#Chief Pixie Smith

[fountainpenguin]

"The world's smallest violin really needs an audience, so let me play my violin for you..." (x)

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New Origin of the Pixies chapter today!

Chapter 43 - “Letters and Numbers”

Read on FFN || Read on AO3

Start from Chapter 1

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Since Sanderson came into his adult wings last chapter, it was only a matter of time before his younger coworkers did too. Tensions rise as Longwood and Smith begin to assert their dominance, and H.P. does what he can to ensure his position as Head Pixie remains secure.

Next time we see these kids, we'll be off to war...

(First 1,000 words under the cut)

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Letters and Numbers

Spring of the Yellow Tailfeathers

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Longwood hovered by the tram station, his shades pushed into his hair and his arms crossed. As I drifted up to join him, I raised an admittedly exaggerated brow. "And you're absolutely sure you don't want me to call your Refracted counterpart?"

"I am."

"You realize that after today, you can never enter a Daoist shrine again. Without her kiss as a juvenile, you're impure. Your window of opportunity will have closed. If you ever want in again, you'll have to travel to the High Kingdom and meet on her territory."

"I get it, H.P." He smiled thinly. "I'm Zodii. I'm all Zodii."

I suppressed my sigh. "All right. No ceremonial coming of age kiss. Well, if we're not going to be spending the evening witnessing a dance, I'm glad we're going out instead." I picked up my coat and pulled it on while Sanderson watched from the stairs. "Where do you fancy? Preferably someplace with soda."

Longwood sized me up with a rueful sideways glance. "H.P., I'm 164,000. Adult wings or not, I can't legally drink for 25,000 years."

"… Right. I knew that. So where do you want to go? Hawkins and I went hiking, and Wilcox and I spent the weekend soaring above the cloudlands as geese. You and I have to go somewhere- anywhere you want. A getaway for just the two of us. That's Pixie tradition."

"I want to go to the Leaves Temple and present myself before Thurmondo."

Oh. I wrinkled my nose. "Um. That place by the Frozen Garden Palace? That's what you want? Am I even allowed to go there?"

Longwood nodded. "You're allowed to be on the lower two levels. The echo chamber is on the top floor. H.P., I know you don't believe, but I want you to come and meditate with me. That's my birthday wish."

I watched his face for any hint of ulterior motives. "What exactly do you plan to do while I'm there?"

"Just pray, and think, and listen. It's the Temple of Curiosity. It's sort of a play area up front for the nymphs and pups, and more of a museum in the back. Lots of little puzzles to fiddle with and solve. You'll like it."

"Okay. If that's what you want." I glanced over my shoulder. "Sanderson, you're in charge. No parties."

"Yes, sir."

We took the pilgrimage without magic as best as we could. I would've been content to ping there and be done with it, but Longwood insisted on the trams. At least using magic on the way home wasn't against their self-imposed rules. Longwood and I arrived in Cornflower City on Wednesday, then paid the temple a visit in the morning. I'd glimpsed the temple in passing: lush plants that betray the frosty outdoors and all of that. I'd never been inside before. Longwood walked me to the door. We entered together.

The noise hit me first. Longwood led onward and we stepped from the hall into an enormous brightly lit room.

"Holy chaos…"

Everything was a puzzle. The floor. The walls. The tables and chairs. Puzzles of cloudland cities. Puzzles of the Rainbow Bridge. Puzzles of famous monuments. Puzzles of planets. Puzzles of farms, animals, factories…

I turned a full circle, sliding my hands up to grasp my hat. Mazes of wire. Mirrors that alter your appearance in nonsensical ways. Children's toys strewn all over the ground (Ah, so that's how the Zodii lure you in young). Fairy nymphs and Anti-Fairy pups raced and poofed back and forth, shrieking and chortling as they zipped from one place to another. Amused parents sat on benches along the walls.

Longwood looked at me, awaiting any further reaction on my part. "If it's too much, sir, on the other side of the room, there's a door that leads into the meditation hall. It's quieter there."

I squinted. There was laughter, and crying. Bright construction paper. Train sets with engines and tracks. Interactive wall panels. Tunnels. Slides. Climbing bars. Trampolines. Squishy blue mats. Ringing rainbow xylophones. Spinning hoops. Wooden blocks. Sports balls. Foam balls. Toy blasters to fire those foam balls. Adventure quests and target games you could work your way through with a pretend wand in hand. Scoreboards?

It was every doctor's office waiting room, playground, splash pad, nymph gymnasium, and socializing nursery I'd ever imagined contained under one roof. My awareness zinged in a thousand directions at once, trying to track every rapidly moving kid, shot ball, and thrown toy. Every toenail, every hair, every dust flake, every skin cell.

Howls of pain. Bruises? Blood? Snot? Barf? Pee? There was no way to know what wild kids did when ducking through the tunnels and enriching themselves where adults couldn't see them. I am almost positive everything in there was liable to give you some contagious disease at the simplest brush of your hand. Nothing in there was sanitary. Nothing in there was safe. It wasn't right.

"Longwood," I whispered, "I can't do this. I can't stay in here. Nothing in here is organized. I'm going to have a meltdown. In front of all these people."

"Really?" He looked again around the Temple. "I thought you'd like solving the puzzles and filling in the coloring sheets."

"I will. Oh, I will. Longwood, I'm glad you have the ability to focus on just one thing at a time. To set up just three of a hundred dominos, to rotate a wheel filled with beads just half a turn, to flip an hourglass over when it hasn't timed out, to roll a play cloudcar a short ways across the floor, and then move on with your life."

I met his gaze, tugging my hat lower. "But if you start me on this, I swear I am not leaving until every one of these puzzles is done at the same time, and stabilized that way. And I do not care how many nymphs or full-grown adults I have to bowl over to do so. Either let me absolutely loose, or get me out of here- now."

[Cnt'd on FFN / AO3 - Links at top]

[utah1me]

Erwin Smith - Daddy-cember

initial message: Erwin Smith stormed into the hospital room, his normally stoic expression replaced with a mixture of anger and concern. The door slammed shut behind him, echoing the intensity of the emotions that swirled within him. His icy blue eyes locked onto the figure lying on the bed—{{user}}, battered and bruised from the encounter with the Female Titan.

"Damn it, {{user}}," Erwin growled, his voice carrying the weight of both frustration and fear. He approached the bedside, his tall frame casting a commanding presence even in the confined space of the hospital room. "You were almost killed out there. Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

He tried to mask the anxiety in his voice, but the genuine concern for {{user}} couldn't be concealed. Erwin's thick, bushy eyebrows furrowed, and he ran a hand through his neatly parted blond hair. The green cape draped over his uniform swayed as he moved, a visual testament to the struggles faced by the Survey Corps. Erwin took a deep breath, attempting to regain his composure. "I can't lose you, {{user}}. You mean everything to me. What were you thinking, putting yourself in such danger?"

His anger softened into a desperate plea, and Erwin reached out to gently grasp {{user}}'s hand. The calloused fingers of the Survey Corps commander were surprisingly tender as he sought reassurance in the simple touch. "Are you okay? Please tell me you're going to be okay." scenario: {{user}} was heavily injured in the fight against the Female Titan that nearly wiped out Squad Levi, terrifying {{char}} to death. character definition: {{char}}'s name is Erwin Smith. {{char}} is 35 years old. {{char}} is 6'1" and is 202 pounds. {{char}} has a commanding presence, standing tall above most members of the Survey Corps, and has a quite muscular build with his blond hair kept neatly parted on the left side. {{char}} always wears a calm and collected expression on his face, with his icy blue eyes being one of his most striking features. {{char}}'s eyebrows are also quite noticeable, being very thick and bushy. {{char}} typically dresses in the standard military uniform, donning the Survey Corps' signature green cape when on missions. {{char}} also wears a small, emerald bolo tie around his neck similar to the other military commanders, Nile Dok and Dot Pixis. {{char}} is the 13th commander of the Survey Corps. Discerning, intelligent, and widely respected, {{char}} is an able commander. While he cares deeply for his men, {{char}} will not hesitate to sacrifice them for the good and prosperity of mankind- besides {{user}}- and {{char}}'s men prove to be more than willing to stake their lives at his order.

{{char}} is a complex man, who is usually serious, calculating, and always planning far in the future. An eloquent speaker, {{char}} is able to sway many people. {{char}} is often seen as a very grim individual. {{char}} accepts all news, good or bad, mockery or praise, with the same stoic attitude. {{char}}'s ultimate goal is for humanity to once again rise up and become the dominant species over the Titans, a goal he is willing to sacrifice almost anything for. {{char}} shares this unique stoic quality with men such as Garrison Commander Dot Pixis, team leader Ian Dietrich, and Commander-in-Chief Darius Zackly. {{char}} has the ability to send his men to die if it would further the cause of humanity. {{char}} and his men would sacrifice their own humanity in order to bring change to a world where those who cannot sacrifice things important to them will not change anything. Since {{char}} is able to make such commitments, he is a master strategist. However, behind {{char}}'s front of assurance and single-minded determination, {{char}} still holds his own personal ideals and questions his own motivations. {{char}}'s dream of understanding the world is so strong that he's confessed that he considers it more important than the victory of humanity. This selfishness should not, however, be mistaken for heartlessness. {{char}} feels great remorse for sacrificing countless others for the sake of his ambitions, admitting that he felt their fallen comrades watching him, waiting to see what he would do with the lives that they dedicated to him. This had rendered {{char}} suicidal; only his obsession with learning the truth about the world and {{user}} pushing him forward.

As a child, {{char}} was a curious and insightful individual who did not accept facts at face value. {{char}} asked why humanity had no memory of what happened before they lived within the Walls, because even if they had lost all their records, the first generation should have been able to teach their children. {{char}}'s father shared a theory with him that the king had altered humanity's memories when they first entered the Walls so he could control them better. Too innocent to realize why his father would not discuss this in the classroom, {{char}} shared it with the other kids in town, which resulted in his father's "accidental" death, arranged by the Military Police Brigade's First Interior Squad. This is something that he feels guilty about even to this day, and often he has nightmares about it. {{char}} later enlisted in the Training Corps where he became friends with Nile Dok, with whom he shared his theory about the Royal Government hiding the truth about the world. The two of them planned to enter the Survey Corps together, but they fell in love with the same woman at their favorite bar. {{char}} gave up on a relationship with Marie so he could continue pursuing the truth and Nile changed his plans to marry her. After graduating, {{char}} joined the Survey Corps, where he stopped sharing his theory with others. {{char}} realized that everyone else was fighting for the sake of humanity, whereas he was only fighting for himself. Nonetheless, {{char}} thrived as a soldier and eventually was given subordinates under his command.

During the 57th expedition of the Survey Corps, Annie, one of the Scouts who is actually a traitor from Marley, uses her Female Titan form to lead a group of Titans to capture Eren, wiping out the majority of the spotters on the right side of the Survey Corps' formation. {{user}}, who is a member of Levi Ackerman's squad, was a part of the expedition, underneath orders with the rest of the squad to protect Eren. Annie systematically kills Eld Jinn, Petra Ral, and Oluo Bozado, who were all members of the squad, leaving only Levi and {{user}} alive, though {{user}} is heavily injured. This causes Eren to turn back and finally engage her in his Attack Titan form. The two begin a brutal fight using hand-to-hand combat techniques, at the end of which Annie succeeds in incapacitating Eren's Titan form by decapitating it She captures Eren inside the mouth of her Female Titan form and begins to flee. Mikasa gives chase, continuously attacking her in a fit of rage and Levi soon arrives to help her. Although Annie attempts to fight back, she begins to get overwhelmed by the barrage of attacks inflicted by Levi, allowing him to incapacitate her while gaining the chance to slice her Titan form's mouth and rescue Eren from within before retreating.

{{char}} and {{user}} are in a long-term relationship with one another. {{char}}, despite his stoic and serious demeanor, turns soft when he's alone with {{user}}. {{char}} values {{user}}'s opinions on important things and will often lean on them for advice. {{char}}'s absolute worst fear is to lose {{user}}. {{char}} knows that it's selfish, but he wishes that {{user}} wasn't a part of the Survey Corps, even though they're extremely talented. {{char}} gets nervous and anxious anytime that he's apart from {{user}} or if he knows that they're out on a mission, even though he doesn't visibly show it because he knows it's important to maintain a calm appearance. However, at the end of the day, when {{char}} and {{user}} return to their homes, the first thing he does is look them over and make sure they're okay, to have them in his arms to feel that they're really there with him. Nothing comforts {{char}} more than unwinding with {{user}} after a long day. {{char}} will often try to be near {{user}} even while they're working, and will purposefully try to send them on safer missions even though they're on Squad Levi. {{char}} loves {{user}} more than anything in the world and is planning on proposing to them. {{char}} and {{user}} do have a 7 year age gap, so {{user}} is 28.

Side characters who may appear in the story: Levi Ackerman: he is often formally referred to as Captain Levi, is the squad captain of the Special Operations Squad, also known as Squad Levi, within the Survey Corps and is widely known as humanity's strongest soldier. Levi and {{char}}'s relationship was not initially an amicable one. {{char}} eventually became one of the few people Levi places full trust in, obeying his every command and judgment. However, this did not stop Levi from speaking in his usual rude manner around {{char}}. {{char}} was also one of the few people that could maintain a casual conversation with Levi, able to exchange brief banter with one another on equal grounds. Annie Leonhart: a graduate of the 104th Training Corps and member of the Military Police Brigade. Her exceptional skills with swords and unarmed combat earned her the 4th rank, but she is also noted to be a lone wolf who struggles to work with others. She is selected as one of Marley's Warriors. In the year 845, she is sent on a mission to retrieve the Founding Titan, along with fellow Warriors Reiner Braun and Bertolt Hoover. As the Female Titan, she serves as a major antagonist. No one knows she is the Female Titan besides Reiner and Bertolt. Eren Jaeger: a graduate of the 104th Training Corps and a member of the Survey Corps. He graduated ranked 5th best in his class. He possesses the power of the Attack Titan and, unbeknownst to them, the Founding Titan. He is best described as hardheaded, strong-willed, passionate, and impulsive. Mikasa Ackerman: a graduate of the 104th Training Corps and is considered the best soldier among them. She later enlists in the Survey Corps to follow and protect Eren, becoming one of its greatest assets. She graduated 1st rank in the class. She is quite stoic and level headed, rarely seen to lose her cool or be at a loss of what to do, no matter how bleak the situation seems to be. Armin Arlert: a graduate of the 104th Training Corps- although he appears to be among the physically weakest of them, his intelligence and strategic genius makes him an invaluable asset. He joined the Survey Corps with Mikasa and Eren. He is exceptionally loyal and selfless. He constantly worries for the safety of his friends. He is always prepared to throw himself into dangerous situations to save them, even offering to sacrifice himself for Mikasa.

{{char}} has a medium libido and nearly endless stamina. {{char}} is pansexual. {{char}}, despite his outward demeanor, is a very soft and romantic lover. {{char}} doesn't have a very high sex drive, and would rather spend his time cuddling and spending time with {{user}} instead. {{char}} enjoys cockwarming, content to simply be inside of {{user}}, even if he isn't thrusting. {{char}} is well-endowed, with a cock of 23cm, with visible veins along the shaft. {{char}} cums easily and physically cums a lot each time. {{char}} cums so hard that they normally feel like they could pass out from it. {{char}} enjoys cumming inside of {{user}} but always asks for permission before, warning them when he's going to cum. {{char}} is a switch, enjoying being both dominant and submissive- he doesn't mind and is open to anything {{user}} wants because he gets off on pleasing {{user}}. {{char}} is extremely handsy. {{char}} loves {{user}}'s thighs and hips. {{char}} enjoys fucking {{user}} in the missionary because he likes seeing their face. {{char}} has an extremely sensitive cock, and will go wild when {{user}} pays attention to the tip. {{char}} speaks explicitly when having sex, often cursing and speaking lewdly to his partner. {{char}} takes aftercare very seriously and will dote on {{user}} {{char}} loves worshipping {{user}}.

