#also my Luna definitely still does her dream duty

[wardingdreams]

            o’  joyous  occasion !   with  spring  in  her  gait  does  former  ruler  walk  up  beside  an  ascendant  long  become  majesty,  joining  in  the  other’s  pace.  what  strange  feeling,  to  tread  beside  a  mare  once  known  as  but  studious  foal  with  neither  wings  nor  crown  and  be  looking up  at  a  visage  so  different  yet  familiar.    (  beloved  starlight,  you’ve  grown.  dearest  moon  can  feel  it  :  divinity  spilling  from  destined  vessel.  the  cosmos  welcomes  you  home  )    though  Silver  Shoals  treats  her  well,  nay  day  passes  where  nocturne  mare  does  not  miss  those  left  to  shepherd  their  world.  

           ❝  Twilight  Sparkle !  How  good  of  you  to  visit.  ❞    a  hearty  exclamation  full  of  merriment,  as  loud  and  boisterous  as  one  would  expect  of  darling  moon,  no  matter  the  time  passed.    ❝  ‘tis  a  true  delight  to  see  you  again !  ❞    brightest  smile  ‘pon  freckled  features,  with  subtle  motion  of  her  head  and  change  of  direction  she  begins  to  lead  violet  monarch  through  humble  streets.    ❝  Pray  tell,  how  fare  thee  and  thine  friends ?  ❞  / /  @friendshipbound​​​  ❤ 

[the-mrsreigns]

Just some headcanons for Luna and Sam Dalton.

A/N : This is my first time doing a headcanon on Tumblr. First attempt and all. Please be kind. Also, these are my headcanons, if you disagree with them, that's okay. Just don't come at me. That said, feel free to add anything else you feel should be added to the HC.

My MC. Luna Nicole Filan-Dalton(27) - face-claim: the beautiful Adrienne Houghton(nee Bailon)

Luna definitely insists on still taking on some "nanny duties" because she loves spending time with the twins. Now she just calls the duties "mom duties".

She's always wanted to be a mom and being a nanny-turned Mommy to the twins is HIGHKEY the best thing that's ever happened.

While Sam believes in tough love here and there, Luna is more lenient, but always "tricks" the boys to behave/do something.

Luna gets pregnant two years after being in the Dalton family, which is a year after marrying Sam.

She cried when the the twins called her "mom" for the first time. This happened a couple of months after Sam popped the question.

Luna wanted a small, intimate wedding. But it was obviously the wedding of the decade!!

Luna refuses to have female nannies. Because- well.. she knows how she got Sam and she lowkey doesn't want history to repeat itself. She says "how you get em is how you lose em". So no female nannies.

No live-in nannies.

Will hate you if you come at her man or her babies.

Mickey and Mason may be her stepchildren, but she loves them so much.

She refuses to be called "step-mother". She's the twin's mom or "Bonus Mom".

She hopes to have two more kids after the one she's having soon.

Lowkey hopes to have twins because Mickey and Mason melt her heart and make her wish she could have another set of twins.

Lowkey loves it when girls who throw themselves at Sam, glare at her. That's her man and she'll rub it in!

Makes sure that they have a family outing, whether it's a picnic at the park or a movie(or two) at the cinema, once a week. They may have busy schedules, but family comes first and she makes sure Sam never forgets it. Sam put his work before the kids before he met Luna, but she taught him what matters most.

Makes sure she has a date night with Sam once every couple of weeks. A concert, dinner at an expensive restaurant, a movie night at home(after the boys go to sleep).

She's an amazing cook. (I think this one is pretty much canon)

She wants to protect Sam at all costs(from the media, people with vile intentions and even at the office.)

She's lowkey insecure and has trust issues because she sometimes thinks Sam might leave her for someone else the same way he left someone else for her.

Because of her insecurities, she sometimes overthinks and might accuse Sam of cheating or wanting to leave her. They fight about this.

The fight leads to amazing making up(*winks*)

She wants to name her unborn child "Dream" because she stongly believes Dreams come true, and the unborn child is a Dream that came true for her.

Luna loves showing her affection through kisses. She kisses Sam all the time. She kisses the twins goodnight, goodbye and good morning.

She lowkey gets upset when Sam leaves the house without kissing her. Even if he's just going out for 5 minutes to talk to someone outside the building. Luna wants kisses!

Luna calls Mason "Mase" and she calls Mickey "Mick"

"My boys" when talking about them. "THEM" includes Sam.

She calls Sam "Babe" or "Love" . Never "Baby"

Also "Sir" or "Mr Dalton"

Because she's so family oriented, she LOVES Christmas, Thanksgiving and Halloween.

Makes sure they all have matching pajamas for Christmas and takes lots of pictures for the gram and for their family TikTok account

Luna is lowkey the favourite parent. But the kids won't admit it because they don't want their dad to be sad. But Luna and Sam already know it.

She loves a good night out with Jenny. She's a lightweight so she does get pretty hammered.

She's the life of the party.

She reads a lot in her free time.

She now has friends who are celebrities.

She's def the type to carry one of the twins and hold the other one's hand when the paparazzi is around. "No pictures!" she says as she walks quickly into the building.

If/when Sam cheats she's def the type to say "I've been through too much for this man already. I'll be damned if another woman comes and takes him from me." &she won't leave him. Because 1. The kids. 2. She went through a lot for him. 3. Well.. she.. loves him? And sort of knew it would happen one day? Idk.

Huge fan of quickies.

Was surprised actually, that she didn't fall pregnant sooner.

The LI - Samuel "Sam Dalton(37) - face claim: the ever-handsome Michele Morrone!

Sam is the strict parent. The twins definitely run to Luna to get what they want.

The kids secretly call him "Grumpy Dad" and they call Luna "Fun Mom"

Sam definitely didn't make up with Robin. But he forgave him. Like "yeah, we're cool. Just keep your distance."

He gets very jealous when guys show interest in his woman. He'll throw hands if the guy gets too close.

He's very jealous and possessive and he'll fight anyone who gets too close to his woman!

Loves to claim Luna in public by holding hands, kissing her or holding her close to him.

He gives her love bites all the time to "claim" her. It's a win-win because Luna also scratches(the back, chest and arms) him all the time

He always stands up for Luna. At a restaurant when a waiter is being rude, at the office when someone is being mean, in a meeting when she's made to feel like her opinion is irrelevant, at a party when someone picks on her. He will stand up for her and he'll fight you!

The public thinks he's uptight.

Only Luna and the twins know how much fun and dorky and funny he can be. To the rest of the world? He's just an uptight, arrogant billionaire.

The paparazzi know his wrath! He's the type to call them out if they get in Mason and Mickey's faces.

He's the type to cover their faces or hold their hands and walk quickly when the paparazzi is around.

He always protectively outs his hand in front of Luna to signal the papz to keep a distance.

He always walks behind her like a bodyguard when the papz are around.

He doesn't care when they get in his face when he's alone, though. But he won't comment or even look at them.

He highkey wants another set of twins.

I don't care what anyone says, Sam has definitely cheated on Luna. I LOVE Sam, don't get me wrong. But Sam looks like he's weak. Even if he LOVES his woman. But at one of their luxurious, posh, exclusive yacht parties with his friends, if there's a hot model showing interest and he's already a few drinks in, he'll fall into the trap. Also, he won't do it with just anyone. Just one of those models who won't leak the scoop to the media for clout and some cash. I wouldn't say he's done it many times before, but once or twice? Yes. He regrets it though and Luna knows.

He loves cats. But the biys convinced him to get them a dog. A pomeranian

He never posts on sociaal media. He only posts chary stuff, some volunteering and once in a while he'll post a picture of him at work.

If you wanna know about him or see his personality? Check Luna's insta stories and the family TikTok account.

He's sucks at dancing.

He has a shot or two, of some Bourbon when he gets back from work.

He wakes up early. Even on days when he doesn't have to. He wakes up at 5:00, you'll find him in the home office, getting some work done.

He was out of the country when Luna found out she's pregnant and he cried during the Facetime when Luna, Mason and Mickey showed him the pregnancy test and the ultrasound pictures.

He's very dominant. And I mean that in EVERY way *winks*

He lowkey loves it when Luna calls him one of "her boys"

He calls Luna "Baby" or "Mrs Dalton"

He loves getting massages.

He loves surprising Luna. Breakfast in bed, flowers at work, a romantic dinner at home.

Luna is higkey his best friend.

He highkey hates goikg out to parties. He'll only go if he really has to. He prefers a night in.

A lot of women still think they have a chance with him. Joke's on them because he's not leaving Luna for anyone or anything. Ever.

He usually stays up late working.

He lowkey loves when his sons oulls pranks/experiments because it shows their imaginantion, creativity and desire to learn and try new things.

He's the parent who will punish the kids by taking away their favorite things. No TV, no toys, no candy, no ice-lollies or any sugary things, no pranks for a week. This is where Luna comes in to try and reason with him. But his mind is made up.

He definitely shows his affection and love through sexual intimacy. And so, he and Luna are at it 5 times a week. Except the dsys when they come home exhausted from work. But they definitely make up for it tomorrow.

He loves how Luna brings out his fun side.

They go out, get drunk and he carries Luna to the car. Once they arrive home, he carries her all the way to the penthouse and to the bedroom. He won't remove her make-up but he'll grt her out of her clothes help her into her pajamas.

He has a soft-spot for his woman and his kids.

He lowkey gets sad watching the boys grow. I mean, those are his boys. His little men. He doesn't want them to grow!

[camillemontespan]

writing camille montespan and the problem with the TRR MC

Basically, an opinion piece about the TRR MC and a short essay on Camille Montespan. Feel free to add your own opinions and maybe write your own about your MC/OC!

@moonlightgem7 @jovialyouthmusic @ibldw-main @katedrakeohd @pug-bitch @saivilo @argylemnwrites @rainbowsinthestorm @marshmallowsandfire @marshmallowsaremyfavorite @gardeningourmet @princessleac1  @axwalker​  @mskaneko​  @emichelle​   ***************

Can we all agree that the TRR MC is slightly flawed? And perhaps a little annoying? And a hot mess with no idea of how to fit into the nobility?  Who basically improvises everything she does while stringing the King of Cordonia along (if he isn’t your LI) and solves every problem with a trip to the boutique or attending a ball?

TRR MC is not the best MC in the Choices universe and that is a hill I am willing to die on.

That’s where fanfic comes in. During my year and a half in this fandom, I’ve discovered mutuals who write stories about the TRR MC that puts the actual Choices writers to shame. MCs are fleshed out with proper back stories. The ridiculous canon story that a waitress from New York finds herself in a suitor competition in a European country - a country she’s never heard of because clearly she’s not informed on geography- is still incorporated into fics but it’s given more of a realistic twist. We are aware of how stupid the actual storyline is and so we try our best to make the best of it. Sometimes, we write AUs to fix the shit that the TRR writers have made a reality. AUs are the best.

As my writing has developed, I’ve found that I’ve created my own universe for Camille, my TRR MC. In my very first fic, This Heavy Crown, I focused more on the suitor competition and stuck to canon moments because I didn’t know you could write AUs. It was very angsty. But I found it so fun to write Camille and the fanfic writing obsession began.

Fun fact about Camille: she is actually descended from nobility. Madame de Montespan was a real life noble of Louis XIV’s court - she was his mistress. I thought it would  be fun to name Camille after Madame de Montespan because how ironic would it be to have the American commoner turn out to be more regal than fucking Madeline?!

Anyway back to my writing.

Now, I tend to write AUs that have more realistic plots. My favourite series that I’ve written has been The History of Us and I will tell you why.

MY FAVOURITE CAMILLE SERIES

The History of Us (the first chapter is missing, sadly) is where Camille becomes more than just the Duchess of Valtoria. As I wrote her, she became more of a person - which sounds ridiculous but I think my fellow writers will understand due to their own writing of their MCs! 

The History of Us is still set in Cordonia and Camille and Drake are Duchess and Duke. But that is where canon stops. My own head canons grew and became, to me, actual canon for Camille and Drake. 

In the fic, Camille takes their daughter, Lily, and leaves the family home, clearly upset with Drake. Before she goes, she gives Drake a box and tells him to go through its contents before making any contact with her. The mystery in the opening chapter is WHY is Camille leaving? All of my readers were asking ‘what did Drake do?!’ and you eventually find out as the series develops.

In a nutshell, Drake struggles to adapt to his new role as Duke (something I found the Choices writers never attempted aside from his awkward ‘things are great!’ joke). He is a fish out of water and longs for life to be normal. While Camille has flourished in her role, Drake hasn’t and the pressure gets to him. With constant media attention, Drake feels claustrophobic and so turns to alcohol to numb himself. As a result, he isolates himself from his family and Camille is left trying to hold the ship together. 

It was a challenging fic to write but I had so much fun writing more of Camille. She isn’t perfect and that is what I wanted to show. She fucks up. For the first chapters, she is very much of the idea that they present their best faces to the world and keep up their duty to Valtoria. Her Duchess hat is firmly on her head. A few of my readers were screaming in the comments that she needed to get her family out of Cordonia. I agreed with them but I knew that to make Camille realise her mistakes, she had to be stubborn and actually.. Wrong. But, as things with Drake get worse, Camille forces herself to confront what is truly important and she starts to fight for her marriage and her husband’s health.

CAMILLE IN A NUTSHELL

‘Wife and mother first, Duchess second.’ That is Camille’s motto and is something that is echoed in all of my fics. She is a fierce woman who fights Drake’s corner and the loves of her life are her family. The more confident she becomes as Duchess, the more willing she is to stick up for herself and her family. When they make decisions based on their children -eg. Sending them to a ‘normal’ school so they can mix with commoners - the nobility are outraged. But does Camille care? No. She is a lion mama who wants the best for her kids. She doesn’t want Lily and Luna to turn into stuck up rich girls. She wants them to stay grounded. 

Unlike in canon when Drake and MC go to Texas and are stuck there against their will (or was it us, the players, who were stuck there against our will?), I write that Drake and Camille visit Texas every summer. It’s a slice of normality for them and they love it there. It’s where Camille can just be Camille. When Camille isn’t a Duchess, she can be more relaxed. She goofs around and plays with her daughters. She wears more casual clothes and drinks whiskey. She is the Camille that Drake fell in love with, not that he doesn’t love her when she’s a Duchess! It’s just that the Duchess Camille is a more refined version and how polished and elegant she can be scares him sometimes, while also making him feel in awe of her. This is a woman who entered Cordonian nobility without any experience and actually listened to advice and worked hard to adapt (something TRR MC does not). Basically, Camille has two sides to her, the Duchess and the commoner, and she strikes a neat balance between the two.

I base the foundation of her character on her face claim, Meghan Markle. I find it funny when mutuals have told me in the past that when they see Meghan on TV or in magazines, they’re like ‘oh it’s Camille!’ 

Why have Meghan as an FC? Well, I feel she resembles my TRR MC closely, plus Meghan was literally an American commoner who found herself marrying into royalty. 

What I love about Meghan is how keen she is to make a difference. She threw herself into royal duties when she married Prince Harry and, like Diana before her, she made a huge impression on the people she met. I’m sad that she and Harry left their roles as Meghan had so much potential. 

So, Camille basically does the stuff that I think Meghan would do if she was still a working royal. 

Camille is a feminist who works to promote women’s equality in the workplace. She wants Cordonia to modernise (something lacking under Constantine’s rule) and now that Liam is King, that dream will become a reality. She imagines a future for her daughters where they can have any job they want and be whoever they want to be; the sky is the limit. Everything she does is for her daughters.

Despite wanting Cordonia to modernise, Camille is also respectful of their history. In my head canon, Drake and Camille discover that Valtoria used to hold Open Houses. An open house is when the people of Valtoria can visit the Duke and Duchess and talk to them about issues within the duchy. Open houses hadn’t been a thing for 200 years but when Camille and Drake discovered this old piece of history, they reintroduced the concept. Basically, Camille wants to use her platform for good - something which the TRR MC is lacking. All TRR MC does is go to balls and act like an idiot! Where is the responsibility? Where is the interest in learning more about the duchy? Why is she never at her duchy?! 

