#also I think starchild would work super well as well

[laomelettedufromage]

If I had more time and motivation and less fear of failing I would make so many wei wuxian fanart comics to the lyrics from ghost quartet

[fae-morrigan]

Superfam and Found Family: What it Means to Choose

I have seen a lot of my beloved mutuals talk about adoption as a theme in the superfam, and thats true, thats very much a thing, but thats more a subsection of the larger idea with the superfamily: You get to choose your family, and define your relationship to them.

Clark and Kon come to mind. They've been discussed a lot lately, huh? Namely people saying Clark does not treat Kon well. This is false, by the way, they get along great.

But let's sort of dig into the actual story told by their relationship here: Kon was created by Lex without Clark's consent. Clark had no say in how part of his DNA would be used to create a new life.

(This is coincidentally why it irks me that certain fans will act like Clark is a monster for even HYPOTHETICALLY not wanting a relationship with Kon. Guys, you sound like pro-lifers. Lets watch it!)

Despite this, Clark accepts Kon with open arms. Now, as myself and others have pointed out, Kon's technically... he's not a clone, he's a test tube baby. Technically, biologically, he's Clark & Lex's son. D.. diversity win...?

But thats not how Clark and Kon choose to define their relationship. They instead decide, hey, we were raised by the same people, we're brothers.

Kon is not an outsider to the Superfam, even as he is an outsider to this world- He is welcomed with open arms once it is clear he needs a home. And with Clark and Kon, they get to choose how they define their relationship, not Lex, not anyone else.

Then, John Henry and Nat. John Henry is not Natasha's father, but their relationship is very complex and often veers into that territory, for the simple reason that he shows up for her in that capacity when Natasha's own father fails her.

Even while their relationship has its ups and downs (read 52 guys for THEM), they manage to forge a relationship based on mutual respect, enough to the point where during Steelworks, she is not just his niece, but his partner in building a better tomorrow. It is a fatherly/daughterly relationship built on mutual respect largely independent of their blood relation, built on the security that Clay failed to provide Natasha with.

Of course, to talk about adoption, Clois adopting the twins. I think Phillip Kennedy Johnson handles the topic of adoption EXPERTLY with Otho-Ra and Osul-Ra, specifically as a metaphor for transracial/transethnic adoption.

Clark's relationship with the twins is built throughout the Warworld saga, and does not start... great (they discuss looting his corpse lol), and often they. But Clark understands that the kids are traumatized, and seeks to guide them to a better situation.

Now I would be irresponsible to not mention that, during this time, Clark is still struggling with Jon's age up. He mumbles, disoriented during their first meeting, that the kids are the same age as his son (no they are not). In a less tightly written book by a worse writer, it'd be a thing where Clark completely uncritically finds 'replacement kids' in the twins... Which is NOT what happens here, because PKJ is the GOAT.

In the end, his relationship with the twins is built not only independently of his struggles with Jon, but the way he connects with them helps Clark realize that whats done is done. They need him to be Clark, not a man hanging onto the past he will never get back. To move forward, they must do it together, it won't work if the twins remain on Warworld and he remains mentally in Hamilton. Its why it is SUPER important, also, that in the end, Clark doesn't ask them to come with him- rather, they ask to go with Clark.

(Sidenote: The twins lost not only their parents on warworld, but an older brother, too. Clark isn't the only one who finds a healing way forward via the Ra-El relationships, but that's gonna be another post!) And their hero names, Red Son and Starchild, are from their original culture (the Phaelosians), a culture that was systematically robbed from them when Warworld trafficked them into service. Rather than forcing them to conform to the house of El and their legacy, they help the kids reconnect.

These are his children. They found each other in the scariest place in the universe, and together, they find a way past the things they've both suffered through.

I'm afraid I don't know much about Kara (kara mutuals, reading recs appreciated! i've only ever read WOT and a few issues of the most recent Supergirl run) but I do know that her relationship to Clark is inherently different than it was supposed to be, and she has to roll with it and redefine it accordingly. She was supposed to be older than him, be able to take care of him, but by the time she actually finds him, he's the one doing that for her.

(I dont really have a panel here I fear, so look at the pretty art from Woman of Tomorrow. If someone wants to say more on Kara, you're welcome to hijack my post for a bit!)

Kenan is an example of this theme going kind of sideways and being examined from another angle- He's forced to choose between his two found families, and with either choice, he stands to lose something. Either his connection to Superman, or his connection to home:

Kenan already has a messy relationship with family, considering the soap opera level drama his parents inflict on him in his solo. Now, separated from his culture by circumstances he can't control, Kenan's relationship with the Superfam is forced by circumstance, even as it isn't unwanted. He's forced to make the most of what he has.

Then you have Clark and Jon, where the 'and define your relationship to them' part of my thematic statement REALLY becomes important.

I've seen it argued many times that giving Jon the Superman mantle weakens the theme of found family, but I'd argue it strengthens it, because Jon not having a choice in becoming Superman is EXPLICITLY framed as a bad thing.

Jon's not ready to be Superman. He doesn't even really WANT to be superman. But because of the circumstances of his birth, the world, and his father, push him into it. Clark never asked Jon to be Superman, during the Son-of-kal-el + Warworld era. He assumed he would be.

It tarnishes Clark & Jon's relationship, actively preventing Jon from connecting with his father and the WORLD fully in the way they both want. This is a key theme of Superman: Son of Kal El, from the very moment of Jon's actual birth:

All throughout post-age up Jon is the idea that Jon is just as burdened by the expectations placed upon him by his blood as he is comforted by what the mantle represents.

(I know I use this panel like every analysis but its a GOOD PANEL, SHUT UP) And there's of course the fact that... y'know. Well. Y'know.

Y'KNOW.

I think there's a potentially strong story in either Jon walking away from the mantle entirely, or redefining it to be his own. But first, he's going to have to suffer for the fact he wasn't ready for what many people call his DESTINY, including his abuser.

And where does this leave Jon and Clark?

Here.

The last note before Absolute Power of these two is this bittersweet moment where Jon still isn't fully heard. Where he still doesn't get a full say in what he and Clark's relationship will be. And judging by THIS interview from Mark Waid, this particular idea is about to finally come home to roost:

Lastly, there's of course the Most Found Family Thing Of All that i basically see NO one talk about: The fact that the Irons and the Kents just. Share all their big life events with each other. They're literally not related to each other by blood at all, but throughout PKJ's Action Comics, they ARE family!

Teamwork makes the dreamwork guys!

The superfamily is a wonderfully diverse cluster of relationships and examinations of the way family finds each other. Even moreso than the Batfam, which is often defined by their father-son relationship with Bruce in fanon, the Superfam displays a wide array of the various ways non-nuclear families can build each other.

This is all to say you guys should read PKJ's action comics run. It rules.

(This is also to say Superman 2016 sucks ass.)

[itsaboringname]

If you ask me I think that the sword wouldn't work for just anyone, first one or not. I think it allowed them to decide who it would be but that person still had to be a viable candidate in Etheria's eyes, so to speak. Which is where the divine providence comes in, so it's always going to be someone who will do the right thing in the end no matter how you try to trick it. And we know that Adora had *something* already as an infant, but just what that was is very much up in the air. I doubt it's a talent for sorcery or Weaver would have taught her, and I don't like to think about anyone sympathetic as racially magical. I can be fine with bioengineered space explorers ala The Last Of Your Kind but if gets too starchild-y I shy away. When I permutate it in my head it always ends up places too similar to the Engineers of Alien.

This leaves that she was already conducting She-ra. I have another idea with Adora as a thaumically engineered super soldier, built specifically to try to trick Etherian into picking the First One's chosen candidate or perhaps even made with Etheria's participation and that all She-ras have been made (more or less) that way, including Mara. Which I think fits very neatly for this particular problem - I think there's unfavorable implications of this elsewhere, though I don't recall at the moment.

If I operate on the conduit model, I don't think anyone but Adora could reasonably be She-ra before she passes away. It'd be like expecting a current to go through a piece of wood when there's a superconductor completing the same circuit. BUT, the door is open. A very small amount of current does pass though the wood after all and I can't discount the same mechanism here. For example I could easily be persuaded that another sword might do the trick, like sticking a rod of copper through the wood. What that would do to it's expression in either party is up in the air, but I spontaneously think it would be painful for Adora. The flowing magic is a part of her and taking away parts of it is the same as taking away parts of her. It does also seem plausible that the relative difference between Adora's conduciveness and the baseline would decrease, but to what degree is anyone's guess. I like to think about Adora as inseparable from her magic, and that there's a point in there about self-acccptance and actualization so I find solutions that dilute it unappealing, but I certainly see the point about sharing the burden.

It's new to me, but I found @thestargayzingetherian's suggestion about other heroic forms manifesting more applicable. Under that paradigm it seems natural to me that there might be qualitative differences in the magic as well as quantitative. New connections could then be made from at most partially overlapping sources of tension, instead of the same circuit being split to power several instances.

As to the released magic, I agree that it's heavily suggested that the Heart and the runestones are both made by the same people who made the sword. Which would plausibly mean that the runestones and their powers are defunct. But, at the end of Heart II, we see the princesses glowing in their respective colors which I take to imply that whatever is going on there they still have their powers as we know them.

I must also consider the broken fire runestone (it's name slipped my mind). It is suggested to be Adora's ancestors attempt to make an "artificial" runestone, implying that either they are natural occurances that were modified by the First Ones or part of an older layer of technology that the characters are unaware of. But unless I'm forgetting some detail, it could also be a misconception on the characters' part that the fire stone was unique in that regard. It might have been the experimental prototype for the other stones. So the exact nature of the runestones remains inconclusive.

Either way, if one takes the princesses' auras at the end to mean that they still have their powers, I think that fits well with the anode model. By channeling magic through the runestones they have shaped their intrinsic magical pathways to be extremely conducive to those particular forms and expressions of magic, allowing them to do the same without the crutch of the machinery. So there is certainly some leeway there, and I find it easy to consider the magic of the other princesses as less specific than She-ra's. She's something else than them, or their magic would share more attributes. Even Mermista's trident is formed from water rather than rainbow light, and they all have one color rather than white or rainbow. So I think it's more likely that anyone could learn hydromancy or to instagrow plants etc than to become an aspect of She-ra.

I always go back and forth on the sorcery. Sometimes I think it's part and parcel of the Heart machinery, like a kind of intermediate limited interface that can be hidden and controlled by an institution. That would fit very well with Mystacor's self-image as stewards of the First One's legacy (I have always gotten that expression from Weaver's and Castaspella's conversation, among other things) and the political-moral themes. Other times, I think the Heart itself operates on principles related to the Spell of Obtainment or even that the dark beings that came out of it somehow are the First Ones themselves. If there's a pre-eternian layer of magitech powering the Heart and/or runestones it seems plausible that the sorcery would be connected to that. It's just too mechanistic to strike me as the baseline expression of Razz's "magic simply is". What I feel certain about though, is that the way Razz uses magic will become widely accessible. Which incidentally takes care of some plausible future political headaches since it makes scarcity even more difficult to imagine.

But I've not adressed the first point of what if any the "original" form of She-ra was. And that one is a doozy! Very nearly all we know about her is filtered through Mara's masters political needs, and they had very clear and specific goals. I do consider Razz reliable enough to take her word for it that she-ra is older than the sword or Mara's people's presence on Etheria. However, I could be persuaded that it was the Sword's influence that shaped She-ra into a warrior, and before then she was less warlike. Could it change back? Maybe.

Another relevant idea I enjoy is that over time in the post canon, Adora's baseline and heroic forms converge. Until eventually she doesn't transform at all anymore, and then She-ra wouldn't implicitly be a warrior anymore either. But she's still She-ra and just as powerful.

Now I have to post before my phone does, hope this makes any sense whatsoever!

[heartcravings]

check up tag

I was tagged by @kafkascupcake @yeolville @delhyun and @byuns-coco thank you sweeties for thinking of me! Sorry for the late reply, in particularly to Feli who tagged me so long ago. I just wasn't in a good space then, and I much rather bring positivity here 🖤 ily ladies!

how has your day been?

I spent my morning reading This is How You Loose the Time War by Amal el-Mohtar and Max Gladstone. Boy did I miss loosing myself into a book like this! 🥰

what is the last thing that made you smile?

hm, I think it was the way red addresses blue in the book by "Dearest 0000FF" or maybe the the cochineal reference, either way, something in this book 🤗

what's keeping you entertained these days?

series wise, i'm watching a kdrama called A Piece of Your Mind (10/10 would recommend!) and also hbo's third season of Westworld (though I'm not enjoying it as much as the previous ones). i've been watching movies with my family every week too, the last one we saw was Little Women directed by Greta Gerwig. loved it so much! the little girl in me who used to dislike Amy so much, has finally made her peace with her 🖤 i've also been reading loads! a friend of mine wrote a book based on our lives and i'm proof reading the first draft. it's terrible yet good in a weirdly comforting way 😅 also i sort have the privilege to be reading a fanfic while it's under work and seeing this new world come to life has been amazing! and of course reading tihylttw as mentioned above! oh, Instagram lives of my favourite musicians! that's been super cool too! though apparently I no longer get notifications for EXO members 🥺

if you're in some kind of quarantine/isolation, is there anything you would like to achieve during this time?

oh yes! learning to cope with my anxieties better. learning to let go, to not have to be in control all the time. and in a more practical way, finish my thesis. all in all, use this pain and hardship to become a better self, more loving and kind to not only others but myself too.

post a selfie (if you want to):

(edited:I took the selfie out. sry!)

so I think this is the first time I post a full face selfie here... messy bed hair and old lounge wear, sitting at my desk about to start some studying. sorry for the filter, but my skin just looks terrible lately and I'm too self aware 🙄 but well that is me 🖤

I'll tag @thedeviousdo @xiuminscheeks @marshmallow-phd @erfanic @kyungseokie @bacon-notbaekhyun-jaehyun-mingyu @pastel-kpop @saintloey @starchild--27 @byunfirstlady @ohsenhun and @eccentric-ocean if you guys feel like doing this! I hope you are well and staying safe both physically and mentally 🖤

[mxliv-oftheendless]

Twist of Fate, Chapter 3

Chapter 3′s here! I’m super close to finishing the writing, so I’m gonna try to get it all finished over the weekend so I can do FREQUENT UPDATES!! But for now, enjoy the new chapter! Tagging @cosmicrealmofkissteria as always and also @tanookiroxx! Enjoy!!

