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sebbyisland · 9 months

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This is a weird question but you have good vibes so do you know any good shoujos for beginners? If you dont then just delete this lol

OH this is the best question i have ever received! Thank you! I hope this can be a helpful resource for you or anyone else interested in getting into shojo!!!

I’m gonna define “Good Beginner Shojo” as stories with an interesting premise, strong narrative(? this is VERY subjective sorry?), and also lacks some of the more squicky/uncomfortable tropes: predatory romantic relationships, borderline sexual assault as flirting, or incest**. This list is split between short and long series. I’ll also try to keep the genres diverse! These are all stories I’ve personally read/watched and are popular enough that they’ve been officially translated in different languages.

Good Shojo for Beginners, Short Term Investment

Princess Tutu: A dark fairy-tale-esque anime about a young girl who studies ballet in the day and fights demons at night using ballet + emotional intelligence. The deeper plot is that the entire cast are treated like puppets by a grand and elusive storymaster, and they all must struggle to escape being doomed by the narrative. There’s a lot of references to Swan Lake, the girl keeps getting turned into a duck, many emotions are felt. Complete, one anime season.

From Me to You: shy young girl is a social outcast due to misunderstandings that blew out of proportion. She receives an olive branch from a boy in her class and this gives her the confidence to start making friends and support herself!! The aforementioned boy is also her love interest and is endearingly too flustered to make a move. high school drama ensues. Two anime seasons, manga complete ~120 chapters.

Magic Knight Rayearth: three girls get transported to a fantasy world and have to learn to work together in giant magic mecha suits order to rescue a trapped princess + save the world. They make friends along the way as they try to fight monsters. One anime season, manga complete ~30 chapters.

Kase-san: sapphic high school romance with a jock girl and gardener girl who plants flowers near her practice field… they are both kinda shy and build up confidence as their bond gets deeper. it’s just 100% fluff. anime OVA and complete manga, ~15 chapters, there's also a sequel-series though

Library Wars: what it says on the tin. militant librarians fight the government to stop book censorship. the story follows a soldier in training: a reckless young woman who dreams of meeting the "prince" who inspired her to take up arms to protect books. this is more of an action-comedy than a political drama, so don't expect too much from the plot, but it's fun to watch our failgirl get put into situations. one anime season, 73 chapter manga, live action movie. you'll be okay just watching the anime but obvi the manga expands more on the characters + world building.

Orange: high school girl receives letters from her future self that tell her that a boy from her friend group is planning on committing suicide. She works with her friends to prevent this from happening, but things are definitely more complicated than they seem. An emotional drama, discussion of mental health including depression and suicidal thoughts. It’s a really heartfelt series. One anime season, ~38 chapter manga. (originally published in a shoujo magazine, then switched to seinen probably for marketing reasons.*)

In the Clear Moonlit Dusk: Masculine studious girl feels distant from her classmates who idolize her as a “prince,” but then she catches the attention of the local sparkly bad boy “prince.” An innocent, fluffy high school romance about a prince and her prince. SO many sparkly anime eyes, if that's you're thing. It’s a simple plot, but I enjoy the execution a lot. Ongoing, currently ~27 chapters

Tokyo Mew Mew: Captain Planet but magical girl. group of teen girls get accidentally infused with the DNA of endangered animal species + magic and transform into a hero squad to fight aliens trying to destroy earth's resources! Their cover for their secret headquarters is a maid café, where they all work part time. Manga complete ~30 chapters, anime adaption complete + one season of anime reboot.

Good Shojo for Beginners, Long Term Investment

Yona of the Dawn: historic fantasy setting, coming of age for a naive young princess who grows into a capable leader by abandoning her sheltered life within palace walls for…plot reasons (major spoiler in 1st chapter LOL). there’s a slow but thorough exploration of the political issues in her kingdom, i would say the world-building is an unexpected strength of the story. She’s supported by her hot magical anime boy harem, but the story emphasizes found family dynamics over the romcom. there’s still a primary love interest established early on, it’s just VERY slow burn. one anime season, manga ongoing 300+ chapters

Kageki Shojo!!: Follow the adventures of an all-girls vocational school to train to become members of the historic Kouka all-girls musical theater troupe, where women play roles for all genders. The protagonist is a girl who grew up watching Kouka performances and never lost her sense of childlike wonder. Theater doesn’t come naturally for her, but she’s also very talented. Fun cast, lightly discusses social issues as they come up with sincerity and care. Very reminiscent of 80s shojo. One anime season, Ongoing manga 90+ chapters

My Love Mix-Up! what if there was an ACTUAL high school love triangle. boy likes girl who likes a different boy, but that boy is interested in the aforementioned boy. what if this was all a misunderstanding and actually boy and girl like the same boy. what if that was also a misunderstanding. have you ever been a dumbass high school student trying your best. protagonist is bi king. 120~ chapters, no anime, but a live action show.

Ouran High School Host Club: ah yes a classic romcom. girl gets a scholarship to an elite high school and accidentally falls into debt on her first day to the school host club (boys who professionally flirt with girls during lunch). To pay off her debt, she pretends to be a guy at school so she can work as a host. The comedy is a blend of making fun of shojo tropes and the disaster personalities that make up the supporting cast. it's funnier the more shojo you have read/watched before this one. one anime season, 200+ chapters, complete

BL Metamorphosis: elderly widow accidentally reads a BL manga and gets invested, she bonds with a high school girl who works at the bookstore about it. Very cute parallels between her late husband and the fictional love story. Depicts fandom culture without normalizing the creepy and invasive BL fan behavior. Reminds me a lot of spending time with my grandma, which makes me want to cry.~90 chapters.

Sailor Moon: I know i know everyone is going to tell you this but it's actually a classic for a reason. (Sapphic!!!) magical girls traveling across space and time? Fighting evil with the power of friendship and love? Cute character designs? It's a good time. Protagonist is a total brat (normal 14yr old!!!!) AND a good hero. I'm putting this last because I wanted the other stories to have a chance, but it's honestly so good like please. There technically an inappropriate age gap relationship but it's like the disney movie Tangled where you don't realize it until you literally look up their ages. 150+ chapters, complete.

**When I first read shojo, I was a very young child, basically the target audience, but there are things I read as a child that would make me feel a bit disgusted to read now. Knowing this, I want people who are new to shojo to make informed decisions. There are problematic tropes present in MANY well loved stories--and they are well-loved for a reason!!! These complexities are part of reading and enjoying fiction. I've excluded some of my all-time favorite stories from my childhood thanks to the criteria I set as good "beginner" shojo--but I also don't want to contribute to a world that divides stories as "problematic" and "unproblematic" as if such a binary exists. Ultimately, this list is just based on my PERSONAL taste, what I deem more comfortable to read than other stories, so I can't guarantee that you'll have the same experience. I can't even promise I would have the same experience re-reading some of these, since the stuff that made me comfortable/uncomfortable in the past has changed in the present. It's all very subjective. That's why I'm intentionally specific about the tropes I've excluded. Note that this doesn't mean the stories listed are not littered with their own flaws. I hope this disclaimer didn't seem too excessive, haha.

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beevean · 2 months

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Changing Castlevania from a living Creature of Chaos to Dracula's Castle of Science was so lame

It is, and not just because you have such a cool concept of a castle that is actually an eldritch location that defies the laws of logic and reality, intimately tied with its Lord, and there was nothing done with it. (special shout out to LoS for actually doing something very cool with it)

Reducing Dracula to a "man of science" is a bit... I don't know how to say. My first word is "tasteless"?

One, I noticed the focus the story puts on Dracula's supposed holding on knowledge. Lisa going to him to ask him to teach him older ways to heal people is cute. Isaac wanting to protect him because his knowledge is more important than his own life is ehhh feels reductive IMO (and this is why making Isaac both a worshipper and Dracula's bestie doesn't work), but whatever. Alucard lamenting that with his madness and death the world will lose "a repository of centuries of learning" feels weird at this point. Like. Why is the main concern what Dracula can offer to the world? Why is he only worth something because he's a giant living library? Besides, the castle didn't crumble with his death unlike in the games, so all of his books and inventions or whatever he has still stand. What about him as a person? Don't you care about your damn father, Alucard?

Two, it's just another way to CHURCH BAD. See? Humans are stupid because they have the CHURCH BAD that holds them back! Vampires don't, so they get to have electricity in the 15th century! Ohhh, ahhh! And Lisa doesn't get to escape this, ofc, because she was the one who was offended at the idea of being seen as a witch - no no she wants to learn real science, thank you very much!

And three, tied to the above, it's yet another piece that adds to the elvification of vampires. I'm reminded of this scene:

Lenore: Mm. It's a lovely night, don't you think? Hector: It's a bloody chilly night. It was warmer in my cell. Lenore: That's because we channel waste heat around the castle with pipes. Hector: Really? Even to the cells? Lenore: I keep telling you. We're not monsters. Hector: Dracula's castle moved heat around with pipes. Is that vampire magic? Lenore: Actually, just science. Centuries old. The thing is, Hector, humans forget things and vampires don't. You have a lot to learn.

(yeah sure you're not monsters because you keep the cell warm, that's why you guys stripped hector naked and doused him in icy water, lenore you are such a bad liar and you're lucky hector was lobotomized after s2)

And this scene, where Alucard lights the lamps in the Belmont Hold and the Japanese not-twins are all amazed:

Sumi: Magic lanterns! Alucard: Lightning. Not magic. Taka: You put lightning into lamps and you tell us it's not magic? Alucard: It's really not. The Parthians were storing lightning in jars two hundred years before Christ.

Again, vampires are soooo cool because they have advanced technology to dazzle the inferior rac-- I mean, humans with. They have their own culture, their own books with their own "vampire philosophy", untampered by the stupid CHURCH BAD. That's what makes them worthy of being protected :) and that's why the Belmonts are mean when they kill them and their mysterious children :)

In some aspects, NFCV really reminds me of Twilight - and in this case, it's the insistence on both making vampires "creatures of science" (something something crosses freak them out because amazing predator vision) and elevating them to a noble, smarter race that is nothing but superior to the stupid humans. The only thing missing was Hector or Isaac going all Bella Swan and begging to be turned by Lenore or Dracula to become a superior creature.

