#and yellow which is another color people seem to have this mindset about

[vampire-nyx]

Honestly I’m really happy for people (transmascs in mind but everyone applicable is included) that really hated pink as a kid and then grew to love it as an adult because they embraced their idea of femininity and actually really liked the color, just avoided it due to it’s societal connotations

however, I do find it a little weird and offputting that among certain people, this narrative is growing of “haha, transmascs will always come back to loving pink and being fem” even including the implication that if you don’t, it’s Solely internalized misogyny and you must be still going through a phase. That logic just seems.. familiar to me if you see what I mean

[azol-otl]

So while I know that asking dc to make decent Jason Todd content is futile at best and a monkey paw’s curse at worst, there are some ideas I wish that they’d explore.

Imagine, a story that shows us more of pre-homeless Jason’s life and contrasting that with current Jason’s isolation. No overt tragedy. No focusing on Catherine’s addiction or Willis’ abuse/crimes. Just a normal ass day where the angst is created by the juxtaposition of happy baby Jason and current depressed Jason. Like I love angst and tragedy, but sometimes instead of showing us how fucked up his life is, why not just show us some good days and make the reader sad via fluff.

This is going to be kinda long and rambly so I’m putting the rest under a cut.

Have the story follow Jason on a day off. Just straight up no vigilante work. No costumes, no planning, no crime. 

When he wakes up, have him already be kind of melancholic (and for a free fanservice shot because it’s a Bat comic and those are a requirement now I guess) and make sure to show the date as May 10th *.  There is a message from Stephanie on his phone telling him, “Thanks for agreeing to cover me on Sunday.”

Have us follow him to a corner store that he used to go to when he was a kid. Have him be known as Cathy’s Boy instead of Willis’ kid. Fuck Willis we’ve had enough of him, show us Catherine’s relationship with Park Row. Have the shop owners call Jason “Flaquito”, because we’ve seen the Harlowe’s call him “Skinny Jason Todd” and nicknames never die. As George Lopez once put it, “You shit in your pants one time, you’re Caca for the rest of your life. It could be a grown man, fucking Caca. “Guess who’s getting married.” “Who?” “Caca.”  

Have it so that not everyone knows what happened to the Todd family (even in tight knit communities you have to remember that people are self-centered and sometimes someone just disappears and you hope that it was because they moved. Plus would you think that the kid you once knew got adopted by a billionaire? Also, despite everyone making the Waynes celebrities, I can assure you that most people don’t know shit about them.) and they’re happy to see Jason again. 

Have Jason pick up ingredients for a recipe he remembers Catherine making when they had money (because I don’t know how to tell you guys this, but when you’re poor you still splurge on some things. Money is always tight and money is never a guarantee so you need to enjoy things when you’re able to). Maybe she learned it from some old neighbors. Maybe Jason knew these old neighbors who moved away from Gotham. (Give the boy some fucking bonds that didn’t end in tragedy dc!)

 Have Jason go to a family selling flowers by the road. It’s a different family then the one he remembers, but over a decade later and there’s still people here selling flowers. He specifically buys some pink carnations with a flashback showing Jason ask Catherine for her favorite colors so she could get the prettiest flowers. She says favorite colors are pink and yellow but she doesn’t like yellow flowers because, “Yellow is too depressing a color for flowers, Jay.” **

On his way back home Jason passes by a group of people having a party in a small plaza near the apartments. There’s a bunch of people dancing but it seems to mostly be middle-aged women having a blast with one another. Have a flashback to the exact same women but younger dancing with Catherine who encourages Jason to dance with them because “Women love a man who takes them dancing.” 

Have Willis be someone who used to take Catherine dancing because my god do authors try to fit Jason into this toxic-masculine role (which they can I guess) but if Latinos, a group of people who are entrenched in a toxic-masculine mindset, still have some non-violent or oppressive ways of expressing themselves physically (dancing) then so can Jason. Please let me give my son some sort of physical way to destress that isn’t tied to cape-life (I know Dana called Jason a shit dancer but here’s the thing, you can be good at dancing some good things and horrible at others. The amount of people I know who can fucking slay at rumba, samba, bachata, cumbia, etc. but are lost as hell when it comes to American music is staggering. Even more when they only know how to dance with a partner). Plus there needs to be a reason why Catherine stayed with Willis pre-Jason, might as well make him be a bomb-ass dancer. 

Jason gets roped into dancing with the group of aunties because you can’t say No to aunties it's against the law.  Have him be a little clumsy before getting back into the hang of it (again flashbacks of a happy Jason dancing with the same tias because if there’s anything a tia loves, it is a polite (which we’ve already had confirmation that Jason was a polite boy from the Harlowes) boy who listens to them and can dance) and have the exact woman he danced with as a kid be the one he’s dancing with now but years older.

Just keep going through his day and have him try and connect with his old neighborhood in memory of his mom. Let him bring his walls down for one day.

The story would end with simultaneous panels of child and adult Jason putting on music (with child Jason putting on a CD while adult Jason is using his phone) before cooking dinner with the words of Juan Gabriel’s Amor Eterno playing in the background as we slowly zoom out.***

Some info for things I didn’t really explain:

* May 10th is Mother’s Day for Mexico and Guatemala but I’ve seen other Latinos adopt it. My own personal experiences with this day are that several working class Latina moms would take this day off to celebrate and then pick up extra shifts on American Mother’s Day so they can make more money by working all day while other moms try to get the day off. I believe Catherine would do the same so she could spend the day with Jason and not lose money.

** This quote is straight from my mom’s mouth. Yellow flowers aren’t generally seen as depressing, but cempasúchil (Mexican Marigolds) are famously used for Día de los Muertos so some people associate yellow flowers with funerals.

Catherine’s favorite color being pink is also a little nod to fandom’s take on Talia being like a mother figure to Jason. Since her main outfit for a good while was a pink jumpsuit I made it Catherine’s favorite color so Jason can honor them both in one action.

*** Amor Eterno is a famous song created in 1984 by Juan Gabriel about his mother after her passing. It is an incredibly famous song and one that is played both at funerals and Mother’s Day.

[kamsparadox]

I forgor (ramble #2)

I said I was going to ramble here, and I sort of forgot. Well, more specifically, I had this perfectionistic mindset on what I wanted to be posted since it's a far more public place, so I put off rambling until I found something I though was worthy of being talked about.

Anyway, I was planning on talking about history but as I rambled further below, I'm instead going to just vomit out some things.

Me when my mind

I'm not as big of a nerd (obsessive study guy) than I actually seem, and I often feel like I have to dedicate a large chunk of malleable time in order to push myself into studying things. This is because my specific way of learning things, the moment I start, requires me to learn every detail there is to something.

This also stems from a sort of perfectionistic desire to ensure that everything works out if I did put in effort into doing something, so I'm often left with the choice of either just half-assing or full-assing, and due to the constraint of the variety of my interests, I never want to full-ass in case I miss out on another interest of mine. It's a huge time sink, and I already have multiple projects I'm devoting some time into.

Perfectionism and poor executive control don't mix well at all

Recent obsessions

1. Urban Design

Recently I've been really into wanting to learn more about urban planning and city design as a side to another project of mine. Since the past, I've always been interested in exploring the idea of a city and how that affects its inhabitants. The cultures, history, customs, etc. have both such a clear but also vague relationship with the person inhabiting it. Constantly in my head I'm playing with the ideas of where farms will be built, how people will acquire resources, and how people will build communities based on these material needs. The way the population due to their history will affect the city, and how it becomes this system of perpetuation of the minds of the people is fascinating. But most interestingly, now that I think about it, is the way that these histories continue to put pressure on the psyche of the population by virtue of structures and layout being permanent.

