#tried making some more symbolic drawings this time yay

[morangoowada]

Flowers are interesting

[qwesty-030]

hello ASP fandom

I’ve been lingering on the ASP tag for a while bc I wanted to find ppl that like the book as much as i do. I’ve seen all the beautiful fanart and whatnot. and I wanna thank yall bc I’ve been inspired to make my own post ✨! I too shall contribute to the ASP fandom too bc tumblr is the only place i can find an active asp fandom🧍

thank you and have a nice day

—

so uhm these are my designs for Finny and Gene. I drew these back when I started reading A Separate Peace in my high-school sophomore year. They’re pretty old drawings. At the time, I only drew these just to have some faces to put a name on (to help me visualize easier idk)

Well fast forward, my class finished reading ASP and I have been an ASP addict ever since.

okay im going to word vomit now

okay erm thought process of these designs:

Finny-

i tried to make him as book accurate at possible but ngl i actually i thought he was a red head before i looked up what he actually looked like. I genuinely wouldve believed he was a red head if i didnt looked it up (yes im referring to the ppl propagating redhead finny)

i gave him very sharp features and a somewhat messy hairstyle to symbolize his wild nature but also neat enough to get him by in school.

His shirt usually untucked or hastily put on. Most times he has his coat off or unbuttoned

he has some freckles and moles too YAY

Gene-

made him the most basic looking guy with the most basic features: black hair and brown eyes (okay ik his hair looks blue and u can barely see his brown eyed but i was limiting myself on colors GSSSYSHDHHSHA )

ofc i HAD to make him the complete opposite of Finny. His features are more squarish and rounder. because he always does random 90° angles out of nowhere

his hair is more neat and put together compared to Finny’s. It’s very structured to be square shaped. i like to think he uses a little bit of gel but it’s not a tight slickback. he lets his hair go loose bc he wants to follow Finny’s footsteps and be wild and free too 🤩🤩 yet he can’t help but follow the standard of having a neat slick hair and ofc follow school dresscode 🤷‍♀️

his fit is also more put together. he always makes sure his tie is neat and his coat is buttoned up most times

i gave him a mole :)

this was a fun one to make cuz he literally never describes himself in the book💀💀 i find that really interesting tho. perhaps it was on purpose so readers can relate to Gene more by emotion and not feel distanced by physical features

(yea i obviously put in a lot more thought into Gene’s design than Finny’s)

(i still love them both tho)

FUN FACTS YES THERE’S MORE:

honestly thought Finny was a latino and/or hispanic cuz of his tan skin. (im well aware white ppl can look tan and not be a hispanic but also hispanics and latinx could also look pale white i was lowkey a little ignorant back then 💀.) idk maybe he could have some hispanic blood 🤷‍♀️

do not mind the messiness and low quality, i did this in the dead of night on a note-taking app called Notability

that last note may sound absolutely unrelated BUT WAIT! I actually have a whole stock of ASP Notability doodles! More to come!! maybe…

if i feel like it…….

we’ll see

their hairstyles and clothing are based on actual 1940s styles :D it’s my favorite thing about their design especially their hair. it was fun researching and incorporating historical trends

the chair Gene is sitting on is supposed to be the Early American chair from Finny’s house! I did not put any effort into the chair whatsoever 😀

although i gave Finny short hair, I’ve come to see how good long hair Finny is

Yup that’s all for now. Thank you all who stopped by. It’s so nice meeting u guys!!

[medu707]

Yay ask game time! I'd like to ask numbers 1, 8 and 23 please 👀

Thanks for the ask Faye!! 💛💛

how would you describe your style

It's a tough question, I've never tried to describe my own style before. 👀 Maybe emotional/intuitive for my more 'serious' drawings? I make great efforts to reflect the personalities of the characters I draw -and they usually have sad backgrounds-. Technically tho? I think my style is a little stiff. This is something I want to improve in the future. 🤔

8. what’s the most fun and the least fun parts about your process

The most fun would be sketching process I guess but lately I find coloring also super fun! Even though I don't know about color theory much. Well the least fun.. It's really sad to say that my line-art process is becoming a bit bothersome nowadays. 😞

23. what’s something you hope people notice when looking at your art

Like I said, if I'm drawing a serious or sad art piece, I like to add some symbolic and metaphorical details, although it's not that obvious in my MM drawings. I feel so happy when people see these details and comment about it! (Though do I have some unfinished pieces somewhere?? Well.. A lot.) 😌

[iloveitwhen]

jasonette but like siblings but like angst- like that whole trope where they are blood related and got separated, or they didnt get separated idk thats cool too i just want some sibling jasonette😅

Wow. ok. uhmmmm. this is a lot i think?? I got a little jk a lot carried away and this past week was super busy so i’ll finish the second part later??

Again... a lot...

Jason is walking home after another night at the bar when he sees a small woman, teenager? Slip into a dark alleyway and two men follow in after her a few moments later. 

Jason curses and bolts across the street, what was this girl thinking? How stupid do you have to be to go into a dark alley where no one will hear you or care to help?

He jumps into the alley to find one man already slumped on himself on the floor and the other getting kicked in the teeth by army boots then falling limply. 

Jason curses again, impressed this time. He scans over the men noting that they probably had pretty good concussions judging from the dent in the garbage can the first man was laying next to and the way the second guy’s head smacked onto the concrete when he fell. He lands his eyes back on the woman, no, definitely a teenager, with a smile on his face that instantly falters. The girl is in a fighting stance and waiting for him to attack so he quickly raises his hands to placate her.

“I’m not here to fight you, I saw you get followed and I was coming to help.” 

“Nobody helps in Gotham,” she states, a dangerous edge to her voice that held a carefully hidden accent. 

“Not from around here, are you?” 

The girl narrows her eyes, “I was born and raised here, take a step further and you won’t be waking up tomorrow.” 

Jason pockets his hands and smirks. He likes her, she’s a fighter, she reminds him of himself when he was younger. 

“Ok. Just make sure you make it home safe. A girl’s going to get some unwanted attention at a time and place like this.” He turns around and crosses the street but as soon as he’s out of her sight he turns back and hides in the shadows to track her and make sure no one else tries to catch her alone. Just because she could handle herself the first time doesn’t mean she’s necessarily safe from the next attempt. 

The girl exits the alley and starts toward the direction of Jason’s apartment calmly as if she didn’t just get attacked. At least that means less walking for him. After a few minutes she slips into another dark alley, of course she does, and Jason crosses the street again going into his own empty alley before pulling his helmet on and scaling the building. As he peers over the side of the building his helmet scans the area giving him feedback he would normally miss due to the horrible lighting and telling him that the alley was empty. He figured she had somehow gotten into one of the buildings and decided to go home by rooftops since he was already up there. 

However, as he landed on the opposite rooftop his feet slipped from underneath him. Jason managed to roll out of it but before he could get his footing his hip was kicked into and he stumbled, tripped over a seemingly perfectly placed rock and smashed his head on the side of the stair house. Then, just as quickly as this all transpired, there was a body behind him, they hooked their fingers under his helmet and lifted it to expose his neck and press a knife with jagged points onto his neck. How did he know the knife had jagged points? Good question, it was, as previously mentioned, against his neck and piercing into his skin, drawing blood. 

“Why are you following me?” a girl’s voice filters through his mask and he resisted the urge to roll his eyes. His mask let him know through the constant visuals that the voice belonged to a female in their late teens, not that he didn’t already know that. 

“Making sure you got home safe,” he says carefully, weighing his options and trying to decide if he should let her feel like she got him or escape with a slight nick on his neck. 

Eh. Jason preferred to not have a bleeding neck no matter how small the cut. 

“Lies,” she hisses, digging the knife a bit deeper as a warning, maybe getting out sooner was a better idea. “What do you want?” 

“Knife off my throat first,” he manages without pushing his neck further onto the blade. 

A second later the girl releases him and jumps back with enough space between them to react if he ended up deciding to attack her. 

Jason gives her a quick glance as he stands up, a hand to his throat to check for blood. 

“I wasn’t lying-”

“You’re not fooling anyone you Red Hood wannabe,” she snaps. Jason just laughs in surprise, no one has ever accused him of being a Red Hood wannabe. He's the one who made the mantle into something to respect, something to fear. He stops laughing and levels a glare at the girl, his helmet telling him unhelpfully there was no match of facial recognition in any database. 

“I am Red Hood-” he started to growl out but she cut him off again. The audacity. 

“Red Hood wouldn’t have been caught by the person he was trailing, Red Hood wouldn’t have been caught off guard, Red Hood doesn’t have a stupid streak of white hair on his head. He may have been a theatre nerd but he wouldn’t do that.” 

Wait what. 

“What are you talking about?” But it was more of a demand than a question. 

“You’re not…” she trailed off waving her hand in the air trying to find a word, “slick. Same jacket, same shoes, same build, yeah. You’re not fooling anyone.” 

“Ok. Whatever, I’m going home.” He turns and starts jogging across the rooftop towards home. So much for helping out. 

“Where is he?” she calls out after him.

“Right here, princess,” he spat before jumping to the other rooftop. 

But as soon as his feet leave the building a big dark blue warbly hole appears and swallows him before he can react. Unfortunately for him the other side of that weird black hole was a face full of concrete. 

“Prove you’re him.” 

Oh this girl was something else. Jason shakes his disorientation away, he didn’t know how she did that, nor did he care but he was pissed. He swings his foot around and connects with her ankle, she falls as expected but easily bounces right back up and hops out of his range. 

“Do that again and I’ll have to break my no killing kids rule,” he growls out, staring her down for a moment. Her face was finally lit by the dim yellow street lamps and he could see the entirety of her face and all the raw emotions she was trying to hide. For a split second familiarity passed through him, like when you see someone at the library then at the store a few weeks later or you see an old school friend ten years later and can’t quite place them. Jason dismisses the feeling and turns to go. 

“Wait.” She says it so vulnerably that Jason gives her a chance, when he turns she pulls up her sleeve and shows off her forearm. 

In the center of her arm is a faded black tattoo that was a writing symbol, but because of its name and one of its uses it was used to brand child soldiers in Gotham from a particular gang that Red Hood obliterated as soon as his first order of business in Gotham. 

‡

It was the double dagger, or better known in Gotham as the death dagger. The children were expendable although highly trained and dangerous, they could give Damian a run for his money in the child assassin department. The tattoo was a reminder to the children and to the people they came across that they were soulless, emotionless, their lives and actions were not their own and they would give their lives willingly for the mission

Meaning who they were before was dead. No family, no connections, no one would notice if they went missing and no one would be able to identify their bodies if and when the time came. Sometimes poor families would sell one of their children and promise to forget them and to never contact them. 

Jason was led to assume that this was another child soldier looking to thank him, or kill him. It was 50/50 these days, some of those kids just never recovered. 

“So what is it that you want? You want my autograph across your head?” Jason asks dryly. 

The girl just huffs and pulls her sleeve back down. 

“I want to know if my brother is underneath that mask.”

I want to know if my brother is underneath that mask.

The words struck Jason deep in his chest but it only fueled his anger. He didn’t know why that hit so deep but he was not in the mood for this nor would he be at any time. 

“Just because I ended that gang doesn’t mean we’re family. Go find your other assassin siblings to play house with.” 

“Annette,” she calls after as he turns his back again. A strike of familiarity pulses through him and when he hesitates she continues, “that was my name before I was initiated. I was one of the first. Daddy’s little girl,” she was still talking louder than necessary since he hadn’t turned back around. “I’m the only one left from The 13.” 

Right. The 13. That’s what everyone called the first batch even as they were killed off, they were the most ruthless being the oldest and were also the most aggressive in proving their worth. It was common to find a number from 1-13 placed strategically behind at the crime scene, whoever had the most successful missions would be highly rewarded, or so he was told. 

“Do you remember?” 

“I remember destroying that gang and their stupid leader and having to kill some of your little friends and I also remember The 13 died within the first year and a half and were easily replaced by their younger friends.” 

“Do you remember me?”

“Look, kid,” he finally turns to look at her, “I don’t care, ok? Yay whoopdeedoo I saved you, get in line. It’s what I do, kill bad people and let the rest walk away. You’re not special.” 

“Annette Marie Todd,” she says hurriedly, like it’s a last resort. “Jason Peter Todd,” she continues, “just you. Me. And a blitzed out Mom.” 

Jason did not like this, he knew the Dagger Children were ruthless and expert manipulators but this was pushing it. He spun around to face her, ripping off his helmet, she already knew what he looked like and it was in the way of his death glare. 

“You don’t know who you are messing with. If you really were a Dagger you’d know that I am not one to be fucked with.” He slides his helmet back on and without a backward glance he runs off to the next roof and continues home. Thankfully not another portal thing opens up in front of him. 

———————————

Jason didn’t have a sister. He did not have a sister. He would remember having a sister. He would remember having a Dagger for a sister. But Annette was such a familiar name. And she had said her name was Annette Marie Todd. Todd. 

No that’s stupid. Impossible. She was just messing with him, for all he knew she could have been subtly showing her face in random places for him to react to the familiarity of her face and she could have said the name sometime in the last few months for him to vaguely recognize the sound of her name but not place it. 

But the Lazarus pit did alter his memories from childhood, it was like looking through a fog of red anger, or maybe it was always like that even before the pit, and it also completely wiped out other parts of his memory. But a sister? No. No way. 

Hours of this, circling around the possibilities and shifting around on his bed trying to get comfortable until he finally drifted off in a very restless sleep. 

Jason found himself in a familiar apartment, the one he lived in before his “mother” died. He looked around and it was more of the feeling of familiarity that convinced him where he was than anything else. He steps aside for a younger version of himself to run by him and turns to the window that led out to the fire escape and watches him climb out of it and close the window. Jason turns back around to see what Young Jason was hiding from. A man hands a thick envelope to his mother, Catherine Todd who had wrapped herself in a thin silk robe, her bony frame visible as well as her happy focus on the money inside that envelope. Jason couldn’t make out the man’s face but he turned around and grabbed the small hand of a little girl in pigtails. She turned her head and faced the window sending a smile but he couldn’t quite make out her face so he instead turned to himself sitting outside.

As he turned his surroundings changed but in his dreamstate he paid no mind to it. This time he was standing in an aisle of a store as a child. He looked around and found his mother dressed embarrassingly in a thin tank top and ragged jeans and flip flops. He feels a squeeze of his hand and looks down, his little sister is looking up at him and pointing to a rack of stuffed animals of Clifford the Big Red Dog that were suddenly there. He sends her a smile and looks up, intent on catching up with his mother and asking her to buy one but as he chases her his intent slips from his mind and instead he wants to taste the cupcakes he just saw. He opens a case and takes a bite but yelling makes him turn around and there is Batman towering over him. Instead of a tasty cupcake he is holding something thick and metal, a crowbar. He throws it at the man and turns to run away and jumps out of the parking garage and jumps into the air flying up. But he’s too slow, he tries kicking and swimming in the air to propel himself further away from Batman but a hand wraps around his foot. 

Jason jerks awake, breathing heavy and feeling uncomfortably hot. This was much more mild than his usual nightmares, if it could even be called a nightmare, but it was bad in a different way. It wasn’t unusual for Jason to be getting chased in his dreams by one thing or another and it always ended before whatever or whoever was chasing him got him but it was getting a little old honestly. 

His head was pounding so he slipped out of bed and poured himself a glass of water from the kitchen. As he takes a sip he recalls his dream and how he had looked down at his sister. But that couldn’t be right. 

A searing pain in his head forces him to tighten his grip on his cup before it goes away again. Stupid head. Stupid dream. Stupid girl trying to get in his head. 

As he lays back down a memory of clear grey eyes flashes across his mind’s eye. 

---

Throughout the next few days Jason tries to ignore the headaches and his dreams of the young black haired girl with grey eyes and of getting chased which was more frequent and more urgent than he remembered them being. It was just all a big waste of time. At least the Dagger girl wasn’t trying to find him anymore, he didn’t know how he would react if she showed up again. 

After another dream of getting chased, this time he was just so tired of it he got a few good punches in on the Bane/Joker demon that was chasing him when his phone buzzes, startling him awake. He ignores it in favor of a cup of coffee and checks the time on the oven that he never uses, it’s almost two o’clock. 

His phone buzzes again several more times in quick succession. He finally heads over and clicks his phone on to see five messages from Stephanie. 

Replacement’s replacement🤰

so u have a little sister and u never told me???

anyways shes at the big house and getting interrogated by bruce and i think hes ready to adopt her

hello

so rude

i mean it looks to me shes tellin the truth but like seems sus for obvious reasons and ur the only one that'll actually know so… hurry up??

