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sanstropfremir · 4 years ago

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by request, the first post-kingdom stage roundup! this one is a best to worst by group!

some introductory notes:

i’m not going to be ranking the 100sec stages in here because they are too different of a scale. but i will be talking about them as a part of the process. i’m not going to be including the team stages here either, since i talked about them in my episode seven and eight reviews and i do think they stand separately from the individual group stages, because we don’t know who the creative teams were behind them. this is not meant to be an overall best of all the performances, i’m intending this more to be a look each of the groups’ stages overall; seeing how they adapted and improved and how effective the trajectory of their journey as a whole was. also, a very important definition to make right at the start so i don't have to explain it every time: by ‘worst’ i do not mean the stage was actually bad. by ‘worst’ i literally mean ‘not the best.’ if i break it down, i’m ranking these by ‘most amount of successful components’ to ‘least amount of successful components.’ there were no stages that were actually bad or unwatchable; they were all successful in one way or another, but some of them more so. i’m ordering these in my own personal ranking of reverse who did the best overall, which obviously is not how the actual show rankings went down, but we all know my thoughts on the official rankings.

in case you want to catch up and read my more in depth thoughts, here’s all of my episode reviews: one, two (with added tbz costume breakdown), three, four, five, seven, eight, nine, ten! oh and also here’s my very first review of the dance solo performance film, since i’m also going to be referencing this a bit.

tbz

monster - the least involved with their overarching story concept and it’s stylistically the most interesting because it’s a departure from the glittery royalty concept we have primarily seen them in. it also helps that it’s a great song that they did a relatively good cover of.

kingdom come - the solidity of the choreo is the thing that puts this stage up here, because it’s some of their best. and it’s not as explicitly reliant on the game of thrones theme as their other stages.

o sole mio - this has real potential as a good small concept vaudeville themed stage; it starts off really strong and then they blow it by shoehorning in the unnecessary lore.

no air - they tried to start off with a big conceptual bang in the first round with a semi-explicit narrative, but it relies entirely too much on the viewers knowing the references for it to make any sense.

to be honest, i’m not that surprised about how tbz constructed their stages and how they turned out. i know a lot of people have been disappointed with how lackluster their stages have felt in comparison to their rtk ones, and i think that’s fair because i agree, i don’t think they ever captured the same energy they did for danger or for shangri-la. if you’ve been following along (or have just read all my reviews now) than you know most of my complaints about how tbz have been working with their lore and concepts, so i won’t rehash them here. but i do think it’s warranted to point out that theoretically, being first in rtk would logistically put you at the bottom of the initial ranking for kingdom. i know they’re not technically the youngest group, but in the execution of their stages in comparison, it does make sense to me that they come out looking as the most inexperienced group. even though they were intending to have a similar overarching story like they did on rtk, it was not at all very fleshed out and there wasn’t a strong enough connection between that story, the themes of their stages, and the narrative shapes of those stages. which is a shame because they are not unskilled performers, and they have the most members of all of the groups on the show, so they had a lot of opportunity to be doing interesting choreo and blocking work that never seemed to materialize. i also think they never truly got used to the size of the stage in comparison to the rtk stage, and they were always struggling to fill it in an intentional way. they tried valiantly to recoup their ground and bring everything together in a full circle for their last stage, and even though they somehow came in second, i think by the finale they had been worn down and lost a lot of their steam. it also doesn’t help that they lost a member to injury right near the end, which can be very demotivating, especially for a young group.

skz

god’s ddu du ddu du - the most stylistically different and interesting of the bunch, with a lot of interesting elements and well designed movement, even if the overall arc was half baked and lackluster

i’ll be your man - this was an actual attempt at a departure from their normal bluster and even though it never makes it all the way there and they don’t do that great of a cover, it’s different enough.

wolfgang - although watchable for hilarity and/or cringe value, nothing about this stage demonstrates a significant amount of growth from the first one. it fact it just feels like they injected a load more money and time into the premise of their 100sec stage, without any of the reflection that this kind of circular final stage concept should have. it’s exactly the stage of a group that’s been propelled to first in every round through an artificially inflated system.

god’s menu/side effects - the most scattered of all their stages. there’s not quite enough material to tie everything together and it feels underformed.

we all knew what the outcome of the show was going to be the moment that very first round of fan voting came in. now i don’t actually care about final outcome of the show, because the most valuable experience of a show like this is learning from what your competitors around you are doing and how to improve your work for further rounds. if the ranking system had been solely expert + judges based, all of the weekly rankings would have looked a lot different and skz would have actually had a chance to grow from this experience. but because they have the biggest and most aggressive fandom, their stages constantly ended up in first place and they never actually had the opportunity to sit back and reflect on their performances to figure out how they can do better. because the truth of the matter is that they did not have the best performances on the show. they consistently made stylistically stagnant stages and never managed to correct any of the issues that have been plaguing them since the 100sec round. the closest they got was god’s ddu du ddu du, which was aesthetically the most different and had the most interesting subversions of the stage format, even if it ultimately fell flat because they still missed the mark on managing the shape of the narrative. if you watch all their stages back to back you’ll see that there’s an overreliance on the same types of stylistic decisions and thematic elements, including in the sound and feel of the work. this is a bit hard to explain, but even though the stages all look different, they don’t convey any nuanced emotion or intention other than ‘stray kids world domination.’ now nuanced intention is not necessary for a kpop song performance, but skz took it upon themselves to try and tackle some fairly complex thematic ideas, which is commendable, but they fall flat because the members themselves don’t know how to act. and acting is supremely important when you are doing themed stages. i talked about this same principle in this response about orange caramel and wjsn chocome, but most newer idols don’t approach performing as a character, they approach performing as themselves, and skz are big victims of this. that’s why even i’ll be your man, where they do actually attempt to be a bit more nuanced in their delivery, still comes off like all their other stages. they don’t ever push themselves beyond their performance boundaries (physically yes, obviously. i mean mentally) and so every stage has a little checklist of skz-specific personality traits that round out in the bigger picture to the same general feel. this kind of strategy works great for music shows and for general promotion because it’s super marketable, but in this particular setting, where we spend an extended amount of time with all the groups, it doesn’t facilitate the same amount of growth that letting those of personas go would.

ikon

at ease - really clear cumulation of their performance, group colour, and design elements over the entire show.

classy savage - well designed and decorated with an interesting concept, but has a few flaws that keep it from being their best work.

inception - again, very well designed; the set is so inventive and features a lot of carefully blocked movement, plus the colour palette is tight and used effectively, it just doesn’t reach the same scale as the latter two stages.

love scenario/killing me - it’s the first stage and it clearly suffers from a bit of underd evelopment as they were getting used to the format of the show. it’s still an interesting and well performed stage with the start of elements that we can see them develop further in the next rounds.

ikon had the most lackadaisical attitude toward the whole show, which i think was the best way to approach it, but also they didn’t really push much beyond their boundaries as performers. i’m not faulting them for not wanting to, they’re a very well established group and honestly don’t really need improve on anything. they did however, do a really great job of improving on their design quality and intergration after the first round, which is the one thing that this program definitely facilitates for. they’re also the only group where their finale stage was demonstrably their best stage, so they really did nail that slow improvement progression. they got what they wanted out of the show, which was new friends and a chance to make some fun stages that they wouldn’t have otherwise been able to. like i think i’ve said in every other review, there’s not that much to say about them as a whole because they just put their noses to the grindstone and did the work while maintaining a chill and fun demeanour, and those efforts paid off even if they didn’t end up ranking very high.

sf9

the stealer - great integration of theme into narrative and design, small scale concept with big impact.

believer - smart use of camera work and choreography in conjunction with the design elements. although not very narrative focused, it’s a clear and thoughtful elaboration on their intro stage that’s very well executed.

move - a risky choice that pays off fairly well for them, even if it doesn’t capture all the depth that it could have.

jealous - it’s their first stage of the competition and the first time they had worked on something of this scale before, so it only makes sense that it’s the weakest of their run. despite that, it shows a strong understanding of an unusual concept and it still holds up.

sf9 were the clear underdogs of everyone and the rankings pretty clearly reflected that. but as a group they really put in the work to improve their skills and i think they showed the most dramatic improvement of everyone, especially between the first and second rounds. they repeatedly made comments about how they were focused on creating good stages and it paid off. their stages were all conceptually and visually interesting without relying on much external lore or overly dense themes, even if some of them were more effective than others. they had a lot of strong emphasis on costume in particular and they were very well styled. their finale stage was a very clear synthesis of all of the experience and knowledge they gained over the course of the show and it wraps a neat aesthetic and thematic bow on their journey. they absolutely did not deserve last place; they were the ones hardest hit by the fan voting system and i hope that the group doesn’t internalize the official outcome too much, because they did a lot of good work that they should be proud of and deserves a higher due than it was given.

ateez

rhythm ta - simple concept with a clear narrative that uses a lot of visual referencing as exposition without being cluttered and too reliant on the source material. impeccable use of limited design elements to create atmosphere and it’s a strong reinvention of the song.

wonderland - an absolute banger of a first stage that does all the same things as rhythm ta just to a slightly less polished scale.

ode to joy - both stylistically and tonally a departure, this stage relies a lot on group lore but also has a very clear message that was surprising for its maturity and temerity.

the real - purposefully pulled back in scale and ambition as a pointed critique of the competition as a whole. looser in design aesthetic synthesis but has more freedom for the members to show more dynamism in the group’s abilities and colour.

the youngest of the six groups, i don’t think anyone was expecting ateez to come out swinging in the way that they did. oh, we were all expecting them to put up a fight, but i know that i wasn’t expecting much beyond the capabilities of what we’d seen from skz and tbz, since they all share the dubious honour of being similar aesthetic performance based fourth gen groups. but oh baby did they prove us all wrong. the fact that they have incredible performance abilities and stage presence is what carried them half of the way, but they also proved to have a top notch creative team working behind them that knew how to visually craft a great performance. wonderland and rhythm ta are two of the smartest designed stages, and i’d put rhythm ta as the best designed stage, because it does so much in such a small amount of time. this ranking was tough because all of their stages intentionally prove a point and i dont think there are any that are demonstrably weaker. wonderland and rhythm ta served to prove that they had the capacity to keep up with their seniors, and that they were ambitious and hungry and had a solid team foundation. both stages ranked them first in non-fan judging and once they saw how the fan judging skews the final results, they smartly and ambitiously made a choice in the round BEFORE the finale to make a stage that rebuffs the laurels of the competition show they were at the pinnacle of, specifically for their fans. there is so much care and thought put into the ode to joy stage that it feels wrong to rank it as their third best, especially when it also contains one of the greatest 40 seconds of acting i’ve ever seen on a kpop stage. just the dichotomy of the stage’s melancholy feel with the choice of song is so compelling, and in its context as a part of the whole now the show is over.... i’m out of words. the brain on the person who came up with this, i would LOVE to talk to them. and having the real as a followup stage? where they have the freedom to have fun and be stylistically themselves while thumbing their noses at the show? a perfect follow up and rounding out of the expression of their abilities.

btob

back door - perfect. simple concept and simple narrative extremely well executed. excellent attention to detail and atmosphere.

show and prove - perfect reflection of their journey on the show as a whole.

blue moon - same as back door, just with a slightly larger scale.

missing you - only last because it doesn’t have the same strength of narrative and design concept as the other three stages. it’s still a better stage than 80% of the stages on the show.

we all know this, but btob are the real kings. all of their stages were phenomenal and they all hit my personal top ten, so this ranking is more of a ‘which stage was the best of the best.’ they did an incredible job of playing to their strengths and they knew exactly what they needed to do in order to craft the best performance. this was actually very difficult for me to decide because they never fucking missed. watching missing you for the first time in like two months smacked me right upside the head because that stage is beautiful. the intro in the forest with changsub and eunkwang is fucking gorgeous; the lighting and atmospherics are so effective and the trees do an incredible job of obscuring the stage architecture. and their costumes. this stage screams elegance in a way that no other stage managed to capture and this was the first round. and i’m putting last on this list, which should be telling about the quality of their work. and honestly it only goes up from here. they took that one maybe valid expert critique that they got of utilizing more narrative and they RAN with it. i put back door as first because it juuuuust inches out blue moon and show and prove for smart camera work, but honestly all three of these stages could take top spot, they’re of equal rank.

btob came into this show at a pretty distinct disadvantage: they’re old, and there’s only four of them. and as we know, thanks to rtk and the fourth gen groups, this show has a reputation for big acrobatic blowout spectacles, which is just not something they can do. but they also had a distinct advantage: they’re old and there’s only four of them. they very smartly foresaw that they wouldn’t be able to compete with the fourth gen groups in athletic ability, so they specifically chose to highlight the areas they were the strongest in, which you can see right from the start. their intro stage specifically highlights their vocals, and even in minhyuk’s dance solo the design is music show themed, as a gentle reminder that they know how to work a stage. and as the show progressed they started to solidify that assumption. they used narrative extremely well to give their stages an element of emotional investment that kept the audience engaged without banking on individual idols’ popularity to keep them afloat, and spent their time on the show being gracious and generous competitors, intent on being as watchable offstage as they were on. and it worked. by the time the finale rolled around, we knew who these men were and we had seen them be individuals, so they were able to cast off the need to play to narrative and to character and instead they were able to loop back around to that very first stage; simple, clean, emphasis on vocals, with a very important addition of uniformity. the current trend in kpop costuming is to have group members dressed similarly, but not exactly the same, partially in order to be able to everyone apart, but also because the ‘sameness’ of the boy band model has fallen by the wayside. btob took all their previous stages where they had clearly been individuals and as the culmination of their journey they chose to look exactly the same, to clearly send a message that they are a singular unit and they are proud of that. and they absolutely stuck the landing. this was a perfect run for btob, they should be really fucking proud of the work they did.

#kingdom #kingdom review #btob #ateez #sf9 #ikon #the boyz #stray kids #why yes i am peddling the alexander moment again thank you for asking #ranking the btob stages was SO HARD #actually ranking a lot of these was really difficult because most of them are really good #this was a really interesting exercise and i would actually recommend going and watching all the stages back to back if you have time #because you can really see the development in some of the groups #this is only 3.5k so its on the shorter side #tomorrow is the my personal favourites roundup!#kpop analysis #text #very happy to keep talking about things if people have their own post-show thoughts they want to share!

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gffa · 5 years ago

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Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Stories of Light and Dark, coming August 25, promises to be a beautiful tribute to the just-completed animated series. The anthology will collect 11 stories by 11 authors — Lou Anders, Preeti Chhibber, Zoraida Córdova, Jason Fry, Rebecca Roanhorse, Greg Van Eekhout, Tom Angleberger, E. Anne Convery, Sarah Beth Durst, Yoon Ha Lee, and Anne Ursu — including 10 retellings of memorable episodes and arcs and one original Nightsisters-based story. So if you loved the tales of Ahsoka, Maul, and clanker-busting clones, Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Stories of Light and Dark will give you the chance to experience them again in a whole new way. Like Captain Rex on a recon mission, StarWars.com reached out to each author to learn why they love The Clone Wars, and which stories they’re telling. Lou Anders (“Dooku Captured” and “The Gungan General,” based on the episodes of the same name): I love The Clone Wars for expanding the story of Anakin’s fall from grace. Skywalker really shines in the series, and we see what he truly was, and what he could have been, and by giving him so many opportunities to excel in the early season, his ultimate fate is that much more tragic. I also love the series for gifting us my all-time favorite Star Wars character, and one of my favorite characters from any universe — Hondo Ohnaka! My chapter is a retelling of the first season story arc that plays out across the episodes “Dooku Captured” and “The Gungan General.” I wanted to explore this storyline because I find Count Dooku a fascinating character. Sometimes pure, mustache-twirling, mwa-ha-ha evil can actually be boring to write, but a villain who feels they are justified, either because of perceived slights or intellectual superiority or the failure of their rivals or birthright are much more interesting, and Dooku is a bit of all of this. For research, I obviously watched tons of Clone Wars. But I also read up on everything about Dooku I could find, and I listened to Christopher Lee and Corey Burton’s interpretation of the character over and over, trying to internalize their speech patterns. Dooku is so gorgeously supercilious. It was just a blast to get in his head and see the world from his perspective. (And the fact that the storyline gave me another chance to write for my beloved Hondo Ohnaka was an added bonus!) Tom Angleberger (“Bane’s Story,” based on the episodes “Deception,” “Friends and Enemies,” “The Box,” and “Crisis on Naboo”): There’s a lot to love in The Clone Wars, but I think it’s Ahsoka’s arc that really stands out the most. Ventress’s arc does, too, and the way that these arcs cross at the just the right moment is really great Star Wars! My chapter is based on the “Crisis on Naboo” story arc. It’s basically a Space Western. The baddest bounty hunter of them all, Cad Bane, is hired to kidnap the Chancellor. What he doesn’t know is that almost everyone is lying to him, especially a fellow bounty hunter who is really Obi-Wan in disguise. In the TV version, we see it all from Obi-Wan’s point of view, so we know that Bane is getting played. In this retelling, we see it all from Bane’s point of view and, boy, is he going to be mad! To prepare I watched both The Clone Wars AND old spaghetti Westerns starring Bane’s inspiration: Lee Van Cleef. Preeti Chhibber (“Hostage Crisis,” based on the episode of the same name): I love the story that the prequels tell, but because of the nature of what they were trying to do — tell a decade and a half worth of story in three films — we’re missing major moments in what the war really means to the galaxy at large, and in the Skywalker saga itself. The Clone Wars tells us that part of the narrative, it gives us the shape of what entire populations of people had to go through because of this war manufactured by the ultimate evil. And within that scope gives us the hope and love and beautiful tragedy we associate with Star Wars on a larger scale. (Also, Ahsoka Tano — The Clone Wars gave us Ahsoka Tano and for that I will be ever grateful.) I’m writing Anakin’s story during “Hostage Crisis” — an episode in the first season of The Clone Wars. I decided to write the story entirely from Anakin’s perspective, which meant being inside his head before the fall, but where we are starting to see more of the warning signs. And then there’s also the romance of this episode! Anakin’s love for Padmé is real and all-consuming and, as we eventually find out, unhealthy. So, this is a romantic episode, but one that shows us Anakin is ruled by his heart. And that that’s a dangerous thing for a Jedi. In order to best wrap my own head around what was going on, I watched the episode itself several times, and read the script, and then I watched the chronological episodes of Anakin’s run-ins with Cad Bane, so I could get a real feel for where he was with his understanding of Bane’s character. E. Anne Convery (“Bug,” based on the episode “Massacre”): I love it because I think it’s a story that manages, while still being a satisfying adventure, to not glorify war. It does this mainly by following through on the arcs of wonderful, terrifying, funny, fallible, and diverse characters. From the personal to the political, The Clone Warsredefines the ways, big and small, that we can be heroes. My chapter is the “original” tale, though it still touches on The Clone Wars Season Four episode “Massacre,” with brief appearances by Mother Talzin and Old Daka. If I had to boil it down, I’d say that it’s a story about mothers and daughters. Honestly, it felt a little like cheating, because writing new characters meant I got to be creative in the Star Wars universe somewhat unencumbered by what’s come before. I did, however, have several long text chats with Sam Witwer because I was interested in Talzin’s motivations. We talked about stuff like her capacity (or lack thereof) for love. I think I came away thinking she was more a creature driven by issues of power, control, and the desire for revenge, whereas Sam was a little kinder to her. I mean, he is her “son,” so you can’t really blame him for wanting to think better of her! I always love a story within a story, and I was interested in the space where the high mythology of Star Wars and the home-spun mythology of fairy tales could intersect. I drew on my own background in mythology, psychology, and the language of fairy tales, plus I did my Star Wars research. Re-watching the Nightsisters episodes was just plain fun. Zoraida Córdova (“The Lost Nightsister,” based on the episode “Bounty”): The Clone Wars deepens the characters we already love. It gives us the opportunity to explore the galaxy over a longer period of time and see the fight between the light and the dark side. Star Wars is about family, love, and hope. It’s also incredibly funny and that’s something that The Clone Wars does spectacularly. We also get to spend more time with characters we only see for a little bit in the movies like Boba Fett, Bossk, Darth Maul! My chapter follows Ventress after she’s experienced a brutal defeat. Spoiler alert: she’s witnessed the death of her sisters. Now she’s on Tatooine and in a rut. She gets mixed up with a bounty hunter crew led by Boba Fett. Ventress’s story is about how she goes from being lost to remembering how badass she is. I watched several episodes with her in it, but I watched “Bounty” about 50 times. Sarah Beth Durst (“Almost a Jedi,” based on the episode “A Necessary Bond”): I spent a large chunk of my childhood pretending I was training to become a Jedi Knight, even though I’d never seen a girl with a lightsaber before. And then The Clone Wars came along and gave me Ahsoka with not one but TWO lightsabers, as well as a role in the story that broadened and deepened the tale of Anakin’s fall and the fall of the Jedi. So I jumped at the chance to write about her for this anthology. In my story, I wrote about Ahsoka Tano from the point of view of Katooni, one of the Jedi younglings who Ahsoka escorts on a quest to assemble their first lightsabers, and it was one of the most fun writing experiences I’ve ever had! I watched the episode, “A Necessary Bond,” over and over, frame by frame, studying the characters and trying to imagine the world, the events, and Ahsoka herself through Katooni’s eyes. The episode shows you the story; I wanted to show you what it feels like to be inside the story. Greg van Eekhout (“Kenobi’s Shadow,” based on the episode “The Lawless”): What I most love about Clone Wars is how we really get to know the characters deeply and see them grow and change. I enjoyed writing a couple of short scenes between Obi-Wan and Anakin that weren’t in the episode. I wanted to highlight their closeness as friends and show that Anakin’s not the only Jedi who struggles with the dark side. There’s a crucial moment in my story when Obi-Wan is close to giving into his anger and has to make a choice: Strike out in violence or rise above it. It’s always fun to push characters to extremes and see how they react. Jason Fry (“Sharing the Same Face,” based on the episode “Ambush”): I love The Clone Wars because it made already beloved characters even richer and deepened the fascinating lore around the Jedi and the Force. I chose Yoda and the clones because the moment where Yoda rejects the idea that they’re all identical was one of the first moments in the show where I sat upright and said to myself, “Something amazing is happening here.” You get the entire tragedy of the Clone Wars right in that one quick exchange — the unwise bargain the Jedi have struck, Yoda’s compassion for the soldiers and insistence that they have worth, the clones’ gratitude for that, and how that gratitude is undercut by their powerlessness to avoid the fate that’s been literally hard-wired into them. Plus, though I’ve written a lot of Star Wars tales, I’d never had the chance to get inside Yoda’s head. That had been on my bucket list! Yoon Ha Lee (“The Shadow of Umbara,” based on the episodes “Darkness on Umbara,” “The General,” “Plan of Dissent,” and “Carnage of Krell”): I remember the first time I watched the “Umbara arc” — I was shocked that a war story this emotionally devastating was aired on a kids’ show. But then, kids deserve heartfelt, emotionally devastating stories, too. It was a pleasure to revisit the episodes and figure out how to retell them from Rex’s viewpoint in a compact way. I have so much respect for the original episodes’ writer, Matt Michnovetz — I felt like a butcher myself taking apart the work like this! Rebecca Roanhorse (“Dark Vengeance,” based on the episode “Brothers”): I always love a backstory and Clone Wars was the backstory that then became a rich and exciting story all its own. The writing and character development is outstanding and really sucks you into the world. I chose to write the two chapters that reintroduce Darth Maul to the world. We find him broken and mentally unstable, not knowing his own name but obsessed with revenge against Obi-Wan and we get to see him rebuild himself into a cruel, calculating, and brilliant villain. It was so much fun to write and I hope readers enjoy it. Anne Ursu (“Pursuit of Peace,” based on the episode “Heroes on Both Sides”): The Clone Wars creates a space for terrific character development. The attention paid to the relationships between Anakin and Obi-Wan, and Anakin and Ahsoka make for really wonderful and resonant stories, and give so much depth to the whole universe. I was at first a little scared to write Padmé, as her character felt pretty two dimensional to me. But the more I watched her episodes in Clone Wars, the more dimension she took on. She’s such an interesting character — she’s both idealistic and realistic, so when corruption runs rampant in the Senate she doesn’t get disillusioned, she just fights harder. She has an ability to deal with nuance in a way that is rare in the Republic — and it means she’s not afraid to bend a few laws to make things right. In this chapter, the Senate is about to deregulate the banks in order to fund more troops, and Padmé decides to take matters into her own hand and sneak into Separatist territory in order to start peace negotiations. Of course, neither Dooku nor the corrupt clans of the Republic are going to allow for this to happen, so the threats to the peace process, the Republic, and Padmé’s life only grow. This arc is the perfect distillation of Padmé’s character, and it made getting into her head for it fairly simple. But I did watch all the Padmé Clone Wars episodes and read E.K. Johnston’s book about her, as well as Thrawn: Alliances, in which she has a major storyline. I really loved writing her. Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Stories of Light and Dark arrives August 25 and is available for pre-order now.