Imagine if the statues of totalitarian dictators continue to loom over your now democratic nation, preserved for historical purposes. That'd be some fucked up shit. A population holding on to trauma for the fact that it's a portion of one's history. There are ways of preserving history that's healthy. Put it in a museum rather in a public place.

2. Chinese History (or, a very long ramble mostly about the Yellow River)

So i was reading up on Chinese history because, out of everything, that's basically the one I have the least clue about. It was going to be fun, I thought, but then it opened up a can of worms that's important but minimally to the understanding of Chinese history: The Yellow River

The Yellow River is one of the rivers in China that became the catalysts that started it all. All civilizations require access to water for farming purposes, and the Yellow River provided that. It's also used for traversing and trade.

Look at how yellow and murky that is yippee But my main interest wasn't the interaction between the Yellow River and ancient Chinese historical development. No, what I need to know is why the fuck is the river yellow?

Okay, so the yellow river wasn't originally yellow. It gained its name after it got its color. In the beginning it was just the river. What caused the coloration is the distribution of sediments from the Loess Plateau. Doesn't explain it still. Okay: Loess is a silt-like sediment. Silts are basically a granular material with the size between sand and clay. Not completely fine, but it's small. They're created through the Aeolian process, which is basically saying: they're caused by winds carrying small bits of weathered materials.

Aeolian Process Okay, but why yellow: because one of those small bits carried by the wind is Iron Oxide, which typically come in Yellow and Red forms. Additionally, there are just a bunch of various other silt materials there that interact with light in such a way that it gives off a yellowish coloration.

Iron Oxides

Have you ever seen what sand looks like under a microscope? Do you think they're just yellow particle grains all there under your feet being silly? Nope. They're

a collection of various different materials: quartz, rocks, shells, minerals, volcanic materials all smoothened up by their time under water. The yellow coloration is in part due to the interaction between these collections of materials and light when viewed from far away rather than their composition. That can help explain the yellow coloration of Loess.

And even more fascinating: the fact that this river has a lot of Loess running through it means that when rivers go on a very meandering, slow route, the loess sediment transportation slows down too, and, affected by gravity, falls to the riverbed. Accumulation of Loess begins and natural embankments are made. That embankment goes high enough, the yellow river will have to change routes because by that point, it becomes more energy efficient for the river to find another path to the sea.

The Yellow River has always been known for its turbulence, but I think the surprising connection of the yellow coloration and its turbulence is just very cool and exciting.

In the 2,540 years from 595 BC to 1946 AD, the Yellow River has been reckoned to have flooded 1,593 times, shifting its course 26 times noticeably and nine times severely.

Not only that, but artificial embankments were made in an attempt to control the shifting paths of the river. That artificial embankment only helped to shift its path yet again, causing it to flood and displaced people yet again.

That's what I've learned about Chinese history. idk about dynasties or smth yet.

3. Cyberpunk 2077

Visually amazing. Great lore. Lots of attention to detail on the urban design, historicism, architecture and the various cultures of Night City. It feels alive and as if everything has its historical purpose. Each district is distinct and memorable. Constantly playing the game just to get on a car/motor and ride through it.

Extra thoughts

So earlier I talked about how I wasn't that big of a nerdy guy. Sorry I was wrong.

[enamouredfae]

♡ Pick a Card ♡

Advice from your Spirit Guides!

This reading is for entertainment purposes only.

This is a timeless reading for the collective, therefore it is likely that some messages will not resonate with you. Please only take the messages that do! The messages that do not, are meant for somebody else. Remember that the future is never set in stone and that you possess free will! Love you! ♡

Pile 1

Charm: Shell

You may see shells as signs from the universe. You may have Venusian placements. You have a tough exterior, but once you finally open up to people you are a hidden gem! You are a person that values privacy.

Flower: Carnation

The meaning of carnation changes depending on its colour, since this one is a stripped purple carnation, it symbolizes rejection/refusal and capriciousness. It being a dry bud, for me at least, symbolizes that this is a small issue that isn't likely to grow! You might've been refused a caprice recently, or you may have too high expectations that are likely not going to be fulfilled.

Significator: Page of Cups

Self-sufficient is the word I thought of when I saw this card. I think that at the moment you are really starting to work through your emotions, you might be finally doing some introspection, journaling, talking to people, seeing a therapist, etc. You are beginning a journey of emotional growth. You might also be receiving a message soon, be aware of any symbols that matter to you or ask the universe for certain symbols for guidance.

Astro: Virgo and Capricorn

There is a high chance that you have Virgo or Capricorn placements. You may be earth dominant. You may be Mercury/Saturn dominant/ruled. This could also apply to the person you need advice on if that is the case.

I thought of soil when I saw these cards, not a plant, but very well-nourished soil. It seems like you are making a foundation for yourself that is not rooted in anyone else, it simply comes from you. You are the soil, the water, the nutrients, and your future self is the plant. Flower crowns may be significant to you as well, or you may find great healing by connecting with nature and connecting to nature's cycles.

What you need advice on:

VI of Wands and X of Pentacles (reversed)

There are a few possibilities I see here. You may be having a hard time getting your accomplishments noticed by others, you might not receive the praise you desire or feel you deserve. Another possibility is that you may have a hard time feeling successful due to your financial situation. You may have received a large sum of money that should make you happy, but it doesn't. You may be very well off financially, but it is causing some hardships, and others might not understand these hardships because they think that they'd be very happy in your position.

Advice:

King of Pentacles and XVIII. The Moon

I feel like at least one of you should monetize your intuition. Some of you have or will meet a person (very likely an earth placement), that is either a business partner or a lover/friend, that will somehow help you with your financial issue. They might recommend you to someone for example. Perhaps if you confide in the King of Pentacles, they'll help you immensely, they're someone you can rely on, if not financially, emotionally. Others should embody the King of Pentacles, be determined, stick to a routine. For others, someone could be hiding smth from you that would help you immensely with this issue. Listen to your intuition! Do not forget that your anxieties and fears are valid, and it is normal to be feeling like this! Your worth is not defined by your financial success!

38. Willow and 5. Cerato and Honeysuckle

Willow talks about self-responsibility: make a plan, stick to it and, most importantly, try to stop complaining. You have the strength to get through this, complaining just engrains it in your head that you have a problem making it harder to get out of that mindset, instead try working on the solution. Cerato talks about the fact that no matter how many people you ask, no matter how many books you read, your gut knows best! Trust yourself and your intuition. Whatever feels right, is! Just know that domestic happiness is very important right now, cherish whoever that may be (King of Pentacles perhaps), be it your cat or even yourself if you live alone, give and accept affection! This could be a message for a specific person but I feel called to note that as I was shuffling the oracles I started singing "Runaway" by Aurora. Perhaps the lyrics are meaningful to one of you, or it can reassure you that this pile is meant for you if this is your favorite song.

Pile 2

Charm: Cactus

You may see cacti as signs from the universe or have a very strong emotional attachment to them due to a certain memory. I feel like a lot of people are attracted to you, but they feel that you will reject or hurt them if they get too close. Or you consciously or subconsciously hurt people when they get too close. You might think you don't deserve love, which is NOT TRUE. Love isn't something that has to be deserved! But if it were, you most certainly deserve it!

