#unknown mothers are much rarer

[herdingsnails]

While looking through old parish archives I found a boy that was registered as having an unknown mother. And the father waited 13 years to have him baptized. There must be e really good story behind this and I'll never know it!

[visd3stele]

DAY 5 - FAMILY

from @lucienweekofficial 2023 prompt list

Snipets about the Vanserra family because I love these siblings + Lucien finding out the truth about daddy Helion.

Such evenings were rare. When all seven of them could freely wiggle their toes by the grand hearth in their mother's suit, eating apples or pumpkin pies, drinking cinnamon spiced hot chocolate and listening to Lady Iza's stories of an Autumn Court before Beron's rule. A time when the season of crisp leaves softened the hearts of all Prythia, rather than ignite fear and disgust for its cutthroat cruelty. A place where she and her sisters dreamt to rule one day, side by side with their mates, if only to keep it unchanged in its kind flavors.

Eris, the oldest, would keep to their mother's side, standing as tall as he could on his feet, but only reaching her shoulders as the Lady sat on a cushion chair. The kid would keep a watchful eye on his little siblings, ready to jump in whenever chaos was about to issue.

Korint, the second-born, sat cross-legged on the floor by Eris's foot. But it didn't stop him from bothering the twins, Mado and Gaçtar, who bickered constantly over who would get to sit closer to Lady Iza.

Amear, the fifth son, paid no mind to the others, going silently over some of his mother's books of night-tales. Many had crafty illustrations of the stories about valiant fae princes facing dragons and saving their glorious mates from the fire.

Biar, the second youngest, rolled his eyes playfully at his brothers' antics, braiding Lucien's long locks in place, while the younges toyed with the hem of his mother's dress.

Rarer even were the times after the Vanserra sons grew out of childhood when the brothers could spend time bonding together. But, they still found ways to mantain their relationship closer to Lady Iza's desires, rather than Beron's.

So Eris would take his hunds and his litter of siblings, and dive the unknown woods with them in tail. He'd teach the boys to hund and catch fishes with bare hands, while Mado and Gaçtar put up tents and made magicless fire.

Korint was the one in charge of weapons. Either makibg them or sharpenibg the ones they already had, the second son was a master of forging and metal care.

Amear cooked and tried his best to teach the rest about the poisonous plants and fungi growing in the woods. Apart from little Lucien, no one paid him much mind. Which only served as cause for Amear to roll his eyes and sigh loudly, mumbling something that sounded suspiciously close to "you incult lot".

Biar packed their bags, paying close attention to choosing only the best matched outfits for each of his brothers. Many years later, Lucien would fondly think of Biar when he's complimented on his choice of clothes.

And Lucien? Lucien was the spark that kept them together. The reason they stood against Beron's fists and flames as one, protecting each other, healing each other, comforting each other.

Now, on the dais of Day Court's Throne, Lucien Spell-Cleaver tried to pin the moment it all went south. Perhaps it was when Eris begin pulling his strings against the High Lord, leaving the litter without its head. Perhaps it was when Beron gave them different duties that separated them. Or perhaps it was when he started to spend his days, weeks, months in Jesminda's home, straying on his own path his brothers couldn't follow.

When Helion claimed Lucien as his son in front of all Prythia, the younger male thought his brothers would severe him from their lives for good. But despite Korint's and Gaçtar's blood staining his hands, Lucien's relationship with his four remaining brother begin to burn again.

When Lucien would avoid both his mother and Helion, not knowing how to meet one's eyes and despising the other, Eris, Mado, Amear and Biar welcomed him to their hugs, encourraging words and deep, long, well though talks.

It was them that eventually prompted Lucien to speak with their mother again. Anything could be said about the Vanserra boys, but none of them would take anyone's side over Lady Iza's. Not even their little Lucien's.

And it was High Lord Eris who, ordered by his mother, built stronger connection between Autumn and Day, having Lucien as official Emissary.

It took a long while for the odd family to fall into place. With Lady Iza's boys snearing at Helion, the male too weak in their eyes to protect his mate and their son, their mother trying to apease things and Helion barking insults at Beron's sons, while trying to win Lucien over, only to have him defend his siblings.

But now, as Lucien Spell-Cleaver was about to be named sole heir to the Day Court, his entire family watched him with pride, big, genuine smiles seeing him to his new future.

[broodwolf221]

been thinking about the codex entries i added to my most recent meta and they are intriguing re: timelines. i mean, first and foremost, neither of these should be taken as 100% literally accurate; even in-game, biases and distortion of history over time are givens, so i'm not ignoring that. but let's look at these two entries about Ghilan'nain.

One day, Ghilan'nain came across a hunter she did not know. At his feet lay a hawk, shot through the heart by an arrow. Ghilan'nain was filled with rage, for the hawk is an animal much beloved of Andruil. Ghilan'nain called upon the goddess to curse him, so that he could never again hunt and kill a living creature. Ghilan'nain's curse took hold, and the hunter found that he was unable to hunt. Ashamed, the hunter swore he would find Ghilan'nain and repay her for what she had done to him. He blinded her first, and then bound her as one would bind a kill fresh from the hunt. But because he was cursed, the hunter could not kill her. Instead he left her for dead in the forest. And Ghilan'nain prayed to the gods for help. Andruil sent her hares to Ghilan'nain and they chewed through the ropes that bound her, but Ghilan'nain was still wounded and blind, and could not find her way home. So Andruil turned her into a beautiful white deer—the first halla. —From Codex entry: Ghilan'nain: Mother of the Halla Ghilan'nain kept herself apart from the People. She used her power to create animals none had ever seen. The skies teemed with her monsters, the land with her beasts. Andruil hunted them all, and after a year of killing, approached Ghilan'nain with an offer: the gods would share their power with Ghilan'nain, but only if she destroyed her creations, for they were too untamed to remain among the People. Ghilan'nain agreed and asked for three days to undo what she had made. On the first day she struck down the monsters of the air, except those she presented to Andruil as a gift. On the second day she drowned the giants of the sea, except those in deep waters, for they were too well-wrought, and Pride stopped her hand. On the third day she killed the beasts of the land, except the halla, whose grace she loved above all else. This is how Ghilan'nain was made youngest of the gods. —Story of the elven god Ghilan'nain, author unknown (emphasis mine)

Ghilan'nain: Mother of the Halla:

Ghilan'nain knew of Andruil

Andruil was already associated with the hawk - possibly a monster of the air?

Andruil granted Ghilan'nain request to curse the hunter

Andruil sent her hares to free Ghilan'nain

Andruil turned Ghilan'nain into the first halla

vs.

Story of the elven god Ghilan'nain:

Ghilan'nain created powerful creatures

Ghilan'nain was approached by Andruil

Ghilan'nain was also approached by Pride

After agreeing to the terms Andruil presented, she destroyed her creatures;

Except for some monsters of the air that she gifted Andruil;

Except for some giants of the sea, because they were too powerful and because of Pride, and;

Except for the halla

so taken very literally, the timelines do not mesh at all, but i wonder which is truer? did Andruil turn Ghilan'nain into the first halla, or into a halla, one of many? was Ghilan'nain enraged by the hunter because he struck down one of Andruil's creatures, or one of the creatures Ghilan'nain gifted to Andruil? or were the hawk and hare "basic"/regular creatures associated with Andruil, while Ghilan'nain gifted her rarer, more powerful ones? did Ghilan'nain call for Andruil to curse the hunter before or after she was offered a place as an Evanuris?

the obvious answer here is that both of them contain significant inaccuracies and that any accuracies are probably not shown in their proper context, but it's interesting to dig through them and try to extrapolate based on what little information they provide

[incorrectshantaequotes]

Shantae Headcanons - Holly Lingerbean

So, it's now officially 2024! And as per my previous poll, with her winning the tiebreaker coin flip, I'm kicking off this year with a bang - Holly Lingerbean! Normally, one character would not a single headcanon post make, but she's one of my favorites, so. Yeah

Before I start, though, a few relevant readings you might want to pick up before this - none of it is necessary to understand this post, mind you, it's just that I have talked about Holly before, so if you want more Holly content, this is where you'll get it! First off is Living Memoir, AKA the start to what I SWEAR will eventually be a series of fics about a Holly Lingerbean redemption arc. The second thing is my Couples/Romance headcanon post from over a month back. While not exclusively about Holly, one of the sections does extensively feature her!

Backstory

So! Let's start with the basics. As I've mentioned in my Magical Species headcanon post, before Holly became a living memory, she was actually a half-pixie, not a half-genie. More specifically, her father was a pixie and a stage magician, adding illusion magic to classic sleight of hand for some truly fantastic shows, and her mother was a human who ran a local bakery, delighting the inhabitants of Tassel Town with her delicious delicacies. Born in a relatively peaceful town to a loving family, at first, Holly Lingerbean was...surprisingly close to Shantae, in terms of personality!

While she was never responsible for the safety of her town like Shantae was, Holly still had a rather kind-hearted nature and a need to help, so she was often up and about in town, helping various merchants carry out their stock early before the market was officially open, acting as a waitress in her mother's bakery, helping people find what they need in the library, that sort of thing. She also made the occasional appearance as an assistant in her father's magic shows, and between that, the aforementioned tendency to help everyone else out, and just her being incredibly nice, she had a lot of fans in Tassel Town! It was shocking, at first, but flattering...and eventually, Holly started letting it get to her head a little.

And as she reached adulthood, with the terrifying unknown of the future starting to loom over her like the grim reaper, scythe ready to tear away Holly's happy life in Tassel Town, some part of Holly just...wanted things to stay the same. Forever. Why couldn't she just keep being nice and helpful? Wasn't it enough to keep being who she was, who she had been for all her life? Why couldn't she just keep being loved and adored? That was when Holly remembered an old book that her father had locked away in the attic, and, well. She couldn't stop anything else from changing, but maybe she could keep herself from changing - keep herself young, beautiful, and forever adored. And so, young and foolish and unwittingly throwing away her future, she grabbed that book and used a spell from within.

I've said before that the other, much rarer magic pixies specialize in is preservation magic. That's a technically accurate description, because that's what it's used for and what it does, and it's the official title, but it doesn't quite convey the exact danger. The reason why it's so hard to use, even for genies, the reason why others began hunting down pixies just for knowing how to use it, is because preservation magic is time magic. The fact that Holly's attempt to use it on herself backfired so graciously is honestly a blessing, considering it could have gone much, much worse, but it did backfire, and turned Holly into the living memory she is now...though she didn't quite realize at first. No, she only realized it when the eternal sandstorm settled over Tassel Town, condemning it to a slow demise, and Holly began to fade with it.

