#don't pay attention to the fact that one of the backgrounds not the same color

[sammi-xox]

Portraits // № 43

[kivino]

MORE ROOMMATE!SOAP PRETTY PLEASEEE!!!!!

ROOMMATE!SOAP HEADCANONS

my masterlist

Word counter - ~900 words

Tags/Warnings - pure fluff!

A/n - ASK AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE ANON <33 i can't really post a complete fic rn because i'm working on another midterm essay so here y'all go! I also have another fic with Roommate!Soap planned out, so stay tuned sdkflskdfjs

You two met through his sister, you, being her college friend, visited her and her family during breaks many times, and that’s where you met Soap. You two were on pretty good terms, and he would sometimes call you when he or his family were not able to get ahold of his sister when she would go out to parties (usually accompanied by you). However, the two of you became roommates only later in the future, when he decided that he didn’t want to live with his family anymore, but leaving an apartment all empty for months on end would just be foolish. So that’s when he decided he needed someone to co-exist with, and you casually made your way into his life.

Whole Task Force 141 plus Laswell know about you, because of how homesick he gets sometimes! And you don't always respond to messages, you have your own life after all (plus, Soap knows you're not good with texting back, so he tries not to pressure you). However, unintentionally he starts to remember or mention you in unrelated conversations. And that's how everyone around him knows that it's time for him to go on his leave.

Not a lot of people are allowed to call him Johnny. He still gives his older sisters shit for calling him that sometimes. You and Ghost, however, are both allowed to do it. Not like his discontent would’ve stopped you though.

More often than not talks about you in a way that makes it appear like the two of you are together, with how he’s all smiles during these conversations. Describes you like he’s an infatuated teenager and then gets confused when someone assumes Soap is talking about his significant other. It's not that he is oblivious to his feelings, or a dumbass, of course not, it's that his feelings lasted for so long that it's very much normal to him and he doesn’t see anything out of the ordinary with it.

The love language that you both share is bullying and insulting each other relentlessly. Soap is less harsh with his words, but you’re just merciless. Sometimes it also grows into play fights and roughhousing between you. Soap tries to be careful, because he knows that he’s stronger (he’s in the military, duh), but he still won’t go down without a fight. So he goes easy on you.

We know that Soap has a whole sketchbook, filled to the brim with many drawings of various quality, his thoughts, and different garbage he picks up when he has the opportunity. A pretty leaf? Snatch. A random receipt from when you got groceries with him together? Snatch. A note you scribbled for him to finally wash his damn dishes? Sad snatch. When he's on leave he takes the opportunity to sketch you as much as possible, so he remembers every single detail of your face, the expressions you make, or the way you position your body. Soap does it to be able to replicate it when you’re not around him. He has millions of sketches where you’re napping on the couch.

When he’s absentmindedly doodling something during the briefings and meetings he draws small figures that resemble Task Force and you. One time he bought some colored pens so he’s not bored out of his mind on base, and the assigned color to draw you was blue, while he drew himself with a red pen. Gaz got green and Ghost he draws using a black pen, both Laswell and Price share the fact that Johnny draws them with a pencil.

One of the small traditions that you have when he’s on leave, is cooking something for each other while some show you’re not paying attention to plays in the background. The kitchen in the apartment is pretty modest, so two people cooking and moving around at the same time is a bit too much for such a small amount of space. When you get too into the process of mixing or cutting something and Soap needs to squeeze past you, he gently puts a hand on your lower back and you instantly know what he wants, because of how much he does it. It’s never arrogant or invasive, instead, it’s gentle and a bit playful.

Johnny’s very sociable and likes going out to drink frequently. You, however, prefer to not get involved in his escapades as often, so you stay home, instead telling him to call whenever he needs you to pick him up. On multiple separate occasions, when he came back home a bit tipsy, he would stumble into your room and fall on your bed, getting knocked out almost in a second. Soap’s snoring is pretty loud when he’s drunk or has a stuffy nose. Plus, he’s as heavy as a damn rock and you can’t move him because of it, so instead you sleep on the couch, sacrificing the health of your back for Soap’s sweet dreams.

Johnny is pretty good with his hands. If anything broken needs fixing, or anything heavy needs lifting he’s always happy to help. He’s also a decent cook, so if you’re not feeling like cooking dinner after you’re back home from work he’s ready to throw something together for you no problem. Partially because he knows that you’d do the same for him if he asked. And, well, he just cares about you. He’s ready to cook dinner for you for the next decade if it means you’ll feel better.

Your texts with him are filled to the brim with stupid videos and photos you send each other. If Johnny sees something that reminds him of you, what you like, or some random inside joke – you best believe he’s already snapping a photo and sending it to you.

check out my masterlist for more fics or send me a request/comment!

[igncrxntripley]

I love your stories so much!!! I was thinking of a idea of malaki black and woman who complete opposites but he sees something in her?

goody two shoes

a/n: MY FIRST AEW IMAGINE YESSSS!!! i'm not sure if this is what you were looking for but i just took an idea and ran with it so i hope you like it! methinks there's going to be a part 2 for this as well...

mentions: SFW, fem!reader, goody two shoes!reader, slight stalker-ish vibes from malakai

taglist: @thesithdiaries @cassiesgreta @roseheartsworld @theworldofotps @babybatlover @ripleyswhore @auburnwrites @obl1vionblackhart @emogoblin-666 @hereliespumpkin @embertargaryen @neptune-lover @bunnysmyname @i-have-issues-lol @ares-athena @thatonepansexual2000 @witcherfromwallachia @infamousvampcx @christinabae 

nothing about you screamed 'spooky'; you were one of the more juvial members of the roster, and everyone in AEW saw you as, for lack of a better term, a real goody two shoes.

for that exact reason, you tended to stay away from people like the members of the house of black. the only real interactions you had with them was matches with julia, and every time you were in their presence they really gave you chills that ran down your spine.

let's be real; four people, three of them very large men, who wore all black and had the spookiest scariest of personas? yeah, wasn't always your cup of tea.

but you began to notice malakai being...around. more often than he normally would be when everyone was backstage. the house members tended to keep to themselves, but noticing malakai on his own and coincidentally in your presence was beginning to feel a little off putting.

you did your best to ignore him though, you went about your regular business, interacting with friends and crew backstage that you always had, and trying not to pay any mind to the man who'd started to make his presence known around you.

the most recent AEW taping, however, is when things changed a bit. you didn't have any matches planned that night and mostly kept to yourself so you could take it easy and enjoy the show. malaki had progressed from just hanging around in the background, to finally approaching you when you went to your locker room.

you barely even heard him sneak in behind you. the closing of the door was what shook you, and you found yourself staring into the eyes of one of the most ruthless, soulless members of the AEW roster.

"i don't know what you think you're doing but you better-"

your words were cut off by a singular finger that malakai had raised to his lips, his way of effectively silencing you. you couldn't explain it, but the once unsettled feeling this man's presence used to create now had you somewhat spellbound. every move he made, had your full attention.

he'll finally speak up, his breath hot on your face and his voice a quiet (and slightly terrifying tone), "i just want you to listen to me, little bird."

you'd never admit it, but malaki calling you that made your stomach twist and turn in the best way possible. with a gentle nod, you let him continue and your eyes focus on his and their two different colored irises.

"i've been watching you for awhile now, and i can't keep myself away from you. someone too pure, too sweet for this industry...yet i can't stop myself from watching your every move."

a finger drifts from your cheekbone down to your jaw and your breath catches in your throat. the fact that malakai wanted anything to do with you...that he was watching you...it made you so uneasy but had you infatuated all at the same time.

malakai's next statement catches you even more off guard; "the house has a spot with your name on it, little dove. let us take you in. show you your true potential."

he can sense your hesitation, your silence enough of an answer for him to understand you weren't sure what to say. malakai leaning in closer gives you goosebumps, but you don't make any effort to back away from him. "i'm going to keep coming back to you for an answer, doll. so i'll give you time to think, but don't think i'll forget about you."

with that, malakai gave you one more knowing look and walked away from you. but his face never once left your thoughts, as well as his proposition, and you had started to think about the possibility of accepting his offer.

[fan-mans]

wazzup dude!

so whaddya got for Narcis Prince hcs? u said you've got quite a few 👀👀

- erporo

YEEHAW I FINALLY GET TO TALK ABOUT MY NARCY BOY THANKLES @erporo

I've been waiting for this for so long mnbjhkgvkjhvkj

(I actually wrote 3 pages of hcs in googles docs just for this ask lol)

Anyways, this is gonna be long so hold on to your butt!

Important ones first!

He is pretty self centered, but he's not a dick about it. At least not much more than the other boxers. He's snarky and gossipy but is actually pretty amicable when you get to know him. He sees himself as superior than others not because of his looks or wealth but because he’s very skilled- something he also values highly in others.

He hates his parents, and most of the rest of his bio family too, but loves the staff at his family’s estate- the staff loves him back quite a bit.

In fact, he respects the workers on his family’s estate and most service workers over his parents or family because the workers actually have skills, unlike most of the people he’s related to, who don't do anything except ride off their wealth.

He's very passionate in everything he does and refuses to cut corners. That's why, although he could get away with it, he doesn't cheat- he's got too much respect for both his own skills and the people he's fighting.

Because of his closeness to the staff of his estate rather than his parents, he grew up pretty class conscious and aware that he got a very privileged life, as well as being aware that people who aren’t like him aren’t people he should hate.

A big theme I have for him is people having to change their view of him: most assume he’s nothing but a vain, bitchy, brat- and while he does act like that sometimes, it’s far from his entire personality. Most of the stories I want to write about him revolve around other people having to get over their own assumptions of him based on his tastes and background, accept that yes, he doesn’t inherently disrespect them because they’re poor or different from him, and open up to his warmer side, even if he isn’t always the easiest to get along with

While he is self centered, and definitely not the best at listening to other's problems, he cares a lot about his friends and will never go back on a promise to give a gift or spend time with them. He deeply values his time with people and doesn’t ever want to waste it- even if that means he has to ignore a 100 degree fever to hang out.

He also pays close attention to people's tastes and interests, he likes learning about others and participating in what they enjoy too. If he seems like he doesn’t care about something someone says- it probably means he just didn’t understand it.

Speaking of: Narcis is still questioning his orientation. While he’s sure he’s attracted to men romantically, he isn’t sure if he likes women romantically or just aesthetically. He also wonders if he's a-spec because he’s very picky about romantic partners and values platonic relationships far over romantic ones. If he had to choose between keeping all his friends and never finding love, or finding love but never having friends, he'd always choose the former.

He's also kinda frenemies with glass joe. They’ve both made off-color comments that pissed the other off but they also enjoy a lot of the same stuff and can get along pretty well when together. However, they both can get hot headed and emotional, so a bit of anger sparks between them every time they do hang out.

Now, he truly loves his fancy shit. But as much as he loves upper class culture, he’s also quite fond of lower class and folk culture as well. However, though he doesn’t want to admit it, he’s scared that if he were to get too close to lower class culture, he’d be rejected because he’s a ‘priss’. In reality he wouldn’t be- a lot of the things and people he wants to interact with would love to have him, but Narcis isn’t quite secure in his place in the world yet.

Despite that, he doesn't have many insecurities. He’s not very insecure about his appearance- he knows he’s pretty no matter what, he just doesn’t like looking (Or feeling) bruised on his face. He also rarely gives a shit what people think of his tastes, he loves himself enough.

While he will throw the occasional tantrum- he’s gotten much better from when he was a kid and has a pretty good handle on his anger. He used to be MUCH worse as a kid.

His ‘mum’ (Nanny) is still a big part of his life and they’re extremely close. She’s the only person in the world who isn’t scared when he has a meltdown or gets angry.

AUTISM- his parents refuse to admit it or tell him but he was diagnosed as autistic v young and has known most of his life cause his nanny just told him lol.

He’s got low empathy, but he still puts in a lot of work to be nice to others cause he likes people and he wants people to like him back.

He generally needs a lot of attention and people to talk to cause he’s such an extrovert- it made his childhood extremely tough and frustrating. As an adult, he's a total social butterfly and loves making friends and hanging out with people. He isn't perfect at socializing but he's p fun!

He almost never restricts himself when having fun, whether it be going places he’s never been, to trying new drugs, he IS the man of the party and always an excellent host of one.

He also loves new experiences and learning things about people. He's really curious about other people’s cultures and loves listening to people ramble on about theirs. And ofc, he's always down for trying something new.

Now for a ton of small ones:

His uncle is a baron, something narcis’ parents want him to take on over his cousin, but that he has no interest in.

He deeply respects service workers- always tips at least 50%. But though he's never rude to servers/service workers but does expect the best service no matter what.

Absolutely never takes people’s shit- he’s too good for that.

Even with his better respect of people, he does sometimes need to be treated as the specialist boy™

Loves watching people get into fights- esp over or because of him.

Super sensitive abt horror and HATES it- he can mostly handle kids horror and maybe a funny slasher sequel/parody, but nothing too serious.

He yellow under his shirt around his neck is actually a cravat.

Most of his clothes are custom made.

He has two types of shoes: White sneakers or white/pale loafers- no in between.

His taste in fashion is p tacky lmao.

Likes tight clothes in general.

Hates the name given to him at birth.

However, he adores narcissus flowers.

Fave color is red, second fave is yellow.

Because he’s usually wearing red, his eyes tend to look a little purple.

6’10- you will never be able to pry this hc from my cold, dead hands.

Yes his hair is naturally that blonde.

He’s got the cutest lil dimples :)

blushes/turns red very easily and quickly.

Has his ears pierced and has a million sets of earrings. He's the same way with chapstick and nail polish.

Really goofy laugh.

If he were to get a tattoo, it’d have to be a v on his chest- for victory.

