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paris-geller-was-straightwashed · 6 months

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M*A*S*H 4077 & DND

guess who started their m*a*s*h rewatch around the same time they've gotten into d&d and now cannot stop thinking about the utter chaos and hyjinks of The Gang trying to play a campaign. it starts with none of them really super into fantasy roleplay, but they're all So Fucking Bored they might as well play to have something to do.

it started off imaging just what role they'd each play, but now I couldn't stop myself from imaging each person's race, class, AND, just for fun, the dice they'd use!

hawkeye: isn't that bothered about races, probably either an elf or just a human. class is paladin, relating the paladin's 'call for good' something like the oath doctors take to always help and heal patients, no matter what (and, let's be honest, probably feeds into his egotistical nature at being a naturally skilled surgeon, as if he was 'called'). cannot be Asked to care about ability scores (only to deeply regret it when he's nearly off'd the first battle) except for pouring most of his points into charisma. mostly likely of the party to Fuck his way out of a confrontation (no matter the other's gender #bihawkrights). spends most of the campaign messing around and forgetting what his spells are, but when the party hits a serious battle, is the first to throw himself in and use any spells to help his friends before himself. originally wasn't that interested in the game, but overtime becomes one of the ones who gets really into it, screaming across the board at ppl's bad roles and cheering & trying to pick ppl up in glee when they win. dice of choice:

(just the most wack-ass coloured dice I could find, metaphor for the inside of his brain (also this way he can tell if anyone tries to conceal any as theirs)).

radar: while interested in the fantasy stuff (being a comic reader), was a little intimidated with all the math & rules involved until hawkeye and bj convince him. part of me thinks he could be a halfling or dwarf, but then I think he might enjoy being a humanoid creature like a minotaur (farm boy) or a satyr bc of his love of animals. class is bard, where he carries/plays the drum. enjoys and gets really into the story, but is always flummoxed when it comes to the battles, asking what everyone else thinks his character should do (only for everyone to yell back several different answers). always needs a couple of seconds of mental math to add his modifier to dice rolls (me too radar) but when the party comes across a riddle or puzzle, is usually the first to figure it out. keeps trying to pick up small creatures to put them in his sack. is not allowed to talk while people make their roles bc of too many times where he's predicted the number before they can read the dice (the moment of hawkeye's saving role during a Big Bad battle was kind of ruined when radar elatedly jumped up at the nat20 before the dice even left hawk's hand). dice of choice:

(cute little puppers!)

margaret: at first is staunchly against it, calling it childs' play, but eventually is worn down by hawk & bj and is also so bored, she gives in. thought she might be an elf, but in the end chooses genasi, picking fire power. chooses the fighter class, leaving hawkeye to make a remark that gets a dice thrown at his head. doesn't really get super into the meta of the game or the story (often tells the dm to get on with it and cut to the action) but does love to play, where it overtime becomes a good outlet for anger ('the demon tries to approach you, margaret what do you-' 'I SLICE OFF HIS KNEECAPS WITH MY BATTLEAXE!'). is a good player until the roles don't go her way ('you only rolled a 10, so your attack doesn't hit-' 'SCREW YOU! KLINGER GIVE ME YOUR 18 ROLE!'). is pretending like she isn't having fun but everyone can see through her. dice of choice:

(these seemed the most like margaret, elegant but not too girly).

henry: is also peer-pressured into joining. picks barbarian class so he doesn't have to think about spells. tries to pick human bc all the other races were 'too complicated' but got told due to his class, he has to pick a more built character like an orc, so an orc he ends up being. but he's bad at it, often either trying to escape a battle or by being a peacemaker, trying to persuade the monster out of battle but with such a low charisma score, it usually ends up with him getting clonked over the head and margaret jumping in before he's killed. keeps trying to give his gold to poor peasants they meet along the way. doesn't understand any of the mechanics. rolls so many nat1's that nobody will switch dice with him anymore, thinking his are cursed. the game is often more stressful for him then not, but he enjoys the time with his friends. dice of choice:

(I dunno, for some reason when I think of henry I think of a dark orange/amber).

potter: prolongs joining, thinking he's too old for it, but is also peer-pressured and eventually caves, thinking it'll be good for morale. chooses dwarf and for his class to be an old wizard. doesn't understand half the rules, spends most of the time muttering under his breath as he goes over the manual, radar (un)helpfully leaning in beside him to explain. but once he gets the hang of it is a good team member; is the only other person besides margaret to take the hints and puzzles seriously and without him (+her) the party would probably be making circles lost in some boundless woods somewhere. cheers his teammates on when they make a high roll or powerful move and only occasionally has outbursts ('well colonial sir, you need a 16 or higher to cast-' 'MULE FRITTERS! I said cast magic missile and that's an order!!!"). dice of choice:

(same thing - when I think of potter, I think a dark blue).

charles: the last of the group to get into it. completely refused and repeated that 'he was far too smart for that kids' stuff' and everyone was wasting their time. but when someone had to dip out of the campaign last minute to deal with a medical thing, charles was brought in as filler with the promise of a day's R&R. at first I thought high elf, but switched to dragonborne, of the noble variety of course. chooses sorcerer (blessed with some innate magic, as his ego prefers). constantly complains about the needless complexity of the rules and why bother having ability scores when it's the modifier that counts???? is always arguing with the dm on his rolls. uses up half of his turns to use mage hand to steal hawkeye's things or cast ray of sickness on him when he's being annoying - but, when it comes down to it, is one of the more strategic players and has gotten them out of many sticky situations. like margaret, is pretending he isn't having fun, but isn't immune to jumping up with the others over a saving nat20 role, at one time even excitedly picking up a confused radar. in the end, swallows his pride to shyly ask if he can join the party finally ('you know, it'll, uh..it will give me something to do during those boring intervals, and clearly this group needs all the brains it can get..' '..charles, you wanna come play with us?' 'well, if I must..'). dice of choice:

(the snootiest of dice, a pure gold colour).

mulcahy: also initially intimidated by the mechanics, but is happy to play a game with his friends. a possible half-elf or maybe a wise owlin. cleric, obviously. gets invested in the storyline, often applauding the dm's story or asking 'what happens next???" only to be told to wait till the next meet. one of the few who has actual healing spells and probably the only reason everyone didn't die in their first battle. a nerd who enjoys solving the puzzles. actually gets into the lore and one time had a deep, 2 hr conversation with radar & hawkeye about the disenfranchisement of some of the races and the hierarchy of the class/rule structure within the fantasy realm, and how it relates to theirs. the next day, radar came to his tent to show him a little sketch he did of his character in cleric robes, shrugging it off, but mulcahy loved it so much he pinned it up on his tent walls. dice of choice:

(inspired by one of my favourite mulcahy lines, when he's talking about missing holding services in real churches - 'I am rather fond of stained glass', which I always think of whenever I see stained windows. tried to pick the ones that emulated the colours best (also would've liked maybe a light, forest green colour; it just feels mulcahy-esque to me).

klinger: one of the first to join bc what else what he gunna do but sit in his tent, sewing up pantyhose? rogue class, of course, relating to the 'urchin' background. changeling race, so that way with his class he can hide at any moment, and also, as he says, 'can perfectly match his outfit no matter what he looks like!' tries to follow the storyline but doesn't have the attention span for it, half the time guessing the wrong answer to any clue or puzzle (will come and poke the dm awake in the middle of the night with his patrol gun, claiming to have figured it out). second after hawkeye to try and Fuck his way out of a situation. cannot do math to save his life, making margaret often rip his dice away from him to add it herself. will gang up with hawkeye to use his pickpocket skill on charles. resourceful enough to have tricked the villains multiple times and gotten away with it but will also roll to try and kick the villain in the nuts to see what happens. dice of choice:

(these just screamed klinger to me; I like the dark, 'masculine' colour contrasted with with the colourful flowers).

bj: thought I missed him? well, I saved the best for last bc bj...is the dm! ha ha! no one really in particular stood out, but after thinking on it, he seems like the best fit. first, I was thinking of the episode 'the kids' where he gets really into the story he's telling, full of voices and sound affects and all. and secondly, our kindly mustacheo'd doctor loves Mind Games and pranks - what better way then stringing his friends along into one big, zigzag puzzle? bj loves nothing more then having his friends on the edge of their seats, only to pull out a bad guy the group thought they got rid of months ago, glee in his eyes watching them combust into screaming and table flipping. getting a thrill during off hours, hearing hawkeye & charles hastily whisper across bunks to each other on the campaign thinking he can't hear them, or getting shaken awake by margaret in the middle of the night, demanding answers. he spends hours planning out the campaigns in the tent (and finding new places to hide his papers from hawkeye), sometimes writing peg about it and occasionally - if the timing of the mail is right - using her suggestions she writes back. but mostly, bj just loves watching his friends have a good time - cheering each other on and hollering with each battle won, feeling proud of them for everything accomplished (when he doesn't have to babysit hawkeye & charles from casting spells on each other, trying to answer radar's 49th question on how rolls work, or keep margaret from solo fighting the demon fifteen levels above her). dice of choice:

(idk, these just feel 'bj hunnicutt' to me).

other camp members: - frank: was only let in Once after margaret begged hawk & bj, saying it was only fair. initially picked human bc 'they're clearly the purest and most civilized race!!' (causing eyerolls), quit thirty minutes in after being told he couldn't be a fighter 'cause they already had margaret and that he couldn't just 'set all his abilities to 20', calling them all nerds and angrily throwing a d20, only for it to bounce back on the tent beam and hit him in the eye. - some of the nurses have occasionally filled in, but otherwise don't play outside of margaret (most of their time was filled up with hawkeye using his character to flirt with theirs). one time nurse kellye filled in; she played a cute little halfling druid, and her and radar teamed up to help rescue all the forest animals, much to the groups chagrin. - zale & igor: permanently banned. both tried to eat the dice on a dare.

campaigns are held twice a month in the swamp, with drinks and stale pretzels to go around. use to sometimes go all night but after one too many nights of clambering arguments over each other's rolls, the whole camp banded together to force a curfew. while the game only exists within the swamp's quarters, they'll once and a while jokingly call each other by their character's names (and if you're margaret, one time accidentally using it to call hawkeye to surgery, which he now never lets her live down). during the last campaign of the story, radar pulls out another drawing he did - this time of everyone's characters, standing valiantly over the dragon they slayed. it now has a place of honour hung in the swamp.

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dogmomwrites · 2 years

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Five Things I Never Get Tired of Writing

Slowly, but surely, I am catching up! Thank you so much for this tag, @thetruearchmagos! I'm gonna pass it along with soft tags to @penspiration-writing, @space-cadead, @writingpotato07, @blind-the-winds, @memento-morri-writes, as well as an open tag to anyone who wants to join in! Don't be shy!

Rules: list five things you'll never get tired of writing, then tag five people. My list is under the cut!

Quiet morning, chaos by noon I’ve seen a lot of writing advice posts (both here and elsewhere) that attempt to dissuade writers from starting their novel/chapter with what’s basically an outline of the character’s morning routine, and as with all writing advice, it shouldn’t be taken at face value. Sometimes, if it’s done well, the lazy morning is an excellent way to introduce a character before the hectic plot comes in. Not only can it be fun to write, it can be fun to read as well!

Gay characters I don’t really need to elaborate on this, do I? I have about an equal mix of straight couples and non-straight couples, yet the non-straight couples are just,,,more enjoyable for me to write? Idk, it’s kinda difficult to explain

References Everything from pop culture references to including an inside joke that no reader would ever understand. It’s even more fun to reference well-known movies or tv shows in a story that’s set in a fantasy world where the media doesn’t even exist. I just get a kick out of it!

Creatures More specifically, creatures that aren’t of our mortal, mundane world. No matter the setting, no matter the genre, Creatures™ are always a good addition!

Unrequited love Yeah, this one’s kinda mean lol. I think what I like most about this is that I don’t ever see it. There are plenty of characters who fall in love, break up due to Dramatic Plot Twist™, then make up again; there are characters who pine for half a series and then finally have the confession that leads to their happily ever after; and, more rarely, there are characters who simply never fall in love at all. But I enjoy when one character is drawn to another right from the start only to quietly realize there’s no chance the other will ever love them in the same way. And they suffer in silence because the fear of losing the friendship is too great a risk for that small, small chance of a romantic relationship

#five things i never get tired of writing #5 things i never get tired of writing #tag game #tag games #writer games #open tag #open to everyone

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sebastianshaw · 2 years

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“The Golden Compass” in the His Dark Materials trilogy always makes me think of winter because of all the snow and cold in it, and I absolutely love the original world (a 19th century gaslamp fantasy alternate Earth where everyone’s soul is an external being called a daemon shaped like an animal to reflect them) and I started this fic of Pyro, Darkstar, Haven, Shaw, Fantasma, and some lady Eternals last year. Finally wrapped it up! You can PROBABLY guess from context, but in this world Muscovy = Russia, Brytain = Britain, and the Kingdom of Auster = Australia. Tagging @sammysdewysensitiveeyes for Pyro content but you don’t have to read!

“Idti idti idti!” Laynia Petrovna cried out as she shoved St. John Allerdyce on the train.

“Hey!” St. John turned back in the door, “Just because you’re helping me, doesn’t mean you can call me an idiot!”

There were, admittedly, a great many things he’d done to warrant the title. Some people would say that investigating a story of top-tier political corruption in the heart of Muscovy was one of them. St. John, however, would not agree; not in this case, anyway. He’d been an idiot when he’d tried to haggle with a pack of impatient Tartars over the only sled for sale for miles, and he’d most definitely been an idiot when he’d tossed a lit stick of dynamite at a cliff ghast perched on a rock that was JUST above their trail through the winding Siberian mountains, but when it came to journalistic integrity and people knowing the truth, well, there was nothing stupid about that! Even if he had to give his life for that!

And Laynia had to know that too, or else why would she, an agent of the Muscovite government, have turned her back on her very nation to help him escape its clutches and get his story back to the rest of the world? Though the way she saw it--

“Nyet, idti means go!” Laynia said. And in the second that it took her to explain this, the train doors shut, and she and her daemon were trapped on the locomotive with St. John and his. The color drained from her face, and she whirled around, her long blonde hair whipping behind her from under her furry hat, and she began to beat at the door, but it was too late, the cars were in motion!

“Looks like you’re catching a ride with me, love,” St. John said,

“Might be for the best; truth be told, I was more than a little worried about what might happen to you here.”

“I was going to surrender myself,” Laynia said, her back still to him.

“Exactly! You can’t expect mercy from the State, love---especially knowing what you do now.”

Laynia turned to face him, her expression the collected one of a martyr who had freshly accepted her fate, “Being shown mercy was not the idea. Being honest and accountable was. Just because Mother Muscovy’s leaders have forgotten how to do so, does not mean--”

“And I appreciate that about you, Laynia, I do,” said St. John, “It’s why you saved Heph and mine’s skin instead of bringin’ us in, after all. But right now? Might be better to pipe down and find seats.”

Laynia’s special forces badge and papers would normally have worked in lieu of a ticket but there was a warrant out for her arrest as a traitor now, so she couldn’t pretend to have St. John in custody like she had before on the way here. They had to hide, and quickly, before the ticketmaster got to their car. Laynia and St. John were both people who were used to navigating difficult situations, given their respective careers, and so were their daemons. Hephaestus, being a cat, was a naturally sinuous slinky silent sort. . .most of the time. Well, no, actually, most of the time he was a ball of orange-furred chaos, but like St. John, this belied a capable and wily nature most missed. And while Drioma the white wolf was no small creature---though a trifle daintier built than most of her kind---she had the willowy grace of her human Laynia, her paws as soft through the train car carpeting as they might have been through snow.

Both daemons had one unusual thing in common: they were the same sex as their humans, instead of the opposite as was typical. It was rare but it happened. People said it meant different things. Neither Laynia and St. John had commented on this to the other, neither desiring to bring up one of the most common interpretations, as it was, in their case, the correct one. It was hardly relevant to their situation anyway!

Speaking of daemons though--

“Let’s head to the car for large daemons,” St. John said, “We can hide behind some of ‘em if anyone comes looking.”

“That is a. . .shaking plan,” Laynia said, meaning shakey, “Who is to say the people will let us?”

“You have a better idea?”

She did not, and so they entered the car, with little time to rehearse an explanation. In it were two people, and both were, like their daemons, unusually large. One was a tall (this could be seen even though he was seated) white man well into middle-aged, broad and powerfully built, his dark hair receding on his head but very clearly thriving everywhere else, if the the nearly furry hands that extended from the cuffs of his well-tailored suit were any indication. The woman who sat on the other side of the car was nearly as tall as the man, and her dark bay skin and garb indicated she was from India, an unusual sight indeed in snowy Muscovy. By the side of the man’s seats lay an enormous black ox, and by the woman’s, a white cow of the Brahman breed.

The woman looked mildly surprised, the man irritated, and it was he who spoke first to the strangers, “You’re in the wrong car.”

