#because both groups look to their leaders with a particular kind of devotion

[ssivinee]

✧Desirable Care✧

BEBE! Lee Seoyoung, aka Lusher x F Reader: You and Lusher are both popular regarding school status, but her crush on you was kept lowkey because you had no clue who she was despite being known to everyone. That changes once you realize how connected your worlds are.

Word Count: 4.1k

Note: Using blonde Lusher bc... look at her, like why wouldn't I😭. Anyway, ik this took a while. I was too lazy to write this one for some reason, so my bad, guys😔. This feels kind of rushed tbh (even if i wrote this for a while💀).

Character Vision Board

In university, there was a worshipped and admired group called "Team BEBE." This crew, renowned for its mesmerizing dance performances, held an uncommon status as the most recognized friend group on campus. Senior Bada Lee, Juniors Lusher, Kyma, Tatter, Sophomore Minah, and Freshmen Cheche and Soweon were the epitome of the popularity. They were the students everyone wanted to emulate, befriend, or perhaps even date. Yet, behind their iconic reputation, Team BEBE led lives of busyness, often hidden from the general public.

Despite their widespread recognition among the student body, Team BEBE maintained an intimate circle of friends and a few classmates. To them, popularity was secondary to their passion for dance and academic pursuits. Among the diverse crowd of their university, they navigated their busy schedules, balancing their commitments with dignity and determination.

To clarify, you existed in a different sphere of popularity. While you were not counted among the elite on campus, your name was frequently whispered in conversations revolving around popularity and the school's complex social hierarchy. Y/n Cruz, a Guatemalan-American international student who had graced the university since your freshman year. Your striking beauty and exceptional intelligence set you apart, but your warm, charismatic personality endeared you to anyone who interacted with you. Your name basically symbolized admiration, and your popularity transcended the boundaries of close friendships.

Popularity never swayed your humbleness, though. You remained consistently modest, friendly, and an inspiration to your peers. Every time you crossed the school's hallways, you were surrounded by your loyal friends who respected you with unwavering devotion. Your smile was a constant, a beacon of warmth that never failed to brighten your surroundings.

As the university semester progressed, the calendar page turned to a new month, and with it came an increased frenzy of activity. Team BEBE found themselves in the depths of preparation for a dance competition hosted at another school, a mere two weeks away. Simultaneously, they had committed to performing at their school's upcoming festival. It was a demanding juggling act, yet they diligently approached it. Dance held a special place in their hearts, and the ability to harmonize it with their academic pursuits made the long days and sleepless nights worth the effort.

Bada, their committed team leader, bore the burden of hectic schedules. As a senior, her academic responsibilities were more complex and time-consuming, demanding her attention early in the academic year. So, many of their practices were led by Lusher, her capable junior. On this particular day, Bada conducted a practice session before tackling her assignments, reaffirming her tenacious commitment to her beloved craft.

The studio atmosphere was charged with a noticeable sense of exhaustion. Beads of sweat glistened on Lusher's brow as she led the practice, her breathing mirroring her teammates. She glanced over at Bada, who was orchestrating the formation and couldn't help but feel sympathy. "Unnie," Lusher implored, her voice slightly strained, "can we take a five-minute breather?"

Bada, fully aware of their fatigue, hesitated momentarily before responding, "Seoyoung-ah, you know I would, but—" Her words were cut short by a discreet knock on the studio door. Bada and Lusher turned to the unexpected visitor, gesturing to be let in.

Bada, recognizing the newcomers, nodded in confirmation, and the door swung open to reveal three senior students. Lusher recognized some of them from seeing them around campus but couldn't understand why they were there. "Is it time already?" Bada inquired, and one of the seniors nodded affirmatively. "You have some time, though. N/n should be here in ten minutes."

The "N/n" caught Lusher's attention, a name unfamiliar to her until now. Curiosity piqued, she wondered why this person's arrival was significant enough to interrupt their practice. "All right, let me just finish this practice," Bada announced, determined to make the most of their limited time.

With her phone in hand, Bada approached Lusher and entrusted her with a task. "Do me a favor, Seoyoung-ah. Review the last minutes of the video, then send it to your own phone so you all can work on the dance while I'm gone." Lusher nodded, focusing on the video analysis as Bada conversed with her senior friends.

As Lusher focused on her task, Tatter, one of her team members, nudged her gently. Startled from her concentration, Lusher turned to Tatter with a questioning look. "What?" she asked.

Tatter pointed subtly toward the studio's entrance, and Lusher followed her gaze. What she saw left her momentarily breathless. Standing in the doorway was the sight of your tempting beauty.

Your caramel skin seemed to shimmer in the studio's lighting, while your wavy brunette hair cascaded in a high ponytail that flowed down to your hips. Your presence was nothing short of exquisite, and as you flashed your radiant smile, your pearly white teeth seemed to dazzle anyone who witnessed them. Lusher had surely seen you around campus before, and she'd often marveled at your beauty from afar. However, her busy schedule and the fact that you were a year ahead prevented her from ever encountering you.

Now, as she stood there, watching you with a mixture of awe and surprise, Lusher felt a newfound desire to bridge the gap that had separated her from you all this time. Your charm had always intrigued her, but this unexpected encounter had ignited a curiosity that was impossible to ignore.

Bada, wrapping up her conversation with her senior friends, rejoined the group and acknowledged your arrival. "Y/n-ah, nice of you to finally join us," Bada remarked, her tone playful. You responded with a light-hearted chuckle, your breath still slightly labored from your sprint to the studio. "Sorry," you began, "Ms. Hong held me back at the last minute."

Lusher watched the interaction between you and Bada, noticing the warmth in your friendship. It was a side of Bada she had never seen before, adding another layer of intrigue to the situation. As the conversation continued, Lusher couldn't help but wonder how deep this connection between you and Bada ran.

She was almost tempted to kneel before Bada, grateful she'd been allowed into your presence. The two blonde girls, Lusher and Bada, sat there, observing interactions between some of the school's most popular students. The conversation revolved around a forthcoming project that you needed to start this week due to your busy schedule next week. One of the other girls, not part of Team Bebe, pointed out, "So we should get going now?" Y/n nodded in agreement.

Team Bebe was taken aback by your remarkable accent when speaking fluent Korean. It was just one of the many aspects of you that people adored. Lusher, in particular, was determined to uncover all there was to know about you. As the seniors were about to leave, Bada gave the younger girls a mini salute, and you offered them a small wave.

Once the group had left, a deafening silence enveloped the dance studio, and the underclassmen stared at the door they had just exited. Minah scanned her spaced-out teammates and broke the silence, asking, "So are we supposed to act like that didn't just happen?"

"Did anyone know Bada-unnie was friends with Y/n-sunbaenim?" Everyone shook their heads in unison, and Lusher, still in shock, reclined on the floor, mentally replaying the scene. "Was she keeping their friendship a secret?" Soweon inquired, her arms crossed over her chest in frustration. "I doubt she would. Maybe they just met this year?" Tatter attempted to defend her leader, although none of the girls were entirely convinced. They all reached for their phones and opened the group chat.

Kyma🩵 Bada unnie?

Minah🩵 Bada unniiiiiiiieeeeeeee🤗

Tatter🩵 @Bada🩵, please pick up the phone so they can focus soon😮‍💨

Lusher🩵 How long have you and Y/n sunbaenim been friends?

While Lusher's unexpected question took aback the rest of Team Bebe, Bada stared at her phone in confusion. She had just left the room, so why hadn't they asked her then? "I didn't recognize any seniors in there," you pointed out, and Bada sighed, saying, "Yup, I'm the only one teaching them and leading it." You nodded and headed to Bada's car, but she hesitated momentarily. "Hey, we've been friends since our first year, right?" You nodded instantly, and Bada quickly typed away on her phone.

Bada🩵 Since our first year.

Upon receiving this new information, all the girls' jaws dropped inside the studio. "She was keeping it a secret?" "Maybe it just never came up?" Tatter, once again, attempted to cover for her best friend.

Lusher🩵 Why didn't we know this?😱

Bada🩵 Cause I know you guys are obsessed with her. Duh.

Lusher could practically hear Bada's sarcastic tone and rolled her eyes. "I swear she hates us," she mumbled, pouting while Tatter giggled. As the girls returned to their practice, the seniors went to the park to work on their assignment. The tall dancer, Bada, knew how people reacted to your presence. In fact, Team Bebe practically functioned as a fan club for you at this point. Bada had even noticed the subtle crushes some of the girls had on you, but Lusher was the one who appeared most infatuated. She often ranted about how good you looked and discussed your latest Instagram posts.

Bada had never brought up her friendship with you, even though the two of you were close. You had been each other's first friends in college, bonding over having the same major. You initially weren't sure if you could be friends with the towering girl, but as time passed, you discovered that you both shared the same major, making classes together inevitable. You often hung out during class, and other students loved the dynamic you both had. You were shorter, optimistic, smiley, and emotionally driven, while Bada was tall, appeared cold, and leaned towards being a pessimist, intellectually driven. You were the perfect definition of opposites attracting.

So, when Bada thought about her team, she figured the dancers wouldn't be able to handle the information. They might even use it to their advantage at some point. "So, you're going to be busy again with the festival?" Bada asked, and you nodded before sighing, "Yeah, but I'm also babysitting on those days."

"I don't know how you guys do it," one of your group mates said, her face reflecting her skepticism. "Bada has like 20 assignments, a dance competition, and you have two part-time jobs, your assignments, and the festival booth." You shrugged, and Bada chuckled. "When you love what you do, it doesn't make you feel busy," you explained, and Bada agreed. "She's not wrong."

"Speaking of the booths, can you come early next Friday?" Bada looked at your pleading eyes, tempted to tease you slightly. "Nah, I'm a little busy," she initially replied, causing your lips to pout as you grabbed her arm and shook it vigorously. "Dude, we need your height for the signs. You can even come later if you want." Bada laughed at your desperation. "Of course, I'll help you, N/n."

On the festival day, you and the baking club worked diligently to set up the booth. Boxes upon boxes of delectable desserts filled the display area. Some students passed by, watching as you organized the treats. Your eyes gleamed as you revealed a new dessert from each box, exclaiming, "These look amazing." A voice behind you expressed admiration, and you turned to see your tall friend with hungry eyes staring at the food. You gave her a pleading look, asking her to help first, causing Bada to roll her eyes and reply, "That's why I'm here, N/n." She began tying up signs while you ensured the coolers were functioning correctly.

"You made coffee cake?" Bada's gaze softened at seeing her favorite treat, and you smiled. "I know they're your favorite, so I made a bunch." She gave you a tight hug, her excitement evident. You swept the area as Bada moved around you, working efficiently to help with the setup.

"By the way, you should bring your team over later."

"Why?" Bada looked at you, her expression showing reluctance. "Girl, it's for the school fundraiser. Besides, I made so much, it'll just go to waste." Bada groaned at the thought. Her team was about to go crazy being in such close proximity to you. In a teasing tone, you told her, "I'll give you the ones you want for free." She agreed immediately, making you laugh at her swift response. After a few minutes, Bada finished putting up the signs and helped with the decoration. She then prepared to leave for a last-minute practice before their performance later that night. "I'll stop by before the dance?"

The school festival kicked off an hour after Bada left you in charge of the booth alongside other students who were helping out. The demand was soaring, and the delicious treats were flying off the shelves. Berry macaroons, red velvet cupcakes, chocolate chip cookies, and other goodies disappeared suddenly. You made sure to set aside some items that you knew Bada would love, keeping them hidden away discreetly.

Meanwhile, Team Bebe had just wrapped up their grueling practice and were gearing up for their performance. They all sported matching outfits featuring sturdy black cargo pants, baby tees with their logo, and cropped light blue bomber jackets. Bada led the girls through the crowd, the sea of students parting to make way for the renowned dance crew.

"The stage is that way, Bada," Lusher said, pointing to the left, but Bada didn't pause for a moment. "I promised to stop by somewhere and make sure I have some food left."

The younger members exchanged puzzled glances but continued to trail behind their tall, determined leader. They soon came across a sign displaying a cupcake, and the delightful aroma of sweet desserts filled their senses. "Are we getting food, unnie?" Lusher asked with a joyful clap and a jump. Bada nodded and made her way to the front of the booth, calling out, "Hey, N/n!"

Lusher's eyes widened with surprise as she spotted you holding a tray of beautifully frosted cupcakes. You wore a cute baby pink apron that exuded adorableness, and your beaming smile was a magnet for eager customers. Observing Bada trying to cut in line, you rolled your eyes, a gesture that didn't go unnoticed by Lusher.

"Is it okay for us to do this?" Lusher whispered to Bada, who responded with a sly grin. You signaled for Bada to move to the back of the booth, and the girls followed their leader. Reaching the rear, they found you holding an adorable light blue box. You opened it for Bada, revealing the delectable treats inside.

Grateful for your kindness, Bada expressed her thanks with a warm hug, and your eyes met with the crew standing behind her, creating a connection that would spark something new and exciting in the coming days.

As Bada and the rest of Team Bebe enjoyed the cupcakes you had prepared, Lusher couldn't help but be mesmerized by your beauty. Your smile was as warm as the sun, and your eyes sparkled with a charm that was hard to resist. Lusher found herself stealing glances at you whenever she thought you weren't looking, trying to hide the fluttering feeling in her chest.

She wanted to make a good impression, so she smiled and said, "Hi there! I'm Lusher. These cupcakes are amazing!" Bada took notice of her friend's boldness, leaving a cheeky smile on her face as she watched the younger blond pursue you.

Your gracious response only deepened her crush on you. "Nice to meet you, Lusher," you replied with your captivating smile. "I'm (Y/N). Thanks, I'm glad you like them."

As the festival continued, Team Bebe's performance drew nearer. Lusher and her crew enjoyed their treats, but Lusher's thoughts drifted back to you. She couldn't help but wonder about the person behind those enchanting cupcakes and that radiant smile.

Lusher felt a rush of excitement as she stood there next to you, even if it was just for a brief moment. She desperately wanted to keep the conversation going but knew that time was short with their performance approaching. As she glanced toward the stage where her crew was getting ready to head, she couldn't resist asking, "Are you going to watch our performance later?"

Your eyes lit up, and you nodded enthusiastically. "Of course! I wouldn't miss it for the world. I've heard amazing things about you guys." 

“Would you still be here by the end of the festival?” Lusher asks, hoping for anything but a no. That didn’t go her way, though, feeling down once you say, “I actually won’t be. I have work in 2 hours.” Lusher’s face grows sad as her posture droops, and you take notice, feeling bad. “Don’t worry though, I’ll make sure to leave something for you before you leave.”

With that assurance, Lusher reluctantly tore themselves away from your booth, eager to make her way to the stage. However, as they danced their hearts out in front of the school, Lusher couldn't help but steal glances in your direction, hoping to catch your eye in the crowd.

Hours passed, and as the festival drew close, Lusher returned to your booth to collect the baked goods you had promised. However, upon her arrival, she was met with dismay—a vacant space where your booth had once stood. You did say you had work, but Lusher truly hoped you could’ve possibly waited for her.

Lusher felt a pang of disappointment, but she didn't linger on it for long. She assumed her chance to see you again had slipped through her fingers. Little did she know that destiny had a different plan for her.

That night, Lusher's daily routine took an unexpected turn. She had to leave her group of friends earlier than usual due to her little brother being home with his babysitter. Her parents were working late, leaving her responsible for caring for her younger brother, Minjae, for the night. So when she enters her home, she expects her brother to run up to her with a cheesy grin like he always does. Yet, she was met with an eerie sound of nothingness. 

Her worry grew rapidly. Minjae was still supposed to be awake with his sitter, so why was there no noise? Lusher found herself cautiously stepping up the stairs, making sure she wouldn’t awaken anyone. She finds his door slightly ajar and a petite figure sitting beside her brother as they chatted away. Her eyes go to the babysitter, and she observes the clothing but pauses hard when she recognizes the cream-colored ribbon that held their hair up.

