#if you feel that certain ships getting revealed as blood related would make you feel bad sad and depressed; maybe you should consider WHY-

[fizzyjacuzzi]

delete later

edit: you know what i don't think i'm deleting this. putting this out there.

[autumnsorbet]

Arthur Feeling for Merlin

Art by ( suzuen )

I'm questioning whether or not Arthur in seven deadly sins and a four nights is in love with Merlin short answer is I'm like 80% sure he is in love with her sadly and considering how nakuba does the writing for Arthur and Merlin at times I just feel so scared of what could happen in the future I don't really want to see a ship happen between these two even though they are both in their 30s, and it's kind of weird cuz Merlin raised Arthur I do think he has an unrequited love for her that maybe in seven sins he didn't realize it was love but maybe is he got older between seven sins and four nights he realized he was in love with her maybe confessed to her at one point I don't know we probably won't get up back story till the end of this manga like with the first one

Iv seen a lot of post over the years about Merlin's feelings for Arthur and a few one Arthur feelings but nobody's really going into deep explanation as to how and why certain characters feel certain things or if they have a lot of those older post I've seen are deleted so I've decided to make my own I didn't want to do this for a while I just haven't had time

🟠perralles between escanor and Arthur

❤️Royalty,power,and they're love for merlin

🟣Royalty

I know you're probably wondering why bring up escanor and Arthur well they have a lot of parallels a lot of people have talked about them before but I don't see it discussed as much as it used to be but there are a lot there was even a point I thought

Maybe they were possibly related like now that we know in the current story that Arthur isn't a pin dragon by blood it could be possible that maybe escanor was Arthur's uncle like maybe his brother survived and had a kid and that kid turned out to be Arthur but this is just me guessing or making up a theory so let's get into the parallels between them

🩷

Both Arthur and escanor are the second son of a royal family from the south though Arthur was adopted into the royal family of Camelot he ended up becoming its king I'm not sure why his older brother kay wasn't picked to be king but maybe in Camelot you have to prove yourself by doing a heroic task to be the king maybe it's not by bloodline, or people really just saw that kay was a spoiled brat and did not want him on the throne 😅

And as you can tell both escanor and Arthur's older siblings didn't seem to like them much and as we saw in escanor's flashbacks in the anime and I believe even the manga his older brother was abusive towards him and during one of his abusive attacks escanor unlocked sunshine and hurt his older brother

I'm not sure when it was revealed I would have to go back and look or see if it was maybe in a q&a but it was revealed that escanor's Kingdom that he originally came from was destroyed by Viking Invaders got caught in a war and was destroyed

And as we all know from the seven deadly sins series Arthur's home Camelot was destroyed sadly

Escanor had no interest in his home since everyone including his own parents turned on him the only person he had to look to for comfort and Hope was his caretaker/aid I believe who watched over him Rosa, but as we know Rosa passed away because

escanor went and visited her in the capital of the Dead and then at some point later on escanor meets Merlin and falls in love with her but not just because she looks like Rosa because as he said she saw him as his own person and never truly treated him like a monster

Same with Arthur kinda,king Uther was busy being King so probably didn't have much time for even his own biological son kay,let alone Arthur and not sure if Arthur had friends or not when he was younger

Cuz we've only had a side chapter to explore his backstory when he was younger we still don't even know how he met Merlin outside of cover art an few flash back panels scattered throughout 300+

chapters, I'm hoping at some point in four nights we get more on Arthur and Merlin's backstory and how they met because why was Merlin just allowed to take Arthur because he's not a biological child of the throne maybe and they were okay with her adopting him or something it's never been clarified and I'm confused about this still to this day.

My theory is that like in all king Arthur story Arthur is still king Uther son by blood but he adopted Arthur so no one would know he had a child outside his marriage to cover everything up and his affair

🟠Power

As we now escanor had sunshine a power/Grace that came from the supreme deity and with this power in the daytime! Physical appearance and a personality change but at night he was his normal self

☀️

🌌

And then there's Arthur who has chaos and as we can see in the sequel series similar to how eskenor's power Sunshine changed his personality chaos has completely changed Arthur's personality after he consumed more of it

And as much as people hate to hear this between the two of them Arthur is the more powerful he has chaos which is the power to create and control reality itself chaos the being itself created all of the races but the races that resemble chaos the most were humans and due to that the supreme deity

and demon King who were also created by chaos fear that they wouldn't be loved or favorite and sealed chaos away Merlin found out about chaos and spent 3,000 years dedicating her life to finding the next Wilder of chaos who will wield it perfectly and as we know hawk mama was chaos itself and she was even in Camelot around the same time Merlin met Arthur

(go to the wiki on mama hawk it tells you she was in Camelot 10 years ago around the time the seven deadly sins were all framed for the murder of the head night Gill thunders father, in Merlin was also in Camelot around that time cuz she met Arthur whenhe was five I believe Mama hawk was there because Arthur the new host of chaos was there but at some point she met meliodas and he ended up taking hawk and hawk mama with him as he traveled around looking for the other sins and made the bar hat, although I wish they had been better foreshadowing that hawk mama was chaos I think we got to throw a line line in the movie that she was the mother of chaos but we hadn't heard of chaos any other part of the story before the chaos are so it just feels like bad foreshadowing)

but I don't think Merlin learned where chaos was stored so maybe during her travels with Arthur I don't know this is just me guessing it was never explained how Merlin knew that hawk mama was the mother of chaos is she called her in the first seven deadly sins movie

Arthur chaos power has consumed his original personality like how escanor personality was somewhat consumed by sunshine

🔵

And merlin

Do I think escanor loves Rosa yes the same way I believe unfortunately that Arthur does love Merlin the same way I think I've said this before even this post or another but it wasn't really uncommon for the time that the story is set in for people to fall in love with older people in their lives such as tutors and mentors and even older cousins 🤢 or relatives or a family in-laws or older family friends

It's even still kind of like that today we're older people want to not really date in their own age range but date someone older because they feel that they have more answers or a bit more maturity to them and that people around their own age just don't have anything they're looking for

But an escanor and even Arthur's case Rosa and Merlin were their soul caretaker who took care of them and risked their lives for them unconditionally

Already talked about how escanor fell for merlin but he didn't just fall for her because she looked like Rosa he fell from Merlin as he got to know her over time and I believe the same happened let Arthur but

I'm going to try to look at this from both Merlin and Arthur's point of view from Merlin's point of view Arthur is someone she loves and cherished not just as a student but like a child maybe although it hasn't really been said that's just the feeling you kind of get through her body language and how much she cares for Arthur we still don't know much about Arthur and Merlin's past we've only gotten pieces that's led up to the current day with the fake Merlin and Camelot that sorry for spoilers is no longer around cuz Arthur killed her off after

plot device

🤭 (sorry ) Guinevere called Arthur out for making what she thought was an illusion of Merlin but was actually a fairy he captured that he had take on Merlin's form since she's no longer with him for some reason

There another think to merlins other love interest meliodas and both escanor

Although Merlin wasn't able to reciprocate eskenor's feelings she did kiss him goodbye and keep the burns that show that he was alive and it's proof that there was one man alive who loved her we also know due to 3,000 years ago and The holy war she met meliodas and fell in love with him but he already had Elizabeth

And I seen people ask before and even talked about it another post people have asked with Merlin still have searched for chaos if maybe she had met eskenor 3000 years ago or even if she had fallen in love and meliodas that loved her back and the answer is yes Merlin is a curious person she's the type of person that like she did with the seven deadly sins would have went by behind their back in order to search for chaos to feel her own curiosity so even if her lover had been meliodas or escanor 3000 years ago she still would have looked for chaos even if she had met eskenor 3000 years ago he's still human he would have died eventually maybe in his late 60s-80s like most humans do

So even after his death she still would have looked for chaos to get over her sadness

And then when it comes to Arthur love for merlin

Do I think Arthur's in love with Merlin 😮‍💨

The thing for me on one hand I think chaos is taking Arthur's ideas and feelings too far I don't think he had maybe ever wanted to bring people back but if he got corrupted by the fragment of chaos he absorbed and made him want to bring people back do I think he probably loves Merlin yes 😐 and now maybe there are some unrequired feelings he never realized he had that of come to the surface and it's coming off as love

On the other hand he could fully be in love with her cuz like I said earlier in this post people have been known in this time The story set in to fall for their mentors and older people and looking back at the

story we never really saw or got to see Arthur interact with people of his kingdom or if he had friends or anything or even see him interact with his brother or even meet his sister Morgana lafaye if she's in the story at all we didn't see him get to form any relationships with anyone around his age the only other person around Arthur's age was Elizabeth but her soul character was tied to meliodas and the sins and her curse I wish we could have seen a

friendship develop between Arthur Elizabeth go through and maybe some of the other younger characters like Jericho as well that would have been cool and it could have been set up Jericho working for Arthur down the line cuz I don't think they ever met or even know each other at all in the story looking back I think they talked once the same time Arthur met escanor and that's the only interaction they ever had,

it also has me wondering about eskenor's jealousy towards Arthur, like some others have said I always stop asking or jealousy towards Arthur was a bit odd I think it would only be natural for Merlin to care for Arthur because like I said she sees him as a student / child of her own I don't think she has any romantic feelings for him maybe ,

but maybe even though they met once maybe due to how Merlin seems so attached to Arthur and said how she felt like Arthur was her hope and then later on in the chapter after Arthur's got stabbed with Excalibur well being mind-controlled

escanor over here Merlin's talk about how important Arthur was to her the same way meliodas is important to Elizabeth that could be interpreted as loves from an outside point of view which I think escanor did

maybe Arthur even overheard this in his unconscious state of sleep and is mistaking Merlin's feelings for love after all

looking back Merlin has been there for so many important moments in the story with Arthur from him getting stabbed with Excalibur to him getting chaos and even them going to lions in the first arc

Even though I don't like it and I hope this doesn't come up but considering how nakuba does his writing in this story

we're going to find out that Arthur is indeed probably in Love with Merlin and this probably for me when it comes to the story and how nakuba does his characters in relationships in nanatsu no taizai and four knights,

it's a big 80% we'll see that Arthur loves her and at some point either confessed to Merlin had feelings for Merlin just never said anything because he learned that Merlin was in love with meliodas

I'm sure at some point Arthur even asked Merlin about the burns on her face and she probably told him what happened with escanor,

because again looking back at it we saw in the save by light movie Merlin had her face covered and I thought that was weird I didn't think it was Merlin but from what I was told it was her

maybe at some point Merlin noticed that Arthur seem bothered by the burns on her face so she covered it

but when it comes to the fake Merlin that was in 4knights Camelot we never got to see her full face but what if her face just looked normal like Merlin used to before she got the kiss burns on her face and even if maybe she still did have the burns on the fake version of Merlin maybe that's why the her face was covered because Arthur never liked those Burns he was jealous that escanor got to kiss Merlin and

eave a mark on her that was everlasting and he might not be ever be able to get the chance do I think Arthur is in love with Merlin sadly yes do I think it'll come up in the story also sadly yes do I think it's going to lead to anything big possibly like a said before considering who's writing the story Arthur being in love with Merlin might have been used as a way to show Guinevere and how sassy she could be and even upset Arthur to the point

where he destroyed the fake illusion that was over the ferry and killed the fairy he even mentioned how he was starting to consider her as the real thing but at the end of the day we're going to see Merlin again and she and Arthur are going to come face to face and he's either going to confess to her or Merlin's already going to know Arthur's feelings and have probably already rejected him and he's probably still not over it

I used to ship Merlin and Arthur and when I saw that they were still together in four nights I was actually happy but then going back rereading the story again after a few years cuz I hadn't read in a long time and then reading four nights up to where I think at the time I started reading it was on chapter 40 I realized I no longer shipped or life to the idea of Merlin and Arthur being together because I completely had forgotten cuz I hadn't read it in a long time that Merlin was secretly a 13-14year-old I do have a theory that maybe Merlin undead her ceiling spell and maybe if she could start to age like a normal human and that way by the time she and Arthur were a bit older they would be in their twenties at the same time and then and their actual 30s at the same time as well even though technically she is thousands of years old Merlin would be 22 or 23 when Arthur 26 and that would also add up kind of in the timeline cuz I was trying to piece the timeline together based off of what some other characters have said in the story as to when Arthur started acting weird so I'm wondering if Merlin maybe did start to age alongside Arthur and he developed feelings for her in that sense as well could something have happened between now or maybe Merlin was no longer in her kid form and actually did age and go until adulthood from the same time as Arthur maybe they had a kid together I don't know this is just a random theory that I kind of also hope doesn't come true but still thought I'd share it

Sorry this is so long

And if it's there a certain parts on repeating myself for a few parts I maybe don't make a complete sense it's because I kept getting interrupted while trying to type this out sorry ,,😮‍💨

[aeonghaseyo]

Your Trace, My Treasure

Summary: Marc and Nathaniel write and draw, respectively, on each others' notebooks because it's DEFINITELY a couple thing to do.

Word Count: 2105 AO3 link

Relationship/s: Nathaniel Kurtzberg/Marc Anciel Category: M/M Characters: Nathaniel Kurtzberg, Marc Anciel, Alix Kubdel (mentioned), Marinette Dupain-Cheng (mentioned), Juleka Couffaine (mentioned), Rose Lavillant (mentioned), Alya Cesaire (mentioned) Language used: English Author's Note: The creators of MLB really need to give the side characters screen time. The love square isn't the only romantic set of ships in the show and there are much more cute ships to write about. And so in my first time of writing a Miraculous Ladybug fanfic, it's about a ship that's entirely not part of the love square. This is my final workshop output from a creative writing class I enrolled in during the summer to get units in advance. Special thanks to my professor and two of my classmates for their feedback; I couldn't have made this work even more wonderful without their help. For the non-love-square ship and this being a successful workshop output thus far, I think I'm gonna give myself a pat on the back and more fanfic ideas to write. :)

Compared to the courtyard at Françoise Dupont High School where the lively chattering of students can be heard and the scrambling of footsteps were a staple, the art room was its own entire world of silence.

It was supposed to be a calming silence in that same art room where Marc and Nathaniel were to work on art-related endeavors of their own, but the former found this unwelcoming and rather deafening. It weighed down on his being that the atmosphere was unbearably awkward, much like he was most of the time even before he met Nathaniel and became his partner in creating comic books about Ladybug, Chat Noir, and their akumatized alter-egos who turned good and served as part of the superhero duo’s akuma-fighting team. Despite a remarkable development from being acquaintances, to newfound partners, and now to a bloomed romantic couple, Marc Anciel, as awkward as ever and still testing the waters on this newfound relationship, couldn’t shake this nagging feeling of inadequacy as someone’s significant other.

It just goes to show him that even though his romantic feelings for Nathaniel had been reciprocated at Day 0, it does not remove the remaining unease that Marc currently feels at Day 1. It was his first time in a relationship, and it was with the boy whose drawings he admired so much from the school paper. Simply put, it was too good to be true.

Unfortunately, the awkwardness Marc felt wasn’t masked enough, and Nathaniel immediately noticed from his place by the table beside his raven-haired beau. How could he not? It was very obvious, from the way Marc’s hand shakily distorted his usually refined, elegant script while writing the next chapter of their comic to the way his expression was contorted as if he was constipated. Nathaniel thought to himself that it was still an adorable sight, but clearly, something was up, and it wouldn’t do well to just ignore whatever troubled his beloved partner. Attempting to break the ice, the redhead cleared his throat, then spoke to call Marc’s attention.

“Marc.”

The novelist jolted in surprise at the utterance of his name. “Y-yes, Nathaniel?”

Leaning in for a better view of the page Marc was writing on, Nathaniel replied, “Your handwriting’s different.”

“W-wait, really?” blurted out Marc, quickly covering the page with his gloved hand. “I d-didn’t know you were p-particular with handwriting.”

Nathaniel placed a gentle, caring hand on his boyfriend’s with a smile aimed directly at him as he clarified himself, “It’s not that, Marc. I’ve seen it and it’s great. Right now, it just looks… wobbly. You’re nervous, aren’t you?”

Even if Nathaniel was a recluse in his own class, he could very well read into the emotions of people, but he doesn’t show it that often. As endearing as it was as a show of concern towards shy Marc, it was also overwhelming for the raven-haired novelist to have been the subject of such deep perception, even from the boy his heart palpitates for.

It was then that Marc’s fight or flight response reminded him in a split-second that he needed some sort of diversion for Nathaniel not to remind him of his own awkwardness.

“Isn’t it weird that our art teacher didn’t come here?” Marc rapidly questioned as he struggled not to look at the red-haired boy beside him. Despite this attempt to keep Nathaniel’s focus off of his disposition, glancing towards the door and not at Nathaniel did not help stop the blood from rushing to the novelist’s fair cheeks. His partner might be tired of this, of him, already, but that light chuckle of pure amusement coming from Nathaniel disproved that thought.

“Hey, hey, settle down Marc,” chided Nathaniel, “he might be running late. It’s okay for us to use the art room so long as it’s reserved around this time. Good thing that he reserved it at an earlier time than usual.”

With innocent green eyes, the raven-haired boy looked his boyfriend in the eye and asked, “H-he can do that?”

“Of course, he can. Let’s just wait for him, okay?” reassured Nathaniel, his left hand making its way on Marc’s right shoulder discreetly. “I’m sure my other classmates will arrive here shortly too.”

A shy smile emerged from Marc’s face as he replied, “Okay, Nath.”

Suddenly, a ringtone from the phone which was in Nathaniel’s pocket sounded audibly enough to catch both the boys’ attention. The redhead immediately fished out the device from his pocket and unlocked it, revealing three unread text messages from his close friend Alix.

Hey Nath! Something came up and I couldn’t swing by the art room. Love troubles again with Marinette. Juleka and Rose are also helping out with me so they can’t come.

I can’t believe that Marinette got invited personally by Adrien to his photoshoot but she can’t even give him her handmade gift or ask him out. Because she’s such a wuss, I got dragged here in the park by Rose because Mari needs all of her girl friends to push her towards Golden Boy Agreste YET AGAIN.

And apparently Alya alone couldn’t do it. Sorry! You’ll have Marc to keep you company anyway. Have fun! ;)

So much for those girls coming over to the art room. Nathaniel let out a sigh as he muttered, just enough for Marc to hear, “I stand corrected. The others aren’t coming.”

Catching on his partner’s crest-fallen demeanor and gazing at his face with sympathetic green orbs, Marc replied, “Guess it’s just the two of us for now.”

The next minutes were spent in silence again, with Marc continuing to finish a paragraph while Nathaniel sketched a bird’s eye view of the Eiffel tower as the background in one panel of the comic storyboard in his notebook. After several minutes elapsed, however, curiosity got the best of Marc, and so, with the tip of his pen lingering on the period of his last sentence, he kept on glancing at Nathaniel and the storyboarding he was working on. Besides the sheer focus that was evident in Nathaniel’s turquoise orbs, the shy novelist couldn’t help but notice the fine, steady strokes his beau’s hand were making with his fine-pointed mechanical pencil. So neat, so pristine. It’s amazing how he didn’t need an eraser to erase certain portions of his drawings over and over.

Marc had seen artist sketches himself of both people and objects, mostly done by his friend Marinette. As someone aspiring to become a fashion designer, she would be engrossed in sketching designs day by day, passion ignited by the sparks of inspiration she draws from around her. However, since Marinette’s sketches had obvious hints of disorder, as it normally is with crude artist sketches, it clearly contrasted with the otherwise structured sketches Nathaniel makes for his comic books. Marc, fully in awe, couldn’t help but take a break from his writing and stare at the red-haired illustrator’s creative process right next to him.

Meanwhile, Nathaniel, thanks to the strong, overbearing feeling of being watched, was getting overly conscious of his work. Keeping his composure to the best of his ability, he quickly turned to Marc and asked, “Do you need something Marc?”

Snapped out of his trance wide-eyed, Marc inwardly panicked. ‘Oh no, I must be staring at him too long! I hope I didn’t spook him too much.’

Scrambling for a sensible response, the novelist stuttered out, “I-i want to write something in your notebook.”

Setting down his pencil while his turquoise eyes were still on Marc, Nathaniel blinked inquisitively. “Oh, why would you want to do that?”

“B-because,” the shy writer reasoned, “I want to write something to remind you of me. T-that is, if y-you don’t mind.”

The red-haired teen averted his gaze from his partner as he remarked, “You know I don’t let anyone write on my notebook, Marc.”