Flower: Freesia

Yellow freesias symbolize joy, renewal, and friendship. It is the go-to flower to convey to someone that you trust them. You are incredibly trustworthy, someone to whom your loved ones come for advice. You are a great listener, are very delicate and tactful in your interactions with others.

Significator: IX. The Hermit

You are doing a lot of self-reflection right now, sometimes the pondering even turns into daydreams. You may also be connecting with and thinking about your spiritual/religious beliefs. You are looking to understand the light that illuminates your path. You may have started meditating, or you should start! Spiritual awakening is happening or coming soon! You could be isolating yourself at the moment as well.

Astro: Jupiter and Libra

There is a high chance that you have Libra or Sagittarius placements. You may be air dominant. You may be Jupiter/Venus dominant/ruled. This could also apply to the person you need advice on if that is the case.

The words that I kept thinking about at this point in the reading were "letting karma do its job" and "visions of the future". You may be clairvoyant! But most of you act a lot like the Justice tarot card, you like balance and fairness, and have a life philosophy based on these ideas. Your higher education might've played a big role in this.

What you need advice on:

II of Cups (reversed) and Queen of Swords

Someone may be rationalizing or overthinking a perceived imbalance in a relationship. Of course, the Queen of Swords, likely an air placement, is intelligent, they may be right in their thinking but because of the advice received, I believe their judgment is clouded by insecurity. They may feel unworthy of what they receive, seeing that you chose the cactus charm and have libra as an astro card, it is very likely that this is you but this may be your person as well, both options are possible.

Advice:

King of Cups and IV of Swords (reversed)

See, the King of Cups is upright, this person, very likely a water placement, is very emotionally mature, compassionate, and understanding. Whereas the swords person is exhausted and stagnant due to the deep contemplation happening. I feel they may also be insecure, causing the overthinking. If this is you, trust me, you deserve the King of Cups! If this is your person, make them realize that they deserve you! They need a lot of reassurance.

1. Agrimony and 7. Chestnut Bud and Morning Glory

Love, whether romantic or platonic, requires hard work, determination, and affection. Agrimony talks about a person that needs balance, both inside and outside. You may find it by showing more of yourself, especially by starting with your loved ones. Because you might not be used to it, start little by little, and observe how accepting those you love can be. Chestnut Bud talks about focus and learning from experience. For me, it's another confirmation that someone is overthinking, see the girl looking very melancholic, whereas their counterpart is goofing around. Don't take life too seriously! Have fun with your loved one!

Pile 3

Charm: Leaf

You might see certain trees or leaves as signs from the universe. When I picked up this charm I immediately thought "Leave!" So if you were thinking about a voyage, there's your sign, just be mindful of covid regulations, please. The idea of falling also popped up, so you might be falling for someone rn or feeling like you're in a perpetual fall emotionally.

Flower: Orchid

I would just like to point out that, although this orchid dried white, it was actually a baby purple orchid when alive. I will therefore explain both colors: purple orchids represent royalty, admiration, and respect, whereas white ones symbolize purity and innocence. But they are, no matter what color, always a symbol of luxury, delicate beauty, and virility.

Significator: 0. The Fool

You may be starting smth new with confidence, smth you haven't done before, making you a bit inexperienced, but still willing to take the leap of faith. OR you may be acting foolishly by looking back or the opposite way of the thing you'd do with confidence. Let me explain, as you can see the Astro cards are both looking in one direction, with determination, and confidence. Whereas The Fool is looking the opposite way. Your significator may be saying that you're being foolish to look the other way, wondering what-ifs.

Astro: Sagittarius and Mars

There is a high chance that you have Sagittarius, Aries, or Scorpio placements. You may be fire dominant. You may be Jupiter/Mars dominant/ruled. This could also apply to the person you need advice on if that is the case.

You have a clear goal that you can easily reach through your actions. Look at Mars' demeanor, he knows Sagittarius is hitting the target. Do not doubt yourself, there's nothing to worry about. Stay focused!

What you need advice on:

XI. Justice (reversed) and Queen of Cups

Clearly, there is a decision to be made here, and you really want to listen to your heart. And you're questioning whether you should? I just want to reassure you, the Queen of Cups is highly in tune with their intuition and their emotions, you should trust yourself.

Advice:

X of Swords (reversed) and II of Pentacles

You are clearly in pain, whether or not it is talking about this decision that is eating you up. Healing and recovery are important right now! It's time to stop resisting an inevitable end, and start recovering. Look, the reversal allows for the swords to just fall out of your back, just look inwards! Don't forget to balance work with fun, you deserve to relax! Another way to see this is that you are restricting yourself by seeing this as a choice, why not do both? Although, if we are talking about people here, there better be a mutual agreement on polygamy! I will not invite you to cheat! If we are talking about activities, you are capable of doing both if it's too hard to choose, you just need to figure out how to balance them. A specific message is that some of you want to go back to doing smth you've dreamt of doing as a child, if that is the case, pls do it, at least as a hobby!

13. Gorse and 32. Vine and Trumpet Gentian

There is a need to heal some inner wounds. I immediately thought of inner child work when I saw the Trumpet Gentian in combination with the Vine. Vine talks about acts of service and leadership skills, try parenting yourself/your inner child, give yourself the love that you may have lacked as a kid. You are worthy of it! Gorse is all about perspective and imagination. Do a brainstorming of possible outcomes depending on the decision you take, you can do this alone, but the input of loved ones that can be honest with you would do wonders. Don't forget your future can go in many different ways, and whichever decision you take is the right one!

Pile 4

Charm: Angel

You may see angels or angel numbers as signs from the universe. You are a person that is divinely guided and divinely protected. It seems to me like you have a very strong intuition or are very aware of your divine gifts.

Flower: Rose

Of course, roses are always symbolic of love. Therefore I believe it is more note-worthy here to talk about the size. This is a tiny rose. Just like the carnation bud, it did not have time to grow and is now immortalized in its youth stage. You may be inexperienced in love, or hold naive beliefs about it. You might be experiencing youthful romance right now.

Significator: XV. The Devil

What I find interesting here is that you got the angel charm with the devil significator. This is very conflicting energy. The sentence that I kept thinking throughout the reading is "wolf in sheep clothing" or "sheep in wolf's clothing", I kept mixing up the words, just very contradictory energy. The way you present yourself to the world is very different from how you truly are. You might also be a person prone to obsessing over people, things, interests, etc. I also would like to note here that this pile was the hardest to get the cards, the amount of shuffling I did here until the cards flew made me sweat hahaha. It's also a very confusing reading. Therefore, I believe you carry a lot of confusion yourself, although your intuition is incredibly powerful, you might suffer from being very paranoid, and sometimes being unable to differentiate your intuition from your delusions. I also think you're very secretive, you do not want people to know or understand you.

Astro: Neptune and Moon

There is a high chance that you have Pisces or Cancer placements. You may be water dominant. You may be Neptune/Moon dominant/ruled. You could have a Neptune/Moon aspect. This could also apply to the person you need advice on if that is the case.

"This is a time of great psychic sensitivity for you. Trust your intuition and follow its guidance." You should try to differentiate emotions from intuition, I know it's hard, but they are different things, and it's very important to tell them apart! Your dreams may hold messages, try having a dream journal and interpreting them if you don't do that already.