You were her brother’s babysitter? How in the world did she never realize? She wants to ask you many things but hesitates, especially after seeing your bond with her brother.

She watched in awe as you tenderly tucked Minjae into bed, his eyes shimmering with appreciation as he affectionately called you his "girlfriend" or "noona," expressing his deep admiration for you. Lusher couldn't help but beam at the touching sight as you giggled at his fantasies.

You read his favorite book as he fell asleep, ending the story to find him asleep. With a kiss on the forehead and a whisper of goodnight, you were about to exit his room but flinched when you saw Lusher standing at the door, leaning her head on the frame as her face held a sense of gratitude. Confusion brews on your face as you look back at Minjae, who looked peaceful as he slept. “Your Minjae’s noona?” You ask, and Lusher smiles, nodding. “So you’re Seoyoung?” You announce, stating it as if you were just asking yourself. “I’m just as surprised seeing you here. My parents never told me Jae’s sitter went to my school. There was literally no clue given to me,” She jokes, causing you to giggle at a hushed volume. 

“I’ll head out since you’re here now?” Lusher nods and walks you downstairs as you get your items situated. Before leaving, you perk up, remembering something as you rummaged through your bag. You pulled out a small box and opened it to show Lusher, and she stood there, bewildered. “I did promise you some treats, right? I didn’t really know what you liked, so it’s pretty basic stuff from the sale today.” You tell her, feeling a bit shy at the interaction, putting a smile on Lusher’s face. “I really do appreciate it, Y/n, thank you.”

“Of course. I’ll see you around?” Lusher’s heart flutters at the question. You? Were you hoping to see her? It was like a dream come true.

Over the following weeks, Lusher began to reorganize her entire schedule. Whenever Bada had to miss dance practice due to her projects, Lusher seized the opportunity to spend more time with her beloved brother and, naturally, to be in your company. One evening, while you were cooking a mouthwatering meal for Minjae, Lusher couldn't contain her curiosity any longer. She remarked, "You're so wonderful with Minjae," attempting to initiate a conversation.

You looked up from the stove with a hint of surprise. "Oh, thanks. He’s a good kid, so it’s a rewarding job for me."

Lusher's inquisitiveness grew, and she couldn't resist inquiring further, "Is babysitting the only thing you do? Like nothing in regards to working in a kitchen or bakery?"

You chuckled softly and explained, "I have another part-time. I also work in my mom's bakery on weekends."

Over the following six months, you and Lusher would share countless bonding moments. Whether baking cookies together, providing Minjae with homework assistance, or simply enjoying each other's company as a makeshift family, your connection deepened with each passing day. Unbeknownst to both of you, your lives were about to become more intertwined than ever imagined.

Lusher decided to visit your bakery since she had never been there after knowing you for a few months already. She was accompanied by Tatter and Kyma, her fellow dancers from Team Bebe. The three friends entered the cozy bakery, and the delightful scent of freshly baked goods enveloped them like a warm hug.

You were behind the counter, a welcoming smile gracing your face as you noticed them. "Well, hello there, Miss Seoyoung. What can I get for you today?" you asked teasingly.

Lusher couldn't help but feel excited as she exchanged playful remarks with you. She gestured to the delicious array of treats on display. "We'll take a little bit of everything, please."

You chuckled warmly. "Coming right up!" As you began to assemble a selection of delectable treats, you couldn't help but admire Lusher's lively spirit and her friends' enthusiasm. As you handed them a box filled with an assortment of your finest baked goods, Lusher couldn't contain her gratitude. "Thank you so much, (Y/N). These look amazing!"

With a playful wink, you replied, "My pleasure! Enjoy, and best of luck with your dance competition. I'll be rooting for Team Bebe!" The girls exchanged excited glances, knowing your support meant the world, especially to the sub-leader. "Actually," Lusher began, "we were wondering if you'd like to attend our competition next week. We'd love to have you there!"

You paused for a moment, genuinely touched by the invitation. "Of course. Count me in." The week passed quickly, and the day of the dance competition arrived. Team Bebe was in high spirits, fueled by your encouraging presence in the audience. As they took the stage, your face in the crowd gave Lusher an incredible boost of confidence.

After taking the stage with a breathtaking performance, the crowd applauded, and the girls took their final bow. Lusher's heart raced as she watched your eyes light up with pride. As the group gathered backstage, basking in the success of their performance, you made your way to congratulate them. Lusher could feel her heart pounding with anticipation. With an adrenaline rush, she decided it was the perfect moment to seize the opportunity.

With a trembling yet determined voice, she said, "I have something to ask you, (Y/N). I've enjoyed getting to know you so much, and I can't help but feel a strong connection between us. Would you consider being my girlfriend?"

Your eyes widened in surprise, and a radiant smile spread across your face. "I'd be absolutely thrilled, Lusher." You replied, sealing the moment with a sweet and tender kiss on her check.

The applause from the performance continued to echo in the background as you and Lusher embarked on a new chapter together, one filled with sweet surprises and the promise of a love that had blossomed amidst cupcakes and dance routines.

Tag List: @tikitsune @luvjanexx @blurmelonmilk @froufrousnowman @amararosesblog

[yourfanficocmightdisagree]

As promised:

Rusted Steel Characters

Placed in no particular order, even if not everyone is equally important to the plot (or certain parts of it).

Also: Cinna, Clove, Carolina, Emi, and Joey are OCs! because I can’t go a single one of these without inserting an oc somewhere

Also also: I don’t know if I need to make this distinction, but this is not the anime canon. If anything this is closer to the games, I’m just grafting some stuff onto it like tree branches. You might see in a second why I felt I needed to say that, but yeah. This is kind of a mix of both but it’s pretty much entirely gameverse canon with a few animeverse things sprinkled in.

With all that being said:

Chili Striaton - At just 26, Chili’s already dealing with… a lot. Living five years in another time period with only vague memories of his past life is already not particularly fun. Being violently ripped from said time period after just getting used to it and dropped into what feels like an entirely new one certainly isn’t either. Still, things aren’t all bad. At least now he has some company, even if all his young companions seem off about something.

Cress Striaton - Cress really wanted to think there was some hope for the situation. He did what he could to keep himself sane, finding ways to fill his time after the Gym’s closure and after finally processing the disappearance really happened. Teaching at BB Academy is fun and all, sure, and it’s a nice way to fill the time, but nothing can fill the hole Chili left when he disappeared.

Cilan Striaton - Cilan’s… doing his best. He’s happy to have Cress to lean on, at least, and things are getting better in his personal life. He’s running the Striaton Restaurant (mostly by himself, though Cress is around to help when he’s not grading homework), and he’s keeping up with his Connoisseur studies the best he can… but even after five years, thinking about Chili still hurts. (Also, he’s engaged to Skyla. I don’t know if that will come up in the au besides mentions but I wanted it to be here bc that ship does not get enough attention)

Cinnamon “Cinna” Striaton - Cinna… did not take the disappearance well at all. It’s understandable, mostly; she was ten when it happened, and even now at fifteen, she’s still on a mad search for answers. Still, it’s starting to get out of hand. Cinna seems entirely consumed with her search… and she doesn’t seem to care if other people are endangered in the process of trying to bring Chili home.

Clove Striaton - Clove just wants everything to be okay again. The disappearance took its own toll on her, though she’s more focused on keeping everyone else afloat. Cinna’s mad search for answers certainly didn’t help Clove’s peace of mind, though she and Emi did what they could to make her take care of herself. With Cinna gone, both of them and their friends now in a foreign region, Clove just wants everything to go back to how it used to be.

Carolina Striaton - Carolina didn’t take the disappearance very well either, much like the rest of her family. Still, she’s doing what she can to deal with it. Standing at her self-assigned post in Unova, looking for any chance Chili could still be found dead or alive, is difficult, but Carolina wants to think it’ll be okay. She’s not sure if her sister’s crazy or if Cinna’s actually onto something, but she can’t help but hope it’s the latter.

Emi Whitaker - Cinna’s best friend, fellow student at BB Academy, and sort-of-girlfriend. While not as devoted to the search as Cinna, Emi hopes they find something if only so Cinna will get some sleep. Waking up that morning to find Cinna gone took its own toll on her, but Emi, now the self-appointed leader of their little group, is trying to just keep going. Even so, Clove and Joey can’t help but notice Emi’s going the same way Cinna did.

Joseph “Joey” Tucker - Joey, admittedly, is not very close to either disappearance. He really ever only knew Chili as his friends’ older brother who was around sometimes, and Cinna is a friend of a friend at best. Still, he is close to Clove (he definitely doesn’t like her, don’t ask) and seeing the effect everything’s having on her is too much to watch. Besides, he is worried about Cinna, even if in a detached way, and Emi too, even if all he feels he can do is watch and hope things don’t get worse than they already are.

There may(?) be an edit to this depending on whether or not I decide a certain character (Anya, Chili’s girlfriend) is important to the story itself or not. Either way, that covers everyone who ends up being relevant in some way or another. (Ik Ingo’s on the timeline, he will definitely be in a side story of like what happened in Hisui once I figure out what actually happened, he might(?) come up in later parts of this story specifically but either way, I did not forget about the Ingo thing.)

Anyway, if this post comes up at the scheduled time, thanks for reading this far :D I’m happy people are enjoying this silly little story I’ve been spinning around in my mind for months

[cup1dt3a]

How does the 1st year ob look like? I mean, what outfit/accessories are they wearing?

So basically I am actually working on some concepts for this but here are a few I have came up with. Hope you like them! I didn’t do a full design due to a time limit and art block please forgive me.

Adeuce duo they basically have the markings of their respective card suits on their head. Their markings downward are kind of like helmets too. But they both still have the heart/spade on the corners of their eyes.

With Aces overal design I had wanted it to be like a jerster and soldier like outfit. Because I had loved the traitor Ace theorys and some particular designs of his ob form had stood out to me a lot. But I had taken a lot of inspiration from the card soldiers from Alice in wonderland a lot.

With Deuce I wanted his more delinquent side to show throughout his appearance. Because his delinquent years were a big part in his life. A part that he tries to repress so I just thought what if he hadn’t changed? What if he was just very impulsive and didn’t hold back his tounge on snarky comments like Ace. So I have just been looking for the most grunge and delinquent styles I could find for him. His messy hair was kept since he probably doesn’t care that much for appearances. I had given him chains as his neck mark and to surround him. Because of his gangster persona and as a symbol of the weight of guilt he carries from seeing how upset his poor mother was. Not even bothering to change his ways because he was too deep into it and went “ FUCK GRANDMA!”

Epel like deuce would be a menace. For he must have a lot of built up gender dysphoria and hatred from always being called a girl. Even after constantly stating it to others only for them to still call him girly. So I wanted to give him a very delinquent-y look along with a long cloak since he is obviously inspired by the old lady queen? I forgot the name but anyways I wanted you to convey that through giving him a more intimating and messy look to convey how manly he is. Along with the fact he doesn’t care for his appearance either and is just a messy and chaotic farm boy. His blot markings are very similar to Vil’s but extremely messy and he has splashed markings everywhere on him.

Jack I am not too sure for his reasons of overblotting. Because sure you could have a good supportive family and childhood but still have issues. So I’d say that he maybe overused his powers to a point he had overblotted. But he is an obvious leader of the group due to him always keeping them in check. So I’d see his overblot form showing his animalistic side a lot more. Id keep his little shark tooth? Or fang necklace. But adding more fur onto him for a more animalistic look. Along with his very complex hair being more disheveled to add to his blot form looking very over worked. I’ve added the three scratches on his nose because of Leona.

Sebek… it’s just very obvious that he was bullied as a child for being half human. Due to Briar Valleys rarity of humans being there so he probably would have occasionally been bullied or felt different from the rest of the kids there. This would result in his self hatred. So his adoration for malleus besides his strength and other admirable characteristics would probably also be because he’s living perfection in his eyes. So his human racism would be at its max! But his loyalty to Malleus would still shine throughout his design because of how devoted he is to him. So most of his outfit would contain little accessories similar to malleus but expressed in Sebeks own unique way. Along with his reptilian looks shining through so he would most definitely have many inky and real scales around his face and body. Kinda like freckles for example.

I haven’t gotten his yet due to running out of time but still hopefully you all enjoyed this and are having a good day/ have your day get better! Sincerely Cup1d T3a💕

@simping-on-the-daily Got you some food!

[twistedstxrs]

Name: Edward Munson

Nickname: Eddie

Alias: The Freak

Birthday: 1965

Age: 20 - 21

Sexuality: Bisexual

Location: Hawkins, Indiana

Species: Human

Powers: None

Occupation: Leader of Corroded Coffin, Leader of the Hellfire Club, Student at Hawkins High School

Height: 5′10″

Weight: 163 lbs

Eye Color: Brown

Hair color: Dark Brown

Piercings: None

Tattoos: A few

Scars: A few

Faceclaim: Joseph Quinn

Biography

Eddie Munson was born in 1965 in Hawkins, Indiana. Though his parents were never revealed, his guardian was his paternal uncle, Wayne Munson, and the two of them lived in the town's Forest Hills Trailer Park. During the 1970s, Eddie attended Hawkins Middle School alongside Chrissy Cunningham. Sometime during their attendance, Hawkins Middle School hosted a talent show in which both Eddie and Chrissy participated. Eddie was impressed by Chrissy's cheer-leading while Chrissy fondly remembered Eddie's rock band, Corroded Coffin. Eventually, the two drifted apart once they began attending Hawkins High School, though Eddie never held animosity towards her. While attending Hawkins High, Eddie led the school's Dungeons & Dragons club, the Hellfire Club, which was despised by the town due to the rising belief that D&D was connected to the worship of Satan. Despite the rumors, Eddie flourished in the club and found purpose in reaching out to other teenagers who felt like outsiders. His belief in the benefits of being unique and his disdain for social conformity often led to clashes with the popular kids, such as Jason Carver, Chrissy's boyfriend and a member of the Hawkins High Basketball Team. Eddie was originally going to graduate in 1984, and again in 1985, but his rebellious streak and poor grades resulted in him being held back, and ultimately led to him despising the school's principal.

Personality

Eddie was a full-on nonconformist metalhead. He was hated by those who didn't understand him, but loved by those who did. Eddie enjoyed playing Dungeons & Dragons with his friends and had considerable knowledge on the game. He was the head of Hellfire Club. Because of his devotion to Dungeons & Dragons, Eddie refused to cancel any campaigns and would require the members of his club to seek out new substitutes to play if a member of the club was unable to attend on any particular evening.

Eddie struggled in school, likely due to his eccentric personality rather than low intelligence, and was implied to have bad grades in his classes. In spite of this, Eddie was still determined to graduate by 1986. He had knowledge of drug use, for which he was sought out, but could be friendly enough to offer a discount.

Eddie was also noted to harbor a dislike towards popular groups, such as the Hawkins High basketball team and its captain, Jason Carver. Despite this, Eddie was very kind towards Chrissy Cunningham, a popular cheerleader and Jason's girlfriend, implying he was fundamentally a good-hearted person and was likely responding to the demonization of his favorite game. Additionally, he was quick to frustration and irritation, but for the most part, could get along with those outside his immediate group of friends.

He was shown to have a passion for music ever since he had begun playing the guitar, recognizing and making rock and metal references that others didn’t understand, such as to Steve Harrington. His references are often used to figure out the situations around him. Eddie expressed his passions through his style and room.

Eddie had a tendency to avoid direct conflict as he was extremely horrified when Chrissy and Patrick McKinney were killed by Vecna, causing him to run away from the crime scenes and become a suspect in their murders. However, when those closest to him were in danger, Eddie was willing to come to their rescue. In an effort to buy the Party more time in attacking Vecna, Eddie sacrificed himself to draw the Demobats away, and made Dustin promise to look after any more outcasts at Hawkins High School before dying in Dustin's arms.

