#but Ember herself is such a great character

[the-wolfbats]

calm as a candle

#animationedit #pixaredit #elementaledit #disneyedit #animation this year has been pretty mid #but Ember herself is such a great character #probably my favorite Pixar character to date her and Merida #also i had to colorize the hell out of this bc it's weirdly faded. #film in 2023

[emsartwork]

ALL OF DAPHNE'S TRANSFORMATIONS. INCLUDING UPDATED NYMPHIX.

Previously Fairy of the Dragon Flame now Fairy of Embers. She doesn't have any transformations others than these because she was fast tracked into the nymphix path, and unlike the winx the majority of fairies don't pursue additional transformations past enchantix. (i think Daphne would be interested in Dreamix tho, so maybe I'll draw that eventually.

Her major color shifted after dying and being revived, which is shown in her winx and enchantix.

other lore and design notes below!

I changed her major color from orange/yellow to more of a teal/green because. she just doesn't look good in yellow I'm sorry I really tried but it wasn't working. Also little updates to her hair color, nothing huge tho. Daphne's primary motifs are a branching "Y" shape and a double oval/tear drop. She's a pants when possible girlie and a one set winger(yes her nymphix looks like it have multiple wings but they all merge into one stem on each side) . Her scars from her Sirenix being ripped out of her caused her winx/enchantix to change a little to cover them(mostly seen in the arms) due to insecurity. Her Dryadix/nymphix flower is a daffodil! because pun Daph-Daff, and Daffodils symbolize rebirth and new beginnings (also creativity, energy, resilience, forgiveness and vitality). Her Harpix wings aren't super specificly patterned, but she has darting wings common in small song and seed birds (robins, finches, brown birds etc.) the coloring is referential of a Shrike (also called a Butcher Bird), because Daphne was. incredibly dangerous and if she had sided with the ancestral probably would have been given a moniker similar to Butcher of Domino or Daphne the Slaughterer. (some people do call her these but its mostly among people who dislike Domino/The Royal Family.)

Lore! Daphne doesn't have a great sense of self, she was planned as a necessary successor to Marion/the dragon flame in a period as the ancestral witches were escalating their attacks and search for the dragon flame. Bloom was a back up baby in case both Daphne and Marion got dead and basically worked as intended haha. Daphne was also much more publicly involved in the kingdom than many of the other royals in winx (Stella, Aisha, Krystal and even Galatea to an extent all had rather sheltered upbringings) in a way Daphne is much more like Sky and Thoren in the since that none of them really had the space to develop their own personality outside of their familial duty.

Daphne's 1st winx and enchantixes are as direct a copy of her mom's Enchantix as you can get with transformations, right down to the more greenish tint of her major color. Growing up Marion used her fairy form liberally, so that, combined with being the next Dragon Flame holder left a deep impact on Daphne's subconscious. Daphne was also heavily influenced by Faragonda during her Alfea and Nymphix Quest years, but since she was older this isn't as deep an influence. After being revived, Daphne's years of defining herself as her connection to Bloom causes her major color to shift more blue in response to her trauma. Daphne is slowly starting to develop a sense of self outside of her titles/connections but it's unlikely her major color will shift again unless she has another major trauma.

(for the record the Winx do have trauma over the timeline I have laid out that would potentially cause their major colors to shift but I didn't do that for a couple reasons 1, their colors are iconic and make them easily recognizable as characters; 2, I'm a tired bitch. )

#winx #winxems #winx club #winx daphne #enchantix #harmonix #sirenix #dryadix #harpix #coatlnix #nymphix #DONT look at these too closely the line art and some coloring is a mess i got sick of them half way through #Fairy of embers title subject to change but i like it for now #something about Daphne is so wrong I want to put her in a jar and study her <3

[lawbreaker13]

There’s something about Elemental that I love but I can’t quite seem to articulate.

[Spoilers by the way]

At the end of the movie, Ember and Wade leave together so Ember can take her internship at the glass company. This is supposedly a full time thing for her, which means she’s moving. Like yeah, she underestimates herself like “oh it probably won’t go anywhere and I’ll be back home soon,” but that’s a very “ooh this is a big step and I don’t feel ready to move out” mentality (literally told my parents I’d be back at the end of my first year’s lease, it’s just a mental safety net, but boy was that a relatable line for me). Regardless of her lack of confidence in herself and this potential new job, she is moving out. And Wade is going with her.

She had said “I want to travel the world with you.” That’s great, and I hope they do, but that’s not what’s happening here. It’s said that this is several months, maybe even a year after the main events of the movie. The majority of the movie itself spans a couple weeks or so (edit: I counted, it’s about 8-12 days). So by the time they leave for Ember’s internship, Ember and Wade have been dating for a while. Anywhere between three months and a year. Wade is leaving with her, and it’s difficult for me to believe they’re going anywhere but the same place. Which means they’re moving in together.

Now I know that it sounds like I’m just freaking out and being incoherent about a ship, but the truth of the matter is, that’s really mature of Pixar.

Family friendly and kid-centric animation tends not to push anything but the “fall in love, kiss, get married, move in, have babies” pipeline. But what I loved about Elemental was that it portrayed a REALISTIC, HEALTHY, and MATURE relationship. One where the couple has arguments about real things that matter and after space, they talk it out. One where “I don’t understand” isn’t an invitation to shut down (even if Ember meant it that way in the heat of the moment), but an invitation to try and learn. One where anger and “I’m leaving” can be met with “I’m coming with you,” and one where the couple doesn’t just love each other right off the bat, they have to DATE MANY TIMES AND GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER, SEE EACH OTHER IN THE WORST OF TIMES, and THEN, realize they’re in love. AND they said it out loud, which doesn’t happen often either (edit: I am well aware that a week or two is a very short amount of time to fall in love, but I’m gonna cut them A LITTLE slack because it’s not like. 3 days, and also they seemingly saw each other every single day for those couple weeks and had the months after that. It’s rare, but sometimes, when you know, you know).

But beyond that. Beyond dating, getting to know each other, communicating and helping each other out, and deciding “yes, we can and should be together,” Elemental showed these two doing an adult thing together—leaving home and moving out. Because they are ADULTS. And the fact that I felt like this movie was targeted towards me and my peers the same way a PG-13 or R rated movie might be, strictly because of the realism in the character’s interactions and dynamic, that is something that I absolutely adore. Like, Zootopia was a kid’s movie with mature themes. Miraculous is a kid’s show with mature themes. Even Avatar: The Last Airbender was clearly targeted towards children, even though we all know it has something for everyone.

But Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. The Spider-Verse movies. And honestly, Elemental. These feel like our movies. Movies I’m glad the kids can enjoy, but they’re made for us. The 20- and 30-year-olds.

I’m just so happy to see animation studios treating adult characters like real people. Maybe soon people will start to recognize animation as a legitimate form of storytelling, too.

I loved Elemental. I really did.

#AND THAT’S MY RANT #Elemental #Wade Ripple #Ember Lumen #Animation #Animated movies #Animated shows #Elemental Pixar #Miraculous Ladybug #Puss in Boots The Last Wish #Avatar the Last Airbender #Into the Spider Verse #Across the Spider Verse #Pixar #Rant #Mine

[crowswithize]

Random DP Xover Interactions 4

Characters: Alfred Pennyworth and Ember McClain

Many types and shapes of living beings found themselves visitors of Wayne Manor. From Dick’s multiple escapades - one’s Master Bruce dutifully ignored - to Damian’s impromptu animal shelter. Even Tim had his fair share of colorful friends stop by. As much as Bruce asserted the Manor as a place of solitude and intimidation, the inside was far too friendly. Its inhabitants far friendlier.

So when Alfred walked into the kitchen and found a young lady with blue fire hair sitting at the island, he barely batted an eye. At least, this time, he knew who sat comfortably on the stool.

He started the kettle. “Miss McClain,” he greeted.

“Heya, Gramps,” Ember said, giving a two-finger salute. They share no blood bond and her words were certainly teasing, yet an underlining fondness coated her tongue.

“How are you? It’s been quite some time since you last visited Gotham.”

She made a noncommittal hum. “Same old, same old. Punching creeps and breaking hearts.”

“Just like Master Bruce in her younger days.”

Ember snorted. “I don’t think he’s stopped.” Alfred couldn’t, and wouldn’t, disagree. 

“May I ask what brought you here today?” He surveyed the fridge. Damian had notably started gardening and Alfred wouldn’t dare let good produce go to waste. He took out the misshapen tomatoes and bell peppers and set them aside. 

Ember clicked her tongue, pretending to think of it. Finally, she settled with, “Hypnotize the whole city with Ivy again. That gal is a riot.” She devilishly smiled with a row full of fangs. The fire of her hair whipped wildly, and Alfred feared the cabinets would become seared.

“An encore, I see,” Alfred commented. He turned on the coffee machine and began making Tim’s morning brew. He’s been slowly lowering the caffeination levels each day in the hope of weening the boy out of his addiction. “Though,” he added, “I couldn’t see any of your equipment being strung about for such a plan.” “I left them at Ivy’s.”

“Surely not. Miss Quinn and her share an apartment nowadays and their hyenas might destroy them. Not to mention Miss Quinn’s sporadic behavior when seeing a perfectly good drum kit.”

Ember let out a long, suffering groan. Alfred paid no mind and poured the hot water into a teapot along with some scoops of tea leaves.

Alfred was no stranger to Ember’s antics. He’s dealt with worse in Bruce’s younger years. Raising over six children have ample practice for patience and Alfred was nothing if not accommodating. If need be, he’d let Miss McClain think over her words for any portion of her infinite afterlife. 

“You’re wasted as a butler, Gramps,” she said, leaning a head against the counter. She stared directly at where Alfred was preparing tea.

“I respectfully disagree, Miss McClain.” 

He walked toward her and set a cup of Lady Grey in front of her. She immediately straightened herself out and took a small whiff. Alfred watched the gentle smile subconsciously brought upon her with great pleasure. 

He stood opposite of her, holding his own teacup in his hand. It’s a silent minute and only the brewing coffee pot sounded.

She hadn’t changed, not that Alfred expected her to, in appearance. Though she hadn’t visited the Manor since Bruce left, Alfred didn’t think she’d never return. Those were fond times when Bruce brought home a fire-haired lady and committed himself to solve her death. He would’ve thought him mad if not seeing her with his own eyes. She’d been so confused, unsure of the mortal realm, and utterly clueless about everything. Beautifully she grew into confidence and mischief. Alfred suppressed the chuckle of how Young Bruce and her would host shenanigans together. It was the first time he had reason to smile.

Then they grew apart, finding different definitions of justice. They both wanted to leave, both wanted to make a name. Bruce left for his training then Ember left back to her afterlife. Alfred tried to rekindle them but their differences were too apparent. What once gave strength to their relationship now warred against them. The only thing they had truly shared was indulging in the childhood so rudely taken from them.

Her teacup clinks against the saucer. “Just…” she struggled with what to say. She propped her elbow on the counter and pillowed her chin against her palm. Alfred does not scold her.

“I missed you guys,” she said quietly, her hair subduing with honesty.

Miss McClain had changed, he observed. Her fire did not crackle like desperate flames in December as it had. Decades ago, anger resided behind her eyes so acutely. Anger at the world, her death, and everyone who betrayed her. He does not see the anger he saw the burnings of regret, guilt, and, most of all, hope.

