro this year. This list isn’t concrete, as I’m sure there’s a bunch of others I’d be more excited about if I had thought of them/known about them when I compiled it. Anyway, in chronological order, here are…

My 22 Most Anticipated Films of 2022!

1. The Worst Person in the World (Joachim Trier) – 2.4

I recently decided to categorize this one as a 2022 film despite it being a player in the 2021 awards season because of the fact that there’ll be no real public release for it until February. The buzz is enough to get excited about it, but it was Trier’s Thelma that made this one bump the sure to be silly and fun Sonic the Hedgehog 2.

2. The Batman (Matt Reeves) – 3.4

Matt Reeves was enough, but then there’s that refreshingly clever cast, cinematography by Greig Fraser and a new Michael Giacchino score. Damn!

3. The Northman (Robert Eggers) – 4.22

A Viking revenge thriller by the man who brought the world The Witch and The Lighthouse would make this list immediately, anyway. But then this also reunites Eggers with Anya Taylor-Joy and Willem Dafoe and has a cast that also includes Ethan Hawke and the one and only Björk.

4. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (Sam Raimi) – 5.6

Oh, c’mon… have you met me?!?

5. Top Gun: Maverick (Joseph Kosinski) – 5.27

I’ve never been the biggest fan of Top Gun, but the stunt-work here is going to make this a must-see on the biggest screen possible.

6. Jurassic World: Dominion (Colin Trevorrow) – 6.10

The World installations in this franchise haven’t been the best, but they’re my inner-child whose life was changed by Jurassic Park will always be excited for more dinosaur mayhem.

7. Thor: Love and Thunder (Taika Waititi) – 7.8

The team that brought us the brilliant madness that was Thor: Ragnarok is back!!

8. Where the Crawdads Sing (Olivia Newman) – 7.22

I’m not entirely sold on the director or cast, but I adored the shit out of this book, and that’s enough for me.

9. Don’t Worry Darling (Olivia Wilde) – 9.23

Booksmart was incredible. This looks nothing like Booksmart. I love that Wilde is taking such a creative/stylistic risk with her sophomore directorial feature. But not as much as I love Florence Pugh, who would be enough to get this film on this list alone. Add her to the aforementioned Wilde stuff and a cast that hot as hell? Yes Please.

10. Mission: Impossible 7 (Christopher McQuarrie) – 9.30

Pretty much what I said about Top Gun: Maverick, except I’m also a huge fan of this franchise.

11. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – Part One (Dos Santos, Powers & Thompsom) – 10.7

The first film was one of the most visually exciting, creative animated films quite possibly ever made, and easily became the best Spider-Man film to date (yes, even post-No Way Home). I absolutely cannot wait to see where they bring us next.

Please Continue for More!!

12. The Flash (Andy Muschietti) – 11.4

Michael Keaton. That is all.

13. Untitled David O. Russell (David O. Russell) – 11.4

I don’t have a clue what this is about, but the cast – minus Rami Malek – and Russell’s track-record is enough.

14. The Fabelmans (Steven Spielberg) – 11.23

C’mon… it’s Spieberg.

15. Babylon (Damien Chazelle) – 12.25 

The director of Whiplash, La La Land & First Man tackles old Hollywood. Enough said.

16. Blonde (Andrew Dominik) – TBA

This is like the third year this has been on this list. Please, please let 2022 be the year I finally get Ana De Armas as Marilyn Monroe.

17. Crimes of the Future (David Cronenberg) – TBA

It’s been too long since we’ve gotten a genuinely exciting project from Cronenberg. So, I’m excited.

18. Disappointment Blvd. (Ari Aster) – TBA

Hereditary and Midsommar were staggering. I cannot wait to see what Aster brings us with this one.

19. The Killer (David Fincher) – TBA

C’mon… It’s Fincher.

20. Killers of the Flower Moon (Martin Scorsese) – TBA

C’mon… It’s Scorsese.

21. The Pale Blue Eye (Scott Cooper) – TBA

I don’t really think there’s been a Cooper film I haven’t liked. Plus, Harry Melling as Edgar Allan Poe is too interesting to pass up, no matter the context.

22. Pinocchio (Guillermo del Toro) – TBA

A stop-motion passion project from Guillermo del Toro… excuse me while I count the seconds until this gets released.

There they are! I’m excited to see the cinematic world get closer to normal in 2022, but mostly I’m just excited for more trips to the cinema. Here’s to hoping those are plentiful and satisfying in 2022!

As for My Best of 2021, all of the major lists will not be getting posted until mid-month (or as soon as I get the chance to catch up on some of the final 2021 releases I haven’t had the chance to see, yet), but I’m going to try to get some of the early lists – such as Posters, TV & Non-2021 Films – sorted and posted over the next week or two. Please Stay Tuned!

Also…

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

-Timothy Patrick Boyer.

[masterofmagnetism]

no light, no light [you can’t choose what stays]

WHO: Jean Grey @jeaniegreysummers and Erik Lehnsherr

WHEN: The evening after Jean, Scott, and Maddie find the Greys dead in Annandale-on-Hudson.

WHERE: Genosha

WHAT: Jean tells her father what happened to the Greys. Erik tries to comfort her the only way he knows how. 

WORD COUNT: 4.1k (I’m proud of us, this is short!)

TWs: Death, child death, fire, murder, war, ptsd, grief. it’s a doozy, as the description on the tin would suggest.

JEAN: Grief was an old friend. Jean had experience of it with gravel in the wounds on her knees, leaning over her best friend shaking her to wake up. She had experience in space, looking around at her friends and knowing that the chances of them getting back to Earth, the chances of them getting back for breakfast tomorrow morning or any morning after that, were slim. She had experience on a battlefield with blood on her uniform, had experience holding the man she loved more than anyone else in the world and watching the light fade from his eyes, had experience stepping back as her father left and didn’t come back.

Jean knew grief. Grief knew Jean. She convinced herself it wouldn’t stay, that it was temporary, that the Phoenix would fix all pain in her life as she had before … but Sara was still dead. Her sister was still dead, and now her parents and other siblings, her nephews and nieces, everyone (almost everyone) related by blood were six foot under.

(Did that make it better, that they were all together? Did it make it better to think of them in a white, hot room holding each other, or did it just make it worse?)

Scott was alive. She had her family, had Genosha, had Maddie (Maddie had her mother’s eyes. She had her mother’s eyes and her father’s smile. She was the only person with that resemblance in the world anymore, and Jean adored her. She would burn the world to the ground, for her.) There were silver linings, there were bright spots, she wasn’t alone -- but people were dead because of her, because of the Phoenix.

Because of her.

Jean didn’t even notice Erik coming in, or the slight depression on the couch when he sat down. She didn’t hear his voice when he spoke at first, didn’t pick up on his aura. She was staring at the wall, had been for a long time, and she was thinking of her sister pushing her under in the pool, and she was wondering if maybe her father shouldn’t have intervened. Maybe the world would be a better place.

Then she blinked, and looked up.

“My family are dead, Erik,” she said, her voice sounding wet and far away. “They’re all dead. Every single one of them, apart from Maddie. My parents, my brothers, my sister, their kids. And it’s me. It’s all on me.”

ERIK: It wasn't unusual for Jean to disappear for a day or two at a time.  She'd always been the sort to keep herself busy, and between the hospital and the X-Men and all of her many friends, he'd never been particularly concerned if he didn't see her around for a few days.  Jean Grey was perhaps the most powerful woman on the planet, and even death itself couldn't hold her back for long.

It was the flare of grief that came a few hours ago that had set off warning bells--whether it was because of Jean's telepathy or the Phoenix or both, he felt the fury and heartbreak almost as if it was his own.  Not fear, which meant he didn't need to go tearing through New York looking for her just yet.

She would come home.

Come home she did, a few hours later, and Erik wasted no time when he got the news in going to see her.

The air felt heavy, and Jean was staring into space with a vacant expression that Erik recognized too well.  So he sat and waited, after offering her a gentle ‘hey,’ and let the world and words come back to her in their own time.  Eventually, she came back, gaze eventually settling on him, and she explained what had happened.

My family are dead. Oh, g-d.  He knew that grief too well, had experienced it time and time and time again.  He pushed aside the faces that threatened to rise in the surface of his memories, wrapping an arm around Jean’s shoulders and holding tight.  “Oh, schatzen,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of her head and rubbing small circles into her shoulder.  There was no use telling her what he knew already was the truth: that it wasn’t her fault.  She was like him in too many ways to accept that—it didn’t matter what you knew intellectually, there would always be the feeling.  I should’ve been there, done more, seen it coming.  So he didn’t try to say it that way.

“You did your best for them. I know you did—you always do.” She’d dragged Scott back from the other side through force of will.  There wasn’t a chance in hell that Jean hadn’t done everything she could to save the family that had never quite been willing to do the same for her.  “Do you want to talk about what happened?”

JEAN: She’d seen death many, many times before. There was a graveyard in the gardens of the Institute, a daily reminder of the people they had failed in the past, that they were sure to fail in the future. She specialised in death — preventing it, bringing people back from the brink of it, ensuring that those who couldn’t be saved would at least have dignity in their final hours. She counselled and she explained and she verified life extinct. She felt for pulses a hundred times in her career, a thousand times, only for her head to shake and her lips to purse, to tell the team waiting with bated breath that their efforts were all for naught, that the patient would be buried with bruises on their chest for no reason.

Death didn’t discriminate. It took everyone, eventually. Everyone but her, it seemed. Jean was terrified of it coming from the moment she saw Annie bleed out in the middle of the road, feeling her last desperate breath and the last tendrils of life draining from her. It took everyone but Jean.

It took everyone but Jean and Maddie. The last two of the Greys, a once expansive and powerful and respectable family, as she’d been told so many times growing up. A family that made a difference, a family made up of restaurant owners and social workers and musicians, a family that were compassionate and driven, who fought and taught and healed.

A family that existed outside of Jean for so long that it was blatantly unfair they died for having that tie to her, that her blood and genes would once again bring so much destruction.

(She wished she wasn’t a mutant. She wished she was born normal. She wished she never had these powers, that she grew up in Annandale the whole time, that the only tragedy in her life was her best friend being hit by a car when they were playing frisbee and Jean threw it too far. She wished that was the only death on her hands, and was glad, for what wasn’t the first time, that Erik couldn’t read her thoughts right back.)

“I didn’t,” she whispered. Erik didn’t lie to her. He did many, many things — he withheld the truth, he told her the wrong truth, he blatantly shifted narratives, or he changed the conversation, or he dodged it with some other great mission that needed to be accomplished first — but he never lied. She had to believe that, had to hold onto something. “I never did enough when it came to them, Erik. I hadn’t … I didn’t talk to my sister for years. Liam has been alone for so long and I never … he’s been sick, and I didn’t go to see him. Roger was at my wedding and I didn’t even send him a fucking thank you card for the roses he brought, and—”

And none of that mattered now. That was the thing. They said that life was all that mattered, but Jean’s mind didn’t work like that. In her mind, death was the end point, and now they were gone, and nothing else mattered.

“I felt it,” she said. “I felt all of them, at once. My parents, my sister, my brothers. Their children. The only one left is Derry, and that’s because—” Jean sucked in a breath. “She doesn’t have my blood. Our blood. Me and Maddie’s. That’s what happened. These people, these … they came, and they killed them, and it was because of me. Because of the things I’ve done.” Jean looked down at her hands, her fingers trembling. “The things I don’t even remember doing.”

ERIK:  He pulled Jean closer at the explanation, fingers wrapping tight around her shoulder as he rested his head against hers. The story was familiar in a way that made his stomach turn, bile rising in the back of his throat.

He hears the screaming before he even breaks the treeline.  He's heard Magda scream only a handful of times, and not once since the camps--even when she'd been delivering Anya.  But the sound is unmistakeable.  The milk jug is left in splinters of sparkling glass as the bag of groceries slips from his hand. He breaks into a sprint, heart ready to beat out of his chest, but oh g-d he needs to be fast enough this time. Just once.

The house is already on fire when he breaks the treeline. Magda is on her knees, screaming and pulling against the men holding her back, and wild eyes lock with him. He can't hear anything over the shouts of the gathered crowd--his friends, they were supposed to be his friends--and the blood pounding in his ears, but he knows the shape of their daughter's name on his wife's lips.

He's steps from the house when the plank comes down across the back of his head and calloused hands start dragging him back.  His head spins, but his vision catches on the sight of Anya's hands pressed against her bedroom window, begging for help that he doesn't make it in time to give.  Too slow.  Always too slow.

'Because of the things I've done,' Jean said, and oh how he knew.  All the things you could've done, all the things you did do, all the things you didn't, ran circles as your mind tried to make it make sense.  Konzentrationslager, they'd coined it.  Concentration camp syndrome.  Survivor's guilt.