[esonetwork]

The Alpha Male Isn't

New Post has been published on https://esonetwork.com/the-alpha-male-isnt/

The Alpha Male Isn't

You may have run into one of these guys.

Alpha Male Aquaman

They’re big, maybe bearded, scowling. “I am a dominant Alpha male by nature,” they say. “I’m a Bull… a primal hunter. I have no time for any liberal/democrat rhetoric or narrative. I don’t support BS movements and I bow to no one. I am a man’s man.”

They may have the suits, the Ray Bans, the Harley Davidsons, or the Hummers, but they’re not Alpha Males.

Why? Because there is no such thing as an Alpha Male.

And if you haven’t run into one in real life (or you aren’t under the delusion that you are one of those guys) you see them all over popular entertainment, and in Science Fiction, Fantasy and Comic Book movies in particular.

Captain Alpha Male

SF & Fantasy movies are littered with straight-up badasses that all the guys picture themselves as wanting to be (or, in their dreams, actually are). Conan the Barbarian. Captain Kirk. Batman. Tarzan. Aquaman. Wolverine. James Bond (not Fantasy? Think again, my friend!)

The list goes on. Surely these examples, as fantastic as they are, are pure and simple Alpha males?

The answer, my friend, is still; No.

So, how is it that I can say this with such certainty? It’s because the whole concept of the “Alpha Male” originally came about from research on wolves. Research that, it turns out, was flawed.

Rudolf Schenkel wrote about social structure and body language among wolves in 1947. Schenkel studied wolves at the Basel Zoo in Switzerland, where up to ten wolves were kept together in an area of 10 by 20 metres. He saw that the highest ranked female and male formed a pair, and that the hierarchy could change.

“By continuously controlling and suppressing all types of competition within the same sex, both ‘alpha animals’ defend their social position,” Schenkel wrote.

According to another well-known wolf researcher, David Mech, it was Schenkel’s work that gave rise to the idea of the alpha wolf, according to The International Wolf Center website.

Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman

In 1970, the book The Wolf: Ecology and Behavior of an Endangered Species was published, written by David Mech. It was a success. The book helped to popularize the alpha concept, which was soon adopted to human interaction.

The idea of an Alpha Wolf feeds naturally into human interaction. Among any group of men there is always a leader. The expression “Top Dog” is an idiom for the boss. In a competition, it is also the favorite or the one expected to win, and the opposite of the underdog. It may be a shorthand reference for a dominance hierarchy.

And it’s natural that male leaders would lionize themselves as “Alphas” and assume that this means that they represent some sort of superiority either in physical power, emotional dominance or, in a disturbingly high number of cases, genetic supremacy.

But it’s all nonsense.

You see, the research done on the wolf pack structure in the 60s and 70s was mainly done on wolves in captivity. These wolves were not necessarily related and were kept in an unnaturally small area.

Since that time, Mech had studied wild wolf packs on Ellesmere Island in Canada for 13 summers. He discovered that what was commonly called the alpha pair was simply the parents of the rest of the pack. As parents, they consequently led the pack’s activities.

Peggy Carter as Captain Britain

“Dominance fights with other wolves are rare, if they exist at all. During my 13 summers where I observed the pack, I saw none,” Mech wrote in an article entitled “Alpha Status, Dominance, and Division of Labor in Wolf Packs”.

The male will hunt on his own only when the female is nesting with the young cubs. And the male needs to hunt a lot because he ends up having to bring the majority of what he catches home to the family. When the cubs are older the male and the female share hunting duties equally. The cubs begin to hunt as well but they are not yet skilled at it so will hunt in packs until they get better, then will hunt on their own. But a young male hunting on his own does not catch much. It’s tricky for the lone wolf to survive and often times he only does because wolves are physiologically designed to survive on very little.

So what does all this do to the idea of the human “Alpha Male”? Well, it pretty much lets the air out of it.

You see, according to current research, humans look for some dominance in a potential partner, but only to assure that the potential mates are good providers. What turns out to be more of an attraction is kindness

T’Chala as a kinder, gentler Star Lord

The conclusions of a study by Jerry Burger and Mica Cosby suggest that woman do not want a demanding male, and only 12 percent wanted an aggressive person for a date and romantic partner.

Dominance is attractive, but beyond that, the big winners were easygoing and sensitive.

So, what does this mean for our SF, Fantasy and Comic Book heroes?

Well, what it means is just what we see happening. Less emphasis on the unattainable ideal of the “Alpha” hero, and more situations where men and women work together, and where sometimes the women take on the dominant role. More stories where consideration and kindness towards others wins the day over brute force.

More heroes like Captain America, Wonder Woman, Black Widow, Michael Burnham, or Frodo Baggins, who is no one’s conventional idea of an Alpha Male, but is a hero nonetheless. Peggy Carter as Captain America and Steve Rodgers as her devoted sidekick. T’Challa as Star Lord, who’s compassion, and sensitivity, paired with his action hero skills, helps make the galaxy a better place (and who even talks… TALKS… Thanos out of his idea to cull half the population of the galaxy).

The world is changing, slowly but surely and the whole idea of the “Alpha” male is slowly fading into irrelevance. Now and again we hear the plaintive cries of outraged fanboys who are desperate to hold on to the status quo, but it’s all for nought. Things are proceeding apace and those who cling to the past will get pulled further and further away from the “Now”.

There are no “Alpha” males. Might does not make right. One does not become dominant by being aggressive, demanding, or intimidating. These traits are, by and large, disagreeable.

Just like that other Rogers; Fred… Mister Rogers… said: When things get scary, don’t look for the “Man’s Man”… “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”

[a-long-walk-in-the-forest]

Do you think the villages are cults? In my opinion, they do score quite high on the BITE model

Hello, I’m going to give a very poorly thought out and messy answer so I apologize in advance. 

It isn’t really an answer to your question just my ramblings about my confusion about the term cult.

I’m not really qualified to speak on any matter concerning sociology since It’s outside my field of expertise and I’m kind of confused about what a cult is, the term to me, without further research, implies a vaguely malicious organization that engages in brainwashing and causes some sort of harm.

I looked at the definition of the word itself and it’s a word with several different definitions, most of which are very broad:

According to the Compact Edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (1971), the term cult originally referred to 

worship; reverential homage rendered to a divine being or beings ... a particular form or system of religious worship; especially in reference to its external rites and ceremonies ... devotion or homage to a particular person or thing.

More recently, the term has taken on additional connotations: 

A religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious...

 A system for the cure of disease based on dogma set forth by its promulgator...

a. great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work... 

b. a usually small group of people characterized by such devotion (Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition, 1994)

If we go based on these definitions almost anything can be considered a cult.

I briefly looked at google scholar for articles regarding the topic (I’m not sure which sources are considered reputable in this field so that is also a problem). I had a brief look at this and this. I also looked at this which said:

Robbins’s (1988) review of recent sociological contributions to the study of cults identifies four definitional perspectives:

cults as dangerous, authoritarian groups

cults as culturally innovative or transcultural groups

cults as loosely structured protoreligions

Stark and Bainbridge’s (1985) subtypology that distinguishes among audience cults (members seek to receive information—e.g., through a lecture or tape series), client cults (members seek some specific benefit—e.g., psychotherapy, spiritual guidance), and cult movements (organizations that demand a high level of commitment from members).

Rutgers University professor Benjamin Zablocki (1997) says that sociologists often distinguish cult from church, sect, and denomination. Cults are innovative, fervent groups. If they become accepted into the mainstream, cults, in his view, lose their fervor and become more organized and integrated into the community; they become churches. When people within churches become dissatisfied and break off into fervent splinter groups, the new groups are called sects. As sects become more stolid and integrated into the community, they become denominations. Zablocki defines a cult as “an ideological organization held together by charismatic relationships and demanding total commitment.” According to Zablocki, cults are at high risk of becoming abusive to members, in part because members’ adulation of charismatic leaders contributes to those leaders becoming corrupted by the power they seek and are accorded.

Definitions proposed at various times by associates of ICSA tend to presume the manifestation of what is potential in Zablocki’s definition. These definitions tend to emphasize elements of authoritarian structure, deception, and manipulation, and the fact that groups may be psychotherapeutic, political, or commercial, as well as religious. One of the more commonly quoted definitions of cult was articulated at an ICSA/UCLA Wingspread Conference on Cultism in 1985:

This part is what I’m assuming you mean by cult

Cult (totalist type): A group or movement exhibiting a great or excessive devotion or dedication to some person, idea, or thing and employing unethically manipulative techniques of persuasion and control (e.g., isolation from former friends and family, debilitation, use of special methods to heighten suggestibility and subservience, powerful group pressures, information management, suspension of individuality or critical judgment, promotion of total dependency on the group and fear of leaving it…), designed to advance the goals of the group’s leaders, to the actual or possible detriment of members, their families, or the community. (West & Langone, 1986, pp. 119–120)

From what I understood, it goes on to say that it’s hard to label many organizations/movements as cults (has to be looked at on a case by case basis and a lot of the time there isn’t a consensus) and the lists are only things that could be cults and aren’t necessarily cults (it also greatly depends on which exact definition you are using). The other source mentioned how the term should be avoided in legal and academic matters for various reasons.

This made me question the validity of available predictive models as from what I know, having accurate and reliable data is necessary for an accurate and reliable model. A naive example would be if we wanted to predict an disease (Di) based on various symptoms (S1, S2, S3) we would have to have a bunch of data with these labels (so for example person Pi has Di and has S1 and S2 but not S3, we have these correctly labeled for n people) then we make a model based on a part of this data which will have a certain accuracy that we will check from the rest of this dataset. 

If we can’t say for sure if various organizations are really cults or not then the datasets that we are building our models from are very arbitrary and inaccurate so our model isn’t very reliable. I’m going to stress again that I don’t know the first thing about sociology and I only had a brief look at some articles.

There was another source that proposed looking at various key words that were published along with the word cult for various time period to get an understanding of what the term is mostly associated with during different time periods. This method obviously also has its shortcomings and basically I have no idea.

There was this fairly recent article that said this in its abstract:

I tried to introduce a new category, “criminal religious movements,” including groups that either (or both) consistently practice and justify common crimes such as terrorism, child abuse, rape, physical violence, homicide, and serious economic crimes, as opposite to the vague or imaginary crimes of “being a cult” or “brainwashing members.” The paper argues that there would be definite advantages in replacing categories such as xie jiao, “destructive cults,” and “extremist religions” (the latter now fashionable in Russia) with “criminal religious movements,” a notion that would refer to ascertained crimes perpetrated by each movement rather than to notions so vague that they become dangerous for religious liberty.

I only read the abstract but from this I concluded that it probably really is a vague (and somewhat problematic) term. This is to say, I have no clue what a cult actually is and what model is accurate, how to judge its accuracy, ...

I also don’t think the model you mentioned is very good. It has many parts that seem questionable and dangerous to religious freedom and the person who wrote it seems very biased to me. Still, I don’t know much about the subject and I’ll leave it to people who know what they’re talking about.

If I go by just intuition and that one definition (the ICSA/UCLA Wingspread Conference one) then I’m going to say yes (since we don’t know much about the other villages I’m only talking about the leaf). The excessive devotion is there (although what constitutes as excessive is up to personal interpretation to some extent, I think the grey of their case is close enough to black to be categorized as such), they employ unethical tactics for manipulation and control (much of it is canonically unethical, hence their insistence on hiding it and their various excuses), for the leader and to the detriment of the community part is somewhat grey but overall I do think it was more a personal matter than genuinely caring about the community for most leaders (particularly the council but others as well). In general though, I can’t say for sure. 

If you made it this far I apologize again for not being able to answer your question properly and hope you have a good day.

[normal-thoughts-official]

magnus is this notorious pirate famous in the caribbean with everyone talking about him because of how successful he is. his quartermaster is definitely raphael (his care for his clan and how he cares for others solidifies this thought process) and their ship has some corny name that raphael pretends to hate but definitely loves. europe thinks that magnus and his crew are demons(racists fucks) meanwhile theyre out here being nerds who enjoys navigating the seas and ruining racists job prospects+

+cat and ragnor live on nassau with magnus bringing back supplies they sell(we love the blackmarket here). the lightwoods are brought into this world bc their parents send them off to nassau to try and expand the family's business and gain profit off of this lawless place which refuses to be governed by anyone. malec meets at like the local inn where maia works at also where izzy meets her and by association The Polycule)and is just attracted to each other right then and there with bad flirting. once they become settled in, alec and izzy becomes like disillusioned with following what their parents expect of them and start to actually do what they wish. because he's dramatic, alec probably asks ragnor who settled down from pirating for more lessons in sword fighting (hes not unexperienced but theres a difference from fighting on land and on water)

eventually magnus hears about this cue them dramatically learning how to fight on like this cliff top with their swords connecting (we love euphemisms for sex) and them bonding over magnus' book collection he has and them no longer doing what their parents expect of them (im imagining asmodeus as this well traveled trader or something who only cares about money rather than having humanity) and even though magnus is this pirate which is a profession that the "civilized world" looks down on, he's like the epitome of actually having morals and caring about people (pirates were known to drastically impact the slave trade as they often freed slaves and let them join their crew or they worked directly with maroons and indigenous people). 

i imagine their first kiss to be when theyre training and someone has a sword pressed against the others neck because theyre horny bastards and they accept only the dramatics. their proposal/matelot is potc levels of dramatic with them fighting an enemy crew alongside The Polycule(the most badass and queer crew out there) and like halfway through alec is just like marry me and then next thing they know it raphael is officiating their marriage around dead people before they go on to have a better and more planned out wedding on shore (had to get some of this out now before i went too deep, The Poycule is definitely something i paid attention to most considering how big and complex the group is)

ugh not to add to an already huge post but

you are totally right about raphael being his quartermaster! raphael is a great leader and he cares so much for his people and he is one of the few people magnus obviously trusts, even as they have their differences. only other person i could imagine as magnus' quartermaster would be cat but like! raphael is perfect for the job! also i love the idea that he pretends to hate the corny name, he has to pretend to hate magnus' puns and jokes on principle but really he loves it

also "meanwhile they are all nerds" accurate, the whole ship is just a whole mess of people having fun and being family we love that for them

and ok not to slut for the polycule but i'm slutting for the polycule i just. aaa want to know so much more about them. i know you said they were already with maia but idk i can see many of them being part of magnus' crew? especially meliorn and tbh clary lmao she seems the type who would love adventure like that (i'm going with fanon clary here mostly) and i can see simon in both but i can also definitely see simon being in the inn with maia (god i have a half baked au that includes that) because being in the sea all day? no thank you. and they are just this nice local couple that helps all the pirates because fuck the racist law

also it's hilarious because they are so warm and welcoming and the lightwoods get there and simon is like "oh-oh. incoming" and maia is all like "what the fUCK do you want"

which lowkey backfires because izzy is just like "oh she's so fierce, i love her" and is already like, halfway in love doing the head tilt and huge grin thing (she's not creepy about it, just like, she likes it, you know? especially because in this AU izzy was raised as a Rich Girl so she's expected to be all that fragile useless white woman ideal and yada yada and she's not here for that so she's attracted to the idea of women like clary and maia)

and just like ghhgggghhh not to slut but i love the idea that they are in the inn and meliorn raphael and possibly clary are always in the sea so like! sweet reunions! not that they are usually going super far lmao mostly just stopping the slave trade and protecting the caribbean and shit, but that's a few months in between visits and i picture that at some point when they are getting to nassau raphael is just like, vibrating (you know, as much as he allows himself to) and magnus just smiles knowingly, happy that his boy has found people he's so happy with

