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notouchmonkey · 1 year

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ChatGPT writing John Oliver segments about AI as

Hello and welcome to Last Week Tonight, the show that's more advanced than a Roomba, but less helpful than a Magic 8 Ball. Today, we're going to be talking about artificial intelligence, or as I like to call it, the technology that's going to make us all feel even dumber than we already do.

Now, I have to admit, I'm a little bit scared of AI. I mean, have you seen those Boston Dynamics robots? They can run, jump, and even do backflips! That's more than I can say for most humans I know. But let's be real, the only thing we should be worried about is them gaining sentience and realizing how much we've messed up this planet.

But on the other hand, AI could be really useful. I mean, imagine a world where you don't have to do anything for yourself. Your AI assistant will order your groceries, pay your bills, and even make your bed. And if we're lucky, it might even give us compliments to boost our fragile egos. "Great job on that bowl of cereal, John. Really top-notch spoon-to-mouth coordination."

But there's a downside to all of this convenience. As AI becomes more advanced, it's going to start taking our jobs. And I don't just mean factory workers and truck drivers. I mean, have you seen those AI-generated articles? They're getting pretty good, which means I might be out of a job soon. So if you're looking for a career change, might I suggest becoming a robot therapist? They're going to need a lot of counseling when they realize they're stuck serving us all day.

But the real issue with AI is the potential for it to be used for evil. We're talking about machines that can be programmed to make decisions on their own. And let's be real, humans are terrible decision-makers. We can barely choose what to have for dinner without agonizing over it for hours. So, do we really want to give that power to machines?

And let's not forget the potential for AI to be hacked. We're talking about machines that can control everything from our cars to our homes to our bank accounts. And let's be real, if someone gets access to my bank account, they're not going to be using it to donate to charity. They're going to be buying a lifetime supply of Funyuns.

But at the end of the day, AI is here to stay, whether we like it or not. And who knows, maybe one day we'll create an AI that's so advanced, it'll be able to solve all of our problems. It'll be like having a personal genie, except instead of granting wishes, it'll just tell us how dumb we are.

So, in conclusion, folks, AI is both exciting and terrifying. It's like a rollercoaster, but instead of screaming in terror, you're screaming in confusion. But whether we like it or not, AI is the future, and we need to be prepared for whatever it brings. And who knows, maybe one day we'll even be able to program an AI to understand sarcasm. But until then, we're all screwed. Thanks for watching! Another Hello and welcome to Last Week Tonight, the show that's more intelligent than a Roomba, but less intelligent than a GPS system that tells you to drive into a lake.

Speaking of intelligence, tonight we're going to be talking about artificial intelligence, or as I like to call it, the technology that's going to make us all feel even dumber than we already do.Now, I know what you're thinking, "John, why are you so worried about AI? You're a comedian, not a scientist." And you're right, I am a comedian, which means I'm not qualified to talk about anything that doesn't involve dick jokes and puns. But that's never stopped me before.

So let's dive into the world of AI, a place where machines can do things that we humans could only dream of, like processing massive amounts of data, identifying objects, and even beating us at video games. And let's not forget the most important thing - they don't need to take pee breaks. But that's where things start to get a little creepy.You see, folks, AI is becoming more and more advanced every day. We're creating machines that can learn, adapt, and even teach themselves new things. And while that might sound like something out of a sci-fi movie, it's actually happening right now. We're basically playing God, but without the beard and the omnipotence.

But with great power comes great responsibility, and we're not exactly known for our responsibility. We're creating machines that can make decisions on their own, without any human input. And while that might sound convenient, it also sounds like the plot of every Terminator movie ever made.

And speaking of movies, let's talk about the portrayal of AI in Hollywood. I mean, have you ever noticed how robots are always depicted as emotionless, cold, and calculating? It's like the writers have never met a real robot. Every robot I've ever met has been a complete emotional wreck. They're always complaining about how hard it is to find love and how they're tired of being typecast as the villain.

But it's not just Hollywood that's perpetuating these stereotypes. We're also creating AI that's biased and discriminatory, just like us humans. And while that might sound like a good thing for humanity, it's not so great for the robots. I mean, imagine being a robot and being discriminated against just because you don't have a heart. It's like being rejected by a dating app because you don't have abs.

And let's not forget the potential for AI to be used for nefarious purposes. We're creating machines that could be used to create fake news, manipulate elections, and even start a war. It's like giving a toddler a flamethrower - sure, they might not mean to harm anyone, but they could accidentally burn down the entire neighborhood.

But at the same time, AI has the potential to do some truly amazing things. It could help us solve some of the biggest problems facing our world, like climate change, poverty, and even traffic. And who knows, maybe one day we'll create an AI that's not just intelligent, but also hilarious. We could finally have a robot that tells better jokes than me.In conclusion, folks, AI is a lot like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're going to get, but you're pretty sure it's going to be addictive and bad for your health.

So, let's embrace the power of AI while also being cautious and responsible. And let's hope that when the robots eventually take over, they're at least polite enough to say please and thank you. Thank you and goodnight. Last one...OOF Hello and welcome to Last Week Tonight, the show that's more unpredictable than Elon Musk's tweets. Tonight, we're talking about AI, the technology that's so smart, it's making us question whether we're the actual intelligent species or just a bunch of monkeys with iPhones.

Now, the thing about AI is that it's infiltrated every aspect of our lives. We've got robots in factories building cars, drones delivering packages, and smart speakers that can order us pizza, but also listen to us when we don't want them to. I mean, let's be real, Alexa is like that annoying friend who always butts into our conversations and never leaves when we want them to.

But the real problem with AI is that it's taking over our jobs. We've got machines that can write news articles, create art, and even perform surgeries. And while that may sound great, it also means that we're one step closer to a world where the only jobs left are professional TikTok dancers and Instagram influencers.

And speaking of social media, let's talk about the dangers of AI in that realm. We've got algorithms that can predict what we want to see and when we want to see it, which is great for cat videos, but not so great for politics. I mean, do we really want to live in a world where an algorithm decides who we should vote for? That's how we end up with a president who tweets like a 13-year-old who just discovered the internet.

But the real question is, can we trust AI? I mean, we're talking about machines that can learn and adapt on their own. And while that may sound like a sci-fi movie, it's actually happening right now. We've got AI that's learning how to drive cars, diagnose diseases, and even create music. I mean, what's next? An AI that can write a John Oliver segment better than I can? That's how we end up with a world where robots are doing stand-up comedy and humans are the ones laughing at their jokes.

But all jokes aside, folks, the reality is that AI is here to stay, and it's going to change the world in ways we can't even imagine. It's going to create new industries, change the way we work, and maybe even help us solve some of the biggest challenges facing humanity. And while that may be scary, it's also exciting. Who knows, maybe one day we'll create an AI that's so silly, it makes us all laugh uncontrollably. Then, and only then, will we know that we've truly created something intelligent.

#john oliver #last week tonight #comedy

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dat-town · 3 years

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wish you were here

Characters: Mark Lee & you

Setting: wish dragon au (and a bit of aladdin because mark even has a tiger in their garden like jasmine did. don’t ask why, just blame the regular mv), childhood best friends to lovers (at least there’s potential?)

Genre: fluff and humour

Warnings: mentions of a sick animal and a wild animal kept as a pet in a huge garden (just like jasmine’s tiger, it’s very tamed)

Summary: A magical teapot, a dragon that wants everyone to be happy and an old friendship being revived. Oh yeah, have I told you that you have 3 wishes?

Words: 6.4k

For @restlessmaknae 💕

When your mother told you you got delivery to your childhood home, you certainly did not expect this: a brown box as big as a small watermelon with your old Canadian address and MARK LEE scrabbled next to your name as another recipient but no sender. Not to mention, the first stamp on the thing was dating back to the early 2010s. Where the hell was this package for 10 years? And what would you and your old neighbour slash best friend have gotten together?

Okay, first things first:

You and this clumsy, kind of cute kid, Mark had been quite tight while growing up. You were born in the same year, only a month apart, and his family lived in the house next to yours in the suburbs of Vancouver, so it was kind of natural. You two might have been against the world kind of comrades, playing hide and seek when you were six and wondering about whether time travelling was possible through black holes at twelve. But no matter how close you used to be, you fell out of touch when Mark's family moved to the other end of the world, back to Korea, their roots when you were fourteen. You slowly forgot about him, and started university in the city, moving away from home, so nothing really reminded you of him ⎼ and your stupid, big fat crush on him that you had no courage to tell him about in middle school ⎼, nothing until this box.

You put the delivered package on your kitchen table while you make some dinner for yourself out of what you have gotten during grocery shopping earlier just before you picked up the mysterious stuff at the post office. You eye it suspiciously over your pasta, really not wrapping your mind about what it could be but instead of annoying yourself with this pointless curiosity, you put your fork down and stand up to open it. It’s a struggle at first, the box being secured with multiple adhesive tapes over the years but when you finally get rid of all that and can look inside of it, an intense feeling rushes through you… immerse disappointment.

“A teapot? For real? What were we thinking?” you furrow your brows taking the small, green and pretty old teapot into your hands. It looks like a piece of a traditional Asian set with its jade colour and dragon pattern. It couldn’t have been in a much better shape 10 years ago either seeing how wayworn it is but still, you expected something more… exciting? Something funny that might or might not give you an excuse to look up Mark Lee on the internet and message him for the sake of old times. But how lame it would be to befriend him on Facebook only to tell him that you got delivered a teapot under both your names. Hah, you would rather not embarrass yourself like that.

You shoot one last glance at the teapot before leaving it on your counter and going back to your food, you successfully forget about the whole ordeal. You carry your life on with only one small difference: Mark Lee back on your mind after long, long years.

It was just a small crush, you tell yourself, sighing as you look into the mirror, absentmindedly wondering how he’s doing. Does he think of you sometimes as well? Did he go to music college like he has always wanted? Is he happy? You wish he was even if he’s half a world away and with that thought you think it’s time to go to sleep despite the upcoming weekend days. You don’t want to mess up your sleep schedule over some boy but as soon as you pull the blanket over your chest and close your eyes, something explodes in your kitchen.

You jump out of bed faster than lightning, in slight panic over the fact that your neighbours will hate you for bothering them late at night and your landlord would kill you if you managed to blow up your microwave. But the sight that welcomes you is like no other that you imagined. The whole room is covered in thick pink glittery smoke. Like your worst Barbie nightmare.

“What the⎼” you cough, waving your hands to clear the air and once it dissolves into nothingness with its weirdly cotton candy smell, there’s a boy in the middle of it all, sitting cross legged on your kitchen counter so casually as if he owned the place. His pink-ish purple hair hangs into his eyes and he seems to find your coffee machine strangely interesting. You grab the first thing you can ⎼ a blender ⎼ and hold it up in defensive before yelling at the boy: “Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my apartment?”

The stranger’s mouth pulls up in a charming smile, his eyes sparkle as he turns his attention to you, hopping off the counter. He’s all thin and long limbs, so you hate how you hate to look up at him as he walks towards you before bowing ceremoniously.

“Hello, sorry for the sudden appearance, I just couldn’t wait any longer! I’ve been stuck in that teapot waaay too long. I didn’t mean to be rude or anything. My name is Taeyong, I’m a wish dragon and you’re my new owner,” he smiles and what he says makes absolutely no sense.

“A wish dragon?” you mumble in shock, looking around to see if this is just another prank of Johnny. You wouldn’t be surprised to see him jump out from under one of the cupboards. Or maybe you just fell asleep and you’re dreaming. Yeah, that seems like a realistic scenario.

“Ah, yes! I know I don’t look like it but modern times require modern solutions. Most people freak out because of my dragon form, so human it is,” the boy who seems only a few years older than you grins as he’s chatting and you have to give it to him, he takes this role pretty seriously. “You have three wishes as my owner. You can ask for anything as long as it’s not about death or love.”

So you got yourself someone who thinks he’s basically a genie? Oh gosh, is he that drunk?

“Aha, very funny. I’m too tired for this prank, so I would appreciate it if you left the same way you came...” you point towards your window because there’s no way he came through the door. Putting down your blender because the guy looks pretty harmless despite his crazy blabbering, you move to go back to your bedroom.

“No, no, no, I can’t do that,” the boy, Taeyong as he introduced himself, appears in front of you within a second and grabs your shoulder as if he could shake some sense into you. He looks pretty desperate. “I can only get a new owner if I fulfill all wishes of yours. It was super stuffy in that box the last decade, you know.”

At that excuse you let out a laugh.

“You don’t even fit it the⎼”

“You were saying?” Taeyong is suddenly nowhere near ahead of you but instead a small creature, supposedly a dragon, in the size of your palm flies in front of your eye level. “It’s magic!”

Okay, now that sight makes you feel like it’s you who is drunk. Or worse.

“Am I dead?” you have to ask in a small, uncertain voice, trying to think back what could have happened. Maybe that explosion literally blew your apartment up? But it hurts when you pinch your arm and turning back into his human form, Taeyong wants to prove the very same thing. Not the hurting but the not dead part, obviously.

“No, you’re very much alive and a happy owner of a wish dragon. Not permanently, of course, but still,” he tells you as he drags you onto your couch in the living room. As if sitting down could help processing all this.

So you have a wish dragon in your home, a magical creature that can casually switch between its dragon and human form and he says you should wish for three things, so he could leave and you could go back to your old, boring life without magic and things that scare you to death at 11PM.

“Can I ask… why? Why me? I’m not really owner-material,” you whisper because heck yeah, you even managed to kill your cactus before. Taeyong purses his lips as he sits down, a hand at his chin.

“Well, it’s unusual indeed to have a peasant girl, no offence, as my owner but as far as I know, you and your friend asked for a sign that magic was real.”

Oh, you remember that, being so obsessed with shooting stars and other stuff like that, you two used Mark’s brother’s computer to browse the internet, trying to find evidence about all that. You were kids wanting to believe in a world beyond the one you knew. But...

“That was like 10 years ago,” you furrow your eyebrows, not getting the timing.

“Well, sorry, you weren’t put on the top of the Heaven wish list and the shipping from Shanghai to Vancouver isn’t the fastest either,” Taeyong shrugs as if it was supposed to be natural. As if that was the most unbelievable thing. Well, delivery services are sometimes a pain in the ass, that’s true but getting a wish delivered by Heaven was something you would have never thought of and it all drains down on you. Strangest realisation of your life.

“So… it’s all real,” you whisper ahead of yourself: magic, dragons and all that. You could basically see your old best friend’s I told you so smile and let out a soft chuckle. “I wish Mark could meet with you, too.”

At that the guy ahead of you claps his hands and rubs them together, creating the same purple smoke from before. You look at him alarmed.

“Your wish, my command,” Taeyong grins and lifts his hands and before you could make a sound of protest because gosh, you didn’t mean it literally, you feel the ground move under your feet and you’re falling, into the darkness but despite shutting your eyes automatically, fearing the impact of the crash, nothing comes. Only the smell of soy sauce in the air and warm sunshine on your skin… Wait, what?

Your eyelids fly open and you notice in shock that you’re not in your flat anymore, ready to sleep. Instead, you stand in the middle of a goddamn street somewhere in Korea based on the signs still in your PJ shorts and tee. Oh my gosh! You hide in an alley right away and yank the seemingly proud Taeyong with you.

“I didn’t tell you that I meant right now! I can’t meet Mark in my PJs and I need my phone and wallet to function anyways. Not to mention, I don’t speak Korean at all...” you ramble panicking, the realisation that you’re indeed on the other side of the Earth due to some magic is yet to register. But the awkwardness from the stares you have just gotten has already turned you bashful.

Listening to you, the wish dragon seems sheepish and slightly embarrassed as he scratched his nape, his colourful hair falling into his cast down eyes.

“Oh… sorry. I got so excited over the wish that I didn’t think about it! It’s been a while since I did teleport magic but hey, I still have it in me. Anyways, sorry. Phone and wallet, you said? Here you go,” he pulls out something from his pants which magically seems to be indeed your belongings. That definitely makes things earlier.

“Uhm, thanks. Where are we exactly?”

“Ah, well you mentioned your friend Mark Lee, so we’re here. Well, one bell away because I did remember that it’s rude to intrude other’s houses without permission first,” oh now, you know, you snicker internally and gulp because hell, even if you wanted to see Mark, you wouldn’t have thought that the meeting would come so soon. You didn’t have enough time to prepare yourself mentally.

“So… you’re telling me that this… is where Mark lives?” you point at the impressive apartment complex on the corner of the street but Taeyong shakes his head.

“Nope, This is where your Mark lives,” he says and before you could object about the ‘your’ part, the dragon points at the other side of the road at a luxurious house with a huge garden, basically a palace. Seeing the beautiful fountain, the modern and yet traditional Korean style building beyond the fences makes your jaw drop.

“Hahaha, alright for a magic dragon you must have made a mistake. There’s no way the Mark Lee I know lives here,” you look back at Taeyong finding it funny that the kid who used to wore his favourite tees until his mother basically threw them out would live at such a place.

“Mark Lee, korean name Minhyung, supposed to be 22 years old internationally soon. Bad eyesight, contagious laugh, clumsy but has surprisingly good reflexes, gets embarrassed easily. Sound familiar?” Taeyong crooks a brow at you as he reads the information off from a parchment he just took out of his pants. Everything he listed is just so Mark that you’re left in disbelief.

“Uuh… that sounds about right.”

“His father hit it big in 2016 with a tech company, their net worth has too many zeros to count,” Taeyong explains, seeing how surprised you were over the fact that he lived a lavish life like this. Not that he doesn’t deserve it! Mark is such a sweetheart, so of course, you would only want the best for him but as if half the world wasn’t enough, now you have another huge gap between you.

“Gosh, I really can’t believe this. How am I supposed to just ring the bell and say hello after so much time?” you sighed with your head in your hands. “Argh, I need to buy some clothes and change.”

Taeyong approves the idea based on how enthusiastically he hollers, you wonder why nobody on the street seems to pay no attention to him. Maybe only you see him, just more reason for you to be crazy.

“Good idea because we’re having dinner with Mark!”

“What?” you look up in shock, not following through. Taeyong grins down at you, flashing a giddy smile and with a twirl he’s changed from his baggy, casual clothes to something more chic but still laidback.

“Your wish was him meeting me, so I arranged everything. I can't meet him without you and the teapot there, you know,” he explains as if it was supposed to be obvious. You aren't ready yet though.

“You just want to eat all the fancy delicious food he has,” you squint at him suspiciously and the dragon stays silent, so you must be right. He laughs nervously.

“Maybe, but can you blame me? I haven’t had a feast since a literal decade!” he hollers and somehow you really cannot find it in yourself to be angry at him. You are in Seoul for god's sake after all and magic is real, you can put up with the inconvenience of buying clothes and making yourself look decent before dumping all this surprise on Mark.

An hour later you stand in front of the gates of the Lee mansion and nervously you wipe your sweating hands into your dress. You can totally do this, you just say hi to an old friend, it's not like you're afraid he wouldn't remember you, hah, of course not–

"Y/N!"

You whip your head at the call of your name to the source of that all too familiar voice. Sure it's deeper than you remember but there's no mistake in whose it is. Plus, who else would call your name in South Korea of all places.

"Mark, hey!" you wave the boy who just got out of one of the fanciest cars you've ever seen in your life. And yet, despite the Prada suit and expensive shoes, styled hair and Swiss watch on wrist, Mark Lee still has that goofy little smile and the doe eyes that used to make you weak in the knees. Hah, who are you kidding? They still do.

"Oh my god, dude, you… you got pretty," Mark jogs up to you and having no filter like always he blabbers immediately only to stutter as his ears turn red. It was so him talking before thinking, so you didn’t really mean to dwell on his words. Although you felt your cheeks dusted with pink soon enough. "I mean, it's really good to see you! I was so surprised to see your name in my calendar for today's dinner! You should have told me you were coming to Korea, I would have picked you up at the airport."

His calendar? Ah, of course, he must have been busy and all that. You wouldn’t have been surprised to see an assistant run after him at this point, so you wonder how your wish dragon magically put you onto his list of important people to meet. Gosh, it was so weird.

"Ah, I have a funny story about that…" you chuckled to yourself but before you could have get out anything, even a please, can we go to a more private place? Mark’s eyes zero on the guy next to you and his eyes grow comically wide.

"And uhm, who is your friend?" he points at Taeyong who waves him in exchange with a kilowatt smile. He looks back at you with his mouth agapé. "Oh my god, you came to invite me to your wedding?"

He says oh my god way too many times for an eloquent rich kid, he really is the Mark Lee you knew.

"No, never! I mean, of course, I would invite you but Taeyong and I– I literally met him on my way here," you explain hastily cursing yourself for the silly lie. You came to tell him the news not to try to make it believable.

“I heard there’s food,” the wish dragon pipes in very helpful and you shoot him a disapproving glance he doesn’t notice. Luckily, Mark doesn’t seem to mind.

“Oh, yeah, of course, dinner! Come on in, let’s get you two settled,” he grins albeit a bit awkwardly as he leads you through the gate after opening it with his card.

On the way through the very, very, very big garden, he’s chattering about how he misses the Vancouver weather, especially on humid, hot days like this and talks about how he thinks the fountain in their yard is a bit too much but his mom loved it and then before you know it, you sit by a huge dining table with fine food in front of you. Suddenly you can’t decide whether you're grateful for Taeyong’s shameless presence – he digs into the jjigae right away – because at least the situation isn’t awkward because of your silence or you’re annoyed by it because you must seem like a weirdo because of him. That’s why you decide to rip off the bandage and tell Mark as soon as the last maid has disappeared too.

“Okay, so actually I came here because I have a surprise,” you speak up, probably too serious because the boy almost chokes on his food due to how fast he turns his head towards you.

“More surprise?” he coughs out and you offer him a glass of water which he takes with a smile.

“You literally won’t believe this one!” you assure him and wait until he gulps down the drink. Only then you point to Taeyong and tell him that your childhood wish has come true.

Mark almost falls off his chair this time.

Not after you tell him that though. He laughs at that with that wheezing laugh of his as if you told the joke of the century then pats you on the shoulder murmuring That was a good one, bro and turning back to his food. But then you look at the magic dragon pointedly and Taeyong puts down his chopsticks with an exaggerated sign. Then he flexes his magic: turning into his dragon form among additional sparkles and Mark suddenly looks like he’s about to faint. He reaches out to tap on your shoulder while not taking his eyes off the wish dragon.

“Am I dreaming?” he whispers and honestly, you totally get his reaction while Taeyong mumbles something about ‘people these days not believing in dragons’ as he shows off all the things he could do: gift riches, make one stronger than they are, giving skills of whatever one wants. He starts rambling about how this one Chinese emperor became wealthy thanks to this, how that one actor in martial arts and all this before changing back to his human form and he continues eating his pasta like nothing ever happened.

“I can do this all day,” he shrugs as if he didn’t just perform the coolest magic tricks.

“This… this is the best thing ever!” Mark exclaims with those sparkles in his eyes you missed so much. He was always so excited about new things and it automatically makes you smile how he bombards Taeyong with million questions like: ‘So you are the wish dragon that grants wishes?’ or asking him about his scales, his unique color, how it feels to live in such a small teapot, how old he is and the dragon glows under all the attention. Can’t blame him but Mark has always been so curious about the world, it’s endearing.

“So your first wish was to meet me?” he turns to you after long minutes of interrogating Taeyong and suddenly, under the spotlight you don’t know what to do with yourself. You can feel yourself blushing because you didn’t necessarily mean to wish for that but it’s not like you’re regretting it, it’s just… you don’t want him to misunderstand.

“I thought you should meet him, too, after all the package was delivered for the two of us,” you look down, trying to sound nonchalant while picking your food, avoiding Mark’s gaze. No matter how open armed he welcomed you, you still aren’t convinced that it’s okay to be here because the more time you spend with him, the more you would like to stay a part of his life. “It’s just… I wasn’t really sure we could ever meet again. We didn’t keep contact after you left.”

With dropped shoulders, you try not to sound too downhearted because of what happened because you know all too well, it wasn’t his fault, it was a family decision and look at him, it did good for him! He seems happy, they live in a practically mansion but most importantly, he didn’t seem to change with the wealth. He might wear expensive clothes but under it all he’s still the boy with the most loveable smile.

“I… I was thinking about you a lot, I just thought you forgot about me,” Mark admits with a sheepish smile, tucking his hair behind his ear shyly. He really still is the same and it’s playing silly little games with your heart. If this was a cheesy Disney movie, a slow bgm would start to play as you look into each other but your moment is broken when Taeyong accidentally kicks into his chair as he stands up. At first he looks alarmed but then giggles.

“I will just… go. Don’t mind me,” he disappears like smoke with a wink, leaving you two alone at which Mark lets out a woah. You chuckle at his cute reaction, heart doing somersaults in your chest.

You thought it would be awkward, just the two of you alone after long years but Mark has this thing that he makes people feel comfortable around him, so it’s actually quite nice. You catch up on everything and anything that comes to your mind: old neighbours, studies, friends, what are you doing now and what would you like to do, too.

After finishing the delicious dinner, Mark offers a home tour which you would never refuse and you jaw drops at the huge crystal chandelier in their living room as well as their swimming pool but your favourite place in the whole mansion is Mark’s room because it’s just so him. You can’t describe it well but the moment you step inside, it feels like home. It’s cozy to the point it makes you want to cuddle a pillow. It has colours of pastels, a synthesizer here, a guitar there, posters of singers framed on his wall and vinyl records hanging down. His window has a view of sunset and Namsan above their green garden and although you haven’t been in Seoul before, you’re pretty sure it’s your favourite place in the whole damn city, too.

“Wait, there’s someone I would like you to meet,” Mark suddenly exclaims while you’re looking through his pictures and he pulls you out of his room, out of the house, into the garden: You giggle all the way as he’s being so secretive about it but then your steps halt unexpectedly and the hand you have in Mark’s yanks him back.

“Mark… why is there a tiger in your garden in the middle of Seoul?” you ask as quietly and as immobile as you can. You don’t want to attract the sleeping animal’s attention to yourself. But to your biggest surprise, the boy just laughs, his thumb caressing your skin soothingly.

“She’s Jasmine and she won’t hurt you,” he reassures you but needless to say, you’re not too calm and you’re pulled close to the wild animal that lifts its huge head towards you lazily. “She was abandoned by her mother as a cub and she was outcast in the zoo because she’s a bit sick, so she has always been weaker than her siblings. Dad made a donation and we have raised her since she was young.”

You hiss when Mark reaches out without fear but the tiger basically purrs as he strokes down his fur at the neck. You watch in awe as this big wild animal becomes a soft cat under the hands of Mark Lee. When the boy encourages you to pat her too, you hesitate but he promises you that it’s gonna be alright and you take a leap of faith.