"No.  It wasn't because of you, Jean," he murmured against her hair.  "No matter what the Phoenix has had you do, it was not because of you.  You would've stopped it from happening, if you could have.  If you'd known.  No matter what estrangement you had with some of them, they were still family, and you loved them.  And you have died, have killed, to protect your family.  It is not your fault."

He can feel the argument building in her chest before the air makes it past her lips, so he plows on before she can say anything.  "Listen to me, schatzi.  I have hunted down some of the most despicable human beings on this planet, and never once--not once--did I punish their family for sins that were not their own. 'The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him,'" he recited in rote, feeling something settle slightly in his stomach as the familiar words sprang forward.  It never quite erased the guilt--but it was something.  "To act otherwise is a sin of its own, worthy of its own punishment."

Something sang in his veins at the promise, and he couldn't say with any reliability that it wasn't wholly his own fire.

There was a way that he could help Jean, in that he understood better than anyone what she was suffering right now.  But if she wanted advice and help?  Erik had learned a long time ago to do one thing and one thing alone with the grief of losing family after family.

Turn that grief into a knife.

"Tell me who did it."

JEAN: The house had been on fire. One of the rooms had, at least -- the room that her brothers used to sleep in, the room she used to sneak into at four in the morning because Roger always had the best cookies hidden under his pillow, and they’d sit in the closet and munch them in hopes their parents would never realise they were awake (they would, of course, because their mom was the one who vacuumed the crumbs, but they never quite managed to have that degree of foresight). There were scorch marks on the wall and on the floors, flames created from a niece who wasn’t her niece in every way that mattered, a niece who was terrified of everything Jean represented and whose blood wasn’t her brother’s.

No one’s blood was her brother’s, anymore. No one’s blood was Jean’s own, except for Maddie. No one in this world was a part of her anymore, and that hurt more than her father turning away at the end of the aisle ever could. It hurt more than her mother’s absence, more than Julia’s scathing retorts. When she had simply been estranged from her family, Jean could maintain Charles levels of hope that things would resolve, if given enough time. When she built up the hospital from the ground up, when she showed her parents it had Sara’s name attached, when they saw what she had accomplished, they could bridge that gap. She could make up for the things she had done, the things she said, the distance between them.

She couldn’t do any of that with them dead.

“No,” Jean said, pushing away only for a moment before she buried her face into Erik’s shoulder instead. Fighting back against emotions was pointless. She had done it for so long, and look where it got her. She couldn’t hurt him. They were made of the same flame, now. “No, your … your family loved you. You loved them. You were happy, and that … When you lost them, they knew you tried. They knew that. My parents didn’t. My sister hated me. Liam thought I got Sara killed, and Roger…”

She never got to thank Roger for coming to the party, for dancing awkwardly in the corner of the room with Rictor. She never got to thank him for any of that, never got to say what it meant. Selfish.

“They don’t go by our code,” Jean whispered. She knew only enough information from what Derry’s mind had shown Maddie, but she knew enough to realise that they were a species dedicated to the pursuit of science. They had come up with a hypothesis and tested it, that was all. “They … I think they believe the Phoenix is linked to my genes, to who I am. They’re looking for me, too. They just…” Wanted to tie up loose ends. The soldier in Jean knew that was the rationale. The empath in her resented the very notion of referring to her family in those terms.

God, they must hate her even more now. Wherever they were, whatever came next for people who weren’t the Phoenix’s host, they must’ve been sitting there despising her.

Erik’s next words came through, sharp as a knife and binding as a promise. Jean looked up, meeting his gaze. “I can’t tell you,” she said. “I don’t … I don’t know who they are, really.” She knew enough. She knew enough that if she wanted, she could unleash the flames and find them. She could burn the galaxy apart on her way. It would be easy -- if she had any anger left in her. (She wondered where Erik found the strength to maintain it. Scott’s death left her reeling. These deaths? They left her battered.) “If we hurt them for trying to protect their people,” she whispered, “we’re starting a war, Erik. We just … we only finished one. You can’t do that for me.”

ERIK: Jean pressed her face into his shoulder, fingers twisting to hold him close, and Erik wrapped his arms more tightly around her. She spoke of his family, of the love they'd had then, and Erik swallowed the response that burned up his throat because it wasn't about him. She was wrong, so very wrong, because his mother had died believing he could save her life and Anya had screamed for him until the smoke stopped her and Magda had stared at him with terror before she'd left him there in the ashes.

They didn't die thinking he'd tried--they died knowing he didn't try hard enough.

But he said nothing of it, instead addressing her family. "Your family knew you loved them. You tried to invite them to the wedding. You spent your life trying to fix what they broke--not you, Jeannie--and if they didn't know from that that you loved them, then that is not your fault." He doesn't say that he's not confident they felt the same, that he can't fathom rejecting the attempts of someone you love to fix things. Love was meant to be unconditional, and that wasn't what he'd seen from the Greys. Not by a long shot.

But Jean was turning to the killers, now, and Erik focused on that, focused on filing that information into the folder in his mind dedicated to making the people who had hurt Jean pay. Scientific race. Aware of but not comprehending the Phoenix (and wasn't that just funny, how relatable that actually was). Hunting Jean.

They would kill Jean Grey over Erik's dead body.

She was lying to him, he knew, without even seeing her face. But he didn't press. Not yet. "If they wanted to protect themselves, they could have just killed you. They massacred your family without even touching the threat they already knew existed. That's not defense, that's making a statement."

Erik pulled back from Jean a bit, searching her gaze. His was all fire. "I have started wars before for my children. I would start another for you in a heartbeat."

JEAN: They said a father was meant to be their daughter’s first love. They said that before all others came into their lives, it was that man who held her hand, who picked her up with grazed knees and put a Band-Aid on the wound, healing everything with a smile and promise of ice cream. They said a father was safety, but Jean didn’t experience that with John. (It was horrible, terrible, to say when the man died on her account -- selfish and cruel -- but it was honest. Jean always at least tried to keep the truth front and centre, in spite of her other mistakes.) John had his office, books with yellowed pages, a fire crackling in winter, a soft smile on his face when Jean spun in a circle in her brand new dress -- but he was never safe. He was always someone whose company Jean politely enjoyed, never someone she sought out actively, never someone she needed.

Erik, on the other hand, was someone she missed so much it burned. He was someone whose absence ached so potently that she almost detested him as much as she loved him. He was back in her life now, and she had Scott and the X-Men and him all in the same place, in a place of their own making, and she should’ve known it was too good to be true. She should’ve known that the universe was rarely that kind, that there was always some kind of natural consequence.

No, she corrected herself, not natural. Intentional. A foregone conclusion considering the wreckage Phoenix left in its wake, a recompense for the crimes she’d committed that she didn’t even remember, not really. (She remembered the screaming, remembered the flames, remembered the rush of power, the dust on her hands and knees -- but she didn’t remember the specifics. She didn’t remember the names of the species the Phoenix wiped out, or the planets it deemed necessary to dispose of.) Not natural -- it was all on Jean, her arrogance, her inability to admit when she was in over her head because she’d spent her life surrounded by heroes and who would she be if she admitted she was out of place?

(Her husband was a forger of armies, Erik -- her father -- a creator of countries. Her sisters were capable of ripping apart magnetic poles and feats of strength tantamount to a demigod, her brothers able to shift the tides of ice and rock and science to their own will. Who was Jean without the Phoenix? Who was she without the fire?)

These seemed to be easy conclusions to reach. The pattern of their lives was clearly demonstrated, and Jean was at the centre of so much suffering that it was hard to imagine why someone would choose to be in her vicinity -- but then couldn’t the same be said of Erik? Couldn’t the same be said of his tragedy, and yet all she’d wanted as a child was to be near him, to listen to his stories, to try and make him laugh by playing the piano just a little worse than she was capable of?

“I could’ve been with them,” she whispered. “I could’ve been.” She’d passed, at college. She’d passed until her boyfriend arrived with shades that screamed other and Hank appeared with blue skin and hair poking out of the collar of his shirt. She’d passed until she got a little too close to someone and they realised that she was in their head, because she’d never been a surgeon’s knife like Emma, always closer to an atom bomb. “They didn’t understand. I didn’t help them understand. They were good people.”

Jean shook her head against his chest, pulling back reluctantly only so he could see her face (even if she knew it didn’t look nearly as determined as she wanted it to, tear stains and all). “No,” she said, voice thick and she hoped he would take her as seriously as he always had. “No more fighting for me. No more fighting at all. Scott almost died that day on the lawn, Erik, because he thought I was still in there. He thought I was worth saving. I’m so tired of people trying to …” She sucked in a breath, the sob barely caught in her chest. “If they want a war, they’ll come for me. I can handle it.” After all, death had never held her before -- she doubted it would even if she wanted it, wished for it.

ERIK: "You could've been," Erik murmured softly, against her temple. "You could have stayed with them and lived a lie. Pretended you were something less than you are. But you didn't, because you know you deserved more than that. They may have been good people, but that doesn't mean they were the best place for you. You went to the school, and you blossomed around people who cared without stipulation. People who saw you for as magnificent as you are rather than something to contain."

More or less, at any rate--there was no doubt that the Institute had left Jean much freer than she'd have been with her birth family, but Erik knew all too well Charles' inclination for restraint, an inclination he had done his best to push back against while there and with everyone who followed them. There was a difference between being in control and being contained, and Charles had chosen to err on the latter side with his more powerful students to a point that Erik felt undermined the former.

Forces of nature did not belong in cloches, kept harmless and appeasing until it was useful to let them loose.

Jean pulled back to look at him, and Erik reached up to brush the tears from her face with his thumb. A father's urge to wipe away anything that made his children unhappy. Erik cupped her cheek. "Schatzi," he murmured, "The people that love you will always fight for you. That's part of the package. It's not because you're you, darling, incredible though you are--you are not Helen of Troy. I would do the same for any of my children, any of my family, because you are loved. By Charles and I, by your husband, by your team, by Maddie. Any war they come to make, we will handle together." Erik leaned forward to kiss her forehead, hands dropping down to squeeze hers gently.

"That's the point of all that I've done, Jeannie. None of us should have to fight our demons alone."

[littlemermaiids]

nathanmillers’ 2k celebration - blog recs pt1

Im gonna do this in two parts. This one is for some of the amazing friends I’ve made on this site within the past year. Part 2 will be some pretty awesome blogs you should check out.

@as-inevitable-as-morning - Mainly a The 100 blog - Kelsey is so, so, sweet. She’s so lovely and her blog has such an aesthetic to me. Honestly give her a follow. Your dash will be graced.

@azgedanqueenecho - Multi blog - Johann is the true Meme Queen. She also started making gif sets and im so proud. Check those out here

@bellameblake - Multi blog - Amyba is my better half. That’s all you need to know besides her incredibly beautiful edits (The 100, Teen Wolf, Arrow, etc.) that can be found here

@bellamybb - The 100 blog - Kath is honestly one of the kindest & funniest people in the world. She makes the most iconic and aesthetic edits i’ve ever seen. You can check those out here

@bellamyblakebby - Mainly a The 100 blog - Aryana is hilarious. She literally kills me. She makes the funniest text posts. Honestly just check her out, you wont regret it

@bellamyblakesfreckles - Mainly a The 100 blog - Jess is probably one of my favorite people of all time. We have the same taste in shows, books, video games you name it. We are twins (dont come for me Hannagh) Check out the amazing gifsets my sin sister has made here

@bellsclarkey - The 100 blog - Paula is the first friend I made on Tumblr. She’s probably the reason why I had the confidence to message all of these other amazing people on this list. She writes beautiful poetry that you can read here

@bobmorlee - Multi blog - Ah Brooketh. Sweet, sweet Brooketh. My Ride or Die. My other half. Our souls must have split and found new bodies bc we are the same person. Talking to you was one of the best choices I’ve ever made. Check out the amazing edits my Queen makes here

@clarkegryphus - Molly is my tol son and she must be protected at all costs. Molly is one of the sweetest, kindest gals you could ever met. Think of Amy Santiago’s child and you get Molly. Please give her blog a gander. She writes the occasional fic (after hounding from me) & has been known to make edits for celebrations and what have yous. You can check that out here

@flawlessbanshee - Multi blog - Hannagh is honestly one of the best people in the whole wide world and I can say that honestly. She is so funny and smart and caring and an AMAZING writer AND gif maker (yes you are Gheorge dont say otherwise). Check out Hannagh’s things here

@followinglilies aka @linctavias - The 100 blog - Ella is the physical embodiment of a ray of sunshine. She is so freaking amazing its unreal. She never fails at putting a smile on my face. Check our her amazing gifs here & her hiatus thoughts here

@frecklessbellamy - Multi blog - Elly is a freakin pixie. Looks, attitude and all. She is so adorable I honestly cant handle it. If you’re looking for an amazing blog to follow you’ve found one here

@ileftherbehind - The 100 blog - Tess is so so funny. Every time we talk it always puts me in a better mood. (plz be on tumblr more i miss you) Check out all her written works here