#obi wan kenobi #anakin skywalker #padme amidala #asajj ventress #ahsoka tano #katooni #yoda #captain rex #darth maul #novels #news #long post

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hamaon · 4 years ago

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JGY or WWX?

I feel like a fair disclaimer to give before getting to Wei Wuxian is that I watched the Untamed despite, not because of, wangxian! I originally checked out the beginning of the animated series because someone I followed was getting into it, but I already had an inkling that the main romantic relationship in this romance wouldn’t be my cup of tea. The Untamed followed, more than half a year later, really only because I had hit the gorgeous soundtrack on youtube.

How I feel about this character Part of the reason I presumed I wouldn’t be into wangxian was because neither of the main players really spoke to me, and on this account I am happy to have been proven wrong! When I finished the show, Wei Wuxian was probably my favorite character. There's something very satisfying about a surface-level heroic main character hitting his absolute lowest points and starting to be actively harmful to himself and others. “This is all I’ve ever wanted for the class clown type of character”, I think I said at some point. Let it all burn.

I go back and forth on whether I find the flightier parts of his personality charming or annoying, but it’s a spectrum. The Untamed version is my favorite, character-wise.

All the people I ship romantically with this character Nie Huaisang, in the sense that, what with their roles in the plot, it would be fascinating to see how things would play out if this was the main romance, instead. Especially because romance would not be Nie Huaisang’s priority. What would the relationship trajectory even be, teenage sweethearts, ending with a definitive breakup by the finale? I've never sat down with the idea long enough to do anything with it, but sometimes it comes back to me. The main reason I'm into it is because hey, it's the main character & the main driving force behind the story! this is an intellectual puzzle to work out!, but they also had nice, easy chemistry when they were young and seemed to enjoy each other's company, which was something that was... not present in the actual main ship as far as I could see, and apparently my only kink is obvious mutual interest and stability in a relationship. I don't think they really had romantic/sexual chemistry in particular, but hey.

Wen Ning. I just think ningxian is cute. Also has lots of potential for difficult and uncomfortable exploration re: consent and autonomy.

But I think at the end of the day, the only relationship he has that just by the actual shape of it would be something I'd be interested in seeing turn into a romantic and/or sexual relationship is with Wen Qing, which, uh. Yeah. The fond push-and-pull, the two leaders, it’s good stuff. Just a physical relationship during their hunkering together time would be fun, too.

My non-romantic OTP for this character Jiang Cheng. I remember originally being pretty peeved about the fact that the romance (censored or not) is treated as the main focus when the Yunmeng duo is, to me, the real heart of the story. Let Lan Wangji be a supporting character.

I'm not sure if I really want a reconciliation between them, personally, but I want to note that it’s not because I think it would be fundamentally impossible, or because one or both of the characters is genuinely better off without the other. I think it would be very good for them if they managed some sort of genuine healing together!

I don’t want a reconciliation because thinking about their complete and total failure to communicate and consequently never making up makes me experience genuine agony in a very satisfying way. I have in the past gone into people's tags for the two of them and managed to work myself into a sobbing mess within five minutes. It is extremely cathartic.

My unpopular opinion about this character That time when he walks into a Jin party and starts throwing threats 3-2-1, part of me is going “fuck yeah” and part of me is looking at all the collateral damage servants trying to stay out of the way in the background, who never asked to be terrorized by this very powerful man. It’s not something that makes me dislike the character in any way or form, as stated before if anything it just makes him more interesting to me, I just don’t think that it was an uncomplicatedly ‘cool’ moment.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon The man should be actually responsible for his own misdeeds. I’ve heard people say that this was a censorship thing, but I have no sources on that.

And A-Yao gets to go under a read more.

How I feel about this character Continuing down the nostalgia lane, my initial reactions were “this man smiles very deliberately” and, towards the end, “man, fuck the gentry, you should get to win”.

I, hm. It feels sometimes like there are two kinds of opinions that fans have, and I don’t connect with either of them! There’s the “this character is an unrepentant asshole and I’m proud of that, you don’t need to make up sympathetic motivations for villains” which, while I agree that he can justify a lot to himself, just doesn’t ring true to me. I think that many of his actions were either forced by the circumstances, or understandable, or sympathetic and made with decent intentions, or not particularly bad compared to shit that other characters and their society as a whole gets to.

Obviously there are all these breakdowns about the specific acts of altruism that he does that in-universe are rare from someone that high up in power, and those are great, but even without all of that, he was a stable, peaceful, competent ruler who wasn’t doing any large-scale nasty shit after a series of complete nightmares on the throne, and upsetting that long-standing balance should bring about repercussions for several social classes that does more harm than anything he was individually doing at any point.

As for the other take, there’s the “oh no he’s so small and so cute and should be pampered so much” which I don’t... get, emotionally, and additionally it is reaaal hard for me to see the character as someone who either wants or would even particularly enjoy being the one being taken care of. Usually my response is-

There’s that part during Nie Mingjue’s capture in Empathy where he’s just, running the whole show? Like, on one hand it is very important that he’s probably the weakest person in the room, and might lose in a direct confrontation against even the random soldiers standing to the sides, and if he plays his cards wrong or even sub-optimally one of the two big strong cultivators in his vicinity is going to pulverize him, and also aware of all of this at all times and living in low-key terror. But also -- he pulled it off.

If I’m working myself toward some emotional response with “A-Yao small” it doesn’t end with “someone should hold him 🥺” but with “and doesn’t that just make it all the sweeter that he sat on that throne”. (I have two kinks, and the other one is power reversal.)

All the people I ship romantically with this character Only Lan Xichen, really, but there are some tentative side paths to take!

Qin Su, in that the initial attraction would be fun to explore, and then it becomes less about the relationship dynamic and more about the underlying horror.

Nie Huaisang, in a not-particularly-serious, one-sided, never-happened-and-now-it-never-will kind of way. The ideal would be Jin Guangyao thinking of Nie Huaisang as a tiring but cute little brother figure (he doesn't have those, all of his family relationships sans mom take a weird turn at some point! this one sure is about to!), while Nie Huaisang has a lil crush, and then it goes all the way to hell. ...And I know that I set “won’t happen” as a precondition, but I guess if there was a character who keeps the (fierce or not) corpse of the late Chief Cultivator close in an effort to feel alive post-canon, Nie Huaisang is the one I’d want for that role.

Jiang Cheng, because that family unit is so under-explored in canon, and because out of a handful of favorite characters these two are usually my number one, so watching them interact with each other can be fun just because of that. But in my heart of hearts I want Jiang Cheng to stay forever single by choice, and really I'm just here for platonic family shenanigans with Jin Ling. (I've written some of this, but out of everything it's probably the least likely to ever see the light of day.)

But really only Lan Xichen. When I was watching the early episodes and didn't remember the characters well and in my head these two were only “the disturbingly handsome older brother” and “a bit part soldier (lol) from some other sect” I really imprinted on that goodbye scene, like damn, look at these characters who are friendly with each other and showing obvious interest. It's only the circumstances that are getting in the way! If I were to ever read fic from this show, it would be these two. (This was all a counter-reaction to early wangxian haha.) But increasingly it goes to show that what I'm really into is people having mutual and mutually recognized affection for each other, the negotiated part in the relationship being less about whether it'll happen and more about how to go about it. More romances that start with getting together instead of ending there.

I am laughing at my past self here though, after actually finishing the show my thoughts on xiyao were that it was nice that it was both there and stable (until, you know) and unknowable, whatever the shape of their relationship in private they are aware of it and have made their peace with it, and that's all I need to know, and now I'm sitting here with several WIPs, wondering if this is what finally pushes me to start publishing fanfiction.

My non-romantic OTP for this character Lan Xichen. No, I’m not interested in a non-romantic* read on their relationship, yes, I just want him here, too.

Also, the only other relationships of note here are with Meng Shi, Jin Ling and Qin Su, and using ‘non-romantic OTP’ for any of those feels off to me. Meng Shi and Jin Ling are at too much of an uneven level, Qin Su doesn’t reach OTP levels even if the romantic filter is off. Su Minshan and Xue Yang might be a better fit, but again, OTP level is too high. Early-canon Nie Huaisang... maybe.

*non-sexual is fine. never officially getting together w/mutual acknowledgement is fine.

My unpopular opinion about this character I think I already went off, so. The hat is fine, and the hate sounds performative and weirdly ignorant at times. I don't love the Untamed version, but it’s fine and the ones in other adaptations are fantastic, even. The warm yellow-brown combination looks really nice. More of the characters should wear hats, actually! Which I realize is an opinion influenced by historical Japanese and Korean dramas, which are of a different genre altogether (also not Chinese, but hats in official settings are a constant in all of these cultures). Nevertheless.

I wish it was used only post-timeskip in the Untamed, too, though, for more variety in costuming and to further differentiate the pre- and post-timeskip versions of the character.

...................................and a specific xiyao pet peeve also: I am becoming increasingly wary of the... either super common or I just happen to keep finding these, take where he’s some sort of unwilling/particularly hesitant participant in this relationship. Like I went back to watch parts of episode 4 (to figure out why it was that I was so sure Meng Yao would be swinging a sword around in future episodes and my conclusion is: because everyone else was swinging theirs) and even the initial interactions in the goodbye scene are like-

Meng Yao literally runs up to a guy waaay out of his league like “Hello I am bringing myself Forth because I have the audacity to assume you might Personally Want to Know that I am leaving and here are some pretty personal reasons why (gosh you really are lovely)”

Reactions I’ve seen to this: look at the little dude running away from his emotions

Me: w h a t

And then the natural conclusion here is that Lan Xichen is there to love him (with his dick and/or sunny personality) until he’s forced to accept it [serene face emoji] and it makes me. Not enjoy it much.

Ofc this doesn’t include normal human hesitations one might have about... anything and everything in life, really, but when it’s treated like this automatic character/relationship hurdle I’m just hhhh

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon I'm pretty satisfied with things as they stand? Just like the relationship between Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian makes me feel cathartic agony, Jin Guangyao's fate makes me feel cathartic rage. Look at the low-born bastard child go down the stairs of life, one last time!

......Sometimes I have my weak moments and do wish he had gotten away in the end, though.

#tägäämätön #huaisang gets around in this hm #xiyao-feels

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sparklydreamies · 5 years ago

Text

Stray Kids 8 Part Series ~ (3) Seo Changbin: He Laughed

Group: Stray Kids

Member: Seo Changbin

Genre: Light angst +hurt/comfort

Word Count: 4,000+

Summary: Don’t give power to merciless people behind a screen.

Stray Kids 8 Part Series MASTERLIST

A/N: Hi guys!! Sorry it took me so long to post again, but I’m back, and hopefully I will be able to write more frequently! This story is centered around the changes in Changbin’s appearance and confidence from debut to now. I always feel bad writing members in pain, but this is the story I came up with lol,, I guess the moral of this story is that idols are people who have valid emotions and feelings, and we as fans don’t have the right to dismiss them and treat them like dolls. So on that note, thank you all for reading!!<33

All throughout his childhood, Seo Changbin had always been skinny. There was never much of a reason for his naturally slim stature other than genetics and a fast metabolism. It always seemed as though throughout his youth, he had never experienced the usual figure changes that a lot of his friends had gone through, whether it was the gain of muscle or fat.

No matter how much food he ate, it never seemed to show on his body. There wasn’t a single part of his body that had excess fat covering the very visible bones. He could never grab a hold of any extra flesh on his body like some of his friends could.

As a teenager, he was always told that it was because he was a “growing boy”, and that he needed a lot of calories in order to grow big and strong. It wasn’t until he was in his early twenties that his stature began to change. He slowly became more muscular, thanks to his countless hours in the gym. Not only that, but he began to notice the faint gain of fat whenever he ate a lot without burning the calories.

In a way, Changbin had always felt like he was blessed to be naturally slim. It was especially appreciated for someone in his line of work. Even after it became easier for him to gain fat, the company had never considered him “too heavy” for an idol. Muscle mass was a different story, however as time progressed, Changbin was able to build the perfect amount of muscle to satisfy the company as well as his fans.

In short, Changbin had always liked his body.

“Time’s up!” Doni called. “Put your markers down.”

Changbin didn’t put his marker down. Giggling like a small child, he avoided the attempts Jisung made at stealing the black marker from his hand, only stopping when the show host called him out on it.

“Changbin’s naughty, he keeps cheating!” Coni laughed.

This was what Changbin loved doing. Making a fool out of himself during variety shows, cheating during games with his members, and overall acting like a child whenever he could.

“We should stop the show right here, Changbin ruined it for everyone.” Doni joked, and Changbin felt Jisung collapse on his back in a fit of laughter, nearly knocking them both off their stools and onto the ground.

“Okay, let’s start with Felix! Show us your drawing,” Doni called, and Felix flipped the notebook he was holding in his hands around.

The point of this segment was for the members to draw a portrait of how they perceive another member.

The entire group as well as Doni, Coni, and a few of the staff members had burst out in laughter at the drawing Felix made of Jeongin.

“Felix, you forgot eyebrows!” Jeongin whined from his spot. Changbin didn’t even notice the missing eyebrows; he was more focused on the teeth that were twice the size that they should have been.

The segment continued on like that, and Changbin felt a swell of pride when the whole group laughed at his drawing of Minho, which looked so scrappy that a five year old could do better. Changbin was having fun.

It wasn’t until it was Jisung’s turn to share his drawing that his mood took a shift.

“And this is my drawing of my lovely Changbinnie-hyung” Jisung giggled from his spot behind his muse.

Changbin took in the piece of art before him. The hair was scraggly, the eyes were small, and the chin looked more like a “V” than a chin.

Changbin laughed at the representation of himself.

“Oh the chin! The chin!” Coni laughed as he made the shape of a “V” with his hands to mock the drawing. Changbin laughed.

“That is the most accurate drawing so far!” Doni commented as he forcefully took Changbin’s face and traced the edges of his chin with his fingers. “Wow, Han is an artist!” Doni cracked as he high-fived Jisung. Changbin laughed.

“He captured Changbin’s face so cleverly!” Coni praised, sitting back down on his stool. Changbin faked annoyance at the hosts and at his band mate. And then, he laughed once again.

His brothers were practically howling at the scene, their voices creating a cacophony of sound ringing in Changbin’s ears. He was happy. He was laughing. So why did it feel as though his stomach was falling through the floor?

For the first time that day, Changbin had to forcefully plaster a smile on his face. He felt the bubbling feeling of embarrassment in his chest for the rest of the filming.

A little while back, Han Jisung had been given a nickname by his fans. Less than a nickname, it was more of a cute comparison. His cheeks had always been unusually large and soft. Whenever he would eat, he would store food inside of them, making them more accentuated than they were before. It was because of this that fans had begun calling Jisung a squirrel.

Jisung liked the connection. Contrary to how he presents himself, he had often struggled with accepting and liking his cheeks. He didn’t like the way they made him look younger and more boyish. He wanted to be perceived in a more mature and manly way.

That was why when fans began to compliment and praise his chubby cheeks, it helped him become more confident in his face.

Changbin had seen the improvement of Jisung’s spirit. Praise for Jisung’s cheeks from fans had helped him improve his self image a lot, and for that, Changbin’s love for his fans had only grown.

He only wished that he could experience the same reactions to his insecurities.

Changbin wouldn’t consider himself jealous of Jisung’s full cheeks and round face. It was stupid to compare oneself to another person based off of superficial things like looks, however it didn’t stop Changbin from appreciating the younger boy’s unique features.

The show aired on it’s planned date with no faults. Changbin watched the program on television, and was fairly proud of the results of the editing process. He had hoped that STAYs would enjoy the hour-long show.

After a few hours, Changbin opened Twitter so that he could get a sense of how his fans appreciated the show. Skimming through fans’ tweets, he noticed a few that stood out to him.

Most of the comments were about Felix and Jisung’s aegyo, or Hyunjin’s random dance challenge. The deeper he scrolled, the more tweets he found about him.

Normally, having a lot of tweets aimed at him would be an honour to Changbin. It usually meant that he was charismatic and funny enough to gain fans’ attention. That was why he didn’t understand the embarrassing feeling that came along with the jokes about his face structure.

That’s all that they were. Jokes. People liked to joke about his chin, so why should he worry? Why did he feel shameful?

Changbin’s stomach continued to drop with every comment he read about his face. Every time he saw that drawing of him, it was like another pin stabbing his chest.

That night at dinner, everyone was talking about the show. The members were talking about the comments that they received, the fans reactions, and how they thought it was a really successful show.

At one point during the meal, Jisung had shoved Changbin in the shoulder and laughed about the drawing that he made and how funny the fans thought it was. Changbin laughed.

Changbin had always been able to hide his feelings well. Especially as an idol, hiding hardships is mandatory. Changbin was good at laughing. It was a sure fire way to make everybody think that you’re happy, when on the inside, it feels like you’ve swallowed a thousand bees.

So that night, he laughed. He subjected himself to be the clown, even though it hurt him. Nobody needed to know about how he let his tears fall onto his pillow while they all slept.

Changbin had thought about how he was working so hard to remain slim and skinny, and how if he were to gain just a little more weight, he could possibly make himself softer and cuter, like his brother Jisung.

He figured that it was worth a try. Sure he might have to fight the company tooth and nail to gain the weight that he wants, but it was worth it. It was worth it to change how he looked. It was worth it to satisfy his fans.