and raphael getting into the inn and being like "simon! maia!" and simon and maia being like "raphael! meliorn!" and just crashing into this big group hug and it's all laughs and meliorn twirls maia and she giggles and simon kisses raphael's cheek and is all worried about them both (plus clary) because god what the fuck kind of shit did they get into this time, are they hurt? if he's broken another leg he's gonna- and raphael laughs and says "no, cariño, i promise all i have with me are gifts" because he's not gonna travel the caribbean and not bring stuff for his partners. so it's him and meliorn showering maia and simon in gifts and pretty and maybe stolen things (maia in particular takes such great joy in learning that her pretty new bracelet belonged to some racist bitch) like spoils you know? lmao, and looking at them it's like they haven't seen each other in years or something but no it's been like a month and it's always like that

and alec and izzy are just watching that, mouths slack, shocked, but highkey yearning for something as free as that, that loving family and that open love and meliorn's genderfuckery and just everything about them! and alec "conceal don't feel" lightwood is kind of frowning and goes "are they always like that?" to which magnus, behind him, answers "yes" and then he turns around and they stare at each other and magnus quickly goes from "happy for my boys" to "hello tall person" in a matter of seconds and is suddenly all seductive and flirty and alec is having the time of his life? especially since here away from the lightwoods he can allow himself just a little bit, and letting a guy flirt with him can't hurt, right? he knows izzy won't tell their parents. so he engages

cue terribly bad flirting, izzy smiling widely as she watches the polycule dynamics, highkey wanting something like that for herself, especially seeing the way that clary talks to maia all like "look at this SWORD" and all the adventures. and maia still doesn't trust her but apparently magnus has already hit it off with her brother so what the hell, they might as well stay

and just!! yes getting to know each other shenanigans. i picture that like the army gets there and tries to get magnus and his crew and alec and izzy are like running to them to warn them (alec not knowing quite why, he shouldn't be taking that big of a risk, he shouldn't be getting attached to a pirate - of whom he's only heard terrible things so far, thinks they are Evil basically - just because something about him is alluring and represents the freedom he doesn't allow himself to want, but... he is getting attached) and the whole gang is all like *very calmly heading to the secret hideout in their room* oh don't worry about that lmao they do this every week

and idk i just want a moment where they are almost found and alec and izzy lowkey save their ass (i mean they would have managed but they make it easier, maybe use the Privilege Card lmao). maybe the guards were closer than they thought so alec ends up just shoving magnus into the hideout and when the guards come in he's all like "WHO is interrupting our sleep" and acts like an entitled brat and they don't even search the room lmao and then alec runs to the hideout all "sorry that i pushed you, are you okay?" and magnus is all like "i'm fine" but a little touched about the care. just to establish that trust, you know? both between them and between izzy and the rest of the polycule

so after that it all kind of flows smoothly because they know they can genuinely trust the lightwoods and so it grows into something more. magnus and alec can bond over having Terrible Parents With Terrible Morals and they open up about their respective traumas with abuse, and alec confesses to magnus for the first time ever that he doesn't want to be like his parents, that he thought if maybe he earned their respect, he could change things from the inside. and magnus looks at him all soft and touched and is like "there's no changing things from the inside" and alec is like "i'm starting to realize that" you know

and yeah alec gets to see how much that crew cares for each other, way more than his "traditional family" ever could (except for him and izzy who are just as devoted to each other as the crew is, but like, it's honestly less the "blood relations" and more how they've always been there for each other as they handled their parents' shittiness) and again he's just yearning because he always believed he wouldn't get something like that. and magnus in particular is just so caring and just wants to make the world a better place, you know? and he admires that and they bond over that, too

and just jdhdaodshad god i love this. and meanwhile izzy is flirting with maia clary and meliorn like crazy and soon they are like this huge messy group with all those dynamics... and i just aaa and alec and izzy end up joining the crew and daiodsaiodjsaio RAPHAEL OFFICIATING THEIR WEDDING i'm genuinely all for that fucking shit, magnus wants his boy to do it for them and aaaaa! also i DEMAND raphael&meliorn fighting sequences because i bet they would make a bomb ass duo fighting back to back and shit, you know? bonus points if they are defending simon and maia who are behind them and just making sure no one touches them?? i live for this shit 

in short i love this and you said “get some out of your chest" so if there's more, then fuck, i can't wait to see it dahsdaijas i'm sorry for talking so much i get too excited

[lawnierose]

~Malfoy Manor~

Draco stared up into the sky wondering what he had done to become one of Lady Fate’s playthings. Between him and Potter they had some of the best and worst luck he had ever seen. Really, it had taken a quick downward spiral since the Ministry incident in fifth year. The Dark Lord had been furious at his father for his failure there. Then, the Mad Dark One had murdered his mother for trying to keep him from having to take the Dark Mark. Draco was furious, which caused him to fail the tests needed for Snake Face to consider him for his ranks. The final straw to place him in his current condition was Severus “accidentally” ruining a patch of poisons His Royal Darkness needed. Now Draco was outside laying about in the grass. He had been spending more time on the grounds of his family's land. After the latest “failure” from Severus, Voldemort had decided to make an example of him, Draco, and Lucius. All three had been given to Fenrir Greyback. However, instead of tearing them all to shreds, Fenrir had shifted and turned them all. Life had been interesting after that. Now that the Malfoy family was “disgraced”, Voldemort had moved on to a new Manor. This had allowed Lucius to invite the whole of Greyback’s pack to live on the Malfoy’s land, of which they had plenty to spare. With the recent transformation, Draco had a greater appreciation of the outdoors.

Draco had discovered a great deal in the short time since being turned. One, Fenrir was nothing like the vicious rumours about the man. The man truly cared about his pack and the welfare of all werewolves. Two, he had turned them because they were powerful and useful. Draco and Lucius had become Dominant wolves, but not Alphas. Severus had ended up a submissive, not that anyone would mess with the magically powerful man. Draco’s Uncle Sev still knew how to be intimidating. Fenrir even promised to help them find suitable mates. Three, Fenrir had originally joined the Dark Lord because he was promised equality for dark creatures once Voldemort was ruling Great Britain. Now Greyback wasn’t so sure the insane man would keep his word. Not that he was turning light, mind you. That side was still fully against their kind, despite their leaders saying the opposite. Neither was he fully in line with Voldemort anymore. These changes are what led them to where they are now. Lucius had the political and financial power to start making sure werewolves and other dark creatures were treated better. He was also better motivated to do so by being one himself. Severus was now devoting much of his time into researching a cure, or at least a way to be less at war with the wolf side of their nature. He had dragged Draco, who was a potion prodigy, into helping him. Draco had only had one full moon since his turning. However, just that one night with all the other wolves had brought him closer to them than he had ever been with most of his schoolmates. It was a weird yet comforting feeling. He was only sad that he hadn’t found his mate. Ok, so his wolf was sad, but he felt fully in tune with his wolf.

“Draco” he heard calling from behind him, “I think I have found a viable solution.”

~Number 4~

Harry was in a world of pain. He had been forced back to the Dursleys yet again at the end of the school year. He was decimated by the loss of his godfather, Sirius. Every night was plagued with nightmares and every day was more chores and abuse. This particular beating was courtesy of him having a nightmare induced hallucination while cleaning, causing him to break one of Petunia’s vases. Vernon had taken great pleasure in beating him senseless. He had woken up hours later with a concussion, several broken ribs, and he thought he might be bleeding internally. Moving very slowly and with enough pain to cause him to black out twice, Harry was able to grab his D.A. galleon from under the loose floorboard under his bed. He was able to send a quick S.O.S. before succumbing once more to blackness.

~Grimmauld Place~

Hermione was pacing furiously in her room at Order Headquarters. Just moments ago she had felt her pocket warm up and discovered her D.A. galleon glowing. It was blood red, the color for immediate danger and the magical signature was Harry’s. Hermione was frantically trying to determine what to do. Which of the adults would even believe her. “Oh, this galleon is informing me Harry is in trouble” Yeah right! She stopped suddenly. Remus would believe her. That wolf would do anything to keep his pup safe. She needed someone else from the D.A. as well. Ron wasn’t a great choice, he was still dealing with the effects of the brain tentacle things in the DOM. There was also the fact things were still strained since the fourth year and the tournament. Honestly, her three best choices were Neville, Ginny, or Luna as all three were in the building and honestly cared for Harry. She grabbed her emergency stash, which was a beaded bag full of potions, money, clothes, food and even a tent. As she left the room, she wasn’t surprised to find Luna in the hallway, her usual airy expression gone.

“He needs us.”

Hermione had stopped questioning how Luna knew things she shouldn’t years ago. Their little group had learned to trust and follow her bouts of insight. Harry and Neville were probably the only two who truly understood her unusual way of speaking. Hermione grabbed Luna by the arm as they went in search of Remus. They found him in the library, and quickly explained the situation to him. The three slipped out of Grimmauld Place without attracting any attention and Remus apparated them all to park that the Order used a little ways away from Number 4.

~Number 4~

After popping in, Remus moved to where Mundungus was supposed to be keeping watch. He found the disgusting thief asleep. Waking him, Remus sent him on his way, saying it was his turn to take watch. Once Dung apparated away, Remus motioned the girls to follow him. Hermione cast a Revelio on the house, allowing them to discover there was only one occupant. An Alohamora moved them inside and they followed the point-me spell up to the second floor. Remus struggled to hold back Moony as he saw the seven locks and cat flap on the door his pup was behind. Using his strength, he merely ripped the door from its frame. Both girls screamed at the sight before them. Harry was unconscious on the floor, laying in a pool of blood, vomit, and other bodily fluids. Remus cast several spells in rapid succession to clean Harry and the floor of the mess before levitating Harry up and stripping him so that Luna and Hermione could begin to work. All three had tears in their eyes as Luna began pouring potions into Harry and Hermione was using Dittany on his many wounds to seal them up. After they got the bleeding taken care of, they realized none of them was trained enough to cast diagnostic spells on Harry to see if there was more damage.

“We need to get him to Poppy” Remus was pacing still trying to contain his rage.

“She would only tell Dumbledore, who would send Harry right back here. Just like he has every summer”

Remus looked at Hermione aghast. “You mean he knew. How long has this been going on?”

Luna looked over at Harry. “Since he was six. His relatives are hounded by nargles and blibbering humdingers.”

“We need to get him somewhere and soon.”

“What about his cousin Andromeda? She is a healer at St. Mungo’s, right?”

Remus’ eyes flashed amber. “That’s right.”

With that they made plans to move Harry. However, as they stepped outside, all four were hit with stunners from all sides. Remus did not go down immediately as his werewolf nature protected him a bit. He snarled and curled around Harry, trying to bring his wand to hand. The last thought Remus had as more stunners hit, was as he smelled a scent and his mind screamed “Alpha!”

[boughtwithaprice]

I Kissed His Books Goodbye

Kae Salonzo Perez- Dilla

April 30, 2021

It was in 2019 when one of my favorite Christian authors shocked the Christian world by announcing his separation from his wife. It was Joshua Harris, the famous author and pastor who wrote, "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" and "Boy Meets Girl" which sold millions of copies since their publication in the 90s and made him like a Christian celebrity. I was totally heartbroken when this news popped on my IG feed. A year before this devastating news, I came across Joshua Harris on Facebook and YouTube where I learned about his recent project at that time which is also the reasn why he resurfaced. He was on some documentary film of some sort where he reevaluated his very own books mentioned earlier. I have also watched his TED Ed segment where he apologized for the lives destroyed by his book. He said that he was too young when he wrote his famous books. I was puzzled at that time which led me to do more research a.k.a stalking. I am a good stalker, you know. Kidding aside! So, from there, I started stalking the Harris couple on their social media accounts. I will not forget feeling that something was already off from their relationship since they are both absent from each other's daily activities. I do not know if that is just normal with other people but to me, it isn’t. Also, it struck me that Shannon and the Harris daughters "appear" to be highly modern and very much "in the trend" kind of way when it comes to their clothes, music, and social media posts. Given that they are in the limelight of conservative believers, this is a diversion. I was not a diehard fan of Joshua Harris and so I do not really know what happened to him after writing his books, after getting married to the girl of his prayers, and after pastoring a mega church for 17 years. However, I suddenly recalled an information he disclosed in one of his books. It was about Shannon whose inches close to starting her music career but then converted to her newfound faith and so this dream career of hers was aborted. This, I strongly recalled when I found lots of her IG post informing the world that she is about to release her music albums -which her songs don’t have the slightest expression of her love for God. For a preacher’s wife, for a Christian woman, so to speak, her recent project gave me another major what-in-the-world-is-happening moment. These findings surprised me! That's why I'm not really taken aback when Joshua Harris announced that he and his wife, Shannon, are eventually divorcing. Perhaps something bigger is afoot since then.

 I know I am very late to make a fuss about Joshua Harris and his chosen path today, but I just want to express my thoughts since I kept seeing him lately. I was instantly reminded that I followed him on IG! And now I think about unfollowing him so I would be free from another stress. So, following his separation from his wife in 2019, more of his announcements on the social media just got more terrible as time pass by. He then denounced his Christian faith and joined an LGBTQ parade publicly. What worst could happen now? He has been posting his personal criticism on “Christianity" and against people "in the faith" with the notion of man's freedom being suppressed by God's will.  He makes obedience to God appear so vexing and that it’s the very thing that stifle man from enjoying earthly pleasures. He just twisted the truth about ‘love the sinner but hate the sin’. God is angry at the wicked every day and so we were all once hated by God until he shows us His grace (Psalms 7: 11). But tolerating a sinner could never equate to any form of love. Unless man sees himself as a sinner, he will never repent and seek God. Harris has numerous posts about this particular topic! As I see it, one could assume that it is his way of answering back to the spiteful comments he keeps on receiving from the Christian group. He’s making the believers look like a group of unbelievable people for hurting him with God’s truths. The truth will surely hurt him.

 There is no denying of the fact that Joshua Harris is still a hot issue among Christians today.  Every time Christians talk about relationships, Joshua and his books are brought into place. Before the declaration of his newfound path away from Christ, his books were said to be the "Bible" of Christian romance. Decades ago, Joshua and his books were often referred to when Christians tend to look for godly relationships to pattern theirs. I personally and seriously took note of the contents of his books since I was in a relationship when I read them back then. Just like the other Harris loyalists, I would always mention his name and the things I have learned from his books when giving advice to my friends both in and out of the church during girl talks. It's such a shame that I have to evaluate my old self and admit that I have passed onto others the words of Harris more than God's.  This, I humbly ask forgiveness from the Lord. And so, fast forward to the present time, look at how events have turned now. No one knows what really happened between Joshua and Shannon, but I'm pretty sure that whatever hit their relationship is a reflection of their individual relationship with God which have finally come in fruition in time. The book of Jeremiah says in chapter 7 verse 24, But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward. Whilst spending years and years of their life in the ministry, I could not help but wonder, was God really there "in" them? Frankly, although no man is in the position, it’s hard not to question their salvation thinking about what happened to them.

 Joshua Harris have said in an interview that he excommunicated himself from his church because he failed to follow the standards required by the scriptures. In his words, he sounded like he was the victim more than the traitor. To add, one of his videos on YouTube showed live reactions from the offended readers of his books. I personally think that was a clear picture answering the question of why he ended up retracting his beliefs in public. He responded to those people in oppose to what Christians should be doing when being persecuted. He wanted to please them so bad to the point where he just decided to abandon his post, leave his God or god and follow them as if that was the best decision to reach out to them. His mindset is just so disappointing. At some point, did he blame God for earning his haters? Is that why he went after people he doesn’t personally know and has no relationship with God? Was he supposed to reevaluate through the Bible or through people’s lenses? How many were Christians in that pool of readers? It was just necessary to apologize for the wrong points that resulted to misguided readers, but why leave the faith? It’s true that it takes lots of courage to face the music but I don’t see the part where leaving your faith is a new definition of bravery.