Alfred circled the island until he stood directly in front of her, her eyes trailing the entire time. 

“Dear girl, you’re always welcome here.” He laid a hand on her shoulder without fear of burning.

Ember laughed, hollow and empty. “I hypnotized the city with a plant lady last time I was here.”

“And master Bruce dresses up as a bat every night,” he countered. “Neither act will have you banned from this house.”

“I got really angry at him both times I left, Alfie,” she sniffled. Water hissed against her eyes as not a single drop survived.

“As well as each of his children yet he still loves them.”

“I’ve been gone for so long.”

Her hands shook, scrunching her pant’s fabric. Gently, he took them and held her hands within his. He stared directly into her eyes, fear akin to the one in Bruce’s eyes.

“And not once did we dare forget about you, Miss McClain.”

She launched herself at him, hugging Alfred with all her might. She sobbed tearlessly but her fire burned brighter than before. 

#interesting character interaction #i think Ember would be cool to hang out with young bruce #my writing #danny phantom #dp x dc #dpxdc #dc x dp #not the star trek one i promised #but i wrote way too much of it #i don't know why i keep making characters crying #its a habit

[gale-gentlepenguin]

Gale Reviews: Elemental

(Get it, cause there is a character named Gale thats an air elemental. Lol. thanks @knightsweeties for the GP)

Now Elemental is the most recent Pixar film and it was marketed Poorly. With the recent mid to bad movies Pixar had been putting out, Disney likely wanted to just let this movie rot.

Is this a pixar flop or is it a Gem put off too soon?

Animation

Plot

The Characters

The Romance

The Lesson

Final Thoughts

_____________________________________________________________

Animation

Look, if there is one thing Pixar does is good animation.

Elemental is a good looking film, there is detail and the way the characters move and interact with the area of Element city is phenomenal. Its clear that the animation team wanted to really show how each elemental worked and went about their day.

My favorite bit of animation had to be when Ember and Wade were in the underwater museum, it was gorgeous and had a beautiful moment.

While it is great, it is also nothing ground breaking. Its a good looking animated film, but compared to the caliber I have seen this year it doesnt stand out as something astounding. But it is still very good animation

9/10

_____________________________________________________________

Plot

Ember is a fire elemental that is being prepared to take over her father's store. But as her first chance to prove herself pops up, she has a fiery outburst and it causes Wade to pop out of the store's pipes.

After chasing him around element city trying to stop him from submitting the citations to have her dad's store closed down, they end up on the same side trying to fix the leak that started it in the first place.

The two, while being opposite elementals, end up gaining a spark for one another. But her being a fire elemental and him being a Water one causes more than just a physical clash, but a cultural clash.

The rest of the film is exploring their relationship and helping Ember realize what she really wants to do with her life.

The film's plot isnt an epic adventure its actually quite grounded in reality. Its a story of a child of Immigrants that feels like she owes her parents for the life she leads and wanting to meet their expectations while also finding out things about herself. The movie also explores themes of racism, culture clash, as well as other themes that make the film more real in ways one wouldnt expect. Honestly handling the racism thing better than Zootopia, especially because there was no bad guy in this, just real life obstacles and dealing with coming of age.

But, the problems around the Film start to crack when the main reason Ember's parents left Fire land makes no f***ing sense. Only their house was destroyed, they had family and friends in fireland that could have helped them, especially because it was only their house!

Also Wade's mention of not getting along with his dad is interesting but without having a single flashback or interaction with the long gone daddy of Wade makes it ring hollow.

Then there is how things in the film wrapped up a bit to quickly in the third act.

Though with those problems aside it is a very heartfelt film.

7/10

____________________________________________________________

The Characters

Ember: A Fire elemental that had spent her entire life learning and training to be ready to take over her father's store. She is confident, quick thinking, artistic, abrasive and short tempered. Which unfortunately makes it hard for her to deal with customers, her temper. And while initially seen as a negative, Wade's perspective on her anger wasnt negative, he phrased it as a positive, that her emotions were trying to tell her something. Sure enough, he was right and it was that despite living her entire life groomed to take over... she didnt want to take over the store. And hearing about other avenues and jobs made her wonder if maybe there was more to life. She loves her family to the point that she felt obligated to take care of the store. Ember is probably one of the most in depth characters Pixar has ever written and I wish there was even more explored with her.

Wade: A water elemental that is super emotional. He is in many ways the exact opposite of Ember. He is nervous, clumsy, great at communicating, emotionally secure and kind. He is lost and looking for a purpose to drive him, taking different jobs to try and find his path. After meeting Ember and seeing how driven she was he couldnt help but fall in love with her. Ember becomes the focus and drive for him as he wants to be a better person for her. Despite being smitten he is also ready to call her out on her BS, and he wants her to acknowledge her emotions. He wears his heart on his sleeve and when he cares for someone he goes the extra mile.

The rest of the characters are solid. Ember's and Wade's families being rather hilarious in their own way. And of course Clod, the GOAT. Gale is also an interesting character that shows how family memories can help shape us as people.

The characters are solid and I do wish Wade was explored more, I know the movie had only so long.

8/10

_____________________________________________________________

The Romance

I liked it. I think it is very well done and pulls the audience in.

It never feels awkward or weird, it just feels like seeing a relationship that wants to work despite everything going against it. Honestly it is a good allegory for couples with Cultures that are different from one another. The culture shock and how families can initially view your SO as an outsider or have a negative bias against them.

Ember and Wade bring out the best and worst out of eachother and it works because they both care about the other and want the other person to be happy. Its a love that grows and adds so much as each scene adds more.

Now since its a movie it might seem like it happens fast, but it actually is well paced.

And lets be real, you were on board once 'Steal the show' started playing over their dating montage.

9/10

_____________________________________________________________

The Lesson

The movie has several lessons that I think could fill this spot and it tackles each with varying degrees of success.

Loving your parents and understanding that you are not obligated to follow their dreams.

You never know who you will fall for, and even if they seem different they can show you great things

Understanding one's emotions and heart is the first step in pursuing what one wants

There are also talks on how having bias against others is bad, which is true, but I think the 3 listed address more of the core themes of the movie.

They are good lessons and some are done better then others.

7/10

____________________________________________________________

Final Thoughts.

Its a solid 8/10 for me.

Pixar has been going through a weird period but this film is more in line with their better films.

I cant say I think it is one of their best, but its far from their worst. If this is the direction Pixar wants to go in then I will call it an improvement.

This film is underrated and could use more love

#elemental #gale reviews #pixar #disney

[alternativesaga]

Penny for ur brainthoughts on elemental? 👀🤲

I opened my laptop for this *cracks knuckles* oKAY I am so sorry for the ramble for what's about to come but honestly the reading is unnecessary I just need to ramble on what I can currently think of atm

I'm ngl, I was really initially hesitant to watch the movie. I didn't even plan to, but a friend suggested it while hanging out and watching a movie sounded nice to pass the time.

And I'm glad I did! The advertisement for it was truly atrocious.

I'm not gonna go into the worldbuilding aspect of Elemental City. It's nice, but honestly it's not what intrigues me about the movie. However, I do enjoy their color schemes especially at night with vivid dark blues and contrasting eccentric warm yellows and reds in Firetown!

My biggest love for this movie is the relationships between family (the dynamic with Ember and her father especially), and love (Ember and Wade). Which--cheesy, yes, but it was more than that! It had aspects of being a descendant of immigrant parents and what that means to the child, and the potential for culture clashes in everyday life, including relationships.

With Ember and her father, all throughout her life she's had this desire to prove herself to her family that she will be what makes them proud. To her, it's taking over her dad's store. It's not about being perfect, she understands her temper, but she needs to be better. And knowing that feeling all her life, that pressure never goes away. She wants to show that she's grateful to whatever they have sacrificed for her. She has to be a good daughter. Or else it'll seem as though everything she and her parents have done will have been for nothing. A failure. And because the pressure has always been there, it's understandable as to why she never fully questioned going out and doing her own thing because she figured there isn't a point in looking for more than what she has now. Growing up in a family with more traditional views, sometimes its encouraged to keep within the limits of what someone is already capable of. Or sometimes its just saying, oh, yes, you can dream, but don't dream too big! Ember didn't even let herself do that because she already sees how tired her father is. Therefore, it's practically the idea of sacrificing her own life to protect what she currently has--her family.

Culture in itself is a huge aspect of the movie. Peter Sohn, the creator of Elemental also supported this as he provided examples of his own life being first-gen from an immigrant family and what his parents had to go through while moving into a new country. And while its different elements of characters between water, fire, earth, and air demonstrates those distinctions to an extent, it's deeper than that. It can affect a person's way of life and their relationships. (I lied I'm going into the worldbuilding a bit) Element City is a great aspect of showing the accessibility available to the fire people. Each element is provided their own accessibilities throughout the city, but there is minimal for fire. So instead, they essentially have their own Firetown in the outskirts of the city. But also, you know, the topics of racism. It's there and apparent in the most simple way that the movie can make it. But ngl the think with what Wade's step-dad/uncle(?) says to Ember about speaking clear? I laughed because that does happen. It shouldn't! But it does! Without getting into too much detail irl I've been in similar situations and I like how the movie just addresses it so randomly.

As for Wade and Ember, upon watching it the first time, the relationship was cute, but wasn't entirely something I really cared about. It was mainly due to how Wade was so--Idk, bubbly that I was initially thinking like--"damn, really? We're sticking with this?" It's honestly not that deep. It bugged me at first, with how he pushed Ember about telling her father about everything. And to encourage her to leave her current life at her job just to follow an internship she just learned about! He, who moves from job to job just because he can, and her, who has worked her whole life--it wasn't just about culture as elements, it's even social class. I understood the apprehension and fear Ember felt and the anger of explaining that that doesn't just happen. It's not something that can be done on a whim. It's not because she didn't want to, but because she couldn't. It's a damn privilege. At the time, it was like "leaving" meant leaving everything behind and essentially betraying her family to do something completely different to what she believed meant going against their dreams. And man, does that hurt. But Wade doesn't understand it. Which--unfortunately/fortunately, it's understandable. It's not something that just comes to be understood, it's just something someone can bear and grow with. Wade was one of the first things outside of Ember's life at home in which she wanted. She wanted the relationship. All her life, she has put up this front to be strong, show resilience, don't let anything hurt you. She's protective of her home, her mother, her father, her life. She's always happy and fiery in her personality until she just blows up because of all that stress and anger that's left to build up and explode! But then here's Wade, some fool, who the first thing he says after she explains her experience at the museum with her father, "You must have been so scared." Not even knowing her, or her life at the time to an extent, does he still manage to try to connect with her. And even after everything and the rejection, he STILL tries to prove to her that he's willing to try to understand. And they made it work even with all the apprehension!

In all honesty, a lot of the movie was something really relatable to me, and I see a lot of myself within Ember. Even with the temperament at times haha. I'm also glad to have watched Peter Sohn's explanation of the inspiration for it and his connections to it because he just brings in that perspective and representation of being a person from a family of immigrants and how it event affected his own relationship. I know I could probably say more but I'm just going to leave it as this haha Thanks for coming to my ted talk

#aaaaa #hi chaireem!! #thanks for the ask lol #chaireem #saga shush #the ramble is strong for this #whoops

[kalolasfantasyworld]

Paper Hearts and how it came to be

Hi everyone this a post nobody asked for, but I really wanted to make. I admit that I was inspired to make this after reading the afterword of the Embers of Sun and Flame by @thoughtfullyrainynightmare.