@jimhcpper aka @commander-anya - The 100 blog - Maru is the most dedicated, kind, caring individual. She cares for her friends so, so much it makes my heart full. If you ever need a shoulder to cry on she’s there for you. You can check out her beautiful edits here

@lordbellamy - Multi blog - Audrey is such a lovely flower petal. She makes me laugh & scream & go crazy over our mutual love of all things Bellamy Blake. Audrey is so sweet and go check out all her beautiful works here

@malecbellarke - Multi blog - Jeff is honestly the kindest person in the fandom. He’s written some amazing stuff which i totally recommend you checking out.  One of my favorites that he just wrote is found here

@montygreen - Multi blog - Leila is such a dedicated and lovely little bean. Shes so creative its insane. If you haven’t seen her blog which i doubt go check her out and her edits here

@niylah - Multi blog - Ine is a freaking peach. If you ever want a friend who’s super caring and sweet and funny and against cheese fries, talk to this one. She draws some super fucking amazing stuff that can be found here

@pansexuallbellamy - The 100 blog - Gracie i wish you’d stay on tumblr for more than a day lol. No she’s honestly so fun, sweet and creative. We met during the 100 leak s5 twitter accounts and it was a wild ride. Check out her beautiful works here

@pillowprincesslexa - The 100/Alycia blog - That also basically sums up Kim lol. If you havent heard of Kim yet she’s the leader of the Lexamy brotp club. All come and bask in the glory of her beautiful model face. Check out her amazing art work here

@prettyparkerr - Marvel blog - Eliza is my sister. Thats all you need to know. Follow her. Fear her. Love her. Check out here edits here

@puckconnolly - Multi blog - Kate is my clone. Or am I her clone? We dont know. But she’s everything i am. Hilarious, kind, brilliant, creative. What more do you need? Check out her creations here

@ren-kylo - Mostly Star Wars - Anci is my beautiful petty queen and i couldn’t ask for a better friend. She’s as crazy, wild, salty, and creative as I am if not more so. We’re gonna start an airplane company soon so be on the lookout for that. Check out her SW edits here & her Marvel edits here

@serendipia-s aka @nerdiestblake - Multi blog - Scarlet is one of the sweetest people you’ll ever meet. She’s so funny and talented and I think on the first people I ever started talking to. See all of her amazingness here

@softkarolinadean - Multi blog - Megan is so funny & most of our relationship happens through asks at 3am my time. So its true best friend-ish. Please check out all of her works here

@jolomez aka @stilinskikissme - Multi blog - Jenna has been on Tumblr longer than I’ve been alive. We’re the same age but yk If you havent heard of her you must be living under a rock. She always puts a smile on my face & I am so freaking honored to be her friend. Check out all things Jenna here

@tchallasofwakanda - Multi blog - Jenny is one of the most dedicated, smart, and creative people I’ve ever known. If you’re ever in a jam she’s always there to help out. Check out Jenny’s edits here 

@theblakes - Multi blog - Sydney deleted her blog so if you used to follow her please find her again. She is one of the sweetest peas you’ll ever see. She deserves all the love. Syd’s been known to make a few edits so make sure to follow to see!

@tracylorde - Multi blog - Kat is probably one of the kindest human beings you’ll ever meet. She’s always there for her friends and such an awesome person to talk to. Kat’s such an amazing talented writer and I suggest you read all the things here

[aparecium-hq]

Welcome to Aparecium, Christie! You have been accepted for Lily Potter with Aisha Dee as the faceclaim. Thanking for being willing to make the switch! We love the clear personality of your app. It’s evident you have a strong idea of who Lily is, even if she’s still struggling with that herself. We’re excited to have you! Check out the new member checklist, and jump right in.

Character Basics

Birthday (Age): 12th May 2008 (19) Gender (Pronouns): Cis female, she/her Sexuality: Lily herself has no idea. Sure, back at Hogwarts, she’d had crushes on boys, had gone through a stage her mother had, with no small dose of amusement, dubbed her ‘boy crazy’ phase, but she’d never really had a boyfriend. It wasn’t that no one had asked her out, but rather that somehow, as soon as any boy seemed to reciprocate her feelings, Lily found herself losing interest; she doesn’t know if that means she isn’t interested in boys or if she just hadn’t been interested in those boys in particular. Meanwhile, she’s not too sure how she feels about girls either. She has girl friends, she loves her girl friends, and if they tend to be very touchy and affectionate, well, girls just do that. It’s the warmth that spreads inside her every time they hug or hold hands that makes Lily question herself, though; is it just the happiness that comes from friendship or is it potentially something romantic? She has no idea. Blood Status: Halfblood Hogwarts House/School: Hufflepuff Occupation: Artist Faceclaim: Anya Chalotra Any requested changes? Nope!

Biography:

At home, Lily is spoiled rotten. Toys, attention, affection, you name it, she has it. She’s Mommy’s favourite, Daddy’s princess, the baby of the family, and Lily revels in it all, adores the feeling of being adored; it’s not just a good childhood, it’s the best childhood. Stupidly, naively, she thinks school will be like that too. She wants to grow up, she wants to join James and Albus in Hogwarts, she wants and she wants, and up to this point, everything Lily Luna Potter wants she’s gotten. But growing up, it turns out it’s not all that.

In school, no one asks her what she wants, they just try to tell her instead, how she should act (“Hufflepuffs are supposed to represent patience and kindness”), who she is (“The Boy Who Lived’s youngest, Ginny Potter’s daughter, Luna Lovegood’s namesake, James and Albus’ sister”) and when Lily pushes back, they call her hot-headed and rude. It pushes her off-kilter; she’s not used to people assuming the worst of her. But Hogwarts isn’t home, and her classmates aren’t her parents, and Lily Potter isn’t universally adored.

She has to work hard for everything, from people’s love to her grades, and it’s new, but she doesn’t exactly mind. It’s refreshing, almost, to have the chance to be perceived as someone other than the Potters’ little princess and to be able to create a new image for herself. But while she doesn’t mind hard work, she does mind the press sticking their noses where they don’t belong; it’s hard enough to navigate puberty as it is and it’s even harder with eyes on her at all times, just waiting for her to mess up. Honestly, screw the press. Lily vows not to mess up, if only just to spite them.

Except. That’s easier said than done. Teenagehood is marked by lapses of judgement, by mistakes to learn from, and Lily is no exception. It’s not as though she’s committed any Azkaban-worthy crimes or anything, but there are things she’d rather keep to herself, you know? So what if she may have crossed a line or two while playing a prank on a girl she saw talking to the guy she liked? She knows it was wrong, she apologised, but how is that news-worthy? Wix play pranks on each other all the time, she knows; uncle George’s told her stories. But none of her peers end up making headlines like HARRY POTTER’S DAUGHTER FACING EXPULSION OVER A RUTHLESS “PRANK”. Which isn’t even true, by the way, she was never about to be expelled, but do those dementors care about the truth? No, of course not. They only care about their stories.

She misses one of James’ games, they speculate he doesn’t want her there. She mentions that Muggles would probably not be too accepting of magic, they paint her as some prejudiced asshole. She has a bit too much to drink, they question the way her parents raised her – and about this one, in particular, she personally tracked down the author of the article to tell them to their face precisely what she thought of their “reporting”. No matter what she does, though, it seems that there are people who don’t agree and Lily just can’t figure it out.

But she wants to. By Merlin, she wants to. She wants to stop being “controversial”, she wants to make her parents proud, she wants people to stop acting like she’s embarrassing her family. Again, she wants and still, no one seems to care that she does. But by now, Lily’s grown used to hard work and her determination has never been under question, either; she knows she can change the narrative if she just keeps pushing, but the question now is, is there even a point? Maybe it’s okay to let people have their misconceptions and spread their rumours; as long as Lily and her loved ones know the truth, does it matter? She’s not sure.

Character Questionnaire

Answer at least three of the following questions about your character. This could be in character or a third period explanation.

How does your character feel about their family? She loves her family, there’s never been a question of that in her mind, which only makes it all the harder whenever she catches herself wishing she’d been born in a different one. It makes her feel terrible, even just considering it, because her parents are wonderful, and so are her brothers and cousins, and she does really love them all! But the expectations that come with being a Potter are a bit much and she could definitely go without them. She hates the feeling of all that attention on her (which is ironic, really, because she’d loved attention as a child) and while she would never actually want to trade her family, it’s hard not to consider what-ifs.

What does your character value in a friendship? Hard work. Perhaps it’s the Hufflepuff in her, but Lily knows without a shadow of a doubt that friendships take work. She’s seen people drift apart, turn from practically siblings to strangers, all because they give up and let it happen, and she tells herself that would never be her. But she and Hugo aren’t as close as they used to be, and for some reason, no matter how hard she tries, it’s like there’s a gap between them she can’t close. That’s okay, though; she’s not planning on giving up on Hugo anytime soon. If someone can figure it out, it’s the two of them.

How would a stranger who has just met your character describe them? Does this stranger have access to newspapers and online sites? Because if so, Lily doesn’t even want to begin to imagine what they might think of her. The thing is, the media seems so determined to push this narrative of her being a wild child and Lily is so angry at them for doing it that it kind of ends up working. She’s snappy with reporters, she pretends she doesn’t care what they think, she speaks her mind and she does it loudly, just to spite all those journalists who try to put her in a box and silence her.

That’s not her, though. That’s not Lily. Or rather, it is, but it’s who’s she’s become rather than who she is at her core. So if a stranger carrying all those preconceptions of her was to meet her, they would probably be surprised first and foremost. “She seemed a bit… shy? Only at first, though, then eventually she just became really chill and easygoing. Yeah, no, she’s actually really cool.”

What magical skill or talent is your character most proud of? Her Charms work. She’s always had a knack for Charms (though not for much else, as the tabloids love to remind everyone ever since her NEWTs results came out) and incorporating it in her job was a child’s game. She doesn’t only do enchanted portraits, of course – she has enough eyes following her as it is. But whenever wix come to her requesting magical portraits, it feels good to have full confidence that she can perform all the right charms with her eyes closed. Not literally, obviously, although… it would make for a fun experiment. She’d have to see about getting Lydia on-board and giving it a go.

Para Sample

Please include at least 3 paragraphs to showcase your writing style.

She slams the newspaper down on Raphael’s desk and the feeling she gets as she does isn’t as much of a déjà-vu as it is reminiscent of a habit with how often she’s found herself in the exact same situation. It does nothing to lessen her irritation; they’re not taking her seriously, any of them. Oh, here she comes again, they probably say when they see her march in. Just send her off to complain to Selwyn again.

She’s sick and tired of being written off as a daily annoyance and, unfortunately for Raphael, it seems his coworkers have decided he’s her scapegoat. Lily stifles a bristle, just barely; if he wants to blame anyone he better blame them.

“Harry Potter’s youngest celebrates nineteenth birthday with a wild night in town,” she quotes, not even needing to look at the damn headline, having already memorised the whole thing. Her tone manages to remain even, somehow, but as she goes on to continue, she can feel her annoyance increasing by the second and it becomes audible in her voice too. “Since when did the Prophet turn into a gossip rag? Who even- who even cares what I do for my birthday, it’s my birthday! And I have a name, by the way, and it’s not Harry Potter’s anything. It’s Lily. Lily Luna, hi, nice to meet you. Except it’s not really.”

She’s launched into a whole rant now, hands on her hips and all, and she would usually feel bad for not letting him get a word in, but hey, they weren’t concerned with hearing her when they printed out this thing, why should she be the bigger person? She lets it all out, going through all the points on her mental list of things wrong with the blasted article, and finally, when she feels satisfied, she looks at him expectantly.

Then the prick has the nerve to say, “Is that all?” and Lily has to wonder what sort of headline the Prophet will come up with if she hexes one of their journalists right here, right now.

[incorrectly-quoted-queers]

Drunk Punch Love: Chapter 3

Pairing: FemShep and Garrus Vakarian (Shakarian)

Rating: PG-13 (with some tossed F-bombs)

Summary: Their awkward, badass journey through saving the galaxy and accidentally falling in love

Chapter 3: A Russian Ballet

When Anya Shepard felt lost in the world, she turned to ballet.

Despite being raised by a serious space-faring military woman, her mother brought up young Anya like she could relocate them to her home country at any moment. Oksana Shepard wasn't too sentimental, but she was sentimental about that.

Anya always assumed that losing a husband will do that; bind you to nostalgic traditions.

So, sure, as a child she had several matryoshkas and Oksana tried her best at borshch or pirozhkis during the holidays. Not because they were exactly holiday food, but her mother always said they reminded her of home.

Funny enough, Oksana never took enough leave to take Anya to Russia herself. Their relationship was... complicated, but Shepard still relied on it.

And between the fact her mother was also radio silent on a top secret mission and she was starting to feel the pressure and stress of finding Saren, she needed something to unwind. Soft sounds of classic Tchaikovsky rippling through her body helped.

Having the training room all to herself at such an early hour, with no one to look at her and think anything, really helped melt away the world. She could take a moment to breathe with her hands on the makeshift barre she always hid on her ships, stretching her legs and keeping her toe extensions straight, not her aim.