This response triggered the disappointment that Marc had anticipated from the moment that they started continuing to develop the rest of the comic book they were working on together. It was even more daunting for the timid writer that their art teacher and the rest of Nathaniel’s classmates who were usually in the art room with them did not show up at that moment, or even at all. Marinette would tell Nathaniel that it’s a great idea for his newfound love to leave special traces on his personal notebook while Rose, somehow finding this romantic, would gush at this gesture with Juleka mumbling to herself in response. But what would have been the cherry on top for Marc at the moment is that if Alix was there to egg on Nathaniel, pressuring him to give in and let his boyfriend write something in his notebook. At least the comic relief from Alix’s teasing would help alleviate the collective awkwardness the couple felt at that moment. God, if only it wasn’t just the two of them in the art room at that moment.

But alas, he was alone, helpless and daunted, and he was facing the dragon which was Nathaniel, or whatever Nathaniel thought of him at that moment.

However, all of the fears and doubts that plagued Marc left him when Nathaniel continued with a small, endearing smile on his face, “But for you, I’ll make an exception.”

The novelist beamed at his boyfriend, green eyes sparkling with delight. “R-really?”

“In one condition.”

Marc took and held in a quick breath. “Anything, Nath.”

The illustrator picked up his pencil once again and uttered, with an outstretched hand right by Marc’s notebook, “Let me draw in your notebook.”

It was at that moment when Marc could feel his heart flutter, accompanied by the butterflies in his stomach as he opened his own notebook to the very last page and laid it out right by his beau’s workspace.

“It would be my pleasure.”

In a span of 2 minutes while Nathaniel was drawing on the last page of his boyfriend’s notebook, Marc, fidgeting and tapping his pen softly on his chin, racked his brain for a simple yet memorable piece to write on the first page of the illustrator’s notebook, which was left empty out of personal preference by its owner. Hoping to obtain bit by bit of inspiration, he glanced at Nathaniel, then at the empty page, then at Nathaniel, and so on and so forth. This went on, albeit unnoticed by the redhead, until mere seconds after, he scribbled away on the page once he had gotten attuned with his creative writing flow.

After both of them finished leaving their traces on each other’s notebook pages, Nathaniel and Marc gave each other back their notebooks and instantly opened them to where they each left their special mark. Struck with awe, the novelist softly traced the outline of the drawing and his emerald eyes were drawn to Nathaniel’s signature which he left underneath the recently drawn portrait. A tinge of pink formed on Marc’s cheeks as he admired every stroke that constituted this drawing of him done by none other than the boy he once looked up to, now loved, and who loved him back.

“No one’s written me a poem before,” Nathaniel uttered as he perused every line written by Marc on that now extra special page in his notebook, eyes taking in every word written in that distinct elegant script that served as an epitome of beauty that the redhead beheld. One particular line at the end of the writing, however, caught him by surprise: the words ‘Je t’aime’ accompanied by Marc’s signature in that same fancy handwriting the illustrator adored dearly.

Having regained his composure, Marc turned to Nathaniel and asked, “Do you like the poem? I-i thought of it on the spot so it might not exactly be to your liking, but-”

“I love it,” interrupted the red-haired teen breathlessly, wrapping an arm around his significant other and squeezing his shoulder. “Really Marc, you make the most wonderful written pieces.”

An expression as bright as day graced Marc’s features as he replied, albeit with a bit of shyness in his voice, “Y-you really think so?”

Nathaniel threw any single hint of hesitation in his being out the window as he placed a tender, loving kiss on Marc’s forehead. “I do. We’re meant to be partnered together, after all.”

And just like that, the uncomfortable awkwardness that haunted Marc was instantly warded off, and in a flash, he enveloped Nathaniel in a tight, warm, loving embrace and leaned into him in newfound solace. The silence in the art room has never been this comforting as the couple relished in this seemingly endless embrace together.

[justheretobreakthings]

Whumpmas in July: Day 12

@whumpmasinjuly

Warmth

Also my fill for Hypothermia for @badthingshappenbingo

Read on AO3 My house, my rules, my ko-fi

When Coran had been doling out supply-gathering assignments to each of the paladins, Keith had thought nothing of his. Telrov was cold, yes. He wasn’t used to cold climates, sure. But he had his armor, and he had dealt with extreme weather before, so when Coran had asked whether Keith was up to the assignment, of course he said he was. In fact, he was almost insulted that the Altean didn’t think he could handle a bit of cold.

And sure, maybe ‘a bit of cold’ was a bit of an understatement, since it seemed that the entire dwarf planet was covered in a layer of ice that he had to hammer through with his sword in order to get to the fungi growing under the frozen soil that he needed to collect. And sure, maybe after the team’s previous mission yesterday, he should have mentioned that he had taken quite the wallop to the chestplate, but it hadn’t looked like anything had been damaged any worse than a bit of denting, and he had walked away from it with just some soreness and a bit of bruising.

How was he supposed to have known that the temperature control valve had been damaged? There had been no warning signs. Nothing but a few ticks of high pitched beeping started up while Keith was already nearly a varga’s walk through the rocky, frozen wasteland from Red’s landing site. The next thing he’d known, the heating that usually flowed evenly through the armor had disappeared.

He had tried his best not to panic. He knew where Red was, and even without the temperature control mechanisms, his armor and suit were far from flimsy. Surely he could hold out for long enough to make it back. He hadn’t gotten quite as much of the ingredient as Coran had requested, but hopefully he would be forgiven that shortcoming in light of the circumstances.

Shoving the last of the fungus he had managed to collect into the bag he’d been given to store it, he turned to start making the journey back to Red. It should be a shorter walk getting back to his landing site, in terms of time, since he didn’t have to collect anything on the return journey and he’d already broken through the spots where icicles had been thick enough to block his path. Still, despite those advantages, the return trip was slowly revealing itself to be more difficult than he would have liked.

For one thing, it was a lot harder to trudge across the ice while shivering, and that shaking worsened the longer Keith was out in the cold. The boots of his armor gave him some traction, but not enough to always keep him from slipping in places where there was no rock wall or frozen shrub to hang onto for support. More than once he lost his footing and wound up gracelessly splayed across the ice, and each time he dreaded the bruises he was likely gaining from the impacts. During one fall, a slip over the edge of a path and down a good ten feet only to land on his rear, he was certain he heard his loinguard crack – he could feel a particularly biting cold sneaking into that spot as he went on, which he tried his damnedest to ignore.

His helmet, too, was causing him trouble. His breathing, which grew steadily heavier the longer he walked, would fog up the visor with every exhale. It wasn’t completely impossible to see through – the material wasn’t quite glass, and didn’t fog up quite so badly as, say, a window or pair of glasses on Earth would – but he still had to squint through the blur enough to give him a hell of a headache to avoid walking into ice pillars or off of cliffs. He debated simply removing the helmet altogether, but exposing his bare face to the cold didn’t seem like a good idea.

So instead, he powered through, tripping and sliding across rocks and ice. His movements slowed as he grew steadily more numb, not to mention more exhausted by the minute. What he wouldn’t give right now to be back in his room on the Castle of Lions, wrapped up in as many blankets as he could find. Maybe with some of Hunk’s hot cocoa or Shiro’s tea. Not Pidge’s coffee; it was hot, sure, but it was as bitter as Lance after losing a round of sparring during training.

Heh. That was a good one. He’d have to remember it, find some point where it would be natural to use it. Lance always claimed that he had no sense of humor whatsoever, but Hunk actually said that Keith was getting better at –

In his distraction, Keith didn’t notice the thick crack in the ice in front of him until the toe of his boot was already in it, and he was sent sprawling to the ground, his vision whiting out for a flash when he landed on his chin and his jaw was knocked together.

He let out a groan and slowly rolled onto his side, curling inward. He needed to get up, keep walking, get back to Red. But God, getting up was so hard. His muscles were stiff as he could ever remember them being, his hands and feet throbbed. On a whim he tried to curl his fingers – he had no idea whether or not he succeeded, which was concering on its own.

The Garrison had covered first aid pretty extensively, and definitely had at least touched on what to do in extreme cold, considering the low temperatures that could be reached even within their own solar system, but admittedly, first aid hadn’t really been his forte. Especially not first aid related to cold. He was much more accustomed, after all, to weather that was too hot than weather that was too cold. If Telrov was a desert instead of a tundra, he’d surely be having no trouble at all. He knew what to do about overheating, and what signs to look out for.

And he knew that fatigue was a danger sign of heat exhaustion. If freezing was anything like heatstroke, his current sleepiness was probably a bad omen.

The shivering had stopped too, he noticed as he fought to keep his eyes open. Shivering was likely the cold equivalent to sweating. Another bad sign, but he found that he wasn’t quite as concerned as he was a little while ago. He was just too sleepy to be concerned.

He had never noticed before just how pillow-like permafrost was…

His oncoming sleep was interrupted suddenly, with a low, rumbling noise. Not from the world around him – Keith hadn’t encountered a single animal so far on Telrov, and it was unlikely there were any nearby that had managed to hide from him, at least none big enough to let out that low a growl – but seemingly from inside his head, echoing in his ears and worsening his headache.

I’m fine, he thought back to Red. Not because he was, but because that was his automatic, knee-jerk response whenever anyone was concerned enough about his wellbeing to actively check in on him, which the Red Lion usually only did in the direst of circumstances. When he’d spent hours getting beaten up by Blade agents, for example, or when he threw himself out of the airlock of a Galra ship and into the void of space.

He knew, on some level, that he wasn’t, in fact, fine. But at the moment, he couldn’t quite recall what exactly was wrong, besides just being very tired. So he didn’t bother answering any further.

Another growl in his head followed, this one laced with skepticism. It was a weird sensation, having a giant robotic lion inside his brain. Almost humorous. Keith didn’t have the energy to laugh right now, but if he did, he would have.

Red reached out again, this time sending a mental image his way. Well, more a mental sensation than an image. A feeling of icy, sharp and wet and seeping through his skin as if frost were expanding from the inside out and melting into slush to drip off of his fingertips. A sort of questioning lilt at the end.

Cold. Something about cold.

…Are you cold, Red? Keith thought at her.

The frustrated growl that she returned seemed to be as close as a lion could ever get to saying ‘You are an idiot’ in plain English. Rude.

He tried to think of some retort, glad that he could express it telepathically rather than speaking it aloud since he was pretty sure his teeth were frozen together, but before he could come up with anything at all coherent, another sensation was sent his way. At the edges of his mind, he could see the flickering of flames. Not much – the last embers of a fire in a fireplace that hadn’t been properly stoked, but that was still fighting for life.

And just as he saw it in his mind’s eye, he felt it. Sometimes in the heat of battle, Red would send him fire. A heat that would act like a sort of fuel, pumping throughout his body like blood and granting him a boost of adrenaline that could make him feel faster and stronger than he had ever been in his pre-paladin life.

Now, she was giving him that fire again, but it was different this time. It wasn’t a sharp and focused flame propelling him into action. Instead this fire was softer, more diffuse. Spreading slowly from his chest, moving more like water than like fire. Gradually melting the frost in his veins. Warming, but not burning.

Keith shivered, noticing once again how cold the world outside was compared to his insides, but that noticing came as a relief. The aches were returning – he wasn’t numb. As his blood started flowing again, he grimaced at the throbbing sensation that began in his fingers and toes, the skin stinging bitterly where it touched against the fabric of his gloves and socks, circling the silicone of the black and white rings on his middle fingers, always tucked into the safety and privacy of his gloves. He hoped it wasn’t frostbite. He didn’t doubt that a trip to the cryopod could fix it if it was, but he dreaded the way his hands and feet looked right now if they were frostbitten.

Red huffed in his mind, warm breath seeming to hit his face as the sound seeped into his ears. He curled in on himself further before blinking his eyes open, relieved to find that they were no longer stinging from the piercing cold. For several ticks, all he saw was gray, the gray of the sky fogged up by the paler gray of his breath against the helmet’s visor. Even as he watched, though, the fog was clearing, thick water droplets cutting through like rain as he warmed.

And minutes later, the world beyond the visor wasn’t gray anymore. In an instant the cloudy gray was replaced by a mass of red and white, and he found himself staring up at the Red Lion floating above him.

She let out a sound halfway between a growl and a purr, and although the Lions of Voltron had fixed, robotic faces that couldn’t show expression, Keith could swear she was looking at him with that sort of fond exasperation that a parent would give to a kid who had wandered away and later been found. The look his dad had given him as a kid when they’d lost track of each other at a zoo and security had found him trying to figure out how to climb into the hippopotamus exhibit before dragging him to the information booth and reuniting them.

A look that said, “You just did something very stupid, but I’m just glad you’re safe.”

Her mouth was agape, waiting. Not scooping him up on her own, just certain he would climb into her on his own. Keith took a deep breath before finally beginning the arduous struggle to his feet.

It took several attempts to get upright, but once he was standing on trembling legs, the ramp descended from Red’s mouth, and Keith’s hauled himself up it, against all odds making it into the cockpit without falling. Once there, he collapsed instantly into the pilot’s seat. He had never before fully appreciated just how soft the cushioning of the chair was, or how pleasant and soothing the hum of the engine, or just how cozy and warm the entire interior. Never again would he take it for granted.

One more sensation sent his way from Red, a softness added to the weight of his armor and his clinging undersuit, making them feel just a hint more like a blanket. Then she sent one more mental nudge, this one questioning.

“Yeah, Red,” Keith said softly. “That’s better. Thank you.”

With a final purr of approval, and apparently having decided Keith was too busy getting cozy and warm to pilot her himself, Red took to the air, leaving the ice behind.

[dcbutinamrev]

Once again, all storyline for Captain Caribbean belongs to @skyetheesorceress I'm merely writing out my theroies and my visions from my head for oncoming chapters with her permission of course (instead of acting them out as I impatienly wait for chapters to be updated)