Jason curses and rushes to grab his things before running outside and zooming to the Wayne Manor on his motorcycle. 

welp i’ll add with another part soon that i havent finished yet but anywho let me know if jason is too ooc or something😁😁

[gothmikasagf]

ahh, hello babes!! <3 i was wondering if i could possibly get a stranger things matchup? if not that’s totally fine!

i am pansexual, though i do have a preference towards men! my pronouns are ( she / her )! i am five foot four, and have an hour-glass figure, considering that i am a good medium size if i had to say so myself! i currently have short hair that’s shorter on the sides and longer on the top that is dark brown ( though i am currently trying to grow it out to a bob length so she’s a little overgrown 💀 ). i have pale ivory skin with bright blue eyes and faint freckles that dot my cheeks and shoulders. i also have dimples that show when i smile really hard! i tend to wear classic cat-eye black eyeliner, and am planning to get a nose ring piercing in a couple of weeks! yay! i do have lobe ear piercings, and am almost always decked out in multiple dainty rose-gold rings, my rose gold necklaces, and dangly earrings that have my zodiac symbol — ♈︎, as i am an aries! <3 my style leans towards casual alt with hints of witchy hippie vibes! including flowy thin fabrics, layering, crop tops, etcetera!

i am an aries with personality type isfj. i tend to be severely insecure about my appearance, and am generally quiet around new people ( being an introvert ), though able to crack some jokes. i am often dubbed the therapist friend and the mom friend, always being prepared for outings and such! my favorite thing in the world in laughter, so i spend a lot of my time talking with friends and trying to make people laugh, as well as pushing myself out of my comfort zone to try and talk casually with people i may not know as well. i love to bake, read, write, sketch / draw, and watching horror movies! <3 i am a horror movie enthusiast, currently on a journey to collect slasher series. i’m a huge sucker for music too, could not live without it! my favorite styles of music tend to be 80’s, alt rock, rock n roll, and rarely a few metal songs. my favorite dog breed is between corgi and golden retriever, and i am often compared to being like a corgi.. do with that what you will!

my idea date is watching movies from the comfort of a home, comfortably laying against each other and making our own commentary! i would say my “type” would either be, “scary strong who is secretly sweetheart” or “protective sweetheart” <3 please, i’m sorry but i just wanna dote and care for someone bigger than me </3 ( which is easy since i’m 5’4” ).

NOTE : i would often say that i don’t have a type!!! the ones i put above are simply the first things that came to mind — i generally tend to like a large variety of people, though it usually boils down to who they are personality wise <3

thank you so much, and i apologize if this was far too much information 😳

I match you with...

Eddie Munson!

I think he'd love to have a s/o shorter than him and would tease you so much. If you notice that things start appearing in higher places than before he doesn't know anything, hee swears.

He'll come with you when you tell him you'll be getting a piercing and he doesn't take no for an answer.

He always notice when you feel insecure and reassures you his way, he's always able to make you smile.

He notices that you always try to make other people laugh so he prides himself into being the one that makes you laugh.

He always wants to help you when you're baking but baking it's really not his thing so he's just there to annoy you.

He's also a fan of horror movies, way more casually than you are, and he will never say no to a horror movie with you. At the end he always tries to scare you.

He's always down to discuss whatever movie you watched together and he always says that if you were in a horror together he would be the one protecting you. It's not true though and you both know it.

I hope you liked it!

[op-sheepy]

ok so I'm particularly interested in

Bellamy Law

Law and Bible stuff

Law is a substitute kindergarten teacher

shichibukai applications

reverse hanahaki disease (?? do u spit out flowers when your nemesis walks by?)

if you feel like elaborating on any of these!

This is gonna get long and I actually contemplated posting them separately but would that have been more work? Yeah, that felt like more work so for anyone interested, check under the cut. :D

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Bellamy Law

Hm… This would be an attempt to explore the parallels and contrasts between Bellamy and Law. I've always found it fascinating that the former was a foil to the latter.

They both come from well-off  towns in the North Blue.

Bellamy left because of boredom. Law had no choice because Flevance.

Both ended up seeking Doflamingo  because of  his notoriety as a pirate. Both admired him initially

Doffy favored one over the other though. Bellamy always sought his approval but was never really part of the inner circle Doflamingo cared about.

Law got the dubious privilege of being part of the family despite being absent for so long. Even offered one of the highest seats by Doffy's side for seemingly nothing.

Law had no trouble turning his back on Doffy once he realized the man's nature. Bellamy tried to stick to his principles until the end despite admitting that he new he was wrong.

Bellamy can (and did) quit piracy after his ordeal with Doflamingo. Having the option to live peacefully, perhaps a return to his previous life (the one he considered boring). Law can't do that quite as easily what with his Devil fruit and his reputation.

I thought it would be interesting trying to explore what Bellamy was thinking. Did he hear the Donquixote Pirates talk about their missing 'family'? Did he get to see Doffy be amused at Law's rise as a Supernova while he kept being reminded of his own status? Did Law save Bellamy partially because he also saw what he could have been had Corazon not saved him?

On principle, Bellamy should have hated Trafalgar Law. Does. Bastard even saved him without him wanting it. But there was something about the shadows haunting those eyes and Bellamy started to wonder.

He had heard the family talk about Law before. The child personally taught by Doflamingo, chosen to be his right hand. Never was he compared to the man because Law was just obviously better. Smarter. Stronger. Bellamy was ever just an uncouth thug.

He was allowed to 'borrow' Doflamingo's symbol while Law had an empty seat waiting for his return–a seat Bellamy had wanted enough to risk everything for.

Maybe he had resented, Trafalgar Law for carelessly rejecting the things he had that Bellamy had always desired. In the end too, Trafalgar Law did prove to be better. He'd done as a child what Bellamy had trouble doing even as he was now.

But having been given the chance to observe the other man as they all recovered, he wondered, perhaps for the first time, whether despite Law being better than Bellamy, Bellamy had had it better–barring the poor life choices.

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Law and Bible stuff

This is just me wanting to know how many biblical parallels and themes I can draw from Law, the Donquixote brothers, the characters associated with them, and his backstory. Honestly not sure whether this would become a fic and in what style or I'm gonna give up and just make it a post.

Not gonna elaborate on them much but here are the ideas in more bullet points (yay):

Law gets familiar with all four horsemen of the apocalypse: conquest, war, famine, and death. He even survives them.

Law is like the son in the parable of the prodigal son to the Donquixote pirates. Except the themes are inverted.

Doflamingo and Rocinante -> Cain and Abel

Ope Ope no Mi -> Granting eternal life by sacrificing one's own life

Gods descending or living among humans. Also, Homing and his family being prosecuted for other people's sins.

That scene where they were hanged by their arms outstretched looks like a crucifixion. Also, Rocinante was on the right while Doflamingo was on the left. Similar to how the penitent thief was on the right and the unrepentant one to the left.

Flevance being considered a paradise with walls/fences/gates and somewhere Law cannot return to.

In the panel where the Donquixote pirates are seated at the table, there were thirteen of them with Doffy at the center. Same as The Last Supper

There are a lot more of these (David and Goliath, Solomon, Jonah, Job, etc.) but I kinda lost the notes and some are more visual so I can't really explain it too well. This would is a drabble series to emphasize or highlight the parallels so no proper snippet for this one.

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Law is a substitute kindergarten teacher

Originally an idea to get around most of the Heart Pirates being nameless but evolved to include other characters as kids. Chopper is a kindergarten teacher and he convinces Law to take over his class for a week because somehow Law has the qualifications to and free time. Naturally, he wasn't able to say no.

Unfortunately, despite not being terrible at handling children, Chopper's class is filled with menaces. Also, despite not being terrible, Law can still be awkward so...

"Mr. Trofao–fargar—"

"Trafalgar."

The kid—which one was this one again? Shit, he should really get them name plates or something—scrunched up his face and tried harder, "Tar-pal—"

"Law. Just call me Law."

"Mr. Low"—eh, close enough—"can I go to the bathroom?" Wide imploring eyes stared up at him.

"Sure, go ahead." Law gestured towards the exit of the classroom with his head.

The kid just stared expectantly at him and he tried to suppress the need to narrow his eyes.

"Is there… anything else?"

"Mr. Chopper always comes with me to hold my hand."

Really?

"Mr. Chopper isn't here. You should practice doing it on your own now." He said after a deep inhale.

"But the monsters might get me…"

"No, they won't."

"You don't know that."

"I do." Before the kid could open his mouth again to argue, he added, "Besides, children taste terrible so you're safe."

The kid looked stricken and took a step back from him. Uh oh. Glistening eyes, wobbling lower lip… "Alright! I'll go with you." The kid did not look reassured. In fact he looked like going alone with Law was the last thing he wanted to do. Guess, he kinda implied that he ate children didn't he? Oops.

Well, the kid needs to go and he's not going to be cleaning up after him if he wets himself.

Law glanced at the rest of the children. It was Arts and Craft time and they seemed preoccupied enough. Still, Law doubted Chopper ever left these kids alone–already he could see some of them glancing up at him, waiting for him to leave no doubt to cause trouble. That Monkey kid in particular looked extremely suspicious.

He stood up from his crouch and clapped twice to get everyone's attention.

"Alright. Fall in line. Single file."

There was some grumbling and questioning directed at him. "What's going on?"

Law shrugged. "You're all going to the bathroom."

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Shichibukai Application Forms

Crackfic where the World Government and relevant parties review various Shichbukai Applications. Most submitted by the pirates applying themselves, some produced by their own staff. They discuss and debate. As well as judge pirate resumes.

She scanned the document. Terrible format, really. If you fail to impress within the first page, you've failed entirely. There just wasn't anyone promising enough in this batch of applications or any of the other ones before. The last one had been that clown. "Apprentice to the Pirate King," was a pretty hefty credential.

"Oh, how about this one? Three years experience pillaging, and they even listed all the towns they looted." One of the newly transferred administrative staff said.

"None of these are worth considering at all. You know, when Mihawk was asked to submit his application, he hadn't bothered with all of this. He just sent us a card with his name on it and the title "World's Strongest Swordsman," underneath."

The staff perked up. "Oh, there was an application like that." There was scramble and some shuffling before a plain white card was produced. "Here."

"'From Trafalgar Law'. What does this even mean?"

"Well, it did come with a big box..."

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Reverse Hanahaki Disease

(?? do u spit out flowers when your nemesis walks by?)

Haha. At first it was going to be that way (because it is hilarious) but the inflicted would probably choke to death too soon. Or if both enemies had it, they'd end up just coughing flowers at each other until they stopped being enemies.

The version I ended up going with was that this variant of Hanahaki, instead of afflicting those with unrequited love, affected those in denial instead. The reverse part comes from the original idea that this would usually happen if you somehow fell in love with your nemesis (someone you originally hated). So it's not the thought that the other person can't love you, it's that you can't accept that you love that other person. You get cured by confessing to the person sincerely.

This is actually another KidLaw (surprise!). And the flower coughed up directly represents the person they're in love with (I went with Oda's flower representation for them because I found it funny for plot)

So the idea is that, you get sick but you don't automatically know (maybe) who it is because that's part of being in denial. Kid and Law have many enemies after all. In this story they both get it though not exactly at the same time and not known to the other.

He survived Amber Lead Syndrome only to be killed off by a stupid flower disease that apparently knows more about his own feelings than he does.

He glared at the petals. Tulips. Red.

An image of a cocky grin and a shock of red hair flashed through his mind and—nope. That's not right.

He coughed harder, tears stinging his eyes with the effort. More flowers. Now he has enough for a bouquet.

Alright, he was a doctor. He could do this. Differential time.

First, which variant does he have. He doesn't particularly feel unloved or hopeless. There wasn't anyone he wanted in particular to love him. Ok, nothing. It was maybe safe to say he had that other variant.

Which was stupid because Law had many enemies and he hated all of them.

And cue the racking coughs. More red. He was very familiar with that particular shade.

New theory. This was a new variant that somehow makes you sick when you think of the person you hated the most.

Yes, that had to be it. He thought as he all but collapsed on the floor from the sudden paroxysm.

I knew this was gonna get long. :) Oh well...

Thank you for playing. :D

[feebleturtleduck-artz]

”I still could take you in a Agni Kai, Zuzu... if you think spending all that time with the peace-loving airbender hasn’t made you soft.” Posting more art from DeviantART I completed(not really lol) earlier this year. Ahhhh... back when I had SOME symbolism of passion with my art and gave a shit and depression wasn’t eating me up as bad. Well, maybe it was. I recall trying very hard to pretend I wasn’t depressed. I guess I was better at ignoring it for some reason.

Boy do I miss wanting to draw and not doing it to keep normality.Beh

Anyways enough rambles, this is one of my absolute favorite things I drew this year! Was surprised at my own skills as I’ve never been good at people let alone Avatar: The Last Airbender people.

Fucking happy as hell with this I am. It came out great!! Drawn on Feb 21, 2020. Adult Zuko and Azula. Adult Zuko design is from the “Old friends” official poster(obviously) Adult Azula I made up myself. I tried to keep her old look but used references of young, teen and adult Katara for a reference of how the faces might change from teen to adult. I think I managed to keep her face shape recognizable while adding a little Ozai and Ursa in there. I always thought she looked like a tiny version of her mother but with Ozai’s ‘essence’ I guess. Like if Ozai and Ursa swapped roles and personalities. Zuko is like his father but with Ursa’s ‘essence’.

I really don’t like the dragon earring and it will probably be removed from the final version of this(when I get to it) but a bunch of my friends liked it, so it might stay. Her outfit is a slightly edited version of armor she wears at some point in the series, but made to match Zuko’s a little.

the full version of this image will have a background, with Zuko’s dragon standing behind him and her dragon standing behind her.

I guess this fits into my fanfic universe; as Azula eventually makes peace with Ursa and Zuko and reforms and becomes his best friend, and a Fire nation general. Yay happy Azula!

[gospelofme]

57 Thoughts I Had While Watching Part 2 of The Bad Batch Season Finale (Spoilers ahead!!)

I do like how Part 2 picks right up where Part 1 left off. I prefer that method since it makes it feel like one connected piece. Like how Rogue One ended where A New Hope kicks off.

Ya know, I wouldn’t mind the thunderstorms.

Okay the explosions are beautifully animated. The blues, the sparks, the orange flames. And I like how they’re realistically placed. So many shows with explosions don’t have them right close to the characters, even if they’re supposed to be all around them.

This episode is kinda darkly lit. Not like Battle of Winterfell in Game of Thrones.

Okay yeah, that clone reporting the destruction…thats some sadness there.

That inner alarm has me thinking “oh shit my flight has changed gates again hasn’t it!!”

Damn, imagine being unconscious and wake up in a flooding compartment with a droid and that one kid who took your place.

Okay how strong is that knife. I kinda expect it to break in half. Wrecker would

probably try to trade with Hunter after that.

The shot of the burning buildings on the water is so beautiful too. The reflections were well done.

About AZ being like “oh hey homie, you survived being blown up but now you’re drowning. And I’m watching while this literal child tries to move metal debris off of you.”

Okay Omega using her bow like that is genius. But please wee baby don’t hit Crosshair by accident. And the way the bolts underwater were animated. 🤌🏻🤌🏻

And Crosshair being all “wtf?!”

Dang Omega is so take charge here.

Okay the sprays of water from the door is so well done. And omg they just pop outta there lmao!!!! About how Omega is caught and they just let Crosshair slide on the floor.

Haha Crosshair being like “Hunter, you fucker did you break something?!”

I really wish it wasn’t so darkly lit, but it does bring a sense of realism. The power is out, so what we’re able to see is what the characters are able to see with flashlights. Plus I’m sure this would look different on my TV than iPad.

The music is so pretty, so emotional. Oh damn poor AZ.

Oh never mind. He’s good.

Crosshair quit being a poop and follow them please.

Echo and that smell lmao.

“Blind allegiance makes you a pawn. A real leader protects his squad.”

Huh. Interesting. But isn’t blind allegiance what the clones had in the Republic? Isn’t that what Clone Force 99 had in the Republic? At least mostly. Some clones didn’t have that obviously, like Cut.

Ooohh Crosshair’s expression when Hunter knocked his shoulder. That seemed like surprise. There is something to that.

Hmmmmmm I’m with Crosshair on that. Going through a glass tunnel with cracks in it hundreds of feet below the surface would be a no from me. Also, what about water pressure? Is that not a thing there? Like wouldn’t you get a massive headache traveling through that? Or maybe not….idk.

Oh fuck Wrecker letting Crosshair know what’s what. I do like that he’s finally expressing how he feels. I’ve always thought there was more of a brotherly relationship between Wrecker and Crosshair than Crosshair had with the others. And Wrecker has a point, Crosshair didn’t even try to come back to them. Of course that really isn’t a fair statement either I guess. Wrecker should remember how he couldn’t control what he did when his chip kicked on.

And Tech jumping in and saying that Crosshair has always been “severe and unyielding” is a good way to let us know a bit more of what’s normal behavior for Crosshair. I like how he’s reminded Wrecker that some things Crosshair can’t help due to just how he is (likely a byproduct of the enhancement experiments).

“Understanding you does not mean I agree with you.” Ugh if only more people had this mindset. Also, the whole “why are you defending me?” sounds like Tech doesn’t usually leap to Crosshair’s defense (even though that’s not what he’s doing here). Which further makes me think that the brotherly relationship that usually exists between team members (like Domino squad eventually, Rex/Echo/Fives/Kix/Jesse/Hardcase/Tup) doesn’t exist here between all the guys. It’s more sporadic. Crosshair seems to get along better with Wrecker (in their own way, teasing and their droid death counts) than he does with Tech.

Also perhaps they should not stop so often…ya know, just in case the tunnel implodes.

Oh nope nope nope. No underwater tubes and sea monsters for Bethany.

AZ is so peppy. Like he sounds so positive when relaying bad news. He sounds like the kinda droid that would be like “good news is you have great cholesterol, bad news is you have cancer. But yay no diabetes!”

Oh yeah I kinda forgot Hunter wasn’t with them they first got to the private lab. And oh damn, Omega is technically older than them. The whole accelerated aging thing is just so unfair.

Well we really couldn’t expect a glass tunnel to fully survive aerial bombardment. Better start swimming fuckers!!

Damn, someone find AZ a charger! I bet Tech has one for his datapad that boy is attached too. He seems like the type to never be without a phone charger. He also seems like the type to not want to share it because no one else in the squad treats their charge cords with respect.

Dad gum Crosshair, I didn’t hear you spouting off any bright ideas. Geez, who peed in your wheaties?!