Paper Hearts spoilers - not plot specific, but overall concepts. I wanted to reveal a bit of how it actually happened that I came up with it and I can tell you it was a journey.

3 main points below and then I will expand:

Noelle and Nozel are my favorite characters, while Noelle finds herself and becomes happy. Nozel... we don't really know much about, but we know that he's been not great.

SILVA REDEMPTION - it was supposed to be a redemption story since the beginning. I wanted to give all the Silvas a more "human" outlook. A chance to make mistakes and change for the better. A chance to become a family.

The story did not start with Helena. She was "created" for the Silvas, to help them grow and learn. I couldn't do this with an already existing character without changing canon. Helena sees the whole BC (literally 5-170 episodes, plus a bit of manga until the Spade Raid) story from her perspective, a new perspective and gives an outlook on what the Silvas did then. However she developed as a whole well rounded character with her strengths, quirks and flaws. 💕

Nozel x OC

Nozel was in the dark for a long time. A cave filled with perfectionism, guilt, self loathing and unhealthy ambition. A very cold place. (a tiny reference to Allegory of the Cave by Plato, obviously this is a slightly different case)

I know he would not so easily get out of his cave towards the light

He needed to be "forcefully pulled out of it" and that's where a nosy, cheerful, talkative, very stubborn and at times annoying OC comes in

She helps him see the light in the outside world, by teaching him how to simply have fun, but also notice the good inside himself.

She pulls him out to that "shining light" and that's how her name came to be -> Helena meaning sun ray, torch, shining light

Nozel is by no means weak in this story, on the contrary I want to show him as a strong character who found some ways to cope with his past even though they were certainly not the best ones. However he is able to grow and learn (such as admitting, that he was wrong, or being vulnerable with time).

Silva redemption

We've seen moments, literal snippets of Nebra and Solid acting not like the last pieces of trash (when Nebra checks up on Solid, when he's hurt, Nebra realising that she is an obstacle after she's hurt, or when Solid tells Noelle to go to the shadow palace, little more besides that) and I think that to each other they were never that awful. I wanted to expand on that.

So let's introduce Helena, but hey they will treat her awful if she's below them in social hierarchy -> let's make her a princess with a lot of mana

A princess? which house? She's supposed to have a "fresh view" -> she has to be a foreginer

Foreigner?! Are you kidding?! they will eat her alive (I mean they did xd) -> There has to be some familiarity and how better to achieve that then through Acier, thus Luciana (Helena's mom) and Acier were best friends and Helena is actually half clover half diamond

She has to warm up the atmosphere -> once again the little light. Helena becomes friends with Nebra (Nebra learns how to treat a friend well), and she cares for Solid like a little brother (somebody will bite back and he will learn respect), Nozel... you know the story and with Noelle you will see how it goes.

However there will be more to their growth then just Helena and sometimes she will simply witness the changes

They are assholes to lower class people -> Helena is not, but why? even though she is a princess -> backstory time ;)

Nozel, Nebra and Solid are STILL very much ASSHOLES in Paper Hearts!!! I just give them an additional face and a chance to grow over time, to be more than that.

Character growth

people make mistakes, and these characters will make them in Paper Hearts, but they will learn and grow because of them

This story will be long, because it will not rush through changes. They happen over time and a year and a half is a lot. I want these to be natural.

Helena

her character was explained a bit earlier, she has to counter the cold of the Silvas and be full of life

She comes from a big, warm family so she can show the Silvas how does a healthy family life look like

She has FLAWS, quite a few actually, because people are not perfect and that's what makes them special and beautiful. She's supposed to be relatable.

Helena is not traumatised, depressed or broken. She has her past and it affected her, but she's learnt a lesson instead of letting it control her.

Another reason for why she is a princess -> I've always had a hard time picturing Nozel being long term with someone outside of nobility. Not because of arrogance, but simply responsibilities. Helena knows how to take care of a house, knows Royal customs and will be a good lady of the house, someone Nozel can lean on in his duties, who understands how important it is to carry the name. So they have some similar values and backgrounds helping them understand one another. Especially at the beginning of the story, when he would simply not talk to anyone below his status and that's when Helena was introduced. (also based on the assorted questions brigade that's his type)

Helena's hispanic -> I simply love hispanic characters, spanglish is a fun addition to the story (my friend pointed out to me, that I may have been subconsciously inspired by Lance from Voltron)

Helena's looks -> I wanted her to have that sun kissed, hispanic look

Her eyes are dark brown, almost black -> I wanted a silver haired baby with super dark eyes 😍 (that's Natalia and literally the only reason for Helena's eye color)

She wears red -> the red blue dynamics, although they kind of flipped, because usually the blue are funny and silly, while the red grumpy, but you know what I mean

There's a four years difference between her and Nozel, I wanted her to be a bit younger so that she would have an easier time connecting with the younger Silvas (there's 1 year between her and Nebra) and overall Helena is filled with that "youthful vigor"

her perspective is new and fresh, she's a foreigner and we learn about Clover with her

Paper magic... that's a lot to unpack especially since you don't know (she doesn't either) how her spells develop yet -> let's say I wanted her to be "weak" at the beginning and paper seems pretty timid and the "blank page" metaphor (song unwritten fits her so well). You have to trust me that Paper Magic was very carefully and deliberately thought through.

Helena has not and never will become a magic knight. She's supposed to be different than Nozel and have her own thing, which is healing. This also is relevant towards her not changing canon, but being able to interact with it.

Why Diamond out of all the suit kingdoms? -> You'll see xd (forever in the future though 🥲), but it came with the development of the story. As I said Paper Hearts started with the Silvas then branched out. However I do have some Diamond Kingdom lore.

CANON

this story is written in a way that it could happen in the show

meaning Helena is watching something but not interacting where the "BC camera rolls"

I need to rewatch quite a bit while writing, but I'm not complaining (okay the festival chapters were hard and there were times when I wrote a scene only to be like "No! This character can't be here!" and I had to delete it 😭 "bye bye funny scene")

I wanted for you to see what the Silvas are doing, while BB are on their adventures

So it can be the reader's favorite game -> I wonder what is Helena doing in this part of the series?

assorted questions brigade is my literal guidebook (Nozel is a lightweight, socks on during sex 😁)

Actually writing

I haven't written anything in YEARS

I've never finished a fic

I was self conscious about my stories and how I wrote characters (terrified that people will say "oh they would not act this way at all!")

writing is still one of the most personal things I have (it lies closer to my heart even than my art)

Miraculously I opened up and told my not BC friend the main plot of Paper hearts story -> she said "it's good write it" -> that same evening I had the first chapter drafted

That's why I explain literally everything in Paper Hearts (you're getting specific descriptions of how each character looks like). I want her to be able to read it without her needing to watch the show. So it's written that non BC people will understand it and people who are just watching won't get spoilers, because I give spoiler warnings.

Those who know BC see the foreshadowing, little hints and easter eggs, so it's just as fun.

Humor

I love humor

I laugh so much while writing this story and I do my best to make it really funny

Helena is hilarious

And the sunshine x grumpy relationships are my favorite

so Helena and Nozel deliver me so much content

Besides there are Finral and Vanessa

Finral and Vanessa

I love them

They are an amazing trio with Helena, so funny too

I wanted to let the readers know what's happening in BC and keep them in a loop where we are with the BC storyline, so they tell Helena about their adventures

Obviously there is much more to them than being a source of information

Platonic relationships

This story will have a lot of them, such as relationships between Helena and each one of the younger Silva siblings, or mentioned above Finral and Vanessa

It is a romance, but also much more

There are quite a few chapters in which Nozel is just not present and they're still fun, but focus on different things

Hard topics

there are and will be some tougher, more angsty chapters and sadder ones as well

BC story has its ups and downs in terms of characters well being. It can't be happy all the time.

Once again PEOPLE MAKE MISTAKES

I want them to learn from them

Action

I actually found out writing fight scenes is not awful

so I describe them (wait for the elf reincarnation arc chapters...😁)

Romance

This is obviously a romance, spicy, funny, thoughtful, lovable and at some points relatable, but it also has its downsides

IMPERFECTIONS!!!

Pink tinted glasses

Helena and Nozel don't miraculously fall in love, they learn it and it happens over time, they become "friends before lovers" it's natural.

Yhm sexual tension -> a lot, this story is rated mature for a reason!

Support

building relationships takes time

MISTAKES!!!

misunderstandings

It is soft, touching, but painful at times

There's a song in my first language saying (this is my translation):

Love is no teddy bear, no flowers

It is also not a horned devil

Nor it is love, when one is crying

And other is jumping on them.

Because love is not a film at any cinema.

Neither roses, nor kisses - little, big ones..

But love... is when one is falling down

And the other is pulling them up

that's the Nozelena I'm going for ❤️💙

Song additions (as you can see above😉)

i love music and I love incorporating it in this story

so song guessing like in chapter 21 was so much fun

I even created a full playlist for one of the latter chapters (i listened to it while writing, now it sometimes plays when I drive a car xd)

And there are some songs, which just fit the characters and I will link them

I'm really just goofing around with this, but it makes me so happy

Other ships

i know they're not there yet

but they will be in the right time of BC storyline

Helena is too nosy to not butt into other relationships and not be a matchmaker or something...

I just wanted to give some love to the characters I like and won't really gallop of canon, but they will have some cute scenes (not all the ships I like though, that would be too much, so I chose those fitting the plot, very sadly no Greyche, no MagLuck 😭, maybe mentions of them though)

Canon is the reason why I'm doing mostly "canonic" ships

Other characters that appear

This story ends up being not Helena x Nozel, not Helena x Silvas, but Helena x BC characters overall

it's funny and interesting how they interact

And I want to show some love to other still amazing characters, who just did not find their place in my top of the top, or did not really fit the plot of this fic as mains

Development

writing this story is a process

and I have it plotted out, so everything really does happen for a reason. I'm not changing the plot whatsoever since I came up with it and it was before setting up Ao3 or this tumblr account.

but then there are some little things, which I don't see coming and an additional chapter appears (I'm loosing control over the length of this story)

The "story tells you what it wants" and I follow it, so the chapter details are not set in stone

I also realised I can't write short chapters any more, so it prolongs the story too and sometimes I need to split them in two (for example the festival chapter was supposed to be in 1 mayeeebe 2 -> it's in three, elf reincarnation was supposed to be one -> it's in three)

But I think that what's in there is necessary, interesting and just fun so i won't make this story shorter on purpose, that's not the point

Illustrations

They happened. There's nothing to explain here. I just like to draw. I've read two fics with illustrations and I found them fun. I wasn't planning on illustrating every Paper Hearts chapter, but it may happen.

I'm truly exploring what I can do with my art in those illustrations so they are made in multiple styles, at different points in time and they differ greatly.

The title/s

You will understand why Paper Hearts, when I finally will get to a chapter titled this way

It's obviously connected to Helena's paper magic

Each chapter title matters -> I spend a lot of time on thinking them through and they greatly foreshadow what will happen, a lot of times in metaphorical ways

They are made in a specific style "The ...." -> I just thought it would be fun to stay consistent

Damn, this was a loooong post!