The world was nicer in these softer, precise movements. At least for a little while. She knew it didn't fix everything that was broken, but dancing did remind her that there was beauty in exercise and training and her life, not just brutality.

After seeing Liara's face the past few days post-Noveria, she couldn't help but spend a few hours with her last night, giving her the comfort she needed. They talked and played card games. Anya hoped that it helped, enough at least. But now, she needed serenity and peace. Because she couldn't keep helping people if she didn't get her brain together. Some days lately it felt like she was unraveling.

Anya Shepard was the Commander of this vessel and, despite all the mess she'd caused the last few days, flirtations with turians didn't change that. She needed to be in top shape for anything, including caring for her crewmates; her friends.

But just as she finished brushing up on her pirouette turns, the door opened and in came the face she didn't want to see. Blue eyes, tall shoulders, and all. Before he could even really look at her, the shock already radiating through his face, she shouted, "Out!"

Dear god, if there was anything she didn't want her subordinates seeing, it was her in a soft ballet skirt and a leotard. Grabbing her hoodie and sweats, she covered her suddenly annoyingly dainty outfit, hid her barre back behind some weights, and walked outside. Her arms were crossed and she was trying to keep her face from going red. She still wasn't quite sure if she was fuming or embarrassed.

The second the training room door was shut and it was only her and Garrus in the hallway, she frowned at the words flashing on the wall next to it. "Garrus, it says reserved for Shepard. Why would you just walk in-"

"I just wanted to talk to you." Garrus couldn't even look at her, keeping his eyes glued to the ground like she was a bloodlusting varren ready to bite. "I didn't realize you'd be doing any... intimate human rituals in there-"

Somehow, with that one clueless sentence, all her redness faded away and Anya tumbled into laughter. "Oh my god. No- Garrus, I was doing ballet. I was dancing."

"No offense, Shepard, but I've seen you dance. It isn't that."

"Stupid club dancing and ballet are different. Humans have many different ways to move to music."

Garrus peered at her like she just said something wild. Well, probably to a militaristic species several types of dancing probably was pretty wild. "Are you just making something up to not make this weird?"

"Have I ever been that great at elaborate lies?" Anya chuckled, and then glanced at the training reservation. Still a half hour left. To hell with it, might as well prove her point.

Grabbing his hand, Shepard opened the training room door back up. "It'll be easier if I just show you."

"I'm not sure-"

"Shut up, it's not some sort of sex ritual. Why would you even think that?"

That's when the door shut behind him and her best friend looked so very trapped, his eyes getting shifty at her question. Garrus coughed and acted like a cornered prey animal. "I, uh... I mean, you weren't wearing much clothing, and your legs kept... You know what, I don't understand human dancing, clearly, so don't ask me what the hell I thought."

While Anya could spend all day crossing her arms, smirking at his adorable awkwardness, the double time beating that her heart was doing needed to cut it out. They decided on just friends, right? This was something that could've easily happened before Noveria with no weird, sexual connotation to it.

Unzipping her hoodie and taking slower breaths to hopefully chill her heart the fuck out, Anya refocused. "Fine, I'll let it pass. But that doesn't mean I'm not going to educate you on human dancing."

"I know you said it's not sexual, but you're taking your clothes off and I feel confused."

Anya wanted to toss her sidearm at his forehead. Instead, she gestured for him to sit on the stack of training mats across from her. "Less fabric and weight means smoother motions. Stop turning my soothing hobby into a night at Chora's Den." Garrus shut up then, and rightfully so. If he spent one single second more making her feel like a stripper she was going to kill him.

Either of embarrassment or rage, she wasn't sure. Apparently that was a confusing set of emotions for her.

Once she was down to her ballet garb again, she put her feet in fifth position and gave him a pointed look. "Okay, we're starting with ballet. Ballet is based on precise and formal positioning, steps, and moves. That's what my mother trained me in when I was little. I'll give a tiny demonstration." Anya did a chasse twirl, a stylized kick, and a classic fifth position changement (switching her feet midair).

Garrus looked perplexed and a little impressed, but mostly because Anya was pretty sure he had no clue what he was looking at. Trying to stifle some giggles, she went back to her original spot. "There's also tap-" she did some flaps and a kick ball-change, "but it's normally done with shoes that have metal on them so it makes a sound. There's also dances from different cultures, like my Russian ancestors were known for this, called the prisyadka:" Anya started doing the goofy, stereotypical low to the ground, Russian squat kick. When she was done, her sides were hurting, how much she was laughing. Garrus was staring at her like she morphed into a completely different alien species. "There are a lot of other dances, but I just wanted to give you some examples."

When she sat down next to him, he was frowning, his world seemingly turned upside down. Which was fair. She guessed if she didn't know dancing her whole life she'd be pretty baffled, too. After a long minute of waiting for him to speak, Garrus just said, "Humans are... weird. So do you just stand in front of each other and do that? Or is it meant to be a more... private thing?"

Anya found herself shrugging. "For me, I use ballet to relax. But for most people it's to perform. Some people find dancing very entertaining. My favorite when I was younger, though, was dancing with other people."

"That sounds even more absurd than anything I'd seen before." Anya raised an eyebrow at him and Garrus grumbled at her, knowing she was dissecting his statement. "I know people dance together at bars, but I meant what you just showed me."

"Well, what I just showed you can have partnered dancing, but I think it's a little too high concept for you. Let's try something else."

This time when she grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the center mat, Garrus clenched up further. "I don't know if I'm exactly prepared for your kind of dancing. No sexy suit."

"Next time you call my ballet wear a "sex suit" I'm going to punch you straight through your visor. And no, this is a very simple dance. But it's different, and as punishment for interrupting my ballet practice without knocking, you have to do it."

Garrus groaned, finally in the center of the room, standing tall in front of her. She tried not to focus on his shoulders. What was it with his shoulders? It was either because she looked there when she was avoiding eye contact or they made her feel-

Anya preferred not to finish that thought.

With discomfort writhing down his plates, Garrus asked, "Commander's orders?"

"Of course."

He shook his head. "I don't know why I asked. They always are." Scratching the back of his neck, he looked her up and down. Anya decided she was going to interpret that as him acknowledging that her clothes were just for dancing. Definitely that. The out of his element turian asked,"So what next?"

"It's called a waltz. To start, you take my hand, and you put the other one right above my lower back. Then I put my hand on your... shoulder." Ignoring her own stuttering on the famed, not to be named body part of his, Anya instead focused on Garrus. His looks of bewilderment were becoming a sort of drug, and she loved every new one. But he let her place his hands properly and then she stepped a little closer to him, just so they could be a comfortable distance for flexible movement.

That's what she kept telling herself, anyway.

They spent some time directing his feet, and the more Garrus stepped on her toes, the more he loosened up and seemed to be enjoying himself. Vakarian always looked tense these days, and not just because of their Noveria encounter. Saren's plots were weighing down on everyone.

Anya didn't want to acknowledge how her chest felt, all warm and knotted and unkempt all at once, seeing him laugh and smile. She was just his best friend, helping him remember that under all these galaxy-changing missions they were still people.

It was nice to see him as he was, a serious turian with a talent for sarcasm, but who could be a real goof when you caught him off guard.

Just as he was finally starting to get the steps, and her toes were feeling a little less sore, she was remembering his horrified face when he came in. And then she realized she completely glossed over something he said. Slowing down their twirling, she asked, "I just remembered: what were you going to ask me when you unceremoniously barged in here?"

While Garrus was smirking at his feet, happy to be finally figuring it out, the second she stopped talking his face panned up to hers and he wasn't very happy anymore. He even dropped her hand and just stood there. Guess their dancing was over.

Anya's own smile fell away and Garrus went stiff again, too quickly. "Right. I was going to warn you that Kaidan and Liara are planning on confronting you about their feelings. Neither of them seem to think you don't like them, even though you avoid Liara's affections and that night... well, Kaidan didn't seem to think that night meant anything."

Everything pleasant about the training room shattered. Between the concept of two of her officers jumping her for love confessions and the phrase "that night didn't mean anything,'' everything stabbed right through her chest and her lungs and her heart. She felt like a taxidermied butterfly, for fuck's sake. That night didn't mean nothing; like hell it didn't. For her it changed everything. Even if she couldn't do anything about it.

Looking away from those bright blue eyes, she stepped backwards. She shouldn't be dancing with him either, should she? She was just making it worse. "Thanks for the warning, Vakarian. I- I should take care of that."

"I didn't mean to ruin your dancing."

Anya shook her head as hard as she could, because for some dumb reason her tear ducts felt so heavy right now. And of all goddamn things, she did not need that. She'd already been too much of a squishy idiot in front of him. "Don't worry about it. I enjoyed it while it lasted." Pulling on her overclothes again, Anya added, "If you could, keep the ballet to yourself? It's not really something I share with people."

Garrus looked so distant, and she could've sworn it seemed like he didn't want to be. But that didn't make sense, did it? He didn't want to be the third party vying for her affections. He made that clear.

Funny thing was, he was the only one with an actual shot at winning them.

Before she left the room, Garrus started talking again. She used to enjoy everything he said; the past few days, she wasn't sure anymore. His eyes soft and bright, his head cocked in that friendly way that just felt so inviting, he said, "Thanks for sharing it with me."

Anya didn't mean to sound so bitter when she said, "I always accidentally end up sharing everything with you, don't I?"

He didn't respond to that. Shepard was okay with it. She didn't really think any answer would change the fact that it was true and, unlike before Noveria, it didn't seem like either of them were all that comfortable with it anymore.

But the possible crumbling nature of their friendship didn't matter, and neither did the two clueless, hopeless romantics ready to ambush her. She didn't do ballet today for them or Garrus, anyway. She did it for herself, to ready her body and mind for the battle coming. They were a few hero stops away from Virmire, and she needed to be prepared to do anything to stop Saren.

Anya was all amped up, ready to tell the two people pacing by her room that she didn't see them like that. That these emotions needed to take a backseat to the mission at hand. That their kind, friendly faces that she did love didn't matter to her the way the wanted.

But she couldn't handle it. Instead, at the last moment she veered to engineering, where Tali would happily hide her until they got tired of waiting.

She did not need anymore heartbroken, lovelorn soldiers on her mission. They could wait until Saren was done. Everything and everyone had to. Taking down Saren was all that had to matter.

///

Author's Note:

Thanks so much for reading, and double thanks to my lovely patrons:

Danyell Jones

Amy Connolly

If you'd like to support the story, please go check out my bio for more info :) We’re creating a little community of beautiful fandom trash and I’d love to have more people to share my garbagefire with. 

Right now, I’m saving up for a desktop so I can play Mass Effect and other Bioware games with y’all, so any support is appreciated. 

Love, Grace Jordan

[vixenofthemist]

MAGIC COMES WITH A PRICE, Chapter 1

Rating: T

Fandom: Hetalia

Pairings: main- RomBela, Dennor with Nyo!Norway, FruUk with Nyo!France, IceSey Side pairs- PruHun, RusAme with Nyo Russia, Bulgaria x ???? (It’s a surprise :P), PortMano. (I NO LONGER HAVE A COMPUTER AND POSTING FICS ON MOBILE SUCKS BUT I HAVE NO CHOICE!!! Sorry if spacing is weird, have no idea how to fix it :/ plus, no read more on mobile, which is gr8)