I'm not sure if this relates to the plot, but Alex tree swinging and Laurens teaching him how to swim of a sort has been in my head ALL. FREAKING. DAY. (Takes place after Ch. 5 or what I think would be after Ch. 5 or something)

~~~

“WELL, HERE WE are,” the Marquis says as himself, Laurens, and Hamilton hop off the ship to the island, Hamilton fully dressed in his proper attire now, and land onto the sand surrounding the island. Hamilton huffs out a breath as he scans the familiar area. He was just here, not too long ago. He grimaces at the memory of Laurens, in whom he thought was an angel, and shakes his head. The gray, ominous clouds begin to fade, revealing the evening glow from the sun fading behind the ocean in front of them.

“Okay,” Laurens whistles as he marches on further towards the beach. He rests his hands on his hips as he tips his head back and glances up, searching for something to use as shelter and protection. He turns back to Hamilton and Lafayette and the rest of the men. He claps his together, gathering his men to attention. Of course, not Hamilton’s. Laurens rolls his eyes and clears his throat before he could continue. “First things first. Shelter or some form of protection.”

Hamilton whips his head towards Laurens, giving him an accusing look. He snarls, his fingers twitching. “Excuse me? Who gave you the orders, sir? Need I remind you that I am Captain? You are merely a prisoner!”

Lafayette sighs heavily and pinches the bridge of his nose. “Mon petit lion, please--”

“No!” Hamilton snaps, whipping his head towards the Marquis, who just merely raises his eyebrows with shock. Lafayette watches with a pleading expression as Hamilton begins to shake his head, squeezing his eyes shut and huffs as he crosses his arms over his chest, watching as his Captain begins to act like a child. “No! No, absolutely no. I am not listening to that stupid….stupid…stupid...stupid…”

“Alexandre,” Lafayette finally says now, gripping both of Hamilton’s shoulders tightly forcing him to spin around to face him. Hamilton growls low, a deep rumble coming from the back of his throat, very much like thunder before he finally gives Lafayette his true and full attention. “Listen to me. I know you are upset. I know you don’t like this and neither do I. But in order to get out of this hell alive, in order for me to protect you from them--” Lafayette gestures his head towards Laurens who digs at his nails as he waits impatiently before turning back to Hamilton. “--we have to work together.”

Hamilton doesn’t reply but merely ducks his head towards his chest as if in shame. Lafayette sighs and lifts Hamilton’s chin up to meet his eyes. Lafayette’s heart cracks somewhat due to the forlorn and exhausted expression upon Hamilton’s face before him. “Just please, mon ami, try to be reasonable.”

Hamilton blinks once before he feels his eye twitch and jerks his head away from Lafayette’s gasp and marches off towards the distant woods surrounding the sandy beach part of the island. Hamilton huffs as he finds himself a rock to sit on and looks off to the distance, away from them. Lafayette sighs and shakes his head, clicking his teeth. He tenses when he sees Laurens marching up in his peripheral. Laurens stands beside the Marquis, his arms clasped behind his back and head tipped back, raising an eyebrow. He glances at the Marquis in questioning. “He isn’t going to forgive me? Is he?”

Lafayette shakes his head, finally turning to Laurens. “Non. Not for a while, anyways.”

Laurens turns back towards Hamilton, who still sits upon the rock a few feet away from them, eyeing that bright red-brownish hair of his. Laurens tilts his head to one shoulder, furrowing his brows together as he watches Hamilton, a few strands of his hair blowing with the breeze. Laurens doesn’t know why, but he could feel the corners of his lips quirking up slightly. Though, he feels Lafayette’s eyes on him and he clears his throat, pressing his lips together in hopes it would hide the smirk.

“As you were saying, Captain Laurens?” the Marquis says, breaking the silence between them.

“We need to find shelter, obviously. Who knows how long we’ll be here,” Laurens says.

Lafayette nods. “Agree.” He glances over at Hamilton for a quick moment, worried but turns around when to give his men the orders.

As men scurry about, Laurens glances over his shoulder as well, staring at the mysterious beautiful man. He turns around to find Lafayette and the men starting to chop off trees with their swords, one tree creaking before it finally tumbles over. Laurens huffs and follows, chopping until another tree tumbles over, hitting the sand with a thump. He then turns to glance at the mass of trees surrounding them, his sky-blue eyes widening.

Just what has he gotten himself into?

***

Laurens doesn’t know how long it’s been since he began his task at creating a cabin of some sort on the island’s beaches until he notices the sun fading, the sky turning from a deep purple to completely black. In his peripheral, he sees the Marquis starting a fire, a couple of men bringing food they managed to find to cook. Laurens pinches his lips together and grimaces when sees a dead squirrel on a stick.

“You must be hungry,” says the Marquis standing beside Laurens all of a sudden.

Laurens yelps with surprise, startled as he spins around on his heel, pulling his sword from his sheath out of instinct. Lafayette’s eyes widen and he tosses both his hands up as he takes a large step back.

“Woah! Woah! It’s just me! It’s just me!” Lafayette says, huffing hard.

Laurens puffs out a breath with relief and slides his sword back into his sheath and runs a hand through his honey-colored hair before shooting the Marquis a dark glare. Lafayette grimaces. “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”

He swallows and nods jerkily. “Aye, yes. Oui. My apologies.”

Laurens nods in asset before he starts marching off toward the fire and the men surrounding it, a couple of them laughing as Meade tells them a joke of some sort. Laurens couldn’t help but smile at this.

“Um...Captain Laurens, sir?” the Marquis says.

It’s then Laurens notices the tenseness around him. He frowns, pausing his walk and turns back to face where Hamilton was last seen upon that rock. Lafayette has his jaw dropped, eyes wide slightly and his face pale as he whips his head sharply towards Laurens and in a hiss, whispers, “Where’s Alexander?”

It’s quiet around them for a moment, the two men tipping their heads up or Lafayette at least, knowing his Captain like his own mind, Hamilton is quite the adventurer, always chasing after something. Lafayette has his head tipped up towards the trees while Laurens, however, remains straight ahead, scanning the below areas of the beach.

Laurens lifts his gaze when he hears a grunt nearby. It’s soft and barely audible but Laurens knows it’s a grunt. In the faintest glow from the moon as their light source, he sees a silhouette atop a tree, branches snapping under his boot as he lifts one arm up, followed by the opposite leg. It’s then Laurens realizes the Captain is climbing a tree. What for? He cannot say.

He clears his throat and taps the Marquis on the bicep. The Marquis whips his head towards him, furrowing his brows with confusion before he follows Laurens’s finger to the silhouette of Captain Hamilton upon the tree. He huffs and crosses his arms over his chest, shaking his head, muttering, “Of course, he is.”

Meanwhile, Hamilton reaches his arm up towards the branch above him on the tree, making sure his grip is firm on the branch before swinging his leg over the branch below him, hauling himself up as he rests his other foot upon the branch across from his left. Hamilton grunts when he feels his chest slam against the wood, panting sharply. With one hand on the branch, he wipes the bead of sweat he fees trickle down his forehead towards his brow before lifting his left arm up towards the branch above him and repeating the same process as before.

Once he reaches a certain height, noticing a vine attached to the tree. Hamilton grins and leans against the bark, shifting around carefully and, no doubt giving the Marquis a heart attack at the moment, as he unties his neckcloth and hooks it around the vine. He furrows his brows together, squinting almost as he tries to find where this particular vine leads too before breathing in slowly and hooking his neckcloth around the vine. He glances down below him, at the millions of feet below, the sand would be soft to land on perhaps but also hard on impact if his plan fails. He swallows before finally kicking his feet off the edge of the branch and pushes himself along the vine. Using his neckcloth as like a hang glider in away, Hamilton slides down the vine towards the trees before him.

His feet kick through branches and twigs and leaves, laughing to himself, until he finds himself in an opening. He sees the Marquis and Laurens below, watching him fling by and grins at Laurens’s impressed expression but his grin soon fades into a frown when he sees Lafayette’s reprimanding look. As Hamilton dips lower, closer towards the sand, he releases his neckcloth and rolls over until he comes to a complete stop at both Laurens’s and the Marquis’s feet.

Hamilton coughs from the sand and dusts himself up as he scrambles to his feet, his curly auburn hair askew, his eyes wide and his blood pumping with adrenaline. He winks at Laurens, who schools his features as he straightens once more and clenches his jaw, presses his lips together, but ducks his head towards his chest as if misbehaved children when his eyes meet the Marquis’s.

Lafayette huffs and clicks his teeth, shaking his head. “Alexander Hamilton. I swear.”

Hamilton couldn’t help but chuckle as he watches his first mate walk off with a humph. His chuckle fades however when he notices Laurens now standing by the shore, taking off his coat and letting it flop on the sand. Hamilton presses his lips firmly, feeling his cheeks flush. Laurens pulls out the tight braid and lets his hair fall loose. He gasps at Laurens’s hair, how bright it looks under the moon’s pale glow. Laurens then unbuttons the white, long-sleeved shirt, gripping the hems of the shirt before slipping it off him. Hamilton doesn’t know why he stares, he shouldn’t. But yet he finds himself staring at the muscles in Laurens’s back, the honey colored hair flowing around him, like a golden halo. Laurens’s biceps appear to be about the size of a cantaloupe or watermelon. Hamilton shrinks, feeling somewhat insecure as he glances down at his own biceps, small as a grapefruit.

Before Laurens could do anything else, Hamilton stomps up towards him, a confused yet curious look about his face. Laurens glances down at him.

“Just what do you think you’re doing?” Hamilton snarls, his arms folded across his chest.

“Uh...taking a bath?” Laurens suggests, jabbing his thumb towards the ocean waters before.

“A bath?!” Hamilton hisses.

“Yes…?” It sounds more like a question than a prominent answer.

“But--”

“You can still have your eye on me, Captain Hamilton,” Laurens assures. “I’ll still be in your line of vision.”

A pause.

“Why don’t you come in with me?” Laurens says suddenly, glancing back and forth between the water and Hamilton.

Hamilton freezes. “I beg your pardon?”

“If it makes you feel any better, why not come in with me?” Laurens points, crossing his arms over his chest now.

Hamilton glances out towards the ocean, swallowing hard, remembering the flood from the hurricane when he was fourteen, remembering cold fingers touching his bare ankle under water. He shivers and shakes his head. Laurens arches both eyebrows.

“You can’t swim?” Laurens suggests.

This catches Hamilton’s eye as he ticks his head up towards him. Laurens’s eyes widen with surprise.

“You’re a Captain...and you can’t swim?” Laurens gasps.

“I don’t want to talk about it!” Hamilton hisses, marching off towards the camp they’ve managed to create. Laurens grabs his elbow in time and yanks Hamilton back towards him.

“You’re a Captain...of a ship...a pirate for God’s sake! And you’re telling me you can’t swim?!” Laurens snaps.

“It terrifies me, okay?!” Hamilton barks. “In all honesty, water terrifies me!”

“Then how on Earth are you--”

“I don’t want to talk about it!”

As Hamilton jogs down the beach towards Lafayette and his men, Laurens barks suddenly, “Take your coat off!”

Hamilton skids to a stop and he slowly cranes his neck over his shoulder, giving Laurens a shocked look. “I beg your pardon?”

“You heard me, Captain. Take your coat off.”

“Laurens, if you mean--”

“I mean as I say. Take your coat off.”

Hamilton swallows and nods shakily as he turns around slowly, awkwardly, as he starts to slide off his black coat. He feels Laurens’s eyes on him and feeling slightly insecure, he hisses over his shoulder, “Well don’t look!”

Laurens quickly looks away, his cheeks red.

Hamilton shrugs off his coat, leaving his white shirt on and slides off his boots but leaves his breeches on. He turns to Laurens at the same time Laurens turns to him.

“Now, come on,” Laurens says, gently taking hold of the redhead’s wrist and dragging him towards the shoreline.

Hamilton realizes Laurens’s plan and his blood runs cold, his eyes widening as he shakes his head, trying to make his feet stop from moving. Laurens huffs out a breath.

“Come on. It’s not that bad, I promise. I’ll be right there with you.”

Hamilton still shakes his head, standing just before Laurens. He watches with wide eyes as Laurens sinks into the ocean waters, shivering at the coldness but after a few seconds, his body adjusts to the temperature quickly and he finds himself relaxing. His hand still gripping onto Hamilton’s wrist.

Hamilton breathes in sharply and holds his breath when he feels his feet touch the water. He glances up at Laurens, who smiles softly and encouragingly and nods with reassurance. Hamilton glances around him, making sure no bodies are near. He turns back to Laurens who walks further into the ocean until he comes afloat.

Hamilton shakes his head again while Laurens nods encouragingly. Hamilton swallows and lifts his leg, taking one step forward before doing the same with the other. He does this repeatedly until he reaches Laurens, his chest against his, his hands on Laurens’s shoulders. Never letting go.

“There we go…” Laurens whispers, gripping onto Hamilton’s wrists, dragging him further out into the ocean, sparkling under the moonlight above them. He laughs a little. “See? Told you it wasn’t so bad!”

Hamilton feels something stick to his ankle, feeling fingers perhaps wrap around his ankle after a few moments later. He screams and flings the corpse off as he climbs on top of Laurens, screaming still, huffing and puffing as he’s basically now upon Laurens’s head, his arms wrapped around Laurens’s neck tightly and his legs entangled through Laurens’s arm.

“Laurens! Laurens!” Hamilton cries. “Get me back to the shore, now! GET ME BACK TO THE SHORE! Oh God! Oh God! I’m fucking terrified! I’m fucking terrified! Laurens!”

Laurens chuckles as he rolls his eyes. “Captain Hamilton, it’s alright! It’s alright! You’re fine! You’re fine! It’s just seaweed! It’s just seaweed!”

Once Laurens safely returns the trembling redhead back to shore, Hamilton quickly grabs his coat and slides it back on before turning to Laurens once more.

“Well?” Laurens says.

Hamilton punches him directly in the face before spinning around on his heel, shivering as he makes his way towards the makeshift cabin.

Laurens laughs to himself, clutching onto his injured nose with one hand as he reaches down to grab his red coat lying in the sand. He stares off at the cabin, where he sees Hamilton’s silhouette in the makeshift window from the candlelight coming from within.

“Strong form,” Laurens chuckles as he clears his throat, straightening his clothes.

He nods once before walking off.

“Strong form.”

[beebubb]

sherry (my oc) and her life and relationships with the pastas

(involves self shipping and a bit of toby x clockwork, so if you don't like that kind of thing, you can always see my other stuff:))

Likes learning about magic, witchcraft, and religion. But doesn't like it when someone pushes her into being part of a religion if she doesn't want to.

DESPISES her family's catholic religion. Sense her uncles, cousins, and grandparents would shame her for anything that was "against god"

Her family hated her when she told them she didn't believe in god, but hated her even more when she came out to them.

She actually respects all religions and doesn't mind if you believe in god, she just mocks her own family. So don't take anything personally

Mocks their religion a lot and started getting amused seeing them angry

Grandpa: wearing revealing clothes is a sin!

-next day-

Sherry: *wearing booty shorts, tank top, and dancing in the house to "inappropriate" music* oh. No!! I should go change! I wouldn't want sky daddy to get mad at me! I can't believe how sinful I'm being!

Her first time in the mansion

When she first arrived to the mansion. She was really shy. She wasn't agressive like, at all.

The only people she opened up to first was jane, ben, and masky

She would keep her distance a lot but jane was pretty much who comforted her sense she had a very nice and caring vibe to her

Would watch ben play. Ben would offer her to play COD but she would prefer watching

She found masky's presence comforting sense he was the oldest and most responsable and felt safe with him

Masky interrogated her sense they always need to make sure that newcomers aren't zalgoid spies or any threat to slender and the others.

She stayed in the mansion freely for around 3-4 months. But during those few months, slender would have her do certain tasks to see strengths and weaknesses (this is also normal for newcomers)

She adapted pretty quickly to the others there

Her first time working and being an official pasta

She had been given a choice to either just kill and stalk whoever slender tells her to (aka part time proxy) or be a full time proxy, which involves much more skill like stalking, killing, cleaning and getting rid of evidence, set traps, hack, etc. She ended up choosing full time proxy sense she was a huge forensics nerd.

Masky, hoodie, and toby trained her

The most difficult part of her training was improving her cardio sense she didn't know how to properly control her breathing while running which meant she would easily get tierd.

She has better cardio now but if she gets into stressful situations or runs for way too long, she'll get tierd. Her only advantage is that she's good at hiding. So if they leave her behind or can't catch up, they don't worry sense they know she can hide

It took her around 3 months to train and then be called an official full time proxy

Her relationships with the pastas

Jeff: they're friends. They became friends because of ben. Jeff would play with ben a lot, but sherry became ben's second gaming buddy so soon they started hanging out.

Ben: she likes ben but doesn't show it sense she doesn't want to ruin their friendship. Even though ben is seen as a bit of a slacker or stupid; sherry and the others knows that ben is actually really smart; and she likes that about him. Also she likes how he would always try his best to include her in things so she wouldn't be left out.

EJ: they're ok with each other. They get along enough to be ok living with each other. They haven't really hung out or had an actual conversation to get to know each other, so they're ok with each other as long as they don't piss each other off or try something

LJ: they're ok as well. They haven't spoke much sense LJ doesn't really live or work with slenderman sense he lives at the apartments with william. The only time they really talked was when sherry introduced herself and from there nothing.

Jane: her best friend. Even though jane is a killer, she acts like a normal person. And sherry likes that. They've gone shopping together, had spa/self care days, talked, etc. Also jane was always there for her when she was new, so, she feels more attached (jane had a slight crush on her but it later went away after she knew sherry liked ben)

Nina: best friends too. She likes nina's crackhead energy. Also nina helped her be more open and fun. Nina, sherry, and jane hang out a lot.

Toby: they're co-workers that get along well. She's a proxy too so she tries her best to get along with the other proxies. They haven't really hung out much either but have small talk while working. Also sometimes she gives him love advice for clockwork.

Hoodie: friends. He later on opened up to him as well sense she saw masky trusted him so she knew she could trust him too.

Masky: they're good friends and respects him. He was the one that dedicated himself more (along with hoodie) to train her. Also he was the first one to give her an alcoholic drink when they celebrated a new proxy arrival. Also she lets him borrow money sense he's usually broke

Slenderman: respects him a lot. She is forever grateful that slender took her in and gave her a home, a job, and an actual family even if they aren't related by blood

Clockwork: they just get along. They don't really hang out much sense clockwork spends more time with toby. They've had a few small conversations but nothing more from there

Sally: absolutely adores her. She likes playing with her sense it reminds her when she was little and would play with her mom. Sherry protects her and can relate to her sense she knows what it's like to be sexually abused at a young age.

[imaginedhaven]

Rules of Engagement: Chapter Nineteen

Link to Masterpost

It’s here! It’s finally here! Thank you all so much for putting up with my extended absence while I wrangled this chapter and my life. The first half feels... idk, kind of filler-y? But I hope the second half makes up for it!

Definitely just one more after this and then an epilogue.

~*~*~

Aelin frowned as she looked over yet another draft of a letter, grabbing at the candle on her desk to keep it steady as a particularly large wave rocked the ship. “I hate formal letters,” she grumbled.

Aedion chuckled from the bed across the room from her own. “It can’t possibly be any worse than the… seventeen previous attempts,” he said as he glanced at the scraps of paper littering the area around her.

“Aedion, this is important.” She sighed, tugging at her own hair. “Everything is on the line, and I need it to be perfect.”

“How is it,” he asked, “that you can be absolutely fearless facing down a Valg queen and yet be so defeated by a simple piece of paper?”

“Says the male who couldn’t even tell me he’d met his father before we’d already left Wendlyn,” Aelin retorted unthinkingly before immediately regretting her words.

Rather than get angry, though, Aedion only sighed. Aelin frowned; he must truly have been torn about the situation, if he wasn’t yelling at her. “Says the male who followed you to face down said Valg queen,” he replied, though it was without any of his usual teasing.

“Very well,” she said primly. “If you would like to write to the lords and request this meeting, then by all means.” She stood up and positioned herself beside the desk chair, sweeping an arm toward it in a grand gesture with a grin.

He finally laughed, and though it was a shadow of his normal reaction it made her smile regardless. “You don’t want me writing to the lords under your name. They’d only hate you more.”

Aelin sighed, tugging at the end of her own braid. “It was easier when I didn’t care how they felt about me, you know.”

“I know.” Aedion stood then, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “But for what it’s worth, the fact that you care—and that all you’ve done here, you’ve done for Terrasen—those facts, not any pretty words you can put on a paper, are what will hold the most sway.”

“I hope you’re right.” She leaned against him, head resting against his shoulder. “I’m certainly not good at pretty words. You saw my letter to Galen, right?”

He chuckled at the memory. “’Terrasen remembers Evalin Ashryver.’ So needlessly dramatic.”

“Well, it worked, didn’t it?” she asked, defensive. “He met with me, and he even agreed with me.”

“I never questioned your results, cousin, only your methods.”

Aelin let out a noise that sounded embarrassingly close to a squawk, outraged. “My methods are what got us to this point, cousin,” she reminded him. “They brought us the proof we needed as well as the support of other royal lines. Not to mention the end of a longstanding enemy of Terrasen. Oh, and a Valg queen.”

“That reminds me,” Aedion drawled as Aelin froze, “I wanted to ask you about how you knew of this Arobynn Hamel in the first place.”

Aelin winced. While it had been easy enough to avoid the question with Captain Westfall, she knew Aedion would not be so easily put off. Not to mention the fact that she was fairly certain he was still upset with her for keeping her plans from him. If she didn’t handle this in just the right way, she was liable to have a far larger fight with her only surviving family than she was prepared for.

And she was certainly not prepared to handle the situation correctly now, not while there was so much else to do. Instead, she sighed. “Can we talk about him later?” she pleaded. “I really do need to work out what I’m going to say to the lords.”

“You’re terrified,” he said softly, as if in realization. “I didn’t stop to think of why you never told me. I was just angry that you were leaving me out when I could help.”

Aelin grimaced. “Is it truly that obvious?”

“It likely wouldn’t be to many others. Only to those who know you well.”

With a wave of her hand, she extinguished the flame of the candle on her desk. She wasn’t going to get any further on the letter, not right now. Perhaps she would go up to the deck and let the motion of the waves ease her mind. That plan had the further benefit of ending this conversation; Aedion was avoiding looking at the ocean for any great length of time.

Before she could leave, though, Aedion spoke again. “Tell me, Aelin. What are you so afraid of? Why would you keep all of this to yourself, for so long?”

Aelin sighed. So the truth-telling was to start now after all, then. “You’ll hate me,” she whispered.

“I could never hate you.” His reply was soft and yet fierce, and when she looked at him she saw a fire in his eyes that matched her own.