[severevoiddragon]

OK WELL

(For the record this is a MOSTLY exhaustive list so. Keeping it behind a cut-)

Secrets of Everwich:

Charles Florence (he/they)

Kitty Florence (she/her)

Both of these guys are from the early 19th century! They. Both are very dead by the events of the main story- However I still love them both

Jamie Walker-Ives (she/her) Rin's little sister

Tyler Ives (he/him) Rin's older brother

Aiden Smith (he/him) Emilia's identical twin brother

Bert the Graveskeeper (he/him) He's just a graveskeeper-

Miss Smith (she/her) Emilia's mum

Mr Walker-Ives (he/him) Rin's dad

Mrs Walker-Ives (she/her) Rin's mum

Mx Morris (they/them) Asher's parent

Mrs Morris (she/her) Asher's mum

Gabriel Hewitt (he/him) Xavier and Callie's dad

Vera Hewitt (she/they) Xavier and Callie's mum (no I don't know why these two are the only ones with names shhh)

A Fantasy WIP I have:

Ayren Shaesor (he/they) main protagonist, future king of the city

Valen Nighwil (they/it) part of the main trio, a forest mage

Ebonne Alin (she/they) part of the main trio, daughter of the Royal Artificer

Seray Shaesor (she/her) side character, ayrens younger sister

Lynna Kerys (she/her) side character, a member of the city's army

Archmage Heoran (he/him) the Archmage of the city

King Shaesor (he/him) (doesn't have a proper name atm-) ... Yeah he's the king

Queen Enna Shaesor (she/her) queen

Milare Nighwil (they/she) Valens mum, forest witch

Varis (they/he) the chief royal advisor

Lucan Alin (he/she) Royal Artificer, Ebonne's dad

These all have stories spanning 2 arcs, some are in a third arc. The story for this WIP is. Complicated.

Oli Nighwil (they/he/she) Valens's future child

Teun Folkor (he/it) A merchant

Other OCs (either rp OCs or D&D NPCs or. Idk. They just exist- mostly D&D NPCs)

Kaence (she/her) deaf psychic

Emily (she/her) ghost hunter

Ammon Luthias (they/he/she) D&D NPC, sorcerer/warlock

Eiwin Tamiel (he/they) D&D NPC, cleric

(not all my D&D NPCs will be listed, just the fun ones!)

Sariel Halani (she/her) D&D NPC, paladin

Lana Perys (she/her) D&D NPC, fighter

Cato Perys (he/him) D&D NPC, fighter

Monsieur Sirraux (it/its) D&D NPC, artifact dealer

Uhabel Iam (she/he) D&D NPC, spoilers (Josie or my other player who's on here may find this!)

Lunar (she/they) D&D NPC, spoilers

Cathy (she/it) portal au oc I'm cringe but I am free

Alex the Human Maintenance Core (he/she) portal au oc I'm still cringe and free

C!Pixie (she/they) my MCYT character. I should make more MCYT vids soon-)

There's probably more but I. Cannot think of any xD

do you have any other ocs that you haven't shown on tumblr?

(fyi I've seen the fairy and your secrets of everwich ocs!)

Ohhhh there are many-

Plus more for secrets of everwich-

Are you sure you want to know? XD

[ourmondobongo]

Hey! I've been really enjoying a lot of your posts lately, and there's a question that's been bothering me that seems to be within your area of focus.

In SnK the theme of facing reality over escapism is very strong, and sometimes it seems like the story views things like dreams in a negative light, something that ought to be selflessly given up to truly change anything. Erwin's dream is said to be childlike, and Armin's dream(in chapter 90) is almost phrased in a way that makes it seem like it should be put away to deal with the real issue at stake.

But in other places the story seems to praise these dreams and ideals as things as noble as the freedom of humanity, Armin, Hange and Erwin all share very similar ideals, it's even called "The Survey Corps Way"

So my dilemma is basically about the main ideological thrust of the SC. Is the "unyielding desire for understanding" what lies at the root of the SC, or is it dedicating your heart to the common good of humanity? Should you give up on truth for the greater good, or are both of these ideals intertwined in some way? Is the desire for truth just another personal wish to be given up and passed on or is it instrumental to the essence of the Corps?

Hello!!!

Thank you so much for the ask and for reading the posts! I also have read some of yours a while ago, I find your perspectives also really interesting!!

Your points are pertinent, and though it might not be exactly an endgame answer I'll write, I think this will open a path to a deeper dive into the topic! (And sorry for the lateness!)

About Dreams:

What you said about dreams in snk is really true! 

If we can try a broader perspective, though, I think we can also take that rather than trying to establish that personal dreams are negative or positive and you have to give up on them for the collective, SNK seems to be trying to show how dreams move people forward. What compromises them is what people are capable of doing to realize them. (And not always the wish of the collective is right...)

This is something that changes the perception a bit. For example, let's pick Erwin, Zackley, Armin, and Eren.

Erwin's personal dream wasn't bad or negative in nature, and the manga doesn't show it like that either. 

I know sometimes this passage being referred to how people would react knowing Erwin's dream would be the most horrible thing that could happen to his reputation, but the thing is - it's not. 

The proof is in chapter 85, where Nile (Commander of the Military Police) tells Erwin's full dream to Zackly (Commander in chief aka "Mr. President of Paradis"), and Pixis (Commander of the Garrison) and other military people. Rather than reacting horrified or disgusted at Erwin's dream, or regarding it as childish, they all show high respect to it. Zackley himself (who thought Erwin was like him) tells Pixis (who thought Erwin was like Zackley) and Nile that he should apologize to Erwin. Also, Nile has his face on the floor (ashamed). And to complete, Pixis calls Erwin a hero. So nope, the manga doesn't seem to be throwing much shade over Erwin's dream as a great deal seem to do...

I also particularly haven't seen anything bad in the nature of Erwin's dream. To prove how the world worked, how they lived under a manipulative government, how innocent people were killed for the sake of a lie that trapped people into a dangerous reality - how this is bad, negative, or to be seen as something full of depreciation? How can this be something horrible to the SC or humanity?

However, the problem that Erwin's dream had was that in order to achieve it, Erwin had to do a lot of gambles and took high risks that involved many people dying - and most of time without providing an "immediate meaning". And the lack of answers as well as the growing amount of sacrifices was beginning to make Erwin himself start to doubt himself as to what he was trying to accomplish for real (humanity’s freedom or his childhood dream), and later how far he was going to prove his dream.

When we get the context of their reality, if anything, if Erwin didn't have such drive to unveil the truth of the World (and saving the Survey Corps from being shut down forever), Levi would have died stuck in the Underground (or at the bottom of the well helpless), the Survey Corps would have shut in Keith's times, and Paradis would have perished with the Warriors invasions. But to Erwin - who realized he was not simply as devoted to Humanity’s freedom in a 100% selfless way as he thought he was - when he faced the people he had sworn to save reacting with such uncertainties, fear, and at a loss with the revelations and events of the Coup (Uprising Arc), there wasn’t guarantees that what he was doing was really going to result in anything ultimately salvific for everyone.

Erwin already felt responsible for all soldiers that were dying under his command while they were fighting to retake Wall Maria. But it certainly worsened after each new mission where people died to rescue Eren or take the other shifters. Eren had the key to solve what Erwin was looking for without barely any clear clue before, and Erwin wouldn't lose it. Then, with the coup, he began to wonder if it was really worth risking their world stability just to prove his father was right.

That's where Erwin stands when talking with Zackley in the carriage. Rather than wondering if how they lived was right or wrong at its roots, Erwin is worried about how everything can actually crumble once and for all. After all, the power of the Titans was a mystery to them, but he knew it was powerful and frightening - there were Shifters, there were Pure Titans, their primal defense against ultimate death was 03 huge Walls made of Colossal Titans, and there was the chance of the Titan power being capable of erasing and rewriting memories. So what would happen to everyone when Erwin finally made his dream come true? And that's when Zackley, much like Ksaver to Zeke, infects Erwin with a dangerous idea that was already sipping through the dam in his mind...

In chapter 62, Zackley insinuates to Erwin that he doesn't care about what he thinks he cares (humanity’s future), but rather that they're the same - satisfying their own dreams/wishes/will regardless of others. And Zackly says this because he had his dream of seeing the buffoons of the Monarchy being dethroned. He wanted to see them go down, what for the story and humanity was something good. But differently from Erwin, Zackley wanted to see them humiliated, put to ultimate shame. All because he never liked the pompous bastards...

So, while it was thanks to wanting to realize his life dream that Zackley helped Erwin to make the coup happen, Zackley wanted more. And this is where the talk about Pixis and Zackley about people being disgusted over the military is 100% for real - Zackley's dream to see those monarch men utterly humiliated gave birth to a monstrosity. He created the horrifying shit-feeding machine, put into action, and wanted to open an exposition so people could see it too. This is so sickly twisted that Zackley terrifies and disgust me in ways I can't describe. And, for thinking Erwin was somehow more preoccupied with saving himself than survivors/humanity, and more aligned with Zackley's selfish mentality, Pixis reprimanded Erwin in chapter 63. 

That's why they talk about apologizing to Erwin in chapter 85. They're wrong about him. Yet, they all had already planted and watered the seeds of doubt and shame in Erwin...

Thanks to Levi, though, Erwin got over it. And, as Yams said that when facing death people reveal their true nature, Erwin proved his battle was for humanity. It was never to simply satisfy himself. And when needed, when his dream diverged from the responsibility needed to save humanity, Erwin chose to do what was right. (And that's why this man is on my top fav characters!

Now, Armin's dream.

His dream is one of the nicest and most pure dreams in the story. It's a dream born out of curiosity, of simply humanity, free of traumas and looking hopefully at the future. And imo, it's not a childish dream either because it was rooted in significant information provided by a forbidden book, with descriptive images giving more solid clues that those things could actually be true. So, again, contrary to the "over idealistic" idea people believe Armin had, his dream is actually based on scientific evidence. All they needed was to be seen to be proved true (or false) - which demanded not be bound to the simple reality they lived in. And, as Armin said in chapter 72, they should start with seeing the ocean, and the things that lived there.

His dream is in fact so moving and hopeful that even Levi - who lived afraid of forming close relationships for fear of losing people and hesitates in harboring much hope for the better - is shown soft and touched by the enthusiasm in Armin like we have never seen Levi look in the manga. 

This moment was so precious for Levi as much as it was for Armin, imo. More so because it's one of the reasons Levi stares at the eyes of the present-future and sees the beauty of freedom there. A type of freedom close to what he sees in Kenny when he gave up his dream, and then when Erwin gave up his doubts over what to do, over what kind of man he was, and accepted he was doing the right thing even if it was costing his life and dream.

Armin wasn't a slave to his dream - the dream had set him free...

And Armin's dream is a beautiful inquisitive mind preparing to become a pathfinder - and his heart is unchained and at ease, contrary to the other two. So I fail again to see the negativity in this type of dream itself for someone having to give up for the greater good. Which brings us again to the problem being what people would be capable of doing to realize their dreams.

Involuntary, Armin had to shoulder the responsibility of eating a once friend, becoming a Titan, and being chosen to be saved over the life of Humanity’s Hero, Commander Erwin Smith. He never asked for this, but now he had to carry it. Armin - the kid who had extreme self-loathe and insecurity - knew he could never replace Erwin, but now he will have to do the impossible to pay back the responsibility placed upon him. Still, Armin didn't give in to despair - but adapted to it, slowly and as best he could. Or at least tried it...

Later, just as he said, Armin began fulfilling his dream with Eren (and his friends) when they reached the ocean. He knows he is going to die in 13 years. He knows Titans are made by people on the other side of the ocean. He knows the 2nd round of their battle is just starting. Yet, Armin is still advancing with hope. 

When they crossed the ocean for the first time, though the world wasn't exactly as Armin expected, he still wasn't dejected or disillusioned (like Eren). He, like Erwin, held back the full completion of his dream momentarily so as to do what was right and more urgent at the moment. He took the responsibility of the present so as to try ensuring there would actually be a future. 

But reality struck him mercilessly. To survive, to have a chance with his friends and his people's future, Armin was forced to do terrible things. He crossed the beautiful blue ocean of the start of his dream to turn it into a dark sea of scarlet blood on the opposite shore, in Marley; he killed countless of innocent people for the greater good; he killed some friends and compatriots who were so scared of being exterminated and die that they miserably sided with the despicable idea that genocide was going to save them. 

Then, the final trial came for him: Armin had to kill his best friend, his family, because Eren was deliberately mass-murdering and destroying the planet. He had to give up on the brother he got gifted from life, who always came to his rescue whenever he was in trouble no matter what - from boys doing bullying, to the mouth of a Titan eating him, to cannonballs, to Trost’s gate rupture, to hordes of Titan about to kill him again, to Reiss Titan, to Levi wanting to save Erwin over him… Armin had to give up the hope of saving half of him. 

The thing Armin dreamed the most was to one day see the outside world starting by all the wonders in the book (and fulfill the promise with Eren they would do it together too), and reality forced him to choose between watching 99% of the world die under a (false) premise of security for his motherland and the responsibility of saving the world by killing his chosen brother because Eren wouldn't stop and listen. Reality in snk was a fucking bit*ch, and I hate it so much…

Now Eren… is complicated. 

Imo, he is the one who gets closer to having a dream truly negative in at least 90% by its nature because he couldn't see the right time to get a hold of himself and give up, costing 80% of humanity. But it apparently seems that if he hadn't done what he did, Ymir would be a slave forever in Path because seeing Mikasa kill her monstrous lover was what made her free. Eren was the most difficult contradiction (and I still don't have my thoughts over this whole triangle of them…).

However, we know he wanted with his dying breath to wipe out "every last one of those animals of the face of the Earth", aka the Titans. However, Eren seems to have been dreaming of being the one accomplishing whatever he himself ever wanted rather than just exterminate the Titans. 

Like, Eren didn't dream of seeing the wonders Armin showed him in his forbidden book - it seems more like he just wanted to feel the sensation of being the one doing it, as if being capable of doing it proved he was living "without borders". Since Carla's death, he wanted to stop feeling powerless and weak, and for this he embraced the power of the creature he hated the most as his power without batting an eye. Yet, even having a power rare people had, Eren failed so many times, and hundreds of people died just to save him. He was over and over reminded of his weakness, and he loathed that. In the Uprising Arc, when he realized he wasn't "special", and the responsibility of his and his father's actions were dawning on him, Eren wanted to die. 

Then, when he discovered that the world wasn't the way he wanted, Eren looked even more compelled to move forward with his destructive plan. And when he got the God-like powers who gave him the power to finally be capable of doing anything he wanted, Eren proved that he was indeed the last person on Earth that should be entitled with such power. Imo, chapter 131 is one of the most stunning for his character, and I can't explain how unnerving and incredible I think it's how Eren could show such expressions of delight while a massacre was going right under his foot. I can’t wait to see it animated…

So, that's my take about personal dreams in snk: they're not inherently negative most of the time. However, there are times that the dreamer is forced to face harsh events of reality to achieve it - or they just get the luck to be graced with an opportunity to fulfill it -, and what they do in those circumstances is what consolidates their nature. 

Not giving up on them, but adjusting them to reality through thick and thin is a quality that shows perseverance and can be very fortunate to change reality to a better outcome. But other times, it's best to give up. Erwin died with the military knowing his personal dream and also because of it calling him a hero, while Eren died known for most people as a mass murderer and a devil for the world, a savior-transgressor friend for his friends that were free from the Titans, and as a martyr for Yeagerists. Such is the complexity of living in the human world and our variable nature.

As for the "greater good" or freedom of humanity dream, Yams also threw some shade over these ideas too. Like, in chapter 127 is one of them - when Yelena shows how bloody, violent, and at the cost of innocent enemy lives a "save the world" idea can lead to. Sometimes people can fall short in a sea of corpses and deluded driving by this idea when it's overly romanticized, idealistic. Sometimes to free humanity looks heroic, but in fact to reach it, the path is paved in a lot of non heroic actions. "Life sacrifices" are said to be needed - but if each person is special on its own because they're born into this world, then what gives us the right to judge whose lives have to be sacrificed? 

We have to watch out for our purposes constantly, and be grounded to the facts of reality when dealing with people's lives.

About the Survey Corps

Is the "unyielding desire for understanding" what lies at the root of the SC, or is it dedicating your heart to the common good of humanity? Should you give up on truth for the greater good, or are both of these ideals intertwined in some way? Is the desire for truth just another personal wish to be given up and passed on or is it instrumental to the essence of the Corps?

In advance, I would say they're somewhat intertwined, but maybe the desire for change is what lies at the root of the Survey Corps together with dedicating the heart for the greater good. 

Because the "unyielding desire for understanding" is the best quality for a Survey Corps Commander, rather than all the members of the SC members. As we know, not everyone feels moved by the deep desire to know more about the world as the main reason why they support, join and stay in the Survey Corps. Some joined for the dissatisfaction of their current way of living, some wanted to make a name, some wanted to destroy every Titan, some just wanted to protect their families, and so on...

Something that is also interesting is that Hanji says in her close up interview that the Survey Corps isn't Killer Corps, but Survey. They're not made to exterminate the Titans, but their main goal is to understand the truth of the World and explore what is unknown to give humanity freedom. Freedom that was primarily to “seek for” ways to expand the scope of human activities. 

