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ezra-iolite · 11 months

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The O'Murchadha-Mutheru Kids: Conduit, Sira and Bori

Because I can't draw for shit, and I'm too scared to...... Have some bios of Asya's main kids. Along with some cringey Picrews to help with visualizing them..... ART IS HARD, OK?! ;A;

| Conduit (The Eldest of all the kids- Adopted by Asya) |

~ Brief Description ~

He/Him pronouns. Gay/Achillean orientation.

Voice Claim: Hanta Sero- My Hero Academia (Japanese voice) Singing voice: Stratovarius

His full mortal name is Natori Siwatu O'Murchadha-Mutheru. He prefers to be called Conduit due to the comfort the nickname brings, though his adoptive mother Asya usually calls him "Little Bird", which is what his first name actually means.

Conduit is a curse-made Gargoyle just like Fort Max (link here if you need a visual reference), but while Conduit should turn into stone during the day, the crystals that grow along his back and wings (sometimes his arms, legs and tail, if he uses his powers too much) are shards of moonstones that save him from the curse's stone-form effect. They are what prevents his ability to speak from being stolen and keeps his head and chest from becoming fully gargoyle in appearance, aside from his horns and fangs, and allow him to be active during the day and night.

If the moonstone shards are all removed, the grey scales will creep further up his human skin and he will become a statue at dawn, which will continue until a new crystal patch grows on his back again. But if he cannot regrow the crystals at all before the end of a week.... he will become a full gargoyle and lose his human side forever.

The appearance of his human side only consists of his light tan skin on his upper-torso area and head. But, from his shoulders to his hands, his hips to his feet, his tail and his wings down along his back... Conduit has dark grey scales befitting a gargoyle. He also has scraggly blonde hair and baby blue eyes, with short, straight-arching, dark grey horns. He got his scar across his face long before he met Asya, when he was a feral child struggling to survive against the Deep Dweller sirens constantly attacking him.

Those constant attacks from the Deep Dwellers are the reason why Conduit has a fear of going into the ocean and of sirens, other than Elbent, Ferrous or Indi. Starstrike (@dimorphodon-x's OC) does unnerve him for this reason, but also because of his infamous stare reminding him of a Deep Dweller, but Conduit instinctually masks his fear and does his best to not react to it around him, to ensure he isn't rude or hurtful towards Strike. (He's a very polite little man, even in the face of his PTSD, ok?!)

He quickly grew to reach 8 feet tall by the time he turned 19, making him a full foot taller than Verglaust. But for a while, he was considered the shortest on the ship due purely to his malnourishment, so as soon as he gained some pounds and healthy chonkiness, he quickly gained muscle and size thanks to the healthier lifestyle and care Asya and the gang gave him... Making both Conduit AND Asya late bloomers that gained their growth spurt at the same stage in their life.

He's around 27 years old by the time he arrives at Joka Ardhi, making him the oldest kid on the ship by six years. Once Ferrous becomes captain of the ship, Conduit will take over his father's role as the Immortal Sun's main doctor, helping Nicole even after her retirement.

Overall.... Conduit's a very good boy, kind-hearted, well mannered, and always eager to help. Also very protective of his siblings, especially his sister Sira and Bori.

~ Backstory ~

Asya and her two husbands had spent only five years living on the Immortal Sun, when they came across an island full of pearlescent shards of moonstone crystals, with some growing as tall as trees in towering clusters. Upon landing on the island to investigate, the crew found a cave full of different veins of crystals, a majority of which were magical in nature and could therefore be used for medical or practical purposes. And with Asya's childhood being spent studying the magic of crystals, as is commonly used in Jokani culture, they began to mine for them and bringing back barrels worth of them, a majority of which could be sold for a great fortune.

During their excavation adventure, Asya stumbled across a hut made of palm leaves and crystal shards, as well as a crowd of Deep Dweller sirens flocking at the shore of the hut. There, being pulled down by the sirens and frantically trying to escape their bloodthirsty hunt, was a young boy. A gargoyle somehow moving about in daylight, and being pulled down under the water by the Deep Dwellers. Without even a moment to hesitate, Asya jumped into the water and fought off the sirens, before she pulled the boy to shore and helped him catch his breath.

Weak, malnourished, riddled with injuries, old scars and crystals just like the ones on this island covering his back and wings, the boy looked to be no older than seven, but by his gargoyle features and face, Asya knew he was physically older but was too weak to develop into his teen body properly. And despite her feeling the sting of trauma from a child she previously rescued long before she met her husbands (a purple Dragonkin toddler she named Hyacinth who died at the hands of his captors despite her best efforts to save him).... Asya chose right there and then to take this boy in and raise him to be stronger, healthier and adored, to never face his struggles in life alone ever again.

After checking to be absolutely certain that he was the only one on this island, Asya marched right back to the ship with the boy in her arms, and without even looking back or saying a word to anyone she passed by, despite the obvious confusion and questions of the crew and her captain, Asya brought the boy below deck and nursed him back to health, making him the first child on board the Immortal Sun. The moment he regained consciousness, the child began to act defensively feral, hissing and swatting at anyone who dared come near him, with the only real way to treat his wounds being to wait until he was asleep or wait for him to trust Asya, Nicole or Kevin to touch him while he was too exhausted to fight back, and only then could they fully patch him up. Not even Max during his nightly rounds brought the fellow gargoyle any comfort, but no matter who came and went out of the cage room... Asya was always there, spending every moment she could by his side, patiently waiting for him to lower his guard and simply spoke to him with a soft, maternal voice to soothe his worries, oftentimes calling him "Little bird" affectionately, all without realizing just how suddenly she was adopting the role of a mother.

Four months later, the now healed up and less frightened boy finally began to explore the ship, curious yet timid but in a way a child should be. No longer did he show his feral side, but still he preferred to walk on all fours and move or act like a beast, not that Asya minded as she encouraged him while also showing him how to rely on his hind legs (a secret she had yet to reveal to the crew about her own childhood habit of walking on all fours and learning to transition onto her paws). And after another month, he finally began to speak but with very few words, like a toddler learning how to grasp the concept of speech. It was, however, more than enough to learn his story...

Of how he lived with his human father and mother, a Primus fisherman and a Unicronian weaver, on a tiny ship that relied on the sea for all they needed. Of how the ship suddenly crashed on a small island that was home to a mage, and how the mage angrily cursed Conduit, the only survivor, for stealing from his trash for food, and thus cursed him to bear the appearance of a true beast scavenging to survive. The moment the curse took form, it went rogue from the boy's fear, trauma and anguish, and thus the island became completely surrounded by crystals born of his body and power, killing the mage with it on accident. And since then, the boy grew up surviving on his own, until he was attacked yet again by the same Deep Dwellers who caused his family's ship to crash and killed his parents.

Since that faithful day, Asya has since taken him under her wing and raised him with all her love and praise, and with a healthier lifestyle he immediately shot up in size and grew physically stronger and bigger as a result, reaching well above Ferrous's height when he reached twelve years old, while the gargoyle child was twenty and already surpassed the average human height easily. Nowadays, rather than going by the name Asya chose for him in place of the one he can no longer remember from his parents, he usually goes by Conduit, in reference to his crystals being conduits of the elements.

~ Appearance ~

Present day Conduit (during the timeline of One Last Wish) is a 27 year old cursed Gargoyle who stands at 8 feet tall, with a wingspan of 7 feet. He has light tan skin with more human features than gargoyle ones, with his wings, entire lower torso down to his digitigrade legs and tail, and his hands up to just below the elbows, all being grey like a gargoyle. From the middle of back and the arms up to the thumb of his wings are all covered in small moonstone clusters, which aid in his ability to stay unfrozen during the day and grant him his powers over the sky-based elements (air, heat, water and lightning). He also has short, scraggly, golden blonde hair and blue eyes, nearly the same hue as his adoptive mother's, a large scar right across the bridge of his nose and under his eyes, and short, straight, grey horns.

Clothing wise, Conduit normally just wears grey, baggy shorts or haram pants, due to the sheer thick size of his digitigrade legs, and a sleeveless yellow top that must have no buttons due to how large and beefy he is naturally as an adult. More often than not, he's usually shirtless when he doesn't feel like struggling with his clothes.

When he uses his powers, the crystals glow the colour of what element he uses (red for heat, light blue for air, yellow for lightning, sapphire blue for water) and he can use up to two elements at a time. However, the more or longer he uses his powers, the more the crystals grow along his body, which mainly gather along his back and wings. But if he uses them too often during a battle, they'll begin to creep more and more along his body, starting with his spine area on his back, down to his tail, and then along his arms and the back of his legs. The more crystals that grow, the more unstable his powers become, until he'll start losing control entirely and lighting or heat begin to spout from his crystals and body against his will. The only way to stop this is to break the crystals off and bring them down to a minimum amount at least on his wing tips.

Growing and trimming the crystals always cause him pain since they pierce through his flesh and grow directly from his bones, but Asya's white fire always helps to soothe it a little during their removal.

~ Personality ~

Conduit is a very sweet, empathetic, kind and patient gentleman, and the older he becomes, the more polite and patient he ends up being through experience and age. Even as a man in his late 20s, he's still the kind of person who helps anyone and everyone, even animals... With such an example being his habit of picking up snails when on land, and putting them in the grass or somewhere safe and hidden to keep them safe from a human path. Despite him understanding that he lives a safe life, however, he always excessively worries about his parents due to their collective trauma. And despite Asya's best efforts in making sure Conduit lives a good and happy life, he still worries about his Mama's wellbeing every time she plays the role of the hero for her family. This has resulted in him developing constant nightmares and insomnia.

... Which led to him becoming close with Blue Heron, Max and his adoptive father, Verglaust, when they're all out and about during the night. Once he becomes a doctor, Conduit will grow even closer to Max and Blue Heron, considering them his uncles.

| Sira (Second child of Asya, Third born on the ship- Biological Daughter of Asya and Kevin) |

~ Brief Description ~

She/Her, Lesbian/Sapphic - Asexual

Voice Claim: Yasha- Critical Role Campaign 2 (she IS mute and literally has no means of talking vocally... but Indi does find a crystal that can grant her one, so this is what she would sound like, after a long while of training to relearn how to speak) Singing voice: Lethabo Mello

Her full name is Sira Citrine O'Murchadha-Mutheru, but like most on the ship, she gained a "pirate" name later on in life, based on her assassin skills and lack of voice... Whisper.

Sira is the shortest of all the kids, with her being just two inches taller than her adoptive mother, Elbent, and only reaching below her closest friend Divot's nose when facing them. On average, she can only reach below the chest of the majority of the Immortal Sun's crew, and can very easily sit on Solclave and Verglaust's shoulder without feeling heavy on them, even as an adult, mostly thanks to her lanky build.

She's known as the "smartest" kid on the ship, due to her analytical and quick-thinking nature, so she usually always knows what to do to solve a problem. She inherited her high intelligence and beauty (alongside her height) from her father, but learned her fighting skills and wit from her mother and Uncle Blue Heron. However, she's often considered a know-it-all due to this, and is often teased when she tries to infodump any exciting new thing she's learned.

On that note, she also inherited her Mama Asya's autism (as well as the Mutheru aquiline nose), which only adds to her struggles due to her being born mute and becoming more reclusive as she grew up. She often hides in high places hidden from view to read and stay away from everyone, mostly due to her being so frequently ignored because of her mutism or teased for her book-smarts but lack of knowledge on how to properly express her emotions. This developed into her "cold and stoic" reputation and masking method, even though she is an emotional and highly empathetic person thanks to Asya teaching her and Divot comforting her.

Sira is one of the only two Dragonkin of Asya's lineage living on the Immortal Sun, after Asya and her poly-fam move to Joka Ardhi. But despite Asya being a Ruby breed of Dragonkin, Sira and her younger brother Bori are both Opal Dragonkin, due to them both not being Sun Blessed or bearing the traits of their mother's pedigree. This is because specific conditions must be met in order for a Ruby Dragonkin to be born, and thereafter are considered their own species or breed. (But without these conditions tampering with Asya's firstborn or any child afterwards, every child born of Asya's blood are therefore all Opal Dragonkin (But only Njeri, Asya and Elbent's child, is a Ruby Dragonkin like Asya, since they were born on Joka Ardhi, and has since become the only one of Asya's species to be born during her reign as Dragon Queen)).

Divot (@cuppajj's OC, the child of Drillburst and Fort Max) is the only one who can truly understand Sira on a personal level. For even with them learning how to fluently use sign language, Divot has always been able to "read" and deeply understand Sira since they were kids, and as they grew up together to become warriors and wiser people as a whole, Divot can now read her body language just as clearly as her hand sign. To Divot, Sira can speak a thousand words with just a mere shrug, or say all that she needs to say with just a glance or glare. Deep down, Sira considers Divot her soulmate, thanks to their deep understanding of the mute Dragonkin, and deep down she feels drawn to them in a certain way~

~ Backstory ~

After the troubling birth of Elbent's second-born daughter Indicolite (in which Asya aided in the delivery, but when she was born blue and deathly still, she used the forbidden Soul Fire magic and gave up a piece of her soul to revive Indi), Asya immediately knew deep down that she yearned to bear a child of her own. The baby blues hit even stronger the moment she held the crying and lively newborn siren in her arms, now bearing a tiny shard of Asya's soul for the rest of her life.

There was just one problem with her wish... She was still stuck with the remnant parts of a man, despite her hormone replacement therapy granting her the physique of a woman.

So, it was decided, after much discussion and argument between Asya, Kevin, and Elbent, that until a more permanent solution could be found, they would craft a potion to temporarily grant Asya the full form of a woman, with her first love, Kevin, being chosen as the sire of this child. And for the first few months of her pregnancy, despite all the sickness and aches she felt... Asya finally felt whole. The dysphoria was gone, for the first time in her life, and Asya had never felt so happy since that day.