Hunter takes things too personally?! Weren’t you being all Salty McSourpus over Hunter leaving your ass on Kamino for shooting at him and the others? Were you not taking that too personally? But kudos to Hunter for reminding him the Empire peaced the fuck out and left him to die on Kamino. Although…Crosshair does sound like he’s trying not to care about that. Like it does bother him but he’s acting like he don’t give a fuck.

“The Empire will control the entire Galaxy. And I’m going to be a part of it.” Uhm, sir…you’re currently in a secret lab at the bottom of the ocean with no means of escape right now. How do you plan to be a part of the Empire from down here? Like, are you going to establish the underwater branch of the Empire and assert the Emperor’s control over the sea critters?

Ugh Omega trying so hard to bond with Crosshair. Like the parallel between this scene and the holding cell scene. And her thinking she was wrong about the chip making him behave like a dick. Oh sweet baby, you’re not wrong. He still has that thing. But he has always been a dick per Tech’s words earlier. But she’s trying so hard to show him the similarities between them.

I’ve noticed Crosshair does a lot of pushing people away. Like he’s been doing that with Hunter and Omega this whole season. Speaking harshly to them both (although I think some of the things he says to Hunter, he’s always wanted to say). But I think it’s more that he wants to avoid disappointing them, so he shoves them away to prevent that feeling. Like perhaps he thinks he isn’t worthy to be around them, that they’ll be better off without him around.

Oh fuck, look at you contributing now Mr. I Am Going To Complain About Other People’s Ideas.

Did they have to draw straws to see who got their own pod and who had to team up with who? Like,

Hunter: “Someone has to go with Tech.”

Crosshair, Wrecker: “Not it!”

Echo: “not it, fuck I wasn’t fast enough.”

Oh the wee child is getting her own pod. Okay then.

Of course Hunter and Crosshair get doubled up. I bet they argue the whole time.

Crosshair: “stop breathing all the air!!”

Hunter: “stop standing on my foot!!”

Crosshair: “well it’s not my fault you have Sasquatch feet!”

Oh damn. Well bye Omega. It was nice knowing you. Crosshair probably has your eulogy already written.

Hm, so Tech never shared his datapad charge cord with AZ. Bummer.

Awww poor AZ. He was a good droid. We’ll remember how he OMG OMEGA WHAT THE FUCK?!!???

Again is water pressure not a thing in Star Wars?

Sweetie. He’s metal. You won’t be strong enough to pull him along with you.

Oh fuck Crosshair! Oh damn the look on his face is like “Hunter, get you ugly ass face out of my shot.” Oh damn, boy has got some good eyesight, I want a piece of that.

Bruh, that’s gotta hurt. You just saved the kid they all love and they got you at blaster point. Buuuuuut at the same time you haven’t expressed the most positive attitude towards said kid either. So maybe they have a good reason to think you’d shoot her? Still. Damn. That’s gotta hurt, since if it had been the good ol’ days they’d be like “nice shot buddy!”

Hunter looks more wary than upset honestly. Like he isn’t sure why Crosshair did that, but he’s not sure if Crosshair would want him expressing gratitude either. Hunter doesn’t seem to know how to treat him any more. Crosshair belittles him and speaks harshly to him, but then saves Omega. It’s almost like old Crosshair is still in there, knowing how attached the team is to Omega. Even if he does think she’s not in the safest environment with them.

Oh…omg what is this?! I just noticed, no rain on Kamino….AND SUNSHINE?! Like is that a fucking sunrise??!!?? Oh shit you guys there is symbolism here!!! Like a new start or something impossible has happened. Like there has never been sunshine on Kamino, it’s always stormed. Always. Always and forever it has done that. But after the destruction of Tipoca City, the rains cease and the sunshine comes out. Like….omg guys. It’s pretty!!

Interesting. Omega seems sad that a place she didn’t want to ever return to is gone. But I guess that’s probably the notion that she’s essentially homeless setting in. That the only home she’s had (before Clone Force 99) is gone.

Also, I have this theory that Ghost Fives probably travels with Echo, and he’d likely be like “good! Fuck that place. Killing Tup there and all. Bitches.”

Echo: “stfu Fives, she’s sad okay.”

Honestly I’m not surprised Crosshair refused their offer to come with them. He has his pride and I feel like he doesn’t want to admit aligning with the Empire was a mistake. That he was wrong and Hunter was right. Especially after being all Pro-Empire and talking about how they’re going to be what the Galaxy needs.

“Consider us even.” GIRL he admits it! He was saving YOU!! YOU! Not the dumb droid, YOU!!!!

His face says it all when they pull away. Like he regrets not going with them, but he can’t bring himself to stay with them. He’s really conflicted right now. He has programming in his head telling him one thing and another portion of his mind reminding him that Tech, Wrecker, Hunter, and even Echo care about him. That they’re a team. He even wanted them to join the Empire so they could all get back together. He does want to be with them, but it’s going to take time to get passed the war in his head.

Oh damn, Nala Se and some Commando buddies. Yeah there’s something up with her. She seems to have gained a lot out of this. Making herself more important than Lama Su and likely more important than the other scientists from Kamino. I wonder if this was her plan all along. It’s so hard to tell what Kaminoans are thinking because they don’t express emotions facially or even vocally.

I read a post somewhere about Nala Se doing childish science experiments. Like the baking soda/vinegar volcano. And now I can’t get the image out of my head of her teaching like a high school chemistry class where you get to do those classic science fair experiments. Things exploding, clones accidentally gassing each other at a table. Someone betting someone else 5 credits to drink a solution.

@leias-left-hair-bun @halzore @escapedthesarlacc @eyecandyeoz

[echo-three-one]

Chapter 40.5

THE ROAD SO FAR

Yay bonus chapter

The Fall of the Capital

Pvt. James Ramirez

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington D.C.

Three hours after the EMP Blast

The bunker was dimly lit with green flares as the private settled his 50th injured person underground. As the sun slowly set down to the west, hordes of aircraft from unknown invaders were starting to get close and the rest of the responding rangers had to clear all civilians for the inevitable battle. 

After safely delivering the final few survivors, it was now time to head on alongside Sgt. Foley and prepare traps to put them into advantage.

Ramirez had little info on how the war escalated in as quick as three hours. But the general rumor which scattered all throughout the squad was that American citizens started shooting Europeans which prompted a patriotic man named Nero to get permission on an all out attack. He didn't even confide with his government as he claimed to act like a vigilante with an army. Which was bullshit.

Now they were the first ones to respond to the first onslaught. The mission : Secure the country's symbol. The White House should never be in the hands of invaders. Ramirez never thought of fighting in his homeland. The idea made it a lot more crucial than ever.

"Ah Ramirez, you made it. Grab some claymores by the cache and help us place it throughout the battlefield. This may put us at an advantage." Sgt. Foley ordered, his voice was commanding as always. Ramirez quickly followed orders and strategically placed their traps around their suggested area. They were guarding a mile's worth of the battlefield while the rest covered the nearby areas. 

"Look at them, Ramirez." Foley remarked while the private planted his last claymore. Dozens of parachuting troops descended from the planes. Snipers warned that these parachuters are wearing civilian clothing not suitable for war, and the possibility of them being the missing persons are extremely high.

"Do not engage!" Word was relayed through comms as Ramirez set his sights on one of the descending persons. He knew one of these was his best friend's brother who was already missing for seven months. 

Once the persons landed on the ground, they began to groggily recover, seeking help from nearby people as they looked lost and confused.

Some soldiers helped out those who were starting to get near and struggling and Ramirez wanted to help as well. Foley immediately stopped him on his tracks and told him that they're enough to escort them back.

"This guy's chest hurts! Does anyone have first aid?" A soldier yelled as they removed his blood soaked clothing, to tend to their wounds.

 Ramirez didn't see anything but the soldiers immediately ran leaving the injured hostage on the ground.

"S shit! This madman attached bombs to the civvies!" One of the responding soldiers yelped as they ran for cover. 

"Scopes confirm the ticking timer on his chest. Requesting demolitions to-" Ramirez couldn't  finish the radio transmission as the bomb blew up, the explosion was not too large but there was no way that that man could make it out alive.

"Fuck. This Nero is mad!" One soldier cried as they saw a few more people approaching. Ramirez and the rest of the squad fell back to cover.

"Sneaky bastards are using our civvies as meat shields!" Foley commanded.

"Try not to hit civvies! We'll get demolitions and the bomb squad to rescue them!" He roared, as a collective cheer of acknowledgement followed. Ramirez got back to his scope and aimed his sights at the approaching enemies behind the meat shield, firing at every armored man holding a gun.

This went on until such time that armored trucks and tanks started to arrive on the scene, forcing them to retreat about half a klick. The enemies approached in overwhelming numbers as the team was distracted on whether to shoot the civvies or not. 

Where does morality draw the line? They were American citizens and they were the ones whom they swore to protect, but now that they've become threats, is it truly okay to end their lives? Is it all for the greater good?

The bomb squad was having a hard time detonating a lot of attached bombs. Some actually never made it on time and it was frustrating to see them explode on the battlefield.

Aside from the physical harm of war, the soldiers were slowly losing morale as they had to see their countrymen die in front of the White House.

"Fall back!" Foley yelled, forcing the squad to once again get close to the White House. Some soldiers already lost their minds seeing people of different ages explode in front of them and they can't do anything about it. This man had no mercy.

Ramirez tried to contain all his emotions. Taking the White House would be much worse than losing a few hundred lives, and someone had to stay strong amidst the chaos. They had to push through.

Then the tide of war changed. They did what they could and the human shields were only few. With that out of the way, the whole defense team quickly got up to their feet and pushed back. Ramirez channeled all his bottled anger on his rifle, dashing around and shooting everything against him. If Nero wanted war, he's going to get it.

Not long enough, they reclaimed their original spot. The smell of explosives filled the area as claymores took away some of the enemies. Downed helos from both attacking and defending teams were all around the place, as well as burning tanks and vehicles.

It was a mess, but the enemies kept on coming. They seemed very confident in taking the house and it seemed that they still had tricks up their sleeves.

"Whiskey Mike is under attack! They're using a different kind of bomb. Requesting assistance" The squad defending the east side of the house complained.

"Ramirez! Follow me and provide assistance on the east wing!" Foley commanded and Ramirez nodded, dashing through the covers of the battlefield on their way to the east wing.

The air still crackled with electricity as most of his comrades fell on the floor, covering their ears.

"What happened here?!" Foley immediately assisted the struggling soldier.

"Emp grenades. But much worse. My head's been ringing for a long time now. It hurts so bad." He groaned as he tried to grab his rifle and stand up.

Ramirez quickly hid and responded with fire when the enemies showered their bullets on them. His allies scattered through the east wing and began providing assistance, weakening the enemy's assault.

Then from the corner of his eye, Ramirez saw another EMP grenade flying across the battlefield, his eyes widened as he tried to escape the radius of the grenade, diving into the safest spot he could think of. 

The blast was a loud crackle of electricity followed by the intense ringing on his ears, making him close his eyes, wince in pain and beg for it to stop as it became louder and louder, the sound almost screeching all throughout his brain.

He lost all his focus and he couldn't think. He can't even feel his whole body. It was all dark and the ringing never stopped. He still wanted to get up. He didn't want it to end this way. 

Next Chapter : FIVE Seconds

Notification Squad my Beloved

@enderio @whimsywispsblog @samatedeansbroccoli @smokeywhalee @ricinbach @bumblingbee1

[whumpqin]

Day 9: Nightmares

Just realized today that I’ve officially gone past the number of days I went in the past challenge! Yay milestones!

Taglist: @faewhump @imagination1reality0 @galaxywhump @castielamigos-whump-side-blog @insanitywishes @whump-story-prompts @burtlederp @whumpasaurus101

CW: Knives, glass, nightmare, noncon kiss, torture, blood, panic attack, touch aversion, whumpee becoming the whumper, immobilization, monster whumper intimate/creepy/sadistic, vaguely referenced consensual sex (blink and you’ll miss it), ~symbolism~, pet whump, dehumanization, inhuman whumpee, and perhaps others! Please let me know if something should be tagged.

Word Count: 1,381

“I love you,” he said, drawing another clean cut across his chest. Not deep enough to mortally wound, but enough to sting.

It’s clear he didn’t want to kill him. It’s clear that he wanted to hurt him.

“Please, Caleb,” Omri begged. Tears fell from his eyes as he drew in heavy gasps, trying to scream, only to have his voice fade and echo into nothing. “Please, don’t let them do this, please, help me…”

Caleb smiled, unmoved by the blood splatters across his face, or the knife-shaped glass in his hands. The cool expression read as nothing beyond completely empty. Drained of anything that could make him a person.

He fiddled with the collar around his neck, plucking at the metal tag that hung from it. Like he was a dog.

“It’s Elisha. Didn’t you hear?” He almost… giggles. Purposefully childish. Like they were playing a game. Caleb-Elisha leaned forward, half-lidding his one present eye while he hovered over Omri. “Maybe you weren’t listening. Guess I should start over again, huh?”

Elisha pressed a slow, painfully passionate kiss to Omri’s lips, before pulling away to look him in the eye.

“I love you. And there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Another cut was drawn across his stomach, deeper this time, and Omri could feel the welling blood dripping off of his torso. He screamed through his nose, the only sound he could that he could actually hear, as his head pressed back into the pillow. Omri heard Elisha laugh again, delighted in feeling him struggle.

He couldn’t move. Like a weight pressed on his limbs as they were outstretched, allowing him to move his head back and forth in agony but always preventing his escape. It didn’t help that Elisha was straddling him, pressing him further into the suffocating bed that Omri so desperately wanted away from.

“Caleb! Caleb please, stop, you’re-you’re hurting me, please! Don’t let them get away with this, please don’t, please…” Omri sobbed into the crook of his elbow, all of the painful cuts and stings singing to his song, rippling outwards in pain every time he gasped for air.

“Aw, diamond… I think you’ve done a bit much, don’t you? Look at the poor thing…” Another voice crooned, honey sweet and sinister at the same time. Then, there was a whistle. “Hey, up here boy! Look at me.”

Omri forced his eyes open, and they drifted over to a solid red figure with too wide of a smile staring back at him, glittering like the garnet he had held in his hands just today. The smile somehow grew wider at the command being obeyed.

“You look like you could use a drink. Want some tea? Come on Elisha, get up off of him.” The figure only needed to crook their fingers back for Elisha to move. For a moment Omri lamented him going away, but then realized it was for the better. “Go on then. Get up.”

Omri tried to move his limbs, whining as they still were completely useless.

“I said get up, Omri. What, is this some sort of fun game to you? I’m offering tea out of the kindness of my heart, and you’re just rejecting me? How impolite.” The finger reached forward, grabbing one of Omri’s pointed ears with a clawed hand and tugging. “Maybe you’re not really a fairy at all?”

“I am, I am!” he cried. “Please, help me, I can’t move. Don’t leave me like this, please!”

“What a damn shame. I think he’s broken,” the red figure said, as if Omri wasn’t begging for his life. “I’m sorry Elisha, but I don’t think we can take this one with us. We’ll find you another chewtoy to play with, okay?”

“Oh… oka-”

A knock at the door made all of their heads turn. Omri’s breath caught in his throat.

Salvation.

“HE- mmmphmph!” Omri’s mouth was covered quickly by the red figure.

“Oh no you don’t. Listen to me, Omri. Hey, listen!” the figure hissed, shaking him lightly to get his attention. Omri whined through his nose, pleading desperately with them to let him go. “I think it’s time you got up, don’t you think?”

He whimpered. He couldn’t get up, that’s what he’s been trying to do. Why couldn’t they understand that?

They sighed, tilted their head as the knocking grew more intense. Like a pounding in Omri’s head, it started to ache.

“Come on, love. Do I have to do all the work around here? Here, let me show you…” They reached over, pulling a sharp, knife-like glass piece from the nightstand. They positioned it straight over Omri’s heart. Tears wept from his widened eyes with an increased fervor as the fear and anticipation in his heart built up. “You line up where you want to go, right?”

They smiled, sharp-toothed.

“Then you push.”

--

Omri awoke with a sharp gasp. Two hands were grabbing onto his shoulders, shaking him awake. He didn’t even check to see who it was before he pushed them to the side, leaping up off of wherever he was laying to stand straight up. His foot caught on an errant blanket, and he fell backwards into the floor with a loud thud.

In the darkness, a red figure scrambled off of the bed too, kneeling down beside Omri. Their hand reached out to press against his chest, and Omri screamed.

“No, get away from me! Don’t touch me! Please, please, it hurts, no more, please…” His screams readily devolved into sobs, as he curled inwards on himself to protect the cuts across his chest.

“Om, hey, Ommy! Look at me, hon, you’re okay, it’s alright,” the figure soothed, holding up defensive hands. Fiery eyes glinted in the darkness, horns stuck out in the figure’s silhouette and branched out into antlers, and a large tail swept across the floor. “That’s it, who am I? Tell me.”

“Qui…” Omri wiped his eyes quickly to get rid of the blurriness in his vision. “Quinn? Please… please tell me it’s you…”

“Yeah, yeah it is, hon. Look, I’m gonna just move on over here and turn the lights on, okay?”

When Omri nodded, the figure shifted over to his left, reaching to the nightstand. His breath hitched, for just a moment, until the lights flashed on, blinding him for a moment.

When he was able to finally blink his eyes open, he saw the full figure of Quinn staring down at him. Deep reddish skin marked with several scars and all the normal features of a Cambion- 

And totally naked. He forgot about that part.

“See? Just me. It’s just us here, Ommy. No one else,” Quinn said, smiling faintly at the recognition he must have seen in Omri’s eyes.

