#this doesn’t mean anything i just love passerine

[mell0bee]

the oh hellos weren’t kidding. when the cold wind rolls in from the north what am i to do fr fr

[breannasfluff]

The absence of Four has Wild sticking even closer to Legend and Hyrule. He loves them dearly, but his instincts call for a flock.

Hyrule is perfectly happy to attach himself to Wild like an octorok. Prying him off becomes harder and harder. Legend and Wild end up sacrificing each other to escape. They don’t really need much. Wild’s got plenty of food and games in his slate and Wind brings meals from Malon. Sky doesn’t come again, probably wrapped up with Four.

“Can you tell me more about nesting?” Wild stares at his hand of cards without really seeing them.

“What do you want to know?” Legend plays one and Hyrule clicks his teeth.

“Anything? I don’t—well, I don’t remember. And I was so busy on my journey that I didn’t stay in one spot. I don’t think I remember anyone nesting?”

Legend nudges the traveler to go for his turn. “Probably not. Nesting means hunkering down somewhere safe and comfortable. Most passerines do it at home. Let’s see…well, we have Nesting season like the seabirds have Migration or the raptors have Hunting.”

Wild’s frown deepens. He’ll have to ask the flock about that later.

“It’s usually triggered by other birds and when we feel safe,” the bowerbird continues. “So, yeah, it makes sense you wouldn’t during your journey.”

“I nested with my Zelda,” Hyrule pipes up. “We aren’t a flock, but we trust each other.”

“Nesting in the castle? Nice.”

The thrasher’s laugh is mostly trill, melodic as always. “Honestly, I rather be in a loft like this than buried in mounds of lace and silks. She’s got the other Zelda now, so it’s not really a problem.”

Right, Hyrule’s adventure ended with two princesses instead of one.

“So nesting is triggered because I’m with you?” Wild asks.

“Probably. All passerines are a little different, depending on their instincts. Hyrule here,” a nudge, “wants his pair birds and no one else. Four is happy with anyone. What about you?”

“Ah…” Wild’s fiddles with his cards. They are no longer playing, caught up in conversation. “I’m more like Four…I guess? I’m fine with other birds in the nest. Obviously not the raptors but…” he trails off.

What does he want? What is he missing? What was nesting like for him Before? What about when this ends and he has to go home? Zelda isn’t a nesting bird, despite being social enough.

“Open-nest or closed-nest,” Legend says. “Anyway, sometimes it’s being around other flock birds, but usually it hits in the fall time. It gets colder and the days get longer. We want to tuck away somewhere warm.”

A question sits on the tip of his tongue, too embarrassing to ask. Legend can read him like an open book and nudges him. “Spit it out.”

“I don’t want—chicks. And it’s not springtime. So what’s the point…”

Hyrule breaks the silence with giggles that turn into a waterfall of chirps. Legend joins in, eyes dancing. There’s nothing malicious so Wild swats at them, wings fluffing.

“I’m sorry! It’s just—we aren’t actual birds!” Hyrule wheezes for air. “Sure, some instincts are similar, but we’re hylian, too.”

“By the Three,” Legends says. “Can you imagine what it would be like if we were real birds? No, thank you. Secondary instincts are bad enough.”

Wild’s ears are burning. “You don’t have to laugh that hard.”

“Nesting is about resting,” the bowerbird continues, taking pity on his flockmate. Hyrule still giggles, wiping at his eyes. “Like animals hibernating? It’s a built-in instinct to settle down and relax for a bit. Recharge and bond with your flock. Spend time with family.”

That…makes a lot more sense. 

Read the rest here!

[snowed-leopard]

TEAM BIRDTRESS 8/9: ENGIE

Engineer: the loggerhead shrike. This small passerine is actually perhaps one of the more horrific birds to me. Despite essentially looking like a gray and white songbird with a slightly hooked black beak, these birds are notorious for hooking their prey of anything from insects to rodents and snakes onto thorny plants, and with ranching, barbed wire, as a snack for later. They’re of course also native to Texas. that sort of juxtaposition and small but mighty stature fits engineer extremely well to me. Engineer may look and sound nice but you’ll be darned if he doesn’t have a mean streak.

In slightly sadder news, heavy will be in about a week, not a few days, as I’ll be on a trip and can’t take my tablet. I’m really sorry, I was trying to do all of these as fast as possible not sacrificing quality (though admittedly sacrificing my health a bit) to get them done before the trip, and I just didn’t manage. I love heavy, he’s one of my favorite characters, but my speed didn’t work out. Sorry to all heavy lovers out there, you’ll get your man soon I promise.

Musings below the cut!

No sources this time because I actually didn’t use any to research, I’ve been long aware of the abilities of the shrike, so no researching involved like all the others needed.

Finally! Engie, my man after my own heart. He’s the one that actually kicked this all off. One afternoon almost 2 months ago I was thinking about how alike engineer and the shrike were, I told my friends, and I thought it would stop there, but in the following weeks I fell down a rabbit hole of trying to determine who would be what, as close to their characters as I could. It took eons, but it was so worth it. In honor of him starting this I admit I went a hair overboard and gave him 2 props but in my defense he’s neat. Loved getting to draw all the scratches on the mini sentry and dispenser tho.

Why does he have a mini sentry and a dispenser? Because I don’t wanna draw a full sized one. That’s literally it. Yes he has the gunslinger out too, I wanted to draw it, shh.

[mellorphic]

Tommy-Centric Fanfiction Recommendations

I’m pretty sure I’ve made a post like this before, probably with some of the same fics, but I can’t find it for the life of me.

First, the classics

Passerine

Completed, 7 chapters, major character death, royalty AU, God AU, SBI-centric, has a prequel and a couple of sequels which I haven’t personally read. Niki, Puffy and Tubbo also make appearances as well as Dream and Sapnap

If you haven’t read passerine you’re either new to the fandom or you live under a rock. Even SAD-ist has read passerine. Even Niki read it.

DO NOT read this without taking a good look at the tags and the warnings. It’s a very, very heavy fic

I don’t really need to say much - it’s a beautiful, tragic masterpiece that I read across two days, but if you tried hard enough you could finish it in one. The characters are simultaneously so different and so similar to their canon ones. It had me sobbing at 2 am and I haven’t recovered but this fic made me feel very seen, despite never having reallly experienced the things the characters went through I found each one relatable and found many quotes applicable to my own life.

It’s hard to pinpoint a favourite part because taking any single bit out of the perfectly sewn together story feels almost like a disservice. But one of my favourite quotes has to be: “Wilbur couldn’t remember it happening, but somewhere along the way of studying warfare and politics, of staring up at the throne that would one day be his, of learning how to be a prince, he’d forgotten how to be a son.” From chapter two.

TommyInnit’s Clinic for Supervillains

Completed, has a prequel and a couple of other bits in the extended universe of it that I haven’t read, 26 chapters, hero/villain/vigilante au, mainly crime boys centric, but features the rest of SBI as well as bench trio and the Dream Team

Warning for derealisation/unreality in one chapter and general warning for violence throughout.

I’ve read a few vigilante aus and I’ve loved each and everyone one of them but this one stood out as it kept me hooked the whole way through, even waiting between updates I still was able to remember what had happened which has been a struggle for me with other vigilante aus for some reason.

It’s a great balance of light-hearted and heaviness that makes it incredibly fun to read. The characters and their morals are so fascinating, as is trademark for any AU like this. Tommy has a lot of internal conflict.

The relationships between each character are really interesting to me so that’s one thing I really like about this fic especially.

“Tommy’s jaw clenched as he thought back to eating McDonald’s on the roof with Siren only a few weeks before. Obviously he couldn’t tell Wilbur about that. It would just raise too many questions.”

Now, my personal favourites

Still Life

Completed, one chapter containing over 30000 words. Tommy centric but features SBI and Niki pretty heavily too. Fundy, Eret, George and Jack also make appearances. Runaway AU set in a small town in the early 80s of America.

Reread this fic last night and it’s really interesting how Meridies is able to cultivate such a rich story in a oneshot. It’s by no means short but it’s also nowhere near as long as anything else on this list. I dunno, it’s the perfect length. It says everything it needed to say.

Once again the characters in this are stunning. The entire town kind of takes Tommy under their wing and it’s a lovely read. It gives me a certain kind of nostalgia for a home I don’t have, and it made me long for that kind of community.

It explores the idea of childhood in a really nice way too. Tommy’s a kid and he gets treated like a kid, which gets on his nerves until it doesn’t. And every now and again the other characters treat him like his age affects his intelligence, and then they realise it doesn’t. But he’s always reminded that he is allowed to act his age. B

This fic tells you nothing and everything about Tommy’s childhood at the same time. The ins and outs of what it’s like aren’t explained but the little he does say explains everything you need to know and even Techno remarks on that. That scene is actually a little jarring because Techno asks Tommy why he doesn’t talk anymore, but since the reader is getting Tommy’s internal monologue it feels like he’s saying more than he is in truth. I love that - you as a person can feel like you’re saying everything you need to say but so much of it never reaches the people around you.

I love the way it explores human attachment and the sacrifices we make for people. The way that leaving a place sounds so easy but it can be the hardest thing in the world.

This is another fic that speaks to me. This Tommy is a kid who’s been bashed for being young and when he stopped acting like a child he couldn’t grow into himself. Now, he’s lost and doesn’t know who he even is.

“Then Techno was saying I can’t do this anymore out loud, and Tommy was struck with the sudden realization that the three of them were caught in a tangled web of their own creation. They were tangled so tightly they could not see which way would loosen the knot and which would pull the knot tighter. Tommy needed one of them to let go.”

Post-Mortal

Completed, 4 chapters. Crime boys centric but also features bee duo very heavily. Tommy’s actually dead in this one. Canon divergence set right before the prison arc.

This fanfic is one of those ones that I’ve only read once but certain parts have stuck with me. Wilbur makes slow progress toward recovery and relearns how to live.

Tommy is in this fic, through flashbacks and a disembodied ghost who is in a much happier place than his canon limbo was. This is probably the least Tommy-centric of the Tommy-centric fics but I’m counting it anyway.

One of my favourite Tommy related parts is from one of the many, many flashbacks. “Tommy held him on the forest floor. That was the most he could have done, and yet his most was not nearly enough to keep Wilbur from shattering.” This is from chapter two.

[copinglibrary]

Welcome to Coping Library!

We do requests for Introjects, Kinnies, Irls/Da’s and really anyone who wants them! We currently have three mods, and are currently accepting requests!

You can find our card here, but we also have all our info here on the blog if you don’t want to!

Rules

1. Specify if it's a DA/IRL, kin, introject, comfort character or other

2. No NSFW

3. Be nice with requests and be patient, we are all humans/other unidentifiable creatures please be patient and respectful

4. We can deny any request if it makes us uncomfortable

5. Do not bring discourse to the blog, its none of our business and we rather not deal with it

6. We will add more rules if need

DNI IF:

- you fit basic dni citeria

- are anti-endo

- you literally just wanna start discourse please don’t bother we will not read your ask, much less post a response to it lmao

- NSFW we are all minors don’t

Mod Info Under the Cut:

Mod Horror/Kleaver:

Minor, it/it’s and other neos 

Requests it can do:

Moodboards

Playlists

Icons

Shufflemancies

Sources/Fandoms quack can do:

MCYT (Major focus on DreamSMP and OriginSMP, but will do Hermitcraft, EmpiresSMP, 3rd/Last Life, etc)

Most horror/slasher films, mostly the classics

Ice Nine Kills (both factives, songtives, or anything in between!!)

Warriors

Five Nights at Freddy’s

Danganronpa

RTGame/CallmeKevin Cinematic Universe(s)

Pokemon (preferably the Pokemon themselves)

Ace Attorney

Inscryption

Until Dawn

Things I’m Uncomfortable With/My General Blacklist (also, just because im uncomfy with it doesn’t mean the other mods won’t do it ((unless they’re uncomfy with it too))):

Anything tntduo

Anything to do with the betrayals of L’manberg

Heart attacks/strokes

c!Schlatt or c!Quackity neg (includes c!pumpkinduo neg)

the butcher army (especially the pickaxe quote)

any of the interactions between Wilbur and Quackity in Hitting on 16, especially the second place thing

any dadschlatt thing of schlatt purposefully abandoning tubbo

Mod Fantasy/Dew:

Requests soul can dew:

Minor, he/soul/it 

Mood boards(I love doing these and they are favorite to do!)

Playlists

Headcannons

Kin Assignments

Tarot Readings for Timelines however I am very new

Sources/Fandoms soul can dew:

MCYT

Homestuck (No Bro, Dirk is fine)

South Park

SheRa

Owl House

Steven Universe

Phoneix Wright

The World ends with you

Pokemon

D&D

Horror Movies

Walking Dead Video Game

Most Animes

Danganronpa

Bees

Musical stuff like Marching band and bands in general

Things I’m Uncomfortable with I will not do anything with this in it out of my own comfort level:

Bro Strider

Nothing like “We saved them all” in a religious way

Sausage x Jimmy Solidarity

Stridercest or any ship shipping a Strider with a LaLonde

The phrase “Canary in a Coal Mine”

No Cartman Ships

Bugs besides passive bugs, especially Spiders 

Mod Mystery/Drop:

Minor, she/them/aers 

Requests she can do:

Mood boards

Playlists

Headcannons

Stimboards

Kin Assignments

Shufflemancies

Sources/Fandoms she can do:

Mcyt (Dsmp, Hermitcraft, Empires, 3rd Life/Last Life, BearSMP, etc)

Stranger Things

South Park

Studio Ghibli

SheRa

The Owl House

Steven Universe

Adventure Time

D&D

Walking (Dead Game and Show)

Things I’m Uncomfortable with:

Needle Imagery

Passerine (If you want to submit requests for this its fine! I just wont be able to complete any of them, so they’ll have to be done by the other mods ^^)

[fellhellion]

can you make a rec list of your favorite fe3h fics? if that's alright?

