#they are allowed to live thier own life! all you people want to do is control those you feel doesnt agree with you. And im sick of it!

[cosmicjoke]

Hi, I read your post about shipping and you just said everything that I have been wanting to say. Well , I admit to be an eruri shipper, But for my personal interests about these two very well written characters and the special relationship they share. It doesn't have to be romantic and thier lives don't have to revolve around each other. I won't go out my way insinuating Levi was all about Erwin and shit. That is totally disregarding his character.

I read eruri fics on ao3 everyday and I want to say most of them misinterpret both thier characters for sake of their "yaoi" fantasy. I am sick of it. I won't say don't ship who you want. I am an eruri shipper too but doing this is totally childish.

I think Levi was the one person Erwin trusted with his whole life and he was last and only person who ever understood who he was and saw him as a human. In a way Erwin's own va( Ono daisuke) saying Levi was the last holder of Erwin's remaining humanity. And Erwin being a commander who Levi trusted implicitly. Humanity needed Erwin but now that Erwin doesn't have the drive anymore he wouldn't be able to be the same commander, as you said. Levi saved him from living life of a devil, floch wanted and gave him salvation from the dream that was borne of his guilt and childish curiosity which turned him this cold but coldness was needed for his commandership.

Thier relationship is very well written even more so, in my opinion , Canon ship, I like the complexity and intricacies of thier relationship romantic or platonic. But those toxic shipper demoting thier characters to just revolve around each other and forgetting thier true motives is infuriating.

Levi's priority was and is always HUMANITY,FIRST AND FOREMOST.

Erwin was slave to his dream, Levi freed him of it and Erwin was grateful to have someone take this burden of this guilt and dream away and giving him some clarity and epiphany. Erwin knew Levi would never let humanity down, so hence letting him make his final choice.

Erwin provided Levi a way to serve humanity in survey corps, thier relationship is fascinating. But your point is valid and true to it's meaning. THANK YOU.

Hi there, and thank you so much, I really appreciate it.

I don't have any problem whatsoever with shipping Levi and Erwin, and in fact, the vast majority of fanfic I read is eruri, which is why it's so funny to me that I keep getting attacked over being "biased" against the ship, lol. I'm not at all, I'm just able to separate it from actual canon. Something I don't think should be hard to do.

Indeed, Levi and Erwin have one of the bets and most complex relationships IN canon, far more complex and, imo, meaningful than if they were simply a romantic couple, which is also why I don't understand this fanatical need by some shippers to make it into some cliched romance.

For sure, Erwin trusted Levi above everyone else, and in the end, that trust was rewarded, because Levi saw through to Erwin's heart, in a way I think even Erwin himself couldn't see. Levi trusted in Erwin for a reason too. He saw a goodness in Erwin that Erwin was blind to. So when Erwin doubted his own worth as a leader, and was beginning to question if he'd committed some horrific wrong because his personal motivation underpinned his commandership, Levi reaffirmed his belief in him and gave him a chance at redemption. Indeed, Levi gave Erwin his humanity back, when it was on the verge of being lost, and in the end, by choosing as he did to let Erwin die, he allowed Erwin to keep his humanity and to die worthy of his title.

That's way more powerful and meaningful than some silly, formulaic love story where Levi betrays everyone and everything for his love of one man, lol. I don't even know why people are into that concept, or into the concept of Levi being so rapturously enamored with Erwin, that nothing else matters to him but pleasing him or doing his bidding.

Levi chose to follow Erwin because he believed in Erwin as a leader with a far reaching vision, and as someone who could lead humanity to victory over the titans, and was pure in his intentions to fight for humanity. He saw him as admirably devoted to that duty, and believed in him for that devotion.

Anyway, thank you again for reaching out!

#Levi Ackerman #Erwin Smith

[mists-reading-nook]

Don't mind me asking again about the bodyswap au—

When you talked about unstable passageways, and a life that wouldn't be peaceful forever, I thought some people from Teyvat were going to come to Earth and try and retrieve Kaeya thinking they found him but they get Reader instead cuz well, body swap, so Kaeya has to explain the body swap situation and stuff goes on from there. I thought people from Earth would get *too* curious about the oddities of Kaeya's body.

But instead the disturbance to the roommates peace is wholly psychological (sans the "chronic illness"). A distant, empty threat. Nobody from Teyvat comes to them. Nobody comes to retrieve them. Yeah they maybe see news reports or social media posts of seelies from Teyvat and a weird tunnel, maybe read conspiracies, some roping in the Genshin Impact game, but soon enough all physical evidence of Teyvat's connection to Earth is gone with the wind. (What if they learned of it all after the connection severed?)

There's also the nightmares Reader gets (do they end after Teyvat completely dies or—?), Kaeya's hair and eyes that never existed on Earth, and the duo's own memories.

This is infinitely more terrifying than people just shoehorning themselves into Kaeya and Reader's Earth life. It's the destruction of a world they want to forget, to ignore, and believe is wholly FICTION! but doesn't allow itself to remain that way as it dies. An apocalypse they let come to fruition because they can't bear the sight of that accursed planet which troubled them so.

Let's talk about the other side now. Diluc's demise implies that after the Reader left Teyvat, the people Kaeya was closest too suffered most from their disappearance. Salt in the wound since they know Kaeya went missing and think he's dead.

Speaking of which, how many people know better than to think Kaeya's dead? Did they notice the "Kaeya" acting off post-Bodyswap but pre-faking death? Is the Reader's ability to falsify a death imperfect tipping people off to a bigger picture? How many people pursue the truth? How many just want to find his body? Get justice for Kaeya?

Venti. Does he involve himself since he hears everything thanks to the wind and knows Kaeya isn't dead? Does he ever know or suspect that a body swap happened? How deep does his knowledge ever go? Does he ever figure out the severity of the situation at all?

Who notices the connection between Kaeya's absence and those closest to him suffering the most during the apocalypse?

What does Dainsleif think of whatever knowledge he has on this clusterfuck? What does the Abyss Sibling think? What bout Traveler? Celestia? Kaeya's biological family? The entities of the Abyss?

How close does anyone get to the truth?

How many people fall for the Reader's scheme and live with the "fact" that Kaeya is dead with only his dead vision as proof?

As Teyvat continue to die, are any alliances forged that wouldn't have occured in a healing Teyvat? What alliances fracture for the same reason?

Hehehehehe bodyswap au <3

Lemme answer these one by one..

- Reader gets a final nightmare after Tevyat dies. It's Graphic,more Graphic than any of thier other Nightmares. After that,they only get a couple of short Nightmares here and there. It's strange,because the Nightmares go from every night to every week toevery month. They only get a lucid one once in a while,and whereas before they couldn't wake up,they now wake up at random points. You know those "falling from a building" dreams,where you wake up just before your body hits the floor? Yeah like those dreams

-Plenty of people find Kaeyas "Death" suspicious,but no one can figure out why.

-Jean is one of the most suspicious,considering Kaeya went from fine one day,to having his deactivated,bloody vison the next. She does try to figure out what happened,but even though the evidence isn't adding up,she can't pursue answers. Mostly because of her own fear and guilt,and mostly because of the fact that she didn't even consider the Abyss.

-I don't know too much lore,but I imagine the Aybss twin is confused. It's like that one scene in the lion king "everywhere the light touches is our kingdom",except the Aybss is technically the Aybss twins kingdom. The Aybss pathway is "what the light doesn't touch." So Reader is getting chased for trespassing in the twins kingdom,but they only get chased as far as the pathway. Because "no one survives the pathway in one piece". Honestly,not even reader knows how they survived the pathway. (They didn't,but that's an explanation for another post)

-lots of people look for the truth,and they try to look for his body,yet they don't succeed. Plenty come close,but unfortunately,not close enough.

-As many people are suspicious,many just accept it as a fact of life. Some are suspicious but decide not to question it.

-I think that in an effort to protect thier nations (in the final stretch,when Tevyat is truly dying past saving),archons either

A. Try to get thier gnosis back

Or

B. Give thier gnosis up to the fatui,in an attempt to get help/resources

-Venti in particular knows what's going on. He knows where "Kaeya" went,but decided not to go after him. What a big mistake that was.

#kaeya reader body swap au #♡mist answer's<3♡ #sagau #genshin impact sagau #genshin sagau

[top-tier-tickles]

Princess Luzura of The Boiling Isles

Chapter 4! I hope you guys are enjoying this fic and au!

______________________________________

Chapter 4: I was a Teenage Abomination

Luzura read over her speech once more, making sure that it was absolutely perfect. She knew no magic, and she didn't attend Hexside, but she wanted nothing more than to boost the morale of young witchlings! Whether behind a mask or not!

This was all so exciting for her, she'd get to be around kids her age and experience their own powers and magic, it was like a dream! Except that her speech wasn't until much later in the day, meaning she had to be in the castle until then, and she couldn't see Eda.

At least she had an excuse to leave the castle today....and maybe she just needed one to leave early!

Luzura quickly looked through the castle to find her father, finding him in the throne room conversing with a guard.

"Father? A moment?" She asked.

"Hm? Yes, Luzura, what is it?" He turned to her.

"About my speech-"

"Oh, are you nervous? There is no need to be, you'll do just fine."

"No! No, I was going to ask if I could go on and leave for the academy now?"

The emperor paused, "Why would you need to do that?"

'¡Mierda! Think, Luzura, think!'

"W-Well, I just wanted to......observe! Yeah, observe the students in thier lives to better understand them and level with them better!"

Her father stood silent for a while.

'Oh Titan, he doesn't believe me. What do I do?!'

"Alright, Luzura, you can go."

Wait, what?

"But you must stay at Hexside, and stay by your escort. Wear your mask and don't run off..."

"Oh, Father! Thank you!" Yes! She was free!

The guard and her arrived at the entrance of Hexside, watching as students poured into the building.

Hexside Academy Of Magic and Demonics. A prestigious magic school, allowing up-and-coming witches to hone their skills. Luzura always dreamed of coming here, but she was never allowed to attend.

"You already have everything you need to forge your path right here in the castle. It is not necessary to attend that school." Her father's words replaying in her mind.

Tch, yeah right. As if she's learning anything from those studies.

Luzura marveled at the giant building, her mask shining in the sun. She turned to the guard at her side, he was shooing a few students away who were staring at Luzura.

'If I want to visit Eda, I need a diversion...', she glanced around, eyeing some townsfolk, 'There.'

She slinked away, and knocked over a basket of goods a passerby was carrying, but the way she did it made it seem like the guy next to him done it. The two began to argue, then a full-blown fistfight, causing more chaos, and forcing the guard's attention to it.

The guard rushed to the scene, paying no mind to Luzura. Perfect. When she made sure no one was watching, she took off for the Owl House.

She made sure to remove her mask as she approached, she knocked on the door and stepped back.

In a matter of seconds, the door flew open, Eda standing there with a wide grin on her face.

"Hello, Eda! I-"

"Hey, kid! You're just in time! Let's go!" The owl lady grabbed the princess's arm and yanked her along, clearly in a hurry to go somewhere.

"Well, Luzura? Did you ever think you would ever see something as breath-taking as this?!"

A giant, stinking monster laid dead on the shore of the boiling sea. Flies buzzed all around it, and trash seemed to coat the carcass.

"I....don't like this..."

"Yeah, it doesn't get much more inspiring than the trash slug! It makes a home, a life from what people have thrown by the wayside..." Ed lamented, "Until, BAM! It gets blasted by a wave one day and croaks from all the salt. Then, we sell the stuff it ate."

Eda dug into her hair, digging out a pickaxe, handing it to Luzura.

"Please don't make me...." She said, covering her nose.

"Aw, come on, Luzura! It's not everyday you get to go to the dump and pick apart a garbage carcass!" King sarcastically said, lying out a towel.

"Aw, nuts to you both." Eda said, plunging the pickaxe right into the body's mouth.

Luzura gagged, "So, Eda. I was thinking, maybe we could try some new lessons for my apprenticeship? Like read ancient scrolls, or mix together potions, or-"

"Ugh, that sounds like a bunch of magic school stuff.."

"Magic school? Like Hexside?"

"Exactly, the worst thing about it is that they teach you to learn magic the "proper" way. But magic isn't proper! It's wild and unpredictable! That why it's so beautiful. Now, I didn't finish school and look at me! Who wouldn't envy where I am now?"

Eda was currently knee deep in a pile of vomit-covered garbage.

Luzura looked down, dejected. Eda took notice.

"Hey, here's a lesson! Good witches are resourceful, like this!", The old woman forced the girl's hand in a crater of slime, rummaging around in it.

Luzura pulled her hand out, holding a dirt ball.

"Oh, hey. Greasey slime ball."

"Use your slime ball, wisely, young witch. Back at it! We'll hit the stink nodes first!" Eda picked up the axe and hiked back up the pile.

"Actually, if it's okay, I'd better head back, but good luck with your trash monster!" She turned to leave.

"Love you, King. You little beach peach" She cooed, giving King belly rubs.

"Oh, well, more for me then!" Eda called back.

Luzura walked back to the school, staring at the slime ball she picked up.

"Ugh, If magic is all about digging for slime balls, maybe I don't have the stomach for it."

"You can do it! You can!"

"Mysterious voice of encouragement?"

Luzura pushed some pushes aside, spotting a witch girl with blueish-green hair and round glasses wearing a school uniform.