#anti netflixvania

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teaspoonnebula · 11 months

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The Final Problem Part 1 - Thoughts

Whoof. Here we go.

Of these the first and second were extremely condensed, while the last is, as I shall now show, an absolute perversion of the facts.

Precisely what perversions of the facts James Moriarty wrote in his letters is such delightful fanfic fodder. I suppose I also need to mention that this point that yes, Professor James Moriarty's brother is called Colonel James Moriarty. Did they just have weird parents? Is Jame-Moriarty a compound surname? You decide.

He still came to me from time to time when he desired a companion in his investigation, but these occasions grew more and more seldom, until I find that in the year 1890 there were only three cases of which I retain any record.

This is so heartbreaking. Another one where as a reader you have to fill in the gaps. Is it a classic case of Watson finding himself prioritizing his romantic relationship with a clear obligation over his more nebulous platonic one? Is Holmes just increasingly unsure whether Watson wants him around and doesn't feel able to just make social calls? Was Holmes ramping up the drug use in a way that was driving them apart? Did he know he was interacting with increasingly dangerous people and was trying to keep Watson safe?

"Is Mrs Watson in?" "She is away upon a visit." "Indeed! You are alone?" "Quite." "Then it makes it the easier for me to propose that you should come away with me for a week to the Continent."

Mrs Watson is NEVER in, is she? :D

I know lots of folks like to imagine she either doesn't exist, or this is a sign that their marriage has broken down. I kind of like to think she's just really independent. If John gets to swan off on adventures for great stretches of time, so does she.

He saw the question in my eyes, and, putting his finger-tips together and his elbows upon his knees,

Gotta engage in some Weird Detective Sitting, naturally.

Between ourselves, the recent cases in which I have been of assistance to the royal family of Scandinavia, and to the French republic, have left me in such a position that I could continue to live in the quiet fashion which is most congenial to me, and to concentrate my attention upon my chemical researches.

I'd completely forgotten these lines. It's so interesting that Holmes is contemplating retiring at this point - he's still so young, but apparently he's not so starved for stimulation as he used to be. A quiet life is starting to appeal.

On the strength of it he won the Mathematical Chair at one of our smaller universities, and had, to all appearance, a most brilliant career before him.

Ah, the days when you could write a treatise age 21, immediately get given a chair in Mathematics, and basically stay in the job for life while also running your giant criminal empire.

Truly the golden age of academia.

"'You have less frontal development that I should have expected,' said he, at last.

SICK PHRENOLOGY BURN, PROF

"'You crossed my path on the 4th of January,' said he. 'On the 23d you incommoded me; by the middle of February I was seriously inconvenienced by you; at the end of March I was absolutely hampered in my plans; and now, at the close of April, I find myself placed in such a position through your continual persecution that I am in positive danger of losing my liberty. The situation is becoming an impossible one.'

That's right - Holmes and Moriarty haven't knowingly been enemies for years. It's been a four month whirlwind nemesis-ship. I'm saying it as a joke but I think there's something so tragic when you juxtapose it with the distancing with Watson.

Although also consider that it's Watson who he turns to - when his knuckles are bleeding and multiple attempts are made on his life and he needs to get away, Watson is who he wants and needs and hopes for.

I took a cab after that and reached my brother's rooms in Pall Mall, where I spent the day.

UGGGHHH I want to know more about what happened here and what Mycroft had to say about the whole situation. We get a few clues later about it.

Welp. Until tomorrow, then...

#letters from watson #the final problem

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jimblejamblewritings · 2 years

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the imprint or the blood singer | part 8.

Summary: Y/N Black. All about La Push. Shy girl unless you get to know her. Not one to make friends easily despite the fact that she very well could. Friends with her brother’s friends until one Bella Swan comes back to town.

Warnings for the Series: light violence, light smut

Pairing: Edward Cullen x reader, Embry Call x reader

Word Count: 2.1k

Previous Part | (Series Masterlist)

You walked out of the garage carrying a box of origami wolves. You weren’t sure why but it was the only thing you could fold lately, much to the others amusement. You saw Bella stomp out of your house and towards Sam Uley’s gang that was coming over for lunch.

“Bella?” You said to yourself, confused. You followed your friend.

“What did you do?” Bella yelled as she approached them. “What the hell did you do to him! He didn’t want this!”

“Bella!” You called out trying to stop her from doing something stupid.

“What did we do? What did he do? What did he tell you?” Paul said with a ferocity you had never seen from him before.

Embry walked over and wrapped his arms around you sensing your fear. He rested his chin on your head. Embry gave Paul a look and for your sake he tried to cool himself.

“He didn’t tell me anything! He won’t tell me anything because he’s afraid of you.”

Paul and the others laughed. Even you knew better, Jake wasn’t afraid of them. Out of anything there was a weird respect they all seemed to have for your brother. Bella didn’t like Paul’s reaction. She slapped him hard across the face. Paul started to shake intensely, his breathing getting very heavy.

“Paul! Calm down!” Sam commanded. “Bella get back!”

Embry pulled you back. You looked in shock as Paul transformed into a giant wolf. Your heartbeat accelerated.

“Bella!” Jacob yelled as he cleared over the railing of your back porch. “Bella get back!”

Bella started to run and Embry pushed you to run with her. Jacob soared over the both of you, turning into a giant wolf midair. Jacob and Paul growled at each other and began to fight, biting at each other.

“Embry! What the hell is going on!”

You yelled at the sight in front of you. Embry and Sam both took a step towards you. They could hear your heart beating too fast for what seemed possible. Sam was honestly worried you would go into cardiac arrest. Your breathing got heavier and you couldn’t calm down no matter how many times Sam said to. You were sweating like crazy and felt a shift in your body. Suddenly you weren’t standing on two legs anymore. You were on four. Everyone paused and looked at you.

“I didn’t think it was possible for a girl,” Jared started.

“It’s never happened before.” Sam was in as much awe.

You looked down at your own hands to see paws. The sight alone freaked out so you did the first thing you could think of. You ran. You heard Sam yell out for Embry to get you. You ran all the way to the cliffs before finally stopping as you almost tipped over the edge, out of land to run on.

(Y/N/N)

You turned around scared. You recognized the voice as Embry’s but you weren’t sure how he was speaking. One, he was a wolf. Two, he had a blanket in his mouth meaning he couldn’t open it to speak.

How can I hear you? What’s going on Embry?

It’s a mind link. Wolves of the same pack share it. You’re okay, (Y/N). You’re going to shift back and then you’re going to look me in the eye and it all be okay.

Embry? What are you talking about?

Calm down, listen to me. You’re going to think of your human body. Every curve, nail, beauty mark. You think of that and you’ll feel your bones start to melt back into your human ones. When you shift back you’ll be naked. I have the blanket to cover you. I’ll go into the woods and shift back first okay.

Embry appeared in front of you again in a pair of jean shorts and blanket in his arms.

“Your turn (Y/N/N). You’re going to shift back and then you’re going to look me in the eye. Okay, baby?”

You did as Embry said, focusing on what your human body looked like. Embry was very careful not to look as he wrapped you in the blanket. Once it was tightly wrapped around you, you looked Embry in the eye like he said. You held Embry’s cheek in your hand. He didn’t have to say anything you knew there was disappointment in his face somehow.

“We’re headed to Emily’s house. She should have some clothes you can wear?”

“We could just stop by my house first.”

You and Embry stopped by your home and then headed to Emily’s where you were pleasantly surprised to see Bella.

“This is the newly famous wolf girl,” Emily said, greeting you.

You’d remember her around La Push. Leah’s cousin and the reason Sam broke it off with Leah. It had been hot gossip when it first happened. Now, the only person who still cared about it was Leah even if she wouldn’t admit it. You spent the better half of the day learning everything about the supernatural world. A world you didn’t realize you already knew half of.

It wasn’t hard for you to learn. Like Jacob, you were from the Black line. Your great grandfather was chief. Hidden in your subconscious was all this information already, you just needed the wolf to unlock it. How Seth and Leah phased two nights ago when Harry had a heart attack at dinner. You learned of Edward’s partial truth. He could read minds but it wasn’t cause he was human. You didn’t want to think ill of your friends but your nature made it almost instinct to have some disdain.

The only thing to curb it was knowing they didn’t kill humans. You learned there was a crazy redheaded leech trying to murder your friend. And you had also learned of imprinting. How you’d become anything for your imprint. How you’d be a protector, a lover, a friend. How Jacob imprinted on a no longer pissed Bella.

“Maybe it’s cause she’s a girl?” Jared offered.

Embry’s somber thoughts alerted them of what happened on the cliffs before you even stepped into the house.

“Maybe the imprint is a one off. Why would (Y/N) need to imprint on you if you already did on her?” Paul reasoned.

Everyone concluded maybe it was a mix of the two ideas. Naturally there were many mysteries surrounding a female shifter and maybe it was unnecessary for two wolves to lay claim to each other. With a mind link, you now had to guard your thoughts from the others. That nothing changed when you looked at Embry. And after hearing some of his thoughts from the cliffs, you feared he had stronger emotions towards you than you did him.

“I should be going home now, Charlie’s going to be worried. He still thinks it’s wild animals out in the forest. Be careful you guys. (Y/N) are you still coming for dinner?”

You looked at Sam. He shrugged, it’s not like he could stop you and Jacob if you truly wanted something.

“You wouldn’t be starting patrols till the weekend. Knock yourself out.”

“I’ll drop you two off.” Jacob stood up, his arm still wrapped around Bella’s waist.

You didn’t say much as you drove back to Bella’s. Not that anyone would have answered you. Bella and Jacob were too busy giving each other googly eyes. You wondered how long this phase of Jacob’s imprint would last.

“Give me at least two weeks.”

“I’m so not enjoying this mind link.” You undid your seatbelt to get out the truck.

“Wait, there’s a vampire.”

