#a very peculiar fairy tale

[laurasimonsdaughter]

What if Disney adapted The Juniper Tree?

Honestly, to adapt a fairy tale that hinges so heavily on child murder, cannibalism, and matricide, I think Disney would have to go all the way back to its (sometimes deeply uncomfortable) animated fairy tale roots: Silly Symphonies.

An approach like with Babes in the Wood and The Big Bad Wolf:

If they dwelt really strongly on how sad the father is, how good the sister and brother, how evil the (step)mother, and how perfectly happy the ending, it might work.

But really, this is a horror story. No matter how decidedly it ends with the note that "all three were very happy" this story begins and ends with death. I suppose you could make a purposefully dark adaptation for adults that dwells on these aspects, but...doesn't sound like a great time.

Weirdly enough I rather liked this story as a kid! I had it on a casette. The bit where the magical bird goes "I do not sing twice for nothing!" and is given the little red shoes in return for singing again was my favourite. That's a very sweet image, isn't it? Pity about all the murder

#disney goggles #the juniper tree #a very peculiar fairy tale #my sister never liked me listening to it

[gallusrostromegalus]

Do mermaids exist in tpof?

There's exactly one "Classic" Mermaid. A pregnant woman on the west coast of Ireland was afflicted by a curse where she'd give birth to a Lingcod instead of a human baby, but since she was carrying twins, the curse was split between them. One sister has a human head, chest and abdomen, and from her pelvic girdle on she has the powerful and beautiful tail of a Blue Lingcod. She's the current record holder for long-distance swimming, starred in several movies and holds multiple modelling contracts- but she's always been notably jealous of her sister, who has the head and chest of a Lingcod but the pelvis and legs of a human and (the source of her sister's ire) a devoted husband.

There's a few things that European sailors could have mistaken for human women while they were on long voyages, dying of syphilis and scurvy too- Dugong and Dolphins both exist in great numbers in TPOFATGIF, along with some very large Mimic Octopodes. But the most likely, or at least, most startling candidate is a creature only described in 1996- Ziphiius andersoni, or "Anderson's Beaked Whale", after the first ...semi-credible witness.

Ziphidae is a family of deep-diving whales whales known almost entirely by beached corpses, and Z. andersoni holds the peculiar title of the most and least seen member of the family. No body has ever been found to examine, but the animal is (apparently) the subject of many amateur sightings.

Like most Beaked Whales, Z. andersoni is about 13 feet long, and shaped like an extremely hydrodynamic sweet potato- a sharply tapered head, tubular body with small pectoral fins and a minimal dorsal fin, and an similarly sharply tapered tail with small fins, and a mouth with only two teeth- a pair of overdeveloped lower canine teeth that form a pair of tusks. Unlike most marine life, Z. andersoni has reverse Cryptic camouflage- where most marine animals are darkly colored on the dorsal side and pale beneath to hide from predators in the open water, Z. andersoni has a large, bright white pattern on it's back that starts at the head and runs the length of it's spine and across the tail fin, and includes both pectoral and pelvic saddle patches. between the whale's darkened and unusually anterior blowholes and the gloom of the twilight waters they inhabit, Z. andersoni's peculiar markings bear a STARTLING resemblance to a human woman with a piscene tail.

The species is named after the famed Fairy Tale Author, Hans Christen Anderson, who in 1835 saw what he described as a "Mermaid" swimming near the surface of the North Sea coast near Hanstholm, Denmark, when out in a rowboat with a cousin on a summer holiday. The Mermaid was "Ghostly pale, with large, dark eyes that stared up at us as she passed. She circled the boat thrice, seemingly regarding us with sadness, before she vanished into a cloud of sea-foam and we could not find her again." This encounter inspired him to write The Little Mermaid the following year. Despite his and his cousin's insistence that the event took place exactly as described, it was largely written off by the general public, and Anderson was discouraged from sharing it by his publisher.

In 1996, a family had a similar experience while Kayaking, save that this time the encounter took place in the sunny clear waters off Baja, Nihofornia, and the family had a video camera. A juvenile Z. andersoni approached them, circled the family a few times and even hung out under them for almost 12 minutes. This video proof sparked international interest, with dozens of other pictures, videos and oral accounts coming forward about encounters with these strangely friendly yet elusive creatures.

Most Recently, an exceptional individual, thought to be an old bull from it's size (i and scarring was seen following underwater welders as they repaired an underwater naval installation, picking off the curious squid that came to investigate the lights. The Naval Engineers have nicknamed the animal "The Duke", short for "Ducolax" on account of one of the engineers realizing there was 16-foot long, multi-ton carnivore floating just over his shoulder and (understandably) shitting himself.

#TPOFATGIF #The Power Of Friendship (And This Gun I Found!) #Yugioh #Yugioh fanfic #this is nowhere NEAR the weirdest thing that the whale family has produced in that Universe #Illustration to follow

[manicpixiefelix]

*crashes my imaginary car into your inbox*

OLLIE WHO WAS ADOPTED BY READER'S FAMILY!!!!!

I know this is a major shift in established dynamics but hear me out!!!

What if Oliver's tales about his home life were actually true, worse even so he ended up an orphan? He gets adopted by Reader's parents for the optics mainly because it makes them look good and they figure it'll provide their heir with a companion.

So they become this peculiar little duo, both very observant of the world and people around them. Ollie is a stranger to this world of the ultra rich and endures etiquette classes.

Oliver Quick becomes Oliver L/N, the boy uplifted from squalor by the heroic family *eye roll*

Reader is fiercely protective of their brother and will ruin anyone that insinuates he's not ~really~ family

I know we've never really discussed the ancestral home of Reader but I imagine it is every bit as grand and impressive as Saltburn. Ollie's favorite room is definitely the massive library.

BEEN THINKING ABOUT THIS A LOT OF COURSE I LOVE HOW YOUR MIND WORKS!!!!

Of course your parents love the optics of it all.

You're six when they adopt Oliver, and he's five; this mousy little thing who doesn't smile often and barely speaks and can't look you in the eyes. He shys away from your overbearing, performative parents, but you seem to be able to see how overwhelmed he's getting. There's no words in your first interaction, only gestures, taking and keeping Oliver's focus as best you can to ground him in the moment; you teach him a simple game, and he returns the favour. Not a word between you two. By the end of the visit, you realise the adults have gone quiet; your parents and Oliver's case worker are just watching you both, marvelling. As you're looking away, Oliver himself finally steps towards you, taking your hand carefully and half hiding himself from them behind you, as if already deciding to trust you. You and Oliver had begun the day as strangers, and ended as siblings.

Your parents love to tell anyone who will listen about how when you first met Oliver you 'practically fixed yourself to his side and haven't moved since'. You look like the perfect family in photos, and the press is quick to forget how little research your parents did on the last charity they very publicly supported, and it's less than ideal history. Oliver learns to smile on command the way you feel like you've always known, but at least they don't make the two of you seperate in these moments.

Oliver says your house is like a fairy tale. At first he sticks close by you, overwhelmed by it all, but as the days turn to weeks and then months, you start to lose him as he goes exploring amongst the estate's many rooms and corridors. No-one knows the old house better then you, but Oliver is a close second; Nan says Mother used to scurry around just like you did, used to know every trick the old house had, but that was a lifetime ago.

Mother's study locks from the inside and Father works long hours in the city, so it's up to you to help Oliver settle in with the nannys and the tutors and the rest of the staff. Your parents like to buck tradition, so they're not precious enough to hire anyone to teach Oliver the etiquette that usually comes with wealth and a house like this, so long as he was polite and respectful and sweet faced in public, they couldn't care less which fork he used for salad. Honestly adults at events found his lack of grace and understanding of their unspoken rules charming in its sincerity. You, however, know that their condescending adoration grates on your brother's nerves as they talk to him like he was some kind of pet.