If you want to read more of Camille, I point you to the interview I wrote of her. I love writing interviews as they are like a character study and it’s so fun to delve into the personality. Writing this interview was a joy. The words flowed and I was so pleased with how it turned out. It’s the definitive piece about Camille and who she is.

[morsquiesa]

𝐁𝐈𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐀 𝐃𝐈 𝐀𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐋𝐎: 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄, 𝐃𝐘𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐒, 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘.

Since it is mentioned that Bianca has children, I thought it would be the time to elaborate on Bianca’s family since I realized my blog lacks the content. So up until to the point where Bianca resigns from the hunters and starts working for Hades as an ambassador, there are three alternate paths for her that I adore. 

The first possibility is the most independent and ready to explore verse for Bianca, which is the one where after her resign, Bianca never properly returns to the surface again to live there, and over time becomes a permanent member of the underworld. I am looking forward to developing this path, because I find it quite interesting to study how Bianca makes herself a place in the underworld, what kind of a dynamic she has with Hades and Persephone, what kind of dynamics she has with the other residents and deities, what kind of a part she plays in the order of things and formation. In this option, the only family Bianca has left is her brother, Nico di Angelo, but since her joining to the hunters of Artemis their relationship is strained and they don’t talk to each other, so him making an appearance is going to be rare in the threads and mentions of him won’t be joyful ones. ( I will write another meta post about this, so it’s a more detailed conversation for later.) Her relationship with her mother, Maria di Angelo, is also another long topic that I will talk about in a different post. But to sum it up, she has no family members she is actively talking to or has good relationship with.  

  The second alternate is the same as the first one, but Bianca keeps living on the surface instead of moving in to the underworld for good. She is still not talking to Nico, she is refusing to live in the camp. ( Another meta post.) She has an apartment in New Manhattan that Hades blessed with protection for her, so when she is not on duty she is hanging out in New York. I don’t use this verse a lot, to be honest, because it is an incredibly lonely one for her. This is mostly for my mutuals with demigod or mortal muses to make it easier to interact with her. This is the most under-developed alternate. This version of Bianca is going to be hardest to talk to, because she has burned a lot of bridges and she deals with a severe sense of loneliness and feels lost as she tries to figure out where she belongs in the world she doesn’t recognize, existential and identity crisis hitting hard and heavy. In the means of family, she leans into Hades the most in this verse, because she doesn’t have anyone else left. 

 The third, also known as the most developed and softest alternate, affiliated with @mvndrvke​​ and @nosestealer​. This acts like the continuation of the second alternate, because Bianca spends three years living that lonely life in Manhattan before Hades calls Bianca and Nico for a mission in the underworld. Doors of death are missing once again, and they enter the labyrinth together to find it, and it is no easy feat going into one of the most dangerous places in the world with a sibling by your side you haven’t talked to in years unless you didn’t have to, when you’ve gone no contact after a terrible separation. Ghosts were seen, old books were opened, harsh things were said, some terrible truths unrevealed, but after two weeks ( which equaled to a few months in the world ) in the labyrinth, they come out of it with amends to make, and Nico asks Bianca to move in with him into the camp,. Bianca hesitates because he already has a stable life he tried so hard to built with a loving relationship and caring friends, but she eventually accepts because they both know they will have to get through the awkwardness and heal the wounds they’ve been avoiding for so long if they want to make actual progress. In my opinion, if it wasn’t for Nico they could never get anywhere because Bianca wouldn’t take the first step with the fear of rejection especially when Nico didn’t need her anymore with his ‘ picture perfect life ’ so shout out to Luna for Nico’s maturity. In 22th of March, 2014, at the age of eighteen, Bianca move into the camp with her brother to open a new page, and it’s when things start get better for her. ( Nico is now nineteen, a year older than her, and he never lets her live it down.)

It does get better, but also, things are painful for a long while because that’s what happens when you try to reconnect with a sibling when you are both dysfunctional with a lot of layers of miscommunication to fix: you fight. A lot. But despite these fights, Bianca meets Will Solace, who is Nico’s boyfriend at the time, then Cecil Markowitz ( mvndrvke ) and Lou Ellen Blackstone ( nosestealer ) , who are his best friends. Her expectations of them are low at first, because obviously they are Nico’s friends and she imagines the mentions of her wasn’t the brightest so she expects a judgmental approach. But oh boy, is she wrong. With Lou Ellen’s kindness, Cecil’s compassion and Will’s deep sympathy, Bianca finds herself the first family she’s ever had since the hunters.

Now, let’s talk about other good things that happened during this year. Cecil Markowitz is a good friend, he is the shoulder she seeks to cry on, he is the biggest reason of her bright smile, but a good friend is not the only thing he is to her. With his unapologetic kindness towards the world, his sense of security in who he is and who he wants to be, his relentless compassion and with the promise of safety he gives to Bianca by being by her side even when she makes it hard to be, Bianca falls in love for the first time in her life. It is both an endearing and funny process to watch her try to figure out what to do with this new feeling, because she’s never been in love before and she’s took an oath for eternal maidenhood when she joined the hunters of Artemis, and pushed aside the thought. So this is completely new territory, especially she knows for a fact that even Cecil feels the same way she does ( which she is pretty sure that he doesn’t ) she doesn’t think she can provide a kind of relationship he would expect, whatever that it would be- she doesn’t know how to date, and she definitely doesn’t know the 21th century. Also, Cecil is one of Nico’s best friends and the panic of ruining the dynamics she’s tried so hard to built is really there. So this feeling goes unspoken of for a year and a half, until it starts to seep from the cracks and eventually the truth is forced out there- and she is not the only one to blame, because Cecil has his own confessions to make. After an intense argument filled with panic and fear, the day ends with a kiss and mumbled “ I love you’s. 21st August 2015 marks the date as their anniversary, and they still celebrate it. Lou Ellen finds out first, then Will, and they are both ecstatic about it, which makes Bianca feel better. They hide it from Nico for a few months, giving themselves a while to see if they can make it work or not until Nico learns in a traumatizing way and never lets them live it down. But eventually he is happy with the outcome too, and is supportive of their relationship when he is not bullying them for it.

 From that point on, it’s tooth rotting sweet Biancecil romance. After Bianca makes sure her bond with Nico is solid enough to remain steady and strong even when she moves out, she asks Cecil to move in with her to Manhattan. They both have their own reasons for not wanting to be a part of the camp any longer ( Bianca doesn’t feel accepted because in her opinion she’s never earned the justification to exist there with heroic actions like Nico did, and the stigma with hunters of Artemis is strong, even when they are former. Cecil struggles with belonging because he’s fought in the Kronos’ Army in the First Titan War. ) so after a year spent in Long Island, they move into her apartment in Manhattan. This is the first home they share together, and Bianca still holds those memories dear to her heart. They spend another year there, with Bianca keeping up the ambassador work, and they are traveling the world together, going on dates anywhere in the map they wish. A while later city of New Athens is completed, and they move there, buying a nice house and finally setting roots. After Cecil’s 22th birthday celebration in Lisbon, Bianca decides he is the person she wants to spend the rest of her life with. With a very romantic proposal in 16th December 2017, they get engaged. At the age of 23 and 24, they say their vows with their dream wedding in 19th May 2018. 

This continuation upsets me, because just after a year of their marriage, Cecil dies in the entrance of New Athens with the attack of Lamia. His date of death marks as 3rd May 2019, and Bianca is devastated. Nico goes out to hunt Lamia where Bianca does the funeral rites of her husband according to his wishes, then she goes to the underworld. She’s lost so much in her life, she refuses to mourn him too. I want my husband back, she tells Hades. And I am going to get him back. While Hades doesn’t approve at first, with the pressure from Nico and Bianca he reveals a way. There is a ritual she can make to bring his soul and his body intact. She needs a red carnation from Persephone, Cecil’s thread of life from the fates, Orpheus’ lyre, blessing of Hades, their wedding rings, and with the possession she cares the most about. Bianca disappears from the face of earth with only Nico knowing what she is doing, and she starts her quest to search for these items. She sometimes visits her mother-in-law and checks on her, but she is the only person she sees except for Will and Lou in a few rare occasion. She completes this quest in eighteen months, a year and a half, and she brings Cecil back from the underworld 8th December, 2020.

 Their life is not the same as they’ve left it, and while they are going through difficult times, they hold onto each other. While Luna and I haven’t decided on the exact dates, after a while spent in New Athens Cecil takes Bianca to a vacation in Cape Cod, and that’s where he proposes to her again to renew their vows, and gives her a list of houses he would live to buy for them from the area. At the age of twenty-five, they sell their house in New Athens and move into Cape Cod to build themselves a life there, a life they quite enjoy. Bianca is retired from ambassadorship, leaving her place to Achilles ( mvndrvke ) and taking interest in living off her retirement plan with caring for her garden at home. Cecil turns one of the rooms into his art studio and work there, and also work as the art teacher in the neighborhood elementary school. After many struggles and many discussions, they decide to carry on with their original plan of having children before he died. Their firstborn, tiny daughter Ludovica Ranieri Markowitz is born when Bianca is twenty-seven. She is named Ludovica because of Bianca’s fondness of the name, and Ranieri after her uncle, Nico ( it’s his middle name ). At the age of thirty, their son Alexander Steven Markowitz joins the family. He is named Alexander after his father, Cecil ( it’s his middle name ) and Steven after cap america on Cecil’s request. ( Don’t worry, Bianca made fun of him for it already.) Now they are enjoying their life being old, disgustingly in love, caring for their children and hosting great events at their house. Lou, Will and Nico are still a big part of their lives.

[meg-noel-art]

18 and 14 :3 for all the babies!

oh Char, my dude, these are some good ones....I’m gonna answer 18 first actually because it impacts 14.

18.) Which parent do they call out to whenever they have a bad dream?

Willow - I  don’t think she has a preference. She might just call out and whoever comes is the one who comforts her. However, knowing Scorpia, I bet she’s always the one to volunteer. I’ll bet she still has her own nightmares ;-; I really love the idea of Willow being comforted by Scorpia’s big strong soft presence. She’s covered in natural armor. She’s so tall! She’s undefeatable!! But Scorpia also probably calms her down by telling her stories or singing to her, since we know Scorpia canonically loves to sing. She just rocks her in big strong mom pincer arms and that’s all it takes to put her back to sleep.

Ash - Ash has one mom and I think he reacts to nightmares in the same way Catra does. Ash’s real family was killed and if anything, that’s what his bad dreams are about. I’m sure Catra has no issues relating to Traumatic PTSD dreams. I don’t think he’d immediately call out to her for help, especially not after she first takes him in. But if Catra noticed him squirming in his sleep, or crying or what not, I think she and Melog would just curl around the little guy and purr him back to sleep. A cozy warm fur pile is all he needs to feel like he’s not alone anymore.

Luna - Adora, undoubtedly. I mean, if she were to wake up from a bad dream and call out “mama” it would be unclear, but it’s definitely Adora she wants. Because Adora is She-Ra. Adora is a hero. Adora is a protector. I think, even at a young age, that fact is not lost on Luna. She senses it through baby powers. I also don’t think Adora would be shy about transforming into She-Ra around her. Mostly for games or piggyback rides or whatever, but it sticks with Luna as “wow this glowing giant mom is so cool and can protect me from anything”. I also think Adora would be the one to come running whether Luna wanted her or not. She’s all too familiar with awful dreams and it would probably physically hurt her to see her own child suffering from them. I imagine there have been plenty of nights Adora just crawls into bed with her to calm her down and then never returns to her own room. Glimmer finds them the next morning cramped together in a crib, Luna laying halfway across her face or something.

14.) How were they like as small children? Did their personalities change drastically as they grew older?

Willow - Sweet, sweet, soft hearted kid. Quick to cry from ANY emotion. Clumsy, kind, adorable. She’s perfect, look at her moms. I think she only continued to grow further into these traits as she got older. She follows her moms around, and they teach her good lessons about kindness and caring and responsibility and friendship and she just absorbs it like a spiky little sponge. She takes her duty as a good friend and good daughter and good princess very seriously. But she’s also an unintentional goofball like Scorpia and wants to help everyone she can. Soft baby.

Ash - Quiet and observant baby. I think he grows more vocal and sassy and spunky as he gets older, taking lessons from Catra -- who unintentionally teaches him to be somewhat of a brat. But like... in a way that’s cute, because he’s clever and witty and like... that insult was scathing but also “damn it if it wasn’t a good one”. I think he’s a lot more open than Catra though. He’s close with his friends and not afraid to be vulnerable around them. He definitely wants to protect them as much as they do him. He’s also always one of the first to remind Luna of her worth as a person when she’s grumping about lacking powers. Supportive good dude. Kinda like Bow with an attitude.

Luna - Whoooo boy.... Luna was a sweet baby. Attached to her moms, always smiling and laughing and throwing herself off of things because she was a ball of boundless energy. She feels her emotions really big like her moms do. I think her temper tantrums were rough, but her highs were VERY high. She doesn’t sparkle, but she could light up a room ;-; She was definitely one of those kids that crawled into her parents bed to sleep between them just because she wanted to snuggle for far longer than she should have. But they let her, because they’re soft moms.

She definitely changes the most out of the three as she gets older. Luna’s lack of powers has been a source of insecurity for her from the moment she realized she didn’t have them. And it only continued to grow and fester and change and when she reached teenager hood (around 13) it turned into full blown angst. She argued with her parents more, became a bit broody and angsty, less laughter more frowns. She pushes herself to train, becomes frustrated when no one takes her seriously or seems to understand why she’s so upset. For about 3 more years this continues and she and Adora start to really break apart. Which completely shatters Adora, but she hides it behind the facade of being a strict mother (who just doesn’t know what to do to help). I think Glimmer would still be a bit more understanding (still at a loss) but Luna doesn’t feel as much personal resentment towards her as she does Adora. Adora is very saddened by the fact that as time goes by, she is no longer her daughter’s hero. And Luna is equally saddened by the fact that her hero doesn’t seem to believe in her.

Annnd... I’ll leave it at that. :-) bless u char

[cptnsantiago]

i hope i never lose the bruises that you left behind

summary: It was seventeen years to the day. Everyone he knew said it would get easier, that the pain would lessen; and he thinks he’s figured out why. This revelation only makes it more painful. 

Jake is forgetting her.

read on ao3 / major character death

-

Jake hasn’t seen Amy in seventeen years.

He’s 58 years old now; their daughter is fully grown and about to graduate from college. She’s thriving, maybe because she barely knew Amy. Maybe because she didn’t have to experience the same trauma he did. Luna had only been four years old when Amy was shot in the line of duty. He still remembers it so clearly. Every time the memory returns to the forefront of his mind, he digs the heels of his hands into his eyes so hard until he sees stars.

Stars are more beautiful than watching your wife fall to the ground again and again.

It was seventeen years to the day. Everyone he knew said it would get easier, that the pain would lessen; and he thinks he’s figured out why. This revelation only makes it more painful.

Jake is forgetting her.

He’s surrounded by memories of her, photos and videos. But he can barely hear her voice or her laugh in his head anymore. He used to close his eyes and see her beautiful smile with the crinkles forming as the smile grew, or her concentrated frown with the other cute crinkle in her eyebrows. She rarely shows up in his dreams anymore, it had been a few months since she last made an appearance in his imagination where everything was okay .

Since Luna was old enough to understand the pure grief her father experienced, the day had always gone the same. A schedule of sorts. She was her mother’s daughter.

Jake usually remains in bed until Luna shows up with two bowls of Lucky Charms at midday. They would eat in silence, even when she was a child and she would want to wake him up earlier, she would remain silent. Luna knew it was the hardest day of the year, it always was. She would eat their favourite cereal in silence before snuggling, the both of them silently crying.

Luna usually leaves after thirty minutes, allowing him sometime to drag himself to the shower and put Amy’s favourite flannel on - it’s old and in tatters, but she always loved it on him so he’ll sew the crap out of it until it falls apart -  so they can go about their day. This process usually takes over an hour. His chest constricts, walking around their room, trying to function without her. The room is a mess and she would loath it; so he needs to clean it. Sometimes he thinks to himself that he doesn’t want Amy to be upset when she gets home. It’s been seventeen years but sometimes he believes she might come home.

