#especially when the people start translating and sharing and generally being incredible in their skills

[emrys-rusts]

I keep seeing medival arthurian literature pop up on my dash, and I did a little digging because I'm a huge literature, arts and language nerd

I dont know you, and you dont know me, but I really love you guys, wherever you may be

Good for you good for you

I admire the dedication

[chrismillisvisartopenstudio]

Window commission

The top image is how my artwork will appear from outside the studio and the bottom is inside.

Various elements of this piece relate to my cultural experiences as a third-generation Greek immigrant. Being the youngest in my family I have felt distinctly my experiences of my culture differ greatly from those of even my sister. My sisters first language was Greek whilst I have yet to become fluent with the tongue. Whilst my sister grew up with younger grandparents who were far more involved in her life, communicated and read to her in Greek I did not. A feeling of always coming late to the table per say was my experience, as if I had already missed the best and happiest time in my family's life, as if I had missed the formative bonding experiences that my other family members had shared with one another. I couldn’t bond over Greek television because the people spoke too fast, I couldn’t understand jokes that didn’t translate well either.  Constantly I felt excluded especially at our bedtime tea, being young and small I was never able to reach eye level with my family members when they spoke, I was never able to be heard with my meek demeanour and I felt as though I was never seen. Further contributing to this my ability to comprehend and understand Greek are and have always been perfect, reducing me to the role of passive listener. The only words I was confident in pronouncing was Greek food words, to the point of not knowing their English translation. This was the final straw in my desire to learn Greek for many years when I was forced in prep to talk about my favourite foods, to which I could only answer in Greek. No one could understand me much like how my Greek relatives struggled to understand more complex or modern English words I would use. The statement Ούτε αυτό μπορώ να διαβάσω much like my own attempts to speak Greek does not translate the best. Roughly translating in English to not even this can I read is defeatist in tone, read in an almost frustrated way. Greek is an incredibly expressive language to such an extent that it is almost hard to speak or read Greek in a non-chalant or passive way. This again is something I struggle with adding a further layer of depth for my inability to have my emotions understood in a way that won’t invoke judgement or laughter. The placement of the piece above the viewer is in relation to my experience of childhood, always looking up at the table, and those in charge of me never to be met at eye level. The work’s Greek text much like my one way experience of the language is only properly visible from the outside of the window, my fears that the language will never internalised itself for me. The work however suggests possibility, since the passing of my Yiayia I have grown a new form of appreciation for the Greek language and desire to learn it to connect to those around me and myself. Inside the structure the words, *but I can hear it* are quietly placed and inverted. Inside of me I understand that I am Greek and I am partly bilingual a skill that is a far better starting point then purely monolingual. The words inside the asterisks are almost like whispers, like a citation to the Greek text, that Despite my fears my cultural identity is not defined by those who view me or communicate with me, but rather myself and my experience.  

[scuffle-with-spirals]

Underrated Vocaloid Events: Real Dreams 2015 and that Time Ko Shibasaki and her Vocaloid, Galaco Sung Together

Actually, in a response to this last post I made talking about more obscure vocal synth musical events, I'm in the mood to share that one time where I found clips of a Galaco holographic event and then went full Inspector Gadget Sherlock Holmes complete なネギ誠 for like an hour GHGHGHGHGH—

Disclaimer: Looong deep dive post under the cut! :O 

https://youtu.be/cEc6B-r2wr8

It all started with me just looking for Galaco covers out of boredom on Youtube, when I came across this particular video which, up until this point, I hadn't heard a single person mention. Knowing the community's general opinions on Galaco and just how hard her popularity fell once people stopped talking about the whole limited edition aspect and "bland" cadence to her voice, my interest was piqued. This was a Vocaloid not only having a holographic concert (a big rarity for Vocaloids that aren't Crypton) but one of seemignly professional quailty too as it appeared to feature a human singer alongside her.

What also got me raising brows was the fact the video, at the time, was uploaded just last year with the uploader stating they thought "no one else posted this yet". With the old LAT model (which honestly has a super cute and flowy animation in the video as a side note LMAO) and the fact this concert didn't appear to have been posted anywhere else on Youtube despite it being years got me scrambling at this point.

I decided to dig some more. Soon, I found another concert video. I initially assumed to be from the same concert, since I thought something like this would be a one-and-done-thing considering Galaco's reception, at least in the West. But then I noticed something apparent in that the second video had an entirely different model. There was more than one.

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Dude, you may as well could've called me a new FNAF fan because I was boutta go deep with researching what's going on.

I think I started with the second video, as it makes sense starting with the video that actually had a concert title in English one would be a lot easier in narrowing down the search.

Upon Googling the name, I stumbled upon a Japanese blog that appeared to document the event. According to the blog post, [Real Dreams 2015] was a concert both in collaboration and sponsored by the Nihon Kogakuin College, an integrated vocational school in Tokyo's special wards. Students from both the Music and Manga/Animation department worked to create the live performance and song, titled Prologue.

I honestly think this is really well-made! Especially considering the live performance timing; it's impressive what these people were able to do so cohesively together on something many argue is probably incredibly difficult and stressful even for people who clearly have done it for years now. The song and animation is just really nice, too. It just has this super chill, melancholic vibe. ;v; Honestly, it's a bop.

With one answer to the question solved, I returned to the first video that started the whole search. I decided to evoke some advanced detective skills by mollywhoppin the song name from the video, "トリノアイウタ（galaco ver )" straight into Google like I just gave it the most reality TV bitch-slap of the century before Sonic speed-dashing over to VocaDB to run it through there. I eventually came across a page which lists this song as the first track of an album, galaco SUPER BEST (2013). In the comments, someone by the name of STERN mentions a live performance, which, in translating some of the Japanese, reveals the name Ko Shibasaki (柴咲ｺｳ). She is Galaco’s voice provider, which gave some confirmation that the woman may have been Shibasaki herself.

My next step was me deciding to Google both their Japanese names together. This led me to another website in Japanese that details the event.

Turns out, the event wasn't for Galaco, but more so to celebrate Shikasaki's 10th anniversary of her musical career and release of her sixth original album, Lyrical*Wonder. I'm assuming Galaco was featured as another landmark to acknowledge for the celebration. Either way, I translated the entire name of the performance into English, which came out as Ko Shibasaki Live Tour 2013 ~neko's live Neko Ko Ongakukai~.

Zoo wee mama!!! That’s a fuckin’ name drop!!! I did one last search with the concert name, and soon, finally, found a bilibili link showing the entire performance! You can watch the show here. For anyone curious, Galaco shows up 36:55 minutes in. :> The whole shows looks great, though! 

Honestly though, it's super wholesome to see Galaco acknowledged somewhere, especially by her own voice provider with something as intimate as a 10th anniversary and a duet. ;v; With how many VOCALOIDs we got from the V3 lineup whose voice providers seem to just not mention them anymore (although please correct me if I'm wrong; I know some do but it seems the majority doesn't), this is a heartwarming exception. ;v; Especially since Galaco seems to have shouldered a lot of mixed to downright negative opinions from some people. And while they obviously have all the right to not like her voice for any reason, the fact that she seems to have been so dearly given some attention somewhere is cute, lol. 3v3

And, all Galaco rambling aside, Shibasaki herself is a good singer. She has a unique cadence that can carry both powerful and soft, souful tones while still retaining all those good qualities of her voice. If you want, I'd definitely suggesting checking into some of her songs. :0c

Man. My search was over. Holy shit. We did it boys. Smooth brain is no more. I have slaughtered Jimmy Neutron, Megamind, and Eggman with my sheer IQ alone.

I know this is the most niche thing and took me like 500 paragraphs to explain it, but I just love talking about these sorts of things, lmao. If anyone wants to see me talk about more things like that, I'll definitely keep that in the back of my noggin so I don't like, get embarrassed and back out by some chance in the future, lol.

Thank you so so so much for reading this huge explanation post! I really appreciate your time to read all this!!! \3v3/ It means a lot, haha.

[shalheretical]

Cursing Your Eyes With: Akiak

Name: Akiak means "Brave" in Inuktitut, and is written with same Chinese character's Aang's is, which was initially an accident, but it's not a core part of his arc. The character's translate roughly to "to soar expansively." His name, in universe, is shared by Katara's grandfather, btw.

Nicknames: Akii (by his friends and family); Yucky (by his older sister and a few of his friends); and his nickname in the military is "Son," as a joke--high-ranking officers are normally called Mom and Dad, but since he's always younger than everyone else, Son it is.

He's a cis man, bisexual and basically masculine.

His parents were his parents. They get along pretty well, but his dad says he’s the reason he’s getting grey hairs, but his mom says he’s delightful, and his mom is objectively always right. Anyway, his dad can be a bit strict and domineering and his mom can be a bit nosy and overbearing, but he couldn’t have asked for more supportive, loving parents—even when they fight with him, they’re probably the sweetest they can be about it. And Akiak puts them through hell sometimes, especially after they had such an easy time with Sakari. His parents taught him to be moral, responsible, clever, and brave. His father runs a tight ship, so that ultimately taught him how to be disciplined (when it suits him) and his mother gave him a sense of duty and impressed upon him the importance of being friendly to others.

He was a hugely sensitive baby, who was very wiry and always very hungry. It’s notable that his first words were, “play, me?” He was the chattiest kid within the Gaang's stock, by far. He loved the attention and he liked when people liked him. He did well in school, but he was incredibly disruptive due to his highly talkative and attention-seeking nature. As an adult, he really put his parents through it. e was a rambunctious teenager. Not exactly a troublemaker, but not a model student either, but no one could really punish him, which made him overconfident and breezy. He tended to slack off in school a lot, and he was a huge flirt. All in all, he wasn’t terrible - he still graduated school with relatively  high marks after getting his ass-kicked in his probationary military deployment during officer school (which made him get his act together) and he was still generally respectful of his parents, elders and authority. Active-duty military service is what really kick-started his growing up though. War is hell and Akiak learned that the hard way. Getting promoted to general in an ongoing war helped a lot, too - there’s a lot more riding on him being responsible and patient when it’s not his life, but random people’s, on the line. That isn’t to say he isn’t still very reckless,  but he’s less in-the-clouds about it. And he’s learned some useful skills in diplomacy and making connections in high places. 

Now, here's where we have fun—his psychology. He's got Histrionic Personality disorder with borderline and narcissistic traits, plus some pretty major combat PTSD. His personality pre-war is basically as different as night and day with his post-war personality, which is something his mother very much resents his father for, which has the added bonus of making him feel guilty for driving a rift in between them. Anyway, he gets addicted to things pretty easily—gambling, loving and sex, shopping, cigarettes, alcohol and heroin.

He's charming, he's extraverted, he's flirtatious, he's brave, he's clever, he's confrontational, he curses like a sailor. He's self-absorbed, he doesn't think ahead, he has terrible coping mechanisms, he's very avoidant of things that he finds stressful. He's irresponsible, but he takes responsibility for it. He fights with his family constantly, but he loves them fiercely. He likes to have fun and relax, but he's married to his job. He talks a lot, but he knows how to make people feel like they're the most important person in the universe while he's doing it. Actually, socially, he's very successful—every politician he's ever met thinks they're way closer than they actually are, and that because Akiak knows how to get his way. Despite how fake he is, politically, he loves his troops (who he calls his "guys" or his "boys"), and even though everyone knows he got his position through basically nepotism, everyone loves him. Because he was there with them, on the front lines, and acts more like a regular officer than a warrior-prince.

His work experience is:  (year 1 - 18) Officer cadet, (year 2 - 19) junior lieutenant, (year 2 - end of the year - 19) first lieutenant, (year 3 - 20) captain, (year 3 - 20) commandant, (year 4 - 21) lieutenant colonel, (year 5 - 22) colonel, (year 5 - 22) brigadier general, (year 6 - 23) divisional general,  (year 6 - 23) lieutenant general, (year 6 - 23 ) colonel general,  (year 7 - 24) general

It should also be noted that he went to the Caldera Cadet Corps Academy from ages 12 to fifteen, three months in Officer Candidate Courses, and the Fire Nation Officer's Academy from ages 16 to 17. After that, he did AIT in the Signal Corps, before going to the Specialized Airborne Warfare Academy for three weeks; after which he did a 62-day long course on Specialized Elite Infantry Warfare, which he passed at the top of his class for a natural aptitude in leadership. After this, he did a reconnaissance and surveillance course for 29 days. He also did SERE due to being determined a "high priority target" basically immediately. As it turns out, no amount of training and schooling makes up for real warfare experience and he made a lot of mistakes that had disastrous consequences.

He's a waterbender, and he's talented, but not especially skilled. Though he used combat bending, because of the diverse nature of the United Republic Armed Forces, he's very skilled in non-bending related forms of combat, and only really relies on waterbending for healing. And, when he was younger, he went to Fire Nation schools—none of which knew how to accomodate for a waterbender, so he didn't learn much while he way away from home. He's most talented in waterbending for recreational purposes—ice-surfing and swimming and stuff.

His best friend is Bumi and his next best friend is his sister, and he just third-wheels them most of the time. It's fine. Sakari will tell him to take a hike when she's tired of him anyway.

spotify playlist

[alchemabotana]

8 of Swords - Piczanka Tarot

This is the colorized 8 of Swords for the Piczanka Tarot deck.

Because the 8 of swords is all about the revelations, I thought I’d share some about the journey I had with my deck.

The original hand drawn deck was completely black and white, done with any black pen or marker I could find the day of drawing, and whatever paper was around. I started drawing my deck in the back of Ardmore Coffee with my friend who worked security at WFU night shifts. My boy would get off his shift when I was waking up, so we’d meet in the frigid morning and make ourselves draw before the rest. I started my deck the day after my birthday in 2018. At that time we were also filming “Antonina’s Shaman Shop” (you can watch it on YouTube, it won a Coalition of Visionary Resources award at the International New Age Trade Show for “best new electronic media”)

The swords in this digital collage are from a photograph of Russian slave labor’s prison mastercraft. These prisoners within the Russian gulag system were imprisoned for the skill sets they could provide the state for free as wards of their system. In many cases this entailed creating luxury items such as glass mirrors, which many had spiritual superstitions around. The generations who lived within the system passed down this craft knowledge for long enough for such beautiful objects to be made from the trash found and traded between inmates. There were obviously gangs and subcultures within the gulags, and a sword like this one is a prison shank made from trash with the knowledge of a master glass maker (gained from a family teacher or mentor:apprentice relationship - knowledge forced on the teacher by the gulag).

This system within Russia at large was also prevalent, and what made the gulags and prison camps unique were that they were concentration camps of artisans and craftsman the state had taken for their gifts. I could speak more about which communities specifically were targeted, but the concepts are hard to translate. The major one being the LGBTQ communities, the autistic communities, the non orthodox Christians and Jews, the orthodox Christians and Jews, the musician & bard class, the gypsy class, and the academic class. Class systems were strong in the motherland. Russia’s system of government thrived under the theft of these class’s labor for the state. This was motivated by greed, superiority, and class power by powerful individuals who could simply take it.

Unlike the struggle of Germany, Russian and Slavic people who were taken were not immediately killed or worked to death specifically for racially impurity as with the Nazi ideology. Hitler’s ultimate personal obsession was the eradicated the Jews as the “final solution” - what he considered a Jew was not necessarily how Jewish or Slavic communities saw themselves, although in American culture everyone speaks of Jews and survivors from the perspective of the abuser’s concept of race thrust upon us.

In Russia people were taken for their minds, hands, voices, and choices. With the assistance of the Nazi ideology many were empowered to speak in terms of racial cleansing, and it is true that many were murdered en masse, but this was done with line ups and shootings of prisoners only taken for that purpose. Russia rarely housed those it did not desire to benefit from the work of. As such, the “useless” such as disabled people were often culled from a young age. Indeed, those who were not often suffered and died from the lack of resources and support such individuals need to survive.

Those less desirable workers, especially the Jews, Catholics, and political prisoners of interest taken by Russian military in the 1939 invasion of Ukraine & Poland were taken to Siberia to mine precious stones and minerals for the elite classes and Russian science programs, or put to work cutting down trees and other resources by hand for the government stockpiles.

These people lived incredibly primitively during their imprisonment in the Arctic desert of Siberia. These camps were meant to quickly kill the prisoners & there were few intentions to return for more resources. Now these camps can only be found by well versed guides of the Siberian forests, or by locals of small villages still near old sites. These spaces still exist, preserved by the cold of the forest.

Once I met a gemstone trader from Russia who knew where to find the mines for the stones gathered by the prisoners. He said you can sometimes see them in the summer while flying over in helicopters. He gave me a stone from one of the mines when he saw my Babcia appear next to me. He was so frightened he almost passed out. He told me to take the stone I was holding and get out of there. The name of that stone is Charoite. Many of the stones people love and use in their spiritual practices in the New Age in America come from these mines & other prison mines. These stones are: MOLDAVITE, tektite, charoite, shungite, Baltic amber, Baltic coral & turquoise, Siberian diamonds, Alexandrite, Emeralds, garnet, amethyst, spinel, and Topaz. There are others too, but I do not yet know which ones.

This is why we are so intentional at the shop about where we buy our crystals and who from. Because, it’s not just part of the heritage that our families were forced to mine these stones as slave labor (and that others continued to be forced well into this present generation) - it’s also because in our indigenous beliefs, the stones are the ancestors & connection to spirit & our ancestors were forced to mine them to stay alive & give them to their oppressors.

Thanks for coming to my Tarot Ted Talk on why my heritage matters to me & why you should be aware of the layers of cultural appropriation that effect those who are survivors of genocides and holocausts in this present age. This is also why our communities find it highly concerning that America is operating like a giant gulag with small gulags within it. The behavior and violence here has rung more than a few bells on our memories, and I hope for the spirit of American Liberty… that our consciousness as humans be healed toward one another so that this cycle of revenge will stop in this land we call home. Time to stop acting like we’re above the thoughts and actions we can see so clearly in other countries. Time to begin to see what we’re doing to each other. That starts with each of us from within each of us. Pull out the sword, cut yourself free 🔪

[animezinglife]

What about Kougami then? Do you think he realizes or rather has any form of attraction to Akane? Is it the same form that akane sees it?

I think he does, but doesn’t yet realize the depth or significance of it. Or, if he’s started to at this point, it’s not something we’ve been able to see a lot of because of the way the story is framed. There’s the other side of it too where he sees her as something beyond himself--like she’s an anomaly, and something to aspire to. 

On my side blog, I’ve talked a lot about his obsessive and often self-destructive nature, and I fully believe that he would have significant reservations where Akane is concerned for that reason. On one hand, he has complete faith in her. On the other, he has a lot in himself in only the sense of completing tasks--he does not have the same faith in his own character or influence, which is something Akane corrects him on in the film during their late-night talk.

I think that film is where his attraction became pretty obvious, personally: Ko’s the kind of guy who’s going to be attracted to a woman’s mind. Her intellect, the way she thinks, stimulating conversation, and her moral code (in this case, a strong one that’s comfortable dwelling in the murky shades of gray even if her sense of integrity is clear). He’s not about the bombshell type or the obviously sexy. My opinion is that in addition to the amazing and arguably alluring (especially to him) qualities she already has go well with the fact she’s naturally pretty, has a quiet confidence (much like his, actually), and graceful. Yet the woman can throw down and handle a pistol and Dominator with the best of them now, and while I don’t like to generalize men I feel very comfortable saying Ko’s not going to be the exception who isn’t into that. 