OF COURSE I WOULD LOVE TO <3 always happy to give my fave works a shoutout <33333

Though mind u this is going to be a LOT so ill pop them under a cut

from the heart in exile

TLDR: platonic hubert edelgard fic that haunts me. It’s extremely good with really well written character voices and focuses on these two characters trying to find out who they are beyond the war with their friends refusing to leave them behind

Summary: 

You can’t speak just yet to whether time—and age? experience? not that war or rulership have given you much of the latter, at least in the area of gardening—has made your thumbs any less brown, but the house in the Oghma Mountains is surrounded by so many growing things it hardly seems to matter. It sits at the edge of a forest, on the gentle lower slopes, and the people in the nearest town had all smiled to speak of it when they pointed the way for Hubert, the day you arrived. A number of them were old enough to remember what it had been like, years ago, in the warm and golden before, and to insist that it had not changed in the ways that mattered. It was still full of light. The air still smelled green.

In which Edelgard keeps a garden, Hubert learns to fly, and those they leave behind refuse to be left behind.

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

Watchtower

TLDR: platonic fic and amazing sylvain character study. Like genuinely one of the best i’ve ever read. If you’re someone who really wanted a deeper exploration of Sylvain’s feelings about Dimitri this fic is for u. 

Summary: 

When Sylvain is six and a half and climbs to the top of a tower with no one’s hand in his, he realizes that each and every one of the people he loves has been born as a gift to something else. Dimitri was born for Faerghus, and Felix was born for Dimitri. Glenn was born for the royal family, and Ingrid was born for Galatea and for Glenn. He realizes, too, that what they’re for decides their future. Dimitri will lead them into a better world. Felix will guide his path, and Glenn will protect his life, and Ingrid will bind her future to theirs.

And Sylvain, who was born for the border, will stand in a watchtower. He will see the enemy before it comes, and he will keep Dimitri and Felix and Ingrid and Glenn safe.

Dimitri reappears after five years. Sylvain knows it's his role to fix the mess they're in, but he doesn't know how.

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

little light

TLDR: really good exploration of flayn and seteth’s relationship (+ with his wife and flayn’s mother) pre canon (also post canon if i remember right) just a really good if heartbreaking family fic 

Summary: 

"She is beautiful, and she is perfect. It is foolish to say so, because the goddess herself says perfect beings cannot exist - but Cichol knows now she must have been wrong, because his daughter is perfect. They name her Cethleann. In the old tongue, it means 'light.'"

Cichol, Cethleann, what they lost, and who they became.

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

conjure the wind, ease my mind

TLDR: this author in general writes FANTASTIC work so pls check out their whole repertoire. a platonic fic between holst and claude w an exploration of claude’s past that’s just so good....found brotherhood i am WEEPING 

Summary: 

“I’d like to know what’s wrong. I’d like to help if I can.”

Calculating green eyes lock onto Holst’s own, but this time they’re laced with something a little bit like resignation

Many people call Duke Riegan a liar, but Holst feels like he knows the young man a bit better than that. To call him a liar is wrong, you see, because all Claude has ever really done is master the art of giving up as little of the truth as possible. He keeps truth close, treats it like a valuable commodity.

“I have three brothers,” he says. “Half-brothers.”

***

Claude won’t spar with Holst and Holst wants to know why.

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

my fellow passerine

TLDR: same author as before and just...god this fic is so good. a platonic exploration of the relationship between Claude and Cyril. This fic has it all: found brotherhood, worldbuilding about Almyra, Claude character study, CYRIL character study. it’s just fantastic 

Summary:

Then the Alliance delegation shows up, and their offering strolls through the gates of the monastery like he already owns the place.

A reminder, for those who need it: Cyril is not an idiot. He has good eyes and he uses them.

An observation, for those who want it: The Golden Deer house leader is Almyran.

~

Cyril knows a lot more than he lets on, Claude is far less covert than he thinks he is, and messing with the guy your parents told you was a possibly-unkillable demon-prince isn’t usually supposed to earn you a lasting friendship but hey… life is already pretty damn weird.

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

Autotomy

TLDR: god this ferdibert fic just fucking...destroys me. i cannot get through it without crying at least twice and usually more. it’s basically a CF canon divergence with a heavy HEAVY exploration of ferdinand and hubert’s perspectives towards usefulness and how abelist thinking affects that in their efforts to find Shambala after Ferdinand loses his sight from one of Hubert’s experimental spells. All while falling in love. this fic is VERY fucking heavy, please mind the tags, it’s amazing but it’s subject matter is something you need to be very aware of. Also i would highly reccomend reading the prequel to this fic as it provides some critical context to Hubert’s actions that you don’t get through Ferdinand’s flawed pov. Basically this author is a master of character perspective.

Summary: 

Ferdinand von Aegir's war record ends in 1182. The war does not.

Or, blind man's bluff.

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

Coming of Age

TLDR: same author as before and god...just my FAVOURITE ferdinand character study. Takes place within the period Byleth is away. I don’t want to spoil anything but it’s incredible. Mines the fantastic character drama hook between Edelgard and Ferdinand that canon DIDNT rip

Summary: 

Ferdinand was a general. In theory. Edelgard had promised him continued command of his battalion, and a general needed a certain measure of wealth to supply his horses, his servants, his armor and rations and lodgings and, she’d promised.

But his father sat rotting in a cell, or worse, and it could be nothing more than a fable they thought him simple enough to believe. What did promises matter?

When the house of Aegir collapses around him, Ferdinand struggles to forge a path forward. He quickly discovers he can't manage it alone -- and neither, perhaps, can Edelgard.

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

Another Life

TLDR: same author AGAIN (can u tell theyre my favourite fjsdhfk). Ferdibert fic, a man loving his partner and trying to figure out the best way to support them as they silently wrestle with questions about their gender identity is something that can be so PERSONAL and make u CRY god. also dark flier hubert my beloved. 

Summary: 

Ferdinand notices things. He cannot say what he notices, precisely, because he has no one to ask, and if he were to ask Hubert it would damn well result in every questioned moment up and vanishing forever behind a new wall of prickly austerity. Ferdinand cannot risk that. The things that he notices stick in his chest, and he thinks only, but.

Hubert wrestles with unasked questions; Ferdinand wrestles with a pegasus.

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

Beneath the Sheets of Paper Lies My Truth

TLDR: Dimilix fic in my FAVOURITE fucking format of secondary in game historical sources exploring their relationship in retrospective.

Summary:

It was said that Duke Fraldarius’s grief at King Dimitri’s death was more potent than even the queen’s—but said by whom, and how, and why?

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

A Fair Day’s Work

TLDR: Post CF Canon ferdibert where Hubert and Ferdinand’s overworked aides desperately try to get them together so they’ll be too busy being uhhhh AMOUROUS to give them so much work. Very much a romantic comedy with very fun OCs as our protags. 

Summary:

“I may have some coffee in the place for you,” said Prime Minister Aegir. “Let me show you how much better I have become at brewing it to your taste.”

“If you insist,” said Minister Vestra but he sounded pleased. To Delarivier, who had literally made it her profession to attune herself to his tone (usually ranging from sort-of-murder-y to extremely-murder-y), Minister Vestra sounded very pleased indeed.

--

Ferdinand and Hubert's long-suffering aides figure out a way to work fewer hours.

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

Roost

TLDR: Dimilix post AM Canon with some pre canon moments. Basically an exploration of the complexity of their relationship with bird symbolism and extra Holy Kingdom lore. Gifting ur lover a vulture is something that can be so personal fksdhfsjkd

Summary:

Dimitri makes an affirmative noise. Then he takes a breath, voice leveling out into what Felix had long ago dubbed his 'future king voice', all steady explanation: “Long ago, the saying fledged right along with the nobles' and royal family's love of hawking, and it has remained a common phrase from one generation to the next. As adviser to the king, the duke is meant to be regal and strong, even deadly when required, from his place at the king's side. To always act as the most piercing, watchful eyes over the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus and her sovereign."

He looks over to Felix as soon as his mouth snaps shut on the final word, as always seeking approval on his recitations.

Felix tilts his head, trying to look unimpressed. “I like eagles.”

A hand automatically comes up to cover the lower half of Dimitri's face, muffling the inarticulate sound of a snort of amusement. “That is good, since you are to be mine.”

***

They say an eagle watches over Fhirdiad.

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

A faint and faraway sound

TLDR: Ferdibert with an excellent Hubert centric character study....just so good...makes me warm and fuzzy...the mutual pining and ROMANCE of it all

Summary: 

Hubert learns to be a person, with a lot of help and complication along the way.

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

In golden light

TLDR: A really REALLY good ferdibert fic with ferdinand centric pov that focuses on him reflecting on his life as he prepares the Aegir house to become a boarding school. Ferdinand sibling exploration is ABOUND here and it’s great

Summary: 

When his family's summer home at Lake Aegir is set to be converted to a boarding academy, Ferdinand pays it one last visit and contemplates his complicated relationship with family, love, and legacy.

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

one three four three four zero

TLDR: the fic that actually got me into dimilix. VERY heavy character study and you NEED to mind both the general fic tags and the content warnings the author lists for each chapter but it’s incredible. Takes a very familiar trope and just. slams you in the face with over 60k words of amazing character study. 

Summary: 

“How are you going to get the One-Eyed Demon of Garreg Mach, the Boar Prince of Faerghus, smuggled past Dukedom soldiers? What plan could you possibly have to get a creature that incapable of even pretending it isn’t a bloodthirsty beast into Dominic without getting caught?”

The Professor gives him one of their steady, unreadable stares. They definitely do not and could not possibly have answered him, “You’re going to pretend to be married to him.”

or, How to Pretend to be Married When One of You Can't Stop Hallucinating and the Other One Uses Hostility to Cope

[ruby-whistler]

Are you normal or do u sometimes go "IVE BEEN SCARED OF SLEEPING WITH THE LIGHTS ON(off? Idk its hard to decipher)"/lyrics -curious anon

me: oh boy, can't wait to try and make a tumblr blog! Before i do i should research it- *what in the hecking heck is an xkit*

djskdjsk i had no idea what an xkit was until yesterday and when i got it i got too confused and uninstalled it - dw curious anon i don’t use it either i just vibe and do whatever i guess. if you tag correctly and make good posts things should work out, can’t wait to see your acc around!

I got some sad-ist merch :DDD!!

yooo!! that’s so pog for you! it’s probably pretty comfy :D

me standing ominously in your askbox waiting to rec my fav fics:

fjsjdjsk i literally just finished passerine i still have 80 more (some of which are like 300k words long) on my to-read but uh if they have c!dream mischaracterized i’ll not be reading them anyways so it’s very hit-or-miss, will probably get through some of them quicker-

After many moons spent under the dsmp, seeing discourse and analysis alike, i have come to the conclusion i simply do not have the energy to care about any lore outside of c!tubbo and c!tommy's and will only defend them. And that is ok. It is ok to not watch or care about all dsmp or want to discourse about them or analyze. Idk man was thinking deep thoughts today

it’s ok to watch entertainment and enjoy it the way you want to! it’s great to want to enjoy or talk about your fav character!

the problems come up when you attack other people for their perspectives on the medium or spread misinformation about different characters based on only watching the perspective you like, but you know - if you’re not doing analysis, you really don’t need to look that deep into it.

it’s ok to just chill. your feelings about characters are valid! :D so yeah i agree with you! let people with different opinions exist if they’re also being respectful (e. g. tagging correctly).

Hey ik u worked with animgician's newest vid and i found a not-crit (i rlly think) little thought on it if u wanna see it

yoo feel free to send it in!!

No one: me: *shuffles around* wanna hear about my cool warden c!tommy au?

may i interest u in a little bit of my writing? If not that is ok i just wanna see if my writing is any good before working on a fic lol

Anyways if i am not in the askbox for a little it is because i am now writing a proper fic thing out. Wish me luck o7 -curious anon (i have three different lyrics i am going to be incorporating and a little analysis and just a smidgen of projection)

Ruby do u wanna read a little something i wrote? *does the little fingers thing* its really short just a headcanon with a little prose

i sure do! that sounds rlly cool - are you sure you don't wanna make a post about that on your own account though? i don't mind seeing it at all but i think the c!tommy tag would be able to appreciate that au better than my followers. you've gotta find the right target audience, y'know? /lh

though of course i'd love to see your writing, i'm sure it's great! looking forward to it :]

Ayo i remembered u talking about how punitive punishment doesn't work the other day so i want to discuss. What would u consider to be a fitting "punishment" for c!dream's canonic killing of mexican dream?/gen

i mean... we're not trying to - being against punitive justice is about the fact punishment is wrong, not just certain types of it. asking me what a "fitting punishment" would be is sort of very not getting the point.

hurting people further is not going to teach them anything and it’s not going to help anyone, why is it necessary?

so the answer is: none. he shouldn’t be punished, actually! he should learn on his own that what he did wasn’t right, and that’s about it. that’s the thing about transformative justice. him becoming a better person who Wouldn’t Do That again because it goes against who he is.

however, there’s also restorative justice, which is working to “make it up” to the victims. to which i propose; dream has the revival book and could literally bring him back once he is out of the prison. give him some powder maybe. md would probably be chill w/ that.

Yknow. In all my time in dsmpblr i can confidently say that the main differnece between c!dream apologist/enthusiants and c!wilbur/sam ones is that the c!wilbur/c!sam ones want their fav to have a breakdown and c!dream ones want theirs to get positive reinforcement /hj /lh

i’m pretty sure the sam and wil ones also want them to get better/get redeemed, at least deep down, but i get what you mean! you’re *glances at the 🟩⛏ gc where all we do 24/7 is write angst about c!dream being terribly hurt and then we cry about it* 100% correct. no angsters who like the pain here *nervously laughs* we all just want him to heal and be happy for the rest of his life with no heart-shattering breakdowns whatsoever! /s /lh

Hope ur having a great day m8 :]] -curious anon (also i have a new canon fact i wanna share. In quackity's alt lore stream yesterday he said (to the best of my memory) that "no law/juridsiction exists on the dream smp to prevent one from building anywhere" so i guess that clears up the big debate on wheather or not c!dream had a right to enforce rules (or basically the arguement that he owned the server by divine rule)

no i’m - i’m pretty sure that’s just how it works. dream still owns the smp, but he himself has said wayy back at the beginning “everyone can build and go wherever they want” and that was that. it was one of his rules on the smp, it was his main problem with l’manberg. being able to build anywhere were the rules that he “had the right” to enforce. and he did, not because he was a god, but because it was his smp, his home that he claimed for his friends. wouldn’t call it a big debate, it’s really that simple.