In which Starchild and Tomaziel become closer friends~

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next couple of days passed in a similar way. They were full of meetings that seemed to last for hours and were filled with Celestial Senators and KISSterian Councilmen alike engaged in speeches and deals and debates and compromises. Starchild did his best to pay attention and contribute whenever possible, though he did make sure to be open to correction when giving his opinion about something. But he found the more optimistic he was about things going well, the more likely he left a meeting feeling it did go well.

Apart from the meetings, he also had lunch with Ace, in which they caught up with each other, reminisced, and laughed for what ended up being hours. It felt wonderful to be forming a friendship with Ace after so many years of heartbreak and complicated emotions. He could start over again, this time as friends. Perhaps they should have been friends from the beginning, but what’s done was done and Starchild didn’t want to focus on the past. He let himself enjoy the easy conversation, the banter, and the jokes and came away from it much happier. He was noticing being here on Jendell was doing him better than he thought—although the little Princess Monique still hadn’t seemed to find a way to escape her nannies.

Another thing he was noticing was a budding friendship between him and Tomaziel. He somehow always ended up encountering him, whether it be through meeting him in the hallway or simply seeing him in the same room. When he couldn’t be spared to talk to him, which happened often, Starchild tried to give him a smile and friendly wave. The wave was often returned, but much more respectfully—a very Tomaziel thing to do. He was incredibly respectful, always being careful with his words and addressing him as “Prince Starchild” or “your grace”.

For whatever reason, Starchild increasingly began to wonder if he could get the man to stop doing that. If they were going to be friends, there was no need to be so formal.

As luck would have it, he would get the chance. On the fourth day of the visit, he found himself with an unusual amount of free time after being informed his presence wouldn’t be required at the meetings taking place that day. So, left with nothing else to do, he decided to take his sketchbook and go to the Garden Dome to see what flowers he could draw. He scanned the massive dome for a patch of flowers to sketch, when he suddenly noticed a cluster of flowers off to one side and felt compelled to get a closer look at them.

It was a cluster of dahlias, red ones in full bloom. Starchild found himself both glad and disappointed that they weren’t black dahlias. A wry smile crossed his face and he laughed to himself before sitting down and opening his sketchbook. He turned to a blank page—he would have to get a new one soon, this one was almost full—took his pencil out from behind his ear, and went to work.

His hand traveled almost robotically over the paper as he drew, eyes constantly flicking up and back down again. When he began to draw again, he would work himself up into a fit of frustration and impatience with how long he was taking and how unskilled and horrible his drawings looked. It had taken a few months of re-training himself to focus, but now he could do it without a second thought. It felt good to draw, felt good to create pictures and images. And it felt good to do something he enjoyed.

Starchild was so engrossed in his sketching that he didn’t even hear the footsteps behind him… until a stick snapped. He jumped, accidentally causing his pencil to slash across the paper, and took a second to compose himself before turning around.

A smile crossed his face. “Oh. Hello, Tomaziel,”

For there was the aide himself, standing frozen in place and looking rather panicked while a dry stick sat broken under his boot. It must have fallen from one of the trees onto the path. “I’m—I’m so sorry, your grace,” he apologized. His face was flushing blue. “I didn’t mean to disturb you—”

“It’s fine,” Starchild waved him off. “We seem to keep running into each other anyway. What brings you here?”

“I… I take walks here sometimes, your grace. The King gave me permission to be in here.” Tomaziel’s eyes fell on Starchild’s sketchbook. “Forgive me for prying, your grace, but… were you sketching?”

“You’re not prying. But yes, I was. Would you like to join me?” When he saw the look of hesitation, he patted the ground beside him. “You wouldn’t be bothering me. And if you lose track of the time, I’ll say I invited you to join me.”

After another moment of hesitation, Tomaziel stepped off the path and lowered himself to sit down next to him. They ended up being so close their knees were nearly touching. Starchild smiled. “There, see? We keep running into each other, so we might as well get to know each other.”

“I… I suppose so, Prince Starchild,”

“Starchild,”

Tomaziel looked at him confusedly. “What?”

“Just say Starchild,” he clarified. “There’s no need for the ‘Prince’ part. If we’re going to be friends, we can drop any formality around each other.”

Tomaziel blinked at him, still a little confused. “Friends, your—Starchild?”

Starchild smiled slightly, then shrugged. “Like I said, we keep running into each other. If it’s going to keep happening, we might as well become friends.” There was a pause, then he quickly added, “If you want that, anyway.”

“… I would like that,” Tomaziel offered a hesitant smile, “Starchild.”

Smiling wider, Starchild nodded. “Alright, then.” He looked back down at his drawing and frowned slightly when he saw the slash through the flowers. He sighed and went to work erasing it.

“If you don’t mind my asking,” he glanced up to find Tomaziel looking curiously at the dahlias, “what kind of flowers are these?”

“They’re dahlias,” he replied as he fixed his sketch. “Ace must have brought them back from Earth.”

“They’re beautiful,”

Starchild smiled. “They are, aren’t they?”

“Do you like dahlias?”

“I do, but it’s for more… personal reasons,”

He waited for the inevitable question of what the reason was… but instead Tomaziel simply nodded and went back to looking at the flowers. Starchild blinked for a second, then shrugged and went back to drawing.

After a while of the two of them sitting there in silence, Tomaziel spoke again. “I didn’t know you liked to draw, yo… Starchild.”

“I do,” Starchild replied, rubbing his pencil over the dahlias to add shading. “Ever since I was younger.” He smiled slightly at the memory. “I drew a picture of the roses in the garden one day and immediately went to show the Elder. It wasn’t even that good a drawing, but I was still so proud of it. The very next day she asked if I wanted to have a tutor give me art lessons.”

He decided to leave out the part about the whole reason he started drawing the picture in the first place was because he had been sitting alone in the gardens, forced to play by himself. But Tomaziel didn’t need to know that.

“And did you have art lessons?”

“I did, and I loved them,”

“If you don’t mind me saying, you’re very good,”

He smiled. “Thank you,”

“What else do you draw?”

“Well…” Starchild raised his head to think for a moment. “Almost anything. I like to draw flowers, but I sometimes will draw animals, other wildlife, buildings, daily life scenes…”

“Can you draw people?”

“Of course. I could draw you.” He gave Tomaziel a cheeky grin. “I could draw you however you wanted.”

Tomaziel stuttered for a few seconds, and his face turned a shade of blue. Starchild laughed. “I’m kidding, I’m kidding.” He grinned again. “Unless you want me to, of course.”

“I-I… I don’t…”

Starchild threw back his head and laughed, then reached out to pat his shoulder. “Really, I’m just kidding. I’ll stop now, I promise.”

A small smile made its way onto Tomaziel’s face. “F-For a moment, I thought you were serious,”

“No, I’m not,” Starchild giggled. “I would never do that to you.”

The aide gave a small laugh. “Alright… Do you paint?”

“You know, I did learn how to do that. But I haven’t painted in years, now. I’m not sure I would be any good at it.”

“I learned how to paint when I was younger,”

“Really? Who taught you?”

“The school I attended as a child gave art lessons. I liked them, but like you, it’s been years since I painted anything.”

“Perhaps we can help each other relearn,”

Tomaziel chuckled. “We could do that,”

It was then that Starchild glanced down at his sketch and realized with a jolt—it was finished. There on the paper was a pencil sketch of the clusters of red dahlias, almost perfectly recreated. At some point while he was talking to Tomaziel he had finished and hadn’t even noticed.

He held up his sketchbook, admiring it for a second, then showed it to Tomaziel. “What do you think?”

Tomaziel looked at the sketch and smiled. “It’s beautiful. Really, it is. You’re very good.”

For some reason, Starchild felt his cheeks heat up just a little as he smiled back. “Thank you.” He lowered the sketchbook and flipped to a new page. “What should I draw next?”

“Oh…” Tomaziel looked around the Garden Dome to find something to suggest, then turned back to him. “You could draw me, if you like.”

Starchild tilted his head in thought. “Actually… that would be perfect. Here.” He moved back, away from Tomaziel, and pointed. “Move over so you’re right next to the dahlias and turn your head.”

“Like this?” Tomaziel moved closer to the flowers and turned his head slightly.

“No, turn it more. So that you look like you’re observing the dahlias.”

“Oh.” His head turned so he was looking right at them. “Like this?”

“Yes, that’s perfect. Now hold still.”

As he picked up his sketchbook and prepared to start drawing, he heard a laugh and looked up to find Tomaziel smiling at the dahlias and chuckling. “What’s so funny?”

“O-Oh, nothing. I just…” he turned to smile at Starchild. “I thought you said you could draw me however I wanted.”

Starchild blinked at him for a moment, then burst out laughing. “I did!”

Tomaziel laughed out loud along with him, and somewhere in his mind Starchild remarked that he had never heard him laugh unrestrainedly before. He either laughed quietly or hid it behind his hand.

“Okay,” Starchild laughed as they calmed. “Alright. Now really, hold still.”

Tomaziel gave one more laugh before turning his head again. Starchild began to draw, starting with his subject’s head. He couldn’t help but feel secretly happy that he got the opportunity to scrutinize Tomaziel’s face, even if it was just the side. If he was being completely honest with himself, Tomaziel was rather good-looking. “Suggesting I draw you was a good idea,” he said aloud. “You have a good face for it.”

He smiled when he saw Tomaziel’s face flush a light blue. “Thank you… You meant that in an artistic way, didn’t you?”

His smile widened. “Of course I did. It’s going to be fun drawing your face.”

The two of them sat in relative silence, occasionally asking each other casual questions. But oddly, Starchild didn’t feel a gnawing urge to say something else.

In fact, he couldn’t help but marvel at how at ease he felt at that very moment. Why was that? Could it be because he was with a friend? He always felt at ease and like he could be himself around his friends. Yes, that had to be it. Tomaziel had agreed they could be friends, after all.

It seemed like little time had passed, but finally Starchild was looking at a completed sketch of Tomaziel looking at the bush of red dahlias. He had even done a little more and added in the background of the Garden Dome. He smiled at the sketch proudly before turning it around and showing it to Tomaziel. “All finished. What do you think?”

Tomaziel looked at the sketch. And a look of slight awe appeared on his face. “This is amazing.” He gave Starchild a smile. “I love it. In fact…” His eyes glanced away. “Could I perhaps keep it? If you don’t mind, that is.”

“No, I don’t mind.” Starchild signed his name at the bottom of the sketch with a flourish, then carefully tore the page out of the sketchbook. “There. I even autographed it for you.”

He handed it to Tomaziel, who took it and looked down at the drawing with a smile. “Thank you. Really, I think it looks amazing.”

Starchild smiled back, giving no thought to how good it felt knowing Tomaziel liked it. “I’m glad you like it. I think we’re going to be very good friends.”

“I think so too,”

[maternalcube]

i did an art summary so now im doing a fic summary. i was tagged by @jamthedingus also!! ive never done one of these before!! lets go!!!

Rest (13106)

Keith & Lance's Island Adventure (20631)

Atlantis (10014 words)

The Way to a Man’s Heart (6858 words)

nobody's business (2096 words)

leave, and take (557 words)

dead girl walking (1661 words)

the course of fate (1039 words)

who ya gonna call (465 words)

come here often? (806 words)

til kingdom come (1950 words)

stars in the sky (pt 2) (5404 words)

a song of falling (630 words)

Eyes to the Sky (3683 words)

Feet on the Ground (4050 words)

Divergence (6669 words)

homecoming (1426 words)

Window of Opportunity (11144 words)

along that wilderness of glass (3801 words)

string theory (2327 words)

Katt Week (1062 words)

The Pining-Plant (3860 words)

at the end of many worlds (21684 words)

you're my home (19646 words)

Believe Me (3177 words)

Starchild (3568 words)

Summer Heat (2285 words)

third time's the charm (5349 words)

Blackbird (59546 words)

The Sixth Planet (9444 words)

all the infinite realities (1197 words)

Total Fics: 31! (plus one i posted anonymously lmao) Total Words: 229999! (except parts of string theory and the sixth planet were actually posted last year... but still, what a number)

more under the cut!

Ship/character breakdown: i didnt filter out my prompt collection or abandoned wips here so /shrug Ship breakdown:

klance - 6 sheith - 5 shance - 5 katt - 4 heith - 3 pallura - 2 and one each of plance, kallura, allurance, shatt, shkatt, kidge, kidgance, and shunk. and keiths parents lol. let it never be said i am not a multishipper.

and i know gen isnt a ship but it tied with klance at 6 (plus whatevers in the prompt collection) which was a surprise

Character breakdown: man if theres a way to get ao3 to show me ALL the stats, i dont know it. but.

keith - 25 (shocker) shiro - 23 lance - 21 pidge - 17 hunk - 16 allura - 12 matt - 12 and then coran and sam are at 4, and zarkon ats 3 and presumably many others are at 3 or less

Characters that had the main focus: well ~9 were from keiths pov, and ~5 each from shiro and lances povs. i think i also had ~5 from multiple points of view. its safe to say that keith has my heart tho lol

Specifics:

Best/worst title? Best title: i still like “at the end of many worlds.” i weirdly still like “Blackbird” too even if it has nothing to do with anything... Worst title: “Rest.” :/ also like all of the abandoned wips bc i didnt care. and “Keith & Lance's Island Adventure.″ some of my zine fic titles were also... bad. im bad at titles.

Best/worst first line?

Best: Keith & Lance's Island Adventure. ok the title is bad but this line? this really sets the tone for whole fic. you know what youre getting yourself into here.

When Pidge invited Keith to a fully-funded graduation party aboard the Holt family boat (“the smaller one, anyway,” she’d said), this is not exactly what he'd pictured: three of them standing on a wobbly dock, packed bags at their feet, sky cloudy and gray, while the Holt siblings stand on a little ledge off the back of the boat and deny entry.

