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cyndavilachase · 4 years

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I’m Looking Forward Now 💖Thank you and good bye

So, it’s been a little over a week since Steven Universe Future ended…

I’ve been hesitant to write this, honestly, but I’m tired of holding myself back from properly expressing myself in fear of appearing overly invested in the media I consume, even in private. Writing helps me organize my thoughts and feelings, and I feel like these thoughts in particular may resonate with many, so I want to share them. I want to talk about what Steven Universe has done for me personally, both as an artist, and as a person.

I’ve been around since the day the first episode of the original series aired. I actually remember when Steven Universe was just a logo on Wikipedia’s “List of Upcoming Cartoon Network Shows” list, back when I was a freshman in high school. It piqued my interest, but when commercials finally dropped for it, I thought it was going to be bad because of the way marketing handled introducing Steven as a likeable character. There was still something about it that made me want to give it a chance though, so I went online and watched the pilot before the first episode's release. I was hooked immediately. I knew I was going to love it, and I did. I fell so absolutely in love with Steven as a character, and the world that he and the gems lived in. I became obsessed. I was always so excited for new episodes to come out. Little did I know what else it would do for me as I went through my adolescence alongside it.

As the show progressed, it was evident that what I wanted out of a western animated childrens’ cartoon was finally coming into fruition: this show was becoming serialized. There was continuity, there was plot, there was character development-- it was getting deep. It was pushing the groundwork that Adventure Time laid out even further (thank you, Adventure Time).

I will give credit where credit is due: earlier western childrens’ cartoons I grew up with like Hey Arnold, and Rugrats, among others, also touched on heavy topics, but Steven Universe was able to take similar ideas (and even more complex ones, concerning mental health and relationships) and expand on them outside of contained episodes and/or short arcs. These themes, which were a part of the show’s overarching story, spanned across its entirety. Continuity was rampant.

What did this mean? It meant kids cartoons didn’t have to be silly and fun all the time and characters weren’t just actors playing a part in 11-minute skits. Steven and the gems would remember things that happened to them, and it affected them and how they would function and play a part in their story. This was a huge deal to me as a teenager. I always wanted the cartoons I grew up with featuring kid characters to feel more. In my own work, I often felt discouraged when combining a fun, cutesy western art style with themes as dark or layered as anime would cover. I always thought it had to be one or the other because an audience wouldn’t take a combination of the two seriously enough, based on discussions I had with classmates, friends, and online analysis I read at the time. Steven Universe proved to me otherwise. This show was opening the door for future cartoons exploring in-depth, adult concepts. I felt so seen as a kid, and was inspired to stick with what I love doing.

I was actually very worried about the show’s survival. It was in fact immensely underrated and the fandom was miniscule. Then in 2014, JailBreak dropped, and it’s popularity exploded. Part of it was because of the complex plot and the themes it was covering like I mentioned, but also because of its representation.

I remember when fandom theorized that Garnet was a fusion due to grand, tragic reasons. Turns out, she’s simply a metaphor for a very loving w|w relationship. This was huge. I cannot stress how important it is that we continue to normalize healthy canon queer relationships in childens’ media, and Steven Universe finally was the first to do that proper. Introducing these themes offers the chance for a kid to sit there and ask themselves, “Why is this demonized by so many people?” I asked myself exactly that. Ruby and Sapphire were my cartoon LGBT rep. They were the first LGBT couple I ever ecstatically drew fanart of. I was dealing with a lot of internalized homophobia at the time, and they showed me that I was allowed to love women and feel normal about it. The process of overcoming this was a long one, but they played a part in my very first steps into becoming comfortable with my sexuality. I could go on and on about it’s representation in general-- how it breaks the mold when it comes to showcasing a diverse set of characters in design, in casting, and in breaking gender roles. It’s focus on love and empathy. Steven himself is a big boy, but he's the protagonist, and the show never once makes fun of his weight, or any other bigger characters for that matter. It wasn’t hard to see why the fandom had grown so large.

Fandom was always a joy for me. It was a hobby I picked up when I was in middle school, like many of us here did. I would always cater my experience to fun, and fun only. I only started getting more deeply involved in SU’s fandom when I had just turned into an adult. During the summer of 2016, between my first and second year of college, I drew for the show almost every day non-stop when the Summer of Steven event was going on and posted them online. This was a form of practice for me in order to become not just more comfortable with experimenting with my art, but also to meet new artists, make new friends, and learn to interact with strangers without fear. I dealt with a ton of anxiety when I was in high school. When I was a senior applying to art school for animation, I decided I was going to overcome that anxiety. I made plans to take baby steps to improve myself over the course of my 4 years of college. Joining the fandom, while unforeseen, was definitely a part of that process. I started feeling more confident in sharing my ideas, even if they were fan-made. I fell in love with storyboarding after that summer, when I took my first storyboarding class, and genuinely felt like I was actually getting somewhere with all of this. I remember finally coming to a point in my classes where I could pitch and not feel hopelessly insecure about it. I was opening up more to my friends and peers.

But this process, unfortunately, came to a screeching halt.

My life completely, utterly crumbled under me in the Fall of 2017 due to a series of blows in my personal life that happened in the span of just a couple weeks. My mental health and sense of identity were completely destroyed. All of that confidence I had worked for-- completely ruined. I was alone. I nearly died. My stay at college was extended to 4 and half years, instead of the 4 I had intended. I lost my love for animation-- making it, and watching it. I could no longer watch Steven Universe with the same love I had for it beforehand. It’s a terrible thing, trying to give your attention to something you don’t love anymore, and wanting so desperately to love again. I dropped so many things I loved in my life, including the fandom.

Healing was a long and complicated road. I continued to watch the show all the way up until Change Your Mind aired in the beginning of 2019, and while I still felt empty, that was definitely a turning point for me with it’s encapsulation of self-love. I was hoping James Baxter would get to work on Steven Universe since he guest-animated on Adventure Time, and it was incredible seeing that wish actually come true. The movie came out and while I enjoyed it and thought highly of it, I was still having issues letting myself genuinely love things again, old and new. It was especially difficult because cartoons were my solace as a kid, when things got rough at home. I remember feeling sad because the show ended, and not getting the chance to love it again like I used to while it was still going.

By the time Steven Universe Future was announced, I was finally coming around. I was genuinely starting to feel excitement for art and animation again. I wasn’t expecting there to be a whole new epilogue series, but happily ever after, there we were! Prickly Pear aired, and the implications it left in terms of where the story was going did it. I was finally ready to let myself take the dive back into fandom in January of this year. My art blew up, something I wasn’t expecting considering my 2-year hiatus. Following this, I was invited into a discord server containing some of the biggest writers, artists, editors, and analysts in the fandom. I had no idea there were so many talented people in the fandom, some already with degrees, some getting their degrees-- creating stuff for it on the side just for fun. The amount of passion and productivity level here is insane, and so is the amount of discussion that has come out of it.

I didn’t realize it at first, but it was actually helping me gain back the courage to share ideas. I lost my confidence in pitching while I was taking the time to heal, and graduating meant there would no longer be a classroom setting I could practice in. This group helped immensely.

I have made so many friends through this wonderful series, and I have so many fond memories talking to like-minded creatives, getting feedback and a myriad of sources for inspiration, as well as all of the memes and jokes and weekly theorizations that came about as we all waited on the edges of our seats for episodes to air. I needed this so badly, I needed to get back in touch with my roots, when I would go absolutely hog-wild over a cartoon I loved with people who loved it as much I did. Future has been a blessing for me in this way. I graduated feeling like I was back at square-one, but now I feel like I’m on my way again.

It’s 2020 and while I’m doing great right now, I am honestly still recovering from the total exhaustion that followed after graduating a few months ago, and finally leaving the campus where my life fell apart behind. Needless to say, watching Future was like looking into a mirror. Watching one of my favorite characters of all time-- one that grew up with me-- go through so many of the same things I went through not too long ago was absolutely insane to watch unfold. It’s such an important thing too, to show a character go through the process of breaking down over trauma and all the nasty things that come with it, and to have them go on the road to healing. Steven got that therapy. He wasn’t blamed. The gems were called out. The finale was everything I could have ever hoped for. The catharsis I experienced watching it was out of this world.

As I continue my own healing journey, I will always look up to the storyboard artists, revisionists, and designers that I have been following over these past 7 years, as well as the new ones introduced in Future. It's been such a joy watching these artists release their promo art for episodes, talk about their experiences working on the show, and post the work they've done for it alongside episodes airing.

Thank you Rebecca Sugar, the Crewniverse, and the fans, for making this such a truly wonderful and unique experience. Thank you for reminding me that I am, and always will be, an artist, a cartoonist, and a fan. Thank you, my followers, for the overwhelmingly positive response to my artwork. I have had so much fun interacting and discussing the show with you all again over these past few months. Steven Universe and it’s fandom will always have a special place in my heart, and it will always be a classic that I will return to for comfort and inspiration for decades to come. I am sad that the cartoon renaissance is over, but so many doors have been opened thanks to this show. I am so, so excited to see what this show will inspire in the future, and I hope one day I get the opportunity to be a part of that.

Goodbye Steven, thank you for everything. I wish you healing, and I wish Rebecca and the team a well-deserved rest. ♥️

-Cynthia D.

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yoificfinder · 3 years

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Hi! I was wondering if you would be able to find some time travel/time loop AUs where Victor and Yuuri (and other members of the YoI cast) are thrown around in time please? Thank you so much!

Hi! These are some time travel fics (mix of both canonverse and AUs) I read and enjoyed:

Previous rec of time travel fics where they meet their other self in the other timeline

a great desire to love by lily_winterwood / @omgkatsudonplease [T, 22K]

For some strange, inexplicable, fantastic reason, Yuuri Katsuki and Viktor Nikiforov are trading places. Kimi no Na wa AU.

All Our Yesterdays by @kitsunebi-uk [E, 102K]

York, England, 2120: Yuuri Katsuki is a dime-a-dozen techie, spending his days doing routine repairs at the university. He hangs out with his friend Phichit, goes for a drink, watches holograms. It’s an existence – but is it a life?

Crowood Castle, Yorkshire, 1392: As the son of a baron, Sir Victor Nikiforov makes judgements where lives hang in the balance. As a knight, he must sometimes end them. It’s what he was born to do – but what of the heavy burden on his soul? Death is all too commonplace, while life and love remain elusive.

When a brilliant scientist goes rogue, journeying to the Middle Ages with the world’s first time machine, Yuuri is stunned to be called on as the last hope of preventing her from changing history. After an abrupt departure, he lands at Crowood Castle disguised as an enemy of the Nikiforovs, Sir Justin le Savage – and will need to act the part if he is to survive. It’s a tall order for someone who can barely tell the back end of a horse from the front. But if Ailis, in her own disguise, discovers who he is, his mission will end in a blaze of laser-gun fire. He must not give his real identity away, even to the beguiling knight he’s falling in love with…

Elevators Out of Order by mtothedestiel [E, 31K] *WIP

A Kate and Leopold AU. In 1876, Victor Nikiforov is a handsome duke with an inventive imagination and a dwindling fortune. The search for a wealthy bride brings him to America, and the capital of progress, New York City. Can an encounter with a mysterious stranger offer Victor a future he never dreamed of?

Meanwhile in 2017, physicist turned paper-pusher Yuuri Katsuki is just trying to get through the day, which is tough enough without surprise phone calls from his roommate announcing he has a 19th-century aristocrat out cold on their sofa.

To top things off, it would seem every elevator in Manhattan is suddenly out of order. What a coincidence.

Here Once and Back Again by Cbear2470 [E, 77K] *WIP *Major Character Death

“What?” was all Yuuri could say as a numbness froze over his body.

Something—something wasn’t right. It was then he realized he couldn’t remember getting to the rink. He couldn’t remember even stepping on the ice to start his program.

He couldn’t remember.

He tried to remember.

As Yuuri is skating his free skate, he knows something is off. But, he brushes it aside, too focused on executing the program flawlessly.

It isn't until after it's all over that Yuuri comes to discover that he just skated his gold-medal winning, record-breaking program at the 2014-15 Grand Prix Final in Sochi. The very same final Yuuri had once upon a time placed last in over two years ago.

here's to the glory still to be by @foxfireflamequeen [Not Rated, 12K]

“Hi,” says Viktor, smile bright and camera-ready. His hand, when he extends it, is small and delicate. “I think you know who I am, but we haven’t met.”

His accent is very thick, very Russian in a way Yuri has never heard before. He looks from the offered hand to Viktor’s face, barely an inch higher, and tracks his hair, long and pale and spilling over his shoulders. He can’t be older than, well, Yuri.

“No,” says Yuri. “We haven’t.”

in another dimension series by @alykapediaaa [T, 8K]

Summary of first fic in the series

Entertainment >> Celebrity News

Viktor Nikiforov: Finally Found!

SOMERSET – Russian model Viktor Nikiforov, 27, who has been declared missing last May of this year was finally found earlier today. Nikiforov, known as the face of luxury brand Stammi Vicino, was vacationing at Bath, Somerset after a successful season when he suddenly disappeared, leaving all of his belongings, as well as his poodle, behind. Yakov Feltsman, Nikiforov’s manager, has yet to release a statement. Read More.

Life Unwoven by ayn2390 [M, 23K] *Indefinite Hiatus

Five-Time Consecutive Grand Prix Final Winner Katsuki Yuuri meets Five-Time Consecutive Grand Prix Final Winner Victor Nikiforov.

or,

In which things are tangled, and untangled, and tangled again. And Victor will always be there to save Yuuri.

Maelstrom by @feels-like-fire [E, 44K]

Victor Nikiforov is poised to win gold in his fifth consecutive Grand Prix Final. He has the world at his feet, is unparalleled in the sport--right up until a snowstorm blows into Sochi, and he finds himself repeating the same day over and over and over. He stumbles over Yuuri Katsuki, and everything changes.

(Or, the time loop au. Loosely based on Groundhog Day.)

On My Love by RikoJasmine [T, 73K] *WIP

For the second time, the Sochi Grand Prix Finals arrive, and with it a reborn Yuuri Katsuki. “Viktor,” Yuuri thinks over the pounding of his heart, the crowd going silent as the music begins. “I’ll show the world what you meant to me.”

Yuuri often thinks of his life as Before and After Viktor Nikiforov, the marking point being the day Viktor swept into his life and turned his world upside-down. After many years together, an accident leads to Yuuri suddenly waking up in the Before—back in Detroit, before the GPF, before he ever knew Viktor as anything other than his childhood idol.

As if it had all been just a dream.

paso doble by @cafecliche [G, 4K]

"Long before skating, or even ballet, Yuuri would hear about it at festivals, in the boiling humidity of Hasetsu summers dancing the Bon Odori in the streets. He remembered years where Mari would take him home alone, while their parents comforted lingering, distraught dancers. Sometimes, Mari had explained, they were crying because they’d seen lost loved ones. Some cried because they didn’t see who they’d hoped, but a stranger. And some cried because they hadn’t seen anyone at all.

Because it’s not just the steps. The dancers need, even for a second, to feel the exact same thing."

(Or: days before Hot Springs on Ice, Yuuri receives a visitor from another time.)

The League of the Green Carnation by @abarero [M, 62K]

There was one golden rule to being a Time Scientist: do not bring home anything that was a fixed point in history. This meant most artifacts, extinct animals and the like were permissible. Historical figures? Not so much.

But what about an author? Namely, Yuuri’s favorite author, who was murdered in 1887. Could he be saved?

Well. Yuuri was sure as hell about to find out.

Turn Back the Clock by IronScript [T, 59K] *WIP

When Yuuri and Viktor wake up over thirty years in the past, they don't know what to do. Does the other remember?

Luckily that particular question is quickly answered and they can relax slightly, but what about afterwards? Viktor was brought back to right before his first Olympics, and Yuuri isn’t even old enough to compete in Seniors’!

Then there's the fact that they're still very much in love, but a physical relationship would be illegal (and would gross them both out considering Yuuri's age), and they can't count on anyone to just trust them not to do anything age inappropriate. So maybe being long-distance (with as many in-person meetings as possible) would be better until Yuuri becomes a legal adult physically, never mind his actual age.

But it's hard to behave and act naturally when you're forced to be apart from your husband of twenty years, especially during one of the most stressful parts of anyone's life, so Yuuri and Viktor have to distract themselves somehow, right?

Right.

And if everyone around them ends up completely confused and blindsided at their sudden changes (though admittedly they seem to have changed for the better), then so be it!

#yoi #yuri on ice #yoi fanfic #yoi fic rec #time travel

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itsclydebitches · 4 years

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RWBY Recaps - Volume 8 “War”

Hello, everyone! Story time.

Yesterday food was delivered for my two idiot dogs (they’re thrilled about it) but, because it was delivered by Fed Ex, shenanigans were bound to ensue. These particular shenanigans involved realizing that the food had not been left at the front door like tracking said it had. Instead, it was down the very long driveway by the mailbox. Specifically, it was on a low wall beside the mailbox, currently inaccessible due to a mound of plowed snow.

Now, how the delivery guy managed to get it there I’ll never know, but given that our postal system is currently killing itself to get us our Amazon orders for Christmas, I shrugged, let it go, and resigned myself to lifting an 18 pound bag plus box over that snow without dying. Which meant that in reality I just dragged it, uncaring what bumps the bag might accumulate along the way. What are the dogs gonna do? Complain about presentation?

Snow successfully circumvented; I was home free!

… until I was lifting the box into the car, hit a patch of black ice, and was suddenly looking up at the sky, my right hip and leg screaming.

I’m fine. Bruised, but fine. It’s 2020. Did I expect to not fall? C’mon, Clyde. Be sensible.

The reason I'm telling you all this is because falling on ice at 10:00pm with an oversized bag of dog food was less painful than watching this episode.

I jest... but only a little. To be fair to RWBY, it admittedly wasn't painful in any new way. Everything that's a problem this week has been a problem for years now: confusing motivations, changing semblances, unpersuasive character beats, etc. So in some ways this episode — especially as a hiatus episode — is rather underwhelming. I expected RWBY to do something big before taking six weeks off, but this episode simply set the (unstable) stage for what's to come. With the exception of Ren, nothing changed this episode, which makes for a rather "Okay..." note to end on. It's not inherently bad, it's just a bit of a letdown after hyping ourselves up over the expectation that something even crazier than grimm soup will happen. Which, to again be fair, is on us as opposed to the writers. But that feeling of, "If this was last week, what in the world will we get right before an unpredicted hiatus?" was palpable. Turns out the answer was, "A pretty tame episode."

As always though, let's start at the beginning. This episode is titled "War" — straight to the point — and it's actually a little shorter than our last three episodes, adding to that "Okay..." feeling overall. We open on the outskirts of Atlas, amidst what appears to be a wheat field, or something similar. Upon reflection, it makes sense that the bubbled city would be able to grow things not normally growable in the tundra. This might also explain Cinder's strange beginning. Perhaps her orphanage existed on these rural outskirts and then she was brought into the city proper? We'll probably never know for sure, but at least this is a simpler answer than, "The Madame went off to an entirely different Kingdom to secure her child slave." Occam's Razor and all that.

Ironwood's army has assembled to hold off Salem's army. Wow, aren't we glad Ironwood invested in thousands of trained professionals rather than a handful of independent fighters? Seriously though, this is now a battle of numbers. May says later in the episode that Ironwood's forces are doing their best to assist Atlas, so they should go help Mantle... but that help only exists because years ago he recognized that the tiny class sizes of the Academies, this

wasn't going to be enough if grimm attacks suddenly increased. Sure enough, now they're in a situation where Ironwood needs even more men to keep up with Salem's creation magic. The fact that he has any at all is crucial to what little hope is left. How do Jaune, Yang, and Ren think they're going to get the time to look for Oscar without everyone dying while they're gone? Because Ironwood's army is keeping the attack at bay. I love how the story keeps angling for the "Military people are evil" message while actively showing us how much a military is needed in this world. If Ironwood had been a generic Good Guy who dismantled his armed forces because others wanted to ignore that they've always been at war against objectively evil creatures — both the grimm and Salem — then there would have been nothing to hold Salem off until small team rescue/bomb plans could be implemented.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. As usual. The army is on the front lines and one guy is scared enough that he's shaking. Can't say I blame him. As always, RWBY functions best when it leans towards horror, with skeletons rising alongside the normal grimm and intense music playing to convey the stakes. Ironwood watches the onslaught and immediately calls for a civilian evacuation into the subway system. Get people below ground, behind a few, defendable entrances, rather than wandering about the city where land or sky grimm can pick them off easy-peasy. Makes sense. Yet I'm already seeing fans make snide comments about how Ironwood is "still running," which just demonstrates how many viewers take the emotions of the show at face value — who is Good and who is Bad — rather than considering the situation and deciding for themselves. What's far more egregious than viewers enjoying a story however they'd like on a Saturday before the holiday though (seriously, my salt aside, no one has to enjoy RWBY any one way) is that RT again tries to paint Ironwood as crazy when he's... just not? Beyond the choice to animate him with scary expressions

once he gives the order the soldier starts to say, "But sir — " and Ironwood yells for him to obey right now. The scene makes it look like Ironwood is doing something shady again. Here's this goon balking at the order, but we're not told why. What's bad about getting the people to (relative) safety? Why is this order treated like something to question at all? We're not told and, from what we do know, it's not something that would be questioned, so unless we learn something new post-hiatus, that line exists only to make Ironwood look bad. It's a (nonsensical) excuse to have another ally turning against him (slightly) and to give Ironwood the chance to look scary and violent again. Nevermind that his city is under attack and if a subordinate started questioning a completely sensible and time-sensitive order? I might yell too.

So we're off to a great start. The above looks particularly stupid given that we immediately see the flying grimm arriving in a populated area, terrifying all the civilians there. Everyone bolts for the subway and we cut away from a man trying desperately to reach his daughter, unsure if either of them survive. But people want Ironwood to not use what few resources he has? See, this is why generic messages like, "You have to stand your ground" don't work. Sometimes there are situations where you should run and that doesn't automatically equal being a coward. It means you're smart enough to take the actions necessary to save as many lives as possible.

Later on we'll have a similar issue with the message, "You have to trust people" when my darling Oscar briefly loses his mind.

Now though, we see that the "fugitives" Yang, Jaune, and Ren have been taken into custody. Of course they have. Look, when the preview dropped yesterday I saw a number of takes along the lines of, "How dare the Ace Ops do this. They need to put aside their differences until the attack is over!" but no, they really don't, because it's no longer their responsibility to extend trust towards this group. Especially when doing so, to their mind, has a high chance of making a horrific situation that much worse. What are they going to do if, in the middle of a Salem attack, the kids they decided to trust betray them, attack them, and leave them knocked out somewhere while the world burns?

...Oh wait, they already did that.

See, the group broke trust first. Numerous times. The Ace Ops listened to Yang admit that she and Blake had betrayed Ironwood days ago. Then they watched Ruby betray him again by alerting the rest of the team, turning them against him. They swore they wouldn't attack, so Team RWBY attacked them first. They learn that Qrow had a hand in murdering their leader. They encounter the group again and Weiss gleefully asks if they want a second defeat. They watch Ruby tell the entire world to dismiss Ironwood because he’s the one who can’t be trusted. Outside of JYR not immediately attacking them when they arrived to help (something I praised them for), this group has never put their trust in the Ace Ops. So why do they — and we — expect the Ace Ops to do so now? Imagine for just a moment that it was reversed. We find out that someone betrayed the group for no good reason, set themselves against them, continued to do so as everything fell apart, told the rest of the world they’re the enemy, and then a close associate is involved in Ruby's murder. How many people would expect the group to just shrug all that off? Would they put their differences aside and embrace these people because blind trust is (supposedly) the right thing to do? Of course not! Yang would punch their lights out and everyone would cheer, but that's because they're the established heroes. Outside of that role, no one else is allowed to mistrust those who have proven themselves untrustworthy and take precautions against getting betrayed again. To say nothing of how these characters don’t have our meta perspective. Meaning, they live in a world where this trio is not a part of a protagonist group destined to remain a part of the plot because that’s how story conventions work. They’re three random teens who were promoted to huntsmen early. They’re three soldiers out of many who can, at any time, be taken out of the fight. No one on the Ace Ops is working under the belief that they “have” to be a part of this fight. From their in-world perspective, you could toss them in jail for the rest of the battle and that’s that. Outside of their fugitive status they are entirely unimportant.

So yes, Jaune, Ren, and Yang are in handcuffs. They deserve to be. Don't worry though, they get out very soon.