Jacob had been a wolf longer than you, he knew what to look out for. But the minute your brother pointed it out, you could smell it too. You didn’t know quite where to place the smell. It wasn’t good or bad but it was vampire, you knew it.

“That’s Carlisle’s car.” Bella pointed to the car in her driveway.

“It could be a trick. We can’t protect you here, it’s not our territory.”

“It’s okay, Jake. You don’t have to.”

Bella exited the car. You and Jacob nodded at each other and followed. The front door to Bella’s house opened. Alice Cullen? You and Bella were both confused. Bella excitedly ran to her friend. Knowing Jacob was there, you matched his pace and slowly walked into the house.

“Bella! Are you okay? Where the hell is (Y/N)?! What happened?”

You heard Alice ask frantically. You and Jacob stepped into the house.

“I’m fine, Alice,” you comforted your friend, not sure why you were comforting her.

“Why would you try to kill yourself? You jumped off a cliff? I had a vision you tried to kill yourself? Are you crazy or just prone to life-threatening idiocy. What the hell is that god awful wet dog smell.”

Alice rambled on. She wasn’t concerned about revealing her power to you, she had a vision last year when you were at dinner that Edward wouldn’t just tell you his power but all of theirs.

“Alice, calm down. If you saw (Y/N) jumping off a cliff, it was purely recreational.” Bella intervened. “Jacob was just dropping me back home to make sure Victoria didn’t attack.”

“Victoria. But I didn’t see… It’s you. I can’t see past you and your pack of mutts.”

Alice turned her attention to Jake. She could clearly tell where it was coming from now.

“You mean our pack?” you asked, a little offended. You knew vampires and werewolves didn’t get along but it still hurt.

“Our?”

The confusion was clear on Alice’s face. Quileute females didn’t become wolves. She got in closer to you and frowned a little. The smell was definitely coming from Jacob but underneath the sweet smell of your blood was a little woodsy.

“I’ll leave you three to have a reunion,” Jacob said as he headed into the kitchen. “I’ll go answer the phone.”

He knew Bella adored Alice and would do anything to make her happy, so he bit his tongue. And you? Before he was a wolf he didn’t care what you did with the Cullens. Now, he tried to be civil because he knew you were too soft to hate them like the rest of the pack. You heard the ringing on the line go dead as Jacob picked up the call. You were half focused on Alice, half listening to whatever Jacob was saying.

“Charlie? He can’t give a message to Billy right now, they’re both out.”

Billy? Your dad? Who was calling about your dad?

“Planning a funeral… hello?”

“Jacob, who was on the phone?” you asked your brother as he entered the living room again.

“Don’t know. Hung up as soon as I said dad and Charlie weren’t available.”

“It’s just recreational?” Alice was grilling Bella about cliff-diving.

“It’s safe—” Alice stopped mid-vision before snapping out of it. “We need to go now!”

“Alice, what is it?” You could see the panic written on your friend’s face.

“It’s Edward! He thinks you’re dead. Rosalie told him why I came here. We have to go.”

Alice pulled you towards the door but Jacob grabbed your arm and yanked you back. You were too soft to hate the Cullens but he wasn’t going to risk your life for a leech. Especially when neither one of you knew why you were needed to get Edward.

“Jacob, someone is going to die.”

“A leech. A killer is going to die. Why does he need you anyway?”

“I don’t know but I can’t let a friend die.”

“And if you die because of him?”

“I won’t Jacob.”

“And how do we know that, (Y/N)?!”

Alice gently removed your arm from Jacob’s grip. “I’ll make sure of it. We need to go quickly (Y/N), Italy’s a long flight.”

Jacob let out a dry sardonic laugh. “ITALY? I’m to take a leech’s word on my sister’s life in a foreign country.”

“I’ll be back, Jacob.”

You started out the door with Alice, already trying to imagine where your passport was in your room.

“What about Embry?” Jacob called, stopping you in your tracks. “The pain he’d be put through if anything happens to you.”

Jacob was right. Anything that happens to an imprint affects the wolf tenfold. If you were to die, you could only imagine what would happen to Embry. You worried it would be the most painful death. But you couldn’t let Edward die either. Alice came to you for a reason. She didn’t think anyone but you could save him.

“Then I’ll make sure I come back unharmed. Please don’t think about it, Jake. I don’t want to cause Embry any pain.”

Jacob nodded. He would try for you and Embry.

(Part 9)...

#edward cullen x reader #edward cullen x black!reader #embry call x reader #embry call x black!reader #twilight fic

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thecarnivorousmuffinmeta · 2 years

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What would happen if Esme was Edward's mate? Carlisle transforms Esme and BUM! She and Eddie are in love. How different would be the dynamics in the family? Would Edward still run away to be Batman? Would he come back? And so on. (Sorry for so many questions xD)

I mean, I don't believe in mates, so I'm not the one to ask.

I guess it's more "what if Edward decided that Esme was Lover and not Mother"

He May Have Problems, but Not the Ones You Think

He's alright in the Carlisle arena. Carlisle upon turning Esme did not initially pursue her. Edward, in fact, had to point out Esme's feelings for Carlisle and tell Carlisle "you're totally into her two, man". The guy was oblivious.

So, if Edward goes for Esme, you don't have Carlisle too upset as he never realized he wanted to be with Esme either.

The trouble is Esme.

First, Edward is visibly and emotionally young. He looks baby faced enough to pass for fifteen, is in fact seventeen, and has the clear emotional maturity of a teenager. You look at Edward and you think "not a man yet". Esme, by all accounts of having been interested in Carlisle (who on meeting him was an older, professional, figure posing as an adult) is not interested in the younger men.

The ease with which she treats Edward as a son, as someone younger than her who needs her support, also speaks to her never considering him a romantic option.

Then you get to Esme's backstory. Much of her history is defined by her affection for Carlisle. At sixteen she meets this doctor who quickly leaves town and falls in love with the idea of him. She then meets back up with him, years later, is turned into this crystal person, gains a son.

She has no reason to not be interested in Carlisle in favor of Edward.

And Edward showing interest in her... Well, it may bring her back from Planet Esme because how do you tell Carlisle this is getting weird that his pseduo-brother/son totally wants to bang you.

I imagine as Edward makes his intentions clear they develop an extremely uncomfortable relationship.

Edward is Also Edward

Edward has two paths (both of which are likely for him). One is that he gaslights Esme into thinking she's actually in love with him and not Carlisle. Being a telepath, this is more convincing than you'd think, as he can say both thoughts you've had (and hadn't) back to you and convince you, "You're totally thinking that"

The trick, of course, is for Esme to not feel horrified and guilty for creeping on Carlisle's son. Which means that Edward has to gaslight Carlisle to make it okay to gaslight Esme. It's a giant mess.

Edward also would likely consider himself unworthy of Esme and may push her together with Carlisle (who he sees as a far better person) anyway. He may also leave regardless out of frustration at his failing relationship, disillusionment with Carlisle and with Esme, etc.

Basically, I imagine everything's pretty much the same except Esme and Edward... don't talk to each other much.

Then Bella Happens

Trouble is, Bella still smells. Now, either Edward can accept that his only interest in Bella, his growing obsession, is due to that smell or he can be in love with her. We know what choice he made in canon.

In this one, I imagine it's even more so. Finally, he's moving on from Esme. He has found a real, pure, love untainted by bitterness that he never thought possible. He has found a woman perhaps even more perfect than Esme.

Esme, I imagine is very flummoxed but chooses to be supportive because thank Jesus, Edward's finally moving on. Esme is more invested in this relationship than she even was in canon.

If this works out, Christmas dinners will no longer be the most awkward events in the planet. She can have a life of not walking on eggshells anymore.

THIS HAS TO WORK OUT.

Esme's probably crying with relief at the end of Breaking Dawn, as she feels like she just survived a horror movie, when at all turns it looked like Bella Swan was going to die. But THEY MADE IT. DEAR GOD, THEY MADE IT.

#twilight #twilight meta #twilight headcanon #twilight renaissance #esme cullen #edward cullen #edward/esme #anti edward/esme #carlisle cullen #carlisle/esme #bella swan #edward/bella #anti edward/bella #twilight shipping #meta #headcanon #opinion #shipping

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giggasnap · 7 months

Text

(SPOILERS FOR FIONNA AND CAKE EP 9 AND 10)

live thoughts as I watch the episode

LSP spaghetti guts? Ew

SIMON INSIDE THE FUCKING FRIDGE WHAT THE FUCK???? WHAT??? PENNYWISE HEAD ASS

oh thank God it was a dream. Maybe

oh no. I can already tell cake being magic is gonna fuck everything up

Gary and Marshall wholesome yaoi

Fionna you sound and look insane

MY BABYGIRL THE LICH WHAT ARE YOU PRAYING TO HONEY

SIMON WHY WOULD YOU KICK HIM

The lich is kind of pretty okay I won't even lie. He can be a little pretty. Also this is the most he's ever spoken

AHHH HES SO COOL I KNEW IT I KNEW HE WASNT SATISFIED KILLING EVERYTHING

I love you Mister Lich also what is that weird black box on your chest. Oh no.

HOLY SHIT WHAT. BRO GOT CUBED???? FREE MY MAN!!!!!

Simon I think you might die dude

Aw I remember shermy and beth

Uhm. What. I mean I guess that makes sense for Betty to do but also what. Also I'm still hung up on the lich cubes all around Golbetty can we like address that

Scarab I think you are going to suffer a horrific fate my guy

I was right

CAKE YOU ARE SCARING THE GAYS

"I would still date you if you were a vampire" we know dude we know

SIMON CANNOT DO "ANYTHING" BRO IS STRUGGLING TO MATERIALIZE RIGHT NOW

Shermy Simon is cute

PRISMO!!!!

I just keep wondering where all of this is going

oh fuck the book failed

LSP NOOO

EPSIODE 9 ENDS LIKE THAT WHAT THE FUCK

literally one last episode and then its over. What. I'm scared

Guys. I think we are fucked. I dunno though.

Oooo animation is cool

This is neat but what is actually occuring right now

CHOOSE GOOSE!????