 When a Christian is found to be challenged, he ought to thrive. What happened to standing fast in the faith written in 1 Corinthians 16:13? But instead, Joshua Harris allowed the enemy to overpower him. He heard the wrong side. Well, to start with, he's probably not a genuine Christian. We don't want to judge him but again, we have been warned in Ephesians 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;  A Youtuber also commented that a Christian should never find his life in the Lord burdensome. Sadly, Harris has put down his cross, got tired and stopped following the Savior. A believer's walk with Christ was never promised to go through an easy road but we will always find ourselves consistently rejoicing in His grace despite the way.  Otherwise, those who are just pretending to understand the gospel will soon be revealed and will simply walk away because they were not meant to be in the fold of Christ in the first place.

 Just recently, not only Harris have denounced his faith in Christ. There were others. Although this is not new anymore because there were others even before Harris’s time, but in this age of social media, issues like this have great impact in the Christian society perceived in various wavelength. And this case has left Christiandom a question-- what do we do with the learnings gained from such persons? It is fitting to know where the line should be drawn when reading Christian books. The Lord has commanded us to daily seek Him in prayer and in the scriptures. Even the prophets enquired and searched diligently (1 Peter 1: 10). Hence, to check if the materials we read carry God’s truth in them, they must be aligned to what the Bible says. God’s words should affirm the ideas being offered to us by other books whether they appear new or not. I believe that the things I learned from Joshua’s books really helped me assess my former relationship and double check if it indeed glorifies the Lord. But I do not give credit to the author because most of the concepts of the godly dating he presented were extracted from the Bible and were inspired by the people around him that were ‘in Christ’, and Lord willing, still walking with Him until now. Joshua Harris have miserably left his once professed faith and no wonder when ‘his followers’ do the same too. The Lord only revealed the impending danger of following leaders and prominent individuals with such devotion that should only belong to God. We should be vigilant and be fully aware of where and with whom do we pour our faith into. 2 Peter 3:17, KJV: "Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness."

 The books written by Joshua Harris have heavily influenced his Christian readers. However, more than those pages that illuminated his beliefs before, what would really speak for himself is the life he chose to live today. I have kissed dating goodbye long time ago, not because of his books, but because God has been gracious to me and provided me a godly man to marry. I won’t recommend Joshua’s books but I will be keeping them. If people see them on my shelf one day, I know significant lessons could be drawn from them --more than courtship and dating, but particularly about a Christian’s walk with Christ.  

  We are in the end times and we are witnessing the falling away of man as said in 2 Thessalonians 2:3. But by God’s grace, His true children will persevere until His glorious return. The sad story of Joshua Harris just proved that our God is a perfect God who is solely worthy of receiving man’s adoration and trust. Not that He needs any of it, but it’s just crystal clear that no one else does. And that no earthly relationship should we model ours after except that of Christ and His love for the church which we could learn nowhere else but from the scriptures.

 Isaiah 40:25-31 

To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One. 

Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth. 

Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God? 

Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. 

He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. 

Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: 

But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. 

[incorrectsdkquotes]

More SDK AUs!--Hogwarts AU

[honestly, feeling kind of drained at the moment, so have another AU!]

Hogwarts AU--basically, everyone’s now going to magic school!

Yuya is a recent transfer student to Hogwarts after having some Family Troubles and having to move. She’s sorted as a Gryffindor because go ahead and try and tell her she can’t do something. Go ahead. We’ll wait. Upon entering the school, she finds out that there’s a specific group of troublemakers who seem to get away with murder--or at least, don’t seem to suffer any serious consequences for their actions and hijinks. Since she’s looking for some pointers on how to Get Away With Shit like them so she can help her family, she decides to befriend the group--or at least, learn a few pointers.

Enter Kyo and the Four Emperors, named because they come from and ‘rule’ all four houses. There’s Kyo, the leader, who’s from Gryffindor as well. He’s up for any challenge, any duel, and knows a surprising amount of high powered spells that don’t seem to be taught at Hogwarts--the legality of these spells is questionable at best, but no one can really find any real justification to expel him. There’s rumors that he’s related to the headmaster, a mysterious man who appears to favor Kyo over the rest of the students. Despite this rumored relation, Kyo is actually the adopted son of the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Muramasa (the actual source of Kyo’s knowledge of high-powered, dangerous spells).

Joining Kyo in Gryffindor house is Hotaru, a pretty chill young man who only really seems to show interest in duels--predominately with his half-brother Shinrei over in Ravenclaw house, but he’s not too picky with who he fights. Hotaru likes to gloat that he’s the only one in the Four Emperors who’s in the same house with Kyo--when the group’s not together, Hotaru can routinely be seen either getting exceptionally lost around the castle, following Kyo around, getting into fights with Shinrei, or discovering secret passages and rooms all over the school. He’s a frequent visitor of the Room of Requirement, though he wouldn’t be able to tell you how he got there.

Akira, Kyo’s self-appointed right hand man, belongs to Slytherin House. A muggle-born, he exemplifies the house’s trait of ambition--he’s the top of his year and his go-to move whenever anyone tries to use his heritage against him is to humiliate the other person at something that ‘only pure-blood wizards’ could do. When he first met Kyo, it was when some sixth years were trying to pick on him as a first year for ‘not knowing his place.’ Kyo came across the fight and joined in on Akira’s side since the others were ‘in his way.’ He didn’t pity Akira and instead commended him on his ability to hold his own against the others. Since then, Akira has held Kyo up as his image of what an ideal wizard should be and has worked hard since then to match his idol.

When Bontenmaru was sorted into Hufflepuff House everyone initially thought that the Sorting Hat had made a mistake. How was this big, buff eleven year old, already covered in scars from his many, many fistfights, a Hufflepuff? Bontenmaru set them straight when he punched out an upper year for bullying someone in his house. He then proceeded to taunt and chastise his housemate for giving the upper year the opportunity to bully them in the first place. Bontenmaru straddles the line between actively helping those weaker than him from being bullied to taunting and teasing his fellow classmates just for the fun of it. He decided to follow Kyo because he thought the other teen was fun to hang out with, and even more fun to tease and fight. By the end of his first year at Hogwarts, everyone knew that Bontenmaru fully embodied his house’s mascot the badger.

Rounding off the Four Emperors is Akari, known throughout the school for her knowledge of everyone’s secrets. Gifted with a particular aptitude for magical healing, Akari is more than willing to help heal anyone who has an injury, curse, or hex too embarrassing or compromising for the school’s nurse to handle--for a fee. In exchange for her magical healing, Akari demands secrets and knowledge in return. It’s said that she even knows some of the school’s founders’ most well kept secrets. After deducing that Yuya has an important secret she’s trying to keep from everyone, Akari becomes determined to find out what the secret is--even if she has to be friends with the admittedly charming and friendly girl to do it!

Joining Yuya in Gryffindor house and befriending her almost immediately is Benitora. Enamored by the feisty new girl who made a name for herself quickly for standing up for herself against the various bullies in their year, Benitora decided he wanted to help his new friend get to know her new school better. Yuya’s confidante, he’s not quite sure why she wants to know so much about that Mibu Kyoshiro guy who suddenly dropped out of school, or why she seems to know so much about the famous divination expert and prophetess Sakuya. Benitora is a proud member of the Gryffindor house Quidditch team, playing as one of the team’s Chasers. He’s in a not-quite-one-sided rivalry with Akira.

Yukimura is a charming upperclassman in Slytherin house, a mysterious young man who seems to know just as many secrets as Akari--with twice as many secrets of his own. Yukimura is determined to bring back glory and honor to his pureblood family no matter what kind of dark paths he has to go through to reach his goal. He has many helpers and followers in both his own house and in others, though no one’s quite sure who all of them are. Yukimura routinely clashes with and joins in the fun with Kyo and his friends. The two are openly rivals, though only Yukimura is willing to refer to them as ‘friends,’ and only then when he’s sure he’s alone and drunk. It’s more fun to keep everyone guessing, right?

Sasuke is a prodigy in the Second Year class and one of the few Named ‘helpers’ of Yukimura. He claims that he follows Yukimura out of a sense of pride and in return for a debt that he owes the older teen, but you can’t help but notice how fond of the eccentric upperclassman he really is--something that Benitora loves to tease the lowerclassman for. Sasuke is also in Slytherin house--all the better to keep an eye on Yukimura, he says. Despite his age, Sasuke is one of the more formidable duelsts at the school.

Okuni is a member of Ravenclaw house and a rival in more ways than one with Akari. Okuni is in love with Kyo and has devoted her time at school to helping him in whatever way she can--be it finding gossip on their classmates, bribing teachers into looking the other way when Kyo and the Emperors’ antics go too far, to even framing other classmates for Kyo’s misdeeds. When she’s not openly helping Kyo, she’s also helping his enemies in the hopes that that will get him to notice her more. Initially, Okuni was cold towards Yuya though she started warming up when Yuya rushed to help her after a misfired spell hit Okuni during a duel gone wrong. Now fond of the new girl, Okuni is looking for the information that Yuya wants while also keeping this a secret from Kyo and the others--a woman should keep at least a few things secret, right?

[galleryfake]

BIG OL’ KORTOPI INFO & HEADCANON DUMP ! ;

( aka the cliffnotes version of all the headcanon legwork i’ve done for this chara in the span of roleplaying him for five years )

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BACKSTORY / PRE-CANON : 

Kortopi originates from Meteor City, like the original members. The residents discovered him as a very small, clearly premature and sickly infant amidst the piles of garbage they regularly sifted through, not at all an uncommon occurrence, and took him immediately to the caretakers to try and save his life.

While he was able to be saved, it would be years before he would ever reach a “stable” level of health -- he was incredibly sickly and required nearly constant care all throughout his childhood, resulting in his care shifting hands a multitude of times due to the immense time and resources sink that it required. Because of this, Kortopi learned at a very young age to not grow attached to anyone, and that certain people - such as himself - were viewed as disposable by everyone. By the time his health had stabilized in his early teens, he had grown fed up with such suffocating conditions of being under constant care by people who - he thought - didn’t actually care about his life, and would simply pass him over again, and ran away to the fringes of the city to fend for himself. 

His life, from that point on, had become purely survival-based, even as his developing brain sought to accrue more knowledge about the world and the people in it. He hid in the shadows, using his small size & adjacent speed and dexterity to rob people blind before they had even realized what was happening, and using his remaining time to people-watch from an assortment of hiding spots, learning about the nature of human interaction, pursuing subjects that interested, and even learning about Nen this way.

Once he had adequately self-trained in Nen and developed his Divine Left Hand, Demonic Right Hand technique accordingly, this newfound ability caused an upset in Meteor City that eventually even reached the elders. Suddenly, people’s possessions were disappearing left and right, as if from thin air, and nobody knew why -- completely unaware that it was Kortopi’s doing, or even that the young boy existed.

Enter the Phantom Troupe. Skilled Nen users themselves, they managed to set up a trap to catch the culprit in the act of using this strange ability, and Kortopi took the bait. While the legs discussed amongst themselves on the matter of killing him or just leaving him be, Chrollo noted that Kortopi was appearing to keep the original objects he stole, and saw in him a thief, just like them, and decided to try and recruit him.

Kortopi was then cornered by the various legs of the Spider, and then approached by the Head. Though he was distrustful at first, Kortopi sensed a level of genuine compassion from Chrollo that he had never seen before in anyone, finding himself trusting in the words he spoke without question, surprising himself. Lulled in by this newfound sense of security and potential ‘belonging’, Kortopi accepted Chrollo’s offer, becoming leg #12 of the Spider.

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GENERAL INFO / PERSONALITY :

Kortopi doesn’t know his last name ( or at least, what it would’ve been had he ever reunited with his parents ) or how old he is. As of the events of the Yorknew Arc, he is 19, and when asked, he usually defaults to saying ‘same age as Shizuku’, since he’s aware that their timeline of entering child & adulthood seem to match up almost identically. He’s actually older than her by several months, a fact he’d find amusing if he were to ever find out his exact date of birth. 

Due to the troubled nature of his upbringing and the kindness that Chrollo showed him in allowing him into the group, he is fiercely protective of Chrollo and everyone within the Spider, and values their individual lives over the preservation of the group as a whole. This puts him directly in opposition of the group’s main principles and, as a result, of some of the founding members’ beliefs, as can be seen when he sides with Machi and is prepared to fight against Feitan and Phinks during the Chain User hostage dilemma. 

The Troupe is the first group of people he’s ever cared for and desires validation and acceptance from, and as a result, he often finds himself at a crossroads -- wanting to be by their sides at all times, yet too shy and afraid of making them upset to ever meaningfully reach out to them himself. Often times, he harbors his affection for them quietly, choosing to watch their group activities from a high perch or sit nearby, observing them. He never outright asks to be included, but very much enjoys when he is, and loves both giving and receiving physical affection.

Outside of the Troupe, Kortopi has a very nihilistic view of people and life as a whole. As was demonstrated to him when he was young and seemingly chronically ill, he believes that people will always seek to cast out the ‘other’ or anyone who causes too much trouble, and therefore feels justified in taking the lives of normal people, knowing they’ll eventually try and do the same to him. People outside of the Troupe are meaningless to him, and he will generally take their acts of kindness towards him as superficial no matter how good their intentions. 

Kortopi, like most members of the Troupe and most akin to Chrollo, does not fear death whatsoever. Having been on the edge of death countless times from both illness and the harshness of lone survival, he has an acute awareness that his time is limited, especially in the context of the Spider’s rule of new members being inducted by the killing of a current member. Because of this, he has no qualms doing things that may end in his death, or taking risks that may seem unwise. The future doesn’t exist to him - there is only the ‘now’.

His Spider tattoo is located between his shoulderblades, obscured by his long hair. He keeps his hair long both to obscure his tattoo and his face, keeping his identity hidden through both of these avenues. However, he’s not particularly self-conscious about his face ( as people often assume ) and he will often keep his hair behind his ears while he’s alone, eating, or around the Troupe in a private location. The appearance of his face isn’t a secret amongst anyone who knows him -- it’s rather average-looking, only made minorly off-putting by how large his eyes are, but otherwise nothing special. 

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INTER-TROUPE RELATIONSHIPS :

Chrollo is the first true figure of authority that Kortopi’s ever had in his life, and he regards him with immense respect and devotion, unable to be swayed from this by anything. He feels honored to be a part of his plans, and is always eager to show off his abilities and prowess to the leader, hoping to be praised. 10/10, would love headpats from Danchou at all times. 

Shizuku, Bonolenov and Shalnark are who he would consider his closest friends within the Troupe. These are the three he is most consistently able to overcome his shyness towards, and he can often be seen by their sides, a friendly presence that is always willing to listen to them and assist them in any way he can.

Machi and Pakunoda are both very calming presences to Kortopi, and he’ll often sit watching them read, sew or do other mundane activities, basking in their innate kindness and acceptance of him.

He desires to grow closer to Feitan, who he sees as someone similar to himself, but concedes to respectfully give him the space that he needs. He takes particular interest in observing his actions and attempting to analyze him past his cold and emotionless demeanor, and will jump at the chance to accompany him places or spend time with him in any capacity, hoping to see him open up with any luck and patient persistence.

Phinks, Nobunaga, Uvogin, and Franklin are all members with prickly outer demeanors and hair-trigger tempers, he’s found, but he’s witnessed them all to show care and affection to those they care about, and he finds them interesting to watch, often making a fun activity out of trying to predict their actions amongst Shal, Bono and Fei. He also feels gratitude whenever they show kindness to him, often reciprocating the gesture himself and taking amusement from their embarrassed reactions. 

Hisoka and Omokage give him a strong sense of unpredictability, contrasting with the rest of the Troupe’s firm resolves. He trusts them, as an extension of his trust in Chrollo, but finds their actions and demeanors mysterious, often interrogating them with curious questions to quell his own interest. 

