#and for defending our beloved wizard man!

[we-c0uld-be-kings]

Suni with a Chance

Name: Suni (She/Her)

Race: Tiefling

Class: Wizard (Pact Wizard)

Level: 2

I know it's been a minute! Got back into the BG3 craze and finally got the homes near Baldur's Gate! But due to some drivers issues, I'm thinking I'm gonna put that game down for another while until I can get that fixed. So until then, let's get back to Pathfinder: Kingmaker, and we'll begin by going back to Suni!

To refresh about her whole deal, Suni is a Tiefling Wizard who gained her knowledge thanks to being in a pact with a Fey. This Fey, she discovered before going on the adventure to the Stolen Lands, was Nyrissa who projected a message and guided Suni to reach the Stolen Lands and help her cleanse the fog issue. Something that our little Tiefling girl happily agreed to do.

So picking up where we left off, after defending Oleg's Trading Post and resting, Suni decided to speak with Oleg's wife, Svetlana. We learn that the bandits stole a precious ring from Svetlana and she wants us to bring it back. Svetlana also asked that if we meet a dark-haired woman among the bandits that we take it easy on her.

While at the Trading Post, I decided to speak with some of the NPCs and learn more about few of the companions that Suni picked up. Starting with the NPCs, Oleg and Svetlana expressed that they moved down to the Stolen Lands to start a new life essentially. For Svetlana, she moved away from Restov because she was supporting her husband. For Oleg, he wanted to get away from the noise and bustle of the city life. As for the Stag Lord, they both express how much of a terrible person. Oleg remanences how he once shared a cup of wine with the man, but the moment the Stag Lord entered the Stolen Lands less than a year ago.

Oleg chalks it up to madness that anyone would willingly follow the man as he inspires fear in his minions. Oleg has tried reaching out to Restov to resolve the issue with the Stag Lord, but his pleas for help has been ignored until now when we arrived.

After speaking with the couple, Suni was curious of the new face that entered the Trading Post. We spoke with a Pathfinder named Anoriel Eight Eyes, once a famous Pathfinder agent who was so swift and aware of her surroundings that people joking said she had 8 eyes. However, she has fallen into hard times as she's no longer as famous as she was then and has became a alcoholic. Before going forward, for those who don't know, Pathfinders are adventurers associated with the Pathfinder Society.

The Pathfinder Society is based in Absalom, the City at the Center of the World, a metropolis-sized showcase of the greatest treasures in all Golarion (the planet that the Pathfinder setting is based on). The Pathfinder Society's main goal is to travel throughout Golarion—usually inconspicuously—and explore, delve, and otherwise experience the lesser-seen parts of the world. They send journals documenting their travels back to their venture-captains, who also assigns them new missions and suggests new places to explore. They are beloved and hated all at once due to their invasive nature to delve into lands who don't want their troublemaking attention, but also beloved since they're filled with individuals who are glory seekers who are often eager to fight grand battles if faced with them.

Anoriel is still a Pathfinder and she is a mechanical way for the player to respec their companions and Baron/Baroness. However, there's a story to why they've fallen off. Apparently, she and her crew were led by Vermelt and they received a letter from a old friend named Adivion Adrissant that they found a book of necromancy that held some potent magic within it. The books were located in the ancient tombs of Gallowspire, a former fortress-headquarters of the Whispering Tyrant (a powerful Lich), and the group decided it would be best to retrieve the books and send them back to the Society for safe keepings.

Everything was fine until they had to face numerous perils. From living trees, undead Druids, and other monstrosities. They thought they found a safe haven in a place called Renchurch, but boy were they wrong! One by one, including the leader, Vermelt, Anoriel watched her companions die around her. However, she refuses to complete her story until we prove our meta out in the Stolen Lands, so her little story will have to wait.

We also agreed to help Bokken, a herbalist that occasionally visits Oleg's Trading Post and sells their goods. They also have a side quest for us as they ask that we gather some ingredients for them since they're too old to grab the items themselves.

After speaking with them, I decided to have Suni speak with Linzi (best girl) and Valerie. Starting with Linzi, Suni asked Linzi of her background. Linzi originated from Galt, a country that is basically France during and after the French Revolution. She came from a small farming village and she was inspired to want to become a Bard after meeting a wandering priest dedicated to Shelyn, goddess of love, beauty, and art. Apparently, this teacher was sent to Linzi's home due to some trouble with the authorities and they self-exiled themselves.

The priest founded Linzi's village during their travels and wanted to open a school there. But the village people refused to let him open a place of education, believing that his Shelynite ideals will distract their children from their work. But Linzi was able to learn how to read, write, and learned much about various legends of old. There's actually a ring that Linzi wears at all times for the occasion where if she were harmed, she would teleport to a safe location. That ring was gifted to her by her teacher.

What truly pushed her to leave her home was when a traveling book peddler named Tessie the Quill happened upon her village. Linzi just started following her, and despite the Quill's protests, they just travelled together. They journeyed through many countries. From Brevoy, Taldor, Ustalav, before finally "settling" in Pitax when she discovered the Academy of Grand Arts.

Before continuing, let's talk about Pitax real quick. Pitax is a country in the River Kingdoms, a hub for trade in the region and it fucking sucks there. While it "aspires" to be a space of culture and higher learning, it's varied history of criminal activity haunts it non-stop. Especially when their current ruler, Castruccio Irovetti, is a rather scandalous man. To put into perspective on how bad Pitax is, Irovetti was able to win the crown in a card game. A CARD GAME.

Linzi was expelled from the Academy, something she doesn't feel too bad about because she goes on to say that if she were to return, she would only return if they fired three-quarters of the teachers that work there and return the teachers they banished.

As for the book Linzi was making, Suni expressed how the book was filled with inconsistencies and had strange language to it. Ultimately, the pair agreed that as long as the book was truthful, Suni wouldn't mind a book written about her. Which, in Suni's eyes, she didn't think anything interesting could be written about her. But with Linzi's ability to spin wonderous tales, even Suni was amazed by her own bravery.

Moving on from Linzi to Valerie, we learn that Valerie came from a noble family in Brevoy, a relatively young nation whose royal family disappeared on them. Her father was a philanthropist and benefactor to a church of Shelyn while her mother saw to her education. Her home was always protected by the paladins of Shelyn and her father would send her away to the church of Shelyn to live the rest of her childhood and life at. She wasn't abandoned by them, however, as they made sure to make frequent visits to their daughter.

But why would they send their daughter to the church of Shelyn. Because she was too pretty. Everyone around Valerie always complemented her looks and they'd hope she would become a paladin of the Eternal Rose. However, Valerie grew tired of the compliments and the creed of Shelyn. Based on what Valerie said, all art is sacred and punishments were issued out if such art was maliciously damaged. Because of Valeries' beauty, she got unwanted attention and gifts that she gradually saw as garbage before finally snapping.

When a noble decided to read a poem dedicated to her to Valerie, she responded by ripping the parchment into pieces and stomping away. The paladins were issuing a punishment for her, but she up and left before anything was decided. She set off for Restov, a city in the River Kingdoms, and learned proper sword fighting and combat capabilities. Throughout the conversation, we learn very quickly that Valerie is a atheist and truly despises Shelyn, seeing her as a useless goddess who ruined her life because her creed doesn't "feed a single family." She sees those who peruse such arts as "idlers & slackers."

However, we do learn that Valerie used to embroider, which Suni thinks is cute. Suni didn't really have any real hobbies growing up since she spent a lot of her life trying to learn and obtain magic. The most "hobbying" she has done was perhaps calligraphy, but that's it. But Suni does agree with some of what Valerie says, thought not to a personal extreme as she doesn't see eye to eye with Valerie in full.

Now, despite Amiri being in the party as well, Suni was too scared to talk with her. Ever since the murders back at Restov, Suni has been in awe of Amiri, but also is kinda scared of her. So she didn't disturb her constant hacking at the training dummy outside. But regardless, it's about time we travelled and get familiar with our new and potential land, the Stolen Lands!

Suni looked into the uncertain horizon, unknowing of where to go and where to start their conquest against the Stag Lord. Presumably, there's nothing but untamed wilderness that spans forever before reaching the borders of the other countries (Brevoy, for example). But waiting for something to happen will be foolish as they are on a time limit and she at least has something to go on in terms of the Stag Lords minions; one of them has Svetlana ring, which could lend them some info.

So off they went, into the unknown! As they travelled down the road, they happened upon a strange individual named Remus. The elder man informs us that they have seen our rival, Tartuccio, has gone further south looking for an artifact. This led us to an ancient temple where the purple Gnome, along with Harrim and Jaethal, were digging around in the ruins. Suni was able to convince Harrim to join her side instead of Tartuccio and the little guy decided to sick his goons at us while escaping.

After the brief fight and exploring the ruins further where we found various iconography, we chased after Tartuccio and successfully found him transformed to look like a Kobold. Tartuccio attempted, and succeeded in convincing the Kobolds that a dragon blessed him to find a great relic that was elevate the Kobolds to greatness. We fought a few of the Kobolds, but Tartuccio ultimately got away from us.

In an attempt to chase after Tartuccio, we went in the opposite direction to where we would meet him again. The many few times I would play this game, I almost barely explored a lot of my surroundings, so I wanted to try to knock on some points of interest before going after Tartuccio or the Stag Lord. Suni and the gang

As Suni and the crew attempted to chase after Tartuccio, they quickly found out that they lost his trail. However, their travels were not fruitless as they were able to find the goons of the Stag Lord. We were able to meet an old face, a bandit named Kressel. Kressel was one of the bandits who attempted to rob Oleg and his wife when we first discovered the Trading Post. Because Suni was a good-aligned person, she had access to a dialogue option that allowed her to talk Kressel down from attacking the crew and changing alliances from the Stag Lord.

Kressel obliged to leave the crew alone, even returning Svetlana's wedding ring. While here, we also rescued a priest to the Elk God named Jhod Kavken. The Elk God, also known as Erastil, is the god of villages, hunting, and farming. We learn that Jhod is out here in the Stolen Lands due to a divine vision given to him by the Elk God. He was to discover a temple dedicated to Erastil because it has fallen into the evil hands that caused the choking fogs around us. Unfortunately, Jhod doesn't know exactly where this temple is, but he assumes it's somewhere near the Narlmarches. Suni allowed Jhod to camp at Oleg's Trading Post and might agree to look for the temple herself.

With Svetlana's ring back, Suni and the crew decided to go back to the Trading Post to return it. Upon returning, we are asked by Oleg to deal with a rampaging boar that the locals call Tuskgutter. Amiri eagerly wanted to hunt this creature, and despite Suni attempting to dissuade going on a boar hunt, she ultimately agreed to find and kill Tuskgutter. When Suni tried to talk with Amiri about why she was so eager to kill the boar, she didn't get much insight aside from "it's a monster, and we kill monsters." At some point, Suni intends to learn more about Amiri, but for now, Suni will ask another time.

We finally return the ring, and we learn from Svetlana that Kressel's actual name was Irenna. Kressel is the half-sister of Svetlana and Kressel was always involving herself in bad crowds. Their mother would complain about her bad behavior, but Kressel would never hurt anyone. When Kressel's father died and their mother passed, Svetlana wanted to bring her sister with her and Oleg to the Stolen Lands (even though Oleg wasn't agreeable to bring Kressel along). Soon, Kressel ran into the Stag Lord and became a bandit and went off the deep end by actually harming others. Because we spared her and convinced her to potentially change her ways, Svetlana is hopeful that her sister will change courses.

That will be all for Suni's adventure for now, but before we end this post, let me show off the progression of the companions! Because I'm using mods, some companions have some changes to them. For Amiri, she's no longer just a Barbarian, instead, she's the Invulnerable Rager where she can take hits better than the crew. Linzi is still just a Bard, but Harrim was changed to be a Sacred Fist Warpriest instead of a Cleric. Typically, I would change him back to a Cleric or make him a Cult Leader because I think that makes more sense, but I decided to keep him the way he is because there's another healer in the game that I intend to get (and romance ;) ). Valerie was also changed to the Vindictive Bastard, but I decided to change her back to the Tower Shield Specialist Fighter because I honestly prefer her as that. I get why the person who made the mod changed her to Vindictive Bastard because of her backstory, but I just want her to stay as a Fighter. Especially since Suni is a Wizard (Pact Wizard) and the more muscle, the better.

#pathfinder kingmaker #Baroness Suni

[whereserpentswalk]

Poll to help determine who wins the elections during the final arc of my motw campaign.

It's the summer of two thousand sixteen, and you're a resident of New York city. Strange events have been happening geologically since late twenty twelve. The government has been talking about forces beyond our knowledge, people have gone missing, and now civil war has broken out in Egypt, Britian and New Zealand, with strange talk of them involving ancient gods, vampires, and wizards respectively. And worst of all, from what you know nuclear disaster has claimed St. Luis.

A few weeks ago, mysterious broadcasts have revealed a global conspiracy, and an underground war between those trying to unveil the conspiracy and those trying to maintain it, protests have been sparked throughout downtown Manhattan, the sky has been turned red, and new forces gain power in the city as the American government slowly implodes, and the police are recruited as shock troops by those trying to maintain the veil.

Yesterday it was revealed that the conspiracy was not just one of power, but one of reality, as a fight broke out between protesters utilizing supernatural powers, with a warrior in flaming armor, winged humanoids, and a woman with unnatural speed and invulnerability defended the protests from the police. It has now been revealed that more thinking beings then humanity inhabit this earth, and that magic is provably real, with entire underground neighborhoods existing below the city surface that house many of these beings.

With any semblance of a human government gone, the rebellion against the veil is now holding elections to see who will lead the city after the war is won.

Your Current candidates are:

The Sun Mage- The man who started the rebellion to reveal the magical world to humanity, a sorcerer who defected at the age of nineteen, having trekked across the country, and lost a leg in defense of his cause. He has been known to be idealistic, rejecting formal structure, and refusing to have any sort of headquarters beyond his apartment in Chelse. He's popular among commoners, both in the underground and the surface world, but the military and higher ups in the revolution are skeptical of his ability to organize properly. He appears as a young man, usually wearing a long coat and hat, with a hook prosthetic leg, tan skin, and long hair.

Claire Adams- A human who was once part of a monster hunter organization (seeming tied to several Ivy Legue schools) that maintained the veil, she helped push her organization into the rebellion, and championed radical praxis in order to break the veil and militarization of the rebellion. She is probably the most radical of the rebels, embracing full rights for creatures thought to be dangerous to humanoids, such as vampyrs, demigods and lycanthropes, and possibly even supporting the restructuring of the economy to distribute wealth away from species privileged under the old system and fully integrate humanity into the magical world. She appears as a young woman with pale skin and black hair, seeming to be part of the emo/scene subculture, and usually wearing her full monster hunter equipment and crossbow.

High king Maryanne Obelisk- Once a normal human girl who tried to avenge her brother who was killed for disobeying an order from a sorcerer, she lost her humanity in her quest for vengeance, being bitten by the previous king of vampyrs (Arthur Pendragon) and taking his throne after defeating him and banishing him to England. She is one of humanity's, and many other downtrodden species, biggest defenders, once having been living proof of humanity's competence in the face of magic. She's been the one most willing to respond to disasters, though she has known to be ruthless, and the vampyrs working under her might not share her sense of justice. She is the most beloved of the leaders among human activists. Like all vampyrs, she appears as a humanoid with white scales, a large snake like mouth, and black eyes.

Elric of Vinland- a travel from an unknown place, possibly forwards, backwards or sideways in time (though such things are mysterious even to mages). He's been one of the most aggressive warriors of the rebellion, traveling across the world to start and aid uprisings, and make previously hostile factions sympathetic. Most famously, he helped attack the sorcerer's academies by helping enslaved elves rise up against their masters. He is in direct Legue with the gods, being a paladin of Hel and Lilith, and seems to have experience as a military leader and political actor from wherever he was from. Though the rest of the rebellion has been skeptical of him, commoners amoung humanity and creature alike seem to like him. He appears as a young man with strawberry blond hair, having lost his hearing and disfigured his hands in previous battles, he often wears a futuristic looking uniform, and is able to spawn burning armor when going into battle.

Dr Robert Coleridge- a human handed one of the five most powerful magic items on earth by Jesus of Naseerah (a powerful lich and son of Zeus), transforming him into an ageless genderless being with dominion over magic. He seems to be the most kindhearted of all the leaders of the rebellion, being slow to violence and not wanting to use his powers as a weapon. He's taken power among the harpies, who were once the bankers of the magical world, but have since become the main force funding the rebellion. He does not want to be elected, which might be what makes him the best man for the job. He appears as an unnaturally beautiful androgynous being with glowing eyes, usually wearing a button-down shirt and bowtie.

Grand Inquisitor Espen Hunter- a sorcerer who once was a high-ranking military officer among the forces trying to maintain the veil, who switched sides out of principle when the sorcerous government planned to commit acts of terror and genocide against harpy populations and began conscripting children into the inquisition as part of the late war effort. He is still skeptical of many the rebellion's ideals but will side with them over genocide. For better or worse, he is slow to implement ideas until they are well proven to him. Though other than possibly Elric, he is the cantante with the most experience in government, and other then Robert he's the only candidate above twenty-five. He appears as a warrior in archaic armor, wielding a mace in one hand as a spell in the other, a mask covers his face which was disfigured by an attack spell.

We're sorry you have to vote for people you didn't know existed until now, but this was the only way.

#fantasy #worldbuilding #writing #urban fantasy #writers #my writing #alternate history #my worldbuilding #fantasy worldbuilding #fantasy world #wizard #wizard posting #wizardcore #vampire #vampyr #vampires #cryptids #creatures #gods #mythology #monster hunter #elves #new your city #alternate universe #ttrpg #monster of the week #motw #dnd #rpg #ttrpg community

[theenchantedecho]

Shadows and Scandals: The Unveiling of the Order of the Phoenix's Dark Past

By: Rita Skeeter

Good day, dearest readers! Your tireless scribe, Rita Skeeter, brings you yet another gripping saga from the depths of our tumultuous wizarding world. On this day, we revisit the desolate aftermath of the Battle of Birmingham, a tale that echoes with whispers of betrayal, darkness, and, dare I say, incompetence.

It's been a mere two years, a twinkling in the wizarding world, since that dreadful battle tore apart a neighbourhood and claimed the lives of many under the banner of the Order of the Phoenix. Trust, that once precious galleon, lost its sheen that fateful night, revealing a chink in the so-called golden armour of the Order.

At the epicentre of this storm stood none other than Albus Dumbledore, the venerable Headmaster of Hogwarts, the supposed pillar of all that is just and right. He is the same man who now entrusts the safety of our children at Hogwarts. Unsettling, is it not, dear readers, that the man once deceived by a trembling rat now holds the reigns of our beloved school?

Let us turn our gaze towards the star of this sordid tale: Peter Pettigrew, the once cherubic member of the illustrious Gryffindor quartet. How did a soft-spoken boy, content to live in the shadows of his illustrious friends, morph into a sinister serpent in the bosom of the Order? Did Pettigrew's appetite for dark magic grow unchecked under Dumbledore's watch, or was the Headmaster, as some might dare to suggest, wilfully blind?

Then we have Sirius Black, the gallant Gryffindor, the golden boy of his era, who discovered the serpent amongst the doves. As Pettigrew's closest confidante, one might ask how he remained oblivious to the treacherous transformation of his once loyal friend. Is this a tale of personal failure, or an indictment of the laxity within the Order?

Remember the moment when Sirius Black, the once celebrated hero of Hogwarts, cornered Pettigrew, the villain of the hour? What does our dastardly Pettigrew do then? He orchestrates a spectacle more explosive than Wildfire Whiz-bangs, devastating the street, and claiming thirteen innocent lives! A vile farewell, wouldn't you agree?

Let us not forget the Order's retreating figures, vanishing into the shadows, leaving behind the shattered remnants of a community for the Ministry's beleaguered Aurors to clean up. Are these our knights in shining armour, or mere apparitions that vanish when the night turns dire?

In this tempest of questions, we stumble upon a few unsettling truths. The revered Order of the Phoenix, under the aegis of Albus Dumbledore, was not just infiltrated but used, manipulated by a man no braver than a Cornish pixie. Is our faith misplaced in the hands of these self-proclaimed defenders of justice who couldn't sniff out the stench of betrayal brewing under their noses?

Did Pettigrew act alone, or are there other, darker forces at play, puppeteering events from behind an Invisibility Cloak of subterfuge? The echoes of the Battle of Birmingham ring louder with such dire speculations, revealing a reality more convoluted and murky than the blackest of potions.

And thus, we find ourselves adrift on a sea of doubts, our beacon of hope looking increasingly like a false lighthouse. But fear not, dear readers. I, Rita Skeeter, your trusted seeker of truth, shall dissect

these tangled threads of deceit, question the unquestionable, and reveal the unspoken.

Stay with me as I further unravel the convoluted world of magic and machinations. I promise you, dearest readers, the shadows cannot hide the truth forever. We will pull the mask off the faces that masquerade as saviours and bring them to the light.

The world of magic is filled with secrets, scandals, and shadows that would make even a Boggart shudder, but with each word inked, with each truth unveiled, we take a step towards understanding the perplexities that shroud our world. Until we meet again in our next enlightening encounter, stay curious, stay vigilant, and most importantly, stay enchanted by the wonder of our magical world.

@battleofpeter @afracturedstar

#s:Battle of Birmingham #s:mom #s:order #ch:Albus Dumbledore #ch:Peter Pettigrew #ch:Sirius Black

[theefairest101]

The Innocence of an Author & horror of slandering fans!

By: Ameerah D’Aguilar

J.K Rowling would have been innocent if it wasn’t for her retaliation to the multitudes of unnecessary clap back from her fans and sensitive trigger finger happy L.G.B.T.Q community.

Rowling is well known for her Wizarding World Franchise, but has come under fire do to her controversial twitter posts. Now J.K. Rowling writes,” When you throw open the doors of bathrooms and changing rooms to any man who believes or feels he’s a woman then you open the door to any and all men who want to come inside. That is the simple truth!” ( N. Maines Why I’m still a Harry Potter Fan Despite J.K Rowlings Anti Trans Views, 2022). In the following paragraphs she then went to cover topics regarding the states that allow gender neutral versus states that have to become as open. Maines, then covers how Rowling is in her opinion speaking one sided, not allowing the truth to be simple when it comes to looking at sexual orientation or genders as absolute. Basically giving more of a reason to condemn the once famously known activist and author a terrible mistreatment.

Rowlings wrote a manifesto detailing the downside of being a transgender in America. “She quickly doubled down on those feelings, publishing a lengthy essay in response to the backlash, leaving Potterheads to decide whether denouncing Rowling and her anti-trans positions meant they must also denounce the whole Potter franchise.” (K. Walsh The Time Has Come For Us To Let Go Of Harry Potter, 2020). The manifesto itself being the very research she needed to defend her self when in reality from lessons I’ve learned with retaliation could have been avoided. I believe with this released information it changed the mind of her fans from “innocent” to the unfortunate “guilty.” Now to state my own opinion if you do the research you can definitely find information that defends Rowlings point of view; unlike “show me the receipts,” stated N. Maines.

