#but it makes me sad. aurora i’m sorry you never got to be reunited with your twin. i’m sorry your ex fiancé killed ppl over you.

[velvetbunniie-archive]

“they don’t want people to know that their daughter is a monster” 1) look who’s talking, and 2) literally what did she DOOOO that was so unforgivable, except be a teenage girl that was kinda insane over her comphet crush and have access to spells. i jst think, in this fantasy world, aurora rlly didn’t even… do… that much…. like, out of all the actions she did, she mostly jst kinda handed ppl tools and then it was out of her hands. jacks fucking traded his heart to her willingly (for a protection cuff that didn’t seem to do that much for the end of the story, anyway). i’m an aurora defender, because you guys see one (1) female character that’s not perfectly feminine and submissive and you start screaming

[whitherliliesbloom]

your voice will save me

[ ffxivwrite2021 ] ★ [ masterlist ] ★ [ prompt #23 - soul ]

[ alphinaud/wol ] ★ [ 2,416 words ]  ★ [ post-5.3 ]

a sequel to a fill i did from last year’s ffxivwrite. i had the idea for this fic for a whole year but never got to write it. aka, it took one year for me to finally give alphinaud closure.

soul- the spiritual part of a person that some people believe continues to exist in some form after their body has died

it’s a long time coming, but alphinaud thinks he should finally tell the warrior of light the words his soul has been yearning to say for thousands of years

Revenant’s Toll feels particularly cold with the nightly breeze, and it sends chills down Alphinaud’s spine as he casts his glance outwards to look upon Silvertear falls, watching as the sky, now free from miasma, is glimmering with a sea of swaying stars that casts distant reflections of light upon the lake where the wings of a great wyrm once stood vigil.

He shivers, grasping at his gloved hand to steady himself, counting his own breaths as he looks upon the tower of crystals with a pang of hurt that leaves his throat dry. The sight of the tower alone reminds him of skyscrapers and the sound of distant rain, and memories that were not his own flash, albeit briefly, through his head like a bolt that strikes at his very heart. 

The boy barely manages to compose himself, steel himself with the resolve and cool that a distant, untarnished version of himself had once possessed. Even in the midst of falling stars, a rain of fire and rivers of blood that ran the streets, that man..... himself from an ancient time, Alphinaud acknowledges bitterly with bit lips, he would not allow his emotions to sway him so.

And yet when he hears a familiar voice call out to him from behind, call out to his very soul that has been aching since the beginning of time, he knew that the him of the present was incapable of being as cold and unfeeling as he had once been.

“Alphinaud?” his flower whispers a name into the night, his name. The name of his current form, one that he can barely hang on to as yet another brief flash of a blazing meteor shower tears through his focus. “You called for me?”

“Yes.” He holds his breath, turns around and gazes down at her with a muddied, dishonest smile upon his face. “I....I wanted to talk to you.” there’s hesitation as he speaks, pain laced in his tone, but Illya makes no remark on it as she moves to stand next to the man, crystal violet eyes cast skywards at the dead of the night. “I’m not bothering you am I?”

“You never bother me.” Illya responds swiftly, her fingers resting upon the stone railing and shivering a tad as she finds the surface cool to the touch.

He swallows the lump in his throat, eyes averting her own and body fidgety, restless as he attempts to find the words in him to even begin speaking - because heaven knows there are so many he wants to say to her.

Previous countless mental rehearsals are now forgotten, replaced with only the raw emotions of a flickering, barely visible light within him. 

“I.... I just wanted... To call you out here to... Well... clarify some things... and... and to apologize for others...”

His voice is sheepish, timid, completely unlike the assured confidence of her beloved scholar who had been so eager and ready, eyes blazing with confidence during his fight against the specters of light, his magicks woven from his passion like bursts of fire and gusts of summer wind.

But her smile is still patient and kind as she watches him carelessly stumble upon his words, a hand raising up to tuck a long fluttering strand of hair behind her ear as it blew effortlessly in the lake breeze.

“I never did apologize... Well, there are a lot of things I have to apologize for but-” Alphinaud frowns, “I-I.. I could not well carry on without first trying to apologize to you for all of my transgressions.” Inhaling sharply, the elezen clenches his fist and casts his gaze down upon the stone under his feet. “I’m sorry for worrying you so much all the time, especially when my soul had been pulled to the first. I’m sorry for not being there for you when you struggled with yourself... I’m sorry for putting you through such heinous betrayal because of my incompetence as a commander of the Crystal Braves. I’m sorry for all the times I used you, doubted you, hurt you...”

His voice shakes with the sorrow worth many years of regret, of the guilt he’s pent up and swore to himself he’d make amends for. His heart is aching, the agony of his own past sins coming back to haunt a more mature, wiser, older form of himself now. But he knows it is nothing compared to what he has put her through.

“When we first arrived in Ishgard, I promised you that I would do better - be better for the sake of the others and you who I have wronged. I don’t know if I’ve gotten far enough yet to say I’ve fulfilled that promise... And for that too, I am truly sorry.”

lllya parts her lips to speak, but her voice is hushed, watching as what little shred of dignity has drained from Alphinaud’s navy blue eyes with a sea of cyan sadness washing through her own. And when she takes a step towards him, he holds his hand up and she swallows back her protests reluctantly, intent to listen to his heart until the end even if it killed her to do so.

“And... and also... I’m sorry for pushing you away.” 

That statement applies to himself from six summers ago, but the distant glaze in his eyes as he attempts to recall memories of a long forgotten city tells the girl that he was referring to otherwise, and she casts him a confused tilt of her head before he finally speaks again.

“In a time long past... in a city of creation and innovation... That man, Apollo...” Alphinaud shakes his head. Saying another name that was not his own would be deflecting the blame, “the unsundered form of myself sought to reach distant heights that I believed not even the convocation could dream to match. And in my vain, egotistical pursuit for ideals that I wasn’t worthy of I...” He chokes back a sob, the thought of his sins against her too much for even himself to even recount. “I hurt you. I told you such blatant, awful lies. I let my jealousy and my own incompetence sweep me away. I-”

“Alphinaud.”

Her voice calls out his name. His name. The name of his current form - his present form. It is the only name Illya knows and will ever acknowledge. 

And though her expression is stern, eyebrows furrowed and peach pink lips pressed into a tight line, she still says his name like melted caramel, unbearably sweet and warm in its tone. 

“I can accept your apology for everything else. I forgive you. But you’re beginning to apologize for mistakes that aren’t your own.”

“But I am- I mean... it... is me.” 

In a way, he acknowledges... Not fully, of course... but the revelations of what had been his past life is proof enough that he, even if a fourteenth fraction of what had once been the man named Apollo, he still must bear part of the responsibility. 

He’s lucky enough as he is to have been granted a second chance, just as Apollo had begged and prayed to the heavens for. He cannot even fathom a world where he had not met Illya anymore.

His beloved smiles, hand raised up to press against her beating heart, as if to feel the essence of her twice rejoined soul. She searches for whispers of herself - of the perfection version of the woman she once was, feeling the bright amethyst constellation stone that bore the insignia of the blistering sun warm in her pocket. She hears no words, only a wave of emotions that cascade through her and almost sweeps her away - she has after all ever been the most sensitive with the voices of unseen beings. 

But even with the two shards of a whole soul shone brightly within her, and she can almost envision the visage of a dusty, quiet library in her mind, there is not a trace of anger or hurt in her heart. 

“I am Illya Skawi. And you are Alphinaud Leveilleur.” Her gentle tone belies the weak little tremble in her voice as her eyes swirl with an ocean of unfiltered emotions. “I am nowhere near as perfect as Chloris, I know I can never be.” Her hands clasp together tightly, held close to her chest as if to guard her heart. “I may inherit her will... but I will never be her.”

