#alchemy's worst apprentice

[keii-starz]

Leon Lavigne (twst oc 2!)

picrew used

BACKGROUND INFO (scroll to "everything else" for basic info):

he never got to meet his parents as a kid, so he remembers staying in an orphanage most of his childhood. before he got adopted at the age of 12, leon was practically already raising himself at the orphanage. he taught himself how to read and write, cook, etc.

-the orphanage he was in neglected their kids, but still gave them basic necessities, such as their own rooms, water, and food, but it was never enough. children would often wake up in the middle of the night because they were hungry.

-he has always been interested in plants and herbs when he was younger (and still is), and has read every book he could find in the orphanage's library and the library near the orphanage about plants.

-talks to plants and thinks of them as his friends, even the poisonous ones, thinks of trees as his older brothers and sisters, was never close with anyone in the orphanage, they thought of him as a "strange plant-obsessed freak"

-once, the children of the orphanage beat him up brutally, but he acted as if he was a masochist and enjoyed the pain, though, on the inside, he found it really painful, and despised every one of the children. the children never bothered doing anything to him afterwards, and instead chose to ignore him, but would badmouth him whenever he wasn't around. he despised the adults even more, for not doing anything, and for not treating the children in the orphanage and him better.

-found an injured kitten lying outside the orphanage shivering in the cold one winter, and decided to care for it, named it "Lev". when he later got adopted, he took it with him to his new home. when he came to nrc, he left Lev to his father to care for.

no parents were interested in him until the owner of an apothecary shop took interest in him and adopted him, he also made Leon his apprentice. Leon would watch over the shop whenever the owner was absent. leon thought he was very lucky to get adopted by the man. he was disappointed to have to say goodbye to his plant (and tree) friends when he left the orphanage but made new friends with the ones at the apothecary.

-he got the last name "Lavigne" after getting adopted

-although his father is a bit cold and distant, and very strict, he still gives Leon everything he needs and shows genuine concern for Leon, Leon doesn't mind it whenever he's cold or strict, because he knows he has good intentions

EVERYTHING ELSE:

basic info, nrc, and unique magic:

pronouns: he/him

-introvert

birthday: february 10, aquarius (yes, right before mine, haha)

2nd year, pomefiore dorm

homeland: shaftlands

best subject: alchemy

worst subject: P.E. (excluding flying)

unique magic: "Can I borrow that, friend?": scans the nearby plants in the area and depending on if Leon is looking for a plant with medicinal properties, or a poisonous plant, will apply the use of the plant onto the target

-if he is looking for a poisonous plant, he can use his unique magic to use the plant's poison to poison the target (leon can take back the effect of it at any moment). same side effects as healing.

-if he is looking for a plant with medicinal properties, he can use his unique magic to use the plant to heal a person; however, the plant disintegrates right after, and he is unable to sleep for two nights in a row. doesn't work on leon.

other:

-loves all plants, flowers, and trees; doesn't have a favorite

-picked up on skincare and started becoming interested in it from his father later on, vil reminds him of his father

-besties with silver and jack, thinks of epel like the little brother he never had, thinks of vil like a second parent, and likes how unique rook is.

-vil tried to recruit leon into the film research club before, but leon declined.

while he is pretty nice, should you stab him in the back, or piss him off a ton, he has his ways of getting back at you...though, if you happened to upset him in any way, and it isn't to the point he absolutely despises you, then he has other things to worry about.

-dislikes sweets

-is a huge neat freak, and likes to keep things clean

leon can be pretty clumsy, not in the way that he messes a lot of things up, but in the way that he gets hurt easily. he's always been pretty weak and had a frail body.

-is interested in fashion, good at picking clothes for others

-whenever he's not in his uniform, he usually wears a variety of fashionable, yet comfy clothing. usually wears muted clothing.

-his star earring is one of his most valued belongings, as it was the first gift he got from his adoptive father.

-like silver, animals tend to flock to him, and he doesn't seem to mind

-talks about lev (his cat) a lot

tagging ppl who might be interested! : @azulashengrottospiano @ceruleancattail @siphoklansan @moonlitnyx @dove-da-birb @l7k-a @krenenbaker

#keisocs ༉‧₊˚✧ #im going sleep now bye bye see ya later #leon lavigne #twst #twisted wonderland #twst oc #disney twisted wonderland #disney twst

[carnirat]

I like to think of Ed becoming an alchemy teacher post ending.

I imagine him teaching in a more traditional classroom rather than someone who takes on apprentices. He starts the year by telling the kids that he is the Fullmetal Alchemist to show off and seem cool and no one believes him, Ed ends up having to prove it by showing official documents (or something idk) stating Edward Elric is the Fullmetal Alchemist and all the kids stay convinced he's lying the rest of the year. Of the few kids who believed him, they ask why he was called "fullmetal" and he begrudgingly shows the class the automail that replaces his left leg and some of the kids audibly "Ooh" and "Ahh" at it, most of them likely having never seen automail in person before. Ed brags about how his wife made it for him.

He draws transmutation circles on the chalkboard so perfectly some of the kids think he might be crazy (they're not wrong). He explains transmutations in far too much detail and often times the kids end up gawking at him, not understanding a single word he's saying. He goes on philosophical tangents about our meaning in this world and how we're just a tiny part of it and how beautiful it is and the kids always groan as soon as he starts up again. He tells wild stories of when he was a state alchemist that are so crazy no one believes any of it and vague ones about lessons he's learned, trying not to get too into detail as to not upset the kids but ends up just confusing them instead.

Al comes in sometimes to do the demonstrations and the kids immediately fall in love with him. He's so different from their loud, talkative, hot-headed teacher. On demo days, Ed and Al both go around the room helping kids try and do it themselves. In the days where there's no demo, the students whine about "Mr. Alphonse" not being there. Ed, of course, retaliates with "What, you don't like me? What's he got that I don't?" And is immediately bombarded with the entire class listing off reasons why Al is better.

There's times, though, where Ed has to tell the kids about parts of his past that he wishes he could forget, that he can't use alchemy anymore, that he had to sacrifice a lot. He's like Izumi in the way that he doesn't want them to end up like him but he can't tell them the truth. So he tells them part of the truth; that they must not, under any circumstance, try to bring the dead back to life, that the dead are gone, they can never be brought back, that it is something that humans should have no control over. And the hard part, that even if they try, they won't come back, and you will only be punished for trespassing in God's domain.

But Ed loves his students so much. He knows he would do anything for them so he lets himself be vulnerable sometimes. And even though they act like he's the worst, they all secretly love him too.

#ive been thinking about this a lot lately so i wanted to write it all down #i have a scene written based on this so I can post it if anyones interested #i might still post it anyway tho lol #fma #fullmetal alchemist #fmab #fma brotherhood #fullmetal #fullmetal alchemist brotherhood #fullmetal alchemist manga #edward elric #edward fma #fma edward #edward elric headcanon #alchemy teacher Ed au

[royai]

People who should not know finding out about Riza's tattoo, drawing the absolute worst depraved conclusions about Roy and their relationship, and acting on that assumption is my guilty pleasure. (Mustang getting punched lol) I'm excited you are writing something like that. How are they going to ever talk their way out of it without revealing any critical information about flame alchemy? If it becomes public knowledge she has the (damaged) source code she will be in so much danger from other alchemists and maybe also the state government. And would it be a problem that Roy's career is based on plagiarism? Maybe not, since alchemist apprentice continuing their master's works seems like a normal cultural practice. But Roy certainly lied and claims to have invented it on his own when he became a state alchemist to protect Riza's identity back then. Neither of them can proof it was not Roy that tattoo'd her, no matter how hard he/them together deny it, cus the only other guy that could do flame alchemy and proof it was not Roy is long dead and any written record of it long burnt. HMMMMMMM it gives me many thoughts !

ALL OF THAT

the general populace + even fuhrer grumman turning on roy. roy required to sit for interviews with military police routinely when all he wants to do is look for riza. roy not sleeping. roy asking so much of team mustang and feeling not even a little bad about it. roy burned down to his base desires (riza) and everyone around him/close to him realizing just how unstable this man really is!

i can’t say much about what i think about what would happen cause it would spoil what i’m writing but~ yes. the thought that powerful people would want riza gone or for themselves has interested me for years…….. the thought of roy being forced to disclose his relationship with riza. yes

#text #ask #shivers down spines

[gerrysherry]

saw your post on tgs tag. post your essay. i like tgs but i hate the fandom most of the time since they treat it the way christians treat the bible so

Thank you dear anon. You give me hope.

"OMG it's like J/H but finally woke", like no it's a white feminism level reading of Jekyll and Hyde and Jekyde bait. I just pray the ending is good. Literally all the characters deserve better.

Ask and you shall recieve: The essay with fanfic promo

TGS deserved better

Rachel deserves better than to serve every man she comes across (or falls for)

Virginia deserves better than to be a trans lesbian who pines for a gf and never does any alchemy besides help Jasper

Jasper deserves better than being a transmasc punching bag and deserves an anger arc and more creature scenes

Jekyll deserves a heart to heart and a man who actually loves him. Also he can't hide (hardy har har) behind internalized homophobia for all his problems

Lanyon deserves a writer than can decide to make either a villain or a love interest but not sexy bad boy who keeps breaking our MC's heart till the end. Cotungo also helped popularize the "Lanyon/Utterson is just jealous of Hyde" trope and I hate them for it.

Hyde could stand to be scarier and a whole lot smarter (you know like Stevenson intended, Hyde is smart. The simian brute is scary because he's smart and that doesn't just scare victorians, it scares us today) and also why do the fuck doesn't he share memories with Jekyll if Cotungo claims he DOESN'T have DID?*

The age lift doesn't work at all

De-aging the characters never really worked for me. Why transform from 35 to 25? Also Hyde looks way too old to pass as Jekyll's son son but everyone believes that?! Also the fears of aging and dying alone and losing childhood friends is completely erased. To me Utterson staring at the grave of one friend and the corpse and will of another reminds me of my grandfather saying "after you lose your childhood friends, it's never the same no matter what new ones you make"** Here Jekyll's friendship with Jasper and Lanyon seem almost interchangeable down the romantic subtext.

Queerer than Fiction / Utterson and Harker-verse/Lambs to the Slaughter/Zone trilogy/Jekyll Saga

Queerer than Fiction: I legit re-wrote some of my interactions between Jekyll and his apprentice after reading "sad people dance too"

In Queerer than Fiction my OC Svetlana finds out the truth about Jekyll and Hyde and recreates the potion. Originally this was a gender-bent Henrietta Jekyll who left for America. This didn't work and I created Svetlana Raskaynaya and her alter ego Ellis Gage***.