Many celebrities came to the trans community aid, and voiced they’re opinions in support and against Rowlings view. "If you found anything in these stories that resonated with you and helped you at any time in your life—then that is between you and the book that you read, and it is sacred," Radcliffe wrote in his moving statement. (N. Maines, Why I’m Still a Harry Potter Fan Despite Rowlings Anti Trans Views, 2020)s. This is just another way of telling us to not give up on someone or something that touched our hearts and gave us strength. Personally I see the author Rowling and believe whole heartedly that she never meant harm and only meant well in her advocacy.

Finally, as I end this paper I wanna share that I am a trans woman who grew up in Los Angeles and dealt with misunderstandings primarily bullying. This woman of activism for our community was bludgeoned and slandered for things that may have simply been misunderstood. I truly feel that my community in a sensitive way jumped the gun, and may have just crucified the career of one of our beloved authors J.K. Rowling. “Yes in plain truth it was not wise of her to retaliate but before you point the finger and scream obscenities think back to when you were bullied and see from another’s point of view, PLEASE!” – Ameerah D’Aguilar(2022)

References:

https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/jk-rowling-trans-tweets-nicole-maines-supergirl-harry-potter-1234632167/

https://www.marieclaire.com/culture/a32871234/harry-potter-jk-rowling-anti-trans-comments/

#lgbtq community #lgtbifobia #lgbt pride #joanne kathleen rowling #anti rowling #slander #human rights #humans are weird #humanity #full sail university #creative writing #student #no hate #outsider pov #alternating pov

[theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin]

Lily Evans and Severus Snape: Headcanons

So, I was asked in the ask about Sirius and Regulus what I thought about Snape and Lily. At this point people are probably going, “Oh that Carnivorous Muffin is just clearly a Snape stan who thinks he could never do anything wrong and anyone who was slightly mean to him is evil.” Shockingly, I’m actually not, I just happen to think sexual harassment and attempted murder are bad and probably worse than JKR intended (I do think she was trying to go the “boys will be boys” route versus “oh my god, they just dumped pigs blood on Carrie at the prom and then threw her at a starving vampire”)

So let’s start on Snape.

First, Snape did live an incredibly shitty life, with circumstances beyond his control, that did lead to many of his poorer choices. In no way am I saying that it was alright for Snape to have grown up in an impoverished, abusive, household and endured years of humiliation and torment at school. 

That said, I believe that we all, in some respects, are responsible for our actions and our decisions. Yes, even when we come from non-privileged backgrounds. Life is hard, some people will have it much easier than you, that doesn’t excuse you becoming a domestic terrorist or tormenting and terrifying your students, young children, so much so that an entire generation comes out with a loathing and incompetence in your subject.

I guess let’s start back on his friendship with Lily Evans. We get... a really weird perspective from Snape on that friendship. Time and her tragic death have warped it into this strange worship where I’m not sure the Lily Evans that exists in his mind and memory is the one that really was there. She’s this shining Madonna idol who he failed, actively betrayed, is very very hung up about it years later.

I suspect they weren’t as good of friends as either of them thought they were and it comes down to Snape’s resentment of his own upbringing and muggles. I believe Snape was very racist towards muggles, specifically, due to his father. It was his way of grappling with his home life and only fueled by being in Slytherin. Lily was probably, in his mind, always a golden exception to the rule (Lily is the token, gold standard, muggleborn where she’s pretty, brilliant, charming, etc.) That Severus himself was a halfblood clearly caused him some angst. What I’m getting at is that I believe throughout their entire friendship, especially when they got to Hogwarts, there was an unacknowledged undercurrent of intense racism that eventually boiled up with that one incident in Snape’s fifth year.

Calling her that, while he views it as a slip of the tongue that damned him for all time, I see it more as a Freudian Slip. That sort of thing doesn’t just slip out from nowhere, not at that age when they both knew exactly what that word meant, it simmers beneath the surface, and was ultimately what he thought of her. Later, she became the Madonna figure that he views her as today (ironically perhaps even less of a person than he viewed her as at the time).

That said I think a number of factors played into the young Snape becoming a Death Eater. One, becoming friends with Lucius/that crowd who were all being sucked into Tom’s influence. Two, having his terrible home life and all the implications of Snape resenting his own blood status as well as muggles and muggle borns at large. Three, the loss of friendship with Lily (now there’s nothing to hold him back anymore, he has no reason to preserve muggleborn life). Fourth, Dumbledore’s letting Sirius, James, and Remus entirely off the hook in the werewolf incident.

That last one, especially, I imagine cemented Snape’s utter hatred of ‘the light’ (don’t get me started on the stupidity of light/dark in Harry Potter but I guess I’ll use the term) and those that cater to muggleborns. They’re hypocrites of the highest order, Dumbledore claiming to defend the poor and non-nobility, when he goes and does the exact opposite (James is the next lord Potter, Sirius is still pureblooded even if disowned, Severus Snape is a dirt poor halfblood). 

So what I’m saying is I understand why Snape did become a Death Eater, I do not condone this action. Especially as, unlike Regulus, Snape never gets cold feet. He loves being a Death Eater at first, he’s living the dream, getting all the revenge he ever wanted and burning the stupid wizarding world to the ground as he scrambles for ways to climb in Tom Riddle’s graces. We don’t see any hint that he was wavering, thinking of the fact that beloved Lily might die in battle, perhaps at his hand, until the prophecy. 

Now, I’m a little kinder than some about the prophecy. We know Snape overhears the first portion of the prophecy in early 1980. He eagerly rushes to the dark lord, regales him with the prophecy in both a) aid to the cause and b) in the hopes of climbing in the ranks and gaining the dark lord’s notice. At this point, Lily Evans is pregnant, perhaps knows the gender, but has not given birth. Months later, when both Neville Longbottom and Harry Potter are born at the end of July, Snape realizes he has signed Lily Evans’ death warrant (because despite Dumbledore talking, I imagine Tom always planned to kill off both children, Pettigrew just happened to make things convenient for Tom to go to the Potters first).

With Lily’s death now so inevitable, and her blood on his own hands, Snape has his existential crisis, goes to Dumbledore who puts the Potters in hiding and becomes a double agent. Snape also pleads for Lily’s life with Tom and he puts in a minimal amount of effort to spare the woman. 

Then Lily dies anyway and now Snape lives in the bitter cynicism most commonly seen in characters from Game of Thrones. He’s Dumbledore’s agent and sort of a Dirty Harry character, getting to see all the nasty things that many of the other order members never have to deal with. He’s one of the more intelligent characters in the series, able to see the truth of the world he lives in, but he also doesn’t care enough to actually do anything about it. He’s a bitter, resentful, and angry protector of Harry Potter, choosing to hate a naive child for all the reminders of his own terrible life (both in Lily, for failing and betraying her, and in James his most hated rival and tormentor). He gleefully enables the favoritism of Slytherin (my god how he panders to Draco Malfoy) while tormenting poor Neville into terror (that Neville’s greatest 13 year old fear is Snape is very telling).

Basically by the time we get to him in canon Snape not only isn’t happy but I think he doesn’t want to be happy. He’s accustomed to his bitterness, his cynicism, his quiet rage and moves forward out of both resignation, guilt, and a sense of obligation to a woman’s ghost. The actions he takes in canon aren’t so much for Harry as they are for the memory of Lily Evans.

Even if Snape could be happy at that point, change his life or his purpose, I do not think he would. He’s a man who has given up on life.

Now, onto Lily Evans.

You probably think I’m going to rail on her to for the sheer hypocrisy and nerve of marrying James Potter. I’m actually not. Lily Evans is one of my favorite characters in the Harry Potter series and probably the one I’d label as the most moral (though that’s a very low bar in Harry Potter, the characters are almost all assholes, but even so Lily would still be very high on the list).

You know what, I’m just going to damn myself and sound like a crazy person. Lily Evans always reads to me as a more moral young female Tom Riddle.

What the hell? You undoubtedly ask but I’ll explain.

Lily, while having a far more stable homelife than Tom Riddle, also comes from a muggleborn background. She’s exceptionally brilliant, very good looking, and very charming with a lot of people who would call her friends but no one close. Lily, aside from Snape (and that’s debatable), has no friends.

If Lily had not been a Gryffindor, and were Dumbledore not a raging misogynist, his Tom Riddle bells likely would have been ringing with her.

“But wait, that can’t be right!”

Oh, yes it can. First, as I went into above with Snape and Lily, there was something deeply wrong with that friendship. I believe they both considered themselves best friends, didn’t see many of the warning flags, but ultimately we see the giant fissure when Snape lets loose the m-word. Given all of that, I would not label them having been true friends in the first place. Just the appearance of friends.

Otherwise, while it’s very easily to canonically point out James’ friends it’s incredibly difficult to do so with Lily. First, people hardly remember Lily. We get Dumbledore talking about her like she’s the Virgin Mary, saving her son with the power of her love. We get Snape’s weird Virgin Mary impressions of her. Otherwise, it’s pretty much just Slughorn. Everyone else remembers that she married James and that was great because JAMES WAS SO COOL and that she had very striking eyes and was “nice”. Lily is less than a ghost in Harry Potter canon (sadly Harry never really realizing it).

Also, unlike James who has Sirius, Remus, and Peter to point towards (that are very important characters in canon). Lily has no one. The godmother was Alice Longbottom, a woman many years older than Lily and James who probably liked Lily well enough but I can’t imagine was a close friend. In canon there’s an offhand mention of two girls named Mary and Marlene but we don’t see much of them/Severus was always cited as Lily’s closest friend. As for Lily’s sister, well we know they’re estranged. I think it’s very telling that Lily writes a letter to Sirius, James’ best friend and certainly not hers, telling him that James is pouting over his invisibilty cloak. It’s because there was no one else to write.

So Lily Evans is a brilliant girl, who everyone likes and is very charming, but has no friends and led a very lonely and short life.

Here’s where my slack towards Lily comes in.

When she dumps Snape I completely understand why she did so. Snape dropping that word wasn’t simply a mistake, a moment of infinite regret, but something that revealed what he truly thought of her and where she came from. Lily was absolutely right in walking away.

However, without Snape, her closest friend is suddenly gone and the world is cold. As graduation approaches I imagine Lily’s career options become clearer and clearer. While very talented and smart, Lily is a muggleborn, what job she does manage to get (thanks to the sheer nepotism of the wizarding world/lack of jobs) will likely be through Slughorn if she manages to get a job at all. The world is cold and it is cruel and no one seems to even notice.

Cue James Potter. I do believe, probably until seventh year, Lily loathed James, not simply because of the horrifying things he did to Severus (and I’m sure she knew very little of it, Snape hiding most of it from her out of pride and shame), but because he’s just a giant dick. He’d make flirting with her a kind of game and joke to be shared with Sirius, something to hold over Snape’s head, like she’s a prize to be one.

However, by seventh year the werewolf incident has happened, Snape’s retreated further and further into Death Eater recruit land and she’s cut him off, and for all my “James is a dick” I do imagine he calmed down a little. Now that Snape is no longer friends with Lily/after the whole almost murder incident I imagine they didn’t bully him nearly as much as they used to. Though yes, they probably still bullied him, but Lily probably doesn’t know that now that she’s lost contact with Snape. 

James is charming and very good looking. He seems a bit more mature than he used to be. Lily is desperately lonely, living in a world that rejects everything she is, and James seems like one of the few who does support her (that James is more of a ‘pretty fly for a white guy’ kind of support for muggleborns doesn’t hit until later). So Lily is charmed and makes the largest mistake of her life, she and James start dating.

Now, given their extreme youth as well as Lily’s pedigree (say what you like, I don’t think Mr. and Mrs. Potter were thrilled that their son was dating a muggleborn) I imagine the wedding was a shot gun wedding and Lily got unintentionally pregnant. Yes, go ahead and throw fruit at me or call foul, I just can’t imagine they’d want a child that young while in the middle of a war while they’re part of an active resistance movement and only just out of Hogwarts.

Then things start snowballing downhill. Lily and James have just joined the resistance movement, Lily’s son is prophesied to defeat Voldemort, they strongly suspect one of James’ close friends is a spy, and they’re forced into hiding.

In hiding is where I imagine stress runs high and their marriage begins to fall apart. We know from Lily’s letter that James was routinely leaving hiding, using the cloak, so he could meet up with Sirius and Peter (I imagine Lupin’s on the out as they suspected he was the spy). While James might not realize what a big deal that was, I imagine Lily always did, and she begins to realize just what she’s gotten herself into but there’s no way out while in hiding.

Now we go really off the rails into headcanon territory in: what the hell is up with Harry Potter?

In my stories, I often choose the unwitting god route. Harry can’t die because he is a god, he becomes the master of death and always was the master of death. This is an answer, but it’s one that makes canon Harry a god and... I would not want canon Harry as a god. JKR and Dumbledore push the “Lily loved her child so much that it deflected death... multiple times” but this always felt... unsatisfying. Many parents love their children (fathers too, JKR, let’s not make this weird Virgin Mary thing) and yet Harry Potter alone in the history of mankind survives multiple times. 

Most likely, Lily pulled off some insane bullshit with absolutely no resources and minimal education AND EVERYONE IGNORES IT. We do know that Lily crafted the blood wards, wards stronger than anything Dumbledore himself can come up with/than Voldemort can break. Ones that protect Harry not only at home but away from it as it melts Voldemort for simply touching his skin. Lily pulled off the impossible in only a few months and did it right under everyone’s nose.

This makes her easily one of the most intelligent characters in Harry Potter. Probably beating out Dumbledore and maybe tying with Tom Riddle. And Dumbledore tells us, “Your Virgin Mary mother loved you so much, Harry, that it courses through your veins and lights those that would want to harm you on fire.”

So, that’s Lily for you.

Now, that said, I’m probably a bit biased and clearly very lenient with her marrying James. To be honest it took me years to figure out why the hell Lily would ever marry James after what happened with Severus and was always one of those weird canon things I never quite understood. He’s that good looking and charming, I guess, was my response.

The answer I now land on with some confidence was that the world is that cruel and bleak and Lily was utterly alone for two years.

By the way, a side note/plug, of all my stories while head canons do pop up here and there I think “October” is one where they tend to crop up more. It’s a vast AU of canon, but it gives an idea of what I think x character would do in y situation. 

#headcanons #harry potter #lily evans #severus snape #october

[dreamsmp-au-ideas]

Part four! Of categorizing pps magics! Fairy tale au! Hi Kiwi!

I want to make the Manburg crew in this one.

But I want to talk more about celestial constellation!Jack first, and with that more backstory from our dear Manifall.

So, Leo in the fairy tail is a fighter constellation and he was from a key wizard with another golden key. This wizard wasn't good for either of them but it was still their wizard so they keep up with the badness.

Leo becomes full of this bullshit so he actually stays in earth making the wizard useless because she can't use other keys with him there and so she can go on missions and make money.

But this wizard is stubborn and goes on a mission trying to summons two spirits at the same time, which is something enormous for a key wizard to do. But she can't and dies.

The king of celestial plain so blames Leo for their death so he's locked out of heaven!

And so everything said happens and etc. And Easter egg in a future arc the wizard who helps Leo come to celestial plan faces the wizard who killed the past wizard that held him, so this wizard has their friend who he defended from the previous wizard and angst issues, I just don't include them in here because I don't know someone close enough to Jack to fill that role.

Good that was long, but now back to Jack!

So, the Leo constellation is a fighter, so literally punches with magic the problems away, which is a complete different approach from Jack, which is sneak around and cause problems to solve problems. And another thing is that Leo is a zodiac, and his element is fire. We can still have Jack crawling back from hell joke and fire powers :D

MANBURG crew, aka goat man, time traveler and his lover.

And no, they aren't a guild, I an just putting together them because brain is like that.

So! Our dear behated president! Jschlatt! He is thought to be a item magic kind guy with all the perfumes and other kinds of traps and weapons he has. But he's kind like Mistogan of things, but he is more grumpy and aggressive. And the mistogan character is from a alternative dimension who has the same characters and all but they don't have magic within themselves so they have to collect from other things and beings, so they cross hop dimension to catch magic and still function. So this Schlatt is trying to find a definite solution for their shortage of magic, but the original Schlatt of the magic dimension is a villain still and that's a whiplash for the rest of the crew.

Quackity! You will have to get shapeshifter headcanon from my dead cold hands so transformation magic it is! But he knows some spells for some air magic and maybe steal and cause trouble? Maybe

Karl! My beloved! You practice dark magic but we love you so yeah. Technically, Time magic exist but 1) is extremely flawed sistem that barely sustain itself and 2) most attempts to do so involves the death of the users. But of cource our time traveler is somehow a exception, having excess to "the perfect world", or the in between. Where this type of magic actually works and brings him to the past and future and not just the objects his magic affects. And of cource this make him a target of all types of people, but in specific the creator of the demons, because he is like that. And is even worse with the memory problems with the travel between dimensions and time.

Next time maybe we could talk about a memory boy, a captain or a builder?

Fairy Tail is getting really interesting, especially with all the magic they have!

Anyways, aw hell yeah, Jack has fire powers. And then we get Schlatt with item magic. He is now the Fragrance man.

Quackity shapeshifting supremacy is now universal here. He can now shapeshift and I love it.

Karl now has Dark Magic and Time Magic. I love this. I love this so much.

Super excited on what you have next!

#dream smp #dream smp au #fairy tail au #jack manifold #jack manifold tv #jschlatt #quackity #karl jacobs #ask

[buniyaad]

veer-zaara for yunoasta !!!

Anon, thank you for the wonderful prompt. I hope you enjoy the feels.

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

~~

It's Captain Fuegoleon who tells him that he'll never become Wizard King.

It doesn't burn as much as he thinks it would. There's no sneer accompanying the older man's words, no actual distaste on his part, just the cold hard truth of the matter.

He's not cruel about it, either. He simply calls Yuno to a formal meeting, and communicates what the rest of the Clover Kingdom nobility wants him to communicate. A prince of another realm can never rule as our rightful king, is what Captain Fuegoleon says.

I'm sorry, is what Captain Fuegoleon means.

Of course, that doesn't mean Yuno is stripped of his citizenship, or kicked out of the Magic Knights. He's Vice Captain of the Golden Dawn, and one day, he'll become their Captain, but that's where his career ends.

He tells Sister Lily, because out of everyone he knows, she's the only one who knows how to listen without interrupting. He sends Belle away to play with the children, and recounts his story as they sit across from each other at the rickety little kitchen table that still hasn't given up.

Somewhere along the way, he begins to cry, but he doesn't even notice, not until she takes his hands into her own, and squeezes them lightly.

*

The rest of the world finds out a few days later, when Belle is chewing out some junior Golden Dawn members, promising them that after Yuno gets tired of looking after them, she'll steal him away to the spirit world where he can become her king, because to hell with Clover Kingdom.

*

Once the rest of the Magic Knights find out, word swiftly travels back to Ralph Niaflem, who's strategically set up a small base on the border of Spade Kingdom to keep tabs on Yuno without breaking the uneasy peace treaty between Clover Kingdom and the transitional government currently leading Spade. Its been six months since the invasion concluded, and Yuno's only a few moons away from his eighteenth birthday, so Ralph is bolder than he's ever been.

Yuno doesn't need to do anything. He's leading reconstruction efforts along the border of the Neutral Zone on Clover Kingdom's side, so it's Ralph who finds him at the mead hall after the last round of meals have been served.

Come home, is all he says.

Leave them, is what Yuno hears.

*

The assumptions don't baffle Yuno as much as the audacity does.

It makes sense why some would talk. It's a nobleman's world, after all. Yuno knows parentage is as important as power, and he has the power, he's always had the power, but he simply does not have the parentage. He knows this, understands it, and gets why Captain Fuegoleon looks at him with pity, gets why Captain Jack offers him a spot on his squad if he ever gets bored of running around with the hoity-toity soldiers of Golden Dawn, because it's just a fact of their world, the fact that no man is born equal.

But the audacity – the fact that people think that being Wizard King is all that's ever mattered, that's what burns Yuno alive.

Because none of it matters, so as long as the people he loves are OK.

As long they're OK, Yuno will accept anything.

Maybe that's why Ralph comes with a contract next.

*

Come to Spade, and you and your foster family will never have to worry about food ever again, says Ralph.

Come to Spade, and Clover will never be able to look down on you ever again, Yuno hears.

*

Asta is the only one who contests the decision in high court, charges at Damnatio and the council, demanding justice, demanding equality.

He doesn't get it, of course, because Asta himself is only around so that Clover Kingdom can save face, not because Asta is their savior, not because Asta put his life on the line to establish a contract with the Anti-Magic Demon – no. Asta's only around because Damnatio can't deny that Asta has saved millions of people across borders, and Damnatio knows that exiling him is the same as offering him up as a free resource to another kingdom, and Damnatio can't have that, can't have a weapon that strong in another realm.

So Asta gets to stay – but like all other weapons, he doesn't get a say, and once the nobles are tired of hearing him yell on Yuno's behalf, they tell him that Yuno can become an advisor to the king like Marx Francois, should the future king ever desire, but that's about as far as they'll budge.

And that burns Asta alive.

*

Captain Vangeance and Yami Sukehiro are finally cleared for duty by the time Ralph prepares his third strike. This time, it's a missive from the transitional government in Spade, offering Yuno the opportunity to rule over his own army, because now they think that Yuno is an ambitious little soldierboy, and that if they can get him into the country as a high-ranked general, he'll eventually take the mantle as king.

As always, Yuno declines as rudely as possible, because there are no niceties left to share with Ralph – no respect for a man who desires nothing more than to snatch Yuno away from the only home he has ever known.

Maybe that's why Ralph's fourth strike is the worst.

*

Asta breaks Solid Silva's nose defending Yuno's honor, because Asta will accept any and all disrespect thrown his way, so as long as the insults are only directed towards him. Yuno doesn't think the Silva tribe has much common sense, because the young man, Solid, he says something in full earshot of seventeen other Magic Knights, so when Asta throws his punch, no one makes a move to help until Solid starts wailing about his precious face.

Yuno only finds out after Klaus and Mimosa hurry him to the courthouse where Asta is awaiting suspension details for attacking a fellow Magic Knight. He's outside when Asta comes out with a limping Captain Yami, whose hand is around the back of Asta's neck as the shorter of the two is dragged out like a ragdoll. He's there when Captain Yami throws Asta at him like he's a sack of potatoes. He's there when Captain Yami yells at Yuno to get the chibi in line before Asta gets himself fired for picking fights with every blueblood in the country.

He's there when Asta grumbles underneath his breath that if the asshole had kept Yuno's name out of his filthy mouth, then maybe Asta wouldn't have had to break his nose in public with seventeen other Magic Knights standing around.

