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thegrapeandthefig · 4 years

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Maenadism, Artemis and Dionysus

(Warning: Very long. Sorry.)

This is a topic that has been requested by @aimee-maroux and prompted by this quote by Richard Seaford in "Tragedy, Ritual and Money in Ancient Greece: Selected Essays":

"Maenads leave home where they resist men, become like animals, and perform sacrifice. Hence the frequent association of Artemis with Dionysos. [...] They go rather to reject the men of their own household and polis. Accordingly, the Dionysiac thiasos contains married as well as unmarried women, whose departure disrupts the household in different ways. [...] In the Bacchae, the Theban maenads are compared to fillies that have LEFT the yoke."

There is actually a lot that can be said about this short 5-sentence quote. So much so that we will be focusing on two main points: First, we will address what Seaford refers to when he says "Hence the frequent association of Artemis with Dionysos." and then, I will comment briefly comment on the distinction between literary and cultic maenadism.

Dionysus and Artemis are mythologically and ritually connected, for they share an important common theme: wilderness. The term alone is muli-faceted. It can refer to the wildness of nature, animals and vegetation alike, or it can refer to the wilderness of spirit. Both deities know how to play with the duality of the concept. Because of their respective nature, neither were expected to be predictable. On a symbolic level, there is an union and contrast between the god of vegetal fertility and Artemis' link to virginity.

The city of Patras and human sacrifice

Pausanias tells us of the tale of how the city of Patras came to be freed from performing human sacrifice to Artemis Triklaria. According to him, the ancient custom of human sacrifice itself was a punishment from the goddess in response to the actions of one of her priestesses. The priestess, Comaetho, had made love with her lover in the sanctuary of the goddess. Insulted, Artemis sent pestilence upon the city. The Pythia is then consulted to figure out how to appease Artemis, and she tells them to ritually sacrifice Camaetho and her lover to the goddess and that this sacrifice must be repeated annually with the fairest maiden and young man as victims. A prophecy indicated that the sacrifices would cease when a foreign king would bring with him a strange god. And so, it happened: when Troy was captured and the king Eurypylos recieved as war bounty a chest containing a statue of Dionysus crafted by Hephaestus himself. A statue so powerful that it would drive mad anyone who looked at it, and so it drove Eurpylos mad.

Trying to understand the source of his madness, he consults the Pythia as well, who proceeds to tell him that he will come across a city that performs strange sacrifices, and that this is where he should set down the chest and make his home. And indeed, the winds carried his ship to land in Patras. Upon landing, he comes across the couple that was to being carried to the altar that year and he understood the meaning of the oracle. The people of Patras, also recognizing the events of the prophecy, adopted the cult of of Dionysus (under the title of Aesymnetes) and stopped considered themselves fred from their bloody obligation to Artemis. As for Eurypylos, his madness faded away.

Still according to Pausanias, the cult of Dionysus Aesymnetes and Artemis Triklaria included that a procession of children led by a priest who would go down at night to the Meilichos River wearing wreaths made of ears of corn (not maize, corn as in some type of cereal). The children first wear this wreath of grain, a reminder of the wreath worn by the ancient sacrifical victims, and once they have bathed in the river, they change to wear a wreath of ivy and go to the temple of Dionysus Aesymnetes. This ritual thus symbolizes the city's the liberation from Artemis' punishement.

This ritual has been interpreted in various ways and we unfortunately probably don't know enough about the rest of the festival(s?) to pinpoint the exact meaning of the cult. It does seem that the rites to Artemis Trikalia and Dionysus Aesymnetes were not held simultaneously. We also know that by the second century AD the cult of Artemis Triklaria in Patras was no more. However, what is interesting to keep from this is that Dionysus and Artemis seemed to have been considered as sharing enough common features to be substituted for one another.

There seems to have been other Greek cities where the cult of Artemis and Dionysus where somehow closely linked and suggestions have been made (eg. Dionysus' absence in Sparta might be explained by the fact that Artemis held similar cultic functions), but the evidence is too sparse to make serious claims.

Other notable links

Now that we've seen the biggest chunk, I'll quickly go through some smaller elements:

In the Odyssey, Artemis kills Ariadne "Dionusou marturiêisin" (on the denunciation of Dionysus), which some have interpreted as “on Dionysus' indictment.” If this interpretation is correct, it would highlight Dionysus' and Artemis' role as destructive deities.

The use of masks during the Spartan Ortheia

They are the only Olympians to ever have the epithet "polynumia" (of many names)

A common ability for natural madness.

Maenadism in the Bacchae vs. in cult So, we now have commented one (1) sentence of the original quote. Let's move on to the main topic, that is, maenadism. It's very important to point out what exactly Seaford is commenting on here: he is not making claims based on cultic reality. Rather, he is commenting on maenadism as portrayed in the Bacchae and, by extension, maenadism in the collective imagination of the Athenians.

The reason I'm bringing this up and making the clarification right away is because maenadism has been very discussed and debated, especially when asking the question of "does the Bacchae, and Greek art in general, portray a faithful image of a maenadic ritual?". The general consensus since Henrichs articulated his thoughts about it in the 70s leans more towards the no, in the case of Athens. Maenadic rites were for the most part organized celebrations to which only restricted groups could participate. They more likely belonged to the elite of society.

While the maenads in the Bacchae do reject the men of their households, the sources we have rather seem to indicate that women had to gain their husband's consent to participate in the ritual (as Plutarch tells us with the women of Amphissa). Of course nuance is needed also when handling those sources, which might have also tried to convey the idea that men were still in charge afterall, but it is also not impossible that men considered those rites as a necessity to please Dionysus. What is sure however, is that Greek women who participated in maenadic rites must have greatly enjoyed those short escapes from reality.

Sources: Pausanias, Description of Greece, 7. 19. 1 - 20. 1 (exerpt available on theoi.com) Bremmer J.N., Greek Maenadism Reconsidered, in; Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik, Bd. 55, 1984 Henrichs, A., Greek Maenadism from Olympias to Messalina, in: Harvard Studies in Classical Philology, 82, 121, 1978 Hughes D., Human Sacrifice in Ancient Greece, Routledge, 1991 Rangos, S., Cults of Artemis in Ancient Greece (Doctoral thesis), University of Cambridge, 1996

#artemisdeity #dionysusdeity #artemis*#dionysus*#maenads #maenadism #artemis #dionysus #hellenic polytheism #hellenic paganism #hellenic pagan #hellenismos #hellenic devotion

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thearchiveofaus · 4 years

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The Mechanisms | Runaways + Road trip AU

In which the Mechs (+Aurora and Lyf) are a group of completely mortal almost-adults who met and bonded over a badly-planned road trip and horrible pasts

It all begins with angry delinquent Jonny and lonely rich kid Nastya getting a small secondhand five-seater car and running away together from their abusive foster mother Carmilla

They don’t have an actual destination in mind when they set off—there’s a list of places they plan on visiting but otherwise it’s just “put as much distance between us and Carmilla quickly”

Most of the time Jonny drives and Nastya would navigate from the shotgun and the backseats would be left alone, and sometimes the two of them would switch places but Jonny’s a horrible backseat driver and Nastya’s road rage is somehow worse than his when she’s behind the wheel

Along the way they run into the other Mechs who decide to come along on the road trip, and the empty space is slowly filled and quickly crammed with other people and other bags

And then they’re forced to trade the car for a bigger vehicle, one that can properly fit more than seven people plus their various backpacks and duffel bags

You ever seen one of those cargo vans with only a driver and shotgun seat in the front, and the rest is empty space for carrying stuff around? They end up getting one of those

(Don’t ask how they even got the van I don’t wanna spending several hours researching used van prices)

They get a couple futons and spread them out in the back of the van and everyone who is not driving or navigating sits together and the bags are all piled up in one corner

Yeah it’s illegal to have people sit in the back of vans I think but it’s the Mechs they wouldn’t care about breaking a couple laws

(They get the van windows tinted so they don’t get caught bc lawbreaking is only fun if you get away with it)

As more people come along Jonny starts driving less; at some point the driver role becomes mainly split between him, Brian, and Aurora, though others drive too occasionally

and most of the time it’s either Nastya, Ivy, or sometimes Lyf in the shotgun navigating

Everyone in the back gets to do whatever as long as it doesn’t draw police attention to them

Most of the time they play games like charades, Truth or Dare, and Never Have I Ever, especially shortly after a new person joins the crew

They even play cards or even board games, though this is rare

The whole space pirates thing and all the tales is a LARP idea they came up with together to pass the time

(None of them bothered changing the names bc isn’t the whole point of LARPing being someone you’re not but also being you? according to Brian)

Tim brought his guitar when he came along with them, and they’d sing together while Tim plays the guitar and Brian drums on an upturned bucket with a pair of chopsticks or something

When it comes to food they don’t carry much snacks with them, and generally stop somewhere to eat - usually at small foodcourts and shitty rest area restaurants

Sometimes they stop at a particular place to sightsee

Generally someone can suggest a stop and everyone else collectively votes on whether to go there or not

There’s a whiteboard or something Ivy’s in charge of tracking the places

They also sometimes stop long enough to get odd jobs to get money and keep going

They’re all broke half the time either way but they’re having fun

At night they’d find a gas station or a supermarket parking lot or literally just pull over somewhere and stop there for the night

(Psssst the crew often end up sleeping in a cuddle pile ( ˙▿˙ ) )

#the mechanisms #roadtrip au #runaways au #this is just tired braindump #god i need sleep but i also wanna finish all these drafts i got #i wanted to mention the tragic backstories too #but #hhhh #can't fucking think right now #here y'all go

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mallowstep · 3 years

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For the love of god, please consider renaming some cats, I've seen names like

"One-Eye, Halftail, Oddfoot, FLIPCLAW (what kind of prefix is 'Flip'?) Twigbranch, Clawface etc. Don't get me started on those atrocious SkyClan names with KITTYPET PREFIXES

Harrybrook, Snookthorn, Rileypool

Like tf?

so i'm going to start with saying! as a general rule, i love these names. i will address them each in turn, but i don't have a problem with warriors having "bad names," i have a problem with names that don't make sense given their context.

it does not make sense for blackfoot to be named blackkit, when he's mostly white. (and, as a colorpoint cat, i assume, would be born entirely white.) etc.

but i have no problem with bellaleaf, because well, yeah! makes sense to me.

after all, leaf was named leafdapple, why shouldn't bella be named bellaleaf.

i'm going to discuss each name you brought up in turn, and then, under the cut, i'm going to ramble about naming philosphies.

one-eye: i'm fine with this. i don't mind cats being named after their disabilities, not when it's an established part of warriors culture. (even if it doesn't happen anymore because people would be pissed about it.) i don't know if i think it's right, or if i think cats would have a problem with it, but i think it's good. i'd like to think most cats wouldn't have a problem with it, though. that said, for one-eye in particular, her name was already white-eye, so it feels redundant. food for thought, i suppose.

halftail: i'm not okay with this, because he lost...half his tail? trust me, as someone who had a cat with half a tail, you don't notice it. doesn't make sense. he can keep sparrowpelt, altho tbh i almost always forget about him.

oddfoot: oops i forget him initially! i actually assumed he was named odd because of numbers or something, but apparently it’s a deadfoot situation. we don’t know his kit name, so i’ll assume he was named as either an apprentice or a warrior to fit. it wouldn’t make sense for him to just have the prefix odd, and i’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that he didn’t. if he did, however, i would have a problem with it because that makes his name a compound name, not because his leader renamed him.

flipclaw: i don't have a problem with it. what kind of name is flipkit? the kind of name a mother would give who looks a lot like the cat who traumatized her, i think. more importantly, i think it's cute! doesn't bother me. would i name an oc flipkit? probably not, but that's just me.

twigbranch: oh no i love her name. i love it! it's so cute. it means something, too! it has meaning. nope. no one is taking twigbranch away from me. i love it.

clawface: mixed. i don't really have a problem with a cat being named clawkit, but it feels...violent. shrug. i don't like it, but like, i also don't like sandynose.

and i won't directly address skyclan because uh i already stated my thoughts on them.

skyclan in particular, tho, it actually makes a lot of sense for their names to be like that. there is no reason to apply any clan norms to skyclan names.

i really hope they keep their names, too. tradition and legacy of names is important to them (pebbleshine and violetshine for the most direct example, but it's everywhere), and i want that to stay. i love that leafstar named her kit harrykit. never change skyclan.

as always, i want to say that i do not have a problem with anyone's methodology of naming cats. i do not care. i support every single name in existence (barring certain combinations of color and "-face," and anything in that vein), and i do not want to come across as telling you what you should do.

that includes you, anon! i do not think you should listen to me when i say i like these names. i think you should rename them whatever you want. (i strongly suggest reconsidering skyclan renames, tho. there's established reasons in canon for them to have those names, and i think it's a cool cultural thing worth exploring. i keep meaning to write a funny lil one-shot about it.)

but you know! if you want to rename them, go for it! i support you!

that said, here is what i think (and i am not an authority on this in any way, shape, or form) about names:

i've written extensively about naming traditions in the clans. if you want to read that, "names. leaders. meaning" and "names part two" are where i recommend you look. (note: first link is to my main, before i migrated warriors content here.)

i'm not going to go over any of that in detail, because well, i'd rather talk about something new?

anyway, i don't think there's a reason to rename the vast majority of cats. i have very, very, few rules. heck, in ashes, i even had squilf come out and say that there's not even a problem with cats sharing a prefix.

the two cats i have renamed are yellowstorm and runningcloud, both for very specific reasons: -fang is a suffix that only makes sense if you're a warrior, and yellowfang names runningpaw runningnose, but in this au, sagewhisker names him, and she doesn't seem like the type to give that kind of name.

in yellowfang's secret, which i do generally treat as canon, yellowfang explains runningnose's name. i don't have a problem with her giving that name to him in the slightest. i just don't think sagewhisker would, and that overrode my general conservative approach to cat names.

but i do think, to an extent, cats are named for the world around them. i explored this in "without warning," where cats can be named after all sorts of strange things (elevator is my favourite), because well, they don't know what strange names are and are not.

so, for example, if there was a kit named, say, chaffinchkit, i would probably rename them, because i've set my warriors in the pnw, and there are no chaffinches in america.

i would just name the kit finchkit, because really, a chaffinch just a specific type of finch anyway.

i also refuse to name a kit maggotkit. there are probably other canonical prefixes in this nature that i refuse, but maggot is the big one that comes to mind.

but i don't care that ferns are green and cats aren't green. maybe it's a name passed down through the generations, one they don't even remember the origin of, but now, it is a thunderclan name.

or maybe, it is given to a riverclan cat simply because their mother thinks ferns are nice and soft.

none of that matters to me, because i personally find limiting name to appearance is incredibly boring, and gives up a really nice chance to worldbuild.

in "fair is the night," ivypool and tigerheart have a brief conversation exploring this.

