#to be clear I'm not at all saying that POC can't have blue eyes

[yukipri]

i see your clonetober, and this was absolutely amazing! said that, i was planning a clone oc, and i was thinking about give to Howler a bit of vitiligo. And blue eyes. Because we all know that Arla – at least in fanfics – was blonde with blue eyes, and at least one of her and Jango's parents were blonde with blue eyes, and Rex and Omega are proof that genetic backsliding is a thing.

What you think?

Thanks for liking my Clonetober art!

Huh, I'm not so sure about "we all know that Arla has blue eyes." I don't know that. I have the Jango Fett - Open Seasons comic (First edition, 2002) in print right in front of me, and she definitely does not have blue eyes, or any colored eyes really. This comic doesn't really have that kind of detail for the most part.

Just to check, I've confirmed in my 2nd copy of the comic (within the Star Wars - Emissaries & Assassins Omnibus, 2009), to see if they edited it in later editions, but no that's not the case there either.

To my knowledge, the Arla in this comic are the only official images of her (and there's only 2). Therefore, I conclude that blue-eyed Arla is entirely fandom headcanon, and one that I've personally never encountered.

(please note, I'm not familiar with her novel appearances, and it's possible that she's depicted differently in them. In which case, the above notes are for her Open Seasons comic appearances only.)

If you headcanon that, you do you, no judgement! But I say all of the above to be careful about assuming that second hand info is "official," especially when it attributes stereotypically white characteristics to POC.

Some people headcanon that Arla in a live-action setting may have looked a little like Taini Morrison, Temuera Morrison's late sister. This is also a headcanon, which you do not need to incorporate as your own, but photos of her might be a helpful reference if you'd like to imagine what Jango Fett's blonde sister may have looked like.

As for anything else, it's your OC! You can do what you want, create them in ways that make you happy. You don't need an excuse to give a clone XYZ characteristics; in-universe, they've canonically been messed with on the genetic level, which makes it entirely possible that a lot of them have mutations that should not be humanly possible. Any reasons you add to that can be part of your personal world-building around the OC. So if your OC has blue eyes, why not? Go wild and have fun.

❀ ❀ Send YukiPri an Ask! ❀ ❀

[jesncin]

I realized the image I had attached to the "Failure of Asian Lois Lane" essay of Vicki Vale's concept art expired (because of discord shenanigans) so here it is again as its own post (and I'll update the essay's link to go to this post instead). Discussion under the cut for why I think this is distasteful and racist.

So some people don't understand what I mean when I say I consider this concept art racist. The description to Vicki Vale's character reads: "40s, FEMALE, INDIAN-AMERICAN OR ASIAN AMERICAN". When people say "Indian American or Asian American" what they're telling you is they consider Indian people a separate category from Asian people. However- Indian people ARE Asian people. Indians are grouped under South Asian people. Therefore they are Asian.

This is a common colorist idea that Asian people are only limited to light-skinned East Asians (Chinese, Japanese, and Korean people)- completely excluding South, Southeast Asian, West, and Central Asians. Here's a terrible comedy bit Ronny Chieng did for the Daily Show displaying that very colorist mindset. Notice how the description for Vicki specifies "Indian" but is vague about what "Asian" means.

I don't know if this concept art is taken out of context, and if there were multiple iterations of what Asian Vicki Vale would look like- but as far as what this image presents, this full body design that ended up making it to final is the only iteration. Are we to believe this design was meant to encompass what "Asian American" and "Indian American" Vicki Vale were supposed to look like? If they decided she was going to be Indian, were they just going to color her with dark skin and call it a day? Are Asians that interchangeable to the crew that they didn't feel the need to design more versions of her? I truly don't know. And it's still possible that this is one page out of context from several concepts. BUT this show already doesn't have a great track record for stylizing ethic features- and it hasn't stopped them from monolith-casting Asian actors for their Asian characters.

I mean look at how they ended up designing a supposed South Asian woman on the show. Livewire/ Leslie Willis is voiced by Zehra Fazal, a South Asian woman. Many people had no idea Livewire is South Asian. I mean she's got blue eyes and blonde-white bleached hair?

It doesn't help that she stood next to this character who is also dark skinned and blonde-haired- so people assumed they were related and therefore assumed Leslie was Black. It's not my place to say, but I have seen some Black critics being critical of how characters like Jimmy were stylized.