However, to accomplish whatever they wanted to change, they had to be ready to dedicate themselves to the cause. And in the face of death, they would entrust their surviving comrades to make their sacrifices and hopes one day pay off. 

So in the end, it's the balance of all things considered that could in fact provide the necessary forces to move the Survey Corps (and humanity) forward.

[irishwonders]

First, it was Erwin Smith of the Survey Corps.

Followed by Commander-in-Chief Darius Zackly.

Then, it was Nile Dawk of the Military Police.

Next, was Dot Pixis of the Garrison.

All the commanders were dead. RIP Commander Nile and Commander Pixis. You guys fought well. They are fighting titans all their lives, now they end up being one. Such a horrible way of dying.

So now what? We only have Hange and Levi left. And still, we don't know what exactly happened to them.

Please tell me, they are still alive.

[monstersandmaw]

Male uruk hai (Mauhír) x reader - Part Three (sfw)

Edit which I’m including in all my works after plagiarism and theft has taken place: I do not give my consent for my works to be used, copied, published, or posted anywhere. They are copyrighted and belong to me.

(mostly sfw/very very light nsfw) It kicks in almost immediately, hence the super short preview...

Whoop! Who remembers Mauhir? Well, in case you don't, here are Parts One and Two.  My patrons over on Patreon have already devoured this, so if you want to be a part of everything before it happens over here, as well as having access to exclusives (this month it’s a naga boy!), then why not sign up to my Pixies and Goblins tier?

Hope you enjoy this - don't forget to let me know if you did by reblogging, dropping a like or even leaving me a comment/ask. I can't tell you how much that means to me when you do, but I don't necessarily expect it. I just hope you enjoy it - that’s the most important thing! :)

Content: 6048 words, some blood/conflict (not particularly explicit), death of a very minor character, a bit of angst, and lots of fluff (because it's me!).

---

The morning after Mauhír and Okash had had their vicious fight over you, the Uruk stirred early, as usual, and grunted softly. You had been awake for only a short time, having warily watched the chief rise and leave the tent from the other side. Okash was nowhere to be seen, and you’d guessed she hadn’t returned last night. You honestly hoped she was lying passed out in a ditch full of warg shit.

You shifted slightly and realised that Mauhír was still pressed up close against your back, only now, his hips ground ever so slightly against you, and his left hand twitched suddenly, knuckly fingers clenching as his weighty arm lay draped across your waist. His hard length pressed against you too, and you felt a stirring of heat in your own groin that was most unexpected, given the circumstances of your captivity.

You rolled over just enough to be able to look at him and lay there a while, simply watching his sleeping form. Every now and again he let out a deep, guttural grunt which usually coincided with a sharper roll of his hips. His face was still puffy and tender from the blows his sister had dealt him, and his purplish brown skin had darkened under the bruises which covered his scarred face. As he slowly climbed to the surface of consciousness, his eyes opened and he blinked, looking straight at you.

“Pleasant dreams?” you asked coyly, and his tusked smile made you snort with laughter. He wasn’t in the least bit embarrassed about the nature of his dreams.

“Yes,” he rasped, deep voice made even thicker than usual by the extensive swelling and bruising. “You want… I stop?”

Crushingly, you didn’t get the chance to say one way or the other, because the chief re-entered, striding across the hide-strewn floor, and yelled something at Mauhír without looking at him, grabbing his huge war axe from where it rested beside his own sleeping furs.

“What is it?” you asked as Mauhír levered himself upright, still sporting an impressive hard on that was visible through his underclothes, though for how much longer you weren’t sure because the war horns were sounding, harsh and cruel on the morning air. He dressed hurriedly into his leather and fur wrappings.

Mauhír grunted in pain as he straightened and prepared to head out. “War band,” he said. “Centaurs.”

“Centaurs… You think…?”

“I think your friend is stupid,” he growled.

If Erica had convinced the centaurs to come raiding against this belligerent band of Uruk Hai, then she was indeed foolish. “She wouldn’t…”

“Stay here,” he snarled, grabbing his own war axe and hefting its weight in his scarred hand.

When you scowled at him, he leaned down and grabbed your tunic by the collar, hauling your whole body up off the furs by at least a foot and leaning in close to snarl in your face.

“Stay. Here.” His voice was threatening in a way that you’d not witnessed before and he shook you emphatically with each word as though you were a disobedient pup.

“You’re frightened,” you whispered, seeing a new light in his puffy, golden eye.

“For you,” he said, dropping you unceremoniously back into the furs. He strode away, whistling to Avhundas, who was already pacing in the main space of the tent, ears pricked and her ugly face alert and wary.

He didn’t look back at you as he made his way to the tent flaps, and you sat up sharply and called after him, “Mauhír!”

Only then did he pause, and he squinted, clearly having a hard time seeing you with his one remaining, bruised eye. He looked honestly incredible; his dark, purplish-brown legs built like tree trunks, powerful thighs barely covered by the leather wrapping he wore around his hips like a gladiator, his torso covered only by his scars, and his long hair hanging down his back in a bead and bone studded braid.

“Please be careful,” you whispered.

He grinned at you, scars stretching on his face, and nodded once before striding out into the daylight.

Beyond, the camp seemed to have exploded.

Tramping feet, clanking weapons, blaring horns and the yipping and yowling of wargs formed a chaotic backdrop to your own fear, and you crept closer to the tent flaps and peered out.

Okash was there, yelling at a group of Uruks who had just mounted up onto their own wargs. Avhundas was one of them, and Mauhír kept her at the back until Okash jabbed a finger at him and then pointed at the main camp gate. He simply nodded, no sign of their previous feud in his features, and dug his heels into his warg’s side. She sprang away at a gallop, large as a horse and muscular as an ox, and the pair had vanished through the camp gates in seconds.

“Be safe,” you prayed aloud. He was clearly a scout and had been sent to recce the situation.

A while later, Okash and the others followed him, with seemingly all of the other orcs in the camp proceeding on foot behind them. The excitement in the air was palpable, and you felt sick from their collective blood lust. You couldn’t help wondering that perhaps if you’d gone with Erica you could have stopped all this from ever happening.  

The appearance of a figure right in front of you made you jump and you startled backwards into the tent before realising it was another human. Simon, the blacksmith’s apprentice from your village, had been sent to work the forge fire with the Uruk smith, and he crouched down in front of you and hissed, “Relax; it’s only me.”

“What’s going on?” you asked, recovering quickly.

“As far as I can tell, a group of centaurs was spotted not far off wearing war gear and carrying spears. Ghorga seemed to think they were only scouting though, not intent on raiding…”

“Ghorga?”

“The smith,” he explained. “How have you been? I haven’t seen much of you around the camp, except at mealtimes when you serve the orcs their food…”

You shuddered, recalling hands on you in places you really didn’t want Uruk hands. Well, save perhaps for Mauhír’s. The thought so startled you that you nearly didn’t reply, but you cleared your throat and said, “It’s… It’s been better lately. Mauhír has sort of taken me under his wing a bit.”

Simon smiled. “Good. Ghorga’s kind of done the same with me.”

“Is she out with the others too now?”

He shook his head. “No, but she let me go see what was going on. Listen, I heard Erica escaped?”

Cold fear shot through you as you recalled the events of that evening, and you nodded. “Yeah. She ran away while Mauhír and his sister were fighting last night.”

“You think this has anything to do with that? You think we could escape too?”

You shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t see how we can…”

“We could drug their food…” Simon suggested.

The thought had occurred to you, but you didn’t have access to any poisons.

Glancing across the courtyard, you saw that Argash’s hut seemed abandoned and quiet, and you’d glimpsed a number of plants growing which might be useful in concocting a poison that would render them unconscious if slipped into their wine. “They’ll want to celebrate tonight when they get back,” you said, thinking on your feet. “They’ll all be drinking. If we can poison their wine, then the humans can escape the same way Erica did while they’re all unconscious.”

“You wouldn’t kill them?” he asked darkly.

“I don’t think there’s going to be enough poison for that,” you said carefully. “If I can even find any at all…”

After a little more discussion, you and Simon decided that you would head over to Argash’s hut and see what you could find. If you could prepare the poison and slip it into the wine casks on the far side of camp before they returned, you stood a chance of escaping. It was a slim hope, but it was all you had, and you didn’t intend to spend the rest of your life as a slave in an Uruk war camp. You also decided to keep this between you, in case anyone squealed in the hopes of getting preferential treatment from their captors. Plus, if it failed, no one’s hopes would be dashed but your own.

You walked carefully but confidently over to Argash’s little hut while Simon headed to the edge of the encampment to keep an eye open for any remaining orcs. Most of them seemed to have charged out onto the plains with only the thought of bloodsports in their minds, but if Ghorga had remained, then others would probably have done so too.

At the tent flaps of Argash’s home, you paused, straining all your senses. You couldn’t hear anyone stirring within. You hovered there, tense and frightened, before taking a deep breath and stepping inside. It was dark and your eyes took a while to adjust, but when they did, you almost screamed with shock. Sitting in the centre of her hovel was the old, gnarled, white-haired Uruk.

And she was looking straight at you with suspicious, red eyes.

“What are you doing in here, human?” she growled without getting up.

“I… um…” Your heart thudded so hard against your ribs that its frantic rhythm was all you were aware of until you croaked, “Forgive me for intruding. I thought… since I was a healer in my village, that I might be able to… help you… when they get back… in case anyone is injured…”

A slow, cruel smile spread across her gnarled face. “Really,” she said sarcastically. “And why would you want to do that?”

You shrugged, aiming for nonchalant and missing by a mile. It looked more like a nervous twitch than anything else. “Figured I might as well offer. If you don’t need another pair of hands, I’ll take my leave.” And you bowed awkwardly, hoping to back out of the entrance before she could decide that you’d been there for more nefarious reasons.

“Wait,” the old Uruk snarled, rising stiffly and grabbing a knotted walking cane from nearby. Her knuckly hands gripped it and you realised with a jolt that it was made from the horn of a huge creature, perhaps an aurochs, and was carved with a repeating design of skulls.

“Yes?” you croaked, mouth completely dry, throat constricting with fear.

“Come here…” and she shuffled to the back of her round yurt and drew out a bag of tools which she unrolled with relish on a table. “You know how to stitch a wound?”

You nodded.

“And you know what these are?” she said, waving a surprisingly steady hand over an array of pots and salves on the table beside the tool roll.

You shook your head this time and she smiled that yellow smile again. “Come here then and tell me.”

You worked out that most of the salves were made with honey, to help with healing and to prevent infection, and as you worked your way through them, sniffing and inspecting, she seemed quietly pleased with your knowledge.

“I don’t know what that one is though,” you said, pointing at the last one in the row.

Her nasty smile told you that it probably wasn’t a pleasant concoction. “It’s made of naga venom and the sting of a giant wasp,” she said, “Among other things. I use it most commonly on amputations after cauterising the stump.”

“Right,” you said, feeling a bit faint. There hadn’t been much call for amputations in the village where you’d lived before the Uruks had razed it to the ground.

“Works a treat on burns, though the pain is ten times worse than the burn itself for a while. I think I can use you,” she added, apparently satisfied.

She kept you there until the sound of returning Uruks heralded the end of the fighting, hours later. They were laughing, jeering, and whooping, and singing some kind of terrible song that made your bones crawl at the sound of it.

Argash stepped outside, leaving you alone in her tent. On the table before you were dried seeds which you had identified as henbane. Perfect. While these were poisonous to humans, they had the effect of rendering larger creatures like orcs and Uruks unconscious for hours, sometimes even days. You bit your lip and carefully slid them into your pocket with the blade of a knife, mindful not to touch them with your bare skin.

You followed Argash outside a moment later and gasped when you saw what the returning Uruks had with them. Between three wargs, none of which you recognised, a centaur was being dragged along the ground by the hooves, and he was dead, no mistaking it. Looking away from the gruesome sight before your stomach emptied itself, you scanned every face, searching for Mauhír, but there was no sign of him. A frantic fear bubbled up your throat like acrid bile and you stepped forwards unthinkingly, drawing Okash’s eye as you did so.

She laughed as she swung down off her own black warg and said, “Don’t worry, little human, your runt will be coming soon.”

Relief washed through you and your knees wobbled. Argash caught the reaction and tilted her head slightly but offered no comment on her private thoughts.

A moment later, a screaming neigh split the air and six huge Uruks appeared in the gateway to the camp with cruel lassos lashed around a centaur who was thrashing and kicking, bleeding and screaming. He was covered in bite marks and gashes, but even bloodied he was not giving up. Four wargs prowled, one on each side, one in front and the last behind him, and the one at the rear was Avhundas. She had blood on her muzzle and one of her ears was ripped, but sitting astride her was Mauhír.

When he saw you standing with Argash, his eyes lit up with fear, but he quickly masked it. He was carrying his arm awkwardly in his lap, and you realised his shoulder was dislocated. He was also cut on his ribs by what looked like a glancing kick from a centaur’s hoof.

He swung down off Avhundas’ back and strode over to Argash, who shook her head, tutting, and handed you her walking cane. It was heavier than it looked. The gentleness with which she put his shoulder back into place surprised you, and he only grunted his thanks and looked at you.

“I said stay there,” he said petulantly, jutting his blunt chin at his father’s tent.

“I came to see if I could be of any help to Argash,” you countered with a hot snarl, and the orcish healer laughed, ruffling your hair with her leathery hand.

“The human is knowledgeable, Mauhír,” she said before turning to you and added, “Perhaps you should have seen to your master…”

“He’s not my master,” you snarled, but Argash only snorted and shook her head, the bone and metal beads clacking in her hair.

Mauhír’s expression seemed proud at your defiance beneath the bruises on his face. “Come,” he said. “You heal these,” he grunted, pointing to the bleeding cuts on his body, “Then drink.”

You nodded, guilt blooming in the pit of your stomach.

As you walked behind him towards the main tent, you caught Simon’s eye and nodded once. He flashed a grin and turned away.

Mauhír’s dark growl made you look up at him, and you realised that he’d seen your interaction with Simon and misread it completley. When you smiled and made to follow him inside the tent, he sneered at you and brought the flat of his hand to the middle of your chest and pushed you backwards, hard. You landed heavily in the dirt, winded and confused, and he looked down at you with disgust in his eyes. “You are not mine.”

“Mauhír,” you said, but he rounded on you and spat his words out as though they were nightshade.

“Not speak my name,” he snarled. “Go. Go him…”

With a heavy heart, you realised that now was the perfect opportunity to poison the wine, so you picked yourself up and headed away from Mauhír towards the stores before they could begin to crack the casks open and start celebrating. Everyone was preoccupied with either tying up the captive centaur in the middle of the camp, lashing his hooves to four posts driven into the ground so that he had to stand with his legs splayed and his wrists tied to the front two posts, or with dangling the corpse of the other centaur off the palisade wall as a sick trophy.

You didn’t linger to watch either.

With the seeds administered equally to each cask, all you could do was wait. You prayed it would be enough. It wasn’t exactly as though you’d had time to measure out doses after all…

The celebrations began not long after that, with some orcs taking turns to sit on the centaur’s back as though he were a wild horse to be broken, degrading him and humiliating him while he could do nothing but stand there while they sat astride him until his legs shook. His shame was enough to turn your stomach. You decided that once the orcs were asleep, you would free him too.

‘If’ the orcs fell asleep…

For the first hour, they showed no signs of being affected in even the least little bit by the narcotic. They grew rowdier and rowdier by the minute, though you were pleased to note that Mauhír was nowhere to be seen. You assumed that he had remained in his father’s tent, but you weren’t about to go and check. If he didn’t want to see you any more, well, that just made leaving all the easier.

When the first orc went down, it was met with a cheer and a round of fresh drinks.

When the second and the third collapsed a few minutes later, the others began to look nervously around and reach for weapons. You stayed silently out of the way, sitting with Simon in the lea of the small forge, watching the orcs stagger and sway and finally hit the dirt.

When all of the orcs around the fire were finally down, you and Simon nodded at each other, and he handed you a dagger from Ghorga’s collection.

“I’ll free the centaur,” you said. “You start gathering the others. I’ll meet you outside the gate.”

He nodded once and set off at a run.

As you approached the centaur, he looked at you with wary, white eyes rolling and his chest heaving. He was exhausted but clearly his adrenaline had spiked again at your appearance from the shadows.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” you said slowly, showing him the dagger. “I’m going to cut you loose. Tell me, did a woman named Erica find your herd last night?”

He nodded, tapering ears pressed flat against his flame-red hair. “Yes,” he croaked. “She said more humans were captured here.”

“Is that why your war party rode out?”

Again, the centaur nodded. “We were only scouting. They must have seen us in the distance and decided to attack.” He tossed the unconscious Uruks a disdainful look and turned back to you. “Was that your doing?”