"You can do it! Even if you get a bad grade, it's not a reflection of you as a witch! And my parents are right, there's lots more opportunities on this track! No get to school!" The girl was giving herself a pep talk, accidentally stomping on a flower.

"Oh, no! Oh, little friend! I'm sorry!" She knelt down, drawing a magic circle over the plant, springing it back to life.

Suddenly, the wheels of a barrel came within earshot, and a cart with a large pot, much like the girls, rolled in. Another girl with bright green hair sat atop it reading a book.

The other girl turned, noticing the first.

"Willow! Wow, you're so unnoticeable that I almost rolled into you! Ha!" The girl hopped down.

"Hi, Amity" Willow greeted.

"Shouldn't you get to class early to prepare your-"

The jar on Willow's cart suddenly began to shake, turning over and spilling purple ooze on the ground.

"Oh, Willow, you don't have anything to show do you?" Amity asked condescendingly.

Willow stayed silent, pulling her hood up and turning red.

"This is why they call you 'Half-a-Witch Willow'."

Amity's jar began to shake as well, but not turning over.

"Oh, looks like someone wants to say something to you!" Amity lifted the lid, "Abomination, rise."

A purple ooze monster rose from the pot, leaning forward and drawing a star on Willow's forehead.

"You're a star!" It said.

"Aw. It's like mine!" Amity pointed to a star badge on her uniform that read "Top Student", "But much smaller and meaningless."

Oh, wow, this girl is rude. How could anyone just come around and insult people because they're not like them?!

"As top student, it's my duty to tell you to keep at it! Even you could get a passing grade someday!" Amity continued, her abomination slunk back into it's pot, and Amity began rolling it away.

"See you in class, superstar."

Willow took her hood off, balling up her fists.

"Ohh, See you in class, superstar~. I hate it when she does that! I hate making abominations! I hate getting bad grades! I can't stand this anymore!"

Willow's eyes glowed a bright green, and the once dead flower now shot out of the ground as a hoard of thorned vines. The vines shot out in all directions, one making its way behind Luzura, wrapping itself around her ankle, and pulling her in. Right in front of the raging girl.

///////////////////////////////////////////////

"Not a bad haul. That oviduct was loaded." Eda said, tying her bag of treasures to the owl staff.

"Lose apprentice, gain garbage eggs. Fair trade." King remarked.

"I didn't lose anything." Eda scoffed.

"If you don't teach Luzura right, you will. And that's where I come in! Make her my apprentice!"

"Ha! And what would you ever teach? How to get stuck in the arm of a sweater?" Eda laughed.

"Hey! That only happened once!" King glared, "I'd teach her about demons. How to identify them, talk to 'em. How to raise an army, and tear apart the world!"

"After they tear you out of the sweater arm, right?"

"You think you're so smart! Well, why don't we make a little bet where I can prove I can make a better teacher!"

"Okaaaay. But, I'm obligated to remind you that I only use our bets to utterly humiliate you." Eda dug a scrapbook out of her hair, opening it to a checklist of their previous bets, all won by Eda, "And that you've never won."

"I like those odds."

The old witch glanced to the ground, picking up an unhatched egg of the trashslug, the tiny tadpole floating inside.

"So how's this? Teach this trashslug to be your loyal soldier in one day. Prove that you can be a better teacher than me, and Luzura is all yours. But, if you lose, I can change your name from King to.....Mr. Wiggles."

"Well, when you lose, you'll have to......wear a shame hat! And sleep in a shack! And never come back into the Owl House again! Ha!"

"Deal."

King stamped his paw on the inside of the book, Eda slamming it shut and cracking the egg on King's head. The trashslug baby slid down into King's arms while Eda laughed.

//////////////////////////////////////////////

The thick vines flailed about, their torns tearing at the ground and forest surrounding the two girls. Luzura could only lay there and watch as Willow stood there, her glasses glowing entirely green with her plant magic.

Suddenly, Willow regained her senses.

"Oh, nononono! I'm so sorry!" She knelt down to Luzura, willing the vines around her legs away.

"It's okay. The torns only went through a few layers of skin." Luzura jumped as Willow narrowed her eyes and looked her up and down.

"I...haven't seen you. What's your name?"

"Oh! Luzura-"

"Wait, Luzura?! As in Princess Luzura!? Oh, wow! This is astounding! The princess of the Boiling Isles! How'd you get here? What are you doing here?-" Willow's bombardment of questions was interrupted by the toll of a bell.

"I-I'm sorry. I can't stay. I have to go disappoint my teacher. It was nice to meet you, your majesty."

Luzura raised her hand to wave goodbye, only to start running after Willow.

"Wait, you're Willow, right? What you did with that flower and those plants was just incredible!" She praised, stars in her eyes.

"Thanks, but I'm not even supposed to be doing plant magic. My parents put me in the abomination track at school."

"Like Hexside?"

Willow nodded.

"Oh, I'm so jealous! I have a mentor, though her methods prove to be a bit....untraditional...And, I've never been allowed to enroll here. This is the first time I've been there, but it's only for one speech at the end of the day, then back to the castle for Titan knows how many more years..."

"I wish I could get a passing grade for once. Then people would stop calling me 'Half-a-Witch Willow'." Willow kicked the abomination goo on the ground, it's eyeball rolling away as it groaned.

Then, Luzura got an idea.

"Wait. I know how we can both get what we want.", She scooped up some goo and slapped it onto her face, it splashed everywhere.

"Make me your abomination! I'll get you a passing grade, and you can get me into Hexside. It's fiendishly clever~"

"What?!"

"I saw that girl's thing, it's just chunks of stuff and it talks weird. I'm chunks of stuff, and I talk weird!"

"That's true.", Willow giggled, "Okay. It's a deal. Luzura."

"This is a great plan."

The pair shook hands, but the purple liquid stretched as it stuck the two together.

"Oops. Abomination goo."

They grunted as they pulled at the goo, it finally releasing.

And sending Luzura straight into the puddle, splashing more goo everywhere.

"Great plan...."

The two of them rode along the trail returning to the front of the school.

"Welcome to Hexside. Remember to stay hidden, okay?" Willow said, pushing the cart.

Luxury squeaked happily, poking her head out of the pot she was hiding in, she looked to the side, seeing the guard was still gone, strolling around the market. Luzura hopped out sprawling a note on a piece of paper, and sticking it to a tree.

"I have decided to stroll about the school on my own, you and I both know I can handle myself. Don't worry, we do not have to tell my father about this. -Princess Luzura"

She hopped back in the pot, and Willow rolled them through the entrance doors.

The school was tall, lines of lockers rounded around doors and stairs. Other kids chatted about, walking to their classes, or practicing their magic.

Willow rolled them to her locker, grabbing a book from it, when a little boy with curly black hair and a blue uniform bumped into her, reading a sort of book.

"Willow, you will not believe humans!" He said.

"Humans?"

"Did you know that humans nail barbed wire to their kids' teeth?! But why? Maybe to make them magnetic..."

Luzura whispered from inside the pot, "I believe it's for storing treats..."

The boy stayed quiet, arching his eyebrow at Willow.

"Okay, Augustus, I'm gonna tell you something...But you have to be cool."

"I can be spool- I mean cool."

"Okaaaay...Abomination, rise."

Luzura slowly rose up from the pot, stretching out her arms.

"Ta-daaa! I'm an abomination!"

"Princess, that's not how abominations act!"

Augustus stood silent, his mouth agape as he dropped his book. He stared at Luzura, trying to find his words.

"Princess....? No. No, it couldn't be..."

"He is the president of the Human Appreciation Society. Most witches wouldn't recognize a human right away, but Augustus here is an expert."

"An expert? Wow, I've only ever read about them in my studies. It's nice to meet someone who's also knowledgeable on them." Luzura said.

"Do you know where a human's gills are?" He suddenly asked.

Luzura ignored the question, "There was a character named Augustus in a human book I read. The other characters called him Gus."

"Gus? Nickname? Human book nickname? Gus?! Call me it! Wow! Gus! This is the happiest day ofy life..."

Suddenly, the bell screeched.

"Well, I got to get to spelling class. See you guys at lunch!" Gus picked up his book and rushed down the hall.

"Alright, into the darkness you go." Willow said jokingly. Luzura hissed, slinking back into the pot.

//////////////////////////////////////////////

"Aww, who's a good Prince Jr.? Who's a good guy?" King cooed, waving a pet treat in front of the baby trashslug.

"Hey, Mr. Wiggles? You're not gonna teach him anything doing that." Eda taunted, leaning back in her lawn chair.

"It's called positive reinforcement, Eda, and it works wonders.", King snapped back, pausing when the baby ate the treat. It grew larger after eating it.

"Haha! See? No watch this!"

The demon took out another treat, waving it at the old witch.

"Prince Jr! Attack Eda! Knock over her drink! Mess up her hair!"

"Oh no, please stop." Eda said sarcastically.

"Well, I haven't seen your student in forever. For all we know, she's not even loyal to you anymore."

"Ha ha. You wish...." Eda paused for a moment, "But, yeah, where is she?"

//////////////////////////////////////////////

Willow rolled the cart towards a class: Abomination 101. Students chattered around them, some nervous, others confident.

The small teacher was overlooking another students project, their abomination was lumpy, and it had no limbs except for wiggling toes all over its body.

"Too many toenails in unexpected places. Fail!"

The teacher turned to the class.

"Pathetic! The biggest abominations are all of you! If the next project is a failure. Everyone gets extra homework for month!"

Yeesh, this teacher was harsh.

The class grumbled and murmured amongst themselves, worried about what would happen.

"And the next one to come up is...."

Suddenly, Amity's hand shot up.

"Excuse me, sir, but I'm ready to present my abomination! Rise!"

Amity's abomination rose up from its pot, lazily striking a pose.

The teacher laughed, "I've always saved the best for last, Amity...You'll need to wait your turn."

The abomination sank back down.

"How about.....Willow?"

The class groaned again.

"Not half-a-witch..."

"Great, homework for a month...."

Willow flushed, pulling her hood up. Luzura poked her head out of the pot, giving her a thumbs up.

"Don't worry, Willow, we can do this!" She whispered.

Willow smiled, and rolled her cart to the front of the room.

"A-Abomination....rise...." She squeaked.

Luzura punched the lid off, leaping out of the pot and striking a pose.

"Ta-daaa!"

The class gasped.

"Abomination, bow."

Luzura flailed her limbs, bowing as an abomination would.

"Very impressive, but does it speak?" The teacher asked.

Luzura froze for a second.

"Erm, I may be your abomination....but you're my...a-mom-ination..."

Part of the class gushed about the cuteness, but Amity just stared at them, her mouth agape.

"Hahaha! A-mom-ination! Splendid wordplay, A+!" The teacher laughed jovially at the pun, painting an A+ on Luzura's forehead.

Amity grumbled, scowling at the pair as the rest of the class cheered.

The bell screamed again, and the class dismissed. The teacher stopped Willow in the hall.

"Wonderful work today, Willow. I think we have a new top student." The last sentence made Amity stop in her tracks.

She gasped and stammered as he removed her star badge and place it on Willow.

"Uh, thank you, sir..."

He nodded and walked away.

"Hey." Amity suddenly appeared next to her.

Willow gasped.

"Last time I saw you, your abomination was mush. What did you do?" She asked.

"I, uh, took your pep talk to heart, Amity." Willow said, adjusting her glasses.

"I bet you did. I've got my eyes on you, Half-a-Witch...That badge is mine." She grumbled, walking away.

What is this girl's problem? How important can one girl getting one good grade be? Let alone just one badge...

"Uh oh. I think Amity's onto us...." Willow said.

//////////////////////////////////////////////

Eda threw the front door open, smashing Hooty's face into the wall.

"Have you seen Luzura?" She asked, having searched the house, but the princess was no where to be found.

"I might've heard her tiny mouse feet walking close by. Or maybe those were mice. Anyway, someone started moving in that direction." He said, looking at the path.

"Are you trying to point? Or...."

"Look at the weather vane!"

Eda stepped out of the house, looking up at the direction of the vane.

"But the only thing that way is...." Eda gasped, "....No....."

She rushed down the path, praying that it wasn't true. She got to the side of the school, looking into the window at a kindergarten class.

"Okay, everyone! Recite your runes!"

The little children all spoke in unison, "Krom, Zix, Elgrim, Zenomide..."

"No...Blind obedience..." Eda said, rushing over to another window. There a class sat, memorizing the Heximal system.

"No! Pointless busywork!" Eda ran to another window, horrified to see Luzura in a classroom, covered in abomination goo, taking notes alongside another girl.

"NOOOOO! WHY, SCHOOL!?" She yelled, devastated that another young mind has been taken by the system.

//////////////////////////////////////////////

Luzura, Willow, and Gus all sat in the lunchroom, chatting.

"Hey, are PB&J's suitable enough for royalty?" Gus asked, pulling a sandwich out of a bag.

"Ohmygosh, I haven't eaten anything like that in years. Please give me some." Luzura said, eating the half of the sandwich Gus gave her.

Willow frowned, "I don't know, Gus. If Amity saw that-"

Suddenly Amity jumped onto the table.

"I saw that! Abominations. Don't. Eat!", She got in Willow's face for moment, "I know you're in there! You can't hide from me! What are you? Who are you?! I want answers!"

Amity reached into the pot and grabbed Luzura by the collar, shaking her.

"Amity Blight!"

"Huh?"