Overall this show's artistic direction is a mess when it comes to race. We can't keep looking up the characters' voice actors to get confirmation on their ethnicity (with that logic, Sam Lane is Filipino despite his daughter in-show being Korean)! The character design or story should make that clear for you. If POC representation was simply up for debate or a matter of interpretation, then you're not representing anyone at all.

This is why I think the show is simply not equipped to tackle POC representation but especially Asian characters. If this is the kind of language and art style that is normalized behind the scenes to developing Asian characters, can you see why I'd be suspicious of any future attempts at tackling "more explicit Asian representation"? I don't believe the showrunners are racist. However I wouldn't trust them with representation either.

It wasn't until I wrote that essay that I learned Vicki was "Asian". It wasn't until now as I write this post that I learned both Steve Lombard and Roughhouse are "Asian" (we'll never get specifics, naturally). I knew both characters were voiced by a Chinese actor (Vincent Tong), but I didn't think for once that that translated to the characters he was voicing.

this show feels like a personal attack on me at this point. For the record, I'm not asking for Vicki, Leslie, Steve, or Roughhouse to have storylines informed by their Asian identity. If anything I consider these characters so superfluous to the plot MAWS wants to tell that these guys should be removed all together (the most frustrating of them being Vicki, who's yet another Asian American character who's explicitly xenophobic to Superman). What I am saying is that I should still be able to recognize these characters as Asian!

[silverrstarrr]

Normal girl (3)

note: okay! So after talking with someone, they helped me with a lot of things about college/university, since I'm only in high school—I do not know how they function. I was told there wasn't a comestic major offered in college but since this is a fanFICTION, Maria University is just gonna be a school for everything.

they suggested I change their major to fashion since its similar to comestics but there's already a fanfic on wattapad that consists of a black y/n being a fashion designer and I don't want to be accuse of stealing their work or idea. Not to mention, it'll mess up with the whole plot I had a in mind, so please bare with me.

Basically what I'm saying is, things regarding the school and different majors etc; will be different. But everything other than that will be how it'll work in modern times. Also a big thank you to @coconutxraikage I really appreciate you ♡ I'm going to add this note everytime I upload a chapter, just to make things clear. I'm also going to be adding links  anytime I describe an outfit or an area, just incase readers enjoy seeing than reading. For me, I'm more of an visual person.

Chapter 3:

Stepping into the room, everyone was already at their seats. All eyes stopped and stared at you, you stood there awkwardly for a second before you quickly walked towards the bag of the classroom.

You searched for an empty chair and luckily you found one. It was next to girl, she had a resting bitch face which made you unsure if she wanted anyone to sit next to her. But you had no time to spare and sat down next to her.

The girl was obviously black as well, you can tell from her features. She had long black hair with her edges slayed, you weren't sure if it was a lace front or her real hair but it didn't matter—she looked really pretty. She had long false eyelashes which went well with her eyeshadow and lipgloss. She had two golden necklaces around her chest, one was a snake with little daggers along the side and the other was a simple pendant, in addition with her cross earings. You couldn't see her full outfit but she had on a long sleeve white top and checkered skirt? You couldn't tell.

You looked ahead and saw there wasn't a teacher, was this the wrong class again? You were so tired and wanted this day to be over already. You decided to ask the girl next to you,

"The teacher Mr.Fargo, right?" You looked at her.

"Yeah but his ass ain't here, imagine being late on the first day of class." She replied.

All the anxiety you had before came to a closure, you were in the right room.

"okay good, cause I was running around this building like I was stupid."

She looked back at you with a smile,

"Girl same! I did not know where to go, but i got here earlier so I wasn't late like you." She said the last part with a laugh, she was obviously just messing with you.

"shut up, we both didn't know where we was. Look at us twinin' already." You rolled your eyes as she placed her forehead on the back of her hand and laughed.

"My name's Daniyah, you?" Daniyah, she was definitely black. Mom's have a thing for ending their child's name with a "niyah". But the name fit her, she was a pretty lightskin.

"Oh— I'm y/n." You responded.

"Awwn, that name cute and I like your shoes." she glanced down at your feet.

"Thank you." Looking around the room, you noticed it was a decent of twenty students. Most of them were white, you only spotted a few poc here and there.

"Why am I in a room with a bunch of crackas..." you said to yourself.

Daniyah seems to heard you,

"Oh my gosh!!! You can't say that, it's a slur to white people." She was joking and you decided to go along.