What you need advice on:

IX of Wands (reversed) and V of Swords (reversed)

As you can see ALL of the tarot cards I've received in this reading are reversed, implying inner conflicts that require inner change/work. You might've said/done smth you now regret, and you hate yourself for it, you may also be incredibly paranoid that others will find out. You want the paranoia to end. You want to make amends, to reconciliate/atone, but are unsure on whether you should do it. Perhaps you don't feel emotionally prepared to reopen that wound.

Advice:

V. The Hierophant (reversed) and VII of Wands (reversed)

What I noticed here is that The Hierophant mirrors The Devil, not as perfectly as The Lovers, but it is incredibly similar. Once again that energy of opposition, contradiction, and confusion appears, "the wolf in sheep's clothing". For some, my fixation on this phrase could be a warning. For others an invitation to look in the mirror... Try looking at the situation from the other person's point of view! I'm not saying you are a "wolf in sheep's clothing", but that might be how you're being perceived. You are exhausted, remorse is eating up all of your energy. The Hierophant is saying that you should stay true to your personal beliefs, so if you believe apologizing is necessary to move on, do it!

This could be unrelated and for a specific person, but don't be afraid of challenging the status quo! If it hurts none, do as you will, embody your true self! I just want to remind you that going against your loved one's idea of "normalcy" is not hurting them, it's loving yourself. But remember that you also don't owe anyone a "coming out", you are valid whether or not you tell people! Do whatever your heart tells you and please be safe!

!!! : Of course, this doesn't count if what's challenging the status quo doesn't respect others' identity/ sexuality/ ethnicity/ religion/ etc. If challenging the status quo comes from a place of hate please block me. Nobody is using this reading as a sign to do some fucked up shit.

3. Beech and 2. Aspen and Lily

When I saw Beech I immediately thought "talk to someone, or you could spiral." Beech talks about self-acceptance and self-compassion. You must first accept yourself as you are, an imperfect human being, like all humans, before starting to work on embodying your highest self. Stay open-minded! Aspen, on the other hand, invites you to connect with others, not only for advice or consoling but for quality time! I have a feeling that you have very high morals, but having them isn't enough, you must act accordingly!

Thank you for reading! Love you all.♡

You can buy me a coffee if you feel called to do so! This is never necessary, but always appreciated! ♡

[angelicmichael]

What if Xavier had a kid he didn't know about and he meets them for the first time after he's already a ghost? Maybe there's a kindergarten group that takes a trip to the camp, and he just has this spirit intuition as soon as he sees them and KNOWS it's his child. Do you think you could expand on this idea? I'd love to see what you come up with!

A/N: This was so fun, thank you for this idea dear anon!! I'm sorry it's late but hopefully u like it 😶. Also, I apologize this is so dark and heavy- I didnt intend for it.. it just, kinda happened lmfao. I turned this into a 'x reader' and it starts with Xaviers POV and ends with readers perspective!! First few paragraphs are pretty dark and then the rest is weird.. angst fluff LOL.Hope yall enjoy 💖💖💖

Warnings: First few paragraphs discuss Xavier's thots about dying SO, it highkey gets dark yall I'm so sorry, mentions of anger?? issues, mentions of murder, stops getting dark roughly around paragraph 6 if u wanna skip all that, MAJOR ANGST, reuniting, very brief Xantana reference 😈, mention of kids, bit of fluff.. think that's it :)

In Xaviers eyes; the worst part of being killed in a desolate camp and having to reside there for the rest of eternity; wasnt the fact that he would have to handle Richard Rameriez and tolerate his peers for eons to come. Sure, both of those things required an adjustment period but.. the realization that his life with you was abruptly cut short, was what truly broke him.

It took him being stripped from everything he once knew to truly appreciate how heavenly life once was before Camp Redwood. He had a steady job, good friends, and a relationship with a actual living, breathing person.. Not to shade Montana or anything, of course. However he had taken all of those things for fucking granted; moving to Camp Redwood definetly had made him become humble- at the very least. He was now nothing but a mere shell of the person he once was; nothing to bring him out of this absolute living nightmare he found himself in.. At first this mindset nearly consumed him, it drove him to kill multiple times.

There was no point in trying to conceal the anger he felt, no way of trying to channel it out into a more socially appropriate way and at this point.. there really was no point in trying to do so. Out here in the forest, espically after he was killed, life outside of the forest soon seemed as if it was some type of myth or fairytale- something not real or attainable. Time in the redwood forest felt different- days quickly bled and melted into weeks, and then months.. trying to guess the date was something Xavier gave up on doing after about the first week.

As much as he tried to deny it, being dead and becoming trapped here had completly made him lose his grip on reality and his previous life. Soon enough, the thought that life even fully existed outside of the camp and that there was actual fucking laws against killing (something which was now a leisurely hobby) had completly slipped his mind momentarily in the beginning as well. Out here in the forest, nothing felt real execpt for his anger that he held onto so tightly.

It was really the only thing he had left; atleast for a while.

The pain of losing his partner, (y/n), still remained but letting that grief not consume him was easily the hardest battle he had fought in his life. Xavier realized he still had his friends - and if he really was going to live for eternity, he sure wasnt going to spend it angry.

After so many years of being 'cursed' to spend forever in this forest, keeping track of the time was something Xavier rarely bothered with, but - it was obvious by the suns posistion, and even the slight mist that made the grass wet that it was just starting to cut into morning. Xavier walked through the forest alone, nowhere in particular to go or to necessarily do, only a sudden need to go and be alone. Almost a beckoning, for him to go and be somewhere else. To witness something.

His days were more often than not purely mundane; he had absolutely no excuse to not listen to this odd and sudden attraction he felt toward a very particular spot in the camp.. so, that's what brought him to where he stood now. Close to the road that brought visitors (a nice word for victims) into Camp Redwood, right next to the mess hall which was rarely used close by.

Xavier felt wildly uncomfortable standing so close to the place which previously held so much trauma - and honestly still did.. The place where Chef Bertie died. Xavier paused, about to just say 'fuck it' and just give up and go back to where his friends resided (or atleast Montana) when.. he heard it.

His sign, the thing that seemingly enticed him in the first place.

It first sounded like the old, familar sounds of tires coming across a gravel road - Xaviers mind immeadietly jumped to perhaps this could be new people.. new vistors.. new victims.

His blood ran cold when he heard something else; an eerie ringing of chains hitting against the ground. Something that was mostly a associated with buses.. and hauntingly familar. He had little to no time to think or even act on his suspicion when he noticed that a yellow school bus full, and nearly combusting with children was pulling into the camp.

Xavier wasnt exactly certain the bounds that ghosts had when it came to certain bodily functions like vomiting, but hes sure that under normal circumstances he would certainly be sick by now. Nevertheless he could feel his body tense up and the other natural symptoms associated with anxiety also kicked in. Urging him to clumsily get out of vision; he stumbled behind a few trees that poorly blocked him from sight. He continued to watch in complete and utter horror as the bus came to a stop, and it didnt take long for kids to start pouring out of the bus. Xavier felt his heart drop and his blood run cold every time a kid exited the bus and stepped on the dirt soil of Camp Redwood.

Xavier whipped his head around; scanning the surrounding area to make sure no other ghosts were here to bear witness to this.. Xavier was nearly always down to commit murder, it was really the only thing that kept him from fully going insane from pure fucking boredom but - kids? There was no fucking way he would let anyone touch them.