Worst: ive got two for this lol

at the end of many worlds: even i have to read this a couple times to figure out what i was trying to say. at least you know youre in for pain...

Keith’s mother shows up to interrupt movie night often enough that, this time, Keith almost doesn’t realize anything’s wrong. Almost, because she’s silhouetted by the movie, but she’s clutching her arm and panting for breath, and in the thin edge of light around her he sees a wet and vibrant red.

Divergence: because all your friends being dead is EXACTLY like losing at dodgeball. yeah, theres a reason i abandoned this one.

Hunk always hated playing dodgeball. Not because he was bad at it--though he was--but because he always ended up the last one standing, and therefore the only target for the entire other team. It was due to a tendency to hang unnoticed in the back, he knew, but that didn't change the sickening, empty feeling of looking around and realizing there's no one left but him, and there's no way he can win. Only wait for the inevitable.

This, Hunk decides, is a lot like that, only, like, a billion times worse.

Best/worst last line?

Best: The Pining-Plant. there are a few others that were cute too but this one is also good out of context so

And then the pod swishes open and he's scrambling to catch Pidge as she stumbles out. She clings to his arms to steady herself and his heart swells.

"Falling for me again, huh?" he asks, and she groans loudly.

"Let me go, I'm getting back in the pod," she says, and he laughs. He doesn't let go, and neither does she.

Worst: if im bad at titles, im worse at endings. most are bad. i suspect the ending to “Rest” is terrible but i cant bring myself to even open that shit again so: Believe Me. if weather were a recurring theme in this fic, itd be fine, but as is its just... a weird note to end the fic on lmao

Hunk rocks back on his heels. "We aren't counting this as our official first date, right?"

"I dunno," Keith says, and now he smiles at the rain instead of frowning. It shows no sign of easing up, but whatever—they're soaked anyway. "This seems pretty good to me."

“...All right.” If nothing else, it’ll make a good story. And, Hunk had to admit—he’s pretty happy with how it’s turned out, rain and all.

But next time, he's double-checking the forecast, just in case.

General questions:

Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted?

more than i expected! considering ive been in grad school all year!! i wrote about the same amount wordcount-wise in 2017 which i spent only half in school so. idk how i managed it.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year?

the anonymous fic was a surprise but im not gonna talk about that lol. otherwise... nah, its all been my usual stuff.

What’s your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest.

blackbird, probably. i like working on that one. summer heat was also fun, id sort of forgotten about it bc it was a zine fic but coming back to it, i really liked it. likewise with third time’s the charm. and i like t6p a lot even if i kinda hate drawing for it :’)

Okay, NOW your most popular story.

depends on your metric. window of opportunity has the most kudos, keith and lance’s island adventure has the most hits, and t6p has the most comments and subscriptions. 

Story most underappreciated by the universe?

AT THE END OF MANY WORLDS. oh man i killed myself over that fic. it was important to me. but i think the mcd scared everyone off :’)

Story that could have been better?

i realize “all of them” is kind of a cop out answer but like

Sexiest story?

i have written nothing sexy, ever, in my whole life

Saddest story?

i mean, ateomw. considering all the death. blackbird def has its moments too.

Most fun?

i feel like i answered this in the favorite story q lmao. you’re my home also gets a shoutout, that thing was,, super self-indulgent lmao. and id be lying if i said i didnt have fun with parts of ateomw, even if its mostly sad.

Story with single sweetest moment?

man i write a lot of fluff but so much of you’re my home is just tooth-rotting. heres part of the proposal scene lmao

"Lance!" Keith yelps, barely rescuing the ring from falling into the sand with them. Lance pushes himself up on his arms, silhouetted by the sun and glowing with it.

"Really?" he asks breathlessly.

"Yeah," Keith says, and maybe he should've prepared something to say, that's a thing people do, right? Hell, he's winging it. "I know we can't stay here on Earth forever, 'cause we're paladins, and there's still stuff out there we gotta do. And I know you probably want to stay because this is your home—but you're my home, and if we gotta go, at least you'll have me, good or bad." He grins crookedly. "Or rocket science. Whatever happens, I'll be there."

Hardest story to write?

well t6p gets a shoutout, but its not the writing thats the hard part for that. uhhh ive struggled with parts of blackbird. i remember k&l’s island adventure giving me a LOT of trouble, i think i posted late lol

Easiest/most fun story to write?

anything short uhhh for all the infinite realities, i kind of just sat down the other day (actually i was in bed but) and was like “im gonna write this” and then in the morning i just sat down and wrote it in one go. i dunno if id call it fun, but it was easy. t6p is super fun to write but, as mentioned, drawing it sucks.

Did any stories shift your perceptions of the characters?

no... my perceptions probably have shifted but not due to anything i wrote in particular. i did talk myself into liking allurance with a prompt fill, though, but im not sure that was 2018...

Most overdue story?

all the infinite realities lmao. at the end of many worlds needed that happy ending. and another shoutout to t6p, because thats been going on over a year and im still nowhere.

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?

does posting my abandoned wips count? ive still got some of those hanging around... blackbird was a bit of a risk bc my last longfic was written while i was unemployed and out of school, so like i had the time for it, and now i kinda dont. still chugging tho. ateomw b/c of all the death but it turns out i really like writing whump woops. and writing any sort of kissing always feels like a risk bc i suck at it but im getting better lol... i hope...

What are your fic writing goals for next year?

write more! finish things! do more sheith! i really want to work on this sheith longfic i came up with the other day... but i want to get blackbird over with first.

Tagging: eh! do it if you want to!

[annieoftheshitposts]

follow up post to moveset post because i never shut up the fuck up about anything.

i already said this a lot elsewhere BUT the best thing about coming up with space-themed moves is everything in space is cool as shit, so you really just can’t go wrong no matter what you pick as a basis.

so you might think those moves were cool but actually it was just me looking through annie’s listed gameplay inspos and being like “hmm. cool! i see what they’re going for!” and then blatantly ignoring them and ripping off other things.

Ptolemic Drive started out as just this [and visually still is], but i realized there are cooler constellations than ursa to use. then i couldn’t pick one and was like “wait why just one??” so i expanded from “leonis drive” or “tauri charge” or “draco rush” into that; named from the ptolemy guy that defined like half the currently recognized constellations.

as for the move’s mechanics, it’s pretty much just ganondorf’s final smash; a big forward rush that hurts a lot.

from the get-go i wanted to do something with this ‘cause even when i was little i though this was a really cool attack. [even if i still hate this boss >:|] thing is, to really be feasible in a fighter it needed to be an inverse of what’s here; change the safe spot to the hitbox and vice versa. i figured i could do that by simply blocking off more of the attack and making a funnel of sorts. i was already going on realistic star stuff, so i just made it about solar flares/coronal mass ejections instead of whatever cartoonish burst is going on here, since it doesn’t work as well in a static drawing anyway.

the name Sundisk is ripped straight from the wolfgun track of the same title,[yall i have been looking for an excuse to reference wolfgun here for SO long. he literally has an entire album called Starchild like come on.] and Skollar Eclipse is a portmeaneau of “solar eclipse” and Skoll, the wolf of norse legend who seeks to devour the sun. ...wolves and celestial theme-ing  seem to be a strangely constant aesthetic...

also i lied, Nova Surge is actually, very loosely, based on one of annie’s listed gameplay inspirations. 

i don’t know who the fuck any of the inspo characters on the dlc vote page are so i just googled their name+”combo video” and picked some shit that looked cool bc i don’t understand anything that goes on in real fighters. i liked this powerup animation a lot so i went with that+a beam move i saw her use on a couple occasions. [i could have SWORN i saw this animation lead into that beam several times but apparently not. REGARDLESS.] so i’m like “ok this is good but it’s WAY too elegant for annie” so you know. gotta make the animation be about big sword swings instead of those happy little spins. then at some point i just separated the two steps and had the “power up animation” be an actual thing you input as you go.

i didn’t do a great job illustrating the movements, but powering up essentially relies on cancelling the ending of animations/hitboxes into the beginning of others where the sword is in the same place; the closer the positioning of the sword in the end/start frames, the better your charge gain will be. also you can charge it like a LOT. also the launcher i showed there is referenced directly from red’s Cull() bc transistor is the love of my life

i called it ‘pirouette beam’ for the longest time but a) that sounds lame and b) it became unfitting for what the move evolved into. ‘nova surge’ has nothing to do with novas. it’s just a cool word. also jsk at higher charge levels it totally makes a sound like the bigass laser blasts in the old genesis sonic games.

black hole beam is actually??? mostly original. black holes are terrifying and i wanted to give her something stupidly op. and what’s scarier than a black hole? multiple black holes. the formation of these things is already pretty spectacular so i really didn’t have to do much for the “steps” of the move, but man... illustrating those simply on a 2d plane was NOT easy. it was either just a boring black beam or Too Much. [in the end i said fuck it and only decently drew the final one; giving each star remnant its own accretion disk and having the relativistic jets feed into eachother.[x]] the beam does damage during both the supernova and collapse, with the black hole portion having a pull effect and being more damaging than the supernova. the activation shot is quick and also has a hitbox, but the damage is negligible.

anyway there were a couple more smaller ones i didn’t bother talking about; a light shield/deflector, pretty self-explanatory

[take a wild guess where THAT’S ripped from] [hint its steven universe] really the only thing i could come up with as defensive moves go!  left out bc she’s ssssorta been shown blocking other [albeit less effective] ways , and also a deflector this easy to use is probably a little bullshit [as opposed to the really specific timing with a special you need for cerebella’s]

and then something that would only really work as a dash attack like in super smash bros [hence unfitting for the Actual Inputs i was listing],  assuming the ridiculous motorbike thing she does with sagan is her dash,

a quick dismount off the back with an upwards swing that carries the momentum /effects sagan had while in motion.  also left out bc i could not fuckin figure out how to draw it.

[mel-the-fangirl]

Starry Starry Night

Sam Holland x Reader

Words: 2,016

Requested by: anonymous

“Hello hello! Could I have a Sam Holland fic where they have been best friends all their life and they are stargazing outside on a blanket and they are talking about how pretty the sky is when Sam accidentally blurts out “not as pretty as you” and the reader is like “what did you say?” And he gets all adorable awkward and nervous? And the rest is just super fluffy!! And they kiss and he asks her to be his girlfriend? Thank you in advance! Xxoo”

I’m back from the dead! I really enjoyed writing this one so I hope you enjoy it as well. Also, I’m really sorry requests are taking so fucking long, college is kicking my ass rn :( As you guys can see, I’m putting together a permanent masterlist for everything I write so if you’d like to be included, please shoot me a message! REQUESTS ARE STILL CLOSED I’M VERY SORRY!

permanent taglist: @theholyholland, @optimisticbee, @johnsonxstilinski, @lyssamorgan, @osterfield-holland, @flowergirlbarneswriting

----------------------------------------

“I really don’t get the fascination, Y/N.” Sam told you, looking up at the glow-in-the-dark stars stuck to your ceiling. He was lying on your bed, taking up the majority of the space while you were left to sit on the floor with your back against the footboard.

It wasn’t very gentlemanly but Sam didn’t have to be gentlemanly around you, you’ve known each other forever.

“Sam, we’ve been over this.” you sighed

Over the course of the past few weeks, you’ve been taking him camping every other night in hopes that he’d finally learn to appreciate the night sky as you did. But… Well, let’s just say you had your work cut out for you.

The shaggy haired boy propped himself up on his elbows and peered down at you. “I don’t know what you mean.” he feigned innocence, widening his green eyes

“Mhm, maybe that’s because every time I try to explain things or even just get you to look, you fall asleep. Literally.”

That’s what happened the other day. Just as you were about to delve deeper into the history of the stars, you’d heard light snoring next to you. Sam had fallen asleep earlier while you were pointing out each constellation you knew (in your defense, you didn’t even know that many).

He chuckled and shook his head, a gorgeous smile gracing his face. “Now I definitely don’t know what you’re talking about, Starchild.”

Starchild, his old nickname for you. You hadn’t heard it in a while. Ever since you were a kid, you already had a love affair with the stars. Your parents would have to drag you back inside your house every night since you never wanted to leave your backyard once the sun set.

Perhaps it was the abstract quality of the sky that drew you to it, how it was nothing and everything at the same time, how when you looked up at it at night, you felt everything melt away. It made you feel small, like all your problems were insignificant in the larger scheme of things.

The feeling was holistic in a sense and you really, really wanted Sam to experience it with you.

A new wave of determination crashed over you. You stood up and placed your hands on your hips, your eyes staring into his intensely. Sam squirmed under your gaze.

“I don’t like this look, Y/N. What are you planning?”

“We’re going to sleep in the backyard.” you declared with finality

“Aw, but Y/N..” he began to whine. You shot him a death glare and he immediately pouted.

“Fine.” he grumbled, turning his back on you. Sam snuggled his face against your fresh sheets and closed his eyes.

You watched by your window in awe as the sky began to minutely change colours. Sunset was fast approaching and Sam was still snoring away on your bed. You walked over to your closet and brought out an old blanket.

Sam looked so peaceful as he slept, his soft hair draped across his forehead, and his eyelashes fanned delicately over his cheeks. He looked like a bona fide angel, too bad it was time to wake the angel up. Standing over him with your arms out in front of you, you dropped the rather thick blanket over his head.

He jerked awake, his long legs kicking at the air. You couldn’t help but snicker at him. Sam yanked the blanket off his face and glared at you, sleep still clouding in his eyes.

“What was that for?”

“It’s sunset, almost time to go outside. You’re lucky I even let you sleep.” you hip checked him playfully as you passed. He stood there, still half asleep, wondering why in the hell couldn’t you just let him go back to bed.

“Let’s go!” you dragged him out of your bedroom and out the backdoor

Any minute now, the sun would begin to set and the night sky would descend. You hastily told Sam to lay the blanket out.

“Alright, alright. Calm down, Y/N. Seriously.” he muttered, smoothing the blanket out against the grass

“I don’t want to miss it. I don’t want you to miss it.” you said as you lay down

The ardent, sincere, and almost panicked tone in your voice made Sam shake his head with the tiniest of smiles on his face. You were really so eager to share this with him, maybe he should’ve been more enthusiastic about it.

