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secret-engima · 4 years

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rereading the whole Nox verse tag, just got to N!Axis meeting the canon Glaives a year pre-Movie. and i had the thought of post-marriage, post-kids Nox (and his Axis, who very much remembers that dimensional trip when they were younger, /Nox/) /also/ meeting - maybe different, maybe /not/ and ooo imagine /that/ - canon Glaives pre-Movie. possibly in the field, but just imagine it in the /Citadel/. if they saw these two bf, they were teenagers, now less than a yr later they're grown and /scarier/

Anonymous said: something i wanted to add to that ask about Nox and Axis visitng the same canon verse they did as teengers, but couldn't because of the damned character limit. At some point during the whole thing, the would-be traitor Glaives see/hear/are told something that makes them actually, really /realize/ why the Lucis Caelums are called Martyr Kings. also Nox casually spills the beans on his traveling to many, many other worlds/dimensions, mentioning the Fall of Insomnia, betrayal, and directly to Nyx,-

Anonymous said: - that in every future he's ever been to and seen, he's not been a traitor in one of them, and generally, he was a little /too/ Heroic in most of them. the way Nox says it leaves not doubt about what he means by that. no one familiar with Nyx is remotely surprised, but even after Nox and Axis leave, they're a bit more conscious of Nyx's recklessness and heroic tendencies. also: "Calm down, Axis, maybe I died when I was a kid here, yeah, but Uncle might not even have a sister, here. Leave it be.”

Me: ohhhhh interesting thought! I like it in the Citadel, maybe a few months after their first appearance (not a full year tho otherwise Game Events would be happening) and some of the glaives are on Citadel Duty (aka Titus’s ultimate punishment via the most boring job in existence) when there’s this- glitch in the world and then the Crownsguard are YELLING because apparently the Crystal chamber just did something weird. All hands are on deck and the glaives are called in with the Guard to watch the sealed off will-not-open-from-the-outside Crystal Chamber doors and the KING is there with his Shield and the Marshal and Captain and then-.

The door swings open from the inside and the argument can be heard as two figures emerge from the room, one growling at the other in a voice that sounds ... eerily familiar to Nyx and the Glaives.

“-to the Matrons for an exorcism so help me.”

“Hey, I’m not possessed OR cursed, blame the Crystal. It likes to mess with me.”

“It’s a non-sentient hunk of rock and magic, it can’t ‘mess with you’.”

“Wanna ...” the two figures stop and study the bristling mass of Guards, Glaives, Royal Retinue, and King, “bet?” the shorter one sighs and Nyx is having a few flashbacks already to That Time because that is DEFINITELY an older, crabbier Axis Arra and the man next to him looks freakishly like a long-haired Prince Noctis.

Who has a marriage braid and an ULRIC BRAID in his hair.

What the Six.

The Definitely a Lucis Caelum raises his hand, small sparks of flow dancing off it in some weird kind of royal greeting, “Hi dad.” he says with a lazy smile that almost hides the tension in his shoulders and the way his free hand is loose and curled around an imaginary hilt of a blade, like he’s about to whip something out of armiger.

The King gapes for a solid ten seconds before breathing, “Noctis?”

There’s a slight twitch, a flinch from the look-a-like and a low growl from the Arra before the Lucis Caelum (and Nyx knows who this kid is, he REMEMBERS that morning, that scrawny boy, and he knows the other glaives do too) smiles sheepishly, “Not quite. I’m Nox. His older brother actually. Though I’m going to guess Noctis is an only child in this dimension.”

So yeah dimensional shenanigans and Prince Nox being infuriately blasé about the entire thing and hanging out with the very befuddled glaives (Nox stares at Nyx for a c!solid thirty seconds while he stares right back until Nyx asks HOW Nox is an Ulric and Nox cheerfully goes “I married you, how else? We have four kids.” And Nyx spends like- the next three days in a perpetual Blue Screen until Axis takes pity on his Internal Scream by explaining that Nyx is a fem in their world. No. No there was no magic involved in the creation of the kiddos where is your mind even GOING Ulric (Nyx: I don’t know! Magic is weird! And alternate dimensions are a thing how was I supposed to know what other fanfic tropes AREN’T anymore?!?!). Nox quietly dies of laughter in there corner.

They keep a wary eye on the C!Arra-Furia-Lazarus trio in case of trouble because it’s been years for N!Axis but only months for them and it’s like- during one of those wary but cordial hangouts that Nox makes his Comment about Lucis Caelums after a long bout of brooding out the window.

“Dad’s dying a lot faster in this universe.”

All the glaives freeze. Even Captain Drautos lowers the report he was reading and pokes his head out of his office to stare.

“What?” Someone in the glaives says.

Nox doesn’t look at them, he’s glaring out the window and with a jolt they realize he’s glaring at the Wall, “Dad. The King. The Wall is killing him faster here. It was killing him in my world too but ... Uncle and I took care of it. I guess ... it’s different here.”

There’s a long pause before Luche’s brain finishes its dial up noises and he scoffs, “The Wall can’t kill the king. It’s his magic.”

“It’s Bahamut’s magic,” Nox corrects coldly without looking at them, “Magic he forced into human skin and veins that isn’t meant to keep it.” As if he can sense their continued disbelief he drawls, “How long can you hold a Shield spell before you get sick? Before you’re exhausted because the magic has gone past your reserves and started taking you as fuel? The Wall is just a giant, city-sized shield.” Tredd makes a noise that might be question or might be a strangled scoff and Nox finally turns to look at them.

There is something utterly inhuman in his gaze. His eyes are still blue, his face is still human, but there’s something in his eyes that speaks to their primal instincts and tells them to run, to hide.

To dread.

“Go to your local library sometime and look up the births and deaths of Kings of Lucis,” he orders in a deceptively light tone that almost makes it seem like a suggestion instead, “compare the lifespans of rulers from before the Wall was raised and after. Then compare the average lifespan of a healthy Lucian citizen at the time of that ruler’s reign.” There’s a beat of silence, terrible and weighty, then Nox’s lips curl into a tiny smile.

It’s a terrifying thing.

“The Kings of Lucis never die of old age. Sometimes it’s sickness, sometimes it’s war. Sometimes it’s assassination. Sometimes they just- die. For no reason science can explain because scientists never take magic into account. Sometimes,” the smile gets colder, the eyes older, “it’s betrayal. Those who are trusted when they shouldn’t, those who should stand loyal when they are not.”

He looks over them all and every one of them feels a chill up their spine. N!Axis leans closer to Nox as if in an attempt to comfort, to snap him out of this eerie mood, but it doesn’t work. “This has happened to me before you know. Going to parallel times. Do you know how my father dies the most often?”

There’s a breath, and when Nox speaks, there’s a hint of other voices beneath his, an echo of times past and souls lost and endless, ageless rage, “By the hands of the glaives he blessed.”

And none of the Galahdians dare to breathe. Those who have been listening to Captain Drautos’s subtle poison more and more these past few months, whose loyalty is not as solid as they pretend and to whom Niflheim’s lies are starting to sound sweet feel stricken, terrified. Like there’s a shadow of a blade at their necks even though there is nothing.

Nox inhales and when he exhales his breath is like frost. The room feels very, very cold, “They sell themselves to the enemy, they wait until his back is turned, and then they kill him. And when those glaives who are still loyal,” here his red-tinged eyes fall on Nyx and there is weight to the gaze, calm promise that of all in the room, Nyx has never been among those Nox has seen become betrayers, “resist and refuse to join in. The traitors slaughter them too. No regard for Clan ties, no regard for oaths or loyalty or any Color beyond Pink and Red and NIflheim’s White.”

Blue eyes are fully red now as he hisses, “And I hate it. I hate that I remember it, I hate that no one ever understands that magic has a cost. That they can study and feel magic strain over and over again for years and yet somehow they never believe that their king is just as human. That it hurts us just as much. Because Lucis Caelums are ‘blessed’,” Nox laughs and the sound is eerie, dripping in memories of things no one living is supposed to see, “as if an Astral’s Blessing is something to be coveted. As if being born with burning, inhuman magic, like a constant spell of fire in your veins and just beneath your skin that never turns off day or night, makes it easier.” Nox laughs again, something dangerous and sharp in the sound-.

N!Axis fearlessly lays a hand on the back of his prince’s neck, “That’s enough, Nox,” Axis murmurs, “come back now.” And Nox blinks, once, twice, thrice.

And suddenly he is normal. The room is normal, the creeping impression of death and old fury is gone, leaving the glaives breathless from relief. Nox rubs his face with a hand and murmurs an exhausted sounding apology, excuses himself for the day to go lie down in the guest suite Regis gave him.

Nyx watches the prince and his Arra walk away and notices that Nox’s hands are shaking, that his steps are not as sure as they were just this morning.

He thinks of too old words and too ancient eyes, of the knowing bitterness when Nox spoke of magic burning just under the skin with no relief and thinks very suddenly that he is glad he is just an Ulric. Just a Kingsglaive. A glance at Luche, Tredd, and C!Axis reveal them to be just as pale, if not more so than the others.

That night, those glaives who had been listening to their Captain’s less loyal talk had a lot of research to do.

And a lot of silence to ponder in horror as they find that every word Nox said about the old rulers was true.

#SE asks #anon asks #Secret Engima Rambles #Nox verse #Nox verse Main

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plum-pudding-and-honey · 4 years

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MONTHLY RANGE : Eight & Charley

Storm Warning - 3.5/5 : the plot is not the best thing I've ever seen but it's still a good introduction story for Eight on audio and to be fair it just made me want to drop everything and hop after him. I like Charley's background but I really just can't stand her. I don't hate her, she's interesting and I totally understand that people love her but I've never really warmed up to her. I also have a problem with the "classic" format : 4 episodes of 20-30 minutes which, sure, allows the writers to give the story and the characters more development, but which I find particularly long. I just find it very hard to focus for two hours, unless the story is very compelling

Sword of Orion - 3/5 : (god this is loooong) The atmosphere was interesting, so was Deeva (although I thought her being an android was quite obvious but wtv). The other side characters were all quite boring though and I couldn't bring myself to care about them. The android/human war was also an interesting point, it's a shame it didn't get developed more than that

The Stones of Venice - 1.5/5 : Oh my God do I hate this. Two hours which felt more like six hours of whining and complaining and "Estella, my beloved, forgive me here" and in the end, I'm not even sure whether I want to kill the Duke or myself. Just... zero empathy for this guy and Estella. Pietro was a bit more interesting although fish gondoliers who have evolved to survive the sinking of the city? Really? No. (Not just because evolution doesn't happen over a hundred years. Try a million.) Churchwell was equally annoying (I mean, as a librarian, I'm all for art preservation but have some decency here man) and the cult, well I've got no opinion whatsoever on them, that's how useless they are in all of this. The only thing that kinda made this thing worthwhile was this bit of conversation between the Doctor, Charley and that gondolier guy about the Duke waiting a hundred years for Estella and how Charley points out how long it is waiting for someone to return and how Eight DID wait a hundred years before seeing Fitz again and I'm not okay about this (and this was released shortly after Escape Velocity was published so I'm definitely gonna take this as a Fitz reference fight me on this)