Where Chloris had bright, flawless sanguine pink eyes that morphed in hue to reflect her thoughts, Illya inherited a pair of more timid orbs of lavender twilight. Where Chloris had unmarred skin of a porcelain doll, Illya’s skin was covered with a map of the galaxy - the speckle of stars from bullet holes upon her thighs, the milky way that cut across her collar bone and the auroras taking the form of teeth marks all over her abdomen. 

And where Chloris had an unparalleled talent for optimism, charisma and hope, what remained in Illya was only the painful, unreciprocated love she had for the world that would be the very bane of her mental stability for as long as she can remember. 

Even with her soul reunited with Ardbert’s, she knows she is but a husk of what had once been the fourteenth member of the convocation - of azem... Emet-Selch at least wasn’t mistaken in spelling that fact out. 

“And the woman that Apollo loved is not me - not this ugly, fragmented, weak little shard as I am.”

That’s absolute nonsense, Alphinaud wants to retort. Illya is anything but. It may not who Chloris had once been - but it is who the woman he loves is. Whole, beautiful and divine, her hair is woven from moonlight and her eyes are pressed from a bouquet blossomed flowers. Her voice a melody of a songbird, her skin a distant and unexplored, yet welcoming cosmos. She is a ray of hope, not just for him, but practically everyone else he knows... and he could think of no better personification of perfection than her. 

The world may disagree, the ancients may cry in protest and the whole, unbroken version of him may think to question his judgement. 

But Alphinaud knows, even if he is wrong about everything else and will continue to be as imperfect and sinfully tainted as he is, that he isn’t wrong about her.

“You’re not- You are not....ugly...” the words die at his throat, he’s lacking in the strength to debate as fervently as he is usually capable of doing. “Or weak for that matter. You’re...” 

“I’m not Chloris. And you’re not Apollo, either. Perhaps we were once upon a time, but not now, not here.”

The breeze picks up and howls in his ears, carrying the chill of his doubts and guilt away into the night. And as the bearer of hopes and miracles flashes him a radiant smile, he feels his chest clenching with a warmth that he can barely contain.

Illya turns to look back over Silvertear falls, the light from the moon and the fields of crystals casting a halo over her hair as it fluttered like a veil in the wind. Her skin glows with color, warm against the backdrop of grey stone and dark blue sky. 

“I did ponder over the circumstances of our meeting... If it was pure coincidence or a mechanism of fate bringing their souls... our souls together again.” Illya hums, fiddling with her fingers as she contemplates out loud. “And I wonder... if the other shards of Chloris and Apollo are so tightly wound together that they’d meet again in other worlds too...” 

“They will.” He answers on impulse, as if his entire being already knew the answer. “I believe they will.” 

It’s a naive and an impossibly idealistic wish... one with a hint of selfishness and ego too, perhaps... but those are the core of who he is- who his soul is. And if Apollo loved Chloris even half as much as he loved Illya, then he knows, is certain with all his heart that the thread that keeps their fourteen souls tied together for eternity will not be so easily severed. 

There’s a quiet that looms over them, with only the sounds of the wind and the chirping of the crickets ringing in the air. Illya doesn’t turn to look back at him for a minute, lost in her own thought and drowning in a pool of her own emotions - thousands of years worth of them.

“That’s good. I’m glad...”

When the girl turns around, her violet eyes are wet with crystal clear tears, they catch the rays of moonlight and reflect off her face as they roll down her cheeks past upturned lips. 

“Because Chloris loved Apollo, you know? She loved him very very much.”

Alphinaud hadn’t noticed when he’d started crying either, quiet sobs breaking out of him as he lets out a choked laugh, raising a gloved hand to feebly wipe away his tears.

“He did too. He loved her so much that it killed him.” 

His heart is so full to the brim, spilling with unbearable adoration and devotion. When Illya spreads her arms out wordlessly, sniffling back her own trickling, glistening tears, he picks her up and wraps his arms tightly around her, feeling the beating of his heart match in tandem with her own. 

In their warm, tender embrace, he hears the echoes of a distant past - yet another vision of a splitting star flashes in his mind. But he doesn’t flinch this time as he holds his entire world in his arms, afraid and determined to never let go. 

“I love you. I love you.” Her declaration is all he hears, along with quiet whispers of his name. His real name. 

Alphinaud. Alphinaud. Alphinaud. Alphinaud.

This love was hers to bear, and no one else’s - not Chloris, not Ardbert, not the twelve other flickering star blossoms that are out there, undoubtedly fighting with their entire being to reunite with their own other half. And no cry of ancient beings, no fracturing of worlds or falling of the moon or stars will stop her from loving him. Even until the sun sets, even until the end of times. 

And though their souls may have been set adrift, he knew that his soul would always be destined to love hers in return.

“I love you too, Illya.” 

[firelxdykatara]

hello!! i just wanted to ask- i wanna do an ouat rewatch bc CAPTAIN SWANN but its pretty long and i honestly dont care for the other characters/how badly the overall writing was handled.. which are your favourite captain swan eps? anything them centered and i think ill just skip around to rewatch their romance as they did invent romance 😭😭 ty in advance <3

they absolutely did invent romance, you are right about that and i love them so much

UHMMMM as far as my favorite CS eps, here’s a roadmap of what I personally consider key eps in their journey (some of this is from memory but I haven’t done a full rewatch in a while so i’m going through the episode list as a refresher)

2x06: Tallahassee--this is a must-watch ep for any CS fan, and I really think this is the episode that sparked the fire that CS would become as a fandom. It has everything--flirtatious banter, all kinds of tension, deliberate parallels drawn between Emma and Killian’s pasts, as well as their first meeting being intercut with her relationship with Neal (which serves, especially in hindsight, to highlight just how sketchy that relationship was, and why she couldn’t bring herself to trust Killian--because the last time she felt this way about anyone, it ended horribly)

2x08 and 2x09: Into the Deep and Queen of Hearts--these episodes cover the race to the portal between Emma&co and Hook/Cora and while they don’t do a ton for CS as a relationship since they’re still enemies at this point, it lays great foundation for their future relationship development. Plus, sexy swordfight, Hook going out of his way to save Aurora’s heart--he may be a pirate, but he has standards ok--and Emma realizing Cora can’t remove her heart without her permission? Poetic Cinema

2x11: The Outsider--more of a Killian-centric episode, it shows a lot of Killian at his worst but it’s necessary for his overall character arc and I genuinely love looking back and seeing just how far he managed to come, to the point of eventually even letting go of his (very understandable) grudge against Rumplestiltskin.

2x12: In the Name of the Brother--am I including this purely for Emma&Hook banter in the hospital, and Killian saying ‘hey beautiful’ when he’s lying on the road because he just got hit by a fucking car? You bet I am. Also, go to youtube and look up ‘ouat season two deleted scene jello’, because it’s beautiful and there was a tremendous outcry in the fandom when we realized it had been cut from the episode lmao (It’s also the episode that made me start shipping Frankenwolf, which I’m still sad never went anywhere, but they had a lot of potential and great chemistry.)

2x22: And Straight On Till Morning--A few of the episodes in between have some fun minor interactions and flashbacks (and I always approve of episodes where Killian gets one up on Rumple, so 2x15 is fun for me if i ignore all the Neal bits) but the finale is where we finally get a glimpse of who Killian could be beyond his need for revenge. He didn’t have to come back, he didn’t have to bring back the bean and help the town--but he did.

Season 3a: there’s a lot of really good stuff here for Hook and Emma that is interwoven between the A plots of other episodes. I think, as far as half-season arcs go, it’s one of the best (and everything after 4a bombed hard, but I digress) But there are a few episodes that stand out if you don’t want to watch the whole season. (I recommend starting with the premier though, it was a really solid season starter overall.)