He's there when he realizes it's not all for naught.

*

Yuno doesn't need to tell Asta he loves him. Instead, he shows him.

They're back in Hage, because Asta is suspended from his duties for a month without pay, and Yuno's just as petty as the rest of them, so he flies Asta home on his broom. After Asta's gotten his scoldings and scarfed down twelve baked tatoes in record time, Yuno leads him into the forest towards Fanzell Kruger's old house, having already promised Sister Lily and Father Orsi that they'd be back the next morning.

Asta doesn't understand until they're in front of the old house that's still furnished with the basics, a house that Yuno keeps tidy and well-stocked because he oftentimes needs a quiet place to do his paperwork.

Yuno doesn't tell Asta he loves him. Instead, he leads his beloved through the doors of the old house, and into the bedroom upstairs.

*

A week later, Ralph approaches him while he's lunching with the Vice Captain of the Green Mantis, finalizing the details of a new community center that will help the isolated villages have a place to congregate outside the old Grimoire Tower now undergoing renovations. It's good work, and En Ringard is an intelligent man, and things are going well until Yuno catches a glimpse of Ralph's sandy blonde hair.

*

The fourth time, Ralph slides over a copy of Clover Kingdom's constitution of rights. The section detailing the ban on same-sex marriage is marked with red ink. Before Yuno can punch him in the throat, Ralph slides another missive across the table.

This one promises Yuno he can marry anyone if he becomes the Spade king – including Asta.

*

It's the only time he doesn't rudely decline Ralph's offer. Instead, he's shaking with rage he can't understand. Ralph excuses himself and disappears from sight, while Yuno spends the rest of the day pouring through the documents, comparing notes, imagining a life where he can hold Asta's hand and be recognized for it.

*

They're not hiding it, of course, and the nation hasn't outlawed their existence, but that's about as far as the King's mercy goes. They can't marry, can't take in children unless they take up the cloth as celibate fathers, can't inherit wealth from each other, can't even claim each other during a health crisis. They're out in the open, in love and bound together for life, but they have nothing to show for it in the eyes of the law. They know it, and the kingdom knows it. They know it, and even Captain Yami and Captain Vangeance give them pitying looks, because they know Yuno and Asta will end up just like them – living detached lives with their respective men, lives that only matter to them and them alone, because Clover Kingdom doesn't care about them, doesn't recognize them.

And so the fourth strike is the worst, because Ralph is a master tactician, and worst than Damnatio will ever be. Clover Kingdom's citizenry sneer at them when they hold hands at the fish market.

Ralph offers him a kingdom, an army, and the right to marry Asta – all in the same breath.

*

They sleep in the same bed now, whether it be at the Black Bulls base, the Golden Dawn headquarters, or Fanzell Kruger's old house. The only place they don't share a bed is the church, and only because Father Orsi claims that only only married men can share a bed under God's eyes. At first, they're scared, because perhaps they've miscalculated, and maybe their love isn't enough, but the old man is of a different breed, and he's already yelled at seven different barristers for rejecting a marriage license for two men even though Asta and Yuno never asked him to fight on their behalf.

But he does, and so does Sister Lily, and so do the orphans who pick fights with the children who disrespect them, and that's how Asta and Yuno know that they're loved, that they'll always be loved.

So when Ralph comes to him a fifth time, Yuno has his answer prepared.

*

It's two weeks after his and Asta's eighteenth birthday, and Captain Vangeance has gifted them enough wood to build their own house in Hage, so that they have a place to canoodle until Father Orsi is able to threaten a barrister into approving his and Asta's marriage license.

It's funny, because they don't even have to propose to each other. Their loved ones do all the work for them.

Ralph approaches him while he's going over measurements for the kitchen. They meet under the bright, mid-afternoon sun, a day when Asta is away on a mission, and both Father Orsi and Sister Lily are in the capital for a formal meeting of the nuns and priests under Clover Kingdom's church.

“Your Highness-”

“Please, call me Yuno. There are no princes in Hage.”

*

He hums into Asta's chest that night as they canoodle beneath the stars. Asta's limbs are splayed out in every odd direction, while Yuno is curled up against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. The chill hasn't settled in yet, but when it does, Yuno knows that he'll be fine, so as long as Asta is fine, so as long as they're together, forever.

“When I'm Wizard King, I'll make you co-Wizard King,” Asta tells him for the sixth time that night.

“Still not the actual Wizard King,” Yuno hums.

“Then I'll kick Damnatio's ass until he makes us both Wizard Kings!” Asta yells at the sky.

Yuno can't help but laugh, because at one point, it did hurt knowing that he wouldn't be able to follow Asta to the top, but he'd forgotten that no matter what, Asta will never let him fall behind. One way or another, they'll both get there, regardless of who gets there first.

Whether it's as the Captain of the Golden Dawn, as an advisor, or as co-Wizard King – it will always be Asta and Yuno, together forever.

Yuno presses kisses up against Asta's throat before reaching his lips. The sky is free of clouds tonight, and the empty field next to Fanzell Kruger's old house is illuminated with an abundance of moonlight. Yuno smiles down on his beloved before pressing his lips against his forehead.

Asta's fast, too fast, and Yuno's on his back again, pressed against an old blanket as Asta kisses the daylights out of him. When Asta finally lets go, Yuno laughs into his neck, laughs as Asta leaves kisses along his shoulder while adjusting his hips, laughs as he falls in love over, and over, and over again with the same man, now and forever.

*

Ralph doesn't show up again after that, not until many years later when Asta and Yuno are pushing thirty, and Father Orsi has finally succeeded in threatening the council into signing off on Asta and Yuno's marriage license with the help of two royal houses, countless nobles, many of the commoners, and almost all of the peasantry.

Ralph gives Yuno his birth family's old engraved bookshelves as a wedding gift. He fills the furniture with books, photo frames, and his and Asta's grimoires.

And all is well.

*

#Black Clover #YunoAsu #Asta #Yuno #real talk #ava's ficcing adventures

[one-leaf-grimoire]

Black Clover Week 2020, Day 4: Role Reversal

So I thought long and hard about what I wanted this to be and I finally decided what the obvious answer is. Behold: "Sexy Evil Julius Novachrono"

Warning: oops kind of angsty lol, ended up kind of long, also slight spoilers for the Spade Arc

"I didn't want it to be like this..."

Julius knew he was backed into a corner. He did his best for six months to hide his condition from the King, but the truth eventually slipped out. Was it one of the Captains? Or more likely Damnatio... but it didn't matter. Julius was dragged out into the light, where Augustus and the entire Kira family laughed at him.

"Look at you! Once, you claimed that your power rivaled mine, but now you're nothing but a weak child!" Augustus taunted as his infuriatingly slow light magic pushed Julius around. "Obviously, you can't be Wizard King any more, can you? And for lying to me for so long..."

Julius was stripped of everything he had worked so hard to achieve. He had hoped that everything would settle down after the defeat of the Spade Dark Triad, but now here he was, banished from the noble realm, with nothing but the body of a child, a single page of his grimoire, his former advisor, Marx.

And last he heard, Augustus was planning to appoint a new Wizard King, to add to Julius's humiliation. He didn't know who it would be, but he knew one thing:

It should still be me. I'm not ready to give it up yet. I'm not done.

There were parts of his dream yet to fall into place, and Julius wouldn't let anyone take hold of the future he fought for.

So, this desperation lead him all over the continent, Marx at his side, searching for ways to bring him back to his full power. It lead them into some pretty dangerous places, but eventually they ended up near a being who might just be able to help him. You see, after the last fight with the Dark Triad, the fabric between this world and the underworld of Devils had been thinned drastically, which was the only reason why Julius found himself face to a Devil with the same powers as him. A rare and interesting opportunity... Julius couldn’t help but think about Asta. How did Asta even manage to get a Devil in his Grimoire? I guess it doesn’t matter now... I’m about to walk down that same path. The Devil was eager for a chance to enter the living world, and willing to let Julius use his powers to do whatever he wanted. Maybe the Devil could sense the malice to come.

But, this was potent, forbidden magic, the kind that required the sacrifice of someone’s life to complete. Luckily, there was a volunteer there, ready to do what it took to help his King.

“I wish I could see this to the end,” Marx told Julius, a smile on his face despite the fear that trembled through his hands. “Promise me you’ll make it back, and fulfill your dream... and try not to get so distracted so much! Seriously, without me there, it’s going to be much worse, isn’t it?”

Julius couldn’t help but laugh at those long-passed memories. “I promise, Marx... I’ll never take my eyes off my goal again.”

And so, Marx’s life ended, and Julius’s began once again.

“J-JULIUS?! What is the meaning of this?!”

To say that Augustus was surprised was an understatement. He stared in shock as the man he banished walked right towards him, in all his former glory. His Swallowtail mark was back, but it was red instead of blue. The bright look that always used to be in Julius’s eyes was gone, replaced with a dark purpose that scared Augustus. The King frantically waved his staff as Julius continued to approach without a word. “Guards! Stop him!”

Four guards ran at Julius, who didn’t even slow down. He just raised his hands, letting off two beams of blinding red light. Screams filled the room as the smoke cleared and there was absolutely no sign of the attackers.

Panic started to fill Augustus as Julius climbed up the stairs to his throne. Maybe it was his imagination, but he swore he could see a little smile on the man’s face. “Julius!!! I’ll kill you myself!” A giant, golden monarch of light rose up behind Augustus, brandishing it’s staff. Julius recognized it as the same spell that held him down when Augustus humiliated and banished him. He felt more angry now than even when Yami and William were kidnapped, but none of it showed on his face.

Augustus... this is the only time I’ve ever been happy to see you. The day I kill you.

He wanted to see the same fear that once plagued him on Augustus’s face, so Julius let his Devil out. From his Swallowtail mark, pitch-black magic pervaded his body, staining his hair and his skin down to his hands. Just as he intended, a look of pure fear covered Augustus’s face as Julius’s own Weg appeared, a sharp, dangerous onyx antler.

Goodbye, your majesty.

More screams filled the room, and Augustus’s Golden Monarch melted away. Julius let himself smile genuinely before turning back to the others. “You’re all from the Kira family, yes?” he asked, remembering how they all laughed at him. Maybe I can get a little more revenge today... but first... “Tell me... who’s the new Wizard King?”

“I am.”

Julius and everyone else turned to the side entrance to see none other than Fuegoleon Vermillion walk in. Hmm, I should have expected that. This might be tricky. “It’s good to see you again, Fuegoleon,” Julius told him with a little wave, not moving from his place up by the throne. “As you can see, I’m back, so would you be okay with waiting your turn a little while longer?”

Fuegoleon’s eyes darted down to the ground, where several scorch marks already stained the marble. “I can’t do that, sir... you just killed our King.”

“I know it must be shocking to see, but don’t pretend you wouldn’t do the same thing. Or,” Julius narrowed his eyes. “Maybe you wouldn’t... maybe you still think of him as family.”

“Family or not, as the Wizard King, I have the Kingdom’s best interest in mind. And right now...” Fuegoleon opened his Grimoire, flames already roaring to life around him. “I don’t think you’re included in those interests.”

“Ah, that’s a shame.” Julius’s smile faded. It was starting to look like he’ll have to kill another friend today. “Well, if you’re so quick to defend a man who deserved to die... I guess we have no choice. Thank you, Fuegoleon. I admire your virtue.”

...

...

“Julius! Julius-”

Yami and William ran to the Castle as soon as they heard the rumors. It can’t be true... Master William would never do such a thing, William thought to himself in a panic. 

That old man... so the moment he comes back, he takes everything out on the Kira family? But if the rumors are true, then also... 

Yami skidded to a stop, William running into him. They peered into the great hall to see the horrible sight. Smoke drifted through the air, the last remaining dregs of flame mana. Mixed in was a horrible, unnatural magic, but unfortunately magic that they recognized all too well. Members of the Kira family were scattered everywhere, but among all of them.

“No... Fuegoleon...” 

William ran to the body and fell to his knees. Yami felt numb as he followed. William felt for a pulse, but couldn’t find it. “So... it’s true. Master Julius is here, somewhere...” His eyes darkened. “We have to stop him.”

They caught up to Julius just as he was about to step out of the castle and reclaim his title. “Ah, you two... I’m glad you’re here-” Julius cut himself off when he saw that Yami and William were ready to attack, grimoires and sword at the ready. “I see... well, before you blindly attack me, why don’t you listen to my speech?”

“What are you going to tell them?” Yami growled, hiding his fear and confusion. “Make promises you can’t keep?”

“What do you mean? I’ve always kept my promises.” Julius’s smile faded a little. “And I made one recently... I promised to never take my eyes off my goal again.” He clenched his fist. “I won’t step down... not until I’ve brought peace and equality back into this kingdom. While there’s still discrimination, I can’t stop.”

“Listen to you...” Yami let his sword lower. “A regular people’s man... you, who’s never faced discrimination in your life. Don’t you think it’s time to hand your job to someone else? We weren’t going to let you get killed, we were trying to find you when you came back here. You did so much for this kingdom already. You should have just gone and found a peaceful life somewhere, instead of crawling back up here, committing murder, and whatever the other shit is you have planned.”

Julius’s smile was completely gone now, just a look of disappointment on his face. “Well... why don’t we see what they think?”

Julius knew that he was beloved by the kingdom. And he knew that love was very much still alive as he walked out to greet the crowd, cheers and cries of his name filling the air. Yami and William could do nothing but watch as he proclaimed himself King and, once again, Wizard King. The crowd ate it all up, this was what they wanted for so long, for Julius to just take the power for himself. They didn’t understand the cost at the time. “Together... we’ll dismantle the system that’s oppressed you for so long. The nobility must go... and that future is in your hands.”

Julius turned back to look at Yami and William as the crowd cheered once again. One read of his Ki, and Yami could tell. Julius had no intention of fighting them, or even defending himself. The message was clear: Yami... are you really going to strike down a beloved monarch in front of the people who love him? 

No... I can’t. Yami grit his teeth. Dammit, Julius...

Julius was filled with nothing but confidence. The confidence of a man with nothing to lose and the entire world to gain.

William stared at the ground, clenching his fists, as Julius came back to join them. “Well, I’m glad you two came around. Now-” Both of the younger men looked up as their friend, mentor, and now King took their hands with his usual smile on his face. But today, that gentleness was a lie. Maybe Julius truly believed in what he was doing, but Yami had a bad feeling that a storm was just around the corner. “Will you help me rebuild this kingdom in our image?”

OUR image? You mean... your image.

“...yes, sir.”

Yami followed him, unable to look into the eyes of anyone as one thought plagued his mind.

I didn’t want it to be like this...

#blackcloverweek #blackcloverweek2020 #julius novachrono #black clover #writing #bc spoilers

[chiiwifruit]

TCM Day 20: Fairytales

A long time ago, in a country far away, there lived a princess. The princess had a father, a mother, an older brother, and a beloved childhood friend. The princess’ name was Sakura, and everyone loved her for her beauty and kindness. If someone was in trouble, she would try to help them. And even if she could not help, her brilliant smile would warm their hearts. Everyone in her kingdom loved her, but it was her dear friend Syaoran who treasured her most of all.

On Princess Sakura’s fourteenth birthday, an evil wizard came to her country. The king and queen welcomed him, for they were kind people and they did not know what harm he brought. In exchange for their hospitality, the wizard stole the princess’ magic and vanished into the night. The princess collapsed, very weak, and it was soon discovered that the wizard had taken her memories along with her magic. Memories are part of a person’s soul, and so the priest warned the king and queen that the princess would never be whole again unless her memories were recovered.

Syaoran told the king and queen that he would undertake the journey to fight the wizard and get Sakura’s memories back. The priest said that the princess would have to accompany him on the journey, as memories were fragile things, and Syaoran did not have the power or skill to bring them back safely. If Sakura was with him, the memories could be placed back into her body as soon as they were recovered.

So Syaoran and Sakura set out. The wizard had left no clues as to where he came from or where he was going, but Syaoran had heard rumours of a northern country that had been ravaged by an evil wizard. And so the pair headed north to search for clues.

The journey out of their desert country was long, for Sakura could not endure long hours on horseback in her fragile state.

On the seventh day since their journey began, the pair was beset by bandits. Syaoran was no swordsman, but he was trained in a kicking technique by a traveller many years ago. He put the princess behind him and tried to fight off the bandits, but there were five of them and one of him.

Suddenly, a warrior on a shining black horse thundered down the hill. It seemed to Syaoran that he slew all the bandits with one slash of his sword. He was a massive man, with hair as dark as a crow’s wing and eyes the red of fresh blood.

“Thank you for saving us,” Syaoran said, but he kept his body between his princess and their savior.

The man dismounted his horse and marched closer. Syaoran and Sakura flinched back as the warrior yanked a length of cloth out of Syaoran’s pocket. On it was the symbol of a bat, which Syaoran had torn from the evil wizard’s cloak before he escaped.

“Do you work for this man?” the warrior demanded, waving the cloth in Syaoran’s face.

“No. We are on a quest to recover something he stole from my princess,” Syaoran replied.

It seemed the warrior had encountered the evil wizard as well. The warrior was from a small town in the east, called Suwa. A number of years ago, the evil wizard approached his parents, the Lord and Lady of Suwa, and demanded that they give him a precious artifact, an ancient sword of great power that had been gifted to their ancestors by a dragon. The Lord and Lady refused, and were able to repel his attack. In retaliation, the evil wizard summoned waves of monsters to attack their land.

The Lady had powerful magic of her own, and the Lord was a great warrior. With the help of their magic sword, they were withstand the monsters’ attacks for many years. Eventually the toll became too great, and the Lord and Lady both perished. The rest of the town fell thereafter, leaving the Lord and Lady's son as the only survivor.

He was now on a journey for vengeance. He was reluctant to ally himself with Syaoran and Sakura, but did so as they had a common goal. He told them to call him Kurogane.

Now a trio, they continued their journey north. The weather became colder, and the terrain grew steep. They had to stop in a village to buy warm cloaks before pressing on.

On the way through a mountain pass, they were attacked by a magician. Fire fell from the sky, and Syaoran’s horse reared, nearly throwing him and Princess Sakura to the ground. Kurogane deflected the next blast with his magic sword, Ginryu, and the reflected fire forced the magician from his hiding place. He tumbled to the ground, holding his burned shoulder.

Kurogane leveled his sword at him. “Who are you?” he demanded.

The magician grimaced and got to his feet. He was blond and clad all in blue and white. Rather than answering, the faint glow of magic emanated from his spread fingers. Kurogane leaped out of the way, and Syaoran tackled Sakura out of danger. Part of the spell clipped his leg, and Syaoran grimaced with pain. He kept a tight grip on his princess, ready to defend her at all costs, but he wasn’t sure he could stand on that leg.

Despite managing to incapacitate one of them, the magician didn’t look happy. His guilt distracted him enough for Kurogane to leap in and cut a thin slice across his chest. The magician retreated, wounded. After gathering themselves, the group pressed on.

They stopped for the night at an inn run by a smiling man and his reserved wife. “What brings you to these parts?” The innkeeper, Sorata, asked over dinner. The dining room was almost empty. Sorata had told them that they got very few travelers through these parts, and the locals mostly stayed at home. They were all afraid of the evil wizard.

Syaoran explained the purpose of their quest. Sorata nodded and examined the bit of cloth Syaoran held out, which was their only clue.

“It sounds to me like you’re looking for Fei Wang Reed,” Sorata said. “Nobody really knows where he came from, but he showed up here about a decade ago and started throwing his weight around. We’ve had warriors and sorcerers come up to try and stop him, but he’s just too powerful! He also got our king on his side, and now anyone who stands against them is looking at execution or life in the dungeons.”

“How terrible,” Sakura said. She was sagging from exhaustion, but had refused to go to bed no matter how hard Syaoran protested. She wanted to know what was going on. She wanted to be helpful. Even as frail as she was with her memories missing, her heart was still kind and strong. When Arashi draped a thick throw over her shoulders, Sakura gave her a tired smile.

Kurogane was silent for most of the conversation. He spoke up now. “What about a blond magician?” he asked. “Know anything about him?”

Arashi straightened. “The one in blue?” she asked. Kurogane nodded. “I’ve heard of him. The neighbouring country has twin princes who are powerful magicians. They came here to help defeat Fei Wang Reed, but it seems one of them was captured. Fei Wang Reed is holding him hostage to force his brother to do his bidding.”

“So he just wants his brother back,” Syaoran said.

“It seems that way, yes.”

“So if we help him save his brother, he might help us,” Sakura said. Everyone looked to the princess, who sat straighter in her chair. “Do you know anything about where he might be held?”

“Well, yes... but it’s very dangerous,” Sorata said reluctantly. He glanced at his wife, who nodded. “There’s a tower farther north. The land is cursed, and I heard it’s guarded by a dragon.”

Arashi had magic of her own, and she assured the group that she was certain the other prince was imprisoned in the tower. She could sense him. She could also sense his brother wandering around searching for him whenever he wasn’t at Fei Wang Reed’s beck and call. She gave them a map and a bag, but cautioned them not to open it ‘except at their time of greatest need’.

The group left early the next morning. They travelled on uneventfully, but as they began to see the tower in the distance, that land grew silent and strange. The plants grew brown and brittle. There was no sound of animals or birds in the trees. Not even the wind disturbed the naked branches. Until the air was split with a loud roar.

Syaoran’s horse screamed as a large scaly body cut through the air above the group. The force of the wind in its wake forced the horses back a step. Syaoran dismounted to calm his horse, but Kurogane’s was a warrior’s mount and was trained to have nerves of steel.

Kurogane drew his sword and turned his horse to face the dragon as it rounded for a second pass. Its talons were almost as long as his body.

“Kurogane-san, it’s too dangerous!” Syaoran protested.

But Kurogane’s family were originally dragon slayers until they made a pact with their patron dragon, and Kurogane did not fear dragons. He swung his sword aloft and called out the name of his technique, “Hama Ryuu-ou Jin!”

Heavily wounded but not dead, the dragon plummeted to the earth. The ground shook from the force of its weight. Kurogane waited, sword at the ready, but the dragon did not attempt to attack again. Instead, it spoke.

“That sword...” the dragon said in a voice the was a mix of a hiss and a growl. “You are a child of the Suwa clan, are you not?”

“Yes. I am the only survivor of the Suwa clan,” Kurogane said.

“I see. Perhaps you can help me. I have been bound here by a wizard who forces me to guard the tower. If you cut the band around my wrist, I will be free.” The dragon stretched out its left wrist, which was bound with an iron manacle. “Only a blade such as yours, which was forged in the fire of dragons, can cut it.”

Kurogane cut through the manacle with one swipe of his blade, and the dragon was free to go. Before it left, it gave Kurogane a dragon scale in gratitude. “This will allow you to pass through the wards around the tower,” the dragon explained. “Without it, you won’t be able to proceed further than this.”

The dragon scale was bigger than Kurogane’s hand. The travelers split it into three parts, and each wore theirs on a cord around their neck in order to approach the tower.