Minuet in Hell - 3/5 : The Doctor being imprisoned and amnesiac for 3/4 of the episode was very looong. I liked the interactions with Gideon Crane but since the viewer already knows which one is the real Doctor, I really didn't see the point of making this last for so long. Also it robbed us of more Eight/Brig time and that's a shame. And those American accents are just horrible, I couldn't understand most of what Dale and the Senator were saying. The vilains and the Psi (psy?) machine were kinda interesting (although they also sounded pretty annoying) but in two hours and a half, they really could have been developed a bit more. Same goes for Becky Lee and her supernatural hunter gig that was way underused. The Brigadier is a huge asset, let's be honest. And the EDAs are canon in the BF universe, so that's that. (yes there was a Fitz reference in The Stones of Venice, I will not shut up)

Invaders from Mars - 2/5 : I love the idea behind this episode : the panic caused by Orson Welles' reading of the War of the Worlds, a false invasion in fact hiding a real invasion. It could have been great. But it's not. First, those accents and voices, again NO. For a medium that relies only on sounds, it's really a big issue here (I mean how are you supposed to take the alien invaders seriously with those voices???). Mark Gatiss loves the Ice Warriors and we've seen with the Empress of Mars that he can write decent episodes with them so why didn't he use them here? It could have been so creepy (which, for a Halloween episode, would have been neat). Instead he gives us a cheap version of invaders, a nazi guy, Russians and an atomic bomb, and mobsters. And it's too much, it's too confusing, it's too many characters. It's a mess. The Doctor is adorable playing private detective but then he accidentally reveals his plan to the bad guys (I mean...) and the aliens are killed by the Russian guy everybody thought to be dead and his atomic bomb : no, that's bullshit. Also, bury your gays : totally gratuitous and unnecessary (what was even the point?). Yeah, huge disappointment.

The Chimes of Midnight - 6/5 : cHriStmAs wOuLdN't bE cHriStmAs wiThOuT oNe oF mY pLuM puDdiNgS (tfbgvfgtv) Finally something GOOD. Eight is at his best sassfull self, the different parts are well articulated, it's funny and creepy at the same time and the paradox surrounding Charley is well exploited. Robert Shearman even succeeded in making me care about Charley. Edith is touching, even the other characters are, and that ending is really nicely done and coherent. I also really like how Eight is depicted here, especially in his relationship to Charley (and his companions in general). He really cares about her and yet he doesn't tell her the truth, he's been lying to her ever since Storm Warning because he selfishly hopes that if he doesn't speak about it, it's all gonna go away, just like he will do later with Lucie and her auntie Pat and that's Eight in all his glory : he loves his companions but he's got this kind of superiority complex that makes him think he knows better than them and which makes him treat them like shit more often than not (and ok, Charley gets a lot of crap from him). They are all aware of that, as we are, and yet they still love him and we still love him and I don't even know why.

Seasons of Fear - 3.5/5 : The format was interesting, the change of scenery for each episode really helped to not lose interest in the story. I also liked Grayle, he's an interesting villain but the immortality thing could have been handled a bit better in my opinion, especially the losing your loved ones part. I actually liked Charley there and her varied suggestions to get rid of Grayle. The mystery around her thickens and I did not remember that ending! The Nimons were a bit unexpected but ok I guess. But I found the conclusion very disappointing, too easy.

Embrace the Darkness - 4/5 : I love the atmosphere of this one, especially the beginning : the "something touches you in the dark and you realise it's not your friend" trope is classic but the audio only aspect of the thing gives it something more (especially of you listen to it in the dark). Like the previous one, I liked the pace (it didn't feel like this thing would never end which is something worth mentioning). The fact that there aren't too many characters also helps a lot. And I can't help myself to compare it with Sword of Orion : the settings are similar, it's a huis-clos, and they're both written by Nick Briggs. I find Embrace the Darkness much better, the characters are actually likeable (and they all don't die at the end, quite the opposite) and interesting. The Cimmerians were also nicely done and I really liked how different senses are brought into focus here, how the viewer is brought closer to the characters because they can't see. Hearing becomes central then but taste and touch are also prominent (I especially liked the way the Cimmerians share their history with the Doctor and Charley). The Doctor is well-written (I love his "conversations" with Rosum) and this tendency to self pity himself every time he makes a mistake is very Eight (Orbis).

The Time of the Daleks - 2.5/5 : The first part was good. And then it got so confusing, I actually lost the plot several times because my mind kept drifting away. There are way too many comings and goings through those portals, too many side characters that weren't interesting in the least. Learman's motivations as a villain are ridiculous (she wants to kill Shakespeare to be the only one who remembers him because everyone else is too stupid to understand his works... yeah, right).

Neverland - 4.5/5 : Zagreus sits inside your head, Zagreus lives among the dead, Zagreus sees you in your bed and eats you when you're sleeping (sorry I had to put it). So … yeah, that was breath-taking. That was an amazing conclusion for Charley's arc, the neverpeople are pretty cool and Romana and Rassillon are a nice little treat. The plot is coherent and the two hours and a half passed very quickly which is always worth mentioning. About Eight and Charley, now. As I said, I'm not a fan of Charley : I find her too perfect (and I just can't stand how she speaks, I know it's kinda shallow but when her voice is the only thing you get out of her, that becomes kind of a big deal) and I really don't ship her with Eight (although I recognise that they might be romantically involved, a lot like Ten and Rose, I simply choose to not see it). That being said, I liked how she stood up to the Doctor at the beginning, how she called him out on his bullshit ("Happy Birthday, Charley! Happy Birthday, he says. Only it isn't my birthday. It isn't my birthday because I'm not supposed to have any more birthdays") and used the TARDIS against him. I also liked her comparison with Peter Pan because, yeah, that's the Doctor, she gets it. I understand why she asked him to shoot her at the end but I don't think she was fair asking him to do it because she knows, everybody knows, that he won't do it. He won't do it for someone he despises, so Charley? Nope. And yeah, her dying was the obvious solution, I get that, but that's the epitome of everything I don't like about her. Charley Pollard, always making the right decision even if it means sacrificing herself, Charley Pollard always nice and caring and clever and adventurous, and in a way she reminds me of Rose (although Rose was a jerk to Mickey) and I hate Rose. As for the Doctor... Finally he gets the consequences of his actions and yet you can't help but feel sorry for him. Because like Charley said he’s sweet and he truly thinks what he’s doing is good. And that cliff-hanger! I AM BECOME ZAGREUS! YES BABY. In conclusion, it’s a great episode, regardless of my feelings towards Charley

Zagreus - 4/5 : Let's be honest, the first time I listened to it, I hated it with all my guts (and I also fell asleep at some point in the middle), so I wasn't really looking forward to giving it another chance. But I'm glad I did. This time I really took the time to listen to it properly and knowing roughly where this was going, I loved it? I mean ok, this thing is more than three hours (not gonna lie, this was really difficult for me) and it's completely bonkers and WTF but there IS a certain coherence to the thing that I hadn't picked on the first time I listened to it. So, let's start with the obvious : Zagreus/the Doctor/Paul McGann giving us the performance of his life. He's GREAT and if I didn't already love him I would certainly after this. He's creepy and disturbing as Zagreus (he slapped Charley!!) and his voice when he's the Doctor, when he begs Charley to kill him ... yeah, I was dying inside there. By the way, I liked the parallel with Neverland and Charley begging the Doctor to kill her, except that she actually does it. The Brigadier/TARDIS was equally brilliant. I got a lot of the Doctor's Wife vibes here - except that the TARDIS is evil and HATES the companions, and her conversation with the Doctor, her fit of jealousy was brilliantly done. I also loved the bits with Five, Six and Seven (except it's not really them but it actually is) and they were hilarious when they're working together towards the end (Tweedledee, Tweedledum and Tweedle-ego). It was a nice hommage to Alice in Wonderland, coherent until the end (and let's be honest the bit with Schrodinger's cat only it's the Doctor who is in the box? Brilliant. Again.) And as an anniversary episode, it worked for me. I probably didn't get all the references but I picked up a few of them and it was nice to include the BF cast, even if it wasn't in their usual roles.

Overall opinion : This is not as bad as I remembered. I postponed relistening to these for a long time because I remembered it way worse than it actually is (in my defence, I listened to those episode some 8 years ago when my English wasn't so fluent). I still don't like the classic format because most of the episodes feel reaaaaally long and I'm not a fan of Charley. I did like her arc though, it was interesting to explore the fixed in time events and the consequences of the Doctor kicking the laws of time in the nuts, way before Ten. The resolution of this arc was also brilliant in my opinion with the anti-time and the Time Lords/Rassillon mythology. The quality is fluctuant : the Stones of Venice, Invaders from Mars and the Time of the Daleks being the bottom of the barrel while the Chimes of Midnight, Embrace the Darkness and Neverland/Zagreus are amazing. And Eight changes so much through his life : he's so hopeful and sweet and utterly optimistic, a drastic difference from the Time War series (which I just finished before listening to this) where, although his core qualities are still there, deep down, he's lost so much and been through so much crap from everyone. I don't know if any other Doctor went through that much (War Doctor excluded) tbh. His relationship to his companions is also quite unique I think, maybe I'll write something about that one day. Now for the Divergent Universe arc, which I don't remember fondly either. Let's see if I change my mind as well.

#doctor who #eight #eighth doctor #charley pollard #big finish #storm warning #sword of orion #the stones of venice #minuet in hell #invaders from mars #the chimes of midnight #seasons of fear #embrace the darkness #the time of the daleks #neverland #zagreus

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thestuckylibrary · 5 years

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Group Ask 165

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Please send us an ask stating which group ask and which person you are replying to. Thank you so much in advance!

Anon 1 said:

Hi! Do you have that one stucky fanfic or oneshot where Bucky moved into a house that Steve died in in like 1940 and he slowly fell in love with Him and he ended up bringing him back by dancing with him? I loved it but I can’t find it!

Anon, Maddie and allegra-dreams sent in dance with a ghost by crinklefries (oneshot | 11,634 | T)

cevansebb said:

do you guys know the name of that fic where there’s like 100 things steve loves about bucky? thank you

Anon sent in Fill My Lungs with Sweetness by starclipped (oneshot | 13,461 | T)

Anon 2 said:

Hi, I've tried everything and I am going crazy looking for this one fic. Basically it's post CATWS. Steve finds Bucky, and is trying to save him at Avengers Tower I think. Bruce Banner is his doctor? Bucky is really messed up, his ribs are so badly broken, they are in pieces and like floating? Thanks!

Anon 3 said:

i cant seem to find this book and was wondering if you could help :) i believe bucky and steve had a relationship before the war, but the story takes place in the present where bucky is found by the avengers but never with hydra and steve was taken by hydra at some point before and tortured but he finally got free and asked the avengers for help? and then steve told him about it in the hospital and bucky kept asking if he was okay when they were sleeping together sorry if it's too vague!!