"Sorry! You're right, I meant Klans membe—I mean! massa—wait no colonizers."

Daniyah burst into laughter, lightly nudging you. You followed along and started to laugh as well.

"Sis pleaasee, talking about some klans member," she continued on, lightly muffling her laugh.

"But we are in a room full of massa's, I think the teacher's white too."

You kinda expected that. You didn't think a poc could have the last name 'fargo'. You just prayed they didn't overly use AAVE, it always made you uncomfortable when non-poc did that.

"he's hella lat—" cutting you off, a large thud sound of the door hitting the wall was made as a tall guy with starbucks and his laptop walks in.

"Sorry guys! I'm really late, traffic was annoying." It was Mr. Fargo, he was wearing black pants, with a tucked in black n white striped short sleeved shirt. Under his shirt he wore black long sleeves, it went well with his slender body. To finish the outfit, he simply wore black combat boots. Awooga, He could dress good—go white boy, go!

He stopped by his desk in the front and dropped off his stuff, he also placed his long trench coat on his seat.

The blonde man leaned against his desk and took a good look at the class—he clapped his hands together and spoke,

"Okay class! Hello, my name is Derek Fargo but you all may call me Mr.Fargo— or Derek, whichever you prefer. I'm not too big on sir names." He said with a smile.

Pulling out the office chair, he took a seat and opened his laptop. He began calling names for attendance as others answered "here" or a simple greeting.

"Y/n L/n?" He spoke.

You lifted your head and said,

"yo."

Daniyah snickered next to you,

"Yo!" She mocked you in a male voice, trying to sound like those annoying boys who thought they were cool.

You nudged her arm in response and whined for her to stop.

"Ms.Lawfoot?"

"Here sir." Daniyah raised her hand slightly as Mr.Fargo nodded and typed into his computer.

Once he was done taking attendance, he started class. He talked about the curriculum and other activities that'll be going this semester.

"By the way, we'll be working with other majors. Especially photography and graphic designs." He continued on,

"We have a few modeling agencies that comes here often and uses one of the empty rooms in the next door building. Usually, students in the photography major use these opportunities to get a job at these agencies and take photos of models,"

"This goes for us too. Most modeling agency hire cosmetologist to help prepare their models for photo shoots or runways."

Next door building? Wait was it—? Nah, it couldn't be. You blocked out your own thoughts and continued to listen.

"They also have amateur models, ones who are new to the business. Those are the ones we'll be working with most of the time."

He continued on talking about the different opportunities and things you'll be experiencing.

                                ~~~

After finishing Mr. Fargo's class and long ass lecture hall, it was time for lunch.

Immediately you pulled out your phone and messaged yumi, to see if she was free.

"Aw shii, I forgot to get Daniyah's number. Hopefully I get to run into that lighskin again." You said to yourself, you continued to contact yumi.

                  colonizer but times 2🧑🏻‍🦲

                               What you eatin for lunch?

Idk, I was going to ask u what you wanted to eat

   

                                Girl, if you don't flip a coin

and pick a place.

LOOL😭

Let's just to the food court

& see what they have 🦲

Awe okay, I'll go there

and wait for you🤨

Read at 11:35

You were already in the halls and decided to head towards the food court, since you saw it earlier on your way to the lecture hall.

The halls were pretty packed since most people lunches were around this time, a few people bumped into you and you glared at them in response as they muttered apologies.

Halfway at the food court, an average height male bumps into you—making you drop your phone as the the case comes off as well.

"What the fuck?!" You said outloud but only for him to hear, since you didn't want to make a scene.

"ah! I'm so sorry, I wasn't watching where I  was going." He bent down and picked up your phone along with the case, popping it back In place.

You took your phone from him and decided to get a good look at this asshole who bumped into you. The boy was blonde with an undercut, along with basic blue eyes. He seemed around 5'10? He had on brown cuff pants with long black jacket that stopped at his knees, he topped it off with a black sleeved top and a bag wrapped around his torso.

What was up with everyone and knowing how to dress? The blonde broke your train of thought and spoke,

"Um...do you know where the food court is?" He said softly

"You made me dropped my phone, why would I tell you?" You responded in an annoyed tone.

"I'm really sorry, I didn't know... if there's a crack, I  can pay fo—" he was cut off by the motion of you already walking away. He just stood there in awe and guilt.