This freed up the original Jekyll to interact with Svetlana. His care is that to a patient and then an acquaintance and he is neutral to positive about her gnc ness. Sveta never gets to come out to him because he dies and there is a fear of hers that he wouldn't accept them as Ellis Gage. If you read my other works you'd know he wouldn't but the tragedy of not knowing is what this story is about.

Utterson and Harker: We pause our monster of the week detective stories for a brief story of grief and acceptance

Utterson and Harker is the crossover nobody will write The Harker family and Gabriel Utterson (assisted by his clerk Mr Aloysius Guest). In a dark story where Utterson dies, Guest has to assume his mentor's role and finish finding out what happened to Svetlana.He arrives to end Gage and prevent another Edward Hyde, he ends up legitimizing Ellis Gage instead.

When Mr. Guest comes to investigate whether Svetlana has Jekyll's formula which legally belongs to Gabriel Utterson, they bond over their respective second names (Ms. Ilysa Outguess, Mx. Ellis Gage) are of a different gender than theirs and being nerds.

Utterson who is canonically accepting of eccentricity finds Gage disturbing for the wall climbing, calledisclopic shifting pigmentation, and penchant for petty crime and yes recreating his best friends worst project. But the androgyny that's fine go knock yourself out.

Lambs to the Slaughter: What if Silence of the lambs but with Gothic Lit characters and not transphobic?

While some people are convinced that canon Jekyll is trans and call all those who disagree transphobic and lacking imagination I don't personally write him as such. I have no problem with such views. My friend's oc Possum is a rp blog here and it feels one of the most accurate takes on Hyde I've seen in awhile. This friend is why I am on tumblr in the first place and I post asks there every other day. All versions of his Jekyll are trans men.

I have only one story with such a premise the steampunk silence of the lambs story. The premise is that are Lucy is murdered by the Phantom of the Opera, Mina embarks on a quest of revenge which brings her behind the only man who can catch this monster, Dr. Henry Jekyll. The only problem is the man is currently serving a life sentence under the name of Edward Hyde.

It will include the following reveal:

Hyde (our Hannibal Lecter) : Based on the first two murders younger me would have been his type

Mina Harker (our Clarice Starling): But Eric only kills women...

Hyde: What do you think young Henri Jekyll was back in the day?

Mina: well then...

Also

the little girl from chapter 1 comes out as well and when he asks Hyde for a good boy's name he suggests "Henry" since Hyde isn't using anymore.

Zone trilogy: Dark satire that might be too harsh

The Zone trilogy is a series of hand-drawn comics that follow the misadventures of two children of Jekyll/Hyde and many other pop-culture characters.

Basic plot of the abyss

Edie Hyde is the daughter Edward Hyde only. Or so her father Dr. Jekyll insists. He also insists that the two alchemists living in one of his estates aren't his beneficiaries but still sends them money. He denies ever meeting Gabriel Utterson, despite Gabrielle Anna being Edie's mother. Hastings Jekyll lost his father young and was raised by his mother. When Edie dragged him into her world he is delighted to meet a version of his father but is disappointed to see he is a cold-hearted hypocritical bigot. He is drawn in the same color scheme as TGS Jekyll and his treatment of not-Jasper, Helio Lockhart, cements that saying "No one will ever believe you, they just play along" does not acceptance make. I'm sure I'll get death threats for posting that comic

Jekyll Saga: What if Jekyll had children and they all had the two body thing.

This was actually written as monster high fanfiction but I soon realized that I could actually like sell this. Currently Henry Jekyll's story is partially out and I'm editing my story about Ash and Jenny which is basically a dark highschool rom com. Hastings' story will be a spy thriller and Gabrielle Mina's story might not be out for years due to lack of material. Dorian's stories will be out as soon as I edit them.

In my penultimate and final Jekyll saga stories I explore the lives of Ash Burns and Harland Jekyll/ Harley Hyde. Both are trans and explore this in different ways when Ash (and later their child Dorian) asks the ghost of Edward Hyde what he thinks of their transition he is mostly positive.

Follow me for more trash fires like this.

Notes

*I have OSSDD-1 (formerly 1b) and my handwriting is the same for all parts, DID people often have different handwriting for each alter. Jekyll is likely higher up the scale than I am so he outnought exhibit hollywood did symptoms. Laugh all you want in 50 years handwriting tests will be called the Sheridan Tests and it will help determine severity of a Dissociative Disorder.

** This line will surely out my alter ego when she mentions this as herself years later if I become famous.

***Gage is named after Phineas Gage who through losing a quarter of his brain changed for the worse (in victorian terms, swearing and lying as well as loss of math skills) but recovered and lived 12 years many of which were relatively fulfilling. He apparently became a completely different person after the accident. Gage was no longer Gage, said friends.

#tgs critical #tgs is transphobic and ableist #jekyll and hyde #strange case of dr jekyll and mr hyde #dr jekyll and mr hyde #essay #charlie explains #literary analysis with cecil #literary analysis with leo

[inkribbon796]

Egotober 2023 Day 25: Tester Set

Summary: Logan is attending a little heroes meeting, meeting some new faces and getting closer to magic.

Prompt: Cauldron

Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31

Logan got a text in the morning that he and the other Gainesville apprentice would get a little magic lesson from Marvin now that he was in town.

The young apprentice hero had gotten a text yesterday that Marvin had made it into Gainesville. He’d yet to officially meet him, and wasn’t too thrilled about making a fool of himself doing magic. But Logan was supposed to be there, so after school he headed over to the base, getting there around 4:30.

Logan’s watch let him in like usual, and Logan saw Bing with Nate and someone he could only assume was Marvin.

This hero had a cat mask, long dyed green hair. He was wearing a cloak and had visible tattoos under his sleeve.

But what got Logan’s full attention was no one, but two shorter people. One was Iridescence, he’d seen his picture in costume. But this other person. Fancy white coat, frilly red shirt and red domino mask; an unknown. Maybe they were Blue or Stripes?

White Coat turned around and he smiled in an uncannily familiar way. “Oh, you must be Logic.”

Roman. Roman Charmer.

What the fuck is he doing here? Logan thought to himself.

Never was he more thankful for his mask and for the voice synthesizer that was going to hide his identity from the single worst pain in his ass at school.

“Yes,” Logan said, thoroughly disguised. “You are?”

“Princey,” Roman smiled. His mask barely covered his identity, like an idiot. He needed a better one.

“Nice to meet you,” Iridescence said.

“Yes, nice to meet you,” Logan said.

“Okay,” Marvin said as he snapped his fingers and the entire lobby suddenly turned into a series of tables with cauldrons and all kinds of beakers and test tubes full of different fluids.

Suddenly Logan couldn’t care less about Roman.

“Alright,” Marvin said as he gestured to the room. “I’m here to do two things: teach magic and piss Dark off. Today we’re doing both of those. I’m teaching as much magic as possible. And because I’m jet lagged and slightly hungover, we’re going to start with alchemy.”

Roman’s hand shot up but he didn’t wait for recognition. “Mr. Magician, is there going to be a test?”

“It’s Marvin, and no unless you do poorly,” Marvin said.

Each of them was brought to one of the tables and Logan appreciated being able to work away from Roman’s incessant chattering that he could always hear.

A notepad was already on the table with his superhero name and a pen, a blue one. So Logan forgave not being a pencil and eraser to correct mistakes.

For the next hour Logan worked in front of a cauldron with some input from Marvin about what things were and the promise that nothing would explode in his face. He was just allowed to mix things and take notes.

Logan was surprised to be having a little bit of fun. Not much seemed to be happening but it was rare he got to see magic up close.

Marvin rotated back to his table and while Logan was watching another normal-seeming reaction Marvin’s normally green eyes glowed gold. “Huh.”

He reached over and tilted the cauldron a bit.

“Well, I’ll be damned, you got something in you after all,” Marvin said.

Logan leaned over as Marvin tilted it back upright. “What’s it doing?”

“Just glowing, these potions are easy, meant to draw something out of you,” Marvin said.

“How do you know it’s not just the ingredients?” Logan asked.

Marvin tapped the side of his head next to his eyes, “I just know what I’m looking for. When you know what the signs are you can kinda see magic on people. You don’t have a lot of it, but I guess you got something after all.”

Logan smiled, becoming more engrossed in his little tests as Marvin watched over him. The magician was pleasantly surprised with Logan.

After a while Marvin moved back to check on Roman, who was every bit the natural prodigy that he’d thought he was and was trying not to overtly tell that to Roman. He didn’t want the young man to get cocky and complacent.

He needed Roman to be good enough that he was improving Logic and Iridescence’s magical skills.

And Roman couldn’t do that with complacency.

#Egotober 2023 #Superhero AU #Masks and Maladies #Logan Sanders #Roman Sanders #Thomas Sanders #c!Thomas #marvin the magician #magic #baby Side's first alchemy lesson

[kathrynalicemc]

Character Spotlight - Profile

Name: Aros Varangr

Birthday: February 20th, 18xx

Status: Half-Blood

Nationality: Norwegian

Ethnicity: Caucasian

Sexuality: Gay

Affliction: Lycanthropy (Black fur)

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

Faceclaim: Luke Evans (specifically in Dracula Untold)

Hair: Black, chin/shoulder length, wavy

Eyes: Gray

Height: 6ft

Skin Tone: Pale

Distinguishing Marks: Scar down one side of mouth, various scars on body

BACKGROUND

Residence: Svalbard, London, and later Eastbourne Manor, Sussex

Parents: Ralof & Signy

Uncle: Brynjolf

Cousin: Einar

Backstory: Born to Signy & Ralof Varangr, Aros lived in Svalbard with his nomadic family that lived off the land. One day when Aros was young, his parents were killed in the wilderness. He ended up living with his uncle Brynjolf and cousin Einar. Aros was fascinated by the world and wanted to see more and learn more so at ten years old he took a longship to England. He stayed in pubs until a mysterious letter arrived via owl that gave him an invitation to a magic school.

HOGWARTS

House: Slytherin

Wand: English Oak, Phoenix Feather, 11 ¾”

“A wand for good times and bad, this is a friend as loyal as the wizard who deserves it. Wands of English oak demand partners of strength, courage and fidelity. Less well-known is the propensity for owners of English oak wands to have powerful intuition, and, often, an affinity with the magic of the natural world, with the creatures and plants that are necessary to wizardkind for both magic and pleasure. The oak tree is called King of the Forest from the winter solstice up until the summer solstice, and its wood should only be collected during that time.”

