#also none of my fairy tale things are on here but i think i have lots of interesting ideas in those as well

[sapphosewrites]

top 10 ds9 fan fics you've written, ranked?

Oooh, tough question, friend! I don't even know what the criteria for this would be, because the most AO3 popular ones are not always my favorites... Okay, you know what, here we go. I'm just going to go for it and make some decisions. I'm giving myself a rule, though, that I can only chose one from a series, so I'm not just listing everything in the Terok Nor AU. I'll also try to hit different kinds of fics I've written.

10.) After the End of the World: A Survey of Seminal Works of Cardassian Post-Apocalyptic Literature from cross-posted to tumblr. 533 words, "An examination of the Cardassian post-apocalyptic literary genre before and after the Dominion War." This isn't my most popular or my best written but it's one of my favorites; I like in-world diegetic texts and worldbuilding and I'm obsessed with the idea of post-canon Cardassia as post-apocalypse.

9.) Never Have I Ever from The Game Is Afoot, 1,294 words, T, "Julian introduces Garak to the human game never have I ever." This was fun to write and is fun to reread every time! I often spend a lot of fic space on angst and identity and all the reasons why it's a bad idea for Julian and Garak to get together, but in this one we just get to spend time seeing them be clever and enjoy each other's company.

8.) Tribbles, Togetherness, and the Great River, 1,742 words, G, "In their shared quarters, Nog and Jake discuss tribbles, pets, and telling their families about their relationship." This is my only full standalone Jake/Nog fic, and it's another that was a pleasure to write and still makes me smile. It's fun to spend a sweet moment with two young people figuring out how they fit together.

7.) Del Floria's Tailor Shop, 336 words, also known as the space tumblr one. I think this is possibly the funniest thing I've ever written.

6.) Push Me Til I Break, 4,653 words, M, also known as the one where Garak interrogates Julian, and the role play goes wrong. Maybe the most tense thing I've ever written, and really leans into the ways in which two deeply hurting people can choose to hurt or hold.

5.) Growth, 45,843 words, T, "Julian and Garak grapple with their pasts and their feelings for each other at the end of the series." My super long post-canon Cardassia fic, back when I had no idea how to string a multi-chapter idea together. There's a lot I would change if I wrote this now (I've grown as a writer in many ways, including my ability to have scene transitions), but some of the conversations and moments in here are still absolute favorites of mine, particularly around ideas of self-forgiveness, the clash between values and actions, and the importance of choice.

4.) Predetermination, 22,200 words, T, Mirror Bashir arrives at the station and suddenly the nature/nurture debate has never had higher stakes. This is one of the places I think I've been most successful in using sci fi to ask big questions that hopefully resonate in the modern day, about who we are and how we become. Also, the ending takes inspiration from one of my favorite TNG episodes, and that was cool too.

3.) Especially the Lies, 13,019 words, T, "Something is going on with Garak, and no one knows what, except for possibly Julian Bashir." This is my only archive-warning-applied fic and it was really important to me to tell a story about care, for a character who I think doesn't believe he's allowed to have any, in a real world circumstance that too often people have to go through alone.

2.) Necessary Storms, 15,149 words, T, Julian and Starfleet Spouse Garak get entangled in Trill politics. I feel like this is one of the things I've written that most feels like it could be an episode of Star Trek, and is also a fairly unsubtle (though initially unintentional) way to explore populism, demagoguery, resource distribution, and revolt at a very particular moment in national politics with the aesthetic distance that sci fi offers.

1.) Old Friends: An Enigma Tale from Terok Nor AU. I'm exceedingly proud of this whole series, which started as just "what can I do with the idea of dabo boy Julian" and has turned into a sweeping journey covering how Terok Nor becomes Deep Space 9. This most recent installment is perhaps not indicative of the series as a whole, but it was a lot of fun to write and is also a dip into my other favorite genre aside from sci fi (murder mystery).

[scoops-aboy86]

Just Keeping Life & Soul Together (Secret Admirer pt 4)

Steddie Week 2024, July 4: Trade / body swap / Wouldn't It Be Good by Nik Kershaw

wc: 1812 / rated: T / set between seasons 2 and 3 / also on ao3

By the time Steve recovers enough to drive home, it’s time to clock out anyway. Robin hangs back, not taking off on her bike until she sees him get in the car, and he’s had more time to think about it now. 

Robin’s outfit that she’d changed into in the employee bathroom after clocking out is an eclectic mishmash of different colors and patterns; Secret Admirer said they wear mostly dark colors. That’s not the only reason it isn’t her, but Steve can’t quite put a finger on anything else. It’s just… she has a very different vibe. 

He’s exhausted and still not feeling great, so that’s as far as he thinks about it. 

But the next morning he wakes up, still with some of that post-headache grogginess but better, and realizes that if she was telling the truth about someone in the ice cream parlor sending him that cone, Secret Admirer was there. Probably saw how out of it he was and felt bad, but not bad enough to overcome their reservations about revealing themselves. 

God, Steve wishes he could remember who had been in Scoops when his efforts to ‘man up’ and push through the pain had crumbled. He doesn’t, but that’s okay. Robin knows. 

~

Dear Secret Admirer,

Yes keep writing. Please keep writing. My head’s been killing me these past couple days and wanting to write back to you is the only thing that’s kept me going. I’m sorry I got Bilbo’s name wrong. 

So I guess you already knew I had a headache the other day since you sent me that ice cream. That was you, right? Strawberry with rainbow sprinkles? I wish you would’ve stayed. I know you’re shy or scared of me not wanting you once I know who you are, but it really kind of sucked that you didn’t. I’m not trying to make you feel bad or anything but I missed you so much even though I don’t know you. But I feel like I do know you, because you keep telling me things about yourself, like bread crumbs in that fairy tale from the book my mom used to read to me when I was a little kid but she stopped a long time ago because my dad didn’t want me to be a sissy momma’s boy. But fuck that, sometimes everyone needs to be read a story so they have something good in their head while they go to sleep, okay? I have nightmares a lot. I can’t tell you about them because I signed an NDA, but they’re horrible. I wake up screaming sometimes, only I can’t when my parents are home because my dad gets pissed and my mom gets disappointed, just like they did about how hurt I got last year. And the year before. It’s all connected and it’s all bullshit and none of it was my fault, I just happened to be there and I got sucked in and I keep getting sucked in and some nights I can’t even sleep anymore. 

You said you smoke, right? Cigarettes and other stuff. Cigarettes don’t help, drinking makes me feel like shit, so maybe I should try the other stuff. Does it help with sleeping? Do you think it would help my headaches or make me not dream so much? I’m so tired and I keep thinking that if I got some the smell would be like you’re there, since you smoke it too. I want to feel like you’re here with me so I’m not alone. Maybe if you were here the nightmares wouldn’t be as bad and I could get some sleep and then the headaches wouldn’t happen as often because you were right, they get worse if I don’t get enough sleep or if I’m stressed out. 

What if you called me sometime? 555-5555. You wouldn’t have to say anything, maybe just play some of the music that you think I’d hate and I can tell you if I do or not? Just let me talk to you? The hard thing about writing is I have to fill a whole page without any way to know what you think about any of it for at least a few days, and I guess a one-sided phone conversation isn’t that different but it would be something, right? I might like your music after all and then we’ll have something in common. Or maybe I can listen and then you can write to me about why you like it and if it’s something I didn’t think of (there are a lot of things I don’t think about on the first try, perspectives and stuff) maybe it’ll grow on me. Sorry if I’m pushing too hard but you said you wanted to give me something with all this and it was just an idea I had. You could give me new things to find out about, like with the Hobbit in his hole eating his hobbit breakfast. (I really liked the part with the glowing sword, that was awesome, I wish my bat would glow when )

Anyway. Robin knows about my headaches now too I guess, which is embarrassing. She was nice about it though and let me hide in the back until I could go home, but she probably still hates me for being King Steve. I’d write about something else but there’s not a lot going on in my life besides you.

— Steve

PS My parents are gone all this week, so if you do call it’s just me here. And you can call whenever, but maybe Friday at 10:30? You don’t have to though. Just keep writing.

~

The next time Steve goes to work, head no longer in danger of splitting open, Robin still calls him a dingus. It doesn’t feel as mean as it used to though. So that’s something. 

It’s easier now to take her jabs in stride. Before he’d just tried to let it roll off him like water off a duck, but he cautiously tries out responding in kind. 

“Your hat’s on backwards,” she calls across the parlor, smirking when it makes him reach up to check. “Made you look!”

Five minutes later, he gets her back with, “Your shoe’s untied.” When she glances down, he grins and adds, “Yeah that’s right, Buckley, two can play at this game.”

“Oh, it is on, Harrington.”

They start racing during the slow times when there are only a couple of people in line at a time, one sticking to scooping and the other ringing up while the former tries to move the second customer along before the latter finishes the first transaction. It’s a much better use of the You Rule / You Suck board, though she does still add tallies for whatever she considers Steve’s failed flirting attempts. (He’s not even trying anymore, not with Secret Admirer always on his mind these days.) Makes the ache of pining a little easier to bear; makes the day almost fun. 

“Hey, so,” Steve ventures while they’re cleaning up after close. “I have a question.”

Out of the corner of his eye he sees Robin tense up. “What?”

He feels wrong-footed already, if just that was enough to put her on edge, but he can’t stop now that he’s pulled the trigger. “Who, uh. Who sent me the ice cream the other day?”

She blinks, and once she’s processed the question the stiffness in her posture goes away as quickly as it had come. “Oooh. You think someone’s sweet on you, is that it? Admit it.”

“No,” Steve sputters back. Even he had to admit, though, that the way his face heats up immediately really undercuts the claim. 

“Tell you what.” She crosses her arms and leans back against the counter, eyeing him smugly. “I’ll trade you for it.”

“You’ll.” Now it’s his turn to blink. “Trade me?”

“Yeah. I have information that’s valuable to you, apparently, so you give me something that’s valuable to me in exchange.”

Steve scratches the back of his neck, trying to think. “I could… give you dating advice?”

Robin snorts. “Absolutely not.”

Flustered, he throws up his hands. “Well what do you want, then?”

She’s full on grinning at him now, and while it’s not necessarily malicious (which he appreciates) it’s still at his expense (which he does not). “Uh-uh, you’ve got to put your thinking cap on and come up with something on your own, Mr. Hair. It’s more genuine that way.”

“What? Nooo,” Steve groans, but he supposes he’s grateful that she didn’t whip out the ol’ it builds character that his dad threw at him when ordering him to get a menial summer job. “And I don’t have a thinking cap.”

That makes her actually laugh. “Well duh, who’s dorky enough to own an actual thinking cap?”

Dustin does, Steve thinks fondly. The little squirt is only off at camp for another week, and he really has missed the little shithead. It’ll be nice to get along with his coworker and have a friend around… as pathetic as that does make him feel. 

But whatever, first he has to figure out what Robin might want in exchange for what could very likely turn out to be his Secret Admirer’s identity.