"ThunderClan is different," he says. "You don't use names in the same way. You don't know the Ivy before you. But ShadowClan isn't like that. Dawnpelt knows Dawncloud and Flametail knows Flamefur, but...I have Tigerstar." "That seems ineffective," Ivypool says. "You can get more mileage out of your names. Here, Ivy is for grey kits, right? But wiry ones. We need strong roots. And Dove is for grey kits, or white ones, but its for the ones who are born soft."

they go on, but i would never pass up an opportunity to explore that type of thing. (and yes i see the typo)

similarly, i like the renaming system. i am like, this close to saying i love it.

the only reason i don't make brightheart lostface in everything i write is because it'd be too much of a headache to remind people, and i also don't want to needlessly invite arguments about it.

she keeps her name in "saccharine tithes of love and glory" because it's the kind of au where i can throw small things like that, without worrying, because it fits, tonally.

i wish it didn't set a fic in a very specific tone, but it does, and so, i usually use brightheart.

(also, it's clear that she prefers brightheart in the books, and i respect that. i don't think, in my culture, that makes sense for her, but i've talked about my works as being on a spectrum between canon and me, and most stuff is far enough away from me that i call her brightheart.)

anyway.

part of it is, renaming cats is imposing my rules over canon. i feel that saying "flipclaw should be named something else" asserts that my world is correct, and canon is wrong.

like, tallstar as a name does not make sense in my windclan. a kit can't be tall, and i've established that windclan names are very literal. but i've let it go, because i chose to make that a rule, and now i live with it.

i hope i didn't come off as prescriptivist, here, because i honestly believe if you want to rename cats, you should. i'd even be happy to discuss alternatives.

for clawface, might i suggest scorchface? (the suffix is malleable, frankly, but i don't feel like thinking much about it.) scorch deliberately has negative connotations in shadowclan, so you keep the same effect as clawface. especially since it just kind of sounds ominous.

but as for what i will do, it is not rename cats. i like their names (especially skyclan's), in all their idiosyncratic glory.

#ask #anon #long #essay #names #warriors names #traditional naming #name discourse #kind of?#mine #txt #warriors #warriors culture #warriors worldbuilding #4th #June #2021 #June 4th 2021

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a-la-la-llama · 4 years

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The One Where Marinette Kicks Butt #7

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 8

It was a normal day at work, Marinette helped Ivy tend to the plants. Said flowers complained about everything and no matter what, could never decide what music they wanted to listen to to help them grow! After the whole you are not safe without the kwami’s protection, Marinette had to stop Plagg from eating flowers he deemed were cheese. Tikki kept eyeing the aphids and would snack on them when no one was looking. Sass kept coiling his tail too tight around the stems. Nooroo wouldn’t stop drinking the nectars. Pollen was pollinating. Then lastly, Orikko was plucking the daisies petals off one by one. To sum it all up, it was a pretty normal day.

Closing was easy since they didn’t have any last minute orders for the next day. Once the doors were locked, Ivy waved her off and they went in different directions.

They always closed at six-thirty and were out by seven o’clock. Gotham was beginning to change towards fall in late September, however, so the sun would start setting at seven instead of the usual eight to eight-thirty. Marinette lived fifteen minutes away and was a relatively small stature girl. She also had on her school uniform which meant everyone who saw her knew she was just a teenager. Do you see the problem yet? Can you guess what was bound to happen? Let’s set the scene, shall we!

Marinette had noticed them when she was walking by and one of the two men brushed her with his shoulder. Even though he was the one to run into her Marinette swiftly apologised and went on her way. She was eight minutes from her apartment and turning a corner when she noticed that they were not far behind her.

The problem was that they had been going the opposite way beforehand. So she tried to do what a normal person without pocket gods would do in this situation. She didn’t want to lead them home so she stuck with the few crowds there, trying to lose them. But night was approaching, slowly fewer and fewer people were out.

Marinette considered going into a coffee shop that was open but what good would that do if they just waited for her to exit. It’s not like she could afford to have a phone and even then she only knew a few people in Gotham. She was just deciding on how to locate a police or fire station when she was yanked backwards by her arm. Into a gosh darn alleyway.

Seriously, if they have the highest crime rates, and most of them happened in alleys, why do they have so many alleyways! Especially dark and dead end ones like where Marinette was standing. A normal person would be terrified but Marinette wasn’t a normal girl, but she couldn’t let them know that. For all they knew, they just cornered a helpless girl that was scared of the two men twice her size. When really they were the ones who fell into the trap of a powerful god wielding girl with no escape.

“Look who we finally caught, can’t run now.”, the blonde one taughted.

“She almost looks like a Wayne. If we could convince the boss, she’ll be worth a lot more than those other girls.”, the brunette one suggested.

Who was even a Wayne and why did she look like them? Was it the blue hair, she’d never seen others that had a natural blue like her besides her mom and Kagami. It must be her eyes, but lots of people could have blue eyes, especially in America. The blonde pulled a needle out of his pocket.

“Now just make this easy and stay still so we don’t have to hurt that pretty little face of yours!”, he sneered.

Kwami, what were these awful attempts of being intimidating? She’s seen chihuahuas do much better. Plagg’s destructive energy was pulsing through her backpack, along with everyone else but he was the strongest. Why did cats have to be so territorial, she would have to put an end to this before the magic got out of hand. None of them wanted another Pompeii, Atlantis, or Black Death on their hands. She allowed them to inch closer towards her as she started rambling nonsense in French. Better if they thought she didn’t know what was going on, they’re more likely to make arrogant mistakes. The blonde could tell she was overwhelmed and about to bolt so he quickly lunged at her, but she was faster. Next thing he knew, the needle meant for her neck was in his own as he fell unconscious.

Turning towards the brunette, he had pulled out a simple pocket knife. It wouldn’t do anything more than a flesh wound unless he hit a major artery or organ. She didn’t really want to fight the two just, you know, stop them from hurting her.

Taking off her backpack, she swung it by the strap and knocked the weapon out his hands. Tackling him was the next step and she used all of her body weight to keep him down long enough to slam the bag on his head. The egg shaped Kwami box felt like a load of brick. She should know, Marinette had dropped it on her toes multiple times! Just two hits and both her attackers were out cold.

Setting her bag back onto her bag, she stood up and straightened out her skirt. Good thing she didn’t tear any of her clothes or the two would have definitely woken up with black eyes. Marinette heard two feet gently land behind her at the entrance of the alley. Wouldn’t you know it, the blue-bird that Selina had told her about and decided to drop in. Of course, right after she finished dealing with the two herself!

“Je suis désolé de ce que je leur ai fait. Ils essayaient de me prendre mais je n'allais pas laisser ça arriver. Je dois y aller maintenant monsieur!”, she said, still playing the foreign card.

( I'm sorry about what I did to them. They were trying to take me but I wasn't going to let that happen. I must be going now sir! )

“C'est bien petite dame! Êtes-vous d'accord, vous ont-ils fait du mal?”, he answered. Marinette certainly didn’t expect him to know what she had said.

( It's alright little lady! Are you okay, did they hurt you? )

“Je vais bien. Je suis pressé, je dois y aller!”, she announced and rushed past him.

( I'm fine. I'm in a hurry, I have to go! )

Nightwing looked at what the tiny French left behind. Foreigners sure knew how to get the job done. What was even in that backpack of hers. The dude would surely have a concussion, but in the end he deserved it for trying to kidnap the girl. Gothamites could surely learn a thing or two from people like her. Now the question was what to do with the criminals. He could turn them into the police or inform Red Hood about them. One had mentioned other girls, so Red Hood would be the better option. He could investigate and find the chain and most likely rescue those who weren’t so lucky and already caught. Plus, the man had a soft-spot for any and all kids.

Nightwing thought back to the French girl. She really did look like a Wayne! Dark hair, blue eyes, seemed to have gotten herself in and out of trouble before. All she had to do was be an orphan and she’d fit the memo. The girl had a Gotham Academy uniform, maybe Damian knew her? Second thought, Damian probably didn’t talk to anybody in that darn school unless he had to, so that was out of the question. Something just wasn’t sitting right with him. He had seen her before but where? No, not her, those eyes. Nightwing had seen those eyes before.

He didn’t know how long he stood thinking in the alley but the realization hit him like a truck.

She was the freaking ghost that stole his favorite blanket!

Tag list

@legallyspawned @chocolate1721 @spartanxhunterx @dreamykitty25 @toodaloo-kangaroo @vixen-uchiha @loveswifi @amayakans @jeptwin @thewonderlandartist @buticaaba @books-and-left-behind-journals @gigibnl @aegyobutpsycho2 @crazylittlemunchkin @maribat-is-lifeblood @myazael @abrx2002 @pawsitivelymiraculous @silvergold-swirl @chaos-inperson @marichatcameback @olynix @ash-amg @elmokingkong @kitsunebell @yin-390 @indecisive-mess-named-me @jeminiikrystal @startouchedqueen1318

#maribat #The One Where Marinette

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carmenxjulia · 3 years

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Another Duane interview transcript, coming at you! This one was from a smaller Carmen Sandiego chatroom. There were several interviewers, so that’s why the name of the question asker changes. Get the details below the break! Stay tuned, more interview transcripts coming soon.

Duane Capizzi:

HI EVERYONE! I'M IN!

Sorry I'm late, I got lost on the way haha. Then got lost trying to change my PFP

Thanks for gathering! Shall we get started? Let's do some Q&A!

(as long as they are not geography questions haha)

Fuel:

What characters or plot points were cut from the final product?

Duane Capizzi:

Ooo, starting with a right hook to the jaw!

Let me think about that for a moment: I'm hesitant to give too much away because I'm really hoping we can tell more stories in this world at some point

Which is to say, we tend not to waste anything: if we don't use it when we originally planned, we usually find a way to use something later - and there's usually a "karmic" reason that we waited.

I'll also preface by saying this: I know season 3 was more of a mini-drop and some felt season 4 was rushed. But I wish EVERY season were longer. Season 1: ideally, i wanted the Pilot to be its own event and 10 more episodes after that (but we had to tell the post-Pilot story in 7. At the end of the day, that had its benefits: we got to the Shadowsan turn earlier and I think that's when a lot of viewers realized the ride they were truly in for). Season 2: we initially figured we'd need 5 episodes to have Carmen doing the ACME dance with Chief, and wound up doing it in 3 - mostly because it quickly became clear that Rio needed to be a 2 parter, and the Zack and Ivy backstory a rough 2 parter. So we squeezed 3 episodes worth of plot into 209. It was exhilarating!

So, we had hoped to have more episodes for Season 4 of course. We had a ton of ideas and had to compress things a bit. But honestly in many ways it was for the better. I know we all wanted to live in this world longer, but I think sometimes the flip side is true - when you have big ongoing storylines, it can get frustrating when some things drag out too long. But, we got all the "story" we wanted to tell in Season 4 - we just lost some "incident" if that makes sense. We would have taken longer to get there.

So, all that preface to answer the question: we wanted to do more musical numbers! We had a Bollywood dance sequence in a return to India caper with Paperstar. We wanted to do a famous Elvis suit theft in Las Vegas during an Elvis impersonator convention (Shadowsan's an early elvis guy; Brunt likes the Vegas "jumpsuit" era). We also wanted to do a thread where Gunnar gets captured by ACME so that Julia could interrogate him and he could play mind games with her a la Hannibal Lector and Clarice. CAVEAT TO ALL THIS: these were some ideas that were bouncing around, that may not have seen the light of day if we couldn't get them to work. But they were on our wish list.

re: "other stories" - I could live with these characters for another 32 episodes easily and there have of course been discussions. But alas, that is up to the powers that be. Let's keep fingers crossed - and keep the Carmen love alive online so that someone up there takes note

There is more of course, but those are some things that spring to mind.

Fuel:

Were there any scenes cut for time that were your favorite?

Duane Capizzi:

Not much springs to mind: our directors were amazing at getting everything in the scripts to fit naturally (and in fact, I was the one who was usually suggesting trims to let other things breathe, etc). We were limited to 22 minutes of episode time, NOT counting front and end credits so a little longer than the average show. We have a pretty good idea when the SCRIPT is too long, so the cutting usually happens at script stage before it gets to the board crew so that they don't waste efforts over-boarding material that won't be used.

We had hoped to build out Chase and Carmen teaming up for the first time, meeting at Carmen's hotel lobby etc for more scenes of them together; but had to reduce that to get that all to fit in the VERY packed episode 406. But again, tighter was fine considering. That's one area that leaps to mind. (note that when I say packed, I don't mean that in a bad way: we spend a lot of time pouring over details in editing to make sure everything gets its due).

If I think of anything, I'll circle back at a later point. But the simple answer is that scenes were usually trimmed or compressed at script rather than board or animatic. So nothing comes to mind. I know it's hard to believe, but "shorter is usually better."

except for my answers to fan questions of course

Fuel:

We saw that in s4 episode 6 that Julia's mother(?) is wearing a necklace remarkably similar to the one Julia wears all the time. Is this the same necklace and if so, why was it given to Julia?

Duane Capizzi:

Just when I thought I was detail oriented! Wow! You guys blow me away

I can't take credit for that: it was either the board artist or director who added that. They do slip things in! As I've said before, EVERYONE on the crew really brought their A-game and were as deep thinking and as passionate as I was/am about the show.

It's a nice detail and I would say your interpretation works!

It took me three or four reviews before noticing that the team had slipped in baby Carmen near the play set in Mom's front yard at the end of 408. When I caught it, I was like: bravo!

Fuel:

When they first met, Zack and Ivy said to Carmen that they were the only family they had, do you know what happened to the rest of Zack and Ivy's family?

Duane Capizzi:

I don't. At least, I don't yet until such a time that I might have the opportunity to explore that. It was important to their relationship with Carmen that they be orphans, so they had that common bond (aside from being "thieves who steal from bad guys" - even if it was only gonna be one time for Zack and Ivy).