On the weekends Nan comes over, and it's clear that Oliver likes her the best of all the adults in your lives. Like you she doesn't pressure him to talk, always taking his silence in stride, but also taking the time and putting in the effort to understand him when he does try and communicate, however that may be.

In public - not that you're in public a lot - you and Oliver tend to cling to each other. As you grow older, even as you stop physically holding on to each other, you barely seem to stray from each other's shadow. Of the two of you, Oliver still is the far more reserved one, happy to let you do the talking most of the time, often only sharing his thoughts as quiet asides to you alone.

Considering your parents had no choice but to publicly acknowledge you in this universe, you and Oliver very much grow up in the public eye. The strange, observant duo who seemed to have the uncanny ability to wrap rooms full of adults, the upper echelons of society, around their little fingers, grow into beautiful and bitchy socialites.

Considering you're both getting privately tutored instead of going to a proper school, most of your time is spent travelling and attending events. Following the various Fashion Weeks around the world is a yearly tradition since you were teens, you go to concerts and film festivals and galas, always together, always inseperable. Or at least, inseperable when being seen by people who might matter. Oliver's confidence grows, he's far more open and even talkative in public than when he was a kid, but there's comfort in your established dynamic too. It returns most often at formal events, with Oliver half a step behind you, murmuring his commentary and amusing aside to you throughout the night.

A few of the independent tabloids your family didn't own print unsavoury rumours about your closeness, but those get pulled from news stands within the day, and a few threats of defamation lawsuits make them think twice before printing those kinds of articles again.

Everyone in the Western world knows who you both are, or has at least heard of you. But thankfully it's been years since anyone had tried to tie Oliver back to the Poor Orphan Boy he was when he'd first been adopted. By the time you both get to Oxford, he's been your brother for so long that it's like the world has thankfully forgotten that it's not by blood.

#felix catton x reader x oliver quick #oliver quick x reader #oliver quick imagine #oliver ln au #head heart hand fic #saltburn x reader #saltburn imagine #it shouts back

[bestiarium]

The fairy folk of Elidorus [Welsh mythology, British mythology]

Elidorus is a Welsh folklore character who supposedly lived on the Gower Peninsula. As the story goes, when he was a young lad, Elidorus went to a very strict school where the rules were draconian and the children frequently received beatings. At one point, the boy couldn’t take it anymore and ran away, hiding in a hollow on a riverbank. Elidorus stayed there for several days, wondering what he would do now, when he was found by two peculiar tiny men.

They looked human – except for their diminutive stature – and had fair white skin and very long hair. The two creatures invited him to an amazing country that was filled with delights and sport. Elidorus took their offer and followed his benefactors through a shadowy path into a gorgeous land with meadows, rivers and forests. He did not know where he was, but this strange land was populated with the same tiny creatures as the two who had invited him. Subsequently he was brought before their king, who proceeded to question him.

Eventually, the king had Elidorus brought before his son, who was roughly the same age as the young boy. The two played games together and Elidorus learned a fair bit of the fairies’ language. In this land, the people played a sport with balls made of solid gold. There were also animals here, such as tiny dogs and tiny horses. The tiny people seemed to live mainly on a diet of milk and never consumed fish or meat. They had no churches or similar institutions, rather they were devoted to the very concept of truth. In fact, this devotion was a very important aspect of their society: the fairies absolutely detested lies.

But they weren’t confined to their hidden land, for sometimes the fairies would come into our world (it is often assumed that they visited human markets to partake of our goods and products). Elidorus, too, often returned to Wales (sometimes through the same path he had used to enter the land for the first time, but he also found other paths), where he could share his story with his family. And so he told them about the strange country, the tiny people and the sport with the golden balls. But upon hearing her son’s tale, his mother grew greedy. ‘The next time you go to this strange land,’ she told Elidorus, ‘you have to steal one of these golden balls, for it would make a great gift for me.’

Her son was not a bad person, but he did not want to disobey his mother either. And so he complied and stole one of the balls, but his attempt was soon discovered. Elidorus ran away with his prize but was chased by two of the tiny people. He almost made it all the way home, but stumbled and fell just before his house. The two fairies took back the golden ball and mocked the child before returning to their hidden land.

And hidden it would remain, because when Elidorus  later tried to go back so he could explain his actions, he failed to find the entrance. And he would never find it again.

Later in his life, Elidorus became a priest. When he was an old man, he told the story of the strange little people to bishop David II (the bishop of Saint David’s at the time. Elidorus remembered a good portion of the language he had learned as a child, and could speak it in front of the bishop. Curiously, the bishop recognized some words of the language, because it shared many similarities with Greek, including several identical words.

Source: Roberts, T., 1984, Myths and Legends of Wales, Abercastle Publications. (image source: John Bauer, this illustration is actually unrelated but I rather like it and it fits the story well)

#Welsh mythology #British mythology #Celtic mythology #mythical creatures #fairies #mythology

[dduane]

...So this is the time of year when I return to this piece of digital art (or its earlier versions), tweak it a little, and repost it for Pride.

At the moment I'm looking at These Two Idiots (for so they are) and considering how long I've been working with them. Of all the characters I've worked with in print, the only ones I've known longer would be the crew of NCC-1701.

I first "met" these guys in late 1970, when I went to college and met the two people (not gay, incidentally) on whom they would be based. Not even knowing the word "trope" at the time, I fell headfirst into one, because there was this tall dark man and this short blond one... and much to my surprise, they started pulling a world together around them. It assembled itself bit by bit, in a sort of patchwork that gradually started undoing its seams and growing together into a rather unusual tapestry.

It was a crude one, to start with. But one thing the characters made plain to me from fairly early on was that their relationships with one another were not what mainstream 1970s culture would consider conventional. They were gay... but that wasn't at all the most important thing in their lives.* And as I continued assembling their background world through nursing school and then my first job in Manhattan as a psych nurse, their personalities began to fill themselves out in the foreground.

One of them turned out to be the son of a provincial nobleman, well aware of the expectations of those around him—that he might eventually wind up running that province himself. Yet at the same time he was aware that he had other problems, chief among them the discovery of a nascent power that would kill him young if he couldn't master it. And in the last thousand years, no one of his gender ever had...

The other presented himself more and more clearly as something of a hard case: someone who wanted to very much to be good at the family business, but wasn't... and knew it. Kind of a screw-up, always doing the wrong things for what he was sure were the right reasons. Yet, no matter how often he screwed up, he was also the kind of person who keeps picking himself up and trying again, because he's been told over and over that that's what people like him have to do: otherwise they're no use to anybody.

Imagine my shock when I realized that these two men—initially enemies in their adolescence, then frenemies, and as they grew, best friends and then much more—were the (incomplete) answer to the question I'd asked my Mom at the end of the bedtime reading of some fairy tale or other: "Why can't a prince rescue another prince?" Because one of them got himself more than once into situations where he really needed one kind or another of rescuing. The other one obliged him, while once or twice getting rescued himself. In short: a pattern was forming.

And when it broke out in full flower in 1978, the very last thing I expected was to be immediately dragged gasping and flailing under the surface of the novel that would begin the tale of what more they had to become. It was probably the most interesting six weeks of my life (and that includes the six weeks during which I first scrubbed in on brain surgery). The book—which sold a couple of weeks after it landed on its publisher's desk—kicked off my career as a novelist and screenwriter, and in its way proved that the world was at least somewhat ready for epic fantasy in which the basic culture was pansexual, polyamorous, and inclusive in ways that hadn't been attempted before.

So I owe them a debt, those two gentlemen up there: the tall dark guy with the amateur strategist's mind, the blacksmith's shoulders, and the peculiar sword, and the short fair gent who if he could would stay at home, live quietly in town, and work in the local library...but whom when kingship requires has risked everything on subsuming his being into that of the family demigod, in order to save the world in which he and his loved (and the rest of their found family) live their lives. A lot of people in the 1980s and '90s who'd never seen queer representation in a fantasy novel, found it at last while following Herewiss and Freelorn down their road. And it's been my pleasure to hold that space for new readers, and keep adding to it... because (if you ask me) it's needed more now than ever.