Yang makes a snide comment about Winter "Still just following orders" and honestly? I've lost the love I used to have for her as a character. Yang is just an exercise in frustration whenever she speaks now. Thus far she's blamed Ruby for everything that's gone wrong (ignoring her own choices there), did a 180 to yell at Ren for acknowledging how bad things are, worried nonsensically about Blake being disappointed in her even though Ruby is the one she fought with, and is now back to the "You just follow orders" shtick. Yang will label anything she personally doesn't like as evil order following, but conveniently ignores how following Ruby's orders helped get them into this mess, and how the one time she went AWOL made things even worse. These characters don't actually have beliefs they stand behind, they just say whatever is currently necessary to make themselves look good, even if that contradicts previous statements or actions.

She also gets mad at Vine for saying that grimm don't take prisoners, ignoring that she only found this out a few hours ago. No one in the group is equipped to navigate the emotional minefield that is this war because they can't even take two seconds to put themselves in another’s shoes. Weiss doesn't bother to consider Whitley's situation. Jaune points at the snow and gets frustrated that Harriet doesn't magically know there's grimm soup flowing nearby. Yang snaps at Vine for stating what she also knew to be a basic fact about grimm up until Oscar's kidnapping. It's all framed as, "How can you be this stupid?" rather than, "Oh yeah, these people haven't had the experiences I have. If I was randomly told this I'd doubt it too. I should try to explain this in a way that will make sense to them and increase my chances of being believed."

This is the group who decided it was a good idea to tell the whole world about Salem and did it just as badly as I suspected they would. The story has shoved a delicate, information-based war into the hands of punch-happy teenagers and refuses to grapple with how that's a bad thing.

Anyway, Ironwood comes on the radio to say that the whale is pretty indestructible on the outside, but it might be vulnerable from the inside, so let's get a bomb in there. Seems like a good enough plan as any, especially given that the grimm is currently on the very outskirts of the city, away from the civilians if/when it's blown up. What kind of bomb might this be though?

Could it, perhaps, end up being a now severely damaged android who is based off of Pinocchio?

Time will tell. For now, the group is quite obviously upset that Ironwood is planning a big BOOM while Oscar (and Ozpin! Tellingly, no one mentions Ozpin...) is still inside. Here's the thing: Both sides are right here. YJR are right to be worried about their friend, while the Ace Ops — who have no emotional ties to Oscar and, as just established, are questioning whether or not a grimm really kidnapped him — are right that they cannot prioritize a single life over the entirety of Atlas. They just can't! And any hero worth their salt is going to recognize this. You cannot knowingly sacrifice thousands of people (if not more) for one (admittedly awesome) farm boy. It would be a different situation if the people of Atlas volunteered to remain in danger to give Oscar a chance at escape, but that obviously isn't the situation here. If someone told me, "Sorry, Clyde, we can't get you out because the place you're in is super dangerous and attempting to extract you would likely cause the rescue party to die. Also, the longer we don't blow this location up the longer lots of other people die" I'd be like, "Fair enough. Have a nice life!" I mean, obviously anyone would be terrified and devastated by the news, but if you're still thinking straight and have even an ounce of compassion for others, you don't trade all those lives for your own. Spock does not open the door to flood the whole Enterprise with radiation!

And notably, neither does Kirk. Oscar isn't given the chance to sacrifice himself — ignoring his choice to try and undermine Salem's forces rather than escaping — so Jaune, Ren, and Yang are deciding that for him. Which, again, makes sense for them emotionally, but it's still a selfish choice. They're prioritizing their family over everyone else's. If someone ever told me they’d risked a whole city for my sake I’d be touched, but also pissed as hell. Because what were you thinking?

Which is really my biggest issue with this divide. It would have been nice if the show had done more to make me believe these three are that ride and die for Oscar. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled that they are and I'll take this characterization over the apathy we had in the past, but let's be real, it kind of came out of nowhere. The group as a whole pretty much ignored Oscar up until the movie invite and two of these characters — Yang and Jaune — have actively hurt him in the name of getting at Ozpin. Now suddenly they're willing to toss aside their huntsmen duties — protect the people — in order to save him? Nice sentiment, it's just that, as always, we have very little development for it, especially given the level of emotion shown. Particularly when it comes to Ren. The prospect of someone sacrificing Nora? I 100% believe that he draws a hard line and this kick-starts a change in his semblance. Ren is shown to be thinking about how he lost his teammate Pyrrha? Totally believe it! Someone is sacrificing the kid I'm not sure he's ever had a conversation with? That's less persuasive. At the very least, it would have been nice to have the trio grapple with whether they can or should prioritize Oscar over everyone else, rather than taking such a black and white stance of, "Of course taking the time to save this one guy while everyone else dies is worth it. You're evil for thinking otherwise."

We even get a shot of Winter's hand shaking and clenching like Yang's used to, just to hammer home who the correct party is.

While they begin this argument we cut to Salem who is literally conducting her grimm in their attack against Atlas.

Very nice. I love when a villain has

Emerald watches her, clearly freaked out, and then sneaks off to where Oscar is held. In the hallway she encounters one of the jellyfish grimm, so she casually makes it not see her until it has passed.

Her semblance works on grimm, but not “real girl” androids? Okay.

We all realize how crazy powerful Emerald is though, right? The stuff that she could do in a fight is staggering and I'll be forever salty that all she managed in the Penny battle was to create a couple different Cinders. Emerald, Marrow, Salem herself... RWBY has a real problem of having the antagonists conveniently not use the power at their disposal when the heroes need to win.

So Emerald starts listening in on Ozpin's torture. We learn that Hazel was recruited when he tried to kill Salem numerous times and had to watch her keep reforming. Which, if I remember correctly, is a technique she used back when she and Ozma were playing at Gods. It worked and now Hazel believes that they "share a vision. She's going to create a new world order," one without Kingdoms or Huntsmen Academies. No, says Ozpin, she's going to divide humanity past reform, summon the Gods, and hopefully die when they take out all of Remnant.

...My god, did we finally get Salem's motivations after seven years?

Seriously though: seven years. It's way too late, especially when we now have so many questions attached to this supposed goal. If Salem always wanted to divide the world irrevocably, why didn't she attack, oh, say, a thousand years ago? Why has she kept to the sidelines until now? None of this answers why she held off until our simple soul was conveniently ready to fight her. We also have the issue of Salem's knowledge, or lack thereof. So she obviously knows about the Relics and that they'll summon the Gods, but not how to work them? How did that come about? Even Ozpin's motivations are murky now. He repeats Salem's curse word-for-word — though notably, minus the "You must learn the importance of life and death. Only then may you rest" part — yet unless Salem told him this herself when they first reunited — and we know they both hid things from the other — Ozpin could have only gotten this line from the lore episode, something he witnessed along with us just a few weeks/months back. So is he only now realizing that this is what Salem wants the Relics for? Might he be wrong? Or did he somehow figure this out lifetimes ago and we're just not told how? If this is the case, why haven’t Salem’s motivations come up before now?

This sudden, "Oh yeah, she's always wanted to die" feels pretty tacked on. Like RT had Salem arrive last Volume because that's ~cool~ and then suddenly realized that they have to deal with her motivations now, so they hastily cobbled this together. But, as said at the start, this is entirely expected for RWBY nowadays. A problem to be sure, though one we've been putting up with for a couple of years now.

During all this, Hazel shouts that this is what Ozpin deserves and the first word out of his mouth is, "Yes."

But Oscar and the rest of Remnant don't deserve it, so make the right choice for them. How did RT think they were going to make this guy an antagonist? Ozpin has so much self-hatred and yet is still trying SO HARD that he makes Ruby Drinking Tea While The World Burns Rose look laughable.

Oh yeah, we'll be getting to that scene in just a second, but for now I just want us all to appreciate Ozpin as a character, even if the story won't.

....

.......

..............

...Okay, moment done lol. Sorry, Oz, there's a lot to cover this episode.

We cut to a semi-conscious Nora who asks Weiss, "Now what am I good for?" So that’s a double serving of oof. That's when Ruby arrives with fine china steaming with tea. Or coffee. Or hot chocolate. Whatever it is these girls are drinking. What comes next is accompanied by a strange kind of vindication for me. I mean, the fandom dragged me so hard for taking issue with their snuggly smiles during Ruby's message, yet now we literally have the girls sitting back in a mansion as everything goes to shit around them. I know the knee jerk reaction to this will be, "They have to watch over Nora" and “They deserve a break” but really? All three of them need to watch her? And a break during the height of the action? Blake says she hopes everyone else is okay, but who is actually out looking for information about the rest of their team? May. Who's going to do something to get Nora help? Whitley. These characters are so good at telling us they're the heroes while rarely ever displaying those traits. They all (somehow) saw the attack on Atlas and have the ability to get out there and defend people — the job they wanted — yet Ruby looks out the window and asks, "What can we even do?" while taking a long sip of tea. The people of Mantle are (supposedly) freezing to death, yet one of the few with aura, Weiss, sits by a roaring fire going, "Do we just wait for someone to come? If they even come.” I'm sorry, you didn't consider this before you told the whole world about Salem? No one questioned whether asking for potentially non-existent help was worth the risk and what they'd do if it never came? Or even just what they’d do in the meantime? I’m not saying the girls can’t have basic necessities like drinks, or that it can’t be done in style when that’s conveniently available. I’m saying them enjoying the food, warmth, and relative safety of the Schnee household (built on racism) while casually talking about what, if anything, they should do for the people dying outside looks a bit Not Good. "Should we wait for the fire department?" Asks the character as their kitchen burns, sitting beside a number of water buckets that could help slow things down. "If they even come," they sigh, taking another sip of tea. This is ridiculous! The city is currently under attack by the series' Big Bad and half our heroes are just sitting around, watching the evil lightning, wondering if they should try to do anything about it.

"How did it all get like this?" Ruby asks her cup, ignoring the many steps she took to make things this bad. It continually boggles my mind that Ironwood is out here trying to keep people safe in the subway, coming up with a plan to blow up this whale, sending out an army to kill countless grimm... yet "What can we even do?" Ruby is supposed to be the hero here. You know, the one who has silver eyes and could one-shot huge numbers of Salem's army if she actually went out there and tried to help.

Ironwood is taking action... and so is May. As said, she's the one out looking for info on their teammates and when she returns says that they should all get back down to Mantle. Why? Because, as mentioned earlier, Atlas at least has an army to help with things. Mantle only has them.

Yet suddenly, Weiss doesn't want to leave.

Where did this come from? They succeeded in their preferred plan of telling the world what's going on over Ren and Yang's plan of helping what people they could, and now they're looking for something to do. Why wouldn't they head back to help? (Especially now that the shields are down.) Weiss yells that there are people dying in Atlas too but, as established, Atlas has the army. And where was this concern when they refused to let Atlas leave? After a Volume and a half of pro-Mantle content, this seems to come out of nowhere. Worse, Weiss tries to guilt May by asking if she has family in Atlas, which leads to the reveal that she's trans. Her family rejected their daughter.

I want to be clear that I'm very happy RT made this canon. For what she is — a side character we know incredibly little about — I really like May and the fact that they were clear in her identity rather than keeping it to twitter deserves recognition. Yet I'm not going to pretend that the reveal didn't leave a bit of a sour taste in my mouth, simply because we have this incredibly privileged cis girl, who knows a great deal about shitty families, hearing how horrible May's was and still trying to tell her she needs to suck it up and help Atlas over Mantle. When May angrily asks whose side she's on, Blake makes a comment about hearing that before, comparing her to Ironwood. May is painted as the misguided one here, but can you imagine if someone told Weiss to go help Jacques over her found family, Team RWBY, regardless of what he's done to her? The fandom would explode, and rightly so. There's something to be said for realism here, showing us Weiss and Blake's inability to see where May is coming from... but it doesn't feel like a commentary on that. It feels like another Penny situation: May is put in her place for being inconsiderate, even though this time it's her choosing to help people who are ALSO in danger over the people who represent family she's broken with.

I wanted conflict this Volume and I absolutely got it, but damn if it isn’t badly thought out at times.

Because rather than grappling with these personal motivations, Ruby brushes them aside by yelling, "There are no sides! We want to help everyone."

Does that extend to Ironwood? Ruby's speeches started falling flat when she betrayed Ozpin, attacked Cordovin, betrayed Ironwood, attacked the Ace Ops... This girl does not want to "help everyone." She wants to help those who agree with her.

Yet her rock solid optimism generates the question, “So how exactly do we get out of it?” which, as expected, Ruby has no answer to. The story keeps showing us how bad a leader Ruby has become, yet no one is actively responding to that. They kinda disagree about lying to Ironwood, but still go along with it. Yang kinda criticizes her sister, but that's then lost to general worry as they split (on Ruby's end, anyway). They want to know how she'll lead them next and are seemingly fine when Ruby continually says, "I don't know." At this point I'd be like, "Well... you didn't like May's plan of going back to Mantle, but apparently can't come up with a plan yourself... so I'm going to go with her."

This is the same conflict we had last Volume: Ruby spoke optimistically about saving everyone, yet was unable to come up with a way to do that. Ironwood had a plan that, while horrific, might save a lot of lives. Yet Ruby is presented as the one to back. Now here she is, hours later, still unable to figure out a way to achieve her perfect outcome. Ruby wanting things to be a certain way is not going to make them so and I’m wondering when someone within the group is going to recognize and act on that.

As Ruby fails to answer this crucial question, we pull back to see Whitley listening in at the door.

Cutting back to Ozpin and Oscar, Hazel has listened to all this craziness about Gods, immortality, the destruction of Remnant... and literally goes, "Cool story, bro."

Okay, he says "Nice story" but the emotion is the same. Which I'm really happy about! I mentioned in a recent post that, as far as we know, Hazel hasn't been told anything about the Gods up until now. What Ozpin is telling him sounds like gibberish at worst, incredibly hard to believe craziness at best. Now chuck in Mercury's point that as a tortured prisoner he'll say anything to get free, as well as the fact that this is Ozpin talking to Hazel... and I'm really glad Hazel just ignored his speech (for now at least). It wouldn't make sense otherwise. Granted, this means that the plan literally amounted to, “Let’s info dump a bunch of nonsense-sounding lore on our enemy in the hope that he’ll believe us and betray Salem.” It’s something to try, certainly, and it admittedly is a much better plan than what Oscar is about to cook up.

So since Hazel won't listen to Ozpin, Oscar wants to try instead. Why did you two switch in the first place? It's really obvious that RT is having the characters do weird things in order to stretch out the plot.

Either way, our farm boy is in control again. What new strategy will he try?

"Her name is Jinn."

This is BEYOND stupid. No, none of this "You have to trust people" nonsense. This is not “people,” this is Hazel. There is a Grand Canyon's width of difference between learning to trust your allies and blindly trusting an active villain who just rejected your "Please defect :(" speech. Even if we remove Hazel from the equation, this is still a monumentally foolish move. I mean, has Oscar considered where he is? This isn't some random warehouse he's been taken to, this is a semi-sentient grimm, a creature creating other creatures out of its ceiling

and whose doors automatically open when people need them to (Mercury). This is a living being created by and connected to Salem herself. How does Oscar know Salem can't hear everything he says? Or that the whale can't relay information to her? That the grimm in the walls won't pop out and run to their master? Or even that a normal person isn't listening in at the door — like Emerald is. If that had been Tyrian instead, that's it. They're done. Game over.

Someone: "Wow. Salem got the Lamp and managed to ask where the Beacon Relic is. Since the school is still overrun by her army, she snatched it up quick, finished destroying Atlas, and is now on her way to Vacuo. She's nearly completed her plan in days! How did all this happen?

Oscar: I, um... told her what she wanted to know?

Someone: You what?

Oscar: But not Salem! I just told Hazel! ... and then the information somehow got back to her.

Someone: "Somehow?" You deliberately told one of Salem's henchmen this crucial piece of information, in a place where there was a good chance you would be overheard by conventional or magical means, and you're surprised that she "somehow" learned it and used that information to doom us all?

Oscar: ...Yes?

This is so staggeringly stupid it... well, it could only have been done by a kid. So at least that fits lol. Oscar, I love you, but Ozpin should have been screaming in horror the second those words left your mouth. Generations of precautions undone because a kid wants to believe the best of the guy currently pummeling him. Sweet, but stupid. I’m all for optimistic characters, they just can’t risk the whole world on that optimism. Oscar risking himself on the seemingly doomed plan to turn Hazel is one thing, Oscar risking all of Remnant on the seemingly doomed plan to turn Hazel is another thing entirely.

Even though you know this is precisely how the story will go. Oscar willingly hands over Jinn's name to Salem's forces, but happily none of the THREE who hear about it will tell her. The story's unwillingness to follow through on consequences doesn't change what a bad move this was. I mean, Oscar himself accused Ironwood of playing into Salem's hands by disagreeing with them about how to not die, yet a few hours later he will willingly give Hazel the one piece of information Salem needs to move closer to world-wide destruction? That's uh... well, that's something.

They should have just had the poor boy be tortured, spill the beans to make it stop, and start an arc of self-forgiveness. Oscar can be awesome without coming up with world-dooming plans.

So yeah, Oscar is hoping that Hazel will use the Lamp himself and find out the truth. He wants Hazel to trust him and the man he despises most in the world enough to go against the immortal woman he's terrified of, get the Lamp away from her somehow to use for himself, wasting a once in a generation question to confirm all this, so that Salem will lose a guy with muscle who, to be frank, is absolute insignificant in the grand scheme of her power. Fantastic.

As said, Emerald overhears all this and immediately runs to Mercury, who is less than convinced by her "Salem wants to destroy the world" talk. Just as he's expressing doubt, Tyrian appears to confirm that this is exactly what she wants to do — and he's loving it.

“Of course she is! You’re surprised? Salem is destruction incarnate!”

It's a legit point. Are our villains so dense they never considered that Salem might do something to the world they didn't like? It's like the group not thinking about how Salem is still around if Ozpin has been fighting her for a thousand years. RWBY continually gives the impression that these characters don't think about their situation past what they're doing at any given moment.

Tyrian maintains his title as best villain though, simply because I understand what he's doing, why he's doing it, and he's so damn good at it.

Also, can we appreciate Mercury's face here?

Amazing. This is the kind of humor we should be getting in such a tragedy-laden Volume.

The two of them, Tyrian and Mercury, head off to Vacuo for the Secret Mission, despite Mercury's newfound hesitation. I quite liked these quiet moments between him and Emerald. It has a very "Do what you've gotta do" vibe while showcasing their care for one another, something we haven't seen in a while.

Back with the airship group. YJR are still horrified that Ironwood would blow up Oscar (even though he has no idea Oscar is there), begging the Ace Ops to give them "a chance to try to rescue him first.” Ren goes pretty hard on the "no one is replaceable" bit, which is frustrating not being what he’s saying is inaccurate (it’s not), but because that's not the issue here. The writing has Harriet start yelling about Marrow replacing her old teammate and Winter replacing Clover, but the question is not whether you'll just forget a teammate and move on with someone new, but whether you're willing to sacrifice them for the greater good. That's the stance: Should we sacrifice one life to save thousands? Will you, as a protector of the people, put those people before your own found family? Yet what RT has Harriet say is: Oscar is replaceable. Which obviously makes her come across as an ass. Like the random soldier questioning Ironwood — or making Elm about to punch a defenseless Ren in her anger — it exists solely to show how bad these character are... even as they say pretty persuasive things.

The writing also continues to be confused about whether the Ace Ops are friends or not. Yang certainly didn't think so... up until she asks (rhetorically) whether Marrow would sacrifice himself for Elm, Harriet, and Vine. Since their introduction, the story has loudly insisted that the Ace Ops aren't friends... up until it's revealed ("revealed") that Harriet is actually gutted about Clover. So which is it? Are we supposed to believe that these are cold soldiers who only work together out of duty, or that they're a team who clearly love one another? I'd say that show has shown us the latter, but it doesn't seem to understand what point it's trying to make. Does this look like a soldier who doesn’t care?

It’s especially weird when Ren again makes the claim that this is why they lost to Team RWBY. Because they're not a team.

...So is this why they did such a fantastic job fighting the geist, demonstrating such perfect teamwork that the group was open-mouthed impressed? Is this why they nearly took down a Maiden together? Is this why Ren, while furious at Yang and Jaune, was still able to work seamlessly with them to try and rescue Oscar? Do we think if Yang was suddenly beside Ruby again that the two would fail spectacularly in a fight because they had a minor disagreement?

This is now the third time RT has tried to excuse nerfing the Ace Ops with, "They disagree about things and are thus not friends and thus can't fight well together" — despite all evidence to the contrary — and it's getting really old.

At one point Harriet tells Ren, "I had you pegged as the most level-headed of the bunch, but I guess you’re just as naïve" which, ignoring her then random claim that people are replaceable, is correct. I also pegged Ren as the most level-headed of the bunch considering he was just yelling at Yang for how much damage they've caused, all the mistakes they've made, and that maybe — just maybe — they should have tried harder to work with Ironwood. Yet now here he is, in a position to start that process, and the Ren we got in the snow is simply gone. He's fully Team Yang and Jaune again, facing off against the evil Ace Ops.

I knew this was going to happen, but it's still disappointing. The story gave Ren a great speech to appease those of us frustrated with the direction the story has taken... and now we’re back to ignoring that. Ren was told off for daring to question how great the group is, apparently thought it over in the snow, and is now of the opinion that yes, they are that great. People are going to die because of us? Who cares about that anymore! We will absolutely, single-handedly rescue Oscar and there's no reason why this might be a questionable choice when an entire city is on the line. Again, emotionally understandable (if we buy into the group suddenly loving Oscar this much), but it rings hollow right after making Ren the one person who was willing to look at the big picture.

Good news though: Jaune got the braincell this week! He suggests that they go in to try and rescue Oscar/provide intel, but won't stop the Ace Ops from launching the bomb when necessary.

See, this is heroic. This is what the group should have done during the Mantle conflict: Volunteering to take the personal risk of facing off against Salem while letting Atlas try to escape. Basically, not forcing everyone else to risk their lives for their pipe dream, which is what Ren and Yang want by rejecting the bomb entirely. Jaune recognizes here that they can't prioritize Oscar over an entire city, but also that they may still be able to save him before the bomb is complete and ready to go. So they compromise, with JYR the only ones at risk.

Good job, Jaune!

Winter agrees to this plan with a firm, "I outrank you" to Harriet. People are going to love that.

Oh, but in his anger Ren's semblance suddenly changes. So we're back to the ridiculous.

Truthfully, I like this direction. Granted, I would have liked some buildup to it, especially since this is the second time this Volume that RWBY has dropped a major semblance change on us, but the idea itself is really cool. Ren can now see emotions! Awesome! And I don't mean that sarcastically. I actually think that’s a neat extension of his original semblance.

Too bad the story seems to think he's a mind reader.

Seriously, take a look back at the dialogue. What Ren sees are confetti-like petals floating around a person, their color seeming to determine their emotional state. Red means Harriet is mad, blue is sadness for Marrow, etc. But what Ren ends up saying is a great deal closer to mind reading. Harriet is angry about Clover and is gutted at his loss. Marrow is questioning his place here and wants to leave. These aren't base emotions, they're targeted thoughts and feelings about situations not immediately apparent from the verbal conversation. “In fact, you don’t want to be a part of it at all anymore." How does Ren know that? They just gave him telepathy instead of the cool power with firm limitations that the imagery suggests.

There are also some, uh... iffy implications in all this. For example, Ren allows Yang privacy by not reading her mind emotional state, but has no qualms about reading every one of the Ace Ops’. So privacy is only for the people you care about, huh?

We could also say something about RT perpetuating unfortunate racial stereotypes: the two women of color are pure anger, the marginalized man is pure sadness, the Asian coded character is pure calm... and the white woman set to turn against the others gets a mix of all emotions. AKA, human complexity.

To be clear, I don't think RT is doing this deliberately. Rather, they’re writers who have demonstrated time and time again that they don't have a good handle on depicting the sort of sensitive material that RWBY is infused with, and that extends to the mild, but still unfortunate, implications in scenes like this. Even if we ignore the iffy details — a benefit of the doubt that, at this point, many fans aren’t willing to grant — we're still left with the continuity errors. Visually, we're presented with a woman who is experiencing multiple emotions at once and is, therefore, torn. Yet Ren reads Winter definitively: "I know you [don't want this] either." It's yet another moment that makes me wonder how much communication there is between the writers and the animators, because too often the two seem to be at odds with each other.

As the group prepares to go into the belly of the beast (literally!) we return to Ruby who is, once again, failing to make me believe she's this super compassionate person.