I know some get a little caught on the earlier content of the first season. Akane’s clearly young, and I do very much think while Ko was fascinated by the way her mind worked and how quickly her skills were growing that he felt more of a mentor/protective role towards her. I also think there starts to be a shift from that even in the first season, where he starts to recognize her as a full-fledged detective who can not only challenge him, but rival him. I think that in itself is what starts to shift his mentality where she’s concerned, but I also don’t want to pretend that his obsession with hunting down Makishima and tackling his own demons didn’t take precedence at the time. Because again, even if he were to acknowledge fully that he was starting to feel something for her, he wouldn’t think he’s good for her. 

It seemed a little murkier in the film--he hangs on everything she says, and with a delicacy he doesn’t with others. It’s evident that not only have they not lost their connection with each other that had developed throughout the first season, but that it’s shifted in their time away from each other. The tension between them is thick because of everything that’s happened, everything that hasn’t been said, and arguably, the other unresolved elephant in the room that I think they’re very much aware of. They mirror each other, sense each other’s movements, and go right into a discussion that’s incredibly vulnerable on his side and intimate in nature. There aren’t many instances where he shares things like this in the earlier installments--even Saiga has to prompt it and pull those fears from him (that he’s like Makishima and that his ability to draw people is dangerous). With Akane though, he opens up and essentially puts some of his worst fears about himself in her hands. He trusts her fully, and the way he studies and considers her when she responds and those walls start to come down between them both says a lot more than what you see on the surface. I have a hard time separating that moment from their departure, when she loses her composure and panics because she doesn’t want to leave without him and he holds onto her shoulder and tries to reassure her he’ll make it out alive. 

There is a lot of hurriedness and, frankly, failure in the writing from the minute that bomb goes off and interrupts their reunion, and I’m not just saying that because I love them and their relationship. It completely threw off the pacing and depth of what was happening, and took away the vulnerability and human aspects of the scene. I would’ve much rather let their reunion play out then see a war scene with motorcycle backflips and scalps getting blown off.

I’m not sure if you’ve ever watched the dubbed version of the film, but there were some line tweaks in the translation that are very deliberate and for good reason. Some of them arguably fit Ko better where the original lines--at least in the way they were translated--were almost inconsistent with his character. Ko’s lines are more obviously referring to Akane: “a beautiful/glamorous woman” turns into the prospect of Desmond’s line “sounding much sweeter coming from her.” “I’m tired/hungry”--which was completely random and out of place, especially considering Ko doesn’t talk just to talk--turns into, “She’s an incredible woman.” I talked with a translator about that change before. She hadn’t liked that change because it wasn’t direct, and I had loved it from the character standpoint (rather than the “Shinkane” one). It’s fair to want a direct translation, but if something doesn’t fit within the context or character to begin with, I’m a firm believer in line changes not only being justified, but necessary. 

I haven’t seen season 3 or the other films, but I didn’t miss the way his expression softens and how much more apparent that change actually is. They maintain the strongest parts of their dynamic, but the way they handle and address it has changed significantly and will continue to.

All this to say:

1. Yes, he is attracted to her.

2. Yes, I think he realizes it, but not yet to the extent that she does because he won’t allow himself to.

3. No, it’s not quite the same as Akane’s to him, but it’s the other side of the same coin.

I know that especially in recent years, there’s been a shift with some of the newer fans and how they see this relationship, and I know people are going to have strong opinions of it one way or another. But I will hold to what’s demonstrated in the canon content rather than whatever is said outside it or coming up with an interpretation that doesn’t match the writing. Some viewers want concrete proof--a stated “I love you” (which isn’t going to happen with them, by the way) or seeing them get down and dirty onscreen to consider it canon, but I think that neglects the fact that realities are built within the characters and canon content that are not yet seen to fruition or are for some reason cut short/left unfinished.

It’s just like real people: if you or I fell in love with someone but nothing ever happened with that person, did that mean our feelings weren’t real? 

Hopefully that answers your question. It was a good one. 

Thanks for the message!

[okuraiani]

“Secret Project” — Ikemen Prince Prologue

I talked about this the other day, but today I can finally announce that I've finished (ಥ﹏ಥ)

I've finished translating the prologue for Ikemen Prince!

It's been a few days since the game was released, but I still want to share some of my impressions with you before you guys plunge into the madness that is my translation (￣▽￣*)ゞ

Truth be told, I had mixed feelings about this game when I first heard about it. It honestly reminded me quite much about Midnight Cinderella (which I am not so fond of as I am of others) although the premise is different here. However, said premise is exactly what got me interested in the game. The basis for this game is the tale of The Beauty and the Beast; a very well-known one, I think. I was curious as to how they would include this into the story, but as of now it looks really promising („• ֊ •„)

The system is really similar to Ikemen Genjiden, so it is not too difficult if you already got used to it before (though it's definitely different from Ikemen Revolution and Ikemen Vampire.) For those who don't know Ikemen Genjiden's system yet: Don't worry, it is really not that hard to figure out!

The visuals are really great and fit the theme extremely well. As for the attire for each suitor, I think most of them are incredibly pretty! σ(≧ε≦σ) ♡

The three initial suitors are as expected Leon, Chevalier and Yves. I did think that Leon and Chevalier were obvious choices because they are the leaders of each faction ┐(￣ヮ￣)┌ and although I'm not too sure how Yves fits in there, I wasn't especially surprised about him being one of the first suitors.

Moreover, the prologue is fully voiced, which makes it a really worthwhile experience (*￣▽￣)b

So, without any further ado, please enjoy Ikemen Prince's prologue! I hope many people will come to love this game (share some love with Ikemen Live and Ikemen Genjiden too, please) so that we'll see an English version in the future °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°

(By the way, Emma is the preset name if you don't choose any other (.❛ ᴗ ❛.) Also, I apologize beforehand for any typos or formatting mistakes. It was... a lot of text (ಥ﹏ಥ))

Part 1 — A Tale That Started in a Bookstore

A sweet love like fluffy, melting cotton candy. A bitter love like black tea without sugar or milk. There are many types of love stories in this world. Every time I come in contact with those, I come to think that I don’t know true love. People my age fall in love, get married and build a happy family. The time when I dreamed of a serious love to the point of giving up myself might have already ended.

(But... still...)

Even today I still yearn for a love I would risk my entire life for.

Emma “... Haah, this book was great as well.”

During the day on a weekday, on the counter of the much less busy than usual bookstore, I gently closed the book.

(There aren’t even customers coming in... well, it’s troubling that they don’t come, but thanks to that I can read a lot of books.)

??? “Emma, did you finish reading?”

Emma “Woah!?”

Suddenly, because of the shadow that filled up my vision, I jumped back from my earlier thoughts.

Emma “Ri– Rio...?”

Rio “Sorry for surprising you. I came to see you today, too.”

Emma “Welcome, Rio. But... shouldn’t you be at work at this time?”

Rio “Ah, I quit the day before yesterday.”

Emma “Huh, so it’s like—... you quit!?”

Rio “That’s right. That’s why I’m in the middle of searching for a highly praised job!”

Emma “Is... is that so... again...”

Because I felt like we had the same conversation just a few months ago, as his friend I got a little worried.

(He’s skillful with his hands, sociable and he has a bit of a clumsy side to him, but he’s still liked by everyone...)

Emma “Why did you quit work?”

Rio “Of course, because I am yours.”

Emma “Excuse me?”

Rio “Because, since you saved me that day, my body and my heart, I will devote everything to you.” “I can’t serve other people.”

Emma “Aaah, yes... in other words, your reason is a secret.”

The sight from the rainy day three years ago when I had picked up the collapsed and nearly dying Rio crossed my mind.

(I always thought so, but it feels like a big dog became attached to me.)

Rio “I’m always serious, okay! By the way, is the owner in?” “I wanted to talk to him in person today because I want to work here with you...”

Emma “He went out to some distant place to go shopping, so I think he won’t return for some time.”

Rio “No way...!”

I was about to tell him to give up— but seeing that Rio looked dejected like a dog with its ears down, I swallowed the words.

Emma “... You may not be able to talk to him directly, but how about asking the owner with a letter next time?”

Rio “Can I!?”

Emma “Sure. There’s also physical work to do in a bookstore, so it would be reassuring to have you here.”

Rio “Thanks, Emma. From now on I will call you Master, okay?”

Emma “No, don’t—”

Surprised by the noise that came without warning, I quickly covered my stomach.

Emma “Did... Did you hear that?”

Rio “Of course! But rest assured. I know you very well, you know.”

Smiling proudly Rio walks up to a cart.

(A cart? Since when has that been here!?)

Rio “I thought this might happen, so— ta-dah!”

The sheet on top of the cart was removed and what came to light was a mountain of food.

Emma “Wow, amazing!”

Candied fruits, truffles with a lot of cheese, rose-shaped baked sweets and apple benier— On that cart were a lot of foods that you often see at festivals.

Rio “This also doubles as my lunch, but I was in a bit of trouble since I bought too much.” “I’d be happy if you eat to your heart’s content.”

Emma “Really? Well then, thanks for the food!”

When I put the baked confectionery into my mouth, I couldn’t help but smile.

Emma “Mmh, this is so good!” “Come to think of it, wasn’t there a festival going on outside?”

Rio “Yeah. Remember, today is the National Foundation Day of the Rhodolite Kingdom!”

Part 2 — Festival of the Rose Country

Emma “Come to think of it, wasn’t there a festival going on outside?”

Rio “Yeah. Remember, today is the National Foundation Day of the Rhodolite Kingdom!” “This year, there are a lot of street stalls as well.”

Emma “I see. Were there any notable booths?”

Rio, while chewing on an apple benier, clapped his hands as he remembered.

Rio “I remember now. There was a stand with old books!”

Emma “What, really?”

Rio “Yeah, isn’t there a traveling merchant who sells books once in a while?”

(That sounds interesting... I’m REALLY interested, but I need to watch the shop...)

Rio “Off you go.”

Emma “Huh...?”

Rio “I’ll watch the shop for you.”

Emma “Are you sure?”

Rio “Whom do you take me for? I’m your future husband after all.”

Emma “... you’ve gotten that wrong, but thanks anyway, Rio!”

Rio “If you want to thank me, then a hug—”

Emma “You can get a handshake.”

I held his big hand tight, shaking it up and down and then released it.

Emma “Okay, I’m off then! You can look forward to a souvenir!”

Rio “All right!” “She’s so cute... I really hope she doesn’t get caught by some bad guys.”

The moment I left the shop, I felt like I heard Rio whisper that.

Street Vendor 1 “If it isn’t Emma! Take this rose-shaped hair ornament to commemorate the National Foundation Day.”

Emma “Wow, that’s lovely! Thank you.”

Street vendor 2 “I also recommend our rose-shaped brooches! It will surely suit you, so I’ll give you one as a present.”

Emma “Really? Thank you so much!”

I carefully put the rose-shaped works on top of the several volumes of books I bought from the traveling merchant just before. When I thanked the generous stall owners and started walking again, banners engraved with “Rhodolite Kingdom—Country of Roses” hung from the buildings along the street flitted.

(Country of Roses... That’s indeed true.)

The flowers that bloomed in the city, the products lined up at the street stalls, and even the castle one could see in the distance were all packed with roses. When I took a deep breath, a mellow scent filling up my chest, the familiar sensation made me smile.

(Okay, let’s see. I bought the books and next I need to get a souvenir for Rio...)

??? “Don’t ya watch where ya goin’? Ya shitty brat!!”

Emma “... what?”

To the dangerous voice that stood in contrast to the beautiful city, not only me but also the people around me stopped their feet. In the middle of the turmoil were a red-faced man and a boy who was sitting on the ground.

Little Boy “Waaah... sob...”

Drunkard “How ‘bout ya beg for forgiveness for crashin’ into me? Hah!?”

(... No, you don’t!)

Because of the highly raised hand, I stepped in between the drunkard and the boy without hesitation.

Drunkard “What do ya want...?”

Emma “What do you think you are doing, raising a hand against a small child like him!?”

Drunkard “Shuddup! That’s got nothin’ to do with ya!”

The clenched fist that had stopped before was now swinging down at me. When I tried to promptly shield myself, the books fell to the ground—

(Huh...?) (It doesn’t hurt?)

??? “That’s as far as you go.”

When I timidly opened my eyes... A man who had stood behind the drunkard before he knew it, strongly held on to the hand reeking of liquor.

Black-haired Man “If you kick up a fuss, I’ll be your opponent... So, how about it?”

Part 3 — Beast and Beast

Black-haired Man “If you kick up a fuss, I’ll be your opponent... So, how about it?”

Emma “Uh...”

We as well as the curious onlookers were swallowed by his unique aura and as if the tumult had been a lie, it grew silent again.

(... What a presence that person has...)

If I had to compare, the feeling of tension around him was the same as if the King of Beasts had escaped from its cage and suddenly appeared in the city. It should have been clear to everyone that this person wasn’t someone you should pick a fight with... Just as the man smiled daringly, the drunkard shook off his hand with a click of his tongue.

Drunkard “Then, why don’t ya bring it on!”

Black-haired Man “Heh, how lively.”

Emma “Please wait! A peaceful solution would—”

Drunkard “Be quiet!”

(No!)

The drunkard loudly kicked a book that was scattered on the ground. The book drew a perfect arc and, just like that, landed in the middle of the road— As if to block the path of a white horse that walked over.

??? “Oh...?”

The man riding on the white horse looked down at the book and then shot the drunkard a piercing glance.

(This person... he has an extraordinary aura as well...)

??? “Are you that impertinent miscreant?”

His sharp, freezing gaze glinted with a cruel light, just like a tiger fixating on its prey. If you happened to make even the littlest mistake, you would lose your short-lived life in that exact moment. It was that kind of tension that made your throat dry up.

(... Hmm? The coat of arms on his saddle...) (Don’t tell me he belongs to the Royal Family!?)

Drunkard “Hah!? Bastard, don’t go lookin’ down on me!”

As if to threaten the drunkard who trampled down on the book, the man from the Royal Family sharpened his look even further.

Male from the Royal Family “I did not plan to take part in such vulgar performance, but is this also a part of the festival’s entertainment?”

Emma “... eh!?”

The royal man drew the sword hanging from his waist—

(It can’t be, he’s planning to kill him!?)

My body moved without me realizing.

Emma “Cut it out already!”

Drunkard “Wah!?”

Before one could see the whole of the sword’s blade, my palm struck the drunkard’s cheek with all the strength I had. The black-haired man and the member of the Royal Family both stared at me in silent disbelief.

Drunkard “Wha—What the heck was that for!”

Emma “Calm down, will you! Or do you really want to be killed!?”

Drunkard “... kill—you mean—...”

When I silently pointed towards the coat of arms on the horse’s saddle, his deep red face turned deathly pale. Taking in the situation, I decisively turned in the direction the man on the horse.

Emma “I sincerely apologize for the trouble! If you can, please excuse what happened just now.”

Although I waited for a response, the man from the Royal Family kept quiet.

Black-haired Man “... ahahaha!”

What broke the tension of this life and death situation was a refreshing laughter.

Black-haired Man “Rest assured. That guy’s not someone who would kill people because of something like this.”

Emma “Eh...?”

Male from the Royal Family “... You have awoken my interest.”

??? “Chevalier, are you done playing?”

A man riding a chestnut horse lined up next to the white one and shrugged his shoulder as if he did that on purpose.

Chevalier “Yes. It was a waste of time.”

(Are we safe...?)

Just when I felt relieved, the sharp, tiger-like gaze was cast on the book still scattered on the ground.

Chevalier “Do these books belong to you?”

Emma “Eh, yes...”

He intently stared at the book on the ground.

(I wonder what’s with him... He’s staring really hard...)

When the man named Chevalier shifted his gaze from the book to myself, the man next to him cheerfully opened his mouth.

??? “What, this time you are hitting on someone?”

Chevalier “There is no merit in wooing a woman...”

Emma “Eh!?”

His sword was drawn in a flowing motion and the tip was thrust at my throat.

(Just... why?)

While swallowing a gasp at the sudden action, he scooped up my jaw with the flat of the blade.

Chevalier “These books, however, are different. Contrary to your body, they have value. You’d do well to remember that.”

(... It’s so painful to breathe...)

My voice wouldn’t come out no matter what—so when I managed to nod, the man returned his sword to its sheath and took hold of the horse’s reins.

(... What a terribly scary person...)

As if chasing after the white horse that stepped forward, the chestnut horse next to it started to move as well. Upon leaving, its rider gave me an amused look but left without saying a word. The moment the tension dissipated breathing, which had been so painful before, became easier again.

(I was wondering how this would end, but... I’m glad that nothing serious happened.)

With a sidelong glance towards the helpless drunkard who sat down, I faced the black-haired man after a short pause.

Emma “Thank you so much for helping me—what should I call you, Mister...?”

Leon “My name is Leon. And you don’t have to be so formal.”

Emma “Thanks then, Leon. Say, are you acquainted with the member of the Royal Family from earlier?”

Leon “Yeah, but it’s not like we ever talked that much.”

Leon picked up the books and rose-shaped decorations that were scattered on the ground in front of me.

Leon “Here you go.”

Emma “Thank you.”

(It seems neither the books nor the ornaments are damaged.)

Leon “You really love books, don’t you.”

Emma “Yes, because the stories are more interesting than reality. But more importantly...”

As I kneeled down beside the child who wiped his eyes while sobbing, Leon also lined up next to him.

Leon “Did you stop crying, shortie?”

Little Boy “Sniffle... Mama...”

Leon “So you’re lost... Then, come with me.”

Little Boy “... You’ll... bring me to Mama?”

Leon “Yeah, I’ll look for her for you.”

Leon lifted his small body with ease.

(Somehow, he seems like a totally different person than before.)

The beast-like tension around him had vanished and instead he was wrapped up in a friendly atmosphere.

Little Boy “Um, big sis... thanks for saving me.”

Emma “It was nothing. I’m just glad that you’re not hurt.”

Leon “The same goes for you. So, should we go?”

Emma “Wait, I’ll also—’

Before I could even offer to help out with searching for the boy’s mother, Leon briskly walked away while waving his hand.

(At first I thought he would be scary, but... I guess he is a nice guy after all.) (If we happen to meet once more, I have to thank him again.)

Turning my back towards the castle, visible in the distance, I once again walked through the city, where the hustle and bustle started to return.

—... at the same time.

??? “I found you at last.”

Part 4 — The Devil’s Summon

??? “I found you at last.”

A devilish smile played on the lips of the shadow hiding in a back alley.

??? “It seems training her will be worthwhile... hehehe.”

Without noticing the shadow moving about in unknown places... By the time the sky was dyed red, I finally arrived at the front of the bookstore.

(Finding a souvenir took more time than I expected. I hope Rio isn’t angry with me.)

When I opened the door while thinking of how to apologize to Rio—

??? “Welcome back, Emma.”

The person inside, sitting on the counter with his legs crossed, wasn’t Rio but a man I never saw before. I stared at him without responding to his greeting. The man simply smiled back at me. I closed the door to cut off the sinister aura I felt on my skin.