So, to the readership of the Middle Kingdoms works—now pushing half a century old—and everybody else who's celebrating the season: happy Pride!

*Not least because everybody else in their world is (at least potentially) some shade of queer, including God.

#Pride #Middle Kingdoms meta #Freelorn #Herewiss

[aventurinio]

𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑚𝑒: first meeting with Neuvillette as your lawyer and how things progress

As shocked as you were to get neuvillette as your lawyer you were in a case of a crime you hadn't been involved in...He tends to be a bit stoic yet a has a kind heart that no one ever mentions about when they talk about the chief of justice was the first thing you noticed when he began taking your testimony..

Ah what's your name again? (Y/n)? Very peculiar indeed... I suppose I can help you if you give the full detail on the issue.. said neuvillette. You were a bit nervous during that talk but hey at least he won the case for you- even if the hydro Archon was technically against him winning the case for you that doesn't matter right? Better to say sorry than feel her wrath that won't even effect you ..

After the case ended you and neuvillette ended up things with the term of being "friends".. hanging out when he's not busy and helping around with his work became a daily thing for you.... That's when you figured out he has a weird obsession of water from different nations and it starts raining when ever someone scolds him or tells him something sad.. he possibly couldn't be the hydro dragon you were always told as a fairy tale by your parents since childhood right?

#・ nouveau livre ˎˊ˗ #genshin imagines #genshin x reader #genshin impact #genshin neuvillette #genshin x y/n #genshin x gn reader #genshin impact x you

[captainmera]

Mera, Captain, Laddie, Chap, Chum, You Majestical Swede I am living for your IBWR lore on vampires. I love tidbits on biology and quirks of fictional species, especially when it's given more unusual and creative twists. My investment in your comic has begun to peak, I am precariously standing at the edge of a new hyperfixation and you are daring to push me in with your art and lore. l'II be looking forward to seeing Ollie's lil quirks and other bits of the charming world that lives in your head. Also feasting on your TOH bits, as a lore enthusiast your rambles are so very enjoyable and your connection board is so relatable. A bit curious what hexsquad would be like in the world of IBWR or what peculiars/witches/regulars they'd be. So very glad I clambered onto this ship of yours and get to see some of the bits and bobs going on in your brain- I adore the way you think. Sorry if this was a bit long, I hope you're doing well and will feel better, whatever it may be from <3

*squeaky scream* thank you anon! ˚‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥᷄⌓˂̣̣̥᷅ )‧º·˚ <333333

I am having a lot of fun making my story! BWR is only in the baby phases! There's so much fun about this world and it's people, culture and history, that I'm so excited to share with everyone who reads!! :'D <3

IBWR has everything I personally enjoy in a story! This means a lot to me, it's my passion project (and hyperfixation of my own creation) for a reason.

Here's a doodle of Oliver and his buddy Sebastian :)

As for who the hexsquad would be in IBWR! HMMM! :D

HEXSQUAD IBWR AU:

Luz would be someone with a weak fylgja who wants to be a witch anyway! And she'd join a coven to try pursue it. For her, I think her story would be about learning that magic isn't as beautiful as she had hoped, and joins another coven that doesn't do the traditional ways of things. Or perhaps she starts her own.. ;)

Hunter would be a werewolf! :D A beast-type peculiar.

Gus and Willow would be Fae-types. Gus a spriggan, Willow a fairy.

Green fairies "flaws" are envy, I think I could make that work for her! Otherwise I'd put her as a red fairy, the flaw would then be rage. Willow's "fairy gift" would be plants and working with gardening.

Amity would be a regular, I think. Perhaps a wealthy girl who finds herself quietly rebelling against her parents by going with her older siblings to women's rights activism stuff! Possibly that's where she meets Luz! :O

Gus being a Spriggan would mean he's a natural showman, as they're known for their mischievous nature and charisma. I think he'd work in a music hall! :D

Vee would be a fae-type too! But she would be a Huldra/Nymph (skogsrå in swedish). Meaning she can shapeshift into people still! So that fits best.

For IBWR, I take a lot of folklore and put a spin on them with my own interpretations! :)

I like playing with the idea that the folklore and fairy tales are based in half-truths. It's a lot of fun and I've put a lot of thought into it so that they make sense into the world I've built. :D

#ibwr #in blood we rise #ibwr hexsquad au

[adarkrainbow]

I was recently reminded of the existence of this artwork, so I'll make a quick post about it. I had a very large version of the picture allowing t scrutinize little details - but unfortunately the size limit of Tumblr shrunk the picture.

This is the map known as "The Land of Make Believe", the most famous work of Jaro Hess - a collection of more than sixty references to various fairy tales, nursery rhymes, pieces of children literature and European legends, collected together in the shape of one fantastical and magical land. It was published in the early 1930s.

I will leave under the cut a complete list of all the places described and named on this map (a bit more than sixty in total):

Here the North Wind lives

Bluebeard's Castle

Here lives Peter Pan

Rip Van Winkle

Do not go in here

Here Little Miss Muffett was terribly frightened

Red Riding Hood's Grandmother's house

Jack Sprat - His house

The dilatory ship that never comes in

The Water Babies live here

Here the old man caught the golden fish

Dapple Gray Poney she rode him through the mire

Little Boy Blue fast asleep

The city of many towers where the beautiful princess lives

The castle of the giants

This is the cow that jumped over the moon

The city of brass

Jack the giant killer's house

Simple Simon met the Pieman here

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

The Pied Piper of Hamelin

The Crooked Man lives in his Crooked House

Mary and her Little Lamb

The black hen who laid eggs for gentlemen

Old Mother Hubbard's place

Bo-Peep's sheep

Contrary Mary's garden

Jack and Jill went up this hill

Here fairies dance in the moonlight

Here the Old King Col lives and the fiddlers three occasionally fiddle

Enchanted woods

Bottomless lake

Here is a desert

High tower where the little lame prince was locked

This house belongs to Grandfather-know-all

Magic carpet

The glass mountain

The wonderful Moo-Moo bird

The Emerald City of Oz

Long, Broad and Swift Glance

Do not walk near the edge!

Hansel and Gretel find the gingerbread house

Here the black bird picked off the maid's nose

Peter Rabbit lives in this hole

Here are the Babes in the Woods, covered in leaves

The shoe here the old woman lives

Little Bo Peep is looking for her sheep

The Wandering Jew

Tom-Tom the piper's son ran this way

Here the mermaids play

The Squall Fish

In this place there are peculiar fishes

The mysterious island

The path that leaves to no place eventually

The house that Jack built

Cinderella lives here

The castle where the Sleeping Beauty sleeps

Humpty Dumpty had that great fall here

The talking bird

The old witch lives here

West of the moon

East of the sun

#the land of make believe #fantasy map #fairytale map #art #jaro hess #fairytale crossover #nursery rhymes #fairytales #children literature #fairytale land

[mjanelupinblack]

I don’t understand but I luv u (minghao x reader) PT1 ✨

Summary:

Where you are eternally in love with Minghao but your friendship with Mingyu prevents you from doing anything to have him.

Where a deep hole pierces your heart and there’s no way to fill it except for the touch of another lonely soul.

Pairings: Minghao x Reader / Mingyu x Reader (for now, this will get messy)

I

"Was it so difficult to stay quiet?" Mingyu complains, having run out of paper balls to throw. He's annoyed because, if it weren't for Hansol's suggestion, they could have left school ten minutes ago.

Mingyu is right, at least for the rest of my classmates who yawn and stretch in their seats, their school supplies put away, eager to go home. For me, those ten lost minutes are a free ticket to dream without restraint. Mingyu realizes this when I nod absentmindedly in response to his comment, completely unaware of what he said, as I'm more focused on the pristine strands of Minghao's golden hair. In the sapphire streaks that peek out amidst his straight hair, like a cascade of freshly cut lupines, fresh and ready to be arranged into a bouquet.