His greatest flaw is that he’s got terrible bo

Has a 20 step skin care routine

Cries in a very pretty way (Think like ariel or belle in their movies lol)

Will use his pretty blue eyes to pout and beg for things

Giggly and flirty while drunk

Picked up a bit of cockney from not only his staff growing up, but his drinking buddies in London

Actually a big fan of beer and beans n toast

Really loves earl grey tea

Loves spicy shit- even if he can barely tolerate it

He’s lowkey vegetarian cause he just prefers fruit & veg over meat

He doesn’t know how to ride a bike anymore cause he’s so tall.

He likes playing with and petting horses but hates riding them- ofc he knows how, he just doesn’t like it v much.

His parents got him a pet ‘teacup pig’ but when it got too big he refused to get rid of it and it still lives with them.

Absolutely adores a couple of sanrio plush toys Heike gave him for his birthday- he’s got a hello kitty doll and a My melody pillow.

Heike called him narcy-warsy as a joke and got his car keyed. The only person who can call him that is a lover, and even then only ironically.

If he likes you, he’s gonna give you a ton of pet names.

He crushes very deeply and passionately- often to the point where he dips into very unrealistic daydreaming.

V much the big jakt person in any relationship he’s in.

Definitely treats any romantic partner of his not only as his bestie, but as a tiny dog he’d carry around in a purse.

Wants a chihuahua SO BAD but refuses to get one because he knows it wouldn’t do well in England’s cold climate.

Loves basketball

Jane Austen nerd, his fave book is pride and prejudice

Loves rap, hip-hop, and r&b music… even the crappy stuff

Loves horseplay, esp pillow fights- please play in the mud with him, he needs the enrichment

Loves taking pictures- he’s not good at it yet, but it’s a fun hobby for him

Has a million coloring books that are completely filled in lol

Likes the beach a lot- no matter the weather

He collects seashells, all of which he picked himself

Spends waay too much time in pinterest making aesthetic moodboards

Has a deep interest in physics. So much so that he learned the frequency of most glass just so he could cause chaos by breaking it with his voice.

Is a countertenor (Basically he can sing in a typically 'women's' vocal range)

Speaks welsh and slovak very well- though his parents don’t know that

It’s very easy to make him laugh

Dreams very vividly

Basically ignores whenever he’s sick lmao

Pays for everything- always

[saneijeijei]

[Careful! Strange theory]

In chapter 105-106, Penelope sees the very bird that Derrick wanted to give her.

When the bird sees Penelope, she perks up and starts spinning in the cage and yelling.

"So far, the bird has behaved extremely calmly. But as soon as I saw you, I perked up. Apparently, she recognized her mistress," Derrick said.

Don't you find it strange that a bird suddenly recognizes an outsider, whom it sees for the first time, as its owner? Also, pay attention to what Derrick said before:"This bird is not dangerous, it's just that now it's in a slight perplexity due to the fact that you are the same color with it (meaning the color of Penelope's hair)."

So… A bird that is similar in character (for me), color and interconnected with jewelry, suddenly begins to show interest in Penelope… Just like that? Sorry, I won't believe it.

And so, *drink all the coffee from the glass in one gulp* I have a theory.

If our main character is the real Penelope, even if she is a fragment of her soul, then it turns out that she had to repeat the chronological history of her life, right?

Both characters somehow repeat each other's fate. When were you born, in which family, when and why. In South Korea, she was the daughter of an influential businessman and a simple woman who did not have a well-paid job or social status (well, that is, she was an ordinary middle-class worker, let's say). But in the empire, being Penelope, we don't know who her father was.

By logic and comparing the appearance of Siyeon and Eckart brothers, we can say - oh, so Reynold and Derrick are her brothers. But I will tell you, alas, no. Yes, they are similar - but when reading the novel we see differences between them in motivation. But Siyeon's second brother call her a rat, just as Reynold mocked Penelope because of her background. Yes, but their motivation for this was different, as was their relationship. Reynold and Penelope, even after a quarrel, reconciled, unlike Siyeon with her brother.

That is why I think Penelope is not the duke's illegitimate daughter - I will not believe that the duke could cheat on his wife, even after death. All his actions and motivation, as well as arguments about Penelope's marriage, suggest the opposite. He wasn't looking for or trying to start a fleeting relationship. Therefore, Penelope is adopted, but not the blood or illegitimate daughter of the Eckart family.

She is the illegitimate daughter of another family.

Siyeon's father took her away because he knew that he was her father (corny, her mother could write him down on the birth certificate as the father of the child, and when she died, the guardianship authorities called him). But Penelope's father might not have known about her existence-remember those centuries. Or to know of she his illegitimate daughter, but not to know where to look for her, as it was with the Duke and Yvonne.

So, what I'm getting at. In chapter 106-105, a bird appears and quite interesting words slip between the lines, which may hint (consider that I'm looking for something that is not, this is just a theory) at the origin of Penelope. Namely, the words about Republic of Yehta. It is a small state that was defeated during Callisto's military campaign.

During the hunting competitions, we are told the meaning and significance of this event for the empire. Namely: The humiliation of defeated countries by destroying rare animals provided by these countries.

That is, this small country was defeated, and it handed over to the empire a special bird for hunting - Pelapopinyu.

"In the Republic of Yehta, Pelapopinyu is considered a messenger of God," Derrick said.

The bird is a national treasure, which means that a rich family (for example, aristocrats, barons, viscounts) could not keep such a bird at home, without the knowledge of the ruling family. It is likely that she could be a symbol of this country? And how interesting, this bird looks like Penelope.

"Why does she seem so familiar even though it's the first time I've seen her?" Penelope thought.

But what is most interesting is the method of reproduction of these birds and what remains after them. These birds can give offspring only once (does it mean that after that they die?), and unfertilized eggs turn into an eye-shaped shape and harden, turning into a hard stone.

And the most interesting thing… It was this stone that the original Penelope begged to give. Don't you find it too strange? Aren't there too many coincidences?

Is it possible that Penelope is from there? Wizards could live in different places (what if Penelope was excavating near those places?), is it possible that the father could be a member of the ruling family? Even if her father was looking for her, alas, he hardly already knows about Penelope's existence, since, most likely, after the defeat, he hardly remained alive.

[mdhwrites]

Have you talked about Caleb? Dude hasn't spoken for the whole show so outside backstory he's not that much of a character as he is the motivation to some of Belos's actions

You pretty much hit the nail on the head as to why talking about Caleb isn't so much talking about Caleb as it is talking about Belos. It's akin to what I talked about with Vee recently: Caleb is clearly a character written with narrative goals in mind. A one off character who's episode was the first special effectively. Unlike Vee though, it's kind of impossible to talk about him though instead of just what he does to the plot and other characters. We don't have any clue what sort of person he is because we don't get any time with him.

So what are his narrative goals? Well... This is where I have to remind people that I haven't actually watched Season 3 so I can't talk as directly as I would like to on the subject. I know the broad strokes but not so much the fine details that can make or break something.

I think the only thing I want to comment on is something I could have said was going to happen in Season 3 no matter what and that's that it sounds like using Caleb as effectively the excuse for there being Titan's Blood on Earth is... Rough. To put it mildly. Functional enough that if you're invested, you'll go along with it because you know it has to happen but without build up or enough sense as to make someone who's skeptical of S3 having been thought out to change their mind. Maybe even a bit worse than that as it sounds like the vile itself wasn't exactly even six feet underground in a public cemetery for a town that has been growing and active for FOUR HUNDRED YEARS.

But the larger point is that there was NEVER going to be a satisfying way to get them home. Luz and gang never figured out portal travel on the Isles and the limited magic of Earth was going to make that research infinitely harder. Amphibia from my understanding skirted around this problem by having forces MUCH larger than a couple of teenagers already looking into these sorts of things, researching such possibilities and then also adding a dash of super powers connected to the other realm so as to make that connection. To say that makes a lot more sense is putting it mildly. There's another thing that Amphibia did though that, you know, TOH didn't.

They didn't risk someone not following the thread. This is a problem that extends to the Grimmwalker reveal as well but if you're not paying close attention to the background elements, only watch the episodes once or twice, or anything else that a casual viewer might... You're fucked when it comes to Caleb. Yes, there's Belos quickly saying Caleb during the fight but because Willow used that name for Hunter before finding out his actual identity, you could just get confused as to why he's using that name. Otherwise, what actually foreshadows that Philip has a brother? A statue shown somewhat briefly in one episode? The portraits in Belos' mind where you have to not be focusing on Hunter, Luz and Mind Belos? Or worse yet, the BAFFLING design choice to have Philip and Caleb have different hair colors so you could just be going "Huh, I wonder who this blonde dude is that Philip hates?" And yes, Belos has blonde hair which never goes explained as to how either...

And mind you, I say that as someone who not even a week ago had the incredibly awkward moment of being accused of being married to my sister because I have blonde hair and she is a true, blue brunette. We don't look related despite having the same parents. Both of my parents are brunettes in fact. But while it may be true to reality that we have different hair colors, it sure fucks up someone's ability to tell who's family in media because shared traits is one of the few ways you can hint to it.

And without those shared traits, Caleb being Belos' brother could easily come out of nowhere for an audience and feel more like a retcon to give Belos' racist actions a... motivation? Which... Why? Belos is a flat, one dimensional character who has been racist and evil for over 400 years and been literally murdering pets for that entire time. His brother going off to fuck a witch is not justification for that level of hate and it's laughable that the show even makes a joke about it.

Admittedly, it could be seen as setting up a twist for Hunter, to be like "Oh, he's based on Belos' brother!" which... Fine. But Caleb ISN'T a character, Belos is BARELY one with how one note evil he is and Hunter has had an incredibly awkward character arc to put it mildly so to a casual viewer... Why should you care? It doesn't say anything new about any of the characters, just lets you know Belos is EXTRA EVIL and Hunter already was having an identity crises about being made to serve, made to be like Belos and just not being a witch in general. You don't need additional twists there (especially dumb ones like Belos recreating a person who betrays him every time at infinitum), you need time to address it.

And can you blame the shortening for the lack of time? Sure. But they also spent a third of their time focusing on two dead people who mostly have implications that don't matter for their flatly evil villain. What did we ACTUALLY learn about Belos from that? What narrative point was driven home by knowing about his brother? Why was this included with such little time left?

And if you're wondering why I have refused to watch S3, that question is effectively the biggest reason why because frankly it sounds like at least half of S3 so far has been misguided filler, if not even more than that, that's going through the motions to resolve things.

And I got that impression immediately when those first like five minutes were revealed at Comic con and they showed A: a recap of the fact that they arrived in the human realm in the rain and then B: showed Luz reenacting a billion different fanfics of her introducing Amity to non-boiling rain because I guess Daina just HAD to show her version of that.

Quite frankly, it all just adds the feeling of TOH being written with the mindset of fanfiction instead of original fiction. That the celebration of ideas and the characters the author loves, or the plot points they just can't let go of, is more important than telling a cohesive, functional story with themes and a point. And that's honestly just kind of exhausting for someone who doesn't want to be cruel to fanfiction because he loves the strengths of both varieties of writing. ========

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead, If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

And finally a Twitter you can follow too!

[huntinglove]

Hi! I’m not the same anon as before, but I was wondering if you’d be comfortable sharing what your experience with your Turned Mansion headspace is like. Is it as vivid as real life, and do you have to astral project or reality shift to get there? I’ve been recently interested in the more spiritual side of self-shipping, and I haven’t seen many people talk about it. Feel free to discard if this is too personal!

Thank you so much for the ask, nonny!! I don't mind talking about it at all, in fact it's a lot of fun for me!!

I've always been really "connected" with my F/Os, especially because of maladaptive daydreaming, sometimes I'd be thinking about something and a completely unexpected scenario with my F/Os would pop up in my mind, unprompted

When I first watched Howl's Moving Castle I thought to myself "Wouldn't it be cool if I could make a place like that?" And so Howl helped me make it, so it's almost like a little parallel universe that's stashed away in my mind!

As for what it's like, it's just as real as this universe for me. I can access it anytime, I just have to feel like it. Sometimes it's hard not to slip into it when I'm having a hard time over here, so most of the time I actually have to hold myself back instead of actively seeking it

The mansion itself is a single building in the middle of the void, but each person or character can imagine what the outside looks like, so it'll feel more welcoming and natural to them!

The whole thing is filled with magic essence and is ever changing, each character has complete control over their own room, being able to change every aspect of it and it's contents; for example: if a character needs to be underwater to survive, their room will be constantly flooded but essentially bound to the walls outside of their room!

I'm the host, and while I'm inside the mansion I have complete control over the building and my appearance as well. I usually just stick to my real life appearance (because I forget to change it 99% of the time)

Other than the systems I'll be listing below, the mansion operates like a magical luxury hotel

New rooms, furniture and essentials automatically form when a new F/O joins, that can also include their ability to communicate with the others, if they speak a different language. It's accessible to all and welcoming to all cultures, backgrounds and relationships!

When I'm outside of the building, in this universe, whatever happens to me is pretty much live streamed for whoever is willing to watch, as well as allowing them to interfere with my routine and to manifest themselves in the real world. Usually the most present in the real world are the ones I've been paying the most attention to.

Former F/Os can sometimes stop by the mansion to visit or stay for a couple of days/weeks. Some never really leave!

Here's the systems that help keep things in order:

1. The classification system:

As soon as someone joins the mansion they're allowed to see a complete list of all the current (and forming) members and what relationship they have with me.

Red names are strictly romantic F/Os, the shade of red expresses the depth of the relationship, the darker the more serious it is. It can all range out from a simple crush to being full on married.

Blue names are strictly familial F/Os, the shade of blue expresses the level of authority this character has, the darker it is the more authority that character has over me. It can all range out from being my siblings to being my parents.