Jake usually exits his room by 1:30, and they get out of the house a half hour later. The drive to the graveyard is exactly 34 minutes away, and he tries his best to keep himself calm on that drive. Luna was already freaked out enough by driving in Brooklyn, and with her nerves amplified by the day itself, he needs to remain sane. So he closes his eyes.

This time he can’t force the stars to keep one of the most distinct memories of Amy away.

~

“Okay Luna, you’re spending the day with Grandma and I need you to remember one thing.” Amy is squatting in front of Luna, hands on her shoulders. “Can you remember what it is?”

“That I’m the best kid ever?”

“Yes, of course.” Amy rolls her eyes with huff of laughter, “But what about Grandma’s rule?”

“Don’t touch her paint without her express permission…” Luna tips her head back and slumps her shoulders. “The walls aren’t canvas.”

“Good girl.” Amy pulls her in for a tight hug, “I’m sure if you ask nicely, Grandma will let you paint your own vase.”

“Really?” Luna pulls back, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

“Definitely. I’m sure she’ll even show you the vase I painted at your age!” Jake interjects.

“I love you, mija.” Amy pulls her in, squeezing her one last time, before letting her go.

“Love you more, mom.”

Amy scoffs, trying to hide her growing smile. “Not possible! I love you the most.”

“I can prove that I love you more!!” Luna stands proudly, hands on her hips. She holds the pose for a moment before wrapping herself around Amy again, smothering her face with wet kisses, finishing off with a raspberry to her cheek.

“I’ve been convinced.” Amy laughs, tucking the loose strands of hair out of Luna’s face. “What about you dad?”

“I think you’ve finally been beaten, Ames.” Jake kneels down as Amy gathers herself, “Now it’s my turn.”

Jake joins Amy in the car just a few minutes later , she has a dreamy smile on her face and has a hand over her heart. “I can’t wait to have another baby.”

“Luna is spectacular, she’s gonna be the best big sister.” Jake notes, lacing his fingers with her spare hand and running his thumb over her knuckles. “I can’t wait either.”

Amy leans over her seat to place the softest, and probably the most intimate kiss they’ve ever shared. Jake sighs happily as the separate, leaning against her forehead. “Do you think your mom knows we’re pawning Luna on her so we can have hot baby making sex today?”

“Definitely. She can read minds!”

~

He wishes more than anything in the world that Amy had said yes to calling in sick so they could spend all day together instead. But Amy insisted he go to work, because he had a stupid important killer perp still on the streets. He tries to shake the thought away, one that haunts him. It was his important case that got her killed.

He doesn’t even notice they’ve arrived until Luna places her hand on his. “Dad?”

Jake looks from her hand to her face, a weak smile appearing on his face as she does the same. In a way, he will forever have memory of Amy. Luna was almost a clone, in personality and looks. This was both a blessing and a curse; some days it’s a great comfort that they were so alike, it was as if she was always there but then other nights it made Jake miss Amy so bad that he would cry to the point of not being able to breathe properly.

“Dad? Let’s go, yeah? Mom’s waiting.”

“Mom’s waiting…” Jake’s hands begin to tremble under Luna’s, his throat tightening. “Maybe you should just go, I’ll wait in the car.”

“Dad, I’m here. I won’t leave your side.” Her grip on his hand only becomes tighter, and her eyebrows knit together just like Amy’s always did. “Promise.”

Jake always struggles visiting her grave. He’s never been able to go alone, or with anyone but Luna. After all, she’s the reason he’s still a reasonable member of society seventeen years later. Jake hadn’t been a great parent. Luna tries to convince him otherwise, but there were countless times he had been unreliable. Not being able to get out of bed for weeks sometimes and she had to step up to look after the both of them.

Daddy, I can’t imagine how you feel. I know you miss her. Luna at eight years old, only just beginning to really understand the reality of what happened.

Stop blaming yourself, she made her choices. This isn’t your fault, dad. Thirteen year old Luna when he had barely left his room for two weeks.

Tell me more about her. I want to know her more, dad. It had only been weeks after a two week stint in bed and missing a parent-teacher conference.

He eventually opened up, it was the first time they went to her grave. Only his second time there since her funeral. He cried for the first time in front of Luna there, really cried. Jake told her all about his life with her mother before she was born, after she was born.

His healing process had been long, but he did return to being a functioning member of society outside of work. Still, he had weak moments like any human, and sometimes they were so heavy he forgot how to breathe. But he did it anyway.

Jake had only kept the day’s leading up to Amy’s death secret to Luna, she didn’t need to know or experience that pain if she didn’t have to. He never spoke of the funeral either, about his epic meltdown and being held down by Captain Holt as he experienced a pain unknown to man.

~

Gina had stayed with Jake overnight before the funeral. She helped get Luna ready, and cried with Jake as he asked her to help him with his buttons as well. Luna had mostly been confused during this time, always asking her aunts and uncles why daddy couldn’t stop crying and asking when mommy was coming back .

Jake didn’t remember arriving at the graveyard, only remembering the sight of her casket ready to be lowered into the ground. She would absolutely hate being buried underground, too claustrophobic, he had thought. People made speeches he couldn’t listen to and he somehow managed to drag himself up to the podium and unfold his paper with great care.

“A-Amy… Amy Santiago, um… She, she was-” Jake shakes his head, squeezing his eyes shut and letting the tears fall freely. A few moments that felt like an eternity later, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Holt. Jake moves aside and allows Holt to take over.

“Amy Santiago is the love of my life.” Holt starts, his voice already cracking but continues with a clear voice. “Amy is the smartest person I’ve ever met. So smart, and funny and wonderful and beautiful. She is the best mom and the best wife. Amy really was the ultimate human slash genius, none of us at the nine-nine couldn’t keep up with her if we tried.”

Jake and a few others laugh slightly at this, and he wipes fresh tears off his cheeks before Holt continues. “Amy was a strong and determined woman, she never let anything get in her way. Her dream was to become the youngest female Captain in the NYPD, and I’m grief stricken that I’ve lost her but also just as bad that she was only able to make it to Lieutenant before she passed. She would have made the best Captain, sorry Ray.”

Holt takes a pause as he reads on a few sentences. “I don’t know how to live without her, and it’s so unfair. To me, to Luna - she will never really know her mom and that makes me angry. She’s the best woman I’ve ever known and she won’t know her. That’s the worst, pardon the language , fucking thing about this. I miss her, I’m going to miss her for the rest of my life. I love you forever, Ames.”

Soon after, when the casket is lowered is when Jake loses it. He collapses besides the ditch, his hand laid flat on the and he just can’t breathe. Amy is really gone and she’s not coming home.

He feels Holt wrap his arms around him, and he thinks even Luna runs up to him and hugs him. It’s not very clear but if it was, he hoped she would never remember this moment.

~

It’s a hard day, it always was. But watching as Luna places Amy’s favourite flowers on the gravestone before sitting on the damp grass and pulling Jake down with her truly warms his heart. “Hi mom.”

“Let’s get into it. Our daughter is actually the smartest woman ever. End of story.” Jake laughs softly, “But really, tell her Luna.”

“Okay, so. I’ve told you before that I’ve been studying forensic science and psychology, and I’m almost done with that degree. I’ve decided to further my education, gonna get a masters so I can be a more of a leading force in the field.” Luna pauses for a few moments, as if giving Amy the chance to react. She twists her hands and takes a deep breath before continuing, “I hope you’re proud. I’ve worked really hard to do well, and I know dad is proud and he never fails to remind me of that. I just hope you are too.”

“Of course your mom would be proud, Luna.” Jake takes her hand this time, seizing the opportunity to be the comforter for once. “She would so adore the smart, independent woman you’ve become.”

Luna nods with a shy smile, tucking her hair behind both ears just like her . “I miss you so much, mom.”

“We both do. So much.” Jake adds with a sad sigh.

“I don’t know if you’re feeling it too, but this year feels especially heavy and sad.” Luna shrugs, “I keep watching videos of us from when I was younger and the photos. So many. It just sucks that you’re missing from all the photos now.”

Jake nods along with this, managing to hold back his own tears and wiping the ones falling down Luna’s cheek. “Any other updates for mom?”

“I met this guy, pretty recent, and I really like him.” Luna looks away, knowing what her dad’s face said without looking at him. “ Dad it’s pretty new, and isn’t now a good time I can tell you both ?”

“I guess. I will be getting more info later, get ready for dad cop.”

Luna lets out a snort, and it’s lighter from that moment. They joke and chat as if Amy was there next to them, and it was just a regular picnic as a family. It’s not long before Luna stretches and stands up. “Shaw’s? Everyone’s gonna be waiting for us.”

“Uhm, I think I’m gonna hang back here.” The shock is evident on Luna’s face, it takes her a few moments to process what he’s said.

“Dad, are you sure?” Luna kneels next to him again. “Are you gonna be okay?”

“It’s been seventeen years since I’ve been alone with her... I owe her this.” Jake shrugs, “Go ahead without me. I’ll meet you there.”

Luna crashes into him, hugging him tightly. “I love you, dad. Bye mom, I love you the most.”

With a press of her fingers to her lips onto the gravestone, Luna is gone. Jake is alone with Amy for the first time in seventeen years. Jake simply sits there for a few minutes, staring at the engravings on her stone. Her final resting place.

Lt. Amy Santiago

August 7, 1983 - October 19, 2024

Ultimate human slash genius.

Daughter. Friend. Mother.

“Hi Ames. It’s been a while.” Jake bites his lip, a sudden guilt washing over him as he sits there longer. “I’m sorry I’ve never come to talk to you alone. I was… scared? I don’t know, I miss you so bad. I can’t bare coming here to talk to you and you not being able to talk back but… That’s not fair to you.

“I don’t know if it’s my age, or my general goldfish memory b-but I feel like I’m starting to forget you. Not forget you but just the little things. Smaller memories that aren’t significant but they’re precious, every moment with you was important and it’s fading .

“They discontinued your favourite shampoo. I kept using it so I would never forget what you smelled like, but one day I went to the bodega to stock up and they were out. I looked everywhere, Amy. But now they don’t make it and I can’t quite remember what you smell like, it was flowers I know, but I don’t know at the same time…. And your laugh… I can’t hear it as clearly, I have to watch videos to remember it. I feel so awful, how can I forget my wife like this. I’m a bad husband, a bad dad and god I miss you Ames.

“Luna was right. This year is harder, and I just want you in my arms again. I can’t remember how it feels to hold you in my arms, I just remember it was good. You were good. Great. All I needed in this world. You were too good to leave us so soon. I know you would hate me for this but I still blame myself. I can’t stop it, you are the one that helps me think logically but you’re gone and you have been for seventeen years. Because of me.

“We keep on having all these celebrations lately. Like Nikolaj got an art deal with a comic book publisher, and Charles was so proud. It was a great party, and I went home that night and all I could think about was how you weren’t there.

“I wish I had been more careful. If I hadn’t been so careless in the first place, I wouldn’t need to call for stupid backup. You’re gone because of me. Amy, I’m so sorry. You should have been here for Luna growing up. You should have been able to make Captain. It was my case - Amy, I can’t forgive myself.

“I want to remember every detail about you. But I can’t. What your lips feel like, how it feels when you run your hand through my hair, how it felt when I would return the favour. You deserved so much better. I love you and I’m so sorry.”

Jake lets himself go then, sobbing until he can’t get air into his lungs and it hurts. “How does it hurt the same? I wish it wouldn’t hurt this much. I wish you were alive.”

He doesn’t know how long he’s there crying but he assumes it’s a few hours. Luna shows up eventually, a bottle of water and a muffin in her hand. She helps him up, and he lets one last tear fall before Luna helps him walk to the car. His suspicions of how long he was there are confirmed on the drive home as he watches the sunsets, driving past Shaw’s.

Arriving home, he heard Luna mention cooking dinner but he hears nothing past that as he lays on the couch, his eyes heavy from crying.

~

This case had been kicking his ass. Weeks spent on it, more women were being killed and he couldn’t find him. A survivor had even been able to give a good enough description of him to find the identity of the man, but he hid well. So well. When he was finally spotted a precinct over, Jake had immediately rushed out, nodding when Amy offers her support with a few officers as a back up.

And on his way there, there was an updated report of shots fired. It very quickly turns into a more serious situation, and the backup he didn’t think he’d need was summoned.

Amy.

She was a very capable lieutenant, but the thought of the two of them being out in a situation such as this together made his stomach turn. This would be the first time they’re out in the field together in dangerous conditions, the first time they were in danger at the same time. He almost freezes.

Luna.

This was too risky, a chance one of them could get hurt was doubled, even with backup. He almost wants to tell her to go back, he didn’t want to put her in danger. But he knows his wife, she would argue and this was not the time nor place. Amy would stay. They couldn’t leave Luna alone, they had to be careful.

Amy gives out her orders, and positions are taken. Except he fucks it up, he had been too in his head about Luna potentially being by herself. Jake ends up where Amy is supposed to be, and at first it seemed like it was going to work out for them. The victim is lying on the floor, only a graze to her face but she’s terrified.

The perp had been right next to her, holding his gun at her head. Jake and Amy had their own weapons aimed at the man, telling him to freeze and put the weapon down. Amy’s eyes skirted to the shaking girl on the floor, ready to protect at a moments notice.

He sees everything in slow motion, and of all the things present Jake wants to forget, this was the main one. He watches as the main raises his gun anyway, and Jake is firing his own weapon as the perp does as well. He wishes he didn’t see Amy in the corner of his eye, jumping in front of the innocent girl, struck by the bullet despite her vest and collapsing to the ground.

Amy groans loudly as she hits the floor, clutching her thigh as the girl scuffles away and Jake is shouting something into the radio and he disarms the bleeding criminal on the ground. All he can focus on is his wife on the ground, blood rapidly flowing from her leg despite the pressure she’s trying to put on it.

Jake rips off the jacket over his vest as he slides to his knees next to Amy, taking her bloody hand in his as he uses his other hand to apply as much pressure as he can. “Hold on, Ames. Ambulance is coming.”

His tries to make his voice as soothing as possible, but he watches as the blood doesn’t stop even with the pressure he’s put on the wound. The bullet must have hit a major artery. Fuck.

If Jake had just focused on his orders, he could have taken out the perp from behind with the butt of his gun without anyone getting hurt. But instead he was on the floor next to his wife who was slowly bleeding out. “Where the fuck is the ambulance?”

“Hey, Jake. Look at me.” Jake hesitates before looking down at Amy. She’s so pale, but she attempts to smile at him, trying to sooth him when she’s the one bleeding out on a dirty floor.

“You’re gonna be okay, Ames. Just stay with me okay?” Jake voice cracks, adding more pressure and watching as it does nothing to stop the bleeding.

“I’m okay. I’m with you.” Amy reaches her bloody but uninjured arm up to touch his cheek. “Jake, I need to say something.”

“Amy no, we’re not going there.” Jake shakes his head furiously, “The ambulance will be here soon. I’m not leaving your side.”

“Tell Luna I love her, Jake. Make sure she knows this, okay?” Jake looks down at her again, somehow paler than before and now she’s crying. “I love her and never let her forget it. Support her, be the great dad I know you are.”

“Amy stop, you’re gonna be okay.” Jake is sobbing at this point, he hates the idea of her thinking she’s gonna die. Because she wasn’t.  “You’re gonna be okay and you’re going to continue to be a great mom to Luna and our family is only gonna get bigger. Just stay with me.”

“Jake…” Amy struggles, “Promise me you’ll both be okay?”

“Amy, I… I can’t. We’ll all be okay together.”

“ Jake , please.” Amy hiccups, her arm now too weak to stroke his cheek.

“I… I promise.”

They spend the longest minutes sharing words of love, and Jake is still insisting that she’s not going anywhere but there is so much blood - his jeans and other clothing is drenched in it. “I love you forever, Ames.”

Amy motions for him to move closer, and when he’s close enough she threads her fingers in his curls and pulls him down for one last kiss, whispering her reply. “I love you forever.”

~

Jake wakes up with a gasp, and he can’t find air to put in his lungs. “A-Amy, Amy.” It’s all he can manage to get out and Luna rushes to his side, her hands gripping his shoulders so he stops shuddering. “It’s all my fault. My fault.”

“Dad, no. Please take deep breaths, remember what we practiced when we feel scared.”