If there was anything else assigned to the tower, it seemed too afraid to approach after seeing Kurogane dispatch the dragon so easily.

The tower was so tall that they could not see the top from the base. There also was no door in sight, though they walked around the base twice in search of one. They did, however, find a bell, which Princess Sakura rang before anyone could stop her.

A long golden rope woven of exceptionally fine material dropped from the top of the tower. The end stopped a couple inches above the ground. The group puzzled over it.

“Are we supposed to climb it?” Sakura wondered.

It was decided that Syaoran would be the one to climb it, as Kurogane had dealt with the dragon. Kurogane gave him a little dagger that Syaoran clipped onto his belt before he began to climb.

The ascent seemed to take forever. Syaoran climbed up and up and up, until he was among the clouds. He didn’t dare look down for fear that the great height would make him dizzy. Eventually he came upon a little window near the top of the tower, and he slipped inside.

The magician stood patiently beside the window. Syaoran was so startled that he nearly fell out at the sight of him, and the magician had to grab his arm and haul him inside. The shining golden rope was his hair, coiled in a tight braid and then wound around a hook by the door for Syaoran to climb up. He stared at Syaoran.

“You aren’t who I expected at all,” he said.

Syaoran squared his shoulders. “I’m here to rescue you. Your brother is looking for you.”

At the mention of his brother, the magician’s caution softened. “Yuui is? I’ve heard him calling me. I want to go to him, but I can’t get out of the tower. I could climb down using my hair, but I don’t have anything to cut it with.”

So Syaoran cut through the magician’s long golden hair, and after making sure it was tied securely to the hook, the two climbed down.

The magician’s name was Fai. He confirmed that he and his brother Yuui had come to this land at the request of the king to help fight Fei Wang Reed, but by the time they arrived, the king had fallen under Fei Wang Reed’s influence and Fai was captured.

The castle wasn’t marked on the map that Arashi had given them, but Fai knew the way. The castle was hidden with spells and enchantments that would have been impossible for the group to get through without a magician in the party. They had reached the final obstacle, a thorny wall of briars, when there was a sudden cry.

“Fai!”

It was the other magician. He ran and embraced his brother, and they both cried. Now that he no longer had reason to follow Fei Wang Reed, Yuui was happy to tell the group where to find the evil wizard.

But first, they had to fight the king.

King Ashura had been driven mad by the dark magic Fei Wang Reed cast over his kingdom. Perhaps there could have been a way to save him, but Yuui and Fai said that it was outside of their abilities. After a difficult battle, the king was defeated.

The group advanced further into the castle as it crumbled around them. It seemed that the castle was tied to King Ashura’s life, and now that he was dead, it fell to pieces. Princess Sakura could run no further, and so Kurogane carried her in one arm and wielded his sword with the other. They had to hurry. If Fei Wang Reed fled before they found him, they would have to start their search from the beginning.

They found the wizard standing before a magic mirror. Rather than showing his reflection, it showed a lush green land. “Stop him!” Yuui cried. “It will take him to another country!”

Syaoran launched himself forward. Fei Wang Reed ducked his kick, but he was not the target. Syaoran shattered the mirror with a mighty blow, sending shards scattering in every direction while Fei Wang Reed howled his fury. He cast a wide spell intended to kill the group. Yuui shielded the others while Fai counterattacked.

Fei Wang Reed’s next attack sent Fai skidding across the floor. He hit the wall and lay still as his brother screamed his name. Kurogane was forced to put the princess down and help with the fight.

In the same motion that Kurogane stabbed Fei Wang Reed through the heart, the wizard severed Kurogane’s left arm. Kurogane went down in a torrent of blood, and Syaoran knelt to attempt to stem it with his cloak.

Without Fei Wang Reed’s magic to bind them, Sakura’s magic and memories took the form of feathers and looked like they were about to scatter in all directions. The two magicians could not stop them, because Fai was incapacitated and Yuui was tending to his brother.

Sakura remembered the bag Arashi had entrusted to her, and the instructions to use it when she would need it most. She pulled hard on the drawstring, and the bag opened wide. A white creature came out, it’s long white ears streaming behind it as it flew to the centre of the room.

Syaoran recognized it as a bunny-like faerie creature from stories his father used to tell him. His father had said that such a creature was called a Mokona, and it had the power to go anywhere in the world. Some said it might even have the power to take you to a different world, any world you liked.

The creature breathed in. And in and in. It sucked up the feathers, and then it sucked up the adventurers as well. It wrapped them cozily in its white wings just as the remainder of the castle crashed down.

When the group came to, they were in the infirmary in Clow Country. Mokona had acted as a holding container for Sakura’s memories, and with help from the priest, was able to return them to Sakura’s body. The princess’ recovery was instant, and she remembered everything, including that Syaoran was her most precious person in the world, and not just a companion for her trip.

Kurogane and Fai both lived, though Kurogane would forever be without his arm and the blow to Fai’s back had cost him the use of his legs. Queen Nadeshiko said with regret that it was beyond her to cure either. In gratitude for helping save their daughter, the King and Queen offered Kurogane, Yuui, and Fai a permanent home in Clow Country, as well as a place of honour in the castle whenever they came to visit, which they did often. Fai liked to show off the fancy chair he and his brother had built to help him get around, and they even made a clockwork arm for Kurogane, though he didn’t like it so much as his real one.

The End.

#TsubasaChronicleMonth #Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle #TRC #Princess Sakura #Li Syaoran #Kurogane #Fai #Real!Fai #Mage Fai D Fluorite #Fairytale AU #SyaoSaku #Sorta #Everyone lives AU #(Except Ashura-ou) #(And Fei Wang Reed) #Queen Nadeshiko #King Fujitaka #Sorata/Arashi #My writing #Fanfiction #fanfic #TRC Fanfic #CLAMP

[pass-the-bechdel]

Marvel Cinematic Universe: Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

Does it pass the Bechdel Test?

Yes, once.

How many female characters (with names and lines) are there?

Nine (25.71% of cast).

How many male characters (with names and lines) are there?

Twenty-six.

Positive Content Rating:

Three.

General Film Quality:

For a movie which is pretty much wall-to-wall fight scenes...I love it. I always start out going ‘maybe I overrate this movie, maybe it’s not as good as I remember’, but by the end, I’m right back in there.

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) UNDER THE CUT:

Passing the Bechdel:

Wanda apologises to Natasha for lying. It’s a close call.

Female characters:

Pepper Potts.

F.R.I.D.A.Y

Gamora.

Mantis.

Wanda Maximoff.

Natasha Romanoff.

Okoye.

Nebula.

Shuri.

Male characters:

Ebony Maw.

Thanos.

Thor.

Loki.

Heimdall.

Bruce Banner.

Stephen Strange.

Wong.

Tony Stark.

Peter Parker.

Ned.

Peter Quill.

Rocket.

Drax.

Groot.

Vision.

Steve Rogers.

Sam Wilson.

The Collector.

Thaddeus Ross.

James Rhodes.

T’Challa.

Bucky Barnes.

Eitri.

Red Skull.

M’Baku.

OTHER NOTES:

Heimdall had proven himself too much of an MVP in previous films to be allowed to live in this one. Bastards.

Heimdall and Loki, both dead before the opening titles. That’s how you know this movie means business, it’s not faking at high stakes.

I also am from space and have come here to steal a necklace from a wizard.

“Mr Stark, it smells like a new car in here!”

“All words are made up.”

Not gonna lie, when I saw this at the cinema and I realised that Captain America had arrived? My heart LEAPT. It was intense.

Depressed Thor is a great touch - after all previous films with Thor had him so bland, and then Ragnarok made him funny but essentially glossed over any of the difficult emotions it was dredging up, I’m glad to finally get something real and meaty from the character. If characters go through all manner of Hell and don’t show any signs of labouring under that weight, you’re doing character development wrong.

Nice callback with Red Skull.

The sacrifice of Gamora on Vormir is a really well-balanced piece; it was asking a lot, to make the emotion of it land despite how little of Thanos we’ve seen before, and without genuine emotion at it’s core it’s just the killing off of a female character for shock value. I feel like they got the pitch just right (most thanks to the music).

As much as I enjoy Thor and Rocket’s bantering, the side-quest for Stormbreaker feels like an unnecessary and over-the-top distraction in an already stuffed-full film. Easily the weakest part of the plot.

The fact that Quill fucks everything up with defeating Thanos on Titan because he can’t keep himself under control for two seconds certainly does not endear him to me in the slightest. Like ok, you’re upset, but if you can’t stop yourself from getting violent that’s on you, that makes you a dangerous person with serious issues, that’s not normal and it’s not ok. Also, literally half of all life in the universe was at stake. So there’s that.

Listen, I’m very susceptible to heroism (and that’s why superhero movies work for me), so every time someone comes to someone else’s rescue, I have feelings. 

I had convinced myself that somehow, Thanos wouldn’t succeed with his whole plan in this movie, that he would get all the stones but that he would like, go to a special place or something before enacting his plan, so that the good guys would have a chance to regroup and race to stop him before it was too late, all that jazz. So (even though Thanos had already snapped at that point), when Bucky Barnes disintegrated before our very eyes, I was SHOCKED. That got me like a smack in the face.

Considering I’ve never really been a fan of Tom Holland’s Spider-man, it’s a credit to his work that Peter’s death scene is so effective. That’s acting.

So, what makes this movie work despite being so heavy with bombastic action? The short answer is: it’s because the good guys lose. I’ve made no secret of being a fan of the ‘hour darkest before the dawn’ in storytelling, so this is playing to the sweet spot for me there, but it’s not as simple as just making everything miserable and hopeless. In this case, specifically, the lead-up to that ultimate failure is key; it’s gotta still feel like a superhero extravaganza, even as it takes an increasingly dark turn. The action works because it’s part of what we signed up for (the best camouflage for subversions of the traditional model), and it works because it’s all carrying the story forward - the Infinity War is comprised of multiple battles, and because of the way the pieces of the narrative are separated, the characters don’t know how any of the other battles are turning out; everyone is just trying to fight what’s in front of them and defend the stone in their midst, they don’t have the option to sit around doom-and-glooming and restrategising as news of each defeat comes in. Rather than dragging us wholesale from Point A to B to C in ever-escalating stakes and complications, the writers have had the good sense to spread things out and let things fall apart for our heroes (and the universe) in multiple smaller pieces until they reach a cumulative critical mass. Consequently, instead of feeling as though we’re sitting there watching things go from bad to worse, the audience forms this false sense of security in the action; it’s a superhero movie, after all. We expect them to work it all out in the end, to build toward a moment of apparent hopelessness (a darkest hour before the dawn), and then to rally triumphantly for the big win. As such, we perceive small victories (i.e. the defeat of Thanos’ various ‘children’, the creation of Stormbreaker, the way things draw out in the battle on Titan) as if they are more significant, as if they are signs leading us to that big win; without those small, expected victories, the ultimate failure would not hit as hard, because after two and a half hours of watching the good guys get wrecked without a chance, what surprise would there be in the snap?

Of course, plenty of viewers knew about the snap already or expected an ultimate failure of some sort based on the fact that we pretty much all knew that this was the first half of our grand Avengers finale (my mother, who is not a superhero movie fan, did not know what she was getting into and was...very shocked), so it’s important that the film still works to engage us on a character level so that the good guys losing in the end can hit like a ton of bricks even if you knew it was coming (and even though you no doubt expected to get the big win eventually, once Endgame came out). After all the fighting and the bantering, all the usual stuff we expect to see our heroes go through in the course of an average adventure, having them then watch their beloved friends/allies/whatever literally disintegrate before their eyes in a quiet, drawn out scene of devastation is a magnificent piece of cinema, communicating the shock not only of the event itself, but of the complete disruption to the superhero status quo. It’s not just that good guys don’t lose like this, it’s that they don’t lose with a whimper instead of a a bang. It’s not only that the cost of failure has never been this high; it’s also that they have never been forced to watch it play out with such inevitability; they have never before been rendered so powerless. If the entire film had the tone of the last ten minutes, it wouldn’t work so well, it’d just be a drudge and the audience would be desensitised by the end. By the same token, if the rest of the film had not planted the seeds of the finale so thoroughly in all its smaller losses and smokescreen victories, the ending would not be so horrifically fitting.

Neither, of course, would the ending be so affecting, if we were not as attached to the characters as we are. We have many, many films worth of history with most of them, or at least one solid encounter in which to become attached, and even in a movie chock-full of more characters than any other before, everyone gets a chance to show their personality and remind us why we care if they live or die. I’m not going to argue for this being an incredible character piece (nor is it pretending to be one), but it plays its very large hand very well, putting emphasis where it needs to be without overloading or unbalancing the story. As I noted above, I was particularly impressed with the way Thanos was handled, considering our exposure to him previously was very minimal and it was left up the this film to build his ethos as well as his relationships with his ‘children’ almost from scratch, creating complexity and simplicity without falling into the trap of trying to make the villain sympathetic; Thanos isn’t necessarily relatable (nor does he need to be), but he is understandable in that we’ve all probably encountered at least one person who holds the same limited worldview and is somehow convinced that they could ‘fix’ everything, given the power. Thanos isn’t actually aiming for universal domination in the traditional sense, and it makes him more disturbing and more realistic as a villain, because his evil is not nebulous or purely self-serving; he is a true believer, and his delusions have an all-too-familiar ring about them, so as we watch him lumber and pontificate around the story, we get a clearly-drawn image of someone possessed of such basic and humble flaws that he is - again, without being treated as sympathetic - quite significantly humanised, despite all of the non-human elements that make up both his character, and his situation. Even as it planet-hops and draws upon cosmic magic, the narrative is grounded by a centrepiece of plain, ungodly fallibility. 

Now, I recognise that in all of this praise for the way this film was executed, there isn't really anything to be said for it regarding the purpose of this blog; on the female representation front, it's not really doing anything (the fact that it juuust manages to pass the Bechdel and juuust over a quarter of its cast is female does not win it brownie points; its better than not having either of those things, but that's not a genuine achievement). The two female characters who were more prominently positioned in this movie are Gamora and Wanda; Gamora largely in context of her relationship with Thanos, and Wanda as Vision’s significant other and the means of his destruction. Notably, both women’s arcs are accessories to the arcs of male characters, which is not what we’re aiming for in good representation, though it does not exclude the possibility of quality content; Gamora’s role may have a lot to do with Thanos (not least, after he kills her), but it is still distinctly her own story, rich with emotion and coming to a surprising and depressing end which I felt struck the right chords to be compelling rather than an enraging disposal of one of the few female characters around (more on this after Endgame). Wanda’s presence leaves less of an impression, in terms of screen time, plot complication, and audience engagement, but all things considered I don’t think that was a terrible choice; Wanda and Vision’s relationship had been a somewhat sparse subplot in previous films and the chemistry was not strong, so I don’t think it would have been to the film’s benefit to try and expand on that relationship further than they did. As it was, there was enough there to sell the emotion, and nothing extraneous, and as much as I enjoy this movie, I wish I could say better things for its female representation than that. It is stuffed-full, and definitely not perfect, and space could have been made to pump up some of the other female characters’ roles more (the Earthbound characters get the least attention in the movie, and since basically all my faves are there it is a testament to how well this movie works for me that I enjoy it so much anyway, but a little more attention there would not have gone astray, especially since that’s where most of the female cast is). That said...I still really enjoy it, man. As far as popcorn action goes, this is top shelf.

#Marvel Cinematic Universe #Avengers: Infinity War #female representation #Bechdel Test #MCU

[bewareofchris]

Help! My plot is stalled!

It’s alright, friends.  We’ve all been there, sitting at a desk or laying in our beds, staring at the screen wondering what in the holy beef jerky has gone wrong because our ability to write has just come to a screeching halt.

We’re uninspired.

We’re unmoved.

We’re incapable of figuring out what happens next.

It’s time like this that our instinct is to grab a machete and start cutting through extraneous characters like a boiled steak knife through Jell-O.  We’re throwing romantic curve balls and car crashes at our protagonist so quickly they don’t have time to recover from one before they’re being traumatized by another.

Sometimes, we think, now is the time to reveal that our beloved Protagonist is actually an alien from another planet who survives by consuming the souls of lap dogs and his insatiable thirst for Pekineses is causing him great distress because the human mate he has chosen for himself has three such delicious morsels.

BUT, never fear my friends.  Here are some ideas to help you get out of that hellish valley of despair and back on track.

Take a break.  Have a snack.  Stretch your limbs.  Go for a walk.  Call a friend who listens to things and explain to them how your story is stupid and you hate it and it won’t move.  You don’t need to let your friend talk at all. Just keep complaining about your story until suddenly you realize what went wrong.

Daydream about what your character would do if you were to suddenly abandon him/her with six kids under the age of 5 at a busy theme park.  Or what he/she would do if they suddenly found themselves trying to talk two very angry kingly types out of starting a civil war because they disagree on which side of their toast to spread butter on.  Put your character in the MOST ridiculous scenario you could possibly imagine.  Make them rationalize their way out of it.  Don’t make it easy.  Six kids under the age of 5 when you’ve never dealt with children is basically hell.  Let your character suffer, and fail, improve and finally win (or at least survive).

Fantasize about beating your characters with a metal pipe.  Imagine their pleas for mercy as they try in vain to remind you that they are fictional constructs and this is not their fault.

Once you’ve cleaned your system of these violent urges toward non-real people, sit back down.  Re-read what you’ve written, if it’s still as bad as you thought it was, here are some actual bits of advice:

Regardless of what Rafiki once said about moving on and forgetting the past, the problem that you are presently experiencing is mostly caused by something that went wrong in the recent events of your story.  Take another look at the latest choices that your main or side characters made and ask yourself if maybe them making A DIFFERENT CHOICE might put your story back to rights.

Take another look at your character and his/her story so far.  Is your character excelling in every facet of his/her life?  Have they faced any obstacles that amounted to more than a mild inconvenience?  Are they generally well-liked?  Respected?  Do they have noticeable faults?  Are these faults presented in a way that allows other people to be annoyed by them?  Have these faults gotten in the character’s way?  If your main character is Too Good and Such Winning or Basically Useless and Always Failing then your story is imbalanced and it can’t move forward because you’re not allowing the protagonist to experience growth and change.

Are there relationships?  Friendships?  Family?  Rivalrys? ROMANCE?  You need relationships of at least 2 different types in a story.  Preferably more.  And they can’t all be the same kind with different names.  And they need to also be developing with your characters.  So Protag makes an unpopular choice with his family but his BFF is loving it and his Romantic Interest thinks it could be good for him.  You have so much material right there!

DO. NOT. MURDER. ANYONE.  Dismemberment is okay if you really want to have to take the time out of your story to focus on the emotional and physical effects that a traumatic event inflicts on your protagonist.

DO NOT MAKE YOUR ROMANTIC INTERESTS HATE EACH OTHER OVER SOMETHING STUPID.  Please.  Please don’t do this.  It’s really just not worth it.  If you make them so angry at one another they’re screaming death threats and then the next day they’re like: I guess we love one another again you cheapen the impact.  If this is a story about overcoming things and growing as people and forgiveness then yes, break them up and get them back together but don’t do it just to have an exciting screaming sequence.  Or do.  I mean, you do you.

Instead of tearing your couple apart, have them get together.  Have them spend a weekend doing silly, childish, amazing things.  Let them smooch, and cuddle, and eat candy together.  Let them waste money they don’t staying overnight in a fancy hotel.

Visit a Significant Character from your Protag’s past because they are in need of comfort and guidance.  Allow them to reminisce about the good old days, and whine about how they don’t feel like they’ll ever be that happy again.  Let your Significant Character hit your Protag with a rolled up newspaper.  STOP BEING A NINNY, PROTAG.  STOP IT IMMEDIATELY.

Give your Protag an unexpected promotion.  You were just a kid that cleaned stables, but we noticed that you’ve got a real way about you that suggests you’re WIZARD MATERIAL.  Build that Protag up, let him feel pride and joy and love.

(And then make the person that promoted him have questionable morals.  Make him vaguely untrustworthy.  Watch your starry-eyed protag battle against a shady man of questionable intentions to see who wins in the end!  But not with the fate of the whole world.  Like the fate of a small village at most.)

Give your Protag the single worst day of his entire life that does not involve physical altercations and/or death.  Maybe he/she pulled a muscle having athletic sex that morning, was distracted by the pain in the shower,got soap in their eyes, limped to the car to find it was out of gas, went to a busy gas station, got coffee that was too cold to enjoy, was late to work, had more work than usual, the pain meds never started working, left his lunch at home, couldn’t buy anything because they ran out of time, had to listen to the Obnoxious Co-Worker next to them complaining about Obnoxious Co Workers Obviously Useless Significant Other for an hour and a half, left work late, forgot about plans to meet up with a friend, got ignored by friend at meet up, comes home and collapses in a pile of self-pity and physical pain and has Significant Other rub their aching pulled muscle and listen to their complaints.

You could do a car wreck, or you could just ruin your Protag’s entire life by having the transmission die in the middle of traffic.

The point I’m trying to get across here is that you have to have a journey that is balanced with ups and downs.  If you’re only going up, or you’re only going down, or you’re not going anywhere at all but straight forward on a 300 mile car trip across a flat surface with no trees, there’s no story there.

You could shoot someone, or you could have your Protagonist do something that injures their relationship with their Best Friend and Confidante.  Then your Protag protests their innocence to the point that it’s obvious they are being Stupid now.  Let them roll around in undeserved pity.  Let nobody else agree with them, and still they refuse to acknowledge they are stupid.  And then let them FINALLY, sort of, a little, admit they were wrong and instead of them offering a half-assed apology and moving on like it never happened, make them work to repair the damage they inflicted.  

Put your Protag in a position where they have to defend a friend/family member or romantic interest in a non-physical way.  Susan from Biology was telling Quentin and Theodore that Protag’s BFF eats his own snot.  And Protag is like OH MY GOD I’M GOING TO GO FIND SUSAN AND SCREAM A STRONGLY WORDED LETTER AT HER.  (or start vicious rumors about her behind her back, and take utterly glee at her humiliation, and then finally think: did I go to far?  I don’t think I went too far.)

DO. NOT. GET. SOMEONE. PREGNANT.  Do you knows what happens when someone’s pregnant?  They end up with a baby.  (Or a miscarriage.)  That pregnancy cannot be handwaved away.  If you’re not here to write about the amazing journey from sex to birth and lifetime of parenting that follows, you are not here to get someone knocked up for the drama.

Sure, let your Protag develop a desperate attraction to someone’s that not the Primary Love Interest but if the Primary Love Interest and Protag already have sexual and romantic tension building between them, maybe let the audience know that this is one of those things where you’re lonely and you want companionship and it’s not really that fair to Someone You Just Met and Now Want to Have Sex With.  Let Primary Love Interest struggle to be supportive.  or let Protag and Primarily Love Interest be mean-spirited little shits and mock the poor Someone You Just Met.