“Wait! What about Qrow and Robyn? Maybe if we get them out of wherever they’re held—”

Please tell me I'm not the only one who took issue with this? Ruby doesn't express an ounce of worry for her uncle, not even when she learns he's been arrested, and the one time she brings him up it's in the context of what he can do for them in this fight? Ruby doesn't grapple with whether to rescue her uncle (personal desire), or get the message to the world (her version of the heroic action) and then realize that, now that her duty is done, she can finally turn to the more selfish act of helping her immediate family. Instead, Ruby seems perfectly happy to let Qrow stay in prison up until she's unsure what to do next and thinks that maybe he has the answer. Heaven forbid Ruby think about rescuing him because she loves him.

Sadly, this Ruby is long gone.

In recent years she's expressed no gratitude for him saving her life, no respect for him as her teacher, demonstrated incredibly little compassion for his own struggles, and outright told him that if he wasn't going to listen to her then he doesn't need to be part of the team. Then he's arrested and she doesn't care until she deems him useful again. Like the fandom wondering where the sisterly bond between Ruby and Yang went, I'm likewise wondering where the bond between Ruby and Qrow went.

May outright rejects this though, yelling that they still don't get it. “This is not a situation where everyone wins!"

She tells the trio they have to choose for once: Are you going to help Mantle, or Atlas?

...which means there's immediately a knock at the door, interrupting the moment where they have to decide.

See, this is just like Ren. The story keeps giving us moments where characters speak absolute truth, dangling the potential for the group to grow from these realizations... only to pull back before it goes anywhere. Ren is once again aligned with Yang and Jaune in their desire to save Oscar. May's demand is interrupted by the plot. If means nothing to give us these moments unless the story acts on them.

It's Klein at the door. Whitley called him to help with Nora because I guess he's a doctor now, as well as a butler? Fine. Let’s run with it. Weiss is super pleased to see him and hugs Whitley for the good deed.

Why so shocked that Whitley would look out for another, Weiss? Could it be because he's had so little reason to be kind when everyone, including you, has treated him horribly? If Klein always had these medical skills — if you’ve grown up with a doctor — why didn’t you talk to your brother and ask if he knew how to contact him? And of course, she apologizes to Klein for her father’s actions, but not to Whitley for her own. Whitley's surprise isn't cute to me.

Weiss stuck a weapon in his face, insulted him, sent him to his room like a toddler... and now is randomly hugging him because he did something she liked. The context of this scene doesn't paint Weiss in a good light. Like the rest of her friends, she only extends basic respect and kindness towards others when they're assisting her. Whitley was nothing to her until he suddenly proved himself useful. That's not cute sibling love, it's a love that's going to run out the moment Whitley puts a toe out of line, according to Weiss' unspoken list of what behavior keeps him in her good graces.

I believe that Klein cares for Whitley because he greets him kindly and gives him that shoulder pat on the way up. Whitley didn't need to first prove himself to Klein somehow and Klein didn't start this interaction by shoving a gun in Whitley's face, just in case he wouldn't let him through the door. They feel more like family than this hug does.

So yeah, Whitley and May have done more good this episode than our entire main cast. How about we just make this story about the side characters instead?

We then hear a massive boom and the group runs out to find a crater. Penny has landed in front of the manor, which is pretty convenient considering we saw her pass out as she fell.

She's somehow still in control despite the hack and apologizes to Ruby, then falls unconscious (again).

And that's where we end! Definitely a cliffhanger, though a rather underwhelming one considering we already knew Penny was in serious trouble. As said at the start, this episode felt rather underwhelming to me, especially as a halfway point before a hiatus, and compared to some of the stuff we've seen previously. It's not bad per-se — especially if we ignore the issues that have been around for an age now, which is most of what this recap deals with — it's just not terribly exciting either. Everything of importance — Salem's attack, Oscar's rescue, Penny's demise, subordinates turning, Nora's condition, etc. — had already been established in previous episodes and very little of it moved forward. Ren's semblance is the only thing the episode gave us that we couldn't have (generically) guessed for ourselves between last Saturday and now.

So yeah, underwhelmed is the mood of the day, with a hefty dose of salt for everything that continues to be a story-breaking problem in this show. I will say though that, as has become the trend for this Volume, all the establishing shots are gorgeous. RWBY is, at the very least, pretty to look at.

As a final note, in lieu of the Bingo board (since, again, not a whole happens plot-wise) I want to point out something mentioned by a friend: how absolutely bonkers our timeline is now. We began the second day last episode with the sun rising (recall that Jaune had tried to sleep that night at the outpost. So it’s definitely sunrise as opposed to sunset).

And we re-confirm that it’s sunrise at the start of this episode.

Yet throughout the episode many of our shots take place at night (note the stars behind the trio).

These moments with Ruby can't take place in the past because they're talking about the attack, an attack that only happened after Jaune's group met up with the Ace Ops and the geyser attacked — during early morning. I doubt I'm supposed to believe that it has been another full day of Salem starting an attack, a full day for the group to fly to the whale, a full day for Penny to fall, a full day which would put us at the end of the Volume’s timeline at only the halfway point... so I think RT is just going for the aesthetic of night shots without thinking about what that does to the continuity. It's a mess.

Not the highest praise to end on, but I’m working with what I’ve got lol. I feel as naïve as Oscar when I say that maybe Part II will be better.

I will, of course, see you all in six weeks. Until then, I'll do my best to catch up on asks. Another doomed endeavor, but one can try!

A very Happy Holidays to all of you who celebrate and, as always, thanks so much for reading! 💜

[Ko-Fi]

#rwby #rwby spoilers #rwby volume 8 #rwby recaps #rwby war #mymetas

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ljsmiths-thenightworld · 4 years

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The Night World Series and all things L.J. Smith

The Night World series is by 90’s Teen Vampire Writing Queen , L.J. Smith. She is also the original writer of The Vampires Diaries series and her name is still attached to the ghost written books of today.

This particular series contains 9 books with a 10th book named Strange Fate to be released at a N/A date.

Books 1-9 were written in the 1990’s with Strange Fate originally meant to be released in 1999.

If it’s been so long why do you still have a strand of faith?

It’s more hope, but honestly what’s the harm in running an update blog in the chance it ever happens?

In 2008, the books were republished at the beginning of a new Vampire craze. The Vampire Diaries tv show was announced and L.J. Smith ended her hiatus that started in 1999 (due to her caring for sick relatives).

In an interview in 2012, LJ Smith was “halfway” done with Strange Fate in the quote below:

“Out of all the Night World? To be honest, my favorite is one that you haven’t seen yet, because he’s in Strange Fate (670 pages so far and still only halfway done). His name is Kierlan, he’s a wild and crazy guy, and—to say more would be to give the plot away. BUT soon, when Night World 3 comes out (in April I think) you can see him for yourself, because the teaser in the back is from Strange Fate and it’s all about him—and Sarah, the heroine.”

Later she realized that the story had evolved so much that it was basically a completely different story, which she named The Last Lullaby. She took the chapters that became their own and wrote a different ending for it. She planned to publish that book in 2014, but for some reason this didn’t happen either. It seems some of this was published online but it doesn’t look like it was by Smith herself.

During 2011 at the height of Vampire Diaries fame, and after being essentially asked to write more books to extend the series, Smith was actually fired from her books and a ghost writer was hired. She however did not lose the rights to every book of hers, and can still legally finish The Night World. I don’t know if this caused another shift in her focus, but she did write her own additional books and then swapped her focus to her own “fanfiction” verisons of the books. Which while originally able to be purchased on Amazon, is not gone. However links to Paradise Lost and The War of Roses still exist online. The books pick up where Midnight (the last book in the series written by her) take place.

Around 2016, L.J. Smith popped back up, once again active and informed her readers she almost died on a facebook post that can be found here. She really had mostly remained inactive, save the very occasional and unrelated post on facebook that stopped in 2018.

What are The Night World books about?

The Night World series is about a modern world where witches, vampires, werewolves, and shapeshifters love secretly along side mortals. The Night World has twos in rules which are 1. Do not allow humans to find out about the Night World and 2. Night World members are forbidden from falling in love with a human. Something in recent times has shifted though, causing members of the night world more frequently to find soulmates in humans. Each book gives us a Night World member and a human couple who fall in love in with varying reaction to it (some are more open to human love interests than others, some even are well known human haters). Aside from this, another interesting idea in the book (that differs from even other LJ Smith vampire books) is the idea of both made and born vampires. The born vampires, called Lamia, are just that. They can eat food and age, until they decide not to. Made vampires are pretty stereotypical vampires, with the added detail that only youthful people can survive the change therefore making all made vampires appear to be around teen age.

Why do I care so much still?

The Night World series has definitely aged but the ideas and stories are so dear to me to this day. I really would love to encourage a focus on the series and let LJ know fans are still to this day looking forward to her finishing, but that we also wish her and her health well! I hope this blog points people towards one of my favorite fictional worlds.

#young adult fiction #lj smith #the night world #the night world series #ya fiction #vampire #vampires

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sparklyfairymira · 3 years

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Prompt & Fic Updates (Updated 10.16)

So after an extended hiatus I am updating my prompt/update list that I will try my hardest to stick to but of course life happens!

WIPs

WAIT 'TIL I GET MY MONEY CH 1

BELLARKE/MINTY/HARPHY

Expected number of chapters: 7 Next Chapter (4): TBD

HE'S NOT THE ONLY ONE (WHO HAD A SECRET TO HIDE)

BELLARKE/MURVEN

Expected number of chapters: 4 Next Chapter (3): TBD

YOUR HEARTBEAT NEXT TO MINE

BELLARKE

Next Chapter : Abandoned

WELCOME TO TEMPTATION

BELLARKE/CLURPHY/ROARKE

Expected number of chapters: 20 Next Chapter (2): TBD

IT'S YOU (IT'S ALWAYS BEEN YOU)

BELLARKE

Expected number of chapters: 2 Next chapter (2): TBD

UPCOMING PROMPTS

See below the cut for my upcoming prompts

CUTS DEEP DOWN THROUGH YOUR CHEST (INTO YOUR SOUL)

BROARKE

Bellamy and Clarke have been married for five years and they're just as happy as the date they got married. They love their jobs, their dog, their friends, their life. When Clarke's childhood friend Roan begs Clarke to be his date to his mom's wedding, she and Bellamy decide what's the harm—especially with Roan willing to foot the bill and pay her for her time. Bellamy's only condition is that he goes to. Roan agrees which should be the end of it—until the couple realizes that they're falling for Roan.

CITY OF CLOUDS

BELLARKE

Clarke found the staircase in the middle of the woods—a place she’s been a million times before and it had never been there. Something was drawing her to them and as she climbed and climbed, clouds began to appear around her. When she pushes through the door she finds herself in a whole new world. Bellamy welcomes her to the City of Clouds and explains that the only way she could have found her way there is if she was looking for an escape. Clarke doesn’t want to admit it but she was looking for an escape from the pressures of her life—her mother’s expectations and pressure to marry Finn. It was all just too much. The City of Clouds is beautiful and she’s never known a place like it. And she’s never known a man like Bellamy before. And now she’s not sure that she ever wants to go home.

HOT & COLD

BELLARKE

Clarke, the Winter Queen, has only ever known cold and logic. Bellamy, the Summer King, has only ever known warmth and emotions. When their two realms suddenly start bleeding into one another they have to figure out how to stop it. If they happen to fall for one another in the process, who can blame them? Can he teach her how to feel? Can she teach him how to use his head and his heart?

THE CRUEL PRINCESS

BELLARKE

Bellamy Blake was seven years old when his mother was murdered and he and his sister were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, and Bellamy desires nothing more than to belong there but many of the fey despise humans. Especially Princess Clarke, the youngest and wickedest daughter of the High Queen. To win a place at the Court, Bellamy must defy her and face the consequences. Consequences deep down he's not ready to face—like falling in love with Clarke even though he can't stand the mere sight of her. A Cruel Prince AU

FORBIDDEN

MURVEN

The sorceress of Arkadia, Raven, has only one job—to keep Prince Murphy alive until his coronation. There have been multiple attempts against his life and it has been decided that she is best equipped to protect him. She takes him far from the palace so that she can protect him. What she wasn’t expecting was to fall into bed and then in love with him.

BORN WITH TRAGEDY IN HER BLOOD

BELLARKE

Clarke is the beloved queen of Arkadia and when Azgeda declares war on Arkadia, she is right there beside her soldiers fighting. During a battle, she is wounded and she’s not sure that she will survive but a man rescues her and nurses her back to health. Bellamy tells her of the chaos that the world has become since she went missing—water turning to blood & crops dying. It seems that there is some kind of curse on the land. Clarke immediately tries to drag herself from bed but she can’t even stand. Eventually, he agrees to see her home so that she can right their lands. And if he’s a little bit in love with her, who can blame him?

SOULMATE AU

BELLARKE/MINTY/MURVEN

A continuation of chapter 39 of "We are all caught in the in between (Of what's real and what's a dream?)"

CONTINUATION/EPILOGUE OF A WALKING DREAM OF LIFE AND LIGHT (HATH LEFT ME BROKEN-HEARTED)

BELLARKE

A continuation/epilogue for my fic A waking dream of life and light (hath left me broken-hearted)

SUPERNOVA GIRL

BELLARKE

Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century AU — Clarke grew up on the Ark with her parents and loves everything about her life in space. But after getting into trouble one too many times, her parents are sending her to spend some time on Earth with her Aunt Diyoza. To say Earth is a huge culture shock would be an understatement. But things begin to look up once she manages to make some friends, especially Bellamy, the cute boy who is fully fascinated by her life living among the stars. Everything is actually going great until Clarke discovers something that puts life on her beloved space station in jeopardy.

DARK MAGIC AU

BELLARKE

Arkadia, once a prosperous land filled with magic is slowly crumbling beneath the darkness that spreads from the forest that borders their lands—the magic all but lost and forgotten. As the darkness spreads, Arkadians begin to sicken and die. Following his mother's death and his sister falling ill, Bellamy decides that he shall brave the darkness and destroy Wanheda. Wanheda, the Commander of Death, used to have another name—Princess Clarke of Arkadia. In order to keep her people and her lands from being overwhelmed by evil, she took it upon herself to keep the darkness at bay. Into the forest, she went and made her home in a tower far from anyone and everyone that she has ever known. For centuries she has taken the darkness into herself to save her people and it has slowly been seeping into her soul until she has forgotten her former self. Now all she knows is the darkness. Can Bellamy save Arkadia and Clarke?

WEREWOLF AU

BELLARKE

Clarke bought a little cabin in the woods so that she could get out of the city. She just can’t do all of the people and all of the constant going anymore. Everything is going well until she gets bit by a wolf and then on the next full moon, she turns into a wolf herself. She’s scared and confused—not to mention lost—when the black wolf finds her. She immediately knows that he’s like her—a werewolf. He helps her through the night until they fall asleep under the stars. When they wake up naked, she finds out that the black wolf is a very hot guy named Bellamy who has a proposition for her. Bellamy was born a werewolf, a gene passed down by his mom. He was raised as part of the pack and Marcus, the pack leader, was training him to take over when the time came. But then another pack came and killed most of their pack. Those that they didn’t kill they took prisoner—his sister being one of them. The only reason he’s alive is that Marcus had sent him out of state to meet with another pack. He knows that the wolf that bit Clarke is in this pack because he’d been watching her when she got bit—he just hadn’t been fast enough to stop it. Bellamy tells Clarke that he can help her get revenge on the man that turned her into a werewolf as long as she helps him get his people back. She doesn’t hesitate, her thirst for revenge and blood running too deep.

MERMAID AU

LINCTAVIA

Lincoln sets sail one week following his wedding to Octavia, promising to return in six months, leaving her with nothing but a paper boat. It's been two years and everyone thinks he's dead. But then rumors reach her of a man who looks likes her dead husband, swimming in the sea—with a tail instead of legs. So she steals her brother's boat and sets off to find her husband.

UNTITLED

BELLARKE/CLEXA

Clarke finds herself in love with two people: Bellamy and Lexa. Neither of them can stand one another and it's probably at least in part due to the fact that she refuses to choose between them. Tired of the pair's fighting she tricks them both into coming over at the same time and tells them that she will not choose. If they cannot get along then they can both leave. It's either both or neither of them. Reluctantly they get to know one another and realize that maybe the other isn't so bad.

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openheartfanfics · 4 years

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Newly Added Fics

November 12-14

🎭 Angst | ☁ Fluff | ♥ NSFW | 📚 Series

Bryce x F!MC

Baby Blues - @rookie-ramsey 📚 *extended: completed*

MC and Bryce can handle just about anything. Hopefully, pregnancy and parenting fall into the “just about everything” category.

Comfort - @jaxsmutsuo ☁ AU where MC never gets promoted to diagnostic board and they wrote such a good essay. [Gender Inclusive]

I’ve been excited to see you all day. - @rookie-ramsey ☁ MC spends the last day of maternity leave snuggling with Bryce and their babies.

Of Trust Funds and Twisted Families - @writinghereandthere ☁ Bryce and MC can’t get married because there’s a huge trust fund and all this family drama.

Please don’t do this. - @rookie-ramsey ☁ Bryce is whipped for MC and their kids.

What You Need - @oofchoices ☁ Bryce lost a patient that looked exactly like MC.

Ethan x F!MC

Across The Universe - @rookie-ramsey 📚 *extended: 5 chapters - on hiatus*

Ethan is diagnosed with a brain tumor.

Aftermath - @rookie-ramsey 📚 *extended: 8 chapters - on hiatus*

Possessed with envy, Landry takes his sabotage a step further. TW: Rape/violence. Feat. Landry Olsen

Bedside Manner - @rookie-ramsey ☁ Even if MC’s bedside manner could use some work, she knows how to handle a flu-stricken Ethan.

Black Ice - @rookie-ramsey 📚 *extended: wip*

A car accident threatens to take away everything.

Collide - @rookie-ramsey 🎭 A car accident sends Ethan close to losing everything.

Curveball - @rookie-ramsey 📚 *extended: wip*

Two months later, Ethan and MC’s night spent in the ski lodge presents them with a surprise pregnancy.

Detectives By Chance - @monsoonblooms12 📚

A mystery - a murder - many secrets… Will they be able to survive? Or will the circumstances twist and break their lives forever?

Chapter 4- Seeking and Chasing

Don’t be scared, I’m right here. - @rookie-ramsey 🎭 Ethan’s final moments are spent right where he wants to be. TW: death/cancer.

Ethan Ramsey Sent You A Friend Request - @rookie-ramsey ☁ Ethan learns that maybe social media does have some purpose.

Family Values - @ohramsey 🎭 With Edenbrook closing its doors for the last time in 4 days, it’s staff try to make the best of their time left.

Fragment - @rookie-ramsey 🎭 Ethan and MC spend the night at a ski resort, courtesy of a rich patient. A catastrophe ensues.

Gravity - @rookie-ramsey 📚 *extended: wip*

MC slips into a coma, reminding Ethan that as always, he can’t save the ones he cares about. AU to 2.11.

Half A Heart - @rookitcarrera 📚 AU where MC got into Mass Kenmore Hospital's resident program instead, but she ends up meeting Ethan Ramsey anyway.

Here, let me help you. - @rookie-ramsey ☁ MC is clumsy. Luckily, she has Dr. Ramsey at her service to fix her up.

Hey–I accidentally cut my hand - @rookie-ramsey ☁ MC has a little accident while cooking dinner. Fortunately, Dr. Ramsey makes house calls

How strangely nonchalant - @rookie-ramsey ☁ A near-death scenario leads to a desire to put their hotel bed to the test.

I can’t imagine this world without you. - @rookie-ramsey 🎭 A near-death accident almost takes Ethan away from her and their family.

Is that my shirt you’re wearing? - @rookie-ramsey ☁ MC has a contraction.

I’ll keep you warm - @rookie-ramsey ☁ MC has to keep Ethan nice and warm when he has the flu.

Insomnia - @irisofpurple ♥ Ethan after seeing MC for the first time after his return from Amazon.

Never Say Never - @rookie-ramsey 📚 *extended: on hiatus*

MC struggles to come to terms with her disability as she and Ethan navigate their relationship. Sequel to Worth Any Risk.

Nightcap - @rookie-ramsey ♥ Ethan accepts MC’s invitation to come inside for a nightcap.

Shattered - @rookie-ramsey 📚 *extended: 3 chapters - on hiatus*

A gunman is on the loose in Edenbrook.

So, I tried making dinner - @rookie-ramsey ☁ MC learns the hard way that cooking isn’t her strength.

Songbird - @rookie-ramsey 📚 *extended: wip*

She thought the biggest obstacle of her life was surviving medical school. Life had a funny away of proving her wrong. MC is diagnosed with breast cancer.

Teenage Dreams - @rookie-ramsey 📚 *extended: wip*

High school is no piece of cake. Maybe if MC and Ethan get into enough shenanigans, it will be okay. High School AU.

The Speed of Light - @rookie-ramsey 🎭 MC’s condition takes a turn for the worse. Ethan realizes just how fast time flies when someone you love is close to dying. 2.11 Rewrite.

There’s only a handful of people in this world - @rookie-ramsey ☁ After celebrating MC’s ethics victory, Ethan and MC talk about their relationship.

Thinking Out Loud - @rookie-ramsey 📚 *extended: wip*

Ethan and MC are two single parents coping with loss. Their daughters see their chemistry.

Until The Very End - @ohramsey 🎭 Ethan takes Valerie back to his apartment after a long day at work. An important question is asked and some very decisions are made.

What If The Closest We Get To The Moment Is Now - @queenbirbs ♥ AU where Ethan is an ER attending and MC is a paramedic, but they still manage to fall in love.

When The Tables Turn - @rookie-ramsey ♥ Ethan and MC have a night well spent when she returns from Vegas. Ethan is used to being in control, but it’s MC’s turn tonight.

Who hurt you? - @rookie-ramsey 🎭 MC is mugged on her way home from work. Fortunately, she has Ethan to patch her up.

Why are you crying - @rookie-ramsey 🎭 Jenner passed away and MC comforts Ethan.

Worth Any Risk - @rookie-ramsey 📚 *extended: completed*

Shortly after Ethan’s return to Edenbrook, he tries to pick up where he left off as if nothing happened. When MC becomes gravely ill he is reminded that there some things worth any risk.

You’re my new pillow. - @rookie-ramsey ☁ MC is sick, but Dr. Ramsey is an approved cure for the flu.

Ines x Zaid

Adventures in Babysitting - @rookie-ramsey ☁ To prepare for their approaching parenthood, Zaid and Ines spend a night babysitting the Ramsey twins.

Are you okay? - @rookie-ramsey 🎭 Ines shows up at his door after a fight with her partner. TW: miscarriage.

First Impressions - @rookie-ramsey ☁ New parents. Feat. Uncle Baz

I can’t sleep, can I stay here? - @rookie-ramsey ☁ Zaid spends his day off taking care of his sick wife and daughter.

I might be slightly drunk. - @rookie-ramsey ☁ It’s 1AM and they take a walk.

Proposal, Interrupted - @rookie-ramsey ☁ Zaid is a little nervous about proposing to Ines.

The Parent-Teacher Conference - @rookie-ramsey ☁ Zaid and Ines have a little meeting with their daughter’s first grade teacher.

What should we name him? - @rookie-ramsey ☁ Zaid can’t say no to Ines. Or to the kitten she found.

You’re so adorable. - @rookie-ramsey ☁ Flirting isn’t Zaid’s area of expertise.

Rafael x F!MC

Grief - @lovella-lah 🎭 if Sora and Rafael stayed together but PB still killed him.

The Hope of It All - @inacrowdofchoices 🎭 MC learns Rafael and Sora got back together before OHSY.

SUBMIT OPEN HEART FICS & WRITERS HERE

All fics should have a summary section and categorized as Angst, Fluff, Smut or part of a Series!

#open heart #open heart fanfic #open heart fanfiction #choices open heart #open heart fanfics #ethan ramsey #ethan x mc #ethan ramsey x mc #bryce lahela #bryce x mc #bryce lahela x mc #rafael aveiro #rafael averio x mc #Rafael x MC #i'm laughing at how this list is basically just jara's masterlist categorized #oops #hope to have more variation in the next roundup #newly added fics

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shadows-twilight · 4 years

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RWBY Volume 8 Chapter 6

My various thoughts and opinions on Chapter 6 of RWBY Volume 8, “Midnight”

SPOILERS BELOW:

Oh wow, getting straight into the backstory, I see, I can dig it.

The rythmetic cycle of Cinder’s scrubbing, Cinder getting beat up, and the Madame’s heels is quite the effective opening. Tells us right from the start the good time we will not be having.

Yes, yes, you made the Rooster on the wind vane the same as the Rooster Teeth logo. Don’t worry, we noticed.

So Cinder did indeed grow up in Atlas. I must say, that is one fancy hotel. Clearly the kind of place that only the richest and scummiest attend.