3x05: Good Form--this is the culmination of David’s poisoned-by-dreamshade arc, and is also Peak Captain Charming Bromance. Hook not only keeping David’s secret, but doing everything he can to help save him??? Poetic cinema. It also provides some crucial Killian backstory, showing how he lost his brother to the very same dreamshade. Plus, the character development--Pan offers Killian a chance to escape the island with Emma if he kills David, and instead, he saves him, refusing the deal and damn the consequences. Also also? The first CS kiss which drove the fandom WILD.

3X06: Ariel--not only to I love OUaT’s take on Ariel, but this episode has the infamous Echo Cave scene, which involves a lot of feelsy confessions and Killian being the one to tell everyone that Neal is alive and helping Emma save him despite his own growing feelings for her.....IT’S JUST A LOT AND I LOVE IT.

3x07: Dark Hallow--oh man, I’d forgotten about this episode, but it has Killian and Neal fighting over Emma, which may sound eye-roll worthy, but Emma is allowed to tear them a new one about it and it’s one of the few times she’s allowed to actually???? put her own feelings first so I have to include it here on spec

3x11 and 3x12: Going Home and New York City Serenade--these mark the end of 3a and start of 3b respectively, and it has some amazing shit like Killian vowing never to forget Emma and Emma smiling as she replies, “Good.” And then she and Henry are in New York with their memories completely altered, but Killian shows up because Storybrooke is back and in jeopardy, and he helps Emma get back to her family and her home and, much later, Emma finds out he sold the Jolly Roger to be able to do it and it’s just. It’s beautiful ok.

3x17: The Jolly Roger--there’s honestly not a whole lot in the back half of season 3 (until the CS movie) but of course anything named for Hook is a must-watch, and this is where we get the iconic line I swear on Emma Swan--which is Killian saying he’s in love with her before he even realizes it. We also find out just what he did to Ariel, and his attempts to make amends are what lead to Zelena being able to curse him, so it’s great from a character perspective as well.

The next four episodes round out the end of the season, and there’s a lot of great stuff in them--Hook refusing to get Emma to kiss him, but Emma feeling like she can’t trust him because he didn’t tell her about the curse to begin with, and then kissing him anyway to save his life regardless of the consequences.... but the only ones that are absolutely necessary are the final two episodes.

They are colloquially termed ‘The Captain Swan Movie’ for a reason, after all.

Killian and Emma essentially have an entire Time Travel adventure all to themselves, where they accidentally ruin her parents first meeting and have to fix it so that she’ll even be born, Emma finally getting into the storybook, the pair of them dancing at a ball, Killian rushing to save Emma only for her to get out of the cell herself, because “The only one who saves me is me.” Killian saying “I would go to the ends of the world for her... or time.” Finally fixing the timeline and making it back to Storybrooke and Killian feeling like he doesn’t deserve a place at the table so he doesn’t go inside, but Emma comes out to him anyway and finds out he gave up the Jolly Roger for her, the true start to their relationship...... IM CRYING JUST THINKING ABOUT IT I’M SORRY.

I personally really enjoyed 4a, the Frozen arc was one of the last good half-season arcs of the show, but a lot of people disliked it so it’s really up to interpretation. I don’t have as many Intense Opinions on this season (except hating almost everything about 4b and the queens of darkness arc), but I will say the episodes with good Killian/CS moments are 4x02 (Emma nearly freezes to death, Killian is desperate to save her, Captain Charming teamwork, my heart hurts), 4x04 (Emma asks Killian out on a real date, he tries to get his real hand back from Gold, things go massively awry and he winds up back under Gold’s thumb), 4x08 (Killian tries to save Emma from Gold’s plans), 4x11 (the 4a finale is just great in general), and then..... it cannot be overstated how much I hate season 4b, but 4x15 is the Killian-centric ep where his past with Ursula is revealed and he makes amends to her in order to get her to leave the QoD alliance and it’s great character stuff for him, and then there’s the season 4 finale.

Both parts are worth watching, if only because Deckhand Coward Hook still being a braver, more heroic man than ‘Hero Rumplestiltskin’ warms the very cockles of my heart, and of course the second part of the finale has him helping Henry to save Emma and it’s beautiful and also Emma watches him die for her and it is angsty as FUCK but gods I love it. Here’s where it gets tricky, though--my recommendation is, turn the episode off right after Emma finds Killian back in the present day of Storybrooke and they reunite.

Just turn off the episode there and skip right ahead to the s6 musical episode (Emma and Killian’s wedding ep) and pretend they got married and none of seasons 5 or 6 ever happened. >.> (Although I will say certain parts of the Underworld arc were incredibly feelsy despite how much I overall hated the season: 5x11 (the 5a finale, Killian as the dark one STILL being a better man than rumple, we love to see it), 5x15 (I am not immune to Brothers Jones feelings ok), 5x20 (emma literally takes a True Love Test trying to find a way to save killian, you don’t get more romantic than that--also Killian telling Emma to promise she won’t put her armor back up just because she lost him again??? my HEART), 5x21 (Hook does what he can from the Underworld anyway and zeus sends him back to Emma, they really just said ‘today I will invent romance’ and then Did That)

And then, yeah, just skip to the wedding. It’s beautiful, I enjoyed the music, personally, though I know musical episodes are hit or miss with most people. And if you turn it off when the last musical number starts (after the wedding ceremony, I believe) you can pretend it was the end of the show! =DDD

.....Oh my god I just rambled for years. I HOPE YOU FIND THIS USEFUL, ANON. I 100% support a CS-centered rewatch, their episodes were consistently some of the best across the entire series, and they are truly one of my favorite romances of all time.

[interactive-watchers]

A Silver Apology

Notes: Me and Mod Salem wrote this drabble together! Amaris POV is mine and Salem POV is theirs, this is in the DSMP by the way

The young nymph entered the small forge just by the back side of her cottage slipping on her apron, and tying up her chestnut colored hair with a white ribbon. She threw the ores into the furnace, feeling the hot air of the furnace be released into the air, letting the iron smelt into ingots. A comfortable familiar feeling seeped into her as the heat sent sweat gliding down her face. She allowed the ingots to cool down,eventually becoming more solid, the newly cooled metal showing the reflection of the girl’s slightly soot covered face. A pang of guilt hits her when she remembers why she's doing this, but she shuts the thought down, she doesn’t have the right to pity herself when she made them both feel so much worse. She puts her focus back onto the task at hand and places the iron into the melting pot, letting the iron become liquid. She quietly pours the searingly hot liquid into the sheet mold to let it cool, leaving her a moment to herself. She silently stares at the iron as it solidifies, dozens of thoughts racing behind those hazel eyes. She lets out a deep sigh as she returns back to her work putting the sheet metal onto her anvil to begin hammering it into shape. The metal gleamed a bright orange from the heat as she banged her hammer onto it with strong yet calculated swings. Regret still lingered in the back of her consciousness while her hands worked. Having forged so many times before her body continued reflectively as she got lost in her thoughts.

She should have stayed, or at the very least waited a little longer. Now she was reunited with them both, but their relationships still felt strained. She still remembers that conversation with Salem when they saw each other here for the first time. Though he tried not to show it, Amaris knew Salem too well to not notice they were hurt. Amaris knew he had issues with being abandoned, yet she left anyway. She really was stupid enough to think that a small goodbye would be enough to erase a millena of anxieties and fears. And Aurora, one of the few people patient and kind enough to help her through her issues, all for her to leave her behind. She’s one of her few constants in her life and she couldn’t even return the favor. Gods, she is such a piece of shit. She felt her vision blur and a familiar wetness on her cheeks yet she continued to pound the metal as it began to resemble the head of a throwing axe and a dagger. Her arms begin to tremble, tears streaming down her cheeks now. Yet she continues pounding, putting all of her sadness, guilt, and regret into her work. The loud clanging of the hammer against the iron being the only thing keeping her grounded. As she pounds the metal slowly starts to take form, her breathing begins to even out and the tears begin to subside. Until finally the hammering is done. She silently lowers her hammer and stares at the weapons, her heart beating so loud in her ears as she shakily takes in deep breaths. She stands there in silence for what feels like hours, other than the crackling fire and noises of the forge she’s left alone with her own thoughts, though this silence feels more empty than usual.