Minghao fixes a mischievous strand of hair and sighs, reclining in his seat with crossed arms. He appears attentive to Hansol's contributions until a wet paper ball hits his neck, and my heart skips a beat as he touches the spot.

He turns to smile at Mingyu, who doesn't respond to his friendly gesture. From that moment on, the world never returns to its course.

II

Mingyu and Minghao are friends. Not as close as to laugh together until their stomachs hurt or as loyal as to offer to catch a bullet with their chests for each other, but they exchange a word or two when necessary. They met at the beginning of high school, long before I entered the school to disrupt the already established dynamics of that classroom. It's not necessary to look closely to realize that they are very different, like the front and back of a coin, designed with their own peculiarities and destined never to meet. The sun and the moon. Heat and coolness. Mingyu's skin is chocolaty and melts with the warmth of his temperament. I've never touched Minghao's skin, but I imagine it shares the color and qualities of porcelain, like grabbing a snowball in your hands and trying to melt it with your body heat, but the snow is colder and ends up freezing your skin. Perhaps that's why interacting with Mingyu flows so naturally, like water, while just the sight of Minghao makes my teeth chatter and sends me seeking refuge by the fire.

I like his ethereal aura, like a dragonfly impossible to catch because his soul is free, and the wind supports it. So, all that's left is to watch him fly. Watch him touch the sky. Watch when I leave the classroom to go to the bathroom and casually pass by the practice room. I see him stretch his body like a dancer from those fairy tales. He seems even more flexible than them. Because Minghao is not from this world, but the world could be his.

"Are you coming?" Mingyu asks while Hao engages in a heated conversation with Wonwoo about why Tottenham Hotspur doesn't need Harry Kane to win.

Mingyu knows the answer to his question.

"Are you still afraid to share space with Minghao?" he insists. "He's human. Flesh and bone. He doesn't bite, unless..."

He mocks me. He refuses to let go of my infatuation with Hao, so he makes jokes, falls silent when they're not funny, and eventually changes the subject to avoid poking at the wound. He teases me about the blush on my cheeks. It's intense, like two freshly picked apples from a tree. He also teases me about my racing heart and my limited ability to take it out of my chest and carry it like an accessory in my hand.

For him, using his heart on his sleeve is so easy.

III

Gyu shares a peach with me that had been waiting its turn in his backpack among all the fruits. Flavors burst in our stomachs, like two hungry fugitives who devour and can't do anything else. Both of us have juices running down the corners of our mouths; juices that we absorb with our tongues and wipe away with the back of our hands. We end up with sticky fingers. He cleans one hand on his pants and offers me his earbud with the other to start our Friday afternoon ritual. I don't particularly like the song he plays, but I refrain from making comments as I gaze at the vastness of the sky. Not a single cloud disturbs its majesty. Only the seagulls do, gliding far away from our bench.

My eyes are tired. And my mind even more so because, every time I close my eyes, they replay the stretched silhouette of Minghao, as if trying to touch the ceiling with the tips of his fingers. His form seems to be carved on my eyelids. Engraved in every nook and cranny, despite the darkness. This time, I don't close my eyes, but the image presents itself to me almost as involuntarily as when I replay it in my head. Maybe because he is there this time, in reality. And from his lips, my name slips out with a sweetness like that of the peach I just nibbled.

"Wonu told me we're neighbors," he spits out what I've been hiding so easily, as if counting on with his fingers. "I wanted to offer to walk you home. To make it safer."

"Ha! Safer?" Mingyu asks. "She's a black belt in Jiujitsu."

Minghao seems surprised. Behind the clear glass of his glasses, he opens his eyes wide, as if asking me if it's true. An admiration I always longed to receive and that hurts even more deeply when it comes from him.

How much more interesting would it be if that were true, if I had already achieved the black belt a long time ago. How much more interesting would it be if I soared through the air and stretched myself like a fairy made of plastic bones. If I did things faster, if I didn't mind taking my time. If his kind gaze didn't terrify me and if words flowed like a river when he stood in fronto of me like a mountain.

Yes, we're neighbors. Yes, I would love for you to accompany me, and no, I'm not a black belt in Jiujitsu, but I would like to be one in another, more interesting life.

"We'll walk together after class," Mingyu replies because I'm frozen. He peels a mandarin without paying more attention to the matter. He didn't expect a different outcome. "Thanks for the offer."

Hao says goodbye. My mouth closes in an empty smile, licks the air, loses all its meaning after Hao leaves, and Mingyu changes the song to a more melodious one.

He seems at peace. Mingyu is the solace of silence; someone who speaks for you when your tongue is tied. He is the sigh of relief after smelling a vanilla-scented candle when you thought your lungs couldn't stretch any further.

He feels comfortable.

And Minghao walks down the street without a drop of tranquility to ease my thirst.

IV

We head to the arcade; a playground for kids, a step into the casino for young adults. There are machines that make noise, scream, and cry with something akin to fun. Fun and joy go hand in hand, but I'm not sure they're the same thing. As we enter, we find Wonu sitting in a flight simulator. He shoots innocent civilians who will respawn as soon as he drops the game and start playing Just Dance.

"Yah! We told you to wait for us at the entrance," Mingyu complains, grabbing the monstrous headphones surrounding Wonwoo's head and shouting right into his ears.

"Yah!" Wonu imitates him. He tries to save the game, but the civilians escape like cockroaches and a tank breaks one of his airplane’s wings. "I waited at the entrance for twenty minutes!"

Wonu tries to be aggressive, but his shouts don't even tickle Mingyu's ears.

"Well, we arrived five minutes late!"

A woman looks at them as a librarian would. She asks for silence with a furrowed brow, even though they're in the palace of teenage chaos. In fact, that's the bait. With her disdainful humor, she makes Gyu look her in the eyes, his eyes wandering on the curves of her mature body. I wonder if I look equally exposed, equally filled with lust when I watch Minghao's slender body stretch. Or maybe I put on the same long face as Wonu, humiliated and disappointed when Gyu leaves us to talk to the stranger.

"It's just you and me," I say, trying to cheer him up. "How about Just Dance?"

"She could literally kidnap him."

"Maybe Mario Kart?"

"How old do you think she is? Do you even think they let her in here?"

"We can play bowling, basketball..."

He condemns me with a murderous look. One that was originally created for Mingyu, the guy who breaks his heart in every chance he gets. Wonu notices his terrible way of confusing emotions; of always directing them to the wrong people, and his gaze softens.

"I feel like punching a wall."

"Well then, Street Fighter it is!"

We never talk about Wonwoo's feelings. Not because we don't try, but because every time we think about it, a strange phenomenon occurs; his face tenses up as if he can feel our thoughts like a cold breeze. When emotions are too strong, it's better to keep them locked up. To refuse to open the Pandora's box unless the other person approaches, pulling their demons by the tail. Otherwise, they often reject the help and mistake it for condescension.

Stubborn. That's a word that fits both of them like a glove.

We go from Street Fighter to Just Dance. I let Wonu be aggressive in the first one, winning without soul. After all, he'll be too distracted to beat me in Just Dance, and if the tiebreaker game is about physical skill, my body will be more activated than his, with adrenaline still coursing through my veins.

As expected, I win. Much to my chagrin, the third game is not about physical but mental skill. The claw machine stands before me like a monster.

"The first one to get a plushie wins."

"I don't have money to play this."

"I'll pay, are you scared?"

In fact, I'm scared. Not scared of losing per se; what I fear are the emotions that torment me after each failure. I know Wonu fears the same thing. Maybe that's why we can compete against each other. Because the loser limits himself to buy the ice cream and the rest of the ride proceeds in silence. No jokes. No teasing or stirring what doesn't need to be touched.

"You go first."