For the next few weeks, Changbin had let himself gain weight. He ate more and stopped trying so hard to burn it all off. He still worked out enough to remain healthy, and he was still trying to gain muscle, but whenever he stepped on the scale and saw that he was a pound or two heavier than he had previously been, he felt his heart swell.

It was an odd thing to want to gain weight. Most idols would kill to be as skinny as Changbin had been, yet here Changbin was, trying to gain weight for the purpose of chubbier cheeks and softer edges.

Eventually, it began to work. Changbin began to wake up in the morning to see that his face was rounder, fuller, and cuter than it had been before. The whole thing made him elated.

It had gotten to the point where he was satisfied with his outer appearance. His chin was much less prominent. A less prominent chin meant that there was less for people to make their jokes out of.

“Hannie, stop!” Chan shrieked just as Jisung smeared a fat glob of vanilla frosting on his cheek.

All of the members were crowded in their living room, celebrating Bang Chan’s birthday with their fans. The energy level in the room was ecstatic. Some members were getting cake violently rubbed into their skin while others were trying to read comments and make the VLive as normal as possible.

Changbin was in the middle of answering a question when he felt a tap on his shoulder from behind where he was sitting on the ground in front of the coffee table. Before he thought better of it, his head was turning and he was met with a face full of frosting from Minho.

“Hey! Minho, get back here!” Changbin screamed, getting up to chase the nuisance around the room.

Laughter filled the room and lit up Changbin’s heart. He thought that nothing could destroy his mood.

It wasn’t until the next day that Changbin had checked Twitter again.

He scrolled through a lot of happy birthday wishes for Chan, which made him smile. He read a few of the messages, and saved the ones that he wanted to show to Chan.

And then, he got to some posts about the live. Most of them were sweet and nice, there were some clips of various parts of the live including the moment that Changbin got his face full of cake. As he scrolled for longer and longer, he got to some comments that were less light-hearted.

They didn’t like the weight he gained. Of course he noticed the comments from fans who had thought he looked healthier and happier, but no matter how many positive comments he saw, the posts from people calling him fat and saying that he was “letting himself go” were far stronger. The people calling him a pig and a fatass and ugly were too loud.

Changbin didn’t understand. After everything he did to satisfy the fans, they still made negative comments about him. He once was too skinny, now he is too fat.

He knew that he shouldn’t listen to people who didn’t show their faces, yet to know that people were confidently calling him degrading names stung him deeply. He felt a hopeless feeling bloom inside of him, and it drove him mad.

Changbin felt the first tear slip down the side of his face as the feeling of his chest collapsing took him over. His phone was thrown across his bedroom, the sound of a screen shattering as it hit the floor being the only identifiable noise in the room.

He wanted to scream. There was no pleasing them. He hated himself. He hated the way that he looked. He hated himself when he was skinny, and he was beginning to hate himself now that he gained weight. But mostly, he hated the way that he was reacting.

This was the job, wasn’t it? None of this should be surprising to him. He had known about the malicious comments aimed at the other members for various reasons, so why was this so frustrating for him?

Changbin fisted his hair to ground himself. He tried to count his breaths in his head, but all he heard was the comments ringing around in his ears.

...He got fat...

...Has he stopped working out?...

Fucking breathe.

...He’s turning into a pig...

...Changbin’s face is so fat...

Letting out his first scream of frustration, Changbin shot up from his bed. If the fans wanted him to be skinnier, then fine. He would get skinnier.

This was for the good of his career. Nobody liked an ugly idol, and if he is more attractive with a slim stature and a pointy chin, then he would work to achieve it. If he gained the weight, surely he could lose it again.

The room was small, and it felt like it was getting smaller.

Wiping the tears from his eyes, he threw open his bedroom door. Changbin grabbed his running shoes from the rack by the entrance, slipped them on, and took off from the dorm that felt like it was suffocating him.

The night air was refreshing against Changbin’s burning skin as he sprinted down the street. Ten o’clock at night couldn’t be considered too late to go for a run, especially when the moon was shining so beautifully in the otherwise pitch-black sky.

Changbin didn’t know where he was going, but he didn’t care. His lungs and legs were burning with the unexpected extortion. The sweatpants and t-shirt he was wearing didn’t make for good running clothes, but that didn’t matter to him.

For a minute, he felt okay. He could even say that he felt good. For a minute, he had forgotten all about the fans and their vendetta against his happiness.

The wind had dried the tears off of his cheeks, and he just became another faceless person in the dark. Changbin didn’t think of himself as an idol, but rather a person who’s tight chest was slowly beginning to take in enough oxygen for his head to stop pounding.

He didn’t know how long he ran for that night. His mind had cleared completely of thoughts, and he wore himself out. He didn’t even notice the warning signs of exhaustion before he was throwing up in a patch of shrubs.

Slowly coming back to reality, Changbin realized he needed to get home. He wasn’t too far from the dorms, so once he gathered some strength back, he began walking.

It was hard to tell how long it took him before he was trudging up the stairs and letting himself through the front door. He tried to be as quiet as possible.

The clock on the stove read 12:24. Changbin knew that if any of the members had realized he was gone, that he would be in a world of trouble.

He took his running shoes off at the door and made his way to his and Felix’s room, expecting to see the younger boy playing video games or getting ready for bed. What he was not expecting was to see Felix sitting on Changbin’s own bed, frowning at the phone in his hands.

Felix’s eyes darted up like a meerkat, relief flooding his features when Changbin entered the room.

“Where the fuck have you been!” Felix sighed, jumping up from the bed to pull the older boy into a hug, “I came out of the shower to see you were gone, you weren’t answering your damn phone, I was fucking worried you asshole!”

Changbin repressed a smile as he pushed Felix away. “I’m fine, don’t worry.”

Felix scanned Changbin, his eyes narrowing into suspicious slits. “Did you go for a run?”

“Yeah,” Changbin answered.

“In... your sweats?” Felix fingered at the pockets of Changbin’s sweatpants, and the older boy swatted his fingers away.

Changbin nodded and flopped down onto his bed.

“Why didn’t you take your phone with you? I’ve been trying to call you,” Felix ran a hand through his hair, “Fucking hell,” he sighed.

“I don’t know, Lixie.” As soon as Changbin’s head hit the pillows beneath him, he felt the exhaustion from his midnight run catch up to him. “You should watch your language, by the way.” he mumbled, cracking a small grin.

“Changbin, seriously,” Felix climbed up beside him, “You’re fucking lucky! I was two seconds away from telling Chan, I swear to god.”

Changbin looked up and saw the lines of genuine concern stretch across the boy’s face.

Felix had always been a caring person. He was always dependable, and he was really a true friend. It didn’t matter if Changbin was older, because he knew that Felix would always be there to protect him.

Wordlessly, Changbin grabbed Felix by the arm and pulled him to lay down beside him. A fond smile graced his face.

“Thank you for worrying,” Changbin whispered, “but I’m fine.”

Felix sighed. There was a beat of silence where Felix closed his eyes, and Changbin had started to think he fell asleep. But then, “Are you okay?”

Changbin was stunned and confused for a second. “Yeah... why?”

“You don’t usually go for runs. Especially not late at night.” Felix whispered.

Changbin snaked an arm around Felix’s torso. “I was just having a bad day.”

Felix was fidgeting slightly. It looked like he was fighting some sort of internal battle about whether or not he should say what he wanted to say.

Changbin smiled at the nervousness. “What?” he encouraged.

Felix’s gaze caught Changbin’s eyes. “Was it the comments? About your weight gain?” he asked in a small voice.

Silence. There was no sound coming from anywhere in the dorm as Changbin processed the question. The smile that rested on his face immediately slipped away.

“I... I saw them on Twitter, and they pissed me off, so...” Felix trailed off, lowering his gaze, “I mean you haven’t even gained that much...”

“I gained the weight on purpose,” Changbin said when he zoned back in on Felix.

“Oh...” Felix’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion, “Why? I mean, not that you don’t look good, but like... Why did you want to gain weight?”

Changbin thought about why he wanted to gain weight. He thought about Jisung’s drawing, the “V” face comments, the constant embarrassment around his appearance, and his own insecurities.

“It’s stupid.” Changbin dismissed, but of course, Felix kept digging.

“It’s not stupid. It’s just me, you can tell me.” he eased.

Changbin sighed. “You know... how people had been making jokes about my face? And my chin?”

Felix nodded, confusion showing again.

“I hated those comments.” he whispered. “I just got so insecure about my looks after people began to make those jokes, and I just... wanted to fix them.”

When Changbin looked at Felix, he saw that the confusion was still etched onto his features. “But...” Felix started, “you always laugh at those jokes.”

Changbin felt like shit for unloading this onto Felix, yet he continued to explain. “I’m good at laughing.”

The boys sat in silence for another minute. Felix seemed to be mulling over what he had been told, and Changbin watched the look of confusion melt into one of realization, and then sadness.

“I’m so sorry,” Felix breathed, “I... I didn’t know you felt like that. I would have never made those jokes.”

Changbin felt his heart crack. Felix almost sounded heartbroken, and it killed Changbin inside.

“But hyung...” Felix said, “you know that you don’t have to fix anything, right? You’re perfect. Don’t let them get to you.”

Teardrops were threatening to fall from Changbin’s eyes for the second time that night, except instead of being born out of pain, these tears were brought on by the overwhelming feeling of being loved.

“Okay...” was all Changbin could muster the strength to whisper. He didn’t trust his voice, so instead, he leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on his best friend’s forehead.

“You know what, hyung?”

Changbin hummed.

“I have dealt with so much hate because of so many things,” Felix sniffled away his own tears, “first they were upset because I wasn’t fluent in Korean, then they didn’t like my freckles, then it was my voice, and I thought that there was just no winning with them.” Felix closed his eyes.

Changbin didn’t even think about that. If any member was no stranger to criticism from online fans, it would be Felix.

The thought was crazy to Changbin. Why would anybody go out of their way to hurt somebody as sweet and perfect as Felix? The thought of somebody actually hating Felix for his mess of pretty freckles still amazed Changbin.

“But you know what I realized?” Felix continued, snapping Changbin out of his own thoughts, “It’s not my job to please everyone.”

“What do you mean, Lixie?” Changbin asked.

Felix opened his eyes again, “Like... I’m doing music for me, right? If people don’t like the way that I look or who I am, then that’s their problem, not mine. Get it?”

Changbin was amazed.

“How are you so young and yet more wise than half of the industry?” Changbin saw the light in Felix’s eyes, and it made him smile, too.

“I mean it still hurts sometimes, but... less now.”

Changbin agreed. He couldn’t see how reading vicious comments like that could ever end up getting easier.

“But now that I know you get comments and stuff that hurt you too, maybe we could... help each other. When it hurts a lot, you know?”

“Like you mean... I come to you when it hurts, and you come to me?” Changbin asked. It made him feel special to know that Felix trusted him enough to want to go to him for comfort. It made him feel like he wasn’t the only one that got happiness out of their relationship.

“Yeah, something like that,” he answered.

Changbin’s smile returned full force.

Felix was like sunshine, Changbin thought. This issue that seemed so horrible and painful to Changbin, now seems less than half as terrible since Felix was there for him. Since now, Felix was there to comfort him.

He didn’t care if it made him weak or less of a man, because he didn’t feel like he had to be strong when he was with Felix. Felix had always been comfortable in his emotions, and Changbin admired that about him.

“If you’re happy with the way that you look right now, you should keep it this way,” Felix encouraged him, “because for the record, I think you look better like this. You look happier.”

“I am happier,” Changbin whispered.

Shortly after that, the two boys fell asleep in Changbin’s bed, happy to have the support of their best friend.

Although it was hard at first, Changbin slowly became more confident in himself and his appearance to not care about how other people wanted him to look. Even when he slipped up, Felix always caught him with a hug, a smile, and a shoulder for him to rest his head.

For a while, Changbin had to fake his happiness during videos and variety shows. No matter how much he repressed it, the worry of how his fans would react to his appearance was always dangling in the back of his mind like an itch that he couldn’t scratch.

But it got better. Changbin found himself worrying less and less about what his fans thought, and more about what he thought. Over time, he didn’t have to fake his happiness. The fans had even noticed how Changbin’s growing confidence affected him.

And perhaps best of all, eventually began to laugh again. It wasn’t a fake laugh, or a laugh to cover his shame. It was a real laugh that honestly held his real happiness. And unlike how he laughed before, this laugh was the product of his self confidence and strength. No laugh could ever be brighter or fuller than his.

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fae-redux · 5 years ago

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rules of the game: ch. 5 - my kind’s your kind

Story Summary:

The Evergreen and Imagi were never quite in peacetime. Roman’s just trying to figure out how to survive and succeed his mother. Logan wants to live long enough to use his magic however he wants. Patton is coasting while repressing everything, still trying to figure out what feelings are.

Virgil doesn’t want to change the world.

Luckily, it isn’t up to him.

first | ao3 | prev

Chapter Summary: Dee and Virgil are both of the Evergreen. They don’t already know this.

Word count: 2658

Pairings: future lamp, platonic anxceit

~|~

When he finds Dee sitting innocently at his dining table with nothing but a cup of tea and a saucer in front of him, Virgil knows he knows.

“Did you know,” Dee starts, not looking up from his tea (Virgil can feel his barely contained glee from where he stands), “that Queen Valerie received quite the surprise this morning?”

He’s smirking like Virgil should already know. “No,” he attempts to shrug casually because it’s not technically a lie, “What surprise?”

“The queen certainly did not acquire a child,” His eyes light up, “And she really didn't get the twin fae child of the one you just cursed, no, she did not.” He laughs and practically spins out of his seat to get a good look at Virgil, effectively cutting off his path to his room. “Why didn’t you invite me on your hunt? We wouldn’t have had any fun together! There’s always something as good as some classic bonding, cursing unsuspecting humans, stealing children, you know!”

Virgil exhales a long breath through his nose, trying to move around the fae. “You are way too excited about this.”

“Well, it’s only what I haven’t wanted for years,” Dee tilts his head forward facetiously, an arm blocking his exit again, “Horrible of you to give me an early birthday present.”

Virgil gives up trying to get to his room and takes the seat Dee vacated, but then his brain catches up with what Dee just said. “Wait, I didn’t curse the kid, I cursed the queen.”

“According to the Seelie that just came from the outskirts, you definitely did not get the kid, and your magic is super stable,” Dee shrugs, moving his cup to the sink, practically fluttering his hands in joy. “The kid’s a bad mark, and if he grows up anything like his mother, you’ll be sorry you did it.”

Virgil looks at Dee, who is still grinning, genuinely ecstatic for the first time since Virgil’s met him, and thinks, maybe this isn’t the worst thing. If the queen does raise the child herself, he doesn’t have that much hope for the kid, and with King Cromwell under her thumb, it’s unlikely the kid will know what life outside the citadel looks like.

“I can see it now,” He says. The deal is composed of a thick cord that holds strong. Even tugging on it now, he feels the prince, crying alone in a nursery, and can’t believe he didn’t feel it before, “I should probably break it.”

“Sure, if you don’t want the death of a child on your hands. Magic doesn’t come with backlash.” Dee raises an eyebrow, and he hastily takes his hand back from the rope. “Besides there have been plenty of instinctive magic curses in fae history. It’s not like we don’t have the theory to even begin going about breaking it without killing you or the kid.”

He shakes his head and resolves to ignore the thing.

Dee is happy. It’s a shame, Virgil thinks. If what Virgil can recall about what he said is right, the young prince has twenty years to live, and nothing he does will affect the curse or change its course. It’s all up to Adelaide.

He doesn’t dwell on the seed of guilt that starts to grow in his stomach.

He doesn’t.

~|~

As much as he likes to focus on his misfortune, Virgil knows that when he can’t fix all his problems, it’s best to start with the ones he can handle.

The thing is, Dee’s right. His magic is unstable in that he doesn’t know what he already did with it or how to use it, and if he can’t learn to put some sort of a leash on it, he’ll be reliant on Dee forever, which isn’t ideal.

On the bright side, Dee seems delighted by the turn of events that is Virgil asking for magic lessons. They’ve started to learn to live with each other in the past couple weeks, Dee accommodating Virgil and teaching him how to do things around the estate, and Virgil carefully staying out of the way of Dee’s clients. This really is an extension of their preexisting lessons.

Dee starts them off by trying to figure out what sort of fae Virgil is. It would be going better if the only things he could talk about weren’t the way the plants lead him to Dee’s hide-away home in the Evergreen and the whole “curse” incident.

“How did you get away from a full ballroom of knights and iron? The queen wouldn’t have been extra careful with the presence of a child,” Dee has about seven books open trying to figure out what Virgil’s fae history is made of.

He shrugs, letting his shoulders slump in a little more, taking another bite of his food and ducking behind his bowl a little as Dee tosses another book to the side. “I heard the sound of breaking glass behind me? It sounded like your illusion breaking that first night we met, so I assume it was some kind of illusion magic. I just remember thinking I didn’t want them to see me leave. Illusions and plant-based magic are two very different things, though, so I don’t really understand how I would have both.”

Dee snorts, putting his own bowl down. “Even for a novice, you’ve got a horrible understanding of magic.” He brushes through his history of plant fae grimoire while frequently glancing from Virgil to the book. He turns the book so Virgil can see, “Match?”

Virgil looks at the portrait in the book of a fae with a wide face and a stubby nose and shakes his head. “I read a lot in the castle so I know a lot about magic. My mother’s collection told me about fae magic, but Adelaide’s collections taught me other kinds of magic. I moved most of her spellbooks and grimoires to my room, so even if the queen decides to go book burning, those would probably be safe. She probably doesn’t remember that I used to live in the west tower.”

The ache that comes with thinking about his old home isn’t new but he almost wishes the bittersweet feeling would go away. The castle always used to have the best view of the sunset and the most wonderful view of the full moon in the sky. Jam tarts were always a bonus too, especially when they got the ones with the special red jam. Those were things that made it really feel like home.

Dee turns the book around again. “This one?”

Virgil stops thinking about the castle.

The portrait shows an eager lady with sharp ears and elongated incisors and long silver blonde hair, about to pounce off the page. Her grin looks the same as his mother’s did before she hatched a plan to get them both in trouble. The manor staff used to hate that smile.

“That one,” he swallows down and clenches his fists to hold back the tremors he feels coming on, but it just sends sharp stings of pain through his palms. No one had told him about being part fae. No one even suggested it before Dee. If the queen knew, she surely wouldn’t have allowed Romulus to take him in. “Well, we know why about the plants now, though I’m not really sure how diluted my ancestry is,” He fiddles with the sleeves of his hoodie, and the hollow feeling in his chest persists. Enough fae blood to be fully realized by a deal gone awry, but not enough to affect him for the first 17 years of his human lived life.

Dee waves a hand and begins to put books away. “The real problem is that we know exactly why you have illusion powers like me,” The muttering increases as Virgil just sits at the table, head leaning against his palm watching as Dee pulls random books out at will, only to look through two or three pages and return them to the shelf. “Your existence as a fae makes complete sense.”

Today has already been too much, but at the very least they have a hint. “Thanks,” he replies dryly. “It’s not as though anyone told me there was a fae in my family tree somewhere. I would go back and look for the documentation if it didn’t mean getting captured and tortured for eternity for daring Adelaide.”

The scowl on Dee’s face makes him use an arm to cover the lower half of his face and stifle his snicker.

“Yes, you could go back, and all my hard work, gone, just like that?” The sarcasm is evident in his voice, as he shoots his judgmental gaze towards Virgil, “Stunning idea.”

“Nah, I think you like me too much to let me do that anyways,” Virgil openly smiles at the fae as he huffs and returns his attention to the shelves. “You do.”

“If the universe had not given you to me as a gift,” The light from the window glances off his yellow scales, making them glow, “You wouldn’t be dead right now. You would do well not to remember that.”

“Yeah,” Virgil rounds the table and plucks Dee’s bowl from where it sits, heading to the sink, “You like me.”

He doesn’t interrupt him, lets the grumbles fill the air, the only noises Dee can make without outright lying or telling the truth in the way he does.

Dee is a lot easier to understand than whatever the queen had going on, and they got on fairly well. Virgil doesn’t think it would be the worst thing to stick around for a while.

~|~

Watching Dee set up his tools for their first illusions lessons shouldn’t be as funny as it is. He left early that morning after breakfast with a cementing potion, tubes of sticking potion, and a basket of things he hadn’t let Virgil peak at.

When he’s finally allowed outside, he sees the monstrosities that Dee made in all their glory. There are trinkets of every sort pulled together from various places in the house that appear to be fashioned together into odd amalgamations. One is made up completely of porcelain doll legs in the shape of a duck and another is made up of small duck statues that have been organized into the shape of a person.

Ridiculous sculptures aside, Dee’s efforts come with a long lecture that Virgil only manages to absorb parts of.

“These won’t do for now, but the basis of this is you needn’t be able to maintain the same image in your head as the one you want to project as an illusion. It’s not like making the image in your head and turning it out of your brain to appear in the real world. Make sense?” Dee is looking very intently at the ducks while Julep watches amused from the sidelines.

Virgil frowns. “Is the correct answer yes?” He stares at the sculptures as if they will help him figure it out. “Because no.”