But the joy did not last... For when she reached only her seventh month, Asya began to bleed and knew something was wrong. The baby was coming. And she knew, despite the constant reassurance she gave to her spouses through her agony... She was dying. The potion was wearing off too soon, and Asya's body was reverting to its old state, with her womb slowly disappearing and the labor now starting to tear Asya apart from the inside.

Working quickly and efficiently, they finally delivered a healthy baby girl, but... Asya couldn't wake up. And while the newborn never cried her first breath, the screams that echoed from Elbent rang across the ship marked the event for all to remember for the rest of their lives, as her spouses soon ran in to witness Elbent slowly turning feral with grief, as she held her dead wife. Kevin and Conduit quickly worked together to patch Asya up and used Conduit's electricity to shock her back to life. And even though it worked... the new mother remained sleeping, too weak to wake up or even move. And upon checking on the premature infant, Nicole discovered why she was so eerily quiet....

The baby was born without a voice. Not even a voice box could be found in the newborn's throat, despite her having everything else she needed to breathe, drink, eat and live without any issues.

So, when Asya finally healed and came out of her coma a month later, the new parents worked during Asya's bed rest to learn sign language and form a curriculum for their mute daughter and all their kids and the crew of the ship to learn, in order to grant their youngest child the right to communicate as she grew. And as she did grow up strong but silent, Asya finally figured out a name for her now three month old, based purely on the appearance she inherited...

Sira, after her late grandmother, Gasira Mutheru, and Citrine for her middle name, after Apophis's daughter, the dragon who was meant to become the next Dragon Queen were it not for the Founders.

....... Growing up on the ship soon became a challenge all on its own for Sira, as without a voice or a clear way to communicate, the young Dragonkin was easily ignored due to how chaotic and loud everyone else was, despite their love and care for her. So, instead of trying to stand out to be seen, Sira opted to simply hide and be patient, wait for her turn for attention to get the things she needed, or simply go to Solclave, Blue Heron, Hawk or, more frequently, Divot for help.

Her visits to Divot and Drill to get away from the frantic lifestyle of her family grew more and more common, even more so when Sira became fully fluent in hand sign alongside her parents, her brothers and sister, and of course Divot, the only person quiet enough to listen to Sira who aided in helping her learn. Now with a more visual way of communicating beyond being dragged around, pointing and writing to show Sira's needs, the blue Dragonkin and the child of the bard quickly became a common sight around the ship, as they grew into mischievous teenagers and eventually witty young adults, masters in the ways of a warrior and seafaring pirates.

Mastering her icy blue flames and the ballet-like grace of her steel barbed whip, a weapon she hides as a belt under her sash while her leather corset protects her skin, Sira grew up into a formidable warrior due to the speed of her attacks and the range of both her fire magic and her weapon. However, Sira's greatest strength lies in her stealth and silence, alongside her quick wit and the trust she has in Divot.

~ Appearance ~

As she grew and neared her pre-teens, Sira looked almost entirely human during this phase of her childhood development, were it not for her sky blue hands and feet (aside from her soles and palms, which were the normal pale brown befitting a person of colour) alongside the very tiny stumps for horns hidden in her afro of dreadlocks. But as she reached her mid-teen years, she developed the traits befitting a blue Opal Dragonkin, with clawed draconic feet upon scaly legs, sharp clawed hands and fangs, a long tail with a short black tuft of fur at the tip, and short, slightly curved, gazelle-like horns. She hated this form of puberty since Dragonkin grow their scales through pimples, just like a human teenager with acne, but are extremely itchy as they emerge and become scales along the skin, which is also oily to help the scales develop into strong, vibrant and hard armour... but it stinks like rotting fish, unfortunately for Sira.

Fashion wise, Sira wears dusty-pastel blue, shoulderless blouses with long draping sleeves, all of them being made of silk or any soft fabrics she can find due to her finding cotton and linen too rough for her comfort. This is normally paired up with simple navy or dark blue pants that only reach her knees, to accommodate for her digitigrade legs, held up by a scarf belt Asya weaved for her 18th birthday, made of dark green and yellow cashmere... The colours of her crush, Divot, which she started wearing as a belt on the day Divot explained their pronouns to show her support for her She/They friend. (Yes, Asya knows this, and she excitedly ships them... She already has a golden cow statuette ready to give to Drillburst, as it is Jokani tradition for a parent or partner to give the family of the betrothed a cow as their dowry) And due to her constant reading, Sira developed bad eyesight and at the age of 12, earning her rectangular glasses that she cannot take off for anything other than baths and sleeping.

Sira inherited her mother's ebony skin tone, but due to her half-black genes, she's just one hue lighter than Asya but is still MUCH darker than Blue Heron. Alongside the Jokani completion, Sira also inherited her mother's long curls, and so keeping in her half-Jokani tradition and for easier hair maintenance, Sira has skinny and tight box braids that only reach below her chin and jaw, styled in a side-swept bob, with a few colourful beads to decorate the very ends of some of her braids in the colours of her parents:

Orange for Asya, Red for Kevin, Dark Blue for Brynjolf, Sky Blue for Elbent, and Emerald Green for Verglaust.

Two pairs are on the first two braids framing her face, to represent all four parents evenly, and two more pairs are on either side of her ears....... And yes, when it's windy, they do tend to whack her glasses.

~ Personality ~

Due to her growing up surrounded by loud, energetic and constantly busy family members, and an even louder ship full of crewmates constantly arguing, bantering, singing and fighting monsters of the sea or other pirates, Sira grew up feeling invisible for most of her life, finding comfort in books and solitude. But because of this lifestyle, she never felt the need to be emotionally expressive to make up for her lack of a voice, for who would even see her expressions or emotions when no one can hear her or remember to look her way?

As such, Sira doesn't speak, or rather sign, as much as she'd like to, simply because she rarely has much to say knowing she would just end up being talked over or not given attention in order to communicate at all, due to her mutism and her need to have someone who knows hand sign to speak to. So, when she does hold a conversation with someone, she often has a chilling and stoic aura around her, almost like an inability to use any of her emotions, which surprisingly aids in showing just how intelligent she can be.

However, Sira is actually very shy and introverted, and oftentimes finds herself acting rather awkward in most social situations due to her solitary lifestyle. This is where Divot comes in as her saving grace and her advocate.... For without them, Sira would be even more antisocial and outright afraid to even approach people, due to the huge barrier her disability causes.

When she's with Divot, Sira is much more expressive, relaxed and happy, to the point that no one on the entire ship, other than her parents, have ever seen her smile without Divot being there. It's gotten to the point, now that they are all older and have formed their adult lives on the ship, that every time Divot enters the room, Sira immediately brightens up and her fire magic flares due to her magic being fueled by her emotions and her literal heart. They usually show up as a smoke-filled sigh that comes out in the shape of a heart, or her tail tip catching fire suddenly. Divot has yet to realize this, much to Sira's relief in her hope of revealing her fiery heart's desire to them one day~

| Bori (Third child of Asya, Last child born on the ship to Elbent's family- Son of Asya and Verglaust) |

(Art belongs to PammyJammy117 on Twitter... I'm just using it as a placeholder cause HE EERIE LOOKS JUST LIKE VERGLAUST AND ASYA BUT WHITEWASHED, LIKE DAYUM)

He/Him, Pansexual

Voice Claim- Lon'qu from Fire Emblem Heroes Singing Voice: Rengoku's part in this... Bori would most likely sing this with Flora (Nicole's daughter) for a karaoke night of drunken fun.... but also I just really like this song ;3;

His full name is Borealis Kaito O'Murchadha-Mutheru, and instead of gaining a badass pirate name like the rest of his family... his appearance and the teasing from his much older siblings led to him earning the nickname "Panda". But, when he's finally treated more seriously, he bears the proud moniker of his name, Bori, after the adoptive albino Dunefarer that Asya considered her true father in her past.

His usual reaction to being called Panda is to immediately snap/spin to the one who called him that (usually just his siblings) and yell at the top of his voice "YOU..... Shut your face!!" and then just as suddenly return to whatever he was doing, including speaking at a calmer and quieter tone, as if it never happened. It's become an inside joke to the O'Murchadha-Mutheru siblings, to see just how far away they can be to see how loud Bori's voice can get.

Bori became the strongest person on the ship, in order to inherit his father's role as the protector of the Immortal Sun. And thanks to the crystal magic Asya discovered during her battle against her father, Bori soon gained the ability to transform into a 35 foot long white Lindwyrm.

Because he's the youngest on the ship, Bori was half raised on Joka Ardhi until he was around 20 years old, when he felt ready to live on the Immortal Sun away from his parents. During his time on land, he discovered his orientation and became a bit of a playboy amongst the Jokani. He did meet and eventually fall for a Dragonkin transwoman with lavender scales named Djamila, whom he visits once a year when the ship returns to Joka Ardhi for their annual family meeting to keep in touch. He hopes one day to bring her with him for the year to see the world beyond the southern kingdom's shores.... and marry her~

Should anything happen to Njeri or her future heirs when they becomes the next Dragon Monarch after Asya, Bori has given his consent to come back to Joka Ardhi and step in as a "stand-in" Dragon Lord until a suitable heir can replace him, be it his own children or someone he feels can bear the mantle of the crown. So, despite his Opal Dragonkin birth and his lack of coronation as crown prince, Bori is a real prince, and a cautionary heir apparent to the Throne of Crimson Sands. And should he actually become Dragon Lord, none would dare to oppose him due to his strength and kindness.

~ Backstory ~

Once again, the baby blues hit a now fully transitioned intersex Asya, only this time she was more severely warned by her husbands and wife that she cannot, under any circumstances, carry a child. Not until they were truly sure of her body being capable of undergoing such a taxing event and survive.

So, a deal was struck... Kevin would carry the child by undergoing an upgraded and longer lasting gender-bending potion, and through a mix of science and meticulous magical aid, a piece of Asya's DNA (her "seed") was altered to ensure she was the biological mother of the child. And, with Verglaust chosen as the sire, Kevin would henceforth be their gender-bent surrogate to the very first Half-Fauna dragon-hybrid, that being a half Desert Lindwyrm Dragon - half Sea Dragon.

Despite their worries of Kevin possibly facing body dysphoria and pain from carrying a child, let alone one bearing a plethora of sturdy genes (of both an increased dragon bloodline instead of a half human one, and Verglaust's dominant giant-size gene), Kevin had no issues and instead experienced a surprisingly pleasant pregnancy and birth... At the result of him realizing that he was genderfluid and loved appearing as masculine or as feminine as he felt each day, to the point that he and Elbent now have daily arguments over her dresses that he steals borrows.

When the baby was born, there was no question on what to name him, especially after the shock wore off from the fact that the infant's ebony skin had white Dragonkin traits. The white scales of his Dragonkin features would soon lead to his parents deciding on the name Borealis, after Asya's father figure who often wore a white wolf pelt to cover his pale, albino skin.

However, because of his literal "black and white" appearance, as well as his early growth spurt making him as tall as Elbent by the time he was ten, his siblings and most of the crew started calling him "Panda". This, however, would be a name that he'd greatly benefit from as it perfectly described him in personality too... For when the day came that his parents decided to leave the Immortal Sun and live in Joka Ardhi, bringing Bori with them after consent was given to let him be raised by his parents until he was ready to return to the ship, many of his now adult aged siblings were given the roles of their parents, be it by the child's choice or inherited by birthright.

And so, Bori grew up for half his life in the royal palace of Joka Ardhi, a designated prince by blood as he grew in both size and power, while also growing up hearing the tales of his parents' heroic deeds during their decades at sea. And as he grew to be just as big as his father, Bori was inspired by him and so chose to inherit the role of the "guardian" of the ship, once he was old enough and felt ready to leave. During his final month in preparation for his departure, his mother Asya revealed to him the secret of her family, of how she won the war against her father for the crown... The crystals that bore the ability to change a dragon from before the Founder's War into humans could also allow humans bearing their blood to turn into titan sized dragons.

Immediately, Bori took his chance to fully embrace the old mantle of his father and gained the ability to turn into a giant Lindwyrm at will, just like his mother could, but one capable of rapid speeds through both air and sea thanks to his inherited White and Yellow fire magic allowing him to hop and glide through the air, while his father's sea dragon genes allowed him to swim faster than the wind... Even though he requires a potion to grant him gills.

~ Appearance ~

Bori is the only one so far to be JUST as tall as Solclave once he's fully grown, all thanks to his father's tall genes and his mother's Dragonkin size boosting genes adding onto it. It certainly doesn't help that he's also huge in a physical way, due to his training to tone his growing body and prepare it for his chosen role as guardian of the ship, a mantle he eagerly wished to gain to honour both his father and maternal grandfather-by-choice.

As such, Bori usually wears armour that mostly consists of leather pants, metal knee pads and boots, leather straps crossed over his bare chest (that constantly creak with strain when he crosses his arms) that hold his twin sinmalayat swords at his hips, and a metal pauldron covering the entirety of each shoulder down to his bicep, one cut in the shape of a wolf skull, the other of a dragon.

...... He refuses to wear a shirt or coat.

Beyond that, he mostly inherited his father's looks, but he has his mother's ebony skin tone, though his is a bit lighter and towards a bronze hue. He also has central heterochromia, with his father's sunset-orange eyes being in the center while his mother's aquamarine-blue hue surround the rings of orange... And sometimes, when his eyes are half-lidded, they appear just like a golden sun on the sea horizon. He often wears his black, wavy curls half-up in a messy bun to hide them, while the rest of his hair reaches just past his shoulders, with three beads (green, orange and red for his father, mother and surrogate carrier) in a single row woven into the hair-tie, as is tradition of a Jokani child.

~ Personality ~

Upon first impressions, Bori appears stoic, intimidating and a terrifying presence to be near, which certainly fit his overshadowing appearance and height. However, once someone gets to truly talk to him without showing him any fear, Bori finally reveals his true personality...