“No one else,” Omri repeated in a breathy tone. Relieved.

His eyes drifted downwards to his bare chest, where he had been clutching his supposed wounds, to see… nothing. Nothing beyond the faint, white scars where a knife had been so long ago. Omri breathed a sigh of relief, relaxing against the ground he had fallen onto.

“I saw him. In my dream.” Omri’s voice was raw, like he’d been screaming for a lot longer than it felt. He wondered, briefly, if those echoed screams found their way to real life. Maybe that’s why Quinn woke him up. He turned his gaze over to his, well, his friend for now, who stared at him in worry. “I saw him.”

It sounded like a confession. Maybe it was.

Quinn’s mouth parted in shock, in horror, then finally closed as his brow furrowed. He crouched low to meet eyes with Omri, fiery gaze darting over every feature on his bare form to ensure that he really was alright. “Omri…” he started, weariness making his accent thicker, drawing out the last vowel in Omri’s name.

Omri looked away. “I saw him, Quinn,” he repeated. Tears welled in his eyes and his lip quivered. Like his mind could barely understand what it had just seen. “I saw him, and… and I couldn’t… I-I...

The tears began to run rivers down his face as Omri grimaced and covered his face in shame. Grief again swelled in his heart at remembering the last words he heard from Caleb’s mouth.

I’m sorry.

I love you.

[nautiscarader]

Kainora - telepathy

That was created back in september, and it somehow has 3k words o_O

Also, yay, first for Kainora!

()(Ao3)(Next>>)

On nights like these, Jinora found it difficult to meditate. Though she has leaned against her flying bison, which she thought would grant her even greater connection to the spirit world, her mind was stirred, annoyed, unfocused. And at some point, the airbending master has snapped.

- Can you be quieter?!

Her sister nearly shrieked when Jinora fumed at her, and dropped her book.

- What? Did I flick the pages too loud? - Ikki barked back - Although I might have just fallen asleep and snored, this book is boring.

Jinora groaned.

- I’m sorry, I just… I can’t meditate. And I don’t think me getting angry at you will help achieve inner peace.

Ikki looked at her sister, as she curled against her sky bison. She opened her mouth, hesitated for a moment, and then decided to throw all the pretence outside their tent.

- I think I know why you can’t meditate. - Yeah? - Jinora raised her head from her position - Why? - You haven’t had Kai in three weeks. - You shut your…!

Ikki blasted a stream of air in her face in defence, which, for once, did not make Jinora redirect it, as she fell back onto the deep, fluffy fur of her companion.

- Wow, I defeated an airbending master! - Ikki cheered and did a lap inside their tent on her airball. - I was… distracted. - Jinora replied - Yeah. Cos you haven’t had your boyfriend in nearly a month!

Jinora slumped back onto the bamboo matt that separated them from the ground. And though she hated to admit it, Ikki was right. It’s been three weeks since different groups of airbenders moved to help other nations, and the two have been separated. There was not a single phone in the village, and while she could fly to Kai, it would take her half a day, even if they decided to meet half-way through. Letters helped only so much, and though he was quite skilful with words, nothing could compare them to the touch of his fingers, taste of his lips and the feel of his…

Jinora shivered. This was precisely what was blocking her chakras. The attachment to the earth, and the low, primal needs.

The needs that burned every night between thighs…

She let out a loud groan, and listened to Ikki’s giggling.

- See? Told you. - Wish I could meet with him somehow… - she admitted in desperation. - Can’t you, you know, materialise there? - Maybe. - Jinora replied - Spiritual projection is difficult, and I don’t know if it will work on such a long distance… and you would know this if you have gotten to page 247. - Yeah, but you can try, can’t you?

Jinora pondered for a while.

- Okay, but be perfectly quiet, got it?

Ikki nodded and leaned against the portable drawer, watching her sister. She took a deep breath, crossed her legs and became motionless, sans for a few strands of her hair that moved with her bison’s breathing. But even those calmed down soon, as her companion understood what she was doing.

Jinora was flying. Flying through vast deserts and canyons of Earth Kingdom they were in, trying to center on that one spirit she wanted to see the most. Five, ten, fifteen minutes… she was moving faster than any bison, flying firebender, or a dragon could. And then, suddenly, on the dark horizon, she spotted him, a small, bright dot that nonetheless filled her vision like a sun. When she saw another flying bison on the ground, she knew he was there, and in a moment’s notice she was outside Kai’s tent, and her heart fluttered.  

Their camp was mostly empty, and she was sure no one has spotted her. She hesitated for a moment how should she do it, and she was about to move through the front entrance, as if she was corporeal, but then, she dceided to sneak up on him. through the fabric, she could see his figure, sitting on his bedding, and she stuck her head through the wall of the tent, detecting no other human energies inside.

When her eyes lay upon his dark hair, strong jawline and perky nose, her lips curled into the giddiest of smiles. Over the years Kai has truly grown into a handsome man, so much so she started noticing some other air acolytes getting interested in him, and she was glad the two have been a couple for almost five years now. Then, she smiled even more when she noticed he had a book in his hand; though he could read, it was her, who introduced him to the wonderful world of literature, and several of their early dates were spent just lying next to each other, reading up on some novels borrowed from Republic City’s library.

She flew closer to see what was the title, but as she got closer, her heart suddenly sank, at the same time, as Kai let out a deep groan and fell to his back.

It was only then that Jinora saw that while his left hand held the book, his right was moving in the unmistakable, linear motion underneath his sheets. As his groans became more and more rapid, his book dropped to the ground, and Jinora let out a gasp when she noticed it was full of drawn figures of naked women.

- Kai! - Wha-? Aah!

In a split of a second, Kai shrieked, tried to cover himself up, curled and then performed what would be an impressive airbending maneuver if it wasn’t completely accidental, resulting in him tangling himself completely in his blanket.

- Ji-Jinora?! How-What-Don’t sneak up on me like that! - Hmph! - Jinora fumed - You should be glad I’m still here. I travel for miles, straining my powers just to see you, and… and…

She looked at the dirty book lying on the ground.

- …and you find yourself a… substitute? Or maybe a whole new girlfriend? - Jinora, no! - Kai cried and got to his knees, as he reached for the book. - L-Look at it. - Look? - she opened her eyes wide - Why would I even- - Just look.

He handed her the book, and the two stared in each other, Kai’s with his begging eyes and Jinora with her piercing gaze.

- I can’t take it when I’m projecting. - Oh, right, sorry. - Kai fumbled and opened the book for her.

Jinora flew closer and looked at what she thought would be a porno book she was told were sold in many dark alleys of Republic city. But then, she realised the figures making love had very few facial features, and her eyes were instantly drawn to the symbols of the chakras, drawn on the man’s and woman’s bodies. On each page, different poses were presented, some easy, some difficult, but each contained a few words of description, and what interested her the most, it showed the flow of energies within the couple.

- There’s was a… Healer in the village… she died a few years ago, and they didn’t know what to do with her books, so I thought I will take them with us. And… You know, I thought that maybe I could… - his face became reddened. - Maybe learn something from it? - Oh, Kai…

She looked up at her boyfriend and flew right into him, and her heart broke again, as she forgot she couldn’t kiss him.  

- I miss you so much… - I miss you too. - Kai replied - Oh, and-and… this is not all.

He grabbed the book and flipped it to its end, where, as Jinora saw, a few more loose pages were put.

- See, this book is, well, kinda old. It has love making positions for water-, fire-, and earthbenders, but, well, nothing for air. So…

Jinora flew around and moved over his shoulder. The loose pages contained many drawings of a young woman with short hair and airbending tatoos… and she didn’t have to think too hard to know who was the man with short, slightly messy hair making love to her.

- Kai… - words got stuck in her throat. - Wh-What? You-You don’t like it? I made your hair longer in a few pictures…

He flipped the drawings to show the two making love on an airball, depicting her inexplicably longer hair flowing as her body was torn with pleasure.

- No, Kai, it’s… Beautiful.

Kai blinked.

- Uh, weren’t you angry at me a moment ago? - Well, yes, but…

She paused, as emotions stormed through her.

- I always wanted to preserve more about our culture. And… I guess making love is part of it… - …even though we had to figure out a lot of it on our own. - Yeah! - Jinora flew around him and “sat” in his laps - Kai, we can publish this! A-Anonymously, of course. - I guess. - his face became crimson again - I-I tried adding the flow of energies, but don’t know if I made it right. You know, it’s not right with just…

He looked at his hand.

- I know. - Jinora hid hers between her legs. - Kai… There hasn’t been a single night when I didn’t think about you. When I…

She closed her hands between her legs.

- When I tried to contain this hunger - she whispered - But it can’t go… - I know. - he replied, trying to cup her face - It’s two weeks till the equinox. The we will be again in the temple.

At the same time, the two youngsters moved their faces together, Jinora already prepared for the disappointment. But then, as she closed her eyes, she saw him, and she felt his lips on hers. A spark flew right through her body, she opened her eyes, saw Kai’s bewildered stare, and then she was looking at Ikki.

- Kai! - she screamed and reached her hands. - What happened? - Ikki asked, looking more than confused at her sister, breathing rapidly, as if she was about to faint. - Wa-was I doing something? - …aside from sitting like a stone statue? - Ikki raised her brow. - I gotta go again.

She assumed her position again, and once more projected herself to the faraway village. But this time, with the taste of Kai on her lips it took her seconds. She appeared in his tent again, watching as he frantically looked around it for her.

- Jinora!

She flew to him, but once more, their bodies, or rather one body and one spirit just phased through each other.

- What was that? I felt- Did you- - Yes!

The two looked at each other for a moment, until Jinora flew right back to his rolled bed.  

- Let’s recreate this. You were sitting here… - Yeah… - No, you were meditating! - Jinora, honey, I assure you, I wasn’t, I’m pretty rubbish at this… - The legs, you were in the pose…

She frantically tried to touch his legs to move them into the correct positions, until he did it himself.

- Okay, then what? - I… I think I closed my eyes…

And then, no sooner than she’s done it, she saw him again. He was sitting in mid-air, on what appeared to be a starry night sky, and just like her, he was glowing and translucent. He was also naked. And a quick look down proved her that her clothes were gone too.

- Wait, how- - Don’t open your eyes! - Jinora spoke, with her eyes open, looking into his, very open eyes - I think…

She reached her arms and when she felt his skin underneath her fingertips, she nearly burst into tears. A moment later, she was all over him, kissing him senselessly, moving to every inch of his exposed skin, letting their three weeks abstinence take over her.

- Kai.. I… don’t know how does it work. I mean, how can I have my eyes closed and see you… and… and… - Ssh - he put is finger on her lips - I don’t know either, and I don’t care.

Her hair flew when he took her in her arms and kissed her exposed breasts, while he positioned himself between her legs. His mouth was then on her lips, then her other ones, then her ass, his finger brushing her folds and waist, seemingly at the same time. With her legs spread, she flew through space, gripping his untidy hair. She shrieked when his tongue lapped at the dripping wet sex of her, and he groaned when her lips closed around his cock at the same time, tasting the salty, potent, musky flavour of her boyfriend in her mouth, and feeling it deep down in her throat.

And then, he was inside her, filling her with the shape and form she’s been missing. They’ve been moving in sync for hours, or maybe just a few seconds, but she was already exploding for the third time, clinging to his body, digging her nails into his skin, while he filled her again and again, spreading his virile warmth inside her body, while another climax tore hers apart. He was her, and she was him; she wanted his chakras to dominate and mingle with hers forever, especially when he was pushing himself into her again, this time from behind.

Lost in the pleasure he was giving her, she gave in to the bliss and let them fall through space, into another intercourse, but suddenly, her vision was filled with bright light from the lamp of his tent. For a split of a second, she could swear she was touching him, and from the look on his face, he could too, but then, he hand went right through him again.

The two looked at each other with the same, terrified looks on their faces. Kai’s forehead was filled with beads of sweat, as if he was in a deep fever. Jinora looked unfazed, but she certainly didn’t feel that way. She flew towards him, but before she could say anything the two heard footsteps behind her.

- Kai? - another airbender lifted the cloth door to his tent. - Something wrong? I think I heard you scream. - Ba…bad dream. I must have napped. Sorry, Gyu.

Jinora waited hidden behind him, until his friend left and flew back into her position, continuing their discussion with hushed voices.

- Kai… we’ve… we’ve done it. - But… how? - I… I don’t know. It felt like hours, or days, or… I don’t even know if it was real. - Oh, it… it was real.

Kai suddenly said and lifted his blanket, revealing his pants with a distinctive darker spot across his crotch.

- Man, I just changed those.

Jinora let out a giggle.  

- Jinora, do you know what does that mean? - Yeah! We can… be with each other. - Like in the temple. You can be in your room, I in mine, and we’d be meditating, and your father won’t be the wiser that we are having fun.

Jinora had to actively prevent herself from bursting into laughter.

- Well… I suppose you have to get better at your training then, to prevent… that… she pointed out to the single drawn page of his book, where a droplet of cum landed on the woman’s face. - Hm, I remember that night… - Er, what about you? - What? What about me? - Well…

Jinora’s eyes suddenly widened as she remembered about Ikki.

- I-I gotta go! - Wait! - Kai reached his hand, once again, in vain - Tomorrow? - Tomorrow. - she smiled and she was gone.

Defeated after the indescribable love making session, Kai fell to his bed, staring into the roof of his tent for good ten minutes. He then reached for his pages, gathered them and tried to collect his thoughts about what just happened. He will need way more paper.

Jinora’s eyes opened as rapidly as before, once again startling Ikki, though this time she didn’t fell to her back.

- Jinora? - Uh, Ikki… What happened? - You ask me? - a grimace of bewilderment appeared on her face - Did… Was I here? - Yeah. - All the time? I didn’t blink out or anything? - Well, I wasn’t looking all the time. - Ikki showed her the book.

Jinora pondered for a moment.

- How long was I with him? - Er, maybe ten minutes? - Ikki answered but then her face brightened - Wait… What do you mean “with him?” - Sh-Shut up! I-I gotta clean myself.

Jinora grabbed her towel, and rushed out of her tent to the bathhouse, while Ikki curled on the floor, laughing about “ghost sex”. Only when she arrived at the bathhouse, empty at this time of night, she was allowed to think about what happened. She disrobed herself, and she was pleased to see that unlike Kai’s, her clothes didn’t bear signs of any of her many orgasms she experienced with his spirit.

She moved her hands across her body, and she was about to walk into the pool, when she dragged her fingers across her sex, and felt… something sticky on her thigh. A single, small glob of white cum was smeared on her finger, and as she brought it to her lips, her suspicion was confirmed.

Jinora slumped over the wooden floor under the weight of the realisation. She has been with him. For just one moment, she was there, or maybe he was with her. Either way, she was sure she has achieved something she was sure no other airbender has ever even attempted, and the fact that she has done it to satisfy her carnal desires simultaneously made her ashamed and proud.

And then Jinora realised that for the past three weeks she had no motivation to protect herself, and if even if a drop of him got inside her, then she was in trouble. She quickly put on her clothes and ran back to their tent so she can brew her herbal tea.    

[whetstonefires]

"the top three of its forty floors are filled with brass telescopes of every size, pointing in every possible direction, including several that do not exist within the normal three dimensions of space." thats SUCH a cool image / "If any harvest will come." ooh i wonder whats going on / "The roofs are of red tile, the stucco of the houses painted in shades of blue. It stands empty, but has not had time to fall into disrepair." the little bits of detail getting added to the picture im LOVE (1/?)

I’m gonna do these all as one post but broken up for ease of reference, I think.

Thank you! 🥰 Deciding the theme for the Tower and giving it that visual anchor really helped to pull things together. If you consider the whole setup, it seems unlikely the Tower was originally built as an observatory, since those tend to benefit from height (especially if you’re looking around you rather than up, but for the up ones also) and the builders could easily have put it on top of a mountain or at least some hills, but instead put it by the river. It’s above sea level, and it’s away from light pollution, but there were better locations. Nearby.

So either it wasn’t an observatory, and it’s been refitted as one, or they had so many observatories they didn’t care about locating them optimally, there was some other factor making having the tower there important even if it was suboptimal in terms of observation capacity. Or, potentially, it’s been moved since it was built!

:} Yay thank for being interested by the foreshadowing. I tried to put just enough in without actively overshadowing the actual place-setting-up and making the reader impatient with the description. 

"If you look through an enchanted telescope you may see trees without needles fail halfway up the nearest of the great peaks, and even these fail before the top, though there is a span of nearly barren stone past that line, before the snow begins." you: mentions different plants living in different climates me: :0 / there's so much good description!! its all so pretty!! (2/?)

sflka;l;jlk i mean yeah, that’s pretty straightforward isn’t it. But! It establishes How Much Mountain it is visually rather than by saying ‘it was a big fucking mountain’ or ‘it was tall enough for the thinness of atmosphere near the top to create a small tundra region.’

o(*￣▽￣*)ブ

<3 Thank you! I kinda cut loose lmao.

"blocks veined with every color, pale blues and purples, reds and greens and golden-duns all mottling toward white and grey and black" god i want to live there so badly!! this tower is meeting all my standards!! cool pretty magic tower with rad telescopes!!! / "make a remark no one present understands about a Doctor named Seuss. His guide, the dousing tracker Amnaphi, will assume this person to be a famous astronomer from his homeland." im love!! misunderstandings about references!! (?/?)

💗💖✨ Yay! That’s an important feeling to create in fantasy, imo. The wanting. 

I really enjoyed playing with the standard forms for ‘thing made of marble’ here, because all these marbles really exist, but in spite of the existence of the word ‘marbled’ our narrative uses of it tend to be tied up with Neoclassical aesthetics. So very white and smooth, yeah?