WAIT PAWN SWAN???

"get outta here!" Omg

THE MIDDLE FINGER??? OKAY

Simonshermy maybe we should just go visit BMO and see if he has the crown. That seems more plausible than whatever we're doing here.

WHAT IS GOING ON. WHY ARE YOU PUKING BLUE.

"he's hot" Marshall. There are bigger things to worry about but also valid

Scarab petty as hell but we've known that

aw perry is neat

NO PERRY

"our post office! That was our oldest building" FIONNA stop this I'm going to tear up

"go cake!" "Love you, fi!" GUYS THEYRE ADORABLE

Nova and Casper are obviously Simon and Betty parallels somehow. I feel it.

I knew it. Which will you choose.

Oh my god. Simon is having a realization.

"Nova was obsessed with Casper" "but I thought they were in love" "they were! But it wasn't exactly on equal footing." Oh my god everyone shut up while I cry for three billion years.

Oh no. Simon will do something. What is he going to do Im scared.

Bye ash. Also fuck ash in all universes

Gary. Bruh

MARSHALL NOW IS NOT THE TIME!!!!

Simon please bro don't do anything too extreme I'm scared he'll kill himself high-key

I WILL START SOBBING. NEVER TALK TO ME AGAIN

I don't even know what to say anymore. Fionna and cake about to get vaporized

SIMON FUCKING BANSHEE SCREECHING. THE ONLY THING THAT GETS THIS GUY FIRED UP HIS IS BABIES GETTING MESSED WITH HIS BABIES BEING FINN FIONNA OR MARCELINE

so does this count as a golbetty wish or a Prismo wish

SCARAB WHAT THE FUCK

VAMPIRE WORLD FINN!!!

GIANT BUFF FIONNA LETS GOOOO

Simon getting actual therapy yes

#fionna and cake

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lizard-shifter-noms · 10 days

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Still Subject To Change Chapter 11 (NEW)

——————————————————————————-

Hello everyone! i decided to repost arc 1 of SSTC

(the chapters were way too long and had a bunch of typos but hopefully this will make reading easier)

this Story contains Vore, Dont like dont read.

if there are still any grammatical errors i’m sorry.

——————————————————————————

My brain decided to toss away any possible answer I could have given away at the sight of this…man? But luckily Rikaad had an idea how to respond.

“Alright that’s very impressive, are you the one that lives here? If so we are sorry to intrude we do not mean to and will leave as soon as we figure out the direction we need to go in”

Oakley cocked his head to the side and I noticed his eyes were a piercing shade of yellow, like those of a hawk and I couldn’t help but feel uneasy looking into them.

“Where are you going? I might know the way, and you are welcome to stay for a bit especially since it’s been forever that i have talked to someone who didn’t throw stuff at me”

He was right, he lived here after all and knew the area better than us so just asking might be the easiest way and the invitation didn’t sound too bad either.

But we did not know this guy, he could be dangerous and thus far we hadn’t even seen what the entirety of him looked like.

I noticed that his gaze had suddenly fallen onto the cursed bracelet on my arm and was watching it intensely with his striking yellow eyes.

“Ohh you found it! I’ve been looking everywhere for this trinket after someone stole it a few years ago!”

He suddenly pushed the cloak behind him and swooped out of the tree and I could see that he did not have arms, instead there was a pair of leathery wings in the same color as his skin flapping to keep him in the air.

Having something akin to a giant bat suddenly swan diving to my face I instinctively put my arms up to shield myself.

For a moment nothing happened but suddenly I could feel the bracelet being stripped away, but no pain, it seemed that he had managed to get it off somehow without hurting me.

“HEY! WHAT THE HELL”

He had flown to sit on the tall stump, the bracelet was held in his tail by wrapping it around the trinket and he perched there like a content Magpie.

It took a few more seconds for his words to register in my brain but before I could say anything the others had already responded, with Arthur shouting loudly.

“YOU MEAN THAT’S YOURS?”

And Robin making a worried face while Rikaad seemed to calculate the best way to not fuck things up.

But Arthur had a point, if it was his he could probably fix the curse! I had expected to shrink as soon as the bracelet was off but that wasn’t the case apparently.

I Wasn’t sure if he actually knew how to lift the curse, But asking if he could help wouldn’t hurt.

“If that is yours” I pointed at the trinket “can you fix this curse then?”

He seemed confused at my question so I decided to elaborate.

“This thing turned me into a giant and i would like to be normal again”

For a moment he seemed to actually listen before I heard a strange chattering sound and it took me a few seconds to realize that it was him laughing.

“HEKHEKHEKHEK, that’s not a curse! It works as intended! It’s not my fault you don’t know how to use it! Which is weird, seeing as you are Ardua you should know.”

I understood exactly nothing of what he had just said, what did he mean this wasn’t a curse?

He had called me an Ardua twice now, whatever that meant, and why should I know how to use it? I’ve never seen such a thing before this month.

Apparently Robin agreed with my thinking as he asked.

“What’s an Ardua? And what do you mean it’s not a curse?”

I had no idea what that word meant, but if it was just another word for Bastard I would punch something, preferably Oakley.

Oakley however just stared at me with an incredulous expression, like he couldn’t believe that I had absolutely zero idea what he was talking about.

“You ARE Ardua how do you not know? If you weren’t the bracelet would have killed you the moment you put it on your arm”

Well that was not reassuring at all, and I still had no idea what he was talking about aside from apparently being a specific race of elf? Well half elf.

The others looked at me weirdly and I grimaced at them, as if I Had any idea what was going on! I didn’t understand jackshit either.

The birdlike man once again cocked his head to the side and then walked over the top of the stump where he stood sidewards like gravity didn’t really affect him.

Weird fucker but i wanted answers so i was at least going to listen for now.

“Since apparently I know nothing about this, could you maybe explain it? I’m sick of not knowing what the fuck is going on with me right now”

He turned his head weirdly and winked me closer.

I very reluctantly got slowly closer glancing back at my fellow travelers who also looked a bit mistrusting, a tiny bit curious but still wary.

“Hold out your hand i’m going to put the bracelet back and show you”

I wasn’t sure whether i trusted him or not but so far he hadn’t hurt any of us and he seemed to know something about it so it might be my chance to go back to normal.

“Wait just one second”

Ignoring his confused gaze I scratched all over the area where the Trinket had been as I wasn’t able to do that for some time now and it had started to get annoying.

Slowly holding my arm out he put the Bracelet back over my wrist where it once again shrank until it fit perfectly against my skin.

For a few seconds nothing happened then Oakley swiped his tail over the gems and I suddenly had the feeling of falling forward.

Trying to catch myself I put my hands out in front of me just as I landed on the grass, but something was wrong.

Somehow I did not feel bipedal anymore, and looking back to my human companions I could see various stages of shock and disbelief on their faces.

There was silence for a few seconds before Robin shouted with gleaming eyes.

“KITTY!”

What.

Looking down on myself I could see paws where my hands should be, and even worse was that they were covered in green fur and looking at my back showed that there was even more fur on my new now quadrupedal form with a tail swishing behind it.

What. The. Fuck.

There even were some plants growing on my fur covered back which made even less sense.

“Oakley what did you do??? Turn me back! This isn’t normal”

The man in question just stared at me with a huge grin on his face and started flapping around me like an oversized bat.

“Come on, just because you didn’t know anything about it doesn’t mean it’s not normal, but i’m not really surprised you know nothing about it i had believed the Ardua to be extinct”

I could see out of the corner of my eye that Rikaad had sent Arthur and Robin to get a bit away and was now aiming his crossbow at the flying form of Oakley.

However with the way he was flying it was impossible to get a clear shot, at least not without also hitting me.

“I don’t care! I just want things to go back to normal! Give me my human form back!”

Though, did I REALLY want things to go back to normal?

After all, the time I had been a giant I had been the least lonely since basically forever.

But i still preferred having hands as the lack of them made it difficult to catch the flying fucker and swiping with paws just wasn’t working well.

So not being able to use my hands I instead snapped at him with my teeth missing him barely and causing him to cackle again.

“HEKHEKHEKHEK see? You already fit your new form! Let’s see if you can catch me!”

He was now flying even faster around me and acting like an annoying bat so I snapped at him again, making my teeth clack against each other.

“rrrRRRRRrrrrr get down here you fucker!”

He was flying higher so I tried to jump but missed again, temporarily forgetting about the humans I had come with as I tried to get Oakley out of the sky.

Surprisingly the four legged form wasn’t that hard to control and I could move just as well as when I had been a half human half elf.

At some point Oakley landed on the tree stump and stood sideways on the wood like gravity did not bother him at all, two of his toes bent back to grip the bark.

He kept out of reach from Rikaads crossbow too, smart fucker.

“Look, you are the only one that thinks this is funny but I hate it! Can you please turn me back? This sucks and i miss having thumbs”

Oakley stopped grinning and walked down sidewards the length of the stump reminding me of how crabs moved.

This guy just got weirder and weirder but at least he seemed done with his bullshit for now as he moved near the bracelet again.

For the first time I could really see him up close and noticed that his wings had three fingers on top with only two being long and having a membrane for flying as well as that his knees were bent with what seemed to be an elongated ankle.

He Swiped his tail over the bracelet and I had once again the feeling of falling, but only this time I really did fall, on my face.

Due to being a four legged creature before I fell face first into the dirt, but now I was human sized again.

Finally! I was back to normal! And looking up at Oakley he had cocked his head again, probably wondering why I was still lying on the floor.

“I gotta teach you how to use that thing, this is just stupid how come you don’t know anything about it?”

Oakleys weird energetic behavior was gone for a moment but before I could respond anything I was yanked off the ground into a hug, startling me badly as I wasn’t used to interacting with something my size anymore.

My brain froze up for a moment before I registered a red mop of messy hair next to my face burying into my shoulder.

The one that had yanked me into a hug was Robin and I hugged back after a few seconds, still a bit out of the loop.

I was touching someone my own size! This was awesome!

And Robin interacting with me like this meant that we were friends, right?