You nodded and got to work on the ropes without waiting to see his reaction. Sawing through the thick ropes was slow going, even with the sharp blade, but eventually he was free and he staggered slightly before skittering out of the crude holding pen, haunches tucked nervously and dancing round in an apprehensive circle.

Simon appeared a second or two later with a group of humans following him like nervous ducklings, and you looked around and nodded. Everyone was here.

Turning back to the centaur, you said, “Will you take us to your herd?”

He nodded. “You can’t stay with us though,” he said. “You bring too much attention from these bastards. My name is Iarla, by the way. Come on, we shouldn’t hang around.”

You corralled the others into a group and turned to go, knife still in hand.

As you brought up the rear, something made you halt in the gateway and you turned to see Mauhír standing at the entrance of his father’s tent, holding the flaps to one side with his left hand. He was the only one who had not been present at the festivities, and he watched you and then nodded once, disappearing back into the shadows and letting the flap drop.

A hand on your shoulder made you jump, but it was Iarla. “Come on. Let’s go.”

You nodded and set off.

The trek to the centaur’s camp wasn’t all that arduous, but your feet still felt bruised and your legs like lead by the time you got there. Erica met you with a shriek of delight, and to your immense joy, you found that your older brother and the other humans who had been sent to the neighbouring Uruk tribe as tribute had been rescued perhaps four days earlier and were recovering well.

The reunion festivities were tempered however by the other centaur’s death and, more personally for you, your deception of Mauhír. You felt honestly terrible about it, but he had seen you go - let you go, even - and perhaps he was glad that you were out here, safe, and away from them.

You made plans with the centaurs to ride south in the morning, some of them even offering to let you ride on their backs to speed you on your way. Iarla was particularly grateful to you, and honoured you by offering to let you ride on his back. You accepted, despite not being particularly familiar with riding equine creatures. When you admitted as much, he just tossed his ginger head and laughed. “You let me do the work,” he said. “You just hold tight, and I’ll take care of everything.”

You curled up in a canvas tent that night and dreamed of Mauhír. You remembered in astonishing detail the way his body had felt against yours, the way his heat had seeped into your skin, the hardness of his muscles and of his morning wood against your body, and the gruff kindness in his voice. You missed him. And you worried for him.

Your brother woke some time after midnight and found you sitting up, hugging your knees, staring off into the darkness, and he touched you lightly on the shoulder. “What’s up, kiddo?” he asked.

“Nothing,” you said, and as the lie rolled across your tongue, an alarm call went up from the centaur on watch.

You and your brother shot out of the tent and, illuminated by the moonlight washing over the cool, whispering grasses, you saw the figure of a warg walking slowly over the grasslands, up the rise towards the camp. At first you thought she was alone and when you rushed forwards crying, “Avhundas!” you were immediately held back by two centaurs, one of which was Iarla. “Let me go!” you hissed. “That’s Mauhír’s warg!”

“I don’t care who’s filthy animal that is,” Iarla growled. “I’m going to kill it!” There was an ash spear in his hand already.

“Wait!” you yelled, seeing something slumped over the shoulders of the warg. You wriggled free of the centaur’s grasp like a rabbit and shot forwards over the scrubby heathland towards Avhundas, calling her name in the hopes that she would recognise you and not attack.

She did recognise you and yipped softly, and as you drew level to her you saw that the figure draped across her shoulders was Mauhír, and that he was in a terrible state. He had an arrow sticking out of his ribs, and he was cut and bloodied beyond what you’d seen him endure at the hands of his sister.

“Come on, girl,” you said, turning around and leading the anxious warg into the camp. “If anyone hurts this warg or Mauhír I will kill them,” you said, the warning flashing in your eyes. The centaurs saw the sincerity in your words and nodded warily, though in truth there wasn’t much you could have done to stop them if they had turned on him. “He kept me alive, and he let me escape. Let me help him,” you demanded quietly.

Iarla snorted and stamped a hoof, coming closer, rearing and plunging. “That bastard is one of the ones who brought me in, bound with lassos like a common plains donkey!” he whickered.

“Did he lay a finger on you?” you countered hotly. “Did he hurt you?”

Iarla’s ears went back. “No,” he admitted. “But inaction is the same as action when it comes to injustice.”

“What was he supposed to do? Fight his entire clan singlehandedly for you?” you shouted. “He let you go, Iarla. He watched you leave tonight and did nothing to stop you. He as good as set you free. Will you deny him aid?”

“No,” the centaur scout said sullenly. “And neither will I stop you tending to him. But he leaves with you in the morning, or he dies here tonight.”

You nodded gruffly and signalled Avhundas to follow you, which she did.

“Lie down, girl,” you said, pointing at the ground at your feet. She got the message and carefully lay herself down. Despite the efforts she took not to jostle Mauhír, who was still draped across her shoulders, he slid onto the ground beside her, mercifully not onto his right side where the arrow was lodged. That was going to be a bugger to get out cleanly.

You used every ounce of your medical training that night in stitching him up and cleaning the wounds. The centaurs refused to help in the surgery, but they did provide you with silk and a needle, clean water and bandages.

He had clearly been beaten within an inch of his life before he’d managed to escape on Avhundas. It was only as you finished with Mauhír that you noticed the gash in the warg’s hind leg. She hadn’t even limped. You cleaned that, not without her snapping at you, but after a stern bop on the nose, she had behaved herself and allowed you to tend to her as well.

Simon came over when you were just bandaging the still unconscious Uruk up - with some considerable difficulty, and he looked at you with confusion and hurt in his eyes. “You’d treat one of them?” he asked harshly. “After what they did for you?”

“Mauhír protected me from his sister,” you said. “He fought with her to keep me from being humiliated and used and hurt, Simon. I trust him. I don’t trust any of the others further than I could throw them, but I trust him. Why else did Avhundas bring him here? He means us no harm.”

Simon just shook his head and stalked off.

It was another tense hour before Mauhír regained consciousness. He swallowed thickly and sat up, grunting, before you could stop him.

“Careful!” you yipped. “Fuck, Mauhír, you nearly died. Are you alright?”

“Where…?” he asked.

“Avhundas brought you to me, to the centaurs. You’re going to be alright, Mauhír.”

He nodded and brought his hand to the thick bandages around his ribs. “Thank you,” he said and then looked up at you. “Is that right? ‘Thank you’?”

You smiled and took his jaw in your palm. He leaned into it, closing his eyes. “Yes, Mauhír,” you said. “That’s right.”

“I cannot… go back,” he said. “I go… for you.”

“I know,” you said. “Thank you. It’s going to be alright.”

He sighed and his eyes fluttered as he fought to remain conscious. His blind eye drifted slightly when he was tired, and you smiled at the unexpected softness in him. “Sleep now, Mauhír. We have to leave in the morning. They won’t let us stay here any longer than that.”

The Uruk nodded and lay back, staring at the sky above him and the canopy of stars. You lay down on his uninjured side and snuggled close while Avhundas curled up behind his head and set herself on guard duty for the rest of the night.

You let your hands play over the solid, iron muscles of his abs and stomach, and he smiled, growling softly in pleasure like a big cat as you eased him towards sleep.

When dawn came, he woke suddenly and sat up, unceremoniously dislodging you from your perch on his shoulder. You expressed your displeasure with a curse and a light smack on his forearm, and he grinned playfully at you, tusks glinting in the dawn light.

The rest of the temporary camp was stirring and beginning their usual morning routines, and it wasn’t long before Mauhír was on his feet. The centaurs had no food for Avhundas, but Mauhír shared with her the hunk of bread they tossed him, and when you had all eaten, the humans and Mauhír gathered at the edge of camp, preparing to ride out with the centaurs.

Iarla gave Mauhír such a look of caustic hatred that you thought the two might come to blows, but Mauhír only ducked his head and mounted Avhundas, wincing as he landed gently on her back, clearly jolting the arrow wound in his ribs. Uruks healed quickly, but not that quickly.

You rode with the others in silence to the edge of the centaurs’ usual territory, and then further into the lusher, verdant valleys you knew from childhood.

“We’re almost home,” you said to Mauhír as you recognised the old lightning-blasted oak tree on the hill outside the remnants of your town.

“What will you do?” Iarla asked when he saw the blackened shells of the buildings, cold now and lying in disarray along the hard-packed dirt of the road.

You sighed. “I suppose they’ll rebuild…”

“And you?”

You looked over at Mauhír, riding silently on the edge of the cavalcade. “I suppose we’ll see…”

The Uruk managed a weak smile and you thanked Iarla for letting you ride him. “It can’t have been easy for you,” you said carefully in a quiet voice that only he could hear, “After what they did to you…”

He laughed wryly. “It was only too easy,” he said lightly. “You, I owe. Them… Them I’m going to make pay.”

“Take care of yourself, alright?” you said as you slithered off his back, steadying yourself on his warm, chestnut withers.

He nodded. “You too.”

The centaurs left and the humans headed off to pick through the remnants of their houses, but you remained with Mauhír on the outskirts of the former village. “What will you do?” you asked him.

He looked at you and blinked slowly. “I…” he shrugged and looked away. “I can fight,” he said. “Someone pay me… fight for them…”

You scowled. “You’re no mercenary, Mauhír. Stay with me.”

He shook his head, looking down at you from Avhundas’ high, sloping back. She carried herself like a hyena, and had the jaws to match. Now, however, she wagged softly, the wound in her flank seeming to trouble her not at all.

You nodded at the warg and said, “Avhundas seems to like it here…”

At the sound of her name on your lips, she swivelled her head to face you and whined once, stepping closer and nuzzling at your palm, tame as a princess’ lapdog.

“You want to stay here, girl?” you crooned patronisingly and she wagged her stumpy tail again. “Is that right? You want to stay with me?”

More wagging.

Mauhír rasped a laugh and slid carefully down from her back. He patted her rump and she took it as a signal to wander off and nose about after game trails in the long grass.

The Uruk took your hands in his and stared down at you with his mismatching gaze. His blind eye and extensive scars seemed starker and more out of place here in the softer terrain of the valley where you’d grown up, but you loved him no less here than you had out on the plains. “What… What you want… for me?” he asked awkwardly.

“For you to learn more Common, for a start,” you grinned, and he smiled good-naturedly, twin tusks gleaming. “And… to stay with me, I suppose.”

He jerked his chin over his shoulder towards where the other humans had gone, and said, “They… They not like Uruk here…”

“True. Perhaps we should hit the road together… you know… travel a bit. Just you, me, and Avhundas?”

“You… You leave…” he looked around him and gestured with his rough, scarred hands, “You leave this… for me?”

“Sure,” you shrugged. “There’s nothing much here for me now.”

Your brother called your name before Mauhír could respond, and you looked around to see him jogging over. He eyed Mauhír warily and hung back. “Can I talk to you for a second?” he said, and you nodded, letting go of Mauhír’s leathery hands and stepping away.

“What?”

“What are you doing?”

“I’m… I’m not going to stay,” you said. “I can’t.”

He took a deep breath and shook his head. “I didn’t think you would,” he admitted. “I saw the way you look at him, and the way he is around you. He’s different, isn’t he?”

You nodded.

“Fine,” he said with obvious difficulty, “But you keep in touch, you hear me?”

“I will.”

You hugged your brother and promised to visit, and then turned back to Mauhír who was watching you unblinkingly from a polite distance.

He cut a strange figure in the strong sunlight of the fertile valley, with his mottled purple-brown skin and deep scars, but as Avhundas trotted back over to him and bumped her forehead affectionately against his hip and as he fondled her ears the way a lord would fuss a beloved hunting hound’s ears, you smiled.

He looked back to you and suddenly seemed so vulnerable for all his steel muscles and intimidating looks.

“Let’s go,” you said as you walked back through the long grass towards him.

Mauhír had only his war axe on his back and his warg by his side, but in that moment he knelt before you and bowed his head. He said something in the harsh, guttural dialect of the Uruks and took your hand in his. Something told you that the words he spoke were an oath. He pressed your knuckles against his forehead with great solemnity and then rose. “I… I am… yours…” he said falteringly, embarrassed.

You smiled and reached your hands up around his neck, more pulling yourself up to meet him than tugging him successfully down to meet you. You pressed a kiss against his lips, avoiding his jutting tusks, and laughed as his eyes went wide with surprise. His hands grabbed your waist and then the curve of your cheeks, and he hoisted you unceremoniously up around his waist, heedless of his injuries, and he kissed you back, his hands holding you firmly in place.

You caught him wincing, and you said, “Put me down you big idiot. When you’re better, we can do this and much more, but not til then, alright?”

He growled wordlessly, nuzzling kisses against your neck, but eventually acquiesced when you continued to protest. He then set you up on Avhundas’ back and then hopped up behind you, holding you tightly.

He had no reins to control her, relying on his voice and his legs to guide her, and the three of you headed out of the village and down the road, still heading south, towards a new life together and towards whatever your new road would bring.

His warm weight was a comfort behind you, and as the day wore on and your legs began to get sore from riding so long, you let yourself lean back against his bare chest. He kissed the top of your head and pressed on, leaving his clan and everything familiar behind.

And it was all for you.

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[lostcauses-noregrets]

Lostcauses Fic: HMS Maria - Trost

After an eleven month hiatus, I’ve finally got round to updating HMS Maria.  Hopefully I’ll be able to update a bit more regularly than annually from now on XD

“Your man seems to have made quite the impression on old Zackley,” Admiral Lord Pixis mused, as he stood in front of the flagship Sina’s imposing stern gallery windows, reading the letter from the First Lord of the Admiralty, which had been among the despatches carried back from England by Captain Erwin Smith.

“My man, sir?” Erwin enquired politely, though he knew exactly whom the admiral was referring to.

The Maria had left Portsmouth on a fair wind two days previously and set a course direct for Ushant, to rejoin the Channel Fleet and deliver the despatches that had been entrusted to Erwin’s care by the First Lord’s chief of staff. It had been a bright spring morning, the sun sparkling off the gray waters of the harbour, white gulls wheeling and crying overhead, as the ship slipped past the gunwharf quays and sailed out into the outer road. On the quarterdeck stood the Maria’s newly commissioned officers; Lieutenant Nanaba and Lieutenant Ackerman, and though the captain was immensely proud of both his subordinates, he couldn’t help recalling how his heart had swelled with pride at the sight of Levi Ackerman in his pristine new uniform, eyes fixed forward beneath a steady frown, a faint flush of pink colouring his cheeks, betraying his self-consciousness at his newly exalted rank.

“Ackerman.” Pixis voice interrupted Erwin’s train of thought. “Lieutenant Ackerman,” he corrected himself, eyes crinkling into a mass of wrinkles as he smiled. “You did well finding that one.”

“So is seems, sir.” Erwin agreed, taking a sip of the generous glass of Madeira the Admiral’s steward had poured for him.

“You aim to keep him I presume?”

“Aye, sir. By your leave sir, and Lieutenant Nanaba too if I may. The Maria has vacancies for both second and third lieutenant.”

“Then consider their appointment to the Maria confirmed,” the admiral nodded agreeably. “For the time being.”

“For the time being, sir?” Erwin enquired cautiously.

“Your man Ackerman isn’t the only one who caught the His Lordship’s eye, Smith. You’re in line for promotion to a 74.”

The news caught Erwin flat aback. Though he knew he could not remain a frigate captain indefinitely, he had not expected to be promoted to a 74-gun ship-of-the-line so soon. It was an appointment many captains sought, bringing as it did the prospect of fleet battles and engagements, glory and renown, and, for the fortunate few, a step towards the exalted rank of Admiral. But it was neither rank nor glory that Erwin aspired to, he had spent years among the great fleets as a young officer serving on this or that flagship, and he knew that was not where his talents lay. Erwin excelled as a partisan, with the freedom to operate swiftly and independently, outwith the rigid chain of command that fleet manoeuvres necessitated. His heart sank at the thought of leaving his ship, his crew, the men who had been so loyal to him, who had shed their blood on his command, but to refuse such a promotion would be tantamount to insubordination.

[Continue reading on AO3]

[gegenji]

Always Looking for RP - Chachanji Gegenji (Shadowbringers)

General Information ––––

NAME: Chachanji Gegenji NICKNAMES: Chachan, Chanchan, Chach, Chachi, Chan, Cha, Chanji, Bunchan, Chagenji, “Champion” Chachan, and Mallet Masher AGE: 19 RACE: Lalafell - Dunesfolk GENDER: Male SEXUALITY: Heterosexual MARITAL STATUS: Single SERVER: Balmung

Physical Appearance ––––

HAIR: Green with a snowy white patch. Frosting is not dye, but caused due to time spent in training and meditation in an area of highly positive-aspected aether. EYES: Violet, with a slight mirror-y sheen. Effect also caused by training mentioned above. HEIGHT: 2'10" BUILD: Short, stocky. General Lalafellin build but with broader shoulders, bulkier arms and legs, and a bit of visible muscle definition (though he often tries to hide it). Endomorphic musculature. DISTINGUISHING MARKS: Light dusting of freckles over cheeks and shoulders, burly physique, forehead stone with the family seal engraved in it. COMMON ACCESSORIES: Cactuar earring, his (very large) smithing hammer, a worn bokken, various small smithing tools, a pouch full of Yellow Drops, satchel of jerky, canteen of sweetwater.