Clubs: Chess Club, Quidditch (Keeper)

Best Class: Herbology, Potions

Worst Class: Divination

Boggart: Killing someone in his werewolf form, specifically Benji

Patronus: Husky

“While huskies are a big ball of fun-loving energy, they are also very in touch with their emotions and cope well with stress – just like the casters of this Patronus. They are highly intelligent and simultaneously very humble. You are likely very loving and affectionate towards those around you. Huskies were utilized initially as sled dogs in polar regions for transport. Physically they have a double-layered coat to keep them warm, and metaphorically they also have layers to their complex nature. This Patronus will stop at nothing to protect you.”

Patronus Memory: Sneaking into the restricted section after curfew with Benji

Mirror of Erised: A certain Benji Gerhardt (@cursebreakerfarrier)

Amortentia: Fresh snow, pine trees, wet dirt, parchment, fire smoke

CAREER

11-18: Student

18: Apprentice at a Potion shop

20: Owner of his own shop

27+: Partner to Doctor Benji Gerhardt (Alchemist & Herbologist)

ATTITUDE

Most at Ease When: Gardening or brewing

Stressed When: During the full moon

Priorities: Other people’s happiness and wellness, not hurting anyone when he’s a werewolf, working his way up high society and his career path

Strength: Empathy and love for others, hunger for knowledge and drive to improve himself

Weakness: Dangerous to be around during the full moon

Traits: Ambitious, kind hearted, intelligent, outdoorsman, romantic

FAVORITES

Color: Blue, Green

Food: Fish/meat he hunted himself and veggies he grew

Drink: Mead/ale

Weather: Clear moonless night

Book: Herbology or Alchemy books, Shakespeare, Romance poems

Hobbies: Chess, gardening, piano, fishing/hunting, camping

Fashion: Armor and furs when in Svalbard. Fancy suits and blouses when in England.

#hphl #hogwarts legacy #lineage challenge #character spotlight #aros varangr #benji gerhardt #aroji

[crowboyalistur]

I have been informed by the U.W.A. that I am to take an apprentice. I do not know who and they haven't decided on their domain yet but I am sure they will find when while under my teaching.

they will be arriving in a month or so and I can't help to think that this is some punishment by a certain member of the council for my prior troubles I had caused them.

I'm probably just overthinking all this. They say she has an affinity for nature and that's why they're sending her to study with me.

I'm mostly just scared. What if I teach her wrong, ruin her future, or worse. I know what some of the worst things alchemy can do to a person and I don't want to see that any more in my life!

Anyway, thank you for the patience between posts, I've been meditating and guiding the changing seasons, and mourning of course.

I'll upload again soon, I have to go start lesson plans.

#wizblr #crow core #wizard #scarecrow #wizard union

[jadenightthewriter]

In their defence they may be stupid but marcellus is a) traumatised and b) a child. Idk what marcias excuse is tho 😔 in the esmerelda version she is also so so traumatised and has barely had time to recover from althers death before ending up with a baby for a second time except this time she can't dump it on someone else 😔😔😔 (the bit where she goes to the heaps in that version is So funny,, she shows up like um. Haha hi uhhh help. And she has a teenage boy with her and also a baby (identical to baby #1 silas got handed) and silas is like marcia wtf. Marcia why is there a baby who looks exactly the same as the one u gave me before. Marcia where r these babies coming from)

Honestly I think real au esmerelda probably had it better than canon esmerelda?? Like in canon everyone had caught on that etheldredda was killing her kids and tried to protect her, in this au etheldredda isn't even killing just the princesses she also killed her son who wasn't a threat at all and everyone is so on guard abt it. Esmerelda is never ever left alone w etheldredda not even once and all the palace staff r so careful abt it

YEAH <3333 septimus and marcellus get along So well here,,, septimus is having some kind of panic attack at one point and marcellus is like look i get it- and seps like LITERALLY NO U DON'T. And marcellus goes haha. Lmao. And then there r explanations (once sep is not actively crying on the floor) and septimus latches onto marcellus as his new favourite person (equal to marcia) and also septimus gets twice the amount of hugs and its all very sweet and nice <3 also I'm assigning marcias rooms another bedroom so marcellus can also stay there 😌 they may already have one?? I think it's mentioned in thm somewhere??? But. I'm putting it properly in the story this time <3 marcellus is staying in the tower while all his alchemy stuff is under construction and marcia HATES it bc he can spot when she's not sleeping and literally pick her up and put her into the bed and it's the WORST and sometimes he makes food and then she has to actually stop what she's doing to eat it and it's awful 😔😔 (<-she's doing better physically and mentally than canon marcia tho so). He's also very much a shoulder to cry on abt dn1 related stuff so literally this marcia is like canon marcia but 100% less. Lonely and sad.

Anyway I got off track,, yeah septimus and marcellus bond over being two guys with the same variety of trauma and both marcia and marcellus r able to help him more in this au than in canon bc they have. Experience. Does it help septimus that much?? Short term kind of long term definitely. Marcellus to septimus is like a kind of cool uncle/sort of dad figure,, they hang out when neither of them have smth else to be doing (sometimes when they do) and marcellus teaches him abt alchemy and marcias like wow marcellus :/ I can't believe you'd steal my apprentice :// that's so rude and mean 😔😔 and he's like lmao <3 and keeps teaching septimus stuff. Also marcellus does eventually tell more ppl abt his Actual backstory and jennas like WAIT WE'RE RELATED????? and decides he's cool actually now that she can bully sep abt how that's her great uncle 🥺 how could he steal him from her like this 🥺🥺🥺

This ask is so long abdhdbdjd rip and uhh. Well i have Plans for a fic but I think we all know what happens when I have a plan for a fic (<-it never ever gets written) so PLEASE write smth if u want to i will love it forever and ever and ever <3333

Consider: I would call them stupid even without the trauma, hence they have exactly 0 excuses sorry babies I love you but no

I bet Silas thinks Marcia did something stupid and kidnapped them all which is,,, aha not exactly wrong?? But it's not like she's going to admit that. (side note i feel like marcellus and silas probably get along shockingly well and marcia is Upset about this she's been betrayed how could you marcellus)

hmm.... that's a good point about esmerelda. I think mentally it might be harder for her though, because there might be lots of people who love her but i feel like there wouldn't be many who would try to get super close, because she's still royalty. i think septimus should accidentally trip and fall through one of marcellus's silly experiments and meet esmerelda and maybe be her friend for a bit.

ngl marcia sounds like a cat here i love this. do you think sep and marcellus (help i need to shorten his name i can't keep typing it T^T) scheme to like,, trick her into doing things they want. i bet they do like pspsps marcia look here. (i bet marcia and marcellus fight over how much alchemy and magyk stuff they're allowed to leave lying around. their rooms look pretty much exactly the same because they both hoard so many things except marcia's has like 2% more purple. relatedly i bet their horrible sense of fashion has infected the other.)

marcia and marcellus working together is probably the best possible thing to happen for sep it's like,,, someone understands almost all of what happened to him, there's always someone to talk to, there's someone to be responsible and someone to be irresponsible, he gets all the good things he deserves <3333

i think the jenna sep marcellus dynamic would be so funny idk how much an age difference they have (depending on AU version i would guess 10-15?) but they probably have the same sort of influence from marcia and all love to make fun of each other. they probably wear purple a lot and don't notice until silas points it out lmao and then make a point to see who can wear the most outlandish purple thing until marcia yells at them.

bestie same 😭😭 i can't promise anything (fuck you, school) but i have so many ideas i'm serious when i tell you this au is one of the best things i've learned of in months

#septimus heap #don't look too closely at this i bet there are So Many typos and incoherent sentences whoops #M&Ms au

[thatravenpuffwitch]

Character Profile — Violet Selwyn-Ellison

Full Name: Violet Mabel Selwyn-Ellison

Nicknames: Vi, Little Blossom (by Bat Varney)

Birthday: 15th August

Blood Status: Pureblood

Gender Identity: Female, Witch (she/her)

Sexuality: Bisexual

Nationality: British

Residence: The Selwyn-Ellison townhouse in London / her apartment in Paris

Additional Languages: French, Italian, Latin

Personality

Myers-Briggs Type: ENTP (The Debater)

Strengths: Compassionate, feisty, independent, clever, loyal, creative, logical

Weaknesses: Prideful, manipulative

Interests/Hobbies: Fashion, alchemy, tennis, ice skating, dancing, puzzles and riddles

Appearance

Faceclaim: Freya Allan (kid/teen) / Lucy Boynton (adult)

Height: 5ft 6in

Build: Slender

Hair: Blonde

Eyes: Sky blue

Skin: Fair, freckles on her cheeks

What do they carry on them?: Her wand, wallet with money, wrist watch, lipstick, hairpins, glasses, a seaglass necklace made by Holly

Fashion: Dark academia/classic French girl vibes

Witchcraft

Wand: Cherry wood with a dragon heartstring core, 12” and solid flexibility

This very rare wand wood creates a wand of strange power, most highly prized by the wizarding students of the school of Mahoutokoro in Japan, where those who own cherry wands have special prestige. The Western wand-purchaser should dispel from their minds any notion that the pink blossom of the living tree makes for a frivolous or merely ornamental wand, for cherry wood often makes a wand that possesses truly lethal power, whatever the core, but if teamed with dragon heartstring, the wand ought never to be teamed with a wizard without exceptional self-control and strength of mind.

Animagus: n/a

Patronus: Polar bear

Boggart: Violet sees herself, speaking in a ridiculous voice.

Riddikulus: Boggart-Violet recites a dirty limerick.

Amortentia (what does she smell like to others?): Peonies, morning dew, chocolate, sandalwood

Amortentia (what does she smell?): Freshly brewed coffee, books, spent matches, caramel

Magical Abilities: Skilled Alchemist

Hogwarts

House: Ravenclaw

Best Subject: Alchemy and Potions

Worst Subject: DADA (in terms of enjoyment)

Third Year Options: Alchemy, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy

Extracurriculars: Gobstones Club, Frog Choir, Quidditch Commentator (year 4–7)

Adult Life

18 — 22: Alchemist Apprentice to Nicolas Flamel

22 — 35: Alchemist

35 — 40: Trainee Healer, St. Mungo’s Hospital

40 — 65: Healer, St. Mungo’s Hospital

Relationships

Mother: Adelia Selwyn-Ellison

Father: Arthur “Teddy” Ellison @cursebreakerfarrier

Siblings: Lawrence “Bertie” and Holly Selwyn-Ellison

Godparents: Jackson Knightly @carewyncromwell and Carolyn Nyberg @lifeofkaze

Surrogate Uncle: Bartholomew “Bat” Varney @carewyncromwell

Closest Friends: Jude Dubois @endlessly-cursed, Willa Stagg @kc-and-co, Delaney and Imogen Hopper

Love Interest: Cassian Moody

Daughter: Petra Walsh (née Moody)

Grandchildren: Penelope and Joel Walsh

Great-grandchildren: Manon and Lucie Walsh

Pets: Jolie the puffskein

Dormmates: Jude Debois @endlessly-cursed

Favorites

Color: Purple

Food: Chocolate croissants

Flower: Peonies

Drink: French martini

Book: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Season: Winter

Additional Links / Information

Violet’s Playlist

Violet likes pranks but is notoriously bad pulling at them.