~

Every time Eddie has seen Steve since that Tuesday at Scoops, he’s with his coworker Robin. Apparently he’s started giving her rides so she doesn’t have to bike everywhere all the time. They talk animatedly, like little kids racing from thought to thought as they gleefully mock and annoy each other. 

And it’s probably his fault somehow. Maybe knowing that Steve was actually suffering instead of suffering his own consequences had softened her up, allowed her to pause and notice the soft and genuine person underneath what remained of the King Steve veneer. Maybe it’s impossible not to fall in love with Steve Harrington. 

Whatever it was, the results make Eddie yearn to swap lives with some girl he doesn’t even know. Someone who gets to touch Steve on the arm without reproach—even if it’s more of a punch than a touch, jeez. The only relief he gets from the green monster of jealousy twisting around his heart is Steve’s letter asking him to call, so even if Robin is interested now then it seems she’s out of luck. 

Call. And not even talk, but just listen to Steve’s voice and maybe play selections from a few of his favorite albums, then spend his next letter talking about why they’re his favorites. This perfect man has managed to pluck three of his favorite things to do out of thin air and present the offer as a favor to Steve rather than, uh, only the closest Eddie has ever been to going on an actual date in his entire life. 

… If only he felt in any way prepared.

Tag list: @hotluncheddie @lawrencebshoggoth @sofadofax @tangerinesteve @steviewashere

@cryingglightningg @theresebelivett @sleepy-steve @rozzieroos @lunaraindrop

@just-my-latest-hyperfixation @wheneverfeasible @swimmingbirdrunningrock @yesdangerpls

@matchingbatbites @ihavekidneys @p0lybl4nkk @grtwdsmwhr @cheesedoctor

@whalesharksart @thetinymm @envyadams-vs-me @practicallybegging @imhereforthelolzdontyellatme

@dauntlessdiva @nerdyglassescheeseychick @fuzzyduxk @chaosgremlinmunson @greatwerewolfbeliever

[howlingday]

Hello Hollowing, my prompt is this: After team RWBY finds themselves in the Ever After, they are met by a small child happily waving and guiding them towards the Tree instead of a certain Cheshire cat. Soon they were guided to the tree, with a mansion carved within. With children that looked like recoloured versions of their guide happily waving toward RWBY. They meet Neo, and Jaune, the small older woman clealry pregnant, along with Mint, and Trivia, and a woman similar to neo called CC... basically I want Jaune to explain why he has a harem of Neos with constant flashbacks of each neo having babymaking sex with him. With CC requires everyone else to overcome her instability. Blame Fatally Obsessed. I do not know why I make statements instead of questions.

Ah, okay.

This is way less terrible than I thought it would be.

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

This world is weird. Like, super weird. No, but like, SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUPER weird! Like, think of the weirdest thing you could think of, and it wouldn't be half as weird as what this was.

Okay, maybe not THAT weird, but it was weirder than Remnant, at least. Game pieces moved around, walking and talking like all the faunus and humans did back home. Not only that, but there were also talking animals, too! So yeah, this fairy tale world was weird.

But not as weird as what happened next.

"Hey! Over here!"

Team RWBY looked behind them and found a little girl waving at them. She had short, blonde hair, pale skin, and, as they got closer, blue eyes. Her dress was pink with a black sash wrapped around her belly.

"Um, hi?" Ruby awkwardly waved.

"Are you a Huntress?"

The question shocked the group. This was the first person they met in the Ever After, and she KNEW what a huntress is! Who was she?

"Um, ye-"

"Nilly!" A girl with long, brown hair ran up to the other girl and grabbed her wrist. Her dress was white with a pink sash wrapped around her belly, similar to the other girl. "We're not supposed to talk to strangers!"

"It's okay, Gats!" Nilly replied. "They don't look bad!"

"Don't you remember what Dad said?" Gats wagged her finger. "Looks can be decieving!"

"Um," Ruby stuttered, "we're not bad. Uh, y'know, if you wanted our opinion."

"She's right." Weiss added. "We're just trying to get to the tree."

"Oh! That's easy!" Nilly yanked her hand away. "Daddy can take you!"

"Daddy?" Yang asked.

"Mhm!" Nilly nodded. "Daddy is, like the best person to take you to the tree! He was up there before, y'know?"

"Nilly!" Gats chided. "They're bad guys!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yuh-huh!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yuh-huh!"

As the girls bickered, Team RWBY gave each other glances. This was very uncomfortable.

"Were we..." Ruby looked to her sister. "This bad?"

"Eh...." Yang shrugged. "Kinda?"

"Well, none of my siblings were like this." Weiss said with an unamused look.

"Pretty sure you're not as close with your siblings as Ruby and Yang were." Blake added. "It kind of makes me wonder what it's like."

"It's not great."

Suddenly, in the center of Team RWBY, stood a small girl with pink hair done in a ponytail, wearing a black dress with a white sash. She was so quiet, none of them heard her! As she walked to the other girls, they noticed she had a pink tail sway from under her dress.

"Nilla. Gats." She addressed the girls. "Mother's waiting for us." At this, the two girls stopped bickering. The leader looked at Team RWBY. "You come, too."

The little girl in the pink dress then walked forward, followed closely by the other two. Following the trio was Team RWBY. From a distance, a pair of eyes watched the seven girls curiously.

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

Neo sipped her tea, enjoying the quiet of the house. Her girls were out playing while her husband had left to run errands. They would all return before supper, as they always did. She looked down, admiring the one change to her otherwise routine life she'd made in the Ever After.

Every morning, she woke up, had breakfast, woke up her daughters, and then spent the rest of the day planning dinner. Tonight's dinner would be stewed vegetables.

"Ugh... Couldn't we have something with more meat?"

Neo cast a glare at the whining voice. The voice belonged to another Neo, though the voice was not quite her own. Instead, an annoying creature had taken residence in her body, wearing it like a coat, doing with it as they pleased.

"Oh, don't give me that look." The being replied with a roll of their neon-blue eyes. "Even Trivia is sick and tired of it!"

The woman in question, hanging clothes to dry outside, flinched. She shivered as Neo quirked a brow at her former self. She hid herself behind a wet sheet.

"Ow!" Mint, a disguise of herself used to infiltrate Beacon during the Vytal Festival with Cinder, flicked the being in Neo's ear. "Oh, I was not being mean to her!"

Neo hefted herself to her feet, hands to her back for support. Soon, it would be her turn to bring life into this world. She couldn't help but wonder what her child would look like. What mother didn't?

"Oh, and before you set the table," the being said, "we're going to have guests tonight. Four of them."

Neo eyed the being, unsure of what they meant. For all their schemes and plots, the creature wasn't a liar and often made use of their ability to see and hear things outside their home. If there were guests coming to visit, then there would be guests coming to visit. Neo would need more vegetables, and hands to pick said vegetables.

"Speak of the Grimm, as you say."

Neo looked to the door, and a tiny knock came from the other side. She opened the door, finding eight familiar faces.

"Mother." Greeted Berry with stoicism.

"Mommy!" Squealed Vanilla joyfully.

"Mom?" Called Gateau in concern.

Neo glared past her daughters to the four huntresses behind them. They swiftly reached for their weapons.

"Neopolitan?!" Litte Red exclaimed in her surprise.

"Of course she'd be here!" The Ice Queen growled.

"Is she pregnant?" The Kitty Cat asked.

"Guess she found someone dumb enough to knock her up." The Blonde Bimbo rudely remarked.

"Now that's just rude." All eyes focused on the timbre voice in the distance. A figure in rusted armor dismounted a large jackalope, named Juniper, and removed his helmet. Beneath was a ruggedly handsome bearded face with tired, blue eyes. He gave a chuckle. "Rude girls don't get dessert."

[artsyjedi]

They don’t stay together at the end | Charles Leclerc x reader

summary: you and charles meet, live and life goes on.

author’s note: i enjoyed this but no at the same time? maybe it’s a little confusing, sorry. I hope you enjoy anyway :) and let me know if you do! english isn’t my first language!!!! and it’s been a while since i wrote something, be nice please

*also: I think the reader is gender neutral, but i don’t exactly remember.

warnings: none but If you find any let me know

**2nd part: ‘they see each other again’

“Move in with me to Monaco” Charles’ voice caught your attention.

You had met during that week, three days ago to be more precise and the days since have been more than a dream. A true fairy tale.

Charles’ was travelling, enjoying his days off before the begin of the season, and you were trying to make a life in a new place. You were working at a cafe when you met him; brown eyes enchanting you right away. He was a prince; the most beautiful man you’ve ever seen.

“Hi” he said softly while paying for his drink.

“Hi” you answered back with a mere whisper. If he wasn’t paying fully attention to you, he wouldn’t have heard.

And that was when you figure it out how powerful a two letter word can be.

This simple ‘hi’ became a whole conversation at the end of your shift, and then him showing around the city; his favorite spots, places he holds deep in his heart. Charles told you stories and you loved how his eyes sparkled with passion whenever he mentioned his family, friends or his career. He loved talking about art, he showed you his songs. Every little thing he did, you fell more and more.

But this dream would end one day. You knew - and so did he. This whole fairytale is gonna come to an end eventually and he’s gonna go back to his prestigious life as a driver while you gonna go back to your cafe and small apartment you share with other three people. Everything was gonna be nothing more than a memory - one you will hold close to your heart forever.

He was still staring at you, body and hair wet from the hot shower. You were on his hotel bed, covered with the white sheets, hair a mess and body tired. You were still sweating. He looked ethereal.

“I can’t, you know that” you laughed.

“Of course you can” he sat next to you, hand holding yours “You can live with me. At least at first if you want to live somewhere. And if you want, you can find a job there - or not too. Just come. I need you”

“You’re insane! I can’t just go and leave everything behind again. I need to create roots, a life. And more: what people would say? They would think I’m using you for money and fame”

“Who cares about what people think? It’s me and you that matters, nothing else. Create roots with me. We’ve been having such a good time together here, why not keep this going?”

“Because” you tried to argue, taking a deep breath before continuing “Because this is just a moment, Charles. This is good, perfect, but we both know it won’t last. This is good because it’s gonna come to an end. That’s all. Destiny played its part: we met each other, we learn from each other, and now we need to follow our own paths”

Charles got quiet. He was sad, you could see it; feel it even. But he knew you weren’t wrong. You couldn’t just drop everything you’ve been fighting for and go on this adventure with him; he had everything right already. A name for himself, a career.

“I love you. I love this” your hand held his face and went to his hair, caressing the brown humid strands. He closed his eyes, letting his head lean on your warm touch. When he opened his eyes, he found you smiling. Charles Leclerc was truly a thing.

He leaned further, nose meeting yours and he let himself enjoy the intimate touch. He kissed you then, with more passion than he had on the previous days.

“Fine” he rested his head against yours “I hope we meet again soon. Until there, let’s enjoy the time we have, ok?”

“Ok”

The days passed and everything felt then times more real. The feelings you had towards each other were crude and transparent to everyone. You went more places together, ate together, slept together. You loved him and he loved you. Life was simple.