“Sam! Come on and lie down! What are you staring at?”

Oh crap. Was he staring at you the whole time?

He tried to brush it off with a nervous chuckle as he lay down next to you. The sky was orange. Just as it always was at this time of day, Sam frowned at it, what was the big deal? He tried to be a little more supportive though.

“Wow. So… Nice.” Sam commented in a flat tone. You let out a laugh and smacked his chest, he caught your hand and held it there. You could feel the steady beating of his heart underneath your intertwined fingers.

“You haven’t seen anything yet, Sam.” you told him

Lucky for you, you didn't have to do any more talking. Sunset was beginning.

The tangerine sky was streaked with scarlets, sparkling amethysts, and pomegranate pinks, all converging together seamlessly to create the stunning view. It was breathtaking and it was unlike all the other sunsets you’ve seen before, every sunset was different, you’ve noticed.

You turned your head to gauge Sam’s reaction. Much to your dissatisfaction, his eyebrows were furrowed together. You decided to keep quiet though, so the two of you watched in silence as the sunset darkened into an obsidian expanse.

“You didn't like it?” the disappointment in your voice was evident, you weren’t trying to hide it. How on earth couldn't he have enjoyed, or at least fucking appreciated that?

Sam looked at you, his eyebrows furrowing even deeper but he just squeezed your hand and turned his gaze back to the now star-speckled sky before him. With a huff, you did the same.

Unbelievable!

What an uncultured, unappreciative, ignorant little-

“That was brilliant.”

-What now?

“Y-Yeah? I mean, I thought you didn’t like it because you looked a little upset.”

“It was brilliant. I’m sorry I never caught on all the other times, Y/N.” Sam apologised, running his thumb along the back of your hand, the action made goosebumps break through your arms.

“Oh, uh, that’s okay. You’re here now. And uh, let’s just focus on the stars, can we?”

It was such a beautiful night, you weren’t sure if your eyes were playing tricks on you or if it was because Sam was finally awake to see them, but it seemed like the stars were shining brighter than you’d ever seen them before. They were twinkling and glistening like miniscule precious diamonds laid upon luxurious black velvet.

“God,” you sighed, letting the calm wash over you. “It’s so beautiful.”

“Not as beautiful as you.” Sam said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” you pulled your hand from his and immediately sat up, a puzzled smirk on your lips

Sam looked at you, confused. What were you going on about? He didn’t say anything… Oh. OH CRAP. He shot up as well, hands up defensively.

“Y/N, wait. I didn’t mean-”

“Not as beautiful as you, you said.” the smirk on your face stretched into a full blown grin

Oh fuck.

His hands were getting sweaty, really sweaty. The perplexed look you were giving wasn’t helping at all. Sweat was legitimately beginning to collect on his forehead, he wiped it off with the back of his hand.

“Did it just get hotter out here?” he chuckled like an absolute dork

“It didn’t.” you replied, raising an eyebrow at him

“Look, Y/N..” he began, hoping he would make it up as he went along. But how the hell was he supposed to? Was he just supposed to casually tell you that he’s been in love with you for the longest time? Or that being with you was the best part of his day?

“Y/N, look..” Sam was just.. spiralling downward. He totally fucked up but he had to own up to it, you heard what he said. There was no coming back.

“Y/N..” he attempted again, wringing his hands together. He was moving heaven, earth, and all the other fucking planets just to come up with the appropriate thing to say when he’s just made an ass of himself.

“Yes, Sam?” your tone was sickly sweet, clearly teasing him. It made him groan, but then he began to laugh, scrunching his eyes together as he shook his head, you laughed along with him.

“Damn it, Y/N.” Sam scratched the back of his neck. His nervousness definitely decreased but it was still there, since he was sure you wouldn’t let this one slide.

And sure enough, you were looking at him expectantly when he turned to face you. Sam dropped his gaze to the old blanket you two were sitting on, he ran a hand over the soft material and took in a lungful of the dewy night air.

“Well.. What can I say really, Y/N? I think you’re beautiful. Always have.” he mumbled, his entire face had gone beet red. It was adorable.

His admission left you pleasantly surprised, very pleasantly surprised. You felt like he had more to say but you didn’t want to jinx it, nor did you want to make assumptions, you could be wrong.

“Why, thank you, Sam. I think you’re beautiful too.” you replied with a cheeky grin

You leaned over to give him a kiss on his cheek, but he turned his head and cupped your cheeks in between his warm hands. Your faces were mere inches apart.

Oh, he was so beautiful. Sam’s eyes were gloriously green, you envied them and loved them at the same time, his jaw was strong and defined, his lips were perfectly shaped and you knew they would be soft. His cheeks were dusted with freckles, maybe that was one reason you loved Sam the way you did, he was star-kissed.

“You have galaxies on your cheeks.” you whispered to him affectionately

The tender sentiment mingled with your sweet breath and hit Sam’s senses, he pressed his lips to yours without any hesitation, all of his prior worry crumbled away to the addicting feeling of your soft lips against his.

And so you two kissed for the first time, underneath the majestic canopy of the starry night. The stars appeared to burn brighter all around you, their light intensifying in sync with your movements. Sam pulled away, pressing his forehead against yours as you two struggled to catch your breath.

"Will you be my shooting star?" he asked you, pressing a featherlight kiss on your cheek

"You want me to be a flaming meteoroid falling into the Earth's atmosphere?"

"No. No. I meant that in the sense that you're very rare and special."

"But they aren't rare nor are they special, Sam."

"Oh, for the love of God, Y/N. Will you just be my girlfriend?" he threw his arms around you and lay you back down on the blanket

“Hmm, what do I get in return if I say yes?”

Sam gave you a look that was a mixture of surprise and offence, he tickled you and buried his face in your neck.

“Besides this fine gent?” his voice was muffled by your hair. He laid on his side and admired you under the pale glow of the moonlight

“I’m thinking we could watch the sunset and stargaze every night? I promise I won’t be falling asleep.” he smiled at you and it seemed to shine brighter than all the stars in the sky combined

Who were you to turn down an offer -and a smile- like that?

“I’m thinking, yes. I would be delighted to be your girlfriend.”

[fourteenacross]

ghost quartet - nytw next door - october 8, 2017

H'okay, so, this may all be a little blurry around the edges because the circumstances in which I traveled to and from New York on Sunday were not ideal and the anxiety around them muted parts of my brain more than I would have liked. BUT. Here we are.

First of all, it was humid as dicks and the house manager was very kind and let us inside the air conditioned lobby like, twenty minutes early, bless him.

Obviously "sixty-five seat black box theatre" implies that the space is small, but...man, the space is small. That was excellent, really--it added to the intimacy of the show--but it was still weird to walk into a space the size of my living room and dining room combined and have that be all. We sat in the section next to the door and, as I implied yesterday, I was directly behind Brent. If I could do it again, I probably would have sat in either of the other sections, just because that meant I really only saw Brent during "Fathers and Sons," but the place is so tiny it really hardly mattered. And, speaking of tininess/hardly mattering, the reserved seats were just the first row of each section and definitely not worth the additional thirty bucks, imo. This run is over, but if you're going to another Next Door performance that does a similar seating style, just...fyi.

The set dressing is great. It would have been cool if the seating was a little more informal, but it still felt like you were hanging out in your friends' basement, listening to them tell you an elaborate story. There were neat little touches around all of their stations--there was a little bear and a little pot of honey on the table next to Brent, as well as a mason jar, which I initially took to be a reference to his verse in "Four Friends," but it turns out Brent just takes water in his whiskey. (I mean, it might have ALSO been a nod to that, but it also served a practical purpose.)

I had listened to the music a few times last spring and a few times in August and a few times this month, in preparation, so I was familiar with the story and the songs, but seeing it live definitely adds another dimension. There were certain bits of staging that were surprises to me, and certain bits of staging that made things that pop up on the McKittrick recording make a lot more sense, heh.

Anyway, I'm gonna do this old school.

I Don’t Know - This song felt almost like a frame story, setting the stage for what's to come, except that the structure of the show is such that, with all the narratives twisting together, it was like framing a frame framing a frame. It was like an MC Escher frame, all twisted around and then turning into birds. I have theories about how this and "Four Friends" and "Any Kind of Dead Person" fit into the timeline(s) of the show, but I'm still trying to twist them into words.

Anyway, I was sitting right behind Brent and he's really good at the cello, in case you were unaware.

The Camera Shop - This opening is so interesting because of where it takes place in the larger narrative(s). Brittain/Rose comes in very, very nervous and unsettled, but as Gelsey starts behaving strangely, she starts to get more comfortable in the way you get comfortable when you assess that someone is kind of off-the-wall and you are a Rational Being and thus above them. There's still some of that nervousness as Gelsey starts to go into the story, but it comes off more as nerves from being around someone eerie than the nerves that we know Rose has around what she just did (or didn't do, as the case may be.).

Brittain and Gelsey work so incredibly well together, and this was the first time that the complexity of this piece, on an acting level, really set in. Everyone's playing at least four characters, sometimes several at once, and this is a good example. Brittain goes from Camera!Rose to Rose Red to Starchild within minutes, sliding seamlessly between them as the narrative dictates. It was pretty awesome.

Starchild - confession: I love Brittain's voice, I love her solo music, but this song didn't click with me on the cast recordings? Which is crazy, because it's super my jam, both musically and narratively. Seeing it live definitely changed that and I'm low-key obsessed with it now. She really acts with her whole body, as anyone who's seen Great Comet knows, and seeing all of that poured into "Starchild" just squeezed my heart.

Subway - This is one that I assumed worked better live than it does on the recording and I was right. The rhythm is a little clunky as a purely aural experience, but seeing the four of them perform it adds this incredible mounting tension. You can feel it in the room, the way that Gelsey bangs that drum and everyone sings over each other, the lighting flickering. (And, this is a whole other post, but I feel like that's maybe at the core of why some of Dave's stuff just doesn't click with people who are just listening to it. Fans obvs embrace his aversion to rhyme and the way he plays with rhythm in sort of non-traditional-musical-theatre ways, but when you're more a traditional-musical-theatre person and you're just listening to it instead of watching it, it's harder to grasp? idk, it's something that I've been thinking about, vis-a-vis friends saying, "I listened to the GC cast recording and it was fine and then I SAW IT and everything clicked and weird choices on the recording made sense!" and even my own feelings about listening to GQ vs. seeing it. Obviously, cast recordings are never going to substitute for actually seeing a thing in person and aren't 100% meant to, but I think that it's a particularly strong divide in GC and GQ. Anyway, I just said this needed to be a whole post in and of itself, so I'll stop now.)

Usher, Part 1 - I have not read this story since college, which was *mumblemumble* years ago, and I meant to re-read it before coming to the show, but I...didn't. Which is maybe better! Who knows! Anyway, this starts with just a light on Gelsey as she recites the opening monologue and plays the harp. It's simultaneously creepy and a little funny? She definitely plays up both sides of it, the funny and the creepy, which makes it get more creepy and less funny as time goes on, so by the time Dave comes in for the song, you're getting full-on chills.

Soldier and Rose - Gelsey is full-on Gelsey in this one. Which I say as the highest compliment, obvs. The juxtaposition of Brittain/Rose being awkwardly, desperately flirtatious and Gelsey/Soldier's utter Doneness is hilarious. Rose lays it on thick to a very impassive soldier who responds to all her entreaties by shaking a thunder tube at her.

Any Kind of Dead Person - This is just a fun number. Brittain hams it up and Gelsey gives out a succession of percussion instruments over the course of it, to people sitting all over the room, which just intensifies the feeling of this being your four weird friends telling stories in their basement and trying to get you to join in.

The Astronomer - Dave came out from behind the piano to sing this in front of Gelsey and Brittain's station and took some time to praise the other three as he got into position. He also tripped over the rug and then could not get it to lie flat. Otherwise, the patter is almost identical to the live show.

ANYWAY, I fucking love this song a lot, okay? It was my favorite song before seeing the show and remains my favorite after having seen it. I don't have much to say about it, performance/staging-wise, just lots of gushing about how much I fucking love it. The universality (is that a word) of the lyrics is just so sadly haunting, especially when you think of it as coming from the Astronomer, who's kind of a dick, but now also has this depth that I appreciate.

Family Meeting - Just as hilarious as you're picturing it in your mind, for sure. Brent and Brittain as kids are excellent, and Brittain's monologue is stellar. The transition between that little-kid-ness and flat out anger and frustration at the end is fabulous. (And the "and no Brent, it's not so perfect it's boring!" made me snort-laugh.) The "you're gonna be dead in like, thirty years" got a BIG laugh.

Four Friends - So, during this song, Dave pulled out three bottles of Evan Williams and plastic cups and passed them around, which was amazing, I would like all of my shows to come with a shot or so of liquor with the price of admission. I would prefer if it wasn't whiskey, which I don't particularly care for, but as I said yesterday, when Dave Malloy hands you whiskey, you suck it up and drink it, even if it's physically impossible for you to get over to the ice so you have to just drink it straight. Anyway, the sort of informal whiskey drinking again compounded that feeling of just hanging out with your buddies, so it was almost hard not to sing along. I was def bobbing a little. At the start of each verse, they poured a shot of the whiskey they were singing about that they handed out to the audience, which I probably wouldn't have noticed except when Dave went to hand out the Lagavulin, the girl who jumped up to get it was hilariously into it. I actually ended up standing near her when she talked to Dave after and she was like, "Uh, sorry if I was disruptive when I asked for the Lagavulin, I just love it and never get to drink it because it's so expensive?" which he commiserated with her about.

Fathers and Sons - They moved the drums to the center of the room, facing each other, and Brent and Dave moved to stand in font of them and play. Brittain and Gelsey held the mics out for them and I know I keep talking about how low-tech and "hanging with your buddies" this show is, but...I really love that aspect of it and I think it super adds to the narrative(s).

Usher, Part 2 - This was very eerie, overall, but "I'm right here" got a big laugh anyway. It's interesting, as Roxie's dying, the way that the walls of the narrative for this story, tenuous as the walls between the narratives in all these stories are, start to slip down. With Scheherazade being an "ancient" and all, it makes sense that the lines between narratives are more blurry there, and in the "Camera Shop" plot line, Pearl is already aware of what's going on, so despite a few references, "Usher" feels the most cut off from the other stories, but here that begins to fall apart.