“Are you lost?” the woman’s voice was kinder, and she stood up, fishing in a beautifully beaded bag til she pulled out a little pamphlet, and unfolding it, said, “This is Car F, so if your car is before that in the alphabet, it’s back that way, and if it’s after---”

“This wouldn’t happen if the Muscovites had a concept of first class and private cars,” the man interrupted, sounding extremely irritated by the fact they did not. St. John pegged his accent as an American.

“So sorry to interrupt, folks,” St. John put on his brightest smile, and Hephaestus stepped forward with his most friendly of expressions,

“We’re part of the entertainment package! It’s such a long ride that the Muscovy Express has seen fit to provide its passengers with a show to pass the time.”

“No thank you,” said the man dryly.

“It’s complimentary,” St. John returned, his smile a trifle tighter.

“I’m not interested.”

“Well, you’re not the only one in the car!”

The ox raised her huge black head.

“Please, sir, madame, it is our jobs,” Laynia and Drioma stepped around Pyro and Hephaestus, “Only let us get through the routine and we will be on our way.”

The man gave a soft snort and picked up a newspaper, while his ox lowered her head. The woman looked with polite expectation at the pair, as did her cow.

And St. John and Laynia looked at each other, then at their daemons, with none of them having any idea what to do.

And that was when something huge hit the side of the train car, and with such force it was knocked to the side, its link to the rest of the train severed, and went tumbling down the enormous snowbank to its left side, its inhabitants spinning and screaming like flakes in a child’s shaken snowglobe.

For a moment, there was silence within the car. Then, the voice of the Indian woman,

“Is anyone hurt? Pralaya, where are you?”

“Here, Radha,” assured a plaintive moo. It was hard to lose an entire cow daemon in such a small container.

“Who touched Opis?!” demanded the large man, while his ox bellowed in equal offense. Daemons might touch each other in violence or friendliness, but for a human to touch another human’s daemon was the greatest taboo, a sense of deepest violation that stretched across cultures.

“How could anyone avoid her, she’s a great bloody cow!” St. John shot back, disentangling his legs from some luggage, “Heph, Hephastus are you hurt mate?!”

“Think I brushed up against someone,” Heph jumped out from between the sideways seats into St. John’s arms and shuddered. Laynia likewise embraced a whimpering Drioma, though silently.

“If anyone touched anyone’s daemon,” the taller woman said, one hand on the velvety hide of her Pralaya as though to reassert their connection over whatever sullying had just occurred,

“It was an uncontrollable accident. We have no way of knowing who touched whom, and it is best to forget it for now.”

“She’s right,” said the large man, though he sounded like he resented that,

“The thing to do now is stay put and wait for rescue. Now, in case it takes them awhile, we’re going to need to work out how to stay warm. This car offers some shelter, but--”

And then the top side of the car was blown off, peeled by invisible force like someone tearing the lid off a can of sardines, metal ripping as easily as tissue paper was shredded, and tossed aside as if it were just as flimsy. The cold air rushed in, as though it had eyes and had spotted them now that their shielding shelter was torn away, eager to sap the warmth from their bodies.

But the cold was not the only threat, nor any longer the most immediate one. Above them, hovering in the air, was a witch. The other knew she must be a witch for the simple fact she was hovering, for only witches could fly., and her sparse attire---downright skimpy, in fact--showed off how her kind was immune to the cold. They knew what she was without knowing her. But Laynia knew her personally, by name.

“Fantasma!” the blonde cried out in recognition.

“Friend of yours?” St. John asked.

“Laynia Petrovna,” the witch called Fantasma called down in a voice as imperious and cold as the swirling snow on the wind,

“You stand accused of treason to the great nation of Muscovy by aiding and abetting the spy St. John Allerdyce and his daemon, who also stands accused of the aforementioned acts. You are BOTH under arr--”

“How dare you madam!” The large man pointed an accusing finger up at Fantasma, who looked taken aback at the interruption. He continued,

“You are absolutely incompetent! You derailed an entire train car, containing private citizens who are not under your jurisdiction, to obtain these criminals?! Why could you not simply fly by a window and break in?! Or await the train at its destination?! You have caused me more than a massive inconvenience---I’ve been separated from my luggage, I could have been seriously hurt, and I could yet be made ill by the cold! How are you going to remedy this? To compensate?”

“I---that is not my concern!” Fantasma regained her composure. But while the man had been ranting, St. Pyro and Laynia had slipped off into the snowy woods with their daemons! Snarling as soon as she had spotted this, Fantasma flew in the direction of their tracks, leaving the man shouting behind her and his ox daemon bellowing in tandem.

When it was clear she was not going to return to do anything to help his situation, however, he turned to the woman, who had pulled her dupattra---velvet, an unusually heavy fabric for such a garment, but still such a flimsy thing in the frigid face of the Siberian weather-- around her tightly, her massive daemon pressing tightly against her like a cat, so much so she was in danger of being knocked over by her.

“I don’t suppose you have any wilderness survival skills?” he asked snappishly, and then without waiting for an answer,

“I’m a city boy myself, born and bred, but at least I had the sense to dress somewhat adequately for the weather. Here, let me loan you my coat---loan, mind you---while I dig into our luggage. We’ll pile on everything we can and I’ll find a way to start a fire. You just...stand there and be useless, I suppose.”

She did stand there, speaking softly to her white daemon, which blended against the snows as much as she stood out brilliantly from them with her dark skin and bright clothing. “Excuse me,” she spoke to the man, but her voice was lost in the sounds of him rifling through the trunks and suitcases. “Excuse me,” she said again, slightly louder. Still no response. Her daemon lowed, gentle but more than audible, and both the black ox and the man turned their heads in tandem with matching irate expressions. “What?” “We will find help swiftly if we go this way,” she said, pointing into the trees to a particularly lumpy. . .path was too generous a term. “How the devil do YOU know?” he demanded, his irritation increased and joined by disbelief. “You may have noticed Pralaya is a female daemon,” she said, placing a hand on her cow. “Wasn’t my place to comment,” he grunted. “There are many reasons one might have a daemon of one’s own sex. I cannot speak for if most are true. But the claim that those with a daemon who matches you in gender means that one possesses a second sight. . .it is true for me. Pralaya knows things, and she tells me, but what relays them to her, neither of us know. We only know that these insights are never wrong.” “I am not about to burn my energy and leave this shelter, broken though it may be, to traipse through this frozen waste on the words of a madwoman stranger.” “I understand, I do. It does sound unbelievable, and I do not blame you for your hesitation. But this circumstance is dire–” “Which is why I will not!” “For your own sake–” “Exactly!” They went on like this for a bit, til Pralaya tugged at the woman’s long garb with her teeth in something far too delicate to be called a bite, and spoke to her. As was typical between human and daemon, it was not said loud enough for anyone else to hear; daemons nearly always spoke only to the person to whom they belonged, for a daemon was one’s own soul made flesh. How strange would it be, if someone’s soul spoke casually to others? The woman looked from Pralaya, and then back to the man his equally obstinate daemon, the latter of which stood glaring at them as he resumed digging for extra coats. “I’ll come back for you,” she promised, “When I get help. And to return your coat. Thank you for it.” He grunted, and whether that was in response to her or just a sound of animal effort, she didn’t know, and she made no more fanfare as she departed down the path—or lack thereof—she had pointed towards, one hand on Pralaya to help keep her balance through its treacherous little hills and valleys and hidden holes. The man never looked up. *** Blasts of magic rained down at Laynia and St. John like deadly hail. They had dodged it thus far, as evident by being alive and in one piece each, but each one impeded them further even though they didn’t hit; the force of the mystic blows sent explosions of snow shooting up wherever they landed, making it hard for the pair to see where they were going. With every step, they grew clumsier and more disoriented, and the same was true for their daemons, who were closer to the ground. The cuckoo bird daemon of the witch Fantasma only served to exacerbate this, swooping down at the other daemons and tearing at them with her beak and claws as much as she could through their fur. She would not touch another human, but daemon to daemon contact was, again, permitted in acts of love or war. Of course, this wasn’t so much a war, as Fantasma saw it, as a massacre. At least, that was what she was intending. “My orders did NOT dictate I must bring you alive!” she cried from above where she soared like a bird herself. A bird of prey. Prey that was fast growing exhausted. St. John stumbled into a tree, blinded by the snow, and Drioma had to pull Laynia by the coat using her mouth so that her human would not collapse. “It would perhaps be mercy to end you here,” Fantasma said with cold factuality as she hovered above them, her cuckoo crowing beside her, “The torture you will endure for your crimes will make you wish I had.” She raised her hands. Magic gathered around them in crackling purple energy like ball lightning.” All St. John, Layna, and their daemons could do was brace themselves. And then Fantasma was sent hurtling into a tree, her cuckoo daemon crying out from her human’s pain. Hovering behind where the witch had once been were three more women, indisputably also women from the fact they too were flying. Three of them, all black-haired, all around the same apparent age, though doubtless far older; witches did age and die eventually, but their longevity far outstripped a normal person. As with all witches, their daemons were bird: A peacock (airborne despite true peacocks being flightless), a peregrine falcon, and a great gray parrot. The trio of birds took after the reeling cuckoo, which tried to evade, but the peregrine falcon is the fastest of birds—the fastest of all creatures in the world–and the smaller daemon had barely begun his escape before he was snatched in the peregrine’s talons. Just as her cuckoo had cried out with her pain, Fantasma cried out with his, reaching out as she thrashed in the snow, feeling as if her sides were about to bleed from the talons that held her living soul fast in his clutches. Despite what she had been about to do to them, Laynia pitied her. It was a horrible thing to be trapped, she knew firsthand. And who could NOT pity someone whose daemon was harmed? St. John, that’s who! “That’s it!” St. John jumped to his feet, his hissing daemon mimicking the action, “Kill her, ladies! Take her out!” “That is the intention,” said one of the women, with light brown skin and long wavy hair. The parrot hovered by her shoulder. The peacock appeared to belong to the pale woman with long straight hair, which meant the peregrine falcon must be the daemon of the dark-skinned woman with short, very curly hair. The woman who spoke continued, “Makkari, you may–” “No. Please, no. Wait.” To the far left of them all, stood the tall woman and her white cow daemon. She spoke softly, yet her words carried as powerfully as the magical blasts had. Even the witches looked stunned. Indeed, they looked far more surprised than Laynia and St. John did, as if they perceived something when they looked at her that the other pair did not. Very likely, they did. “My daemon speaks to me with second sight,” she said towards the witches, her tone suggesting she was answering something they had not asked allowed, “She knows what it is you wonder: why a fellow witch is in the service of men, why she went so far astray, helped in the persecution your kind and others. Please, stay your hand; she is not to blame. Like the form her daemon takes, she is a bird in the wrong nest through no fault of her own.” Fantasma stared at her evidently confused. Before she could ask, the woman spoke towards her, “I know you do not know. It’s alright. All will be made clear.” “Listen, I’m sure we’d all love that, love, but think we could get out of this cold soon?” St. John asked, “Don’t want to be rude, but now that adrenaline’s worn off, I think I’m about t—” And he passed out. * * * When he came to, he and Hephastus were in the plush cabin of an extraordinarily lavish zeppelin. In it was Laynia, the tall woman, and their respective dameons. “Oh good,” the tall woman said warmly, almost as much as the wonderful interior heating, “The doctor said you’d wake soon, but I was worried.” “He said you’re just thin and not used to all that cold, coming from the Kingdom of Auster,” Layna added, “Anway, this is Radha Dastoor, called Haven in the west, and we’re in her zeppelin.” “Heading to Brytain,” Haven added. “And you were taking a TRAIN before?” St. John goggled incredulously. “Pralaya told me to be there,” she said, placing a hand on the white cow that sat curled at her feet like a cat. “Yeah, about that. . .” St. John sat up rubbing his head, “What was it she told you that you told those witches? What happened to the one after us?” And Radha explained how the witch Fantasma had been an unwilling changeling, found amnesiac by the Muscovite branch of the Magisterium after one of their assaults on witchkind. The Magisterium, the all-powerful church, was worldwide, omnipresent and often omnipotent, and devoted to stamping out heresy. . .yet not, apparently, opposed to using heretics for their own purposes, yet properly reprogrammed. “How’d you know?” John asked. “I. . .felt it when I became close to her,” Haven explained, “I wish I could give a better explanation. My daemon is more than my soul—she is as a conduit for second sight, feelings, messages. . .I didn’t know the whole story when I arrived on the scene, but as we sorted it out. . .well, she’s alive. Her fellow witches took her back into their fold. She’ll get her memory back in time.” “The Magisterium. . .damn, what a story,” St. John shifted thougtfully, “They’d be worse than a million Muscovy governments, o’ course, but what a story.”

“Please, don’t,” Laynia begged. “Oh, I won’t—but only because I don’t have proof,” St. John said, sitting up entirely now, “Besides, first I got to blow the door open on your god old Mother State!” Laynia sighed. St. John didn’t see why. Muscovy had betrayed her, not the other way round. “Oh,” he said, considering one more time, “What happened to that big ugly bastard, the one with the ox daemon?” “Oh, Mr. Shaw and Opis are just fine,” Haven smiled. “When we came back to the train car, they were both fending off wolves,” Layia explained, “And winning, too. You see, the wolves were attracted to the smell of the bear that he’d ALREADY fought and killed for its coat and meat.” “It really does surprise me,” said Haven in the most casual of tones,”He had assured me he was a city boy.” END I kinda cheated by taking the “and then he passed out and had everything explained to him after” shortcut but I ran out of steam! As a note on Drioma and Hephaestus, I picked them to be the same gender as Laynia and St. John because, duh, they’re gay, and that’s ONE of the reasons someone might not have an opposite-gender daemon. Another might be having second sight like Haven. Pullman basically goes with “I don’t know, you make it up” on a lot of stuff when asked, which I love. I picked a wolf for Laynia because they’re loyal pack animals; soldiers and servants in the books are often depicted with dog and wolf daemons. I picked the name Drioma after a Slavic spirit of the evening and the night. Hephaestus is of course after the god; I felt like that reflected both St. John’s creative nature (god of the forge) and also a nod to his powers as Pyro in canon (god of volcanoes). He’s an orange cat because I think the chaotic blend of impulsive and intelligence is pretty perfect for him. All witches are women and they all have bird daemons. Fantasma’s is a cuckoo because of their tendency to replace the babies of other birds. Ajak’s is a parrot because in canon, her talent is to be able to speak to the Celestials. Makkari’s is a peregrine falcon for their speed. And Sersi’s is a peacock because of their beauty and association with pride. For Shaw and Haven: Opis was the Roman earth goddess of wealth and oxen because of their association with hard work and strength but also aggression, and Pralaya as in the Hindu cosmological term (Mahapralaya means great pralaya) and a cow for their associations with motherliness, nurturing, and their presence as a sacred or sacrificial symbol in many faiths, especially being important in Hinduism. Hope you enjoyed!

#fic #out of shirt

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yeuphoric · 2 years

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╰ * some plots / ideas that i’d love to do. please send a message if you’re interested in any of these. i write m/f and f/f but none of these have to be romantic, can be platonic.

a friends / new girl inspired mumu. just a group of friends in their twenties, still figuring out their careers and their goals and chase their dreams, while also trying to juggle their relationships with each other. we can focus on just two of the friendship group if that’s easier.

spooky / creepy / psychological plots. i’m already deep in an autumnal mood so k*llers, stalkers, cults, dangerous obsessions, something feeling amiss but not being to see what, friendship groups being tested and splintering, and all that fun stuff.

twilight / true blood style plot. cosy small town vibes, everyone knows everyone and everything, supernatural creatures roaming at night, secrets hidden everywhere, strange shenanigans going on, first loves, unrequited loves, all that jazz.

historical things. arranged marriages, secret relationships, enemies to lovers, lovers to enemies, warring houses, long distance communication through letters, broken families trying to get back together, you know the vibes. can be fantasy if preferred.

assassins / spies / criminals wild team - up shenanigans. think k*ngsman, b*llet train, saints row. just imagine the loyalties forming / severing against the backdrop of chaos and mischief. people stuck together because of their job but then becoming a found family. the villain ending up not being quite as bad as you were told.

hollywood plots. juicy headlines, paparazzi, sneaking into each other’s homes, the fake romances, the real romances, co-stars who hate each other but have to pretend otherwise, the married director falling for their leading star, what happens abroad while filming stays abroad, the ambitious star sinking their claws into someone beneficial that’s blindsided by their looks / talent / personality.

sci-fi stuff. apocalypses, androids / robots, spaceships, bunkers, time travel, alternate universes, virtual reality.

gossip girl inspired mumu. i haven’t watched the reboot but i’m old enough to have watched the original when it first came out lmao. but yeah, pretty people doing bad things, backst*bbing, a mysterious person / group publishing intimate details of their lives on social media, cheating, addictions, revenge, luxe homes, expensive clothes.

idk how niche this may be on this blog but a muse based on ghost from c.o.d ?? big silent guy who has a f*ck ton of trauma and always wears a mask. incredibly imposing + highly skilled... but also a softie deep down who does care for his team and forms his little attachments but just doesn’t know how to show it. cue lots of intense staring and awkward silences but also “i’d die for you in a heartbeat” type promises

and some more general things i’m looking for: angst, angst, and more angst. toxic relationships. longing and pining and unrequited love. people beginning to fall in love. people beginning to fall out of love. unplanned pregnancies. age differences.