.AGONY. HURT EVEN. THIS IS HOW IT IS FOR CURIOUS ANON. I LAUGH, I CRY, I FIND AN ANIMATED GIF ON TWITTER THAT SQUEEZES MY C!TOMMY ENJOYER HEART INTO OBLIVION. (i am being dramatic btw for the funnies just so ya know) I AM NOT GOING TO FINANICALLY RECOVER FROM THIS. AAAAAAAAAAA UEEEEEEE

OK THAT FREAKING

O U C H-

also for the old phil ask. Hes a bad dad because of how he treated ghostbur. I will elaborate if u want

didn’t ghostbur just say “i’m not wilbur” and philza said “you’re not my son” and they went on with their day? weren’t they actually in agreement that he wasn’t the same as wil when he was alive? i don’t remember him really treating him badly tbh other than disowning him which seems fair to me, because ghostbur was a literal stranger to phil at that point?

wish you a nice day, curious anon! (i’ll be back on my essays and answering other asks now, so i might not reply right away :])

[regrettablewritings]

Animatic/Storyboard Music

Got bored/procrastinate-y on coloring in this ultra intricate card for my mom. So I’m just gonna make a list of songs I think make for good animatic material. Because why not/I wanna foist my musical tastes on people/ @locke-writes got me in a music binge. For the most part, it’s just gonna be me explaining the meanings or the vibe or what they generally tend to be used for, but really it’s mostly subjective so imaginate whatchu wanna.

“Trust Me” - The Devil’s Carnival Originally depicting a story about the Scorpion and the Frog, it’s the perfect song for when you want to depict the dynamic between a gullible or at the very least more grounded character and a figure whose intentions . . . may be less than pure. Or good for anyone, really.

“The Dismemberment Song” - The Blue Kid I have a playlist dedicated to songs whose content and sound are just . . . not married to one another, but got a weird flirtationship situation going on. Anyway, I’ve seen people say that they like to imagine it’s sung through the POV of a scorned housewife who’s finally Had Enough™️. And . . . They’re really not wrong for it. Really, though, it’s just the right song for when a sadist is just ready to gut a fucker but is disturbingly jolly about it.

“Love Me Dead” - Ludo Continuing with my trend of songs about people in less than ideal situations, “Love Me Dead” is straight to the point: The relationship is just awful and the guy gets nothing from it, but he can’t help but be hopelessly in a state of adoration for the woman he’s latched on to (“You’re born of a jackal! YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL!!”)

“Constellations” - The Oh Hellos There actually isn’t a plot to this song, it just feels really good (as all songs by The Oh Hellos are prone to be). However, if you feel a need to portray the concept of having to reorganize your thoughts after realizing that maybe they weren’t what you initially thought, and then coming to the conclusion that even though everything changes as a result, you’ll be alright? This is the song for you.

“A Kindling of Sorts” - The Oh Hellos An instrumental piece that is like . . . It’s related to another song of theirs about nationalism called “Torches”, so make of that what you will. (I personally have been using it to imagine storyboarding an opening for an animated The Witcher series.)

“The Other Side” - The Greatest Showman I know everyone and their mom has used this to portray situations like villains trying to get good guys to join their side. But I dun curr, it’s a fun song. That, and I like what Emilyamio did with her interpretation. It’s fun. For a basic rundown, know it’s another song about two characters’ dynamics being explored, with one coming to the other with a proposal that they join them in whatever endeavors they have in store. It’s often portrayed as something evil, but it really doesn’t have to be, as the original context was more about letting loose than anything.

“The Thief and the Moon” - Shawn James A much more mellow piece. Simple and straight to the point: A thief tells the Moon that he plans on stealing her light to shade the world in darkness. The Moon insists that the thief would only doom the world by doing so, to which the thief clarifies that he doesn’t care; if the world is shrouded in shadow, it means he will be able to steal with more ease (“My very existence is a race to attain wealth”). Disgusted, the Moon essentially curses the man with a warning that his greed can and will bring about his end -- and leave him to be forgotten by the rest of mankind, once it happens.

“Villainous Thing” - Shayfer James I’ve seen people say that this song is about singing to a cadaver but I can’t quite find anything confirming that (translation: I’m too lazy to look too into it). Regardless, it’s a fun ditty that yet again portrays someone with less than pure intentions encouraging someone to join him in some good old fashion villainy, as they’ve clearly endured their fair share of hardships and surely wanted to do evil anyway (“You’ll find no ever after here, it’s clear that isn’t what you came for“).

“Necromancin Dancin” - Bear Ghost Straight forward and fun as fuck: A necromancer apparently seems to cross classes and try his hand at barding by not only raising an army of the dead, but by also making them dance in order to make conquering the world easier. Because . . . a body doing Disco Duck isn’t scary, I guess.

"Aquaman” - Walk the Moon A song about one half of a couple wanting to become more involved in their relationship, but still having some nervousness about doing so. If you somehow haven’t heard this song yet, you gotta because it’s the cutest shit.

“Jenny’s Tale” - Ren I’ll be brutally honest, it’s about a woman named Jenny who just wants to get home after a long day of work and an unfortunate encounter with a 14 year old named Screech who gets way in over his head. As in, like, a death happens. That being said, I need. Like. An animated music video of this song. I imagine this shit in gritty charcoal or painted on glass, it just needs this. Somebody who isn’t me who knows what they’re doing, please look into this.

“The Curse of the Fold” - Shawn James As cheesy as it sounds, it basically boils down to not giving up or yielding. But what makes it so cool is the fact that Shawn James makes all his songs basically sound like a western gothic soundtrack. Which helps, because he admits that the title is also a reference to poker, in which giving up too often or too easily can often rob you of a delicious reward gained through perseverance and sacrifice.

“Thank God I’m Not You” - Himalayas I prefer to imagine this for an arrogant asshole of a character. Because that’s exactly what this song is about: They’re a liar and a thief, they’ve been called the son of Satan, and yet they consider themselves lucky -- ‘cause at least they ain’t you! If you have a character in mind who’s a delightful, punchable little shit, this is probably either their anthem or at least on the playlist you inevitably made for them.

"Passerine" - The Oh Hellos So there’s a common trend in The Oh Hellos’ discography that tends to explore the two founders’ experiences with faith and their growth in how they understand it or recognize it. With “Passerine”, the concept being explored is the experience they had when it came to taking a step back and realizing just how many of their supposed “fellow Christians” were actually doing some rather unchristian things, so to speak. When they “prune[d] their feathers”, it became clear that they had less in common with certain people proclaiming to be Christian while also spouting bigotry and greed. However, the desire to move away from such influences comes with the feeling of being torn, as moving too far away from the Bible leaves the singer feeling as though she is betraying something she holds dear. As a result, “Passerine” symbolizes not a breakage from faith, but a breakage from blind faith as they understood it, and the inevitable feeling of being torn that comes along with expanding upon how one views their beliefs and those around them. It’s therefore not uncommon to see Good Omens animatics using this song. (Something I also noticed is that throughout the song, you hear pieces of “Constellations”. TOH have a tendency to reference previous pieces, and considering “Constellations” is a song about changing perspective and the meanings we apply to them, it fits in beautifully with a song about reevaluating one’s stance.)

“Like the Dawn” - The Oh Hellos As stated before, a lot of TOH’s discography draws inspiration from their faith. In this case, it’s an outright retelling of the Garden of Eden, specifically when Adam awoke to find Eve had been created. What makes this iteration stand out to most, however, is that the singer is female, which seems to change the vibe you get. It sweetens the feeling of wonder we often forget the first man might’ve felt upon seeing somebody made for him, creating an air of beauty yet comfort with such lines as “And like the dawn, you broke the dark and my whole earth shook” or “You were the brightest shade of sun I had ever seen.” Even without the awareness or an interest in religious influences, it still manages to be a very feel-good song -- which is the mark of an overall good song in general!

“Confession” - RED Dealing with the constant battle of feeling ashamed that how you feel on the inside isn’t in sync with how you present yourself on the outside. That you should feel bad for smiling out at the world while screaming and thrashing -- like it’s a lie. But you can’t help it: It’s what you’re accustomed to. Though it does end on a hopeful note with the singer deciding that they want to reach out for help and rid themselves of this feeling of pain they have inside.

“When I Grow Up” - Matilda . . . Only if you want to cry. Seriously. When you’re a kid, everything seems difficult but you’re positive that once you grow up, everything will change: You’ll be tall enough to climb the trees you were too small to, you’ll be able to carry everything because you’re stronger, you’ll be brave enough to fight the monsters hiding in your room, you’ll finally have all the answers. . . . But life isn’t that simple. We wish it were, but it isn’t. There’s this bittersweetness about this song, about a sense of purity we unfortunately grow out of where we think things will be just the same enough for us to do what we want when we want, but things are more complicated than that. We still struggle to reach, to bear the weight, to not be afraid, to have even a fraction of the answers. But! We’re reminded that just because we’re told life isn’t fair, doesn’t mean we have to take it. After all, nothing changes when nothing happens. And even beyond that? It helps to remember that we’re never quite done growing up; there’s always more to learn, so remember to be patient with yourself.

“Hand Me My Shovel, I’m Going In!” - Will Wood and the Tapeworms This is . . . a song. The lyrics are honestly kinda all over the place and shooting rapid fire, making it a bit difficult to discern what exactly the singer is going on about. It makes for a pretty crazy song that suggests somebody’s going unhinged, which is apparently precisely the intention?? I’ve seen a lot of people interpret this as a song about a guy who is already at a low point in his life but nonetheless is going, “. . . I bet I can go deeper. Hand me my shovel.”

“No Reason” - Beetlejuice God if i had a youtube channel the segment i would spend on this song would be so juicy just ripe and thicc with thoughts and feelings i tell ya rich like a fresh fatty peach the apple that tempted Eve and gagged Adam yes ‘Nother song that explores the dynamic between two differing people and their worldviews. At its simplest, “No Reason” is about two opposite ends of a spectrum coming to a head: Idealistic and hippie-dippy Delia is convinced that everything happens for a reason, while cynical and depressed Lydia asserts that everything happens at random and it doesn’t matter anyway because we’re all going to die. And even though the delivery is ultimately a comedic one, you get more insight as to why one another feels the way that they do: Lydia, as we’ve previously learned, has recently lost her mother to an illness, which has left her depressed and feeling invisible (a theme in the show); whereas Delia’s failed marriage and desperate attempts to nonetheless be happy have left her dependent on the idea that these things had to have happened for a reason, otherwise, her pain would’ve been for nothing. What’s important is that neither side is actually appointed as the winner, with the song ultimately ending that the universe is random for a reason.

“Barbara 2.0″ - Beetlejuice Without spoiling anything (or at least too much), “Barbara 2.0″ is about growth. It’s about learning to put your foot down after a literal lifetime of being passive out of fear of what might happen and just accepting that nothing will happen if nothing happens -- but that doesn’t make whatever happens good.

“Bleed Magic” - IDHKBTFM It’s either about a killer or a vampire. No, seriously: When Dallon Weekes was asked about what the story of the song was, that was his answer. I personally prefer to think of it as a vampire or demon of some kind, given that the song came out around Halloween. Perfect for yet another example of somebody (likely supernatural) having an upper hand on an unsuspecting mortal. ...I have way too many of these on this list, I swear I don’t have a problem —

“Feel Good Drag” - Anberlin A toxic relationship of sorts. In that it shouldn’t be a relationship to begin with. Depicts the singer being approached by an ex, who seeks a one-night stand while her current boyfriend is out of town. However, the singer is aware that trying to continue anything regardless of the situation is a moot point: Even when they were together, their relationship was doomed from the start, and nothing about that is going to change -- especially now.

“Soviet Trumpeter” - Katzenjammer (It’s kinda difficult to work with this one but I’ve seen people work with less or stranger.) Based off the life of one Eddie Rosner, a Jewish Polish trumpeter whose fame within the USSR unfortunately faded due to the Soviet Union’s heavy censorship. Even if nothing is to be done with it, it still paints a melancholic picture of a talented man’s skills being largely unknown as a result of things beyond his control. All wrapped up in a song that denotes a strange deterioration in a way I can’t quite place.

“Apple Blossom” - The White Stripes On its face, it’s a very sweet song: The singer encourages his beloved to be vulnerable enough with him to tell him her troubles and to let him “sort them out for [her]”. She’s clearly saddened, and seeing so distresses him to where he insists that he will do whatever he can to make her happy. However, the tone of the song and certain lines make it easy to twist into yet another song of a character attempting to seduce somebody into a state of vulnerability . . .

“You’ve Got Possibilities” - It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Superman The one singular song people actually liked from this forgotten musical. Perfect for when somebody intends on giving somebody else a makeover. Y’know, after totally roasting them on their posture and clothing. If you want to add a lil something extra, know that the context is that a lady wants to give Clark Kent a makeover, insisting that in spite of his schlubby appearance, there’s gotta be something underneath. I repeat: She is telling this to Clark freaking Kent.

 “Still” - Anastasia In the context, the show’s antagonist (not bad guy, there’s a difference) finds himself torn between obligation and personal interest: Does he fulfill his duty and live up to expectations set upon him by his father and the society he’s been selected to help uphold? Or does he let a woman he has become fond of go? Is she truly as innocent as she claims? Or is she well aware of what she’s doing? And every time he thinks he’s reached a conclusion, he can’t help but thing, “But still . . .” Good for when you want to portray a character conflicted between obligations of politics and what their heart wants.

