#A day in the life of Rigel

[livingproofoftbd]

pitchfork anon rn

omg i love sandra oh

[aegoniipascal]

RIGEL WILDE (headcanons)

Warning: fluff 🥰

When you met him:

• You saw Rigel Wilde at the first day he had attended to school along with his stepsister, Nica. All you knew that they were new both new in this town.

• the first time you actually met him. When you were sitting down in photography class, the teacher made him sit next to you since only available chair next to you.

• As class began and the teacher began speaking to the students. You were paying attention to the teacher speaking not know Rigel was watching you.

• Next day, you went to school and were walking down the hall to your locker. When a football boy bumping into you knocking all of your books to the ground. The footballers laughs walking past you as one of them kicks one of your books. You sighs and knees down to picks up the books, you picked up the books. Then all of sudden, see a book right in front of your face and you looked up to see Rigel. Smiling at you. You thanked him.

When you & Rigel hangout:

• The day that you dropped your books and helped by Rigel was the best day of your life because that day you and became friends.

• Rigel had never been to the movie theater before because he was raised in an orphanage and never been out. You took him to see a scary movie but you kept on jumping on every time jump scared. You calm down when Rigel had his hand on your thighs to calm down and put your hand on top of his.

• He loved going to the movies and seeing the horrors movies because he would comfort you when you got scared.

• you guys go to the movie theater every Friday after school.

• “I think it was a bad idea taking to the movie theater.” You told him.

• “Really? Because I fucking love it.” Rigel smile in respond.

When he asks you to be his girlfriend:

• You and Rigel have know each other for 5 months and got along fine. Every single day he would wait for you at your locker with a strawberry and banana milkshake from your favorite café.

• At your photography class, you were sitting next to Rigel. You listening to your teacher when Rigel whispered into your hear telling you if you wanted to hangout with him. Of course you told him yes.

• Rigel took you out to the beach that was 30 minutes away from the town. He did not peak a word to you as you begged him to tell you but said nothing to you.

• He had both of his hands on top of your eyes covering it up from your view. Rigel guided you towards the picnic, he had Nica set it up for him.

• Once Rigel’s hand takes off from your eyes see that you were at beach and see a picnic set up in front of the sunset. You were surprised by this and you loved. He saw how much you loved and gave him much hope.

• You guys were enjoying the food that he had made for himself and you. He had made your favorite which was a simple tuna melt sandwich with a sprite soda.

• “Be my girlfriend.” Rigel blurted out as you look up at him away from the sun.

• “What?” You wanted to make sure that’s what Rigel said to you. He repeated what he had previously said to you.

• You nodded your head yes and jumped on his lap and Rigel smiled at his new girlfriend not regretting it what he had did. He leaned in and kissed you in the lips. Your soft lips against his and it’s was prefect.

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[car-sounds]

Hi! I would like to request a headcanon about how would arcana twilight characters express their love in daily life. Thank you:) I love your headcanons!

How They Show Their Love

FIRST HEADCANONS ON THIS ACCOUNT (Sorry this took a while(to the other person who sent a request I'm working on it don't worry))

Main Arcana Twilight cast (+Rigel) x reader

2nd person

1062 words

Arcturus 

I think Arcturus shows his love with homemade gifts and words of affirmation. 

He believes handmade gifts are the most meaningful and likes to give them as a way of showing his dedication to you.

The most common type of these gifts are things he's knitted for you, usually socks and sweaters.

He also gives you compliments and encouragement as much as possible throughout the day.

He doesn’t care how small an accomplishment seems; he's always ready to tell you he's proud or that you did a great job.

He also likes receiving encouragement from you and makes sure to thank you with a big smile and a little kiss.

He can be very busy at times but always tries to use guide committee duties to spend time with you by asking for your assistance.

Other than your lips his favorite place to kiss you is your cheek or the tip of your nose.

Alpheratz 

Alpheratz shows his affection mainly through physical touch.

Throughout the day whenever he gets close enough, he leans against you, draping his body against yours (if you’re shorter than him or when you’re sitting down then he likes resting his chin on your head).

If you aren’t the biggest fan of this physical affection he tones it down to something you’re comfortable with.

He’s shown you all his napping spots, and when you’re not busy he asks you to nap with him.

If you do agree to join him then he pulls you in as close as possible into his chest and makes sure you’re comfortable before dozing off.

He likes giving you little kisses favorite places other than your lips are your nose and the top of your head.

Other than physical touch another one of his love languages is gift-giving.

He insists on fully paying for every date, only letting you pay if you beg him to let you pay.

Anything you express interest in buying is purchased by him immediately, no matter the cost.

Spica

Taking time out of his busy days to spend time with you.

Even when he has mountains of paperwork to complete he makes sure to spend a portion of his day on giving you the attention you deserve.

On a less busy day, he takes you on full dates.

On the busier days, he makes sure to be by your side giving you bits of physical touch and praise.

He's not the best at directly expressing his affection for you.

He prefers showing you through acts of service and gift-giving the most.

Helping you complete your assignments for Contell and giving you thought-out solutions to your personal problems.

He also gives you occasional gifts for no specific reason. Sometimes small like a snack he remembered you talking about, and sometimes a bigger gift like beautiful pieces of Jewelry. 

His favorite place to kiss you other than the lips is the back of your hand or the top of your head.

Sirius

Sirius’s preferred love languages are physical touch and quality time.

He constantly sneaks up right behind you to wrap his arms around you.

If you don’t like this he switches his greeting to something you both enjoy

He enjoys messing with you a lot.

Teases you about being interested in him even when you have been dating for a while.

Spends most of his free time around you, he likes to drape his body against you while he’s talking to you.

His favorite places to kiss you other than the lips are the top of your head and the back of your hand.

He’s in your room more than you are, he hangs out there like he owns the place and rushes to greet you at the door when you come back to your dorm.

Sirius is hesitant to be fully vulnerable with you and his cocky attitude is the best way he is able to show his love.

Vega

Vega’s favorite love languages are quality time and acts of service.

He feels the need to spend as much time together due to the fears he developed because of your pasts together.

Even if you’re interacting he wants to keep you by his side to ensure you’re protected.

Other than protecting you, he wants to make up for the time you two were separated.

His affection is mostly subtle and uses acts of service to show you how much he cares and is willing to help you.

Mostly favors like doing your laundry or running an errand, he wants to take on some of your tasks to minimize your stress.

He enjoys listening to your voice and encourages you to rant about anything on your mind for hours on end.

Always blushes and has a slight smile when you give him any kisses.

His favorite places to kiss you other than the lips are the back of your hand and forehead.

Pollux

I think Pollux prefers to show his love for you through quality time and physical touch.

He tries to spend as much of his day as possible around you.

You’ve heard from the others on numerous occasions that they’ve seen Pollux rushing around Contell asking anyone if they’ve seen you.

At first, people thought it was an emergency but after a while and after talking to you they realized he’s just being clingy.

Once he’s by your side it takes a lot for him to agree to leave your side. 

He really enjoys holding your hand, it makes him feel closer to you.

His favorite places to give you kisses other than your lips are your cheek or the tip of your nose.

He always tells you about his day and asks about yours making sure to show you he’s listening the whole time.

Rigel

I think Rigel’s love language would be an act of service.

Just like Spica, he doesn’t outwardly express his affection to you too often. 

He prefers giving you help with classwork and any work the guide committee has assigned to you.

If you pay attention to how he acts around others compared to how he acts with the other sorcerers he’s more laid back around you.

When you two are alone he’s still serious but smiles more often and gets a little bit more physically affectionate.

His favorite place to kiss you other than your lips is on your cheek.

(I don’t know much about him so sorry if he got mischaracterized)

[in1-nutshell]

TFA Rigel

Commission: @storytellerpotato Thank you for giving me permission to post this here!

Prompt: Hello! I'm very new to this, so I hope I didn't accidentally messed up. I saw you answer the question about you thinking of three options of TFA Rigel's fate in Transformers Animated. Can I request the option number 2? The one about TFA Rigel is left behind with Sentinel while Optimus and Elita is gone. Because since this universe rules is completely different from other universes, I want to try to break the rules of Rigel's fate in this universe this one time by having them not dying this time and get Rigel to have different relationships. Optimus, Sentinel, and Elita will always be their siblings, but I believe Rigel needs to grow as a person with different people. Rigel is in Sentinel's team and the team became Rigel's family. Rigel does love Sentinel as a brother, they really do, but they have low tolerance of Sentinel being rude to other people for no reason, especially Optimus. Rigel will definitely kick Sentinel's shin or scolding him if Sentinel went too far. I hope you don't mind Rigel and Optimus having a reunion on Earth by saving Optimus and his teams life by jumping off the building to land on Starscream to use him like a surf board to make him accidentally friendly fire the other Decepticons. That's all I can think of. If you want to put this in Tumblr, your free to do whatever you want with it. I definitely don't mind. Please and thank you! I hope you have a good day/night!

TFA

Rigel's fondest memories of the group were before the incident.

How they were all like during the early years of the Academy with big dreams to help other bots, kick Decepticon can and find some glory along the way.

Rigel remembered how Sentinel used to whine with them about studying classes only for Optimus to drag them both back to the library to meet up with Elita One. The faint memories of Sentinel and them sticking up for Academy students that didn't have a tight knit group to call their own. Someone needed to look out for those who needed help!