Wiping her tears quickly she grabs her tongs and plucks the weapons off the anvil, both orange with heat, and dips them into the nearby water bucket leaving them cool to the touch. Picking up her rag she wipes away any soot or imperfections on the weapons, leaving them with a brighter metallic sheen. She gripped her bench grinder and began to run it down the sides of the dagger, repeating this until it was sharp enough for her standards. She then moved on to the axe head, scraping the bench grinder against the metal’s length. She thought she was making the right choice coming here. Everyone told her their disappearance was “normal” and “just Nare being Nare'' yet her instincts screamed at her something was wrong. That this time was different. Sure, turns out she was right, but the consequences of coming here were far worse than she expected. Now she’s stuck here as well until the gospel court manages to bring that sadistic bastard of a god to justice. She might as well not even be here with how much use she has. She continued to sharpen the axe head, with each stroke becoming stronger and stronger as she worked the metal. She finally held it up blowing off the dust, the cool metal contrasting her flushed skin. Her eyes puffy and her nose red, she rips her eyes away from her reflection. She began to carve details into the axe head, thoughts now pushed aside by her silent concentration. The minutes passed by like seconds as she gently yet firmly marked the axe with engravings, only stopping to wipe the sweat now running down her face. The axe head was almost completely covered in long, curbing lines that joined together near the face, the edges being the only spot untouched by her hand. With a metallic thunk she places the axe head onto the table, plucking a piece of wood from the table and getting to work on making the handle for the axe.

~*~

A traveler with a strange, moth like cloak strode through the woods on the way to the nymph’s cottage. “First My Claimed disappeared to this ‘ell ‘ole than my friends' damn.” They muttered under their breath. They had stopped in a place called ‘Snowchester’ during their travels, and their immortal heart almost stopped at the sight of their favorite claimed, a blonde avian hybrid named Theseus (affectionately called Tommy) with no memory of them and no wings. “Ayy Salem, gotta pull through” They muttered to themselves through gritted teeth. They checked their compass again. They were close to the coords that Amaris’ letter had told them to come too. Then in the distance, there it is, a simple cottage with a small forge on the side, surrounded by beautiful, vibrant wildflowers and a garden. (Salem would never admit it, but they always admired Amaris’ way to keep plants alive. They could only keep their associated plants alive) They pulled their hood down. Better see what they needed. (There couldn’t be any other reason Amaris would want them at her short-term home, they were proving themselves to be a horrid friend and patron. Really Salem, they obviously didn’t want you around. That’s why they left) They quickly pulled themselves out of their thoughts. They had a reputation as one of the two death gods that were actually happy, and they were just standing there, staring at their best friend's property. They briskly walked up the path to the home, and knocked three times (a habit they picked up from Kristen) on the rough-hewn door. Amaris opened the door. “Salem!! My friend!!!,” (She looked like she had been crying) “I didn’t think you’d come!!”

“Of ‘ourse I’d come! ya are my best friend!” Salem said back. (They wondered if she was crying because of them)

Amaris opened the door wider, ushering in her godly friend and leading them to the kitchen table. "Tea?"

“Of ‘ourse.” With that Amaris put a kettle to the stove and then turned to look at Salem. “So.. uh, The server is fucked right? It’s not just me?”

“No It ain’t just ya, I noticed it too. I saw ‘ommy on the way ‘ere, an’ ‘e dinae know who I was!”

Amaris hummed and turned to make the tea. “Uh. I did want to say I’m sorry Salem. You didn’t deserve to get left alone again, but I still left. And that was me being a horrible friend. I really am sorry, and I hope you can forgive me.” Salem sat in silence (what does she mean that she’s the bad friend?) “See, I dinae know why yer ‘poloizing to me lass. I’m the bad friend for ‘ver reactin” Salem answered, rubbing at the back of their neck, fidgeting with the claps on their necklaces. “No Salem. I shouldn’t have left. A simple goodbye will not erase thousands of years of your anxiety.” Amaris sighed, handing the god their cup of tea. “‘anks” they muttered. Amaris sighed again. “OH! I have something for you!! Stay right here!” She ran into another room, letting Salem drink in silence again. She came back into the room, with a parcel, wrapped in simple black fabric. “Ay, wots ‘at now?” Salem laughed. The awkward tension seemed to be gone from the room. “A present!” Amaris answered happily, pushing the package into Salem’s lap. “Open it!” Salem laughed again, Quickly unwrapping the parcel, revealing a beautiful throwing axe, with intricate carvings on the handle, and wrought designs on the head of the axe itself. All in all, hand-made, probably from the forge right outside. “‘OLY SHITE AMA ‘IS IS AWESOME” Salem cackled happily. Amaris giggled. “I’m glad you like it, consider it an apology gift.”

“Well ‘en consider yaself forgiven.” Salem said, pulling Amaris into a hug, like they used too. (I wonder if they forgive me back?) “Soo.. now ‘at the sappy ‘art is over, wot are we gonna do ‘bout the total weirdness of ‘is server? I mean, ‘ommy’s been messed with, an’ Tech won’t talk to me; so Aurora is tryen’ to talk ‘ome sense inta ‘im.”

“I have a theory my friend, and it’s not great. But we will figure it out. I think some people know what is going on, and we are going to get to the bottom of it. Someone is behind this.”

[snbazanina]

Modern au. But azazel is still a demon and nina a dragon just in modern time since they live long. I am curious about how their life would be

Hello!! Mod Dokie here \o/

I think this AU could reply to both ask! I worked with mod Gensou in this and we followed Virgin Soul’s route but with Nina keeping her voice. We work a lot to see how SnB verse could fix in a modern age, so we hope you like it!

Modern AU

After a couple years in which each of her friendshad started to drift away and eventually move on, Nina realized she stayed thesame and that Charioce would never be able to crown her as queen and would atbest become a mistress to bear him heirs, so she decided to leave Anateanfinally asking Bacchus for a real bounty hunter bracelet and traveling aroundthe world; she sporadically visited her mother in her village but she stoppedaltogether after she passed away. She occasionally found Favaro and Rita attimes but she never dared to try meet with Jeanne and Azazel again due toshame, centuries have passed since that then and she has witnessed the worldchanging around her.

Azazel, in exchange, returned with Lucifer torebuild Cocytus and help the demons to recover their past life. He used tovisit Mugaro’s grave and Jeanne/Sofiel when they were in human’s land. WhenJeanne died, she was buried besides Mugaro so every time Azazel visits him, hemakes sure to take a present for Jeanne too since she won his respect aftertheir war against Charioce. Even if Sofiel is a god, Azazel and she actuallyhave a kind of good relationship even if sometimes they have their smallarguments.

Nowadays there are no more Anatae or Cocytus, theland of the gods has descended from heavens, the more humans, gods and demonsalike started to stray away from the old ways, settling down away from theircapitals and founding cities that thrived on their own, eventually had theirown governments and there was lots of mixing between then, so unless theirseats of power were threatened once more 250 years after the Bahamut’sincident, there was a meeting with all the leaders of independent settlementsand cities with Lucifer, Gabriel and Viktor IV (one of the kings after Charioce’s reign) were as exchange for keeping theirauthority and the new leaders their independency, the absolute monarchies andkingdoms were abolished, parliaments were founded and the Council was formedwith the three of them as overseers rather than rulers.