I wonder what the societal implications are that the decorations of this lobby are almost exclusively Grimm. I almost want to say that it’s a sign of just how removed from real-world problem the patrons are here, that these beasts of nightmares and despair are nothing but novelties to them, that they see them as interesting rather than fearing them, but later we see a huntsman here, so I’m not so sure.

God, how mistreated was Cinder before she even came here? That “Food?” line just broke my heart.

NEW SONG!!!

Damn, why do they have to give all of these one-off backstory characters such wonderful designs? This Rhodes guy looks awesome!

So the thing that triggered Cinder’s semblance was intense anger. That tracks.

Jesus Christ, the Madame has a literal shock collar on her? I’d ask how this kind of thing was legal, but then this is the same kingdom where Jacques was able to operate his slave-like business practices with impunity, so I guess I’m not too surprised.

Wait, the “without you” mantra was forced upon her BEFORE Salem? That just got even darker.

Metal skin, huh? Rhodes’s rocking that Ultimate Shield, me likey

Ok, I think I see what Rhodes was trying to do with Cinder here. I can’t say I agree with it, he definitely should have just said “Hey kid, I’m just gonna take that inhumane piece of garbage off your neck and get you the hell out of here, okay?” but think I understand his thought process. As we established earlier, this arrangement between the Madame and Cinder is legal. It isn’t right, and it’s the farthest thing from kind, but it is legal. Cinder is just a ten year old girl, and the Madame is her legal guardian. That means if she were to run, she’d be a runaway, and if Rhodes were to take her, he’d be a kidnapper. They’d have to spend the rest of their lives on the run, even moreso if Cinder had hurt them. Alternatively, she could grin and bear it until she was old enough to get out legally, allowing her to be truly free. The problem is that she would have to grin and bear it for SEVEN YEARS, during her frikkin’ FORMATIVE YEARS! What’s more, while he was there to give her companionship and hope for the future, he got to come and go at his leisure, and probably be gone for extended periods of time (I’m assuming he still performed his Huntsman duties during this time) while she was stuck in the same traumatic, abusive environment 24/7. I understand where his mindspace was, but he did not think this through.

I’m mildly disappointed that the weapon he gifted her wasn’t Midnight. It would have made her destroying it in Volume 3 take on a much greater meaning. Also slightly disappointed that Cinder is indeed her real name. I guess she simply chose the Fall part.

Yeah, I’m not going to spare much sympathy for those bitches. I mean, one could argue that this was straight up self defense (at least with the Madame), and while I know the stock lessons from these shows is “no one deserves death” and “revenge blackens the soul” and yada yada yada, defending abusers isn’t exactly a hill I’m gonna fight on.

That being said, carrying on from my word vomit above, I understand Rhodes’s reaction as well, even if I don’t agree with it. While we can make the argument for abuse and self defense, an yada yada, we also know that in the eyes of the law, this was a cold-blooded murder, and Rhodes clearly seems to be the kind of huntsman that sees it as his duty to uphold the law. Even if he didn’t, and he let her go now or helped her run, they’d be once again in the situation he was trying to avoid, on the run. Personally, I say worth it, and if he had managed to get her to Vale, Ozpin probably would have been understanding enough to help her out, but that’s my opinion.

Oh shit, it’s an Ok Goodnight song. ... OH SHIT IT’S AN OK GOODNIGHT SONG! THAT IS AWESOME!!! Nice choice of song, too, the lyrics work very well for this scenario and Cinder’s story.

I find it incredibly sad that Rhodes immediately stopped fighting the moment Cinder’s aura broke, and even after she stabs him, all he does is give her the same headpat gesture he did earlier. For all his aforementioned faults, he really did care.

I will echo a statement I made towards Adam when we learned about his scar. I sympathize for the girl who went through all of that abuse, she didn’t deserve it. I spare none for the woman she grew into.

And we’re back in the present where we see that modern Cinder is still a sore loser and Emerald is still an overly dependent yes-woman. I feel for her sometimes.

Anyone who watched Infinity Train, is Mercury’s behavior reminding anyone else of Simon? I’m getting some serious Simon vibes from that smugness.

Oscar’s more of a clever little boy than many might have given him credit for. He’s here getting the ass whoopin’ of his life, and he’s strategizing ways to turn them against each other. Far more than just a farmhand, now.

Oh boy, Hypocrite Hazel strikes again! “You let him suffer!” Quite the riot coming from the guy dishing out the suffering.

Ooh, is that...doubt...I saw in Hazel’s eyes? All this time I figured he was so tunnel visioned by his quest for vengeance that he simply didn’t care who he served, but it turns out he’s just following the same logic Roman and Lionheart did. We can’t stop her, so we may as well help her. I wonder if Hazel’s mind might be changed if he knew what the relics really did. Sadly, Salem knew what was up and said NOPE to that train of thought. For now.

I almost want to say it was a little too on the nose for them to flashback to Cinder getting shock collared as Salem hurt her through the Grimm arm, but for some reason it really worked here.

Dear god, can you get even more manipulative than what Salem’s doing right here? Talking about giving Cinder what she wants when it’s convenient for her RIGHT AFTER TORTURING HER!? Cinder really did trade out one abusive step-mother for another, didn’t she?

I’m sorry, Elm, did you just refer to Penny as broken junk? I’mma be honest, the list of Ace-Ops I’m hoping to see survive this is really starting to dwindle. At least Winter’s not having any of it.

Wow, Harriet. You just got informed that there is a massive river of Grimm heading straight for your kingdom, and your first move is to start the blame game. How were we ever fans of these assholes?

The river is now a geyser. What a fun day.

Wow, those defenses didn’t hold for shit, did they? Good thing there’s all those ships are there for extra defense. I’m sure they’ll be helping out any second now. Any...second...

I don’t know if the middle of farmland is the most courteous place to park your world destroying god whale, but at least it’s out of the way.

God, if this is the note they’re leaving us on for the penultimate episode before the hiatus, what the hell are they leaving us with next week? For once, I’m almost glad for the week-long wait in between episodes. We need time breathe at some point!

#rwby #rwby spoilers #rwby volume 8 #rwby thoughts and opinions #rooster teeth animation

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anistarrose · 5 years

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Stan and Ford Vs. The Future - Chapter 3

Summary: Tensions rise between the young and old twins as they’re tried for their time travel crimes, but Stan has a plan to fix everything.

Warnings: none this chapter

AO3: archiveofourown.org/works/17353937/chapters/53190085

…Well, that sure was quite a hiatus, wasn’t it? Oops! Let’s just not think about that too much and hop right back into the story. (Or reread the previous chapters either on AO3 or in my “safvtf au” tag on Tumblr, because I can see why a refresher might be useful.)

But anyways, this is for @stanuary Week 3: AU!

***

Stan’s hands are cuffed in front of him, and he stays close by Ford’s side as they’re marched into the arena with time cops flanking them. Their older selves lag behind at the end of the procession, refusing to make eye contact with each other, and young Stan’s not sure if that makes him feel better or worse than the glares the elder twins were exchanging earlier.

Their expressions are hard to read. The older Ford looks like he can’t make up his mind between feeling furious and feeling guilty, and the older Stan looks like he’s concentrating extremely hard on not letting his emotions show on his face at all.

At least the younger Ford, for his part, seems less and less upset by the minute. He’s staring at the matches ongoing in the arena with starry eyes, not so much captivated by the violence itself as much as the holographic weapons and alien monsters that the combatants are doing battle with. (And Stan has to admit, the laser guns do look pretty cool.)

“Halt, time criminals!” one of the time cops barks as they approach the stands. The older Ford is so lost in thought that he keeps walking and nearly bumps into young Stan in front of him, but the time cop sticks out a baton to stop him. “You will now await trial!”

“We’re awaiting trial, but we’re already criminals?” the younger Ford asks, and the older Ford snaps back to awareness, giving his young self an approving nod. “What happened until innocent until proven guilty?”

“You’re guilty until proven innocent in the future times!” another cop shouts with inexplicable enthusiasm. “There are also wars raging, species going extinct every day, and powerful politicians committing crimes without facing any significant consequences! Isn’t it fantastic?”

“So, what year is it now?” the younger Stan asks. “Wait, no, lemme guess. 2020?”

“You couldn’t be more wrong — it’s 207̃012! We’re approaching the bisñentennial anniversary of our supreme overlord Time Baby’s ascension to the high chair!”

The older Ford sighs. “I was never especially optimistic about the state of the justice system in the future, but this is worse than I’d feared.”

“I feel like we really glossed over that ‘supreme overlord Time Baby’ thing,” the older Stan says. “What the hell is a Time Baby?”

The audience begins to roar with excitement, and a column of neon purple light illuminates in front of them. A massive silhouette materializes within, and as the light fades, the figure becomes visible — a colossal infant with a glowing green hourglass symbol on his head, floating in a metallic seat equipped with proportionally sized teething toys.

“That, I’m assuming, is a Time Baby,” says the older Ford.

Older Stan groans. “Gee, you REALLY THINK SO?! I sure am glad I have my GENIUS BROTHER here with me, ‘cause I don’t know how dumb ol’ Stanley EVER woulda figured that one out for himself!!”

Young Ford scoots a little closer to his brother — the one his age, not the one he barely recognizes. Still clinging to optimism, he whispers: “Maybe that big baby will help us fix whatever got messed up in the timeline to make us turn out like this?”

“Maybe,” Stan whispers back. “But I wouldn’t count on it.”

Time Baby burps, drenching several dozen unfortunate audience members, and fixes his eyes on the younger twins.

“YOU TWO ARE ANOMALIES DISTORTING THE TIMELINE AND THREATENING TO UPSET YOUR CORRECT FUTURES,” he booms. “MY RULING IS AS FOLLOWS: YOUR MINDS WILL BE WIPED AND YOU WILL BE SENT BACK TO YOUR CORRECT CENTURY. THEN, WITH NO MEMORY OF THESE EVENTS, YOU WILL FOLLOW THE PRE-EXISTING TIME STREAM TO BECOME THE FUTURE SELVES STANDING BEHIND YOU TODAY.”

Time Baby doesn’t say so, but all young Stan hears is you’ll become a person who wants nothing to do with your brother.

The older Stan gestures between himself and the older Ford. “But hey, at least we’ll be free to go, right?” he asks in a tone that suggests he knows it won’t be that simple.

“OF COURSE NOT. WE CAN IMPRISON THE TWO OF YOU —” Time Baby points at the older twins, “— WITHOUT CREATING A PARADOX, SO YOU WILL SERVE PENANCE FOR YOUR CRIMES BOTH PAST AND PRESENT! SPECIFICALLY —”

He begins to count one by one using his fingers. “ONE — TWO — THREE — FOUR — FIVE LIFE SENTENCES EACH!”

“But that’s not fair!” young Stan shouts. “We weren’t trying to cause any paradoxes, I swear! You think — you think I wanted to come to the future and see me and my brother shouting about how much we hate each other? You think I wanted to know that’s all I have waiting for me when I grow up?”

“Stanley…” the older Ford interrupts, but young Stan ignores him.

“I hate this future! I never would’ve come here if I knew what I was doing!” He’s getting a little teary-eyed, and he hopes he can blame it on the arena’s bright neon lights if anyone asks.

“And if I didn’t have to grow up,” he adds softly, “I never would.”

“It’s going to be okay, Stan,” young Ford whispers. Still constrained by handcuffs, he awkwardly rummages through his pockets. “Look, I have an idea…”

He manages to retrieve the broken time tape, the source of all their troubles, and holds it as high as he can for Time Baby to see. “Look at this! We only got into this mess in the first place because we unintentionally stumbled across this thing — and it’s got your hourglass symbol on it, just like tapes that the officers who arrested us wear!”

A hush falls over the arena, and Ford crosses his arms as best he can in the handcuffs, smiling smugly. “Esteemed Supreme Ruler Time Baby, if your incompetent employees hadn’t lost this tape where two innocent, oblivious twelve-year-old kids could find it, none of this would’ve happened. So why don’t you throw them in jail instead of us? And maybe also erase their memories instead of ours, just for good measure?”

A blue-green tractor beam extends from the hourglass on Time Baby’s forehead, levitating the time tape out of Ford’s hands and into the air. The portrait of an officer is holographically displayed, depicting him wearing goggles and smiling uncomfortably.

“BLENDIN BLENJAMIN BLANDIN, OWNER OF THIS TAPE, WILL BE DISCHARGED FROM DUTY,” Time Baby announces. “BUT MY RULING FOR THE FOUR OF YOU STILL STANDS. NOW STOP WITH THESE APPEALS SO I CAN GET TO MY NAP, OR I MIGHT GET VERY CRANKY.”

“What?” young Ford cries. “How can you say that? Stan meant what he said — we didn’t know we were messing with a time machine! We only —”

“What about trial by combat?” old Ford interrupts, prompting his fellow prisoners to gasp as the audience chatters excitedly. “You do offer trial by combat here, correct?”

For the first time since his arrival, Time Baby smiles.

“Whoever invokes Globnar upon a competitor of their choosing shall not be denied!” one of the time cops recites. “The winner will be granted a Time Wish — the power to alter time free of paradoxes — and will also get to choose the loser’s fate!”

“It’s usually total erasure from existence via painful vaporization,” another cop chimes in.

“But be warned,” the first cop continues, “many games of Globnar have no winner at all because no one survives! The time trials will be fierce, thrilling, and often deadly! But you may select any opponent or opponents you desire from any moment in history, as long as you can explain why they’ve wronged you — so if you don’t fear complete existential obliteration, then have at it and name your challenger!”

Old Stan grabs his brother by the shoulders. “Are you seriously thinking about challenging our kid selves to a death match?”

“Obviously I wouldn’t be challenging the kids!” old Ford shoots back. “There are a million more strategically viable choices, for one thing —”

As the older twins continue to squabble, young Stan and young Ford exchange a look.

“Ford, do you trust me?” Stan asks.

“I know what you’re thinking, and it’s the craziest idea you’ve ever had,” Ford replies. “But of course I trust you. I’d follow you to the end of time itself.”

“Then let’s do this.” Stan grabs Ford’s hand, and with his free arm, points to their older selves. “Hey, older me! Older Ford! We invoke Globnar on you!”

The audience goes wild with feral roars and deafening applause.

“What?!” old Stan gasped. “Why us? Why not Crampelter, or any of your math teachers? How have we wronged you?”

“By ruining my friendship with my brother, you jerk!” young Stan shouts back. “I’m not you, and I’m never gonna become anything like you, ‘cause when I get that Time Wish I’m gonna make sure my Ford and I never grow up!”

The older Ford stares at his young self in shock. “You can’t possibly be okay with this, can you, Stanford?”

Young Ford scowls. “You would’ve erased my mind, and set me down the same path as you took all those years ago! I don’t know what mistakes you made with your life, but you clearly messed up somewhere — and if not growing up means I won’t make those mistakes for myself, then you know what? I think I’m alright with that!”

The old Ford flinches. He opens his mouth to reply, but can’t put a single counterargument into words.

“ONE GLOBNAR IS INVOKED, IT CANNOT BE TAKEN BACK! ARGUING IS FUTILE!” Time Baby declares. “BOTH TEAMS WILL HAVE ONE MINUTE TO DISCUSS STRATEGY. THAT TIME STARTS NOW!”

***

The young and old twins are separated as walls out of the floor, surrounding each pair. The arena’s screen displays a countdown clock accurate to the microsecond, and the crowd claps and shouts in sync with the flashing numbers. Their intensity grows as the timer falls, and more and more people join in the chant.

“So, when we win that time wish, are you still gonna be singing the praises of memory erasing?” the old Stan asks, shouting in order to make himself heard over the roar of the crowd. “Or have you got a different plan?”

Slumping against one of the walls, Ford groans — or at least, Stan assumes from his expression that he’s groaning. The pregame cheering has grown deafening.

“I — look, I don’t know! Probably not, if we don’t have to worry about time paradoxes at all! I need to ask for more clarification about how that works — but right now, the both of us should be more concerned with making sure those kids don’t win eternal youth and possibly erase us from existence altogether!”

“You really think we’d do that?!”

“You saw yourself!” Ford shouts back, expression grim. “You hated our future!”

“I still hate what happened to the two of us,” Stan blurts out before he can stop himself, but Ford doesn’t seem to hear, cupping a hand to his ear and squinting at Stan in confusion.

Before Stan can decide whether it’s a blessing or a curse, the countdown reaches zero and a shrill alarm bell begins to ring. The walls retract back into the floor, everyone’s handcuffs shatter, and an eerie silence fills the stadium for just a second, though the spectators remain tense with anticipation.

Then, Time Baby breaks that silence and bellows:

“LET GLOBNAR BEGIN!”

#gravity falls #stanley pines #stanford pines #time baby #safvtf au #stanuary #rosalia writes fic

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onwesterlywinds · 4 years

Photo

Ashelia Riot tucks her newly long hair behind her ear as the door to the Keane house closes behind her. Edge Marbrand had been sitting by the warmth of the fire, waiting in tense solitude from the moment Linini Mooglesworn had informed him the others would be returning. Ashelia Riot: Surprise. Edge Marbrand looks up as the door closes, and stands up so fast that his chair falls to the ground. Ashelia Riot admittedly didn't know how she would feel once she returned - and now, she's beaming and crying and laughing all at once. Edge Marbrand: You're here... you're really here... Edge Marbrand can't move, for some reason - not to hug her or kiss her or hold her in his arms. Instead, his lip quivers and tears come to his eyes. Ashelia Riot walks over slowly and throws her arms around him. Edge Marbrand finally returns the gesture and cries into her shoulder. Edge Marbrand: Gods... I thought this was really it. I thought I'd lost you... Edge Marbrand grasps her shoulders, looks her up and down, runs his fingers through her hair. Edge Marbrand: You're... really you? Ashelia Riot nods vigorously through her tears. Ashelia Riot: Though for a time, I thought I'd lost myself. No longer.

Ashelia Riot runs a hand of her own along his face and through his hair. Edge Marbrand: Your hair has grown back... it feels like it could have been that long, though I know it can't have been... Ashelia Riot shakes her head. Edge Marbrand buries his head into her shoulder again. Edge Marbrand: I missed you. Ashelia Riot replicates the gesture, knowing she has to tell him everything but wanting only to be with him for now. Ashelia Riot: You deserve to know what happened. All of it. Edge Marbrand: I think I do. Please. I know some, but... Ashelia Riot: That's right. You'd have seen what Lini saw. Ashelia Riot: ...I'll make tea. I likely shouldn't be drinking yet. Edge Marbrand: I saw some of the things you've done. The things Lini had done, all of you... Edge Marbrand: I'd hear it from your lips. Ashelia Riot nods. Ashelia Riot: ...I wouldn't deny you that. Ashelia Riot breathes in heavily, as she prepares a kettle. When it's ready, she takes the tea right into bed, preferring comfort over the idea of sitting at a table. Edge Marbrand: Lini told us of those stones. I saw how it had a hold on her, and heard how it enslaved near everyone else. How could you let such a thing happen? Ashelia Riot: You'll remember that I was the first to receive one of the stones. It was offered to us by the Resistance, through my aunt - as a token of goodwill, though the suggestion came from one Resistance member in particular. A man named Grissom. Edge Marbrand nods for her to continue. Ashelia Riot: Grissom was a double agent for the IVth Legion. He meant all along to gather the zodiac stones for the Riskbreakers to use - at the orders of Legatus Noah van Gabranth. Edge Marbrand: Lini encountered him in Valnain. With your father. Ashelia Riot nods. Ashelia Riot: Gabranth wanted us to be taken over - preferably captured, studied. I believe Grissom had other ideas. He was of an old religious order: one that believed that enough sacrifice would bring about the Zodiac Braves, who would then free the world from chains. Edge Marbrand: And you were the sacrifice? Or the harbinger for these Zodiac Braves? Ashelia Riot: The harbinger. My stone was Virgo: that of Ultima, the High Seraph. She spoke to me. Much as Exodus spoke to Lini. But she showed me things, too. The entire history of Ivalice, from thousands of years ago... all the way up to the near present. Edge Marbrand: What did she want? Ashelia Riot: To take hold of my body - and for me to set about a massive sacrifice in her name. She would have needed an entire war to bring about her resurrection. A war to tear down the Empire. Edge Marbrand: And what did you think about all this? Lini was herself sometimes, so I would think you were too...? Ashelia Riot: Only rarely. I... don't remember much by the end. But I know that my own actions, my plans, were still my own. Ashelia Riot: Even to what should have been the last, I was protective of the others. I demanded their safety, and trusted in them wholly. And I... I was determined to destroy the Empire at any cost. Edge Marbrand: Those monsters were powerful, Ashe. Perhaps more powerful than anything else we've ever faced. Did you know their reach extended even here? To home? Ashelia Riot stares at Edge Marbrand in fear. Ashelia Riot: You and the others weren't harmed, were you? Edge Marbrand: Exodus used our connection to Lini. Through her, he corrupted even Azi and Siz'ir. They fought us... and tried to kill us, even. If we didn't stop them they could have hurt the rest of the Riskbreakers. Ashelia Riot: Were any others outside of the Cluster immediately affected? Edge Marbrand shakes his head. Edge Marbrand: Not that I know of. Ashelia Riot: Good. Edge Marbrand's gaze is hard. Edge Marbrand: Never again, Ashe. Promise me. No matter what kind of power is within our reach, we will not accept anything that isn't our own. The price is too great. Ashelia Riot: I waged this campaign on a foundation of absolute honesty. I'll have to share this information with the others soon, but it... certainly puts our failures into a different perspective. Edge Marbrand: A different perspective? Ashelia Riot: I endangered the entire company - not solely those who went to Dalmasca. Edge Marbrand: Yeah. Edge Marbrand clenches his fist. Ashelia Riot swallows hard. Ashelia Riot: I'm sorry. I'm... so sorry. Edge Marbrand shuffles closer to her in bed, gently brushing her hair behind her ear. Edge Marbrand: I'm so angry. Partially at the whole situation, but mostly at myself. Ashelia Riot shakes her head. Ashelia Riot: Don't. This was no fault of yours. Edge Marbrand slams his fist into the futon mat. Edge Marbrand: I should have been there. Once again, I was on the other side of the world when you needed me most. Ashelia Riot: To do what? Ultima was whispering in my ear that you would have made a perfect vessel for Belias. Ashelia Riot holds his face in her hands. Edge Marbrand pulls away and stands, his blood boiling. Edge Marbrand: Then I would be a vessel right there with you! I promised once that I'd follow you through all the seven hells if that's where your path took you! Edge Marbrand takes a moment to fume. Ashelia Riot doesn't look at him; if anything, she looks like she's about to cry. Edge Marbrand: But instead you were alone, and I was here, and helpless to do anything. Ashelia Riot: You know that would be the last thing I would want. Edge Marbrand: Going to hell with you would be preferable than losing you altogether. Ashelia Riot: And what of the company? What of the rest of the Cluster? Edge Marbrand: They don't need me like they need you. Ashelia Riot: With you safe, you were able to deal a blow against Exodus. What if you were not there? Edge Marbrand: It wouldn't have mattered. Ashelia Riot: What matters is that we both survived. Everyone in the company survived. And I have no doubt that I survived because that small, sleeping part of me knew that you were safe at home. Edge Marbrand: I love you. If I lost you to something like... something like that, then I don't know what I would have done with myself. Ashelia Riot: I understand. Ashelia Riot: ...You say 'never again,' but... Gods, how do any of us know what we'll be made to face? Edge Marbrand wipes her tear away. Edge Marbrand: We won't. We never will. But next time... next time we need to face it together, okay? Ashelia Riot sobs again, nods, and throws her arms around his shoulders; she leans her weight against him for a time, just crying, not saying anything. Edge Marbrand embraces her tight, crying just as hard. Edge Marbrand: I love you. Ashelia Riot: And I love you. Ashelia Riot speaks again when tears have subsided. Ashelia Riot: ...I mean to go back to Dalmasca. Not to wage an all-out war, but... to rebuild. Edge Marbrand: And what of Ala Mhigo? Ashelia Riot: I'll split my time, as well as I'm able. If it means the Riskbreakers remain without an acting leader for a time, then so be it. But I daresay those who participated in the campaign... are as eager as I am for a hiatus. Edge Marbrand gazes upon Ashelia Riot in deep reflection. Edge Marbrand: Will you be safe in Dalmasca? With the imperial occupation? Ashelia Riot: I'll have my aunt. Ashelia Riot: She... gods, I was horrid to her. Edge Marbrand: You were? Ashelia Riot: I doubted her at every turn. Though I had no cause to do so. Edge Marbrand: Well... Now you have all the time in the world to make it up to her. And I can't wait to see her again. Ashelia Riot nods. Ashelia Riot: ...I'll have to get her to stop calling you 'Gerald' first. Edge Marbrand laughs. Edge Marbrand: So, when do we leave? We'll have to take the long way, since I can't teleport there... Ashelia Riot: ...Leave? You mean for- Edge Marbrand: Dalmasca, of course! Ashelia Riot starts laugh-crying again, mostly from all of the other emotions from the day. Ashelia Riot: W-We've a need to wait for things to die down. After the last battle at Ridorana, the Garleans are eager for any sign of us. But... soon. Edge Marbrand: That's fine. That'll give me some time to set some things in order. Ashelia Riot stares at her husband in wonder, then throws her arms around him again.