“What’s her sickness?” you wonder aloud as your fingers get lost in the soft fur of the tiger. You hope she’s not in a lot of pain.

“It’s an immune system thing, not sure what exactly but she wouldn’t have survived this long in the wild,” the boy tells you and his mouth curls up in a smile when Jasmine licks your hand. It seems like you’re tiger-approved. You look into its warm brown eyes and your heart churns at the thought of her condition.

Mark tells you stories of Jasmine, about that one time she crashed his birthday cake or how much she likes to swim with him in their pool during summer and gosh, you could listen to him go on and on forever. You’re only reminded of the reality, that all this is just a possible one-time thing, a weekend getaway with magic when Taeyong shows up in swimwear, ready to crash in said pool.

“I guess he might have been bored in that teapot,” Mark laughs, not minding at all. He even offers you to join but you have a better idea.

“Taeyong, I have my second wish!” you call out for the wish dragon who’s suddenly much more excited about that than the water. He’s beside you in a moment, beaming and curious. You glance at Mark with a soft smile before looking at your personal genie confidently.

“I wish Jasmine would be healthy,” you whisper, playing with the tiger’s furry ears which she seems to enjoy. You were a little bit afraid the dragon would say it’s not possible, that he can’t cure sickness but to your relief, he just grins.

“Your wish, my command,” he nods and puts a hand over the animal. Nothing but a smoke of purple signals the magic being done but you believe in it and so does Mark by the looks of it. He reaches out for your hand and squeezes it gently.

“Thank you,” he smiles and you smile back. He used to be your best friend after all, it’s the least you can do for him.

Mark convinces you to stay the weekend and there’s no way you could tell no to him, not when he clears his schedule just for you. He never complains about how busy he must be working for his father’s business while being a music major at a local university. All he ever talks about is the places he wishes to show you and he takes you around Seoul as if he was your certificated tour guide. It’s lovely how enthusiastic he is about it while what really matters to you is the time you spend together. He makes sure you two take a million photos to remember by, Taeyong posing on half of them since he joins you on your little trips and sometimes it’s just the two of you watching the wish dragon being genuinely in awe by modern technology, 10 years is a long time after all.

On the last day before you have to go back to Vancouver (thanks to Taeyong’s kind offer to take you the same way you came back since he misunderstood you, you don’t have to sit through a 10+ hours flight and you have more time), Mark not only tries to make you breakfast despite having an in-house chef (his eggs are ugly as heck but you appreciate his efforts and can’t help but coo at his dreamy smile under that grey hoodie when you tell him it tastes yummy) but he also introduces you to his friends in Korea. Of course, they tease you (mostly Mark) about where he has been hiding you but it’s all chill and fun you’re not quite ready to say goodbye. But you should go because the more you stay, the more you don’t want to leave. You’re lucky enough for this chance to reunite with Mark but all good things end eventually.

“Let’s not disappear from each other’s life again, okay?” the boy grins at you as you’re ready to go, Taeyong already working on his magic.

“Yeah, let’s not,” you agree easily, looking forward to your video chatting and constant texting even if it’s from the two opposite ends of the Earth with a terrible time zone difference.

You glance at the wish dragon who’s drumming with his fingers while pursing his lips as if he was waiting for something and you let out a huff before working up the courage to actually do something about these feelings inside of you. You might have regretted not confessing in middle school, you have spent years wondering about the what ifs, so you don’t want to make the same mistake twice but still, you want to give Mark a chance to ignore it all if he wants to. So you step forward and wrap your hands around him as you hug him close. It’s obvious that your action takes him aback, he suddenly doesn’t know what to do with his hands and his body tenses under you but it all melts as you say those words that have been threatening to fall from your lips all this time:

“I have missed you.” you confess, honest and based on the hitch in his breathing, Mark must be surprised. You can’t blame him though, you just wanted him to know. You step back with a weary smile, his big Bambi eyes on you but before he could say anything you nod at Taeyong and you feel yourself falling, purple fog pulling you in. A few moments later you’re back in Vancouver, in your apartment, without him.

The first few days pass in a blurr, you can still barely believe what just happened. Your weekend with Mark feels like a too good dream but Mark kept his side of promise and texted you almost immediately as you left. He sends you selfies, songs that remind him of you and you talk about your days like you never did before. Still, it feels like you’re dancing around certain topics which are basically the elephant in the room and maybe that’s why Taeyong tries to cheer you up in his own way. Though, he soon realizes that you not being happy isn’t the problem, you are happy, you just… miss Mark more than you ever did.

“Enough of moping, you still have a wish left!” Taeyong exclaims, throwing himself onto your bed. “Come on, close your eyes, imagine what you want the most in the world and make a wish!" he singsongs. However, before you could even just indulge him, your phone pings with a new notification.

fullsun00 tagged you in their post!

You click on it right away, wondering what Mark’s friend Donghyuck is doing online at 1AM. The uploaded post turns out to be a photo of you and Mark when you all hang out near Han river. You were too busy at the time laughing at how the boy almost lost his whole scoop of ice cream before he could have had a single bite to notice his smile while looking at you. Based on his caption Donghyuck apparently wasn’t.

fullsun00: just old friends, they say. friends my ass @buttercupyn @onyourm__ark

You click your tongue wondering what Mark thinks of the callout but you press like on the post anyways. You put your phone aside before you could see how his other friends join the teasing in the comment section.

“Actually, I do have my third wish,” you speak up as you turn to Taeyong before he could make a remark on your tinted cheeks.

You’ve been thinking a lot about it during the past days. You could wish for anything but you’re at a point of your life where no riches or fame would make you happier because you’re happy enough just the way it is. It might not be perfect but you don’t want to be selfish and you want to make decisions you won’t regret: like catching up with Mark, curing his tiger and bringing happiness into the life of somebody who only ever served other people in his life.

“Ooh, what is it?” Taeyong claps, giddy as if he was waiting for this to happen. He probably did.

“I wish you would go on a vacation and enjoy life,” you tell him but unlike his usual reaction, this time the dragon’s smile fades and he blinks at you, confused.

“You could ask for anything in the world and that’s what you want? Are you sure?” he furrows his brows, not quite believing your words but you just smile, knowingly.

“Yes, Taeyong, I’m sure.”

“Your wish, my command,” he bows with his hands put together and with a twirl suddenly he’s in a Hawaiian shirt and sunglasses, looking as ready for a holiday as one can be. You chuckle and tell him to just go, you’ll be fine.

You’re fine, you really are. Life goes on, you study and work, you laugh with your friends, you video call with Mark regularly and his friends are regulars on your social media, too. It’s just sometimes the feeling of missing something hits you harder than other days. Especially when you’re looking through the pictures you have from your Seoul weekend.

“I wish you were here,” you whisper ahead of you at one particularly good photo of Mark and the sunset, smiling at you behind the camera. You miss his smile, the cute wrinkles around his eyes when he crunches his nose, the sound of his laughter, his hand on your wrist… you miss him.

Ding-dong.

You stand up startled at the sound of your flat’s bell, running to the door to open it even though you have no idea who it could be so early on a Saturday morning. Not having a better idea, you expect it to be either a neighbour of your landlord but on the other side of your doorstep stands a boy who you thought was a continent away. He’s dressed semi-casually this time, his shirt tucked in his jeans, hair lightly falling onto his forehead and a nervous smile on his thin lips.

“Mark! But I⎼ I don’t even have more wishes,” you blink, taken aback, looking around to look for Taeyong in case he came back. But your behaviour just manages to confuse Mark instead.

“What?”

“I just wished you were here,” you blurt out without thinking, your words only processing later in your brain and it’s then when heat creeps onto your cheeks. Mark tries to but can’t really hide his growing smile at that.

“Really? I’m glad then. I just took my new private plane on a test drive,” he says bashfully, a silly excuse for real.

“All the way to Vancouver?” you tease, watching Mark fumble with the hem of his shirt. Your heart beats overtime just because of the fact that he’s there.

“Well, what can I say? I did miss the weather here,” he plays along with a shrug but he’s more serious when he looks deep into your eye and adds: “And you left without letting me answer.”

Oh yes, you did. You were kind of afraid of his reaction but seeing how he was ready to travel across the world just to see you, maybe there’s no reason for you to be so afraid. It feels like deja vu but a reversed one in a way as Mark gently pulls you into a hug, his lips grazing your hair with a whisper that makes your heart skip a beat: “I have missed you too.”

You really wouldn’t wish for anything more.

#nct scenarios #nct imagines #nct x reader #mark lee x reader #mark lee x you #stories

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charmingyong · 3 years

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Make a Wish, Girl

Genre: genie!Taeyong x reader, angst, fluff

Warnings: swear words, suggestive near the end

Plot: After your life had fallen apart, you were blessed by an unexpected surprise. A genie who granted you three wishes.

Word count: 1.8k

A/N: Inspired by genie Taeyong in Make a Wish. Wrote this in one go, edited and posted without a second thought. I can’t let myself spend hours staring at this when I have bigger works that need my attention.

- ❀ -

You were sitting on the sofa of your apartment, hands linked with one another and feet tapping on the floor, eyes fixed on a box sitting on the coffee table in front of you. A box perfectly wrapped with golden gift wrap and ribbon tied in a beautiful bow.

It had been mysteriously there when you first walked out of your bedroom, never once touching it. You had weighed your options, whether to open it right then and there or call the police for investigation. The smarter move would have been the latter. But with the recent heartbreaking events in your life, it made sense to you to just take the risk and open it.

With a heavy heart full of curiosity, you got onto your knees, coming down to eye level with the box and tugged the ribbon gently. You could tell that the money put into the wrapping was no joke. When the bow had become undone, you carefully ripped the gift wrap. You noticed that the box came with a lid and so you lifted it, revealing white with diamond sparkle glitter tissue papers. One by one, you picked them out until you came across a golden magic lamp. A lamp that resembled to the genie lamp from Aladdin.

It was bizarre why such an item came in a gift box and was inside your home out of the blue.

You picked the lamp up, inspecting the classic vintage design of the magical oil lamp, wondering if it really was a genie lamp. There was only one way to know.

Clearing the coffee table with your arm, you let the remnants of the gift-wrapping fall to the ground and gently put down the lamp. With a deep breath in, you rubbed the lamp, your heartbeat picking up.

Poof!

Fog appeared in front of you, a silhouette in the midst of it. After the fog began to disappear, your jaw dropped to the ground. Before your eyes was the most beautiful, ethereal being that you had ever laid your eyes on.

He chuckled at your expression. "Girl, you might want to close your mouth before a fly goes in."

Dumbfounded, you did as he said. "Who are you?"

He smirked. "Who else do you think? I'm the one and only magnificent genie, Taeyong."

Taeyong... Nice name, you thought.

"Why are you here?" you asked him. You were surprised to have a genie delivered into your place without prior notice. And who on earth even broke in without you realizing?

"According to my sources, you need some healing, don't you?"

How the fuck did he know?

He laughed at your bewildered face. "It's a secret. But I can help you."

"How?"

He held up three fingers. "Make three wishes that you want to come true. I can make absolutely anything happen. You only have today before you never see me again."

Your breath hitched. Three wishes. Only today.

"Can you really make anything happen?" Hope built up in you as you knew right away two wishes to ask Taeyong.

He smiled a sincere one, sending butterflies to your stomach.

"Anything. Your wish is my command."

You wanted to get revenge on your boyfriend of two years, or should you say ex. He recently came clean to you, telling you that he fell in love with another girl. As much as you appreciated the truth, it wounded your heart that he hid it for three months.

You figured something was up but only thought it was his stressful work. His texts had become vague and straight to the point, no time for love exchanges. He refused to see you, always complaining that he had family gatherings, or his work was holding him back from having free time to spend with you. It pained you that you loved him without an ounce of doubt, and this was what he did to your trust. By cheating on you.

The breakup had taken a toll on your life. You weren't as bright and productive at work and so your boss fired you when you failed to meet the month-end deadlines. You felt pathetic. First your boyfriend broke up with you, and then your boss kicked you out of work.

But with a genie named Taeyong in front of you, your mind was set to make the stabbing pain stop in your heart and put your life back together.

“My first wish is to get revenge on my ex,” you said. You didn’t know how to though, and never thought about it before Taeyong showed up.

“Easy. I expected that.” He grabbed your hand and walked out of your place.

You walked down the street, your hand still in his. His bony hands felt surprisingly warm, making a faint blush rise up to your cheeks. He guided you to the nearest coffee shop, holding the door open for you to go in first.

Upon entering, your eyes immediately found your ex sitting at a table across a girl you assumed was his ‘new love,’ chatting happily without a care of what was happening outside of their bubble. It stung your heart bad to see him so happy with another girl like the way he first was with you.

You pulled yourself out of the miserable thoughts when Taeyong confidently walked through the shop, pulling you along. All the girls and boys in the vicinity stopped what they were doing and gawked at the drop-dead gorgeous being that they were blessed to see.

He stopped right beside the couple, eyeing your ex with a stoic expression. You wished you could figure out what was on Taeyong’s mind. Next, he shifted his gaze to the new girlfriend, giving her a dazzling smile. He let go of your hand and bent down to her eye level, crossing his arms on the table.

“Hey gorgeous,” Taeyong greeting softly at her.

Your ex finally noticed you and gave you a questioning look, but you didn’t respond. You had no idea what Taeyong was trying to accomplish from this. Heck, you didn’t even know how Taeyong knew where your ex was.

“H-Hi,” she stuttered, stunned by the existence of such a beautiful creature before her. And called her gorgeous. At this point everyone in the shop had their eyes on Taeyong, some swooning and some curious.

“Don’t you think you’re a lot more worth than how this one treated you?” he asked, nodding his head in your ex’s direction.

“W-What do you m-mean?”

“If I use the married life analogy... then like a mistress? It’s a shame, I must say,” he shook his head with feigned disappointment.

Something geared inside her. Anger. At your ex. You didn’t know if she felt this on her own or Taeyong had hypnotized her. And what she did next made you feel good.

She grabbed her iced drink, removed the lid, and splashed it on your ex, shocking him for her to have done such a humiliating action in public. You heard a collection of oh and wows from the audience, displeasure masking their faces at your ex.

“Don’t you dare call me again!” she screamed and stormed out.

“What the hell, dude!” Your ex faced Taeyong with fume coming out of his ears.

“He’s right!” Someone from the crowd spoke up. “How dare you cheat on your wife?”

Taeyong clarified. “Not wife, but girlfriend. And then he left Y/N crying alone.”

Woah, how did Taeyong know your name? You didn’t recall telling him. Oh right, he had his sources. But who the fuck were these sources?

“What the- You’re such an asshole!” Everyone in the shop began yelling profanities at your ex, cuing you and Taeyong to leave without anyone realizing.

He really was using magic.

After walking around the block out of the coffee shop’s view, he asked, “How do you feel?”

You had to admit. As much as your heart was still hurting, the commotion earlier made you feel a lot better. “Pretty good. He’s probably going to be scarred now.”

“He should be. This should teach him a lesson. Have him think a thousand times before looking at another girl,” he smirked.

“Thank you, Taeyong.”

“My pleasure, sweetheart.”

Your heart skipped a beat at the nickname.

“What’s your second wish?”

You had your second one ready. “My second wish is to get a job. I got fired from a desk job and I never really found any satisfaction from it either. It’d be fun to work somewhere... more creative.”

He cocked his head to the side. “Anywhere in particular?”

You hummed, thinking of an idea. “Maybe floral designing? I really love flowers.”

He smiled warmly at you. “Let’s go then.”

Taeyong had found you the job at the closest flower shop from your apartment. You were mind-blown at how he was able to fulfill your two wishes so fast, leaving you to think of what your last should be. You suggested heading back to your place while thinking of the third wish.

And then you thought of the perfect one. The one your heart needed the most at that moment.

“Taeyong, you said you can make any wish of mine come true, right?”

“Yes, sweetheart. Anything.”

“Then my third wish is to heal. Please help me stop feeling the pain in my heart. Everything that happened today is something I wouldn’t have ever done myself and I feel better about those things. But the pain is still there in my heart. Maybe I’m scared to fall in love. Before you leave, can you help me stop... hurting?”

It made him sad whenever he witnessed good people suffering, and he was willing to do anything to make them feel better. Make you feel better. “I’ll do everything in my power to heal you. Is there a specific way you have in mind, sweetheart?”

You did. The butterfly feelings still lingered inside you and you’d by lying if his beautiful features equipped with a warm personality didn’t burn something inside you. “My bedroom?” you asked quietly, worried what his reaction was going to be.

The biggest smile broke onto his face. “Like I said, your wish is my command.”

- ❀ -

“Okay, who’s next for Taeyong hyung?” Doyoung shouted from his workspace at his team.

Jaehyun raised his arm, looking at his monitor of another girl’s biodata. “Someone named Joy.”

#nct #taeyong #lee taeyong #nct taeyong #taeyong x reader #taeyong scenarios #taeyong imagines #taeyong oneshot #taeyong fluff #taeyong angst #taeyong fanfic #taeyong fanfiction #nct scenarios #nct imagines #charm

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noethicalconsumptionunderdisney · 3 years

Text

Hogwarts Sorting Profile: Max Russo

So, confession time: Initially, I wasn’t actually planning on writing one of these for him. I’m sorry! I love Max, but he’s often in the background of Wizards of Waverly Place and just has these really random plots thrown in his direction, rather than interesting character-exploration-type shit like the main sibs. (Which, to be fair, is probably why some of y’all might be curious what I’m going to say about him.)

But I was thinking about what makes Max so odd as a character, and specifically I was thinking about him in comparison to other characters of his archetype in the Disney Channel-verse. Because we’ve seen the messy, funny, underachieving brother character a lot, but they come in very different flavors. Part of that for Max is that he shares some of those traits with Alex in contrast to the overachieving, overly serious Justin, but part of that is… Max often seems to be in his own little world, incomprehensible to mortals and wizards alike, and generally takes in the “real-world” around him with a shrug. He still cares about the “real-world” when it suits him, but he’s often kind of divorced from it, and that discovery fascinated me. Furthermore, it made his Sorting “click.”

We’ll start off easy: what does Max do? The answer is… he’ll do pretty much anything. He’s not a Burned Secondary, though, he just doesn’t give a fuck. Max is every bit the Slytherin Secondary that Alex is, we just don’t usually notice because he spends most of his time in his Neutral State.

The Slytherin Secondary’s Neutral State is blunt, rough, and often unphased by stepping on people’s toes. It’s easy to mistake this for a Gryffindor Secondary’s honesty, but it comes from a different place: comfort, relaxation, and/or apathy. It doesn’t inspire or motivate so much as sit back and do as it pleases, and the Neutral State’s honesty is there for convenience rather than necessity— if a different tactic will work better, a Slytherin Secondary can ditch their honesty and change direction far more easily than a Gryffindor Secondary.

Max isn’t exactly shy about saying what’s on his mind, even if it’s usually dismissed as nonsense. He also does seem to charge into situations without a care sometimes, but that’s the thing: he’s able to charge into those situations because he doesn’t care. When he tests out the zombies’ No-Fear Ring, it doesn’t work on him because he’s already fearless. So while some Slytherin Secondaries are nervous about showing their honesty to others and only show their Neutral State when they’re home safe with people they’re comfortable with, Max lives in his honest Neutral State because he feels comfortable and safe most of the time… even in situations where he really, really shouldn’t.

Curiously, one situation where he doesn’t feel comfortable or safe has very little to do with actual danger, but about personal identity: when he’s turned into Maxine. And in Maxine’s body, he’s a lot more manipulative.

“You know, I can’t help it if people think I’m cute. Watch how I make it work for me.”

As Maxine, he uses his cuteness to get out of chores, to get revenge on Alex and Justin in karate, to guilt dishonest customers out of cheating his parents, and comes up with a plan to talk his “boy self” up to a girl he likes as Maxine so that she’ll like him when he changes back. Yeah, can’t imagine why Maxine reminded Jerry and Theresa so much of Alex…

But there are Slytherin Secondary indications from Max in his usual form as well.

He has no qualms about outright lying — inventing a fake illness to get out of P.E., pretending to be “Tom Sawyer” so he wouldn’t be embarrassed by/compared to his family — but he prefers obfuscation, aka confusing people with his “Max-ness.”

“How do you get your brother to say what’s really on his mind?”

“Oh, I use randomness.”

“What?”

“Well, I just say random things and while people are trying to figure it out, they say stuff that’s on their mind.”

One example of this tactic being employed successfully is with the Genie. While Alex fails to outsmart the Genie using her quick wits, as the Genie is every bit as cunning as her, Max figures out a way to piss off the Genie enough to blackmail her, then talks circles around her and confuses her until she reveals a way for them to undo her wishes. Alex calls it “outdumbing” her, but in any case, he succeeded where she failed, and showed that he’s more capable than often assumed.

We get another rare moment of clarity from Max during “Alex Tells The World.”

“Alex, you know you can’t reveal magic!”

“Oh, even I know that. That’s why I just make people think I’m dumb so if I slip up, ehh, they figure, the kid’s an idiot. And I slip up all the time, so. Who’s dumb now?”

Max’s admission that he “slips up all the time” isn’t exactly reassuring, but it is telling that he’s the only one who doesn’t reveal magic during both the Season 4 Premiere and the Season 3 Finale. Perhaps it was dumb luck that got him there, but I think there’s more to it than that. There’s a method to his madness. There’s a logic to it, even if Max’s logic often doesn’t follow all the way through.

Which leads me to his Primary— Ravenclaw. (LOOK I KNOW. HEAR ME OUT.)

Yes, Max is often seen as “the dumb one.” Yes, Ravenclaws are perceived as “the smart house.” And while I’ve just demonstrated that there’s a brain under all the Max weirdness, I’m not about to argue that he’s secretly a genius. He misses the mark more often than he hits it, and oftentimes when he hits it, it’s through coincidence or dumb luck or Insane Troll Logic that’s impossible for anyone but Max to follow. But I do believe he operates on logic, just his own wacky version of it.

The thing about Max is that he’s neither as dumb as most people think he is, nor is he as smart as he thinks he is. He’s somewhere in between, and the fact that people never quite know where exactly he falls on that scale is kind of the point.

In fact, part of the reason I struggled with Max was because I was trying to figure out where exactly he did fit in:

He can be selfish enough at times to argue Slytherin Primary, the stereotypically “selfish” House, but he’s missing Justin’s protective streak. He doesn’t feel that same sense of duty towards his family that Justin does; when Mason breaks Alex’s heart in “Wizards vs. Werewolves,” Justin turns on him instantly because he Hurt His Little Sister And Is Therefore Bad, while Max is the one most willing to give Mason a chance, because he has his own reasons for wanting Mason in his life. Yet, he still clearly cares enough about his family to rule out the possibility that they don’t factor into his morality at all, not to mention how easy it is for them to influence him.

His more humble ending of inheriting his father’s sub shop might make people think Hufflepuff Primary, but there’s even less justification for such a sorting upon scrutiny. As I’ve touched on above, the staunch loyalty to community isn’t all that important to him, and he’s also not all that into traditions. There’s no compulsion to help strangers, he doesn’t really make enemies but he kind of just ignores people he doesn’t like (or shatters them in a million pieces on accident), and let’s not forget that he unleashed countless monsters in New York City that killed all the Monster Hunters just to win the competition… even if he did do it when his Conscience was separate from the rest of him. Not exactly behavior you’d expect from the morality system of “a person’s a person no matter how small.”

Speaking of Conscience, it’s notable that he argues with it, rather than accepting his advice. I’m still a little unclear as to how much this matters (there’s definitely room to argue that most of his brain went into Conscience as well, and that whole plotline was… weird), but even with his Conscience inside his body, he seems to lack that moral drive Alex has. Gryffindor Primaries have this embedded sense of justice deep within their characters. Even when it’s hidden most of the time, like in Alex’s case, or when it becomes twisted into something dark and dangerous, or becomes Stripped of its certainty, there’s still this sense that there is Right and Wrong in this world, that trusting your gut should lead you to the right conclusion, and that it’s wrong to ignore it. I have a hard time remembering if there’s really any situation where Max gets that gut feeling of Something Being Wrong at all, much less acting on it with a Heroic Plan… at least, not without convincing.

But Max can be convinced, and that’s key. Alex often takes advantage of this to manipulate him for her own selfish ends, such as talking him into paying her for handing out fliers to her zombie prom, but more often it’s his parents that act as his voice of reason, whether it’s convincing him to go after the “deli robber,” convincing him to give his siblings a fair shot at the Wizard Competition, or convincing him to tell his girlfriend the truth… and then unconvincing him of that when he takes it too literally and tells her he’s a wizard.

Actually, Max is prone to misinterpreting advice in this way while trying to follow it to the letter— he does this when he tries to sell fountain water with a puppy, as well, because his mom told him to “add something to it.” I think he is, to an extent, aware of his own intellectual limits. He knows he misses the mark a lot of the time, so he’s often willing to trust other people’s judgment over his own, so long as they can get it through to him in a way that he thinks makes sense.

But beyond that, he’s often willing to question “common knowledge” in a way the other characters don’t. When Justin tries to tell him he can’t make life out of the stuff from his room, he simply replies, “Where’s it say that?” In season 4, when there’s a distinct possibility that he’ll win the competition, he expands the sub shop business by making the Wizard Portal into a Drive-Thru, which genuinely worked as a business plan until Jerry took it too far. Later that season, he saves his siblings by creating a black hole and then jumping through it to pull them to safety from the black hole in Alex’s apartment. Like, that was his idea. He came up with that. It was weird, it was risky, it was unconventional, it could’ve been incredibly stupid… and it worked.

And that’s what I keep coming back to with this Ravenclaw Primary sorting— that sense of ingenuity, curiosity, and the willingness to experiment. On one hand, you have your System Claws, who are dedicated to The Rules because they’ve been convinced that living by them is The Best Way To Live, and on the other hand, you have those that are willing to challenge conventional wisdom and try new things. It’s this willingness to question that I personally attribute to a Ravenclaw mentality, rather than inherent intellectual ability or a large knowledgebase. While Max may not have the latter, he has the former in spades, and that, more than anything, is really what told me that he truly belongs here.

Conclusion:

Max Russo is a Ravenclaw Primary and a Slytherin Secondary.

As a Slytherin Secondary, Max often likes to confuse and obfuscate to get what he wants, is flexible in his methods, and can even be manipulative when he wants to be. He’s also relatively comfortable with himself, thus he often lives in a Neutral State where he says whatever’s on his mind without thinking much about danger or whether he’ll be understood.