Optimus and Elita had entered one of the Academy's many common rooms. Both bots had spent the past couple of minutes looking for Sentinel and Rigel. The four of them were supposed to be studying, but the latter two never showed up.

"Where do you think they went off to? It's not like they could have gotten far, right?" Optimus asked while looking under one of the desks.

Elita was about to respond when she noticed someone else enter the room.

It was Sentinel.

The blue bot froze in place with a wide and nervous looking optics.

She crossed her arms and gave the bot a bit of a glare.

"And where have you been?"

The bot simply scratched the top of his helm, almost in a sheepish manner.

"Oh, you know Elita. Just going here and there."

Optimus and Elita looked at each other unimpressed.

Optimus sighed. "Fine, but have you seen Rigel?"

"Present!" Said the forced cheerful voice of Rigel.

Sentinel sighed in defeat before turning around. Rigel was stuck onto his back and waved.

"Hey Lita! Opti! How's it going?"

They remembered how Elita took the role of older sister with great pride. She would always nag them about armor and weapon care. Sure Optimus did that but that was treated as a suggestion. If aleta told them to do it then it might as well have been an order from Ultra Magnus himself. Rigel remembered how much she loves seeking for new and interesting things to do after studies were done. Elita loved it when they walked with her around the academy in search of anything new.

Elita and Rigel were walking down one of the many Halls of the Acadamy. Normally it would have been the entire group but Sentinel and Optimus had their Prime exams. Elita and Rigel didn't have those exams since they did not go through the same program.

" How do you think they are going to do?" Rigel asked while stretching a servo upward.

Elita shrugged a bit. "They'll do fine."

Rigel rolled their optics.

"We know that, but who do you thinks going to do better? My shanix is on Optimus."

Elita smirks. "He'll do great on the written portion but sentinels got it on the physical examinations."

Rigel matched her smirk.

"10 shanix says that Optimus wipes the floor with Sentinel in both exams."

"Deal."

They remembered their big brother Optimus. The only family member they had ever known and their biggest protector. Rigel had a habit of finding trouble with their little chaotic and energetic nature, so it was a good thing they had Optimus around when things got a bit too out of hand. Of course they would never intentionally get their brother into any harmful situations, but if a situation happened where rigel did get hurt, Optimus would surely be there to defend them with everything he had. With Optimus acting as thier tired bodyguard Rigel made sure to try and help him on different fronts. Mainly with his self-esteem and sparring skills. The prime would help with the written stuff in life while Rigel handled the talking.

Optimus grown tiredly on his desk. This study session was particularly brutal, but he wasn't even halfway finished. It was at that moment when rigel walked into the room silently and sighed.

"Opti? You still online?"

The new Prime just groaned tiredly again.

Suddenly a pair of servos wrapped around his waist and then was tossed over someone's shoulder. The shoulder of a very annoying younger sibling that would not let him finish studying!

"Rigel! Put me down!"

Rigel just hummed the small tune using one servo to study their brother and the other to fix the study material for the next day.

"Rigel! Are you even listening to me?! Put me down!"

Rigel continues to ignore him and marches to their shared quarters and tosses him onto the berth. Optimus was too tired to even try and get back up. Not that that would have done him any good Rigel was still there and ready to push him back down.

He glared at their siblings knowing smirk with closing optics.

"Mhmm... You're a real pain in the tailpipe... It's going to take forever--" He was cut off by his own yawning. Slowly feeling his limbs and frame relaxing into the berth.

Rigel patted they're now sleeping brother's helm.

"Love you too, Opti."

All happy memories.

Then the incident happened...

All starting when a potential team had reached out for Rigel to join their ranks.

As much as rigel boasted about potentially meeting new friends, the other saw clear uncertainty. Not to mention they had the same anxious look Optimus would get.

The trio made sure to help Rigel unwind and make them feel good.

They remembered the hugs and good luck pats they had gotten right as they boarded the ship.

The group of bots on the new team were respectful and worked as a good team. Though Rigel could tell immediately that all this was just for work that no one wanted to get to know one another on a deeper level than a simple. 'How was your day?'

A couple days on the ship passed when they received the call.

A call straight from Ultra Magnus himself.

It was about Elita, Optimus and Sentinel.

The bot stayed quiet until the call ended, waited a few minutes before requesting to head back to the Academy. Their captain was aware that this must have been some serious news. The normally chipper bought looked like someone had just told them the Cons won the war.

Rigel would eventually confront Sentinel and Magnus about the situation. Not fully believing that this was happening. They don't remember much of what happened in that office. Just their voice box feeling raw and holding on to Sentinel like their life depended on it.

It would be a couple years before Rigel would return to something almost like their normal self. Sentinel often noticed a smile on their face, not quite reaching their optics or the desperate attempts to call Optimus late in the night. He had tried to tell them that their calls were pointless in which he received Rigel's first ever death glare and decided not to do that again.

Seeing as he was getting his own team, Sentinel made sure to pull some strings and cash in some favors to make sure that Rigel was a part of it. It was the both of them against the world. Now they had to stick close.

Rigel was fine with the new position. They got to be with Sentinel and meet some new bots. Though it did have some drawbacks.

Over the years, Sentinel's ego had gotten bigger than his asteroid size chin and had made it a nasty habit to make fun of others and let the power of the Prime ranking get into his processor. Rigel was not afraid to openly criticize or slap the bot in public if he was doing something dumb or offensive.

What was Sentinel going to do? They were The unofficial official Sentinel translator and the only bot that he could fully stand.

That wasn't even mentioning the team would petition that they stay as well. Those bots are not letting the only other functioning bot that can make Sentinel a bit tolerable leave!

Rigel made quick friends within Sentinel's crew.

Blurry was the first spot Rigel met on the ship.

The speedsters high energy was something that worked right along with their energetic personality quite well.

They were one of the few bots that could get about 90% of what the blue bot talked about. A feat that not many bots had under their servos even the ones who had worked with him for years. Rigel could respect Blurr's speedy methods and attitude to more stiff bots.

... But they were definitely not the bot who decided to give Blurr a dozen caffeinated energon cubes at one time.

You can't prove anything!

The Jettwins were the latest members to be recruited on the team.

It was also Rigel's meeting with the twins that karma kicked them in the undercarriage. They were certain that these spots were there to remind them of just how much pain they put Optimus through with their shenanigans.

But by the Allspark they did love the twins enough not to pummel them into the ground.

Jazz was their favorite from the team.

He's cool and calming manner. Reminded them painfully of Optimus but at the same time had a bit of a flare. Something Rigel couldn't help but admire in the bot. Working in communications and as a messenger bot meant that many of their jobs intertwined. Not to mention that Jazz also had a gift of cooling Sentinel down a bit.

Jazz was on the top five list of bots Rigel would trust with their life.

The day Rigel came to Earth was after the crew had been there a couple times. They would have been there since the beginning but unfortunately events involving Jetfire, Jetstorm, a dare, and some thick green engex made them stay behind.

They did find it weird that the crew was not allowed to speak about Earth even more when Sentinel forbade them from exiting out of the ship. Rigel brushed it off as him being overprotective and that being on an organic planet brought up bad memories.

But all caution was thrown out the window as soon as they received a call from Jazz for backup.

A backup plan that involved Rigel launching themselves off a building and straight onto Starscream's back.

Jazz was cheering while both Prime's looked at the bot in the air and panic.

It took a few more seconds before. Rigel would finally drive the seeker straight into the ground and cuff his servos.

They had such a wide smile, happy to finally do something.

But the smile immediately fell the second they noticed who was there.

" Optimus?"

That voice.

It was the same voice rigel used when they had had a nightmare and needed someone to talk to.

"Optimus!"

Rigel broke into a Sprint and practically launched themselves straight into the Prime's arms.

Optimus nearly fell back but his footing saved him. Rigel tightly held on to him as a prime quickly reciprocated the gesture.

"Rigel... I'm--"

Rigel just squeezed tighter a silent message to talk about... well everything later.

Right now?

Right now, it was just for hugging.

An act that Optimus did not mind one bit.

[melsie-sims2]

Everett Family, Year 27

The start of the day, which included breakfast, was pretty late for Kade and Mallory, as their schedule was more nocturnal than the rest of the 'hood.

After discussing it with her partner over bowls of cereal, Mallory opened up her laptop and sent Mayor Martinez some funds so that she could open up the new community center. It wasn't a lot, since they'd just upgraded the house last rotation, but it was 100 simoleons more than Daniela would've had otherwise.

Then it was time for the toddlers to take a nap. Honestly, these kids are so much easier to deal with than the Frasers'. I'm even more excited because Iris will be aging up into a child at 6PM tonight!

The rest of the afternoon was more or less uneventful. Mallory worked on an article so that she could raise her cleaning skill and make some simoleons, while a fully rested Kade went ahead and started teaching Rigel how to walk.

We've got another kid in Melacoo River to mingle with the rest of the 2nd generation! Iris aged up and she's a total nerd like both her parents. I do think she'll end up taking after her dad when it comes to looks though, although I have yet to do a proper side by side to compare.

Mallory had some cupcakes from Ella's Bakery in her inventory so the girls celebrated Iris' birthday with some slightly stale but still delicious baked goods! After that, Iris hung out with her little brother, teaching him how to play with blocks... her favorite activity when she was his age.