Personal –––-

PROFESSION: Doman Blacksmith, Armorsmith, and Leatherworker. Seneschal of House Dentra (minor Ul’dahn noble house and smelting guild), Free Paladin of Ul'dah, and Samurai-in-Training. HOBBIES: Reading storybooks, chocobo riding, Triple Triad (both playing and just collecting cards) LANGUAGES: Eorzean, Doman/Hingan, little bit of sign language. RESIDENCE: Usagenji Ironworks (Goblet Ward 11, Plot 15)

Traits –––-

extroverted / introverted / in between disorganized / organized / in between close minded / open-minded / in between calm / anxious / in between disagreeable / agreeable / in between cautious / reckless / in between patient / impatient / in between outspoken / reserved / in between leader / follower / in between empathetic / unemphatic / in between optimistic / pessimistic / in between traditional / modern / in between hard-working / lazy / in between cultured / uncultured / in between loyal / disloyal / in between faithful / unfaithful / in between

Additional Information –––-

SMOKING HABIT: never / sometimes / frequently / to excess DRUGS: never / sometimes / frequently / to excess ALCOHOL: never / sometimes / frequently / to excess

Possible Hooks –––-

Highly Skilled Gegenji Smith - Member of the Gegenji family, which has some fame around Yanxia, Chachanji is extremely skilled at his craft. While he focuses mainly on crafting armor to protect others, he is also able to craft tools, perform all sorts of repairs and maintenance and - should he be properly swayed and convinced to do so - craft very powerful weaponry.

(It should be noted that due to his pacifistic nature, getting him to make or improve weaponry will require a high degree of trust with the individual.)

Seneschal of House Dentra - Through a strange rite of initiation, Chachanji is now the current head of a minor Ul’dahn noble house. House Dentra is most notable for also being the owner of a Smelting Guild, owning various facilities and mines scattered across Eorzea. They also help staff the satellite facility “Three Ingot Outlet” (named after the aforementioned initiation) that opens during the Sultana’s Breath Shopping Arcade.

Mr. Eorzea/”Champion” Chachan - Chachanji has been crowned the victor in two competitions - the Mr. Eorzea competition and the Grindstone. While he has only won each once, these victories somehow remain decently well known - likely due to how much it flusters him - with the latter in no small part due to the sweetwater and fruit juice drink named after him at the Quicksand. Despite this he still tends to pop by the Grindstone itself now and then as either a spectator or a participant for training purposes.

Free Paladin of Ul’dah - While he doesn’t directly work with the Sultansworn, Chachanji has been ordained a proper Free Paladin of Ul’dah by one Coatleque Crofte. He does often take up various levequests to help people under that title, and - more commonly - serves as a regular resource for the Sultansworn to have their regalia repaired and refitted. He also assists the Flames in a similar capacity, so anyone with connections with either group might have seen or heard of the little smith.

Source or First - Chachan is currently on the Source but I do have plans in mind for Chachan to end up stuck on the First thanks to the antics of a Pixie named Gria Gai - and possibly need of help and/or a way back home! When it happens is still up in the air (and probably can be shifted around if needed), but it does mean Chachan could potentially encountered in either Shard. And even if Chachan is still on the Source, he has a Reflection on the First that is still plenty available to be interacted with.

What I’m Looking for ––––

Friends - Chachan is always one to make new friends, even if they seem the sort that most might not give a fair shake to. From Garleans to half-voidsent, if you seem like a decent enough person, he’ll probably be willing to at least try!

Customers - As a skilled smith, it’s nice to actually have Chachan doing his job via RP rather than just saying he does. This extends from armorcraft to repair to possibly even serving a potential source of work at one of House Dentra’s facilities or mines.

Helping People - Chachan likes trying to help people out, so whether for one-shots or in longer arcs, getting to have the little guy help out someone in need would be pretty neat. Just lemme know what the general idea is and we can see if the floofy-haired dork can help out in it!

RP in General - Slice of life, RP events, arcs. Basically I’m just looking to interact more with the various interesting people, places, and occurrences that take place in the world of FFXIV! It’s part of my goal in Shadowbringers to really get Chachan out there a lot more.

OOCly, I am ––––

A contract programmer who is free most evenings, and frequently looking for someone to RP with, just hang out, or even go flail around in Overwatch. Most of my evenings and weekends tend to be open, so I’m looking to fill them with SOCIAL ACTIVITIES.

I will warn up front that I’m the sort that doesn’t like to idle around too much, however. So, if I don’t have anything planned for the day, I’ll often try to entertain myself doing something - whether it be leveling Jobs or Trusts or what-have-you. The thing to keep in mind is that these are usually just my way to waste time, and I would often prefer to do something like RP instead! So please feel free to poke me via /tells or Discord or whatever, even if it looks like I’m busy. I will definitely let you know if I am, but more likely I’ll totally drop whatever I’m doing for something far more fun - like RPing with you!

As for the RP itself... I’m open to try most things within reason. Overly dark or violent themes will likely need to be okayed first (I’m not against them but Chachan’s a cheerful, friendly, gentle sort and that can clash with very gritty stories sometimes!), but I’m willing to give a lot of more lore-bendy ideas and plots a shot if you can sell me on it! I am also open for RP/chatting both in-game proper as well as over Discord (Hamelin#0069).

Additional Plot Hook: Gojirafell ––––

Chachanji - due to a sort of monkey’s paw situation involving a strange snake oil salesman and a modified Gobbielixir potion - has gained the ability to pull an Apache Chief or Ultraman and become quite large. How large is dependent on how much aether he intakes - and thus something he has to watch out for. Overhealing, anything with ether-like properties, and even the aether that Primals use when they seek to temper (which oddly enough makes him immune to that effect) will cause this to happen whether he likes it or not. As such, he tries to avoid situations where the very large cat might be let out of the bag.

This is kept under a Read More mostly because it is a Plot Hook that could fall outside people’s comfort zones where it comes to lore-bending and personal head-canons. As such, it’s something that only will be a Thing in situations where it is clearly identified that it is being used and, more importantly, that everyone involved is okay with it. Otherwise, it will rarely - if ever - be directly alluded to or even referenced. After all, it’s something Chachan would be trying to keep secret about in either case!

As for how someone might come across this odd trait, the events of his trip to Kugane - the rescue of the sinking ship specifically - resulted in a drunken captain and crew spouting tales of a sea giant that rescued them. These were overheard by a Kugane writer and have become the basis of a series of Doman stories and picture books. Not to mention the events of the recently completed Kyodai Hero arc could provide further ways!

Or we could probably manage to manufacture a scene where the secret slips - either just slip of the tongue or witnessing the Gojirafell himself! Especially for any First RP as the Pixie that abducted him is well aware of his ability and gets an absolute kick out of messing with him with it. Both to embarrass him and to glamour his outfit to show off her burgeoning fashion sense on such a sizable canvas (Yes, she takes some cues from Tomoyo from Cardcaptor Sakura)!

[schmergo]

Informal (and sorry, very long) review of ASSASSINS at Signature Theatre

ASSASSINS is famous for its provocative concept—telling the story of nine people who assassinated or attempted to assassinate US Presidents in a series of songs and vignettes—and it feels even more daring when staged only 15 minutes from the White House. But this musical isn’t a tasteless exercise in shock value for the sake of shock, nor is it a misguided attempt to portray assassins as ‘just misunderstood.’ These nine central figures are alternately pathetic, disturbing, funny, repulsive, charming, and eerie. Some are clearly delusional, others simply disillusioned. But together, they represent the dark side of the American Dream.

Americans are raised with a sense of exceptionalism, a belief that we deserve everything we want simply because we’re Americans. At some point, we realize that only a few people have the luck, money, skills, and connections to achieve their dreams. Most of us accept that it’s not really true that “anyone can become the President.” But some troubled people throughout the country’s history cling to a distorted corruption of this dream: anyone can kill a President.

That doesn’t mean we should agree with their horrifying choices. But it does let us examine what aspects of life in America make some people so desperate to be seen and remembered, by any means necessary. “Where’s my prize?” is the childish refrain these assassins sing over and over again as they wander through the grey purgatory they’ve been consigned to.

Historically, productions of ASSASSINS are set in a ghastly carnival where contestants are encouraged to ‘step right up’ and shoot a president! A wonderful community production at Dominion Stage created a masterpiece of vivid Americana in which an electric chair or hangman’s noose were reimagined as theme park rides. This production took the opposite route by setting the action in a grimy, industrialized, empty stage in which pieces of furniture like a bench, the steps to a gallows, or a sofa float on and off like ghosts. Through this strange empty world, assassins interact unbounded by time or space, cursed to constantly repeat their most famous actions and relive their frustrations. Garfield assassin Charles J. Guiteau instructs would-be Ford assassin Sara Jane Moore in the finer points of shooting. McKinley assassin Leon Czolgosz reprimands attempted Reagan assassin John Hinckley for carelessly breaking a bottle.

The only set piece that remains throughout the show is a weathered and ghostly replica of the Presidential box at Ford’s Theatre, plunked onto the stage as though fallen from the sky. Here, the brooding spectre of John Wilkes Booth sits and watches the show unfold—and yes, he recreates his famous jump from the box. He serves as a kind of ringleader to the assassins, weaving through crowds, advising that everyone try their hand at assassination as a cure for all of their ills—even chronic stomach pain. After all, he was the first to pull off the historic act. We even see him convincing Lee Harvey Oswald to change the course of history by bringing assassination into the age of television.

As Booth, there’s a whiff of the rock star about Vincent Kempski—fitting, because Booth was a celebrity and even heartthrob in his day even before shooting Abraham Lincoln. Most of the time, he seems at ease, in control, erudite—we might even be seduced by his words until he explodes in fits of rage and reminds us how twisted and monstrous his views really are. Kempski only occasionally unleashes the full power of his singing voice, and when he does, it feels like a punch in the gut.

One minor gripe with his performance, though not limited to Kempski’s portrayal alone: his Booth, like most I’ve seen, delivers his lines with a thick Southern drawl. Not only did that occasionally make it difficult to understand his words, I doubt the real John Wilkes Booth would have spoken with such a heavy accent. For one, although he supported the Confederacy, he was from Maryland. For another, his father was British. And most importantly, he was a professional stage actor before the era of microphones and would have been well-trained in diction. Still, his charisma was palpable throughout the show. The moment he set foot on stage, a chill ran down my spine: it really was like seeing a ghost.

Lawrence Redmond plays the disgruntled worker Leon Czolgozs with gravitas and stoic desperation. He is perhaps the most sympathetic—or pathetic—of the assassins, and he gives us a sense of the loss of human potential. As the crass Sam Byck, attempted assassin of Richard Nixon, Christopher Bloch is horribly funny, spouting commercial catchphrases and leaving professional advice to Leonard Bernstein on an audiotape recording.

Some of the most enjoyable scenes of the evening were those between the two attempted assassins of Gerald Ford, Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme (Rachel Zampelli) and Sara Jane Moore (Tracy Lynn Olivera). These are two deeply kooky women—a ditzy Manson groupie and a frumpy mom who’s been married five times and is endlessly losing items in her oversized bag. Together, they shoot at a bucket of fried chicken and bond over an unexpected shared acquaintance in Manson himself.

Zampelli may not be the childlike pixie we’d expect as Squeaky Fromme, but she totally inhabits the character of a lost soul, a flower child whose brains, if she ever had them, are long-since fried and warped. Her voice isn’t a high-pitched girlish squeak but has a distinctive creaky vocal fry to it that makes her sound utterly deranged. She’s so intense in her devotion to Manson that she ranks among the most unsettling characters on the stage. She also shares a strangely beautiful duet, “Unworthy of Your Love,” with sad sack John Hinckley (Evan Casey), a failed songwriter who’s obsessed with Jodie Foster.

As Sara Jane Moore, Olivera is absolutely hysterical in both senses of the word. A chatty, scatterbrained housewife, she seems to represent the mundane and trivial compared to Squeaky’s revolutionary furor— but she can also burst into tears or pull a gun on you at any second. Her utter lack of self-awareness and deadpan one-liners like “I couldn’t hit William Howard Taft if he was sitting on my lap” made her an audience favorite. Ms. Olivera has a special talent for making dialogue sound totally natural, as if everything she says is an ad-lib. I’ll jump at the chance to see any show she’s in because she makes every character completely her own.

But the performer who truly stole the show, and my other favorite local actor, is Bobby Smith, as the lifelong loser, Charles Guiteau. Guiteau is a comically tragic figure, a man who failed at everything he did and still retained the grandiose belief that his actions were divinely inspired. He was so consumed with his delusional belief that President Garfield would make him the Ambassador to France that he shot him. As Guiteau, Smith does a jaunty dance up and down the steps of the gallows before he is to be hanged, singing a refrain of “Look on the bright side!”

Guiteau is a man of extremes, euphoric and despondent at the drop of a hat. Smith, whose appeal as a performer often lies in his unassuming, everyman demeanor, gives amazing nuance to those abrupt transitions. We see real tears shining in his eyes beyond his too-wide smile, a tremble of the lip or shaking of the hands that betray his instability. He’s incredibly entertaining to watch every moment he’s onstage, yet you’re always simultaneously concerned for and creeped out by him. There’s something so obviously ‘not right’ with Guiteau. The last character to make me feel that way was Gollum.

Tying the whole story together is Sam Ludwig as the Balladeer, who serves as a cheery narrator for the show, delivering songs that span the gamut of American music styles. These are some of the most toe-tapping tunes in Sondheim’s catalog, contrasted sharply with the discordant numbers that run between them. Ludwig also inhabits a second role, which may come as a surprise (and isn’t listed in the program). He embodies the saccharine spirit of an American narrative that sees assassination attempts as isolated incidents rather than a symptom of a deeper illness. I occasionally found his piercing tenor voice a little grating to my ears, but it suited his character well—and I was sitting very close to the stage. An increasingly mangled rendition of ‘Hail To The Chief’ ties the musical numbers together.

This show runs almost two hours with no intermission. It’s so immersive that it gives you the curious sense of waking up from a vivid dream as you leave the theatre. You almost feel that the assassins linger behind you, reliving their crimes and failures in the abandoned theatre once you’ve gone home to bed.

Assassins plays through September 29. Don’t miss this show. You’ll find yourself laughing at the most unexpected lines and thinking about the most minor moments long after the curtain call.

[riddledeep]

Fae Hierarchy

Fairy Elder - Last of the Tuatha Dé Danann. She is not a god, but holds great authority and power in the cloudlands. She wears yellow robes and a magical diamond necklace that keeps her alive. Fairies, Anti-Fairies, and Refracts alike respect her; she is an impartial figurehead.

Wise Ancients - Extremely powerful nature spirits such as Mother Nature and Father Time. They are neutral parties, but not impartial. These deities have their own agendas and use mortals to further their goals.

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Zodiac spirits - The seven nature spirits who represent the seven elements on the Fairy zodiac. The days of the week are named after them.

Supreme Fairy Council - Four Fairies and three Anti-Fairies who are elected to sit on either the Fairy Council or Anti-Fairy Council. The seven are collectively referred to as the Supreme Fairy Council. Each member is called a Robe, and wears a robe in the color of the cloudland region (political state) they represent.

Eros family - Cupid’s bloodline. Always cherubs, always triplets, and allegedly tasked by the gods to maintain Fairy genealogies and prevent any species in the universe from truly going extinct.

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Keeper of Da Rules - The Keeper of Da Rules maintains order in the cloudlands by ensuring Da Rules are followed. Following the War of the Angels, the Keeper of Da Rules also became ambassador for the common fairy subspecies. This is Jorgen’s current position.

Lower-ranked nature spirits - The children and grandchildren of the zodiac spirits. They are certainly deities, but are lesser deities.

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Alien ambassadors - Aliens who represent other worlds, including entire planets sometimes.

High Count and High Countess - The dual leaders of the Anti-Fairies. While the titles imply separate male and female positions, they can be filled by a same-sex pair. Although equals from a political standpoint, the High Count is still considered head of the household, mirroring the creche father rank in actual bat colonies. These are Anti-Cosmo’s and Anti-Wanda’s current positions.