-THE TALES OF CIGAM, Introduction- “The country of Cigam was a powerful country, filled with magic and great warriors. Many faced this magnificent country, but all failed. So strong were its mages and warriors that some armies never even made it across the borders before falling. The land itself was ridden with snow and rain and oft covered in a deep mist, but filled with caves full of gems and jewels, so rich was this land that neighboring kings yearned to get their hands on this bountiful yet mysterious land. But with each failed attempt of conquering this land, more land was added to this country’s growing wealth. The royal line of this country used to be pure, but tis know corrupt and filled with pride and greed. The first king, Aengus, was said to be scared of no man or beast as none would harm him, which was true, as everything feared him. His legacy fears nothing as well, as they believed nothing can or will harm them. The fourth king of Cigam got too greedy and tried conquering the wrong land, the land of Stellaria. Stellaria was a peaceful land next to Cigam’s borders, but had been long left alone as they provided Cigam with teaching of how to control the wild magic that coursed through their land. Stellaria was filled with masters of magic, and the world renowned seer Nostradamus was born in that country, and he predicted what would cause the Great Fall of Cigam, and what would bring it back to its glory. It was a simple prophecy that he wrote days before his apothecary was overrun by Cigam soldiers who he knew would kill him. The prophecy was found and brought before the king, who was filled with rage and fear. The Prophecy read as such: During a yearlong wint-” “Natalia, are you reading that dusty old book again?” Natalia Arlovskaya shut her eyes and pursed her lips tightly as her elder sister Ekaterina interrupted her during the best part of the book. Ekaterina waltzed up happily to Natalia and sat down next to her on the couch. “You’ve always really liked that book haven’t you Natalia? I remember when you were a little girl you would always demand for me to either read that book or that book about that family who were really weird and dark!” Ekaterina started rambling about Natalia’s childhood favorite stories, which Natalia tuned out as she sourly closed “Tales of Cigam”. It would be useless to try and read it with Ekaterina here. Not only had she interrupted during the best part, it was also the part that really immersed Natalia in the book, and now to get fully re-immersed in it again she would have to read the page all over! Ekaterina, oblivious to having interrupted Natalia’s reading time, got up and walked over to a shelf and pulled out the book she was talking about. The cover was black and had an iron spine, it looked less like a children’s book and more like a forbidden spell book, but the contents were made for children like Natalia had been. “-And your favorite part was when they went to a family reunion, and an aunt asked what the daughter was interested in, and when the mom said homicide you would giggle so much that you would fall off your chair!!” “Yes yes, I was an adorable child. Is there a reason you came in here Ekaterina?” Ekaterina paused in talking for a moment, sliding the book back into its place as she thought of why she came down. Natalia sat patiently, Ekaterina often got caught up when something reminded her of their childhood, it was a happier time that Ekaterina held close to her heart, which Natalia couldn’t blame her. It took a minute for Ekaterina to remember, during which Natalia found herself watching specks of dust fall against the torch light, until Ekaterina spun around excitedly and clapped her hands together. “Know I remember!” Walking towards her, Ekaterina pulled Natalia off the couch and started straightening her dress. “Alfred is here, and he says he needs to talk to you about something urgent!” Natalia raised an eyebrow as Ekaterina smoothed out a crease in her dress, there was no reason for Ekaterina to act this way when it was just Alfred, Natalia has known him since she was a little girl and very much doubted he would care if her dress was rumpled. As Ekaterina moved to fussing with Natalia’s hair, Natalia voiced her question. “Why are you fussing over my clothes Ekaterina? It’s just Alfred.” Ekaterina shook her head excitedly, she had a glimmer of something in her eyes, which Natalia wasn’t sure she was a fan of. “It won’t be just Alfred for long! He has an acquaintance of Mr. Arthur coming to this house, and I want you to look presentable in case he’s a person of high standing, first impressions are everything for some, and I want you to make a good impression on people!” Natalia allowed a small smile to ghost her lips as Ekaterina fixed her bow. “So, you want them to at least have a good impression on how I dress then?” Ekaterina rolled her eyes and laughed as she took a step back and observed Natalia, making sure nothing was out of place. “Oh shush Natalia! You have a wonderful personality! It just takes a while for it to come out!” It was Natalia’s turn to roll her eyes, she knew very well how her personality was perceived by people, but it was nice for Ekaterina to try and convince her otherwise. “Well, Ekaterina, do you deem me presentable?” Natalia raised her arms and did a small spin as she asked Ekaterina, Ekaterina clapped her hands excitedly and nodded her head. She reached forward and grabbed Natalia’s hands, and gave her such a heartwarming smile that Natalia felt like a little girl again, asking Ekaterina if her attempt at putting on make-up looked good. “You look amazing! Beautiful as always!” Ekaterina’s smile turned a little sad, and Natalia frowned, did Ekaterina know something that she didn’t? But before she could ask, Ekaterina put on a bright smile again and dropped one of Natalia’s hands as she started walking towards the door, pulling Natalia gently behind her. “Come on! We’ve kept Alfred waiting long enough!” Natalia stared at the back of Ekaterina’s head, trying to figure out just what she had been sad about moments before, but she decided to put that issue at the back of her mind. She could interrogate Ekaterina about it later, for now, Alfred was here to annoy her most likely. As they walked up the spiraling staircase that lead from the basement library to a hallway, Natalia asked Ekaterina a question. “Ekaterina, where exactly is Alfred? He usually would come and bother me himself, it’s weird for him to have you come fetch me.” “Oh, he’s trying to be professional since he’s here for Leader business, he even corrected himself when he only called me Ekaterina, insisting on calling me “Miss Ekaterina”! It’s adorable really.” She paused in talking as she opened the door to the fourth hallway, she greeted a passing maid and didn’t continue her and Natalia’s conversation until they were continuing down the hallway. “And Alfred is waiting in the parlor, he is really trying so hard to be formal. When I first suggested waiting in the living room, he said it was to none formal for the serious business he was here for!” A maid scurrying past in the opposite direction stopped and called out to Ekaterina. “Uh, Miss Ekaterina?” Natalia turned and gave the maid a critical once over, while Ekaterina gave her a kind smile. “Yes? Is something the matter?” The maid gulped nervously under Natalia’s gaze, but pointed timidly down the hallway towards the parlor. “I, uh, it’s probably not in my place to tell you this… But I was just in Madame Anya’s office, and she said she was heading to the parlor soon to relax…” Natalia and Ekaterina shared a brief look of shock, before bolting down the hallway towards the parlor, Ekaterina throwing a quick thank you towards the maid. Anya was never Alfred’s biggest fan, and if she went to the parlor to relax and ran into Alfred… it wouldn’t end well. Natalia ran ahead of Ekaterina, and made it to the parlor first. She slammed the door open, and was greeted by a surprised Alfred, his face quickly changed from surprised to suspiciously guilty however, and Natalia narrowed her eyes as she saw he was standing in front of their ancestral display case. She marched into the room with her hands on her hips and murder in her eyes. “I swear if you even laid a finger on the glass on that case, I will murder you Alfred!” He threw his hands up in the air and threw her a nervous grin. “Hello to you to Natalia! Good news! I didn’t touch the glass, I only touched the wood trimmings!” Natalia closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before stepping forward. She heard Alfred take a step back and start rambling on and on about how she said she’d only murder him if he touched the glass, so he was safe BECAUSE he only touched the wood. Before Natalia could walk even more towards him, the door was thrown open again, and Anya strode in looking eerily calm. Alfred immediately stopped his ramblings, and Natalia opened her eyes and straightened up, Ekaterina came panting behind Anya, clearly out of breath and a worried look on her red face. It was silent in the room for a good minute, before Anya smiled almost cheerfully at Alfred. “Good afternoon Alfred. I don’t remember inviting you to come here, so why are you in my house right now?” Her voice was calm, maybe perhaps even cheerful, but with a cold and threatening undertone that none of them missed. Alfred straightened himself up to his full height and stuck his hands back into his pockets, and gave Anya a big, cheerful smile. “Afternoon Anya! It will surprise you, but I am not actually here to see you, even though I am on Leader business.” He strode forward and clasped Natalia on her shoulder, ignoring how she immediately shrugged it off and the glare she was throwing at him. “I was asked by Arthur, whose both of our superior Anya, to see if Natalia would help me with something.” Anya took a step forward, and gestured at a seat. The smile seemed to be plastered on both her and Alfred’s face. “Well, if you are here because of something Arthur asked of you I cannot hold it against you. Please, sit down Alfred. You must be tired from the trip here.” Alfred grinned and tipped his hat to her. “Much obliged Anya.” He took his seat and made himself comfortable, and Anya sat down across from him. She gestured for Natalia to take a seat as well, and so Natalia sat next to her on the plush couch. “Won’t you join us as well Miss Ekaterina?” Alfred called out to Ekaterina who was still standing in the doorway. She shook her head and smiled nervously at him and Anya. Natalia felt bad for Ekaterina, she knew how much Ekaterina disliked being in the same room as both of them, the atmosphere that they let out made Ekaterina insanely uncomfortable. “N-no thank you Alfred, I think I’ll go fetch some tea or coffee to drink.” “What a good idea Ekaterina, Alfred here must be incredibly thirsty from his long, odious trip. I’m sure he’d be most thankful for some tea.” Anya put some hard emphasis on tea, and Alfred made a face to show his distaste in tea. Ekaterina squeaked out that she was going to make a kettle of both, then ran away. Natalia let a small sigh slip out. This was going to be a weird meeting. It was silent for a solid four minutes, with Anya and Alfred holding what appeared to be a staring contest. After five minutes, however, Alfred crossed his legs casually and turned to Natalia. “So, Natalia! I need to talk to you about something very important…” He turned and gave a meaningful look at Anya. “Alone.” Silence followed his words. If Anya hadn’t been fake smiling before, she was now. The atmosphere in the room went from calm annoyance to concealed hostility in a blink of an eye. Anya sat up fast and opened her mouth, but Natalia beat her to talking. “why can’t Anya stay? She’s a village Leader just as you are, and if I’m involved why can’t she be?” Natalia had actually stood up, her face set into a deep scowl. Anya was being very nice to him compared to some of his other visits, and for him to be so mean to kick her out of her own parlor was something Natalia wasn’t going to stand for. Alfred, gestured for her to calm down. “Calm down Nat, I’m not asking Anya politely to leave just because I want to, but because I was told not to get her involved.” He turned and smiled good naturedly at Anya, who was giving him an interesting look with her head tilted slightly to the side, a smile no longer on her face as she studied him. “No hard feelings Anya, but I was told by Arthur to not involve anyone but the person I chose to help me. If it bothers you so to not hear my awesome voice explain things, then I have plenty of Leader things I could talk to you about… After me and Natalia finish our meeting.” Natalia watched as Anya and Alfred stared at each other, Alfred smiling kindly and Anya looking at him almost confused. After 30 seconds of staring, Anya closed her eyes and returned the kind smile at Alfred. “I think I’ll go help Ekaterina with the tea. Be good you two, and Alfred… Don’t take up too much of my dear little sister’s time.” And with that faintly concealed threat, she swept out of the room in a flurry of pink. —————————————————————– “…Well, since I don’t want Anya to murder me in my sleep, let’s hurry this up!” Alfred rubbed his hands together excitedly before gesturing Natalia back into her seat. Natalia did so slowly, squinting suspiciously at him. He was acting fairly usual, but something seemed…. Off. She couldn’t place her finger on it, but she knew something was different. “So, I’ll get straight to it!” Alfred leaned forward, a more serious expression on his face. Natalia felt her curiosity rise with this gesture, along with a tiny bit of excitement. But what Alfred said next did nothing more but make her more curious. “Do you remember when we were young, and you would scare me by saying you could see ghosts?” Natalia’s face grew confused. Of course she remembered, but it was such a strange thing to bring up that she couldn’t help but feel a little taken aback. “Yes. I remember clearly.” “And do you…. still sometimes see ghosts?” Natalia couldn’t help herself. “Yes. I see one right now, behind your left shoulder.” As she knew he would, he instinctively looked over his shoulder, ducking down slightly as if a ghostly hand was about to reach out and attack him. When he saw nothing there, he turned back with an expression between trying to be annoyed and serious. Natalia couldn’t help but smile slightly, she of course saw no ghost behind his shoulder, she hadn’t seen a ghost in ages, but she couldn’t let this opportunity to scare Alfred pass. “I’m being serious Natalia! Now isn’t the time for joking! Do you still… sense ghosts or anything similar nowadays?” The serious tone of Alfred’s voice threw her off, she had seen him be serious before, but usually something like that would have made it slip and he would demand for Natalia to tell him where the ghost was for the next five minutes until he was sure it wasn’t going to attack him. Feeling her eyes widen slightly, Natalia realized this was more serious then she had first thought. She went through recent memory, trying to remember the last time she had felt that tiny jolt of magic that she would occasionally feel, and came upon an exact date. “Two months ago on the fifteenth, I felt… something.” Natalia dared not say magic, such a tabooed word shouldn’t be uttered in such a sacred place of her family. “It was in the middle of the night, it was such a strong feeling that it woke me up… I felt nauseous for the rest of the day.” Alfred seemed almost… relieved at her answer. He moved back slightly on the couch, and seemed to ease up a little, the serious expression not leaving his face. “Natalia, do you remember what happened on the fifteenth two months ago?” Natalia shook her head, Alfred licked his lips, suddenly looking pensive. “The very next day, on the sixteenth, was the day that Gilbert was found missing. The leading theory is that someone, or something, took him in the middle of the night.” Natalia felt her hair start to stand on end, and her eyes widened. Alfred couldn’t be insinuating… could he? “You don’t mean…” Natalia couldn’t bring herself to finish her sentence, to do so she would have to say magic, and she’d rather not say the name of the very thing that killed her parents. Alfred sat up a grim expression on his face. “We believe that Gilbert was taken by magic users, and I am here to ask you if you will help me track them down.” Natalia knew the dangers, she perhaps knew better than anyone else. She had never met one, but she had felt their magic, felt it pulse through her veins, felt just how terrifying they could be. Yet she found herself looking Alfred straight in the eyes and without hesitation saying; “I’m in.” Alfred Beamed at her. —————– Alfred’s explanation had been brief, and mainly consisted of how they were going to meet up with an acquaintance of Arthur who could sense magic like Natalia, and once they meet up he would tell them more. Though Natalia had felt this explanation was lack luster and she craved more details -especially about this person- she decided that she really couldn’t expect more from Alfred. They left soon after that, Natalia felt horrible for only being able to give an even briefer explanation to her sisters then Alfred had given to her, but the mission she was going on was top secret and Alfred had made her swear not to tell anyone. So her sister’s had no choice but to accept the bad, but not untrue, explanation of “He needs my help. Going to be gone for a couple weeks. Will write.” Something Natalia was glad had been brief was Alfred and Anya’s interactions with each other. They had both been all smiles, and when they spoke you could clearly hear the sarcasm and fake sweetness dripping off every word. And Natalia was sure that if they hadn’t needed to go, Alfred really would have stayed for at least another hour to annoy Anya. (If Natalia didn’t know better, she would have thought they both found talking to each other amusing). But now they were out of the mansion and on the long horse ride to the village of Beilschmidt, where this mysterious person they were supposed to meet was waiting. About five minutes from the village, Natalia finally asked the question she expected Alfred to have answered by now. “Just what is the name of this man we are meeting?” Alfred threw her a cheerful smile. “No idea!” Natalia stopped her horse, looking at Alfred in disbelief. How in the heavens could he not know the name of the man they were supposed to find?! And in one of the largest villages she might add! “Do you know what he looks like at least?” Natalia hoped within hope he at least knew that. But to her disbelief, Alfred shook his head far to cheerily. “Nope, don’t know what he looks like! But don’t worry, Arthur said he would know how to find us!” Natalia stared at Alfred for a good long while. Trying so hard to comprehend just how he could be told to go meet a man, and then get no further information about him! Perhaps Alfred could live with just being told the man would find them, but Natalia didn’t know who this strange man was and didn’t trust him to just find them, nor did she fancy the idea that Arthur had told this man what she looked like. “Do you know anything about this man?!” Natalia asked semi-desperately, and when Alfred shook his head “no” she wanted to take her boot off and throwing it at him. “I wasn’t told his name nor what he looked like, but Arthur reassured me multiple times that this acquaintance will find us!” Alfred threw a relaxed grin at her. “Don’t worry so much Nat! Arthur said something about him being able to sense you, so I’m sure he’ll find us!” Natalia stared at Alfred in almost anger, this man could SENSE her?? And she was supposed to be fine with that? Well, she wasn’t. But as Alfred urged his horse to continue forward, Natalia realized that they didn’t have any other choice, they just had to have blind faith in this random, strange person that Arthur had such faith in. Begrudgingly, Natalia continued her horse forward after Alfred, and she hoped he could feel the frustration she was sending in each of her routinely sent glares.