The day he left, you went to the airport to say goodbye. It felt right.

While you saw him walk to his gate and disappear from your sight, you thought how beautiful those days were. It’s was not just about love, but about moments, about knowing to live with the knowledge that everything can and will end. One hour, one day, one week, one month or an entire life - moments are what makes life what it is and the best thing we can do is be grateful for them to happen at first place, and for the people who are part of it.

When you left the airport, the cold breeze met your face. That day was a good day, and you hoped faith would put Charles in your path once again; in that life or in another one.

[roserunodays]

Kotoko's Connection with the Fairy Tale of Red Riding Hood

So THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A JOKE POST, but I kept looking into it, and now here's a full blown analysis instead lol. I realized that Kotoko has many allusions to the story of Red Riding Hood besides the wolves and her signature red jacket. The themes of familial love, protection, and deception all seem to be reflected in Kotoko's actions and what we know of her past and personal life so far. So this post will detail more of the connections between her and this tale, as well as theorize on certain parts on what her story might reveal in the future!

MAJOR THANKS to my English major himejoshi librarian bunny mutual @lillyviarabbit for proof reading this so that my writing doesn't sound clunky af 🙏

A Quick Aside: The Other Side of this Tale (TW for sexual assault and rape mention)

So...there's another side to the original tale of Red Riding Hood, one that deals with much heavier themes on what the story as a whole is supposed to symbolize. I didn't want to analyze these themes of rape, sexual assault, and analogies of being 'turned' into a woman (such as hoods/veils representing both marriage and bereavement). They are there though, and easy analogies can be made, but that's not the content I want to cover. This is mainly because I just don't think we have enough evidence or hints as of now from Kotoko's past that suggests these parts from the Red Riding Hood story are also in her story. I did not want to speculate on these parts either because I wanted to treat them with respect and sensitivity, rather than simply speculate that they have to do with a fictional character's past when we don't even have any evidence to theorize that they do. So this post will only touch upon the more well known parts of the story instead!

Also I won't be talking about Jacques Roulet and his weird ass story because none of it makes sense to me with how it's related to Kotoko, so I will leave that to someone with a bigger brain to analyze that 💀 and I'll be sticking to analyzing similarities with Perrault's version of the story, though the analysis referenced at the end also includes the Grimm version!

Allusions to Red Riding Hood Herself:

One of the major similarities between Kotoko and Red Riding Hood is — well — the red hooded jacket!

This jacket is the most recognizable part of the fairy tale, and it clearly sticks out in Kotoko's wardrobe as the outfit she wears while she's in her forest world, notably with the wolves she's running with in HARROW.

Appearance wise, Kotoko also seems to fit the bill for how Red has been portrayed throughout various iterations of the story over time.

Red's appearance generally describes a girl with short black hair and a bob that reaches down to be exact.

"Another difference lies in the fact that, in addition to [her hair] being black, Little Red Riding Hood’s hair is generally short, reaching to her chin at most, with a charming bob that frames her face."

The signature hood is also noted, with Kotoko's prisoner uniform being the only one to notably have a hood on it.

"It becomes a powerful indicator of sense. History shows that an object that goes on a woman’s or girl’s head has always been ambivalent, not to say ambiguous. It covers, it conceals, it protects, but it also alludes, adorns and attracts."

Not only does Kotoko's hood uniform reflect her similarity with Red Riding Hood, it also highlights Kotoko's tendency to protect/conceal all the aspects of herself she does not want to reveal to anyone else.

It's clear that Kotoko doesn't trust anyone else in the prison, wanting to conceal as much stuff about her as possible so she can analyze their behavior and how much they change following the time between trial 1 and trial 2. This secretive nature, interpreted by her actions and the hood she wears as a way for Kotoko to protect herself and her fragile self-worth, is also highlighted in Streaming Heart's lyrics.

"Though I seem to say many things, please try and seek out the real me. In the space between truth and lies, hidden away so well."

The Grandmother:

Another major fact that gets overlooked is how Kotoko offhandedly mentions in her family structure that she has a grandmother. As a lot of us already know, the main plot of Little Red Riding Hood is that the girl delivers food to her grandmother, who is sick and lives in a house in the woods. This detail from her interrogation is rather...specific, given that she doesn't even mention having a grandfather, just a grandmother along with her parents and older brother.

One additional piece of evidence that connects to this is the symbolism of her birthday flower, Monstera Deliciosa!

In many Asian cultures, this plant can also symbolize a respect and honoring of the elderly. Interesting, considering that this is the plant Yamanaka picked out for Kotoko.

While we don't exactly know the details between Kotoko and the relationship she has with her grandmother, her birthday flower seems to hint that she has some kind of respect for her, or at least they are most likely on good terms with each other.

"Once upon a time there lived in a certain village a little country girl, the prettiest creature who was ever seen. Her mother was excessively fond of her; and her grandmother doted on her still more. This good woman had a little red riding hood made for her. It suited the girl so extremely well that everybody called her Little Red Riding Hood."

And that is why I wonder: did something happen to Kotoko's grandmother that made her realize how flawed and unfair justice can really be? Well, we know that in the story, the wolf disguises himself as Red's grandmother to try and trick her. But why litter Kotoko with all this wolf symbolism (besides the dog/tool dehumanization she's associated with) if she's supposed to allude to the character of Red Riding Hood?

The Wolf:

There is a major difference when it comes to the Tale of Red Riding Hood and Kotoko’s MV symbolism, which is the wolf’s role in each of their stories.

For Red, the wolf is the enemy. The wolf is one who tricks her from the very beginning, and the one who tries to eat her and her grandmother.

"Grandmother, what big arms you have!" "All the better to hug you with, my dear." "Grandmother, what big legs you have!" "All the better to run with, my child." "Grandmother, what big ears you have!" "All the better to hear with, my child." "Grandmother, what big eyes you have!" "All the better to see with, my child." "Grandmother, what big teeth you have got!" "All the better to eat you up with."

But Kotoko…she’s with the wolf. The wolf is instead her companion it seems, the one who runs and sits beside her when she’s doing her vigilante stuff.

And more importantly, the wolf seems like the one to be enabling her, helping her continue with rescuing the little girl and beating up the child kidnapper. It is the one thing by her side that encourages her to bare her fangs and protect the weak.

People have speculated that this wolf represents a person in Kotoko's life, a vigilante partner she used to have? Her older brother perhaps? Who knows really, but I think we can all agree that this wolf is a person who has influenced Kotoko a lot. It is the one thing that pushes her continue with this, to continue with the cycle of cruelty and violence in her act of handing out her own form of justice. And that brings me to Kotoko's jacket again.

The Red/Pink Jacket:

I want to address the difference between Kotoko's jacket in her forest world, as opposed to it in the real world. In the forest world, we see that the jacket is more of a hot pinkish color.

I'm not sure if this is fully because of the lighting, but the color difference for the jacket is very notable if you compare them side by side. In the real world, the jacket is clearly more red than pink:

So why make this jacket be two different colors in two different places? Well, I'd like to theorize that the answer has to do with this girl that appears for a brief few seconds in HARROW, in the flashback sequence while Kotoko is beating up the child kidnapper dude.

Or as I like to call her: PINK SHIRT GIRL ✨

One final thing I wanted to talk about is how this girl relates to Kotoko, the different colors for her same jacket in the MV, and the sole reason why I think she wears a pink shirt. A lot of people have speculated that this girl is a younger version of Kotoko, possibly back when she was a child. Pink for Kotoko seems to emphasize her ideals at their most pure level.

When Kotoko is wearing her jacket when it's pink, she's in her forest world that emphasizes Kotoko's purpose in protecting the weak. She's emotional there, she falters, worn out by the running and desperate to continue going. There is nothing shown in those scenes that shows her childlike ideals being tainted, yet.

But when Kotoko alludes to her self-hatred and the wolf urges her to go on with the attack, HARROW switches back to the real world where the jacket is red. We Kotoko smile after she presumably kills the child kidnapper guy as she declares that she wants to be "drowning in the knowledge that [she] is right", and thus, this seems like we the audience realize this is the moment when Kotoko's ideals begin to become more distorted than how they were presented in the forest world.

We see that she finally gains a satisfaction that everything that she did wasn't for completely nothing, and that she now has the purpose that makes her existence useful. While she does want to protect the weak and give out justice, it is not entirely motivated by altruism, as HARROW points out. When Kotoko's pink jacket becomes red, it seems to signify how her pure, child-like ideals become tainted and much more flawed compared to them initially.

This, along with Kotoko having the wolf as her companion, all seem to point at just how much Kotoko herself has become the very monsters she wanted to destroy. The child-like pink has now become a red stained with blood, or rather a shade of magenta. A mix of red and pink that highlights Kotoko's immature and child-like view of a black and white world, while also noting that Kotoko is not the innocent Little Red Riding Hood she once was anymore—

She is the wolf. She is a Red Riding Hood who has been led on by the wolf's ideals, the prey that has been ensnared and eaten by the wolf at the end of the original Charles Perrault story.

She is the wolf, the monster now.

She is now the sinner she hates so much.

Sources:

https://journals.openedition.org/strenae/6423 This one is the Red Riding Hood clothing analysis!

https://core.ecu.edu/parillek/littleredcinder.pdf "Little Red Riding Hood" Charles Perrault version

https://medium.com/@monsterahelpful/the-symbolism-and-history-behind-the-monstera-leaf-unveiling-its-meaning-11ba828837c2 Monstera Deliciosa symbolism!

https://twitter.com/pug_maniac/status/1735912110423732687 Yamanaka's tweet for Kotoko's birthday flower!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Red_Riding_Hood The Wikipedia page for Little Red Riding Hood! This also contains the heavier themes I was talking about in the beginning, so if you want to find out more, they have a whole section about it here. Trigger Warnings for sexual assault and rape for this Wikipedia page.

https://youtu.be/VrAW8zyoEiY?si=a3p4nb8B1TTza-x_ Translation video for Kotoko's first voice drama, Task.

https://youtu.be/_gTTtS0Fvxk?si=Y1Zwu3XOI_nRHgex HARROW MV

Also I'd love to read more analyses if anyone writes them, especially on topics I avoided, so tag me if you write any!!!

[seastarblue]

Tumblr Games: OC Prompts: Character Profile

thanks for the tag @bardic-tales here !

Rules: Answer the prompts for an OC—buttttt I kinda wanna do the interview style again! Partway at least. Gotta work on them character voices, ya know?

So I’m already making profiles for my OCs, but I figured it might be fun to do one for an OC I wasn’t planning on profiling:

✨Saffron✨

Let’s go!

———

Full name? “Saffron of Gentlebright. At least that’s the one easiest to pronounce for humans.”

Age? “Er… maybe… 450…? Give or take a few decades— I’ve lost count. Whoopsie!”

Gender? “Gender? I hardly know her! HAHAHA! You can use she/her for me though.”

Species? “A ✨fairy✨.”