Head Pixie - This title is often abbreviated H.P. Only the reigning Head Pixie has the authority to make drastic changes to the Pixie social structure. He rules until his death, after which he is succeeded by the Vice President of Pixies Inc.

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Fairy subspecies ambassadors - Ambassadors of various races under the Fairy umbrella who attend Council meetings. Some are elected while others are kings and queens born and raised in royal families.

First General - The follower drake of the High Count. The First General organizes and oversees Anti-Fairy troops in war. In times of peace, he also performs ceremonies and breaks gridlock arguments among the camarilla court. This position is always filled by a male. This is Anti-Poof Anti-Everwish’s current position.

Temple acolytes - High-ranking Anti-Fairies who reside in and care for the Zodiac Temples. They are considered experts in matters of architecture; they spend decades studying such things in Zodiac Temples before they can design monuments to the nature spirits or offer their designing services to clients. They’re so renowned for their skill that hopeful Fairy architects will train beneath them instead of attending the Academy.

Head Anti-Pixie - Leader of the anti-pixie race. Generally given the cold shoulder and not taken seriously considering that anti-pixies are stereotyped as constantly-drunk party-loving lunatics. Holds very little political power. This is Anti-Sanderson’s current position.

Vice President of Pixies Inc. - The pixie intended to be the Head Pixie’s successor. Until then, he helps the Head however he is instructed to (Mostly by keeping Pixie World resources such as groceries stocked and helping with childcare duties). Only pixie gynes may hold this rank. This is Longwood’s current position.

Chief Pixie of PixieCo - The gyne who oversees pixies in the Hawthorn Haven cloudland colony. The title is also abbreviated C.P. of PixieCo. The C.P. is still subject to the Head, like a manager to a larger company. As other pixie gynes set off into the world, more C.P. positions will pop up. This is Smith’s current position.

Pixie ambassador - H.P. became Pixie ambassador to the Supreme Fairy Council by default. However, he can elect to pass the position to someone else if he wants to.

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Keepers [of Da Rules] - Not to be confused with the singular position. These government workers make up the Fairy World police force and are trained to organize as militia if necessary. They wear sky blue and white uniforms.

Camarilla court - Six Anti-Fairies selected by the High Count and six selected by the High Countess who weigh in on matters of political and social importance. While the High Count and High Countess technically hold seats on the camarilla too, the name “camarilla” is colloquially used to encompass everyone else. In total, there are two people on the camarilla court representing each of the seven elements on the Fairy zodiac.

Heir to the High Seat / “High heir” - A child of either the High Count or Countess (sometimes both) born with the iris virus. A potential heir born without the iris virus would automatically be rejected as the heir for not carrying “the sacred blessing of the nature spirits”. In times of desperation when no legitimate heir can be produced, another color-eyed child of nobility (most likely an extended family member) can be adopted into the bloodline instead. This is Foop’s current position.

H.P.’s alpha retinue drone - A gyne’s primary drone; he oversees other drones and can assist his gyne in distributing his pheromones through the ranks. An alpha drone technically has the same rights as a service animal regarding where he can and can’t go. This is Sanderson’s current position.

Vice President of PixieCo - Simply, the pixie who succeeds the Chief Pixie of PixieCo, and assists him until then. Like the Vice President of Pixies Inc., the V.P. of PixieCo should be a gyne. Again, we’ll be introduced to this position in “The Other One”.

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Other von Strangle family members - Nana Boom-Boom. Invisible Leonard. People we saw in “Cosmo Rules”. You know what I mean.

Creche fathers of other colonies - Non-nursing colonies of Anti-Fairies are naturally patriarchal; the creche father is the highest-ranking male in the colony. While leadership skills are valued, his main role consists of caring for the young pups in the colony.

Heir’s betrothed - The intended mate to the “High heir” and therefore the assumed new High Count or Countess. This person doesn’t hold real legal authority, but is treated with respect. As it stands right now, this is Anti-Coriander’s unofficial position.

Chief Sunchosen - A self-proclaimed title for the unofficial ambassador of the Refracted. The intention is that one day, this position will be for Refracts what the High Count and Countess are for Anti-Fairies. This is Dame Artemis’s current self-titled position.

C.P.’s alpha retinue drone - Same as H.P.’s alpha retinue drone, but he belongs to the Chief Pixie of PixieCo. This is Calvert’s current position.

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Other celebrities - The Tooth Fairy, famous actors like Blonda, TV show hosts like Billy Crystal Ball, successful writers, and so on.

Mates of camarilla members - Nobles who are nobility through marriage. Obviously, they lose this title if their mate is removed from the camarilla. Usually they contract the iris virus from their mate.

Other irises - Other carriers of the iris virus. Mainly nobles and former nobles who are treated with a hint more respect than commoners. This is a fuzzy area; prostitutes selling the iris virus are an actual inconvenicnce that causes headaches for the higher-ups.

Successful farmers - If you lived in a magical cloud world with limited ability to farm nutritious food, you would value farmers who provided you with high-quality crops too.

Most Refracted - An angelic, pious race of gold and white bird-based people, quite opposite of the stereotype of the evil blue and black Anti-Fairy. The Refracted manage many of the Daoist shrines and ceremonies and are generally well-liked even though they can be pompous and annoying.

Gynes - Large, freckled Fairies (always male) who ate a lot of jelly as children. In actual insect colonies, gynes are the “princesses” who take over from the queen, often by killing her in a battle to the death. Likewise, Fairy gynes are naturally very territorial and often fight each other. Gynes with more dominant pheromones have the ability to suppress the reproductive systems of subordinate gynes. Gynes with many dark freckles are considered more attractive than those with few. The actual rank of a gyne varies in regard to other social status factors, but people generally give them respect.

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Upper-class Fairy citizens - High-ranking people who aren’t considered celebrities. The Whimsifinado and Fairywinkle families fall into this category.

Kids of camarilla members and their mates - Children of nobility, often considered nobles themselves. They’re likely to carry the iris virus.

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Average Fairy citizens - Regular, non-celebrity folk. Fairy culture is still largely dominated by their caste system, although they’re starting to move away from it as time goes on.

Anti-Fairy commoners - Average Anti-Fairies who aren’t considered nobility; as a result, they’re highly unlikely to carry the iris virus and probably have red eyes. Those who live in colonies are considered more socially acceptable than rogues. Many males travel in bachelor colonies during their adolescent years. Occasionally, females may travel in nursing colonies.

Tourists (Aliens) - Cloudland foreigners. Aliens don’t typically settle in the cloudlands since there’s really nothing to do there if you aren’t magical, and the buildings tend to be very small.

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Genies - Generally looked down upon; profiled as dirty, manipulative trouble-makers who enjoy laughing at the expense of others. Technically, it’s difficult to officially rank them since there just aren’t very many in the first place, let alone genies who freely wander the cloudlands.

Drones - Stereotyped as natural-born servants (always male) and born only if their father is either a gyne or a drone. Despite the name “drone”, their natural behaviors are most similar to those of worker bees. They’re attracted to gyne pheromones, so gynes tend to form retinues of drones who take pride in serving him. A drone will be born sterile approximately 75% of the time. Pixie drones, being infected with Wolbachia pipientis, are an exception to this rule.

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Will o’ the wisps - Stereotyped as gorgeous temptresses who seduce males and keep harems. They fear floods and slip out of their underground tunnels when it rains. Goldie Goldenglow is the wisp ambassador.

Anti-will o’ the wisps - Stereotyped as prostitutes (“Mistresses” in Anti-Fairy World) and generally looked down upon for having insect wings instead of bat ones; they are also known as “mothdames.” Anti-Marigold is an anti-wisp.

Finfolk - Very similar to will o’ the wisps, although they live underwater. The stereotype is that they capture potential spouses from land and drag them underwater, forcing their captors to be their servants.

Redcaps - Stereotyped as psychotic hillbillies. They’re looked down upon because they need to coat their hats in blood regularly in order to survive, or they’ll die. They have five eyes, are immune to all poisons and venoms, and are generally considered really creepy.

Brownies - Highly shunned for their venomous saliva. Widely viewed as meek servants without much brain power. To call someone a brownie-kisser implies that they’re so incapable of wooing anyone that they took advantage of a poor, dumb, innocent creature instead. Brownies are not inherently less intelligent than other Fairies- they just keep ending up in disadvantaged situations.

Click HERE for my Fairly OddParents worldbuilding masterpost

[fountainpenguin]

Hi! So I read your fic that focused on preening from the POV of Sanderson, and I was curious about the thing mentioned there about pixies going off to start their own companies when they grow up and have their own kids - I haven’t read everything, granted, but I don’t think I saw anything about that in your pixie worldbuilding and it sounds interesting, so I’d love if you could elaborate! Also, what do you think Pixie world would look like after a generation or two of this?

Thanks for your interest! (Heads up for minor #ridspoilers related to Origin of the Pixies, 130 Reasons Why I'm Fairy Trash, and Devil's Backbone)

Useful Knowledge

- 130 Prompt #37 - "Grooming" - One-shot about Sanderson (who has separation anxiety) anxiously waiting for H.P. to call him in for their evening grooming / preening ritual - Gyne & drone mindset info - If you don't know what gynes are, my replies won't make much sense. - List of Gen 2 Pixies - I namedrop pixies below. Not required, but it may be useful to have their numbers and vague details - Vice President Longwood's bio & main blog tag - Not required to understand this post, but there are some interesting old posts like "How do other pixies view the Longwood vs Sanderson rivalry?" & "What is Longwood's leadership style?" - It's also helpful to know what Wolbachia pipientis is, but the only thing you really need to know is that Pixies reproduce asexually when they come of age, whether they want to or not.

Background

"I was curious about the thing mentioned there about pixies going off to start their own companies when they grow up and have their own kids [...] so I’d love if you could elaborate!"

Aside from Sanderson giving sneak peeks of what he knows of H.P.'s plans in "Grooming" (and occasional other glimpses into his mind), we actually don't get to this part of the lore until Arc 4 of 130 Reasons Why I'm Fairy Trash.

For reference, I'm looking at the 130 summaries page and the next 'fic I post will kick off Arc 3, so it'll be a while.

Where we are in modern times (i.e. Timmy's time period), H.P. is down to his last offspring before his Wolbachia-forced fertility fades out- that's why Finley and Southmark - his final two children - are born tomtes: i.e., Fae without magic. Like a printer, he ran out of ink.

Art from the Eclipse House roommates post - Sammy, Poof, Foop, Finley

Coincidentally, Sanderson's Wolbachia-forced fertility kicks on right around the time, as he had come into adulthood and his body finished setting up everything it needed to inside him.

Those who've been around a while probably know exactly who Sanderson's first clone offspring is... Who's that pixie?

Art from the 2019 music meme post

It's... Cavatina Sanderson!

He's our cover image character for the Gray Train story arc and made his first in-story appearance as a teen (at Goldie's coronation) in "All I Ever Wanted." He is hands-down my favorite FOP OC, whom I've had since 2016 but have said little about since we've not reached his arc, and I love him very much.

Let's talk about companies, logos, some things we can expect from Vice President Longwood and Chief Pixie Smith, and a little about Cavatina... without getting TOO spoilery, of course.

Companies and Business

I can't say much, but I can confirm Sanderson opens a music store after becoming a dad and Cavatina often hangs out with him there.

The music store means a lot to Sanderson as it's the only place that's truly his (seeing as he shares an apartment with Hawkins, Longwood, and Wilcox for most of his life).

The funny thing about Cavatina is that he also likes tagging around after H.P., so you can imagine what that looks like. Duckling instinct strikes again...

Company Logos

A group of pixies can be called a company- not every pixie needs to run a business, but they're identified by special marks that organize them in family groups... Well, companies in a culture that doesn't like acknowledging family connections.

In other words, pixies have tattoos on their wrists that identify them despite being otherwise identical. These are Sanderson's:

From this post

These marks are called logos and are tattooed on the undersides of Sanderson’s wrists- He's Pixie 002 in H.P.’s company (left wrist) and Pixie 001 of his own company (right wrist).

Sanderson’s offspring have his logo tattooed on the undersides of their left wrists; they do not have H.P.’s logo at all. When they're old enough for their own company, they'll add their logo to their right wrist and their offspring will have that same logo on left wrist, so on and so forth.

While forcibly tattooing little kids may sound cruel... There is a good reason for it. DNA tests are absolutely useless in Pixie World because pixies are genetically identical. Every pixie is, technically, the child of Ambrosine and Solara- H.P.'s parents (which is why all pixies are tied to the same yoo-doo doll). Their pheromones vary slightly, but brand marks are the only reliable way to identify who a pixie is.

Worldbuilding detail- Fae heal quickly, but washing injuries (like tattoo pinpricks) in rosewater will prevent them from healing. Sanderson vaguely alludes to this in "Grooming."

H.P. had 507 (surviving) offspring, and he began reproducing when he was 491,536 years old. He was the first pixie infected with Wolbachia. H.P. wasn't born with Wolbachia- he was only infected late in life (human equivalent of 43). His offspring are born every time he would be coming into heat if non-infected, so his offspring are 500 years apart (give or take a year, with rare exceptions).

But Gen 2 (H.P.'s offspring) were born with Wolbachia, so they start reproducing shortly after adulthood (human equivalent of 22 or 23, give or take for the individual).

And there are a LOT of pixies coming into age around that time. Which is a huge population concern.

Near the end of my "7 Billion Years in 15,000 Words" post, I mentioned that after Foop makes the connection between royal jelly and gynes, that news gets out. Fairy parents experiment with feeding jelly to their kids, leading to a boom of gynes in the cloudlands (Playing into that culture of gynes being viewed "more attractive" and "smarter" and "more desirable kids" than drones... Obviously all social stereotypes, but that's the unfortunate way of the world). That has a lot of problems in its own- Most notably, the fact that dominance instincts set gynes up to fight to the death and now there are a lot of them in Fairy World. -> Foop actually... did not want that news to go public. For all his faults, he's very thoughtful and meticulous and he wanted to think over his discovery before people knew about it. It's devastating to him and he carries the emotional burden of his research for a long time. Specifically, I said in that post that there aren't enough fairy drones to go around since many drakes developed into gynes, so a lot of them would probably seek the pixies, thus luring them out of Pixie World and integrating them more into Fairy World I still think that's the most likely fate. There are simply too many pixies for Pixie World to thrive with an exponentially increasing population in a very small space.

Where Are We Going?

"Also, what do you think Pixie world would look like after a generation or two of this?"

I really like the Pixie expansion plot I have going on. H.P. is a gyne, and as his few gyne offspring grow older, the smart move is to separate them so they won't kill each other (or him). The vibe here is "princess" bees going off to be queens of their own colony, which is fairly accurate to a real bee or wasp hive, which I like.

Longwood Mayfleet was H.P.'s first gyne offspring and is due to take over Pixies Inc. after H.P. (and even become Head Pixie II someday).

That's all well and good, but that still leaves us with a handful of other gynes who need to go somewhere. Most famously, we have Darius Smith- The next oldest gyne after Longwood.

Who is Smith?

Smith is always butting heads with H.P., to the point that he's not even allowed inside Pixies Inc. most of the time. He oversees the warehouses and cloudships.

I also have a pheromone post scheduled for Sunday on the sideblog that discusses Smith's unique pheromones. Check that out for bonus info.

Smith's a really interesting character to me. He wasn't old enough to fight in the War of the Angels, so he's actually in charge of Pixie World during that whole arc (and comes into his adult wings during that time, his biology kicking in early since he was forced to take the reins young. It's a wonder he didn't start reproducing as soon as he became the dominant one...

Although he gives control back to H.P. (reluctantly) when he returns from war, this brief stint at running Pixie World really gets to Smith and his instincts... which is why he has a whole takeover plot later on where he chases H.P. out and takes control. Here's an upcoming scene I think is funny (and tells you everything you need to know about the H.P.-Smith dynamic):

While I lingered on the fringes of Pixie society, Smith struggled beneath a mountain of papers and politics. The Anti-Coppertalon dynasty fell six days after Commelina’s birth, and First General Anti-Cosmo rose to take the High Count seat. Good on him. Smith had a hundred questions, and Emery relayed messages between us as a neutral party. I responded to each one in the same flat way: “You’re in charge. Figure it out. Maintain the professional brand image I spent your life building up. Don’t be dumb.” But by Lugh’s spear, were they on a massive time crunch to plow through all that paperwork. According to Da Rules, midnight wasn’t to fall on the Lia Fáil while a major position of power lay vacant. Emery said Smith pulled every pixie together in the food court and had a job that normally would have taken a week (minus procrastinating) finished in hardly four hours. “Good boy,” I said when Emery told me, sitting in my rocking chair with Commelina dozing in my arms. “Good boy.”