While he thoroughly scanned the area, he noticed a few adults leave the bus out of his periphery vision. He thought nothing of it, chaperones were to be expected on elementary field trips but.. the strange beckoning feeling he felt ealier visited him again, urging him to turn his head fully and look at one of the chaperones more closely. Instantaneously, he then automatically realized why he felt so compelled to come to this spot.. Why he was meant to be here at this exact moment.. It was you.

At first he thought he was merely hallucinating; you definetly looked significantly different from the last time he had saw you but.. he knew it was you, his partner that he had before his life completly went to shit (minus the catastrophe that occured with Blake, of course). He knew instantly, it was your eyes, your stature and just.. your overall warm and familiar aura that gave your identity away. He couldnt believe that the person he had so fucking desperately wanted to see more than anyone or anything was only a few feet away - and now, that you were finally here... All he wanted for you to do was to leave.

As soon as he saw you he felt a sudden tightness posses his chest and throat which accompanied the formation of tears burning his eyes; hastily blurring his vision. He had to physically restrain himself from sobbing outloud; trying his best to just swallow down his tears. His whole body felt as if it was on fire with anxiety, but he chose to continue to stand still behind a few dainty trees - trying to pull himself together so he could actually have the chance to think critically and choose what the ever living fuck he was going to do next.

While he waited for his blurry vision to clear, he chose to focus on the semi distant figure that he knew was you. He took in the little details; like how the sun highlighted the colors in your hair and your simple but charming outfit. It took him several moments to think of why you would even be here in the first place, with a school bus- and thats when another dreadful realization hit him.

Only parents were mainly chaperones when it came to elementary field trips.. meaning-

No other thought crossed Xaviers mind as his eyes flicked down inhumanely fast to the child where (y/n) stood next too.. and immeadietly he knew.

The features the child shared of both you and Xavier were partially a giveaway, but most importantly.. it was the feeling he had that confirmed his belief. The initial anxiety he felt of the kids arriving still remained but was significantly muted and mostly replaced with a overwhelming sense of pure love. The feeling spread to every fiber of his being, and so did a odd urge to protect this small being which he knew was his.

Not ever in his entire life had he felt this way about someone (execpt for perhaps, you). He felt himself taking a few steps forward, at first completly involuntary but he knew he had to talk to you. Just the idea of reuniting tasted so fucking good but, he knew he couldnt get too greedy if he was going to talk to you. He knew confronting you had to be solely done in order to save you and his child, he couldnt get carried away. He wouldnt.

He tried his best to appear casual as he submerged from behind the trees, his hands held behind his back - the only way he could get them to stop shaking. He tried to relax his shoulders and appear confident as he strided up to you; your back turned toward him. He continued until he was directly behind you, he wanted to tap your shoulder but - touching you seemed out of the question. That would confirm everything, it would make it seem actually real and not like this just some torturous dream.

"(Y/n)"? He spoke.

Xaviers breath hitched as he watched you whip around to face him. He studied your features as you went from looking utterly confused to surprised beyond belief.

"Xavier, what-"

"We need to talk".

Xavier quickly grabbed your hand, leading you away from herd of kids and the few sparse chaperones that were amongst them. A few of them gave you two a few odd looks but neither you or Xavier particularly cared, after all this was the first time in years you two had seen eachother. You hastily followed his lead, feeling slightly embarrassed that it was obvious how nervous and simply caught off guard you currently were. Your palms (one of which was still holding onto Xaviers hand) were starting to moisten with sweat. These feelings only amplified once Xavier turned around to face you. The intensity that was in his eyes put you on edge - never in your time of dating or knowing him did he ever look so serious with you.

"What are you doing here"? Xavier spoke, his voice was still in a higher pitch, slightly breaking.

"What"?

After years of not being able to see you, in fact; years of you not even knowing where he went - this was how he chose to greet you?? Automatically your blood ran cold with the sudden realization that something was wrong. Seriously wrong.. but the feeling didnt just apply to your ex boyfriend. It was the entire camp.

"Its not safe here, you need to take the kids and leave". Xaviers voice more visibly shook this time as he spoke; as if his words physically pained him.

Your heart skipped a beat, the sudden pain and anguish starting to fully settle in. You couldnt believe it; after years of not seeing you - this was all he had to say? Was he fucking joking?

"What? A-are you kidding? Xavier, I havent seen you in years- I didnt even know you would be here-"

"I'm sorry (y/n). I'm so sorry but you have no idea what this place is like. You just need to go, and the kids. And promise me you wont come back".

It was torturous to watch tears gather in Xaviers eyes, and watch as they streaked down his cheeks. The sadness you previously felt was now washed away with red, hot rage. The feeling spread throughout your body like a wildfire that he was seemingly rejecting you.. but you knew now this wasnt some pathetic excuse. Something was seriously wrong here; and now it was starting to become too obvious to ignore.

Xavier looked hauntingly the exact same from the last time you saw him. He forever, looked as if he was still stuck in the same moment of time - like in the summer of 1984, which was when you last saw him.

You didnt realize you were still holding onto one of his hands until you reflexively tried to move it to brush away his tears that were still staining his cheeks; but awkwardly.. you chose to do so with your other hand. Squeezing the one hand you were still holding onto a bit tighter.

He winced as you touched him, and as much you tried your damn best to hold it together - you could feel tears starting to burn your eyes as well.

"I cant promise I wont ever come back, Xavier. I need to see you again, and what about-" you said softly, about to reference the child you two shared together.

"No, you'll see me again (y/n). I promise.. okay"?

He brought your hand up to his mouth to kiss your knuckles; the tears you trying so desperately to hold in were now sliding down your cheeks. Your breathing was now horribly choppy. You were on the brink of full on sobbing but you held yourself back - it was nearly time for you to go.

The fact you would have to go back to go the others and make up some bullshit excuse to leave, put a bitter taste in your mouth.. but your sure Xavier had a valid reason for ushering you to leave. Even if he didnt want to tell you right now; you trusted him with your life.

"Okay.. Fine. I'm coming back though, and I'm sorry I couldnt find you sooner". You admitted.

You dropped his hand that you were still holding in order to wrap your arms around him. To get one final touch to remember him by. You were desperate to fully touch him and to be wrapped in his embrace, something you had desperately and madly missed. As he held you; you tried to soak in his scent, his aura.. just the fact that he was even here seriously with you, in this moment.

You previously assumed Xavier had passed away; that was easier to come to terms with rather than thinking he willingly ran away or.. that something else more sinister had happened. A part of you wanted to be frustrated that you were leaving with more questions than answers but.. you didnt care. Your heart didnt care. You were just happy you were able to see your boyfriend.. no matter the circumstance or conditions it came with. Even though you were stupidly happy, your thoughts kept annoyingly circling back to the same question - how was Xavier here with you, living.. breathing.. in the flesh. How was this possible? You were about to speak your thoughts outloud when you first felt Xavier break away from you. You didnt get as much as a second glance just when you felt something soft on your cheek. Perhaps a goodbye kiss? and then.. just like he wasnt there at all, he was gone. Almost as if he completly disintegrated into the fresh, morning sky.

You felt your entire body stiffen as you realized he was gone.. again. It was difficult to pinpoint exactly how you felt. It was a nasty mix of both grief and anger that left you completly speechless and deathly still. You took a step back to combat the feeling, and attempted to look casual (and not like the person whom you were just hugging had completly fucking vanished). Sheepishly taking a look at the group you had arrived with and making sure none of them noticed your.. odd behavior.