Sighing, Dee points at one of the ruinous creations, “When you look at that, what are you thinking about?”

“I’m thinking about how weird it is that you own enough dolls to make a large duck out of their legs and how fucking weird you are for doing this. Why, what’s the point?”

He looks like he’s going to facepalm in a very undignified way for a moment. “Can you think of anything else besides the thing you’re looking at?”

Blinking at the creation, he thinks for a moment. How could anyone who had that in front of them not think about it? Then it hits him. That’s why he made these insane things. “You’re trying to improve my concentration on what I want the actual illusion to be.”

“You mustn't hold your concentration, or this won’t work. Try to focus on the statues, not an open field with flowers. Anything not like that.”

From where he sits with his eyes closed, he can feel the grass pulling up between his fingers and in the breeze. Imagining an empty field, he tries to picture what he thought of being in front of him. After a full minute of intense focus, he peeks one eye open, and Dee just waits, not saying anything. Nothing happened.

“I don’t know what I’m supposed to be doing,” He huffs, frustrated. He picks the dirt and grass out from under his nails, a wrinkle in his brow. “Turn the image, what does that even mean?”

“Don’t picture it in your head first,” Dee sits next to him and puts down the dangling chicken bone mobile he created. His back is straight and he rests his palms facing up on his knees. “Don’t take a deep breath, and forget to concentrate.” He moves his hands to the ground in front of him, “Now, don’t shift the image, like it's on a wheel from your mind, in front of your eyes.”

Virgil watches as between blinks, the things vanish from sight. He raises a hand to tap the illusion, then hesitates and looks to Dee for permission.

“Please don’t touch, it’s just so fragile,” Dee smirks and examines his nails.

The tap sounds exactly like tapping a glass of water or on a window. A bright sound rings out, but the illusion doesn’t break. More confident now, Virgil knocks on the glass, and the prairie scene stays playing in front of him.

“Honey, you’re gonna have to try softer than that to break it,” Dee picks up the shovel he brought with him to build his structures. “Watch and don’t learn a thing!” The fae laughs as he swings it full force at the illusion, spinning with the momentum of the turn.

The sound of breaking glass echoes through the field with his laughter, and Virgil can’t help his flinch, looking away so his eyes don't get hit with any of the glass. Nothing that comes his way feels like it hits him. In fact, the bits that do appear to hit him just vanish on impact. Curious, he runs his fingers along the edge of a piece that landed near him and startles as it melts into nothing the second he would have made contact with it.

Behind the illusion, a single duck falls off its structure from the hit of the shovel, but otherwise, the creations are unharmed by Dee’s magic.

“Illusions are weak until they are broken. You won’t learn in your own time,” Dee looks disappointed at the duck that fell off and tucks it in his pocket, though what for Virgil doesn’t know. “Not your turn!”

Virgil looks at the spot Dee had put his hand down and takes a deep breath, just like Dee told him. It’s hard not thinking about the statues in the yard, but he manages to make some sort of image in his head of an empty field. The wheel behind his eyes pulls the image over the image of the current field.

The turn feels strange but there’s something there. It leaks into his arms as he tries to put the image in front of him, and it feels like water running over his arms, uncomfortably smooth. He blinks his eyes open, and he’s completely dry, but he’s looking at an empty field. Well, a version of an empty field, anyways.

Dee clicks his tongue happily. The illusion is clearly the wrong time of day, the black of a night sky curling at the edges with sunlight, and as Dee flicks it with two fingers, it shatters. “For a first try, terrible.” It’s silly, but Dee grins just like Thomas would when he scored well on his chemistry assessments. “Now don’t do it again.”

Virgil puts his hands to the ground more confidently. He can do this however many times it takes to get it right.

#sanders sides #ts virgil #ts janus #virgil sanders #janus sanders #i thought we could take a break from adelaide to focus on whats really important #and thats developing virgil and dees family vibes #because i want some fluff thats why #we can get back to in universe politics later ok #sanders sides fanfiction #awen writes #rules of the game au

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optimusphillip · 4 years ago

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OptimusPhillip Reviews 27: Studio Series 52 Chromia, Arcee, and Elita-1

Christmas is coming soon, and while I can’t be sure of what I’m getting, I’d like to review a recent acquisition beforehand just in case I end up getting more this year. This is the Studio Series 52 three-pack of Chromia, Arcee, and Elita-1 from Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

Motorcycle Modes

According to TFWiki, all three of these figures turn into their bike modes from the movie; Chromia is a Suzuki B-King, Arcee is a Ducati 848, and Elita-1 is an EV Agusta F4. However, I can’t say I agree with that statement. There’s no licensing information on the box, and there are some visible discrepancies between the toys and the real bikes. Chromia’s headlight is split up and her side lamps are the wrong shape, Arcee is missing her front fender and most of her side panels, and Elita-1 is missing her rearview mirrors and has two headlights instead of just one. Some of these changes could be sacrifices for the sake of making bikes this small transform, but most of them just feel like working around licensing.

Paint deco is kind off here, too. While the base colors are right, all three bikes in the movie had a lot of black accents along with Cybertronian writing on their bodywork. In addition, all three had rims color-coded to their main body colors. None of these details carry over, likely due to size and budget issues. Instead, all we have is some black on the seats, and some silver for the windshields, headlights, gas caps, rims, and tail pipes. However, I think they still look nice, even if they aren’t 1:1 movie accurate.

Now, I mentioned the size earlier, and I should probably address that more properly now. These girls are tiny, only about 2 3/4″ tip to tail in bike mode. They are the smallest figures in the Studio Series line, which is probably for scaling reasons. While I don’t presently have any of the vehicles these bikes were seen alongside in the movie, putting her next to Dropkick in car mode, the scale looks about right for a motorbike next to a car, which I very much approve of.

Conversions

Being as small as they are, these three figures have very simplistic conversions. This is especially true of Chromia, whose transformation consists of folding out the rear seat to form her arm, bringing out the other arm, flipping the front and rear wheels and bringing up the head. Probably the hardest part is trying to tab the rear wheel into place when going back to bike mode, since it doesn’t really fit into the specified slot.

Arcee and Elita are a little more involved. For Arcee, you need to unhinge the lower and upper halves of the bike. From here, the upper half transforms easily enough (just remember to flip up her shoulder spike). The lower half, however, does a double-twist to put the body stem the proper position, then folds in half to create Arcee’s double wheel-foot.

Elita-1′s transformation is slightly different from Arcee and Chromia, in that her front wheel forms one of her arms instead of the rear seat. Once her arms are out of the way, along with her rear wheel-spike, the side panels of the bike rotate down, exposing a similar body stem to Arcee’s. From here, disconnect the front and rear of the bike by un-tabbing the gas tank, do a similar double-twist to Arcee, and then straighten out the rear wheel to form her wheel-foot. Fold the handlebars up, and you’re done.

All three sisters get detachable bases to keep them standing in robot mode. They don’t mount super-securely, nor do they store anywhere in vehicle mode, but they do their job well enough.

Robot Modes

While limited by their small size, these three figures are very faithful renditions of their CGI models from the movie. Some of the finer details are missing, again likely owing to their small size, but the general body shapes are there, and even subtle details like Elita’s folded up handlebars are included.

Upon close inspection, it appears that these three share a surprising number of parts. Arcee shares Chromia’s left shoulder and right forearm, Elita-1′s right shoulder, chest, and head, and all three share the same waist tooling and... hip piece, I guess.

For articulation, all three sisters have ball-joints in their necks, shoulders, elbows, and waists, plus a mushroom peg swivel leftover from transformation, which allows you to tilt their upper bodies if that’s a thing you want to do. I will warn you, however, that some of their arm joints can be loose. In my case, both Arcee and Elita have loose left elbows, and Arcee’s bike front shoulder is loose as well. Also, I’ve occasionally popped parts off during transformation, though it’s not often enough to feel like anything besides a problem with my end.

Aside from their robot mode stands, this set includes three additional accessories: a large pink gun, a large blue blade, and a small blue piece with silver piping. According to the instructions, the gun goes over Arcee’s right forearm, the blade goes on Chromia’s left forearm, and the small blue piece goes on... Arcee’s left shoulder. Yeah, this feels odd to me. It’s obviously colored to go with Chromia, and seems to only work with Arcee due to them sharing a left shoulder part, but the instructions give it to Arcee. That said, all three of these accessories are interchangeable across the two, since not only do they share right forearms to fit the gun, but Arcee also has pegs for the blade on her left forearm. Unfortunately, Elita kind of gets left out of the accessory swapping, though she does have her character model’s arm-blade sculpted into her left arm. Also, the shoulder piece isn’t super secure, especially on Chromia, who has some clearance issues with her large elbow and blade.

Now, normally, that would be it for the figures themselves... but there’s one more undocumented feature to discuss.

Combined Mode

I’m going to say this right now: as of me writing this review, there are no official instructions for this combined mode. A combined mode is clearly intentional judging by the engineering involved, but there is no confirmed official configuration. As a result, I will be following the method used by SparkSide - YRQRM0 on YouTube, which has made the best use I’ve seen of all the unique engineering.

In essence, this is just Arcee with Elita-1 forming a rear wheel, and Chromia forming a large backpack. The idea of the three combining is based on a deleted scene from Revenge of the Fallen that only exists as concept art, but this configuration has very little in common with that concept art. SparkSide’s original combination idea, while using less of the dedicated engineering, did more closely resemble that concept design. Still, this isn’t really bad in comparison. I like the centaur shape she has going on, and I still enjoy how Chromia’s arm parts fuse onto Arcee’s. While Chromia herself kind of just forms a backpack, it is a nice way of integrating her design. That said, Arcee loses all torso articulation, and her arms are a little clunky in this configuration. Still, it’s a fun little bonus feature that I’m glad they included.

Backdrop

The backdrop included with this set is branded “Shanghai Pursuit”, and is based on the opening sequence from Revenge of the Fallen, where the three pursue Sideways through the streets of Shanghai. Specifically, it shows the building that they burst through after narrowly avoiding killing an old Chinese man eating noodles. While the shot from the movie is very busy, all of the details I saw in the movie are present here, and there’s nothing here that seems out of place. So I’ll say it’s a successful recreation.

But now the million dollar question: do the figures fit on the base? Yes. The figures are so small in robot mode and have such narrow footprints that all three of them can stand side by side without crowding the base. They even fit on it in combined mode... but only sideways. The combined robot is just too long front to back to fit on the stand facing forward, but the base is wide enough and the robot thin enough too fit when looking off to the side. So it’s possible, but it doesn’t look very good. They all still fit in motorcycle mode as well. It’s a little crowded, but you can get them to all fit on the stand side-by-side at an angle, showroom style.

Final Thoughts

Studio Series is not for everyone, and the Revenge of the Fallen designs are definitely not for everyone. That said, I think the motorcycle sisters are some of the better designs to come out of that movie, and I think they are captured very well in this three-pack. While small, they are fun to play around with, going from one mode to another and playing around with the combinations. Some of the connections are kind of loose, but not to the extent of being a dealbreaker. So if you’re into these designs, or are just looking for some fun desk toys, these are hard to go wrong with. Just make sure you play with them in an area where you won’t lose any dropped parts.

#transformers #studio series #arcee #chromia #elita-1 #transformer reviews

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jemimaboultonmessagesmultiverse · 5 years ago

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Asemic writing

Today we created our own abstract messages and secret script (asemic writing) by layering wet and dry media and creating opportunities for suggestions of letter forms by weaving slices of writing together. we used our articles to inform what our initial writing would be and researched Pokras Lampas, Simon Williams, Cecil Touchon, Fabio Zanino and Jerry Iverson to take inspiration from and create ideas from their form of asemic writing.

Simon Williams

Simon Williams is a contemporary painter who mainly uses Alkyd oil and acrylic paint to create his abstract painting. He takes inspiration from many things such as childhood comic books, propaganda posters and graffiti art, which personally I think really shines through in his work due to the large sweeping curves and the bold colours shown throughout.

Texture is a very prominent thing within his work as there are many brush strokes where it appears as though the brush didn’t have that much paint on it and therefore the brush has left a scratchy texture. This contrasts with some of the very smooth round shapes created in his work which have an almost 3d look to them due to the way the paint has been applied. I really like the curves and flow of the lines in this piece and that is something I would like to achieve in my own work at some point.

I also like the use of colour in this as Williams has put the majority of the vibrant colours in the background, leaving the foreground to be mainly black and white. This intrigues me as it is something I have never thought about doing in my own work but definitely something I should experiment with. I really like the simplicity of this piece and how the shapes created could suggest letters but it is not obvious from which language or alphabet the are derived from, since they don’t actually exist. This is the exact effect I want to create in my own work.

The piece below is my favourite because of the colours found within it. While the main colours appear to be teal and purple, a small amount of pink and red can also be found within the black which is very interesting to me as it makes me wonder why Williams decided to include such a small amount of a warm colour which contrasts the cool colours throughout the rest of the piece. In my opinion it could be to send the message that a warmth and hope can be found in every cold bleak situation.

This piece is also different to the previous piece as there is colour in the foreground and the background. There are also much more hues of all the colours used, which is something I would like to do in my own work along with creating textures similar to how Williams does in is work, with very dry brushes containing only a small amount of paint. I would also like to create a general theme with the shapes I create as Williams only uses very round curves and I would like to only use one type of shape in my work, possibly the opposite shape, with many angles and straight lines.

Pokras Lampas

Pokras Lampas is a graffiti artist from Russia who has created many large scale installations and worked with many brands on advertising campaigns due to his eyecatching patterns which resemble letters. His lines have a very calligraphic style to them and usually follow an overall uniform shape for example lines of the asemic writing forming circles in a similar way to a mandala.

I really like the colours within his work and how it is usually a black background with colours over it as I could achieve this effect by inverting some of my own work which is going to be made on white paper. I also really like the large scale and versatility of his work as it works on many different surfaces such as walls, cars and even people in a very detailed and interesting way as by using these different canvases the intricacy isn’t lost.

I particularly enjoy the piece above as the brightness if focused surrounding man and the art gradually gets darker and more shadowed towards the edges of the photograph. I also like the way this has been captured as by having him sit in the middle of the art it displays the central focal point and how large the installation really is in a photograph which prior to him sitting there wouldn’t have made clear the scale of the piece.

The campaign and product below are some of the most visually appealing pieces by Lampas that I have seen due to the variety of colours used in the body paint and how vibrant everything is. The way the lighting makes the shadows appear as pink ties the whole photograph together as without the adding neon pink it would’ve appeared rather bland.

The shapes of the the letters in Lampas’ work remind me a lot of blackletter and therefore if I wanted to display something old and ancient in my own work I could use shapes similar to this o=to do so as Blackletter is the oldest typeface.

I do also like the combination of red and yellow and how the shapes fram the neck and shoulders in a similar way to how clothes do. From looking at Pokras Lampas’ work I have learnt that in my own asemic writing I should think about what shapes my asemic letters are making and whether they form any other shapes such as circles in his work.

Cecil Touchon

Cecil Touchon is an artist who creates abstractions based on typography. The he creates hints at letters and has much depth to it due to the way he makes the rectangles and rounded wedges overlap and interact with eachother. He uses billboard fonts as inspiration for the type of font he is subtly adding into his work and this makes for some big bold shapes and colours that are very striking to catch people’s attention as billboards typically contain adverts and are definitely made to be noticed.

I really like how he has mixed a very natural colour such as tan with a bright periwinkle blue in this piece as I could use this in my own work to portray the messages of my articles as many of them draw parallels between 2 very contradicting subjects, for example nature and technology. The colours also remind me of the sea and a beach and therefore the dark areas could be pollution, or the white and blue could be the sky and the tan could be the ground.

I really like how colours and shapes carry over many of the rectangular shapes and connect them all together, creating very abstract shapes in the process. In my own work I could use this as I could think about how long I want to continue a line for and how much I want the shapes within my work to overlap and affect eachother as by not having them overlap I could end up with a very different outcome than if I did.

The second piece I looked at by Touchon is very different to the first one as it contains no colour and the shapes of the letters are much more similar to letters usually seen in everyday life. We took inspiration from this in our own work as we started our pieces by weaving together some black and white type. This piece reminds me slightly of David Carson’s work as it has the same elements of a glitchy sort of type and scramble up words that his work commonly contains.

This also reminds me of the tomato project due to the black and white and bold lettering which is making shapes in an unnatural way. I think it would be very fun to try and create a piece similar to this in photoshop as I could splice together words and then use the threshold tool to make them very dark and computerised, which would work well for many of my articles, especially the one about robot flies as that is very technological and I think that the outcome could be very technological and futuristic.

Fabio Zanino

Fabio Zanino makes sculptures which are created from objects which he has broken apart and then put back together but only using certain pieces to give the entire object a new identity. He calls this work “Decostruzioni” as he deconstructs things and reassembles them to give them a new purpose and makes them abstract artworks.

I think Zanino’s work is extremely interesting in the way that he will take something which already had a purpose, destroy it and separate it from the original purpose and somehow rebuild it in a way which makes it yet again purposeful. By ridding the objects words and textures of their meaning he can then manipulate them by changing the shape and arrangement of the object and make the textures be interpreted in a completely different way.

Unlike the other artists researched today, Zanino doesn’t necessarily create asemic writing all the time as not all of his pieces contain text, but the way in which he works is similar to that of asemic writing and we took a lot if inspiration in how we worked from him as we disfigured our own writing and our own work and then rearranged it to give it new meaning and new purpose, and I then even went on to rearrange and reweave the asemic pieces I had already created and manipulated them further giving it a third layer of hidden meaning.

Jerry Iverson

Jerry Iverson creates art based on the balance and grace if Asian calligraphy. To do this he uses many layers of paper ink and glue to chop up the words and experiment with how black lines can look like words even if they mean absolutely nothing. I really like this nihilistic approach to asemic writing where the intention is to have it be meaningless as it more or less gives Iverson the freedom to do what he wants without having to think about context. This may have been why there is no colour in this piece as while many of his pieces aren’t colourful some have very subtle colour and this has none to show how it means absolutely nothing.

I really like the texture created by a dry brush and ink in this piece and that is definitely something I could put into my own work and maybe even create something similar using oil pastel or charcoal as they both have a very scratchy texture similar to this.

I also really like how a lighter wash of ink has been used in his work to create a shadow like image behind the harsh black lines that replicates them. The shapes in this piece are something I would like to use in my own work as they are very harsh fine lines with lots of texture which really appeals to me as texture is something I want to include more of in my own work. I also like the way he has copied some of the lines in a lighter wash to add depth as it makes he entire piece more visually appealing in my opinion due to the use of many tones.

The piece below is from the series “Line Bombs”, based on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the disruption they have caused. Iverson has displayed this disruption very successfully by using many layers and textures in a very messy way which is effective for showing an explosion. The ink splatters could represent the corruption and damage that the bombs and wars are doing.

The choice of applying ink in this way could also be to display the aggression and anger associated with war and the way that the ink interacts with the other media on the page could be as a representation to how that anger goes on to affect people unknowingly as you cant plan how ink is going to react to the page you are putting it on.

I really like the use of many shapes and textures and the way that Iverson chooses to layer his work as it makes interesting compositions with lots of depth and many different shades from black to white, I also like how he doesn’t opt to use gradients and instead applies colour in a more jarring way to send the harshness of the messages he is portraying across.

My asemic writing

For my own asemic writing I decided to based all on my article about mammoths being revived, as I haven’t done much work concerning this subject and alspo I thought it could work well for asemic writing due to them being ancient and how I could link them to cave drawings.

For all my pieces I first started off by writing words rather largely on an A4 piece of paper repetitively to then be cut into strips to weave together and hide the message. The words I chose were “mammoth revival extinct animal restoration” as they all link to the chosen article and almost make sense as a phrase. When slicing my words up I decided to do it lengthways down the paper to allow myself longer strips to weave together as I wanted to weave across most of the page and this would be easier to do with longer strips.

I then went on to create the asemic writing and I did this with a biro at first just to extend the lines and shapes created by the sliced up letters and continued the shapes they made, overlapping and connecting some of them in a way which reminds me of Pokras Lampas. I also wanted to replicate something which looks like It could’ve been made in caveman era, but I don’t think I achieved this in my writing very well as it reminds me more of Asian or Russian architecture and the patterns seen on that. I did however make the ends of all my lines very scratchy and not uniform to hopefully replicate some of the textures which could been seen in very old cave drawings.

After continuing the lines I added some oil pastel to create the rocky scratchy texture I was trying to achieve. I think it did a successful job of adding texture and following some of the weaving which was glued down on the page already. Because of the ridges in the paper due to the weave it made very interesting depth as the oil pastel would pick up more in some areas than others. I then also used oil pastel to highlight some of the shapes I created and enlarge them in grey in a similar way Jerry Iverson. I think the grey and the orange look very nice together as it is a warmer grey and therefore more on the brown side than the blue side.