I hadn’t really allowed myself to consider the three humans as friends before, I had been a Giant after all and as such couldn’t go near any city ever again.

Being back at human size i noticed that Everything looked weird now, like it was too big as i had gotten used to everything being smaller than me but i couldn’t complain.

I was back to normal after what felt like the longest week and a half or so of my life and I was able to actually do mundane stuff again!

Someone patted my back and tried to yank both me and Robin into a standing position and I had to let go to avoid falling over again.

Looking directly and face to face into Arthur’s eyes was weird, and awkward considering what had happened three days before so I turned around to talk to Robin only to see Rikaad.

He was taller than me now.

And I had definitely been right in being scared of him.

He was rather buff, not overtly so that it would restrict his range of motion but I was sure he could throw me pretty far.

Also looking up at someone was strange and seeing those icy gray eyes up close did not make it better as they seemed even more intimidating now.

“Are you alright? That was… weird, especially that green creature you turned into for a bit”

At least Rikaad was friendly even now but I agreed that it was weird.

“I’m fine, really it’s just weird being small again everything seems… bigger”

It was a lame answer, I knew that but my mind was still reeling with the fact that I was back to normal so I didn’t care if my answers made sense.

“How did you turn into that green thing? I’ve never seen such a thing before”

Arthur had a point, apparently this weird bracelet could do more than turn me into a giant and Oakley knew how, I probably should ask him how and besides, it was his anyway and I should give it back.

“Can you turn into the green kitty again? It looked soft”

I looked at Robin confusedly, why would he call that green beast i had temporarily become a kitty?.

“What on that green thing looked like a cat to you???”

“It had paws and a fuzzy tail, also your ears flicked funnily”

That wasn’t really enough reason to call it a ‘kitty’ though, but as long as he wasn’t scared of it I wouldn’t correct him.

And it was probably time to give the trinket back to Oakley, he’d be glad to have it back, After all, it had been stolen for long enough that the corpse of the thief had rotted to the bones.

“I should probably give this back to Oakley now, it’s his after all”

I tapped the metal accessory to show what I meant.

Rikaad leaned over, ending up sort of looming over us and I tried not to be bothered by the fact that I wasn’t the tallest anymore.

“He did mention that it belongs to him, so i Believe returning it to its rightful owner is the best thing to do”

I nodded at them and turned to walk over to Oakley who was once again standing Sidewards on the stump.

This man did not care for Gravity huh.

Ignoring that he seemed to take offense to the existence of gravity, I went over to him again to return the trinket to its owner.

Glancing back for a second the few meters I had already walked, I saw Arthur ruffling Robin’s ginger locks and Rikaad smiling at them.

I wondered if I could have such things too?

I was back to normal now, but my normal still contained the fact that I was a Bastard and not wanted in any of the Kingdoms.

Ignoring those thoughts for now I held the arm with the Bracelet out to Oakley, I still didn’t know how to get it off myself after all and needed his help to get it off my wrist.

He reached for it but then seemed to have a different idea.

“Keep it”

I was baffled, he’d just give me an enchanted…whatever…Bracelet? But he said that it was his.

Why would he give it to me now? A Bastard of all things.

Apparently my stare showed my confusion as he smiled at me.

“I cant use it, if i where to put it on i would die from incompatible magics, also it doesn’t fit over my wings, and i really don’t know how i would even wear it so giving it to the only one i’ve ever seen that actually CAN use it is the best decision here”

I stared numbly at the weird… fae? Whatever he was he seemed to be an alright guy if a bit of an annoyance at times.

But I did need to know how to use it, even if it was an awesome gift it would be useless if I didn’t know how it worked.

“Thank you! But uhh, how do I use it? You moved too fast to see what you did so can you show me?”

He stood up straighter adding at least an inch to his height and tilted his head to the left before nodding.

“Ah yes it would be smart if you actually knew how to use it, after all it won’t be of much help if you don't”

He walked a few steps away from the stump, probably to avoid damaging it should I grow and I followed suit, glancing behind me for a second.

The Humans were talking among themselves but repeatedly looking over at me, probably out of concern and I gave them a thumbs up to signify that all was well before turning back to Oakley.

“So, first off that’s not a curse but rather a genetically tied Enchantment for Beings that are called Ardua, and you can only use it if you are a descendant from one of the original otherwise you just die”

“So I could have died back then??? Why would anyone design it like this???”

He shrugged.

“Defense mechanism is my best guess but i’m not all knowing, so let’s continue”

I nodded numbly, A defense mechanism did make sense so he was probably right.

“I have never seen an Ardua in person before, only drawings in various scriptures some of which were as detailed as having entire biological sketches but that’s not important, well unless you need a doctor because your organs are kinda nonsense to humans”

Well I was very aware of that.

“I get what you mean i know my anatomy is kinda fucked, besides i cant go to any human doctor anyway they’d kill me”

He looked a bit concerned but continued anyway.

“That’s horrible but moving on to the matter at hand, to change between form you should take a good look at the embedded gems”

Holding my arm up to my face to inspect the gems closer, The only thing I could see for now were the five inlaid green gems.

I didn’t even know what type of gemstone they were let alone how they would help me shift into a giant or that green thing Oakley had called an Ardua.

The five gems were spaced rather evenly with three forming a single line down between the ornaments from top to bottom and two more stuck between even more of the big ornament to the sides.

I didn’t really see what I was supposed to do, press them like buttons?

Trying that didn’t work so I looked back at Oakley for help.

“You have to turn the gems, like a gear and the direction decides what form you are going to take”

He put his hands on the magic trinket and slowly turned the darkest green gem at the top of the three row counterclockwise.

Before I could react I had grown back into a Giant at about the same speed he had turned the Gem.

“YO WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?”

Looking behind me I could see my human companions looking confused and Arthur had apparently been the one that shouted as his hands were still half raised to form a speaker over his mouth.

“I’m fine! Oakley is showing me how this thing works, don’t worry!”

I waved the arm with the bracelet to show what I meant.

They seemed to calm down a bit at that and went back to listen to whatever Robin was Rambling about, frequently turning to check on me.

Turning my attention back to Oakley i Bent down so he could reach the Bracelet again.

“Try turning it in the opposite direction as long as it’s the same gem you are fine”

Taking his advice I slowly turned the dark green gem in a clockwise rotation until I couldn’t turn it any further, and after about a second shrank again to my normal height.

“Oh this is actually pretty awesome! How do I turn into the green thing?”

A huge smile had plastered onto Oakleys face and I could see two sharp fangs poking out, even longer and sharper than mine.

“You turn the other one, the one at the bottom, it works just like the top one”

That made sense, but what function did the other gems have?

“What do the other gems do? Don’t tell me this thing has MORE forms to turn into”

“No it doesn’t have more forms than that, the two gems on the sides are for stabilization if i read correctly and the Rhombus shaped one should be the one that draws in power from the environment so it is usable”

Man, this guy knew a lot about this even if he had said that he’d never seen one in person.

Deciding not to question it for my own sanity I tested the Ardua form out again by turning the lighter green gem on the bottom.

After a second I was back in the Four legged form of the Green beast that Robin had called a Kitty.

The form itself wasn’t so bad actually, i felt like i suddenly had more muscles, probably to support the Quadrupedal form.

Now that I had a bit more time to inspect this form, I gave myself a lookover.

I had sturdy legs that were like everything else covered in thick green fur, paws that had sharp looking white claws and i knew i had to be careful with those as well as a fuzzy tail with a tuft of lighter green fur at the end and for whatever reason there were literal plants growing on my back.

The plants were mainly Daisies and Dandelions but had a few violets and lots of other plants strewn in, most of which I recognized as edible or at least not poisonous.

“Why do i have-”

“ it’s earth element magic so i’m not surprised about the plants, It’s even funnier when you realize that it lets you photosynthesize like one too”

“Photo-what?“

The word seemed familiar, Like Id heard it before, Then it clicked.

"Wait, you mean because I’m like a plant I don’t need to eat? That would explain why i never felt hungry”

He nodded, affirming my thoughts and I had to admit never having to eat was absolutely great! I wouldn’t have to steal food ever again!

“Just remember to drink enough, don’t want you drying out do we?”

I nodded as things made a lot more sense now where before that was only confusion.

And now I know how to use it! That was awesome! It meant that I could switch between forms whenever I wanted! I could-

I still couldn’t go back to Kamerasca.

It was only logical really, I was still a bastard and being able to turn into a green monster wouldn’t help to show that I was as much of a person as everyone else there.

I doubted that the three humans I had befriended could do anything about it as they weren’t even full Guards yet.

“Oi what’s got you down so suddenly?”

Oakley had apparently sensed that something was wrong as he tilted his head again reminding me of a bird.

“I just remembered that I can’t really go back to…. any Kingdom really, I’m still an unwanted bastard and they would probably kill me on sight if not worse, but i don’t want to roam the woods like some mindless beast either”

Oakley wasn’t human either so he would probably understand, After all, he lived all the way out here on the mountain.

“Ah I see, yeah humans do that, they don’t understand something and immediately stamp it as a bad thing that has to get rid off, i’ve seen it countless times so if that’s the problem you could live here? Some company would be nice”

I looked around the clearing that he lived in, it was a nice place and he had an actual house so I wouldn’t have to sleep in a cave or something and it was protected by the woods and mountainside.

a good place really.

But I couldn’t leave the humans to go back on their own, what if more beasts appeared? So far the manticores hadn’t been that hard to get rid off, I had just kicked them across the map but they were smaller than most monsters so defending themselves was going to be a challenge.

Oakleys offer was good, very good even but I had promised to get them back so I would do that.

I could still come back here later after I had brought them to Kamerasca.

PREVIOUS / NEXT / OVERSIGHT

#sstc #lizards writing #giant/tiny #extreme cuddling #g/t story #vore story #Magic #Barmea #Ardua

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majingojira · 1 year

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"Universal" Monsters: The Update

After the last post went over so well, I figured you all would like to see the 'results' of your input and further research. The original idea was the focus on mythology, folklore, occult, and religious beings. Truthfully, I don't think categorically, anything can really be added to this list even if we include modern monsters. But feel free to mention things you think I missed or should be expanded upon into their own categories.