"I suspected a twinge of jealousy, but this? This is just sad..." Her and Willow's teacher said.

"But I....No! Look at it!" Amity pulled Luzura closer, her groaning from dizziness.

"Report to Principal Bump's office."

"But-"

"Now!"

Amity let Luzura go and ran off, her teacher following behind. Willow and Luzura looked back, giving each other worried glances.

"That was, uh, a lot." Luzura said.

"Yeah." Willow agreed, "Let's hope that nothing else bad happens-"

Willow suddenly gasped, shoving Luzura back down into the pot.

"Hey! What's the matter?" She asked, only to be shushed by Willow.

A emperor's coven scout walked up to the table. It was Luzura's guard.

"You kids haven't seen Princess Luzura around the school anywhere have you? She was supposed to stay by me for her speech later this afternoon." He asked, holding up Luzura's note from the tree.

Willow shook her head, smiling nervously.

"W-We don't know where she could be, aheheh..." Gus chuckled.

The guard sighed, "Well, if you spot her, please come and find me. Enjoy your lunch..." he walked off.

Willow let out a breath that she'd been holding.

"This'll be harder than we thought..."

//////////////////////////////////////////////

"Roll over! Yes!" King commanded, tossing a handful of treats into the trashslug's mouth. By this time, it wasn't even a baby anymore, it wouldn't even be able to fit in the house.

"Heel! Yes, yes!" King kept tossing more and more treats to the slug, he noticed Eda walking back towards them.

"So, did ya find your runaway student?"

Eda said nothing, but scowled.

"By your expression, I can tell Luzura's gone and found herself someplace else to learn. Which means...I have won!"

"Yes, great, you won. You have a giant soldier thing and I have nothing. Congrats!"

"Oh, Eda, don't say that. At least you have this!" King pulled out the shame cone, cackling hysterically.

Eda growled, taking the hat and walking back into the house.

"I am so funny! Ah. Well, Prince Jr. training complete. Go forth! Make the world tremble at your feet...or worm stubs..."

The giant monster did nothing.

"Go forth?..."

Nothing.

"Oh, right!" King turned back to the treat box he dropped, only for crumbs to fall out.

//////////////////////////////////////////////

"Wooo, I'm a sweaty little abomination. But now we don't have to worry about Amity. High five!" Luzura held her hand out.

Gus and Willow did nothing.

"You slap my hand...The coven scouts do it all the time..." Luzura explained, slapping her own hand.

Gus carefully approached, slapping Luzura's hand. He blinked in surprise, and did it again. And again. And again.

"Oh. Oh my. Oh, man, what a rush!"

The classroom door suddenly open, Amity stepping aside with a smile on her face. A man with a demon creature on his head stepped in from behind her.

"Good afternoon, students."

"Principal Bump..." Willow stammered. Luzura quickly went limp and fell to the floor, keeping up her abomination act.

Principal Bump leaned down, examining Luzura's face. He stood again.

"Abomination, rise." He commanded.

Luzura stood.

"Abomination, lie."

"Uhh. Viral fame is a worthy pursuit. Your cat would never eat you if it got the chance. Potiontrails are real-"

"Oho, no, abomination. How stage for it to get the command wrong. I mean lie down." He pointed at a table.

Luzura laid down slowly.

"So very lifelike...When miss Blight told me about your abomination, I had to come by, see what she's made of..." He turned to Willow.

"Oh! I have her list of ingredients right here." Willow said, panicked.

"No. We were hoping...", He drew a dagger from his cloak sleeve, "For a closer look."

Luzura's stomach sank, she could see her reflection in the sharp dagger. They're going to dissect her! The plan is working too well!

"Willow, I'll allow you the first cut." Principal Bump handed her the knife.

Willow smiled, whispering to Luzura.

"You can't just cut open a Princess, can you?"

Luzura shook her head.

"Go ahead, make the first incision."

Willow stared at him, shaking. Suddenly-

"Principal Bump."

The coven scout stood at the door.

"Hm? Yes, is there a problem?"

"I need to talk to you."

"Hm.. Very well. Students, don't do anything until I get back." He followed the scout out into the hall, and minutes later, his voice came over the intercom.

"Students and staff, as we all know, Princess Luzura is coming here to deliver a speech to our student body. But it appears that she has wandered away from her escort. If you happen to see her, please notify me, a teacher, or her guard immediately."

Luzura tensed up, whimpering quietly, an action that made Amity squint at her suspiciously.

Principal Bump returned to the class, "Alright, where were we?"

"Wait, Principal Bump!" Gus said, knocking over three big pots of Abomination goo. Three abominations rose up, approaching the principal..

"Run!"

Luzura and Willow dashed out of the room, being spotted by the guard down the hall.

"Hey! Where are you running off to!?"

"They're getting away!" Amity yelled.

"No. The intruder won't get far." Principal Bump drew magic circle on the wall, pressing it, and red symbols spread across the walls, creating force fields around the doors.

Willow and Luzura twisted and turned through the halls, managing to lose sight of the guard.

They caught themselves on a wall and caught their breath.

"I'm sorry, Willow. This is all my fault. I just wanted to go to magic school and try to actually learn something." Luzura said.

"Well, how do you like it so far?" Willow asked with a smile.

"It's lovely, actually..." Luzura said. The two girls giggled.

"Okay, we should get out of here before-"

The red marking crept their way to them, sealing off every door and exit.

"Bump seals us in."

//////////////////////////////////////////////

Eda sat dejected in the shed, wearing her shame cone.

"Helpmehelpmehelpme!" King suddenly burst in the door and leapt into her arms.

The door bent as something banged into it repeatedly.

"Trouble with your student?" Eda smirked.

"Yes!"

"Are you sure you need my help? Maybe he only wants more of your brilliant lessons."

The slug broke the door down, grabbing King by the tail, and dragging him out.

"Please help me! You can call me Mr. Wiggles!" King screamed.

Eda smiled, taking off the cone and shaking the monster in the face, making it drop King and slither back outside.

"Okay, Mr. Wiggles. Here's what we're gonna do."

//////////////////////////////////////////////

Luzura and Willow rushed down the hall, trying to escape, but a seal closed before they got the chance. Bump stood there with the guard, abominations slowly chasing after them. The girls hid behind a pillar.

"Oh, this is awful. I don't know what to do. Amity's right. I'm just Half-a-Witch Willow!"

No, no, no. This isn't right! Willow can't give up!

"You're Full-Witch Willow. And you're great! And someone once told me, great witches are resourceful!" Luzura dug into her pocket, pulling out miscellaneous junk.

Willow blinked in surprise, picking a seed out of Luzura's hand. Thats what the slime ball was!

"Thank goodness you had it on you!"

"Yeah, thank goodness someone told me to hold on to it." She said, remembering Eda's words. She shouldn't have left her.

Willow took the seed, drawing a magic circle over it, it began to glow.

"Please...grow!"

Suddenly, vines shot out, severing the abominations and spreading through the school. They swerved toward Principal Bump and the guard, wrapping around them and pinning them to the ceiling.

The dust settled, and Bump gasped at the spectacle beneath him. Vines and plants grew around the whole building, flower petals fell as more grew.

"Remarkable." He whispered, the guard struggling to untie himself next to him.

The shields around the exit fell, and Luzura and Willow rushed to make it out of there.

"Not so fast!", Amity yelled, "I'm not letting you get away so easily! I. WANT. MY. BADGE! ABOMINATIONS, SEIZE!"

The abominations rose up again, chasing after the two. Luzura punched one out, but it just rose back up again, blocking the exit.

Willow desperately drew another magic circle, her eyes glowing green again. Vines intertwined themselves in front of the abomination, shielding them.

"Get outta here!" Willow told Luzura.

"No! I'm not leaving you!"

"I may get detention, but you'll get dissected! So go!"

Vines wrapped themselves around Luzura's body, carrying her above the abominations and out the door, it slamming shut behind her.

"Willow!" Luzura pounded her fists against the door, "Ugh! I can't save you right now, but I know someone who can!"

//////////////////////////////////////////////

The trashslug roared as Eda beat it back with her staff, King was up on the roof, pushing a barrel.

"Pour the salt! Now!" Eda yelled.

"Baby boy!" King yelled sadly. The slug whimpered as it looked back up at King, only for it to hiss.

"I have no son! Eat salt!" King pushed the barrel into the slug's mouth. The creature swallowed it, its body convulsing and quivering. The monster shrunk down, back to the size of a baby, and crawled off.

"Yes, I did it! I'm amazing!- Whoa!" King jumped up and down, only to slip off the roof. Eda caught him in her arms.

"You helped too. You are a good teacher!"

"I wish Luzura thought that too..." Eda lamented.

"Edaaaa!" Luzura yelled, throwing her arms around Eda and King.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey! What is this?! I never understand when you do this!"

"Your lesson worked, Eda! Keeping junk in my pocket saved my life! But my new friends, they're in danger-"

"Princess!" Willow called out.

Willow and Gus rushed up to Luzura, hugging her.

"Seriously, what is that?!" Eda said.

"You won't believe it, miss. Everything is perfect now!" Willow said.

"It's true. I don't believe it."

"Principal Bump was so impressed by my plant work, he's switching me to the plant magic track!" Look!" Willow stepped back, snapping her fingers and her uniform colors changed from purple to green.

Luzura jumped into Willow's arms again, cheering happily.

"Oh...What about Amity?"

"Last we saw, she was asking Bump if today could count as extra credit." Gus said.

"Well, I can't wait to see you in action next time I sneak in!"

Willow and Gus winced.

"Uh...About that. You're kinda, sorta...banned..."

"That's my girl!" Eda cheered.

"B-But! The good thing is that nobody found out that you're the princess! Your speech was canceled because of what happened. And we could come here and teach you what we learned!" Willow said.

"Aw. That would be nice, but I have a pretty great teacher already..."

Eda blinked in surprise, before smiling.

"Yeah! Luzura's my student! Back off, academy twerps!" Eda joked, as they laughed, grabbing the banned poster.

"Aw, baby's first wanted poster. Good job, kid. Looks like I taught you something after all..." She patted Luzura's head, when she suddenly spotted something in the distance.

The coven scout was rushing towards them, having been freed from the plants.

"Uh oh, that ain't good."

Luzura noticed him too, dashing into some nearby bushes before she could be seen. The guard caught up with Willow and Gus, he tightly grabbed Willow's shoulders, catching his breath.

"You! Where's the princess?! I know you've seen her! Tell me, now! Or I'll-" He questioned, Willow going pale, and Gus hiding behind Eda.

"Ahem."

The guard stopped, turning towards Luzura, who now donned her cloak and mask.

"She's done nothing. Release her at once." She said sternly.

"Y-yes ma'am. Right away ma'am." He let go of Willow, her rushing to hide behind Eda with Gus.

"Come along. My father will be expecting us." She said, and the guard ran up in front of her. As they walked away, she turned back, and waved goodbye to her friends and mentor.

They arrived back at the castle, her guard swearing not to tell about her sneaking off, and Luzura swearing not to tell about him threatening a child.

"There you are! I heard about the incident at the academy. Of course the day you go there is the day chaos occurs. Why are you covered in abomination goo?" He said.

"I was caught in a crossfire of an abomination explosion, but I'm not hurt. It was actually rather fun." Luzura lied, smiling.

"I knew you would say that. Now, go clean up."

Luzura obeyed, relieved that she'd be able to get this sticky substance off of her.

She returned to her bedroom and retreated to her secret nerd hideout, happy to get a breather, but also excited for what else Eda's lessons could bring.

______________________________________

END OF CHAPTER 4

#princess luzura of the boiling isles #hexside students #toh hexside #toh willow #toh gus #luz noceda #emperor belos #toh eda #toh king

[m4niackkyun]

Idk what this is (trying to explore thier dynamic)

It was 2 AM, the house was dead asleep. A soft yawn escaped from his gaping mouth, he covered it up quickly with on of his hands. His hair was curlier than usual as he has just woken up to get some water from the kitchen downstairs. Just was he flipped the light switch on, a dark figure was sitting on the couch in the center of the living room. He raised an eyebrow, squinting his dark orbs to get a better look at the person in range.

“Hyung...?” he called out.

Hearing himself being called, the ravenette turned to the tall frame who was now rubbing one of his eyes from the sudden flash of light. “Oh..Jaemin-ah, uhm..s-sorry, I couldn't sleep.” he gave him a brief smile before averting his gaze back onto his fiddling hands. He'd been pricking at the skin for the past hour until a bit of blood started trickling out of the abused finger. Jaemin, who knew him far too well, instinctively grabbed a few paper towels from the kitchen counter and rushed towards him.

Sighing briefly before scolding the older, “Dae hyung.” he voiced quite sternly. Looking tentatively at his older brother as he wiped the blood off his fingers. “Huh? O-oh, ah-shit. S-sor—” “It's fine, hyung. You don't need to apologize for everything.” Jaemin reached for the small box under the coffee table, it's filled with all the things a first aid kit would have. He grabbed a band aid and handed to the ravenette.

“Here, patch yourself up. I'll make us some warm milk,” he instructed, earning a light nod from Dae-Jung as he quickly fiddled with the packaging.

Trying to be as quiet as possible as it is already so late, he grabbed a few cups from the cupboards and some milk from the fridge. There was only oatmilk left but, that'll do for now.