After this, people were free to pursue economy,technology, industry, magic and education was slowly available to everyone allaround the world, entertainment industries and academies were founded too. Butthere are few places where time stopped running and are now in danger ordisappearing. Nina’s village is one of them.

When the old woman that was the leader of the villagedied and Nina realized it, she returned to her home to see if she can dosomething for her people. Since her people see her as a heroine after Bahamut’sincident, they turned her into the new leader of the village.

Nina noticed that her village would disappear ifthey keep living outside the modern cities, so she decided as the new leaderthat is time to introduce the modern times to her old home. So, after makingthe necessary preparations, Nina travelled to the city where the main councilof the three races was located.

When Azazel is called on Council duty one morningand upon entering the office he encountered none other than Sofiel next toGabriel, who simply nods at him, and when he asks what’s so important for themto reunite with the gods, Lucifer points at a letter opened on top of the tableand asks Azazel if he knows about shape shifter dragons; when he attempts togive a non-committal answer is Gabriel this time who presses and asks: “Then, what about Nina Drango? Doesthat name ring a bell to you?” By that moment Azazel gives anaccusatory glance at Sofiel who simply shrugs.

After Azazel tells them everything about whathappened during the war against Charioce’s reign and notes the role Nina had inthe fight against Bahamut and how he assumed she had remained at his sideafterwards, Lucifer and Gabriel seem to reach an agreement and they reveal bothto him and Sofiel the reason behind Nina’s letter: a request to make hervillage join one of the factions of the Council, given that in the bare mostdefinition of the word, dragons do qualify as demon kin, and the gods are stillindebted to the old lady for after them during the first attack of Bahamut, butAzazel statement makes them think that it’s more convenient to have the villageon their side since there’s a good possibility that Aurora, the human queenfavours Nina’s request if only for parentage reasons.

When Azazel is alone with Nina for the first time,as he’s been growing increasingly annoyed with her remembering with Sofiel andher apparent nonchalance at the whole thing; he makes a jab about why not gobegging for help to her “grand-grand-granddaughter” the queen; Ninajust looks at him for a whole minute and then laughs which doesn’t help withhis mood until she says that she left Anatean a two years after the Bahamutincident, before he can say anything, her expression grows sad tells an“history lesson” to Azazel that since he never bothered to find out,Charioce XVII was the last king of his royal house because he never hadchildren and he had killed off all the competitors for the throne before beingcrowned himself; he realizes that Nina truly had no other leverage to hold onto help her people and seriously considers to tell Lucifer about this… but hedoesn’t.

Since it’s going to take a few days of deliberationbefore Lucifer and Gabriel come to an agreement, Nina gets to stay as a guestin the city; but after a day she grows bored and hunts down Azazel claimingthat he oughts to show her around town, he tries to get out of it by pointingout that she had been into the city before, but she counters by clarifying thatshe was here before things like electricity or cars were invented and that shehardly recognizes it anymore, so he’s left with no choice. Of course when Ninacomments on his new wardrobe (asking is his job for Lucifer is handling music business)he regrets it already.

Close to the end of the day, Nina tells him thatshe’s sorry about everything what happened in the past, that she was a naive girland now she regrets what she did. He replies with “It’s been centuries since those days, they all amount to aninsignificant amount of my life, and I barely think about it anymore.” ButNina gives him a sad smile and says “…Thenwhy do still not look at me in the eye? Or call me by my name?” She stops totalk about the issue after that.

Azazel stay in silence for a little after that, butin the end he thinks it’s time to move forward so he asks her to tell him “Thehuman’s history that she knows”. Nina, who had some love experiences in thepast, notices the trick and answers with a “The human’s history or my story?”with an amused smile. Azazel gets a little embarrassed after being caught byher and was close to yell to her and retract, but she interrupts him with a “Ican tell you the ‘human’s history’ that I know if you tell me the ‘demon’sstory’ that you know” with a big smile. In the end, they spent a big part ofthe night talking about what they did all of those centuries.

The next day Nina hangs out with both Sofiel andAzazel, and when Sofiel asks what did the two did the day before and delightson Azazel’s awkwardness and reticence to answer while Nina very happily justsays he gave her a tour; for the remainder of Nina’s stay in the city she keepsmaking non too subtle comments about it and whenever Azazel tells her to cut itor to stick on her own business she says: “But Azazel, this is my business, don’t you remember? I’m theSeraph of Love.”

When Nina finallyprepares herself to hear the Council’s decision and entered the hall, Luciferand Gabriel both have poker faces as usual, just like Azazel but at leastSofiel smile gives her reassurance, but all the resolve she had turned to dustwhen she saw the new face; Aurora, the human queen, whom she’d never seen andonly recognized because of the emblem on her clothes. They both stared at eachother for what felt like hours, the shape of the face, the lips, framed byshort lavender hair, and big round eyes… Nina tried to say somethingappropriate and respectful but her mouth felt dry and her eyes posed on Azazelon their own, and the sideway look he gave her made everything click and nowbesides her nerves her face was red probably confusing with her hair; the queenon the other hand got over her puzzlement quickly and just remained poised,composed and simply said: “Oh my.” and smiled at her.

After the moment of bewildermentand Nina calm down, the council gave their decision to her; her request hadbeen accepted and they’re going to help her village to join to the moderntimes. For that, she’ll be accompanied by Azazel and Sofiel, who will takenotes about the village’s state and see what it needs to begin theirdevelopment.

A few days after, Ninaturns into a dragon to take Azazel and Sofiel to her village, since the woodsaround her home grow and it’s hard to reach in a normal way. When they arriveNina’s village to see how much help they need, Azazel is quickly surrounded bylittle dragons that never saw a demon before, so they are curious about hisnature. A few old people of the village are worried about Azazel being close tothe children, but Nina and Sofiel tell them there isn’t any reason to worryabout that.

With Azazel busy dealingwith all the children, Nina starts talking about how different things got forher after she realized the full weight of her longevity when she intended tovisit Favaro after a “short” trip just to come back and find himfirst as a middle aged and the second time as an old man; Sofiel notices Ninais rambling and knows there’s something she wants to talk about, and Sofielmentions as casually as she can that she also has troubles with keeping up withhuman affairs after Jeanne perished; at that moment Nina freezes in place.“…I never realized when time started to slow down for me. I alwaysthought I had time to apologize… I found nothing but a memorial for her whenI finally made my mind”.

When Sofiel asked whatthere was to apologize for, Nina answers: “Because… troublesome,annoying, selfish and full of childish thoughts… for being that type ofperson…” Sofiel can’t argue with her, but reassures her than the fewtimes Jeanne wondered about Nina’s whereabouts she never blamed or hated herfor what happened. Nina smiles with some relief, but still feels that she stillhas things to do with it.

When Nina offers both ofthem to teach them some of the traditions and history from the village Sofielexcuses herself claiming that she needs to survey the state of the village forher report, of course that Azazel and Nina realize it’s a ruse. While they walkto Nina’s house (the one she inherited from de old granny) Azazel groans whenhe sees more children running up to them; but this time rather than try to messwith his person they stare up at the two of them and one of them asks if he’sone of Nina’s “boyfriends” and they’re both trying to deny it, Azazelyells that his only business with this “pint of a girl” is for hisjob, Nina gets angry pointing out that she has no need for more suitors, andthen Azazel gets angrier demanding to know what that’s supposed to mean, beforethe argument heated up more, a lady starts to round up the kids and mentionswith a smile that this brings her memories of when Nina’s parents met: with herMom stumbled into the village and her Dad wanted to kick her out.