(... Just now, wasn’t there a devil-like person inside?) (No, it might have been my imagination. There’s no way there could be a devil after all.) (I’m certain I just mistook Rio for somebody else... At least I hope so.)

I took a deep breath and opened the door once more— A man with a devilish smile stood right before my eyes.

Devil-like Man “That is an extraordinary greeting, don’t you think?”

Emma “.... Mmnnh!”

The very moment I turned on my heels and tried to escape, an arm was put around my waist and my mouth was blocked.

(Why, what’s happening!?)

Devil-like Man “Please keep quiet. Otherwise, I can’t allow you to breathe.”

His words shocked me to the point I became speechless.

Devil-like Man “Due to certain circumstances I have come to pick you up.”

With a snap of the fingers of the man clad in black, multiple men surrounded me.

(Wait! Those clothes... aren’t those guards from the castle!?)

Devil-like Man “For the time being, I will take you with me.”

Emma “Mnnh!!!”

(Wait a minute, wait! What did I do...!?)

Without understanding anything, I was taken to a carriage that stopped outside—

(Wha—...)

Before I knew what was happening, the place I had been taken to was the front of the majestic castle I had only seen from a distance.

(How beautiful...) (Wait, it’s not the time for that! Why was I brought to such a place!?)

In a daze, I looked up at the castle that was so big that its tip seemed to reach up farther than the clouds, when—

??? “Hey, you are in the way.”

The surprise shook me out of my daze. I lowered my gaze when someone tapped my shoulder. What I saw there were two men dressed in gorgeous outfits.

??? “Heh, your looks aren’t half bad. Yvie, do you know her?”

Yves “I absolutely do not know any ordinary women like her. Are you sure it isn’t a woman you dumped in the past, Nokto?”

(Who are they?)

Part 5 — Eight Wild Beasts

??? “Heh, your looks aren’t half bad. Yvie, do you know her?”

Yves “I absolutely don’t know any ordinary women like her. Are you sure it isn’t a woman you dumped in the past, Nokto?”

(Who are they?)

Because of the scrutinizing gaze of the two people who drew closer, I subconsciously stepped back.

Nokto “Huh, you are really on guard... I wonder if the cause of that is because you were dumped in the past.”

Yves “Hah? So she really is a woman you threw away in the past? You really are the worst, you frivolous womanizer.”

Emma “Um... You guys, just who on earth—...“

When I cut into the seemingly uncontrollable conversation, the man called Yves exaggeratedly opened his eyes.

Yves “... Don’t tell me, you don’t know who we are?”

Emma “At the very least, it’s not like we are acquainted...”

Nokto “What, so she wasn’t my woman after all.”

Yves “I don’t care about that! Not knowing who I am is something that shouldn’t happen on any terms!”

(Woah, what the—!?)

With a bloodcurdling look Yves reached out to me. And as if to block that, a black shadow lithely fluttered about.

Devil-like Man “Your Royal Highnesses, Prince Nokto and Prince Yves, I will introduce you later.”

Nokto “So you are here. Is that girl a guest?”

Devil-like Man “That is correct. After knowing this, if you aren’t a fool, please take a guess as to what reason you are gathered for.”

Yves “... ah.”

Nokto “What, so it’s like that.”

(... What is it?)

Devil-like Man “If you understand, then please make haste towards the round table.”

Nokto “Sure, sure. I got it.”

Nokto waved his hand as he passed way too close next to me. The moment I breathed in relief, my hand was grabbed from behind.

Nokto “I’ll play with you next time, okay?”

Emma “P-Play...?”

Snickering with a seductive smile engraved on his lips, this time around Nokto really left.

(... He seems to be an incredibly flippant person.)

Yves, on the other hand, pointed his index finger at me when his eyes met mine.

Yves “I will never ever in my life recognize such a mediocre person as Belle!”

Emma “‘Belle’?”

Turning away like a cat with a ‘hmph’ of disapproval, Yves also entered the castle.

(Just where did I hear the name ‘Belle’ before? I can’t quite remember...)

Devil-like Man “Well then, Emma. Please don’t dawdle about, we will go as well.”

Emma “Wah, wait a minute...!”

The man grabbed my hand and, as if chasing the other two, we advanced into the castle. After passing through a massive door, we found ourselves in a stairwell-like hall.

(Wow, this looks as if I got lost in a picture book...)

The roses that were in full bloom and the decorations as well... Whichever you chose, it had reached the level of fine arts. For commoners it was a sight far beyond their ability that left one dizzy.

(I’m so obviously sticking out like a sore thumb.)

When my feet stopped due to the uneasiness, a suspicious look entwined me like a snake.

Devil-like Man “Oh dear, is this an expression of insubordination?”

Emma “This isn’t defiance or anything... But isn’t it time you started explaining? Who exactly are you?”

Devil-like Man “Yes... Now that you mention it, I haven’t formally introduced myself yet.”

Easier than I expected, the man released my hand while smiling calmly.

Sariel “I am called Sariel. My occupation is Government Official of the Royal Court.”

Emma “Government Official... of the Royal Court?”

Sariel “You may have been alarmed, but please rest assured. I will train you to become emotionally attached to me.”

(Train me...!?)

It seemed that rather than calling him with the imposing title of Government Official of the Royal Court, labeling him as a mysterious devil fitted him more.

Emma “Before I’m being trained, I’d like to go home, though...”

Sariel “Then that means you give up on living, right?”

He spoke with a devilish smile, as if it didn’t matter whatever I said.

Emma “... There is one thing I need to know. Rio, the one who should have been at the store,... He is safe, right?”

Sariel “Yes, of course. If you would kindly listen to what I say, I will guarantee his life at least.”

(In any case, it seems I can only obediently obey him.)

Emma “... I understand.”

When I nodded, Sariel who had brought his face closer, put the hair covering my cheek behind my ear—

Sariel “Hehehe, I cannot wait to make such a defiant person surrender.”

(... I can’t believe someone like that is a Government Official of the Royal Court...)

Unconsciously glaring back at him, Sariel gave me an amused smile and started walking again. This time, I followed the black-clothed back of my own volition.

Sariel “Now then, we have arrived.”

When the two guards standing in front of the room opened the double door— The atmosphere changed.

(What... Is this...?)

Eight men were surrounding the enshrined round table in the center of the spacious room. Just as footsteps resounded in the room, their gazes pierced me all at once. I felt so overwhelmed at the sudden unwanted attention that it left me speechless. With eight sharp glares directed at me, I stood stock still like a small animal before a beast.

(Those people are...)

Under those ferocious and wild, yet noble gazes... Were the people I met in front of the castle a moment ago, As well as the ones I saw back in town... And then...

Leon “Heh, who’d have thought we meet again.”

Emma “No way, Leon!?”

Part 6 — What the Princes Talk About

Leon “Heh, who’d have thought we meet again.”

Emma “No way, Leon!?”

(What... Is the meaning of this?)

Leon, whom I had thought to have the same simple tastes as the townspeople only a few hours ago, was now wearing refined clothes and loftily included in the group at the round table.

Sariel “You must not do that, Emma. You cannot talk in that way when you speak to the princes.”

Leon “Don’t worry. I already told you that you don’t need to be so formal.”

Emma “Leon, you are a prince?”

Leon “Yeah. All the guys here, without exception, are princes.”

(I really... Want this to be a dream...)

My body, which was unexpectedly about to collapse, was supported from behind where Sariel was. But what I felt from the hand that grasped my shoulder wasn’t kindness but rather an additional blow that said, ‘There is no place for you to run.’

Sariel "Your Highnesses, thank you very much for gathering here." “From now on, as I conveyed the other day, we will hold the approval ceremony of the ‘Belle-System.’

(‘Belle-System’? ‘Approval ceremony’...?)

Sariel “To begin with, this girl is called Emma.” “Since this is your first time meeting each other, would you please introduce yourselves starting with His Highness, Prince Luke?”

Luke “Too troublesome.”

Sariel “Your Highness.”

Luke “It’s fine, if I just do it, right?”

The man who was sitting closest to me listlessly opened his mouth.

Luke “Luke Randolph. I’m the seventh... no, more like eighth prince.”

Nokto “I’m seventh in line, Nokto Klein. You can always come over to my room, okay?” “And over here is my twin brother—“

Licht “Sixth, Licht Klein.”

Yves “The fifth prince, Yves Kloss. I have no choice but to tell you my name. Don’t address me casually, though.”

Jin “I’m Jin Grandet. I’m the eldest brother of these guys, so that makes me the first prince.” “I’m sure it will be hard with all those problem children, but, well, keep them company in moderation.”

Clavis “I am the third in line, Clavis Lelouch. You can call me Clavis.” “The show earlier was quite entertaining. Don’t you think so as well, Cheva?”

Chevalier “Nonsense.” “However, I will teach you my name considering that you escaped harm with that courageous display. Chevalier Michel, second prince.”

Leon “So I’m the last one.” “Leon Dompteur. I’m this country’s fourth prince. Again, nice to meet you, Emma.”

Emma “Uh, yeah. Nice to meet you.” “Although I was called here... I don’t completely understand the situation. What is this ‘Belle-System’ in the first place?”

Yves “Huh? You didn’t even know that and still shamelessly came to the castle?”

Emma “I was downright kidnapped, thank you very much!”

Luke “Sariel, did you really kidnap her?”

Sariel “Please refrain from saying anything that would harm my reputation. I acted upon consent.”

Emma “Upon consent—?”

Sariel “You agreed, did you not?”

My meager resistance was ruthlessly cut off and I swallowed my words.

Sariel “Since long ago, the chosen citizen of this nation is to select the next king in our Rhodolite Kingdom—“ “That is your duty by becoming ‘Belle’.”

(Ah, I remember now.)

Emma “If I remember right, the name Belle means ‘a person with a beautiful heart’, right?”

Sariel “Yes, that is correct.”

(I totally forgot that since the king is replaced only every few decades.) (... wait.)

Emma “Are you telling me... that I am that Belle?”

Sariel “Haven’t I said that since before?” “I want you to select the new king out of these eight princes.”

Part 7 — Belle

Sariel “I want you to select the new king out of these eight princes.”

(Choose the king? ME!?)

That crazy story was a shock like receiving a heavy blow to the head.

Emma “Why, why me? Deciding who will be king is a serious matter for a country!”

Jin “That’s what I want to ask as well. What made you choose her, Sariel?”

Sariel “The slap she performed.”

Jin “... Haha, so that’s it.”

(With slap he can’t mean...)

Emma “Sariel, you also were at the festival venue?”

Sariel “How perceptive. I was searching the town high and low in order to find a candidate for Belle...” “But when you hit that scoundrel in His Highness Prince Chevalier’s stead right away, I was charmed by that ability.”

Emma “At–, at that time, I just desperately...”

Sariel “For humans, the more desperate we are, the more we bare our true nature.” “Your excellent ability to assess the situation and your decisiveness, as well as not to forsake the scoundrel, and your just and beautiful heart—“ “You are undoubtedly a person of exceptional talent fitting to receive the title of ‘Belle’.”

(Oh, no. No, no, just no.)

Sariel looked satisfied, but I, on the other hand, felt my uneasiness grow rapidly.

Sariel “Catching me eye is something to take pride in for generations.”

Emma “Um, I’m very grateful for what you’re saying, but accepting such an important task like being ‘Belle’ isn’t—“

Nokto “If you refuse, Sariel’s gonna cry, you know?”

Clavis “I think I really want to see that, but... There’s certainly no time for that.”

Emma “What do you mean?”

Clavis “Seeing that His Majesty the King has suddenly departed, it is necessary to quickly decide on a new king, don’t you agree?”

Emma “Suddenly means... the king has passed away!?”

Sariel “Your Highness... Wasn’t this information supposed to be concealed from the public for the time being?”

Clavis “Oops, seems I was a bit careless there. It’s fine if you cry, Sariel.”

Sariel “... Tsk.”

(Did he just click his tongue at a prince!?)

Sariel “Hehe, the inherent nature has shown itself.”

Emma “... Why are you hiding such an important thing from the public?”

Even though Sariel was carrying a sour look on his face, he took a deep breath as if he was resigning. So, he pointed his gaze towards the map hanging on the wall.

Sariel “The Rhodolite Kingdom is a small kingdom that is surrounded on all sides by three other countries.” “We have built comparatively good relationships with our ally, the country of Benitoite, and the neutral country of Jade.” “However, the great country of Obsidian alone is vigilantly eyeing our Rhodolite Kingdom for an opportunity to aim at our territory.” “I presume you have knowledge about that much?”

Emma “I do...”

Sariel “If the news about our King’s passing were to spread before our kingdom’s structure is stabilized, it is very much possible that they would take advantage of the disorder to invade our country.”

Hearing Sariel say something like that had me speechless with horror.

Sariel “When His Majesty the King actually became ill, the Obsidian, who had gotten wind of the information from somewhere, invaded the border.” “That led to the situation where the princes of our country proceeded towards the battlefield themselves to drive them away.” “Do you understand what that means?”

(Thinking about it calmly, of course I do.)

In this time when even the princes rush to the battlefield as soldiers—the weight of knowing such a secret made me break out in cold sweat.

Emma “... I won’t tell anyone about His Majesty’s passing.”

Sariel “I fear simply promising that will not be enough. There is one more thing I want to hear.”

Emma “... That’s...”

Sariel “Just as His Highness Prince Clavis has said, we need to immediately choose a new king.” “Right now, your existence is already affecting the life or death of our country.” “You will accept the position of ’Belle”, will you not?”

Emma “I do understand the circumstances, but as expected I’m not suited to—“

Sariel “Well then, Your Highnesses, Prince Leon and Prince Chevalier, if you approve of her as ‘Belle’ then please raise your hands.”

(You just ignore what I said!?)

Chevalier raised his hand before anyone else.

Nokto “Oh, how fast, Your Highness.”

Luke “Is it okay for a leader to be so half-minded?”

Chevalier “Naturally, since it doesn’t concern me who will become Belle.”

Emma “What does he mean, ‘leader’?”

Sariel “The princes are divided into two major factions, centered on Prince Leon and Prince Chevalier.” “His Highness Prince Leon’s faction who value domestic affairs and His Highness Prince Chevalier’s faction who value foreign affairs. That is about all it amounts to, I guess.” “Since the consensus of each of the princes is polarized, the resolution is often entrusted to Prince Leon and Prince Chevalier.”

(I see... So that’s why he asked the two of them right now.) (No, more importantly—)

Without regard for my opinion, Sariel continued to talk.

Sariel “What about you, Prince Leon?”

Everyone’s eyes gathered at him.

Leon “Emma, let’s hear what you intend to do.”

Part 8 — A Tale Yet to be Seen

Leon “Emma, let’s hear what you intend to do.”

Emma “I want...”

When I tried to say that it would be impossible, just as I had said many times before... My words were absorbed by Leon’s ascertaining eyes.

Leon “I think you have the capability to determine the next king.”

Emma “... That’s not true. I mean, there’s nothing special about me. I’m just a commoner.”

Leon “All of the former ‘Belle’s’ have been commoners.”

Emma “No way...”

Leon “Why do you think does something like the ‘Belle-System’ exist in the first place?”

Emma “... I don’t know.”

When I answered honestly, Leon raised the edges of his mouth.

Leon “Then, do you know what the people from the Royal Family are called out on the streets?”

(That, of course I know.)

Emma “—‘Noble beasts’, right?”

Leon “Yeah. A long time ago, the people of this nation assessed the inhumane royals who struggled for power all the time as ‘beasts’. But since then, those who inherited the blood of the Royal Family have come to be called ‘noble beasts’.”

(I remember that as a kid, I once thought that the members of the Royal Family were all densely covered in thick hair.)

Emma “But that is just an old story, isn’t it?”

Leon “No, every single one of the guys present is a beast who only holds the desire to act in his self-interest.” “Devouring people for their ambitions and ideals... Even that was probably done without batting a damn eyelid.”

(Saying they devoured people feels like a bit too much...)

That was what I thought, but the eyes of the princes were too fierce to just laugh it off.

Leon “In fact, we princes are sometimes referred to as ‘beasts’ when slaughtering enemies on the battlefield.” “Do you think the guys in front of you can still turn into good boys, though?”

In that moment, I didn’t know how to answer his question.

(I still don’t know anything about them. And each of these guys might seem like a beast on the surface.)

Leon “That’s why we need a ‘Belle’.” “So that we can turn from beast to human through the example of someone from among the citizens with a particularly beautiful heart.” “Moreover, only a human with a pure and righteous heart can choose a ‘man’ and not a beast as the king, don’t you think?”

Emma “Although that may be true, I don’t have such a noble heart.”

Sariel “Oh my, am I right to assume you don’t trust my word?”

Emma “No way, I wouldn’t dare...!”

Sariel “Of course you would not, right? You are, after all, ‘Belle’ who owns a pure, righteous, and beautiful heart. My word is absolute.”

(He’s so pushy...)

Leon “The rest is up to you. If you really don’t want to, then I’m willing to push this matter aside...” “However, you said you love stories, right?”

Emma “... Well, I did say that, but...”

For some reason, Leon grinned at me as if he was sure of his victory.

Leon “Doesn’t choosing a king seem like a much more interesting story than the ones in books?”

(When he says it like that...)

Leon “Furthermore, you are the story’s protagonist. Such an opportunity doesn’t come often, does it?”

(... Leon’s really cunning, phrasing his words like that.)

The age where I wished for something fierce like a fictional story was long past. But in truth... While the people around me are changing, I am the only one who remains unchanged. I was always desperately wishing for something that would rewrite my ordinary life.

(I have a lot of insecurities and the responsibility is heavy. I know I can’t do this with half-hearted feelings.) (Still... Something may change.)

The thought of a yet-unseen tale made my heart beat faster and my body get hot.

Leon “What will you do, Emma?”

(What I want to do is...)

As not to lose the resolution I gathered, I clasped my hands tightly—

Emma “... I want to do it.”

When I told him my unadorned feelings in those few words, Leon directly raised his hand.

Sariel “With that, it is decided I presume.”

Without letting the atmosphere linger, Chevalier briskly left his seat.

Leon “You’re going already?”

Chevalier “Our business is over.”

Clavis “Wouldn’t it be better to flatter Belle a bit?”

Chevalier “That’s just a waste of my time.” “It doesn’t matter who Belle chooses. It won’t change the fact that I will become the future king.”

His words had me so baffled that the only thing that left my mouth was a startled sound. Chevalier’s ice-cold gaze that seemed to freeze everything it touched caught me.

Chevalier “If you get in my way, I will dispose of you. That is what I plan to do.”

His cruel words left me speechless. Similar to the time when he thrust his sword at my throat, just his gaze made it painful to breathe.

(This person... He is terrifying.)

Clavis, who followed after the leaving Chevalier, tapped my shoulder as he passed me.

Clavis “I’m sorry for Cheva’s behavior.” “Well, I don’t have interest in the throne, but I like amusing things. Please entertain me with your way of life, okay little girl?”

While I was captivated by his brilliant smile, the footsteps of those two grew distant and they disappeared behind the door.

Sariel “Really now, it seems that I haven’t disciplined them enough.”

Next to Sariel, who sighed deeply, this time a hand was raised, waving.

Nokto “Hey, Sariel. Got a question.”

Sariel “Please go ahead and ask, Your Highness.”