#Phantom Pains RISK #Ashelia Riot #Edge Marbrand #MY FAVORITES...#Honestly this might be one of my favorite convos they've ever had!#It's such good and wholesome conflict resolution. Hard truths but boundless support.#Marriage goals TBH.

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romansleftshoulderpad · 6 years

Text

Barren: Chapter 5

Hey guys! Back from hiatus and I’m sorry for the wait! I’ll be going back to consistent posting but instead of once a week, I’ll be posting every other Saturday! Thank you all for your support it means the world to me!

Words: 1,681

Warnings: Caps, swearing, somewhat graphic panic attack, mentions of death, very vague allusion to suicide (blink and you’ll miss it.)

Tags: @fandermom @astral-eclipse @patheticlilkiddo @a-pastel-pan @honeysucklingz @dr-gloom @cloudedskies29 @quietwords-loudthoughts @mentallytiredgoat @merlybird500

Previous / Next

---

“Thank you, Dr. Picani,” Virgil said, absentmindedly clicking the buttons of a fidget cube that Picani had given him.

“My patients call me Dr. Picani. My friends call me Emile,” the therapist said with a smile.

“Right, well, Emile,” Virgil said, “thank you.”

“Of course,” Emile said. “Though I suppose I should be checking in on Logan. We haven’t heard from Patton in quite some time.”

“Oh, here,” Virgil said, offering the cube back to Emile, his bare wrist poking out from his jacket. Emile smiled and closed Virgil’s fingers around the hard plastic.

“I have plenty in my office,” he said. “You should keep this one. They’re quite handy and you seem like you’ll need it.”

Virgil smiled softly to himself in the dimly lit room as Emile shut the door behind himself. He took a deep breath, focusing only on applying and releasing pressure from the buttons. There was so much he had to learn and adjust to. Sure, Emile had certainly helped, but he still had to meet Patton and Remy. He had to see if Logan was okay. He pressed his thumb against a soft red button. He didn’t even know what to think of Roman. He released his thumb. He took a deep breath. It’s dinner. If I could survive being shot at, I can live through dinner. If I can live through this, I can do anything.

He crept from the room slowly, the acidic smell of tomato sauce roaming through the air and battling the sizzling sound of meat to encapture Virgil’s senses. As his stomach rumbled he realized that he hadn’t eaten a proper meal in nearly a week. “Ah, well speak of the devil,” Roman said with a smirk painted with bravado. Virgil almost didn’t notice the pure exhaustion in his eyes. “We were just talking about how bold and daring I was to rescue you.”

Virgil cocked an eyebrow at him. “Oh yeah? Then why did Logan do all the work?”

“OH! OH, Gurl, he just roasted yo’ ass!” Remy yelled, howling with laughter in the kitchen. Roman rolled his eyes, glaring daggers at Remy.

“Well I see you’re on his good side already,” Roman muttered, gesturing with his hands as he spoke. His sleeves rolled up just enough for Virgil to notice the lines that decorated his wrist.

“You aren’t Barren?” Virgil asked, feeling as if he were in a parallel world.

Roman offered a smile as he tugged up his sleeve. “The only ones who aren’t Barren,” he said, pointing to Remy and Emile, “are these two.”

“So, it’s a tattoo?” Virgil asked.

“Catching on quickly I see,” Roman teased, holding up his wrist to allow Virgil a better look. “Very realistic, if you ask me. Patton deserves all the credit for that. We grew up together,” he explained. “We’re both Barren. We had to be each other’s closest ally. The day we turned 18 we...” Roman smiled. “Well, I guess that’s a story for another time.”

“So Patton is some kind of doctoring tattoo artist badass?” Virgil asked.

“Oh, Roman, what are you telling the poor kiddo?” a man asked. Virgil spun around on his heel to face a man in khaki pants and a blue sweater that seemed to envelop his entire body.

“Patton!” Roman said with a smile, all the agony fading from his dim eyes as they brightened upon the sight of the man. “Is Logan okay?” he asked before turning to Virgil and commenting, “Not that I care about the nerd or anything. In all honesty, I think he’s being overdramatic.”

“Hypocrite,” Remy commented as he placed silverware on the table.

“He should have a perfectly fine recovery,” Patton said with a smile. “Though, he won’t be joining us for dinner; he really needs the rest right now and- Oh! How rude of me!” He stepped forward with a hand extended outwardly. “You’re Virgil, correct? I’m Patton!”

“He’s our patented Man of Many Talents around here,” Roman explained.

“Heh, Patton-ted,” Patton chuckled to himself.

“Ever need a doc,” Roman said. “Patton’s your guy. Also a great tattoo artist, chef, and cuddle-buddy.”

“Cuddle-buddy?” Virgil parotted.

“I share chef duties with Emile,” Patton explained. “And Roman gets nightmares.”

“Do not!” Roman yelled defensively. “How dare you slander my great name!” Patton chuckled, lovingly patting Roman’s shoulder as he wordlessly made his way to the kitchen.

“I presume the nightmares are a lie, then?” Virgil asked with a smirk.

“Fake soulmate,” was all Roman muttered before abandoning the conversation in exchange for setting the table. Virgil watched the bustle around him. Patton and Emile finishing their work in the kitchen. Roman balancing plates and silverware in his arms as he scolded Remy for slacking. They were all working together. They were a team, working together as a small organized pod. Virgil was literally and metaphorically an outsider. He felt a pain in his stomach. Five senses. He had to work through his senses. Five things he could see. That was simple enough, right?

He could see Emile. He could see Roman. But he couldn’t see any windows. He couldn’t see Logan. He couldn’t see his mom. Okay, maybe sight wasn’t a great starting place.

Smell. What could he smell? He could smell tomatoes. He could almost smell blood. Was it from the medical room? Was it from Logan? Was it his imagination? The smell of rust was killing his head and his stomach. Was he nauseated? Was he hungry? Was his stomach even filled enough to vomit anything at all?

No. No. Air comes in; bad thoughts go out. In comes morning; out goes nightmares. What exactly had that phrase been that his mother had taught him so long ago? His mother, oh no, what was she thinking? Did she know Virgil had escaped? Did she think him dead?

Would she be okay or did years of loss after loss finally break her?

Would Virgil even have a mother to come back to?

Would he come back at all?

He let his feet carry him all on their own until he was sprinting out of the kitchen and to a cold wooden door. He ripped it open, slammed it shut, and pushed his back against it as he slowly let himself fall to the ground. The horrible feeling in his chest of a boa constrictor around his lungs had him gasping for air and he was sure he was having a heart attack.

“Deep breaths, Virgil,” a voice said. “Focus solely on your breathing, and don’t let your thoughts get in the way.”

Virgil tried to take the advice- honestly, he did try- but it was too much. It was too overwhelming. He couldn’t focus. His head was filling with this horrible tingling and the more he gasped for air the worse it got. He held his head in his hands and oh God why was this happening?

“Virgil, I need you to listen to me,” the voice said. It was soft and gentle, the most soothing thing Virgil had heard in years. He felt hands on his shoulders and if he had to energy to he would have looked up at the person in front of him. “Can you hear my voice? More importantly, can you understand my voice?”

“Mmhmm,” Virgil mumbled out.

“Good, good, that’s a step. You’re doing good, Virgil. Just keep taking deep breaths alright?”

He felt the tingly feeling start to leave his face, though it was still uncomfortably present in his fingers and hands. He felt his heart rate start to become more noticeable which he guess was a better option than the crushing feeling of his lungs only moments earlier.

“I’m gonna walk you through a breathing exercise, all right? I’ll do it with you. You’ll be okay.” Virgil nodded. “I want you to breathe in for four seconds. Hold for seven seconds. Then, breathe out for eight seconds. Can you do that for me?”

“Yes,” Virgil mumbled out weakly.

“Perfect.”

The two of them went through the exercise two- three- four times before Virgil felt like himself again. He finally looked up and saw Logan staring back at him. “Logan, I- You should be in bed, oh I’m so sorry I didn’t-”

“Virgil, you’re going to work yourself up again,” he said calmly. “I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?” Virgil asked, eyes drawn down to the gauze around Logan’s body.

“Of course I will be,” Logan said. “This isn’t my first metaphorical rodeo and, if there’s one thing Roman and I agree on, it’s that we both put our trust and lives in Patton’s hands.”

“I’m still not entirely sure what to think of all this,” Virgil admitted.

“That was the reaction I expected from you,” Logan said. “Your admittance here is temporary, most of whom we rescue go off to meet with colleagues of ours. They’re given new homes and new identities in the best cases. Others eventually join our organization, but I’m sure that we’ll find you in the former half on that ratio. 18, right? Yes, you have so much potential ahead of you.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Virgil said. “Organization? And how do you know my age? What else do you know about me?”

“Virgil, did you think all of this was really put together by five guys in their twenties?” Logan asked, the corners of his lips turning upwards subtly.

“Well, I- I guess not, but-”

“And as for the other questions, well, I like to be prepared.” Logan stood, motioning for Virgil to do the same. He had a rather wiry structure, but well-toned muscles that Virgil could only assume he had built up from doing this job for so long. “Now, you should really be on your way back to dinner. The others will be looking for you soon.”

“But, wait, what about-” Virgil tried to speak but found himself being pulled out of the room by magnets on his feet.

“Goodbye, Virgil.”

The door was shut in his face, and the high school senior now had more questions than answers.

#Barren #LAMP #2019 fic

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twdmusicboxmystery · 6 years

Text

Predictions for the Finale (Sort of)

Let’s talk predictions. I said yesterday that there’s a structural dynamic that gives me a lot of hope that we’ll see Beth in the finale. So let’s dive right in..

On Sunday, after the episode aired, I tried to get on the app to watch the trailer for next week. It wasn't there right away, but the sneak peek was. The one a lot of people are posting where Daryl asks Carol what she sees when she looks at him.

In terms of TD symbolism, what stuck out to me was Jerry talking about the coming storm. He called a “mother of a storm”. Even though this is a snowstorm rather than rainstorm, I couldn't help but think of the big storm in Them, which happened right before the music box woke up. I didn’t think too much more about it right away. But...

About half an hour later, the opening minutes for next week's episode appeared on the app. Basically, the opening minutes show the Kingdomers abandoning the Kingdom for the winter.

It's falling apart around them and they can't stay there over the cold season, so one of the other communities will take them in for the winter. We see them all gathering their things and moving out and we hear a voice-over of Ezekiel talking about what's happened.

It’s stated in very general terms, but he's obviously talking about Henry's death. He talks about how they tried to make it work, but everything is broken now. Then we see them leave the kingdom, with Ezekiel looking sad and casting glances back at his home.

This is when it all sort of came together for me. They're basically doing a retelling of S5. Obviously, Henry's death—along with all the others—would represent a parallel to Beth's death (and Tyreese’s). Because this opening part focuses on Ezekiel and the Kingdom, I’ll frame this in terms of them, though of course it extends to all of TF. Henry's family is losing their home, Ezekiel looks sadly over his shoulder as he does so. It reminds me of the prison falling, Carl looking back, and Rick saying, "Don't look back."

But then we have Henry's family on the road, wandering as it were, and essentially homeless. Kind of like TF was in Them, 5x10.

And then there’s this huge storm.

And while it’s snow rather than rain, we also have all the Christmas/Santa Clause symbolism which might have showed that the storm preceding the music box waking up for real (in other words, preceding Beth’s arrival) would be in the winter. In other words, a snowstorm.

Remember in the barn in 5x10, we saw a Beth walker. In the background, there was a calendar flipped to the month of November.

We’ve tried to interpret that November all sorts of ways over the years and we’ve always been wrong. Maybe we were overthinking it. Maybe it's just a matter of showing a storm (like the rain in 5x10) that will come in November. Therefore, it would be a snowstorm.

The point is, after the storm in 5x10, the music box woke up. So I'm wondering if after the snowstorm, Beth will arrive.

Also in the opening minutes of next week, we see Ezekiel talking into a radio that looks and sounds a LOT like the one from 5x09. You know, the last episode Beth appeared in?

All that said, I don't want anyone get your hopes up too high. I'm trying not to get mine up to high (yeah, I know, good luck with that, right? 😆)

I've said this before, but it really depends on how far we get timeline-wise in the episode. If they make it through the snowstorm and into the next morning (or whenever the storm ends) I think there's a good chance we’ll see her. On the other hand, they might do a cliffhanger-y ending in the middle of the snowstorm, in which case we really may not see her into until 10x01.

I think it's more likely that we'll see her in 9x16, or at least it makes a lot more sense from a narrative point of view. More on that in a minute.

I could really turn these Them parallels up to eleven, guys, but I won’t. I will say one more thing, though. In the barn, Rick told the story about his grandfather’s experience during the war. He talked about how in order to survive, his grandfather pretended to be dead.

I actually talked about this before the season began, because I wondered if the “war” Rick talked about with his grandfather perhaps foreshadowed All Out War. If the war in Rick’s story symbolized AOW, the maybe Beth would return after AOW ended. I still think I could be the case, honestly. Even though it hasn't happened yet, and even though they did the time jump, this is still the season right after AOW. If we see her this season, it will still be a matter of her showing up after the war.

In thinking over the stuff I mentioned above, two more things occurred to me.

1) The war Rick mentioned may have foreshadowed the Whisperer war rather than AOW. I assumed AOW because that's the major war story line everyone talks about, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's what the writers were going for. It still COULD be, but I’m just throwing another possibility out.

2) Rick talking about his grandfather pretending to be dead. That sounds like an analogy for the Whisperers. They walk around with the dead and pretend to be them. Especially with all the emphasis the season on people wearing masks and wolves in sheep's clothing and how deceptive they can be, it very well could be that this was a foreshadow of the Whisperers we simply never picked up before. And again, after the big storm, which TF worked together to survive, the music box woke up. Now we have TF heading into a snowstorm.

One other thing: I’ve been told that other members from the fandom (non-TDers) are also getting Them vibes from the footage from 9x16, so it’s not just us. I mean, look at these two pictures:

TTD:

1) Gimple made an extremely random Christmas reference. It makes me happy because it shows the Christmas theme is the thing that were heading into the snow season, and campus spoilers do tend to pan out further than others.

Chris Harwick was giving Gimple a hard time about never giving any spoilers and called him “No Spoiler Gimple.” Gimple laughed and repeated it but called himself, “No Spoiler Building and Loan.” I immediately recognized that reference because it comes from the classic Christmas film, It's a Wonderful Life. It’s one of my and my dad’s favorite films. I grew up watching this show at least once each Christmas season, so I’m very familiar with it.

The Building and Loan is the name of George Bailey's bank. This was significant to me because this is a story where George Bailey is given a chance to see what the world would be like without him. It's a fairly common story line, but this is a very classic instance of it. Basically, George dies in that he never lived, but he comes back to life at the end and reunites with his family.

And remember that random hints like this that have come from Gimple have panned out in a big way in the past. Need a refresher?

I’m sure most of you remember back when S6 ended and everybody spent the hiatus trying to guess who Negan’s victim was. I actually guessed wrong. I didn't think it would be Glenn and Abraham, because that seemed too obvious to me. The thing is, Gimple actually told us in a really, subtle sneaky way who it would be.

On the TTD after 6x16, Gimple talked about how he knew everybody would be examining the footage from 6x16 trying to figure out who it was. He knew they’d be looking at the angle of the trees and the lighting and everything trying to decide who it Negan killed. He encouraged fans to do that, saying that he wanted people to "Zapruder" that thing. For those who don’t know, Zapruder is a reference to the footage of Abraham Zapruder. He was a man who was taking a home video on the day JFK was shot. He caught the assassination on film because his camera happened to be pointed at the president when the shot was fired.

The reason Gimple said this is that people looked at Zapruder’s footage over and over and over again. They played it backward and forward and looked at every possible angle, trying to decide where the shot came from. It's the classic conspiracy theory about whether the shot came from the grassy knoll or not.

So, Gimple threw this reference out, and then it was Abraham who died. There's no way that's a coincidence. He purposely drops these little hints. And this was a very specific hint. Because of course Glenn died too, but it wasn't him we heard die at the end of 6x16. He didn't die until later, after Daryl punched Negan. So this was a hint at who we actually heard get killed at the end of the episode. Of course, we couldn't know that was the case until 7x01 when we saw who died.

So now, consider this Christmas movie reference from him. Why would he say “Building and Loan?” It has nothing to do with anything. It makes no sense in the context of what Chris was saying. There was absolutely no reason for him to call himself that on TTD. I think this is something Gimple said very purposefully and I think it's a big hint that there's going to be some sort of resurrection around his Christmas theme.

2. Gimple also hinted at interesting things to come on FTWD. While explaining that there’s a lot going on in the TWD universe, and that they have several projects in development, he said that in the first half of this coming season of Fear, a story will play out which the fandom is familiar with and which will affect the TWD story/universe moving forward.

Now, we saw a huge amount of this same Beth-related symbolism in Fear this past season. Many of us have theorized that she might show up first in Fear. So, my group got super excited thinking that this really might be her.

I instantly formed the theory that maybe she would show up as a cliffhanger ending at the end of 9x16, then we would see her back story play out in FTWD over the summer. It really seemed plausible to me.

Then somebody realized that we already know (because AMC announced it) that Dwight is moving to Fear. Since we know he's going there, and the fandom is already familiar with him, more than likely he's the one Gimple means.

So, I don't want to get anyone's hopes up and have them be disappointed. However, just because he was talking about Dwight doesn't preclude the possibility of Beth being there.

In fact, many of us also theorized that Dwight may have something to do with Beth's return. Two major reasons for that.

1. Because there's a big emphasis on Daryl letting Dwight live so he could go find "her." Obviously, in Dwight’s case that means Sherry. But remember how heavily they paralleled him with Daryl, to the point of even using Daryl’s crossbow, riding his bike, and wearing his clothing. The fact that it’s Daryl who told him to go “find her” and make it right, makes it seem like, at least symbolically, this extends to Daryl in some way.

This emphasis really can't be ignored. So we were thinking that maybe in finding Sherry, Dwight might also run into Beth. That, coupled with the fact that we've theorized that she might show up in Fear, and that we know Dwight is moving to Fear, makes this even more plausible.

2. The other reason I would like to see Dwight find Beth and either direct her or bring her to Daryl is thematic. Daryl really wanted to kill Dwight and fully planned on it. And honestly, after everything Dwight did — think Denise — Daryl had every justification for doing so. The fact that he let him live showed mercy (which was the title of the episode; not only did Rick showing mercy to Negan like Carl wanted, but also Daryl showed mercy to Dwight, which is what Beth would've wanted), but also showed an inherent faith in people, which has to be a remnant of what Beth taught him.

He had to have faith that Dwight really had changed, wouldn’t go back to his bloodthirsty ways, really felt sorry about Denise, and that he would go find his wife and make things right. So, I would absolutely love it if because Daryl showed mercy to Dwight, that's what brought Beth back to him. It would show that if he had been bloodthirsty, more like Negan and old Dwight, he never would've seen Beth again. I think that's a powerful theme and powerful message. I would really love it if they did it that way.

Of course, all this remains to be seen. All conjecture right now.

One thing we haven't talked about in terms of Emily cancelling her tour dates is whether she was, perhaps, not filming for regular TWD, but maybe for Fear. And then there was that random filming that went on at Grady Memorial Hospital some months before filming for TWD S9 began. This spoiler site didn't pick it up because it was outside their normal filming season, but several people posted about it on social media and believed it was TWD filming there. So, it’s possible she was filming, not for the main series, but for Fear instead. Just wanted to throw that possibility out there.

Ozzy and the Highwaymen:

One last thing and then I'll wrap it up for today. When we first met the highwaymen, I said I was 50/50 on whether they were good or evil. At this point, I'm officially convinced they are/were good. Two reasons.

1. Well, they're dead. If they had some sinister agenda, it would only make sense to tell us about before Ozzy died. It wouldn’t make sense structurally for the writers to suddenly go, "oh, by the way, they were super evil." I mean, not to sound harsh, but at this point, who cares? They're dead. Or, at least, two of them are, and they’re the only two the audience has any kind of connection with.

2. Siddiq’s story about them actually says a lot about their character. The highwaymen found the people in the barn and ran in to save them. If they were evil men with a negative agenda, it simply wouldn't be in their nature to risk their lives to save people they'd only just met. They would've been more likely to go find help and bring it back to the barn. Instead, they charged in like heroes to help and died for it.

So, I said we were a little mystified by why the highwaymen were introduced and then killed so quickly. There must be a reason for it. Especially given all the Beth symbolism around them. Well, my group has collectively come up with a theory.

Remember in the note Ozzy sent to Ezekiel, they asked for 40 novels, but no romance novels. That's Beth symbolism to begin with, but we also never saw Ozzy or any of his men actually reading a book. They don't really seem the type to sit around reading novels, whether romance novels or not.

So we’re thinking maybe they were getting novels for someone else. Maybe there are other people who were once part of their group out there and if someone will come looking for them. After all, who would specifically not like romance novels? Perhaps someone for whom things simply didn't work out in the romance department? Say, a blonde who lost two boyfriends and then got separated from her entire family, including a certain redneck with a heart of gold?

It's just a theory we’re throwing out there (and the creds for it goes to other theorists in my group, not me) but I can totally get behind it. After all, there must be some reason for the Highwaymen and all the weirdo symbolism around them.

So yeah, I think that's it for today. Oh, except I said I’d talk about why it would make more sense to see her in 9x16 than 10x01. We’ve said many times that it would be a genius marketing tactic to have her show up in the finale. That way, the entire hiatus would be full of fans talking about it and getting hype going.

On the off chance that we’re right about her showing up on Fear in some way, it would also boost Fear’s ratings, which are nowhere near as good as the main show’s. So it just makes more sense that we’d see her this week rather than next season. But of course, the writers don’t always do what we want them to do

so we’ll just have to wait and see.

Crossing my fingers that will see her this next week. What are your predictions?

#beth greene #beth greene lives #beth is alive #beth is coming #td theory #td theories #team delusional #team defiance #beth is almost here #bethyl

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inevitably-johnlocked · 6 years

Note

Stephhhhhhhhhhhhhhh~ do u know any fic where Mycroft helps John and Sherlock get together? Or fic that has Mycroft as a major role in it?

Anonymous said to inevitably-johnlocked: Hi there! I was wondering if you knew of any fic where Mycroft takes a significant place as a character? I've been craving to read more about him for some reason and I'm not sure where to look at all... thank you xx

Hi Nonnies!

Not sure if you’re the same ones, but these two came about a month apart and they’re very similar, so I’ve put them together!

I don’t have many in my bookmarks, but hopefully what I do have for you will appeal to you! Enjoy! :D

MYCROFT PLAYS A ROLE IN THIS FIC

The Most Awful Thing by whitchry9 (K+, 1,072 w. || H/C, Holmes Brothers, Seizures) – When Mycroft witnesses Sherlock having a seizure, he is at a complete loss as to what he should do. Thankfully, John is there.

Yorkshire Gold by Tammany Tiger (K, 1,467 w. || Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Angst, Open Ending) – Mycroft may not mourn Sherlock’s death-but even if he knows his brother lives, he’s not without his own grief. It ain’t easy being The British Government. But at least he’s got good help. Set between the Fall and the Return.

With A Tilt Of The Head by StillWaters1 (K+, 1,636 w. || Anthea POV, ASiP, Character Study) – Anthea knew that she was witnessing the first of many meetings to come between John Watson and Mycroft Holmes. From the moment he had tilted his head, it was obvious that John wasn’t going anywhere: he was already more than “associated” with Sherlock – he was part of him.

But Love Is A Voice On The Wind by Snow (M, 1,832 w. || First Time, Meddling Mycroft, Texting) – Sherlock keeps getting texts from Mycroft with tips on wooing John.

Foresight by niffler09 (K, 2,015 w. || Humour, Friendship, Holmes Brother Bickering) – It’s raining and neither John nor Sherlock have an umbrella so they huddle under Sherlock’s coat. And then Mycroft walks past and makes smartass remarks.