#indie rp #1x1 rp #indie smut rp #indie lesbian rp #indie horror rp #╰ * WANTED : ⧽ plot .

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oscurie · 4 months

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AKLLA MANZANO : an original character based in original urban fantasy lore. adapted for a variety of verses. a story of : girlhood and becoming monstrous, children born evil, death and its consequences, undisciplined power and the havoc it wreaks. as written by tas ( she/her, 28 ). also found at @phanritza

STORY. PROMPTS. STUDY. WORLDS.

* all info temporarily below cut.

RULES

¹. all information and lore here is entirely original, please do not take any inspiration from it. all creative rights to myself and affiliated group.

². when i say activity on this blog will be slow i genuinely mean it. due to life the activity here will be wildly sporadic. i don't expect quick responses from my writing partners and so i hope for the same considerations. feel free to ask for my discord for brain rotting but that may be just as slow as writing is sometimes. tl;dr is my speed =/= my interest in our plots!!

³. due to the above rule and how often i can be here this blog is mutuals only and will be highly selective. i will softblock if i don't expect to follow back, personal blogs will be blocked. mutuals may approach at anytime (and please do!)

⁴. no ns/fw content will be present on this blog and i will not follow blogs with heavy mat/ure content. however, triggering content may be present on this blog and i will do my best to tag. that being said, minors will not be followed on this blog either due to personal comfort.

⁵. formatting on this blog will be minimal. some spacing, some bolding, italics, etc small sized font and no special text asides from blog aesthetics. please let me know if any formatting needs to be adjusted, happy to accomodate.

⁶. i love a good ship but shipping is definitely not my priority. an actual ship will require thorough plotting and some form of ooc friendship/understanding.

⁷. typical rp and human etiquette applies. don't be a pos and we're good.

WORLD

set in a world where demons on the brink of death can house themselves in dying humans, whether by force or by agreement

the circumstances occur randomly, by luck, or by plan. though, in most cases it is due to haphazard, split - second decisions by both parties

demon souls can be split across multiple people, but this is incredibly rare. their abilities / powers / enhancements will typically manifest in their vessels, but the speed at which it presents itself varies and can take from as quick as minutes to years

vessels in this universe are referred to as “ dire ”, especially when they are unaffiliated, rogue, defectors, or corrupt.

there exists a central organization that has asserted itself in the beginning of time as the main enforcer and protector of the human world, dedicated to maintaining order and balance, taming chaos. they're referred to as venkari, a sub - set of dire and more formally recognized. one of their main jobs is to keep track of newly turned dire so that they can be recruited or eliminated. recruits into the organization are trained and educated to hunt demons, dire that are considered threats, and other supernatural creatures that pose a danger to human society. venkari largely exist in the shadows, its agents typically living double lives. the organization is vast and has numerous branches, hierarchies, and traditions. the many branches and hierarchies has historically caused numerous issues across history and promotes an unstable foundation of unity.

dire who refuse to join the organization are typically free to go, but they are kept on a short list as targets should they screw up in any manner.

dire / venkari are not immortal by default, but there are measures to ensure this. typically frowned upon.

BIO

aklla had nearly died at the age of three when she had ventured too far into the inky black waters of the sea behind the summer home. her aunt and uncle, her legal guardians at the time, hadn’t thought much about the night swim until they could no longer see the girl.

she was rescued quickly and sent to the hospital where her revival became the talk of the small town.

soon after she’s back home, her abnormal behaviour starts. as a girl so young with a demon so old in her body, her body had a very difficult time adjusting. she would wake up in the middle of the night in tremors, her inquisitive curiosity grew more and more dangerous and ever so slowly it seemed like the spark of life had drained from her eyes entirely.

the last straw came when the house was plunged into an eerie darkness and the girl began speaking tongues the couple had never heard. they had tolerated enough after aklla’s mother had ended up in jail and left them with a child they never asked for. they dropped her off at the foot of the nearest orphanage and didn’t look back as the girl stared silently at their receding silhouette.

she was picked up by the agency within a week and handed over to the head scientist that had been following the demon now residing in the little girl. a sort of partnership formed between the two, the closest thing aklla ever got to a parental figure.

aklla learns through the agency how to hone her control of shadows. the ability coupled with the girl’s emotionless demeanour earns her a reputation and most people avoid her in the agency. not many venkari enjoy being teamed up with the girl. despite always completing the mission, she rarely followed instructions which often put herself and her partners in dangerous situations.

she goes rogue the minute she turns eighteen and the agency no longer has any legal precedence over her.

aklla doesn’t necessarily hunt for hire, she simply takes enjoyment in the gory process of killing demons. she treats her kills like an experiment. with a knack and interest in the sciences, she tests out new weapons, poisons and attacks on the demons she hunts often sabotaging other venkaris kills or missions to get what she wants.

#PINNED. DNI. EST 08/06/2024

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phanritza · 4 months

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YARITZA VERA CASTELO : an original character based in original urban fantasy lore. adapted for a variety of verses. a story of : feeling empty in one’s own skin, being alive but teetering on the edge of death, the inability to discern reality and facades. as written by tas ( she/her, 28 ). affiliated with @kezoire, @piruzei, @aknma, @rokshasi and @ownlore

STORY. PROMPTS. STUDY. WORLDS.

* all info temporarily below cut.

RULES

¹. all information and lore here is entirely original, please do not take any inspiration from it. all creative rights to myself and affiliated group.

⁶. i love a good ship but shipping is definitely not my priority. an actual ship will require thorough plotting and some form of ooc friendship/understanding.

⁷. typical rp and human etiquette applies. don't be a pos and we're good.

WORLD

set in a world where demons on the brink of death can house themselves in dying humans, whether by force or by agreement

the circumstances occur randomly, by luck, or by plan. though, in most cases it is due to haphazard, split - second decisions by both parties

vessels in this universe are referred to as “ dire ”, especially when they are unaffiliated, rogue, defectors, or corrupt.

dire who refuse to join the organization are typically free to go, but they are kept on a short list as targets should they screw up in any manner.

dire / venkari are not immortal by default, but there are measures to ensure this. typically frowned upon.

BIO

in yaritza’s life before the agency, she had been a world famous race car driver. she had started her career in street racing and had grown popularity in that community before breaking into the world of formula one.

it’s during her most anticipated race, her third grand prix, that it happens. a grinding noise followed by the inability to hold onto the wheel, screeching of tires and then sudden darkness.

her crash makes headlines and news outlets wait with bated breath to determine whether she’d make it out alive. and she does. technically.

yaritza falls into a coma but she’s alive after a touch with death. in fact, yaritza had died during the crash but her death coinciding with the demon now residing in her had been her ironic saviour.

however, this demon wasn’t going to let off live easy. for half a year, she’s in a coma. but during that time, yaritza’s soul is tested time and time again. the demon had created a world in her mind, a hellscape of sorts, to torture her. it didn’t see her fit to hold its soul in her body until she passed the thousands of tests it had readied for her. so for months and months she faced test after gruelling test. tests of the mind, tests of the metaphysical, tests of her heart. and when he deemed her ready to merge into the role of a dire, she jolted awake from her coma and entirely different woman.

she’s recruited into the agency before she can barely make out what’s happened. and it’s during training that she uncovers her powers.

yaritza has the ability to cast a wide range of illusions. ranging from glamours that disguise her features to creating seemingly deceiving entire worlds around someone. however, the wider the range of her casting, the more harm it does to her. bit by bit, with each large scale illusion, she loses grip of her own reality and flickers back and forth between her own world and the demon world.

despite her struggles yaritza and her team become the best in the agency. until it all comes crumbling down.

one team member strays a little too far and they’re left with a monster in their midst. yaritza is tasked with hunting him down and takes the responsibility with great seriousness despite the friendship the two previously had. this resolve also creates rifts between herself and her team but she puts the agency above all else and accepts the mission.

outside of the agency, yaritza takes a long hiatus after coming to from her coma. but once she’s well enough, she opens her own auto shop. her love for cars now focused on fixing them than being behind the wheel.

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forcesensitiveaurawielder · 1 year

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Trying to Write More

Hello there!

So for a while I’ve been trying to write my high fantasy series more consistently. So far, I’ve written a few chapters, and done a lot of backstory and lore development. I have all of the usual excuses (have a regular job, too many ideas at once, it’s all in my head I just need to get it on paper, blah blah blah). So I thought maybe I’d try to post some stuff on here on a semi-regular basis. Also, if you guys like it, it might be encouraging. And if you think it’s trash, that’ll be good to know sooner rather than later!

So the first thing I want to post is some of the lore behind this world I’m building. This is how the universe started (well, part 1 anyway). And you’re the only ones who know it right now, because the inhabitants of said universe mess up the story pretty early on.

The plan is to start here and then if you guys like it I’ll start on Wattpad and seriously get moving on it. I’d like to publish one day, but I have this idea that even if I print the book I’d always like to have a free online version to be available to everyone.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

...

In The Beginning

Imagine a world wildly different than any one that you’ve ever seen, that you’ve ever heard of. A world filled with creatures that you could only be vaguely familiar with if you recognized the connection between them and ancient myths implanted by my people. A world where people act so differently and talk so strangely they seem alien to you.

In many ways, they are alien. But terms like that are all relative and poorly defined. Besides, even though these people live completely different from you or I, they are motivated by many of the same things. No matter what dimension you go to , the same kind of people will desire the same kind of things: either they covet serenity and love, fame and wealth, or power and control. What makes them unique is how they go about obtaining them.

Like most groups of people who find they exist together in the same place on one of the wedges of rock that swirls through infinity, they also find that they don’t always agree. The same holds true here. There is much confusion and argument on how things came to be, and as per usual even the ones that are closest to the truth are still very far from the complete truth. But I do know how their existence came to be. And I’m going to tell you.

In the beginning, there was light.

And later, the world was born of light and darkness.

Unlike most dimensions, this one did not start in a sea of chaos. It was more like a calm meadow. There was nothing but a soft, golden light that reached out across every part of the universe. This light had no source. It seemed to just flow out from the cracks in the cosmos. Which to be fair, that’s exactly where it was coming from. That’s how all dimensions start: energy leakage. The reason so many dimensions and universes turn out so different is because basic cosmic energy can be warped in an incomprehensible number of ways when it squeezes through the membrane of reality. Except for one dimension that ended up with infinite identical universes. That place makes me very uncomfortable.

Anyway, this light was not a sentient being. It was, simply, a wonder. The first great wonder of the universe. But it was not inert either. It was a force, and an energy. The energy was always flowing, moving, and changing shape. And like all forces, the light sought only to be balanced. Anytime it changed, it always found equilibrium. For what can only be described only as a small infinity, the light was in its own perfect balance. Nothing disturbed it.

But then something incredible happened. The light was not provoked, not disturbed, not manipulated in any way by anything. But as I said, the light was never at rest. It was always moving. And like so many other wonderful things, something wonderful was created by accident.

A child was born of the light.

Though she was technically newborn, she had the appearance of a young girl the age of eight or nine. Her gold eyes glowed warmly, her skin radiated a warm brightness, she had long white-blond hair that swept into her face. And she was in constant awe of her life and the universe of pure light in which she dwelled. Curious as a child should be, she explored her home. She taught herself the inner workings of the light that sustained her. She learned unimaginable things.

But the light was still looking for a balance. Another child was born, the same age as the girl at the time. A boy with shining blond hair, hazel eyes, and a sparkling smile.

To be clear, that is not embellished descriptivism. His hair actually glowed and there was what I can only describe as pixie dust constantly floating around his lower facial area.

The two children observed each other, not knowing what to do. They knew not how to speak. But after a while, they did communicate. They were bound together by the light. They could talk to each other in their minds.

Once they realized this, they named one another. The girl took the name Iimii. Her brother took the name Orro. She taught him everything she knew of their home. And so they grew up together, together they grew in the light.

But it didn’t end there; tales like this never can.

Iimii and Orro sought to explore the very limits of the light. They were confident in themselves and their abilities. Orro was much more reserved about their adventure, but Iimii had grown...arrogant. The light had no bounds, however it was not perfect. As time drew on, the constant shifting of the light had made (for lack of a better description) stretches in its very fabric. Iimii noticed this eventually, but in her innocence she failed to see this as danger. She investigated the stretch in light, she tried to manipulate it...until it tore...and she fell through, into the darkness.

That is when fear was invented. Poor Iimii, she was terrified. She needed the light, it kept her alive. Without it she had no control, she was hurling through nothingness.

You must understand that even though the light extended through the universe, that did not mean it was the only thing in existence. The light was the first thing to exist, but within it the dark was made. They are two sides to one coin.

Iimii did not know of the dark. And then, just as all wonderful things are, something wonderful happened by accident. Iimii did not die. She was strong and still young, she adapted. She learned without knowing it. Her golden hair darkened to a void. Her skin paled. The glow faded from her eyes to be replaced by pure black. Not but moments after her initial terror did she learn to move through the dark. She ran back toward the tear, toward the light that was her home. She didn’t realize the change that took place within her. She didn’t understand that the light was not her home anymore.

When she reached the light, it seared her skin. She could not enter. She became frightened again, and confused. Desperation setting in, she called out to Orro...and she started to cry.

Orro, panic-stricken, reached the tear in light. He had been looking for Iimii for a while by then. But his hopes did not raise when he looked upon his sister. She was different, they could both feel that now.

He tried to reach out to her, but the darkness corroded his skin and he shrieked out in pain. They looked at each other helplessly through the first seam ever between light and dark. But Orro wasn’t going to let pain stop him.

Iimii.

He reached back into the dark.

Please.

The dark ate away at his arm.

Iimii was horrified.

Stop Orro! It’s destroying you. If I touch you then…

Iimii take my hand!

She did. The light started flowing through her again. Iimii smiled, her smile started to glow. Her hair lightened. Orro’s arm healed. But the dark would not yield. The glow was swiped out of her smile. Her hair faded to black once again. For the first time, the light and the dark had to fight for balance. The serenity was broken. It would remain broken unless balance was found again.

Orro was still clasping to Iimii’s hand. He felt something stirring in their palms. Something powerful. The energy blast was so powerful in fact, that Orro was sent flying backwards. When he scrambled back to the seam, he was more than shocked to see not one, but two beings on the other side.

It was another young man [for Orro had grown past adolescence by this time]. He was staring at Iimii. He looked at himself. He was confused. Orro knew the feeling, the strangeness of being willed into existence. Of course that didn’t mean that Orro was any less confused. He smiled at the siblings.

This new being was unlike Orro or Iimii. His eyes were grey, a color that never existed before. His hair was blond like Orro’s, except it was a darker hue and there was a jet black streak that went across as it tumbled down his back. His smile was bright like Iimii’s used to be and radiated a glow, but his chestnut skin seemed to absorb the glow. He looked at his hands, there was a long scar across each of his palms: one dark and one light. Both greatly contrasted with his skin.

He looked back at Iimii. Why… are you sad?

Orro jumped at the words that appeared in his head from this stranger. Iimii was so shocked it almost wiped away her depression. But it came back when she answered the question.

She pointed towards Orro. I can’t go home.

She cried. The newcomer, who would later call himself Uku, looked between the two siblings. He turned to Iimii. He took her hand and smiled.

Please don’t cry.

He led her back into the light, and she felt no pain. Iimii couldn’t believe it, she was so happy. She let go of Uru’s hand to embrace her brother, but she didn’t get the chance. As soon as she let go, the light attacked her. She screamed in agony. Uku embraced her, and the light stopped.

Orro and Iimii did not understand why the light would reject her like it did. But they soon understood that Iimii was no longer a child of the light; she was a creature of the dark. Uku brought her back to the dark. Orro and Iimii now existed in two different extremes of their universe.

Orro was bitter, he spent the next millennium sitting next to the tear that binded their two realms looking out into the darkness thinking of his lost sister. Iimii became depressed, hiding herself and avoiding her brother’s gaze.

Uku visited Iimii quite often. He worried about her, he wanted to help her. When he wasn’t keeping her company, he traveled between the two realms, hoping to learn something he could use to help Iimii. When he was gone, Iimii sank further into darkness. Just as she taught herself to use the light, so she did with the dark. It became her purpose.

Then the Forming came. Orro and Iimii were shaken out of their self-pity when they felt ripples across the realms. Something was happening, and they were scared.

Orro was too blind to see that Uku had come back to the tear between realms, he had started manipulating the light and the dark at the same time, using the tear as a focal point.

Orro was furious. He had originally thought Uku to be an unnatural entity, and now he was committing what Orro considered to be blasphemous. Uku knew this, so he stayed in the dark while he worked the light, where Orro couldn’t stop him.