The Telescope - This song is such an interesting counterpoint to "The Astronomer;" the dude seems like such a sleaze in this song, whereas we get him at this sort of open bareness earlier, where he's relatable and joyful. As Rose points out new stars, there's a spotlight on one of the lighting fixtures (the show is largely lit by lamps and a variety of thrift story chandeliers). Rose's intensity is breathtaking, but the music gives a very eerie quality to the shared refrain, even moreso when you take into account the upcoming split between Rose and the Astronomer.

Tango Dancer - This plotline was the one that it was most difficult for me to wrap my brain around from listening to the cast recordings, and seeing it def helped iron out some of that. I love the interactions between Brittain and Gelsey here--again, I love both of their ability to shift between these characters so fluidly and shift their chemistry just as fluidly as they change characters. The stiffness between them here is really the beginning of the end for me--Rose's awkwardness and the audience's knowledge of how these timelines are starting to come together. It's played really well.

Anyway, Gelsey really nails this, as if I even have to say that? And Brittain's awkwardness as she watches and tries to interpret all of it is excellent. "Myself didn't have time for me / didn't have time for anyone so used up" is too fucking true and haunting.

Monk - When sitting and seeing this bit live, for the first time it occurred to me that Rose's "Were they outside, in a park or something?" and Scheherazade's confirmation are Rose's past lives starting to leak through, giving her that knowledge. (Also "doesn't Lady Usher have a security system?" got a big laugh) Anyway, this is a nice little interlude before shit gets real. I was so into it that I almost forgot that shit was about to get real.

Light’s Out - It was fucking DARK. Which I did not realize was going to happen. I loooooved it. My eyes were def playing some tricks on me, the longer we stayed in the dark. Also, there was some light of something somewhere behind me (maybe the exit sign?) that kept reflecting off the inside of my glasses that was distracting me. Def a problem with my glasses rather than the show.

Anyway, this bit always makes me think of Can’t You Sleep, Little Bear?, so much so that I might ask Malloy about it on Twitter.

The Photograph - Goddamn this is creepy in the dark. And Gelsey going full Gelsey made it ninety times creepier. I want to hire her for my Halloween parties. I love the balance of the creepiness and rationality when the things that Rose believes in are rattled off. It's the sort of thing that makes me think of a horror novel, in the tense moments where the protagonist has to confront the impossible and spends a moment clinging all the more harder to their beliefs as if those beliefs will fight off something supernatural.

Bad Men - Super tense and frenetic. Rose losing it is so foreboding and perfect and intense. The confrontation with the bear as she reaches the pinnacle of losing herself to revenge and accepting that she wants this enough to do it herself. Yikes.

Usher, Part 3 - I love all the stories merging in this song, as we're all sitting in the dark with flashes of light and all of these threads are twisting together. It really ups the sense of danger and tension. Pearl's monologue at the end is so eerie. Those last few lines, shit. They are that much more intense when they're happening right in front of you.

Prayer - I think this was when the lights started to come back up? This always kind of blurs into other songs for me and I forget it's there a little?

Hero - Jesus, what a song, what a performance. I know Brittain talks all the time about how she's not an ~*~actor~*~ just a musician that got roped into acting in her friend's shows, but jesus christ, she's fantastic. This song just scrapes out whatever's left of your insides and leaves you feeling entirely hollow and shaky.

Midnight - This is such a neat way to tie up the end of the show. Again, you've got that "friends hanging out" vibe as things become clearer for everyone. Brittain and Dave dance, as Brittain's characters settle and sort of come to terms with all that's happened in all of the timelines. Malloy has excellent comic timing--his ramble about why Thelonius Monk's ghost is still kicking around and the way it breaks into Rose and Pearl's reconciliation. I snort-laughed at "Or maybe there just isn't Heaven. That's actually pretty likely." And then again with "I guess in the abstract, yeah...I don't really make a lot down at the MTA?"

Anyway, Dave and Brittain dancing was very sweet, and "You're a really good cello player, Brent!" got a big laugh.

Wind and Rain - I love this song a lot and the performance of it was lovely. As the song went on, they started handing out instruments again, but not just little percussion things--they kept going, moving up to their own instruments, until they'd given everything to the audience, at which point they walked off stage and left the audience to play out the song. I think they kept going for maybe a minute or two after everyone left before it fell apart, mostly, I think, because a couple of people were so wildly off-beat it was hard to keep on beat.

Afterwards, they came back to applause and gave a kind of informal, "thanks for coming, tell your friends, buy our merch or stick around and talk!"

We stayed to talk, though I didn't buy anything because I don't wear t-shirts and we have zero room for more glasses at this point. But I still took a moment to tell everyone they were great and the show was great and all that. I was wearing one of my ghost dresses and everyone commented on it.

ANYWAY, that's basically it, unless I remember anything else important! Maybe I will write some more of my thoughts about the narratives and storytelling and setting and all that shit a little more formally, but... probably not. Gotta finish the next ghosthunters story some time this year.

[spaceorphan18]

Finding Kurt Hummel: A Katy or a Gaga

Masterpost

5x04: A Katy or a Gaga

It’s about this time that Glee decided - I just don’t give a fuck anymore.  And that’s fine by me because I actually love these super cracky episodes of season 5.  And underneath all the crazy jokes, there’s a bit of heart and a bit deeper story, you just have to go looking.  Now - I will say that it’s silly to me to compare Katys and Gagas, because the two artists aren’t all that different.  I’d say the two of them vs Adele is probably a more striking difference in presentation.  But as the end of the episode states - who cares about any of it.  It’s arbitrary anyway.  Just be true to whatever your weird self brings forth.  

That One Time Kurt Hummel Started a Band

So, we all thought the rumors were a joke until we actually saw the episode.  That’s right, Kurt Hummel decided to start his own Madonna cover band! And then he decided one dude singing Madonna was a bit limited, so he decided to open it up to letting girls in - which makes it easy as he has three girls ready and available.  Or - two and a half, as Rachel isn’t really ready to do much more than focus on her Funny Girl Broadway stint.  (Why she isn’t focusing all of her attention on that is beyond me, but this isn’t about Rachel.) 

So, let’s break this down.  Is Kurt starting a band really out of nowhere?  No, I don’t really think so.  I mean it is mentioned at the end of Tina in the Sky with Diamonds, lol.  But really - he tells Rachel that she shouldn’t just let life pass you by, and later on, he talks about attempting to do something a little more mainstream so to get better recognition.  So I think this is Kurt deciding - hey, life is too short, I need to get myself out there and seen, and I’d like to perform more.  Why not start something myself and make something out of it.  

(I have to wonder if this stems a little in part because Chris wouldn’t let the writers let Kurt be a writer (even if Kurt becomes a little bit of a writer.))  

Anyway - he is all enthusiasm and joy as he talks Santana, Dani, and Rachel into it.  But, it’s funny, he’s still playing it a little safe asking them to join.  Would he have really taken the risk if he didn’t have three singers in his back pocket to join him? I don’t know...   

Meanwhile - let’s take a quick second and talk about Adam.  It’s a throwaway line, but one that does pack a bit into it.  See - I’m still guessing that Adam was still thinking things were just fine, if going really slowly.  And then Kurt goes away for spring break and comes back engaged to his ex.  I’m not surprised that Adam kicked him out of the Apples.  

So - Dani is totally in (bummer they never do anything with her).  Santana wants partial control, which Kurt is okay with (for the most part).  Rachel won’t be joining just yet - nor do I blame the girl.  And Kurt’s one happy kitty thinking this whole thing is in the bag.  

Enter Starchild, Stage Left

If this still doesn’t sum up Kurt and Santana’s relationship - I don’t know what would. 

Kurt’s scrapped together all of his tip money to rent out NYADA’s one room to hold band auditions.  (At this point, my main issue with NYC stuff is that it’s claustrophobic.  They have two sets. I mean they have the diner now, and new cast members help but sometimes it feels stifling.)  Anyway - I’m bypassing the implausibility that in all of New York /no one/ shows up to this indy band audition.  I mean - c’mon, you’ve seen American Idol and all the crazies that show up just to get ten seconds of fame.  

Now that I think of it, this whole American Idol-ish set up is purposeful, most likely, as Adam Lambert started there.  And there’s your real reason for Kurt’s band, folks.  

Anyway...  Santana wants to name the band The Apocalypsticks.  And Kurt’s having none of that.  Can you say -- this kid likes control? 

Man - all of Kurt’s facial expressions in this scene are priceless.  

So - we have our introduction to Adam Lambert’s Elliott “Starchild” Gilbert.  And he out Kurt Hummel’s Kurt in just about every way.  Which is probably why Kurt isn’t even at all open to the possibility.  

I mean, okay.  So Elliott comes in, looking crazy fab, in a costume he designed himself, and exudes confidence while still retaining an incredibly kind demeanor.  But on top of that, here’s a guy whose presence is noted the moment he walks in the room.  And Kurt’s still screaming to be heard.  Kurt thinks “competition” right off the bat, and dismisses Elliott before really even giving him a chance.  Hence the barbs about the clothes, and the disturbed looks throughout the performance.  

I don’t even like this song - and still love this performance.  Adam Lambert is amazing.  

Santana freaking loves it.  Kurt is all -- nope, and a bit of -- what is even going on.  It’s kind of hilarious to me that as much as Kurt has always considered himself as “out there” when he’s face with actual “out there” he’s a bit conservative about his ideals.  Kurt dismisses Elliott without even thinking about it (not even worrying about Santana’s threats to bitch slap him) on the basis that Elliot, and his look, is too much.  But the underlying thing is that this band is about Kurt - and Kurt doesn’t want to be overshadowed by someone who not only shines as a performer, but has the possibility of completely outshining him. And Kurt’s insecurities get the best of him. 

Role Reversal 

Okay, so I really love this scene.  Why? because it’s flipped from every other Hummelberry scene that we usually get.  Kurt’s the one having a crisis of character and Rachel is the one to help doing the emotional lifting.  Was that so hard show? Was it? Here’s a Hummelberry I can get behind.  

But SO? Isn’t it hypocritical that you only like Hummelberry when it’s in Kurt’s favor? YUP!  Actually - I like Hummelberry fine, it just got tedious as a Kurt fan watching every plot line start with a Kurt story and end with a Rachel story and/or Kurt playing the “gay best friend” there to support Rachel.  It’s nice that they give Kurt an actual story line and let Rachel play the supporting role.  

Anyway.  Rachel’s heard from Santana that Kurt doesn’t want to share the “lavender lime light” with Elliott.  Rachel calls him out on possibly being jealous or wanting the band’s attention all to himself.  Kurt counters - saying that’s not really what it is (though that is a part of it), but more so that he wants to try to be something that fits in, that’s mainstream, that is easily accessible.  And Elliott, and all his Elliott glory, would not work for that.  

It’s interesting that this pulls on some threads from season 3 - mostly that Kurt feels like he can’t appeal to a mass demographic and because of that it’ll hold him back.  And it’s such a fascinating thing because when you look at it from a Doylist POV - this quickly, gay character is not only now a leading role (and the leading male role), but also lead role in a romance story. Oh Kurt - if you could only view your life like the rest of us can. 

I think also, interestingly, this is where the show itself decides to stop being the mainstream thing that everyone wanted it to be (or that it was in the beginning) and becomes the niche, cult show.  Own it Glee.  Own it.  

Anyway, Kurt laments, however, that all of this is hard.  Interestingly, he’s looking to the future, wanting the stability, and that there’s nothing wrong with wanting to take the easy way if possible.  It’s interesting because I think both Finn’s death and being engaged play a role in all of this.  I mean Kurt thinking about his future, and how he’s going to make it out there, and that you only live once - do what you can to secure your future stability is written all over it.  

Well, Rachel says what I’m thinking -- being different is always hard, but it’s better to be you, kiddo.   

Or -- in the language that this episode is going for -- Kurt’s a Gaga trying to be a Katy so he can be as successful as his friends because he thinks they’re Katys (even though they’re both Gagas.  Hm.) - but the fact that he is a Gaga frustrates him because he thinks he’s too specific and individual and niche to ever have success in a mainstream way.  But Rachel tells him that being a Gaga is awesome, and if he isn’t true to his Gaga self, then he’s never really gonna get anywhere.  And, maybe joining up with other Gagas instead of pushing them away isn’t such a bad thing.  (lol this paragraph)

Oh - and I should mention, because if I don’t someone will yell at me - Kurt’s sewing his own clothes.  Yup, skill Kurt Hummel has probably always had - in action.  Nice touch, Glee. 

On an Intermission

So - let’s talk about Kurt as a waiter.  Um.  He’s not very good at it, lol.  Oh Kurt - you should take a page out of Cooper Anderson’s book, and use serving as an opportunity to try out new things, like accents, and different personalities.  It’ll help you get through the day more -- promise.  

Anyway - after a lot of soul searching, Kurt decides that Rachel might be right, and Elliott would be helpful to his band instead of harmful.  And through TV magic, and Elliott desperately needing to be in Kurt’s band to fulfill his own bucket-list, Elliot’s there in the diner, toned down, and ready to play by Kurt’s rules.  Kurt, however, doesn’t need him to be toned down - just to be his authentic self because Kurt wants to be his authentic self, too, and they should both try that out together -- with everyone else in the band. 

(Also, we learn that Elliott is from New Jersey, land of malls, and he didn’t get into NYADA - because NYADA is apparently stupid.) 

So - Adam Lambert joins the cast for a tragically short amount of time. 

I also love that Santana comes along and tells Kurt to stop flirting because of his fiance back in Lima.  (And then gets all hot and excited when she learns who he’s talking to.) And this leads to an aside from me - look, I get there are a ton of Kurt/Elliott shippers out there.  I get it, they have a nice chemistry about them.  But I really love Kurt and Elliott’s friendship.  I kind of love that these two can be friends and there aren’t any romantic overtones to it.  But obvs. that’s just me. 