Violet is the undefeated Gobstones champion of Hogwarts. She was taught by her Aunt Harriet, who was also undefeated back in her day.

#violet selwyn ellison #character profile #fantastic beasts ocs #ravenclaw #fbawtft oc

[stargazer-balladeer]

[i] - i’ll make you fall in love with me

Word Count: 2.6k

[series masterlist] [next]

“You’re staring again, [Y/N]~” Surprised at the sudden intrusion in your fantasies, you turn your head to the side to look at your friend, Hu tao. Smiling gleefully at you with a sinister mischief dancing in her eyes. “From how often you stare at him, it’s still a wonder that he hasn’t caught on your feelings for him~” She teased while snickering. Her comment made you huff in response and glare at her half-heartedly. “Shut up.” You groaned as you returned to the subject of your affection.

He always seems so busy. The kind that rarely has time for themselves. His blue crystallized eyes scanned the words of the book at his hands, so immersed in the contents of the book. His hair falling in front of his face, which he puts them back in their place. Chuckling to yourself when he had to straighten his hair for the 7th time in the past few minutes, his annoyance growing more and more. Makes you wonder what he looks like with his hair tied back. He’s so perfect. How could someone as handsome as him exist in your world? And to add to your delight, he was your classmate. 

Hu tao sighed when she realized she lost you again, staring dreamily at the dreamboat of the school. Albedo was his name. Who was also known as the “Kreideprinz”. Good at Alchemy (Chemistry) and science. Aloof, quiet, and albeit of a loner. Has a little sister named Klee. And a female friend, who was a year younger than them, Sucrose. He was practically the definition of perfection. Almost too perfect to be exact...

“You know you can talk to him right~? He’s just a foot away from you~” Hu tao said with her usual teasing tone, taking her seat next to you, placing her hat gently on her desk. Shifting your attention away from the blonde, you leaned on your chair and sigh, a slight pout on your face. “If I talk to him, I might end up embarrassing myself. I can already hardly think properly when I’m around him..” You said, mumbling the last part. Just the thought of talking to him made your heart speed up. But the bigger problem is what would you talk to him about? Albedo is known for his boredom and uninterested personality whenever a subject is being brought up that doesn’t catch his interest. 

Hu tao hums, eyes looking at the ceiling before looking at you, as she gave you a close-eyed smile. “Well, that’s your problem now, not mine~!” “Wow. You’re such a great help, Hu tao.” Rolling your eyes playfully with sarcastic leaking in your voice while Hu tao gleefully laughs. “I only specialize in the dead apartment, not the love apartment silly~” 

“Why did you leave me, Hu tao..?” You whined under your breath as you continued to sweep the fallen leaves on the ground. Your beloved friend and seatmate decided to ditch you at the last minute saying that she has to host a funeral for her parent’s work. Sighing at your own foolishness in believing her obvious lie, you continued sweeping the leaves. The wind outside was howling loudly, making the leaves you’ve gathered dance around the air. Groaning while you watch helplessly while your hard work gets destroyed by the playful winds. But your irritation soon faded when you take in the scenery before you. The autumn-colored leaves fly through the sky, contrasting with the sky.

You continued to stare at the sky, mesmerized at the scenery, not noticing a figure going towards you. Their boots making the leaves crunch beneath them as they made their way towards your figure. Stopping behind you, taking in your figure. You continued to stare at the sky, unaware of the third party until… 

“[Y/N].” The familiarity of the voice made it obvious who it is, especially if you’ve heard it countless times before. You tightly hold the broom with your hand, trying to squeeze out the sudden nervousness you had. Voice silky and quiet yet holds power in them. Taking a deep breath, you turn your head around to meet his striking blue eyes that shine under the glowing sky. Feeling warmth spreading to your cheeks, you looked away while coughing. If you were being honest to yourself, you were slightly intimidated by his sudden appearance. 

“D-Do you need anything, Albedo?” You asked, your voice coming off as more of a mumble. Slightly embarrassed at the volume of your voice, you scolded yourself mentally. You just made a fool out of yourself. Luckily Albedo heard you, probably used to soft voice because of his shy so-called ‘apprentice’. “You see, Miss Lisa decided to make me clean outside since most people skipped out of their cleaning duties again. I was about to skip as well but Miss Lisa pulled the ‘if you don’t do what you’re told, you’re getting punished’ and we all know how she punishes people.” He paused while sighing, placing his hand on his forehead. “So, with no other choice, unless I want to suffer the wrath of a librarian, I made my way to the supply closet but found no broom there. Then I saw you with a broom. So, may I ask to borrow the broom? All I have to do is sweep a bit so that I can tell Miss Lisa that I cleaned.” He finishes his explanation. You can tell he was frustrated that the Head Librarian, Miss Lisa, made him clean instead of doing some weird experiments. 

“Ah. I see.” You mumbled while nodding your head slowly. Deciding quickly that you could use a break from sweeping so you gave him your broom. You noticed that his fingers sightly graze against yours, slightly feeling the warmth in them. Feeling this, you quickly pulled back your hand. You swear your heart started to speed up even more. What you didn’t know is that Albedo was quietly observing you. “Thank you.” He said. Wordlessly, you nodded your head in response. Albedo starts walking towards you and picking up where you left off. You awkwardly stand at the side, deciding to lean on a tree’s trunk, watching him intently. The howling wind is now quiet and gentle, enough force to make yours and Albedo’s hair fly. You watch as his blonde hair flies with the wind, making him look more ethereal. His posture refined and his actions gentle. He really seems like a prince from a fairytale.

“Why do you keep staring at me?” His voice snapped you out of your mind’s imaginations. His comment made you dread for the worst as you realized that he was staring back at you with a blank expression on his face. You stared back with eyes wide and flushed cheeks, embarrassed at being caught red-handed. “I-I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to stare.” You stammered, feeling your cheeks become hot, your heart beating erratically in your chest. Why did you have to embarrass yourself in front of him of all people? 

Tilting his head slightly, his eyes speaking volumes of his nonexistent interest in the current topic. “I can feel your stare, you know. I’m not stupid or naive.” His sharp tone made you flinch. “You’ve been staring at me so much lately. It’s starting to become annoying honestly.” Feeling your eyes sting from the rather harshness of his words, your eyes shifted to the ground as you tightly gripped your sweater. “If you have no business with me, please don’t disturb me with any of your stares from now on. Unless…” 

Walking closer to you, he placed his finger under your chin, making you look up at him. Gazing deeply at the eyes of the ocean-color, his eyes held nothing but a storm of mixed feelings. Why? “You have something to tell me?” He finished, staring deeply in your [E/C] eyes. Feeling your lips dry, you lick them as nervousness surge through your veins. Was now such a good time? 

Hearing no response from you after a couple of minutes, he sighed as he lets go of your chin. Turning around to pick up the fallen broom and giving it to you, not meeting your eyes. “I believe I’ve done my part now. You can continue the work. I’ve got to go to the laboratory now. See you tomorrow.” He said in a monotone voice, with a tint of disappointment if you listen to it carefully. As he started to walk away from you, his hair flying behind him, his hands in his pockets. This was your chance. No need to waste it. Say it now. 

“I like you Albedo.” You said with utmost confidence that you can manage to get after taking a deep breath, staring at his figure with certainty in your eyes. Gripping the broom’s handle tightly as you started to explain yourself, not at all noticing how Albedo stopped walking. “I really like how smart you are! You’ve helped me multiple times already and I’ve always wanted to repay you but I don’t know how. I like how thoughtful you are with those closest to you. Even though you’re aloof and always uninterested, I still like that part about you! You’re always honest about your feelings and—!”

“Stop.” Eyes widening at his sudden interruption, you immediately went silent. Did you say something wrong? Maybe you’ve offended him accidentally without knowing. “A-Ah.. I said something wrong, didn’t I? I’m so sor—“ “No. It’s not that.” He said, interrupting you once more. You continued to stare at him, unsure what to do. Not noticing how he took a deep breath before turning his head around to look at you with such coldness and hatred in his eyes, making you flinch. You’ve never seen him this angry or cold before. Did you really make him mad?

“I don’t like you. There. Now stop annoying me.” He said sharply, venom clearly dripping from his voice, as he turned his head around and continued to walk, leaving you dumbfounded and heartbroken. You stood there frozen, staring at where he was previously. Zhongli, who was passing by casually, noticed you standing still. Approaching you with his hands behind him, he coughed slightly, trying to gain your attention. But seeing no response from his student, he grew worried. “Are you okay, miss [Y/N]?” He asked in a soft voice. When he didn’t receive a response again, he decided to peek at your face and was surprised at the tear-filled face you have. Sniffling quietly as tears continuously flow from your eyes. He immediately went in front of you as he stares at you with sadness and pity in his eyes. “Why are you crying? Was someone bullying you? Do I have to suspend someone-?” “N-No..” you sniffled, wiping the tears with the back of your hand. “I-I’m fine. Something just caught in my eyes.” 

Zhongli knew you were crying but didn’t press it. “I see. I suppose I can accept that kind of reasoning for now. Come, let’s go to my office. I’ll brew you some tea to calm you down and then, if you want to, you can talk to me whatever troubles your mind.”

“Hey.. what happened to you~? You look as lifeless as a corpse~!” Even though she tried to act cheerful, you can hear the tint of worry behind her voice. The worry in her eyes as she stares at your rather lifeless body. You smiled at her, trying to cease her worry, but it resulted in her getting more worried for you. “I’m fine, Hu tao. I just… had a hard time sleeping yesterday. That’s all.” You said while taking a seat next to her. She narrowed her eyes at you before nodding her head. “K~ if you say so…” 

As you made yourself comfortable at your desk, you didn’t notice a pair of eyes staring at you…

“... you know you can always skip gym if you don’t feel like it. No need to push yourself so hard. Or else you might end up being one of my clients hehe~” Hu tao giggled, how she managed to cover up her concern with a death joke, you can never understand. You sighed before shaking your head. “I’m fine. I can manage myself perfectly.” Hu tao sighs, her smile dropping to a disapproving frown. “If you push yourself too hard, I’ll personally drag you to the infirmary to rest.” “Yes ma’am.”