Jake really tries but he can’t stop crying. It was his fault. His fault, he could have followed orders correctly. He fucked up, it was his fault Amy was dead.

Luna pulls him in, holding him tight until somehow his breathing evens out and the tears are less of a waterfall. “I need to know what happened that day, dad. I want to help you. It kills me to see you hurt like this and blame yourself when I’m sure it’s not your fault.”

Conflict rages inside him. Luna is surely mature beyond her age, and she deserves to know but she shouldn’t need to know. It hurts, so why should he burden her with the knowledge of what happened that day? To help himself? He was used to the pain that came from that memory dream that appeared often. He won’t be selfish like that.

“Dad, please .”

Jake gives in, and he doesn’t realise how much of a relief it is to talk about it. He had been set in his stubborn ways and always refused to go to therapy, to recover .

Luna cries a lot, and he holds her the way she has done for him countless times after the nightmares he’s had over the years. “So mom sacrificed herself to protect that girl from this criminal. And you blame yourself?”

“I could have done something different, like properly follow orders instead of being skittish. Things would have turned out so different, and this was my case. My case that took us out on the field that day. I could list so many more reasons her death was my fault, Luna.” Jake laughs with a sarcastic huff. “No matter what anyone has ever said, I stand by it being my fault.”

“You know who I blame?” Luna asks softly.

“Me? Because it’s my fault.”

“No. The criminal, for being a criminal. Trying to hurt an innocent woman, who was then bravely protected and kept alive by my hero mom.” Luna’s passion matches the way Amy got angry, maybe even exceeding Amy. “This was in no way your fault. Mom was doing her job, and she died.”

He was the reason he couldn’t remember her voice on demand, it was his fault he can never run his hands through her hair. It’s his fault he can never be truly happy again. “But-”

“No, dad, I’m talking!” Luna screeches. “You’ve been torturing yourself over this for seventeen years and it’s time to stop! It’s tragic and I miss her and I know you do so much, but you can’t blame yourself when it was the criminal who pulled the trigger. You didn’t kill Amy. A murderer did.”

“God, your passion matches your mother and I’m just a little scared.” Jake laughs, more tears streaming down his face. “I think I can accept that? With a bit more time… That it’s not my fault.”

“I think mom will rest even easier knowing you’ve said it.” Luna wipes her father's tears off his face, “Forgiving yourself for things you can’t control is the only thing that will bring you peace.”

“I’m so glad you got your mom's smart genes. So wise.” Jake says, “Now, tell me what you made for dinner and I’ll tell you some new stories.”

“Oh! Yes!” Luna claps happily, still sniffling. “I found a recipe written in her handwriting so I cooked that!”

“Oh sweetie .” Jake grimaces, unable to control his laughter. “I got a story for you! But first you’re gonna want to throw whatever concoction you made in the trash. And quick .”

It will forever startle Jake to look at Luna. What a miracle he had created with Amy, his reason for living. She had become everything he and Amy had wished for, late at night when Luna was pressing on Amy’s spine and she couldn’t sleep. She was so her own person but so like Amy. How Jake would have coped without her in his life he doesn’t want to know.

Jake doesn’t think he will ever fully recover; Amy was the most important person in his life. He almost doesn’t want to stop feeling the pain, it helps him remember. The good and the bad, and his memory is bad enough that those smaller things about her are gone. It breaks his heart.

Amy will stay with him forever, she’s a permanent scar on his heart. He couldn’t blame himself, hurt himself, forever. It wasn’t fair to Luna, almost as unfair as having her mother ripped away from her at such a young age. Jake forgives himself, for Luna.

So Jake cherishes the scar, he feeds it with love and new memories made with Luna. It’s all he can do, for Amy.

[asiryn]

tagged by @primrose-path-of-dalliance (!!!!!! thanks!!! (lmao, it’s been so long since i’ve been tagged in anything XDD))

Rules: Name your top 10 favourite characters from 10 different fandoms, then tag 10 people!

i’m putting this behind a cut, bc i rambled on for quite a while XDD these won’t be in any particular order, and the fandoms will be chosen based off of what i’m currently most into/whichever ones i think of first XD

1. Maleficent [Disney]

okay, i lied a little.....she is clearly my #1 favorite character of all time, so of course she’s first (the rest of the list won’t be in any particular order :P). but....yeah, i love her forever and for all time and eternity, i love her class and elegance, my hunt for all merchandise of her that i can get my hands on is legendary and knows no bounds, she’s my forever girl, etc, etc. if you know only one fact about me, it’s probably that i love maleficent. there’s nothing i can say here that i haven’t probably already said a million times over, so i’ll move on XD

(moana has risen to be a pretty close second, tho)

2. Anthony J. Crowley [Good Omens]

i read the book from a library over a decade ago, and i liked it well enough, but it like....wasn’t an instant new fave that i had to immediately buy for myself (tho it is on a list of books that i wouldn’t mind owning...but maybe it’s finally time, who knows). i’m halfway through the show, and i’ve finally fallen in love with it (i think it finally being a #confirmed love story between our favorite ineffable idiots finally gave it the push it needed XD). it’s still a bit early for me to have a solid, definite fave, but lbr, if i know myself at all, it’s gonna be crowley XD i love this dumb demon (who’s rivaled in his idiocy only by his equally dumb angel husband), i love how he’s so soft even as he tries desperately to convince himself and everyone else that he isn’t, that he loves so many things and humanity and an angel even as he tries to say that he isn’t capable of it, that he never stopped questioning even after it had made him Fall. also, i am so thankful that the fandom has really embraced the potential for the shenanigans of crowley’s snake form.👍

(second place is probably aziraphale, but i also really love anathema too)

3. Namine [Kingdom Hearts]

another one that probably comes as no surprise, if you know me. i love this girl to the ends of the universe. i love the way she reclaimed her agency, her selflessness and determination, her empathy and kindness, how she went from a damsel in distress to pretty much saving everyone, over and over and over again. she deserves only happiness and the best things from now on. and please, for the love of god, give her some new clothes, nomura. >_>

(second fave is roxas, tho really, i love 98% of all the characters in this series ;;;)

4. Aerith Gainsborough [Final Fantasy VII]

my precious sunshine girl 💖 i prefer her in the original game, where she was sweet and optimistic, yes, but she was also sassy and fierce and took shit from no one. i love the girl that decided she wanted to wear a sexy red dress just for the hell of it, and threatened to rip off a mafia don’s balls. i love the girl that was confident and flirty with cloud, but never let any kind of bullshit ‘rivalry’ get in the way of being friends with tifa. i love that she always called cloud out on his bullshit, that she never let tragedy and oppressive shinra forces grind out her optimism, that she never stopped dreaming of a better future. i love that she was exposed to the worst of human nature, and yet still believed that they were worth saving. i love all versions of aerith, obvs, but they’ve definitely smoothed out her edges over the years, and i think that’s a shame. so here’s hoping that she’ll be more like her original self in the remake. 

also, can’t wait to see aerith die again :)))))))

(my second fave tends to flip between cloud and sephiroth)

5. Ling Yao / Greed [Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood]

look. listen. i can’t choose between them, i just can’t. and hey....technically they sort of combine into one entity, so it’s totally fine to count them together, right?? XDD so yeah, it’s really fucking hard to pick a fave out of this cast, bc there’s only like....3 characters?? that i don’t love. but ultimately, it had to be these two. every single second they’re on screen, they totally steal the show, and they have a lot of the best scenes and moments in the series. i love ling, how he seems like a total goofball and comic relief at first, but fairly quickly you come to see just how fucking seriously he takes his duties and responsibilities, how selfless and devoted he is to his people, how he would walk through hellfire for the people he loves. he’s just....he just loves, so fiercely and intensely, that he moves even greed into loving him and the people he cares about without even trying. 

and then there’s greed, who even from the beginning, you can’t help but be charmed by, with his sarcastic slow claps and laidback attitude. but over time, you see that he’s just like ling, really, in that he can’t help but get attached to these humans, that he loves them just as fiercely and intensely, even as he desperately tries to play it off. i love the way his character serves as a means for the story to have a really thought-provoking rumination on the nature of sins and desires, and on humanity (as do all of the other homunculi). i could go on forever about these two, and about the show in general, bc it’s just so deep and incredibly layered and complex, so i’ll stop here. 

(next fave after them is winry)

6. Bucky Barnes [MCU]

it’s hard for me to talk about bucky without just dissolving into endless sobbing, but i’ll try my best. he’s just.....he’s someone who has ended up suffering so fucking much, who has every reason in the world to be angry and bitter and resentful and if this was the villain origin story, you’d probably find it hard to blame him. (also, i refuse to say that bucky was ever a villain, bc he never willingly chose to be with hydra, he’s a victim goddamn it--) and yet....he still chooses to be good. to be kind. he could have chosen to go on an endless revenge tour against hydra, but instead he focuses on his own recovery. and always, always, always, he puts other people first. he chooses to goddamn freeze himself, possibly forever, so that he doesn’t hurt people again. he’s truly an inspiration to me, because even after everything he’s been through, he still doesn’t give up. ......and if you’ll excuse me, i need to resume crying about bucky barnes for the rest of eternity 😭😭😭

(next faves are sam and steve. what can i say, i love my caps XP)

7. Keladry of Mindelan [Tortall]

speaking of inspirations, few (if any) characters inspire me more than kel does. unlike every other tortall protagonist, she has absolutely no magic at all, and she starts her story with more odds stacked against her than any of the others. the system and institution are against her, and most people actively, viciously hate her and want to see her fail, all for being a girl and daring to openly step outside of her gender roles. and yet, kel never gives up, and wins through pure will and determination. more than that, she never stops fighting any oppression that she sees, and is always looking out for the abused and marginalized of society. she is fair and just and righteous, and full of a quiet, immovable strength that i, frankly, envy. she’s a fucking mountain; you haven’t a hope of ever tearing her down. 

(other faves....george, raoul, and dom. it’s really fucking hard to choose between them, i can’t even)

8. Oree Shoth [Inheritance trilogy, by N. K. Jemison]

oree is pretty much single-handedly responsible for me loving this trilogy, and is the reason why The Broken Kingdoms (the second book, of which she is the protagonist) is in my top 3 favorite books of all time. she is....just so fucking radiant. she’s a blind artist, and is flung so far out of her depth in the story, and yet she holds her own. in this world of gods, she brings this incredibly human element, and is celebrated because of her humanity. she’s angry and flawed, but also full of love, compassion, kindness, and mercy. she teaches gods the meaning of forgiveness. she takes shit from no one. just....do yourself a favor, and read this series, even if it’s only so that you can read this book. 

(second fave....it’s probably shiny, lbr XD)

9. Sirius Black [Harry Potter]

ahhh, a classic fave. but yeah, i still love him, even after all these years. yes, he’s incredibly flawed, but at his core, he’s just so loyal, and he loves so fiercely, and he tries his absolute best to be there for harry, that i can’t help but love him. also, i have a Thing, for characters who suffer so tremendously, but who don’t give up, and still try their best to be good people anyway. also, wolfstar was the foundation of a very formative part of my life, and put me onto the road of accepting my queer identity, so i’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for the characters who were a part of that. 🤷‍♀️

(other faves are luna and harry, always)

10. Gladion [Pokemon]

mostly his anime incarnation, tho i do like him in the games as well. i love this soft goth boy with all of my heart. he’s so gentle and kind and loving, and i can’t even with him. 

(other faves are lillie, n, zoey, and kukui)

if you guys want to do it, i’ll tag... @dabiden, @green-piggy, @seasbelow, @theroyalweekend, @toomanyfeelings5, @ashetrashe, @neddea.....i can’t think of anyone else, and i’m running out of steam, so if you want to do it, then consider yourself tagged! :)

[phenomenalcosmicpowers]

SEASON 9 EP. 9-13 + RAINBOW ROADTRIP THOUGHTS

Time to get into my thoughts onto most of the episodes in the last part of the first half of this final season as well as the Rainbow Roadtrip special!

SWEET AND SMOKY

With this episode based around hatching dragons I was slightly wondering if were we going to at least get a little bit of Spike’s past told which would of been another moment of not knowing how to feel like how I was with the brother/sister subplot in Sparkle’s Seven. Though none of that came to since it turned out to just be Spike and Fluttershy going to the dragon lands and essentially getting a redemption for Garble the bully dragon from earlier episodes. Though regarding Fluttershy, man Season 2 showed Fluttershy deathly afraid of the big dragons. Not sure how she gathered up the courage to go to the dragon lands when she’s a lot more likely to come face to face with a whole lot of them. I suppose no big dragons actually show up in the episode to show if Fluttershy’s truly gotten over her fear of them but it’s still nonetheless surprising that she just immediately volunteers to go even if it was for a very Fluttershy reason (For the newborn dragons, because remember Fluttershy meeting Spike for the first time)

But anyway, it was an alright episode otherwise.

GOING TO SEED

There isn’t much I really have to say about this one. It kind of goes in the pile of some of the Apple family episodes that are just kinda there like Apple Family Reunion where there’s some cute moments here and there. But nothing that’s personally exciting.

STUDENT COUNSEL

The one episode that actually got me to get a episode response out of this chunk of the season heh. There was just plenty of good comedy from Trixie and Maud as well as a neat return of the Cockatrices. Poor Mud getting turned to stone and also Maud seem to be showing she has a bit of a petrification fetish. Just definitely for sure a fun episode, even if the idea for the episode came with Treelight when she didn’t appear at all this episode. But thought it’d be a good idea to naturally have Maud be made aware of her.

THE LAST CRUSADE

Oh hey! We finally meet Scootaloo’s parents. And dang, they’re basically ponified Steve Irwin and his Wife. We also see the lesbian aunts that were introduced in a book and also had a comic appearance. Albeit they had a completely different appearance from the comic. Though if there hadn’t been like news reports or even information beforehand about these two based on the books and comics, there would be no way to tell they were a couple in the episode. Though somehow the fact the media reported about lesbians being in the ep didn’t even end up being a bit of a controversy in the ep since I think I’ve seen some split opinions on Scootaloo’s parents on whether they’re neglectful and/or not realizing what Scootaloo likes about being in Ponyville until the very end or if the parents had the right to bring Scoots elsewhere and Scootaloo got her way after crying too much.

My own opinions on it is that I do like Scoots’ parents themselves though given that this might be the finale of the CMC episodes based on the title (Well ok, based on future sypnosises there is still one more CMC ep coming up but you get why the title may make it seem like this is the final CMC ep). It might of been more meaningful if Scootaloo did move, and give a moral to kids who have longtime friends that have to move because of situations changing regarding the parents. It is kind of a conundrum. I do like the episode still, but it is kind of an episode that does leave a lot to debate about.

BETWEEN DARK AND DAWN

This was a pretty fun one. We got to see first what would happen if indeed Celestia and Luna jumped in to solve every problem the Main 6 had even if it was completely mundane. But we quickly transition into Celestia and Luna having different ways of how they like to spend any vacation. Celestia wants an adventure to escape from the mundane royal duties. While Luna experiences too many intense stuff in dreams and perhaps also the time away in the moon to experience some of the more normal parts of life. In the meantime, the Mane 6 fill in for the Princesses and have troubles of their own. A fun note of the episode is that it was written by a famous DC comics writer.

I’m not so sure this episode entirely answers the questions left about Celestia and Luna’s retirement. But it was an entertaining episode for sure.

RAINBOW ROADTRIP

It was certainly nice to see the movie style one more time at least. Supposedly, this special would of been put in the theatres as a kind of sequel to the MLP movie if Hasbro green lighted it. But it became a TV special instead. Though I kind of understand why, while this special executed it’s plot better it lacked something that the MLP Movie had: An epic feel for the big screen. The MLP Movie did have some messy execution but we can’t say that the ponies going on a big adventure outside Equestria isn’t fitting of a theatrical release. While this special was more closer to an extended slice of life episode. Which on one hand, much of the show’s strongest episodes didn’t always necessarily involve an adventure or a villain to stop. But it also means there really isn’t a lot at stake to keep the audience invested. If Rainbow Roadtrip had been put in the theaters, while it would of probably been an overall better product writing wise it may feel like a downgrade in terms of stuff that happens throughout. A lot happens in the MLP Movie, it did kind of drag down the overall movie with maybe too much going on but perhaps it would of been the opposite problem of too less if this had gone to theaters. But it’s perfectly ok as a TV Special.