A kind, mannerly, sweet and caring guy who tends to be rather sheepish and easily flustered at the simplest of compliments.

He is very playful with his siblings, since they rarely saw each other before he joined the crew once he was of age, and to make up for lost time they constantly prank each other. In turn, he is very protective of his older sister Sira, the only other Dragonkin on the ship, and the two form a close bond as they celebrate both sabbatic and religious traditions of their Jokani culture together, to honour their mother and family when they miss them.

And when the day comes that he finally brings his girlfriend on board, they celebrate their Jokani ways as a new family to help Djamila (often called Millie for short) settle in and enjoy her time on the ship... just as the crew did when Asya first came on board~

And to finish this off.... here's everyone's heights, with Asya (in her true Dragonkin form), Verglaust, Elbent, Kevin and Solclave for comparisons.

#pirateformers au #tigracespace #ezra iolite og work #character bios #Conduit #Sira #Bori the Second

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moonstone-blues · 3 years

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A 6AM Bisexual Discovery:

Me: Yeah I know I like guys but I still don't know about girls.

My Brain: Okay.

Me: I mean I might like kissing a girl but I might just like soft lips. Guys can have soft lips.

My Brain: Go on.

Me: I don't think I'm demisexual. I can see myself doing it with a random woman, it just wouldn't be realistic.

My Brain: So you do like girls.

Me:

My Brain: You said woman. You could've said man. You literally had no reason to say woman.

Me:

My Brain:

Me:

#it do be like that #a legit conversation I just had with my brain #I got played yall #lgbtq #Does Moonstone Blues is gay?#Bisexual

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mogai-sunflowers · 2 years

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🌻stone lexic gendies- part 2!🌻

diamolexic- a gendie that is/is connected to the word ‘diamond’

[Image ID: A flag with seven horizontal stripes, all of equal size except for the triply thick central stripe. From top to bottom, the colors are orange, dull yellow, light grey, white, light grey, dull pink, and magenta. End ID.]

🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻

opalexic- a gendie that is/is related to the word ‘opal’

[Image ID: A flag with five horizontal stripes, all of equal size except for the triply-thick central stripe. From top to bottom, the colors are mid purple-grey, dull pink, dull golden, dull pink, and mid purple-grey. End ID.]

🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻

lunastolexic- a gendie that is/is related to the word ‘moonstone’

🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻

all terms and flags by me :3

DNI: racist (anti-black, anti-indigenous, anti-asian, nazi, etc.), anti-semitic, islamophobic, trump supporter/conservative/right-wing/pro-life, against the land back movement or BLM and ACAB, ableist/sanist (especially if you demonize disorders like npd, aspd, schizophrenia, ocd, etc.), against self diagnosis, against endogenic/nontraumagenic systems, queerphobic, against the term ‘queer’, an exclusionist of any kind (anti: mspec, aspec, lesboy, turiagirl, mspec lesbian/gay, xenogenders, neopronouns), TERFS/SWERFS/radfems/gendercrits, support autism speaks, dsmp and harry potter fan, believe fiction doesn’t affect reality/ship or support shipping ab*se, inc*st, and ped*philia, and if you send harassment, threats, or sui baits (i don’t care what side you’re on, if you send threats or sui baits, you suck).

if you identify with ‘proship’ but are strictly against shipping ab*se, inc*st, and ped*philia, and you believe fiction does affect reality, you can interact.

#my terms #reigns terms #reigns beloved terms #lexic gendies

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curiousscientistkae · 3 years

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oh yeah since I have new peeps here is a rundown of myshe ra kiddos +finally adding some i never talked about. Ages are just to show gaps between kids, they are not "canon". Under the cut stuff. I uh....ramble

Glimmadora:

Harper-20, eldest daughter/child. Born Feb 1st. She/Her, Demi-Bi. Heir to Brightmoon, gets called 'AJ' (Adora Jr) a lot by Glimmer since she looks and acts a lot like Adora. Has shoulder length two toned blonde hair (top half light like She-ra, bottom darker like Adora) with sparkles at the edns, sparkling purple eyes shaped like Adora's, tan skin like Glimmer, glasses, sometimes wears a hearing aid in her right ear. Has cream/purple wing markings on her back that later will turn into feathery cream wings with purple tips.

Sound based powers (cause my brain was like light and sound) but still can create light stuff they just make sounds also. Also can turn invisible. Being unable to control the powers as a toddler, she lost her hearing in her right ear. Everyone in the family knows sign language.

Smart af, witty, as the eldest of all the kids can be protective to a fault, anxious, wants to not fuck up and be a great queen. Will overwork herself and is a perfectionist, though can be forgetful. Is a great shoulder to lean on/be listened to.

Grows to 6' (she got them angella genes (who is alive in this au, not micah) and athletic build like Adora. Named to match the 'er' at Glimmer's name, her sound powers, and the Lyra constellation. Glimmer was the one to have her.

Mira-13, youngest daughter eldest twin. Born July 9th. She/Her, Lesbian, about 5 mins older than Micah. Powerless Princess. Got her great aunt and grandpa's hair color, pale skin (same as Adora), ice blue eyes shaped like Adora's, freckles on face. Usually has hair in ponytail held up by that butterfly pin from princess prom. Also almost always has a red cloak around her. Called 'Mimi'

Born with no magic and not connected to the moonstone (long story short in my au, First Ones cannot use magic without help or it will kill them. Mira got the most FO genes thus she cannot use magic. Whole ass idea i need to explore). Tries to make up for it with fighting skills. While she doesn't show it a lot, she hates the fact she is powerless and will not grow wings either.

Clever, rebellious, loves to explore. Can have a temper to her, wears her heart on her sleeve. Natural born leader. Butts heads with her mothers the most and has run away a few times (once for a very very long time heh). At the end of the day, she doesn't want to be in the shadow of anyone/wants to make her own mark.

Grows to 5'6", chubby build like Glimmer. Named to match the 'ra' in Adora's name and the 'Mi' in Micah's name. OG she was going to have healing powers before I got rid of that so it was also sort for Miracles. 'Mira' is a star, one that is an actual shooting star. Adora was the one to have her

Micah-13, youngest child only son. Born July 9th. He/Him and They/Them. Demi-Boy. Bi, about 5 mins younger than Mira. Has spell powers. Messy, chin length dark purple hair (the same shade as the bottom half of Glimmer's hair), sky blue eyes with sparkles and shaped like Glimmer's, freckles on face. Light tan skin (between his sisters). Has purple wing markings on back and later will get purple feathered wings. Called MJ (Micah Jr) or Mickey

Like his grandfather, great aunt, and Ma before him, he can use spells. Struggles with it but eventually learns he is best at defensive ones. They look up to many of the guards in the castle and wants to be one when he grows up.

Quiet, soft spoken, nervous boy. Def keeps his twin sister from doing something totally stupid. Trusting, sometimes too much, can hold grudges if wronged badly. Tries to see the best in others. Named to honor his grandfather, they want to live up to them and be a great sorcerer

Grows to 5'11, more avg/a bit stocky build. Named to match the 'Mi' with Mira and as Micah is dead in this still (i made them a long time ago) after him. Adora was the one to have them.

Scorpia's Kid

Onca-13, only child of Scorpia. Born May 4th. They/Them. Non-binary Pan. Magicat/Scorpion. OG a scorptra kid but Catra no longer with Scorpia. Has medium length snow white hair, usually in a small pony tail, light brown skin, amber eyes (only iris has the color not the whole eye). Cat fangs and white cat tail. Has those scorpion shouler pads and venom their fangs (not as strong as their mother's) and blue blood. No fur. Called 'Onc' or by Scorpia her 'Lil' Kitling'

Has electrical powers like Scorpia. Venom will only make the part they bite numb, does not fully knock anyone out. Is quick on their feet.

Laid back, quick to adapt, resting bitch face, can be a little lazy, sometimes acts without thinking, and easily distracted. Before growth spurt, they were small and grew a hatred of being seen as always needing help. Just a gentle giant really.

Grows to 6'3, strong build like Scorpia. Named after the latin species name of the Jaguar.

(i so need to work and the following kids more rip)

Bowfuma

Robin-18, eldest son/child of Bow and Perfuma. Born March 20th, He/Him. Gay. Dark brown skin, dark brown, short hair, dark brown eyes. Wears glasses. Has plant powers. Called Robby. Heir to Plumeria.

Plant powers are a WIP kind of, might be like Perfuma or a little dif but is connected to the Runestone. Knows some archery but prefers a crossbow.

Self assured, he knows who he is and what he wants to do, fair-takes both sides of an argument into account. Is the least likely to cause shit. Can be messy and hates when his things are moved. Procrastinator.

Grows to 6', lean build. Named after both Robin Hood, the archer, and the bird

Eliza-16, only daughter. Born Sept 15th, She/Her, Aro/Ace. Dark brown skin, dark brown hair in two braids, dark brown eyes, freckles. Needs glasses but wears contacts. Powers allows her to talk to animals. Called 'Liza'.

Also connected to the runestone, Eliza and talk to animals. She actually started to talk to them before speaking to her parents. When she talks to them, to others it sounds like she is making the animal sounds.

Passionate and loves animals. While her cousin Mira puts her energy into trouble, she puts it into being outside and building things or helping her mom and dad. Hates being stuck inside. Can be whimsical. Loves to be challenged and doesn't back down from stuff, even when maybe she should. Can be a bit dense.

Grows to 5'8", lean build. Named after Eliza Thornberry.

Ash-15, youngest of their siblings. Born Nov 23rd. He/She/They genderfluid. No real label-uses queer. Medium brown skin, medium length, wavy blonde hair, dark brown eyes. Freckles. Has no powers but does not mind it at all.

Unlike his younger cousin, Mira, Ash does not care they do not have powers or are not next in line for the thorn. They are happy to just learn from their father or others. Kind of a jack of all trades.

Has a big heart and a love for all life. Once she is set on something, she sees it through to the end. Very observant of the world and what goes on in it. Can be impatient and doesn’t always take things seriously. Jokes way to often. Free-spirit

Grows to 5'10", thin build like his mom. Named after the type of tree which you could use to make a bow.

Seamista

Newt-18, oldest and only son of Sea Hawk and Mermista. Born Dec 11th, Trans Man He/Him, Pan ace. Dark brown skin, dark brown eyes, short blue hair. Has no runestone powers but can still turn into a merman when in the water.

Newt was next in line for the throne but stepped down, not liking the idea of being a king. He likes to spend time at the beach, swimming, and enjoying being in the sun. Usually keeps his sisters from killing each other.

Hard worker, does not usually slack off, does hate being in the spotlight. Humble. Good at reading emotions. Can lose track of time easily. Has his mother's dry sense of humor. Will faint at the sight of blood

Grows to 5'7", build like Sea Hawk. Named for the salamander that is associate with fire. And with it being an amphibian and transitioning from one stage to another, kind of works there also.

Sandra-15, oldest daughter. Born Mar 7th, She/Her, Pan. Medium brown skin, brown eyes, dark long brown curly hair. Has water based powers (still a WIP whoops). Can turn into a mermaid when in the water.

After her brother stepped down, she is now the heir to her kingdom. Still working a bit on her powers but is connected to the runestone. FIGHTS with her sister all the time.

Very much a girly girl, loves pink, skirts, sparkles, all that jazz. Takes her role as princess seriously. Dutiful and punctual. Hates messes, likes things to be neat. Does not like things randomly being dropped on her.

Grows to 5'8", Mermista's body build. Nickname is Sandy and is called that the most. Named cause yeah....sandy.

Yamuna-12, youngest child/daughter. Born Apr 13th, She/Her, Greyromo/sexual Lesbian. Long blue hair though will dye it many colors, usually orange, light brown skin, brown eyes. Water powers. Cannot fully turn into a mermaid when in the water, just gets webbing and gills.

She can control the temperature of the water around her, freezing it or boiling it at will. Is a great sailor

Pure Sea Hawk child, pretty much his clone. Wild, hyper, will set shit on fire. Takes pride in everything she does. Will blurt out things without thinking and can be pushy. Doesn't like to be told to do things. Zero filter.

Grows to 5'2", small body build. Named after one of the largest rivers in India.

(these guys are VERY WIP so not much to them)

Ada-Entrapta child, on the younger end. Adopted, trans woman, het. Does love robots and what not, helps their mom out a lot. Probably can run on little sleep and still be fine. Name was given to me by my good friend Dorku named after Ada Lovelace, a mathematician and first computer programmer. Very close with Onca

Luka and Felix-Catra's sons, adopted. Both magicats. Catra moves away from everyone and wouldnt really come into focus until much much later when Mira runs off. Luka and Felix idk ages yet but are only a year apart in age. Luka means light (he is one of Catra's lights now) and Felix is a cartoon cat. Would become close friends with Mira later on

(im too lazy to proof lmao and free to ask questions or change stuff up lmao god)

#she ra #spop #spop fankids #she ra fankids #glimmadora #bowfuma #seamista #future of etheria #harper #mira #micah #onca #robin #eliza #ash #newt #sandra #yamuna #ada #luka #felix #she ra ocs #spop ocs

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rachelbethhines · 3 years

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Tangled Salt Marathon - Rapunzel’s Return Part 1

We’ve finally made to season three and the entire reason why I made this review series. This season features some of the worst writing I have ever witnessed in a television program. And this season kicks off with the third worst episode of the whole series. Rapunzel’s Return is the iceberg that sinks this show and manages to assassinate everyone’s character.

Everyone’s.