They were finally in Beilschmidt, and Natalia felt Alfred was far too at ease not knowing when this person was going to show up, but he assured her that they shouldn’t worry about that and should continue searching for things on their own until he showed up. “Arthur said he had some things to do before he would come meet us, so we shouldn’t wait for him!” Making their way towards Gilbert’s house was easy, as Natalia was visible frustrated at this point and people were hurrying out of her way, praying they were doing it fast enough to not catch sight of her glares. They arrived at the house quickly, and Natalia and Alfred both paused to take in the sight solemnly. It was a painted tan stone with a wooden shilling roof, windows lined with plant boxes that gave a natural warmth to it that made Natalia think vaguely of how her own home made her feel; safe and warm. At being only two stories, it was perhaps the most modest Leader’s home that Natalia had ever seen, though she knew that had only been half Gilberts idea to make it so modest and sensible. The yard was well taken care of, with a garden flourishing along the side of the house and running out of sight into the backyard. And though smoke bloomed from the brick fireplace giving it a complete homely feel, there was an emptiness. Something was out of place, and Natalia knew exactly what it was. There was no Gilbert striding up to them across the lawn, a confident smile on his face and a laugh on his lips, he wasn’t there to usher them inside to look at whatever new thing he had built or to brag about how well his garden and animals were doing. No, he wasn’t there to greet them. Since two months ago he had disappeared with no trace, Natalia shivered slightly at the memory of receiving that awful news. Ekaterina had fainted from the shock, and Natalia had barely been able to register just what she had been told. Gilbert had been one of the most important leaders, being the leader of Beilschmidt the largest city in their country and being on the council of three, had made him a nearly invincible person in every one’s eyes. The sound of the front door opening and soft footsteps on grass brought Natalia’s attention back onto the front of the house. Gilbert might not be there to greet them, but striding up through the lawn was a tired looking Elizabeta. Gilberts wife. Alfred tipped his hat at her and Natalia nodded at her in greeting. Natalia could tell that neither Alfred nor herself really knew what to say to Elizabeta. Thankfully Elizabeta spoke first. “Afternoon Leader Alfred, and to you as well Natalia.” “Afternoon Elizabeta. I hope you received Tri Leader Arthur’s letter, and that it isn’t too much of a bother us being here to look around.” Alfred spoke casually, but slightly to casual in Natalia’s opinion. His tone made it sound more like they were going to look around for was something none important, like a lost dog, not to look around for hints of a disappearance. Elizabeta nodded, and that was when Natalia noticed that she had tied her usually free flowing hair into a tight bun on the back of her head, letting only a few strands and her bangs be free. It made Elizabeta look more… older. “I got Tri leader Arthur’s letter, and it’s not a bother. If you can potentially find something- anything- then I don’t care.” Elizabeta opened the yard gate and gestured for them to follow her. “Come in, and close the gate behind you please Natalia.” ………………. Elizabeta lead them through the house into the attic, where Gilberts leader study was. It was finely furnished, with plump chairs and a well-crafted desk, but the walls weren’t painted and were the natural dull gray of stone. Papers were stacked neatly on the desk, and the look of slight wear on the furniture gave the first impression that it was used regularly, but then you looked closer and the thin layer of dust that coated everything reminded you that it hadn’t been used in two months. “Sorry about the dust, I… I haven’t been able to come up here and clean. Its… well- I just haven’t been able to.” Elizabeta voice sounded strained, and when Natalia looked at her she could clearly see Elizabeta’s eyes were filled with unshed tears. “It’s all right Elizabeta, we can work around dust! We don’t however, want you to work around us. We know your schedule is filled, and don’t want to be any more of a bother then we already are, so please Elizabeta, go continue your work you were doing before we came.” Alfred’s voice was gentle, and Natalia felt was once again reminded of how observant Alfred could be. He obviously saw the tears in Elizabeta’s eyes just as Natalia had, the study was clearly a hard place for her to be in, and so he gave Elizabeta a clean excuse to leave it. Elizabeta nodded, clearly not in a rush to stay in the study and was grateful for Alfred’s excuse. “You’re right, I’ll leave you two to look. And please-” Elizabeta reached out and grabbed Natalia’s arm and gave it a squeeze. “Please tell me if you find anything.” Looking into Elizabeta’s green eyes, Natalia saw the wall Elizabeta put up to hide her pain crumple for a brief moment, and she saw the raw pain and anguish that Elizabeta was hiding fill her eyes. Natalia nodded and placed her own hand atop Elizabeta’s. “I will.” Elizabeta gave her a sad smile, and Natalia realized Elizabeta didn’t think they would find anything. No one else had over the past two months, and she was doubting anyone would. Her hopes of finding Gilbert were getting slimmer every day, and know she just wanted some sort of closure. Briefly squeezing Natalia’s arm again, Elizabeta let go and nodded to Alfred, and then swept out of the room, the door closing behind her with a resounding click. Natalia stared after her, and felt a rush of emotions overcome her when she realized how similar this was to her own parent’s deaths. Natalia quickly suppressed the memories and emotions, know was not the time. Turning she swept her gaze across the room, a newfound determination swelling inside her. She was going to give Elizabeta the closure she and her sisters never got. —————————————————————————————————————————— Two hours later, Natalia hadn’t found anything. Nor had she sensed anything. After combing the study from floor to ceiling and back and finding nothing, her and Alfred resorted to carefully going through both his leader documents and the case files given to him by Arthur. Since the documents on and inside the desk were for leader eyes only, Alfred now sat at it reading document after document, while Natalia sat on the only other chair in the room reading the case files. The photographs taken were horrible, and she could hardly see what was supposed to be evidence as it blended into all the other objects in the photo. “They should have just drawn the scene. That would have been more reliable then these shoddy photos.” Natalia said bitterly. Alfred nodded. “That’s what I told Arthur when I first saw them to, and he claims they did have someone sketch it, but he didn’t have it with him. Said he already gave it to the guy whose supposed to help us.” Natalia looked up at that, her brow creased in confusion. She had forgotten all about this mysterious man who was supposed to be here. “I forgot about him. Where is he? I doubt he would have found anything we already didn’t, but more help would have been useful.” Alfred only nodded, his attention back on the documents. Natalia stretched out her arms above her head, muscles cramped from the hour she had been bent over the case files. The air in the study was getting stuffy, and Natalia looked towards the window facing the back of the house. “I’m going to open the window.” She was already standing up, and Alfred glanced up. “Good idea, the air is getting to heavy in here.” She forced the window open with ease, though she did note that it was a peculiar window that slide upwards instead of opening like a cabinet. She was about to voice this oddity to Alfred, when she felt it. A hint of… something, left on the window. Natalia’s eyes scoured the bottom of the window she lifted upwards while her hands ran across it. There was a trace of it there, but it wasn’t where the main source of magic was coming from. A breeze wafted through the window and brought the… scent (Natalia wasn’t sure how else to describe it) up to her. Looking down Natalia immediately realized the magic was being drifted to her from the sill of the window. Her hands flew to touch the spot where the magic was coming from, and that was when Alfred’s incredibly confused voice called out to her. “What in the world are you doing Natalia? Are you trying to kill a fly or something?” Whipping around, her hands not leaving the magic spot, Natalia faced Alfred, her eyes triumphant. “I’ve found something.” Immediately Alfred was out of his seat, “Where? Is it magic?” When he came to the window he squinted down. “I don’t see anything.” “Of course you don’t! You can’t sense magic like I can!” Natalia rolled her eyes at him, but quickly moved onto the more important issue at hand. Lifting up on her hands so Alfred could see, Natalia saw the slight haze that was left by magic forming a shape that she couldn’t quite make out. “It’s here. Something magic was on the window sill. I.. I don’t know what it is exactly yet. But I know it’s there.” Alfred squinted harder, trying his best to see what Natalia was seeing.

“What does it look like? I remember you once told me that it sometimes forms shapes.” Natalia nodded to Alfred’s question. “It is in a shape but… I can’t tell what shape it’s in.” “Perhaps we should wait on Arthur’s acquaintance, he’s apparently well studied in magic residue and might know what this is.” Natalia scowled, she hated that she couldn’t figure out what it was, and she hated even more that this mysterious man wasn’t here yet. “When is he going to get here exactly? We can’t wait all day for him to-“ A knock echoed throughout the house and interrupted Natalia. In almost unison, Alfred and Natalia both spun around and ran toward the front facing window, trying desperately to see who was knocking before they came in. As Natalia shoved Alfred more to the side so she could get a better look, Natalia had a intrusive thought of nostalgia, her and Alfred used to do exactly what they were doing when they were kids. Someone would come to either his house or her house and they would scramble to see who would be able to see the guest without being caught first. Little 12 year old Natalia was always sour that her and Alfred tied more often then not.

Forcing herself back into the present, Natalia realized with disappointment they were too late, Elizabeta had already let the guest in. “Shoot, none of us won.” Natalia could have sworn she heard that under Alfred’s breath as she turned away from the window. But surely it was just her imagination. “Hmph, well hopefully that is our mystery person.” Natalia walked over to where she had been seating before and scooped the case files off the chair and organized them again as she spoke. “He’s kept us waiting too long in my opinion, and it’s about time he shows himself.” The sound of footsteps coming up the stairs to the study reached their ears and they both turned to face the door as it swung open. Natalia’s first thoughts were that the stairs were climbed awfully fast. Her second thought wasn’t really a thought, more the overwhelming feeling of magic that filled the room as a man stepped into it. He wasn’t very tall, only 3 or 4 inches taller than her at least, and he was dressed in a full length coat that was double buttoned and purple. She couldn’t see what he was wearing beneath the coat, only that he was wearing black pants and boots. His posture wasn’t suspicious, but the strong scent of magic on him was enough to make Natalia more than weary around him. Alfred stepped up to him and thrust out his hand, a friendly smile on his face. “You must be Arthur’s acquaintance! I’m Alfred Jones, and this is-” “Natalia.” “Right, she’s Natalia, the woman who can sense magic.” The man looked over at her when she interrupted Alfred to say her own name, and threw her a smile, Natalia scowled in return. She didn’t trust him. In her experience, people with unordinary eyes should earn trust, not expect it. And his eyes were such an intense and deep color of red that it made Gilbert’s bright red eyes seem normal. “Nice to meet you! My names Vladimir, but please call me Vlad.” Alfred started to speak, but Natalia cut him off. “You didn’t tell us your last name. We don’t know anything about you and yet are supposed to trust you, the least you could do is give us your last name. In my experience people who don’t give their last name is always someone with something to hide.” Her voice was hard, but Vladimir didn’t seem bothered by it. In fact, he just looked at Natalia and gave her a sly smile. “Fair logic Natalia, but you didn’t give me your last name either. Perhaps we both have something to hide?” Natalia’s face flushed slightly, and her scowl turned into a glare as his words struck a cord. Before she could open her mouth and retaliate, Alfred stepped forward between them “Enough of this! Come on guys, we aren’t here to argue about whether we should trust each other or not, we are here to try and solve what happened to Gilbert.” Natalia nodded her head, feeling slightly ashamed. It wasn’t time to let her own thoughts interfere. Vladimir nodded as well. “Of course. So, have you found any evidence of magic yet?” Natalia nodded. “Yes, I went to the window to open it and found traces of residue magic over there.” Vladimir turned and walked to the window to examine it, and Natalia and Alfred followed. “Natalia said it was in the shape of something but she didn’t know what.” “It’s not that I didn’t know what it is, just that that I couldn’t quite place what it was.” She didn’t like how Alfred phrased it. She didn’t like feeling as if she couldn’t do something or she didn’t know it, and she was certain she did know it just couldn’t quite tell. The feeling grew bigger however, as Vladimir looked at the remaining magic for barely even a minute before he knew what it was.