“Truly?” she asked. “Even if I nearly left Terrasen with no clear ruler?”

There was no hesitation in Aedion’s voice as he responded. “Even then. Terrasen is our home, but you’re my family.”

Aelin could feel the tears welling up in her eyes from the affirmation of her cousin’s loyalty and devotion. Rather than letting him see it as well, though, she tugged him into a firm embrace. “I’m going to the upper deck,” she declared, “before you decide you’re sick of me after all.”

He laughed. “It’s far too late for that. Are you sure you’re not going up there to see if you can spot a hawk following behind the ship?”

Aelin didn’t bother pretending she didn’t know what he was talking about. “He won’t be,” she said simply. “I ordered him not to.”

As she climbed the ladder and looked out onto the horizon, though, she couldn’t quite stop herself from looking eastward and imagining a pair of wings in the distance.

~*~*~

“We’ve spoken of this continent at great length,” Sellene said as she set a map aside. “But what of Erilea? Did we have ties with them? Will any of the nations want diplomatic ties, other than Terrasen?”

“I imagine most of Erilea will want to hear from you, now that we’re establishing ties with Terrasen,” Rowan said wearily. “We largely ignored the entire continent before now, as Maeve never left Doranelle.”

“And now we know why.” Sellene frowned. “I should probably make it a point to arrange a diplomatic tour and re-establish some of those ties. We’ve been secluded for far too long as it is. Not to mention, I’m soon to have family in Erilea.”

And there it was. He had been wondering how long it would take her to bring up the obvious relationship between himself and Aelin. To be blunt, he was surprised she had made it a full week without that teasing glimmer in her eyes. “It would be even sooner, if you would consider my portion of this mess completed so that I could leave,” he remarked pointedly.

Sellene laughed, clearly delighting in his misery as she usually did. “And ruin Aelin’s moment? I couldn’t possibly be so rude. No, she told me exactly when to send you back, and I intend to listen to her.”

“And I’m assuming you don’t intend to tell me a damned thing about it,” he grumbled.

Though she didn’t directly answer his question, Sellene’s grin told him everything he needed to know. “You’re about to be leaving us forever,” she said in a tone approaching serious. “I think that means I can keep you here for a little bit longer.”

“Does it bother you?” Not the question he had intended to ask, but he supposed he couldn’t take it back at this point.

“On a political level, or a personal one?”

“Either. Both.” Sellene wasn’t the closest of his cousins; that honor belonged to Enda, with whom he had been raised. However, the Whitethorns were a close enough family in general that it was possible and even likely that she had an opinion of some sort about it.

“No, and no,” she smiled. “Your mating and likely eventual marriage to the future queen of Terrasen is a political boon, not a drawback at all. Not to mention that I like her for you. She’s going to challenge you, and the gods know you need that.”

“She already has,” he grumbled, but he couldn’t keep a hint of a smile from his face in response. “Daily, in fact.”

“I knew I liked her.” Sellene shifted her attention back to the maps laid out in front of them. “She has family in Wendlyn as well, right? Her potential claim came from her Ashryver heritage, if I’m not mistaken.”

Rowan nodded. “She does, though relations between Wendlyn and Terrasen have been somewhat strained of late. Maeve’s disapproval of the marriage between Evalin Ashryver and Rhoe Galathynius left an impact that has been felt for decades.”

“I see,” she muttered. “So this transition is truly going to affect large parts of the world.”

“Larger than many know, and larger than most of those who know are willing to admit. It will likely take months or even years for the full impact to be revealed.”

Gods, he certainly hoped she didn’t intend to keep him here for months or years. It had been ten days since Aelin had left and ordered him to remain, and they had been some of the longest days of his life to date. The pull of their bond tugged at him with every waking moment, just enough that it was impossible to forget, and he frequently found himself looking to the northwest as though he could see her across the sea that separated them.

A slender hand tucked itself into the crook of his elbow, and he turned his head to see that Sellene was now standing beside him. “It won’t be forever,” she murmured. “It won’t even be very long. I know we can’t hope to keep you for any great length of time.”

It was true enough, certainly. Even the blood oath he had sworn felt like a mere suggestion against the pull of the mating bond, one he knew he could likely work around with even the most shallow of excuses. Still, he frowned at his cousin. “And yet here I am.”

“I have plans for you yet,” she replied. “We’re done for today, though. I need to meet with Lorcan and Vaughan, now that they’ve returned.”

Rowan nodded and turned to the window again, glancing once more in the direction of the sea. “Vaughan is likely to stay and serve you,” he said quietly. “It’s Lorcan you’ll need to convince.”

“I don’t intend to keep anyone who doesn’t wish to stay. Yourself included. I’ll meet with them all, but you’ll all have a choice.” When he turned to face her the amused glimmer was gone from her eyes and the corners of her mouth were drawn down in a thoughtful frown. “I will not rule as Maeve did.”

“You never did like me having sworn to her,” he recalled.

Sellene scowled. “She swept in when you were at your lowest moment and made a bargain you had little choice but to accept. Our family may have officially forgotten that, but I assure you that I have not.”

“It was my choice,” he protested, the words sounding hollow even to his own ears.

“We can discuss this later.” She dismissed the topic with a shake of her head. “I really do have a meeting to get to, and you’ve been staring at the skies for the past hour. Go fly.”

Rowan didn’t even wait for her to leave the room before shifting, darting out of the open window in a flurry of winds and wings. He may not be able to go to his mate just yet, but perhaps the flight would clear his head long enough to do what had to be done.

~*~*~

Aelin sighed as she stared at the double doors she knew led to the audience chamber. The lords of Terrasen had gathered as she had requested, and now that she’d had a day to try and rest it was time to face them.

As she stood, she smoothed trembling fingers over the green silk of the gown she had chosen for this meeting. It was a simple style, adorned with a belt and jewelry of silver to match Terrasen’s colors. Though as crown princess she was entitled to wear a circlet in official meetings, she had chosen to forego the headpiece. Instead, her hair was braided around her head in a style that mimicked the circlet she had decided to go without. She and Lysandra had carefully decided on every element of her appearance that morning, knowing she would need to present herself as someone who loved her country, but wasn’t preemptively assuming the role she was seeking.

She truly disliked this part of politics, she thought with a sigh. But her image mattered just as much as her deeds, for all she thought it shouldn’t, and she had a part to play.

With that in mind, she carefully assumed an easy smile before pushing the doors open and strolling into the room.

A long table had been set up in the chamber, with a seat for each of the prominent lords of Terrasen. She glanced at each one as she passed, as was expected and polite, though she didn’t truly see any of them. No, all of her focus was on the open throne at the end of the table. It would continue to go vacant, of course; Darrow was only a regent, not a king, and she was not yet queen. They each had their own chair on either side of the vacant throne, and Darrow was already seated in his.

With any luck, this would be the last day the throne would be empty. Aelin took a breath and thought a silent prayer to Mala Fire-bringer before sitting in her own chair. “I’m so pleased you were all able to meet with me on such short notice,” she began. “Much has happened since the last time we were all able to gather.”

“I should say so,” a voice sneered from across the table. “A foreign queen is dead, by your hand. Your letter admitted as much.”

Another deep breath, and Aelin looked inside herself, searching for the drop of calming water at the center of her fiery power. “Lord Sloane,” she acknowledged, pleased with the lack of tremor in her voice. “I’m certain you have concerns, as there was only so much I could share in my letter. I hope to address those concerns today.”

“And we are pleased to hear your explanation.” This voice was warmer, and Aelin rewarded Lord Murtaugh Allsbrook with a thin smile.

“Thank you, Lord Allsbrook. My cousin and our general, Aedion, has gathered the evidence that we obtained over the course of the past several months, proving that the Fae Queen was not who she claimed to be.” With that, she set the book and various papers they had accumulated during their research on the table, to be passed around among the lords. “Before I acted, I presented this evidence in Adarlan and in Wendlyn. I also sent copies to the other ruling families in Erilea, though I did not have time to wait for all of them to reply. I did everything I could to both protect us all from the threat of the Valg and upset the balance of power as little as possible. That leads me to the reason I called you all here today.”

“Why call us here, if not to explain yourself?”

Another deep breath, another grasp at what calm laid within her. “Explaining my actions was always intended to be a part of this meeting, Lord Ironwood. I could hardly expect you to trust me blindly.”

A softer voice spoke up then. “You have my thanks, and you should have the thanks of all present, for both saving our kingdom and taking the time to explain your actions.”

“It was the least I owed you, Lord Suria,” she replied.

The meeting went on, her own words barely registering in her ears. Ordinarily by this point she would’ve already singed some of the papers spread across the table, or at the very least shouted at someone as smoke began to fill the room. Rowan’s training had paid off, after all.

She quickly cut off that line of thinking. It wouldn’t do to tune completely out of the conversation in favor of missing Rowan, not when everything she had worked for was on the line.

Finally, she reached the moment she had been building toward. “So, we’ve agreed that my magic is much better controlled than it has been in years. That leaves the question of a spouse.”

“Yes,” Regent Darrow interjected. “We heard that you won’t be marrying Prince Dorian after all. Have you made another selection?”

Aelin took a deep breath. “It is my request to you and to all of the lords present that I be allowed to assume my throne without a husband. I believe that I have proven myself and my love of this country, and I have made every effort to comply with your requests. Many of our previous rulers, and many of our current and previous lords, have gone on to successful careers unmarried and found their spouses in good time. This is not a declaration that I will never marry, simply a request that my current marital status be removed from your consideration of my right to rule.”

Silence followed her statement, but Aelin kept her nerves from her expression as best she could. She had said her piece and presented the evidence, and now her fate rested in the hands of the lords.

She knew that Lords Ironwood, Sloane, and Gunnar would be the least likely to accept. Lord Allsbrook was likely firmly on her side, and Lord Suria had proven reasonable in the past. Regent Darrow was technically one of the lords as well, and she couldn’t be certain whether or not he would approve of this maneuver. Either he would be impressed by her machinations or he would resent her for going around him.

That left Lord Lochan, who had remained silent throughout the deliberations. She wasn’t certain of his decision, either. She could only pray.

An unexpectedly high-pitched voice interrupted her thoughts. “I don’t see why we should impede Aelin any further. We will still be around as counsel, and I believe I serve as proof that a woman can rule without a husband.”

Aelin turned to the speaker and shock overtook her.

~*~*~

Aedion paced in the hallway outside the audience chamber, hand gripping the hilt of his sword tightly as he walked. There was nothing further he could do. While he was a successful military leader and his word might have held sway on a matter regarding the troops alone, he had no title or lands in Terrasen and he could not have any decision on the matter of Aelin’s right to rule.

He wondered if Aelin felt equally powerless, with her fate in the hands of the lords and only her words to guide them.

No, surely Aelin was actively plying every charm she had available to her. She wasn’t locked out of the room while they deliberated, as he was. While the final decision would not be her own, she still had some degree of power.

A noise broke the silence behind him and he whirled around, sword half drawn before he recognized the person who stood before him. “Nervous?” Lysandra chuckled.

“Are you not?” Aedion sighed as he did his best to relax. “I don’t think I’ve felt so powerless in years. The last time was after the first time you told me off for… how did you put it, exactly, ‘territorial male bullshit’?”

“Aelin helped with the phrasing,” Lysandra admitted.

He snorted. “That much was obvious. It’s a fight we’ve had for years now.”

She leaned against his side, humming softly. “She’ll be fine, you know. Evangeline’s been working on Darrow from the moment we arrived, and you know his vote holds the most sway.”

“Has she, now?” He tugged playfully on one of her chestnut curls. “I can’t imagine who she learned that from.”

“Well, it most certainly wasn’t you. To be blunt, I’m amazed you haven’t drawn that sword and rushed into the room already.”

So was he, but she didn’t need to know that. Instead, he turned to properly embrace her. “And to think I was about to tell you how much I missed you,” he teased.

“Here in this hallway? Where anyone could find us? How scandalous.”

As Lysandra laughed, Aedion felt his ears grow warm. “As much as I’m certain at least one courtier would enjoy the show, I’d rather save that part of it for later.”

“Well, that’s a good thing. I couldn’t stop someone else from coming down to see you as well, since you arrived after her bedtime.”

Aedion turned just in time to see Evangeline flying down the hall, golden locks streaming behind her as she approached him at a full sprint. He bent his knees just enough that he wouldn’t be knocked over by the impact and caught her gently around the waist, something in his chest tightening at the way she wrapped her arms around him. “I missed you too, Evangeline,” he assured her. “But Lysandra tells me you’ve been keeping busy while I was away.”

She nodded and smiled. “I’ve been helping Regent Darrow. I deliver messages. Sometimes I write them too, but I’m not good at that yet.”

“I’m sure you’ve been very helpful,” he replied. “And I’m glad to see you’ve been doing well.”

“You’re back to stay now?” Citrine eyes dark with suspicion glanced up at him. “You’re not leaving again?”

He sighed. “I can’t promise I’ll never have to leave,” he cautioned her. “But I’ll always do my best to come back home as quickly as possible. And I don’t have to leave anytime soon.”

She nodded, hugging him once more before taking up a position behind Lysandra. Lysandra let a hand rest on the girl’s shoulder and glanced up at him. “So now we wait?”

Aedion nodded, one hand lifting to card through his own hair. “Now we wait. There’s nothing else we can do.”

He supposed it was a good sign that the audience chamber was so silent. If no one had raised their voice, it was likely that Aelin hadn’t set anything on fire either, and that was possibly the worst thing she could do at this point. Rowan had trained her well, certainly, but not even years of intensive training would manage to wipe away the bulk of Aelin’s temper and the male had only had a few short months to attempt the task.

On the other hand, it was entirely possible that the room was silent because Aelin had decided she preferred knives to fire. Aedion shivered as he considered the possibility.

Before he could ponder too much further, however, the doors opened and he immediately straightened, hand returning to the hilt of his sword. His cousin emerged from the room, shoulders drawn in close and looking down at the floor. She was obviously exhausted, but neither her posture nor the soft conversation still ongoing in the room behind her provided him with any indication as to how the meeting had gone.

He rushed to meet her as she allowed the doors to swing shut behind her and took a deep breath. “How did it go?”

“I was unaware that Lord Lochan had died while we were in Doranelle,” she replied. “I know you probably didn’t know either, but it would’ve been nice to avoid looking like an idiot in front of the lords.”

Aedion grimaced. “Did it truly go that poorly? What did they say?”

Aelin finally looked up at him, eyes gleaming. “His daughter inherited his position, and did a great deal to argue our case.”

“Little Elide is Lord of Perranth now?” he spluttered.

“Lady, technically, and she’ll pretend not to hear you if you address her otherwise in a formal capacity.” His cousin grinned. “I might need to adopt that tactic myself.”

He wasn’t quite certain how he managed to avoid his knees buckling in relief. “Then it is done?”

“I’m afraid not,” she replied. “You’re about to have a great deal of planning thrust upon you.”

Aedion frowned. “Planning? Whatever for?” Gods, if the lords had renewed their case for a marriage between himself and his cousin… well, he would do it if she asked it of him, but she might also kill him so it would remain an impossibility.

Aelin laughed. “So serious. For my coronation, of course.”

“Your coronation?” Lysandra asked from somewhere behind him, and he was grateful she had done so for he found himself suddenly unable to speak.

“Yes. You’re looking at the next Queen of Terrasen, and the lords have officially approved of my ascent to the throne.”

Aedion hugged his cousin tightly, not missing the triumphant gleam in her eyes. Now that this moment was finally here, he wasn’t sure why he had ever doubted her ability to sway them. After all, it only took one glance at her now to see the queen that she was.

Perhaps the lords had finally seen it, too.

~*~*~

Tagging:

@ireallyshouldsleeprn @queen-of-glass @fangirlprincess09 @sassys-world @morganofthewildfire @superspiritfestival @perseusannabeth @sis-it-dont-add-up @jlinez @julemmaes @emilyoftheshadows @thegoddessofyou @mymultiversee @swankii-art-teacher @rowansfirebringer  @rabodocardan - having a hard time tagging you! Not sure what broke on tumblr this time lol @courtofjurdan @danibutterr

[alabaster-crashes-down]

In Defense of Incest Pairings

I found the amount of hatred gcest shippers get appalling when I entered the Oasis fandom a few months ago. Just now I saw another prolific fandom member receiving unfriendly messages (although the post was quite a while ago). So, here’s a drafty little passage on the concept of incest itself, which I hope would help clear certain things up. 

The main point is, incest prohibition is closely tied to patriarchy and heterosexuality; although people need not feel guilty for feeling disturbed by incestuous relationships, they should recognise it’s not “sick” to enjoy shipping them.

You don’t need to read this if you are uncomfortable with incest pairings but respect those who enjoy. You are welcome to ask questions and add things but BE NICE!

The most common justification for incest prohibition is that it prevents inbreeding. I support the scientific take on this prohibition (be responsible for the children!) and will only address the rather dubious societal aspect. First, considering the antiquity of this taboo, it’d be ridiculous to suggest Neolithic homo sapiens knew enough about genetic disorders to establish such rules. Second, the boundaries of incest vary among cultures and through time, and most of them extend way beyond blood relationships. For example, in Greek mythology, the rape of Philomela by Tereus is considered incest because, although the two aren’t related by blood, Philomela’s sister Procne is married to Tereus, thus making Philomela Tereus’ kin. In the Bible, Adam and Eve’s first children are incestuous, and the Law against incest is delivered to Moses much later. Also, think about royalties of ancient Egypt, China, and Europe, who considered close-kin marriage a guarantee for the nobleness of the offsprings.

Incest/Endogamy is condemned mainly because it decreases the number of opportunities for marital exchange/exogamy, through which alliances are established and resources are shared. In the case of ancient royalties, marriage between kins strengthens control over empires; it is endogamy in the noble family but exogamy between separate branches of the ruling power. This system is often patriarchal, viewing women as commodities for exchange: If one asks a tribal man why he wouldn’t marry his sister, the answer would be “marrying my sister would mean having one less sister to exchange with another man”. However, it is only for coincidental reasons that men are the exchangers and women are the exchanged. There are cases where a biological female plays the role of an exchanger, assigning her daughters to marriages. The “men” and “women” we’re talking about are social positions instead of biological ones.

The power to assign marriages reveals incest prohibition’s deeper relationship to patriarchy. The Father (not an actual person but a position) decides which persons would be his kin by distributing his daughters. To link the alliance by blood and reproduce the power structure, the marriages have to be heterosexual and reproductive. Thus, the sine qua non of incest prohibition contains 1. people are classified as men and women (although not necessarily based on biology), 2. the men and women only lie with those of a different sex, 3. the relationships must result in offspring. I agree with none of the above since they have been major sources of gender oppression.

Incest is disturbing mainly because it’s a severe transgression of the Law of the Father. The Law forbids relationships inside the family as well as non-incestuous relationships unapproved by the Father (we can understand it as social order sometimes personified as a patriarch). This sense of transgression is also partly where the pleasure comes from (call it perverse if you want; all human emotions are actually “perverse” emotions such as transgression, possessiveness, misidentification). Conventional discussion focuses on parent-child incest, namely, the unavoidable (because this form of incest is related to the formation of a child’s ego). Sibling incest is dismissed as an extension of the Oedipus/Electra Complex (different-sex siblings as doubles of the desired parent, same-sex siblings as rivals). However, lack of reflection on division of labour by gender results in conventional theory overlooking the fact that, the child’s desire to possess the Mother is based on her being the primary caregiver. The powerless child relies on its caregiver to achieve things it wants (food, toys, etc.) and thus desires to be the caregiver’s primary concern. In cases where the elder sibling, not the Mother, takes up the task of child-rearing, the desire probably changes path (because of the caregiving business and because it’s slightly “safer” to desire for the sibling than to desire for the Mother, since the latter directly confronts the Father).

Finally, enjoying certain types of pairing is very different to advocating for them in real life (where child abuse by adults and child-on-child abuse should be concerned). Also, although the Oasis pairing is based on real persons/events, it’s fictional like how history novels are fictional, in that both refer to the so-called facts but are really narratives that have little to do with the real people and what actually happened. So no worries, their honours are untouched. 

I hope everyone will be able to enjoy their ships without being judged!

references/recommended reading:

Klindienst, Patricia. “The Voice of the Shuttle is Ours”

Lévi-Strauss, Claude. The Elementary Structures of Kinship

Rubin, Gayle. “The Traffic in Women”

[ucflibrary]

Welcome to Asian Pacific American Heritage Month!

It has been a difficult 14 months for the world, but our Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) brothers and sisters have faced even more struggles. From small harassments to intense acts of violence, the AAPI community has borne the brunt of American fears and grief relating to the pandemic. These malicious acts demonstrate as a country we are not living up to the ideals of our nation. As Americans and Knights, we need to demonstrate these ideals are worth fighting for. Actions you can take range from learning more about the AAPI experience and history to using any privilege we have to push back against racism and violence.

One way to learn more about AAPI history and experiences is to visit the Libraries’ Readings on Race guide. This guide includes a page for general information about racism in America and how to have conversations about it to pages specifically addressing the experiences of marginalized communities in the United States such as Asian America Pacific Islander, African American, Hispanic/Latinx, and Indigenous. Take some time to familiarize yourself with lived experiences beyond your own race or ethnicity so we can stand together and become a more inclusive Knight community.

If you witness or experience incidents of discrimination or violence, report them to the university. If any of these incidents have impacted you, UCF has resources that can help. For more information, visit UCF Cares, Student Care Services or UCF Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) if you are a student, and the Employee Assistance Program if you are an employee.