Summary: Inside the House of Yesterday's Tomorrow (as seen off screen in "Rapunzeltopia"), Cassandra is greeted by the Enchanted Girl, a spirit who reveals that Cassandra is the biological daughter of the late Mother Gothel, who abandoned her on the night she kidnapped infant Rapunzel. Enraged that Rapunzel has been (unknowingly) overshadowing her for the entirety of her life, and that she will always be unfairly overlooked, Cassandra snatches the Moonstone Opal, absorbs it, and declared Rapunzel's destiny as her own. She manages to escape from the group and cuts all ties with them, with Rapunzel unable to wrap her head around the entire situation. The group returns to Corona and find that it has been taken over by Varian, who has aligned himself with Andrew and the Separatists of Saporia to erase the King and Queen's memories and enslave Corona's citizens.

Plot Hole Number One: Why Would Cassandra Just Blindly Follow A Ghost While Trapped Inside a Haunted House?

Outside of that one snarky remark, Cassandra never stops to question the literal ghost who is bossing her around. The ghost she met in a creepy haunted house. A haunted house that she was already suspicious of before ever going in and that has tried to kill her and her friends many times now.

Cassandra, the most distrusting and cautious of of individuals in the show thus far, just suddenly decides to leave her brain behind from this point forward for no given reason whatsoever.

If you have to dumb down your main character and have them behave OOC in order to get your plot rolling along, then you haven’t a good plot.

Plot Hole Number Two: Cassandra Sees for Herself How Awful Gothel Was to Her Here, So Why Would She Obsess Over the Woman?

Forgetting for a moment that Cass very well knows that Gothel treated her best friend like shit and tried to murder her other friend, Eugene, as evidenced by Quest for Varian; Cassandra can see for herself right here that Gothel is a crap person who never treated her right.

I mean there’s denial, and then there’s flat out stupidity. Cass being hurt by the this reveal is one thing. Cass believing that Gothel really loved her and blaming everyone else for her death is totally another and not based in any kind of sensible logic.

Plot Hole Number Three: Why Would Gothel Even Have a Child to Begin With?

Look, I’ll accept that the flower can deage Gothel enough for her to get laid and bare a kid, but that only brings up the question of why she would keep said kid?

She kept Rapunzel cause she needed her powers in order to stay alive, but Cass? What reason would she want to have Cassandra around? A baby can’t do chores for you and it's a hell of a lot of work to raise one. Plus the show repeatedly tells us over and over again that Gothel doesn’t really love her or even likes having her daugther around so... yeah, what is the point of this? Why didn’t she just drop Cass off at an orphanage to begin with?

You can’t make this type of reveal and have it go against the what we fundamentally know about the characters without explaining why they would partake in such actions.

This is Manipulative Writing

But of course the real reason why this flashback and “twist” exists is just to manipulate the audience into feeling sorry for Cass. It’s not here to actually enhance the story, further the characters, nor answer any mysteries in any real way. That’s why it’s such a poor plot point.

It’s setting up the viewers to have a bias so that they’ll more readily forgive Cassandra for her irreprehensible actions later. In short, it’s the same bullshit that the writers pulled for Frederic back in season one. Only it makes even less narrative sense here because this ‘tragic backstory’ is so divorced from later events in the story.

It’s also flat out lazy because all it’s doing it slapping Rapunzel’s backstory onto Cass instead of letting Cassandra be her own character with her own battles and character development to have.

And before you say, “well that’s the point”, then let me tell you it’s a stupid point. One that makes zero sense for the character and is insulting to the audience’s intelligence.

Plot Hole Number Four: Why Didn’t Gothel Just Stay Hidden Till the Soldiers Left?

Hell, why did Gothel even come back here? We already established that she doesn’t really care about Cass and it’s a plot point that’ll only be further reiterated as the season goes on, so why? Why would Gothel behave like this? How does this help her in her goal? Gothel’s suppose to be smart remember?

Plot Hole Number Five: How Does Any of This Logically Help Zhan Tiri?

So Zhan Tiri is the blue ghost girl and while the series tries to keep it a secret reveal for later, it’s pretty obvious from the get go, so I’ll just be calling the character by her name.

Anyways, Zhan Tiri’s plan is to show Cassandra her past, in order to make Cass angry enough to steal the moonstone and fight Rapunzel, so that the two powers fighting each other will then release her from her interdimensional prison.

Now ignoring how literally none of that was set up nor previously established, and ignoring that Zhan Tiri’s disciples were trying previously to stop the sundrop and her friends from getting to the moonstone, thereby undermining their master’s plan; just how exactly is any of this suppose to work?

Why would showing Cassandra how her mother was a shitty person somehow make Cass angry at Rapunzel, angry enough to try and kill her even, and somehow keep her angry for months on end, in order to fulfill this clearly illogical action that holds no personal benefit to herself?

I don’t mind Cassandra becoming a villain; I just want it to make sense.

This does not make sense.

Not only does it require incredible leaps of logic and Cassandra acting out of character to work, it also depends far to much upon conquincidence and things playing out just in exactly the right way to benefit Zhan Tiri and her poorly laid out plan.

Would it not have made more sense for this “evil master manipulating worlock” to just, you know, lie?

Like shouldn’t she be trying to make Gothel look good? Shouldn’t she be trying to make it all seem like Frederic’s fault (which it mostly is anyways)? If you want Cass to attack Corona and turn against Rapunzel, then why not lie about their involvement or tell some half truth?

Or better yet why not make Gothel and actual complex figure for real?

Ugh... I got to move on from this point, but believe me, we will be back to this dumbfuckery in later episodes.

Plot Hole Number Six: You Can’t Just Ignore that Cap Exists and Is the One Who Raised Cassandra for Most of Her Life

Like I’m sure finding out that you mom was a piece of crap who abandon you hurts, but that doesn’t automatically erase the fact that Cass’s dad was there for her, raised her, and loved her for the majority of her life. I’m not saying that Cap is perfect, but he at least tried to do right by her (and is consequently the best parent in the show) and Cassandra is old enough to recognize that fact. Pretending otherwise is a disservice to everyone. It’s a disservice to the Captain, to Cassandra, to Rapunzel, to Gothel, and to the viewers watching along with this BS.

Trauma Doesn’t Make You Suddenly Stupid

Look, I’m not downplaying Cass’s trauma here. She is allowed to feel upset and yes trauma is painful and effects us all in different ways. Also yes, past trauma can carry on through into adulthood and still harm you.

However that’s not an excuse for hurting others. Cass’s trauma isn’t any less traumatic than any of the other characters’, but neither is it somehow more important than any of theirs. She doesn’t get a free past to step on people just because she was sad once.

Cassandra is, once again, old enough to know this and more importantly smart enough to realize that what happened in the past, if even true, has nothing to do with what she is currently dealing with right now.

Like why is she believing any of this? Why is she still listening to the suspicious ghost that she met in a magical house that’s tricked her and her friends numerous times before? Why would finding out her mom was shit make her turn that anger against her best friend? What does any of this have to do with her current struggles with trying to build up her career or staying friends with Raps?

Remembering past trauma does not make your brain shut off. Even having a mental breakdown or panic attack still does not render you completely senseless and anything done under extreme pressure like that is temporary. You don’t wind up acting bananas constantly for over a year.

As a woman who suffers from complex-PTSD and is an abuse survivor myself, Cassandra’s story is deeply offensive to me. Not the least of which because it actively dumps her down.

This Is the Point Where Cassandra’s Character Gets Assassinated

Like I said in the opening, everyone’s character gets assassinated in this story. Cassandra just happens to be the first to die and it’s right here with this line.

Not only is this line incredibly cringy and poorly worded, and I have to just feel sorry for the VA here cause there’s no way to make this much stupid sound good, but it’s also completely divorced from what’s going on.

Cassandra is suppose to be explaining to her friends why she’s stealing the moonstone and her answer is “I’m this dead bitch’s daughter”? Like oookaaay, and that has what to do with it exactly?

Did Gothel have any connection to the moonstone? Does stealing the moonstone somehow bring her back or fulfil her revenge? What does grabbing the moonstone actually gain Cass and what does that have to do with her dead abusive mom?

The reason why Cass doesn’t work as a villain because she has no goal nor reason for doing what she does. She just lurches from plot point to plot point with no idea of what she is doing nor why she is doing it.

But watch as the show keeps digging in its heels and keeps insisting that Cassandra’s connection to Gothel is totally a sympathetic motive even as it makes less and less sense every damn time it's brought up.

What Does Destiny Even Fucking Mean Any More???

What Destiny?!

There is no damn destiny. There is no prophecy to fulfil, no world to save, no consequence for just having everyone sitting on their asses for two whole seasons. And even if there was a destiny to even steal; why would Cass even want it? What does actually she gain from any of this? And how does any of it connect back to Gothel?

This Should Have Been the Point of Resolution Not the Inciting Incident for Their Break Up

Look no idea is without merit. You can make the stupidest sounding idea engaging if you present it right.

This was not presented right.

If Cassandra being Gothel’s daughter was to hold any meaning to the story, then it needed to be what brought her and Raps back together again, not what broke them apart.

Rapunzel says it right here. Logically this should be common ground for the two of them. There’s no real reason for Cass to direct her anger at Rapunzel over this.

But this show doesn’t care about logic, reason, or treating it’s audience with intelligence. It’s just flashy bullshit “drama” that pretends to be deep but is really a shallow puddle once you stop to think about it for two seconds.

Let’s Talk About “Sisters”

Cass’s face just says it all doesn’t it?

The creator, Chris, wanted to make a story about two “sisters”, because he has two daughters and he thought that would be inspiring and speak to little girls everywhere.

It’s a nice sentiment. Shame he’s so utterly incompetent at it.

There was no build up to them being sisters. Instead all we got was a bunch of meaningless parallels and a very toxic friendship. Even with the Gothel reveal the connection to them being siblings is tenuous at best because there’s no biological relation and more importantly, they weren’t raised together.

Chris is basically trying to rip off the likes of Frozen or Guardians of the Galaxy here with Raps and Cass’s relationship but it doesn’t work when the two siblings in question didn’t actually grow up together. There’s no reason for Cassandra to project her anger at their abusive parent on to Raps because that parent wasn’t the one to actually raise her. And on top of that, said abuser is dead, and both her and Raps have separate guardians in their lives, so the jealousy angle doesn’t work either.

And to make it all the more confusing, Chris failed to inform his crew of this brilliant plot twist, so we now have two seasons of gay baiting put in by the storyboard artists hitting that Cass is in love with her “sister”, And because the hardcore Cazzpunzel stans are the only fanbase that hasn’t given Chris the boot, there’s still even more gay baiting to come.

Why are We Victim Blaming a Baby?

Seriously, Cass? You are twenty four and have a brain. Why are you blaming someone for being kidnapped as a baby? What kind of sense does this make?

Worse, there’s plenty of real shit Cass could get angry at Rapunzel over and this is what you go with show?

If anything Rapunzel should be the one who is pissed here. Cass got to escape and lead a normal life with a loving father all because she got kidnapped as baby. And now said bitch is trying to gaslight her while stealing the very thing she’s been risking her life to grab for a year now.

No You Haven’t Cass

Once again, you got to live a normal life with a loving Dad. You had plenty of chances to build relationships and further your career for 18 years while Rapunzel was trapped in a dang tower, and Rapunzel returning from said tower didn’t cut you off from anything. In fact Rapunzel being rescued from the tower actually presented more opportunities for you and you spent all of season one climbing up the ranks.

There’s Nothing In the Show to Back Up This Statement

Nothing is at stake. There’s no threat here other than Cassandra herself. Cassandra is dranger to the world here not the moonstone. If you wanted it to be the other way around then you should have kept the rocks active during season two.

So Why Didn’t We Go With the Original Set Up From Season Two?

As said before, there are real reasons that were set up during season two that could have motivated Cass.

Rapunzel is irresponsible and can’t be trusted to save the world

Rapunzel is a shit friend and Cass is better off going her own way and leaving everyone high and dry.

Cass’s hand was injured by Raps and the moonstone might be able to heal it

Cass sees the injustice in the class system and wants to fight back against the royals in order to help everyone, not just herself.

Cass might believe she’s stopping Zhan Tiri and not realize she’s being manipulated by her instead

Or is playing along with Zhan Tiri under the idea that she can stall for time figure out how to stop her.

Cass wants to play her and use the power of the rocks to save people only for it to go wrong later.

Possession (which was the original idea in the concept stage)

Like I said, there were plenty of ways to make this work. In fact some are so dang obvious that you’ll hear Cass fans try to claim that a few of those are what her real motivation was despite the the show clearly going against them later. The “fighting against the class system” is a real popular one despite the fact that Cass herself attacks a bunch of poor people repeatedly and doesn’t seem concerned about anyone but herself.

But I digress.

The real reason why we have this bullshit is cause Chris doesn’t want to hold his favs accountable. Rapunzel’s flaws can’t be called out in any meaningful way and Cass gets a convenient scapegoat in Zhan Tiri.

In short both Cassandra and Rapunzel have their agency stolen away from them by the narrative, while still trying to pretend that they’re “strong independent women”. Even though those two things aren’t compatible at all.

What Exactly Have You Been Denied Cass?

Remember Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs?

Lance, Eugene, and Lady Caine were all denied physiological and safety needs while growing up in an orphanage and then later on the streets as a thieves.

Rapunzel was denied psychological needs while being raised by her abuser.

Varian was denied everything on that dang list.

Cassandra tho?

Trauma or no trauma, Cass was still raised in a safe and loving environment for the majority of her life. She, at best, has been denied “self-fulfillment” needs and even then that’s a stretch cause throughout season one we see her time and time again gaining what it was she wanted.

Cassandra isn’t anything special. She’s not suffered any more than anybody else in the show and in fact has lived a pretty cushy life when all is said and done, especially when compared to other characters in the show.

The worst that she has to complain about is working a crappy job for a little while and having a shit mom that she can barely remember. Boo Fucking Hoo.

Note How Easy It Is For Cass to Control the Rocks Here

The show can’t even keep Cassandra’s powers consistent. Like everything else about the character, Cass’s powers come and go as is convenient for the narrative with little explanation as to why.