Appearance: Saffon is a short (nO im NOT), red headed fairy with bright yellow eyes and shimmering purple dragonfly wings. She’s got a collection scars here and there.

Occupation? “I’m the captain of the Fifth Order.”

Family:

Spouse? “None. Never was one for romance!”

Parents? “…No.”

Siblings? “…also no.”

Best Friends? Tell me a bit about them!

“Alrighty! First and foremost, we’ve got Aris! Aris min Qultaar, if we’re being specific. He’s my partner-in-justice! Now as for the rest of my team: I love them equally—some are just… more equal than others, HAH! Like, uh, Nero di Accardi, Thannis of Spring, Tembris Quicksilver, and Percival Whitlock.”

Pets? “No, but I did have a cat called… Baby Kitty. He died :(“

Describe your room? “Ah, there’s not much. A bed, nice soft blue sheets, it’s got holes in the mattress for my wings—I tuck em in, don’t want them to get crushed, ya know—I’ve got a nice little nightstand that Thannis carved for me with some knickknacks Aris gifted me. I don’t spend enough time in there to really decorate.”

Way of Speaking: Saffron’s speaking style wildly changes depending on who she’s talking to. With her team, it’s casual, easy, gentle at times. With superiors, it’s formal, tense, very eloquent. With criminals… well let’s just say she doesn’t stop to chat much.

Physical Characteristics: Apart from what was listed above, Saffron has white diamond shaped pupils, and blue blood, as she is a Fae.

Items in your bag RIGHT NOW: “Oh, uh, let’s see… a knife, some food, a broken pencil, another knife, some vials of potion, and… another broken pencil. Who put those in there…?”

Hobbies: Sparring, planting, dancing, writing, interrogating people

Favorite Sport: “Hm… I’m a fan of wingball, but I don’t play often.” (Wingball is just football but in the air)

Abilities: Saffron has a lie detecting ability, as she is a fairy. She also has some very good Glamor skills, as well as mean Fire magic.

Relationships:

Her team: very good! :>

Lloyd Santhuff: very bad :<

Vivirette Hawthorne: she thinks the noble is weird.

Fears: She fears losing her entire team without being able to do anything. It’s a very real fear… also slugs.

Faults: She tends to freeze up, which isn’t a good quality to have as a leader. She also has a problem with taking things seriously—she doesn’t.

Good Points: Saffron is very honest (not by choice—long story, still counts), and she’s very good at giving advice, having lived for literal centuries (don’t make me feel old :[ )

What they want more than anything else: all Saffron wants is to be free to keep them safe.

———

phew this took a while. Note that you don’t have to answer as an OC, just for one!

Tag game list! Lemme know if you want on/off via DM or ask!:

@sableglass @vsnotresponding @dioles-writes

@paeliae-occasionally @astor-and-the-endless-ink @allaboutmagic

[deancaspinefest]

A Fairy Tale Cliche!

Author: butterflyslinky | Artist: CoyDahlia

Posting on Monday March 18

True Love was never in the cards for Castiel. He is, after all, a Changeling raised by Cave Trolls, raised in the Court of Storms, where tender emotions are not encouraged. True Love was also never in the cards for Dean. They may be under a curse that can only be broken by True Love's Kiss, but nymphs don't tend to settle for one person for life. Too bad none of their friends will listen to that logic.

Keep reading for a sneak preview!

Castiel did the only thing he could think of and extended his hand. “Would you care to dance with me?”

The nymph stared for a moment. “Are you going to declare your love and ask me to run away with you?”

“No,” Castiel said. “I’m going to dance with you until you don’t want me to.”

“Well.” The nymph put their hand in his. “Guess I can do that.”

Castiel smiled and led the nymph onto the floor. As though by magic…okay, probably by magic…the orchestra started at once and Castiel swept the nymph into a gentle waltz, grateful to Sam and his lessons. He was still clumsy in boots and he didn’t want to step on the nymph’s inadequate shoes.

“You’re a Changeling, right?” the nymph asked after a minute.

“I am.”

“Great. Wanna give me the lowdown on that?”

Castiel didn’t know why, but he found himself spilling his entire story to the nymph, more than he’d told anyone, even Sam. The nymph listened in silence, watching him from behind their mask, and they seemed to relax the longer Castiel spoke.

“So here I am,” Castiel finished quite a bit later. “It’s been a bit of a journey.”

“You’ve barely even started,” the nymph said. “Training with Jo is step zero…you don’t even have your Quest yet.”

“I thought finding my One True Love so I can stay in Avalon was my Quest.”

The nymph laughed. “Please. Like it would be that easy. You can’t really know someone is your True Love until you’ve faced major adversity together. You know, kiss a frog, turn into a swan, what have you. And that’s assuming True Love even exists for you and not just random lust or infatuation.”

“Do you not believe in True Love?”

“Sorry, sweetheart,” they said. “But I don’t go around sharing my story with everyone I meet.”

Castiel slowed slightly. “Just tell me,” he said. “Do you have a True Love you should be dancing with?”

The nymph softened. “Nah,” they said. “Don’t have time for that crap. Though you’re offending an awful lot of people by dancing with me.”

Cas glanced around again. There were indeed quite a few people watching them, and many of them looked pretty unhappy. “Were they on your dance card?” he asked.

“Nope,” the nymph said. “But they feel entitled to me anyway.” They grinned at Cas. “So if you want to take up all my time, I can stay until midnight.”

“If you want me to,” Castiel said. “But I’d like to know what to call you if we’re going to spend the next four and a half hours together.”

“Dean,” the nymph said. “You can call me Dean.”

(continue reading on Ao3 on Monday March 18)

[sparklyfarmfreakpaper]

Hello!!! I hope you liked the previous story because after a while the ideas and creativity came back to my mind again. So here you have another writing, I hope I have captured the essence of the character of Lizzie (A.K.A MY WIFE) since she is a very complex character. Enjoy!!!

Synopsis: Lizzie has a very bad time in Ever After, far from her home, from her mother, the strangeness makes her very depressed and it doesn't help that the boy she fell in love with has broken her heart. But maybe not everyone in Ever After is like she thinks.

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

In a place far away from Ever After High and the Village at the End of the Book, where the sunlight hardly penetrates the leaves of the trees, the weak crying of a girl could be heard, who was none other than the princess of hearts, Lizzie Hearts. But what had happened for the tough and strong future monarch of Wonderland to be hidden here crying? Well, the poor girl had, ironically, a broken heart.

The reasons were several and they were fair, first she was far from her beloved country all because of the tyrannical and dark Evil Queen who went beyond what was written in her story, causing problems in all the fairy tale kingdoms. The curse she had placed made the once exotic and beautiful Wonderland twist into something more horrible, luckily the Evil Queen was stopped in time before completing 100% of her curse but still the little she could do with her evil magic had done damage not only to the lands but also to the people.

Her mother, victim of the curse, or perhaps of stress and pressure, changed her attitude completely, becoming more paranoid, more aggressive, more furious. She was forced to escape from Wonderland with Maddie and Kitty, leaving everything behind, even her mother. When she arrived, she already had a bad feeling about all this. First, Milton Grimm did not deign to look for a real solution to the problem; the first and only thing he did was close off every portal that connects to Wonderland. Then, nothing, absolutely nothing in Ever After was the same as her hometown; there was no madness, there was no magic. Everyone looked at her, Maddie and Kitty strangely, everyone was somewhat afraid of her because of her temperament and her usual; “Off with your head!”

Lizzie was still crying, her mother told her that a queen never shows her feelings, that was one of her valuable instructions, but she simply could not bear it any longer. As she buried her head in her legs she heard the sound of something approaching, when she raised her head she saw a boy of her same age dressed in a much more casual way and she couldn't help but get angry not only because she was seen crying but because of an incident related to the Ever After boys. Daring Charming, the heartthrob, not only went looking for her for a bet between friends but also didn't care much about "cheating" on her with Duchess by inviting her to the movies.

Gathering all the energy she didn't waste crying, Lizzie screamed

"Off with your head!" she said as she stared at him with red eyes from crying. The young man jumped a little in fright.

"S-Sorry...?" he asked, although he was scared. Still, it worried her to see someone crying in that place.

"Didn't you hear what I told you?! Get out! Get out!" she shouted at him, but her voice sounded more and more broken.

"It's okay, it's okay!" —he took out some tissues from his pockets—. "Here, so you can dry your tears. And, by the way, I wouldn't stay in this place for long; things can get... dangerous." The boy turned around and left. Lizzie kept the tissues and also left after hearing a noise that didn't sound like someone else at all.

The next day Lizzie was as if nothing had happened in the school cafeteria, she was sitting next to her friends Maddie, Kitty and Raven (who was invited by Maddie). While they were eating she saw in the distance the prince who broke her heart, Daring making more than one princess fall just by showing his smile. She frowned, she was angry, a lot but she still had certain feelings for him. Kitty said to her when she saw her

“Don't pay attention to him, princess, there are better things to be angry about” Kitty advised her, who from the beginning never liked that blond

“You're right Kitty, I'm going to practice Croquet, the team needs its captain to be prepared” She said, and left without further ado.

Lizzie headed to the croquet field with a firm step, trying to drown the pain with each step. She knew that croquet was one of the few things that kept her connected to her home. Upon arriving, she took her mallet and began to hit the balls with more force than necessary, letting out the accumulated frustration. With each hit, she mentally repeated that there was no point in continuing to think about Daring. However, her heart insisted on remembering his smile, his looks and that brief illusion that he made her believe. But her mallet broke from so much force that she exerted, she was redder than the red queen herself! Furious enough to explode right there! However, she did not expect someone to offer her a new mallet. “Here,” she turned around and found herself facing the boy from the day before. This time, he didn't lash out at her because he had honestly taken her by surprise.

“Thank you… Who are you?” The princess of hearts asked curiously.

“I'm [Name] Hollow. Nice to meet you.” The man cordially introduced himself.

“[Name] Hollow, what can I help you with?” He asked in a demanding tone, although with some curiosity. The young man ran his hand over the back of his neck in embarrassment.

“Well, I’d like to try to join the croquet team…”

“Really!?” She said in surprise. Usually, people who don’t fully understand what Lizzie is like avoid trying to join the team. Only a few did, and they still have problems with her.

“I even made my own mallet out of wood from the forest.”

Lizzie examined the mallet [Name] had offered her. It was crude and rustic, but well made, and the artisanal touch gave her a sense of familiarity that reminded her home

“Interesting… Although I must warn you, croquet is not a game for children. It’s aggressive, fast, and you have to learn to play to the fullest,” Lizzie said, assessing herself from head to toe with a defiant half-smile.

“I’m willing to try, princess,” [Name] replied firmly.

“Call me Lizzie.” She introduced herself formally.

She raised an eyebrow, surprised. Most of the boys in Ever After avoided their team or left after the first game. But [Name] didn't seem intimidated.

"So what are you waiting for?" Lizzie challenged him. "If you really want to join, you'll have to earn your spot."