Nokto “Belle choosing a king means, to put it bluntly, the guy who wins this girl over is going to become the king, right?”

Sariel “Plainly spoken, that is what will happen.”

Obtaining Sariel’s consent, Nokto turned his face to me—

Nokto “Well, since I’ll seduce you, let’s get along, okay?”

(He’s going to do what!?)

Part 9 — The King and the Rose

Nokto “Well, since I’ll seduce you, let’s get along, okay?”

(He’s going to do what!?)

Emma “That would be troub—“

Sariel “You are truly quick to understand, Your Highness.”

Yves “Ugh, I can’t listen to this anymore!” “To seduce her... Nokto, as a prince, aren’t you lacking pride and self-awareness?”

Nokto “If that’s what you think, don’t interfere. Got it, Yvie?”

Yves “Why would I have to listen to what you say?”

Ignoring me, Sariel and the princes continued talking.

Jin “What, even Yves ended up wanting to seduce her? You’re quite a busy one, aren’t you?”

Yves “Even if she is a commoner, for the time being she is Belle. She is necessary for me to be deemed as worthy of the throne.”

Emma “Then pick a different way to be acknowledged!”

Jin “Ooh, that’s an extremely respectable opinion.”

Luke “How should I put it, you should stop it soon. Don’t you see you’re troubling her?”

As Luke stood up from his seat, the others became quiet.

Luke “Emma... was it, right? If something happens, you can rely on me.”

Emma “Thank you very much, Your Highness.”

Luke “Stop that. Just Luke is fine and you don’t have to be polite.”

Emma “But...”

Luke “You’re addressing Leon familiarly as well, aren’t you? Drop the title with me, too. I don’t like it anyway.”

Emma “... Okay, then I’ll call you Luke.”

Luke “Good.”

Yves “Wait a minute! Didn’t you end up seducing her as well!?”

Jin “No, you got that wrong. That’s just how Luke’s natural character is. You guys as well, do the best you can.”

Jin took a lollipop out of his breast pocket and put it in his mouth.

Leon “Jin, do you think this is other people’s business?”

Jin “Yeah. Because I don’t give a shit about something like ascending to the throne.”

(Give a shit, he said...)

Nokto “I’m fine with whatever, so as a sign of our acquaintanceship, just call me Nokto, okay?”

Yves “I won’t allow that, understood? Make sure to address me with my title.”

Jin “Well, I dislike all that formal phrasing. Call me whatever you like.”

Emma “Then, I will call you Nokto, Yves and Jin.”

Yves “... Hey, are you even listening to what people are saying?”

Licht “... So stupid.”

(... What’s with him?)

Licht, who had only barely opened his mouth other than for the self-introduction, stood up.

Yves “Licht! Don’t always say things that push people away. Do you want your friends to leave?”

Licht “There weren’t any from the start. And I don’t need any.”

Yves “Because you’re again trying to be alone immediately—“ “Ah, wait, Licht! Where are you going!?”

Licht “Returning to my room.”

Nokto “Licht... You don’t have any interest in the throne?”

Licht “... No need to answer.”

Casting down his eyes, Licht left the room just like that.

(Somehow... He seems like someone who is hard to talk to.)

Yves “Really now, that guy...”

Emma “Wanting to be the king, not wanting to be the king... You really have various opinions, don’t you?”

Leon “Even though we are all half-brothers, our thoughts and everything else differ.”

Emma “By the way, what about you, Leon?”

Grinning, he returned a smile that said more than words could.

Leon “Determine with your own eyes whether I’m capable of becoming the king, okay?”

Emma “... All right.”

When I nodded in agreement, the sound of hands clapping quieted the place.

Sariel “I apologize for saying this during your pleasant talk. However, since there is a place I wish to show her, let’s end this meeting here.”

With Sariel leading the way, we walked into a room even more gorgeous than the one with the round table.

(This... It must be the audience hall.) (What to do...? I’ve come to an incredible place.)

What I saw at the end of the red carpet were only the throne and... In addition to that, a rose inside a glass dome.

Emma “What is that rose for?”

Sariel “For generations, on the occasion of His Majesty the King finding his demise, it has become the custom to prepare a rose.” “The rule is that the next king has to be determined by the time all of its petals have fallen.”

Emma “So there is a time limit.”

Sariel “Indeed. This rose is a special breed which continues to bloom for approximately one month.”

(One month... Within that period a new king has to be determined.)

Sariel stopped his feet near the throne and looked back at me.

Sariel “Other than that, all of the terms and conditions concerning the Belle-System are recorded in this covenant.”

(Sorry?)

With a snap of his fingers, the guards who briskly appeared, carrying a table made from oak trees and several sheets of paper completely covered with unusually small letters.

Emma “You’re not seriously telling me I have to read all this, right?”

Sariel “You are asking me something so blatantly obvious?”

(Your true nature again!?)

Sariel “If you have looked over all of this, please sign the covenant.”

Emma “You are sure saying some devilish things.”

Sariel “Because it is necessary. Once you have signed, I will guide you to your room.”

Emma “Okay... Wait, what?”

Sariel “What is the matter?”

Part 10 — Beauty and the Beast’s Covenant

Sariel “Once you have signed, I will guide you to your room.”

Emma “Okay... Wait, what?”

Sariel “What is the matter?”

Emma “Sariel, did you just say you will guide me to a room?”

Sariel “That is what I said.”

Emma “MY room?”

Sariel “Where else would I take you?”

Emma “To my home back in the town, perhaps?”

Sariel “A room for you has been prepared by the Royal Court.” “Because until the one who was selected as Belle has finished their duty, they are to live inside the castle.”

(That can’t be—)

My face grew pale at those unhesitatingly uttered words.

Emma “But that is troubling! What will become of the shop!?”

Sariel “I have already contacted the owner and arranged for a temporary employee.”

Emma “What about the mountain of food that was inside the shop!?”

Sariel “Everything has been moved to your room.”

Emma “Then, where’s Rio!?”

Sariel “Of course, right over here.”

When Sariel snapped his fingers—

Rio “Emma, it’s been a few hours! I really wanted to see you.”

Emma “What the—!?”

Rio who suddenly entered the audience hall was dressed like I had never seen him before.

(He looks like a butler... Or rather, he’s like a real one.)

Emma “Rio... What’s with that get-up?”

Rio “I decided to officially get a job here.”

Emma “Inside the castle!?”

Sariel “There is a single employee benefit in the Belle-System. Pets are allowed inside the Royal Castle.”

Emma “With pet you’re referring to...”

Sariel “This pet of yours, of course.” “When I entered the bookstore, he was barking so persistently that he didn’t leave me a choice but to take him along.”

Rio “Why, Emma was suddenly chosen as a candidate for Belle, so I was just a bit flustered, you know.” “I’m really glad that Sariel is such a reasonable person.”

It was the first time a saw Sariel at a loss for words.

Emma “Sariel, aren’t you looking a bit tired?”

Sariel “Of course I am not... hehe.”

(Something must have happened between those two.)

A small cough, as if going back to square one, resounded in the place.

Sariel “Since he’s just right, I will let him be your caretaker.” “Properly follow your master’s orders, hound.”

Rio “Yes! Emma, whatever happens, I will protect you. So don’t worry, okay?”

Emma “Thanks, Rio. And... Sorry for getting you involved.”

Rio “Not at all. Rather, to think that the day actually came when I can call you Master... Aah, it’s like a dream come true!”

Emma “You’re not calling me that, right?”

(But... Having the usual Rio here with me is really reassuring.)

Sariel “Well now, play with your pet later and quickly read the terms and conditions, please.”

Urged to do so, I once again attempted my fight with the documents... But with this pace it would be late at night by the time I finished reading.

(Aah, seriously... Reading all of this is impossible after all!) (Enough already, I’ll take my time reading it later.)

I flipped through the document in a hurry and reached for the prearranged quill pen. When I wrote down my name on the covenant, Sariel traced around the letters in satisfaction.

Sariel “Thank you very much. With this you have now officially become Belle.” “Our princes are an assembly of peculiar people who can’t be dealt with by ordinary means.” “But, please, choose a good king with your pure heart, will you?”

Emma “... Yes. I will, without fail, show you that I can fulfill my duty.”

This was the first time I felt like Sariel was sincerely smiling.

Rio “Okay, Emma. This is a bit sudden, but shall we go to our new love nest?”

Emma “You’re talking about your own room, right? Thanks, I’ll count on you to lead the way.”

(I have a lot of worries about this, but...) (Since this is something I chose myself, I will never regret it.)

When I looked back, one of the deep crimson petals had fallen inside the glass dome.

(Getting to know them, getting to know the country... and determining the king.)

After Emma and Rio had left the throne room.

Sariel “I think I will be truly busy from now on.”

With the wind that blew through the door left wide open, the letters spelled on the very last page of the overlapping official papers which would later on be what severely disturb our fates were revealed...

Covenant Clause 99 『After the selection period has finished, absolutely any relationship between “Belle” and the Crown is prohibited.』

But this was something nobody knew just yet at that time—...

[waveypedia]

Have anything else for that Team Spyience au you made ages ago? Some writng or a bullet list? I crave angst.

The AU in question

Yes!! Aaaaahh i was so excited when I saw this ask because i’m so happy people still like it!! I’m definitely still thinking about it, don’t worry. The old AU hinges on the fact that FOWL doesn’t have a way into Scrooge’s company and family but uhhhh that’s not how it is now lmao. So I’ve been thinking about revamping it for a couple months now. I don’t want to do anything concrete until we know a little more about FOWL and how it works. We know who its agents are and a little bit about its goals but we really don’t know anything about its inner workings, what the Board’s dynamic is with their agents, what their dynamic is with modern SHUSH (if it even exists), etc etc. all of which are things that would probably be addressed in the Team Spyience AU! It is an AU but I’d like to build on canon as much as possible (unless there’s something that I really don’t vibe with) since it’ll be cleaner and less confusing that way. Like if I threw 2019 Team Spyience AU at you guys rn it would 1) be confusing since the FOWL structure and motives are completely different from canon and 2) be less interesting since there’s SO much potential for angst and drama with the Board, Rockerduck/Jeeves, and Gandra as part of FOWL. (and oh boy I’m so excited to work with that!!!)

(sorry for that long block of text sdfgfds i wasn’t sure how to break it up)

that being said I have built a bit of a shaky foundation for a redone Team Spyience AU for when we learn more!! and ahhh i’m so excited to share. For bullet points, here are some ideas swimming around in my head. these all could change with new information from the show or just if i think of something better tbh

so this might change when we learn more about the Board in general and the nitty-gritty of FOWL’s plans, but right now I’m thinking that the Board realizes that 1) Gyro and his ragtag band of science nerds are powerful and stubborn, and will most definitely get in the way of their plans 2) Gyro already hates the Board, and if anyone in McDuck Enterprises were to pick up on their treason, it would be him 3) They have a strong foothold for control in the company, second only to Scrooge (and even that’s debatable), but they have minimal control over Gyro and the science department. So this time around it’s less about needing to spy on Scrooge and more about wanting to control Gyro and Team Science. how that translates to “capturing them and forcing them to spy on their boss and his family” is still up in the air, but i’ll let you guys know when i figure it out! (and if you all have any ideas lmk)

we all know Gyro dislikes the Board but it’s mostly just annoyance/spite since they always shut down his inventions. Here, though, he would hate them. He would probably start like smack-talking them to everyone he can, especially Scrooge, which is his own way of trying to get them to realize the Board is evil without tipping the Board off to his treachery. Scrooge would be confused and it would be like the first crack in the Board’s carefully built facade, but it wouldn’t work for him. He probably just thinks Gyro’s being his mean self.

Huey, though... I’m pretty sure Huey’s gonna end up researching FOWL since it’s his season, and he spends enough time around Team Science to notice how off they’re all acting, without being too busy to pay it much mind (like Scrooge). so one of Gyro’s snarky remarks will tip him off, and he’ll start to view the Board with a little more suspicion each time. Until he comes to the conclusion through his research, and SHUSH resources like Beakley and Webby, that oh god that was an allusion to FOWL the Board is FOWL-

and then- wait is Gyro FOWL?? is Team Science okay?? this goes deeper than I thought-

so essentially the B-plot of this AU is Huey (with the help of the rest of the kids, but especially Webby, Boyd, and Violet) researching FOWL in the background and trying to figure out why Team Science is acting so weird lately, and there’s a lot of dramatic irony

FOWL definitely threatens Boyd to get to Gyro because I love me some quality Boyd & Gyro family content 😌

I originally thought about working a “Gyro is a former FOWL agent that got away by the skin of his teeth” aspect into the AU since I was really fond of that concept when it was a theory, but now it’s been disproven. It does make for a lot of extra drama and angst, but I don’t think it quite fits, so I might just make that an entirely separate AU. I might add some non-canon bonus content with this concept though!

The majority of Team Science’s dynamic throughout the AU stays the same - they’re all incredibly stressed and on edge and just in a really sticky situation, so they snap at each other and have a lot of petty arguments. But at the same time, they’re all in the really sticky situation together, and so they come out of this mess a whole lot closer. It’s sort of a “You’re the only ones I can be honest with without dire consequences” situation.

also re: that last point - CUDDLE PUDDLES. i’m so soft for them. i’m thinking maybe on a night when FOWL makes them all stay in the cells overnight as a punishment or smth, but they’re all in one cell, they just fall asleep all on top of each other and it’s just a really sweet moment made bittersweet by the circumstances. it’s also a testament to how far their relationship has come under pressure and how much they trust each other now.

Gyro is the only target originally (I’m thinking maybe Fenton, Manny, and Lil’ Bulb catch the Board in the act and it’s very dramatic and terrifying. i think they’re originally gonna kill Team Science, since FOWL has a very take-no-prisoners leave-no-loose-ends sort of mindset, but Gyro convinces the Board that the majority of Scrooge McDuck’s research team mysteriously dying in one fell swoop would be extremely suspicious, especially since Scrooge has an in-house former SHUSH agent. so they live, miraculously, but the Board lets all of them know in no uncertain terms that if it happens again, the other person dies. No ifs, ands, or buts. So Team Science is all very, very nervous and careful about what they let slip. They want to tell everyone, especially Scrooge, but they can’t because they care too much. (Hence Gyro making passive-aggressive comments about the Board to Scrooge.) and of course everyone else gets suspicious and resentful since they know Team Science is hiding stuff from them. so that leads to a lot of drama and arguments.

speaking of the drama and arguments from the outside, the kids are doing their own investigation, but I headcanon Della as friends with Gyro from before the Spear of Selene, and she has a budding friendship with Fenton too. So she’d notice they’re all acting really weird and bailing on all her plans, so she storms down to the lab and tries an aggressive tactic to get them to fess up. They don’t, obviously, so she goes on a little investigation of her own. I’m thinking she might drag Launchpad and Donald into it - Launchpad since he’s good friends with Team Science, and Donald because I love him and I want him involved they’re the Duck Twins and they work best together.

I have this scene floating around in my head where, in the very beginning, FOWL agents/Eggheads capture Gyro and drag him to FOWL HQ underneath Funzo’s to be briefed on his new situation. He’s stuck in one of those glass cells Launchpad and Dewey were in when Steelbeak brought them back in the Double-O-Duck episode. The Board knows he’s there, but Gyro has no clue they’re villains. So they come to the cell to brief and belittle him (let’s be honest here, they’ve never liked Gyro) and he just. He’s pissed. Spitting mad. He’s always resented the Board but never like this; never pictured them as actual powerful villains. He may be spiteful of them because they shut down his projects, but at the end of the day, they’re good guys. They’re on his side, and more importantly, Scrooge’s side. Right?

So Gyro is like, up against the glass, trying to punch them through the airholes. He’s just so fucking furious. He’s not really thinking straight and he doesn’t care about any dignity, he’s just angry. The Board is just overly smug and pleased with themselves. It’s a very stereotypical “You’ll never get away with this, you villain!!” picture, and very dramatic. And then the Board just walks away after giving him a bare-bones explanation of the situation that he doesn’t really process because he’s so mad and terrified. And they turn off all the lights and let him stew in there overnight.

Once Huey and the kids have finally put the pieces together, Webby comes to the Bin one day with Scrooge, and she goes to the meeting room to look for him. Only he’s not in there - The Board is, and they’re berating Gyro for sassing off about them to Scrooge or smth. Webby, with all her trained spy skills, hears their conversation and is able to avoid detection (although the Board is suspicious, and they start investigating to tie off any loose ends). Their conversation, though, would be suspicious to any oblivious passerby, but from all the research the kids have done, they know what’s going on.

That’s not the actual reveal - I think thematically that should go to Huey, since he’s the closest to Team Science and it’s his season. This would just chase away any last doubts the kids may have. And maybe Webby gets a voice recording as evidence? I just love those; they’re so dramatic.

this is one part that might not end up aligning with canon but I’m REALLY fond of the Akita FOWL theory. So in this AU, I’m thinking Akita was a really casual member of FOWL all along that recently got an updated agent commission. So there’s even more potential drama there, since Gyro utterly despises Akita now. And a bigger incentive to keep Boyd safe, since Gyro knows FOWL would be more than happy to program Boyd into a mindless attack robot.

in the old AU I was toying with the idea that FOWL didn’t know Fenton’s Gizmoduck until a big reveal, and it was a secret weapon of Team Science’s (but also a point for a lot of arguments, since Fenton desprately wanted to be out there protecting people at the cost of his own safety) but uhh... they definitely know now. In a bid to stop FOWL from taking control of Gizmoduck, Fenton claims the armor is out of commission and sabotages it. So Fenton’s heroics are temporarily halted while Team Science frantically tries to figure out how to keep FOWL from hacking/taking control of a new and improved Gizmosuit.

As for writing... I don’t have anything done, least of all anything for the revamped version of the AU, but I do have this wonderful writing prompt from @advisortotheadvisor that I started back in January 2019, when I was working on the old version of the AU, that I really want to do with the revamped AU. (it just fits so well ahhhh!!!)

["If you won’t do it, I’m sure your friend wouldn’t mind being in your place." + your FOWL team spyience au?]

Gyro crossed his arms across his chest, scowling to hide his fear. He’d gotten pretty good at it over these past few months.

Watching the halls was basically useless. Fowl was careful to keep Gyro and his team within the same halls, as to not be able to find their way out on their own. And Gyro knew the way to Steelbeak’s office well. He’d lost count of how many times he’d been marched here.

At least he wasn’t cuffed anymore, though he suspected it was only because the agents and their minions knew there was too much at stake for an escape attempt. It had been too long, anyway. That was an amaetur move. Even though he loathed to admit it, Gyro cared too much about the consequences - the people at stake - to even try.

It was just a well-aimed mockery. Like everything short of punishment seemed to be these days under FOWL’s watchful eye and careful thumb. Gyro scowled deeper and crossed his arms tighter and pretended in vain it didn’t bother him.

That was all he could do, really.

Okay that kind of got away from me haha. thank you so much for the ask!! It means a lot to me that people are still interested in this AU. definitely motivation to work on both the AU and that fic haha!! I’ll talk more abt this soon when I have more info/content

[mitcorerbarshi]

Why You Should Opt For A Career in Railway Engineering

Railways are an integral part of people's life. It not only acts as a boon for the people but also a backbone of the Indian economy. It is the chief source of income for the country as well as the greatest source of employment - especially for the Railway Engineers. 