Iris' sleep schedule is just as out of sync as her parents', so at 1AM she was wide awake reading a book. At least she'll have all of Sunday to try and get back on track before starting school. The whole family will probably have to do the same so they can live a more normal life.

Just as I was about to give up on an alien abduction for this generation (I told myself this would be the last all-nighter!) Kade ended up getting abducted! 6AM rolled around and he was still gone... so we'll find out next rotation whether or not it resulted in an alien pregnancy!

[four-toast]

omg two one shots in one day? someone drank a lot of coffee today lol

Wild Thing

The morning sun slanted in through the faded curtains of the flat, casting golden streaks across the floor. In the kitchen, Evan stood, sipping his tea and staring blankly at the counter. In the living room, Barty was crouched down, looking under the sofa, coffee table, and armchairs for Nessa’s second shoe. “Why is it always just one?” he muttered. “Doesn’t matter what I do, one shoe’s always missing.”

Nessa was sitting cross-legged on the coffee table, watching her father with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “I don’t need shoes, Daddy. They’re feet prisons! My feet want to be free!”

Barty turned with a brow raised. “Nessa, did you hide your other shoe?”

She giggled. “Maybe…”

He narrowed his eyes on her. “Bug,” he said slowly, “where’s your shoe?”

She lay down on her stomach, kicking her feet in the air.

“Bee, she’s down a sock too,” Evan groaned, setting his tea on the counter and heading into the living room.

“Maybe it went on an adventure. Maybe my shoe convinced it to run off and start a new life where it didn’t have to be on my feet all day.”

Evan walked over to the sofa and lifted the cushions as Barty checked behind the curtains. “Well, they’ve got to be here somewhere,” Evan said.

Barty came out from behind the curtain, clutching the discarded sock. “Aha!” he smiled. He threw the sock at Evan, who caught it and turned it inside right. “Now, if I can only find the shoe, we’ll be good to go.”

“We don’t have time for this. First appointment’s at nine and Reg’ll be here any minute.”

As if on cue, a sharp rapping came at the window. A sleek, dark owl sat perched on the sill. Barty opened the window with a sigh and untied the parchment from its leg. His eyes skimmed the elegant handwriting.

“What’s it say?” Evan asked, pulling Nessa’s newly found sock onto her foot.

“Dear Evan and Barty, it is with deep regret and a throbbing sense of despair that I write to inform you that I am presently incapacitated by what I can only describe as a most treacherous and all-consuming illness. Whether it be Bowtruckle Flu, Scrofungulus, or Merlin forbid, Dragon Pox, I do not know. What I do know is that I awoke this morning in a state of alarming fragility: feverish, pale, and weak.

“Adella has, with stern efficiency, quarantined me. Rigel was quite looking forward to playing with Nessa today, and I have the slightest feeling he’s a bit upset with me. He’s slipped a few letters under the door, but Adella’s forbidden me from getting out of bed. When she comes in next, I’ll ask her to retrieve them for me.

“In short, I am indisposed. Horribly so. I know how much Nessa loathes coming to the shop with you, but I’m afraid you’ll have to take her. I would offer my apologies, but with the egregious acts you two subjected me to in our youth, I’m afraid I feel you deserve what’s to come.

“Please give Nessa my regards. In pitiful isolation, R.A.B.

“P.S. Adella sends her love. And she insists I “stop being dramatic” before she doses me with a sleeping draught.

“P.P.S. Rigel is indeed upset with me. I suppose we’ll have to set something up if I survive this.”

“Merlin, that’s dramatic. Even for him. Adella’s a strong woman. Don’t know how she does it,” Evan laughed. But suddenly, a hush fell over the room.

Nessa’s expression darkened, and she stood on top of the table. She balled her tiny hands into fists. “Uncle Reg can’t be sick! He promised he’d watch me! He promised!”

“I know. But sometimes things happen, sweetheart. How would you feel if Auntie Cas or Auntie Dora watched you instead?” Evan said, lifting her off the table and into his arms.

Her eyes narrowed. “I. Want. Uncle. Reg.”

“Nessa, he’s sick. You don’t want to catch whatever he has.”

“Not to be the bearer of bad news, but Cas works nights on the weekends. She probably just got off and is exhausted. And Dora’s doing research in Romania. She’s going to have to come with us,” Barty said, eyeing Nessa with a hint of fear.

Nessa’s lower lip began to tremble, and Barty watched as her eyes filled with righteous, tearful fury. She clutched Evan’s shirt in both fists, then twisted free, dropping to the floor.

“I WON’T GO!” she shrieked, her voice echoing through the flat. “YOU PROMISED I WOULDN’T HAVE TO GO WITH YOU AGAIN! AND UNCLE REG PROMISED WE’D PLAY! EVERYONE’S LYING TO ME!”

“Nessa, love-” Evan tried, but she was already launching herself onto the sofa, flinging a throw pillow at him. Evan ducked just in time. The pillow whooshed past his ear and thumped against the wall.

“Oh good,” he muttered. “We’ve entered the projectile stage.”

Barty took a hesitant step forward. “Nessa, I know you’re disappointed-”

“I’VE BEEN BETRAYED!” she roared. “IF YOU REALLY LOVED ME, YOU WOULDN’T MAKE ME GO!”

“Nessa,” Evan said through gritted teeth, “you can’t stay here alone. We’re fully booked today, so you have to come. I know you don’t want to. Daddy and I usually try not to schedule this many appointments in one day so one of us can stay with you. But we scheduled these appointments when we still thought you were going to be with Uncle Reg, alright? We can’t cancel this many appointments just because you’re upset. We have bills to pay.”

“NO!” she wailed as she rolled off the sofa and onto the floor. She reached under the sofa and pulled out her previously missing shoe, and threw it at Barty. “Bills are grown-up problems! I’m just a kid!” Her face was streaked with tears as she curled into a ball.

Barty caught the shoe. “I swear I checked under there,” he muttered to himself. “Alright, that’s it,” he said, walking over to her and sitting beside her. “Nessa Rose Crouch, if you don’t get off the floor, I’ll write to Uncle Reg and tell him you’re not behaving.”

She gasped, sitting straight up. “You wouldn’t!”

“I might. I might even tell him that you threw things at us. He certainly won’t be pleased. Might not want to play with you anymore.”

Nessa’s jaw dropped. “Daddy! Don’t!” She turned to Evan, a look of betrayal filling her eyes. “Papa…”

Evan crouched down beside them, running a hand down her back. “Bug, we love you so much. But there’s nothing we can do. We want Uncle Reg to get better, don’t we? As soon as he’s feeling better, you can go over and see him and play with Rigel, deal?

“Fine,” she sniffed. “But I’m not wearing shoes. I’ll wear socks, but the feet prisons are staying here.”

Evan and Barty exchanged an exasperated look. “You know what, I don’t even care. That’s fine. Now come on, we’re going to be late,” Barty sighed, picking her up. “Ev, will you throw some toys and crayons into her bag? I’ll handle snacks, and then we’ll leave.”

“Already on it,” Evan said, standing.

After a few minutes, they were finally ready to leave. “Alright, Ness, who are you disapparating with? Me or Papa?” Barty asked, handing the bag of snacks to Evan to put in Nessa’s bag.

She thought for a moment. “Daddy. Papa always almost drops me.”

“That was one time,” Evan protested. “And you weren’t holding on tight enough.”

Nessa stuck her tongue out. “Daddy’s never done that.”

“Alright, you win. I’m not arguing about this,” Evan sighed. “Meet you there?”

“Yeah.”

With a pop, they left the flat, and within seconds, the family stood in front of the shop, nestled behind The Leaky Cauldron. 

“Daddy, why don’t we ever go there?” Nessa asked, pointing to the pub.

“Ness, the last time I went in there, you showed up on our door mat nine months later. Don’t need that happening again,” Barty replied, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the key.

Evan nearly choked. “BARTY!”

“What?” Barty said innocently, unlocking the door. “She asked.”

“She’s five!”

Nessa, unfazed and clearly intrigued, narrowed her eyes. “Wait. Did you buy me there? Did I cost money?”

Evan groaned. “Inside. Now!”

Barty stepped inside, still holding Nessa. Once he turned on the lights, he set her down on the counter. Nessa crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes in fierce curiosity. “You still haven’t answered,” she said, chin tilted upward. “Did I cost money?”

Evan locked the door behind him. “No, love, of course not.”

“Well,” Barty said, tossing the keys on the counter, “technically-”

“Don’t,” Evan warned, slapping a hand over Barty’s mouth.

Barty licked his palm.

“Ugh, why are you like this?” Evan muttered, wiping his hand on his trousers.

“So,” Nessa said, kicking her socked feet against the wood, “how did I get here?”

“We told you. You showed up on the door mat,” Evan said, clearly hoping she’d take this answer and stop asking questions.

“But I came from somewhere. Boys can’t have babies,” she laughed. “Auntie Adella has a baby in her tummy. So that’s probably how Rigel got here too. But I don’t have a mummy. I have a daddy and a papa. So, where did I come from?”

Evan and Barty exchanged a long look. They knew it was only a matter of time before this question would come up, but they’d hoped it would still be a few years down the road. Evan sighed and leaned against the display case while Barty ran a hand through his hair. 

“Nessa,” Barty began, “you’re right. Boys can’t grow babies the way girls can. And I didn’t buy you.”