So the two of them spent a lot of hours playing long games of Croquet, Lizzie was really enjoying each game and had forgotten all of her problems. Since then Lizzie and [Name] had started to meet more often and started to go out more often. Without realizing it, the boy's presence slowly began to repair her heart. Lizzie throughout those weeks had discovered something, that not everything in Ever After was as negative as she thought and that, perhaps, she can open her heart again to give love a chance.

[screemnch]

The Pathologic Russian and English analysis: Artemy Burakh the Haruspex Part 2.

I think I've officially been classified by the world's forces as a fanfiction author because of this, for you see... The reason it took so damn long for me to get around to this is because I was trying to not get deported, avoiding homelessness and having a generally horrific time. But that is none of your concern, I suppose, so let's cut to the chase.

As the Changeling: I can’t exactly say that there are many differences between the Russian and English versions of the Haruspex here - same as outlined previously, he is laconic, distant and impulsive. In terms of tone of voice, the main difference would be the constraints of grammar in the English language. Russian is quite a versatile language and allows for people to structure sentences very… Liberally. This is what I meant when I spoke about the Bachelor speaking with a very “deliberate” sentence structure. He would construct his sentences properly, with all the nouns and verbs there need to be in a sentence, never neglecting the “I” - speaking in a very proper manner, even when using not so proper words. In English it’d be quite difficult to illustrate where the difference lies - these two languages employ vastly different sentence structures. The curt tone of voice is furthered with Burakh particularly because he doesn’t structure his sentences formally. His communication is very barebones, often foregoing the “I” in what he says, for example, since it can be indicated through the form of the verbs used. I’d previously said his manner of speech reminds me of fairy tales, and I think it’s particularly because of that - the modern way of speaking is very individualistic. It’s all about explaining yourself clearly and concisely, putting emphasis on the person. Artemy doesn’t put much emphasis on himself in his dialogue, talking about actions instead. The order in which he puts words is also distinct from more modern sentence structures, though that is a bit more difficult to explain. Y’all aren’t here for that anyway so let’s get to the screenshots. Once again, the order of dialogue here is dubious at best.

I want to bring attention to the last sentence here (partially because I don’t know how much material I’ll have for this part of the analysis, so I’m just putting in whatever I want) - the original Russian version says “Where do [someone’s] eyes have to be to mix us up…” which is where I get to talk about Russian expressions. See, the implication here is that the onlookers eyes have to be positioned on/in said onlookers rear end - because that is a common way for Russian people to express that someone is inept at something. Someone’s clumsy and can’t do anything well with their hands? They must be growing out of their ass then! Though I can’t think of any other instances in which that would be used off the top of my head, but yeah. Ass eyes.

It is. So difficult to not just start talking about Clara right here and right now, she’s my special little blorbo and there’s so much about her BUT. I will limit myself to this note (yeah, right, we’ll see). Main things to note here - Clara goes from addressing Artemy informally to then using the formal version of “you” (or, I guess, the formal version of the verb addressing him because Russian is a totally real language that exists). This is combined with the fact that the way she asks Artemy who he is is specifically worded in Russian in a way that implies scrutiny. It’s extremely difficult to explain, the difference is in only one word but the literal translation would also not convey the meaning well. But basically - she asks him who he is in a standoffish manner, realises she’s talking to the Ripper himself and immediately goes to address him formally and here’s the kicker: instead of saying “don’t hurt me”, in the original version she said “don’t upset me”(literal) to which the English equivalent would be “don’t be mean to me”. So yeah, Clara realised she just gave snark to a murderer and immediately went for the “I’m just a little girl, you wouldn’t want to hurt me right?.” Comedy gold. (Or a stark example of how girls and women have to force themselves to be more palatable in fear of violence from men. You decide).

The focus here is on the “Love will find a way. Blockhead” line (the rest is for context). The sentence before that isn’t even present in the Russian version. In fact, the original version just says something along the lines of “You’ll find her if you love her” (with the exception that with the freedom Russian allows it was expressed in just two words.) I also had a good laugh at Clara calling Artemy “blockhead” because I thought it was a bit anachronistic (it wasn’t, the word was used as early as the 1500's and I swear I’m gonna have to start using MLA format citations for this one day aaaaa) but it suited the translation well, as the original insult that Clara threw at him was comparing him to a large and unformed mass of stone - a common insult for someone stupid. Just wanted to point out the fun stuff.

Entirely unrelated since I can’t be bothered to look for context for either of these, but the fact that they’re in proximity and similar to each other (while being very different in Russian) was kinda funny to me. The former being something along the lines of “So what do you need here?” and the latter meaning something like “Have you come with business?.” The second one also bears the hilarious implication that Artemy expected Clara to just… Come by on a whim, with seemingly nothing to do - either because he doesn’t think highly of her, or because there’s a precedent for people to come wandering into the Ripper’s hideout for no reason. Either way, once again - funny.

Listen, I don’t know if this is anything, and hopefully there are other Russian speakers who can tell me if I’m being a little stupid here, but! I also know that a large number of pathologic fans love to talk about this silly little thing called gender. And the fun thing about Russian is that everything here is gendered as all hell. In terms of “adoption” there are two words that essentially mean “to make someone (take them in as) your son” and “to make someone (take them in as) your daughter”. And it is a very common thing for anyone to say they’ve been adopted (as a son) regardless of their gender - since so much literature is oriented on men and talks about them more than it does women, so it’s a word that comes to mind first (had to talk to my mom about this, heehoo). However in this particular instance, Clara says that Alexander took her in as his son. It’s something entirely normal to say in Russian, and I don’t think that this thing alone is enough to build off of, but since I know there are people who would add this to a pile of headcanon justifications - I’ve pointed it out to you. Because I love you. You’re welcome. (yes I’m talking about Clara again, I can’t help it if she’s just better than everyone)

This! This is what the translation should’ve said in the Bachelor route!! I know I’ve already talked about this, but now I’m even more confused - they got it right with the Changeling, what was stopping them from recycling the same translation with the Bachelor? Like, I would like to think that maybe it’s an error on the side of the website I’m using (but also hopefully not, I don’t have the time to play the games at the moment) but it’s also entirely possible that the translation team translated this phrase TWICE instead of saving time. Because people aren’t always efficient. Anyways.

This isn’t as much of a translation thing as it is maybe an “I don’t know English” thing. I was really confused when I first read it and only after comparing it to the Russian version did I understand what the second sentence was supposed to mean. As in - yeah, I can tell how you could read this in English and understand it - but it isn’t intuitive at all. And I get it - it’s pathologic and very little is actually intuitive here. But I wonder if I wasn’t the only one confused. In Russian, the sentence states “if it weren’t for me, you would’ve drowned your town in blood.” A simple little clarification, and I think an argument may be made about the difficult to understand nature of patho’s writing but… There’s a difference between a message reaching the audience with some difficulties and the message not reaching the audience at all.

Hey hey it’s time for “Burakh (and maybe other characters, we’ll see) treats Clara as more of a concept than a tangible person!” In this edition we’re gonna be focusing on the “deadly girl” turn of phrase, where the original Russian version has him call her “girl-death.” Not in a sense that she’s the death of girls, or that she is the reaper with a pink bow over its hood, rather that she is “the girl that is death”. We saw this earlier in the Bachelor’s campaign, where Artemy referred to her as “evil,” meaning the concept of evil - Burakh seems to be prone to identifying Clara through these big generalised ideas, rather than giving her concrete qualities. It’s actually pretty funny, because Clara constantly appraises him in their conversation, calling him rude, scary, and mean. They both call each other demons though, so at least there’s that. Also instead of “henchmen” Burakh refers to Dankovsky being surrounded by “squires.”

From the same conversation - the second sentence is only similar in essence. Maybe I’m making it more of a deal than it is, but there is a hint of an apology in the Russian version, which goes something like “There’s not much faith in you; you understand that yourself�� (Conveying vibes here). I like the distinction between “faith” and “trust” because Russian (fortunately this time) does have different words for those two concepts. And it’s interesting to me, what with how religion oriented the Changeling campaign is, that Burakh specifically says that he doesn’t have much faith in her. Something-something themes.

Unfortunately that is about all I have in terms of specific points to bring attention to. It sucks immensely that there was so little time for IPL to work on the Changeling campaign, because not only is she super interesting, but also because (for the sake of this particular analysis) the interaction that her and Artemy have are absolutely wonderful. On one hand they have a lot of comedic potential (which I know isn’t the aim of the game, but hey, I laughed a lot reading their dialogue) and on the other hand some of their dialogue is actually quite heartfelt. In comparison to the Bachelor’s campaign, we get to see the Haruspex from a very different perspective. There’s even a little bit of that “does not get paid enough for this” energy that most people like to portray him as here. There were not that many differences in the “did you know we were dolls” dialogue between Artemy and Clara, so I didn’t get to talk about it much but I would suggest anyone to read or reread it - there is a lot of wonderful insight into both of the characters in there. Haruspex saying that he is still human specifically because he didn’t figure out the situation he is in (as opposed to Daniil, who figured out they were dolls) and that he is actively choosing to stay in this unfair predicament because he knows that finding out the truth would leave him permanently scarred? I don’t know about you, but it made me go a little bit insane. And even with Clara having the ability to understand where he’s coming from and that you’re given the option to invite Burakh to the Cathedral even after we are shown that he is completely blind to the bigger picture? That’s different from her conversation with Daniil, in which they are both on the same page about being dolls. This conversation in particular seemed so earnest to me, and if I wasn’t talking about translation differences, I would do a whole bit dedicated to that conversation. Otherwise I’m just a bit sad, since I don’t have that much to say about the Haruspex in the Changeling route.

As usual - comments, concerns, feedback is welcome. Genuinely no clue about when the next instalment of this mess of an analysis is going to be, but we are finally going to talk about Clara properly, so keep an eye out for that.

[fairytale-poll]

ROUND 1D, MATCH 3 OUT OF 16!

Propaganda Under the Cut:

Carrie:

Cinderella’s ball goes badly and she kills a town. What is there not to love?

Carrie is a horror retelling of Cinderella, look it up it's true

Cinder:

She killed her evil stepmother and stepsisters (technically they "adopted" her as slave labor and the narrative treats her as the villain for this but tbh out of all the things Cinder has done, this was the most justified)

She's my wife and I love her and she's also evil but it's okay

She does cool fire stuff and murders people but I think that can be forgiven

I love her. Jkjk uhm she's really cool and while a lot of people say she's an evil Cinderella she's more like a Cinderella who never gets saved and has to save herself. And she's so super cool and charming and a genius. And she kills people sometimes but it's okay because she's very very sad and I think more people should care about her.

Cinderella as a villainess! What if Cinderella wasn't saved by her fairy godmother and instead murdered her step-family and joined an evil witch terrorizing the world? Cinder Fall is a dangerous villainess who has helped topple kingdoms and will do anything to gain power.