The railway engineers look after the works like bridge construction, permanent way development, signal and interlocking, Fittings and fastenings, etc.. They are the one who maintains and develops efficient engineering systems and solutions in an integrated manner. Only a few know about the facts that Railway engineering jobs are nowadays gaining momentum in the private sector also due to the introduction of the public-private partnership projects (PPP). 

What is Railway Engineering?

It is the branch of science in which there is the application of the engineering principles to maintain, function and develop the railway machinery and assets. The overall responsibility for the passenger's safety totally resides with the railway engineer, as on a single misconception, the loss could be incredible.

Thus, on the basis of the functioning, railway engineering can be classified in many ways:

 Permanent Way Engineer- Branch of the railway engineering to develop, maintain and functioning of the permanent way, simply called the track development. This is one kind of basic branch of railway engineering.

Signal and Interlocking Engineer-  Signal and interlocking engineering as the name suggests deals with the signalling system of the railways, their maintenance, and developments. Similarly, interlocking is to develop the locking and assembling of the tracks.

Carriage and Wagon Engineer-  This is the engineering branch of the railway that deals with the carriage and wagons like wheels, axles, SLR coaches, and locomotives.

Electrical and Train Lighting Engineer- This branch of railway engineering deals with the Electrical profile of the railways, either it may be station lighting or it may be train-lighting.

Site Engineer- The site engineer in railways is responsible for managing the detail of a construction project and ensuring that nothing is overlooked. The job of a site engineer involves checking up on each element of the building work to ensure that it meets all the proper standards. This means a site engineer needs to pay great attention to detail and have a meticulous approach to their work each day. Some of their tasks include providing a daily diary of work completed, doing detailed drawings of work that has actually been completed, especially where it differs from the plan, and managing subcontractors.They also need to liaise with the client and share responsibility for health and safety issues during construction.

Section Engineer- It’s the job of a section engineer to translate the plans for a railway construction project from the page to the ground – in other words, making sure that the building or vehicle is built as closely as possible to the plans. This means mustering all the resources, from building materials to finding subcontractors, and monitoring the work to make sure it’s done properly.Day to day tasks of a section engineer involve doing the setting out – placing markers for different elements of the build like platforms or lift shafts, setting out a weekly program for the works to be done,  and carrying out inspections of work done so far.

Structural Engineer- Structural engineering jobs involve designing the framework that holds together a building or structure like a locomotive or railway carriage. Sometimes this would simply involve analysing existing structures to see if they can be repurposed – for example, establishing whether a bridge might support a heavier train, or if a section of the track might be able to cope with the stresses of a high-speed train.The tasks of a structural engineer often focus more on design than the building, so they need to be able to design using a wide variety of materials, produce accurate drawings and provide reports showing the specifications of the buildings or vehicles they are designing.

Civil Engineer- A civil engineer is responsible for planning, designing or maintaining railway track and stations, or structures such as bridges or tunnels. This is typically a more generalized or strategic role in the rail industry and civil engineers would often parcel out specific tasks to specialists like structural engineers, section engineers and site engineers.A civil engineer may start a job by discussing the requirements with an architect and the client. They move on to analysing the site, drawing up blueprints, assessing risks, costs and time required, before moving on to manage the construction work, including dealing with contractors.Rail engineering is a complex field which deals with all the different facets of a railway, from designing and building railways and stations to operating and maintaining the rail systems.Rail engineers are focused on the challenges of trying to improve the existing railway network and trains while using advanced infrastructure technologies. As seen above, there are several different roles that fall into the category of a railway engineer, with some focused on maintenance while others are more about improving the rail network.

Surveyor- Railway engineering works are totally based on the surveys conducted by the surveyors. Thus surveyors in the railways are assigned the tedious tasks and hence are highly paid with other railway facilities.Apart from the technical part, if you feel like challenging your intellectual abilities then you are welcome to get involved in the research branch; where you can proudly address yourself as a research geek. Railways offer you tremendous job opportunities which not only have a good salary perspective but also the facilities and prestige. Those who are about to take Railways as a career option or those who are new to this line should start their work from now onwards to grab the opportunity as soon as possible.

Benefits of a B.Tech Course in Value Added Railway Engineering-

1.  All-in-one Course-

You have heard about the engineering degree courses having specialization in Civil, Mechanical, Computers, IT, Marine, Aviation, etc. Well, what separates Railway Engineering courses from the others is that it is an amalgamation of the civil, mechanical, and computer subjects and this is what makes it so demanding.

When you gain knowledge of various significant streams at a time, the result is always rewarding. This makes you confident while competing in the long run for making a bright career.

2.  Ample Career Options-

When you opt for a railway engineering course, you rest assured that your future is bright. Yes, you read it right! With the massive scope including opportunities in Indian Railways, foreign rail companies, R&D centres, consultants, you do not have to worry at all about your future. Indian Railways each year has huge openings for railway engineers at various grades with attractive perks. Also, you open the gates to work with foreign rail companies and widen your knowledge-base as well as increase your earnings.

You can work in research centres of many companies and get the opportunity to implement your skills and knowledge to bring out something called fresh in the railways; in order to make them more efficient and cost-friendly. You can also work as a consultant by helping rail companies hire your services to make their business grow. 

The railway network is very vast and is spread around the globe; which confirms that you have opportunities showering from all around the world.

3.  Research Opportunities-

It is always a dream for many scholars to bring out something new that will not only be innovative but a remarkable invention and which can be implemented worldwide. Railway engineering is one such faculty that supports that one dream, to be unique and unconventional.

Once you are done with the bounds of conventional education, you have a wider window open for R&D. You have opportunities to become the next pioneer of railways through exceptional research. Although, you can join as a research assistant to fuel the development being done. You can also work on the designing part of the railways where new innovation and efficiency is widely appreciated.

You can also work on researching the engine part of the railway. You can try and test various new forms of the engine, its design and make it more compact, energy-efficient with maximizing its speed.

Besides, you can integrate it with new digital technology so as to make rail transport easier and well-organized saving time and money at the same time. One can also research the safety of rail transport. Researching in railways is just limitless!

4. Management-

If you are more interested in Human & Resource Management, organizing things is a plus to you ‘ then you can choose your career as a Railway Engineer Manager. Here you will be introduced to activities like Human Resource Management, Supervision, Rendering the entire rail system, managing the capacity, management of freights, management of fittings and fastenings, signals and interlocking, mitigate the potential risks, etc.

This may or may not require being present on the site and everything can be handled from your office through digital mode.

5. Teaching-

If spreading the word is the best charity, embracing the liberty and sharing the same with people is more of your thing - then you can nurture yourself as a pioneer to shape intellectual minds towards Rail and technology. You can join in as a faculty member of a reputed college or university and pass on your knowledge to the would-be engineers.

If you have a strong urge to learn new things, being a professor has one biggest advantage that you are kept updated with the new advancements in the field constantly along with your current knowledge. This also helps to know the thought-process of the students and enjoy dynamic discussion sessions.

Despite the existing hoards of opportunities worldwide in the railway industry, the biggest attraction is towards the Indian Railway and is the most sought after career destination. 

Now, before we end, just a fact check about the Indian Railway market: The Indian Railway is one of the largest recruiters of India. 

Believe Us!

[with-pryde]

spot the difference:  excalibur kitty pryde v. evolution kitty pryde

𝙴𝚇𝙲𝙰𝙻𝙸𝙱𝚄𝚁:

academics.  in junior high (so grades 7-9, approx. ages 12-14), she was enrolled in college courses and was so ahead of her peers that she barely had anything to do with them, and rarely ever saw them.  like a lot of gifted kids, she sees herself as “better” than her peers and she can be quick to alienate kids her own age, and isn’t entirely sure how to socialise with them.  she got off on the wrong foot with the new mutants even before getting put on their team by calling them babies, despite the fact that some of them were older than she was.  problem was, she had more experience and was smarter, thus, age didn’t factor into her assessment.

the two exceptions to this rule are her two roommates, illyana and rachel, but it should be noted that, as roommates, both spent a lot of time with her to break these barriers.  and both had such horrific childhoods, illyana in limbo and rachel as a hound in the future, that they were forced to grow up and mature faster than kids their age.  and, thus, like kitty, they both��also don’t really have much of a connection / fit in well with their peers (unless they work at it), so they’re more exception cases than the norm for kitty re: friends her age (though rachel IS maybe a few years older than her anyway).

aggression.  as noted above, kitty had very little to do with her peers and, after joining the x-men at 13 (and a half), her main influences were those she served on the team with (namely ororo, colossus, kurt, logan and the professor, with scott and psylocke also featuring).  of those, she forged strong bonds with kurt, logan and ororo, but she takes after wolverine a lot, even using his phrase bub when in a bad mood.  she’s pretty quick to resort to violence, though she’s of course mindful of who she’s up against.  the goal is to hurt, not kill (though when she’s mad she often thinks about how good it would be to kill them).  granted, she doesn’t understand wolverine’s “berserker rages”, and isn’t much like that, until she joins excalibur and Sees Some ShitTM that makes her understand what whole consuming hate and rage feels like. 

also worth noting during this time she’s dealing with a lot, including loss of those who were like family and chronic pain, but even so she has a pretty short fuse and will punch you in the face.  or, in the case of a friend, will have something smart and sarcastic to say.  also kitty is very much the type of person where, if she’s mad, she’s mad at the whole world and will unduly take her anger out on people who aren’t even remotely responsible for her misery.  she gets better about not yelling when she lashes out (she mostly drops that by excalibur), but she still lashes out with mean / sour comments or gets very snappish and snarly.

authority.  again, like logan, she doesn’t always take kindly to authority.  granted, she does tend to like her teachers and likes to receive praise from them, but she will also yell at the authority figures in her life without batting an eye.  she will also go against their wishes, too, like facing threats on her own to prove she belongs on the x-men main team instead of the new mutants.

colour palate.  she loves colours, mostly jewel tones and saturated colours.  blues and hot pinks and creams.  when she wears her cream sweaters, however, she’ll accent it with colours like red elsewhere.  while she used to wear the most eye-catching bedazzled outfits, she’s mainly toned it back to a bright splash of colour in her outfit, usually her shirt.  her clothes also favour comfort over style and attraction, and the one time she tries skinny jeans she hates them.

computing.  she’s a computing genius and sometimes jokingly calls herself the goddess of computers, with every right.  she especially excels at hardware, and can make a stunning array of gadgets, including a handheld non-telepathic cerebro.  she can also programme, however, one of her best friends, doug ramsey, a mutant gifted with an ability in language (including machine languages), he could often take her most mediocre efforts and make it work amazingly well and, often, handled a lot of the code and programming.  they did work together and she learned a lot from him.... but she also relied on him a lot, too, and so when it comes to software and programming, she’s not as strong as her evo counterpart for it.  

confidence.  in the toilet.  again, because she has little contact with kids her age and looks down on those her age, kitty pryde tends to crush on older people who are out of her league age-wise.  they don’t really pay attention to her, at least, not in a romantic way (as it should be), but she tends to take this as rejection of who she is.  her roommates, illyana and rachel, too, are very good looking and tend to get a lot of attention that she doesn’t, and so kitty goes through her younger years believing she’s not very attractive.  she’s also incredibly self-critical and just.  doesn’t have much self-confidence outside of her ability to beat people up.

cussing.  she doesn’t outright cuss, but instead uses words like flamin’ and devil.  it doesn’t sound bad nowadays, but i’d say it’s like the equivalent of crap, and she’s constantly reprimanded for her inappropriate language when she uses these terms.

demeanour.  when she first arrives to the x-men, she’s bubbly and cheerful, if a little introverted.  by the time excalibur rolls around, she’s travelled to space, across galaxies, faced gods and aliens and her worst fears ten times over.  excalibur forms, in large part, because the x-men are dead.  she also has no real way of dealing with and working through all the trauma.  as such, she’s more serious when excalibur rolls around or, at least, knows when to get serious.  she’s still quippy but more measured and, again, she has a short fuse, a problem that’s only exacerbated by sharing a small living space with the whole the excalibur team.

music taste.  kitty absolutely had her boy-band phase, and loved dazzler (sidenote, it’s because of dazzler she wanted to wear the roller skates in her first costume) however, by excalibur, she’s refining her taste.  she still likes music she can dance to, however, her favourite band, cat’s laughing, is one whose lead singer is also kitty’s favourite writer.  it’s more refined, with good lyrics and writing.  think kind of like hozier lyrics but with more of a danceable beat.  she also likes big band music and jazz from her dancing days, music that’s old for her even then.  the key is danceability, though.

personal style.  while she absolutely detests “preppies”, kitty pryde dresses like one when she leaves the house, with collared shirts under sweaters and full on suits being things she wears out.  often, she’ll pair her outfit with her black leather jacket, a prized possession, which often lends a bit of toughness to her otherwise preppy look.

at home, it’s usually it’s loose sweaters / shirts and leggings with her hair restrained in a ponytail, especially when she’s working on something.  she also wears glasses when tinkering.  as mentioned above, she always has a splash of colour somewhere, which applies to at home as equally as going out.

because this is the 80s-90s, when she dresses up (and even her costume), the outfit usually features poofy sleeves and/or very pointed and defined shoulder pads.

relationships.  as colossus and pete wisdom are not canon here, she hasn’t had a canon relationship, which also feeds into her insecurities and low self-confidence.  again, because she tends to have eyes for older guys and gals, relationships rarely pan out for her.  occasionally, however, someone her age catches her interest (in canon, part of her loved doug ramsey, for instance, because although he was her age, he, no pun intended, spoke her language) but, usually, she needs to be forced to see people her age.  like with larry, she was told by a teacher to dance with him at a school dance and only then did she find out he was pretty nice (that ended badly but the Concept applies).

teamwork.  kitty tends to do her own thing.  she can and does operate as part of a team, but she doesn’t always coordinate well with them.  she definitely starts out as more of a team player because she’s not equipped to handle situations on her own, and because she’s scared, but as she receives more training and her confidence in her abilities increases, she often thinks she can handle it on her own and grows more self-reliant.  it makes her more capable and better at devising plans, but sometimes it means she bites off more than she can chew.  as well, if she thinks she has something to prove, she’ll try and tough it out alone.

training.  she’s been possessed trained into a killer ninja by a master with a bone to pick with wolverine in a very traumatic milestone.  she hates to think about it, but the training did remain even when the “demon” did not.  she’s incredibly deadly, though she still hasn’t added the swords to her repertoire.  also, during the events of excalibur, her default state is to be phased, making her extremely difficult to target (barring her powers malfunctioning for whatever reason).

𝙴𝚅𝙾𝙻𝚄𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽:

academics.  kitty is taking advanced and college level classes and graduates a year early, however, unlike her excalibur counterpart, she’s not so far beyond her peers that she never sees or interacts with them.  at most she’s a year or two younger than those in her class and, in this verse, all of the x-men are teenagers meaning she spends a lot more time with people her age and is generally more social and more sociable.

aggression.  again, she’s got more social skills.  this translates to an increased understanding of those around her and her first tactic is to try to mediate and preserve social cohesion.  like her counterpart, she can and will stand up and say something if needed, and she will get into fights if needed, but it’s usually to protect a friend rather than herself and when there are no other routes for compromise (like when duncan takes away scott’s glasses and tries to get him kicked out of school, she shows up ready to brawl but, also, when duncan and his pals leave, she lets them, without pushing for a fight).  

while sometimes sarcastic, she’s also less sharp with her sarcasm.  for her, it’s less about hurting the other person and more about highlighting the situation whereas, in excalibur, her words hit much harder.  part of this, i think, is her social cohesion with her team; she’s more mindful of how her words can hurt and, therefore, doesn’t throw them around as quick or to be mean.  she also knows how to contain her anger better; she may be annoyed and grumbly, but she won’t be yelling at someone who isn’t responsible, only maybe venting if they’re willing to lend a listening ear.

authority.  again, like her excalibur counterpart, she thrives on praise from her teachers and authority figures in her life.  unlike her excalibur counterpart, she’s much less likely to go against them and usually only does when it’s a friend on the line.

colour palate.  kitty also favours colours here, but she wears a lot of pastels that her excalibur counterpart doesn’t really.  pastel pink, sherbert orange, pale lavender.  she does also wear some jewel tones (green, burgundy and purple), but her go-tos are the pastels.

computing.  she favours software to hardware, unlike her excalibur counterpart.  she has no doug ramsey to help in this show, so she has to develop and write her software on her own.  hardware-wise she’s not inept, training with the x-men gives her a strong base with it, but it’s not something she nurtures.  because she grows up in a more typical school setting, she still wants to have a sort of normal life, and working on hardware just isn’t it.  software is easier and, as she takes a computer class, she also meets people who are into it and she can connect to over the interest, namely in risty (mystique in disguise, but obviously she doesn’t know that) and arcade (yes, that arcade, though the show changed him considerably).

confidence.  because kitty tends to like guys (yes, guys, i’ll get into the heteronormativity piece in the relationships section, but that’s deliberate wording here) her own age and they’ve liked her back and she doesn’t have the same superiority complex (resulting in looking to older people outside her league and facing their rejection), kitty in evo has way more confidence than her comic counterpart.  of course, like any high school girl she has things she hates and she does find flaws in the mirror but, on the whole, she doesn’t feel ugly or less than compared to the other x-men the same way her comic counterpart does.  (if she does feel inept next to them, it’s mainly due to her inexperience, though that inspires her to do better and eventually goes away as she gets more settled into the life of being an x-man).

cussing.  no cussing.  heckin is about as bad as she gets.  granted, as she grows up she starts cursing more but, during her years in canon her language is pretty tame.  because this is the 90s / early 00s, she does say lame a lot which, while not a cuss word, isn’t good to say, but for different reasons (ableist and rude), but that’s a different thing.

demeanour.  she hasn’t quite had the same level of traumatic experiences as her excalibur counterpart and, moreover, they’re way more spaced out than they are in the comics so she’s pretty bubbly and upbeat throughout most of high school.  this changes a bit with the emergence of mutants and when the world hates them, she’ll sometimes get down about it, but, on the whole, her world tends to look up.  like her excalibur counterpart, things do eventually take a turn for the dark and in future verses she’s more measured and has lost some of this shine, but she definitely is upbeat for longer.  

music taste.  very, very pop heavy.  boy bands, britney spears, taylor swift, katy perry etc.  she’s not a jus.tin bie.ber fan but that’s about it in terms of restrictions.  as she gets older she branches out more, including into electroswing, but she’s more of a pop girl at heart.

personal style.  again, she tends to dress “preppier”, but 90s/00s style: so a collared shirt except it shows her midriff or capris and a cardigan but the shirt under her cardigan shows her midriff.  lots of midriff outfits (even her school dance dress was two pieces and showed some stomach) and collars (her costume even has like that business shirt collar thing going on).  she tends to favour comfort, too, but also pairs it with some style (like, platform sandals: comfy but also very in).  also plastic jewellery, chokers, etc.

relationships.  as she goes to school and has a lot of contact with her peers, she actually crushes on and dates people her own age in this show (and we love to see it).  granted, she kind of lets a lot of things slide in her first relationship that aren’t cool, something which informs her relationships going forward (in that, she realises they weren’t okay and isn’t going to take it in future ones), and her first relationship is very, no pun intended, rocky, with break ups and get togethers galore but.....it’s with someone her own age which, have i said how much we love to see it?  because kitty is in school in the 90s/00s, and felt the pressure to try and fit in for longer, she absolutely internalised some heteronormativity (in the comics, too, but she sheds that faster after leaving school so young and joining the x-men), and, while she looks at women, it’s very much in a “wow i love that outfit on her” or “wow how’d she get to look so pretty, i gotta ask for tips” way, and it takes her time to connect this to an interest in women, too so, generally, for her canon / high school years, she only really looks to guys/male presenting peers in a romantic way (or, that she connects to as romantic).

teamwork.  finally, she’s better about working in a team here, too.  partially because she doesn’t have the skills to be completely on her own (no ninja training til post canon) and partially because her team is all the same age and her friends both at school and at home, she’s more used to looking to them for support, especially scott.  something happens and her first instinct is to go to him and get his take on it.  sometimes she’ll still act on her own but, barring a time crunch or someone really instantly in danger, she favours waiting for the team.