Pamela Lansbury

So.  I love this scene, it’s just quiet and snarky as they Kurt, Santana, Dani, and Elliott try to come up with names for the band.  “Queen” Kurt is shooting them all down, though.  Oh Kurt - your wanting to be in control will always be a part of you, won’t it.  Personally, I liked Aerola 51s, lol.  Anyway, I kinda wish we had more scenes like this - they’re so much fun. 

So, Rachel comes in, and magically comes up with Pamela Lansbury for the name.  Which.  Sure.  I mean, I get it - it makes sense for Kurt, especially the Lansbury part.  Not so sure about naming the band that has connotations to your future mother-in-law, but you don’t know that yet, do you ;) 

This is what crazy Kurt looks like.  Have we ever seen him make this face before?  I don’t know.  

Anyway - Kurt tries to get Rachel to join because sure -- she’s just dealing with the death of the person she thought she’d spend the rest of her life with, starring in a Broadway show, going to college, and working as a waitress -- but what’s a little side band, too? (I mean, god, even I think she needs a break.) But Kurt is magical and can talk her into it.  And bam -- Kurt will not even get to sing in his own band.  

(Seriously - why are Chris’s vocals not on this one? Fail, Glee.  And you were doing so well!) 

However, I still love Roar.  It’s my jam.  And even if Kurt doesn’t sing -- at least he’s having fun with the rope they managed to tie to the ceiling? Oh this show...

Gay, gay, gay, gay, Rachel.  <----------Season 5 NYC in a nutshell. 

I love season 5!  **YAY**

[an-upset-librarian]

Stardust and Fire

It’s done! I’ve posted the first chapter of this new modern nalu au! I’ll post the links at the bottom, but I’m also going to put the chapter under the read more.

Please pretty please let me know what you think of this story! Tell me how I can improve, etc. I’m super excited for story and I hope y’all enjoy!

Summary: 

Lucy Heartfilia believed she was just an ordinary college student, until one fateful night when she was attacked by demonic monsters. Luckily, Natsu Dragneel saved her and brought her to Fairy Tail- a magical guild for magical creatures. There, she learns the world is not what it seems and that she is not human. She never was.

Lucy journeys with Natsu and other mages to find out what she is and why Zeref is hunting her down, and to discover the truth behind her mother’s death.

Rated T for violence and language

CHAPTER ONE

             Lucy always believed in magic. Ever since she was a little girl, she knew that she was special, that she was different from normal kids. Her mother told her she was a Starchild, born from fairie dust. Lucy, who was only but a child then, believed her mother. She could see things other kids couldn’t, and sometimes she would have conversations with the stars at night. The lights twinkling up in the night sky were a comfort for the child, even when she grew into an adult.

             It was when she was six that she discovered magic wasn’t always nice; it wasn’t just talking to the constellations, or talking to the small creatures that lived in the manor grounds. When Lucy first went to school, she soon learned not to talk about her friends in the sky, or the little creatures in the forests. The other kids would tease her, and when one boy pulled her long blonde hair and pushed her around, Lucy felt the shining golden ichor that was the magic burning in her blood burst open and explode out of her body with her screams.

             Luckily, her family paid for the boy’s medical bills, and then Lucy was kept within the manor and taught by private tutors. Her mother helped her understand the power flowing in her veins. Before Lucy even turned ten, her mother fell ill and died. It was that fateful day that Lucy stopped listening to her friends, the stars, and started to ignore the beings living in her gardens. Soon they disappeared, and the starts stopped trying to speak to her. Soon, Lucy forgot that she was made of stardust and light.

~~~~~~~~

             With an exasperated sigh, Lucy closed her oversized textbook closed with a loud enough smack for the night librarian to glare over at the tired blonde. She couldn’t even muster the energy to feel sorry for disturbing the silence of the library. Lucy slowly grabbed her belongings and piled them into her bag, then crept out of the library and out into the blessedly cool night air. Once the night sky touched her skin, she felt a sliver of energy pulse through her. The girl took a deep breath, then began her trek back to her apartment. She pulled out her phone and lamented at the late hour. It was already past midnight, and she hadn’t left the campus since early that morning. Another tired sigh fell from her lips. College would be fun, she had said, she could make it as a full-time student and work in her free time, she’d said. What a foolish idea. Lucy didn’t regret leaving her old life behind in Crocus, but dammit it was hard to work and be a responsible student. At least she had a day off tomorrow, she told herself. A nice Saturday to spend in the bath relaxing after catching up on some much-needed sleep.

Lucy straightened the straps on her shoulder. In her tired state, she didn’t notice that her feet led her astray, away from her usual path home on the well-lit streets, and onto the dark side-streets and alleyways. Subconsciously she knew that the safer path with the street lights was quite a bit longer, but her tired brain figured one time down the shorter and darker path wouldn’t hurt and would be worth it when she finally got to lay down on her soft bed and sleep away her troubles.

A quiet, yet familiar voice, whispered in her ear that danger was near, and Lucy tensed when she heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps echoing behind her. Not daring to turn around and face the stranger on her tail, the blonde reached down into pocket for the handy pepper spray she kept on her person always. Her fist clenched around the cylinder, and Lucy quickened her pace. Her exhaustion was forgotten as hot adrenaline started to thrum through her bloodstream. Her heart fluttered in panic when she heard her follower speed up to match her. Lucy whispered a curse, and considered bolting through the shadowed alley and towards the safety of civilization when another cloaked figure dropped down in front of her, as though fallen from the sky.

             Lucy froze, and heard her follower stop too. She pulled the pepper spray canister out of her pocket, and flipped the lid open in preparation to attack. Her heart hammered in her chest, and she swore it was loud enough for them to hear. The two figures encircled the scared blonde, their faces concealed in the shadows of their dark hoods.

             “What do you want?” She finally stuttered out. Lucy tried to conceal the fear she felt dripping down her spine, but her shaky voice gave her emotions away. One of the figures let out a grating chuckle that sounded too guttural to be human, “We are quite lucky tonight, yes, yes. Oh, how The Dark Lord is smiling down at us.”

             Lucy felt a cold shiver drip down her spine, and her heart fluttered in her chest. Dark Lord, like the Harry Potter villain? The voice from before whispered again in her mind, but was too quiet and far away for Lucy to understand. The second person growled out something in a language Lucy couldn’t understand. It was a series of grunts and clicks that did not even sound human. The voice became a soft buzz echoing in the back of her mind, and Lucy felt a fervid warmth dance across her skin.

             The one that spoke English slowly crept closer and closer to the blonde, muttering something about stardust and blood. When he was a few feet away, he spoke again, “Your trinket may hide your aura, but I can smell you through its magic.”

             Confusion mixed with the fear in the melting pot of emotions rolling through Lucy’s gut. These two must be deranged to think that magic was real. Unconsciously, Lucy’s free hand grasped at the golden locked between her breasts, thumbing the warm metal. Not wanting to wait around and see what the two fiendish stalkers would try next, Lucy lifted the pepper spray and sprayed it at the man in front of her, then darted past him when he recoiled in shock with a throaty scream. She pushed to a sprint, hoping that she could outrun the monstrous figures. Sadly, she was no match for their supernatural speed. The second man, who spoke the strange tongue, appeared in her path and Lucy skidded to a stop, eyes wide. How he moved so fast, she did not know. All she knew was that she was in danger, and she had to get out. Before she could turn and run in the opposite direction, a hand wrapped around her throat and flung her into the nearest wall. Lucy flew like a ragdoll, and when she collided with the unforgiving brick her vision went white. A choked scream crawled up her throat, and her body screamed in agony. She swore she heard something inside her crack when her body slammed into the grimy street.

             Sputtering, she willed her broken body to move. All she could feel was unending pain. She rolled onto her back and saw, through tear filled eyes, the glittering stars above. Her locket started to heat up with supernatural intensity, and Lucy felt a strangely familiar profound inferno of light pour out of her chest and saturate every fiber of her being. She looked down at her arms and saw that her skin was fluorescing a soft golden glow. Before the shock could hit, the man was on top of her and his hand was once again wrapped around her throat. It was then that Lucy realized with abject horror that her attacker was no man at all. He purred, and stroked her shining skin with a clawed talon. A scream built in her throat when she saw what the man truly was beneath his cloak. Demonic red eyes gazed down at her, and his deep red skin felt like thick leather. The creature laughed on top of her, and she heard his companion echo a similar sound.

             Gasping, the blonde tried to free herself from his grasp, but to no avail. She kicked her legs and tried to pry his claw from her throat. She did not want to die here in some dirty alleyway. The monster just smiled devilishly down at her, restraining her movements with practiced ease. The brighter her skin became, the hotter she felt. Lucy winced when she felt the metal of her locket burn through her shirt and brand itself onto her skin. Black spots appeared in her vision as the need for air became unbearable. Lucy tried to fight against the demon sitting atop her chest, clawing at the hand constricting her airway. As her need to breathe intensified, her glowing skin started to fade back to normal. Lucy flickered like a dying lightbulb as the life was slowly choked out of her.

             “Shhhh, don’t worry, it’ll be over soon. Zeref will reward me greatly for this sacrifice,” The monster growled. Lucy felt her arms go weak and collapse at her side as her vision slowly turned to black. Right before she fell unconscious, she felt a flash of hot air and heard a wild war cry. The monster’s grip on her neck loosened enough for Lucy to take a gasping breath, and then he leapt up off her torso with a wild roar.  She felt another rush of hot air, and the smell of smoke wafted up her nose. Coughing and choking, Lucy rolled onto her side as she tried to catch her breath. She heard screams, and then a maniacal laugh. There was a loud crunching, then silence. Lucy finally gathered the strength to look up, and the sight was enough to fuel her nightmares for the foreseeable future. A strange man stood a few feet away with the charred corpses of her attackers at his feet. Crimson flames licked up his arms and smoke wafted from his lips. The air around him smoldered with fire. Somehow, the stranger looked even more demonic than her attackers, as though he had just stepped out of hell itself. He wore a white scarf, and a strange tunic that left one arm bare. The strangest thing was the disheveled mop of pink hair atop his head. Lucy panted, and tried to sit up, drawing the attention of the strange man.

             “Oh hey, are you okay?” He asked, rushing over to help her sit against the wall. His skin felt alarmingly hot. With wild eyes, Lucy clutched at the scalding locket around her neck, finally tossing it away and rubbing the burn below her collarbone. The shock about what had just happened finally started to sink in and replaced the adrenaline that slowly evaporated away. Her head throbbed, and she could feel the bruises starting to form around her neck. The man gave her a sheepish smile and started to say something, but all Lucy could hear was the ringing in her ears. She blinked up at him with a gaping mouth, then darkness clouded her vision and she finally fainted.

~~~~~~

             “What should we do now? She almost died!” A man exclaimed. She heard a few voices mutter in agreement with the man, and a few calls of outrage.

             “She’s the last Heartfilia, she needs to know,” Another voice said. Lucy felt like she was floating weightlessly on air, and all she could see was various shining orbs of light. Stars? They reminded her of stars.

             “Don’t worry, she’s headed to Fairy Tail now, it won’t be long now,” A woman growled. Lucy reached out to touch one of the stars, but before her hand could reach the glowing surface she felt a tug in her gut pull her down and away from the shining lights and familiar voices.

             “She’ll find the keys soon, we just have to be patient,” the woman spoke again, her voice getting softer as Lucy was pulled farther away from the stars. She vaguely heard the man that spoke first grunt out a response, but she was being pulled away too fast to understand. Soon the lights faded, and all she could see was darkness.

               Lucy woke with stabbing pain pulsing through her whole body. She opened her eyes and sat up, wincing at the sharp pain ringing in her head. She was in a room that looked like a school nurse’s office with rows of beds, like the one she was currently sitting on, and cabinets of glass bottles filled with strange liquids and objects. Lucy rose, ignoring the throbbing pain, and walked up to the nearest cabinet with wide eyes. Some of the liquids moved on their own, or flashed with light and others contained bones and teeth. It was in the glass panes that she saw her own reflection and recoiled in shock. A large hand-shaped bruise encircled her neck and various other bruises coated what skin she could see. Lucy cautiously approached her bed when she felt her knees start to shake. The memories of her attack returned when her fingers touched the scratchy blanket resting on the cot, and Lucy’s knees finally gave out. She fell with a soft gasp, her hand reaching up to touch her sore neck. Her skin burned to the touch, and Lucy’s hand recoiled. The blonde darted over to the door and slowly opened it up enough to peek out and see where she was. The last thing she remembered before passing out was a strange pink-haired man coming to her rescue, but that did not explain where she was or how she got there.

             The moment she moved the door barely an inch, it was slammed open from the other side, sending Lucy tumbling to the ground. Cursing, she glared up at the person who opened the door so suddenly. Her glare turned to a look of surprise when she recognized the pink-haired man from her attack. The man that had rescued her and turned the creatures attacking her to smoldering ashes.

             “Oh good! You’re awake. It’s been hours, and I’ve been waiting for what felt like forever,” The young man said, outstretching a hand for Lucy to grab. She hesitantly grasped his hand, noting the roughness if the callouses on his palm. He pulled her to her feet and then out through the door and into a larger room. It resembled a tavern, with many large tables spread across the room in rows and a large bar spanning most the long wall to her right. The sounds of laughter and glasses clinking together filled the dining room. Lucy felt her mouth drop open in awe when she noticed that the patrons of the bar were not all human. There was a large white-haired man who seemed to tower above everything yelling about manliness sitting at a table with an older man wearing an impish grin with skin tinted blue, and a woman was floating in the air with an entire wooden barrel in her hands screaming about a drinking contest while being chased by a furious looking red-head wearing what appeared to be medieval battle armor.

             Before Lucy could take in the strange sight before her, the man pulled her over to the bar and gestured for her to sit. Not knowing what else to do, she listened and climbed up onto a barstool. She must be dreaming. She hit her head or passed out at the library and what she was seeing now was a part of a sleep-deprived hallucination her wild imagination concocted.

             “I’m dreaming, that’s it, this is all a terrible dream,” She muttered, holding her head in her hands. The man next to her laughed, and leaned down to meet her gaze. “This isn’t a dream, you’re in Fairy Tail!”