Purple names are shipcest ties, all have the same authority and color, because of the romantic aspect!

Green names are platonic F/Os, they can all have different levels of closure and various bonds with me, but they do not have varying shades.

Gray names are forming F/Os, characters I'm still not sure I'm actually in love with or simply admiring. If a bond is actually developed they'll be added to their respective category.

Black names rivals or enemies. The darker the name the rockier the relationship is. However, these characters can still be romantic F/Os!

2. The housing system:

Each story of the mansion is divided by source material, the more invested I am in something, the closer to the first floor it is. So the rooms and stories can move and change by themselves.

Each character gets their own room, usually neighboring characters from the same source as them, as long as they're not the only one from said source or if they would not be a direct threat to their neighbors. So for example, Eda can be Hunter's neighbor, but not Belos'.

The whole mansion is filled with magic essence, so each character's room is unique to their tastes and needs. If one character visits another the room will adapt slightly so that they're both comfortable in their environment.

The safety system:

Some characters prefer to live in stories based on their age other than their sources, so that they don't feel isolated! This usually applies to younger F/Os, older F/Os or immortal F/Os. Considering that characters from the same source can interact with each other there are certain safety measures to make sure they won't hurt each other if they don't get along.

A character can state their personal boundaries and psychologically inform all others if they'd rather just do their own thing, if they're open for forming a relationship with other characters or if they just want to avoid certain characters altogether! If two or more characters form a relationship I can also be included if I wish to!

If a character is plotting to or fully disrespecting the other's boundaries they can be moved to an entirely new story in the mansion so they won't misbehave. If this behavior is directed towards me there's a huge chance they'll be completely removed from the mansion.

[cloudroots]

This is High Note the pony that I ship Fluttershy with in this universe! A random background pony who I liked the design of!

Let me say before we continue that I know the similarities between the designs of Mr. Shy and High Note. Whenever I draw Fluttershy's family I will make sure the guys much more green in their hue, so they don't look as similar. I actually did find High Note, before Fluttershy's family was even introduced, but I don't have much evidence for that. Let it be known that the two character aren't related in any way. I just thought Note looked cute, thank you for understanding. 

Anyway back to it! When I first made my Next Gen there weren't many shipping options that I liked for Fluttershy, in fact there wasn't many notable characters at all really. So younger me spent quite a while just looking through the wiki at all the background ponies to find a design that stood out. I ended up finding High Note, who I thought had nice colors and looked very cute. Also he had a music cutiemark which I thought fit well into a Fluttershy family idea. I also compiled some of his appearances, I really want to look at this boi. He has the same mane as Caramel, because that's how background design were like back then, I ended up changing Note's mane to differentiate the two more. 

1: High Note is a resident of ponyville, and has been for the whole time of the show, even a long time before then. He's a pretty active member of the community, he went to events and such. 

Note is a singer, sometimes a song writer. He is quite quiet, very kind hearted, understanding and a good listener. He is socially awkward, but he tries his best. He has a rather innocent and pure mind, even though he knows about how mean the world is he still is very warm hearted. Note loves his long hair and dressing more traditionally more feminine. He also doesn't care much for gender roles either. He is a little bit of a hippy and has an admiration for such people who care for others and the planet. When he gets closer and more comfortable with someone, he's more loud and enthusiastic. He also just sings all the time to himself. He's a real choir/ theater kid type.

High Note is more comfortable when he's preforming, and becomes incredibly expressive and confident. He feels as though can only be this confident when he's in a group like in a choir or a much smaller group, but he still needs others around. He also has a talent for theater, but mostly just musicals. He is an expert at belting and hitting those high notes. 

2: Even before the two actually met, High Note knew of Fluttershy. I guess you become a little well know after saving the world a few times, and also being a fashion icon for a short period of time. Note thinks Flutters is very pretty and wants to get to get to know her more, since they already live in the same town. Maybe even become friends? He basically just has a very cute and innocent crush on her.

3: His heart flutters whenever he sees he sees her in town, but he thinks she's too busy with life. He also doesn't want to bother her or invade her space, so he ends up just working on himself. 

4: He's quite lonely so works on preforming. He does some theater, and whatever vocal performances are available. He becomes parts of public and private choirs around the Ponyville area, but nothing too fancy. He makes some friends while doing these things and is having a good time. Whenever he's preforming he becomes a little cocky and his this aura about him. 

5: The mane 6 then all go together to one of High Note's choir concerts, and in this concert he has a solo in one of the songs. Fluttershy is impressed with him and now has a little crush of her own. 

6: Fluttershy doesn't pay too much attention when she's out on the town, especially when she's just getting groceries. Now, though she starts notices High Note around, and she looks around to see him. She never really noticed him before. Fluttershy goes to more of his performances off and on. Note saw a glimpse of Fluttershy at one of his performances, and starts feelings his heart flutter again. He hopes she liked the show, and his solos. 

They both have cute crushes now, and look for each other in town so they can look from afar. If they ever make eye contact, it's not for very long since they quickly look away and are blushy the rest of the day.

7: One of the days Fluttershy is out on the town with her friends, and looks for High Note and gets all sighy. Rarity notices her, she leans in and asks, "Have you made a move yet, darling?"

Fluttershy surprised answers with a red face, "I-I don't know what you mean"

"It's alright if you have a crush, dear. I noticed how you can't keep your eyes off that stallion, but I could be mistaken."

The yellow mare looks down in embarrassment, "I don't think I could build up the courage to even talk to him"

"I could help, if you want me to dear." Rarity offers.

The rest of the mane 6 talking among themselves, then Pinkie trots over to the two mares, and asks with squinted eyes, "What are you two at? OH, I KNOW HIM!"

"Really?" Fluttershy asks quietly. 

"Yep, I know pretty much everyone in Ponyville," Pinkie answers proudly. "And that's High Note!"*GASP*"I could totally introduce you guys!"

"I don't know about that."

"Well, whenever you're ready, we'll be here for you," Rarity tells Fluttershy.

8: At a later time, Pinkie pie, without much thought, pushes Fluttershy into High Note. Both are shocked, and Fluttershy is as red a tomato. "Are you alright, miss?" asks Note. She nods, walks away a little, then runs. 

9: Now the two are too embarrassed to look at each other even far away. Rarity sees how they're kind of a lost cause. Being the romantic she is, and wants her friends at least to have the chance of relationship.

10: She takes matters into her own hooves. At least a little bit. Rarity plans a little singer's get together and invites them both. Before she does though, she visits Fluttershy to make sure if she's really okay with going. Rarity won't force her, but will hype her up if she needs to. Rarity explains that it will be a cozy little get together, with not many ponies she doesn't know. Fluttershy hesitantly agrees. 

11: The two go together, and Rarity helped get Flutters a little dressed up. She was also there to make sure she would go and to comfort her if she wasn't feeling up to it. Fluttershy is incredibly nervous the whole walk there. Rarity tries her best to put Flutters mind at ease. When they get there, there's the Pony Tones (who Fluttershy is comfortable with), and only a few other ponies. The two friends greet some of the ponies then Fluttershy becomes full of nerves, once she spots High Note over near the wall, being friendly to whoever comes his way. 

12: Rarity gently nudges her over there, and Fluttershy goes and starts talking to him. He's a little surprised, but is friendly and happy. He starts with the talking, since this is a singer's gathering they talk about singing. She mentions that she went to some of his performances, and how impressed she was. She could never do something like that. Note is flattered by this, and tells her how he can go on stage even though he's actually quite a shy pony. They then start geeking out about musical performances they love, and how they love to sing and watch singing and dancing.  

13: The two have really hit it off, and Rarity is happy to see it. They talked for the longest time. Later into the event Rarity joins them, they seem so happy and excited. They then finally introduce their names to each other. They now have actually met and enjoy each other's company. One of two asks if they would like to hang out some other time, overjoyed the other accepts. 

14: Fluttershy and High Note's first date. The two weren't in a public place, to have more privacy. Fluttershy's friends were watching from afar for safety reasons. The mane 6 are all pretty protective of Fluttershy. They have a great time just talking again, and go on more dates. 

15: The couple go on very quiet dates, which at first they thought were platonic. They are very honest with each other, and find out they both like each other. They now go on even more dates, being picnics and such, all being far away from the generally public. 

16: The couple opening up more and more. Note being a little more loud and enthusiastic, he sings all the time. Fluttershy shows her snarky side. I love whenever she is sarcastic in the show. They have become incredibly comfortable with one another but still have boundaries that they respect.

17: They take it very slow for physical affection. They love each other very much and want to make sure the other is happy, so they had their first kiss deep into their relationship. They still prefer nose kisses and cuddles. They just don't kiss on the lips very much, they love on the check and forehead and such. These two are just very cute. They are both are the asexual spectrum, so they prefer cuddling and kisses over anything else. 

18: These two love each other very much, and have a strong bond of trust and communication. Little sweethearts these two. They were actually one of the first of the mane 6 to get married and settle down. They had a small nature themed wedding, with only friends and close family members. Some animals were there also of course! They both wore cute flower crowns, and Note might've also wore a dress. 

I once again was regretting my decisions by making such a long post again. I love how this one turned out though! The colors are so pretty, and it's all overall so soft!! I feel this is definitely a step up from the last one in quality.

[clownistyping]

A Witch and A Hick

'Meet cute nasty.'

Hi! I'm back kinda? I'm just here to post this lil self insert story of me and Lester Sinclair from House of Wax. He doesn't get enough love and I wanna kiss him so much.

I may change the title, is Lester a Hick????? He can be if you don't think to hard about it. Idk how many chapters this'll be bc its just me writing lol. This also got up to almost 2k words so 😳😳

Also @darling-disastrous here it is uwu

The vans brakes squeal as the girl presses down on them, Elizabeth Mayfield bounced back from the vans push. Her hair covers her face, It's filled with leaves, crystals and hair wraps on single strands. 

"Oh shut it Chariot." She grumbles and smacks the steering wheel, putting the van in park as she looks around her surroundings. 

Parked in a gas station parking lot, barely anybody around and the moon is high and bright, 

"Good night for a reading huh?" She turns to ask the dog in the back of the van. Who raises his head from the mattress in the back, the mutt puts his head back down. Turning on the roof light as she walks, 

"Move over, Mac." She grabs the cards from her bag. Pushing past the hanging crystals and dreamcatchers, she sits next to the dog. 

She hums and closes her eyes as she shuffles the cards. Letting her mind empty itself, her breathing is in sync with the dogs. Setting the cards in a pile of four, she draws the first card. It tells her what's at hand, seven of cups. She raises a brow, 

"Love?" She looks at her dog who sniffs her wrist covered in homemade bracelets, she smiles. Her face heating up, 

"Love." 

The second card speaks of the past and how it's changed her, six of cups reversed. 

"Try to be easy going, I was and I am." She puts the card back in the stack and pulls the 3rd, this will offer her food for thought. 

The high priestess shows, 

"Act more on feelings than facts. Is what I'm doing not enough?" She gestures to her van, hinting at her traveling lifestyle. 

"Is this what you're referencing to?" She lifts the seven of cups and places the two cards down together. Shaking her head she lifts the final card, which tells her a course of action she can take. The chariot arrives in her hand. 

"Again, is what I'm doing not enough?" She says out loud, 

"I named the van after this card. Come on give me a break." She says to no one but Mac listens. 

"Should we go further?" She pets the mutt who leans into her hand, 

"Maybe somewhere, where nobody will bother us." She mumbles and lays on the mattress, 

"Maybe I can be a forest witch," she mumbles and closes her eyes, letting sleep take over. 

Lester spits on the ground, he looks up at the bright moon as it shines through the woods. The music plays gently in the background, 

He hums along with the tune of 'season of the witch.' And pats his thighs to the rhythm, 

"Purdy night ain't it, Jonesy?" He asks the dog that sits on the back of the truck with him. She licks his face and he laughs. 

The sun peeks through the back doors, waking the girl in the van. She hums and sits up, Mac is standing in front of her ready to go. 

"Good idea." She says and takes him out to use the bathroom. When she puts Mac back in the van she tries to figure out where she is exactly. 

She knows she's landed herself in Louisiana, but most of the state looks the same. So she heads in the gas station, In the traffic mirror hanging above the entrance she gets a glimpse of herself. 

Elizabeth wears a long black slitted skirt, both sides are cut and her legs show when she walks. Her tank is wrinkled and her shawl is tempted to fall from her shoulders, she fixes it quickly and holds her side bag close. 

"Can I help you?" The cashier, an older woman asks and Elizabeth blinks. Back in reality, she nods. 

"Actually yes, two things. Where am I?" She asks and the woman points to the pamphlets nearby, 

"Smallwood. Okay, and uh can I use your bathroom?" 

"Gotta buy something first." The woman huffs and Elizabeth quickly searches for some travel food and drinks, 

Her only source of income is tarot reading strangers and selling the jewelry she makes. Not a lot but enough if you make the prices almost criminal. 

Grabbing some powdered donuts, quickly she pays for them and runs to the bathroom. Quickly she fixes herself up, putting on dark eyeliner only to smudge it and swiping on dark lip gloss. She smiles at her dark makeup, it simply makes her happy. Stepping out the bathroom quietly, in hopes of not gaining any attention she tries to leave silently. 

But her eyes catch a drink, staring at the energy drink from the fridge. She looks up at the cashier who's glaring at her. 

In a flash Elizabeth quickly snatches the drink and runs from the building, Mac barks from in the van and the woman hollers. 

"Get back here you freak!" The cashier screams and Elizabeth laughs as she runs. The needed adrenaline pumping through her, slamming the van open she gets in. 

Grabbing her keys, the van sputters and spits. 