When Iimii arrived, the universe looked chaotic. She had grown to trust Uku and she didn’t want to hurt him. But though she was more open-minded than her brother, she still couldn’t help but feel what Uku was doing was wrong.

And what was Uku doing? He was creating a middle-ground. A realm where the light and dark could coexist without destroying each other. What he didn’t know, was that he was creating the world in the process. Uku accidently created the world.

When he finished, Uku was shocked to behold the landscape that stood as the core of the realm he had made. To Iimii’s delight, she found that she could pass smoothly through the veil of darkness into this middle ground, without feeling any discomfort. Even though she was bound to the dark, she could now feel the tingle of light dancing across her body, a comfort she had forgotten. Orro too passed into Uku’s new realm, reluctant at first to accept the tender balance of the dark with the light. But the dark felt cool against his skin, a sensation he did not know of and found that it felt somewhat relieving.

Recovering from his shock, Uku rejoiced that he had actually succeeded. When Iimii saw Orro, once again in the same realm as her, she cried and embraced her brother.

After that, the three of them spent most of their lives in the Twilight Realm. Uku taught the siblings how to work with their opposite natures and manipulate them in a way that they wouldn’t mutually obliterate one another.

After nearly mastering her new abilities, Iimii could no longer resist going down from the Realms to explore the world that Uku had accidently created. She was disappointed to find that it was barren. She had hoped this place would be like a new realm she could explore, yet it was little more than a large, flat plain. Iimii took it upon herself to remedy this.

From the dark she rose mountains, cut canyons, and carved valleys into the once flat surface. Her brother saw what she was doing and decided to join, seeing it as fun. From the light he grew forests and decorated Iimii’s landscape with colors he invented for each plant.

The plants however quickly died. It was then Uku came and invented water: the only substance to know perfect harmony of light and dark. The plants found life again.

But Iimii was not yet satisfied. The slow growing of plants failed to hold Iimii’s child-like attention span. She wanted creatures that were more animated. She tried making creatures that resembled her and Orro and Uku, but she couldn’t. She ended up making the creatures of the air. When Orro saw his sister trying to make sapient beings, he tried to do the same, but failed as well. He created most of the creatures of the sea. The two of them kept trying until they eventually filled the land with creatures as well.

Uku was the only one of them able to create self-aware beings. But they were not . When Uku made the first race to walk the world he found that they could not exist outside of the solid world he had created. Only he, Iimii, and Orro are able to travel between the Abstract Realms.

But this little fact didn’t stop Uku. After he made his first intelligent species, he made ten more. Eleven high-functioning peoples roamed the world now.

Iimii was delighted with what they had accomplished. The three named their world “Ruiviur”, a word that tastes complicated and foreign in the mouths of the world’s inhabitants, but to its creators it is simply the word for home. Uku recommended that they wait for the people to grow accustomed to their new home before they intervened.

But shouldn’t we help them? Make it easier for them?

I agree with Uku. said Orro. They need to teach themselves like we did. For now at least.

But they did do one thing for the people of Ruiviur. Since Uku created them, they were equal parts light and dark, but they couldn’t manipulate either nor could they tolerate prolonged exposures to either one. So Iimi and Orro split the light and dark on Ruiviur into day and night. But this divided Ruiviur into two halves. That’s why Uku made it so that day and night would oscillate across the whole world. This, however, still did not solve the problem entirely. Uku’s creatures were not as versatile as he was. Some of the creatures could see through the cover of night, others could not see well in the brightest part of day. Not only that, the sudden shift between the light and dark was an unpleasant transition for all of the creations on Ruiviur, plant and animal alike.

To counter this, Uku asked Orro and Iimii to concentrate all of the light and dark at singular points opposite of each other and high above Ruiviur. In doing this, Orro created an orb of brilliant golden light and Iimii created an orb of pure ebony dark. Then Uku touched both orbs, putting them on a path to circle Ruiviur, making it so that the night would overcome the day gradually, and so the case with day overcoming night. But by Uku’s touch, the orbs changed.

They began gravitating toward the center of Ruiviur. Eventually they crashed into each other and merged. They became one orb, an orb of the same size as either of the originals, but much more dense. For a time, it looked that Uku’s orb had destroyed Iimii’s. But after some time, the light of the orb was dissolved by a darkness that spread out from the center of the orb. And then after the same amount of time, the light would once again overtake the dark by spreading out from its center.

The orb’s light form would later become known as the Sun and its dark form would be known as the Moon to the people of Ruiviur. And the periods where the orb was made up of part Sun and part Moon would come to be known as phases in the cycle of day and night. This is one of this universe’s greatest balancing acts of nature.

The day came for the Three to visit the people of Ruiviur. It didn’t take them long to learn the concept of spoken language, and when they were able to talk to the people the Three found that they were kind and welcoming. When they told them who they were and where they came from, the people were skeptical. To prove themselves, Uku pulled a silk tree out of the bare ground. Needless to say, people believed them after that. A gathering of all the tribes was called to meet the Three. This would later be turned into a celebration, known to everyone as “The Realm Crux Festival.”

The Three told stories of the Realms in which the dwelled, but they were careful not to say too much, they didn’t want the people to be disappointed when they realized they were confined to Ruiviur.

After the gathering, Iimii, Orro, and Uku traveled around Ruiviur learning of the uniqueness of each species’ culture, occasionally teaching them something new that they felt they could.

However, this peace didn’t last. The Kaliginians are not much different from the people of Earth, they too are able to be blinded by selfishness. The skills that the Three could teach them became something to covet. More people started asking Uku to create something for them. Tribes started coming up with ways of keeping the Three with them longer. Staying with a tribe, was looked at as showing one tribe more favor.

There had been...battles before. Strife among the tribes leading to an attack. But they had been minor disputes. The first war was waged over the Three.

Horrified, Uku told Iimii and Orro that they had to leave.

Look at them. That’s because of us.

We can’t just leave them like this. We need to resolve what we’ve started.

They are creatures of free will. We have no right. They must resolve it themselves.

But it was out of our free will that this came to be.

They left Ruiviur. The tribes knew that they did, but the war did not stop. It was no longer about the Three. Despite what Uku said, Iimii couldn’t leave it alone.

She went back. She saw that the leaders of two tribes were the cause for the war’s longevity. They were power-hungry. They desired more than they deserved. Iimii hated them; they were laying waste to the world she loved.

Iimii….her mind was still that of a child, in many ways. She saw things in a simplified form. She didn’t understand how complex the world they created had become.

She traveled, by shadow as to remain unseen, to the first leader. She manipulated the dark into his body, and it consumed the light within him, without which he could not survive. Though they mourned the loss, that tribe’s people were relieved.

She did the same to the other tribe leader, except she was seen doing it. That tribe was weary of war as well, but they were horrified that Iimii had taken a life.

When Iimii returned to the Twilight Realm, she was confused to find that she did not feel proud of her accomplishment. She looked down at Ruiviur, the war ended, but she still felt ill. Orro and Uku found out what she had done. It took Orro time to forgive her for what she did. Uku embraced Iimii, explained to her the severity of what she did. The realization broke her. She fled back to the Null Realm. Uku went after her. Orro stayed to watch over Ruiviur. Uku has been searching for Iimii ever since.

The Three never visited the people of their world again.

#story #fiction #fantasy #books #high fantasy #lord of the rings #hitchiker's guide to the galaxy #discworld #percy jackson #wattpad

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victoria1676 · 2 years

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Upcoming SAGAU FICS I will be making soon!

Here’s the list of SAGAU fics I will be making soon with my main story or after it.

Info: Platonic, angst, fluff, reader is a child and Lumine will not hesitate to throw everything to protect this little being.

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A Child's innocence (Platonic! Self Aware Genshin Impact x fem! Child Reader)

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Summary: In which when Lumine and Paimon traveled into the Chasm they were told some things that had been happening in the Chasm such as monsters seen scaring Treasurer hoarders away with their supplies being taken and a strange small figure running around the Chasm.

When both companions met up with Dainsleif again, all three did not expect to see what was in the chasm.

Right in front of them was a child who was hugging a sleepy blue creature and child smiled at them before saying:

"Hello! Why are you disturbing my home?"

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A Whole World (Self Aware Genshin Impact x DSMP! SBI! Fem! Reader)

Summary: This is the soft au of my main story where Aether found a strange huge tunnel that lead to another cave filled with different monsters he did not recognize and with one wrong move he accidentally summoned the Warden only for him to be saved by a Winged Woman who took him to a place that was unknown to him.

Info: Slow burn, comedy, fluff, Violence, Angst and etc.

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When he was about to thank the woman he was shocked when he realized who saved him.

"I'm sorry Creator?" You raised an eyebrow, "I think you mistake me for another OP god"

"CREATOR!" Aether flinched when he felt a crow land on his head, "PLEASE STEP ON ME!"

"Oh for the love of Mojang…"

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Little Sparrow (Platonic! Self Aware Genshin Impact x SBI! Teenager! Fem! Reader)

Info: Angst, comfort, healing, Platonic and etc.

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Summary: With Diluc's grapes disappearing and then reappearing the next day as it became a regular occurrence that the Ragnvindr had to catch the thief by himself.

When he made a trap to catch the culprit he did not expect to be slapped by a pair of fluffy red feathers that have the same color that resembled his hair.

And was that a distress chirping noise he heard?

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A God? But I'm a Hermit? (Self Aware Genshin impact x Hermitcraft! Reader)

Info: Soft or regular au, Obsessions, Fluff, Comedy, Chaos, comfort, and angst might be mentioned but it depends throughout my story.

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Summary: Hermitcraft season 9 began Xisuma informed the Hermits that the new seed he got for the new server of Hermitcraft is currently a new seed that he was warned by the devs that this seed is very unknown and Xisuma was the only one who has the seed and unfortunately there are already living beings that are living in this unknown seed a. You being the youngest Hermit who was full of curiosity and chaos found an island that you could use to make a mega base with your trusty companion and Bodyguard Rubedo by your side.

However it seems you found the ones that Xisuma was told about and why is it that these people keep mistaking you as a god? Also, Rubedo has been acting strange.

Scratch that why is there a statue of you???????

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Meant to be yours (Yandere Self Aware Genshin Impact x Fem reader)

Summary: It's always been everyone's dream or fantasy to appear in Genshin and love the characters you enjoy playing or having one of the charas in the romantic light. Honestly, You understood why people are like that, especially how popular and amazing Genshin is although you kind of wish you are not the one who felt being watched on your phone whenever you play the game.

Info: No creator reader but the traditional concept of what Self Aware Genshin is like, Yandere themes, Obsession, Dark themes, etc.

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Worse the moment you decided to delete Genshin for better storage and transfer it to another device. You suddenly found your whole being stuck in the game you have been playing.

It should be a good thing right?

No, because these characters are self-aware and most off obsessive.

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So yeah here’s like half of my list of upcoming stories I will be making soon so hopefully I can try to make these stories after my main story or make them with my main story XD

Also when I say half i meant I have A LOT of stories I will be making but I only show half since right now I am still busy with irl and school TwT

So yeah don’t worry you will read these future stories soon so long you can wait for me to make them, follow, click my notification, reblog and like UwU

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thera-daydreams · 3 years

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ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴡᴇᴇᴛ ᴏʟᴅ ʟᴀᴅʏ ɪꜱ ᴀ ᴡɪᴛᴄʜ

ᗢ jujutsu kaisen x scarletwitch!reader ᗢ

warning:

will contain spoilers from the jjk manga and the latest mcu shows + movies (particularly wandavision and loki, as well as doctor strange in the multiverse of madness). once again, this will contain heavy spoilers—you have been warned.

other stuff to look out for? this is a part-crackfic slash reader-insert story, so you'll be breaking reality (plus some hunky hearts, mehehehe) with your chaos magic while being a shop-owning badass grandma. i'm telling ya'll, it's just absolute craziness here and the author being sleep-deprived. (シ_ _)シ

what's even better? #girlbosses nobara and maki call you a milf (cutiepatootie yuuji calls you mom, though). if you don't like that and the webtoony title, just scroll away. („• ֊ •„)

oh! before i forget, i was also inspired by the amazing @elysianslove and one of her wonderful works about a haikyuu x scarletwitch!reader. mwah, go and check it out! ヾ(*'▽'*)

[✔ - Rewritten and edited after the events of Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness]

00. how it all began ✔

01. nanami kento: the workaholic who needs a year-long vacation from everything and a limitless—pun intended—white-haired headache ✔

02. gojo satoru: the overpowered manchild who loves to annoy everybody and splurge his excessive wealth on sugar instead of being an actual sugar daddy ✔

03. fushiguro toji: the ex-assassin who wears his shirts two sizes too small while being an expert at not paying child support ✔

04. ryomen sukuna: the sadistic maniac who's just too bored with his life so he waits to pick a fight as he sits on his throne made out of the skulls of his enemies ✔

05. geto suguru: the traitor who calls people monkeys but later on gets his body hijacked by a literal mastermind creature ✔

06. kamo choso: the precious big brother who only wants to have his little brothers all safe and sound ✔

07. witchcraft & other shenanigans ✔

08. spellbound ✔

09. grief ✔

10. fantasy ✔

11. cursed ✔

12. destiny ✔

13. madness ✔

...?

(still a work in progress; chapters will be updated with links throughout the next few months)

Bonus Scenes:

Visitors

The Return to KFC

synopsis:

When you moved into this new universe, no one warned you that you would become the mother figure to several traumatized kids while at the same time juggling six adult men who had their own personal issues (one was a blunt workaholic with a peculiar fashion taste in neckties, the second was a narcissistic overgrown kid with too much power, the third was a supposed-to-be-dead deadbeat dad slash hitman, the fourth was a sadistic tattooed psychopath with a secret chocolate addiction, the fifth was an ex-mass murderer who had his body stolen by a brain, and the last one just wanted his brothers together, poor thing).

You were just a retired witch owning a small shop, wanting to live the rest of your miserable life in peace. They called themselves jujutsu sorcerers, and apparently this new universe you'd chosen to settle down in had nasty monsters—curses, they said—that were born out of people's shitty emotions.

Who knew that being an old lady was hard these days? Now you understood what Dr. Strange felt when you and Loki accidentally unleashed the Multiverse of Madness. Maybe you did need to see Bucky's therapist.

taglist: to be added! (just comment below or message me if you'd like to be included)

#jujutsu kaisen #jjk #nanami kento #gojo satoru #fushiguro toji #ryomen sukuna #geto suguru #kamo choso #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jjk x reader #nanami x reader #gojo x reader #toji x reader #geto x reader #sukuna x reader #choso x reader #scarlet witch #x reader #thera.writes

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lily-drake · 3 years

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Fantasy/Twin AU

Sorry for being late and not posting for a bit. Was a bit burnt out and had writer block. I will go back to write the other days soon though. Also, sorry, I suck at writing wing aus, this is my first time doing it.

Earth J-236, an earth full of mystical life. An earth where everyone is born with wings. Your wings represented who you are; well not really, but that’s what people believed. If your wings were bright and colorful then you were obviously an amazing person, but if your wings were darker or had little color, then you have great evil in your soul. Marinette was born seconds after her twin, Damian. It takes a few years before your wings fully grow in, usually to about 6. But with the accelerated growth serums used in their artificial wombs, it took them till they were three for their feathers to sprout. Damian’s were black like their father’s with subtle hints of red like their mothers. Marinette’s were pure black, devoid of any color, and her mother was so proud of that. She was the League’s charm, for it’s believed that anyone with pure black wings was pure evil. Her only purpose being to protect her brother, nothing else was more important than her brother’s safety. She would die for him, because if he died she might as well have died as well as her only purpose for living would be gone.

Damian glared at his sister, his wings ruffling in annoyance. She was hovering close to him again, and she never said anything to him ever unless she was completely sure they were alone. He did not believe that his sister was or could ever be, “pure evil” just because of her wings. In fact, her mannerisms are the exact opposite of what people believed. She, in her own ways, is caring, sweet, and protective. He had seen, and helped, her nurse a baby bird that had fallen from its nest back to health. She would often place little things around the base for only him to find such as some extra baklava, a throwing knife, a drawing of someone, beads, or other random objects. Grandfather had always been extra hard on her, making sure she wouldn’t betray them, she wouldn’t become “evil enough to lose herself”. Sometimes she would sneak into his room at night, and it tore him apart to see silent tears run down his little sister's face as small black raven feathers fell onto the floor from her days worth of training. He had been learning how to fly, her wings had been clipped every two or three months so she could not leave the base. She had learned long ago to control her facial and wing expressions, but he could always see the droop in them and the sad shine in her eyes as she stood on the ground while he was in the air.