Sure enough, none of them did. They all stood, and continued on conversing just like they were before you had broke away from them. Smiling and laughing as if nothing was wrong; just like they didnt have a care in the world - just as if the love of their life wasnt ripped away from them for a second time.

Even though Xavier was now gone, that odd, unsettling feeling still lingered with you. Like something was terribly wrong here, in Camp Redwood. The feeling wasn't entirely bad though; sure - the overall air in this place reeked of something terrible but.. now you felt something else mixed into it. A comforting essence of safety; Xaviers presence. You knew he wasnt directly beside you anymore but he was somewhere.. lurking. Watching you, as you begrudgingly walked over to the group you came with. Making up a bullshit excuse in your head so you could escape whatever this place was pretending to be.

Taglist: @michaellangdonstanaccount @langdonsexual @jimmason @blakewaterxx @dark-mei-rose @9layerdevilfoodcake @prophecy-is-inevitable @matildaofoz @beautyiswithinchaos @frenchlangdon @instincts-baby let me know if u would like to be added!! :)

[starilicious]

the bad batch as colors: a headcanon

》 word count: 1010 words

》 a/n: i thought this was a cute idea and i think i may have gone slightly overboard but let's just ignore that. enjoy!

》 misc. notes:

• pls correct me on the chakra if i'm wrong! i'm indian, but i'm not hindu, so there may be some inaccuracies that i didn't catch :)

echo: green 💚

calm and collected

soothing, much like how nature is

green is a survival color, and for two reasons

1) for anyone to survive out in the wilderness, you have to camouflage with your surroundings--hence why green is a common camouflage color

2) echo survived so much and has kept going, just like the soldier he is. he moved forward and regrew, so to speak. mad respect for this man

he also seems to be one of the most balanced members of tbb

not only with his skills, but with his mindset

it's really inspiring tbh

okay this just turned into an echo love letter….. moving on

tech: blue 💙

blue is THE color for technology

aka why it’s perfect for tech!

also calm and collected, like green

blue-colored stars are the hottest stars temperature-wise

and this is relevant because tech is very passionate about whatever topic he talks about, and passion is often correlated to heat!

but blue is also quite soothing and serene--a very constant color, much like what the outside of a ship looks like when you're in hyperspace

tech seems to embody the vishuddha chakra, which is coincidentally blue in color (if i remember my chakras right lol)! this chakra, when balanced, means you feel confident, are great at communicating, and are super creative (to name a few)

when unbalanced, it's difficult to express yourself well, something i think tech often struggles with because of his intelligence

he has so much knowledge he wants to impart on others, but people aren't always willing to listen to him

so he may feel like he needs to limit himself instead of expressing himself

okay that got a bit sad BUT THE POINT IS: tech has his ups and downs and he's working through them like the genius legend that he is

omega: pink 💖

pink usually reminds people of romance, but i think in omega's case, it means something more along the lines of sensitivity and innocence

as a kid, she still has that childish innocence despite growing up with a war raging around and now constantly being on the run

so basically what i'm trying to say is that pink embodies being young, which is exactly what omega is!

she's also pretty sensitive

not just emotionally, but sensitive to her environment as well

she can read the room in so many ways before you can even think to snap your fingers

such an admirable trait

the best part is that she knows that about herself and uses her skillset to her advantage like a queen

wrecker: yellow 💛

alright folks, as we all know, yellow = sunshine and sunshine = wrecker

therefore, by the the only geometric property i remember from my freshman year math class (transitive property), yellow = wrecker

thanks for coming to my TED talk

okay okay, on a much more serious level, yellow is the color for happiness and positivity and kindness, all of which wrecker is extremely attuned to

much like omega, he can read the room very well, probably better than omega can honestly

i'm convinced it's his superpower

it's such a warm color, just like his personality

slightly unrelated but wrecker is an actual heater, and therefore a soft, warm marshmallow–i don't make the rules

(wrecker is basically star wars baymax)

even though he’s the macho man of tbb and can get pretty physical, wrecker is quite mindful of himself and how what people can say/do affects others

he is so emotionally intelligent that it HURTS honestly

yellow people also give the best hugs

hunter: red ❤️

red is a power color, which is very important quality to have in a leader

going along with the theme of power, it’s quite a bold and confident color too

this definitely embodies hunter’s capabilities since he is willing to lead his squad through risky missions and come out victorious without any doubts

unrelated, but i just realized his bandana is red

(i shall let you draw your own conclusions about that)

even though red is known for being very bright and almost in your face, i feel like there’s something subdued about it, especially when it comes to deeper reds

there’s a quiet sort of familiarity, something that can ground people easily

so for example, in high stress situations, hunter can pull everyone back together and recenter them easily because it comes to him so naturally

it’s just another reason out of a bajillion as to why hunter is such a masterful leader!

crosshair: purple 💜

crosshair is a very subtle guy

he has a muted and dignified kind of confidence to him, kind of similar to hunter

i would argue that cross is not black as much as he is purple because of the fearlessly mysterious aura he carries–it’s not dark and brooding, like the way a black mystery would be

you can never tell what’s going through his head, what his next move will be–this feeds into the mystery

purple is also a very protective color

crosshair certainly gives off protective vibes, especially when it comes to tech in my opinion

(i imagine tech got bullied a lot for his intelligence/his manner of constantly speaking, so cross would make sure he could protect him because he really cares about his brother and wants him to feel safe)

regardless, he would do anything for his family...i know he’s fighting against that stupid biochip as hard as he can (there’s a reason his sharp shots are always missing his brothers by a hair and serving as “warning shots”)

he’s extremely strong in that sense–the fact that he is constantly at war with the soldier inside him goes to show that he has the strength to sacrifice anything to keep his family safe

if anything, it’s a terribly noble act

and in the west, purple is considered the color of power and nobility

i'll just let you sit with that thought

(my gosh, this really took a hard left into angst town, i did not mean for this to happen… whoops)

please consider reblogging! it really helps me and is super encouraging ^_^

[fangirl-creates]

ZERO OVER YONDER (FULL FIC)

(Likes and Reblogs are appreciated!)

1 - Banjo Pluck

“Look, all I’m saying is—would it kill Rippen to just have a little chill once in a while?” The red-headed boy vented to his friends as they walked to the movie theater.

“Penn, Rippen is Rippen. Of course he’s still gonna be rude to you when we’re not saving the Multiverse.” Sashi commented, wanting desperately to hear the end of these complaints spilling out of Penn’s mouth.

“Well yeah, obviously. But today, there was just no end to it! Like even when I was eating lunch, BAM! There he was!” He folded his arms, his face turning about as red as his hair at this point.

Rippen had definitely been more annoying than usual today. The reason? Probably having a bad day and picking on Penn was the only thing that would bring him ‘joy’...if you’d even call it that. And even though Penn had learned to ignore Rippen during times like these, today was one of those ‘impatient’ days for Penn Zero—considering the fact he had stayed up till 3am last night on a count of The Chinchilla bothering him again.

“Don’t worry about it, dude.” Boone put his arm around his friend, patting his back. “I’m sure beating Rippen again will put you in a good mood. Think of it as a way to get back at him.”

“Yeah!” Sashi chimed in. “I’ll even let you kick him in the face this time.” She smiled.

Penn felt a little better, the red from his face fading away. “Thanks, guys.”

The trio stepped onto their usual spots on the zap platform, Penn cracking his knuckles.

“I’m really gonna let him have it today.” He grinned between his teeth.

“Violence must wait till tomorrow!” Phyllis called from her spot on the balcony.