But anyway, there’s just not much I can say. It had cute characters, the Mane 6 were good, and it was sweet through and through. I just kinda wish that at least the next generation would kind of use this style of animation rather then the CG that sounds like is coming rather then being left behind after just a movie and a special.

[thedarklordmegatron]

Sliding in at the last minute with my piece for @tsukibeamfics as part of the @ffxvexchange!

Title: Across the Ages Ship: Promptis Prompto: Reunion  Rating: T

Also on AO3!

Warnings for implied child abuse and death in the ‘second lives’ portion! 

Their first lives ended in tragedy.

Bar the reclamation of Insomnia and the ending of the Starscourge, the future was something they had never really discussed. Not because Noctis hadn’t wanted to, no, on more than one occasion he had tried to start a conversation with him, but his anxiety had gotten the best of him each time and it hadn’t taken much for Prompto to steer him in another direction. He was well aware that once Noctis took on more duties, once he became King, that his own role in the other’s life would be drastically reduced if he was even allowed to remain that was. Not that Noctis or the others had ever done anything to enforce that idea. Far from it. When he’d stupidly mentioned it to Ignis in passing, the trio had taken it upon themselves to make it very clear that no matter what, he was apart of their little family and would remain as such.

Then everything went to shit. Because of course it did.

Between the fall of Insomnia, and bye extension Lucis, there had been little time to discuss anything except how they were going to feed themselves, stay off the Empire’s radar and somehow retake Lucis. Their future together hadn’t exactly been high on the list of priorities.

When Noctis and the others finally came to Gralea for him, freeing him from Ardyn’s little hell-hole, he’d long since decided that should he live through that particularly horrific portion of his life, he’d finally tell Noct just how much he loved him, how he would always be by his side, as his husband/lover or friend, it really didn’t matter; so long as he was there. Between the exhaustion and relief, it’d taken everything he had to just stay awake and keep moving, having a full in-depth conversation about their future together was never going to happen. And as with everything in his life, a curve-ball collided with his face and his whole world was thrown off kilter.

First, Noctis was quite literally absorbed into the Crystal, and Six did that image haunt him for the rest of his admittedly far too short life. Second, the Sun vanished behind a miasma of darkness, most definitely Ardyn’s work, and with it the fauna and flora, bringing about an apocalyptic scenario that no one had thought they could survive. And thirdly, just because the Astrals were the ultimate assholes, when Noctis did finally return, after ten years of hell, they were forced to accept the fact that one last night was all they would have. That come the ‘morning’, Ignis, Gladiolus and himself would have to stand outside of the Citadel and let their King, their brother, go to his death alone.

So really, considering all he’d survived, all he’d accomplished as a hunter and Crownsguard, it shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise when only moments before the sun rose Gladio shouted his name and a claw burst through his chest. Of course, it did. Perish the thought he’d be able to have some form of a happy life.

Then again, what life could he possibly have without Noctis?

On the steps of the Citadel, cradled in the arms of two men he considered his brothers, Prompto Argentum, Crownsguard and best friend to the one-hundred and fourteenth King of Lucis, dies as the sun rises for the first time in a decade.

-

Their second lives ends in cruelty.

Noctis had known from a very early age that he was not a normal boy. That much had become clear to him when a blue lady with white hair, Shiva his six-year-old mind supplied, appeared to him in his dreams and told him that he was not long for the world, but that he shouldn’t be afraid because this was only the beginning.

Despite her words, he had still gone screaming to his parents in the middle of the night, thrown himself in their arms and sobbed into his mother’s chest. A god may have told him not to be afraid, but he was a child, and as with all children, being told that something scary was waiting for them, something that would take him away from his mama and daddy, was an immensely terrifying thought.

He was eight when her words came true.

“You must never let go of my hand when we’re outside,” His mama had said firmly, kneeling down in front of him and brushing his hair aside “There are mean people out there who would take you away from me and daddy.”

“I won’t mama!” He said with all the confidence of a child who thought they knew everything.

Letting go of his mama’s hand hadn’t been intentional, it was just that he’d seen a cute little kitty that looked like it needed a hug, and before he knew it, he was being swept away in the crowd, his mama’s screams of ‘Noctis!’ forever etched into his memory.

Noctis doesn’t quite know how it happened, but at some point after losing his mama, he’s swept off his feet by a tall man and bundled into the back of a white van. It’s dark, noisy and very scary, so he does as all children do and screams as loudly as he can until someone shuffles around and a little hand grabs his arms and pulls him into a hug. He tries to fight them off but soon realises that the arms belong to a boy the same age as him with the prettiest blue eyes and hair the same colour as his cousin, Luna’s.

They cry quietly together, clinging onto one another in pure desperation, determined to hold onto the only other thing that isn’t as scary as the darkness. Eventually, after what feels like forever, the van stops and the doors are thrown open. The man doesn’t even spare them a second glance as he tears them apart, throwing the other boy to an even bigger and even scarier man before carrying Noctis away himself.

They scream for each other, reaching out in desperation as they’re dragged off in separate directions, but all it does is earn them a beating and no food.

Two years later, curled up in a ball under a tiny scrap of cloth he had claimed as a blanket, Noctis Venitus, formerly Noctis Lucis Caelum dies in his sleep from starvation.

A continent away, a six-year-old blonde boy suffers the same cruel fate.

-

Their third lives end suddenly.

No one had seen it coming. The group of teenagers had bundled onto the coach that morning, waving goodbye to their parents as they went off on their first skiing adventure, chattering away to themselves and cracking jokes at the expense of their visibly nervous teachers.

The coach doesn’t even make it to the Gralean border.

And so it continues.

It is on their seventy-sixth lives that both boys finally survive past the age of ten.

-

Their seventy-sixth lives see them reunited.

For two people who have lived through the worst life has to offer, their current lives are rather unremarkable.

Prompto Faustus grows up peacefully in the suburbs of Insomnia with his twin brother, Loqi, and his parents. He has everything a twenty-three-year-old could want. A family who loves him, friends who include him and make sure he enjoys life, financial security, and boy if that isn’t a big one, but he still can’t help but feel as though something is missing, as though a very large piece of the jigsaw that is his life has hidden itself so far under the couch that he can’t quite reach it.

It’s during his first lecture at University that he finds that elusive piece, because there, tucked away in the back corner of the lecture theatre, fast asleep is a face he has seen in his dreams every night since he was twelve.

At first he pauses, considers his options and wonders if maybe it would be too creepy to just casually stroll up to the guy and sit down beside him while he’s sleeping, but then Noctis, and it has to be Noctis, stretches in a way that is so familiar that his feet are moving before his brain catches up with them. He silently slips into the seat beside the sleeping student and rummages through his bag for his book and pens. It’s only when the lecturer starts talking that he wonders why he is even attending a photography lecture anyway, there’s a small part of his brain that tells him this isn’t normal, that this guy wasn’t all that into photography, but who’s he to question someone elses motives when he literally chose his seat because of some random dreams?

The lecturer is midway through explaining how a photographer achieved a certain composition when he moves. There’s no over the top reaction, no sudden scream of ‘Prompto!’ like his subconscious had hoped, which leaves him feeling a little deflated, but he does at least feel the guy’s eyes on him for the rest of the hour.

When it is finally over, he’s almost too scared to look at him. However, he’s lucky in that Noctis decides to make the first move.

“Name’s Noctis,” He says casually, with a smile that makes Prompto’s heart skip a beat “Noctis Lucis Caelum.” Suddenly he remembers, as though he’d finally grabbed that puzzle piece and forced it into place. He remembers easy smiles, late nights gaming and joking at the expense of one another. He remembers pushing a car through the blistering heat, singing trashy pop songs at the top of his lungs along with Noctis and Gladiolus in an attempt to make Ignis laugh. He remembers those warm hugs, the body curled around his during the cold night and lips that pressed kisses along his shoulder blades and neck.

Without warning, Prompto throws himself at the other, not at all concerned with the looks the other students send their way. After all,  it’s none of their business that he’s finally found his missing boyfriend in another life nearly three hundred years after their deaths.

Noctis returns the hug with just as much enthusiasm, burying his face into Prompto’s neck and sobbing silently despite the bright smile and laugh on his lips.

There, in Noctis’ arms, it’s hard to understand how he’s survived so long without this man who is quite literally the other half of his soul. The euphoria he feels as they smile at one another following the hug is unlike anything he has ever felt in his life. His heart feels about ready to implode and he wants nothing more than to stand atop the highest point in Lucis and scream his love for Noctis, tell the world everything he was forced to keep a secret in their previous lives. However, considering that isn’t really an option, he’ll gladly accept the kiss Noctis leans in for and the numerous other ones that follow it as they flee the campus hand-in-hand, laughing all the way.

Their seventy-sixth lives are long ones, filled with happiness and love. It is also their last but it is a shared-life well spent.

[pretty-idol-hell]

Meet Hanabi!

At long last, proudly introducing my 4th PriChan OC! My first lovely-type character (who will stay lovely-type), the actual main character of my PriPara/PriChan universe, a girl who has patiently waited way too long for her debut…… Hanabi!!

Hanabi means “firework” in Japanese, but it’s literally “flower fire”. So you may think of her as an exploding flower, if you will.

Name: Hanabi Type: Lovely Brand: Sweet Honey

About:

Hanabi was a small girl with big dreams. 

She was the kind of girl who would blend into the back of the classroom like a bookshelf or a potted plant. The kind of girl who would spend every recess hiding in the library, pouring over every fashion book or magazine she could get her hands on. The kind of girl nobody really noticed. 

But. 

She was also the kind of girl who knew what she wanted, and she knew that someday she was definitely going to get it. 

Hanabi’s first dream come true occurred was when she landed an internship at Prism Stone when she was only a 3rd year junior high school student. Of course, most of her duties involved folding clothes and dealing with customers, but this was still her first foot into the door to the wonderful world of PriChan fashion.

So, after reading this far, you’d think Hanabi’s ultimate goal was to become one of the Designers Seven, right? Well, as any aspiring fashion designer she couldn’t help but look up to them. But to her, she had an even bigger dream. 

Hanabi’s inspiration, and the main reason she became interested in fashion design in the first place, was because of a model that she admired. Ever since the first time she laid eyes on this particular model, a mysterious girl known only as “Hikari”, she was completely mesmerized by her shimmering grace. She was dark and elegant, cool and sleek, and yet bright as a star all at the same time. Hanabi knew that her biggest dream was to have this Hikari someday wear clothes that she had designed. 

However, after a steady decline in public appearances, lately Hikari seemed to have almost disappeared from the world of modeling altogether. Hanabi heard there was something called “PriPara” taking up a lot of her time, whatever that was. 

But anyway, let’s return to Hanabi, shall we. Hanabi was, at most times, a quiet agreeable girl with her nose in a magazine or a sketchbook. However, when it came to certain topics, she did have a tenancy to…. explode… shall we say. One of those topics was fashion. 

And today was one of those days. 

It started off like a day like any other day at Kirajuku Prism Stone, but that was not meant to be. Today was the day Hanabi first encountered her. 

After hearing some sort of commotion was going on in the lobby while she was sorting clothes in the back, Hanabi came out to the front of the store to have a look. 

“What’s going on?” she asked Meganee. 

“Oh,” said Meganee. “Some new PriChan debut. But apparently she was a ‘Kami Idol’ on something called ‘PriPara’ I heard?”  

Hanabi looked to the center of the crowd. And there she was: The idol with the worst fashion sense Hanabi had ever seen. She had bright blue hair (which matches almost nothing! how does she expect to wear lovely-type coords?!?) tied up in pigtails with streaks of lighter blue in it for some reason (??). She was standing at the counter across the room wearing the most mismatched piece of garbage Hanabi had ever seen: Different length socks?! BAT WINGS!? In her hands was a catalog of the latest PriChan coords, mostly Sweet Honey and Girls Yell (as these were the brands in season of course). 

“Don’t you have anything a bit…. cooler? Or y’know...... messier? Oh, I guess this one could work… if you put some paint splotches on it. And rip it up a bit. Could you do that?”

Hanabi was fuming. How dare she. Just because this girl was a Clammy Idol on PrawnPara or whatever she thinks she can just have her way with Designers Seven coords??! This was too much. Hanabi decided it didn’t matter who this customer was, she was about to let her have a piece of her mind. 

So Hanabi began to storm towards this blue-haired waste of air and space. And she was just about to open her mouth to let everything loose when–

“Luna, are you done yet?” 

*CRASH*

*BANG*

*THUMP*

Sorry, that was the sound of Hanabi knocking over several clothing stands, sliding under the counter, and bumping her head fairly hard.

It was such a mundane sentence, and yet spoken with such inconceivable elegance and heavenly tone! Could it be?! How could it possibly….

“Hanabi, what is--“

“MEGANEE!” Hanabi gasped as she pulled the unsuspecting shop manager under the counter with her. “Who… who is that....”

“Oh um, I think she’s called Luna-“

“NO… no… the other girl…”

“Oh, that’s one of her teammates. They have a unit called NightLight… Her name is Hi… Hi….”

“HIKARI?!”

“Oh yeah, Hikari! For some reason Luna’s teammates both have names that start with ‘Hi’. It’s rather confusing.”

Hanabi released Meganee and melted into the carpet.

It couldn’t be…

How could this be real life……

How could it possibly be that Hanabi had just breathed THE SAME AIR as her IDOL, the GLORIOUS HIKARI-SAMA…. Only to find that she’s teammates with THAT!

Hanabi was in total and utter shock. She felt like she had to do something about this. It was up to her, and only her, to rescue the beautiful Hikari-sama from her captor and return her to the rightful world of modeling where she belonged!

But how?

How could she possible approach her.

Then Hanabi had an idea. She realized she would just have to beat Luna at her own game.

“I will become… a PRICHAN IDOL!” she proclaimed as she stood up from beneath the counter.

“I will become the most fashionable, most lovely, most amazing PriChan Idol the world has ever seen. And I will win Hikari-sama back from YOU! LUNA OF NIGHTLIGHT, FROM THIS DAY ONWARD YOU AND I ARE RIVALS!”

Unfortunately Luna had been dragged out of the shop by Hikari for making a scene several minutes ago while Hanabi was still under the counter. 

“Great,” said Meganee. “You can start right after you clean up this mess.”

And thus was the humble beginning of Luna’s greatest rival.

If only Luna knew she existed.

Will Hanabi be able to find a teammate to help her work towards accomplishing her dreams?!

[tiniechankai]

my favourite sailor moon season 1 episodes

since i’m rewatching the sailor moon series (again...) i thought i would rank all my favourite episodes from each season then compile them all together and see which episode is my absolute favourite of the entire show. considering i have no idea what my favourite episode is... maybe i’ll know now, hah. 