Kalluto also gives him a sense that he may have hidden intentions, but this feeling is passed over in favor of feeling sympathetic to the young Zoldyck’s plight, as the only child in a group of highly skilled adults. Kortopi often tries to give him tips for navigating the Troupe, acting as a friendly big brother-type. 

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SKILLS AND ABILITIES ;

GENERAL COMBAT & TACTICAL SKILLS: [ found here ! ]

NEN ABILITIES: [ found here ! ]

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MISC. INFO :

He enjoys intellectual board games and is quite good at them, only being bested within the Troupe a small handful of times, usually by Chrollo. He is humble about this, and has no problem with stopping to explain any rules or mechanisms about the game should his opponent need such a thing.

In terms of sexuality, Kortopi is gay, but very, VERY demi and equally as shy. Even if he catches feelings, it takes a small eternity for him to be brave enough to distinguish them as such, and another one to actually act on them. Also, his chances of catching feelings outside the Troupe are pretty close to zero. Like, probably about %0.0001. Don’t count on him looking your way at all if you’re an outsider. 

His vocal chords are damaged, resulting in a deep, scratchy voice that tends to give people a fright when they first hear it. As a result, he can’t raise his voice very much, and avoids doing so unless absolutely necessary. It doesn’t hurt, but it results in a small fit of dry coughing that he finds unpleasant. 

The skin of his hands and feet are permanently colored a more pink-purple hue due to poor blood circulation throughout his entire body -- the rest of his skin is otherwise normal.

[arreisstorm]

Joon's message to ARMY posted on Weverse after BTS's 7th Anniversary party today, please read.

☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️

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Namjoon, you always have such a way with words, as if they are your paint while the world is your canvas. You are constantly showing us how to love our selves, how to accept the thing which we cannot change, and how it's ok to fall on hard times and have daily struggles as long as we find a way to preserve through such situations. 7 years ago you helped create a group, nothing more than a common dream shared between 7 strangers, yet together, learning from and growing by each other's sides, you have all managed to create a true legacy, impacting the world in such a positive way through those messages of love and acceptance and unity. Even though the name of BTS has become a global icon and is reaching places you yourself at one point probably never thought was possible, to me, Kim Namjoon, Min Yoongi, Kim Seokjin, Jung Hoseok, Park Jimin, Kim Taehyung, and Jeon Jungkook are an entirely different entity all together; these 7 names, although legends in their own right, still remain those same humble, driven, dream-chasers from South Korea. The ones who fought for what they believed in, the ones who sacrificed their time and childhood in order to achieve the impossible. It was never an easy road, and many times I'm sure the twists and turns and uncertainty might've felt overwhelming, but you, along with your 6 other brothers and all of ARMY backing you found the way to success. You took past mistakes and turned them into lessons to learn from. You pushed back against all of the negativity, all of the hate, prejudice and pressure that both the industry and society had thrown your way and together the 7 of you wrote your own destiny.

I feel so proud to see how far you have come, not only as the faithful leader of BTS and a multitalented artist, but as a human being who has his own flaws. You are an inspiration to so many, as well as myself, and this is just one of the few reasons ARMY are still choosing to walk with BTS. We have formed a family together in these past 7 years, one which feels solid and unbreakable. We have achieved many awards and have made countless memories along the way. Hearing you say the words "I love you more than love," to describe your feelings towards ARMY, well I couldn't think of anything better that fully encompasses my same feelings towards you 7.

I have always struggled with the concept of love, many see it as purely a romantic feeling in nature, one which society has made us feel obligated to experience in this particular way, but to me, love can have a multitude of meanings. Love can be shared either platonically or unconditionally between family and friends, love can be between yourself and your own mind, it can be manipulated and misrepresented, but it can also be a much needed sense of comfort and safety for a troubled soul. It can mean admiration and support, and it can mean a devotion and a promise. Love is one of those words that has no set meaning because the definition comes down to the person who is experiencing it. We all have our own perspective and we can't always understand those of others', but we can communicate our feelings through actions and words and to me, that is the type of love that I have felt both towards BTS and one that I reciprocate as part of ARMY.

To me this bond we have, this love that you talked about, feels like it belongs under the category of a promise, a promise which conveys that we will always be by each other's sides no matter what. Whether this whirlwind of a journey continues on for 10, 20, or even 70 more years, BTS will always have ARMY, and ARMY will always have BTS. We need each other and that is what a true family looks like.

So thank you for everything, just like I know you 7 have for so many others, you have also had a monumental impact on my life. I can't imagine where I would be if it wasn't for BTS, your music, and the love, kindness, and dedication you've given us throughout all these years. You've all changed my life for the better, I'm honored to be on this journey with you.

🐳💜💜💜💜💜💜💜🐳

[itsclydebitches]

The RWBY/It Crossover That Absolutely No One Asked For But You’re Getting Anyway

Ozpin - The “gifted child” who is already sick of that shit, both because of the bullying he’s gotten for it at school (what middle schooler uses his vocabulary and dresses in a suit?) and because it has given his parents another reason to ignore him. You’re basically a functioning adult! The Losers are Ozpin’s first group of friends outside of his little sister Salem, gone missing one day and now re-appearing in his basement, pale like she drowned, with strange black veins threading over her skin... Though they all silently think of him as the leader once the horror begins, he discourages that whenever possible. He’s done with being the odd one out. 

Qrow - Qrow “Trashmouth” Branwen. Twin brother of Raven who also disappeared around the same time as Salem, though only Qrow knows that’s because she finally hitch-hiked out of their fucked up town. He hasn’t heard from her since. Unfailingly annoying and loyal in turns, Qrow’s nickname is only partly because of his foul-mouthed tendencies. The group decided he needed another, proper nickname after he quietly told them that he and Raven would like to be known by those names indefinitely now, regardless of what’s on any birth certificates. The Losers respect that. Devoted to Ozpin in particular, Qrow often uses his status as the (presumed) local bad boy to keep others off his friends’ backs. 

James - Coming from the only Jewish family for miles around, James has his own share of problems, thanks. Lately, with his bar mitzvah approaching, he’s found his adoration of science is somewhat at odds with his faith, especially when so much is riding on him continuing tradition. Quieter and more reserved than the others, James was inwardly pleased to make a friend in Ozpin, the only one around capable of keeping up with his theories---even if they disagree 99% of the time. When all the horror starts, it’s James who is the most resistant to it, first through sheer disbelief, then later through confidence in his own sense of what is and is not reality. It’s often his mental fortitude that gets them out of tight spots. 

Bart - Manic almost to the point of being obnoxious (some Losers would lovingly argue that there’s no ‘almost’), Bart has ADHD according to a couple online quizzes he took with Glynda. That’s the best they can do with no money, no resources, and no one else who cares. It’s fine though. They make do. With an intense passion for all things history, Bart is more than happy to start researching the town once Ozpin brings it up. A good thing too, considering that he’s probably the only one capable of working through that many massive, dry tomes. Find him in the library and you’ll be startled by the contrast: a vibrant look that includes dyed green hair and a bright yellow shirt paired with the most studious of attitudes. Researching something he loves is the only time when Bart keeps still. 

Peter - A stocky, boisterous boy, Peter longs for nothing more than to be the hero of his own story. Even if he really doesn’t look the part. Or seemingly have any heroic skills. And sometimes freezes when things get messy. None of that matters because he’s going to succeed one day, dammit. Fake it till you make it! Practically attached at the hip to Bart, the two make an unlikely---but as others quickly learn---unstoppable pair. Contrasting James’ skepticism, when Ozpin first told them about seeing an evil looking Salem in his house, Peter immediately pulled an ax out from under his bed and demanded to know where he was needed. Oh, the ax? He just had it for... reasons. 

Tai - Kind-hearted almost to a fault, Tai took Raven’s bedroom when she left in order to escape his own parents. He’ll take indifference over his previous living arrangement any day. Though more than once Qrow has tried to talk to him about the broken school supplies and badly hidden bruises, Tai never offers anything except a smile. It’s the same for all of them, all the time, and whenever his back is turned the Losers share glances among each other, wondering when he’ll finally break. Not if, but when. Not that it matters because they all intend to be there when it happens, determined to show Tai that he’s allowed to be something other than that constantly cheerful, helpful version of himself. 

Glynda - The one girl of the group and no, she’s never going to let you forget it. Also the real leader if we’re getting right down to it. Glynda had no intention of making friends with six other boys, especially when she already has an entirely undeserved reputation as the town slut. Why not embrace it then? The Losers lose their collective shit the day she walks up in a new purple skirt, black boots, and white top, all of them stolen from the store where the manager dared touch her. The persona isn’t at all what she’d intended---like Ozpin and James, Glynda is somewhat introverted---but then she had no intention of fighting whatever was hiding in those sewers either. Something dark and otherworldly, capable of transforming into a massive bird, a boar, sometimes a vaguely human-like shape...  Glynda hates that version most of all. 

Fun plot points after the time jump include: 

Qrow losing his goddamn mind as he remembers that he’s been in love with Ozpin for over thirty fucking years and what pRECISELY is he supposed to do with that information NOW? 

Ozpin is also panicking, he’s just quiet about it 

The awful realization that this Grimm thing beneath the town feeds on/grows stronger through negative emotions so lol that’s a bit not good when the seven of us are all such a mess 

Oh hi Tai great to see you again quick question WHY DID YOU BRING YOUR TWO YOUNG DAUGHTERS TO THE MURDER TOWN? 

Hey Tai second question what do you mean you went and had a kid with my long-lost sister 

Whole side plot involving Ruby and Yang meeting Weiss and Blake who grew up here. Cue culture clash and the kids helping the adults out on their messed up adventure 

Blake: “You won’t believe me if I tell you... no one does... it’s just too horrible...” Yang: “Oh you mean the supernatural entity that wants to devour you and frequently finds its way across the town via the sewers? Yeah. Dad filled us in on the drive up.” 

James takes all of .5 seconds to start bickering with Oz again, mostly on how to handle the situation. The Losers know they’re really back together once the shouting starts

Bart greets Glynda with an enthusiastic “I finally got diagnosed and you would not believe---I need you to sit, honey, this is gonna take a while” speech and she’s so happy to do it

Peter still has his ax. It comes in handy 

[threewaysdivided]

Yo hey!!! I just read through your YJ:DW series and I absolutely love it??? So much??? You write absolutely marvelously and have such a wonderful devotion to characterization and everything feels very Real and Natural. Your pacing is most excellent, you really know when things need to be lingered on and when they don’t need much more than a passing mention. And g o d I absolutely adore how you characterize so many characters, but particularly Danny. Like, he’s still the same Danny from the-(1/?)

show, but he’s changed in very particular ways that really match with what he’s been through. He’s very cautious and nervous and frightened after everything that’s happened, afraid to trust, to let people know too much. And that makes sense with everything he’s been through! He’s been on the run for so long, settling in one place definitely chafes at him. More than he feels it should, but it does. And like! He’s so wary and on edge with meeting the Team and the League members. I am def- (2/?)

-initely looking forward to seeing even more of their interactions. And like!!! The team’s reactions!!! Are so well thought out and just fantastic. Like, how Robin is aiming for a mix of normalcy and just a touch of protectiveness. And M’gann is curious and welcoming and doing her best to be Team Mom without being overwhelming. And how Wally is so intensely disbelieving and flippant QND almost abrasive to Phantom. I really wonder how he’s going to change in his approach to Phantom,- (3/?)

-like if he’ll dig his feet in even further to the point of rejecting reality in an attempt to maintain the reality in his own mind, or if he actually will start considering the science behind ghosts possible. I’m so excited to see how that develops. Also, aside, can I just say I loved getting Black Canary’s perspective on things with the last chapter? It revealed a lot more of Danny’s proper abilities and strengths than ya’d necessarily be able to piece together with a younger perspective-(4/?)

-and it just really helps develop the dynamics of everything even more. I’m wondering if you’re going to end up giving Danny enhanced strength or not, and if so to what degree, as an aside, explaining a bit more why he might be pulling his punches. I also wonder if he has any hesitation with fighting living folks who aren’t actively trying to hurt him, seeing as he mostly has experience fighting Ghosts and Hunters. Also also, I’m just so excited to see them all go on a mission!!! (5 or 6/?)

-Aaaah I could keep gushing for a Good While but I’m forgetting how many asks I’ve sent and I don’t want to bother you toooo much, so Imma just finish with you write beautifully and I’m So EXCITED to see where you go with things and like aaaaaaaaah, ya kno!!! (6 or 7/ 6 or 7)

Okay, first things first, you are absolutely not bothering me.  You found a piece of free content that I put up and - with no obligation or expectation -  sent me six messages detailing how much you liked it, and that’s Delightful.  It made my morning.  ‘Bothering’ is more than welcome on this blog.  Encouraged, even!

We’ve got a lot to cover so let’s get to it:

Danny’s Characterisation

Danny’s character has been a bit of a challenge to balance at times but I’m pretty pleased with how he’s shaping up.  There was this trend I noticed back when I started where - even in fics I really like - people had a frustrating tendency to swing him too much in one or the other direction; either turning him into a confident wise-cracking hyper-powerful hyper-skilled Troubled Badass™ who everyone respected even if he was humble about it, or into a Sad™ Broken™ Tormented™ cinnamon roll who just wanted love and who trusted and is trusted by every hero with minimal persuasion, when really he’s somewhere in the middle.

He’s a hero, yes, but he’s also a teenager.  He’s experienced and competent, but it’s in the self-taught way that leaves him with rough edges, blindspots and a lack of technical skill.  He can be a good, confident leader when the situation calls for it but he’s also someone who reads as fairly socially introverted and canonically has personal self-confidence issues, anxious and depressive traits and really wants to be accepted by his peers.  He’s friendly and funny and likeable but lacks social experience in a casual setting and can struggle with expressing his feelings, knowing the right thing to say/ do and being open with people.  He’s not just one or the other.  He’s both.

I also really wanted to explore the Death and Secrets plot points with more emotional detail.  It felt like a lot of the time in stories where he lost his family, Danny would either stall out in a tormented Grief State right until a Power of Love/ Friendship-prompted revival toward the final act, or he’d be sad for 5-10 short chapters then bounce back to his old self and go off with his New Family like it ain’t no thing.  With Deathly Weapons I want the characters to have to grow and come together naturally; to earn their healing and show why/how they’d come to like and trust each other, or decide that the other person is worth making the investment.

The Team

It’s kind of funny in hindsight but the Team’s development was a oddly late addition to the planning.  Which was fine for Arc I - being very Danny-centric - but then, as I was brainstorming Arc II it kind of hit me that if I was going to call this fic Young Justice: Deathly Weapons I should really try to showcase what I liked so much about the series.  And then I realised how much Danny’s experiences (canonical and DW-verse) and Team Phantom paralleled different members of the S1 cast, and how much character exploration potential there was to be had.  Arc II is basically just 8 teens looking at each other and going “We’re not so different you and I” in various settings for 20+ chapters.

There’s this nice quote from Stieg Larsson that I think sums up how I see both Danny and the different members of the Team fitting together: 

“I’m not going to compete with you. I’m better than you are at what I do. And you’re better than I am at what you do.”

All of them have at least one thing they’re good at, and at least a few weaknesses that other members can cover.  Their skills are complementary, their personalities and experiences are complimentary and none of them feel redundant in being there.  And with the extra challenges a DW-verse AU opens up, it creates a space where Phantom can slot in without having to displace an existing well-established member.

It also makes revolving perspective a lot of fun as I can tag in whoever’s mindset and perspective best fits the tone and information that needs to be delivered, rather than risking any one character losing their characterisation to their role as de facto narrator.

Despite how he’s acting right now, Wally is actually one of my favourites.  Needless to say there’s a lot more going on with our resident speedster than simple garden-variety ecto/paranorma-phobia, but that’ll be explored more in the chapters Flashpoints, Combustion and Equilibrium.