Caught in the Act – by Mycroft by ShirleyCarlton (E, 2,040 w. || Unintended Voyeurism, Mycroft’s POV, Blow Job, Humour) – Mycroft had only planted the camera for Sherlock’s own good, simply to keep an eye on his little brother and make sure he was alright. He hadn’t quite meant to see his brother this content, however… Part 4 of Caught In The Act

First Impressions by grannysknitting (K+, 2,274 w. || Family & Friendship) – Meet the Holmes’. John gains some insight into the environment that produced the two prodigies - Sherlock and Mycroft.

Assurance by belovedmuerto (T, 2,382 w. || Bed-Sharing, Friends to Lovers, Fluff, Idiots in Love) – It’s not so much the ‘you’re half-dead, you wanker,’ or even the broken ribs, the hairline fracture of the pelvis, the dislocated shoulder and knee, and the wrenched ankle.

Wintery Hell by Belldere (K+, 2,457 w. || Friendship & Humour, Christmas) – With Sherlock being roped into spending Christmas with his family, John had his own Christmas all planned out with his other friends and family… That is until he’s extended a forceful invitation from Mycroft and an assumption from Sherlock who, once again, failed to notice John wasn’t in the room when he ‘asked’.

Just Admit It by LoyalNerdWP (T, 2,512 w. || Christmas, Fluff, Family, Romance, Pining Sherlock) – Sherlock goes to his family’s place for Christmas without John, and Mycroft makes an interesting observation that Sherlock missed.

In the Bleak Midwinter (A Canticle for Advent) by CaitlinFairchild (M, 3,476 w. || Angst, Injury, Missing Scenes, HLV Timeline) – In the autumn of 2014, Mary Watson shot Sherlock Holmes. This is what happened after.

MR# 1430155 by blueink3 (T, 3,560 w. || Talks of Parentlock, Baby Watson, Hurt/Comfort, Love Confessions, Fluff and Angst) – John paces the length of the not inconsiderable hallway and glances at his phone for the tenth time since he exited the hospital room seven minutes ago. Sherlock’s last text was sent at 5:06pm. It is now 5:39pm. He should be here by now. After all, his daughter is 46-minutes-old and if John is going to share this momentous event with someone, it sure as hell isn’t going to be the woman who just gave birth to her.Part 5 of Tumblr Prompts

The Warehouse Chat by AllesandraQuartermaine (K, 3,611 w. || Meddling Mycroft, Canon-Compliant, Drama / Family) – When Mycroft Holmes learns about the presence of John Watson in his brother’s life, he does what any brother who worries would do. He learns what he can and then abducts Doctor John Watson for a chat in a warehouse. Set in A Study In Pink.

Things That You Can’t Say Tomorrow Day by PsychGirl (T, 4,022 w. || Post S4, POV John, Cuddling / Snuggling, Hypothermia, Snowed In, Angst, Romance, First Kiss/Time) – Things go horribly wrong while John and Sherlock are on a mission for Mycroft. Now they’re out in the woods in the middle of winter with no coats and no shelter. However will they stay warm?

Christmas at Holmes Cottage by johnlockedstarkid (G, 4,295 w. || Christmas, Fake Relationship, Love Confessions, Holmes Family, Pining, Kisses, Fluff, Allusions to Mystrade) – Sherlock doesn’t want to have to deal with his mother’s wishes for him to find a partner when he goes to visit them for Christmas, so asks John to pose as his boyfriend. Little does he know he’s not the only one who wishes that the relationship could be real.

Not Without Me by Jennistar1 (T, 4,319 w. || Drama, Mystery, Post-TRF Hiatus, Pining Sherlock) – Halfway through Sherlock’s Great Hiatus, Mycroft comes to him with the news that John has died. But all is not what it seems…

There’s Something Living in These Lines by teahigh (orphan_account) (M, 4,676 w. || Mutual Pining, Love Letters, Angst, Mutual Pining, UST / URT, Dirty Talk) – Two men, complete opposites in almost every way, who speak only in letters and pages torn from books.

Study in Mycroft by chappysmom (K+, 4,929 w. || Character Study, Canon-Compliant, Mycroft POV, Big Brother Mycroft) – A look at Mycroft’s thoughts and actions during a Study in Pink.

Finding John by orphan_account (T, 5,456 w. || Soul Bond AU, Symbolic Rings, Soul Mates) – Sherlock Holmes has met exactly twenty-four Johns in his life. They have all been the wrong John. He’s getting tired of waiting, staring at the inscription on his finger and wondering when his John will turn up, if ever. Part 1 of Inscriptions

Thirty Three Hours Without John Watson by Bookaholic, mybrotherharry (M, 6,232 w. || First Kiss / Time, Pining Idiots, BG Mystrade, Crackish) – Sherlock can SO TOTALLY survive without John Watson. It should be a piece of cake. AKA the time when Sherlock braved grocery store lines for milk, purchased and gave away a box of tampons and figured out what the X-Factor is. Greg and Mycroft didn’t sign up for this shit. Next time, they are going to the Bahamas.

Not Without You by thisisforyou (T, 6,313 w. || Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Adventure, Mycroft is a Good Brother, Pining Sherlock, Suicide Mention, Sherlock First Person POV, Post-TRF / Reunion Fic) – “I can’t, Mycroft, I can’t do this without John.” Mycroft comes up with an alternative solution to the three years of two broken hearts that would have otherwise happened.

The Death of Doubt by Gingerhermit (E, 6,584 w. || Alternate Canon, BAMF John, POV Sherlock, Sherlock’s Mind Palace, Hurt/Comfort, Angst/Drama, Meddling Mycroft) – Mycroft asks for John’s help in rescuing Sherlock from his Serbian captors.

Fa Subito by kim47 (E, 6,659 w. || Suit Porn, Cockblocker Mycroft, Obsessed Sherlock, PWP) – John wears a suit. Sherlock finds it extremely distracting.

The doctor is in by PlainJane (E, 7,581 w. || Omegaverse || Sex Therapist, Anal, Hand Jobs, Frottage, Virgin Sherlock) – Sherlock is a young alpha with an aversion to his cycle. John is a gender medicine specialist. Nothing could possibly go wrong… Part 1 of Doctors and detectives

Correspondence by Cleo2010 (T, 8,031 w. || Letters, Friends to Lovers, Jealousy, Dating ) – Sherlock’s been spirited away on a case for Mycroft. Part of the deal was that he and John could communicate via letter until the case was completed. Maybe the cliche is true, absence does make the heart grow fonder. Or perhaps something is growing on the feet in the fridge. Read their letters month by month.

Sibling Rivalry Or Fighting Over John Watson By Jessa7 (T, 8,085 w. || Romance / Humour) – Mycroft is just as much of a genius as Sherlock is. He keeps randomly kidnapping John for chats, and the locations get better. Cue Sherlock’s younger sibling complex rearing up and jealousy ensues.

Never Been This Swept Away by estalita11 (T, 8,531 w. || Post-TAB, Mary is Not Nice, Drug Use, First Kiss, Love Confessions) – Set immediately after TAB, Sherlock visits his brother to definitely not apologize about earlier and ends up finally learning a few things that would have been nice knowing about months ago. Mycroft never wants to deal with lovestruck idiots ever again.

High Tide by stardust_made (T, 8,540 w. || Jealousy, Angst, First Kiss) – A little favour Sherlock stupidly agrees to do for Mycroft leads to John meeting a handsome, afluent man, who is going out of his way to woo him. Sherlock struggles with the situation and with his own reactions to it. Part 1 of The High Tide Series

Beyond the Vow by tunteeton (M, 8,994 w. || Love Confessions, Angst with Happy Ending, Post-S3, Explosions, Mary is Good-ish?, 3G, Infant Death) – Being a sociopath was never this emotionally exhausting.

Illogical, even. by magikspell (E, 9,119 w. || Grey-Ace Sherlock, Character Study, Growing Up, Victor Trevor, Romance, First Time/Kiss, Sherlock-centric) – Five reasons Sherlock never believed in love and one reason he does now.

The Devil You Know by PipMer (T, 9,300 w. || Friends to Lovers, Romance, Holmes Brothers, Jealous Sherlock) – The Holmes brothers are behaving oddly. John is dazed and confused. In other words, it’s business as usual at 221B Baker Street. Except when it’s not.

He’s Not Paid Enough to Deal with This Shit by janonny (T, 9,828 w. || Personal Assistant AU || Humour, First Meetings, Snarky John) – One of the first things John did was to write up step-by-step instructions on how to conduct a proper job interview before handing it over to Mycroft for his perusal. There were no kidnapping, deserted car parks or stolen therapy notes anywhere on that list. (Or the one where John returned from the war and ended up working for Mycroft as his personal assistant slash doctor on retainer. Everything was fine, until he was sent to post bail for one Sherlock Holmes.)

Our Sudden and Strange Return by Arwen Jade Kenobi (T, 10,314 w. || Post-TRF, Friendship) – One year, eight months, and an odd number of days after the alleged fatal fall Mycroft gets a message from Sherlock saying that he’s back.

The In-Between by blueink3 (M, 10,679 w. || Fluff and Angst, H/C, Parentlock, Fix-It Fic, Canon Compliantish) – Beginning in a Chinese restaurant and ending at the bottom of a well, what about the moments we didn’t see?

I Used to Live Alone Before I Knew You by etothepii (T, 11,052 w. || Winglock || Angels / Demons, Supernatural Elements, Occult) – Where Mycroft is an angel, Sherlock is a demon, and John is still John.

I See You Through by belovedmuerto (T, 12,078 w. || Psychic AU || Empath John, Alternate TGG, Whump, Nightmares, Bedsharing, Slow Burn, Pre-Slash) –John has never asked Sherlock about his past, his childhood, the reason he quails in lonely misery almost every time he sees his brother. He’s never needed to. Part 2 of An Experiment in Empathy

The Slow Burn by CaitlinFairchild (E, 12,097 w. || Romance, Emotional Infidelity, Friends to Lovers, Sherlock POV) – John smiles, something small and private and for him alone, and Sherlock just…he knows. With a heart-stopping certainty, Sherlock suddenly knows.It feels like falling off the edge of a cliff. It feels like falling off the edge of the world. It feels like flying.

Fear Itself by KCS (K+, 12,289 w. || Suspense, Friendship) – John is accustomed to being kidnapped by now, but he never expected a criminal to adopt Mycroft’s method of doing so, to ensure he comes along without a fight.

Resistance by Coquillage Atlas (K+, 12,455 w. || Fantasy, Friendship) – A sequel to “Conductivity,” in which there are grave dealings with Mycroft.

I Need You To See Me by Mssmithlove (E, 12,625 w. || Angst, Amnesia, Soldier!John) – After going back to war, John is yet again invalided home, this time with a broken ankle and a chunk of his memory missing, unable to recall the last five years he’s spent being Sherlock Holmes’ partner and husband. Part 9 of Happiness Awaits

And if you say the word, I could stay with you by CaitlinFairchild (E, 12,842 w. || Domestic Fluff, BottomJohn / Topping from the Bottom, Fluff and Romance, Dirty Talk, Proposals) – What Sherlock thinks is, On the day I die, be it in a dirty alley at forty or in my bed at eighty, the last thing I will remember is tonight, the way you looked at at me on the snowy pavement, cheeks pink with the cold, breath puffing in frosty white clouds, your heart in your eyes and snowflakes in your hair. I will remember that single perfect moment in my life, that moment I knew I had everything I ever wanted, and whatever happens next, I will die content. What he says is simply, “Marry me.”

Your Eyes in Darkness Glowing by tamed_untranslatable (E, 14,686 w. || Est. Rel., Case Fic, Hotel Sex, Bottomlock, Anal, BJ’s, Porn With Feelings, Homophobia) – Sherlock gets roped into a case in Moscow on his brother’s insistence, but finds that he can’t do it without John.

Barricade by stitchy (M, 14,127 w. || Friends to Lovers, Angst, Happy Ending, UST, Mary’s Not Nice) – Sherlock has been struggling to keep his feelings at bay for everyone’s sake. Part 1 of Barricade

Hallowed Eve by EventHorizon (T, 14,750 w. || First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Halloween) – It probably wasn’t the smartest idea to let Sherlock choose the costumes for Halloween, but John never considered himself the smartest man in the room, anyway.

Vessel by Rhuia (E, 15,695 w. || Cancer, Medfic) – That was the surprising bit – the way his doctor said it, eyes shining with sympathy but breathing it out, shifting it off her shoulders and thrusting it onto his, making him take it like an unwanted gift.

Partners in Crime by Richefic (T, 16,560 w. || Hurt/Comfort, Friendship, Sick John, Meddling Mycroft, Caring Sherlock, Domestics) – John Watson receives some devastating news which puts a spanner in his medical ambitions. Will Sherlock prove capable of the kind of comfort and reassurance he needs or will their partnership be ended before its even begun? Set between 1.1 and 1.2.

I Will Take Care Of You by SailorChibi (T, 16,664 w. || Hurt/Comfort, Sick Sherlock, BAMF John, BAMF Lestrade, Reunion Fic) – Two years after Sherlock’s death, John comes to find him on the sofa. Wounded and ill, Sherlock is convinced he’s hallucinating and refuses to share any details about Moran or the fact that Mycroft has been compromised. That doesn’t stop John from stepping up and taking care of the last of Moriarty’s web, BAMF-style.

A Hundred Thousand Ways to Say the Name John by Jberry (E, 16,825 w. || Fake Relationship, Fake Marriage, POV John, Pining John, Cruise Ship, Angst & Fluff, Case Fic) – John Watson and Sherlock Holmes must solve a case on a cruise ship. To get close to the crew and passengers, they must get married for the case on the Baetica. However, their relationship hits rocky seas both due to the case and internal conflicts. Part 1 of Baetica

Everlasting by cypress_tree (M, 16,884 w. || Magical Realism, First Time, Immortality, Angst & Fluff) – Most lives end. A Tuck Everlasting fusion, in which the Holmes brothers have lived for a very, very long time.

Pressure Points by Starlight05 (T, 17,677 w. || Suspense & Friendship, Intense Themes, Torture) - SEQUEL TO ‘RIDDLES IN THE DARK’ – Sebastian Moran is locked away in prison, but he plots to escape and seek revenge on Mycroft Holmes. Meanwhile, Sherlock and John are dealing with a change in their relationship, trying not to fall apart. And as ties are tested and allegiances altered, events unfold in the streets of London that threaten both the Holmes brothers and everyone they care for.

Checkmate to a Castled King by LaSuen (T, 18,290 w. || Friendship, Hurt / Comfort, Sick Sherlock) - John dies. Or at least everyone thinks he does.

Sympathy for the Devil and Mycroft Holmes by scifigrl47 (T, 18,535 w. || Family, Canon-Compliant, Meddling Mycroft, Big Brother Mycroft) – Mycroft has always protected his younger brother, but there are some things he just can’t control. Sherlock’s relationship with John Watson is one of them. Set during the first two seasons of Sherlock.

All That I Am, All That I Was by KimberlyTheOwl (T, 18,590 w. || Drama, Friendship, Amnesia) – Without his memories of his life and of his friends, who is John Watson? Unusual circumstances place John in a very special kind of danger, while Sherlock fights against fear, doubt, and government obstruction to get him back.

With All My Heart by QuinnAnderson (E, 19,257 w. || Red Marks / Soulmates || Magical Realism, Growing Up, First Kiss / Time, Falling in Love) – AU in which every time a person falls in love, a red line like a tally mark appears on their wrist. Sherlock is determined to keep himself from ever gaining one of these marks for fear that love will corrode his mental faculties. Then he meets John Watson.

Uncharted Territory by J_Baillier (T, 19,603 w. || Dystopian Future / Black Mirror AU || Angst, Drama, Homophobia, Bisexuality, Technology, Humour, Romance, Near Future, Happy Ending) – The System puts people through a series of assigned relationships in order to determine who their Perfect Match is. John believes that it works; Sherlock really, really doesn’t. One of them is probably going to be wrong.

For you, there’s only me by shock_blanket (E, 19,557 w. || Jealous Idiots, Virgin Sherlock, UST/RST, Pining, Miscommunication, First Kiss / Time, Insecure Sherlock, Masturbation) – Sherlock realizes he has fallen in love with John, but believes he is unlovable. Cue lots of pining and jealousy on Sherlock’s part, followed by our favorite cuddly marksman making it all better. Because for Sherlock, there’s only John.

A Life Well-Lived by Kate_Lear (E, 20,121 w. || Original Male Character, Sherlock Woos John, Jealous Sherlock, Reluctant Bi-John, Past Abuse, Insecure John, Reassuring / Caring Sherlock, Protective Sherlock, Understanding Sherlock) – John got scared off men by an abusive past relationship. Sherlock has to try and woo him while not scaring him off with protective possessive rage.

Winter’s Delights by Kate_Lear (E, 21,173 w. || Holmes Family, Christmas, Fake Relationship, Friends to Lovers, Bed Sharing, Domestics) – Sherlock takes John home for Christmas to meet the extended Holmes family. Part 1 of Winter’s Delights

When to Let Go by KendylGirl (M, 22,109 w. || Friends to Lovers, Reverse Reichenbach, Sacrifice, Forgiveness, Angst, Love, Implied Drug Use) – What if it were John who had to die to thwart Moriarty’s plans? John’s supposed death shatters Sherlock, and when he returns, it will challenge the pair to forge a path of forgiveness, to peace, and to find a way back to each other. Part 1 of When to Let Go

The One With the Proposal by kim47 (E, 22,375 w. || Fluff, Romance, Marriage Proposal) – Proposing shouldn’t be this difficult.

The Sexual Awakening of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson by suitesamba (M, 24,579 w. || Post-TRF, Case Fic, H/C, First Kiss/Time) – Sherlock owes Mycroft a favor. Mycroft calls in that favor by offering Sherlock’s consulting services in a charity auction. Sherlock and John soon find themselves at the country manor of Mrs. Ives-Patton Smarmington III - not very coincidentally a long-time friend of Sherlock’s mother - where they are reluctant participants in her Murder Mystery Weekend. It’s a play within a play for Sherlock and John, and their roles for the weekend event bleed over into their real lives, waking the sleeping dragons within.

Tomorrow’s Song by agirlsname (M, 24,645 w. || Post-TRF, POV Sherlock, Angst with a Happy Ending, Virgin / Repressed Sherlock, Love Confessions, Slow Burn, Pining, Jealous Sherlock) – How can he think a relationship with me would be a good idea? I am the sort of person to take a break from my life and when I come back after two years, I expect to find it exactly as I left it. In reality I find it shattered to pieces. (I actually equate you with my life. When did I start doing that?)

You Can Imagine the Christmas Dinners by ardenteurophile (T, 23,584 w. || Pre-Slash, Drama, Fluff & Angst, Humour, Romance) – Sherlock takes John along for Christmas dinner with Mycroft and Mummy (And “Anthea”, too). Over the course of the evening, John realises that everyone in the room - apart from him - seems to think that he and Sherlock are a couple. Part 2 of Xmas Dinners Verse

Once Upon a Beast Becoming by antietamfalls (T, 24,042 w. || Beauty and the Beast AU || Magical Realism, Folklore, Celtic Mythology) – An act of pride, a druid’s curse, an enchanted leaf; Sherlock’s torment has lasted an age. Hope arrives in the form of one John Watson, a man uniquely suited to break the spell. But with a single night to win his affections, Sherlock finds his carefully laid plans disrupted by a monstrous killer whose sights are set on the only thing he has left to lose: John.

Dropping the Act by jadztone (T, 27,258 w. || Parentlock, Fake Relationship, Mary’s Family, Post-S4, Cuddling & Snuggling, Bed Sharing, Pining, Christmas) – Sherlock and John are quite happy living together with Rosie in Baker St. They might be even happier if they didn’t act towards each other like their love is only platonic. Mycroft brings troubling news in the form of Mary’s parents wanting to know just what their grandchild’s home life is like. The boys decide to spend Christmas pretending like they are in love in order to seem more like a “normal” family. It’s easy enough to pretend when all you’re doing is dropping the act.

Don’t Leave Anything Out by lookupkate (E, 27,422 w. || Letters / Epistolary, Misunderstandings, Angst, Happy Ending, Alternate Meeting, Sherlock in Love, Pining Sherlock) – The first letter John writes home from Afghanistan is meant to go to a woman he went on only one date with. How it ends up in Sherlock’s hands is completely innocent. What happens next is not. What do you do when you find out the person you’re in love with has been lying about something as monumental as who they are? What do you do when you’re the one who lied?How on earth do you put the pieces back together?

Sherlock Holmes & The Mysterious Ex by Gatergirl79 (M, 27,942 w. || Family, Romance, Holmes Family) – Sherlock and John are forced to spend Christmas with Sherlock’s family. An unsettling idea especially when John will have to play ‘Boyfriend’ thanks to Mycroft. But why exactly does Sherlock want to avoid a family party?

26 Pieces by Lanning (E, 28,236 w. || H/C, Torture, First Time, Happy Ending, Schmoop) – Mycroft gives Sherlock the apparently simple task of solving a puzzle box containing a stolen microchip. It isn’t simple.

An Experiment in Apathy Series by belovedmuerto (G to E, 28,701 w. across 13 stories || Empath John, Empath-by-Proxy Sherlock, Epic Bromance Becomes Romance, Angst, Nightmares, Experiments, Trauma, Dreams, Background Mystrade) – “No man is an island, John. You less so than most.” A sequel to the EiE Series, wherein John and Sherlock explore their relationship.

To be Loved by You by TwisterMelody (M, 28,775 w. || Angst, H/C, Friends to Lovers, Post-HLV, Infidelity, Character Death) – Too many times they had confessed themselves in the darkness, leaving it there, never to speak of it again. But this is different. This love deserves the light of day.

Jack In The Box by Liketheriver (T, 30,785 w. || Romance, Case Fic, H/C, Lestrade First POV) – John’s been kidnapped, Mycroft has rules, and Lestrade has to do his best to keep up with Sherlock as they deal with a returning foe. Lestrade POV as he and Sherlock work to find John, even though that’s the last thing John seems to want. Part 2 of Bedtime Universe

Shallow Grave by SilentAuror (E, 31,672 w. || Romance, Angst, HLV Fix It, Infidelity, Pining Sherlock) – Starts as Sherlock’s plane is taking off at the end of His Last Vow. When he finds out that Moriarty is alive and that he’s being recalled from his mission, Sherlock decides that he should have told John how he felt before he left. So he walks off the plane and kisses him.

A Study In Auto-Signatures, Sniper Dolphins, and Sex Holidays by cwb (E, 32,690 w. || Case Fic, Post S3, Evil Mary, Dev. Rel., Honeymoon, Epistolary, Bottomlock, First Kiss / Time, Fluff, Secret Agents, BAMF!John) – John and Mary go on their sex holiday, and Sherlock is grumpy and pining about it. Part 1 of HOT DOLPHIN SEX

Our Enthusiasms Which Cannot Always Be Explained by withoutawish (M, 32,961 w. || Christmas, Fluff and Angst, H/C, Post-TRF, Case Fic, Mild Gore, Sherlock Whump) – The list that is tacked haphazardly on the refrigerator of 221B reads, ‘Kidney(s), and/or a full cadaver (preferably male, late 30s, under six feet tall), bag of fresh toes, sixteen cow’s eyes (corneas retained), dual exhaust hand –held flame thrower, an unopened first edition copy of Joseph Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’, and no less than ten abhorrently gruesome murders in the upcoming month.” The one neatly hanging next to it simply reads, “Sex.” One of these lists is not John Watson’s. If John Watson were to put what he really wanted in list form, to live in a land somewhere beyond ‘almosts’ now that Sherlock Holmes has indeed returned to him, he would never be able to look his flatmate in the eye ever again.

Pater Noster by SilentAuror (E, 34,256 w. || Case Fic, HLV+, Family Trauma, Sherlock POV, Villain Mary) – During the autumn that John is staying at Baker Street again after Sherlock was shot, he ruminates over the similarity between Sherlock’s shot and the one that killed his father when he was fifteen. Cold case meets series 3 fix-it. Part I takes place entirely within His Last Vow, Part II takes place starting at the end of HLV and continues after.

The Yellow Poppies by SilentAuror (E, 34,952 w. || H/C, Nightmares, HLV Fix-It, PTSD, Trauma, POV Sherlock, Doctor John) – Sherlock is threatened and assaulted in the hospital immediately after having been shot in the heart, first by Mary, then by Magnussen. As he recovers at Baker Street with John and plans the attack on Appledore with Mycroft, he fights to work through the trauma caused by these two visits. Set during His Last Vow.

That Partitioning of the Things of Youth by wearitcounts (E, 35,353 w. || Humour and Angst, Post-TRF, Fake Relationship, UST / RST, Friends to Lovers, Jealous John) – Victor Trevor is in town, and nobody’s happy.