I know there are writers out there who like to do entire bio's for characters up front but i'm not one of them. It could be a trap in many ways. I like to have a general idea but be open to the demands of the ongoing storyline. You discover things along the way - it's like you're taking a journey with the characters by writing them, and the longer you spend, the better you get to know them (that was not a prepared statement by the way - I just made that up but I'll have to use it again :). So in Z/I's case it wasn't important to the story or Carmen's relationship, we felt. Conversely, we STARTED with Shadowsan's family backstory with 203, but more important to me was that we use it as a platform to explain why he stays with Carmen and crew. He really has no home at that point, so it was relevant to the present ongoing story. Which is what made that especially powerful to me.

Also, there's always a push-pull between telling character back stories while balancing them with ongoing episodic plots. You have to service both. If you just tell back story, then you're writing a biography

Arden:

What was the biggest challenge when designing these characters, especially the pre-existing characters from the series in the 90's?

Duane Capizzi:

This is probably more of a question for Chromosphere, re: challenges. But from my standpoint overseeing that process, the first thing I'll say is that we weren't necessarily trying to be "true" to those characters since we reinvented nearly every one from the ground up. (with the exception of Carmen of course - her trademark red hat/coat weren't going anywhere! But mostly the update with Carmen was in the styling of her "outerwear"

ALTHOUGH: I will admit that I was pushing for Carmen to have shorter hair as Carmen. I thought it would be a cool update. Chromosphere were really passionate about giving her long full hair and I have to see that they were right. The short tomboy cut worked so well for Black Sheep anyway. We had a different hair style for each of her ages.

So about the reinventions: Gunnar is in spirit a similar character to the original (old colleague in Vile and an early mentor if I remember), but his presentation completely different. We weren't trying to be "in canon" with the original. The beauty of CSD is that every incarnation has been its own entity so that freed us to reimagine the characters. THE CLEANERS, for instance: gimme some Cleaner love! There were a pair of janitors from the original game named RICK AND NICK ICK. They were literally janitors, it was too silly for our purposes. But, it's one small step to make them "Cleaners" (in the sinister hit men sense) - and lo, our reinvention.

So to summarize the answer to your question, they weren't really challenges to me so much as FUN to creatively reinvent the original characters (many of which were from the game, so not really "characters" per se with dialogue and inner lives). Whenever we could, we tried to use character names from the originals and update their looks and personalities. Where we couldn't find an equivalent for what we needed, we created characters from whole cloth. For instance, it seemed a miss to do a heist show without a tunnel guy and a high rise climber guy. Hence, LC & ET, everyone's favorite taco truck vendors!

(yes, i've seen some short hair carmen fan art on Twitter - someone did a great one recently!)

Arden:

Are there plans to give us more of the characters in, say, novel/graphic novel form?

Duane Capizzi:

I know HMH has done a bunch and no doubt have more in works. There's currently a novelization of the Pilot with some additional material if anyone's interested. I consulted on the second one, Clue for Clue, because it falls in the timeline while Chase was still Interpol/pre-Acme so was tricky.

And depending on whether another series in this canon makes it to air, I may just approach them about writing one or two myself to get some "further adventures" our there. Anything is possible!

Arden:

If you could go back and change anything about the series, what would it be?

Duane Capizzi:

File under anecdote, but there was what I felt was an important expression on Gray that kept me awake at nights, from his graduation ceremony at Vile. When we revisited those flashbacks in the Gray arc in Season 4, I had them change his expression there (to be more evil less innocent). We had it corrected in 404 so was able to get permission to have Netflix "fix" the Pilot by adding that shot in. I am tenacious!

We really poured over everything, it's the series that I have virtually zero complaints with the end product to be honest. But the simple answer is: I would have gone back to 106 and "un-greek'd" Gray's nametag. It's sort of a rule for international that we scramble signage (which is weird for a show that takes place in many countries/languages, I know I know). It's mostly for localization/translation reasons. And I'm sure there are some countries where Gray's name might be spoken differently. But as a proper name, I think we could have made an exception and seen "Gray" on his name tag. See? Details! But that's about the worst of it

there's also like one small line from Chief in 208 where she indicates she knows Carmen is a good guy (something to that effect) which I felt was too absolute and would have tweaked the line to temper it a bit. It's tiny, but looking back it sort of bugs me and I kick myself for not catching it. But this is absolutely the series I wanted and couldn't be happier.

Carmen:

How did Carmen know she could trust Julia? As far as we know, she has not seen or heard Julia defending her, and in the Fashionista Caper, Julia even held up her gas gun to her, saying she was under arrest. Do you have any opinions on this? Was it just intuition?

Duane Capizzi:

I'm gonna go with intuition

Carmen was raised on an island with some hardened criminal types. I think she's a pretty good judge of character. Poor Julia, trying to be tough with Carmen didn't suit her.

But, great observation! I'd have to mentally step through everything to see if Carmen had any earlier indication but i think you're right there.

Yes, sometimes you just gotta follow your heart

Carmen:

Are there any characters that didn't actually interact that you think would get along well?

Duane Capizzi:

Amazing question! First, I'd have to think more about who DIDN'T meet - you're asking the hard questions haha. But "get along well" is very specific! Hmmm, care to volley anyone?

I'll also add that so many smaller moments get lost in the "binge" of it all, but I am surprised how few fans have noted the first meeting between Player and Julia. THAT was a good one IMO! Very sweet!

Before getting back to your question, I also want to add that we were originally going to find a way for Carmen to lose her earring in Stockholm so that Julia could pick it up and be communicating with Player. BUT, I cut it at treatment stage because I knew we didn't have room in that episode to service it. Circling back to questions 1 & 2, another case where it turned out better saved for later IMO (saving Player meeting Julia, not to mention the earring business in 402 with Ivy).

Oh of course, Julia and any of the other Vile members. It would have been Gunnar for my vote, as mentioned earlier. We probably would not have had Julia meet anyone else and mixed it up more. I like that Cleo sort of became J's personal nemesis.

YES, SONIA & XIFENG (and LUPE PELIGRO, if I can add). The intent was (and is, if we ever get to revisit) to see them again in Carmen's travels. We started to expand Carmen's world but when we finally learned the finite number of episodes we had to finish the story, we drilled back down into the essentials. Would love to see them some day!

I'm hesitant to share too many things I have in mind in this forum for hope that they will see the light of day one day. You know, "spoilers"

Julia:

Do you have any opinions on Zari? Just in general? Some thoughts on her backstory would be nice if possible

Duane Capizzi:

I love Zari! I really don't have any back story on her at this point. She was originally just "Agent B" but when the need arose to give story points to another agent, we chose her because she looked so awesome! And Sharon Muthu gave voice to her so wonderfully.

I love when we finally teamed her with Chase. Hopefully the anticipation was that she would give him a hard time. I love that we defied expectation (organically, of course) and had her respect him by the end of that episode (for believing that he foiled Carmen!)

Julia:

Do you have any thoughts on small facts about any character, major or minor, that you think are fun/interesting to think about, but don't necessarily add to the plot itself?

Duane Capizzi:

Bellum, like myself, likes cats. But you knew that!

I try to put everything pertinent on screen, doing double duty to service any given episode's story but also the overarching story. That "journey" thing I mentioned earlier - we had no idea Chase falling on his own car would be a thing when I first came up with it. But as other characters refer to the incident, it took on a life of its own and made the characters feel more real.

Sorta kinda related to this question and some earlier ones, I will say that I DO think there's more to learn about Shadowsan's past vis a vis Lady Dokuso: it's clear to me that they have a history together, and it's something I hope to explore someday soon (maybe in a book if not another series

Julia:

Are the Carmen Sandiego books a part of canon?

Duane Capizzi:

I only consulted on the first two or three (too busy with series!) and have not read them, so hard for me to answer in a definite way. They are definitely in the universe we've created, but not in the timeline that I know of (which would have been too hard to pull off with our script development running concurrently). But do know that the book team at HMH pays close attention to the series and world so they should be perfectly compatible. Look no further to their clever social media on the series for example.

Kenz:

We saw in season 4 that Julia and Carmen helped each other mid to long term; would there ever be a possibility that Julia would permanently or semi-permanently join team Red?

Duane Capizzi:

Of course there's a possibility. But in a sense, with ACME now finally on Carmen's side, in a sense if Carmen were back in the game Julia, Chase, Zack and Ivy would ALL be an extension of Carmen's crew. But, would J remain with ACME or literally come to Carmen's team at her HQ? As they said in an old radio show: "Only The Duane Capizzi knows ..."

Kenz:

Where do you see Carmen in her retirement (if she retires)? Do you think she would still travel the world or settle down somewhere? Similarly, do you have any thoughts on what some other characters could be doing years down the line?

Duane Capizzi:

That is a big question, and one difficult to answer without some potential future spoilers (and yes, I really want to tell more Carmen stories if you can't tell But I'll answer by giving you one "read" on our open-ended ending as seen in 408 (read no further if you haven't seen it - yeah, right haha). The ending suggests to me that Carmen settled down for a spell to forge that relationship with her mother, to make up for lost time. But, if that is indeed Carmen that we see on the rooftop, I think the ending suggests that Carmen doesn't stay still for very long. If Vile is back, there is work to be done! Carmen has a life mission - she's one determined lady.

But of course, it's deliberately ambiguous: "anyone with your heart, wisdom and courage can be Carmen Sandiego." Is it Carmen? Sonia? Someone we haven't met? I think both endings resonate: Caroline and I always said "Carmen is bigger than a person, Carmen is a movement" would be a great message to end the series on. And I think our ending resolves this chapter of Carmen's journey as a person, but also elevates her to mythic status. Which is why I love it!

And, that seems to me a pretty perfect question and answer to end our chat on. Thanks everyone! Again, I cannot tell you how moved I am to see that we have such a passionate, intelligent and talented fan base. THANK YOU.

Take care guys, thanks again for having me! 'night!

#Carmen Sandiego #CS Crew #Duane Capizzi #Interview #Transcript

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sidigtal-anim · 3 years

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AMPHIBIA: SEASON 2B SPECULATION

So! Since ‘tis the season to be jolly, we have new confirmation from the creator of Amphibia himself, Matt Braly!!! He’s given out the Episode titles for all of Season 2B as a Christmas gift, and has confirmed that the episodes aren’t done enough for a trailer. You can find the video link here.

Now I’m giving you a warning! These will contain spoilers and discussion for Season 2B. If you are trying to avoid spoilers, I suggest leaving now! If you’re cool with spoilers and speculation, stay for the ride!

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR AMPHIBIA: SEASON 2A!!!

END OF SEASON 2A - WHERE ARE WE IN THE SHOW?!

Currently, the last episode of Season 2 we’ve had was “A Day at the Aquarium,” with Anne and the Planters are heading to Wartwood for the Harvest and to collect the Calamity Box to take to the Temples. Marcy has a sketchy deal with King Andrias offered, and Sasha and Grimes haven’t been checked up on since “Toadcatcher” where they said they’re going to storm Newtopia.

We have new information on the Calamity Box with the three temples, and even more information on the colours representing the three girls. The Robot following Anne and the Planters to Newtopia (revealed as “Frobo” by Disney Amphibia promotional game) is still stuck at the edge of Newtopian Land, not entering the water as seen in the first minute of “Lost in Newtopia”. It’s still unknown what the glowing coloured eyes represent, since we’ve only seen them twice: Anne’s eyes with “Handy Anne,” and Marcy��s with “Marcy at the Gates” when she saved Sprig.

The Season 2 opening with the new animated sequence of the Sasha vs. Anne sword fight seems to take place in the location of one of the temples. In the end credits, the temple in the leftmost corner with the fallen pillars seem to be where Sasha and Anne are fighting as the sequence zooms out to Marcy holding the Music Box.

This means that Sasha and Anne are going to have a altercation at one of the temples, seemingly at the Third temple, since that location is the closest one to the Volcano temple. It could even be during the return to Newtopia, and Sasha and Grimes try to seize Newtopia like the Fire Nation did with Omashu. And we know the order of the temples from King Andrias’ book from “A Day at the Aquarium.”

It’s unclear which temple represents what jewel, but from the image above seems to infer that it goes in the order of green, blue, and finally pink. Meaning Marcy, Anne and Sasha. From a visual perspective with shape language, that correlation of people with the temples would make sense! Since the first temple seems more like a pyramid which usually has booby traps and requires wit (Marcy) to solve it. The Second Temple is represented by an arch, giving a sense of safety and welcoming. (Heart)

The Volcano...? Definitely Sasha.

No more information on Sprig’s mom or the things in the Castle’s basement (the Jelly Ghosts, the Chained Moss Men, or even the torn painting of young Andrias’ with the Toad and Frog).

That’s where we are in the hiatus. So now let’s dive into the episode titles.

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR AMPHIBIA: SEASON 2B!!!

EPISODE TITLE SPECULATION

These are all my ideas and speculation based off of the episode titles. These are not confirmed summaries, loglines or events of the episodes.

S02E11 - Night Drivers/Return to Wartwood

211A - Night Drivers: This episode seems to mainly be a returning travel episode. I don’t know what we’re getting here, maybe a nightmare creature? Or perhaps an actual nightmare? My guess is something with Anne and Hop Pop since they’re the only "Riders” who know how to drive Bessie. I do expect some talk or at least mention of Frobo since it’s outside the Newtopian area.

211B - Return to Wartwood: It’s here! The return to Wartwood! I don’t think Hop Pop will immediately unearth the Music Box and show it to the kids to give an exposition dump. I think this will talk more about people catching up with the Planters and asking how is Newtopia. Some shenanigans happen, maybe a monster, but I see this being kinda lowkey too. Perhaps the Calamity Box plot at the end as a short stinger, but nothing more really.

S02E12 - The Shut-In!: Halloween Special

212 - The Shut-In!: This episode is already out. It doesn’t fit in continuity-wise and could be placed anywhere in the season. There’s not really much to speculate upon, especially within the season. The only real speculation I see is that Hop Pop probably hasn’t told the kids yet, because I don’t think they would be as calm as they were in this episode if Hop Pop explained.

S02E13 - Ivy on the Run/After the Rain

213A - Ivy on the Run: We haven’t seen Ivy this season. The only episodes the audience is reminded of her are “Hopping Mall,” where Sprig bought that ninja pole for her that broke; and, the Halloween special. I think this episode is a follow up episode to Sprig and Ivy’s relationship, perhaps she feels as though Sprig is leaving her again for the Temples arc and is upset by that. Or some shenanigans with her mom and a new suitor for her, since that’s what originally happened for Sprivy in her Intro episodes. I see the resolution being about long distance relationships and how it can be difficult, but they trust each other and they’ll work through it.