I hope you guys enjoyed this little (not really 😂) explanation and are enjoying my passion project called Paper Hearts.

For those who are reading Paper Hearts I hope you like how it came to be and continue with me on this journey through BC. I'm forever grateful for your support.

For those who haven't read it I strongly recommend it to you. The first few chapters are a bit icky, because I was just learning how to write and setting up the scene, but it's a good story. This statement I've actually never doubted. 💕

#This was pretty personal but oh well #that's how it goes with passion projects #paper hearts explanation #writer's take #silva redemption #black clover fanfic #black clover #black clover fanfiction #creator's take #nozel x helena #silva family #nozel silva #nebra silva #noelle silva #solid silva #black clover oc #helena drazel #paper hearts #writers on tumblr #passion project #silva siblings

[thesilliestofgals]

Decided that I needed some writing practice, so I'm taking a shot at writing a scene from @xbomboi's EAH arc, Fable Fest. It's a great fan creation of what could've been, so please go read it!

Fair warning, this is my first time writing using canon characters AND fanon characters, so this may not turn out like my other writing. I hope I got Deter's and Wanda's characterizations down well. Enjoy!

"Look," Deter began, "We don't like you." At "you", he pointed his clapped hands towards the two royalty standing before him and Wanda.

I can't believe I had to say that. What are we, spellementary students?

Apple made a sound similar to that of a kicked dog's, and Raven face fell from confusion to disbelief.

The short blonde was quick to regain her posture, though to without squared shoulders and clasped hands. "But why?" Apple gasped out. "That isn't fairest!"

Isn't fairest? That "isn't fairest?" Is she joking?

Deter chuckled bitterly. "I'll tell you why, Apple White," he replied, the embers of anger sparking to life, "You fairytale royalty act all high and mighty," he moved his hands in a quick, grand flourish, "while you couldn't care less about what happens to us." At that, his hands dropped back into a tight cross on his body.

Wanda pushed up her glasses, eyes like flint as she lifted her chin. "It's true."

Apple stepped forward, ignoring Raven's attempt to pull her back. "That's not true!" the blonde fired back, "Everyone plays an important part." She nodded firmly to herself, while Raven winced like she'd been stung.

Deter scoffed. I can't believe this girl is supposed to be the queen someday. "In what, your stories?" He jabbed a finger towards Apple, mouth quirking into a mocking smirk. "What about those that aren't in them? What do they matter, your future highness?"

Apple stumbled back like she'd been slapped, eyes glassy. Raven's body flared a bright purple, before settling as she stepped forward. "Hey, back off." She glanced back at her friend, eyes softening, before turning back to Deter. "She's learning." The blonde perked up, her smile returning. Deter fought the urge to roll his eyes.

Guess little miss trailblazer needs a wake-up call, too.

"You're no better than her, Raven Queen."

Raven's brow furrowed, and her expression turned back to confusion. "What?"

This time, nothing deterred Deter from letting his eyes roll with a scoff. "They call you the rebel of all rebels, but I'd hardly call what what you've started a rebellion."

"Excuse me?" Her voice was sharper now, but Wanda's low chuckle and nod of encouragement to Deter fueled the burning rage in his throat.

Like a lion with a gazelle, he circled her, going in for the kill.

"Sure, you may think you "freed everyone from the chains of destiny", he retorted, putting emphasis with air quotes, "but that's only for the same people who've always had fairytales."

Her head swung as he waltzed, sparkling flames leaking from her clenched fists. "I'm fighting so that we can all have the freedom to choose our own stories."

This girl...! She really doesn't understand. Deter barked out a pained laugh. "All, huh? you really think that?"

Wanda clicked her tongue. "If any of us did what you've done, we'd be locked up in a dungeon."

"What!?" Apple's already porcelain face paled, and Deter fought back a vicious grin. Good. Her ignorance truly would be her downfall.

Deter could see Wanda's frustration grow as she sighed, long and hard, as though she was a teacher dealing with a particularly thick skulled student, leaning her head back and rubbing between her eyes before she locked in on Apple, lips curled back. "Fairytale society is designed to favor individuals with prestigious stories." Like yours, Deter thought, "Meanwhile, the rest of us are stuck living in them."

Deter stopped back in front of Raven. "That's what's not fairest." His smirk widened as Apple withered before his very eyes.

"I-I didn't know..." Her voice faded off, and she shrunk further into herself as Deter and Wanda glared.

That's right, you didn't, because you were too absorbed of yourself and your stupid Happily Ever After.

Wanda straightened and dusted off her clothes, her eyes still trained on the blonde. "Precisely why we must win. If our school beats Ever After High, everyone will be left with no choice but to acknowledge us for a change."

With the nail in the coffin, Deter turned sharply on his heel, hustling past Raven and knocking shoulders with her for good measure. Wanda followed, stalking past a wilted Apple and a shaking Raven.

Headmaster Perrault would be proud.

Turning his head, Deter snarked, "But good luck, right? You're surely gonna need it."

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

And that's all! I hope this was good. None of these characters are mind, and I once again recommend reading Fable Fest!

#nonny's nonsense #ever after high #eah #raven queen #apple white #determined charming #deter charming #wanda spice #ever after high rewrite #eah rewrite #never after high #fable fest #ever after high fable fest #eah fable fest #everytime I think of the name “deter” I think “derek jeter”.... why? I do not know #i hope to god there's no spelling or grammatical errors in this #nonny's nonsense in tags

[the-scribe-and-her-scribbles]

iwcb | chapter 14. how to keep wanting without ever getting

It Will Come Back | Chapter 14. how to keep wanting without ever getting | Fae!Prussia x reader

masterlist

chapter summary: Gilbert is left alone in the wake of past and present disasters. PLEASE READ THE WARNINGS

word count: 2.9k

chapter warnings: intense violence, blood and gore!, dark! gilbert, character death, fae deceit

tagging list: @jtownraindancer @xxruinaxx @redrosesociety1

(Gilbert didn’t know how long he’d been in his prison. There was nothing that could tell him how much time had passed. 

He’s spent most of it phasing in and out of madness. With the decades of isolation eating away at his mind, he became something unrecognizable, roiling with anger and hate. Every moment of clarity, however small, he used to collect whatever magic he had left in him. Little bits at a time, he collected the sparks of his magic into his center like the hot embers of a smothered fire, until after ages he could form just enough energy to cast Find Soulmate. It’s his last hope, his last shred of self that he sends out, and if it doesn’t work he’ll have nothing left. 

But it does work. 

After what felt like an eternity alone, he finally feels you. You are human, Gilbert realizes. A strange and shocking revelation to him, one that raises problems. You are something Gilbert has never heard of before, a human's short lifespan and lack of magical ability should make them incompatible with the Fae as soulmates. The two of you shouldn’t have been able to tether, but right now, Gilbert couldn’t give a fuck. 

You’re there, your soul is bright and sharp, and just a little skittish, but it's warm. You’re so warm that Gilbert could sob because he’s been so cold for such a long time. 

Don’t step closer, he thinks to himself. I can’t be held accountable for my actions.)

Gilbert can still hear him.  

“I mean really, Gilbert! You should be thanking me. Isn’t this what you wanted? Now your soulmate has no choice but to stay with you! Well, as long she doesn’t drown herself first!” 

Gilbert kneels on the edge of the cliff you just plunged from. His chest is tight and his eyes are wretched wide open in horror and he looks down into the icy river. He waits to see your head emerge through the icy white water, to watch you pull yourself up onto the bank down below.

He doesn’t see you. 

The water continues to rush, the cold bites at his skin, and his breath heaves out of his lungs with a great heaving burn. In his panic, with the tightness in his chest and the pain in his soul, he can’t feel you. The ache drowns you out, and his soul cannot find yours. His stomach drops. No, It can’t be, You can’t be. Vladimir stiffens when their eyes lock. Gilbert pushes to his feet and his fist closes around the hilt of the knife. He doesn’t fully know what he’s done until after. 

His breath puffs into the cold air like smoke coming from his lungs, and his hands tremble with rage. His eyes burn and his vision is red. There’s red everywhere. Splatters of red on the frosted ground, on the leather of his boots, and when he wipes his face, red smears into his white hair. 

Vladimir lies twitching on the frosted ground, he’s choking on his own blood, fresh fear in his eyes and it makes Gilbert purr. “Ple- Pleas- Gilb- Don’t- ah- I won’t-“ He begs in between wet gasps. Gilbert watches him try and crawl away on his belly (It’s hard now that his right arm is torn off). There’s no use in begging, Gilbert wants to say, but he’s too lost in rage to find words. Gilbert is a fae. A cruel, wild creature, a monster that he keeps hidden away inside his preferred form. He’s kept himself locked away for you. For your safety, so you don’t fear him like you did when you first met. 

Vladimir ruined that. You aren’t here now, so there’s no one to temper the monster he is. Ausdaurnd is dropped to the side, close to where you dropped the dagger he gave you before you fell. He won’t need a blade for this. He’ll use his claws, he decides. 

Then Gilbert descends on his old enemy and rips into him. 

Soon again, his senses return. The sound of rushing water just a ways away makes him take a deep breath. A ruined corpse is motionless in front of him, and Gilbert’s whole frame shakes. Warmth tracks down his face, too thin to be blood, and Gilbert lets out a breath that is closer to a growl or a sob. 

He gets up to look for the river. His feet carry him down the mountainside. He looks to where you fell into the water, eyes following down the bank of the ruching river, half expecting to find your body limp in the shallows or your thick cloak snagged on a branch or log, but there’s no sign of you. 

He focuses one more time. Gilbert focuses inward, tries to steady his frantic heart and reaches out once more. 

Please be there, please be there, please be there.

It’s faint and far away, but Gilbert finds you. 

The relief that Gilbert lets out is audible. You’re ok, for now at least, he thinks before it all sinks in. But you’re not here! He takes another breath, but can’t quite catch it. Everything aches. Ancients, what have I done? 

There on the side of a mountain, crumpled in on himself and alone, Gilbert’s heaving turns to sobs, which soon turn to a roar for no one but the wind and trees to hear. 

My love has concrete feet My love has iron bars,  Wrapped around your ankle  Over the waterfall

Gilbert knew that he would need to find his soulmate in order to get out. He didn’t think anything of it. He was Gilbert Beilschmidt, from the house of Beilschmidt. He wasn’t some doe-eyed romantic. No pathetic human would change that. Perhaps it’s for the better. 

Humans live short lives, a near spark in the long lifespan of a faerie. And the fact that your mortal might also mean that you may never feel the soul bond as Gilbert does, certainly not with such overwhelming intensity. 

He doesn’t know how he feels about it. How dare a meek little human yank his soul with theirs and not have to suffer the same torture of longing. 

Gilbert tries to convince himself that this is for the better. If you don’t feel the bond, then he doesn’t have to say anything. He can pretend that it isn’t there. He could grab you from your world, trick you into freeing him, and then send you on your way without any delay. 

(As much as he denied it, some part of Gilbert knew that he was lying to himself. So he could pretend that he never planned to do this to you. So he could have some plausible deniability when you found out. In reality, Gilbert knew he was damned the moment he saw you.)