Anon 4 said:

do you know that one modern bucky cap steve fic where they used to date then broke up then i think steve has to hide in bucky’s apartment for some reason? it’s pretty vague but i can’t remember anything else

laughing-til-we-scream said:

I had an amazing fic bookmarked and I lost it when I got a new phone! It was a no powers modern day au and it was Bucky as a veteran who joined a "write to a soldier" program and started writing to "Captain Rogers" and they wrote back and forth and video chatted and then finally get to meet when he comes home! Any chance you could help me find it 😅

Anon 5 said:

Can you please help find a fic I’ve lost? All I remember is that canon Steve was taking a college class and using the name Grant. He became friends with his classmates, who figured out his real identity, but protected him. I think he may have been in a relationship with Bucky. Any ideas? Thanks so much!

metisecret and Anon sent in sleeping lessons by glim (oneshot | 23,656 | E)

buckysxmetalxarm said:

Hey! Hope all the mods had a great holiday! I was wondering if anyone knew the Christmas fic where Steve tells his mom he has a boyfriend so he needs to find someone to bring home for the holiday & he makes a post online & says he already told his mom his bf is named James & he finds Bucky online? I remember there was a snowball fight & Bucky was an engineer and made Steve like a magnetic floating planter for Christmas? Thank you!

Anon sent in But the Fire Is so Delightful by lisainthesky (WIP | 28,604 | M)

mmy0326 said:

Looking for a fic where Steve and Bucky find a little girl at a Hydra facility who is being trained as a Winter Soldier. Bucky then finds a pregnant girl at another place who is badly beaten by Hydra; girl has her baby then dies. Baby is named Luci. Haven't been able to find it in my searches.

Anon 6 said:

Hi, I’ve checked all the tags I can think of and have searched and googled to no avail, and would be so grateful for your help! There was a fic where Bucky was a city boy lawyer and his car broke down in a small town. He takes it to Steve’s garage to fix and they kind of get off on the wrong foot. Later, Bucky’s at a bar and Brock is being homophobic, and Steve steps in and saves him. They go back to Steve’s place and end up having sex. Anybody know it? Thank you!!!

Anon sent in The Heart Wants* by perfect_plan (complete | 21,079 | M ) *period-typical homophobia

Anon 7 said:

If you could help me it would really be appreciated! It is a fic where Bucky buys a big house and takes time to recover and stuff and Thor is there for a while and him and Bucky kiss a bit. Steve is out in the world destroying HYDRA bases, murdering people, and whatnot but Bucky really wants him to settle down with him but steve says he can’t. Natasha shows him how to be a proper spy in the beginning and when she realizes how dark he’s getting she tries to stop him. And Steve has a beard. Thanks

drjezdzany and dolphinqueen10 sent in The Ghosts Of Who I Used To Be by Brenda (complete | 107,289 | M)

dark-rose-21 said:

Hey! There was a story where Bucky was a troubled teen that got sent to Steve’s farm during the summer as a punishment, but love soon entails. I can’t for the life of me remember it!

miraishu sent in Chase the Lightning From the Sky by SilverSlashes, TrishArgh (complete | 39,409 | E)

Anon 8 said:

I'm looking for a one-night-stand AU, it's after Steve's moms funeral. He starts crying when he gets alone when Bucky goes to the bathroom and i remember Bucky asking 'it wasn't your first time? you were way too good" and then he stays, and consoles Steve and the next morning they make pancakes and Bucky gives him his number if he needs friends to get through the grief. i tried looking everywhere, but I remember reading this on AO3, and it was so sweet, I hope you can help me find it again

polarisrrose said:

Hi, I'm looking for a fic but I can't find it and I can't remember the specific tags I've found it under before. It's a dimension hopping au and Steve gets stuck in a non powers au where Nat works at a University and Bucky is his husband and he's a comic artist. They think he just has amnesia and for a while he thinks he won't make it back. Sam's in it too briefly and it has a Bucky centric sequel where the winter soldier has his own adventure to another universe. Thanks for the help if you can

Anon sent in Parallels* by spoffyumi (complete | 68,641 | E) */others

Anon 9 said:

Hi guys! I remember reading a fic a long time ago where Bucky is a siren and Steve tells him that mother nature clearly loves him because she gave him tools he needed to survive. I'm pretty sure that there's a second part to the story where Steve dies and comes back as a mermaid and is scared of Bucky until Bucky unlocks memories from his last life. Does this ring a bell to any of you?

#group asks

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ofinkdried · 4 years

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INTRO: MUN // TASK #001

hey all!! i’m slowly working on bios and pages and such but I wanted to introduce myself first -- so here’s what’s technically was the first task?? im using it as the template for my intro so HERE WE GO!!

PERSONAL INTRO

name / alias : victoria / tor gender / pronouns : cisfemale / she/her where ya from ? : texas!! the current time : 4:29 pm height : 5′4 job or major : unemployed at the moment, but I have a degree in health science/health administration & a national certification in phlebotomy pet ( s ) : one doxie/beagle mix named Roxie favorite thing ( s ) about yourself : my ability to remember song lyrics better than my own name any special talents ? : uhhhh I can play 4 ( 5? ) instruments why you joined hqclouds : FUNNY STORY care was talking to me about some Tea ( we’re in another rp together ) and she made a comment about running an rp and im a bit of a sleuth and found hqclouds and decided to join meaning behind url : it’s ‘ of clementines ’ because one of my favorite halsey songs is clementine and i’ve been on a halsey kick as of late last thing you googled : ‘ fools troye sivan ’ because I wanted to send my friend the music video birthday / zodiac : october 29th / scorpio in your opinion , does your sign suit you ? : some days myers - briggs : I took it forever ago and don’t remember... ^^’ moral alignment : chaotic good hogwarts house : ravenclaw!! three fictional character ( s ) you see yourself in + why : oh gosh.... katherine from newsies ( dedicated, doesn’t take a man’s shit), emma from the prom (nervous gay who plays guitar), and flynn rider from tangled (jokester, very in love with our girlfriends) i started roleplaying : 2012 I think? types of rps i enjoy : definitely literate ones favorite fcs to use : I try to not reuse fcs a lot?? like I have some I prefer for certain characters, but I don’t have a strong draw to certain faces... fandom ( s ) you’d like to write in : musicals ( namely newsies ), fairy tail, the raven cycle fandom ( s ) you aren’t in but are curious about : uhhhh I dont really know... share a funny roleplay horror story : oh gosh I dealt with one girl who like... constantly gaslit me as a player and my characters, would make me feel bad for not responding immediately, made everything about her characters, and then got mad when I called her out on it? and now she goes to a christian school and says that rp is ‘ the devil’s work ’ and I just... yeah. fondest roleplay memory : I feel like the moment my now girlfriend and I realized we always do ships bc just had awesome chemistry and then started dating like, 4 months later. favorite canon muse ( s ) to play : connor murphy ( deh ), gansey ( trc ), spot conlon ( newsies ), jimmy ( bandstand ), lucy heartfillia ( fairy tail ) favorite original muse ( s ) to play : theo massard ( a boxer, jack barakat fc; had an AMAZING ship for him ) canon ships you can’t help but love : CATRADORA. none of my other ships are technically canon : / trope ( s ) you tend to be guilty of : tragic backstories, tough on the outside soft on the inside i prefer . . . angst , smut , or fluff : I wanna say fluff but I know care and megan will call me out bc I love angst more than anything long or short replies : mid-length pre plotting or chemistry : chemistry leading to pre plotting! sentence starters or headcanon memes : both? I love discussing headcanons single muse or multimuse blogs : multi!! gif icons , medium gifs , or static icons : typically gif icons, but lately ive been loving medium gifs grab the book nearest to you and pull a quote from it : ok so I have no books atm bc im moving, but the first book on my phone is the dream thieves, and the line I see first is “ The Gray Man considered what it must’ve been like to live like that, always waiting for your door to be kicked in. ” what’s a quote or song lyric that speaks to your soul ? : oh gosh, so many... “ I'm a walking travesty/But I'm smiling at everything ” ( therapy, all time low ), “ I imagine the tears in your eyes/The very first night I'll sleep without you ” ( roman holiday, halsey ), “ Am I the product of a problem that I couldn't change?/Got his eyes, got her hair/So do I get their mistakes? ” ( secondhand smoke, kelsea ballerini ) top current celebrity crushes : halsey, froy guiterrez, harry styles ( always ) last movie you watched : I think it was uhhhhhh miss americana on netflix? did you like it ? : YES I loved it favorite movie ( s ) of all time : 10 things I hate about you, newsies ( ’92 ) favorite tv show ( s ) of all time : she-ra, queer eye, fullmetal alchemist: brotherhood, gossip girl favorite tv show that hasn’t ended : zoey’s extraordinary playlist favorite series of books / novels / comics : the raven cycle, all for the game, the last song sports team ( s ) you rep : dallas cowboys, houston astros ( yeah I know about the scandal and I hate it, but they’re my team ), FAU owls ( my alma mater ) favorite video game ( s ) : breath of the wild, KH series favorite youtube channels : unus annus, daniel howell ( rip he hasn’t posted in a year ), the try guys, NPR Music, CrankGameplays ( ethans just a dork I dont even like gamer videos that much ) hobbies : guitar, singing, being in zoom musicals ( im playing whatsername from american idiot for one in July and auditioned for a few others! ), reading what are the three non essential things you’d bring to a deserted island ? : my guitar, my laptop, wifi put your music on shuffle. what six songs pop up ? : HOLD ME TIGHT OR DONT, fall out boy; I’m Still Here, John Rzeznik; Towers, Little Mix; Way Down Hadestown, hadestown obc; Stitches, state champs (cover); Look Back, betty who personal aesthetic : nerdy punk? dream vacation ? : disneyland paris or disneyland Singapore with my gf dream job ? : music teacher dream car ? : one that works at this point if i could live anywhere , it’d be : austin, texas ( im about an hour away rn ) favorite musical : OH GOSH..... the prom, bandstand, newsies, hadestown favorite food ( s ) : blueberry pancakes, red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing coffee order : at starbucks? venti iced chai tea latte. at dunkin? large iced vanilla coffee. at home? french vanilla coffee and caramel macchiato creamer and 2 scoops of sugar. unwatched stuff in your netflix / hulu / etc : netflix: sex education, the umbrella academy, end of the f***ing world, the people vs. oj simpson. hulu: portrait of a lady on fire, my friend dahmer, rocketman what’s a subject you know too much about + never get tired of talking about ? : I dunno? I have a ton of useless facts on a wide range of subjects. like did you know that in 100 letters, halsey says ‘ You wrote 100 letters just for me/And I find them in my closet in the pockets of my jeans/Now I'm constantly reminded of the time I was 19/Every single one's forgotten in a laundromat machine ’ and that’s actually autobiographical -- her bf at the time wrote a note and put it in a pocket of every pair of pants she owned, and she was still finding them months after the relationship ended, so she took all her pants to a laundromat and washed them so she wouldn’t have to see the letters anymore!!