After the teacher gave out the assigned tasks for the period, everyone dispersed to do the tasks. You decided to run first with Hu tao, but it seems like you’re slowing her down as evidence of her stopping a few times for you to catch up to her. “You can go ahead. I’ll be fine on my own.” She stared at you before sighing. “Fine. See you at the end~!” After she sped up and went ahead of you, you continued to run at your pace. But your head started to throb painfully making you stop running, holding your forehead as you wait for the pain to stop. It doesn’t help that the sun decided to give out its harsh hot rays today. Deciding to sit down to make the throbbing stop, you sat under the shade of a tree as you try to stop the pain. 

“Here.” Looking up immediately when a familiar voice reaches your ears, your eyes meet a pair of blue eyes, the same pair that held coldness and hatred within them yesterday. Your eyes trail to the outstretch bottle of water in his hand. “Take it.” He said, nudging it closer to you, urging you to take it. Hesitantly, you took it and drank it. What made you even more surprised is that he sat down next to you, letting his legs stretch on the ground with his hand on the ground as well. Feeling albeit uncomfortable at how close he is next to you, you scooted away from him a bit. Noticing your actions in the corner of his eyes, he sighed. 

“Look. I’m sorry for the harsh words I said yesterday. I didn’t mean any of them. I guess I was just frustrated that nothing was going right yesterday, I’m sorry for taking it out on you.” Albedo apologized, his eyes gazing at the scenery before you. You stayed silent, still feeling hurt at his actions. He sighed once more. “I guess I gotta go. I don’t want to make you more uncomfortable or hurt than you are now.” He mumbled, standing up while dusting himself off. You stared at him at the corner of your eyes. Sensing your stare, he gave you a small smile in return. “See you later I suppose.”

Watching him go the same way he did yesterday made your stomach churn uncomfortably, the pain and sadness you felt yesterday was unforgettable. But you knew he was being sincere now. You saw how sorry he was in his eyes, and the fact he made time to apologize to you properly made your heart pound once more. I guess this is what they call love huh?

“Albedo!” Jumping at the sudden call of his name, he turned around to look at you. You were standing and smiling brightly, so bright like the sun, making his eyes widened a bit. “I like you! I know you don’t like me yet but, I promise that I’ll make you fall for me!” You exclaimed, adrenaline surging in your veins as you made your proclaim. He stared at you, dumbfounded before looking away, letting out a laugh, his hand covering his mouth. When his head turns to you once more, a glimmer of excitement and hope shines in his eyes, and a smirk settled in his usually stoic face.

“I’ll keep that in mind then.”

#albedo.series #genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #albedo #albedo x reader #genshin impact albedo #genshin impact albedo x reader

[sepublic]

Is the Golden Guard a Homunculus?

           Once more bringing up the idea of the Golden Guard having a connection to Eda, while also taking several cues from Belos and being trusted by him, being a teen prodigy with magic similar to Belos’…

           I’m gonna go out on a crazy limb here, and suggest this; What if the Golden Guard is a Homunculus?

           Alchemy is a common element in fantasy, of which The Owl House is an example of. With its use of magic, glyphs, and potions, I’d be surprised if alchemy didn’t exist in the Boiling Isles, or at the very least, if it didn’t have its own equivalent; Which, the entirety of Potions magic is probably this show’s take on alchemy!  

           A homunculus is an artificial human created by alchemy, although for the purposes of this theory, the Golden Guard is an artificial witch. The fandom has talked and half-joked, half-speculated on the idea of magic being used to bypass the issue of people of the same sex being unable to produce children; Some ideas have suggested same-sex witches being able to create a child by using pieces of themselves, combined with a magical ritual or two. That is of course pure speculation; However…

           We already know Belos as someone who can create living things from magic; He’s manifested fleshy constructs, and even the Intro Worm at a whim! The Golden Guard himself can even conjure flesh from magic to transmute into a metal sword! So the idea of creating living things from magic is hardly out of the question in this show, and definitely not for Belos and the Golden Guard…

           With how the Golden Guard seems to be set up as a dark parallel to Eda, a look into the kind of person she could’ve become had she joined the Emperor’s Coven as a kid; What if the Golden Guard is a Homunculus made from pieces of various witches, among them Eda herself? We’ve all considered Eda’s lost potential, and wondered just how powerful she could’ve been, had she never been cursed and given the opportunity to fully learn and explore as she’d wished; Eda herself has wondered about it, no less…

           And Belos? He definitely seems like the type of mad scientist, low-key eugenicist who’d do this sort of thing, out of some morbid fascination, a desire to unlock true power, explore the full extent of magic; And in a way, weaponized Eda’s potential without having to deal with Eda herself, by having a Homunculus with her DNA that’s totally loyal to Belos!

          Given how the Golden Guard obviously isn’t a clone of Eda –what glimpses of his face we’ve seen, plus his gender indicate otherwise- then it’s possible that Belos has taken DNA samples from multiple subjects, the strongest witches throughout history (such as the Coven Heads and even Kikimora), with the goal of creating the most powerful witch by combining DNA from all of them! Hence, the Golden Guard as a fledgling experiment, who already proves to be rather promising, with the help of Belos’ tutelage since the very beginning.

           With this show’s dives into body horror, and the ability of Belos to conjure living things to serve him, I wouldn’t be shocked. I could totally see Belos experimenting with his magic, moving on from making animals like the Intro Worm, to a full-blown Witch! For all we know, he may have even put in a bit of his DNA as well… 

          Of course, whether or not this sample was from before, or after he became so physically messed-up, I can’t say. With the connections to both Eda and Belos, the Golden Guard being a homunculus brewed in a lab would be a way to explain those potential ties, without having to resort to a VERY gross age-gap fling that isn’t in-character for either party.

           Alternatively, the DNA sample came from Gwendolyn, who IS a member of the Beastkeeping Coven, and did give birth to Eda herself! As for the potential issues of a sample coming from Eda, who is cursed, well…

           There is that one shot from the trailer showing an owl beast with a face similar to the Golden Guard’s mask;

           Could this be him? Did taking a piece of Eda, perhaps a strand of hair or something, result in the Golden Guard inheriting her curse? It’s also possible that the Golden Guard isn’t cursed, because Belos is able to cure such things, and unlike Eda, the Golden Guard would be loyal to him and have thus ‘earned’ that, especially since Belos wants to explore his creation’s potential. Alternatively, Belos got the Eda sample from before she was cursed; Possibly by visiting Gwen and asking if she had anything, such as a baby tooth, from Eda prior to the curse.

           Likewise, if the Golden Guard DOES contain a bit of Belos, this sample could’ve come from before Belos became so messed up… And/or, due to being young and less experimented upon, with DNA from other witches, the Golden Guard manages to still be healthy despite the presence of Belos inside of him! It is worth nothing that the Golden Guard wields magic similar to Belos, so for all we know, this fragment of the emperor is what allows him to do that, having been distorted in the same way.

          That, or Belos trusts the Golden Guard, enough to keep him privy on a bunch of secrets that the emperor normally reserved for a ‘chosen one’ such as himself; Only those selected by the Titan are worthy of this form of magic, and because Belos himself is decayed, the Golden Guard is the only viable candidate left to truly explore the full potential of this magic. Also, being a construct made of Belos’ unique magic, with his own bile sac and everything; That could explain why the Golden Guard is able to wield that same magic, because he’s made of it!

           And being made from Belos, who isn’t too physically well-off, that could be why the Golden Guard is established as tired in our first glimpse of his personality… That, and/or he’s exhausted because he’s a teen prodigy who has to do the work of an adult, and not just any adult but the right-hand man to Belos! Maybe the Golden Guard was created as a means for Belos to create a new physical body for himself, before he repurposed his homunculus as an apprentice of sorts, while possibly still keeping him as back-up host.

          Perhaps the Golden Guard was Belos’ attempt at creating witch super soldiers, of creating generations of witches by his own hand, who would be totally loyal to him; Thus keeping Belos from having to rely on families for children he doesn’t trust… And potentially freeing Belos to get rid of ALL other witches, because now he can make his own loyal ones from scratch! Belos would be the kind of person who’d want to make an army, while killing whatever he can’t control, hence the hunt for the Selkidomus.

           Plus, being made for the sole purpose of surpassing all other witches, even Belos- It could definitely add a lot more to the Golden Guard’s arrogance, but also a huge amount of pressure as well. And it’d make him feel indebted to Belos, for giving him life, for granting him such great talent and ability from the get-go, for basically writing his destiny out for him, a fate of grandeur and glory.

          As a lab creation controlled and indoctrinated since birth, influenced before birth even, with Belos’ influence ingrained into his very body- It could add to why Belos seems to trust the Golden Guard on matters even Kikimora isn’t privy about! Creating a whole kid to raise into an adult, an entire life for a single purpose, and making sure that life KNOWS that purpose and fully devotes their existence to it, because it’s literally why they exist to begin with- Not exactly something I’d put past Belos!

           Plus, for Eda; The Golden Guard could act as a disturbing mirror for her. Not just in the kind of person she could’ve been, but as a harsh reminder of the magical potential and power she could’ve had, had she never been cursed; And again of the magic she completely lost, when the curse reached its worst limits. It’d be a way to haunt Eda at a point when she’s lost her magic, by dangling what could’ve and should’ve been; It’s like a ghost and a specter for those who have mourned or wondered Eda’s lost potential.

#the owl house #the owl house golden guard #the golden guard #the owl house belos #emperor belos #the owl house eda #edalyn clawthorne #homunculus #homunculi #speculation #theory #the owl house hunter

[womenofwonder]

*Ahem* Royai, duh?

✋How they met

Surprisingly, they didn’t meet at her father’s house. Not, actually it happened way back in kindergarten. Riza was quiet, and she dressed funny, and she always seemed dirty, so she was an target for bullying in the rather well to do private school they were in. On the first day of school Roy (who was a Casanova even at age six) decided this would be a good time to rescue a helpless damsel from the bullies surrounding her, taunting. Unfortunately, he underestimated the number and size of the kids teasing her and got his ass kicked. Luckily for him Riza quickly stepped into help. She smashed one bully’s nose in with her book and then pulled out a pocket knife. They all left in a hurry. And at that moment, Roy realized he was in love.

😘First kiss

Ah...so the first kiss wasn’t exactly a happy one. It was during Ishval. They had won a pretty important battle and everyone was celebrating. They both got drunk. The kiss felt good, and Riza probably would have been ready for more despite the circumstances (screw it, she was going to die soon anyway) but Roy walked off. Even drunk he couldn’t get rid of the feeling that he didn’t deserve her kisses, especially during a ‘celebration’ of him frying more innocent people. Riza honestly thought he had a problem with her and that was the first time she cried in Ishval.