Naturally, Holly panicked, and she ran away, desperate to cling to life, and as she ran through Sequin Land in a haze, that's when she first found Wilbur. That's when she discovered what he could do, and how it could benefit her. That's when she started to plan...and gradually, over the course of many human lifetimes, through a combination of self-preservation and her own ego becoming her number one priority over anything else, everything that Holly was, everything that she used to be, was chipped away and shoved off to the side, leaving only the vain, egotistical Holly we all met in Half-Genie Hero.

General

So! Onto some significantly lighter stuff! And as a side-note, if you've read Living Memoir, assume this is the Holly from there. If you have not, all you need to know is that after HGH, Holly was forced to reflect on herself and decided that her previous methods weren't working, so she went to Shantae with the plan of shadowing her, soaking in some of her newfound fame by proxy, and keeping herself alive that way. Shantae, meanwhile, was NOT pleased to see Holly as soon as she remembered who she was, and it was only when a slip-up from Holly made her realize there was more to her than the vain exterior and led to her learning Holly's backstory did she agree to the deal - with the stipulation that Holly consider becoming a hero herself. And thus begins the redemption arc!

Anyway...a little known fact about Holly is that she's an entomology nerd - well, arthropodology nerd, if you want to get technical. This is partially because of Wilbur, because of course it is, but this even extended to her past self as well, with only her parents and a select few knowing about it then. At first she hid it because she thought it was embarrassing, then she hid it because it would stain her image, and after HGH she hides it precisely BECAUSE of Wilbur, and all the, ah...negative associations her former pet brings with him. Shantae ended up learning about it when she's tried to figure out a trick with her spider form, and Holly, having been watching for over an hour and now bored and mildly annoyed, gave her the exact tip she needed, causing Shantae to very quickly round on her with a "how did you know how to do that" once she did figure out the trick.

A lot of Holly's egotism is just bluster, especially post-HGH where she's been forced to reflect on her past actions and herself as a person - once you understand that, it's honestly not that hard to get along with her, as she's not really actively malicious and more just overly confident and self-appraising most of the time. She can be hurtful, for sure, but it's very easy to tell when she's just being careless versus when she's actively targeting you. A lot of her best relationships are with people who get this, such as Lobster Siren, Harmony, and Shantae - though, in the latter case, Holly still grates on Shantae's nerves sometimes. Especially early on when she's just beginning to figure out how to be a good person again.

Holly grew up in a rather...tumultuous time for Sequin Land's royal family, as when Holly was born the land was under the reign of Queen Echidna, one of the most tyrannical figures in Sequin Land's history. Petty, vain, and cruel, Echidna demanded in all but words to be treated as a goddess wherever she went, and any town who didn't do so - or, worse, happened to have their attention on someone Echidna saw as "unworthy," which was everyone besides herself - the town was condemned to death. Holly never met the woman herself, but her parents were sure to teach her how to act if she ever did show up, as was the case with every child during her reign. She and her followers were ousted and exiled to an island shortly after Holly began her operations with Wilbur, but that never really lessened the childhood boogeyman of the old queen, and Holly just...kinda assumed all royalty was like that. No one ever realized this, of course, up until Shantae was told she was going to be visited by Giga Mermaid by some mermaid guards one morning, and Holly promptly panicked. Shantae...actually has a theory, regarding Echidna and her followers and their possible descendants - Echidna was well-known for using snake iconography, after all, and Shantae's experience in the Tan Line Temple is practically burned into her memory...but she figures Holly would rather not know.

Though Holly isn't really a fighter, she is a surprisingly good acrobat. Supernaturally good, actually, being far more flexible and durable than any human reasonably could be. This has less to do with her formerly being a half-pixie and more to do with the "living memory" thing; her body's basically made out of condensed magic, much like the more humanoid forms taken by - ironically enough - genies when they're outside the Genie Realm and are trying to interact with humans, though obviously weaker with the downside of having to rely on others to maintain her form. And yet, in spite of all that...Holly cannot dance. At all. Which continues to irk her no matter how hard she tries. She's taken lessons from Shantae, with...mixed success.

Anyway! I'm going to stop there...at least, for normal, canon Holly. But, as some of you may know, there's also the Reversal AU, and while Holly isn't swapped with anyone, she gets it both better and worse thanks to the differing main cast!

Reversal AU

Starting with what would be the events of HGH, Holly is immediately treated with much more hostility than canon. Unlike Shantae, who mostly saw Holly as an annoyance up until she enacted her plan and even then still managed to be relatively chill, with R!Risky...the Dynamo is weighing a lot more on her mind, giving her a lot of pent-up stress and anger she refuses to let out, and not ONLY is Holly stepping on a nerve taking Risky's job when she's already worried about being replaced, but she presents a much more acceptable target for her ire that Risky is more than happy to take it out on. Holly dishes out some vitriol in return, but doesn't really think much of it until she enacts her plan.

Because unlike Shantae, who is mad about the whole thing but still managing to act like herself, when R!Risky comes back to a memory-less Scuttle Town, she, well. Saying "she goes ballistic" is technically accurate, but not quite fitting. Saying "she is so utterly furious that with one more push she ends up committing actions her canon self would approve of" is both accurate and appropriately fits the severity. Risky is not just mad. She is on an active warpath, and when Holly realizes this, she...finds herself to be a bit worried. More worried than she has been in a long while. By the time Risky reaches the top of the tower, Holly's worried enough that she actually tries to negotiate instead of monologuing to Risky, trying to convince her to let her go, pointing out that, if Mimic doesn't get his memories back, he'll never build the Dynamo, and she won't be out of a job! ...Which only serves to tap dance alllllllll over Risky's buttons, getting her even more livid, and Holly quickly learns the consequences of her actions as soon as Wilbur's done.

Remember that "with one more push she ends up commiting actions her canon self would approve of" bit? Yeah, that last thing was the push. Holly starts to flicker in-and-out, much like she does in Half-Genie Hero, and panics as she realizes she's going to fade - only for Risky to grab her by the collar of her outfit and pull her right up close and personal, telling her that Risky isn't going to let her fade...something that Holly would find a lot more reassuring if Risky wasn't wearing a vindictive smirk about two inches away from a scowl as she was saying it. Risky continues, saying that fading would be the easy way out, so she's going to make sure to remember her, because she's not letting Holly take the easy way out. No, she wants Holly to stew, to wallow in her complete failure, to reflect on what an utterly miserable and hollow life she's led, that the only way she's been able to live is to take away the life and times of others...and with that cheery note, Risky kicks Holly off the edge of the tower.

After she has a moment to calm down and collect her thoughts, R!Risky is...honestly disturbed by how far she went with Holly. While none of her friends have any sympathy for the living memory, and their reactions to being told what Risky did are essentially just "good riddance," Risky still can't help but think that she was rather extreme with Holly, no matter how bad she really was. Not to mention, the lie about her being a half-genie hasn't been cleared up, so while Risky does know she's a memory, her logical assumption is that Holly was a half-genie before she ended up turning into a living memory...and any potential chance of connection has been ruined by Risky's actions. While she's wrong on that front, she is right about her actions biting her in the ass later...

Holly isn't relevant again until the end of the adventure, where Captain Shantae's plan finally swings into action, and - well, I'm not going into it in detail here, because I DO plan on writing that Reversal AU HGH post at some point, but just know that, similar to how HGH is Risky's most drastic and extreme plan for her ultimate goal of obtaining power, the Reversal AU equivalent is Captain Shantae's most drastic and extreme plan for her ultimate goal of obtaining control, and more specifically recruiting Risky to her side. And when that fails, when her plan begins to fall apart around her ears and Risky firmly denies her, ready to fight and escape her clutches...that's when Captain Shantae unveils her most drastic measure of all - a trussed, gagged, and terrified Holly Lingerbean, much to Risky's shock and horror.

Captain Shantae explains that she saw the memory-less Scuttle Town, and figured it'd make a good back-up plan if Risky wouldn't join her willingly, and so sent out a few men to scout out the remains of Tassel Town to see if they could reverse-engineer Holly's method...then, they saw a dazed and barely conscious Holly Lingerbean, and Captain Shantae got a better idea - why bother trying to make her own method of memory removal when she could, ah, coerce the source? Risky shakes off her disturbance and tells Captain Shantae that she won't just stand still and let her take her memories, but Shantae then cheerily informs her that she anticipated that, and thus coerced Holly into doing a few test drives. And then, in comes...well, I'm not going to spoil what would be the final boss here.

Anyway, after that's defeated and the Chimera Pirates are thwarted once again, Risky hightails it out of there with Holly in tow, finding herself back in Scuttle Town, where she's congratulated by her friends and Mimic apologizes for being so ignorant as to how Risky was feeling, and that it's clear that the Dynamo is no match for her in terms of being an effective guardian. That just leaves the matter of Holly...and, almost immediately, they both try to apologize at the same time, with Risky stopping herself first and letting Holly go ahead. Holly then explains that, between Risky's dressing-down and Captain Shantae kidnapping her, forcing her to use her memory-altering powers when she didn't want to, and just generally putting her in mortal peril, she's gotten a major reality check, and after reflecting on herself and reevaluating her goals, she wants to make amends for how many lives she might have ruined over the years. In turn, Risky apologizes for how extreme she was in handling Holly, that at the very MINIMUM kicking her off the tower was completely unnecessary, never mind anything else, and with the bad blood between them cleared, the two become friends.

Post-HGH, Holly is already on the side of good in the Reversal AU, and she's effectively acting as...R!Risky's unofficial lawyer, in a sense? Her first action was to immediately strongarm Mayor Scuttlebutt into giving Risky better wages, as after having taken the job herself she knows full well that the pay is not enough for the amount of shit Risky has to deal with, and after that she just...kept it up with some of the other troubles Risky faced. She didn't mean to become Risky's pseudo-lawyer, but neither of them are really objecting, and they have a fairly good relationship going. Probably better than canon Shantae and Holly Lingerbean, funnily enough. I imagine she's not involved in what would be Seven Sirens, but that could change...

Okay, NOW I'm done! That took a while even with the extra time I gave myself, so I hope all the Holly Lingerbean fans are happy! In any case, here's to 2024, and have a Happy New Year!

[m4nym03]

Alastor Shawcross (OC)

School:

Night Raven College

Ignihyde

First Year

Class B

Appearance:

Dark blue hair that resembles the night sky, with silver and gold streaks throughout it. It reached his thighs when he has it out.

He'll often have it tied back in a thick braid or a messy bun, having given up on keeping it in place whilst he's working. It does have some curls, but he keeps it straight to save having to worry so much about taking care of curls.

He's pale but not quite sickly pale, just the typical pale white person. Sunscreen is his best friend and he applies it religiously.

His eyes are a hazel that's more brown with hints of green, but they glow completely silver whenever he uses his unique magic to the fullest.