As he was heating it up on the stove, silence filled up the atmosphere between them. Nothing but the ticking sound of the living room clock that almost seemed like it echoed through the room.

“What...” Jaemin paused, a bit hesitant to say something. Dae-Jung turned around after hearing his voice briefly, “..yes?” their eyes locked onto each other. A bit awkward to say the least, “Did you...have a bad dream?” he started. A took a few seconds for the ravenette to respond, shaking his head lightly, “No, I just...couldn't sleep at all in my room. I figured I might fall asleep here but, didn't work..” Jaemin Nodded from his explanation.

“Hyung.”

“Hm?”

“I..I hope you know that you're always allowed to ask for help. From me, hwan-ie, soohwa, mom, and dad.”

“....Hm.”

The curly haired teen slowly made his way towards the sofa, sitting right next to his hyung.

It took some time for him to convey the words he wanted to say, one thing's for sure though, with the way his bottom lip was trembling. He was scared.

“promise me, hyung. Promise me you won't hold it all on your own...and leave without saying goodbye.”

Dae-Jung shuffled slightly from where he sat, a bit caught off guard with his younger sibling's response.

“I know what you've been up to. You're planning to find him right? Your so called ‘father’. ” Dae-Jung's eyes widen from his statement, “How did yo—” “A-are you...” he swallowed, “Are you really gonna believe those lies people are telling you?? What about us?? Do you not see us as family to you...? You'd rather leave us to be with someone you never even knew let alone even exist in your life?!” Jaemin's raised his voice slightly, not too loud but enough to express his anger.

“I-i...” the younger let out a quiet sigh, “I'm not saying you don't deserve to know...but what will happen if you do? Are you gonna leave us...a-are you gonna leave me...?” he couldn't help it, he couldn't help but let the pools of frustration flooding his eyes flow down as lets out a sob, Dae-Jung pulling him into his embrace. He placed one hand over the younger's head to give him a sense of reassurance.

“I'm...sorry.” was the only thing he could respond with as he heard the quiet choked sobs of his younger brother, who was desperately trying to hold him from slipping away and never come back, forgetting what it means to find home.

#[fdau] #kkyun's blurbs #yoo naosuke #lee jaemin #[lee dae jung]

[brunhielda]

Since you all liked the last one-

Another random Tolkien thought:

(we will not be discussing what it means that I randomly have thoughts on a man long dead, even if he did shape the fantasy genre as we know it)

So I was watching The Hobbit, mostly for the Bilbo/Thorin feels and completely ignoring the unnecessary elvish/dwarvish romance, as you do-

And I am looking at this going “Damn Thorin, you don’t know this guy, why you gotta be so harsh?”

Then replying to myself “Well, because despite being technically a King, Thorin is a “WORKING MAN”tm, who takes one look at Bilbo’s fine China and soft hands and knows him for the soft, well off gentry he is. And it is fair to be worried this guy might hold them back enough to get someone killed. Could have been less rude about it, but is he wrong?”

And I have been talking, in other spaces, about how all of the “comfy cozy” British literature is based off a class in Britain that is not living in castles by any means, but have inherited wealth, and as long as they don’t spend too much in any one place, there is an “allowance” coming from a back account somewhere that allows them to live in general comfort. So the characters can sit about all cozy, do gardening or boats for fun, and often spend thier days stopping in at the neighbors for chats and tea. Stories include Winnie the Pooh, Wind in the Willows, Frog and Toad, and yes, Hobbit Society.

And I have a sudden thought- Is that Tolkien? A quick google says he grew up an orphan with an aunt and looked after by a priest, but yes, he was, as described, “the genteel side of poverty,” meaning that was the society he grew up in as a child, and the society of the people the associated with at Oxford as an adult, even if he had to face more hardships than they did.

So the Hobbits are what he knows, what he remembers fondly from his childhood, what he tries to build for his kids.

The Dwarves are warriors. They are men who work with thier hands, even the most noble of them, when they are not fighting. They may not know all the stuff Bilbo or Gandalf know about histories and elves, but they have thier own histories and prides, and are intelligent in all the ways that matter. And Bilbo is the soft one that got dragged along for skills they can’t see yet, who they poke and prod at until they find his measure under all that fluffy comfort, and are finally proud to call shield brother.

Suddenly I have an image of a very young, nerdy, twiggy Tolkien, WWI, just given the rank of lieutenant because of his Oxford education, shipping out with rough and tumble British working class men, sure that this little idealist who has only ever read books and knows nothing of life is going to get them all killed. And they are looking up to (idk the ranks) a Sargent? A Captain? Someone who surprisingly made his way there from the bottom ranks rather than buying a commission, and has seen a million battles, so the men love and follow him without hesitation. Tolkien didn’t get shipped out til almost mid-way through the war, so this is a likely scenario- the little newbie who has clever ideas but no practical experience, trying so damn hard to impress the superior officer he is idolizing.

Maybe that didn’t happen. I have no records or other sources to back it up. But it explains the characters relationships, and the story trajectory.

My take away on all of Middle Earth literature- Tolkien might be the first author to truly capture Philia (brotherly love, bond between war brothers) in fantasy since Troy (please give me other examples if I am wrong, I want to read them), because he lived it. Whether or not he intentionally boss characters off of anyone in particular, his life experiences in WWI are bleeding through, and it is beautiful.

But IF I am right, and some of this was Tolkien processing his individual experiences in war-

What I really want to know, what I am desperate to know now that I have had this thought and seen this image in my mind:

If Tolkien is Bilbo… who was Thorin?

I bet he was something else.

#tolkien #tolkein #the hobbit #Bilbo #Thorin #author analysis #unfounded #no sources here #brothers in arms #loyalty and devotion #WWI #make me art #let’s see it #jrr tolkien #british literature #cozy life #comfort literature #feel free to discuss #feel free to fact check #find me a name! #who was Thorin???

[odd8ball]

Fantastical (Talking about a world I'm making)

For a while I've wanted to make my own story but I can't settle on one idea. What I have settled on is a few rules for the universe. I figured I throw the ideas at you guys to see if you liked them or not. This will probably be edited as I add more info. 🙃

An explanation for Fae:

Fae, fairy or fair folk in this world is a catch all term for magical beings with human intelligence. Dragons, pixies, banshees, leprechauns and all that. They are typically humanoid but can also just be creatures who have the option of a human avatar.

Fae are made when a human dies, if a human dies with immense amount of regret they'll probably hang around earth as a ghost stuck between the world of living and beyond until the current reaper or some other creature with a connection to death finds them and guides them to their next life. Depending on a variety of factors like personality, how they lived how they died all that leads to their form in death.

For instance someone who died seeing themselves as a blood sucking parasite or a tortured artist or maybe even just really liked vampires in life can become a vampire. Pixies are the most common of the fair folk although the reasons just like any fairy are a mystery. It's not very common for a fae to remember being human but those who do typically feel disconnected with the new world and magic centric culture. Luckily they have a pretty great support system for those who seek help.

Humans can visit the realm of the fae but it's not very common anymore. The reason for that is if a human dies in the realm of the fae thier soul will become a fae like normal but their body will become an undead. Depending on the person it can become a wraith or a zombie or a revenant or something else entirely. This can be avoided with a ritual to abandon your mortality and your human self but it's a pretty big hassle so it's usually just used on human children the fae took in that the human realm didn't want.

The appearance of a fae can also be altered based on where their soul forms into a fairy. For instance if a soul appears in a cold land they'll probably have a cold resistance, ice blue or snow white skin, white hair, white patches, markings like snow or frostbite. This applies to all fae whatever you are be that a pixie or a banshee or elf or whatever. Like people, those who are used to cold climates and have adapted to live there will probably not like hot climates. That being said like humans they might decide to move to place they aren't adapted for just because they want to and might even end up happier there.

Mantle holders and their successors:

I mentioned the reaper who's job is to guide souls to the afterlife so let's use him as an example. Virgil is the current grim reaper, he is a vampire with an adoptive Dahmpire son Damian who is his successor. Mantle holders hold immensely powerful magic to help with their jobs. Virgil in particular has a very strong control over ghosts, undead and ghostly objects and a connection to his human life in the form of knowing how he died wich is reflected in the crack in his skull and his one dim eye. The mantle itself allows him to take the form of a skeleton so he can cross into the world between life and death without getting stuck there.

Virgil's job beyond taking care and control of dangerous undead and guiding lost souls is carrying his mantle that allows him to do these things with such ease. If he dies the mantle will immediately go to his successor so death will not stop as a concept.

If the mantle holder dies with no successor it will pick someone at random and this has been the cause of many tragic events in fae history. A mantle can also be stolen but the thief must be willing to kill the mantle holder wich is how Celium the angel holder of light and current big problem got his mantle.

The mantles change in appearance depending on what it's holder wants. Mantles cannot be destroyed, what makes a holder qualified is an unbreakable passion for their tasks. Virgil himself isn't happy with how the grim reapers have been portrayed as evil in human history but has a passion for helping ghosts and a fascination with the undead that keeps him going on. He wouldn't trade his job for anything else despite the downsides. The reason he chose his son as his successor is because he shares a similar passion for understanding and helping the dead.

If one mantle holder is unavailable, another with similar duties can fill in as well. For instance Cain the holder of the moon has control over the dead at night. If Virgil were busy with something else and didn't have time to fill his ghost quota Cain could fill in by collecting any souls under the moon's watchful eye.

Halflings, witches, wizards and warlocks:

Halflings is a catch all term for a mixed fae child. It can be between two fae of different races or a fae and a human. In other words dragon mermaids who live in the Arctic can actually happen. Half human half fairy halflings are typically left in the human realm so they can live out their lives as humans and eventually die and become full fae to avoid making more undead. Full fae halflings stay in the fairy realm because they're essentially full fae who are not mortal.

Halflings born from humans have access to magic but without the aid of a fairy they may not ever know they have the ability to cast spells. Magic also doesn't come as naturally to halflings born from humans than those who are born from fae. In other words a half dragon half human halfling will probably need help to transform the first time but like every other magic creature, once they learn it's basically second nature.

Witches wizards and warlocks all fall under the umbrella of magic humans who are gifted magic by fairies. How they get the magic can depend. Maybe it's a deal with the fairy, maybe the fairy just liked the human, maybe they were friends. It could even be as simple as the human made the fairy laugh when they were telling a joke to someone else.

A spell book is typically given to the witch wizard or warlock afterwards so the fae can get back to their own world with no teaching responsibility. Witches and wizards also typically have familiars like black cats, rabbits , birds or anything that can be dismissed as a pet. Unlike human halflings they may not see their magic as second nature and many choose to ignore their magic for the most part.

Familiars and the forms they take:

A familiar is basically a magical pet that acts as a helper to the person they are bonded with. Though pet isn't always the right word, familiars tend to take the form of whatever the magic user needs. If the user most often needs protection it may take a form of something like a tiger or a bear, if the maker needs eyes in the sky most often it'll be a bird. A small neglected child gifted with magic powers may manifest a parental figure although a familiar in the form of a flesh and blood human has never been made humanoid puppets are more common.

Familiars properties and abilities change to what the person who made them need. Needs do sometimes conflict with wants so some familiars take longer to bond with than others. Once the person who made the familiar dies the familiar may go looking for someone similar to transfer the magic to or in some cases try to live a normal life by giving up their powers. Some can chose to die with their makers as well.

Familiars can be made by those who want them or in some cases the familiar may just grow attached to you and deem you it's new magic user. This can happen to humans or fae. Familiars tend to hatch from magically formed eggs the magic user must keep safe for a week if you want to make one but you may no like what hatches from it in some cases. In adoption cases the person will feel a strong magic connection with the familiar wich is often unexpected.

Reality planes:

So I've mentioned the human world, the realm between where Ghosts live and the realm of the fae. Well how do you get to these worlds? Well the most common way is to die and transition to your new plane but I mentioned living humans can get to the realm of the fae. Well here's the explanation, you know the pills in fran bow? Well traveling through realms is kinda like taking those. Basically it's like an alternate reality that runs on parallel with our own. Abnormal things that look out of place in the realms world can act as portals if the correct thing is done. In the human world it might be an unknown flower species or an oasis that looks like a hallucination but is actually real or an ice block that reflects the best version of you in it. In the ghost world it could be anything adding to the confusion. In the fae world to get to the human world walking into a building is a pretty easy way to get there. Portals are the more mainstream way of traveling for Fae though. Realms beyond exist although they ways there haven't been fully explored yet.

The human world is basically our world just with witches warlocks and supernatural happenings. The ghost plane is the most confusing to traverse because it's shaped by those who died. In other words endless hallways, rooms with architecture that makes no sense and strange beings both friendly and threatening can be found there. Only those with a strong connection to death or the undead can navigate it without issue. It is also the hardest place to access.

If your wondering what the ghost realm looks like think of things like the backrooms, weird core/dream core images or surrealism paintings. Creepy yet comforting nostalgia for the ghosts who are trapped there. If you see a ghost in the human realm they look see through but to the ghost you look the same so they are often just as confused and scared as you.

As for the fae world it's basically a world where nature and magic are the most prevalent things around. Think a world untouched by humans and in return nature itself formed into what they needed. One of the reasons humans have a hard time living there is humans are not built to navigate a world ruled by magic. It's not as deadly as the ghost plane but it's....pretty dangerous for a non magic thing.