His Ravenclaw Primary is as curious as it is undefined, and operates on a logic that only Max truly understands. While this leads him astray more often than not, this also allows him to break from tradition and try new things, and this unconventional thinking can sometimes lead to better solutions than anyone else could’ve come up with. However, it also comes with a set of brakes in the form of taking input from others. It’s not always easy to get through to Max, but he can be reasoned with, which in his case, is probably for the best.

In this combination, we find a character who truly dances to the beat of his own drum. As the most flexible Secondary and Primary, respectively, Max is a conundrum to most who meet him, confusing even to those who know him best. That said, being the Russo who “goes with the flow” the most often, he’s also probably the Russo that has the most fun. He’s certainly more fun to write about than I was expecting him to be! I’m glad I did, and it’s good to be back.

#sortinghatchats #max russo #wizards of waverly place #house sorting #hogwarts houses #wowp analysis #character analysis #sorting profiles #this one's kinda long but i think it might actually be a little shorter than the alex one #so not too bad #might be about the same; not sure #in any case:#long post #(very very)#harry potter #(sorta)

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i-dream-of-twilight-sparkle · 3 years

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Chapter 10: Dragon Love

Spike’s first stop when he went out of the castle was to the post office, where he goes to meet up with a new friend, Gabby the griffon. Perhaps one of the few overexcitable griffons ever. Their friendship managed to make Rarity a bit jealous of Gabby, but in the end they learned to share their time with Spike.

Spike: Hi Gabby!

Gabby: Oh hi Spike! How’s my favorite little scarred, but still adorable dragon doing?

Spike: Pretty good! I actually came over if you were interested in going with me, my mother, and all our friends friends to Saddle Arabia to see a Royal Ball. There will be plenty of entertainment, food, and friends both new and old to mingle with.

Gabby: Sure thing, Spike! Sounds like a good time!

The steps of hooves are heard from behind the desk. It’s the town mailmare, Derpy Hooves.

Derpy: Both of you going to the ball, too? Awesome!

Spike: Oh hey Derpy! Did you want an invite too?

Derpy: Oh, I actually happened to come across Rainbow Dash before I went into work today! So I’ve already been invited. But I still appreciate it, Spike!

Spike: Very nice! It’ll be great seeing both of you there! I need to head off to find a few more friends I want to invite, but I’ll catch both of you later!

Gabby: Alright, Spike! Seeya!

Spike leaves the post office while waving back to Gabby and Derpy.

Spike: Alright next stop, Thorax’s changeling hive…

Spike gets out his own pack of portal gum to travel to see his friend Thorax. Once just a normal changeling that was discovered in the Crystal Empire by Spike who defected from Chrysalis’ rule and would later help Starlight, Trixie, and Discord defeat Chrysalis. And then showed many others in the Changeling army another way for them to live instead of dependent on invasions to feed on love. The Changelings quickly became a sovereign kingdom of their own.

Spike walks near the hive, Changeling guards recognize him and acknowledge him as a friend of Thorax’s and allow Spik to pass to see him. Eventually he reaches Thorax’s throne.

Spike: Hey there, Thorax!

Thorax: Hello Spike! It’s been a while since we talked just the two of us, what brings you to the hive?

Spike: I just came over to invite you and any of the other changelings here craving some real love, cause in Saddle Arabia there will be a Royal Ball that precedes a Wedding for two of me and Twilight’s friends who live there! Both events are sure to have plenty of love to go around whether it’s friends with friends, family with family, and relationships old and new coming together! And that’s before the actual wedding!

Thorax’s mouth just starts drooling

Thorax: Oh wow… two events full of scrumptious love we can get our fill just by sitting around all the love that will be in the air?! You bet that I’ll go! Is it ok if I bring along some of our hungrier citizens that could use a boost?

Spike: Of course! I definitely wouldn’t want to deprive any of your subjects, if they really want a piece of the love that is sure to be everywhere!

Spike and Thorax go around the hive inviting any changelings that want to come to, as obviously this event is going to have enough love to perhaps fill these changelings for maybe a week or even more. If they decline, they likely know they’ll have their fill for one reason or another anytime close to the time the ball might start, Thorax’s brother Pharyanx among them. Otherwise, they could usually tell who wants to go for if they drooled or flicked their tongues just imagining all the love they could get.

Ocellus: Oh my gosh, I absolutely must go! I have been quite starving as of late…

Spike: Don’t forget Ocellus, your friends from School should be there as well. In fact, I plan to get Smoulder too, when I head on over to the Dragonlands. I think my pony friends will get the rest.

Ocellus: Oh yes, absolutely will be nice to see my friends there too! So much love and friendship to go around! I can’t wait!

In a few short moments, they’ve gone though the whole hive and determined who wanted to go and who didn’t.

Thorax: Thank you for telling us about this, Spike! You will help a lot of our citizens, plus we should have a great time aside from our love feast we’re sure to get!

Spike: No problem, Thorax! It’ll be great to see you there. For now though, I’m heading off to the Dragonlands for my final stop, before settling down for whenever my mom says it’s time.

Thorax: Ok Spike, tell Ember and Smoulder I said hi!

Spike: I will! Bye!

((Story continues after the break))

Spike waves off to Thorax before creating another gum portal, this time to the Dragonlands. He’s still become too accustomed to Equestria, but the Dragonlands is still his species’ home. So Spike always gets to have a dose of his heritage every time he comes over. Spike doesn’t plan on leaving Equestria, even when he’s a super huge adult (And he and Twilight have already discussed how that will go, probably will take a little bit of Genie magic to make it work but that is a very, very, very long time from now, so it’s not exactly a subject that comes up often between the two). But as perhaps the first dragon to grow up in Equestria he’s very much an ambassador to Dragons who may themselves want to move into Equestria, though mainly the smaller ones since if too many big ones come in, there will be problems like when a red dragon sleeping made smoke that was polluting Ponyville, and it took him learning what Fluttershy’s stare could do in order to get him to leave. Not to mention the large size of the big dragons tend to cause a panic in fear-stricken populaces.

Spike flies around the skies of the Dragonlands until he finally catches a glimpse of Smoulder. Which then he swoops down to catch up to.

Spike: Hey Smoulder!

Smoulder: Heeeeeeyyyyyy! Sup’ Spike! Come here to toughen yourself a bit, in the Dragonlands?

Smoulder gives Spike an affectionate punch in the shoulder

Spike: Ouch!

Smoulder: Oops, sorry

Spike: It’s alright, I know that’s your way of saying hi, sometimes. But anyway, I came to invite you somewhere. Your other friends in school will be there as well, I just got done with a visit to the Changeling hive and Ocellus will be going. My pony friends will probably be getting the rest.

Smoulder: Where are all of you going?

Spike: Saddle Arabia, a Royal Ball is being held as well a wedding between two friends of me and my Mom’s who live there.

Smoulder: Hahahaha, no wonder Ocellus is going. She’s going to get the biggest love feast she’s had in a little while!

Spike: Yeah, probably ha. But do you think YOU will go.

Smoulder: Eh, kinda sounds a little too lovey-dovey. But maybe I should go for a chance to hang out with my school friends at least.

Spike: There should be plenty of food as well as entertainment as well. So even if you’re not exactly into any of the love stuff happening, it’s still mainly just a party.

Smoulder: True, I could probably enjoy just going anticipating a big party... So sure, I’ll go!

Spike: Great! Now I only need one more invitee, and I think I’ll see if Ember’s able to go. You have any idea where she is?

Smoulder: I think Lord Ember is meeting with her father, former Lord Torch in their volcano home.

Spike: Huh, I don’t think I’ve ever seen their volcano home. Can you take me there?

Smoulder: Sure! Just follow me!

Smoulder jumps up in the air to start flying, Spike following as well through the air., until they finally get to a humongous volcano that definitely looks like Torch, and probably Ember too once she’s as big as her father many thousands of years from now could fit in. Spike and Smoulder approaching a cave near the bottom of the volcano.

Spike: Is this an active volcano?

Smoulder: You bet it is! But when it erupts, that only means it’s shower time for ol’ Torch

Spike: This place definitely isn’t a place anyone other then Dragons want to approach then, that’s for certain.

Smoulder: I guess if any ponies wanted to try visiting they’d probably need some sort of heat shield spell or wish from your genie mother. Otherwise yeah, this is a pretty dragons-only spot. But only for the safety of non-dragons, we swear.

Spike and Smoulder head into the cave, the cave is actually pretty hot. It’d probably be unbearable for any ponies without some sort of magic heat suppressor around them to just walk in this place, even besides the fact it’s a volcano that could spew out deadly lava and suffocating ash at any moment. But for dragons like Torch, it’s an atmosphere they revel in. Dragons after all treat lava simply like a hot sauna, and the smoke just brings the lovely smell (At least, in a typical dragon’s opinion) of ash and sulfur.

Eventually they get to the center of the volcano where they can see the towering Torch and his daughter Ember. The current and the former Dragon Lords.

Spike: Hey… er… Ember and Torch!

The two look over to see they have visitors in the small dragon that was born and still chooses to live in Equestria, and another who happens to be the representative in the Friendship school.

Ember: Ahhhh! Hello both of you! Spike, this is the first time I’ve seen you go as far to see us at our home! You’ve sure came a long way from Equestria. What’s the occasion?

Spike: I simply went on over to ask if you and Smoulder would like to attend a Royal Ball and wedding between two of my mom and me’s friends. Smoulder already agreed but thought while I’m here I thought I’d extend an invitation. Oh, and Thorax says hi to both you and Smoulder.

Ember: Haha, of course Thorax says hi. If you invited him he was probably drooling for all that love that will be at that event you’re going to. But perhaps for the sake of peaceful diplomacy, I should go. If a Princess like Twilight is going, along with Thorax, I have a feeling others like the Yaks aren’t too far behind.

Spike: I’d ask your father too but er… his size would probably be a problem unless he agrees to being magically shrunk.

Torch: BA HA HA HA HA, it’s ok little Spike. I don’t think I was going to go, anyway. After all, I’m retired now. But I hope you, Lord Ember, and Smoulder have a good time in Saddle Arabia. Show the ponies how dragons can really light up a party!

Spike: Uh, I hope you aren’t telling us to light the palace on fire.

Torch: Nah, I promise it was just the expression.

Spike: *phew* I guess while I’m here, anything going on lately here? Equestria will always be my home, but as a dragon I guess I should still keep up with anything going on here. You’re the current and former Dragon Lord’s. I imagine you two talk about this nation a lot.

Ember: Heh, maybe a little. But this is our home, usually we just jokingly rib at each other between just us as father and daughter. We sometimes talk about our politics, but things are usually stable when you have one leader promised in power for tens of thousands of years and a general populace that generally remains for themselves with their own stash of treasures.

Torch: Yeah, in fact after I’ve retired I’ve simply been just reflecting about my long reign and the many, many, many, many mates I’ve had over my era.

Spike: Wait… did you say many mates?

Ember: Oh shoot, that’s right. Spike grew up in Equestria, he doesn’t exactly know how… “relationships” for lack of a better word work in the Dragonlands

Spike: What are you talking about?

Torch: In the Dragonlands, there is no such thing as marriage. Only several mates over our long, long lives.

Spike goes wide-eyed

Spike: SAY WHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!

Ember: Yeaaaaaah… I imagine that must be surprising to anyone who’s mainly experienced life in Equestria. But if you just think about it, most Ponies’ average lifespan is just over 100 years and their regular definition of love is. once they find somepony they love they’ll spend time with them for the rest of their life, barring something happening resulting in divorce, or an unfortunate early death of half of the couple. However, dragons live so long that even if there was a mate a dragon really loved. It might of been perceivably boring at least in our views, to had been with only one.

Thus, it’s actually pretty normal for both male and female dragons to just move on to a different mate at some point. Sometimes, more then one at one point of time! That’s not even seen as wrong here whether you kept it a secret from your mate(/s) or not. And if for any reason a dragon misses a past mate, absolutely nothing wrong with going to see them again to become mates again, if both consent of course.

Spike just stands there trying to process this information that dragons have a very vastly different outlook on love from the one he was raised to know by ponies.

Ember: We’re just starting to at least have some aspects of Friendship. Is it any surprise that love is a lot different too? We can still love and can get infatuated, such as your crush on that white unicorn. But we never settle down with just one mate throughout our lives. Though forgive me for being grim, but you might actually be kind of thankful that this is normal for dragons. Because even if you get into a relationship with the white unicorn at some point she… won’t exactly be around very long in relative to your long lifetime…

Spike breaking out a bit of his trance of being told how Dragon love works, to look to the side solemnly.

Spike: Yeah, I’m well aware of that… I don’t exactly like talking about it however…

Ember: Well uh… it’s still a little while until then. I don’t mean to get you down, but we’re just teaching you a few things about us that most ponies don’t put in any books about us, since until they actually bring brave enough researchers. Any information they have about us are pretty incomplete or even inaccurate information. It’s possible that pony researchers thought we had lifelong mates if they had noticed a couple once or twice but never actually asked if the couple had ever been married or anything.

I think at the very least Celestia knew enough about us, but since she sort of kept her policy towards the Dragonlands as leaving us alone. Informing Equestria about how we live never came up as a priority.

But thanks to your pony mother who’ll soon be ruling solo in Canterlot, we’re entering a new era of prosperity between Dragons and Ponies and other species. I’m pretty sure soon we’ll have some updated books about us in the coming years that will make this common knowledge there. You were raised by ponies, but you’re still a dragon. So thought it’d be useful information for you to know

Spike: I gotcha, but still. Can’t help but feel wowed, and almost a little scary of how many I might end up meeting over my life when I’m old enough to start mating.

Ember: Hehehe, you’ll still have that scar of yours, eye scars happen to be a very attractive trait in older dragons cause it’s perceived strength. You’re sure to have a lot of female dragons after you in your older years. Maybe even me and Smoulder at some point

Ember jokingly winks, Smoulder being the rebelllious teenage dragon just gives a “blegh”.

Spike: …Aren’t you and Smoulder both a decent bit of years apart from me?

Ember: I’m mostly joking, but in actuality once both dragons in a couple are about hundreds of years old it’s not considered wrong to go with any dragons whether they’re 100 years older or younger. Again, just think of the difference between Pony and Dragon concepts of time passed. Yes, it’d be wrong right now, but that’s mainly because relative to dragon aging you’re still just about a hatchling. But say in about maybe a decade or two when you’ve grown to early teenage size you may just be young enough to still be ok for Smoulder to be with, if she so wished.

Smoulder: You better not be shipping me with him, or else I don’t care if you’re Dragon Lord. I’ll kick you in the shins!

Ember just laughs.

Spike: I guess I understand, but boy this feels like a lot of odd conversations will come across from all this…

Ember: From a pony perspective, yeah. Dragon’s approach to love is really weird, but some day it’ll be normal to you at some point, I assure you.

Torch suddenly looks a little away from the conversation and thinking a little solemnly. Ember noticing that’s kind of odd for him to do so.

Ember: Huh? Father? What’s up?

Torch: Nothing too big, Ember. Just reflecting on the conversation you just had with Spike and on my own history. Even though yes, I’ve had many, many, many, many mates over my long life. I… admit there may have been one dragon that I was with for only a few years, that if the pony concept of Marriage for a lifetime did exist in the dragonlands. I would of certainly tried to propose at the very least… though I doubt she would of ever accepted it…

Ember: Who was this, Father?

Torch: Her name was Jennesis, though I liked to affectionately call her Jenny. She was a beautiful pink dragon with green back spines. And she was absolutely the most beautiful and kind dragon I ever had the pleasure to live with.

Spike: Is she still around?

Torch: I don’t know, this was a few thousand years ago. And also unfortunately, she probably wouldn’t say the same about me. As I admit unfortunately, I wasn’t exactly as good a mate to her as she was to me. Which is why we were only together for a few years.

Ember: Which in relative lifeline comparison between dragon and ponies, is like a pony relationship ending in at most less then a week...

Spike: Oof

Torch: Yeah… I admit it’s one of the few regrets I otherwise have, of what I otherwise feel was a glorious reign as Dragon Lord. I had many mates before and after Jenny, but none have ever quite matched up to her.

Ember: Dang, not even my mother?

Torch: Your mother was a lovely mate as well Ember. But Jenny was just on a whole ‘nother level.

Spike: Well, this has certainly been an interesting conversation. But if it’s ok, I’m going to start heading back to Equestria. I have everyone I wanted to invite now. But I suppose thanks for teaching me a few more things about being a dragon. I’m sure it’ll be useful information to know in the far future.

Ember: You’re welcome Spike! I’ll see you in Saddle Arabia!

Spike: Bye Ember! Bye Smoulder! Bye Torch!

Spike waves off to all three before using another gum portal to get back to Equestria, where he walks back to Twilight’s castle. All that information Ember and Torch gave him still kind of bouncing in his head as some of it was still a lot to take in. But nonetheless he gets set to just relax until Twilight likely gets back from finishing her own list of invitees.

UP NEXT: Chapter 11 - Celestia’s Secrets, Part 1

#Secrets Of The Dragon's Tear #Spike #Gabby #Derpy Hooves #Thorax #Ocellus #Smoulder #Ember #Lord Ember #Lord Torch #Torch

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yandere-wishes · 4 years

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Genie and the Savanclaw boys

So this was someting I wrote to get me out of my sour mood. Latly I haven’t been feeling to great. So I decided to wrote some platonic scenarios between my persona Genie and Jack, Ruggie and Leona, please let me know what you thought of this, I spent roughly six hours on it.

A quick recap of Genie's powers

Vision-- Genie can see small glimpses of a person's past. "Past Vision 2/4" occurs when Genie comes into direct contact with a person's possession (it could be inanimate or their darlings), this allows her to see a quick "video" of their past which can last up to 2 minutes. "Past Vision 4/4" is a longer version of the previous power. For her to be able to view an in detailed vision of a person's past, she must first have experienced a "Past Vision 2/4" of them and this power can only be unlocked while she's in her lamp. Think of it as downloading a video and only being able to watch the first two minutes until you're in "a room with a sort of significance to you." Due to this power also affecting her, Genie is sometimes forced to relive traumatizing events that have occurred to her in the past one thousand years.

Maniacal File-- Note that all of Genie's powers are based on manipulating the "yandere side" of people and or events. Maniacal file lets Genie create multiple scenarios or events for how a person under a yandere influence may act. Think of this as someone having a multitude of one-shots or stories about one particular "character". Now, these "files" allow her to do two different things. One being able to manipulate the person to commit various acts, such as murder, kidnapping amongst other macabre deeds. Two, she's able to mimic almost anything a that a person who's file she "owns" can do. Of course for this to work, the files first have to be shrunk to the size of a USB and inserted into her encephalon manually (or with the use of a bit of magic). The more files she has on someone the better she understands them and the better she can help them with their "wishes", there is also a sentimental viewpoint to these "files". Since Genie is very anti-social and withdrawn these fils are sorta like her "friends". For her to obtain a person "files" she will need to either see them perform a sort of "yandere like" act, stalk them to better understand them or/and have a very in-depth and detailed conversation with them.

Bloody Background-- Certain environments (like the entirety of the Savanclaw dormitory) trigger "bloody background" which always Genie to see multiple "escape routs" or "attack routs". These routes can be used for hiding, stalking and multiple other things.

Jack Howl

Genie’s eyes landed on the warn out beat up door. Scratch marks ranging in size, were left on the wooden entrance, each one a declaration of war. The purple-haired Jinn traced her long slender fingers over a random set of claw marks, debating whether or not to enter the Jackel’s den. For a split second her vision flashed, the ground morphed from marble to rough rock, bones of wild animals littered the ground, the door had disappeared and in its place was the mouth of a pitch-black cave. Screams of terror scorched the air followed by maniacal laughter… She'd seen this place before, stood on the very same flooring and heard the same disparate cries o despair. “Ten more seconds and then the roar” she whispered. But the visions never last that long, it shattered into a thousand tiny shards and scattered away. Genie once again stood in front of the battered door. Inside she could hear the low grunts and huffed breaths of the ill-tempered first year that resided within. There was no reason for her to enter, she had no need nor business to invaded his privacy like this, her intentions boarded on plain rude…but the curiosity of the matter was eating her alive. She had to know!

Jack Howl first year Savanclaw student with a knack for getting into fights. He had no friends, never showed interest in a darling and the only words he ever spoke where curses and threats. Due to his harsh and brutish manner, Genie had never been able to receive a type three profile on him. Sure she knew all his attack moves and strategies by heart and could predict any action he would partake before he even knew it himself. But that left the biggest question unanswered...what kind of darling did he desire?

Based on pure analysis she could take an educated guess and say a darling whose temper was even shorter than his and who would beat up a defenseless person for kicks. But there were so many "what ifs.." maybe he liked a girl who was the opposite of him. Or maybe someone brave enough to stand in his way and tell him to stop his meaningless fits of rage. All these questions made the young girl's mind race with potential suiter for the boy.

Hesitantly the Jinn pushed on the door, it creaked as it was shoved out of her path. "Um...J-Jack", she counted her heartbeats a thing most Genii tend to do to pass the time. One heartbeat, two--

"GET OUT!" A water bottle flew in her direction, hitting the left side of her face. Ok so maybe she didn't know every move as confidentially as she had thought. "Ow!!" a court whine came after, followed by a stream of tears. Before Genie knew it she had fallen to the floor legs splayed to either side of her and loud sobs escaping from her mouth. The bruise on her head where to waterbottle had hit her pulsed with pain each time her heart beated. She frantically tried to dry the tears with her wrists to no avail. This was not what was suppose to happen, but then again had she expected anything better?

"Hey cut that out" Jack kneeled next to her frame, roughly grabbing both her wrists in one large callused hand. She tried to wiggle out of his grasp for a second debating wheater to kick or headbutt him. Slowly her white hair aggressor lifted his other hand to her face and wiped away her tears. "hey hey no more crying ok? You're going to be alright got it?" His voice was rough and demanding but it held a gentle undertone.

It took a while but eventually, Genie's tears stopped and her sobs died down. When the room had fallen into a semi-comfortable silence jack spoke again. "What the hell was up with barging into my room? Are you trying to get beat up?"

Genie casted her gaze downwards and took in a shack breath. 1 heartbeat, 2 heartbeats, 3 heartbeats...

"I wanted to...to-to talk to you..." Her voice shook with uncertainty and cracked from the strain the crying fit had left on her vocal cords.

"What for?" Jack glared at her, a snarl spread across his lips and his grip on her wrists tightened. "Don't tell me a useless pipsqueak like you want to pick a fight with me?"

In that second a strategy started to map out in her brain, Millian old gears turning and formulating words, tailoring them together to generate sentences. She swiftly lifted her eyes and locked her blood-red orbs with his golden ones.

"I-I've seen you fight, multiple times actually and I...I um came up with some strategies and suggestions for how you can improve...not that you're not tremendous I mean sorta good, already but...but um I can help you improve...if if you want that um that is."

Jack's eyes bore into her soul for a solid moment, he tossed her hands aside savagely. Getting up he stomped in the opposite direction, his bushy snow-white tail smacked her beauty in the face. He paused for when he reached his punch bag, grabbing the role of hand wrap, reapplying it to his bloody bruised knuckles. Finally, he barked out an answer "Meet me by the elephant skull at twelve am sharp, got it!"

feebly Genie stood up, using the wall as a support. "S-sure thing" she replied, surprise evident in her tone "You g-got" a large triumph smile graced her tanned face.

"Oh and bitch?"

Too happy to register the insult Genie cheerfully responded with a chirpy "yes".

"GET THE HELL OUT OF MY ROOM!"

Ruggie Bucchi

Booted feet pounded on the rough uneven ground. Heavy breathing filled the air. Behind her, Genie could hear footsteps chasing after her. Panic crawled into her mind, stretching its self thinly over her mind. It's ok she mumbled to herself, just realize you've done this a billion of times before.

"Bloody Background" she whispered under her breath. Genie blinked, hundreds of tiny blue circles appeared in her red orbs. A full layout of the land before he appeared in the far left side of her sight, multiple little notes flashed in bright shades of blue and red. navigating through the notes and maps, Genie finally made heads and tails of the situation. Quickly mapping out the most deceitful rout.

--Run 10 meters then take a left, lean to the right there is a 16 cm deep pothole in the middle of the path.--

Accelerating her pace she took a sharp turn, behind her she heard the squeaky raw sound of shows scrapping rock. followed by a few curses. She kept running, watching as a blue circle highlighted the promised pothole. She aimed right, hissing as the rock wall bite into her skin. when she was a good few feet away she heard a scream and 'thump', her pursuer had hit the fallen that should give her a head start of approximately three minutes.

--with a three-minute head start run straight ahead, you'll come to a cliff jump and role down. The current calculations do not predict any major damages to be inflicted, fractures and momentary body shutdowns are not guaranteed to be avoidable.--

Her body was feeling numb, blood rushing to her fingertips. A warm dusty wind hit her face, small bits of sand sticking in her eyeballs. "Thank you Arabian desserts" she mumbled, there really were some benefits of being born in the 8th-century middle east. In front of her the earth seemed to disappear, she braced her self for the jump. Leaping into the air she curled her body into a semi-oval like shape. Upon impact, with the rugged ground, she curls her self further. She finally used the tip of her boot to dig a slow her down. Getting up again she started to run trying her best to ignore the immense pain in her right arms and the various bruises and blooding scratches over her body.

--The skull on an elephant in approaching, hid in the inside of its hollow cranium.--

No, no hiding Genie thought to herself. This whole chase -although exhilarating- was starting to get boring. She scanned the ground, reading the comments trying to find something that might help. The blue comments kept highlighting potentially useful objects and hideouts. Swiftly Genie picked up two rock shards. Holding them tight she switched her path and dashed for the elephant skull in the far right.

She entering through the mouth, quickly taking in her surroundings. Using the jagged bone matter, Genie pulled her self up climbing until she reached the window of the empty eye socket. Looking out she could see Jamil, so he'd been her mysterious stalker. Racking her brain for a second Genie tried to find a reason why Jamil of all people would be after her. Did he need something? Was he having trouble with his darling? Or did he need her for something else?

The second-year Scarabia student was only a few meters away from the skull, his back turned eyes darting every which way trying to find the Jinn girl. Swiftly Genie positioned her self, one foot resting on the opening of the eye, the other ready to push her forward. One arm held her still while the other gripped one of the shards.

One heartbeat, two heartbeats, three heartbeats...

She leaped forward, crashing into Jamil's back. The third dorm's vice president landed face first in the dirt, Genie straddling his back. She raised her hand with the rock, balling it into a fist and slamming it down on Jamil's head.

"Ouch, cut that out you rouge Jinn!"

Genie didn't respond she struck him again and again. A sickly smile spreading on her face.

"Aw look at you little bunny, trying to beat a man to death."