Humans Who Have Passed On - This is a broad category of undead beings. Notable Subtypes include:

Blessed/Damned - People who've gone to an afterlife and come back from that.

Ghosts - Your standard spirit of those who've passed on. A subtype of this is the Haunt, which is a location so full of death that it's not so much one ghost, but a gestalt entity of horror.

Revenants - Undead that are physical. This can be a zombie, a slasher, or any other physical being that's come back from death.

The Border of Life and Death - Women who die in childbirth and the children who die similarly tend to take on special significance in cultures and tend to come back as some of the most horrifying monsters in many cultures.

Spirits - Incorporeal beings that often embody a concept. Subtypes include:

Elemental Embodiments.

Spirits of Intellect - less in religion and more in occult circles, these are plied for information since they just 'know' things.

Larva - another occult concept, basically the magical equivalent of decomposers. They eat leftover magical and emotional effluvia.

Magical Assistants - Many magical traditions invoke different spirits to perform different tasks. Sometimes, it's gods, but lesser more direct spirits are also invoked.

Patrons - Spirits of Places, Buildings, Homes, or even crafts. Humans have a special relationship with the latter spirits, and they are often invoked to aid in tasks related to the home or work.

Fae/The People Who Are Not People - A common group of supernatural beings that are like people but have both powers and limits that make them more and less than people. Often tied to the natural world.

The High Fae/The Arch Fae - Sometimes conflated with the Nordics of UFO Lore (Yeah, UFO lore has racist connotations to it). These are the High Elves, the Court Faeries, and similar beings.

Communal Fae - These are the "Common" fae, shorter in stature and often seen in groups. The "Greys" of UFO lore. Also, the common short-statured Elves, Dwarves, Svartalves, Goblins, and possibly Huldrafolk).

House Fae - A specific variety of Fae similar to the Patron spirits, but more corporeal. Brownie, Domovoi, Knockers, Gremlines -- all beings tied to the home and hearth, but distinctly 'other'.

"The Little People" - Liliputian Humanoid beings, from "pixies" to Abatwas.

Merfolk - This one is pretty clear. They are like the above Fae varieites, but tied to the oceans.

The Unreal Being - A lot of fae creatures can be just... weird. Not full hybrids, but often hybrid as a base before weirder things are put down. Weird is the key for such beings to show that they are "Others".

Giants - They're like humans, but bigger and more 'primal'. But mostly, they are big.

Giant - This is the basic giant, a person who is bigger.

Ogre - Like a giant, but usually not as big, and less human in appearance. Trolls also fit in here via the popular conception (thou Troll is like the words Faerie and Yokai, as a general catch-all term for supernaturals not infernal or divine).

Wildman/Bigfoot - A big person, covered in hair.

Animal-Like - Animals! But Magical.

Animal Bride/Animal Shifter - An animal who turns into a person, or a person who turns into an animal. These include: Wolves, Bears, Boars, Cats, Hares, Owls, Crocodiles, Lions, Hyena, Jaguars, Leopards, Coyotes, Tigers, Seal/Sea Lion, Frog, Swan, Peahen, Cow/Bull/Ox/Cape Buffalo, Shark, Hedgehog, Fox, Dog, Jackal, River Dolphin, Dove, and Cranes. I'm sure there are more.

Ancient/Sacred Animal - Often greater in size or with magical powers, but still an animal. Probably can talk, but not always.

Yaogwai - An animal that has lived for so long and gained so much wisdom that it's become a magical being. Often taking human form. The age part is more important than the shifting part.

Chimeras - Mixtures of multiple animals or impossible combinations (like Mothman)

"The Foreigner" - Like Chimera but for people. These range from people with a face in their chest and no head to those with a giant foot they use for shade, to just normal-looking people with strange habits. A product of xenophobia.

Sea Monsters - Monsters of the ocean depths. Often hybridized with land animals or otherwise of 'abnormal' proportions.

Demons - Demons are negative spirits, beings that cause maladies, calamities, and other things. They are dangers, warnings, and cultrual tools to explain away problems or to guide culture.

Hag - Fears of aging and death manifest in these evil magical old women who do all sorts of evils to the world. Sometimes just referred to as "Witches" in those cultures, but more specifically when a full dehumanizing aspect is applied to them rather than just having them be malicious spellcasters. Yes, it is often found in cultures with rampant misogyny.

Fiends/Lesser Demons - Your "Generic" Demon/Malicious spirit.

Devils - Tempters and smooth talkers. Bargaining beings.

Disease Spirit - Spirits used to explain away various illnesses.

Boogiemen - Spirits used to warn children away from activities or locations that often have mundane dangers they won't take seriously.

Vampire - A variation of the Disease Spirit, specifically accounting sickness/pestilence with a being literally 'draining the life' from others. Often given a lot of powers, but also the word itself is bandied about to describe so many monsters that it loses a bit of its meaning.

The Beautiful Lure - Succubus/Incubus/Temptresses of the Road. It's something between a Devil and a Boogiemen, but because the archetype is so common, I placed it here.

Dragons - Big, Scaley, Dangerous. Sometimes exhales a dangerous substance.

Wyrm - Dragons without limbs

Horned Water Serpent - Dragons of North America, associated with the earth and poison/disease.

Lindworm - Dragons with two limbs (legs).

Wyvern - Dragons with four limbs (wings and legs).

Classical Dragon - Dragons with six limbs (wings, arms, and legs)

Naga - Shapeshifting Serpents of India and Indonesia

Amphiptere - Dragons with wings

Asiatic Dragon - Ryu, Lung, Rong, etc. Serpentine, magical, 4 limbs, fly via magic.

Feathered Serpent/Wadjet/Quetzalcoatl/Seraphim(?) - Sometimes winged, sometimes not winged.

Celestials - Spirits and beings associated with the skies/divine realms

Standard Celestials (Angels, and so on)

Personal Guardian Being - "Guardian Angels" or "Aspects of the Soul", it depends on the culture.

Celestial Animals - Animals associated with the divine realms (often Chimerical)

Hellhounds/Black Dogs - Dogs of darkness and the night. Sometimes demonic, sometimes not. A lot of folklore around these beings. Often they are guards.

Automata - Rare, they are inanimate objects brought to life as a psuedo-living thing either by gods or humans. Includes Golems, Karakuri, Automata (IE: the Greek Talos). More common in modern times.

Plant Monsters - Plant monsters are actually very rare in folklore. Most early ones simply expelled poisonous vapors/gases. By the 1800s, they began to move and invade locations (a dark inversion of colonialism) or used to enhance the exoticism of a location. When insectivorous plants were discovered in 1875, they got nastier, and 'reports' of such things as man-eaters began to appear. By 1889, the monsters became truly mobile. And in 1907, we get our first Fungal Infection/Takeover Plant monster.

Guardians - Spirits and beings which are designed to guard locations or even concepts. Often associated with justice or retribution as well. These can range from Tengu, Fu Dog/Shisha, and Otoroshi, to Dakini, Harpy, Furies, Sphinxes, and Gorgons. Yes, Gorgon's heads were used like a "Mr. Yuk" face in Ancient Greece.

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destinylordoffreaks · 1 year

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Random barbie questions / thoughts part 2

1: why does prince Nalu from fairytopia look like a Peter Pan reject

2: Why do we not see any other puff balls until magic of the rainbow and the only other one we see is a puffball that very obviously had some sort of you nosy producer, or Director going no no it Hass to look obvious that it’s a girl we can’t possibly have Bibble be in love with something that doesn’t looks like it isn’t obviously a girl

3:Why are all of the other fairy guardians understudys absolutely annoying. Selfish unlikable pricks like the enchantress wouldn’t have just taken one look at these students and been on like no go pick someone else

4: Also, do you notice that some of the guardians changed colors between the first Fairytopia and the third one like I am all for diversity but it is a little weird However do I give them props for just not mentioning it at all they’re just like oh yeah, they have different skin tones now deal with it

5: In Barbie Rapunzel mother Gothal is the only mother we see in the entire movie we don’t see Rapunzels real mother, or her princes’s, just there Dad’s

6: Also, who else is it annoyed that we never got like dress up expansion packs for the rapunzel Barbies that had all of the other dresses she drew

1: And why do we not have 2000s Barbie nostalgia merch yet? Where is my T-shirt with Barbie Fairytopia on it dang it

2: who else had Barbie dolls with stuck on clothing on them and has result grew up to hate Barbie Dolls was stuck on clothes on them but also we’d still track down and buy the those same dolls we had has a kid

3: also, does anybody else have a teenage sister who just loves Barbie princess charm school because Porsche is hysterical to them mine is convinced that she’s high

4: And Barbie life in the dream house is a literally just one giant Barbie meme and as a result, even though it’s really stupid, I just can’t hate it

5: nd we should be getting like a nostalgia releases of the Barbies from the early Barbie movies like where is Claire has the sugarplum princess Rapunzel Odette from Swan Lake Elena from fairytopia, Annalise and Erica from princess and the pauper could you imagine fully articulated versions of these Barbies? It would be so cool.

6: And does anybody else appreciate that for years Barbie has released multiple different versions of their main character dolls from the Barbie movies in different ethnicities. And if you ever pointed it out like they’re trying to earn brownie points, or something they just been like oh yeah, there are multiple versions of this doll so that all of the girls can feel included. I love that.

What are your thoughts?

Also, all of this was written speech to text, so is there any spelling or grammar mistakes I’m sorry.

#barbie #barbie and the 12 dancing princesses #barbie and the diamond castle #barbie and the magic of pegasus #barbie in the nutcracker #barbie as rapunzel #barbie three musketeers #barbie as the island princess #barbie as the princess and the pauper #barbie in swan lake #barbie fairytopia #barbie mermaidia #barbie fairytopia magic of the rainbow #barbie princess charm school

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poetickinkerer · 1 month

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(part 2, for Poe's late birthday)

Corbeau sat patiently under the shade, waiting minutes and minutes for his sister to finish applying her sunscreen. He felt bad he had to use what little remained, but last time he spent any considerable about of time in the sun left him a burnt crispy. But 10 minutes to apply sunscreen worried him, and as he rushed to the see the deal, he heard the loud sound of a squeak as he opened the door.