"Come on, or do you not want food?" You continued on walking but at a slower space for the male could catch up. This bought a small smile to his face and followed behind you.

"What you smiling for? Did you purposely bump into me to ask me this? Withcho' evil ass." You turned your heard to look at the blonde, he was panicking—you guessed he didn't catch on to your joke/sarcasm.

"No?! I really didn't mean to, I was—" he was getting defensive, you were only fucking with him.

"Boy I'm joking, no need to get defensive." You let out a giggle.

"Oh..." he responded back with an awkward smile.

You guys were already at your destination. bzzzt, bzzt it was coming from your phone, you looked at the screen and saw it was your best friend, you picked up.

"Where are you?" The background was loud and her voice was a bit muffled.

"I'm next to chick–flil–a" you looked to your left, just to make sure you were correct. The man besides you just stood there next to you and watched you. "Wasn't this man suppose to go eat?" You thought to yourself.

"Oop— I see you, look up." you did what yume said and saw her waving at you from across the area. She did a little jog towards you as you placed your back into your pocket. Once she reached you, you pulled her into the a hug as she returned it back.

"Hiiii! How was your day kiddo?" She joked.

"Shitty,  but at least you're here so I can complain about it."

The male laughed at your remark, which cause both of you to look at him.

"Whos this? You catching men already?" Yume raised a brow at you then glanced at him.

"Dunno, he just started to follow me." You replied in jokingly manner, of course yume caught on.

"Yo? What the hell, you're weird." She said in a serious tone, trying her best to hide her laughter.

"That's not true! You know that's not true," he turned towards you direction.

"I bumped into her on accident and asked her to show me food court." At that exact moment, you and yume started cackling like crazy. You loved this about her, she always caught your vibe.

"We're just messing with ya!" Yume was covering her smile with the back of her hand. The boy just stood there and nodded uncomfortably, since he wasn't the only one laughing.

"I'm Yume, and you?"

"I'm Armin" he flashed her a small smile.

"Armin? That's a cute name, awwn. It totally fits you." Yume returned the smile, a small blush spreaded across his cheek at the girl's remark.

"Naahh, yall ain't gonna sit up here and flirt." You shook your head.

Yume giggled as Armin scratched his head.

"Did you decide on a place to eat?" The question was directed at yume.

"Uhh, no? I didn't have a coin to flip."

"Girl— goodbye." You turned to armin,

"You got any places?" He placed his hand on his chin, looking up trying to recall food place that he knows they'll have.

He suggested a fast food place as you guys both agreed with his choice. The three of you trailed over to the place and stood in line.

Once it was you guys turn, yume and armin ordered and you did the same. After grabbing your food, you all sat at a table and ate. Yume and Armin were hitting up and chatting; soon after she asked about your day since you didn't know what building you were in. You went on and explain, you included all the things Mr. Fargo said as well, which caught Armin's attention.

"Wait you're in that Major? I'm taking fashion, I plan to be a designer."

"The name's y/n but yeah. You look like a future designer." You referring to his outfit, it was really nice.

"Armin!" A voice called out to him, all three of you guys turned to see who it was. Your face dropped at the realization, it the was boy from this morning.

"Oh Eren! Come over here and eat with us." You wanted to kick him, how dare he just invite someone without asking you or yume. You glanced over at yume but she was too busy eating.

The brunette boy was now at the table and gave armin a fist bump. He looked at the table and seemed to notice you,

"Hey beautiful." He was talking to you, you wanted to melt right there and then.

[pink-rea]

even in death

Ghost!Allen AU

Tags: Violence, Major Character Death, AU - Ghosts, Trans Allen Walker, POC Allen Walker

Summary

Allen struggles to his feet, feeling as if his body is moving through molasses. With a sharp tug he finally stands, feeling something break inside him, like a string being pulled taut before snapping completely.

The moon shines down on him, casting everything into shades of grey. The bamboo stalks stand silent and watchful around him, casting long shadows across the ground. Allen looks down at his hands. Or hand, to be more precise. Because his left arm is gone. Just... gone. And that's not the only thing that's strange. His hand is glowing with a soft green light, his whole body in fact.

And then he looks down and sees the face of his own dead body staring back at him.

.

night one ¤ powerless

.

Allen struggles to his feet, feeling as if his body was moving through molasses. With a sharp tug, he feels something break inside him, like a string that was suddenly pulled taut before snapping completely. He finally stands on his own two feet, looking up at the moon hanging high above him. The bamboo stalks around him stand as silent sentries, casting dark shadows across the ground.