Training and Powers

Bruce and Dinah both make fun writes because they’re adults with more maturity and experience, which makes them great sources of diegetic exposition and perception that the main Team wouldn’t carry as well.

I’ve gotten a few questions about Danny’s powers in that chapter and how close they play to canon, so I should probably clear that up.  First thing is that DP’s canon is very wibbly wobbly about Danny’s power set (Is it super-strength letting him lift that or is he touch-transferring flight to make it weigh less?  Are those ectoblasts actually fire or was that just an animation flourish?  Can he teleport or is he just really fast and invisible? Does him lifting a rake that one time mean he has telekinesis or was it just a quick sight-gag?) so I’ve had to make some calls with grouping and sometimes dropping or altering edge-case powers to create a system that makes sense.  The other thing is that Chapter 17 is Danny explaining the things he consciously uses on the job and exploring how they compare to similar DC powers, rather than detailing out every single aspect that makes him different from regular humans.  (Kind of like how you wouldn’t bring up your own lung capacity, 20/20 distance vision or excellent patellar reflex unless someone drew your attention to it).  The chapter mostly serves to do some character set-up for later and drop some needed exposition so that Danny won’t have to be breaking the flow of future missions to explain very basic facts about his abilities the first time he uses them.

As for pulling his punches, some of it is certainly to do with him being uneasy about fighting breakable living beings when he’s used to ridiculously tough Ghost Beasts, and some of it was specifically due to who he was paired against.  But again, that’s something we’ll explore in future chapters.

Pacing and Writing

At this point I can only put this down to lots of planning, drafting and taking inspiration from the styles and structures of some very, very good published authors.  Quite a few chapters started out as simple exposition dumps or time skips before I realised that they’d have more value expanded out into full entries of their own.  (My drafting process = step 1: write too briefly, step 2: balloon to massively bogged down self-indulgent explorations, step 3: reign it in to something readable).

Books I definitely took stylistic influence from:

1. Steig Larsson’s, Swedish crime-mystery series The Millenium Trilogy.  Lisbeth is one of my character references for writing both Batman and Robin.(NOTE:  Hard MA+ rating, cw for explicit discussions and depictions of misogyny, homophobia, violence, gendered violence, sexual assault, stalking, drug use and Nazis.  Good books but Discretion Advised.)

2. Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief.General influence/ reference for prose and imagery, especially for the tone of Roads to Safe Places (ch.15).(Beautifully written story about humanity, but set in WWII-era Germany so be advised that Nazism, Nazis, War and Death feature heavily.)

3. Patrick Rothfuss’ The Kingkiller ChroniclesGeneral influence/reference for style and prose, YJ:DW Ch. 15′s title is a deliberate call out to the same title in Chapter 18 of KKC Book 1.(Fantasy books with some fantasy violence and a little bit of sex but nothing especially shocking.)

I’m just so excited to see them all go on a mission!!!

Me too!  Quick question though:

Just one?  Or are all of these okay? 😏

Now that I think about it there’s a weird dearth of story missions outside of the one needed for set-up in most YJxDP stories.  Not sure why.  Anyway, Deathly Weapons is a beast, we’re going to do at least 10.  I gotchu fam.

Aaand I think that’s everything.  Thanks for dropping in, feel free to stop by anytime.  Hope to see you around! ❤

[clauderiegan]

Change the Future [Byleth x Claude, pre-relationship]

A/N: This falls half under ‘general Golden Deer fic’ and half under ‘ship’ since there’s no romance yet, idk  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ No romance ‘til time skip.  also I recruited Annette into Golden Deers because I love her

Teachers weren't supposed to have favourites, but then again Byleth had never even planned on being one. She'd been content with cutting down rogues and feral wild animals with her father, living day by day in whatever part of the world they'd settled down in for the time being. She was still adjusting to her new position of authority and truth be told...

She was adjusting to being around one Claude von Riegan.

The majority of men who spent time around her and her father were older, grizzly warriors; the type to give her a friendly roughhousing and an offer of ale when they'd succeeded in pulling off a well-paying job. She was hardly accustomed to charming smiles from someone her age, hand kissing and whispered secrets in her ears. It was all a bit much - Claude was as bright as his house colour in both intellect and charm. She could easily see why so many had gathered to his side - even Lorenz with his snide comments couldn't resist the leader's sway for too long. 

Still she tried to maintain a healthy distance as nothing good would come of a mercenary's daughter turned teacher becoming too close with the literal golden boy of the Leicester Alliance. She gave all of her students equal attention, enjoying the vast personalities and heritages of her charges. Some of them were already more skilled then her in certain areas; in particular she feared the strength of Hilda's axe swinging, a happy smile on the twintailed girl's face as she aced her axe exam with a flourish of the massive weapon. 

And if her cheeks blushed ever so slightly when a certain lord joined her for tea one sunny weekend, it was her problem alone. One she could lock away and happily ignore, continuing to work at improving her newfound profession. It would cause nothing but trouble; she would be better devoting herself to the path of the sword.

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

She was glad she had done all of that training.

A fairly routine battle had gone south so far Byleth wasn't even certain how it happened - one minute they were cleaning up the last of a pathetic lot of bandits, the next dealing with some mass abomination of which she'd never seen the likes of. No one in the Golden Deers was sure of its origin, but whatever had brought the creature to them was now their problem. It was a beast of some kind, but far beyond the usual fare of bears or wolves; its silver scales were impossible to penetrate with regular weapons. It was definitely not a simple creature of the woods; Byleth feared something darker at stake when looking at its bizarre anatomy. Lorenz had found out the hard way when he charged forward to strike, only his lance had pathetically bounced off the beast's hide.

He also found out how sharp the beast's claws were when they grazed his chest... not that he remembered presently. Byleth had instantly fired off a Divine Pulse, heart pounding as the familiar sensation of light had wrapped around her body and Lorenz, wiping his bloody gash clean before her eyes. Her reaction had been so fast that he had no idea that anything had even happened - she simply instructed him not to attack and he had complied, obliviously evading a potentially serious injury.

If only it was that simple to snap her fingers and erase her mistakes as easily.

The truth was that every Divine Pulse drained her and she had already used three of them - one to save Lorenz, one to direct Annette away from a falling branch that would land on her (it would break one of her legs and they needed her mobile) and one to direct her students away from an area of the forest that would go up in flames from the breath attacks of the creature. The Deers were used to her powers now and were unfazed by her sudden instructions to avoid seemingly safe parts of the field. Sothis had advised her many times that pushing past three would be unwise and she felt the truth of it in her aching body as she and the others continued to circle and slowly chip away at the beast's scales. Byleth had managed to keep up a steady balance of keeping her distance and striking the beast with the long range of her sword, but she could feel the intensity of her strikes fading with each hit. She was trying her best not to let it show, but she could do little to hide her strained, heavy breathing at this point. It was up to her to keep a calm face, to be the moral center of the group and prevent them from becoming too scared to continue onwards.

Still, she was considering the option of instructing them all to flee; it would be cowardly and if the beast waylaid the nearby town behind them, the blame would fall onto the Golden Deers (onto Claude, her mind unhelpfully supplied). Still, she'd much rather her students face consequences from the Church than be killed in some nameless forest, their bodies staining the grass red.

"Thinking of running?"

Byleth turned, marveling slightly at his reliable ability to read her thoughts all too easily. Claude smiled next to her, tired but still putting on a show of strength despite his singed armor and sweaty face. Even the almost ever-present volley of arrows he had been firing off were weakening as the battle had raged on. He too was faced with the burden of reassuring the others; if the Deers saw Claude still confident, they believed that any fight, no matter how grueling, could be turned into a victory. Still, it was not victory she had in mind currently and Claude's judgement was something she had need of right now.

"Yes. We're outmatched and I'd rather us face whatever consequences befall us than to lose any Deers here. Your thoughts?"

"We're on the same wavelength, as usual" he replied, somehow having the energy to wink at her.

"Truly?"

"We're only delaying this creature momentarily - it may be weakened as of now but we don't have the resources to put it down. And I don't particularly plan on such a pathetic end for the Golden Deers!" he assured her, tone steady and full of conviction.

Though they seemed to have momentarily tired the beast out as it had stopped approaching, it was eyeing them with malice from the spot it was resting. She nodded at his reasoning, relieved. The two of them could face whatever problems that arose with not immediately defeating the beast once they returned to the Monastery. Still, there was one remaining issue; the area they had been currently circling the beast around was far too wide and flat for an easy escape - it was a fair distance to the nearest copse of trees that was too thickly forested for the beast to easily follow.

"It's far too accurate with that breath attack. If our students ran off one-by-one or in a group, they'll be an easy target for its flames before they could escape through the trees. It hardly seems content to just let us leave... how can we get them out safely?" she asked, trying to keep the underlying fear out of her voice.

He hummed in thought, sharp green eyes scanning their position and the bedraggled appearances of their Golden Deers. She followed his gaze, wincing at the exhaustion and anxiety on her student's faces. Annette shot her a pained glance, her expression looking for reassurance from Byleth. She felt slightly hopeless; if only a more seasoned and older professor had been with them! She gripped her sword tighter, resolving to get them out safely no matter the cost to her own being.

"How do you feel about taking a risk with me?"

Byleth blinked, looking at the lord who had seemingly done scanning the field.

"Our current problem is that our big scaly friend here is going to flame whoever flees first if we leave it where it is. This thing's got a clear shot if it stays in that position-"

"So we go closer and distract the creature while the others run away?" she finished, eyes wide with understanding.

"Yep" he replied casually, lip popping the 'p' as if he'd suggested something completely casual.

"But when they do, they'll only be two of us left... and Claude, you shouldn't be putting yourself in danger like that!" she replied, tone beseeching as she kept an eye on the now increasingly restless beast.

"I made the plan, I'll take the risks. You feel the same anyway, right?" he shot back, tone still infuriatingly nonchalant as he readjusted out of his bow stance.

She sighed, knowing she had no better plan and that Claude's schemes usually were more successful than hers.

"Very well, we'll attempt to distract it until the others have left and then escape together. But if things get too dangerous, I want you to run while I hold it back. Promise me."

He paused, emerald eyes staring at her with a thoughtful expression while taking an arrow out of his quiver.

"That's a pretty selfish promise you know. Leave you to handle some crazy beast alone while I run?"

"Precisely, because you are a lord who is heir to an empire and I am in charge of your welfare" she stated, tone unflinching and stance rigid.

They had a brief staredown, eyes locked in a silent argument before Claude relented.

"Fine. But I'm planning on staying as long as possible, so don't expect me to turn tail at the first sight of trouble!"

She nodded, shoulders slumping as she readjusted the grip on her sword. Her arm was aching, but she still had some strength left in her for the last part of their plan.

"Golden Deers, to me!" Claude commanded, voice cutting loud and clear through the wide space.

The students ran over, relieved; they were counting on the two to deliver them out of the predicament safely. They'd managed to wound the beast at best and quickly realized they didn't have a chance of soundly defeating the creature. Byleth spied a large burn on Raphael's shoulder and winced. The sooner they got back to the monastery, the better. Claude explained the plan quickly, keeping one eye on the beast as it continued to slowly rouse itself. Most of the Deers initially rejected the idea, as they hated the idea of leaving their two most trusted members behind. However as the sounds of the beast rising from its brief respite grew louder, they slowly agreed to the objective and prepared themselves to run.

Nodding to each other, Claude sent out a particularly large and vicious volley of arrows; the beast immediately roared as they peppered its scaly head with small cuts.

"Let's advance" he gestured to Byleth, her nodding as she slowly moved towards the giant creature with her sword firmly in her hands.

Hearing her students slowly back away behind her, she sent out a lash upon its chin, leaving a slight red welt where it hit the beast. It was growing furious; steam was billowing out of its mouth and its eyes were red with rage. Fortunately, it was so angered with Claude and Byleth that it had not a glance to spare towards the other Deers; Byleth felt cool relief run through her system as the sound of increasingly distant footsteps running away from her position behind her. She sent out another lash but jumped back at the last second, only barely avoiding a small but potent fireball that singed the grass she had been standing on. Claude fired off more arrows; snarling the beast finally regained its footing on all fours and started towards him with heavy loud stomps. She whipped her sword out again, but the beast did not turn towards her like she had hoped, continuing to stomp towards the archer. Grimacing, she struck again and again, until the beast reared its head around; sensing an opportunity she aimed for one large eye and slammed her sword forward. As the beast recoiled, Claude caught onto her line of thought once more and aimed an arrow into the same eye, a perfect shot piercing the iris.

The beast shrieked in pain, throwing its large head back. She could see Claude use the brief distraction to back up, moving closer towards her while keeping his bow squarely trained on the beast's head. It was still making noise, eye dripping blood onto its' nostrils and chin. She felt a brief stab of relief; relief that was quickly short lived when the creature whipped its head around to stare down the two, one working red eyeball alight in anger.

She had forgotten something important; cornered animals were the most dangerous and a beast was no different.

It roared and with outstanding speed, trampled towards them with single-minded determination. They both barely managed to leap out of the way, cratered dirt where they had been standing. It roared again and turned, heading towards Claude's surprised form, fueled by nothing but bloodlust. Her heart pumping with fear, she desperately lashed out with her sword but the beast barely felt it. The creature had only missed Claude by an inch, but he been knocked off his legs and fallen-!

The beast turned once more. A claw the size of a horse, raised in the air above him.

"NO!"

A sickening crunch, a sharp yell of pain that trailed into a high gurgling whimper and then silence.

Byleth stared, uncomprehending. She saw the blood stained yellow of his uniform, slowly turning burgundy. She heard his cry of agony. And yet it felt like nothing was real; an abstract nightmare that kept her up on nights when she had consumed too much tea before bed. The scream from her own mouth felt like a line in a play.

The beast lowered his head and oh Gods, it was eating him, it was ripping apart Claude-

The sight of its red jaws made her feel like her blood had frozen in her veins. She was growing lightheaded at the grisly scene before her, but as she stared down unblinkingly at the clawed up body formerly known as Claude in front of her, one realization became increasingly clear.

Gods damn her, she was going to use one more Divine Pulse. She wasn't leaving without all her Deers and the most important one was not coming back to the monastery in a coffin. She couldn't leave him here.

She let the familiar feeling of the magic settle around her, even with her body and mind screaming in protest as the air around her seemed to be suffocating her from the outside. The lightheaded feeling turned quickly into nausea and increasingly severe pain, a stabbing headache seizing her as she closed her eyes. She felt awful, like her body was being torn away little pieces at a time, but the feeling in her heart of seeing Claude fall was even worse and spurred her onward. The pain was overwhelming but she could feel the magic slowly turn back the time; she closed her eyes in agony, gritting her teeth as she resolved to make it through long enough to save him as the world around her seemed to rewind.

She was adrift in a sea of pain and silence, until-

"RRRAGHH!"

The roar of the beast, screaming as Claude's arrow pierced its eye once again. Sweet relief shot through the pain; she had made it back! And she could still.... could still...

She couldn't move.

Her body collapsed under her, little stars shooting above her eyes. She screamed internally, willing herself to open her mouth and yell at him to run, move! But nothing came out, the Divine Pulse rendering her body useless and her mind aching in agony as she lay in the grass unable to move a muscle. She felt something run down her chin and realized with a groggy start that her nose was bleeding. She could barely think at all anymore, the view of the night sky on her back becoming hazy... she had to tell him... to run...

"Teach? Teacher, get up! BYLETH!"

'Get out of there, you fool...' is the last thing she thought, his worried face as he crouched above her fallen body fading in front of her heavy eyes.

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

"....-coming to! Thank the Gods, I thought she might never wake..."

"Give her some space, she doesn't look well..."

Byleth groaned weakly, familiar voices that she couldn't currently place far too loud in her ears. She cracked one sore eye open, wincing as voices around her bed cheered in relief. She blearily looked around, her whole body aching - she could see the blurry faces of students peering with concern at her, surrounding her on a sturdy medical cot.