When the two of pulled yourselves onto the shores of the lake, Gilbert’s first lung-fulls of air were sweeter than anything. He heard you puffing beside him, wet clothes clinging to your skin, and he felt the pull in his chest immediately. It was gentle but clear and obvious. 

Gilbert watched as you stood at the edge of the lake. Your hair was dripping wet, your breath coming in soft, white puffs. You stared off to the other side of the lake, where the Great Veil’s mist had hung like a curtain. That was your way back, and Gilbert found himself holding his breath. 

He shouldn’t have been. Gilbert should’ve been able to speak. You had freed him from the Library. He really doesn’t need you anymore. He could’ve pointed in the direction of the Great Veil, watched you walk through the mist and he’d never see you again. He doesn’t, however. The words aren’t even half-formed in his tongue. 

You were clever and extremely smart. Gilbert wondered if you would figure out that that was where you needed to go to get back, that it was that easy. A ball of dread formed in his stomach. Please, don’t ask me what that is, a tiny voice inside him prayed. I don’t want to lose you yet. Gilbert pretends not to hear it. 

When you looked back at him, none the wiser to the truth of the misty forest, that little voice laughed in relief. You didn’t ask about the mist that swirls on the other side of the lake, and you followed Gilbert up to his old castle. 

A better man would let you go, (I’m just the monster dragging you home)

Gilbert thinks of his first night back in the Wandering Woods. Seeing the ruins of the castle had frayed Gilbert’s nerves. 

Anything from his old life was decayed and derelict and he still couldn’t quite comprehend how long he was trapped away in his prison. He was antsy and half expecting to wake up from this dream to find himself back in that cold dark place, with you having never been with him. 

So instead of wandering around his castle alone, he stays with you. His skin tingles as phantom strings pull him towards you. His chest was tight when he looked at you, standing in front of the fireplace to warm yourself with the burning remains of his home. You’re voice reached his ears and made his head buzz. 

Of course, you asked him if he could send you back, and Gilbert is immediately faced with a problem. In fact, it's his one major problem. Gilbert doesn’t want to send you back. 

He twisted the truth, said he couldn’t send you back, and it’s not technically wrong. He doesn’t think his soul could handle the trauma of ripping you away from it. His half-truth shattered you, and from then on, you were painfully skittish around him. Gilbert knew you didn’t trust him. He tried to comfort you, said he would protect you, but it’s not enough. 

You want to go home. You’re human, being in his realm is unsettling and it seems that the soulbond is only working on his side, a fact that is annoying him more now that he’s the only one feeling its intense effects.

When the two of you encounter Arthur’s thugs in the nearby village, the intensity of the soul bond becomes a problem. 

Since the moment Gilbert found you, you’ve been by his side. You were hiding with him from your attackers, until you weren’t. 

The shriek you’d let out when one of them grabbed you sent ice through him. One of their grubby hands bruised your face trying to force spirit berries down your throat. They made you cry and they paid for it in blood. Everything narrowed down to a pinpoint and he couldn’t stop it. One minute, Arthur’s men were screaming, and the next, they were dead at his feet. His hands were stained black, he tasted the blood in his mouth. 

He decides then that he can’t let you go. He needs to keep you safe, even if right then you trembled when you looked at him. In his worst moment, Gilbert thinks about the spirit berries as a solution. A selfish awful thing he could do to ensure he could have you. It filled him with shame, but that dark voice was still there. You could never leave him, you’d stay forever safely with him, and he could spend eternity earning you’re forgiveness

You and I nursing on a poison that never stung Our teeth and tongues are lined with  the scum of it.

From across the crude dinner table of Ludwig's cabin, Gilbert can feel his younger brother's intense gaze. In that way, he was like their grandfather. 

“Does she know?” He asks, his voice isn’t as angry as Gil expected. It’s only simmering under the surface.

“About what?” Gilbert tries to act clueless

“What?” Ludwig fights to keep his volume down. “You know what I’m talking about! Did you tell her that she’s your mate?” 

“No.” 

“Then what did you tell her,” His tone is low and angry. “Because she seems to think that she’s stuck here.” 

Gilbert cringes and Ludwig’s simmering rage boils over.

“I cannot believe you.” He grinds out.

“Keep your voice down!” You’re still asleep. Gilbert can feel you in his subconscious. His connection to you tells him of your fitful state. He wants to storm up there and hold you against him. He could comfort you. He’d chase away the nightmares, even if they were probably about him. 

“She’s your true mate, your chosen one, and you’re lying to her,” Ludwig whispers.

“I’m not lying. I’m omitting details.” 

“You’re putting her in danger. She’s a human, she doesn’t belong here.” 

“I know that she’s human! I can keep her safe!”

“If you want to keep her safe, send her back.” Ludwig glares. Gilbert finds himself snarling. He crosses the room to where his brother is in a flash. Ludwig steps forward to meet him with a steely face. 

Gilberts growls out, “No! I’m not-” before he catches himself. He looks away from his brother, his rage cooling to distress. 

Ludwig sighs. “Gilbert, she doesn’t deserve this. You need to tell her the truth.”

“If I do that, she’ll leave.”

“She might.”

“She’s my soulmate. I can’t let her go yet.” Gilbert hates how pathetic he sounds. His grandfather would call him selfish. A child. “I just found her.”

“If she finds out what you’re doing, you’ll surely lose her.”

“Then she’ll never find out.” He says those words and feels Fate laugh at him. “It won’t matter,” it whispers like a curse. “You know what’s coming.”

Don’t you give me up, Please don’t give up, Honey, I belong  With you, only you

Consuming spirit berries is nasty business. The juice of one causes the soul of its victim to bind to the Fae realm. It's excruciating to feel your essence bent to the will of the Unseen Realm. Gilbert can feel your soul twist and twitch. The strings of Fate and Fae Deals that connect the two of you tug and pulse with your distress.

A sick thing claws inside his chest. The ache is hollow and consuming. His skin feels too tight, the magic that he normally tries to hide under it to avoid scaring you fights to the surface. His eyes burn. A quick look at his reflection in a frozen puddle shows his sclera are still pitch black, his iris’ still glow like molten iron. It won’t go away now, no matter how hard he tries to make it. 

So Gilbert moves through the forest. Walks until he reaches the border of his woods. He feels it shifting, its trees and their branches creek and scratch as his woods whisper to him in a language long forgotten. He follows the river. His boots fall heavy into the ground and he feels more beast than Fae. Maybe those things are the same. He follows the pull in his chest, as slight as it is. Like a dog, he follows you. 

Just because these woods are Gilbert’s doesn’t mean they are kind to him. To his right, he hears you laugh and whips his head in that direction. He stumbles and nothing is there. In another direction, he hears you whisper. He can’t make it out. From the corner of his eye, he thinks he sees you lean out from behind a tree. When he reaches it, you’re not there but the whispers are louder and living guilt in his chest posits what this vision of you is whispering to him. 

This is his fault. 

He wasn’t fast enough to stop you. He wasn’t strong enough to free himself without you. He wasn’t brave enough to tell you the truth in the first place. 

And now he is left in the wreckage of his choices. His soulmate is off alone in the Unseen World, running from him into more danger than you know. An ancient poison is ripping through you, with no guarantee that a cure would be possible. 

The best healer he knows is on the other side of the woods, and Lukas and Arthur are no doubt getting ready to start their plan, despite missing the third in their trio. No, no, no, he thinks. Gilbert has no time he thinks. Thoughts racing, dark magic and smoke swirling just under his skin as he looks in the reflection of the water. 

He reaches down, and cups his hands into the icy river, bringing it to his face to rinse himself off. When he reopens his eyes, they are back to their normal state, still red like berries but not glowing menacingly. 

Gilbert doesn’t have time. He needs to find you, he’ll worry about a cure when he brings you back with him. 

Freshly disowned in some frozen devotion, No more alone or myself I could be.

Author’s Note

I am so sorry for the wait! It's been a year, OMG! I’ve had a wild time this year, jeez. I was swamped with work, graduated, had a little mental breakdown, started a really intense summer job, then started an even more intense program this fall. So long story short, I’ve had no time to write but I'm so glad I’m back cause I was really looking forward to this chapter. 

quotes (in order)

1. Heavy in Your Arms by Florence + The Machines

2. I stole it from the title of a REALLY fucked up Resident Evil Fanfic on Ao3. Like really, it was fucked up.

3. Sedated by Hozier

4. Dark Red by Steve Lacy

5. Angel of Small Death and the Codeine Scene by Hozier 

#this was supposed to be not as dark and then i liked another version better so i changed it to this #there is still a way darker version than this but i chose to not be too mean to the reader #fae!prussia x reader #iwcb fanfic #aph prussia x reader #hetalia fantasy au #hetalia x reader #gilbert beilschmidt

[whumpsday]

i'm gonna talk about my very first ocs because i feel like they deserve it :) when i was a kid i didn't quite have the imagination yet to create whole worlds, so my ocs were often inserts into existing things i was into.

this is a very long post with a lot of useless personal information, and is more a diary entry than anything.

i had many more ocs than what's listed here, but i can't remember most of them, so here are just the ones i remember.

childhood:

at 7, the very first oc i can ever remember making was Maya, a pokemon oc. she was the fourth member of team rocket in the anime canon, and could shapeshift between being a human and a celebi. i remember her being "older" but that could mean anything from a middle schooler to an adult.

also pokemon-related but not quite an oc, i had a lot of fakemon around that time. the only one i remember was a raccoon-like one named Tyco.

at 9, soon after was Tanya, a fairly oddparents oc. she was a little girl who was friends with the main character.

at 10, i really got into oc-making, and the next bunch are all from when i was about 10.

i started getting into "somewhat whumpier" things and made my first "edgy" oc, Deepheart, for warrior cats. she was a black cat with purple eyes and a tragic backstory i can't remember, who eventually got with stormfur.

i was very into danny phantom and continued my tragic backstory experiments with Chelsea. she was a ghost and the younger sister of ember (she was basically an ember recolor) who died in the same fire. she also had fire+music powers, but a polar opposite personality to ember (she was nice).

i can't remember the specifics or names of the ocs i made for a bunch of these, but i also made oc-inserts for the following around this time:

total drama island - multiple ocs, i think i had a whole fancast, which was the closest i got around this time to making an original story.

monster buster club - character existed to be friends with chris, who was my favorite. she was a monster in disguise or something of that nature.

percy jackson - i definitely had one and i was REALLY into it, but can't even remember what god she was a daughter of.

in middle school as i entered early teenhood, i started reading YA books. sadly, my taste was not that great.

preteen:

at 12, i made Chelsea (reused the name from the danny phantom oc because i just rly liked the name), a twilight oc. she was the first vampire oc i ever made, so i guess she was the start of All This. she was the youngest cullen at 14 years old (i do not remember if this was a chronological age or just a physical age and i think i was too oblivious to realize just how significant that difference was), and had a Forbidden Romance with seth, the werewolf kid.

at 13, i realized i could have ocs that were boys! a fantastic revelation! technically i already had ones from the total drama fanseason i had in my head but they were all side characters. made my first main guy, Oliver, a scott pilgrim oc and ramona's 8th ex-boyfriend.

i made a LOT of other ocs for YA books in middle school, but i don't remember much about the others.