Also idk if it’s obvious to the reader but this Tower is to some degree in dialogue with Orthanc, which made a great impression on my mind as a child as the iconic wizardly tower, and while I don’t disagree with any of Tolkien’s use of symbolism for the purposes he was deploying it, there’s so much potential in Isengard as a setting that LotR had no space to explore, even if Tolkien would have noticed those angles at all.

Like...the parkland around the Tower is shown being despoiled for the orcish war machine and then reconquered by the forest, but of course it wasn’t forest to begin with. What was it for before Saruman lost his shit? Ordered gardens, for peaceful contemplation? Who dedicated the space that way? Who maintained it? 

Did Saruman employ a gardener? Did he design his own gardens, or did they come with the keep, which we’re informed was built not by him but by the Numenoreans? 

(“I liked white better” is still one of the greatest lines in a fantasy novel, Tolkien does not get enough credit for his contextually hilarious one-liners that rely on pointed code-switching, but Saruman’s evil rainbow oil-slick robes also sounded really baller and it’s kind of a shame they were not attempted for the movie lol.)

The fact that this is a world designed around a kid getting portal-fantasied into it and staying for 30 years really gives me some options which are fun to deploy but also like. Risky lmao. Because it encourages the reader to surface from the setting-logic and apply their own perspective, which can really break up the magic.

Being able to zoom out on the Tower after all that detail and be like ‘it’s awesome but also it looks like something Doctor Seuss would draw’ was fun though.

"Within the even hexagon of its outer wall, the Tower encloses a great parkland, enough that if it was all put under cultivation it could easily feed as many people as could live in the Tower itself." the tower has PLANTS i love it so much / "Ten Years’ Winter" god PLEASE tell me this is going to get into the agriculture and society stuff game of thrones didn't about long winters that would be SO cool / "Watchers of the Stars" AND they have a cool name holy shit (?/?)

Plants are important! As is food supply. As everyone who’s been reading this blog for a while already knows I think lol.

I mean, it’s not about that, really? The Ten Years’ Winter is a historical event--the most recent meteor impact severe enough to have global climate fallout. The dust it kicked up took a while to settle, and the famines were pretty severe.

But the cultural consequences of something that happened a hundred and fifty years ago exist, and are important, including the relationship between governance and disaster preparedness, which varies a lot regionally as you may imagine. 

Astronomy has a long history as a wizardly sort of activity in the real world, both because it’s had continual overlap with astrology and just because the process has always been mystical and abstruse. In this setting, with a history of both devastating meteor impacts and being invaded from the Moon, but also actual magic, it’s got more obvious practical importance. Although since neither of these are remotely everyday occurrences, the average person on the street might not agree lol.

So it’s on the one hand a purely descriptive title, and on the other hand a serious boast, suggesting as it does that they are primarily responsible for Watching The Sky For Stuff. While also having broader philosophical implications and just sounding nice lol. 

You gotta have good marketing if you want to persist as a wizardly order, because if talented students aren’t motivated to come to you how will you gain new members? Natural replacement is not an ideal strategy to say the least. That’s how you turn into a cult instead of an intellectual powerhouse.

"The northern third of the Tower’s park contains neatly regimented orchards, apples, pears, plums, and a few rows of carefully tended peaches and apricots, all clipped flat against low brick walls angled south and slightly west." hhh t r e e s / "wizards, while enthusiastic about innovation in the abstract, hate change." me too, wizards. me too / "The Tower grounds are filled with refugees." ooh now we get to why everything was empty earlier (?/?)

Trees! Which are also food!

And technology lol. Greenhouses built against fruit walls with good insulation are so much more sensible than ones heated from inside. Obviously as a passive solar-powered technology these only work when the sun is available and not, for example, cut off by a giant dust cloud. 

These people are fairly acutely aware of their dependence on the sun and it figures prominently in a majority of their religions and their magical theory, even more than in ours.

There seems to be a mild consensus that the wizards are relatable. In truth: we are all wizards. :D

Yup! At long last lol.

"This division corresponds imperfectly to the usual split of the town by the course of the Meroda." because people!! take comfort!! in what normalcy they can find!! / "Makeshift pallets line the spaces between every fruit wall—the injured are being laid out here, now that the Tower is full, to get the benefit at night of the warmth meant to mature fruit." the awesome magic tower people trying to do everything they can for the injured who come to them for help in case i thought i couldn't be (?)

more in love / "Half of them are making ready to turn south along the Meroda." oh nooooo / "but the Moon People are the successors of the ancient magics, and just because they could not break the walls the last time they came, according to legend, does not mean they have not worked out a method now." im so worried for the people oh no (?)

Yeah! It really seemed natural. But of course they also aren’t recreating it obsessively; lots of people are grouping up with relatives who normally live across the river, or with people in the same line of work on the river, because people also adapt to circumstances.

No institution is ever perfect, of course, but I’m glad the Watchers have come across this way so far. They’re broadly well-intentioned and mostly well-organized.

And they were not ready for this.

A significant fraction of the reason for the order of the Watchers to exist at all, particularly in this observatory with its great eye fixed ever on the face of the green moon, is to be able to warn the world if this ever happens again. But the Moon People knew they were being watched, this time, and they kept all the build-up to mobilization that might have given them away on the far side of the moon until the last minute.

What the Magister is doing, as I hope was made clear or at least successfully indicated--I wish your commentary on the ending had come through!--is summoning what turns out to be an actual child from another world to do hero stuff.

Even if he’d gotten an adult that would be kidnapping someone to help with your problems, a routine element of the portal fantasy whose ethics have been addressed in a variety of ways, most famously ‘is Lion Jesus and always right.’ 

The reason they need a hero from another world is that the Moon People build a lot of their wards and their offensive and disabling magical attacks around a targeting system based on what planet people are from, because even though they’re originally from the same stock--they’re the descendants of ancient moon colonists who evacuated ahead of a major meteor impact somewhere approaching four thousand years ago--on a magical level having been born and raised on the planet or the moon makes a pretty huge difference. 

So no one can get into the place their magic space elevator is anchored and fuck it up so they can’t keep bringing troops and supply in and loot out. Their single supply line is their only strategic weakness, and they’ve taken appropriate precautions.

Getting someone in from a third location is the best idea anyone’s been able to come up with in the very limited time available. Since no one can figure out how to turn one of the Moon People against the cause they came here for, on short notice, when they aren’t even stopping to talk to anyone so far. Like, that’s clearly not going to happen.

Heron Yl Fanult isn’t unaware that it’s ethically questionable, but he’s doing it anyway.

So I’m glad the ominous imminent oncoming of the Moon People can really be felt, because that atmosphere is fairly essential context for the decisionmaking going on at the top of the Tower.

"Young wizards sit in their bunks, six each to rooms that were previously individual, and hold lighting cupped dancing in their palms." a quick break from being worried to point out that this is rad as hell / "some with their heads decorously covered..." cultural differences!! especially with regional purposes like the Hedro!! 

Thank you! 😆💖 I thought so too lol. 

It also establishes the parameters of the magic system a little more. Throwing lightning bolts is pretty iconicly high-powered, right? And here it’s what most of the student wizards are practicing in anticipation of a battle, because most of them aren’t specced into combat and this is actually one of the easier lethal spells to master, especially if you have an academic background.

‘Electrocute’ isn’t a very flexible spell and it’s easy to lose control of, but it’s actually easier than, say, ‘set on fire to a significant degree in a non-electrical manner’ because concentrating a lot of heat in a certain location takes a lot more brute force than encouraging ionization. 

You can pull most of the actual destructive force for the palm lightning spell out of the physical air and/or earth if you grasp the principles, which is much easier than channeling a comparable amount of magic directly because it doesn’t have to go through you. 

The limiting factors on magic in this setting are how much power you can tap into and how much of it you can actually use without hurting or killing yourself. It’s not usually a lot, though the amount can be increased by things like choosing your workspace, prepping your workspace, and a whole lot of practice and meditation and things like that.

Magical traditions that get bundled under the heading of wizardry tend to focus on force multiplication, obtaining enough contextual understanding of a subject to make whatever power is applied go further. This means a lot of studying theory and using magic to make observations (such as the existence of microorganisms and their connection to disease) and often results in making clever devices based on what you’ve learned that may not actually wind up being magical at all. 

Which is why the solar greenhouse proposal is considered ‘more wizardly’ than the fruit walls, which are wizardly in the first place even though the technology is pretty widespread at this point--it’s carried the principle of minimizing the energy you have to invest to get the result you want to the logical conclusion, where you don’t have to do any magic at all, you just set up the situation and get out of the way and the sun will do the work for you.

Other schools of magic, particularly religious ones, are more likely to emphasize just getting better at handling energy for yourself, which tends to yield a lot more in the way of immediate practical dividends and in a lot of quarters wizards who don’t do something obviously practical like physic or smithcraft with their theoretical background are considered crackpots or dilettantes 

An impression helped along by the fact that being taken on as a student of wizardry at a basic level tends to focus more on your reading comprehension than your ability to actually do any magic, so in places where religious and wizardly institutions coexist the most talented students have a tendency to gravitate toward the religious life. This is particularly marked in areas religiously dominated by the Compact of the Golden Circle, wherein full ordination is contingent on being able to pull off certain fairly hefty rituals, so if you aren’t physically or mentally up to that kind of magical heavy lifting your religious career will stall out in one of the lay fraternities. In some of the cities on Sutouchel, the landmass to the southeast where the Compact is based, a slang term for wizard is ‘sanctum washout.’

But of course force multiplication is something that can scale up pretty far, and studying theory doesn’t stop you from also putting work into your practical skills, and not having talent isn’t the only reason someone would choose not to seek out a clerical career, if it’s even an option. Religion along the Meroda is pretty localized; communities tend to have local deities who correspond to a natural feature like the nearest mountain or the river or something, and if that deity rates a fulltime shrine the keeper also tends to be the major local medical provider, and since the wizards got settled in at the Tower it’s become pretty popular for shrinekeeping families to send their kids there for a year or two to get some educational polish in addition to what their parent already emphasized.

So depending on where you live and what your personal experience has been you’re going to have very different ideas about what wizards are good for.

Hrm. I’ve gone on a tangent. But that wound up taking so long you came back! :D I love it when being turtle works out in my favor.

Or was this actually the meta I was supposed to be doing in the first place? Aaaaa who knows.

im fairly confident you said eight asks survived so this is number nine? anyways onwards! "The hale survivors of the First Battle of the Second Descent sit waiting in their leathers, jack-chains and helmets laughably inadequate armor against the coming danger, and yet the best hope now just as they were on Carun Tol once the wizard fell" i have a lot of emotions about how their best bet is also a terrible bet but its all they have (9/?)

Yes 8. 

Woo, thank you! ^^ & I love that you described it that way because that also describes the ‘summon alien’ spell Yl Fanult is casting and echoing the same emotional theme throughout the scene was very much the goal here.

"Threads have escaped from the braids pinned across the top of her skull: she has not had the chance to take them down for two days." god just the continuation of how desperate everything is / "He leans forward to peer through the narrow glass that has been turned on its articulated base to face the middle of the room, and relaxes very slightly. At least there has been no catastrophic alteration there, either." what does that one do id assume theres no approching army in the middle of the room -

:D Yeah, the fact that one of the chief medics available is already overworked to the point of neglecting nonessential personal hygiene and the enemy isn’t even here yet I hoped would resonate.

Well, remember how some of the telescopes at the beginning point in directions not included in the normal three dimensions of space? :}

- "trained as it long has been upon the face of the moon" also forgot to mention their enemies being from the moon is Rad As Hell / "He snaps his fingers for a spark that falls into the deep circular groove full of distilled spirits, and steps through that as well. He is not burned." ooooh whats he doing / "At his feet lie a glittering piece of gold ore, a moonstone, and a carefully sanded round of pumice." i see the connection to the moonstone bc moon army but i wonder about the others -

Thank you! It took a fair amount of poking before I decided it was a solid approach; it provides just enough physical alienation that there’s no direct cultural relationship and you can have that ‘everyone in the entire world Disliked That’ vibe, without needing to create any complicated magical and cultural explanation for such a long run of isolationism. They were out of contact because they were On The Moon.

Also I really get a kick out of putting space invaders in a fantasy setting in a way that stops just short of turning into sci-fi.

I’m glad the ritual lead-up is exciting! Even if the foreshadowing wasn’t as obvious as I thought it was lol. That’s fixable. 

Gold is for the sun, moonstone is yeah for the moon lol (although in other circumstances people also use jade, because it’s been a long time since the moon was uniformly silver on account of it having been terraformed a few thousand years ago) and pumice is for the world--it’s a stone full of air that floats on water, so it’s popular as an anchoring device for rituals that call on all three local celestial bodies.

"He cannot take much time. He has only until the ring of fire dies." whats he doingggggg / anyways i love this so much!! the descriptions are gorgeous and im so invested in all of everything!! i hope you write more im so curious about it all!! 

XD Ok I covered this already, I would have saved it for down here or Been Mysterious if tumblr hadn’t eaten the last few asks the first time lol. Thank you so much again! For encouragement! Before and now! I’ll try! To keep it going!

Here’s hoping this successfully posts, tumblr just kicked me onto New Dashboard again and disabled the turn-it-off button, so now my alternate posting strategy is borked up too. 🤞😅😘

[lifeofclonewars]

Drawsoka, Gladikin, and Saptain Rex

Part 2 of the Pun Wars, can be read alone, though. Read it on AO3 here. 

"Skyguy!" Ahsoka exclaimed, bubbling with happiness, waving with her free hand carefully.

"Snips!" he called back. "What brings you to this part of the ship?" He set the droid and the tools aside, giving little Soka his full attention.

She tugged on Rex's blacks and he gently set her down. She half-skipped her way to the table, the scraped-together tiny-but-still-too-big blacks they’d had to hem for her somehow not tripping her. "I drew for you!" The necessary flimsi being on top of the pile, she separated it and shoved it towards her master.

“For me?” Skywalker questioned. “You shouldn’t have!”

-

In which a tiny Ahsoka draws some pictures that make Anakin glad and Captain Rex a bit sappy.

-----

The padawans had all been de-aged. Only the padawans, no knights, or masters. Not the little ones in the creche, not the younglings. Just the padawans. 

A quick word with the Council had shown it hadn’t just been Ahsoka. No, it had happened to all padawans and only padawans across the galaxy. Whether in the temple or on the frontlines, there was a sudden increase in masters watching over six-year-olds. While the Council worked to reverse whatever happened, the Jedi were left to keep their tiny children safe and occupied. 

Torrent Company, worried over how General Skywalker would handle this, met together and created their own caretaker rotation. The General was a part of said schedule, but whether he even realized there was a schedule or not was vague. Either way, so far, it had worked and it should work until this peculiar situation was resolved.

Apparently, keeping a six-year-old Jedi youngling occupied is much different than a 3-year-old cadet. Sure, there’s the start of basic lightsaber training but the level Ahsoka demonstrated was nowhere near the levels the vode had to be at that physical age. General Kenobi, who was asked for help since he’d dealt with a nine-year-old Skywalker and somehow didn’t completely lose his sanity, strictly banned blasters and most things Kaminoans had them do.

Hardcase, somewhat surprisingly, had become the source of Ahsoka’s current distraction. He’d given a collection of crayons and flimsi he’d somehow produced—how he did was being consciously ignored—that he’d been able to give to Ahsoka. 

The kid loved it. She’d taken to drawing as many pictures as she could, humming absently while she doodled. With her preoccupied, Rex was able to work through some paperwork on a datapad. She’d tug on the sleeve of his blacks to proudly show off her work, but other than that, the two worked in relative silence. 

“Rex!” she called out, climbing down from her chair. He looked up. “I wanna go pass them out now.” 

From what he’d seen earlier, Ahsoka had taken to making drawings for each of the troopers she could remember the names of. An odd thing about the de-aging included the fact that, while she couldn’t remember being a Commander or being in combat, she could remember people, things she’d learned about them, and even some things she’d learned from them. Or, rather, she remembered some of the Mando’a she’d been beginning to learn. For example, on the flimsi for Kix, there was a roughly-written “baar'ur” above a crude medic symbol scattered among the doodles. 

Rex set his datapad on the table. “Now?” Ahsoka nodded fervently. “Hmm. I guess we can do it now.” 

A bright smile bloomed on the young togruta’s face. “Yay!” She grabbed a decent pile of flimsi as Rex stood up. Drawings in hand, she walked back over to him. 

He offered his hand to her, reminding her of the ‘buddy-system’ the 501st had been trying to have her follow. She stared at it. “Ash-ully,” she started, hesitating, “can you pick me up?”

Rex raised an eyebrow but she merely started to make a too-cute pouting face. Oh, so she was learning to weaponize it. Maybe he should spread out Jesse’s watches more; he had to have been the one to teach her how. With a huff, Rex responded, “Fine. Climb on up, kid.” He crouched down, allowing Ahsoka to jump onto his back and wrap her arms around his neck. “Not too high. Don’t want me to choke, do you?” He tugged her arms farther down after standing; she giggled. 

“Vor’e!” Ahsoka said into his ear, a little louder than he’d like. “Okay, I have Case first!” 

“Hardcase first? Good thing I know just where to find him.” 

With that, the duo took off, making their rounds around the Resolute. They passed a handful of troopers in every corner of the ship. Had this happened a few weeks ago, some people, not to name names, would have likely started up a badly-repressed giggle storm. As the situation was, they simply gave a kind smile to their tiny Commander and a nod to their Captain and continued on. 