Penn titled his head. “...I don’t understand.”

“You will see.” She pulled the lever, the trio levitating as they were forced into the portal. “GOOD LUCK!”

After the brilliant blue flash, Penn opened his eyes. Space. He saw Space. Below him was the material of some kind of smaller planet he stood on—“Purple-colored dirt” in his Earth vocabulary. But that wasn’t the thing that surprised him...it was the body he was in. It was weirdly insulating, like a very thick fur coat—that’s when he realized he was covered in it. Orange fur coated him from head to toe. The only articles of clothing he was actually wearing were white socks and some slightly worn blue sneakers. He felt..uncomfortable.

“Penn?” Sashi’s voice made itself known.

Penn looked up, a bit surprised she was taller than him now. “Sashi! You’re a—uh….” He studied his friend’s new look. She was blue with a pink mane—yet her body itself was a cross between a horse and a dinosaur. He shrugged it off. “Never mind.” He looked around for the Wiseman. “Where’s Boone?”

“Right here!” A confident voice called, Penn searching for the source.

“Boone? Where are-” He noticed Sashi pointing above his head, to which he realized he was wearing a hat as well. He took it off to find the rather large green hat staring back at him. “Oh.”

“Oh yeah. I definitely feel like a wiseman now…”

“Cause you were on my head and you feel like you can give me knowledge that way.” Penn raised a brow.

Boone did what was an attempted shrug. “Who knows...maybe I’m magic.”

Penn rolled his eyes, placing Boone back on his head. “Okay Sash, check the specs.”

Sashi pressed the side of her glasses, which were now a dark purple to complement the colors of her new form. The holographic image showed up in front of them. “You are a wandering Do-Gooder, and I am your trusty steed and best friend.”

“What about me?” Boone asked, feeling a little left out.

“You’re his hat.” ….She didn’t add anything else.

“Well, I still think I might be magic.” He looked away. “You two just don’t know it yet.”

Sashi rolled her eyes. “Annnnyway, the evil Lord Hater is planning to conquer another innocent planet with his army of Watchdogs. It’s up to us to stop him before he manages to leave the planet successful.” Normally, this was the part where the hologram would disappear, but it lingered.

“All right! Sounds easy enough.” Penn pounded his fists together. “I’ll admit, this body is a little on the weaker side, but I can still give Rippen a good fi-”

“Actually, you can’t use violence at all. I’m the one who can fight them. You stop bad guys by...being nice.” Now the hologram was gone.

Penn suddenly understood what Phyllis meant earlier...and he hated it. “I...I can’t fight him?! Seriously??” His face was turning red again, yet it was hard to tell with the orange fur. “So not only does Rippen get away with all the stuff he did to me today, but now I can’t even GET HIM BACK?!”

“No one said you can’t get him back—you just can’t beat him up.” Sashi folded her arms.

“...Can I at least punch him?”

“No. You’ll ruin the hero’s image.”

Penn covered his face with hands, a muffled scream. He then took a deep breath, calming himself. Thankfully for him, this body seemed to have a very calm mindset...that, and really cheerful one. “Okay...okay, I’ll do my best…for the sake of the mission, and because I don’t want to accidentally break something.” He hopped onto the saddle on Sashi’s back.

“Good choice.” Sashi nodded. “Now how do we get out of here?”

“Don’t look at me—what the??” A small bottle fell onto the ground. Upon closer inspection, it looked like a container for bubble blowing, but it read ‘Orbble juice’, with instructions on the back. Penn shrugged and pulled the wand out, blowing as a large air-tight bubble formed around them, lifting them off the ground. “Now we’re talking!” He yelled out into the bubble, cheerfully. “HEIGH-HO, SYLVIA!”

Sashi and Boone both looked at him.

Penn blinked, not sure what came over him. “S-Sashi...I meant Sashi. Oh, that was weird.”

Thankfully, it was quickly forgotten by the trio, heading on their way to their next destination…

—————————-—————————-—————————-—————————-—————————-————————

2 - A Hero’s Image

Rippen looked at himself in the mirror. In all his years as a Part-Time Villain, he had only been a skeleton once. And even then, it was only for a couple minutes. The complete lack of skin made him feel...exposed. But at the same time, the bone seemed hard as nails, so there was that.

His thoughts were quickly interrupted, however, by the rambles of his cheerful minion—who was in the body of a Commander with the exact opposite personality. But that didn’t affect Larry in the slightest. “Isn’t this eyeball head weird? I mean I’m talking, but there’s no mouth! How crazy is that?” He laughed. “How do people even know when I’m speaking?”

Rippen rolled his eyes. “Your pupil moves, Larry.”

Larry looked in the mirror, expressing a smile as much as a watchdog could to the best of their abilities. “Heh, it’s kinda funny how it bounces like that.”

“Can we get on with it, then?” He was having an exceptionally good day...as far as Rippen’s standards go. And he didn’t want this good mood to go to waste.

“Right, right...sorry.” He laughed softly, pressing the side of his glasses, which were now yellow and only one square instead of two. “Okay, you are the evil Lord Hater and I am your Second in Command. Our Mission is to conquer another poor innocent planet before Penn stops you with-” Larry paused, unsure he was reading this right.

“With what? Come on, spit it out.” Rippen pestered.

“Um...friendship.”

Rippen blinked, a bit stunned by what Larry just said. “Maybe it's the lack of ears that makes it hard for me to hear you, but did you say…‘Friendship’?”

“Yep. He’s supposed to be nice to you.” Larry nodded.

Rippen was silent for a moment, then he burst out laughing. “Penn Zero’s forced to be nice to me!” He laughed again. “If we’re lucky, he’ll break under the pressure, completely ruining the hero’s image! And then I can finally become a Full-Time Villain!” When he laughed a third time, however, green lighting shot from his fingertips as he made a ‘rock n roll’ gesture with both of his hands.

Larry narrowly avoided it, but some watchdogs down the hall weren’t so lucky; loud yelps followed by groaning were heard after getting zapped.

“Wait..what just happened?” Rippen looked at the gesture he was making, a bit confused.

“Oh yeah, you got cool lightning powers! I forgot to tell you that…” Larry attempted a smile again.

For once in his life, Rippen was filled with the absolute confidence that this time...this time, he could not only win...but finally annihilate Penn Zero. He laughed one more time, green lighting sparking around him. “This is it, Larry! Victory is finally at hand!”

Friendship...of all the things. He had been nice to Rippen before, sure, but that was often out of pity...or on rare occasions, when he genuinely felt sorry for him. But this was the first time he was forced to do it. And that fact made him upset. Heck, even the phrase ‘Kill em with Kindness’ was starting to sound not understandable anymore. He glanced at Sashi. “Soooo, this whole ‘friendship’ thing…”

Sashi’s eyes met his, despite being focused on the destination.

“Is he like...allergic to it or something? Is he gonna melt if I hug him??”

“No. You’re just being nice to him...for the 100th time.” She mumbled under her breath.

“I know, I know...it’s just...what’s the point of being nice to your enemy if they’re just gonna continue to do you harm? How is this furball even still alive after constantly clashing with this guy?”

It Never hurts to Help. A little voice said in the back of his mind.

Penn blinked. “Boone, did you say something?” He glanced up.

“Uhh no?”

He scratched his head, thinking. If he was really gonna do this, he was gonna do it right. But how?

As if on cue, Boone jumped up, a Banjo seemingly appearing out of nowhere, landing in Penn’s hands. He stared at it. “Uhhh Boone...where did this come from?” He looked up.