“Two Nobodies in New York” - [title of show] Two young men plan on entering an upcoming theatrical festival but struggle with what to even submit. This song in particular focuses on them trying to figure out what to even write, the concept of fame, and if wanting the certain things that may come with fame can mean anything from being sell-outs to getting a sitcom. It’s admittedly specific, but it’s a cute and funny interaction between two guys who are, for the most part, actually in sync with their thoughts and anxieties. For the time being.

“Into the Unknown” - Idina Menzel Look, I refuse to watch that movie. I just do. But I will take this song over That Other One any day. Mostly because I personally like to imagine that the singer in this song is about to embark on a Pixaresque journey after accidentally leaving her home during the night of The Wild Hunt, accidentally separating her spirit from her body and thus giving her a very limited time to get back to it before she remains a soul trapped in a whirlwind of ghosts forever. But first: Let’s sing about that strange howling that coaxes her so.

“You’re Gonna Go Far, Kid” - The Offspring I sure do long songs that can characterize a shithead . . . Anywho! The smoothest way to go is just to portray some cocky, manipulative shit who’s used to just lying and cheating their way to get what they want before slipping away without any consequences -- to a point. There’s the option of portraying the betrayer’s comeuppance, but there’s also the frustratingly delicious option of just letting them get away with whatever to lie another day.

“Why Should I Worry” - Billy Joel When in doubt, go to earlier Disney. Because like it or not, they had some bops. And when in the need of portraying a happy-go-lucky (probably idiotic) doofus and his more neurotic or cynical friend going about their life with the former just Mr. Magooing it while the latter suffers more realistic consequences? You go with this song. If you want. That’s just me.

“Transformation” - Brother Bear For when you want to invoke a mystical or otherworldly feeling. There’s really not much more I can say except to encourage you to listen to it and watch the scene if you can find it. You’ll get the vibe.

“No Girl’s Toy” - Raggedy Ann and Andy: A Musical Adventure It’s a big shame this movie is relatively unknown and never got a proper VHS release or anything -- mainly because the music in this cult classic is definitely stuff I could see becoming standards. I could see people performing “I Never Get Enough” for little shows, or recycling “Blue” for a different show. Thankfully, somebody was able to upload a clear enough sounding recording of “No Girl’s Toy”, so at least we have that. In context (just...follow me on this), Raggedy Ann’s brother, Raggedy Andy, has had enough of being subjected to “girly things” while in the nursery. Additionally, though, the way the song was written means it can also be interpreted as just a guy who refuses to let himself be yanked around regardless of how thick the sugar being laid on him is. . . . If you wanna poke fun as a character for trying to appear tougher than what he is, here’s the song. (That being said, Andy is a sweetheart at the end of the day. No amount of tough-fronting will hide that.)

“I Enjoy Being a Girl” - Flower Drum Song (It is by sheer coincidence that this song follows the above.) Really, it’s exactly what it says on the tin: The singer enjoys being a girl and what all it entails for her. She loves her feminine form, she loves the attention she gets, she loves dolling herself up, she loves frilly dresses, and she hopes to one day marry a guy who enjoys “having a girl like [her].” And honestly? Good on her! Love whatcha love, lovely! Seriously, though, it’s a cute song for anyone who just wants to indulge in some girliness.

“Chip on My Shoulder” - Legally Blonde Come on: It’s Legally Blonde. You know what this bop is, or at least have an idea of it. But since I love this song, I’ll indulge: Disheartened by her failure to both win back her ex and succeed in the fast-paced environment of Harvard, the normally bright-eyed Elle is ready to call it quits. That is, until junior partner Emmett gets involved. Unimpressed by her story, Emmett reveals that he got to where he was by busting his ass due to having a chip on his shoulder from his rough beginnings — and maybe a chip on the shoulder is exactly what Elle needs to survive. And as somebody driven by spite, I can appreciate that kind of message. Anywho, it all in all is a song about growth and learning how to be “driven as hell” to keep up with an opportunity that may not be easy to take, but is not one to be passed by.

“What Do I Need with Love?” - Thoroughly Modern Millie “What Do I Need with Love?” asks exactly that: He could date a different girl every night of the week if he so wanted, and never once had any desire to go steady before. He considers himself lucky to have never fallen for anyone -- until now. Which he’s not! He’s not in love. ...He totally is and, by his own admission, he’s got it bad it’s terribly adorable.

“Interlude IV” - Zach Callison The entire album is actually a narrative about a failed relationship of Callison’s and I’m sure the other songs are just as great fuel for animatics -- I’m just too caught up on listening to this one over and over. Sometimes, we just wanna listen to Steven Universe cuss and be openly furious. Seriously, though, even without the context of the rest of the story, you get the idea well enough: A spiteful Zach decides to get back at the one that broke his heart in such a painful way, whereas a well-meaning friend insists they just leave it be and move on. While this technically would be the better and healthier option, Zach is just too far gone with rage to let it go and decides to take care of things by himself.

“Evermore” - Beauty & the Beast Look, I know the remake wasn’t anything crazy. But also I don’t honestly care too terribly much. Besides, this song was nice and it really gets me after that key change. We all want a royal doofus to be enamored enough with us to let us go for our own happiness but still know that their life will forever be changed because they met us. Animate that shit. Over and over.

goddamn this list is long lemme just stop this now byyyyeeeee

[ilovelotsofthings]

So quick things. (Long post?)

I am writing this at midnight and this is about a trope? that I forgot the name of. It popped in my brain because I was thinking of Passerine and my au (which I am on anon so you don't know about it)

The Trope is basically you don't meet or don't really know each other (like friends and beyond) but will in another life.

I was thinking about it because I realized that I really like that trope even if it makes me sad.

I will also bring up other fandoms. Like Harry Potter.

Also it will also talk about reincarnation, the many soulmate tropes, this trope, my view of irl reincarnation (Like that I believe in it and such)

Passerine showed it with Tubbo and Tommy (and others) which made me really sad but then if you think of DSMP as their next life or one of their many lives after that you think that it was worth it in some way. (I don't think that was phrased right? What I mean is it is sad that You Know who died but in the next life at least he has friends.) There is something about knowing like even if these were ocs the fact that Tubbo wishes they could be friends in the next life (i think that is what he said. It is at least close enough) because they didn't know each other in the next life makes this sad story have hope for another life and future where they meet.

Next my Au. This is a Au that is Crimeboys focused and is about each life and how they meet. It is a soulmate au but with no markings. No one knows that they have soulmates. All soulmates are the people or people you meet in every life. So Wilbur and Tommy in this Au will always meet by the Max age of 14 for Tommy. Wilbur can be whatever age but has to be older. Why I brought this up is in one life (which this is kinda based on a post Belovedgamers(?) made with Eternal duo) where they meet on the opposites of the war. So in that life they got fucked over. Wilbur dies and as my au rules Tommy dies within 3 years. That is depressing but in many other lives they meet and become friends, brothers, father and son, etc. They are to always be together in life because that is what the Universe wants. Doesn't mean it will always be happy but there is also the next life. BTW this doesn't mean don't enjoy this life. That is bleak. I am saying enjoy what this life brings and what the next one brings. Rolling back to Passerine is P!Tommy had no friends and died at 15 C!Tommy had friends and fought in war and died at 16 and got revived and he is 17. Both lives are depressing in some ways but both lives had joy or something good in them.

Next up soulmate tropes with me talking about how it works and maybe doesn't work with this trope. (It is just 2 paragraphs)

That soulmate au where the last words your Soulmate tells you doesnt work for me. The reason is because that seems to be that world so they cycle of never knowing who your soulmate is and are trapped in a cycle of never finding out till they die ruins the joy of the main trope I am talking about. It makes me just sad because of that universe saying fuck you… this is why I dont read hurt no comfort.

Timer, First words to each other, my soulmate au where you don't know your soulmate, and anything similar. These soulmates work in varying degrees because you never know when you will meet or how so if you meet in war you either flee together or kill each other or hope to live till the end.

Harry Potter (I said I would bring it up) has lots of reincarnation fanfics but they deal with fics that I have read but never thought about. That is being born in a different time. How I feel that it works with this trope is because say you were Harry Potter but now your soul is in a time where you can befriend (fanfics have it where they remember but I am talking about not remembering) your godfather in another life because the last one never gave a real chance. It makes me happy in those fanfics (especially if the person remembers even though this is about something else) because there is a chance to know someone you never had in another life. Also Regulus (Sirius' brother who died at 17? and 2? years before Harry was born) being reborn into Harry gave him in the same lifetime as people he knew to learn and see the world anew. He also learns more about his brother. Like while they lived together for 14? years did they ever really know each other idk but it gives them a chance again.

This is what I would say is a little of my thoughts before real world talk that may be extensional but idk but probably.

I see reincarnation as not needing to do anything to get it. You just live and die and then maybe wait to reincarnate or just never leave heaven. It basically is just live your life, die and be reborn. You may sometimes have your memories but not always. It is just the same soul (which this leads into nature vs nurture which I don't really want to get into so TL;DR it is both you may be exactly the same or different but it is till the same soul) which leads to in another life that person you never got to know well you may meet in another life and be friends. This doesn't mean every life is great. I mean I have a great life I think now but that doesnt mean I will in the next life.

However I am conderary and like to think Heaven exists (or something similar ) as I would just like to see family, pets, those who haven't seen in decades (like my childhood friend who I haven't seen in a decade)

Going back to reincarnation (with the trope this post is supposed to be about :/) it kinda gives me some of the same comfort which is seeing each other again.

The thing with the trope is it is angst (I don't really like angst without comfort) and while I like angst this trope I shouldn't like it because there is no comfort most of the time (all of the time?) It just gives hope to many, many things like friends you never knew you could have had or friends you missed. There is just hope there that while it ends sadly there is hope for a life where they do meet. With soulmate aus + this au there is always that person who you will meet every time and while it won't work out every time you have someone who will be there in every life no matter how long

So basically I love this trope because hope of a next life where anything can happen

(Should I do more of my fav tropes and use examples of media I like and how I see it in the real world if I can)

[kayteewritessteve]

Love and War - Epilogue

Description: In a harsh medieval world, you set out on a perilous quest that will lead you onto a forbidden land. A land ruled and controlled by a ruthless Warlord King, one who does not look favourably upon trespassers of any kind, and punishes all with an iron fist. You may not know exactly where this quest will end, but what you do know is you will forever be altered by it. And that knowledge alone is what truly terrifies you the most.

Catch up HERE.

Word Count: 10,400 ish. Craaaap. I did it again.

Pairing: Medieval!Steve Rogers x Reader.

Rating: PG.

Warnings: Violence. Curse words. Mentions of fears and potentially brutal medieval tactics. Most likely more to come down the road. Please don’t let these warnings scare you too much, give the story a try before you judge it.

A/N: I sadly don’t own any of these characters. And no beta reader either, so I do proudly own all these errors and this story, so there’s that.

This is a ridiculous fluff-fest and far too much information, so be ready for that and this is your fair warning that this is a beast of a chapter. Ha! Pun intended. So I hope you enjoy lovelies! And thank you for reading, reblogging and loving this story so much. That means the world to me!

The morning sun shines in through the sheer window coverings, splaying a stream of the soft glow across your face. It’s not enough to blind you, but enough to rouse you. Slowly peaking open your eyes, you take in the world around you. The first thing that you notice is the warmth and pressure across your bare back, and waist. Steve, Alarick, Ari, it doesn’t matter which name you use, they all stand for your husband. The man you love more than anything, or anyone, on any plane. Your true Mate.

His large arm is draped across you, your bare back pressed up against the soft, yet firm, skin of his wide chest. You feel the involuntary smile spread across your lips as your reality sets in. You are snuggled up to the only man you love, your husband. This is right where you want to be, for eternity. This is exactly how you want to wake and meet the day, everyday.

You shift slightly, enough to glance over your shoulder to peer at the beautiful God resting peacefully behind you. Your movement causes him to tighten his hold just a little, pulling your smaller form closer to his as a result.

Your eyes move slowly across his relaxed features, his luscious eyelashes resting upon his high cheeks, his chiseled jawline, his strong nose and beautiful, fair completion. Finally landing on your favourite feature—at least when he is asleep and his eyes are closed—his pouty, plump lips that belong to you, and only you.

You take another moment just to stare, just to really take him in, in his entirety. You want to stay like this forever, truly you do, you want to stay wrapped up completely in these sheets, and warm limbs. But the day calls for you to meet it, the birds chirping, the sun shinning, the slight murmur of voices outside in the distance. With a content sigh you begin to slowly and gently untangle yourself from the man you love, and somewhat reluctantly begin to climb from the bed. Gently lifting the arm draped across you as you slip out from beneath it and then lay his upon the warm bed. You keep your eyes on him as you go, hoping you can escape without waking him. You both had a long, and wonderful, evening and he could probably use the rest.

He sighs slightly as he rolls to his stomach and buries his face among the pillows, but he doesn’t wake.

You tiptoe away softly and grab the silk rob from the floor where it had been discarded the evening before. Slipping it on as you move towards the bath room, relieving yourself quickly before returning to the main room. Your eyes land on the larger than life form of your husband, his wide, bare back on display as the sheets cover only the lower half of his body. Though one of his large legs is sticking out from it’s confines and his arms cradle the pillow beneath his head. The sight alone of him blissfully resting causes another smile to grace your lips.

The glorious sun shinning in catches your attention and you make your way towards the doors. Pulling one open as you step out onto the balcony that just so happens to overlook the garden you adore so much. The garden that, now that you have your memories back, you realize closely resembles the one you had in Mytikas. They have a striking resemblance to each other, and you are sure it was planned that way, entirely. You are positive Ari build these gardens as a way to give you a piece of home, to make you feel more at home here. Now that you remember, your reasoning behind loving the garden so much makes perfect sense. Even in your spellbound mind, something told you that the garden was safe, was familiar, was your sanctuary. You loved it even more now, as you recalled all the times you enjoyed your first garden. The very place you first officially met your Ari, after years of admiring him from afar.