"Come on, Chariot! Come on!" Elizabeth yells as she turns the key, the van rumbles as the cashier starts to run towards it. 

"Lets go!" Elizabeth yells as the van roars to life, slamming on the gas Mac is pushed back on the mattress and quickly the van escapes the parking lot with the screaming of its tires. 

Elizabeth doesn't slow the van until she reaches a wooded area, trees tower over the colorful van as it fails to blend in. But they're miles from the gas station and coming down from the high speed. 

"Cheers." Elizabeth raises the energy drink and Mac licks it, she laughs and opens it. 

The drink sprays all over the girls face immediately upon opening. She spits out the blueberry flavor and Mac licks her face all over, laughing she pushes the dog back. 

"I get it! That was well deserved karma!" She yells yells the universe,

Suddenly the van spits and sputters. 

"Oh no." She whispers and the engine cuts itself off. 

"No! Baby please!" She hollers and slams on the steering wheel, 

"Is this my karma?" She whispers and leans into her sticky seat, 

"I regret nothing." She says and sips her drink, Mac pants next to her. He breathes a disgusting smell. 

The two sit as the girl finishes her drink, she cringes as the sticky feeling on her face. 

"I can handle a lot of things," she starts, looking at Mac and then the bones she collects all scattered in the van. 

"But I can't handle a facial." She laughs and gets out of the van, Mac jumps out with her and sniffs the new ground. Elizabeth grabs the water from the back she runs it over her face, washing away the substance. Once the feeling of soda was gone Elizabeth checks her face in the side mirror. 

Her eyeliner was running, she shrugs. 

"Tell me, Mac. How do I look?" She turns, expecting her dog. 

"Mac?" She says and looks around, the dog stands in the distance. His head raised as he sniffs the area, Elizabeth cups her mouth and yells. 

"Hey, Get back here!" Mac looks at her and quickly sprints away towards the scent. 

Elizabeth groans and quickly runs after the speeding dog. But he's quickly lost in the weeds of Louisiana. 

"Mac!" She calls out and hears no response, but a rotting smell hits her. She doesn't flinch, after willingly tearing through dead animals for a good bone. She's numb to the smell. 

And now she knows where that damn dog is headed. 

Stomping her way through the thickets, she tries to keep calm her fingers absent-mindedly fidgeting with her silver coin necklace. 

"Well hey there buddy, where you come from?" Elizabeth hears a voice say and she follows it. 

"Alright load up!" Lester says and opens the passenger door of the truck, Jonesy quickly hopes in the truck and sits down. Ready to ride. In the back is another deer carcass, along with a vulture he accidentally hit. Lester taps his hands against the wheel as the music plays, Johnny Cash sings Ring of Fire on the radio, the chorus sings and Lester joins. 

"And it burns, burns burns! The ring of fire!" Lester sings off key and Jonesey howls with him. 

"If I could, I'd be in a band, Jonesy." The dog licks Lester's face and he laughs, 

"Ah you're right, my ugly mug don't belong on no stage. I'm happy right here." He kisses the dogs head and she barks.  

Lester drives down the bumpy pathway that leads him to the roadkill pit, he always checks to see if any strays show. His heart is soft for animals without a home, he likes to gain their trust. Make them feel safe while also being independent. 

"Think we'll find anything?" Lester asks and backs the truck up to face the pit. As the two leave the truck, Lester hears movement from the hole. Turning towards it he smiles when he sees a collared dog sniffing around the carcasses. 

"Well hey there buddy, where you come from?" 

The dog looks up, his mouth full of the meat. 

"Oh come on you don't wanna be eating that old meat." Lester pats his thighs, 

"I got some good eatin at my place if you wanna come with." Lester smiles and the dog stumbles his way through the pile, Jonesey sniffs the mutts face and licks it clean, the new dog pounces and the two quickly engage in play. 

"Well ain't that sweet, already made a friend huh, Jonesy?" 

Lester says, he lets the two play and opens the back of his truck. Tossing out the carcasses, he then opens the passenger door. 

"Alright you two, let's get going!" Lester pats the door and Jonesy was quick to jump in. 

The new dog stood in place and sat, 

"Oh come on boy, don't be shy." Lester whistles, 

"HEY!" Lester looks up, above the cliff he heard the voice. 

"THAT'S MY DOG!" The person yells and Lester sees the stranger, the said dog barks at the voice. 

A girl wearing dark flowy clothes, her face covered in runny makeup. 

"Hey, watch out!" Lester calls out and suddenly the girl fell off the cliff. 

[writerfae]

I have no excuse for this. I didn't even have a plan with this. I just wanted to write Sera and writing Sera always comes with her teasing Talon. And somehow it ended up to be this. Don't ask me where I was planning (I didn't) to go with this, I do not know it myself.

It's modern AU. And I typed it entirely on my phone, with no intend to upload it at first. But now I did anyway because I'm still impressed I got some writing done, even if it's just random. Hope you enjoy.

Talon yawned, hands clutching his coffee mug. He was at his and Aiden's favorite Café, having breakfast with his sister.

Aiden wasn't with them this time. He was at home, most likely still in bed, and honestly, Talon kinda wished he could be there too, cuddled up against his boyfriend.

"You look tired. Are you okay?" Sera asked, stealing a piece of watermelon from her brother's fruit salad. Another yawn was her answer.

"Yeah." Talon nodded. "Aiden came back from Canada yesterday. It was kind of a long night, that's all."

Sera wiggled her eyebrows. "Long night, huh?" She sounded amused. "I see."

Talon reached over the table to shove her shoulder. "Shut up. Not what you think," he scolded. Sometimes he really wondered who exactly was the mature one here.

"I picked him up from the airport in the middle of the night. It took us nearly two hours to get home. Aiden was completely gone once his head hit the pillow."

"Is it just me or do you sound disappointed?"

He gave his sister another shove. "Shut up, I'm not," he muttered, but his cheeks and ears colored a light red. A clear sign that he felt embarrassed.

"I'm happy he's back. I missed him."

Talon's older sister chuckled. "Yes, I know. You've been moping about it the entire time while he was gone."

"No, I didn't."

"You totally did."

"No."

"Yes"

"No."

Sera laughed at the way Talon's face got even more red from her teasing.

"Aw, no need to be embarrassed about it. I think it's cute." She smiled.

"Never thought I would ever see my baby brother being so attached to someone. You grew so much. I'm proud of you."

Sera wiped away an imaginary tear in mock emotion. But deep down, she really meant what she said. She was glad Talon had learned to open up and let someone in. She was glad it was Aiden, too. He was good for her brother.

Talon hid his face in his hands. "God Sera, can you stop being embarrassing? It's too early for that."

She grinned. "Never. Embarrassing you is basically my job. I'm your big sister."

"You're annoying is what you are," Talon muttered.

"Hey," Sera pointed at him with her fork. "Respect your elder."

Talon snorted. "What are you, sixty?"

"It sure as hell feels like it sometimes." Sera grimaced. "My back is killing me lately."

They laughed. Suddenly Talon's phone display lit up, showing a new message.

It was from Aiden.

Sera leaned forward to try and sneak a look at the message, as usual lacking any sense of privacy (much to her brother's dismay) and smiled to herself as she saw that Talon had a picture of his boyfriend set as his lockscreen.

Talon snatched the phone away from the table and his sister's curious gaze to read the text. Sera watched as he smiled to himself, typing out an answer.

Ah, young love, she couldn't help but think. Cute.

Talon would probably kill her with his fork if she would've said it out loud, or scold her for sounding like a grandma again.

So Sera kept quiet, taking a bite of her scrambled eggs instead.

"He just woke up," Talon said, still looking down on his phone and Sera wasn't sure if he talked to her or to himself. "Asked me where I am. Idiot, didn't he read the note I left him?"

He shook his head, pretending to be annoyed, but Sera noticed the fondness in her brother's voice. (She didn't know one could call someone an idiot so affectionately.)

She smiled. "Seems like someone misses you, huh?"

Talon answered to her teasing by flipping her off, not even bothering to look up from his phone. But he smiled, too. Sera leaned back in her seat, chuckling.

"Why are you here anyway? I half expected you to not show up at all, given the fact Aiden just came home. You haven't seen each other in what, a month? I thought you'd be all over him now that he's back, given how much you were pining after him while he was gone."

"I was not pining," Talon stated, throwing a grape at his sister. Sera successfully dodged it.

"And I came because I didn't want to stand you up. We meet every second Saturday. Aiden was still sleeping, he's tired from the flight and needs some rest, otherwise I would've asked him to join."

He took a sip from his coffee. "I was trying to be polite here."

"Since when have you ever been polite?" Sera laughed.

Her brother only scoffed as an answer.

He could have breakfast with Aiden in his warm bed right now, thank you very much. Instead, he sat here and let his older sister make fun of him.

"The way you keep teasing me, I start to regret it. I should've dumped you after all."

Sera pouted. "Aw, don't be like that."

Another message from Aiden popped up on Talon's screen, catching the attention of both siblings.

Oh, I see, till later then. Have fun. And greet Sera from me. I love you.

A soft smile spread on Talon's face as he stared at the message. A rare one, Sera noted. (Rare to everyone that wasn't Aiden, that is.)

It surprised Sera every time how Aiden managed to get her brother to react like this. He's really gone for this boy, isn't he?

"Oh my God." She rolled her eyes. It was a playful gesture. "Hurry up and go home to him already. I start to feel guilty about keeping you from him."

"What?" Talon asked, confused, only now looking up from his phone.

His sister crossed her arms.

"I said go to your boyfriend and spend some long overdue time with him, goddammit."

She grinned and made a gesture as if to shoo Talon away.

"We can meet up next time. Do us all a favor and go to your Aiden now. I think you two need it."

Talon warned to protest at first, but Sera fixed him with a glare that said not to argue with her and he really wanted to go see his boyfriend, so he nodded, grabbed his jacket and stood up.

"Okay. I'll go. Thanks, Sera." Hurriedly he put on his coat and kissed his sister's cheek. "I'll text you later. Bye."

"Goodbye, Tal. Tell my favorite in-law I said hi," she joked.

Talon stuck out his tongue to her and Sera replied by doing the same, laughing.

Then he went to the counter to pay for his and Sera's breakfast, getting apple pie for Aiden along the way because he knew how much his boyfriend loved the cake here, and made his way outside, waving goodbye to his sister.

Sera chuckled, waving back. As she watched him leave, she took a sip from her orange juice, thinking about how glad she was to see her brother finally be so happy again.

*

just some background information: I imagine this takes place when Talon and Aiden are in their last year of college, a good while after their relationship break, mind you, where they finally got their shit together again (it's also like, a year before their engagement I think). as you might (or not) know, Aiden went abroad for a year during the relationship break, working for a wolf center in Canada. He grew pretty fond of the place, the animals and people there so from time to him he visits the center for a month or so if given the opportunity. that's where he returned from in this short, too.

modern au masterpost

general tag list: @deadlycupid @writing-is-a-martial-art @writingamongther0ses @blueinkblot @wildswrites @abiandwriting @theroyalcoven @7devills @myhusbandsasemni @authortango @sleepy-night-child @charleeyy @formulatingfiction @shiishki @gr3y-heron

[sintreaties]

The first thing to keep in mind, is that the OC has to be coherent with the story and the setting. You need to slip them in your fic in the same manner you would add a different species of fish in Kirari’s aquariums, that is, seamlessly and without much racket. They have to be weaved in the background and plot without disrupting the setting, but at the same time they can’t just be soul-less puppets, ready to be discarded as soon as you’ve used them for your plot-points.

These are the main pieces of advice I can give:

1) make sure you know who your characters are and why the story needs them

2) use the narrative technique of “show, don’t tell” to make them come alive in your stories

3) refrain from using excessive flashbacks, dialogues and descriptions.

4) practice, practice, practice and have fun

I will now talk about all of this a bit more in depth.

Let’s start with the character itself.

In order to create an OC you have to ask yourself:

1) what is their purpose in terms of plot

2) how do their actions and existence influence the world around them

3) how many times they appear.

In a word, you have to know how relevant they are to your story.

The more relevant they are, the more you should work on their thoughts, speech, actions, backstory and appearance in order to give them the same depth as the canon characters. You should also remember, that technically characters like Grandma Bami aren’t OCs. Their personalities and looks might be original, but for the rest, they already have a place in canon, even if we don’t see much of it, so you have to pay more attention in order to ground them and make them believable.

Keep in mind that your characters are more than a face and a plot-point, that relationships can be paradoxical and varied and that every person has flaws and strengths. Now you should be good to go.

Once you’ve decided on who the OC is and what they do, it’s time to weave those characteristics into the narration. Of course everyone has their own way of narrating their stories and everyone has different reasons to use an OC. Here are some of the examples in my fics.

In Of Thorns and Petals, Sayaka briefly mentions her parents to Kirari. In particular, we know about her mother's job and that she was always quite busy and distant. We learn more about this when Sayaka compares herself to her through a brief recollection: Sayaka remembers her talking on the phone, pressing it between her shoulder and ear while she cooks, like a real woman (meaning a functioning adult). This is meant to show the nuances in Sayaka's relationship with her mother: Sayaka looks up to her as as role model, and at the same feels her distant because she was always too busy to build a proper relationship with her.

Althought we won’t see Sayaka’s parents for God only know how many chapters, it was important to mention them now in order to establish that they exist, so the reader won’t be confused to see them at a second time and they won't feel out of place when Sayaka (and the narration) will require their presence.

Another OC of mine is Naosuke. Naosuke is merely a servant of the clan. In In the Shade of the Orchard we learn about his story, but his main function as narrator was to allow us to learn about Grandma Bami, about her cruelty and at the same time about all the characteristics that made her a woman worthy of admiration. In later works like OTAP he's a connection between past and present, between what the twins used to be when Grandma was around, and what they've become. He offers a contrast too, between the hatred they have for her and the reluctant admiration and devotion he always felt (i.e. Kirari suspects him of bringing her peaches when she goes to visit her Grandmother in Blood's Sickness).