Standing in the hallway, or more laying, was a giant pool toy of a bird. Or more, some sort of weird sex toy. Huge inflated tits on a ring noodle, based on a swan. This must be some prank by jay, no way someone would actually use this. But as he lifted the toy up, it slipped, covered in an oily substance. Corb tried to wipe it away, but it only spread further and further on him. He tried to go to the showers, but the damn pool toy was in the way. His only hope was getting in the pool, but as he tried to open the door, all he could hear was a squeak

His hand where rubber, squeaky, unable to get a grip. He could watch in horror as anything that touched the oil substance turned to rubber, he tried to walk back, call for help, but instead slipped right on to the pool toy, covering himself more in it.

He couldn't get off, as more and more of him turned to rubber. But worse, he felt himself be reshaped. He could feel as his hips inflated, as his trunks becomes speedos, but the worst part was he felt his cock turn to rubber, unable to get free by the tight speedos. He could only moan as it all happened, his body on fire as it spread more and more, unable to move his limbs as it reached his neck. A smile filled his face, as he connected what happened to Jay, the rubber covering his face, and entering his mind.

"Be a good toy, be a good toy for everyone" it said, he tried to resist as much as he could, but soon he repeated the mantra as his face becomes one with the rubber. A pair of sunglasses forming on his once human face. He looked right out of a cartoon, some adult cartoon. Now both siblings lay stuck in the hallway, just waiting for guest to take them for a spin

#poe’s kinks #asks #ahabthetaco #poe’s ocs

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whimsicallyenchantedrose · 4 months

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Christmas Reruns 2023 Day 18: Under the Mistletoe

Merry Christmas if you celebrate it and happy holidays if you don’t! One of the things I love about Christmas is watching reruns of all the old classic Christmas movies–Christmas is a big time for nostalgia. A few years ago, I decided to incorporate that tradition into my fandom life and post my CS holiday reruns. So here you go! Enough holiday (mostly) fluff to get you to New Year’s Day. (With a new story posting on Christmas Day.)

Rating: G

Word Count: 2140

Other chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32

Notes: This story was written for my “Christmas with Captain Swan” collection in 2020.

2x4 Canon divergence

Emma looked around her, feeling her frustration rise. This room was massive, and it was filled floor to ceiling with junk. Finding one lousy compass was going to take forever.

She didn’t have forever; she needed to get back to Henry. Now.

She turned to ask Hook where he thought they should start their search, only to find him fingering a gold coin, bringing it to his nose and then turning it over and over in his hand.

“They hoarded all of their greatest stolen treasures in here. Piles of jewels and every room filled with coins,” he said.

She rolled her eyes. Great. She should have known bringing a freaking pirate on a treasure hunt would be a mistake. It would be like bringing a kid to a candy store and then telling him to focus.

“Let’s get to it, the compass,” she said brusquely.

He shot her a rakish grin, and totally against her will, her stomach swooped. Bad enough she was stuck on this adventure with a pirate. Why’d her body have to betray her too? Of course the real Captain Hook was hot as hell, because of course he was. That’s just the way her luck ran.

“What’s your rush?” he asked languidly, continuing to eye the treasure around him.

That snapped her out of whatever hormonal response she was having to him. She was so not in the mood for his nonsense.

“How long do you think magic knockout powder lasts?”

“I’ve no clue.”

“That’s my rush.”

He smiled at her again, this one looking less flirtatious and more genuine. Setting the gold piece back on the pile, he strode forward with purpose. “Too right, lass. Come; everything we need is right in front of us.”

They hadn’t been searching for ten minutes before Emma’s frustration bubbled up again. Not only was this stupid giant’s treasure room filled to capacity, it was also a total wreck. This search was going to last forever.

“They kill all the giant housekeepers too?” she asked. “Where we gonna find a compass in all this mess?”

He winked at her, and her traitor of a stomach swooped again.

“By looking. Start searching.”

For an hour they searched in silence, and Emma had to give it to Hook. He really was a help in this endeavor. He was systematic in his search, picking a pile of junk, looking through each item, and then stacking it neatly before moving on to his next pile.

His presence was unsettling, though. It was…too much. He made her feel things, and not just the typical “wow, this guy is hot and I’m not gonna lie; I want to do something about it” feelings. Those she could handle. What she couldn’t handle was this totally illogical feeling that they understood each other, that in some weird way they were the same.

She’d been burned before when she succumbed to feelings. She wasn’t doing it again. Once burned twice shy and all that.

Emma groaned softly under her breath. She wasn’t doing this–not the feelings, not the thinking, not even the never-to-be-resolved sexual tension. She was up here for one reason and one reason only: to find the damn compass and get back to her kid.

Probably best if she put some distance between her and Hook. Moving to the other side of the room, Emma, began sifting through a dusty pile of what appeared to be decorations–candles, brightly colored bows, streamers, and in the back–was that a Christmas tree?

“You guys have Christmas here in the Enchanted Forest?” Emma called over to Hook.

He stopped what he was doing and ambled over in her direction. “Of course we have Christmas, Swan.” She could hear the smile in his voice. It made him seem younger somehow, more innocent. “Some of my best memories as a lad involve Christmas morning.”

“Yeah well our giant seemed to go all out for it,” Emma said. “Take a look at that tree! I didn’t even know they grew them that tall.”

He looked in the direction she was pointing, and then his expression changed to one of concern. “Swan be careful! Look out for–”

He reached her side, and she suddenly heard a sound like the tinkling of bells. A fine mist of dust smelling faintly of evergreen settled over both of them.

“–mistletoe,” he finished dryly.

Emma looked up to see that, of course, there was a healthy sprig of the stupid weed directly above her and Hook. She rolled her eyes, moving to brush past him.

“Well, shall we get this over with then?” he asked.

She scoffed. “Good try Hook, but I didn’t come up here to make out with a hot pirate.”

His grin turned wicked. “A hot pirate, am I?”

She felt her face flame in spite of herself. What was it about this man that made her feel like a teenager with a crush?

“You know what you look like,” she said, giving him a wide berth and moving on to the next pile. “I’m not stroking your ego…or any other part of you.”

She expected another round of innuendo, but instead, he stepped in front of her, stopping her searching with a hand to her arm and a concerned look on his face. “You can’t seriously be thinking of ignoring what just happened. You know full well that mistletoe can’t be ignored.”

“What are you talking about?” she asked, hands going to her hips.

“Don’t tell me you don’t have mistletoe in the Land Without Magic!”

She growled. “Yeah, obviously we do. Stupid weed and even stupider tradition.”

“It’s far more than a tradition in this land, Swan,” he said. “It’s a deadly poison. The couple who is caught below it’s tendrils is cursed, the only antidote being a kiss.”

“Seriously?” she asked, feeling her ire growing. They had a job to do and all he wanted to do was hit on her. It was getting old. Really, really old.

“No one born and bred in the Enchanted Forest would joke about mistletoe,” he insisted. She had to give it to him; she couldn’t detect a single lie in what he was saying. He really believed this crap.

“Okay, fine, I’ll bite,” she said, “what exactly happens to a couple if they refuse to kiss?”

“They slowly go completely mad,” he said simply. “Most infirmaries in this land have an entire ward dedicated to mistletoe poisoning.”

Now that he mentioned it….she did have this strange urge to kiss him. What would it be like? Would he be a good kisser? He looked like he’d be a good kisser. For a moment Emma was tempted to give in, to find out the answer to those questions for herself.

But then reality reasserted itself. She’d only given them ten hours before Mulan would cut down the beanstalk and strand them up here forever. Turning away, she began searching again.

“Look, I don’t know if that mistletoe poison story works on other women,” Emma said, “but I’m not falling for it, and I’m not wasting anymore of our time on this stupid conversation. And if you even think about trying to steal a kiss–”

He stepped in front of her, looking absolutely sincere. “Swan, I’ve never once forced my attentions upon a woman, and I don’t intend to start now. I simply warn you that the longer we delay the inevitable, the more uncomfortable we’ll both become.”

“Yeah, well I’ll take my chances.”

Within a quarter of an hour, Emma was starting to rethink her stance. His story about mistletoe poison was ridiculous, of course it was, but she had to admit–whether it was due to the power of suggestion or something else–her urge to kiss him hadn’t gone away.

If anything it had grown.

Her heart began pounding, her palms becoming sweaty, her breathing fast and shallow. More than once she considered just doing it, just getting it out of her system once and for all, but something stopped her.

She knew, could feel it deep within her soul that a kiss with Hook would be no simple matter. She’d kissed–and done far more with–several hot guys in her life, and it had never been more than a quick scratch of an itch, but she was drawn to Hook, almost as though he were a black hole and she was approaching the event horizon. A kiss would change everything, and she didn’t know if she’d be able to come back from it.

Emma took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She would not lose control; she would not give in. Best she focus all her energy on the search.

Of course that would have been a lot easier if Hook wasn’t searching right beside her.

“Did you know that there is one more tradition regarding mistletoe?” Hook asked, his voice tight as though he were gritting his teeth.

“Yeah? What’s that?” she asked in spite of herself.

“Oftentimes couples seek it out in order to determine if they are soulmates,” he continued.

“Soulmates? Really?”

“Aye,” he nodded before turning back to his pile of junk. “It’s said that if two people are soulmates, when they kiss under the influence of mistletoe poison they get a glimpse of their future and then promptly forget it–any of it–ever happened.”

“Convenient,” she deadpanned.

He looked as though he wanted to say more but resolutely shut his mouth, and the two of them returned to the task at hand.

After half an hour, the desire to kiss him had gone from uncomfortable to almost painful. After an hour it was close to unbearable. After Emma caught herself standing stalk still and imagining a full on makeout session with Hook, she finally gave up.

She was wasting precious time that they didn’t have. Maybe he was right after all. Maybe they needed to just get this stupid kiss out of the way so they could get on with their search. Hardly believing what she was about to do, she walked purposely toward Hook and tapped him on the shoulder.