#(( this got long im sorry asdkjfh ))#cloud:task #&&. 'im a hurricane.' || tor posts.

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artnerd1123 · 4 years

Text

A Familiar World

All Nerds Start Somewhere ——————————————

A regular trip to the library brings two sorcerers more than just new books...

The masterpost for AFW can be found here. The chapter post for AFW can be found here.

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This isn’t a traditional chapter by any means, but it’s definitely one I had fun with!!! Especially cuz my pal @vaaloirr co-wrote it with me! Since Alex and Journal are friends and eventually bfs in canon, we wanted to get some content out for them. What better way than fixing up n posting rps? :D

Also, it’s a good excuse for some baby lucy. What a cute kitty she is ;w;

Y’all will prolly see more of these as we get to em!!! Enjoy a first meeting for now ;3c

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Belle: Settling in is always strange. It’s even moreso in a new town, so much different than one’s old home. There’s so many different faces. Different places. Everything is new, and nothing’s quite the same. And, of course, it’s to be expected when you move from the country to a forest. The new town was nestled between trees, with huge crowds and buzzing magic. Home never would’ve thought of such a thing. ... ah, right. Home. That was another part of settling in. It meant completely changing your definition of “home.” For Journal Drapht, home was where his books were. And what better place to help him establish that than the library?

Journal had just finished browsing for the day. He’d spent most of his time over at the magic books, of course. There was so much more he could learn here! No way he was about to squander that. Not when he needed all he could get. He’d found enough beginner spells to have him set for weeks. It was perfect. What was also perfect was the legends section. He’d never seen that many books in one place in his life! And they were all about stunning magic, or awe inspiring show sorcerers, or- better yet- all sorts of terrifying monsters. Yeah, the library was perfect. It came as no surprise that Journal’s stack of books was a mile high. He was just doing his best to carry it all to the desk. “Next time I’ll get a fuckin... wagon... sheesh,” he grunted. Hopefully they’ll let me check all these out…

Vaal: Settling in was a strange thing indeed, especially when your idea of 'settling in' was getting settled in an apartment for a week before heading to the next town. Staying in one place for more than a couple of weeks was... strange. Especially for someone who had spent most of the last, what, ten, eleven years on the road? It was an adjustment in and of itself. Never mind all the new people, new places, new... everything. He'd only been in merchant towns a handful of times. At least all the rotating sets people sort of emulated the effect of moving constantly. Though, Alex Manson wasn't at the merchant town, at the moment.

The one thing Alex could complain about consistently when it came to his town was the lack of library. There was only one library, the school library, and if you didn't attend the school, you couldn't check anything out. And book merchants weren't always around. But! Thankfully, there was a good library in the next town over. It was. A whole day's worth of walking to get there, but that was fine. Sort of. His legs really didn't like him after these trips. And then there was the walk back. Ugh. Slightly less fine. But he had books to return. Lots... and lots of books. With a combined two days to get there and back, he wanted a supply of books that was worth the effort. He had a carriage bring him here, and he could walk back without the books. He had a sizable stack, one that blocked his vision, as he walked in. Okay, just gotta... find the desk... At least he had his little familiar in his hood, purring quietly. She seemed to enjoy the walks. She might have been asleep for all he knew. He couldn't leave her home... she got anxious without him. And it was good to get her out of the apartment every now and then. Show her that the world is bigger than their little two person apartment.

Belle: Journal tried to keep moving slow. He didn’t want to lose any books accidentally. It would be rather hard to pick them back up without dropping them all over. Rather unfortunate, then, that the slower he went, the more tedious it felt. He could hold a stack of books for hours! His arms wouldn’t get tired for a while. But he could not stand moving slow. It was so... unproductive. He had so many things to do at the apartment. He couldn’t afford to go slow. The sorcerer’s pace quickened a bit. He tried glancing around his book stack, but he couldn’t see anything. Great. Hopefully people would move out of the way. He just kept walking quickly. After all, who wouldn’t move when they see a person with a huge stack of- WHACK! Journal let out a yelp as he collided with an unseen obstacle, stumbling backwards. His books went spilling everywhere as he fell. He landed hard on his tailbone. “Oof- ghhh- owww-“ he groaned, wincing. That’s gonna bruise... He sat up shakily, rubbing his backside. What had he run into...? Was there a pillar, or-? The sorcerer’s face went pale when he registered the other person. Who he’d... smashed... into... Oh. Oh no. “... shit. H-hey, uh- I’m- im really sorry, are you ok???” He asked anxiously, stumbling over himself. What a horrible mess he’s made of things…

Vaal: Alex just walked... ever so carefully... he didn't want to bump into anyone, or anything. Not only did he have all these books, but he had Lucy curled up in his hood. She didn't need to be jostled. Now where was the Revaew damned desk- shouldn't it be close to the front door? Did he already pass it??? Revaew, that would be just like him. He had too many books! He brought too many back, because he wanted to get it all done in one trip, when he could have done it much more manageably in two, sure he'd have to pay a fee for bringing them in late, but it would be better than this! A lot of things would be better than this. He just hoped that he wouldn't bump into anybody. Hopes that were almost immediately dashed. Alex yelped as well when he suddenly ran into something. He wasn't going that fast, was he? He couldn't have been! Did somebody in a hurry bump into him? That had to be it, right? Well, either way, his books were all over the floor now. "Ah fffffu... Revaew..." He groaned, reaching a hand up to his ribs. Yeah, that was going to bruise. He glanced up at the voice. Oh. He did run into another person. Well. This was going to get awkward fast. "I'm fine, just a little bruised..." He replied, letting out a sigh. He was hearing something else too. Sounded like... like... whimpering... what would- Oh. The sorcerer immediately reached into his hood, checking for Lucy. She was still there! Thankfully, she hadn’t fallen out. He took her out of her little space, held her in his arms, gently bobbing the shaking little familiar up and down. "It's okay, it's okay-" He whispered, trying to calm her a little bit.

Belle: Journal sighed as well, shifting uneasily. At least the stranger didn’t seem angry. Or upset. Not on the surface, anyway. That was... nice. He winced again at the sight of all their books. They’d gotten all mixed up, hadn’t they? That was gonna be fun to sort out. He opened his mouth to ask about it, but never got the chance. His brows furrowed in utter confusion as the stranger pulled a cat out of his hood. A blue cat. One that was not all too furry, and quite distressed. What in the...? Is that a familiar??? he wondered, baffled. They reminded him of Roo. Another cat one...? Are... are all familiars just... cats??? A reasonable assumption for one who’s only met two familiars. But that didn’t matter right now. The distressed noises were tugging at his older sibling instincts. “Oh no... Did your familiar get scared?” He asked hesitantly. Worriedly. “Maybe hum for her a little. I-it might help, since she’s against your chest- she can feel whatever sound you make.” Did he know this from experience? Perhaps. Baby siblings need care as much as baby kittens. ... they were such a cute familiar... “... What's their name? They’re a cute lil thing,” he said softly. Just watching curiously. Seems the presence of a baby has distracted him from anxiety.

Vaal: Alex continued to bob Lucy up and down and whisper little reassurances. She was in a new place, she was jostled when he fell, and she was rudely awakened from her nap by said fall... not a great day for the little lass. He raised a brow at the others... suggestion? ... oh. Kay. He started to hum a little bit, nothing really... from a song, or anything, just. Something that sounded like. Something. He didn't know, he didn't hum much. But it did seem to help. The little familiar started to shake a little less, and she curled up a bit closer to her originator's chest. She stopped whimpering, so that was a good sign. After a moment, she started to slowly glance around, and her eyes almost immediately fell on the stranger. Who was that??? He seemed interested in... something. He glanced back up at the stranger in question when he asked his question. "... her name's Lucy." He said, quietly, shifting his hold on her a bit so she could be a little more comfortable. "And she is pretty cute, yeah..." He added, smiling softly. The familiar just curled up a bit in response. She gave a little wave, and then started to climb up onto the sorcerer's shoulder, perching herself there. Alex just let out a sigh, and looked at all the scattered books. Revaew, those were gonna take forever to sort out... Lucy's attention was still firmly on the other sorcerer though, her gaze filled with the mix of anxiety and curiosity you would expect a kid to have when meeting someone new.

Belle: Journal smiled a bit at the name. Lucy. A very nice name. Seemed fitting for the lil gal. He gave her a small wave and smiled in return. “Hi Lucy... sorry about the rude awakening...” he said quietly. She looked shy, and he didn’t blame her. Some kids were just nervous around strangers, and that was ok. At least her shoulder perching was cute. He gave her another smile before turning his attention to the books. ... they really were a mess. A big mess. Sheesh. He couldn’t even tell which books were his, now that he was looking at them. Amazing. Hopefully the stranger would know which were his... “I-I really am sorry about the mess,” he sighed, looking to the stranger. “I was carrying too many books for my own good. Do you know which of them are yours, uh-“ he paused. The sorcerer realized he didn’t know the other’s name. Whoops. “Oh- er- where are my manners- I-I haven’t even given you my name-“ he chuckled sheepishly. “I’m Journal. As in the kind you write in. What’s your name...?” Hopefully the name alone didn’t weird him out…

Vaal: Alex glanced up at the sorcerer again when he started to talk. Oh. Okay, apparently they were going to be talking. He was kind of hoping they could just both start to pick up and sort out their books in silence, but. Apparently he just. Wanted to keep talking to him. Okay then. And here he thought the only person he was going to be talking to was the person at the front desk. "... I'm Alex." He replied, trying not to sound as nervous as this made him feel. Lucy just stayed perched on his shoulder, looking to the other quietly. You could get a good sense of her size there. She was about as big as her originator's head, which of course made it easy to, say, fit in his hood. She was just curious about what Journal was all about. He seemed nice! The blue haired sorcerer glanced around at the books scattered on the floor. "... mine were mostly DragonStone books." He mumbled, already starting to pick a few up. "I had a couple of other stories though... and a few magic books for practice..."

Belle: Journal tried for a reassuring smile as the other- alex- spoke up. Alex! Another nice name. He seemed pretty nice, too. Though he did look sort of anxious... Guess that’s one thing we have in common, he thought grimly. But that wasn’t where the similarities ended. The sorcerer blinked in surprise as Alex continued. Magic books? Stories? DragonStone books??? Good lord, no wonder they were all mixed up. They had the exact same books. Maybe even literally. Oh Revaew, how cool would that be? He’d have found a fellow book nerd. He fidgeted a bit, trying not to look too excited. “W-well, uh, you might wanna make sure you’re picking up the right books,” he said hesitantly. He glanced down at the pile. Sure enough, there were two of the third DragonStone book. He held them up for Alex to see. “Iiii... had the same stuff.” He chuckled sheepishly. “Y’all read dragonstone? I thought I was the only one in town who read those!” There was a haltingly hopeful look in his eyes. Five minutes in, and Alex has already managed to bring out the nerd in him.