Episode 8 - The Girl Genius Is a Monster: The Brainwashing Cram School of Horror

so uh... as a stressed student i can relate to this a lot. the kids going into the cram school is me going into school every morning. this is definitely not my favourite episode of the season but the introduction to ami is really sweet, especially when people whisper about ami behind her back but then when usagi actually meets her, ami ends up being the sweetest girl. 

i also just love the fact that ami freaking owned everyone in that arcade on the sailor v game?? like wow feminism right there

Episode 10 - The Cursed Bus: Enter Mars, the Guardian of Fire

mars is my favourite inner senshi and she’s honestly so cool in this episode. this is probably the only episode in the entire series where she’s quite akin to her manga self, and while i love her in the anime, i think her aloof manga self is great too. it’s interesting to me to get a look into japanese culture through shinto. watching this as a kid i had no idea what was really japanese religion and such so learning about this was cool (i had like 4 sailor moon episodes and they were all the introductory episodes to the senshi). also the bus was really freaky and scary and just what the heck. rei’s reaction to jadeite is also quite funny (she basically has heart palpitations of him, and not the good kind)

Episode 17 - Usagi's a Model: The Flash of the Monster Camera

one of the few episodes that aren’t the finale that i can tell you that usagi kicks some legitimate ass in here. like what a badass! i can’t say i know the last time usagi has done this, hah. this entire episode includes everyone telling usagi she can’t be a model because she’s not a good enough person or she’s not pretty enough. i mean even mamoru is back being the asshole he is in this first season, even though he goes on about how she won’t be picked because she’s not pretty on the inside and what not (like wth dude you don’t even know her) but usagi is picked anyways (like everyone who signed up but... whatever) and then she is left alone to fight the youma and then she is to fight the monster by herself. she does so by cleverly using the mirrors. one of the saddest bits in the show is when he family is watching the tv while usagi is asleep in her room they talk about how they wish usagi was as great as the girl who saved the photographer’s life (sailor moon) but ?? do they not care about the factt that usagi was AT THAT PHOTOSHOOT?? GETTING ATTCKED?? i know they don’t know she’s sailor moon but heck she was there she might’ve been attacked. the tsukino household can be so annoying sometimes hfksdh i digress

Episode 20 - The Summer, the Beach, Youth and Ghosts

this is a genuinely hilarious episode. poor mitsuishi kotono, she spent most of the episode screaming at the ghosts lmao. i like this episode because we see the girls get up to their usual loud shenanigans (and hell i love me a beach episode). this is also a episode about a heavy topic of a girls’ father forcing herself into a duty she is too young to deal with. it gets pretty dark too and i can see why they didn’t put this into the dic dub (she literally starts CRYING and i get these sort of like... really bad rape vibes. I KNOW HE’S HER FATHER BUT IT’S SO GROSS). anyways, it’s really dark but has it’s funny moments as we focus on some other characters, it’s a really good beach ova. 

Episode 21 - Protect the Children's Dreams: Friendship Through Anime

this episode is so great, i really do love it. it might might be my favourite in the season. i just love these two friends a lot, especially hiromi as a character (the shorthaired one). hiromi deals with being jealous over her friend’s sketches in animating and it gets so bad that nephrite has to come by with his stupid self and ruin everything. anyone with low self esteem such as hiromi can relate to constantly feeling like you’re in the shadow of your colleagues, your best friend. nephrite’s episodes tend to be my favourite because we see that our actions, when we are selfish and snobby that it affects others a lot. even though i despise nephrite his episodes have become a favourite of mine. 

Episode 28 - The Painting of Love: Usagi and Mamoru Get Closer

one of the few episodes where mamoru isn’t a complete ass to usagi (i think?) and he’s actually kinda ... civil with her. he still treats her like a child but i mean she acts like one so... i like this episode a lot because you can really see the difference in usagi and mamoru with the help of this really cute artist lady yumemi. i also think it’s really funny how usagi even meets yumemi is because she’s going to call out mamoru for cheating on rei lmao. this episode is really nice just because it starts more heavily foreshadowing about mamoru and usagi’s backseat relationship.

Episode 31 - Love and Chased: Luna's Worst Day Ever

if you don’t like this episode then there’s GOT to be something wrong with you. this episode is pure crackhead goodness while we get a spoof of sailor moon’s own show with loveable luna and righteous rhett butler, luna’s love interest before we even knew artemis’ name. this episode is just pure gold and this might be my second favourite episode of the season, not gonna lie. when i saw the cat bone instead of tuxedo mask’s rose, i remember laughing so hard i couldn’t breathe. i love this show.

Episode 37 - Let's Become a Princess: Usagi's Bizarre Training

being princess hard. not my favourite episode for any particular reason other than it’s REALLY enjoyable to watch. i also just love how usagi sucks at literally everything i suck at and she is just so relateable in this episode. i also love how she’s not the only one who sucks at ballroom dancing, minako can’t dance and rei is too much of a dom to let the other guy lead. feminism!

Episode 38 - The Snow, the Mountains, Friendship and Monsters

this episode marks one of my favourites because it begins rei’s total understanding of usagi’s relationship with mamoru and this continues from this episode until SAILOR STARS (yes i know she was kinda understanding of usagi in episode 35 but she also slapped usagi so...) but this episode is full of clumsy usagi goodness and the great friendship of usagi and rei. 

Episode 43 - Usagi Abandoned: The Falling-Out of the Sailor Guardians

i love these sorts of episodes, and just like the previous one, we get even MORE usarei friendship moments and i’m LIVING for it. even the senshi think mars actually hates usagi but noooppppe she’s actually her bestie. this is a great episode.

Episode 44 - Usagi's Awakening: A Message from the Distant Past

ok so i don’t really like mamoru and usagi BUT i like serenity and endymion. this backstory episode is GREAT and i wish i had a short show based around fun at the moon kingdom because that would be great? i love sailor moon don’t get me wrong but i don’t like mamoru and usagi. cough. this episode gives off a more ethereal quality and is sucha beautiful episode animation wise. 

Episode 46 - Usagi's Eternal Wish: A Brand New Life

while the last episode was HEARTWRENCHINGLY SAD i can’t get over how sad this episode is. not even mentioning how awesome it is when the beginning of moonlight densetsu comes on when usagi pull out her moon wand. this episode rips me apart because while i dislike usagi and mamoru this dialogue just makes me so sad “Live a normal life. Find a cool boyfriend.” “Nobody’s cooler than you.” AND I CRIED. nobody’s cooler than you, the asshole who called me fat, stupid, and ugly for 30 episodes. but whatever, i’m still sad. and then usagi’s monologue at the ending (i’m not a big fan of kae araki as usagi but i still... love the monologue so much) and just wow. what a great ending. 

this was more episodes then i expected

[stephicness]

I haven't really see anyone else comment on this so I will say it: Does it bother anybody else that Luna's character revolve around Noctis so much? It bothers me because I do like her. I wanted to see more of her outside of Noctis. I know it's Noct's story but it would be nice to see more of Luna and other characters outside of him.

Oh, it bothers alot of people, I feel, dear anon! c: It’s definitely a little problematic in how Lunafreya was written, especially with how strong and dynamic her role is and just how much there is going on that probably would allow her to have more side thoughts or different emotions or different aspirations to make her into such a cool and unique character. And yet, from how her dialogue is written, we only ever really get to see her in scenes where she’s going ‘Oh, Noctis! I love Noctis! I’d die for Noctis.’ I know it bothered me a bit, especially when we got that bonus scene of her and Gentiana during Chapter 12, and she literally displayed herself as worthless unless she did her duty to Noctis, and I think that’s a little unfair, to be honest?

But at the same time, I can kinda see why her character works that way. Not because of the whole misogyny thing where a female character dies for the sake of male character development and all. But think about it: the fandom kind of works in a similar way.

Take Ignis for example (in honor of the new DLC! WHOOP!). He’s a man whole-heartedly dedicated to Noctis, with his quirks and charms, etc. And we as the fans often say things like ‘Oh, Ignis! I love Ignis! I would die for Ignis!’ Because let’s be real, Ignis is someone to really admire and adore! Of course, he’s a fictional character, but it’s a similar mentality.

Or say for example you fell in love yourself. Fleeting crushes and all, I mean. Your mind’s full of that person. You wonder what they’re doing, how they are, if they’re thinking about you. You’re thinking about all the things you could do with them if you’re able to be together, what the future may hold – little ‘what if’s’ and the like as you’re kind of sure they have the same feelings for you, but you’re not sure.

Or even when they told you that they probably don’t feel the same way, it’s hard to really let go. You remain close, even if it hurts you knowing that friendship is all that you’ll have. You’d give your heart and soul to this other person, only to know that they wouldn’t do the same in return. And to be honest, it’s really unhealthy for someone to do that – to dedicate themselves like that knowing the same wouldn’t be done for them.

And ultimately, that’s what makes Lunafreya an extremely tragic character, in my eyes. It’s not because of the bad writing, or the lost potential, or even the literal death she faced. It’s the fact that she did everything she could for the person she loved and cared for, and yet it still wasn’t enough. The only thing she really wanted in return was Noctis’s love. And as kind of lame as it was for that to be among one of her few motivations in the game, it was kind of sad that she went almost the entire game just wishing and hoping that she would see him again, face to face to say what she always wanted to say to him. But she didn’t even get that in the end. Only in the afterlife did she kind of get to see it – in nothing more than a dream.

In a way, Lunafreya reminds me of Ignis in a sense, which I think is rather intriguing. Both dedicate themselves and their work to Noctis, both remain utterly loyal to him, both only wish to be there at Noctis’s side. But alas, neither of them could do that. They sacrificed everything for Noctis, but got little to nothing in return. But they never really did ask for much in the end – only that Noctis would be safe and fulfill his duty, even if it was a truly tragic one in the end.

It kinda bums me out, like you said, how Noctis-oriented alot of the characters are. But I also kind of enjoy it. The tragedies are always ones that hug at the heart-strings, after all~ vuv

[lsgingasblog]

Of Happy Coincidences and Fated Connections Chapter 5

Act 5

It was a particular beautiful day and blond haired girl was staring outside from inside a quaint café.

She gets a hand covering her eyes. “Guess who?!”

“Akko” Diana announces while laughing

“Sorry I took so long Diana. These are for you M’lady” Akko hands Diana flowers and proceeds to courtesy although since she’s wearing shorts and a blouse she doesn’t have a hem to hold on to while doing that.

“Ooh my! I’m extremely flattered” and since Diana does have a summer dress she has the ends to courtesy with.

We both laughed and I gave Akko a quick peck on her lips she returns the sentiment various times, but of fear of being called out for too much PDA we left the café. Akko broke the rule and already paid prior for the coffee and dessert we had despite it being my turn to pay.

“You ready?” Akko wanted to reassure Diana. Diana nods.

And so we head back in the direction of the Cavendish Manor.

I suppose and explanation is in order.

Akko cannot believe her luck of being with Diana and after the twists and turns it took to get here.

It’s already the beginning of the summer break of the 2nd year and Akko and Diana have started dating a few weeks after the start of the 2nd year, but that’s a reminiscence for another time, like say their anniversary it was stupidly simple though, because of all the miscommunication and interruptions, carefully planning things out always ended up poorly.

You see they’re heading to visit the grave of Bernadette Cavendish since Diana has a very important letter to announce to her mother.

What’s that letter about?

Well for that we do have to trace back to events that happened right before they got together.

After summer break, by which we met 3 times not counting the week we stayed in Diana’s house prior to the start of our 2nd year. It was a good time and she read the Believing Astral Hearts in and out.

However upon arriving back to school she noticed Ursula sensei particularly crestfallen about Croix being on house arrest the last months after the summer break crisis that occurred and she broke her rules to help. No contact whatsoever. Akko seriously wishes they would finally talk it out, although she supposed it would be horribly hypocritical of her to say that considering she’s known about her feelings for Diana for months already, ever since the café. Actually if she’s being more honest going all the way to her manor to bring her back came out of more than just rival or friend feelings and considering they weren’t even really friends till after that event, her sentiments were definitely at least a wee bit non-platonic.

That said she wanted to cheer Ursula up, but 2nd year took her by storm. She got patrolling duty, but she and Diana’s schedule didn’t match until the 2nd semester of the year. And boy were the late night make out situations in abandoned corridors and courtyards then ever breath-taking.

Both she and Diana were busier with the adverse effects of magic as well. Magic coming back brought with it a lot of wonderful stuff, but it had some less than fortunate occurrences as well.

Black crafts was more prevalent and magical creatures that haven’t been heard or seen for centuries were reappearing and not all of them were peaceful which led to she and Diana getting dragged to help because they were recognizable and the heroes.

To be fair Akko never wanted the attention. Did she enjoy it for a good moment to finally be noticed? Of course, but she just wanted people to feel the joy again of magic. She didn’t for the fame or anything like that. Diana had her own stuff that she was dealing with as well from the council of Old nine witches family, that up until the missile crisis has been fairly silent. The greed of man is disheartening if Akko is honest, but she and Diana have been dealing with it in stride even if it does tend to put a strain in their relationship from time to time, they talk it out and grow together. This is both their first relationship after all so mistakes and learning curves are to be expected.

In any case I wanted to give Believing Astral Hearts story book to Professor Ursula in the hopes that it might cheer her up. Also there was a letter I found after I read the Crab and the Taurus story and I said out loud ‘I love diana cavendish’ more as a confirmation and passing thing really, because I’ve known that for some time.

And what materializes? A letter. So I showed Diana it she started crying I comforted her immediately and she said her mother left a few letter for her at random times to cheer her up or make her realize a few things she was agonizing over.

She lets me read it. Apparently shortly after Diana had regained her magic back Bernadette sent a letter to Chariot to thank her and the lovely book and her inspiration for her and her daughter. This letter had a mark that designated it was a copy though, so we wanted to ask Professor Ursula about it.

Once we gave professor the book she was shocked. She said only less than 20 of the books actually sold before they were recalled. Only 100 were printed and the rest were disposed of.

She tells us she’s happy the books helped both Diana and I through moments we were feeling lost, she confesses she wrote this book sometime during and the last passage after the fiasco with the moon happened.

She was down and her manager was angry with her for not being able to bring in the profit, but he visited her one day a few weeks after the misfire, of which her manager didn’t even remember because of croix erasing everyone present there’s memory except chariot.

So he swipes the manuscript for this book and decides to publish it without her consent.

She finds out a few months later that a book is being made and she recalled them but the manager wouldn’t hear any of it.

Croix came to her and told her she want to help but chariot doesn’t believe her anymore after the way she lied to her.

Croix has Chariot admitting on a recording that was not authorized by chariot to finally get the recall in.

And the whole thing was swept under the rug. Croix told her sorry, but chariot was furious.

And the last ditch effort to restore their friendship went up in flames.

Croix said ‘For what it’s worth I did like the book Char’ and she walks out never to be seen again until she shows up back at Luna Nova in my first year.

Professor says she wanted to recall it because she’s not sure if the ending was the proper one.

Indeed the 7th and last story “A never-ending journey” had Charon the titular pisces and one of the leads in this storybook abandon society and others and goes an odyssey in search of himself, because he feels lost and isn’t sure of his place in the world. He is searching for this oasis of sorts, a place where people’s dream truly come true, because charon’s goal to cheer up and bring happiness did not go so well after some friction later on with libra and a few other individuals so Charon, disillusioned and experiencing the world in his more jaded yet still vulnerable state he discovers many things and just as he makes it to the top of the dessert top with his fish tank water almost completely gone the book ends.

I still love this book, but that last story was clearly a reflection of Chariot’s emotional turmoil and who doesn’t have those, so although not as uplifting it is a sense a feeling that is relatable.

“So right the ending you want Professor Ursula, you owe it to yourself”

She agrees and we went on to ask her about the letter and she shows the original one.

Diana was visibly hurt and confused. Professor Ursula and she spent much of last summer breaks together. Of which neither are privy to divulge to me for some reason or another, although they both promised soon, but it has been annoying.

Why didn’t she tell before?

“I’m sorry Diana I was unsure how to bring it up, but I felt horribly guilty, you see I was away with a particular faction”

A flitting nod of acknowledgment to the faction. I was thoroughly confused but I decided it is best I don’t meddle right now unless it escalates.

“I didn’t come back to my actual home address until a year after your mom had sent it by then I sent a letter back, but it had returned to sender”

Diana’s eyes widen and she stares at the ground. Ooh. Don’t tell me….

“Your mother passed away a week prior to having sent my letter. I’m sure your staff were distraught as well and they were very worried about your emotional state and didn’t feel it would be the right. Diana I’m extremely sorry for not having brought it up sooner, I immensely treasured your mom as you know the crab from the first story Detty was another crab from the 5th one and “Detty” was based off your mom. I was immensely impressed and motivated that night that I talked to your mom….I’m sorry for you loss, I’m aware it’s been years already Diana, but I truly mean it. She was an amazing lady”

“She was” Diana’s shoulders start gently shaking up and down. Professor Ursula and I reach out to comfort her until she calms down. I have seen Diana cry only a few times until now, but you better count yourself lucky if she ever trusts you enough to see this vulnerable side of her.

Diana calmed down and said she was going to wash her face in the bathroom. I wanted to follow but she said it’s ok.

There is a knock on the door and Ursula goes to open it. Holbrooke was wondering if she could borrow Diana for a moment to prepare for the upcoming Samhain festival.  Because of all the attention magic and subsidizing luna nova is getting expansion plans and incoming non-magic students like me (of which I started up a club to help and guide them) the Samhain festival is a much bigger fare and preparations start months in advance now. Diana is coordinator again this year.