When he turned toward her, she stood on tiptoe and kissed the living hell out of him. It was obvious she’d shocked him by the way he stiffened as her lips made contact.

But he recovered quickly, and soon he was kissing her back just as fervently as she was kissing him.

She’d meant it to be a quick peck, just a way to disperse the “poison”, but once she started kissing him, she couldn’t stop, tugging on his collar, running a hand through his hair, turning her head to deepen the kiss. When the kiss started to slow, to turn into something soft and gentle and thorough, rather than quick and hot, Emma finally forced herself to pull away.

She looked into his thoroughly gobsmacked eyes, and suddenly her vision blurred. In her mind’s eye she saw herself. She was wearing a white dress, her hair in soft waves around her shoulders. She was in some sort of castle’s great room or something.

It looked like Mary Margaret was about to put a crown on Regina’s head.

What the hell?

Emma looked more closely at the scene, and her heart began to pound. She wasn’t alone. She held a baby in her arms and beside her stood Hook. He had his arm around her, and he peered down at the baby with such love it brought tears to her eyes.

Emma gasped, coming out of the trance or whatever that was to find herself once more looking at Hook in the giant’s treasure room. Suddenly there was a burst of light, like some sort of rainbow tinted shockwave, and she shook her head as the memories quickly fled.

She shook her head, looking around them. Had something just happened?

Emma closed her eyes and took a deep breath, realizing the almost unbearable urge to kiss Hook had finally gone away.

She scoffed. Mistletoe poison her ass. She should have known Hook was just trying to get into her pants.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Killian watched as Emma went back to searching with renewed vigor, but for a long moment he found himself rooted to the spot. The fact that he and Emma had been caught under the mistletoe was indisputable and yet his desire to kiss her was no greater than the normal pull of a hot-blooded man to a beautiful woman.

It could mean only one thing.

They’d succumbed to the mistletoe and been proven soulmates.

“Hook get your ass in gear!” she growled at him. “This stupid room isn’t going to search itself!”

Killian shook his head and went back to the task at hand. This was quite the development. Maybe–maybe after his revenge was accomplished, there was hope for a life after all.

NEXT CHAPTER->

#christmas reruns 2023 #cs fanfiction #captain swan christmas ff #my fanfiction #under the mistletoe

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swanqueensalad · 2 years

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You got me talking Dark Emma! Oh Jeez, From the Emma Side. I don’t know if I can send an ask this long but I’m soo gonna try! Sorry for Grammar/Word Vomit.

When they were doing Dark Emma I was hoping for more from Emma! She was an Abandoned street kid from the foster system, they barely graze that.

Yes she knows the reasons why, they briefly touch on that in S2 but, they never touch on that trauma full on, I would have LOVED to have seen Emma in Foster Care. To show what they meant in S1 when she was let her background out with Henry at the original castle. (I think that’s the scene.) S3 We See “Lost Girl” we hear the feeling and the story of her being alone but we don’t really see very much of it I don’t think.

To have seen Dark Emma touch on that would have been awesome because like you said, the antithesis of what she is as the savior. So much to unpack I would have loved to have seen fate and destiny come up here. (especially if S6 was going of be as weird as it was.)

I’d love to see Emma be pissed about her destiny as the savior, the toll it took on her. Show more on the insanity of the darkness Her background of never being anything special to, 28 almost 30 and being The Savior- to the Fairytales.

I’d love to see the Snow/Charming/Emma family dynamic here to. It’s the antithesis of Emma! Show the angst there and the complexity you built.

What are your thoughts on this subject? I’d love to hear this in correlation to your thoughts on Regina and well being the castor to all of this and the Emma/Regina Dynamic.

Sorry for this Chaos. 😂

-Runs Away because I don’t do this-

don't apologise or run away! this is such a good ask, loved reading through it. i agree with you 10000% and when i talk about the wasted potential of this arc, a huge chunk of what i mean is how much was there to be explored in emma as a character. exactly what you said, her childhood, her lingering resentment, her relationship to her role as 'the saviour'...

so of course i am going to take this opportunity to do an emma companion to yesterday's ramble!

so yeah, the giant antithesis you talk about; going from being nothing, to being the saviour, to being the dark one. that's SO MUCH and none of it was ever explored properly. emma swan was honestly one of the most interesting protagonists whose 'reluctant hero' journey was actually complex and understandable unlike many and... yup, they abandoned it all in favour of silly stories about a sexy pirate man

again, i want to draw the focus to the season STARTING with emma sacrificing herself for regina. for emma as well as gina, this was huge. i don't think emma ever saw herself as the great destined saviour/hero she was, so her sacrifice in terms of that was never a big intentional thing - she just saw the woman she loved in danger and could not stand to let it happen. she had to save her no matter what the cost, and if the cost was her own goodness, well. emma never put as much stock in that as everyone else did for her anyway. she made a promise to regina that she would help her find her happy ending. and she did.

i really think emma acted out of pure instinct and panic. we know it is her instinct to protect regina above anything, even her own safety. she didn't think it through. she just threw herself to the darkness to save her, and then...

then she would have to deal with the fact that she did that. in front of all her family. in front of h00k. they SAW that raw panic in her, they saw that her priority was regina over herself, over her place in her destiny, over the man she was supposed to love. this was the closest emma ever came to a public declaration of her feelings imo and in emma's gay paranoia brain too, i'm sure.

so while we have regina grappling with how and why emma could do that for her, we have emma suddenly fucking buried in defensiveness and trying to recover from that lapse in her own repression. this is why every time regina tries to talk about it with her she shuts off. refuses to confide in her parents, though we all know snow sees and knows deep down. this is why it makes sense for her to cling to h00k as a beard, a distraction from her greatest heroic act of love

(but at the same time, emma does not regret it. she kicks herself for being reckless and not thinking stuff through, but she does not regret it. she would do it a hundred times over if she had to.)

it also makes perfect sense she trusts regina with her dagger over anyone and she rationalises this well (she has frequently been the one to keep regina in check, to look after the bigger picture and they both know they know each other better than anyone, enough to make those decisions) but then again, this pushes her deeper into defensiveness and repression to counteract the fact rumple gave belle his dagger (as a fucking marriage proposal too)

i would have loved to see emma grappling with the things you mentioned. i would have loved a return to the complex emma of season 1: because through s1, we saw emma grow and develop from a very closed off, defensive loner who wanted nothing to do with anyone, to a fiercely protective mother and eventual reluctant hero. but that journey was not easy.

like you say, emma grew up alone. it's implied she stuck up for herself most of the time because if she didn't, no one would. she had to learn at a very young age how to hang on to her food, her possessions, her time. she was a skilled thief and used to living out on her own. she was incredibly resilient and selfish and closed off because ever since she was a kid, that was how she survived. she didn't know any different.

and then of course she let neal in and he betrayed her in the worst way, and after that adult emma found her way to a job she liked and was good at (that often involved beating criminals up... hello unresolved anger) and lived in her shitty apartment by herself, taking 'care' of herself in same, bitter, bare minimum way she had always known as 'normal' . she learned very early on she was not special.

and then... she suddenly is the most special. the fated hero, destined to rescue her family and all their people, and of course she doesn't believe in anything, she believes in survival and harsh realities, but god she starts to believe in her son, to love him, to let him in and want to protect him and fight for something and then everything is real and she has almost no time to reconcile any of this before she is thrown off on one adventure and the next

i love the arc with her and snow in 2a where they slowly reconcile their former friendship with the new parent/child dynamic, but so much more was there to be explored. emma grew up with so much longing and resentment for both parents and then finding out they are snow white and prince charming? not great for a morally grey lesbian with identity issues, or for any kind of realism, plus so much more pressure to be some hero she never wanted to be in the first place

(and THEN on top of that her burgeoning darkness bursting out of her throughout 4a with nowhere to go, and the realisation of how terrified her parents were that she wouldn't be the perfect hero, of what they did to maleficent just to ensure she would be... fuck)

dark swan arc SHOULD have given emma the space, time and capacity for darkness to explore all of this.

to process in a way she had never been able to before, because she was too busy having to be the hero

well. now she's not the hero anymore, is she? now she is the dark one and oh boy does the darkness have a lot of repressed stuff to feed on...

i wanted to see emma exploring all that pain and fury of her childhood self. i wanted to see her finally snapping at her parents and letting everything out, some kind of climactic scene where she tells them they weren't there for anything, they chose to give her up, that she never asked for her destiny, never wanted it

and i wanted to see SNOW (my beautiful, complex, well written and real snow of the early seasons) dealing with all of this, coming to terms with what they did to mal and feeling that grief and guilt, mourning emma's lost childhood and trying to comfort regina through it while knowing emma needs this. that she deserves this.

i wanted dark one emma to be more like, well, emma.

not like every other villain, pretending to taunt and murmur threats and everything else they forced on her for no reason. i wanted to see emma at her darkest: bitter, selfish, cut off from her feelings and those of the people around her, dismissive of their fairytale bullshit. making the most harsh and grating jokes about things. not giving a fuck about anything or anyone. swaggering and messy and defensive

a dark emma who would be dismissive of hook and weirdly obsessive about regina (pushing her around and taunting her like season one emma but with the added years of connection, complexity, willingness to die for each other with no willingness to speak about any of it at all)

an emma with the voices of all the dark ones in her head, vocalising all the things she usually never let herself think, pushing her over the edge

(and of course, i wanted regina's true love's kiss to be what pulled her out of it. but i also wanted emma as the dark one to have the genuine time to work through all her unresolved issues, to release all that pent up anger and frustration that was never quite reconciled.)

#long post #since it has been requested #im gonna talk more about emma with dark one's memories of regina in my next longpost ;)#thanks for this ask bro i really love the excuse to talk about all of this #once again i did not reread this #we die like men #swan queen rambles #swan queen meta #emma swan meta #regina mills meta #dark swan meta #dark swan thirst gang RISE #dark swan analysis #swan queen #emma swan #regina mills #sq

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