[blogulianatish]

Mercury in Pisces is a sensitive medium with a rich imagination

The planet closest to the Sun gives a person the opportunity to realize intellectual self-expression in social ties and contacts. Even a brilliant talent requires embodiment through word and deed, what is quite often the case of holders of mercury in Fish. 

By nature, these people are generously endowed with the deepest and most fantastic intuition among the 12 constellations and are able to create brilliant works of art, to be the conductors of the highest wisdom and love, if they overcome laziness and morbid sensitivity to criticism. 

A child with mercury in Pisces is better to immediately pick up a school for gifted individuals with an individual approach. He will not succeed among strict disciplinary requirements, as he tends to dream and immerse himself in creativity with his head. 

Nativ's speech resembles a seething waterfall, replete with figurative comparisons, transitions from one topic to another. The General meaning is difficult to grasp, so people often prefer to Express thoughts on paper, where it is easy to remove unnecessary and leave the essence. The position of the planet requires constant control and understanding of the nuances of others. 

Features of behavior

The mind of the owner of mercury in Pisces is always in close connection with the emotional state. Depression and stress for a long time knock him out of a rut and push him to rash actions, and a good mood helps to show the brilliance of intelligence so brightly that even close people are amazed at the dramatic transformation of a shy modest man into an artistic polymath. 

For the triumph of the mind of mercury in Pisces, an atmosphere of admiration and spiritual comfort is necessary, even at the level of family or friendly support. 

It is necessary to understand the characteristic features of thinking and behavior created by such a position of the planet: 

the gift of empathy helps to read thoughts and feel the state of the interlocutor, but also destroys the success of public speeches, if the audience is negative or mocking mood; 

psychic abilities, the ability to solve dreams and lines on the hand, to anticipate the reaction to their words or creative works; 

self-doubt, depression at the slightest failure or criticism; 

difficulties with a clear formulation of thought, muttering under his breath, instead of a clear coinage of words; 

difficulties with the study of common foreign languages with easy assimilation of branched and confusing grammar of exotic (for example, Japanese and Chinese), ancient or iconic, like Morse code; 

important information comes from secret sources, others feel the need to share secrets with the native; 

lack of punctuality, existence on the" own " wave; 

painful shyness when necessary to voice their creativity-sing, read poetry, up to physical tightness of the throat. 

Having managed to overcome shyness and vulnerability, Nativ becomes a great musician, actor, poet, writer or politician, but it is necessary to overcome the fear of being misunderstood. Astrologers recommend classes in the theater Studio, on courses of oratory to study the shortcomings of the Union of Neptune and mercury, especially in the presence of negative aspects.

Male and female

The Neptunian girl is a kind and sympathetic Samaritan, completely unable to perform boring routine work. For happiness, she needs to create and see the recognition of results, but to sit down and start systematically writing books, poems or music is almost as difficult as to compile accounting reports. 

The driving force that includes the intellect of a romantic and feminine beauty is the state of falling in love, inspiring bold brilliant results that shock her. The owner of mercury in Pisces often creates under a pseudonym, freeing from the fear of criticism. When choosing a practical profession, she has to transform into an image every day, like a real actress, especially if it is necessary to be a strict and authoritative leader. 

The mind of a man under the influence of Neptune is looking for esoteric explanations of everything that happens on earth, linking the particular with the General, thereby becoming a talented psychologist, priest and researcher. 

He is incredibly romantic, and despite the talent to see through people, wears pink glasses, exaggerating the dignity of the beloved. It is often used by selfish people, because the carrier of mercury in Aquarius is ready to take off the last shirt to help the unfortunate, but the authorities are in no hurry to dump additional work on him, because he is not able to concentrate on a high volume of cases and qualitatively complete them.

Retrograde and important aspects with planets

Mercury in the reverse movement in the Natal chart makes a person sluggish and indecisive, repeating other people's views and thoughts. Easily suggestible and hypochondriac, he often becomes a victim of fraud and unmotivated bad mood, for weeks playing silent with loved ones. 

This is especially compounded by the negative aspects with Neptune, Lilith and the Moon, requiring work with a psychologist. Creative and professional success is facilitated by sextiles and trines with Venus, Chiron, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn, helping to remove the vagueness of thinking and concentrate the forces to achieve the dream.

Additional description

In people born with mercury in Pisces, thoughts and manner of communication tend to be idealistic, spiritual, intuitive, creative, responsive, diplomatic, extremely sensitive, compassionate and visionary. On the other hand, you can be lazy, impractical, in the clouds, hypersensitive, slow, indifferent and absent-minded. Perhaps you do not have a strong desire to work and you can not force yourself to do something that takes a lot of effort, organization, patience and responsibility. You'd rather be a poet or a musician than a scientist or an engineer. 

Formal study of books is not your strong point, but you can assimilate knowledge in most remarkable ways if you are interested in the subject area. You are sensitive to the environment, so you have to be attentive to the environment you are in. Your nerves and your mental health require you to periodically rest away from the everyday noise. Take a little time to be alone with yourself and recover, but not for too long as you have a tendency to dive into yourself and your problems. Healing through visualization techniques or healing through the laying on of hands is characteristic of you. 

A person born with mercury under the sign of Pisces has a talent for art, music, drama and poetry. Your imagination can be very well developed. Since you tend to think in terms of mental abstractions, translating your thoughts and impressions into something concrete, everyday language can be difficult for you at times, and as a result you will experience a decrease in intelligence and communication skills. You do not like to be constrained by circumstances, and you will always follow your intuition rather than logic. You are intuitive and able to understand the thoughts and feelings of others before they speak to you. Sometimes Fish are so immersed in their own world of thought and imagination that they overlook things that happen directly in the environment. 

Pisces with mercury in the Natal chart, are extremely open and believe that anything is possible. Intangible spiritual forces seem as real to you as anything concrete in this world and you often form an opinion about a person or situation without much actual knowledge about them, and as a rule your impressions are correct. A positive attitude is very important for you, as the dreaminess sometimes tends to leave you.

[seyaryminamoto]

Do you have any Sokkla family head-canon? I'm craving some Mum Azula :)

Hmm, well, I have several, but I’d rather not be too spoilery so… under the cut!

In most my stories, Azula finds balance in her own life and peace in her role in the world. Said role varies depending on the story, but she generally grows, develops, becomes a better person without losing her edge, all those things we Azula fans adore about her character.

Naturally, Sokka has a great deal to do with all this, and it’s relevant because he helps her feel better about her vulnerabilities, helps her feel safe even when she’s defenseless in front of him. With this, Azula slowly but surely becomes more open and understandable of what love is, and she experiences it properly for the first time in her life through the man who shall be her husband and father of her children :D

This, then, translates to how she’ll relate to said children once they’re born. I’m not going to explain in full detail how certain things will unfold in the story I’m obviously talking about, but I’ve always planned for Azula to be very attached, to the point of paranoia, of her firstborn, a daughter. Azula takes care of her from the moment she finds out she’s pregnant and through every moment later because… well, I’m not going to explain the main reason why xD but in short, she doesn’t even think it through, she just has to protect her daughter no matter the cost. 

When the baby is born, her life changes. Motherly instincts she never knew she had in her pour through, and the eagerness to protect the child only increases. So she’s careful with the baby, constantly making sure she’s okay, only trusts a handful of people with her and never is far away from her for too long. This doesn’t really mean she’s suffocating the baby… I like to imagine her talking to Hotaru even about serious things, when the kid is very young still. She’d also like to listen to her daughter, to try to understand what she needs and wants, whether it’s something simple like needing a new diaper, or something else, like being afraid of bad dreams. I think Azula’s only lesson learned from Ozai will be to treat her daughter as an ally, but Azula does that without treating her as a tool. As in, they’re in the same boat together and have to support each other through and through. And as Hotaru is still a baby, Azula needs to take the best care she can of her, since babies are pretty hopeless xD so Azula establishes a bond with the little girl pretty quickly, looks after her with surprising devotion and indeed makes difficult decisions to protect her if need be. Needless to say, Hotaru is seldom happy when she’s away from her mom’s comforting presence.

… I hope none of that was spoilery xD but either way, another headcanon: Azula sings this song to her children!

Admittedly, I borrowed this headcanon from someone else… but the voice is even similar to Azula’s in a few points of the song, so I said “DAMN RIGHT SHE SINGS THIS!”

Also, if anyone’s curious and thinking the song rings a bell… this is what she sings with Xin Long back in Gladiator’s 67th chapter :’D the ridiculous scene where Xin Long looks through her childhood memories, finds this song and TRIES to sing it despite being a dragon… well, it’s this one xD I planted that seed THAT long ago :’D

“Well, I wasn’t judging your weird song on sunsets and stars and whatever it was you were singing about!” Sokka said, proudly,

Anyways xD there’s a headcanon I am adamant about too, and it’s that once Hotaru is older she starts playing with dolls, of course! Which, as we know, is NOT Azula’s forte.

… But I suspect Sokka is pretty good at it, thanks to the unaired pilot episode xD

So one day Azula walks into their room to find Sokka happily playing with their daughter, and she’s blown away xD Sokka is flustered but defends his right to play with dolls, and eventually Hotaru herself convinces Azula to join them. Azula is very awkward about it because she doesn’t really know how to do this… but after a while she understands the rhythm of the game, creates a personality for her chosen doll and things just go bonkers from there xD for the first time in her life, a fully-grown Azula discovers dolls maybe aren’t so boring if you have someone worth playing with.

As for the other kids, Shun is a firebending fanboy who adores his mom on principle because she’s awesome and amazing (and he’s right to think so xD). Sokka would say it’s only natural that she’d charm their son that way, seeing how she charmed him too xD but anyways, their bond is quite positive and Azula helps him with training sometimes (Hotaru too, but as Shun is more devoted to firebending he usually asks for her opinion more often). He’s also pretty nerdy, loves history and learning about past events that no one even remembers, so both Azula and Sokka tend to get him books on history that he can eat up and later tell them heaps of things about.

I think Azula’s second pregnancy (Shun) is much smoother than Hotaru’s, she’ll have less reasons to be on edge this time. She’ll forge a similar bond with Shun since he’s a kid, trying to foster genuine trust between them both, trying to be in tune with whatever he needs, and that way she establishes since he’s very young that he can count on her. Ergo, he does when he’s older, all the time xD

Yuuna is the last, and as she was an apparent non-bender who then turned out to be a waterbender, things are pretty different here. Azula does her best to establish the same bond as with the two previous kids, but she worries that she can’t help Yuuna with developing her bending skills the way she can with her two older children. Yuuna is also a little more unpredictable and takes after her dad A LOT… but that resemblance to her father just makes Azula love her lots xD any sign of Sokka traits in their children is always something Azula loves dearly.

Yuuna is also the scientist, and she’s unpredictable in regards of the way her brain works. She is curious about EVERYTHING, asks unexpected questions like “what’s inside an eyeball? Is it gooey? How do we SEE through it? Why doesn’t Toph see even if she has eyeballs like us?” and so on and so forth xD she’s inquisitive, persistent, lacks common sense in most regards and disregards most of societal norms (that artwork I did recently with them and the babies? Well, Yuuna’s hair probably only stayed like that for like… 5 minutes and then she took off the hair tie and ran around investigating things in the Palace xD).

Azula of course has some trouble figuring out what to do with Yuuna because, on one hand, she wants the girl to cause little trouble, but on the other, she realizes some things are important to her daughter the same way some things are important to her. And she doesn’t want to shut down her interests, unless they’re genuinely dangerous interests. So Azula struggles at times with how to take care of Yuuna, but never to a point where Yuuna feels unloved or unwanted by her mother, not over her waterbending or anything else. They’re more prone to having conflicts than Azula is with the other two, especially if Azula sets limits that Yuuna fails to understand, but ultimately Azula respects her daughter, all her children, and that teaches them how to respect her too.

Azula is convinced she’s not their children’s favorite parent xD that they prefer Sokka, and she’s happy for it if anything. She loves seeing him with the kids because he has a way with them, always makes them laugh, goofs about and they love him for it. For once, she doesn’t care to be the best, the #1 at something, and ironically, that she’s not competing with Sokka over who’s the favorite parent makes her even better as a mother than she knows xD in the end, I can’t really tell you who’d win in a popularity contest with the kids xD

Pretty much all her children admire her, and if anyone messes with their mom they’re ready to throw down because of it. I think Hotaru will eventually hear stuff about her parents’ past at school and be very confused about what she’s being told, her school friends all have inappropriate crushes on Sokka because he’s sooo heroic and to her it’s just weird because he’s her loveable dorky dad? xD Either way, Shun definitely would get into a fist fight with anyone who badmouths his mom or dad xD Yuuna would probably just start asking insidiously WHY the other person is saying all these things before dismounting their entire insult via nothing but empirical evidence xD arguing with Yuuna is a bad idea for anyone, really.

As for their parents’ past, yes, I don’t think Sokka and Azula would tell their story to the children so quickly, and I also doubt the kids would expect much from the story to begin with. As far as they can tell, these are their parents, that’s their role in life and that’s all there is to it, right? It would take time for them to realize that woah, a Fire Nation royal married a Water Tribesman, that’s not exactly common in their world… how did that happen?

Of course, the questions begin eventually and by then Azula and Sokka end up agreeing to tell their story to the kids. They will of course skip a lot of things that are not appropriate for children to hear xD but theirs is quite the love story, and they take pride in it… so the day comes when they share it with their little ones, and after the MANY storytelling sessions, because as we know this story can’t be told so quickly xD the kids only admire their parents more.

So yep, happy family indeed! I have other ideas, more story-oriented, one where Sokka gets caught by a gang of criminals who don’t realize who he is, his guard is down, Azula has to go save him and, in pure The Incredibles fashion, Shun and Yuuna sneak aboard her ship while Hotaru is left at home to panic over what’s going on xD obviously, Azula and her two stowaways save Sokka, who’s fine and has every finger and toe still in place, Azula will give him the scolding of a lifetime before kissing him and being grateful he’s okay. Shun of course is grossed out by the kissing and amused by the scolding xD Yuuna is just happy her dad is safe now.

And I guess that’s more or less what I can think of right now. Hope that was a nice doseage of Sokkla family headcanons and Mum!Azula :D

[gratiasancti]

100 PERSONAL QUESTIONS

because @ineffablequestion​ decided to really put my patience to the test today . not that i mind , ily .

1. What is your middle name ?

maria 

2. How old are you ?

23 as of right now !

3. When is your birthday?

oct. 19th

4. What is your zodiac sign?

libra waddup

5. What is your favorite color?

i don’t really have one ? muted colours probably

6. What’s your lucky number?

again, can’t say i have one but maybe 29

7. Do you have any pets?

a dod and a horse

8. Where are you from?

finland / uk

9. How tall are you?

174 cm

10. What shoe size are you?

eu 39-40

11. How many pairs of shoes do you own?

like seven, if you don’t count my collection of riding shoes and boots. oxfords, brogues, wellies, trainers, and the rest are probably heels. as for riding boots, a lot.

12. What was your last dream about?

that i was late from work and got thrown in a tar pit because of it. and then i sold my old history teacher 500€ worth of alcohol and lottery tickets.

13. What talents do you have?

none?? unlimited sarcasm, idk

14. Are you psychic in any way?

i’m not sure if i believe in this stuff

15. Favorite song?

honestly, anything from hippo campus or glass animals.

16. Favorite movie?

the grand budapest hotel

17. Who would be your ideal partner?

someone who counteracts some of my anxiety and excitedness with a calm and, when needed, firm character but is still funny and can be themselves. preferably someone who i feel is my intellectual equal, and we can share everything with each other. maybe a bit older than myself, but not by much. other than that, i really don’t care.

18. Do you want children?

currently, i can’t see myself ever having kids. just doesn’t seem like my thing. especially babies. maybe adopting or fostering could be an option, but only if i was sure i could give the child a good home.

19. Do you want a church wedding?

i don’t think i want to get married

20. Are you religious?

not particularly

21. Have you ever been to the hospital?

maaaaaaany times. multiple riding accidents, broken bones, a car crash. then just being an idiot in general. and chronic back problems.

22. Have you ever got in trouble with the law?

apart from once forgetting to pay for the underground and getting an 80€ fine, no.

23. Have you ever met any celebrities?

i’ve met and had dinner with two different finnish presidents and some other ‘upper class’ people but other than that, no. 

24. Baths or showers?

one of those rain shower things

25. What color socks are you wearing?

i have no socks !!!

26. Have you ever been famous?

uhhhh not in the literal sense of the word but i’ve been infamous at school when i was like 15. made a meme of one of our teachers that went low key viral in our city.

27. Would you like to be a big celebrity?

definitely not in the hollywood sense of things. 

28. What type of music do you like?

a lot of things. anything, really, depending on the time of day and if i’m feeling particularly emo.

29. Have you ever been skinny dipping?

that’s like the only type of swimming finnish people partake in. naked in the sauna, naked in the lake/ocean. so yes, multiple times a year jhdsnhb

30. How many pillows do you sleep with?

currently like five

31. What position do you usually sleep in?

either on my back or on my stomach. depends on what place hurts that day lmao.

32. How big is your house?

closer to 400 m^2 . i still live with my parents but will move into my own flat in six months, once it’s ready. that’s going to be appx 70 m^2.

33. What do you typically have for breakfast?

i know its a bad habit but i often dont have breakfast. if i do it's usually fruit and yoghurt or some toast.

34. Have you ever fired a gun?

yes

35. Have you ever tried archery?

yes. fun fact; my cousin has won the european championchip ( in some form of archery idk ) like twice , i think. 

36. Favorite clean word?

defenestrate

37. Favorite swear word?

fuck. i use it Too Much™

38. What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without sleep?

can’t remember the exact amount of hours but we were sailing and our shifts got messed up to the point where i had either not slept at all or slept so little in like four days i was genuinely hallucinating. almost jumped into the sea because i thought i dropped my life vest,,, which i was wearing.

39. Do you have any scars?

a few. dumbest one probably when i rode in my shorts but used a saddle and rubbed the skin off of my calf. also from hay work, those little dots that look almost like moles.

40. Have you ever had a secret admirer?

not that i know of

41. Are you a good liar?

yes, unfortunately. it’s a bad habit in the sense that i tell a lot of white lies when i could genuinely tell the truth with no consequence. like, it would be the one and the same.