You stepped through the stone archway into the little area of the heavens for which you called your own. The lovely floral scents lingered in the air around you, and you inhaled them deeply, allowing them to soothe you. This little space is where you felt the most at home, the most like yourself.

You built, grew and nurtured this little haven to be your place of refuge, your place to seek calm and inner peace. To acquire solace in your times of need. It was your sanctuary, among other things, and you relished every moment you spent here. Be it just taking in the beauty, sketching the flora and occasional passerine birds, and sometimes even enjoying the company of your closest confidants and friends.

Though that last one was few and far between, you didn’t like sharing your asylum with others. And if someone did enter this area without your consent, it was always just because they were seeking you out and knew exactly where you’d be hiding. But that didn’t happen often either, most knew to leave you be in this place. That if you were here, you didn’t wish to be disturbed.

But all of that changed on that crucial day, as you ventured deeper into your colourful haven, you noticed instantly that you weren’t alone there. Your ears perked up to a distinct scratching sound, one not foreign to your senses. One that could only be made by a pencil meeting stiff parchment.

You peeked around, curious, but more so slightly angered by whoever would dare to enter your haven, both uninvited and unannounced. You would gladly inform them of their impudent intrusion and lack of good sense. How dare someone encroach on your space? Who did they think they were, Athos?

As you quietly made your way towards the noise, using a large rose bush to hide you, you peeked out at the culprit. And the moment your eyes landed on him, you took a sharp intake of breath and quickly shifted back behind the bush, afraid he might have seen you.

He was the very last person you ever expected to have seen there, in that place of solace. But as you thought on it more, you realized that who better to seek refuge in a serene place such as that, than the God of War himself? If anyone should have been allowed to enjoy your haven, it should have been him. The many horrible things he had probably seen and endured, you couldn't even begin to imagine. That made a grip of sadness take hold on your heart, and all you wanted to do was go to him and comfort him in any way that you could.

But you didn’t know him, you had only ever admired him from afar. And admired him you had, to a great extent and for long periods of time. It was bordering on dastardly, if you were being honest.

You peered around the bush, allowing yourself a more thorough look at the man of your desires, the perfect male specimen for which you had fantasized and dreamed about more times than you’d have cared to admit, but yet the only being you’d feared approaching the most. You idolized him and all he’d accomplished, you held him in such high esteem and regard, that you feared he’d never live up to your imaginations of him. And speaking to him, in the flesh, would only have proved to disenchant your notions of the man behind the armour.

That and the fact that just being in the same area as him had always caused you to be a flustered, mumbling mess, and that was very much unlike you. You’d never gotten frazzled by anyone, let alone a man. You were the Goddess of Love, for crying out loud, enticing and rendering others to be attracted and drawn to you, was in your blood, your nature. It came naturally to you, sometimes even without your own knowledge.

But this man, this God, he disarmed you, and left you a powerless and pitiful version of yourself.

Your eyes drifted slowly over his large imposing form, drinking in the very sight of him. From his large thighs, to his broad shoulders, to his impressive arms and finally, the pièce de résistance, his eternal and unwaveringly beautiful face. His eyes that resembled a sea during a storm, his jaw that rivalled the sharp lines and strength of diamonds, his hair that resembled the golden hue of wheat on a summer's day, and finally his plump lips that left you breathless and longing to feel them upon your skin. He was perfection personified, and just being in his presence left you a weak, muddled mess.

You took a deep, shuttering and silent breath, then released it out slowly as you focused your attentions onto what exactly he was doing there. You’d noticed the sketchbook upon his lap, and the pencil clasped delicately in his hand, and then your eyes had drifted up and noticed the slight furrow in his brows, as if he had been entirely focused and lost in his actions.

The realization that he was an artist, such as yourself, was enlightening. To say the least. You never would have pegged him as such, he’d seemed far too brutish and masculine to ever have partaken in something so dainty and studious. You had clearly misjudged him, seen the cover and assumed you knew what the inside held. You’d never been more pleased to be proven wrong, and would happily take that as a life lesson to never judge a book by it’s cover. Especially where the God of War was concerned.

“Are you just going to stand there and stare, or are you going to come join me?” his deep, delectable voice dominated the quiet space. And had caught you completely off guard, you were sure you’d been as silent as a mouse? How had he heard you? He hadn’t even so much as glanced up at you yet, he just kept his eyes and focus on the parchment in his lap. You furrowed your brows, as a warm blush had taken over your cheeks. How embarrassing to have been caught gawking at him like a love-stuck teen. But what had given you away? How had he known you were there?

With a deep breath in, you stepped out from behind your hiding place and moved a little closer to him, keeping your eyes down in shame. “I apologize, Alarick, I didn’t mean to intrude upon you.”

You heard, more than saw, him shift, and your eyes slowly raised to peer through your lashes at him, noticing that he was looking directly at you. “I believe it is I who has intruded upon you. This is your sacred space, after all,” he stood and took small steps towards you. And your heart had skipped a beat at the close proximity to him. “I would apologize for outstaying my welcome, but I am not at all sorry for the ethereal beauty for which now greets me. Had I left earlier, I’d have truly missed out.”

Your traitorous heart had skipped another beat, and words seemed to have escaped you in that moment. You dropped your eyes to the ground again, as one of your free hands had come up to tuck some wayward tendrils of hair behind your ear. A nervous action for which you hadn’t partaken in, in a very long time. What was this man doing to you?!

Two feet entered your vision, as two warm fingers gently appeared under your chin, delicately lifting your face upward. You met his eyes and the warmth within them caught you off guard again. “Don’t hide from me, you have no reason to hide. You are Y/N, the Goddess of Love. You bring entire armies of men to their knees with just a look. You embody everything that is lovely, pure and powerful in this world. You evoke envy, desire, or longing from all beings, and therefore you bow to no one. You cower away from no one, especially me. It is I who should be bowing to you.” His eyes slowly traced your face, your every detail and feature, “you are a moon among mere stars, always remember that.”

You nodded dumbly, his words continued to leave you entirely speechless and dazed. That action was rewarded with a deep and sensual chuckle from the large God that had been before you. And without your consent, your eyes had dropped down to watch as his lips slowly quirk up into a seductive grin before meeting his eye once again. But luckily for you, his laugh had helped to free you from your frazzled state and you’d slowly taken a step back, clearing your throat as you did. “Thank you for your kind words, I shall keep them in mind for the future.”

“As I hope you do,” his grin only grew as he fully took in your obviously flustered state.

Changing the atmosphere suddenly seemed like a very smart idea indeed. You glanced passed him at the discarded sketchbook, “I didn’t know you enjoyed drawing. What were you working on?” You glanced back to him, curious as to the hidden depths of this man.

He glanced over his shoulder at the sketchbook then back to you, and you could see that the tables had turned and he was the nervous one all of a sudden. A large hand reached up to rub the back of his neck, “just something that captivates me.”

His cryptic answer had left you even more curious, you went to step around him to move towards the bench, gesturing to the book, “may I see?”

He quickly beat you to the bench and picked up the sketchbook, closing it and clasping it firming in his hand, at his side. “It’s not that great, and it’s done yet.”

“That’s alright,” you smiled encouragingly, “I understand. I don’t like to show my unfinished work either.” You took a seat on the bench and patted the spot beside you, “I was planning to draw as well, care to stay and keep me company? I promise not to look at your work until you choose to show me, but you must promise the same in return.”

He smiled and moved to sit beside you, “of course, and I promise.”

You both settled in, as a comfortable quiet filled the air and you focused on your individual pieces, you’d normally prefered to be alone when you sketched, but something about having Alarick there with you, left you all warm and fuzzy inside. You could have easily gotten used to that, he had such a calm presence about him, which was rather odd considering who he is, and what he stood for.

After a little while, a lingering question nagged to be asked. It really wasn’t that important, but once again, your curiosity had gotten the better of you. “Alarick?” You softly probed, easing you both out of the silence, gently. “May I ask you something?”

“Hmm?” He glanced up to meet your eyes, a small patch of his hair had fallen over his forehead as he did. “Of course.”

“How did you know I was watching you?” You raised a question brow at him.

He smiled, and it was the most beautiful thing you’d ever seen, “I’m not the God of War for nothing, I can always tell when someone is sneaking up on me.” His fingers brushed back the wayward strands as he lowered his head, and focused back on his sketch. And you believed that to be the end of his words, but then he’d whispered softly, as if the admission hadn’t actually been meant to be let out. “Plus it is nearly impossible for me to ignore your presence, no matter how hard I may try.” He sighed deeply, as if he was tirelessly weighed down by his revelation, “the very moment you enter a room, I am profoundly aware of it.”

“You are very open with your words, it’s rather refreshing,” you smiled, glad that courage was clearly another one of his traits, as without it, you’d have never learned how he felt.

“I have nothing to hide,” he shrugged. “At least not where it pertains to you.”

You placed a hand gently on his forearm, drawing his attentions back to you. “If it’s any consolation, I feel the same ways towards you. Your mere presence alone leaves me a babbling and flustered mess.”

He grinned, seemingly happy with your confession, “is that the reason for why you’ve never approached me before? Why we’ve never spoken so much as a single word to each other, until today?”

You nodded, “that’s my reasonings for it. Are they yours also?”

He chuckled, nodding his head, “yes, they are, among a few others, as well.”

“Such as?” You inquired, playfully.

He just gave you a playful look in return, “I can’t spill all my secrets at once, or else you’d have no reason to see me again.”

“Well, we can’t have that now, can we?” You giggled quietly.

“No, we can’t,” he adamantly shook his head. “Not now. Not when I’ve finally gotten my Moons attention.”

You felt the blush as it swept over your features, at the same time that you grinned like an insane person. “Well, the jest’s on you, because you always had it.”

That earned you a deep, booming laugh from the tower of a man near you. And from that day on, you no longer regarded your garden as your solitary sanctuary, you no longer loathed company within its stone walls—well, you no longer disliked the company of one person, and one person only. Because now your haven felt cold and lonely without the warm presence of the beautiful God beside you.

You both would meet every chance you got in that very garden, and it was on one of those many meetings that he presented you with the sketch he’d been working on that first day. And it turned out to be a stunning picture of you that he’d drawn mainly from memory. You cherished it immensely for centuries to come.

Then over the following time together you learned all about the man under the armour. And it goes without saying that you fell head over heels in love with him, even though you believe you’d loved him even before this pivotal day. And every one to follow only cemented that love so deep into your bones that nothing could eradicate it from your very being. And you feared that without your love for him, you’d become frail and shaky, and unable to stand under your own freewill or power.

Some might see a love this strong as a weakness, as a codependency that only stands to strip you of your vigor. But it was the polar opposite of that, he strengthened you, he completed you. He made you a more indestructible and resilient you.

Because who better to love so deeply and wholeheartedly, then the Goddess of Love herself? And who better to fortify and embolden, then the God of War himself?

You both stood to better the other in an unwavering way. A perfect match, one they’d write about for centuries to come. A love so deep and lasting that others would strive to attain even a mere sliver of it.

A feeling of warmth directly behind you brings you back to the present, just as two large hands slide around your waist and pull you flush against a solid form. Ari.

One of his hands begins to slowly move up the front of you, ghosting through the valley of your chest and coming to rest at your chin. Where he gently shifts your head a little to gain access to your neck, which you willingly give. Closing your eyes as you relax back into his larger form.

He presses a soft kiss on your shoulder, then on the seem of your neck, and then finally just below your ear, which causes a content sigh to leave your lips as a warmth spreads throughout your body. This man does things to you, exceptional and delicious things.

“Good morning, My Moon,” he murmurs softly against your skin. “You worried me when I woke up and didn’t find you beside me.”

You exhale, opening yours eyes and taking one final look at the garden he gifted you. Then you stand up straight and shift around to face him, wrapping your arms around his waste as his move up to rest around your shoulders. You take in a deep breath of the glorious smell that is known to you as just simply Ari.

“I’m sorry, My Love,” you lean forward as kiss the space between his bare pecs before resting your cheek upon his warm and solid chest. “I didn’t mean to worry you.”

His arms tighten momentarily around you, as if to assure himself that you are here and in his arms. “It’s okay, the view I was met with was well worth the worry,” he murmurs as he nuzzles into your neck.

You giggle quietly, because you know he is talking about you, standing on the balcony in only a small, thin silk robe, looking entirely sated and satisfied. “I’m glad you think so.”

“I don’t think so,” he quickly says, as his hands start to wander around your smaller form. “I know so.”

You smile to yourself at his words, and as much as you want to fall back into bed with this large soft man of yours, you know if you do that neither of you will leave this room the whole day through. So as hard as it is, you slowly detach yourself from his glorious embrace and glance up at him. Not missing the small pout now upon his lips, though you know he is only playing it up. “Now none of that,” you giggle, pointing at his lips. “We have much to do today, and if we start that now, we won’t leave this room till nightfall.”

“I don’t see anything wrong with that,” he grins, raising a brow at you. “Sounds like a perfect way to spend a day.”

“I would agree with you there, but you have work to do and I have a few things I need to see to, as well,” you say as you step around him and head back into your shared room. “Plus the ladies will be here soon to help me dress, I’d think them all very scandalized to walk in on that,” you grin over your shoulder at him as you venture over to the door to grab your breakfast.

With how things between you and Ari have been, you’ve barely left the room since you’ve been reunited, so your meals are brought up and left on a tray outside your room for whenever you are in a state to eat. Much like now, for instance.

You creak open the door to the hall, finding the tray directly outside it and pulling it into the room. Once you’ve brought it over to the couch, because you are smart enough to know that going anywhere near the bed will result in neither of you leaving this room today, you take a seat and place a napkin on your lap. Then once settled you glance over at your husband who is still standing on the deck, but with his back to you as he also admires the view, “hungry, darling?”