He's 176.7cm tall, 5'8 foot if it helps visualize.

He usually dressed in dark blues and purples, with silver or gold accents. But has been known to wear beige on occasion.

Slightly androgynous features, kind of lanky but still has muscles. He tends to carry his siblings if they let him, either carrying them like a football or thrown over his shoulder his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. He's only nice sometimes and carries them properly, and only really with the delicate ones or if they hurt themselves.

He has a few ink stains on his fingers.

Has glasses but barely uses them. They're usually found atop his head, just because he sat them there before forgetting about them.

He has a few ear piercings, but has been known to use those fake magnetic piercings on his face if he wants to make an outfit work while he was at home.

He has slight eyebags, but they're usually easy to overlook.

He chugs 'Death Reaper Coffee' like it's milk, and has been known to mix energy drinks into the already hazardous substance. (Death Reaper Coffee is an invention that's roughly 40% pure caffeine and is labelled 'not liable for any deaths after consumption')

He has been known to wear the atrociously brightly colored bracelets the Tiny Terrors make him, but not often and rarer still in public.

Family:

1 confirmed great-grandmother

3 confirmed grandfathers

1 confirmed grandmother

1 unknown grandmother

1 confirmed father

1 alluded father

1 confirmed mother

2 alluded mothers

13 alluded blood aunt/uncle

2 confirmed older sisters

9 confirmed younger sisters

4 confirmed younger brothers

20+ alluded cousins

1 confirmed nephew

1 confirmed niece

Facts:

Most focused in Defensive and Protective Magic

High Functioning Introvert - the most extroverted person in Ignihyde after The Extrovert and Ortho Shroud

Is currently slated to be made Dorm Leader in his Second Year

Attends classes in person Monday Tuesday and Wednesday most weeks

Will always attend on a Monday, he could Overblot and he'd still be sitting in the seat with the most escape routes while apologizing for making a mess on the floor - after missing a month straight of school to work on his hobby he promised his great-grandmother that he'd always go to at least one day of school a week to get a copy of what they were going to be learning

If Alastor had not been in Ignihyde, he would have been in Diasomnia and not Pomefiore - no matter what Rook says.

Magic:

Family Magic: Midas' Blessed Touch. When used, anything touched with all five fingers will be turned to gold. This gold is easier for the family to enchant and simultaneously harder for others to enchant. After being scrubbed with a mix of sand and ground herbs, the gold is impossible to tell from real gold.

Unique Magic: Stitch-It-Up. Many people assume that his Unique Magic is 'Stitch-It-Up', because that's what they've seen him use. It can be used to fix small imperfections in anything he deems a project. Alastor is known to use it to help fix clothes and to ease muscle pain after someone has trained too hard. This is not Alastor's Unique Magic, merely a facet of it.

Unique Magic: Macabre Madness. An Eldritch-esque magic that allows him to see and manipulate the Life Energy of living beings to his bidding. Very multifaceted, but also ominous, especially as he hesitates to use his own life force as fuel for anything bigger than repairing a rip in an outfit or nudging along recovery after working out. He always replenishes his Life Energy as soon as possibly. He has the ability to consume the Life Energy of other human, but has only done so on three occasions.

Family:

His great-grandmother is his favorite family member, she was a big name fashion designer in her youth and only retired when he was a toddler and tried making himself a ballgown using her equipment to attend one of his older sisters' tea parties when they were in their princess tea party phase. She found him and 'helped' him make a proper dress.

He's been making dresses for the "Tiny Terrors" ever since. His sisters have never quite grown out of their princess tea party phase, and take a secret guilty pleasure in showing them off to their friends and the family. He has stated that only one of his family has never received a ballgown, his trans cousin (ftm) because it would have given them gender dysphoria. They are the only one to be given full traditional royal regalia or be dressed to the nines as a dragon at the Annual Shawcross Ballgown Gathering.

His family are either barely considered extroverts or high functioning introverts, so family gatherings are surprisingly easy to navigate and usually take place in smaller alternating groups over the course of several days to a week to build towards the final large gathering.

The Shawcross are rumoured to be descent from an ancient king, but nobody knows for certain. They keep their wealth quiet and work hard at their chosen fields, but it's clear they have old money.

All of their family have magic and have developed their magic to help with their chosen professions, but they have Family Magic, a Unique Magic passed down through the entire family.

Most of the family has hair of the night sky shade or precious metals.

Great-Grandmother has skin just as dark as her hair used to be, but her hair has since turned silver from age. Other than that and a few well-earned wrinkles, she looks just as young as always. Part of that is due to her Unique Magic, the rest to good genes, and an accident Alastor had with his own Unique Magic after snatching Life Energy from kidnappers.

There's no one Magic School that they attend, but they have five or so family favorites that the family continues to value as alumni.

[hupla222]

Mothers of the Brothers

I talk about my Half Brothers AU/Headcanon a lot but I have never answered the question of who the boys' mothers are. I guess its about time I did, huh. Well here they are, I really like how they turned out.

First up, as is fitting in this...universe?...canon?...anyway, this is Sidian's mother.

Name: Pala, derived from palagonite, a rarer form a volcanic glass, similar to obsidian.

Character: She's pretty feminine and passive, believing that Pokémon and children are in their purest forms when the have not fought or battled. She lives in an isolated mountain home filled with first stage Pokémon that she refers to as her children. She wishes she could have met her son but she hated Gibeon so much that she couldn't stay. She figured her son would be alright with his father.

Next up is Amethio's mother. I really like her outfit lol.

Name: Peri, derived from perite a relatively unknown mineral discovered in Sweden in the 1960s. It's got a yellow color to it.

Character: Given that his last, more feminine partner produced what he sees as a disappointment, Gibeon chose someone completely different to mother his next son. She's quite the adventurer, never staying still and always seeking danger. She sells the treasures she collects to the highest bidder, though people who have purchased from her say her prices are ridiculous. She left as soon as Amethio was born and she has no intentions of seeing him again. She doesn't care much for being a mother.

[frxcturedcosmos]

1 3 6 7 for the headcanons ask

random headcanon asks

1. does your muse enjoy watching the stars?

Absolutely, which probably doesn't come as a surprise. Her father's affiliation with the Garrison made her curious about space as a child, she often snuck around her parents late at night to glimpse through his small home telescope. This appreciation only intensified after her release from the Galra. She had already been in space for years, but due to her confinement rarely got to actually see much besides metal walls. She takes comfort in the small moments she can get staring off into the unknown whenever she can.

3. how does your muse manage strong emotions?

Ha... That's a fun question. It's very, very difficult for her to manage most strong negative emotions due to her instability from the genetic testing. Anger, stress and annoyance being the biggest culprits to really cause her problems. She can commonly be found in the training area of the Marmora base during these times as a coping mechanism, rest in pieces to whatever training dummies the Blades had. This calms as she ages. Strong positive emotions? Those are a bit rarer for her to experience in general. For the most part, she does not really know what to do about them, there are times where she does not even recognizes said emotions, so typically there is no response, or she self isolates to try and figure it out. This leads to some interesting interactions. A Blade gave her some good, actual food once and a tear fell from her eye, while she really gave no facial or verbal response, her peers were frantic. She was confused as to why they were fussing over her lol.

6. what style of music does your muse like the most?

In terms of genres, rock, alt, metal, and electronic are pretty high up in her preferences, as well as mixes of those. She tends to gravitate towards songs with very prominent beats, stronger bass and percussion. It's very stimulating and helps quiet her brain when her thoughts become too much. Also makes for very good training music. A good guitar is also appreciated. Some softer songs manage to slip into her listening from time to time, depends on personal preference. She also has a certain soft spot for a song her mother used to sing for her as a child.

7. what’s the furthest from home your muse has traveled?

Depends on what you wanna consider home for her. For this instance, we'll use Earth. She's already pretty far by default no matter where she is since, you know, space. One of her missions for the Blades took her particularly far on a scouting expedition to a far-off sector. Galran frigate traffic suddenly increased in the region, said region having been suspected to be abandoned by the Galra for quite some time. Turned out to simply be a temporary detour for ships due to conflict in other sectors. She's no good at calculating just how far, but according to her ship's nav system, it would've taken her at least 2000 years to reach earth without warp technology.

[biblelady]

Hanging On By A Thread (Part 2)

In part one we went through Job 1 in its entirety. We learned about the type of man that Job was (blameless and righteous), he was wealthy, prosperous, and had a large family. Satan asked God if Job could possibly remain faithful to him if God took away everything that he had, because (according to Satan) up until this point, God had only showered Job with blessings, so of course he worshiped God! God gave Satan permission to take everything that Job had, but he was not allowed to lay a single finger on Job. All at once Job lost his livestock, his servants, and all ten of his beloved children. The chapter ends with Job grieving, saying "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return there; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." (Job 1:21)

Chapter 2 immediately places us back in the heavenly courts. We have God, the angels, and once again we have Satan (the Accuser). God asks Satan again where he came from, and once again he says he was walking to and fro, up and down the earth. God brings up Job again, but what he says this time really peaked my interest.

"Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and turns away from evil. He still persists in his integrity, although you incited me against him, to destroy him for no reason." (Job 2:3)

A common belief when bad things happen to people is that they must have done something "deserve it." For example, someone has lung cancer after smoking cigarettes their whole lives. While I am not trying to say anyone deserves cancer, the cause in this case is clear; smoking cigarettes. (And yes, I have heard of cancer cases, including lung and oral cancer, where the person with cancer never smoked or worked in the coal mine, so the cause is not always known). I'm guilty of assuming that every bad thing that happens to me is a result of some kind of sin I committed at some point in my life, thus now I must be suffering as a punishment for said sin. However, as the book of Job shows us, this is not always the case. Sometimes bad things happen as a result of free will; a family gets hit by a drunk driver, everyone dies but the drunk driver. Did this happen to the family because of their unspoken sins? Of course not! It was caused by the free will of the person who had too much to drink and then got behind the wheel. Sometimes our free will can harm not only us, but those around us as well.

In this case of Job, however, the disasters happening to him were not a result of any action of his or the free will actions of someone else spilling onto him. Even God is saying as much here; "... He still persists in his integrity, although you incited me against him, to destroy him with no reason." (Job 2:3). Again, I cannot stress this enough, Job did not do anything to cause what happened to him, and he certainly didn’t do anything to deserve what happened to him. Sometimes things happen and we cannot explain it. In Job’s instance it’s arguably spiritual warfare going on, as Satan caused these particular tragedies. I caution you, Reader, be weary to blame every bad thing on Satan. Sometimes bad things happen due to our own doing or someone else’s, other times it seems to just be “life.” Rarer in that I think is it an actual satanic attack.