213B - After the Rain: This. This seems like the perfect episode for Hop Pop to talk about the music box. Stormy nights are perfect impeticis for reveals and exposition dumps. I see this as an episode where Hop Pop is trying to say his “sources” can’t seem to get the box back because of the rain, or something. Anne freaks out and is constantly bothering Hop Pop. She pushes him to a point where he cracks, and explains everything about the Music Box. Or he just tells them because he thinks that if they know what they’re doing, they should know.

Or a third idea is that it is more like “The Storm” from Avatar: The Last Airbender where Hop Pop explains the horrors of the Music Box to the kids, while King Andrias’ explains to Marcy how he utilised the Music Box and how he’s lied about his age and he’s actually centuries of centuries older than he says. Then King Andrias’ reveals his deal for Marcy, which I believe is stealing the music box from Anne, so he can rescue the people trapped within the portrait from the other worlds. She may not actually steal the Music Box until the Third Temple, where all the gemstones have been recharged. How does Marcy benefit from this? I have no clue. But he’s telling Marcy this because he has to stay to help Newtopia, or because he wants an ally in a time of need.

And Anne ends up saying, “We have to tell Marcy, and warn her!.” But Hop Pop says that they can’t since she may follow the King. A new reversal of Anne having to choose to use her head instead of her heart, which we see her struggle with in “A Day at the Aquarium.” This perhaps starts an arc where she’s acting similarly to Sasha in terms of peer pressure tactics and gaslighting to avoid Marcy learning the truth.

S02E14 - The First Temple

214 - The First Temple: This episode is a freaking two-parter! An introduction to the mythology of the Temples. Discussing the location, Act One is travelling there. Marcy talks to Anne about Wartwood, and maybe a bit more into her own family life. I see Sasha, I think we’ll get hints of Marcy’s conflict from her deal with the King, their only way home. But at the same time, Anne is having her conflict about telling Marcy the Frog side of the Music Box, after learning the secrets Hop Pop reveals.

Act Two is arriving at the Temple, and entering the Temple using Marcy’s big brain skills. Act Three is recharging the Green Gemstone and learning the location of the Second Temple. Something I do find interesting about this is the glowing eyes subplot adjacent to the Music Box. Will it somehow affect Marcy? Will she lose her “Wit”? Or does this unlock a new power within her or something? We’ll see!

S02E15 - New Wartwood/Friend or Frobo?

215A - New Wartwood: I do think this has been a while coming. Wartwood has had issues with accepting change and differences. Like in “Toad Tax,” where Hop Pop makes an off-hand joke that the town’s Motto is “Slow to accept, and even slower to respect.” Even though that is not okay, there have been plants for a change to Wartwood. Redoing and improving on themselves. Or it could just be a plot where the Mayor has to redo everything in Wartwood and making it fancy hotel, and the Plantars have to stop him. Then creates a moral of change is within, not outside.

215B - Friend or Frobo?: Okay, a Frobo episode! We haven’t talked about Frobo, and don’t even know its name from the show itself. This is probably a big mythology reveal. In case anyone doesn’t know, this robot is seemingly inspired by the one from Hayao Miyazaki’s “Laputa: Castle in the Sky.” There are a lot of theories, but I think Marcy’s curiosity would want them to follow Frobo, but her head will say something against that. Anne’s “Heart” will tell her to follow the Frog Robot and lead them to a new area of knowledge unknown previous.

S02E16 - Toad to Redemption/Maddie and Marcy

216A - Toad to Redemption: A possible Sasha episode???? Whomst? Whenst?? Since Season 1, I basically expect minimal Sasha episodes. Sasha and Grimes having two episodes in one season?? What?!

But “Toad to Redemption” is an interesting title. Perhaps Grimes or one of his remaining soldiers of Wanda and Percy change their minds? Or perhaps Anne and Marcy encounter one of the Toads that split up with Grimes post-Reunion. And they’re trying to learn to combat their racist beliefs of Frogs being less than Toads. A bit more of a Hop Pop episode since it deals with moving on from traditions that hinder you, but also realising the things that are necessary. I think the latter is more likely, but a Sasha and Grimes episode would work really well, especially this deep into the season.

If this is a Sasha and Grimes episode, I do believe that Yunnan will come back and try to get payback for them defeating her. And getting Grimes would be her “Toad to Redemption.”

216B - Maddie and Marcy: Yas! Creepy goth-like girl with a sunshine klutz. I think this is going to be a more fun episode after the heavy stuff in the previous segment.

S02E17 - The Second Temple/Barrel’s Warhammer

217A - The Second Temple: Temple Number Two!! The one for Heart. I think this one deals more with the idea of “Pure Hearted”. Therefore, I think that Anne is holding in the secrets of the Music Box, not making her “Pure of Heart” and therefore will have to tell Marcy. She reveals the information here, and Marcy tells her she can trust her, but she doesn’t reveal her deal with the King.

217B - Barrel’s Warhammer: Who is “Barrel”??? Seems like a new side gag character like The Curator or The Theatre Troupe. I have no idea what Warhammer means, either a literal Hammer for War, or it’s the game with the miniature objects.

S02E18 - Bessie and MicroAngelo/The Third Temple

218A - Bessie and MicroAngelo: I haven’t even watched the episode or seen the descriptor, but I know that this is going to be the cutest episode to ever exist on television and I absolutely am here for it. Perhaps on their way to the Third Temple, MicroAngelo is feeling down on his accomplishments as a snail, and sees Bessie as a mentor. I think the episode last season “Children of the Spore” will come back, since the mushroom still lives on that bug. So Bessie and MicroAngelo will save the day!

218B - The Third Temple: I am absolutely terrified for this episode. Much like with Infinity Train: Book 1 with two very specific episodes, and just as a general rule of writing, when you begin with a segment that is happier, it highlights and accents the horror and angst. Especially because this seems to be an episode where Sasha is necessary since she’s the last colour/gemstone.

S02E19 - The Dinner/Battle of the Bands

219A - The Dinner: This episode would make sense. Immediately upon seeing the title I thought of an Adventure Time episode, S10E05 - Seventeen, where a group of characters thought to be gone return at a party. Upon further development, I believe this would be a banquet to celebrate the recharging of the Music Box and returning Anne and Marcy home. Unsure about where Sasha is at this point, but she exists and they’ll most likely find her to get her home as well.

219B - Battle of the Bands: Now this is absolutely bonkers level of random. The penultimate episode of Season 2 is a Battle of the Bands???? The only person that can play an instrument is Sprig, and the only one that has really been seen dancing is Anne.

The only real idea I have for this is that it does what “Anne of the Year” did last season, where it wrapped up the character arc, and the plot surrounding that, but the actual plot is what will get touched upon in the finale. “Anne of the Year” resolved the plot of Anne being a stranger to Wartwood, which was the whole season’s conflict. While the finale, “Reunion” dealt with Sasha and the Toads. So I think “Battle of the Bands” will resolve Anne’s arc of being the Heart, and the finale will deal with the plot.

S02E20 - True Colors: 24-Minute Finale

220 - True Colors: This is a very interesting title. Since we know that the three girls represent three colours, that probably would mean a clash of them. This is probably where the full culmination of all the plot threads come into play. (The Music Box, King Andrias, the stuff in the basement, Sasha and Grimes, Sprig’s Mom, Marcy, and even Frobo) The title could also refer to a truth being revealed, with someone speaking their true colours.

I have no thoughts on the season finale so far, but I do hope this will be as satisfying as “Reunion” or more so. My expectations are super high! I’ll probably update more on my thoughts either when the trailer releases for 2B or the week of the finale airing.

END OF SPOILERS AND SPECULATION!!

That ends the speculation for 211 to 220 of Amphibia! Who knows when the episodes are releasing! (Matt says around February or March 2021! Which is a couple of months away!!!)

Let me know what you think and if you have any thoughts, ideas, responses to the speculation! I’m more than happy to hear you out!

#amphibia #amphibia spoilers #amphibia season 2 #hop pop #hop pop plantar #anne boonchuy #anne amphibia #amphibia season 2 spoilers

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princessbatears · 4 years

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Kitten Moon

Lunar Cycle Series #3 | #1 | #2 |

Pairing: Frankie Morales x Female Reader Summary: You and Frankie discover a tiny, abandoned kitten during an early spring full moon Warnings: mention of previously deceased pet, abandoned animal, mention of werewolf hunting for dinner Words: 900 Tags: Were!Frankie, adopting a new pet, established relationship, personal werewolf lore, purring, soooo much (too much? NEVER!) literal and figurative fluff

So much thanks to my partner in crime @hdlynn for prompting me with this idea, for letting me use a picture of her gorgeous cat when she was a kitten, and for being my beta reader! I couldn’t do any of this without you. 🥰

You’ve always loved having pets. You grew up with several, mostly dogs, a couple cats, a few gerbils. When you got married, your furchild was a little elderly mutt named Sherbert.

She passed away from heart disease shortly before the werewolf attack on Frankie, leaving you brokenhearted. He’d suggested adopting a new dog—maybe even a puppy—but every time he brought it up you burst into tears. The subject was quickly dropped.

One spring full moon, you’re walking back with Frankie after his hunt. It’d been uneventful and he didn’t even get bloody, which is a pleasant change. There’s always less mess when he dines on several smaller wild animals instead of a large one.

He suddenly pauses, ears swiveling to the left as he sniffs the air. You watch him for signs of danger, but his eyes are worried rather than alarmed or aggressive. After a beat, he turns and starts in the direction of the country road near the edge of your property.

“Frankie, stop,” you hiss, worrying that someone will see him. Almost nobody travels this far out, especially at 2 a.m., but you don’t want to risk it. “Francisco!”

Ignoring you, his pace slows. That’s when you hear it: a tiny, pitiful mewling. Your heart sinks. A kitten is out here in the dark. The snow might be gone, but it’s still much too chilly for a helpless baby to be alone.

It only takes Frankie a second to find the black fluffball under a bush. It’s tiny, probably only a few weeks old. You expect it to be afraid of him, but it takes a few wobbly steps closer, screaming up at him for food. It must sense he only wants to help.

It screeches even more loudly when you crouch in front of it. “Where’s your mommy, little one?” you coo, scooping it into your hand. It’s damp and shivering. You’ve got to warm it up, then feed it.

You turn to Frankie anxiously. “Can you smell any others? A mother? More kittens?”

He inhales deeply before shaking his head somberly. That means it was probably dumped, either alone or with a mother it got separated from. Anger coils in your stomach. How could anyone do this to a defenseless creature?

“We need to hurry. Who knows how long it’s been out here?” You cradle the still-crying kitten to your chest.

Rearing onto his hide legs, he indicates that he’d like to carry you. Honestly, it’s not your favorite way to travel. He’s so tall that you’re uncomfortably high off the ground, and you’re afraid you’ll put his back out even though he could probably carry a horse without hurting himself.

Still, he can move faster than you can and the kitten needs to get out of the cold. “Okay,” you sigh.

Carefully, Frankie scoops you up and begins to run. It’s a jarring ride. His back legs aren’t made for going long distances, but the time you tried to ride him like a pony ended with you losing your grip and landing in poison ivy. You’d taken a good chunk of his fur with you, too. Nobody wants a repeat of that debacle.

Within minutes, he’s setting you on your feet again. You feel vaguely motion sick, however, your concern for the kitten overrules your desire to sit down.

Hurrying into the living room, you use your free hand to grab a blanket off the nearest sofa. You feel Frankie gently tug on your coat sleeve to get your attention. When you turn, he’s curling up in a ball on the floor. He gestures for you to place the kitten in the center of the cinnamon roll he’s made of himself.

Smiling, you tuck it into his fluffy fur. It immediately begins to knead with its teeny paws, which you take as a sign it likes where it is.

Unfortunately, there isn’t an emergency vet anywhere near you and the pet store won’t be open for hours. Grabbing your phone, you begin to research homemade kitten food. You find an acceptable formula recipe that you can give it until you’re able to get something better in the morning.

“I’m going to make it some food. Are you good here?” you ask Frankie. He thumps his tail softly before beginning to bathe the kitten with his tongue. There’s something about the sweetness of the gesture that makes you nearly weep. He’s going to be an amazing father.

You hurry to the kitchen to heat evaporated milk and an egg yolk together. Then, you find an unused medicine syringe in the bathroom.

“Okay, baby kitty,” you whisper, settling on the floor, “you ready for some grub?”

The kitten suckles eagerly, its tiny ears beating back and forth. It makes biscuits against Frankie’s fur again.

You stroke its back with a finger. Frankie’s ministrations have warmed and dried it. The dark fluff is so soft. You feel something inside you finally start to heal.

“Hey,” you say softly, “how do you feel about a cat as our next pet?”

He gives you a massive grin before licking the kitten’s messy face clean. It doesn’t seem to care that his tongue is wider than it is. In fact, it vibrates with the cutest little purr.

You lay down next to them, resting your head on Frankie’s side, and watch your new family member snuggle down for a much needed snooze.

Thank you SO much for reading this story; I'd love to hear your thoughts! 🥰

Frankie Morales Masterlist

Werewolf Masterlist

#were!Frankie #werewolf frankie morales #werewolf catfish frankie morales #Triple Frontier AU #Triple Frontier werewolf AU #werewolf frankie morales x reader #Werewolf frankie morales x you #frankie morales x reader #frankie x reader #frankie morales x you #frankie x you #frankie morales triple frontier #werewolf x reader #werewolf x you #werewolf x human #frankie catfish morale #Lunar Cycle series #Lunar Cycle 3 #my writing

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sepublic · 4 years

Text

Halloween Special: The Shut-In!

So, this episode is SUPPOSED to be canon, I believe? Or the idea is that within the episode itself, the events take place after the Plantars return to Wartwood, but otherwise it isn’t canon? I’m not sure, I’ll have to go check. Either way…

This was a REALLY fun, and surprisingly freaky episode, especially towards the end! I love the darker, pragmatic take on Halloween for Amphibia, and how the holiday is interpreted in this world as more of a doomsday preparation sort of thing, this show’s worldbuilding is always so fun. Let me tell you, I lost my mind when I saw human Sprig, Polly, Maddie, and Toadie! Is the implication that Toadie is actually, like, around the kids’ ages this entire time? That makes people shipping him and Mayor Toadstool, uh… VERY, er… But at the same time, I can see why everyone thought he was an adult- So an honest mistake and thus no harm done! And come to think of it, Polly seems to be about the same age as Sprig here. So, the ages may not necessarily match… But then come to think of it, it IS weird that the writers/animators chose to give Toadie a humansona, and not say, Ivy! Actually, Toadie is rather minor and feels oddly specific considering who else was excluded, so I have to wonder if there was some particular reason for this, of if the writers just felt like it?