He chuckles and turns to face you, before he slowly makes his way over to you,. “I am, but not for food.” The grin on his face is the cheekiest thing you’ve ever seen, and you’ve known this man for centuries.

You snort, which is very unladylike but you can’t help it. “You’re insatiable, and that’s saying a lot coming from the Goddess of Love,” you laugh and shake your head as you focus back on the food in front of you. Trying your damnedest to not look at his half naked form or that sexy grin too long, as you know if you do, all reasonable thought will escape you and you will gladly agree to anything he desires. Without so much as a second thought.

“Only where you’re concerned. I just always want to have my hands all over you,” he sits down beside you on the couch, his large, warm body right up against your smaller one. “I still can’t believe you’re here. And I’m not ready to share you just yet, let alone have you leave my side,” he sighs then grabs some food and places it on a plate for himself.

You frown a little at his words, you can’t imagine all he went through while you were missing. You were lucky enough to have slept through the whole thing, then when you finally did rise, you remembered nothing. Ari didn’t have that luxury, he felt and lived through the whole ordeal. He knew you were gone, he missed you deeply, and beat himself up for not only losing you, but for his inability to find you. That couldn’t have been an easy place for anyone to be, let alone the God of War himself.

You place a hand on his forearm, drawing his attention to you, “I know, My Love, and I’m so sorry for all that you had to endure,” you hesitate, wondering if you should move forward with your line of thought. You’d avoided this topic all week for fear it would sully the mood. And because you weren’t entirely ready to hear it, as you just wanted to focus on being with Ari and living in that moment, fully and entirely. But your curiosity always wins out eventually. “Will you tell me about it? About how it all came to pass, for you?”

He sighs, side eyeing you for a second while he finishes chewing his food and then he sets his plate down. Reaching over for you, he tugs you gently into his lap, and you end up straddling his hips. But you aren’t at all surprised, you figure he needs to be touching you entirely in order to relive this story.

Your hands wrap around his neck, and you bury your fingers into his hair, stroking the soft strands languidly to help put him more at ease.

He sighs again, but in content this time, before he murmurs, “where do I even start?”

You figure it’s less a question for you, and more him trying to build himself up, but answer it anyways. “Start with your talk with Athos.”

He shakes his head, chuckling softly, “he was livid. Beyond so, actually. But his opinions on us or our union hold no weight with me. We fought, and in the end I informed him that it was done and you were mine, and nothing he said mattered. Then I left and went back to your room,” he trails off and you lean forward to kiss his forehead.

He gives you a small smile, his hands aimlessly rubbing your back, as he leans forward and places a quick, chaste kiss upon your lips. “When I returned, you were nowhere to be found,” he takes a shuttering breath, just the memory alone clearly hurting him immensely. “I searched for you, I ripped the Heavens apart to find you. And when that endeavour proved fruitless, I fell from the Heavens and began to tirelessly search the mortal plane. Harlin, Premala, and The Graces came with me. They had all helped in my scouring of Mytikas, and they all chose to fall with me in my pursuit of you.“

A wave of immense love crashes over you, these 6 people of whom mean the world to you, all chose to leave behind their lives to find you. To search for you. You’ve never felt more loved, or cherished then in this exact moment. And that’s saying something with the sweet and romantic man currently below you, who never ceases to go out of his way to show you just how much you mean to him.

“We spent centuries looking for you,” he glances around slowly, “this kingdom started as merely a base camp. Somewhere to reconvene and plan a new course of action after our most recent efforts had failed. It was just a few small structures and tents in the beginning.” He looks back to you, “after a few centuries, we figured more permanent dwellings would be smart. So we build this castle and everything around it followed in the coming years. I was reluctant to build this place at first, I wasn’t ready to admit that I still hadn’t found you, and that I might never find you. Putting up permanent walls meant I’d failed, meant I knew I’d continue to fail you. I wasn’t ready for that,” he cups your cheek, rubbing his thumb over your cheek bone. “But Premala beat it into me that when we did find you, because we would, that you’d need somewhere to return to. That you’d need a home to call your own, because returning to Mytikas wasn’t really an option anymore. Not with Athos’ outrage for our union, and Hepha’s scheming. It wouldn’t have been safe to return. So I finally conceded and we began to build the next day.”

You smile, “how did the Lycans come to be?”

Steve chuckles, “that’s actually a funny story. I was out searching one day, and had stumbled upon a pack of wolves. They hadn’t noticed me, and I proceeded to watch them, I ended up watching them for weeks and noticing how they worked together. How they tracked and hunted their prey as a team, how they had a hierarchy that they respected deeply. It gave me an idea, but I just needed help executing it. So I summed Amaris for help, I told her of my idea and she jumped at the chance to help. She’d been worried by the news of your disappearance and with every passing century she also grew more and more distraught, by the lack of progress. She couldn’t help in the search efforts herself, but she gifted me the army I needed. She created and gave life to the very Lycan that builds up this kingdom. They are immortal, they never age, and if left alone they will walk this plane for eternity. However, all powerful things need a weakness of some sort, or they would stand to destroy the balance. So they can be killed by force, but it’s not an easy feat and most would never even be able to get close to beating a Lycan in battle. Let alone killing one. They are truly the perfect soldiers,” he chuckles. “She then transformed myself, Harlin, Premala and The Graces into Lycans as well, so we could not only keep up with them, but also control them and partake in the mind link that they all shared.”

You smile, at both the story and the thought of Amaris, The Goddess of the hunt, the forests and mainly the Moon, helping in Ari’s efforts to find you. She is a dear friend to you, more like a sister and it warms your heart to know she jumped at the chance to aid in the search efforts. Even if not with her own body, but instead with her gifts, the point still stands. “How is Amaris? Does she know you’ve found me?”

“She is good, from what I hear,” he smiles, “Premala sent word to her that you’d finally been found, unharmed and well. She sends her regards and well wishes. And plans to visit us soon,” he grins widely, “once we get our centuries worth of ‘carnal needs’ are out of the way, and are actually willing and available for company.” He shakes his head, mirth dancing in his eyes, “Her words, not mine.”

You laugh at that, she knows you both so well. “She would say something like that.”

The laughter dies down and only one part still sits unanswered in your mind, “and what of the amnesia?”

Those words kill the mirth in his eyes, making way for an overwhelming pain and regret to take hold. Your fingers continue to stroke his hair, shifting yourself a little closer to him and resting your cheek upon his shoulder, in every effort to comfort him.

He sighs and his arms tighten around your waist, “after so long of searching for you, and all my efforts coming up empty. I couldn’t take it anymore, I was becoming hopeless and distressed. I started to get more snappy with everyone, I hardly stopped searching, barely slept, and could not focus on anything other than finding you. I had horrific mood swings, and had slowly become more and more violent with everyone around me. But I refused to listen to anyone, not even Harlin.” He shakes his head, “it wasn’t until I’d almost killed an entire innocent village that I finally saw how far I’d fallen. I couldn’t continue on the way I was, but I couldn’t give up on finding you either.” He leans back slightly and you do the same, he cups your cheeks, holding you still as his eyes drift all over your face. After a moment of that, he leans forward and kisses your lips sweetly, before resting his forehead on yours. “So Premala set out to track down a powerful sorcerous that she’d heard about in her travels. We weren’t sure if she was real or merely a legend, but she managed to track down the coven that she hailed from and learned she’d vanished centuries earlier. However, there were two other witches that had nearly the same powers as Medea. One of which was her daughter, who had also disappeared around the same time that Medea did—“

You lean back abruptly, cutting him off, “Wanda.”

He nods, “yeah. The other was Medea’s apprentice, a woman by the name of Maria. Premala was able to gain an audience with her, and told her of our story and the issues that were arising because of it. And Maria offered to help, though she asked for a favour in return.”

“What was it?” You hesitantly ask.

“Nothing bad, My Moon,” he soothes, rubbing your back. “I just had to swear on the lives of every one of my Lycans that we’d never harm a single witch, unless they attacked us first. We were to keep them safe and protected for eternity. We agreed to her terms and she casted the spell to make every one of us forget. Though I didn’t want to entirely give up on you, I requested that she give me some sort of way to recognize you. Some sort of queue to tell me you were important to me, and some way to allow me to continue to search for you. Yet it wouldn’t become my only thought.”

“Mates,” you say slowly, piecing it all together in your mind.

“She created the Mates bond for all Lycans, as a thank you for the years of service my Lycans would dedicate to protecting her kind. That was easy for her to do, by tapping into the souls of each Lycan and linking them. However, as Gods, we don’t have souls. So she came up with an idea to make it work for us. And thanks to the help of one of your dresses, that Premala had used to give the Lycans your scent. Maria was able to use your scent to link us, so as soon as I picked up on your smell, it would trigger the ‘Mates Bond’. But we needed something to break the spell once we finally found you, a way to return all the memories to us. A word that would act as the key.”

You nod, softly saying, “my nickname for you.”

He nods back, “yes, I figured when I did finally find you, that you’d likely call me that right away. Then the spell would be broken and all would be returned.” He shakes his head now, a quiet growl rumbling in his chest, “I never expected Hepha to have wiped your memories as well. If you hadn’t managed to get them back, the spell never would have been broken.” He furrows his brows and looks deep into your eyes, “I can’t imagine never remembering our lives before. The first time I saw you, the day we met, and all the days to follow.” His hand caresses down your head, and to the ends of your hair, where he proceeds to twist a small section of your hair gently around his finger, as he watches the action closely. Then his eyes flick to yours, “I’m so glad you remembered. I’m so glad you freed us all, but most importantly, I’m so glad that you found me. All the years I searched for you, and in the end, it was you who rescued me.”

You smile, leaning forward to press a loving kiss to his lips, “I’ll always rescue you, My Love. Just as I know you’d do for me.”

“Without even a second thought,” he murmurs, pulling you into him more.

You give in to his whims for a moment before pulling back abruptly, “wait, but why the name changes?”

He chuckles, “we figured it would be a little odd to keep the Godly names. And if I kept mine, we ran the risk of someone else shortening the name and accidentally breaking the spell. I didn’t want a single other person calling me Ari, not until you did. So I opted for the name change, and the others just decided to follow suit,” he shrugs.

“Makes sense,” you smile sweetly, “but mark my words, if another ever calls you Ari, I may have to borrow Premala’s alter ego, Dabria, for a day or two.” You warn half playfully and half honestly.

This elicits another deep and glorious laugh from the man below you, “don’t worry, My Moon. No other would dare call me that, unless they wished to have the wrath of two Gods thrust upon them.” He kissed the tip of your nose, “Your nickname for me is safe, and only for your lips.”

You giggle, but just as you are about to speak a knock on the bedroom door kills those words in your throat.

“Well, looks like they found us,” you giggle as you climb off Ari’s lap and fix your robe. But before you can say anything more, Alarick stands and shields your half naked form from the door with his own.

“Come in,” he says gruffly. Clearly cranky for the interruption.

Harlin opens the door and locks his eyes on Alarick, not glancing around the room at all. You figure it’s to make sure he doesn’t see you in whichever level of dress you may currently be in. “Sorry to bother you, Alarick. But we need you to see to a few pressing matters.”

Ari nods, “okay. I’ll just get dressed and meet you in my office.”

“Thank Gods,” Harlin sighs out quietly. But you don’t miss it. “I don’t know how to do this every day, dealing with all these whiney people and their bullshit is fucking exhausting,” he adds in a mumble before shaking his head and leaving the room, closing the door behind him softly.

You and Ari lock eyes and then burst out laughing. “The poor baby,” you say in a mocking coo, shaking your head. “One week and he is already fed up.”

Your husband chuckles, “he is going to be so angry when I inform him that I am relinquishing half of my duties to him and Premala.”

“What?” You freeze, wide eyed and gaping, “you are?”

He smirks and steps towards you, gently closing your dropped jaw with his fingers under your chin, then kisses you on the top of your head. “I am. I threw myself into all the work as a distraction, even without realizing that’s why I was doing it. But now that I have you back, I want to have some free time to get to actually be with you. So Premala and Harlin will take over to help rule the kingdom, and allow me more time to do other,” he gives you a full once over, “more important things.”

You giggle, blushing deeply at what he just implied. It doesn’t matter how many centuries you spend with this man, or how many nights you find yourself tangled up in him, or how many times he compliments or flirts with you. Your reactions to him never change, they never cease. He will never fail to fluster and frazzle you, and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

But right now, you both have things to attend to, so you gently push him away, pointing a stern finger at him. “Keep those hands, eyes and compliments to yourself, Mister. Now go get dressed, no more distracting me.”

He smirks, putting his hands up in submission, “fine, fine. But I make no promises about my eyes, those have a mind of there own,” and as if to prove his point, they drift languidly over your whole form. “They are completely out of my control.”

You gasp playfully, pretending to be scandalized as you try to cover yourself more with your flimsy silk robe. “How dare you, Sir! I am a lady! And I am shocked and appealed by your wandering eyes!”

He laughs but it quickly makes way for a possessive and slightly dark glint to fill his eyes, “oh, I’m well aware that you’re a lady, and I can show you exactly how I know that fact, if you’d like?”

And before you can even blink he playfully lunges towards you to grab for you. You shriek and quickly dodge he incoming hands, as you run to the bath room and slam the door in his face, throwing the latch in place quickly.

His glorious laugh filters through the door. “This puny door won’t protect you from me, My Moon. I could huff and puff, and blow this thing down, in mere seconds.”

“But you won’t,” you quickly interject. “Because you have to get dressed. Very important matters to attend to, and what have you.”

He chuckles once more, “you are correct. You are safe for now, but later tonight is a different matter entirely.”

“Then I shall look forward to tonight.”

After a few minutes of hiding in the bath room, the sound of your door opening and closing signals that the coast is clear. You quietly open the door and peek out, noticing that you are, in fact, now alone in the room. You exhale a deep breath and venture out into the main room, but just as you do, an abrupt cluster of knocks make you jump.