What Satan says next I find particularly chilling; “Skin for skin! All that people have they will give to save their lives.” (Job 2:4). This can be viewed in so many ways. How much are we willing to give to stay alive? Will we give up our wealth and belongings to live? What about our families? Where is the limit of what we are willing to give up to simply stay afloat? He continues, “But stretch out your hand now and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” (Job 2:5). As someone who suffers from chronic pain for unknown reasons, this statement hit me particularly hard. I have suffered for years at this point. I have undergone many scans, surgeries, and consultations with various specialists, only to receive no answers apart from what I definitely do not have, and being told “sorry, I can’t help you.” This has taken a toll on my faithfulness to God. While I’ve done my best to reframe my mindset and seek the truth of God rather than what I want God to be, I still struggle with this. Being in pain every day, sometimes so severe I have no choice but to go to the hospital, I often find myself questioning God’s intentions for me. Why live if every day hurts? Why keep believing if it’s not making me better? Even so, I keep holding on, but I know that even if I let go, God won’t let go of me. He’s been with me thus far, surely he will be with me forever. “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4).

God’s response I find equally chilling; “Very well, he is in your power; only spare his life.” (Job 2:6). This has always bothered me, both empathizing with Job and others, and looking at the calamity that has happened in my own life. Is the point of the book of Job to show us that humans are all chess pieces in a grand celestial chess game? Is that life, a celestial game of chess between God and Satan? Did God create us because he wanted “play things?” These are a few of the questions I have been plagued with that some would probably call heretical. To make matters worse I don’t have answers to these questions, but perhaps these won’t be answered until we reach the other side.

It says that Satan struck Job and inflicted him with “loathsome sores…from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head.” (Job 2:7). Job then scraped himself with a potsherd and sat among the ashes (Job 2:8).

This concludes Part 2. Part 3 coming soon.

[summercourtship]

Hiya! I read your recent Pinhead one-shot and adored it, your writing is so good. Can I request a Ghostface NSFW one-shot where he call’s his next victim but she happens to be masturbating? And they end up having phone sex. I would really appreciate it and if you do please let me know if you take payment or even if I can give you a tip! <3

Oh my gosh thank you so much! I actually gasped when I read this request, I fucking love this idea I hope I did it justice lol. I still get kinda insecure when writing smut even though I've read some not-so-great erotica and still be turned on by it so does it matter? Either way, practice is practice haha.

delicious (nsfw, 18+)

danny johnson x reader | warnings: phone sex, dirty talk, degradation, | note: the title comes from the charli xcx song, somehow not a tswift song for once! | word count: 1.8k

Perhaps your mother had been right in not allowing you to have a phone in your bedroom growing up.

But perhaps it was that very same denial that made you determined to have one in your room when you lived on your own, living out a childhood dream of being able to chat to friends on your own phone in your own room. Not that it got much use, with you rarely being home enough to answer calls and it being even rarer for your friends to even bother calling.

The phone became more like a bedside decoration than serving any real functional purpose in your life, except for when you wanted to call in sick to work or order takeout from the comfort of your own bed. You forgot, it seemed, that phones could actually be kind of a nuisance.

It had been a slow week of long hours at your work, and every class you took seemed to have major assignments due within the past three days. You could’ve cried from relief when you finally got home and had the freedom of the weekend in front of you. You didn’t envy the students pouring their way into parties and bars, though you might have felt a twinge of nostalgia for when you were one of them.

But just because you weren’t going out didn’t mean you couldn’t enjoy the rest of your night and have some fun with yourself. Once you were out of your work clothes and into your chosen sleepwear for the night (which was simply a big t-shirt), you plopped onto your bed, all the stress and tension leaving your body as soon as you hit the soft surface.

You roll over onto your back, lazily running your hand down your body. You don’t waste time messing with your chest, instead moving directly to your underwear, slipping your hand inside. There was no need to tease yourself, after all.

You had just begun to slowly circle your clit, feeling a bit more sensitive than usual, when the phone started ringing.

Your eyes snapped open, hand still in your underwear. At first, you barely recognized the sound of it, only knowing that the piercing tones had interrupted your alone time. But once your tired and horny brain fog cleared- if just slightly- you glared over at your bedside table.

From where you were laying, you could see the caller ID display, though it only provided you with “UNKNOWN CALLER” on the tiny green screen. You shifted your gaze slightly to your alarm clock, which dimly displayed 11:37 PM. That’s a bit late for a salesperson to call, and your friends would have been announced through the ID display, had they decided to call this late.

Ignoring the sinking feeling in your stomach and the nagging itching in the back of your brain to remember something you saw in passing on a newspaper at the store, you waited for the phone’s ringing to end.

Settling back in, you slowly get back into the proper headspace for touching yourself, resuming your slow movements. You wanted to both take it slow tonight and really enjoy it, and seek your pleasure as fast as possible, needing the release it promised after the week you’ve had.

As a compromise between the two desires, you started to pick up the pace, feeling yourself get slightly wetter from your touch.

The phone rings again.

You curse, this time sitting up and snatching the phone off the hook, but not before seeing that this, too, was from an unknown caller (likely the same one from before, you thought in the back of your mind).

“What?” Normally you would never answer the phone this way, but it was way past decent calling times, and you were fucking tired.

But in response, there was nothing. You were starting to wonder if you had somehow not picked up the phone in time for the call to go through when you realized you could faintly hear someone breathing on the other end.

Great.

One of these calls.

You were hardly ever in the mood to deal with prank calls, let alone when you were just trying to destress after a long, exhausting week. You just wanted a fucking break.

“Listen, asshole-”

“I can see you.”

You manage to catch yourself before you’re able to vocally react, instead somehow calmly looking over at your window. The blinds are shut. You don’t doubt that someone, if determined enough, could find a way to peek inside, but you doubted that the man on the phone was that pervert.

“Liar.”

On the other end, the man lets out a chuckle. And you realize, despite yourself, that his voice is kinda attractive, at least for a creep.

“Made you look.”

Scratch that. Very attractive.

Biting your lip, you lay back down, the horny side of your brain pushing you to start your movements again. You have no plan- ideally he would hang up and you would be able to fully indulge yourself, but as the seconds pass without the telltale click of the line being cut you figure this won’t happen.

“What do you want, weirdo?” You can’t help but throw the insult in, figuring he deserves it for interrupting you twice. Not that he knew he was doing it, but either way it didn't matter to you.

“You wound me.” His voice is deep and expressive, and you are definitely getting wetter listening to him speak.

“Good.” You chuckle, but it’s breathless in the way that only someone who was currently masturbating (as you were) would sound.

He’s silent for a moment, and you begin to pick up your pace, adding pressure to your movements, the occasional jolt of pleasure running through your body distracting you from the fact that it was definitely louder than you realized.

“Are you fucking yourself right now?” He doesn’t sound offended (thank goodness), but he does sound confused. You, on the other hand, are suddenly too mortified to examine his tone and you only realize this fact after.

“Shit!” You pull the phone away from your face, as if that lessens the impact of the fact that you were just caught masturbating by a stranger. “I’m sorry, fuck-”

“No- keep going.”

You definitely did not hear that right. You put the phone back to your ear.

“I’m sorry? No-”

“I said, keep going.” Oh boy. If his voice was attractive before when he was just casually talking with you, it didn’t compare to how hot it was when he gave you a command. “You had no problem being a slut before, so you shouldn’t have one now.”

“I- okay. I just feel awkward now.” All of the bravado you felt earlier had quickly dissipated once you were caught.

He hums on the other end of the line and you wait impatiently for his response.

“Would it help if I told you what to do?”

This was certainly not how you had anticipated your night ending up, but you weren’t complaining. How often would you get the chance to have consequence-free phone sex with a complete stranger?

This could very well be the only time in your entire life you would have this thrilling opportunity, and you weren’t going to let it pass you by.

“I think so.” You could hear the man getting comfortable, the rustling of fabric faint in the background on his end. You wondered if it was him getting his cock out.

“Are you still touching yourself?”

“...Yes.” You’d slowed down after you’d been caught, but never fully stopped.

“Play with your clit for me.”

“O-okay.” It was a simple and vague instruction, but something that you could quickly comply with, given that your hand had barely moved from its earlier position. You resumed stroking it, noticing that you had gotten significantly wetter since you’d first picked up the phone. Not quite dripping, but enough to signify that you were definitely turned on by the situation you had found yourself in.

“Good girl.”

Fuck. Your hips jerked at the praise, and you bit your lip to hide your moan. But you clearly didn’t do a good job of it, because the man on the other end chuckled, the sound once again going straight to your pussy.

“Oh, did you like that?”

“Y-yes.” If you were of sound mind you would be embarrassed by how quickly this man had managed to reduce you to the stuttering mess you were now.

“Put the phone on speaker, and don’t even think about holding back any of those little noises.” You rush to comply, fumbling slightly with controlling your non-dominant hand.

“Done.”

“Good. Close your eyes.”

“...Okay.”

“Are you still touching your clit?” You hum in response.

“Just how fucking wet are you right now?”

You gasped, rhythm faltering. “Very.” Your voice is breathy, shaking as you stumble over the single word. “Fuck, please tell me something- anything. Wanna hear what you want.”

“Yeah?” You can now hear the distinct noise of him jerking off on the other end, and you’re certain he must be able to hear the sloppy noise your own movements are creating. “I wanna to fuck you so hard you won’t be walk right for a week, every movement you make a reminder of how much I fucking own you. You’re mine, got that? My little slut, just a fuck toy for me to fill up.”

You shuddered, turning your head against your pillow.

“You want that, want me to fill you up?”

“Yes, please, I want your cum, oh my god,” you’re mumbling, words you don’t truly mean but your brain is far too gone to think about the things you’re saying.

Plus, he’s just a stranger, someone you’ll never meet. You can say whatever you want, it doesn’t even matter.

“I wanna make you cum on my cock, feel your tight little pussy around me-fuck,” You wished, briefly, you knew what he looked like, so you could properly imagine him fisting his cock, the muscles in his arm straining as he made himself go faster, chasing his release.

“I want it, I want it, please,” You were just saying the same thing over and over again, too close to your climax to think of anything sexier to say.

“Are you gonna cum?” His voice was strained, almost muttered out.

“Yes, yes- please I need it, fuck-”

“Then do it. Cum for me like a good little girl.”

And with his permission, you comply, continuing your litany of curses and pleas as your back arches, your orgasm crashing through your body. Gasping, eyes and mouth open, continuing to touch yourself until your body screamed at you to stop from the overstimulation on your clit.

On his end, he lets out a long, low groan as he reaches his climax in the midst of your own. In the back of your mind you wish you were more present to fully enjoy the noise he’s made, to revel in the fact that you did that to a total stranger.