🤯First fight

It depends on what you mean by fight. They got in a lot of fistfights as kids, but that wasn’t ever personal. They bickered constantly but the only big, painful fight they ever had was on promise day, when she almost had to shoot him. The first lighthearted, bickering fight they ever had was when he was apprenticed to her father and she would remind him to do his homework. Not much has changed, honestly.

🍷First date

When he was still an apprentice to her father, they used to wait until he was asleep and then Roy would take her places. He did it mostly to be nice, because Riza didn’t get a lot of fun and growing up in a brothel met he knew exactly which bars would give a couple of kids drinks. But they were honestly dates in everything but name.

💍How they got engaged

Well, they didn’t make the decision. Grumman declared they were getting married at one of his press conferences. “I have decided to end the anti-fraternization and allow my granddaughter to finally marry General Mustang.” Riza just looked at Mustang and said “Okay.” Later on he did do the entire fancy dinner date and gave her a expensive engagement ring.

💒Wedding

Actually, it was surprisingly small and private. It was really sweet and quiet. To everyone’s surprise Roy made Fullmetal his best man, mostly as a joke. Other than a very insulting speech about how Riza was probably out of her mind to marry such an idiot, he was really nice about everything. Riza’s wedding dress had a very high neck (to hide the scarring) and a very short skirt. She still has a gun holstered to her thigh, wedding or no wedding. Rebecca is the maid of honor, and as Riza honestly doesn’t have many friends both Olivier and Winry are bridesmaids. Of course, Elicia is the flower girl despite being a bit old for it. Hayate is the ring bearer. Just kidding. Maybe.

👶First kid

Riza got pregnant after the first year of the their marriage. It was an accident. Their feelings on the matter were conflicted. On one hand, both were thrilled to have a baby, but in the other hand, it didn’t really fit very well into their plans. How did being a parent figure in with the possibility of future with the fire squad? Not mention both were really worried that they would be horrible parents due to everything they’d done in Ishval. To make things slightly more complicated, it turned out they weren’t going to have one but two children. But when the babies do come: a little Rianna and Thomas, they’re beautiful. Of course, Riza and Roy are great parents and the kids actually help them have more faith in themselves.

🥰A random fluff moment

Riza had forgotten exactly how cold it was up north. Shivering, she blew on her hands in hopes of warming them.

“Here,” Roy said, offering her his coat.

“Don’t you need a coat sir?”

“I had use my flame alchemy to heat myself up,” he said.

“Since when have you mastered that ability sir?”

“Just take the coat.”

She took it.

“You’re shivering an awful lot sir. Are you sure you’re not too cold?”

“N-nope. I-I’m g-r-eat.”

“Sir, really, you can have this coat. You’re going to get frostbite.”

“N-no. You k-keep the coat-t. T-that’s an or-rder.”

Olivier gave them both a look. “Mustang, either freeze to death quietly or kiss her now so we get on with this meeting. I would personally prefer the former, but anything would be better than watching your painful attempts at being a gentleman.”

Riza took advantage of his shock to give him back the coat.

😭A random angsty moment

“Thank you,” she says, as if there’s anything to thank him for. As if he’s not about to torture her.

Roy was good at torturing people. He had plenty of practice at this point. He knew exactly how much of his flame it took to cause a certain amount of pain. At least he could make it hurt as little as possible.

“I won’t scream,” she promised.

“Yeah, you will,” he knew exactly how loud it would be too. He had heard it countless time from countless lips and now he was going to hear it from her.

She nodded, so calm about the entire thing. Took her knife, torn off some of her white coat and wadded it up in her mouth. Stepped forward. Turned around to him.

He told himself to hurry up and do it. Waiting would only hurt her more. It shouldn’t be this hard. He’d done it a hundred times before. What was one more person?

He snapped his fingers, and a familiar smell of burning skin filled the arid desert air.

😩A random hurt/comfort

Riza was exhausted. She wasn’t sure how doing just menial tasks could drain someone so much, but it probably had something to do with the fact that her boss was a homunculus holding her hostage. To make things worst, even coming home was no relief. The shadows were everywhere, even in her small, bare apartment. The second she let herself feel safe, or stopped thinking about the fact that she was being watched constantly, he (or rather it) would remind her. Maybe it was a sudden sense of a creeping bloodlust, or the glimpse of slitted eyes and slices of teeth, all which disappeared the second she looked. She had no privacy. These last few days she hadn’t even dared to bathe.

To make things worst, today someone had broken into her apartment. She couldn’t even fathom why they would do that. Wasn’t the constant surveillance enough? But it was too well down for a common thief. If she hadn’t know better she wouldn’t of even noticed it was broken into. But she had placed a slip of paper in the door when she went out, and now it was gone.

“You’d better have not made a mess of things,” she muttered, hoping Pride could hear it. She opened the door and for a second was frozen in shock.

They hadn’t broken into her apartment at all. Roy had.

Flowers filled up the entire place. Some in vases (really expensive looking ones), some hanging from the ceiling, some just randomly scattered about. In the middle of her kitchen table was a note and bottle of whiskey.

Black Hayate ran up to her, barking happily. She reached down to pet him, rather absentmindedly.

“That idiot,” she murmured, fighting a smile. “He’s crazy.”

She went over to the table and picked up the note.

To 1st Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye,

Look, I’m sorry, but I really didn’t know what to do with the flowers. Please don’t shoot me.

I hope you enjoy the whiskey. It’s really good stuff. And you sounded like you needed it.

Roy Mustang. (Riza had to squint at the doodle next to his name. Was that a heart made out of flames? Really? Yes. Yes it was.)

PS: before you ask, yes, I’m doing my paperwork.

Riza rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t stop smiling. The flowers left plenty of shadows, but for once she couldn’t bother feeling scared. She took a swig of the whiskey and enjoyed the burn down her throat. Black Hayate jumped into her arms, and she cuddled him.

Leave it to Roy. The first time he sent her flowers and he had to give her an entire cart worth.

#Royai #fullmetal alchemist #ships #roy Mustang #riza hawkeye #fluff #angsty #Whump #hurt/comfort #emotional whump

[fullmetalscullyy]

hold my girl

summary: the prompt used is “shh, it’s okay. it was just a dream” and it comes from this prompt list (feel free to send me more if you’d like!)

an: i've not written young royai in so long and the mood struck me this afternoon so decided to roll w it and see where it took me! a wee bit of hurt/comfort was nice too. bby riza deserves all the hugs. listening to hold my girl by george ezra didn't influence this at all. nope.

rated: t | words: 2835 | tags: hurt/comfort, young royai, nightmares, pre-canon, angst with a happy ending

read on ao3

There are two people calling out to Riza in her dream, but she finds their cries are overwhelming and loud. It feels like an assault from multiple fronts. She doesn’t know where to look, who to answer, and feels like she is being pulled in so many different directions by each of them as they fight for her attention. The worst part is they become angry or offended when Riza doesn’t give her full, undivided attention to them. But it’s impossible to please them both.

Her mother’s face flashes before her eyes. She’s pleading with young Riza, begging her to save her from the illness that’s ravishing her body so unfairly. But she’s quickly removed from Riza’s sight. Her father muscles his way into view, expression irate that she isn’t good enough to get a grasp of alchemy. He raves about how useless she is because she cannot transmute anything. She’s of no importance to him if she cannot perform such a simple task.

Both parents are fighting to be heard over each other, both deafening and commandeering.

Suddenly, they’re gone. Riza is left reeling and gasping for breath in the sudden silence. The ringing in her ears from the raucous noise prior is piercing and painful, making her flinch.

She does not get to rest in her dream though, which has turned into a nightmare.

There’s a faceless stranger looming over her. They cast a long, dark shadow as light illuminates them from behind in the empty, white room, devoid of any defining characteristics. She hears her name being called, but it is muffled and distorted. She doesn’t recognise the timbre, cannot assign it to anyone she is acquainted with. Riza shields her eyes as she turns her head upwards, to try and face them, but the light in the room is so impossibly bright, she cannot manage it. She catches glimpse of a moustache and glasses before it becomes too much to bear. The light sears her eyes, leaving her in pain. Eyes are squeezed tightly closed to try and give some kind of reprieve. It helps a little, but not by much.

After she recovers, the person shakes their head in disappointment. They turn their back on her and walk away, leaving her alone.

Her parent’s cries for attention are gone. Their faces are nowhere to be seen, leaving only the echoing footsteps of the mystery person’s retreating form. The two features she’d managed to pick out sparked an inkling of recognition within Riza, but it was not enough to grasp on to and make a connection. She cannot place them anywhere. Still, their departure feels just as crushing as her parent’s, and Riza doesn’t know why.

She’s left alone while the light from above starts to blind her. Even behind closed lids, it fights its way through. It heats her skin slowly, leaving her sweating and uncomfortable. When it becomes too much to bear, she starts to cry. There’s something gripping onto her chest tightly, squeezing at her heart relentlessly.

Loneliness.

Someone else is calling to her, but it’s too much to bear to try and figure out who. The pain is too much, blazing across her skin. The light is quickly fading while Riza is left on the cold ground, alone and afraid.

“Riza!”

Something jerks her upright. There’s a heavy pressure on her shoulders and in her disorientated and agitated state in the darkness, she fights against it. The pressure doesn’t move though, and another sensation joins it. There’s something – no, multiple things – digging into her skin, but it is not sharp or intended to harm, just hold on and not let her escape as she struggles. It doesn’t help Riza though. She continues to fight the darkness invading her.

“Let go,” she gasps.

“Riza, it’s okay!”

She recognises the voice. It was the same voice that had been calling to her as her world started to darken, after the shadow figure had left her. The recognition causes her to pause and slows Riza’s movements for a second, and that was the opportunity this new person needed.

“It’s me,” they reveal, but Riza still doesn’t know who it is –

“Riza, it’s Roy. Stop fighting, you’re safe. You were dreaming,” he adds. “I’ve got you. You’re all right.”

The fight is starting to leave her. It’s Roy? It’s Roy. It’s okay, it’s him. It’s her father’s apprentice. It’s someone familiar, and someone who isn’t yelling at her.

Her shoulders sag with instant relief.

She likes him. He hasn’t said a bad word to her face yet, but she cannot trust him so easily. Not going by what everyone else around her whispers behind her back. Still, he always shoots her a smile and takes the time to say hello and tries to strike up a conversation with her. He’s friendly, but still. Riza is wary.

As reality returns to her slowly, Riza realises she’s in her bedroom. She’s out of that bare, white room with the impossibly bright light where her parents were shouting at her so loudly. Her skin tingles but there’s no heat or pain like there had been in her nightmare. Taking stock, she realises her body is covered in a cold sweat. Her hands are clammy as they grip onto Roy’s upper arms tightly.