After a week, Azazel andSofiel finished with their job they had to return to their city to communicateto the council the results; Nina had to stay in her village and wait for theresult, so they don’t see again for a while. Eventually, Azazel came back tothe village thanks to Lucifer’s order to help there so he usually meets withNina. She also has to visit sometimes the city because some dragons decided tomove and live there, so she has to go there to see how they are doing everything.

Every time Nina andAzazel meet for ‘business things’ they end up to spend time together as ‘friends’after finishing their business’ things. Azazel always bothers her with her oldtraditions calling her an ‘old woman’ and returns his ‘attacks’ bothering himwith his ‘rock star clothes and his fan’s club’.  They always end up arguing even if they’re inthe middle of a restaurant, walking in the streets or in a cinema (because Ninais so curious about technology and enjoys it).

Eventually, they developenough confidence in each other to go and visit together Mugaro and Jeanne’sgrave. They try to don’t speak too much about what happened in the past andjust focuses in move forward.

Sofiel always joke sayingthat even if Azazel and Nina are ‘friends’, they relationship is more than that but theyneed time to approach each other after all that happened in the past, especiallybecause there’s still a few emotional wounds they didn’t close yet. But she’ssure that eventually, they’ll accept what they have and stop to denying things.

Hope you enjoy this!

[tomeandflickcorner]

For the ask: 001: Marvel; 002: Outlaw Queen; 003, Sarah from Labyrinth

Marvel (You had to choose that one, didn’t you? LOL!):

Favorite character: In just the MCU, or anything connected to Marvel?  Do you realize how many characters there are to choose from?

Least Favorite character:  Off hand, I’d say Antman’s ex wife and her second husband.  I just found them a bit unlikable, due to how unsympathetic they were to the main character.  (Yeah, he broke the law and served jail time, but he was clearly trying to get his life in order.  And they just didn’t seem to give him a chance.)

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon): Tony/Pepper, Peter/Gamora, Steve/Bucky (Mostly BrOTP, but I can understand the appeal of them being more than friends.), Peter Quill/Steve (BrOTP) Tony/Dr. Strange (BrOTP)

Character I find most attractive: I never really notice this sort of thing, to be honest.  Sorry.

Character I would marry: I honestly can’t see myself marrying anyone, actually.  At least no one in the MCU.  I’d be more likely to be the exasperated mother hen of the group, trying to make sure none of the overgrown boys tried to kill each other, or themselves.

Character I would be best friends with: Possibly Bucky.  He seemed like a pretty cool guy.  When he’s not under Hydra’s mind control, that is.

a random thought: I really wonder if I should be watching the TV shows as well as the movies.  Am I missing important information by only watching the movies?

An unpopular opinion: I didn’t really mind Thor’s romance with Jane.  I thought it was kinda cute.

My Canon OTP: How about Tony/Pepper and Peter/Gamora?

My Non-canon OTP: I kinda thought Black Widow and Hawkeye would be a thing, before finding out Hawkeye was already married

Most Badass Character:I want to say Valkyrie or Black Widow, but that's probably too obvious of a response. So maybe I'll go with Nick Fury, as the guy actually managed to fake his own death.

Most Epic Villain: Probably Hela, but that might because that’s the movie that’s the most fresh in my mind

Pairing I am not a fan of: Hulk/Black Widow.  Sorry to the people who liked this one, but it just seemed to come out of nowhere.

Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): I’m the wrong person to ask about this one, as my only real exposure to the Marvel Universe prior to the MCU films was the ‘94 TV show of Fantastic Four and X-Men Evolution/The first two X-men movies.  I’ve never read any of the comics, so I have no real basis of comparison. 

Favourite Friendship: three-way tie between Steve and Bucky, Rocket and Groot and Peter Parker and Ned

Character I most identify with: Probably Steve Rogers.  I relate to the desire to do the right thing, even if it goes against what society says. (Though I have no desire to join the army.)

Character I wish I could be: Michelle ‘M.J.’ Jones.  I wish I had the guts to speak my mind like that.

Outlaw Queen:

when or if I started shipping it.- Maybe when they first met in the Enchanted Forest at the start of the Lost Year.  At least, they made me think ‘okay this would be cute.’

my thoughts:  Again, the concept behind them was cute, and I had no objections to it.  At least I saw the appeal of two people with dead loved ones finding solace in one another.  All-in-all, I low-key shipped them.

What makes me happy about them: There was real potential here.  I really wanted to see things work between them.  And the scenes they shared in S3 were a lot of fun.  Both the banter between them during the Lost Year and the shameless flirting in Present Day Storybrooke.

What makes me sad about them:  From S4 onwards, it’s like the writers had no idea what to do with them.  The whole releationship subplot just started relying on tired old soap opera tropes.  Like the dead wife showing up again, and the male love interest sleeping with the female lead’s sister and getting her pregnant.  Not to mention how Robin seemed to stop having a clear character outside of his releationship with Regina.  There was just a lot of potential that was wasted for needless drama.

things done in fanfic that annoys me: I’ve never read fanfic that focused on this pairing.  The fanfics I have read largely feature them as a background ship, like Snowing.

things I look for in fanfic: For Robin to have his own character arc, and not just exist as Regina’s arm candy.  And for the fic to not sweep the fact that Regina killed Robin’s wife in the original timeline under the rug.  Let them actually deal with some fallout from that reveal.

My wishlist: For Regina to actually talk to Phillip and Aurora, and find a way to reclaim Robin’s soul from the Olympian Crystal.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: For Regina, I’d like to see her build a healthy relationship with her sister.  For Robin, to be there for his son and daughter.

My happily ever after for them: For them to reunite somehow, I guess.  And for Robin to be with his children.

Sarah from Labyrinth

How I feel about this character: She was a bit whiny at first, but what would you expect from a teenager with a seemingly absentee mother and new stepmother?  And she became more likable as the movie progressed.  Despite her frustration, you can tell she really did love her brother.

Any/all the people I ship romantically with this character: No one.  She was a 15-year-old girl in the movie, and there were no characters even remotely close to her age throughout the film.  So there was nobody in the movie that I’m comfortable shipping her with.

My favorite non-romantic relationship for this character: Sarah/Toby.  Also, her friendships with Hoggle and Ludo. (No offense to Didymus, but she didn’t really interact with him one-on-one, so it’s hard to judge what their friendship was like.)

My unpopular opinion about this character: Not sure how unpopular this opinion is, but I never understood why she’d invite EVERYONE she encountered in the Labyrinth to her little party at the end.  Her friends/travel companions, sure.  But why the goblins who tried to kill her less than an hour earlier?  Or the Fireys who tried to decapitate her? (I also kinda wonder how the father and stepmother didn’t hear the commotion coming from her room, but I guess that doesn’t matter.)

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: That we got to see more about what her relationship with her father and birth mother was like prior to their divorce.  How did that change her relationship with her parents?  Did she ever get angry at her actress mother for seemingly running away with her male co-star?  Did she blame her father?  Is that why she disliked her step-mother so much?  Did she also resent her birth mother’s new beau?  While the books seemed to explore that a bit, the movie only vaguely hinted at it.  I just think knowing all of that might have made her behavior at the start of the movie more understandable.

Favorite friendship for this character: Tie between Hoggle and Ludo.  Again, they were the only characters she spent a good amount of one-on-one time with.

My crossover ship: Oh.  I’ve never given much thought to any sort of crossover ship before.  But maybe, if Sarah was able to continue to travel to other ‘words’ when she got older, particularly animated ones, she might hit it off with Jamie, the mailman/wannabe thespian from Steven Universe.

[disneymoviethoughts]

Thoughts I had while watching Sleeping Beauty

I will say this until they stop: i lovelovelove the old school intros.

This book is bedazzled. I'm into it.

I want to have a song written about me that hails me.