42. Are you a good judge of character?

also yes. i’ve seen some shit. also i have surprisingly good people skills.

43. Can you do any other accents other than your own?

i can speak english in my normal accent which is kind of queen’s english (?) upper class idk, then in world’s english ( so basically no accent / neutral ) and then in finnish (rally) english .  i can also speak swedish with a rikssvenska (standard swedish ???) accent and then finlandssvenska which is finnish swedish (and an actual thing lmao). also i can butcher a norwegian or danish accent in swedish if i really try. my finnish is very neutral, but it does vary a bit depending on what city i’m in.

oh, and also a shitty southern american accent. 

44. Do you have a strong accent?

if i let it shine through, yes, but i tend toward world english because anything else scares finns. but when i speak finnish (which is most of the time) i don’t really have an accent. maybe you can hear that i’m not 100% finnish but that’s about it.

45. What is your favorite accent?

i don’t really have one ! all accents are really fascinating.

46. What is your personality type?

entj-a

47. What is your most expensive piece of clothing?

i have a few expensive dresses, and then of course my riding clothes which cost ridiculous amounts of money because fuck everyone who likes horses, i guess. like excuse me but why is it normalised that you pay over 1000€ for a helmet??? anything less and you’re a peasant.

48. Can you curl your tongue?

mmmmyeah. 

49. Are you an innie or an outie?

innie!

50. Left or right handed?

pretty much ambidextrous, though i prefer to write with my left but do everything else mostly with my right. my handwriting doesn’t differ too much from left to write.

51. Are you scared of spiders?

yes. ew. and we’re lucky to only have tiny ones in finland !

52. Favorite food?

ummmmm. currently carelian pie maybe?? idk such a good snack.

53. Favorite foreign food?

squints??? sushi????

54. Are you a clean or messy person?

depends. often too lazy to clean but incredibly stressed and uncomfortable when its messy. meticulous about all the wrong things.

55. Most used phrase?

either some form of keysmash or “FUCK”. also in finnish either “voi jumalauta” or “voi saatana” which both basically translate to “jesus fucking christ”.

56. Most used word?

also fuck. this really must say something about me smdh.

57. How long does it take for you to get ready?

really depends. sometimes 10 minutes, sometimes two hours. on a normal day w/ shower and moderate make up, 15-25 minutes.

58. Do you have much of an ego?

depends really. i hope i don’t!

59. Do you suck or bite lollipops?

whomst the FUCK bites lollipops ?!?!?!

60. Do you talk to yourself?

i’ve only recently started. it’s terrifying.

61. Do you sing to yourself?

when driving if i’m listening to music, yeah

62. Are you a good singer?

honestly, no clue. i don’t really sing in front of people so i haven’t gotten opinions.

63. Biggest Fear?

failure.

64. Are you a gossip?

not about my friends, ever. but i will definitely listen to any tea you want to spill.

65. Best dramatic movie you’ve seen?

idk does kingsman count as dramatic?? the first one was hilarious.

66. Do you like long or short hair?

both have their perks!

67. Can you name all 50 states of America?

LMAO i can name like 3 if i really try.

68. Favorite school subject?

history, english lang & lit, economics.

69. Extrovert or Introvert?

extrovert but i get tired easily

70. Have you ever been scuba diving?

yes ! we go to the maldives once in a while, because finland doesn’t offer much in terms of diving sites.

71. What makes you nervous?

not a lot of things? i guess some responsibilities. things left for me to do even if someone else was supposed to do them.

72. Are you scared of the dark?

a dark room ? no. a dark forest at midnight ? hell yess. finnish winter darkness is terrifying simply because its so depressing. seasonal depression is real yall.

73. Do you correct people when they make mistakes?

depends. if it’s a trivial mistake and they haven’t asked to be corrected, no. if it makes me or someone else feel bad or just makes any situation worse, then yes. but never unkindly.

74. Are you ticklish?

YES. ugh

75. Have you ever started a rumor?

no. i can’t recall doing so, at least. but i have participated in spreading them.

76. Have you ever been in a position of authority?

yes. at work a couple of times simply out of necessity and also when i took part in MEP. was committee president twice and president of the general assembly once. though idk if that counts since i was like 17 and its all p much play pretend.

oh! and also when i captain our boat. but again, idk if that counts.

77. Have you ever drank underage?

yeah, ever since i was like 16 :/

78. Have you ever done drugs?

no, and never will. not my thing !!

79. Who was your first real crush?

probably a boy from class. i can’t remember, really. i’ve never been too  ‘romantically inclined’ i  suppose.

80. How many piercings do you have?

just my ears, once.

81. Can you roll your Rs?

almost every r in the finnish language is technically rolled so yeah. i feel bad for those finnish people who cant !! makes everything so hard.

82. How fast can you type?

according to this thing 75 words per minute on my first try, so idk how accurate that is.

83. How fast can you run?

not fast. i  hate running, and am very out of practice. 

84. What color is your hair?

idk ? like, light brown ?

85. What color are your eyes?

again, idk. blue/green/grey

86. What are you allergic to?

dogs, cats, birch, and almost anything that flowers in the spring jshbdsjh

87. Do you keep a journal?

not a journal per se but i have a ‘little black book’ which i keep rather meticulously about my thoughts on the day, important things i need to remember, my expenses etc. a habit inherited from my dad. i’ve gone through like six of these in the past few years.

88. What do your parents do?

my mum is a mayor and my dad is a ceo

89. Do you like your age?

yeah !

90. What makes you angry?

injustice.

91. Do you like your own name?

yes !

92. Have you already thought of baby names, and if so what are they?

ksjdsjhb no. at this rate i’d end up naming a child crowley or sum shit

93. Do you want a boy a girl for a child?

i don’t want kids but if i did gender would be a non issue

94. What are you strengths?

lmao i have good people skills, work well under pressure, get along with everyone, am determined and ?? a good leader??? idk

95. What are your weaknesses?

i take on too much responsibility, i have anxiety and depression, i get frustrated at my own failures, i’m very self-critical and unforgiving. also no self-control when it comes to rp.

96. How did you get your name?

i think somewhere from my dad’s side, not entirely sure.

97. Were your ancestors royalty?

possibly? not sure. but fun fact! a great great grandmother (? or something of the sorts) from my mother’s side actually survived the sinking of the titanic.

98. Do you have any scars?

wasn’t this asked already?

99. Color of your bedspread?

this blue mandala like pattern idk

100. Color of your room?

white and a very mellow blue

[the-gay-in-the-way]

Hey, romance for once.

Most of my stuff is just platonic but there’s this idea I’ve had for a while now.

I was suddenly reminded of it while listening to this song My Eyes Adored You.

So, the basic idea is that Patton and Virgil become friends, basically, from birth cus they’re parents are friends with each other.

They’re extremely close and stay that way for years.

It even reaches the point that Patton, upon finding out what marriage is, says that they should get married when they’re older.

And Virgil agrees and they promise that they’ll get married one day.

But then, Virgil’s mom dies.

And the only family he has that’s willing to take him in is his uncle and cousin who both live all the way in Alaska.(Patton and Virgil live in florida at the start of this.)

So Virgil has to move super far away and they don’t really have a good way of communicating because, for plot reasons, the town in Alaska he’ll have to move to doesn’t have any sort of easy communication system past the occasional satellite phone call and letters.

So they’re going to end up being separated completely.

And they’re both distraught and terrified of losing each other completely.

So Virgil makes a promise that he would come back and be with Patton again.

That he wouldn’t leave his side again once he did.

And that they would still get married one day.

That, when he returned, he’d propose and they would get married and move into a house together and stay together for the rest of their days.

And Patton accepts the promise and promises that he’ll wait for him.

And then Virgil moves away and they both enter middle school alone, sending letters to each other whenever they can, but otherwise remaining isolated from each other.

Years pass by and Patton gets a couple of good friends at his school that stay with him all the way thru college.

Roman and Logan adore Patton and try their best to be good friends to him.

And Patton eventually ends up telling them about Virgil.

And they both are instantly uncertain about the situation.

Especially as time goes on.

Because Patton refuses to try anything remotely romantic with anyone else.

Even when people ask him out or when he’s given opportunities to be with people he genuinely likes, he never feels any sort of romantic atraction to them and ends up rejecting them.

And Roman hates it because he both wants his friend to find happiness with a good person that cares for him and he wants to set Patton up and celebrate his friend’s romance.

And Logan is bothered by it because he doesn’t think Patton will ever actually reunite with Virgil.

He assumes that Virgil probably has no intention of returning and keeping his promises to Patton.

He also believes that following this promise, despite not seeing each other in person for years and making it when they were children, is an unrealistic thing to do.

Roman and Logan both express their concerns to Patton, but Patton just tells them that he trusts Virgil and would keep his promise to wait for him.

Sometimes Patton will even admit that he made sure to learn certain skills, like cooking and cleaning and sewing and finances, because he and Virgil had both talked about how life would be when they got married and Patton had always wanted to take on the role of the house husband while Virgil worked to support them both.

And in their shared updates to each other, Virgil had told Patton that he was working hard to get physically stronger and more skilled at various tasks so that he could eventually get a good job to support them both, while also trying his best to take on jobs and save up money for them to use on doing things like actually getting married and buying a place to live together.

So Patton would send his own updates, usually with pictures of himself with whatever he’d managed to learn or achieve recently, and they would both continue to work as hard as they could so that they could eventually live together as they’d planned.

And Roman and Logan find this strange and unsettling as well, saying that Patton shouldn’t determine his life by his plan to be with Virgil one day.

They become even more against the arrangement when they find out that Virgil never sends Patton pictures back.

Or, at least, none of himself.

But Patton continuously shuts them down.

He says that he’s the one that always wanted to be a stay at home husband/dad.

That, if anything, Virgil was the one that was changing his plans to accommodate Patton’s own wish.

Because Virgil wanted to be a music artist.

He wanted to create all kinds of music of all kinds of genres and had ever since they were children.

But he was going to put that dream on the backburner until they were together and stable enough financially that he could focus on it.

Patton also defends that Virgil just doesn’t like to be in pictures.

He shows them that the only pictures Virgil had ever been in had been ones where Patton had kept him in the shot or he’d been caught unawares.

He says that he doesn’t mind waiting until they reunited to actually see Virgil.

That he’s fine with the pictures he has and is perfectly happy sending his own instead.

He constantly tells both Roman and Logan that this is something he genuinely wants and that they don’t need to worry.

And, although neither of them really stop worrying about it, they eventually leave him mostly alone about it.

So Patton goes about his middle and high school years sending and receiving letters from Virgil while preparing to one day marry his childhood best friend.

Meanwhile, in Alaska, Virgil does the same.

He makes a couple of friends of his own, but they are much less suspicious and against the idea of him marrying Patton.

In fact, both of them, and the entire small town Virgil lives in, are incredibly supportive of Virgil one day marrying his childhood best friend.

There are many reasons for this.

One being that it’s always been pretty obvious to everyone in town that Virgil absolutely loves Patton.

It wasn’t obvious in that he shouted it from the rooftops, like Patton did.

But, rather, it was obvious in how he talked about the other and how happy he always was to receive one of his letters.

Another reason everyone supported the plan was because of everything they knew about Patton and absolutely adored the other boy, despite never meeting him.

Virgil was always happy to talk about his future husband and could go on for hours about the smallest of things, like Patton’s tiny, almost invisible, freckles on his nose, so they all knew quite a lot about him.

And Virgil was also always happy to show off the pictures Patton sent.(which essentially translates to him always being happy to just show off Patton in general.)

So everyone very quickly gained very high opinions of the other.

A third reason was simply that Virgil was so incredibly determined to be the best husband to Patton that he pushed himself to constantly be better at everything he did.

He worked out regularly to make sure he was strong and fast enough to both do any fun activities Patton might want to do, be able to protect Patton from any sort of harm, and make sure he was physically appealing to the other.

He maintained various beauty regimens(as did Patton for similar reasons)to make sure his skin was clear and soft and his hair was also soft and smooth.

He learned various skills(metal working, bartending, car maintenance, handy work, construction, dancing, and various others)to make sure he could apply for basically any job in the future.

And he spent the majority of his time doing odd jobs around the town so that he could eventually save up enough money to buy a plane ticket to Florida and buy a house for them to live in when he got there.

So it was kind of hard to go against his complete determination to marry the other in the future.

Instead, everyone supported him.

Including Thomas and Deceit(Heckin’ hard to include Dee in AU’s like this since he doesn’t have an actual name and I don’t want to give him one of my own out of concern that I’ll confuse myself later when he finally does get one.)who both honestly believe that Patton and Virgil will definitely meet again and get married one day.

One particular person, the metal smith/jewelry maker whom Virgil works for the most, even offers to give Virgil the materials he needs for whatever kind of ring he wants to give Patton, so long as Virgil makes it himself.

So, in his senior year of high school, Virgil asks for the materials and makes a set of rings for himself and Patton.

And after graduating, alongside Thomas and Deceit, he leaves Alaska and moves back to Florida.

Patton finds out about Virgil coming to Florida and the two exchange cell phone numbers with the intent on simply calling each other when he arrives and quickly meeting right after that.

But Patton ends up losing his phone and getting a new number.

He also forgot Virgil’s number and left the boxes of letters from Virgil, including the one with the phone number on it, back at his childhood home instead of taking it them with him to his shared apartment in a separate city in Florida hours away from home.

So Virgil calls, but gets no answer.

Surprisingly, he isn’t incredibly bothered by it.

When Thomas and Deceit question this, Virgil just tells them that Patton was clumsy sometimes and reminds them that he’d already managed to lose and break three phones in the past year alone.

So he figures that he’ll just have to find Patton the harder way.

Although he’s attending a university within a particular city hours away from his old childhood friend, when he has the time to make the trip, he goes back there and meets up with Patton’s parents.

They recognize him almost instantly and welcome him in easily.

When he asks, they confirm his theory that Patton had simply broken his phone and they tell him that they know Patton is attending a particular university.

And it turns out they’re going to the same place.

Virgil had left Alaska before he could hear about which school Patton decided to go to, so he’s happy to hear that they’re actually so close together.

So he heads back and starts trying to keep an eye out for the other.

But, unfortunately, their schedules manage to keep them from meeting.

A few months go by and it’s agonizing for both of them.

Patton has no way of contacting Virgil anymore and just plans on staying in school and waiting for the other to eventually find him somehow.

Roman and Logan find this plan slightly ridiculous and just try to quietly make him give up on waiting try actually being with other people instead.

Meanwhile, Virgil just continues to search for Patton while Thomas(He’s attending school with Virgil but Deceit is content with just working from home.(I want him to be a game developer. I think he’d enjoy doing something like that.)tries to keep an eye out at well.

But, while Virgil and Patton don’t meet up, everyone else does.

Thomas ends up in the same performing arts courses as Roman.

Virgil ends up in the same academic courses as Logan.

Patton ends up in some of the same humanities courses as Thomas.

Virgil ends up getting involved with Roman’s performing arts classes because he’s in a wood working course and comes by sometimes to help out backstage.(As more work practice, really.)

So everyone meets and gets closer to each other.

But Roman and Logan don’t realize who Virgil is and Thomas never actually meets Patton during class because it’s an online course where all of the students usually use nicknames when they communicate.

Instead, Logan and Roman befriend Virgil without even knowing who he is.

This happens because everyone simply knows him for his last name, Storm, and Roman and Logan, and even Patton, don’t actually know what he looks like now.

Logan and Virgil become particularly good friends, Roman and Virgil gaining more of a frenemies sort of relationship, and it becomes a game between them for Logan to figure out what Virgil’s first name actually is.

More months go by and it’s almost a full year later when Logan finally figures it out.

By this time, Patton has also started looking for Virgil, having heard from his parents that he was going to the same university, but they’ve still had no luck.

Until Logan and Virgil are sitting in a cafe, Logan taking calculated guesses on what Virgil’s first name is.

Virgil ends up confessing, after Logan asks him several random questions in the hope of getting some kind of hint, that his last name of Storm was actually the one he’d gotten after being adopted by his uncle.

That his original last name was actually Knight.

And, suddenly, Logan realizes who he is and is proven correct when he says the name Virgil and Virgil laughs in surprise at him getting it right so quickly after learning his original last name.

And Logan is freaking out now because this has to be Patton’s Virgil.

Patton had said that he attended the same universtiy.

That the other had dark, almost black, brown hair and purple eyes.

That he was as smart as Logan and was very witty.

That he wanted to create music one day but was currently just striving to be good at enough things to get himself a solid job to support them both with.

And Storm, the classmate he’d been friends with for almost a year now, matched that description perfectly.

Logan feels like an idiot for not realizing it sooner and kind of shuts down while Virgil wonders what broke him, until Logan suddenly admits that Patton is going to be upset with him and then Virgil is up like a shot, questioning him.

And Logan explains that he’s both friends and roommates with the other, alongside Roman, and offers to help them meet up that weekend.

Logan says nothing to Patton but talks about it all with Roman.

And the two end up admitting that they actually think that Virgil was a good match with Patton.

In fact, they’ve been trying to discreetly set the two up for weeks now but with no luck.

So, a few days later, they take Patton to the place they agreed to meet Virgil at and Virgil is waiting there with Thomas.

And Patton knows it’s Virgil as soon as he sees him, sure because of the eyes and the familiar but different face.

And Virgil just doesn’t really know what to do when he finally sees Patton as well and ends up just saying, “Hey, Patty...”.

And Patton just starts running towards him and launches himself at him at full speed.

And Virgil catches him easily and holds him close and they both start crying and rambling about how happy they are to be together and how they’ve missed each other and been waiting so long.

And then Virgil eventually sets Patton down again and gets down on one knee and proposes without hesitation.

And Patton says yes, without hesitation.

And they end up clinging to each other for the rest of the day and already start making plans to find a place of their own to move into, one that’s close so that they can both still finish school together.

And they make more plans to meet up as much as possible when they can and, eventually, they follow thru with those plans.

And, a few years after this, once Patton has graduated with a bachelors in culinary arts and Virgil continues working towards a degree in music production, while working a few various jobs that keep them both afloat in the house they purchased with Virgil’s savings, they finally get married.

And they continue to live a happy life together.

And that’s that.

Whew...

That was a lot.

But I really like this AU, okay?

It’s very romantic and cute, to me.

And I’ve thought about it a lot.

I have a few different versions of it in my head.

This is just one of my favorites.

I ended up rambling about it a bit more than I expected tho, tbh.

Ah well.

Hope nobody minds.

Here’s the gen taglist.

@a-snoway-afternoon @ashrain5 @virgilscat @gumdrop2113@chelama @dragonsight9 @marse-422 @derpiest-unicorn @i-identify-as-a-mango @fearfilledvirgil@lunariadyva-multifandom-blog @blitzgamev

Please tell me if I missed you or if you’d like to be added to either the gen list or any sort of list for this series or just a list for my rambles in general.

(Go here for the actual fic.)

(A Bed of Links:)

Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Cerillen

Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cerillen/pseuds/Cerillen

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPz4p5XdoRESDKZeMDnWXFQ

Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/cerillen

Discord: https://discord.gg/FsUhc5f

[shark-myths]

Writing Reflection: 2018

I was tagged by @horsegirlharry, who i will smooch in person in ONE WEEK! 