 For 2021 Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, UCF Libraries faculty and staff have suggested these 20 books from the library’s collection by or about Asian Pacific Americans. Click the link below to see the full list, descriptions, and catalog links. There is also an extensive physical display on the main floor of the John C. Hitt Library near the Research & Information Desk.

A Burning by Megha Majumdar After a fiery attack on a train leaves 104 people dead, the fates of three people become inextricably entangled. Jivan, a bright, striving woman from the slums looking for a way out of poverty, is wrongly accused of planning the attack because of a careless comment on Facebook. PT Sir, a slippery gym teacher from Jivan's former high school, has hitched his aspirations to a rising right wing party, and his own ascent becomes increasingly linked to Jivan's fall. Lovely, a spirited, impoverished, relentlessly optimistic hjira, who harbors dreams of becoming a Bollywood star, can provide the alibi that would set Jivan free - but her appearance in court will have unexpected consequences that will change the course of all of their lives. A novel about fate, power, opportunity, and class; about innocence and guilt, betrayal and love, and the corrosive media cycle that manufactures falsehoods masquerading as truths. Suggested by Sara Duff, Acquisitions and Collection Services

 American History Unbound: Asians and Pacific Islanders by Gary K. Okihiro A survey of U.S. history from its beginnings to the present, this  reveals our past through the lens of Asian American and Pacific Islander history. In so doing, it is a work of both history and anti-history, a narrative that fundamentally transforms and deepens our understanding of the United States. This text is accessible and filled with engaging stories and themes that draw attention to key theoretical and historical interpretations. Gary Y. Okihiro positions Asians and Pacific Islanders within a larger history of people of color in the United States and places the United States in the context of world history and oceanic worlds. Suggested by Sandy Avila, Research & Information Services

 American Panda by Gloria Chao A freshman at MIT, seventeen-year-old Mei Lu tries to live up to her Taiwanese parents' expectations, but no amount of tradition, obligation, or guilt prevent her from hiding several truths-- that she is a germaphobe who cannot become a doctor, she prefers dancing to biology, she decides to reconnect with her estranged older brother, and she is dating a Japanese boy. Can she find a way to be herself, before her web of lies unravels? Suggested by Pam Jaggernauth, Curriculum Materials Center

 Asian American History: a very short introduction by Madeline Y. Hsu Madeline Y. Hsu weaves a fascinating historical narrative of this "American Dream." She shows how Asian American success, often attributed to innate cultural values, is more a result of the immigration laws, which have largely pre-selected immigrants of high economic and social potential. Asian Americans have, in turn, been used by politicians to bludgeon newer (and more populous) immigrant groups for their purported lack of achievement. Hsu deftly reveals how public policy, which can restrict and also selectively promote certain immigrant populations, is a key reason why some immigrant groups appear to be more naturally successful and why the identity of those groups evolves differently from others. Suggested by Richard Harrison, Research & Information Services

 Eyes That Kiss in the Corners by Joanna Ho A young Asian girl notices that her eyes look different from her peers'. They have big, round eyes and long lashes. She realizes that her eyes are like her mother's, her grandmother's, and her little sister's. They have eyes that kiss in the corners and glow like warm tea, crinkle into crescent moons, and are filled with stories of the past and hope for the future. Drawing from the strength of these powerful women in her life, she recognizes her own beauty and discovers a path to self love and empowerment. This powerful, poetic picture book will resonate with readers of all ages and is a celebration of diversity. Suggested by Pam Jaggernauth, Curriculum Materials Center

 Frankly in Love by David Yoon High school senior Frank Li is caught between his parents' traditional expectations and his own Southern California upbringing. His parents have one rule when it comes to romance: ‘Date Korean.’ But Frank falls for Brit Means, who is smart, beautiful-- and white. Joy Song is in a similar predicament, and they make a pact: they'll pretend to date each other in order to gain their freedom. It seems like the perfect plan, until their fake-dating maneuver leaves Frank wondering if he ever really understood love- or himself- at all. Suggested by Pam Jaggernauth, Curriculum Materials Center

 Ghosts of Gold Mountain: the epic story of the Chinese who built the Transcontinental Railroad by Gordon H. Chang The long-lost tale of the Chinese workers who built the Transcontinental Railroad, helping to forge modern America only to disappear into the shadows of history. In this groundbreaking book, award-winning historian Gordon H. Chang recovers the stories of these "silent spikes" and returns them to their rightful place in our national saga. Drawing on recent archaeological findings, as well as payroll records, ship manifests, photographs, and other sources from American and Chinese archives, Chang retraces the laborers' odyssey in breathtaking detail. He introduces individual workers, describes their hopes and fears, and shows how they lived, ate, fought, loved, worked, and worshiped. Their sweat and blood not only fueled the ascent of an interlinked, industrial United States, but also laid the groundwork for a thriving Chinese America. A magisterial feat of scholarship and storytelling, this book honors these immigrants' sacrifice and ingenuity, and celebrates their role in this defining American achievement. Suggested by Richard Harrison, Research & Information Services

 Good Enough by Paul  Yoo A Korean American teenager tries to please her parents by getting into an Ivy League college, but a new guy in school and her love of the violin tempt her in new directions. Suggested by Megan Haught, Student Learning & Engagement/Research & Information Services

 Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu Everyday Willis Wu leaves his tiny room in a Chinatown SRO and enters the Golden Palace restaurant, where Black and White, a procedural cop show, is in perpetual production. He's a bit player here too, but he dreams of being Kung Fu Guy-- and he sees his life as a script. After stumbling into the spotlight, Willis finds himself launched into a wider world than he has ever known, discovering not only the secret history of Chinatown, but the buried legacy of his own family, and what that means for him in today's America. Suggested by Ying Zhang, Administration

 Last Witnesses: reflections on the wartime internment of Japanese Americans edited by Erica Harth To the writers in this book - novelists, memoirists, poets, activists, scholars, students, professionals - the World War II internment of Japanese Americans in the detention camps is an unfinished chapter of American history that mars the nostalgic glow that often surrounds the World War II home front years. Former internees, like John Tateishi and Robert Maeda, and children of detainees and of camp officials join with others in challenging readers to construct a better future by confronting this dark episode from America's World War II scrapbook. Suggested by Richard Harrison, Research & Information Services

 Minor Feelings: an Asian American reckoning by Cathy Park Hong With sly humor and a poet’s searching mind, Hong uses her own story as a portal into a deeper examination of racial consciousness in America today. This intimate and devastating book traces her relationship to the English language, to shame and depression, to poetry and female friendship. A radically honest work of art, it forms a portrait of one Asian American psyche—and of a writer’s search to both uncover and speak the truth. Suggested by Megan Haught, Student Learning & Engagement/Research & Information Services, and Ying Zhang, Administration

 Monstress by Marjorie M. Liu Set in an alternate matriarchal 1900's Asia, in a richly imagined world of art deco-inflected steam punk, Liu tells the story of a teenage girl who is struggling to survive the trauma of war, and who shares a mysterious psychic link with a monster of tremendous power, a connection that will transform them both and make them the target of both human and otherworldly powers Suggested by Sara Duff, Acquisitions and Collection Services

 Paper Son: the inspiring story of Tyrus Wong, immigrant and artist by Julie Leung An inspiring picture-book biography of animator Tyrus Wong, the Chinese American immigrant responsible for bringing Disney's Bambi to life. Before he became an artist named Tyrus Wong, he was a boy named Wong Geng Yeo. He traveled across a vast ocean from China to America with only a suitcase and a few papers. Not papers for drawing--which he loved to do--but immigration papers to start a new life. Once in America, Tyrus seized every opportunity to make art, eventually enrolling at an art institute in Los Angeles. Working as a janitor at night, his mop twirled like a paintbrush in his hands. Eventually, he was given the opportunity of a lifetime--and using sparse brushstrokes and soft watercolors, Tyrus created the iconic backgrounds of Bambi. Suggested by Megan Haught, Student Learning & Engagement/Research & Information Services

 Run Me to Earth by Paul Yoon Alisak, Prany, and Noi--three orphans united by devastating loss - must do what is necessary to survive the perilous landscape of 1960s Laos. When they take shelter in a bombed out field hospital, they meet Vang, a doctor dedicated to helping the wounded at all costs. Soon the teens are serving as motorcycle couriers, delicately navigating their bikes across the fields filled with unexploded bombs, beneath the indiscriminate barrage from the sky. In a world where the landscape and the roads have turned into an ocean of bombs, we follow their grueling days of rescuing civilians and searching for medical supplies, until Vang secures their evacuation on the last helicopters leaving the country. It's a move with irrevocable consequences--and sets them on disparate and treacherous paths across the world. Suggested by Sara Duff, Acquisitions and Collection Services

 Searching for Sylvie Lee: a novel by Jean Kwok A poignant and suspenseful drama that untangles the complicated ties binding three women--two sisters and their mother--in one Chinese immigrant family and explores what happens when the eldest daughter disappears, and a series of family secrets emerge. Sylvie, the beautiful, brilliant, successful older daughter of the Lee family, flies to the Netherlands for one final visit with her dying grandmother-- and vanishes. Amy is too young to remember a time when her parents were newly immigrated and too poor to keep Sylvie, who was raised by a distant relative in a faraway, foreign place. Amy flies to the last place Sylvie was seen, retracing her sister's movements. It seems Sylvie kept painful secrets that reveal more about Amy's family than she ever could have imagined. Suggested by Rachel Mulvihill, Downtown Library

 Somewhere Only We Know by Maurene Goo Told from two viewpoints, teens Lucky, a very famous K-pop star, and Jack, a part-time paparazzo who is trying to find himself, fall for each other against the odds through the course of one stolen day. Suggested by Pam Jaggernauth, Curriculum Materials Center

 Strangers from a Different Shore: a history of Asian Americans by Ronald Takaki In an extraordinary blend of narrative history, personal recollection, and oral testimony, the author presents a sweeping history of Asian Americans. He writes of the Chinese who laid tracks for the transcontinental railroad, of plantation laborers in the canefields of Hawaii, of "picture brides" marrying strangers in the hope of becoming part of the American dream. He tells stories of Japanese Americans behind the barbed wire of U.S. internment camps during World War II, Hmong refugees tragically unable to adjust to Wisconsin's alien climate and culture, and Asian American students stigmatized by the stereotype of the “model minority.” Suggested by Richard Harrison, Research & Information Services

 The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See This beautiful, thoughtful novel illuminates a world turned upside down, one where the women are in charge, engaging in dangerous physical work, and the men take care of the children. A classic Lisa See story—one of women’s friendships and the larger forces that shape them—this book introduces readers to the fierce and unforgettable female divers of Jeju Island and the dramatic history that shaped their lives. Suggested by Sandy Avila, Research & Information Services

 What We Carry: a memoir by Maya Shanbhag Lang Lang grew up idolizing her brilliant mother, an accomplished psychologist who immigrated to the United States from India, completed her residency and earned an American medical degree while nurturing young children and keeping a traditional Indian home. Her mother's stories motivated her, encouraged her, offered solace when she needed it. When Lang becomes a mother herself, her mother becomes a grandmother who is cold and distant. Reexamining the stories of her childhood, Lang realized that being able to accept both myth and reality is what has finally brought her into adulthood Suggested by Ying Zhang, Administration

 Your House Will Pay by Steph Cha In the wake of the police shooting of a black teenager, Los Angeles is as tense as it's been since the unrest of the early 1990s. But Grace Park and Shawn Matthews have their own problems. Grace is sheltered and largely oblivious, living in the Valley with her Korean-immigrant parents, working long hours at the family pharmacy. Shawn has already had enough of politics and protest after an act of violence shattered his family years ago. But when another shocking crime hits LA, both the Park and Matthews families are forced to face down their history while navigating the tumult of a city on the brink of more violence. Suggested by Sara Duff, Acquisitions and Collection Services

[hamliet]

I can’t believe you’re reading 2ha too now! I started following u way back when you were posting tg and snk meta and it’s so weird in an amazing way how you started posting mdzs meta at the same time I started reading it! I’d like to ask you for your thoughts on 2ha so far? (Maybe on Nangong Si and Ye Wangxi’s relationship?) Thank you :)

Ahhhh hi Anon!!! Thank you for sticking with me through all my fandom phases! And hooray, my first 2ha ask!! My general thoughts on the story are that it is a highly enjoyable story with fantastic, compelling characters and genuine emotional beats, though it also was thematically contradictory. That said, I really enjoyed it, and I’m eagerly looking forward to the live action even if it’s going to be heavily censored! I love it and want to make more content for it.

But onto the meat of your ask: Ye Wangxi and Nangong Si, the ship that tears our hearts out. *art is from the audio drama* So 2ha's cultivation world is, like the worlds in MXTX’s novels, utterly hypocritical, corrupt, and filled with people desperate for a justice that does not exist; it's also much more cynical than MXTX's novels in its view of humanity. Nangong Si's and Ye Wangxi's arcs are wrapped up in this view of the world, in concepts such as corruption and justice and the like, so I'm going to open by talking a bit about this before delving into their arcs, and keep in mind I will have discuss spoilers from the manual translation.  

I don't think there's a better summary of what 2ha thinks about justice than what Xue Zhengyong says in this scene when a horribly abused child is on trial for terrible things the child, now grown, went on to do: 

Fate...

Some people were born rich. 

It's not fair.

When fate had poured injustice on those at the bottom, a mere price adjustment order could take the lives of the loved ones around them.

Where is justice?

They were all living people. How could they not hate him? How could they feel relieved?

Even if this child had missed it, even if he was not his blood kin, even if his fate played with him … Thinking of this, his heart still ached.

...

Xue raised his face and watched the clouds drift by."Okay, now that his sin has been repaid, he should at least repay the debt he owes this world." 

The wind was blowing .Xue Zheng Yong suddenly choked with sobs.

"But this world owes him … Did someone give it back to him... Has anyone returned it to him … " 

What about the crimes done to this person to make them that way? Does punishing this person bring any justice? How do we live in a world that is--perhaps irretrievably--broken? Every character explores this idea, and Ye Wangxi and Nangong Si are no exception. 

Nangong Si and Ye Wangxi are both obvious foils: they're children used by their parents, tools more than people. They also both--but especially Nangong Si--foil Shi Mei and Mo Ran in this, in terms of something horrible happening to their mother, something that scarred them for the rest of their lives. For example, Nangong Si's last words to his mother were: 

"I don't understand, I don't want to understand, I …I …” Nangong Si raised his tearful eyes and cried out to his mother, who was outside the forbidden spell, "I hate you! I don't have a mother like you! "

Mo Ran’s mother died and he had to drag her rotting corpse for two weeks to get to a place where he could bury her; Shi Mei’s mother was brutally eaten alive for her power. From these incidents, all three boys learn that the world is cruel in a distinct flavor that will influence everything they do from then on: Mo Ran learns no one will help him even if he begs for it, leading to him being both extremely clingy and extremely mistrustful; Nangong Si learns fate can be cruel and that he, too, can be cruel; Shi Mei learns that he can’t protect everyone and that his heritage puts him and his loved ones, all his people really, in huge danger--and that people will do evil things for power. Guess what he ends up doing. 

Ye Wangxi is also a Mo Ran foil: adopting a false persona and different role to please the people who took them in and were kind to them. Mo Ran pretends to be Xue Zhengyong and Madame Wang's nephew, when he really isn't; Ye Wangxi pretends to be a man to please the father who adopted her. That father is gray; I mean, technically he's morally repulsive, but he did genuinely care for Ye Wangxi. However, Ye Wangxi's willingness to sacrifice her life is not entirely a positive thing: clearly, Nangong Si will do whatever he has to in order to protect her, even marry Song Qiutong; his sacrifice there, likewise, leads to unhappiness for them both. 

Ye Wangxi and Song Qiutong are definitively foiled, and I'm going to sound as if I'm saying Ye Wangxi=good and Song Qiutong=bad, when, while that may be how the novel frames it, is certainly not what the novel actually says (it's an objective contradiction) nor is it what I interpreted. But they are distinct foils, which is why they are the two characters romantically linked to Nangong Si, representing to him the two paths he could choose to go down. Ye Wangxi will sacrifice herself to protect others, as seen in the sacrifice of her love for Nangong Si and her sacrifice of her identity and willingness to sacrifice her life.  

In contrast, Song Qiutong will throw others under the bus to save herself. For example, when she is accused of cheating on Nangong Si, she does not trust people to defend her and falsely accuses Ye Wangxi of rape--even though Ye Wangxi had previously risked her safety to save Song Qiutong from an auction. Now, I've an issue with how the novel frames Song Qiutong for this: I don't understand why Song Qiutong is condemned when (as far as we and Mo Ran himself know at the time) Mo Ran is himself a rapist and when she was entrapped into the situation (i.e. if many characters hadn't been put in certain situations, they wouldn't have done terrible things), especially given her past (constantly living under the threat of being killed or raped--let's be honest, if she was deemed at fault, do you really think they'd just let a Butterfly Bone Beauty go?) and given story otherwise stating that people shouldn't be faulted for wanting to live. Who has repaid her for the wrongs done for her? 

I digress. Still, the tl;dr is that Song Qiutong's way of surviving involves hurting others. Song Qiutong also directly foils Nangong Si. Nangong Si starts out as... well, also as a very self-centered person who didn’t care that Song Qiutong was about to meet a fate worse than death in the light of the inconvenience Ye Wangxi saving her caused him. Additionally, he takes his frustrations out on those around him:

However, even after his father is revealed to be like, the literal worst, Nangong Si cannot condemn his father. He could easily abandon him: in fact, in this cruel world, it might be perceived as more righteous for him to do so, but he doesn't. He gives his father a chance, and when they need a sacrifice and the most logical one is his mentally de-aged father: Nangong Si faces a choice: does he want to be like Song Qiutong? Or does he want to be like Ye Wangxi? He chooses to be like Ye Wangxi. This is not, however, a solely beautiful choice, because remember 2ha's world sucks and its suckery infects everything. The world itself is wrong, and so righteousness--true righteousness--is utterly impossible. Nangong Si sacrifices his life to save them all, but that leaves Ye Wangxi alone and many characters (and readers) grieving. It also could be read as highlighting, for Mo Ran at least, where he has yet to go: a few chapters earlier he almost sacrificed his reputation to warn everyone, but panicked and did not in the end. Mo Ran, of course, is related to Nangong Si by blood and could have sacrificed himself (I'm not saying he should have; the circumstances suck), so I suppose you could view it as Mo Ran still slowly developing (and his callous treatment of Rong Jiu and then entrapment of Song Qiutong as him slowly learning, but if so I wish it had been called out as a "well, I handled that hypocritically" moment later on). Or maybe that's reaching on my part. *shrugs* Ye Wangxi is a moral character, perhaps the most righteous in the story. She is the only one who stands by Mo Ran when he's put on trial to be tortured, declaring confidently:

Ye Wangxi fed him some warm water.

Mo Ran said in a low voice, "Why …."

"You helped A-Si." Ye Wangxi did not raise her head. "You helped me too."

"... On Mount Flood Dragon, if I was the one to die, Nangong will …" Ye Wangxi's hand paused slightly. She was trembling, but she still said in the end, "Everyone wants to live. I won't blame you just because you want to live."

"..."

"Drink it." She said, .”..you've been helping me and A-Si by risking our lives. Now, even if no one is willing to help you, I will still help you." Her expression was still dull, but it was firm. “I'm here." As she said 'here', she was indeed standing by the side of Mo Ran.

It's fitting, then, that Ye Wangxi's ending contrasts her with Shi Mei. She rescues refugees before the final battle and then travels the world with Nangong Si's wolf, because she will never forget the one she loves, and to presumably act justly and do righteousness, sow kindness into a world, rescue people despite how rescuing Song Qiutong actually endangered both her and Nangong Si. 

Shi Mei wanted to change the world, quite literally rewriting time, but only made it worse in the end. Ye Wangxi's way of change might be slower, might be less fantastical, but it's not going to hurt people in the meantime. (Side note: I wish the novel would have been more optimistic and come up with some kind of justice for the Butterfly Bone Beauty people, but it really doesn't as far as I understood (this may be wrong; the MTL of the last twenty or so chapters are confusing!))

[iinfortunii]

rules: code of conduct.

BEGIN.

Before we start, I would like you to have certain things in mind when approaching me ooc. I am very shy and quite awkward, which results in me not being much of a talker; however, I will always try my best to be friendly to whoever wants to approach. I dislike pet names so please do not use them with me unless we are very close. There will be times when I'm just exhausted, so my wording could sound rude/aggressive, to which I apologize in advance -I never mean to hurt people’s feelings. I also reserve the right to interact with WHOEVER I want, and pestering me about it will only get you blocked.

Updates will be made as required.

I. BASIC.

A. This blog is: Selective / Independent / Canon Divergent / NSFW / Mutuals only / Singleship / Mostly iconless / Multiverse / AU, Crossover, OC, and Multimuse friendly / Vaguely affiliated with the OP RP fandom.

B. I am a very slow rper for many reasons —school, family, my ever-fluctuating mood —and I would appreciate it if you refrained from pestering me for replies. In return I offer as much patience as necessary. Think of this blog as low activity please.

C. English is not my mother language so I apologize in advance for any mistakes made.

D. I track the tag #iinfortunii, although mentioning me works just as fine.

E. Constructive criticism is always welcome but anon hate will be immediately deleted. I have no problems if you disagree with my portrayal, but it doesn't give you the right to harass me.

F. Mun and muse are both over 18, so there are chances that heavy content will be present; however I won't be writing smut. I can roleplay anything before or after the act if requested, but the moment things get far too explicit, I'll do a fade-to-black. I ask of you to not lie about your age or else you’ll be blocked indefinitely.

G. This is a heavily headcanon-based blog, and changes are likely to be made as more information is revealed about him, though I reserve the right to adjust the new information according to my interpretation of Deuce or simply ignore it, which is why I’m canon divergent.