Magic creatures that are not fae:

Not all magic creatures have human intelligence or sentence. So some of the animals of the fae world are gryphons, kelpie, phoenix, pegasus, giant spiders, kraken, wisps, elemental deer, shadow wolves, ghost tornadoes, leviathan and cloud walkers.

All of these work a little different than the folklore but some explanations for the ones I made up. Cloud walkers are eerily silent four legged things with skin like metal who make clouds in the fae world when they let out long breaths. They are typically harmless but pestering one may result in you turning into clouds. They are very common to encounter around the cloud kingdom, however they are much more common in empty sky attempting to fill it and the abandoned first sky scape.

Ghost tornados are spinning screaming tornadoes that occur when a bunch of animals die close together. They are a massive problem in certain areas but most people just don't live there and once they wind down and the souls untangle typical magic creatures come from the ashes. Occasionally a human soul may also be a part of it and turn into a fae once the ghost tornado unwinds. This happens because of mass animal deaths in slaughter houses. The occasional human soul is usually the result of a murder in a slaughter house.

All human soul ghost tornados are due to mass tragedies of many people dying close together. This happens so the reaper has less ghosts to collect in the ghost realm after mass tragic death. In other words despite the grim implications for humans the end result for fae is just more fae and magic animals.

Shadow wolves exactly what they say on the can. Living shadows shaped like wolves, they aren't typically a problem but can spook you pretty bad.

Giant spiders are cave dwelling spiders who are the size of people. The general rule is if you see an abnormally webby cave avoid it.

Elemental deer are also what they sound like. Fire deer walk around desert places, grassy deer hang around forests, water deer walk on the surface of the ocean, air deer co exist with cloud walkers and them rushing by is what's responsible for strong winds.

#my concepts #ocs #oc stuff #origonal character #character art #original character #oc #my ideas #fantasy #what do you guys think? #fantasy creature #fantastical ocs

[tentaipetto]

Chapter 4

Amicia, requires somewhat of a description before we try and understand her story. She is tall, taller than is right or proper for any woman of this world to be, maybe 7ft, no-one is really sure. He hair is pure white like that of a very, very old woman, but it is luscious and full, it falls to her waist without a hint of a wrinkle or curl. Her eyes are…well…they have swallowed the souls of many men, and burned the hearts of many women, they are large and pure and dark and evil and beautiful and either the best thing you have ever seen or the last thing you will ever see. She dresses for her figure, which is curvy in all the right places and does strange things to people who gaze upon it. But her mind, her mind is the thing to really admire, or fear, depending on her mood.

Have you ever heard of reincarnation? Well, Amicia had, she had been through it, a fair few times if you must know. She couldnt actually remember how many lives she had lived, over time her memories had started to become one long life, she no longer remembered the breaks in action when she was a baby or an old woman. As the centuries had passed her reincarnations had grown stronger, begun to have more abilities, beyond that of any normal human. Amicia herself didnt know why she was able to come back with all her memories, with all her abilities, she didnt know if she was special or just a mistake, but it happened and she accepted it gratefully like a gift from the gods.

Amicia is the leader of the western isles, she was also known as the queen, but she felt that the title of Leader suited her better. Her people respected her immensley, they had to really, she had bought order to the Isles after centuries of fighting among smaller clan rulers that fought amongst each other for superiority. Amicia had not fought, she had just taken it, she simply showed up and everyone gave her what she wanted without her even having to ask for it. Which was handy really, as the one thing Amicia would not do was speak. She had ruled for a little over 8 months, in that time she had never uttered a word, or laughed, or cried, or wailed in ecstasy during one of her frequent orgies. She was completely silent, not mute, as she could speak whenever she chose to, she just chose not to. Not that her subject knew this of course, or cared, they were just happy not to be at war anymore. But war was coming again, Amicia knew that soon she would need to rally herself against a foe that only she could fight. None of her guardsmens, none of the mountain people, none of the monsters that were hidden in the depths of the ocean would be able to help her against this enemy. It would have to be her alone, but she needed to prepare, to have everything in order in case something went wrong and she couldnt win. Not that she really believed that could ever happen, she couldnt allow herself to believe that. This life she was living, this life after so many others, they were all her destiny, she knew that for certain. What she didnt know was the purpose of them. She wasnt even really sure she wanted to know.

Her private quarters at the castle were quiet as always, the servants were instructed never to speak whilst in these rooms and they obeyed, they had seen what happened when people didnt obey. It was ugly and messy and required at least 3 buckets of warm soapy water to get it out of the carpets. She liked her rooms to be lit with sweet scented candles, they were held in coloured glass lanterns which made the rooms twinkle and glow in almost magical ways. The walls were mostly bare apart from a few paintings of ancient symbols that Amicia had instructed a talented artist to paint for her years previously. No-one knew what they were, or was allowed to ask, but they felt like they had a force of thier own so apart from a brave servant with a feather duster most of Amicias personal belongings were left to thier own devices. Amicia strode into her bed chamber and removed her thin dress, throwing it onto a chair in the corner of the room. The dress which in itself did nothing to conceal her assets, was merely a formality, had these people been a little less morally inclined Amicia would have been quite happy to live her life without the encumberment of clothing. She climbed onto her bed and lay down, staring at the ceiling for a little while, contemplating how she was going to manage all these converging destinys. But really, it wasnt her job, and anything she did was already destined, so why worry thinking about it? She agreed and decided that maybe it was a better idea to call her toys in for some entertainment. Without making a noise, without making any sort of gesture, 3 bodies appeared in the doorway, each with half a grin and a bemused look on thier faces. They knew they had been called, and they knew what for, but they couldnt for the life of them remember when or how they got told of either of those things. But the memories of times they`d spent with Amicia beforehand was enough to convince them that any time she wanted some attention, they wanted to be the ones she called to. Amicia greets them with a smile and a gentle pat on the soft bed linen with her hand, the 3 in the doorway seemed to not so much walk as float towards her in a pre-orgasmic trance that only the post-orgasmic trance was going to break. Amicia had learned to be more gentle with her toys as she had broken quite a few in lifetimes long gone, now she was a master of her art, she played her toys like they were the most magical musical instruments the universe had ever coughed up and she was the conductor of the most spectacular planitary orchestra life itself had ever seen. These 3, these 3 were the luckiest people in the world, and boy did they know it.

[rob-020382]

Taking responsibility

One of the hardest things we all humans have is taking responsibility for our own actions. Sometimes our consciousness takes us so far into places in our minds that people can't go, cause we know that even our worst enemies can't even meet us there.

I often times get told I am evil when I share the gospel. Christ preachers here in the US stand on pulpits and preach the book of Mathew. But often times especially people here in the US don't understand that the people in the Jewish culture when it comes to the God of David, they will actually pluck thier eye out, or cut their hand of or foot or what ever causes them to sin. They actually do it in their culture cause God actually does mean for you to do it.

But as gentiles we exempt ourselves too. Even in the scripture it says do not interpret the Bible in any way. What do the people of the Christian and Catholic communities say? It's all about how you interpret it.

It's funny how we gentiles really take the things we aren't supposed to do and do it anyways. I can't lie, I do it sometimes too and believe you me, when I do it oh boy my days are tough. Sometimes I barely scathe through cause I get beating down by my own consciousness. It's brutal sometimes to be me, and there are times I am like God, can you just take me out before I make another mistake cause I really don't want another beating like that again lol.

But like everything in life, it is what it is. You win some, and you lose some. I lose more then I ever gain though that is for sure. But I still love everyone the same. You young and like to party, ok enjoy it. You older and still trying to party ok enjoy the party while life is short.

We allowed to drop our feet every once and a little while. As long as you ain't doing it over consumptously you be fine. It's cool enjoy the life you live. But don't stomp on those who take it more seriously. Cause when it comes to the soul, remember that is eternal. The body will wither and go to the box. The soul, it's up to you what you want to happen to that.

I believe we are all designed in a way to which there is not one point in your life that you will not get shown the way. I believe we are all given a chance at it no matter who you are, what kind of life you lived. What ever evil you found, bring all your troubles and lay em down.

We all should take responsibility of our own actions with out blaming others for what we do. I know my reasons and I always take responsibility for my own actions. I don't always make the brightest choices myself. Hell I lost lots of money over the years in bad investments. It happens though. That's such as life. Win some, lose some but I know I made bad choices in those investments it is my fault I just didn't know everything about the investment before investing. It happens that my fault not the other person. I take my responsibility.

I am just sitting around waiting to see who takes responsibility for theirs. It's a rare find, but I know there are peeps out there. And those are my peeps I am waiting to find

[zzzztimes-blog]

Cleaning is not understood by many people.

Where i live my room and clothes , the envoirnment is more influental than kissing, or greetings .

It is a defintion where thoughts will be triggered.

I proved this as i move from rooms in hotels, (im changing my life about.

I had completely different thoughts from one room to another and even if i change to a new room in the same hotel.

Affecting more, my thoughts , ie time to shop. What i will buy, and if i eat how my feelings give me hmmm im ok or i can do better, I dont know ?

I work at this more than most people because I have lived through early childhood trauma and seek now identification of triggers that drive me.

A trigger to make me do things as one might do if i was starting a family.

At 60 yrs , I question the sanity of continuing to work and remove a new couples , or younger persons resorces to succeed with thier dreams. Love and all that!

So i spin out to orbits>/ exploring, this may attract a comment that might be triggered to think , say to themselves = 'Ohh you will do", and a community or group or another person presses factory reset and the churlbs there.3/<>*#

Ring for a butler ? Helooooooo.?

So cleaning is the key.

I got my skin in parts clean to breathe.

In each room i need to clean to allow me to sleep needs applying the same approach to my skin.

Note your thoughts as you clean.

I'm writing this morning with less errors.

These overtime are profound. And enable a person to buy accurately thier needs and a want.

If I am very poor I wont spend so much that is important to not return to poverty. And have enough.

Do not employ a Butler and or a Maid.

Clean your own clothes and your room.

The clothes and room, keep the food [an animal and plant that was slaughtered] happy in a person.

Any person.

Clothes, clean clothes , make sure we i dont overeat.

I use that food energy efficently keeps me safe.

[laughingsour]

OPLA scene analysis: Noland's story (Spoilers up to the Skypiea arc)

I need to talk about this scene in the live action because it makes me emotinal and I simply think it's briliant for a number of reasons.

First let's do a little recap. It's after Zoro loses to Mihawk and he's on the verge of death. To make sure Zoro hangs on to life, Zeff tells the Straw hats to talk to him or tell him stories.

It just so happens that Nami tells him the story of Noland the Liar from the storybook

As she tells the story you can tell she's struggling to keep herself from breaking down because her friend is right there close to death. And imagine how it must be for her: she's not allowed herself to be vulnerable around others since she was a child, much less have friends. But then; in a matter of days and despite her efforts; four people worm their way into her heart (Luffy, Zoro, Usopp and Kaya) around whom she feels safe enough to laugh.

But as soon as she's allowing herself to get attached, one of those people get hurt and for all she knows is about to die. So of course she's trying her best to follow Zeff's instructions to have a hope at saving him, but I think she couldn't have chosen a worse tale for the ocassion.

Because, what was it that happened to Belle-Mere? She was killed after admiting to being her and Nojiko's mother when she could have easily lied to save all three of thier lives. But she couldn't bring herself to say she had no daughters.

That of course had an effect on Nami and she went on to survive by trickery. And it's worked for her so far, but then this tale comes along and, the way I see it, it presents her the idea that maybe lying won't save her after all.

(And it really wouldn’t, Arlong’s lied to her from the start about buying her and the village’s freedom)

That's bad enough, but then Luffy comes along and he presents a more optimistic but even harsher take on the tale for both the Noland character and for her: that Noland was actually killed for telling the truth.

As soon as Luffy says this, Nami realizes that he is there and that's she's been seen being vulnerable. That coupled with Luffy's interpretation makes her double down on her old habits and try to keep her emotions in check, she however fails miserably and you can tell she's getting angry as she tries to correct Luffy on the point of the story.

But Luffy remains unmoved on his stance and also acurately says that even if Noland did lie, his king didn't have to kill him. (Another parallel for Belle-Mere's death. Regardless of what she could have said, Arlong is still the one to blame for his own cruelty).

It gets Nami even more riled up until she finally can't take anymore and vents out to Luffy that all of that could have been avoided if he simply tried to disaude Zoro from his dream.

She can't understand why anyone would be so foolish as to throw thier lifes away for sentimentality. How could anyone value their heart's desire and emotions above their own well-being? How could it be worth that pain when all you could do is let go?

Untill Luffy counters with "Isn't there something you want? More than anything in the world?"

That's when she starts to realize: "Oh shit, I do undertand! I do have a dream same as them! I'm fighting for something too! I'm not so different from them, aren't I?" And it so subtlety written on her face full of fear and heartbreak.

Both Iñaki and Emily make such great performances and you can feel every emotion that Luffy and Nami are feeling as they try to deal with Zoro's condition in their own ways.

But what is truly brilliant here in this scene is that everything Luffy says is right on the money.

As we find out on the Skypiea arc, Noland WASN'T a liar, there WAS a city of gold and the king DID unfairly kill Noland!

And Luffy wasn't even trying to prove a point or anything, it wasn't even an important subject at the moment. But because of his optimism and refusal to take any shit from abusers, he was able to get to the truth by sheer instinct.