“Bird talons. That’s what these are.” Natalia immediately squinted down and tried to make out the talon marks for herself. She could see it now, but it was incredibly faint. “How did you even see that? It’s barely even visible, how did you figure out it was talons so quickly?” Vladimir grinned cheekily at her, revealing his canine teeth to be longer and pointer then the rest. That only made Natalia distrust him even more. “I’ve seen a lot of talon marks in my time, let’s just say that.” Turning away from the window, he rubbed his gloved hands together. “This does help considerably with the case, as it proves that someone with magic did come in here.” Natalia looked at Alfred, he was beaming with excitement. “That’s great! So we know can make an educated guess that magic users did indeed take Gilbert!” Vladimir nodded, but Natalia wasn’t so convinced. Stepping forward, she voiced her doubt. “Wait a minute, how can this confirm he was taken by magic? It just shows the sign that someone with magic did touch the window sill in a bird form, but that doesn’t prove they took Gilbert.” Natalia folded her arms across her chest. “And if they came in through the window, then how did they take Gilbert out? Could they have turned him into something, and if they did we need to find evidence that it did happen.” Vladimir nodded, his strawberry blond hair falling around his face as he did so. “Fair point. And they could have easily turned him into something easy for them to carry, such as a flower or a beetle.” Alfred shifted his weight from his right leg to his left, turning to face Vladimir and Natalia both, forming a triangular shape between them all. “Wait- so you’re telling me that they could have turned Gilbert into literally anything? Like, a spec of dust? How in the world would ANYONE be able to find him then?!” Natalia sucked in a breath, she hadn’t thought of that. How would they be able to find Gilbert if he could be anything? “No, that can’t be possible. Magic has some sort of boundary that prevents it from doing something like that surely.” Vladimir nodded at Natalia’s words. He was studying her, and Natalia scowl returned. “She’s right, magic does have boundaries. And to turn someone into something like a spec of dust would be pushing far beyond the bound. No, Gilbert had to be turned into something…” Vladimir took a step closer to Natalia and plucked a squirming beetle from her sleeve. “It has to be something alive.” Natalia stared at the beetle squirming in his hand, both of them staring at it: Vladimir with curiosity and Natalia with confusion. Alfred coughed uncomfortably. “Hey uh, that isn't… Gilbert is it?” “No.” Vladimir and Natalia said no at the same time, and their eyes quickly flickered at and looked at each other, Vladimir grinned at her. “You’re better then Arthur gave you credit for Natalia.” Natalia wasn’t sure what to say to that, so just nodded. Turning back to Alfred, Vladimir gestured toward the beetle in his hand. “This little creature isn’t Gilbert no, no sign of magic being used on him. But, this little guy can be of use.” Her eyebrows knotted together in confusion. “How is that?” Vladimir turned and looked Natalia over, focusing on the confused look on her face. He glanced at Alfred, a question on his face. Alfred shook his head. “I haven’t told her yet, didn’t think it was my place.” The confusion was now burning into searing curiosity in Natalia’s gut and she stepped forward. “Haven’t told me what.” It wasn’t a question. Vladimir stuck the beetle in his coat pocket. “I’ll tell you later, but right now we need to head back to Arthur’s place. He has something we need.” That did little to answer, only cause more questions.

The ride to Arthur’s house was quicker the Natalia had expected. The usual ride from Beilschmidt to York took almost two days, yet they arrived in York the next day. Natalia figured something weird was going on, and it had all to do with the mysterious Vladimir. He seemed normal, cheerful and liked to laugh, him and Alfred got along pretty well. But despite that, Natalia could sense something was off. He was far to cheery, even compared to the overly cheerful Alfred, Natalia didn’t trust him. She didn’t voice these concerns of hers with Alfred however, she knew Alfred would insist on trusting him purely cause Arthur told him to. The two may argue a lot, but Alfred looked up to Arthur as the older brother he never had. Instead of getting the annoying attempt of reassurance from Alfred, Natalia chose to keep a close eye on Vladimir. As they neared York’s gates, Natalia noticed a slight shift in Vladimir. He sat up a little straighter in his saddle, and his hands kept twirling the reins. That was the change Natalia was able to see, but as they took off their gloves to show their hands to the guard, Natalia could have sworn she saw Vladimir’s fingernails shift shape into pointed claws. She blinked before she could register it however, and when she looked again his nails were completely normal. After passing the inspection, the ride to Arthur’s house should have been fairly simple, as it was straight ahead down the main road. Vladimir however, guided his horse left, and gestured for them to follow. Following close behind him, Natalia stared intently at the back of his head. “If you want to stare at me Natalia, I will gladly turn around. My face is much more appealing then the back of my head I assure you.” Vladimir sounded amused, and when he turned his head slightly to look at her he had a wide grin on his face. “I’d rather look at the back of your head, I much prefer it to your face.” It wasn’t one of her best comebacks, Natalia would admit, but it did the job, and Vladimir turned back forward with a shrug. “If you say so, I have been told that my locks are quite a joy to look at.” Natalia scowled and stared everywhere but at Vlad for the rest of the ride. They rode into the residential part of York, further confusing Natalia. Most leaders houses were either overlooking the village or right on the main road, she hadn’t heard of a single leader- especially one of the Tri leaders- living in residential. What confused her most of all was that she had visited Arthur’s home before, and could have sworn it was on the main road. “Where exactly are we going. I thought Arthur’s house was on the main road.” Vladimir nodded in front of her. “It is, but we are going to… well I suppose you could call it his second home.” Natalia’s eyebrows rose. “A second home in his own village? That is highly peculiar.” “Not for Arthur. He’s always liked having a second home.” Vladimir didn’t say anything else, so Natalia decided not pursue any further, despite how intriguing what Vladimir just said was. It implied quite a bit, that Vladimir has known Arthur for a long time and that Arthur has always had a second home wherever he’s lived, but Natalia had a feeling that if she asked either the first question, Vladimir would turn it into her being interested in him, and she wasn’t in the mood to deal with that. The second question would break one of the most unspoken rules of their country: you never ask someone who they were before you knew them. Vladimir pulled his horse to a stop in front of a small round cottage. It was made of oak wood logs and the roof was made of woven reaves designed to keep rain out. Looking at Alfred dismounting his horse, Natalia raised her eyebrow at him from her saddle. “This is his second home? It’s very small.” Alfred nodded, not phased by the house at all. Clearly everyone but Natalia had been here before. “Yep it’s his second house! And it’s not small, it’s actually quite big for a common house! Come inside and you’ll see!” Natalia dismounted her horse and walked towards Vladimir, who was unlocking the door with a key he had pulled from a breast pocket. Raising an eyebrow, Natalia met Vladimir’s eyes. He put his hands up and shrugged.

“What? He gave me a key, I’m going to use it.” Rolling her eyes, Natalia pushed passed him and into the house.

[kidsviral-blog]

Community Post: 10 Female Indie Song Covers That Are Better Than The Originals

New Post has been published on https://kidsviral.info/community-post-10-female-indie-song-covers-that-are-better-than-the-originals/

Community Post: 10 Female Indie Song Covers That Are Better Than The Originals

Who run the world?

1. “Somebody that I Used to Know,” Gotye

Video available at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=dUxLK1misbw.

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If you love the melodic and slightly raspy quality of Ingrid Michaelson, then you’ll love this cover. She shows off all of the talents including her wide vocal range and the instruments she plays.

2. “Whatever You Like,” T.I.

Video available at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=_0BPnJUx_Yw.

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Anya Marina will make you completely re-think this song. Her slow and seductive voice will have you really listening hard and send tingles up your spine in the best way.

3. “Somewhere Only We Know,” Keane

Video available at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Ve9cBwI-pAg.

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I bet you didn’t know that the singer who is famous for a song called “F—- You” could make you sob like a baby. Lily Allen’s quick vibrato and calming voice will bring a tear to your eye and comfort you at the same time.

4. “Seasons (Waiting On You),” Future Islands

Video available at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=WlwY_6qbfJg.

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Megan Washington is brimming with talent despite living with speech impediment (You’d never guess, though). Her voice is a fun mix of jazz, pop, indie, and a little rock and roll. You never know quite what will come out of her mouth next, but you know it will be delightful.

5. “All the Same,” Sick Puppies

Video available at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=1h6-FeuUjgk.

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This one is a true hidden gem with under 5000 views on YouTube. Lauren King is an amateur singer who does a phenomenal cover of All the Same, adding a haunting quality to the usually dramatic song. Bonus! She also plays the piano and sings harmony.

6. “Stay With Me,” Sam Smith

Video available at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=e1UY5W1zHf0.

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Florence is the perfect indie singer to cover Sam Smith because her voice has the same rich, earth quality. But something about her intensity, not to mention her outstanding technique, really makes this cover stand out.

7. “No Surprises,” Radiohead

Video available at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=g83m_KINvB8.

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Slow and solemn, you can really feel every word as Regina Spektor spills her heart and soul all over the the piano. Vocal effects, great timing, and perfectly nailed high notes make this one a winner.

8. “Us,” Regina Spector

Video available at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=vEabV4Iy574.

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Janet Devlin, who was a finalist on the X factor, is adorable youthful with bright eyes, wild Merida-ish hair, and a quirky voice. The cute jumps at the end of her phrases will make you fall in love with her songs.

9. “Lovesong,” The Cure

Video available at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=z1JIEY34hv8.

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Tori Amos brings an unmatched intensity to her songs and this cover is no exception. Her breathy voice and the plinks of the piano don’t seem like they’d work but, oh, they do.

10. “Happy,” Pharrell

Video available at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=FLzntZOxmDM.

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Louisa Rose Allen (Foxes is her stage name) opens this song in a child-like almost pleading tone but picks it up later on. Her voice effortlessly conveys so many emotions, Like a roller coaster, it’s impossible not to feel moved.

Read more: http://www.buzzfeed.com/juniperbug/10-female-indie-song-covers-better-than-the-origin-f59x

[vixenofthemist]

Magic Come with A Price, Chapter 1

Rating: T 

Pairings: Main- RomBela, Nyo!Norway x Denmark, England x Nyo!France, IceSey. 

Side pairings: PruHun, PortMano, America x Nyo!Russia.

(warning: this is going to be a long fanfic and not all the pairings will be right away)

                     -THE TALES OF CIGAM, Introduction-

“The country of Cigam was a powerful country, filled with magic and great warriors. Many faced this magnificent country, but all failed. So strong were its mages and warriors that some armies never even made it across the borders before falling. The land itself was ridden with snow and rain and oft covered in a deep mist, but filled with caves full of gems and jewels, so rich was this land that neighboring kings yearned to get their hands on this bountiful yet mysterious land. But with each failed attempt of conquering this land, more land was added to this country’s growing wealth. The royal line of this country used to be pure, but tis know corrupt and filled with pride and greed. The first king, Aengus, was said to be scared of no man or beast as none would harm him, which was true, as everything feared him. His legacy fears nothing as well, as they believed nothing can or will harm them. The fourth king of Cigam got too greedy and tried conquering the wrong land, the land of Stellaria. Stellaria was a peaceful land next to Cigam’s borders, but had been long left alone as they provided Cigam with teaching of how to control the wild magic that coursed through their land. Stellaria was filled with masters of magic, and the world renowned seer Nostradamus was born in that country, and he predicted what would cause the Great Fall of Cigam, and what would bring it back to its glory. It was a simple prophecy that he wrote days before his apothecary was overrun by Cigam soldiers who he knew would kill him. The prophecy was found and brought before the king, who was filled with rage and fear.

The Prophecy read as such:

During a yearlong wint-”

“Natalia, are you reading that dusty old book again?”