H. If you'd like to turn an ask into a thread, you can turn it into a new post, or reblog from me, as I won't be using the Tumblr asks anymore due to the problems that come with formatting and such.

I. Ask box is open for everyone ic or ooc, but you aren't allowed to turn it into a thread and nor I will reply to it if we’re not mutuals. Please don't push me, because I won't hesitate to block.

J. No godmoding —only a minor is allowed if it moves a thread forward —or metagaming, please. Don't kill Deuce either, unless plotted beforehand, and most importantly, don't hold your muse back.

K. Discord is available for mutuals upon request.

L. Just because I write something it does not mean I condone it. Please have this in mind and again, do not pester me about it. Any and all nsfw matters will be tagged accordingly. There will be triggering topics present, and you can know more about this on the section below.

M. DO NOT involve me in drama or call-out posts. I’m heavily against both things. On this note, you’ll never see me rebloging a call-out post. This culture is so damaging and toxic, and I firmly believe no one should play the role of the judge for the good of the community just because you had issues with someone or don’t agree with the things they roleplay. Talk things privately, be mature about it, hard-block the person and move on. I am also very aware that a lot of people have done things that can’t be excused, but I like to believe that people can change for the better. If you try to drag me into it, I'll hard block any and all people involved indefinitely.

II. TRIGGERS.

A. They will be tagged as trigger tw, trigger / and trigger cw.

B. I do my best to stay up to date with my mutuals triggers. Your comfort is way more important to me than you might think, so never be hesitant to approach me via IM, (anonymous) ask or stop following me.

C. Triggers that are likely to appear, although some more than others: violence || blood || death || drugs || abuse || knives || body image || medical equipment || suggestive content || etc

D. I have no triggers, so you are free to go wild with your content. I only ask you remember to tag your nsfw (both written and visual), please.

III. INTERACTIONS.

A. Deuce won't like everyone. He might/will make wrong assumptions about your character. He will insult and bite back. He won't always be nice to those he likes. He does many things that serve his interests. You, as the mun, have no reason to take it personal, because I'm won't follow someone I don't like; if you DO take it personal however, and decide to rouse drama, then I'll be hard-blocking you. Goes for me as well —I have no reason to get angry for any of the things noted above.

B. My bonds page displays the relationships that have been built over time, not necessarily through interaction alone but over plotting as well. Refer to it for more information.

C. Interactions with OCs related to canon characters will only take place as long as said OCs have a detailed about page. Personally, I'm not interested in the idea of an OC being blood-related to my portrayal, so I apologize in advance.

D. Formatting isn’t a big thing across my blogs, save for the small text. Please don’t mix either sup/sub with small text when writing with me, as I have eyesight problems. Don’t use colored text either.

E. Non-romantic pre-established relationships are allowed! Just make sure to talk it out with me first, yeah?

01. Spade / Whitebeard pirates (canon and original characters alike that i am MUTUALS with) will have a pre-established relationship as long as the other mun is comfortable with such idea, though that relationship will be limited to merely crewmates, unless discussed otherwise.

F. You don’t need to match my writing length as long as I’m given enough to work with. If something about my reply bothers or doesn’t work with you, let me know and I’ll re-work it.

G. I really enjoy plotting scenarios or talking out about the relationships my muse could have with other muses, so hit me up if you’ve got any ideas! I’ll try to do the same!

H. Mun does not equal muse, so don’t go assuming I’m a jerk simply because Deuce is an asshole from time to time. I’m set on the idea that I’ll give people the same treatment they give me —which is always nice and kind. Kudos to everyone for this ♡

I. I don’t use a threadtracker because I rely on my memory (terrible mistake, I know), but I try to draft people’s replies as soon as I see them. If by any reason it seems like I lost it, then please let me know / send me a link with it and I’ll be deeply grateful.

J. I don’t do nor reply to greetings starters for matters of my own comfort, so I ask of you to never expect a starter or a reply from them.

IV. SHIPPING.

A. Singleship, with the spot taken by daadzi, which means Deuce is no longer open for romantic relationships.

01. Under no circumstances, I will accept more romantic relationships once the spot is taken. That being said, I won’t discourage your muse from falling for / hitting on him, although I ask you to understand he will never respond with the same interest or will never react gently if he’s pushed too far.

02. If my shipping partner is comfortable enough, I'll interact with duplicates with the condition that the relationship is strictly platonic.

B. Constant interaction, mutual interest, and chemistry are a must for the sake of better communication (both ic and ooc, preferably).

C. Please do not approach me if you wish our characters to have either a: one night stand or friends with benefits type of relationships. It won’t work out due to the nature of Deuce’s personality, and for that I apologize.

E. My ship has its own tag so you're free to block it if you don't want to see it on your dashboard. In addition, I'll also tag those posts with only the ship name for this very purpose.

F. Please do not force ships on me.

V. CELEBRATIONS.

A. First off, I am absolutely terrible at keeping up with dates, and to be frank, I am not the biggest fan of celebrating, which is why I think it’s necessary to say I won’t be partaking in any holidays, not even Deuce’s birthday (not that he has one, to begin with). Obviously I will still reply to any gifts received, and will send out things in return —you know, common courtesy.

B. I won't be sending out birthday gifts every year, and I might write drabbles for people once in a blue moon; it doesn’t mean they will be done for the specific date though, so please be patient.

VI. REASONS TO NOT FOLLOW BACK / UNFOLLOW.

A. Too much drama / call-outs / vague posts / sexual content.

B. Content makes me uncomfortable.

C. You are a personal blog without a visible rp sideblog. Please make sure it's easy to find.

D. You do not have a proper tag system.

E. Your blog doesn’t have a rules and about pages.

F. You lack the manners to deal with people respectfully.

G. I have no interest / lost interest.

H. I'm constantly / only used as a meme archive.

I. Other reasons may apply. I will soft block so we can both cease following each other and avoid any potential awkward situations. I won’t make a fuss if you decide to unfollow so I expect the same courtesy.

VII. ABOUT BEATRICE.

She is not a real person. Her concept as Deuce’s (toxic) pseudolover is my creation and was somewhat inspired from the real life Beatrice Portinari. Do have in mind that Deuce doesn’t talk about her so your muse can’t simply approach him and ask about her unless they can go through his memories / read his mind / any capability alike or he speaks about her, though it won't take a genius to figure out that she's a product of his imagination.

You can read about her by clicking here -link to be added.

She serves as a lie to shield himself from the internalized homophobia he deals with up until meeting Ace.

NOTE: As stated previously, Mun =/= muse, but I too have been dealing with compulsory heterosexuality for far too long, so I'd like to apologize in advance for projecting a bit of that into my portrayal. I'll work so that this part makes sense with what we've been given from Ace's novel.

VIII. MISCELLANEOUS.

A. I will never force people to follow me, so if by any reason you have to unfollow/block me, please go ahead. Your comfort matters and have every right to do what you must to ensure your wellbeing. With that said, I will not tolerate and will immediately hard block if you try to police my content.

B. I do not follow back immediately, and it can take me from a few hours to several days to follow back. Do not take it personally if I choose not to.

C. If I follow it’s because I am interested in interacting. I only ask you to be patient because it might take me a while to gather the courage to send something to your inbox or talk to you.

D. I have. ZERO knowledge about medicine. Don’t expect me to go full force and try to be 100% accurate, because I won’t.

E. I practice reblog karma (send a meme to someone if I’m rebloging it from them). If you see something you’d like to reblog but have no intention in sending something yourself, then please reblog from the source.

IX. FINISH.

Thank you for taking the time to read this! As you might have noticed, there’s no password to send. Make sure to check the psa tag for any updates, or don’t hesitate to send an ask if there’s anything unclear! I do my best so as not to post too much OOC posts, but sometimes it just happens. If it's nothing important, then I'll erase it whenever I have the chance/remember.

Keanu Reeves vc: You’re all breathtaking!

[lostsoulaltair]

OnS Theories (13S). Second Theory (Special Theory and Analysis) - Sika Madu and Shinoa, the journey and their relation with Yuichiro

Hello everyone, I hope everyone’s doing well! This is the 2nd theory and the last I post for the moment until a new chapter comes for the manga story; in the meantime I’ll be thinking more about it and perhaps update, but nevertheless, I’d like to thank everyone for their constant support!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vfcrC87v8A

NOTE: You might wonder why I gave the theory such title when I don’t involve ships. As I’ve stated so far, ships aren’t included in theories; the theory itself will focus on the reasons why these two characters ended up interacting or meeting along the fact that a third party mostly known as Shikama Doji, is involved with this.

Therefore, let’s begin!

Shinoa Hiragi and Yuichiro Hyakuya are well known to be the main lead protagonists of Vampire Reing Story; of course, that doesn’t mean everything resolves around them; every character is important within the story. But then, why do I state that Sika Madu and Shinoa have made a journey?

First of all, in older theories, I’ve stated that Shinoa is literally a part of Shikama Doji or a reflection, what do I mean?

Shinoa has a lot of mannerism Shikama has and that’s not because he influences her decisions, instead, it’s more that her personality was molded towards what Shikama or Sika Madu is like but with one sole difference, what kind of difference you might ask.

There’s a reason why Shinoa is the perfect vessel for Shikama Doji and this is because there’s compatibility, Shinoa was a being that lacked lively emotions,furthermore it was stated by Shikama that she herself is a part of him.

But, to give you a better idea why they are alike, there two pictures below speak about their way of speaking:

Now, you might perhaps believe the author is likely to repeat speeches but so far, those two are the only ones that have a similar way of speech whenever their dialogues appear.

Therefore, those two are two sides of the same coin.

Now, focusing more into the theory, you might wonder why I stated a journey, therefore, let’s start explaining about it.

Sika Madu’s journey and relation with Yuichiro

Sika Madu, before he revealed his true colors to Ashera Tepes, was displayed as a kind buyer, he made sure Ashera and Yu ate; but now, why do I state there was a journey and relation with Yu?

Sika Madu long ago used to use Yu as a test subject for his experiments, it can be said that the Yu from the past was made out of his real blood (The blood of the angel Michaela, the one sleeping in the coffin)  or certain composition that gave autonomy to Yuichiro which might actually explain why the Yu from Greece wasn’t very smart as for the aspect for his memories, it was due to the fact Yuichiro was killed along the fact that he was cloned when the experiments Sika Madu performed wiith persons he bought ended up in failure.

Still, what kind of journey did Sika Madu have with Yu?

Despite Sika being centered on his goals and experiments, he displayed a kind demanor, he was aware of human behavior and was quite intrigued by how Yu evolved once he was able to create young vampires; furthermore, it can be said that Sika Madu learnt more about how humans behaved, what their natural reactions were, their traits along the fact that he was aware that the vampires he sired adquired more traits than an average human.

But, within this journey, before leaving the progenitor council, he was focused on creating a new Michaela vessel, which is why the vampires that ended up being turned by him or by Yu’s blood in Ashera’s case were failures in terms to achieve becoming Michaela.

Once he found that a future vessel would give him what he required, he decided to leave the Progenitor Council and take Ashera Tepes with him for being the first vampire that wasn’t turned by him.

As for his relation with Yu, well, it can be implied that the way he saw Yu was nothing less than a test subject but was surprised by the changes Yu had within time; such surprise can be seen in chapter 74 when he calls Yu as a supposed empty vessel.

Shinoa Hiragi’s journey and relation with Yuichiro

Shinoa Hiragi was born as the youngest one in the Hiragi Family, she received the training other Hiragi received but, compared to her siblings, she was locked down from human sight except for Mahiru and Guren until the end of the world came in.

Shinoa was a person that ended up learning to grow alone, she didn’t get to experiment the warm love of a family, furthermore, when she got Shikama Doji back, she felt completed, as if the missing piece of hers came back to her.

Shikama Doji of course, told her about her desires along dreams she has deep within her heart but of course, Shinoa learnt very well how to make her heart being unreachable for demons, which is why he referred to her as the perfect vessel that could ever exist.

With the pass of time, eventually Shinoa was able to meet Yuichiro Hyakuya; it can be said that at the beginning, she saw him as another person she had to watch so said person could enter in the demon army, of course, such thing ended up in the creation of the Squad we’ve come to known within the story.

Within this, Shinoa taught Yu to be patient, to follow orders so there wouldn’t be deaths within the squad and family they ended up building with Mitsuba, Yoichi and Kimizuki; eventually, Mika and Narumi.; but, at the same time, Yu taught her the values of being a human, the meaning of treasuring those around you, the concept of a family, and furthermore, something within Shinoa grew, which is “love”.

Of course, many believe Shinoa is a lustful person because Shikama Doji in chapter 66 and 67 stated Shinoa’s lust would overcome her but, why do I imply that’s not the case?

To begin with, Shinoa within the story, started to learn what it meant to be human, furthermore, the emotions she experiments are something new for her, she doesn’t know what to think of said emotions, which is why she’s awkward whenever Yu got too close to her.

NOTE: Theories don’t involve ships.

Shinoa so far has displayed a selfless “love”. What do I mean?

She’s worried about Yu’s well being, and since he is the one that taught her the concept of a family, taught her the value of a human life along other details, she’s willing to put in practice what she’s been learning.

To certain extend, it can be said that she shows admiration towards Yu’s will and how he faces the world so he can achieve what he wishes for.Thus, it can be said that the emotion she feels so far is respect towards Yu’s will and a caring side that was eventually born within her.

Now, perhaps many might wonder where exactly is the journey between these two. The journey itself are the many adventures the squad has had, the new additions, new beginnings, losses, moments of sadness, etc. Along the fact, that both have learnt from each other to grow more 

Now, once stated these two points, there’s something Shikama and Shinoa share in common, what could it be?

Correct. Both have shared time with Yuichiro, both have viewed and learnt some things from him in a different manner; but then, does this mean Shinoa will eventually use Yu?

Of course not; despite the fact that I’ve stated Shinoa and Shikama are two faces of the same coin; there’s a huge gap between them, but what kind of gap?

First of all, Shinoa Hiragi is like the human side of Shikama Doji/Sika Madu, I mean, despite her being able to use the power she harbors or her being able to use her position as a Hiragi, she chose a different lifestyle, she didn’t focus on going through a path of ambition or keeping up with human experiments, instead, she seeks to put an end to the messed up world she and the others live in.

Furthermore, despite being possessed by the first, Shinoa’s mindset hasn’t changed, her goal is still firm along her mission, which is to ensure the squad ends up alive and survives; along the fact the end up finding a way to ensure their safety and priorities.

What do you think guys? Do you believe Shinoa might end up losing herself or not? Do you believe she has the power to actually turn the tables against the first? What are your thoughts about her or her future?

Let me know!

[capricornus-rex]

Stronger Than Blood (5)

Chapter 5: New Recruit | Cal Kestis x Reader

Requested by Anon

Summary: Meeting another Force-sensitive was one thing, but having them related to one of the most formidable known duelers was a whole other story to tell. While being stranded in another planet after barely escaping the Haxion Brood, Cal crosses paths with someone who’s at a crossroads with their own identity and lineage

Also tagging @ayamenimthiriel​

Also posted in AO3

Tags: Force-User! Reader, Force-Sensitive Reader, Sith-Related! Reader

Chapters: 1 – 2 – 3 | Previous: Part 4 | Next: Part 6 | Masterlist

5 of ?

The view of the city in the distance was new yet nostalgic to you.

You can’t remember the last time you saw the city in this point of view.

Both of you dismounted the speeders, you spotted Cal’s slightly troubled look, probably on what to do with these speeders.

“We can keep it, you know. It’s not like we’ll have someone to return it to anyway,” you casually suggested.

“The Mantis doesn’t exactly have a compartment for speeders,”

“Oh, that’s right,” you grumbled, somewhat disappointed that these were the bigger type of speeders, not the compact ones that can be brought along in ships.

With the Mantis up close, you had to step back to emphasize its size—the dorsal fin did its job is making it look bigger—and you told yourself it was a beautiful ship, past the damages of course.

Cal sighed in frustration, putting his hands on his waist as he strode towards the Mantis. He was replied with a smug chuckle from you, he turned around to see that the exact part was resting in your grasp, held up in mid-air for him to see.

“You sure about that?” you chirped.

His mouth was left agape, one corner of his mouth curling up in an impressed smile, and strode back to you. His memory brings him back to the moment where that strong energy wave—which he had no doubt was the Force—that imploded from you; meanwhile, you were there with the casual façade, failing to mask the fact that you revealed your true nature compulsively minutes ago.

Cal thought it was wise not to bring it up yet.

Later. He thought.

“Wait, what about the other parts? The suspension coil? The landing gear ligament?”

You chuckled again, you unfurled your poncho to reveal a bag slung across your back. “Well, it’s a funny coincidence I had the foresight to bring a bag with everything in it—or maybe that’s just the errand girl in me with the habit of bringing a bag anywhere, all thanks to Tundu.”

“Huh, smart girl,”

A part of Cal guessed that the Force may have guided you, in one way or another, to have such a foresight; but he didn’t doubt your habit and intuition altogether. It’s just with the way you demonstrated such raw power, he was beginning to think of all the possibilities that had to do with you and the Force.

“Oh, I guess I should let you meet my crew,”

Suddenly, your visage shifted from the perky, confident mechanic to a shying violet. Meeting new people was a bit difficult for you, especially with your nature and capabilities, and being attached to people you’re interacting with was a struggling balance between fear and desire. You tried to relax, thought of the things you could and would say to them, and what things you should try to keep from them for the time being.

The Mantis’s ramp unfolded and Cal beckoned you when the incline still hasn’t touched the soil. You followed him into the interior of the ship. It was cramped, the space could be half of a smuggler’s freighter, but the sight of the plants made you smile, it’s not every day you see a ship with flowers as decorations. You continued to survey the interior as Cal searched for his crewmates. On your left, you found the holotable and tried to guess the planets that were flashed on the hologram from the center of the ship—where you stand. To the other side, you found the galley and lounge, where the terrarium is.

You approached the potted red flower across the lounge table, your fingers felt for the petals—they ran smooth against the satin-like texture and you nestled it over your fingertips.

“Cere, Greez! This is [y/n], she’s gonna be our extra set of hands in patching up the Mantis,”

“Well now, I hope he didn’t cause you any trouble to hire you,” Cere added.

“Not really,” you shake your head while you spoke in a casual, melodic tone.

Oh lady, if only you knew. You screamed in your head while flashing a friendly but awkwardly smile, the same as Cal.

Greez didn’t mean to offend, but he pointed out your age and that you’re practically as young as Cal, he actually expected someone older.

“Oh, don’t get me wrong, I mean well. But I just don’t think you know the gravity of the damage you’re gonna have to fix—along with us fixing the ship too, of course,”

As a rebuttal, you squinted your eyes and slowly nodded. The desire to prove this stout, gray creature wrong burned hot in your bloodstreams—in a healthier and better way, compared to the bloodlust you had earlier.

“Yeah, I’ve dealt with enough ships to know what I’m doing. I think I can make it work,” you pursed your lips, hinting the confidence of your craft. “Just lend me some power tools, I guess?”

“We have a trunk of it that you can use,”

“Great,” you grinned. You clapped your hands. “So, where do I start?”

Having left with no choice, Greez finally caved to having a young mechanic as their extra set of helping hands. He made himself feel better by grumbling consolations under his breath as he marched to the storage compartment to fetch the tools.

He stopped in his tracks and wagged his two pointer fingers in your direction, but mostly towards you, “Do not put a scratch on her.”

“Not even a hairline,” you jokingly raised your hands in a surrendering position as you assured him.

“Okay good,” he murmured and continued to the storage.

It didn’t take long for Greez to come back out from the storage while carrying the trunk of tools. He split up the jobs for each part of the ship, he volunteered to replace the landing gear ligament and suspension coil while you were told to work on the hyperdrive compressor—and Greez personally asked Cal to keep an eye on you while he helps you.

“Don’t worry, Captain, I’ll be careful with your beauty here,”

“Yeah, she’s a beauty alright! And I hope you don’t make her ugly,”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,”

Just from the smell, you went ahead into the engine room, scaling down the thin ladder over the banister to find the damaged hyperdrive compressor. The smoke may have cleared but the odor of the cooked machinery was still harsh on the nose. From your bag, you fished out a protective mask and goggles and put them on before beginning your work.

Cal was jumping between checking on you and helping Greez, but mostly he spent his time doing the latter—since the Lateron couldn’t reach certain parts of the landing gear. You wagered the entire service would last for a few hours—given the patchwork and then the testing, and the possible redo of the repairs in case anything goes wrong—but this didn’t make you flinch not one bit. Tundu taught you well enough to know more than what goes in and out of a ship. This was the last favor that you could do to honor his name.

As you worked, your mind dwelled on what could have happened to him, the reality that he might be dead minutes after you fled was a hard pill to swallow. The sparks that spewed out of the broken compressor as you tore it off reminded you of the blinding blaster projectiles that ricocheted back and forth in the store. You tighten your grip every once in a while whenever the sensation of the Force swirls across the nerves of your palm and fingers. Only now did it sink into you that Cal witnessed you wield it—in the same way someone you once knew did.

“Hey, [y/n]?” the call of your name made you flinch. You pull away your mask and goggles to acknowledge Cal. “We’re almost done with the landing gear. Do you need some help with that?”

“Oh, I…” you stammered. “I’m okay on my own. Thanks for checking.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah,”

“Well, call me if you need anything,”

You nodded, promptly wearing back your protective gear and continued with your work. As you swiftly turned your back against him, Cal didn’t actually leave the room, he only took a step back and made a sound against the metal floor. He knew that he shouldn’t disturb you, but the skirmish back at the store significantly intrigued him. He timed the apparent moment where you would pause from welding, he sucked air and said your name again.