And to further prove Luffy's stance on this, in the last episode there's something of a call-back to this scene as they give a complete reversal of the storybook's scenario. Usopp gets caught telling lies about his heroic deeds and his king cheers him on.

"Three cheers for Captain Usopp!! We couldn't have done it without him!!"

#op spoilers #op analysis #opla spoilers #monkey d luffy #nami #roronoa zoro #One piece noland #Skypiea arc #Usopp #Spoilers up to skypiea

[the-firebird69]

We had a good time too not really that was hell and we see the two bags are fighting and that you pointed it out. No we don't want to be mean or anything but we probably should be because you're so crass and idiotic. I don't know what the hell you were thinking that you were going to do afterwards like to follow up being the enemy it doesn't want to go anywhere with you and he says it and he knows it it is he doesn't believe that you can't figure it out no he knows you're stupid you can sit here abusing him and me too and Olympus Thor Freya badly, what you doing is massively annoying to people it's just brutally annoying and your threats and Non-Stop and your behavior is aggressive and dangerous and it is very very trying there's a lot there's a lot of pressure from from you idiots cuz he can't even shop and you're applying the pressure on purpose you're having us hold the pressure on him and him in a state of panic for a year solid I mean what the hell do you want for you want to you want like help and s*** for all that and you'll be a little him and to me and him, you scoured of the Earth for things that bother him and you deployed it, mercilessly, on a person's poor because you keep them poor he wouldn't let the macs get him anything and you injured him the list is huge of stupid things you're doing to him and I asking him to pull up stakes with no money no friends and go somewhere where he would be locked in with you morons,

Well he says is when it says right and thier. morons, and he doesn't want to be locked on an island those who usually can't care properly for themselves. I do agree this is the case. We want you out more luck out of our lives there's a way of treating him as ridiculous it's against every treaty on Earth

Hera Zues

I've seen the above but he supports what I'm saying is what he's saying Hera

Now we've got this together and we understand it we always have but yeah you guys asking him this way is ridiculous you always asking what to do and you're always pushing him around and being jerks. As a group here failures I don't have to explain the whole thing but nobody likes you people from our side at all and we don't want your son not to mention taking off of them somewhere we've got huge problems and cause a lot of them I lot where caused by McCain, but okay it's part of your cadre same thing he's a morlock. The petty your picky and pushing him around and your police and you take from him and threaten him for stuff that's all you do and we're not going to let him go anywhere with you. We don't want you surrounding him and clumping around him either that was is disgusting. I'm issuing an edict and a command that he's not be allowed to be stuck with you in any way ever again, we are all sick from this nauseating experience and you're going to pay for it bja and Trump you're absolute novices if that and overnight I mean that's ridiculous what you did no more.

Thor Freya

We support Thor Freya and we are putting forward the edict shortly and command. And it will relieve you warlock of any duties around him and more we can't afford your idiocy. And we know our son can't. You bankrupted him in the first 5 minutes you took over and control of his life, in the second you injured him in the private area which is very bad for a man or a woman and you didn't get it and you don't so wondering what the hell you're thinking you asking him to go with you when you're mean cruel jerks to him you don't recognize it. Truth is you're being abused by one of your own Non-Stop and he's not getting it and that's Tommy f. And you're not recognizing that's what's going on and you don't see what you've been doing to our son mentally and physically and trying to get to us by doing it and you're just sitting there thinking that he's going to up and go with you for some reason he posed as his brother I mean come on that's ridiculous. You should be ousted for such a suggestion but they're more clueless than you are. We want our stuff back our money back and more from you idiots ,don't get any stupid ideas or we cut you down.

Olympus

[in-the-dollpalace]

can you explain how courtney could have a molly doll?

I think i answered this before, but that was like a year ago so im going to say my thoughts again but in more depth because i've been thinking more about it since then. Buckle your seatbelts folks because this is a long, wild, bumpy ride.

We all know the "real" answer is that Mattel wanted to bring more money and free advertizing in just like they did with Julie's barbie (barbie is made by mattel as well if you didn't know)

BUT

The in-universe explantion is much more thought provoking and fun to theorize.

Ok so, my theory on this is that in the AG universe, the dolls do exist (which is now obvious and confirmed) and are exactly the same as in our universe BUT one difference: the stories are based on real people rather than being fictional

So like in the AG universe, the girls descendants (or they themselves, if they were/are still alive) sell their story and appearance to pleasent rowland/mattel.

This has evidence in 3 places:

1: The mini dolls, were originally released as "dolls for your dolls: As in, Historical dolls for your American girl of today. This was changed later, but it still has always stuck in my mind

2: Z Yang's old youtube videos that AG released in preparation for Nanea's release. I can't find the specific videos now, but i remember in 2017 there was a few stop motion videos where Z Yang is seen playing with mini dolls (which are meant to be her own AG dolls) and she also talks about Nanea's upcoming release.

She makes an offhand comment about wishing she could have nanea on her show. Now, if she meant interviewing her own little Nanea doll, or an actual full sized nanea doll being in the room with her (Like how people on here just put all their historical dolls they own together in thier own "Universe" because why not) i would give it a pass but, Z talks about Nanea as if she were a real person who is unavailable for interview. Which would make sense if in Z's universe, Nanea was a real 84 year old woman who sold her life story and would probably be unwilling to fly to seattle for an interview and/or didn't know how to work a computer for an online call.

3: Courtney's molly doll. This is the most damning evidence of all, and one that sent alot of people into a frenzy, and what you orignally asked me. Before this was released, alot of people were content to believe that the historical girls all lived in one long timeline in the same universe, so we could have fun theories like Marie Grace and Grandmary, but courtney's books shattered that illusion.

She has her own Molly doll, and her books go into heavy detail about pleasent company in the 80s. This now meant that

A: Courtney took place in a seperate timeline than the other girls

or

B: they all took place in thier own universes with no crossovers allowed unless dr strange gets into here somehow.

Alot of people thought this because they assume that either AG dolls didn't exist in the AG-verse OR that it did exist, and its exactly the same as it works in our universe

But it doesn't have to be that way! We can still have all the girls on one timeline, with a bit of editing.

So lets say that in 1986, just like in our universe, Pleasent Rowland still gets the bright idea to make educational dolls to teach children the history of the USA, but instead of having authors make fictional characters, she seeks out real people.

This is where the timeline splits between our universe and thier universe (well it split a while before that when the girls were born but whatever) Anyway, She seeks out the story of 3 girls to start with. She finds the desendants of Kirsten and Samantha (Or possibly samantha herself if she was still alive in the 80s) and went straight to Molly.

They told their stories to her, she made it as usual, and boom, pleasent company is born. In this universe, she pays royalties to them or their families for using their stories and image, but the company makes millions so its worth it. The rest of the characters are made in the same way, and eventually in 2020, Courtney herself sells her story of her childhood growing up in the 80s. And that is how courtney can have a molly doll and still be in one big happy AG universe.

#late night rambles #its 11 pm help #please tell me y'all understand what im trying to say here #historical dolls

[shuttershocky]

I know there's probably alot of jokes because thier names are similar to each other, but is there any parallels between Amiya and Emiya (shirou that is)? Cause i feel like there might be, considering theyre both kids tearing themselves apart to save the world.

Oh? Haven't you seen her use Gradation Air just like Shirou does?

But seriously though.

At a glance, you could say Amiya and Emiya Shirou share a lot of traits. both heavily traumatized teenagers in a fantasy story where their trauma also doubles as the thematic core the whole story revolves around.

That being said, I'd argue that in a lot of ways Amiya and Shirou couldn't be more different. Shirou for example, is treated by his narrative as a man (for he is to have sex. Lots and lots of sex.) even if he's really only 3-4 years older than Amiya. The one adult figure in his life is kept out of the way of the plot (sorry, Taiga), because all this death that he must confront is something that he must do as his own man, even if he's still just a boy running after the ghost of his father.

Shirou is also the main protagonist of a story that dissects the fantasy concept of the heroic ideal. It acts as both the expression of his trauma and the source of his ambition—manifesting as his extreme survivor's guilt that does not let him think of himself as a person and therefore never allowing himself to truly be understood by others, despite his friendly nature, but also as his terrifying will that drives him forward no matter how fractured his soul is, even to the point where the version of him post Fate route that chases after his impossible ideal still somehow makes it happen and enters Avalon (thanks Merlin!)

Amiya on the other hand, is a child. No matter how competent, eloquent, intelligent, and brave she is, Arknights constantly reminds you that before anything else, she is a child. Indeed, she represents the children living in tragedy. Though Kal'tsit and The Doctor try their best to ease her burden, they can't change what she has to go through, especially not the kind of horrors she must see with her own eyes. No parent can. They can only walk with her down that long, bloody road, watching her childhood be lost to wartime.

If Fate/Stay Night examines a core aspect of fantasy storytelling, Arknights as a narrative uses the apocalyptic Terra as a reflection of the real world; its many nations being clearly inspired by the real world's countries, and its many stories dripping with social commentary. Amiya's powers are a representation of her role in all of that: she is an empath because empathy is natural to humans; it has to be taken away from them by cruelty and desperation, and (we would like to believe that) children are still too young to be warped by hardship. Where Shirou cannot connect to people because of his trauma keeping him from having a sense of self, Amiya risks losing her sense of self connecting to everyone, synchronizing with their memories and emotions until she's recalling pieces of people who aren't her, feeling their joy, love, pain, and trauma. The impossible ideal she chases doesn't involve her becoming anything, what she wants is for all people to understand each other the way she can (though she would never say her powers let her read minds or understand hearts, only feel them in herself).

______________________

What gives Shirou and Amiya a similar vibe though is the one concept they share that involves the thematic core of their characters: the tragedy of the sword.

These are two characters for whom fighting and adventure have no appeal. One of them is a homemaker, and the other a healer. The sole reason they keep moving forward on a path not meant for them is that fate decreed it was their purpose to take the world's hurt away.

That's what makes the climactic moment where they reach into their minds and forge their swords so powerful: there's a hint of bitterness underneath the triumph. Even if they win the day or save everyone with their courage, theirs are still gentle souls.

And swords only do one thing.

#I really loved the detail that to create the sword #Amiya had to synchronize with the memory of the old Sarkaz King who wielded it #and then their backstory was that he was fucking John Wick. But instead of resting after taking his revenge #the old king killed himself #consumed by hatred. THEN Amiya forged his sword. #It was such a fucked up little detail that really hammered in how horrifying her powers are #Needing to synchronize with that and feel the old king's pain and rage in order to wield his blade #It reminded me a lot of Shirou's projection being different from a normal mage's because he understands everything about a weapon #Not just its makeup but its history #Which lets him replicate its powers

[kinsey3furry300]

So how the heck do the Avengers pay for stuff, and how rich are they?

So, in the wake of “Falcon and the Winter Soldier” There’s a lot of debate about why Sam didn’t seem to get paid well for his work in the Avengers (at least in the MCU continuity), and this has got me thinking: we’ve got no evidence that the Avengers are, financially, anything but a hot mess. So lets break it down, Avenger by Avenger, using real-world pay scales for the ones who have jobs.

Tony: a billionaire, so clearly he’s a financial genius, right? Well….. his actions say otherwise. He’s shown to be wildly irresponsible with his money. He inherited a lot of wealth form his parents which was managed by the first Jarvis, Obadiah, and Pepper for him, he buys and then gives away not just woks of art, but entire collections by major 20th century artists on a whim, destroyed his own cars and home without concern, he tanks the value of his own company in the first Iron Man with a bad press interview, gets kicked of his own bord of directors, and ultimately, in Iron Man 2, gives control of his company to Pepper. He’s insanely rich, and insanely smart, but man, he’s not smart with his money. So all the cool stuff, his suits, the Avengers tower, the facility up-state: that’s all paid for by him, but Pepper is holding the purse-stings.  So, does he pay the others? We have no evidence for most of them… but we do with Spidey. Peter Parker is in the Stark Internship Program a euphemism to hide the fact he’s training and mentoring him as a super-hero, but I find the wording interesting: he refers to Spidey, his surrogate son and chosen heir, as an intern. I.E., Unpaid.  I’m guessing this is Howard’s influence over him, some sort of ‘make you own way in the world, son’ attitude, but  if he’s not paying Spidey, is he paying anyone else? He certainly pays for stuff super heroes suits and things, equipment, fuel, the base, but does he pay anyone a wage? No one ever mentions it. You think it would come up.

So, if he’s not paying them a wage, where do Avengers  (and thier allies) get their day-to-day money from, and are they rich? Using google and https://www.federalpay.org, lets find out.

Cap: Well, before Civil war, he’s a shield operative, and he presumably still holds his military rank: he’s a US Army captain, with (well) over 40 years service, so USD$88,142.40 per year, with $237.71  drill pay (pay per drill you have to do on weekends, on leave or outside of normal service) and $175.00 per month hazard pay (which I bet is interesting) on top of that. As a WW2 veteran, he’d be eligible for a war pension if he:

Was not discharged for dishonorable reasons; and,

Served 90 days of active military duty; and,

Served at least one day during wartime ("wartime" as determined by the VA); and,

Had  countable family income below a certain yearly limit; and,

Is  age 65 years or older; or

Regardless of age is permanently disabled, not due to wilful misconduct.

As he’s still receiving 90k per year, he’s ineligible for a pension as his countable yearly income is above the limit.  So if shield pays him in accordance with his rank and years of service, about $90, 600 per year incuding hazard pay.