teenhood - homestuck:

at 15, i got into homestuck, and that was when things got out of control.

i started with a literal self-insert with my birthname, who eventually got split into 2 alt-timeline versions of herself (i was a girl at the time), one who went with dave and rose during the timeskip and one who went with john and jade during the timeskip. when they met back up, they fell in love and got together, which i think might be the truest expression of self-love i've ever had.

but it didn't end there. i got really into making fantrolls, and made TONS of them. i don't remember their names very well (esp bc they were all made up alien names) but i remember my favorites: a bronzeblood with an eyepatch whose name started with a P, and a violetblood whose name started with an I.

the violetblood was probably my first true whumpee. while violetbloods are normally amphibious, he was born with lungs that don't work, and was forced to remain underwater at all times since he could only use his gills. when sgrub caused the apocalypse, he had a little tank he would stay in on the ship. and when gamzee started killing everyone, he couldn't get away.

this was also where i branched out into creating original characters not tied to an existing IP!!! FINALLY!!! it all started with fantrolls. i made two more significant sets of fantrolls: one centering around an abnormally overpowered purpleblood who had his memory erased and used to be a cruel whumper-type (and a set of supporting characters to go with him), and one centering around a purpleblood who'd been tortured and the lowblood who acted as his caretaker. you can tell i was very much getting into whump at this point, despite not yet knowing the term.

i eventually decided that homestuck's lore was not equipped to carry the stories i wanted to tell for those two, and split them each off into original universes. i am not into homestuck anymore and it's really a relic of its time, but it impacted me quite a lot creatively.

teenhood - original stories:

the amnesia guy came to be named Nova, my first wholly-original character. he existed in a magic/fantasy type universe, and was the most powerful magic-user in his world. he'd previously been extremely evil and caused untold carnage, countless people tortured to death. the heroes, after realizing they could not stop him, decided to try to wipe his memory instead. this did, in fact, work. Nova became a character saddled by EXTREME ANGST about his past wrongs. to make it worse, his pre-memory-wipe evil self eventually started to slowly come back as a separate entity in his mind, essentially haunting him. i daydreamed about Nova for a long, long time, and occasionally still do.

the whumpee-caretaker duo became Dwar and Clobu, members of an original alien species i came up with. unlike Nova's story, which became so divorced from his fantroll beginnings that his origin was basically unrecognizable, this one remained heavily homestuck-inspired. the aliens here were grouped/inspired by the layers of the atmosphere, rather than the signs of the zodiac. Dwar (the whumpee) had skin that looked like the night sky, dark blue with stars all over, while Clobu (the caretaker) looked like a cloudy day. they were pretty :) these guys are a very very early inspiration for the Kane & Jim dynamic.

i also started making non-IP-related ocs without "converting" them around this time. in particular, i became very interested in demons.

first i made Charlie, a teenage demon raised by humans who just wanted to be A Normal Kid. he played the guitar and used tumblr and was all in all very nonthreatening and normal. he was a bit boring.

at about 16, i later made Nicky, a "redo" of the Charlie concept but with more pizzazz. his mother had brought him on a hunt (for humans to kill and eat) while he was an infant, and she was killed by a demon hunter. the hunter couldn't bring herself to kill the baby, so she took him in and raised him instead. Nicky's story is very very long, because he is the only oc from my childhood i still regularly daydream about to this day, and i have been building him up for a decade. some highlights:

accidentally burns his adoptive mom when he's a little boy who's just gotten his fire powers, and it's what makes him realize he never wants to hurt people. she forever has a scar shaped like his tiny little 5-year-old hand.

demons generally need to eat human flesh to be healthy. this is obviously not something Nicky wants to do or even feasibly can do when he's younger. he eats a lot of other meat (mainly pork), and is basically constantly hungry. he carries jerky around with him all the time to snack on.

as a young adult, he and his (human) best friend (mutual pining crush) are stuck in a cave (entrance blocked by rocks) with a bunch of demons waiting to kill them when they leave. Nicky knows he's not strong enough to defeat them, but he could be if he wasn't malnourished. in a moment of desperation, his friend ends up giving him a few fingers to eat so they can make it out alive, and he feels guilty forever that it's the best thing he's ever tasted.

his mom is killed by demons in a fight in his early 20s, and he goes on a ballistic rampage murdering everyone in sight. after this, he runs away and ends up moving to hell.

when he's in his 40s, he sees a little human girl who's been captured and brought to hell, and quickly rescues her. he can't find a way to smuggle her back to earth, so he ends up raising her in his apartment.

when he does eventually get her back to earth years later, he moves in with her dad and they co-parent. becomes a love triangle thing with the dad and his childhood friend who he eventually reconnects with- not for the usual "you have to choose one!" reasons that i hate, but because his relationships with each are honestly very tumultuous.

my other early demon oc was Crimson, a magicless demon who'd been captured by hunters and tortured until a kind hunter rescued him and became his caretaker. this character would later become Kane, but originally there was no "former whumper" backstory, he was just a pathetic little guy.

at 16, my other main obsession as a teenager was dangan ronpa, and of course i made several dangan ronpa ocs whose names i can't remember. one of them was a girl who had a fierce rivalry with togami. i started getting into g/t around this time, and liked to play around with that with my dangan ronpa oc for some reason. i don't know why, it's not like DR had any kind of g/t in it. but i would always imagine a story where togami became tiny and he and my oc came to a begrudging alliance as they tried to fix it.

i also ended up converting this into an original story, taking place in a low-fantasy universe, where a bully character Damien got shrunk by magic, kept in a jar, and was tortured by some of his former victims. his one victim who thinks this is fucked up (can't remember his name) rescued him, and they put aside their differences to fix it. i just love reluctant caretakers and whumper-turned-whumpees.

and that's all the notable ocs i can think of from my childhood! figure they deserve at least a small space on my blog :) and i still might write Nova, Nicky, or Damien's stories someday.

#txt

[mixelation]

oh, i watched pixar's elemental this weekend. it was okay? not a bad movie, but not great by pixar's standards IMHO. what did everyone else think?

more random thoughts under the cut

i've been trying to isolate why i was so "meh" on the movie. tbh i purposefully ignored marketing for it because the premise of people with element-based affinities seemed stale to me, so i had no idea what to expect going in.

the opening scene is a couple having an immigration official change their names, and i was like, oh. okay. good news: it's not a ~metaphor~ a la zootropolis, it's just straight up a story about an immigrant family. when i briefly scrolled reviews, this seemed to be the element (HA) people identified with most, and i think the parts with ember's family were definitely the most compelling..... but i also felt like all the other plot elements really detracted from it. "watered it down," if you will

like: the first half of the movie is straight up just ember trying to hide a safety violation report in a series of weird fetch quests. the second half is her dating and trying to fix a canal leak. she has to do this all herself with help from her boyfriend because ???? reasons. she admits 3/4 through the film she doesn't want to run the shop and wants to be an artist but this is barely foreshadowed because the movie has to waste run time on her trying to undo citations and having convoluted conversations about canals (WHO IS THE AUDIENCE FOR THIS). her having a bad temper and not being able to connect with other people is introduced as her character arc, but this.... mostly just gets dropped as soon as she's dating wade

speaking of wade: i thought he was annoying at first, then warmed up to him, and then he gave a speech to ember in front of all her family and friends and god after she'd told him to fuck off that ends "...and i think you love me too." i know movies function under different standards of what's romantic or not, but this is shit behavior. she told you that you don't understand why she has to do something, so you showed up to stop her from doing it, in public so everyone she knows see to, and i'm supposed to understand this as romantic? wtf? let ember have her own agency and come to this conclusion herself. if you need wade to be there, have her mom extend an olive branch by having invited him or something so he's secretly off screen. why did you have a scene of the water guy telling her how she feels?

one thing i keep going back and forth on in my mind is the way the movie handles xenophobia/racism/ableism* because it's constantly there but it's barely engaged with. and if this were just someone telling their story, i don't think you HAVE to engage with it too much? but this is a fantasy kids' movie, and we barely see any of it, like, addressed. because it's not addressed/engaged with much, ember yelling at wade that he doesn't understand her life rings a little more hollow than it should have, imho.

also there being no consequences to a fire and water person touching is a coward's move

*tacked ableism on here because, while i don't think this was the intention of the movie, the way the city is built in a way that is actively harmful to fire people and refuses to accommodate their bodies definitely reads as ableist to me

#putting this here because i haven't found anyone among irl friends who've seen it lol

[ahollowgrave]

established ship question. in any/all verses, with any/all ships, have your character/s speak about that ship's intimate & sexual dynamic, and how they feel about it. Intimacy w/Minfilia

With glowing embers for cheeks Odette lifted her hands to palm her face. Her grin is wide and dimpled and it turns pale, mismatched eyes to bright crescents. A nervous giggle bubbles past lips parted in surprise and she curls in on herself as if to contain it. Once it has eased she sits up with gaze cast to the side.

“Well… it is like… So, you see… Ah -- Well -- Okay, so --” Giving up, Odette’s grin goes lopsided, at once sheepish and apologetic. Her gaze flited over the asker’s eyes briefly; never quiet connecting. She drew a breath and when she continued her voice was soft, barely above a prayer, and steady.

“I have never felt this way about someone. I know love, I am blessed with an abundance of it in my little corner of the star, but I do not know it like this. Rather, I didn’t know it like this. I had not realized how much of me was longing until I saw her that first time. Then when we actually -- spoke. Something in me sighed in relief, something inside of me said ‘finally.’”

Her hands press to her midsection, to still the butterflies whose frantic movements are mimicked in the sweep of dark lashes.

“It is easy to look back and see the moments between us where we understood we were nurturing… something, yes? I do not think either of us knew exactly what it would be. We could say any one of those moments were the start but, truthfully, I initiated things. After that first pri-- after Ifrit.” Odette corrected herself with a wince and crystalline eyes frosted over as she was swept, momentarily, into the past.

She returned to herself with a little shake as if warding off a sudden chill.

“... I was buzzing, afterward. I was a bit of a liability on most fields of combat, you see, and so when it had to be me I was certain I walked to my death.” Odette interrupted herself with a private little chortle before continuing, her gentle voice echoing with it, “I barely recall the fight, nor the events after. My memory picks up again in the solar. I have always liked that name for the room, you know, as if a room could house the Sun… but I suppose it did do a well enough job, all things considered.”

“Anyroad -- I know Thancred guided me here, Lover bless him, and placed me before Minfilia for our debrief. I know not what he said, only that he did most of the talking. All I could think about was Minfilia and her hands. They were calloused, you know, from their time holding a pickaxe. The first time she touched me I felt every ridge of her palm and then, wounds only just cleaned, it was all I could think about. Her hand on my skin.”

Odette’s smile is back - it never really left, her lips were made to smile - but it is wistful and distant. Her gaze pinned to a space beyond this one, carried there on the memory of her one great love.

“I was clumsy. I had never kissed anyone before, let alone a woman like Minfilia. She laughed at me, you know,” there is no wounded pride here, only the building of the nun’s own ugly chortle as she shook her head. “The things I have done to hear her laugh! The things I would do to… She laughed in relief, I think, and it gave me the courage to laugh as well.”