DO. NOT. MURDER. AN. ENTIRE. VILLAGE.  Did a spell go bad?  Did a curse escape?  Did your magical being accidentally create a sixteen foot tall metal horse with a thirst for squirrel hearts?  Remember that wholesale murdering of innocent side characters nobody cares about does effectively nothing for your story.  Don’t kill the entire village.  Let your character freak out because he/she misplaced a curse and ANYONE COULD HAVE IT.  Let them ransack the village developing a reputation as a mad man to find it.  Let him work furiously to develop a cure to the curse and refuse to rest until everyone’s been inoculated against said Curse, and then idk, he finds it on the floor under his work station.  Or, let him realize a curse is missing and he just kind of says nothing while he watches the village to see how effective it is.

SIDE QUESTS, so here me out.  This works best for longer stories and serial type works of fiction, but if your character has only one goal and never any other goals or distractions or purposes or interests you are seriously shooting yourself in the foot.  Don’t focus all your energy on Protag Loves Love Interest.  Protag also has Family Drama.  (Did you hear that Bobert is trying to buy a fucking boat?  A boat!  Why does he need a boat!  He can’t swim.  He’s going to die.  A boat.  A god damn boat.)  Protag has ambitions at work that are being undercut by Evil Boss.  (And anyway, Worst Boss Ever, he just comes over and drops this massive work load on my desk and he smiles at me because the Main Boss is coming tomorrow and my desk will be the only one covered in unfinished work.  What choice do I have?  I can’t quit, I need this promotion, so I stick to it.  I stay late, I work as hard as I can and...)

I know it’s not for everyone but Sex.  Unless your characters are Too Young to have a developed sexuality, that sexuality needs to be in your story.  I mean, if your entire story takes place and Grandma’s funeral, then you probably can skip this one.  But if your story takes place over any length of time, sex and sex-adjacent things need to be brought up.  They don’t need to be graphic.  They don’t need to be gross.  It can be a kiss, or the yearning for a kiss.  It can be a meaningful, flirtatious touch.  It can be the idea of a flirtatious touch.  There can be complaints of a need for flirtatious touches.  To each their own comfort level, but some sense of sexuality and how that is a Driving Urge in your character is also good.

Introduce a Rival.  Go ahead.  Let your uncontested King of Bowling protag meet a New Challenger.  Send them spiral with fear that they may not be top dog anymore.

Force your Protag and Antagonist to form a momentary truce.  Let them come to some understanding of the other that makes their future interactions more difficult.  

Strike your Protag with a Great Unfairness.  They didn’t get the promotion.  They couldn’t pay the bills.  They weren’t selected to be court jester.  They didn’t get to the store on time.  Someone else got to the top of the summit before them and now they’re basically trash to history.

Randomly have your supposed Antagonist turn out to Actually a Decent Guy that you’ve been blaming for all the wrongs in the world because it was convenient and really the actual antagonist can’t be defeated because he/she overpowers you somehow.  But with Actually a Decent Guy and his Surprisingly Nice Friends and you and your friends, you stand a chance.

Push your protagonist into a mud puddle.  Just for shits and giggles, make it so there’s not a dead body in there with him.  Or put one in if you want.  Nothing says ‘happy fun times at plot-stalled high’ like a decomposing corpse where one shouldn’t be.

Break your Protagonists heart, and let there be people that love them.  

Have fun, take your time, embrace the mundane and ridiculous aspects of life.  ALWAYS give your character flaws, and make them aware of them, and let them grow.  That’s the story.  All the other nonsense, the car wrecks and gunshots, and serial killers doesn’t matter in the end.  The reader is looking for Relationships That Matter and Characters that Grow.  Characters that stink of humanity, that reflect something about human beings the reader has met (or the reader themselves).  They want to connect, they want to love your character and they can’t do that if your character is Perfect.  Nobody’s perfect.  Stories stagnate when they can’t grow.  Let your story grow.  Let your characters grow.

#On Writing

[vannahfanfics]

Right Here With You

Category: Mild Romantic Fluff, Friendship Fluff

Fandom: Fairy Tail

Characters: Lucy Heartfilia, Gray Fullbuster, Juvia Lockser, Lyon Vastia

Requested By: Miss_Leechy (Ao3)

“For the last time, would you two please settle down?” Lucy groaned as she rubbed her temples in a pitiful attempt to stave off the headache that was hammering away in her tender skull. For the sixth time in the last twenty minutes, Gray and Lyon were standing up in the train seat tightly clutching the collars of each other’s cloaks, glaring so intensely at one another that sparks jumped between their eyes like lightning bolts. Juvia was no help, sitting next to Lucy clamoring for her beloved Gray to pummel Lyon. This mission is going to be a nightmare, she groaned inwardly.

After the conclusion of the Grand Magic Games, life at Fairy Tail had gone back to full-swing, even more busy than before half of the guild had spent six years sheltered in the embrace of the Fairy Sphere. They were constantly being sent on missions, and because the plethora of jobs had the entire guild scattered across the far reaches of Fiore, sometimes they had to form… unorthodox teams. Natsu had been spirited away with Erza and Wendy to hunt some monster or another, leaving Lucy behind at the guild to mope about it- that is, until the Master had summoned herself and Gray to track down and subdue a particularly troublesome band of bandits targeting the peddlers who were traversing the mountain pass now that the snows had melted. He had informed them then that they would be joined by Lyon from Lamia Scale, as he had been monitoring the bandits’ movements for some time. Once Juvia caught wind that her darling Gray was going on a mission with her “love rival,” she wormed her way into the team… thus bringing them to their present predicament.

“Juvia, my dearest, please come back with me to Lamia Scale and be my bride~! I promise that I will give you everything under the sun and more,” Lyon crooned while making heart eyes at the exceptionally disinterested Juvia. She pouted and pushed into Lucy, as if looking for protection. Despite Juvia’s incessant fear that Lucy was her rival in love for Gray, they still had a very amicable friendship. Lucy wrapped her arms around Juvia’s shoulders with a heavy sigh, not having the heart to tell her that the ice mage’s clamor for her affections was not unlike her own groveling for Gray.

“I told you, you stupid bastard! She’s not interested! Now will you let it go?” The aforementioned Fairy Tail ice wizard snapped while knocking Lyon upside his pale blue head. Lyon whined loudly and crouched down in the seat, nursing the lump peeking out between his scruffy strands of styled hair.

“Ah, Gray, you are defending me so eagerly~ Have you finally realized your love for Juvia?” the girl sighed dreamily as she clasped her hands together to gaze lovingly at the man. Gray’s face turned a pretty shade of carnation pink.

“It’s not like that! I’m just not gonna let this asshole cart off one of our best mages!” Though he was trying to prove to Juvia that their relationship was nothing but platonic, she heard only the compliment; a delighted trill spilled from her lips as she wriggled around on the train seat. Lucy could probably reach out and catch the little hearts that were blooming from her body. This is ridiculous, she thought, but mostly in amusement. She was quite used to the unending amount of antics that the various Fairy Tail mages produced, and this sordid love triangle was but one of the many on the list. The three mages continued their back-and-forth as the train clattered onward down the tracks with Lucy not saying much of anything at all. Finally, she decided to have a little fun of her own.

“Ahh, I’m sorry to interrupt your fervent love triangle, but I have to go to the bathroom, so could you let me by, please? Or have you all forgotten that I’m here?” she sighed with dramatic exasperation as she rose from her place beside the window. For good measure and playfulness, she painted an expression of fake sourness onto her features. She planned to just squeeze by them, honestly expecting that her little outburst wouldn’t deter them in the slightest, but to her shock, they all suddenly fell into stunned silence and turned to stare at her with wide eyes. It was Lucy’s turn for her face to take on a pink hue. “Erm, uh, thanks!” she squeaked before literally jumping out of the train booth to skitter down towards the restroom as fast as her feet could take her.

That was so awkward! She thought in mortification as she darted into the bathroom and all but slammed the door behind her. She hadn’t meant to cause a scene; she had only been teasing, after all… Or had she? She walked over to the sink, and her melancholy expression betrayed the truth in her heart. On some level, it did bother her. She envied Juvia and Lyon, having someone that you were so desperately in love with that you were willing to declare it openly and fight for their affections. Lucy wasn’t sure what love was. How would she ever know it if she ever felt it? Then, there was something about Gray’s response to Lyon’s outrageous proposals that just… unsettled her. He was so fervent about protecting Juvia. Why did she have the quiet, selfish wish that she was in her place…?

“Ugh! You’re losing it, Lucy!” She whipped the knob on the sink, and cold water gushed forth from the faucet. She cupped some of the crystalline, clear liquid and splashed it onto her face, one, two, three times for good measure. Her cheeks stung with the brisk cold of the water, but it helped to cool the confusing fire in her mind. She was just tired from all their bickering; there was no way that she was really feeling absurd things like that…

“Lucy?” Gray’s voice drifted through the door alongside a pair of light knocks. She hastily turned off the water and used the soft towel hanging by the mirror to quickly dry her face, then hurried to the door and opened it lest he think something was actually off. She prepared her best smile.

“Yeah?” He looked taken aback at her apparent cheerfulness, and stood there for a second to prepare a response. That pink shade returned to his face, a barely detectable hint of rose, and cast his gaze away while rubbing the back of his neck.

“Uh, I’m… Sorry about all that craziness in there. That got out of hand. You know we… I wouldn’t just ignore you like that. You’re a valuable member of the team and guild too.” Lucy expected to feel the hot flush of guilt since her little prank had resulted in such remorse from him, but to her shame, she felt the cool trickle of relief flooding her system instead. Lucy smiled softly, genuinely, and reached out to gently place a hand on his upper arm. As her hand curled around the thick muscle of his biceps, she suddenly was acutely aware of its shape and form, making her blush that her mind would even sail to such things considering the atmosphere.

“It’s okay, Gray,” she said quickly after reigning in her thoughts. “I really shouldn’t have said what I said. You three are just having fun.”