Once you both have come back down from your high, the line is silent. You have no idea what to say, how to even continue a conversation from here. For a moment you contemplate just hanging up and going to sleep, but he beats you to the chase with a line that turns your racing blood to ice.

“See you soon.”

___

ao3 link | part two

[thefirstknife]

What’s the best place for me to get dark age info for my own silly little destiny blorbos

Dark Age info is kinda scattered all over and there isn't much concrete data, but we do have bits and pieces! Anything with Iron Lords. Shaxx and Drifter is a good start. I'll link some of the lore books that are the best start.

The Black Armory Papers - A diary from Henriette Meyrin, Ada-'s mother and one of the Black Armory founders who made her way across the world with her daughter in the early Dark Age.

Constellations - A lore book from the perspective of the various Speakers, relevant pages are 3, 4, 5 and 6.

The Pigeon and the Phoenix - A lore book about Saint and Osiris, there are pages that are set in the Dark Age (most notably about Osiris and Sagira in Moth to a Flame part 1 and 2) and early City Age.

The Liar - Felwinter's lore book.

Rememberance - weblore about Felwinter and Shaxx.

A Man with No Name - Drifter's lore book.

Confession of Hope part 1 and 2 - Two chapters from Ghost Stories lore book from the perspective of a Ghost who took pity on a family that lost their child and rezzed the child (who ends up being Shin Malphur; speaking of, almost everything with him involved is also a good treasure trove on the Dark Age, here's my post about him).

Acts of Mercy - Lord Saladin's lore book about his time in the Dark Age (warning for graphic descriptions of injuries).

Shaxx and Mithrax discuss things they've done in the Dark Age

Some short grimoires: 1, 2, 3

Most important things to know: Dark Age lasted for an indeterminate amount of time between the Collapse and the City Age (when the Last City was officially founded). It's impossible to know how long this lasted due to the nature of loss that followed the Collapse. Everything humanity had was lost; technology, knowledge, time-keeping. Humans weren't even able to leave Earth for a long time during the Dark Age.

Humans lived in scattered groups of survivors, either on the road or in small villages. Lightbearers were mostly Warlords, given that they were superpowered immortal beings that were keeping control over large swaths of land and fought amongst each other for territory. A lot of humans lived under the control of Warlords where they exchanged work and other services for protection. Not all Warlords were merciless, but most of them were, with no one to answer to.

At some point during mid-late (?) Dark Age, Iron Lords formed, the first Lightbearers that we could effectively call Guardians, given that they decided to use their powers to protect humanity and stop Warlords abusing their powers. They died looking for SIVA, which they believed could help humanity rebuild settlements on Earth and beyond (which could've worked if Rasputin didn't panic when unknown life forms started rising from the dead).

The conditions of living during the Dark Age were harsh. There was a severe lack of basic resources such as food and water, there were many threats from simple exposure and starvation, to literal aliens and superpowered humans killing people indiscriminately. Villages were very basic and there was an overall regression of the state of living. Golden Age ruins were everywhere but they were poorly understood and in many cases entirely incomprehensible to Dark Age humanity. These conditions lasted way into the City Age because it took a long time for people to hear about the Last City and reach it safely.

The Awoken and Exos were present in the Dark Age, given that the Awoken emerged from the Distributary at some point in mid-late Dark Age and a portion of them left for Earth. Both were quite rare, with Exos being rarer.

[arty-shadow-morningstar]

Treasure Hunter AU

I binged watch the Mummy trilogy while i had no wifi/internet for a while and I had an idea for a treasure hunter Mari with Daminette.

--------

Damian was bored.(age: 22-28 years old.)

At a gala party.

Meets Marinette who was equally bored.(abt the same age as D)

He finds out she was the finder of this famous artifact on display.

-----

Damian tugged at his collar, scanning the crowd. His father needed a plus one to show up with and everyone else were busy.

He grabbed a champagne flute and made his way to the edge of the room.

He found a woman in a black evening gown, looking as bored as he felt. short dark hair. Blue eyes.( I suck at describing people after the third time doing it. It feels overrated)

"Hello, stranger. You bored with mingling in with the assholes on their high horses?"

"Should I be offended?"

"We will see. Depends on you."

"How about you? A beautiful lady like you not kissing up their asses to climb the social ladder. That is strange."

She made a face. "Trust me. I don't want to be here but my friend wanted family time so I came in his place. What about you? Why are you here?"

"I am pretty sure my father wanted someone to get him out if the vultures came too close."

"Vultures, adept descriptions. I am glad no one realized who I am yet or i would be in their claws."

"Who are you representing, anyways?"

"Myself but Adrien or Kagami usually comes in my place but tonight, they have their son's play to go to."

"Adrien and Kagami. Aren't they the Agreste-Tsrungi?"

"Yep."

"You are the Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Globe trotting Treasure hunter and also world-class designer, MDC."

"Now you know. What's your name, handsome stranger?"

"You don't know?"

"Hey. Like you said globetrotting treasure hunter. I am not up-to-date on the news front. And when I am in Paris to do designer stuff, i am too busy to look at the news."

He gave her his hand, "Damian Wayne. Son of Bruce Wayne who is a billionaire and owns Wayne Enterprise."

She shook it.

"Pleased to meet you."

She stills design but like sent her designs to Adrien at least once every month, who had rebranded Gabriel to Miraculous Designs.

Some ppl thinks he did it to spite his father, who is in jail. Adrien and Mari has a partnership thing.

Mari also makes clothes but for a few months. And the rest of the time is spent travelling.

Exclusive designs from MDC are rare but the designs hand made by her are rarer so they are like a really big deal. They have the most amazing details. Really expensive and limited edition.

The rest of the time Mari spends finding Miraculouses (Miraculi ?) lost in the world so if she happens to find a few priceless artifacts that aren't the Miraculous. She donates it.

Alix helps and sometimes go find them with her.

She has Tikki and Plagg and maybe Wyazz all the time to look for curses and counter it.

She has also met John Constantine. They have an arrangement of sorts. A few magical artifacts that doesn't have to Miraculous business are given to him in exchange for any miraculous stuff he has or found.

Adrien funds her trips.

He is married to Kagami.

Kagami goes with Mari and Alix for a few months sometimes. Adrien likes being a stay at home dad.

Their kid is named Marin/Martin because it was Mari who got them together.

The few trips Mari dragged him on was enough to make him stay behind and run the business.

(Back to the story) Damian fangirled a little because Mari had been doing stuff like this since she was 18.

It was an amazing reputation she has.

She invites him to her next trip after questioning his skill sets.

------

"Are you good with heights, dark scary places and adventuring into the unknown?"

"Yes"

"You any good with guns, swords, knives, booby traps and keeping calm under pressure?"

"Yes. I have many experiences with them."

"Can you keep a secret?"

"Yes. Why are you asking me this?"

"Wanna join me on my next trip to the jungle of China? There are myths about some hidden temple."

------

Damian was a little conflicted.

He hadn't have the chance to explore the world much. He had been somewhere else for a mission (for the League of Shadows or JL business) but never for pleasure.

Being a vigilante by night and working at Wayne Enterprise by day gets a little boring after some years.

His brothers had a chance to travel the world on their own for a while. Sure, for reasons other than sight-seeing and looking for something to break out of the rut he was in. But still.

This was an exciting opportunity but a tad suspicious.

-----

"Why me?"

She looked surprised at that.

"Oh. Well, my friends enjoy coming with me on my adventures, treasure hunting and all that every now and then except Adrien but they have other things in their life to come with me all the time. I can mostly survive on my own most of the time but it gets lonely travelling on my own and it's nice if someone is there to watch my back. I understand if you don't want to come. It's just that I enjoy your company and you aren't like those assholes on their high horses. My gut feeling says I can trust you. You are not after the treasure or see it as one big game. You are looking for an escape. You would definitely catch me if I fall. As you know from my choice of friends, i have a bad habit of pulling rich kids from their stuffy lifestyle and take them on potentially life-threatening adventures." She joked. Then she lowered her voice, "Besides, it might be handy having a former assassin around."

She said in Arabic.

His hand went to his hidden knife and found it not there.

"Looking for this?" She said, holding it.

"How much do you know?" He hissed back in the same language.

"Relax," she gave back the knife, "my mother was one and I have accidentally came across a few in my adventures. I know one when i see one. I took a stab in the dark with your middle-eastern background. Speaking of, you know Talia Al Ghul by any chance."

He narrowed his eyes.

"She's my mother. Why?"

"You look like her. Met her a few times. Nice lady but scary. Mine's Sabine Cheng, goes by the Blue Reaper." She said it so casually like their parents weren't dangerous deadly assassins and had normal jobs.

"You aren't normal, are you?"

"What gave it away?"

"That you willingly gave away blackmail material to me."

"Normal people don't have assassins for mothers. And you and me aren't exactly meeting the minimum standards for normal. Besides, I just told you a family secret that you would have found out anyways with a through background search and a little digging. So far all I know about you is that your parents are Talia Al Ghul and Bruce Wayne-I wonder how an assassin got together with a billionaire-, you are a former League of Shadows assassin, you are great with weapons, keeping secrets and so far meeting the criteria for an adventure buddy. That's all I swear. And that you have some pets. A cat, maybe."

"How you know about my cat?!"

"Cat hair on your clothes." She was good. "If it will ease your mind about me, you can ask me 5 questions that I will truthfully answer. "

"So why are you doing this?"

"That's question 1. Well, I really want whatever this is between us to work. Partners, Friends, Companions, Comrades. Whatever you want to call it. Like I said, I get lonely sometimes and need some human interaction to at least keep myself sane. You looked like you want to be somewhere else and I thought this is perfect. I am not going to tell anyone about you or push you to join me. I swear on my mother's sword."

"Are we killing anybody?"

"Mostly I try to avoid that as much as possible. Sometimes I get into situations with no other alternative. " She looked away guiltily.

"Fair enough."

"Not judging me for that. That's a first for me."

"I am a former assassin and have killed before. I have no right to condemn you for your past."

"How much are you willing to tell me about this hidden temple?"

"That has to do with a secret. I would tell you more when there are less ears around. But this temple was said to hold a magic jewel that grants some powers and it is located really deep in the jungle. Getting there might take months."

"You forgot to mention that last one."

"Oh yeah. You think you can get away for some months. This kind of stuff usually takes a while. Like I said before, no pressure. Anyway, 2 questions left."

"What's my salary?"

"Aren't you a billionaire?"

"My father is. I have a trust fund and I get a salary for doing my job at the company. You are lucky that I just finished with most of my assigned projects so I might be able to come."