Vaal: Alex raised a brow when Journal mentioned that he might have to make sure he's picking up the right books. What? What did he mean by that? Of course, his answer came quickly. He blinked, looking pleasantly surprised. "Oh. Well. Would you look at that..." He mumbled, sounding a bit pleased with this development. "Yeah, yeah I read DragonStone. I just finished the fourth book, and I'm hoping to grab as many more volumes as I can..." He cleared his throat, as his tone started to shift to a more awkward one. "B-but I don't actually... live in uh. In this town. I live in the next town over...? To the west-ish? My town just... doesn't have a library. So I come to this one." Lucy was just looking quietly amazed at these developments. Wow! They read the same books! Maybe they'd be friends??? Alex could use more friends. She thought to herself. And I'd like more friends too... After a moment, she hopped off her originator's shoulder, and wandered over towards the other sorcerer. "H-hi!" She said, giving another wave. "It's! Really nice to meet you!" Her voice had all the charm of a nervous little kid trying their best to make a good first impression. Alex was happy to see her making an effort to make a new friend. It was heartwarming.

Belle: Journal lit up at Alex’s positive answer. Hey!!! He did find another nerd! Nice! Now if only he knew how to charm his way into talking with Alex about their shared interest... not that. He should be using charm. That only worked to keep people off his case back at his old town. And, unfortunately, it didn’t seem like Alex lived here. Drat. Sighing, he shrugged, handing Alex one of the books. “That’s fair. We’ve got a pretty good library here. I think I spend more time wandering around here than I do at home,” he joked. It was almost true, though. If he wasn’t training with his magic, he might as well just stay here all day... just sorting through books, like he was now... A quiet thump pulled him from his thoughts. He looked up curiously, gaze catching on the icy familiar making her way over. Oh? What was she up to? He smiled gently at Lucy when she spoke. She even sounded adorable… what a sweetheart. He liked her already. He set down his books so he could give her some proper attention. “Well, hey there lil lady,” he replied softly. Still smiling. “It’s nice to meet you too. You just along for the ride? Or are you lookin for some books too?” He briefly considered giving her a pat, but decided against it. He didn’t know if she was ok with those. “I bet I could point you towards some good ones, if you wanted!”

Vaal: Alex snorted when Journal mentioned that he probably spent more time here than at home. Yeah, he felt that. He really felt that. He had to spend a lot of time here to make the trip worth it, to be honest. "Yeah, I spend... a lot more time here than I probably should." He replied, handing him a magic book he knew he didn't have. "I kinda have to, because... well, it takes a day to get here... and then a day to get home... if I spend like... five minutes here, then the trip just doesn't feel worth it, y'know?" Lucy's little icy tail was thwipping from side to side as the sorcerer spoke. He sounded! Really nice! And he liked so many of the same books... at the question, she gave a little smile. "I like the dragonstone books too!" She replied, picking up the second book off the floor. "This one's my favorite so far..." Alex raised a brow at the others’ little conversation. Hmm. He should. Probably say something too, huh? "... my favorite book so far is the third one." He added, as he was getting all the books that he was sure were his in a neat little stack. "But that could change... there's plenty more in the series. I'm really liking it so far, though... really good books... especially when you animate 'em." Did he sound nervous? And anxious? Yes, and yes. But he was trying.

Belle: Journal smiled wider as Lucy and her originator spoke up. He still had books to gather, but he’d stacked enough that they weren’t everywhere anymore. He could just talk with these two. It was nice. He’d missed talking with... well. With friends. Lucy’s declaration made him chuckle. That book was huge compared to her! So cute. Though, Alex’s last comment gave him pause. Animate? “... well, I’m really fond of the fifth one, honestly,” he replied. Holding up his hands, he grinned knowingly. “No spoilers! But it really is a doozy, I’ll tell ya that. ‘S a fun one to read by lamplight. Especially if it’s midnight. Gotta get that atmosphere, eh?” He sounded plenty confident as he spoke. The series was one he loved, after all. Even his anxiety couldn’t ruin that. ... however, it popped back up a little bit. “I uh... I just... have one question for you,” he spoke up timidly. “What’s, uh... what did you mean by animate? If- If I said that right?” He ran a hand through his hair, his smile turned nervous. He always got this way about magic. It was a longtime hyperfixation of his, but he still knew less than he’d admit. “I’ve never heard of that before. Is it a book thing...?”

Vaal: Alex smiled at the little 'no spoilers' comment about the fifth book. He appreciated that. It would be so easy to spoil it. He probably would have accidently spoiled it, with how much he loved the books... and how much he loved talking about them... the mention of not knowing about animating books caused his expression to shift to a more confused one. He had... magic books. So. Obviously he knew magic... ... maybe he was new to it... He thought, internally debating how to answer. "Hmm... well..." He started, a little bit unsure how to explain it. His social anxiety certainly wasn't helping. "It's- it's like- well, you know spells where you like... uh... fuck..." He paused, and took a breath. "You know, like, illusion spells? Like, easy ones that look all smokey? Animating a book is basically doing that. It's a simple little spell where you enchant the book, then it opens, and... like... little figures pop out, and it plays out all the scenes in the book. So. You get to watch what happens, instead of just. Read." He shrugged. "It's pretty neat." "It's super cool!!!" Lucy added, bouncing on her feet. "That's why I like the second one!!! I think it's the best one if you animate it!" The sorcerer snickered a bit at her energy. She was so cute. He was really glad she seemed to be having a good time, despite the... rocky start. "We like to have little animated book nights after long days. It's a good way to unwind."

Belle: Journal listened closely, head tilted to the side. He nodded along as Alex explained. Ok... smoke spells, yeah. Those were what he’d started with. So it should be easy. And it was- what??? You could cast those on books??? How had he never figured that out??? His look of nervous intrigue shifted to utter fascination as Alex and Lucy continued. “Oh shit- that sounds awesome??? That’s- that’s really something you can do???” He chattered eagerly. “Damn, I know what I’m doing tonight. I might as well go through the whole DragonStone series again! Thanks!!!” He paused for a second, seeming to realize Lucy was listening. “Uh- Sorry about the language. Force of habit,” he said sheepishly. He glanced over at his book stack. Animating books... oh, he was already ecstatic. But… he didn’t know if he wanted to... Y’know. Leave the library yet. He had his book stack, sure. But he also had two new... hopefully friends...? “... hey, uh, since you two like dragonstone, could I... uh... make a recommendation?” He asked hesitantly. “Or a couple? Since, uh, since this is your book day and all. Maybe I could... I dunno, show you the best spots to find books in that shelf maze back there?” His smile was still confident, but his gaze was shy. He didn’t wanna overstep boundaries. He just wanted to hang around a bit more. “I don’t have anything else to do today. Not till I get back to my apartment, anyways.”

Vaal: Alex chuckled a bit at Journal's excitement, seemingly glossing over the swear. He had sworn around Lucy a few times. She knows that 'shit' is a bad word, she's not gonna say it. He's let that slip out more than a few times."No problem, I'm sure you'll have a great time." He replied, letting out a little sigh as he continued sorting through his books. Okay... that should be all of his books? He hoped they were. He didn't want to grab Journal's DragonStone books. They were the same books, yes, but he was returning his. He started to check the inside cover of the books for any 'return by this time' stamps when the other spoke up again. He raised a brow. That was... a nice offer, to be sure. Hmm. He thought about it for a moment, as he continued looking through everything. "Hmmmm... I mean, I don't see why not...?" He replied, glancing at Lucy. She seemed excited at the idea. "Thank you, I guess." The familiar just made a little face at her originator before turning to the sorcerer. "I think that's a great idea! Alex always complains about getting lost in here." She glanced at him again, snickering at the face he was pulling. "He'd get lost on his way to this town if there were any turns on the road here!" "I-I would not???" He sputtered indignantly. "My sense of direction is not that bad!" "What about that time we spent a whole day walking around town because you forgot where the apartment-" "I will ground you."

Belle: Journal looked delighted when Alex said yes. He tried to hide it, but the happy glow in his expression was going nowhere. He! Was gonna! Get to share good books!!! Not to mention he could hang out with Alex and Lucy! Hopefully he could call them friends properly by the time they had to leave. That would be nice. Even if... Y’know. They didn’t live here. That’s a problem for later. As Alex and Lucy bickered, he had to put a hand over his mouth to keep from laughing. These were his favorite sorts of conversations to hear. You just knew there was a story behind em. Even if they’re only mentioned in passing. “Well, I dunno if I can help with the town problem,” he started, getting up. “But I can certainly help with the library one! How about I stick my books in a reserved spot, and you turn yours back in? And then I show you around?” His eyes sparkled eagerly, one hand gently patting the top of his book stack. Ah, yes. The excited pats. “It’s easy once you pick up what spots the different genres are in!”

Vaal: By end of the little bickering session, Alex had his arms crossed, giving Lucy a stern look. The familiar was just sticking her tongue out at him like the little kid she was. Adorable. Absolutely adorable. He simply nodded at Journal's words, picking up his stack of books, and prompting the little familiar to climb up and get settled in his hood again. Though she had her head rested on his shoulder now, wanting to see everything going on instead of just napping the day away. "Sounds good, sounds good..." He said, looking around the pile of books he had. "Lets just hope I don't fall over again..." The sorcerers managed to find the front desk fairly quickly, now that they weren't. Well. On the floor. Falling over apparently helped them get their bearings. Alex got all his books returned and sorted out, still feeling a bit sheepish about just how many he had. And he was probably going to leave with just as many. After everything was sorted out, he turned to Journal, looking... nervously neutral, but still optimistic. He was letting a little smile creep across his face, but that was about it. He was just nervous about looking too excited. Anxiety issues. Lucy looked excited enough for both of them, though. "Okay, uh... feel free to uh. Show us around, I guess."