________

Marinette looked up and watched as the fiery Phoenix flew through the air setting Nada Parabat aflame. She didn’t feel much as she watched her grandfather get blown up. She only felt great anxiety and fear as she could not find her brother. She loved her brother, and if her job was to cause chaos, she would make sure she could prevent it from hurting him. Grandfather had told her about how cursed she was, it’s why they had to be extra tough on her, and she understood that. They couldn’t have her hurting anyone they needed, only the people they wanted gone. She was angry at grandfather yesterday for taking some of her feathers for failing a task, this must have been her fault. She didn’t want to hurt her brother, her wings had only proven nothing but destruction. She had to leave now, then she could go where no one else was, and she wouldn’t have to hurt anyone else. So like a coward, like the disgrace she was, she ran. She kept her wings tight against her back making sure that no one could grab them as she ran. An arrow hit one of them, but she didn’t have time to think about the burning pain as she ran and ran and ran farther and farther and farther away. Tears ran down her cheeks as she silently prayed that her brother would be okay.

She didn’t know how long she ran, but she knew it must have been a really long time as she had just collapsed from exhaustion in the woods. She looked back at her wings and slowly and carefully spread them out and hissed in pain from where the arrow had pierced her left wing. Drops of red slowly dripped down her feathers and dropped on the ground. She quickly closed them and made sure they were as small and put away as possible. She looked up at the trees made of brass with different colored jade leaves. Pearl-like apples growing on a few. She watched a baby griffon follow it’s mother in the distance, turtle ducks waddling to a pond somewhere nearby, deer nibbling on plants, she could hear the rustling of leaves and branches from unseen creatures and everything was getting more blurry and dark. She was cold, it felt very cold. She slowly unwound her wings from around herself and closed them tightly around her, but that didn’t stop the chill that went deep down to her bones. She was a failure, a mistake, she would only cause harm. Here she wouldn’t be able to do that, and if she died here, then no one would be hurt by her again, and wasn’t that such a nice thought.

________

Tom and Sabine had finally been able to hire some trusted employees and explore places in Tibet. They had made lots of money over the years with their successful bakery, and they thought now was a better time than ever to go on a real honeymoon as they hadn’t been able to afford it before when the bakery had first started. It was during one of these forest explorations when they saw a trail of little drops of blood and felt they needed to follow it. What they discovered broke their hearts. There lying on the cold forest floor was what appeared to be a child hugging their very black wings around them. They knew of the rumors and myths of black winged people, but they did not care. They believed that their wings were not what made them evil, but rather situations put into their lives. Sabine quickly checked for a pulse, and though it was slow she sighed in relief when she felt it. She quickly handed the small unconscious girl to Tom and they both quickly went to the nearest hospital. How could someone leave such a small child all alone to die like that? It looked as if she had been injured if the dried blood on the small fragile wings said anything. And worst of all, upon closer examination, they had been clipped, recently too.

As soon as they arrived they carried the small girl to the front and demanded that they take her in. They waited until the doctors were done and gave them permission to visit claiming to be the girl’s adopted parents. It wasn’t technically a lie, they would be soon even if Sabine had to force it to happen.

When Marinette woke up she knew something was off. She was under a blanket, she’s never been given a blanket before. The sent of bleach and chemicals were everywhere and it hurt her nose. There was a beeping noise next to her that was giving her a headache. She didn’t know where she was, and that was bad. She opened her eyes a small fraction so nobody could see she was awake and looked around as much as she could. The entire room was white and there were bright lights. There were two strange people waiting in chairs near where she was laying. She wondered if they were the ones who brought her here. Slowly she opened them up all the way and silently sat up. It’s best to make no noise, then she wouldn’t disturb anyone.

“Oh sweety, I’m so glad you’re awake.”

The woman said in a cheery and relieved manner, but she just continued to watch and study them silently. Her wings felt stiff against her back, though she made sure they didn’t move or give anything away.

“How are you feeling dear?”

Silence greeted them, and her face remained as impassive as ever. They wanted something, why else would they save a freak like her? What were they aiming for here?

“Did your parents hurt you? If so, we can take you away from them.”

Marinette’s eyes widened only a fraction. These were randoms, innocents if you will. They obviously had no idea who she was, and they seemed unafraid of her and her wings. Did they not know how dangerous she was, didn’t they know that black wings meant she was cursed? The man and the woman looked at eachother and spread their wings. Marinette was shocked, but she wouldn’t show it.

The large man had light brown eagle wings while the small woman had white and black woodpecker wings. She wanted to reach out and touch the feathers, but then something bad would happen to them, so she held her hands together.

“We don’t care what your wing color is. Your wings don’t define who you are, it’s what you do with your life that does. Can we please help you?”

The woman said sincerely as she gripped the man’s hand in hers. She felt a pull to them, something telling her to accept. She didn’t want to hurt them though. But maybe she could protect them? Maybe she could find a way around her curse and make sure they don’t get hurt? Slowly she nodded and they both looked so happy when she did. She hoped that she wouldn’t hurt them, they didn’t deserve to be cursed. Maybe if she didn’t touch them things would be ok. If she didn’t let them touch her then it wouldn’t spread. She could do this!

________

Apparently she couldn’t do it because this is a very affectionate family, and the first thing that happened before they let her sleep on their —super fluffy, pure Heaven— bed was give her a hug. She had made sure that her wings were tucked under her clothes and tight against her back the entire time though. So they didn’t touch her wings, so maybe that meant they wouldn’t be cursed.

It was strange, because the next morning they went to a courthouse, and she was adopted. She hadn’t said anything throughout the entire event, she just watched and observed what people did. They stayed in Tibet for another few days before they flew to Paris, France. This was supposed to be her new home. The city of light and love. Maybe here, it would stop her curse. It was so bright that it had to block out her darkness. She still always carried one of her knives with her, she felt naked without one. Tom and Sabine seemed to understand somehow, and said that it was her business and that was enough for them till she was ready to talk about it. It was strange not to be interrogated for now wanting to tell someone something.

Marinette had lived with the Dupain-Chengs for about a year now. It was strange really, they were honest business people and their joy was always sincere. They didn’t question much of what she did even though it was probably weird to them. They didn’t punish her for messing up like the league did, and they never went near her wings without permission. They never plucked her feathers, and they would often ask if they could preen her wings. She would refuse every time, but she would often wonder what it would be like to have someone else touch them. Think of what it would be like if she weren’t cursed. When it was time for school she would always wrap them around herself then tape them so no one would see or be able to touch them. Things were finally going well, she couldn’t risk it now!

There was a blonde brat that liked to act like she was above her, and because her wings were always hidden with no explanation she made sure everyone knew that she was “wingless”. She didn’t care though, being wingless was better than being evil winged. She never really said anything in class or to other students, she never gave much reaction keeping her stoic face up. The brat left her alone soon after for being a, “ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous freak.” And nobody was the wiser.

Being Lady Chaos was….the best thing that ever happened to her if she was being honest. Even with pure black wings, people still thought she was a hero. She never flew, she was scared she’d fall and die. She was never allowed to fly before, and even if she technically can do so now, it’s not worth the risk. Her partner though, Mr. Bug has gold, red, and black wings. He can fly through the air with ease she wished she desperately had. Sometimes after patrol she would go to the very top of the Eiffel Tower and just stretch her wings out as far out as she could. She would close her eyes as the wind blew past her and ruffled her feathers and pretend that she was soaring through the air.

________

Year three of living with Tom and Sabine she was comfortable talking to them more, and with Plagg there to control her chaos she finally let them touch her wings. It was strange really, she never took care of her wings, never cared enough to. When she first felt the hands on her feathers she had to will herself not to draw them back for fear of them plucking or ripped out. But Sabine’s hands were so gentle and smooth that they seemed to move on their own and go closer to her touch. Sabine would smile and hum as she gently preened the dark raven feathers that were soft and smooth. Maybe she could finally tell the class that she wasn’t wingless soon, and maybe they would be okay with it.

No, they would not as she learned from listening to her classmates talk to the new student, Lila Rossi. To them Lady Chaos was the only good black winged person because she was chasing after Mr. Bug to earn his affections. Lady Chaos was obviously evil before she met Mr. Bug and she would always be evil no matter what she did. Marinette felt nauseous that she ever thought about telling them the truth. She had never felt more betrayed than she felt now, because she had given them her trust, and they broke it without even knowing it. After that day, she made extra sure that her wings were hidden and wore a bit thicker clothing just in case. Tom and Sabine are a little worried about it, but she calmed them pretty quickly. She was fine, it wasn’t like they were all great friends to begin with. That’s probably why everyone sides with Lila and decides that she’s a terrible person.

She had tried leaving her past behind, pretending that she didn’t hurt and kill people. Pretend that she wasn’t a weapon. She tried to push it far away, but it wasn’t enough. It was never enough. She had abandoned her brother. She betrayed the league. She did unspeakable things to please someone who would never care about her, just her use. The city of lights seems duller than usual, it was probably her fault Hawkmoth came to be in the first place, afterall she was cursed to bring ruin everywhere she went.

________

Lila and Chloe thought it would be a great idea to bring everybody to the Crime Capital of the World for their senior trip. Probably to watch people flounder and worry when things go wrong, which they definitely would. She had stopped Hawkmoth a month before the trip, but Mr. Bug took all the credit for it. The arrogant self centered bas*. Adrien kept giving her side glances that always made her feel uncomfortable and slightly disgusted. During school he would try to touch her with every chance he’d get. He almost discovered her wings at one point. She couldn’t do anything about it before because of the stupid your-rich-so-do-whatever-the-heck-you-want treatment. Now that Adrien’s family fortune is gone, and people don’t trust him because of what his dad did, so he has to be more careful. He now kept some distance, which she was extremely grateful for.

She would have broken his hand, she had imagined it plus other things more than once. But then Tom and Sabine would get in trouble by Gabriel for her actions. They didn’t deserve that, they had been nothing but good to her since they found her abandoned in that forest.

She would be fine though, as long as Lila had a grip on his arm and she was in the back, away from him. She listened to their tour guide, Richard Grayson, talk about the history and importance of WE. The architecture was brilliant really, and you couldn’t blame her for having to draw and sketch it. She often thought of Damian when she sketched. She used to leave drawings for him around the base, little things that expressed her adoration for him without getting too close. She wondered if he was still with the league, had he escaped, did he die? She hoped that wasn’t the case, she hoped that he would be alive and well. Bright orange and white wings nearly slapped her in the face if she hadn’t stopped right before the movement had occurred.

“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry Marinette! Sometimes my wings just spasm out of control like that! I didn’t hurt you did I?”

Marinette just silently rolled her eyes and took a few steps backward and watched the class glare at her waiting for her to comfort the liar. She would never lower herself to do that. She was still an Al Ghul afterall, even if she did leave it behind when she fled. She was thankful when lunch came, she waited far away from the line and watched silently from a dark corner to make sure no one would hurt her. Then she felt it, a hand touching her back feeling for something. She quickly and instinctively grabbed the arm and twisted it behind them pinning it behind their back at a painful angle.

“Ukhti, let go.”

Marinette knew that voice. She remembered that name and she could feel her heart stop. The lunchroom was silent as they watched the small bluenette silently and quickly release the “Ice Prince”. Everyone watched with bated breaths to see what would happen next. The boy’s wings were ruffled in agitation and fear.

“Where are they?”

He demanded. Marinette knew what he was talking about, she simply wrapped her arms around herself and turned her head away definitely.

“Why are you hiding them, Malak? Please.”

Marinette could feel her wings moving in defiance to what her brain was saying. They wanted to be shown, they wanted to be touched by her brother again. She looked down and slowly uncrossed her arms from her body. Damian gently took her hands in his and looked directly into her eyes.

“Everything will be ok, Taw'ami.”

She slowly nodded and with shaky fingers reached under her hoodie and began to slowly unwrap the tape that kept her wings confined. When all the tape was in her hands she hesitantly removed her hoodie and let her wings unfold from around herself and into the open. She had made shirts that let her wings slip through slits in the back that were tailored to her wings specifically and were most comfortable. Damian marveled at how big her raven wings had grown and how shiny they were. He reached out a hand slowly and gently ran his fingers down the inky black that was her wings.

Shouts of fear and accusations were thrown at her, mostly from her class. She didn’t listen though, she just observed. The tour guide was coming over now, probably to kick her out. He had such lovely wings though, they were a deep navy blue that looked similar to black with dark red and light blue running through them. They looked so well kept and soft.

“Damian, what’s happening? Who is this?”

“Grayson, meet my twin sister, Marinette.”

“You have a twin?!”

Richard exclaimed loudly, drawing even more attention. The insults and jeers stopped after that. She looked over at the class and smirked when she saw their shock and confusion.

“Yes, keep up.”

Damian said brusquely. They must know each other well then.

“Come, we must take her away from these imbeciles and take her to father.”

Damian grabbed her wrist and tugged, her quickly falling into line like she used to when he did this.

“Now tell me Ukhti, have you been taking care of yourself?”

She nodded as they came to an elevator and walked into it with Richard right behind them. Marinette felt her feathers fluff up nervously. She wasn’t in control of them right now, and she wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. Damian ran a hand gently down her right wing trying to smooth it down.

“Things will be fine Marinette. Just watch, father will be glad to meet you.”

She looked him in the eyes and squeezed her hands together.

“No, I have not told him about you. Things will be fine though.”

He seemed to understand her weird way of communicating, she still didn’t understand how he did. Richard cleared his throat and both turned to look at him.

“Sorry to interrupt, but um…I’m Dick, I’m Damian’s, and yours I guess, oldest brother. It’s nice to meet you.”

He spread his wings in a welcoming way that meant and showed safety and peace. Her wings involuntarily rose up as well to reciprocate his greeting. When the door to the elevator opened again she quickly forced her wings to hide on her back trying desperately to keep them from sight. Damian didn’t seem to like it, but he just grabbed her wrist and dragged her to a large office room. The plaque on the door read “CEO Bruce Wayne”. Their father was Bruce Wayne?! She couldn’t go in there, she couldn’t curse him and ruin his life. No, she had already messed up at the league, and she was just barely not messing up with Tom and Sabine, she would definitely ruin Bruce Wayne’s life, and she would not allow that to happen. She tugged at his grip desperately trying to get away.

“Marinette, stop. Your wings are not cursed, that was a lie.”

Marinette shook her head and kept trying to escape the iron-like grip.

“Do you not trust me anymore?”

She froze at that and quickly shook her head. Of course she trusted him, it was her that shouldn’t be trusted.

“Good, because we’re going in now.”

And that was that, because the door was now open and she was being dragged into the office room where their father and another boy with large bags under his eyes stared at them. Damian puffed up his chest and feathers letting his strong, big, and brilliant wings rise into the air.

“Father, this is your daughter, my twin, Marinette Erebus Al Ghul-Wayne.”

They both stared at her in shock and Marinette slowly and cautiously raised her despicable black wings into the air. Both stared at them in awe before looking back at her, but she didn’t meet their eyes. She didn’t want to see the disgust and hatred in their eyes.

After a few moments she looked up and saw their wings greeting hers like Dick’s had. Their father’s wings were a mix of black and dark grey alternating the color in each row of feathers. The other boy’s were black at the top and slowly turned to red at the bottom. But they were welcoming her openly, so that must mean something! Well, it was time to get to know her father, she guessed.

299 notes · View notes

itsany62 · 3 years

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SteveTony - Alternate Universe

Here are some Alternate Universe fics that I love. Don't forget to leave kudos and nice comments in every fic!

Food for the Heart, by LagLemon, 14 k >, Cooking, No Powers.

After being introduced to a gourmet food on a budget blog by Pepper (a gift for her elderly, cheapskate mother) Tony starts cooking again. The recipes are good, but the blog owner is even better. Still, Tony isn't so sure Captain America, the guy who runs the blog, can compete with Hot Bagboy, the gorgeous blond who works at the grocery store.

"Free to Good Home" by Captain_Panda, 7 k > words, Alternate Universe - Animals.

"Oliver and Company" AU.

There's a great big world outside the box.

But it's a dog-eat-dog world, and Tony's just one cat. Then a stray dog comes along, looking for a friend.

A Day In Principal Stark's Office, by nannersmelo, 10 k > words, Steve Single Parent, Director Tony.

Tony Stark has his hands full with not only Stark Industries, but also his beloved mother's life project: The Maria Stark Academy, and as he enters his office in order to deal with a ferocious mother whose son was apparently assaulted by one of his brightest students, he was sure this day would culminate in nothing but a heinous headache. Little did he know - he was in for one hell of a surprise.

I Am the Night by gottalovev, 6 k > words, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Vampire Tony Stark, Wizard Steve Rogers.

That's it. Tony is doomed. He rolls on his back, crosses his wings over his belly and closes his eyes. He'll await death here, misunderstood by the world to the bitter end.

C is for Calculus and Compromise, by heydoeydoey, 11 k>, Gifted AU, Post-Divorce, Angts with a Happy Ending.

Steve's just trying to give his prodigy daughter a normal childhood. Enter a meddling school administrator, Tony Stark, and too many lawyers.

tell you my love for you by jelliebean, 22 k > words, Alternate Universe - Normal High School, Based on Love Simon.

A guy at Shield High comes out on tumblr, anonymously. Tony thought he was the only gay guy on campus--not out, because of Howard--and sends him an email.