Her grip is so tight. She must be hurting him.

She flinches back, but Roy doesn’t let her go. In the dim light of her room she can see him scrutinising her face closely. He is concerned for her. He looks worried.

Looking down at her hands, she loosens her grip. She wants to run away from him, to hide. She feels completely exposed, ashamed after her show of weakness, and wants to burrow underneath her bedcovers and never show her face to Roy again.

He shouldn’t have witnessed her nightmare, and Riza scolds herself for probably being so loud that she woke him up. He needs his rest to practice and study with father. He doesn’t need Riza interrupting that or diverting his attention elsewhere, like father warned her not to do.

Besides, this was not her first nightmare, and Riza doesn’t think for a second it will be the last. She is used to them, but has to admit, they are starting to wear on her. She doesn’t know what to do, though. She doesn’t know how to make them stop. Exhausting herself with chores throughout the day so she falls into such a deep sleep works sometimes, but not every time. And that leaves her even more fatigued the day after. It is turning into a vicious cycle that will only end badly for her.

She feels lost and alone, struggling to keep a lid on it all.

“Are you okay?”

No, she’s not. She wants him to leave, to let her deal with this on her own and in private –

Her face screws up involuntarily at her silent admission to herself, that she is not okay, and hasn’t been for a while. Suddenly overwhelmed, the familiar feeling of loneliness creeps up on her, unbidden. Its cold fingers wrap around her heart and squeeze, making her gasp.

“Hey,” he calls to her gently in sympathy. His voice is calming, reassuring, and welcoming. A stark contrast to the tone used by those in her dream.

Roy shifts on her bed and makes himself comfortable. As soon as he starts to move, Riza immediately fears he has somehow heard her thoughts, or she accidentally voiced them aloud, and he really will leave her alone.

Suddenly, she’s pulled tight against his side.

She’s frozen as Roy gently lays her head on his shoulder and wraps an arm around her back. His free hand rises and comes to rest against the side of her head. He cradles it and holds her in place against him, quietly reassuring her that she’s all right.

“Shh, it’s okay,” he soothes her, “it was just a dream.”

In a move that Riza never would have expected, Roy runs a hand through her short hair in an attempt to calm her. His hand starts its journey by almost cupping her face. His palm is warm as it partly covers her cheek and temple. Then, his fingers travel up and back, burying themselves in her sweat soaked tresses, unafraid and undeterred. As soon as he runs out of hair, he repeats the motion.

Riza is frozen on the spot, surprised at the sudden show of… affection, she realises, and comfort. They were not things she was used to. It has been a long time since someone was so kind to her… Riza squeezes her eyes closed tightly in an effort to not let her tears fall down her flushed cheeks. It is not entirely in vain, but a few do escape.

“It was just a bad dream,” Roy murmurs softly into her hair. She feels the vibrations on her scalp, and it tickles her. Now, her hair feels like it’s standing completely on end.

His movements are calming her more than she’d ever like to admit to anyone. Her heart rate is slowing, and her breathing is becoming easier with each passing stroke of her hair. A few more tears escape but neither mention it. She thinks Roy expects it. He pauses when he feels one hit the back of his hand. Riza’s eyes still remain closed, unable to face him just yet, but pop open as soon as his thumb swipes across her cheek, removing the wetness. She glances up at him in surprise, but also almost fearfully. She doesn’t want to see any disgust in his eyes at her show of emotion and weakness. But there’s nothing of the sort in his dark eyes. Only sympathy, understanding, but also wild concern.

“Are you okay?” His voice trembles slightly with worry.

The temptation to nod her head and lie is right there, but Riza stops herself.

She shakes her head. She cannot speak just yet, afraid that her voice would fail her.

“Do you want me to stay with you?” He is earnest, and while she appreciates his offer, she could never ask him to do that for her.

“No,” she croaks, her fear of a failing voice temporarily leaving her, “it’s okay. You don’t have to stay.”

“What if I want to,” he ventures slowly and carefully. He doesn’t quite meet her eyes, but after voicing his question, he turns to look back at her with confidence and surety. He is deadly serious.

Riza blinks at him, not quite understanding. “You… want to stay?” Her voice is barely above a whisper.

Roy nods eagerly. “Of course. Nightmares are not good,” he adds grimly. “I don’t want you to be alone if you’re not ready to be.”

“Why?” She can’t help herself from asking. It shocks her that he would even offer such a thing.

“Because…” He doesn’t have an answer for her. He looks stumped, but a frown draws his eyebrows together. “No one should have to go through a nightmare like that alone. It looked bad,” he comments.

Riza almost shrivels in on herself. “It was,” she whispers, her voice becoming impossibly quiet.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

It would be nice to do so… It would be a welcome change, and liberating, almost, to share her worries and fears with someone. To take some of that weight off her shoulders. It’s something Riza has dreamed about a few times. And Roy offers the opportunity to her so openly and without reservation. He’s ready to listen to her, actually listen to her, and offer support.

His face is expectant when she looks up at him. There’s no disgust or disappointment. He wants to listen, just like he said. He doesn’t seem to be lying.

But of course, she feels like she would be burdening him. Riza couldn’t do that.

Riza shakes her head.

“Okay.” Again, he’s not disappointed. He’s respecting her decision.

Roy scoots forward and quietly stands up from her bed. He walks over to the chair that resides across the room by her vanity and lifts a spare blanket from it.

“What are you doing?”

“I… I want to stay with you.” His cheeks turn pink in the twilight filtering into the room from outside her threadbare curtains, but Riza doesn’t know why. “I mean, I don’t want to leave you alone. I can stay with you while you sleep if you’d like, and keep you company?”

Now, Riza’s cheeks turn crimson. He can’t stay in her bedroom with her overnight!

“I’ll just be here,” he gestures to the end of the bed, “and if you ever want to talk about your nightmare, please let me know.”

“You can’t –” The words catch in her throat. “You can’t stay in here overnight.” Riza is mortified. “Please, it’s okay. Go back to your bed, I’ll be fine –”

“You want me to go?”

No, she doesn’t. Her mouth opens to lie and reply with the affirmative, but she pauses. Her eyes widen with fear of being left alone by someone else after her dream, and the hesitation costs her. Roy sees it, as clear as day, even in the dim light.

Slowly, he settles on the end of her bed. The blanket is wrapped around his shoulders as Riza watches him, still unsure. Once comfortable, he leans his head back against the wall and turns to look at her. His smile is kind and gentle as she watches understanding blossom over his features.

“I’ll be right here, Riza, okay? If you want me to go, just let me know.”

“I…” She doesn’t want to be an imposition or a burden… But –

“What do you want, Riza? Do you want to be left alone?”

When it’s worded like that, the answer comes easy to her.

“No,” she breathes. It’s impossibly quiet, but it’s finally out there in the world. She has expressed herself openly to someone else. Someone she doesn’t fully trust, but in a way, after the comfort and kindness he has shown her so easily and readily in a time of upset, Riza finds herself being a bit more open to the possibility of it.

“All right then,” Roy nods. “I’ll be right here.”

Again, he grins at her. It’s bright, like the light from her nightmare, but it has a soft and warm glow. It is not overbearing and blinding. It’s like sitting by a warm fire on a cold winter’s day. It’s cosy and kind. It’s welcome.

Awkwardly, she lies down in her bed. She tucks the sheet right underneath her chin and curls into a tight ball. It will be weird having him in the room with her as she tries to sleep, but Riza can already feel her eyelids drooping. The fatigue from her numerous nights of interrupted sleep and the exhaustion that comes after waking from a nightmare doesn’t give her much choice but to give into it.

Without realising it, she slips away into sleep once more.

When Riza wakes a few hours later, she remembers the night she had and feels embarrassed. She’d gotten so worked up and had woken up Roy –

Her head jerks up, also remembering his promise to remain by her side through the night. She expects him to be gone but is proved wrong. Instead of what she had secretly feared, she finds him still at the bottom of her bed. His head has lolled to the side and it looks uncomfortable, but he’s sound asleep.

In the night, her body had relaxed from its tightly wound ball and stretched out. Looking down the bed with a frown, Riza discovers the reason for the strange sensation near her ankle. One of Roy’s hands was laying atop the sheet, covering her leg. She can feel the warmth and comfort of his touch through the bedsheet.

Her leg twitches and she’s at a loss of what to do. Something is telling her to move her leg immediately, to jerk it away to rid herself of the feeling, but it’s also… pleasant. The weight is calming and a reassurance that he really is still here for her.

After a few more moments of deliberation, Riza relaxes. She doesn’t fight it. She smiles at the gesture and the knowledge that he’d kept his promise. He really was there for her last night. The pleasant feeling creates a warmth inside her chest, and it spreads from her heart up to the crown of her head and makes her scalp tingle.

He’d been so good to her through the night. He hadn’t left her alone after she’d asked him not to.

Her lips tugged upwards again, happily.

She appreciated that more than he would ever know.

Perhaps her father’s apprentice could be someone she could learn to count on and trust.

The sleepy, but bright and pleased smile that Roy greeted her with when he finally woke up started to slowly solidify that thought inside her mind.

#royai #royai fic #royai fanfic #royai oneshot #young royai #emma writes #keeping it basic (bitch) #i've missed writing 🥺 #oneshots are always so fun to dabble w so hopefully i can work on some more soon!! #emma talks

[vampiresuns]

A Little Closer To The Edge | Asra x Milenko

☽ A LITTLE CLOSER TO THE EDGE ☽

2.1k words. Written for Asra Week 2021, Day 7: Free Day. In which Asra asks Aisha to teach him how to hold a man like thirst holds water. This is set after the events of the game. Milenko is not the apprentice.

You can read the entire Asra and Milenko’s pre-game canon, ‘Like Thirst Holds Water’, here.

As a note, ‘Sasi’ is one of Milenko’s nicknames. It comes from his middle name, Sisay. ‘Sisay’ means good omen in Amhraic.

Thank you @lisa-frank-cave​ my beloved for helping me come up with asratfits. No cws apply. Happy Birthday, Asra 🎂💜

O father, O foreshadow, press into her — as the field shreds itself with cricket cries. Show me how ruin makes a home out of  hip bones. O mother, O minutehand, teach me how to hold a man the way thirst holds water. Let every river envy our mouths. Let every kiss hit the body like a season.

— Ocean Vuong, “A Little Closer To The Edge”

Asra had to excuse himself from his own birthday party, needing a moment alone after realising everyone who mattered to him was there, laughing and sharing beverages and stories of their own, talking about nothing of importance, but sharing a good time nonetheless. 