This Song Doesn’t Work Because It was Cut In Half Due to Time

I’ve talked about the problems with this song before in my songs from TTS ranking list. It’s choppy and consistent. Yet it only feels that way because it was cut down. It’s missing a full other verse, second chorus, and a bridge.

Which is inexcusable because there’s so much dang filler in this show!

We could have had time for the full song if they had just cut one of the non-essential episodes and made all of this a full episode on it’s own. Just save the Corona and Varian stuff for later if need be.

The management of this show is just atrocious.

Why Wasn’t This the Cliffhanger for Season Two?

Speaking of making all of the Cassandra stuff it’s own episode... Everything we just seen should have been in season two.

It’s more connected to what happened last season, it flows better, it would have had more time to breathe, and it would have given us more time in the Dark Kingdom. Given as that this is what season two was building up too, it would have been more satisfying there.

And if the writers still wanted a cliffhanger to end the season in order to draw crowds then this right here was it.

So We We Spent A Whole Season Getting Here and We’re Just Going to Leave Now?

The Dark Kingdom is Wasted!!!!

And because the Dark Kingdom is a bust, the entirety of season two now feels even more pointless.

Chris said he cut the Dark Kingdom stuff because it didn’t interest him.

Chris is a fucking fool.

Ignoring that different people will gravitate towards different things and you need to keep that in mind when writing for mass audiences; you don’t spend valuable time setting things up just to drop them later.

If you didn’t like that particular plot thread then you needed to just not bring it up to begin with. Once you’ve put it in there you need to commit to it.

Behold the Only Thing Useful Shorty Does This Whole Season

There is less Shorty overall this season which is ultimately a good thing, but it does highlight what a stupid decision it was to bring him along to begin with.

I mean did we really drag him around for a whole season just for this? Couldn’t some other Pub Thung or townsperson have found them? One that could talk.

Adria Gets Put on a Bus

Adria doesn’t get assassinated like some of the other characters, but she does get unceremoniously shoved off without any real closure. The character will return later in the season, but brainwashed and without any lines. Which is doubly insulting to the VA who voices her.

And Here Is Where Lance Gets Assassinated

Lance is drastically dumbed down in season three. Even more so than in past seasons. You could call it flanderization specifically, more so than assassination, but the effect is the same. Lance’s character is effectively dead from this point onwards.

Also this should have ended the Lance & Adria ship in the show for good. She flat out rejects him here, but nope.

Eugene is the Only Person Acting Like a Real Human Being This Episode Thus Far

Edmund spent his whole life protecting the moonstone. He lost everything to it. He was convinced that letting Rapunzel take it would be best only for her to lose it right afterwards. And what does he do? Immediately become the “comedicly bad dad” in show oversaturated with both comedic foils and poor father figures.

Meanwhile Eugene is the only one properly responding to what is going on. Don't expect that to last.

I Thought You Left Cass?

Remember that foreshadowing with Quirin way back in the pilot?

This is just that, but dumber.

There’s no reason for Cass to hang around out of sight only to stare menacingly at Rapunzel and company as they leave. It’s just a lazy hook to get viewers to believe that there might be more going on with Cass then what we’ve been told. There’s not.

So This Map Proves That the Dark Kingdom Is North East of Corona

Continuity and worldbuilding in this show is utterly garbage, so I’ll latch on to any little scrape of info that we get.

According to the map shown here, the balloon is heading Southwest back to Corona. That means the Dark Kingdom is Northeast.

So if Corona is somewhere in Northern mainland Europe that means the Dark Kingdom is either in a Nordic country (Norway,Sweden,Finland, ect) or Russia.

Meta Jokes About Being a Bad Writer Doesn’t Excuse Bad Writing

Get use to this. Season three is full of meansprited meta jokes that try to defend against the quite frankly valid criticism that the show has received. Or more specifically the criticism Chris had received.

Most of season three was written during the hiatus of season two back when Chris was seeing backlash from the fans due to his PR fiasco and that’s not even taking into account the crew walkout after season one.

Not only is that too late to be writing your final season, but it’s also reflective of how Chris can’t handle critique with grace nor listen to other ideas as jokes like this are in poor taste.

Everyone Acts Shocked Here but Honestly this Fits King Frederic’s MMO

This is the same guy who prosecuted poor people for eighteen years with his crack down on crime, and thrented the life an orphaned teen. Is anybody really surprised by this?

I Thought Your Real Name was Hubert?

I guess he just prefers the name Andrew. I don’t know. But what do know is that “the devil is in the details” is a thing my animation teacher in college use to say repeatedly, and no one working on this show seems capable of remembering or keeping up with details.

Why Are There Only Five Saporains?

Saporia was set up as an entire race of people who’d been displaced from their homeland for generations. They’ve been living as nomads for centuries according to season two. Why are there only five of them in this episode?

How did they overthrow a kingdom with only five people? How do they maintain hold of it with only five? How do they expect to further their bloodline and culture with only only five of them?

Why did we waste money on a bunch of one off villians that we sent packing in season two and not built more Saporian models instead?

Like you could have had the core five here, as like leaders, and then imply that there are more of them with background citizens and guards ect.

NO!!!

WE DO NOT IMPLY THAT A 15 YEAR OLD BOY WAS LOCKED IN A JAIL CELL WITH A GROWN MAN FOR NEARLY A YEAR!!!!!

I.... What?!

Who the fuck thought this was a good idea to put in a children’s show?

Did no one behind the scenes stop to think, “Hun, maybe we shouldn’t suggest that a teenager was trapped inside a small enclosed space with no way out twenty for hours a day with an adult who attempted to murder his girlfriend when lying to her stopped working. Perhaps someone might get the wrong impression.”?

Like I hate censors as much as the next person, but editors work in the business for a reason, and that reason is to pull the artists aside sometimes and go “Hey, that shit don't fly with normal folk.”

What’s worse is I don’t think the writers were even trying to be shocking and edgy here. I just think they were careless. They needed a quick exposition dumb to explain how Varian and Andrew know each other, and didn’t think through the implications of that line nor considered how Varian’s age changes the context of his situation.

Which is beyond inexcusable because it’s so damn lazy!

You wouldn’t need rushed exposition had you actually took the time to set up this plot point back in season two. Heck, you wouldn’t have needed to even set this plot point up had you not cut Varian’s original story out at the last minute. Finally, you should care enough about your characters to at least take their age into consideration when writing their development.

There’s also the fact that it makes most of the ‘heroes’ look like assholes.

We’ve seen these dungeons several times throughout the show. We know of their poor conditions. There’s little light, the food is slop, there’s no way to stay clean or use the restroom, prisons are never let out for exercise, ect. Like these are medieval style dungeons that are considered inhumane my modern audiences.

Just because the show tries to play off the horribleness of it for laughs doesn’t mean the audience is going to find it funny that they traumatized a fifthteen year old with it.... again!

Moreover Frederic had promised last time we saw him that he would give Varian help. He idea of ‘helping” Varian is supposedly to throw him into a nasty jail cell with a violent criminal? WTF? And there’s no indication that he tried anything to save Quirin either.

Not to mention that none of the mains act surprised by this revelation, nor comment about how awful Varian’s treatment is. As usual for them.

It’s just sicking and most of the atempts to explain away this line by the fans have been super pathetic.

“Frederic was giving him therapy while in jail” - there’s nothing to indicate therapy exists in this world and even if this were true it would be undermined by stupidly throwing him in a cell with Andrew.

“It’s not literal, Varian was in a separate cell” - once again there’s nothing to back this up and even if that were the case it’s not that much better because it’s still a dungeon cell with zero privacy and Varian would still be close enough to Andrew to talk to him thus invading his personal space to some degree or other.

“Well he tried to help but Varian wasn’t cooperative” - still not an excuse and there’s nothing on screen to back up this headcanon.

“It’s someone else’s fault.” - Who’s? Frederic is in charge of everything. The buck stops with him. If a guard did this without his knowledge then that means Frederic neglected his duties and his promise anyways.

“Well maybe it’s true, but Varian did a bad thing and teens who do really bad things get sent to prison in the real world too” - Not an argument. Teens aren’t typically jailed with adults and the conditions for modern jails are at least somewhat better than those in Corona. Plus kids being sent to jail in any form is major topic of controversy in today's time. I’ve already covered why trying teens as adults is a vile abuse of power in the real world; I shouldn’t have to mention that the current government throwing children in cages is a bad thing as well!

“Well that’s just part of the time period” - Doesn’t make it right, and sadly it’s not something in the distant past either. It’s currently happening right now in the US. It was happening when this episode and season was being written. The writers unthinkingly threw in a very real thing that affects hundreds of thousands of children and didn’t bother to follow up on it or comment about how wrong it is.

There’s just no excuse for the way Frederic and Rapunzel treat Varian in this show. There’s just not, and some of y’all really need to stop trying to do so cause it means you’re inadvertently condoning real life abuses of power.

You can like a character and except that they’ve done wrong. That’s a thing that you can do, you know.

Let’s Talk about Character Design

For the most part the art direction in the show is top notch. It really is the best looking animated show on tv today, and the character design is usually of this same quality. But they really dropped the ball with Varian’s design here.

The structural bones of it isn’t bad. Taken on it’s own it would be fine, but good character design is supposed to give context and enhance the story and this doesn’t do that.

We’ve haven’t seen Varian in a year, but instead of visually showcasing the passage of time by having him physically age we just get season one’s design but in bargain bin hot topic clothes and a drawn on barcode.

Even the color palette is wrong.

Varian’s is suppose to feature blues and earthy browns to go with his eyes and hair but instead we get bright reds, neon chimballs, and sharp contrasts with blacks and whites that just clashes with his base colors.

And what does any of this tell the audience? How does it add to the story? What can we glean from his new design about what transpired in the last year?

Nothing.

At best it just reinforces that villian Varian is a try hard edge lord, but we already knew that. We would have known it even without the villain arc cause he’s a teenager. Not that he looks it. The boy is supposed to be either 16 or soon to be 16 and he still looks fucking 12.

What’s more they spent money on this. They made not one, but two new models with two new outfits, but they couldn’t be arsed just to make him a little taller? And no, he’s not actually any taller in season three. He was always Rapunzel’s height regardless of animation errors and squash and stretch techniques.

It’s a waste. Just like nearly everything in season three.

This Is Such a Cop-out

Speaking of things being a waste. Wiping Frederic’s and Arianna’s memories is taking the cowards way out. It’s them escaping any sort of meaningful consequence for their past actions and robs them of the chance to grow and develop as characters. All cause Chris didn’t want to deal with people pointing out the bullshit his self insert caused.

Well guess what, I’m still pointing out Frederic’s BS, only now I’m extra angry cause I was robbed of a genuine character arc, so fuck you!

Was Varian Actually Needed for This Plot?

No really. What does Varian even do here? The wand of oblivium is Saporian magic and they could and apparently did wipe the king’s and queen’s memories without Varian’s mindwipe concoction. That alone apparently gives them the power to run the kingdom.

All Varian does is give them some alchemy based weapons and a bomb he accidentally invents. Both are things that the Saporians could have made themselves given how they know apothecary according to Rapunzel Day One.

I’m currently in the middle of writing an AU fanfiction where Varian winds up in another world before the events of this episode, and let me tell you it is incredibly easy to write him out of the majority of season three without changing the plot much.

Given how Varian is meant to be a main character this season, that’s not a good thing.

So How Come None Of the “Heroes” Give a Shit?

Like I said above, none of the protagonists show the least bit of concern for what Varian is going through. Even though ignoring his needs is precisely what lead to this mess in the first place. It not only makes them look heartless, but it also makes them look plain stupid as well.

Why is it so hard to just even pretend to care about the fact he’s been orphaned? Half of them are orphans themselves for fucks sake!

Varian’s Not the One in Charge Here Rapunzel

I know Varian is the bigger threat and has more of a personal connection to Raps, but it’s pretty clear that Andrew is the mastermind behind this coup. What good does shouting at Varian do? What makes Rapunzel think that any of the Saporians would listen to him even if he did change his mind? What makes her think ordering Varian around after she helped ruin his life would get him to change his mind. Like, my gosh is Rapunzel dumb!

Why Are We Victim Blaming a Child Soldier?

That’s what he is at this point. He’s a weapons specialist for a rival kingdom fighting for control of the government. A government that has abused its own people leading to such an uprising.

A teenager may not be as blameless as a baby but it's still beyond callous and cruel to blame kids and young teens who join extremist groups in war torn lands out of desperation.

Is This Suppose to Be the Inciting Incident for Varian’s Redemption, Cause If So, That Makes No Sense

This look of regret is the only indication that Varian is questioning where he stands before his redemption in part two. Except there he points out that he’s been thinking about it for while now, even before Raps showed up. Only there’s nothing to suggest why Varian would suddenly change his view point and motives. So the audience is still in the dark about his thought process even with this “hint” and I use that word loosely.

Conclusion

So that’s the end of part one. I hope to have part two up before the week is out.

#tangled #anti-rapunzel #anti-cassandra #anti-tangled #varian #tangled the series #rapunzles tangled adventure

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iximaz · 3 years

Photo

My fan apprentice from the visual novel The Arcana! Name: Adalyn Gaumond Age: 27 Birthday: December 20 (Sagittarius) MBTI: ENFP Gender: Queer, but uses she/her pronouns Height: 5′10 Favourite colour: Mossy green—she just thinks blues suit her better Favourite meal: Chicken marsala Favourite drink: Spiced mead Favourite flower: Belladonna lily

Can you tell Muriel is my favourite route? Adalyn is tall but her boyfriend is still a foot taller than her and she just thinks it’s neat. (Though she is so gay for Portia. So gay. Shame she’s already in a relationship with Nadia, or Adalyn would talk to Muriel about opening theirs...)