Anyhow, the humanized versions of our frog friends are adorable, Sprig and Polly are gingers, no surprise there, and the bucket over Polly’s foot is so cute! I love how Anne didn’t even TRY to change who she was, she legit just tied up her hair and that’s it. Her story was a fun premise, and I expected the video to actually be a jumpscare that pulls in its victims at the last moment. And I mean, sort of? It definitely takes a while for that Video Cat demon thing to arrive… But I loved Anne in this bit, how she’s so smug and proud of herself and really doesn’t want to care what others say about her skills, you go girl! You go write dialogue! And I just realized, but this is possibly the closest look we have to Anne’s actual home and bedroom, assuming things haven’t been changed up all that much in the ‘bootleg’ translation… So F-Annes, analyze!

That Video Cat being unable to take criticism and literally dying to it is a mood. Also, either its eggs ARE boba, and/or they just taste like it… Either way, keep in mind that Molly legit took a huge bite out of one. Then again, more feral things have happened in Amphibia and ESPECIALLY with Polly, so I guess I’m not too shocked- Look at Anne, she wanted to eat that monster crab that almost killed Sylvia way back when! Are those cats invincible because they’re bound to no videos, or are they subject to regular criticism in general… Can they also be physically killed as well?

WHY am I even asking, when we know this isn’t canon whatsoever and is never going to come up again!? Anne insists that this happened to her phone specifically, so I guess the gag is that the phone had a previous owner named Anna, etc…. Still, while it’s funny how Anne just gets away with completely making up a story, I do have to wonder if it’s like. Allegorical to a real-life experience. Probably not, given the presence of humanized Sprig, Polly, Maddie, and Toadie… Unless Anne is recounting something that happened in Amphibia, but then Sprig and Polly would’ve recognized what Anne is alluding to, given how they remembered those other past adventures (which was a hilarious gag that I felt nostalgic to recognize). I’m probably just overthinking it.

Then, we’ve got Hop Pop’s story! He had LUSCIOUS locks, and he met the Grim Reaper- Again, allegedly. Not gonna lie I assumed that dude was Frog Lucifer or something, but this is kind of better? Either way that was pretty dark, and I love the implication that the Grim Reaper legit went out of his way to steal some rando’s hair. Poor Hop Pop, he never got his hair back! Are we going to call this canon? Does this confirm the presence of a Frog Grim Reaper?

(Side-note, I feel bad for Wally! Imagine being born on a day where everyone has to be holed up lest they turn into Were-Amphibians! That must’ve been quite the scandal for the Ribbiton family, I have to wonder if this influenced his decision to go out and live his own life with how lonely Wally was…)

Then we have Sprig’s story! I’m so happy to see Ivy again, I never realized how much I missed her and her adorable design, and her hair is so cute! Kind of reminds me of Anne with how wild it is, I want to see a one-shot of Anne bonding with Ivy over their messy hair now. I really appreciate that gag of Sprig realizing what Ivy’s about to say, about how everyone has knitting needles, and Ivy breaking down that door without remorse. This story was my favorite, not just for the comedy, but also…

DANG, that was legitimately terrifying?!When I saw those slimy frog skins, knowing those were actual people, with Hop Pop even suggesting one of them could’ve been Gary… and YIKES, what happens to the flayed bodies?!? Legit I freaked out when I saw the Seamstress, this was straight-up Leather Face, the show wasn’t even trying to be subtleor dodge around it, those were actual people skins! This was some Wartwood Chainsaw Massacre…! Seeing all of those hanging skins and faces gave me the heebie-jeebies, I didn’t expect the show to go THIS far, and while I’m impressed and glad it managed to freak me out, still! That build up to the reveal of Ivy literally ripping off that ‘face’, us seeing a glimpse of the Seamstress before her skins fall off, and it looks like she lacks any skin entirely, and that’s why she wears others’!

Only, she DOES have skin, it’s just clear- Fun fact, I watched this with my brother and he immediately recognized the Seamstress as a Glass Frog, by name, before Sprig did! I think it was a neat gag how for Sprig, he immediately calms down because for Amphibians, Glass Frogs are a somewhat normal and non-supernatural facet of life, relatively speaking. For us humans, well, it reminds me of this one myth about a woman whose head can rise from her body, unveiling her organs…

I THOUGHT the episode was going to go the sweet route, even as I joked that the Seamstress still, y’know, KILLED people. And like Apothecary Gary, the show remembered this and we legit had the Seamstress burn to death in a classic horror movie finale, and I yelled when she made one last stand to grab Ivy by the leg and bite her! I get that there’s meant to be an allegory between Ivy not appreciating her own hair, and the Seamstress not appreciating her own skin, body positivity and all that- But mostly I was too freaked out to appreciate it. Ivy waddling around blindly in present-time was adorable, though.

And, Polly! I LOVE the sort of lesson, the realization that her being gone was scarier than ANY story they’d heard that night (probably because this was real, at least I assume the other stories were fake but regardless). We get our twist of Polly turning into a Were-Tadpole, and then anticlimactically reacting while the others lose their minds as noises of ruckus are heard, implying that Polly immediately went feral afterwards, or the others just made a mess as they freaked out! Also, love the twist on the ending credits, that’s delightfully morbid…

All in all, this was a great episode! Surprisingly scary, and definitely hilarious- It’s a much-needed break from this Amphibia hiatus, especially now that I’m also dealing with the hiatus for The Owl House and Infinity Train (the latter of whom may be permanent PLEASE watch the show on HBO Max), and Kipo’s ending. I do have Carmen Sandiego’s third season to watch, though. I wonder if there’s any speculation to be gleaned from the Blue Moon turning people into monsters, and how that can connect to Blue Energy for the Calamity Box relating to the virtue of Heart. Does the Blue Moon turn people into a monstrous form that reflects the darker sides/fears of their heart? I’m probably overthinking it. Either way, I’m really glad we got a classic Holiday Episode for this show- I always love those, ESPECIALLY Halloween ones!

#amphibia #halloween #amphibia anne #anne boonchuy #amphibia hop pop #hopediah plantar #amphibia sprig #sprig plantar #amphibia polly #polly plantar #amphibia ivy

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bffsoobin · 4 years

Text

Windflower

01| 02|03|04|05|06

↳ after a heartbreak you find yourself in a small town looking for purpose. you find employment with Choi Soobin and his impressive ancestral home. when you start to fall in love again, there’s no way for you to predict what you find in the depths of the home and Soobin’s mind.

➤ hanahaki au, fluff, angst

Word Count: 2,438

Warnings: Light swearing, Soobin being a cutie pie, me not proofreading. I think that’s it??

A/N: This does include the writing that was part of the preview post I made, but it is the first official chapter of Windflower! Please know that genre and warnings will change with every chapter I post! I also don’t quite have an upload schedule, sorry about that!! Hope you all enjoy nonetheless!

•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•☾☼☽•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:••:•.•

Your car groaned in protest as you turned into the parking lot of the quaint diner. Giving the dashboard two loving yet harsh hits with the palm of your hand seemed to do the trick. Now silent, the beat up blue car seemed to quietly thank you as you settled between the white painted lines of a parking space and shut off the engine. It was a gray, overcast day but humidity hung in the air wherever you went, making your hair puffy and the back of your legs stick to the cracking leather of your driver’s seat. Heaving a sigh at the uncomfortable stickiness, you pulled down the mirror from the roof of your car to survey the reflection staring back at you.

It’s a startling thing, to look at yourself in a mirror and barely recognize your face. Your skin was dull and starting to break out, the bags under your eyes had seemingly never been more prominent than they were in this moment. Your fingers danced over the darkened skin, wondering at what point of your trip you began to look so worn down. Was it the moment you left your apartment? The twelve hours of mindless driving with no destination in mind? Or had this degeneration begun the moment you found yourself completely alone in life?

You snapped the mirror back up against the roof and rubbed your hands over your face. Mindlessly, you pushed through the items littering your passenger seat until you clasped the familiar quilted fabric of your wallet. As soon as you stood up outside of your car, a wave of dizziness sent you grasping at the top of your car for support. You needed food more than you had originally estimated. Your legs were still a bit shaky from disuse as you walked toward the small white building. Portions of the paint had peeled off in jagged strips to expose the tightly stacked brown bricks waiting underneath. The simple clear door displayed a sun-faded open sign with handwritten hours of operation. As soon as you pushed the door open, the smell of grease and fresh apple pie invaded your senses and your face involuntarily shrunk up in disgust. Another thick paper sign attached on a tarnished metal stand boasted a cheerful cursive that read “Please Seat Yourself!” You could hear a radio playing faintly from somewhere in the building.

Almost every booth in the rectangular dining area was vacant, save for one elderly couple sharing a plate of fries. The floor was sticky under your feet as you made your way to a booth, and whether the texture was a result of the humidity or a lack of cleaning, you couldn’t tell. Sliding into the booth was familiar, almost comforting as you thought back to all of the times you had slid into booths with your friends at dinner, or slid yourself into a booth at the coffee shop near your apartment to work on a paper. Well. Your old apartment. The thought of adjusting to past tense created a scowl on your face as an unsuspecting waitress approached your side. She cleared her throat and caught your attention. To your surprise, she was fairly young, maybe in her late 30s; and she stood in her bright blue blouse and skirt uniform with a cock to her hip and a serving tray tucked under her arm.

“Hi, hun. My name is Melissa, what can I get ya?” the woman’s tone was deceivingly cheerful, given the slow restaurant and heavy air. You heaved a sigh and looked down at the thin paper menu. It wilted in your hand as you picked it up and you soon abandoned the idea of even trying to read through it.

“Hi. A vanilla milkshake and fries, please.” The order was so simple that Melissa didn’t even write it down, just nodded and turned to head into the kitchen to relay your order. A dull buzz warned you of the beginning of a headache but you expertly pushed the feeling aside and decided to ask for a glass of water when she came with your order. Mindlessly, you began searching your phone for places to stay in the tiny town you had stumbled upon. This hadn’t been the kind of place you expected to end up for the summer, but you were never one to plan anything. Enthralled in your scrolling through motel listings, Melissa scared you as she set your order down in front of you. She caught a look at your phone and your face flushed in embarrassment. How much of an obvious tourist could you be? You asked for a glass of water in an attempt to shoo her away, but when she came back with a glass covered in condensation she didn’t leave.

“Not from around here?” it was a rhetorical question, but you gave her props for trying to ease you into the conversation. You shook your head, not really caring to elaborate on where you came from as you shoved a few fries into your mouth.

“I don’t usually talk to customers like this, but; well, we’re dead today and I saw you looking at places to stay on your phone. I don’t recommend any of them. Especially not to a young pretty girl like you. Most of them are way too pricey for their rooms. And the Moonlight motel is literally run by a druglord. He’d gobble you up,” she shivered at her own words.

“Well, where should I stay, then? Unless I missed a Best Western on the way in, I don’t have many other choices,” you deadpanned, hoping to hide the nervousness that was rising in your stomach. If you didn’t stay here, where would you go? But then again, why do you want to stay here so bad in the first place? You took a slurp of your milkshake as you contemplated.

“Look, it’s sort of a town secret, but you remind me of my niece, so I’ll just tell you now. There’s this estate- gated, two story house, old timey stuff, gorgeous garden” Melissa waved her hands around as she spoke, chipped red fingernails putting on a show of their own. “It’s called the Flower House, actually. It’s been passed from generation to generation, since the town was founded. The boy who owns it now is just about your age, but he’s been living there alone since his cousin moved away for college years ago. He’s a lovely boy, we love when he comes into town, it just isn’t often.” you raised your eyebrows at her, trying to figure out how this mysterious boy and his ancestral house had anything to do with your housing predicament. “Long story short, he came around a few weeks ago looking for anyone who would be willing to help him keep the house and yard clean. No pay, but it’s free living in a beautiful home. And he’s not bad looking either.” she winked suggestively. “If you want, I can give you the address and you can go talk to him?”

You looked into her eyes, sparkling with hope of giving you a helping hand. “Okay, yeah. Sure, what have I got to lose?” Melissa hurried away to get writing materials as you continued eating with renewed vigor.

As Melissa cleared your minimal dishes away, she set a ripped piece of paper in front of you that simply read;

“Choi Soobin, 476 Gardenia Dr.”

After paying and being sure to leave your helpful waitress a generous tip, you hopped back in your car and began your journey to discover the mysterious Flower House.

The drive through town was oddly peaceful, even with the grumbling of your car to accompany you alongside the pop songs on the radio. Air whipped into your windows as you drove by houses, small restaurants and one single chain grocery store where everyone seemed to be shopping. Stopping at an intersection with a single blinking stoplight, your phone instructed you to turn left. You passed the town’s schools, elementary and highschool; all huddled onto one campus with a large parking lot separating the two. The electric sign posted reminders of the last day of school for the students as you sped by. The farther you got away from the school, the older the houses became. Some were rotting apart, others covered in creeping vines. The street gradually slanted upwards as you continued to drive towards your destination. At the end of Gardenia Drive stood a towering home with a multitude of windows circling the entire building. A large chimney stood out on the top, one of the only signs of the home’s age; as the outside was wonderfully kept. The most impressive feature was of course the garden, for which the house gained its nickname. Your mouth hung open as you tried to fathom the sheer amount of flowers that were in full bloom on the front lawn. Blues, pinks, purples, reds and whites all stitched together in a beautiful quilt of florals. Some ivy was growing up the old wrought iron gates and the trunks of a few towering trees. While the growth made other houses look dated and worn down, the ivy here only added to the elegance that took your breath away. With your car parked on the road right outside, you exited your car to approach the gates.

Fumbling with your hands, you navigated over the brick path leading up to the intimidating 10 foot tall gates. Despite the obvious history of the metal, a modern doorbell buzzer and camera system was installed just to the left of the entrance. It was harder than you’d like to admit to raise the courage for pressing the button. Your mind blanked as you performed the action, not knowing what to expect. A voice crackled through the speakers and made you jump.

“Who’s there?” a smooth voice inquired. Suddenly you were unsure of what to say.

“I, uh. I’m Y/N. A waitress at Russ’ Diner told me to come talk to you about an um.” your mouth was suddenly going dry. “A living arrangement?” A small exclamation of understanding was music to your ears.

“Okay! Hold on, I’ll be right over to the gate!” The static disappeared with the voice. You looked down at your phone out of habit and realized you had no reception. Figures, as you were sort of in the middle of nowhere. It didn’t matter right now anyway. You put the device in the back pocket of your shorts just as the gate began creaking open and welcoming you onto the property. You could faintly make out the shape of a body making its way toward you through the dense trees.