Finally in this piece I added an ink wash of a very pale peachy orange colour which ties the whole thing together as it makes the whole think have a colour overall. I got this idea from looking at Simon Williams work as he using long sweeping strokes and I tried to make my brush not too wet to display some of the brush texture like he does. I also used the ink to further replicate some of the shapes I saw and give the piece a border with shapes that make sense in context to the rest of the piece. Overall I believe this outcome was very successful and other than the writing not looking exactly as I had Hoped I really like how the textures turned out and I believe I achieved my goals regarding texture and composition as it all works in harmony with eachother.

In the second piece I wanted to aim to have the writing be more reminiscent of the textures and shapes seen in caves so I used oil pastel instead of biro to do the original asemic writing and I do think this helped overall give the entire thing more of a rocky texture. I then went on to add some blue oil pastel too as mammoths lived in the ice age and I though it would make sense to use blue as blue is a cold colour associated with ice. I like how the blue oil pastel turned out so I added more blue and this is where it all went wrong.

When adding the blue ink I added too much of it and completely covered the whole piece, overwhelming it, which is not at all what I wanted to do, so I tried to fix this by adding white acrylic paint. I like how the white acrylic looks as it adds a frosty look to the blue but it didn’t many to fix the mistake I made and therefore I don’t like how this outcome ended up. If I was to do this again I would use a small brush for the blue wash or maybe I would choose a different colour than blue altogether or maybe a different shade as it doesn’t look like ice as I hope and instead looks much more bright and possibly happy.

On the other hand I do like how this composition started and how the oil pastels looked when used as the original writing and I do believe that there are many appealing textures within this which the addition of acrylic helped a lot with as it made the piece even more rough and scratchy which is overall the appearance I was aiming for.

For my final piece of asemic writing I wanted to create an overall shape and have all the lines I created be inside of it. To do this, when I was placing the weave I considered how I could frame the page so I decided to put the weaving in 2 corners diagonally from eachother so I could connect them with lines through the middle of the page, I used a black sharpie to do the base writing and I made the lines very thick to develop onto them later. I made them very sketchy as well to create a similar effect to the previous piece but in a different medium. Some of the lines got extended very far across the page to connect both halves together. I really like the way that placing the weaving in this way affects the lines as it makes both corners much more full with lines than the middle and I think this works very effectively in creating a balance across the whole page.

I then used oil pastel on the weaving to dark the corners, causing the middle of the page to be a break of light in the darkness. This also added a lot of depth in areas where I wanted it and worked just as I had hoped it would. From doing all these pieces I have learnt I really enjoy the textures which oil pastels can create and how using them subtly can change the entire theme of the whole piece.

I then added ink washes in the shape of the piece and I think it worked very well to tie the whole shape together and emphasise how the piece shows and follows an overall shape, which is something I started to consider in the first place because I looked at Pokras Lampas.

Finally I added white down the centre of each black line which made the overall piece have lightness where it needed it so it wasn’t tot dull. Overall the outcome of this composition is something I enjoy very much and I think it was very successful in the way that it flows from one side of the page to the other, If i was to fix elements of it I would’ve made the white lines much less jagged and more smooth compared to the way that it is so that they could contrast the jaggedness of the black lines they are surrounded in.

As an additional composition I photocopied my first piece and put it into negative as well as one normal photocopy and I weaved them together as I had been with the rest of the pieces. I really like how this turned out as the contrast between both pieces is very visually appealing to me. If I was to fix any elements of this I would’ve cut the pieces into strips more neatly as they look rather jagged and not in straight lines the way I wished they are. I do really like how I weaved from one side of the page to the other as that is something I think make the page very balance in a simple way.

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sweetcatmintea · 6 years ago

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You sink

Flash Fiction Friday! (But not officially. If I have time, I’ll do the official prompt when I wake up)

This is an attempt at a creepy ocean story as requested by @kainablue! It’s supposed to be more an atmospheric dread style of creepy but I don’t know if I landed it XD (If you want some real dread and aw, watch this video I found while looking for inspiration) I hope you like this Kat! Thanks so much for all of your support! 💜 💜 💜

I hope you all have fun in the water! Feedback is super appreciated ^u^

Prompt: This beautiful picture and the genre Creepy

Words: 1600

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You’re falling.

Falling asleep. Falling through clouds. Falling into water. Salt licks your lips as you shield your sun blinded eyes, blinking bleary colours into shapes. Cool ocean water soaks through your pyjamas, brushing your back and ensnaring your outstretched limbs. Float like a starfish. That’s what your mother had told you. Your steady heartbeat is easily drowned out by waves gently crashing against themselves, rocking your floating body. Your eyes have cleared. The sky above an endless blue spotted haphazardly with white wisps. The sea below and endless blue spotted hazardously with mysteries. Even so, you are calm. The ocean has always been a place of peace for you.

You sink.

Back, then shoulders, then cheeks. The water consumes you, drawing you to its core one lapping wave at a time. You relax into the motion, letting yourself be taken. A natural reflex, you take one last gulp of air as the water closes over you. Noise distorts immediately, liquid filling your ears and pressing against your skull from within. You open your eyes, immediately squinting for the oncoming sting. It never comes. You open them gingerly, slowly widening them enough to look around as you continue the descent. Light sparkles at the surface, glittering and beautiful as the ripples capture it in a dance. You consider turning over, enticed by the allure of watching where you’re falling to. But you stay on your back as you are. You don’t know how deep the water is here. You’re not sure you want to.

You continue to sink.

You’ve been holding your breath for so long now. Your chest aches, longing to release its now unwelcomed guest. You don’t want to. Something tells you that it will be okay, to let go. The shuddering in your lungs exacerbates the urging. A string of air escapes you. You panic, just for a moment. There are no bubbles. You release more air. No bubbles at all. You let it all out, deflating yourself as far as your body allows. A tentative inhale. You can breathe.

You continue to sink.

A low, haunting note splits the water’s rumble. Clicks and whistles melding together in an other worldly melody. A currant rolls you off course, affording you two overwhelming sights at once. Below you, deep, deep, below you, there is nothing but murky darkness. Beside you, all around you, there were giants. Gentle grey and white whales gliding as though unaware of their unbelievable mass. You weren’t prepared for their appearance. The sight captures your breath and your heart. They arc and curve in playful rings, so much more agile than you ever imagined. It doesn’t look like they notice you. Not even the smallest tempted by the curiosity of the mouse in their midst. You feel safe, if not a little lonely.

You continue to sink.

Fish swim around you, flickering more colours than you can name. You are engulfed in schools of tuna bigger than your dog. You dare not touch them. No matter how much you want to trail your cold fingers across their smooth, silvery scales. It’s not worth the risk. Sunlight filters through the water in rays. But it’s getting darker. You keep your mouth clamped shut, saltwater having already proved its character against your tastebuds. Your hair tickles your skin, moving in time with the ocean.

You continue to sink.

Sharks slide out of gloom, joining you as they stalk through the blue. They come so close, you can feel the power of their bodies as they pass by. Their black eyes never linger on you. They don’t stay long, the prey is elsewhere today. You try to avoid looking down. It makes your stomach roll. Alone as you are, there is nothing around but water. You strain your eyes. As above, so below. Nothing but ocean. You are so very small. A grain of sand in the wind. There is nothing you can do to change this. Somewhere, in the world you once knew, people are praying for rain. There are deserts, so savaged by the surface, the inhabitants have not even a drop of water in their memories. It is hard to imagine. For you, here, right now, water is all there is. Miles and miles of endless sea.

You continue to sink.

Finally, a semblance of broken infinity greets you when you peek over your shoulder. Long stretches of dark stone column rising out of the nothing. Sand dusts the impromptu sea floor while skitters of creatures are gone too quickly for you to identify. It is too far away for you to reach. Your limbs are heavy with the weight of the water, the weight of the clothe. You aren’t sure you even remember how to move them. You watch as the slabs grow larger as you draw closer. If you were to move, your descent, as slow and calm as it is, is still too fast. You’re too small to reach the shelf before you sink below it. It disappoints you that there are no corals there. The sun is too week to feed them. There is little more than grey, white, black, and blue. So much blue. You pass the top of the stone, sinking lower and lower. Its massive figure looming over you as you go. In some time, you pass another ridge jutting out below the shelf, then another, and another. Each taller than you, taller than anyone you know. Three steps down and your house was dwarfed. They spread further, the deeper you sink. A god’s stairway stolen by the ocean. It’s getting much colder. You shiver but can do little to soothe the ache spreading through your hands. The shadow of the stones saps the heat prematurely from your surroundings. Your jaw is cramping from your determination to keep your lips sealed. You want to let out a shuddering breath into the water but the needle prick on your mouth is warning enough. If nothing else, you can keep your teeth from stinging.

You continue to sink.

In the dim light, you begin to make out the outlines of still, grey, pillars. They are pebbles to the stone fading beside you, whales to you. Sperm whales standing solemnly in the deep dark nothing, a graveyard of living tombstones. They don’t move as you pass, continuing their sombre vigil. You wonder what they are trying to accomplish. You want to tell them you understand. To convey in some meaningful way that you can see them for what they are. You can’t. Because you don’t.

You continue to sink.

The blue, long since navy, then velvet, fades darker still. Soon enough you can no longer see the shadow of the heavenly stairs, nor the outline of the silent whales. You might as well have fallen into the sky, drifting deeper into space than man has ever dreamed of. It’s vast. It’s endless. You are alone. Not even clouds of cold breath to keep you company, to remind you that you exist. Is this death? Your thoughts echo in your head. They’re too loud noise has no place here. Pressure wraps around you, making its presence known against your skull. It doesn’t hurt. The pain passes through you easily, hinting at what it could be, given the chance. Too cold to feel, your limbs are detached. Only the pull of the water to remind you they are yours.

You continue to sink.

Maybe you found the seafloor hours ago. An unknowing passenger in your own skin, you’re not sure. You feel like you’re sinking, if nothing else. Like the illusion of spinning as you fall asleep. You don’t know which you would prefer. Movement darts overhead. The water presses against you in response. A pinprick of sunlight blinds you once again. You squint, trying to make sense of the glowing orb. To have something smaller than you was a foreign feeling. Your eyes struggle to adjust. It is too bright. The light begins to dance, bobbing and wiggling. A shimmer of scales. A fish draws closer, mesmerised as you are by the light. Snap! The fish is gone. A mouthful of broken glass shards closes millimetres from your eye. There is no controlling the shudder convulsing down your spine as you leave the dead-eyed angler behind.

You continue to sink.

Long stretches of isolation. There is nothing but the tiny you in the vast, unending liquid night. You wonder how anything else can exist. How there can be anything other than ocean. If you are lucky, flickers and glows temporarily accompany you. If you are unlucky, you see their faces.

You continue to sink.

You no longer lament your loneliness. Pale forms shift around you. Big. Glassy eyed. Mostly teeth. There is purpose to their movements. They brush past you. Never touching, but teasingly close. Milky pupils settle on you. The creature’s mouth curves into a natural grin. It looks through you, staring beyond what you know. Beyond what you could hope to understand. You feel small in a whole knew way. A terrible way. The long, long, long bodies writhe around you. Achingly precise, they circle your arms, your torso, your legs. Weaving lazy figure eights into your space. They glue their awful, unseeing, all seeing, eyes into yours. They don’t touch you, only grin. Rows upon rows of too many teeth so white they glow despite the ink. You want them to go away. Paper frilled gills laugh at you. Deep, deep, floating in the void, there are things so much worse than loneliness.

You continue to sink.

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Tag list

@inkovert, @snobbysnekboi, @kainablue, @i-rove-rock-n-roll, and @goblin-writer

#If it's not creepy enough I can try writing something else ^u^;;;#writing #short story #flash fiction #creepy story #ocean #original story #existential dread #feeling small #writblr #ask to tag

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thdorkmagnet · 5 years ago

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Under the Sea (Star is Ariel AU)

Sorry I for the long absence everyone!! I was sick last week and just didn’t feel like posting anything and I’m really only now feeling 100% my old self!! I’ll try and get the rest of these posted as regularly as I can again. Thanks for the patience!!

Summary: A series of one-shots and multi-chapters proving why Star Butterfly should be considered a Disney Princess, as Star and company take over the roles of all your favorite Disney Princess characters! (Starco inevitable)

Check out my other stuff on Fanfiction!

Disclaimer: Star vs and all its characters are owned by Daron Nefcy and Disney. The Little Mermaid belongs to Disney. All rights go to their respective owners.

The sound of crashing waves and seagull's calls filled the air as the large fishing boat cut it's way through the foamy sea. Dolphins, eager and happy, followed after the ship, practically gliding across the blue waves, easily keeping pace with the fast-sailing ship. They chittered and squeaked up at the boat as a group of sailors hauled a large net onto the deck, which was filled to the brim with dripping, flopping fish, all of the chattering creatures hoping for a handout. The sailors all but ignored the clear beggings of the sealife below as they went about their work.

One lone soul though was watching the dolphins playful behavior with a smile, the teenage boy getting quite a bit of entertainment out of the friendly sealife. A fish somehow wiggled free of the net, landing at the boy's feet, still flopping wildly and he took a quick look around at the other sailors, who were all too preoccupied with their work to notice him. The boy carefully picked up the dying fish and held it up where the dolphins could see and pointed at it with a wide smile. The reaction was instant, the aquatic mammals chittering excitedly. He quickly tossed the fish overboard and the dolphins went into a mad dash for the handout, trying to shove each other out of the way, until eventually it ended up in one of their mouths, the particular dolphin swallowing greedily while the others watched him in jealousy.

The boy laughed until he felt a hand on his shoulder and he cringed turning to see Manfred staring at him, with a raised eyebrow. “Sire, you know if you keep giving them handouts, they will just keep coming back,” he said with disgust, leering down at the creatures below.

“Yeah, but I want them to come back,” the boy explained, looking back over to them with a smile.

Manfred rolled his eyes, saying, “Oh, Your Highness, you still have so much to learn before you take the throne.”

With that the man thankfully left and the boy sat down on the boat's edge with a tired sigh, looking down at the ocean again. The dolphins had left and he was already missing their presence, one of the few tolerable things on this trip. He stared at the waves for another minute before turning and heading back to his cabin, his brain wandering as he tried to imagine what it would be like to a dolphin, living life free of responsibility and without a care in the world, able to explore the vast ocean with no one telling you what to do or how to live. It must be nice.

...

Meanwhile far below the fast-moving ship, deep deep below, beneath the blue waves and lapping tides, father down than any human could go, lay an underwater world full of mysteries yet unsolved, creatures and places that no mere land dweller had ever laid eyes on, a treasure trove of wonders that went unappreciated and unnoticed to the world above. And in a particularly dark corner of this oceanic world, lay a far less pleasant and calming part of the sea.

A graveyard. Where sunken ships had met their demise at the hands of the oftentimes harsh ocean surf and storm. Here, in the dark, dreary waters, where little sunlight was able to touch, lay the sight where an unmeasurable number of souls had come to their end before being put to rest in Davy Jones' locker, a bloody collection of broken masts, tattered sails and shattered remains of what were once fine, sailing ships.

But this cruel fact did little to dissuade the two young mermaids who braved the underwater cemetery, swimming swiftly through the dark waters. One was blond with long flowing hair, bright blue eyes that sparkled with curiosity and innocence and hearts on her cheeks. She had a couple of pink shells braided into the top of her hair, acting as a headband of sorts, as well as around her chest. Her tail was long and slender, the thousands of green scales catching the low light making it shine, the end of her tail pink, matching her shells and cheeks.

The other mermaid, who was in the lead, had short white hair with a streak of green. Her face was freckled beneath a pair of shimmering sea-green eyes that sparkled with confidence and a pair of yellow seashells on her cheeks. She also wore a necklace that matched her cheeks perfectly and a light blue cloth around her mid-section. Her tail was light blue at the top but slowly grew a darker shade all the way down its length.

“What do you think we'll find this time, Jackie?” the blond one asked her friend, trying not to show how out of breath she was from trying to keep up with her fast-moving bestie. Jackie had the reputation for being the fastest swimmer in the ocean, oftentimes proving this title by racing against other sea creatures who were dumb enough to challenge her. So far she had yet to lose.

“Don't know,” Jackie responded nonchalantly, making sure to slow her pace a little to make it easier on her friend. “Maybe a snarfblat or another thingamabob?” she supplied.

“Ooooh,” Star said in wonder. “Either of those would be good, but y'know I kinda hope it's something new.”

The two swam for a few seconds in silence, before Star suddenly squealed with delight, not realizing just how close to Jackie's ear she was, spotting the unchecked ship they had scouted out a few days ago up ahead. The blond yelled loudly, “Look there it is, Jackie!”

“Yeah I can see it, Star,” Jackie responded with a chuckle, not caring about the slight ring to her ears, she was used to it by now having the overly excited Star as her friend, and she couldn't help but smile at the blond's infectious joy. No matter how many times the two came here to scour for human items, Star was always beside herself with exhilaration, acting like it was her first time.

Star adored the humans, loving anything and everything to do with them, collecting any trinkets she could find from their world and even studying them from afar. Jackie was fine with her friend's hobby, despite the rules against it, and often tagged along with her, but honestly wasn't that interested in the similar race from above. She mostly joined in because Star insisted she come, even making the argument that it was no fun without her bestie by her side.

Still she couldn't pretend it didn't put a smile on her face whenever Star spoke about the humans, her bubbly excitement intoxicating and impossible to resist.

“Well what are we waiting for? Let's go check it out!” Star said impatiently as she swam forward nearly matching Jackie's own quick speed. Jackie grinned before slowing her pace enough so that they were now side by side each other, feeling her own heart start to race in anticipation.

Once the two reached the destroyed wreckage of what was once a beautiful sailing vessel, the two easily slipped inside the small window of the ship and into the broken, decaying interior. The water was musty within, green algae covering the fractured and fading wood. Despite this, the ship was mostly intact, in comparison to most of the shipwrecks the two mermaids had explored in the past. It was as if the ocean waves had captured the ship in a moment of time and refused to let it go.

“Wowww!” Star squealed, instantly swimming deeper into the dark and cramped space, her eyes exploring every inch of the ship's lower decks, until she was no longer in Jackie's line of sight. A second later, Star screamed in joy, “Jackie, get over here, I think I just found a skeleton!”

The speedy mermaid, just shook her head and followed after, not saying a word as she looked around with mild interest.

But neither of the two noticed the large, dark shadow that passed by the port hole the two had entered into a moment earlier, before following along the length of the ships exterior, looking for a way in.

…

The two explored the ship for a while, navigating the maze of rooms below, searching for anything that caught their eye or intrigue. The two eventually came across a large chest, highlighted by the large unbroken window in that area, light somehow creeping into the murky interior. Star eagerly threw open the trunk without a second thought. The room lit up golden as thousands of dazzling coins reflected in the water around the two.

The blond looked inside for a few seconds before slamming the lid back down with an unamused expression. She let out an annoyed sigh as she leaned against the chest. “Uhh, another one,” she complained, with a roll of her eyes. “That's like the fifth one of these we've found.”

But Star quickly spotted something else that caught her instant interest, abandoning the chest for the greater treasure. It was a small piece of metal with three little points on it, reminding her of her mom's Triton.

“Wow, what is it?” Star said in a sing-song voice, her shimmering eyes almost reflecting the shape of the object perfectly, as she slowly approached the small, metal object.

“Beats me,” Jackie said as she watched Star pick up the piece of metal, running her hand along the smooth frame.

Star turned back to her friend as she stuffed her find into her purse. “Buuuuttt, we know someone who will,” Star pointed out, excitedly.

Jackie nodded and was about to respond when a shadow fell across them and she frowned in confusion. “Is it just me or did it just get darker in here?”

The two mermaids slowly turned in the direction of the light source, the light from the window being blocked by a large shape which Star and Jackie instantly recognized by its top dorsal fin and rows of sharp, dangerous teeth, which were opening wide as the overgrown fish prepared to strike.

“Shark!” Star screamed, before the glass shattered and the deadly predator barreled into the sunken ship with his prey. Star and Jackie dodged around the sharks gaping jaws, heading back the way they had come in a hurry.

The shark followed after, wiggling its large body through the tight spaces, chomping and destroying any weak, algae-covered wood that blocked its path like it was nothing. The two mermaids swam like their life depended on it (which it did) Jackie easily taking the lead and leaving Star to follow after her trail of bubbles. The blond pumped her tail up and down as fast as she could, panting heavily, as she heard the shattering of wood and low growl of the approaching predator ever behind her.

Suddenly though, Star felt something getting ripped off her shoulder and she looked back to see her purse hanging off a lone nail, the dangerous shark's snapping jaw fast approaching her treasured items. Star panicked, screaming out, “My purse!” before doing the unthinkable and actually began swimming back toward it and the predator.

Jackie, hearing her friend's scream, looked over her shoulder only to feel her heart drop as she watched the blond's suicidal dive. Jackie instantly reversed course, swimming back over to her friend as fast as her body and adrenaline would allow. Just as Star recovered her purse, Jackie grabbed her arm and yanked her out of the way, causing Star to cry out, but allowing them to just barely miss being eaten alive as the shark's jagged teeth made contact with the spot they were just in a second later, destroying everything there with a mighty snap.

The two quickly swam the short (if not claustrophobic) distance to the port window, both easily squeezing through the tight space, leaving the shark trapped below. Still, Jackie refused to release her hold on Star for a single second, dragging her behind her while trying to put as much distance between her and the deadly predator.