"Professor! We t-thought the worst..." Marianne whispered weakly on her right, voice breaking in relief as she clutched her hands together.

"I told you! You can't keep our awesome teacher down!" Raphael said heartily, smiling down at her from where he was standing by the window.

She blinked a few times, taking the faces of her Deers in with increasing relief. They were spouting bandages of their own in various places, but thankfully none with any lasting damage.

"Everyone... I'm alright. Sore, but alright. What happened with the beast?" she rasped, voice cracking with disuse.

"Well we were running for it and made it back to the road to the monastery. Then Claude comes blitzing in behind us with you on your back! Said you collapsed or something, he was super out of breath. I took over from there and carried you back... hopefully you didn't get any extra bumps or bruises from me, Professor" Raphael explained, looking a bit sheepish.

"Thank you Raphael, you were very brave. You all did very well considering what happened" Byleth smiled weakly, slumping back in relief at the news that Claude had escaped without injury.

"The beast disappeared, though agents of the Church of Seiros are trying to track it down as we speak. Claude was at your bedside for quite some time, but had to leave to explain the situation to Archbishop Rhea. It sounds like neither of you will face harsh consequences as the situation was unprecedented" Lorenz stated, his clipped tones at odds with the relief on his face at seeing his professor awake.

Byleth wanted to ask more but words were starting to fail her; Annette seemed to notice and offered to grab her designated healer. Byleth nodded and the ginger-haired girl returned with a motherly looking mage in white robes, who peered down at Byleth in concern over her spectacles.

"I'm not sure how you managed to exhaust your magic so severely when you aren't a mage, but I am aware you have particular talents requiring spiritual energy. Nonetheless, I would recommend never doing such a thing again."

Byleth nodded to appease the older woman, though hearing that Claude had returned alive had convinced her she had made the right decision. A decision that made her whole body ache, but the right one in truth. She could never regret saving Lorenz from a bad injury despite his sharp tongue and poor Annette didn't deserve a broken leg. And Claude... even only half-awake and dazed, she could still hear the exact scream Claude made when he'd been crushed playing in her head like some horrible echo.

Still, she'd be saving a fourth Divine Pulse for emergencies only; she felt like the beast itself had trampled her into a flat pancake. The healer offered a spell to send her into a painless sleep for the afternoon, which would boost her recovery. Currently content that Claude and her Deers were alive at the very least, she agreed to the treatment. Her students gave their goodbyes and well-wishes (Marianne said nothing but gently squeezed her hand) and soon the older healer had sent her into a comfortable, dreamless doze. She smiled as she felt drowsy but relieved once again, bright green eyes on her mind as she slowly drifted off.

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

Byleth yawned, slowly waking up from the sleep she had been placed in the day earlier as birds chirped alongside the rising sun through the window. Already she felt a little stronger, though she likely had to face bed rest for the next few days judging by her aching muscles. Gods knows how Sothis would react to her recklessness next time they talked...

She yawned again, blearily rubbing at her eyes.

"Hey, teach."

She started, eyes slowly tracking towards the familiar voice. Claude stood in the doorway, a sad smile on his face as he looked over her tired frame in the bed.

"Claude...!" she said weakly, her heart lightening upon seeing him alive and well.

She'd been told this by the Golden Deers of course, but it was hard to fully believe with the awful memory of his death echoing through her brain on repeat. Now as he made his way towards her bed, sunlight running across his spotless uniform, the full weight of the grisly scene was finally unburdened. His slightly ruffled bed head, his searching green eyes, everything was so alive and warm.

"You look surprised to see me alive and kicking. It's a little offensive!" he teased gently, coming to lean up against her bed with his arms crossed facing her.

"I'm more surprised I made it out. Raphael said you managed to carry me?" she inquired, confused.

"You scared me, seriously. I was so worried and full of adrenaline, I'd gotten halfway through the trees with you on my back before I realized I had done it" he said, smiling softly.

"Interesting Plan B, that one" she joked quietly, glad to see him teasing her like nothing had happened in the first place.

"Well, my plan B didn't include you collapsing..." he trailed off, eyebrows raised in clear expectation of an answer.

She paused, good mood rapidly disappearing. It was little use hiding things from Claude; he'd already proven to be a master at reading her face. She was not in the least surprised when he continued.

"You used that ability of yours, didn't you? But you shouldn't have" he questioned softly, smile gone from his face.

She slowly shook her head.

"No. I knew I was overusing it at the time, but... I..."

"Did I get injured?" he pressed, leaning slightly forward.

She pursed her lips, keeping deathly silent. He chewed his lip, looking pensive.

"Then... I died. Didn't I?"

Byleth swallowed. She tried to keep a straight fact but it was already too late; Claude leaned back, looking thoughtful once again.

"It's pretty pathetic that I died in the first place. Sorry you had to endanger yourself for my carelessness" he said calmly, casual tone suddenly infuriating her.

"Don't say that. You were brave and I didn't do enough, I had to watch as-"

She shut her mouth, embarrassed by her outburst and the sudden onset of tears pricking her eyes. Claude immediately looked guilty, hands twisting together.

"I-I didn't mean to joke! I'm sorry, truly. Please don't get upset over my idiocy" he soothed, leaning forward to wipe a tear away.

She nodded, supremely embarrassed at her emotional state. It wasn't like her to get overly weepy around others, although the stress of the past days was slowly catching up to her. Claude noticed this and stepped away from her bedside, looking regretful.

"I'm sorry for making light of the situation and riling you up when you're tired, Professor. I-"

He stopped for a moment to think, then continued on.

"I'm casual around a lot of people because I... I don't truly trust that many people in my life. Friends I have many of, but few true confidants. But please believe me as sincere when I say I trust you. And I owe you for this."

Byleth smiled, touched at the admission.

"Thank you for trusting me Claude. And you can pay me back by getting the highest mark on the next Fodlan history exam" she replied with a smile, giggling softly at his laugh.

"Then I better get started on my readings of Fodlan History Volume IV, huh? Thank you again, teach. Make sure you get some well-deserved rest. You're an irreplaceable part of the Deers, so get better soon!" he replied, gently patting her shoulder before leaving the medical room with a smile.

She sighed happily, feeling bone tired but satisfied that the ordeal of the last few days was finally beginning to close. Even as she fell back into a half-conscious state against her pillow, lesson plans and tactics drills were floating in the back of her mind.

No more sacrifices; they were going to lead the Golden Deers to success together.

[impassive-aggressive]

it’s ZOIDS HEADCANON TIME

this all took me way longer to assemble into something coherent than I initially thought :V  BUT HERE IS PART 1:

ZOID BIOLOGY: All Zoids start off as Cores.  These need to be "incubated" in pools of highly metallic/nutrient-rich water that are common on Zi, and if left long enough will grow a body around them that's capable of moving about on its own.  New Cores come about via Zoids periodically budding new Cores and dumping them into pools to mature.  Wild Zoids are much smaller than man-made ones and of course don't have cockpits/pilot interfaces, etc.

Domesticated Zoids are the product of "genetic engineering", in that their Cores have been tampered with so that, when immersed in tanks of synthetic fluid, they grow bodies with cockpits and such.  (They can also be grown to a certain point and then plucked out of their maturation tanks and stuck into a pre-built body.)  They've been tweaked so that their Cores are bigger and can support larger bodies with more advanced weaponry, etc. but they're less intelligent/capable than wild Zoids were.  Their Cores are also "charged" like batteries, so they have a finite lifespan, although this can still be a couple centuries (or more, if the Zoid is taken care of).  As with any lifeform, excessive strain (forcing it to use/carry ludicrous amounts or types of weaponry LEENA), abuse, neglect, etc. can reduce this span considerably.  By contrast, wild Zoids would prey on and eat each other's Cores (or munch on also-metallic foliage) to keep themselves going.  Domesticated Zoids no longer need to eat, although all Zoids are hella territorial and naturally inclined to fight, which is why they make good war machines.  

Wild Zoids were common in the time of the Ancient Zoidians but vanishingly rare by the time CC rolled around and all but extinct by the time of NC0. Blaming the Death Saurer seems like a good idea here, so yeah.

ZOID EVE: Whereas most Zoid Cores grow bodies and crawl out of their birthing pools to go on their merry way, sometimes Things Happen and Cores fuse together.  When this happens it usually results in a) dead, malformed Cores or b) shambling monstrosity Zoids that usually don't live very long.  

However, in one particular instance it resulted in c) an entity with a weird, alien intelligence that continued to bud Cores off of itself, producing Zoids that were smarter and generally "better" than other wild Zoids.  The Ancient Zoidians discovered this and were puzzled by the gross, lumpy Core-mass entity but were also impressed by the quality Zoids it produced, and eventually a city sprang up around it.  They started calling the thing "Zoid Eve" and built a big woman statue over it to symbolize this, strung up with a bunch of wires and shit to channel its power to the growing city.  They also went ahead and tampered with Eve's basic Core-programming so that it'd start producing pilotable Zoids, because Zoidians are stupid and can't resist fucking around with everything they find.

Zoid Eve was initially seen as a scientific curiosity, and then by turns as a status symbol, a good-luck charm, a bringer of prosperity and good fortune, and eventually as a deity.  People began flocking to Eveopolis to reap the social benefits of living right next to God and to claim the Zoids it produced.  Disputes sprang up among different groups as to who was getting all these Zoids, with some groups claiming they were being cheated or overlooked in favor of others; these disputes escalated into physical attacks and then all-out war, with different factions squabbling over the right to claim more of the Eve-born Zoids.

In response to this, some neutral parties collaborated to produce the Eve Saurer, designed to basically terrify everyone into calming their tits.  It was created from an Eve-spawned Core and placed in a body so fuckoff huge and powerful that none of the warring factions could really hope to stand against it; it was also deliberately created without a pilot interface or any way to control it so that it couldn't be hijacked by any particular faction and used to force everyone else into submission.

This kind of worked insofar as the various factions tried to attack the Eve Saurer and were immediately slapped down for their efforts, but the Saurer had the unfortunate side effect of being infectiously aggressive so that it triggered insanely violent urges in most of the Zoids that came near it.  Since it only knew to respond to aggression with more aggression, it set off a feedback loop of rage that culminated in lots of people dying really fast.  The Zoidians were at last united in finding a way to stop the Eve Saurer, and deduced that the only way to accomplish this was to do something to Eve itself.  Some people were like "FUCK IT, JUST KILL EVE" and other people were like "holy shit calm down", so while the first group worked on building something that could destroy Eve the second group came up with a pair of scorpion Zoids that, individually, were less powerful than the Eve Death Saurer but marginally more controllable. 

Team Kill Eve deployed its contender, a massive aerial type armed with gravity weapons that should have been able to crush the Core-construct forming Zoid Eve, but it rebelled violently at being forced to take action against Eve, bucked control of its pilot and escorts, and wrecked a bunch of shit before fucking off into the wilderness.  Team Calm Your Tits, probably giving team Kill Eve disgusted looks from across the room, sent out its scorpion Zoids, which succeeded in holding the Death Saurer at bay long enough for them to power down Eve (namely, the big statue thing which was a conduit for her power), thus enabling them to halt the Death Saurer without killing every other Zoid on the planet.  Unfortunately the damage had already been done and Zi was left all but uninhabitable, so the Zoidians stowed their surviving Zoids for safekeeping and placed themselves and their Organoids in stasis, in the hopes that they would eventually be able to resume life in a safer world.

...but before this was done, team Kill Eve was like "nah, that was totally a good idea that we just executed poorly" so they stuck some programming mojo into a girl and her Organoid that would enable her to shut down Eve if the need ever came up.

ORGANOIDS: Organoids and Zoids arose from a common ancestor, and lived together in the wild for thousands of years.  Organoids would "tend" groups of wild Zoids for whom they acted as guards, lookouts and pack leaders; in exchange they get first dibs on the Cores of prey the Zoids took down, or of old/injured Zoids in the group that were ready to die anyway.  They would also use the Zoids' Cores to reproduce, sticking their cables into a freshly-budded Core to leave their "DNA" all over it, which would start a new Organoid forming.

When the first wave of human colonists came to Zi, they were aware of organoids but considered them just another part of the landscape to be overcome as they sought to capture and tame wild Zoids.  Organoids were undoubtedly dangerous, particularly because of how intelligent they were, but humans have a marked tendency to give no fucks about things like danger when there are Cool Things to be poked at, such as big robot animals that could help out around a growing settlement.  The humans had superior weaponry to pretty much anything else organoids had ever encountered before, and were more effective than any wild predator on Zi at repelling the protective organoids while they captured Zoids.

The first organoid to live peaceably with humans was a young individual whose burgeoning herd of Zoids was in danger of being eradicated entirely by predators; while wary of humans, it also noted that the Zoids under the humans' care were healthy and well-protected, and figured that hanging around the settlement might be worth a shot.  Since the organoid and its herd weren't causing any harm, the humans kept an eye on it but otherwise left it alone.  Both species being naturally sociable and curious, the organoid and the humans eventually started trying to interact and established a tentative sort of bond.  When the organoid started producing offspring, they were even more inclined to hang around the humans, who discovered that having teleporting psychic mechanical dinosaurs accompanying you on expeditions or keeping an eye out for threats while you tended the fields was kind of useful.  

Meanwhile, other organoids started copying the first one's example and hanging around the settlement; although naturally territorial, the organoids all forged an uneasy truce knowing that it was in everyone's best interest to play nice and keep reaping the benefits of living near humans.  More and more organoids were born in close contact with humans, and the two species became so accustomed to each other that pretty soon it was no big deal for them to live and work together as partners.  Once Zoids started being engineered to be larger and more powerful, the "domesticated" organoids would sort of naturally be drawn to certain ones and found that it was more efficient to devote their attention to a single large Zoid than to a whole group of smaller ones, particularly since that Zoid could serve as an energy source and a place to rear young, zealously protected by its human caretaker.  

While wild organoids were fairly small and drab-colored, those that grew up around humans became larger and more powerful, and the humans also kind of unconsciously selected for organoids that had bright, pretty colors.  AND THAT'S HOW WE GOT SHOW ORGANOIDS

Roughly as intelligent as humans, organoids tend to choose their partners based on personality traits and how well they mesh as individuals.  These partnerships grow and deepen over time, and once a pair is bonded it's very hard to find anything that can drive them apart short of death itself.  Losing a partner can be deeply traumatizing, as it is for anyone who loses a loved one, but it is possible to recover and forge a new bond, given enough time.  (Most humans/Zoidians don't generally live long enough to reach this point, but it has happened a time or two.)

Organoids communicate with mental bursts of imagery + emotion.  They don't have speech that utilizes words, although they may visualize written words or mentally "repeat" things that are spoken to them in the voice of whoever said them.  This includes names; although their human/Zoidian partner may assign them a word-name that the organoid recognizes as its own, the names they choose for themselves are represented by more images-and-feelings: the moons reflected in a lake while one contemplates the universe; elation during a spring day surrounded by wildflowers; the peace of solitude atop a cold mountain peak.  It may take a while for the organoid to find something it likes enough to choose as a name, and this may change subtly over time - or very radically following severe trauma.  They also tend to assign organoid-style names to their partners and Zoids.

When an organoid Core-bonds with a Zoid, it's reading/altering the Zoid's data via all the little cables it plugs into the surface of the Core, lending its superior computational capabilities to the Zoid's raw power and its pilot's intelligence and strategic abilities.  When all three are in sync, this results in a Zoid that's faster, stronger, more resilient and more powerful than others, often to a devastating degree.  Organoids can heal and evolve Zoids by "overwriting" parts of the Zoid's data to jump-start the repair process that would otherwise occur much more slowly, triggering accelerated cell growth that can result in near-instant healing or, in the case of evolution, an entirely different chassis. 

MOAR TO FOLLOW