“I… um… Is it okay if we talk later—after all this?”

Your eyebrows slightly pulled and softly nodded; you sensed the thought that bothered him, a part of you already knows what he wanted to talk about but you dismissed the thought. You continued your work anyway.

The new compressor fits like a glove. You scaled over the railing and left the room to look for Greez and Cal. They just entered the ship almost at the same time as you left the engine room, Cal met your eyes while he wipes the black oil from his one, bare hand.

“The compressor’s fit now,” you gestured at the engine room with you thumb over your shoulder. “Next thing to do is test her out.”

“Alrighty then! As soon as we get off this moon, the better! I’ll fire her up,” the Lateron captain waddled towards the cockpit, wiping the sweat off of his brow with his jacket sleeve.

Cal walked up to you, hurriedly tucking his wiping rag into the back pocket of his pants.

“So, I know this is gonna sound weird or very abrupt—or both—but, there’s something I wanted to ask you,” he stammered. “It’s about that… thing back in the city. You know, starting off with the part at Melgu’s shack.”

I knew it. You thought to yourself, but you didn’t say it in spite. You simply saw it coming.

“About that, I—”

“Oi, c’mere, you two!”

You were cut off by Greez summoning the two of you to get to the cockpit. You lightly tapped his chest, your knuckles knocking against the leather armor, as you walked ahead of him to the front; he rolled his eyes and promised himself to bring it up again later.

Upon stepping into the cockpit, you were met with screens from all sides—front, left, and right. They all flashed so continuously that they almost looked like starlight if you squint your eyes. Greez pointed to the monitor on the upper dashboard, where your eyes followed.

“Is that what I think it is?”

“The new compressor is still trying to integrate with the ship’s main power grid,” you explained.

“Yeah, that’s right, I knew that,” the captain shrugged.

Greez checked the monitors again, he looked at the same screen where the diagnostics of the hyperdrive compressor reflected. It was now blinking green, the computer flashed the details of the compressor’s status.

“Well, one thing’s for sure, the Mantis likes the new toy,”

You smiled to yourself. Satisfied with a job well done.

“How long until we take off safely with the new compressor, captain?” Cere interjected.

“I’m prepping her up already, approximately twenty minutes,” Greez replied.

Cal stole a glimpse of you, still smiling to celebrate your successful handiwork on the Mantis, but he watched that smile melt away and you turn back without even looking at him. He caught up to you in the lounge, collecting your bag and cloak that you dumped onto the sofa.

“Wait,”

You erected from your hunched posture to the sound of your name.

“Where will you go?”

You exhaled bitterly, thinking of the right words while planning your new life at the same time.

“I got nowhere else to go. This was the only home I’ve ever known, ” you cracked, fiddling with the cracked leather of your mechanic’s gloves. You dug your nails into the chipping material to fight back tears—remembering that you’ve lost your home to that Quarren scumbag and his men. No use in going back to your original home planet either.

“Why not stay with us?”

You jerk your head to Cal, startled by the sudden offer.

“We could use a good mechanic like you,” he added.

Color flushed and burned your cheeks. You averted your gaze from Cal to your things and pretended to rummage your bag for things you might haven’t packed yet.

Look at yourself, you bumbling mess! You scolded yourself as you blindly pawed through your bag. Quit the bag act—he’s not buying it!

“I… I’d love to stay but…”

“But?” Cal hummed.

He’s got you there, you don’t have a follow up for that. When he sensed that you were worried about warming up to his crewmates, he assured you that they know you mean well—your heart skipped a beat for various reasons, both good and bad—and it wouldn’t hurt to have an extra in the headcount.

“You’re really sure?”

“Of course,” Cere politely and warmly cuts in, even though the question was for Cal. “We take Cal’s word on it, but you have to earn our trust.”

“I have no problem with that,” even though you technically do, with your capability as a Force-sensitive, they’re bound to know sooner or later—you’re already mentally planning it in your mind when to tell them, or at least prepare yourself once they bring it up.

You actually enjoyed the warmth that this crew exuded, even with all their eyes on you, not once did it feel like they’re harshly piercing into your soul—rather, it felt like they were hugging you with their gazes. It was so nice, too nice in fact that it almost made you tear up. With a hopeful, deep breath, you shake your hand on it and joined the crew.

“Welcome aboard, [y/n]!” Cal beamed as he returned your handshake. At this point, you didn’t care anymore if he saw the pink hue burning in your cheeks.

[imaginedhaven]

Rules of Engagement: Chapter Fourteen

Link to Masterpost

Another day, another chapter! These words have been fighting to get onto the page for so long they’re just flying by now that it’s their time. I hope you enjoy.

~*~*~

“So, let me get this straight,” Aedion drawled as he watched Whitethorn pace around the room.

He had to fight a grin as the warrior growled. “What could possibly be so difficult for you to comprehend?”

“Well, let’s start with the fact that you visited my cousin in the night, knowing full well she had already promised herself to someone else.” He knew, of course, that Aelin had ended things with Dorian weeks ago, but watching the color leave Whitethorn’s face was well worth the lie of omission. Before the warrior could say anything in his defense, Aedion carried on. “You have some sort of interaction with her you won’t discuss further. You leave in a hurry, but return to her room later, and she and her belongings have mysteriously vanished.”

“Yes,” Whitethorn snarled.

Aedion bit back a laugh as he watched Whitethorn resume his pacing. “And what, precisely, do you intend for me to do about it? Sounds to me like you’ve created this situation yourself.”

“You’re being too hard on him,” Lysandra called from the next room.

“Am I? He’s admitted to having some sort of late night encounter with my dear cousin, and botching it to the point that she runs away. I don’t think I’m being too hard at all.”

Whitethorn growled at him, exposing elongated canines before opening his mouth to speak, but Aedion simply lifted a hand to demand his silence. “Luckily for you,” he continued, “I have information that you don’t.”

He finally laughed as he watched the warrior freeze. “What information?”

“It doesn’t feel nearly as good to be the one without all the details, does it?” Aedion grinned.

“Play nicely!” called Lysandra.

Aedion sighed and shook his head. “First of all,” he revealed, “I know that Aelin ended things with Dorian almost three weeks ago now. The prince is due to make it public today.”

Whitethorn’s eyes widened. “She did?”

“She did. I’m not certain why she didn’t see fit to tell you, other than the fact that she’s been complaining to my mate about you avoiding her.” A pointed accusation to be sure, but Aedion had to admit he wasn’t feeling especially generous. They had bonded to an extent, certainly, but the male in front of him had just admitted to hurting his beloved cousin. He wasn’t going to make it easy for him to win back her affections.

The guilt that crossed Whitethorn’s face brought him some satisfaction in that regard. “I had orders, though that isn’t much of an excuse.”

“The second thing I know,” Aedion said instead of directly addressing the remark, “is that Aelin never intended to marry Dorian in the first place, nor he her.”

That particular fact wasn’t especially relevant to the current situation, but Aedion had to admit he was reveling in seeing such shock on Whitethorn’s face. It wasn’t every day that someone got to surprise a centuries-old blood-sworn fighter of Queen Maeve’s, after all.

Whitethorn’s shock faded to a contemplative frown, and Aedion knew the warrior would be piecing together any evidence he happened to have witnessed. Before he could get too far, though, Aedion had one final piece of information to reveal. “The final piece of information I have and you don’t is Aelin’s current location.”

Green eyes turned to him in a fierce glare. “You’ve known where she was this entire time,” he growled.

“Yes,” he admitted. “And my task was to stall you long enough that you couldn’t stop her, which I’ve done splendidly.”

“Stop her from what, exactly?” A part of Aedion noted Whitethorn’s obvious anger with a thrill of fear; the male was a highly capable warrior, after all, and with his magic as well Aedion wasn’t confident he could actually win a serious fight between them.

That being said, another part of him was delighted that he currently held power in the form of information, and that he had the ability to rile someone so famed for his foul but consistent disposition. With that in mind, Aedion launched one final barb. “I’m certain you could figure it out, if you took your time. Unless, of course, there’s more than one thing you know she could do that you would feel… compelled… to stop her from doing.”

The word was a hint that was far from subtle, and Rowan Whitethorn was no fool. As Aedion watched, he sat down hard in a nearby chair, eyes wide. “She’s going to Maeve.”

It wasn’t a question, but he responded regardless. “She is. Lysandra is to go back to Orynth in her place, disguising herself as Aelin until she reaches the border. I’ve sent letters ahead of us to Terrasen, to let the regent know of Aelin’s side trip. I am to follow behind her, now that it won’t raise suspicion and now that we’re unlikely to catch her before she reaches Doranelle.”

“And you let her?” Whitethorn demanded, incredulous. “Are you insane? Nothing good can come of the two of them meeting.”

“Yes to your first question, the second is debatable. And Aelin seems to think something good can come of it.” Aedion finally relented, letting his own expression soften. “But she can’t do it alone. I’m to follow her on the next ship to Wendlyn. Are you coming with me?”

“Of course I’m coming with you,” Whitethorn replied, no hesitation in his voice. “But before we do this, there’s something you should know. I don’t want your surprise to be a hindrance should a certain situation arise.”

“What is it that you think I should know?”

Aedion frowned as he caught a glimmer of regret in Whitethorn’s eyes. “I know who your father is, and we may come across him on our way to Maeve.”

Aedion’s world came to a grinding halt.

~*~*~

Aelin slipped off of the ship and into Wendlyn with a sigh of relief. She hadn’t been overly seasick on the journey, which she supposed was a relief, but she had kept to her cabin regardless out of a desire to remain as anonymous as possible. After all, Aelin Galathynius, Crown Princess of Terrasen, would attract undue attention.

Celaena Sardothien, the eccentric assassin, however, was someone from whom everyone kept their distance.

It was just as well, really. Aelin didn’t particularly want to talk to anyone on the voyage anyway. She had to maintain her focus on her plan. Instead, she had focused on the physical fitness drills Aedion had taught her so long ago and on sharpening the knives she had brought. If the other passengers thought her distant and cold, well, that was so much the better. The wildfire running through her veins was not intended for them.

Varese was several days’ travel from the port at which she’d landed, but some quick negotiations bought her a horse and food enough for the journey. She kept the hood of her cloak up for the entirety of the trip, both to maintain relative anonymity and to keep the hot rays of the sun away from her face.

She had heard that this land, the land of her mother’s family, was far warmer than the mountains to which she was accustomed. She had presumed it would be roughly equivalent to the summer days of Rifthold, if she gave the matter any thought at all. She had been terribly mistaken; the heat and humidity threatened to overwhelm her at the height of each day, forcing her to veer away from the road and seek shade and water for herself and for her mount.

It might have been easier to simply turn south and ride for Doranelle directly. It certainly would have taken less time. However, she had a favor to ask and a message to ensure the royal family of Wendlyn received, and so to Varese she went.

As she neared the city walls, she took a deep breath to steel her nerves. My name is Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, she reminded herself, and I will not be afraid.

She reminded herself of this again as guards surrounded her at the city gate.

For all her nerves, though, the Ashryver line was well-loved in their own capital city. One look at her face and at her eyes, the turquoise-and-gold shared across most of her maternal line, and she was quickly ushered into a side room. “You’ve been expected,” a guard told her as she was left in a room with wine and some sort of flatbread.

Several minutes later, the door opened, and Aelin turned her attention to the room’s newest entrant.

But for their eyes, it would have been nearly impossible to tell that Galan Ashryver was of any relation to her. His dark hair and olive skin were far better suited to the climate of his homeland, whereas her pale complexion and golden hair fit her mountain home. But the Ashryver line produced turquoise eyes ringed with gold in most of its heirs, and when her gaze met his she saw the shared heritage.

Aelin stood and bowed slightly, wishing she had thought to bring finer clothes than her riding leathers. “Cousin, it is a great pleasure to meet at long last.”

Rather than stand on formalities, Galan pulled her into an embrace. “Well met, cousin, though I wish you had better news to bring me.”

Aelin smiled thinly. “There is hope yet,” she said. “I bring the proof I mentioned, along with confirmation that the Havilliards stand behind my actions thus far as well as those yet to come. I did not have time to hear from the Queen of the Wastes or the royal family of Eyllwe before my journey to you began, though I am certain that if you were to converse with Prince Dorian Havilliard he will have confirmation soon.”

As she watched, Galan skimmed through the papers she produced, brow furrowed in thought. “This certainly does seem compelling,” he murmured. “Though it concerns me that this was forgotten so long ago, if it is indeed true.”

“My greatest wish is that I am proven incorrect about the worst of my suspicions, though there is certainly much that needs to be answered regardless. I ride south to speak to our dear aunt, as quickly as possible.”

“You plan to ask her directly?”

“I do. If she can answer to my satisfaction, there need not be further action. And if our worst fears are realized…” She called one of her flames to appear in her hand, twining around her wrist like a bracelet before disappearing. She grinned up at her cousin. “I can take care of myself.”

Galan’s eyes widened. “So the reports of you inheriting Brannon’s power are true,” he remarked, “though your control is far better than reported.”

“I’ve spent a great deal of the past months improving my control,” she replied. “I’ve ignored my heritage for far too long, it would seem.”

Her cousin sighed and set the papers aside. “As you certainly know, I cannot give you the full approval of the crown of Wendlyn. That honor resides with my father still.”

Aelin nodded; she had suspected as much.

“However,” he continued, “I have full command of Wendlyn’s armies. I hope they will not be needed in this situation, but if the need arises I will aid you however I can.”

She smiled and stood. “Then you have my thanks, my dear cousin.”

“Will you need rooms here, to rest before carrying on with your journey?”

“You’re too kind,” she replied. “But no, I’m afraid I cannot delay. One of her blood-sworn warriors follows me, and I have already lingered too long.”

“The one you mentioned in your letter? I believed you to be friendly, from the way you spoke of him.”

“A blood oath does not recognize friendship beyond that of the sworn to his keeper. If she commands him to prevent me from arriving, he will be unable to do anything but comply. I wish to avoid placing him into such a situation if at all possible.”

“I understand,” Galan replied. “Do you wish me to attempt to detain him?”

“You will not be able to, though I appreciate your offer. No, it is best if Wendlyn remain neutral until it is absolutely necessary. Though with all luck, we may yet be able to avoid an incident we would all come to regret.”

“I certainly hope so. Go, then, cousin. Go with our blessing, and with our hopes for as peaceful an end as may be achieved.”

Aelin smiled and embraced him once more before they went their separate ways, him to report to his parents and her to continue her journey.

~*~*~

Aelin rode for Doranelle as quickly as she could, and soon she was once more within a forest. It was both hotter and more humid than those she called home, but it was still at least somewhat familiar.

Slightly less familiar and more unnerving was the continuous sensation that she was being watched. Obstacles she had spied along the path seemed to clear themselves before she could reach them, and occasionally she could swear she saw eyes peeking out from behind branches.

It wasn’t until the night before she reached her aunt’s borders that she finally faced some of the creatures that had been watching her, and she wasn’t certain whether to find it relieving or unnerving to discover that it had been the Little Folk watching her all along.

She had encountered their kindred in Terrasen, living quietly in the Oakwald Forest and preferring to remain largely unseen. If she lingered in the forest they had a tendency to leave small gifts along her path, little trinkets or particularly beautiful flowers.

These faeries had done more than leave an individual flower, though, for as she watched several of them placed a crown of beautiful red blossoms on a stone before her.

She could not name the flowers they had chosen. They appeared to be similar to the kingsflame that graced Terrasen during times of peace, but the blossoms were slightly larger and a different shade. Still, it was a crown that was all too appropriate for the Heir of Fire, and it both warmed her heart and made her nervous to realize that these faeries recognized her heritage just as readily as those who lived in the land she called home.

Deciding that politeness was the best way to proceed, she lifted the crown with a smile. “You have my thanks,” she murmured to the few who lingered. “This is a beautiful gift indeed, and I will treasure it as long as it lasts.”

The remaining Little Folk fled; either because of some noise in the forest she had not heard, or because she had called attention to them, she couldn’t be certain. She placed the crown of flowers atop her head regardless; it would be rude to thank them for their gift and then proceed to cast it aside.

The sun finally rose enough for her to see the path once more, and Aelin continued onward, wishing for the hundredth time that her secondary form was something more useful than a human shape. If she had been a bird like Rowan, she could have already completed her journey.

Aelin frowned. Perhaps it was best not to think of Rowan. Not now, when she was so close to her aunt’s territory and she needed to keep her wits about her. It was difficult to avoid thinking of him, however. How much had Aedion revealed to him by now? Had he followed at all? If he had, was it to fulfill his blood oath to her aunt and stop her, or was he going to attempt to help her however he could?

With a sigh, she realized that she had far too little information to speculate on his future actions. The only thing she could be reasonably certain of was that he would not directly harm her unless he was specifically ordered by Maeve to do so.

Depending on when exactly he caught up to her, the likelihood of her giving such an order was relatively high. Her aunt was known for many things, but her kindness and forgiving nature were not among them.

Perhaps it was for the best if he didn’t follow. She would have to alter significant portions of her plan, but he would be kept safe. Even as she thought it, though, she knew he would never be content to remain safe while others endangered themselves. No, he would come, to whatever end. All she could do was hope that she could make that a happier end than it would’ve otherwise become.

Resolve strengthened, she carried on along her path, and soon she was met by the calling of wolves.

These wolves, she knew, would be no ordinary creatures. No, these were sentinels for Maeve herself, loyal only to her. If her aunt wished it, these wolves would turn her away. If she pressed onward regardless, they would tear her apart if Maeve gave the order. No one outside of Doranelle was certain of the exact means of her control over these creatures, or even if they truly were wolves. Aelin supposed it didn’t truly matter. All that mattered was that they allow her to pass.

As two of the wolves approached her, she dismounted from her horse and walked out to meet them. It wouldn’t do to spook her mount unnecessarily, and it seemed wise to be as respectful as she could manage. “Greetings,” she called, and the wolves inclined their heads toward her.

She allowed some of her fire to manifest in the palm of her hand, twisting it around her fingers and wrist as she had done for Galan several days prior. “I am Aelin Ashryver Galathynius,” she said, “Princess of Terrasen. Heir of Brannon and of Mala Fire-bringer. You may know me as Aelin Fireheart, or perhaps Aelin of the Wildfire. I have come to meet with my aunt, Queen Maeve of the Fae of Doranelle.”

As the wolves looked on, she allowed her eyes to glow with the wildfire of her determination. She would not be stopped. She would see her aunt, and make her answer for all Aelin had learned.

Finally, the wolves moved to either side of the path, bowing their heads. Aelin simply walked back to her horse and swung herself into the saddle once more. She would be allowed to pass, and the wolves knew it.

Aelin smirked as she rode on, knowing the wolves were following her every movement now that she was truly within Maeve’s territory. It wouldn’t be long now. She would have her answers, and Rowan’s freedom, and perhaps even her own happiness.

All she had to do was fight for it with every ounce of strength she had within her.

~*~*~

“We’re less than a day behind her,” Rowan relayed to Aedion after meeting with the wolves that guarded the edge of Maeve’s territory.

The other warrior only nodded in reply. He had been remarkably quiet throughout the journey, and Rowan wasn’t certain whether it was the absence of his mate or the revelation of his heritage that had given him so much to think about. Perhaps it was both.

The male was taking it remarkably well, all things considered. He had occasionally asked quiet questions about what Gavriel was like, and Rowan had volunteered stories of his mentor and friend well into the night. He had been avoiding one question in particular, though, and it was this question that came forward as they began to move again. “Does he even know I exist?”

Rowan sighed. “I’m not certain. If he knows, he hasn’t told any of us. And that is certainly the correct decision if he does know; none of us would have been able to hide your existence if asked.”

“Because of the blood oath you all swore.”

It wasn’t a question, but Rowan nodded regardless. “She would use you against him at the slightest opportunity, as she uses anyone and everyone one of her blood-sworn holds dear.”

He had known, of course, what manner of female Maeve had been when he had sworn himself into her service. He’d known that she could be cruel, and merciless, and vindictive. He hadn’t cared, then; he’d welcomed it, even. Some part of him, the part that cried out for a mate that was no longer there, had relished it. It was, after all, no worse than what he deserved.

Doubt had begun to enter his mind when she had recruited Connall and then Fenrys, the Black Wolf and White Wolf. The way she had gone about it, and the way Fenrys in particular struggled against the oath constantly thereafter, were further indications of Maeve’s unique cruelty for anyone who cared to look. Rowan hadn’t, then, still convinced it was what he deserved. They had made their choice as much as he had; perhaps they’d had their reasons as well.

His doubts hadn’t truly manifested until he had explained his story to Aelin, and felt nothing but relief as she accepted all of him. He still believed that he deserved his fate; however, she deserved far better than to be entangled with such a dark court. If all had gone according to Maeve’s plan, he would have reported everything to her and Aelin would never have been safe again.

Rowan shook his head. It was pointless to think about; if there was a way to break a blood oath that didn’t result in death, he wasn’t aware of it. This was to be his fate, and he only hoped that Aelin could win her freedom from this life.

If she managed to free him as well, somehow, he would savor every moment of it and follow her to whatever end.

A ray of warm sunlight pierced through the clouds and he felt a strange sense of comfort, as though the goddess that had so blessed Aelin with her gift of fire had heard his thoughts and deigned to answer. Almost involuntarily, his eyes slid closed as he enjoyed the moment of warmth and peace. Too soon, however, the ray of sunlight passed on, and Rowan was left with only his divided thoughts once more.

Aedion was evidently only too happy to add to those doubts. “Did you know, when you swore to her, that she was like this? Did he?”

“We all did,” he said wearily. “We all had our own reasons for swearing the oath. What Gavriel’s were, I do not know. But we were under no illusions, if that’s what you ask. Every one of us knows what Maeve is capable of doing to those who cross her, as well as the rewards she bestows on those she grants her favor.” Both, of course, were twisted in their own way, but he wasn’t attempting to draw this conversation out any longer than he had to. If Aedion wanted answers to the questions he was actually asking, he would need to confront his father. “We should keep moving,” he said to cut off yet another question. “We don’t have long, if Aelin’s plan is truly for us to catch up to her as Maeve welcomes her.”