“Okay…”

“You came from someone very kind. Someone Daddy didn’t know very well, but who gave us the most amazing gift in the world,” Evan said, watching her expression carefully.

“But how did I get to you?” she asked, her brow furrowing. “Was it an owl?”

Barty snorted. Evan shot him a glare. “Well, Daddy made a mistake. A big one.”

Barty leaned against the counter so he was at her eye level. “A long time ago, there were a lot of really bad things going on in the world. I was really sad and lost, and sometimes when people are sad, they don’t make the best choices. I made one of those not-best choices, and I didn’t know it would lead to you. But it did. And when Papa found you outside the door, he brought you inside and decided we were keeping you. Just like that.”

Nessa stared at Barty, chewing on her lip as she took it all in. Her eyes flickered from his face to Evan’s, then back again.

“So… you made a bad choice, and then I happened?” she asked slowly.

Barty nodded. “That’s right. I didn’t mean for it to happen, not at all. But sometimes, bad things turn out good.”

Evan stepped in. “What Daddy means, sweetheart, is that you weren’t planned, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t want you.”

Nessa tilted her head. “But how’d I get in the tummy if you didn’t plan me?”

A long pause.

“Well,” Barty said, glancing at Evan helplessly, “when two grown-ups spend time together—very special time—sometimes a baby can happen afterward. Even if they didn’t mean for one to.”

She smiled and wrapped her arms around Barty’s neck. “Even if I was an accident, I think I’m the good kind.”

Barty scooped her up. “Oh, you most definitely are the good kind. And as much as I’d love to continue this conversation, we’ve got to open. How about you go sit in our office? We’ll get you a snack and you can colour. How does that sound?”

“Daddy, I don’t want to sit in the office. Can I watch you work? Pretty please? I promise I’ll be good.”

Barty took a deep breath. “Alright, but you’ll have to sit still and listen, okay?”

“I’m the best listener!”

“Sure you are, Ness,” Evan laughed.

Barty plopped her down on a chair, and he and Evan began getting everything in order before the first customer arrived. 

“You know she’s not going to stay there, right?” Evan whispered.

“Oh, I know. But hey, she’s not throwing a fit, so I’ll take it.”

--

I didn't plan on writing this today, but I can't stay away from Nessa for too long lol.

I'm taking one shot requests, so if you want something specific, drop it in my ask box (or if you just wanna say hi, that's cool too!)

[pxrfaitgirlz]

PAPERAPPLE FIC (ahem @rottmeltson @capy-123rs)

This city was cruel, and Skipp knew it well.

His positive and joyful demeanor lead others to assume that he was naive to the devils living inside Ramshackle, but those individuals were sorely mistaken. Being the oldest of his group, Skipp had seen behind every locked door and curtain. He witnessed how parents would make their children practice for pageants or recitals till they vomited on the cherry hardwood floor. He had witnessed how parents who were previously elated to have a baby would drop the child off on the side of the road simply because they weren’t a boy. 

He wasn’t stupid, he just chose to be positive instead of sulking over the depravities of the fucked up city they lived in. Yeah, the things that the rich people to do to pad their pockets is cruel, but it’s better to live in the moment than grieve the past. Everyone was allowed to have emotions and feel sad except him but that just wasn’t his flavor of life.

Now does that mean he’s going to put on his rose-tinted glasses and turn a blind eye whenever he sees a victim in need? Absolutely not.

When Skipp saw bloodied papers leading down into a dark and gloomy alleyway, he didn’t walk by and go on with his day snatching stray apples from merchants, he went in and investigated.

“Hello!” Skipp shouted, putting his hand up next to his mouth in hopes of making himself more audible. His worried voice echoed and bounced off the tight brick walls of the alleyway. “Is anyone in here? Are you hurt?” Skipp could vaguely hear quiet muttered curses, and followed after that loud footsteps clacking away. Maybe it was a gang, in that case, Skipp wouldn’t get involved.

Well, until his mom friend instincts kicked in when he heard a loud crash.

He rushed towards the sound, and finally, the dark gloom of the alleyway faded away to uncover the mysterious person, no, people, that may or may not have been hurt or hurt someone.

It was two boys, without a doubt being twins based off their appearances. Black oily hair, piercing teal eyes, same skin color and eye shape, hell, they even dressed similarly. In Stone’s words, they had perfectly matched phenotypes. One of them, the one wearing an old brown hat, was down on the floor, kneeling. That’s probably where that crash was from. He had a big scar on the side of his face, and it was bleeding. The other boy who did not don a hat had a bundle of newspapers clutched in his fists with blood stains on them.

“What happened?” Skipp looked between the two boys, who were frozen in shock. His eye turned to the one holding the crimson stained paper. “Did you hurt him?”

“What? No!” The boy vehemently shook his head. “Some dude got mad about the markup on the papes and hit him. I was trying to apply pressure to the wound with the spare newspapers we bought.”

“Yeah, just go ahead and tell ‘em everything, Rigel, like that won’t affect us negatively.” The boy who laid on the floor sneered. He got up, wobbly however, leaning one arm against the wall. His brother shot a glare at him. “And you just told him my name, Cen. Maybe watch your mouth before you go bitching off at me for trying to save your ass.”

“Okay, let’s not fight.” Skipp laughed nervously. He despised watching people fight, that’s why he always hated it when his parents did. He peeled off his scarf from around his neck, then handing the thick neckwear to the hurt boy, no, Cen, that was his name. “This material should be thick enough to work as a bandage. You don’t need to apply pressure to it because it’s not bleeding out enough for it to be necessary, but it’s good to keep it covered so you don’t risk infection, because those can get expensive, and based off your attire I assume you’re a Scrap like me and you don’t have money to pay for medical bills.”

Cen took the scarf, while, Rigel, yes, that’s his name, turned to look at Skipp with a vague look of gratitude. “Okay.. well thanks. Won’t you need your scarf back?” Well he wasn’t wrong. Vinnie wouldn’t be happy knowing he just gave his scarf away like that, especially without asking for money compensation for it. 

“Keep it as long as you need. But my name is Skipp, and I live down in the slum alleyways, the one near the farmers market out next to Dante’s Bar. Just return it to me then.” Skipp nods, turning to smile at Cen, who weirdly looked away for a second. With that, he turns around and walks out the alleyway, his ginger hair bouncing with every step, slowly fading out of sight.

Meanwhile, the two twin Newsies stood there. Cen’s gaze lingered on Skipp, watching how the boy walked so happily as if he hadn’t just helped them out big time. He replayed the moment in his head when Skipp smiled at him nearly a thousand times, fanboying over how his sunkissed freckled cheeks crinkled, and how his teeth slightly peeked out his mouth. 

He brung the red scarf up to his face. It smelt like sunshine and apples.

“…Cen you fucking homo.”

“Shut the hell up Rigel.”

[heyhopperart]

I don't want to celebrate just a day..

Let's have a nice couple of hang outs here and there with dear friends! A picnic in the wide open Steppes for a start! 💙

If only we could all do this in real life!

@cosmiconix @moonlightchild358 @rigel-kentauruus

[thegreatyin]

(continuing on from this post)

as @stygeanbluebasilsprout demands; a brief elaboration on the briefest hints of what's going on with those funny bird guys i posted earlier today. you're all not welcome.

the world of APF takes place on a planet known as mimue. mimue is home to six continents, though only three of said continents are actually relevant to the main plot.

as legend goes, sanctus and requies were once involved in a bitter and bloody war. what caused it, what stirred it on and on, nobody knows for sure. but the casualties were immense. had it come to a natural conclusion, the face of the world would've likely been rendered unrecognizable. and it was! but, well... not because the war came to that conclusion. no. it came to something far, far different.

in the last second of the last battle of the last siege, just before requies triumphed over sanctus, an angel descended from the heavens and called the fighting to a standstill. it called for peace. it called for love. it called for the two rulers of the two nations to kneel. and kneel they did!

and, in exchange for an end to the fighting, this enigmatic angel blessed the world with magic and glory.

the blessing is a controversial topic among mimue historians, but what cannot be argued is the ramifications it's had on the world as everyone knows it. since the angel's departure, magic has become a part of everyday life on mimue. clothes, food, transportation- everywhere you look, the angel has left its mark. and nowhere is magic more prosperous than the not-even-remotely-humble country of arboret, founded some two hundred years after the beginning of the end of the old world.

since its very inception, arboret has been ruled by the careful hand of head monarch rigel alphoris orionis, alongside four inmortal nominees of his own choosing. it is the world's only oligarchy, the undisputed capital of magical research and prosperity, a grand forest of wonder and power without limits. arboret, they say, prides itself and its people above all else- those chosen by the angel, those loved by it more than anything- and damn all who stand in the upstart nation's way.

it is also extremely, flagrantly, horrifyingly ableist. but that's a suitcase for another day.

in the case of OCs, specifically, the subjects of the snippet i showed are the five oligarchs at arboret's helm. they are, in order of election:

Head Monarch Rigel Alphoris Orionis, the founder of everything arboret has to offer, the strongest person alive, the oldest being alive, the evil quirked up white boy himself, etc etc, you've heard about him already

Second Monarch Betelgeuse Alphoris Orionis, rigel's spouse of a thousand years, a loud and boisterous warrior with a propensity for violence and an only mildly concerning habit of ignoring their own safety in the name of getting punched so hard they can't think straight