1. Number of stories (including drabbles) posted to AO3: 15. I'm trying not to feel critical about my output this year: I was distracted by ~boy problems and emotional turmoil for a lot of 2018, so I absolutely slayed some journals but neglected my fic. but I also tackled some difficult projects, some of which I'm really proud of, and translated a lot of those big emotions back into writing, so there's a lot to give myself credit for.

2. Word count posted for the year: 224,001

3. List of works published this year (in order of posting)

Roman Candle Hearts

I'm A Wing, I'm A Prayer

The Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique

your hips, your lips, are mine

in space, no one can hear you misgender me

Girl Firsts

halfway to your heart (starting from your knees)

Boys Next Door/Assholes

Vices & Vices

Early Morning Company

Jaws of Death

Baby You're A Haunted House

The Fixed Stars of Heaven

Sell Out Girl

Think of All The Fellas I Haven't Kissed

4. Fandoms I wrote for: Fall Out Boy, Battlestar Galactica, Panic! at the Disco, My Chemical Romance

5. Pairings: Pete/Patrick, Starbuck/Apollo, Pete/Brendon, Brendon/Ryan, Patrick/Michael Day, Frank Iero/Gerard Way, Joe/Andy

6. Story with the most:

Boys Next Door/Assholes, aka the peterick SUMMER BOYFRIENDS au, aka the fic I wrote about falling in love with my ex that captures the sweetness and suffering of new summer love in a very specific and tactile way. It has the most hits, kudos, and comments of anything I wrote in 2018. I'm so glad you guys loved it so much!

9. Work I’m most proud of (and why):

Sell Out Girl, the sequel to girl out boy, is incredibly important to me and I'm so fucking proud of how it turned out. emotionally, i am prouder of the girl out boy stories  than anything else i've ever done. girlfic is how I am cleaning my wounds and healing my heart, and it is an honor to be doing that with you walking alongside me, and being touched and changed too. this fic was incredibly emotionally demanding but also, on a technical level, easy: there was lots of rambly internal monologues and angst, glitter-sharp language and poetical pain, which is my comfort zone as a writer for sure.

on a technical and writerly level, the one I'm most proud of is Baby You're A Haunted House, because i wrote it *fast*, in a fandom I'm not comfortable or familiar in, in a style I don't usually use, and to achieve a very specific artistic effect with the unreliable narrator and shifting sands of reality, while heartbroken. so I'm pleased as fuck with how it came out. it's one of my favorite things I've written in the past several years, and the perfect kind of challenge for me.

10. Work I’m least proud of (and why):

ugh, The Fixed Stars of Heaven . I usually love everything I write, but my experience of writing this fic was terrible. I was never inspired (except when researching the ISS and zero-g botany!) and the epistolary format meant I didn’t know how to develop the kind of tension I *live* for. the whole time I was writing, I didn’t go back and reread (a typical part of my process for matching tone) because I loathed it so much! I kept saying “well, something has to be my worst story” about it... and I still feel that way.

11. A favorite excerpt of your writing:

It's impossible to choose--I like my writing a lot, that's why I write the way i do. all of Baby You're A Haunted House and I'm A Wing, I'm A Prayer are beautiful to me; the love letter Pete writes in Boys Next Door/Assholes; and the whole bathtub scene from chapter 5 of Sell Out Girl, of which this is the very best part:

“Pete is safe and warm and submerged, an egg in a mermaid’s purse, waiting to swim out as a shark whenever she’s ready. She holds her breath and feels her baby beat within her. She looks up at Pat and fears nothing, nothing but love.”

12. Share or describe a favorite review you received:

every review I get makes impact on my heart. I take screenshots and save my favorites; you guys bolster me and keep me going. The best and most important reactions are the ones I get on Girl Out Boy stuff, and the outpouring of fanworks and support means the world to me. especially the way you guys showed up for and stood with me during my difficult breakup this year—wow. I love you so much.

my favorite reviews I’ve gotten this year have been a few different people who told me I was skilled at capturing the feeling of falling in love. as a feelings-and-process oriented romance writer, that means the world to me! I never know what plots my stories are going to have (my characters always surprise me), but I always know how I want a fic to feel. I’m never more honored than when you feel it too.

13. A time when writing was really, really hard:

during the slow-motion process of one of my romantic relationships coming apart in September and October! I was so anxious and keyed up and self-obsessed and miserable during that time, I literally couldn’t bear to write, and when I tried I just kept wrecking the Girl Out Boys’ lives. you guys carried me through.

14. A scene or character you wrote that surprised you:

I don’t want to spoil Sell Out Girl, but a ship I don’t typically ship popped up and I went with it, and I was exactly as surprised as everyone reading that it happened and that it felt so right and good!

15. How did you grow as a writer this year:

i tried new types of projects, like the fucking epistolary scifi fic, a flash fiction exercise, the unreliable narrator trope, and sequels. i wrote in a couple fandoms I'm less comfortable in, fairly often off of other people's prompts. I am trying to hone a cleaner writing style: I spend so much time lost and rambly in describing how characters feel, my stories lose a lot of chances for action and motion. i like my writing best when it is spare and vivid, able to actually evoke emotions rather than just tell you what they feel like. i think some of my fic this year really showcases that (like Vices & Vices ). i still grow so much as a writer, and learn so much about the craft, with each work.

i used an editing and revision process for Fixed Stars of Heaven, thanks to my dear friend JM, that i don't usually subject my work to. i also wrote through a project i was not enjoying, rather than dropping it as soon as my interest waned. my discipline as a wild, reckless writer is, slowly but surely, improving.

i wrote through my own shitty emotionally abusive relationship with a parent through the character of Andy in sell out girl, and got better at naming trauma and abuse and setting my own boundaries as a result of that.

i started reading (and a little bit writing) poetry again.

16. How do you hope to grow next year:

oh, i can't see that road! i hope i grow in ways i never expected cuz i'm faced with challenges in my work i could never have anticipated. generically, i hope i keep tightening my style and improving my discipline, and getting better at defending regular writing time.

17. Who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer or beta or cheerleader or muse etc etc):

- i read only works by women for the entire year of 2018, and the nourishing impact of that on my entire inner life cannot be overstated. i didn't even read a comic book or a work book if it was written by a man. i kept myself entirely pure of the labor of perspective-taking for men, or subjecting myself to men's conception of anybody else's experiential reality.

- @leyley09 my official Fic Enabler, who is SINGULARLY AND SOLEY to blame for at least two fics this year, and has encouraged my very worst ideas about a hundred more

- my unofficial cheerleading squad family on tumblr, who lifted me up and made sure i was healthy, supported, and well through my whole shitty relationship ending debacle. @glitterandrocketfuel, @secretstudentdragonblog, @allkindsofplatinumandpercocet, and @laudanumcafe -- not to mention every other beauty who commented on my sad-ass selfies or my fic. thank you, my loves.

18. Anything from your real life show up in your writing this year:

EVERYTHING IS REAL

most notable and egregious examples:

- the letter pete writes for patrick in boys next door/assholes is a real love letter i gave someone

- the fight brendon and ryan have in vices & vices is a real fight i had with a partner

- the climactic kiss on the streets of new york at the end of sell out girl is my real first kiss with my new boo

the worst thing is that i don't generally farm my *past* life for my fic--everything that shows up is really recent and fresh, because i'm most interested in writing things i'm currently dealing with and experiencing. and yes, i especially steal the sex scenes.

19. Any new wisdom you can share with other writers:

be curious about yourself and your characters. if you've never written / published in a serial format, where you're only writing a week or so ahead of posting, you must try it at least once! listen to what your readers are noticing about your themes and characters! i learn so much about my the emotional resonance and direction of my stories from the people who read them and comment. my writing is so much stronger as a result of writing the majority of my work this way, and i have much more fun with it than when i write a long piece in an echo chamber with no input from you guys!

20. Any projects you’re looking forward to starting (or finishing) in the new year:

- i'm working on a Rent-A-Family trope + law firm AU + kidfic thing i started messing with last year

- Pete Wentz's Bisexual Realizations, a fic dreamed up and playlist-empowered by @nikadd

- a Venom AU for my beloved @immoral-crow

- Girl Out Boy hiatus fic

- and a MANIA anniversary surprise <3

21. Tag some writers whose answers you’d like to read.

all of my Peterick creator pals! @leyley09 @shatteredmirrors-and-lace23 @allkindsofplatinumandpercocet @laudanumcafe @glitterandrocketfuel and everyone/anyone else!

[fantroll-purgatory]

Hello! It’s 2am, I’ve been rewriting this for 3 hours because words are the hard and I’m just tired. (Sounds like you are ALSO dealing with Time! But, that doesn’t make you a Time player either- let’s get into it.)

World: Alternia

Name: Tempus Facrem

“Tempus” means “time” in Latin, and “Facrem” is derived from “factorem” which means “maker”. Assuming I’ve not beansed the name (which is very, very possible), it should mean Time Maker which compliments her story and classpect nicely.

Age: ~8 sweeps

Theme/Story: Tempus is a hobbyist clock maker who’s hive is located in a quiet area of Alternia who tries her hardest to keep to herself and keep out of bother. Despite this, she’s often commissioned by trolls higher up the hemospectrum than herself and almost never has time to do her own thing or even make a clock for herself. I try to follow the general theme of time with her overall.

Goals: A general overview would be appreciated, as well as some suggestions for whatever I couldn’t decide on. As Tempus were originally created for a casual and definitely not canon-compliant Lords and Muses only RP session, I couldn’t adapt everything. (I am going to open my review here, because a General Overview of a character like this, by nature, turns into a Overhaul. I talk about Overcommitment To Gimmick A LOT in my reviews, because it plagues many fantrolls, ESPECIALLY Time Players.) (Your Troll is not the first Clock Themed Time Player Fantroll I’ve received, and I always point to canon. Aradia? Damara? Dave? When are any of these characters clock themed? You use the word “Time” 28 times in this profile, which points, once again, that that’s kind of her only thing.) (I will tackle alternate Aspects for her under Classpect. Much of this review is going to be trying to tease a more rounded character out of this. Perhaps your initial RP had more character for her? But, if there was, it hasn’t translated through to here.)

Strife Specibus: Sniperkind (or maybe riflekind, I can’t decide) (Riflekind is more general, and it’s what Jade uses!)

It also leads to some interesting questions you can ask yourself about her character- is she good or bad at guns? If she’s good at it, where did she learn and is this a passion? Is it just for protection or is there more? And if she isn’t good at it, why did she choose to pick it up and why does she stick with it? 

Fetch Modus: Honestly no ideas here, chief.

I could probably make a cuckoo clock joke here, but I honestly don’t want to reinforce the already drowning-in-time theme. 

God I could more jokingly apply a TikTok reference here. She has to make a musical.ly about the object in question. 

Or if she’s fascinated with universal constants, she could have a more abstract time system, like an Orbit system. All the cards are locked into a central ‘orbit’ and can only be uncaptcha’d when they line up in particular ways. 

Really, fetch modi usually involve alternate interests or coding jokes and it’s hard to think of any of those to apply here. I’d expand on her interest set and then come back to this!

Blood Colour: With reference to Fir3h34rt’s hemospectrum chart, between scarlet and cardinal.

I know we’re already making a lot of change recommendations and we’re hardly even half way, but I have to say that she really doesn’t read like a rust to me. We have to remember that rusts are rooted in Aries. The extended zodiac says rusts are wild, they crave adventure, they love drama, they’re dynamic, they’re quick to anger, they’re incautious- where is that in Tempus? 

Further, clockworking isn’t a very low maintenance career. Most of the rusts we see have “menial” labor or things they can do on their own, adventuring out into the world without much equipment. If a rust can’t have prescription glasses, how are they getting a clock studio? Where is she getting the materials? Where did she get the startup materials? Did someone else act as her patron? Why? 

This kind of niche skill and dedication to a craft isn’t something we see as emblematic of rusts, it’s something that’s more in line with bluebloods. That’s not to say I necessarily think you need to make her a blue (though I think it would be an interesting twist on the character and a good way to migrate her away from the obvious Aradia association). I just think you need to bring more of that Rustblood Fire to her, even if it’s repressed. Where’s the boiling under the surface tension? The desire to throw off her shackles and run free? 

Her theoretical EZ symbol with your current assignments would be The Headstrong. Where’s the headstrong? 

Symbol and Meaning:

A minimalist empty hourglass. Represents a lack of time. (I don’t have a better sign off the cuff, but refer to my comments above as to why I think this is a poor choice.)

Handle: I’m also not sure what to put here. This was another detail that I just couldn’t adapt. Her original handle was timeyWimey because she was meant to be a Lord of Time and my humour isn’t very creative. (I… actually think that’s pretty cute.)

Quirk: Regular capitalisation. Vowels are replaced with respective numbers, unless if the number created from the quirk is greater than 12. e.g. My n4m3 1s T3mpu5 F4cr3m.

Again we can kind of see the overcommitment here. I can’t fault you too much for it, but you might want to step away from the clock thing Too strongly here. You say she likes rhythm, tempo. Maybe you could think of different speaking patterns instead. Find syllabic patterns to give her, or even just chop her words curtly, monosyllabic. Ex: Give. Her. A. Drone. One. Syl. La. Ble. At. A. Time. It. Is. Slow. But. She. Is. Pa. Tient. Are. You? 

But I again recommend looking more into her interests and then coming back to this later. 

Lusus: Greater Skarthi, a dog-sized beetle with two horns. A very relaxed lusus who taught Tempus the value of patience. They share a good relationship.

I honestly think she could use at least a little conflict. Having a soothing lusus relationship is easy, sure, but how about the interest of trying to focus on her craft when her lusus routinely wrecks her shit? The stress. The Drama. 

Interests: Tempus is fascinated with clocks and rhythm as a whole, seeing time as a universal constant that should be respected. She chooses to respect time by making clocks, and prior to her being frequently commissioned she used to make them in a variety of shapes and sizes through different methods for entertainment or to pass the time. (So… her entire interests are clocks and Time. A Time Player is not like this. Let’s look at Dave’s intro page:  “Your name is DAVE. It is an UNSEASONABLY WARM April day. Your BEDROOM WINDOW is open to let some air in, and your FAN is cranked. Arguably even more cranked would be your FLY BEATS, which brings us to your variety of INTERESTS. A cool dude like you is sure to have plenty. You have a penchant for spinning out UNBELIEVABLY ILL JAMS with your TURNTABLES AND MIXING GEAR. You like to rave about BANDS NO ONE’S EVER HEARD OF BUT YOU. You collect WEIRD DEAD THINGS PRESERVED IN VARIOUS WAYS. You are an AMATEUR PHOTOGRAPHER and operate your own MAKESHIFT DARKROOM. You maintain a number of IRONICALLY HUMOROUS BLOGS, WEBSITES, AND SOCIAL NETWORKING PROFILES. And if the inspiration strikes, you won’t hesitate to drop some PHAT RHYMES on a mofo and REPRESENT.” Homestuck ACT 2, Page 312) (Aradia gets kind of a free pass for her intro page because she is… well… a ghost. And her stated remembered interest is Archaeology, not Clocks.)

This is where you have to ask your self some additional questions. How might she have gotten into clock making? Did she start with woodworking? Was she inspired by something else? Did she just do it out of convenience because she didn’t have one? Does she just like DIY in general? Because DIY could be a very interesting origin point for a character like her. A lot of self-crafts DO take a lot of patience and you can capitalize on that character trait in ways besides saying it. 

And, of course, you should ask what she does in her downtime. Unless she’s a workaholic or is in extortionist circumstances, most people have downtime. Does she have unfair contracts keeping her working constantly and stopping her from pursuing old intrigues? Does she miss her other interests? Or does she choose to burn the candle at both ends and neglect leisure? Because if neither of these are the case, she needs other hobbies. 

Appearance: Has long black hair, similar to Aradia’s but slightly shorter and a tad tidier. Her horns share the ram aesthetic of Aradia’s too, however they have significantly less curling and point downwards and forwards. Wears a tool apron with her symbol on it over a dark grey jumpsuit. (I would absolutely love it if you could draw your interpretation of her to see how it compares to mine, but it’s absolutely not necessary.)

Personality: While she isn’t particularly optimistic, Tempus is good at looking at a situation from different perspectives which can be confused for optimism. In reality, she’s far more calm and relaxed under pressure than she is optimistic. She’s incredibly patient, both with people and in a literal waiting sense, thanks to her lusus. As she has the patient of a saint. when she does rarely get frustrated it’s usually very small scale. In spite of this, she’s prone to cursing, but not often to directly insult someone or something and more for comedic effect. (I think we have the beginnings of a solid character here. The thing that she’s really missing is the Time sense of fighting. She’s got this serene, steel will which is a useful trait, but where’s the STRUGGLE? Where is the drama, where is that draw to cyclical destruction.)

^^^ You’ve given us red on red, here. Time and Rust together have an inherent drama and tension. I really think that’s what we’re missing here. I think you could easily do something with the fact that she’s been put on commission to so many highbloods. Is she playing up her patience? Is she putting on airs for her professional career? Does she have a fury boiling beneath her skin? If she about to snap? Is she one snide violetblood comment away from tearing a clock off the wall and committing murder? Is she trying so hard to be a patient person but god people make it so HARD don’t you just want to go APE SHIT? 

Lunar Sway: Prospit, as she’s loyal to her acquaintances and often employs a creative approach to problems, even if they aren’t the most efficient ways of doing things. She also lives in the moment as she doesn’t always have the time to plan ahead. (Checks out to me.)

Title: Maid of Time. Don’t have much commentary regarding that :/ sorry

(And here it begins. Is this character a Maid? I don’t think so- Maids have a pretty classic character arc of being pushed around and then snapping and going absolute bonkers- Aradia beats Vriska to literal death, Kanaya chainsaws Eridan, and Jane…. oh boy, half of Act 6 is Jane’s.) (Is this character a Time player? I often use the phrase “Chosen by Time” in my reviews, because Time players are so DISTINCT, and required by Sgrub/Sburb. Time players aren’t chosen to be such because they like clocks or time, but because they have traits that allow them to whether the endless destruction and struggle that the Red Mantle puts on their shoulders. She needs a core of restlessness, a core of churning, if placid. EZ says that “at their worst they are ruthless, defensive, and impulsive”, which I think helps put them into perspective. Time players can and will lash back out at you.) (I think… this might be a Void player. She’d need an overhaul just to be something other than a walking clock reference, but she has the makings of one of those. A draw towards creation but in a lowkey sense, expanding on things that are already known…) (Otherwise, she may be a Space Player. She has that creation focus, and she reminds me more of 1-4 Jade than any Time player in Canon. Jade also leaned very heavily into her Time inversion for most of her life, to the point where she received Seer of Time powers for quite a while.)

I have to agree here. I think if you wanted her to be a Maid of Time you’d really have to lean into what I addressed under the personality section. She has to be ready to SNAP. Her narrative would have to be about being pushed around and then she lets go and finally embodies the full chaotic force of time.  Otherwise, she’s just not a time player or a maid. Space player is where I’m leaning, personally. They embody the patience and mutability you describe here way more and they also tend to be of the craftier and more hands-on sort. Void player is also a great way to go for a creative. You’d have to lean into her interest in the universe, in the unknown- you address her caring about universal constants, but why? That’s the sort of question the Void assignment would ask.