Her familiar once upon a time was a squirrel she rescued from a cat and named Felix, but after she died and came back to life as The Fool, she lost her connection to said familiar and no longer has one. When she’s not working or practicing her archery, she’s jumping between one of fifty hobbies—writing, embroidery, painting, playing the vihuela, learning a new language, and on and on—but nothing ever really holds her attention for long enough to get good at anything. Except reading. She loves books, and her room above the shop has books scattered across every conceivable surface and crammed onto sagging bookshelves. The shop downstairs is only slightly more organised.

She can often be found at the Rowdy Raven having drinks and playing cards with Julian. Asra and Muriel are both glad and slightly terrified their SOs get on so well, because the two of them together are like oil and fire.

Adalyn is not generally a shy person, but she stims/tics and finds it embarrassing; she constantly jitters her leg while sitting, loves rubbing her thumb over the moonstone in her choker, and sometimes hisses through her teeth when she gets too excited about something. Muriel doesn’t really understand why she does it (neither does she) but he’s patient and waits for a sudden outburst to pass before she continues speaking. It’s just one more reason why she loves him.

Also, she really likes fire spells. Really likes fire spells.

#the arcana #the arcana game #the arcana apprentice #the arcana oc #fan apprentice #muriel x apprentice #the arcana spoilers #apprentice adalyn

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astratic · 3 years

Note

!!! oh yeah i remember you talking abt that fic!! lets see, whats the fave scene you've written so far, in which part you're stuck in / writing right now and whats that scene you cant wait to write? :D

Omg I'm gonna put this under a cut cuz I'm gonna just paste my favorite scene and it'll be long

The idea behind this is that Rapunzel and Cass have magic gay dreams because of the moonstone and sundrop but zhan tiri, who is manipulating Cass for her evil scheme, doesn't like Cass talking to Rapunzel where she can't influence her, so she invades the dream by force and rips it apart. I mostly wrote this because I wanted to put them in fancy clothes for no reason and also I had beauty and the beast on the brain. It accomplishes almost nothing plotwise but it DOES shed some light on their relationship and also cass and ziti's relationship. Anyway here it is:

---

Her dreams normally fade and blend together, but this one begins abruptly. This should have tipped her off in retrospect, but her mind is fuzzy—it always is in dreams, even ones as bright as this one.

Everything is shining.

Rapunzel finds herself in a huge, circular ballroom trimmed in gold and silver. The sconces and candelabras that light the room burn with a fire mingling in bright gold and cool blue, ever shifting. There are no windows—only grand draped curtains lining the walls, glittering, framing a series of huge, ornate mirrors. The floor is dark and reflective, polished stone she recognizes as the Moonstone's obsidian. It's translucent, and she feels almost as if she's walking over the surface of a dark, still ocean.

She catches her reflection in one of the vast mirrors set into the wall and spins around, admiring the bright gold ballgown that adorns her frame. The skirt is draped and gathered in layered tiers, reminding her of the petals of a flower—or the sun's corona. She notices her hair is loose to her waist and then braided through with golden threads in a single long plait that is, oddly enough, wrapped about her generous skirt like a garland, following the drape of the fabric and pinned in place at the gathers with glowing flowers. She turns again, marveling at this, wondering how she never thought of the hairstyle herself.

The dress itself isn't something she'd normally wear—too cumbersome to move in; she prefers her skirts much lighter—but it's certainly lovely. She tries to remember the details, thinking she wants to paint it when she wakes.

Rapunzel's head snaps up when she hears the click of heeled boots on the slick floor, and her eyes settle on a figure at the other end of the room. Her heart stops.

It's Cassandra. Cassandra with the bizarre, glowing turquoise hair and eyes the Moonstone gave her—but unmistakable nevertheless. She's wearing a formal suit in dark blue and silver, a shimmering, translucent cape draped handsomely from her shoulders. Her expression is hard, as Rapunzel remembers from the last time they saw each other—but then their gazes meet, and her eyes soften. A smile tugs at her lips. It's a little sad, but Rapunzel is too.

There are a million things she wants to say, but she knows this is a dream. It's something she got good at, back in the tower: dreaming. She has since learned not many people consider it a skill, but it was one of her best outlets back then. Pleading with this beautiful figment of Cassandra will only spoil this lovely vision with heartbreak, Rapunzel thinks, and she wants to enjoy it—this escape from the harrowing reality of the rift between them.

This is why, when the crystalline notes of a concerto begin to fill the air around them, provided by an unseen orchestra, Rapunzel steps forward and extends her hand in invitation.

Cass's head tilts slightly. She looks to be holding back a grin as she walks forward and takes the offered hand. Rapunzel almost asks her what's so funny, but she doesn't. She's too afraid of shattering this perfect moment.

Cass pulls Rapunzel against her, fits her hand to the small of her back. This isn't proper form, Rapunzel thinks, their bodies pressed together like this, but it is the way she wanted to dance with Cass back when they did this all the time. When, in between her frustrating lessons with the royal dance teacher, Cass led her patiently over and again through the steps of various partner dances, meticulously correcting her form and posture. She doesn't seem to care about posture now—relaxed and smiling—and Rapunzel wonders for the millionth time since Cass turned on her: how much of it was real? How much was coerced? How much was Cass being forced to do a job she hated, every moment they were together?

She pushes these thoughts away and forces a smile as Cass leads her in a waltz, the mirrors lining the room reflecting and multiplying the two of them, until it almost seems as if the room is full of dancers moving in sync.

The music swells around them—Rapunzel recognizes it, feels she's heard it many times before, somehow—and then the familiar notes of the healing incantation wash over her, lacing through the melody, repeating, layered over itself again and again. Her heart aches.

They glide together across the slick floor—Cass holds her hand securely and spins her out and around, pulling her in once more. Their faces are so close, Rapunzel thinks for a moment Cass might kiss her.

As she holds Cass's gaze, her skirts swirl and bunch about her bare feet, and Rapunzel struggles to remember the pattern of steps while avoiding the sea of fine fabric about her legs. She trips slightly, and Cass catches her, as she always does, and resumes the dance seamlessly, chuckling.

"You always were a clumsy dancer," Cass says. Her tone is fond.

"I-it's this dress!" Rapunzel stammers, "I feel like I'm wearing a tent."

Cass's brow wrinkles slightly, as if she wasn't expecting a response, and Rapunzel stops. They both stop. The music turns sour around them—slipping into a minor key and fading to a low thrum that seems to vibrate through the floor.

"Cassandra...?" It's her. It's her, it's her, it's her—

Cass stumbles backward suddenly, hand to her chest, "What are you doing here?" She demands.

Rapunzel reaches for her but doesn't advance, "Dreaming? The same thing you're doing? It's the Moonstone—Cass, we're connected—"

"I don't want to be connected to you, Rapunzel. Stay out of my head."

Rapunzel throws up her hands, "But you were fine dancing with me just a second ago! I thought you were just a fantasy, but you're real—"

"I didn't know it was you," Cass says quietly, looking at the floor, "I didn't want it to really be you."

"But you wanted to dance with me," Rapunzel presses a hand flat against her chest, "Even though I'm clumsy—even though you say you hate me now, you wanted to dance with me. Why?"

Cass turns away, "Leave me alone, Rapunzel. I—"

"You hate this as much as I do!" Rapunzel cries, surging forward and seizing her hand, "Cass, please! I miss you so much. I want to understand. I'm ready to understand."

Cass stills, and Rapunzel senses that she is listening. She squeezes her hand.

Cassandra turns back to look at her, and just as she opens her mouth to reply, an enormous quake goes through the ground beneath their feet, the clamorous concerto suddenly booming around them. Rapunzel stumbles, and Cass reaches on instinct to steady her—then recoils once she realizes what she's doing. The gilded ballroom begins to crumble, cracks opening in the walls.

A call fills the room. "Cassandra—!"

The voice echoes around them, a singsong tone with a strangely posh accent—mingling with the strains of mournful violins. Rapunzel doesn't recognize the voice, but her eyes lock on Cass's face as her expression turns suddenly terrified.

Something about that expression is familiar, Rapunzel thinks, and then it clicks into place, a memory:

"Rapunzel—! Let down your hair—!"

The quickening of her pulse, the rush to hide anything that would upset her mother, set her off, the panic at the very sound of her greeting—

The woman calling Cassandra's name isn't Gothel, of course, but Cass's reaction is much the same as Rapunzel's was back then—so afraid to be caught doing something wrong.

Rapunzel grabs her shoulders, shaking her, "Cass. Who is that? Who's calling your name? Are you okay?"

Cass blinks, "I—I—"

"Cassandraaaa—!" The call is louder now, and the cracks in the walls are spreading with every shriek of clarinet and crash of drums. Pieces of the ceiling begin falling around them, booming in time to the percussion, revealing a blank void in the space beyond.

Amidst the rubble, Rapunzel catches a glimpse of a young woman about her age. She's wearing an old fashioned dress, and her blonde hair is pulled half up into two buns on either side of her head. She's very pretty, Rapunzel thinks, but something in her expression is off.

It seems as soon as she sees this girl, she's gone. She turns and tries to reach for Cassandra, suddenly missing as well—the music reaches a hideous crescendo—

And Rapunzel wakes into silence.

---

In terms of what I'm most stuck on its honestly Cass's meeting with Zhan Tiri. In the show the way it's written is literally just wildly out of character. Cassandra is extremely cautious and mistrustful of EVERYONE (including rapunzel, tbh) and yet is immediately and totally suckered by this creepy girl who tells her to betray everyone she loves and isolates her completely. The girl does not even tell her a NAME to call her. Cass just refers to her as "my friend" having LITERALLY NO IDEA who she is the entire time but follows all her instructions. Like again, cass HAS the motivation for her villain arc. She doesn't really need ziti to push her very much just to do the initial heel turn. But I'm struggling so much to believably get to the point where zhan tiri tells her to kill rapunzel and she's like yeah that sounds right. I need to just write more of them interacting I think.

Like I'm not saying cass is too smart to be manipulated and abused like that's def not how that works lol I'm just like. The way they just completely throw her characterization in the garbage is insane and I hate it

Idk what I would be most excited to write tbh I want to write cass and Varian interacting because the duet they sing together is genuinely the highlight of season 3 and I think there is SO much potential in that relationship. Varian is a lovable teen whose villain arc is the driving plot of season one, and then in season three they KINDA SORTA set him up as a foil for Cass but then completely drop the ball other than that song WHICH AGAIN IS INCREDIBLE. this is why this show drives me insane like they have these beautiful moments surrounded by, just, befuddling mediocrity. Anyway Im having trouble figuring out what to prioritize in terms of relationships but I really need to give some attention to cass and varian's friendship I think. Cass's relationships with everyone except rapunzel get REALLY REALLY neglected and that's one of the things I'm trying to remedy.

#asks #thabks you tani i can always count on you #tangled

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makaeuniverse · 3 years

Text

“The Door of Questioning”

Makae Universe x Kageyama

word count: 706

warning: sexual questioning, some light smut

The spaceship was aglow with green and blue hues as the blue and white gem, Moonstone, dragged Makae. She threw her to the floor as she yelped at the pain.

“This world is cruel.” Moonstone announced, looking out into the depths of space. She closed her eyes, pointing towards the abyss. “You will help me.”

“I don’t want to help you.” Makae Universe confidently rebuked. “You’re evil.”

Makae Universe wasn’t like other gems. She had something that Moonstone wanted -- the pink eyes of her mother that glowed in the dark...bright enough to light up even the darkest corners of the galaxy. But these eyes came at a cost, for behind them sat her gem, resting gently in her pineal gland...pulsing...quietly telling her to commit great acts of evil.

“Do you have any idea what I’m after? What I’m truly after?” She offered.

“You want my eyes that glow pink in the dark.” She uttered, nearly spitting on the vile woman.

“I want the same thing you do, Makae Universe. It is only a matter of time before you realize that.”

“KAGEYAMA! ATTACK!” Makae yelled.

Suddenly, Moonstone fell, a metal vollyball hitting her square in the back of the head. It zoomed around the room and bounced back to Kageyama, who smirked.

“Nice serve, sexy.” Makae teased.

“You aren’t so bad yourself.” He teased.

Moonstone quivered, slowly rising from the floor.

“Why you insolent little--”

Before she could keep talking, Kageyama turned to Makae with a glint in his eye.

“SPIKE!” He yelled, kicking the ball effortlessly in the direction of Moonstone.

Before Moonstone could even handle the ball, Makae was untied and Kageyama was carrying her to safely.

“Are you okay, my diamond?” He asked the sweet girl.

“I’m fine, lets get back home!”

Makae looked around frantically, searching for an escape. They came across two heart shaped double doors with a beautifully ornate sign written in gem glyphs.

“Well, what does it say?! I can’t speak idiot!”

“That’s gem language, hold on…” Kageyama said, reading it. “It says, ‘Only those who press their lips upon another may exit through this door.”

Makae blushed. What could that mean? It couldn’t be…

“Oh no! We can’t do anything like…” She blushed.

He also blushed.

“But Kageyama...you’re..”

“What, my diamond?”

“You’re gay.”

The world froze for a moment.

“What?!” Kageyama howled, doubling down on himself. “But-- But you said I was your boyfriend?!”

She frowned, looking at him.

“I don’t know what we are, but now’s the time to be really honest.” I said. “I see the way you look at that boy back at Beach Academy. The pearl with the orange hair.”

“Hinato?” He blushed. “Well--”

“It’s okay. I will love you no matter what, even if you are a dirty lying cheater. Besides, I think pearls should stick together, don’t you agree?”

He didn’t respond.

I sighed. I didn't blame him. I got up from my seat and stood in front of his frame, sitting innocently on the sofa right besides the gem door. I moved my legs and sat down on his lap, facing him. He brushed his hair back, blushing red. I eyed his reaction and noted it as I moved closer, our noses barely touching.

"Well?" I said.

"Well what?" He forced out, flustered.

"Are you still confused?" I offered, glancing at his sharp face.