"I am so sorry about just assuming things about you. You can say no to the offer. The temple is said to hold some other treasures but I mainly want the jewel. We could auction off a few bits and pieces. I usually just donate them to museums and universities or sell them to those who really appreciate the history. I would also pay for the entire expenses for the trip."

"Can I think about this?"

"Sure. Here's my number. I leave on the 1st of next month. Gimme an answer a week before that so I can make the proper arrangements. It has been fun talking to you, Damian."

She walked away, going towards the buffet table.

------

Back in the car on the way home to the manor.

Bruce asked, "Who were you talking to for that long?"

"Who?"

"The one that gave you her number."

"Oh. MDC. She invited me to join her in China next month to find some hidden temple."

"She did?"

"Yes. Not only that she found out about mother and know what I did before I came here. She doesn't know about Batman, Robin or Crow. And she said she wasn't going to blackmail me but just wanted a companion to go with her. Ideally, it would be best to silence her before she digs any further into me but I trust her. I sincerely believe that she meant it when she said that she's not going to tell on me. And I am really tempted to take up on it."

"What do you want to do?"

"On one hand, i would be gone for months so there won't be Crow in Gotham for a while and I have a few projects I need to finish up. On the other hand. Father, I have been a vigilante for over 10 years now and I haven't really done much out besides that, school and now work. I have appreciated all you have done for me over the years. But I want to go with her. Do something that is not connected to Batman or Wayne or Al Ghul. Just a little something different for myself."

"You can go if you want. I am not going to stop you. I will make arrangements so the projects would be done by someone else. The others can cover your patrols. You are still young so it is understandable to want some fun every now and then."

"Thank you, Father."

Bruce put his hand on his shoulder.

"I am proud of you as Crow and as Damian Wayne. But if you want to go find some hidden temple in China just for a break from this life, to be just Damian, go for it. There are worse things you could do. Just tell me if you are going to go on any future trips like that." (I don't know DC much, sorry if that is a little OOC but I like good dad! Bruce.)

-------

Damian dialed the number on the card.

"Hello"

"I accept your offer, miss MDC."

"Damian? Right, text me your email address. I will sent you things you would need to pack and flight details. And can you come by to the Gotham Rose Hotel tomorrow? I will give more details on the temple."

-------

Damian comes by the hotel.

Marinette tells him of the kwamis and miraculous and makes him swear to not tell anyone unless they already know.

The hidden temple actually might have a miraculous.

Damian gets a little interested in the akuma situation she mentioned.

Mari doesn't say anything about it much.

When he got back, he goes to the Bat-computer and did some digging.

Ladybug looks a little familiar. Pulls up younger picture of Mari and look at that, she used to be a superhero.

Wonder Woman was kept informed of things and made sure no one goes to Paris without her knowing.

Zatanna helped capture the villain Hawkmoth and end his 2 year reign.

Fast forward, they are in Beijing now, sleeping off jetlag.

The next morning, They get out of the city somehow to the city limits and somewhere remote.

Mari uses Kalki and transports them to the jungle.

They set up camp. Cue Campfire stories.

-----

"I thought getting here would take months."

"No actually, finding the temple would. According to my research and the map I copied through less than legal means, it is somewhere in this general area. There used to a city around here too and the king or emperor pissed off some powerful priest or wizard, take your pick. There was a curse. The city crumbled down and the temple is the only thing standing because the king went there and prayed to the gods for protection. The one who answered his prayers and protected the temple in doing so the king was pressed into service of the god. The king did everything the god said for a while but later, he started to hate it and began disobeying the orders. The god cursed him for his disobedience. The temple he was protected in became his tomb and he was tasked to protect the chest inside the temple for the rest of eternity. Anyone who opens the chest would gain the ultimate power to rule the earth. Thankfully, we are not after the chest. Some powerful crack-head with a misused miraculous tried to find it and open the chest for more power. But he never returned. My theory is that the miraculous is still in the temple. As long as we don't wake up the king or go for the chest, we would be okay."

"What are the guns for? And How did you get them past security?"

"In case of emergencies, an army of undead was mentioned and guns are surprisingly good repellent. Well, most of the time. It's useless if there is a no weapons can kill 'it' rule. Then, it's just a stress reliever. I kept them in a pocket dimension. Makes it easier to get around."

Damian vowed to never let Marinette meet Jason. Judging by the pile of guns and occasional knives and other weapons she took out of the brown satchel which apparently holds a pocket dimension, Jason would adopt her. He wondered if that was all that was inside in.

-------

They packed up and started searching the jungle for hidden temple.

It was a month and a half before they found it.

They bonded a lot during that time.

They had a moment after drinking a little alcohol which Mari has in the pocket dimension. Or Drank a lot of alcohol and had sex.

It was awkward and they both agree to not talk about it again.

Soon after, they found the temple. But it is still a little far away.

But the temple is not the only thing they found. They also found a campsite with many people milling around. Some of them carried guns.

Somewhat rich bastard who overheard their conversation at the gala. Heard treasure and found out where Mari's next expedition is.

Had the help of some scholar who wants to be famous for the greatest find since King Tut.

They found the temple even though they had no magical help, they left 2 weeks before Mari did, so yeah.

Rich Bastard's name is 'Philip Anderson'(This sounds familiar to me for some reason and I can't find out why.) and Scholar is 'Harry Scott'

They have armed bodyguards and some 'hired' help to get the treasure.

Anderson is still rich but his company had been getting losses the past 2 years and this is a quick, easy get rich scheme.

Mari and Damian: "Rich asshole on his high horse."

Anderson doesn't know about the chest but Mari and Damian thinks he does and it was what he was after.

They set up camp a little further ahead of Anderson's

Unfortunately, they were found by Harry. Somehow.

-----

I am going to continue this when I am more awake.

[vortvs]

Irtha, Oil on paper, 30x42cm

Within her abdomen, gentle sloshing sounds lullabied the empty road. The well had been full today, which made the journey back harder and more blissful. She thanked Mother under her toiled breath, thankful for the gift. It was a blessed day. Irtha dragged her enlarged stomach with some difficulty. Leaving a long, if subtle, indent on the dirt path as she trudged her way home.

It had been over a year since she had seen so much water. She'd even gone back home to fetch the clay vase, for blessings once full. For blessings... if she was to be so lucky as to see one of the arutimus, wonder past her dwelling. They had been a progressively rarer sight, draught had a way of banishing life away, even devoted life such as missionaries.

Regardless, she knew why she was here. No one would or could, make her leave. Only Mother, could perhaps dissuade her resolve.

Back home, Irtha put down the vase in a wood box, so not to tip it by accident, and went to the stone reservoir were she had birthed, in secret, her own children. She had no knowledge of anyone else who had done such a thing. But dared not ask anyway, for fear of unknown rules or swift retribution by forgotten Enclaves. She was afraid, but devotion had never left her.

She regurgitated the plentiful water unto the tank, filling it nearly full. But she knew it wouldn't last, their thirst was unending. Within a few hours the reservoir would be half drained. For Irtha's twins had a strange porous skin, not once for the last three years had it stopped absorbing moisture. She had failed to bring water once, and they nearly died from the violent convolutions that followed. She swore never again to see them suffer such.

Once empty of water herself, she left the tank and dropped on the floor wanting for sleep, exhausted. Ripples and far away sounds reverberated her dreams.

Waking suddenly she looked at the window. Morning, she thought. It was time to leave once more. She opened the door and began her walk towards the well...

‡

I've been assaulted with a myriad of ideas that need rendering in painting. This is one of the most interesting ones, I think. The fact she choses the unending toil, plus her extreme anatomy makes this character one of my favourites so far.

Thank you for reading,

Sanctvs Daniil Abrëv

Varkïen of Bloodvvörth

The Hermit & Chronicler

[kaniaaa]

H-hey. It’s extremely sudden, but... I’m so sorry @mysterygreentea, it is only now, literally 5 years later, after lazily doing some ego-searching to kill boredom, as if I didn’t need to sleep, that I found out back in 2017 I was tagged in this 11 questions post... I never intended to ignore it; I never got the notification of me being tagged at all. And since I found the perfect weapon to deal with boredom, even 5 years later, I decided to answer it. No, seriously, sorry! And thank you for tagging me back then!

So, these were the questions!

1. What do you consider your best quality?

I don’t like assuming things, so I’m quite the “forgiving reader” type of person, and I try my best not to assume the worst in people (unless something is REALLY fishy) and go around spitting baseless accusations. On the flip side, it also means I am TERRIBLE at having first impressions. In person, they never go beyond “she’s a woman... I guess” and it only gets worse on the internet hahaha

2. Favorite drink?

Tea!! Any kind really, but white tea is best! Not only hot tea, but iced tea as well.

3. Favorite holiday?

It used to be Christmas because it was a moment for my family to be together, but now that it’s rarer, I don’t know... Typical middle/high-school student mentality I still hold onto even though I’m a college student, but let’s say summer holidays haha

4. What inspires you the most?

Fiction I consume en masse I guess haha Books, (JPN) pop culture, (J-)music etc. And artbooks too! I love artbooks.

5. Do you like to write? If so, what do you like to write about, or what would you write about?

Ugh. I’d like writing if I didn’t suck this much at it haha I love analysis so I like to write “essays” and reviews on things I read/watched/played.

6. If you were stuck on a desert island, what or who would you want with you?

I’d say my cat, but at the same time I want her to be somewhere safe haha Y’know what, my siblings have to come, I’m not going down alone hahaha

7. Favorite childhood TV show, if any?

French cartoon Les Zinzins de l’espace, or by the same studio Oggy et les cafards. Loved Cardcaptor Sakura and Sailor Moon as a child, before knowing what “anime” even was.

8. Current favorite song?

THIS ONE IS SO HARD gosh DANG; eeerrr... Current, right? If it were in 2017 as intended, I’d say MARETU’s White Happy and Wowaka’s Unknown Mother Goose. Right now in February 2022, I can’t help but loop Kenshi Yonezu’s Shinigami, Seekun’s Hate Man, Amazarashi’s Kyoukaisen and Kairiki Bear’s Rirarura Dreaming. I can’t choose just one lol

9. If you could have one wish come true right now, what would it be?

To see my cat hahaha I miss her so much!! When did my ambitions get so low...? hahaha

10. What is something silly you’re scared of?

In my sweet early 20s, I sometimes dream of losing my teeth...

11. Movie you watch when you need cheering up?

From Up on Poppy Hill! I love this film so much, not too sure why! Mizunuma my lord and saviour haha

Not coming with questions nor tagging anyone though.

[kiarcheo]

A Whole New World    2/10

Jane and Kat find out there is more to each other…and to the new world they have found themselves in.

Read on Ao3 too

AN: I have seen Anne’s date of birth ranging from 1501 to 1507, and Jane’s between 1504 and 1509. For the sake of this story I consider Anne born in 1501 and consequently dying at 35, and Jane being born in 1508 and dying at 28.