Belle: Journal hefted his book stack up with ease, following happily after Alex. The librarians on duty ended up making him just. Take a box. It would be easier for them to keep an eye on the books he wanted if they stayed together. Especially since they could put boxes behind the counter. Journal just apologized sheepishly for how many he had. Evidently, it isn’t he thinks about until checkout time. By the time Alex was ready, Journal was practically bouncing in place. He didn’t want to look too eager either, but a tapping foot and shining eyes betrayed him. He just!!! Loved the library! He loved the books! He had a new- er- acquaintance?- who wanted to be shown around and also loved books! And he had a cute familiar! What was there he shouldn’t be excited about? He lives out of town, his mind grumbled. Shut it, he thought in return. “Sooo... I think we can start with legends, since that’s always nice,” he said nonchalantly. He motioned for Alex to follow him, heading confidently towards the shelves. “And then move over to magic books, and then the series like DragonStone...” Excitement crept into his voice the more he spoke. He kept glancing at Alex and Lucy as he walked- both to make sure they kept up, and to gage interest. He wanted to make sure they liked whatever he was chattering about. Hopefully this was helpful and nice for the two of em…

Vaal: The two of them happily followed along, Lucy obviously looking happier than Alex, but he was letting that little smile on his face get bigger as they walked into the maze of shelves. Yeah, he would already be lost if it wasn't for Journal. Speaking of Journal, he was... he was pretty nice. He was a nice guy, maybe a little nervous? But he could understand that. It'd be nice to have a friend in this town. It'd be uh. Nicer to have a friend in his current hometown, but a friend in the next town over was still pretty good. Better than no friends, that's for sure. "I think that sounds good." He replied, giving the familiar on his shoulder a couple of pats. "I don't think I need more magic books right now? But it never hurts to look over a few... just in case there's something interesting that I wanna learn." He shrugged, almost throwing Lucy off balance. "I'm more interested in the legend and DragonStone stuff, to be honest..." He was also interested in having someone to talk to about those legends and DragonStone stuff, but he felt like that'd be a little weird to just... say. To somebody he just met.

Belle: Journal paused talking to listen as they walked. Ah! Good to know. And good for his excitement, honestly. He hadn’t had an opportunity to really get into legends until... well. Until a month ago, really. He had many widely known legends to catch up on! Lots of things to learn! It made him happy. And fueled his dreams of recreating them onstage, one day. Alex likes dragonstone, legends, magic... he’s really nice... has a sweet familiar... and I found him in a library. Could I find a better friend if Revaew herself made one for me? he wondered to himself. What came out, though, was none of that. He spoke as he kept walking, making little gestures as he did so. “Oh! Right, of course! I was just gonna take you around so you knew where stuff was,” he chuckled sheepishly. “We can definitely loiter in the legends section...” He fell silent for a moment. Considering. “... it, uh, it’ll be nice to have some company looking at them, honestly. I’m not as knowledgeable as I’d like to be,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his head. “If- if it’s ok to do that! I mean, we’re doing a tour to get you acquainted, not for legend hour.” Unless you’d like that, his gaze seemed to say. Revaew. He was so awkward. Hopefully Alex could pick up the hint... if not, that was ok! Just... having a buddy would be nice. That’s all.

Vaal: Alex was happy to be wandering the library with someone- two someones, even! It was Lucy's first trip to the library, though he thought she was going to be asleep the whole time. He wished she didn't have such a rude awakening, though. At least she seemed to be enjoying herself regardless. He visibly perked up a bit more at the mention of loitering in the legends section, and gave a chuckle at the mention of not being as knowledgeable as he'd like to be with legends. "I know a lot about legends, honestly." He replied, his face making it clear that he was starting to reminisce. "I got to hear about a lot of them from my uncle..." He cleared his throat a bit awkwardly. Okay, that's enough, he didn't ask for your life story. "A-anyway, I'd love to, uh, loiter in the legends section for a bit. Would you mind, Lucy?" "Nope, that sounds good!" She said, giving a little smile. "As long as we can pick up the other DragonStone books for animated book night, I'm happy!" He chuckled. "Yeah, that's what I figured, but I thought I'd ask."

Belle: Journal perked up a bit at Alex’s mention of hearing legends from an uncle. So they were passed on orally... from family, too... explains how I knew nearly nothing but the horror stories, he grumbled mentally. But Alex wasn’t here for childhood losses. No, he was here for loitering in the legend section. And Journal was too. “Hell yeah, legend loitering,” he smiled, giving Alex a thumbs up. “Maybe you could be the one recommending legends for me, eh?” His tone was joking, but also hopeful. “I’ve, er, kinda been hoping for someone to talk legends with. I mean!!! My roommate is nice! But he’s... well. We’re, uh, still getting used to each other. A-and that’s not the point.” He chuckled ruefully as they walked into the section. He stopped to just... admire the books. There were so many... they were so different... so cool... even the scarier ones... He looked back at Alex with a contented smile. “... welp. We’ve got time. Books are all ours.”

Vaal: Alex nodded at Journal's mention of a roommate. Yeah, he could get that, sort of. It was just him and Lucy in his apartment, but he still had to get used to being in an apartment for more than a weekend. He was still adjusting. Every morning he had been waking up expecting his uncle to come in and tell him that they had to pack up. But no. He was. Staying. In one place. Hopefully he could get used to it. If he couldn't, he could probably just move around more, like most questors do... though, he would prefer to stay in one spot. For Lucy's sake. He wanted her to grow up in a home, not a house. Or, apartment, rather. He wanted a lot of things for her... hopefully he could provide. He looked over all the books on the shelves, his eyes betraying his excitement, the familiar on his shoulder looking more visibly amazed. He gave a whistle, prompting her ears to twitch a bit. "So many books, probably not as much time as I'd like..." He mumbled jokingly. Well, sort of. He was amazed by how many titles he recognized... his smile suddenly widened as he noticed one book in particular. "Oh! Hey!" He grabbed the book, his smile softening as he turned the cover over. It seemed to be a kids story about a kid and a dragon. "I remember this book... I used to read this all the time, back when I... I..." His voice trailed off as his smile faltered a bit. He shook his head, trying to brush it off before Journal could notice. "... i-it was my favorite childhood story." Lucy was just looking over aaaaall the books, her expression one of absolute childlike wonder. Look at! All!! Of those books!!! There were so many!!!

Belle: Journal was practically glowing with happiness as Alex and Lucy looked on. They were excited! It made him feel nice. He hummed contentedly as he perused the shelves. So many names... he felt like he’d hardly made a dent in all these legends. But the ones he knew, he knew by heart. And he was slowly adding to his mental library. When Alex spoke up, he glanced over curiously. Oh! A legend book! Looked like a kid’s book, and from Alex’s words, he was right. Though... was something wrong? Journal blinked, and Alex looked ok again. He... wouldn’t mention it. He knew how it was with slip ups. The sorcerer just smiled in return, leaning over to take a look. “Ooh, looks sweet!” He replied. “Like a classic kid’s book. I think I had one like that... hang on, lemme look at the shelves...” He stepped away to search. It wasn’t long before he trotted back over to Alex, a book in hand. “Here! This is the one I read to death when I was little.” He held it out. It was about a show sorcerer, from the looks of it. Full of many adventures. It was one of those books he’d kept wedged behind his bed frame at home… memories. Journal shrugged timidly. “It’s... uh... kiiinda the only legend I really knew since... somewhat recently,” he admitted, sighing. He waved a hand, as if to brush it off. “Which! Is why! I’m glad the library has so many!” He swept his hand toward the shelves, tension leaving in favor of childlike eagerness. “‘S plenty to learn and to read and to fall in love with. ‘M real happy about that.” He glanced at Alex, a trace of nervousness in his gaze. He liked legends. He was already showing him around the library. Maybe he could... “... hey... uh... I know we literally just bumped into each other, but. Uh. Would you maybe wanna talk legends if we met up again...?” He asked nervously. “Or- like- Y’know, if we were pen pals we could write back and forth, if- if that’s cool. J-just an idea, it’s fine if you don’t wanna or anything!” Oh Revaew, please let that not have been awkward...

Vaal: Alex wasn't sure if Journal didn't notice his slip up, or if he just wasn't prying. If it was the former, he was glad, if it was the latter, he was thankful for the consideration. Either way, he raised a brow when he suddenly trotted off, and it was still raised when he came back. Though he quickly started smiling again when he saw what book it was. "Hey! I know that one!" He exclaimed, as he quickly started reminiscing again. "I used to read that one a lot... it was one of my uncle's favorites too." He gave a sigh, his mind trailing off as all the good old memories came flooding back. Any memory with his uncle was a good one. At the mention of pen pals, though, he blinked. Pen pals? Like, keeping in contact? Well... they just met, but. He seemed nice. And they seemed to have quite a few things in common, so... "... I mean, I don't see why not." He answered, giving a slightly nervous, but still genuine, smile. "It'd be nice to have someone to talk books with! And maybe I can show you that book animating spell, it's a, uh, pretty simple one." He definitely felt like things were moving a little fast, but then he remembered a saying his uncle had: 'Friendships can happen in a month or a minute.' This just so happened to be the latter. And he was alright with that. Lucy, meanwhile, was still enraptured with all the books. As the two were talking about pen pals and all that, she pulled a book that caught her interest from the shelf, and showed it to Alex, nearly bonking him in the back of the head with it. "Can we take this one?" She asked, giving him those hopeful little kid eyes. "I thought it looked neat..." It seemed to be a little mystery book about a sorcerer thief who left glass flowers as a calling card. He raised a brow at it, and gave a little smile. "... I mean, it does look neat... sure! It'd make for a good book night treat."

Belle: Journal’s smile was both delighted and relieved at Alex’s response. He hadn’t managed to mess up his question, and he’d gotten a pen pal! Nice. I mean, technically nettles is a pen pal. But. Still. I can talk legends and books and magic with my new one, he thought happily. The sorcerer was content to chat with Alex about details as his familiar looked over the shelves. Her sudden book snatching and eager words made Journal chuckle. “Oh, I’ve seen that one around! Haven’t had the chance to read it yet,” he hummed. “If it’s good, let me know! I can, uh, add it to my ‘to read’ list.” As if that wasn’t long enough already. “... Y’know, I bet we could both swap a couple book recs, now that we’re here...” He sighed softly as he looked around again. So many books... so little time... At least he had company today. It felt a lot nicer to browse books with these two. And they would probably be there for awhile. That was perfectly fine with him.

Vaal: Alex wasn't really expecting to get a pen pal today, just some books, but it definitely wasn't something he was against! Besides, it would probably be a little easier on his social anxiety to get to know Journal through letters at first. Of course they'd hang out sometimes, but... well, he assumed they would, anyway. That's like. The end goal of pen pals, right? To get to a point where you can hang out as often as you write to each other? He really didn't know, he's never had one before. He was probably really overthinking this. He smiled again at the mention of book recs. Ooooh yeah, he definitely had some stuff to recommend. Another good thing about this! He could share all his favorite books with someone! And maybe talk about them too, if he liked them as much as him. Though he might not, because... well... He liked some of these books a lot. He could talk for hours about a single book no problem. "Well... if you like DragonStone, then I might know a couple of other books you might enjoy too..."

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jefflion · 5 years

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Asks: Eight, Nine, Ten. This should keep you busy for a while. I'd ask for more DW characters but maybe someone else wants to send asks! :)

Yeah, this should keep me busy alright! OK, let’s go:

Eight

First Impression

WTF is with this man’s hair? Oh, it’s a wig. He’s sweet and makes a good Doctor but I can’t with this script. This is unwatchable. Too bad, Eight has a lot of potential.

Impression Now

ONE OF MY FAVOURITE DOCTORS, don’t touch me! (*whining for hours about how they did him dirty and how he deserves more and how BF is everything and you should listen to BF because Eight is amazing*)

Favorite Moment

Memento Mori speech from Scherzo. Enough said.