After civil war, he’s a fugitive on the run, so presumably flat broke. I’d asume he gets his pension returened to him after the snap.

He’s also just gone from the 40’s to the present day, so 70 years of inflation probably makes buying things very confusing for him: everything would seem insanely expensive at first. He’d also not know what the correct prices are for anything invented after 45. You might get used to how much more expensive food and coffee is, but how much is a smart-phone worth? $200? $2000 $20000? Who knows? I bet the others have to facepalm a lot when he either refuses to pay for what he sees as clear price-gouging, and at the same time regularly pays insane amounts of money for goods and services because he doesn’t know better. He also has no known assets other than his pay: he rents an apartment making him one of the few American males in his age-group who isn’t a home-owner

Thor: Does Asgard even have currency? It’s depicted like a “Crystal spires and toga” type utopia with no poverty: even working class Asgardian’s like Scourge seem to be pretty well-off and want for nothing, so he’s from a post-scarcity society where actual magic is a thing. His “Another” coffee cup smashing and the fact he doesn’t have a computer of phone in Ragnarök might indicate that, no, he just doesn’t have, need or understand money. Splitting a bar tab with him must be a nightmare. His breakdown post snap indicates he’s got some cash, but not a huge amount, and is probably skiving of Valkyrie and the other Asgardians.

Banner: Okay, so a PhD could make you a lot of money from patents… in pharmacology or engineering. Theoretical physics? Not so good. And if Banner did have any patents, they’ve probably been seized under eminent domain by the US military.  At the start of The Hulk film, he’s working a entry-level factory job at a botteling plant in Brazil. The minimum wage in Brazil is 1069.62 Real per month, that’s 12,835.44 Real per year, or around $2437.79 US per year, before everything goes wrong for him! He then runs off to India, works for Tony for a bit and then gets shot into space. Spidey may actually make more in allowance than Banner does, and Banner is a gown ass man with bills to pay: I’d imagine he loses a lot in ripped clothing.

Natasha and Barton: Pre Civil-war, both are government spooks, so how well does that pay? The salaries of CIA Intelligence Analysts based in the US range from $25,838 to $685,701 , with a median salary of $125,340, so let’s assume that Shield pays in a similar range: $685,701 per year for Director Fury, around 125,000 for Natasha and Cliff, which explains Cliff’s nice, middle-class mid-western home. Post civil war, presumably not great: we know that Natasha spends a lot of her savings running and hiding all across the world, and Cliff takes a deal and presumably lives of his savings, pension and his wife’s income.

Rhodes: Full USAF colonel with over 10 years service? $105,562.80 per year, plus $293.23 drill pay per drill and $175 per month hazard pay, and because he’s team Stark and not Team Cap in Civil War, he’d not lose any of that. He presumably also gets an injury pay-out after his accident. After T’challa and Stark, he might be the best paid avenger.

Dr Strange: spends all his money he made as a surgeon on trying to cure his hands: spends literally his last dollars heading to Nepal to train. Wong even jokes with him about their lack of worldly money when asking for a tuna-melt. But, can use illusion to make people think he has money, and his home and clothes etc. come with the job, so in the same boat as Thor in that he has no money, but needs none AKA, he’s a bastard to try and split a restaurant bill with.

Wanda and Vision: No know source of income, just sort of live in Tony’s hose and eat his food, and on top of that Wanda goes on the run after civil war… yet they can stay in fancy hotels in Edinburgh, a relatively expensive city, and Vison apparently bought them a house to retire in, so one of them has some source of money. Maybe Tony gave Vision years of back-pay form when he was still Jarvis, or maybe the vison has a day job, which is, frankly, hilarious. Could you imagine him as a barista? I can, and it makes me very happy.

Scott Lang: I’d assumed he’d be super, super broke, but apparently the average pay for a private security consultant in the Bay area is $85,430 per year. Not bad. Pity he gets sucked into the quantum realm just as his business is taking off, so presumably, flat broke again.

Bucky: no known income, and I doubt Hydra paid him for being the Winter Soldier so he probably has no savings, but he should, technically, qualify for a military pension. As a single veteran, he’d be  eligible for federal tax-free pension of up to $1732 per month, or $20,784 tax free per year. Not much for someone who lives in NYC. He may also be eligible for medical benefits over the loss of his arm. Whether or not he got to see any of that money given how confused his life has been over the past 10 years is unclear, but on paper he’s eligible.

T’challa: He is, quite possibly, richer than Stark, and as an absolute monarch pays no tax and has access to his Nation’s vast wealth in vibanium. It’s good to be the king!

Captain Marvel: USAF captain, and a test pilot; the test pilot school only accepts applicants with a service length of less than 9 years 6 months (10 years six moths of helicopters) as they don’t want older applicants. With 8 years service, $79,538.40, plus drill pay and hazard.  However, no know (human) pay since 1990. Flat broke.

Guardians of the Galaxy: no data, but I’m assuming “Cowboy Bebop” levels of perpetual never-ending poverty given the way they choose to live. I’d also assume Rocket has taken all their cash into some sort of Ponzi scheme of his own creation, because just look at him, of course he has.

Spidey: he’s got about $10 of his aunts’ money at any given time, so he can buy lunch… which may in fact be more than Banner or Lang, and we know it’s more that Strange or Thor.

 So, here the big one: how rich or how broke is Sam?

Sam Wilson: annoyingly, we’re not directly told what rank Sam held in any MCU film. USAF pararescue “Maroon berets” are generally NCO’s (but there’ are officer-ranked pararescue) , and he’s seen working on his wings at one point, where as officers don’t generally work on or maintain airframes. He’s shown wearing a Nation Air guard grey while jogging at one point to confuse the matter further. The general consensus on redit is he’s a former USAF tech sergeant (E-6). But how long was he in the air force? With six years service (the minimum sensible time he could have served to work in pararescue based on his age), that would be $41,464.80 per year, plus drill pay and hazard. As Anthony Mackie, the actor that plays him, was 36 as of Civil War, and assuming the character is the same age, and assuming he retired from the air force that year, and he joined the USAF at 17, the youngest you can join, he’d have served 19 years, giving him a pay of $51,566.40, the maximum pay you can get at this rank before promotion to Master Sergent,  but meaning he left just before he’d qualify for the 50% final salary pension you’d qualify for after 20 years. Which seems weird. So let’s assume the character is one year older than the actor that plays him and served 20 years (ages 17-37), that means Sam has a military pension of $25,783.20 per year (20,784 of it tax-free), plus any injury benefits. He councils other veterans, but doesn’t get paid for that. He also chooses Team Cap in Civil War, so would become a wanted criminal, and so lose his income between 2016 and 2018, and then gets snapped and has no income for 5 years, which would destroy his credit rating. Like the rest of Team Cap, he presumably gets his post snap pardon, and goes to work for the US government at his former pay and rank. However, given how Captain John Walker treats him as an equal, it’s possible he’s been promoted to a captain when the  hired back, giving him a pay of between $54,176.40 to $88,142.40 (with 20 years experience, depending on if they take into account his prior service or not, and how much prior service he has), but either way, he’s just starting this as a new job after being legally dead for 5 years: no savings, and no credit.

Commercial fishing vessels cost about 10% of their total value per year in maintenance alone. I can’t identify what sort of boat the Wilson’s have, but some quick googling indicates that the cheapest  15m long wooden in-shore shrimp trawler costs around $140,000, so that’s $14,000 per year in maintenance costs alone, minimum. And that’s a lower estimate, assuming the rest of the business is sound, which we know it isn’t.

So, in concussion, yes, Sam is in some serious financial trouble until he can re-build his savings and credit, but the scary bit is he’s not alone in that: he’s probably better off than Lang, Banner, Danvers, Strange, Thor, Bucky, Wanda and Parker. Only Clint (if he gets a full pardon and gets his full pension), Rhodes, Stark and T’challa aren’t in some sort of potential financial problems. That asshole bank teller was right: despite the fact it seems to pay well on paper, with a few exceptions, the Avengers financials are probibaly a mess. EDIT: Rocket is running the Ponzi scheme, if that’s not clear from context. The others know they have money somewhere, but not where it’s gone. And It’s been pointed out to me that as he’s technically a POW while he’s the Winter Soldier, Bucky is owed over 70 years back-pay, equal to over 3 million dollars, details in the notes.

#MCU #sam wilson #falcon #captin marvel #captin america #tony stark #iron man #war machine #winter solider #bucky barnes #guardians of the galaxy #rocket raccoon #dr strange #hulk #wanda #vison #wandavision #the avengers #fan theory #working out how rich or poor mcu people are #what the heck do Tony Starks tax returns look like? #black panther #black widow #hawkeye #ant man #thor #rich list #peter parker #spiderman #federal pay scales

[pankowfruitsnackswriting]

losing sight of you (p.h)

My work is NOT to be transferred, translated, reposted or copied to any other sites without my permission. That is plagiarism. But you can re-blog the heck out of it on here :)

paring(s): pope x maybank!reader

summary: Ricky hears word of the accident and offered his help. (part three in losing sight of you)

warning: angst, tough love

(master list) (tag list) 

"JJ! JJ!" The terrified voice called, and JJ rushed to his sister's side in seconds. The two haven't been separate since the accident, not that he wanted to be far from her. She always needed him.

"I'm here, Y/n. It's all right, I'm right here."

Y/n clung to her brother as if her life depended on it, trembling from head to foot. Her fear of the dark started when she was a child, now she stood in an infinite abyss of darkness and slightest change sent her into a spiral. Poor JJ put up with all the fits and tantrums, but the exhaustion was evident on his face. Not that y/n could see.

"Here," JJ suggested, "there's a small breeze you can feel from the porch. Why don't we go sit out there?"

She furiously shook her head. "No." No way she would sit on the front where people could walk by and stare. Not that they didn't stare anyways. She did everything to avoid anyone.

JJ understood her concern, but it was getting old. His sister was giving up on living and that broke his heart. "Then let me put a chair in front of the back window."

"Help me?" Her voice shook. She could barely sit down by herself.

"Take my hand." The pair began to move through out the house with y/n clutching his arm. The boy winced as she squeezed a particular tender spot. His arm was littered with scratches and bruises from y/n. She couldn't help it, she barely noticed anything other than her current and permanent state.

JJ took a seat on the couch, giving his sister some space and allowing him some personal time to think. He was barely holding on. There's no way he could continue this on his own. It's been three weeks to the day since the accident and it's been just as long since he went out. John B, Kie, and Sarah made efforts to stop by while the young girl slept or the girls helped when she needed to bathe. They've only seen her a few times, but the times was always cut short when she got "too tired." Truth is she was scared they would be staring too long and her insecurities got the best of her.

Y/n was terrified most of the time. The thought of never knowing what's before her was the worst. She couldn't see what was lurking in the shadows. At night when she was left in her room, JJ could here her cries, but he knew he couldn't be there forever. She had to get through the night on her own. Sometimes he would rush into her room, just to make sure she was alright, but ended up standing silently in the corner, letting tears escape his own eyes. He felt weak. First his sister, then hearing that his dad had fled the island. He never felt so alone and disconnected from his friends. He especially felt distant from his own sister. They used to stay up late talking about thier futures, getting off the island, getting away from Luke. Now he could barely get a full sentence out of her. She lost her eye sight and he lost his sister.

He used to love taking care of his sister, it was one of the joys of being a brother, but recently it was as his he was taking care of a seventeen year old baby. He hated to think that but it was too much sometimes. He didn't know what to do. He was helping her get ready in the morning, helping her eat. Again, he was growing weary.

Now JJ laid on the couch, staring at his sister. The blind girl just sat there. JJ tried to understand, but he couldn't. Her world shrunk until it was population one. A world where only she existed. It was unfair for JJ to think ill of her in this state, but y/n was being selfish. She didn't think how this affected him as well.

Just as quick as the thought came, the guilt was quick to follow. He desperately tried to sort through it when he heard a thump at the door.

"What was that?"

"Someone's at the door." He began to get up.

"Are you leaving?" Her body began to shake as she stretched out her arm.

"You stay here and sit tight. I'll be right back." With that, he kissed her forehead and walked away.

JJ was a little shocked to see Ricky standing on the porch, but the man was never unwelcomed. In fact, he was greeted with a familiar hug. "It's good to see you. What do I owe the pleasure?" JJ did his best to mask anything other than content and any ounce of joy he could muster.

"The fact I had to hear the news from people at work. I waited for you to tell me, but it's been too long." Ricky's eyes shown with hurt.

"It hasn't been easy. I've been-" his voice trailed off.

"Maybe I can offer some assistance because you look like dog shit man. Plus I have some experience with this all working in the medical field." JJ noticed the sincerity in his voice, he just hoped y/n did too.

"Come in." He offered. Stepping to the side. Ricky was a few steps into the house when y/n let out a wail. JJ ran to the room his sister remained in. Ricky just followed him at a slower pace, watching his cousin attempt to calm the girl down.

"Who's here?" She managed to speak up after some time.

He spoke softly. "Hey there, Apple Bee."

The girl stilled, looking like statue. "Hello Ricky."

"How's the arm?" She turned her face to the cool air, ignoring the question. Her sprained wrist wasn't the issue.

JJ gave an apologetic look. One that's never to far behind the mask. "Bruised and sprained. Doctor said she's lucky it wasn't broken."