The blush crawled lazily back into her cheeks and she made a couple vague gestures with her hands, “I know there are words that people use but I am -- unfamiliar with them. Minfilia was a natural leader, and I a natural follower. This remained true in most aspects of our life together; she led and I followed. She showed me how important it is to play and to laugh. It is easy for me to... overlap my Love with Menphina, my most holy bride. For Menphina teaches us that of the endless ways to show love, laughter is one of the greatest. Minfilia knew this. We lived this. Our work was heavy but when we were together the burden was nothing, was a stray thought."

“She unfolded my heart and pressed her love to each corner and in doing so showed me her own; unfurled and free and breathtaking. There is no inch of her I did not know, no desire I had not tried to fulfil. When the moon was full and we were able too, we would make love beneath the glow of Her heavenly light…”

“I miss her.”

Thank you for the ask @the-sycophant!

[ Sexuality Headcanons & Questions ][Not accepting anymore, but if anyone else wants to reblog the prompt list!]

#answered #odette/Minfilia very moon/sun coded ofc ofc ofc #hoping this expansion gives me an ocean lesbian to throw at odette esp after zero #she's back in the saddle post endwalker (the saddle being smooching) #ANYWAY #does this answer the question in anyway???? #I don't know I never know #I just read a question four times and hope for the best #my brain is terribly smooth you see #if you see typos no you don't thank you i simply cannot look at this anymore sorry ahhHHH

[molter-writes]

Would love to hear your thoughts on Rhaenyra and Gender. In general but also if/how that has impacted your writing. You always have great takes :)

this is gonna be looooooong

So actually, I was thinking about this a bit when I first read your new work, Ember to Flame (which you all can and should read here!) You chose to cast Rhaenyra's character as non-binary, and I was curious how this would impact the personal characterisation—and found, maybe tellingly, or just testament to you, that it really didn't. She was quite recognisable. This isn't to say that Rhaenyra isn't a woman in canon—she is, of course, and I don't want to come off as minimising that element of her identity; I don't take it or treat it as a footnote. But canonical Rhaenyra, to speak in Judith Butler's terms, is simply not interested in much of what goes into performing her gender; and to that end is very much reliant on her station—the divine right to rule, and also her pet nuke—to free her from most of the social confines and conventions that would otherwise force her to do so.

And in some sense this can all come back around to the larger, more important question—where is the line between identity and performance, i.e., if a woman wears a suit, is that her acting or being masculine?; or is it wrong to say suits belong solely to men and masculinity and maleness in the first place? If Rhaenyra allows herself space to be sexually aggressive, pursuing Harwin and pursuing Daemon, does that make her less 'feminine'? Or should femininity as a concept expand to include that behaviour? —which I'm certainly not qualified to answer. I suppose I'm only grateful—and honestly just really excited—to be living in a time, and to be part of a generation, where these questions are actually, meaningfully, being asked.

In any case, when I approached who and what Rhaenyra would be in the modern world, in my own estimation, I imagined she'd be much freer, even moreso than in canon, to shirk the Butlerian performance of femininity where it didn't fit with who or what she, as an individual, actually was or wanted. I suppose viewed in the binary context, Rhaenyra is a naturally more 'masculine' character, if you subscribe to all that. As D'Arcy put it, she's got that 'masculine leadership and fiery decisive thing people seem to like.' She's interested in exploring the in-between and pushing the envelope and finding the edges of those rules—obviously because they confine her greatest desire, to earn her father's pride, but also because she, much like Arya, is just naturally disinterested in the activities prescribed to girls of her station; I also think that the young Rhaenyra of the first few episodes genuinely, in her heart of hearts, does not understand the difference between herself and the concept of 'her father's son,' apart from the biological obvious. Rhaenys tells her the truth and she's unwilling to believe it, I think partially because she—maybe only stubbornly—just cannot find the foundational logic. I am my father's child, I am a dragonrider, I am a Targaryen, the end.

(I am often frustrated by certain criticisms of Rhaenyra's character in this regard—'she's spoiled', people say, 'she's selfish, she's egoistic, she's headstrong.' Well, yes! She's a royal prince! I'll wait while you tell me who under the Sun would be more inclined to be egoistic or headstrong or entitled than that! She does not need to earn or deserve her power—in the world of Westeros, she is quite literally entitled to it. 'Heir to the Throne', i.e., Princess of Dragonstone—and not to belabour the point—is indeed her title!)

The difference between Rhaenyra and Alicent is much like the difference between Arya and Sansa—it's a yarn ball of stuff: the differing alignment of their genuine human interests with their gendered activities and destinies; their differing levels of resignation to the confines of their gender; and the general manner in which each, as a person, prefers to pursue their self-interest, be it balls-out and fuck-all or methodically and strategically and carefully.

You'll notice I cast her in flat shoes and tailored suits in grey ridge, primarily because I believe Rhaenyra, when in business settings and while at war, would probably prefer the physical freedom and power-performance offered by flat shoes and tailored suits. But of course this is a response to being a woman in a male-dominated profession, heading up an enterprise that has been heretofore passed father to son and run by men—so I guess reasonable people could argue in circles about it. In the modern world, the process of heir-bearing would not necessarily have to happen on her body, as D'Arcy once put it. As much as Rhaenyra, I think, canonically revered as much as resented the act of childbearing, I think she'd have equally relished in that experience of giving her wife a baby, and nurturing her through that process, the act of devotion that is Alicent giving her one. (I also hinted that it was an open question between them—you might have caught that one line, if you have the baby I'll bake you a cake—and also imagined it as being very practically influenced by the relative moments in their careers; and, of course, the obvious concern of Rhaenyra's familial medical history of fatal complications in childbirth.) But this is probably all in the weeds.

Anyway, huge topic—grand question—no idea if this was responsive. I think Rhaenyra is one of those extraordinary characters who really is who she is, you know, and I suppose like all artists I have to throw in the towel and admit I write her primarily on ethos, on vibe. But I hope you enjoyed this little musing despite it being book-length lol.

[comradekatara]

Idk if this is like hot but I genuinely think the story would've been improved if yue was the water bender who taught katara how to waterbend. Like we can still have the moment with pakku where it's like women can't do combat in the nwt but yue tries to teach and help katara anyway. Some how the battle happens with pakku and he's like "I will train you" but katara says fuck that noise I wanna learn from the moon and they become waterbender buddies :) this is all very rough but I have many ideas on this idk how to commit to paper

Also my phone kept correcting pakku to palliative which I think is tres funny.

Also to add onto my point think about how cool if a)yue taught katara and then b) Hama wasn't evil and taught katara too. Like idk I think what they did was so disrespectful and lowkey just a dumb way to show blood bending because like think of the symbolism of katara having a swt teacher!!! Idk lots of thoughts but this is all to say while not a hot take i think while slightly funny the ember island is just one of the few filler episodes avatar has. Like 1) the great divide (don't get me started cause i do have genuine thoughts on how it detracted from character growth) and 2) ember island are the only ones I can think of that truly represent filler and should've been hacked in room for a three parter of the nwt plot or something better

i agree that i wish we had spent more time in the northern water tribe before the siege occurred but i honestly don't see how yue could've taught katara waterbending even if she was a waterbender herself because, like, she would also only know healing techniques? sokka's idea to have aang teach katara the combat moves he learned would've worked if pakku hadn't caught them (because they were practicing out in the open like the geniuses that they are), but yue wouldn't know combat waterbending either way. and what makes "the puppetmaster" an effective tragedy is specifically because the cultural significance of katara having a teacher from the southern water tribe is ripped away from her in the most horrifying, hopeless way. katara is so delighted to meet hama and learn from her, and hama trying to project her trauma onto katara and force her to bloodbend shatters a part of her that can never be truly healed. i think that's important to katara's character development, as upsetting as it is. i do wish hama had been framed more sympathetically in the final scene, because she seems to pivot to "straight up evil witch" in a way i do find disrespectful for its lack of nuance, but overall i do like hama and the way she informs katara's arc. her grief and trauma manifest in violent and unproductive ways, and learning this cautionary tale from someone who had so much potential and meant so much to katara is gruesome but effective.

i do like the ember island players episode tbh. while it doesn't bear directly on the plot, it does provide great worldbuilding, as it depicts fascist propaganda and satirizes these colonial tropes in a really effective way (and also satirizing popular fandom tropes, which often do veer colonial!) i think it's a more subjective matter than anything else, but as someone who appreciates satire and metatextuality, especially as commentary on the effects of propaganda and colonial narratives, i enjoy the episode overall, and thinks it sets up the finale nicely on a narratological level. the great divide is bad though. that episode easily couldve been sacrificed for extra time in the north pole with my best friend yue fr.

#antmanrights #asks #hama #katara #ember island players #yue #hama&katara

[iluvzuko]

Jazmine Dragon

So I wanna set a little background first: 

→ I do not own any of ATLA’s characters nor story, I just own my own characters and the thoughts on my mind, ofc I do not own all of you hot babes <3 I just wanted to write something that hopefully helped all of your hearts that love Zuko just as mine; some events are not exactly as portrayed on the show but ofc I had to shake things up as we need to get ourselves on the storyline, but I´mma try to make it the most organic as possible; any suggestions are accepted 

→ Yes, there are going to be some nsfw chapters, but in all of them are going to be warnings so that no one under 18 reads them, also in those chapters all characters involved are going to be +18 yo <3 

→ AAAAAND that's all, hope you all enjoy and hold on tight because this is a long story, if you don't like long storylines I’m sorry but this is more like a low heat cooking rather than a burning flame; I was not going to publish this, but I thought that maybe some of y’all may like it (or not), and even if no one reads this it is a good exercise as to not lose this story and remember it on the future. 

Our story begins waaaaaay back, before Katara and Sokka found Aang on that giant iceberg. 

Y/n L/n 

→ Waterbender (some extra ‘cos we deserve it: healing, bloodbending) 

→ Beautiful as you are baby, your beauty is a weapon <3 

Mom

→ Waterbender from the North Pole tribe (some extra spice: healing) 

→ Daughter of Pakku and Kanna (yes, gran gran herself haha, I had to adjust some family trees in order to make a more interesting story) 

Dad (here is were the trouble begins) 

→ Firebender, one of Ozai’s best generals (c’mon, we know where this is going, gotta add more drama) (extra: nothing, he’s already cool enough) 

“Zuko, the banished prince, even when he was born he couldn't fulfill his father’s expectations on what a prince should look like, afraid of him not being a firebender, born without the fire nation spark on his eyes his father tried to kill him when he was born, and he could have gotten away with it if not for his mother that begged for his life… But not everything was bad, he also used to play with his uncle and cousin, as well as with his mother Ursa, his sister Azula and his father Ozai on Ember Island; once when he was about 3yo, Zuko saw a hawk that was about to attack a turtlecrab, he tried to save the small animal but soon realized that by saving him he condemned the hawk to starvation, he was confused as to what to do but before he could make his mind on this, a wave hoovered over him, his father saved him and he spend the rest of the day coughing water and on his mother arms”

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

Meanwhile on the North Pole (*on your birth day, happy birthday Yn/Ln!) 