“Hey, Flying. Same here. I’ve got a secret too, and it’s like I’m hiding who I am, every day. From everyone. All the closest people to me. But I just can’t tell them. I’m gay, too. It feels like I’m putting on this mask, this shell of who I think they want me to be. Even though I don’t think my friends would judge me. I don’t know why. I just. I’ve got a secret. –Shell”

The guy seems great--amazing, even, and then Hammer has to step in and ruin it all.

Mergers & Acquisitions by Robin_tCJ, 33 k > words, Angst, sex as currency.

Steve Rogers is the CEO of the Rogers Corporation, which he built from the ground up. When he learns that Hydra International is making a bid for a hostile takeover of Stark Industries, he decides he has to do what he can to stop Hydra from overtaking the market and becoming an unstoppable, unethical conglomerate. Tony Stark asks for something Steve isn’t sure he should give, but he does it anyway – and it completely changes everything. But when Hydra keeps coming, Steve and Tony realize there’s more to this than they’d realized.

Meeting the Monsters by itsallAvengers, 23 k > words, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters.

Tony's at public school with kids his age for the first time in seventeen years, and he is determined that this year is gonna be his year. He's going to make friends. He's going to be popular. People will like him.

Unsurprisngly, none of that actually happens.

He does sort-of-maybe fall in love with a vampire in his class that everyone is terrified of, though. So... there's that.

(I Want You To See) The Darkest Side Of Me by ann2who, 45 k > words, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Fusion, Post-World War II.

In Monte Carlo, Steve meets the wealthy widower Anthony Stark. It’s love at first sight—at least for Steve—and he can’t believe his luck when Tony asks him to live at Stark Mansion, his large estate in Malibu. Never in his life had Steve thought something like this was possible… never had he been this happy. However, soon Steve realizes that Tony is still deeply troubled by the death of his first wife and haunted by the many ghosts she left behind. The longer Steve lives in her shadow, the more he understands that… He can never be what Tony’s wife had once been for him. And Tony might never truly love him.

Gift With Purchase Remix by sabrecmc, 43 k > words, Alternate Universe - No Powers, hooker Steve, Sugar Daddy.

Gift With Purchase Remix wherein Steve actually is a hooker. But for a Really Sympathetic Reason.

The Little Glass Screwdriver by ann2who, 19 k > words, Cinderella AU.

When Prince Steven is forced to find himself a bride, true love gets in the way. As the night of the grand ball unfolds, the prince meets a mysterious knight who might just change his entire life in a way he could have never imagined.

**Cinderella AU**

Covered in Lines by royal_chandler, 3 k > words, Alternate Universe - Student/Teacher, Alternate Universe - College/University, Age Difference.

He can’t lose sight of pale, deft hands that gesture on transitive verbs, an ink-stained thumb edging underneath Tony’s ribcage with an affection that can only be called dangerous.

half-wild and glimmering by deathsweetqueen , 15 k > words, Alternate Universe - Western, Prostitution.

“Give me a drink, Tasha,” Tony sighs as he lands in front of the bar. “I’ve had one hell of a day.”

Natasha raises an eyebrow. “Have you really?” she asks, loftily, sliding a tumbler of whiskey along the well-polished wood.

Tony lets his head hang, the sweat beading on the back of his neck. “You wouldn’t believe what I’ve had to put myself through today,” he sighs, wearily.

“I would not know. You will not let me work the rooms,” Natasha retorts, her voice a little strained, busying her hands in a dirty glass.

“I don’t let you work the rooms ‘cause you’re liable to kill anyone who touches ya the wrong way and we can’t lose that much of our business,” Tony reminds her, wryly amused, sipping at his whiskey. He shakes his head at the burn. “We peddle flesh, darling, not death.”

peers, fears and holiday cheers by jacobby, 24 k > words, Parent Tony Stark.

“He’s only two years older than you,” Tony finally says when the silence becomes too much to bear.

“Dad, Teddy is turning twenty-seven next year.”

“I am not dating your husband—”

“I’m not implying you are. I just want you to be...aware that he’s practically the same age as my husband.”

AKA

Tony Stark's new boyfriend is only two years older than his adult sons. Telling them is one thing, introducing them is another. What Tony doesn't expect is that the past always has a way of catching up to him, of biting him in the ass when he least expects it. Well, at least they're all together for the Holidays. What more can he ask for?

A Higher Form of War by sabrecmc, 292 k > words, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Historical Romance.

Tony is a King with a surprising number of people out to kill him. Steve and the rest of the Avengers are fighting for Pierce's rebellion and end up with Tony as their prisoner. Oops.

you can call me babe for the weekend by complicationstoo, 10 k > words, Alternate Universe - No Powers, actor Tony Stark.

Tony left his small town for Los Angeles after high school, leaving behind everything to pursue his dream. Ten years later, he comes back for the first time and finds that some things are impossible to let go of.

Lord, What Fools These Mortals Be by iam93percentstardust, 72 k > words, Alternate Universe - Theatre.

Famed director Phil Coulson brings Shakespeare’s beloved play, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, to Broadway. This production though comes with a twist: a brief but passionate love affair between the faerie king, Oberon, and his attendant, Puck. In the roles of the two star-crossed lovers, Coulson casts America’s darling Steve Rogers, fresh off his third Academy Award, and Broadway royalty, Tony Stark. Steve quickly finds himself falling for the quick-witted and sarcastic actor but Tony is dating the stage manager. Unwilling to come between the seemingly happy couple, Steve steps back but all isn’t right behind the scenes and Tony may need him when everything falls apart.

and so we rebuild by raeldaza, 26 k > words, Alternate Universe - Star Trek Fusion, Soulmates, Mutual Pining.

Sometimes, a voice whispers: you will never atone for your mistakes.

Tony believes that, believes it so strongly some days he drowns in it, but he still tries. Tries through Starfleet, tries through inventions, tries through missions. Then, one day, he meets his new Captain, and things change.

and teach this heart (how to beat with light), by starklystar, 40 k >, AU Hospital, Single parent Steve.

Eight years ago, at a funeral with a baby's cries ringing in his ears, Tony Stark decided to turn his life around. He's a genius, billionaire, philanthropist. What's so hard to adding 'doctor' to that list? And after that, it can't be that hard to add 'husband' and 'father' too, right? But the past has a way of haunting even the very best of us, and in any universe, Tony Stark and Steve Rogers have never had an easy love.

Featuring: drama, chaos, Peter's scheming, meddling friends, and doctors learning again that the heart can never be as simple as four chambers and four valves.

Catching Lightning in a Bottle by sabrecmc, 120 k > words, Alternate Universe - Sweet Home Alabama Fusion.

College student Tony meets janitor Steve at MIT and they fall blissfully in love, until Howard happens and things fall apart. One divorce paperwork snafu courtesy of the ever-helpful Jarvis, and ten years later, Tony has to get re-divorced from Steve.

This does not go as he imagines.

Or, the Sweet Home Alabama AU that no one--well, okay, a few of you--asked for.

The Night Shift by weethreequarter , 16 k > words, Alternate Universe - Hospital.

Welcome to the Emergency Department of San Antonio General where Dr. Tony Stark joins the team fresh from his most recent tour in Afghanistan and - much to the consternation of the other staff - strikes up an instant rapport with Nurse Steve Rogers. Meanwhile, new resident Bruce Banner refuses to give up on his patient, and Dr. Sharon Carter learns something from her own patients. Throw in a pissed off hospital administrator, Clint using the coffee pot as a mug again, and a major car crash and you have, well, just another night shift.

Cake It Till You Make It by ChocolateCapCookie, 10 k > words, Kid Fic, Alternate Universe - Bakery.

Steve Rogers and Tony Stark have a lot in common. They're single parents, they own rival bakeries at the center of town... and they both hate each other's guts.

When a mix-up at Peter and Morgan's school has both fathers scrambling to prove they're the better baker, they do the mature, adult thing and compete in a bake-off. Between the mixing and the creaming, the baking and the icing, Steve and Tony find that hate is actually not that far from love.

Looking for Heaven by foxxcub, 31 k > words, Alternate Universe - Regency, Marriage of Convenience.

When young Lord Anthony Stark learns Steven Rogers has enlisted in the army, he thinks he's seen the last of his tiny, headstrong, haughty stable boy. But four years later, Lord Stark gets an unexpected visit from Steve, whose mother has fallen gravely ill and into financial ruin. Even more unexpected, Steve agrees to a shocking proposal: they will marry, giving Steve the necessary funds to save his mother, and Tony the much-needed reprieve from harassing would-be suitors. It is a business arrangement, nothing more. But as time goes on and circumstances arise, Tony begins to learn that keeping his heart away from his husband is easier said than done.

just a guy, standing in front of another guy by theappleppielifestyle, 12 k > words.

“It’s not real,” Tony says, still smiling, jaw twitching with effort. “The fame. It’s - I’m just a guy."

(Or, Notting Hill AU, with a twist.)

Mother of Exiles (A Titanic AU) by BladeoftheNebula, 21 k > words, Alternate Universe - Titanic Fusion.

“You’ll never guess what just happened!” Steve said, taking a deep breath to try and calm his breathing. “I met someone. A guy from first class.”

Dublin 1912: Steve Rogers is barely making ends meet, living in the tenement slums of Dublin. But a stroke of good luck gives him and his best friend the chance to change their fortune. Two tickets to America on board the RMS Titanic.

The Devil You Know by shetlandowl, 17 k > words, Alternate Universe - Detectives, Alternate Universe - Author/Novelist.

Best selling author Tony Stark revives the bodice ripper genre for a modern audience. From frisky gay cowboys to ravenous lesbian pirate queens, he consistently delivers riveting thrillers full of romance, drama, and the filthy, unapologetically kinky sex that has become his trademark specialty.

Tony has everything a man could dream of - horny, adoring fans, and boatloads of money. Or that's what he thought, until Detective Steve Rogers walks into his life and turns it all upside down.

Bears and Mountains and Lumberjacks Oh My! by justanotherrollingstony (adoctoraday), 24 k > words, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Lumberjack Steve Rogers.

It was supposed to be easy--go meet the reclusive artist and buy some art. And then came the broken down car. And the snowstorm. And the lumberjack with a face like a greek god. So yea, Tony is stuck in a cabin in the woods with a hot lumberjack till the storm clears. Could be worse.

Series: A Furious Vexation by Annie D (scaramouche), 18 k > words, Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse.

A Steve/Tony post-apocalypse AU that exists pretty much just for the smut.

That Feline Beat by Tito11, 5 k > words, Alternate Universe - Animals.

Presenting Steve and Tony in the Aristocats!AU

Tony and his three kittens have been kidnapped from their fancy Upper East Side apartment while their owners are away and deposited on the mean streets of Harlem. Unsure of where they are or how to get back home, they'll have to rely on street cat Steve to guide them. Will they get home safely? Will Tony's fear of abandonment cause him to drive away the best tomcat he's ever known? Only time will tell.

do you fondue? by calciseptine, 16 k > words, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting.

Tony has done crazy things in the name of food, but falling in love with Steve Rogers really takes the cake.

a glimpse of heaven's love by parkrstark, 13 k> words, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Terminal Illnesses.

The child begins to empty his pockets. He starts to count coins on the counter. Tony huffs a little impatiently as he realizes most of them are pennies.

The cashier actually humors the kid and counts along with him. They reach 3 dollars and 54 cents before he shakes his head sadly. "Sorry, kid. There's not enough here."

The kid sounds close to crying. "I need these paints for my Papa. It's Christmas Eve and these...he doesn't have any. The doctors said he doesn't have long. I want him to have these. In case he meets Jesus tonight, I want him to paint one more time. Please."

Tony takes a step forward, arms still full of toys he's buying just because. He can cover this child's gift for his dying father. Money. Money is what he's good for.

"I'll buy them."

Or, the Christmas Shoes AU no one but me asked for.

If you survive first impressions, you're good to go by itsallAvengers, 3 k > words, Parent Tony Stark, Alternate Universe - No Powers.

The first time Peter Parker-Stark sees Steve Rogers, he may or may not be standing in direct path of the man's motorcycle.

His daddy is really not going to be happy about that one.

A Rat-ional Conclusion by BladeoftheNebula, 6 k > words, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Veterinarians, Parent Tony Stark.

He had a strong flurry of patients throughout the morning and by the time it rolled around to noon, he was just about worn out.

He walked out into the reception, stretching until he felt a satisfying pop. “Are we done?”

Bucky checked the screen. “Just about. One more before lunch - a rat, singular.”

Steve breathed a sigh of relief. Hopefully straight forward then. “Great, let me know when they-”

He was interrupted by the bell over the door and looked up to see a little girl cradling a small animal carrier, being shepherded through the door by easily one of the hottest men he’d ever seen in real life.

Oh wow.

Tidal Pull by sabrecmc, 97 k > words, Octopus Tony Stark, Alternate Universe - Shipwrecked.

After the American Civil War, Union soldier Steve Rogers takes a chance on an opportunity to sail with the Stark Trading Company down in the Caribbean. During a terrible storm, his ship is lost. To his surprise, he survives, and ends up stranded on an island that isn't quite as deserted as he first thinks.

Or, a reverse Little Mermaid tale where Steve has to fall for the fish-man.

Twelve Days by elysianprince, 22 k > words, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Ghosts.

In which Tony finds himself in a town that looks like it crawled out of a Hallmark Christmas movie, trying to sell an inn he didn't know he owned, all while dealing with Steve Rogers, the resident ghost who has returned to haunt the inn each December during the twelve days of Christmas for the past seventy years. Tony has only one logical solution that benefits them both: break the curse that binds him - but falling for a man almost a century old wasn't among his plans.

She kissed me by S_Horne, 1 k > words, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting.

“Your mom kissed me.”

Steve blinked awake and lifted his head from his pillow to look over at the silhouette in the doorway. “What?”

“Your mom,” Tony reiterated. “She kissed me.”

“Yeah,” Steve said simply, “she does that.”

#stevetony #stony #fic rec #tony stark #steve rogers #my recs

226 notes · View notes

guerilla935 · 4 years

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My Favorite Fishing in Video Games Where Fishing is Not Core Game Play

A really awesome surprise for me is always to boot up a game that is full of action and suspense to be introduced to a fishing side activity. I have toiled away at fishing in games for hundreds of hours at least. It has gotten so bad in some instances that my friends have asked me why I haven’t just taken the plunge into real fishing. It’s definitely because that is a lot of work and in real life I don’t catch a fish every 30 seconds. They have also wondered why I don’t just play a fishing simulator like Planet Fishing (Shout out to Planet Fishing that’s a great game). And that’s where I have to think for a while. Fishing while you have better things to do like save the world is very special. You aren’t fishing because it’s the objective of the game or because that’s why you are there, you are fishing because it’s fun and maybe you need a break to swing a fishing rod instead of a sword. And then you can stop, and get back to fighting or whatever the rest of the game entails. Below are games that have fishing in them for mostly no reason at all. I have shamelessly spent way to long with my bait in these waters and absolutely loved every second of it and I hope that you (the reader) can find a lot of relaxation in these waters as well.

Pokemon Series

Since the very first Pokemon game there has been fishing. You get the old rod from some guy and then you are free to fish up as many goldfishes that you want hoping that one of them will grow up to be a 21 foot tall dragon. Pokemon has combined their fishing with their main game play and makes you at least start a battle with the fish you drag onto shore. Now fishing in Pokemon is pretty subpar mainly because a single Pokemon game hasn’t really been known to have more than a handful of Pokemon that you can fish for. Also if you are looking for a strong water type Pokemon you could do a lot better than fishing for it. Typically a Pokemon player will fish about 5-10 times total. And although fishing for Pokemon isn’t all that great it has been in every game for over 20 years and that is pretty impressive. It’s a small detail that makes the world of Pokemon feel like a real world of wild creatures.

Sonic Adventure DX

In Sonic Adventure DX you are given the choice to play as a lot of different characters, one of which is named Big the Cat. Most of the characters are combat characters that rely on speed and attacks to get through levels, some even wielding rocket launchers and extremely oversized hammers. However when you start the story of Big the Cat you are thrown in a completely opposite direction. Big the Cat is a giant purple cat who lives in the jungle with his best friend Froggy. Froggy accidentally swallows one of the most powerful objects in the Sonic universe and Big the Cat must chase him all over the world trying to fish him out of where he is hiding so that he can eject the Chaos Emerald out of him and they can return to their life in the jungle. The fishing mechanics in this game actually are really good and this is probably because Sega had just put out a series of mildly successful Bass fishing games before releasing this game. Either way its absolutely hilarious that Big the Cat gets to defeat Chaos 6 right before Super Sonic has his showdown with Chaos Perfect.