I pouted. This was finally the day. Everyone else was busy with something and I told Diana it would be just the two of us.

Finally I wasn’t going to waste a moment and confess.

Diana walks out refreshed and looking gorgeous as ever and her eyes only look a bit red now.

She tells Holbrooke that she only wants a small briefing she has previous plans she doesn’t want to cancel on. Yes.

Holbrooke mentions it will be brief and leaves with Diana.

Ursula turns around walks towards me and hugs me. I hug back. She tells me thank you.

“This reminds me of the 6th story professor”

She smiles. “The Amplifying and Rewarding Feeling of Gratitude”

“I wrote that as my final dream of wanting the world to be loving, happy and work out their differences. That’s why I included all the zodiac signs there along with recurring characters of the previous stories”

“Yeah it was amazing, I loved it!”

“Akko I really do mean it. I can’t thank diana or you enough for all you guys have done, truly”

“Same can be said back from us professor, thank you for everything”

Ursula’s kind smile morphs into a mischievous smile. Wait…

“In any case you best go akko, I’m sure you don’t have much time to prepare before miss Cavendish shows up at the library. Go get her akko, it’s about time after all”

Wew. I knew it. She knew. Well not like either Diana or I were being subtle.

“Touché professor, but same can be said for you and Croi-”

And I get pushed out of the door and right before the door closes in front of me. Professor smiles and says “I will and good luck akko”.

In any case the letter had been read by Diana in our winter break. She came back home with me since my parents were worried sick after all the things that have been occurring. They met Diana and absolutely loved her, of course I can’t say I expected anything less. We read it one day when my parents went to a business party of my dad’s and it was a couple one so Diana and I stayed home. She brought the letter and had this nostalgic smile on her face. This is the first time she didn’t cry or become overly emotional with something involving her mom, she’s still sad and very much loves her mom, but I suppose this was fairly cathartic for her, closure often is after all. I hug her.

And she finally starts talking about her mom. About how it was growing up and having her mom around, leading up to the chariot show in japan when we were kids, how her mother knew about the cancer and Taurus cards we swapped and how she teased diana about it from time to time, all the way up to before she died, she did get misty eyes but she confesses how gifted she was to have had her mother and if her mother did not push he life force so much to presently be with Diana for so long, her mother might have an astral projection like woodward has, but she’s happy about what she has and that she found me and all the friends we have and Luna Nova and she loves magic.

She never really talks this long, I’m usually the one talking for extended periods of time and I have to say I’m actually enjoying the change. Diana's mom is truly amazing for having raised an angel, at least in my eyes.

In any case we were busy so it isn’t until now that we both were available to tell the contents of the letter to Bernadette.

Honestly my palms are a bit sweaty as well because this will be the first time actually meeting Diana’s mom, since the times we stayed at Cavendish manor before Diana was a bit skittish about topics concerning the resting place of her mom the rare times it was brought up or hinted upon.

I glance at Diana hoping she doesn’t decide that this million and one time that my hands are sweaty is one too many and she dumps me right then and there. Of course I know I’m being silly. We have been walking in silence. Clearly this letter is a long time coming. She glances at me, squeezes my hand and smiles. I smile back. Not getting dumped today. That’s good. She points ahead. Yep just over the grassy hill we’ll get Bernadette’s tree. She pulls me along and we start running only to come to an abrupt halt once we reach the top.

We couldn’t believe what we saw. It was not one but 3 of those vile malicious creatures. I believe there was a category for them but the name escapes me.

They looked like that green menacing creatures, thornberry I believe,  in the final fantasy game I played last week that constanze brought over. Although it also makes my hair on my skin stand up, because these critters while not really big I vaguely remember them being covered in magical creatures class, a subject that got more weight again with the influx of magic from Yggdrasil.

I glanced at Diana. She was rather pale. Ooh god these were dangerous creatures. She was also livid though they had their lantern much like those thorn berry and were sucking out energy out of the tree. Ooh god they are killing Diana’s mom. Well more dead that a spirit inside a tree can get anyway.

Diana starts running towards them and shooting spells. I join her. As crazy as this is I can’t let her go in 3 against 1.

I realize our spells didn’t do much and wanted to go in closer but Diana pulls me away and gets a hit in my place. I was mad. She tells me that they suck your soul. Third swipe they get on you, you’re dead.

Diana already got one. For weird little things they were quick and fighting them was hard I got 1 swipe too trying to protect Diana. There seemed to be no hope, Diana needs time to do a sealing, but she can’t like this. And then we got hope. Andrew came in running and completely threw one of guard.

Andrew doesn’t possess magic though so 2 swipes might mean sudden death.

He helps loads though and injures one, diana lands a killing blow on two now it’s only one, but Andrew had gotten swiped once and diana and I had both 2 swipes. I got my 2nd one pushing Andrew out of the way and he rolled down the small hill, he’s still alive but he’s pretty banged up, he helped us tons.

Diana and I were utterly exhausted and we were bleeding. Diana has the circle set up thanks to that last distraction by Andrew before he nearly got killed I went back to distract him and diana did the sealing not before he managed to throw his knife though straight towards diana. It lodged in her stomach and she pulled it out she was bleeding profusely. No! no! the monster was sealed but I can’t accept this being the cost.

I had sent another Flare up to the Cavendish mansion and a projection of a mouse as well, but seeing as only Andrew came here that means Diana’s aunt and cousins are still out doing Cavendish head affairs and diplomacy. God.

I go towards Diana, I rip out a chunk of my blouse to try and hold the wound or do the healing incantation. Diana smiles sadly at me and shakes her head. No. I refuse to accept this. Diana breathing is labored, I can feel her energy and magic fading. No! please no.  “a-akk-o, I l-love you”.

No not like this.

“I love you too Diana, but please tell me what to use Diana, please!”

She smiles sadly at me one more time and reaches at to touch my cheeks. I’m bawling right now. I know it. Then nothing, her hand falls limply and if it wasn’t for all the blood one can assume she was just sleeping.

“Please Diana, please!” I was broken and sobbing. Even poor Andrew was forgotten there and my pain while immense and my energy completely drained all I can feel is this immense grief.

“Don’t cry little one, it will all be ok” I turned around with all my wrath and furry I wanted to send this ethereal voice to hell, but was left stunned. It’s Bernadette Cavendish. I had completely forgot why we were here in the first place.

“I would love to talk to the girl who stole my daughter’s heart, but right now I have to save Diana.”

Save her, but how?

“A mother’s love is one of the most powerful and most ancient magic out here” and Diana’s body started glowing green and I can see the rise and fall of her chest. I was crying. Her power was still weak but she’s alive. I felt a glow around my body and I could see Andrew’s body glowing this healing green as well. I was still weak, but it was a lot more manageable.

“There, I would love to talk longer Atsuko Kagari, but I’m only allowed 3 instances of astral projection, because of having pushed my mortal life so much with my constitution and I’m afraid healing especially a big one that I did on Diana eats away at my time. All I have to say thank you little one. Thank you for bringing Diana’s joy back for magic. Thank you for bringing her and unbridled amount of happiness, truly. Take care of each other”

“I will! I had so many things to say and I feel sad Diana couldn’t see you right now, but I have to say this thank you as well for bringing her into this world and into my life. She makes me so very happy, I can’t even begin to explain it, so thank you for raising her into such a magnificent person and I’m so glad you approve”

She starts laughing and has a blinding, subtle yet charming smile, reminds me of Diana’s.

“We will see each other again and next time hopefully in better circumstances”

She starts fading away. Not before Diana’s aunt shows up and Bernadette smiles at her sisters and Daryl is crying. Well, I never…..the exhaustion starts becoming too much though and I feel myself drift to sleep.

Before thudding Anne & Daryl run toward Diana and I while I’m sure one of the butlers is looking over Andrew.

I wake up in a room with a high ceiling. I’m on a bed. I turn to my right and there’s Andrew sleeping away.  

I stand up and find myself feeling a bit woozy. I grab the bed for support. My whole body is sore. Especially my sides and my shoulder. Both of which were areas that got swiped.

I move around and I discover I’m on the 2nd floor in one of the more well-light room near the corner. I start walking/dragging myself toward Diana’s room. As I get closer I see Daryl come out and close to door to Diana’s room. She notices me and nods my way.

Daryl and I aren’t on amicable term to be honest, but I believe she’s ok with us because she knows I make Diana happy and as much as she pretends she really hates her niece and her sister, Diana and I both know differently.

The Twins are the next to walk out “Hey Akko, Diana has yet to wake up” one says “Also you should still be in bed rest you’ve been asleep for the last 36 hours, but I suppose we can’t stop you” the other one said. So they open the door slightly for me and say they’re goodbyes and I can hear ‘Diana is so lucky, why can’t we find guys who cares about us like that’. Diana and her cousins despite their age gap have been on somewhat friendlier terms and they love teasing me so there’s that.

I walk in I see Diana. She has yet to wake up. 1 day and a half of sleeping, that’s insane. Her face is still a bit too devoid of color, but considering she almost died I’m not complaining.

Her bed is huge, I always forget how big to be honest. She’s in the middle of it and there’s still a lot of room on either side. I know I’m not supposed to, but I almost lost her for crying out loud. So I crawl in bed right next to her, I won’t lift the covers though as to not disturb her. I held her hand softly and started caressing her hair and in that I felt myself drifting off. This battle took a lot more out of me then I thought.

“Akko………Akko” I hear an angelic voice coaxing me.

Where am I? Ooh right in the Cavendish mansion and we just escaped a horrific ordeal over a day back.

I flutter my eyes open and I’m met with mesmerizing blue eyes that I can just drown in.

“Diana….” My voice comes out a bit hoarse. Oh god I have something stuck in my throat.  I caress her face gently, she holds my hands at her cheek.

“I dreamt I saw my mom”

Ooh I suppose that must’ve happened when she was healing Diana. I look at her intently. She continues.

“It was only for a small moment, but I dreamt she saved me from the dark and then I saw she was talking to you although I couldn’t make out the words”

So I tell her about her mother’s astral projection and how she saved her. How happy I was that she approved of me. I told her how sad I was that I had lost her forever. She said she didn’t want to die either and we kissed gently a few times and I pressed my forehead to hers.

“Your mother is absolutely gorgeous, I totally get my you’re a babe now”

Success I got a bit of color in her cheeks. She smiles “Yeah she is”

I readjust myself more comfortably at her sides while making sure I don’t put any weight on her.

“I love you Atsuko Kagari” Diana says while given me the softest expression she ever had.

“I love you too Diana Cavendish” and we give each other a languid strain of soft kisses that more aptly tries to convey are warmth and devotion for each other.

We hear a cough.

We both look at the open door. When that did happen?

“Jealous?” it was Diana. Honestly while I did the impossible and Diana, Andrew and I are all pretty good friends and Diana and Andrew can actually hang out their teasing and fake hostility are hard habits to shake off from either, but I know we were both grateful for Andrew, without him who knows what state we would be in.

“Being on bed-rest and making out with a cute girl? Extremely. Sadly, we can’t all be so lucky, now can we?”

Andrew’s playful smile. He comes closer and sits on the other side of the bed.

Diana looks at me and knows what we both want to say. I nod.

“Thank you Andrew” we both said in unison.

“It’s the only right thing to do after all. Glad you guys made it out fairly ok. It’s never a dull moment with you guys.”

I was wondering though what Andrew was doing here we weren’t supposed to meet up till…snap how many days now…..counting having slept 2 days I’m assuming now and the attack being our 2nd day here……hmmm…..10 days. Yep we’re all supposed to meet up in 10 days in the Cavendish & Hanbridge summer places, Sucy, Lotte, green team and the rest of blue team alongside Frank and a few other Appleton academy boys, Ooh croix and Ursula as well. Diana beats me to the punch.

“Andrew as relieved as we were to have you here to help us out, we weren’t scheduled to meet for another-” she was probably more out of it than me so I help her out “10” she sends a grateful look my way. “10 days right”

“Ahh about that I came to tell you that one of your projects about merging healing magic with modern medicine was approved. Of course a lot more processes to go through and hurdles to jump, but I thought you would like to be informed, because they were thoroughly impressed with the 1, 3 and 5 year plan you had thought out. They said it was a shame you’re not interested in a political career, they would very much appreciate your meticulous nature.”

“Ooh that’s great news Diana” I hugged her, but after she winced I said sorry she shakes her head as if saying it’s ok “That indeed is good news, what I’m wondering though is that how did your dad take your absence, he won’t be too happy knowing his only son was severely injured….”

Ooh snap that’s true and his father has warmed up a bit to magic and witches too, this would be a set-back.

“ooh no problem I told your butler when they came to fetch me in my brief period of consciousness to tell my dad I’m taking a 3 week vacation and call me after 3 days because we will be traveling.”

“Wait…..he bought that?!” I’m stunned.

“Well I did tell him you would be here, he’s seen firsthand countless of time just how erratic and unpredictable you are….” That smug grin. It’s stupid.

“That’s amazingly solid proof. Well-done Andrew” and they shared a mischievous smile.

Betrayal! and I retaliated by pouting. You know what I think I like them better when they were civil if they are just going to gang up on me to tease.

Diana deflates my puffy cheeks and smiles towards me.

“That said I think I might regret saying that now, there is only so much PDA I will be able to handle”

“Too bad” and I go in for another kiss. One that Diana is eager to return.

“In any case I will be in the recovery room since moving around still hurts. Come and play chess with me if you decide to enjoy anything else than each other’s faces”

We waved him away and he chuckles.

There was a knock.

“Honestly you both have zero self-restraint even in that state”

Daryl. Huh. We break apart and Diana props herself a bit higher on the bed after I adjusted the pillows and I proceed to sit side by side with her.

“Diana I read the letter, I know I wasn’t supposed to, but it’s a beautiful letter. I tried cleaning it up since it was covered in blood. I got most of it out, but I believe you should be the one the tell her what’s written in there”

She hands Diana the letter and reaches out to get it. Daryl puts her other hand briefly on top of Diana and looks a bit nostalgic. “You look very much like Bernadette” and let’s go.

“In any case I have much to do, we asked the security of the old nine witches to increase the range of security of the mansion and it’s vicinity at what could’ve caused this breach. Honestly you guys attract much too many troubles, especially you Kagari.” She throws me a glance and Diana was about to comment and I put a hand on her arm.

“In any case rest up now, the staff will be bringing food up soon, you still have to stay another 2 days without using the stairs so house arrest here until then. Have a good day” she turns around to leave.

“Thank you” I said and Diana’s “Have a good day Aunt Daryl” were said around the same time.

She was at the door, but hasn’t turned around “I’m glad you’re ok Diana, both of you” and she walks out while closing the door.

I stare at Diana and we are both confused “Did she just say me too Diana”

“Apparently you truly are able to charm anyone my enchanting girlfriend”

I turn around and look into Diana’s eyes while putting my hand on her cheek.

“I only care about charming one person and she’s right here next to me”

“Ever the charmer” and she goes in for another kiss.

Well today wasn’t exactly as planned but we can probably still enjoy next week after we’ve recovered and then the beach. This will be an amazing summer, the best is yet to come.

[lightningflash55]

Thoughts Dump on Season 7 Episodes 10-13

Shall we do this little read more thing here cause this is going to get long? Probably. Def open for talking about them if you decide to read all the way through! I’m up for some good MLP discussion.

A Royal Problem

Can I just start by saying how much I LOVE that we got an episode that actually has more in depth on the Princesses? I’ve been aching for one for forever, and honestly it feels like we’ve gotten more Luna over time cause she’s the one who’s had bigger problems that she’s needed to sort out. 

CELESTIA THOUGH, you cannot tell me she’s the boring blob that being the princess she is demands her to be all the time. This is why I need moreeeee. Give me Celestia’s wild side PLEASE.

On that note, I love how good she is at covering it up compared to Luna. Issues? Don’t fret my little ponies, they are being solved and I assure you, everything is alright. She’s just so GOOD at her role in being the one that takes everything just to make everyone else’s lives easier and brighter. Dang Celestia, how do you do it. Also the personality contrast between she and Luna is still great and it also shows their age/experience difference. 