You pull the robe tighter around you, “Come in.”

The door creaks open and then 3 faces you’d recognize anywhere appear before you. The 3 Graces, your handmaidens and closest confidants—Well, besides Premala.

The 4 of you just stand there, silently staring at each other, but after a moment the 3 ladies surge forward and engulf you in a warm and tight embrace. The abrupt impact causes a boisterous and joyful laugh to rip from you, as tears well up in your eyes.

“We missed you so much,” Aalin or Pepper says, leaning back to take you in.

While Edden, or Hope, wipes the stray tears from her eyes, and affirms Aalins sentiments, “so much.”

You giggle as you notice that Tyranna or Hilde is still wrapped around you, refusing to release you from her death grip. She glances up at you from your place, and warns, “if you ever vanish on us like that again, there will be hell to pay.”

You shake your head, chuckling a little more at her attempt to be stern and menacing. “I promise to never disappear again,” you kiss the top of her head, “well, as much as I can promise given that it wasn’t my choice to leave in the first—“

“Shh!” she cuts you off. “Let’s just leave it as you will do your best to keep that promise.”

“Of course,” you grin down at her as she finally detaches from you. You take a moment to just look over the 3 beautiful women before you, “I’m so sorry I didn’t recognize you three.” You sniffle as a wave of guilt overcomes you, wiping away the few fallen tears.

“You owe us no apologies, Y/N,” Aalin starts, moving forward to grasp your hand in hers. “We didn’t recognize you either. We were all under spells to forget.”

“Yes,” Edden nods in eager agreement, taking your free hand in her own, “it is no ones fault. The point is we all remember now.”

“And we will never forget again,” Tyranna finishes vehemently, as she finishes the link by taking Aalins and Eddens hands in her own, and creating a full circle.

You smile, your heart feeling so full thanks to the three lovely, and amazing women before you. “I can’t believe you all fell for me. I can never thank you enough.”

“And we’d do it again in a heartbeat,” Aalin affirms and the two others nod in agreement.

“Okay, no more tears,” Tyranna says, “let’s get you dressed.”

And with that, the three ladies set out to prepare you to meet the glorious day.

Just as the girls are finishing up there is a knock on your door, Edden goes to open it and finds Sam standing behind it. He smiles at the ladies, who quickly say their goodbyes, giving you a few final hugs and then they take their leave. Sam steps back to allow them out of the room and then he steps in, giving you a glorious, toothy smile. “Ready to finally get out of this room?” He asks cheekily.

And you can’t help it, you snort loudly at that. “I am. It will be nice to properly stretch my legs, and make sure you haven’t burned half the castle down in our absence.”

He scoffs, “that was one time! And it was only a set of drapes.” He crosses his arms, “really ugly drapes if I’m being honest, so I did this kingdom a service.”

You burst out laughing, Ari having told you the story of the day Sam nearly burnt the castle to the ground. “I heard it was an entire hallway,” you correct as you make your way towards the door.

He snorts, as he opens the door for you. “Well it’s not my fault they chose to have drapes decorate the whole length of the hallway. That’s just poor planning,” he laughs, shaking his head.

“I’d have paid good money to see your face as all of that was happening,” you laugh at the thought of it, as you both start to make your way down to the garden. Since being here, you no longer held this immense need to keep the gardens entirely to yourself. They had actually become a place of gathering, where you’d go and normally find others, or where they’d find you. You shared your sanctuary now, with all the people you love and care for.

“It was a rather funny day,” he concedes, “though I was sure Ste—“ he abruptly cuts himself off, groaning, “sorry, Alarick.” He shakes his head, “I was sure he was going to pop a blood vessel that day. And I’ve never seen,” he hesitates again, “Harlin, laugh so hard in my life. He’s never let me live that down, even to this day.”

“And I don’t think he will either,” you agree through a giggle. “You know, you don’t have to correct their names, right? We all know that you’ve known them almost exclusively as Steve and Bucky. No one will be offended if you continue go call them as such, and that we will still all know exactly who you are referring to, when you do.”

He nods, “I’m trying to get with the new names, but it’s hard. I spent centuries calling them those names,” he sighs, “not an easy thing to change after so long.”

You lay a gentle hand on his forearm as you both head down the stairs. “I know, and we all understand that. They aren’t bother by being called those names, and they still have moments where they call each other by the different ones. It will take time, but I like to believe both names are theirs now. They mark two very different and important times in their lives, and both of those personas deserve recognition for that.”

He nods, placing his hand over yours and squeezing gently. “Thanks, Y/N.”

“Anytime,” you smile up at him. “So how have you been?”

He grins, “amazing, actually.”

The silence that follows his admission leaves you curious, “care to elaborate on that?”

“I found my mate,” he says casually but the words cause you to halt your steps, forcing him to as well.

“What?!” You gap, wide eyed at him, “really?! But how?!”

His smile only grows, “after the almost battle against Hepha, a few of us were sent out to track down Brock. When we got to the town Hepha had essentially taken over by force, we tracked down Brock and along the way I stumbled upon her.”

“That’s wonderful news, Sammy!” You squeal in excitement, bouncing on the spot before lunging at him to give him a hug for which he returns. “I’m so happy for you! Where is she now?” You pull back to look up at him.

“She is here, but she isn’t a Lycan. So it is slow going, she isn’t sure how she feels about me just yet, but she knows she is drawn to me in some way. So only time will tell if she accepts me or not,” he shrugs nonchalantly but you can tell it’s a sore spot for him. You can’t imagine the feeling of rejection when a Mate doesn’t share your same feelings in return. Not that you are even fully aware of the extent of the Mate Bond to a Lycan, to begin with.

“If you want me to talk to her, I’d be more then willing,” you offer, starting to walk again.

“Really?” He looks down at you, eyes wide, “you’d do that for me?”

You scoff, “like that’s a surprise. You know I’d do anything for you, you nincompoop. If she wants to hear about all of this from another outsider, I’d be more than willing to tell her my side of the experience and help teach her all about Lycans, and their Mates.”

He grins, nodding his head slowly. “Thanks, Y/N. I’m sure that would help her immensely, and in turn would greatly help me.”

“No sweat,” you shrug, “so wait, you guys found Charandas?” You shake your head then quickly correct yourself, “sorry, you know him as Brock.”

“We did,” he nods, as you both reach the bottom of the stairs. “He is being held in the dungeon for questioning at the moment. Steve wants to find out where he stands on all of this, and if his loyalties to Hepha will cause him to seek him out and free him. As Brock is also a God, he can’t be killed either. So Wanda is on standby just incase we have to lock him away with Hepha.”

You nod, “that reminds me, how is Wanda? And Pietro?” You haven’t seen them since they vanished with Hepha on that pivotal day. “Are they well?”

You both make your way down the bright, windowed hallway, the final step before you enter out into the garden.

“They are well,” he informs, but just as you make your way outside his head gestures to something before you and you furrow your brows in confusion. “But I’ll let them elaborate on that themselves.”

At his words your eyes flick forward and land on your two siblings, standing among the lush flowers. You gasp and instantly release Sam’s arm, bolting forward to wrap them in a hug. It may have only been a week without them, but you missed them both dearly.

They both embrace you back, and after a few moments you all pull away. “How are you both?” You ask eagerly, your eyes moving back and forth between the two siblings. “Did anything exciting happen while I was hidden away?”

“We are good,” Wanda smiles, glancing over at Pietro.

The aforementioned nods and adds, “we are settling in well here. We returned home after locking Hepha away and packed up the house. Then we had everything moved here.”

Wanda nods, “yes, so all your things are here as well. We had them put in your old room, since we didn’t want to disturb you.” She wiggles her eyebrows suggestively and laughs, and you join her.

“A week is hardly long enough to make up for centuries lost, but I was starting to get a little stir crazy being locked away for so long,” you chuckle. “You’d think with being eternal and all, that a measly week would seem like mere seconds to me. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. I guess all that time being locked away made me truly cherish the passing of it, in a completely new way.”

“That’s understandable,” Pietro agrees. “We all spent a very long time waiting for you to be freed. I guess we will all see time differently now.”

“And Hepha?” You question hesitantly, “he is gone for good now?”

“Yes,” Wanda nods, “he is locked away where no man or God will ever find him. I made sure of that.”

You hug Wanda and Pietro again. “I can’t thank you both enough for all you’ve done, and will continue to do, for me. I wouldn’t be here right now if it wasn’t for the two of you.”

“You don’t owe us any praises, Y/N,” Pietro starts, “we’d gladly make the same choices again and again, if it meant helping to free you. We both waited a very long time to be allowed to accomplish that task, and we feel blessed that we were given that distinct role in your life.”

You sniffle, his words impacting you greatly. You will never be able to understand how you got so blessed to be surrounded by such wonderful and beautiful people, but you won’t question it. You will just hang on to them for dear life and pray they are with you always. “Can I ask what happened to Medea?”

Wanda gives you a small smile as she leads the three of you over to a bench, and you notice now that Sam has vanished, must likely giving the three of you time and space to talk. Once you are all seated, Wanda begins to fill you in on their part in all of this.

“Once Hepha got what he needed from her, he killed her to ensure that no one aside from him and Charandas knew your whereabouts.”

You frown, you’d figured something like that had happened to her, but you’d hoped your thoughts were wrong, though now you know they weren’t. “I’m so sorry—“

“It’s not your fault,” Wanda cuts you off, scolding you just a little.

“Our mother was many things,” Pietro starts, grasping one of your hands. “But an oblivious victim was not one of them.”

Wanda nods, “as hard as it is for us to speak about it, she was wise beyond her years. Hepha didn’t even understand the true extent of her powers, he had only seen the surface of what she possessed. And she had known many years before he arrived, that he was coming. She knew her exact path in all of this, and she was well aware of the Fate that would befall her when it was all said and done.”

Pietro sighs deeply, “we begged her not to go through with it at first. To just run away with us and not allow the Fates to decide how her life should end.” He shook his head, “but she refused, and told us over and over again that, ‘this is all part of the prophecy, the Fates have chosen this path for us all and this is exactly as it should be,’ and that going against Fate won’t save us. It will just prolong the inevitable, but that to follow their plan willingly is a choice in and of itself. We could either cower away from our destiny, or embrace it with open arms and accept the true role we played in this life.”

“She was a very insightful woman,” you muse. “I may have only had the pleasure of meeting her once, but she left a beautiful impression on me that will never cease or waver.”

“She was a wonderful mother,” Wanda affirms. “Before she left to help Hepha, she passed most of her powers on to me, so that they wouldn’t be lost to her death. We didn’t realize at the time, but she had also linked us to you. So when she spelled you to forget, we forgot everything as well, and had no idea about any of this. We lived under the notion that we were orphaned and waiting till I could handle my powers before we settled down. But it turns out, I was just spellbound to protect us and we basically sat in limbo for centuries, until it was our time to rescue you.” She smiles at you, grasping your hand tightly in her own, “I believe she made us forget her and our lives before, so that we wouldn’t miss her. At least not till we had you in our lives and had someone else to look out for us and love us. I believe she did it to ease our grief and mourning.”

You nod, squeezing her hand in reassurance, and doing the same to Pietro’s hand that is still clasp in your other. “I believe that wholeheartedly.”

You pull them both into a hug and then the three of you proceed to lighten the mood, spending a few hours catching up and just being in each others presence. It felt like ages since the last time you’d just hung out with your siblings. And yes, you knew they weren’t your actual siblings, but regardless of blood, they would always be family to you. And you’d cherish them as such for centuries to come.

The sound of someone clearing their throat draws your attention away from the siblings and places it upon Sam, now standing a few feet away. “Sorry to interrupt the family reunion, but it’s nearing dinner time and I figured you’d all like to prepare for it.”

You gasp, “is it really that late already?” You glance between Wanda and Pietro, who both seem just as shocked by the fact that you’d spent an entire day in the garden together. My, how the time flies when you’re having fun.

“It is,” Sam chuckles at your bewildered states. “I can walk you all up to your rooms, if you’d like?”

“That’s quite alright, Sam,” Wanda smiles at him. “We’ve hogged up enough if her time. She’s all yours now,” she grins over at you, causing you to giggle. You say your goodbyes to the siblings, promising to spend more time like this with them. Now that life was calming down and levelling out, you could go back to some of your normal ways.

You part ways with them and begin to venture back to your room. The second they are out of sight, you can instantly tell Sam is bursting at the seems, so you simply open the door and allowed the flow of excitement out. Asking him to tell you more about his Mate, and that simple question propels him into a long and glorious monologue entirely about her, Elizabeth, and everything he knew of her thus far. You could barely contain your excitement for him, hanging on his every word.

And the fact he was telling you all about his Mate, wasn’t lost on you. You remember the talk you’d both had about Mates, and how sacred they truly were, and how it was improper and against the rules to even ask about them.

So the fact Sam was openly telling you of her, was more telling than any words could ever be. He trusted you, he saw you as a close enough friend to happily and thoroughly tell you all about his Mate. That alone made you again feel warm all over. Today had just been such an eye opening day for you, you’d had many revelations and taken in a bunch of new information. All the gaps in your story were now filled and you could start moving on from everything that had happened to you and the ones you love. You could finally find true peace, and live out your eternal life happily and surrounded by so many amazing people, with whom you loved so truly and deeply.

It was a lucky thing then that you just so happened to be the Goddess of Love, and had more than enough to go around.

You both reach your new bedroom door, and say your goodbyes, you congratulating Sam on his wonderful Mate. She sounds absolutely perfect for him, and you are so overjoyed for them to have finally found each other. Sam deserves the world, and you’d give it to him if you could. Before Sam leaves, he promises that someone will be up to retrieve you soon for dinner. Then with a final hug, he ventures off to places unknown, as you turn to push open the door that leads into the room you share with your husband.

And the moment the door is fully open you gasp, a hand raising to cover your mouth in astonishment.

Everywhere your eyes land, there are candles.