What happened?

Tyki was here, and he… but I'm right here, so what…?

Could I have survived that?

Allen looks over at his left arm. And it's… it's gone. His left arm is gone. But that isn't the only thing thing that's strange.

Because Allen is glowing. Literally glowing. A soft green light surrounds him, shifting and changing like fire. And then Allen looks down and sees the face of his own dead body staring up at him, blue eyes glassy and vacant. Allen’s eyes widen and he steps back, out of his body.

“What…? What the...” Allen stares down at the body. It's… it's him. And it's definitely dead. He looks down at his hands. His glowing hands. 

It’s still not sinking in.

He… he can't really be dead, can he?

He's standing right here.

Except, Allen notices with the chill of ice water trickling down his spine, he's not breathing. He gasps in a breath of air and nearly cries out in relief when the oxygen enters his lungs. 

For how long wasn't he breathing?

Allen looks down at his hand, the deep brown skin now holding an ethereal glow.

What's happening to him? He can't really be dead, can he? But looking down at the dead body in front of him, a sinking feeling in his gut, he wonders if he really can.

“You poor kid.” A female voice says from behind him, and Allen whirls around. A girl with orange hair and gray eyes with odd amorphous hands stands before him, a sad look on her face. She sighs. “It’s always the young ones. What am I gonna tell Bak?”

“What do you mean? Miss?” Allen asks, reaching for her.

But she’s already turning away, and Allen cries out as his hand goes right through her. “Sorry kid. But this isn’t your fight anymore. There’s nothing more you can do.”  

Allen looks at the stump where his left arm used to be, swallowing hard, and then looks back and clenches his fist. “I don’t believe that. If this isn’t my fight, then what did I work so hard for?! What did I die for? There has to be something I can do.”

The woman looks back at him and smiles, her eyes sad. “Try your best, then. I won’t stop you.”

Allen brings up his hand and clenches his fist in front of his chest. “I will.” He says determinedly.

And inside him, a fire blooms.

.

Allen is sitting on the ground, looking down at the face of his former body. The blood has long cooled underneath it, however the scent of blood never reaches Allen's nose. The wind blows throughout the clearing, making the bamboo reeds rattle against each other as the wind whispers through the trees. Despite this, no wind plays across Allen's face or hair. It simply blows right through him, as if he wasn't even there.

He should really go find his friends. However he can't stop himself from hesitating, the hopelessness and powerlessness of it all clutching at his heart like a vice.

How can he help his friends like this? He can't affect anything in the physical world. He should know. He'd tried everything to touch his body, to touch anything around him. He had phased right through all of it, in fact the only thing he didn't seem to phase through was the ground.

…How can he keep walking like this? 

Allen blinks and looks up as a shape rises up from his dead body, coalescing into a person that pulls themselves up with a grunt. Allen's nonexistent heart stops in his chest. The person in front of him appears to be male, with dark spiky curls, grey skin and sharp golden eyes, the stigma standing out starkly on his forehead. He glows with a soft purple light, his clothes looking old and travel worn, unlike Allen's Exorcist clothes, which look brand new. 

That was inside him...?

The man's sharp eyes land on him. He raises an eyebrow. "Well you look a lot more different than I remember."

Allen frowns, getting to his feet. "What are you talking about? Just… who are you?"

The man scowls. "What do you mean? I'm Neah, you idiot. Surely you couldn't have forgotten…" Neah looks down at his hands and jumps. "Ah! What the fuck?! Why the hell am I glowing?"

Hesitating, Allen says, "you're a ghost." He sighs, scratching at his cheek nervously.

Neah turns, blinking at him. "You're kidding me." He says incredulously.

Allen's a bit incredulous himself, though more about the fact that he's having an actual civil conversation with a Noah than about being dead at this point. 

Allen shakes his head.

Neah looks down at himself again, then up at Allen, a scowl on his face. "You've screwed up royally, then. The one thing I asked you to do, to keep my memory safe, and what do you do? You get yourself killed instead!"

Allen scowls himself, clenching his fist. "You didn't ask me to do anything! Whatever happened to you, it isn't my fault!"

Neah stops, frowning. "You… you aren't him."

Aren't who? Allen wonders.

Neah half turns away from him, flapping a hand dismissively. "Well, whatever. I can't change it, so I might as well go have some fun."