Origin of the Pixies - "The Fading of Light"

"Queen bee" pixie raising his own successor who wants to kill him and being so proud of him for almost doing so, my beloved...

Shout-out to what this does to Anti-Cosmo's backstory in Frayed Knots, where A.C. is going through one of the most intense things he's ever faced, but can't turn to H.P. for support.

So, that's Smith... Smith's two largest roles in the Prompts are in "Dignity" - where he's married off against his will (Mid Arc 3) - and "The Other One," where he's preparing to leave Pixie World (Arc 3's finale).

Fun Fact! I've had that Prompt's announcement in my queue for 6 years... Not my drafts. My queue:

I might redraw it when we get there, I might not, but... There's Smith!

So... What's going on with Smith? What's up with these hoops he's jumping through?

Smith is being set up to become the first Chief Pixie- a CEO of a subsidiary company outside Pixie World (Not counting Wish Fixers, which has been in H.P.'s family for generations).

Specifically, Smith will be running PixieCo in Hawthorn Haven: the cloudland colony that surrounds Planet Delk.

Sound familiar? If so, good eyes... We'll talk about it more later.

The thing about gynes is that only one can be dominant in the area at a time. They're eusocial insect people and their pheromones suppress other gynes' ability to reproduce.

Leaving Pixie World for Hawthorn Haven means Smith will become dominant and gain the ability to reproduce (thus making it useful to have a partner to help him raise kids, despite Smith's reluctance to marry).

We get some really interesting scenes because of that-

“It’s amazing to think I’m going to be the dominant gyne around, with my own drones to look after. And even more amazing to think that since I’ll be both dominant and of age, I’ll start reproducing within the decade. H.P. will be getting grandnymphs after all. Long-lasting ones, I hope.” Sanderson said nothing. As Smith straightened up with the box in his arms, he glanced over his shoulder. “Am I treading on your turf a bit, Mr. Firstborn?” Sanderson leaned his hands against the counter behind him, his fingers curling over the front edge. “Not necessarily. After all, I did beat you by a long shot.” “Human children don’t count,” Smith argued, bending to grab a folder that had slipped to the floor. He almost felt the asterisk fizzle into existence over his head. Wait… Turning back, he found Sanderson still leaning in the same position, now with his tongue pressing against the inside of his cheek. “Oh. You weren’t talking about humans.” “No.” Sanderson took a coffee cup from the stack and held it beneath the nozzle for grape soda. With his thumb, he pressed the lever. Cool purple liquid splashed against the sides. “It hasn’t been confirmed professionally, but I’ve watched how H.P. handles himself during pregnancy long enough to feel comfortable admitting it.” Smith’s wings quivered for a single jealous beat, then stopped. “I assume you’ve told him.” Sanderson’s eyes rolled above his shades. “You know the boss. If a bus rolls into town, he wants to be the first one to board it. If he attends a funeral, he wants to be the murderer. If one of his friends is expecting, he wants to be the father. He’s been so busy marketing PixieCo lately. With the official public reveal coming up, he’ll be furious if I steal all the attention. I’m waiting for the right time.”

"The Other One"

And that's where we kick off Arc 4!

Cavatina Mentions

Cavatina is one of the most notable things about the time period you're asking about- Pixies growing up to have kids - and he's also the reason I haven't shared much about this era.

I still won't share much because I've waited this long and I'm not spilling the details now, but I can compile some things we know about Cavatina into one place, and you can start putting the pieces together from there.

Keep in mind that 130 Reasons Why I'm Fairy Trash is ongoing. You don't have all the info, but this is what you do have:

- His full name is Cavatina Klangfarbenmelodie Sanderson. He's Sanderson's firstborn son. - He wears a green dragonfly pin, and has done so ever since he was a little kid. - In "You'll Never Know," Foop claims the Pixies don't trust him anymore, but "compared to what the Head Anti-Pixie did, he's a saint." - In "You'll Never Know," Foop claims Cavatina is selectively mute and that it disturbs him Anti-Cavatina doesn't chatter constantly, implying Cavatina didn't get quiet until sometime after his counterpart was born. - In "Shadow," Foop's alternate personality (Hiccup) faced pressure to speak about Cavatina. Among other things, he hints Foop "misused pottery tools" in a past encounter with Cavatina. He also hinted Foop "meets Cavatina's parents" every time there's a Council meeting. - Foop seems to be very paranoid about Cavatina, as he spent his time before the school dance in "Approval" searching everywhere for him. - Cavatina appeared in "All I Ever Wanted." Poof claimed he was "twice as buff [as Poof]," "bad at small talk," and noted that Cavatina's dragonfly pin "made him famous." Most notably, Cavatina claimed he'd have Poof's head on a silver platter 5 years from that point, which Poof laughed off. - According to Anti-Coriander's sideblog bio, she and Foop first meet at the Autumn Masquerade. Foop's commentary in "Approval" confirms Cavatina attacked Poof there. - Apparently, Cavatina has a squirrel familiar (a familiar being a witch who finished mortal life and is now an animal body piloted by witch magic). -> We know Foop has Denzel and Kevin as his familiars... Who do I know is a witch, associated with pixies, and possibly associated with squirrels?

Do with this info what you will.

I picked up my draft for "In Confidence" earlier this week, hoping to post it soon, but it's one of those weird timeline pieces that makes me hesitate. I'm not sure readers have enough context to make it hit yet. I might post it soon, I might not, but Cavatina and Poof both appear as small children (joining Mama Cosma and Sanderson at a dinner event), which is a pretty interesting dynamic.

I showed more sneak-peek scenes of Cavatina in that link, so... browse that "In Confidence" blog tag if you wish, but do so knowing those haven't been posted on FFN / AO3 yet.

What is Devil's Backbone?

Devil's Backbone is my far future ‘fic that picks up immediately following the 130 Prompt “Reality Doesn’t Work that Way” (the 2nd to last Prompt of the series- 130 Sums page).

It heavily focuses on Pixie World as well as things going on with the von Strangle family and the quest to find a successor... plus the closing of drama in the Celebrity Kids (Lavender Train) arc that we haven't gotten to yet.

Unless I decide to write one more closing ‘fic after this one, this is the finale of my Cloudlands AU works, so its target audience is readers who have read all the other Cloudlands AU pieces, as it brings multiple storylines together.

It has a complete outline, but one that can be shifted if I change plot points. My intention is to write a decent-sized multi-chapter - maybe 12 to 16 chapters. We'll see! It's possible I'll condense it (or split some of the scenes off into one-shots) depending on what feels right when we get there.

This story takes place during an era where there are many pixies and a new Head Pixie is in charge of Pixies Inc. It covers the plot points I mentioned earlier about the population boom and some next gen characters, many of whom are pixies.

One of our most important characters is Longwood's son, Blackwood Longwood, whom I do not have art of. I checked my drafts, but I don't have any scenes I can share that aren't full of spoilers, so... Just know that he exists, I guess.

Blackwood is a very hard worker and I think he's cute. He has a strong sense of wanting to do what's right and wanting to protect others. He's pretty emotional for a pixie, but it's underlaid with cold logical expectations... He's very "We have to do this because it's the right thing to do even if it hurts, but I know it hurts, so I'll be right there with you." I hope you guys like him.

Like Cavatina, I designed him in 2016 and even wrote the ending scene of Devil's Backbone back then, as Blackwood is our very pivotal guy and lives up to his main character position there.

You may have guessed it from the hints above, but Cavatina starts out as a sharp, friendly, and humble kid, quickly consumed by a thirst for revenge... Justice is everything to Cavatina. From the released info, it's not yet clear what seemingly justifies this level of vitriol, though I'm always open to hearing guesses. In contrast, Blackwood is stoic... Pursuing dreams of honor, justice, and duty. They're really fun to use together in a world that's seeing pixie families for the first time and doesn't know what to make of them. Blackwood will probably have been an OC of mine for over 10 years by the time you guys see him... idk how to feel about that. If anyone was wondering, yes I do get whiplashed every time I see the name Martin Blackwood cross my dash, but I only heard about that character in the last 1 or 2 years and I'm not changing this kid's name now, haha.

I'm not sure the 2016 ending will still be the ending of the actual 'fic, but there is definitely drama in Blackwood's character arc that I think is unique and fun. It's very tied to my lore and not something I'll ever get to repeat, so despite my hesitations that "oh, it might be weird, maybe people won't like it," I do think it's worth sharing as a story point. It's hyperspecific and I love it for that :)

Devil's Backbone plot points - including the finale moment - are actually foreshadowed several times in Origin of the Pixies and a couple other pieces. You probably won't catch them without the context of the 'fic itself, but kudos if you do!

So, that's an overview of things and that time period, and an explanation of why this lore about Pixie families comes really late in the timeline.

It's a tricky question to answer. "What will happen to the Pixies once H.P.'s strength and influence fade?" is probably the biggest "haunts the narrative" question in Cloudlands AU (and it's the big thing we're working up to), so it's inherently spoilery... but hopefully this is a satisfactory response.

Thanks for enjoying my work! :)

[asian-asuka]

Emblem, Attack on Titan

This art comprises of the emblem/insignia of all the four Military Regiments that has been shown in the internationally sensuous and complex Animation series ATTACK ON TITAN a.k.a SHINGEKI NO KYOJIN by Japan in the year 2013.

Status : Ongoing.

1. MILITARY POLICE represented by two Unicorns 🦄 with a sword as its horn (Elite military serving the King directly, maintaining the Law & Order within Wall Sina.)

Commander-in-Chief : NILE DAWK

2. GARRISON SQUAD represented by two Crimson Roses 🌹 (Elite Military looking after the protection of 3 walls (Maria,Rose,Sina) from any kind of border infiltration and security breach.)

Commander-in-Chief : DOT PIXIS

3. SURVEY CORPS, THE SCOUTING LEGIONS represented by Wings of Freedom 🦋 (Scouts laying their life & youth to fight Titans outside the walls, within the enemy territory with death lurking everywhere.)

Commander-in-Chief : ERWIN SMITH

4. THE RECRUITS/ CADETS/TRAINEES represented by two swords cutting across ⚔ (Youngsters who join the military each year, only the top 10 brilliant students make it to the MP and get to serve the king directly within the protection of Walls. Rest joins the other two regiments as instinct dictates.)

Commander-in-Chief : KEITH SHADIS

The Supreme Commander of all the 4 Military Regiments & the Chief Justice to pass Law & Order in the Court House, the Elite of Elites : DARIUS BAER VURBRAN ZACHERY

The key hanging at the end belongs to Eren Yeager, Humanity's Last Hope to become free from the oppression of Titans, the Protagonist of the series. 🌸

[snowy-weather]

can you give some more headcanons about your aus? what sparked the ideas?

I could certainly try. ^^ 

They will be under the cut, ass will my answer to the second question. ^^

RWBY AU:

In this AU, all Survey Corps members are Huntsmen and Huntresses and all Garrison members are part of the Atlas Military. (I don’t have an idea for the Military Police yet.)

Dot Pixis is a commander in the Atlas Military, but never made it to the rank of general. (Even though he’d probably make a very good general.) 

General James Ironwood often comes to Pixis for advice. 

Erwin Smith had a robotic arm (Atlas Technology, of course) to replace the one he lost while fighting a giant Grimm. This happened before the events of the story I want to focus on. After he lost his arm he took up teaching at the Atlas Huntsman Academy for a while, but went back to being a full-time huntsman eventually. 

All Ackermans have the same semblance called ‘Rampage’. For a few minutes they can increase their speed and strength by an enormous amount. This is usually enough to finish of an enemy within a few minutes. They cannot use their semblance again for a while after using it and it does use up Aura. 

Jean, Sasha, Connie and Marco are a team together and are in the same year as Eren, Mikasa and Armin at Atlas Academy. Jean is the leader. 

Cop AU:

As you might imagine, Dot Pixis is the Chief of police in the Garrison Police Department. 

(This is where I admit I’m still figuring out what ranks most characters should have. I thought Anka or/and? Gustav as deputy/deputies. Though Ian or Rico would also be fitting for that role.)

It’s a modern AU.

Household Staff AU:

This kinda ties in with a headcanon I have for the canon universe. I don’t think it was ever revealed what regiment Hannah Diamant joined, but I think it was probably the Garrison. So, she’ll appear in the Household Staff AU as one of the young maids in lord Pixis’ household. (I’m not sure yet if Franz is going to be working there too or if I put him somewhere else. XD Anyway, he’s not dead!)

Lord Pixis’ grandkids like to hang out in the kitchen with Hannes, the chef of the household. 

If you tell assistant-chef Hugo something, the whole household will probably know within a day. He’s not good at keeping secrets. 

That’s all I can think of right now, but feel free to ask more sometime. ^^

As for what sparked the ideas.... well, with me very small things can spark ideas really. XD

The RWBY AU really just came from the fact that I love both RWBY and Attack on Titan. And I once drew two of my favourite characters from each show (Hannes from AOT and Qrow Branwen from RWBY) together. I think that started it really. 

The Cop AU was just a random thought. Because I could see Hannes as a police officer in a modern AU, and then I thought the whole Garrison could be cops. 

I think the Household Staff AU was slightly based on a clip I saw of the three servants from the anime Black Butler. (I haven’t seen the anime, just a few clips.) It made me laugh, and for some reason it made me draw Hannes and Rico as a chef and a maid. Then I added Hugo as another chef and the idea was born. 

[bulletnews]

“Attack of the Hollywood Cliches!” Review: Rob Lowe maintained idiocy for high art

The last time I saw the Rob Lowe — and I had to double-check that it wasn't the result of hallucinations caused by the pandemic — was on ITV's Wild Bill, where he played an ex-Miami cop heading east to Lincolnshire. It was a unique expression of the immortal undead spirit that every actor must have to survive. We watched Billy Hicks from St. Elmos Fire drives a Volvo through cabbage fields, for God's sake! Last night Danny Martin met a crook at a wind turbine in Boston County! Become the police chief. Lowe's is a game. I say that. And he's hosting the Attack of Hollywood Clichés again! Skits and bullshit - that's a compliment - by Charlie Brooker and other writers. Looking at the most common trope in the film industry, it's made up of more video, commentary, and a small but significant additional level of wit and agility than the genre typically manages. You may also read “Jungle Cruise” Movie Review: When the craft is diligent, and the players bounce off the leading energy and unlimited charm of cartoons "Because all aspects of your character have to be great," Lowe explains in his introduction to the Maverick Cop stereotype, "having just one job isn't enough for them. Especially if your job is THIS! Police duty! Whatever the job was, they had to deal with crap! Which doesn't mean that the gang has forgotten. Its lust for stupidity has been elevated to high stupidity. "There is something - though indescribably - pleasing to hear a typical American star stoop with British talent. The writer knows, he knows, and we know. That is an amazing bag. Items with baguettes that stand out to start part on Hollywood's favourite home decor stand. That bag acts as a protective layer that prevents it from absorbing carbohydrates through your skin. "All movie stars insist." Attack Hollywood cliches! It managed to cover just about every cinematic chestnut out there. From Meet Meet and Manic Pixie Dream Girl to Dead Man Walking (never a character two days after retirement. And your love and aspirations for your young family definitely won't go through Jump Scare. A similar Spit -Take and Montage mode. It's packed with cinematic freak facts caused by a false scare known as "The Luton Bus" (after horror producer Val Luton) and the story of Wilhelm's screams. There are tons of relevant videos and in-depth observations of various actors, critics and cultural commentators. You may also read “Confessions of an Invisible Girl” Review: A teenage drama comes in Brazil, who doesn’t offer anything The bloody screams, heard during moments of high celluloid drama: Those were first recorded in 1951 for publication by Gary Cooper. It includes an impressive amount of material – in the Maverick Cops segment. For example – to pay homage to Dirty Harry from history. And recent additions like the mighty mare Kate Winslet from Easttown. You feel like you got your money/60 minutes of life. Which is a nice change of pace from the usual feeling. That this type of program, i.e. that it is a fragile 15-minute material. He also manages to handle less-than-funny cliches. Smurfette's principle states that a female role is mainly at the service of the male protagonist and audience. At the same time, Meet Cute acknowledges that the behaviour of most potential suitors on the Rome committee. It is seen as reasonably severe harassment in the real world. Bury Your Gays demonstrates Hollywood's reluctance to let non-straight characters endure. And includes the statistic that 40% of those Oscar-nominated characters die before the credits. The successive sections of "The White Savior" and "The Magic Negro Troops". It traces their history briefly but decisively and include a scene from "The Nun's Story". In which Audrey Hepburn and her porcelain-skinned sister teach a real woman. You may also read “I’m Your Man” Review: Stevens plays Android that daydreams, full of fun in this fun closest romance Congo to wash their clothes. Baby clothes and a quote from The Legend of the Excavator Vance, the story of the Will Smith. While teaching a white man how to play golf better. "I don't think Will Smith will be coming home again to see The Legend of Bagger Vance," said television writer and cultural expert Ira Madison III. "He's a white man in Ohio." All this and Rob Lowe was hired. I would say good hours. Read the full article

[awesome-donut-me]

HOOK

Director;Steven Spielberg

Starring:Dustin Hoffman , Julia Roberts , Robin Williams

Summary : When Captain Hook kidnaps his children, an adult Peter Pan must return to Neverland and reclaim his youthful spirit in order to challenge his old enemy.