The blond looked back just in time to see the shark break through the wall of the ship, not even slightly dissuaded from his pursuit of his future meal. “Jackie!” Star started to cry in panic, but her friend quickly interrupted her.

“I see him.” she replied shortly, her eyes busy scanning the dark ocean around her for something to help them escape. Normally she could outrun a shark no problem, but with Star weighing her down she wasn't sure if they could escape or not. Which meant they needed another way out and fast!

That was when she spotted a giant anchor half buried in the sand and a plan began to form in her mind. “I've got an idea!” Jackie exclaimed. “Split up and lead him over there,” the white-haired girl continued, pointing out the place in mind. Star followed her finger and then gave a short, determined nod.

Jackie released her hold on her friend's arm and the two quickly took off in opposite directions, confusing the shark who looked between the two for a couple of seconds trying to decide which of the two would be an easier meal. Once he realized that the blond one was slower than the other, he quickly charged after her, his slick body cutting through the water like a knife.

A tingling feel in the back of her neck informed Star she was being followed and she looked behind her to see the shark gaining. She let out a small cry of panic, before picking up her pace with every ounce of energy she had left, overworking her tired tail in the hopes it would be enough to escape. She swam toward a sunken ship, maneuvering though the wreckage in an attempt to confuse the shark. But as she did, the shark crashed into the ship's side making the whole thing creak and groan as it fell to its side, nearly crushing the blond mermaid under its weight.

It did, however, kick up a cloud of sand that filled the ocean water for a moment, blinding the predator completely, who began snapping his jaws wildly in hopes of catching something. Star managed to swim out of the foggy area and made her way toward Jackie who was waving to her wildly. But as the dust resettled and the water became clear once more, the shark was finally able to see the mermaid and it shot toward her like a missile.

“Star, look out!” Jackie cried in warning and Star turned just in time to see the shark about to swallow her whole. She screamed and bolted to the side, the jaw's missing her by mere inches, but also managing to snatch her purse, ripping it off her shoulder. The blond watched in horror as her possession hung from the shark's sharp, deadly teeth and without even thinking she let out a yell, charging toward the deadly predator.

The shark actually stopped short in shock, as the foolish mermaid swam right up to him and grabbed onto the purse, pulling and tugging against it in an attempt to free it from his jaws. “Let go of it!” she hissed, her voice strained. “It's mine!”

Jackie just face-palmed, giving her friend a disbelieving look, unable to tell if she was either really brave or really stupid... or both. The shark, recovering from his initial shock, growled and began to actually pull back against her, getting into an odd tug-of-war with the stubborn mermaid, who refused to let go, keeping a firm grip on her prize.

Jackie, seeing this, reacted quickly she grabbed the end of the thick rope that once hung from the anchor beside her and swam over to the shark's swaying tail. She did a few loops around it, before yanking the rope tight around his tail and the shark let out a growl of surprise. The second his jaw opened Star was able to finally yank her purse free, flung back a few inches and sending her tumbling for a moment. But as she regained her bearings, she let out a shout of victory, “I got it!” She help up her purse triumphantly, but her elation was quickly overshadowed by the pure fear as the shark was now right in front of her, a deadly leering in his eyes, that told her she had made him angry.

“Uh oh,” Star squeaked, as the jaw opened its mouth to attack, but Jackie had just finished tying the final knot and in the spam of seconds, swam around the shark and pushed the mermaid out of the way of the deadly, snapping jaws. She and Star continued on, the predator making chase, that was until the rope around his tail went taunt, yanking him backward and holding him effectively in place.

The two paused, watching as the shark struggled to free himself, snapping angrily at the water, trashing around like there was no tomorrow, causing a cascade of bubbles to swirl around as he upset the flowing tide around him. Star and Jackie panted and let out deep sighs of relief at having avoided being eaten alive, the latter punching her friend hard in the shoulder.

“Ow! What was that for?” Star asked, rubbing at her sore limb in annoyance.

“That's for putting your life intentionally in danger... twice,” Jackie replied, surprisingly calm.

The two began swimming side by side to the surface, leaving the dark murky waters and forgotten graveyard behind them. Star let out a scoff and rolled her eyes, saying, “I was fine, I had it handled.”

“Oh really?” Jackie commented with a small smirk. “Cause if I hadn't done anything I'm pretty sure you'd be in that shark's digestive system by now.”

“Well, you did, so it's all good, right?” Star stated, her own naive logic as endearing as much as it was frustrating.

Jackie let out a small sigh, before saying, “Just maybe try to use your head next time or else that hobby of yours will end up getting us both killed.”

“Now your starting to sound like my mom,” Star said, grinning playfully. The two began to giggle, as they continued their ascent, unaware of the furious roars from the predator below them.

…

When the two surfaced, breathing in the salty sea air, they instantly began to look around for the large rock that housed their human expert. They found it quickly, but once they had swam over to it, they realized it was empty. “Where is she?” Star asked, her hands on her hips.

“Knowing her, it could be anywhere,” Jackie replied with a roll of her eyes. A form surfaced from the water suddenly and the two turned to stare at the black-haired mermaid, wiping her dripping bangs out of her face. She wore a fishnet woven into a beanie of sorts over thick black hair and a pair of skull and crossbones on either cheek. She had on some sort of soft yellow material over her top, her dark green tail slapping the waves carelessly. She had a net full of what looked like a bunch of kelp slung over her shoulder and she lugged it over to her home. She either didn't seem to notice the two there or was simply ignoring them, but Star decided to take the initiative and say hello.

“Hey Janna!” Star greeted cheerfully.

The girl's brown eyes landed uncaring on the two, as she threw the kelp onto the rock. “Oh it's you two,” she said emotionlessly.

“Yeah, ha, it's us!” Star agreed, ignoring the girl's careless behavior. “We brought you some more human stuff...” Star held up her purse for Janna to see. “And we were hoping you would... y'know, tell us what it is, like you do.”

“What's in it for me?” Janna asked, hauling herself onto the rock and leaning comfortably back against the bulky net.

Before Star could answer, Jackie quickly cut in, saying, “C'mon Janna, is that really necessary?”

The dark-haired mermaid shrugged, retorting,“Hey, if you don't want to pay up, find someone else who knows about humans.”

“But you're the only one!” Star exclaimed in exasperation.

The girl smirked widely, before saying, “Exactly.”

“Look, we almost died to get this stuff-” Jackie tried, but the topside mermaid was having none of it.

“Not my problem,” she said. “I'm just trying to run a respectable business up here, which you two keep getting in the way of by constantly interrupting me.”

“What business? You're only up here because you got yourself banished trying to steal the Triton,” Jackie shot back.

Janna raised a finger in the air, correcting the white-haired mermaid, “No, being banished just meant I couldn't be in Atlantica anymore, ... I chose to come live topside because the ocean is dumb and boring.” She looked over to the blond. “Which I'm sure you already know, considering you keep coming up here.”

Star twitched nervously, her hands fiddling with the strap of her purse. She would be lying if she said she wasn't bored of the same old place, hence why she had taken such a strong fascination with the surface world. But she also knew that her mother would never allow her only daughter to leave Atlantica, especially to move to the surface, a place she despised with every fiber of her being. No matter how much she wanted to, she was stuck where she was at.

Still that didn't stop her curiosity any, making her venture outside of her mother's established boundaries, breaking the rules in the hopes of satisfying her overwhelming need to know more. She knew her mother would not approve of her coming to the surface, of her collecting human things, and most certainly would be opposed to her speaking to the banished mermaid traitor. But part of her wanted to be rebellious, to for once live outside her mother's suffocating rules and regulations to keep her safe and just... be herself.

“I just... want to know...” she said softly and Janna nodded in understanding.

“Hence, why you're here.” She held out a waiting hand, saying patiently, “Now, my payment?”

Star reached into her purse and pulled out a shiny, gleaming pearl handing it over to Janna, who eyed it meticulously, tapping a finger against it, before grinning widely. “Okay then, lay it on me, princess.”

Star handed over her bag to the other mermaid, the girl digging around inside it and pulling out the small fork. She examined it closely, while the two waited patiently for her explanation. Well, Jackie waited patiently, Star was jittery as she stared at her wide-eyed, fiddling with her wet and tangled hair.

Janna tapped a finger to her chin, trying to think of a good name for the object, before saying simply, “Dingelhoper.” She tossed it back to the blond, who caught it with ease, staring at it as if it were the most priceless treasure ever made.

“Dinglehoper,” Star muttered wistfully.

“What's it do?” Jackie asked, cocking her head to the side as she stared at the small, metal object.

“Straitens your hair out,” Janna replied instantly, digging around in the purse again, before pulling out another metal object twisted into a couple of loops. Another paperclip? she thought, raising an eyebrow. That had to be like the ninth one they had found this week. How the heck did they keep ending up out to sea? Star looked up, noticing the object in the her hands.

“Oh yeah, I found another thingamabob back on the ship too, want it?” Star asked, giving her an earnest smile. “I got like twenty at this point.”

“No thanks,” Janna said, before stuffing it back into the purse and handing it back to the blond royal. “Don't really need it.” She lifted the pearl back up, studying it closely. “This baby is all I need to get by.”

“What good does a pearl do you?” Jackie asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Observe,” Janna replied, holding the shiny object up, as a dozen seagull flew in out of nowhere, dive-bombing the pearl, squawking loudly the same word over and over again, “Mine! Mine! Mine!”

“Turns out, seagulls are attracted to shiny things!” Janna shouted above the loud, obnoxious birds, while Star and Jackie covered their ears, cringing openly. “And with it I can get them to bring me all kinds of food.” She held out her other hand, keeping her eyes on the two mermaids. A second later, one of the birds dropped a hotdog onto her hand, her smirk never leaving the two. She lowered the pearl out of sight and just like that, the birds scattered, leaving her alone again. Her hair was now even messier and covered in feathers but she didn't seem to notice this as she took a bite of her food, giving the two a knowing look.

“Well that's... one way to get by,” Star said hesitantly, while Jackie just stared at the girl incredulously.

Janna shrugged, simply replying, “Hey don't knock it until you try it.”

…

Deep within the shiny gold city of Atlantic, where all mermaids dwelled and in the very heart of its esteemed castle, a certain member of the castle staff was swimming back and forth just outside the throne room, while another watched them in disinterest, the former muttering to themselves in worry. “I can't believe she just disappeared like that,” he continued his quiet rant. “Does she just not care about my job, about how much trouble she was gonna get in or get me in for that matter?!”

“Awww, relax Johnny,” Ponyhead, a blue seahorse and close personal friend of Star, said to the worrisome dolphin. “You worry too much. Must be from breathing in so much surface air.”

The dolphin ignored the comment, before complaining, “But Star has gone too far this time! She knew how important today was and after I spent weeks, with little to no sleep, preparing my most thrilling presentation of ocean safety yet, and she has the audacity to run away from home to go treasure hunting!”

Pony rolled her eyes, before scoffing, “Geez, your complaining is giving me a headache. Look you can still give your dumb presentation as soon as B-fly gets back.”

“But I don't have that long!” Johnny angrily exclaimed. “I'm expected to go out there any second and if she isn't here by then than my whole career as safety manager for the castle is over!”

“Uhh, I don't see what the big deal is?” Pony pointed out, with an uncaring roll of her eyes. “So the girl has a little freedom for herself, so what?”

“The big deal is if my new safety implications can't even keep Star here and out of trouble than how can I expect the Queen to take me seriously!”

“Your a porpoise in a suit, I think that ship has long since sailed.”

“This isn't a joke, Pony!”

“Hey, I'm only here cause I promised my girl that I would cover for her so she could go and live a little reckless for once, making fun of you is just added bonus!”

Johnny growled, before turning back to the entrance that led to the throne chamber and gulped loudly. He was so gonna end up fired. Or electrocuted by the Triton. Or banished from Atlantic forever. He could almost picture it now, him standing in front of a judge after a terrible and tragic accident had befallen the princess and him being sentenced to the Great Barrier Reef Prison or worse...

If Star didn't get back soon, he was gonna be in deep trouble.

“How much longer can your boyfriend stall?” he asked, worriedly.

“Ah don't worry about him, Seahorse can put a whole school of fish to sleep. He's even more boring than you.”

Johnny glared at her, saying suspiciously, “I'm starting to think you are the bad influence in Princess Star's life.”

“Hey, Pony!” a cheerful voice suddenly called and the two swerved to see Star and Jackie swimming up and Johnny let out a relieved sigh, muttering, “Oh thank kelp.”

“Hey B-fly!” Pony called enthusiastically. “Get any good finds from that shipwreck!”

“Pony, shhh,” Star reminded her, putting a finger to her lips, both her and Jackie quickly hushing her. “Top secret, remember?”

“Oh yeah, right,” the seahorse quickly said, giving her a sheepish look. “My bad.”

“Where have you been, young lady?” Johnny scolded and Star gave him a confused look, raising an eyebrow.

“Uhh, we're the same age,” she pointed out.

“Don't change the subject,” the dolphin continued. “You were supposed to be back here an hour ago!”

“We got held up,” Jackie said simply.

“And anyways, I'm here now so what's the big deal?” Star asked, unconcerned with Johnny's lecture, swimming forward and into the throne room, the dolphin following after her as he continued his rant.

“The big deal is if you hadn't gotten back in time, I could have been fireeee-” his voice trailed off as he caught sight of the Queen's regal and biting glare, so busy educating Star he hadn't even realized they had entered the throne room. He visibly froze and if they hadn't been underwater would have been noticeably sweating, chuckling nervously.

Moon's inquisitive eyes jumped between both her daughter and servant, before returning to Seahorse, who was droning on about a decreasing in pearl population or some other such nonsense, when the queen interrupted. “Thank you Seahorse for that... interesting lecture, but now I would like to speak with my daughter if you don't mind.”

“Of course, happy to be of service, You Highness,” Seahorse said in the same monotones drone that she had been listening to for the last hour an a half, nearly driving her mad and wonder more than once the implications of using the powerful weapon positioned in easy reach from her throne on one of her subjects. He bowed, before starting to swim out of the room when he caught up with Jackie and his girlfriend Pony, who were watching quietly from the entrance.

“Hello darling!” he greeted Pony Head, his tone and infliction never changing in the slightest.

“Sup, Seahorse,” she replied, almost uncaring, more focused on the drama between mamma and daughter that was about to take place, but Seahorse didn't seem to notice or mind.

“Did I do a good job?” the appropriately named Seahorse asked, his voice never losing its empty, business-like tone that was off-putting to nearly everyone. And if that didn't do it then his unblinking, blank stare and forced smile could make anyone uncomfortable.

“Yeah, I mean only because of my brilliant planning and stuff,” she got a cocky look at that statement. “You were just as boring as I was hoping you would be, maybe even better.”

“I aim to please,” he said simply, his fake smile widening almost creepily.

Meanwhile Star was staring into the reprimanding gaze of her mother. “Star,” her mother began and Star let out a mental sigh. Here we go.

“Where have you been?” she asked, her eyebrow raising in that condescending way she hated. “You were supposed to be back an hour ago.” Johnny sucked in a breath, looking like he was about to pass out. He couldn't believe she had noticed. Of course she had noticed, the queen saw everything. Oh man, he was so going to be fired.

Star stayed calm, though, as she merely shrugged and said, “I was just out hanging with Jackie and we lost track of time, no biggie.”

Moon's eyes narrowed. “There is a 'biggie' here, Star. A proper princess is punctual at all times. How can you be expected to run a whole kingdom if you can't even arrive on time?”

Star crossed her arms in front of her chest, giving her mom a stubborn look. “So I was a little late, it's not the end of the world, mom.”

Moon let out a long sigh. “It is when you are in charge,” she explained, sounding exasperated with her daughter. “You will be queen someday, you need to learn the right way to behave.”

“Oh what, like you. Dad told me all about how you used to be reckless and irresponsible when you were my age.”

“Don't change the subject, Star!” Moon shouted, quickly losing patience for her daughter. “And yes, I was that way and I had to learn the hard way what it takes to be a good leader. I just want to spare the same thing happening for you.”

“Gee, thanks,” Star muttered bitterly.

“Now then,” Moon continued, ignoring her daughter’s behavior. “Tell me, what exactly were you doing that made you so late?” Moon asked, her eyes searching and Star froze up for a second. This caused Johnny to pale immensely, his already uncomfortable look multiplying tenfold, as his eyes jumped frantically between mother and daughter.

“Just... doing stuff with Jackie,” the princess replied as calmly as she could.

“And that would be...” her mother pried. “I mean if it was interesting enough to make you break one of your duties as a princess, then it must have been very important.” The way Moon emphasized the last word, Star began to worry that she had already figured out the truth. She would have to be very careful with her answer.

“Oh you know, just-”

“Searching for seashells!” Pony quickly interrupted, positioning herself between her bestie and her scolding mother.

“Pony what are you doing?” Star whispered worriedly and Pony confidently answered, “I got you girlfriend. Just leave it to me.”

“Seashells?” Moon repeated skeptically.

“Yeah but not just any shells,” Jackie quickly cut in, joining in on the lie. “They were for a necklace Star was gonna make for your birthday.” She paused before quickly adding, “Uh, Your Highness.”

Moon's eyes widened in surprise at this, turning to her daughter. “Is this true?”

“Uhh-” Star said, until an elbow from Jackie, made her blurt out, “YES! Of course it is mom. That's, uh, that's why we had to keep it a secret from you, so we wouldn't spoil the surprise.”

They all gave the queen innocent grins, all hoping she bought the lie. For a few uncomfortable seconds, Moon said nothing and the three began to mentally panic, until she finally responded, her face and voice conveying how unsure she felt in this situation. “Well, I'm... sorry that I spoiled your surprise.”

Star chuckled awkwardly, waving an arm in the air. “Aww, it's fine, mom. I'll just find another gift for you. No big deal, it's all good.” She could tell she was starting to ramble and feeling increasingly awkward, she sought out an escape goat from the situation, quickly blurting out the first name that came to mind, “Right Johnny?” The blond turned to the dolphin, who had staying oddly quiet the whole time. His mouth was sealed shut, both flippers over it and his body was shaking as he seemed to be struggling to hold the truth in. Star saw her mother's suspicious glare and quickly tried to make light of the moment, “Uh, haha, yeah. Anyways, I should probably be heading back to-”

“Star went to the surface!” the dolphin finally blurted, startling everyone. “What?!” Moon cried in concern, while Star and the others all shot him a death glare. “Johnny!” they shouted.

“I'm sorry, I couldn't help it! My conscious got the better of me!” Johnny cried.

“Starrrr,” Moon began in a warning tone and the princess whimpered in fear.

“Uh, bye mom, we'll talk later, I got princess lessons to do!” Star quickly shouted, trying to quickly escape the room, but her mother's scolding shout, stopped her in her tracks. “Star!”

The girl slowly, guiltily, turned back around to face her mother, the look of pure anger and disappointment on her face, enough to make even the most evil of creatures cower in guilt. It was a look that Star dreaded and one she never seemed to be able to avoid, still that didn't mean it didn't sting every time she had to look at it.

“Come here,” her mother demanded and Star slowly obeyed, approaching her mom with a lowered gaze.

“You know that you can't go to the surface for any reason, it's forbidden!” Moon began, her tone sharp and her gaze stony. “You could have been seen by a human, you could have compromised our entire world!”

“Yes, but I didn't,” Star argued. “I was really careful, no humans saw me, I swear! And anyways I was only up there for like a couple of minutes!”

“That doesn't matter, Star!” Moon shot back, her anger rising to new levels and Star visibly flinched at the tone. “You could have died! Murdered by those barbarians!”

Star had to bite her lip to keep from blurting that not all humans were barbarians and that she had no right to judge a bunch of people she had never even met before. “You think that is what I want to see happen to you, Star!” Moon added, her voice cracking with emotion, the fear in tone obvious now. “To see you dying at the hands of those vile humans!”

Star felt a tinge of sympathy and regret, but it was easily overshadowed by her anger and she quickly snapped back, “I'm not a little kid anymore, mom! I can make decisions for myself!”

“Not when you are purposely breaking rules made to keep you safe!”

“Well, it's a dumb rule anyway!” Star crossed her arms stubbornly in front of her chest. “Just because some humans are bad, doesn't mean all of them are.”

Moon let out a long sigh, burying her face in her hands. She didn't say a word for a moment and when she did finally speak again, Star could hear the exhaustion in her voice, “Star, those rules exist to protect us. Whether it is right or not, we can not take that risk. It is for the good of the kingdom that we remain separate. To protects our world and keep any one of us from ending up dead in some fishing net, do you understand?”

Star hesitated before sadly answering, “Yes, I understand.”

“Then I want you to promise me you will never go near the surface ever again, are we clear?”

Star opened her mouth to argue, but her mother's gaze narrowed and she harshly repeated, “Is that clear?”

Star rolled her eyes with a huff, before saying, “Yes, mom.”

“Good, then you may go,” Moon said dismissively. “Permitted that you stay safe and keep out of trouble.”

Star didn't even reply as she turned her back on her mom and angrily swam out of the room, her posse of friends following right after.

Moon leaned back in her throne once she was alone again, looking utterly exhausted and lost. “Ugh, what am I going to do with that girl?” she asked herself, worriedly.