Neah turns and begins to walk away. "Wait!" Allen calls. "Where are you going?"

Neah turns back to look at him and shoots him a self satisfied smile. "To go haunt my brother. Where else?"

Allen blinks, and he's gone.

Allen looks down at the ground, then up at the lightening sky. He hesitates, then clenches his fists in determination. 

Lenalee.

Lavi.

Krory.

Allen turns and leaves his body behind. He has friends to find.

.

The sun is rising by the time he finds the ship. It looks good as new, which doesn’t seem right until his eyes land on the newest Exorcist within their party. “Miranda!” Allen exclaims with a smile, running over towards them.

But they all completely ignore him, talking amongst themselves.

“I just can’t believe it. He seemed so s-strong!” Miranda sobs.

Lenalee nods with a tremulous smile, wiping tears off her face even as they roll down her cheeks. “I know. I can’t believe it either.”

From their cabin, Krory’s bereaved sobs could be heard emanating all throughout the ship. 

“...you guys?” Allen asks, uncertain.

“Guys, c’mon. We have to be strong, for Allen’s sake.” Lavi says, placing a hand on each of their shoulders with a smile. “He wouldn’t want us crying over him, would he?”

Lenalee laughs wetly. “Of course not. He’s Allen, after all.”  

They’re grieving for him. They think he’s… completely gone.

“C’mon, guys. Let’s go see if Krorykins is alright.” Everyone gets up and walks past him towards the Exorcist’s cabin. The door shuts behind them, and Allen slumps, sitting down on the deck of the ship. 

They're grieving. And it's his fault. And the worst part is that he has to watch, powerless to stop it.

Powerless.

That's never been a word he's liked.

.

As time passed aboard the ship, Allen gave into his new hobby. It was, to put it quite simply, spying. Allen gave people their privacy, but other than that, he had quite a bit of fun following sailors around going about their business. He learned each sailor's name and each of their shifts, and thought himself quite smart until he slipped while Henry was on mopping duty, sending him falling overboard.

With the crashing waves rushing towards him, all he could think was that he really didn't want to land in the water. His body jolts to a stop, now floating just above the waves. Allen blinks, looking down into the depths below. He gulps, glancing around for the ship. It's already a good distance away, and alarm pulses through Allen's nonexistent veins. 

“Okay, just like walking.” Allen tells himself, and takes a step forward. And another. And another. Soon he realizes that he’s literally walking on air. He breaks into a run, and soon catches up with the ship, diving back over the railing and into safety. He lies on the deck of the ship, a grin on his face. Then a sailor steps through his chest, and he yelps, phasing through the deck. He hits the floor with no noise to accompany his fall, getting up with a sigh. At least he can’t feel pain anymore.

“Anita, are you sure you want to do this?” Allen looks over to see Mahoja and Anita sitting together on a loveseat, Anita in the bigger woman’s lap while she brushed her fingers gently through her hair. 

Allen feels as though he’s infringed on something he shouldn’t have, and is about to leave when Anita answers. “The Exorcists need out help, Mahoja. We can’t just leave them with nothing.”

Mahoja wraps her arms around her. “You know, we’re probably going to die on this voyage. Us, and every last one of our crewmen.”

Anita kisses her jaw. “There’s no use regretting what we can’t change, Mahoja.” She says with a sad smile. “All we can do is make this voyage last.”

Allen’s heard enough. Taking a step upwards, he walks up into the air and ascends through the ceiling and back into open air. After that he does some experimenting. Can I just… float? Allen wonders one day, on a particularly breezy day. Standing on a packaging crate, he taps his lips in thought. How had he done it before? Well, it had been more of a strong wish not to drown. And he had been floating, he realizes. It had been him who decided that walking was how it worked.

Taking a deep breath to fortify himself, he pushes off of the crate and into the air. He gives an excited whoop as he ascends into the air, and starts doing laps around the ship, laughing all the while. He feels something weird going on with his legs and glances back only to see that his legs have merged together to form a ghostly tail. 

He screams in surprise when he flies straight into the rigging, the ropes breaking with an audible snap. It broke? How? Terrified screams echo below him, and Allen’s eyes widen. There are two sailors that must have been on the rigging when Allen hit it, now falling to either death or possibly great injury. 