Kat came back at 18 and Jane at 22, Anna, Cathy and Anne in their late twenties, and Catalina in her early thirties.

                               ——————————————–

It becomes a regular thing. Sometimes it’s a museum Kat has already visited, sometimes a new one on the list she keeps of places she wants to see. They often make a day of it, treating themselves to lunch (usually at Jane’s initiative, since Kat tends to forego eating in favour of whatever has caught her interest), exploring parts of the city unknown to them.

One evening, close to dusk, they are walking through an empty park when Kat stops. ‘Have you ever wanted to try them out?’

‘Try what?’ Jane follows the direction of Kat’s gaze. ‘That?’

‘They look like fun.’

‘They are for children.’

‘Who said that? Besides, there are no children around...’  Kat trails off, eyebrow raised waiting for a response.

‘You know what? Why not?’

Kat lets out a small squeal before grabbing Jane’s hand and dragging her towards the playground.

‘Remember when you said “who said that they are just for children”?’ Jane asks as they are sitting on the platform, feet dangling down, recovering their breath and cooling down.

‘You mean, like, half an hour ago?’

‘Smartass.’ Jane gives her a look, before pointing to a sign. ‘Children’s Play Area. Only children under the age of 12 may use this play area.’

‘Well, technically we haven’t been back for that long?’

Jane shakes her head amused. Kat is so cheeky and she would have never guessed before spending so much time with her.

‘So what was your favourite part?’ she asks after a bout of silence. That is another thing that changed. Before, silent moments were much more common and awkward, now their quiet spells are rarer and yet infinitely more comfortable.

‘You falling off those.’ Kat motions with her head towards the monkey bars, getting a glare in response. ‘What about yours?’

‘The slides, I’d say.’

‘Yeah, they are nice. But too short, don’t you think?’

‘I know, right? By the time you pick up speed, you’re already at the end,’ Jane agrees. ‘They should make them longer. Adult-sized.’

‘Wait!’ Kat whips out her phone. ‘Let me...’

And Jane lets her. She has learnt that Kat's curiosity is insatiable. If she stumbles upon something she doesn’t know or doesn’t understand…she has to look it up. So many times, when their fellow queens mention (usually complain, actually) that Kat is always glued to her phone, Jane has been tempted to tell them that most of the time she is learning something new...but if Kat had not told them – not even if she would probably spare herself their scolding – then it’s not her place to tell them.

‘They exist!’ Kat exclaims angling the screen towards Jane. ‘Look! They even have playgrounds for adults!’

They look together at the photos for a while before Kat taps on a Wikipedia link, her first port of call every time. ‘Amusement parks,’ she starts to read the entry aloud before being interrupted by a text notification popping up on the screen.

Kat groans as she reads it.

‘What?’

‘Curfew,’ Kat sighs. ‘Apparently it’s late and they are wondering why I’m not home yet.’ She knows it’s because they care but... ‘Did you get one too?’

Jane checks her phone. ‘No.’

Kat sighs again. ‘One dies young once and she is forever treated like a baby.’ She notices the look Jane is sending her. ‘Please don’t start.’

‘I didn’t say anything.’

‘I can't make a joke that everyone freaks out thinking I’m depressed or having a breakdown or a flashback or something.’

Jane remembers clearly one of those occasions. They had been discussing nightmares and how everyone seemed to have them except Kat, who had commented that perhaps losing her head had meant losing everything that had been inside that too. She also remembers very clearly thinking that the reactions had been a bit disproportionate compared to Kat’s offhand tone and casual demeanour.

‘Sometimes a girl just wants to be self-deprecating. Or joke about her own death without being psychoanalysed and having people wanting to talk about your trauma.’

‘I get it. I said once that I had no time with Edward. I was just...stating a fact. I was not looking for pity or anything. But they tripped over themselves to reassure me that I was still his mother – which of course! – and that I’m still a mother now. And honestly. One has a child once and she is forever just a mother in everyone’s eyes. Don’t get me wrong. I wish I could have seen Edward grow up. Wish I could have been his mother. Properly. But I wasn’t. And out of all of us, I’m the one who had less time with children. Besides you, I was the youngest one to die. So I have no idea why everyone thinks of me as this motherly figure?’

Aware that she has been ranting, Jane chances a look at Kat, who has a peculiar expression on her face.

‘What?’ she asks, feeling self-conscious.

‘I’m just thinking how happy I am that you joined me that day at the museum.’

That had been the true start of their relationship, despite having lived together for many months prior to that.

‘You mean you're happy I caught you sneaking out?’

Jane knows what she means, though. They would have never thought, and even less found, they had so many things in common. Or that they could get along so well and have so much fun together.

‘I was not sneaking out.’

Jane merely looks at her.

‘I thought nobody was home. It was just out of habit.’

‘So all the other times you sneaked out.’

Kat doesn’t reply, knowing Jane is doing it just to annoy her. They had a similar talk the second time they went to a museum together, Jane asking why they were sort of hiding their trip. It was not that Kat thought they would stop her if they knew she was going out. But she just didn’t want to deal with their questions. About where she was going, why, why she was going alone, when she was coming back...Just easier to leave without them knowing and then simply tell them she had been out if they asked having noticed she had not been home. In their defence, they knew better than to pry and as long as she was home safely, they would let it go despite being curious.

/

‘I know you’re the one in charge of our museum days,’ Jane starts, ‘but I wanted to run an idea by you.’

‘Of course we can go to a museum of your choice. You don’t need to ask permission or whatever.’

‘Wait before agreeing.’

‘Is it the Tower?’ Kat winces with a grimace, trying to think of places still standing that Jane might be wary of asking her to visit.

Jane stops rummaging in her bag, her head shooting up. ‘What the fuck, Katherine??’

The younger girl is so lost in unpleasant memories that she doesn't even react to Jane’s swearing nor her full naming her. ‘Hampton Court?’

‘Why would I ever do something like that?’ Jane recoils. ‘God, no! The Clink.’

‘As-’

‘The prison! Not the-’

‘Brothels?’ Kat completes, eyebrow raised in amusement. Then she nods, almost to herself. The area had been known for two main things…the prison and for allowing usually forbidden activities.

‘Yes. I mean, they made a prison museum. You know I like true crime and–’

Yes. That had been a surprise. When Kat had asked if there was something she particularly enjoyed reading and learning about, like she loved history, that had definitely not been the answer she had expected. Jane must have known that, considering how much she hummed and hawed before caving after Kat had called bullshit – literally – on her non-committal answer.

‘–I think I’d like to– but I don’t want to, like, trigger you?’

‘What’s inside, exactly?’

Jane finally finds what she has been looking for in her bag and hands her a leaflet.

‘You know what?’ Kat takes a look at it. ‘We can go and you can...scout it out?’ She doesn’t see anything upsetting in the pictures, but there will be so much more in the museum that they can show in a single leaflet. ‘You can take a look before me and if you think there is something that might…disturb me, you tell me and I’ll skip that room?’

‘Really?’

‘I mean, you know I'm not too fussed about death and stuff like that as long as it’s not too bloody. Or neck-related.’

She is not too keen on watching documentaries with Jane, but she doesn’t mind listening to her talking about them. Or about whatever serial killer or unsolved crime she is currently reading about.

‘Thank you.’ Jane squeezes her arm, hoping Kat knows it’s not about agreeing to her request, but for her trust. ‘On an unrelated note...food?’

Jane’s constant preoccupation with food is another thing put down to her supposedly maternal instinct, a desire to make sure everyone is well-fed. The truth is…Jane loves eating. Being able to enjoy doing so without the ever-present worry of looking unladylike. Discovering new foods. She doesn’t eat a lot, but she needs to eat often, or she becomes…hangry, it’s what Kat called it. And it is only polite to ask if the others are feeling peckish too and want to join her. Moreover, she knows it’s one thing she can’t rely on Kat for, seeing as she is prone to skip meals if there is anything else she deems more important or interesting.  

‘Do you think Catalina would consider this as traditional local food or...?’ Jane wonders aloud as she dips the churro in the plastic pot holding the chocolate sauce.

‘Possibly? Even if they were not invented by Spanish shepherds but brought by the Portuguese from China like some say, I think everyone agrees that by the 16th century they existed in Spain. And look, Romans had fried pastry, so, if not exactly that, something similar. And naturally cacao came to Europe after the Spanish invaded the Americas, so it arrived in Spain first, although if it was just after Cortés, Catalina would have been already in England…so she might have never tried churros with chocolate? Not sure when they started to combine the two, to be honest…’ Kat trails off. ‘What?’

‘Next person who says you’re stupid, I’ll deck them.’

Kat chuckles, bumping her hip into hers. ‘I appreciate the offer.’

‘It’s not an offer, it’s a promise.’

.

‘Ever thought about getting a car?’ Jane asks after they have been walking for a while.

‘Why? Tired? But not really. Honestly just the idea of getting into one and driving it myself is kind of terrifying.’

Jane nods. It sounds a bit like airplanes for her. It still boggles her mind that humans can fly. And she knows they are mostly safe and all, but it doesn’t mean she is keen on trying them out for herself.

‘I thought about getting a bicycle and learning how to ride,’ Kat continues.

‘Why don’t you?’

‘Yeah, and where would I hide it?’

‘Why would you need to hide it?’ Jane is puzzled enough to ignore Kat’s tone verging on the sarcastic rhetorical question inflection that usually implies someone had just asked a very stupid question.

‘With the potential of me getting hurt? Straying away, getting lost, or whatever? I don’t know if you have noticed, but the others tend to be a bit overprotective.’

And a bit is a euphemism. Don’t get her wrong. It is nice to have people caring and worrying about her. But she spent a lifetime fending for herself. And yes, she had her struggles, and the end might have been inglorious, but Anne wound up the same way and yet nobody questions her…or her capabilities. And okay, that might have something to do with age, but nobody cared about that before, and she had been a bloody queen (and quite a successful one, if she says so herself, at least before her past caught up with her)! Still, she doesn’t want to think how worse it would be if she had come back younger than she had been at the time of her death like the others did.

‘What are you thinking about?’ Jane asks, realising she is miles away, lost in thoughts.

‘How weird it would be if we had come back the same age we died. Well, besides me, obviously.’ She hopes she’ll be there to see it in person, but she can’t really think about Catalina as a 50-years-old woman or Anna in her forties. ‘And about how there is a fine line between heart-warming care and overbearing concern.’