This propaganda is just going to be me listing all the ways she fits her Cinderella allusion. Like all of the characters in RWBY, Cinder is an allusion to a character from fairy tales/legend/etc. In her case, CINDERella. She's one of the earliest and most important antagonists, although at first there wasn't a whole lot to connect her to the Cinderella story besides some surface-level references(her name, her superpower being the ability to create glass objects, that one part of the dance arc where she infiltrates a communication tower and has to be back to the dance by midnight when she transforms into a dress), but in the later volumes the Cinderella aspects to her character become way more clear. (spoilers for later parts of the show here on out) People have summarized this way better than I am about to, but basically: She came from an orphanage and was adopted by a wealthy family from from another kingdom(a mom and her two daughters), but was really only adopted so that she could do servant work at the prestigious hotel they owned. The "prince charming" in her story wasn't a romantic interest, but a huntsman(someone who fights the monsters in the world, a career all the main characters go to school to become) who frequents the restaurant in the hotel. He sees her being mistreated and secretly trains her so that when she's 17 she can apply to one of the combat schools and leave her "stepmother and stepsisters." Like all the villains, though, she's like a version of her allusion where things went wrong, so instead of being whisked away by "prince charming" to his world, she ends up in a position where she kills the "stepmom" and "stepsisters," "prince charming" tries to bring her in for murder bc it's his job, and she kills him too. Now a child with nowhere to go, she gets picked up by the main villain, Salem, who acts in the Cinderella allegory as the "fairy godmother" who uses magic to give her "freedom." Except the magic is a parasite monster that gives her certain abilities, most importantly the ability to take the powers of a very select kind of person that Salem needs. This "magic" also has a time limit like the dress and the carriage, except it's the fact that it's a parasite that's slowly consuming her. Cinder thinks she wants these powers because if she's powerful, she can secure her freedom, but has yet to see that Salem is just using her, making her the new "stepmother" in her story(she came close to realizing this, mentally comparing Salem to her "stepmother," but then turned around and threw herself into her quest for power even more). Some people also compare the other characters in Salem's inner circle to a new set of "stepsisters," especially with how none of them like Cinder and wished her good riddance during the period of time she was missing and possibly dead, and that there's subtle competition between all of them for Salem's approval, similar to how siblings can be with a parent. Some people have also said it's possible that Neopolitan played the new "fairy godmother" role during said time where Cinder was on her own, because Neo was able to help Cinder a lot with her illusion powers, including using them on an airbus("carriage"), which was also the scene where Cinder got her outfit change for the new arc. There is also a part in the Atlas arc where she lets the General know she was in his office by leaving a glass chess piece on his desk(like the glass slipper that Prince Charming identifies her with), when she fucked him over earlier in the show with a computer virus with a chess piece logo.

Literally explicitly based off cinderella yet somehow people were shocked when her backstory involved basically being a child slave to her "stepmother" and abused by her "stepsisters". She put up with their abuse for years until they finally crossed the line then she snapped and killed them. But now she's still being manipulated by another stepmother figure. She seeks power because she thinks it will give her freedom. She can shoot fireballs. She has the most outfit changes of anyone in the whole show. She's a poor little meow meow and a girlboss.

Hot

[penny-the-pissed-poltergeist]

RWBY volume 2 episode 1 rewatch thoughts

.Bold move starting off with two new characters, especially ones that attentive viewers would know are villains

.Something really weird is that the old shopkeep never speaks past volume 1 even though he does in the first episode

.Considering how a lot fairy tales that are mentioned in show turn out to be foreshadowing lore, I'm kinda bummed that none of the books mentioned here seem to be linked to anything

.The window darkening switch things are really cool

.And Emerald and Mercury just straight up kill a guy, how many people have they killed and why did Emerald not even get a slap on the wrist later?

.Society if the text on Blake's notepad was decipherable and you could see her thoughts on Adam at that point

.Nora shooting cherry tomatoes(?) into Yang's mouth is weird and stupid and I love it. Let them be dumb teens

.Is Ruby calling her team (minus Weiss) "Sisters" where that one quote of Monty wanting team RWBY to be a sisterhood comes from? Because that quote has no other source to my knowledge.

.Ruby why are quoting Richard fucking Nixon, and why do I think that's the funniest thing ever RN. Oh god she a gun nut who fight protesters, did you vote for Trump Ruby? Did you? (this is all a joke before someone takes that in bad faith)

.Ah yes, one of the two real puns Yang actually makes in the whole series. And every fanfic author proceeded to have her be pun machine anyway.

.Wow Didn't expect them to show Weiss getting Creampied, that's kinda inappropriate don't ya think :)

.Neptune looks like what would happen if someone tried to combine Rex Salazar (Generator Rex) and Ninja (The Fortnight guy) genes into one clone body and it turned out defective (Can you tell I don't like him?)

.Shout out to whoever yeeted Jaune

.Whichever writer said that the foodfight isn't "100% Canon" or whatever is fucking coward. I get it's ridiculous but so is lot's of other stuff in this show

.Wouldn't putting turkey's on your hands get really fucking gross with all the meat juice

.Ruby surfing with a lunch tray gets a hell yeah from me, let her do Sonic the hedgehog type bullshit. Also shout out to that one animation someone made her breakdancing with Crescent Rose. I might dig through tumblr to reblog that later

.That one joking shot of Ruby holding Weiss was edited to remove the silly stuff in this volumes trailer, which can be argued to be straight up queerbait. Whiterose being teased as a joke is oddly thing in this volume and only this volume (also the anthology manga's but those are written by fans so that's not surprising)

.The first time Ruby becomes the rose pedal sphere thing is a scene you aren't even supposed to take as fully canon, also they should have let her do the giant vortex thing as part of her "real'' moveset

.I like to think the one of the reasons Ozpin didn't get mad is that this shit is kinda normal for Hunters

.God I fucking love Roman

.Emerald please, she doesn't care about you

.Eme and Merc are blood thirsty enough for Cinder of all people to tell them to keep their hands clean

.I forgot how funny Mercury can be

.Cinder he's a committed man, that's not gonna work

[tangledbea]

my brain has decided to go on a tangent regarding names, so I apologise if there ends up being a lot of questions on this subject in this ask. feel free to answer as many or as little as you'd like!

rapunzel was named by her parents, right? so did gothel find out when the whole kingdom found out after her birth, after it had been announced, and then just decided to keep it? i feel like keeping her name AND telling her her real birthday was risky, no? if her birth name was rapunzel, however, wouldn't eugene have known that was the name of the lost princess, and find that intriguing at all. or in this universe, was rapunzel a more common name? i feel like I'm over analysing this 😂 perhaps their just minor plot holes.

also, would she have grown up with a surname? is gothel technically mother gothel's surname? was she rapunzel gothel!?! and do you have any headcanons on what her oficial surname would be, what frederick and arianna's is? i know that in my country royals did not have proper surnames up until way after tangled was set, so perhaps that is the same here.

no idea why i have decided to completely fixate on this tonight but there we go😂 any thoughts?

According to the series, Rapunzel was named by her parents, yes. I have this whole headcanon about that, but it also predates the series, which muddled it up a bit. XD

However! She was also named after the Sundrop flower! You see, it's common practice to say that "Rapunzel" means "lettuce," but that's inaccurate at best and just wrong at worst. The plant in the original fairy tale that the woman craved was rampion. Rapunzel is the name of the rampion flower.

This is a rampion flower.

Look at the center of the Sundrop flower. Look at the way the stamen curl. Yes, it does resemble a lily, but at the heart of it is a rapunzel flower.

Rapunzel was named after the flower that saved her.

And then Gothel kidnapped her. And I headcanon that she also named her Rapunzel, after the flower that she now bore the magic of. So, it was a big fat coincidence that they both named her the same thing.

As for my previously-mentioned headcanon, while her name was officially announced (according to the series), in the movie, she's only ever referred to as the Lost Princess by the townsfolk. I don't think her name was used much by the general public. I also don't think she told her her real birthday with any intent. The baby present for the first lantern raising is not a newborn.

A child as wiggy and giggly as this baby is at least three months old. I therefore also headcanon that this lantern wasn't raised in honor of her birth, but of her naming. She'd made it to three months, the risks of her dying were greatly depleted by that, alone. It was now safe to assume she'd likely survive infancy.

I think Gothel - who doesn't like aging and probably doesn't know how old she is anymore, nor remember when her own birthday is - probably wouldn't tell her about birthdays unless she asked. Rapunzel is smart. Rapunzel charts the stars and observes the seasons and likely notices that there was a pattern. The world turned the same way every year. The lanterns always rose when the stars were about the same. Perhaps Rapunzel chose her own birthday to coincide with the distant floating lights, because she felt like they were meant for her, as opposed to her feeling like they were meant for her because they happened on her birthday. Perhaps when Gothel couldn't tell her when she was born, Rapunzel suggested that day, because she knew the lanterns would rise that night. I dunno, it's a bit of a stretch, but I'm kind of sick of, "You know, if Gothel hadn't told her when her birthday was none of this would have happened lol." (Not that you're saying that, but with a similar -- if sincere -- line of questioning, I'm getting that same old frustration I've had for almost thirteen years.)

As for surnames, I never assumed Rapunzel grew up with one, but I headcanon her royal surname as Solaris.

[eighthdoctor]

What D&D alignments would you assign Sylvanas and Jaina, and have they changed since the fall of Silvermoon and Theramore? I think Sylvanas is and always has been lawful evil, her sisters just never noticed.

I think there comes a point in character complexity where alignments no longer make sense.

We'll use my latest D&D character Max as an example.

Max started out as Lawful Good. In a lot of ways Max also finished as Lawful Good. He's the archetypal Good Kid TM. Does things because they're right, not because they're easy. Helps little old ladies cross the street. Explained to an NPC that the party was helping to fight a coven of night hags (which we were wildly under leveled for) because how could we not try to help? That kind of good. Very anxious, very prone to rule-following behavior. Hates disappointing others. Saved the world through the power of friendship and idealism.

Max also spent over a year lying to his family, working as a small time conman and revolutionary instead of going to bard school. He has absolutely no problem using serious mind magic on people he thinks have crossed a moral line--the only reason I didn't take geas (which lets you curse people, like fairy tale curses) was I didn't think it would be useful in the Faewild. He did have and used Suggestion multiple times.

He is rule abiding but not necessarily law abiding, and absolutely broke into a man's house and was willing to falsify evidence if we couldn't find what was needed. He didn't kill but again, was willing to, the country's ruler if it came to that (it didn't). He sold his freedom to an archfey for knowledge. He could lie well enough to defeat just about anyone's checks, and did, and used exact words to get away with aforementioned breaking-and-entering to the cops.

To a cop friend.

To his employer.

So Lawful Good? Or Chaotic Neutral? Certainly the Summer Queen didn't like him very much (before he rewrote her mind to forget about him + the rest of the party) and might call him Chaotic Evil.

Here's what I think:

Jaina is, fundamentally, someone who tries to do The Right Thing. What is that thing? She's willing to put in the energy to find out. She wants to be a good person, she tries to be a good person. She also has been repeatedly traumatized, has repeatedly had it demonstrated to her that many others are not working in good faith, and can be skeptical and caustic as a result. She's had periods where--thanks to the trauma and the ongoing betrayals--she's decided that The Right Thing is meeting violence with overwhelming violence. Is that Good? Or Evil?