Before Allen knows what he’s doing, he’s streaking after them. He flies as fast as he can, the wind that he can no longer feel going right through him. He catches the first sailor he reaches, awkwardly slinging him over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. And then it’s like the whole world changes. He can feel the wind on his face, and the weight and the not-feeling of the sailor on top of him, his body suddenly feeling weighed down and heavy. Allen shakes his head to clear it, flying desperately to reach the other sailor. But how is he going to catch him? He only has one arm! 

“Extend!” And then Lavi is there with the handle of his hammer extended, catching the other sailor with his free arm. He looks back at Miranda, standing in the doorway and watching with wide eyes. “Are you doing this, Miranda?” Lavi asks, pointing with his hand still holding onto the end of his hammer.

Miranda shakes her head. “N-No. I can’t do that.”

Lavi frowns over towards Allen, the handle of his hammer shrinking as he lowers to the ground. Allen does the same, gently floating his cargo to the deck of the ship. He sets him down gently, and the sailor looks up at him. Allen realizes that he can’t be older than twelve or thirteen. “What are you?” He asks in confusion. Allen smiles and ruffles his hair. The kid laughs. “Hey!” He bats away Allen’s hand with a smile, and Allen grins. The kid looks down at the ground, his dark eyes nervous yet grateful. “Thank you for, um, saving me.”

“You’re welcome.” Allen says, even though he’s pretty sure he won’t hear it. He squeezes the kid’s shoulder and walks away.

.

All of the Exorcists are currently sitting in the dining hall, or the dining hull as some people have dubbed it. It’s a small and quaint room filled with tables and cooking food, with just enough space for everyone considering how the sailors switched shifts. Room has been made for the Exorcists to sit down and enjoy the food. Or, what constituted as food on a ship at sea. Which mostly consisted of bitter ale and stew of mysterious origin. But Lavi wasn’t complaining. He’s had worse.

Lavi just wishes this cold spell would blow over. He’s been cold for days, and though he can find the occasional spot of warmth, it’s getting a little annoying. The crew members have been complaining about it too, now that Lavi thinks about it.

“Are you okay, Miranda?" Lenalee asks worriedly. 

"Yes, I'm fine. A-And don't worry about me, you should be more worried about yourself! No, wait…" Miranda says, horrified mutterings being said under her breath. It makes Lavi wonder just what exactly she's saying.

"It's okay, Miranda. I understood what you meant." Lenalee says with a sad smile. She frowns. "Has anyone gone to check that those two crewmembers are okay?"

Lavi grins. "According to the rumor mill, they're both still alive and kicking."

Lenalee sighs in relief. "That's good."

Krory sighs. “This voyage seems never ending. Does anyone know how much longer it’s going to take to get to our destination?” He asks hopefully.

“About 49 days last I heard,” Lavi tells him, and Krory slumps in his seat. “And before then we’ll have to stop for supplies at some point.” Lavi clears his throat. “By the way, have any of you seen Timcanpy?” He asks awkwardly.

“You lost him?! Lavi!” Lenalee exclaims.

Miranda and Krory look at him accusingly with tears shining in their eyes.

“Woah, you guys! First off, I didn’t lose him, he flew out of my pocket while I wasn’t looking. Second off, I’m sure he’s fine. Timcanpy can take care of himself. I mean, it’s not like there are any cats on board, right?”

“Lavi, there are at least three cats on board.” Lenalee deadpans.

Lavi laughs nervously, rubbing the back of his head. “Alright, so we’ll look for him.”

Miranda looks thoughtful. “I-Is anyone else curious about who saved that other crewmember?”

Lavi grins. “Well, according to the rumor mill we’re either haunted or being watched over by a guardian angel.” He says, pointing above his head to indicate a halo.

“Haunted…” Miranda trails off. Her face takes on an uncertain, hopeful cast. “C-Could it be Allen, do you think?” 

Krory’s eyes light up. “Yes, Allen! It has to be!” They look at each other with hope filled eyes, and Lavi sighs, running his hand through his hair.

“Look guys, it was just a rumor. It doesn’t have any evidence based on fact. You shouldn’t get your hopes up.” Lavi says. I know I won’t.

“But… the floating!” Krory exclaims.

Lavi sighs. “That kid could be an Akuma for all we know.” Or even a new Innocence accommodator. “It’s a much more reasonable explanation than ghosts and guardian angels.” 

Miranda and Krory look at him stubbornly.