"NO." He said, as if not hearing the question.

"No?" I said, sitting even further forward, our hips now aligned. He froze completely.

"Get off." He said.

"I'm proving a point." I said simply, though honoring his request. "If you want me to get off, then say it again."

He stilled, biting his lip.

"You can't." I said again, matter of factly.

"Well-- well!" He began looking back at me. "Any guy would like a girl on their lap."

I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, except you're gay."

He went red.

"I never confirmed that! I said I might be." He said. “You’re such a problematic figure, Makae Universe!”

I laughed as he pressed his lips on mine, doors opening.

“Let’s figure this out later.” “Sure.”

And we were off.

#fanfic #steven universe fanfic

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daoimean · 5 years

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Pink in the Night | Chapter I: Sleepover

Chapter II | Ao3 Link

Summary:

Fellas, is it gay to be madly in love with your gal pal? As war rages and internal demons fester, Glimmer struggles to come to terms with her feelings.

Chapter Summary:

Come on, let's sleep in my bed Can I just be in my head with you?

Pairings: Glimmadora (Glimmer/Adora) Warnings: None

Word Count: 1,576 Sleep isn't coming easily tonight, and Glimmer isn't the only one who thinks so.

She knows who it is as soon as the door creaks open; pretends to be asleep and undisturbed by the approach of tentative footsteps, not reacting even as the bed dips to the extra weight next to her.

It's become kind of an unspoken rule, one of many that's formed between them in the time they've fought together, been together (not in that way—), that Adora is welcome here whenever she likes. It's also an unspoken rule that they don't really talk about it, don't really address the underlying layers of these impromptu sleepovers, which she isn't sure is for the sake of Adora's dignity or her own.

What she does know, though there's some vague anxiety holding her back from fully admitting it, even to herself, perhaps of coming off selfish, or maybe just a little weird— is that she's actually come to miss Adora on the nights she's not around, and sleep tends to come a little easier when she is.

Not tonight though, apparently.

A sleepless eternity drags, and then some. She doesn't need to look at Adora to know she isn't having much luck either.

"Hey," she murmurs eventually, shuffling round to face her. She’s groggy, squinting in the lack of light, and doesn't quite manage a smile until Adora reaches across the minuscule space between them to poke her nose, her own lips curling into a mischievous little grin as Glimmer recoils, pulling a face before breaking into giggles herself.

"Hey," she whispers, probably reminiscent of late nights in the Fright Zone's dorms, "shouldn't you be asleep?"

"Probably," says Glimmer, quirking a brow at Adora's hypocrisy, "shouldn't you? "

This is usually to be the point their sleepovers turn into, well, actual sleepovers. The kind that involve chatting, laughing because everything is somehow funnier this time of night, deep discussions about everything and nothing, save for the actual serious topics that have come to dominate the daytime hours and catch up to them thereafter, because everything is somehow smarter this time of night too— and, still, not a whole lot of actual sleep, but at least the weight of the world feels a little lighter by morning.

She wonders, sometimes, what it would be like to have Adora here every night, sleeping or no sleeping. Sure, their nights together wouldn’t really sleepovers anymore, but does that matter? It’s hard to tell what pushes the boundaries of her and Adora’s friendship when her only reference point is Bow, and it’s so...different with him. Sure, she loves Bow, of course she does, just…

Not like she loves Adora.

There's a weariness about her tonight. It dulls her eyes even in the dim light, pulling at the edges of her smile until it falters, momentarily betraying what lies underneath. That smile returns, though, when Glimmer pokes her nose. "Yeah," she shrugs, "probably."

Glimmer sits up, stretching her stiff limbs. Adora does the same, and Glimmer has to restrain herself from watching. "Come on." She holds out her hand. "Let's go on a midnight adventure."

It's actually well past midnight, and staying within the safe confines of Castle Bright Moon at these spooky hours is one of the few stupid mom rules Glimmer's actually pretty happy to abide by, so it's not going to be much of an adventure either. But she teleports, Adora in tow, to various locations of the Castle's outdoor areas, balconies and courtyards and even the Moonstone Tower itself, until finally, on an unmanned parapet, she finds herself, surprise surprise, all out of teleports.

"I...need a minute," she says to Adora, catching herself on a wall as her legs threaten to give way under her. She'll stay here until the world stops spinning.

Adora just playfully rolls her eyes, nodding towards the Moonstone Glimmer just teleported them away from. "You could have recharged over there, dumbface."

"Yes," Glimmer groans, " thank you , dumber-face."

Compared with the near-suffocating summer heat of Glimmer's room, the nighttime breeze up here provides some much needed relief. She watches as it tousles Adora's hair, lifting the strands that must have fallen out of her ponytail from hours of tossing and turning. The bags framing her eyes tell of countless sleepless or sleep-deprived nights; the slump of her shoulders, the lost, despondent look that resumes over her features when she thinks Glimmer isn't looking, tells of the kind of tiredness no amount of sleep is going to solve.

Glimmer doesn't say anything. But she does approach her once the dizziness subsides, leaning her head on Adora's shoulder, placing her hand over Adora's where it grasps the wall, tight enough for the white of her tendons to strain through. Adora exhales, and the grip seems to slacken, as she rests her head on Glimmer's; it's among the few instances Glimmer's actually kind of glad for the height difference.

"Sorry," she mutters, though she's probably no more sure what she's apologising for than Glimmer is, "I'm just... really tired."

"I know. It's okay." Glimmer soothes. She runs her thumb over the back of Adora's hand, across the purple and blue bruises that bloom across her knuckles, hesitating, swallowing. She feels compelled to ask. "Are you...sure it's nothing else?"

Adora is quiet for a while. She draws her hand from under Glimmer's, folding her arms and resting her chin on them, gazing dazedly over the expansive view of Bright Moon before her. The moons and the Moonstone are still the sole lights of the sky, the silvery gleam dancing across the clear waters below, illuminating the rolling hills and vast cliffs that circle the queendom like a protective wall, like the safe arms of a lover. It's all mundane to Glimmer, it's all she's ever known, but it must be a far cry from the view Adora is, or was , used to.

Her response, when it comes, isn't what she expects, but it also doesn't surprise her.

"Is it bad I sometimes miss the Horde?"

She says it very quietly, tentatively, like she's ashamed of the fact, afraid of being chastised for admitting it. After everything the Horde have done to Etheria, to the people of Bright Moon, to her— how dare she harbour any sentiment towards the enemy, right?

Glimmer isn't angry, though. She puts her arm around her to assure her of this before she verbally does so, gently squeezing her shoulder. "No, of course it isn’t bad. You grew up there, right? You had friends, you had Catra— it'd be weird if you didn't have some good memories."

"Yeah. That's the thing." Adora sighs. "I don't regret leaving, obviously, I just... sometimes I wish I'd left on better terms, you know? The Horde raised me, these people were basically my family , even Shadow Weaver had...her moments, sometimes, and I feel horrible acknowledging that after how she treated Catra. At the end of the day, I...I wouldn't be who I am now without them, I feel like I owe them more than just...upping and leaving. They deserve closure as much as I do. Probably more , actually."

"Adora." Glimmer's tone still isn't angry, but it is much more firm. "You don't owe the Horde anything , okay? Not your old friends, not Catra, and definitely not Shadow Weaver. You were only a baby when the Horde took you in, it's not like you asked for any of this."

"Hmm." Adora doesn't seem convinced. "I guess you're right."

She knows, from piecing together what she's been told, the gist of Adora's upbringing, and she can use that to trace the roots of her turmoil.

She knows, but that doesn't mean she understands.

Glimmer hasn't been conditioned to fight from the moment she can stand. She hasn't had her entire reality ripped from beneath her feet, found out that everything she came to understand about the world is based on a lie; she hasn't had to turn against everyone who raised and were raised with her for the sake of her morality; and she isn’t now stumbling into the cusp of adulthood tasked not only with rebuilding herself from the ashes of her previous life, but also carrying the burden of Etheria's very fate on her shoulders. How can she even begin to understand what that's like?

"But then again," Adora adds, "I didn't choose to be She-Ra either."

In a lot of ways, Glimmer feels like she's known Adora for years.

In many others, it's like she doesn't know her at all.

"I'm sorry," she responds, quietly, pathetically, for lack of anything else to say.

"Don't be, it’s not your fault."

But maybe this is okay.

Maybe what they have now is fine.

Adora is Adora, Glimmer is Glimmer. They exist in separate spheres that sometimes overlap. They fight the Horde together by day and their own demons by night. Glimmer is here if Adora needs her as a silent comforting presence, or a distraction, and she's sure if the need arises, Adora will return the favour. Because that's what friends are for, right?

But then, as Adora turns to face her fully, leans in as Glimmer's arms slide around her in a full embrace, and they're so close Glimmer can feel Adora’s breathing, hear her heartbeat through her nightshirt until it seems to meld or sync with the sound of her own heart pounding in her ears— she finds herself face-to-face with those boundaries once more.

#adora #glimmer #glimmadora #she ra #shera #spop #spop 2018 #shera fanfic #how do i tag this #my writing

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goblin-wlw · 5 years

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My Hoard So Far!!!

Mostly they are gemstones, but I also have lots and lotsa dice! The click-clack rocks make good noises and are pretty colors.

My identified rocks that I use for my rituals. I have Obsidian (including snowflake), White Opal, Gold and Red Tiger’s Eye, Turquoise, Malachite, Green Fluorite, Red Jasper, Mother of Pearl, Rose Quartz, Clear Quartz, Moonstone, Cat’s Eye, Ukanite, Iron Pyrite, Moqui Marble, Selenite, LOTS of Amethyst, and Blue Agate.

My so-far-unidentified rocks that I love. The shiniest one does that glow when in the sun! I love that shiny very much. It is rainbow colored and very gay. A quality rock.

And my math rocks! They are all very shiny, except the brown ones. But they feel just like bones so they are still valid additions to my hoard. 12/10. Want more.

All I have so far besides lots of candles and little jars with nothing in them yet. Will update as my hoard gets v big and exciting.

#goblin #goblincore #goblin hoard #shinies #gemstones #pretty rocks

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bloodthirstymoonstone · 5 years

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Questions addressed to your muse(s)!

Valter || Walter

▌What is your real name? -- “Valter, The Moonstone Imperial General.” || “J-Just ol’ Walter i-is fine! Hehe...”

▌What is your /real/ name? -- “Valter Weiss, the Only.” || “Er, um... W-Walter Weiss th-the Second.”

▌Do you know why you were called that? -- “Because I was an excellent predator who triumphed over my foes, of course.” || “Wh-Why I was named ‘Walter’, you m-mean? Well, m-my grandfather’s name was W... Walter... And I guess I was named after him?”

▌Are you single or taken? -- “Technically? Single, I suppose. But I’m never left wanting when I need a physical release... Hehehe...” || “O-Oh... I’m single... I know th-that’s pathetic for a man my age...”

▌Have any abilities or powers? -- “I have the superhuman ability to beat the shit out of weaklings like you.” || “N-No! That sounds scary!”

▌What’s your eye colour? -- “Blue.” || “Blue!”

▌How about your hair colour? -- “Blue.” || “S-Still blue! Hehehe...”

▌Have you any family members? -- “... Not a soul.” || “Well... N-Not anymore...”

▌Oh? What about pets? -- “I suppose you could consider Chetak a pet under the most generous of definitions...” || “I-I’m such a -- such a wreck, I can barely take c-care of myself, hehe...”

▌That’s cool, I guess. Now tell me about something you don’t like. -- “Weaklings. Pathetic, sniveling leeches on humanity that suckle on the teats of the strong. Their bodies belong to whichever predator sinks his teeth into their necks first. And I intend for it to be me.” || “Hehheh... D-Does it count if I say myself...?”

▌Do you have any hobbies/activities you like to do? -- “I enjoy hunting. People, of course -- not game.” || “I-I like reading fairy tales... Th-they remind me of when I was a boy!”

▌Ever hurt anyone before? -- “Yesssss.” || “... Y-Yeah...”

▌Ever killed anyone before? -- “But of course! It’s what I’m BEST at!” || “G-Goodness, no! At least... not on purpose...”

▌What kind of animal are you? -- “Perhaps a tiger or a killer shark. Something with a monumental appetite for flesh...” || “A-A BUNNY!!!”

▌Name some of your worst habits. -- “Sometimes I’m too lenient with my pets. I can think of no other flaw I might posses.” || “Oh n-no... I d-don’t think we have enough time to l-list them all...”

▌Do you look up to anyone at all? -- “Mmmm... King Ashnard...” || “M-My father... A-And my m-mother, too!”

▌Gay, straight, or bisexual? -- “Everything’s on the menu. What kind of predator is picky about their meal?” || “I-I think I like everyone, hehe!”

▌Do you go to school? -- “Yes, I was personally tutored at a young age, as would any other young man of noble birth.” || “Y-Yeah, b-but I doubt anyone could tell... I-I’m still pretty dumb, heh...”

▌Do you ever want to marry and have kids one day? -- “Of course... I need an heir, after all. Someone to inherit my grand estate and my trusted weapon...” || “I... I’d l-like to, but I d-don’t know anyone wh... who would want a man like me...”

▌Do you have any fanboys/fangirls? -- “... A what?” || “Huh?”

▌What are you most afraid of? -- “Fear? I scarcely know the definition of that word anymore.” || “I-I can’t let V... Valter find me... Or else, who knows wh-what he’d do...?”

▌What do you usually wear? -- “My combat armor. It makes me feel rather grand...” || “Wh-whatever robes I h... happened to pull out of the -- out of the dump, m-mostly...”

▌Do you love someone? -- “Love? AHAHAHAHAHAA!” || “I loved my parents... I w-wish they were still here...”

▌When was the last time you wet yourself? -- “Last week, I think.” || “N-not since I’ve been a ch... child, surely!”