Hundreds and hundreds of candles, all flickering away in the quiet dim of the room. Flower pedals covers the floors and surfaces of all the furniture. The fireplace is lit and roaring, the crackling of burning wood punctuating the soft silence. There is a silver rolling tray with a few covered dishes, and some drinks. And in the middle of all of it, stands your one true Love.

And clutched in his hands is a bundle of freshly picked flowers, all of your favourites. Your heart melts at the sight before you, and before you can even think better of it, you are surging forward and leaping into his arms. Your arms and legs clasp around his neck and waist, respectively. And his wrap firmly around your waist, catching you with an effortless ease that you’ve grown accustomed to. But that has yet to cease in amazing you.

You bury your face in his neck, inhaling his delicious scent before you murmur against his skin, “I love you with all that I am.”

He tightens his hold on you, “and I love you with all that I possess.”

And in this moment, you know without a shadow of a doubt, that is his exactly where you’re meant to be. And that you will love this man for eternity, because he is your everything. Just as you are his.

He may be the God of War, and you may be the Goddess of Love, but two hearts were never more perfectly matched. Were never more destined for one another. You may not have souls, but you’d be damned if you didn’t acknowledge that you were both, in fact, true soulmates.

And now all that was left to do, was live out your eternity with your Love, your Mate, your husband.

Your Ari.

**The End**

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

@caps-lockdown @tfandtws @boxofteenageideas @wangdeasang @giggleberts @casuallydarktiger @theonelittleone @agentbadbitch @ratwrites @starrystellars @bandsandanimefreak @rockyroadthepastryarchy @lovvliies @cuffski @icesoccerer @alwaysright4 @lilsthethrills @steeeeverogers @zombiepotterfour @ledandan1244 @straightforwardly @denzmallows @xremember-me-notx @gwynethjodie @lollipopdomination @capstopavenger @jemimah-b99 @rcvenqers @justkending @alagalaska @silent-loucidity @sabertooth-potato @pies-wands-and-more @interstellarmess @gabriella69816 @phantom-soilder @wordlesscaptain @captain-hammer-of-asgard @starstucknature @viarogers @pixieferry @kaithezaftig @the-kinkiest-goblin @hysterically-original @heyiamthatbitch @zlixlle @capsicledoll @givemehopenfandoms @pretendingandpreposterous @frozen-phoenix17 @emotionallysalty @atomicsludgedonutbiscuit @saturngirlz @ivannagotthebeat @bohemian-barbie @marvelous-capsicle @ivoryhazlewood @steverogersxreader @cjhorseback @secondstar2disney @jessiedaeum @betsynodak @sister-of-stars @wiserebelpartypie @patzammit @cs-please @troublermalik @moonlightimagination

[a-dinosaur-a-day]

I highly recommend having this survey open on your browser, doing research, and filling it out slowly. Because, birds. 

Palaeognaths

The first major division of modern birds (all the rest are Neognaths). Includes the Moa, Elephant Birds, Tinamous, Emus, Rheas, and Lithornithids. Casuarias and Struthio are ineligible, so don’t write in any Cassowaries or Ostriches. 

Highlights include the Kiwi, an adorable small with a long snoot; Aepyornis, the largest Neornithean known; the Emu, who has one of the funniest ways of running; and Lithornis, an extinct flying member of the group. 

Galloanserans 

The earliest derived group of Neognaths. Includes Gastornis & the very similar Dromornithids, Geese, Screamers, Ducks, Swans, Curassows, Guans, Megapodes, Partridges, Quails, Junglefowl, and Pheasants. Genera Pavo and Gallus are ineligible, so don’t write in any peafowl or the four junglefowl under Gallus (which includes the chicken). 

Highlights include Gastornis, which was actually a large herbivore rather than a super predator as thought; Vegavis, one of the earliest well-known Neornithes, being from the Cretaceous; Hooded Merganser, the duck with the very large crest that is quite impressive; and the Blue-billed Curassow, confirmed Friend and Curly Man. 

Caprimulgiformes & Opisthocomiformes

These two groups aren’t actually closely related, I just had to stick Opisthocomiformes somewhere. Caprimulgiformes include Oilbirds, Owlet-Nightjars, Frogmouths, Nighthawks, and Nightjars. Opisthocomiformes include Hoatzin. Genera Nyctibius and Opisthocomus are ineligible, so no potoos or the only modern Hoatzin. 

Highlights include the Satanic Nightjar, which looks exactly like you’d expect; the Tawny Frogmouth, who almost looks like a potoo if you squint; the Oilbird, which has some of the weirdest and spookiest eyes; and Hoazinoides, an extinct Hoatzin with feet like that of an owl. 

Apodiformes

Swifts, Treeswifts, and Hummingbirds. Nothing is ineligible. All are precious.

Highlights include the Bee Hummingbird, the smallest dinosaur known to science; the Common Swift, which looks like a boomerang; Eocypselus, an early relative of all these groups; and anything of the genera Sappho and Lesbia, which are the best genus names I’ve ever heard of.

Columbaves

Cuckoos, Turacos, Bustards, Pigeons, Doves, Sandgrouse, and Mesites. Genus Columba is ineligible, so don’t write in any of the “typical pigeons.” 

Highlights include the Dodo, which is not as dumb as we were lead to believe; the Bare-Faced Go-Away Bird, which represents Me at All Times; the Nicobar Pigeon, which has beautiful rainbow plumage; and the Kori Bustard, which has a really elegant neck and posture IMO. 

Gruiformes

Cranes, Crakes, Rails, Limpkin, Trumpeters, Flufftails, Finfoots, and Sungrebes. Nothing is ineligible. 

Highlights include the Whooping Crane, an endangered species with a distinctive call; the White-Spotted Flufftail, who has adorable spots on its butt; the Red-Legged Crake, which is red in lots of places besides its legs; and the Sungrebe, which has a nice blue cap on its head. 

Mirandornithes & Charadriiformes

Flamingos, Grebes, Waders, Snipes, Sandpipers, Jacanas, Wanderers, Gulls, Skimmers, Terns, Puffins, Skuas, Plovers, Buttonquails, Thick-Knees, Sheathbills, Ibisbills, Avocets, Oystercatchers, and Lapwings. Nothing is ineligible. 

Highlights include the Great Auk, an extinct large puffin that we as humans don’t deserve; the Ring-Billed Gull, whom I have a personal vendetta against; the Dovekie, a smol, adorable friend; and the Sanderling, one of the inspirations behind Pixar’s Piper. 

Ardeae

Tropicbirds, Kagu, Sunbittern, Loons, Albatross, Petrels, Storkss, Boobies, Cormorants, Pelicans, Hamerkop, Ibises, Spoonbills, Herons, Egrets, and Penguins. The genus Balaeniceps is ineligible, so don’t write in the Shoebill. 

Highlights include the Little Penguin, the smol adorable penguin of smol adorableness; the Least Bittern, who is indeed the Least Bittern; the Common Loon, against whom my partner Max (@plokool) has a personal vendetta; and the Emperor Penguin, which is the Pinnacle of Dinosaurian Evolution according to Thomas Holtz (well, okay, he said penguins in general were, but this is the emperor penguin, so...) 

Accipitrimorphs 

Vultures (both Old and New world), Ospreys, Hawks, Eagles, Kites. Genera Sagittarius and Gypaetus are ineligible, so don’t write in the Secretary Bird, or the Bearded Vulture. No, do not write in the Bearded Vulture, nor Lammergeier, nor Ossifrage. You will have wasted your vote. Do not do the thing. It doesn’t count. 

Highlights include Haast’s Eagle, an eagle so large it hunted the Moa; the Harpy Eagle, which honestly when you see it if you aren’t convinced birds are dinosaurs there’s nothing more I can do; the Turkey Vulture, or as I like to call it, the Bare-Faced Come-Hither Bird; and the Red-Tailed Hawk, aka, that sound you hear when people try to ignore that Bald Eagles are actually huge dorks. 

Strigiformes

Owls. Genus Tyto is ineligible, which is basically all barn owls and most of their close relatives, so just, don’t write that in. 

Highlights include Palaeoglaux, one of the earliest derived forms and may have been diurnal; the Burrowing Owl, who likes to dig them holes; the Snowy Owl, aka Hedwig; and the Fearful Owl, who looks exactly like what you’d expect. 

Coraciimorphs

Mousebirds, Cuckoo Roller, Trogons, Hornbills, Hoopoes, Rollers, Kingfishers, Woodpeckers, Toucans. Genus Dacelo is ineligible, which means no Kookaburras, none, do not write one in. 

Highlights include Septencoracias, aka a Friend and Boy; the Hoopoe, aka the Most Jewish bird; the Resplendent Quetzal, which truly is magnificently colored; and the Keel-Billed Toucan, who just really loves fruit okay?

Falconiformes & Cariamiformes

Serimas, Terror Birds, Bathornithids, Caracaras, and Falcons. Genus Titanis is ineligible, as is Falco peregrinus, the peregrine falcon. Since most falcons are under Falco, the rest of the genus is eligible. 

Highlights Include Phorusrhacos, one of the most Quintessential Terror Birds; the Red-Legged Seriema, who is just a very angry bird; the Pygmy Falcon, who is a Smol Ball of FURY; and the Northern Crested Caracara, who has distinctive purple-pinkish skin on its face. 

Parrots

... Parrots. The Kakapo, genus Strigops, is ineligible. 

Highlights include the Cockatiel, a common pet and soft friend; the African Grey Parrot, one of the smartest species of dinosaurs; Spix’s Macaw, a beautiful blue parrot on the brink of extinction; and the Mulga Parrot, a parrot with feathers that almost look like clay in certain lighting. 

Passerines

Perching birds. The vast majority of birds. Most birds are in this group. I am so sorry. Includes, but is not limited to, Pittas, Broadbills, Cotingas, Sharpbills, Flycatchers, Antthrushes, Ovenbirds, Lyrebirds, Scrub-birds, Bowerbirds, Honeyeaters, Fairywrens, Whistlers, Orioles, Vireos, Birds of Paradise, Jays, Satinbirds, Wattlebirds, Rockfowl, Tits, Chickadees, Larks, Nicators, Wren-Babblers, Swallows, Warblers, Babblers, Waxwings, Treecreepers, Thrushes, Oxpeckers, Mockingbirds, Sugarbirds, Sunbirds, Sparrows, Finches, Buntings, Cardinals, Whistlers, Woodshrikes. 

The genus Corvus is ineligible, which is a good portion of crows and ravens, so don’t write them in. There are so many passerines to choose from, you can pick another one. 

It’s, nearly impossible to pick four highlights, but here we go. Highlights include the Blue Jay, one of the most famous and beautiful perching birds; the Superb Bird of Paradise, who has one of the most spectacular mating dances of birds; the Great Tit, who truly is an amazing soft sphere of birb; and the House Sparrow, a feature of almost every major city and one of the dinosaurs often used to define the clade.

Good luck. Have fun. Voting will close February 24 (possibly earlier if we get enough votes in). 

[club-pesca-blog]

Five Fave Fab Birds

Janice Winkler

 The Penguin is a non-passerine bird. This means it cannot sit on a perch.

The emperor penguin might look like a seven-year-old child, if we take height into account, and might weigh as much as I did when I was younger and did not want to eat.

Like all penguins, and all humans, it looks at the sky in awe of other birds – planes included – hoping to make it to a futuristic future where its body is feather-light in the air.

Just like me, it likes fish and it loves eating squid, but it doesn’t fry it or anything.

It can hold its breath for eighteen minutes under water, like the record in women’s history of submerged breath holding.

The emperor is the only penguin that breeds during the Antarctic winter. Nothing, not even the coldest of weathers, prevents it from bringing new life into the world.

They tend to die when they are around twenty years old, but if they are lucky, they can reach fifty, as the men of the 1920s only could.

 Surprisingly, the humming bird is also non-passerine.

It measures from 5 to 13 cm long, the Bee Hummingbird being the smallest of all.

Picture it, the bee variant. It is the size of a potato knish. You could savor a bee hummingbird just by separating your lips and letting the bird fly in.  

In Spanish, it is also called Zunzuncito or pájaro mosca (fly bird) or elfo de las abejas (bees’ elf).

I guess the fly attribute is due to its size, but if I think of a fly – and I’m actually looking at one now – I can only sense dirt and rubbish.

“Bees’ elf”, on the other hand, sounds much more honoring. Someone has recognized the status of the bee hummingbird over the smart and humanity-provider bees.

An elf must be a friendly leader.

There should be a fairy tale titled “The bees’ elf”.  

 Eclectus parrots are flirtatious.

The males have evolved green to camouflage with the rainforest leaves.

The females are bright red to sexily let their macho mates know where they are hidden: a hollow where to nest.

The males fly to get food for their lovers, which they give them, beak-to-beak.

The females take care of their “houses”.

The males provide.

They mate.

They give birth to cute chicks, which will then become homemakers or food providers.

And life cycles on, either exciting and tiring or comfortable and boring.

 Crows are obviously passerine: “…perched above my chamber door / Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door. / Perched, and sat, and nothing more…”

 Though the visitor in Poe’s poem was not a crow but a raven, to the ordinary eye (like mine) both species look the same.

 As for crows, they gained celeb-status thanks to Alfred Hitchcock.

 The Chihuahuan Raven is a mix of both, with the shape of a raven but the size of a crow.

 They are always dressed for fancy parties.

  Unlike penguins, an ostrich may weigh as much as I do now that I do eat quite a lot.

 They have superhero running speed.

 I would love to rent an ostrich which would take me on vacation.

 I would sit on its feathered body, embrace its long neck with my two arms and we would go on an amazing ride together.

 I would not fear that any dangerous animal could chase us.

 It would be fiercely kicked off by my ostrich,

 my sweet and caring ostrich.

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A partir de Abril, en Club de Pesca:

THE PLEASURE OF WRITING

English as a tool, not a barrier.

Jueves 18 a 20, por Janice Winkler.

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