Lenalee, who had remained silent up until this point, says quietly. “Guys… we saw the body.” Lavi shivers, feeling cold to the bone. “There was… no way to recover from that. There’s no way it’s him.” And Lenalee gets up from the table, looking pale. Lavi says quick goodbyes to the others and follows her into the latrine. He rubs her back as she vomits into a toilet, holding her hair back for her. When she’s done Lavi hands her a glass of water, and she smiles gratefully at him.

“It was like this last time, too.” Lavi observes.

Lenalee nods, smile sad. “Yeah, it was.”

When they had gone looking for their friend, they hadn’t been expecting to find his body. The stink of rotten flesh, feces, and rotten eggs permeated the air when they had arrived at the place where Timcanpy’s recording had ended. Lenalee and Lavi had looked at each other with apprehension in their eyes. Lenalee had gone first. What she had seen had made her stagger aside and vomit onto the ground. Lavi had stepped forward and seen something he had hoped to never see again.

Allen’s body was bloated and stiff, with a distinctly purple tone to his skin, bodily fluids leaking out of his nose and ears. Flies buzzed around him, maggots feasting on his flesh. Lavi felt sick. He didn’t want to believe what he had seen. 

But he had to.

He went over to Lenalee and started to rub her back, belatedly holding her hair back from the line of fire.

When she was done, Lenalee turned toward him. “Lavi. How could this have happened?” She asked, tears streaking down her face.

Lavi blinked his eye, fighting back tears of his own. “I don’t know, Lenalee. I don’t know.” Lenalee hugged him, shaking as tears wracked her body. Lavi laid his head against her shoulder to mask his own tears, holding onto her tightly.

When they pulled away, Lavi looked down to see a playing card lying on the ground between them. His brows furrowed. “What’s this?” He picks it up. It’s the Ace of Spades. 

Lavi looked around and noticed the playing cards scattered all around. He gives a sad smile. “C’mon, let’s pick these up.” They picked up the cards, Lavi keeping the Ace of Spades while Lenalee kept the Queen.

Lavi blinks himself out of his memories as he smiles at Lenalee. “C’mon, let’s get outta here.”

Lenalee and Lavi both stand and make their way out of the latrine. Lavi shivers. It’s still so cold. Lavi’s about to ask Lenalee if she wants to go on deck when an explosion rocks the ship. “Woah!” Lavi grabs onto the wall as the floor dips from underneath his feet. They look at each other, Lenalee activating her boots.

“Akuma.”

.

Allen follows Lavi and Lenalee as they ascend staircase after staircase towards the deck of the ship. Timcanpy wriggles from inside the collar of his shirt, poking his head out to see what’s going on. Luckily he’s invisible as well, mostly because of a few… incidents after he had left Lavi for Allen. 

Allen shakes his head to clear it, his feet making no sound to accompany Lenalee’s and Lavi’s footsteps as they pound up the stairway and onto the deck. The ship is in total chaos, crewmembers running every which way in order to avoid the attacks raining down on them. A woman trips and a bullet rips through her stomach. She screams, stars travelling up her neck and down her arms. But then there’s a flash of gold and the sound of a clock striking twelve, and the stars retreat from her skin, the wound in her stomach closing as if it never were. 

But Allen knows the wound is still there. And so does she, judging by the grim, determined look on her face. Lenalee kicks off with her boots, only to flip backwards in mid air as deadly streams of light streak past her, breaking into the deck of the ship and making it rock dangerously under Allen’s feet. Then the ship forcibly rights itself, the breaks in the wood sealing over with flashes of golden light. “Lavi, where are the Akuma?” Lenalee yells over the screams of the crewmen.

“I don’t know!” Lavi yells back, ducking behind his enlarged hammer as beams of light strike against it.

Allen’s eye has been activated since the Akuma arrived. So he knows, with perfect black and white clarity, that the Akuma are hiding up above the clouds. But he has no way to communicate this to them. Maybe he could grab Lavi’s arm and make him point to where they are? But that seems inefficient, plus what if Lavi’s arm gets blown off or something?

“Well, try flying up there to see!” Lavi says. Lenalee nods, a determined expression on her face. Kicking off higher into the air, she flies at a fast rate towards the Akuma. Allen kicks off into the air and follows. But he doesn’t get far.

“Title: The Girl and the Sky.” Allen hears the familiar sound of an Akuma’s voice, like static over a radio. 

Then Lenalee screams as she hurtles down from the sky.