             “Fairy Tail?” She whispered. The name seemed familiar, almost as if she heard it in a dream. The man nodded, and waved over at someone behind the bar.

             “Yup! We’re the best magical guild there is. My name’s Natsu, by the way,” He said with a wide, bright smile. Lucy stared blankly at him, her mind whirring. Magical guild. Giants. Strange colored people. Fairies flying in the air. It was too much for Lucy to handle. She jumped down from the barstool and let out a frustrated scream, pulling at her golden hair.

             “What does this even mean? None of this is possible! What happened to me? Where was I? What happened in the alley? How did I glow? What is this place? I have to be dreaming, there’s no other logical explanation! I must’ve fallen asleep in the library and I’m still in the middle of my dream. None of this makes any sense!” She ranted. Her outburst drew the attention of everyone in the guild, but Lucy was still in the middle of her freak-out and didn’t notice. “How did I get here? What the fuck are all these people? And last of all, why did you choose to dye your hair pink?”

             Natsu, who had been watching her ramble with an amused smile, jumped up with a distasteful noise.

             “Whaddya mean, why’s my hair pink? It’s natural!” He exclaimed. Lucy gaped at him and screamed, “Of all my questions, that’s the one you take issue with!”

             Before Natsu could respond, an impossibly small man appeared on top of the counter next to Lucy and clapped his hands together, sending a deafening boom crashing through the room.

             “Enough!” He shouted, his voice amplified by some kind of magic. When the rest of the guild settled back down enough for the background noise of voices to return, the man turned and smiled at Lucy.

             “My dear, my name is Makarov and I can answer all of your questions and more, just have a seat and tell me what happened to you.” The tiny man stated and then sat cross-legged on the counter with the same gentle smile on his face. Lucy cautiously returned to her seat, turning to glare over at Natsu, before recounting the horror she experienced what felt like days ago, but in reality, had only been hours.

      ��      “Hmm, looks like you were attacked by members of a dark guild. Demons, based on your description,” The man, Makarov, said after she finished, stroking his large white mustache. Natsu grumbled incoherently from the stool next to Lucy.

             “Natsu, did you happen to grab the pendant Lucy spoke of?” Makarov asked. When Natsu didn’t respond, the older man glared down at the younger man and then karate-chopped the top of his head. Natsu screamed in pain, and glared at Makarov, before fishing out the golden locket from his vest pocket and handing it to Makarov.

             “How interesting,” The old man muttered to himself. Curious, Lucy reached out for her locket, but Makarov swatted her hand away.

             “I’m sorry, my dear, but it appears as though this locket is some kind of cursed object,” He explained. Lucy opened her mouth to ask what he meant, when Natsu said, “That’s why the damn thing hurt ya so bad.”

             Lucy reached up and touched the scorched skin where the pendant had burned her.

             “It only started to burn when my skin started to, um, glow,” Lucy stuttered. She was still extremely confused about what on earth was going on, but she couldn’t deny that something happened to her. Something otherworldly. As insane as this place, Fairy Tail, seemed, it was giving her some answers.

             “I believe that this necklace has been forcing you to remain in human form, and glamouring your aura. It’s quite complex magic,” Makarov stated, “This means that you are not human, Lucy. I believe that when we destroy this locket, it will reveal your true self. Then, we can answer more of your questions.”

             Lucy inhaled sharply. Not human? What did Makarov mean? His explanation brought up more questions, but Lucy forced herself to remain silent. The memory of when she received that locket came to the forefront of her mind, filling her with sadness. Her father had given her the locket after her mother died and ordered her to never take it off. He said it would protect her, and Lucy - a scared little girl at the time - believed him. She’d never taken it off since that day. She reached out and touched the hot metal, her curiosity piqued. Right before she could grab the warm golden locket, another hand reached out and snatched it from her grasp. Lucy gasped, looking up at Natsu, who now held the locket within his fingers. He narrowed his eyes at the necklace, and Lucy cautiously extended her hand towards his to grab the necklace and return it to its rightful place around her neck. No matter what Makarov said, she could not destroy the locket. It was all she had left of her family and her old life. Before she could reach Natsu’s hand, the man smiled over at Lucy and then his hand and the locket burst into flame. Lucy screamed and thrust her fingers towards the blaze, only to recoil when her skin met the hot inferno. Natsu stared down at his hand in concentration, and Lucy cried out as he slowly crushed the metal within his fingers.

             A crack resounded in her soul when the locket finally gave in.

Lucy felt a sharp pain in her chest when the pendant finally gave in to the heat and pressure and broke, and she clutched at her heart. She heard Makarov telling her to breath, but he sounded like he was talking to her through a thick wall. Lucy’s skin burned, and she saw the golden glow return. It was brighter than it had been before, and more intense. She shone almost as bright as one of the stars she used to love so much as a child. Lucy winced as the light faded back into her skin.

             Her skin prickled with power and all her senses were heightened. She stood, and frantically looked around her. She was now hyper-aware of her surroundings. The sound of her bar stool scraping against the wooden floor sounded as loud as a crashing waterfall, and she could see the individual dust-mites floating through the air. The sounds of the restaurant were overwhelming. She clutched at her head, trying to block out the screaming and the banging she once thought was mere background noise. She shut her eyes and tried to take calm steady breaths. Instead, she panted heavily. She heard Makarov’s voice telling her to calm down and focus, but there was too much sensory stimulation. She could feel everything, even the air on her skin. Lucy recoiled when she felt hot arms wrap around her, but then a soothing voice whispered in her ear.

             “…’s okay, just breathe, I’ve gotcha,” Lucy focused on the sound of Natsu’s breathing and his heartbeat. It was strong and steady. Natsu gave her something to focus on and allowed Lucy to ground herself once more. She felt her senses focus and adjust to their new strength. Lucy peered up through her lashes at Natsu’s shining green eyes. Natsu’s smile melted from his lips as Lucy’s icy cold glare hit him. She ripped herself from his grasp, reeled her arm back, then slapped him across the face. Natsu stumbled and slid across the wooden flooring. He rubbed his red cheek and gave Lucy a sheepish smile.

             “I suppose I deserved that,” He said with a nervous laugh, “But damn, you can really hit now.”

             “Oh, that was fantastic! I’ve never seen magic like that before,” Makarov exclaimed excitedly. His eyes glittered with fascination and Lucy suddenly felt self-conscious. The sounds and smells of the bar were still slightly overwhelming, but she tried to focus on Makarov.

             “What just happened to me?” She asked quietly. Her eyes widened in shock when she heard the bell-like chime that had become her voice. She clapped her hands over her mouth. Panic seeped into her once again, but then she felt Natsu’s warm presence behind her once again. As furious as she was at him for destroying her locket, his aura seemed to be the only thing that helped her calm down.

             “Look for yourself, my dear,” Makarov chuckled, gesturing for her to walk over to a mirror behind the bar. Lucy hesitantly walked around to the mirror, her heart filled with trepidation. Her breath left when she was met with her own reflection.

             Lucy squinted, not believing that the gorgeous, ephemeral being in the reflection was actually her. Her hair, that she once considered to be quite lustrous and beautiful before, seemed to radiate with celestial light. The golden locks framed her face and fell gracefully across her shoulders. Her skin seemed to be giving of a slight golden glow, that was not noticeable unless she squinted very hard. Her eyes were the same rich brown, but the biggest change were Lucy’s ears. They were now pointed, like an elf’s. She reached up and pinched the tips of her ears, letting out a surprised squeak. They were real all right.

             The bruises she was sure once wrapped around her throat were faded, and grew lighter with every passing moment. Every blemish and scar or bruise was slowly fading from her skin. Lucy turned back towards Makarov, her confusion clearly written on her face. A few hours ago, she was just a normal English major trying to survive University alone, now she looked like a character from Lord of the Rings.

             “Come sit, and I’ll explain,” Makarov said with a wide smile. Dazed, Lucy returned to her barstool.

             “I believe that you are one of the Fae’s children. It would explain the ears and possibly the glowing, but that I’m not sure about. You must be a mix of some sort,” He explained. Lucy just blinked blankly, completely speechless.

             “The heightened senses are a part of being Fae-born, and I believe you’ll find that you’re a lot stronger than you used to be. Levy could explain this all to you,” He continued.

             “Fae?” Lucy finally asked. Makarov sighed and rubbed his temple.

             “Natsu, go and get Levy, will ya?” He ordered. Natsu grumbled, but wandered off to do as his master asked.

             “I know this is all must be so confusing, but you are welcome to stay here at Fairy Tail while we get this all sorted out. What I want you to know, Lucy, is that you are not human. In fact, nobody in this whole building is human. There’s more to the world than you know. Magic and magical creatures exist. We live in tandem with humanity, but in the shadows. Most of the stories from your childhood are based on fact.” Makarov said. Lucy felt panic flutter wildly in her chest at his words. Part of her argued there was no way magic was real, and she was hallucinating everything, the other part of her remembered the fear and the warm ichor spreading through her body. The latter won her inner argument, and Lucy decided to believe Makarov. How else could she explain the crazy night she’d had?

             “Master, Natsu said you wanted me?” A soft feminine voice called. Lucy turned and faced a blue-haired girl who appeared to be around her age, but slightly shorter than her. Pointed ears peeked out from behind the blue locks, like her own.

             “Levy! I want you to meet Lucy. I believe she is demi-fae, like you, and could you do me a favor and show her around? She has lots of questions I’m sure,” Makarov said, winking at Levy. The girl smiled and extended her hand.

             “It’s nice to meet you. I’m Levy,” she introduced. Lucy hesitantly shook the girl’s hand. Levy’s eyes widened when their skin touched, and she gasped. The blonde drew back her hand as though she’d been burned, looking between Makarov and Levy in confusion. Makarov only raised a brow at Levy’s reaction, the corner of his lips turning upwards.

             “You felt it too?” He asked. Levy just nodded and giggled.

             “Wow, Lucy. It’s like sticking my hand into an electrical socket. You’re very powerful,” Levy explained. Lucy’s brow furrowed, and she looked down at her skin, which did seem to hum with a strange current.

             “Get Cana to do a reading, will ya? Then show her around,” Makarov said with a wave of his hand. He turned and hopped off the bar, then waddled over to the white-haired bartender with a sly smile.

             “Come on, Lucy,” Levy said, drawing the blonde’s attention from the older man. Lucy followed Levy over to the brunette that had been flying around with a giant barrel earlier. Luckily, she was now seated, but the barrel of what Lucy could now smell as alcohol remained. Lucy felt the ringing in her ears return when the noise in the bar increased as a fight broke out across the room. She winced and took a few deep breaths to calm her senses.            

             “Still gettin’ used to it, ay?” The brunette asked with a knowing gaze. Lucy sat down across from her and nodded, giving her a wary smile.

             “I’m Cana, the resident witch,” The woman said, nodding at Lucy, who introduced herself in turn. Cana just smiled over at her, giving her a curiously excited look.

             “Ooh, I can feel you all the way from over here. It’s intoxicating,” She laughed, leaning over the table and taking a deep breath of the air right in front of Lucy.

             “Cana! Behave.” Levy scolded, swatting the witch lovingly on the nose. Cana laughed, and waved away Levy’s hand. “Don’t worry, I’ll be nice.”

             Lucy bit her bottom lip, still unsure of what she was supposed to be doing. Levy gave her a reassuring smile, filling her with relief. Levy seemed like a nice enough person, and if she was the same type of creature as Lucy, then the blonde hoped she could answer all of her questions.

             “Alright, let’s get started,” Cana exclaimed, cracking her knuckles. The air surrounding the table stilled and Cana adopted an eerie aura. The sounds of the fight and the bar faded away, and the air crackled with magic. Lucy felt the electricity of Cana’s magic dance across her skin and her lips formed an elated smile. When Cana opened her eyes, gone was the sparking personality from before. It had been replaced by some supernatural entity. A voice echoed in Lucy’s head, beckoning her towards the magic Cana exuded. The witch held out her hands for Lucy to grab. She glanced nervously at Levy, who just nodded towards Cana’s outstretched palms. Lucy slowly reached out and placed her hands on top of Cana’s.

             The moment their skin touched, Cana stiffened and the golden light returned to Lucy’s skin. Lucy felt magic pulse through her entire body, sending each of her nerves alight with a pleasant hum.

             “The Light of the Heavens fills you. You are the last star. The golden giants call to you from above. Soon you will find the answers you seek. Find the keys, find the truth,” A rasping voice groaned out of Cana. The voice filled Lucy with a dark sense of dread. Just as suddenly as it came, the haunting aura left Cana and the world returned to its normal pace. The witch released Lucy’s hands and took heaving breaths. Lucy’s hands shook, and the golden light slowly dimmed and faded.

             “Holy shit. I’ve never felt that kind of power before,” Cana panted, “Kid, you need to learn how to reel in that crazy aura of yours before it brings you more trouble.”

             Lucy just stared down at her shaking fingers unsure of how to respond. She had no clue what Cana was talking about, nor what the strange unearthly voice meant either.