Wonwoo almost wins on his first try. I try and try, but the teddy bear, the caterpillar, and the penguin slip away from the claw. Half an hour goes by without either of us getting close to winning.

"I need to go to the restroom," Wonwoo announces.

"Don't cheat!" I shout as he leaves.

"How can I cheat from there?!"

I try to take a break. Then I realize how difficult it is to soothe a hungry spirit. I try to find logical combinations, intelligent ways to cheat, but nothing works. I end up leaning against the plushie machine, watching Gyu from a safe distance; the woman he spent the last hour with looks much younger under the new light. Different from the initial stupor. My friend is helping her redirect the bowling ball towards the pins, but there seems to be much more behind that innocent gesture.

I imagine myself being held the same way; firmly, embraced by strong and affectionate arms. I get lost in a daydream where my friend laughs in my ear, tickling my neck with his breath. I would never dare to flirt with Mingyu, but my chest begins to feel bland. I think Gyu has spent enough time with this girl whom he will never see again once he gets bored. Two hours earlier, he had his fingers in my mouth, feeding me tangerine slices as if I were a little bird in need of care. She will find something better. But what do I have?

"You should align the hook with that puppy's ear," a calm voice says.

"That's what I'm trying to do," I reply. "Do you mean this one?"

Minghao shakes his head. He approaches and taps the glass three times.

"This one here."

I'm still wearing my school uniform, sweating the same sweat I've been dripping for hours. In contrast, Minghao wears tight-fitting pants that cling to his skin. His scent is so strong that I hope the particles find their way into my body and imprint it forever.

I speak before thinking, and I realize that's the only thing that allowed my voice to remain steady.

Next step, Hao inserts a coin. His hair falls loose over his ears. He manipulates the claw machine and it obeys him as if he was God himself. The claw drops, rests on the puppy's hairy ear, and rises again. His once empty hands now hand me the plushie.

"Thank you," I manage to respond. I appreciate my upbringing's politeness.

"It's nothing. I saw you both struggling to get it."

"Yes... We were having a little competition, actually."

"For the plushie?"

I have a feeling that it finally happened. It happened, and I responded with the wrong thing because going to an arcade and having a competition to win a plushie from the claw machine is such a childish thing to do when you're seventeen. I reply with a yes; it was a competition for the plushie, and I hug the puppy as if Minghao were about to snatch it from my hands. As if it were a test, and I had failed.

"Then you won."

"No, he'll know you got it."

"I'll leave right away. And I won't say anything to him."

God sets the rules. He determines what's right and wrong, what should be said, and what should remain hidden. Now, he's playing the Devil's game, taking the same things he said were wrong and making them right.

"Were you expecting someone?" I ask, aware of the gradual but sure crumbling of my morality.

My question seems to be the equivalent of his statement. It bothers him because no one dares to ask questions to a God who doesn't have time to give answers.

"My partner."

"A man?"

Hao nods.

"Actually, it's just my date."

He glances at his watch and makes a gesture indicating it's time to go. Before his departure, I can already see him disappear; become transparent and revealing that everything was a projection of my most cherished desire until then: to have a conversation with him.

But the plushie remains heavy in my arms. And it looks at me with the vital gaze of a living creature.

When Wonwoo arrives, I hand him the puppy.

"I won," it hurts to say that. It's a lie, and I think my friend notices it.

#seventeen #seventeen x reader #minghao x reader #mingyu x reader #seventeen the8 #minghao fluff #highschool au #seventeen imagines

[dragonthunders01]

Spectember D13: Xenobiology

In a temperate gaseous planet around a star system far away from earth, almost 55 light years away, humanity found out a very complex biosphere with diverse multicellular life, is one of almost a dozen of unique habitable gaseous planets found so far which collected the ideal conditions to have developed life. Although the shape and diversity of these beings vary depending of the area of the atmosphere and latitude of the planet they inhabit, the majority seems to fit the basic order of dominance, agile predatory forms, long filter feeders floaters that wanders across the densest aero plankton swarms that feast of the nutritious currents, small “pelagic” beings and sort of parasitic and symbiotic critters living in the mega floaters and so on… but the reason why it got a highlight compared to other world it was a unique resident there, as from from all the jellyfish like or annelid like creatures with very strange body forms and features, there was a species of about a meter in length, which resemble a humanoid being.

They were called the silver goblin which for matters of coincidence have some reminiscence of a supposed creature that came from a very old legend of earth, specifically from the times of 20th century American culture alien sightings, this creature was reported to have been small and agile, invulnerable to bullets and able to fly, which incredible similar these do that as well, though their flight ability is limited to moving across the large floating critters they need to live on.

From a distance they sort of look like the basic form of a fairy tale being, but this look is only superficial as a close check reveals their peculiar anatomy, Their heads are large mostly because these host half of the body organs like the stomach and heart, though what seems to be ears are actually just frontal fins, long eyes protrude with eyestalks in each side, what looked like a large smile with needle like teeth were actually a gill ranks, and the humanoid body was only in appearance, as the supposed forelimbs were actually a pair of oral proboscis that help it to caught their prey, a short chest like cavity that extend in a tubular end and divert with two tails that helps these to control the direction of flight while they glide through their mega organisms habitats.

#speculative evolution #exobiology #exoplanet #gas giant #cryptozoology #extraterrestrial #spectember

[basic-bitch-alkali]

the pandava quintet! it's a little similar to percy jackson? but it's hindu mythology instead of greek! and it's so good.. found family!! (the reincarnations of the pandavas) and the sisterly bond!! there's romance too but like the familial bond >>>> it's middle grade but still so fun

you probably might have read this already but and then there were none by agatha christie I love it sm

the seven husbands of evelyn hugo. I love them your honour

a good girl's guide to murder trilogy (ik that these are considered "booktok books" but trust me they're good and they di not deserve to be insulted that way)

the lunar chronicles! (4 books) the first book is cinder which is basically cinderella in beijing who is a cyborg! the whole series is based on these 4 girls who are like the fairy tale characters but so so good in like a sci fi ish setting?

a series of unfortunate events (13 books) the Netflix tv show is amazing, neil patrick carris as count olaf was the best decision ever

miss peregrines home for peculiar children

the land of stories (again middle grade but it's good)

the inheritance games (there's a love triangle unfortunately but the mystery is good)

lockwood and co (netflix cancelled the show after 1 season I'm so angry) actually even I've only read the first book but I will be continuing the series!

sorry ik it's a lot and you might have read some of these already😭 but these are some of my favorites! if you want you can check out my goodreads which is linked in my intro post and see my 'want to read' shelf (I would recommend six of crows too but it's popular so I think you must have read it)

OH MY GOD ILY SRSLY, THANK U FOR ALL THE BOOK RECS!!

I'll check it out!!

yess i have heard of it, have the book too but my frnd is borrowing it for the moment but when she's done with it, imma read it

ohh i wanna buy that so badly but my mom will KILL me after reading the title lmao, maybe after a few years i can buy it

i've read them already and god do i love those books, i read the first one in like a day? and i was at my hometown, and i originally brought that book for my frnd, but being the bookworm i am, i read it myself, and the very next day i went and brought the next two cuz i couldnt wait to read the next parts

ohh yess my frnd told me its really good

the series is just 🤌🏼 perfection

ohh i loved the movie! gotta check out the book

ohh

that is in my list<33

ohhhhhh @demigoddess-of-ghosts really loves it too, imma check it out

its ok<33 im really glad u took ur time and wrote this ask srsly, ily<3 (SOC is in my list currently)

#asks #my lovely moots #an angel💗 #<- this is ur tag now

[laurasimonsdaughter]

HI what are your thoughts on Into The Woods. I was obsessed with it in high school and now I'm like dang I guess I had no chance against fairy tale brainrot.