Idea for a Story

Eight in a multi-Doctor story on screen. With Thirteen (and others). Please? (Yeah, I know this question refers to fan fiction but others are much better at these.)

Unpopular Opinion

No idea if this is unpopular. It seems to be very popular among Eight fans, actually. But Eight is not a cinnamon roll of a kissy Doctor. He can go so fucking dark, and he goes through so much character development in Big Finish unparalleled to (almost?) any other Doctor. They have been building him for years to become the war Doctor capable of all that shit. I am so angry this had to be erased and all this development ignored because Moffat he’d be so magnificent.

Favorite Relationship

Probably Lucie Bleedin’ Miller. I just like that type of a companion and her seasons were among Eight’s best material. However, I need to say that I still have to listen to some of Eight’s stories so this might change. (Not likely, though.)

Favorite Headcanon

Hmm… I don’t think I have (m)any. I think all of those are basically canon, such as Doctor not wanting to say “I love you” because of what happened with Eight and Charley. Or Eight being developed as a War Doctor. I did like @gingerteaonthetardis answer about Eight being particularly in-tune with his time senses and that he could do stuff with it that other Doctors couldn’t. (?) And yeah, that should be utilized more.

Nine

AKA: My Doctor

First Impression

Ah, I like Christopher Eccleston so let’s see what this Doctor Who thing is all about. He’s really sweet in this one (I shit you not - my first impression of Nine was “sweet”, perhaps compared to Eccleston’s other roles.)

Impression Now

A Doctor going through grief, PTSD and guilt. Portrayed so wonderfully. I love Nine, favourite Doctor, got me hooked on DW.

Favorite Moment

This is so difficult to choose. With other Doctors, I have maybe 3-4 fav moments. But with Nine, I think I could choose at least 3 per episode. Maybe “Everybody lives, Rose! Just this once, everybody lives!” The way he said that, and all the implications re: his past, aaaah, don’t get me started.

Then you have that moment on the bridge in his second episode when the Doctor’s theme starts playing. And of course, his regeneration speech. Nah, don’t make me choose here.

Idea for a Story

Again, multi-doctor story with Nine. Aaand I can’t help thinking what Nine and Lucie relationship would be like.

Unpopular Opinion

I am not even sure I have any unpopular opinion about Nine. Most of my opinions tend to be pretty popular. Is “newly regenerated; did not participate in Time War” an unpopular opinion? I don’t think so.

Favorite Relationship

Rose. Rose. Rose!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Favorite Headcanon

Remember that once-popular headcanon that the Doctor takes his accent from the fav companion of his previous self?

NINE’S ACCENT COMES FROM LUCIE MILLER. I know this whole accent thing has been widely debated/debunked and yes, I know a strong(er) case could be made for Charley, aaand I know it’s not the same same accent, but I sooo want to believe in this so just let me headcanon, okay?

Ten

First Impression

David Tennant looks like my late father. This will be distracting and emotional to me.

Also: who are you and why are you not Nine? I want Nine back.

Impression Now

Ten is such a great representation of all the good and all the bad sides of the Doctor. Continuously strong material helps, but there is a reason why Ten (and Tennant) are often voted one of the best Doctors ever, and the best in Nu Who. He portrays it all: the eccentricities, the curiosity, the selfishness, the pettiness, the whole deal. I love rewatching Ten’s episodes perhaps more than any other Doctor’s (save for my fav Nine’s episodes).

Favorite Moment

The whole thing in the Family of Blood when he decides to use the watch and the Nurse gives him shit for it. I know I’m not selling it properly, but it’s one of my fav moment in all DW.

Also, Midnight. The whole of it.

Idea for a Story

I am totally blank here but I want some sort of a different dynamic between Martha and Ten story. I love Martha; one of my fav companions ever, and they did her so dirty. I think she and Ten had so much potential that was never used because her character was positioned incorrectly. So, I want some sort of an official fixer fic recognized in canon, please.

Unpopular Opinion

Oh, I have one.

Rose had a better chemistry with Nine than Ten.

Not to say that she didn’t have chemistry with Ten, or that I don’t ship them. I do. It’s just, idk, her chemistry with Nine was different. (And it’s sadly not talked about enough.)

Favorite Relationship

Rose and Donna. I like them both; Donna is probably my fav companion in all Nu Who but ignoring Rose’s importance for Ten is… well, ignoring Ten himself. He would not be who he is/was without Rose. That being said: There is a magic in Ten and Donna dynamics that I don’t think was replicated ever since.

Favorite Headcanon

It’s about Tentoo: He becomes even a better match for Rose because of human aspects in him.

Aaah, this was fun! Thank you @grumpyslav for allowing me to procrastinate a little longer.

#ask #grumpyslav #doctor who

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allie-and-her-fandoms · 6 years

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It’s me!! I’m out of physics!! Let’s talk some fairy tail ships!! What are some of your favorite shippy moments in fairy tail? I’m talkin’ all ships here!!

Guuuurl! I can talk about ships for HOURS and I am not joking!First, let’s start with the big guns and talk about Nalu. They have so many good moments, and choosing moments is almost impossible. But I think one of my fave moments is when Natsu talking about protecting Lucy’s future. Or that moment in The Phoenix Priestess, when he comforts her after Eclair’s death. Or deciding to bring FT back after he saw her efforts. (TBH, the only good things about the FT fillers are the Nalu moments) (and my bf, a non shipper, is surprised that they didn’t end up together at the end of the series, but I told him we still had the sequel. Keeping my fingers crossed!)Now, let’s continue with Gruvia. Boy, did I have mixed feelings about this one. But the moment that made me consider the ship (cause I was an anime-only fan) was that time when Gray comforted Juvia (“I am here with you”). But the moments that officially made Gruvia my second fave FT ship were the end of the Tartarus arc and the double suicide (yes, I know, I’m a normie). P.S. The manga was better in terms of Gruvia (the anime, especially the fillers, didn’t do them justice).Now, my fave. When it comes to my FT OTP, Albis, I love all of their moments (Alzack fighting his guildmates so he can save Bisca, both of them wanting to go to Edolas after hearing how lovey-dovey Edo-Albis was). But the ones that stood up to the rest was when I heard Bisca’s name after the 7-year timeskip and I was like “Wait, THEY’RE MARRIED??! YAAAAS!!!”. I nearly cried tears of joy when they said they had a daughter (I actually did, but shhh…) All day, I was like “ MY OTP IS CANON AND IT’S GLORIOUS!”Another ship I have a soft spot for is ElfEver/ElfGreen. Even if they were shown to be on bad terms, their relationship grew beautifully (the Tenrou arc was a bless for many ships). But I think my fave moment was when after Elfman fought Bacchus and got himself unable to fight, Evergreen never left his side and he was blushing, dohoho (not very manly, but it was so cute!) And the fact that they became canon at the end of the series got me like “Yessssss!”And a ship that I find as a guilty pleasure is Chendy. I mean, Wendy and Chelia were absolutely adorable together, and when they had to separate in order to bring FT back, I was like “Yay” and “Nay” at the same time. When they said goodbye, I had tears in my eyes.Another ship that falls into this category is Lucana. Lucy wanting to be Cana’s partner for the S-Class Exam, and Cana protecting Lucy from Brandish… I am sold!! Protect my bi queen Cana!!!One other ship I lowkey enjoy is Fraxus. I mean, literally every time Laxus is near or in danger, Freed is like “Bye bitches. Gotta help my bf”. (When I was discussing the moments they had in the Sun Village and Alvarez arcs with my boyfriend, and said Freed looks a bit gay for Laxus - he ain’t a shipper - and he said “ a LITTLE gay? Dude’s thirsty over lightning boi!”)And the last one (damn, I think many will curse me for this) is Lyvia. Lyon falling hard for Juvia and trying to get her attention made me giggle (“Is this what they call love at first sight?”, trying to buy her dinner - brooo! But now he seems interested in Meredy, and I lowkey ship it too, so… foursome???)Well, that’s all, I guess. I don’t have anything to say about other ships, mostly because I am not invested in them (I either dislike them or simply leave me like “Meh”). Thanks for the ask! LY, girl!💖

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alirhi · 3 years

Text

I just want this done 😭

When I was 15, I started RPing with my friends over AIM. Usually we'd only stick with a particular story or set of characters (always original work; I wasn't much into fanfiction back then, though I'd started a few that never went far lol) for a session or two and then move on, but I had this one friend - we'll call her T - who had one character with a really rich, interesting backstory. We stuck with him and the boy I'd created to pair with him and just kept developing this story over several months.

My character, Zephan, ended up getting sidelined by another, much more interesting character who got added later, Kieran. And the first incarnation of what would eventually become the Crossroads series was born.

This is a really long rant, so I'll be nice and put the rest under a cut.

I have no fucking idea why T wrote with me, tbh. She was in her 20s. I was 15 and really annoying, and really bad at writing. 😂 I look back over that early material (and my ooc ramblings) and I want to die. Or reach back through time and slap that kid lmao. But anyway, for some reason this grown-ass lady put up with me, and my barf-inducing fawning over her character, and out of all that truly fucking awful writing, a pretty great idea came about.

I wasn't going to get into this, but then I realized context kind of matter lmao so here's a (hopefully) quick rundown on Crossroads 1.0:

Zephan is a bi cutie who meets a really hot guy, they hit it off right away (no insta-love, so at least I had that going for me lol) and start dating. They both have secret traumatic pasts neither is ready to reveal to the other, but of course, they come back to bite them in their respective asses. Zephan starts acting really strange; not moody so much as literally his entire personality changes. Eventually he learns that when he was a baby, he was possessed by this dying creature who needed a body - Kieran. And part of Zephan's trauma is actually linked to a monster from Kieran's past tracking him down. Kieran was weakened by the shit that almost killed him, so once he was safe in a new body, he kinda just went to sleep for 20 years. But then he started waking up and taking control of the body, which Zeph's not too happy about. They fight for dominance, hurting Zephan's bf in the process (emotionally lol not physically), and bf fucks off to a scary place from his past while Zephan and Kieran go to Kieran's home world to try to sort some shit out. It doesn't work. Eventually, they do figure something out with the help of one of Zeph's best friends, Leyna, who happens to be a super powerful witch. She splits them and gives Kieran a new body, he goes home to face his monsters, Zeph tries to find his bf... the whole thing was left unresolved because T and I drifted apart and I haven't spoken to her in like 17 years lol

in the meantime, I met a new bud. We'll call this one A. Me and A? IRL insta-love, yo! Not the romantic kind, but definitely BFFs from the second she first spoke to me. It's been a roller coaster since then lol. She's still very much in my life (is my unofficial sister) but our friendship has been nothing but drama the whole damn time. Not all of it was rl drama, though! A became my new RP partner! and guys, back in the day? This girl had some good ideas!