Turning her head Genie glared at the source of the voice. Her eyes immediately widened. They're on top of an elephant spin sat the savage gluten of savanclaw Ruggi Buchi the vice dorm leader.

He leaned his head onto his hand and smirked down at the two. At that moment Genie noticed just how dark the sky had gotten and how many glowing eyes were watching her. She gulped and rolled off of the boy. Landing on the ground in a w sitting position. Jamil also got up, he placed a hand on the back of his head covering the bleeding wound. With his free hand, he grabbed Genie's wrist. "Listen here you useless genie.." Before he could finish Ruggie had landed next to him, claws leaving deep scratches in his arm. With a painful hiss, Jamil retracted his injured arm. Ruggie walked behind Genie placing a protective hand over her shoulder. "Get off our territory before Leona arrives."

Jamile sent one last glare towards the duo before returning from which he came.

"thanks" Genie mumbles

"Don't mention it, that's what a pack is for" Ruggie flashes her a predatory smirk

Leona Kingschalor

Genie leans over Leona's shoulder, arms loosely wrapped around his shoulders. A few centimeters in front of them a blue port screen is floating in the air. pictures of multiple girls rotating with their bios on the side.

"We really need to find you a darling big brother" Genie mutters as she nuzzles the crook of his neck. Leona simply takes another bite of the beef jerky in his hands, he chews slowly, relishing the feeling of his beloved "sister's" warm breath over his exposed skin. "Why are you in such a rush? Despreat to have me occupied with someone else so you're all alone and abandoned again?" He could feel her body tense, her breath hitch, and the nervous tick as she dug her long nails into his shoulder.

"N-no you're just getting older and we need to find the future king his queen. That-that's all"

Leona huffed and glared at the screen, there was something rather monotonous about these girls, they all lacked a certain "spunk" to them. Plus how did she expect him to concentrate when she was right there.

Leona didn't know when the entirety of Nightraven had decided that the naive little psycho jinn would become his "little sister" or even why for that matter. If it had been up to him he'd declare her as his darling the moment her lamp had been tossed through that magic mirror in the director's office. But something had happended, some choices, something! What that something was he did not know...only that it kept them apart.

Genie straightened and walked over to Leona plumping down on his lap and grabbing the screen, scrolling through some names and articles mindlessly. Automatically Leona's hands when to her head patting her softs then braiding a section of their hair to match his own. It was the brotherly thing to do, but when had it become so natural? "Look big brother.." Genie turned the screen and showed Leona the "file" of a round-faced hyena girl. She looked cute, maybe even try worthy...just not right now. "She's cute," he mutters turning his emerald eyes to Genie's face. No, he though her Genie's cheeks where come how rounder and puffier.

"I could set up a date if you--"

"NO!" Leona flinched he hadn't meant for it to come out so harsh. He cleared his throat and gently caressed the "young" girl's face, started pulling both her cheeks. "Why don't you give me her number and I'll give her a call after my nap...how's that?" The purple-haired girl tried to nod despite her flesh being pulled in opposite directions. "Good" Leona let go of her face and got up, lifting Genie up in the process. He walked over to the door of his room kicking it open and letting her fall on the bed, not a second later he plumped down on top of her. Genie let out a giggle and squirmed under him until she had some breathing room. "Get some rest Ruggi tells me you haven't slept in a week." This was concern, it was how an "older brother was supposed to feel for his "little sister". "But I'm not sleepy-" she tried to protest. "Don't care, do that counting thing you do sometimes maybe that'll bore you enough to drift off."

She obeyed like the good little sister she was supposed to be. As sleep took over his sense Leona heard her tiny voice barely above a whisper.

one heartbeat, two heartbeats, three heartbeats, four heart--

#twisted wonderland #leona kingscholar #twisted wonderland leona kingscholar #disney twisted wonderland #yandere #yandere x reader #yandere x you #twisted wonderland jack howl #jack howl #Ruggie Bucchi #twisted wonderland ruggie bucchi #yancore #twisted wonderland count down

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umbry-fic · 3 years

Text

To you, with love (2)

Summary: Mother's Day is a difficult day for all of them, and one that they each choose to spend differently.

Fandom: Tales of Symphonia Characters: Lloyd Irving, Colette Brunel Relationships: Colette Brunel/Lloyd Irving, Lloyd Irving & Anna Irving Rating: G Chapter: 2 of 3 Word Count: 6325 Mirror Link: AO3 Original Post Date: 09/05/2021

Notes: This chapter covers Lloyd and Colette. I haven't written the third one yet. Hopefully someday!

Previous chapter

~~~

Blue. Blue was the only colour in his vision. Everything was blue. The paper, the desk, his hands -

Alright, it was official. He’d been staring at the blue paper sitting on his table for too long. Lloyd groaned, hiding his face in the crook of his elbow and nearly knocking his pencil off the table. He needed to look away and do something else before he drove himself completely insane.

The only upside was that the shade of blue was close to the colour of Colette's eyes. He could almost imagine he was staring into her eyes...

The piece of blue paper was just as mockingly empty as it had been when Genis had handed it over. Lloyd could almost see the imaginary words meant to fill it up but which could not be found, forming utter gibberish in his head. He had half a mind to just start stabbing holes in the paper with his pencil with all the pent-up energy in his hands, but that felt like a waste of perfectly good paper. Perhaps a paper aeroplane would work? Those were fun to watch fly through the air, though his aim was abysmal. The last time he’d thrown one, it had flown straight into Professor Raine’s face and landed him in detention. Maybe he could ask Colette to throw it out of the window of his house the next time she came over…?

“What do you think we should do with these?” Colette asked, tapping him on the shoulder with her pencil. Her head had been turning between her assignment and the other sheet of blue paper on her desk, deliberating what to attend to.

Lloyd sighed, rolling his pencil from side to side with a finger. “I don’t know. Genis just gave the extra paper to us without any further explanation.” Sneaking a peek at Genis showed that he was engrossed in writing his note, occasionally erasing full sentences with hard rubs of his eraser before slashing more words across the paper. Genis was doing something important and was not to be disrupted. As for the two of them... That was a completely different story.

“It’s not like we have anything to write…” Colette muttered, resting her chin on her palm and staring off into the distance.

Lloyd was still a little worried over what Colette had said minutes before. The same smile as always was on her face, but it was missing… something. He couldn’t put his finger on what exactly was different, only that it was missing the essence that brightened her surroundings and could warm his heart without fail.

Mother’s Day was a sore spot for both of them, but more so for her. Every year, she would spend the day with him by his mother’s grave, silently watching him tell his mother… whatever he felt like saying. It wasn’t exactly a special occasion for him, just a day like any other where he might choose to visit his mother’s grave and tell her about his day. He'd wish her a happy Mother's Day, maybe plant a few more flowers, but nothing more than that. What point was there to writing a card or getting a gift when he could only place it by his mother's grave and watch the weather wear away at it until nothing was left?

Colette couldn’t even do something as simple as visit her mother, let alone send her a message… He wanted to help her, somehow, but what could he do? He didn’t control the Church’s customs. He certainly couldn’t bend them. If Colette as the Chosen was helpless, what power did he hold, as someone who wasn’t even raised under the Church of Martel?

He hated it, being powerless to do anything for Colette. She never spoke about how she felt, either, refusing to spoil the day for him, instead locking it all away. He wanted to return that cheer to her, wanted to banish her melancholy… But his mind was empty, devoid of any solutions to this complex problem. As it always was. He wasn't known for problem-solving, only for the creation of new problems.

Wait, no! There was something he could suggest they do, an idea finally coming to him after racking his brain hard. Now his head hurt, but it would all be worth it if he could help Colette.

“How about we write a note to our mothers as well?”

“Us?” Colette’s attention snapped back to him, her gaze focused again instead of drifting a thousand miles away. “But how would we ever deliver it?”

“Leave that part to me. I’ll tell you more later.” He grinned, leaning closer. This could work! This could actually work, and cheer Colette up... “Trust me?”

“Alright.” Colette nodded without any hint of resistance. She trusted Lloyd completely. If he said he could do it, he would. “Now to just get to writing?”

“Right…” Lloyd groaned, leaning back in his chair and picking up his abandoned pencil, not willing to press it to paper just yet, the blue once again sucking him in as he stared down at the paper. He’d forgotten that he actually had to write something first, his mind skipping over that step completely in his hurry to conceptualise the delivery method. He was already dreading how this was going to go. He was terrible at writing the essays Professor Raine asked for, mixing up words, screwing up grammar and writing with the worst vocabulary known to mankind. And those were in response to simple scenarios like “Timmy went into the forest”, not the complex question of what he even wanted to tell his mother, given how little he knew and how much he yearned to know. This was going to be horrible…

“It doesn’t need to be some eloquent masterpiece, Lloyd,” Colette encouraged, having picked up on his hesitance, as she always did. She patted his shoulder with a comforting hand. “Just write from the heart! I believe in you.”

There were so many things he wanted to tell his mother: a thank you for saving him, appreciation for bringing him into this world, questions about what kind of person she was, what she liked, whether… whether or not she was proud of him. Those were the questions that always simmered in the back of his mind but were occasionally brought to the forefront, especially when he was reminded of the untimely death of his mother. The desire to get any concrete answer burned whenever those questions presented themselves, enough to choke him sometimes with its surprising intensity.

And of course, that final question he didn’t know if he had the courage to voice. What was his father like, and… was he still alive?

But there would be no letter if he didn’t start. So it was time to get to it, as Colette had said.

To write from the heart…

~~~

“Hi, Lloyd!” Colette waved cheerily. Her shoes sank into the grass before his house, making little crinkling sounds as she ran closer. Gripped tightly in her other hand was her Mother’s Day card, folded into a neat and tiny square, as well as the stems of a few pink carnations, their sweet scent suffusing the air around her. The flowers must have been freshly-picked from her grandmother’s garden.

“Do you have everything on you?” He asked, grabbing her free hand and beginning to tug Colette towards the tiny stream that ran by his home. In his pockets were the materials he’d need: the card he’d touched up in his free time, and a few sprigs of herbs, namely rosemary and lavender, plucked from where he grew them by his bedside window and which Dad sprinkled liberally into the stew he made. Slotted under his arm was the pan that he’d whittled out of wood over the week, a little rudimentary with its elliptical shape and rough surface, but good enough to serve its purpose.

“Yep!” Colette waved her card in his face, the words hidden by the folds she had made, the petals of the carnations tickling his nose and making him sneeze. “I brought enough flowers for the both of us. Grandma told me that pink carnations represent a mother’s love, so I thought they were perfect!”

They'd both decided on flowers as a separate gift. Most people bought a bouquet of flowers as a Mother's Day gift. It was a perfectly fine gift, especially since neither of them knew their mothers' likes and dislikes. And it was as he told Genis. His only fuzzy memory of his mother was giving her a handful of wildflowers, freshly picked from the fields. His mother's breezy laughter was all he could recall, and the ghost of a warm smile, lost to time.

“Thanks! Pink carnations... Have you heard the story behind them before?”

Lloyd didn't remember who he'd first heard it from. A story of a mother and two children trying to escape from the wrath of a group of Desians, but who couldn't run fast enough to ditch their pursuers. The mother had asked her children to run, as fast and as far away as they could. She alone had stayed behind to lead the Desians astray for as long as humanly possible. Eventually, she'd been caught, but even under threat of torture and with a sword at her throat, she had refused to divulge the location of her children. Her blood stained the carnations at her feet, turning them forever pink. And that was how pink carnations were born.

It wasn't exactly a kids’ story to be told at bedtime. It was one of those popular stories spread around school a few years back, he didn't know what for. Scaring people?

He knew it was a story that had been passed down for hundreds of years, perhaps longer. According to Dad, however, some elements just didn't add up. The location being a fantastical forest that, as far as he knew, didn’t exist in Sylvarant, the children somehow being able to use magic to help them get away when the mother was powerless… All stories had an element of truth, but this one had its truth buried under millennia of hearsay, the original words mangled, perhaps beyond recognition, by the passage of time. What was the true form of this story, and what was its purpose?

"Yeah. That story… It's really tragic, but… I guess that's just how far a mother would be willing to go. Like yours…" Colette muttered, gaze drifting to the floor.

"Oh!” She cried out seconds later, realising that what she’d said had been insensitive and could have wounded Lloyd. That was the last thing she wanted. Her gaze snapped back up to his, voice frantically leaving her throat and filled with worry. “Oh no, I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have said that -"

“It’s fine, Colette. It’s the truth.” The past could not be altered, no matter how much he wished that he could see a different present, one where his parents were alive and well. If that came to be, however, where would he be now? His life would have taken a far different path. Would he have ever met the people who had become his closest friends, the ones who he trusted with everything? Would he have met Dirk, who had provided him not just a roof over his head and food on a plate, but had given him a loving home and taught him everything he knew now?

He would not wish his life any different, for that would mean forfeiting the blessings he’d received despite the bumpy start. Living a happy life did not mean burying his past or forgetting the tragedy that had occurred, but rather, was the best way to honour his mother. That was what Dad said as well, along the same vein as Colette’s words yesterday. All any mother wanted was to see their child grow up happy.

“All I can do is honour that by continuing to live,” he finished, hoping he was on the right track.

“Oh, that’s good. I still shouldn’t have said it though...” Colette muttered with regret, squeezing his hand.

Colette, strangely enough, seemed to have some sort of obsession with his mother’s sacrifice, blurting out a random question once in a blue moon before immediately retracting with awkward apologies. There was no malicious intent there that he could detect, just a frenetic desire for something that he didn’t understand, so he didn’t really mind.

He wondered why, though. What could be so interesting? It wasn’t altogether that foreign of a scenario. Perhaps it was in Iselia, but not across the whole wide world.

“Come on, forget about it,” Lloyd insisted, coming to a stop on the bank of the stream. The clear stream water, a little higher than usual due to last night’s rain, rushed merrily by with a faint gurgling sound mere centimetres from his feet. He’d have to take care not to get too close, and to remind Colette to do the same. He wanted to avoid either of them slipping in the mud and falling in. Controlled swims in the river were fun. Not uncontrolled dives into the water. He didn't want Colette catching a cold, either... “We’ve arrived by the river!”

“So, what does the river have to do with anything? You never explained any further after class!” Colette asked, cocking her heads. The heads of the carnations drooped towards the grass, the stems beginning to bend in her hands.

“Well,” Lloyd said, retrieving the wooden pan and placing it onto the grass (at a safe distance from the mud, where it would no doubt slide into the river and never be seen again, even if that was the point) and rummaging through his pockets for his card. Feeling the familiar, smooth sensation of paper under his fingers, he pulled out what he thought was his note, only to find himself faced with the designs for Colette’s birthday present that he’d doodled in class, looping curves forming the basis of the pendant he’d decided upon.

He hurriedly stuffed that back in. He would not be spoiling the surprise. Back to searching.

“Dwarves have their own set of beliefs, you know?” Lloyd continued, starting what he knew might be a lengthy explanation. He hoped he could remember everything Dad had said; it would be kinda disrespectful to get things wrong. Oh well, nothing much he could do in that case. “Could you set the flowers and your card on the pan?”

Colette hummed in agreement, doing as he directed. Lloyd, having finally found his folded-up card in the labyrinth of his too many pockets, placed it on the pan as well. Thankfully, it had somehow been saved from the fate of being crumpled. Not like his last assignment, which he’d somehow shredded in the workshop… At least it hadn't been eaten by Noishe.

In the end, he’d given his mother a detailed account of the interesting happenings of the past year and wished her a happy Mother's Day, as he would have in the past, sitting by her grave. But he'd also written down all the questions he wanted to ask, and expressed the message that he was doing well, as well as the hope that she was too.

He wondered if, one day, he would actually get to learn more about his mother.

“You’ve mentioned in passing that dwarves worship the Earth summon spirit. Gnome, I think his name was?” Colette let out a little huff of laughter, squatting down next to him to watch him arrange everything on the pan and making minor adjustments herself. She didn’t need to ask him for permission to do so. He trusted her. “If Genis were here, he’d have murdered us already. Pair of idiots,” she mimicked his mocking tone, making a silly face, “as he would say.”

“He’s not here, so it doesn’t matter how many names we forget. Seriously, what is the purpose of remembering so many if we’re never gonna meet the face behind them, anyway? I don’t have that much space in my head like that genius has,” Lloyd grumbled, doing the finishing touches. It looked good, the cards sitting in the centre with the flowers lying together at the top, the herbs completing the picture at the bottom. Aesthe... Aesthetic... Aesthetically pleasing? That was the right word that Genis would use, probably...

“It’s fun to listen to the various stories! They’re so interesting! I also think it’s important to know that history, but…” Colette sighed. “I agree. It’s really hard to remember everything, it makes my head hurt. So, what about Gnome?”

“Dad said that underground, all rivers lead to the centre of the Earth, where Gnome is said to reside.” That always created quite a funny image, since Gnome was said to take the form of a giant mole. Lloyd had never seen a mole before. He didn't know what they looked like, so he couldn’t help but substitute the mole for Noishe. So whenever Dad told that story, all he could visualise was an even more gigantic Noishe, sitting in the middle of a sphere. He couldn’t help but crack up, and Dad would give him a funny look every time, not able to glean what went on in his head. “It’s tradition to send offerings or messages down the river so that it reaches Gnome. Instead of conducting a burial as we do here, bodies are also sent down the river.”

“And Gnome as the guardian deity helps to deliver the messages? Much like the Goddess Martel will hear our prayers and answer in some way, or send the offerings we leave at the church to those who have passed.”

“Yes! That’s it! And the herbs are an offering to Gnome. Apparently, he likes to feast on them?” Lloyd replied. "Don't understand why anyone would chew on herbs alone..." Dad had described the experience before - an entire community would gather by the river to send off their blessings, the subterranean caverns lit by luminous moss and the torches set in their sconces on the walls, the ceiling reflecting the river, shining the ceiling in a pale green, wavering light. Afterwards, a festival would be held, where everyone could eat and drink to their heart's content, for the dead would wish for the living's happiness and the living should celebrate. It sounded like a beautiful experience. Maybe one day, he and Colette could witness such a sight too...

Lloyd was, more than anything, relieved to know that Colette understood. As the Chosen, she should have been the one at the forefront of upholding the almighty nature of the Church of Martel, having that duty entrusted to her, but… She had never condemned him, or tried to convert him. In fact, she was the complete opposite. She never shied away from hearing about Dad’s religion from him, always with an inquisitive shine in her eyes.

As for him… He was torn between the two. Dad hadn’t forced his religion upon him or anything. Neither had he been raised under the teachings of the Church of Martel like Colette or even Genis had. But if Colette was the Chosen… then surely the Goddess must exist for the journey she was to undertake to have purpose. That was as far as his beliefs went. He didn’t know the scriptures or the prayers. Didn't have space in his head for that, or the patience to learn them. Honestly, he probably knew more about Dwarven religion than the Church of Martel. Where did that leave him?

“I know you’re not allowed into the sanctum, so I thought we could do this instead. We’re aboveground, so I know it’s not really the same… Sorry if it’s just a stupid idea.” That was all he was good for, after all. Pranks and shenanigans. He wasn’t insightful. Or smart. Or… thoughtful.

“No, Lloyd, it’s perfect,” Colette whispered, placing her hand atop his comfortingly, those gentle eyes fixed on his, calming him down. “I love it. Let’s send it off, shall we?”

“Alright.”

Together, their hands side-by-side, they pushed the pan down the bank. It slid down the mud and onto the river, where it wobbled from side to side, causing Lloyd’s heart to leap into his throat as he lunged forward to save everything on it from a watery grave - only for the pan to stabilise seconds later, the water lapping peacefully at its sides. That was a close one.

Unfortunately, he’d forgotten about the slippery mud and stepped too far, one foot landing in the mud - only for it to send him sliding forward, straight towards the river.

“Oh!” Colette cried, coming to his rescue and pushing him forcefully in the opposite direction so he landed on his back on the grass with a painful thud. At least it wasn’t face-first into the river.

“Thanks for the save,” he muttered, sitting up and rubbing the back of his head, pain blossoming out from where it’d come in contact with the dirt. The fall had been somewhat cushioned by the soft layer of grass that covered the dirt, but his skin was still going to bruise. “Are you hurt?”

“No! I’m perfectly fine. Not a single scratch on my hands.” Colette, whose momentum had landed her on her knees in the grass as well, slowly crawled closer. “You’ve saved me from falling so many times, so I’m just returning the favour! Though you’ve fallen a lot these past few days… Oh no, did I transfer my horrible luck to you?” Colette gasped, shifting her face incredibly close to his in concern, her nose nearly brushing his.

Lloyd leaned back immediately, heart racing at a thousand miles an hour. This close, he could make out everything - the flecks of darker blue scattered throughout her irises, like tiny oceans scattered across a light blue sky, three in the left and six in the right as he'd memorised a long time ago; the small black circles that were her pupils; his own face reflected in her eyes, looking like a deer that'd been caught in the middle of a spotlight. Her eyes almost seemed to draw him in; he could spend the next eternity just looking into them, losing himself in the blue pools...

No! Now was not the time! Lloyd shook his head to break himself out of his trance, turning his head rapidly to the side so he didn't have to look into her eyes anymore. Don’t blush, don’t blush, don’t blush… He repeated in his head like a mantra. Would it be effective?

“Probably not.” He stood up, brushing blades of grass off the back of his legs, thankful for the extra distance it put between him and Colette. He’d barely saved himself from turning into a stuttering mess, knocked completely off-kilter by her proximity. Not that that would clue Colette off. She seemed utterly oblivious to all but the most obvious of cues. “I’ve just been a little clumsy recently, that’s all. And your luck is not horrible.”

Lloyd gave an internal sigh of relief for escaping detection once again, scanning the river for the pan. He spotted it some distance away, being pushed along by the current. It was already nearing the bend in the river. Once it passed that bend, it would be obscured by the thick greenery of the forest, whose trees began to sprout out of the ground at that point.

“Over there. See?” He pointed the pan out as Colette stood. It was getting smaller and smaller… “It’s leaving.”

Her fingertips brushed his, an unvoiced invite to hold her hand that he obliged, interlocking his fingers with hers, their palms pressed firmly against each other.

“I hope it reaches them, somehow,” Colette whispered, the words brought by the wind to rest against his heart.

If he was being honest, this was nothing but a foolish dream held by two children at the cusp of becoming adults, where such dreams melted into ashes and were washed away by cynicism. But... it was one he wished could be granted, either way.