Natalia Arlovskaya shut her eyes and pursed her lips tightly as her elder sister Ekaterina interrupted her during the best part of the book. Ekaterina waltzed up happily to Natalia and sat down next to her on the couch.

“You’ve always really liked that book haven’t you Natalia? I remember when you were a little girl you would always demand for me to either read that book or that book about that family who were really weird and dark!”

Ekaterina started rambling about Natalia’s childhood favorite stories, which Natalia tuned out as she sourly closed “Tales of Cigam”. It would be useless to try and read it with Ekaterina here. Not only had she interrupted during the best part, it was also the part that really immersed Natalia in the book, and now to get fully re-immersed in it again she would have to read the page all over! Ekaterina, oblivious to having interrupted Natalia’s reading time, got up and walked over to a shelf and pulled out the book she was talking about. The cover was black and had an iron spine, it looked less like a children’s book and more like a forbidden spell book, but the contents were made for children like Natalia had been.

“-And your favorite part was when they went to a family reunion, and an aunt asked what the daughter was interested in, and when the mom said homicide you would giggle so much that you would fall off your chair!!”

“Yes yes, I was an adorable child. Is there a reason you came in here Ekaterina?”

Ekaterina paused in talking for a moment, sliding the book back into its place as she thought of the why she came down. Natalia sat patiently, Ekaterina often got caught up when something reminded her of their childhood, it was a happier time that Ekaterina held close to her heart, which Natalia couldn’t blame her. It took a minute for Ekaterina to remember, during which Natalia found herself watching specks of dust fall against the torch light, until Ekaterina spun around excitedly and clapped her hands together.

“Know I remember!”

Walking towards her, Ekaterina pulled Natalia off the couch and started straightening her dress.

“Alfred is here, and he says he needs to talk to you about something urgent!”

Natalia raised an eyebrow as Ekaterina smoothed out a crease in her dress, there was no reason for Ekaterina to act this way when it was just Alfred, Natalia has known him since she was a little girl and very much doubted he would care if her dress was rumpled. As Ekaterina moved to fussing with Natalia’s hair, Natalia voiced her question.

“Why are you fussing over my clothes Ekaterina? It’s just Alfred.”

Ekaterina shook her head excitedly, she had a glimmer of something in her eyes, which Natalia wasn’t sure she was a fan of.

“It won’t be just Alfred for long! He has an acquaintance of Mr. Arthur coming to this house, and I want you to look presentable in case he’s a person of high standing, first impressions are everything for some, and I want you to make a good impression on people!”

Natalia allowed a small smile to ghost her lips as Ekaterina fixed her bow.

“So, you want them to at least have a good impression on how I dress then?”

Ekaterina rolled her eyes and laughed as she took a step back and observed Natalia, making sure nothing was out of place.

“Oh shush Natalia! You have a wonderful personality! It just takes a while for it to come out!”

It was Natalia’s turn to roll her eyes, she knew very well how her personality was perceived by people, but it was nice for Ekaterina to try and convince her otherwise.

“Well, Ekaterina, do you deem me presentable?”

Natalia raised her arms and did a small spin as she asked Ekaterina, Ekaterina clapped her hands excitedly and nodded her head. She reached forward and grabbed Natalia’s hands, and gave her such a heartwarming smile that Natalia felt like a little girl again, asking Ekaterina if her attempt at putting on make-up looked good.

“You look amazing! Beautiful as always!”

Ekaterina’s smile turned a little sad, and Natalia frowned, did Ekaterina know something that she didn’t? But before she could ask, Ekaterina put on a bright smile again and dropped one of Natalia’s hands as she started walking towards the door, pulling Natalia gently behind her.

“Come on! We’ve kept Alfred waiting long enough!”

Natalia stared at the back of Ekaterina’s head, trying to figure out just what she had been sad about moments before, but she decided to put that issue at the back of her mind. She could interrogate Ekaterina about it later, for now, Alfred was here to annoy her most likely.

As they walked up the spiraling staircase that lead from the basement library to a hallway, Natalia asked Ekaterina a question.

“Ekaterina, where exactly is Alfred? He usually would come and bother me himself, it’s weird for him to have you come fetch me.”

“Oh, he’s trying to be professional since he’s here for Leader business, he even corrected himself when he only called me Ekaterina, insisting on calling me “Miss Ekaterina”! It’s adorable really.”

She paused in talking as she opened the door to the fourth hallway, she greeted a passing maid and didn’t continue her and Natalia’s conversation until they were continuing down the hallway.

“And Alfred is waiting in the parlor, he is really trying so hard to be formal. When I first suggested waiting in the living room, he said it was to none formal for the serious business he was here for!”

A maid scurrying past in the opposite direction stopped and called out to Ekaterina.

“Uh, Miss Ekaterina?”

Natalia turned and gave the maid a critical once over, while Ekaterina gave her a kind smile.

“Yes? Is something the matter?”

The maid gulped nervously under Natalia’s gaze, but pointed timidly down the hallway towards the parlor.

“I, uh, it’s probably not in my place to tell you this… But I was just in Madame Anya’s office, and she said she was heading to the parlor soon to relax…”

Natalia and Ekaterina shared a brief look of shock, before bolting down the hallway towards the parlor, Ekaterina throwing a quick thank you towards the maid. Anya was never Alfred’s biggest fan, and if she went to the parlor to relax and ran into Alfred… it wouldn’t end well. Natalia ran ahead of Ekaterina, and made it to the parlor first. She slammed the door open, and was greeted by a surprised Alfred, his face quickly changed from surprised to suspiciously guilty however, and Natalia narrowed her eyes as she saw he was standing in front of their ancestral display case. She marched into the room with her hands on her hips and murder in her eyes.

“I swear if you even laid a finger on the glass on that case, I will murder you Alfred!”

He threw his hands up in the air and threw her a nervous grin.

“Hello to you to Natalia! Good news! I didn’t touch the glass, I only touched the wood trimmings!”

Natalia closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before stepping forward. She heard Alfred take a step back and start rambling on and on about how she said she’d only murder him if he touched the glass, so he was safe BECAUSE he only touched the wood. Before Natalia could walk even more towards him, the door was thrown open again, and Anya strode in looking eerily calm. Alfred immediately stopped his ramblings, and Natalia opened her eyes and straightened up, Ekaterina came panting behind Anya, clearly out of breath and a worried look on her red face. It was silent in the room for a good minute, before Anya smiled almost cheerfully at Alfred.

“Good afternoon Alfred. I don’t remember inviting you to come here, so why are you in my house right now?”

Her voice was calm, maybe perhaps even cheerful, but with a cold and threatening undertone that none of them missed. Alfred straightened himself up to his full height and stuck his hands back into his pockets, and gave Anya a big, cheerful smile.

“Afternoon Anya! It will surprise you, but I am not actually here to see you, even though I am on Leader business.”

He strode forward and clasped Natalia on her shoulder, ignoring how she immediately shrugged it off and the glare she was throwing at him.

“I was asked by Arthur, whose both of our superior Anya, to see if Natalia would help me with something.”

Anya took a step forward, and gestured at a seat. The smile seemed to be plastered on both her and Alfred’s face.

“Well, if you are here because of something Arthur asked of you I cannot hold it against you. Please, sit down Alfred. You must be tired from the trip here.”

Alfred grinned and tipped his hat to her.

“Much obliged Anya.”

He took his seat and made himself comfortable, and Anya sat down across from him. She gestured for Natalia to take a seat as well, and so Natalia sat next to her on the plush couch.

“Won’t you join us as well Miss Ekaterina?”

Alfred called out to Ekaterina who was still standing in the doorway. She shook her head and smiled nervously at him and Anya. Natalia felt bad for Ekaterina, she knew how much Ekaterina disliked being in the same room as both of them, the atmosphere that they let out made Ekaterina insanely uncomfortable.

“N-no thank you Alfred, I think I’ll go fetch some tea or coffee to drink.”

“What a good idea Ekaterina, Alfred here must be incredibly thirsty from his long, odious trip. I’m sure he’d be most thankful for some tea.”

Anya put some hard emphasis on tea, and Alfred made a face to show his distaste in tea. Ekaterina squeaked out that she was going to make a kettle of both, then ran away. Natalia let a small sigh slip out. This was going to be a weird meeting. It was silent for a solid four minutes, with Anya and Alfred holding what appeared to be a staring contest. After five minutes, however, Alfred crossed his legs casually and turned to Natalia.

“So, Natalia! I need to talk to you about something very important…”

He turned and gave a meaningful look at Anya.

“Alone.”

Silence followed his words. If Anya hadn’t been fake smiling before, she was now. The atmosphere in the room went from calm annoyance to concealed hostility in a blink of an eye. Anya sat up fast and opened her mouth, but Natalia beat her to talking.

“why can’t Anya stay? She’s a village Leader just as you are, and if I’m involved why can’t she be?”

Natalia had actually stood up, her face set into a deep scowl. Anya was being very nice to him compared to some of his other visits, and for him to be so mean to kick her out of her own parlor was something Natalia wasn’t going to stand for. Alfred, gestured for her to calm down.

“Calm down Nat, I’m not asking Anya politely to leave just because I want to, but because I was told not to get her involved.”

He turned and smiled good naturedly at Anya, who was giving him an interesting look with her head tilted slightly to the side, a smile no longer on her face as she studied him.

“No hard feelings Anya, but I was told by Arthur to not involve anyone but the person I chose to help me. If it bothers you so to not hear my awesome voice explain things, then I have plenty of Leader things I could talk to you about… After me and Natalia finish our meeting.”

Natalia watched as Anya and Alfred stared at each other, Alfred smiling kindly and Anya looking at him almost confused. After 30 seconds of staring, Anya closed her eyes and returned the kind smile at Alfred.

“I think I’ll go help Ekaterina with the tea. Be good you two, and Alfred... Don’t take up too much of my dear little sister’s time.”

And with that faintly concealed threat, she swept out of the room in a flurry of pink.

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

“…Well, since I don’t want Anya to murder me in my sleep, let’s hurry this up!”

Alfred rubbed his hands together excitedly before gesturing Natalia back into her seat. Natalia did so slowly, squinting suspiciously at him. He was acting fairly usual, but something seemed…. Off. She couldn’t place her finger on it, but she knew something was different.

“So, I’ll get straight to it!” Alfred leaned forward, a more serious expression on his face. Natalia her curiosity rise with this gesture, along with a tiny bit of excitement. But what Alfred said next did nothing more but make her more curious.

“Do you remember when we were young, and you would scare me by saying you could see ghosts?”

Natalia’s face grew confused. Of course she remembered, but it was such a strange thing to bring up that she couldn’t help but feel a little taken aback.

“Yes. I remember clearly.”

“And do you…. still sometimes see ghosts?”

Natalia couldn’t help herself.

“Yes. I see one right now, behind your left shoulder.”

As she knew he would, he instinctively looked over his shoulder, ducking down slightly as if a ghostly hand was about to reach out and attack him. When he saw nothing there, he turned back with an expression between trying to be annoyed and serious. Natalia couldn’t help but smile slightly, she of course saw no ghost behind his shoulder, she hadn’t seen a ghost in ages, but she couldn’t let this opportunity to scare Alfred pass.

“I’m being serious Natalia! Now isn’t the time for joking! Do you still… sense ghosts or anything similar nowadays?”

The serious tone of Alfred’s voice threw her off, she had seen him be serious before, but usually something like that would have made it slip and he would demand for Natalia to tell him where the ghost was for the next five minutes until he was sure it wasn’t going to attack him. Feeling her eyes widen slightly, Natalia realized this was more serious then she had first thought.                                     She went through recent memory, trying to remember the last time she had felt that tiny jolt of magic that she would occasionally feel, and came upon an exact date.

“Two months ago on the fifteenth, I felt… something.” Natalia dared not say magic, such a tabooed word shouldn’t be uttered in such a sacred place of her family.

“It was in the middle of the night, it was such a strong feeling that it woke me up… I felt nauseous for the rest of the day.”

Alfred seemed almost… relieved at her answer. He moved back slightly on the couch, and seemed to ease up a little, the serious expression not leaving his face.

“Natalia, do you remember what happened on the fifteenth two months ago?” Natalia shook her head, Alfred licked his lips, suddenly looking pensive.

“The very next day, on the sixteenth, was the day that Gilbert was found missing. The leading theory is that someone, or something, took him in the middle of the night.”

Natalia felt her hair start to stand on end, and her eyes widened. Alfred couldn’t be insinuating… could he?

“You don’t mean…” Natalia couldn’t bring herself to finish her sentence, to do so she would have to say magic, and she’d rather not say the name of the very thing that killed her parents.                            Alfred sat up a grim expression on his face.

“We believe that Gilbert was taken by magic users, and I am here to ask you if you will help me track them down.”

Natalia knew the dangers, she perhaps knew better than anyone else. She had never met one, but she had felt their magic, felt it pulse through her veins, felt just how terrifying they could be. Yet she found herself looking Alfred straight in the eyes and without hesitation saying;

“I’m in.”

Alfred Beamed at her.