Act IV by SilentAuror (E, 39,707 w. || First Person POV Sherlock, HLV Fix-It, Indifelity, Angst, Drama) – After Sherlock is shot, John moves back into Baker Street. They spend the autumn together as John tries to make sense of his life and make some important decisions about both Mary and Sherlock. Canon-compliant, excerpts from His Last Vow.

The Semantics of Crop Circle Formation: a case study by Sherlock Holmes [unpublished] by canolacrush (M, 41,710 w. || Sherlock POV, Aliens, Wordplay, Casefic) – “Look at these photographs,” I said, gesturing to the wall of crop circles. “What do you observe?”“Crop circles,” John replied.“Obvious. What else?”“Are…are those intestines surrounding them?”“Yes. The majority are bovine and ovine in origin. The farmers who have acquired these crop circles in their fields have also had a tenth of their livestock murdered and arranged thus.” “Why?” John said, presumably in a rhetorical fashion. I detest rhetorical questions. “That is what I must find out, John.”

The Soul Remembers by i_ship_an_armada (E, 43,636 w. || Oblivion AU || Post-Apocalypse, Movie Fusion, Science Fiction, Action/Adventure, Angst, Dreams, Bittersweet Ending) – John Watson is the lone security repairman stationed on a desolate, nearly-ruined future Earth. His dreams are plagued by a tall, dark-haired man, and when his dreams meet reality, he will be forced to question everything he believes is the truth about his life.

Left by lifeonmars (M, 45,153 w. || Magical Realism) – John Watson is left-handed. He’s tried not to let it affect his life, but as any Lefty knows, that’s almost impossible.

Triage by scullyseviltwin (E, 51,612 w. || Character Injury, Introspection) – Sherlock’s mind goes exceedingly, devastatingly quiet and gray-blank. When he speaks it’s through a thick haze, it’s through molasses, he’s so disconnected from the words that it may as well be the unconscious shooter speaking.

In the Dark Hours by hubblegleeflower (E, 51,639 w. || Friends to Lovers, Unreliable Narrator, Closeted Bi John, Angst, Miscommunications, Slow Burn, First Time, John’s Blog / Epistolary) – John, wounded and silent, drifts back to Baker Street for healing…and then goes home again. He visits, gets more upbeat, chattier, smiles, jokes… and still goes home again. Sherlock wants him to move back in - it just makes sense - but John shows no signs of doing so. This is the story of how John and Sherlock learn to say what needs to be said when they’re both so very, very rubbish at talking.

The Homecoming Series by sussexbound (M, 51,744 w. across 12 stories, WIP || Domestics, PTSD, Love Confessions, Hurt/Comfort, Cuddling, Jealousy, Family Issues, Cuddling) – Sometimes home is all you need. After three years of horror, betrayals, and crushing loss, John and Sherlock find their way back home to one another, and together find new footing in a world that has changed forever.

Spare Change by Ermerness (E, 51,966 w. || Rich Holmeses AU || First Kiss / Time, Holmes Family, Virgin Sherlock, Anal, First Meetings) – The Holmes family is one of the richest and most powerful in England. Sherlock spends his time flying around the world on the family’s private jet drinking a lot and shopping at expensive boutiques as a way of trying to alleviate his endless boredom. His mother decides it’s time he settles down with someone powerful, wealthy and well connected. John Watson happens to be none of those things.

Coventry by standbygo (E, 52,020 w. || Dollhouse AU || Case Fic, Slow Burn, Sci-Fi / Fantasy, First Kiss / Time, Attempted Rape, BAMF John, Falling in Love) – “Let me get this straight,” John said, wondering when his life had become a science fiction film. “Some guy orders up a personality, a person, to his specifications, and they program this into a real live person, who has consented to do this, and she goes to this person and acts as his wife, or lawyer, or Royal Marine, or Navy Seal or what have you, and she has all the skills, all the knowledge, everything? Then you say the magic words, and she follows you back to The House, and they erase it all until her next appointment?”

Lost Without My Blogger by starrysummernights (E, 52,155 w. || Rev. Reich, PTSD, Hurt / Comfort, Fluff / Angst, Psychological Torture, Reunion Fic, Friends to Lovers) – John is abducted and declared dead. How will Sherlock cope without his blogger? How will he react when John comes back from the “dead?” Drama and angst with a healthy dose of romance. Part 1 of I’d Be Lost Without My Blogger

John Watson’s Twelve Days of Christmas by earlgreytea68 (M, 53,464 w. || Christmas, Holmes Family, Fake Relationship, Alternate First Meeting, Falling in Love, Fluff and Angst, Hardcore Pining) – It’s the holiday season. John Watson needs money. Sherlock Holmes needs something else.

Albion and the Woodsman by Glenmore (E, 54,437 w. || Post S3 || Parentlock, Pining Sherlock, Angst, Family, Drug Use, Depression, Sherlock POV) – Sherlock and John are devastated after Mary Morstan makes her final moves. Sherlock relapses at the crack house, John walks around the world … and a lot happens in between. Parentlock, in the good way.

Wars We Fought, Things We’re Not by blueink3 (M, 55,206 w. || Parentlock, Fluff & Angst, Kidnapping, Whump, Post-TAB, UST, Slow Burn, Couple for a Case) – Five months after John’s world has fallen apart, Mycroft sends the consulting detective and his doctor on a case that neither is prepared for.

Bridging the Ravine by SilentAuror (E, 58,883 w. || Post S4, Couple For a Case, Bed-Sharing, First Times, Confessions, Awkwardness, Sex Trafficking) – Sherlock and John go undercover at Ravine Valley, a therapy centre for same-sex male couples in an investigation into a possible human trafficking ring. As they pose as a couple and fake their way through the therapy sessions for the sake of the case, it quickly becomes difficult to avoid discussing their very real issues. Set roughly six nine months after series 4.

An Experiment in Empathy Series by belovedmuerto (T, 62,397 w. across 13 stories || Empath AU || Psychic John, Psychic-by-Proxy Sherlock, Empathy, Psychic Bond, Romance / Bromance) – In which John is an empath, Sherlock is Sherlock, and an epic bromance happens. In the aftermath of The Great Game, John creates an unexpected bond between himself and Sherlock. Now they have to learn how to deal with it. John is better at this than Sherlock is.

You Have Drawn Red From My Hands by J_Baillier (T, 67,085 w. || Three Garridebs, Heavy John Whump, Hurt / Comfort, Pining, Heavy Angst, Case Fic/Adventure, Slow Burn, Sick Fic, Injury, Guilt & Depression, Just Talk Already Please, Medical Realism, PTSD) – John getting injured leads Sherlock on a path of guilt and revelations.

Electric Pink Hand Grenade by BeautifulFiction (E, 67,718 w. || First Time / Kiss, Seizures, Headaches) – “If Sherlock’s brain is a hard drive, then these attacks are an electro-magnetic pulse.” Sherlock Holmes does not do anything by half, not even a migraine. It falls to John to witness one of the greatest minds he has ever known tear itself apart, and he must do his best to help Sherlock pick up the pieces.

The Moonlight and the Frost by CaitlinFairchild (E, 77,289 w. || Case Fic, Post-HLV, Self Harm, Virgin Sherlock, First Time, Oral/Anal/Rimming, Romance, Angst, Mary is Not Nice) – John has to somehow rebuild his life in the wake of Mary’s betrayal and Sherlock’s deceptions.

Secrets and Revelations by Hisstah (E, 85,535 w. || Sentinel / Guides AU, Omegaverse, Aventure, Violence, Anal / Oral, Omega!John / Alpha!Sherlock, Case Fic, Politics, Mild DubCon) – Dr John Watson has some major secrets that he’s kept from his flatmate, Alpha Sentinel Sherlock Holmes. Now the Sentinel Tower is after him. Can John stay out of their hands until he can reveal his secrets to Sherlock? Part 1 of Secrets and Revelations

Bleed Me Out by antietamfalls (E, 87,987 w. || Vampire AU || Bonding, Vampire Sherlock, Fluff & Angst, H/C, John Whump, Magical Realism) – John isn’t exactly surprised to discover that Sherlock isn’t human. His vampirism doesn’t pose a problem, even when their relationship gradually grows into something more. That is, until a deadly revelation about John’s blood sends their lives spinning dangerously out of control.

The Stars Move Still by BeautifulFiction (E, 96,022 w. || Magical Realism, Demons, Slash to Pre-Slash, AU, Happy Ending) – “What could I want so desperately that would make me sell my soul? What could possibly compel me to surrender the part of myself that makes me who I am: the source of my magic, my self-control, everything?”

Definitions by siennna (T, 101,528 w. || Dev. Rel., Pining, Fluff and Romance, First Kiss, Love Confessions, Fluff, Cuddles) – Sherlock’s journey in defining his flat mate and stumbling through the muddled world of emotion.{{This feels complete; the chapter count is listed as ? but I feel like it is done}}

The Heart In The Whole by verityburns (E, 101,650 || Post-TGG Canon Divergence, Drama & Angst, H/C, First Time, Blind Sherlock) – Events after ‘The Great Game’ leave Sherlock dependent on his best friend and colleague. But John has a secret of his own…

Breakable by MissDavis (E, 117,627 w. || Established, Fluff/Angst, Depression, Paralysis, Happy-ish Ending) – After John is seriously injured, Sherlock struggles to figure out how to help him, keep himself sane, and maybe, just maybe, get their life back to the way it’s supposed to be. Part 1 of Breakable Not Broken

The Swan Triad by Pennin_Ink (T, 121,660 w. across 3 works || Swan Lake AU || Magical / Fairy Tale AU, Romance, Falling in Love, Pining, Psychological Torture, Transformation) – Sherlock and John grow up spending every summer together. Their mothers’ attempts to play matchmaker only fuel their mutual resentment and scorn. But then, one summer.

To Light Another’s Path by BeautifulFiction (E, 128,654 w. || Post-TGG, Sick Fic, Hurt/Comfort, Drug Addiction / Recreational Drug Use, First Time / Kiss, Case Fic) – Teaching John to observe seems to be a losing battle, but when Sherlock falls ill and submits himself to John’s care, will he realise that there is more to life than the science of deduction? Meanwhile, there is a murder to solve, and John must try and convince Sherlock not to sacrifice his own health for the sake of the case.

The Horse and his Doctor by khorazir (T, 129,003 w. || Horse / Vet AU || Magical Realism, Horses, Vet John, Horse Sherlock, Implied Alcoholism) – Invalided after a run in with a poacher in Siberia, veterinary surgeon John Watson finds it difficult to acclimatise to the mundanity of London life. Things change when a friend invites him along to a local animal shelter and he meets their latest acquisition, a trouble-making Frisian with the strangest eyes and even stranger quirks John has ever encountered in a horse.

A Fold in the Universe by darkest_bird (E, 152,869 w. || Omegaverse / Prime Universe Crossover || OmegaJohn / AlphaSherlock, First Kiss / Time, Friends to Lovers, Established Relationship, Angst, H/C, Dub Con, Humour) – Alpha Sherlock and Omega John are in a relationship. Prime Sherlock and Prime John are not. So what happens when a freak fold in the universe switches one John for the other?

Fallen Series by Belladonna_Q, mamishka (T, 222,094 w. across 3 works || Winglock || Angel!John, Angels & Demons, Faes, Christianity, Changelings) – In a world where myth, mystery, and the supernatural flourish beneath the veneer of modern civilization, Sherlock is a master of magic as well as science and deduction. But there are some things that he cannot see, riddles he cannot unravel, even when they walk right beside him in the form of one John Watson…

The Gilded Cage by BeautifulFiction (E, 326,887 w. || Omegaverse || Omega Sherlock / Alpha John, Friends to Lovers, Dub Con, Reproductive Rights) – In a world where Omegas are the property of the elite Alphas, locked away and treasured by those wealthy enough to buy them, John never questioned his flatmate’s secondary gender. Sherlock Holmes was an Alpha through-and through. Wasn’t he? A chance discovery turns the world on its head, and John is left grappling to come to terms with Sherlock’s past as events conspire to threaten their future.

MARKED FOR LATER

These fics are in my MFL list, and I haven’t read any of them, so please read at your own discretion.

A Prequel of Sorts by foxy61 (G, 6,561 w. || Kidlock / Teenlock, Time Manipulation, Big Brother Mycroft) – William Sherlock Scott Holmes was born in a little cottage in the middle of a blizzard January 6th 1977. He was delivered by an ex-army doctor, one Dr. John Hamish Watson who apparently didn’t exist or at least not yet. Part 2 of A Blizzard Started it All

Turn Left by Mycroftpedia (T, 9,057 w. || Time Travel, Platonics, Angst With a Happy Ending, Soulmates, Loneliness, John-centric, Emotional Hurt) – “If you could go back in time, would you’ll make it all differently? Would you’ll avoid the road that took you to Sherlock?” John stared at him, trying to study him in the same way he had seen Sherlock doing so many times. He was trying to figure out where Mycroft wanted to go with that question. To an inner reflection? Simple and mere curiosity? Or was there something more? John wondered when it was the last time he had seen him so serious. Mycroft Holmes was perennially serious, but that time there was something different, something that frightened him. “Right now?” He demanded at the end, challenging him, hoping to throw out some other word or some suspicious behavior. Nothing came up. “Yes.” Inspired by Doctor Who, Turn Left.

One Day in Burgundy by a_different_equation (E, 12,323 w. || Post-TRF, Angst with a Happy Ending, Sherlock’s Violin, Cooking, Shower Sex, Honeymoon, Emotional Rollercoaster, Road Trips, Happy Ending, Good Brother Mycroft) – While being on their honeymoon in Burgundy, Sherlock tells John the story of his sexual awakening. A tale about an unexpected road trip, French cuisine, a violin concert at ‘The End of the World’, a visit of an old church, oh, and Victorian Pornography. And like all good stories, it starts and ends in bed. Part 2 of Johnlock Around The World

Hellfire by testosterone_tea (E, 28,596 w. || Fantasy / Magic / Mages / Elementals AU || Mage Sherlock, Elemental John, Developing Relationship, Torture, Powerful / BAMF John, POV Alternating, Dark / Blood Magic, UST, First Kiss) – Sherlock is a Mage that gets involved with a case involving Dark Summoning rituals, leading him to John Watson, a man with Berserker blood. The only thing is, Berserkers have been extinct for centuries. And of course, nothing involving Mycroft and his interfering ways is ever simple. This time, even Sherlock may have bitten off more than he can chew.

Anchor Point by trickybonmot (E, 49,856 w. || Truman Show AU || Psychological Drama, Suspense, Slow Burn, Dark Characters / Fic) – The world tunes in nightly for Sherlock, the ultimate in reality TV: Sherlock Holmes, a real person with a legendary name, unknowingly lives out his life in a staged setting contrived by his brother. Things get complicated when a retired army doctor joins the show to play the part of Sherlock’s closest friend. This fic borrows its concept from the 1998 film, the Truman Show. However, you don’t need to have any knowledge of the movie to enjoy this story.

The Case of the Moebius Trip by Bitenomnom (NR, 129,218 w. || Time Travel, BAMF!John, Angst, Death, Post-TRF) – When John finally gives in and accepts a case for the first time since Sherlock fell eight months ago, he finds himself in a unique position: in possession of what his client calls a time machine, and desperate enough to give it a go. If it works, he could travel back in time. If it works, he could save Sherlock.

#steph replies #johnlock fic recs #big brother mycroft #my fic recs #Anonymous #mycroft fics #mycroft holmes

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fountainpenguin · 6 years

Text

Celebrate Good Times

I hope you guys enjoyed “Snake Eyes”! Sorry to leave it on a cliffhanger and then go on hiatus, but it had to be done. Just give me time to write one quick novel and we’ll be back to our regular scheduled programming soon.

One thing discussed quite a bit in both “Kasa d’Sõchu” and “Snake Eyes” were Anti-Fairy celebrations and ceremonies. I talked about Fairy school holidays once before, but let’s explore celebrations a little more by looking at holidays on the Fairy calendar.

Why do Anti-Fairies have so many celebrations?

Anti-Fairies have a highly collectivist culture. Unity, pride, and social connections are maintained by frequent ceremonies. Many of these ceremonies also promote the honoring of powerful figures (like the nature spirits), remembrance of historical events and cultural traditions (like wars and family “totem animals”), respect for elders, appreciation of nature, and healthy lifestyles (like exercise).

Anti-Fairies can survive without food, but starving isn’t a healthy state to constantly be in. Celebrations pretty much always include food, allowing even those in poorer circumstances to have access to things they can eat.

Many of the larger celebrations are paid for with high taxes. Anti-Fairies don’t tend to live in small individual houses as family units. Instead, they live in large colonies. Many times, colony leaders - known as creche fathers after the term used for the dominant males of actual bat colonies - will lead their colony up to where the High Count and High Countess are hosting their major celebration. Rather than shelling out for their own smaller, less impressive celebration, these creche fathers contribute donations to fund huge parties. When you get a few hundred creche fathers all doing that, you can rack up a lot of funds for food and safety equipment. Some decorations or knock-off prizes can be poofed up too.

INFREQUENT EVENTS / RITES OF PASSAGE

Thursday - Thursday is considered a day of rest, because as we learned in “Big Fairy Share Scare”, the Big Wand has to be recharged every Friday morning, meaning that it’s running on its dregs during Thursday. Many businesses shut down on Thursday, and people spend the day visiting family or simply resting up.

Fairyclipse - An astrological phenomenon that causes Fairies to lose their magic for several hours or days. Occurs once approximately every 1 million years. From the episode, “When L.O.S.E.R.S. Attack”.

Aurora Fairyalis - An astrological phenomenon that causes Fairies to lose their magic for 28 weeks straight. Occurs once approximately every 5,000 years. Mentioned in the episode, “When L.O.S.E.R.S. Attack”.

Fairy Con - An annual celebration of Fairies and their godkids. From the episodes “Cosmo Con” and “Fairy Con”.

Instar - A newborn’s transition from being shaped like a sphere, cube, or other shape at birth to having a more Fairy-shaped body. Also known as the first moult, or the time of shedding your baby skin.

Pooferty - A Fairy baby’s transition from being pre-verbal to developing the ability to speak.

Becoming a juvenile - When a Fairy and Anti-Fairy baby turn 50 years old, and are officially considered children beyond the toddler stage of development.

Daoist Baptism - A Daoist (Largely Fairy) tradition of baptizing those who’ve studied and can explain the teachings of Daoism, which is a religion based majorly off Irish follore. Sanderson and Hawkins were baptized in “The Blessed.” 100 hours of silent reflection then follow.

Zodii presentations before the nature spirits - A Zodii (Largely Anti-Fairy) tradition of presenting a baby in the Zodiac Temple of the year in the Fairy zodiac they were born under. There are seven Zodiac Temples throughout the cloudlands for each of the seven zodiac years in the cycle.

Moulting into adult wings (Fairy adulthood) - A period of several days or weeks when a Fairy experiences puberty. They briefly lose the ability to use magic and fly, and usually suffer a rash as they shed their wings and some skin. The new wings that grow in are notably larger than juvenile wings, hence the term “getting your adult wings”. Anti-Fairies don’t have a close parallel of this beyond puberty / sexual maturity.

Coming of age ceremony (Anti-Fairy adulthood) - Occurs at the age 150,000 regardless of whether the Anti-Fairy has gone through puberty. The Anti-Fairy abandons their private name / middle name and is addressed by their adult name by all except their spouse in most cases.

Year of Promise - A fairy courtship tradition similar to the ancient tradition of young men and women experiencing trial marriages for “a year and a day”. After the trial period, the relationship can be broken off without consequences. Since fairies mate for life and live for ages, it gives them one last chance to bail.

Marriage - A ceremony that bonds individuals together in a committed partnership. Typically involves submerging hands together in a bowl filled with sacred fountain water, while each partner is “given away” by a close relative. Fairies and Anti-Fairies have similar marriage ceremonies, though Anti-Fairy marriages tend to involve darker colors and Fairy marriages lighter ones.

Camarilla appointments - The appointment of an Anti-Fairy to the camarilla court (a high position in the Anti-Fairy government), made by either the High Count or High Countess. Performed in the Blue Castle gardens, not at the Lia Fáil like coronations are.

Kiff-Tying / Becoming a medium - What happens when two Anti-Fairies die and turn to smoke near each other, and then regenerate and end up stuck together. We first saw this on a small scale when Foop and Anti-Marigold got stuck together after their Tarrow dance in “Watch and Learn”. It’s considered a highly intimate thing, as the two Anti-Fairies technically share bodies and share pain when fused together like that. A camarilla member who acts as medium to a nature spirit performs a similar sacrificial ritual to give themselves to the spirit they intend to represent.

FRIDAY THE 13TH

All Anti-Fairies are born on Friday the 13th. Or at least, they’re supposed to be, but as we learned in “String Theory”, if you capture an Anti-Fairy’s “soul” or lifesmoke and prevent it from reaching the body, it can’t be born, meaning it and its Fairy counterpart will soon die. Friday the 13th doubles as a time for Anti-Fairies to celebrate their birthdays.

The Anti-Fairies have a holiday each month that they celebrate when the 13th doesn’t fall on a Friday. If the 13th does fall on a Friday, elaborate Friday the 13th celebrations commence, and the lesser holiday may not occur that year.

MARCH ~ EARLY SPRING

13th - Champion Choosing Day - Basically a massive trivia contest for Anti-Fairy youth held at the Blue Castle. Camarilla court members quiz children at the Luna’s Landing amphitheater. Many Anti-Fairies will have already gathered nearby in preparation for the New Year celebrations in the city on the 15th, which makes the event easy to organize. Children are questioned about Anti-Fairy history, traditions, and customs before the celebrations to ensure they have a decent understanding about what it is they’re celebrating, and the camarilla court make a huge deal out of celebrating the winner by offering him or her ceremonial positions in upcoming events, introducing them to celebrities, and giving a lot of praise in front of hundreds of Anti-Fairies.

14th - Canetis Ritual - A coming-of-age ceremony for Anti-Fairy children about to turn 50 years old. They race from the Blue Castle through the woods to the nearby Anti-Fairy World capital city, Luna’s Landing. It’s a hunting ceremony, and we witnessed Anti-Cosmo participating in it during “Snake Eyes”. It only occurs during Love years.

Officially, Spring Turn occurs on the 15th. However, Fairies and Anti-Fairies alike often will celebrate it on the 14th by decorating a trellis with spring-themed decorations. Children are often given a single wrapped gift and are allowed to stay up to celebrate the New Year. There are usually treats for them, although those high in sugar are reserved for the adults. Anti-Fairies may also honor Thurmondo on this day, as he is the spirit who represents the changing of the seasons, and it’s believed that at the end of the year, he loses his memories and is reborn in his spring form.

15th - Spring Turn / The Naming of the Seasons / Naming Day / Fairy New Year - The 15th of March marks the beginning of the New Year. Mother Nature gives each year a signature name that will go down in the history books, and that name is chosen based on what year it is in the Fairy zodiac.

Anti-Fairies tend to be crazy about the influence of the zodiac, and celebrate the New Year more dramatically than Fairies and Pixies do. Every year, the Blue Castle hosts a large celebration with many events. Tarrow dances are one such event; in the 130 Prompt “Watch and Learn”, Foop and Anti-Marigold demonstrated a Tarrow dance as they tried to help Poof and Goldie not fail their Anti-Fairy ballroom class.

While the new year is always a big deal to Anti-Fairies, there are seven elements on the Fairy zodiac, and the turn of the zodiac cycle from a Leaves year to a Love year is when things really get intense. As we observed in “Fun With Yarn”, it’s tradition for Anti-Fairy children to be betrothed at a young age that evening, although not everyone engages in the practice.

The Festival of Balance - Only occurs every seven years, in the Year of Love, on the first Friday following the 15th. It’s pushed off for another week if the 15th falls on Friday, extending the celebration season by another seven days. This celebration honors Dayfry, the spirit who represents Love on the Fairy Zodiac. All Anti-Fairies born in the Love year wear purple, whereas all other Anti-Fairies dress in black with a few purple accents. The celebrations of this festival emphasize teamwork, so the events are all partner-based. Married and unmarried couples are welcome to join in, and the pair who win the most events score a lot of romantic-themed prizes and discounts at the shops in Luna’s Landing. There’s unintentionally a lot of heavy social pressure to engage in lengthy, deep kisses when they come onstage to claim them, which some couples enthuse over and others... don’t. This day is intended to foster a sense of community, build trust, and reduce pride and selfishness.