I think I was introduced to Into The Woods at the wrong time and in the wrong way. I had never heard of it until the 2014 movie, which I have learned from lovers over the stage version was a less than faithful adaptation. When I tried to watch a recording of the Broadway show afterwards, it didn't click for me. The tone of the show is such a peculiar mix of fairy tale logic, real world consequences and (comedic?) tragedy, that I just wasn't able to vibe with it.

But I still really like some of the songs! And I think "fairy tale multiverse" stories are a very important part of the fantasy ecosystem ^^

#laura babbles #if you have a favourite part of favourite recording anon I'd love to hear about it ^^

[ace-and-the-rpg-horrors]

don't mind me, just coming up with Sekais and image colours for my unit shuffle

Ariel's Music Box (Kanade, Saki, Ichika, Nene):

"Sea Sekai" is an underwater Sekai that's set in the Little Mermaid's palace courtyard which is scattered with music boxes. the Sekai was formed by Nene's feelings and is revealed to them after she joins the group, being the last one to do so. upon first entering their Sekai, each girl is given a key on a necklace that unlocks a special music box for each of them. Kanade's plays a song that her dad made her, and the twirling figures are a couple (her parents) dancing together. Saki's does not work and the figures seem to be broken off, much to their confusion. Ichika's has four children holding hands in a circle and the song is the one their old childhood band played when little. Nene's music box plays a soundtrack from the show she and Rui watched when little, the figures being a pair of children in costumes from that very performance, the girl dressed up as Ariel and the boy Ursula. the initial Virtual Singer is Luka who appears as a mermaid (as will the others when they come afterwards)

EMPEROR (An, Akito, Haruka, Shiho)

hardly different to canon, "Street Sekai" was formed by An and Akito's feelings. a colourful street that's lined with music and instrument shops. however, there are also a couple of nods to the idol industry, through posters and an abandoned stage that is more like the ones idols perform on rather than street musicians. the initial Virtual Singer is Meiko, who does still run a café. the VS that appear after her run some of the other shops

Suit Every Wonder (Emu, Rui, Mizuki, Airi)

"Storybook Sekai" is a cosy funfair that is themed after a different tale each day, "the page turning," yet the narrator, the initial Virtual Singer Kaito, always remains to guide the group. this Sekai was formed by Emu and Rui. rather than a gift shop, the funfair contains a small seamstress's atelier filled with outfits from children's books. one peculiar thing about the place is that although it is usually set during sunsets, the sky being a lovely pink, on some random occasions, the time seems to get later and the sky shifts to bluer hues as night suddenly falls. it is only Rui who is eventually able to work out the reason why- it is a reflection of Mizuki and/or Airi's feelings when dysphoric and he is the only one who knows both of their secrets

Vergifteter Apfel (Honami, Mafuyu, Kohane, Toya):

"Forest Sekai" is a Sekai set in the middle of fairytale-like woods, permanently evening and quite eerie, the sounds of wolves occasionally heard in the distance. it is unclear whose feelings formed it. the trees grow poisonous apples and there is a small cottage that they cannot enter for now. the initial Virtual Singers are Rin and Len, with Hansel and Gretel vibes, claiming to have been lost in the forest as long as they can remember

Wings from Fairyland (Shizuku, Ena, Tsukasa, Minori)

formed by Tsukasa and Minori's feelings, set in a mystical queendom above the clouds, "Fae Sekai" is based upon the European myths of fairies, ruled by its own Fairy Queen, Miku, the initial Virtual Singer of this Sekai. the concept of Seelie and Unseelie Courts are also present here. the first three VS that appear, during spring and summer, are of the former type, incredibly helpful, a little mischievous but otherwise pleasant (Miku, Kaito, Meiko) however, on Halloween, the initial three fairies disappear as the Unseelie Court takes over to rule during autumn and winter (Luka, Rin, Len) these fae being quite a bit more tricky...

character image colours:

#i sure wonder which unit i care about the most #ace's random thoughts :) #project sekai #pjsk #pjsk unit shuffle au

[superfluouskeys]

scorched earth (7/?)

Note: This story is set in the world of my very long Maleficent/Aurora fanfiction The Prisoner (which you can read  here if you want), but focuses almost entirely on original characters.   There is no need to read The Prisoner to understand what is going on--this story stands on its own and will give you all the background info you need.  Please also note the general content warning; I will not give specific warnings by chapter.

--

Once upon a time, in a land not so very far from my own humble abode, a king and queen longed desperately for a child.  The messy details are not terribly important to our current tale, but suffice to say, the young queen begged a dark fairy for a favor, and the dark fairy obliged her.  This fairy was, as far as fairies go, rather young at the time, and of relatively little renown.  She gave the queen her price—an invitation to the wanted child’s christening—and when the time came, the queen did not pay.  The dark fairy appeared nevertheless, and bestowed a gift of her own choosing upon the baby princess: the child would live a happy and healthy sixteen years, and then she would die.

Various interested parties were understandably not best pleased with this arrangement, and did their utmost to circumvent the fairy’s will.  As a result, the princess was saved from an early death, and the fairy, whose name was Maleficent, was badly wounded and imprisoned in the infamous Chains of Avasina.

As many of my readers will already know, the magic of the Chains has many peculiarities, borne of an age-old presumption which has proven surprisingly accurate over the centuries.  The Chains have no lock or key, but can only be removed by one who is not of the dark fae.

The princess, now a kind-hearted and curious young woman, stole down to the dungeon to speak with Maleficent, and agreed to set her free, on one condition: that Maleficent would take the princess with her when she left.

Read More (AO3)

#fic:prisoner #fic:scorched earth #exciting tag for writing things #this is the 'oh sure it will be simple to summarize the relevant parts of the prisoner' chapter #i think this chapter has quite a lot of payoff for those who do remember a lot of smaller details from the prisoner tho! #v sorry to my neighbors for any delighted cackling they may have heard at interesting hours of the night #i was just SO EXCITED by how well it was coming together LOL #we'll see how long the next chapter is but amazingly i think i'm still more or less on track with my outline #maybe like 10-12 chapters total depending on where things fall

[aspoonofsugar]

The Third Wolf

Jabberwalker: YES! READY! STARVING! TAKING!

So, this volume is just LRRH masked as Alice in Wonderland, as you can discover by reading this. Still, there is something missing from my previous post. Or at least, I came up with a theory, which imo complements it well.

In short, Ruby's story this volume centers around 3 Wolves:

Neo

She stalks Ruby around, tortures her and manipulates her into killing herself. She waits for her in a cottage (a pink palace) in the woods and hides behind her illusions, which exhibit mismatched eyes (the Wolf's eyes giving him away).

Even when it comes to her main allusion, Neo being a Wolf fits. Trivia is just the Roman name for Hecate and what's Hecate's sacred animal? The Dog:

Neo is associated to the Jabberwalkers (dark and wolf-like creatures) in the Ever After (the Underworld). In short, the Jabberwalkers are her dogs (wolfs) and she herself is a wolf (dog-like creature).

The Curious Cat

Do I need to explain? (I did in the previous meta anyway :P) They meet LRRH in the woods, trick her while she is wandering around with a basket full of flowers (WBY) and lead her around to make sure she gets completely lost.

Finally, when Ruby reaches the cottage in the woods, they surprise her and try to eat her. Only to end up swallowing up an older woman and the owner of the house. Even when it comes to them possessing Neo, the design calls back to the Big Bad Wolf of the story:

Both the eyes and the mouth are different than Neo's usual ones. Just like the Wolf in the fairy tale is described having peculiar eyes and a peculiar mouth. These 2 attributes are even tied to the Cat completely negating who Neo is. After all, Ice Cream girl is defined by:

her mismatched eyes, which her parents forced her to hide

her muteness, which her parents and teachers forced her to compensate with devices

Right now, Neo has lost both. Her mismatched eyes are hidden by the Cat's ones and her mouth speaks.

Ruby's inner Darkness

The Wolf in LRRH is symbolic of the Jungian Shadow aka everything a person represses. The thing with the Shadow is that the most you try to ignore it, the more dangerous and stronger it becomes. Ruby has been living as the embodyment of life, which means she has been neglecting to tend to her own shadows. To her own feelings. To her own pain.