I can't remember anymore who was responsible for what. We spent years talking about this story... and not doing much else with it tbh. I got a little writing done here and there, but was hampered by all the rl fights and her flaking constantly, and when the drama got bad enough that we "stopped being friends" (every few weeks in high school lmao and a few times in our 20s), I had to go back and rewrite everything to get her contributions out of there.

It wasn't called Crossroads yet, btw. Until around 2012-ish, it was just this one story line - Achlais (T's suggested name for Kieran's world. I later learned that it's apparently Gaelic for "armpit" and was like "fuck that" XD but I loved the sound of it. so my friend - we'll call this one S - did some digging and found this really cool Greek deity Achlys and we were both like "yeah, that works." So...yeah. story was just Achlais/Achlys)

Achlais centered around Kieran and his struggles. Zephan became a footnote in this much more interesting character's journey. See, Kieran was born of trauma; he's a rape baby and the first thing he saw in the world was his mother being killed for having him. Never mind the fact that the man who killed her was his father and her rapist. Always blame the women, amirite? The cool thing is, though, daddy fucked himself over big time. Kieran was his first child, and by the very strict laws of their world (not Achlais; Kieran was born on a different world, called Takaldor, and then banished to Achlais) is the only legitimate heir to the throne. Oh, yeah. Daddy's King of Takalador. And mom? Mom's human, but she's also a Queen of another world in her own right. So enter leetle Kieran, heir to two thrones and shipped off to a third world and left to die. His body does, but his soul's too strong, so he body-hops for a while. Finds stillborn babies (no soul to fight him) and takes their bodies. Kieran gets to live, parents get to raise their child instead of mourning them. They never know their kiddo is actually just the vessel for a half-demon magical parasite lol.

It's in his last host body before Zephan that Kieran gets his name (mom was killed before naming him; he eventually found a host with a name he liked and kept it)... and also the bulk of his trauma. woo lol. He's kidnapped by the main villain, Kanaye (I was obsessed with A and K names in my teens. this story was rife with them until I painstakingly went through and changed as many as I could over the past few years), kept as a slave, bad things happen to him that I won't go into detail on because I forgot to put a trigger warning in the beginning. 😅 But just... really, really bad, traumatic shit. And even though his mind is fully grown at this point, his host body is a child (5ish when kidnapped, 7ish when Very Bad Stuff starts, 15 or so when he escapes. ...oh yeah, spoiler alert XD Kieran escapes). I had this policy that I still sometimes have trouble shaking off: I was never satisfied with my writing until it made me cringe (from ick factor, not from lack of quality lol. unfortunately, I have a very strong stomach and my tolerance for ick only grew as my writing got more icky lmao so... yeah. that snowballed.)

While in captivity/slavery, Kieran meets a girl also enslaved to Kanaye, named Amara (see? A and K names 🙄) and falls in love with her. He escapes, joins a gang (don't ask 😂 I'm trying to keep this as bare-bones as possible because there are a lot more stories than just this one in Crossroads), eventually when he thinks he's strong enough to take on this crazy demon wizard, he goes back to rescue Amara. he fails completely, Amara is mortally wounded, Kieran's host is killed, and Amara uses the last of her strength (she's magical af and that's why Kanaye kept her around) to push his soul to Earth. The whole thing with Zephan happens, just with a different bf who opens up this whole awesome subplot having to do with one of Achlais's moons. Anyway, when Kieran gets his own body back, he goes back to Achlais (where his enemy has literally taken over the world) and leads a war against Kanaye. Then he stands against his father to avenge his mother, and eventually becomes King of Takalador. unfortunately, it's a super ultra over-the-top racist world so they hate him for being half human, and there's like civil war and shit. fun stuff. Also, his mother is brought back from the dead lmao. There was stuff with different types of dragons, a whole slew of fantasy species and magic and y'all I have been building this world since I was 14 (yes, before the RP that kicked off the main plot. I had the world before I had characters or plot)

I would love nothing more than to go into excruciating detail about the worlds and their canon history and that awesome moon subplot and everything, but... I mean, look how long this already is, and I haven't even touched on the other stories yet lmao

The first non-Achlais/Achlys story to get linked to it was A's and my amazing (if I do say so myself lol) retelling of the war between the Biblical Heaven and Hell. It's told from the perspective of the First Fallen, and reframes the entire thing. Adonai (God, if you didn't know his name) is a psychotic fuckwit, there's an oft-repeated saying that no man is made more in His image than his Catholic priests, and Lucifer and his followers didn't fight for the throne or because they hated humans or whatever. that was all propaganda. They fought for their freedom, and they won. As part of the treaty that finally ended the bloodshed, they were given Hell but with the caveat that they have to torture the souls of evildoers. Kay, fine. They got a level for that lol. They finally have a home! They're safe from Adonai!

Until he breaks the treaty himself, determined to have his favorite pet back, and kidnaps Lucifer. His eldest daughter (a general who helped lead the first war) invades Heaven to get him back and a second war breaks out. The rescue attempt is ultimately successful, but Luci's just about fucking had it. There are all these rumors that Adonai can be killed, but because he created all things, kill him and reality unravels. Lucifer gives zero fucks. He's willing to put it to the test. Turns out is exaggerated... but pretty much true. The reality he created - Heaven and Hell - does depend on him being there and, y'know, alive lol. and so it all collapses when Luci kills him. The few survivors become refugees and they end up on - you guessed it! - Achlys!

There's also this whole other realm we created with our own made up Gods and Goddesses, that also comes into play and has its own story arc, but we'll get back to that. Just remember that the main Godly place is called Valdell.

Next we have the one I'm struggling with most rn, DJ's story. DJ is the oldest OC of mine in the entire Crossroads series. I made him up when I was 13/14. Originally, he was supposed to sort of blend into the background; he was just the bestie of the one I'd intended to focus on, Kali. but Kali's kind of a fuckhead and DJ was much more fun lol. They're both still in play, and still besties, but DJ is the main and Kali's just kinda there XD

Oh, DJ Gallagher, how I love thee, let me count the ways... On the surface, his story doesn't seem at all connected to the rest of the Crossroads universe (unless you're eagle-eyed and notice little Easter eggs here and there). There's no magic, it takes place entirely on Earth (in my hometown in the 90s, specifically lol)... doesn't seem to have much to do with this epic fantasy adventure. but oh, it does. DJ's got quite the future ahead of him... or did, when A was supposed to be writing this with me.

You know what? DJ's getting his own post. He deserves the attention lol. Just know that I love this boy, and his story is the part of this series giving me the most grief right now in my attempts to rewrite yet again to get all of A's crap out of the way.

Claddagh - Rebecca's story that I posted a bunch of snippets from a few days ago - is the next road added to Crossroads. What's her connection to all this? Well, in addition to her meeting Lucifer and his daughter/General Haliel, you learn that she is actually Rachel's (Kieran's mom) little sister. She's also the final piece of the puzzle at the end, in the one book that ties all of these stories together. Thankfully, despite many attempts to get her to, A never even tried to look like she was helping with this one. S was, back when we were friends, but she ghosted me in 2015, so I wrote her character out, replaced her with Fiona, and got a much better plot out of the deal, so that worked out lol. Thanks for being a bitch, S!

There are smaller parts, as well (Claddagh's planned to be a pretty long series, and so was Achlys when A was involved) - Dying Breed, in which Johanna's mother is abducted and skeptical, cynical Jo is forced to see a world of magic that her mom had been trying to show her (and protect her from) all her life; Annwn, where we're shown that Jo's mom actually knew a boy from DJ's story, Ice, and begs him to take on this insane quest that only gets crazier once he's actually on it; and the Winter trilogy, which genuinely started out as a joke, but my friends liked what I had, so I decided to keep it. That one's... it's different. XD it's a "reverse harem" story that gets pretty squicky. I'm not entirely sure how much of my original plan to keep. A never had a hand in any of this (though a mutual friend of ours, L, was briefly trying to help me with Dying Breed before she had to bow out) but just because it didn't come from our 2 AM spazz sessions doesn't mean all the ideas are good lol.

And then there's Heart and Seoul, which is actually a really long fanfic we wrote 11 years ago. We never finished it (almost, though) but it got popular for a while, so we decided to convert it to an original and, due to references mainly in DJ's story, it became connected to Crossroads. I was actually very happy to cut that lol. It's A's baby so I feel a little bad for saying this, but... I never loved that story as much as she did. It was fun for a while, but I'm so over it.

Valdell had its own trilogy planned, at first, too, but it was kind of just more of the same tired crap that one comes to expect from A - mpreg for the hell of it and a "doomed" romance. meh. On their own, they're not bad story elements if done right, but when it's literally every goddamn story she comes up with, it gets old real quick.

So that was Crossroads 2.0 - it went through many stages and rewrites, but that's the basic gist. We had this whole interconnected Whedonverse concept, and an MCU Phase 1, 2, 3 thing going on (Phase 2 was kicked off by one of the Valdell Gods getting fed up with all the mortals' bumbling and erasing all of existence except his home and the other Gods. his wife flipped shit until he remade it. DJ was brought back as a girl. wife was like "fucking really? are you kidding me?" so he rolled his eyes and fixed it, and DJ got a Phase 3. also, Lucifer got 3 phases because of some shit with the whole killing Addie thing and a boy named Cole...)

It got...complicated, to say the least. Convoluted is probably more accurate. So when I made the decision to cut A out once and for all instead of spending my life in limbo waiting for her to suddenly become reliable, I cut like... that whole MCU concept. I also cut out a lot of what happened in Achlys, and around 20 planned books got cut down to 5. and the whole struggle with DJ... character arcs that I loved are gone, that whole awesome subplot I mentioned in Achlys? gone. which means I have to rewrite shit all the way back to the first book, because it was an underlying mystery that persisted through the whole series!

A lot of stuff, I cut because it was just bad. Whether it came from her brain or mine, or this weird hive mind thing we have going on when we're overtired, doesn't matter. It was bad. Some stuff was great, but I cut it because it was either her idea initially (she used to be so creative before she dug herself a little rut and decided it was comfy and dis is home nao) or tied into her ideas and characters too tightly. I couldn't cut her Achlys characters, for instance, without cutting that mystery subplot even though the mystery was 100% my idea, because we'd worked together on building the shit necessary for it to exist, and solving it for the reader hinged on A's characters in the Zephan chunk of the story. and none of that is there anymore. Zephan's not a part of this at all. That whole story line is gone.

Unfortunately, erasing the Zeph part also erases Leyna and her brother Lucian, and Lucian appears in DJ's story and that was a clever little tie-in before, but now it's just... a random boy who appears for one scene and is mentioned once or twice, and that's it.

So it's been a struggle, to say the least. I don't know if I should stick to my guns and keep this new, much shorter Crossroads 3.0, or rework it one more time to keep these elements I loved...somehow. ugh.

fml.

#writer problems #crossroads #crossroads series #creativity #sometimes i have it #sometimes not so much lol #kill me #i wish i could just #snap my fingers and it's done #y'know?#halp #if any of this even made sense #any ideas?#i'm listening #long post #extremely long post #you've been warned

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