“No, Lucy,” he refused adamantly. Lucy blinked, surprised, then gasped as his hand suddenly flew to the back of her head to pull it forward such that their foreheads were touching. He was smirking confidently at her, a complete contrast to her bewildered, wide-eyed, blushing gape. “I’ll promise you here and now. You aren’t gonna feel left behind anymore on this mission.” The cool, icy fires of his irises blazed into her comparably muted brown ones, dimming as the emotion welled up inside of her. She had been so insistently trying to bury those feelings so as not to upset him, but Gray had so effortlessly seen through her façade. Her face scrunched up as she felt tears actually welling up in her eyes, so moved by his concern for her. She managed to keep them in, though, and managed a quiet yet heartfelt, “Thanks, Gray.”

~~~~~~~~~~

The gravel of the mountain path crunched under Lucy’s feet as she carefully traversed the terrain. The mountain pass wasn’t altogether terrible, especially since the winter snows had melted fully and left the low-lying area blanketed in rich tall grasses and aromatic wildflowers blooming in pastels, but the incline was still steep and with the numerous pebbles still slicked with cold water lining the natural walkway, she had to take care not to slip. She had already busted her tail at the base of the path and given Gray a great shot up her skirt (and of course Juvia had been none too happy about that), and was not eager to repeat the event. She kept glancing down as she followed the other wizards up through the mountains. When she looked up, every so often she would find that Gray had trailed behind a little and was watching her, as if he were trying to be prepared if she fell again. The thought brought a hazy hue to her cheeks that mirrored the pink bell-shaped wildflowers growing amongst the grassy rubble.

In order to track down their mountain bandits, the team had decided to pose as merchants braving the pass. They had acquired knapsacks and wares from the hiring fabric seller who had been attacked by them. The packs were purely for aesthetic purposes and were filled with very cheap cloths. One wouldn’t think that light fabric would be heavy, but apparently enough of it could weigh a considerable amount; Lucy kept having to adjust her pack as it dug deeply into her back to leave sore, red imprints into her skin, and the blistering heat generated by the friction of the heavy fabric rubbing against her clothes left her pouring with sweat. She didn’t want to seem weak, though; no one else seemed to be having problems carrying the fake wares, and so she decided to keep quiet about it. Suffer through it. It builds character.

“Lucy?” Once again, Gray’s gentle yet adamant calling of her name surprised her. She stopped in her tracks to look at him. He had decided meandering at a distance was no longer preferable, and had migrated right to her side. “You look tired. Do you need me to carry that for you for a while?”

“No, no, no, of course not!” she refused vehemently while waving her arms about. The rapid motions combined with her unsteady posture on the inclined pathway caused her to stumble a bit. Before she could even think of catching herself, Gray’s hand snapped out to grab her elbow and steady her. She flushed, mumbling a gratuitous remark and sweeping a bit of her sweat-slicked blonde hair that had fallen from her pigtails from her face. “I’m fine, really! This pack is nothing!” He looked like he was about to say something, but Juvia interrupted whatever thought he was having by jumping over to latch onto his arm.

“Ah, Gray, Juvia is so tired~ Please carry my bag for me!” Gray’s face scrunched up in annoyance and he opened his mouth to object. His refusal was drowned out by Lyon’s canary-like trilling.

“Juvia, my dear! I’ll carry your pack for you!”

“Juvia didn’t ask you!” There they go again, Lucy thought with a lop-sided smirk. Juvia and Lyon began bickering back and forth, but shockingly, Gray did not come to the water mage’s rescue; instead, he turned to Lucy with an oddly serious expression.

“Really, Lucy, are you all right? I don’t want you to be tired if we have to fight for real.” Lucy’s eyebrows knitted themselves together on her forehead. Surely the situation with the mountain bandits wasn’t that big of a deal… right? Then again, the mission had necessitated four mages, some of the most powerful mages around, at that. The fabric seller they had met with had some pretty nasty wounds, too, nearly covered head-to-toe in bandages… And from what she had spied in his little shop, his accompanying merchants hadn’t fared well either. After looking at the facts, Lucy was inclined to abandon her pride and rest for a moment.

“Gray, suddenly… I have a bad feeling about this mission.”

“Don’t worry, Lucy. I’m here with you, aren’t I?”

No sooner than those words left his mouth did a confident guffaw echo through the small mountain valley.

“Greetings, travelers! You look so weary with those heavy packs… Why don’t we take those off your hands for you?” The four wizards instinctively fell into a back-to-back diamond formation at the appearance of their enemy. Lucy swallowed nervously at the unsettling realization that her uneasiness had not been ill-founded.

They were surrounded.

The man who had spoken and was apparently the leader of the bandits was perched on a ledge about ten feet up the mountainside. His troop of thieves were spread out in a circle around them, either standing on some jutting outcropping in the rock or blocking their exit on either side- about twenty in all, enough to make a small guild. Lucy’s eyes narrowed as she fingered the keys hanging in the loop of her skirt, waiting for someone to move.

Gray did first.

“Ice Make, bow!” He shouted as he threw off the pack (and his clothes) and formed the signature incantation of his fist against his palm. Icy magic swirled in his hands before rapidly crystallizing into a sturdy longbow. Gray drew back the jagged arrow notched into the icy bow, his arm muscles flexing with the strain of drawing it back over his shoulder, before he released the projectile at the leading bandit. Lucy barely had enough time to trace the movements with her eyes, and thought for sure that the man wouldn’t have time to move, but Gray’s ice arrow embedded itself into the solid mountain rock rather than his body. It wasn’t just any rock, either; it had seemingly grown up out of the ledge, a towering flat-topped spire that had boosted him up another five feet.

“He’s a mage! He must use Earth magic!” Lucy cried as she whipped one of her keys off the keyring and similarly discarded her useless pack. “Open, Gate of the Lion- Leo!” He was always her go-to in a sticky situation. Magic power manifested around the end of the key before pouring out in beams of light around her, and her Celestial Spirit Leo stepped through the cosmic gate to stand in front of her with the same cocky smirk he always wore. He pushed his sunglasses up his face, golden-orange eyes flickering around to size up what competition Lucy was up against this time.

“Lovely to see you again, Lucy. Is that a new outfit?” he purred, turning to her with a lascivious grin.

“There’s no time for flirting! Would you get serious?” she scolded him by whacking him over the head. He pouted at her while rubbing the now sore spot in his scalp, then grinned wickedly.

“That’s what I love about you, Lucy, you’re so strong and independent~!” he crooned before whipping around, golden light blooming at each of his curled fists. “I’ll show these losers that it was a mistake messing with my master!” he snarled before diving into the nearest pack of bandits. Gray was shooting arrow after arrow at the earth mage, who was avoiding them embarrassingly easily by hopping from rocky ledge after rocky ledge that he was pulling out of the mountain to serve as his footholds. He wasn’t the only mage in the group, either; Lyon was contending with a pair of them to her right while Juvia was dealing with another pack of them behind her. Though they had numbers, the most of them fell within the first ten minutes of fighting and littered the path as unconscious bodies.

Lucy glanced over her shoulder as she felt someone plop against her back. Juvia had retreated to fight back-to-back with her, and was panting heavily with a flushed face. She must be fighting a tough opponent! The aforementioned foe stood across the path amongst his fallen brethren, barely fazed.

“Leo! Come back over here; I need you!” Lucy ordered her celestial companion as she shoved Juvia behind her to face her new opponent. Leo did as bid, dropping the man he had been holding up by the collar of his shirt and debating pummeling further to spring in front of her, looking as sophisticated but oddly suavely bloodthirsty as ever. His hands hummed with the light energy as he balled up his fists and gestured with a nod of his head for the other wizard to come at him.

“Be careful! He’s very strong!” Juvia sighed wearily as she slumped against Lucy’s back. Lucy couldn’t do any physical fighting herself, so she did what she did best- serve as a pillar of support for her friends that could. She braced herself so that Juvia did not fall, but could lean against her and lay her face down into her shoulder.

“Don’t worry, Juvia! Just rest a minute. Leo and I will have this taken care of in no time!”

“You said it!” Leo grinned cheekily and sprang at the mage. Their foe was apparently one who could use dust rather than earth itself, and it very soon became apparent why Juvia had been having such a difficult time battling him; he could turn his entire body into a cloud of dust so that Leo’s swings had no effect, and would rematerialize right behind him to deliver savage counterattacks. Lucy winced as he took a particularly hard kick to the back, sending him flying back across the mountain path to land a crumpled heap at his summoner’s feet. Lucy kneeled down to place a palm on his back while he attempted to struggle back to his feet. “Lucy… I can… Fight a little longer…” He suddenly began coughing and thick red blood splattered across the rough stone.

“No, Leo, you’ve done enough! Go home now!” she ordered. Leo grumbled something about ‘I’ll get that bastard next time’ before dissolving into bubbles of ephemeral light, retreating to the Celestial Realm. Lucy straightened back up to glare at the man who had given her trusted partner such a beating. “You’ll pay for that!”

“How so, Celestial Mage? You can’t fight on your own and your spirits are no match for me!”

“Tough luck, pal! I’ve figured out your weakness!” she huffed before taking another key from her belt. Instead of beginning the incantation, she reached sideways to plunge it into Juvia’s body, which naturally reacted by melting into cold water. “Open, Gate of the Water-Bearer: Aquarius!”

“Good idea, Lucy! We’ll overwhelm him with so much water that he won’t be able to turn to dust!” Juvia beamed confidently and morphed her body fully into water so that Lucy could summon Aquarius. Light spilled through her amorphous body from the key, streaming with the flow of the current before exploding into majestic force. Aquarius jumped through her watery form before landing on the mountain path behind Lucy, and then proceeded to smack Lucy on the back of her head.

“What have I told you about summoning me in this girl’s body- and what is this place? Are we in the mountains?” she screeched angrily. Lucy whipped around with a deranged scowl, hands-on-hips and teeth grinding.

“Do you have to be such a bitch every time I summon you?! You know I only do it when I’m in big trouble!” Aquarius jumped forward to slam her forehead into Lucy’s, but she had too much pride to let the blow knock her backwards.

“You’d better watch your mouth! I’m this close to leaving you to drown here!” the spirit yelled back, pinching her fingers nearly together for emphasis.

“Look out!” Juvia’s scream made Lucy whip around, just in time for the dust mage to shift into form right in front of her with a sharp dagger poised to slit her throat. Lucy’s eyes went wide, reflecting the glint of the sunlight across the metallic surface that was plunging towards her jugular. Rather than the cold bite of the steel blade, she felt the breath get knocked of her as Aquarius grabbed her around the belly and yanked her backwards. Juvia, who had comparably less fear of being decapitated, merely turned her neck and head into water and his arm splashed harmlessly through it. Aquarius set Lucy down and narrowed her eyes at the mage, seemingly having calmed down now that she released what a formidable foe she was up against. Lucy scrambled up to her feet.

“Juvia! My hand!” she cried and outstretched her arm. Juvia, in full water form as the dust mage in vain attempted to slice through her amorphous body, arced through the air in a sparkling stream before solidifying beside her and taking her hand. “Okay, Aquarius, Juvia- let’s give him all we’ve got!” Lucy summoned up all the magic power she could muster in her body to help boost Aquarius’ water attack that she was gathering in her magic vase, and she felt the whirlpool of frothing water swirling around her as Juvia summoned up her signature vortex move. Just before Juvia released it, Aquarius flung her swirling water into the fray, drastically ramping up the force of the maelstrom.

“Take this- Unison Raid!” the two Fairy Tail mages shouted together as the waterspout burst forth, with the two of them safe in the eye of the storm. The enemy mage blanched and attempted to dissolve into dust and disperse himself, but the sheer volume and speed of the water snatched up all the particles before they even formed a cohesive cloud. The whirlpool slammed into the mountainside and actually drove a deep, circular score into its surface several feet deep; when the water finally lost its momentum and splashed to the ground to be absorbed by the thick, loamy soil, the mage was left slumped over and unconscious in the indentation. Lucy and Juvia beamed and clasped their hands together as they did an elated victory dance.

“We did it! Thank you, Aquarius!”

“Hmph. Just don’t summon me to such a dump next time,” she sniffed while tossing her hair, but gave her a playful smirk before retreating back through the portal. Lucy turned to smile brightly at Juvia.

“We do make a pretty good team, love-rival,” the blue-haired woman joked with a soft grin. Before Lucy could rebuke her for the not-so-tasteful jibe, she exhaled deeply and slumped down to her knees.

“Juvia!”

“I’m okay… I just used too much magic power…”

“Hey, girls, what a move!” Lucy looked up from where she was crouched in front of Juvia to see Gray and Lyon walking back up the path. In the near distance she could see ice formations shimmering in the sunlight intermingled with hard, stony structures, evidence of a hard-fought battle. Lucy stood up to trot over to them, and without thinking, assessed Gray for injuries. He was dotted with a few scraped and bruises, as well as a bleeding laceration on his biceps. Lucy dug into the nearest pack and procured a strip of cloth.

“Here, let me bandage that for you!”

“Oh, what? Erm, thanks,” he blushed as Lucy, without waiting for permission, pushed his arm up so she could wind the bandage around the thick muscle of his arm. Even relaxed, it was so thick that she nearly couldn’t tie the bandage off for running out of fabric, but she managed to secure it with a small knot. She grimaced as a faint stain of red blossomed in the blue fabric, dying it purple, but thankfully it only marked the length of the laceration and didn’t spread much further, indicating that pressure had been applied correctly. Once she was finished, she glanced up to his face to see him looking away uncomfortably with that same blush painting his cheeks.

Thankfully Lyon was too busy doting on Juvia to notice and make fun of him for it.

“Juvia, my love! Are you tired? I will carry you down the mountain so we can find you a doctor!” Juvia reacted by pushing his very close face away, making him fall on his rump in a very uncool move.

“No! Only my darling Gray can carry me!”

“What happened to the earth mage?” Lucy asked Gray with a bemused smile. If they had enough energy to get back to their antics, they were all right.

“He ran off down the mountain path. He gave Lyon and I a pretty rough time of it, even with the both of us, but we managed to wound him pretty badly. I’m sure there’s a blood trail we can track him down with. He won’t be able to contend with all four of us,” he smirked. He went to slide his hands into his pockets, realized he was wearing nothing but boxers, and grimaced. “Goddammit, where are my clothes?”

“Hehehe, they’re right here,” Lucy laughed and pranced over to where his cloak and pants lie discarded, amazingly untouched considering all the battling that had been going on. As she leaned over to pick them up and her fingers dug into the soft cloth to grab ahold of them, she heard that same callous laugh, only weaker yet more deranged than before. Her head snapped up to see the earth mage standing at the point where the path curved downwards, bleeding heavily from a fist-sized hole in his abdomen and primed to deliver what looked like a devastating move… right at Juvia, who was still collapsed from exhaustion.

“You two thought you had gotten the best of me, huh? Too bad! I’m ending all of your pathetic lives right here, starting with one of these bitches!” Two gigantic earthen serpents blasted out of the rock formations on either side of him and rocketed towards the startled Juvia, who was too weak to even turn herself to water and just attempted to scramble away on her hands and knees, but collapsed onto her belly with a distressed cry. Lyon jumped up to her defense, forming a giant icy bear that roared in anger and lumbered around in front of them, maw open and ready to tear into the earthy snakes’ throats. Gray, sprinting across the path with his ice magic churning in his hands, ran up to touch the bear’s solid side and apply a suit of icy armor to its stocky body for extra protection. The bear reared up on its hind legs, making the ground rumble with each step, and looked like it would provide plenty of protection for Lucy’s comrades.

The earth mage snapped his finger and the snakes instantaneously changed direction, arcing backwards in loop-de-loops to slither rapidly in Lucy’s direction.

“Lucy!” Gray screamed so loudly that his voice cracked, sliding in the pebbly pathway to try and get to her, but there was no time. Lucy didn’t even have time to summon up a defensive spirit like Aries before the snakes both crashed into her at once. Her agonized scream was lost amongst the crumbling and rumbling of the earth as she was crushed against the mountainside, the shockwave rippling across the two earthen snakes to obliterate them into pebbles. Lucy lay suspended in the crater the blow had made for a moment before her battered body twitched, causing her to fall down flat on her face against the path. She couldn’t even appreciate the soft grass that cushioned her fall because the slightest of movements made her nerves blaze with excruciating pain, like her blood had been replaced with burning lava. It felt like every bone in her body had been ground to dust, and the way her body was vibrating with the aftershock didn’t help matters. Somehow, a low, whimpering groan slipped from her lips, but she couldn’t hear it for the thunderous ringing in her ears.

Yet she heard Gray calling for her.

“Lucy! Lucy, can you hear me? Hey, say you’re all right, please!” He had appeared at her side like he had teleported there, rolling her over onto her back. The action made Lucy shriek and writhe about in agony, tearing up the grass with the intense thrashes of her body.

“It hurts! It hurts!” she sobbed pathetically. Lucy hated to be thought weak in front of her guild mates, but dear God, her body hurt so bad that she didn’t care. Gray’s hands fluttered over her body, not touching her for fear of hurting her further but acting like he wanted to caress her and soothe her. Lyon had Juvia slumped over his shoulder; the situation was now too dire for her to complain, apparently. Lucy could see them staring down at her with deep concern through the tears blurring her vision. Despite the pain still radiating through her, she suddenly felt the desperate need to touch Gray, and so she forced the muscles in her arm to contract enough for her to grab his hand. She hadn’t the strength to squeeze it, but feeling his big, warm hand envelop hers sent a soothing flood of calm spreading up her arm into her body, somehow chasing the pain away somewhat. “Nnh…” she mumbled incoherently as her eyes fluttered with the sudden onset of drowsiness.

“Well, well, well. To be honest, I’m shocked she survived that. I’ve taken down full-grown men with that move,” the earth mage tutted from where he was still bleeding out at the end of the mountain path. At the sound of his smug voice, Gray’s face contorted into the demonic visage of pure rage. Lucy whimpered lightly as his hand squeezed hers very tightly for a second before he jerked up and whipped around. Ill intent was practically pouring off him in visible foggy waves.

“I’m going to kill you.”

“Give it your best shot, you rotten bastard.”

“Lyon! Juvia!” Gray barked as he walked out into the middle of the path, far enough away from Lucy so that she wouldn’t get caught in the onslaught. The mage, thoroughly weakened by his earlier flashy move, could only muster sending a wave of earthen spikes at Gray, who created a large ice sword and sliced through them like butter. This gave Lyon enough time to bring Juvia to his side, and the two ice mages supported her between them. “Juvia, can you manage another Unison Raid?”

“Anything to avenge Lucy!” Juvia asserted with a determined frown and a sure nod. Lucy found herself smiling weakly. She had half-expected her to say, “Anything for my darling Gray!” The earth mage was angry now and was just carelessly flinging earth boulders at the three mages, but between Lyon and Gray’s ice attacks, they might as well have been pebbles with how easily they reduced them to such. Once Juvia had charged up her magic power, with the swirling maelstrom around them, the earth mage realized he had lost and tried to run. Lyon and Gray plunged their hands into the swirling water to freeze it into sharp crystalline forms, Gray’s inorganic magic producing hundreds of pointed daggers while Lyon- probably trying to show off for Juvia- sent a deluge of stampeding horses into the watery whirlwind.

“Unison Raid!” Lucy could just barely hear the earth mage’s deranged, tormented screams over the torrential deluge of water that blasted into him and sent him careening down the sharp inclined path. There was the distance sound of his crash into the ground followed by a low rumble. Lucy had watched the entire thing as it played in her vision upside-down as she was still lying on her back, but even with the inverted image, their teamwork had been impressive. Suddenly, bitter tears flooded her eyes.

So impressive… They hadn’t needed me at all… Gray makes a much better team with them than he does with me… The last thought surprised her so much she gasped aloud. Where had such a premise come from? She had no clue. The tromping of boots against gravel pulled her out of her insane thoughts. She could see Gray’s legs approaching in her field of vision, but not Lyon or Juvia’s.

“Where…?” she mumbled. His full form appeared overhead as he crouched over her, leaned over opposite of her.

“I sent Lyon and Juvia down there to see if the problem is taken care of for sure. Lyon’s still in pretty good shape, so he’ll take care of Juvia.” He wanted to take care of me… Alone…

“Gray… Do you think… You and Juvia will convince Lyon to join Fairy Tail?” the question came out of her mouth largely without her willing, but once it did, she knew there was no taking it back and decided to wait for the answer with bated breath. He stared down at her incredulously.

“What? What the hell kind of question is that, Lucy?” She puffed out her cheeks and averted her gaze.

“Well… You three make such a good team… I really… Don’t have any place in it after all,” she whispered. She had thought such feelings had been absolved on the train, but that hadn’t been the case at all. They had lingered inside of her like some poisonous wound which had now infected her entire body and prevented her from thinking of anything else. As the silence settled between them, she became increasingly desperate for an answer until she forced herself to look back at him, finding him looking at her in a mixture of amusement and pity.

“You dumbass. I wouldn’t form a permanent team with that asshole in a thousand years,” he laughed breathily. He shifted around so that he was sitting on his knees at her side, and then very hesitantly reached down to slip his arms underneath her, one supporting her neck while the other pulled her body into him. Lucy didn’t hurt quite as much now but her body was still incredibly sore, and so she flinched at the movements despite their overwhelming softness. He settled her into his lap. Lucy wasn’t entirely sure why he had done so in the first place, and so a smoldering fire graced her cheeks as she continued to look anxiously up at him. “Why do you think you don’t belong, Lucy?” he asked quietly.

“I…” The words faltered in her throat. She didn’t want to admit it aloud. I’m jealous… came the finishing thought, and her bottom lip wobbled as she realized how stupidly pathetic that was. I’m jealous and afraid. “I don’t… want to… lose you,” she answered very carefully. She dropped her gaze because she was again unable to look at him. Gray was pretty dense and she didn’t know if he would realize the connotation that Lucy was putting behind those words, but she didn’t want to have to admit it aloud. Lucy loved him, and she was terrified that he didn’t love her, and that she would be left behind once he realized it. She wasn’t going to look at him, but his hand cupper her cheek and forced her to do so. He still had that expression of mixed pity and laughter, but there was an undeniable warmth burning in the dark of his eyes that sent Lucy’s heart to thumping in her chest.

“You won’t, Lucy. I’m right here with you.” Tears flooded Lucy’s eyes. He meant so much more than he could express with those words, and she knew it. She choked out his name, overcome with emotion, but he just shushed her and swept his hand over her bruised, scraped face, carrying away her mangled strands of blonde hair. He leaned down to gently kiss the large, dark bruise on her forehead, then the forming bags beneath her tired eyes, then the thin scratch across her cheek. Finally, he softly settled on her busted lip. Lucy’s eyes fluttered closed so she could savor the feeling of his mouth pressing against hers. It was tender and intimate, but still so much emotion passed between them that it stole Lucy’s breath away nonetheless. He pulled back after a moment, but only just so, and as he spoke, he whispered the words against her lips, “Always.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

“Wahhhhhhh! Juvia has lost!” came the upsetting wail that jerked every muscle in both Gray and Lucy’s bodies. Their faces flew apart to look down the path at the origin of the cry to see Juvia slumped down to her knees sobbing pathetically while Lyon attempted to console her. He wasn’t even really flirting, but Juvia perceived it as such and wildly shook her head back and forth as she suffered through her heartbreak. “Juvia can’t believe it! Lucy really was a love-rival and now Gray’s heart belongs to herrrrrrr!”

“She’s taking this better than I thought she would. I half-expected her to try and murder the both of us,” Gray laughed under his breath. Lucy gave him a wan smile before turning her attention to her distraught friend.

“I’m sorry, Juvia. I didn’t really intend for it to turn out this way…”

“Do not apologize!” she screeched suddenly and looked up from burying her teary face into her hands to point at Lucy, which made her stiffen. “Juvia admits defeat! I lost fair and square, but Lucy has to promise that she will cherish Gray forever and ever! Because if you don’t, Juvia will steal him away from you!” Though it sounded mildly threatening, Lucy knew that Juvia was trying to be encouraging of the relationship and root for Lucy in her own weird way. Lucy giggled and reached up to wrap her arms around Gray’s neck and lean up to peck him on the cheek.

“Of course! I’ll be right there with him, always.”  

Enjoy this oneshot? Feel free to peruse my Table of Contents!

#fairy tail #graylu #grayxlucy #lucyxgray #lucy heartfilia #gray fullbuster #lyon vastia #juvia lockser #juvia and lucy solidarity #healthy love rivals #romance #fluff #drama #cutesy #oneshot #oneshot collection #oneshots #fanfic #fanfiction #fanfics

[moretreasurewithinarchive]

The Valley of the Roses

This was a fairy tale I wrote 4 years ago, while part of a Narnia rp group. It was a writing prompt based on this picture.

The picture is by AquaSixio on Deviant Art, and can be found here. The original prompt can be found here. And my original story can be found here. The one below the cut is edited for clarity and hopefully better grammar.

Once upon a time, in a quaint and provincial little town at the base of a tall and treacherous mountain, there lived a young man. This young man was a knight who served his kingdom with bravery and wisdom. He was very much a favorite of the good king and queen, who always took his guidance to heart. This valiant young knight seemed to have the world at his feet. Yet, his heart was heavy and full of melancholy.

For it was while he was away, defending his kingdom from a wicked neighboring land, he received an urgent message that he must return home with haste. Upon arriving back, he found the girl he loved more than his own life had fallen very ill. Determined to do whatever it took to save her, the knight sought out the help of all the best doctors and magic workers in the kingdom. When they failed to heal the girl, he traveled the realm over hoping to find someone who could take the sickness away. None had been able to succeed, and he fell into despair. Every night, he would sit by her bedside with her hand clasped in his. And every night he would promise that all would be well; that he’d heard of yet another doctor or wizard who could work the miracle they so desperately needed. But the girl grew worse with every passing day. Both she and her knight knew that she was dying, but still he refused to give up his search for a cure.

Several months later, the king and queen noticed that their once lighthearted and vibrant friend had changed. No longer did he linger at the palace to talk. No longer did his stories fill the halls with laughter and awe. “We must find the cause for this change, and remedy it at once.” The king and queen decided, and called the knight to them.

Standing in the throne room before them, the knight’s head and shoulders hung heavy with their awful burden. Seeing for themselves the grave turn he’d taken, the king and queen implored him, “Please, o friend, won’t thou tell us the cause of thy suffering so that we may set it right again?”

By this time, however, even the knight was beginning to lose hope that he would ever be able to make his beloved well again. Yet, he was still a noble and good man; with no desire to trouble the king and queen with his woes. It was for this reason he’d never told them before. However, after much pressing and promises that they would do whatever it took to make the problem right, the knight broke down. The trust and loyalty he had so long shown the king and queen, they now gave back to him in abundance.

Tears pouring from his eyes, he confided at last in the king and queen. “The girl I love more than anything is very ill, majesties. I have searched so very long for a cure for her. I’ve brought all the best doctors and magicians in the realm to her, but none can ease her agony. Every day she grows worse and worse, and I fear she will soon die without a cure.”