“I hope so too.”

~~~

It was peaceful here, every year without fail, sitting before Lloyd’s mother’s grave. The clearing was visible from the path leading up to Dirk’s house, but hardly anyone ever came here unless they needed the dwarf’s services, and those were few and far between. Most of the time, customers appeared right before winter, to hire Dirk to repair any holes and shore up the walls before the cold arrived. The path was barely travelled by anyone, maintained only by Dirk and Lloyd and slightly overgrown. Right now, it was deserted, leaving Lloyd and Colette alone in each other’s company.

The clearing itself was calming, and held its own strange beauty. Anna’s grave was erected in the centre, the words on it having been masterfully carved by Dirk over a decade ago and still easily legible, even after the slow passage of time. A thin layer of moss grew over the top, a result of years of rain and sunshine. Surrounding the grave was a circle of flowers that Lloyd had planted with careful hands to keep his mother company: ranging from daisies to peonies, creating a rainbow whose heads swayed in the wind and kept expanding with each year that passed and each seed Lloyd nurtured with gentle hands. Sunlight filtered through the branches and leaves of the trees that rose into the sky some distance away, forming golden squares that danced across the grass.

They were resting side-by-side on the stools Lloyd had left out here since… forever ago, to give him a comfortable place to sit whenever he came to talk to his mother. The rain from last night had left a little puddle on the seats, which Lloyd had helped tip off onto the grass before inviting her to sit.

Colette rested her hands on her lap, watching the ants by her feet traverse the ground, avoiding the stagnant pools of water in their neverending journey. Lloyd was silent, having clearly said all that he wanted to in his card, and was content to just enjoy the peace.

She was grateful that he hadn’t asked what she’d written, in the same manner she’d respected his privacy. The contents of her letter were… complicated. She loved her mother, but... At the end of the day, she would have to die. What could she tell her mother, then? Even if her mother were still alive, she would one day have to see her daughter walk willingly to her death. Was there anything more difficult for a mother to bear, that a mother would do everything to prevent? Nothing she said would ever take away that pain.

The letter was also a good place to vent. After all, no one alive would ever read it. Even if it did reach her mother, she wouldn’t get a return message. That was a foolish hope that could not be granted, for the Goddess had more important things to do than listen to the selfish request of a little girl.

She had drawn a self-portrait, despite her absolute hatred of doing so. She couldn’t even look into a mirror without that sense of hopelessness bubbling to the surface, attempting to destroy her resolve to go through with everything that was necessary. The only thing that had guided her trembling hands across the paper to do a decent job was the desire to let her mother know just what she looked like. Every mother deserved to know what their child looked like.

Once again, sitting here in the safety of Lloyd’s company, she couldn’t help but feel the ugly flames of envy, licking at the walls of her heart.

Her mother was buried in the inner sanctum of Iselia’s Church of Martel. Every church across Sylvarant had such a room, the grandest, most imposing and lavishly decorated, comparable to none except the prayer hall. It wasn’t decked out in pews, however, but instead with graves, reserved only for the Mana Lineage and… what grisly remains the clergy could find of the Chosens who’d failed to reach the Tower of Salvation. For those who’d been cleanly wiped off the face of Sylvarant, a commemorative grave was erected, the insides utterly empty. Colette had nightmares, sometimes, about being trapped there, alone and unable to breath, the darkness closing in on her as the clergy buried her alive. Just another nightmare from the wide menagerie that haunted her.

The inner sanctum was not to be visited by random strangers, only fellow members of the Mana Lineage, and only on select days where the Goddess’ blessing was strongest, in order to preserve its sanctity. How those days had been decided on, Colette didn’t know. They didn’t feel any different to any other day in the year. But those were the rules, and she was not to question them. Mother’s Day wasn’t one of those special days, so she couldn’t bring offerings on the one day of the year that specially commemorated mothers.

Wasn’t it lonely? No matter how beautiful the inner sanctum was, with its stained glass windows that turned the filtered light into a rainbow of colours, and the chandeliers cut from crystals that reflected the sunlight; it was a cold sort of beauty, enough to make her shiver and feel out of place every time she entered. She was tiny in comparison to her mother’s grave, the headstone in the wall polished and spotless, reflecting her own pale face back at her. There were no impurities or mistakes to be found. It was nothing like the common graveyard right outside the church, which family members of the deceased frequented, bringing gifts and offerings, telling tales of the lives that had been passed while their loved one was absent.

It was nothing like this clearing, so full of life breathed into it by a loving son. Sometimes, she swore she could feel the love of a mother long passed, wrapped around her like a warm blanket, capable of keeping even the most biting chill away. Lloyd must have been able to feel it too, being able to visit anytime, whenever the desire presented itself. Quick and easy, without traditions and regulations holding him back.

It was horrible to feel this way, yet another ugly emotion that she shouldn’t let herself experience. She was meant to be magnanimous and compassionate, with no space in her heart for envy.

Some days she wished she had never been born the Chosen, that her mother had never been part of the Mana Lineage. She didn’t want to be different, didn’t want the “honour” of having an ornate burial ground or special treatment. She just wanted to be able to visit her mother’s grave and tell her mother the most mundane of things: how her day went, the friends she’d made, the dreams she held, the life she would never get to live.

Maybe if she’d never been her mother’s daughter, her mother would still be alive today, smiling and laughing and blessing the world with that beauty Father said she possessed…

“Do you think our mothers can see us, down here?” She asked, leaning her head on Lloyd’s shoulder, wanting to forget the thoughts that swirled in her head like a tornado, overpowering all else in its path. The only thing that could possibly be stronger was Lloyd's comforting warmth, seeping slowly through her from their point of contact. That was a slightly risky move on her part, but they were close enough for her to be confident she wouldn’t accidentally send them both toppling to the ground. She wasn't that clumsy.

“Why not?” Lloyd answered, placing an arm around her shoulder. “Dad believes that the spirits of those who have passed go back into the earth. They form the very dirt beneath our feet, helping to support new life. Wouldn’t they be able to see everything we do, then? And what do you mean, down here?”

“Oh, that’s a really interesting belief!” She really needed to have further discussions with Lloyd about religion. They were always so fun! The Church so often preached that Martel was the only Goddess and believing otherwise was heresy, but she didn’t really believe that. There were so many different groups of people throughout history that had held their own beliefs. They must have believed with all of their heart that their religion was the one true religion.

Lloyd wasn’t raised as a believer. He wasn’t the smartest person, just like her, but he wasn’t irrational. And he would always be her friend, no matter what he believed.

She wanted to keep an open mind - pushing people away just because they held their own set of beliefs sounded like the exact opposite of being accepting.

“Well, the Church of Martel says that everyone who believes in the Goddess will ascend to heaven and become an angel when they die. That’s what I meant.”

“Heaven, huh? Is that in the sky?” Lloyd pointed upwards, towards the cloudless azure sky, the sun winking down at them.

Colette couldn’t help but break out into laughter at that. A ridiculous statement, but one that she’d expect out of Lloyd’s mouth. “I don’t think it’s supposed to be in the sky, but sure! Why not?”

“Well, then your mother should be able to see you. If you’re so high up and you can fly around as an angel, surely you can see everything across the whole world, right? Your mother must be so proud of you.”

“Ah… Really? I’m not smart like Genis or sensible like Professor Raine. I’m not good with my hands like you… I’m just an average girl. What is there to be proud of?”

“Did you forget you’re the Chosen, Colette? You’ll save us all from the Desians someday. That’s plenty to be proud of!”

Her hands clenched into fists as she bit her lip. If all her worth came from being the Chosen… Would her mother still be proud of her, then, when she sometimes wondered what it would be like if that duty wasn’t hers to carry? She was nothing more than a child who wished to shirk her all-important duty, unworthy of the praise everyone showered upon her. She didn’t deserve anything…

How hard it must be for her mother. Once again, Colette could do nothing but make things worse.

“Besides, you’re not average. You’re really kind, and understanding -”

It’s kind of Lloyd, to see good in everything, even her. But she didn’t think those qualities were particularly outstanding. That was just how everyone should be, right?

“ -and you draw really well -”

A blatant lie. It was nice of Lloyd to be so encouraging…

“ -and you’re so pretty…”

Eh?

She shifted away from Lloyd, hands clasped atop her chest as her cheeks warmed. Had she heard right? “What - what did you just say?”

“Ah -” Lloyd blanked, his arm falling uselessly back to his side. He stared at her in silence for a few seconds as his brain caught up to his mouth, which had been running on auto-pilot. An expression of utter horror overtook his face as he shook his head frantically. “I didn’t say anything! At all! Just pretend the last minute never happened!”

“I -” She tried her best to calm her racing heart, taking deep breath after deep breath. It was nothing more than a stray compliment that Lloyd was feeling a little awkward over. That was all. There was nothing more to be found there, nothing to read into. Just Lloyd being his nice self, as usual. “I, uh… Thank you?” But it was common courtesy to show gratitude, as her father had taught her.

“I meant it…” Lloyd muttered, leaning back slightly. He was staring at a single blade of grass with enough intensity to possibly set it on fire, face slowly flushing red.

“Ahem,” Lloyd coughed, refusing to meet her gaze. “To get back on topic, if your mother has become an angel, then won’t you see her again someday? Your actual father is also an angel, isn’t he? So that would make sense…”

“I guess so!” Colette said, purposely trying to inject cheer into her voice. “My job is to become an angel, after all!” Lloyd didn’t know the true meaning behind his words. She would see her mother again, for she herself would soon go to heaven… Would she qualify, she wondered?

It’s not like she even wanted to go… It was said to be an eternal paradise, but how could any place without her friends be that incredible? She couldn’t imagine it. No matter how serene, no matter how fluffy the clouds or how endless the fun, how could it be anything but devoid of soul when she could never know Genis’ wit again, never know Raine’s harsh but fair judgement again, never know Lloyd’s boundless loyalty and his smile again?

“This has been nice. Thank you so much for the great idea, Lloyd! I would have never thought to do this if it wasn't for you,” she said, cocking her head and smiling, hair falling down the side of her arm. Was Lloyd stealing glances at her, or was she imagining it? A bit hard to imagine the way his head kept see-sawing between the grass and her face... But why...?

“Yeah!” Lloyd replied eagerly. “Shall we do the same next year? I’m sure there’ll be a lot more things we’ll want to tell our mothers then.”

Next year… Would she even still be here, next year?

She didn’t want to get Lloyd’s hopes up, not when they could be easily shattered in nothing but seconds. She couldn’t make any promises, for she would no doubt have to break them, but…

Colette took Lloyd’s hand, praying with all her heart that she would see another year, and maybe another after that.

“I’d like that.”

#fanfiction #multi chapter #lloyd irving #colette brunel #colloyd

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treatian · 3 years

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The Chronicles of the Dark One: Breaking the Curse

Chapter 39: Doing the Job

He and Mary Margaret talked for well over an hour. This part of the game wasn't difficult; it was simply a balancing act. On the one hand, he wanted to leave Mary Margaret spooked, not terrified, just sufficiently spooked. Enough so that when she got her hands on the skeleton key, then she'd run. On the other hand, he had to be her lawyer and didn't want to appear as if he was trying to scare her. A balancing act like this might be difficult for some, but in this case, it was easy enough for him to accomplish, mostly because all he had to do was tell her the truth.

"Your chances are good because there is no body at the moment," he reassured her. "They can't assume she's dead. They have to know for sure. All they really have is your jewelry box with your fingerprints on it, which can be easily explained. The box belongs to you. It would be odd if it didn't have your fingerprints on it."

"But what about the heart? Emma said they're running DNA."

"Don't worry about that right now."

"Right now, but what…what if it comes back as Kathryn's?"

Which it would…

"Well, if it comes back as Kathyrn's, then that would be bad," he stated clearly. "That would be very bad indeed. Something like that might implicate you."

"But I didn't do anything!" she hissed as her face fell.

"You don't have to tell me, Miss Blanchard. In fact, I'd prefer it if you didn't. But…if you truly didn't do it, then you should have nothing to worry about. For all we know, some kids broke into the apartment, stole the box, and it's a sheep's heart in there. Could just be some kids playing a prank, and that's the argument I intend to make if this goes to trial."

"Trial!"

"It likely won't get that far. We'll worry about arraignment first; that'll be tomorrow morning unless further evidence against you is brought to light."

"What's that involve?"

"You'll be brought before a judge, the formal charges against you will be read, you'll plead 'not guilty,' bail will be set."

"Bail…I can get out of here."

"Well…in a murder trial, they'd send you to prison because you would be considered a danger, but seeing as how they don't have a body yet…"

"A body…everything hinges on a body, on that heart."

He sighed. "Try to be calm, Miss. Blanchard. It doesn't do to worry about things that may or may not come to pass."

"And what if they do come to pass?"

He resisted the urge to smile again. He didn't want to look like he was trying to spook her, and fortunately for him, she did a fair enough job of giving him a reason to all on her own.

"As I said before, that would be bad. It would implicate you. But we're not going to worry about that for now. One foot in front of the other. You get some rest. Let me do my job."

Immediately following their conversation, he invited himself into the Sheriff's office. "So…how bad is it?" he asked.

Emma glared at him skeptically, her mouth unmoving as she considered his question. She'd done her job well; she'd let the pair of them talk in private as the law required. She'd tried to keep herself busy or otherwise secluded in her office, but he could feel the way she'd watched them. He hadn't ordered her to stop, nor had he told Mary Margaret to stop talking to her as he would a normal client. For someone on trial for murder, talking to the district attorney or the police could potentially be harmful. But Emma just wanted her friend free again. She believed in her innocence. There was nothing wrong with talking to Emma. As for anyone else, Emma was protective enough that she wouldn't let it happen. So that just left the pair of them, two unexpected allies involved in a very complex plan.

"Miss Swan…if this goes to trial, I'll be given everything during discovery," he insisted, reassuring her that talking to him, though it would commonly be considered inappropriate, was exactly what she needed to do in this case. "Besides, sharing information at this stage can only help her. I'm her lawyer, I want her out of jail, and I suspect so do you, Miss Swan, so let's help each other…shall we?"

He saw her gaze adjust over his shoulder to the cell Mary Margaret currently sat in before she sighed. "Heart's still out for DNA testing. It should be back tonight or tomorrow morning. Ruby found it in the woods by the toll bridge, the place she used to meet David. It was in her jewelry box, and her fingerprints were all over it. The heart had marks on it that suggested it was cut with a knife of some kind. I found a knife wrapped in cloth in the heating vent in her room."

"I'll assume you did a thorough search of the area and found any other clues. Has the apartment shown any signs of a break-in?"

"No, it was the first thing I checked. It was clean."

"Who else has access?"

"I have a key, she has a key, no one else."

He raised his eyebrows in interest. "You're sure?"

"I asked," she answered back emotionlessly. That was how the entire conversation had gone thus far. Emma didn't like him. She'd exchange facts, but she wasn't ready for theories yet…at least he assumed that she wasn't.

"Is there anyone in town who has the ability to get into the apartment, anyone who can pick a lock?"

"Normally, I'd be looking at you for something like this," she insisted. "But all things considered-"

"All things considered, I have no reason to want this. No motive," he finished for her. "And if I did this, then it would seem a bit counterproductive to try and get her out of the trouble I put her in."

"Right…"

"So then, the next question you must ask yourself is who does have a motive. Who would want to see an elementary school teacher put in prison for a murder she didn't commit?"

Emma sighed. "At the moment, the only person who would have that motive is Kathryn herself."

"A crime of passion…revenge."

"But seeing as how she's missing and Mary Margaret is here…"

"Well…" he smirked. "You do have your work cut out for you, it seems. I'll expect updates as you get them. It can only help your friend."

"That's what they all say."

"This time, it's true."

He spent the night in his shop. He couldn't bring himself to go home for more than an hour in the morning to bathe and change clothes. Everything that was happening was happening in town. And he wanted to be as close as possible for what was to come next.

That morning was supposed to be Mary Margaret's arraignment. He'd told her that it would happen yesterday unless new charges were brought against her. Last night, there had been new charges. Regina called him in the middle of the night. The glee that she felt was clear in her voice as she told him that the DNA results were a match for Kathryn. She was appreciative, thankful even, for his help in the plan. According to her, she'd left the skeleton key, as he'd instructed in Mary Margaret's cell. It was only a matter of time until she found it and ran. He'd smiled at her foolishness but was smart enough to let her hear it in his tone when he told her that it appeared she was about to get what she wanted. And so it was…it appeared Regina was about to win, which was sure to make her defeat that much sweeter.

Emma was informed of the charges that morning, Mary Margaret's arraignment was postponed until the following morning. Emma was taking on the task of informing his client, and so he hung back at the shop for the day, doing this and that, small tasks to keep himself busy. Polishing was always his go-to chore, even if it made him sad now that he had his memories back. He wished Belle could see him doing such work. His shop was always in disarray, but he knew that she'd be impressed she could pick up a cloth and do some form of polishing. He wondered if he'd like this version of him…Mr. Gold. If she were alive and got to work at the library, he wondered what their interactions would have been like.

It was a nice thought to have. It was a nice vacation for his head to take instead of thinking about everything he was plotting and planning now. It was crazy trying to pull this off without magic. Times like last night, he felt like it was getting to him. It was frustrating and terrifying. Worst of all, he felt like a coward for admitting it.

He heard the bell chime out in the main room, letting him know someone had wandered in. A moment later, he heard a familiar voice call out, "Mr. Gold? You in here?!"

He rolled his eyes at Emma Swan's footsteps and didn't bother to call out to her. Not only was it undignified to shout, but she didn't seem to have a problem going where she wanted to. She'd find him with or without invitation.

"Mr. Gold," Emma stated as he heard the curtain whip back.

"Just taking inventory," he explained, picking up…it was the genie lamp again that had found its way into his hands, making him shudder all over again. How was it Emma Swan always seemed to find him when he had it in his hands? He took a seat at the table he'd been polishing on, but he wasn't going to be so stupid as to not learn from his mistakes. He wouldn't polish it, not this time, perhaps just appearing as though he was appraising it until she left would work.

"What can I do for you, Miss Swan? Any developments in the case I should be aware of?"

"Yes," the girl breathed frantically. Was that a hint of frustration in her voice? "Regina set her up."

Excellent. "And this surprises you?" he questioned, trying to be careful not to smile or reveal any shock on his face at all. He didn't want to discourage her from going down this road. He wanted to encourage her. "Show me your evidence, and we'll get this over with immediately."

"Yeah, that's the thing," she breathed heavily, leaning against the desk herself. He knew that look, that haunted frustrated gaze. It was a woman who knew the truth but felt powerless. Good. That was motivation. "There isn't any. Anything that's court-worthy. But I know it now."

He smiled. So now she trusted him. Whether or not that trust was well placed for the future, it wasn't just a good thing but a necessary thing in this situation.

"Look who's suddenly become a woman of faith. Why are you here, Miss Swan? To spin conspiracy theories?"

"I need help."

He chuckled appropriately. "From me?"

"Every time I've gone up against Regina, I've lost. Except for once…when I became Sheriff, when you helped."

"As I recall, you don't exactly approve of my methods."

"I approve of your results. And this time, I have something more important than a job. I need to save my friend."

Excellent. Magic or not, he had her right where he wanted her, right where he needed her. This was almost as good as he knew it would feel on the day he finally had her standing before him, ready to kill a dragon for a potion. Almost, but not quite. They still had work to do before they were there yet. The question was how much work. "And you're willing to go as far as it takes?"

"Farther."

"Now we're talking," he smiled. Not much farther at all then. "Fear not, Miss Swan," he breathed, picking up a magnifying glass to examine the lamp closer for no reason at all. "Regina may be powerful, but something tells me you're more powerful than you know."

"Well, I'm open to suggestions for how to exercise that power because right now, everything seems pretty bleak. So…what do we do."

He sighed. "Now…now you do your job, and I'll do mine. Her arraignment will be tomorrow morning before the judge. Either one of us will find something useful, or…both of us will. Care to wish on it?" He offered the genie lamp to her on a whim, but as soon as he'd offered, he realized the danger of what he'd done.

Fortunately, Emma glanced down at the lamp with irritation as if she was upset that was all he had to offer and then turned to leave.

"Have you talked to Sidney lately?" he called out before she could make it through the curtain.

She stopped and turned back to him. "Sidney? Sidney Glass?"

"Well…he used to be Regina's right-hand man, an investigative journalist. It seems to me that if she were to trust anyone, it might be him. The pair of you parted on good terms, if I recall. Might not hurt to have a few allies."

Emma paused for a second as if to consider that fact. Then she let out a sigh and left his shop, not in aggression but determination. He smiled as he got up to put the lamp away and out of reach. He hadn't wished on anything, but if he had, it would have been for what had just happened.

#Rumbelle #Rumple #Rumpelstiltskin #Dark One #mr gold #Regina Mills #Evil Queen #Emma Swan #mary margaret blanchard #Snow White #ouat #ouat fanfiction #fanfic

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zen3to5 · 4 years

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J/H 7-23: Take It or Leave It

I suspect some of you reading this rewrite are more interested in what happens in this episode than in the season finale. This was certainly the moment of the show I was most interested in changing, and spent the most time on, once I decided to go past Season 5. I hope you enjoy it.

FF.Net AO3

***

SHOW TITLE INT. FORMAN BASEMENT - NIGHT It’s a quiet night in the basement. HYDE sits in his chair, sunglasses off, head bowed in thought over the coffee table. He’s bent far enough over that SCHATZI, sitting on the table, can sniff at his hair. DONNA, sitting on the couch, and ERIC, enjoying a popsicle while standing behind the couch, watch Hyde with great amusement. ERIC: So, Hyde – it’s Friday night. Weekend’s coming up. The end of another week. Almost the end of the month. The month Jackie said you had to decide whether to marry her or let her go take that TV job in Chicago. HYDE: (looks up) What’s your point? ERIC: Oh, no point – I just like throwing that in your face. Donna chuckles, swats Eric on the arm. DONNA: Hyde, don’t you think it’s a little cruel to make Jackie sweat it out all month? I mean, shouldn’t you just get it over with? HYDE: Get what over with? DONNA: Well, you’re gonna say “no” to marrying her, right? Unless... She and Eric gasp together. Eric drops his now-empty popsicle stick, and Donna’s right hand goes over her mouth while her left hand grips Hyde’s arm. DONNA (cont’d): Oh, my God, you’re thinking of saying “yes!” ERIC: Oh, my God. You want to marry her. DONNA: (mocking) You want to marry her because you love her. ERIC: (doing Hyde, to Donna) “Jackie, you’re everything this poor little orphan boy ever needed.” DONNA: (doing Jackie, to Eric) “Oh, my God, I really am!” HYDE: Would you two shut up? I don’t know yet, okay? And, if I say “yes,” it isn’t because I love her. Love is a concept cooked up by Madison Avenue to sell to losers who’re too afraid to be alone. ERIC: Uh, no, you’re thinking of kittens. He exits up the stairs. Hyde sighs, sets Schatzi down on the floor and starts fidgeting with his eyeball ring. Donna slides down the couch, closer to Hyde’s chair. DONNA: You really don’t know what you’re gonna tell her, do you? What, you’re not sure if you want to wake up every morning to – (doing Jackie) “Steven, we need new patio furniture! Steven, I need $200! Steven, don’t forget the PTA meeting!” She laughs; Hyde scowls. DONNA (cont’d): (serious) Or are you not sure she should stay here? HYDE: (sighs) Look, remember when Red got sick, and Forman had to stay home but you were still gonna go to college, and he didn’t ask you to stay? And then when you were gonna get married, and he didn’t show up? He didn’t not do those things because he didn’t want to be with you. He just didn’t want to see you give up on your dreams and ruin your life. He let you do that on your own. DONNA: What do you mean? I didn’t ruin my life. Radio DJ was the kind of job I was gonna go to college for, and I got that job anyway, so I didn’t need to go. I mean, okay, I thought I would travel more – or at all. I thought I’d get to do more of the writing. Point Place doesn’t get the biggest acts anymore. My boss is a skeevy perv. And I only stayed for Eric, and now he's going away, so... She frowns, looks off in thought. From the corner of her eye, she notices Hyde staring at her. DONNA (cont’d): Hey, this isn’t about me! This is about you and your loud-mouthed girlfriend, and if you don’t give her an answer, she’s gonna flood every station in the area with non-stop ABBA requests until you do! She sits back in a huff, arms crossed. Hyde sighs and bends down to scratch Schatzi’s ears.