Mom: What? What is it? Let me see her! *she said with pure happiness tears rolling down her eyes 

Midfive: She’s a little girl *said with a soft tone on her voice while handing the baby to her mother 

Mom: *grabs the baby in her arms with love and care* She’s beautiful… Look at her…

Dad: *stands by his wife and looks down to see the baby* 

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Her dad thought that Y/n was going to be a great firebender…he certainly hoped so. When he fell for a water nation girl back in his youth and took her to the fire nation to marry her, he was scared as to what would happen if they had a child, he even told her that he never wanted to have kids of his own, that they could always adopt a little boy or girl from the colonies of the fire nation…but it finally happened, she got pregnant and even when he was scared, the joy was simply overwhelming. He didn't care if the baby turned out to be a waterbender or a firebender, or none (well, he preferred firebender or none), he sweard that he was going to protect that child with his life even… but as everything, it is easier said than done, and now here he stands, looking at a little baby girl with eyes as blue as the deep sea…definitely a child of the watertribe, he stands there looking at those pretty orbs that were so painfully beautiful, eyes that were going to see how the entire nation turns their back on her because of her origins, because of her roots… a girl that would even be noble on the water tribe of the north, but here, here she would be a problem.. 

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#atla zuko #prince zuko #fire lord zuko #avatar the last airbender #zuko x reader #reader insert #fire nation #avatar the way of water #atla

[natlacentral]

Elizabeth Yu is bringing the heat in Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender. 

In Netflix’s new live-action series Avatar: The Last Airbender, the actress dons the role of Azula, princess to the Fire Nation and foil to her brother Zuko (Dallas Liu) and our protagonists of the story, namely Aang (Gordon Cormier), Katara (Kiawentiio) and Sokka (Ian Ousley). Yu brings Azula to life with depth and thoughtfulness that has never been previously explored. Fans of the original cartoon will be pleased to see that their favourite cold, conniving (and downright psychotic) princess will be given so much more to do. In Book One of the animated series, we see nothing of Azula, but with this fresh retelling, we’re able to see the seeds of ambition, what drives her, the fraying away of her psyche, and everything that leads up to that inevitable breaking point. Yu plays it beautifully, through subtle facial expressions, to her graceful line delivery, we’re able to get a glimpse of what life is like for Azula back home in the Fire Nation while she plots and schemes her way into her father’s good books.

Yu knows what this story means to people being a fan of the animation herself. And while the fandom has been hurt by live-action in the past (we’re looking at you, 2010 adaptation), this series is being told by the fans for the fans. There isn’t a facet of this show that hasn’t been given the attention and love that it deserves; like most retellings, The Last Airbenderwill not be beat for beat of the animated original but will breathe new life into a story we know and love. With that in mind, Yu cannot be prouder of the series and hopes that new and old fans alike will love it just as much as she loved making it.     

In conversation with 1883 Magazine’s Dana Reboe, Yu discusses how she’s feeling about her whirlwind success, working on two massive hits like May December and The Last Airbender, what element she would bend, how she handles imposter syndrome, and so much more. 

Life has been crazy for you lately between May December and now Avatar: The Last Airbender. How are you feeling? 

How to put it into words? It’s insane. I feel so blessed. I get impostor syndrome all the time; all the craziness that’s been happening doesn’t feel like it’s happening to me. You know, I have to separate myself from it all. It’s incredible.

I’m sure seeing all the billboards with the shows you’re in must be an out-of-body experience.

It’s crazy. I’m waiting for when I go back home to New York, and hopefully, I’ll be able to see some Avatar ones while I’m there. I’ll probably tear up. [laughs]

Take me back to the audition process for The Last Airbender. Did you know right off the bat, what you were auditioning for? Or did they keep it a secret?

They gave me a completely different project name, storyline, and character background. I had no idea when I first read, but for some reason, something within me was like, ‘That’s a codename. I feel it.’ Once I got farther in the audition process, I thought, ‘I know what this is!’ And then they sent my second to last audition, word for word from the original show, just to see if I could do the original material. And so, at that point I was like, ‘You don’t have to put on a show anymore, I figured it out!’ 

And when you officially booked it?

Albert (Kim) called me and said, ‘I think you know what this is for.’ And I was like, ‘I do!’ [laughter]

Avatar: The Last Airbender is so beloved. What are you most excited to see as a fan? And what are you excited for the audience to see?

Excited to see what we’ve done or what we might do in the future?

What you might do in the future.

Hopefully, if we get to Season Two–

We’re speaking it into existence.

Absolutely! Seasons two and three would be great. The Ember Island episode where they’re all at the beach; that campfire scene has so much character development, it’s insane, I cannot wait to get my hands on it. Favourite scene I’m excited for everybody to see… [Elizabeth thinks for a second] I’m excited for people to see our take on this world and making it more plot-driven. I’m excited to hear what people think about what we’ve chosen to keep in and get rid of and how they think it works. I’m so proud of the way that it’s turned out. But yeah, I’m excited to hear the feedback.

Well, I can tell you my feedback: I thought it was incredible.

Thank you!

Not sure if this is a spoiler since this will be out when the show premieres, but what hooked me was seeing the Air Nomads being wiped out in the first episode. We didn’t see much in the animated series, but this was very graphic, and while I was watching, I was like, ‘Oh, so they’re not afraid to go there.’

That was so important to show because it kind of grounds the audience to be like, ‘Okay, now we know what we’re dealing with, and what the stakes are’, it sets everything up perfectly. 

I agree. And I know the internet is worried about some of the changes that’ll be made, but I thought they served the story well. It’s important to remember this is not a direct retelling. One change I really loved was that Azula was given more to do. You gave her so much depth. Other than the original series, what did you do to bring her to life? And did you touch base with Grey DeLisle at all?

Oh, my gosh, thank you for saying that. First, that means a lot to me. I sent Grey a DM but I think it must have been filtered out. I’m absolutely obsessed with her work. She’s so iconic, hopefully, somewhere down the line with the release of this show, I’ll be able to meet her. That’ll be like an absolute dream come true. I’m so excited. I’ve watched all the videos of people meeting her at cons and stuff like that, getting her to read those iconic lines, I’m getting butterflies! 

I think with the success of the show, that’s definitely on the cards! Two Azulas in one room, I don’t know if we could take the heat [laughter]. Circling back, how did you prepare for the role? How did you put your spin on her?

Albert Kim, our showrunner, kept saying, ‘The original show is the sacred text. We’re going to abide by that as much as we can’ I think that just rewatching the show helped and then there are a lot of these YouTube videos where that are over an hour long that go into the psychology of Zuko and Azula. I watched those religiously, I used those as my toolkit. We also had an awesome onset acting coach, Lee Hutton, who helped a lot. The only way to make these cartoon characters really human is to delve into the way that their mind works.

I caught myself a couple of times, throughout the first few episodes feeling (a little) sorry for Azula. She’s trying so hard to do well in her father’s eyes, and seek his approval, but keeps falling flat. You play it so well.

It’s important to note that she and Zuko, at the end of the day, want the same things. You see Azula in this first season mirrors the second season of the animated series, you see her kind of go crazy. You see that slow build-up; she starts out not that crazy and then gets pushed to that breaking point.

Switching it up a little bit; if you could choose an element to bend that’s not fire, what would you choose and why?

I vibe with water. I also think the whole blood-bending thing is sick and swamp-bending [laughter] here are so many different things, healing, too! That’s a big one! That would be iconic. If I could be a healer? It’s so useful in battle because you can continuously heal yourself if you’re hurt. Water is so OP (overpowered). 

What about Azula captivated you?

Oh, good question. I remember getting that dummy audition and the character description was Azula. It just fit her. I’ve never auditioned for a character like that. I probably sent out like 400 Auditions before booking Avatar. I’ve never had a character who was a young Asian woman who was smarter and better than everybody else. She is confident and conniving and is just desperate for power. Who wouldn’t want to play a badass?

You said in an interview with IndieWire that your imposter syndrome was massive. In those moments, how do you talk yourself out of it? Or do you just let it pass?

There’s something very grounding and humbling about imposter syndrome. You know, there’s a balance of being able to reward yourself and congratulate yourself for the work that you’ve done, but also understand that the amount of attention that these projects are getting has very little to do with you and has to do with a lot of other people who have worked on them. It’s a mixture and I think impostor syndrome comes through not knowing where that line is between the two, so I think that’s what I struggle with. I don’t have any ego; I say my pleases and thank yous, I’m not going to be that person, and then on the other side of the coin, I did a good job, and I should be proud of myself. I think that especially spending time with my friends from home and being home with the cats and stuff like that, those are moments where I can look at the big picture and be like, I did a good job I should be proud of myself and let’s move on to the next thing.

What have you learned about yourself working on projects like May December and The Last Airbender?

The number of Asian pros I’ve gotten to work with on these projects is a huge, huge part of my proud-to-be Asian journey. I grew up in a white town and I’m half Korean half white. Before I filmed May December or started work on ATLA, I’d never been in a room with more than 15 Asian people. Also, we filmed in Vancouver and the Asian community out there is huge as well. It was amazing getting to talk to people like me and having these conversations I’ve never had before. And in May December, I worked with other half-Korean actors as well. And having this feeling of family with these people, there are many layers to it; not only being Asian, and presenting predominantly Asian, but also being a mixed kid and having that white side of you and then the Asian side of you. These two projects have been so, so integral to me being so proud and loving that part of myself that I, for the majority of my early life, hated. It’s been amazing. It’s like that’s the greatest gift I could have asked for.

It’s so incredible to see these stories come to life with the proper representation they deserve. With films like May December and shows like Avatar: The Last Airbender hopefully, we’re on the road to seeing more. If you had the chance to work with any actor living or dead, who would it be and why? And what would the dream project be?

I’m really getting stumped by this one [laughter].

Do you want to come back to it?

Okay, can I choose two?

You can choose two.

Beyonce, please. Renaissance. Act Two. I’m waiting for it. And number two would be Andrew Scott. He’s absolutely killing it. In another life, I wish I could go back in time, and watch his Vanya that he did. He did a one man show of Vanya. Oh, and his Hamlet, too! 

It’s good to see him getting his flowers recently. Did you see him in Sherlock at all?

Yes! 13-year-old Lizzy was a SuperWhoLock girl. Do you know what that is?

Of course, I was on Tumblr in those days. I love Doctor Who.

Oh, don’t even get me started on Doctor Who. 

Well, now I have to ask who’s your favourite Doctor? 

Good God, you’re going to get me in trouble. I have to say Matt Smith, but David Tennant is fantastic, too. Like, let’s put some respect on his name. But yeah, I’d definitely have to say the Matt Smith run is my favourite.

Have you caught up? 

I’m not caught up. 

Okay. I won’t say anything. Not a word. Nothing.

I appreciate it [laughter].

Pivoting back – your career is flourishing. What is one hope you have for the future?

Something great about working on Avatar and May December was this sense of family with cast and crew members and the directors and Albert (Kim) showrunner. Both are some of the first projects I’ve ever gotten the chance to work on. You’re able to have this connection with these people. That’s why I love acting; we’re in this together. Let’s make something cool. That’s what makes me want to keep doing it. That’s a goal of mine – to keep making cool things. And I always learn so many new things, all different aspects of my life on every project, I’ve been blessed to be able to work with some amazing people. I just want to accumulate as many of those special moments onset as possible.

And my last question is, what is something you’d like to manifest for yourself this year?

I would like to manifest being booked and blessed, not being too hard on myself, and living my life to the fullest.

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