Moved by his plight, and feeling their own hearts fill with sadness, the good king and queen at last understood. For they knew the girl well, and loved her as dearly as the knight himself. Stunned that he had not come to them sooner, the king and queen told him they might know what would save her life. Renewed by the discovery, the knight pleaded desperately for what they knew. “All know our kingdom is placed at the foot of the mountain,” They told him. “It is said that on the other side of the mountain, there is a valley of great magic, where sky and earth seem separated not. Where the stars shine so bright and so close, that if one were to reach out, they could pluck one right from the heavens. In this marvelous valley, it is said that for every person born in the realm, there grows a rose. The roses are said to be magic and kept safe under domes of sparkling diamond and the clearest glass. To heal her, thou must scale the mountain and go to the valley. Find her rose and remove the dome. Pluck out that which is sick and return with the healthy petals that grow in its place, and if she eats them, she will be saved.”

Hope filling his soul once more, the knight thanked the king and queen and ran out right away to prepare for the journey. He gathered his armor, sword, and shield, for the mountain was fraught with dangers beyond the wildest dreams. Stopping only to tell the girl he would return soon with a cure, he set off on his journey. When passing the castle, the king and queen met him at the gate with a small pouch. “It will help thee on thy way.” They told him. Wishing the knight luck, the king and queen watched him race toward the mountain.

As he reached the base, the knight looked up. How very tall it seemed now! How could he ever reach the top to get to the valley? But he knew he had to try. If he failed, the girl would die, and that was a fate he could not face. Tying the little pouch to the belt on which his sword hung at his waist, the knight began to climb. Slowly and carefully, he made his way up and up toward the top of the mountain. By the time he climbed a quarter of the way up, night had fallen, and knight knew he had to stop until dawn. Thankfully, the ground had leveled some, and he was able to search for a shelter for the night. Moments later, the knight found a cave and was able to build himself a fire.

Just as the knight grew weary and felt his eyes begin to close, a voice called out in anger, “Who is this that invades my cave?” Jumping to his feet with his hand upon his sword, the knight looked around. Much to his surprise, a gnarled little gnome appeared.

“Forgive me, little Gnome.” The knight implored, “I am on my way to the valley of the roses on the other side of the mountain to bring a cure to my beloved, and needed only to rest for the night.”

The gnome was hardly moved by his plea, and the greedy creature began to imagine the sumptuous feast the knight would make; for none who dared enter his cave made it out alive. “Thou have done well to make it thus far, o Knight. But unless thou carries with thee something more valuable than thy own meat, thou shall never see the valley of the roses.”

Knowing that he had nothing with which to offer the gnome, the knight was ready to fight the creature. But then he remembered the pouch. Opening it, the knight found right on the top a piece of meat with a note. ‘This meat has been enchanted by the court wizard so that it will never diminish in its bounty. Use it well.’ Pulling the morsel out, the knight offered it to the gnome. The glutinous creature took the meal and began to eat. Even after several minutes, when he did not run out of meat, the gnome was content and slunk back to his hole in the cavern wall. With the monster at bay, the knight was able to sleep, and he woke as the dawn rose for the next part of his journey.

Up and up the mountain the knight climbed, ever so carefully and slowly. By midday, he found himself half way up the mountain. Allowing himself a moment to rest against a boulder, the knight found himself quite famished. Knowing he had to find food to keep his strength up, he soon found a hallow tree that was full of honey. Helping himself to a few bites, the knight soon felt full. Yet, the moment he stepped away from the tree, a fierce growl rent the air as the earth thundered and quaked. Before the knight was able to run or draw his sword, he found himself facing a terrible black bear; the largest and meanest bear he’d ever set eyes on. “Who is this that steals my gold?” The bear demanded.

“Forgive me, great Bear,” The knight implored. “I am on my way to the valley of the roses on the other side of the mountain to bring a cure to my beloved, and needed only a morsel to satisfy my hunger.”

The bear was hardly moved by his plea, and the greedy creature began to think of his precious golden honey and imagine how long it would take it replace that which the knight had eaten; for none who dared help themselves to his honey made it out alive. “Thou have done well to make it thus far, o Knight. But unless thou carries with thee something more valuable than that gold thou have robbed me of, thou shall never see the valley of the roses.”

Knowing that he had nothing with which to offer the bear, he turned again to his pouch. Opening it, the knight found right on top a plate of ambrosia and a note. ‘This ambrosia came to our kingdom with a merchant from a far off land. It is said that none who catch it’s scent can deny themselves a sample. Use it well.’ Pulling the plate out, and holding his breath, the knight offered it to the bear. The greedy creature took a single sniff, and the moment the smell hit his nose, the bear began to scarf it down. With the monster at bay, the knight was able to slip away unnoticed and catch a moment’s rest for the next part of his journey.

Up and up the mountain the knight climbed, ever so carefully and slowly. By sunset, he found himself three quarters of the way up the mountain. Wiping the sweat from his brow, the knight took notice of how parched he was. Knowing he had to find water lest he faint, he soon found a small river with the clearest running water he’d ever beheld. Cupping his hands, the knight took a sip or two and soon felt his thirst quenched. Yet, the moment he rose, a terrible hissing and splashing rent the air as the river seemed to race with rage. Before the knight could act, he found himself facing an ugly and awful crocodile; the longest and strongest he’d ever set eyes on. “Who is this that drinks of my river?” The crocodile demanded.

“Forgive me, mighty Crocodile,” The Knight implored. “I am on my way to the valley of the roses on the other side of the mountain to bring a cure to my beloved, and needed only a small bit to quench my thirst.”

The crocodile was hardly moved by his plea, and the greedy creature began to lament how there was now even less of the water for himself; for none who dared drink of his river made it out alive. "Thou have done well to make it thus far, o Knight. But unless thou carries with thee something more valuable than my precious water, thou shall never see the valley of the roses.”

Knowing that he had nothing with which to offer the crocodile, he went to the pouch for the third time. Opening it, right on top the knight found a vial of nectar and a note. ‘This nectar is from the best of the castle gardens. Its roses are the sweetest smelling and make the most delicious juices. Use it well.’ Pulling the vial out, the knight offered it to the crocodile. Upon tasting the delectable sugars of the nectar, the crocodile sunk back to the depths of the river, never to be content with mere water again. With the monster at bay, the knight was able to cross the river and prepare for the next part of his journey.

Up and up the mountain the Knight climbed, ever so carefully and slowly. By dark, he found himself at last at the peak. Overjoyed to see the valley below, the knight began to race forward, paying no mind to where his feet did trod. Yet, the moment he reached the edge, a soft and melodious voice filled the air. “Who is this that runs so carelessly and destroys my garden?” The voice demanded.

Turning, the knight found himself face to face with a young woman; the most beautiful he’d ever set eyes on. “Forgive me, my lady,” The knight implored, “I am on my way to the valley of the roses just below to bring a cure to my beloved, and only needed to hurry.”

The lady was hardly moved by his plea, but she was the clever witch who ruled the mountain; the most wicked of all the monsters the knight had met. She had decided to trick the knight into staying with her forever; for none who fell under her spell made it out alive. Pretending at once to pity the knight, the witch invited him inside her house for a glorious feast.

"Thou have done well to make it thus far, o Knight. But thou can hardly press on without first staying the night with me. Unless thou carries with thee something more valuable than thy company and beauty, the valley of the roses shall wait.” She answered, giving him a charming smile that would surely make him forget his quest.

But the knight was true to his word and could not forget his beloved back home. “Thy offer is most kind, Lady.” He said, and turned to his pouch for the last time. “I pray thou will take this gift with my thanks.” Opening it, the Knight found right on top a hand mirror and a note. ‘This mirror was from the queen’s collection. It is enchanted to make the gazer see whatever they wish to see. Use it well.’ Pulling the mirror out, the knight offered it to the witch. Upon seeing her own reflection in the mirror, the witch was put under her own spell and never wanted to behold anything but her lovely face again. With monster at bay, the knight was finally able to descend the mountain and reach the valley of the roses.

When at last the knight reached the valley, he froze in awe. It was just as the king and queen had said. The sky, colored vibrantly with purples, blues, and pinks, seemed to know no bounds. The grass and clouds appeared to touch, and the stars were just a reach away. And as as far as the eye could see, roses lay scattered about under clear domes of glass and diamond. Without a moment to lose, the knight began to search for the rose that was bound to his beloved. Dome after dome he checked. Some roses were just buds not yet in bloom. Others had already begun to wilt. How could he ever find the right one?

After searching for many many hours, at last he knelt before a rose that looked quite odd. Pink and fresh as the rest of the roses in their prime it was, but it seemed to wilt and turn black with death. This had to be it! Before the dome, the knight lifted it, ready to cut away the diseased parts and save his dear girl from certain death. Lifting his sword, he took a deep breath. But then, something began to change. All the parts of the rose that were pink began to turn black with the air! Horrified, he reached out to stop it. The moment his fingers touched the flower, it turned to ash and crumbled. “No! No!” The knight yelled in agony. “My child, I have failed you.”

Knowing that he had not made it in time to save his daughter’s life, the knight laid himself down next to the pile of ash and the dome. Unable to bear the pain of losing his whole world, he never moved again.

#Outofjourneys {Ooc} #Just Took A Hand {Headcanons} #Wild Rose That's Waiting For Me {Sadhbh} #Great Powers {Diarmaid & Lasairíona} #Sweeps Down To The Sea {Réaltán & Newry} #The Dark Mournes {Mourne Mountains} #All That I Found There {Valley Of The Roses} #Working By Day & By Night {Gnome} #Diggin For Gold {Bear} #Rest Of The Force {Crocodile} #Lovely Complexion {Witch} #Wonderful Sight {Likes}

[homespork-review]

Homespork Act 2: The Racism of the Conductor’s Baton (Part 2)

FAILURE ARTIST: We don’t get much time to mourn with Dave because the comic flashes to a weird wizard statue. This statue is ZAZZERPAN THE LEARNED. Wizards are another recurring theme in Homestuck. Andrew Hussie once artfully defaced this cheesy book called Wizardology (warning: lots of really offensive humor). Anyway, Rose hates the giant statue and the other wizard paraphernalia her mother collects and believes her mother does this only to spite her. On a platform is a bronzed vacuum (with a place to put alcoholic beverages) that Rose gave her as an ironic present. On the couch there’s a life-sized princess doll that Rose has attached a Cthulhu-type head to. All these things set up Rose’s troubled relationship with her mother. Rose believes her mother is taunting her and Rose taunts her back.

BRIGHT: This scene also establishes that some things (the Cthulhu doll for one) are too big to be captchalogued.

CHEL: Actually, that was noted with the harlequin doll earlier but we forgot to mention that.

FAILURE ARTIST: Rose goes to the kitchen. On the fridge is a crude picture of her late cat Jaspers, who turns out to be more than a family pet. There’s more signs of this cold war between mother and daughter on the fridge.

CHEL: Also, numerous liquor bottles in the kitchen and comically exaggerated displays of wealth, such as a fifteen-thousand-dollar picture frame.

FAILURE ARTIST: After fussing with the fridge, Rose tries to leave the kitchen only to run into her mother. She tries escaping but lands comically in some wizard statuettes.

CHEL: Mom Lalonde is mopping the floor, with no water in the bucket, holding a martini in her other hand. The woman clearly has a problem. Again, this is an issue with the portrayal of the parents; this is pretty funny, but were a real mother behaving this way, it would seriously mess up the kid, and whether we’re supposed to take it as Rule of Funny or not later becomes inconsistent.

BRIGHT: I think a lot of the humour here is supposed to come from the implication that Mom Lalonde actually is a loving if clueless (and drunk) parent, and Rose is reading her badly. On the other hand, something is clearly very wrong, and while Mom Lalonde may indeed be loving the situation is definitely having an impact on Rose.

TIER: Say whatever you want, but when putting on the late game Cerebus Retcon goggles there are probably non-humorous questions to be asked about how screwy Mom Lalonde is as a parental unit if her daughter has ended up interpreting most of her actions as mocking or backhanded towards herself. Like, kids don't just decide that.

ARE YOU TRYING TO BE FUNNY?: 3

CHEL: Back to Dave, he’s chatting with GG and they’re being adorable. GG comments about her birthday present to John, the green box we saw in the car earlier, and…

GG: no!!!!!!! GG: he will not open it GG: he will lose it!!! TG: oh TG: uh TG: wow sorry to hear that i guess? GG: no its good actually! GG: because he will find it again later when he really needs it GG: which of course is why i sent it in the first place! TG: see like TG: i never get how you know these things GG: i dont know GG: i just know that i know!

I think here is when we start to get inklings of the kids’ unusual abilities - I mean, unusual in the context of the weird world they live in. A bit more is established about GG’s home life and Dave’s attitudes, too:

GG: i have to feed bec which is always a bit of an undertaking TG: man TG: if i were you i would just take that fucking devilbeast out behind the woodshed and blow its head off GG: heheheh! GG: i dont think i could if i tried!!! TG: yeah TG: say hi to your grand dad for me too ok GG: ._. GG: yes i guess an encounter with him is almost certain GG: it is usually........ GG: intense!!! TG: well yeah isnt it always with family TG: but he sounds like a total badass

“Intense” in a world where attacking your father with a hammer isn’t worthy of comment sounds worrying. We’ll see how that goes.

FAILURE ARTIST: Dave has the tiniest of smiles here and in Hussie’s annotation he says that one pixel created Dave/GG. Whether or not their connection is romantic, Dave obviously feels great affection for her.

CHEL: Interactions between all four of the kids are really sweet, honestly. Dialogue and character interactions are one of the strongest points of the comic overall. Personally I have a soft spot for the OT4.

TIER: In my unprofessional opinion, the beta humans are by far the most functioning and tight knit group of the various groups within the comic, for what that's worth considering the overall dysfunction junction. They're sweet to one another is what I'm saying.

CHEL: Dave talks to John, who mentions the creepy trails around his house and how he thinks he’s seen monsters, which we the audience have definitely seen; creepy little black imps with fangs and, oddly, jester outfits. They bear a striking resemblance to the Wayward Vagabond, in fact. Dave makes fun, but at least pretends not to disbelieve him, and urges him to keep his hammer at the ready. Dave can’t find his Bro, but can find “Lil Cal”, implying Bro is nearby.

TG: lil cal is the shit EB: that's fine, you are entitled to your opinion, i am just saying that being a white guy who is a rapper with a ventriloquist doll is not cool by any stretch of the imagination or by any definition of word cool, ironic or otherwise. that's all i'm saying. WHITE SBURB POSTMODERNISM: 5

Would a non-white rapping ventriloquist be any cooler? I’m struggling to see how. Ventriloquism, by definition, sucks the cool out of any other aspect of the thing. And now I’m picturing Carlton from Fresh Prince trying to rap with a ventriloquist’s doll.

BRIGHT: Back at the Lalonde residence, Rose attempts to ‘Youth Roll’ out of the front door, but her escape route is blocked by her mother, who appears with martini glass in hand. Time for our second Strife of the comic! (And can I say that I really like the music for this one?)

As with John’s strife with his dad, this strife tells us a lot about Rose’s relationship with her mother. John had the AGGRIEVE and ABJURE options; Rose also gets AGGRESS (PASSIVE) and ABSTAIN. It’s pretty telling that one of these options is an EMPTY SUICIDE THREAT, and ‘Abstain’ has Rose fending off her mother’s insistent offer of the martini glass.

FAILURE ARTIST: I liked the EMPTY SUICIDE THREAT at the time but now I think it deserves an ARE YOU TRYING TO BE FUNNY?

BRIGHT: Mom Lalonde may be intended as loving-but-clueless, but she’s offering her thirteen year old daughter alcohol, over Rose’s protests, and something is clearly very wrong if suicide threats are a normal part of life. (Something similar will come up in the future, but in that context it isn’t played for laughs.)

ARE YOU TRYING TO BE FUNNY?: 4

On a lighter note, ‘Abjure’ has her mother offering her A BEAUTIFUL PONY. Rose reacts in the moment like this is terrible, but does later pat the pony’s nose.

At any rate, the strife ends when Mom Lalonde apparently gets bored and decides to do some dusting. This takes all the fun out of using the front door, so Rose goes around the back to make her break for the generator.

Meanwhile, John is trying to read up on weaponizing sylladexes (sylladices?), but is being nagged by a voice to turn around — which he finally does, just in time for a monster to ram into him so hard it turns the panel pixelated. Strife time!

John’s bout with the Shale Imp kicks off with the monster threatening the Con Air bunny. John’s efforts to defend it are intercut with Rose’s progress out of the house and through the rain to the mausoleum. I think this interplay works quite nicely — it keeps both things moving without letting the reader get impatient -- but your mileage may vary.

The imp aggravates John by punching the bunny in the belly and waving it at him. John attacks the imp and breaks his hammer, then attacks it with the handle and gets knocked flat. Finally he weaponises his sylladex and chucks his inventory at it until it explodes into a shower of grist.

PUT THE BUNNY BACK IN THE BOX!!!!!! Now why couldn’t he put the bunny back in the box?

Because he’d set it as his strifekind, it turns out.

In true video game style, defeating the imp causes John to level up! In Homestuck, this is done by ascending one’s echeladder, a series of player levels with whimsical, old-fashioned names. John climbs two rungs, from Greentike to Plucky Tot, and earns 125 Boondollars.

Note how efficient this is: In one panel we can see that the echeladder is a levelling system, that Boondollars are in-Game currency, and that levelling up has increased John’s amount of grist and how much of it he can carry. He’s also got a new kind of grist called ‘Shale’. Hussie does take an extra panel to clarify the grist capacity expansion, but that makes sense as it’s a small part of the original panel. Compare this to the dozens of panels we’ve had laying out how sylladexes work. These panels are much more information-dense, and the comic flows better for it.

CHEL: Exactly what “grist” is and what it does beyond allowing changes to the house, why those changes are needed, and what “boondollars” are for hasn’t been explained yet, but will be soon, and it’s clear they’re something to do with the game so it’s not outright confusing.

BRIGHT: John spends the next few panels sorting his strife specibus out, and stashes the bunny in there for safekeeping. There’s something amiss, but he can’t quite put his finger on it...

Meanwhile, Rose has reached the mausoleum and prepares to activate the generator. The taxidermied corpse of her beloved pet lies in state, dressed in a tiny suit. A sad fate for an animal who should have peacefully decomposed in a flowerbed. Rose kicks it off the pedestal to make room for the laptop.

John discovers what’s wrong when a bucket of water perched atop his door lands on his head. The culprit behind this sudden dousing?

"[S] WHAT THIS IS SO OUTRAGEOUS (HD)" (Watch on YouTube)

Apparently the sprite has a sense of humour.

Next up is a pesterlog between Rose and Dave. There are hints that all is not well in the Strider residence.

TG: hey TG: dont tell john this but i think he might have been right about the puppets TG: theyre sort of starting to freak me out a little TT: You're referring to your brother's collection? TG: i mean dont get me wrong i think its cool and all TG: the semi-ironic puppet thing or whatever TG: or semi-semi ironic TG: man i dont even know TG: im just starting to think some of this shit is going a little far and its kind of fucked up TT: I've seen his websites. TT: I like them. TG: haha yeah well YOU WOULD TG: oh man i wish lil cal wouldnt look at me like that TG: with those dead eyes jesus TG: sometimes i dream that hes real and hes talking to me and i wake up in a cold sweat and basically flip the fuck out

Well, not so much hints as flashing neon signs. Dave’s gone very quickly from insisting that everything his brother does is cool and Lil Cal is awesome, to admitting that he has nightmares about Lil Cal and is freaked out by his brother’s ‘semi-ironic puppet thing’. We don’t know much about Bro’s websites yet, but we do know that Rose has a morbid streak, and Dave is clearly disturbed by the content.

Dave leaves to find his brother’s copy of the game, and we return to John, who, to quote Rose, has ‘just had a bucket of water dumped on his head by the ghost of his dead grandmother, who also happens to be dressed like a clown.’

And yes, that is indeed John’s dead Nanna, returned to help him on his journey through The Medium and beyond -- or at least, she claims she is. John has to take her word for it, as he doesn’t remember her at all. According to his Dad, John was pretty young when she died. Speaking of his Dad, he’s been kidnapped by the forces invading John’s home.

Nannasprite gives John the background of the game and what’s going on. His house is now in the Medium. This place was created by the game software, but is physically independent of it -- and no, he’s not inside a computer. The Medium floats in the Incipisphere, a place outside the normal flow of time in the kids’ universe. Above the Medium is the realm of Skaia.

According to Nannasprite:

Legend holds that Skaia exists as a dormant crucible of unlimited creative potential. What does this mean, you ask? I'm afraid my lips are sealed about that, dear! Hoo hoo!

Nannasprite is somewhat like a tutorial assistant for the game -- she helps guide John and provides information, although she’s somewhat cryptic.

We are getting a lot of new words here, but Hussie is defining them pretty well as we go, so I don’t think it merits a point.

At any rate, Skaia is defended by the forces of light, while forces of darkness plot its destruction. These two forces exist in an endless stalemate on a stage at the centre of Skaia until a player with a prototyped Kernelsprite enters the Medium. Then the prototyped Kernelsprite splits, with one Kernel carrying the prototyping information up to a kingdom basked in light, and another Kernel carrying it down to the kingdom of darkness. Each kingdom has four Spires, and when the Kernel reaches one, it propagates the prototyping information to the kingdom’s forces.

This is why the imps were dressed as jesters: John prototyped his Kernel with the harlequin doll, and whatever the other players prototype with will influence what forms the soldiers take. When the first Kernels reach the spires, the battlefield gets bigger and the war begins for real.

Oh, right -- and the forces of light are always destined to lose.

So what’s the point? Apparently, that’s for John to find out. For now, though, he needs to head towards Skaia, going through the first of seven Gates. The first Gate is situated directly above John’s house, but the others are going to be harder to reach. We now find out what all that Build Grist is for: To get to the Gate, they need to build the house higher to reach it. And then they can rescue John’s Dad, solve the ultimate riddle, and save the Earth from destruction!

...or not.

Nope, according to Nannasprite, Earth is doomed. Done for. Kaput. There is nothing they can do to save it.

John is pretty bummed about this. He isn’t cheered by Nanna’s assurance that he has a much more important purpose than saving the planet, although she fails to elaborate on that point and instead floats off to make cookies.

CHEL: I think here we earn another couple of points.

HURRY UP AND DO NOTHING: 2 HOW NOT TO WRITE A WEBCOMIC: 11 Failing the Turing Test - wherein the character has no reactions whatsoever While the emotional lives of characters should not be described in their every tiny wrinkle, characters must have emotional lives. When someone boos them off a stage, they should experience chagrin. When they fall from a tenth-storey window, they should feel alarm. The writer should not count on dialogue like “Yikes!” to get the point across.

Brief confusion and feeling “bummed out” by the news that one’s entire planet is doomed does not count as an adequate reaction. I’d expect more fear, more concern. As pointed out before, doesn’t John have any friends other than Dave, Rose, and GG? His Dad has friends, wouldn’t he be concerned for them on Dad’s behalf? If nothing else, more curiosity about this “more important” business?

BRIGHT: Now, I could actually buy this in some circumstances — John is a teenager, doesn’t seem to have close connections outside those we see on screen, and he’s been having one hell of a weird day. I wouldn’t be surprised if grasping the scope of destruction was simply beyond him at this point. It’s a lot to take in, and it’s only been a few hours since life went to hell in a handbasket — not to mention, he’s in an active combat zone. There’s a lot going on, and if he was to shove it out of his mind while he dealt with the immediate crisis, I could see that as pretty realistic.

Of course, that would depend on him actually reacting at some later point, when he had a chance to slow down and it could sink in. As it stands...well, if that does happen, we never see it.

CHEL: Does this also count as “Oh, Don’t Mind Him” for the How Not To score?

BRIGHT: I think so, yes.

CHEL: Then here it goes!

HOW NOT TO WRITE A WEBCOMIC: 12 Oh, Don’t Mind Him - where a character’s problems remain unexplored In real life, people are riddled with chronic problems that are not addressed for long periods of time, if ever. But in fiction, all problems are just the opening chords of a song. If there is a brother who has a problem with alcohol, a child who has lost her dog, or even someone whose car has simply broken down, the reader will worry about those people and expect the author to do something about it.

Technically, this could count for seven billion or so points, minus any people who successfully entered their own game sessions, but we don’t want to get out of hand here and it really only counts as one big problem.

However! I am very fond of this idea in theory. The obvious option would be that the purpose of the game is to save the player’s homeworld. We’ve all seen the “save the homeworld” idea in scifi and fantasy before. Here, the homeworld is beyond saving, but there is another option, and exploring that is the storyline. The forces of light cannot have a traditional victory; the protagonists must find a victory on the terms they have. It’s not a theme one sees often, and I like it.

FAILURE ARTIST: John and the other Beta Kids’ lack of angst of the destruction of their planet doesn’t stick out as much here as it will later when almost everything else is milked for angst.

CHEL: I’m not really sure the planet being destroyed is a great basis for a Rule-of-Funny-based story if that was what he was going for, to be honest. “Billions died, lol!”

#homestuck #let's read homestuck #homestuck meta #homespork #homestuck reread #homestuck review #sporking #literary critique

[kurtty-drabbles]

Circus au

N/A: much ado for nothing lol. Srsly, this is based on all the talks djinmer4 and I have about EW Kurt and a circus au, also, is based on a movie called Hi Lili Hello.

@djinmer4

In the good city of Shaperfield, a young girl is strolling with 3 suitcases in her arms and a basket that is closed to any prying eyes. The girl´s name is Kitty Pryde and she´s searching for Doctor Lee.

Sadly, in the city the circus of a famous wizard, a German fellow that Kitty didn´t have the time to catch his name, as her search is more important, however, the ringleader ended up finding Kitty in the Doctor´s shop.

"Where´s Doctor Lee?" Kitty asked as the ringleader is the one looking at the shop with some respect. The shop looks unkept and abandoned. The ringleader looks at the girl confused. His handsome blue face shows some confusion until he asks. "You´re Kitty Pryde?"

Kitty narrow her eyes and give a step back. Always be mindful of man that knows your name. This didn´t stop him. "I´d take that as yes, well, Miss Pryde, Doctor Lee passed away" his tone is soft and show respect "the man often help me with my crew members"

Kitty let her suitcases drop, but, not the basket. "He is dead?"

"Yes, it was a long battle against his disease" Kurt explained and adds gently, "he told me about you, he wanted to meet you, but...at the same time, the man was tired...far too tired."

Kitty takes a deep breath and lets the situation fall on her shoulders. The ringleader takes Kitty to where the man is buried and Kitty is not crying. She can´t cry.

The circus will be staying for 3 weeks, and as Kitty realize, people in this city has no problem in talking with each member or going to the circus, yet, no one offers any place to Kitty.

"If you don´t have anywhere to go, Miss Pryde, you can stay with my circus, until you find a better place" Kurt suggested noticing how Kitty is holding the basket as is something precious. Yet, the smell tells otherwise.

Kitty ponders her choices. She can´t go back now. "I was expelled from Zanany, Academy Of Sorcery" Kitty adds in a more sombre tone. Kurt is not judging. "I want a blood oath from you that you won´t hurt me in any way or let any of your zombies hurt me"

Kurt smiles pleased. "You noticed the zombies? Now, I´m impressed" Kurt then take a dagger and cut his finger drawing blood "I swear you´ll not be hurt in any way in my circus, I swear by my magic"

Kitty looks at the man and adds"well, in that case, nice to meet you, Mr Ringleader, my name is Kitty Pryde" she shakes his hand and Kurt chuckles.

No one will mourn the death of a Doctor who works for the Necromancer.

___________________________________________________________________________________

She can understand why people, the living crewmembers, fear the master, Kurt can cut a dashing and heroic figure if want, but can be so demonic as a nightmare could manifest. Still, the man is more than fair with Kitty and does not make questions. In fact, Kurt often takes Kitty with him in his missions, as the young woman should, in his words, see more of the world.