▌What class are you? -- “High class. Nobility.” || “W... Well, now? P... Pretty low, I th-think...”

▌How many friends do you have? -- “I KILLED THEM ALL.” || “I-I’ve never h... had any f... friends...”

▌What are your thoughts on pie? -- “Meat pies are delicious. The rest can burn in hell.” || “I-I love pie!!! P-Probably more than c... cakes, even!”

▌Favourite drink? -- “Coffee.” || “Anything sweet like juice or lemonade!”

▌What’s your favourite place? -- “My own personal dungeons.” || “I-I’d love it if I c... could return home again and r... return to my old room...”

▌Are you into someone~? -- “Kehe... Is that a proposition?” || “Th-that’s not the s... sort of thing you should ask someone!”

▌Would you rather swim in the lake or in the ocean? -- “Lake.” || “Ocean, I think! I love beaches and finding seashells!”

▌What’s your type? -- “The younger the better.” || “U-Um... I-if you insist... I-I like... strong people.”

▌Camping or indoors? -- “Camping. Nature truly is splendid.” || “Indoors where nothing can hurt me!”

Tagged by: @pieman1112

#meme fill #memes #feel free to steal!#long post

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raptorginger · 6 years

Text

Netherfield Is Let at Last: Chapter 2 - Starlight and Butterflies

The night of the housewarming arrived, and Rey found herself feeling quite giddy. Sitting at her vanity in front of an antique mirror, she swirled a large fluffy fan brush into a bit of Becca Moonstone highlighter, sweeping the shimmering powder over the crests of her cheeks. She finished with a bit of mascara and a swipe of Lipstick Queen’s Medieval lipstick. She heard Finn let himself in downstairs as she went into her closet and plucked a pale dusty blue dress off a hanger. The soft cotton fabric felt cool on her skin as she slipped the dress over her head, mindful of her freshly made face. She smoothed out the wrinkles as Finn knocked on her bedroom door. It was a simple cut, A-line and knee-length, with a sharp boatneck that highlighted her delicate collarbones.

“Come in!” she called out.

Finn opened the door cautiously, then pushed it fully open seeing she was decent. Rey had sat back down and was using a large barreled curling iron to add soft waves to her chestnut hair. She smiled as Finn walked in. He looked quite dashing in his dark rinse jeans and grey sweater.

“God, I hope this Dameron guy is gay because there’s no way I can compete with you,” Finn teased.

Rey laughed, “Don’t be silly, Finn. You look very nice.”

“Yeah yeah yeah,” he said waving his hands dismissively. “Gimme the iron. I wanna play with your hair,” he commanded.

Rey gladly handed over the hot iron, letting Finn take over. His nimble fingers made quick work of the rest of her hair, and as he leaned back to admire his handiwork, he cocked his head slightly to the side. He made a tut-tutting sound with his tongue and went to her dresser, rummaging around in a small wooden box she kept there. It was full of a mish mash of jewelry, hair pins, and elastics. Finn plucked something from the hodge podge triumphantly and returned to Rey’s side. Sweeping some hair back from one side of her face, he secured the soft locks with a delicate sterling silver butterfly comb. He gave a satisfied nod and stepped back.

Rey turned and looked up at him, smiling brightly. “Thanks, Finn.”

Smiling back, Finn replied, “No problem. Now let’s get going. Can’t be late. What shoes are you wearing?”

Since they were going to walk, Rey had opted for a pair of metallic silver ballet flats. She slipped them on as they made their way out into the summer night, the dark sky sprinkled with stars. Rey locked the door behind her, and they made their way up her front path lined with different kinds of rose bushes. Their sweet fragrance scented the soft warm air as they made their way onto the gravel road, turning and heading toward Netherfield.

The large house loomed large and bright at the end of the road. As Finn and Rey approached, Rey felt her jaw drop open involuntarily. Having been restored to its former glory, the Craftsman mansion positively glowed. Decorative lights shone bright in and around the premises, artfully lighting up different outdoor paths and sculpted gardens. A small fleet of cars were parked in the massive circular drive, all different makes and models. A large carriage house turned garage stood off to the side, and Rey saw a familiar black Corvette parked nearby. Jerking her thumb over her shoulder, she motioned to Finn to go on ahead.

“I want to check that car out,” Rey said when Finn looked at her confused.

“Ohhhh. Gotcha,” Finn replied. Finn knew how much Rey liked cars. They had met forever ago before Rey’s first book had gotten published when she worked as a mechanic, and he’d come into the shop with “car trouble.” He’d really been in a relationship with one of her coworkers, who hadn’t exactly been “out” at the time, and they’d bonded, remaining friends after the breakup. Finn had encouraged Rey to send her manuscript for a new young adult novel series to a publisher, and before she knew it, she had a best seller on her hands.

As Finn followed the lights and sounds around to the back, Rey made her way excitedly towards the carriage house. There wasn’t as much light this way, and Rey was hyper aware of the gravel crunching under her feet as she stepped into the dim light. Stepping up to the sleek black machine, Rey resisted the urge to reach out and touch its pristine surface. The interior was a mix of red and black leather, the electronic dash incredibly modern looking. Rey felt her fingers twitch when she saw the manual control, and she clenched her fist. Biting her lower lip and looking around nervously, unable to resist any longer, Rey reached out and touched the smooth metal with her fingertips. She retracted her touch almost immediately, and rubbed the back of her neck where she felt a prickling sensation. Looking around guiltily, she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw nothing in the dark. Not wanting to tarry longer, she turned and dashed toward the path Finn had gone down a few minutes earlier. The loud crunching of the gravel beneath her rushing feet made her oblivious as a tall man stepped out from the shadow of the garage and approached the car, resting his fingers where hers had been.

“Interesting,” he murmured, his voice velvet and deep, to the dark.

***

The sounds of music and revelry grew louder as Rey made her way down the path around to the flagstone patio. Rey had to stagger back a bit as she rounded the corner. A large group of people were milling about, some clustered together in smaller groups, and others flitting about. This was a space clearly designed with entertaining in mind. A covered bar stood between two large shrubs where two bartenders were pouring and mixing different drinks. Clearly professionals, they smiled and conversed easily while their hands remained moving in a blur of motion. A few waiters were winding their way through the crowd, carefully balancing trays layden with delicious looking hors d’oeuvres on one hand. A massive pair of French doors were thrown open at the top of a small flight of broad flagstone steps, revealing a bit of the large house’s warm wood interior. Light poured out, casting the revelers in a warm glow. Rey looked around for Finn and saw him conversing with a small group of people. She recognized a few of them as Finn’s coworkers, and she headed that way. As best she could tell, their host was nowhere to be seen.

They were all laughing at something as she approached.

“Hey!” Finn cried when he saw her.

Finn’s friends all turned and gave Rey quick hugs, moving slightly to make room in their little cluster. Rey found herself standing between Finn and his coworker Rose, and Rose gave her a warm smile. A waiter appeared suddenly bearing a tray with a variety of wines on it, and Rey deftly snatched up a flute of champagne.

“How goes the War?” Rose asked amiably. She was a big fan of Rey’s novel series, Wars in Starlight, and often tried to wheedle spoilers out of Rey.

Rey chuckled, “It’s going. How’d you all end up here?” Rey asked, gesturing to the group.

“We all got invites at work the other day. Turns out this guy is one of our new supervisors.”

“Really?! Finn! Why didn’t you mention it?”

Finn shrugged apologetically. “I haven’t actually met the guy yet since he doesn’t officially start until Monday. Chill out,” Finn teased.

“He doesn’t drive a black Corvette, does he?” Rey asked casually.

Rose shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. At least, I haven’t seen one around the office. I think he drives a restored Mustang.”

Rey hummed thoughtfully.

“He’s got a friend that drives a black convertible. I think it’s a Corvette,” Rose’s sister Paige added helpfully.

“How do you know that?” Rose asked her sister.

“The guy picked Poe up from a meeting with the bosses one time, and I saw,” Paige replied in that defensive way sisters sometimes talk to each other.

“Know-it-all,” Rose muttered under her breath.

Paige stuck her tongue out.

The music dropped substantially in volume after that, causing everyone to raise their heads. Turning towards the French doors, Rey saw a jovial looking man holding his arms out in a welcoming gesture. He was swarthy, his dark hair neatly mussed, and dressed handsomely in tailored jeans, white shirt, and a tan leather jacket. A white and orange Shiba Inu sat beside him, surveying the crowd. Slipping out and off to the side as unobtrusively as possible was a striking pair, a pale red headed man and a fabulously tall platinum blonde. And just behind the man who could only be their host Poe Dameron was a tall and rather grim looking man. Rey unconsciously licked her lower lip, taking in his tall form, dark mess of hair, and pale skin. He held his hands behind him as he followed Poe down the steps. Poe was saying something, but Rey didn’t hear.

She turned to Paige and asked surreptitiously, “Is that Mr. Dameron?”

Paige nodded. “Handsome, isn’t he? Too bad he’s gay.”

Rey nodded noncommittally. That was good news for Finn, whose face was lit up like a Christmas tree. “And the one behind him? With the dour expression?”

“That’s the friend I was telling you about. I heard Poe call him Solo,” Paige whispered excitedly.

“Solo?! You don’t mean that Solo do you?!” Rey knew of only one family with the last name Solo, a well-respected and famously wealthy one.

Paige nodded enthusiastically. “I think he’s their son. You’d think he’d be more pleasant given his circumstance.”

Rey nodded, but said nothing.

“So!” Poe exclaimed as Rey finally realized he’d been talking, “Eat, drink, and be merry!”

The crowd let out a cheer, and the music resumed. Rey blushed when the object of her scrutiny met her gaze, arching a dark brow haughtily. Rey looked away, probably too quickly to pass off as casual, and pretended to be absorbed in the group’s conversation. When Rey looked up out of the corner of her eye, he was talking with the red head and the blonde. They all seemed bored. Rey snickered when Poe came up beside him and smacked him on the shoulder, making him wince, not in pain but in annoyance. He was a man that probably got annoyed by everything, and Rey really wanted to find out if she was right.

Just then, Rey felt a snuffling at her feet. She looked down and saw the Shiba Inu sniffing her heels.

“Hi there,” she said amiably, crouching down to let the dog sniff her fingers.

The dog gave her a cautious sniff. Deciding she was Good, he pressed his head against her hand and looked up at her with warm brown eyes. Rey scratched behind his ears as she gave his ruff a good pet. The dog’s long pink tongue lolled out in happiness, making Rey laugh.

“You goober! Are you hitting on my guests?” a pleasant voice exclaimed. Rey looked up and saw Poe Dameron looking down at his dog, pure love in his eyes.

Rey got up and held her hand out. “Rey Johnson,” she said pleasantly.

Poe gave her hand a firm shake. “Poe Dameron. Sorry about him. He’s a shameless flirt. His name is BB.”

Rey laughed, “That’s quite alright.” Glancing around, she saw Finn trying to avoid staring, and she saw her opportunity. She grabbed Finn’s wrist and pulled him over. “This is my best friend Finn. I think you guys work together or something?”

Finn shook Poe’s hand, and Rey pretended to cough into her shoulder so she could hide her grin. She knew sparks when she saw them.

“Rey’s a writer!” Rose interrupted, oblivious to the sparks.

“Really?” Poe asked, tearing his gaze away from Finn. “Anything I might have read?”

“Do you read young adult fiction?” Rey asked jokingly, assuming the answer was no. It usually was where adult men were concerned. Except Finn.

“Are you kidding? I love that stuff. It’s like eating a box of chocolate. Right, Solo?” Poe laughed.

“What?” a deep velvety voice asked. Rey rested her fingers low over her stomach as the tall man approached, having been pulled over by Poe.

“Young adult fiction. It’s like chocolate,” Poe said.

“Yeah, it’ll make you sick,” Solo snarked. Rey’s smile quickly faded, her fist clenching.

“Come on, Ben. Why so serious?” Poe asked teasingly.

Ben rolled his eyes. “You know why. I hate that stuff. It offers nothing of value to the field and drags the whole state of literature down.”

Rey immediately went on the defensive. “And what gives you the authority to make such a claim,” she snapped.

Ben turned and arched his brow at her again. “I have a doctorate in literature. And I teach it at Wildemount University. I’m sure you’ve heard of it. I don’t have a CV at hand, but I’d be happy to send it to you,” he replied, his voice dripping with disdain.

Rey wanted so badly to smack the pretentious look off his face, even if she was momentarily impressed that he taught at Wildemount. “Did it occur to you that you can ignore something if you don’t like it? Young adult fiction isn’t written for people like you anyway.”

“And what is that supposed to mean?” Ben practically hissed.

Rey was vaguely aware that the others were watching their exchange with some amusement. Finn whispered something to Poe that made his press his lips together and his eyes bug out trying to stifle a guffaw.

“Rich ivory tower academic types who can’t see past their own stuck up noses, and consider themselves above such plebeian entertainments,” Rey snarled.

Ben glared down at her, and Rey almost backed down, realizing she’d gotten right up in his face. Sort of. He was much taller than her. Instead, she just fixed him with a glare of her own. The air between them felt charged with a frantic energy of push and pull.

Ben leaned back and looked down at her, and Rey almost lost it. “You remind me of a lonely teenage girl who just read Austen and thinks she’s Elizabeth Bennett,” Ben sneered.

Rey knew he meant it as an insult, and the lonely part did sting, but she felt complimented anyway. She smirked and threw back, “Yeah, and you’re an angry teenage boy who just read Catcher in the Rye and thinks he’s Holden Caulfield. What’s your point?”

Rey gave a satisfied smile as she watched Ben sputter angrily. Poe came up and clapped him on the shoulder again, laughing uproariously. “Go get some water, you beautiful idiot. She won.”

#reylo #reylo fanfic #fan fiction #modern au #reylo modern au #pride and prejudice feels #rey #ben solo #ben solo x rey #stormpilot #they fight #and then...

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