Final Fantasy XV

In Final Fantasy XV you play as Noctis and his favorite hobby is fishing. When I first played this game I sped through it and never fished once and reached the end of the game never indulging Noctis in his hobby. When I replayed Final Fantasy XV I fished for 50 hours and then ejected the disc from my console. The fishing in Final Fantasy XV is surprisingly deep with a lot of the vendors supporting what you could call a fishing road trip. In the game it is extremely dangerous to be out at night so I would plan day trips to lakes to maximize the amount of fishing I would get to do. I would prepare days in advance to make sure I could afford the trip and that I had enough supplies to both protect myself at the lake and have enough supplies to last the whole day. Final Fantasy XV really is a game about getting really distracted and fishing is probably its best distraction. My days on the lake were the perfect balance of peaceful and rewarding, this game offers an awesome reward of well planned trips and a good haul of fish.

Final Fantasy XIV Online

Final Fantasy XIV is the only game I have ever played where the fishing played exactly like its combat. When you are fighting enemies in a dungeon in FFXIV you are constantly adding buffs, landing hits, using consumables, and managing resource bars. When you are fishing in FFXIV you are constantly adding buffs, landing hits, using consumables, and managing resource bars. Note you are doing so at a much more leisurely and less life threatening pace but you are still doing it. I never maxed out the fisher class but I got it into the expansion content which was a really long and relaxing experience. Yet another Final Fantasy title where the real meat of the game is in getting distracted. When you fish you also sell on a player market that fluctuates based on market price just like real fish. You get the relaxing fishing side of the game and also an aggressive economic number crunching side as well. I spent way too long with a real pen and paper deciding how much I should sell for on any particular day and bossing around my two cat girl employees.The MMO aspect of the game adds so much to what you would expect to be a very solitary experience.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess

Have you ever gone fishing for hours to receive an empty bottle? That is exactly what kick started my addiction to fishing in Twilight Princess. An empty bottle in Twilight Princess means another way to heal yourself, another way to add oil to a lantern, another way to carry useless water around. The only way to get the 4th bottle in the game is to go to a dedicated fishing spot and fish until you pulled it out of the pond. The actual fishing is pretty weird, it involves motion controls which I still am not entirely sure what they do or how to properly use them but it is really fun to hold the pole in gyroscope and set the lure in the water waiting for fish to come get a nibble. Although the physics with the water make it difficult to see if you have actually gotten a bite or not it still is enjoyable the other 85% of the time it works.

Stardew Valley

So this one is at the top of every other “fishing in games” list and there is a big reason for that. It’s really good. I think in my first Stardew Valley farm I gave up farming entirely and fished all day every day and stopped to buy food to replenish my energy and go back at it. I really didn’t care about getting rich or making enough money to expand the farm or get to know everyone I actually spent about 50 hours just fishing. The fishing takes some skill and a pretty keen eye but the random jerks of the fish and the rhythm of the game play are so fun to try to master. It’s a part of Stardew Valley that I felt like I was continuously improving on as time went on and it was really fun. I mean I don’t recommend it because you’ll end up moderately poor but it was really fun.

Fantasy Life

Fantasy Life offers you 12 potential jobs, you could be a brilliant blacksmith or a devious potions maker, a lumberjack or a knight, a hunter or a seamstress. However your inner dad is calling and you decide you want to play through a fantasy RPG as a fisherman, hell yeah. the story is relatively short so you can quickly unlock a lot of locales to fish at and there is a manageable economy system that lets you deal in fish in advantageous ways. You can even pick up cooking on the side and make fancy dinners and sell the fish for higher you can do that as well. Fantasy Life is like a clever mix between Animal Crossing and Final Fantasy XIV and it kind of succeeds and falls short of it. The fishing also takes a good amount of skill and rhythmic approach to master so it doesn’t get boring almost at all until you have cleared the game.

Maple Story 2

Maple Story 2 is one of the most expressive and cutest games that I have ever played. And the fishing is no different, its all about style. The fishing in Maple Story 2 is monotonous and can get old but you do it for the chibi clout. Because much like the rest of the game you can look however you want and do whatever you want and sometimes you just feel like kicking back and throwing lure in the water at the beach. I never got super into the fishing in this game but it won me over with its adorable design and stylish atmosphere.

Animal Crossing Series

Of course I had to include the most popular game right now. Animal Crossing has become something of a connection between people when we can’t leave the house. A thing we all have in common on social media and with our friends. My first experience with Animal Crossing really starts with New Horizons and I was completely blown away. The fishing isn’t super complex or difficult but the range of what you can pull out of the water and what you can do with it is absolutely breathtaking. For a game about cartoon people living with humanoid cartoon animals the fish looking photo realistic. And the museum where they can be kept is stunning. The museum looks like it was designed to capture the feel of being in a museum and matches the design of all the great real life aquariums and observatories. Although it is a bit frustrating when your rod breaks it is easy enough to make one (or worst case buy one) to get your bait back in the water.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Tell me I’m wrong, you can’t. Isabelle getting added to Smash brought a very powerful fishing move that isn’t practical all the time but is really funny. Wouldn’t recommend this game if you are looking to relax and fish but I do recommend hooking your friend with a fish hook and send them flying off screen if you had to.

Minecraft

I have a very special role in Minecraft when I join a friends server. A role that I assign to myself. While everyone is off getting awesome swords, spelunking for diamonds, and exploring the infinite landscape, I build a small wooden shack and I set up a farm with an irrigation canal and start fishing. A steady supply of food is necessary and while I’m hanging out with my friends in a server I’m happy to be the one to provide it. The fishing in this game is probably the slowest of all the ones on this list but is the most useful. just throwing the fish in the oven creates food that can help keep you and your companions alive for a long time. I think I definitely have my limits with Minecraft fishing and I couldn’t do it for hours on end it is rewarding to set up shop and find a nice place to settle down for a few hours to fish.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses

This is the only Tactical RPG in this post. Fire Emblem: Three Houses has sections between combat where you can go and talk to your students and do other activities. We aren’t here to discuss other activities though we are here for the fishing. The fishing allows you to catch fish for some reason that I’m sure is good but never intrigued me enough to learn. All I know about the fishing in Fire Emblem: Three Houses is that it’s fun. I started to bust through combat just so that I could get back to fishing. The funniest part about this one is that the fish has a health bar. Pressing the A button at the exact moment finds a way to become easier and still find ways to mess you up. Either way, I’m not that interested in tactical RPGs but I heard there was fishing in this game so I had to play it and it was worth it.

Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy

In Jak & Daxter, Daxter gets turned into a small animal by dark eco while exploring a dangerous island off the shore of his home with his best friend Jak. To get back to the island to investigate, the pair have to borrow a boat owned by a fisherman who is troubled by an invasive species of poisonous eel that is ruining his haul. He asks Jak to catch fish for him without catching any eels. This fishing mini game can only be done once but it is going to either be something you think is very unique or a huge waste of time. All I’ll say is that the sound that the fish makes when it goes into the net is absolutely a reward in itself it is so satisfying. But anyways, more intense than some other options here but get it done so you can get back to absorbing eco powers and jumping on stuff.

Shovel Knight

Shovel Knight is a 2D action platformer but you can also fish. And you fish for the best kind of fish, money. You can get some other stuff too like health pickups and magic replenishers but we know what you want. You see that little glint and you pop out the fishing rod and pull out those money bags. If you are devoted enough you can even get a surprise from the Troupple King (long live his highness) if you fish out the right stuff. I don’t even know if I fished all that much when I played Shovel Knight but it’s hilarious that you can.

NieR: Automata

I did not play a lot of NieR and that’s because I was fishing. I don’t know why all I did was fish but you throw your little robot in the pond and you lean on a magical stool so honestly it was good enough for me.

Club Penguin

If you know then you know. In hind sight there really wasn’t a whole lot to do in Club Penguin but this mini game really messed me up. You basically get to move up and down, catching fish and avoiding trash and other hazards. Basically trying to do this and catch as much fish as possible to avoid having to ask your parents for real money to pay for snacks to feed a virtual ball of fluff with eyeballs. I don’t really remember how challenging it really was but I remember getting decently high scores to about like 100 fish per round so I guess it was pretty easy if I could do that at age 10.

Rune Factory 4

I’m gonna be very honest about this one and say that the fishing in Rune Factory 4 is basically just Animal Crossing fishing but more anime. The fish react to the pole the same, the fish almost look the same, and the buttons to respond are the same. What makes this one special is where you can take it. You can fish in the little moat in town, in the lake, in a dungeon full of monsters, in a lake that is eternally the season fall, anywhere. You are constricted by the boundaries of Stardew Valley and that is how much energy you have and how much time you have in the day. It’s still fun to fish but I wish that they had used their fun fantasy setting to give the ability to fish up some cool made up fish instead of strictly things that exist in real life.

Xenoblade Chronicles 2

Ok, diving, fishing, same thing. Diving in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 is just fishing with your whole body. It works a lot in the same way as Pokemon where you fish up monsters to fight and get the rewards from them. It is a completely optional activity however if you decide to undertake the grind of scavenging in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 then you will never hurt for money ever again. It makes my wonder why Rex stopped being a salvager to do odd jobs because this was PROFITABLE. The main incentive is that there are spots that spawn a certain enemy that drop cores. Cores are like gacha or loot boxes that contain new anime girl partners that deal huge damage in fights. They even have their own side quests and story lines. I spent maybe 30 hours grinding before giving up on this game and while it does become tiresome I really enjoyed the random rewards of possibly getting a new companion or a really cool weapon.

It’s been tossed around that every great RPG has fishing in it. I won’t argue that point but a lot of great RPGs certainly do have fishing in them. Everyone needs a break sometimes and fishing is the perfect activity to remind us to stop and take that break. Even games can get long and without these distractions it might be so much harder to complete these harrowing tasks. Don’t forget to take breaks and just enjoy the sound of the water every once in a while because there’s no rush playing video games.

Honorable Mentions:

Kingdom Hearts: Sora fishing with his bare hands on Destiny Island

Persona 4: Weird aqueduct fishing

Persona 5: Marina fishing life

Sea of Thieves: A pirates life for me

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geshertzarmeod · 4 years

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In Other Lands Character Arcs

(Spoilers Abound)

I’m thinking about how the character arcs of all three main characters from In Other Lands center largely on moving away from what their families expected of them, even as each of them doesn’t necessarily think moving away from that is possible. And how it’s their relationships with each other that help them move in the directions they actually want to move in, and believe in their abilities to forge their own paths and lead fulfilling lives. Even if it’s not what their parents or home communities think a fulfilling life entails. This culminates in their refusal (along with Golden) at the end of the book, to let anyone else influence them when it comes to deciding where to be stationed. They’re ready to choose their own paths, together.

There’s something deeply appealing to me about this as a queer person, even as queerness (as defined by orientation or gender) is not actually a central factor in the shifting of each character’s relationship with their families. Actually, the character who comes closest to that is Serene, who is presumedly straight, but whose pushback against the rigid gendered expectations of her society so challenge her community that she and Golden are essentially banished at least for a time. This is only tangentially queer, I’d say, because she does this not for herself, as she seems to proudly fit & identify with elven womanhood, but recognizes the false limiting of manhood within her society and fights fiercely for Luke, Elliot, and eventually Golden, who I’d say is GNC for sure. For Luke, it’s not his being gay but his being monogamous and waiting longer than they expected (though he’s like, still 17!!! that’s still young!!!) to become sexually or romantically active that is off-putting to his family. For Elliot, his father is shocked not to see him with a man, but to see him happy (cue my tears).

I was just thinking this after reading Girl, Serpent, Thorn especially, but I really love when queer books parallel queer narratives of shame and struggle and difference and growing pains, with queer characters, but about issues unrelated to their being queer (especially when they’re about magical/fantasy elements). Then we get to relate to queer characters and see them process a lot of the feelings we have experienced, but also get to see them be loved and value and supported unconditionally in their queerness. Anyway, for an individual analysis:

Luke Sunborn

First, because I know a lot of people might not have read it, I’m going to quote Luke’s perspective from Wings In The Morning:

There were reasons Luke hadn’t kissed anybody. The Sunborns, as a family, loved life and loved love, and treated it as a game. It was fine for them: it worked for them.

Luke had always known that a riot of brightness and different loves and leaving someone laughing was beyond him. He wanted kindness and steadiness: he did not want someone who would leave. He wanted love that would last. (location 2527 in my kindle book, I can’t tell what page)

Luke, the Sunborn champion, expected to excel in battle, and love (read: have sex) freely and easily and non-monogamously, becoming an avid reader because of Elliot - something his father is shocked by and a little ashamed of. Learning Elvish because of both of them. Breaking border camp rules, threatening superior officers, to protect Elliot, and to support Serene, even as he continually complains about it and, on paper, would always argue that those choices are Not Okay and Very Bad. Luke, whose bashful shyness around his crushes, whose concern over his first kiss, whose choice of Elliot as a partner, is incomprehensible to his family, snapping, “I don’t want anyone else,” at the elves. He’s chosen Elliot, even as Elliot still doesn’t at all believe it at that point, and he’s happy with that decision. Elliot’s his choice, and only Elliot. Notorious Sunborn sexual voracity be damned.

Luke’s journey is also largely about him working through his external, and later internalized, biases against magical creatures. It’s pretty clearly an analog to xenophobia, and Luke expresses more disgust, disdain, or fear, the more different a culture is from the one he grew up in. This obviously becomes internalized against himself, when he realizes he is half-harpy. He literally represses his wings from coming out, he sees harpies as monsters and includes himself within this. It’s awful, and it’s sad, and it’s a mixture of Elliot’s meticulous research and adamant arguments that harpies are people, and that Luke isn’t a monster at all (and neither are harpies and other non-human creatures), and Serene’s calm acceptance of him, that helps him move through this.

This xenophobia, although clearly ingrained since childhood, don’t seem to be coming primarily from his family (certainly not from his mother) but from the culture of the borderguard in general. To me, it is implied that his father might at least casually buy into a lot of this, although he would never extend it to his son. It also is an interesting dynamic as related to the other two’s relationships with family, because Luke coming to love and accept himself, and to open his mind about non-human creatures, is actually him coming closer to his mother, rather than moving away. In my view, a part of why he bought in so clearly to this prejudice coming from the general bordercamp culture is because he was pushing away from his parents in the first place - he saw his parents being so wild and free in a way he knew he could never be that he pushed himself into the opposite side, into “reason” and restraint and conservatism. What he needed to learn was how to hold his more “traditional” wants and needs (although like, he’s kind of wrong about that. Elliott Schafer is not the traditional kind quiet love he’s imagining, and he didn’t want that anyway) while still celebrating all of the different approaches and cultures and loves out there, and that’s what he’s learning alongside Elliot and Serene. And he does this partially because Elliot’s love for him as a half-harpy is, according to his previous beliefs, just as wild and out there as his mother’s affair with his biological father, or all of Elliot’s flirting with various magical creatures. And as he accepts Elliot’s love, he accepts that too.

Serene-Heart-In-The-Chaos-of-Battle

From the first moment we meet Serene we know she ran away from home to join the border camp. She’s chosen to join the humans, to fight alongside men, to learn about the borderlands from a human perspective and use that to create an alliance and to create peace. She enters a world where she is looked down on, where she is sexualized and punished for trying to swim shirtless, and has to fight hard to take the classes she wants and have the opportunity to prove herself as she wishes. Instead of deciding her parents and community were right and going back to the elves, she digs her heels in and with Elliot and Luke’s help, fights back, fights to excel at the border camp and make things different and better, and prove her detractors wrong.

Not only that, but she learns to respect men in a way she was not raised to do, learns to treat men as equals and partners, always defending both Elliot and Luke when her community disrespects them. This prepares her for her relationship with Golden (although Elliot still helps her along a lot, especially with their written correspondence) and ends in her and Golden essentially eloping after Golden ran away to fight alongside her. It’s also important that she accepts Golden fighting alongside her. That was not at all a given, especially as even towards the middle of the book, she seems to be thinking of human men as capable of fighting and strength and other “womanly” qualities, but not necessarily believing the same of elven men. She’s chosen a nontraditional path and a GNC partner in Golden, and for the time being, her closest family is not her blood but her beautiful boyfriend, her swordsister, and her loved and loving best friend Elliot.

Elliot Schafer

Last but the opposite of least is Elliot. What Elliot learned from his family is that he will come to nothing, that he will be forgotten, and that he will not be loved. I am so angry on this child’s behalf, for the ways he was neglected not only by his parents but by everyone before Serene. The ways his father had no interest in him because all he wanted was Elliot’s mother back (and I love Elliot’s observation that even if his mother did come back, his father wouldn’t know what to do, and would not be happy). The way his teacher literally accepted a small bribe to just...... leave him at the entrance to the borderlands, and none of the students cared. The way his mother not only left when he was a child but knew who he was the second she saw or even heard about him at the bordercamp, and never bothered to tell him, or show any interest in him whatsoever.Elliot has been taught, over and over again, that he is unwanted and uncared for. That he has to go it alone, and fill his own needs.