It was very nice of him and Kitty can feel her cheeks redden each time Kurt gentle takes her hand and explain a spell of his, well, the most innocent ones.

“Ok, Katzchen, tell me something, why you were kicked out from that fancy magical school?” Kurt once asked amused as Kitty gives a small sip on beer, she has 17 years old and legally, at least in that city, she can drink beer, but, judging by her reaction…this will be the last time.

“Well, what you said when someone tries to ask about your life?” Kitty asked putting a finger on her lips “Oh, right, you can´t afford to my secrets”

Kurt chuckles amused and mention, in a good manner, how he became a necromancer when he had her age.

“Oh, that was ages ago, because you know, you´re older as dirt, Ouch” Kitty complains as his tail gently touches her arm by surprise jolting Kitty a little, she always forgets the tail.

“Manners, Madchen”

Kitty is in her caravan, is a late night, and the circus is eerie and silent as always. No need to worry for food, at least not for the livings and Kitty decides she can try her secret ability now. She put the basket now (always careful keep with potions and spells) and put inside a circle she crafted.

“I´ll bring you back, sweetie, I´ll bring you back” Kitty promised and uttering the magic words and making the signals the basket starts to emit a sound. A soft barking that starts growing and growing until, Kitty´s eyes spy with glee, a Yorkshire Terrier emerges and is in his full health.

The little dog goes to Kitty and starts to lick her face. “I did it, I did it” she is euphoric and for a moment, contemplate to write to her old school saying how they´re a bunch of wusses, but, as she´s here…Kitty can´t do that.

On the next day, it was Kurt who greets Kitty with an enigmatic smiling telling they will be moving to a different city.

“Who is the dog?” Kurt asked amused and notices the basket, once so carefully placed, is tossed around like it meant nothing. Kitty gulps and tries to explain.

“A wild dog shows up last night and we bond” Kitty speaks thinking this is a good excuse.

“A wild dog? This is a Yorkshire Terrier, not a wild dog, but, a pet…that can fit in the basket” Kurt lingers for a moment then shrugs “Oh, what do I know? Come on, Katzchen, we´ve things to do together”

That line has so many double meanings to Kurt and Kitty.

Saying Kurt is a manslut is little to convey how slutty he can be, Kitty with 18 years old, really dislike her infatuation on the manslut. Her confidant is an old man who will retire soon, the man does not understand what Kitty could possibly see in him, but, the man won´t judge.

“What you´ll do, miss Pryde?” the man asked kindly as if she´s her granddaughter and is a nice feeling for both of them.

“Move on, I guess, Is clear as day I´m not his type, the man prefers…well, Amandas” Kitty speaks and for once in his life, the old man will defend Kurt, at least in this aspect. “Well actually, he hates Amanda and often complains about the ‘’relationship’’ saying it was a big mistake and look, he´s not the one to admit making mistakes”

“But, she´s pretty, doesn´t he likes pretty things to look at?” Kitty asked confused.

“Yes, but Amanda was too rotten inside and he regrets even knowing her name, actually, even Amanda dislike herself as Amanda is not her real name …is Jimaine” the old man explained.

“I saw her in one of our missions together, I thought Kurt would be happy with the attention, she´s pretty, but horrible…she´s smells bad” Kitty adds remembering the meeting.

“Again, existing things even him won´t fuck and that says a lot. Whatever Amanda did…she´s luck she´s still alive, but, maybe, after this meeting, she won´t be…the ringleader is many things, but, forgiving is not one of them”

“What she did?”

“No idea, but, is enough for him to be mad…and trust me, you won´t like to see him mad”

Kitty will not know as Kurt is feeding his zombies with the fresh meat of a blonde woman. Once finished, the ringleader spot Kitty and the old man talking freely and is not pleased by that.

Doreen is a girl with many squirrels and many adventures, however, when one of her squirrels dies, her status, an adventurer does not mean anything for the necromancer. If you can´t pay him, no squirrels.

Doreen is left to cry and mourn the death of her beloved pet, when; Kitty taking pity on the young woman offers a solution. “Look, I think I can bring your pet back”

“Really?” Doreen shows the small sack of golden coins, for Kurt that is ridiculously small, to Kitty that is big. “I´ll pay if you bring Tiffany”

“Ok, but, please, make this a secret, ok?” Kitty ordered and Doreen agrees and when she get her pet back, it didn't need Doreen´s word for more and more people to go for Kitty to get their beloved pets back.

“Guys, stop, this is supposed to be a secret” Kitty hissed and before anyone could ask why, the necromancer shows up, in Kitty´s mind, far too akin to a vampire, but no one will say that.

“Sorry, guys, Katzchen can´t bring your cats today, come back tomorrow” Kurt instructed politely, it wasn´t a suggestion and they can take a hint. Kitty looks down and ponders her choices.

“Katzchen, I know you´re a necromancer, I knew since I saw you for the first time” Kurt explained amused and Kitty takes a step back.

“I read what happened to Melisandre and well, I´d not wish to have the same fate” Kitty replied hotly and Kurt blinks, the name didn´t ring any bells until it finally pops into his mind.

“Oh, that woman, yes, it was a nasty thing indeed, but, Katzchen, I´d not did that because she was a necromancer…I´d that because she was opposing me, in fact, I did train other necromancers before, Katzchen” then he looks at the 18 years old with surprise. “Do you…fear me?”

“No, yes, sometimes…you can be really scary when you´re mad,” she confessed and Kurt takes her words into consideration.

“But you, of all people, shouldn´t be afraid of me, neither hide your skills, it was that the reason that fancy school expelled you?” Kitty nods “Katzchen, you´re safe here with me, I want to prove that” Kurt adds softly taking her hands, once Kitty let him do it.

“Well, the Melisandre’s story did make me fear for my life. But, the lack of communication can be as toxic as stories, so, Kurt, let´s talk freely from now on, ok?”

“Seems a good idea, Katzchen,” he smiles and Kitty still blushes. “I would like to train you, if you want to, and before you ask, no the payment here is yours. You bring dogs, cats, squirrels and birds back to life. Is your reward”

“I would like to learn more, if you can teach me” then she asks for another blood oath, Kurt is amused. “You have a thing for seeing me bleed? Alright, what you want me to promise this time?”

“Promise you´ll be honest and help me, and I´ll promise the same, elf” Kitty adds. “I want to trust you truly, but, I´m sorry, I´m not a person that naively follow someone and you´re the same. So, let´s improve your communication skills”

“You´re adorable” Kurt kissed her forehead a tab bit different than usual and Kitty´s face grew hotter.

On their last mission, Kurt and Kitty defeat a monster it was attacking the village, of course, said village did pay them (Kitty wonder if Kurt was the pied piper) and an extra bonus, the people let Kurt and Kitty rest in their best hotel, as defeating the monster is easy for them, but, it consumes time and energy and Kitty can use a nice sleep.

Kitty is yawing gentle let her head touch his back. The man smiles at this and when the receptionist asks what type of room he would like, Kurt only said one. One room is enough.

Kitty has 21 years old and is lovely as the angels illustrated in the arts, and Kurt, can agree with the statement.

“One room?” Kitty asked being carried by Kurt.

“Yep”

“You´re predictable” and she cuddles with him.

Logan Howlett knows how much the Necromancer has a skew sense of consent and age of consent. So, when Kurt arrives saying he meet the sweetest thing on earth, Logan merely asked her age. Kitty has 15 years old at that moment.

“Kurt!” logan berates him. Kurt just waves him off. “Oh, relax Logan, I can wait, I´m not a monster” “Debatable, Kurt, very debatable”

“Who did sleep with Magneto´s fiancé ?” Kurt asked and now Logan is silent. Maybe that´s why they are such good friends after all.

#circus au #kurt wagner #evil wizard kurt #kitty pryde #based on an old movie #based on conversations #necromancy #kurtty #he´s evil for a reason #but no he didn´t kill the doctor nor caused the illlness

[annathewitch]

The Golden Bird: Prologue & Chapter 1

Summary: Eomer X Reader. Fairytale AU. As a gardener’s daughter in Edoras, your life is expected to be simple and dull, but you get caught up in a quest to find a mysterious Golden Bird which might be the key to breaking a curse on the Rohirrim.

Words: 4,000

Warnings: None! Not even swearing.

A/N: Based on the Grimm Brothers fairytale, the Golden Bird, for @thefanficfaerie’s Flip The Script Fairytale Challenge. Hoping to post the whole fic within the next week or so! This bit is largely scene setting and the adventure really begins in the next part. I have taken some liberties with the geography of Middle Earth. Not canon LOTR compliant.

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Prologue

Once upon a time in Edoras, the once great city of the horselords, there lived a King. Theoden King was not one of the great Kings of Rohan, not a warrior like Eorl, or full of the wisdom of Brego, but he was kind and fair and under his rule the Rohirrim lived in relative peace and prosperity. He doted on his beautiful wife Elfhild, and for her happiness he created the gardens of the palace Meduseld. In the centre of the gardens, Elfhild planted the most beautiful apple tree, which bore the sweetest tasting fruit with delicate skin of gold. The King and Queen were happy, and the tree flourished.

But tragedy befell Theoden King. Elfhild bore him a strong son, but sickened with childbed fever and when Prince Theodred was scarcely a week old she died. His grief was great for his lost love, and though he sought joy in his son and heir, his heart did not recover. In short order his sister and brother were also cruelly taken from him, and Theoden King vowed in his grief to care for their children, Éomer and Éowyn as if they were his own. The King did his best to raise the three children, and to serve the people of Rohan, but without the counsel of his beloved and his family, he succumbed to a deep melancholy.

Around this time, a man from the North who came to be known as the Wormtongue, wheedled and connived his way into the court at Edoras, dripping honeyed words into the ear of the King until he became a most trusted advisor and the most powerful man in Rohan next to Theoden. There were whispers that he was in league with woodland elves, or a great wizard, but none spoke openly, for those who challenged him met with unfortunate fates. As the children grew they saw Wormtongue for the parasite he was, and he began to see the children as a threat to his power and influence.

When the children were full grown, Theodred and Éomer were sent to defend the borders of Rohan from Dunlendings and Orcs, and though the Prince was a strong and clever warrior and the finest horseman, he was felled from his horse while crossing the River Isen and killed. Eomer grew suspicious for the fatal blow struck his cousin from behind, but he kept his own counsel until he could return to Edoras and speak with his Uncle.

Eomer laid his discovery bare, but Wormtongue’s influence had grown too deep, and Theoden refused to listen to his tale. Afterwards, those who witnessed the scene whispered that the King had been mad with grief and his nephew incandescent with rage. So when one night Eomer and his sister disappeared and Eomer’s horse went missing from the stables, it was easy to believe the Wormtongue’s rumours that they had run away. And, despite a search the length and breadth of Rohan, they were not seen or heard from again.

Where once Theoden King had been kind and just, he grew bitter and cold at the loss of everything he had held dear. And as the years passed, Wormtongue led him to apathy and greed, and the Rohirrim suffered. As the harvests failed, and the horse herds dwindled, and Edoras fell into disrepair, so too the tree that bore the precious golden apples began to sicken and wither until it produced but a handful of fruit.

The only faint and almost forgotten hope of a people in despair was the prophecy of the wise man Mithrandir who had foretold that in time a shieldmaiden would ride into Edoras on a Mearas stallion, bearing the sword of a son of Eorl, and she would restore Rohan to prosperity. But there had been no shieldmaidens for many ages, and none likely to appear soon.

...

Chapter 1

You were content with your lot in life, really you were. As the daughter of Meduseld’s gardener, even in these difficult times your family never went without enough food to eat or a roof over your head. And when you saw so many others in need on the streets of Edoras, it would be foolish and ungrateful for you to hope for something more than keeping your father’s house and waiting on your older brothers.

Still you dreamed of adventure. Hanging the linens to dry in the little yard of the cottage high up on the hill above the city, you could see for many leagues the stretch of the plains of Rohan and the forests beyond, and you would imagine what wonders lay out there. Imagine a world where the childhood tales of an age of shieldmaidens performing great deeds, were still true.

But of course, your life went on in the same old routine of cooking and cleaning and helping your father in the gardens, and the best you could reasonably expect was to catch the eye of a young rider, or a tradesman and exchange your father’s house for a husband’s.

The same old routine, that was, until your father burst into the cottage one day, breathless and ashen, as if he had seen the ghost of one of his forefathers. He slumped down at the table head in his hands.

“Father, what is the matter?” you asked pressing a cup of mead into his hands.

“Y/N! We are ruined, and you shall likely be cast out of our home and made to beg on the streets.” At your shocked expression he continued. “I was summoned before the Wormtongue today, and accused of stealing golden apples from the King’s tree. They are now so rare that the King has set a man to count them every day. Two have disappeared over the last two nights. Unless I can prove that I am not the culprit by three days hence, I shall be branded a thief and my life shall be forfeit. What am I to do?”

“Oh father!” Your mind whirled as you tried to think. “We may only prove your innocence by catching the true thief. We must set a watch tonight and see if he returns to catch him in the act.”

“Aye, my clever girl, you are right. But I am too old and too weary. Your brother Elfric must sit guard.”

“Father, may I not do it? I would be watchful and careful, and I am good with my bow” you pleaded. For as much as he was your oldest brother, you knew Elfric tended to laziness and would hesitate to trust such an important task to him.

However, your father was not to be swayed. “No child, your brother shall do this. It may be dangerous to catch a brazen thief in the act. It is a task for a grown man.”

So Elfric, though unhappy at the responsibility and the discomfort of spending a night on the ground, was sent to watch in the gardens. At midnight an unbearable sleepiness overwhelmed him, and when the morning came and you went to find out what he had seen you found him asleep beneath the apple tree and another of the fruit was gone.

Your father was sick with worry, and despite your pleas to be allowed to keep watch, the next night he set your next brother Wulfric to the task. But Wulfric was little better than his brother. Again, the midnight hour approached and he too could not resist the temptation to close his eyes. In the morning he lay sprawled asleep amongst the roots of the sickening tree, and a fourth apple had been taken from under his nose.

There was just one last chance to catch the thief before your father would be taken for the crime. You pleaded and cajoled with him to permit you to sit in wait that night, certain that you would not fail at the task. Resigned to his fate, your father eventually relented, and so on the third night your wore your warmest woollen dress and taking up your bow you wrapped yourself in a big dark cloak and settled under the canopy of the apple tree in the shadows of the trunk.

The hours passed. Resolved as you were to stay awake, you played games to pass the time. As the stars in the sky brightened, you listed each of the constellations your mother had taught you, until eventually you searched out the mighty Leona, lion of Rohan just as the midnight bell tolled.

All at once, from the north came a whisper of wind through the branches, which shook the leaves and seemed to murmur a lullaby in your ear. Your eyes grew heavy and your mind began to drift as you could feel yourself relax against the trunk of the great tree. But the fate of your brothers the previous nights had made you cautious and you were prepared to struggle against the feeling of overwhelming weariness. Gripping a sharp stone you dug it into your palm, and with the flare of pain the fogginess seemed to flee.

Alert again now, you could hear a rustling from high up in the branches and, quietly as you could, you drew your bow, notched an arrow, and shifted to try and catch a glimpse of what you presumed was the thief in the tree. It was hard to discern in the dark, but there was certainly something on one of the high branches where apples still grew. Then all at once, the leaves parted and the moonlight glinted off a golden wing. A bird!

Swiftly you drew your bowstring, aimed, and in the space between heartbeats you let the arrow fly. You were a fair shot, more naturally skilled than your brothers, who preferred a sword or spear and you were gratified to hear a squawk. But perhaps the branch had bounced or the wind had blown a fraction harder, and you saw the bird take flight, flashes of light as its wings beat, carrying it back towards the north.

For a second you cursed your luck, for without the creature, you would not be able to prove it was the culprit. Then the branches shifted again, and a single feather of the most delicate gold floated to ground in front of you. You scooped it up and tucked it in the pocket of your cloak, and resumed your watch. For though you knew in your heart that the bird was the thief, you could not take a chance that another would not try their luck to take a precious apple from the tree.

As dawn broke, you ran shivering back to your father’s cottage where he waited huddled by the banked hearth, and showed him your precious evidence.

“My clever child! Wake your brothers, for we must take this to the great hall at once.”

With much complaint they were removed from their beds, and jealous looks passed between them at your success, but at length you arrived at the doors of Meduseld to request an audience. Eventually your father was called to the dais, where Theoden King sat pale and slack in his throne, and the Wormtongue stood like a skinny crow at his right side.

The King did not speak, rather the Wormtongue spoke for him. “Master Gardener, what proof have you of your innocence in the matter of the theft of the King’s apples? Three days have passed.”

“My daughter discovered the thief last night. It was a b-bird my Lord,” your father stammered, offering the feather up. Wormtongue took it between slender fingers which could have been made from bone, and twirled it thoughtfully.

“Your daughter you say? How odd. Bring her forth, for the King wishes to look at her.”

You didn’t like the tone in the advisor’s voice, and you wondered how he knew the King’s wishes when Theoden had not spoken a word, but you stepped forward beside your father and dipped an awkward curtsey. Wormtongue descended the steps from the dais, and looked you up and down through beady black eyes. You suppressed a shiver.

“How did you come by the feather girl?” He crooned the question, twirling the feather all the while, so the light glinted off it, and you felt a strange sensation in the back of your mind.

Shaking your head you answered. “I shot at the bird. It flew away, but left this feather behind. No other came near the apple tree all night.”

“Indeed? And are you skilled with a bow?” Somehow it felt like the question held more weight than a simple enquiry about your prowess.

“I am a fair shot, but there are many better than I,” you demurred, avoiding his unsettling gaze. It seemed to satisfy him, for with one last sweeping glance, he ascended to stand beside the King once more.

“This feather is a rare and precious thing. It is the King’s wish that the bird be found and brought to him, that it might adorn the coffers of Rohan, and its golden feathers compensate for the loss of the apples. Gardener, as the apples were lost under your watch, the crown charges you with this task. There will be great reward should the bird be brought to him.”

You stared openmouthed at the Wormtongue, and then looked to your father who could scarcely manage to pay the customary respects to his King, before the two of you were ushered to the doors again, where your brothers waited.

In the safety of the cottage, your father bemoaned his fate.

“I am to bring back the golden bird, but how am I even to find it? I am too old and frail to venture far from the city,” he wailed, and you tried to soothe him.

“One of us must set out to find it in your place, father,” you offered.

“My clever girl! Of course my children will help me in my hour of need. But which of you is equal to the task? It will surely be dangerous to go adventuring in such times as orcs and Dunlendings roam the plains and forests.”

How desperate you were to volunteer, for you longed to see the world beyond Edoras, to scoff at the fate that was laid at your feet to be a wife and mother, and instead walk in the footsteps of the Shieldmaidens of old. But you knew that you father would not willingly let you go. As you wrestled with your desire and your duty, you were surprised when your oldest brother spoke up.

“Y/N may very well have stayed awake all night, and shot at a bird, for that is nothing really. Nothing to the bravery required for such a venture as this. As the oldest I should go, for I am entitled to claim the reward before my brother and sister. It is the task of a full grown man.” At this he puffed up his chest.

You bit your tongue, for you had done better than him to stay awake, but knew that it would be futile to protest. Your father doted on his sons, and could never see the idleness and dissipation as anything more than youthful spirits.

“Very well, Elfric my son. You shall be the one to find the bird and bring it back.”

And so within a few days, your oldest brother rode out of the gates of Edoras laden with supplies and a purse of silver and headed north towards Helm’s Deep. On the second day of his journey, he forded the Isen, crossing the border of Rohan heading for the Fangorn Forest, for surely if a magical creature were to live anywhere it would be in the forest.

Wisps of smoke on the horizon indicated some kind of settlement and Elfric picked up his pace a little. He had spent the previous night camped at the roadside, and, unused to the hard uncomfortable ground, had vowed to find a proper bed and perhaps some willing company for the second night. The life of an adventurer did not need to be a dull one after all. Full of pleasant anticipation he did not notice the creature that sat in the road ahead of him, until a soft growl startled his horse, which shied away from the sound.

It was a large mountain lion with a tawny golden fur that crouched alert and watchful, blocking the path between two large rocks. Elfric fumbled his spear out of the loop on his saddle and aimed it at the animal, which got to its feet.

“I do not wish to harm you traveller,” the lion spoke with a deep, rough voice. “I know of your quest to seek the Golden Bird, and I can give you good counsel. You will reach a village tonight with an inn, but do not stop there. Continue into the Fangorn Forest and make camp for the night and I will help you.”

Elfric, considered the animal, which was lean and had a raw-looking gash on its rear haunch. What could such a creature know of my business, your brother thought. And without further consideration he hurled his spear. The lion moved with surprising swiftness and his shot merely grazed it, but the creature was gone, disappeared into the forest without another word.

Your oldest brother continued on, and at nightfall reached the village the lion had described, and a cheerful, well-kept inn with brightly lit windows beckoned to him. A wench with a pretty smile and ample charms waited ready to welcome him at the threshold. The words the lion had spoken to him were barely even recalled as Elfric’s appetites drove him to the door. He entered the place and took his fill of all the delights that were offered, forgetting the Golden Bird and the quest and his duty to his family and King.

A month passed back in Edoras, with no word from your oldest sibling, and your father grew sick with grief and worry that something terrible had befallen him. The Wormtongue summoned him back to Meduseld. Again the advisor called you into his presence and looked you up and down appraisingly, twirling the golden feather so that the light bouncing off its delicate fronds began to mesmerise you. He did not address you, but his intent stare was unnerving, and you were glad when your father was dismissed with a reminder of his duty to his King to bring the Golden Bird to him.

Though this time you begged your father to be allowed to follow Elfric and take up the quest, he merely patted your hand and told you that your place was in Edoras, keeping house for him. Instead your less than eager brother Wulfric was sent out with a purse of silver, to ride north and seek the Golden Bird, and you played the part of the devoted sister watching him ride away over the plains as your heart longed for adventure.

At length, Wulfric forded the Isen and headed for Fangorn Forest. And he too was waylaid by the mountain lion who gave the same advice he had imparted to your oldest brother many weeks before. Now he possessed a little less arrogance than his brother, and listened gravely to the words of the lion with every intention of heeding them. But though his intentions were true, poor Wulfric was gifted with very little of his own initiative and as he rode through the pretty little village and passed the inn that the lion had spoken about, he saw his brother Elfric waving to him from the doorway.

What harm can it do for me to stop and say hello to my brother, to take one drink and find out if he is well, Wulfric thought to himself. And so, being so easily swayed, he was persuaded to enter the inn and after his first drink persuaded to take another, and a third, and before long he had forgotten the Golden Bird and his family, just as Elfric had.

Again time passed in Edoras, and you continued in your dull routine. There were whisperings that Theoden King grew sicker and more frail and, though no one dared to speak it aloud, the Rohirrim feared that the Wormtongue would be named Theoden’s heir. One month became two. No word was heard from either of your brothers, and your father’s heart broke, for surely they must have met with a terrible fate on their quest.

He was summoned once more to Meduseld, to appear before the King and his most trusted advisor to answer for the failure to bring back the Golden Bird. And again after you father had stammered his apologies and excuses, the Wormtongue beckoned you forward, spinning the golden feather between slender white fingers.

This time he spoke to you in his strange soft whisper. “Your father has one last chance to produce the Golden Bird. If he does not, we shall have to come to some arrangement to settle the debt.”

His icy gaze swept up and down your body, sending a shiver down your spine and with the light sparkling from the feather, his words seemed to echo in the back of your mind. He leaned in closer.

“You are a biddable girl, I look forward to your submission.” His tongue darted from between thin cracked lips. Though your mind screamed to be away from this creature, you found your feet locked to the floor and your voice lodged in your throat. The Wormtongue smiled, and stepped away, hiding the feather from view, and you found yourself able to move again.

“The Golden Bird may yet be found, my Lord,” you said as you took your father’s shaking arm. And as you departed from the Great Hall, the echo of the Wormtongue’s broken laughter followed you.

In the relative safety of the cottage, your father slumped once again at the table while you ministered to him.

“Your brothers are gone, and I am too old and too frail to seek the Golden Bird, and now I must hand you over to such a man! Oh what are we to do Y/N?”

You placed a cup of mead down in front of him and turned to the little window in the kitchen which looked out over all of Edoras and the plains beyond. You wrapped your arms around yourself to try and warm the chill in your heart. It was scant comfort but likely the only you would get. There was only one answer in your mind.

“I must follow my brothers and seek the Golden Bird myself.”

Your father sputtered a mouthful of mead. “But you cannot! It is too difficult and dangerous and you may never return. You cannot hope to succeed where your brothers have failed. If you go to the Wormtongue, you will be safe in Edoras and I will not be alone. He will be kind to you if you please him I am sure!”

“I would rather die at the hands of robbers or orcs than hand myself over to that man. I am just as brave as my brothers, and sharper to be sure. And I am quicker with my bow.”

“But we have no horses left! How will you travel? No no, you must stay here with me as a dutiful daughter would.”

“I will walk then, father!” you cried out in frustration, before dropping to your knees beside him. “I cannot stay here and wait idly for my fate to suffocate me.”

He sat silent and unmoving, staring into the hearth, and eventually you rose to your feet and left him. You worked swiftly to put together your pack, for you were set on your course with or without your father’s blessing. When it was done, you set about your household chores as usual, and retired to bed at your usual hour, though you exchanged scarcely a word with your father.

At first light you woke, and dressed in some of Wulfric’s old clothes, they were a little large but they hid your shape and it was better to travel as a youth than a lone woman. You braided your hair back from your face as you had done for your brothers many times before. In the kitchen, you packed some supplies for the road and scribbled a note for your father. You pulled on stout boots, wrapped yourself in your warmest cloak and hefted the pack onto your shoulders.

As you opened the door, your father cleared his throat behind you. You turned to him and he held out something in his hands, a hunting knife.

“I have failed as a father if I cannot protect you. Perhaps you can protect yourself with this.”

You took the hilt of the knife and secured it in your boot. It was a blessing of sorts and you acknowledged it with a nod.

“I will do my best to come back to you father. Fare thee well.”

“Fare thee well my clever girl.”

And with that you stepped out into the misty first light, not looking back at the little cottage as you wound your way down the path into Edoras, instead looking out at the ghostly plains and the shadows of mountains and forests in the far distance.

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Tagging some people who might be interested: @musikat18 @yallneedtrek @bkwrm523 @bookcaseninja @queenmismatched @fearofdeathkeepsusalive @outside-the-government @goingknowherewastaken @thefanficfaerie @theodwyns

#flipthescriptfairytalechallenge #eomer x reader #eomer #lotr fanfiction #eomer reader insert #fairytale au