But suddenly, her attention was drawn to the sweating Johnny, who was still watching her wide-eyed. There was an awkward pause between them, before the dolphin quickly chuckled nervously. “Um so about my suggestions for safety-”

“I'm afraid that your services are no longer required,” Moon curtly responded and Johnny looked panic-stricken. He quickly threw himself at the queen's fins, bowing low and begging wildly, “No, please, my queen! I swear I can make it up to you! Just give me another chance to prove my worth to you!”

Moon gave him an annoyed look, before the begging became too much and she finally said, “All right. I will give you one more change.”

Johnny's face brightened at that. “Oh thank you, Your-”

“If you can keep my daughter out of trouble and, most importantly, away from the surface,” Moon continued, and Johnny's mouth dropped open against his will.

He quickly shut it, though, saying, “Um, well, I was thinking maybe I could just... give a few lectures on how to-”

“Do you wish to remain as a member of this staff or not?” Moon asked in annoyance and Johnny quickly swallowed.

“Y-Y-Yes, Your Highness, I very much do,” he said softly.

“Then I suggest you hurry and catch up with my daughter. She did get quite the head start while you were busy ogling.” Moon looked away from the porpoise, staring off into space, signaling that the conversation was over. Johnny paused only for a second, before making the very smart move of bowing and leaving the queen to her thoughts.

Though he let out a very loud groan the second he was out of earshot. Great now his entire future career depended on one reckless, headstrong teenage. What else could possibly go wrong?

…

Star swam huffily through the streets of Atlantica ignoring all the friendly merfolk waving to her, too angry with her mom to notice anything else. “Ugh, who does she think she is?!” Star yelled, throwing her arms up in the air in frustration.

“The Queen of Altlantica and your mother,” Seahorse instantly replied and Star shot him a glare.

“Not now, boo, can't you see the girl is ranting,” Pony quickly reprimanded him.

“Oh, my apologies,” her boyfriend quickly replied blankly, before going silent.

“Look Star, I know her thinking is flawed but she is just trying to look out for you,” Jackie supplied, putting an hand on her friend's shoulder.

“Yeah, but I don't need her too!” Star exclaimed back. “I can take care of myself and besides, humans aren't the monsters she says they are.”

“What did you call me?!” an angry barracuda who had overheard part of the conversation quickly shouted, turning to glare at them.

“Nothing, mind your own business!” Pony snapped, which only managed to enrage the dangeous and deadly fish all the more.

Jackie put an arm up between her friend and the fish, giving him an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that, sir. We weren't talking about you, we swear.” The barracuda still looked skeptical so Jackie quickly added, “And may I just say that you have very fine and lovely scales.”

The fish glared for a few more seconds, before his face melted into a smile, which was still terrifying to look at, but at least they no longer had to worry about him attacking them now. “Oh, well, thank you. No one ever says that about me.” He looked genuinely happy and slightly embarrassed and he quickly cleared his throat saying in a gruff voice once more, “Ahem, carry on.” He then swam past the group and they watched him go, before Jackie sighed in relief. She gave Pony Head a glare, asking in annoyance, “What was that, Pony? Were you trying to get yourself eaten?”

“Ahh, whatever I could have taken him,” Pony replied with her usual Pony smugness that was one of her many annoying trademarks.

“Actually I think you would have been eaten alive, dearest,” Seahorse said and Pony shouted at him, “What did I say about interrupting the moment?!”

“Guys, can we please stay focused on my problem,” Star reminded them with slight annoyance and they all turned to her in surprise.

“Oh yeah, sorry, guess we got a little off track there, girl. That is my bad, B-Fly,” Pony quickly admitted.

“So what are we going to do now?” Jackie asked, giving her royal friend a long, questioning gaze. “I mean, you promised your mom you wouldn't go up there anymore. Are you going to do it anyways?”

Star let out a long sigh, swimming forward with an unsure and troubled look. She was about to respond to the mermaid when, another voice quickly cut in, “Oh look at that, if it isn't, Little Miss Perfect.”

Star groaned, dreading talking to the owner of that voice, who she recognized in an instant. Brittney Wong. Great, as if she didn't have enough problems to deal with. She slowly turned to glare at the mermaid before her, who stood there in the same cocky, holier-than-thou pose that she always had and Star held back rolling her eyes. It was no secret the two had been rivals for years and never got along in any regard whatsoever. It wasn't like Star hadn't tried, in the beginning she had been friendly and optimistic as she was with everyone, believing the two would become close almost instantaneously. But this hope was dashed as Brittney's stuck-up attitude caught Star by surprise and began to slowly push her away.

She didn't understand why the mermaid was so bitter and hateful toward her, but the more and more Brittney pushed the more angry Star became and she quickly began fighting back, using the rejection as fuel for the fire inside her as she bit back every comment with equal disgust and vexation as the snob. Since then, their confrontations had only gotten worse with time.

“Oh, Brittney, it's you,” Star began calmly, keeping a forced smile on her lips. “From your voice I was sure a seal or something was wailing at us for a handout.”

The black-haired mermaid glared at the grinning blond, scoffing as she said distastefully, “Well my voice can't be as bad as that outfit, what's the deal, princess? Did mommy not teach you how to stylize your shells?”

Star crossed her arms but it was Pony who quickly retorted, “Ha, like she'd taken fashion advice from someone who wears make-up underwater. Like seriously, what's that about?”

“Yeah, Brittney, what's that about?” Star repeated, equally mocking as her friend and she quickly gave Pony's extended fin a high-five.

“Not to mention, her choice in braiding her hair in shells that went out of style exactly 2.5 hours ago,” Seahorse added and Pony let out a loud gasp.

“Ooooh, good thing we are underwater, because that was a harsh burn,” the blue seahorse snapped, with a cocky grin.

Brittney seemed to be growing more and more angry by the second, her entire body shaking as she tried to fight back the intense hatred she felt. “Why don't you freaks stay out of this?!” she quickly shouted and Pony's eyes quickly narrowed, a furious snarl on her face.

“I better not have just heard those words come out of your bratty, snobby face,” Pony hissed, Jackie having to hold her back to keep a fight from breaking out.

Brittney just smirked arrogantly, flipping her hair as she swam over to Star, who looked the angriest she had ever been. If there was one weak point you didn't touch, it was Star's friends. “Honestly, Star, I don't know why you hang around these losers, are you that desperate for friends your willing to hang out with a bunch of bottom-feeders,” the snobby girl said, tutting sarcastically, feigning worry.

“I hang out with them because they're real friends, something you wouldn't know about considering you don't seem to be able to make any,” Star shot back.

“How sad,” Brittney continued, seemingly ignoring the royals last comment. “You know, everyone around here talks about you. Says that you've got a thing for humans.”

Star rolled her eyes. “Whatever Brittney, you must be pretty gullible to believe a bunch of gossip,” Star scoffed, trying to dodge the question as best she could. “Did you also believe that crab that said we were going to be invaded by jellyfish last week?”

“Oh please, you can't seriously think I'm that stupid,” Brittney retorted.

“Coulda fooled me,” Pony suddenly snapped and the bratty mermaid ignored her, as she tried to swim around Star, who quickly turned her body with her, trying to hide her purse behind her back.

“So where you heading off to, princess?” Brittney asked, intrusively, still trying to get a good look at what was behind her fellow mermaid's back. “And what's that you got behind your back? Some secret your ashamed to let everyone see.”

“None of your business!” Star snapped. “Now if you'll excuse me, I've got better stuff to do than stay here and be picked apart by you!”

She quickly swam past her and Jackie followed, moving so she was blocking the purse from the others prying eyes. Pony and Seahorse followed swiftly after, the former shooting the first a mocking, superior grin which only further infuriated the black-haired girl. She crossed her arms, watching her rival swimming away as she muttered under her breath, “I will find out whatever weird thing your hiding, princess. Just you wait.”

…

Johnny panted wildly as he swam through the underwater streets of Atltantica, his eyes searching for any signs of the blond princess anywhere, but for some reason she was no where to be found. “Oh man, oh man,” Johnny muttered to himself as he continued his frantic hunt for the missing mermaid, his mind jumping to the worst possible scenario. “This is bad. Where is she? What if she already went back to the surface. If the queen finds out she'll have my head!” The dolphin groaned covering his face with his fins in frustration and worry. But as he removed them, he miraculously spotted Star and the others swimming out of the city and into deeper waters, a black-haired mermaid watching them go in disgust, before flipping her hair and swimming off in the other direction.

Johnny almost laughed out loud in relief as he quickly followed after the girl. He did his best to match their quick pace as they got further and further away from the safety of Altlantica, but he was finding it difficult to keep up with them his cushy job in the palace leaving him out of shape for most physical activities. He quickly began to fear he would lose sight of them altogether as they made odd twists and turns as if trying to lose someone tailing them, the four disappearing out of his sights for a couple seconds at a time before he found them again. And when they disappeared around an outcropping of rocks on the ocean floor, not emerging after several seconds (far longer than any of the previous times), he panicked and swam forward with frantic vigor.

He peeked around the edge of the rock, watching the princess and her friends and whatever scheme they were up to this time. Probably with the intention of getting me fired, he thought bitterly. The princess did a quick look around to make sure nobody was watching, before her and her white-haired friend tugged a large boulder up and out of the way, revealing a hidden entrance, Johnny gasping in surprise. Pony and Seahorse wordlessly swam inside, followed after by Jackie and then Star letting the rock fall back into place. Johnny propelled himself forward with all the energy left in his body, just barely managing to squeeze past the rock and into the large cave hideout of the princess. He let out a sigh of relief, wiping his forehead with his fin, before trying to swim forward. Only to be jerked back sporadically and he turned back to see the end of his tail caught in the large rock. He began pulling and tugging on his tail trying to free his trapped limb, grunting quietly so as to not alert Star to his presence.

But just as it grew an inch free and Johnny almost let out a squeal of delight, the rock moved, crushing the limb more and making the dolphin cry out in pain, his loud voice echoing around the room.

Jackie's head jerked back toward the way they had come, hearing the eery scream bouncing around the walls of the cave and she asked, “Did you hear that?”

“Eh, it was probably nothing,” Ponyhead replied nonchalantly.

Jackie shrugged before following after her friend. The four entered into the main part of the cave, a large open space, lit by a small hole above, letting the filtered light pour into the area, lighting it with an otherworldly glow. Every inch of the cave was covered in trinkets from the race above, human items of all shapes and sizes coated the walls and sandy floor, the princess's vast collection from years and years of exploring and scouring every sunken ship she could get her hands on scattered about the large open space, displayed in their full glory. Jackie gazed around in wonder for a moment, quite impressed with the vast treasure trove. No matter how many times she saw it, it never lost it's grandiosity.

Star didn't seem to feel the same, not even gazing at the items as she simply reached into her purse and pulled out the small dinglhoper she had received and setting it in place with two similar looking objects, one flat and the other rounded at the top. She let out a long sigh, as she gently pocked one of it sharp tips absentmindedly, thinking to herself, her face sent into a deep frown that was so unlike her.

“So, what are we gonna do now?” Jackie asked, sitting down next to her downtrodden friend.

“I don't know,” Star said sadly. But there was slight venom in her tone as she added, “Mom is just being dumb and overreacting like she always does.”

“Maybe it will blow over in a few days,” Jackie suggested, though it sounded weak coming from her. They both knew that wasn't true.

Still, Star allowed herself to cling onto the foolish hope for a moment, responding hesitantly, “Maybe.”

“Aw, who cares what your mom thinks,” Pony suddenly chimed in. “It's your life, B-Fly. I say you do what you want. So what if you break a few laws? It's not like you haven't done it before.” She gestured around the room with her snout, the thousands of illegal trinkets glimmering in the faded light.

“That's true,” Star said softly, clearly considering her friend's words. She let out a loud groan, falling back and onto the sandy floor. “Ugh, she just doesn't get it!” the blond exclaimed in annoyance. “She wants me to stay underwater and away from the humans but, I don't get how the surface can be so bad when they make all this cool stuff.”

“Yeah, like this thing, whatever it is,” Pony said, moving closer to a small box with a handle in the side.

“Oh that's a surprise box,” Star explained.

“What's the surprise?” Pony asked, gently nudging the handle, which began turning on its own, provoking an off-key jingle.

“It would seem it produces some kind of music,” Seahorse said, matter-of-factly.

“Yeah, I can see th-” Pony was cut off, as the box suddenly sprang open, as a small puppet attached to a spring jumping out and startling the cocky Ponyhead, who released a loud scream.

“That's the surprise,” Star said as her and Jackie laughed at the panting Ponyhead.

“Yeah, okay. I knew that the whole time, that's why I played along, to y'know cheer you up and stuff,” Pony quickly said, clearly trying to cover up the embarrassing moment.

Star swam over to the box, closing it up once more. “See, humans make all kinds of cool things. Things that mermaids and fish can't make.”

Star picked up a nearby object, a gun with a hook in it. “Like this thing.”

“What's that do?” Pony asked.

“I have no idea,” Star admitted, setting it back down. “Or, or how about this?” the girl quickly grabbed another object, a small pocketwatch. “Look at this gizmo, see? We couldn't make something like this in Atlantica.”

“Or how about this?” Star said, gesturing to the painting in front of her, one with a woman warming her hands over a small flame. “Humans can make fire, for crying out loud! Why can't we make fire?!”

“Cause we live underwater?” Pony said, now decked out in as much jewelry as she could wear, stealing it off the shelves when Star wasn't looking.

“Or, or what about-”

“Star,” Jackie said, silencing her friend as she put a hand on her shoulder, knowing she could go on forever if she wasn't stopped. “We get it. We know you love human stuff.”

Star let out a loud sigh. “I just wish I could go up there, y'know? See all the wonders of the human world, instead of being stuck down here with the same old boring ocean.”

Jackie nodded. “I know,” she said, understanding clear in her tone.

“Well then do what you want B-Fly and don't tell your mom!” Pony shouted enthusiastically. “If she doesn't find out than what is there to worry about?”

“Yeah,” Star said softly, deep in thought. But her voice was stronger as she said again. “Yeah. Yeah!” she practically shouted. “It's my life I can do what I want!”

“You go girl!” Pony yelled in support.

“Who cares about the rules?! This rebel princess makes her own rules!” Star cheered, jabbing a finger at herself.

“Technically speaking, the princess does have slight authority for making decisions in certain circumstances,” Seahorse pointed out.

“Which I'm pretty sure doesn't count in this case, right?” Jackie asked with a raised eyebrow.

“That would be correct,” Seahorse droned out.

“Well still, promise or no promise I'm not giving up going to the surface. It's just too important to me,” Star declared with a finality, crossing her arms determinedly in front of her chest. But it switched to a bright smile as she couldn't help but squeal over her decision, glad she didn't have to give up on the one thing that made her happy. “Oh man, if mom could hear me she would be so mad,” Star said with a small giggle.

“That is correct!” Johnny shouted as he swam into view, making his presence known. The others all gasped in shock at seeing him floating there, Star exclaiming, “Johnny?! Wh-What are you doing here?”

“Your mom told me to keep an eye on you, so I followed you here,” the dolphin explained.

“Well it's not what it looks like,” Star quickly blurted out, trying to cover her tracks as best she could. “We were just... um, getting ready to throw all these human things away, since I won't be going to the surface anymore, right guys?” She turned to them for help, her eyes pleading for them to play along.

The others obeyed, quickly nodding in agreement, but Johnny just continued to glare at them, saying, “Save it. I heard what you were talking about.”

Star let out a short, awkward chuckle, before asking, “How much did you hear?” She was poking her fingertips together sheepishly as she waited for a response.

“All of it,” Johnny said with narrowing eyebrows.

“Oh,” Star muttered in defeat, visibly deflating.

“And you should be ashamed of yourself, going behind the queen's back like that,” Johnny scolded, waving a disapproving flipper at them.

“Only because mom is being stupid and making a bunch of dumb rules,” Star argued, crossing her arms childishly in front of her.

“She is trying to protect you, again if you had just followed my previous rules we wouldn't have this problem. All you had to do was listen to me and everything would be fine, but noooo, instead you had to be rebellious and do whatever you want so-”

Star, Jackie and Pony shared a look, knowing they had just lost him to the rant for who knows how long, as he swam back and forth around the cave, overemphasizing his speech with wild gestures from his fins. They all tuned him out as he droned on about every single security measure he had ever implemented in great and excruciating detail, only Seahorse actively listening, watching with interest, even nodding every so often.

“This is gonna take forever,” Pony groaned in annoyance, rolling her eyes.

“Hey at least he isn't busting us to Star's mom,” Jackie pointed out.

Suddenly, the entire cave went dark and the three girls looked up to see their only light source covered up by some large shape at the top of the waves. Star gasped. “A boat!” she exclaimed in joy. Ships almost never sailed this far out to sea, so seeing one intact was quite the rarity for her. “Oh man, we have to go see it!” The desperation and need shimmered in her eyes as she looked back over to the still-distracted Johnny, who hadn't noticed a thing as he carried on with his rant.

“Come on, at this rate the turd won't even notice we're gone,” Pony pointed out and Star nodded in agreement. Besides, who knows when her next chance to see a ship up close would be. It was worth the risk. Star and Jackie easily slipped past the dolphin, making for the exit, Pony stopping to rip her boyfriend away from his mindful observation before pulling him after the others, Seahorse never blinking or breaking gaze from the dolphin until he was out of sight.

Johnny after a moment, finally wound down, finishing up the speech he was currently giving to the treasure trove and trinkets, way off topic from where he had started from as his rambling came to a close. “And that's how to avoid being stung by an angry, vengeful jellyfish. Any questions, You Highness?” he looked over to where the four had been only to see empty water and he panicked, looking around the room frantically. “Your Highness? Star?” But when he received no answer and came to the quick realization that he was alone, he groaned in defeat. “They ditched me,” he whined in disgust before quickly swimming out of the cave after them.

Once back in open waters he spotted the four instantly, seeing them heading up to the surface where a large and familiar shape cut through the waves, as well as unfamiliar bright flashes of multicolored lights, which colored the ocean in its hue with every few second bursts. “Oh no,” Johnny groaned in worry. “Princess, stop!” he tried to plead with her only to get an exited and unconcerned response, as the girl shouted joyfully, “Come on, Johnny! You won't want to miss this!”

Johnny just cringed knowing he had no way to stop the headstrong teenager. “This princess is gonna get me killed,” he observed. But, because it was now his duty to do so, he followed after the four, dreading what they would find topside and just hoping it didn't lead to any of them tapped in a net or on a hook.

…

The moment Star surfaced, she became enchanted by what she saw, her eyes glittering as she watched the bright explosions in the sky, her mouth gaped open in shock and awe. The others surfaced around her, also seemingly captivated by the fireworks, all except Johnny who was watching the whole thing nervously.

“Wow, they're beautiful,” Star murmured in whispered wonder.

“Yeah really pretty,” Johnny said, though his voice lacked any enthusiasm or emotion toward the sight. “Can we go now?”

“Wait a minute, we just got here,” Star insisted, swimming closer to the boat.

“Stop, princess! Come back!” the dolphin shouted after the mergirl, holding a fin out uselessly as if trying to will her back, though he was too frightened of the boat to move closer to it himself.

Star meanwhile, put a hand against the smooth wood and let out a small giggle. She couldn't believe this was really happening to her. After all this time, she was finally able to see a real boat up close, well one that was in one piece that is. Suddenly she could hear a janky tune above and her gaze and interest was immediately drawn upward, where she could almost hear the exited chatter of the human's over the loud popping of the fireworks.

Johnny just continued to groan and fidget with worry, his eyes darting around in paranoia, as he begged the girl, “Star, please, what if someone sees us? We should just go home already.”

“Aw relax, J. You worry too much,” Pony said nonchalantly.

“Yeah, Star is a big girl she can handle herself,” Jackie added, reassuringly.

But Johnny was having none of it, putting his flipper down as he commanded, “No way! I am not losing my job over this. I am taking the princess back to Atlantica and that's final! And once I tell the queen, she'll-”

“Fire you,” Pony finished for him and the dolphin visibly froze. He hadn't thought about that.

“I mean you did let the princess come to the surface, after all,” Jackie pointed out.

“Only because you guys ditched me!” Johnny loudly defended himself.

“Yeah, can't wait to hear you talk your way out of that one,” Pony said with a roll of her eyes.

Johnny was visibly unsettled by that. What was he thinking? He couldn't tell the queen about this. She had said that this was his last chance and if she found out he had already failed his task less than an hour since she assigned it... well, he didn't want to think about the consequences. “Oh my gosh you're right,” he admitted with horror. “I can't tell the queen about this, she'll kill me!”

“Yeah so just don't tell her and it can be our little secret,” Jackie suggested with a shrug.

Johnny quickly nodded. “Y-Yeah, okay. We'll just leave and pretend like none of this ever happened.”

“That's going to be pretty hard to do,” Seahorse suddenly spoke up.

“What, why?” Jackie asked in confusion.

“Cause Star is currently climbing the ship,” Seahorse explained.

“What?!” the others shouted, whirling around to see that the boring fish was right, Star was currently scaling the side of the boat, using her arms to pull her now useless tail up the length of the boat.