The colors in this film are beautiful.

It always cracks me up to see people in the background not moving. Animation has come a long way.

Super glad we stopped with betrothing babies. Although maybe that would have helped me with my single status.

If fairies were real I'd want them to all come in primary colors.

I feel like giving the gift of beauty is a waste because she's probably already going to grow up to be pretty. Look at king Stefan and the queen.

A gift of song that she only used once, Fauna, but okay.

Maleficent is 100% one of my favorite villains hands down. She's bitter because she didn't get invited to a party.

The queen just called her your excellency, so why wasn't she invited? She's obviously a powerful fairy, there's no reason she couldn't have come.

Fun fact: the voice of Maleficent is the same voice as Lady Tremaine from Cinderella.

Although I think it works much better this time around. Every time she says "fools" or laughs, I get chills.

    14. It's a good thing Maleficent came when she did or Merryweather's gift could have been the gift of cooking.     15. We've already established Maleficent is a powerful fairy, did they really think burning all the spinning wheels would work?     16. "I'd like to turn her into a fat old hop toad" I love you, Merryweather.     17. "She always ruins your nicest flowers" lol Maleficent is really just a troll.     18. Fauna is the only one excited to raise a baby like it's super easy.     Especially without their magic, which they've never gone without.     19. The castle that Maleficent lives in would make a great edition to the Haunted Mansion ride.     20. Maleficent is upset that her henchmen are dumb because they've been looking for a baby, but why haven't you checked in on this once in the last sixteen years?     21. Diablo gets it done right.     22. I love how villains' pets used to literally be named after the devil.     23. The fairies are sending her out barefoot. It's a forest, y'all, it's probably dirty.     24. If they've never sewed or cooked, how does Briar Rose have clothes? And have they just been living off berries for the last sixteen years?     25. This whole scene with Fauna trying to bake and Flora trying to make a dress is hilarious.

    26. Since Ariel is the next princess, I'm pretty sure this is the last movie that involves singing to birds to get their help. How tragic.     27. Briar Rose is a brave woman to walk across that branch.     28. Phillip is entranced by Briar Rose's singing voice but that does not sound like the singing voice of a sixteen year old girl. It sounds like the singing voice of an opera singer.     29. Briar Rose keeps saying things to the animals in such a way that the owl can ask "who" which is super clever.     30. "They say if you dream a thing more than once it's sure to come true". You and Cinderella should start a club.     31. There's a Tsum Tsum of the owl dressed in Phillip's clothes and I've never needed anything so much in my life.  

    32. LOOK AT IT.                                                                                                       33. Anyway.                                                                                                             34. Is it cute or coincidence that she dreams of Phillip, whom she's only met once as a baby?     35. I love singing along to Disney movies.     36. Briar Rose is extremely freaked out to see Phillip and she has the right idea.     37. But it's still really cute to watch them dance. I love "Once Upon a Dream".     38. Briar Rose pulls a Cinderella and runs away from Phillip before giving him her name, but at least she told him where she lived.     39. Merryweather is actually me IRL.     40. I always want magic when I see fairies in Disney movies. It's so convenient. And I would love to be able to get brooms to become sentient to clean my house.     41. The fight between pink and blue is honestly my favorite thing about this movie.

    42. I almost feel bad that Diablo found them when they were so careful about trying to plug every hole so the magic wouldn't show.     43. Good thing she's in love with the boy who she's betrothed to.     44. "BTW you're a princess and your name is not Briar Rose." How have they not told her in sixteen years who she is? She probably would've been excited to go back if she knew.     45. King Hubert is also me when food is around.     46. I feel like this scene with Hubert and Stefan is the most accurate portrayal of life in the 14th century- eating, drinking, wanting to marry Aurora and Phillip ASAP...     47. Hubert is trying to stab Stefan with a fish and that is why you should not drink and fight, kids.     48. "Now, father, you're living in the past. This is the 14th century!" So modern, Phillip.     49. I love how Aurora's dress is blue but ended up pink in merchandise and stuff because they didn't want her to look too much like Cinderella.     50. Maleficent in the fireplace is scary as hell.

    51. I always love irony and events that lead to what they were trying to avoid in the first place. Like if they had just told Aurora who she was, she wouldn't have been upset, and she would've been reunited with Stefan instead of going with Maleficent.     52. Aurora following the ball of green light is so suspenseful and creepy and I am here for it.     53. They could've waited five more minutes to leave for the castle and the sun would've gone down and the curse would've been broken.     54. Fun fact: Aurora only has eighteen minutes of screen time in the whole movie, despite it being about her.     55. I thought it was pretty smart of the fairies to put everyone to sleep. I would not have thought of that. Probably why I never got my letter to Hogwarts.      56. Phillip going to the cottage and Maleficent saying come in is giving me such "Little Red Riding Hood" vibes rn.     57. Did I mention how much I love Eleanor Audley's voice?     58. I'm not sure how Phillip's hat means Maleficent took him to the forbidden mountains, but maybe fairies are secretly detectives, too.    59. I wonder what kind of animals these henchmen are.    60.Some sort of pig creature maybe.

    61. If I may say so, Aurora is quite a beautiful cartoon.     62. I love that they mentioned the 100 years thing that was in the original story, but I don't think Phillip would be alive to do what Maleficent wants. But that is some grade A torture and I love it.     63. I want a sword of truth. Idk what I'd do with it, but I want it.     64. Even though Diablo deserved it, I'm still always sad when he gets turned to stone. He's still a precious animal!     65. I need Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather to help me out in my daily life. They seem like they could really do a lot for me.     66. If I saw those thorns, I'd probably forget it and just leave Aurora be.     67. Maleficent is surprised Phillip got through the thorns even though he had a sword.     68. Maleficent as a dragon. That is all.

    69. She really is my favorite villain, I think. I mean she curses people for no reason, she has the best laugh, she can turn into an awesome dragon...     70. This is only one of two times a villain has died by the hand of a prince or princess.     71. That was probably a nice little nap for everyone. Where can I get a sleeping curse?     72. I love how now all of a sudden Aurora is chill with being a princess now that she can marry who she wants. Freedom of wills, I suppose.     73. At least Maleficent died so that she can't interrupt this party she wasn't invited to.     74, No one notices her dress changing from pink to blue lol.     75. I love Aurora and Phillip dancing in the clouds. It's such a pretty scene/ending.     76. And they lived happily ever after.

P.S.: I went a  little overboard on the GIFs today, but they were all so relevant. Sorry not sorry. 

[jenna-harberts-blog]

Coming Home - Jenna and Kyu

Jenna tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear as she stepped off the plane. It had been a long trip back from Johannesburg. The trip had been exhausting, if exhilarating, bringing her through 5 countries in Southern Africa in three months. She was ready to go home and collapse in bed, then wake up and eat all the British food she hadn’t thought she would miss.

Following the signs directing her to the baggage claim, she couldn’t help but smile. In a few minutes, she would see Kyu again. She had missed him terribly, having grown used to having him by her side. They had lived together for years, and this was the first time they had been separated for a significant amount of time. Her job promised that this would be a common occurrence, but she couldn’t help but miss him. She had tried to hold herself back, keeping the calls to once a week so he wouldn’t worry about her too much. Kyu, ever the writer, had sent her long letters through the post that she read again and again whenever she got too homesick. Her replies hadn’t been nearly as eloquent, but she had tried to put just as much love into them.

Looking back up as she approached the baggage carousel, she cast her eyes around.

“Kyu!” she exclaimed, spotting him standing closer to the exit. A large smile spread across her face as she hurried towards him. He met her halfway and she threw her arms around him.

“Kyu,” she said again, not quite believing she was back yet. She buried her face in his neck and felt herself relax, even as tears reached her eyes.