             “Come on, I’ll show you upstairs,” Levy said, reaching down to grab Lucy by the arm and lead her away from Cana and the fight. Lucy swore she saw a flash of pink in the mess of bodies that was only growing as time went on, but she turned and followed Levy up to the second level. Her mind was reeling with all the new information she’d learned in the past hour, and she gladly followed Levy, her mind swarmed with questions.

~~~~~~~

             Once Lucy was upstairs, the red-haired woman’s voice boomed through the building, commanding the fighters to calm down. Natsu disentangled himself from the fray, glancing up to the staircase.

             “Alright, brats! I’m sure you’ve noticed our newcomer. She’s been tricked into believing she was human, and we are going to help her transition. What she chooses from there is her own decision. I want you all to treat her with respect! Cana, tell us what you saw,” Makarov boomed, swelling in size until he loomed over his children.

             “She’s different, but I can’t see what she is very well. I know she has Fae in her, but that shouldn’t make her glow like a firefly,” Cana drawled. Makarov pursed his lips, then announced, “We are Fairy Tail! We will not forsake this poor child, but we will not tolerate any threat.”

             Once Makarov had shrunk down to his normal size, the activity returned to normal. There was, however, an excited atmosphere as the guild members discussed the shining new girl and what she could mean for the guild.

             Natsu stared up at the staircase, deep in thought. When he hugged Lucy close to him, his skin thrummed with exquisite power, power he was sure everyone in the guild had felt pulsing through the air. Her aura was wildly out of control. His fingers touched the red spot still on his face, and he pursed his lips. She was a conundrum, that golden girl.  Since he was the one that broke her locket and thrust her into his world, Natsu decided that he would help her out. Who knows, maybe she would decide to join Fairy Tail someday.

Let me know what you think! Here’s the ao3 and ffnet links

http://archiveofourown.org/works/10346910

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12409199/1/Stardust-and-Fire

[reversed-hierophant-blog]

35 facts about velvet!

buckle in lads because this got long

velvet welch is, if you haven’t guessed, not japanese! wow, surprising, i know. they were born in the united states, and moved to tokyo about a year and a half ago. they’re of white, syrian, and libyan descent— mostly syrian, though, although i don’t have the exact percentages figured out. 

their family is christian— southern baptist, specifically.  velvet is not, even though they were raised baptist. however, they are extremely spiritual. 

(velvet welch isn’t their birth name btw, but it is the name they have listed on all of their official japanese papers. they’d really prefer if you don’t try to pry and figure out what their dead name is.)

fun fact: i got their name from an old 90s instructional video teaching old people how to use the internet. i’m not joking. this was yuro’s idea.

they’re from myrtle beach, south carolina! as the name suggests, it’s a beach town. and as that implies, they love the ocean? it’s like home to them. i could go on and on with this fact alone because i may or may not have been self indulgent and plopped them in a city i’ve visited multiple times a year for like, the past ten years of my life, but. 

velvet’s family consists of their parents and their eleven-year-old sister, rachel! she really looks up to them, and they used to babysit her when she was younger. they’re really good with kids, which is surprising for a lex character.

velvet makes friendship bracelets when they’re bored, anxious, or trying to relax. it’s something they picked up when they were fourteen— their sister wanted to try it out, and velvet (as her babysitter) ended up getting into it as well. she eventually grew out of it (after like, a couple months), but velvet still enjoys it. they usually wear a bunch of bracelets, and will carry around half-finished ones. it calms them down. they will make bracelets for your oc. 

this is the important one, guys: they have a pet cockatoo. she’s going into the game with them because she’s kind of a handful and they didn’t feel right leaving her with their flatmates. her name is felt. she’s basically a small child and velvet adores her. good birb. 

oh yeah, they’re sharing an apartment with some friends, i may or may not make a separate post about them at a later date. 

they love animals in general (and i mean looooooove), and have always grown up around them. their parents have two dogs, their other friends have a bunch of cats, they had a hamster growing up, and they’d really like getting more pets in the future once they have a bigger living space.

velvet is a huge furry, and their fursona is a goat! one of these days i’ll draw it. also hashtag kinfeels. this is why you’ll see me calling them the goat kid a lot, btw. 

their first job was working at a candy store! they love sugar tbh. they’re especially fond of things like sour gummi worms and ring pops, but they like most sweets in general.

they also really love soft serve ice cream! like, a lot. there’s a place on the boardwalk that boasts over 100 flavors of soft serve, and it’s their aesthetic. they especially like chocolate soft serve dipped in a cherry shell!

they wear those LED light up sneakers. like. these

they’re a capricorn! i’m planning on filling out a natal chart for them soon. i associate them with the hierophant card, followed by the devil, the high priestess, and the star! 

they fucking love cool ass rocks. they’re also a steven universe fan. i think their favorite rocks are bismuth, any kind of quartz (especially aura quartzes), opal, and amethyst? i have no idea what their gemsona is yet.

they have four piercings— both ears, a septum, and a medusa! they’ve considered getting more. if they were to get more, they’d probably want a bridge piercing, a labret (maybe? that or snake bites, but not both), and/or probably some extra ear piercings. not sure if they’d go for an industrial bar there but [shrugs]

they've recently been trying to learn how to cook, with varying degrees of success. they’re not bad just..... still in the process of learning. and they’re fairly forgetful

[ear trauma implied?] velvet suffers hearing loss in their left ear and wears a hearing aid! 

they love glitter. especially in their makeup. they’re also the kind of person that’ll wear cute little stickers on their face for fun. they also like rainbow sprinkles and confetti

they follow a bunch of stimming accounts on instagram? they’ve made slime for themself before, and really like that kind of stuff in general. they like slime and frosting stuff more than kinetic sand and paints, though.

they own a bunch of decks, including:

the starchild tarot (which i desperately want)

the 1980s tarot deck 

the hardy tarot deck

the golden thread tarot

tbh i can’t decide between this, this, or this so i might just say they have all three

they also have the food fortunes deck but that one isn’t an actual tarot deck. it was a holiday gift

their hogwarts house is hufflepuff, and their god tier is the seer of light! yeah, they’re rose lalonde. they’re also an ESFP, a chaotic good, sanguine, and enneagram 2w3 (the giver)! they’re right-handed, type B blood, and yes i’m throwing all of the cheap facts together in one slot.

they know english and japanese! their japanese isn’t perfect, and sometimes they don’t make sense, but they’re trying. they also know ASL, but don’t practice it often, so they’re not that great at it. 

i feel like their handwriting would be similar to the woodlands? in english, they write in cursive! 

they love sweet tea. i don’t get it. i live in the south and i fucking hate sweet tea. but, in general, tea is their drink of choice? whether its iced or hot! herbal teas are super nice too, but you gotta be in the right mood for them, y’know? otherwise, they like strawberry lemonade.

alright lets break out the musical aus because you know i love them:

in hamilton, they’d be john laurens

in heathers, they keep accidentally being JD when I AU with sieves, but in all honesty they’d probably be ms fleming

reefer madness? jimmy harper

(”what musical do you associate the most with them, lex?” ha ha, well, that’s a secret)

i mentioned this in my earlier post, but they currently live in ikebukuro! they love the city aesthetic, almost as much as they love the boardwalk aesthetic. 

they’re also a huge fan of like.... idk how to describe it but? they like kitschy cheap tourist-trap souvenir shops with bright neon hoodies advertising the city (side note— they fucking hate that tan / pale blue “life is better at the beach” style of home decor. hate it. their parents love it.). on this note, the gay dolphin. it’s legendary. truly a landmark in myrtle beach. 

and they like... i don’t know how to describe this flavor of psychic advertisement. they also really love miss cleo commercials. because i love miss cleo. they also binge watch old 90s commercials sometimes. because i binge watch old 90s commercials sometimes. they also like that old VHS tape aesthetic. and neons. 

they prefer animated movies and tv shows tbh, and cry over them a lot. their favorite movies include howl’s moving castle, song of the sea, zootopia, and bee movie finding nemo? all animation is good tho. they also really love pokemon!

they’re kinda lowkey goth. on the inside. they went through a (closeted, as best as they could do when their parents would kill them if they get scenekid hair) scene phase when they were younger (it was kind of embarrassing in hindsight), and a lot of their friends are goth, so they still really appreciate the subculture, even if their everyday style is more colorful and floral and obnoxiously neon at times. on occasion, they’ll get dressed up in something trad, but...

they absolutely hate feeling stuffy and restricted in their clothes— you’d be hard pressed to catch them dead in a button-up shirt and trousers and a sportcoat. not happening unless the suit is bright pink or otherwise fun. 

they keep a dream journal! i hate that this became a popular meme.

they’re gay  (...pansexual and very polyamorous, to be exact, and prone to getting crushes on their friends and being super affectionate in general but. gay)

[englishmansdcc]

KISS and Ash Williams will meet up when Dynamite Entertainment release the first issue of KISS/ARMY OF DARKNESS in February 2018. The new mini-series will be written by Chad Bowers and Chris Sims with art from Ruairi Coleman. The first issue will have multiple covers with Kyle Strahm, Goni Montes, and Ken Haeser each handling a cover. There will also be “XXX limited variant editions in “Black & White” and “Virgin Art” formats are also available as retailer incentives for comic shops that support the launch issue by achieving stocking thresholds.”

Full press release and cover art below courtesy of their press release.

THE DEMON TAKES ON THE DEADITES AS THE KISS ARMY MEETS THE ARMY OF DARKNESS 

Rock ‘n Roll Legends Meet Horror Comics Icon in KISS/Army of Darkness from Chad Bowers, Chris Sims, and Ruairi Coleman!

Dynamite Entertainment proudly brings together two of its bestselling brands for a horror/music extravaganza in KISS/Army of Darkness #1, the debut issue in a new comic book series uniting the legendary rock ‘n’ roll band with the comic industry’s grooviest of character! Written by Chad Bowers and Chris Sims (X-Men ’92, Deadpool) and illustrated by Ruairi Coleman (Star Wars: Rebels, TMNT Amazing Adventures), the KISS/Army of Darkness miniseries event is set to launch in February 2018.

KISS is on top of the world and rocking faces until the night disciples of The Destroyer show up and the band disappears. With the tour canceled, a young Ash misses one of the most important events of his life that will change his destiny. Now the Chosen One has to get back on the right path and join the KISS ARMY OF DARKNESS!

Co-writer Chad Bowers says, “With Ash vs. The Army or Darkness, Chris and I were given kind of carte blanche to do whatever we wanted to the world of AOD, and we went for broke. We introduced some new characters and concepts, and built a legacy for Ash’s comics adventures that I’m immensely proud of, but not in a million years could I have guessed we’d get to continue that momentum with the added bonus of tossing the world’s greatest rock n’ roll band into the mix!  I’ve been in the tank for KISS since I was in middle school. I remember buying the KISS tribute album, KISS My Ass for the Lemonheads (they covered Plaster Caster), which lead to me picking up Greatest Hits, and so on. But when I found out there was a KISS comic with blood in it, I signed up for life! Of course, I adore the songs (literally listening to Do You Love Me right now), but I’m just as obsessed with the way KISS transcends the music to become something of a genre themselves. It’s something I think about a lot, honestly, so no surprise, it’s a big part of our story too!”

Co-writer Chris Sims says, “When it comes to Army of Darkness, I guess you could say that Ash is a bit of a gambler, but he’s nobody’s fool. And since our first story was set back at Alan Shepard High, we’re looking forward to showing him some things that you can’t learn in school. Okay, okay, I’ll stop with the deep-cut lyrics now, but for real — if you thought Deadites at Homecoming and the Supernatural Military-Adjacent Response Team were taking Ash in a new direction, just wait until you see how we team him up with the Starchild, Space Ace, the Demon, and the Catman. In the grand tradition of the film, we’re tearing up the entire space-time continuum and if you think you know how weird this is gonna get… well, you sure know somethin’!”

Artist Ruairi Coleman says, “Having done some work for Dynamite in the past, I’ve really been wanting to get my foot in the door here for a long time so I can play in the sandbox of the amazing licenses they have. Chief among those, and high up on my bucket list, is Army of Darkness: Hail to the king, baby! So, when I was offered the job of drawing the KISS/Army of Darkness crossover, I couldn’t believe my luck! The concept is totally bonkers, but in a way, that would make complete sense in the world of Army of Darkness. Thinking about it, I’m surprised it hasn’t been done already and I’m honored (and more than a little intimidated) to be the guy who draws it.”

“After a more than 40-year career, KISS continues to be one of rock’s most celebrated bands, while Army of Darkness continues to be a staple in the comic book industry. We’re both honored to have the opportunity to work so closely with Gene and Paul to bring their world-renowned alter-egos to comics alongside our very own Ashy Slashy,” says Nick Barrucci, CEO and Publisher of Dynamite Entertainment. “The raging guitar chords and pyrotechnic spectacle of their stage shows could have come straight from the pages of the Necronomicon, and this epic battle between The Demon and Deadites will appeal to the hellions in all of us!”

As America’s #1 Gold Record Award winning group of all time (and that’s in every category), KISS can easily be named one of rock’s most influential bands. The Rock N Roll Hall of Famers have released 44 albums and sold more than 100 million albums worldwide. The origins of KISS comic books date almost as far back as the inception as the band itself, having been an integral part of comics culture since their 1977 appearance in Howard the Duck #12 and 1978’s Marvel Comics Super Special: Kiss. Today, nearly 40 years later, Dynamite Entertainment is the proud home to the comic book series KISS, KISS: The Demon, KISS/Vampirella, and now KISS/Army of Darkness.

Army of Darkness is a 1992 fantasy/comedy film with strong horror elements starring Bruce Campbell (Burn Notice), the third installment in a trilogy featuring reluctant hero Ash Williams. Directed by Sam Raimi (Spider-Man), the film saw its tough-as-nails, wise-cracking protagonist transported from the modern era to the Dark Ages in his continuing war against demonic evil. Army of Darkness generated a dedicated fan following for its premise and lead actor. Since 2004, Dynamite Entertainment has been the proud home to Army of Darkness comic books.

The debut issue of KISS/Army of Darkness features a wide selection of cover variants, providing fans and retailers with the freedom of choice! Three art covers feature the talents of Kyle Strahm (KISS: the Demon, Army of Darkness/Xena Warrior Princess: Forever….and a Day), Goni Montes (KISS, SwordQuest, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers), and Ken Haeser (KISS: the Demon, Ash vs the Army of Darkness, Hatchet), respectively. XXX limited variant editions in “Black & White” and “Virgin Art” formats are also available as retailer incentives for comic shops that support the launch issue by achieving stocking thresholds.

KISS/Army of Darkness #1 will be solicited in Diamond Comic Distributors’ December 2017 Previews catalog, the premier source of merchandise for the comic book specialty market, and slated for release in February 2018. Comic book fans are encouraged to reserve copies of KISS/Army of Darkness #1 with their local comic book retailers. KISS/Army of Darkness #1 will also be available for individual customer purchase through digital platforms courtesy of Comixology, Kindle, iBooks, Google Play, Dynamite Digital, iVerse, Madefire, and Dark Horse Digital.

KISS and Ash meet up in Feb 2018 when Dynamite Entertainment release KISS/ARMY OF DARKNESS  KISS and Ash Williams will meet up when Dynamite Entertainment release the first issue of KISS/ARMY OF DARKNESS