Because, back to the point, she might have been more or less successful, but she is used to rely just on herself and getting by, not to have four other women, Jane to a lesser extent, being overly concerned about her. For certain matters, at least. Because for other things they seem perfectly happy to…perhaps not ignore her, but surely leave her to her own devices, without trying to get her involved. And she is often more than content with it, she will admit that…except that often it also leads to remarks about how she spends all her time at home, always in front a screen, and perhaps she should go out more? And then instead of standing up all night on her phone, she would tire herself out and sleep?

‘So you don’t want to check this out?’

Kat had not even realised they were walking past a sporting goods store.

‘Look! You could easily hide that.’ Jane points out to a small, colourful, tricycle, clearly meant for children.

‘Ah ah. Very funny.’ Sarcasm is heavy in Kat’s voice, but she follows her in.

‘What about this?’

‘A unicycle? Really? Have you ever seen one of those around, in public?’

Jane takes a moment to think about it. ‘Don’t think so.’

‘Exactly. Because they belong in the circus.’

‘One might say our house is a circus.’ They certainly have some chaotic days.

‘And you a clown.’

Jane gasps in mock offence. ‘I miss the days when you were afraid of me.’

‘I was never afraid of you. I was indifferent. And thought you were a stuck-up bore. Also, I know you don’t miss it.’

‘True,’ Jane admits easily. ‘Joking aside. We could put them in the shed?’

She had said once that she didn’t mind taking care of the garden and suddenly she had been left in charge of it, gardening apparently a passion of hers she didn’t even know she had. She supposes that it was deemed an appropriate hobby for boring old plain Jane (and yes, the fact that it is her actual name and not just a phrase in her case does not escape her), just like embroidery. She enjoys both of them, sure, but she is fairly confident the others think that’s all she does, no other interests – oh wait, there is cooking, or at least making sure that everyone is eating too! – which is something she tries not to dwell on too much because that’s frankly a bit (or a lot, depending on how she feels on the day) insulting.

‘We? Them?’ Kat raises an eyebrow. ‘But yes, we could store them there, but not really hide them if anyone happens to look inside. And certainly not two of them.’

Still, they continue to peruse the store.

‘What about these?’ Jane calls Kat’s attention, holding a pair of rollerblades up. ‘I’ve seen kids with them, can’t be that hard, can it?’ she continues once the girl comes over, looking interested.

‘Shoes on wheels? We’re so gonna die.’

Jane starts to put them back, slightly dejected, but Kat snatches them up. ‘Let’s do this.’

‘Yeah?’ She looks at her, tentative grin on her face.

Kat nods with gleeful smile. ‘Absolutely.’

[pathofcomets]

soldier, keep on marching on (1)

fandom: mass effect andromeda

pairing: (eventual) jaal/ryder

summary:  There’s a home out there, in the stars. 

playlist: spotify

There’s a home out there, in the stars. That’s all she needed to know to understand that she has something of her father in her blood, the urge to go out and explore – make the unknown known. Late night hours spent in front of the wide window, Scott dozing off on her shoulder as she maps out the galaxy in-between bright, shining point. She can’t really resent the fact that her dad is never around, when there’s all that to be had instead.

Ellen tried to explain them, that Alec Ryder’s absence has nothing to do with his children, or his family. He’s simply a soldier, a hell of a good one, and there’s lives to be saved and discoveries to be made, and if he can do it, he will. It was hard to grasp the idea that their dad is something more than the awkward man they have to sit in silence with during rare family diners. Harder for Scott, who started his rebellious years early and fucked up as many times as possible, getting into shady gangs and countless fights. Just because then their dad would have to actually look at him, take him seriously. What an emotional little brother she has.

Then the idiot still went ahead and became a soldier himself. A legacy if she ever saw one – and he listened to no one who tried to maybe calm his determination. So Sara sat him down on the bed in her miniscule college dorm, fixing up the bruises and bleeding on his face, as he shuffled through the notes on her datapad. The muscles and the brains: whole only when together. Because while her twin went ahead to fall into his father’s steps, hoping to one day surpass him, Sara decided to be as scholarly as their mother – just in a different direction.

“Archeology?” her parents have asked when they heard.

Her dad placed the datapad where her acceptance letter glew with a definitive disappointment back on the table.

“Xenoanthropology to be more accurate, but yeah. There’s still so much of the Prothean technology undiscovered.”

“Oh,” said her mother, and she gathered her daughter in her arms, because yes, the space has called out to her as well.

So Sara went to college and Scott went to training and they were both on the Citadel still, both still together for a bit longer. Her brother told her she would have made a good soldier as well – heck, Alec Ryder made sure to pass some of that N7 training down to his children. Of course, Scott was the one who truly excelled, but there’s one thing she always beat him at: target practice. She laughed at him when he told her, and joked that he’s saying that just because he doesn’t have any competition now. She was part of the military, yes – but not in the same way, not in the heat of every battle.

Then their mother got sick – then they got sent to different planets. The get-togethers became rarer, though the video calls were often enough, as a trio. Their dad stopped replying to his emails, weeks in-between replies.

Then Scott got dismissed. A day later, she did too. Ellen welcomed them both with a hug, set a new load of laundry, placed coffee in front of them – as Alec joined them.

On the table, a hologram of a galaxy six hundred years away. His dream – achievable only with AI. Their futures here thrown away, stopped in track, for a chance at a future somewhere else. Still so far away from being ready, but close enough that the entire Ryder clan became a threat.

“It’s not fair,” she said, looking up at her father.

“It’s not,” he agreed, and Ellen grabbed his hand.

The end of the conversation, just like that.

“I want the world around you not to hurt with my mourning,” their mothers said, and it was the first time in ten years that Sara saw her brother cry. It was the first time she saw her father’s eyes glow over.

She’s right. You cannot have your parents shape the path of humanity without everything around you reminding it of you. If – if they are to remain in the Milky Way, it won’t feel like home anymore without the one person who held them together all along. Heck, Scott has biotic implants – something that Ellen Ryder helped design and implement. She’s part of them in more ways than one.

Scott turned to his twin – holding out his hand.

“Sister?”

She took it.

The most time they spent together as a family was that last month of Ellen Ryder’s life. They went out every evening, honouring all the times they didn’t. Their mother told them of the time when she met their father for the first time. Alec shared stories of the first contact, of those initial alien days. Her and Scott shared a room all over again, unable to fall asleep unless in each other’s presence, the weight of the future heavy on their shoulders. Then their mother became too weak to move from her bed, and their father never left her side.

Even if Ellen told them to live their life, to chase their hearts and guts – even in a galaxy so far away from home, she’s not sure if they’ll be able to. Still in mourning, Alec Ryder becomes the human Pathfinder. The Andromeda Initiative moves forward, the twins’ name on the team. The future, happening now – happening 600 years in the future.

Scott turns to his twin – holding out his hand, embarking the Ark of the new humanity.

“Sister?”

She takes it.

[lilac-den]

A Beastly Figure - ??? AU

Not gonna lie - I have no idea what AU is this. All y’all need to know is that there is a poll at the end and, mind you, it’s to decide the order of the four other parts. Not to exclusively select.

Also, this is a dialogue-less (or low amount of dialogue) kind of story with the MC being gender-flexible - something that I figure I’d try out - so enjoy!

It’s been a while since the land of Tel’dra graced me with their calming winds and singing birds. A good change of pace from having salty waters smack gently against my cheeks, or having snow kiss along my skin.

Being the offspring of a travelling merchant has many benefits -  to explore as many realms as the eyes can see, see diverse cultures of different civilizations, experience adventures beyond the horizon.

But like anyone who ventures through the lands, there’s always a down side. One of them is the danger of exploring vicious, hostile areas. My mother had been a victim of such danger.

Since then, my father; a retired hero who settled to being a merchant after pledging his undying devotion to my mother, has made sure I’m safe from these dangers and help me in honing the skills I now know best.

So it probably didn’t surprise him when I asked to collect the ingredients we need for our new shop - the first home we’ll make after travelling for decades - on my own. He was reluctant, but he allowed it so.

It was a little lonely, I’ll admit. But the experience to harvest on my own is proving to have a nice effect on me.

For one thing, I have freedom to roam and go as far as I can. And, going against my father’s warning, I venture into the deeper parts of the forest that everyone has been whispering about.

There were some stone arches that the people in town have talk about. Gossips of how still and quiet the forest has gotten lately, as if something inhabits somewhere deep in the center of the grassy groves recently.

Perhaps I have a sense of curiosity for the unknown from my mother - or I’m just seeking for one more excitement before living a stable, grounded life of a store owner. That being said, the sound of crinkling grass under the soles of my shoes and the soft gleam of sunlight peeking between the leaves of the towering trees are a good start to my exploration.

A trail of peddles catch my eyes. From what the villagers have told, the stone arches are found from following trailed peddles, set down by fairies...or so the tale goes.

Hopefully, the herbs dad asked for will be along the way - the forest has been bountiful so far, thanks to the Season of Plenty.

My feet follow the neatly aligned peddles, as if to say the road ahead shall be clear and smooth-sailing. But the further I go in, the more the peddles scatter. Some would lean to the left, others would lean to the right. But they’re still in the same, straight line.

Until the stone arch.

Plucking some of the wild flowers and lavenders growing around, I scan along the area - just more trees with sunlight giving it a bright view of my surroundings.

But when I look into the stone arch, what lies beyond it - it’s like staring into a shaded area. Perhaps there are more trees beyond that side than out here?

Which means there’s more herbs - maybe even rarer ones.

...

...

Well.

Dad did say we’ll need as much ingredients as possible to have a fresh start on the new shop.

Clutching onto my satchel, I make my way through the stone arch.

And just like that, the air changes. It’s as if I stepped into another world. Not in a way that’s bad. But it feels...different. Potent. Spiritually powering. Standing before me, surrounding, are each stones that stand imposingly rigid with the exact same and different symbols. Runic design carved into the stony pillars that protect this patch of land.

They weren’t here before.

Is this a stone circle?

A sound catches my ear and I turn to my left. I didn’t catch what fell, but I do notice the littlest of rustling among the small field of flowers. Making my way over, I squat down and reach to grope the ground beneath the shield of the flower petals. Slowly, I skim my fingers against nature’s surface...Until my fingertips touch something solid, something...man-made. I wrap my fingers around and sure enough, it’s as small as a pendant and wooden upon materials; you’re not a travelling merchant if you’re not familiar with the basic items. Pendants are often trinkets that my father and I enchant with protective charms - something to help villagers work on their farm without sudden attacks from beasts or monsters.

I furrow my brows. What’s a pendant doing here though? I pull my hand back, bringing the item up and turn my hand to have the pendant face me as I uncurl my fingers to reveal.

The pendant I pick up is...

Z | H | D | A | ? |

(The link of the poll is on pendant. Choose wisely - 10th of August shall be when the poll is finalized for me to write each RO scenario in the order of the votes!)