Third Monarch Pollux Gemino, a flippant and flirtatious dandy with an eye for fashion and an even greater eye for the inevitable march of time and how it slowly and meticulously takes away everything ey has and will ever love

Fourth Monarch Aldebaran Tauri, a perpetually exhausted and deeply resigned merchant with all the air of an underpaid salarywoman and all the patience of a catholic saint who's five minutes away from choking the devil out in cold blood

Fifth Monarch Fomalhaut Austrini, the nation's newest leader (having been elected only two years prior to present-day APF), an embodiment of everything arboret rejects and wishes it could push aside and leave to rot. his very existence is a controversial statement. he knows this. he takes pride in this. he won't let anyone stop him from using this to its absolute fullest. to this day, his presence on the throne inspires contempt and aggression, to which he responds in kind- how could he not, being the only one without magic in a country full of mages?

the arboretian oligarchy is, in its purest form, a deranged gang of weirdos who should not be trusted with any semblance of political power. it is also, in its slightly diluted form... something of a found family situation.

or so the head monarch supposedly thinks. all rumors that he's a little too sentimental about his fellow rulers are heresy and slander. because as far as he's concerned, the rest of them aren't sentimental enough.

as compensation for sitting through this incomprehensible summary that tells absolutely nothing while still revealing absolutely everything, here's two of the most important APF images of all time. you're very welcome.

feel free to ask for more details if you want!! i am happy to elaborate on literally anything mentioned here. it's pure unadulterated enrichment for my enclosure. and by that i mean please give me an excuse to talk about fomal because i think y'all would fucking love him if you knew what his full deal was. haha i mean. What

[okenki]

The Wrong Man

The Wrong Man is a webcomic that works as one page gags that also form a longer story ! I quickly really got into Rigel and his entourage, as everything goes wrong, every ray of optimism shines with hope and kindness. It is very heart-warming ! My favourite character is Orion, the supportive dad ! Slice of life AND silly jokes, I was immediately sold... !!

BeltofOrion's ability to make every character fun and compelling in short one page gag is great ! I always want to learn more and finding out little things as the story goes on is very fun !

After getting on the wrong plane, England born Rigel Adams finds himself floundering in unfamiliar America trying to make enough money for a flight back home. Follow the exploits of this nervous office worker as he stumbles his way through day to day activities that don't always go quite right in this silly short gag comedy!

you can read The Wrong Man HERE !

where to find more ?

Bluesky - https://bsky.app/profile/starkatstories.bsky.social Tumblr - https://www.tumblr.com/blog/starkatstories

I did a little Q&A with each artists, here is BeltofOrion's !

How do you get/gather ideas for your stories? Some of my ideas for the wrong man are inspired by things in my day to day life. I always enjoy character driven scenarios, so most of the time I put Rigel in a situation and see how he'd react in said situation. Sometimes Sterling as well, since they have an interesting and amusing dynamic together. What made you start the webcomic adventure? I started making short little comics for The Wrong Man in May 2020, when there wasn't really much else to do. I figured starting a webcomic would be a great way to practice and build up my digital art skills. Plus, I always enjoyed making short comics in school when I was young. An advice you think is important for the webcomic journey? Do not wait until you feel like you're good enough to make webcomics, the process is the practice that will help you improve over time! When I first started making Wrong Man comics, I used a mouse, which took a while to get adjusted to. To this day, I've still been making wrong man comics with a mouse, and I've made a lot of progress over the past 5 years! While making webcomics is a hobby of mine, my biggest hope for it is to brighten someone else's day with a silly cartoon guy. I appreciate the support! <3

---

thank you !! The Wrong Man definitely brighten my days !

[yesterdays-xkcd]

Interestingly, on a true vertical log plot, I think the Eiffel Tower's sides would really be straight lines.

Height [Explained]

Transcript

Caption: Top of observable universe.

[Black Hat is standing on top, throwing a black kitty down.] Black Cat: Mrowl!

[Map of the universe from observable universe to Earth. Each area of item is labeled. Labels left to right, up to down:]

(46 billion light years up) Hubble Deep Field Objects One billion light years: Great Attractor. Antennae Galaxies (colliding). Andromeda.

Holy crap lots of space.

One million light years: Magellanic Clouds. Edge of galaxy. Galactic center. Crab Nebula. Orion Nebula. Horsehead Nebula. Romulan neutral zone. The Pleiades, duh!. Rigel. Betelgeuse. Ford Prefect.

[Three arrows are pointing up above three lines labelled “expanding shell of radio transmissions”.] Edge of federation sector 0-0-1.

Pollux. Arcturus. Missing WMDs. Sirius. Barnard's Star. Alpha Centauri.

One parsec:

One light year: Oort Cloud (?). Bupkis. Comet which will destroy Earth in late 2063. Pioneer 10. Voyager I. Eris (All hail Discordia!). Pluto. (Not a planet. Neener neener.) Neptune. Uranus. Saturn. [Two arrows labelled “life” point to two moons, one next to Saturn and the other Jupiter.] Jupiter. Asteroids. Mars. Venus. Sun. Mercury. Spaceship Planet Express: Hey, a heaping bowl of salt! Spaceship Discovery One: Open the fridge door, Hal. Moon. Human altitude record (Apollo 13). 2nd place: Snoop Dogg. Space elevator - One of these days, promise! Geosynchronous Orbit. GPS satellites. Lunar lander: In retrospect, they shouldn't have sent a poet. I have no idea how to land. International Space Station. Space junk.

Official edge of space (100 km): Meteors.

1/10 ATM: High altitude balloons. Airliners. Shuttle Columbia lost.

1/2 ATM: Cory Doctrow [In an hot air balloon]. Everest. Helicopters (6000 m). Cueball: Woo Python!

[A vertical scale is drawn along the right side of the picture, starting at 1 km and getting progressively smaller and smaller.]

1 km. 800 m: Burj Dubai (~800 m). 500. 400. Eiffel Tower (325 m). 200. Kites. Great Pyramid (140 m). Pop fly. Redwood (115 m).

100m. Oak (20 m). A person in the oak: Hey squirrels! Tallest stilts. Brachiosaur (13 m). Giraffe (8 m).

[Megan and Cueball holding the kite are labeled:] Folks.

Title: The observable universe, from top to bottom: on a log scale.

Caption: Sizes are not to scale, but heights above the Earth's surface are accurate on a log scale. (That is, each step up is double the height.)

[theartkid15]

Little side idea I had bouncing around in my brain

Includes 📰🍏 Paper Apple 🍎 🗞️ for those interested

Anyway…………

Skipp, one of the crafty scraps in Ramshackle, has recently found a way to make homemade paper. How did he acquire this skill? Probably being stoned out of his mind and experimenting with whatever was near, and then waking up to find the final result in the morning.

Skipp has been trying hard to perfect this new found skill because he thinks it would be useful ( he just wants something to do to forget about how $h!t his life turned out to be-)

Skipp was doing it to give more resources to Vinnie and Stone, maybe using the paper as extra cushion between them and the cobble stone when they go to bed. But then Skipp realized this skill is more useful than he thought since he has a certain newsie boy as a boyfriend who likes art.

Now Cen like any respectable scrap ,steals most of the time to get his resources. But for a few months now, hasn’t been able to pull a fast one on the old lady at the art supply store, which has left him with very little and limited supplies for his hobby. He has been through this before, so Cen knows how to scrape by with barely anything by finding and foraging his own supplies. But drawing on the side margins of the newspaper gets old after so long.

Skipp, knows this and just how bummed out Cen is because he can’t exercise his full creativity. So Skipp does what he can. He makes several batches of homemade paper,he finds some sturdy cardboard in the back of a random alley, and traded some trinkets with Franzwick to obtain a spool of thread and a needle. With all that Skipp then assembles a one of a kind homemade sketchbook for Cen. The book is a little janky, some paper sticking out of the cover in odd angles and it looks like it’s gonna disintegrate at any moment but it was made with love and good intentions.

Skipp is kinda proud of himself with his handy work, and writes a sweet little note at the very back of the sketchbook for Cen. And that very same day Skipp is off to go deliver the gift to the newsie he loves so much.

The second Cen sees what Skipp has brought him, he is a little confused at first. But the more Skipp rambled on about why he made the gift, Cen almost exploded. Cen couldn’t wrap his mind around why Skipp would go through so much trouble just because he couldn’t snatch any new supplies from himself, but Cen was grateful anyway. Cen of course didn’t say he was so grateful, instead deciding to tackle Skipp to the ground like a lovesick fool before trying to act all nonchalant about it.

Later on Skipp continues to hand craft Cen little sketchbooks and even made Rigel a few notebooks for his poetry. Why? Because Skipp is a giver and Skipp is also dating Cen, so it’s in his best interest to stay on Rigel’s good side.

Thats it, this idea was bouncing around my head for awhile now and I wanted to get it write it down before I forgot it. I just thought it was a cute idea, and Cen and Rigel have been on my mind lately, so I guess Rott’s newsie propaganda is working.

Anyway, love ya!!

- ✨🪻🌙🪐💫☀️⭐️💜🔮

[karasbroken]

I'm American, so on top of work being very high pressure at the start of the year, my nation is in the throes of massive, toxic change. The desire to flee into fandom is there, but the energy to write posts or stories has been lacking. So apologies for not keeping up with my usual Farscape dithering.