“I missed you,” she told him quietly, keeping her face hidden in his shoulder. She felt him run a hand through her hair and smiled again.

“I missed you too,” he replied, and Jenna looked up to take in his face. A few tears were on her face and he frowned when he noticed.

“Sorry,” she said, wiping her eyes. “Happy crying.” She sniffed and pulled herself together, reluctantly detaching herself from him, realizing this wasn’t the place. She smiled again and heading over to claim her bags, confident he was following her.

“How was your flight? I always hated flying.” he asked lowly as she heaved one of her bags into the back of their car. Kyu grabbed the other and tossed it in the trunk behind the first. Their car wasn’t much to look at, but they could both drive it, something some wizarding couples couldn’t claim to be able to do.

“It was long,” she admitted. “I tried to sleep some, but it was just too cramped. They did have some in flight movies though! I got to rewatch Mulan and Hercules again.”

“So that’s what, the millionth time?” He smiled briefly, “To be fair, I liked both of those.” Kyu was well aware of her love for Disney movies, given how many times she had made him sit down and watch them.

She walked around the car, getting into the passenger side. She was surprised at the level of energy she was feeling now, given she had been ready to fall over when she got off the plane. She supposed being reunited with Kyu had given her a second wind.

Kyu closed the trunk and walked around to the driver’s side as she continued. “It was so exciting though. I was a little sad at first that I was going on this excursion instead of the Lethifold one, but the Streelers we found were gorgeous.” She knew Kyu had secretly been happy she wasn’t researching one of the most dangerous creatures in the world, but a relatively easy one instead. Still, he had listened to her talk about the pros and cons of each one and let her talk through it, nodding and asking questions every once in a while to let her know he was still listening.

“I didn’t have much time to draw, but I did get a few sketches of them that I want to expand on.” She only had about ten or so pages of her sketchbook filled up, which was a bit disappointing. She had been so busy with the numbers and interactive part of the trip, she hadn’t been able to capture the perfect likeness of the Streelers.

“You’ll have to show me when they get home.” Kyu said, turning the wheel to get off of the highway, “I’ve been deprived of your artwork for too long. The ones on our walls can only hold me over for so long.”

“They were so beautiful, the way it changes color. It always found a way to be a complimenting color to the landscape, which is very strange. Most color changing species try to blend in, but the Streelers stood out in every background.” She paused, realizing she was repeating herself, knowing she had told him most of this before. She glanced over at him to see if he was bored by this, but continued as he glanced over at her sudden silence. “We’re going to analyze the data and see what the numbers say, but we’re fairly certain it chooses the colors on purpose, and not randomly like previously thought.” She was less excited at the prospect of being stuck at a desk running numbers and analyzing data, but knew that the trip more than made up for it.

“While that sounds like it may bore you, it sounds like a great trip to keep your mind occupied while you struggle through number crunching. Tell me more about the Streelers.”

“It was great,” she said, leaning back in her seat and smiling wistfully. “They were so beautiful, but death followed them everywhere. The trail of dead grass behind them was such a sharp contrast to the glimmering shells. It was almost poetic. A warning: beautiful things are the most deadly.” She looked back over to Kyu, finding him attentive but still focusing on the road.

“You know,” she started. “I had a little accident with the venom.”

That got a physical and verbal response. “What?” Kyu said, taking his eyes off the road and looking over to her sharply.

“Yup. A Streeler ran right over my face. Had to get plastic surgery to reconstruct it.”

Kyu sighed and gave her an aggravated look, realizing she was messing with him. “Not the right time to be joking, Jen.” He gripped the steering wheel a bit tighter as she laughed, but she could see a small spark of amusement in his eyes, even as they rolled in their sockets.

She fell silent, looking at him for a moment.

“Is something wrong?” she asked, seeing the tension in his shoulders and the way he hadn’t been talking much.

“It’s nothing, just a case.” He said. “A difficult one.”

“Anything I could do to help?”

“No,” he said softly, pausing before continuing. “Sorry. I am glad you are home.”

“I never doubted that,” she replied. Maybe a few years ago she would have wondered, but she liked to think she had moved past those insecurities about their relationship. She knew him better than anyone, the same way he knew her, and she knew he wouldn’t stay around if he wasn’t fully committed.

“I’m sure whatever it is will work out,” she said, giving him a small, sad smile, and placing her hand over his. Even now, she checked his body language to make sure he was comfortable with the touch, though he hadn’t shrugged her off in years.

He nodded, though didn’t seem convinced, but he grasped her hand anyways.

“Do you want to hear about the food?” she asked, ready to talk for the rest of the drive home. That was their dynamic a lot of the times, she talk and he listened. Kyu was a very good listener, though, often bringing up small details of previous conversations out of the blue. The two pulled up to their house, Kyu parking the car.

She grinned as she entered their house for the first time in three months. There was a new ward Kyu had set up while she was gone that she had to be keyed into, but everything else was the same. She took in the tan walls, decorated with photos and some of her artwork. The curtains next to the TV were still covered in cat hair, and books and papers were spread out on the coffee table in the living room.

Kyu brought in the heavier of her two suitcases, heading to the bedroom to place them on the floor. She lingered in the living room, glancing around for a flash of fur. “Ariel? Shiro? Shadow? I’m home,” she announced, pulling the curtains back to find one of the aforementioned cats.

“Hi Ariel,” she said, reaching out to scratch between her ginger ears. “Did you miss me?” she asked her. “You didn’t harass Aurora while I was gone, did you?”

“She did,” Kyu said, approaching Jenna from behind.

Jenna sighed, used to Ariel messing with the owl. “Don’t hurt each other, okay?” she told her. “I don’t want either of you injured.” Ariel simply looked up at her smugly and Jenna smiled. Kyu laughed at both of them and crossed to the opposite side of the room, pulling the curtains open.

“Where are Shiro and Shadow?” she asked.

“Shadow was on the bed a moment ago, I haven’t seen Shiro.”

Jenna headed towards the bedroom, seeing that the black cat was indeed on the bed, though he hopped off to come rub against her leg when he saw her.

“Hi Shadow,” she said, crouching down so she could pet him too. She laughed quietly, seeing that she had been home a few minutes and was already covered in cat hair. From her spot on the ground, she spotted a white tail under the bed.

“Come here Shiro,” she said, reaching out a hand, only for him to disappear further into his hiding spot. Shadow, affronted that she was no longer petting him, went to rub against Kyu’s leg who had appeared in the doorway. Jenna giggled as Kyu relented, rolling his eyes again as he reached down to pet him. “Fine, you win. I’ll shower you with attention for a minute or so. Greedy cat…”

She smiled as she headed into the bathroom, grinning to herself as she changed into her pajamas. She paused in the mirror, examining the length of her black roots, having no opportunity to bleach it in the last few months. She wondered what Kyu would think if she just let her natural color grow back in. Bleach was getting expensive.

She exited the bathroom to find Kyu already changed and getting into bed.

“I thought I was the tired one, but you beat me into bed.”

Kyu paused, looking slightly grumpy, but explained in slight embarrassment. “I know you like to cuddle.”

She melted. How was it that after so many years he still had this affect on her? She walked over to the bed, pulling back the covers and sliding in, curling up at his side. She sat silently for a few moments, enjoying this.

“I missed you,” she told him again.

He nuzzled in a bit closer, “I missed you too.”

“I’m glad I’m home. Nothing is better than this.” She shifted upwards, leaning over to kiss him. It was a soft and sweet moment. She lingered above him, and breathed. “I love you.”

A moment, and then: “I love you too.”

She smiled as she reached over to turn off the lights, and curled up again, resting her head on his chest. Kyu placed his hand on the nape of her neck and rest his head against the pillow.

“Goodnight, Kyu.”

“Sleep well, Jen.”