Although Naosuke is now a background character in most of my fics (AUs and not), you don’t need to read In the Shade Of The Orchard to know who he is. We get to know everything we need about him at the right time through the right dialogues, actions and recollections, without disrupting the present narrative.

Naosuke and Sayaka’s parents are both examples of a “show, don’t tell” style of narration. Although it might take some practice, I believe this is the best style when it comes to introducing OCs, as it feels more natural.

See it as a painting and every detail is a brush stroke that will bring the composition together: Kirari recollects that her father often looked tired; and that the same tiredness often turned into something very similar to fear when he came out of Grandma’s office. Today, in the present moment, he doesn’t smile often and he never shows himself proud of her, notwithstanding all of her accomplishments (meaning, he sees too much of Grandma in Kirari and it’s taking its toll on the relationship between them). Here you have the portrayal of a weak, tortured man and his change throughout the years. You only need to give him a fitting appearance, perhaps bright blue eyes that look older than what they are.

Want to introduce an OC that has no real, possible connection to canon? Work in the same manner and make up everything you need.

The man sitting before Sayaka keeps playing with a lighter. He doesn’t look scared or nervous, but he has his own kind of restlessness. His eyes are indifferent and there are deep shadows under them; his hair is clean and cut, just like his nails, but there’s the first hint of a beard under his chin. Sayaka thinks that his suit looks too new, as if the price tag is still behind his neck.

Later on, when Kirari will arrive, she will amiably ask him if his flight went well, and he will tell her that her cousin was very clear in her instructions.

In a few lines we learnt that this man smokes or has a connection with fire, that he looks after himself but that Terano forced him to fly to Hyakkaou in such a hurry that the only way to make himself presentable was to buy brand new clothes, plus that Kirari isn't surprised to see him, so she probably knows him.

Kirari, Sayaka and John Doe himself will tell you this. I, as the narrator, am merely showing you their thoughts, words and appearance.

What you shouldn’t do in order to achieve the same result is use paragraph after paragraph of flashbacks and dialogues. In the first case, you will interrupt the flow of the narration, detaching the reader from the present; in the second one you might lose their interest.

When working on descriptions in general, be sure not to exaggerate. If you sap the subtext, you will only bore the reader (remember all those Jane Austen character descriptions? XVII Century English literature wasn’t that fun because the writers passed too much time telling us about each damn piece of clothing on their characters). Consider that most people don’t even notice each other’s eye color unless there’s something peculiar about it.

Last but not least, the more you get acquainted with your OC the better your narration around them will become, most importantly if you enjoy what you’re doing. There’s an intimacy between me and Naosuke; built on the fact that I and only I know most of his feelings and thoughts, only I know how he could react in a certain situation or not. When I think so much about it, it is extremely satisfying to bring all of that in my stories. Naosuke came to life first because I needed a “walking camera” and second because I was having a lot of fun writing him.

If it’s your first time writing an OC, don’t be afraid to come up with a Mary Sue. Humans are complicated even in fiction and only through practice (and reading) you might learn how to avoid certain mistakes sometimes.

Remember that it’s fanfiction. Be happy first, worry about technique later. Don’t be afraid to write as much as you can about anything you want and don't get discouraged if you can't write like James Joyce right off the bat.

I hope my answer and the examples I provided were useful. If you do end up writing something, please let me know!

[celestialsilhouette]

Do you mind explaining some of your thoughts on the cosplay post? I'm Asian too and have been thinking a lot about it. When you say white cosplayers need to listen to Asian voices, whose should they listen to? The Asians who are offended or the Asians who don't care? Is it not yellow face if cosplayers don't change their facial features but still wear black wigs like in those plays and movies? When does white people's access and comfort become more important than the Asian people who are uncomfortable? When does cosplay (attention, sometimes selling accessories, making money off YouTube revenue) become "profit" and therefore bad for white people to do in certain contexts vs good? Why are historically inaccurate cosplays less offensive than historically accurate ones?

hi nonny! i don't mind explaining my thoughts at all, altho i do want to be clear that these are just my opinions and how i view cosplay. but i think that these things are super important so here we go!

so yeah, what ur saying is totally right, and i honestly think it's a really fuzzy line between yellowface and just cosplay. personally, i think that so long as it's not purposefully offensive, and the cosplay isn't coming from someone who's looking to silence asians/mock asians, then it should be fine? it's not as if there aren't asian actors in china who are acting in plays such as shakespere, or others that take place in a primarily european background, or asian cosplayers playing white people.

ofc, it's different between having white people play asian characters and asian people playing white characters, because the system of oppression does come from white people taking things away from asian people. but my point is: i don't think we should gatekeep cosplaying if it's truly for an innocent purpose. i'm not going to stop cosplaying castiel, or peter parker, or dean winchester. who am i to stop white people from cosplaying wei wuxian or jiang yanli or whoever?

as for how far the cosplaying should go, in terms of simply wearing a wig or actually changing facial features using make up, my line of thought comes from how much people go to actually change their facial features with characters that are of their race. for the wigs, i just think that there's nothing inherently offensive about saying most asian people have dark/black hair? it's like this: gamora from gotg has red hair. therefore, many gamora cosplayers have a red wig. it's not offensive, it's just staying true to the character.

having black hair is not something that's used to target asian people, and it's not something meant to make fun of asian people. it's just a fact. therefore, if you're cosplaying an asian character, it makes sense if you have black hair.

on the other hand, for facial features, there is a long history of people making fun of asians for squinty or small eyes. it might not be true to everybody who's playing these asian characters, but it is often exaggerated, and turning people into caricatures of asian people. i just think that emulating and exaggerating facial features that have been used to mock asian people for their looks is maybe a step too far into yellowface. especially when the end result is something that doesn't even look real, and doesn't stay true to the characters.

as for the historically inaccurate clothing, i suppose i wasn't very clear in my last post abt this. all i mean, is that for historically inaccurate clothing, it is impossible to really do a lot of research into it. it might be a very complicated mix of styles from all different dynasties and time periods. i just don't think that it's very necessary? especially when a character isn't even from a specific time period like mdzs characters, and many chinese people view hanfu in a similar way europeans view victorian clothes.

also, when i say white cosplayers need to listen to asian voices, i mean, generally try to pay attention to what's being said? it's not about who's offended and who don't care -- if someone doesn't care, often, they wouldn't comment on the cosplay at all. i mean, if there's something extremely tone deaf, or something that squicks out asian people, the cosplayer does need to pay attention, and does need to understand.

it's kinda difficult in this situation, but even if i don't think that a white cosplayer is in the wrong for cosplaying an asian character, if an asian person is uncomfortable with a cosplay because they feel it's veering too close into yellowface, i'd still think the white person should take it down. on the other side, if an asian person is uncomfortable, i do think that it would be more beneficial to these types of conversations to explain why it makes them so uncomfortable, beyond just 'it's yellowface'.

now, as for profit, that's also something that honestly i'm not even sure about, and my own opinion changes from moment to moment. what i mean with profit, is in a major place like a hollywood movie, or something like that, shouldn't have a white person take an asian person's role. not only is it taking an asian person's place, it also just doesn't look right, especially when an asian person would play an asian character much better.

however, youtube/tiktok is a completely different story. i wouldn't go very far in supporting a white cosplayer playing asian characters, but i'm also not really comfortable with completely not letting them cosplay asian characters? same thing as above -- i cosplay characters that i like regardless of color, who am i to stop people from doing it? and for cosplaying on a social media site, even if it gives revenue for the cosplayer, it's very easy for someone to simply not watch the youtube/tiktok, and support actually asian people instead. idk. it's complicated, but i think that cosplay is completely different from actual movies and tv shows.

tysm for ur ask, and i hope this makes my thought processes clearer!

[livsoulsecrets]

Deanoru Fic - You might have me believing I don't always have to be alone

Summary: At 10 years old, Karolina first realizes her feelings for girls during a movie night with her friends while their parents have their annual dinner gathering. As she tries to understand herself that night and fears what those feelings might mean about her, she finds unexpected comfort in Nico.

TW: Internalized Lesbophobia (nothing major, but the story shows Karolina questioning her feelings for girls and struggling with it)

-

When she was 10 years old, during one of their families’ dinner gatherings, Karolina marched into the Wilders’ living room with a DVD copy of Enchanted safely tucked inside her pink unicorn bag. She had carefully swept the movie into her bag while she messed around her dad’s movie collections, kept in his office, safely tucked away from her curious hands. On that dinner night, though, her dad was away on a work trip and her mom was too busy taking phone calls and doing her makeup to notice Karolina sneaking into the room.

 He had them all organized by genre and she made the huge effort of climbing into a chair to reach the romance shelf. She was always obsessed with love stories, but her parents didn’t always let her watch them because some weren’t “appropriate”. 

 This time, though, nobody could stop her from reaching the Enchanted DVD on the highest shelf. With a squeal, she celebrated her achievement. After that, it was easy to secretly smuggle it into the Wilders’ home. Once the kids were all alone in the living room, Karolina coughed loudly in a dramatic fashion to announce she had news, which made Gert roll her eyes.

— Guys, I have a surprise for you. — She announced, proudly picking the DVD up and showing it to her friends. Alex crooked an eyebrow, looking confused. 

— Okay… I’m still waiting for it. — He said, unfazed. Nico elbowed him, successfully shutting him up.

— Don’t be a jerk. — She told him and turned to Karolina shortly after, ignoring Alex’s whining and Chase’s loud laughs, as she smiles at her friend. — Go on, Kare.

— Thanks, Nico. — Karolina answered, her cheeks blushing uncontrollably. She didn’t understand why, but every time Nico smiled at her like that, Karolina felt her stomach doing summer salts, as if she was going through a roller coaster. — I found my dad’s copy of this movie, Enchanted. My mom doesn’t let me watch it, because she says it’s not for kids my age... But I think we should do it anyway. Amy is not here today, so she can’t tell on us!

— But what if it’s a scary movie? — Molly questioned, head tucked into Gert’s lap, taking away too much space for her little self. 

— It’s not, Mols. It’s a love story! It even has a princess in the cover. — Karolina explained, excitedly placing the movie in the DVD player. 

— Ew, love’s gross. — Chase grunted, with all the eloquence his 10 year old self could gather.

— You’re gross. — Gert fired back, without missing a bit. — Just play the movie, we have nothing to do tonight. 

 In response to that, Alex just sighed, which usually meant he didn’t agree with them, but was still in. Nico nodded, handling Karolina the remote and tapping the seat next to her, offering it to the girl. Karolina gladly took it.

 For two whole hours, the six of them were tucked together in Alex’s huge couch, lights turned off and all eyes on the TV. Despite Chase’s claim of love being gross, towards the end of the movie, as Robert leaned down to kiss Giselle in an attempt to wake the princess up from her poisoned apple induced sleep, he was on the verge of his seat, quietly chanting “please wake up, please wake up”. Karolina could have sworn she saw the glimpse of a smile on Gert’s face as she watched Chase squealing with excitement when Giselle woke up with the true love kiss. 

 Meanwhile, Molly was clapping, jumping up and down on the couch while Gert resorted to laugh at her. Even Alex, despite his initial skepticism, joined the celebration, carrying Molly on his back while she threw her fists in the air, screaming as if she had just won the lottery.

 Karolina’s appreciation of the scene was quieter, though. Her head was resting on Nico's shoulder, as she smiled softly at the couple on the screen, excitedly nudging Nico every time they did something cool, despite Nico never showing much interest for those. Karolina, on the other hand, had the one true love kisses as her favorite parts of any movie. 

 As the wicked queen confronted the princess and her love, Karolina gasped, grabbing Nico’s arm while her friend laughed at her reactions.

— You are all crazy. — Nico declared, as she looked around at the chaos installed in that room.

— Stop talking, Nico. I’m trying to pay attention to the dragon. — Gert demanded, pulling Chase down with a tight grip, making him stop running around after Alex and Molly. Chase complained, but stayed down, knowing better than to argue with Gert on anything.

— Okay, nerd. — Nico whispered under her breath, only for Karolina to hear. Kare liked the way Nico talked in moments like these, as if they were sharing something that was only theirs.

 Despite the commotion the first kiss scene caused, it was the rain scene that really struck Karolina. Her eyes barely blinked as she watched the couple making promises and kissing in the rain, romantic instrumental music in the background.

— Ow, I want to be a princess too! — Molly stated, hands over her heart as the credits started rolling.

— I just want that princess! — Chase answered, imitating Molly’s gesture and placing his hands on his heart too.

— Okay, mister “love’s gross”. — Nico pointed out, earning loud laughs out of their friends.

 Karolina didn’t laugh with them. 

 Quite the opposite. She stayed still, petrified. With a shock, Karolina realized she agreed with Chase a lot more than she agreed with Molly.

 It was not that Kare didn’t want to be like Giselle. Of course she wanted to, the princess was kind, beautiful and loving… There was just more to it. As Karolina watched the boy lean down to kiss his princess, she felt her own heart flutter, almost as if she was jealous of him, almost as if she wanted to be him. 

 The thought sent a wave of fear through her. She sat up immediately, removing herself from Nico’s side so quickly the other girl flinched. 

 What was wrong with her? Why was she having those thoughts? It was not okay for girls to want princesses, right? She was supposed to be like Molly, dreaming of being the princess for some prince to kiss awake. She wasn’t supposed to want to be in the prince’s place. That was for boys, like Chase and Alex and her dad-

 It was all too much at that point. Karolina could still listen to Gert and Chase’s bickering over what movie they should watch next, she could still hear Nico’s voice asking if she was okay as she walked out of the room in a rush. Nothing else mattered other than the fact she needed to leave.