But I did manage to write a whole scene over the last couple days. Small, and pointless, but complete. So I thought I'd share, even a day late.

Setup is that Aeryn and John have landed on a random planet because John wanted to and they're now walking down to the shoreline of a purple sea. The planet doesn't have a moon, so it doesn't have large wave activity (in addition to spinning faster than the Earth and other features that don't matter).

The beach, when they arrived, was even less impressive than it had looked at a distance. A wide flat plain of sand that sucked at their boots, with water streaming in and out in slow oscillations that barely warranted the name of wave. 

The most interesting feature was a swarm of tall multi-legged insectoids traversing the shoreline. They proved to be robotic harvesters of some small, mud-dwelling creature, plucking them up, then storing or discarding them according to some unknown rubric. Like the airborne drones, the machines scattered at their approach, crept closer again after a micron, then resumed their work.

Aeryn scanned one of the rejected animals, whose red shells blended into the sands almost perfectly until overturned, revealing a mass of bright blue tendrils. Only Rigel would be able to eat it without exhaustive preparation. "Don't touch those," she commented over her shoulder. Their suits should withstand the acidity, but there was no reason to risk damage to hard to replace gloves. 

Crichton only grunted an acknowledgment. After a quick check that the water had a tolerably low alkalinity--corrosive, but only at a very slow rate--he had immediately waded quite a distance into the sea, seemingly intent on figuring out how far he could go before the water deepened. He was crouched down now, face denches from the surface.

"If you get your faceplate cracked by some attacking alien, I can't guarantee I'll be able to carry you back to your module before this air damages your lungs."

That got his attention. "Carry me?" He looked past her, in the direction of his module, only the top edge of it still in sight. "Could you really carry me that far?"

"If I had to. Don't make me have to."

"Don't be such an anxious skin protrusion." He slapped the water with one gloved hand, then scooped a little up in his palms, looking closely at it again. "There doesn't seem to be a large variety of aquatic animals here, and it's still too shallow for anything big. But I think I know why the ocean is purple."

"Skin protrusion?" Aeryn asked, apparently not coldly enough to reclaim his attention.

"It's algee! Single-celled, but the water is full of it."

Aeryn stooped down to stare at the water too, feeling foolish. It just looked purple to her. "I don't see anything."

"They're too small for the naked eye, but you can see them with the oculars. Man, I wish I had something to take a sample. I wonder if they're the same as Earth…"

It had never even occurred to Aeryn that the oculars could be used on something so small. That they could be used to magnify at all. She didn't remember any training on that. "Why do you need a sample?" she asked, trying to focus the oculars on the water, and only getting a closer view of the deep red sand beneath.

"Just to study. I'm no life scientist, but this stuff is interesting! And before you ask, no, not study to make medicine, or a weapon, or food. I just want to know how they work." John stood up straight again, gesticulating around him. "All this stuff, everything, all the time is a bizarre mixture of things I understand, that are familiar, like beaches and shell-fish and farms. And things that I don't. I know you're blind to the mysteries of the universe, but some of us like to see."

That felt like a pointed jab at her inability to focus the oculars, but she didn't respond, just pulled the medpack out of her belt pocket, janked out an empty syringe, and activated it to suck up some of the purple water. Then she handed it to him. "You have a sample, satisfied?"

"Uh… yeah." He took the syringe, holding it up to the sun, and shaking it a little. "Thanks."

"Don't lose it," Aeryn started wading back to the beach. "If we bring back some microscopic alien and get sick, Zhaan will need it to try to save us."

[four-loose-screws]

FE2 Novelization Translation - Book 2 Chapter 2 Part 6

If you would like to start from the beginning, read a missed part, etc., click here!

FE Game Script Translations - FE Novel Translations - Original FE Support Conversations

If you are interested in donating to support my work, please check out my Ko-fi here. Thank you!

———————————

Chapter 2: Battle at the Border

Part 6: Crux of Fate

“Please let me make it in time!!” Zeke urged his sacred horse to gallop as quickly as he could. 

The pieces of his horse’s golden chest armor violently hit each other, clanging loudly. 

His five Paladins were not far behind.

Finally, he saw piles of Witch corpses strewn all around him, confirming to him that Alm had indeed gone to Nuibaba’s mansion. Their horses’ hooves crushed the bodies beneath them as they continued on.

-

Zeke had no idea how long ago Alm left the village, as he had passed out on the floor of the hut.

When he came to, he saw the familiar faces of five of his Paladins, all inside the hut with him. “Emperor Rudolf chose the five of us himself, and ordered that we do as you say, Sir Zeke.”

Their words made him cry as hard as he ever had in his entire life, moved by their kindness and friendship. Them being here also confirmed that Emperor Rudolf had known all along that the person with the Brand was Alm, and his order meant that Zeke was to serve Alm.

Zeke thought, ‘Emperor Rudolf, as an extraordinary talent in politics and leadership, must have decided that Alm is the one person who can unify Valentia. He intends to hand Rigel over to Alm. It is most likely that Valentia would become a republic, but regardless of the final form of the new government, the monarchy would be abolished. Emperor Rudolf is probably expecting Alm to become a great leader, both in the best and worst of times. Just as I have always thought, he values Valentia being at peace.

‘And this war is likely a sacrificial operation carried out on purpose to remove the small armies that have come to power across each region of Rigel, and purge Rigel of its corruption. Jerome is the perfect example of one such army. Like a surgeon performing a surgery, Emperor Rudolf has chosen Alm as the best candidate for a successful operation.

‘If all of this is right, then I have no reason to have any doubts. There is nothing more for me to think about. It is my duty to protect Alm until all of this is over. That is what it means to be loyal to Emperor Rudolf!’ This explanation for everything also cleared his mind of the fear that he was living a cruel paradox. He would even be able to hold Tatiana in his arms once more when they one day reunited.

“We march to Fear Mountain!” Zeke ordered his Paladins. He wrapped several layers of cloth bandages around his abdomen to stop his bleeding, then immediately left the village.

-

The decision to call Nuibaba’s mansion as such must have been a bad joke by someone with a terrible sense of humor. Or perhaps it came to be because the people envied him a bit, living a lifestyle free of society’s worldly trappings. Regardless, even if it was meant to be sarcastic, it was still not a good joke in the slightest.

Nuibaba’s abode was not a mansion at all, but a stronghold in every meaning of the word. The summit of Fear Mountain was a very steep cliff, and walls characteristic of a stronghold stood all around it. The passageway built to make it up and down the mountain was made of stone, and looked just like a castle wall. It was so narrow it would be difficult for two horses to pass by each other, and it was built into a very steep incline that led straight to the front gate.

They traveled with Alm as their vanguard; followed by Clive, Mathilda, and Gray atop their horses; and Clair flying high in the sky on her falcon. Behind them, Lukas and Forsyth formed a wall around Tobin, Python, and Delthea. Before them, Nuibaba’s subordinates did not stand a chance. Cutting them down was easy, and defeating them took no effort, but when everyone thought of Nuibaba waiting for them and how much his Medusa spell was to be feared, no matter how simple it was to make their way through the waves of small fry, it was all meaningless.

No one knew what kind of spell Medusa truly was, though that was to be expected. It was said to be such a lethal spell that no one who witnessed it had ever survived to describe it. With its true form unknown, they had even more reason to be afraid.

The prominent theory proposed that it is a mind reversal spell. It reverses all of the target’s values, senses, instincts, and psychology to its polar opposite. Those trying to live will die, and those seeking help will be killed. The spellcaster would then instantly turn to stone, protecting themself from the screams of agony and hell on earth now surrounding them. If world peace could be achieved and maintained, then the Medusa spell would reverse it all, and summon an absolute hell from which none could escape.

‘Absolute hell? Does such a thing even exist? Having control over absolute hell would make Nuibaba akin to a god. Just what kind of Arcanist is he?’ Once they finally tore down the stronghold’s gate and invaded the hall of Nuibaba’s mansion, Alm finally learned the truth.

There were no pillars supporting the high ceiling, making the inner hall a completely wide open space. It was so empty that it would not feel strange if stars started to shine within the darkness of the ceiling. Beneath it was an equally endless floor made of stone tiles. And sitting atop the stone floor on his knees, without even a chair to help support him, was an old man. He looked like a scrap of paper fallen on a desolate road.

“Are you Nuibaba?” Alm asked, more to convince himself than anything. 

The old man did not look at all like an Archanist, much less the Nuibaba of legend. He did not even wear a holy man’s robes, but a simple white, long cloth. The only outwardly trait he had of a religious figure was his bald head, without even a single hair upon it.

However, Alm should have known that a weak appearance does not indicate that a person is also weak on the inside.

“Wind, sweep away my enemies!” Nuibaba suddenly cast an Excalibur spell, without drawing its sigil, nor even moving an inch from his place on the floor. 

The spell sliced open both Gray and Python’s dominant arms; and because none of Alm’s army had any warning of what was coming, none of them could hold their ground.

“Curse you!” Shouted Delthea as she lept out in front. 

Nuibaba immediately noticed that she was a magic Unit, and first tested out the basic Fire and Thunder spells on her. But Delthea was a prodigy so talented she had already mastered Aura, even at her young age. 