The result is her spiraling and being engulfed by Darkness. Still, this Darkness has not yet a real representation within the story, which brings us to:

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son! The jaws that bite, the claws that catch! Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun The frumious Bandersnatch!”

He took his vorpal sword in hand; Long time the manxome foe he sought— So rested he by the Tumtum tree And stood awhile in thought.

Interesting, the original poem mentions a fight between the hero and the monster by the Tumtum tree :P

What does the Jabberwalker represent, though? This creature is the only one, who can kill the Afterans. Why? I think because they thematically represent a loss of self:

The Tree is going to transform Afterans according to what they are and to what they want to become. This can lead to progression, like the Paper Pleasers or to regression, like the Red King, who turns into a Prince. Still, what happens if the creature just... can't figure themself out? What does happen if they choose to give up on any new possible identity?

In this case, they would choose to become nobody. They would decide to give in to anonimity, which is the opposite of self-individualization. Anonimity is a trait of Grimms, which are empty and try to fill themselves by praying on human negativity. In short, anonimity can be seen as a declination of Destruction. So, what if when Afterans can't figure themselves out... they end up becoming a Jabberwalker? Or what if the Jabberwalker is a body that collects all the souls who could not properly ascend, neither to regress nor to progress? A body with no proper identity, which can only jabber very basic and instinctive concepts, with no real meaning behind them?

After all, they very clearly allude to zombies, as RWBY even start calling them Walkers. And what are zombies if not people who lost their sense of self? And what do zombies do if not to spread an infection, which in this case is Destruction? Death?

The Tree is the path to self-actualization, so a person symbolically dies when they lose their sense of self completely. When they don't wanna become anything else. Only in this case, they really disappear and become nothing. Only in this case their existance is negated and amounts to nothing.

Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if this is what awaits Ruby as she is now. She doesn't wanna change. She wants to disappear. It is possible, then, she will risk to be swallowed by the Jabberwalker. It is possible she might become the Jabberwalker herself. A mindless Wolf. Still, obvious foreshadowing is obvious:

The moment Ruby is about to get killed by Neo's Jabberwalker, her whole team comes to her rescue. This is clearly what is going to happen here, as well.

At the same time, I think what should help Ruby conquers this is also something else:

Penny's death has been eating at Ruby throughout the whole volume. It is the news of her loss, which starts Ruby's spiral and her friend keeps appearing everywhere in the Ever After and Ruby's mind. So, obviously she needs to come to terms with this. Ruby needs catharsis and right now I think @hamliet theory is right: only Jaune can give it to Ruby.

Right now, Ruby thinks Penny died by negating herself, by choosing to be nothing out of a death wish. Still, this isn't true. Penny died as herself. It is tragic, but she still managed to affirm her own personhood. She chooses friendship and trust over duty and control. Penny dies, but she doesn't become a "Jabberwalker". She isn't undone into nothing, but on the contrary she "ascends" into gold. Ruby needs to realize this. She needs to realize the kind of person Penny was. And she needs to realize what she herself is doing now is the opposite of how Penny lived and died.

I think such a realization might give Ruby catharsis and inspire her to move on. In general, it would work very well thematically on multiple levels and for multiple characters:

It means Penny symbolically saves Ruby, which would be just a beautiful conclusion to their bond. Ruby is the one who recognizes Penny's personhood first, so it makes sense for Penny to indirectly do the same for Ruby. She inspires her into becoming an idealistic adult.

It means symbolically Ruby's child self saves her. It is that purest and most idealistic part of herself that comes through for Ruby when she needs it.

It gives catharsis to Jaune, as well. It turns out what he was hiding out of pain and shame is the key to save Ruby.

It foreshadows what Jaune will probably have to do in the finale aka conveying to Cinder Pyrrha's teaching about destiny. He can start practicing with Ruby.

It completes the parallel between Jaune/Pyrrha and Ruby/Penny nicely. In volume 5 Jaune's suicidal charge is interrupted when he realizes this is not what Pyrrha did. Here Ruby should realize what she is doing is not what Penny did.

In general, it just works very well with the theme of grief explored this volume. Right now, Ruby has been going through the 5 stages of grief twice, in a neverending spiral:

Episode 1 > negation > Penny's death is hidden and Ruby refuses to talk about it

Episode 2 > bargaining > Ruby needs to bargain for Penny's sword and eventually she bargains the sword to meet the Red King and talks about her feelings for Penny by doing so

Episode 3 > anger > Ruby gets angry at the Red Prince and shouts at him in frustration

Episode 4 > depression > Ruby is undone by Herb's hallucinations

Episode 5 > acceptance > Ruby meets the Blacksmith and is confronted by Penny and Summer's ghosts, but fails to reach true acceptance

So she starts the cycle again

Episode 5 > bargaining > Ruby bargains Summer's emblem to help her friends and mentions "a mother's promise"

Episode 6 > negation > Ruby doesn't even see Summer Rose's reflection in the gallery of mirrors

Episode 7 > anger > Ruby lashes out at others

Episode 8 > depression > Ruby is overwhelmed by her pain and attempts suicide

I think episode 9 and 10 should be acceptance, true acceptance this time. I also think it would be cool if we have a call back to volume 6.

When Ruby uses her silver eyes there, the last 2 people she sees are Penny and then Summer:

Penny leads Ruby to Summer. I think here should be the same one way or the other. Acceptance over Penny should help Ruby face her feelings for Summer. After all, the majority of the narration in the trailer is still missing, which means we should get it in these final 2 episodes. Basically, Summer is coming, one way or the other.

BAD WOLF, GOOD WOLF

Ruby risking to become/to be swallowed by the Jabberwalker would work also for another reason:

Turning Ruby into nothingness, forcing the light out of her to reduce her to a mindless puppet is probably what Salem wants to do. So, Ruby going through this same struggle now will give her the strength to face Salem and her Grimms Experiments when the time comes.

I think this whole volume has a meta-theme to it, which is how stories and fictions help people process trauma and grief. Both in healthy and unhealthy ways. I will write more about it when the season ends. As for now, let's say it is not by chance Ruby is going through her spiral in a fairy tale world, where she conveniently can't die. Imagine if Ruby had drunk poisoned tea on Remnant. She would have died for real. "Luckily" she only sips tree tea, which will be no fatal to her. The metaphorical meaning is clear, right? Ruby is symbolically rereading a fairy tale of he childhood. One her mom used to read ot her. She is rediscovering it from a more mature and darker perspective. She is processing through it all her pain, trauma and grief. Still, she will come out stronger from this. So stronger she will manage to face the challenges of the real world and to survive to them.

So, how is this transformation gonna manifest? Obviously Ruby is gonna come out as herself, once again. Still, if her inner transformation has to be shown, I would like for it to happen through Little:

Mouse Leader: And on this day, we were not the prey, but the hunters!

The Mice Hunters tried to warn us and RWBY since the beginning. Beware of CATS! Still, they also claimed the prey is gonna be the hunter ;)

Now, this can become true in many different ways without Little having to change. Still, I like the idea of Little changing to metaphorically show Ruby's evolution. But if this is gonna happen, then which kind of form should they take?

Little is Ruby's child self, but also an animal-shaped companion. Basically, they represent an inner beast. It is just that at the beginning of the volume Ruby's inner beast is too immature because she is refusing to integrate with her shadow.

So, a more refined version of Little should maintain Little and Ruby's idealism, but also be wiser and show that Ruby has started to integrated with her repressed self. What better form than a Little Wolf, then?

After all:

The Hunter > The Huntress

Little Red Riding Hood > Ruby Rose

The Wolf? > Little

Ruby is unbalanced because she has refused her inner wolf all this time, so what better use can she make of it if not to change it into strength that protects her child self. To use all that repressed energy to refine herself, instead than negating who she is?