The Festival of Energy - Only occurs every seven years, in the Year of Love, the first Saturday following the Festival of Balance. This celebration honors Saturn, the spirit who represents Fire on the Fairy Zodiac. All Anti-Fairies born in the Fire year wear orange, whereas all other Anti-Fairies dress in black with a few orange accents. The Festival of Energy is a day of friendly competition and tournament jousting. There are jousting / showy magic fight events for all different age levels, and the victors win prizes, recognition, and get to dine at a table in the Blue Castle with the camarilla court for dinner. This is also known as the day when parents tell their children to run around and scream as much as possible in the hopes of tiring them out for bed. In fact, this day probably has the most events geared towards energetic children. This day is intended to encourage everyone to hone their fighting, flying, and running skills.

The Festival of Focus - Only occurs every seven years, in the Year of Love, the first Sunday following the Festival of Energy. This celebration honors Sunnie, the spirit who represents Water on the Fairy Zodiac. All Anti-Fairies born in the Water year wear turquoise blue, whereas all other Anti-Fairies dress in black with a few turquoise accents. The Festival of Focus emphasizes nonverbal communication, and Anti-Fairies attending the events are supposed to spend Sunday completely silent. Of course you’ll hear whispers here and there, but they’re usually quickly shushed. As with the previous two days, there are events such as dances in the morning (held in silence), but the evening is considered a tender time for individuals to reflect on things privately, or for couples to communicate without words. Anti-Fairies tend to live in noisy colonies, so being surrounded by quiet is often quite a shock. This day is intended to encourage everyone to be thankful, read, write, communicate using body language, and give letters to their friends and lovers.

The Festival of Acceptance - Only occurs every seven years, in the Year of Love, the first Monday following the Festival of Focus. This celebration honors Munn, the spirit who represents Sky on the Fairy Zodiac. All Anti-Fairies born in the Sky year wear navy blue, whereas all other Anti-Fairies dress in black with a few dark blue accents. The Festival of Acceptance is considered a day of apology and forgiveness, and is a day when Anti-Fairies are encouraged to clear their minds of anything that may be bothering them- For example, a time they wronged their conversation partner, or they may wish to confess affection. Peace is encouraged and retaliation is frowned upon. Some people may wish to do these things in private, others may want witnesses on hand. This day is famous for its massive evening Friendship Picnic outside the Blue Castle (or in the courtyard if you participated in the fundraiser for a ticket). The picnic typically turns into a lazy evening outdoor sleepover event for the night. Lots of cuddling with friends and strangers alike after dinner. Rumors run rampant through Fairy World about this one. This day is intended to soothe ruffled feelings, let go of grudges, right wrongs, and teach everyone to get along.

The Festival of Devotion - Only occurs every seven years, in the Year of Love, the first Tuesday following the Festival of Acceptance. This celebration honors Twis, the spirit who represents Soil on the Fairy Zodiac. All Anti-Fairies born in the Soil year wear brown, whereas all other Anti-Fairies dress in black with a few brown accents. The Festival of Devotion is supposed to be a time when Anti-Fairies show off for their lovers, friends, and families. This day is famous for the most dramatic and dangerous competitions, such as fighting dragons or competing to see who can undergo the most pain from various animal bites. This is the day when chaos tends to escalate, leading Anti-Fairies on adrenaline highs to cause havoc in Fairy World. Many buildings tend to get partially destroyed this day, and will be rebuilt during the next day’s events. Less thrill-seeking Anti-Fairies may settle for pie-eating contests, and very young Anti-Fairies often engage in games of Truth or Dare. Many people spend the night recovering from injuries, poison, or simply exhaustion. This day is intended to encourage the strength of individuals, and perhaps to teach humility and reliance on others as they lick their wounds and realize how much they appreciate those who are there for them. This day also encourages Anti-Fairies to take risk and cause mischief, and Fairies don’t like it very much.

The Festival of Communication - Only occurs every seven years, in the Year of Love, the first Wednesday following the Festival of Devotion. This celebration honors Winni, the spirit who represents Communication on the Fairy Zodiac. All Anti-Fairies born in the Breath year wear yellow, whereas all other Anti-Fairies dress in black with a few yellow accents. The theory behind the Festival of Communication is that Anti-Fairies should spend the day socializing, speaking only to people they don’t think they’ve ever spoken to before, though that isn’t always practical. It may simply be a day to deepen social connections with someone new you met earlier in the festivities, and to clean and repair anything that has been damaged or dirtied during the celebrations thus far. It’s considered polite to circulate, speaking with everyone and exploring on your own rather than grouping off with just your friends in little cliques. This day is definitely intended to promote unity among Anti-Fairies. Why would you want to trust and befriend Fairies when there are so many wonderful Anti-Fairies you can get to know? These are your people, and you should love, support, and fight for them when opportunity comes.

The Festival of Curiosity - Only occurs every seven years, in the Year of Love, the first Thursday following the Festival of Communication. This celebration honors Thurmondo, the spirit who represents Leaves on the Fairy Zodiac. All Anti-Fairies born in the Leaves year wear green, whereas all other Anti-Fairies dress in black with a few green accents. This is probably the most famous festival to outsiders, and the one that attracts the most tourists. The Festival of Curiosity is akin to Mardi Gras, or Carnival in Brazil. It’s full of bright colors, vibrant lights, loud music, balloons and parade floats, foreign foods from other planets, petting zoos, confetti, streamers, and all the sugar and soda that was mostly considered inappropriate to indulge in during the other days. It also hosts an inventors’ fair for young scientists, writing competitions, poetry readings, plays, and all sorts of stuff. As the evening events go on and the fireworks appear, many excited Anti-Fairies, males and females alike, may often remove articles of clothing and wave them over their heads as they cheer- the stereotypical image of chaos that pops into the heads of most Fairies when they think about this celebration. It’s not uncommon for people wearing little but sequins and fluffy boas to wander the streets and shops.

The Festival of Curiosity is the final Anti-Fairy celebration until April 13th, and marks the close of the Anti-Fairy celebratory season for another seven years. Technically it’s also the last day to have an affair with an exciting stranger when the mood is full of partying spirit, earning the day a lot of scorn from Fairies about the highly inappropriate conduct of troublesome Anti-Fairies. There are a lot of stereotypes about Anti-Fairies stripping naked in the streets and causing public disturbances as they jump, scream, and/or kiss, even if such things can be traced to a vocal few rather than the majority. As the evening fireworks end, Anti-Fairies stream into large restaurants and small shops in the city Luna’s Landing to socialize one last time before snuggling up for sleep.

Dead Day - Not an official holiday, but the nickname for the morning after the Festival of Curiosity. Many Anti-Fairies are afflicted by hangovers, or at least exhaustion, from the previous night’s party. Traditionally, colonies have competitions to see who among the early risers can find their friends in the craziest sleeping positions, and gather the most witnesses to watch and tease them as they wake up. Often, those late to rise are tossed into pools of water or lava to wake them up. It normally takes until afternoon, but this is the day everyone packs up and sluggishly heads home again. The events of the next several months are a lot quieter (and less expensive) as the Blue Castle get back on their feet.

23rd - Rhoswen’s Day - The day a figure respected by the Anti-Fairies, Jay Rhoswen, is said to have died at the hands of Anti-Shylinda. It’s not celebrated as often in the Love year as other years due to everything else going on.

24th - 31st - The eight days of Leprechauneka, as described in the episode “Crocker of Gold”. Definitely NOT celebrated by Anti-Fairies. It’s celebrated mostly by leprechauns, who are excused from school. Allegedly, this holiday was created to counteract all the bad luck caused by Anti-Fairies after their New Years celebrations. As the Anti-Fairy craziness winds down, the leprechauns spread cheer and festivities for Fairies. When Anti-Fairy festivities are extended for a week, the eight days of Leprechauneka may be pushed back as well, although leprechauns tend to deny there is any connection between the two. It’s not considered a very Daoist holiday, and Wanda’s family, who are very strictly Daoist, eschew it.

APRIL ~ MID-SPRING

1st - April Fool’s Day, although it turns out the April Fool didn’t even know he had his own day until Timmy pointed it out to him.

7th - The Fairy World Games, as seen in the episode “The Oddlympics”. It’s now become an annual event of friendly competition between Fairies, Pixies, and Anti-Fairies. For the first several years, the contest was treated extremely seriously, but it’s gradually relaxed into a more fun, playful event. Kind of like the spring version of Lughnasa, but with more emphasis on competition and less on feasting and socializing.

13th - Elders’ Day - This holiday is celebrated whenever April 13th does not fall on a Friday. Anti-Fairy youth and even adults are encouraged to seek counsel from their elders regarding struggles they may be facing. If they don’t have any issues they want to bring up, they can just exchange stories and perhaps learn a new skill or recipe. Obviously, this is one of those celebrations intended to foster community ties. Many conversations relate to either New Year events and differences in them over time, or to stories about Spring Migration.

Easter is also a Fairy holiday that takes place sometime in April, though without the human religious influence. We learned about Fairy Easter customs of the Easter Bunny bringing duck and goose eggs to young gynes in the 130 Prompt “Mature”.

MAY ~ LATE SPRING

Spring Migration Season - A time when Anti-Fairies across Anti-Fairy World travel to a single location to mingle en masse. The High Count and High Countess pick a week each year, usually in early May but sometimes in April as long as it’s between the two 13ths.

The First General of the Anti-Fairies actually organize events for Spring Migration, and the High Count and Countess do not migrate with the rest of the group. This is also the time of year when Anti-Fairy children attend summer camp at Camp Wannahurtastranger (“Two and a Half Babies”). This tradition began during Anti-Cosmo’s reign for children too young to attend migration. Legend has it that the reason the First General oversees Spring Migration is to allow the High Count and Countess to get everyone out of the Blue Castle before the 13th so they could have privacy to be lovey-dovey on that holiday. Anti-Cosmo, being creche father of the Blue Castle colony, actually oversees Camp Wannahurtastranger himself. Anti-Wanda helps.

This seems like a good time to point out that the Fairies also have a summer camp called Camp Ridawingedhorsie, which is located very near Camp Wannahurtastranger. And also Abracatraz. We take the safety of our bouncy, elastic children very seriously in Fairy World.

13th - The Day of Unspoken Bonds - One of the most stereotyped Anti-Fairy holidays, and one that Fairies look down on. This and the 14th are basically Valentine’s Day for Anti-Fairies; they occur three months after the Fairy holiday Lovers’ Day, so there’s often a great deal of honey-locking going on at this time and that’s perhaps the reason why spring migration goes on at this time of the year. Namely on the day after the 13th, leading to the Fairy’s stereotyping the 13th as the day when Anti-Fairies get with as many people they want just because they’re around each other. While such mingling does occur among many Anti-Fairies, the Fairies tend to blow the numbers out of proportion.

19th - Drone Appreciation Day - A day when gynes are supposed to appreciate their drones. Customs vary, but it’s typically a day when drones are allowed to speak their minds without fear of punishment, and make requests of the gyne they live with that the gynes are expected to honor. A little like Saturnalia. Not one of H.P.’s favorite holidays for obvious reasons.

JUNE ~ EARLY SUMMER

1st - Hy-Brasil’s Day - Similar to Earth Day, this is the day Anti-Fairies honor the spirit bear whom they believe embodies Anti-Fairy World. Many people make offerings and organize clean-up efforts to ensure the landscape remains healthy and pleasant, at least according to Anti-Fairy standards.

13th - Spring Cleaning - Throughout most of the year, the acolytes in the seven Zodiac Temples keep the Temples clean. Spring Cleaning allows youth to tour the different Temples, hear the acolytes talk about their jobs, and help the acolytes clean some small part of the Temple. Fairies are allowed to attend this event too, and the Anti-Fairies take advantage of the opportunity to educate them about the traditional Zodii beliefs that many Anti-Fairies hold. Along with the rest of his litter, Foop was born during this time, so the events of “Anti-Poof” take place on this day.

20th - Summer Turn - The first day of summer. As with the other three turn of the season festivals, Fairies and Anti-Fairies decorate a trellis with summer-themed decorations, and children are often given a single wrapped gift. Many adults will indulge in candy and soda to welcome the summer season. The big clock seen in “School’s Out! The Musical” rings it in with a bang.

23rd - Midsummer’s Eve - Officially falls on the 23rd, but if you thought the Fairies would limit their festivities to one day, you thought wrong. This time of year tends to be extremely exciting for them. Some believe their magic runs stronger at this time, while others believe that to be pure superstition. Either way, it’s a festive time of year that generally involves lots of friendliness, socializing, dancing, and sugar. Imagine a square dance / polka atmosphere. Lots of neighbors hanging out on their front stoops in traditional Fairy clothing, clapping and dancing together.

Fairies aren’t as organized and unified as Anti-Fairies, so they don’t have big, decorated festivals. People tend to celebrate individually with their families at home, or at parties with their friends. But you can certainly find raves, clubs, and other such gatherings in every major city and dozens of towns across the board. Imagine Midsummer Night... every night... for 2-3 weeks.

Many Fairies even duck down to romp around on Earth, and supposedly this is one day when godparents can visit past godchildren who have forgotten them, even if they’re not supposed to interact directly or share their names.

Do not interrupt the Fairies when they’re partying at this time of year. It will not end well for you. Even the Anti-Fairies keep low.

JULY ~ MID-SUMMER

9th - Day of Daoine - A Daoist celebration to honor the dead one knew in life. More a family event than a public one. If the dead was an immediate family member, such as a child or sibling, a place may be set out for them during meals, and their favorite places in the house to sit or play may be left untouched. Sometimes, people may hold conversations with a nonexistent person while facing an empty place, particularly if they feel there is something they need to get off their chest, or some sort of family event to report such as the birth of a child.

13th - Flight’s Honor Festival - A festival where Anti-Fairies set aside magic and flight, and spend the day flying kites and racing boats. In fact, Anti-Fairies bind up their wings on this day to experience what it would be like to live a day completely without them. Many Anti-Fairies race little flying cloudships or makeshift crafts across the Teal Region (above Canada) instead of flying with their wings.

This is one celebration without strong Anti-Fairy cultural ties. Anti-Fairies are quite happy to allow other people join them in these events. The objective is to show off your boat and remember to be grateful for what you have, and to better understand the plight of those who don’t have wings or magic. Another common event is venturing out to a town with a friend to enjoy a meal together, walking without flying. Anti-Cosmo’s litter were born on this day. It’s one of his and Anti-Wanda’s favorite holidays, as it mixes boats with the sky.

July 27th - Hawthorn Haven Founding Day - The day the young cloudland colony Hawthorn Haven was founded. Its distance from Fairy World makes it semi-independent, although it would struggle to sustain itself if cut off from Fairy World completely. It’s Fairy World’s wayward child of a tropical island nation for now.

AUGUST ~ LATE SUMMER

First Sunday of August - Lughnasa - A Fairy festival of feasting, athletic competitions, and strong ties to Daoist beliefs. The most famous tradition is mountain or hill climbing. This festival honors harvest season, and the Year of Promise tradition traces its origins back to the custom of trial marriages once commonly made during Lughnasa. In fact, Lughnasa is still the most common time of year for courting couples to consider marriage, and there tends to be a lot of pressure during this time on couples who are hesitant to commit.

13th - Children’s Day - A day to honor children. Children are encouraged to teach their parents a skill or otherwise involve them in what they like to do. Parents are encouraged to listen to any advice or complaints their child might have for them. Exact ways of celebrating can vary, but children often choose what they want to eat, are exempt from chores, and may be allowed to stay up as long as they want or indulge in things they’re often forbidden from doing. Although officially an Anti-Fairy holiday, many Fairies enjoy celebrating this one just for fun.

30th - The day Anti-Shylinda Anti-Coppertalon and Anti-Kahnii Anti-Skyspirit allegedly became the first High Countess and High Count of the Anti-Fairies, and began to organize Anti-Fairy society. The Anti-Coppertalon royal family came from their union.

SEPTEMBER ~ EARLY AUTUMN

13th - Autumn Masquerade - One of the most famous Anti-Fairy holidays, because this is one day when Fairies are encouraged to venture into Anti-Fairy World and mingle for one of several large costume balls held throughout Anti-Fairy World. Anti-Fairies typically wear costumes honoring their family’s totem animal, and many Fairies choose to honor insects. Also has a history of Fairies appropriating Anti-Fairy totem animal culture in offensive ways.

Tensions ran high during Anti-Bryndin’s reign due to the War of the Sunset Divide and then the War of the Angels, so the Blue Castle had a ban on this event for ages. The one-shot “Live For the Moment” covers how Foop first met Anti-Coriander during this event.

15th - Autumn Turn - The first day of autumn. As with the other three turn of the season festivals, Fairies and Anti-Fairies decorate a trellis with autumn-themed decorations, and children are often given a single wrapped gift. Many adults will indulge in candy and soda to welcome the summer season. The big clock seen in “School’s Out! The Musical” rings it in with a bang.

The stars have been said to glow brightest during this time of year, which is very important for a society with no real sunrises and sunsets who receive most of their light from the stars. The stars will dim again in spring.

25th - The day the defeat of The Darkness is celebrated. Typically involves candles, wands, fires, and anything else that can be lit filling all of Fairy World. Tends to be very colorful and beautiful.

OCTOBER ~ MID-AUTUMN

13th - Patrons’ Day - A day when Fairies and Anti-Fairies alike celebrate the insect or bat their subspecies “shares their wings with”. Many parents read picture books about what it means for Fairies and Anti-Fairies to share approximately 1/3 of their genes with a particular insect or bat. Decorations are usually put up for a few weeks, and children often draw pictures. This is also a day when the different Fairy and Anti-Fairy subspecies celebrate their own individual subspecies and what those ties mean to them. Some people may also use it as a day to educate others and counter stereotypes about their race. It’s always been against Da Rules in Fairy culture to kill your own patron, but it becomes especially taboo to capture insects around this day.

21st - The day of the annual Bake-Off, as seen in the episode “Balance of Flour”. It honors the truce that ended the War of the Angels. Fairies and Anti-Fairies present a single baked good to be judged by the nature spirits, and the victor wins the rights to the human godchildren for the following year. Pixies are not allowed to participate in this event, and historically, Fairies always win.

NOVEMBER ~ LATE AUTUMN

13th - Humblefest - A sort of celebrity meet-and-greet among Anti-Fairies. The High Count and Countess select one location in Anti-Fairy World, such as a town or famous landmark, and all sorts of nobles and famous faces travel to that location to mingle with the commonfolk while wearing casual clothing. This event is meant to remind commoners that the noble class are people just like them, and to remind the nobles of the same thing. It’s less of a ceremony and more a friendly, casual, social atmosphere. The Blue Castle tends to get raided or otherwise attacked during this time when so many of its people are away.

Gray Tuesday - Occurs just after Black Friday and Cyber Monday. It’s a Pixie holiday, and a very busy day for magical shoppers. The 130 Prompt “This Is a Box” centers around Gray Tuesday.

DECEMBER ~ EARLY WINTER

First Thursday following Thanksgiving - The annual Fairy Reunion - Mentioned in the comic “Cower Hour”, it’s a sort of formal dinner party for Fairies from all walks of life. It differs from Fairy Con, which is more of a carnival sort of thing and only for Fairies. Pixies and recently Anti-Fairies are permitted to attend the Reunion, and godparents are occasionally invited to bring their godkids. Big-name Fairies are frequently found there, but the atmosphere is very elegant and formal, so it’s no Humblefest. It’s sort of a winter kick-off party and even has a gift exchange. The 130 Prompts “Do The Math” and “Take a Break” center around the Fairy Reunion.

13th - Fest of the Phoenix - Many Anti-Fairies believe in reincarnation, and specifically that when Anti-Fairies die, they become aspects of nature. This somber festival is intended to honor the dead, and remind nature-loving Anti-Fairies that even in the more dreary seasons, they can still remember their ancestors. Because Anti-Fairy bodies turn to smoke, this festival is heavily associated with phoenixes, fire, and burnt offerings. Anti-Fairies typically dress in white on this day just as they do at funerals, hoping that the color white will attract bad luck to them and away from the dead.

20th - Winter Turn - The first day of winter. As with the other three turn of the season festivals, Fairies and Anti-Fairies decorate a trellis with winter-themed decorations, and children are often given a single wrapped gift. Many adults will indulge in candy and soda to welcome the summer season. The big clock seen in “School’s Out! The Musical” rings it in with a bang.

25th - Krisday - Basically Fairy Christmas; it’s the day Fairies give all their magic to Santa so he can grant at least one specific wish to every child who writes him a letter. Fairies gather in front of the Big Wand, or in front of smaller replicas of it, and channel all their magic to Kris Kringle / Santa Claus. It wasn’t originally on the 25th, but could occur any time after Winter Turn. It’s blended with Christmas in modern times.

31st - Tribute Day - As a thank you for fighting alongside ancient Fairies during the Sealing War, the Snobulacs (pompous crocodilian aliens from the episode “Desperate Without Housewives”) demand tribute from Fairy World every year. The tribute is expected to arrive sometime in the latter half of December, and if it doesn’t arrive before the 31st, they can get pretty ticked off.

JANUARY ~ MID-WINTER

Winter Migration Season - Another major gathering event for Anti-Fairies across the board. The High Count and High Countess pick a week each year that’s considered “migration week”, usually in early January but sometimes in December as long as it’s after Winter Turn. Traditionally, Anti-Fairies should fly to the migration gathering place as opposed to poofing straight there. There are many events and activities, and people mingle and play games.

6th - Twelfth Night - One of the more famous Fae holidays, and typically stereotyped with the huldufólk. Basically a day when everyone is expected to party and get completely drunk.

13th - Bards’ Night - The Anti-Fairies, currently on winter migration, don’t need to host another big social event on top of the one they’re currently involved in. January 13th is simply the night that hopeful musicians, poets, and other entertainers can appear on stage and perform before a crowd. The idea behind this holiday is to let newbies have their day- no experienced performers allowed on stage. The hopeful bards can request critique if they want to, but some just want to be the center of attention for fun. Some years Bards’ Night swings more towards an all-night music festival, other times towards a stand-up comedy or talent show. Sometimes you find incredible new talent, and sometimes it’s incredibly awkward for everyone involved. You never know.

14th - The day Anti-Cosmo was coronated as High Count, following his overthrowing of Anti-Bryndin. He became the first non-Anti-Coppertalon in history to claim the High Count seat. Traditionally, Anti-Cosmo or an assigned spokesperson give a speech every year reminding people how and why the shift in leadership occurred.

31st - Widow’s Night - A Fairy holiday conveniently placed right before February hits and one’s thoughts all turn to romance. This is a time to cook meals for and visit those who’ve lost their loved ones. It’s most practiced by the fairy subspecies themselves, since they tend to reject serial monogamy and only choose one mate for life. Juandissimo, who’s convinced himself Wanda was his soulmate and he can never love another, makes a big deal out of Widow’s Night, to Remy’s irritation.

FEBRUARY ~ LATE WINTER

Cherub Migration - An event that lasts several days in early February as many cherubs migrate from the Eros Nest to the Fairy World town of Mistleville, after which they will split to fly throughout Fairy World in preparation for the 14th. It’s said that the cherubs reveal one’s soulmate if one visits Mistleville as they pass through. We observed that tradition in “Love Struck Out”. Nowadays, the Mistleville visit doubles as a Pride Festival.

12th - Pixalchia Day - A Pixie holiday, typically one also celebrated with the anti-pixies. It’s generally focused on indulging in sugar and taking a break from work to either run and dance or rest and relax, so there aren’t many organized activities.

13th - Friendship Day - An Anti-Fairy holiday when married men are expected to treat an unmarried friend, if they have one, to lunch as a way to prove that they still care about their friends even during the stereotypically romantic season. It has its origins in the long-ago custom of married men asking an unmarried friend to take a cherub’s arrow for them on the 14th if necessary so the married man might remain true to his wife instead of accidentally falling in love with someone else. Friendship Day is associated with the color yellow and was the subject of the one-shot “Yellow Flower Number 9”.

14th - Lovers’ Day (Valentines Day) - Basically exactly what we saw in the episode “Love Struck”. Cupid does his thing and it’s a day to celebrate love. Obviously, it’s associated with pink, purple, and red. As you can see, it’s one of the last holidays of the year on the Fairy calendar, and carries a vibe of thanking one’s lover for sticking with them another year.

I reserve the right to create more celebrations if I need to, though I think this will be sufficient. Do you have suggestions? Are there any events you’re dying to see me write about with certain characters? Let me know! I’d be interested in doing collab projects revolving around some of these holidays too.

These events are free to use in your fanart or fanfics, by the way, and please send me a link or ‘fic title so I can check them out!

#FAIRIES!#Bat cube and associates #ridwriting #Frayed Knots #Holidays #Fairy holidays #Celebrations #Festivals #130 Prompts #Origin of the Pixies #Long post

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