He knew exactly how she was aiming her spell, and stayed completely still to judge the distance between them. It was the distance needed for him to be within the target range of an Aura spell.

The sigil Delthea drew was indeed that of Aura. However, she was unable to complete its chant because the words Nuibaba spoke when he opened his mouth for the first time were so unexpected. 

“Cast it! Cast the light that killed your brother!” He said, and every single one of the Knights of Zofia heard him.

His heightened magical abilities allowed him to sense that no one had told her, and she did not yet know the truth - that she was her own brother’s killer.

Everyone looked at Delthea as she became ghostly pale.

“Wind, sweep away my enemies!”

The moment she faltered and failed to properly draw Aura’s sigil, Nuibaba cast another Excalibur spell. This time, she was unable to dodge, and it sliced open her shoulder before she collapsed to the ground. Just as he was about to attack a third time, Clair’s falcon glided through the hall and scooped her up.

Clair wrapped her arm around Delthea’s tiny body, while Delthea grabbed ahold of her falcon’s mane. And Delthea stared straight at Clair as the thunderous sounds of Excaliber’s winds blew around them.

“What did he say? What did he say?” Delthea mumbled multiple times to herself before she finally screamed, “He said I killed my brother!”

All Clair could do was hug her. Huger tight, and tell her to forget what she’d heard. “Just forget he ever said anything!” 

It was a cruel order. Telling her to forget was certain proof that the thing she was supposed to forget about was undeniably true.

Then, from beneath the falcon’s wings, they heard Nuibaba chant another spell. “Light, shine down upon my enemies!”

He was casting Aura. Its shards of light were so scorching hot that they could even burn a falcon’s wings, causing Clair’s mount to crash head-first against the stone floor.

-

“So this is the power of Medusa?!” Zeke thought as he rushed into the mansion. 

Such a statement was far from unbelievable.

In the middle of the room sat an old man who looked as if he was meditating, and scattered around him as if they were garbage he had tossed aside, was every member of the Newly Reborn Knights of Zofia. Even Alm was dyed crimson with his own blood.

“He’s breathing!” One of Zeke’s Paladins immediately jumped off his horse to examine the person nearest to him. It was Forsyth. Both his dominant arm and his back were sliced open, and his shoulders were heaving heavily. But he was alive, meaning that Nuibaba had yet to cast Medusa.

“You never see it coming… You move, and his magic will already be waiting for you…” Forsyth said. His face contorted in fear as he passed out, still gripping the Paladin’s arm.

“I will distract Nuibaba!” Zeke said. “All five of you will carry the Knights of Zofia out of here!” He gave his orders, then galloped his horse forward to stand right in front of Nuibaba.

If Nuibaba had acknowledged Zeke’s determination to fight him, he would have at least been the slightest bit shaken. Instead, he simply watched the Paladins carry off the Knights of Zofia as they desperately clung to their lives.

“I have come to confirm with my own body just what kind of spell Medusa is!” Zeke said as his sacred horse, fully adorned in the suit of armor bestowed upon the mount of a Gold Knight, snorted and smashed the stone tiles beneath them with his front hooves. I will survive your magic, so that none will be afraid of you ever again. I will prove once and for all whether or not absolute fear exists in this world. Prepare yourself!” Zeke gripped his horse’s reins.

Nuibaba did not move even an inch. He thought that Zeke was being quite honorable.

Nuibaba had plotted together with Jerome. Based on that, Zeke knew exactly what kind of person he probably was. However, Nuibaba did not ask a single question about why Zeke had switched sides; and now that they were facing off as enemies, he simply stared back, proving his reputation as the proud Arcanist general.

The moment Zeke’s horse took a single step forward, wind blew past them. His cheek was cut for the first time ever in his life. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a spurt of blood fly past him. His horse flinched. Zeke pulled his reins to reprimand him for doing so. 

“Do not insult me with a spell like Exaclibur!” Zeke shouted, and took another step forward. 

A ball of light exploded, signaling that Nuibaba had cast an Aura spell. It was a direct hit against his horse’s armor. The grating sound of thousands of light shards scraping against metal echoed through the air. He felt the back of his neck become hot. Half of his uniform’s collar blew away.

“Why won’t you cast Medusa?!”

By the time he spoke those words, Nuibaba was already directly beneath him. Nuibaba raised his head just enough to look at Zeke from the side. His eyes were mocking the Gold Knight. 

The sight of them made Zeke’s blood boil, and so he aimed and stabbed his lance at Nuibaba’s chest.

The tip of his lance felt dull. The moment he had extended it, he realized how reckless his action was. Knowing that he was cornered, Nuibaba must have cast a lethal Medusa spell that would hit him any second now. The reason why his spearhead felt dull was because Zeke feared that premonition.

Nuibaba moved. 

‘Finally!’ Zeke thought. ‘Should I keep my eyes open, or shut them as tight as I can? If I am going to die, then I want to see my final moments.’ He made up his mind, and kept his eyes wide open.

But he saw no sign that Nuibaba had cast a spell, rather, he saw Nuibaba standing up in the air, as if he was flying.

What he thought was not what had happened at all. His lance had stabbed through Nuibaba’s body.

It pierced his chest as easily as it would rotting hunks of fat and flesh, and slid through so far that it went past his waist. The spearhead had even stabbed into a stone floor tile.

“Zeke,” Nuibaba gripped the lance with both hands and stared straight at Zeke, his elderly face not even wincing in pain. “I have only attained the first few steps of enlightenment. The difference between Rudolf and me is like that of the sun and a grain of sand. I was never able to make much progress.”

Nuibaba paused to cough up blood. “Anything other than full enlightenment is meaningless. When I learned that you had switched to Alm’s side, I realized that Rudolf had attained full enlightenment. If he is closer to full enlightenment than I, then I am worldly trash.”

“Why didn’t you cast Medusa?” Zeke asked him again.

“Medusa? I cannot cast such a spell. I am worldly trash. Duma would never bestow Medusa upon trash such as I. I am trash, and I will die like trash. To prove to you how wordly of a person I am, Zeke, I will teach you one thing about life. Never attempt to cast away your love for a woman. Do not abandon in vain the love in front of you to chase your past. After I close my eyes and summon them, turn around. Tatiana and the Zofian Saint will both be behind you.” Those were Nuibaba’s final words before his chin fell. The proud Arcanist army general crumpled around Zeke’s lance like a piece of scrap cloth.

“Sir Zeke!” It was obvious who had called his name from behind him. 

Silque was standing next to him, but he cared not about what she might be thinking as he stared at her. He simply held Tatiana in his arms as tightly as he could.

-

Jerome’s soldiers had Nuibaba’s mansion surrounded. So this was indeed Jerome’s goal all along. If Nuibaba defeated the Newly Reborn Knights of Zofia, that would be ideal, but even if he did not, they were certain to be near death when Jerome appeared before them.

Zeke ordered Tatiana and Silque to heal the Knights, then took only his five Paladins with him to the mansion’s front gate, his gold armor glittering as he openly revealed himself and awaited Jerome’s arrival.

“Do any of you have any friends among his army?” Zeke asked his Paladins. 

All of them gave the same answer - that they felt nothing but hatred for every single one of Jerome’s knights.

But it mattered not that none could be swayed to his side. The Golden General Zeke was accompanied by his five fiercely loyal Paladins Rudolf himself had personally selected. Though they were no match in numbers, Jerome’s knights were already no match for them

-

“So there’s no such thing as Medusa.” Forsyth said as he lifted his wine glass. 

Rigel’s border guard had been defeated, and the Rigel Plains were now under Zofian occupation. It was a major accomplishment, one mostly achieved thanks to Zeke’s efforts, but the Knights were relieved that this battle was over all the same. The villagers had been awaiting their return with a huge banquet prepared just for them, and were now showering them with their kindness.

Once the Knights scaled the Dragon’s Maw, known as a natural stronghold characteristic of Rigel’s rugged landscape, Rigel Castle would be awaiting them right before their very eyes, and all they would have left to do is take Rudolf’s head. 

“We turned a fear that did not even exist into a taboo. Perhaps most, if not all, taboos are the same.” Forsyth said.

Python continued, “Medusa was nothing more than Nuibaba’s bluff, and a secret he could not share with even a single soul, or else he would lose all of his power. Maybe Jerome knew that, and used it to blackmail Nuibaba into helping him, knowing that he was still very powerful.”

“I do not think that to be the case.” Zeke said as he cut into the conversation. Zeke was a full-fledged Knight of Zofia now, or at the very least, a heroic general who had declared himself one of Alm’s knights, and vowed his loyalty to his new lord. “I did say very confidently that Nuibaba was unable to cast Medusa. But now I am convinced that he could, and chose not to cast it.”

“Why not?” It was no surprise that question was on everyone’s mind.

“I think he knew Emperor Rudolf’s master plan. Alm,” Zeke said, and shifted his conversation to speak directly to Alm. “Emperor Rudolf is planning to surrender his country over to you, so that you two can restore peace to Zofia and Rigel together. I think that is why he ordered me to serve you.”

‘That’s impossible.’ Was Silque’s immediate thought, but Alm spoke up faster.

“Then why did Rudolf try to destroy Zofia? We can never forget his wicked plot to abuse the sluice. He used it to attempt to destroy the entirety of Zofia’s land. Zeke, your idea is too optimistic.”