Sylvanas is, fundamentally, someone who tries to protect her own. She has a fairly expansive (and fluctuating) definition of 'her own'--those she's oathsworn to, of course, but also those she's taken even tenuous responsibility for. The Dark Rangers, the Forsaken, the Horde--also the sin'dorei, seventy Gorean women, and three kittens. And Jaina. What will she do to protect them? Anything. Again due to repeated trauma and betrayals, she sees threats where none exist and reacts acccordingly. Evil? Or Good?

Did these change with traumas? They certainly got more extreme. But all available evidence is that pre-Third War, Sylvanas wanted to protect her people and Jaina was dedicated to doing the right thing.

It's just the details that get tricky.

[unlucky-leek]

I'm still really struggling with the whole novel writing thing. I'm gonna ramble a bit so you can ignore this if you want lol

Basically I've realised that I keep settling on an idea, doing a bunch of research / planning, getting super into writing it for a while, and then lose all motivation as soon as I reach some sort of roadblock. For example I'll be like "OK cool, so how do we get from plot point A to plot point B...", but then the more I start trying to come up with solutions, the more I start overthinking everything, and then I end up in this spiral of "that doesn't make sense, the characters wouldn't do that, that's too cliché, that's just a dumb excuse for x, y, and z, no-one would read this or take this seriously, imagine the negative reviews, etc etc", which I *know* is dumb because I've been writing for *years* and ever since I was a literal child I've had people complimenting my story telling and writing style. Even my fanfics have had a lot of nice comments from people. And it gets worse than that - I occasionally find forgotten collections of my own writing from over a decade ago and I'm like "damn, this is actually really good, how did I do that?" And then I get miserable because I feel like younger me was writing much better than current me, and I don't know how to recapture that.

I think a major issue I have is that my characters tend to take on a life of their own, and then it becomes hard for me to make them do things I know they wouldn't do, which makes changing and adapting the story much harder once I've established them. On the flip side, if I don't do that, then I don't feel invested in them and can't be bothered writing their story, which also sucks.

Something that simultaneously keeps impressing me and annoying me is my writing from 2016-2017. As it turns out, I wrote a LOT that year. There's so much, and I love re-reading it because it feels like I'm reading someone else's work (maybe that's a dumb thing to say, idk). But the problem is it's all half finished or random short stories that will never fit in anywhere. It's so mystical and philosophical, full of dark themes, pondering existence, fairy tale like settings... But none of it is finished, and now I feel like I can't do it justice.

There's a story I started back then that I'm desperate to finish but it's so philosophical that I get sad every time I try to work on it, which sounds ridiculous, but it is what it is lol (it's based on the concept of Tulpas if you know what they are).

Then there's the story I've had going on in my head since 2008. I've written a few scenes for it here and there, but the damn thing spans over 3000 in universe years and almost 20 irl years, how the heck are you meant to condense that into a book?? I tried writing a new story set in the same universe, but it just didn't feel right. Ironically they're the characters I feel most comfortable writing about even though I can never publish anything about them (probably).

Then there's one I've been working on recently that was based on an old fanfic story of mine (the original plot, not the characters), but I keep getting paranoid that I can never publish it because the original fanfic from 2011 is still out there. Are original adaptations of fanfics you wrote a thing? Would people sneer at it?

Then I have a random other story I got pretty far with but realised I don't know enough about the themes or the community involved to write it respectfully, so I've temporarily given up on that for now too.

I've kind of ended up in a bit of a slump I guess. In no small part due to the fact that since 2017 I just haven't had as much time to write as I'd like, and if I do I overthink it all and don't actually write anything. Or I'll be spending time doing other things I enjoy and an annoying thought will be going "you could be using this time to write", and then I just feel annoyed at myself.

Maybe I should just start with a short story collection or something... At least I know I'm relatively good at those. Or maybe I'll push through the sadness it causes and just work on the Tulpa one at last.

Not sure why I'm writing this to be honest, I think I just needed to get it all down to clear my mind.

Thanks for reading if you got this far, I hope to have an actual story for you to read one day!

~03/10/2024

[soulfarer23]

Yapping about shifting even tho I should just shut it lol

First Tumblr post. No clue WTF I am doing. Just bear with me or don't. Random brain puke.

Please don't hate me, I am just letting my intrusive thoughts flow lmao. Not intending to undermine any opinions, just having strong opinions myself XD

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

Ok firstly, I feel like I am the biggest try hard on this version of Earth when it comes to shifting. Not the process of shifting, but the goddam SCRIPTING.

There is no way in hell I could ever just shift without a script. I mean, of course I COULD, but I don't want to.

I like to think that I am grasping the true vastness of infinity quite well for a human. And then I often realize I don't, and I really don't want to. It's the single-handedly greatest yet most horrific fact about reality.

You gonna tell me that every horror movie and every nightmare, every single horrific thought I ever had exists in infinite variations at all times? Yea thanks, I don't wanna grasp that. I don't wanna know that there is a version of me and my school class going through the fucking 'Midsommar' movie, and that's probably just the very tip of the iceberg.

But you know what, it's fine. As long as I convince myself that only those realities that I decide to be aware of are relevant, everything is fine. To be honest, I had those phases of wanting to have a horrific backstory to get all that main character pity. I am glad I stopped that before shifting. You can do that if you want, but I am done with that... mostly... ok I might do it once or twice just to have experienced it...

ok ok ok... back to the scripting.

I want you to know, firstly, that I've been deep into the 'Worldbuilding' hobby for about 10 years now. I love creating new worlds, I love finding solutions to potential problems, I love overthinking everything, I love DETAILS, I love perfection, I love both being absurdly creative or just steal shit I fell in love with.

This doesn't come into play a lot with those movie/anime etc. DRs because I actually like to keep those mostly in their 'original' form, just making changes to things that irk me.

I am very invested in scripting myself a Home Reality which I will declare my true 'original' reality, where I also will go If I were to 'die' in any other reality.

I like going for a cozy, magic, fairy tale, utopian theme. I've heard a lot of people say that perfection is boring, but then again, how would they even know? I don't believe that a utopian world would be boring, nor do I think I could ever get bored with existing (It's actually part of my script that I can never get sick of life)

I am planning to genuinely exist for all eternity, well we are all eternal, but I mean as in staying the same person with the same knowledge and past.

I feel like very little people take shifting as far as I do, not just living through the 'fictional' works of other people of this reality, but really 'creating' your own, in-depth reality.

Hell, I literally have a MICROCOSMOS section in my script. I literally made up microorganisms called Nova Protozoa and Opal Archaea.

I've learned so much about earth and nature just so I can remake it for my Home Reality.

So, well, right now I am really just affirming and persisting for the Void-State, so I am really just on here to expose myself to the internet until I am gone.

Comment whatever you want, but be warned, I don't argue, I just block lol.

I am just going to start posting random shit about my shifting brain or my DR/DR's.

I don't know if this is motivating or demotivating, or if anyone is ever going to actually read this. But none of that matters, just enjoying my last days of being aware of this shithole reality.

[moonlightswritingandstuff]

The Amazing Story of Keefe, Fairy Godfairy Extraordinaire (and also how Princess Biana and Sophie Foster fell in love, but they’re less important)

When Princess Biana, only daughter of King Alden, is to be married, the entire kingdom rejoices at the news of a resplendent gala and wedding to follow. Well, Sophie Foster doesn't care. She wants to go to the princess's Winnowing Gala, simply to see what the world has to offer. Enter Keefe Sencen, fairy god-fairy, as he likes to call himself. Without ado, let I, your dear narrator, begin this tale.

trigger warnings: none

For @kotlcfairytale! (under @softmoonlightmelody), for @/indigothemuse!

Princess Biana, youngest child and only daughter of King Alden, was to be married! The kingdom rejoiced, naturally, for the princess was of the sort of beauty that made all others seem plain.

And of course she was not only beautiful. She was brave, having nearly sacrificed herself for the kingdom in her youth. She was intelligent, having been at the top of her class for her entire school career.

All of this made Princess Biana Amberly, lady of mirrors, very intimidating indeed.

Sophie Foster, however, did not care in the slightest. Really, it was almost impressive.

But Sophie yearned for freedom. Her stepfather Forkle (there were two of them, but no one knew, much less Sophie) thought she needed to train more for his rebellion. Sophie, on the other hand, wanted to spend the rest of her life in peace with a large library and at least six alicorns.

And so Sophie yearned for a night of freedom, and the Princess Biana’s winnowing gala - as parties in search of a husband tended to be called - was nigh, and every person in the shining city of Eternalia was to attend.

(It was less shiny the closer you got to the outerlying districts like Mysterium, but alas. That was not the concern of the nobility.)

Sophie thought to herself that she may attend, without Forkle knowing. Perhaps the palace would have a wonderful library filled with every book ever.

(It was not quite filled with every book ever - that was nigh impossible, plus the library would then be full of trash masquerading as a book - but it is close enough.)

But Forkle did not like that. But then again, we don’t really care about Forkle.

Point is, however, that Forkle left for many important missions that Sophie didn’t really know what were about. Yet due to Forkle’s missions, Sophie had a free afternoon and night.

So that day she yearned and spoke to her pet hamster Iggy of how much she wished she could leave. She also spoke to Silveny, the only alicorn on Forkle’s property, who had a particular soft spot for her.

But Sophie could not go to Biana’s gala, for she had neither dress nor coach suitable, and no invitation at all.

And as she was lamenting her lack of supplies, fairy-godmother-in-training Keefe Sencen appeared, in a sparkly blue ballgown that, in my opinion, matched his eyes quite well.

“Greetings, Sophie Foster!”

Sophie startled, dropping her broom. “Who the hell are you?”

Keefe grinned his maniacal grin. “I am Keefe, your fairy godmother!” he exclaimed, then frowned. “Actually, I was thinking more on the lines of fairy god-fairy. Gotta break the mold, right? We’re too close in age for me to be your mother.”

“What kind of name is Keefe?” Sophie said, quite bewildered.

“What kind of name is Sophie?” Keefe replies, oblivious to the true uniqueness of his name.

“Why are you here?” Sophie snaps instead of replying. I’d say it’s rude, but I would also say the same thing.

“Why is it always why?” Keefe complains. “Not ‘how are you doing, Keefe, it’s nice to see you’ or ‘how did you do on that recent wish-granting’. But yes, I am here to make your wishes come true!”

“I see,” Sophie says, not seeing at all. “Well, what are my wishes?”

“You yearn for the princess, naturally,” Keefe says, nodding to himself.

“What? No!”

“Ah, you… yearn for the outside world?”

“That’s… closer.”

“I can assist! I will take you to the gala!”

“Uh… thanks?”

With a flourish of his wand, Keefe transformed Sophie’s plain dress into a stunning three-piece suit, vivid red and gold.