It was his first birthday after the Devil had been stopped and the end of the world averted, the first birthday he could spend with his parents after a long, long time. There was Selasi and Muriel, free and happy, finding his own footing again; there was Amparo who had kissed his cheek when she wished him a happy birthday, there was Nadia and Portia, old friends recovered and new friends made. There was Anatole, his beloved friend, who had danced with him, spinning him in circles, and now insisted on sharing his chair with Ilya, even though there were chairs to spare. 

And there was Milenko. Beautiful, joyful Milenko with his smile and the freckles on his cheeks, like the night-sky itself had blessed him with kisses. 

When Aisha found him, he immediately began crying, throwing his arms around his mother in search of comfort. All had passed, all was forgiven, and none of them had to be alone again. More importantly, he didn’t have to be alone again.

He thanked his mama for the hug, as Aisha kissed his head and reminded him of the blessing that he was, and the many blessings he deserved. 

“And you will have them, insha’Allah, Habibti,” Aisha said before they joined the dinner party again, asking Asra to lean his head down so she could kiss it again.

It was early dinner, they would later go to the theatre, Amparo had a performance and she was able to snatch good seats for Asra’s birthday, attributing it to her endless charm. When the time approached, some of them left with Amparo who had to be there earlier, while Nana, Ilya and Milenko stayed back to help clean around.

Asra didn’t know what it was, but Milenko looked radiant. His curls bounced when he laughed; a pair of crescent moon pendant earrings, gold pleated with blue topaz tears hanging from the bottom of the moon dangled from his ears. He was wearing black high waisted pants, a textured belt marking his waist. Right now, as he washed dishes with Julian and Salim as they chatted, he had pulled up the sleeves of his white, unbuttoned poet shirt. Milenko mentioned being interfaith, and his father began talking to him about it, Julian happily chiming in.

Asra noticed Milenko still washed the dishes with his hip popped to one side, and his backside sticking out.

When he came in, he had been wearing a navy blue jacket with clean lines and golden buttons that reached the beginning of his hips, too. Being 31 looked good on him, and either Asra had never stopped being in love with Milenko, or he was falling in love all over again. 

The poet changed his weight from one hip to another. Asra was going to go insane. 

“Oh, I think I know that look,” Aisha said, snapping Asra out of it. 

His cheeks went cherry red as he tried to divert the topic. Anatole, leaning against an archway with a mischievous turn in his lips, was about to say something but Asra stopped him before he could. His friend threw his hands up in surrender; Aisha, thankfully, didn’t say anything else but Asra knew his mother would bring it back sooner or later. 

Aisha laughed with Asra’s relieved face. Salim turned to her, and with him, Milenko did too, smiling at Asra once his chestnut eyes found his purple ones. Asra was doomed. 

He was right about Milenko being brought up later, but it was Salim the one who brought him up first.

“He speaks very highly of you,” he said, as he and Aisha wished Asra a good night. 

Asra’s choked up: “He does?!” didn’t go unnoticed. However, he wasn’t sure he wanted to talk about Milenko. While Asra had found a new sense of comfort in openly confiding in his parents about most things that went through his mind or his heart, everything was too muddled for him to even know what to say. So he promised he’d tell them more about it when he knew what to tell them, and they let it go for the time being. 

To the chagrin of Asra’s sanity, the world wasn’t done throwing Milenko his way.

Running into Milenko once or twice a month wasn’t odd for Asra, but the more time passed, the more it seemed those chances grew. Asra was now running into him even twice per week, sometimes more. It was so much, he had discovered missing him on the weeks they didn’t run into each other, Asra turning at every possibility, perking up whenever he felt like he saw Milenko around.

On top of that, Aisha and Salim had taken kinship to Anatole’s parents —his father in particular. The three of them shared alchemy as a passion and profession. Anatole’s father, Vlad, still refused to become a palace magician, even if he liked Nadia much more than he ever liked Lucio. Still, he was always happy to stop around to see his son and meet up with his new friends, the three of them, along with Anatole’s mother, going out to dinner together rather often.

Asra knew all the Radošević-Cassano, so he needn’t be reminded Vlad was very close to his Radošević cousins: Violeta and Atanasie — Milenko’s mother and uncle. He choked on his drink when his parents told him they were just having dinner at Violeta’s and Aurora’s place. 

“Milenko asked if you would join us,” Aisha said, tapping her index on her lips. “He seemed a little crestfallen when we said you wouldn’t. Perhaps you should come with us next time.”

The Milenko conversation, or rather, confession, didn’t come out of Asra until some months later. One warm but breezy evening Asra and his parents were having dinner in The Sphinx Coffee-house. Milenko had come down through the backroom, for once not wearing a shirt that made him flash his tits out to half of Vesuvia. What he was wearing was simple, but he looked handsome and elegant: a black, high neck shirt, black pants, and a shawl with embroidered constellations over his shoulder. 

Amador, the Dos Santos sibling who was running the Sphinx that night, greeted him cheerfully, the Alnazars being close enough to hear, but not close enough for Milenko to see them yet.

“Hello, doll-face, how’d your date go?” 

Milenko’s underwhelmed reply made Asra feel like he could breathe again. Both of his parents noticed, just like they noticed the way both of them startled when Milenko noticed their presence. He ended up excusing himself, claiming he was being waited on in the Community Theatre. 

After that Asra couldn’t hold it in much longer. A day or two afterwards, he was basking in the sun with his mother when he sat up, and without any contextualisation he just said: “How do you do it, mama? How do you keep someone you love close, when you think you have lost them but maybe you haven’t?” 

Aisha looked at him, sensing her child was not done talking.

“You’ve been with Dad for so long, how do you do it: how do you make home out of ruins, how do you hold someone like thirst holds water?”

Aisha sat up, taking Asra’s hand in hers. “I didn’t know you were good with poetry, habibti.”

“I’m not,” he sighed.

“But your Milenko is, isn’t he?”

Asra’s smile was sad and lovelorn. “He is, mama, he really is.”

This time, Asra told Aisha everything, and when Salim came back from getting bread at Selasi’s, he patiently listened to Asra too. They both offered the advice that they could, but mostly let Asra say everything he was holding in, reminding him he didn’t have to keep these things to himself anymore, that he could confide in people. 

Once Asra was done talking he felt relieved. The best advice his parents could give him was that he tried. If he was honest about his feelings and communicated them like he had just done, he might realise that not everything was quite as it seemed. Perhaps he could start little by little, trying to spend time with him again. He had come so far, and he was such a wonderful person to know, that the worst thing he could do was not give himself the chance. 

They both said that it was clear Milenko cared about him too, more than Asra noticed. 

“You don’t have to take it from us,” Aisha said, squeezing his hand again. “What would your friends say? What would your Anatole tell you? Or Muriel?”

Asra laughed. “Muriel would either tell me to just do it or roll his eyes at me. Anatole would convince me to be more brave and hopeful than I ever thought it was possible being.”

Salim kissed Asra’s forehead. “Then try, you are very deserving of hope.”

His parents were invited to Aurora’s and Violeta’s in two more days, and they offered Asra to come with them: maybe Milenko would be there, and he would have a chance to at least talk to him, though Asra had insisted he did talk to Milenko, in general at least, so they shouldn’t worry too much. 

Salim hummed. “I didn’t know you had talked all that is capable of being talked to him already.”

“Dad.”

When the day came, Asra dressed as nicely as he could think of, without being obvious. He wanted to look and feel pretty, even if he was trying not to get his hopes up. It was hard not to, however. Hope was contagious. 

Milenko wasn’t around, even if Aurora and Violeta were thrilled to have Asra around for dinner again. They eagerly shared stories about Asra from the past. He tried not to feel disappointed Milenko wasn’t there, or mortified about the stories. He understood they shared them as mothers, subtly encouraging him to make his parents partake in the memories he had once made in their home. 

After dinner, Violeta insisted on showing Asra her garden for old time’s sake, taking his hand as she walked into it, guiding him through the paths of the small space, and the two micro greenhouses she kept there. One housed venomous plants only, her speciality; the other, orchids. 

Violeta turned to Asra. “How are your orchids, darling?” Asra had never told her he grew orchids, and while he wanted to suspect his parents might have told her, the way she spoke reminded him of Milenko. No, Violeta didn’t need to be told to know he did — Milenko got his clairvoyance from her after all.

“I’ve never asked,” Salim said, walking a little behind Asra and Violeta. Aisha was talking to Aurora about her latest restoration commission. “Did you teach Asra to grow orchids?” 

Violeta blinked at him. “I’m afraid not.” 

Asra rubbed the back of his neck, nervous. “If she had, I’m sure they’d grow better. I learnt from books, on my own.” 

“I can give you a couple of tips, my son is a patient man.” 

Aisha caught up with them, Asra wanted the earth to swallow him and spit him far away from there. “How romantic of you, and here I was thinking you were helpless.” 

Aurora snorted. “Don’t worry: he may have a poet’s tongue, but on the inside, Sasi is no better.” 

He didn’t see Milenko at all that night, not that Asra considered the evening unfruitful because he didn’t. He had come out of it with Violeta’s instructions for tending to orchids and he planned to apply them to the best of his capacity. 

* * * * *

Milenko was writing in the little office he had in the periodical he wrote for, though office might have been an over-glorified word for a table that was in the corner, overflowing with papers, next to a window filtering sunlight in. 

He heard his editor tell him he had a visitor, and Milenko, still half entranced by the sound of pouring water from the enchanted vases on his desk, just gave him a half-hearted hum, accompanied by an absent sounding plea to give him just a minute longer. 

Asra stood there for more than a minute, but he didn’t care. There was too much adrenaline in his veins for him to care. Nerves piled up on the mouth of his stomach but he stood his ground, watching as Milenkos curls moved softly as he wrote, his ink stained hands carefully avoiding the places the ink had not yet dried. He had seen him do this so many times, acting like an automaton as the water filtered everything that wasn’t the words and the visions outside of his sphere. 

Milenko finally looked up, mouth agape as Asra licked his lips and gave him a nervous smile, a blush expanding from his cheeks to his ears. 

“Hi,” was Mielnko’s bewildered reply as he looked at Asra, standing in front of his desk, a rainbow shawl with tiny bells on the hem over his shoulders, a raspberry shirt and deep purple palazzo pants, as he held a flower arrangement with no less than seven orchid stems, blooming into multiple flowers each. 

“I grew them myself,” Asra explained, not needing to tell Milenko who they were for.

“They’re— they’re my favourite flower.”

“I know. That’s why I grow them.”

#the arcana #asraweek2021 #the arcana oc #asra alnazar #asra #milenko #milasra #my writing #like thirst holds water #some hopeful ending after everything i put y'all through after days 4 5 and 6