 She needed to be alone and away from her friends because she was a freak, she was not normal and not okay and such a weird-

— Kare? Hey, what’s going on? — Nico followed her outside. 

 Of course she did.

 Karolina was standing in the middle of the Wilders’ garden, Nico some steps behind her, tears were falling down Kare’s eyes, but not a single word came out of her mouth. Nico slowly walked towards her and placed a hand on Karolina’s shoulder. In response, Karolina immediately flinched. Nico pulled away, as if she was burned.

— Sorry. Are you okay? 

— Yeah. I’m just- It was too hot inside, I needed some fresh air. — Kare lied, her voice shaking.

— Karolina… It’s winter, it’s so cold. — Nico’s voice was soft and the way she said her name made Kare look up. 

 Nico and Karolina couldn’t be more different, the first adored to use only black, talk back to adults and to explore, as the second loved colorful clothes, obeying parents and staying safe. Still, despite their many differences, the way Nico talked to Karolina was always the same, soft and steady, as if she wanted to make the girl comfortable, as if she knew Karolina was built up differently.

 The thought both warmed Kare’s heart and terrified her. Yet, she hoped Nico never stopped talking to her like that.

— Come on, what’s going on?

 Karolina lifted her eyes up from the ground and stared at Nico. In her black dress and hair flying in all directions because of the wind, Karolina thought she looked like the most beautiful princess that ever existed. 

 A flash went through Kare’s mind where she pictured them dancing in the rain, just like the moments they saw in movies, shining and spinning around, not a care in the world.

 She pushed the thought down, afraid of what that could mean about her.

 Instead, she swallowed dryly and finally talked again.

— I was just thinking… I don’t think I’ll ever get that. I mean, the true love kiss and the happy ending.

— What do you mean? That’s not true! Of course you’re getting that! — Nico protested, not understanding why she would ever believe that.

— I just know, okay? I won’t get that. Never. I’ll just- I’ll just be alone. Forever. Like the evil queen. — Karolina felt stupid as the tears burned her eyes again. She was 10, she was a big kid, who should be behaving a lot better by now, but the thought of being alone because of how different she was broke her heart. 

 This time, when Nico moved, Karolina accepted her hug, crying in her arms. 

— Kare, I don’t know why you think that, but it’s not true. You will not be alone. I will be with you, okay? You’re my friend. You will never be alone.

 As Nico whispered these words, Karolina fought the tears. She stepped away for a moment, just to get a better look at Nico’s face.

— You promise? 

— I promise. — Nico said, without hesitating. 

— Pinky promise? — Karolina insisted, really needing some reassurance.

— I don’t do that. It’s silly. — Nico stated, shaking her head. — I promise because it’s true. I believe it, so you believe it too.

 Karolina’s stupid summer salts were back at full force on her stomatch now. She still felt weird and ashamed, but Nico sounded so sure that it became easier to accept what she was saying. 

— Okay. I believe you. — Karolina finally agreed and Nico smiled.

— Good. Now, let’s go back. It’s really cold here. — Without hesitating, Karolina followed Nico inside, their arms elanced together as they walked back in.

 They found Molly passed out on the couch, half her weight laying on Chase and the other half on Gert, locking the two of them to their seats on the couch. Still, they didn’t seem to mind, as they exchanged insults and jokes. Karolina didn’t know why Gert and Chase acted like that. It was like they both liked and hated each other the most in the whole world.

 Alex was picking up the next movie with a lot of attention when he saw Nico and Karolina. He looked up immediately, excited to see them.

— Hey, I think I found something Karolina will like. It’s called “A Cinderella Story”! Look, the girl even has blonde hair!

— Ow, they’re pretty much twins, Alex! — Nico pointed out, to which Alex very maturely responded by sticking out his tongue to her.

— I think it is a good movie! Let’s see it. Thank you, Alex! — Kare said, taking her seat on the couch again, grateful he had found something she would enjoy. He started the movie shortly after, silence reining in the room again.

 Karolina found a great distraction in the movie, good enough to keep her doubts and insecurities away from her mind for the whole night.

 Once she got home, though, after safely putting the DVD back in her dad’s office and being tucked away in bed by her mom, she stayed up for a while, staring at the ceiling. 

 She still didn’t know what the feelings she had about the princess in the movie meant. She was still scared and trying to ignore them. Despite all of that, Nico’s voice was louder than the mean ones in her brain. 

 She wouldn’t be alone, no matter what happened, because Nico wouldn’t stop being her friend. 

 Even though she didn’t tell Nico that night what she was truly thinking, her words stuck with Karolina for years to come. 

 That night, Karolina felt, for the first time, the confusing sentiments that would keep her up for many nights to come, that would make her doubt her own beliefs and question everything she knew about herself. 

 Yet, every time, she would find some solace in knowing Nico’s promise stood, based on something a lot stronger than pinky promises: a very stubborn 10-year-old Nico Minoru’s word.

[talesofsonicasura]

Unappreciated Hunter

A Monster Hunter encounters Hat Kid and helps her out. Didn't know he was going to get dragged into her weird life.

Kokoto, the village of strong and tough Monster Hunters. The citizens can be quite pushy to traveling hunters and at higher levels when it revolves around ex guild hunters. Any hunter from Kokoto would judge and mock any fellow warrior 'not worth their salt'. Even the Felyne that runs the cafetine there is quite rude.

Yet, it was the only place to acquire certain materials or ingredients which is important for any that travels in monster infested lands. Items that couldn't be found anywhere else. After all it was also a popular merchant village, considering the village chief was a retired Legendary Hunter. Guess the high standards considering hunters was slightly justified.

"...And fuck you too! Go kiss a Congala's ass if that's how you treat your customers!" Angry swearing was also guaranteed as a white haired man stormed out of a shop in rage. Long silver locks tied into a wild ponytail, tannish skin balanced by lean yet rock hard muscle, eyes were a bright blue highlighted by black stripe outlines, and stood at an intimidating 7'2 in height.

His clothes consisted of a long beige winter coat with blue and red triangle patterned cuffs alongside large cotton ball looking buttons, beige long trousers with white puffy cuffs, black hiking boots made out of some sort of reptilian hide and white fur gloves. In his hand was a woven straw basket filled with fruit, cheeses, spices and herbs.

The man let an aggravated sigh before trying to cool his temper. "Come on Kahtal. Don't let that asshat get to you. Plus Nekona those need the ingredients and getting blacklisted from every shop went help." He or Kahtal said rubbing his hand against the side of his head. He took a deep breath and continued to the next vendor.

Well, he would if a soft sparkle of light hadn't grabbed his attention. This tinge of light was a mystifying soft blue and looked to be near the Hero Shrine by the village's oldest tree. Curiosity getting the best of him, he walked over to the odd phenomenon awarely ignorant to disapproving glances from some of the village hunters.

The Hero Shrine was essentially a tree that held the Hero's Shield and the stone before carrying the Hero's Blade. Weapons used by Kokoto's chief to defeat a powerful Elder Dragon known as Lao-Shan-Lung. What really got Kahtal's attention was what sat slightly embedded into the earth a bit far from the shrine.

This item looked like an hourglass, well a very weird hourglass. The glass was crystal clear that sparkled but held no sand in it, the rims that kept it together had two gold beads sandwiching a purple hat shaped and the soft glow that radiated from the very object. It was beautiful and incredibly well crafted from Kahtal's perspective.

"Who could make something like this and where's their owner?" Kahtal picked up the item carefully while speaking his thoughts to himself. One thing he did know was it looked to be very important and not the type of item to be trashed carelessly. Someone clearly lost it. His thoughts were interrupted by a soft 'Hey!'.

The young man looked down to see his leg was being tugged by a little girl. She had soft peach skin paired with curly brown hair in a back ponytail and topped with a purple top hat that had a gold ribbon, bright blue eyes and little nose. She wore a purple shirt with a light gold cape, white trousers and black little shoes. On her back was a light blue umbrella covered in stickers.

"Um, hi there. Sorry I didn't notice you." Kahtal said with a sheepish look on his face. The peculiar little girl let out a tiny giggle before nodding. She then pointed at the hourglass in his hand. The man took a glance at her hat and the hat beads on the hourglass. They were the exact same.

"Does this belong to you? I found it dugged a bit into the ground over there." He pointed at the little hole in the grass. The little girl nodded heavily with a polite smile on her face. Kahtal guessed she was a selective mute as the only word she spoke was 'Hey' in order to get his attention.

"Well, here you go. You're lucky I found it. I don't think any other passerby would have given it back." The young man handed the child the hourglass carefully as to not drop it. She took the peculiar item and hugged it before hugging his leg in appreciation. Kahtal let out a soft chuckle before patting her head.

"I must be going. My friend is waiting for me outside the village with these groceries. Take care." The little girl nodded at his words before whispering a soft quiet 'thank you'. Both went their separate ways and Kahtal's mood was much better after that.

The next time he saw the little girl or the fact he met her again at all was in the worst place a child should never be. There are places in this monster filled world that normal people aren't allowed to travel alone. Only ones who could were merchants, caravans and most highly monster hunters. Kahtal was the latter of this group.

A mission was sent to his personal home by a messenger Kinsect. The client wanted him to gather some Coal from an area known as the Volcanic Hollow. A large string of caverns found within a monstrous supervolcano. The intense heat in the deeper sections made it a cozy home for all sorts of deep dwelling monsters and perfect place to gather ores.

It looked like a simple quest but these types of missions usually had something dangerous causing problems in the background. A pretty accurate assumption to make as there was a Subquest at the bottom. An extra piece of mission that was optional for the Hunter but meant extra pay if taken.

This particular Subquest was asking for him to stop a Uragaan who was causing a ruckus down there. Uragaan also known as the Burst Hammer Wyvern, a large Brute Wyvern that can create powerful tremors by slamming its armored jaw into the ground and rolling over any foolish creature to aggravate it. Their diet consisting of ores made it dangerous for any miner who accidentally runs into one.

Gathering supplies to keep him properly cool in the hotter areas were necessary since having a heatstroke in a volcano was the worst way to go. Once preparations were made and gear was set, the hunter set off to Volcanic Hollow. Dealing with the Burst Hammer Wyvern was the first thing needed to be done before even thinking of digging for coal.

This definitely wasn't a place normal people should travel through. A simple thought of a little girl in purple strolling through the lava heated caverns. The interior of a volcano was less lava-y than any she had seen before. First spot to find after jumping down the mouth was a few small conjoining clifftops and some natural hot springs by them.

Only things other than two paths that didn't go deeper down and one that did were the strange green doggy faced creatures munching on whatever plants or mushrooms growing there. They gave her odd looks but just minded their business and continued to graze. Next spot had multiple small lava pools and two were branching paths with one that meant another big jump.

There were some mean reddish snake bird worm things that tried to bite or whack her with their tail. She clobbered them multiple times with her umbrella before they got the hint and ran. This time the child decided to take the side path instead of a large jump. Big mistake on her part.

The room was pretty with a huge amber column at the center that was in a beehive like formation and more smaller red ones that added extra support. Bright sapphire blue crystals and ruby red crystals sticking from the ground in a roundish rectangular form. If only she noticed that the odd growing gold stone on the ground was a monster's tail.

"Aaaaaaah!!!" Echoed the screams of a little girl through a mountainous deep section of the volcano. Tiny stream of water pouring down the cliffs to the large molten ground below shook with the tremors of heavy footsteps. The little purple hatted girl ran across the reddish dirt as a large beast followed her relentlessly.

It was a large reptilian creature that could honestly be mistaken as a dinosaur from the powerful looking legs but underdeveloped tiny arms. Its face was round dark brownish scaled except for its huge orangish color jaw, from its head to the very long rounded tail were large flat topped amber crystals that were positioned in the way tires are to leave tracks, thick muscled legs with sharp claws and bright green eyes that burned with rage.

The 25 ft tall brute looked a bit beaten up but the little girl would admit personally that she had nothing to do with it. Of course it didn't matter since the lizard monster was still angry and probably cranky for her poking its tail with an UMBRELLA. If she ever got out of here alive, she would never come back...maybe.

The giant then let out a painted cry as the ground shook hard nearly making the child lose her footing. She flipped around to understand what happened. Giant lizard thing had been slammed to the ground by someone covered in armor and holding what looked to be a sword and shield. The shield part slammed into the mean beast's head.

The armor was a bright crimson with light summer colors such as orange and gold fitted to its feudal samurai look. Chest plate had an orange triangle coming from the bottom as it pointed to two cogs on the separate sides that were connected by a thick white rope, a giant red cape with big fancy and fluffy gold rims, red shield shaped plates covering a gold rim red skilt, red armor gauntlets and boots but the cool thing was the mask.

It was faceless with eye slots but large red horns that went back and curved at the end but also orange along with a large white mane that was in the back. The shield was lustrous ruby with a gold wheel on the surface and a cog with two golden hour hands at the center. And the sword had a crystalline blade that started before ending in a reddish violet at tip and punk looking half gold claw hilt to a silver handle.

Eyes from the helmet looked at her before the masked man pulled his helmet a bit to show Kahtal's face. "You're the little girl I met in Kokoto! How did you get into the Volcanic Hollow?!" He cut off his words when the monster or Uragaan began to move underneath him. The man bashed the beast's head with his shield before getting into its face.

It immediately flinched upon the pair of eyes glaring back into its own. They weren't of a man but of a beast. Bigger, meaner and absolutely powerful. The glare of an Alpha. "You better stay down and don't try anything. So much as harm a hair on that little girl's head then consider your life forfeit. Now sit!" Voice was heavy as steel and the tone brimming with pure dominance.

