#a fun take on magic

[tinyarmedtrex]

I know it's Saturday but let's pretend it's Friday for the sake of this ask.

🩵 turquoise heart for whatever pairing you choose!

Magic! I went with Narlie.

Charlie Spring knew he was going to die. And not in the 'everyone dies one day'. No, he knew he was going to die on his 25th birthday. It was one of the irrefutable facts that he'd build his life around. The sun rises in the east. Chocolate is the superior flavor. Charlie would never see his 26th birthday.

He'd been cursed when he was a baby. His mum had crossed the wrong fairy and the sprite had taken it out on her newest child. Apparently, the fairy had considered 25 to be a long life span for a human and so didn't think she was doing anything particularly cruel. Knowing that didn't make Charlie feel better. His mum had spent years trying to find the fairy, or bribe someone else to lift the curse but they all refused. Her pleas fell on deaf ears. 

The knowledge had always been there, burning in the back of his mind. On some days it made him act out, he'd scream that he wasn't going to school, there wasn't a point. On other days it made him want to save the world, to leave some footprint before he was gone. 

On most days though, he tried to ignore it, tried to live a normal life without thinking about how many days he had left.

After finishing school, he took a year off and travelled the world to visit psychics, seeking their help. The sham ones took his money and promised him that love was right around the corner, money too! The real ones took one look at him before giving him a refund and a helpless shrug. 

So, yea, magic was real, and it was bullshit. 

WHen he came back, he wandered aimlessly for a bit, not knowing what to do. He knew uni was pointless, why waste years to get a degree he'd never use? So instead, he got a job at a coffee shop. He made friends and took lovers. He never fell in love though. He wouldn't do that to someone else, knowing that his expiration date was fast approaching.

He was 24 when that changed. when he met Nick Nelson. The man was glowed like sunshine. One day Nick wandered into the coffee shop with his dog, Nellie. Charlie fell for the dog first and the man second. Both of them made him feel lighter than he had in years, like there was some hope. Sometimes he resented that feeling. Who was this stranger to make him feel something like this?

The problem with Nick was that he never asked Charlie out. If he had Charlie could have said no and moved on. But instead, Nick flirted with him, he teased Charlie and took his taunts with a smile. That made it all so much harder. 

One day when they were sitting together on the couch, Nick said, "I heard your birthday is coming up." Nellie was dozing happily between them. Dogs weren't allowed on the furniture but Charlie was going to be dead in a week so what did he care?

He nodded. His friends had been trying to plan something for him, but he kept refusing. He didn't want some elaborate party that he'd never attend. 

"I'll probably just stay home and read."

Nick nodded as if that was a logical answer. "Can I ask you something else?" 

Charlie nodded.

"That dark cloud on your back, what is it?"

Charlie was so stunned he spilled his tea. He whipped his head to Nick. "You- you can see it?" 

"Mhm."

"Why didn't you say?"

"Didn't know if you'd want me to."

It was a very Nick answer. Charlie explained his curse. He'd gotten good at it over the years. It barely took him a minute now.

"Well," Nick glanced at the cloud again then nodded to himself. "Do you want me to get rid of it?"

Charlie gaped at him. "You- what? You can do that?" 

"Nellie here is a curse eater." He patted the dog. "Gives her a bit of indigestion but she can handle it."

A million things ran through his head but the first was, "Why the hell didn't you mention it before?"

Nick shrugged. "Some people like their curses. Wasn't sure if you did. Besides, I have. I've talked about Nellie being with me since I was young. I thought you figured it out and were just politely ignoring it."

"I assumed you just named all your pets nellie." He said, his brain rewriting every conversation he'd had with Nick.

"Well that'd be a daft thing to do." Nick took Charlie's chin in his hand, turning it to see the shadow. "Yea, we can handle it. But it'll cost you."

Charlie inhaled. "I don't have much money but it's yours." He'd never seen the point in saving it. 

Nick gave him a lopsided smile. "I don't want your money Charlie," He said softly. "I want a kiss, if that's alright." 

A laugh burbled out of him as he nodded, already leaning in to claim Nick's lips. 

So, it turned out that magic was real. And while he still believed most of it was bullshit maybe there was a bit that was worthwhile.

[98chao]

Yummers

[egophiliac]

new chapter 7 installment dropped how we feelin????

YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND

THAT'S HIS DAD

[gummi-ships]

Kingdom Hearts 3 - Rage Form

[spacebubblehomebase]

I LOVE YOUR AU SO MUCH GIVES ME HAPPY TINGLES AND I'VE BEEN HYPERFIXATING ON IT FOREVEER YOU ARE ONE AMAZING AU WRITER!! (me when author creates another amazing masterpiece) (you)!

THANK YOU! TvT I know I mostly post art, but writing is also one of my passions!!! So it's nice to know you're enjoying the story so far. 🥹🙏 Even though we just got past the introduction stage. But if you already like what we have for now, let me just say none of y'all are READY for when we reach the turning point of my AU! "The Dreamers" is the goal at the moment. That's all I'm gonna say. 😉✨ So as we wait, have this lil' doodle I made up just cause I remembered I can!