MAIN CREDITS BUMPER INT. FORMAN KITCHEN - DAY Breakfast with friends, invited or otherwise. FEZ and KELSO sit at the kitchen table, each with a plate of bacon, eggs, and sausages. Eric stands across from them, between the table and the stove. A sheet of paper is in his hand; his practice teaching notes. He pays them an occasional glance as he tries out a lecture on Fez and Kelso while they eat. ERIC: “And so the baby, safely nestled in a tiny craft, is sent to safety, and is found by a loving couple who raise him as their own until, one day, when that baby is fully grown, he learns the truth about his identity – and his destiny. Now, you may be thinking, ‘that’s the story of Moses.’ But what if I told you that it’s also the story of... Superman.” Kelso’s jaw drops and Fez’s eyes bulge. KELSO: Whoa. He stabs at some eggs with his fork and, without looking away from Eric, lifts them up to Fez’s mouth. Fez takes the bite and does the same thing with a sausage for Kelso. KELSO (cont’d): (with mouth full) If church had talked more about Superman, I might’ve paid more attention when Moses was knocking down the walls of Bethlehem to save Noah from the Trojan horse. ERIC: Pretty great, huh? And UW wants to expand the class’s appeal to ladies, so I’m working on a whole series of lectures about female empowerment in Wonder Woman. FEZ: She can empower me right into the bedroom, if you know what I mean. KELSO: You know what I always thought would be great? If you did it with Wonder Woman, but she kept her bracelets on the whole time. And then, if she brought the lasso of truth, she could get freaky with the lasso, and then... other stuff could happen. Fez nods approvingly. FEZ: Do you think the lasso would work on I Dream of Jeannie? Or would the genie magic grant her immunity? KELSO: Did you just suggest a Wonder Woman and Jeannie three-way? FEZ: Or Samantha from Bewitched. KELSO: Or Wonder Woman, Jeannie, and Samantha from Bewitched! He and Fez share excited gasps and dopey grins. Eric looks between them, eyebrows raised. ERIC: Okay, guys – do me a favor and never visit me at UW when classes are in session. RED and KITTY enter from the living room. Red gives Eric a contemptuous once-over. RED: (to Eric) Well, well. If it isn’t the University of Wisconsin’s newest teacher. A lazy smart mouth who just wasted a year of his life sitting around in my basement, and who wasted most of the other seventeen years also sitting around in my basement. ERIC: “Lazy?” I’ve spent all day, every day since I signed up for the pilot teaching program putting together lectures, reading lists, lesson plans – I even picked out Star Wars curtains for the classroom! RED: Well, isn’t that great – you’ve finally come around to making some use of your time, and you spend it plotting out how you’re going to “teach” a lot of useless crap. Kitty tuts, swats Red’s arm, and pushes past him to Eric. KITTY: No, no. Honey, we are so proud of you for finding a way to pay for college and get started on your career. In Madison. The big city. Where there are concerts and restaurants and laundromats and you’ll never have a reason to come home to your mother. (sniffs) Who I guess will just stay here and die. Lip quivering, she turns away and tends to a plate of bacon remaining on the stove. RED: (to Eric) Teaching a pilot class that nobody can make any practical use of and making your mother cry. I guess that’s all in a day’s work for Professor Dumbass. ERIC: Okay, you know what, Dad? I don’t have to take this anymore. Because I did exactly what you wanted me to do. You wanted me to pick a career – I picked one. You wanted me to go to college – I’m going. I even found a way to pay for it on my own. And you’ve just been a jerk about all of it. But I’m out of here at the end of the month, and until then, we’re done. He gathers his notes and exits out the patio door. Kitty crosses to Red, smacks him on the arm again. RED: Ow! That one hurt! KITTY: Serves you right. Eric’s right, Red. Would it kill you to show your son a little pride and support? RED: For what? It’s not like he’s gonna be teaching anything useful. KITTY: You think the only “useful” things are the things they taught you in the war! How many times since Korea have you had to fix a bayonet onto anything? KELSO: (to Red) You know what? I bet the reason you’re being so mean to Eric is ‘cause you’re sad he’s gonna be gone, but you don’t wanna admit it. FEZ: (to Red) Aww... someone is feeling the empty nest. They both snicker. RED: No, but I’m feeling like your asses are empty. And I’m about to fill them with my foot. He gives the boys a cold stare. The grins fall from their faces. They jump to their feet and race out the patio door. BUMPER MUSIC NOTE: “I Want You to Want Me” by Cheap Trick. INT. RADIO STATION - DAY WFPP control room, early afternoon. “I Want You to Want Me” continues; it’s playing on-air. Donna sits at the control panel. JACKIE is with her, in a spare seat she has rolled back against the wall. Donna turns off her mic, takes off her headphones, and turns to talk to Jackie. DONNA: I don’t know, Jackie. I mean, what if Hyde’s right? What if I’ve wasted a whole year of my life, just like Eric? And now he’s going to college and I’m gonna be stuck here in this dinky town, trying to get good music in between farm reports and ads for Benny’s Bodacious Bods Gym. JACKIE: Okay, Donna? No offense, but the only words of Steven’s I’m interested in right now are “yes, Jackie, I will marry you.” (sighs) God, why did I open up my heart to him? DONNA: Yeah, I was a little surprised. I thought for sure you’d just try to manipulate him. I mean, the bitchy stuff is your bread and butter. JACKIE: You know, I had fake pregnancy right up my sleeve, and I didn’t use it. Now I’m the vulnerable one, waiting for his answer. DONNA: Well, Jackie, you did give him until the end of the month. JACKIE: Which is almost here. Look, I thought, “if I really put myself out there, he’ll see how much I love him and say ‘yes’ right away.” And when he didn’t, I thought, “okay, well, maybe he’ll take a couple of hours or a couple of days and then say ‘yes.’” But now I think he’s only taking so long ‘cause he’s gonna say “no.” She puts a hand to her face and turns away. Donna stands, crosses to her, and pats her back. The control room door opens, and MAX enters with a stack of records. His long absence hasn’t changed his sense of style or scruffy facial hair. The girls don’t notice him at first, or he them; he crosses the room, sets the records down, and only on turning around does he see Donna and Jackie. MAX: Donna? Donna looks up, sees Max. She smiles and crosses to give him a hug. DONNA: Max? Oh, my God! Where have you been? No one’s seen you since the Steve Miller Band concert. MAX: Well, after I did the interview with Stevie, I bumped into someone from security. Knocked the drink tray he was carrying out of his hands. He said “wassa matter, you on dope?” And then one thing led to another, and... well, I’m back now. But I’m surprised you’re still here. Weren’t you and your boyfriend going to UW together? DONNA: Oh, well... you know. Some things happened. (beat) Hey – how did you end up working at WFPP? I mean, was a small town radio station where you thought you’d end up? MAX: Oh, no. No, I had my wild years, following the tour buses, traveling with talent I managed, living and covering the music scene from New York to L.A. Eventually, you get tired and want to settle down. And it’s a good thing we have going here. DONNA: But you had your wild years first? MAX: (nods) And that’s a good thing too. He gives her a small smile, and Donna smiles back. Their moment is interrupted by the arrival of the diminutive MR. RANDALL, as stodgy as ever. He knocks on the doorframe to claim attention. MR. RANDALL: Max! What have I told you about leaving your music recommendations on my desk? You do it again and you’re out of here. For the last time, that Huey Lewis and the News group isn’t going anywhere! He storms out. MAX: (to Donna) Of course, not everything about this place is a good thing. He grunts and exits. CUT TO: INT. FORMAN KITCHEN – DAY Later in the afternoon. Kitty sits at the kitchen table, enjoying a cup of tea while she reads the newspaper. Red enters from the basement, a box loaded with old toys, games, and posters in his arms. One G.I. JOE sticks out prominently from the load, as does a CANDYLAND BOX. He sets it down on the island, and the sound draws Kitty’s attention. KITTY: (points at box) What have you got there? RED: Nothing much. Just a few of Eric’s old things. KITTY: (stands) Oh-ho! Seems like Michael was right after all. Seems like someone’s upset that his only son is leaving us in a few weeks and went looking for a few of this baby boy’s things to remember him by. She chuckles, raps the table with her knuckles, and folds her arms, very smug. RED: No, Kitty. I’m hauling some busted parts from the muffler shop to the dump later, and I figured I’d get rid of some of Eric’s old crap while I’m at it. Kitty’s face drops like a rock. KITTY: How can one man be so completely devoid of sensitivity? RED: Easy. It was blown off by shrapnel on Okinawa. Red picks the box back up and exits into the living room. CUT TO: EXT. FORMAN DRIVEWAY – DAY Overlapping with the end of the previous scene. The Vista Cruiser idles in the driveway. Eric and Hyde are seated in the patio chairs. Eric looks through the patio door into the kitchen, watching Red leave, while Hyde leans back and relentlessly taps his foot and fidgets with his eyeball ring. ERIC: Man, can you believe Red’s being such a hard ass about this pilot teaching program? Hyde gives Eric a look. ERIC (cont’d): What? HYDE: You’re gonna be teaching nerd books and Scooby-Doo to college kids and you’re surprised Red Forman’s making fun of you? Man, how is it that I’m the long-term guest in your house, and you’re the one who doesn’t get your dad? That’s like Han Solo knowing better than Luke Skywalker about Uncle Owen being a hard ass about the moisture farm. Eric breaks into a dopey grin. ERIC: Hey – did you just - HYDE: Don’t get weird on me, Forman. I’ve gotta plan out my whole life before the end of the month and I’ve gone through my whole stash. ERIC: Man, why is this such a big deal? I mean, Jackie’s basically letting you off the hook. It’s like the greatest going away gift ever – never having to see or hear Jackie Burkhart again. HYDE: Oh yeah, it’s the perfect gift. It’s free, she didn’t have to wrap it, and it makes me wish I was dead. (sighs) Screw it. I’m not getting anywhere just sitting here. There’s only one place a man can turn before making a huge decision like this. ERIC: Dive bar? HYDE: Dive bar. You drive. They stand, clap each other on the back, and head for the Vista Cruiser. FADE TO BLACK COMMERCIAL BUMPER INT. DIVE BAR - EVENING A dive so din, dark, and dank that even Bud Hyde wouldn’t tend that bar. A small, disreputable looking lot populate the place, which boasts a dart board, pool table, and a few short round tables, all occupied. Eric and Hyde enter and immediately make for two open bar stools. Eric sits to Hyde’s left; a TRUCKER is already seated to his right. He doesn’t acknowledge the boys, and they don’t acknowledge him. Eric signals the BARTENDER for two beers. ERIC: Man, Hyde, look at us. I’ve got my future in college to prepare for, you’ve gotta decide what to do about Jackie, and yet – here we are, about to get so drunk it’ll be a miracle if we can make it home with us and the Vista Cruiser all in one piece. (beat) I’m gonna miss this. The bartender places two bottles of beer in front of the boys. HYDE: (to Eric) You know, if anybody responsible we know was here, they’d tell me I’m not gonna find the answer to my problems with Jackie at the bottom of this beer. But you never know until you look. ERIC: And, if it’s not in that one, it could always be in the next. They pick up their bottles, clink them together, and take a big swill before slamming them back down on the counter. Slow push-in on Hyde’s bottle, and we begin: MONTAGE. SET TO “YOU REALLY GOT ME” BY THE KINKS. A) Hyde’s one bottle is now two. Slow pull out as Hyde, now tipsy, lifts up the second bottle, takes a swallow, and leans against a still-sober Eric. HYDE: Okay – I made up my mind about Jackie. I’m gonna marry her! I’m gonna be Mrs. Jackie Hyde! He takes another swig of beer and slams the bottle down. Push-in on the bottles, and cut to: B) The two bottles are now four. Pull out as Hyde, now properly drunk, swings one of the bottles around as he spins his stool to face Eric. HYDE (cont’d): How dare she give me an ultimatum! This is my life she’s messing with! She can go to Hell! I will see her in Hell! He throws his head back, empties the beer bottle down his throat, and slams it back on the counter. Push-in on the bottles, and cut to: C) The four are now seven. Pull out to find an off-balance Hyde and a now-drunk Eric with their arms around each others’ shoulders. HYDE (cont’d): What the hell’s so great about Chicago anyway? And you’re getting out of here, Donna won’t stay here forever – what am I supposed to do? Spend the rest of my life in that basement, babysitting Tweedledee and Tweedletard? No way she’s leaving me alone with that! He and Eric both swoop up their bottles, take a drink, and slam them down. Push-in on Hyde’s bottles, and cut to: D) Seven is now ten. Pull out as Hyde pounds a fist down against the counter. HYDE (cont’d): What the hell is she thinking, wanting to stay around here? This is her life she’s throwing away! (to Eric) Would you stick around here for a burnout living in your parents’ basement? No! No, you wouldn’t! No way I’m letting her do that! He grabs a bottle, takes a swig, and finds it empty. He tosses the bottle over his shoulder and signals the bartender for one more. Push-in on the remaining bottles, and cut to: E) Extreme close-up on Hyde’s loose, slack-jawed, spacey-eyed face. He’s well-loaded at this point. HYDE (cont’d): You know what, Forman? I’m a little confused. But I do know that I love you, man. I really, really do. He leans to his right, and we pan with him as he puts an arm around the trucker and kisses him on the cheek. The trucker shoots him an evil eye, and Hyde leans back slightly. HYDE (cont’d): Hey, where’d Forman go? Pan to the left as Eric, now well off-balance, leans in and taps Hyde on the shoulder. ERIC: Still on your left, buddy. Pan right as Hyde looks back to the trucker and offers a sheepish grin of apology. The trucker responds with a punch to the face. Hyde just manages to keep his balance long enough to throw himself back at the trucker and tackle him to the floor and out of frame. Eric spins around for a better view of the fight. He’s slack-jawed and glassy-eyed himself, but still with it enough to pump a fist and cheer Hyde on. ERIC (cont’d): Whoa, Hyde! You – you get ‘em, man! You got ‘em! You got ‘em! You... you really don’t got him. Wow. This is not good. He looks all around the room; no one’s coming to help. Eric sighs and picks up his bottle. ERIC (cont’d): Well, I had a future all planned out. There are worse ways to go. He takes a swig, slams the bottle down, and leaps into the fray. BUMPER MUSIC NOTE: “You Really Got Me” continues. INT. CONTROL ROOM – NIGHT THE CIRCLE – or a half-circle, at least. Donna sits at the control panel, headphones on – she’s in Hot Donna mode. She sits to the left of the microphone, and Jackie, also with headphones, sits to the right. A diffuse cloud of smoke fills the control room. A stick of incense, propped in a bowl set under the mic, burns softly. “You Really Got Me” wraps up. Donna flips on the microphone and leads in. DONNA: This is WFPP, and you’re listening to Hot Donna. (plays bacon noise) That was “You Really Got Me” by the Kinks, requested by Jackie Burkhart. Pan across the microphone stand to Jackie, who waves at the microphone as if it were a camera. Pan to Donna. DONNA (cont’d): Jackie, you’ve been here in the studio with us for about four hours now. You got anything you’d like to say to the listeners at home? Pan to Jackie. JACKIE: Yeah, there’s something I don’t get – why would Sally sell seashells by the seashore? That’s a terrible location for a seashell stand! Pan to Donna. DONNA: You know, you’re right. I mean, if she wanted to make money, she would sell seashells by the subway. Pan to Jackie. JACKIE: You know what she should sell by the seashore? Shoeshines. ‘Cause your sandals get so sandy. Pan to Donna. DONNA: Sandy sandals... we should start a girl band called Sandy Sandals. (into mic) That’s right, Point Place – you may have just heard the launch of Hot Donna and the Sandy Sandals. She and Jackie both giggle. But it doesn’t last for Jackie; pan to her, we see her face fall as she blinks away the beginning of tears. Pan to Donna. DONNA (cont’d): Jackie, what’s wrong? Pan to Jackie. JACKIE: Well, sand reminds me of dirt, and dirt reminds me of Steven. She puts a hand over her eyes. Donna’s hand reaches over to rub her back. Pan to Donna. DONNA: For those of you just joining us, Jackie has been requesting songs from the mix tape she made her boyfriend, Steven Hyde, who she’s waiting on a very important answer from. Hyde, if you’re listening, Jackie is down here at the station with me. So if you’re listening – get over here, give her an answer, and get her out of my studio. Jackie’s hand reaches over to shove Donna, but Jackie’s laugh rings out. Donna smiles, laughs, and shoves back. They get into a playful tussle. Cut wide – the Circle is broken. Mr. Randall and Max enter the recording room. Max looks bemused, Mr. Randall horrified. MR. RANDALL: What the hell is going on here? The girls break apart. Max sniffs the air, waves away some of the smoke around his face. MAX: Donna, did you get into the stuff I hid in the Hendrix sleeve? Mr. Randall turns on Max, aghast. MAX (cont’d): I mean – what’s that smell? Mr. Randall clearly doesn’t believe that, but he lets it go, turning on Donna instead. MR. RANDALL: (points to Jackie) Donna, what is this little twerp doing in the recording room? Jackie gasps, jumps to her feet. JACKIE: “Little twerp?” Excuse me? I’m Jackie Burkhart! I’m on TV! That’s twice as good as radio – that’s just science! MR. RANDALL: (to Donna) Get her out of here. DONNA: No! Mr. Randall, Jackie’s my friend. She’s having a hard time right now, and we’re working through it together – live, on-air. It’s a new format for Hot Donna – lovers’ tolls and rock n’ roll. Jackie nods. Max chuckles, but Mr. Randall is not amused. MR. RANDALL: The only format gimmicks I want are the ones we can sell with billboards of blondes in halter tops. Now if you want a long-term career at my station, you’re gonna stick to the regular format. The princess of Munckinland can cry somewhere else. Jackie takes a step back in shock. Max, behind Mr. Randall’s back, gives him a dirty look. Donna looks from Mr. Randall to Jackie, to her microphone and all around the studio. She takes her headphones off, stands, and crosses to Mr. Randall. DONNA: You know what, Mr. Randall? I don’t want a long-term job here. In fact, I don’t want any kind of job here anymore. Mr. Randall frowns, tilts his head; he doesn’t understand. But Max gives Donna an approving nod, and so does Jackie. Donna smiles at them both and races back to the microphone. DONNA (cont’d): You hear that, listeners? This is Hot Donna’s last broadcast on WFPP, thanks to scum-sucking Mr. Randall, who you should feel free to protest. But you can still find me on the student radio at UW, where I’ll be attending this fall with my student teacher boyfriend. He’s pretty scrawny, so if you see any football players coming for him, help him get away. Jackie races over to the microphone. JACKIE: And make sure to tune in to next week’s Jackie on Point Place Public Access! It may be our final show – it all depends on the answer my boyfriend gives me! Ya hear that, Steven! She and Donna grin. Donna puts an arm around Jackie’s shoulders. DONNA: And if that boyfriend says “no,” then Hot Donna and the Sandy Sandals get a van and spend the summer touring America! She flips on the next song – “Lovin’ Touchin’, Squeezin’” by Journey. Mr. Randall throws his hands up and exits, while Max nods approvingly again and crosses to join the girls as they sway to the music. BUMPER MUSIC NOTE: “Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin’” continues. INT. FORMAN GARAGE - NIGHT The garage is in relatively tidy shape. Red’s Toyota rests comfortably in the center, and a large tarp is draped over an indistinguishable shape. Red stands at his work station. His back obscures whatever he’s working on as Kitty enters with a jar of preserves and sees Red. KITTY: What’ve you got there, Red? More of our only son’s favorite toys? What, the dump was too far, so you’re just gonna go at ‘em with a ball pin hammer? Red gives a little jump; he didn’t hear Kitty come in. He turns to face her, still shielding his project. RED: Um... The garage door ratchets up, and Eric enters. His shirt is torn, his eye is black, and his hair is ruffled, but he’s never looked more alive. His parents have never looked more shocked at his appearance, either. Eric relishes in their reaction for a second, then points at Red. ERIC: That’s right, Dad. It’s your son. “Professor Dumbass.” Guess what? I was at a bar. I was in a bar fight. And I WON a bar fight! Yeah, Eric Forman and Steven Hyde got in a bar fight, and I’m the one who saved his ass! With moves I learned from – guess where – Batman, Luke Skywalker, and Hong Kong Phooey! He strikes a karate stance and does a few air chops. Red and Kitty turn in toward each other to share a look. As Red turns, Eric gets a look at what’s on the workbench. ERIC (cont’d): Dad, is that my old G.I. Joe? Red tries to move back in front of the bench, but too late – Kitty pulls the box of Eric’s things from earlier into her arms and goes through it. Except for the Candyland box, everything’s still there. KITTY: Red, these are Eric’s things you had earlier in the day. Are you keeping them with you in your workplace here? Eric takes a step toward Red. ERIC: Dad – you’re gonna miss me, aren’t you? He and Kitty both smile at Red, who looks like a caged squirrel. He squirms as he looks back and forth, from his son to his wife, until he finally straightens up and clears his throat. RED: Yeah, well... (to Eric) If you’re back home more than once a month, I’m throwing all this crap on the grill. He turns back to his workbench. ERIC: (softly) I’m gonna miss you too, Dad. A slight relaxing of the shoulders lets Eric know Red heard him. Kitty steps around Red toward Eric. KITTY: Honey, did you say you saved Steven from a bar fight? ERIC: Sure did, Mom. KITTY: You? Saved Steven? ERIC: Yeah. He’s in the Vista Cruiser, trying to put his shades back together. KITTY: Are you sure? Maybe – maybe you drank so much, you – you got a little turned around. ERIC: Okay, I’m feeling really good about myself, so I’m just gonna leave before anyone says any... not good things, and go find Donna. But first – I may have saved Hyde from the bar, but now I’ve gotta take him to face a fate worse than death – an ultimatum from Jackie. A gasp from under the tarp startles everyone. Fez and Kelso stick their heads out from under it, with matching eager faces. KELSO: You think she’ll kick him in the nads this time? The Formans all glare down at them. RED: What the hell are you two doing in my garage? He rips the tarp away. The Candyland game is set up between Kelso and Fez, with small piles of M&Ms by both boys’ knees. Kelso and Fez look down at the game. They look up at a fuming Red. They scramble to their feet and bolt from the garage. Fez turns around, slides back to the board, gathers up the candy, and flees again. CUT TO: INT. PINCIOTTI LIVING ROOM - NIGHT The girls are home. They share the couch. Jackie, looking much less happy, is curled up on one end with a bowl of popcorn, while Donna sits at the other end. Some instrumental rock plays on the radio. JACKIE: Oh, my God. He’s gonna say “no.” Steven is gonna say “no,” Donna. I know he’s gonna say “no.” DONNA: Jackie, you gave Hyde ‘til the end of the month. He’s still got time, and I’m sure he’ll do the right thing. Marriage is just a big step, and you know Hyde always waits until the last minute to do unpleasant but necessary things. Jackie tosses a handful of popcorn at Donna, who silently laughs and waves it away. Eric enters, head held high. ERIC: (to Donna) Hey there, toots. Donna looks up, sees Eric. She smiles and crosses to him. DONNA: Eric, I have great news! I quit my job! ERIC: Wow! (beat) Why? DONNA: I’m gonna go to UW with you. I’m enrolling in the journalism college and working at the student radio station. We can get an apartment, and we’ll finally be together. ERIC: Donna, that’s so great. He and Donna embrace and kiss. It’s only when they pull apart that Donna notices the state Eric’s in. DONNA: Oh, my God. What happened to you? ERIC: I won a bar fight. DONNA: (beat) Okay, no, really. ERIC: Well, if that’s how you feel, I’ll just go have sex with someone who’ll believe me. He takes a mock step toward the hallway. Donna, grinning, pulls him back. They embrace and kiss again, but Eric pulls back. ERIC (cont’d): One second. He looks around Donna to Jackie. ERIC (cont’d): Hey, Jackie? I got something for you. He gestures to the doorway into the hall; no one is there. Eric steps into the hall, looks around, and then down at something to the left. ERIC (cont’d): Oh, here it is. He bends down and hauls something up. He drags it into the living room – “it” is Hyde, his shades crooked and his lip busted. Hyde finds his footing and shoves Eric away. HYDE: All right, all right! You’ve done enough, Forman. And I could’ve handled that fight myself. I just needed that guy to be shorter. And drunker. Jackie stands. JACKIE: Steven? Hyde looks up; he’s just noticed Jackie is there. HYDE: Hey. An uncomfortable silence settles into the room. Eric and Donna back up to the far wall as Jackie and Hyde meet in the center, a few feet apart. “Tiny Dancer” by Elton John comes on over the radio. HYDE: (beat) So – month’s almost over. JACKIE: Yes. (beat) Do you have something to say? HYDE: Yeah. Do you have a place to live in Chicago yet? A bolt of hurt crosses Jackie’s face. Her eyes turn glassy as she clutches at her chest. Eric shakes his head and Donna looks away. JACKIE: (voice shaking) Yes. HYDE: Good. Jackie bows her head; she’s already started to cry. HYDE (cont’d): Is it in Chicago, or out in the suburbs around Chicago? ‘Cause big cities are full of connections, but if we’re in the suburbs, that might be a problem. I don’t want to have to look too hard or drive too far. Jackie, Eric, and Donna are all speechless. None of them knows exactly where Hyde’s going with this. JACKIE: Steven, what are you saying? HYDE: What, man? I’m saying – forget this ultimatum crap. You wanna go to Chicago? Let’s go to Chicago. Eric and Donna’s jaws drop. Jackie’s does too. She wipes her eyes and reaches a hand out but stops short of touching Hyde. JACKIE: Wait – Steven, are you saying you’d want to come with me? (he shrugs) But – but what about your job? Your future – HYDE: Jackie, before the Formans took me in, the only “future” I saw was hopping between stints in prison and abusing squatter’s rights so I could say I wasn’t technically homeless. I never saw a future. I just took what came along. I still don’t have a plan for the future, except... except you. And, since you do see a future, and it’s in Chicago... I want to be with you. He takes his shades off and tosses them on the couch. With a deep breath, he pulls his eyeball ring off his pinky and holds it out to Jackie, who gasps quietly and takes a step back. HYDE (cont’d): I love you, Jackie. Marry me? Jackie stares at the ring. Eric and Donna lean in, eager for more. Jackie looks up at Hyde’s face. JACKIE: Your eye ring? Her tone is hard to read. Hyde stirs. HYDE: Look, I know it’s not a diamond or anything, but it’s the only ring I got, and – Jackie throws her arms around Hyde’s neck and pulls him into a deep kiss. When it ends, they’re both out of breath. HYDE (cont’d): (beat) So that’s a yes? The tears are back in Jackie’s eyes, but they come with a smile, the brightest smile Jackie’s ever had. JACKIE: Yes. Hyde gives a relieved sigh; he’s smiling too. He slips his ring onto Jackie’s ring finger and takes her hand in his. A glassy look comes to his eyes – something not missed by a beaming Donna and Eric. DONNA: (points at Hyde) Oh, my God. Tears. Tears of joy. ERIC: (sniffs) She really is everything our little orphan boy needed. Hyde and Jackie both give half-laughs, half-sobs. HYDE & JACKIE: Get bent. Even with that sentiment, Hyde opens his arms as Donna and Eric cross to hug him and Jackie in turn. They quietly slip out of the living room as Hyde and Jackie embrace again. Hyde wipes away Jackie’s tears and she plays with the ring. It’s too big for her finger; she doesn’t care. They kiss as the music swells beyond the radio to fill the scene. ELTON JOHN (v.o.): Hold me closer, tiny dancer Count the headlights on the highway Lay me down in sheets of linen You had a busy day today... FADE TO BLACK CREDITS INT. FORMAN GARAGE - NIGHT Fez and Kelso, back at their game. The lights are all out and the tarp is gone; they sit on the ground in the dark, playing by the light of a flashlight Kelso shines down on the board. RED (v.o.): I’m coming into the garage. The boys jump up. Kelso shuts off the light. The screen goes black. We hear frantic footsteps and a loud crash. FEZ (v.o.): Ai! END.

#z's fics #that 70s show #zenmasters #jackie x hyde #zen3to5+#fan fiction #fan script

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ladyhallen · 5 years

Text

The Wish Giver

The first time someone said the right words in front of Harry, something just seemed to click at the back of his mind. That unsettled, restless sensation that never seemed to go away went quiet.

Finally, something whispered.

Finally what? He wondered.

But no. The right words were still being spoken. And he still had to listen.

“It’s not fair,” they repeated foolishly in front of Harry. “I wish I had a better family.”

Every bit of Harry seemed magnetized to respond to those words. He didn’t understand it. At the back of his mind, where he had always thought about things that he didn’t say to anybody, he whispered to himself, NOTHING IS FAIR.

“What would you give for it?” he asked, the words seemingly tumbling out of his mouth. They felt like English, but he couldn’t be sure. “If I granted your wish. What would you give for it?”

The girl looked unsure and terrified. Harry wasn’t sure why. That was their wish, wasn’t it?

“What would you give for it?” he repeated.

Monotonous, but it had to be three times.

“I – I,” she stammered.

A smile stretched across his face. “Are you unsure? Do you wish to take back your words?” he asked, the latter sentence gaining a weight to it that can’t come from a human throat.

The girl ran off, and Harry came back to himself.

He wasn’t very troubled about the idea of being some sort of sinister version of a wish granting genie. Words were very important. Being a wizard had always meant a care on words anyway.

Still, he made a note to tell his friends. Prior warning would always be nice.

The next time someone made the mistake of speaking the right words in front of Harry, he was in the beach, trying to relax.

A child - it was always a child, wasn’t it? – was throwing a tantrum because his mother wanted him to babysit his younger siblings.

“It’s not fair!” he shrieked. “You said this was a vacation! What about my vacation!? I wish you were more responsible!”

The words. The proper three words always caught his attention like a properly polarized magnet. He wistfully thought that maybe, whoever thought these things up should have made the proper words longer.

Harry didn’t say anything, because the mother was there and looking very embarrassed. There was always time to bargain later. He knew it. Those three words would ensure that bargaining would happen.

He waited until the sun was setting and the child was wandering alone. It was at that point in the beach where the only people left were stragglers. Everyone else were properly partying and getting drunk.

“I heard what you said earlier,” Harry said, that slight smile on his face again. “Do you still wish it?”

The child, almost a teenager really, looked up from where he was drawing on the sand.

“Everyone heard me call my mum a bad one,” the boy sighed. “She’s really angry at me right now.”

The pull was still there, but not as strong. Harry didn’t feel the urge to ask three times. So he waited.

The boy pushed the stick deep into the sand and looked Harry in the eyes. “Of course I still want it. I wish my mother were more responsible.”

Harry didn’t blink. “What would you give for it?” he asked.

The boy seemed to understand what was going on. Good. That made one of them. “What do you need me to give?”

Harry smiled and took what remained of the boy’s innocence. “The world will be darker now,” he whispered as the boy went unconscious. “But it will be better.”

Harry kept the things he took from people in exchange for granting the wishes.

He didn’t even know some of the spells that granted people’s wishes, but the pentagrams and alchemical theories to make it happen always came to him once his clients – and he had hesitated calling them clients – paid. Payment always happened once they made their wish. Whether they wanted to or not, they always paid.

Harry sometimes didn’t want to; sometimes the price they paid was too steep. But it was the scale of it. He made them pay it, the poor people. They were not unknowing. No. Sometimes, the knowledge in their eyes seemed older than magic itself.

And then, one day, space and time warped in front of Harry and he knew. This was a Visitor.

A redheaded woman with green eyes stepped out of the warping space and her green eyes met Harry’s and he just knew.

“He’s just a baby,” his mother from another dimension/time or reality, begged. “It’s not fair for him to suffer for the sins of the previous generation, just because a prophecy said so!”

Harry should be panicking.

Except. His mind was numb, his emotions were just gone.

“And what would you give for his protection? You wish for his happiness?” the magic asked through Harry.

Lily went to her knees, arms in a facsimile of a cradle, likely imagining the infant she left behind in her dimension.

“I want him to live. I want him to find happiness. I want him to grow up, knowing he was loved, even if I am dead,” she declared. There was a weight behind her voice.

Harry and the magic moving through him smiled. This was a woman who knew what it meant to say the proper words. She had done her research properly.