Uragaan shivered violently before seating itself to the floor once Kahtal stepped off the beast's head. He gave the large brute a glance before sheathing both his blade and shield onto his back. Then the silverette turned to the most impossible thing to run around in a volcano. The little girl who had looks of awe in her eyes now lost it upon the look she was getting from the hunter.

"What are you doing here? This isn't a safe place for people much less little girls. Especially ones that somehow managed to have a Uragaan chase them. The species isn't called Burst Hammer Wyvern for no reason." Kahtal spoke pointing at the specific cowering dragon behind him.

"I wanted to see you! You gave me my Time Piece back so I thought you wanted to be my friend! And I got here from my ship since it said you were somewhere around here." There was a bunch of childish pep and cheer to her voice like it was natural despite the guilty look on her face. Or the fact she was nervously poking her fingers together.

Now he had a lot of questions but knew that the inside of a volcano wasn't the place to discuss it. "Let's talk about it once we're back at the camp on top of the volcano. And you!" The Burst Hammer Wyvern flinched upon Kahtal pointing his finger at the beast. It was still scared at the much smaller human man.

"You are being relocated to an island unreachable to human civilization. A winged companion of mine will be picking you up so stay put! Behave then I'll forget about you trying to trample a little girl and maybe add in some yummier ores than the ones down here." The knowledge of the alpha human forgiving him, a new home and chance of a tasty treat had the Uragaan positively complacent with his current position.

Kahtal took out what looked to be a signal gun before firing a green smoke round into the air. The flare spilling green smoke out into the volcano's entrance paired with a lime like scent. Once that flare was shot, Kahtal picked up the little girl and hoisted her on his back. He then took off ignoring the sound of large flapping wings or the sound of shock in the other room that he left the Uragaan in.

The volcano top had a small makeshift camp settled a good space from the mouth to the heated mountain. A simple tent that provided cover from the sun for a large mattress, two large crates with one blue and the other red, and a few makeshift fence blockades. Kahtal was now looking at the little child with a ludicrous look.

"So your name is Hat Kid, and you're an alien refugee from another world. You came here because a Timepiece, which is the fuel for your ship somehow crashlands in Kokoto village. After I returned it to you, you tried to find me again so I can be your friend and hangout with you." The hunter questioned while holding his helmet in his right hand.

The little girl or Hat Kid sat on the queen sized mattress next to Kahtal while she told him her tale. She was nodding at every inquiry he had got from the hat wearing child. "Normally I treat that kind of stuff as Congala crap if I haven't taken in consideration the evidence. A glowing hourglass with no sand isn't normal, a little girl managing to get into a place that is blacklisted to Low Rank Hunters or the fact you got to one of the deepest levels, and NOT die from lethal heatstroke."

Hat Kid looked a bit sheepish when he brought back her little volcano adventure but was glad he did believe her. Kahtal then stood up from the bed and looked at the alien child. "My friend is taking the Uragaan to a new habitat and won't be back for an hour. Might as well take me to your ship." He did think her insane attempt to find him should at least be rewarded...only this one time.

A big smile grew on her face before she ran over and took his free hand immediately. The older man would admit he didn't expect the both of them to float before shooting off into the sky. They were going up so fast that he saw the darkness of space and the shining stars. And like a light switch, Kahtal wasn't outside the volcano but now in a little girl's very odd bedroom.

The odd things being the sea of pillows a good distance from the bed, lights on the ceiling, glass screen viewing the vacuum of space, odd candles that sit by said pit or the giant burnt noodle reading at the top of the staircase by said pillow sea. "Hey! I heard that!" A sheepish look crossed his face. The last part he accidentally spoke out loud.

The offended noodle had a glowing yellow face found on children's jack o' lanterns: circular eyes and the big childish mouth with two fangs, a mane of dark purple that was the same color as his body, spindly arms that ended with two finger ovenmitts that clearly was hiding claws and a long spindly tail making his height around 20 ft long.

"You know kiddo I don't know what's worse. The fact you brought a pecking knight of all things on board or the fact he was rude to me: the all handsome, powerful and soul eating, Snatcher! It's also really rude to insult the dead." The now named specter or Snatcher said while his last bit was deadpan unlike the bolster before in his distorted echo voice.

Kathal's response to this was a raised eyebrow. "First off, I didn't mean to say that out loud so sorry for that. Second, why tell me that you are a soul eating ghost when I'm a 'knight' to you. And third, the proper term is Monster Hunter not Monster Slayer. Unless your causing trouble on my planet that make people send out a request to hunt you, then I won't stab you with my blade and relocate your hide." The mortal man listed with his fingers and pure nonchalance.

The ghost set aside his book so he wouldn't lose in the sea of bed material before slithering over to the armored man. Size difference between them was now clearer than before but Kahtal still had a passive look on his face. "And don't you have quite a snarky side to ya, kiddo." Snatcher chuckles while Kahtal glared back.

"The name is Kahtal Shinsu and I'm a 32 year old man. I am definitely not a kid because last I checked, children don't have an 7'2 body with an eight pack." The silverette's rebuttal didn't make the ghost's smile go away. It only made it more mischievous looking as the 20 ft noodle laughed.

"And I'm over 300 years old which makes ya a mere baby in comparison. An eight pack huh? Definitely the type of muscle for some dirty work back in my forest!" Snatcher said while placing an arm around the hunter's shoulder in a 'buddy' manner. Hat Kid then tugged on his leg for giving him an inquisitive look.

The 'What were you doing' look obviously wanting to know why he was in the Volcanic Hollow in the first place. "I had a job there. My client wanted me to gather 30 pieces of coal from the volcano. There was a bonus quest to deal with that Uragaan who was chasing my hatted companion here." Spotting what looked to be a chalkboard, Kahtal strolled over to it.

Taking a piece of chalk, he sketched out a fully detailed picture of the mentioned Burst Hammer Wyvern minus the injuries from before, all in the span of a minute and the word Uragaan next to it. Snatcher floated over and looked at the image with interest. "Sure looks like quite a brute! No wonder the kiddo looked ready to drop. Gave her a run for her money! Ah Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!" He then looked at Kahtal.

"This was also an extra part of the current job description? That makes you an even better contractor for me to hire! Honestly there is some work in my domain that needs a more refined touch than Hat Brat there. She has a habit of making quite the mess." The little girl in question gave him a raspberry.

"Well, you'll need to have a request paper ready. Usually I have a Kinsect deliver me jobs to my home since I'm more of a freelance hunter." Kahtal then drew at the bottom of the board a peculiar bug of sorts. It looked like a scarab but the wings and size were wrong.

"Really now? I don't know where you live but I can mark it down if you take this back." The man didn't expect for the ghost's hand to ignite in blue fire. Or that fire to form a dark purple version of what the kinsect he drew but had the same jack o' lantern smile Snatcher has on their wings. Kahtal would mark it to be creation magic.

"This Kinsnatch here will be delivering any jobs I have for ya. And a bit more." The last bit was a whisper before Snatcher put the magic made insect in the hunter's hands. He looked at the odd insect and immediately knew this was going to be trouble.

Lucky thing was he got dropped off the same place he was before allowing his own alien abduction. And his current ride had just returned. Bad news was how damn aggravating that purple ghost was going to be in the future.

Hey everyone! Sorry not updating the blog for quite a bit. Life is crazy and honestly been trying to handle with some changes to my home.

This story is an experimental crossover using Monster Hunter and A Hat in Time. I wanted to try my hand at writing a Monster Hunter fic but also wanted that kind of vibe you get exploring in different chapters like you do for a A Hat In Time.

Hope you guys enjoyed it! Stay safe and healthy folks!

This is the armor used and the monster Uragaan!

[marvinswriting]

tiny bus

this ones for the anon who wanted mean damian. im sorry to whoever didn’t. tw: d slur g/t mean girls

The tiny bus comes an hour after school ends. 

It's a long wait and frankly, an annoying one.

I never had to take the tiny bus before. 

In eighth grade, Ms. George picked me up.

At the beginning of high school, Ms. Hubbard picked me up.

Up until recently, Damian drove me home.

But-

Damian couldn't drive me home anymore.

I slam my locker shut, swinging my bag onto my shoulder. Where the hell was I supposed to go for the next hour?

I didn't have anyone to talk too.

When did everything go downhill?

My art show.

The night Cady showed her true colors.

The night Cady officially went full plastic.

The night Damian chose her.

That last fact made my head spin. It still didn't feel real.

Damian was the one person I thought I could trust. The one person I thought would always be there.

No matter what.

How stupid was I for believing it?

I could handle losing Cady. Yeah, it hurt. I knew it would hurt for a while.

But I didn't know Cady for long.

I trusted Damian with my life.

Trusted.

I turn away from my locker with a scowl. 

Where was I even supposed to go for an hour?

I make my way to the tiny pick up zone.

I'm not getting picked up. There's no one there to pick me up.

But it's the only accessible place in the school with ac and cameras. 

And now that I'm alone to myself I need the latter more than ever.

I slump against the wall, pulling out my phone. 

The background, which was once Damian and I, is now a simple black.

I don't have any new texts or missed calls. I didn't expect any. The only notifications I ever got in the past were from Damian.

It's safe to say we aren't friends anymore. 

It hurt.

Out of everyone whos ever been in my life, I thought Damian would be the one to stick around. I believed that with my whole heart.

Because Damian said he would.

He had never given me a reason to doubt him. 

Or maybe he did.

Maybe I was just blind to the signs.

I never saw the hints that Regina would kick me to the side.

I never caught the cues that Cady would leave.

A teardrop lands on my phone.

I hadn't even realized I was crying.

I rub away the tears that hadn't fallen, feeling the wet patches form on my jacket sleeves.

Poor space dyke. Crying alone like the loser she is.

Nobody likes you.

Damian's gonna leave you.

You really think somebody's gonna want to stay with space dyke?

These were all things I was told in the past. All signs I blatantly ignored. They were just bullying me. None of it was true, right?

Apparently so.

"Are you crying?"

My head snapped up at the sound of a familiar voice. I was so busy lost in thought I didn't hear anyone coming.

It was after school, nobody should be coming.

Yet there stood Damian.

My gut twisted.

It was a question Damian had asked me so many times before. But this was different. He was smirking and the taunting nature in his voice was not missed on me. 

"No," I say flatly. I stick my phone back into my pocket and stand up. "I was just leaving."

"Oh c'mon, you don't wanna talk to your friend? I'm waiting for Regina but she's no here yet."

"Friend?" I whirl around to face the boy in front of me. "I would love to talk to my friend. But he left! I don't know what I did wrong or why I wasn't good enough but you've changed. We're not friends anymore."

Damian was wearing the same pink shirt he gave Cady at the beginning of this mess. It felt like a punch to my gut. 

Damian stepped back slightly, a flash of hurt crossing his face.

For a second- I had hope. Like maybe Damian wasn't all lost.

But then his face hardened again. "It's human nature to change, Janis."

"Right." I scoff, turning on my heels. "Bye."

"The bullying was too much to handle, Jan" Damian calls after me. 

Everything about that statement sits wrong with me. I whirl around, hot with anger.

 "Don't Jan me. You think I don't know about the bullying?! You think I don't understand that pain?!" I move so I'm standing in front of Damian at the edge of the tiny platform. "I went thought the same thing you did for years. I have it worse!" The tears are back, but it's more of anger than anything. 

"So you understand!" Damian throws his hands up in exasperation, ignoring the way I flinch back. "I saw an out and I took it. Do not make me the bad guy here." He said harshly.

Damian was tall. I knew this. But- it didn't matter before.

Because he was my friend. He wasn't intimidating or menacing. He wouldn't hurt me.

I didn't feel the same unwavering trust now as Damian glared down at me. 

He was on Regina's side. He showed who he was with.

I hoped it was all an act. Maybe when none of the other plastics were around it would be different.

But there was no one else.

And he was plastic.

Cold, hard, shiny, plastic.

I swallow, taking a step back. "I don't want to talk to you."

"Aww," Damian leaned forward. "Why not?" He got closer. "Are we not friends anymore?"

I step backward but stumble. Damian laughs as I land on my back, the contents of my bag spilling onto the floor.

"Are you scared?"

"No," I sit up, haphazardly shoving things back into my backpack. "Not of you."

"You should be." 

My blood runs cold as I look back at Damian. He's fully over me at this point. I think back to when we used to be friends. This position was comfort if anything. Now? 

"Please back away. Leave me alone."

Damian raises his eyebrow but doesn't move. "You can't hold it against me for just wanting to be left alone."

"But I can hold it against you for leaving your best friend alone." I spat. 

Damian froze for a moment before letting out a laugh. "Oh, Jan. You didn't really think we were best friends?"

"I-"

Damian gives a breathy laugh, shaking his head. 

He's so close that I can feel when he breathes and everything smells like the mint gum Gretchen's been carrying around religiously since seventh grade. 

It triggered so many bad memories with Gretchen- but this wasn't Gretchen. It was Damian.

No.

I can't think like that anymore.

Damian isn't my friend. 

I don’t know what he’ll do. How far he’ll go. How bad I’ll get hurt.

 I stand up, stepping backward as Damian straightens himself out. I can't tell if I'm crying from betrayal, fear, or a mix of every emotion I've been hit with since birth- but I'm crying. And it's humiliating.

There's the clicking of heels behind me and I tense up.

Regina's arrived. It's about to get so much worse.

"Well, who do we have here! Hey there, Space Dyke." Regina circles around me, stopping with her back to Damian as she glares at me.

"I was just leaving." I mumble, wiping the tears from under my eyes. I feel pathetic and stupid and small.

Regina looks me up and down with disgust. "Maybe it's for the best. We don't want to be seen with you. Right, Damian?"

"Right."

There's no hesitation, there's no second-guessing. 