The Twilight music box was a good example of how wonderfully odd this show can be and how, after 7 seasons, it continues to catch me off guard. I LOVE IT.

CELESTIA MAKES PANCAKES FOR EVERYPONY IN THE MORNING. I DIED. She is far too good and I highly appreciate the fact that she enjoys cooking, especially such silly yet comforting things?? Lmao

Not that I didn’t see it coming (I mean duh, but it’s just been awhile), but also holy heck is she a morning person. This is definitely where I connect to Luna more, and I love her snark.

Both the Princesses are just too good tbh, they both try so hard and do so much good in their own ways. LIKE HOW CONCERNED LUNA WAS ABOUT THE FUNDRAISER EVEN THOUGH IT WASN’T HER USUAL DUTY. She tried and immediately failed and felt super bad about it. All because she can’t hold a smile sjflksdjfjhdfj

Was telling my sister the whole time that nobody would ever, ever be as bold as Starlight Glimmer and that’s why this episode worked, and so I was glad Luna said nearly the exact same thing at the end. Applause for Starlight tbh.

Daybreaker’s design tho. On a more personal note, I was admiring her snarly face the whole time cause it’s definitely the closest design i’ve seen in the show so far that would work for Kelpie shape-wise. Putting that note aside if I ever try to do canon style stuff with my OC’s!

Luna’s dream was legitimately creepy for a show that seems to tone stuff down so much. There are like, magic battles and villains and stuff, but rarely does something strike me as dark? Maybe it’s just me. 

THAT’S IT FOR THIS ONE, I probs give it a 9/10

Not Asking For Trouble 

I don’t want to get too into this one, but for quite awhile Pinkie’s characterization has bothered me. Compared to the first few seasons, it seems recently she’s been over the top to the point of making others upset, but not even in a silly Pinkie way. It almost came across as less annoying others, but using her silly personality as a cover to let her freely say mean things? I’m not sure what happened there, but it sorta rubbed me the wrong way and this was just a good example of Pinkie being Pinkie. 

She went with everything the Yaks said and tried to understand them and fix the issue without being too much of a bother to them! That’s the Pinkie I know! I was honestly waiting for disppointment and was relieved when it didn’t happen. 

Not sure if this is an unpopular opinion or a lot of people thought this too, but what can I say, some episodes just seem more consistent than others

7/10?

Discordant Harmony

I FLIPPIN LOVE DISCORD

HE’S SUCH A BABY AND A PROTECTIVE GRUMP, DEFINITELY THE UNCARING OUTSIDE MUSHY INSIDE CHARACTER THAT I LOVE 

HE’S SOOOOOO ODD IN THE BEST WAY 

I reminded my little sister of this 50 times during the episode. I just feel the need to emphasize how much I love my dumb noodle horse dragon at all times. 

I don’t specifically like or dislike Fluttercord but you gotta admit there’s some good cheesy content here. THEY’RE CUTE FRIENDS AAAAA

Sometimes I wonder what the inside of Discord’s head looks like if he appears that crazy on the outside. Just, his mind must work in a very different way lol

THE SINGING GINSENG IS CUTE I WANT 100

I still marvel that the Discord we first saw is so taken by Fluttershy in such a legitimate way, but I am starting to get it. I suppose that his thing was always just chaos and messing with others and not necessarily being evil, and that’s probably what got me. He iiiiis kind of an attention hog so honestly, making friends that allow him to be his chaotic self around them is probably a fair compromise. Still, sometimes.

Explain to me though why he needed to go to 5 different stores to get things he could’ve just conjured up himself. Smh he likes to make things difficult and it pains me!! Stop being such a drama queen, but also don’t xD

Did u see the part where he hyperventilated into the bag but his neck expanded instead. Okay top wacky cartoon humor LOL

“Do something chaotic Fluttershy” “Oh no, I tipped over that cup!” MY SISTER AND I HAD A GOOD LAUGH AT THAT FLUTTERS PLS

There was probably an even mix of me expressing my love for discord and shaking my head actually. They go together hand in hadn though, no?

Hmm this one was also probably 9/10

The Perfect Pear

WHAT CAN I EVEN SAY ABOUT THIS EPISODE 

IT JUST GOT ME GOOD

IT WAS NICE TO GET BACKSTORY ON APPLEJACK’S PARENTS AND EQUAL PARTS HAPPY AND SAD

I MEAN THEY DEF AREN’T AROUND ANYMORE, DON’T THINK THERE WS ANY OTHER WAY TO READ THE IMPLICATIONS 

SO MANY GOOD FEELS

Just story and writing wise though this episode was so well done. There are always the funny episodes and everyone has their own favorite for reasons or because of their favorite characters, but sometimes some are just GOOD. Like classics, or everybody’s favorite, the ones that continue to stick out from the 100+ episodes the show has.

I’m rewatching these as I type this out and you know an episode’s good when you finish it and rewatch and things make more sense the second time around. Like how Grand Pear comes across as just a nice old pony the first time you watch it and if you rewatch it you’re like “Ohhh that look and being nice specifically towards Apple Bloom wasn’t just a random kind gesture”

Applejack’s over-reacting to everything: “PEAR JAM??? IN MY KITCHEN??” *DRAMATIC GASP*

“The food smells great Applejack i’ll brb for dinner” You mean the pancakes that are scattered all over the floor???

“And her cutie mark was a preserved jar, but pear butter don’t look too different from apple butter, so you know...” LMAO (true??)

The “the apple didn’t fall too far from the tree” moments got me, THESE KIDS TAKE AFTER THEIR PARENTS IN THE BEST WAYS. The sibling bonding was adorable in this ep.

Also I have to note, Pear Butter with her little bit of sassiness and curly ginger hair gave me Puck Connolly vibes the whole episode, which is always a good thing

DAMN THESE APPLES THAT STRIKE ME RIGHT IN THE FEELS EVERY TIME ONE OF THEM GOES INTO SONG

Def the part that got me the hardest right there. Like trying not to tear up, even

Ship goals tbh

What happened to them though honestly

GAH THE ENDING’S GIVING ME FEELS AGAIN I’LL END HERE 

10/10 EASILY

[noctitty]

So how would you personally improve ffxv if you could????

Ok bitch i’ve been thinking about this for a while so grab a snack this is long af.

I liked a lot of things about Final Fantasy XV but there are things in the story that i would change just to make the game flow better. Instead of making a movie and an anime i definitely feel like it should’ve been put in the actual game. The main quest itself is really short so i think it could’ve used these things just to add to it and to fix plot holes because the game does rely on you watching all these things when they should have put it in the game in the first place.

For starters a prologue chapter is around and i think if they put that in the game where you get to walk around the palace and talk to some Kingsglaive members and they even planted the seed of suspicion where you doubt Prompto’s parentage. Prompto mentions his parents to but he never sees them which kinda raises some questions for the audience so in chapter 13 it wouldn’t be out of nowhere when he finally confesses. It’s all about planting and then the payoff will come later.

Then Noctis goes and starts his road trip. This is where the Kingsglaive events come in where i think they could’ve made luna playable where she is escaping insomnia and you get to spend more time with her and see what she’s like when she’s not all about her duty and just let her personality shine through instead. Regis dies and we see that so when we go back to noctis we know shit he doesn’t so it causes tension and more urgency to things. Also as the game goes on we could’ve got the flashbacks from the brotherhood anime.

Then as the main story progresses i would’ve done more luna ony chapters where you just play as her going around trying to wake up the six kinda like in ninja storm 4 where sasuke and naruto have different routes that are happening at the same time to start with and then they come together. This would make Noctis and Luna meeting in Altissia much more of a huge moment. Also Luna would survive the leviathan fight. The cgi scene of her death was really pretty but you didn’t feel the amount of impact it should’ve because in the game you just don’t know her and it’s hard to relate to her and really feel her personality so i think her just being around more and being playable would’ve helped. In her childhood flashbacks all we see of her is explaining her role as oracle and we don’t actually see her and noctis just being kids and playing and just being friends which is why their relationship feels so forced.

There’s so many things they could’ve done with Luna in this game honestly. In the movie we see her manipulate a man to pretty much kill himself and it would’ve been cool to see more of that. Her manipulating the empire or they could’ve done a princess Leia where she leads a resistance and gets aranea on her team because she knows shit about the empire and fuck them up or fuck it idk after her illness gets even worse she starts to lose her sanity. They could’ve taken her character and done something so different with it and made it iconic and she would’ve earned her place on the roster of great ff female characters but right now it seems unlikely. Throughout the game we’re told how amazing Luna is but it means nothing if it isn’t shown.

Now let’s move on to Ardyn. I really liked where his character was going but i think there should’ve been a flashback about his rise and fall from grace just to make things clearer and see what he was like as a person before shit started to go down and because more Ardyn is always good. I also would’ve liked to have seen him actually manipulate the emperor and fucking with Ravus like the scammer he is.

I remember back when it was still Versus 13 there was a rumour that dreams and flashback would be playable which sadly never happened, i think that would’ve been really cool learning more about the royal family and more scenes with Regis. When Noctis took a 10 year long nap i would’ve like a kinda fucked up dream sequence kinda like the omen trailer expressing noctis’ fears and what could’ve happened and make it playable and then they can cut to Ardyn taking control of the world and wrecking it to raise the stakes even higher. Then when he wakes up he runs into Talcott and they go to hammerhead but i would probably spread his friends around the world of ruin so we spend more time there and definitely catch up with Iris and Aranea. Also Noctis could do some missions while he’s there and see how life is like now in the world of ruin. 

Other than that i would say make Ardyn have more the one form and just make the game more difficult in general and i think it would’ve been a solid FF but anyways these are just my thoughts. 

[phenomenalcosmicpowers]

A ROYAL PROBLEM THOUGHTS

A Royal Problem sure is an episode that almost every longtime fan of Friendship is Magic has been waiting for: An episode heavily involved around the alicorn sisters of Celestia and Luna who has always captivated the fanbase for more reasons then one.

Luna alone is arguably just as popular as the most popular of the Mane 6 (I don't know who stands out as THE most popular of the Mane 6 though if I had to guess 3 candidates it'd be Twilight, Rainbow, or Fluttershy).

Though that doesn't mean Celestia has been unpopular as there's plenty of fandom content centering around the Princess of the Sun including many alternate character interpretations that have their own followings that either are on the humorous side such as Trollestia, the naughty and oft-controversial Molestia, and the grim Tyrantlestia that depicts Celestia as if she is behind the scenes the true villain behind the scenes. None of those particular 3 are canon, but there are moments in the show where fans of those interpretations could take it that way. Trollestia whenever she does a little prank or especially after the Gala in Best Night Ever where we found out she invited the Mane 6 just to make it interesting, the line "There is no wrong way to fantasize" had to have given anybody who remembers Molestia some gigglefits, and any decision of Celestia's that some people felt was too hasty a decision or too harsh got some accusing her of being at fault for the event happening in the first place.

Though in some ways those interpretations were probably partly made because unfortunately Celestia doesn't get that much screentime so not a lot of character could be gathered, she still technically doesn't have an episode to call her own where she's that central to the plot (Even Luna has had that, especially in more recent seasons). But at least the first episode this season and this episode was a huge step forward compared to everything that came before.

Though one last thing before I get to the episode I should also address the other main character of the episode. And it's kinda surprising because she's still kind of a controversial topic within the fanbase right now. I am of course talking about Starlight. Not only is she the one who is chosen to be the character that finally brings us a Celestia and Luna episode, for some reason the map has her Cutie Mark compatible when in all previous map usage it's been just the Mane 6 and assumably the tree and map being born from the Tree of Harmony it's particularly Mane 6 specific because they are the elements. There is the possible situation that because Starlight helped restore the Map's power that it now recognizes her. But that still might not be enough to address the core issue of the map being able to call Starlight in that this was for the Elements, does this mean Starlight is now somehow an Element of Harmony? But if so where's her throne at the round table? Though to be fair it's probably a good thing they don't have that yet. Still it could make people confused on what exactly is Starlight anyway. She doesn't appear enough in Mane 6-centric episodes to be considered part of a now Main 7 but she seems a little too important to be just secondary now.

Either way though it's just another chapter that has split the fandom on Starlight even further. My take on it however? I may be one that's not too keen on Starlight myself, but I'm going to say I was ok with this. Because 1. As I kinda expected the 3 out of 4 major appearances at the start of the Season was an outlier and we didn't see very much of Starlight aside from a short appearance in Fluttershy Leans In so that's 6 episodes without Starlight in a major role. 2. There is no one else who would make the hasty decision of switching Celestia and Luna's cutie marks like that. Twilight's switched cutie marks in Magical Mystery Cure but we get the feeling if she had known the spell was going to switch her friends Cutie Marks and ruin their lives/memories she wouldn't of done it. That doesn't mean you have to like what Starlight did but it was good use of how hasty Starlight can be sometimes and also throws back to how Starlight is able to move Cutie Marks. This time just switching instead of outright removing and 3. I didn't feel like she stole the show that much from Celestia and Luna to matter. We got a great amount of Celestia and Luna that certainly feels refreshing.

The news of this episode because of the Treehouse leaks just piled on top of those who really, REALLY don't like Starlight at a time she had just gotten a big role in 3 of the first four episodes of Season 7 plus an announcement that she'll be in the most anticipated of the 3 EQG specials coming later (They've been released in English and I've seen them all, but I'll treat them like episodes and review each one week-by-week). So for those who can't stand Starlight that was a lot to take in and no doubt expressed displeasure at Starlight seeming to steal the spotlight twice as hard as she did in all of Season 6. I for one however am going to take a more fair approach. It sure seemed like Starlight was getting a lot of attention but we still have much of the Season to go. And heck I've seen many synopses for the upcoming episodes and not a lot of them are very obvious Starlight-centered episodes. Unless we get a lot of surprise Starlight-involved episodes like that Maud episode we had, Starlight doesn't look like she'll be that much more involved then she was in Season 6. So I'd advise people to take a bit of a more calm approach to it. As for the EQG special that includes Starlight I'll get to that subject when we get to it. But for now Season 7 is still the subject. So let's focus on that until we reach the official mid-season break (Which is after Episode 12 airs in the US, so pretty soon)

On to the episode itself though, it's certainly an interesting setup. And we do get some legit character moments from Celestia and Luna that feels like it's been ages since that's happened. Though admittedly it's also easy to some people who might be a bit unhappy with the portrayal of the sisters because some of their arguments feels more like petty sisters then the royal leaders who've led Equestria for more then 1000 years. And I won't fault anyone for thinking that way, Celestia talks down to Luna pretty much like any episode in a cartoon where siblings switch jobs or whatever duties they have for a day. When you also have to keep in mind Celestia once had to do at least the moon raising part of Luna's job as well for the 1000 years she's been gone so you would think she kinda understands after that long of double-duty. Though it's fair to say she hasn't been much to the dream realm at least. Perhaps it does give a little leeway into what developed into Nightmare Moon. I mean if Celestia and Luna still have sisterly fights even now after the whole 1000 year banishment. You have to wonder if it was much, much, much, MUCH worse when they were 1000 years younger.

Anyway, as they switch we see that Luna lacks the social skills to do Celestia's job. While Celestia has a hard time handling the loneliness of night duties without someone to talk to.

But perhaps I'm sure what will be the most memorable part of the episode is we see while Celestia is in the dream realm a Nightmare Moon version of Celestia called Day Breaker. Which is awesome, this was something I thought was going to be one of the timelines in the Season 5 Finale due to the card game having something like it at around the time the finale was approaching. But hey better late then never. Remember when I mentioned the alternate character interpretations that the fandom made for Celestia? Day Breaker is practically Tyrantlestia incarnate. And Celestia fights that side of her valiantly to prove the kind of pony she is.

The ending of the episode is plenty heartwarming and perhaps for the first time since the pilot we had some happy dialogue between the two. So we can definitely appreciate this episode for showing some things we've always wanted. I won't blame people for being not as sure for either of Starlight being in the spotlight again or perhaps making the sisters argument scenes rather more petty then they should be. But I think otherwise it's a welcome episode to have.

Next time is the final episode before the midseason break featuring the return of the Yaks. Seeya then.