(Actually, wait a second- how did Keefe get into my office? Get out, I’m writing- no, why would I describe how handsome you are? Maybe I’ll call you ugly, that’ll get your ego- and he’s gone. Thank any and every god.)

Anyway, the suit was resplendent, jewels sown into its real gold-thread tapestry. It could feed a family for a week- no, a year. Sophie swallowed down her longing.

“And shoes-”

“Please give me flats,” Sophie begged. “I can’t wear heels.”

“Noted,” Keefe said. “Aren’t I an amazing fairy godfairy?”

“Sure.”

“Anyway, Silveny can carry you to the ball - she truly is a lovely colour, and, here, that pumpkin can be a coach,” Keefe muttered as he went around. “Oh, a horse-master! What are they called again?”

“I have no clue,” Sophie said, with genuinely no clue.

(I, your dear narrator, can tell you they’re called coachmen.)

“Well, I need one. Oh, is that a hamster? He’ll do great!”

“It’s Iggy! You’re doing nothing to him!”

“It won’t hurt him. He’ll forget. That reminds me. These blessings end at midnight.”

“Thank the stars,” Sophie muttered.

And then Keefe turned Iggy into the coachman. A very dignified, if pink-haired, man came out of Iggy’s poof, and he bowed to Sophie.

Lastly, Keefe spelled her hair into a crown braid, placing a comb with rubies into her hair.

(If there’s one thing that Keefe’s good for, it’s style. Shut up Keefe, you know I’m right.)

“Now go!” he shooed a dazed Sophie into the coach. “Have fun, and you’re a beautiful lady now!”

The interior of the coach was quite lovely, in Sophie’s opinion. She touched her earrings - gold and rubies - self-consciously, unable to believe that she was experiencing this situation, given the fact of her life.

And all too soon, the coach arrived in the palace, a glimmering estate sprawling, as large as Sophie’s neighbourhood, called Black Swan.

Sophie was led out of the carriage by Iggy, and no one questioned as she stepped inside.

And if there was one word to describe the ballroom, it was grand. One side of the wall was lined with elegant windows and the other with matching mirrors. Real gold detailed the many lines and designs, and the marble floor was polished as to shine.

None of this accurately described the chandeliers - there were two of them. They dripped with diamonds and sapphires, made of some strong metal coated in gold.

And on the ceilings, paintings of historical and mythical tales in aching realism looked down, blue skies painted with white clouds.

It was beautiful. It was overwhelming. And Sophie felt so out of place, like everyone would see straight through her.

But she made her way, with throngs of people, to the chairs of King Alden and Queen Della, Prince Fitz and Princess Biana at their sides. Despite it being her winnowing gala, Princess Biana seemed like an afterthought.

But even then, Sophie could immediately grasp why the princess was considered a great beauty. Soft teal eyes and flowing brown hair, almost like a river and almost black in its darkness, made her immediately identifiable as royalty, and her smooth, unblemished brown skintone was warm and full of life.

But she bowed and made her way out, mind still stuck on the princess’s eyes. Her gown, too - beautiful in its splendour. It was a deep purple, with golden embroidery - it would not be anything less than real gold - inlaid when pearls and diamonds. She also wore a gold circlet, the largest pearl Sophie had ever seen in its center and wreathed by amethysts and diamonds. Necklaces and bracelets piled up, but not enough as to be gaudy, with a pair of earrings to match.

But the food was also really good. Finger food, like small sandwiches, pastries, and cakes, were lain on the tables, silk tablecloths underneath them. Flowers stood in the table, impossibly blue roses and white baby’s breath.

In short, Sophie felt out of place, like a single flaw on an otherwise flawless crystal.

“Psst, Sophie,” someone whispers.

“Keefe!?” Sophie whips around to find her fairy godfairy in the same ballgown as before. “Why are you here?”

“You know, a ‘how are you’ or ‘nice suit, are you enjoying the gala’ would really be more polite.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine. Anyway, I wanted to see how you’re doing, and honestly, check on someone.”

“Who?”

Keefe didn’t answer, but his eyes flicked to Prince Fitz.

“The prince, really?”

“We used to be close. But fairy godmothers aren’t supposed to be friends with or be close to our… charges, I suppose, in any way. So I was… removed.”

“That’s terrible. You should talk to him.”

“No! He doesn’t even know why I left!”

“And? If he actually cares for you, he’ll forgive you.”

“You don’t know Fitz.”

“Yeah-”

“Keefe? How are you here?” a voice says, Prince Fitz.

“I…” Keefe hesitates, but Sophie nods him forward.

“He misses you,” she says, before pushing Keefe towards Fitz.

“Why did you leave?”

“I wasn’t- I wasn’t allowed to stay.”

Sophie leaves them to it, and goes off to dance, first with a lady named Linh, who tells her facts about mercats the entire time - which Sophie thoroughly enjoys. Both Linh and her are unbearably clumsy, but neither of them care. But for her second dance she is approached by none, and so Sophie finds a balcony and chooses to sit outside.

There she finds the belle of the ball, Princess Biana, staring down into the garden with firelight dancing within it.

“Oh, sorry,” Sophie says as the princess looks to her. “Your highness,” she adds belatedly.

The princess inclines her head. “You can stay.”

Sophie sits down hesitantly next to her. In the moonlight, she’s even more beautiful, the silver light reflecting off her face.

“Are you enjoying the gala?” the princess asks.

“It’s not quite what I expected, but I am. Are you?”

“Yes,” the princess says, and Sophie can hear the lie in her voice.

“You’re lying, aren’t you?” Sophie asks.

The princess blinks, eyebrows raising. “I suppose,” she says, suddenly guarded.

“I’ll give you a secret if you tell me why,” Sophie says.

The princess smiles. “I do enjoy galas. But I do not want marry someone I do not know.”

“Wouldn’t there be a courtship period?”

“I hope,” Biana says. “But I am afraid also of being known only as the wife of a noble.”

“I see,” Sophie says. “My secret is that I’m not supposed to be here.”

“You snuck away?”

“No, I got a fairy god… fairy.”

“Oh, Keefe?”

“Yes. How did you know?”

“He’s not as subtle as he thinks.”

“I don’t think he knows what subtle means.”

Biana laughs, and Sophie joins her. Sophie’s dolphin-like laugh sounds strange compared to Biana’s silvery one, but she doesn’t seem to mind.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re not supposed to be here,” Biana adds. “I’m glad you’re here, at least.”

“I’m glad I’m here, too.”

Biana smiles at Sophie, and she feels the entire world explode as if everything went from gray suddenly to colour.

Oh.

Oh.

Sophie’s screwed. And it is possibly the worst time and place for her to fall for a princess.

But then Biana asks her what flowers she knows, and Sophie imagines it’ll be okay as she listens to her ramblings about the meanings and needs of various flowers.

Sophie thinks she can spend forever listening to Biana speak.

“I should be going back to the gala,” Biana says.

“It was nice speaking to you, your highness.”

“Call me Biana,” she says, a smile in her voice, before leaving and closing the door behind her.

Sophie leaves the balcony a little later, and reenters the gala, going straight to the food.

“Everything okay?” Keefe whispers from behind her.

“Yes,” Sophie says. “Met Biana. You?”

“It was good to talk to Fitz again,” he says, semi-dreamily.

Sophie raises an eyebrow.

Keefe raises his, in an eerie way, his eyebrows being absorbed into his hair.

(Fairy godmothers, I swear. So weird.)

“Anyway, you might find a dance calling to you soon,” he says, before disappearing with the smell of… something. Sophie’s not quite sure what it is.

(Tangerines. It’s tangerines. Keefe is so annoying when it comes to tangerines. They’re like his signature.)

And true to Keefe’s words, soon enough Biana approaches her for a dance.

“It was lovely speaking to you,” she says. “Is there a way I can see you again?”

Sophie smiles. “I don’t know. But if you’re in need of a spouse, and no one seems appealing, I’ll marry you. Promise I’ll let you do whatever you want.”

Why did she say that?

But Biana laughs. “I might take you up on that offer.”

And so they dance, but before the next, Sophie abruptly realizes the time. 11:50.

She has to leave yesterday.

“Sorry, I have to go,” she apologizes to Biana.

“Ah, fairy godfairies,” Biana says.

Sophie presses an earring - one of the two she’s wearing that apparently would outlast the magic - into Biana’s hand without thinking and slips out the palace into the night.

She runs back, suit tearing into her normal clothes as the magic fades, and everything is blessedly normal as Sophie crashes into bed.

When she wakes up, Sophie is not woken up naturally but rather by a quite annoying fairy godfairy.

“Did you have fun?”

“Holy stars above, Keefe. It’s six in the morning. Why are you up so early?”

“I don’t need to sleep.”

“Yeah, but the rest of us do.”

“Anyway! Biana’s probably going to be looking for you. You told her your name, right?

Sophie wracks her brain. “I don’t think so.”

“Sophie.”

“Keefe.”

“How is she supposed to find you, then?”

“I… gave her one of my earrings?”

“Ooh, my custom design? It’ll be perfect. Now we wait. I think she’s using the tax records to figure out who to look for.”

Sophie feels her one of the pair in her hand, fingering the glimmering diamonds, shining rubies, and solid gold.

She stares out the window, looking for the telling blue that adorns the king’s delegation.

“Look for purple,” Keefe says. “It’s Biana’s chosen colour.”

(Sophie doesn’t pay much attention to royalty.)

Sophie nods.

And soon Biana and her people arrive, and Forkle goes to greet them. Keefe cracks open her window, just slightly, so they can hear what is being said.

“-the only one who lives here,” Sophie can hear, picking up on Forkle’s voice through the window.

“Actually,” Biana says, brandishing what looks like a file folder labeled Errol Loki Forkle, “according to your taxes, you listed ‘Sophie Elizabeth Foster’ as a dependent. Where is she?”

“I-”

Keefe nudges Sophie, and she sighs in return. “I’m up here!”

Biana’s gaze shoots to the window, and she smiles.

Sophie clatters downstairs, with her earring.

Forkle frowns, but makes no move to stop her.

“My lady,” Biana says, “would you enjoy a trip to the palace?”

“Sophie,” Forkle says, “please do leave me. I am all alone, and for that reason I have adopted you.”

Sophie considers her options. Biana, who is wonderful and Sophie enjoys to talk to, or Forkle, who has raised her.

“I shall go to the palace,” Sophie decides. “But I shall also visit this house once more.”

“I also believe you forgot this,” Biana says, pressing the matching earring into Sophie’s palm.

Sophie smiles at Biana, and she smiles back.

And then they lived happily ever after.

(Keefe would also like to say that he’s willing to provide his wingfairy skills. I would not take him up on that offer.)

(I should also say that Sophie and Biana were happy. They spend time together. They’re actually really sickly sweet, like that one couple in your friend group who will not shut up about each other but you stand it because they’re both really great people and you’re glad they’ve found each other. Actually, that might be more of a me experience.)

(Anyway. Signing off, your narrator, Tam Song.)