Ricky nodded and took a seat. Silence filled the air, but not for long. Y/n began to throw her head around as if she was searching for something. Her hands followed suit as she tried to stand. "JJ? Are you here? Please tell me you didn't leave." Her voice was frantic.

Ricky noticed the panic in JJ's eyes and saw how much it affected him. Just glimpse into how the last few weeks have been. "Answer her from here." Ricky grabbed his shoulder.

"What?"

"Sit back down and answer from where you were."

JJ was confused, but listened anyways. "I'm still here, y/n. I haven't left."

"JJ! JJ!" The cries increased, but JJ forced himself sit back down.

"He's sitting down. Do you hear him?" Ricky managed to stay calm. "Does he sound mad, like he's playing a mean trick on you?"

"No." Her lower lip quivered. "B- but, I need to feel him."

"You're okay. He can't be at your every beckoning call. You need to trust us." Her breathing began to calm down as she stilled back into her chair. "JJ loves you, but you're taking advantage of him. You need to learn to do things on your own."

Ricky saw the pain in her face, knowing he struck a nerve. It was harsh, but from the short time he was there, he knew JJ was going to lose it. "Go to her."

And JJ went, grabbing her hand in his. "I'm so sorry."

"I'm done for the day. I want to go to my room." He chin tilted upwards.

"You are capable to take yourself." Ricky said sternly.

Frustration began to rise as she went to ask JJ. "I think, I'll let you find your way."

The girl collapse on the floor. "Please help me, JJ. Please."

The emotions got to much for the blonde boy, so he decided to step out of the house. "I'm getting some air. You'll be okay."

Ricky nodded, silently applauding his choice. "There's a lot of work that needs to be done. But I want you be self sufficient. I'm gonna to have to be hard on you, but it's because I love you, Apple Bee."

"I can't do it."

"Stand up, and I'll help you count your steps." She shyly stood up.

"Where's JJ?"

"He went outside, just like he said he would." The patient tone was back. "We're in the living room. Your turned away from the window. Tv on your left, the hallway your room is on the right."

And the journey began. It wasn't going to be easy for anyone, but JJ knew, with Ricky around, he would be able to breathe.

(next part)

tags: @pogueslandia​ @1-800-brain-and-heart​ @novxturient​ @samxslaughter​ @wannabestarkeysgirl​ @mazzelloswannabegirl​​ @maybankforlife

#outer banks cast #outer banks imagines #outer banks x reader #outer banks #outer banks season three #jj maybank #jj maybank imagines #pope x you #pope x y/n #pope x reader #pope imagine #angst #fluff #obx

[rwablikesthisstuff]

@punishing-gray-raven-ocs I finally finished my Commandant OC!

Aster 'Ash' Chevallier

Aster was born on earth and raised by mercenaries. Thier cheerful disposition hides a cunning and effecient soldier, clever enough to survive the hellscape that is earth. The members of Babylonia stumbled upon them quite by accident but saw the spark of something great in them, and invited them to join thier Commandant program. On the brink of falling into despair, they accepted the offer in a desperate bid to give meaning to all the horror and loss. Now they fight for everyone they lost who could only dream of survival.

History

Aster was born on earth to parents they only vaguely remember. The strongest memory, and recurring nightmare, is of a man who looks a lot like them desperately begging a soldier to be allowed on a helicopter, the soldier pushes him back and the conversation gets heated as the sounds of violence get closer. In the end the man picks them up and shoves them at the soldier, the man who looks a lot like them is crying now and begging again. The soldier gives them a long look and then nods, and the man who looks a lot like them sets them in the helicopter, crying and hugging them, and then the helicopter is pulling up as the violence spills into the area surrounding the man. It's at that point Aster generally wakes up in a cold sweat.

Aster was raised by a rather rough group of mercenaries who took all kinds of jobs, anything that paid in food or supplies. Anything people didn't want to send thier own people to do for one reason or another. The members of the group ranged from gangly youths looking to escape what ever hell hole they grew up in to hardened soldiers who had deserted what ever organization had trained them. There was a lot of coming and going, but also a core that remained largely unchanged.

Aster found a place in this rough and tumble world as a sort of camp Mascot, keeping spirits up with thier childish antics; though they were expected to earn thier keep as well. They did chores, helped with meal prep, cleaned gear, and as they grew older would occasionally be allowed to participate in jobs in strictly non-combat roles.

The leader of the mercenaries was a rather grizzled middle aged man, who had vehemently protested the presence of a child in thier group only to have grown too attached to Aster by the time they got to a place to ditch them to actually do it. He became Aster's father figure and is the one who taught them how to shoot and how to brawl. Others in the group also took to Aster and would teach Aster anything they had to teach, finding Aster a quick study and eager to learn. In return Aster always made sure to do what they could to make thier lives just that little bit easier.

It was a hard and dangerous life, and Aster soon became accustomed to people not coming back from jobs. Far from being ok with it though, Aster began to keep a list of all of those who never came back. It began to fester in thier soul, but when they would talk about changing things they were laughed down, surrounded by jaded adults.  The leader told them over and over 'folks like us, we can't afford to dream like that, if you got your head in the clouds you don't got your eyes on the enemy.'

Aster was likely around four when they started traveling with the mercenary group, by the time they were around 11 they were a strange little child, they spoke and acted like the hardened soldiers, but still bounced around with a childish energy. Shrewd and quick witted enough to survive, curious and intelligent enough to get into a lot of trouble. Only the threat of literally being put on a leash kept them in line.

Around this time Aster was left with a customer for a particularly dangerous job; which wasn't unusual, the threat of the mercenaries coming back kept them safe. Or safer than taking them into dangerous areas at least. But this time the mercenaries never came back, and Aster noticed the strange adults around them starting to have a lot of hushed conversations in which they glanced furtively at Aster. Aster knew whatever they were planning probably wasn't good and noped out. For what ever purpose they had they tried to catch Aster, but Aster was raised by a bunch of mercs good enough to survive the hellscape the earth had become and easily outwitted them.

They tried desperately to find out what happened to the rest of the mercenaries, the only family they had, but to no avail. They were a clever child, but still only a child, they tracked the mercs traces as far as they could but when confronted by corrupted thier little pistol did no good and they were forced to flee and find a way to survive in this cruel and dangerous world. It was a difficult few years, and would have broken most people, but Aster is nothing if not resilient. They kept fighting.

By the time Babylonia found them they had taken up in a decent sized, fairly secure settlement and was leading a gang of children. In the pecking order of child gangs thiers sat at the top, they had even garnered interest from some of the criminal gangs that operated in the area. Though Aster wasn't a good candidate for becoming a construct, Babylonia saw a different kind of potential in them and invited them to come be part of thier Commandant program. Aster at first refused, it went against thier personal code to abandon thier companions. Not to mention, the things the people from Babylonia said sounded childish to them, the kind of dreams the world had beaten out of them years ago now.

After an attack on the community in which Aster lost someone close to them again to the cruelty of this world they changed thier mind. Suddenly they saw the rest of thier life unfolding in front of them, a life of constant strife, of constant loss, and being utterly powerless to change any of it. The horror of it overwhelmed them, and they briefly considered ending it. Just as they had made up thier mind a piece of paper fell from thier pocket, it was the list of people who had died while they were with the mercenary group. Aster had never been able to add the names of all of those who had never come back for them, yet they still carried the paper with them, even now. Aster decided to add everyone they had lost since and as they did thier resolve hardened. Being down to earth and practical had just led them to lose everything over and over. Fighting for scraps in the gutter did no one any good. They decided to take the risk of dreaming big. Big enough to dream to take back earth; and with them they would carry the memory of everyone they had lost who could only ever dream of survival. No more would they be a victim.

They would join Babylonia and become a Commandant.

Personality 

Aster comes across as cheerful and maybe even a little silly. They had perfected this persona during thier travels with the mercenary group. They put on a smile to see others smile, and would gladly act the fool to make them laugh. Thier easy manner also drew other children to them, allowing them to lead thier gang. This cheerful persona often puts people at ease, and causes them to miss the clever eyes that see everything and quick wits honed to a point by thier time surviving on earth. Because of this people often underestimate them; thier classmates were shocked when Aster came top of the class over and over.

Yet, Aster isn't competitive, willing to help anyone who came to them for help and genuinely interested in helping those around them improve. Aster doesn't care who saves earth, as long as someone does. The more talent and skill in thier ranks the more likely it is to happen.  They are internally driven to be the best they can be and eager to learn new things all the time. They had long shoved that childish curiosity deep down in favor of survival but once in a secure environment they could no longer help it. It absolutely still gets them in trouble.

Most people they come into contact with are content to label them as an eccentric genius. Aster will often offer up random bizarre facts from what ever obscure book on what ever obscure topic they have scrounged up. Aster has a passion for things that other people might find scary or gross. And they like to be surrounded by interesting people, and have found life as Commandant of the Grey Raven squad and all the people they get to meet because of it delightful. They are always up for shenanigans, if for no other reason than to see what happens.

That isn't to say they live with no regrets. They have often agonized over if this really was the right choice, if maybe they just decided to do this so they could live a more comfortable life. They feel like they have betrayed every single person still stuck on earth. It's something akin to survivors guilt, that they got out and so many are still suffering. When they think about all the people they have lost they become paralyzed with thoughts of losing the people around them now, reliving what they see as thier failures over and over again. The cheerful persona and general competence hides a scared kid who is afraid they won't ever be good enough, and that it will doom the people they love. Though, they would rather literally be shot than admit this to anyone around them. They will be the light that guides the way to a brighter future, their own personal feelings be damned.

In battle the cheerful persona drops and the battle hardened child of earth comes out. They are ruthless and daring, never afraid to enter the fray themselves. They grew up surrounded by peril, and seem to many around them to be fearless. They aren't. Aster is afraid of many things: failure, loosing people, the ocean, cleaning duty, the wierd noises that come out of engineering department. But in battle none of that matters, freezing means death, and not only thier death,  but the death of thier loved ones. And so, they keep moving, keep fighting, and never accept defeat no matter the odds. No death is ever acceptable, but on the battle field it is inevitable, they have accepted this duality, adding the names of the lost to thier list of people they carry with them towards a better future.

There is supposed to be a read more here if there isn't I apologize but as we know tumblr certainly is a fully functional app.

Relationships 

Lucia: Aster finds watching Lucia 'become' to be endlessly amusing and interesting. They will often find very strange facts and tell them to Lucia just to see how she reacts. This dynamic has led to Aster seeing Lucia as a little sister figure, meaning they are more protective of her than the other constructs 

Liv: If Aster ever finds the people who hurt Liv it will take more than Lee and Lucia to hold them back. They often think that they are fighting for all those like Liv, so that the gentle souls will never have to fight again. When they are in turmoil they will often seek out Liv, just to be around her. 

Lee: Aster holds Lee in incredibly high regard, and thus definitely seeks out his approval. At the same time his very uptight no nonsense personality makes them want to tease him all the time. They have settled into an easy companionship, often trading off who is teasing who. Aster will sometimes read passages to Lee while he is tinkering so they can discuss whatever Aster is studying at the time. 

Nanami: Wild, never boring, a good time. Sometimes too much. Aster doesn't know how she manages to find them no matter where they hide. An unstoppable wave, Aster has learned to let it wash over them. 

Watanabe: After Aster got over seething about Watanabe putting thier Liv in danger, they imprinted on him almost immediately. He and the forsaken remind them of their mercenary family and that endeared them to them quickly. Aster enjoys pestering Watanabe, the more gruff and gently annoyed he is the happier Aster is. 

Kamui: Though Kamui's tendency to rush in and ruin thier careful battle plans irritates them, Aster finds it difficult to ever stay mad at him. Aster is also jealous of Kamui's truly upbeat and cheerful personality, it makes them acutely aware of the fact that they feel like they are fooling everyone with thier own persona. Finding out that even the cheerful Kamui could have a dark side was a relief. When they have an idea they know is bad but they are determined to do it anyways, Kamui is the one they seek out. They have had some excellent shenanigans. 

Camu: What a complete bastard. A very interesting bastard. They are still getting to know him but Aster is very curious. What no, I wasn't following you I was just in the same place as you again, and uh, again, ahahah. What a coincidence. 

Trivia

Often goes by Ash, a nickname given to them by the leader of the mercenaries when other members kept calling them a ruder short version of thier name.

Chose thier last name, when Babylonia asked them for one, based off the stories one of the mercs told them as a child.

Was half feral when they came to Babylonia, and struggled to adjust to life there. Three meals a day AND regular showers? Surely thats excessive. Their minder may or may not have had a mild breakdown trying to get them to use utensils at every meal. 

Still can't help but hoard food, like, just in case, you never know, look, they went hungry a lot ok. 

Bad at sleeping, struggles to fall asleep, terrible nightmares, and is a very light sleeper. 

Loves coats, jackets, hoodies. Has an unreasonable number of them. 

Hats and scarfs as well. 

Once read a book about pigeons that made them cry. Now pigeons are their favorite animal.

Wants to have a pey rat to ride around on thier shoulder so so bad.

Loves to give rediculous responses if people ask them what they want to do once they take back earth. Like start an earthworm farm, or breed sewer gators. They are hiding the fact that they don't think they will live to see that day. 

Swears like someone raised by a bunch of mercenaries; that is to say fluently, often, and in at least four different languages. 

Picrew Links

I hope you enjoy them!

#pgr #pgr oc #ocs #punishing grey raven