Ahsoka gave drawings to Hardcase, Kix, Jesse, Fives, Echo, Zeck, Feedback, and a handful of other brothers. Even with passing them out to all of them, she had a tiny stack of flimsi left. 

“Okay,” she stated, bouncing up and down as much as Rex’s hold would allow. “Let’s go see Skyguy now!” De-aging hadn’t lost the nickname; if anything, it made her use of it increase.

Skywalker wasn't too hard to find. Fiddling with some droid or another, the Jedi looked up upon their entrance. 

"Skyguy!" Ahsoka exclaimed, bubbling with happiness, waving with her free hand carefully.

"Snips!" he called back. "What brings you to this part of the ship?" He set the droid and the tools aside, giving little Soka his full attention.

She tugged on Rex's blacks and he gently set her down. She half-skipped her way to the table, the scraped-together tiny-but-still-too-big blacks they’d had to hem for her somehow not tripping her. "I drew for you!" The necessary flimsi being on top of the pile, she separated it and shoved it towards her master.

“For me?” Skywalker questioned. “You shouldn’t have!” He glanced down and his eyes became suspiciously glassy.

This did not escape his padawan’s notice. “Are you crying?” She began to tear up herself. “Is it not good enough? I can make it better, I promise!”

“No, no, no,” the Jedi reassured. “It’s perfect, Snips. I’m not crying, your picture just made me really happy, that’s all.”

His answer satisfied her. “Oh, okay. That’s good!”

“C’mere, you little rascal.” The little Commander was scooped up into a bear hug. She hugged back as tight as she could before starting to wriggle.

“Okay, I’m done now.” Her comment made her master laugh.

“But I’m not.” He squeezed her one more time and let her go. “Thank you, Ahsoka.”

“You’re welcome!” She beamed, then bounded back over to Rex. “Okay, time to go again!” She put her hands up. With a chuckle, Rex scooped her up into a piggyback once again. “Bye, Skyguy!”

“Bye, Snips! Thanks, Rex, for watching over her. This whole situation isn’t something I ever expected.”

So he hadn’t figured out the schedule. “It’s my pleasure, General.” It really was. This little excursion had been more intriguing than he’d thought initially. 

“See you guys!” Ahsoka waved with one hand as they left the room, smiling at the waves she got in return.

After the moment with Skywalker, Ahsoka passed out a handful of more pictures. Everyone reacted positively. Anywhere between a smile and thanks to hugging the little togruta, trapping her between Rex’s back and their chest. The few the kid levitated their pictures over to had the most enthusiasm by far. 

With only two left, Ahsoka told Rex they could go back to the room they had originally been in. Once there, Rex set her down and kneeled in front of her, ready to discuss her final two pieces.

“This is Master Plo’s,” Ahsoka said, gesturing to one of the two drawings she had left. 

Taking it from her hand carefully, Rex answered, “I’ll make sure it gets to him the next time we see him.” This drawing was two figures that roughly looked like General Koon and small Ahsoka hugging. He couldn’t stop the quirk of his lips, setting the flimsi next to his datapad. “Now, who’s that last one for?”

“You!” the little padawan blurted. 

“Me?”

“Yes, you!” she repeated. Once the drawing was handed over, she toed at the ground, hands clasped behind her. 

The picture was simple but clear. The background was a rough estimation of some part of the Resolute. A small, orange figure, dressed in black, with roughly drawn montrals stood proudly in the approximate center. A small label confirmed it to be Ahsoka’s attempt at drawing herself. Next to crayon-Ahsoka stood another figure, much taller than it. It wasn’t hard to conclude the figure, with its short blond hair and black clothing, was supposed to be Rex. Reading the label, Rex suddenly felt the need to blink a few times, a warmth settling in his chest. 

The label said ori’vod.

“Your armor is too hard to draw. I tried,” Ahsoka admitted, beginning to draw circles with her foot. 

“That’s okay, it is pretty hard. Thank you. I really like it.”

Looking up from toeing the ground, her eyes squinted at Rex. “Are you crying, too?”

He involuntarily sniffed once. “No, I’m not. This just made me happy, that’s all. It was really sweet of you to do this.”

She didn’t look convinced. “I don’t get adults,” she stated simply. 

With a laugh, Rex pulled her in for a hug. She wrapped her short arms around him and that was that. After pulling away, she clambered back up into her chair. The next round of pieces began. Even with the amount they had passed out, a giant pile remained stacked. Hardly a dent had been made. Where did Hardcase get all of that? 

Sitting down as well, Rex placed the picture down, swapping it with the datapad but keeping it in glancing sight. Moments later, the duo fell back into the working rhythm from before their little adventure, a new happiness thrumming in the air.  

---

As soon as he was able after the watching-shifts changed, Rex was in his personal quarters. Cody, you better pick up your comm, you— 

“Rex?” Cody answered the holo, helmet off. “What’s—”

“Can I adopt a Jedi?” Rex cut him off. 

Cody had the gall to look amused. “Which one?” The quirk of his eyebrow screamed Please-not-Skywalker but Rex wasn’t going to tell him that.

“Commander Tano,” he responded instead. “She drew me this, Cody! Look at it!” He put the flimsi close enough to the holo that it was the only thing Cody could see. 

“Ah, okay.” Rex lowered the drawing to see his brother’s reaction. Even through the holo, Cody’s eyes were shining, though it was hard to tell with what. "I see. That’s cute."

“I’m serious, Codes. I don’t think I’ve ever been happier.”

Cody nodded. “Yes, I know you’re serious. As I said, that’s a very cute drawing and I think you’ve been on the verge of asking this for a while, the drawing just sped up the process.” He paused, waiting to see if Rex would say anything else. When he didn’t, he said, “I’ll look into it.” Cody went to turn off the comm but paused, eyes narrowing. “Wait a second, are you crying?”

“No,” Rex replied, far too quickly.

A smirk broke across his brother’s face. “Sure, sure. I can’t wait to tell the other—”

“Don’t you dare!” 

-

Thanks for reading! 

Mando’a Translations:

Vode: Brothers. In this case, the clones as a whole

Baaur’ur: Medic

Vor’e!: Thanks!

Ori’vod: Big brother

[theshatteredrose]

Turquoise Lotus Father (Treasure Seekers Saga 2) - Chapter 9 - Etrian Odyssey 5

AN: Late night update, yay. A shorter chapter compared to previous ones. I mean, it’s ten pages. My attempt to keep chapters short didn’t last very long :’D Anyway, hope you enjoy reading~

Ao3 | Wattpad | FFNet

Chapter 9:

It was with a sense of defeat that Drayce led his party back to the Crescentia. He kept Faelen close to his side, however, to remind himself that things could have gotten a lot worse. He held no regrets about handing over that token. It was an easy exchange.

No treasure was worth someone’s life or safety.

He still felt a sense of guilt, though. He knew he really shouldn’t. How was he to know that those two were bandits? They didn’t look or act like the bandits they had encountered before. Which was likely the reason why they had been sent to follow them.

There was no doubt in Drayce’s mind that Keane was involved.

As they stepped into the foyer of their guildhouse, and before Drayce could announce their return, they were greeted by the sound of hurried footsteps from upstairs. For a fraction of a moment Drayce felt a sense of panic rise in his chest. But that was soon pushed aside when Caelem suddenly appeared.

And he appeared quite excited as he all but bounded down the stairs. "There you are!"

Drayce was honestly startled by their unconventional welcome. Yet, he was hopeful, too. "Hm? Cal? Something happened?"

Caelem nodded his head as he eagerly explained, "The map seemed to have activated for a moment before it faded out again. It pointed to an area a few steps away from a symbol that looked like a set of stairs."

It took Drayce a few seconds for the information to filter in. "It did?" he asked before a thought occurred to him and he quickly pulled out the partial map of the second floor. He quickly located the area approximately where they had discovered that lotus engraved token. And he showed the spot to Caelem.

"Wait, hang on, look at this map, Cal. Was it about here on the parchment?"

Caelem immediately nodded his head. " Y-yes, that’s right!"

So that piece of parchment was a map.

Kamali glanced at the map before he turned his eyes toward Drayce questioningly. "Did that token…?" he murmured.

Caelem tilted his head to the side in confusion. "Token?"

Drayce rolled up the map and quickly placed into the pocket of his coat. He then shrugged off his armour. "Let’s head into the library."

The others followed suit, choosing the comfort of removing their armour. It was also an indication to them that they weren't to return to the labyrinth again that day. Those bandits may or may not be there, but it didn't matter right now. They may have lost that mysterious silver token, but they weren't out of the game yet.

Making their way to the library, Drayce decided to go first with his discoveries from the labyrinth. Caelem had given him the quick rundown of what had occurred anyway, and what Drayce had discovered would help shed some light on what had happened in the library.

As Drayce told the rest of his guild what happened, he could sense some of his guilt rising from the pit of his stomach. He also sensed some guilt from Faelen, which was unjustified. While the bristle of protectiveness from Ashton was utterly justified.

"Bandits, huh?" Ashton murmured.

He wasn't the only one outwardly bristling, though.

"What? They hurt Faelen?" Caelem practically hissed as his tail physically bristled before concern made its way to his features. He immediately turned to give Faelen a quick once over with his gaze. No doubt searching for any possible injuries.

Faelen flushed lightly at the worry and genuine protectiveness directed at him. "He didn’t hurt me. Just…scared me."

Caelem wasn't entirely convinced, however. "But that’s the same thing, isn’t it?"

"It is in my books," Drayce immediately responded.

Upon seeing that Faelen was indeed unharmed, and was a tad flustered at the attention, Shashi folded an arm across his chest as he took on a musing pose. "So, you found a small silver token, like that of a coin, with an engraving of a lotus?" he asked, getting back to the mystery at hand.

"That’s right," Drayce replied. "And if I am to assume anything, there’s more. And those bandits are after it, too."

Shashi tapped his cheek a few times before a semi dark expression appeared on his face. "If so, then they are likely after the map as well."

That was definitely a high possibility. There was also a possibility that those bandits don't know they have it. Though, he couldn't safely rule out that they did. He would have to be careful not to talk about outside of the Crescentia.

"You said that it activated for a second. Has that happened before?" Drayce asked.

Shashi dropped his arms limply to his sides and shook his head. "No. What happened today was the first time."

Ashton roughly folded his arms across his chest as he restlessly shifted from foot to the other. "So, once again making assumptions here, those bandits have only one token. The one you found."

"More likely than not," Drayce responded simply.

"It appears as if these tokens are needed to activate the map," Zohar commented. "Further still, perhaps the map needed to be discovered before the tokens were to be active."

Drayce took a second to let that mull around in his head. "Sounds reasonable. Let’s assume that there are at least four of them. One for each corner."

Shashi immediately agreed to that notion. "That seems plausible from what I have seen of the map. Fortunately, if they do find another we will know."

Not the most favourable of circumstances, but it would have to do.

"That’s something," Drayce sighed.

Kamali turned to Drayce and gave a softly concerned look. "What would you like to do now?"

Drayce didn't need to think too hard on the response. "Now? I’d like everyone to stay within the Crescentia. Especially you, Faelen."

"Ok," Faelen returned softly, giving the slight indication that he was nervous in returning to the labyrinth.

“I’ll have Theodore inspect the boundaries,” Zohar offered as an extra protective measure.

Drayce gave Zohar a grateful smile. “Please, do. Everyone else, let’s relax for the rest of the day.”

He got some thinking to do, honestly. About how he was going to deal with those bandits and what it was exactly they were hoping to achieve. But more importantly, how he was going to ensure the safety of his guildmates. That was his number one priority.

Everyone began to file out of the library in order to remove their explorer garbs and get comfortable, and more likely than not, check the premises. As Drayce himself moved to follow, Ashton grabbed him by the elbow and pulled him aside to where he and Shashi stood. He waited until everyone else was out of hearing range before he turned to regard Drayce.

“Drayce. Shashi and I would like to have a couple of words with you in private,” he said quickly, with his voice low. “Let’s speak in your office.”

Ashton had said all that in a hushed tone, being mindful not to draw the attention or curiosity of the others. That was both curious and worrying. That could mean one of two things; they had something unsettling to inform him of. Or something important they didn't want the rest of the guild to know.

“Sure,” Drayce replied simply.

The three of them soon left the library and headed to the office that appeared to be the official room to discuss sensitive matters with him. Of course, that made total sense. And Drayce couldn’t help but wonder briefly if his grandpa used his office for the same reason and what kind of stories were discussed in that very room.

“Is there something wrong?” Drayce asked the moment the three of them entered his office and securely closed the door behind them.

“I spoke with Zohar last night and have been doing some research on this other lotus blade,” Shashi replied in his usual straight forward manner. “And from what I have discovered, what Zohar has informed me is accurate.”

So, there is another lotus blade?

"It also appears that the Turquoise Lotus Father did indeed have a brother," Shashi continued. "And he was the one that wielded this other blade."

Drayce furrowed his brow in worry. "Really? So, he fought alongside the Despot, too?"

Shashi nodded his head as he reached into one of his pockets within his coat and pulled out a small but often used notebook. "Yes, but from what we have discovered, it wasn’t willingly. The blade is said to possess whoever tries to wield it. Which is what we believed to have happened to the brother."

Drayce sat on the edge of his desk and loosely folded his arms across his chest. "So, the Turquoise Lotus Father became a masurao to save him?"

"That’s what we believe, yes," Ashton answered.

"The Turquoise Lotus Father was named as such due to his caring nature," Shashi added as he flipped through his notebook. "He had no intention of being a warrior, until the war happened and his younger brother was enslaved. At this point, this is all we know."

Still, that was a lot of information discovered in just a couple of days!

"We’ve told Caelem of the Turquoise Lotus Father, but not of the brother as of yet," Ashton stated, explaining the, well, secrecy of their conversation.

Totally made sense, though. The information of another far more dangerous blade being out there somewhere would be alarming to anyone. They also needed to make sure that the map they had was leading to the Shining Lotus rather than that darker blade.

He couldn't help but briefly wonder if those bandits new of the legends. And of the lotuses blades.

"Yeah, that seems the best thing to do for now.," Drayce commented idly. "Just until we can find more information."

Ashton nodded his head. "We could discover more if we knew the Blade Brothers’ actual names." He sounded a little exasperated when he said that.

Names would indeed be helpful. However...

"Though, it appears that this Turquoise Lotus Father is better known for that name specifically."

Ashton had to agree to that. "Probably true. In any case, we'll keep looking. That's the safest thing to do now."

Yeah, safest. They should be safe within the walls of the Crescentia.

After a few utterances of taking it easy, Ashton and Shashi left the room. And left Drayce to his thoughts. Pushing away from the desk, Drayce instead walked around it to take a seat upon the chair. He leaned back into it as he swivelled around to gaze idly out the window.

So...the Turquoise Lotus Father had a brother. A younger sibling perhaps. Or even a twin.

As that thought entered his mind, a sharp pain appeared simultaneously in his head and from his temple. It was a sudden and sharp pain that prompted a small yelp of pain and for him to clutch his head.

Again? Why did the word brother cause him such pain? And why was it always followed by that empty feeling of lost? As if he was missing something. Or rather, someone.

Drayce gritted his teeth as he endured the pain and discomfort. It thankfully subsided soon after and he was left with a very mild headache. It wasn't exactly a headache. Just a low ache.

He soon found a distraction when the door to the office opened and Blayke stepped inside. He walked over to the desk and stood before him. However, a furrow appeared upon his brow as Drayce swivelled the chair to face him.

"You ok?" he asked simply as he gave him a suspicious and inspecting look.

Drayce managed to plaster a reassuring smile upon his face and nodded. "Yeah, just a small headache from using the old grey matter. What's up?"

Blayke didn't look one hundred percent convinced, which wasn’t much of a surprise. It wasn’t easy to convince at the best of times. He soon folded his arms across his chest however, indicating that he was willing to drop the subject this time. But Drayce had better not test him again.

Drayce knew that look well!

"I think we need to speak with Ramus about this," he stated.

Drayce sighed and nodded his head. "Yeah, I think so, too. He might be able to help us out like last time. If Turquoise Lotus Father fought within the Legendary War, there might be something about him in the council’s archives. Hopefully, at least."

Blayke shrugged. "Only one way to find out. I also want him to know about those bandits. That’s honestly my first concern." His expression then went dark. A purely protective kind of darkness. Something that Drayce had only seen Blayke and Ashton do.

Seeing the two of them together with that same expression was rather frightening!

"I knew that brat rubbed me the wrong way for a reason…" Blayke muttered under his breath.

Drayce uttered a small sigh. He was obviously talking about Keita. The kid tricked them all.

But he just had to give his best friend a smile in return. Those bandits may have gotten the drop on them once by using their willingness to help another in trouble to their advantage, but it would not happen again.

Not if Blayke had something to say about it!

"Anyway, I'm going to pace the boundaries of the property like some caged tiger," Blayke stated as he turned on his heel and headed for the door. "We'll visit Ramus tomorrow, yeah?"

"Sounds good," Drayce returned. "And you be careful. Especially if you use Blazing Link. We can't afford to have the back garden ablaze."

Blayke snorted in response, but made no attempt to dispute it. And, needless to say, if he happened to stumble across a bandit, to won't be happy.

That did cause Drayce some worry, though he could do little to stop Blayke's restless pacing. It was understandable, really. He was feeling angry and frustrated and needed an outlet. The best thing Drayce could was to check in on him occasionally.

Speaking of checking in on someone, he had better see how Faelen was doing. What happened today was unnerving. And was sure to leave the rover feeling rattled.

Setting aside his research for the time being, Drayce pushed back his chair and took to his feet. Faelen had headed to his room after they all departed from the library and was likely still there. Nashoba was likely to be with him, too. Hopefully. Blayke would have taken the white wolf with him on his pacing, but it was obvious that he didn’t want to keep him away from Faelen.