If Alm was right, then he had once again lost his reason to serve Alm. But regardless, the moment the Newly Reborn Knights of Zofia entered Rigel Castle, they would learn everything. ‘Rudolf will probably embrace Alm when they meet. It is enough for me to just serve Alm for now.’ Zeke thought, and spoke not another word.

As the conversation shifted from Nuibaba to the sluice, Delthea looked down at her feet as the color slowly drained from her face. Even as everyone continued to empty their glasses, the party could not become entirely carefree so long as they were worried about how she was feeling. Nuibaba had told her the one secret they were trying to keep from her, that she cast the spell that killed her brother.

“Cheer up, Delthea!” Clive said, and clapped a hand on her shoulder.

That was the trigger that made everything bottled up within her heart come spilling out.

“Please tell me the truth.” She said, starting out as a mumble that crescendoed with each word until she was nearly shrieking. “Was it me who killed my brother?! Did he die by my hand?! His body had scars on it that could only be caused by Aura. And I don’t remember anything that happened. I felt it, but I couldn’t believe it. Why did I kill my brother?!”

With each word that came out of her mouth, she felt more and more certain in her heart that she had done it. The more she became certain, the more she became aware of just how grave a sin she had committed, and the greater her grief became that he was gone. She started crying as hard as she would have bled if her tiny body was literally tearing apart.

No one could say anything. It would be meaningless to try to comfort her, because what could possibly comfort her? Nothing could bring her brother back. The only option left was to push her to accept the truth faster than she would on her own, but that was also the cruelest option of all.

“Delthea,” Alm stood up and hugged her. “You did not kill Luthier.” He said with full conviction. “The person who killed your brother was the Arcanist at the sluice. A Rigelian we have already killed. Please think of it this way. Even if the sun was to burn up or if rain were to wash away all the forests, nothing would make it any less tragic for those who share the same blood to kill each other. Please find your peace in the certainty that you would have never killed your brother.

“Nuibaba’s Medusa spell was not absolute hell. True hell is family killing one another. So long as Mila’s Blessing is bestowed upon Valentia, there should be no true hell in this world, and no members of the same family should be capable of killing each other.”

Delthea didn’t know what to think of Alm’s words, but they made Silque tremble in utter fear.

Alm was about to become the harbinger of this impossible, true hell he spoke of himself. The moment he cheered with joy that he had brought an end to everything, would also be the moment he killed his own father, realized his fate is to suffer in absolute hell, and learned that he himself would prove true hell had become possible in this world.

Silque could not hold back her tears. Everyone else thought that she was crying because she was so touched at Alm’s gesture to do whatever little he could to reach out and help Delthea.

-

The days before the Knights’ invasion of Rigel Castle passed by quietly. Delthea did not speak to anyone and was silent for a few days, until finally, she told Alm that she had decided to stay in the village and dedicate her life to rebuilding it. 

“You will grow up to become a godmother to all of Valentia.” He said, and hugged her tiny body as hard as he could. 

Silque went every day to see Tatiana, who returned to her hut in the village. Because Tatiana had decided not to participate in the final battle, Silque asked if she could teach her Physic, a high-level healing spell able to heal allies from afar; and Warp, a spell able to instantly teleport Units within the middle of an enemy’s formation. Part of the reason why the Knights decided to spend several long days stationed in the village was to give Silque the time she needed to master those spells.

Zeke was also always in Tatiana’s hut. To the two of them, these last few days before the Knights deployed was a fleeting moment of peace.

Sometimes, he would step out for a bit, and Tatiana would tell Silque stories of her memories with him.

“It was all part of the gods’ will for Sir Zeke to wash up in the village where I live, and for him to save me. I want to dedicate my entire body and soul to him.”

Silque immediately stared down at her feet. Hearing such a candid expression of love made her face turn bright red, proving that she was still a young woman who had yet to experience her own first romance.

“But, there is something that always worries me. And this worry may only deepen my love for him.” Tatiana said. “Sir Zeke lost all memories of his past, but he was probably a high-ranking vassal of another nation. As I nursed him back to health, he often cried out in agony. More times than I can count. But I remember the words he spoke very well. They were often an apology to a queen. Her name is Nyna…”

The moment she said that name, her face clouded over with sadness. “‘I am sorry, but I will not betray my homeland…’ He would say as he became drenched with sweat. When his memory returns, he will also return to his country. Sir Zeke is going to leave me on that day. I am certain of it.”

Silque held Tatiana’s hands to console her. 

Tatiana smiled, touched by Silque’s kindness. Then, she said, “I will stay in the village. As your army marches, even if Sir Zeke’s memories return to him, please do not tell me the truth. Allow me to believe that he left only because he fell out of love with me. Otherwise, I will not be able to completely give up on him.”

[hunterontheedge]

So what's up with Rigel? Just like in general lol

Rigel is such a fun character in the realms and I don't even talk about him or draw him. Kind of a crime but here we go!

Out of Hatty's three surviving friends, Rigel is the worst. Not the worst off, just the worst in general. He's somewhat cynical and hasn't really changed from his ways as an absolute jerk. In realms canon, he's the sole reason the rift even swallowed the S.S. Friendship in the first place-- he threw everyone's beloved dear friend overboard, after all.

He doesn't talk to Mom nor Reginald nor Hatty, avoiding them all. Rigel took up residence in the underground of the city district and hangs around with his boss and some other guy that was employed there as well, with those two being the only folks he really talks to. He's taken to gunning people down because he still has a knack for handling weaponry from the theater days. He doesn't enjoy the whole thing he's doing but he kind of... shrugs it off? Refuses to change? Feels he has no choice because he was made to be something he isn't?

To me, Rigel is a guy that really, really takes what people say about him to heart and it hurts him quite a bit. Mostly because nobody has anything positive to say about him save for like. Hatty and his boss. The citizens hate him, he's made enemies with people bigger than he is and puts himself in harm's way-- if he's going to be the unlikeable jerk, he's going to play up his performance until the very end.

Don't be fooled, of course, he's also a person trying to live his life and failing horribly because of the backwards hand he dealt himself. He misses his twin Nigel dearly but he can't get that back! So like! Yeah! Guy I think about a lot okay

[talonabraxas]

The New Moon In Taurus Is Here — Set Your Intentions

Cosmic beings, the new moon in Taurus occurs on May 7 at 11:22 p.m. ET. This is the first new moon of spring, coming after the total solar eclipse on April 8. This is a point where we can set intentions and manifest the dreams that will lead us towards the future.

The stellium of planets is in the zodiac sign Taurus. A stellium is where three or more planets are clustered together in a sign. In this case, those planets are the Sun, the Moon, Jupiter, and Uranus. This collection will bring contrasting energies. On one hand, we’ll feel encouragement from the universe to move toward our heart’s desire and to assist humanity. On the other, we might feel stuck. Stelliums can make us more rigid and stubborn in our views and it’s possible we will struggle to embrace the new. Fortunately, the presence of Uranus will allow us to adopt a fresh perspective and bring exciting views to our lives.

With Saturn in Pisces strengthening the new moon, we may be limited at first; however, we need to use Saturn to utilize lessons from the past and to help us grow. Although Saturn is known for holding us back when it comes to impulsive decisions, we will find this beneficial overall. The austere planet enables us to make intelligent choices that can improve our present and future situations. The key is knowing where the boundaries are, having the knowledge to ignite our intuition, and the strength to be resilient when naysayers seek to dampen our goals. Blocking outside noise and listening to our hearts will lead us to success.

The day before the new moon, Mercury and the centaur Chiron share a conjunction in Aries. This cosmic alliance will prove to be fruitful, as it gives us the motivation to let go of the past and start fresh. Remember Mercury is still in its retrograde shadow, clearing up the miscommunications from its retrograde period and the pre-retrograde zone until May 13. If anything needs to be said and dealt with from March 18, when Mercury entered the pre-shadow of its backward spin, now is the time to do so. The time has come to cultivate a new vision and journey; mending the recent past can help us thrive. This lunation is an excellent moment to let go and start afresh. The same applies to projects or endeavors left on the sidelines and the back burner.

The asteroids Lilith, Ceres, and Vesta link up with the new moon. Lilith in Virgo focuses on rebellion and freedom that will allow us to think for ourselves and embrace our individuality. Ceres in Capricorn will make us feel as though we are on the divine path toward manifesting our efforts due to the support and encouragement we receive from others. Vesta in Cancer is urging us to access our emotions and to use our passions as a catalyst for success. Black Moon Lilith in Virgo is also present in the sky during the new moon, showing us how much we need to forge ahead with our path.

The fixed stars Rigel and Haedus I connect with the new moon. Both fixed stars bring high ambition and help us attain our goals and this prosperous lunation will give us the incentive to excel. The caveat is that these stars can bring some uncertainty to our lives, meaning we must learn to go with the flow. This might be hard because the Taurian energy doesn’t like surprises. It will be helpful for us to remember to take matters as they come and to deal with life as it happens. There can be beauty and wonderment in not knowing what’s happening next.

The new moon is a chance to plant seeds for the future and discover what sparks joy in our lives. It is vital to learn to live in the moment and to ignite the flame within by connecting with activities and people that make us happy. Taking a different direction might be difficult and risky, but venturing out of the mundane will help us find ourselves and our pleasures.

Art by Talon Abraxas