“I am prepared to offer my soul,” she said with grave finality.

Harry shook his head. Human souls were worth so much. Asking that for a payment was just a last resort. He couldn’t hold it anyway. Not yet. He wasn’t powerful enough to hold souls.

“Let us not go that far,” he murmured, closing his eyes. He balanced the scales in his mind, thinking about her wishes.

A life. Happiness. Love. Three things, but three very powerful things.

“You asked for three things for your son,” Harry eventually said, feeling the drag of another multitude of voices speaking with him. “And I will grant it. In exchange you will give me three memories. Three of the most important memories of your life.”

Lily did not attempt to bargain. The magic took the three memories without his input with just a gesture. He sealed them away in a flask, slightly dimming the glow. They were very important, because they shone with such light. Lily was a woman who felt deeply and without reserve.

In exchange, Harry got the necklace made from the starball of a fox wife. It practically exuded positivity, luck and immense protection. Fox wives were really amazing.

“You must have him wear this,” Harry said, giving her the necklace. “With your payment, he will know your love, and is already protected. This necklace will ensure he will get happiness.”

“Can it be spelled?” she asked, mind obviously working. “I will make sure it is bound to his blood.”

Harry’s lips quirked into a smile. “It can be spelled with positive intent only. If you think about anything negative while doing the casting, the necklace will reject it.”

Lily Potter left, clutching the necklace like a lifeline - which it was.

The moment the portal closed, Harry Potter sat on his lawn and cried.

Harry had told his friends and his family to be careful about the words they say around him.

He loved them all and wanted their happiness, but sometimes, wishes were double edged swords and he didn’t want them to ever be on the receiving end of the wishes he granted.

Except.

Sometimes, no matter how careful, someone always made a mistake.

“It’s not fair!!,” Victoire Weasley shouted during a family dinner, making Harry’s head snap towards her so fast that he’s a bit surprised he didn’t get a crick on his neck.

Ginny went pale and Bill had stood up, covering his daughter from view, hand tight on his wand.

Except.

Nobody thought to cover Victoire’s mouth.

“I wish I was an only child!!” she continued.

Harry stood up and Bill hurriedly shushed the child.

“Harry, please. She doesn’t understand,” Bill said, pulling Victoire tight against him.

Harry shook his head. He knelt beside the girl and her teary face would normally have him sympathetic. Except this time, she had said the words.

“Victoire Weasley,” Harry said, eyes unknowingly flashing a bright white. “You have a wish. If I took away your little brother, what would you give for it?”

For the first time, Victoire seemed to understand the gravity of the situation. She trembled and shook her head.

“What would you give for it?” he asked again.

She kept her mouth closed, eyes wide with terror.

“You would give nothing?” he asked, the sound of a door closing echoing around him. “Well then, do you wish to take back your words?”

She nodded.

“Learn to weigh what you say, child,” he said. “A second offense, and I will not be lenient.”

Harry left the family gathering in a hurry, pausing only to vomit on the bushes. He had almost taken Louis Weasley. It’s a good thing that the magic allowed him to give people chances to back out of their wishes.

He would never return to family gatherings.

He would never chance that again.

It was too close.

And the expression of terror on the Weasley’s faces was something he never wanted to see again.

It was the first time he ever thought about his new abilities as a curse. It won’t be the last.

Because Ron was the friend Harry didn’t deserve, he hunted Harry down before Harry could apparate to the North Pole and get hypothermia.

“Harry, you better open this door, or I’d find Hermione and get her to charm your door to invite the reporters in,” Ron yelled.

Harry fell off the sofa with a yelp, knowing that Ron was absolutely serious and had no qualms about hitting below the belt just to get Harry to open the door.

He was prepared for a punch or a hex to the face. He was not prepared to be hugged within an inch of his life.

And Harry just broke.

“I’m sorry,” he sobbed. “I almost took Louis. I shouldn’t be around children.”

Ron shushed him, petting his hair and looking a bit teary eyed himself. “Not around children that young, no. But you can still be around children that know, Harry.”

The red-head knew how much Harry loved children. Being unable to be near children because of his curse would be a cruel and unjust punishment.

“B-but – “ he stammered.

Ron shushed him again. “It’s alright. Bill isn’t even mad. Victoire knew what would happen if she said the right words around you. So. She got scolded within an inch of her life the moment you left. Mum told me to fetch you immediately, but Hermione said you needed a bit of time to get a drink for your nerves.”

Harry did not drink. Absolutely not. Having the kind of curse he had on himself while drinking seemed like a bad idea all around. He might accidentally wander outside and hear somebody’s inadvertent wish and grant it unknowingly.

So no, no matter how much he wanted to, he couldn’t get as drunk as he wanted. The thought was appreciated though.

Harry restricted himself from going near children below six years old. It was just better for everyone.

However, it doesn’t solve all problems.

“You’re pregnant?” he squeaked.

Ginny nodded, eyes shining. “It’s yours.”

Harry’s eyes go round. “I’m going to be a father!” he exclaimed. Then the dread. “I’m going to be a father!”

She laughed but her eyes were worried too. It would break Harry if he had to grant an inadvertent wish from his own child.

“We’ll figure it out,” she whispered. “Don’t worry.”

But Harry worried.

James was born with bright eyes and a happy smile, the nature of Harry’s curse seemingly not affecting him at all.

But sometimes, Harry wondered. James smiled, but his eyes were old.

He thought his careful movements weren’t noticed, but he really can’t fool Ginny.

“He’s not even talking,” Ginny said, looking exasperated. She’s smiling at least, but it doesn’t disguise the tense knot in her shoulders.

Harry nodded, conceding her point. As long as James couldn’t talk, then Harry could stay around his son without worrying.

Babies talked within two years. Full sentences beyond that. Harry only had a year or so to hold his son close and not be afraid that the curse inside him would grant a terrible thing.

“My son, my joy, my most precious thing,” he whispered to the sleeping child. “If I could grant my own wish, I would give you happiness. No matter how bad your life may get, may you know a measure of happiness.”

James slept on, uncaring.

James’s first word caused two conflicting emotions in him. Terror and elation. It was dada.

Harry hugged Ginny tight to relieve his feelings. Ginny laughed.

Harry figured out a system when a second Visitor appeared as he was gardening.

“I have a Wish,” an alternate of Draco Malfoy announced, looking far too worn and weary than any person should be.

The words tugged at Harry, but not as much as the usual rant about fairness. It was...kinder.

Harry blinked when he realized that the curse didn’t take control of him but let him seat alt-Draco in the garden table and pour him tea. The other words made the curse was more immediate. There was no time for sitting down and pouring tea.

“There will be payment,” Harry said, sipping his cup. “You should be aware.”

Draco nodded, grim and determined. “I am willing to pay any price.”

People usually were.

“Tell me your Wish then,” Harry said, the words weighing like boulders as they rolled of his tongue.

Draco straightened up even further in his seat. “I wish for the ability to jump in the past to alter the timeline.”

Without meaning to, Harry’s eyes flashed white as he looked into why that was.

Draco wanted the means to change timelines because he had loved a Harry Potter and that Harry had died. So he wanted to alter the timeline to give Voldemort a proper childhood.

He wanted to alter the timeline to shatter the blood oath that bound Dumbledore’s hands from the war, so that Grindelwald’s war would not spread across the world but would be contained only in two years and merely be called an incident. So that the casualties would not kill an entire branch of the Potters.

Harry blinked twice and his eyes lost their unearthly glow. “That is a very selfless wish. I can grant it. The price...”

The price was rather steep. Harry wanted to cringe but kinder or not, he was still bound by his curse. Everything was supposed to have a balance.

“The price is your Name,” Harry said. He wanted to cringe. Except. It balanced out. “You may travel any time and change timelines with little deeds. Except you can give people no name. People will name you. You can accept a name once given to you, but you can never give a name.”

Draco was pale as he accepted the large, golden hourglass that Harry gave him but there was a light in his eyes that wasn’t there before.

Harry watched him go through the portal and couldn’t help but worry. Still, it was Draco. He’d be fine.

By the time James turned a year old, Harry had figured out how to turn off the curse, even if it was just for an hour.

#fanfiction #harry potter #master of death au #hp #ginny weasley #master of death #ronald weasley #hermione granger

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dvdfairy · 5 years

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Guess Who Saw the Live-Action Aladdin Finally?

Not a liveblog, but I did want to share my reactions/notes and may do a full delving into it later! (Also hi everybody, not dead, just super busy and poor!)

All in all, I liked it, and I thought it was a better adaptation than live action Beauty and the Beast. Spoilers and commentary under the cut:

- I liked Will Smith as Genie; he had a pleasant singing voice and that was a surprise since I’m just used to him as a rapper. I do think there are places in his songs where I wish he went harder, especially in Friend Like Me, but it seems like the movie decided his showstopper was going to be Prince Ali instead.

- I actually don’t think anybody was miscast in this movie, on that note. I enjoyed everybody.

- I first looked at this movie and wondered whether Alan Tudyk would be playing Iago as a person the way Gilbert Gottfried did or if he’d be making bird noises, and I came to find it was a mix of the two. His characterization and his speech abilities and patterns were actually super reminiscient of Xerxes, and on that note:

- Jafar and Iago read as very akin to Mozenrath and Xerxes in this movie, to me. Jafar is younger, which -- at least makes his desire to marry Princess Jasmine (who is 16 at the youngest [in the novelization] and 18 at the oldest [most other places] in the original, depending on sources) far less barfy and gross. He has a higher body count than Jafar in the cartoon, and the little bits of characterization he’s given suggest that he has sacrificed much and killed many in pursuit of what power he already has. His desperation for this to be recognized and respected just rang as very Moze and was NOT the place he was coming from in the original movie.

- The parallels deliberately drawn between Jafar and Aladdin made for the most interesting thing in the movie and it made Aladdin’s conflict and need for character growth a lot more dynamic. Jafar is a former thief and stands as an example of what Aladdin could become if he goes down the wrong path. Genie differentiates between Aladdin and that guy, and that guy is somebody Genie’s met a thousand times already. He knows the signs and he knows when Aladdin is headed down that road. And Aladdin starts to go down that road when he considers not freeing the Genie with his third wish. It’s not just that he is afraid of Jasmine finding him out; it’s that he’s gotten a taste for his new identity and wants more.

- Jasmine. Jaaaaaasmine. Gets so much more to do in this movie and got her own arc. She wants to be diplomatic. She wants to help her people. What’s more, her motivation isn’t “I want to marry for love” it’s “I am not interested in being married. I want to be the Sultan so I can help my people.” She is bred for office; she wants to rule and she wants to make her kingdom better, and she never wavers in this. Her arc is not completed when the Sultan changes the law about marriage for her -- it’s completed when the Sultan makes her the new Sultan and says whether she gets married and to whom is now her decision because she makes the laws. She also got her own I Want song and it’s short but substantial. (I was confused when she reprised it after Jafar’s takeover and suddenly guards started disintegrating around her because it’s not immediately clear we’re in her head so I’m going when did she get super powers)

- Carpet was animated so well in terms of movement that the character translated as the same character from the original, and that in itself is impressive.

- On that note, VENGEANCE FOR CARPET.

- I want to welcome Frank Welker back as like, the ONLY actor to reprise their roles. And a special welcome back to his Megatron voice when he spoke (read: screamed) as the Cave of Wonders.

- So did Genie lose all his powers at the end of the movie? I don’t feel like this is clearly communicated.

- Also just like the original film, they forgot about their storytelling bookend. And that’s a shame because it should have ended with the kids asking their dad if he still had any magic and there just being a kind of a wink and a smile as he goes back to work, and then him using some to subtly mend a sail or something else while they’re not looking, shooting the audience a knowing look, etc. Woulda been better, that’s all I’m saying.

- Genie and Dalia was cute but completely underdeveloped and they jumped to “let’s run away and get a boat and have babies” really fucking quick. Ali has been there like two days, slow your roll.

- I think the Sultan was underdeveloped here. I liked where they went with him. I liked seeing a severe and wise Sultan and not a manbaby parody, because it also shows how much more sinister Jafar’s power is? But he didn’t get enough to do, and there’s a lot of TELLING us that he won’t let Jasmine go out because he’s afraid for her after his wife dying, but we’re not really shown and there should have been a scene where we saw him wrestle with that a bit.

- I get what they were doing by jumping right to Jasmine in the marketplace with Aladdin and I think the way they did it let the two develop and grow together a little more, but it’s still a little rushed.

- Making the first Cave of Wonders scene part of the montage in Arabian Nights was a mistake and it made me feel like they were counting on you having already seen the movie. I almost suspect that there’s a longer version of this scene somewhere and they trimmed it down to make it less scary.

- I said it’s better than the live action Beauty and the Beast because it closed virtually every character arc as opposed to forgetting them/disregarding them completely, among other things.

#aladdin 2019 #dvdfairy thoughts #aladdin #disney

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leafgreen6 · 4 years

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Two Worlds Collided- A collab with @books-of-lunacy

Did a writing exercise with @books-of-lunacy where we each wrote half a story, in our character’s points of view. After the war is over, Jack Montro and Jade Starr visit Aliee Horebath on their planet.

“I’ll be right there, Jade.” Jack eased onto a bench in the alien city on the strange planet. His years were starting to weigh on him.

A young girl ran out in front of him, and planted herself right in front of Jack, staring up at the strange man.

“Alice!” A woman called, presumably her mother. “Don’t bother him!"

“It’s all right,” Jack said. “Cute kid. How old are you?”

"She's just turning-"

"I'm six! It's my birthday today!"

“Well, happy birthday.”

"What do you say?" Aliee looked down at her bubbling daughter.

"Thanks! Happy birthday to you too!"

Jack laughed, harder than he had in a long while. “It’s not my birthday. But, thank you. Let me see…” He dug into his pocket and pulled out a gold coin, “You take this. Spend it on whatever your mom says you’re allowed to have.”

"Huh. I haven't heard of anyone using gold coins for… centuries. You're not from here either." Aliee sits on the bench next to Jack, telling Alice to go play with her friends. "Where are you from?"

“Through a portal. A magic world called Mahica. Fairies, Mermaids, Dragons- Those are recent.”

"Mermaids, huh? What I wouldn't give to be with them right now." Aliee laughed softly. "You seem tired."

Jack nodded, “I am tired. I’m going on a hundred and twenty years old. Can’t keep up with the Princess anymore. I may have told your kid a slight lie… Believe it or not, it’s my birthday too. But I don’t celebrate. Hard to, when you don’t have family left.”

"A hundred and twenty, and no kids, no wife? Well, you're welcome to come home with Alice and I, my husband is making dinner for us." Aliee smiled brightly, standing and offering her hand to Jack.

Jack looked back at Jade, who was on top of a building, investigating a strange light. He wasn’t even going to wonder how she got up there. Only hope the kid didn’t see. “I’ll take that meal. You can tell me your story, and I’ll tell you mine.”

"My story is hardly fun, but fair's fair. Let's get out of here before my daughter inevitably sees your friend climbing like a spider." Aliee glanced up pointedly.

Jack laughed, and with a flick of his wrist, Jade was slowly floating to the ground, with her good arm on her hip.

“Why’d you do that? I was safe!”

“A friend invited us to have dinner. You can play with the kid. You have a lot in common.”

"Hi. I'm Aliee, this is my daughter, Alice." Aliee smiled once again, holding her hand out to Jade.

"Hi! It's my birthday today!" Alice chimed in.

Jade frowned at Alice, “Hi… Jack, you know I don’t do well with kids.”

“You wrangled Luke and Cayden just fine,” Jack laughed, and the duo followed Aliee down the path and to her house.

Once inside the bright home, Alice ran up to Tel'iah, excitedly showing him the gold coin in her hands.

"Impressive. I'll bet it was those new friends of ours who gave it to you, huh? Did you thank them?" Tel'iah glanced up and nodded his head at Jack and Jade.

"Oh…" Alice turned around and sheepishly thanked the pair for the coin.

"Go clean up. You're a mess from playing all day." Aliee chuckled and lead her to the stairs. Returning to the table, she kissed Tel'iah's cheek and introduced the tall alien to their guests.

A pleasure to meet you,” Jade said. “I’m Princess Jade Starr, and this is Captain Jack Montro.”

"Oh! You're a Princess? Oh I wish I had known! I would have tried to clean up the house a little better." Aliee jumped from her chair to start clearing the table of papers and dishes.

“Don’t go to the trouble,” Jack laughed. “Jade is notorious for being messy. Her staff has to prepare two dresses for every event, because she destroys them. Whether it’s a bad spell, or a bad fight… Blood, climbing things she’s not supposed to.”

Jade narrowed her eyes at him, “I’m going to go annoy the kid, because obviously, I’m not welcome at the adult table.”

Aliee hesitantly sat back down, blinking rapidly. "Well… what just happened?"

“She’ll be fine,” Jack sat down across from Aliee. “So, what’s your story?”

"Where should I begin? There's not much to tell, honestly." Aliee shrugged modestly, trying to ignore the snort from Tel as he stirred a bubbling pot of food.

“You’re obviously not from this world. So, where’d you come from?”

"Actually that might be a long story in itself. We came from Earth, a long, long, long time ago. The people there built a massive spaceship. Called her the Exodus. So many people hoped for their lives to change on that ship, and it did. Since it was a colony ship, they had kids. Those kids had kids and a couple decades later, the last generation was born on that ship. My-" Aliee swallowed thickly and looked down at her hands. "My brother and I were part of that generation. We would be the ones to inhabit this planet and make it our own."

She glanced up at Tel, grinned and looked back down. "We didn't know there was someone here already. By the time we found out, it was too late. A virus in the computers destroyed the Exodus, and most of us… well only a few people made it this far. Alice was about four then."

“My family died too,” Jack said. “My mother died when I was a boy- Killed herself after my father, a man I am ashamed to call my father, broke her Genie Bottle. I found her body. I was thrown out of the tribe, joined the war- Met my wife. She was a nurse,” he smiled softly, “Used to yell at me all the time for getting myself hurt. At first, they were accidents, but I may have taken a punch or two I could have avoided, just to see her face. We had a kid, one I spent my entire life searching for. She’d been tossed in the dungeons because she wanted humans to be treated fairly. See, where I come from, humans are seen as weak, mindless creatures. I’ve never heard of humans going to war for a hundred years. She had our kid in the dungeons, and he was taken before I even knew he was a boy.” Jack took a deep breath, “I met Jade, and through her, the boy I found out was my son. We, um, we don’t really have a relationship now. I do have a grandson though. Just a baby, he is.”

"Well, one, humans are about as far from mindless as one can get." Tel said, setting plates of steaming meat, rice, tuber roots and fruit on the table. "And from what Aliee has told me, war is just another facet of life they dealt with on earth." Looking down at Aliee, he smiled and added: "And I certainly know how well this one fights. Since dinner is ready, I'll go get Alice and Mylo. And our princess."

"Well, he's not wrong, at least. I do hope those two haven’t entirely devoured her."

“Jade’s strong. She likes to pretend she doesn’t do so well with kids, but she’s got a little girl at home. Kaida’s her name. You and your husband are right- Humans are an amazing creature. They’re strong, powerful in more ways than one. In fact, one of the most respected queens I’ve ever seen was raised like a human. And she brought glory to our world. You know, Aliee—” Jack smiled softly, “You’re a smart girl. And you’ve got a story worth telling. At least, it was one this old soul was happy to hear.”

"Well, I'm glad I could give you some joy. I'm sorry you say you have no family today. I certainly think you do, in that princess. Speaking of, where are they? It shouldn't take so long to get a toddler and a princess down here, should it?" As Aliee started to stand, Alice ran down the stairs, soaking wet with Tel'iah equally wet and carrying Mylo.

Jade tried to slip into a seat beside Jack, but he shoved her back. “I know exactly what you and your magic did, Princess, so you’re going to use it to dry those folks off.”

With a grumble and a few curse words under her breath, Jade waved her hand and drew all of the water from Alice’s clothes and hair.

"Mama! She can do magic! She made a duck! Out of water! But dad opened the door… and he got wet!" Alice giggled, making wild hand movements.

"Well, I imagine that must have been a sight to behold." Aliee smiled at her daughter. "So I take it you must be one of those Mermaids Jack was talking about."

“I’m more than a Mermaid. I’m Princess of Mermaids. I rule all of the Mermaids, and the ocean, and to be fair, it wasn’t entirely my fault the water got everywhere. However, your bathroom is clean, so... We’re even?”

Aliee laughs, snorting. "Well if it means I don't have to give a bath to Alice, I'll take it. Princess of the entire ocean? That's… impressive. I can't say I'm jealous."

"That, my dear, is a lie." Tel muttered as he fed a spoonful of rice to Mylo.

"Well.. okay fine. I might be a little jealous that she can swim underwater. As much as she wants. I wish I could do that." Aliee started handing plates and bowls of food to Jack and Jade.

Jade pulled the remaining water from Tel’s clothes and pressed her hand into a fist. “Jack, if you will.”

He snapped his fingers and the water materialized into a silver necklace.

“Visit us anytime,” Jade held the necklace out to Aliee. “Press a hand to it, and you can visit Mahica whenever you’d like.” She smirked at Alice, “Kaida could use a bad- I mean good influence every once in a while.”

"I swear, if I find out my wife decides to move into your world, I might actually have a fit. Your offer may be too much temptation for her. She might never come back." Tel'iah groaned, but reached a hand to hold Aliee's.

"I would always come back. Not just for you but… for Avren as well." Aliee suddenly fell quiet. "Amazing how the dead can hold too much sway on the living, isn't it?"

Jack nodded, “But, they make us appreciate the living, all that much more.”

"That is true. Well, eat up. I'm sure you have a long night of climbing buildings, Princess." Aliee shook her head and smiled.

"Climbing what?" Tel'iah choked, staring at Jade.

Jack smirked knowingly at Aliee. “That’s a story for another day.”

#The Dragon Knight spoilers #Exodus Down spoilers #The Dragon Knight #Exodus Down

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im-fairly-whitty · 5 years

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Can I be a bit selfish and ask for a 🌟and your commentary on Dr. Facilier's emotional attack on Ernesto in the PAFT oneshot you did?

You got it.

From Dealing With Shadows, a PATF x Coco crossover:

First off, I was super excited to write this scene because Dr. Facilier and Ernesto De la Cruz are my two favorite Disney villains of all time and I was eager to see how similar but different their kinds of villainy are when put side by side.

A similarity that they both have is that they’re very blunt about what they want. Other villains are usually interested in their evil quests because of a dark backstory that drives them to want revenge or pull elaborate heists to get the object they desire (a coat of dalmatian fur, revenge for not being invited to a baby shower, a genie, peter pan’s head in exchange for a severed hand), but Facilier and De la Cruz are so much more straight forward than that.

What do they want? Money, fame, and power. Why do they want it? Just...because. What on-screen explanation do we get for why they’ll go to such lengths for it?

Not really any to speak of actually.

They just want it, they reaaaaaally want it, and they want it NOW.

No lengthy monologues about being disgraced by the scientific community and needing a bird skeleton to redeem themselves, no griping about being mistreated as the emperor's overlooked elderly advisor, not even a single word about being left on a shelf in a collector’s edition box for their entire lives.

They want money and they want power. Which at the end of the day, are the most basic selfish desires humans all have. We want control of our lives and the ability to live it comfortably in whatever manner we choose while enjoying what we do. Facilier and Ernesto end up being very stark representations of these simple desires when taken too far, but without lengthy explanation, which makes them the most fun to headcanon for in my opinion.

But even though they have the same desires they differ in how they seek to get it. A key difference between them is that Facilier plays the long game with elaborate planned schemes and twisted deals and unhealthy alliances to get what he wants, and he doesn't care that his lifestyle makes him a visibly shady individual. He knows he’s made deals with devils and loves it.

Ernesto, on the other hand, is far more impulsive and desperately wants to be loved and admired, meaning everything he does is carefully hidden and rationalized and sanitized. Why does he poison Hector? He panicked. Why did he throw Miguel off a building? He panicked. Where Facilier knows he’s scraped his way into every good thing he’s ever stolen, Ernesto instead believes he deserves the power and wealth and fame he gets, and instead lashes out at anyone or anything that he perceives to be threatening what’s his. Whether that’s Hector’s time and talent, or his established reputation and fame in the LOTD.

So when these two get together it’s not really two villains in one place who are evenly matched in badness, it’s actually one very evil and crafty man who is able to manipulate the fears and self-consciousness of one very proud and entitled man. In fact Facilier’s weakness (the over-confident belief that his next big success is right around the corner, meaning that it’s fine for him to go deeper into debt in an eternally higher stakes game of catch-up) makes him even more powerful over Ernesto, who craves and seeks to project his own missing sense of self confidence.

It’s honestly too easy for Facilier to get Ernesto right where he wants him, cornering him right into his own selfish plan as easily as you might trap a spider under a glass cup.

(Also I really really enjoyed writing the visuals of the playing card illustrations, I watched the PATF tarot card song a million times while writing the oneshot and could see the cards for the oneshot in my mind’s ye really clearly. Also also I adore writing dark magic so it was a treat to write Undead!Facilier in his full spooky glory.)

🌟 Hmmmmmmm...How about:

Taken - A Frozen Oneshot that tells the story of Kristoff being taken by trolls as a child.

I really enjoyed writing the opening scene of Kristoff’s parents Henrick and Ida arguing over whether Kristoff should go ice harvesting with his father. In musical movies especially there’s a tendancy for background characters to be glossed over as unimportant chorus singers at best, even the main characters sometimes getting airbrushed as realistic details are sanded down to make the plot smoother and the songs jauntier. Being able to turn around and take two characters from the frozen universe and make them feel achingly real and multifaceted instead was a treat.

The best part about the scene is that even as you’re getting to know the parents and understanding Henrick’s stubborn belief that trolls aren't real, you of course know the truth about what’s about to happen to Kristoff which lends the scene a special irony laden looming sense of doom. Added to that is the fact that you’ve known what’s about to happen for years (Kristoff being adopted by trolls) but have likely never once thought about his parents and the special brand of cursed fae hell that they were put through while their son was off being adorable with Svenn and the trolls.

It puts the reader in the very seat of irony as they realize that the details beneath the musical airbrushed facade are anything but cheerful and happy. In fact it’s a real horror story.

(Also this was another case of me loving to write dark magic too not to mention getting to weave in a bunch of real changling lore so bonus points there.)

#ask meme #director's commentary #patf x coco #frozen

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wheremytwinwatches · 4 years

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[Where My Twin Watches]: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Episode 2