As Drayce headed to the second floor, the sound of the front door opening and someone cheerfully announcing their arrival caused him to travel halfway down the second set of stairs. In the foyer was Tokala and Salim. Back from their wanderings around the city.

“Oh, good, you guys are back,” Drayce greeted, inwardly relieved that they hadn’t encountered any trouble during their outing.

“How was your exploration of Iorys?” Kamali asked politely as he approached them in the foyer.

Tokala smiled brightly. “It’s so much bigger than I thought! And the market district had so much interesting stuff!”

“Sounds like you had fun,” Drayce said with a smile. “That’s good.”

It was best that they didn’t tell the two about what had occurred in the labyrinth that day just yet. Maybe after dinner. Just so they’d, too, be cautious about any possibly (and likely) future meetings with those bandits.

Ashton appeared from the back of the guildhouse. It was more than highly likely that he had been inspecting the boundaries, too. Or just inspecting the windows and doors.

Upon seeing that their guests had returned, Ashton placed a smile to his lips and motioned toward Tokala. “Good, just in time to help me with dinner.”

“Got it!” Tokala answered readily and once again cheerfully before he hurried to follow Ashton to the kitchen.

“Hey, Salim, why not do some fishing? We’ll need that for dinner tonight,” Drayce suggested. Both wanting the pugilist to be doing something as he knew his need to keep moving. And for him to be outside should Blayke need a hand or two.

Salim seemed grateful for the suggest. “Yeah, alright. Anything for food.”

It was honestly good to see that they were settling in well within the Crescentia.

With everyone back under the same roof, Drayce felt a sense of relief wash over him. He turned on his heel and headed back up the stairs and made a beeline to Faelen’s room. The door wasn’t closed the entirely way, indicating that the young therian inside wanted some quiet time to himself, but did not want to be locked away from the rest of his guildmates entirely.

“Fae?” Drayce called out before he slowly pushed opened the door.

Faelen at on the end of his bed with Nashoba’s head resting on his lap. It appeared that he had been stroking the wolf’s fur, likely to help calm himself. Or out of absentmindedness as he mused about the day’s events.

“Are you all right?” Drayce asked as he stepped into the room, allowing the door to remain ajar behind him.

Faelen perked his head up at the sound of his voice and immediately turned toward him. “Um, yeah. I’m ok.”

Drayce sat down on the bed next to him. “You sure?”

Faelen’s flatten slightly against his head and he returned to running his fingers through Nashoba’s fur. “I’m sorry about the token,” he said, guilt in his voice as he turned his eyes toward his wolf companion.

“Don’t be silly,” Drayce immediately returned. “It’s that bandit’s fault.”

“But that token was useful, right?” Faelen asked softly as he rubbed Nashoba’s ear.

“Perhaps,” Drayce answered honestly. “We don’t know for sure. But, hey, there’s likely other tokens out there, too. And we have the map.”

Faelen nodded his head idly. But Drayce could still see and feel his guilt. Which was unfair. Faelen shouldn’t feel guilt for something that wasn’t his fault. “You gave it up pretty quick.”

“Of course, I did.” Drayce slipped an arm around Faelen’s shoulders and pulled him toward him so that he leaned up against him, his head on his shoulder. “You’re far more precious than any treasure.”

Faelen stilled for a moment before he rested against him fully and comfortably. “...That makes me happy,” he whispered to himself. He then tilted his head back to look up at him. “Drayce?”

“Hm?”

“That also wasn’t your fault, you know?” Faelen said firmly as he looked into his eyes.

That startled Drayce for a moment. Though, guilt was probably coming off of him in waves. He was the guild leader, after all. It was his job, his purpose to keep others safe. Though, if he asked anyone if what happened was his fault, they would all tell him that it wasn’t. Still...

Faelen suddenly frowned as he turned to look upon Nashoba once more. “Keita…didn’t seem that bad at the start. He was kinda funny.”

Yeah, there wasn’t anything really to indicate that the kid was a bandit. Still, there was something about him that made Drayce believe that he wasn’t a hundred percent truthful in his actions or words.

Blayke, on the other hand, was downright suspicious of him.

That, strangely enough, brought a small smile to Drayce’s lips. “…Blayke didn’t like him.” And Nashoba made a soft whining sound, as if agreeing with him.

Faelen gave a soft half chuckle. “Blayke was kinda funny, too.”

“Hm.” Drayce made a noise of agreement as he ruffled Faelen’s hair. He was glad that he was feeling better. “He’s wonderfully snappy. You should see him when he’s tired and annoyed.”

Faelen giggled before he fell into a contemplative silence. “…I don’t think he would have hurt me.”

Maybe so, but there was still a possibility that he would have. “I wasn’t going to chance it.”

Faelen nodded his head. “Drayce?”

“Hm?”

Faelen suddenly pivoted in his spot and hugged him around the waist, burying his head into his chest. “You really are like a brother to me, you know?” he murmured against the fabric of his shirt. “I’m glad I met you.”

Drayce immediately wrapped his arms around the younger rover and rested his chin atop his head. “You’re like a brother to me, too.”

And that meant he wasn’t going to allow anyone to hurt his guildmates. He didn’t care what happened to him personally. But no one was allowed to threaten or attempt to harm anyone from his guild.

Ever.

[twdmusicboxmystery]

FTWD 5x15: Channel 5 - Analysis

Okay, let’s talk about last night’s episode. I liked it a lot. We saw a ton of interesting symbolism. I really like where this is going.

***As always, spoilers abound below for episode 5x15. Don’t read until you’ve watched!***

We start with a video that Ginny's group made. Obviously, she ripped off the idea of making the documentary from Morgan's group and we see her making sort of a faux-cheerful documentary about her community. She makes herself and her people look better than they are. I also noticed she took the footage of Tom talking to Al and manipulated it to make it look like he was still one of her people and happy to be part of her community.

In the opening credits, we see a paper on a tree, which is probably the map from Ginny's community, but it also looks like the lens of the camera has been shattered. By the end of the episode, I think I understand why they use this for the opening credits, but I just wanted to point out that this looks very similar to a pair of Beth trading cards that were recently released. Just saying.

Morgan's group was on channel 4 on the walkie, hence what episode nine was called. This is called Channel 5 because Ginny's group is on channel 5 on the walkie. They’re very much setting up an “us vs them” kind of dynamic.

Overall, this episode felt like a replay of 5x10. Various parts of S5 in general, but especially Them.

Two weeks ago, someone pointed out that Luciana staying behind to help Ginny’s group with the oil was a lot like Beth being left behind at Grady. With that being the case, someone from that place going with Morgan’s group—Tom—could represent Noah, who left the group left Grady with Rick's group.

So I wondered whether Tom would live very long, just as Noah didn't. Well, what do you know? He died in this episode. 

I saw a lot of similarities in what was going on around his death. First of all, I know a lot of people were always confused about the fact that Noah was actually being very hopeful about the future and right before he died. Tom is the same way. He was very gung-ho about what Morgan's group was doing and wanted to be part of it. But then was tragically killed.

I also caught something else I think is a similarity. Ginny said Tom's track record for survival was against him. In other words, maybe he'd made questionable choices in the past and was somewhat toxic when it came survival. Morgan’s group didn’t mind and saved him anyway. The same could have been said of Noah. He always pretty much bowed to Dawn and couldn't really survive on his own. Rick's group saved him anyway, but he didn't last long after that.

Furthermore, Tom died after the detour to get medicine for Grace. In Noah’s case, they weren’t looking for particular supplies for particular person, but they were looking for something to fix the solar panels. So, they were on a supply run, which is similar. Just wanted to point that out. And if Tom = Noah and Luciana = Beth, then Ginny's group = Grady, at least in this analogy. And Ginny would be Dawn. Evil female dictator with questionable methods.

There was also a lot of talk in this episode about them finding a new home. It's unclear by the end of the episode whether what they were thinking would be their new home—a Humbug Gulch that's close by—will actually end up being their new home. But I couldn't help but think that maybe their new home won't be anywhere around here. They keep talking about how they’ve depleted everything in this area. Maybe it will be a matter of returning to D.C. and TF to find their new home. Don't get me wrong, they may stop a few places along the way, but they put heavy emphasis on this. Just a thought.

We saw Tom and Janis reunite. More than anything else, that reminded me of Sasha and Tyreese reuniting for a short time before Tyreese's death in 5x09.

Alicia says art makes sense to her. She’s talking about painting rather than singing, but it’s something Beth might've said. Reminiscent of her convo with Edwards about art being transcendent.

They check out places along the way, looking for a place where they could stay. At one point, Daniel apparently checks out a school. We don't see it, but we hear him say over the walkie that the school is gone. Burned down to nothing. Just reminded me of the school in Coda with the walkers.

The rabbi also says that June has faith, which very few people have any more. Obviously, faith was a Beth thing.

When talking to the camera, Wes says “bullshit” three different times. Maybe not super-compelling, but it is something Beth said.

We see Grace and Daniel giving Charlie to guitar lessons, which is kind of fun.

We heard a ton of fives in this episode. We heard the number 50 several times, including being 50 miles East of the Gulch. We heard the number 500, and of course there was channel 5. I can't help but think it's because it's pointing us back to S5. Remember in earlier episodes, the numbers on the mile markers pointed back to Beth episodes in S5. Now we’re still seeing tons of 5s.

Probably my favorite part of the episode that made me jump up and cheer was when a walker got through their convoy’s fence at night. Dwight killed it and found a sheriff's badge pinned to its shirt. I was so happy to see that!

In terms of the plot, it told them there was a Humbug Gulch nearby. John immediately wants to go there because he thinks it'll be a good place for them to settle. But a sheriff's badge, guys! A sheriff's badge! Remember this picture from Still that includes a sheriff's badge/star?

I think more and more things are pointing toward Dwight running into Beth at some point. Just the fact that he's the one that killed the walker with the sheriff's badge on it and showed it to everyone else is a big deal to me. Then there's what happens at the end, but I'll get there in a minute.

As I said earlier, it feels a lot like 5x10. Grace collapses because she's dehydrated. It's obvious that they don't have any water. And it's funny because they don't actually say they’re low on water. At least, not until the very end, but they keep saying Grace is dehydrated and needs fluids.

Obviously, if they had fluids, they’d give her some. They realize there’s a retirement home 50 miles away and hope that they might find something there to help her. This is interesting for a few reasons.

First of all, there's that 50 again. Secondly, in TWD 4x06, one of the Governor episodes, he goes to a retirement home to get oxygen for Tara’s father. There's a lot of significant Beth symbols in that sequence episode and in this episode they go to a retirement home again.

To be fair, this episode didn’t put a lot of emphasis on retirement home itself. If anything, while looking for supplies inside it reminded me more of the golf club than anything else. Still, the parallels were there. They find a couple of IV bags for Grace. The fluids help her feel better. So, we have another example of water saving someone from death.

They all make a big deal about how Ginny would never have made the detour to save Grace. She doesn't care about her own people individually enough to do something like that. She's out about the greater good. (Lots of shades of Grady here.)

John starts to realize that Morgan has feelings for grace. He takes June aside and says he wants to get married when they reach the Gulch. (Yay!)

As they try to cross a bridge, it breaks down. It can’t hold the weight of the cars, much less the tanker truck. The talk about getting people across and maybe patching/reinforcing the bridge in order to get the tanker across. That's when Ginny shows up. She once again tries to talk them into taking her help.

I have to wonder what Ginny wants from the group. Just the fact that she's chasing them around the countryside and trying to convince them to come with her shows that they must have something she wants. We already know she’s lying about stuff. We see more of her manipulation here.

If her operation is expanding as much as she claims, and have everything they need, Morgan's little group headed in the opposite direction really shouldn't be that big a concern to her. And yet, she's keeping tabs on them, chasing them around, and trying to put them in a position where they have to ask for help.

She ends up firing off guns so a walker horde comes and Morgan’s group is trapped, trying to get across the bridge.

At this point, Ginny randomly mentions horsepower. She's talking about how it’s better to ride around in a car than in the saddle all day. "Another form of horsepower,” is what she says. That's a pretty unnecessary mention of horses, if you ask me. There weren't even any horses in the scene.

She also fully admits that she tried to kill Tom saying she will apologize for her methods because they get results. Very Dawn-like.

Ginny tells Dwight that someone in her group saw Sherry a while back. She didn't say Sherry is with her group, only that someone crossed paths with her. Dwight nearly kills her. You can tell he doesn’t believe her and thinks she’s just messing with them. Which actually may be true.

They also have a conversation about how anyone who wants to go with Ginny’s group is welcome to. Morgan says no one will be forced to stay with his group if they’d rather go with Ginny. Just reminded me of Rick telling the people at Grady that after Beth was shot.

No one wants to go with Ginny. That’s when she fires off her gun, drawing walkers, and Tom dies. @wdway commented that it was a lot like the Governor bulldozing the prison in 4x08 when he didn’t get what he wanted. I didn’t think of that, but I totally agree. It did feel a lot like that.

After that, we see them sitting on the side of the road on the opposite side of the bridge. Tell me that doesn’t look like Them. 

On top of that, some of the crates they’re sitting on have white crosses on them. Guys, these look exactly like the crosses that signified Grady, and like the crates we saw in 4x01 that foreshadowed Grady. So whether this is to show this is a Grady parallel or that we’ll see Grady again soon, I don’t know (kinda thinking both), but either way, this is super significant. 

Let me say it better. If the crates we saw in 4x01 signified the Grady arc coming up, then maybe seeing these here, admidst other Grady and Them parallels, shows the return of that place/arc is coming very soon.

And, you know, it’s DWIGHT specifically who is sitting on it. (Yes, I’m totally pushing for this because it’s what I want to see happen, but we really are seeing evidence that this is where they’re going.)

We do see Tom’s grave, much like we saw Tyreese’s in S5 (but not Beth’s). Actually, we could see this as another Sasha/Tyreese parallel. Tom and Sasha reunited after getting separated and stayed together a short time before the brother (Tyreese/Tom) died. And in both cases, the sister (Sasha/Janis) was at her brother’s grave.

The group decides to walk to the Humbug Gulch location, which is probably 10-15 miles away. So they do. Much like in 5x10, they have to walk a long distance with no food or water, in the hopes of finding a new place to call home.

On the way, Daniel tells Morgan that, with none of them knowing how much longer they’ll live in this world, if something needs to be said, he should say it. Daniel was, of course, referring to Morgan telling Grace how he feels about her. But it could definitely apply to Beth and Daryl.

Morgan then does try to tell Grace how he feels, but she tells him not to say it. She obviously knows what he’s trying to say, but says it will just make things harder. So, they still have heavy parallels with Bethyl, because, at least so far, their feelings for one another are still unspoken.

We also see some evidence that Wes and Alicia might become love interests. Just saying. ;D

Unfortunately, when they arrive, the Wild West location is completely overrun with walkers. They have no food, no water, no supplies, and nowhere else to go. So they finally decide to call Ginny for help. Which is, more than likely, a huge mistake.

In terms of the plot, I think this is what both the broken bridge and broken glass in the opening credits was about. If the bridges always represent the communities (X), well, we literally saw a bridge fall apart under them. And the broken glass in the opening credits suggests a fracture of some kind. So I think this decision to go to Ginny for help is a major mistake and negative turning point for the group.

Dwight refuses to go along with the decision. I really liked this aspect of the episode. Dwight actually left the group to strike out on his own, refusing to go with Ginny. 

It's a little surprising because, of all people, you’d think he would want to take advantage of whatever Ginny or her people might know about Sherry. But he recognizes that it is not a good move to call on Ginny for help. He of all people knows how hard it is to extricate oneself from an evil leader.

Now, it looks like he’s going to be in next episode, so he's not disappearing for any length of time, and I’m trying not to get too excited about where they're going with this. But I’m always happy when one character strikes out on their own because there's so much potential. 

What will happen with Dwight? Who will he run into? Could it be a matter of the rest of the group being hostages to Ginny and Dwight having to save them? Or might he run into somebody else independent of the group? Somebody who may or may not be a sheriff? Like I said, trying not to get too excited about this.

And I'm not thinking that were going to see Beth next episode or anything. I’m just saying I'm really liking this story line. So, this pretty much ends the episode, with them calling for Ginny and Dwight striking out away from the group.

I'm very excited to see what happens next and where this leads. Next week will bring us the finale. Looks like it’ll be exciting. 

What did everyone else think of this episode?

[brainy-storm]

S414 - ‘EL MAYARAH’ HEALED MY HEART (2/2 aka Karadox Edition)

Well, hello, hello, ladies, gentleman and esteemed NBs. We are gathered here today to witness me, a karadox fan who is too deep, commentate on and (over)analyse the happenings of that delicious episode that is Supergirl 4x14 Stand and Deliver. In the proceeding post, I will be going through many, many frames. So hold on to your dashes cause this is gonna be a hecka long post. 

Warning: Again, LONG LONG post. 95 screenshots, guys. I recommend reading this on a computer. MUCH karadox. Including Brainy’s amazing speech, ofc . And the amazingness that was Kara Zor El. 

Now, my friends. Where to start? What’s this? You wanted to go to the hand holding? We shall get there in due time. For now let us go start earlier at the 7:11 timestamp that I have. In which Brainy gets given -

The Letter

This is Querl Dox aka Brainy. His eyebrows furrowed as one of their DEO targets was captured. I might say, he’s cautious about what this letter might be. Who knows? It could have been a threat that Menagerie or The Elite might have wanted to pass on.

Nah, it’s a note from Supergirl, and it made him smile.