I can physically feel my heart sink into my stomach. "Right." I mumbled, turning back into the tiny part of the school.

I'll find somewhere else to wait for the tiny bus. 

"Bye-bye!" Regina calls tauntingly. There's a whisper, I don't pay attention to what she says. It's probably not nice.

"Bye Space Dyke." 

I almost stop walking. 

I almost turn around.

I almost want him to say it to my face.

To see if he has the guts to.

But I don't.

I turn down the hallway, out of sight from them.

There's the salty taste of tears in my mouth and I can't tell if they're fresh or if I'm still crying from earlier.

I slump down on the hallway floor, pulling my knees to my chest.

Yeah, I felt alone before, but that interaction- it solidified that Damian was gone. 

He wasn't coming back.

He was plastic.

It was something I said a lot. It would be easier if you just stopped being my friend. You don't deserve the harassment.

But I never thought it would happen.

Damian would just smile and tell me he wasn't going anywhere.

But look where we were now.

Bye Space Dyke.

How long has Damian felt this way?

How long has he wanted to do that?

Was any part of our friendship genuine?

I stand up, making way to the tiny bus stop.

Guess I'll have to get used to riding on it.

boom

lmao i go from the fluffiest shit to heart break bahaah @realmisspolarbear @musicallygt @smallsoysauce

[ganymedesclock]

So I recently checked our your We Hallowed Few fanfic and it's really interesting and enjoyable so far. If you don't mind, do you think you could tell me what each character is supposed to be (their race and such?)

Thank you very much for your time and interest in Hallowed! I’m not totally sure if I’m correctly interpreting their question but, here goes, talking about inspirations and motifs on the main characters.

As far as race goes I tried to keep that relatively standard to this fantasy world. So the characters’ names aren’t just legacies from canon. Shiro is still, functionally, Japanese. I say “functionally” because I’m not saying “in Hallowed, a world with fantasy everything else, there is just the entire unchanged nation of Japan and I just maybe changed the name”. I’ve never really liked the “fantasy nation just thinly veiled adaptation of [x] real-world country” since I feel like that can lead to bad roads. However, Shiro is canonically Japanese, and that, like him being canonically disabled, is something I wanted to retain, so I did.

More specific notes on Hallowedverse characters, their capabilities, and their sorta walks of life to follow under the cut.

Shiro

My concept on Shiro in Hallowed is that the Arusian crown was there for him sort of the way the Garrison seems to have been in canon. For one reason or another he didn’t really have parents, so he was trained as a page then a squire and became a knight because he wanted to do good in the kingdom. In Hallowed we’re shamelessly operating off high fantasy’s concept of knighthood rather than real feudal history so Shiro’s no landed noble, nor is he of particularly aristocratic background. Except for the whole “was mysteriously spirited away for a year of his life and might be undead now” thing, he’s a guy of pretty humble background.

That said, he has distinguished himself positively among his peers- in the chapter that debuts Allura and Thace I did have them discuss that he’s actually a knight captain in rank, so, modest leadership position. In contrast to canon he’s a little more stable but also a little more... prone to hiding his issues since again, the crown and the Order of the Lion was there to pick him back up again after his escape. This is a Shiro who wasn’t sprung from Garrison custody by the rest of the team the way he was in canon, so on the one hand he’s given a stabler environment to get his feet back under him, but on the other, missing hand, he also has gone a good while without any answers, so he boils out to still pretty stressed, but in different ways.

I’m honestly really amused that Monsters and Mana gave Shiro a sword-and-shield fighting style almost exactly like his Hallowed self because it just feels really vindicating, like, “I called it!” That said Hallowed Shiro is more of a horseback fighter. That gives him more mobility, a better vantage point, and, likewise, the ability to better coordinate a battlefield.

Ultimately for Shiro, at least, hollow Shiro- not the one Keith’s used to- I went for this very classic knightly vibe because it just fits him so well. This is exactly what Shiro would want to be. For a person of such a strict sense of morals and such a powerful drive to right wrongs, the Knight In Shining Armor is an incredibly powerful symbol and living in a world where that’s normal would be just as captivating to him as it’s shown to be in canon.

Keith

Keith is a lot more of a vagrant than his canon self and he’s a little more self-sufficient and withdrawn. Because of Shiro’s situation, Keith didn’t have nearly as much of that steadying presence but he was able to travel, and familiarize himself with the wilderness. It’s helped him hone his senses more but he’s also more of a defeatist about interactions and other people.

Especially because unlike in canon, this version of Keith has a much more refined sense of “otherness”. He’s known he’s not like most people, not quite like his father, not really like anyone around him. Honestly, certain amounts of Keith play into changeling lore, not that he was switched at birth but this sort of... nonhuman entities that live among humans and can “pass” but only mostly.

Hallowed Keith’s whole fighting style is basically that he goes ‘swhink’ real fast. That blood sword of his basically can punch right through most conventional metals and most things behind it, so the fact that he’s a malnourished kid with absolutely zero armor or even a healthy amount of body fat who the average well-fed adult could grab by the ankle and swing means that it’s a damn good thing he’s light on his feet.

Maybe, someday, this kid will get decent armor. Not shoes, though. He’s pretty obstinate about those.

Lance

It’s kinda fun that the guy who doesn’t really canonically have “destiny” powers most of the time be one of the only people with nonhuman lineage. Technically he’s still a pretty normal person, though; there’s a lot of people in the islands Lance calls home with mer ancestry so really all it is, is adding some fantastical color to his family which is already really important to him. In a setting where everyone’s bumping elbows in the same planet rather than separated by the expanse of space, there’s going to be a lot of interrelation and in some places, shared culture.

And Lance is an ideal person to explore that, since he’s kinda got that broader sociological lens as a Leg Pilot. He’s a good way to explore worldbuilding because his story is rooted a lot in who he is and where he comes from in a wider sense. In earlier drafts of the story he was a more conventional selkie-like merfolk who could shed his scale skin to grow legs, but I ended up focusing his nonhuman traits down to just his throat, just his voice.

I talked about this a bit in the replies on the work itself, but how Lance’s “charm” works is he’s able to encourage emotions in people. It’s not mind control, but influencing how people feel for a short duration. He uses this with his, Hunk, and Pidge’s show to have everybody on the edge of their seat, but ultimately if I was giving Lance a power, I wanted it to be a very social one, something very focused on other people.

Lance isn’t really a liar or a manipulator- we’ll see other people with similar powers who are a lot more exploitative with them, but in Lance’s case, he’s got a real art for positive emotions and persuasion because that’s just kinda what he likes and focuses on. He loves people and wants them to be happy.

Weapon-wise, Lance is a longbow archer. This is not only a reflection of his canon marksmanship, but the longbow is a weapon mastered over a long time and it speaks to something I don’t think people often appreciate quite enough in Lance’s character: that as someone who’s very pointedly not a prodigy and by his own admission makes a lot of mistakes, almost everything Lance is good at is a product of his diligence and hard work. 

Keith might be almost supernaturally light on his feet and the refinement of those skills snuck by without him paying attention, but Lance can drop someone he can barely see over the horizon with a well-placed arrow because he’s been running around with a child’s toy bow about as long as he’s been able to stand up straight and practiced until his fingers bled from the string.

Hunk

Hallowed Hunk I honestly didn’t plan as much as he was a natural product of his environment. In canon the team has a lot of conveniences born by the advanced technology around them but in Hallowed it’s a lot more low-tech. There’s food supplies to worry about, and someone’s got to cook it, and they need the tools to cook, and they need money, and someone needs to keep the cart in one piece and feed the horses and Blue.

Hunk is a practical problem-solver so he really kinda thrives in this. He starts out a little more obviously brash and assured as a result, but really, he’s in the same place his canon self starts, it’s just that Hallowed Hunk gets to feel like more things are in his area. He’s been traveling with Lance for a while, and while Lance is the furthest thing from helpless, Lance is also kind of a dreamer and very people focused and slightly inattentive, so Hunk might’ve started picking up slack to make things run smoothly but after a while he’s just kinda taken ownership of the operation.

I knew I wanted to conceptualize Hunk as an alchemist because I tend to in fantasy settings, but not so much as the aristocratic sage in the tower. Hunk’s alchemy is a product of him being, again, that practical person and also intensely personally curious, and he’s not a flirt like Lance, but he does like people. As he says himself, he’s running on a lot of old family recipes refined with self-taught tricks which sets a fun contrast between him and Pidge, where both are really knowledgeable, but Hunk’s knowledge is very much that of the working man’s, and since his working life has been more interesting than most’s, that’s a wide knowledge base.

While this wasn’t shown off much in the first fight the team got into, it’s worth noting that Hunk’s weapon of choice is a hooked staff. Again, Hunk is someone of practical problems and solutions, and roughly, the way he views a battle is as a series of problems that will happen very fast and need to be managed. He doesn’t have nearly as much focus on hurting his opponent as he does controlling the situation, and with his arm strength it’s very easy for him to use that hook to hoist around friend and foe alike.

The reach of his weapon and the explosives and incendiary devices he can pull off if he’s given the time to prepare make him a very daunting person to cross indeed, so he’s not exactly suffering from not having a sharpened edge on his weapon.

Pidge

People often make Pidge a full-tilt actualized wizard which isn’t awful but I think it often sort of overestimates her resources. Pidge, to me, is always this very clever but also very fifteen-year-old who’s running on just what she can carry with her, determined and ambitious but limited.

So in Hallowed, she’s got a lot of magical talent but not much training, she’s got a lot of formal studies that were very theory because in direct contrast to Hunk, Pidge has that aristocratic background. Her family wasn’t complacent, but, there’s a lot Pidge never learned to do because she never needed to. And leaving that comfortable life behind wasn’t something she regretted, but, there’s a reason she started traveling with Lance and Hunk.

Specifically I wanted to feature Pidge being kind of a chameleon, inspired directly by the Enola Holmes books with Nancy Springer. Originally I had her with this brooch that let her change her appearance but Pidge’s actual disguise magic is pretty minimal- she can change her eye colors, and the rest is makeup, wigs, fake teeth, costuming elements. She originally had a very specific practical reason for wanting to disguise herself, but, again, compared to canon she was doing this for a while- so it kind of became fun, and an exercise in self-expression.

That said, some of Pidge’s skills are a little odd for just a duchess’s daughter, which is why Hunk assumed Pidge was on the lam from some kind of criminal past. Let’s just say Pidge is not the average “runaway princess” narrative.

Other Shiro

The other Shiro was modeled first and foremost off s3e5 in canon. So he’s got the long hair, kind of ongoing fatigue problems, he’s quieter and more irritable than Knightly Shiro but a lot of that is just... he’s dealing with a lot. He’s constantly exhausted and while he feels, much like Knightly Shiro, called to do something important, he’s fighting uphill against his own body which is in a very fragile state.

Knight Shiro is kitted out by the crown, so he’s really well-equipped and has helpful things to keep him healthy and in good shape, while Other Shiro is using things that he took from the underground, and from the galra, which, while useful, were never designed with his comfort or even longevity much in mind, which is part of why he’s doing so badly.

I honestly thought it would be kind of fun to have two versions of Shiro who are both sympathetic but both, for different reasons, in different ways, seem sinister, and play on the fears or aspersions I saw people raise during clone theory. Knight Shiro is based on how, in s3e6 when Shiro “cleaned up” there were a lot of accusations about how he just. rebounded so easily and perceiving him as insincere or even creepy because he’s just, everything’s neat and tidy. Knightly Shiro is really straitlaced and friendly aesthetic and he went missing for a year, lost an arm, and was branded by practically demons but it’s fine, everything’s fine, he’s here to help, and it’s basically just a survival mantra for him because not being fine raises terrifying deep questions that he’s not really in a position to answer.

Ghost Shiro however, we’ve seen kind of an overly positive / accepting light of him through Keith but he is one freaky guy, I’ll tell you that. There’s a reason he avoids most people, and the snippet of his conversation with Lotor and the unnatural writhing of shadows, his black stone hand... Ghost Shiro was based a little off of “the champion” in canon and some of my personal meta / speculations around that. He was cast into the darkness and emerged, survived, because he made that darkness his own power. And part of that is his agreement with Lotor.

Lotor

There’s only so much I’ll say at this point about Hallowed Lotor because he’s rather deliberately kind of an enigma. There’s a good question if the person Shiro’s dealing with is actually who and what he claims to be, especially since he’s not claiming particularly much. The fun of dealing with shapeshifters who don’t appear to have any one particular default form- and he really doesn’t. Being a magpie is just his equivalent of slipping into comfy pants at the end of the day. Hitch a free ride on whoever you’re talking to and call it good.

Lotor and Shiro are shown in many regards to be able to kind of see eye to eye, and the idea of Ghost Shiro, who doesn’t really have a lot of resources since his Other is kinda taking up that narrative niche, turning to him for help struck me out of nowhere as the logical conclusion. Hallowed Lotor being a shapeshifter, he’s at both much greater and much lesser freedom than he is in canon. He and the generals don’t get to move together as a cohesive team very often, they’re more scattered, but instead he has this handful of people, Shiro included, who he can kind of draw a bead on and come back to. Ghost Shiro is pretty used to him popping up at odd intervals.

Which is fun, because it fits with Lotor’s modus operandi- Zarkon and Haggar tend to be rather obvious in the intensity of their assertions, but Lotor’s the little guy and he fights like a little guy, and in a more whimsical fantastical environment you can play with that. End result? Lotor is a lot of people’s shoulder devil. He likes to help and does appear to have some genuine sympathy for the people he bargains with, but he’s also got an agenda. And it’s not really super clear how much of either wins out in any given situation.

And poor Allura and Coran are still total mysteries at this point. We’ll get to them. Y’know. Eventually.