Till then! =D

-Bubbly💙

[ratwithhands]

Thank you @lovelylunasnow for the suggestion of Ingo using a yumi. I ended up doing down a bit of a rabbit hole but at least I got to read more about Kyūdo ^^

These are just rough ideas for now while I think on things. I saw some archers shoot with half their kimono hanging loose, so I wanted to test an alt design using that. Also hearing about how plucking the bowstring of hama yumi will scare off evil spirits gave me some ideas for how Ingo dispels angered alphas while he learns to actually fire.

I'll see if there's anything else I want to try but between the naginata and the yumi, I think his weapons are solid for his different forms.

We'll see how things go ^^ this might end up being his polished design if I don't find anything to change.

[1driedpersimmon]

Let it not be said that magic users are not physically strong 💪☺️

(In other words I’ve made Kaiien a summoner hehe)

[sillybeanies]

i made some magic and scorch stamps!!! based off bunsona's dragon stamp (here!) I animated the sparkle effects and edited the dragons to match scorch and magic :B

[lucksea]

havent decided how i want the introduction to go yet but i imagine it would roughly be one of these two

[astronomodome]

ok

1. does anyone remember magical cat emporium. The cartoon pilot Lizzie ldshadowlady dropped out of nowhere in 2017. Girlboyfailure main character voiced by joel. Magical girl trans narrative. Cat oli. I learnt of its existence a few weeks ago and I have not stopped thinking about it since. Watch it now. Look at it

2. Would it be cool if we did a fan project where we write a season of it and expand on this world for funsies. Maybe I already have ideas. Maybe. Is that weird. That’s not weird. That’s not weird. Take my hand

[amis127]

"I don't see this ship at all..."

"they are such good platonic friends..."

"We don't have to make everything romantic "

Ok y'all thanks for every disclaimer and socially responsible take on this situation every time Sam and Evan have a moment. We get it. We've heard you. Please move on.

[ladylingua]

this is an insanely out of touch take but it is my truth:

I think when there are big events happening there should be special subway cars reserved for people who aren’t going to those events and are just trying to go to work without having to be surrounded by people having a better day than you are

[wardingbond]

anyways i love how sam is so constantly aware of how charming magic can be fucked up and how she’s always been uncomfortable when people make her charm her main Thing bc she doesn’t want to force people to do anything and she doesn’t see herself as a like icon or model to follow! she just loves connecting with people, she’s curious about how they are, how they think, who they are. she doesn’t want people to only like her, she wants to have honest conversations and she uses her charm for that, for the opportunity to have those conversations and connections

the talk between her and the qohlye where she was like i hope not :( on if she thought her magic was seated in making people think/believe what she wants really shows how deeply she believes in individuality and freedom which is SO interesting on a character who is an influencer and i just love sam so MUCHH

[lumiereswig]

I'm still seeing a lot of angry takes in the tags about how excessive Watcher's current costs are and how all fans really want, apparently, is "just shane and ryan sitting in a basement" back again. While I do think Watcher is probably spending over budget and that's a real issue, a lot of the takes I'm seeing show a fundamental misunderstanding of how video production works and where costs actually lie. So a few quick things that I just keep seeing that are bothering me:

It was never just Shane and Ryan in a basement. BFU did a great job selling that conceit and making sure you never saw anyone beyond them and maybe TJ, but they absolutely had other crew members with them on ghost hunts and they didn't do all the work on BFU themselves. This Q&A from Season 2 lists 36 people on staff for Buzzfeed Unsolved. It's fair to make arguments that Watcher may or may not need 25 people, but those arguments should not be coming from a place of "before it was just Shane and Ryan and nobody else."

If you don't know how many people are needed to make a professional video from a TV/film standpoint, you will not have a reasonable grasp of why Watcher wants to keep 25 people on staff. Sure, some YouTubers get by with a ring light and a contracted editor. The Watcher team have stated repeatedly that they do not want to work as just YouTubers and see themselves more as a production studio—so why do people keep referencing the YouTube model to understand their business? This is like asking the local shake shop why it doesn't function like the kids' lemonade stand down the block. The item category is similar but they're not trying for the same products or process.

The "gold dusted food" is not the big budget sink you think it is. On most TV shows I've worked on it's normal to partner with businesses that are shown onscreen and work out a deal where the price of the product (in this case the gold food) is reduced or eliminated in exchange for the free publicity. Watcher very likely made a deal with every restaurant it worked with to make the Korea trip affordable for the company. The real budget spends are on things you're probably not seeing but that still matter: camera and lighting equipment is expensive, insurance for that equipment is expensive, business overhead and paying your staff are expensive. So again—it's fine to critique Watcher for the streaming plan and the perceived budgetary issues, but go into this knowing the costs might not be coming from the things you see onscreen.

My source is that I work in TV and film and actually have a clue on how the industry functions. Again, 36 people worked on Unsolved (and those were the people mention in Season 2—who knows how big the team blew up past that in later seasons). Entertainment work is real work, and demands decent equipment, competent staff, and the same types of business and budget problems you'd find in any other business (overhead, staffing, etc.). Feel free to critique Watcher's business model, but first try to understand where that model is coming from and what goals it's attempting to serve.

[glitterdustcyclops]

btw i can't believe i haven't seen anyone else mention this but aabria's self-evident delight in getting brennan to call their magical contraption a "hooptie" was one of my fav early moments?????

[nectar-cellar]