I mean, it’s a very cute-looking note (I love Kara’s handwriting, mine’s a mess). She could’ve just written ‘from Supergirl’ but nah, gotta draw that logo in. Love it. Go Kara!

“Supergirl left us a present, and a note.” Brainy whips this note from behind his back. He can’t just bring the note normally. No, he’s gotta whip it out like ‘surprise b*tch’. He not only likes to show off in front of Kara, but also likes to show off in Kara’s stead.  

“Says: you’re welcome.” Brainy looks like he’s trying to return to a neutral expression here, but his tone didn’t quite hide his smugness. And throughout this scene he still looks like he wants to keep smirking.

Now, we know that Brainy’s on Kara’s side. He’s part of the super-friends, of course. I’m pretty sure that Brainy’s supposed to at least pretend he’s backing the DEO fully. But he can’t help himself from celebrating a victory for Supergirl. His loyalty is always towards Kara, and I like how they keep this consistent even if (well, especially) Kara’s not around.

Alright, now it’s time for Kara to finally interact properly with -

Brainy!

“Brainy!” says Kara. What does that mean? Nothing much, she just turned around when she saw heard the door open and saw Brainy. But after several episodes of no proper interaction, it’s nice to hear her say his name. Yeah, yeah, I squealed, this is how deprived we were.

And then, unprompted, immediately after saying his name, she walks over to stand next to him. Must...not...overanalyse...must....resist....can’t --- AIGHT look she moved next to him. Didn’t need to. Nia’s not moving. Brainy wasn’t talking to her yet. Might one say she subconsciously feels comfortable being next to Brainy?! MIGHT ONE --- okay fine, I’m reaching, I’ll stop. But go on. Rewatch the clip. 23:10 is the timestamp. 

Oh yes, this is probably why they wanted Kara to move. To get this angle specifically and reaffirm the #SpouseEnergy radiating of these two. Exasperated dad and amused mum. Look at it. Breathe it in. Rejoice.  

Oh, this is just to compliment Melisa Benoist and Jesse Rath, just cause they move super in sync here, almost like you’d see in a cartoon/anime and I just found it pleasing. Moving on.

Alright, the next screencap is where Brainy thinks he’ll never see his ring again and is understandably in a bit of a shock. He looks at Nia and then Kara, then back at J’onn. Kara looks down before looking at Brainy.

Okay, you get the point. If it looks like Kara’s getting closer to Brainy every screenshot, it’s just cause the camera angle is shifting, by the way. Although, if you watch the clip, she is shifting her weight back and forth between her feet, throughtout this whole moment, which I didn’t notice until taking these screenshots, which is some very nice subtle acting from Benoist.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think this is the first time Kara has seen Brainy when he’s emotionally vulnerable (onscreen, at least lol). She wasn’t there when he was rattled by the hatred he got when his image inducer didn’t work (Alex was there). She didn’t see him cry and didn’t hear him talking about his tears of logic (Lena was there). And when he just lost his ring, she wasn’t really there either (Nia was there). Anyway, she and the others are visibly unhappy when Brainy is unhappy. Even as part of a group shot it’s nice to see it, finally. It only lasts a little while anyway, because Brainy swiftly changes the subject. 

It’s like an appetizer to the emotional main course we’re getting right after. For that moment when our beloved Brainy says -

El Mayarah - (IT’S GO TIME PEOPLE)

“Ah...yes, it’s the march today...will you all be joining?” He finishes that sentence, looking at Kara. Because we know who he wants to go most.  Ahem *cough, cough*.

@fairyroses pointed out that here, after J’onn has said he’ll be there and Brainy proceeds to say ‘Wonderful! ..Kara?’ That this might be the first time Brainy addresses Kara directly as ‘Kara’ when speaking to her. As in usually he’s like ‘Supergirl, we need to....’ etc. Which is strange considering we’ve been shown that he’s close enough to hang out and watch movies at the loft with her and Alex (pre-mind-wipe) but nope we haven’t had an onscreen ‘Kara’. I tried finding one to no avail. So this must be it, then. 

Also, look at that raised eye-brow right here. He’s so excited, bless.

‘Yes, I definitely think we should be there’ - 

‘HUZZAH’. -- Yep, Brainy is happy that they’re going. Look how excited he is.

With the same energy from 4x01 where Kara says ‘nice work, Brainy’. 

Okay, again, look how happy Brainy is. And he’s just looking at Kara with that smile. My actual heart eeeek.

And then his confusion when he realises that she didn’t mean that she was going to march with him. Complete confusion.

‘Uh..’

‘Kara...a..’ (SECOND KARA)

‘A word’ He looks shook the whole time.

He takes a while to actually start talking to her. He looks down again, back at her as if he’s about to start talking about then away again for a tiny moment. (also whoops got that screenshot mid when he’s licking his lips. Was an accident but...you’re welcome.) I wonder how many thought tracks he’s using to try and get the correct words to talk to Kara about this, because there seems to be some hesitation there.

‘I think it would mean a lot to have Supegirl march today’ - So more obviously I think Brainy says that as a sense that the aliens attending would feel more strengthened by her marching, and of course that everyone could see who Supergirl stood with. But of course, I think he also means this, as in personally, since this is the march, that he organised. 

“I wish I could, Brainy, but I think it’s more important for me to patrol. In case anything gets out of hand.”

Kara’s genuinely sorry here, and that glint on her glasses makes her seem even more remorseful (yay angles), and I like how she makes it clear that she wants to support Brainy and the march, but is putting her duty to protect as Supergirl first.

“They won’t. I am American Alien. Hash-tag, American Alien.”

So, Brainy didn’t feel the need to tell the others that he himself organised the march. I think he assumed they would all be up for going, without saying. He reveals this now, to reassure Kara that as the organiser, he would be able to keep things under control. I also like how confident he is here, with his ‘they won’t’. 

“You..you organised it?” - and now it’s Kara’s turn to be surprised. 

“When I lost my Legion ring, I realised how much I depended on it for strength and confidence. I thought it was what made me a hero.” Oooof there you go, there’s that vulnerability that Kara has not been shown to have seen before.  “But not having it these past few days made me see, it wasn’t the ring that gave me strength.” 

“It was fighting.” *breathe* “alongside all of you.” - @kara-querl mentioned that she thinks that Brainy wanted to just ‘alongside you’ at first, but changed his mind. Which I could totally believe. But I also think he might be remembering fighting as a Legionnaire back home as well. 

I think a reason why we didn’t see his realisation is that 1. well, airtime 2. He’s been showing that he gains strength from fighting alongside others over the past few episodes. That’s why he was so adamant on getting together a superhero team - trying to convince Nia to join them when the DEO fired Supergirl, and then being more eager about it after Alex’s mindwipe. Going to J’onn with money to try and get him to join their team. He wanted to gain their strength for Kara, but he also needed their strength too.

“helping to make the Earth a better place.” Oof and look at Kara’s face. I think she’s getting just as emotional over this as we are. I also love how she just listens to Brainy. She doesn’t interrupt or even try to, which is excellent. Pefect communication skills. 

“In times like this change won’t come from someone with a Ring, or a cape. It will only come when each one of us answers the call to stand up and be heard” Brainy is not asking for Supergirl, the symbol and is not going as Brainiac 5, the legionnaire. He wants them to go, purely as themselves.

“El Mayarah” - OKAY CUE ME LOSING MY SH*T RIGHT HERE. especially after making that post about wanting inside codes/jokes in Kryptonian for them, I’M   He uses Kryptonian, trying to convince her and not any old plain Kryptonian but her god dang House of El family motto. This is not about just trying to convince Supergirl, this is trying to convince Kara Zor El. 

So Kara has been listening carefully and holding eye contact with Brainy this whole time (thank you), and when he says ‘El Mayarah’ she looks down immediately. How long has it been since she’s been specifically an El? A while. And even though she loves being Kara Danvers, and that’s who she is with Alex right now, Alex doesn’t know the Kara who she first met, the one she first met as Kara Zor El. 

“Stronger together.” I love love love how he reiterates this 1. cause lol I’m sure a lot of viewers forgot what it meant 2. He just says the meaning again in the language of Earth, the one sh’es adopted, calls home, and is trying to protect. 

And here Brainy follows her eyeline when she looks down, coaxing it back up as he says ‘stronger together’. I’M SOFT.

He takes another breath and breaks eye-contact and looks away. Yup, that was a lot. A lot of emotion right there. He needs a break. I need a break.  [we’re just about to hit screenshot 40 WOW I do need a break]

I like how Kara’s still looking at him, nice. Thanks. Also Nia just streching in the background, not interuppting yet. Dad and Mum are having a Serious conversation, gotta keep busy and not make eye contact, duh.

“Just because we’re superheroes, doesn’t mean we forget who we are.” - Beautiful. What a beautiful speech. Brainy always seems to be there to help remind Kara of what’s important. 3x10 - with her as Kara Danvers, and now 4x14 with her as Kara Zor El. He’s there to support her not only as the hero, Supergirl, but all sides of herself, all sides of Kara. 

She takes a breath here, and I think she’s definitely conflicted . She follows with a , I’m sorry Brainy...the risk is too great.”

BRAINY DOES A LITTLE TINY SHAKE OF HIS HEAD. Like he has more eto say but is also still shocked. And then Nia says she’s ready.

(OKAY YOU GUYS TOOK SO LONG. CAN WE GO PLAY PATROL NOW? PLEASEEE?)

And here Brainy is still in disbelief and worried, like look at this face and oh my god  --- I took this screenshot and then just had to replay the clip - HE’S FIDDLING WITH HIS FINGER WHERE HIS LEGION RING USUALLY IS. THE THING HE DOES WHEN HE’s FEELING ANXIOUS. Lord help me, I’m done.

“Supergirl may be a symbol...” -- ooof they look so pretty there. 

“but more importantly, she’s a citizen of Earth. Like the rest of us”. And he does this little shoulder raise at ‘like the rest of us’...my heart. He’s trying to appeal to her as people who both are not from Earth, but call Earth their home. [sidenote: ohoho ARE YOU EXILED FROM COLU, HUH BRAINY? IS THAT REBOOT BACKSTORY,  I HEAR? sorry, moving on] 

Another long pause before the “Remember that” --- ahhh he still looks so soft, end me. 

NOPE. NOW I’M DONEKARA’S FACE AS SHE WATCHES HIM LEAVE. SHE’S SHAKEN BY THE SPEECH AND I THINK SAD THAT SHE’S LETTING BRAINY DOWN. AND HERSELF DOWN AS A CITIZEN OF EARTH. 

Phew. That was long. A long but beautiful secton. ALRIGHT. LET’S KEEP GOING, SHALL WE? LET’S HEAD OVER TO -

THE MARCH -- IT’S TIMEEE

“They’re not like you - you’re a superhero.” --- I’m starting here because I think it’s important that he doesn’t say ‘you’re Supergirl’ he says ‘you’re a superhero’, because Brainy’s whole speech’s bottom line was  “Just because we’re superheroes, doesn’t mean we forget who we are.” That they’re not just superheroes.

And I think here, she fully understands what Brainy meant.

“No, you’re wrong, I am just like them.” --- so in otherwords, she’s a superhero but more importantly she’s a Citizen of Earth, just like them. This episode is not just great for karadox but great for Kara’s character development because her identity as Supergirl was so at stake, that she’s put that above all else and now she remembers what she needs to be doing. I’M SO PROUD. Rip rewatching this part made me a bit teary wow what is this. KARA I LOVE YOU.

Hmm...is Brainy the first one to look up? MAYBE SO. im not sure but shh 

THERE SHE ISSS. SHE.

Everyone’s in awe.Also, Brainy’s fingers are steepled here, when they weren’t before. (Excitement? Perhaps? idk, hm) 

AWE I SAY. AWE.

“Supergirl.” HE’S HAPPY. LOOK AT THAT. LOOK AT HIM. AHHHH.

“It’s Kara Zor-El.” KARA ZOR EL OF THE HOUSE OF EL. WITH HER GOD DANG ROBES. ‘ In times like this change won’t come from someone with a Ring, or a cape.’ -- SO SHE CAME AS HERSELF. 

“Citizen of Earth” - Just to reiterate -- ‘ more importantly she’s a Citizen of Earth’. She says this. While maintaining eye contact with Brainy the whole time she lands and joins the march. His speech helped her make this decision directly, and she’s letting him know that it did. Her smile in this screenshot and the one above. HER SMILE. BLESS KARA.

And now J’onn says ‘nice to have you with us’ - and they automatically hold hands. Oof and my heart, Papa J’onn. The father figure we all deserve. And...ohhhhH...hmm see Brainy is still holding his hands in position and maybe they made him do that...

To make it clear that it wasn’t automatic. So that Kara has to offer her his hand. Look at her smile. He’s still just looking straight at her. ALSO LOL J’ONN IS LOOKING. HE SEES.

AHAHA LOOK AT BRAINY JUST STARING DOWN. ‘oh yes, I should...hold the hand’. And kara’s smile like ‘yes, yes, it’s okay’. AND LOOK J’ONN IS SMILING AGAIN AHA.  He  ships it is proud too. hmm I wonder if J’onn was secretly listening to their convo the whole time...or hm maybe Brainy voiced how he felt that Kara wasn’t coming to the march to J’onn before it started.  I gots to know

THERE

IT

IS.

alksdjaslkjdalsjdlaskdjlaksjd

wow wow wow wow wow 

STRONGER TOGETHER INDEED.

1. the alien march is stronger together

2. MY SHIP IS SO STRONGER TOGETHER BECAUSE THEY ENCOURAGE EACH OTHER TO BE THEIR BEST SELVES.

Brainy takes his hand and Kara tightens the hold on it. THANK YOu. THANK YOU.

See, the reason they gave this close up, I think,  is to

1.  reaffirm the themes of togetherness in this episode

2. FEED ME THAT GOOD KARADOX FOOD THAT I ORDERED.

Kara is just taking a breath here but lol I still laugh at how much it looks like the Distracted Boyfriend meme. 

“Thank you.” *turns to Kara* “Both”. So much direct eye contact this episode.

THIS IS THE PUREST OF SMILES. KARA. SMILING AT BRAINY THANKING HER. WHO IS HAPPY TO BE HERE TOGETHER IN THE MARCH. PURE. MY SHIP IS PURE.

And you can’t see it well, or much at all, until she turns but he was smiling too, even if it’s not that clear.

And off they go, to confront Lockwood at -

The Rally

A bottle is thrown over their heads.

“Stay peaceful! - Brainy. Kara is shaken, by the looks of it. And Brainy just instinctively holds his hand out to Kara this time.

Takes a moment after he holds her hand...then...

“Don’t stoop to his level.” - again, supporting each other. He takes her hand this time.

BLESS THIS EPISODE.

So here they’re looking at the people who were here supporting Lockwood and I love how Brainy just looks them straight on. Kara’s also maintaining eye contact in the face of aggression. 

The Fight

“Hologram!”

“Then where’s the real Manchester?”

Okay, so I just like how they can switch so quickly to get into the fight. Superhero mode starts exactly now. And just look how smoothly they go about it. I love them. 

So here, she says she’s gonna go find Hat.

“Hello, Hat, we meet again.”

*insert fightscene that you can see giffed by @fairyroses here http://fairyroses.tumblr.com/post/183443782018*

“You don’t need a ring, when you have friends.” Throwback to how he gets his strength from fighting alongside the team.

“So where are your friends now?” - jinxed yourself, mate.

Kara literally is only a blur in this scene. And lmao Brainy catches the hat, which I did not realise till I saw the gifset. I’ve included @fairyroses tags here because she says it all and I literally can’t take any credit for noticing this lol. Bless you.

“Nice work, Brainy.” - I am fed well with all the times she has said Brainy today. Compliments today too.

“Now get him to the DEO.” - LOOKING GOOD BRAINY.

“Then help me get as many of these people to safety as you can.” Menagerie was brought in my the team sans Brainy, and now Brainy and Kara are taking down Hat together. I like how she says then help me. Just another confirmation of yes, you are on my team, even if you’re going back to the DEO for a tiny bit for the delivery. Again, stronger together.

“And this was from the time me and your mum took down a villain named Hat together” - is not something that was said, but is going in my future headcanon, thanks.

And yep, that’s the beautoful end of the karadox interactions of this episode, time that I start -

Wrapping it Up

Shh, yes I have more to say, bear with me.

“I know that Supergirl and I have not been on the same page lately, but you know, seeing her out there in that march, hand in hand with everybody else,I was inspired.” - so  ‘I think it would mean a lot to have Supegirl march today’  ---- Turns out it also meant inspiring Alex to take action too. Brainy’s speech being the root of convincing Kara and Kara taking that stand. directly inspired by Brainy grabbing Kara’s hand that second time, kthx

“Yeah.” - Kara agrees, and then makes a funny joke about roughing Ben lockwood up lol. She did tho.

“No, *laughs* no, you know I followed my beliefs, not the rules..and it felt really good to take a moral stance.”

“Yeah, I think everyone at the march felt that way.” - Kara was glad to have gone to the march and she felt better for it. Oof look at that smile. Look at how good she thought the march was.

“It just goes to show to show, no matter who you are. Alien, human, superhero. Every action counts. And every voice matters.” ---- again, throwing back to Brainy’s speech. 

“In times like this change won’t come from someone with a Ring, or a cape.  It will only come when each one of us answers the call to stand up and be heard”. 

So everything ties together nicely, in -

THE END

Thanks for bearing with me, which I assume you have if you’re all the way down here. 

To summarise: 

Brainy and Kara make an excellent team and they both are each others’ strengths, and help each other grow. They are stronger together.