And on a light-hearted note... what is better than a wolf to hunt a Curious Cat?

(By the way, this can work well even in the case Neo stays in the Ever After with Juniper and Little. Juniper could be the March Hare to her Mad Hatter and Little might be the Dog to her Hecate) > thanks to @lintuwaterfall for suggesting this

#rwby #rwby spoilers #rwby volume 9 #ruby rose #little #neopolitan #curious cat #once upon an allusion #jabberwalker #rwby meta #rwby theory #penny polendina #jaune arc #tw: penny's death #tw: suicide #rwby headcanon

[captainmera]

What are the fairy types??? I love IBWR and I would eat your world building if I could <3

There is three categories of peculiars: Erebus, Beast and Fae.

Fairies belong with FAE types.

Fae has, in the UK, these peculiars: Fairies, Spriggan, Nymph (Theodore would call them a Huldra or skogsrå), and Giants.

FAE: Fairy like by looks but often the most "human/regular" looking out of all peculiars. Usually it's the ears or size that gives them away. Their powers are often just seen as either what peak-human-power would be (like strength, skill, etc)

Peculiars can be from all walks of life. They can have any religion, gender, background and race. It doesn't matter.

QUICK FACTS:

Faries are, in a largely Christian society anyway, associated with the seven sins.

They are also easily spotted by their stark colour coded looks.

The shades vary a bit on the scale, there's no set colour of "Pink" for example, but if you look at them and think "ah that's pink" it's probably pink.

A fairy can get a child of any colour of the parents' eye colour. So if it's a pink fairy father, but a green-eyed regular mother, the baby could be either a pink or green fairy - or a regular!

But it's usually the eye-colour that determines it.

Or, wild card - night fairies just kind of come out of nowhere and it's a 1 out of 500 chance of that happening. They're rare.

FAIRY FLAWS:

Fairies have something called a fairy flaw, this is where the seven sins thing come in.

In folklore, fairies are said to be so small that they can only hold one feeling at the time! (like Tinkerbelle from Peter Pan). This is obviously not true! Not only are they human sized, but they feel just as any other mortal person.

The reason fairy tales say that about fairies is based on their fairy-flaw.

So what is the flaw about?

Well, every fairy has an Achilles heel feeling they just can't seem to temper or control. It's the emotion that consumes them and it is very difficult for them to get out of that feeling.

You could say that about a regular-person too, some regulars just feel a certain thing very intensely. But it makes the general public feel better to point at fairies and say they're not perfect - just look how petty they are!

Also, it is true that all fairies just.. naturally struggle with this one emotion they have. For some fairies, it can take a lifetime to find a way to work with it. But most fairies just try to avoid feeling it at all, which.. as you can imagine.. causes an endless cycle of rinse and repeat - you cannot stop yourself from feeling something. That's not how emotions work. And if you try to repress something, it will come back ten folds.

Which, then, just further feeds into the prejudice being true.

FAIRY PERKS (gift):

Fairies are naturally gifted. It can be anything; writing books, making shoes, mathematics, music, you name it.

You know how, sometimes, you meet someone and they just got IT, with seemingly no effort at all? That's fairies.

They pick something up and off they go. You spend your life honing your craft and in waltz this newbie and does in an hour what you worked your whole life for.

Everyone admires them, except the people in the shared field who feels like they've been cheated.

Fairies are almost always excluded from talent shows, being chosen as representatives, etc, because the unionised opinion is that: Albeit they are brilliant at what they do, and probably the best in the room, it's a gift and it's unfair and nobody really wants to include them.

This also means that if you hire a fairy, the standards go up. Fairies can face work environment bullying or praise, it depends on the individual space. But it's always a gamble, really, if their gift is welcomed or not.

It does give some fairies a sense of "I'm better than all of you anyway!" kind of attitude, sometimes, anyway. But it's easy to see why.

No fairy is the same, of course. Fairies often have discourse about whatever or not their perks and flaws are something to be proud of or not. Which, gets really difficult, for the purple and green fairies sometimes.

The issue here is, also, that Fairies fade if they don't get to do what they love, get to exercise their gifts. And sometimes, most of the time, they

FADING:

Fading is just a fancy word for depression. Because regulars make the rules and they don't think it counts as "real" depression, since it almost always involves their perk/gift.

Fading looks like any depression. Sometimes involving substance abuse.

The things that DOES make it a bit different though is that their colours fade. They bleak and their hair and eyes colour turns white, or at least their colour bleak so much that it turns pastel-almost-white.

A faded fairy is cause for concern as they are most likely going to commit suicide. The only cure is rehabilitation where they get encouraged to pursue their heart's desire and exercise their gift.

Sometimes, the reason they fade isn't because others has made it difficult. Sometimes it's because there's just... No space for their gift. It might be a gift that is just simply inaccessible to them. Whatever because they're in the wrong class of society, because they don't have the money to get a degree that allows them to pursue it, etc.

NIGHT FAIRIES:

These are not categorised as a fae-type, but they are fairies. They are categorised as an Erebus due to their dangerous nature.

They are almost always mellow and flat in their expression. They like being in solitude, they are - on surface anyway - to the victorian public... Seemingly evil.

They work just like any other fairy. Except, that, well.... they do not have a flaw.

And that's the only danger they pose. That's literally it. People just don't know what's up with them. And it makes people uncomfortable that they have a gift (that often exceeds even other fairies talents) without carrying the restraints of a flaw.

They just don't emote like everybody else, they're basically just autistic coded people - the autistic creature if you will.

Night fairies are deemed dangerous because, to the victorian scope of knowledge and cultural/religious reference, you don't look like that, is a fairy ontop of it with no flaw to boot, and there's not at least SOMETHING spooky going on.

Fae-type fairies, unfortunately, does not like them much. As their lack of a flaw makes them, well, there's just grounds for being resentful apparently.

The Erebus sub-culture enjoy them quite a lot though. They're the baby brother of the Erebus types.

Most Erebus, when meeting a night fairy, is going to feel for them the way they would feel for any other Erebus. Which is a look of comradery that other peculiars just don't have. And because Erebus types are pretty tightly knitted in comradery, they're aware of one another's struggles. Meaning that they are aware Night Fairies are technically the least threatening peculiar there is, but no other peculiar is going to side with them. So most Erebus types just rope in these defenceless outcasts because it's just not fair.

And Erebus knows all about it not being fair.

So yeah! Night fairies are the least dangerous or powerful peculiar, slotted in with the most powerful and dangerous of them.

it's like the bullied kid is placed amongst the jocks and the jocks are good guys actually.

The night fairies do struggle socially though. Despite their seeming disinterest, they are not heartless or unfeeling. They just struggle to emote and have a hard time with being overstimulated. Which is why they turn to their gifts to cope, leading them to often far surpass any other fairy.

Erebus types are, like, kind of aware of this and often just include them on sight. It's a thing. Most erebus are brought up with the notion that you don't mess with night fairies.

Some erebus, though, have cruel intentions and take advantage of their lack of social skill, often hiring them for their gift and misusing it.

Night fairies also, unfortunately, if they are gifted in something that involves social things - like music, and they are expected to perform in front of crowds, it can be means to cause them to fade.

Sometimes, having a gift isn't about making a buck on it. Sometimes it's simply because it's nice for your heart. And that's the essence of night fairies - they just love what they do. It's everyone else who's got a problem.

AND THAT ABOUT COVERS IT, I THINK???

I'm sure I missed something. There's some peculiar culture stuff that's a little too much to get into. And doesn't really serve much purpose other than be-riching the world I've created and alows me, the authour, to imply cultural codes and social systems in the world without having to always spell it out.

Oliver, for one, is going to be aware of these things. While Theodore is not.

#ibwr #in blood we rise #ibwr lore #ibwr world building #*chuckles* and then there's just night fairies #night fairies really just be sitting here all “????” while everything happens around them