The journey into Doranelle was thankfully swift and free of obstacles, and soon they stood before the stone walls of the city that he called home but that felt like a cage. A tugging sensation near his heart, one that had been present since he had learned of Aelin’s departure, strengthened as they passed through the gates. It seemed that, though she had given no further explicit instructions, the blood oath demanded that Rowan act regardless.

Perhaps it had been a mistake to come.

It was too late to turn back now, though, and so instead he quietly led Aedion through the streets of the city, drawing ever closer to a palace made of stone at the center of the city built on the rivers. With each step, he thought another silent plea to whatever god or goddess may have cared to listen. For Aelin. For himself. For the warrior beside him. For the father who had never known his son. For the twins who had ensnared each other in Maeve’s grasp. If he was going to entertain desperate prayers that were unlikely to be realized, he might as well include Vaughan and Lorcan as well, though if Lorcan was somehow set free he was as likely to curse his liberator as he was to thank them.

He slipped them through a side door into the palace, down familiar halls and up familiar staircases. All the while, he was trying to mentally prepare himself for what they would face when they reached the room Maeve preferred for audiences. He realized quickly that it was futile, however; he couldn’t predict what Aelin would do, or how Maeve would react to an unknown force.

He especially couldn’t predict the words that froze him where he stood as they reached the door to Maeve’s audience chamber.

“So tell me,” Aelin was drawling, “how long have you known that you held the mate of the future Queen of Terrasen in a blood oath?”

~*~*~

Tagging:

@ireallyshouldsleeprn @queen-of-glass @fangirlprincess09 @sassys-world @morganofthewildfire @superspiritfestival @perseusannabeth @sis-it-dont-add-up @jlinez @julemmaes @emilyoftheshadows @thegoddessofyou

[mtab2260]

I realized I never actually gave a... I guess— description on what Turbine Addition really is. Then also how I got the idea and built Lukian.

(Warning long essay)

Basically, when I was on my third rewatch of the show since august, I was watching episode 3x10: Maveth and I had a interesting thought after May snuck away from everyone to find Andrew. What if, Lash or Andrew actually spares one inhuman In that compound? It’s not completely unheard of/ unrealistic, he did spare Daisy on multiple occasions. But— obviously, I had to give a reason why this inhuman was spared over the others.

It was a idea that floated in my mind for maybe a month, I wanted to create an Inhuman who was spared by Lash and ends up joining the team from there on. I kept thinking of angles on how I could do it but none of them ever seemed right. Until I watched episode 2x17 with my friend— who I had blackmailed into watching the show. (Yes, I did two rewatches at once.)

For those of you who don’t know by heart each episode by it’s number (I had to look it up)— the title is Melinda, and it’s the episode where we finally learn about Bahrain. When I rewatched that episode the idea just teleported into my brain.

Lash spares an Inhuman because one of them is a child.

The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Obviously during episode 3x10 Andrew still had some control over Lash and wasn’t fully tainted by him yet. So when Andrew/ Lash saw the kid Andrew definitely fought for every ounce of control he had over the situation. He knew how killing a kid— no matter how much the situation demands it— can destroy a person, because he saw it happen to May.

Then I also kept thinking about the inhuman epidemic and then later— Robin, like how she definitely couldn’t only ever be the only inhuman child during the outbreak, right? It was just highly unlikely. We know Terrigenesis at a young age, or any age really can change a person. Not just physically, or on a cellular level, but mentally. We see it with Andrew and also with Katya, and Robin. Which, all in all is really fitting— Andrew was May’s husband, May killed Katya, and Robin was May’s daughter.

But nonetheless that’s not my point, my point is at Afterlife there was a certain age everyone went through the mist. It was an age where they’re young enough to adapt, but old enough to understand. Now, Katya and Robin were both young when going through Terrigenesis and their gifts were something that were more mental than others. It was contained to their body, it wasn’t an external gift like Daisy’s, Lincon’s, Joey’s, James‘, Kora’s. It was like Jiayang‘s, Gordon’s, Raina’s, Yo-Yo’s, Andrew’s— all of their powers are contained to their person.

So if they didn’t have a mental gift like Katya and Robin, and they were at-least mature enough to understand then having a kid go through Terrigenisis could work. And obviously if you’re gonna create a character that has an external gift, you gotta give them an uncontrollable destructive power like Daisy’s. But the fun thing about Daisy’s power, is that it also has endless creative possibilities.

I wanted a power like that.

After some workshopping and a few completely terrible ideas... I got: air molecule manipulation. Or other words, tornado powers. Before I started thinking on how his powers worked I needed an explicit way to think of how Daisy’s powers worked since I was modeling his power after hers. From my two rewatches at the same time I started making notes on what we knew about her powers and how they feel to her specifically.

She can hear the vibrations of everything around her (but it’s not as noticeable at first glance)

Can amplify the ’sound’ of the vibrations to cause an earthquake, or avalanche

Internalizing her powers improperly caused her arms to fracture

Strong beam of concentrated vibrations for a long period of time can cause her to blackout/ nosebleed

The vibrations don’t only just come out of her arms

Lack of care can also lead to her arms to fracture

Now vibrations and electricity, are both element related powers, but they work differently. Lincoln said after he went through the mist every cell in his body generated a different electronic charge. Basically, the power (pun intended) came from his body without needing an external source. Yes, I know I said Lincoln‘s power was an external one, but it isn’t contained to his mind— or person. I feel Daisy’s vibrational powers are different, mostly because, if she could generate vibrations directly from her cells then her bones wouldn’t be breaking from too much of it. Kinda like how Scorch had those fire pellets in his blood to prevent him from burning himself, Daisy doesn’t have vibrational immunity.

Gordon said everything in the universe was giving off it’s own vibrational frequency, and Daisy could control that. So in order for her to quake Talbot’s ass to the sun she need to obsorb the vibrations around her, store them in her first (the bees under her skin), then send the vibrations out through her palms.

I’m not gonna get into why her bones crack and everything, but it’s an important downside.

Obviously.

As I said I wanted to model my character’s powers as closely as I could to Daisy’s, which I did, but I couldn’t do it exactly for obvious reasons. Yes, you store air like oxygen and carbon dioxide (not for long) in your body temporarily— but your body is going to use it because it needs it. Plus you can’t send air molecules through skin tissue like vibrations can— it’s why we have noses. The skin tissue is too dense for the diffusion of the molecules to take place there. So if I had to say, his power is more of a cross of Daisy’s power and Joey’s power. He needs an external source to wield his power and manipulate the element he can control, but can’t store it in his own body.

So I had a powerful power for my character but I needed a downside. Each incredibly OP power had one: Daisy with her bones, Robin could see the past— present— and future but just didn’t know what went where, Raina became the monster under the bed (or Sonic), Jiayang had to kill someone to heal herself. I thought for a while on this, how can I make a downside for a power like that?

Obviously there’s not many options because oxygen is such a fragile thing to living organisms, and lack of it isn’t exactly ideal. Fitz’s brain damage being a prime example, another example being all those people who died due to hypoxia on the floating ship where the Gravitonium was. So as I said— fragile.

I was going over my notes again of Daisy’s power when the hearing aspect struck a cord. Since their powers are so similar in the aspect of they’re both natural disasters, he was going to need a way to create those tornados around him, like with Daisy and the earthquakes— when the power isn’t concentrated but it’s still triggered. I wanted the sound to be like what you hear when you hear wind over the phone, and when it’s blowing past your ears and it creates that sound. That’s where I got the inspiration from really, static noise and whistling.

So I had that down, and instead of it being like Daisy’s, the sound is much, much more apparent. Mostly because you can hear the wind, like when is passes your ears or if the wind current is just strong enough— but you can’t necessarily hear vibrations. You can when you put your finger on the rim of a water glass and go around the edge, but if you don‘t... you don’t really hear much (I think). And also another thing, sound in general.

The reason why there’s no sound in space is because there’s no air molecules in space, there’s nothing for the sound waves to hitch a ride on. Which leads me to my next point. If he can hear the wind and the air molecules around him and sound passes through the air molecules then he could hear sound through his powers without needing ears. You’re basically adding a third— non-connected to the others— ear.

And people get sensory overload just normally, adding that third ear would be too much. So long story short: the down side to air molecule manipulation powers is... headaches. But like a really bad headache, I don’t know if they’re migraines at that point, I know there’s a difference but I haven’t done my research on that yet. But essentially, headaches. And later on there will be a fix for that.

Just keep in mind chapter seven.

Now the one thing I absolutely love about AoS is despite all the crazy, outlandish stuff they go through— there is always science and reason to back it all up, making it seem ever more realistic. And that’s what I love, the realism of it all (Yes, I‘m well aware they do time-travel, and there’s aliens/ superpowers). So if I was going to make a story, then I needed it to be realistic, otherwise I’d probably hate it myself.

And I’d rather not hate my own fic— thank you very much.

So when I thought about Flint, him being fifteen, with inhuman powers and the team was still hesitant to bring him in because he’s a kid— I knew I had a problem. Especially since my character is thirteen. I needed a realistic answer to why and how the team would actually allow a thirteen year old to join SHIELD.

Being inhuman helps, sure. Especially with a power that could rival Daisy’s (tornadoes are bloody strong). But he’s still a kid. It does help that with how tense season three is with inhumans and Hive they’ll need all the backup they can get, even if it’s an inhuman kid who Hive can control. I have very logical reasons why Lukian stays with the team despite everything, but it hasn’t been revealed yet so I’m gonna keep my trap shut.

I’ll give you a hint though, there’s a reason why he can lie so well.

Now onto the character himself, Lukian. Why I made Lukian the way he is? Well the trauma part is very clear, you can’t have a main character without trauma. That’s just simply unheard of.

For gender, I thought about making him a girl at first because that’s what AoS is all about really— Strong women. But... all the lines I had in mind, just made it seem cheesy and with poor writing. So he became a boy. Sorry.

For his name, Lukian, honestly it’s not much of a story. I just really suck at creating names and thought a kid in my class had a really cool name so I copied it for my character. I know it’s Ukrainian, but that doesn’t mean that’s Lukian’s (my character) ethnicity. Especially since Lukian isn’t apparently his name... cough cough (Kelly Clements) Cough. That specifically will be revealed in the next chapter, if I ever finish it. And when I first thought (copied) it, I didn’t realize how close it would be to Lincoln and how much similar those names look if you read them really fast.

So, my bad on that part.

For Lukian’s (Kelly’s) age it goes back to Terrigenisis warping his mind, and the logic and reason. No matter how kick-ass a seven year old may be, he’s still a seven year old and everyone but May won’t see past that. Plus, school.

For his personality it goes back to that trauma section. Trauma and experiences make us who we are, so obviously that will play a bit part in who Lukian is. And for all the trauma you pick up you will need a coping mechanism to hand all of it. Whether it’s break down right there, bottle it up, run away, hide from it, ignore it— whatever it is, we all have one. And for Lukian his coping mechanism is just pretending that he doesn’t care, that he’s fine— that there’s nothing wrong. It’s not that he’s completely like Simmons who created a horror movie in her locked up tight music box, though in a way it’s simular. A big part is bottling things up, putting on a mask— but another part of it is just simply not caring.

Personally that’s my coping mechanism, it’s terrible and when I become a real adult I’m bloody fucked, but it’s what I do. I have a big test coming up, what do I do? I don���t study and don’t let it stress me out. I just don’t care about it and don’t think about it until when I’m actually taking the test. I still get decent grades too so it’s not a completely bullshit mechanism, but boy, my future is going to die fast. Mostly because I’m in high school and I don’t really know how to study now because of this.

Anyway, back to the story, that’s essentially his coping mechanism. Along with a hint of deflection with humor too. Again, like Daisy. As I go more into the story you’ll find there are many Lukian and Daisy parallels. It’s probably why Daisy has taken such a liking to Lukian in the first place, and why they get along so well despite barely knowing each other for three weeks. Or it’s because I wrote them that way, who knows?

The reason why I had Lukian have an interest in robotics and in engineering goes back to the downside with his powers. As you may know, the kid may have stolen a few things from the lab to help with that headache of his. Plus if he’s good in science and has a usefulness besides fighting, then it’s another reason for him to join. Obviously the team isn’t gonna just let him ditch school, so him actually being smart helps if school isn’t well... at a school.

Now, why did I name this fic the way I did?

The Addition part is very simple and easy, Lukian is an addition to the team. I wanted that to always be in the title, but what I wanted before that was something that related to Lukian. Whether it’s his powers, or personality, it didn’t really matter but nothing really called out to me or fit properly. And again as I said I’m terrible at naming things, currently on chapter ten I’m more than half way done, I still don’t have a bloody name for it. So like my coping mechanism, I forgot about it for a bit.

So I went on to what the team’s connections will be with Lukian, thinking about who each member of the team is to Lukian and how close he is to everyone. Obviously May’s relationship with him will be most strained, not because of May herself and her trauma, but because of his too (I’m not saying anymore). And the closest relationship he’ll have will be with Daisy, because again paralells. And, because she was the one to find him and she is also his transitioner and trainer.

And while I was thinking about all of that, no matter where Mack was on the closest relationship list, there was no way Lukian was getting on the team without a nickname from the nickname king. And since if you’re inhuman basically it’s a rule your nickname will be based off of that I started sorting through air related nicknames. Breezy was my top choice originally but Breezy Addition just didn’t sound as strong as Turbine Addition. But don’t worry Breezy as a nickname from Mack isn’t going to disappear, it’s just going to take a while to get to from a writing standpoint.

And.... this is when I’ve realized I’ve been writing this for the past three hours and now it’s bloody three am. Thanks for coming to my extra long Ted Talk/ fifty paged essay.

And if anyone actually read all of this... holy bloody fuck you have a long attention span.

[willow-salix]

Another work of the genius that is my kid. She wrote this, I'm just sharing it. Revel in the awesomeness of this...

[AU] Four of the Tracy Brothers are all adopted by Jeff after being orphaned when he is unable to save their parents during rescues from the VERY early days of International Rescue (yeah I know the canon but whatever this is an au). Also this is total trash but I'm too lazy to write this proper proper so here ~ (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

SCOTT: The first of the boys to get adopted by Papa Jeff is originally from Scotland (Scott-Land), and was orphaned after the tail end of a hurricane left his family home as nothing more than a pile of rubble - and since it wasn't anticipated, the extent of the damage done wasn't heard about until later, after a series of rescues in higher risk locations. By that time, it was too late. When J.T. finally got to the scene, he spent a few hours sifting through the debris for any survivors. By the time the sun had set, seven bodies had been discovered and he was giving up hope, until he heard the unmistakable sound of a baby crying. Wading through to where the nursery used to be, as if by some miracle, there was a perfectly in-tact crib and an infant inside, blocked from the destruction by a large ceiling tile that had fallen, and effectively acted as a shield as the rest of the home toppled down around them. Jeff took the baby in his arms and rushed to the basecamp, refusing to let go of the child during his check-up and the search for any living relatives for him to go to; but all of his living relatives were in the same house, and the little boy had nowhere to go. As J-Dog looked down at those big blue goo-goo eyes, he felt an overpowering sense of guilt, before it was replaced by total determination. He couldn't save his family, so the least he could do was give him a new one - and that's exactly what he did.

VIRGIL: The pilot of the mean, green, thicc flying machine gained all of his culture and artistic tendencies from his country of birth, Italy. A heavy rainstorm saw the canals of Venice break their banks and caused floods throughout the city (it would take them three years to get over it entirely). When Jazzy Jeff arrived, it was a matter of evacuating everyone and minimising the amount of accidents/casualties as much as possible. As roads cracked and buildings became submerged more and more with every passing second, the evacuation order soon developed into a time-sensitive rescue mission. By the time he finally reached Virgil's family, their car was teetering on the edge of a broken road, under which was several feet of water. They handed their newborn son over to him, only just in time before the concrete gave way and the car fell into the murky depths. Another member of the crew attempted to rescue them as Jeff held the child, deja-vu hitting him when his teammate came back to the surface and mournfully shook his head. They were unable to get them out in time, and, same as last time, there were no relatives to take the boy. Ever since the mother handed her son over to Jeff, he had felt a sense of responsibility over the welfare of the child. One look at the chonky little thing confirmed what he had been feeling in his heart all along: Scott now had a brother.

JOHN: Irish-born John's adoption was a little different to the other two, but a rescue all the same. Big Daddy J had a conference in the Emerald Isle, and on his way back to his hotel the same night, he came across a car that had crashed into a tree on a fairly deserted road. The only survivor was in the back seat, and was the toddler son of the two adults in the front. The child was old enough to be semi-aware of what was going on around him, so while Jeff attempted to remove him from the wreckage, he told him to "just do one thing" for him - "look at the stars, just look at the stars". The blonde boy did so obediently, and as they waited for the emergency services to arrive, he told the tot about all of his adventures in space. Even though he probably didn't understand what he was saying, tiny John was still absolutely hooked. Once at the hospital, the parents were confirmed deceased and further checks revealed that his grandparents were unable to look after him. Just because he wasn't wanted by his family, however, didn't mean he wasn't wanted by others. After cancelling his flight back the next day, Jeff once again went through all the necessary steps. When he returned back to America, his seven-year-old and his four-year-old were greeted with their new brother, and his wife and mother with a new son and grandson, respectively.

GORDON: Born and raised in Australia, Gordon's parents were adventurers that never seemed the type to settle down and stay in one place for one time. When International Rescue was called for an outback recovery, it seemed like a stupid prank when the campsite the call originated from was found to be empty. The fire had burnt out, several items had just simply been discarded on the floor, and it appeared that the tents were empty at first glance - but on closer inspection, it revealed that the bundle of cloth in the corner was actually a sleeping baby. They waited for any other people to arrive, but after a few hours, decided to take the baby to the hospital. With no records of him, there wasn't much they could do except confirm that he was healthy. All it took was one look into those big, brown, cow-like eyes and Jeffo knew that for the fourth time in ten years he was bringing home another baby.

ALAN: The youngest son, and the only biological one of Jeff and Lucille. When they first learnt of his conception, they were quick to assure the other boys that they weren't any less special than him because they weren't related by blood. The only response they recieved came from an eleven-year-old Scott remarking that yeah, they knew, because they had been chosen, which made it even more special. Each of the boys came from different backgrounds, but thanks to Jeff and his "Batman Syndrome", they were all united as a single family (until Lucille died and shit went down). The End.

BONUS: After rescuing Buddy and Ellie for the umpteenth time, they and Gordon dissolved into small talk as Virgil flew them home in Thunderbird Two. It was the first time they had rescued them in Australia, and the second-youngest Tracy couldn't help but notice that there was something odd about the couple's demeanour this time around. Usually, they were high-spirited after a rescue, talking about their next dangerous adventure or the new season of their show. They still spoke with a certain degree of excitement, but their hands were interlocked on Buddy's knee, and there was something that looked like... sadness? in both of their eyes when they looked at each other. Eventually, he couldn't help himself. "Hey, listen, I know it's not my place to ask, but... are you two alright?" Buddy opened his mouth to respond, but he was quickly interrupted. "I don't mean because of the rescue. I mean that you two are just acting a little - well, different."

Before he could make another comment about it 'not being his place to ask', Ellie gave a wan smile and sighed, ducking her head for a moment. "It's nothing. Only - the last time we were out in that direction, we had to call International Rescue out, too. It was a long time ago, when we were just starting out. I think it was when you were just starting out, too."

Gordon glanced over to Virgil, who reminded him that "International Rescue existed before us, remember?". He nodded before looking back to Ellie; a silent invitation for her to continue her story. Buddy's hand tightened around hers, and she sighed again.

"We had set up camp, had a fire going and was starting to unpack when the wind picked up. It just started latching onto everything, and soon there was this massive dust storm. We tried to stay together, radio'd for help, but we couldn't see anything, we just couldn't. There was no way that International Rescue could have gotten to us, but we didn't care. We just wanted-"

"We wanted them to save our son." Buddy finished for his wife. Gordon nodded, but internally, he was shocked. He had no idea that they had a child. He was about to ask, when Buddy started to talk again. His voice was steady despite the slight waver in it, and his eyes seemed glassy. "He was only young, so - small. We left him in the tent for shelter, tried to find a way to signal for the ship if we could. We didn't even realise we had been walking, until the storm died down and we found that we were nowhere near our camp. And when we got back..."

"Little Stevie was gone." Ellie whispered. "That was our boy, Stevie. Steve. And he was gone."

"What was the year?" Gordon found himself asking, his throat dry. The reply was instant, and it made him swallow heavily to try and remove the lump from his throat. Their dad - Jeff - had never kept anything from them about the way they came to the family. Buddy and Ellie's story, along with the recollection from Jeff and the date... there was only one conclusive answer.

Before he could stop himself, he blurted it out. "I think I'm your son."