“Star, get down from there?!” Johnny screamed, but Star ignored him, only hearing the playful laughter and infectious music above, drawing her in closer and egging on her curiosity. When she finally reached the side, she hauled herself up enough that she could peer over without being seen, her tail resting on a convenient slab of wood beneath her. From there she could only watch in awe as the humans danced around the ship, laughing and partying it seemed, while others played some sort of collection of instruments, most of which Star didn't recognize at all. The blond also didn't recognize the tune, but after a moment, found herself humming along with it, its upbeat, janky notes catchy and impossible to resist.

She studied each human closely, watching their movements, particularly from their legs and feet, their weird motions they were making foreign and yet intriguing. But as her eyes roamed over the crowd of happy-go-lucky sailors she spotted one in the crowd who looked unhappy to be there, even in the midst of his fellow partying men. He was a young boy looking no older than 15. Right at Star's own age, she realized. He had brown hair and eyes along with tanned skin. He wore a fancy looking white suit, complete with cape and tight restrictive looking black boots. Star also noted with interest that he had a small little dot on his left cheek that was absolutely adorable.

Who was she kidding, all of him was adorable, he looked so handsome in his outfit and Star felt herself blushing at this train of thought. He was the first human boy she had ever seen before and she found there was something about him that seemed to draw her in. But at the same time, for as cute and interesting as he was, she also noticed just how sad and alone he looked standing all by himself, his eyes studying the crowded deck with disinterest. Star didn't understand why he didn't just join in on the fun, but for whatever reason, he simply rubbed at his arm absentmindedly, before quickly stopping himself and looking around as if afraid someone had seen him.

He kept his posture stiff after that, continuing to watch the celebration he seemed to be left out of and Star felt a twinge of sympathy for the boy. She wished she could go over and comfort him, but that simply wasn't a possibility, not unless she wanted to reveal her identity to the entire boat. So instead, she just followed him with her eyes as he made his way around the eager partygoers and over to the edge of the boat, leaning against the railing with a deep sigh, now directly over where Star was perched.

The mergirl sucked in a breath as the handsome boy unknowingly hovered over her, she felt her face beginning to break out into a sweat over how close he was to her, almost able to feel his presence through the thick wood. She looked down below where Johnny stood mouth agape at the sight and looking on the verge of passing out. Jackie had dunked beneath the surface to avoid being spotted, but Pony was winking at her and giving her encouraging, meaningful smiles to tell her that the boy was cute and she approved which only made Star's cheeks blush lobster red. She risked a look up and instantly caught sight of the boy, his eyes gazing sadly down at the ocean, but despite this the chocolate brown orbs were magnificent and engaging as Star found herself having trouble looking away from them.

The boy just stood there silently for a moment, before he rubbed his eyes tiredly with the palms of his hands, muttering under his breath, “What am I even doing?” He started to walk away and Star sat up so she was peering over the edge again, wanting to follow his every move, when she noticed with concern that he had turned around. His eyes lit up as he spotted her and the mergirl felt her heart stop, whether that was from being found out or being noticed by this boy of all people Star didn't know. “Whoa, be careful!” the boy cried, racing over to her, fear and concern on his face. The blond briefly contemplated ducking back out of sight but she was frozen to the spot so it wouldn't do her any good at the moment.

He continued to shout as he reached her, saying, “It's dangerous that close to the edge! You could fall!”

Star finally seemed to recover, ducking enough out of sight that only her head was in view to him. “Oh, um, thank you, but uhhh, I'm fine.”

“No, your not,” the boy insisted holding out a hand to her. “Here I'll pull you up.”

Star started to instinctively reach for his hand but stopped herself, shaking her head freeing of any distracting thoughts and saying, “No, really I'm good, just pretend I'm not here and you didn't see anything.” She chuckled nervously, hoping the boy bought it and just left her alone.

Instead, his eyebrows just pinched together in the cutest way and he looked over at the other sailors, who hadn't paid him any mind, before getting down on hands and knees and asking in a soft whisper, “Are you a stowaway?”

“A what?” Star asked in confusion.

“Did you sneak onboard this ship?” the boy asked, instead.

“Ohhhh,”the blond said in realization, before hesitantly replying, “Uhhh, sorta,” She looked down at her tail with a grimace.

“Well, don't worry your secrets safe with me,” the boy said softly, a small smile on his lips.

“Secret, what secret? I don't have any secrets,” the mergirl replied way too fast.

The boy gave her a confused look. “Uh, about you being a stowaway.”

“Oh rightttt. Yeah let's go with that.”

The boy gave her an incredulous look, but didn't press her on her odd behavior instead saying, “I'm Marco by the way.”

“Star,” the girl said softly, her cheeks growing red once more.

“Star,” Marco repeated, testing out the name on his tongue. “I like that. It's really pretty.”

Star giggled nervously, trying to hide her face from view. “Oh, psh, stop it!” she mumbled in embarrassment. She was about to say something more, when she noticed out of the corner of her eye a familiar form over by the buffet table. She felt her heart stop as she realized that Janna was stealing food out in plain sight and she made a tiny little eep noise.

“What, what is it?” Marco asked, starting to turn to see what she was looking at.

“No, no, nothing,” the girl nervously exclaimed, grabbing his face and keeping him from looking in that direction. “There's nothing to see.”

She watched as Janna caught her eye, shooting her a wink before diving overboard without being spotted. The mergirl let out a sigh of relief, glad that her friend hadn't been caught, that could have been a disaster.

“Uh, can you please let go of my face?” Marco spoke up and Star looked back over to see that she was squishing his face with her hands and she let go with a gasp.

“Oh, uh sorry,” the girl said, her cheeks flushing bright red. What was she thinking? She was acting like a total doofus in front of the first human she had ever met.

The boy didn't seem too upset though, just giving her a long look. “What was that all about?” he asked, an eyebrow slowly raising.

“I was just, uh, trying to keep you from being tempted by all that food over there, ha ha,” she chuckled nervously, hoping he bought the weak lie.

Marco didn't say anything for a moment, though, finally muttering, “You are a strange one, Star.”

“Good strange or bad strange?” she asked, looking at him hopefully.

He smiled. “Definitely good,” he replied, earning a smile from the blushing girl. He leaned against the railing of the ship with a far-off look. “In fact, your the first good thing about this trip so far.”

“Why? This place looks like so much fun,” Star blurted out, looking around at all the dancing humans with longing, wishing she could be one of them.

“Maybe for someone who actually belongs here,” Marco muttered sadly. “I'm only here because I'm expected to be. No one ever really asks me what I want.”

Star let out a long sigh, propping her elbows on the deck and leaning her head on her hands. “Yeah me too. My mom is always telling me to do this or do that, but she never really listens to what I want.”

“Sounds like we're in the same boat,” Marco said, before the two began giggling at the accidental pun.

“Yeah, guess we are,” Star whispered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

The two continued to talk for a while, just chatting about their life and all the responsibilities that were being constantly thrust upon them. Star quickly discovered that Marco was actually a prince and that this whole trip was to celebrate his birthday, despite the fact that he hated sailing and had been virtually ignored the whole time only to be scolded or reprimanded by someone named Manfred. Star found herself enjoying herself the longer they talked, the boy so easy to talk to and so opposite what her mother had told her that humans were supposed to be like. He was nice and very fun to be around and she found herself wishing this moment would never end and she could just stay by this human boy's side until the end of time.

“You know, if you don't mind me saying, when you put your hands on my face, they were really pruny,” Marco suddenly mentioned out of nowhere.

“Huh, that's strange,” Star quickly said, trying to cover her shock.

“Like really pruny,” the boy continued. “Almost like you live in the water,” he added with a laugh.

The girl's eyes went wide and she let out a quick, fake laugh, feeling sweat dripping down her face. “Yeah, that, that's crazy,” she said with a halfhearted scoff. “I mean, we humans don't live in the water, hahahaha.”

Marco gave her a suspicious look, able to tell she was hiding something. “Uh, right. We human's sure don't,” he said, forcing the weird phrase out of his mouth. He tried to shrug off her off behavior and instead commented, “You must really do a lot of swimming, though.”

“Me? Oh yeah, I swim all the time,” she said, still with an awkward edge to her tone.

“And you must love the ocean to wear seashells in your hair,” he added, pointing to them with a little smile, the girl quickly trying to cover them up with her hands.

“Yeah, I uhh-”

Before the girl could stutter out another answer, there was a roar of thunder behind them and they both turned to see the sky quickly growing dark, already nearly black, out of nowhere. “Wh-What's that?!” Marco asked in worry and Star just sucked in a breath.

“Oh no,” she muttered in terror.

Above their heads, the lookout yelled to the rest of the unsettled crew, confirming Star's fears. “Hurricane acomin'! All hands secure the riggin'!”

Rain began pattering the deck of the ship, as panicked sailors ran around trying to tie up the now uncooperative ropes down with little success. Marco stood up, a look of anxious determination on his face, as he turned back to the girl he had just been talking to, offering her a hand. “C'mon, we need to get somewhere safe, before the storm finishes blowing in.”

Star looked at his hand eagerly before reluctantly shaking her head. “I'm sorry, Marco,” she said, her sad eyes not meeting his. “I can't.”

“What, why not?” Marco asked.

“Your Highness!” a voice interrupted behind him and he turned to see Manfred, wobbling over to him on the unsteady deck. He grabbed the boy by the arm trying to forcefully pull him away. Marco fought the grip, trying to reason with the small man. “No wait! Hang on, there was someone who needed my-”

But as he looked back over to the spot Star had just been in, she was now gone. He felt fear and confusion pinch his chest, wondering how she had suddenly disappeared but hoping she was alright. “Star?” he muttered softly.

“Oh dear, he's seeing stars,” Manfred said in worry, clicking his tongue and continuing to drag the boy behind him. “I really must get you below decks. Come now, Your Majesty, it will be safer there,” Manfred insisted and Marco followed numbly, his head still spinning with unanswered questions and fears.

…

Star dropped back into the water with a splash, ignoring the questioning gazes of her friends and the panicked rant from Johnny, keeping her eyes on the ship and hoping it would be okay, her thoughts and fears solely focused on Marco. The waves were quickly growing higher, slapping against the boat as if trying with all its might to knock it over and sink it. The sturdy vessel held strong though, fighting through the ocean and trying its best to keep coarse through the rough wind.

Star and the others were nearly being dragged away by both the waves and wind but Star fought tooth and nail to stay close by the boat, wanting to see what happened to the desperate crew. She kept her eyes on the ship as she forced her body through wave after wave, fighting the sinister current with every ounce of strength she had, ignoring every limb that was aching and begging her to stop and let her rest.

Meanwhile, the ship didn't seem to be doing much better as it was suddenly lifted up on a particularly large wave before being slammed back down into the water, making the whole ship shudder and groan, threatening to fall apart at any moment. Flashes of lightening and blinding rain filled the sky and the sound of thunder seemed to echo from every direction.

At some point, a lightening bolt must have struck one of the masts, because the boat was slowly being engulfed in flames, even the drenching rain unable to put out the fire, as it eagerly ate away at the wooden vessel. The sailors promptly gave up on saving the boat after that, the men quickly abandoning ship as they loaded themselves into lifeboats and quickly dropping themselves into the crashing waves below, to avoid being licked by any stray patches of fire.

As Star neared the ship, panting heavily and nearly blind from the rain in her eyes, she searched for any signs of Marco, fear clenching her chest as she watched the once proud sailing ship being reduced to ash and fire, and she silently prayed that her friend had made it out okay. Which was why she nearly cried in relief as she finally spotted Marco being led over by someone to the last lifeboat, looking safe and unharmed.

But to her horror, just as Marco went to get into the boat after the man, a sudden shuddering from the ship knocked him off his feet and caused the lines holding the lifeboat up to snap, dropping it in unceremoniously into the ocean. The man screamed the prince's name but could do nothing as the ship was easily carried away from the boat.

Marco lay unmoving on the deck, knocked unconscious from the hit to his head, as the steady but growing flames came nearer and nearer to his oblivious form. Seeing this, Star began fight with vigor against the unforgiving tide in a desperate attempt to reach the boy before he was burned alive. But she never got a chance as the ship suddenly exploded, a bright and expansive burst of light as the remnants of whatever fireworks were left were found by the flames and simultaneously ignited, tearing the ship apart in a hot breath of beautiful destruction. Any previous feelings of curiosity or delight for Star were now replaced with empty horror as she watched what was left of the ship sink into the sea to join its other destroyed brethren.

Finally seeing up close and personal what caused the wreckage she had spent most of her life exploring made her sick and she knew after this her days of exploring the tragic sights were now over. But for right now she didn't care about that, as she dove underwater, swimming through the debris now floating to the bottom of the ocean, looking for any signs of Marco, her heart pounding in her ears as she continued her desperate search. She pushed past broken masts, damaged boxes of goods and other items, ignoring their content or worth as she panted wildly, looking for the first human she had ever met.

At last, she found him, his body caught in a rope as he was dragged down into the depths below. She quickly swam to him, nearly hugging him in her relief, but knew she had too little time for such things, he was in danger of drowning. So instead, she quickly untangled the rope from his frail body before wrapping her arms around his frame and lifted him back up to the surface.

The moment her head broke through the waves, she saw that the storm had begun to die down, leaving the ocean a dark blue as the sound of thunder rolled away from the pair. Star made sure Marco's head was above water but bit her lip not sure which way land would be. But to her relief, Janna suddenly appeared, shouting out to her, “This way!” and pointing off in what Star guessed was the direction of shore.

Janna began to swim toward that and Star began following along as best as she could, struggling with the human boy's heavy form weighing against her. She wasn't used to swimming with a partner, much less an unconscious one, making her movements klunky and awkward as she nearly dropped his head into the water several times, struggling to keep his head resting on her shoulder.

She felt her body fill with relief as Jackie appeared beside her, grabbing hold of one of the boy's arm and helping shift the weight so it was equally distributed between them. Even Pony and Seahorse pitched in, each lifting a leg above the ocean surf, balancing it on their heads as they helped carry the human to safety. Star smiled at each of her friends, touched by their kindness as she and the others much easier followed the dark-haired mermaid, who turned back every few seconds to make sure they were keeping up with her.

Johnny just nervously watched the whole thing a short distance away, his face full of worry as he kept pace with the young group of underwater rescuers and their determined mission to save the poor, unsuspecting human prince.

…

The sun began to rise on the horizon, bathing the world in light once more and casting a beautiful glow off of the water's surface. The gentle sound of the now peaceful waves hit Star's ears as she leaned over the dripping wet boy laying against the sand, his eyes still closed, as she admired his adorable face up close. She gently brushed the hair out of his eyes, as she hummed thoughtfully to herself, glad to see the boy was relatively unharmed despite the traumatic experience not too long ago. He looked so pale and fragile in that moment, nothing like the stories she had been told by other mermaids trying to scare her away from the concept of humans altogether and she felt a surge of pride as she realized she had been right all along about them. They weren't dangerous killers they were just people, capable of either good or evil. And in this moment, Star could easily see the good written all over the boy's face as she studied him closely.

“Star, is he dead?” Jackie asked, out of nowhere, interrupting her thoughts and she looked over to see her and the others watching her waist deep in the waves.

The girl looked back over to Marco, a sudden fear in her chest. How had she forgotten to check that? He was just in an explosion after all and had more than likely swallowed a lot of water. Her voice shook as she replied, “I-I'm not sure how to check.”

“Step aside,” Janna said, as she crawled over to the girl, pushing her out of the way, as she observed the boy. Star waited for her to check his heartbeat or something, but she instead gave him a little smack on the nose and Star let out a scream, grabbing onto the mergirl's arms to keep her from hurting him again. “Janna! Why did you do that?!” she demanded in anger, but a soft groan from below the two brought their attention back to Marco, who shifted a little in his sleep, his eyes scrunching up in the cutest way.

“He's alive,” Janna confirmed, smugly. “You're welcome.”

Star dropped her hold on the girl, letting out a huff as she retorted, “Was there no other way to check that?”

Janna just shrugged. “Thought that would be more effective,” she said with no ounce of remorse in her voice and Star sighed before her eyes returned to the boy's face. She was now able to easily pick up on his breathing, as he began to relax once more and she smiled, her cheeks turning red.

“Well at least he's okay,” she said softly, her hand unknowingly cupping his cheek and she felt him subconsciously move into her touch, letting out a smooth breath. The girl watched him with growing fascination and love as she felt his soft skin beneath her fingertips, making her shiver. She began to hum softly to herself some unknown song coming to her in that moment as the world faded away and all she knew or saw was the boy before her, the human prince who had captivated her from the moment she laid eyes on him and she once again wished this moment lasted forever.

The others didn't say a word or if they did she was unable to hear them as the sun peeked out from behind a cloud lighting up Marco's face as he gently opened his eyes, small and unfocused but still a beautiful shade of brown. He seemed to spot her in that moment, a hand reaching up to touch hers and she smiled at him again, as his eyes began to widen in realization. He opened his mouth to say something but there was a shout from farther down shore and Star whipped her head over to see the same man from before walking toward her, shouting out Marco's name every few seconds as he searched for him.

Star knew she had to go as she cast one last look at the boy, before forcing herself away and back to the water, where she ducked below a second later and now safely out of sight.

To Marco, it was as if she had suddenly disappeared, one second looking into her stunning blue orbs, the next just gone... leaving him blinking in the blinding sunlight. He sat up with a loud groan, his body feeling like it gone through a blender as he looked around for any signs of his rescuer. Had it been Star? he wondered to himself. It had to have been, it was the only thing that made sense. Somehow the stowaway had swam him to shore all on her own. Although it seemed illogical, there was no mistaking that sweet, infectious smile and those bright, startling blue eyes. It had been Star, he was sure of it.

But where was she. He cupped a hand over his eyes to shield them from the burning sun as he stared off toward the horizon, the light reflecting off the waves nearly blinding him again. “Star?” he whispered under his breath, barely hearing a voice calling out his name.

He felt a hand grip his arm, pulling him to his feet, and he let out a groan nearly falling back onto the sandy beach. Hand to his head, trying to alleviate the headache that was beginning to surface, he turned to see Manfred looking quite relieved to see him. “Prince Marco, thank goodness your alright,” the servant said, but Marco was barely paying any attention to him, still looking around for Star. “We've been searching all over for you, many of us feared that you had been lost to the storm.”

“D-Did you see that girl?” Marco asked suddenly, surprising Manfred.

“Girl?” he repeated with concern, his eyebrow raising slightly and Marco knew he must have thought he was crazy.

“Yeah the one who saved me,” the young prince continued. “She- She was just here a moment ago. Did you see where she went?”

“Your Majesty, there was no one with you,” Manfred said slowly.

Marco shook his head, refusing to believe it. “No, no, I know she was here. I saw her.”

“So a young girl just appeared in the middle of the ocean and carried you all the way back to shore, before vanishing into thin air again?”

Marco opened his mouth to retort, but quickly closed it knowing that he still couldn't tell him that he knew for a fact Star had been on the ship with him. So he instead shrugged and said softly, “Yeah, yeah, I must have just imagined her.” But he couldn't keep his eyes from returning to the sea as if hoping she would somehow be there.

Manfred clicked his tongue disapprovingly, before saying, “You probably just swallowed too much sea water.” Marco tried to ignore the man's belittling tone as he hoisted his arm over his shoulder, using his weight to help him walk as they headed back to the castle. “Now come along, Your Majesty, let's get you into some dry clothes.”

Marco said nothing, allowing himself to be led, but keeping his gaze on the water, his thoughts still bouncing around his mind out of control as he tried to make sense of the blond stowaway and her heroic rescue.

…

Star peeked out from the rock she was hiding behind, watching the whole display with a growing sadness and longing unlike anything she had ever felt before. She kept her gaze trained on Marco's form as he was led away, his eyes still clearly searching for her and it took every ounce of self-control she had not to go to him.

Johnny, at this point was hyperventilating, going on and on about how stupid and dangerous all this was, about how they had to keep it a secret, about how no one could know what had gone on, especially the queen, while the others tried futility to calm him down. Star just tried not to roll her eyes. Duh, or course they weren't gonna tell her mom she would have a heart attack if she knew what Star had done. But she didn't regret it though, considering it the right thing to do, despite every merman or mermaid disagreeing with her on that point. Saving Marco had been the right thing, she just couldn't allow him to drown. And as for talking to him beforehand, well...

Star felt her cheeks flush furiously as her eyes remained trained on his figure, being practically dragged by the small man. The burning longing insider her only seemed to be growing more and more intense as she began to crave to see Marco again. She began to hum to herself again, finally recognizing the song as the one that had been playing when she and Marco met.

And at that very moment, like the crashing of a wave, Star came to a decision. She wouldn't let this be the last time she saw Marco. She would find a way to see him again, no matter how long or what she had to give up, she would see the human world in all its glory, with Marco by her side. She didn't know when or how but still she knew she would succeed. She had to. And so from the deepest depths of her soul, she promised both herself and her first human friend she would find a way to become a part of his world, no matter what.

#Star vs #Star vs AU #My Writing #Star is a Disney Princess #Star is Ariel #Starco #Mermaid Star

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