When he stepped into your line of sight, sunshine managed to peek through the thick blanket of clouds that had been permeating your entire visit and bask him in a wash of gold. He was tall, with long legs covered in the material of light wash skinny jeans. The knees were a bit dirty, and you recognized the stains as a mix of grass and dirt. He was wearing a simple white t-shirt that clung perfectly to his wide shoulders and showed off his defined waist.

Not only was he dressed in a way you definitely didn’t expect, but his looks threw you even farther into surprise. His face was evenly tanned, and not a single blemish could be found. Suddenly, you became all too aware of the dismal state of your own complexion and fought the urge to bring a hand up to cover your face from him. Dark, hooded eyes examined your form as you stood awkwardly on the path and waited for his next words. He seemed amused by your lack of introduction, and chuckled a little as he asked, “Y/N?”

Hearing your name broke the spell that his beauty had put you under and you nodded. His face lit into a smile as he beckoned you further onto the land with a waving hand. You followed him closely and caught his words as they floated in the wind back to you. “I’m Soobin. This house belonged to my great-great-great uncle and his wife. Well, wives.” He chuckled to himself as he led you into a gazebo. Soobin settled into one of the wooden chairs situated around a matching table and gestured for you to sit in the one across from him. A pit of nervousness built in your stomach at the close proximity between the two of you. The table was only three feet wide, and Soobin’s long leg stretched in front of him and decreased your distance even more. Up close, you could see the permanent upturn of the corners of his mouth, and the sparkle in his brown eyes.

His honey brown hair ruffled in the breeze that passed you by and he closed his eyes at the feeling for a moment. “So,” he began suddenly, “you were at Russ’? Who sent you my way for the job?” He clasped his hands together and rested his chin on the new structure. He blinked owlishly as you took a deep breath.

“Yeah, I just came into town for the summer. Melissa served me and she told me that all of the motels here are pretty shit,” Soobin laughed and nodded at that, and your heart skipped a beat. “So she gave me your info. Said you might be able to give me a better place to stay if I helped you out.”

“Ah, I see. Melissa is right, though. Those motels are awful. I definitely wouldn’t want to see you staying there.” He appraised your face for a second while he paused. “If you want the job, it’s yours.” He stated as if it were the most casual thing in the world. You sputtered.

“Wait, what? That quick? You don’t even know anything about me! I could be a murderer!” He laughed openly at you now, and the sound stirred an emotion in your stomach you hadn’t felt in months.

“Well, are you? A murderer?”

“No! Of course not.” Soobin nodded and crossed his arms over his chest.

“So, can you clean? Cook a decent meal? Drive to the city for groceries? Water some plants?” You nodded at every question he raised and watched as his smile upticked more with every bob of your head.

“Then you’re perfect. Welcome to the Flower House.” He stood, frame towering over your still sitting being and offered you a strong looking hand. Ticking his head toward the massive home behind him, he grinned. “Tour?”

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soc-characters-as-songs · 3 years

Note

Favorite part of the interviews and a song for all?

ivy: "*he keeps a small polite smile, silently gesturing to the refreshments available as he asks* how have you been finding angeles and the palace, ivy?

*/king doof-ael,/ the title her friend alba had dubbed him with, though she couldn't possibly off that as another name. even if it was interesting, it's only when raphael sits that she notices one of the imposing figures standing a ways behind him. /the divergent man/. seven. he was here? now???"

alaska ("and I walked off an old me/oh me, oh my I thought it was a dream/so it seemed/and now breathe deep, I'm inhaling/you and I, there's air in-between/leave me be, I'm exhaling/you and I, there's air in-between")

meredith: "*he keeps a smile at her* I believe I do prefer celebrations inside, though, knowing how hot it can get in the afternoon here in angeles.

*she feels a bit insensitive when he answers because it's such a huge "duh" moment and she kind of just didn't think about it before she made the comment about all the parties. but she can just add it to her mounting list of little mistakes. she grimaces and nods, murmuring* right, sorry, of course. *she shifts again, reminding herself that she needs to focus more* it's um... colder in northern angeles too. at least where I grew up *she breathes in a sigh because somehow she's turned this into a conversation about the weather, which she feels like is what you do when you're stuck in a waiting room with a stranger and even if that's what the interviews could be likened to she was hoping it wouldn't be like that. she squirms a bit more and honestly a bit of desperation is setting in and meredith unclasps her purse, finally looking down so she can see what she's doing. she hesitates a moment, then reaches a hand inside and pulls out an assorted bag of gummy bears, which she pilfered from the pantry the night before. she quickly closes the purse again, then her hands go to the bag as she opens it, the bag makes that loud plastic crinkly sound. meredith finally looks up at him again and gives him a weak smile, holding up the bag between them, with the opening facing his way* would you like some? *her eyes dart to sam and the cameras, then back to him* it has all the flavors, I think"

good as it gets ("just leave it up to me, to be sad in paradise/I got a good heart but f*ck it for the art/had a good life, I could never really see that/got so bad, lookin' for love in the trash/if I had it, I wouldn't know how to keep it/well, maybe i'm a mess/and maybe I'm depressed/and maybe I'll just find out who I am and I won't like who it is/and I'm a wreck"

diana: "*he shakes his head at her question, not dismissive at all but offering only this* I'm not the cooking or baking type. reading, you could say, is a hobby of mine - basic as it sounds. *he knows it's probably not enough as an answers so he also adds this* podcasts are a good alternative too if I'm moving around on vehicles *he leans back, putting his elbow on his arm rest as he thinks about the baking thing but wanting to confirm his guess he asks* if you don't mind me going back to the cupcakes, were they in celebration of something?

*she shakes her head when he calls his hobby basic* it's not basic at all. I love reading, honestly, it's a luxury to be able to pick up a book on any topic and learn about something new */especially when you never got a formal education past high school/. she thinks it but doesn't say it out loud*"

blind ("but you're a little like me, same type/cancels every date night/stays home, never leaves/just can't find the energy/I stay pretty numb/never fell for anyone/you seem similar/always end up getting hurt/I haven't felt a thing this year/and I'm only tryna be sincere")

dahlia: *elevator music*

alassie: "*he shakes his head at her question, unsure also of how she's approaching this either but he lifts a shoulder up* not exactly, since it was accidentally spilled on me. it's a shame, however, that I don't have the time to change until a few interviews after this. *he waits for her to take a seat properly, gesturing to the seat again* I do ask for your patience to look beyond that for the next five minutes of your time.

*she raises her eyebrows at his gestures, and settles a little more in her current position by crossing her legs. all his fuss over his jacket makes her want to roll her eyes, and she says sarcastically* I'm not sure I can. *she looks towards the camera crew, sounding more polite as she addresses them* can anyone bring us gin? and a dry cloth?"

entertainer ("you thought you had me, didn't you?/when you lied to my face, I could see the truth/every step of the way I knew/how you fooled me, boo/guess you didn’t know that/you were my favorite entertainer/I'd watch you, I'd laugh, I would fuck with you/don’t you take me for a fool/in this game, I own the rules")

ramona: "*he presses his lips together at her last statement, a wry smile on his lips* nothing that the palace laundry couldn't handle. though, it was my lucky shity that got stained.

*she quickly gives him a more sympathetic smile, replying in an almost joking tone* I hope that wasn't an omen for the rest of the day"

meet me at our spot ("i'm not getting younger/but when I'm older/I'll be so much stronger/I'll stay up for longer/meet me at our spot/caught a vibe/baby, are you coming for the ride?/I just wanna look into your eyes/I just wanna stay for the night, night, night")

rhea: "maybe you'll get to work into developing the shows themselves in the artistic team side now *he tilts his head* I'm sorry that you don't get to perform anymore.

*she waves the apology off* developing shows looks like fun - you get some more creativity. *this is what she had rehearsed for. random fact, something near embarrassing, to make her memorable - not something her mother ever said, but something guy of all people had suggested. she leans in with a sly smile* this sounds incredibly nerdy, but I- well, someone I know back home and I- started work on this musical about aliens"

honey ("'cause I'm a beautiful wreck/a colorful mess, but I'm funny/oh, I'm a heartbreak vet/with a stone-cold neck, yeah, I'm charmin'/all the pretty girls in the world/but I'm in this space with you/colored out the lines/I came to find, my fire was fate with you")

cornelia: "I still think invitations are a nice touch, if not the tiny umbrellas stuck on the cherries of the black forest cake. *he bobs his head at the mention of her friends, curious about them* did your friends get to send you off the other day?

*she chuckles because of his words* the tiny umbrellas /are/ a great detail. I didn't know those were something I needed in my life."

like real people do ("I knew that look dear/eyes always seeking/was there in someone/that dug long ago/so I will not ask you/why you were creeping/in some sad way I already know/I will not ask you where you came from/I will not ask you and neither would you")

kaden: "*he thanks her for the coffee, holding it with both of his hands for a bit to let it cool* my previous shirt and jacket have seen better days, and this is a new set of saucers and cups but thankfully not many other casualties *he shakes his head, lifting his mug up* I'd prefer to be drinking coffee or wine rather than have it accidentally on my shirt.

*she finishes to serve her own cup* a thrilling morning you're describing. *she looks up from under her lashes, still amused apparently* perhaps getting rid of the small talk would be for the best."

slow burn ("born in a hurry, always late/haven't been early since '88/texas is hot, I can be cold/grandma cried when I pierced my nose/good in a glass, good on green/good when you're puttin' your hands all over me/I'm alright with a slow burn/takin' my time, let the world turn/I'm gonna do it my way, it'll be alright")

andreia: "*should she look closely, there are coffee stains on the place setting of the coffee table while raffy is in a different shirt and jacket thanks to the wine incident earlier. around them, there are still cameras going off around them, documentation crew really going at it. still, raffy's standing tall with his hands clasped in front of him as she approaches, only offering her his hand when she's close enough to him so he can guide her to her seat. he tries to give her a small smile despite being tired* lady andreia, thank you so much for waiting. my name is raphael, it's a pleasure to meet you.

*being outside all day, with the sun being bright, has not been /ideal/ for andreia, but she's trying her best to ignore the budding headache. she takes his hand when she reaches him, but keeps her other hand in her pocket for the time being, and gives him a small smile in return* just andreia is fine. it's nice to meet you. *once the handshake is done, she takes the other hand out of her pocket, and smiles a little sheepishly before explaining* in iberia, it's rude to show up to someone's house without a gift to give the host *she holds out her hand and in it is a small origami corgi* I know it's not much, but... *she shrugs a little, still with the same sheepish smile*"

valerie ("well, sometimes I go out by myself/and I look across the water/snd I think of all the things of what you're doing/in my head I paint a picture/since I've come home/well, my body's been a mess/and I miss your ginger hair/and the way you like to dress/oh, won't you come on over?/stop making a fool out of me/why don't you come on over, valerie?")

arely: ??????????????

suzy: "*he waits for her to take a seat before taking his own, making a gesture for plato to follow like the besets boy he is and he stays by raffy's feet* he gets mad when he feels underdressed for an event. *he nods at her response to the food, understanding of her wanting to save space for dinner, but is very pleased to hear that she likes the food. he glances at the table, looking for his recommendation and gestures to a green tea bag* I believe some hot green tea would be nice before dinner. cleanses the palate too. *he tilts his head* any favorites from the selection of food earlier?

*she raises her eyebrows, surprised since she tried to dress up bom several times but she ultimately hated being dressed, even if it's a simple bow. she turns her attention to plato and looks down at him* a true gentlepup I see"

505 ("not shy of a spark/the knife twists at the thought that I should fall short of the mark/frightened by the bite, though it's no harsher than the bark/the middle of adventure, such a perfect place to start")

#the selected

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fencesandfrogs · 3 years

Text

general clan culture notes

so as it turns out, you can't exactly develop culture without developing culture. that is to say, it turns out, as i work on the worldbuilding, my clans have developed their own flair, and i wanted to talk about that.

i'm a good a posteriori world builder. i can turn what is and was into something knew with relative ease. that does mean, whoever, that parts of what is get changed.

so without further ado, here are some of the guiding ideas i use for developing the clans for wing & feather.

section one: honor

god i hate; okay, i use honor a lot, especially in "names. leaders. meaning." and it was while editing that post i realized i've kind of...changed the meaning of it. it's a little subtle, but it's there.

at some point, i started using honor to mean "everything associated with something" here's an excerpt that shows what i mean:

they are chosen to honor the kit and the name. silverkit, out of love for trinkets, hoping their daughter would feel loved. graykit, hoping for a peaceful life, like still water. featherkit for a half-thunderclan kit, that they would not forget their blood, even though they would be raised riverclan.

(names. leaders. meaning.)

the idea here is basically, well, riverclan's whole thing is about a constant structure and ever changing details, but we'll get into that. but here, i'm using honor to mean just having a meaning beyond the visual appearance of a kit. later i go on to talk about stormkit, and how any kit named storm after him would have a new meaning.

and i'm sure i'm doing this subtle switch with other concepts but i haven't noticed it yet.

secton two: skyclan

skyclan comes last in most of my posts so this time it comes first. that's because it's kind of doing its own thing. i include it in world building posts for completionism, and because i have a soft spot for leafstar.

so old skyclan is whatever. they're kind of thunderclan/riverclan hybrids in terms of culture. they were always kind of chill. i don't care about them, because as a narrative, skyclan is only good as new skyclan.

new skyclan is about resilence, adaptability, and unity. they follow tradition because it binds them together, and binding them together makes them strong, not because they should follow tradition or anything of the sort.

mostly, though, they're a new group, that by some miracle has remained together. i don't have a ton to say for them here, because the rest of this is more about drawing comparisons between clans, and i've specifically said, "no, skyclan doesn't count. skyclan's whole thing is being unique because that's what makes them them."

section three: alignment chart

so i have this alignment chart and i'm ngl, it doesn't make sense, but i'll try to explain it.

the first axis is spiritual/physical and the second is practical/traditional. these aren't contrasting qualities, they're just a set of descriptors.

basically, spiritual and physical is "are they big on religion? do they celebrate holidays?" and practical/traditional is "do they follow the rules because they are the rules? or because the rules will lead to doing the right thing?" which is a little simplisitc but basically it has to do with where morality is grounded

i think this will make more sense when i describe the clans so don't worry about it too much.

section four: thunderclan

physical and practical. thunderclan is the most militaristic. they're trying to put a strong front in front of kittypets. to that end, the concept of starclan is important, although we'll see that in the other physical clan, but medicine cats and occasionally leaders are the only real connection.

i've always kind of thought the other clans maintained the journey to the moonstone and thunderclan was just like "eh is it worth it tho?"

anyway i don't have a ton to say about any given clan ATM, just discussing general guiding ideas.

section five: shadowclan

spiritual and traditional. that's why they're at such odds with thunderclan. they follow religion so tightly because it is what is moral. and that's why they're so prone to problematic leadership. it turns out "your leaders word is law" is kind of a risky rule if your religion is "defying the code is fundamentally bad"

but i digress, shadowclan is only similar to thunderclan in terms of habitat. they're somewhat more serious, somewhat more concerned about religion. it comes up.