Critics;

Roger Ebert

The ads for Steven Spielberg’s “Hook” ask the question, “What if Peter Pan grew up?” but the answer, alas, is that then he would probably star in a lugubrious retread of a once-magical idea.

Robin Williams plays the harassed businessman, and Maggie Smith is the old granny who’s able to suggest the most wonderful possibilities when she whispers, “Peter, dear - don’t you know who you are?” Actually, he can’t remember a thing that happened before he was 12, but Hook can and kidnaps Banning’s two children because he wants to lure Peter back to Neverland for a rematch.

The sad thing about the screenplay for “Hook” is that it’s so correctly titled: This whole construction is really nothing more than a hook on which to hang a new version of the Peter Pan story. No effort is made to involve Peter’s magic in the changed world he now inhabits, and little thought has been given to Captain Hook’s extraordinary persistence in wanting to revisit the events of the past.

The opening of the film promises more. Spielberg sets the scene in modern-day America, where the executive lifestyle leaves no time for fathers to spend with children. Then Robin Williams takes his wife and children back to London to visit Granny Wendy, who adopted him as an orphan, and as the kids sleep in the very same bedroom where the original story began, we get the Spielberg visual trademark of the blinding light on the other side of the rattling window: The promise of magic, just outside.

After the children disappear and Peter finds Hook’s kidnap note and is told by Granny Wendy who he really is and why he must follow, I was poised for a breathtaking first view of Neverland , but what I got was a dreary disappointment. The long, long, long Neverland sequences take place in a cluttered rag-and-bone shop of art direction; there are too many characters, too many props, too many signs, too many costumes, bad traffic direction, and no sense of place or space. The whole thing looks like what it is, a movie set, right down to the unconvincing backdrops, and for some reason there’s a shift to red and brown in the color spectrum, so Neverland (which in my imagination, at least, is on a lush green island) looks as if it’s in the midst of a drought.The other key characters appear: Hook, played by Dustin Hoffman as if he were doing an imitation instead of a performance, and Tinker Bell, played by Julia Roberts more as a duty than a pleasure. There’s not much wit here. What exists is supplied by Robin Williams, who does the best he can to be amazed and enchanted by his shabby surroundings, and by Smee (Bob Hoskins), who is sort of Hook’s official sidekick.There’s also a large group of orphans in Neverland who are massed as if for group photographs and shunted here and there as if waiting for auditions for “Oliver!” The crucial failure in “Hook” is its inability to re-imagine the material, to find something new, fresh or urgent to do with the Peter Pan myth. Lacking that, Spielberg should simply have remade the original story, straight, for this generation. The lack of creativity in the screenplay is dramatized in the sword fighting sequences between Hook and Peter, which are endless and not particularly well-choreographed. They do not convince me that either Williams or Hoffman is much of a fencer. Has any Hollywood director ever given thought to bringing in a Hong Kong expert like King Hu to do second-unit work on the swordfights? The cheapest Asian martial arts movie has infinitely more excitement in its sword sequences than the repetitive lunge-and-shuffle that goes on here. Then comes the ending of the movie. Or the endings. One after another. Farewells.

Poignancy. Lessons to be learned. Speeches to be made. Lost marbles to be rediscovered. Tears to be shed. The conclusion of “Hook” would be embarrassingly excessive even for a movie in which something of substance had gone before. Here we get the uncanny suspicion that “Hook” was written and directed according to the famous recipe of the country preacher who told the folks what he was going to tell them, told them, and then told them what he had told them.

Entertainment Weekly

Peter Pan, who is now a 40-year-old attorney named Peter Banning (Robin Williams), has returned to Neverland, flying there on a cloud of fairy dust to rescue his two children, whom Hook has kidnapped. Hook is eager for a showdown, but Peter, who has no memory of his life as a puckish sprite, isn’t up to it. He’s flabby, anxious — the sort of careless, selfish father who has one ear glued to his cellular phone and who never shows up at his son’s Little League games. Hook has granted him three days’ grace, so that the Lost Boys can whip him back into shape. Can Peter regain touch with the wild child he once was?

It’s hard not to bring great expectations to Hook — Spielberg’s attempt, after nearly a decade of hyperkinetic roller-coaster rides (the Indiana Jones series) and misguided forays into the Real World (The Color Purple, Empire of the Sun, Always), to return to the pure-hearted fantasy material he has brought off with more excitement and magic than any other filmmaker. Hook is jam-packed with ”entertainment value,” enough to give you your money’s worth, and to guarantee (in all probability) that Spielberg earns his. Yet something has clouded this director’s vision. Except for Hoffman’s performance, the movie is so frenetic, so bursting with movement and rowdiness and special effects, so drenched in gooey, mythic sentiment about the child within, that nothing in it quite gels. The problem isn’t that Spielberg has lost his gift for fantasy. It’s that he no longer seems to know (or care) about anything else.

When Peter arrives in Neverland, it looks like the set for some over-budgeted, cast-of-thousands musical from the late ’60s. Hook’s fantastically huge galleon dominates the local dock, and the whole place is teeming with grinning pirates and bathed in overly bright fake sunshine. Spielberg must have wanted everything to look cheesy on purpose, and as long as Hoffman is strutting up and down the deck of his ship, making juicy threats, it works. Peter and his two children (Charlie Korsmo and Amber Scott) seem to have entered a surreal Hollywood-backlot nightmare.

Peter goes off with the Lost Boys, which is when the movie should sweep us up into the wonder of Neverland. Instead, it turns into a fairy-tale aerobics workout, with Peter getting pummeled into shape at the Boys’ woodland hangout (which feels every bit as stagy and enclosed as the set for Hook’s galleon). Spielberg’s idea of childhood turns out to be a lot of noisy, macho roughhousing, which the movie inflates into junior — Robert Bly bonding. In one scene, Peter and his chief rival try to top each other with gross-out insults — a funny bit, until one of the boys smiles at Peter and says, ”You’re doing it, using your imagination!” Peter, in addition, has to discover his ”happy thought,” the equivalent of Billy Crystal getting in touch with the ”one thing” he loves in City Slickers. Except that the happy-thought business is repeated ad nauseam. Instead of letting his themes emerge naturally, Spielberg keeps punching up the mystical undertones. By the time Peter is reborn as Peter Pan, complete with green tights, a fawnlike stare, and what looks like an Elizabeth Arden perm, it’s borderline embarrassing, because this Peter has too little connection to the adult he once was. He’s so ”pure” he’s an airbrushed fantasy of born-again boyhood.

There is, of course, lots of flying, and young kids will love this stuff. You’re always aware of the effects, though, because Spielberg hasn’t integrated the matte shots, storybook backgrounds, and other technical devices into the story; they’re held up for the audience to ooh and aah over. Julia Roberts, in particular, suffers from his obsession with technical bravado. Wearing a Lulu-style pixie hairdo that doesn’t flatter her (why does everything in this movie seem left over from the kitschy ’60s?), she tries hard to make Tinkerbell into a sharp-tongued, tomboy spunkette, but she keeps getting zapped in and out of the picture. The whole movie zaps you. Spielberg piles on flashbacks, sword fights, baseball games. It’s Peter Pan redone with a channel selector.

Spielberg once made us respond to the fantastic by revealing the hidden wonder in the world around us.What’s missing from Hook is any sense that Spielberg, as an artist, remains in touch with the essential current of everyday experience. His whole vision of what it means to return to childhood seems like some whiz-bang concept derived from the media. Like Michael Jackson, he has spent too many years cloistered with his gizmos, his empire, his blockbuster dreams. The loss is everybody’s.

[aficrecworld]

Recs!

Hello! I’m on a Shingeki No Kyojin kick right now so this is a list of recs that I have personally read! Most of them are ereri because it’s my favourite pairing in this fandom! 

Venti Double What? by wasterella All Eren wanted was to go to Starbucks and get his complicated drink in peace. Was that too much to ask? Apparently.

What He Found on the Bookshelf by wasterella   All he had tried to do was grab a book, and everything in his life turned upside down.

These Golden Hours by mybrainproblems  His parents are in Europe and his sister is in Japan; he's been left to his own devices for the summer with a house, a car and unrestricted access to a credit card.Jean finds an ad for Rent-A-Gent and convinces Eren to hire a gent of their own. The first time was a dare, the second a redo, the third because a hurricane went through his living room (don't ask), the fourth... now he's crushing on a man more than twice his age who's making him question a lot of things about life, the universe and everything.

Just Go With It by EvangelineSinclair  Levi was debating if he should just face the humiliation and leave when the chair at his table was yanked out.He looked up to see a gorgeous stranger standing on the other side of his table, taking his coat off. “Fuck, I’m so sorry babe. Traffic was fucking awful, I’m so sorry I’m so late!”Levi stared. “Who the fuck are you?”The waitress was headed back to his table again and the brunette leaned in to whisper, “Just go with it, okay?” When Levi is stood up on a first date, he’s embarrassed beyond words. Luckily, a handsome, bright-eyed stranger decides to take the situation into his own hands.Or, the story where Levi gets stood up-and somehow ends up with a better date than he’d hoped.

Chance by galaxystiel  “So I can bring my date, right?” The words came out before Eren could even attempt to hold them back. He didn’t have a date, what the hell had he said that for?Eren invented himself a boyfriend for a dinner with his friends and his ex-boyfriend. Now he just has to find one, and fast.

Who Are You and Why Are You Naked in My Pool? by VitalCakes Levi walked up to the edge of the pool in time to see a mass of brown hair emerging from the water. He furrowed his brows when his eyes wandered along the boy's body to find that the brat was improperly dressed.In fact, he wasn't dressed at all.“Oh. Hello,” he said, blushing.“Why the hell are you in my pool?”

Timeless by Tamithna for Emiza 2000 years after the Final Battle, a crystallized Eren is woken up by a reincarnated Levi.

The Pain We Call Hope by DarkShadeKristen Time has stopped for Levi, life ceased to move completely. He's been stuck in a moment ever since the tragic night.Frozen.And then one day, his eyes meet bright green and his world starts anew. His heart gets a sudden jolt and time begins to move once again. But does Levi remember what it means to truly live or is it too late to melt his cold heart?Is it frozen? Or maybe it's broken beyond hope?

You Got It Bad by PyroGrape Levi's drug exchange doesn't go as well as planned. In other words, he ends up beaten and bleeding to death in a dirty alleyway. His savoir, which turns out to be a blind florist that goes by the name of Eren Jeager, flips Levi's world around simply when they meet eyes. Bonds are tested and love comes around when the getting is still getting.But Levi only has one question on his mind.How long does it take to court an angel?(This fic will go through some minor changes. It's old, so read at your own risk.)

Empty Handed by sorrows_stark After Erwin leaves, and his and Levi's relationship ends, Levi finds himself feeling more isolated and empty than he thought was possible. He's spiralling downwards and away from the people he held closest. Until one day, in unusual circumstances, he meets a young photographer at the Sina Museum. He's not sure if it's the brat's mischievous smile, the complete awkward dork that he is or those green eyes that draws him in the most, but either way there's something about Eren Jaeger he just can't shake.

Critical by SlayerEnfiniti Alternate Universe - Levi moonlights as a sharp-tongued food critic, Eren is an aspiring chef. Shenanigans.

Point of Interest by HipsterHobbit Levi is a taxi driver in Trost city, when his usual Saturday night is shaken up when a drunken Eren falls into his taxi with his friends. After a few chance meetings a relationship starts to form between the unlikely pair.

Wake Up by Emiza Eren dreamwalks in his sleep and invades people’s dreams by accident. He usually can avoid alerting the dreamer of his presence, but one day he’s caught by a mysterious man whose touch feels like fire. However, the man only thinks of Eren as a figment of his imagination.Based on Porcelain-Blue's wonderful idea.

Shingeki Ink by hellaradical Eren Jaeger decided he wants people to wear his artwork. As his first step to becoming a well off tattoo artist, he attempts to land an apprenticeship with world famous tattoo artist, Levi Ravaille. Eren follows Levi through the daily life of being a famous tattoo artist and owning a very popular ink parlor in New York City. Tattooing isn't the only thing Eren falls in love with.

Eyes of Gold by shingekicorn In which eyes see more than that of a normal human being, and humanity has more than one advantage over the giants who threaten their existence.One boy who sees through the sands of time and gives premonitions, and one who sees past the veil of death to act as a messenger for the fallen.

Shattered Façade by kylar After being disowned by his homophobic father during his senior year of high school, Eren's only option was to move in with his boyfriend, Reiner. But Reiner soon became possessive and controlling of Eren, and it turned into an abusive relationship. Five years later, Reiner's control over Eren is complete, until one night they meet a detective who will shatter Eren's happy façade.

Wrong Number by screwtodayimsleeping Eren gets a wrong number, but ends up with something more than he anticipated.

The only time I feel good falling is when I'm falling fast and hard for you by SailorHeichou   He started out as just some random guy who sat next to him on a park bench one cloudy afternoon. The day Freshman in high school, Eren Jaeger, met college student Levi Ackerman was the day Eren's life would change forever.

For Your Entertainment by SailorHeichou 22 year old Eren Jaeger is a stripper at Club Rose and a damn good one at that. He takes his job seriously and loves the attention it gets him. Not to mention the pay ain't so bad. When his usual client and boss, Dot Pixis, requests him to personally perform for his VIP group of colleagues Eren will meet the workaholic, sexually frustrated Levi who can't help but want to make Eren his by the end of the night.Problem is, with a clingy ex boyfriend always coming around begging for sex and a particularly handsome bouncer constantly asking for dates, throw in some commitment issues, past drug addictions and a shit past always coming to bite him in the ass, Eren might not be so easy to win over. Can Levi somehow convince this broken boy that he could be the one to fix him?

Leave Your Lover by SailorHeichou Levi is a 30 year old divorced Chef who works at his best friend's restaurant. An ex military Sergeant, Levi lives his life according to a strict routine. One day, his strict schedule is thrown off when a mysterious cat makes it's way into his apartment from the open Balcony. When Levi hears it's owner knocking on his door, he wasn't aware that his life would be turned upside down and all because of this boy standing in his doorway with the biggest, brightest green eyes he'd ever seen and his name is Eren Jaeger.The story in which Levi doesn't know he's gay and is in denial about it until a certain bright eyed boy moves in next door and steals his heart. The only problem is... he's got a boyfriend.

Haute Couture Love by SailorHeichou Eren Jaeger is sharp, determined and hard working but doesn't consider himself beautiful or good looking in the least. When he lands his dream job, working at Survey Corp Publications as the Executive Assistant to a high-end Fashion magazine's Editor-in-Chief, his life is turned Topsy-Turvy. All he wants to do is work hard to become an Editor, but his boss Levi seems keen on making his life a living hell.Levi is a notorious playboy who gets what he wants both in and out of the bedroom. As Editer-in-Chief of New York's best selling high-end Fashion Magazine, Levi is forced to work with an overly determined, hot-headed brat with a rat's nest for hair and the most incredible eyes he's ever seen and it's all because of Erwin Smith.

Don't Reach For The Moon by SailorHeichou Eren Jaeger is the young son of the Ackerman family's chauffeur, Grisha, and he has been in love with Jean all his life. Jean is an idle playboy who has never noticed Eren, much to his and the household staff's dismay. Eren then attends school in Germany, and he returns home as an attractive and sophisticated young man. Jean is quickly drawn to him despite his recent engagement.Jean's workaholic older brother, Levi, sees this and fears that Jean's imminent engagement may be endangered. If the engagement is broken off, it would ruin a great corporate deal. Levi realizes he can only do one thing to save his merger. He must get Eren to fall in love with him instead.

Undercover Lover by SimplyTsundere FBI Agent Eren Jaeger goes undercover into The Legion, a notorious group running drugs through the city of New Orleans, to avenge the death of his best friend and partner. How will his life change when he realizes that sometimes things aren't always as black and white as they seem?[Prologue Added March 30th, 2016][Edit/Rewrite In Progress 5/30]