Elliot learns to respect Commander Woodsinger and to know that while she doesn’t necessarily love him, she knows him, and appreciates who and what he is, and sees value and strength in it. She, unlike his previous teachers and school professionals, understands him, and likes him, and values him. She’s not warm, but she’s a positive presence in his life, and part of him learning to believe he has value just as he is, and not just because he spitefully decided it to go against what everyone else has told him, but because it’s actually true.

He didn’t want his parents and his peers and the adults who have let him down to be right about this, so he does dream of being loved back. But he shows himself fully prepared to be the one who loves more in relationships, especially with Serene. He’s ready, at first, to take all she’ll give him, and revel in each part of it, even if it doesn’t match up to his love for her. It’s not until the moment he turns down Serene’s final advance (when she’s clearly settling for him) that he realizes how much he wants to be chosen first. And he believes that’s possible, and worth waiting for (and that in the meantime, he will help Serene up and help her find what she truly wants too).

Elliot knows Serene loves him. She shows him he deserves love, and in his devotion to her, Elliot begins to excel and challenge himself and learn to see his brand of obnoxiousness as something that might not be everyone’s taste but isn’t inherently bad. He trusts Serene to love him, at least as a friend, but he doesn’t trust that Luke will, because Luke reminds him of all of the kids who hurt him in the past.

And that’s why the slowest arc of this whole book is probably Elliot realizing that Luke.... actually likes him. Actually wants to be around him, and enjoys his presence, and even like-likes him - loves him even. It just can’t compute for him. And so we get basically an unreliable narration for most of the book regarding Luke. Elliot’s “aha” moment about Luke rewrites years of his life, shifting his understanding of so much of their lives together. And it solidifies Elliot’s discovery that he can be loved exactly as he is, obnoxious and annoying and all. He’s found people who love him for it, and they’ve chosen him, and they’re going to stick around.

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jq37 · 3 years

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The Report Card – Fantasy High: The Seven Ep 5

Through a Glass, Darkly

Welcome back to the Temple of the Earth Defiant where the girls and their magical horses (and one pony!) have found refuge from the strange, twisted, fae creatures that have been chasing them. The statue of Asha Hammerheart that Ost animated last episode is still alive and wrecking house on the remaining harpies and beasts that are foolish enough to keep fighting and the rest soon get the hint and flee.

Ost does some healing (boosted by the ambient Hallow effect of the temple which gives everyone a short rest) and then, seeing the damage to the temple caused by erosion, starts using Mending to fix things up. Her friends help out too with Sam and Yelle being most effective--Sam by repairing water damage and Yelle by creating tree cover and other druid-y tricks. But of course, we can’t overlook Katja’s crucial addition of carving “A Horse is a Home” into one of the walls of this sacred temple.

Anyway, the girls are nesting super hard, the horses are having their scrapbooking reviewing club (an insane thing that was established last episode) and then Sam asks a question. Did y’all mention something about a photo of me going viral? Everyone’s like yeah, but don’t worry, you looked super hot. That’s not the part Sam was worried about. What she’s worried about and what all the girls except Zelda don’t really seem to know is that Sam doesn’t really have a social media presence. So like, 180k and climbing views (as decided by a dice roll) isn’t really what she wants. She scrolls through the comments really quick and sees that they’re not awful but one person is like, “Hey that girl looks a lot like that character from that old show”. Which Sam doesn’t love. She says that she’s fine but also that, even without an Insight check, she’s obviously not.

Sam kind of looks to Zelda to bail her out and Zelda is like, “Hey, I’m gonna delete this video.” The other girls follow suit, even though they don’t quite know what’s happening. When they have to split up to investigate, Sam has Zelda kind of bail her out again and they split up to go check a nest outside--Zelda waving off Danielle when she wants to go with. Ant and Yelle decide to check out a cache of some treasure they saw earlier and Ost and Katja stay with the horses to keep fixing the temple up. Penny initially goes with Ant and Yelle but rushes back to be with Ost and Kat when Ost discovers a hidden lock while she’s fixing a wall.

So, the girls are split up, let’s run all these scenes.

Antiope and Yelle

Ant and Yelle go see the pile of treasure (near the statue of dwarven paladin Yvonna) which they learn is like a “take a penny leave a penny” situation for weapons and items. They were left by adventures who were similarly chased here and you can take what you need as long as you leave something to help others. Like, “Oh no I only have an ice sword and I need flaming arrows.” It doesn’t have to be equivalent exchange, you just need to leave something useful.

In this space, Yelle feels a weird melancholy and like they’re within the watch of something vast and powerful. She tries to check for TK’s presence but rolls low. Antiope leaves her Kalvaxus killing shortsword and takes some really nice, white feather fledged arrows with mirror tips and an ax Kat wants as a present for her dad. Danielle takes a bandolier of potions (3 healing and 2 mystery I believe) and leaves a bunch of mushrooms. Some of them are psychedelic and Ant takes one because this is probably a good time to be high, right?

It’s not messing with her competence obviously though because she rolls a 25 on Primeval Awareness and gets a weird sense, like something is closing in on this place. And like something very powerful is bleeding, which combined with the chaos of the mountains might explain the weird harpies and the cat/dogs. But she’s high so she explains this is a very spacey, stoner way. Probably a good thing she’s with Yelle.

Sam and Zelda

Sam can fly and Zelda can basically walk vertically with her goat legs so they check out the nest. Well, ostensibly that’s what they’re doing. Really they’re just having a heart to heart. Sam thanks Zelda for saving her ass and apologizes profusely for being so short with her. Zelda gives her a huge mid-air hug and says it’s not a big deal because she knows Sam is just lashing out because she’s hurting but Sam says it’s not a good enough excuse and she’s truly sorry. It’s been her coping mechanism for so long but she doesn’t want to be that way. She tells Zelda that the Everpetals are divorcing and that she’s living alone and Zelda says that any one of the girls would be happy to have her stay with them. Sam further explains that this is a big part of the reason she’s been so broken up about the possibility of their group splitting up and Zelda immediately takes out her crystal and texts her “I’m in” in the thread, breaking Sam again.

Since they’re in heart to heart mode, Sam tells her that she talked to her bio-mom and an agent and she’s not sure what to do. Zelda says that she’s gonna be spectacular no matter what she does and she doesn’t have to do any of them but it’s cool doors are opening for her but also Antiope and Penny are gonna be PISSED that she’s out here making side plans after she gave them so much shit for theirs. Lol, well it’s a nice moment in the meantime and we cut to…

Penny, Ost, and Katja

While Penny is lockpicking (and also trying to teach one of the horses to lockpick because sure) Katja and Ost go talk to the statue of Asha Hammerheart. It seems to be animated with at least some level of her true consciousness from beyond the grave and that she can kind of woge into her statue when she wants, which is cool. She’s been there for like 250 years so that’s a lot of history to see.

Ost is maybe the most polite we’ve ever seen her talking to Asha (at least to begin with lol) and they ask her about TK. Asha says she saw TK show up 12 years ago but she never left, at least not through the front door. And then about 2 years ago (right around when they were in the crystals) that’s when the harpy queen showed up. At first they were normal and then they started mutating. Also, recently, Korra (one of the other statues/heroes) saw a woman in the mountains--not TK.

Ost then takes a page from the book of one St. Kristen Applebees and asks, “Hey. What’s the deal with our god? He never talks to us, does he just suck?” Asha--who has never talked to him even though she’s a martyred hero and literally in dwarf heaven makes some excuses for the guy but Katja scoffs at them. “If people wanna take care of you, they do.” Ost then straight up asks if Logran Soulforger is even real which sets Asha off but Ost isn’t mad AT her, she’s mad FOR her. You go and do all this cool shit to the point where you have this cool ass statue, you fully DIE for him and he doesn’t even say hi? With a 21 Persuasion check, Asha admits that yeah, she would have liked some recognition. She decides she’s gonna go do some talking to some people and leaves after getting Ost’s number but before they can ask more about the woman Korra saw (who they think is Charity).

OK, that’s all the small group stuff! Everyone comes back as Penny finishes up with the lock and they go down into this room that’s full of polished, precious stones. This is probably where people who were upkeeping the temple stayed. While everyone else is going down, Sam feels some powerful magical pull--much like her episode 1 Lightning Lure--calling her from the top of the stairs so she goes back up. We’ll get back to her in a bit.

Penny rolls a high check to clock what’s going on down here. First off, she finds flintlock bullets and airship uniform scraps which makes it seem like there was a battle here involving some airship guys from the Baronies. Which is not just the place of origin of Riz’s imaginary Romance Partner. It’s a cluster of nations known for high rates of monarchical turnover and renaissance style intrigue. I’m picturing just a nation of [REDACTED]s from Crown of Candy.

With all of this stuff, Penny finds an emblem of a billionaire airship mogul named Lord Talcidimir Tallbreeze who is a friend of her dad’s. Yelle is immediately like FUCK billionaires which isn’t plot relevant but it’s nice to know she’s always on brand.

Oh also, Penny just casually finds the Legendarium so that’s neat.

To be safe, Ost casts Protection from Energy on Ant (who is the one who knows how to use it) and brings out her Spirit Guardian (who is a combo of her mom, nona, and Asha, with her dad’s rings). Ant checks it out and sees that there are currently no A, B, or C quests in all of Spyre. While Penny cross references the bylaws to see if there’s a way to get around this, Yelle does some druid BS that I still do not understand to use the crystals in the cave to jailbreak this super powerful magical Artifact so they can just have copies on their crystals. While that’s happening, let’s check on Sam.

Sam goes back up the staircase where she sees Ending who doesn’t look menacing at all, just extremely sad. She’s looking out the mouth of the cave and, when she turns, Sam can see she’s crying blood.

“What’s wrong?” asks Sam, the acid-tongued but good-hearted. “Can I help you?”

With a 25 Persuasion check to get her to talk, Ending apologizes for scaring her and her friends before. She didn’t mean to. She sometimes forgets that her very nature can be frightening and dangerous to others. She says that when she escaped, she tried to rejoin her sisters but found their mirrors shattered and them gone. Sam thought they escaped but that doesn’t make sense to Ending. If they had, why wouldn’t they have freed her as well?

Sam asks who her sisters were and we finally get true names for Ending and her sisters:

Chrona, Terra, Pyrria, Nira, Zefira, Anima, and herself, Talura (which is what I’ll be calling her now that we know). Talura is the baby, the youngest. Sam realizes she’s talking about the Eidolons and Talura seems surprised and a bit pleased that Sam recognizes them.

Sam asks if she can hug her and Talura hugs her tightly in a very cold embrace that doesn’t hurt. Downstairs, she hears her friends (Penny specifically) freaking about about the lack of quests but she doesn’t break the hug.

“My own sisters are struggling right now but I’m gonna stay with you because you don’t know where yours are. But maybe we can find them.”

Talura clocks that the way that Sam is being is her true nature, not the bitchiness she often uses as a shield. Then she starts to talk about her history. That she and her sisters were sealed away when the gods were done with them (Sam can relate to being used and set aside) and the only way out was death. Talura has been crying and looking for her sisters to no avail. Her tears of blood leaking seems to be what caused the monsters to mutate which is in line with what Yelle and Ant were sensing.

Talura doesn’t think anything could have destroyed her sisters so she’s very confused. Sam offers Talura her Mirror of the Past because it almost knocked out Sam to get god-tier information but Talura presumably won’t have that problem. Talura offers her a boon in exchange for this great kindness but Sam says she doesn’t need any quid pro quo. “This is just because you’re hurting.”

Talura is supremely touched and still wants to do something for her new...friend? Sam accepts the title and says that what she needs is some help on her GED quest. Once she explains what she means, Talura again recognizes Aguefort and is like, Oh, you need a quest? I can totally help with that! As we learned earlier, these guys are kinda genie connected so it’s not super surprising when Talura very happily goes full your wish is my command.

Downstairs, a Class A quest suddenly appears in Spyre on the screen.

Back upstairs, Talura says that it’s been too long since she got to grant a wish and seems really happy about it. Sam gives her the mirror so she can check what happened to her sisters but when she does, she totally flips out and gets super angry--not at Sam, just at whatever she’s looking at. She can hardly believe it. Sam tries to figure out what’s wrong but she just gets super big and then disappears into a puff of smoke, leaving Sam's mirror on the ground, covered in frost.

Downstairs, the Class A quest expands across the entire globe and then the Legendarium cracks. Ost’s spirit guardian disappears because of alarm bells ringing in the afterlife. And the girls learn that a Class A quest is a quest that affects the whole MULTIVERSE. Yikes!

So anyway, they girls go upstairs to check on Sam (on a bear that Penny makes because sure) and they see that something clearly just happened with Sam. Yelle asks if she’s good and Sam is like yeahhhh I don’t think ANYONE is good right now. Sam seems like she’s about to cry and Antiope instantly forgets all the petty bullshit going on between them and rushes to make sure she’s not hurt.

Sam gives the girls a rundown of what happened and Yelle concretely puts together what I said earlier about Talura’s tears messing with nature.

Sam wants to check her mirror to see what Talura saw and Brennan says she can do it the safe way with risk of failure of the surefire way with risk of personal harm. She, of course, picks door 2 and rolls a 13 on her con save which means she rises into the air like Storm from X-Men, eyes wide, and then instantly passes out and goes into shock. Antiope is there to catch her as she does.

Also, she looks SUPER hot while falling on a 31. Honestly, it’s a shame she doesn’t allow herself a social media presence.

Anyway, we’ll get to what she sees in a bit. Yelle and Ant make sure she’s OK (she is, but the has to be knocked out for this or she won’t be able to handle it).

Penny tells them what she knows about each Eidolon from her earlier research which is what element each goes with:

Chrona: Time (Related to astral and elemental planes)

Terra: Earth

Pyrria: Fire

Nira: Water

Zefira: Air

Anima: Life

Talura: Death

They also talk about TK never leaving via the front door and all this airship stuff being around. Maybe she left out the top of the mountain on an airship? Katja has the hookup with this Tal guy (she’s met him when she was younger) so they decide they need to check it out once Sam is good.

The girls fix the Legendarium and Ost, when she goes to pray for her spells for the night, doesn’t pray to her usual god. She prays to Asha. And not only does she get her spells, she also gets a new one--Commune.

And now let’s get to what Sam is seeing in her Vision Coma.

She was told by Talura that the only way out of the mirrors given to them by the gods was death. And what Talura saw that drove her to do whatever multiverse threatening thing that she did was every one of her sisters walking out of their mirrors and choosing death. I will specifically highlight that the oldest sister leaves almost immediately with a small, “Oh,” of realization and Anima, the closest sister to her seems terrified before coming to a joyful realization and leaving.

And that’s the end of the episode! Join us next week when apparently there is talk of a masquerade ball?????? Brennan, you shouldn’t have!

Superlatives

Sam: Most Likely to Accidently Snag a Brand Deal

Did you guys ever read the Greek myth of Cupid and Psyche? Where Psyche was born so hot that it was basically a curse and she was miserable because she was so hot that Aphrodite hated her? That’s Sam. She is incapable of almost dying in a non-aesthetic way. It’s like a Pantene commercial every time. This is my favorite running gag.

Random Thoughts

Man, I have so many feelings about Sam. She’s such a BITCH in so many ways but it’s so obvious that she has a good heart. Every time she has an opportunity to be nice with no gain--helping Lola find her dog, magically turning the pages for the horses during book club, fully refusing a boon from Talura--she does. And I’m glad she gave Zelda such a sincere apology and didn’t let the extenuating circumstances absolve her because she said some pretty uncalled for things. But at her core she’s so kind and I want only good things for her.

Also those of you who know me from my FH recaps know I’m a messy bitch for sister stuff so Talura and Sam both referring to the other maidens as her sister had me dead. You can tell when something in this show is f’ing me up when I just start directly quoting instead of paraphrasing.

Katja being richer than Helio but having no idea what any of the brands Ost is mentioning are is peak comedy.

As is Ant’s response to the take and penny leave a penny translation from Ost, “No, Penny didn’t come with us.”

Ost: I get service in the afterlife.

You could really tell which of the players watched Sophomore Year because the Baronies came up and all of them went into fight or flight immediately.

Very Elsa vibes from Sam during the top of the scene with Talura. (Sam is, of course, a better sister but we simply do not have time to get into my feelings on Frozen 2 right now).

I was wondering why this season was called just “The Seven” when it dropped initially. Like, was it snappier? Did they not want to use the word “maiden”? But they still call themselves the Seven Maidens in the show so it’s probably not that. Now I’m wondering if it’s just to parallel the 7 of them w/ the 7 Eidolons.

So it seems clear based on the reactions of the first and sixth sisters that they didn’t just “go gently into that good night” as Ant would say and ditch Talura. It seems like they figured something out. Also Brennan isn’t really a “and then they all died, the end” kind of DM, you know? Credit to my friend @camwritery for getting here before I did but the gods said the only way out was death and she is death so you know? Those def seem like puzzle pieces that go together.

The only crit rolled this episode is a 1 by Penny which she gets to reroll as a halfling.

#the seven #the seven spoilers #dimension 20 #dimension 20 spoilers

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