* this is the least relevant in CTD because i need dovewing to like shadowclan for being a tad more relaxed and i know that i've said the CTD and W&F universes are different but i still want to make it explicitly clear here

section six: riverclan.

spiritual and practical. they seem the most religious although both shadowclan and windclan would object to that, because, well, they would say riverclan's religion is pure theatre.

apprentices become warriors become elders at dusk. there is no duty to be completed, only celebration. a new warrior will watch a celebration in their honor, showing they have learned restraint, and when their vigil breaks in the morning, they will be greeted by their friends in celebration.

(ceremonies)

but it's very much not. there's a line in the light that shines on you, one of my inspiration fics, that has really stuck with me, really defined how i think about riverclan, even more than Flighless Dove, Poison Ivy, my whole au inspiration, and this line in particular is guiding:

Any cat with Riverclan blood belonged in Riverclan. Their blood was rare and valuable, even when mixed with another clan. Every descendant of River was laced with the divine.

section seven: windclan

last and only sort of least, physical and traditional. it's not that i don't care about windclan, so much as, i feel like tallstar's revenge did quite a lot of the legwork for me, and now i'm just keeping things consistent.

but i'm constantly saying windclan is practical, meaning it's straightforward, with a defined reason for what they do.

deputies are made when they are needed, and elders at their own request. but moonrise is reserved: a medicine cat needs a chance to speak what they see, and it would be a foolish leader who dared interrupt.

(ceremonies.)

kits are named for prey and plants. harekit for a kit who looked fast and wry, crowkit for a kit with the old power of tunnelers. heatherkit for a kit with a pelt apt for stealth, and barkkit for a kit who looked out of place on the moor. the queen suggests, but the medicine cat confirms. without a blessing from starclan, no name could be a good omen.

(names. leaders. meaning.)

and i think that's the most i can say for this.

#clan culture #warriors culture #worldbuilding #warrior cats #warriors #cloudtail's daughter #jaywing #wing and feather #dovefeather #mine #txt #1st #March #2021 #March 1st 2021 #q #essay #long

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maprron · 3 years

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Mystery in the Woods - Chapter 4

[I can’t find the chapters so if you are new to this story or just want to remind yourself of what happened like 5 months to update my fanfiction.net is @/maprron :)]

Summary: Lucy's father moves them from their home in Colorado to rural Maine but this small town, despite only having a population of less than 500, has secrets especially in the woods. Will Lucy listen to Natsu and never go into the woods or will the longing get to her? Mainly Nalu with, Gruvia, and Canajane (I will add but those last two are already together in the start)

A/N: sdflkdfjbs I forgot to save this so let's try again. I'm so so so sorry about updating since like... September(?) I really dislike proofreading also please forgive me if there is any mistakes I think I might have dyslexia and I really don't have the energy or time to read this over again because then I will probably change so more things up. So any way I hope you enjoy and I promise I won't take as long next time... probably

I laid awake all night stressing over my plan in which I was going to ditch school in the morning. I had never ditched school and I was troubled with the thought that I might get caught but I needed answers.

The night prior Natsu had suggested that I come over and play some games with his friend and this is where the idea was sparked.

Juvia made a comment about a library that she had heard about before, she heard others had mentioned that it was haunted although she didn't believe them. Natsu's answer was simple, that yes there was a library east of town but it wasn't haunted, he even mentioned that the library belongs to his dad's friend. He also mentioned that she studies the woods and at that moment something told me to go.

"Don't" Natsu pulled me towards him as soon as I began to leave

"Don't what?" I dropped my bag back down at my feet

"I know you were thinking about going to the library" he looked me dead in the eyes with a knowing look, I gulped at his stare

"I wasn't" I lied, it was a shitty lie but a lie nonetheless. The look he gave me knew that I was lying but he let me go

"I'm driving you home" he grabbed his coat and keys and pushed me out the front door with him. This action might have been a way to make sure I didn't try to go right then but even I wouldn't do that, I'm sure if the midnight thing is true but I'm not going to be the one to find out. But I also should have listened to him but at the same time there was something inside me that was telling me to go, that the lady who owned the library would be able to answer all my questions that I have asked ever since I arrived.

The deeper I went into the woods the more I felt the odd feeling I had felt every day since arriving in this odd town. But the scary part was that I was convinced someone was walking right behind me. I could hear the crunch of the snow behind me even when I would pause, they weren't hiding their existence. I was afraid to turn around this time because I knew that this time they were closer than when I first met Natsu. This time they could reach out and grab me, so I walked faster. I knew they were there, what else could have been breathing down the back of my neck. No person would be out here except for me. So I started walking faster which eventually turned into me running through the woods

I soon came upon an old Tudor style mansion. It felt strange as if it didn't belong there but a sign in the yard suggested otherwise.

The sign told me that the home was the place that I had been looking for. I would have been hesitant to walk inside however if it wasn't for the car parked outside of the home and the few toys in the yard that made it look lived in. I was kind of expecting an old rundown home but the only thing that made it look rundown was the ivy running down the walls but even that seemed intentional.

I swiftly made my way inside the library, a bell ringing as I entered.

I looked around at the surprisingly small library "for a house this big you'd expect it would be a little bit bigger" I mumbled, taking a look at the bookshelves which had carvings of dragons and other mythical beings.

And when I turned around I was met with a little girl. She had short blue hair and I noticed that her ears were pointed almost like she was an elf. She held a small white kitten in her arms which had a pink bow tied around its neck. She herself wore a dress that made it look like she was from the 1800s and considering this town she might as well have been.

"Hello?" She tilted her head slightly "mama wasn't expecting any visitors I don't think" the young girl looked around as if she was looking for said women

"Oh uh… sorry I was just told there was a library here and I wanted to see if it is true" I crouched down to her level "I'll leave if I am intruding"

"Aw don't worry you are quite alright" A woman spoke as she walked into the room. This women wore a dress that was a blue-gray color. The sleeves of the dress were loose and almost went past her finger tips. The final part of her dress was the thin ribbon tied around her waist a couple of times, making a crossed pattern, she was dressed as if it was the middle of spring instead of the freezing last days of fall. Her hair which was solid white was tucked into a braid and her skin was much lighter than her daughter's. You could barely tell that they were related but nonetheless they were. And then she looked up and her face it seemed confused and the words that fell out of her mouth confused me as well

"Layla?"

"Um… my name is Lucy" I smiled at the woman. Back home I would be confused for my mother all the time, it was understandable since we look so much alike, but here? I brushed this comment off as maybe she knew another Layla that look a lot like me

"Sorry you just… it's just that you remind me of an old friend that is all" she then dusted her hands off on her dress "now what brings you to these woods? We don't get many visitors and the ones that we do get are usually old friends of mine"

"Well I heard about this library from a friend and I was wondering if you could help me out with something"

"And what is that dear?" She smiled at me

"Well ever since I moved here I have been having these strange feelings" I giggled a little at how strange this was

"A strange feeling?" She flipped through a book

"Yes and well I feel like I am being watched and followed everytime I go close to the woods"

"You…" she looked up at me suddenly

"Have you ever heard of something like this before?" I twiddled my thumbs

"Yes I have but only from certain people and they left years ago" she responded looking back down at her book but her happy face quickly morphed into a face that I could only describe as fear "unless…" she whipped her head up to look at me again "honey what did you say your name was?"

"Oh it is Lucy" she stared at me as a way to tell me to continue "uh… Lucy Heartfilia"

"Heartfilia… no wonder… Layla?" She mumbled every word and I could only catch a few. She seemed confused and concerned and I was equally confused as her. When she called me Layla earlier I didn't think much about it but she actually did know my mom? It's no wonder she mixed us up. But how? How would she know my mom?

"Tell me? Why are you back?! Your mom was supposed to be the last!" She pressed her hands onto the counter as she leaned over it

"My mom has been dead for two years… why are we-"

"What..." she threw her head up and stared at me

"Who are you and how did you know my mom?"

She didn't respond for a moment "I'm Grandeeney, I was your mom's mentor"

"My mom's mentor?" I laughed at her "nothing you've said had made any sense, my mom was born and raised in Colorado"

"Oh so that's what they told you?" She raised up from the counter

I nodded and quickly backed away from her as I noticed she had a new look in her eyes. Of course in such a confined space there is only so far that you can go and I was quickly stopped from going any further by a bookcase. As I hit it a few books fell off the shelf. One of these books opened and a piece of paper fell out. I couldn't make out what the paper said, it was almost as if it was in a different language, but I have studied all kinds of languages and I have never seen these kinds of characters.

I bent down to try and clean up the mess I made and as I reached for the paper my body suddenly was unable to move and before I could understand why my body was flung backwards into the book shelf, this time causing all the books to fall onto the floor

"You're only causing damage, Lucy" her words sounded more like a growl and her eyes… they were different, her eyes were light blue and peaceful when we first met but now they had glossed over and looked deadly. That wasn't the only change in her appearance as I also noticed that her soft white hair had somehow got loose from the braid and now looked spikey, similar to how Gajeel's was. But the strangest thing was that I could have sworn she was covered in feathers and scales.

"What?" But before I could get a good look at her the door was flung open and the room strangely grew warmer. As I looked over to the right of Grandeeney there stood Natsu. He was panting and he looked panicked. His hair was more messy than usual and right under his right eye there seemed to be a couple scale outlines. How he found me may forever be a mystery… maybe

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO COME HERE," he panted and similarly to Grandeeney his words came with a growling noise "SO TELL ME WHY THE HELL AM I FINDING YOU HERE!" he walked closer to me, if I could have backed away I would because for the first time since we met he scared me and for the first time I truly realized that I should have just gone to school this morning.

"I-" I choked struggling to find the words and then I broke "I'm sorry" I started crying, finally gaining control of my body as I fell weakly to the floor.

As Natsu crouched down in front of me a cool breeze blew into the room and it instantly got colder. The heat I felt seemed to vanish as if it never existed.

"Lucy, why are you here?" He grabbed my face and looked me dead in the eyes, wiping my tears with his thumbs

Another change in his appearance that he had moments ago where snake-like eyes but like the faint outline of scales they were gone, maybe I had imagined it all "something told me to come here…" I tried to lean away from his grasp but it was no use

"Why did your father move here?" Grandeeney was back to her normal self when I looked at her, it was almost as if I had imagined the whole incident

"I...don't know" I admitted to her "but we left Colorado in a rush"

"What did he kill someone" Natsu chuckled under his breath

"What exactly happened to your mom?" Grandeeney decided to ignore Natsu's questions as she crouched down beside me, grabbing my hand

"She got sick but no doctor could figure out what she had"

"She...failed?" She fell backwards at the realization that she didn't dare to believe earlier "no...but… we did everything right" she rested her hands against the wood floor

"Grandy?" Natsu rubbed his hand on her back "what happened?" He was quiet which is nothing like him, he seemed to be quiet for once because he himself was scared...

"Acnologia… he was supposed to be sealed away" her face went pale white

"That is where my dad has been… hasn't he?"

"Huh?" she seemed to be struggling to breathe

"My dad has been gone for a month"

She looked up at me "how long have you been here?" A piece of her long, white hair fell into her face

"A month…" I bit my lip nervously worried that maybe I wasn't insane and something was actually after me

"I met her the day after my dad left" Natsu swallowed roughly

"This isn't good" she grabbed Natsu's shoulder as tears rolled down her face "Layla was our only hope"

#nalu #lucy heartfilia #natsu dragneel #nalu fanfiction #fairy tail #fairy tail fanfiction #wendy marvell

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cesabutterflywrites · 3 years

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Sunrise - Firsts Aren’t Bad After All

Preface | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter [Coming Soon]

Word Count: 3496

[Ao3] Summary: Renesmee Carlie Cullen- or rather Renesmee Carlie Masen, if her classmates asked-is special. From the moments before she was born, the people who mattered most to her knew she would be unique. When she was only a few months old, she learned exactly how unique she was after a debate that decided her fate as a half vampire, half human hybrid.

As time moved forward, and as her family stayed frozen in time, they moved on from the comfort of their home in Forks, Washington.

For Renesmee’s first time in high school, her parents agreed to let her venture on her own. She handles the experience with grace, as she does most anything. She wants to make sure she stays off the human radar, at the request of her somewhat overprotective father, which means accepting that she’d never get to socialize with her peers. Until the first day of her first sophomore year where she meets her history class partner; Ivy Woods.

For the rest of their first high school life, Renesmee and Ivy become friends. In this story of growing up, taking chances, friendship, and overcoming expectations-read about Renesmee Masen learning to find a balanced life with the help of her anchor, Ivy.

Spotify Playlist

DISCLAIMER:

VINES IS NOT A REAL TOWN IN MONTANA.

RENESMEE AND JACOB ARE STILL IMPRINTED. They are not a ship and will not be treated as such.

POV SHIFT IS A TOOL USED TO TELL THIS STORY.

Chapter Warning[s]: Accidental misgendering

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

Mountain View High was the only high school in the invisible town of Vines, Montana. There were around 800 students. There were multiple buildings on the campus, all decorated with the same bland, off-white, chipped paint that had probably been there for twenty years. Maybe longer. The roofs were a dark green, and slanted so as to slide off any snow that may come. The front of the school had a large lawn that was starting to look overgrown on the edges of the cement walkways.

Even though it was my first day, I had memorized every detail of the layout of the school map online. I trained for my first day of high school for what felt like months beforehand. I had taken a long time to make my decision, which meant that once it was made I needed to be prepared for everything. I had packed my backpack with care. I memorized my family's cover story, and made up details of my own in case anyone asked. I was stocked full of school supplies. I was ready.

Still, I eyed the large building warily. The pit in my stomach grew even more than it had over the past month, when I had first decided to go to high school. I tried to remain inconspicuous with my thoughts-something I was finding to be easier as I grew up-so my father wouldn't ask me if I was sure for the 100th time.