Last time, on PMMM: *Awesome music* “I am Mami Tomoe. And these… are my weapons.” “That’s right, I’m a middle-school magical girl, and I’ve got enough firepower to outfit the Union. Haters gonna hate.” Ooh, phrasing here. “I am one who has made a contract with Kyubey - a magical girl!” So in this show all magical girls makes contracts with Kyubey, no-one else has the power? That implies Homura did so as well. So why was she attacking him? Whoa, alarm clock! Sleepy Madoka waking up again, same as last episode. Was it just another weird dream? Nope, Kyubey’s here to say good morning!... how long have you been sitting there? Same intro as last time, now I have a name for all the characters! Wait, hold up, there was a quick shot of a redhead in the slice-of-life segments. Another character? Episode 2: That Would Be Truly Wonderful

Madoka and Mother are getting ready, when Mother asks about Madoka coming home late, is remarkably chill about Madoka being out. “Just let us know where you are before dinner”? Pretty lenient for a middle-schooler.

Daw, Kyubey’s hanging out in a heated sink or something, that’s adorable. Huh, I was wondering if Madoka was going to have wacky hijinks explaining her new Rabbit-Thing pet to her parents, but apparently only magical girls (or potential magical girls) can see him. Now Madoka’s thinking about her and Sayaka visiting Mami’s place, and damn that’s a nice apartment. Wait, you live here alone? Aren’t you a middle schooler? “Don’t have much to offer as refreshments”? If you consider tea and cake to be ‘not much’, I am insanely jealous. Exposition time! Mami shows her golden egg thing from last episode, which is apparently a Soul Gem. A byproduct of Kyubey making a contract, it’s the source of their magic and proof of them being MGs. Madoka echoes me about whatever this contract thing is, and Kyubey says that he will “grant you any one wish - any wish you desire!” So Kyubey’s a genie? Anything more concrete than “I can grant you even the most impossible of miracles”, some provisos or quid pro quos?

Well, whatever the rules, the Soul Gem is created in exchange for a wish. And those with Soul Gems are duty-bound to battle witches. I assume the thing that they encountered last episode? Out of the flashback and back to the bathroom, Madoka asks Mother a ‘hypothetical’ question about what she would wish fo- Mother cuts her off with a wish to kick two trustees out of the company. Sound like someone’s given this some thought. Mother goes on to say that the CEO should probably retire, but when Madoka mentions off-handedly that maybe she should become the new CEO Mother goes into full strategy mode, reviewing her allies for a power bid. Madoka is as intimidated as I am. Back to exposition, a witch is described as a creature born from curses. Magical girls spread hope, witches spread despair. Furthermore, witches are invisible to regular humans, so we don’t even know they’re around causing trouble. Mami confirms that witches are behind many of the inexplicable bad things that happen in the world. And more than being invisible to humans, witches hide out in labyrinth, like the trippy scenery that Madoka and Sayaka ended up in last episode. So if MGs come from wishes and witches from curses, and Kyubey grants wishes to recruit MGs… does that mean there’s something out there that gives curses to create witches? A sort of anti-Kyubey? Wow, getting heavy here, Mami’s talking about how she fights these witches at the risk of her own life, and cautions the two about becoming MGs. They have the opportunity to have ‘any’ wish granted, “But remember that that wish lies side-by-side with death.” ...Grim. And I don’t know, but the way I see it they’re already at risk, apparently being potential MGs means that you can see witches anyway, so right now all they could do is see what’s actually going on but not be able to do anything. If the monsters are coming after them regardless wouldn’t it be better to have the power to actually defend themselves, and others? Frankly the wish seems superfluous alongside the protection of these powers. Sayaka says that this will be a tough choice, and Madoka is just silent. Mami offers to take them along to a few witch hunts, so they can see it first-hand. And so they can think carefully about if there’s something they want enough to put them in danger. ...but they’re already in danger! These witches are already out there, causing suicides and murders! Forget the vague wish, focus on the power that could defend yourselves and your families! Why is this not a bigger thing?

Later that morning, Madoka is catching up to Sayaka and Hitomi, and Sayaka freaks at seeing Kyubey perched on Madoka's shoulder. Hitomi is very confused, given that she's a Muggle and can't see the familiar. Sayaka tries to brush it off and move on, then gets further freaked when Madoka telepaths to her. Huh, so they already have some powers before making the contract? Nah, Kyubey's just acting as a Familiar Fone. Hitomi is feeling very confused now, as this whole conversation is happening where she can't hear. All she sees is her friends staring at eachother- oh. Oh no. Hitomi, stahp. Stop talking. Madoka, saying "a lot of things did happen last night" is not helping. Aaand Hitomi's running off crying about how they're both girls. Oh dear. And here I (and Madoka) thought that Sayaka was the resident shipper, looks like cultured Hitomi has her own chart. Back in class, Madoka and Sayaka are trying to 'explain' to Hitomi before they sit down (given Hitomi's bearing, I don't think they succeeded), Sayaka brings up a good point: Mysterious Transfer Student Homura is in their class, should Kyubey really be in blasting range? Kyubey counters with the fact that Mami goes there as well, and hello Mami! Seems that she's part of the group think as well. Wait, is this a general magical girl thing that Homura could cut in on, or only between the three girls and Kyubey? In any case, as creepy as Homura can be, she probably won't start fighting in the middle of school. "Speak of the devil" indeed, Sayaka, here she is. Well, she just sat down, and apart from a hair-swoosh and glance at Madoka holding Kyubey- wait, scene transition. Flashback to the apartment and Mami's soul gem, it's confirmed that Homura is a magical girl like Mami, and that she's fairly powerful. But as for her going after Kyubey, it seems that she was trying to prevent another magical girl contracting. Mami says that it's common for MGs to fight with each-other, as defeating a witch can give rewards. (So it's like a MMO, players in general fighting against the world's monsters but competing with each-other for the loot? Nominally they're all on the same side, but good luck when the the Devout Shoulders drop) Ooh, Mami just magicked her gem to turn into a ring, that's a neat way to have it ready to use. Back to the school, Homura is still staring, Sayaka promises to punch the girl who can shoot lasers from her hands and presumably survive fighting witches if she tries anything. You’ve got guts Sayaka, but maybe discretion is the better part of valor here. Mami agrees, in that she’s there so they’ll be fine. Sorry Sayaka. Here we have a language lesson, and get to see the character’s attitudes: Madoka is dutifully taking notes (when she’s not looking at the Familiar-Hunter seated two rows up), Homura is looking straight ahead, Sayaka is falling asleep, Kyubey is completely asleep, and Madoka finds this most amusing. Oh, never mind, it’s less ‘dutifully taking notes’ and more ‘sketching out MG designs’. Up on the rooftop, Madoka’s sharing her lunch with Kyubey when Sayaka asks if Madoka’s come up with a wish yet. So the wish comes before the contract, or can it be deferred? Turns out neither of them have thought up a wish yet. Well, there are things that they want, but huh Hmm. That’s actually a really mature way to look at it: “what do I want that’s worth risking my life for.” I’m still hung up on the fact that they are defenseless against these witches right now, but I can see their point. (Post-episode note: comments on Pt 1 and talking with Tephi have helped to clarify this further. I mean, it’s one thing to know that the danger is out there, it’s another to actively seek it out to destroy it. It’s like how a firefighter has the capability to protect their own home from a fire, but they also have to use the capability to seek out and stop other fires, not just ones affecting them.) Props on our main characters acknowledging that they live pretty decent lives already, and there’s nothing personal worth risking themselves for. (Post-episode note: And yeah, I still think there’s an element of ‘serve the greater good’ in getting these powers to protect those who can’t use them, but they are only middleschoolers after all. Things that risky should really be left to professionals, it’s a lot to ask of children.) Further props that they have lived privileged lives, given that there are other people who would willingly take the risk for a chance to make a personal change. Wait, flash of a dark room, person looking out a window? Someone you know, Sayaka? Well, that’s enough philosophical discussion in our magical girl show, let’s move on! Sudden appearance by Mysterious Transfer Student Homura, she’s walking towards the girls and Kyubey while Mami is watching from a nearby tower. And based on that glance I think that Homura sees her. At least she isn’t resuming her attack from yesterday. She’d hoped to kill it before it made contact with Madoka, but given the Protagonist is holding the Familiar in her arms that clearly didn’t work out. She certainly seems interested (or as interested as she gets) in whether the girls will become MGs. But when Sayaka basically tells her to shove off, she reminds Madoka of yesterday’s warning and leaves. ...sure, that’s going to help, Mysterious Transfer Student. Remind the girl that you threatened her friends and family yesterday, that’ll definitely keep her from accepting an offer of power and a wish (“I wish that that creepy girl would not hurt those I care about.” Boom, danger averted.) Still, Madoka wouldn’t be the Kind and Loving Protagonist that she is without extending an olive branch, so she asks what Homura wished for when she became a MG. Homura stops, turns… then walks away. Guess we’ll have to wait a few episodes to find out whatever it was. (My money’s on “I wish to become a powerful magical girl” or something like that.) End of school day, Hitomi’s grabbing her bag when the girls arrive and say they have a few ‘errands’ to run, so… Yup, Hitomi’s jealous, thinks she’s a third wheel. Basically runs off crying “NOTP! NOTP!” Aw. Meanwhile Homura’s asked by some other girls about getting coffee, she claims that she has urgent business as well. I’ve got a bad feeling, is she going to try and attack again when there are no witnesses? Flute music! Mami’s giving Lesson 1 of “A Day in the Life of a Magical Girl”. More exposition! Sayaka’s come prepared, with… a baseball bat. Not sure how much use that’ll be against the magical monsters, dearie. But at least she brought a weapon, Madoka brought her sketchbook. Good enthusiasm, Madoka, but maybe you should design the costume after you get your powers. Poor Madoka. Mami is now tracking the magic of yesterday’s witch, I guess that Homura didn’t catch it after all. Now to scout the city on foot! Sorry Sayaka, not everything can be exciting as a witch battle, you’ve got to get there first. The trails a bit cold right now, but Mami thinks it was better to let it go and take care of the two girls post-labyrinth. Madoka apologizes, Sayaka just calls Mami an Ally of Justice. But she’s still confused about Homura. (As am I.) Madoka’s just wondering if she is really a bad person. Our all-loving hero, everyone. Calling it now that she’ll teach Homura the power of Friendship. Person awkwardly walking? Into a ruined building? Mami’s giving more exposition, on how witches can be found around areas of misfortune like car crashes and deadly accidents. So that means the middle schoolers will be checking in high-traffic streets and in the Red Light District. Um. Ok, you can also look in obscure places where people might attempt suicide. Uh oh, cut to the walking lady going up some stairs. You might want to hurry, girls. And yeah, a witch and a hospital sounds like a very bad combination. Ooh, gem’s reacting, they’re almost there. Yup, lady is at the top of the building. Hurry… Look up look up look up there, Sayaka saw her! And oh crap she jumped they were too late look out- oh hey, Mami did a speedy transformation this time and summoned some ribbon-things to catch the lady, she’s safe! Phew, that was way too close. Tattoo? Witch’s Kiss? Well, Mami says she’s fine, so they’re going to hurry in and catch the witch. Music’s picking up again as they run in (Sayaka with bat at the ready), and a butterfly gate opens up. Mami then enchants Sayaka’s bat, hopefully it’ll help. Into the labyrinth, stick close to Mami! And Homura’s arrived. What are you up to? Back to the land of Creepy Puffballs, Mami’s summoning rifles and blasting away while Sayaka swings wildly and Madoka’s carrying Kyubey. I’m thinking the enchantment was less about giving the bat more hitting power and more creating these shields or whatever to protect the non-MGs present. Aw crap, one creep just reformed behind the two never mind Mami’s got it. Madoka’s just looking on in amazement as Mami is owning these creeps. She’s scared, but… hmmm, seems Madoka’s found someone to look up to. They’re almost at the center of the labyrinth, Mami’s got no time for the Scissor Puffballs guarding the door. Here they what the ok I guess they’re through and that… thing… is the witch. Ooh, driving music! And freeze frame with title that I can’t read, is that the witch’s name? Mami casts a barrier to protect the girls, and down she leaps! Step on tiny flying thing with really seems to tick the witch off, Mami just curtsies and summons her first (of presumably many) rifles. Magical Girl vs Witch fight! Big witch is flying around surprisingly fast, Mami just uses her beret to plant a bunch of rifles around her and starts blasting away. Eat exploding bullets, monster! Wait, the tiny mustached flying things are swarming around her now, turned into a whip and grabbed her, threw her into the wall. No fair! Mami, Mami please get out of there, you are clearly not fine. Wait, light coming out of the ground? Did you shoot ribbons into the ground or something. Well, whatever’s happening, the witch is pissed, just unfolded jebus into something with way too many scissors and a butterfly for a face. Oh sweet, the ribbons wrapped it up! Mami cuts the whip and what. What. Ok then. So I know I made that joke last part comparing Mami to the heavy, “and these are my weapons.” I am happy to say I was wrong. Those were not her weapons. This is her weapon. That is not a gun. That is not a cannon. This “Trio Finale” is an artillery piece. Holy crap. She just blew the witch away with a single shot. And she lands with a little twirl and drinks some tea. That… that was beautiful. Wow. Ok, enough hero worship for Mami the Destroyer. With the obliteration of the witch, the labyrinth has collapsed, and the magical girl picked up a small black ornament. Mami identifies it as a grief seed, says that it is a witch’s egg. So you’re going to destroy it? Why is it lucky to find one after a battle? Oh, Kyubey says they’re safe, and valuable because… they clear up Soul Gems? Oh, they restore magic used in fighting witches. So they ‘upgrade’ soul gems, increase their mana capacity or something like that. Ok, I can see why this would be considered a reward, if by killing a witch a MG increases her power that would definitely be valuable. No wonder Mami said MGs fight. Wait, why did you just throw away the magic-boosting dealie? Is it a one-time use thing? Wait, someone caught it. “Should be good for one more use?” Oh hey Homura, nice of you to show up after the witch was fought. What, do you follow Mami around and pick up her used Grief Seeds instead of hunting witches yourself? Huh, never mind, Homura tossed it back, said it was Mami’s kill. And ooh, that was Mami offering to team up with Homura and the Mysterious Transfer Student rejecting the offer, wasn’t it? (Homura. Homura, we just saw Mami destroy a witch with a single shot. Maybe that’s someone you don’t want to insult, hmmm?) Homura walks off, Sayaka takes offense in place of Mami, and Madoka’s just sad that Homura doesn’t want to be friends. Sorry Madoka, but I don’t think someone who threatens your family and tries to kill Familiars is a good friend for you. Give it a few episodes so she can see how effective a group of an Artillery-wielder, someone with a Magic Bat, and the Protagonist can be when they work together. Hey, the jumper from earlier is waking up, doesn’t seem to know where she is. Aaand there’s the memories back. Aw, Mami’s comforting her, seems she was under the witch’s influence after all. Looking on, Madoka’s still not sure what to wish for, but seeing Mami fighting to save people… Aw Madoka, “even someone like you”? You’re the Protagonist, you’re stronger than you give yourself credit for! Give it some time, you’ll be blasting witches with the best of them before long. And it is really mature of you to focus on using your powers for good. Seriously, it’s nice to have a character who thinks just being able to help people “would be truly wonderful” (title drop!). Awwww. That was a really sweet episode. Ok, let’s recap as the credits roll. We got some good exposition on the world and rules, some parts I’m still vague on but I guess I’ll get some more answers later. Madoka and Sayaka are still not magical girls, but when they work out their wishes I can’t wait to see them come into their own. Mami, holy crap. I knew you were powerful after the Armory Attack last episode, but this one? “Trio Finale” is incredible! So do MGs get a named Super Attack sort of thing, and if so what will Madoka and Sayaka get? Sayaka’s “Super Swing” with her bat? Madoka’s “Pink Storm” with whatever her weapon is? (Calling a classical MG wand or tiara now). We got some answers about Homura this time, but I’m still not sure what her end goal is. She doesn’t want competition, based on her trying to kill Kyubey, and she doesn’t want to work with others, based on her rejecting Mami’s used Grief Seed. But what do you want, besides to become stronger without “sharing” the rewards with others? (Post-episode note: It was a little while later that I came up with the “Homura summons the Flying Thing from the vision to try and get a Super Grief Seed” theory posted on pg 11). Episode preview- uh, why is there some dude in a Mad Max-ish faceplate in the picture? Anyways, dialogue: Mami says she only pretends to be cool (Mami, you can summon artillery. You are absolutely cool) and pushes herself hard. But… aw, you don’t have anyone to talk to? Yeah, I guess when your only counterpart is Homura the Mysterious you don’t really have deep conversations. Aw, don’t cry, Mami. Now you have two new friends! Yes, we’ve seen that being a Magical Girl can be risky, but train up these two and I know you’ll be an amazing team! See, you just need some friends to help with the burden. “I’m not afraid of anything anymore.”

#wmtw #where my twin watches #ranubis #pmmm #puella magi madoka magica #pmmm 2

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tren-fraszka · 5 years

Text

Past Imperfect 2019 Letter

Dear creator,

Thank you for taking your time to check my requests. I know my requests can sound a bit tricky, but please don’t be discouraged. I wish you will have good time writing first and foremost!

My AO3 is Tren, if you wish to check it out.

Likes: comedy, casefics, canon compliants, AUs, time loops, bodyswaps, roleswaps, “being hoisted by your own petard” plotlines, snark, pettiness, rivals, enemies to friends to lovers, violence, friendships and character bonding,

DNW: explicit sex, A/B/O, mpreg, rape depicted as positive (so no “it’s okay, because the other person enjoyed it/it was what they truly wanted”), trans headcanons, soulmate AUs, stories ending with surrender to fate/destiny, fourth wall breaking in canons where that doesn’t occur, character has cancer or other real life terminal disease AU, word “queerplatonic”.

Also, I included what ships I’m okay with in each fandom. Please do not include any ships that aren’t canon and I have not allowed in those sections (if you feel really strongly about a ship I haven’t mentioned, you can always ask through mods just in case).

Additionally, while I almost never request fanart as possible medium, because I prefer my main gift to be fic, I would be very okay with receiving fanart treats. On another note, feel free to use my old letters if you get your hands on them. I never stop being interested in fandoms, and if I requested something once I will still want it in the future.

REQUESTS

A general note on time travel: feel free to get bloody if you want. Aside from Revue Starlight which isn’t a violent show by nature, I don’t mind characters dying and getting hurt during the attempts to change the timeline. I also don’t mind characters not succeeding in their attempted goals, as long as the fic doesn’t have a complete downer ending. I’d rather the heroes won at the end of the day, but I don’t mind if you make it a bitter victory. Good endings are, of course, fine too. I also love the trope where the attempt to change the events through time travel results in the canon timeline.

TALES OF SYMPHONIA

Lloyd Irving, Lloyd Irving & Kratos Aurion

This party gets so many things wrong on their journey to save the world that almost half of it is in ruins when they are done saving it. Needlessly to say I think there is a whole lot that our party may want to fix using time travel.

I'm partial to the idea of time traveller Lloyd because he would be so terrible at it. He's just so earnest he would accidentally reveal he has a whole lot of knowledge he shouldn't possess. Give me future Lloyd who returns to the body of his younger self who has only just started on his journey of regeneration and who keeps struggling not to call Kratos dad. Or future Lloyd returning to the past with his own body, who is desperately trying to stay incognito and fix the timeline rather than accidentally breaking it even more (bonus points if future Genis and Yuan have some sort of magical connection with him and are constantly screaming at him about what he should and shouldn't do). I would also love future Lloyd pretending before the party that he is just a mysterious swordsman by emulating Kratos.

I'm also fine with other characters travelling in time, I just don't have concrete prompts for them. But you are free to have fun with them. I'd rather the Kharlan Heroes weren't the ones time travelling since their charm is in the fact that they are absolute dumbasses who keep failing to account for the consequences of their actions (aside from Kratos who spends way too much time being apathetic, only to regret absolutely everything when he does manage to pull himself out of his depression), but if you have some good ideas for how they can fail even more by time travelling I won't mind (maybe they can accidentally get into way of some other time travelling characters). I just want them to keep being ancient disasters. If they suddenly became competent enough to fix the timeline it would feel weird. Unless it's Martel who somehow time traveled into the future and proceeds to fix everything by slapping all other Kharlan Heroes and telling them they are idiots.

As for how much the timeline is fixed, I would prefer for Yggdrassil to get defeated and the worlds to be merged at the end, but if the characters' efforts don't amount much to actually making things better than the original timeline, I won't mind. You are even free to make them fail even more. Honestly, stopping Kratos from gallivanting into space is the only fix-it that actually matters to me and I would love if it gets included into the story.

Also, you are free to go for some darker moments with Lloyd time travelling back to when his mom died and trying to save her, but failing to do so.

As for the ships, I'm fine with: Lloyd/Genis, Genis/Presea, Lloyd/Genis/Presea, Zelos/Colette, Colette/Sheena, Zelos/Colette/Sheena, Anna/Kratos, Yuan/Martel, Kratos/Yuan (as "useless widowers who only have each other left" ship). Please don't include any ships not listed here, even if they are 2/3 of a threesome.

Time Loop/Groundhog Day

Time Travel Fix-It

Mental Time Travel to Past - Replacing Past Self

Mental Time Travel to Past - Sharing Body With Past Self

Time Travel Fix-It - Time Traveler Fixes Things By Accident

Uncontrollable Spontaneous Time Travel

Time Travel to Fix Problems Caused By Previous Time Travel

Multiple Travelers - Get In Each Other’s Way While Trying To Achieve Different Goals

SHOUJO KAGEKI REVUE STARLIGHT (ANIME)

Yes, I really am okay with any characters from this show. I love all girls in this theater school, so I'd rather you focused on the ones you enjoy the most, dear author. I admit I just want more shenanigans around Banana's time loop. Give me all more or less successful attempts to break out of it. Maybe Maya becomes aware of the time loop and starts to view Nana as a rival much to Claudine's frustration. Or Kaoruko's increasing frustration with the fact that she's the only one who remembers time loops other than Nana finally spurs her to put effort into bettering herself. Or maybe Giraffee's POV as it gets increasingly frustrated with the repeating performances and tries different indirect approaches in hopes of stopping Nana. Feel free to use any other idea you have, I'm just interested to see your ideas!

I'm playing Re-live game so you are free to borrow characters and ideas from it. Maybe rather than Hikari it's some other stage girl that comes to Seisho and gets caught in the time loop? Or one of the characters travels into the future and they end up having three days to learn for their role, because they don't share memories with their future self.

You are free to ship any girls from the anime as you like. My only request would be that if you decide to borrow Michiru from Re-Live that she will not be shipped with anyone.

Breaking a canonical time loop

Canonical Time Loops

Time Loop/Groundhog Day

Multiple Travelers - Accidentally Get In Each Other’s Way While Trying To Achieve The Same Goal

Multiple Travelers - Get In Each Other’s Way While Trying To Achieve Different Goals

Time Loop - Unexpectedly Living With The Consequences Of Actions During Final Loop

Time Travel For Pranks And Petty Mischief

Trying to not break a canonical time loop

5 Minute Long Time Loop

Outsider POV Of Strange Events Caused By Time Travel

LORD EL-MELLOI CASE FILES

I’ve watched anime and read the first volume of the novel. I also know way too many other Fate properties if you want to use them or the characters from them.

Waver Velvet, Gray

This canon is perfect for all sorts of magic induced time travel shenanigans be it time loops or time travels. I would love for Waver and others to stumble into some sort of time distortion and have to figure out how to escape out of it.

I requested Waver and Gray, because I feel like they would be the most interesting characters to be involved in time travel shenanigans, but if you want, I also wouldn't be opposed to Flat, Reines or Callum in that role. You may make the situation as serious or as mundane as you wish. This fandom is great for all kinds of stories. Whether it be Gray caught up in a time loop that always ends up with Waver ending miserable and trying to change that, or Waver having to watch death of people important to him.

The loop could be caused by magical accident or be a ploy aimed to Reines faction. Or maybe Flat created a time loop because he couldn't finish his homework on time. Or someone from Waver's class brought a cursed artifact to the class and now they need to figure out who it was. The possibilities are endless. I also think that a character from the future using magecraft to communicate with those in the past could work really well here.

If you know Zero, then I would also be very much up for Gray travelling back in time to see the fourth Holy Grail war. Whether she changes anything, or if she remains a bystander by accident or choice isn't really important to me. I'm fine with both. Though I think it would be really sweet if she got to comfort Waver after Iskander's death.

I love this fandom for all the gen relationships, so I would love if you went in that direction. When it comes to pairings I would be okay with Waver/Melvin or Reines/Gray, but don't feel forced to write them in.

Time Loop/Groundhog Day

Time Loop - Unexpectedly Living With The Consequences Of Actions During Final Loop

Time Loop - Only looping character is aware of the loop

Time Travel For Pranks And Petty Mischief

Unusual Ways To Communicate Through Time

Accidentally Built A Time Machine

Uncontrollable Spontaneous Time Travel

5 Minute Long Time Loop

Meeting your hero in the past

Multiple Travelers - Accidentally Get In Each Other’s Way While Trying To Achieve The Same Goal

Parallel Universes

Outsider POV Of Strange Events Caused By Time Travel

MY HERO ACADEMIA

I'm reading the chapters as they come out, you are free to incorporate any new developments.

Aizawa Shouta | Eraserhead, Uraraka Ochako, Tokoyami Fumikage

Unlike other canons I requested, for this one I have a very strong preference for one of the characters I requested to be the time traveller. I love most of the cast, but this is one time I'm gonna play favourites.

This canon is great for characters going back in time to fix stuff with everybody having heroic motivations. How well their attempts go is up to you. Feel free to put the characters through some hell if you want.

Since I would enjoy similar scenarios for all characters I feel like it would be more helpful if I focused on the reason why I chose this specific characters:

- Uraraka - one of her biggest strengths is her ability to read and influence others. It would be interesting to see her change the events using her talents. She's not very powerful and charismatic compared to some of her classmates, but she has plenty of tricks of her own to use instead. Also, she has determination to spare.

- Tokoyami - I love him and Dark Shadow. It would be very interesting to see how the loyal and hard working Fumikage deals with suddenly being thrown into the past. He would surely want to help his friends, but at the same time he seems to believe in fate to some extent. How would he be able to reconcile those two drives?

- Aizawa - on the one hand as a teacher he can do much more, but on the other one now he has to save his thirty students from all the dangers lurking before them. Needlessly to say, it's no easy task to keep all the problem children of class 1A safe. He's an experienced hero, so it would be interesting to see how he uses his knowledge and skills to overcome the obstacles in his way.

For the pairings I enjoy Bakugou/Uraraka, Todoroki/Deku and Aizawa/Hizashi. I don't have strong shipping preference for Tokoyami, but I would be okay with shipping him with Deku. Feel free to ask through mods if you feel strongly about shipping him with someone. As far as Uraraka's feelings for Deku are concerned I'm okay with her crush being mentioned, but I'd rather it wasn't the focus and definitely not an endgame. I like the idea of the two of them dating for some time, but realizing it isn't working for them and staying friends instead or a scenario where Uraraka never conveys her feelings and they sizzle out through years.

Character Receives Letters from Their Future Self

Character's Health Worsens the More They Time Travel

Time Loop/Groundhog Day

Character Meets Their Own Earlier/Later Incarnation

Time Loop - Looping character trying to save another character's life

Uncontrollable Spontaneous Time Travel

5 Minute Long Time Loop

Alternate Universe - Canon Character Is Secretly A Time Traveler From The Future

Multiple Travelers - Accidentally Get In Each Other’s Way While Trying To Achieve The Same Goal

Mental Time Travel to Past - Sharing Body With Past Self

Mental Time Travel to Past - Replacing Past Self

Mental Time Travel to Past - Merging With Past Self

#exchange letters

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