My family had been…divided, to put it nicely, when I decided to go to high school. This was the first town we moved to since we lived in Forks. I had a few years of being fully “matured” under my belt, and saw an opportunity to relate to my more human side than before.

It wasn't that I wanted to go that was the issue. It was the fact that I wanted to go alone, without my parents or my Jacob, that caused an uproar. Naturally my father-my overprotective father-was the one most opposed to the idea. He felt that it was not a good plan, and that I wasn't ready. He felt like I'd be unable to blend in since I wasn't as experienced with the practice of being human like the rest of my family. Who weren’t even human in the first place.

Luckily Jacob stood up for me by pointing out I'd never get experience if I didn't practice. Him and my mother seemed to be the only ones who felt like I could do this. Well, Jacob felt like I could do anything.

I must not have been masking my thoughts well, especially since there were so many, because my dad put his cool hand on my shoulder.

"Renesmee," he said, using my full name to show how serious he was, "You don't have to prove anything to us. You can back out if you want."

I frowned, feeling offended that he'd suggest that I was second-guessing it. Just because I was nervous didn't mean I was anywhere close to changing my mind.

He smiled crookedly, reminding me of my own smile. Still, there was a tightness of fatherly concern behind his eyes.

"Can't blame me for trying, Ness." He moved his hand to press against my cheek just like he had since I was born. I felt a surge of calm spread through me from the comforting contact.

I'll miss you too, dad, but it's only for a few hours, then Jacob will pick me up.

He nodded, then reached over me to get the door. I rolled my eyes at that. I was perfectly capable of getting the door by myself. I unstrapped my seat belt, grabbed the top strap of my purple backpack, gave my dad a kiss on the cheek, then got out of the car.

I was lucky that the weather was cloudy. I didn't want to worry about powdering my skin for the first day. While I didn't sparkle as obviously as my family, I did shimmer enough to look like I spilled glitter on myself. It didn't help that I lacked the special foresight of my aunt Alice to help me out with predicting the forecast.

Our family had grown too large to keep a believable cover story. So we moved in succession. First, my aunt Alice and uncle Jasper moved to scope out the town. Then my grandparents Carlisle and Esme found us a larger house outside of town-big enough for my parents, Jacob, and me to move in with them. Mom and Dad were going to go to college with Jacob. My other aunt and uncle, Rosalie and Emmett, decided to get married again and go to college with my parents while staying in their own cabin. So we were still close by, but it wasn't the same.

Even though I had the layout of the school memorized, I still double checked the building numbers for my first class. I had chemistry in the "50" building. It was near the back of the campus. I made my way forward on the cemented pathway past the front administration building.

There were a few students that I passed by who were gathered in groups of two or three. I was still a bit early which meant that most of the students hadn’t arrived. I tried to keep my excitement under control. I was here! I was at a school with teenagers and groups and clubs and people. People whose only worries were homework, romance, puberty, and worrying about the future.

I made it to the classroom. The door was open, and I heard pages rustling and two people breathing. There was the familiar smell of blood, and it was easy to ignore the desire for it. I spent a few years being content with human food. I even had found things I enjoyed to eat. I really liked spicy things in particular.

I paused before the doorway. This was the real beginning. Once I stepped forward into the unknown, I’d be truly part human. I gulped. Was I really ready? Suddenly my dad’s offer to back out was more appealing. A part of me wouldn’t put it past him to hide on the edges of campus, watching me through other people’s thoughts in case he couldn’t hear my own. Just like he did with my mom when she was human.

I shuddered at that idea. With the thought of him keeping tabs on me, I steeled myself up, ready to prove him wrong. This was a wonderful trait I gained from my mother-I was stubborn once I set my mind to something. I needed to quell all doubts anyone had about me.

I stepped through the threshold of the room.

The room had large black tables that looked like they may have been nailed to the floor. There were stools instead of chairs-ugly metal things that were a mauve color giving way to silver and gray underneath. The walls were covered in faded chemistry related posters that must have once been fun and bright colored-in the 90s. It looked so bland and dreary.

I loved it.

The rustling of papers was coming from a girl with blue hair sitting in the back of the class near the window.

The teacher, Ms. Warren was sitting behind the desk in the front right corner of the room. She was an older woman with gray hair pulled back into a bun; with loose curls falling out and framing her rosy face. She was probably in her mid-60s. She wore her glasses with a chain clipped on them, probably to prevent them from falling. Her clothes were beautiful. She was wearing a bright yellow blouse with a lab coat on top.

Ms. Warren looked up at me with a smile. “Come in, take any seat you like.”

I looked at the desks. The rustling of papers was coming from a girl with blue hair sitting in the back of the class near the window. She seemed like she wanted to be alone. She was wearing purple earbuds and nodding her teal head to the song. The melody was faint to me, all I could make out was the drumbeat.

I decided to sit in the middle of the room. The 3rd column from the door in the 3rd row from the front. I made a mental note of the seating, though it was unnecessary. My memory wasn’t as perfect as my other family members, but it was good enough. I wanted to be in as inconspicuous a spot as possible. Mostly to ease the anxiety of my dad.

I pulled out my purple 2.5 inch binder. I had enough dividers for each period on my schedule, as well as a notebook designated to match each divider color in the binder. I pulled out the green spiral notebook I decided on for the class as well-just in case we need that, too. I felt pleased with my color coordination. Obviously I was prepared.

I shuffled through the smaller pocket to look for my pen case. My mood started to fall. I grew more frantic when I couldn’t find it. I checked my other pockets, to no avail. I tried to steady my breathing. This wasn’t good. My first day of school and I forgot my writing utensils. Who does that?

I rubbed my face. I tried not to think about it. I refused to let the panic overwhelm me.

I considered my options as more students filed in closer to the start time. I looked up when someone sat next to me.

“Hey,” he muttered passively in a deep voice as he plopped his orange bag on our shared table.

I smiled nervously. I wanted to make a good first impression, but the anxiety from not having my pen case was throwing me off. I observed my table partner. He was scrolling on his phone. I looked away, trying not to snoop on the screen that I was able to see extra clearly with my special eyesight. So I watched him from the side of my vision out of curiosity.

He had long blond hair down to his mid-back. He wore a red hoodie and blue jeans. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail. He was large. Not like Jacob, who was a behemoth among almost everyone he met, but more round like a bear. He had some acne on his round face, mostly on his temples where his black-framed glasses were set. I saw the edge of a pin on his jacket by his left shoulder, but I couldn’t get a full look from where I was sitting.

He smelled like soap-one of the kinds that have a heavy scent that reminds you of golf. There was also a hint of maple syrup, possibly from his breakfast. His blood smelled a little less sweet to me than other people’s, but I didn’t mind. His blood was more smoky to me, like a barbecue or smoked meat. It was probably for the best that someone sitting so close didn’t smell as appetizing, but also not unpleasant.

The bell rang, and Ms. Warren stood up from her desk. The boy next to me put his phone in his pocket. I took a deep breath. There were a lot of people in here, and the combination of smells was pretty intense to me. Nowhere near where I’d turn feral like on a hunt, though. That thought made me grin internally. I was right after all. I could do this, even if I was missing my pen case.

Ms. Warren spoke then. “Good morning, class.” Her voice was strong, and she had a stiff accent that I couldn’t quite place. Perhaps a hint of Russian? “Welcome to Chemistry. Today I thought we’d start off with getting to know each other.” She was looking at everyone as she spoke. Her head kept turning slowly back and forth to look at us. “Before we begin with that, though, I’m going to pass out the syllabus.”

She walked down the aisle. The packets were a light orange. She spoke uninterrupted as she passed through the desks.

“The first sheet is a list of class rules, materials required, and an overview of what this semester will entail. The second page is a list of class materials we still need in case you have parents or guardians willing to donate, and a place at the bottom for your name, signature, and the signature and name of your parent. You will cut this part off and bring it back to me by the end of the week. Yes, this is your first assignment. It is worth five points.”

I took the packets that she handed me, and passed it to my partner. When he turned to me, I saw the pin. There was a yellow, white, purple, then black stripe with the words ‘They/Them’ printed in the middle in white text. I looked away, scrunching my eyebrows in confusion. What an odd pin to wear. I pondered briefly on what it could mean before the teacher called our attention back to the front of the class.

“Alright, first things first. I want you to turn to your partner and introduce yourself. Talk to each other about yourself, like little facts or interests. After ten minutes I’ll have you stand up and say your partner’s name, and three things you learned about them.”

Them. Oh, oh that’s what the pin meant! They were pronouns. Possibly the singular they? Maybe what he referred to himself? No, what they referred to themself as. I immediately held onto that information extra tight so I wouldn’t slip up in conversation.

I turned to my partner, smiling a bit wider than was polite. I offered my hand. “Hello, my name is Renesmee, but you can call me Nessie.”

They shook my hand after a beat. “My name is legally Xavier, but I really prefer people call me Wren.”

“Wren, it’s nice to meet you. What can you tell me about yourself?” I asked politely. I wanted them to go first, to get a taste of what information I was expected to give.

They shrugged. “Well, you probably figured out I’m non-binary,” they pointed to the pin on their jacket. “I’m sixteen, a junior. I’m repeating Chemistry for just one semester because I failed last year. I like pokemon, minecraft, and almost all types of music.”

They shrugged again. It seemed like they were brushing off what they were saying, as if it didn’t matter. I didn’t know how to react to that idea, so I ignored it.

“Well, I guess I’ll tell you about myself.” I giggled, a bit of a nervous edge in my voice. I didn’t know what to say. It seemed like we were supposed to say superficial things. That would be easy, I’d be as close to honest as possible.

“I’m fifteen,” I lied, I was actually four. I was still aging, but it had slowed to a much less noticeable (to the human eye) pace. I didn’t exactly look fifteen. I probably could have passed for a senior, but I wanted the full school experience-as much as I could get.

I continued without a pause. “I love the color purple. I read a lot. I don’t really have a normal family-”

Wren laughed, a deep sound that was pleasant to listen to. “None of us do, Nessie.”

“I suppose you’re right,” I agreed with a laugh. Then I continued, “I was homeschooled my whole life. This is my first time really experiencing public school. I love music too, and I play piano and violin.”

“A music prodigy?” they asked with a lifted brow.

I shrugged, “Probably. I wouldn’t know, I’ve never played for anyone but my family and a few guests now and then.”

Wren nodded. “I see…” they trailed off. It seemed like neither of us were the talkative type. I decided to fill the gap best that I could.

“Well, I also like to play sports every now and then. I live right outside of town. We have a field down the way by our house and my family plays all sorts of things together.” I looked at the wall behind them, feeling wistful for my old home in Forks. That field was much larger.

“Ugh,” Wren scoffed, “I hate sports.”

I blushed and looked down. I wasn’t expecting that type of reaction.

Wren must have noticed, cause their voice was panicked as they waved their hands. “No, no, it’s cool that you like them. I just was never really into them.”

I smiled softly, glad that they weren’t trying to be mean. “I understand. I guess it’s not for everyone.”

They relaxed their posture. It seemed that they were nervous about the day like I was.

“Hey, uh, do you happen to have a pen or pencil that I could borrow? I left my pen case at home apparently.” I flushed with embarrassment.

“Sure, just give it back at the end of class, though I doubt we’ll need one today.” They shuffled through their bag and brought out a simple mechanical pencil. It was black with a purple piece on the end that clicked down for the lead.

“Thanks.” I beamed. It looked like my favorite color was alongside me today. I tapped out a mindless rhythm on the notebook while they shrugged an answer at me.

We talked a little bit more, mostly offering remarks about the morning in between the awkward silences before Ms. Warren called attention back to her. The class took a few seconds to quiet down. I still tapped the pencil, but tried to make it not as loud. I kinda zoned out a little bit to figure out what I’d do for the rest of the day without my pen case. I knew what was being said, but it was still in the background for me.

Wrenn stood up when it was our turn. “This is Renesmee, though she prefers to be called Nessie. She likes the color purple, is probably a music prodigy, and forgot her pen case at home.”

I opened my mouth in embarrassed shock. Why did they say that? What made them think it was okay to out me like that? They sat down and winked at me, and I understood after a beat that they were just messing around. Probably because they didn’t want to mention what I said about my family and they didn’t like sports?

I was still embarrassed, but less so after half a second. I stood up with the pencil still in my hand. I looked around me. Most of the students were looking at me except for the blue-haired girl in the back who was here first. She was looking at something on her lap, which was probably her phone because I still heard the faint music through the other noises in the room.

I chose to look at the front of the class, right above the teacher’s shoulder. “This is Wren. They’re non-binary, they like pokemon and minecraft, and they loaned me their pencil for this period.”

I sat back down quickly while a few kids chuckled. Ms. Warren smiled at me. “Well, Nessie, it’s good you found someone who‘s willing to share.”

She moved on to the rest of the class. I turned on my stool to look back at the girl who had been listening to music when it was her turn. Her partner-a thin girl with long double french braids-seemed nervous when she stood up.

“Um, this is Ivy.” The girl’s high voice was shaky. “And that’s all I really know, sorry.” She sat back down quickly.

Ivy looked up, barely paying attention. She took out the lavender earbud even though it was still playing music. I was starting to believe I was the only one who noticed.

She didn’t stand up to introduce her partner. “This is Alena. She’s a sophomore, in Chemistry, and likes to talk when she’s nervous.”

The class was filled with awkward quiet. Ms. Warren didn’t seem surprised at her answer. “Well, Ivy. I hope you learn a bit more about each other as we continue through the year.”

I turned back to look at the teacher who started to write on the board. “Oh, and Ivy dear,” she looked over her shoulder with a disapproving look, “If I see you listening to music in my class again, I’ll confiscate your phone.”

Scattered snickers rang through the classroom. I looked behind me to see Ivy rolling her eyes. She baffled me with her disregard for the world around her. Were there other people like her? Why wouldn’t she just follow the rules like everyone else here?

I turned to pay attention to the teacher. For the first class of the day, it wasn’t so bad. I hoped the rest of the day would go just as smoothly.

[A/N]

So this took a while lol. Let me know what you think. I'm kinda obsessed with this one at the moment. Be warned my characterization of Renesmee is based off of my own headcanons and a mesh of her personality as a kid.

I'm walking the very thin line of close-canon and fix-it. There's probably going to be some slip up in characterization or maybe the characters make way-too-in-character decisions. What I'm trying to say is that there will probably be decisions made that are up for interpretation on whether they are good or bad.

This is also very much unreliable narrator, just like the books. So bear with me. I hope you enjoy. And comment if you want more

If you want to be on the taglist for this story, let me know!

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