Boone just gasped in response. “I AM magic!!” He said triumphantly.

Penn rolled his eyes, holding the banjo awkwardly. When it came to music, Penn considered himself more of a singer than anything else. But Instruments were not his strong suit...still, this Banjo didn’t look unimportant. He held it the right way, his fingers dancing along the frets. And then, as if on command…he started playing. It wasn’t a specific song or anything too complex, just a simple melody that made his friends smile as he continued. It was so strange...he had never played the banjo before, and here he was; playing it like he’d had years of practice. He was so lost in song, that he didn’t realize he was moving around while he did so. Luckily, they had found their destination before Rippen did, so Sashi was able to land on the ground, giving Penn freedom to do...whatever he was doing.

Sashi was amused by this. She had seen Penn dance before, but this was nothing like how he normally did it. This kind of dancing was silly, almost...cartoonish. What was even funnier was that not only did he dance in tune to the music, but he sang along to it as well. Well...more like sing-talking gibberish. Regardless, he seemed really into it. In fact, he got faster with each ‘verse’. It got to a point where he was strumming so fast, one would think the banjo was going to catch fire.

Penn’s chest went up and down as he breathed heavily, stopping finally. The sound of Sashi clapping caught his attention and he immediately realized what was going on. “O-Oh...yeah I didn’t mean to do any of that….” He blushed.

“It was cute.” Sashi commented. “But, you know, like in a funny kind of way.”

“Yeah, But not so good for me…” Boone managed, feeling a bit dizzy from Penn’s rapid dancing and spinning.

Penn cringed. “Ohh oh no. Do you need a minute? Do hats even get sick??” He thought about it for a second. Unfortunately, his thoughts were interrupted by a loud THUD.

All three turned to see a giant Skull Ship land on the planet’s surface. It opened its mouth, a large tongue landing down as watchdogs began to march in formation, chanting ‘Hate’s Great, Best Villain!’ as they did.

Penn watched, standing proudly as he held the banjo close. “Alright…” He took a deep breath. “Time to go to work.”

—————————-—————————-—————————-—————————-—————————-————————

3 - Never Hurts to Help

It didn’t take long for Rippen to get the Watchdogs out, the inhabitants of the planet already running away in fear. The Do-Gooders were behind a rather large rock. Not the best hiding spot, but a good temporary one.

“Okay, Sash. That’s your cue.”

Sashi cracked her knuckles, but glanced at her friends before she ran off. “I know you can do this, PZ.” Then she was gone—charging into a group of Watchdogs.

Penn watched, taking a deep breath.

“So what are you gonna do?” Boone asked.

Penn hesitated. “Honestly, I have no idea.” He remembered what Sashi had said earlier...No one said you couldn’t get back at Rippen—you just can’t beat him up. Penn remembered how annoying Rippen was earlier...and for some reason, the mindset of this body seemed to know exactly how to annoy him back. A smirk appeared on his face as he ran to find his enemy.

Rippen was having the time of his life, blasting back at forth. What felt even better was that the creatures feared him the closer he got. He didn’t even care Sashi was punching the Watchdogs left and right—as long as he got his reward, he didn’t care what else went wrong.

“Havin’ fun, Rippen?”

And there it was.

Rippen turned to face the orange ball of fur, a cackle at how tall he was compared to the do-gooder. “Well, Well, Well! If it isn’t Penn Zero!” He raised his hands, pointing them at him as green lighting charged between his fingers—the soft glow illuminating on everyone close enough to see. “I know all about this little requirement of your’s to not hurt me-! So now I only have one thing to say to you—!”

Penn’s heart pounded in his chest. Best case scenario, the plan worked. Worst case scenario, Rippen blasts him into the next dimension.

“—Are you ready to meet your demise?”

Penn cleared his throat, standing casually. “Actually, Rippen ol’ Buddy, I’ve got a question for you.” He sounded so calm despite the fear inside of him.

Rippen raised part of his brow, staring down at his enemy. This day had been going so well for him. And if he destroyed him without hearing the question at all, it would haunt him forever. Rippen shrugged, not letting his guard down. “You know what? Ask away!”

Penn breathed a small sigh of relief, taking a step back. “Well I was just thinking...you must be hungry after this...invasion thing.”

Though he didn’t want to admit it, Rippen was starving. He didn’t understand why, but this body had the need to consume every junk food imaginable. And everything it craved, Rippen had never touched in his life. He made a slightly annoyed face at Penn. “Why would it matter to you?”

“Oh no reason…” He pulled out two sandwiches from behind his back. “Just that...uh..got some sandwiches here. Hate for them to go to waste…” He mocked, waving the scent around Rippen’s nonexistent nose. “Truly...truly a shame.”

Rippen’s stomach made probably one of the loudest sounds a stomach was capable of making—strange, considering Skeletons didn’t even have stomachs. He tried to keep his eyes off the two sandwiches, but it was impossible. “Ugh! Just give them to me—!” He tried to reach, but Penn jumped back.

“What’s that? You do want these?” He grinned. “Well, would you prefer—” He threw the first sandwich at Rippen’s face. “Mustard-?” He jumped over Rippen, throwing the other sandwich on his face when he turned around. “-or Mayo?!” He laughed, landing on his feet.

Rippen angrily wiped the sandwiches from his face, staring at Penn with a piercing glare.

Instead of a rude gesture, Penn stuck out his tongue in a playful manner, his legs speeding up. “Come and get me!” And he was gone.

Rippen didn’t know why, but every voice in the back of his head screamed ‘GET HIM!’ no matter what. And that’s exactly what he did. He ran, screaming at the top of his...lungs? Whatever skeletons have.

Penn pulled out the banjo as he ran, turning around as he was now jogging backwards. “How about a little chase music?” He smiled, strumming rather fast. The music seemed to be annoying Rippen even more, which meant it was working.

Meanwhile, Sashi had already beaten up all the Watchdogs while Rippen was distracted. Larry was too busy watching Rippen chase Penn around to notice. Something about it made him want to sigh. He was...disappointed in Rippen?? He shivered, hoping he’d never get that feeling again.

At this point, Rippen was exhausted. He clawed at the ground, now laying on his stomach. Penn, however, didn’t feel tired at all. He felt as though he could run a marathon in seconds. Eventually, he stopped running and walked right over to Rippen, bending down so they were at eye level once more. He put his hands behind his back, a smug look on his face.

“You uh..you doing okay?” He raised a brow.

Rippen wheezed, trying to stand. “W...Watchdogs! Get him—!” It wasn’t until he yelled that when he realized they were all defeated, Sashi standing there triumphantly. “NOOO! I WAS SO CLOSE!!” He wheezed again, his face lightly hitting the ground.

Penn felt a little bad for him. He wasn’t sure why the feeling was so sudden, but he didn’t question it. “Look, you seem pretty exhausted, so I’ll just leave this here for you.” He placed one of the mustard sandwiches and a bottle of a soda labeled ‘Thunder Blazz’ in bright yellow bubble letters on the side.

Rippen stared at the food, standing up as he wolfed down the sandwich. He glared at Penn, pointing at him. “This doesn’t make us friends!” He spoke between bites.

Penn made a face. “I uh...I never said that.”

Rippen blinked, shaking his head. “Oh never mind!” He grabbed the soda and angrily trudged back to the skull ship, Larry patting him on the back as they headed inside.

The inhabitants cheered once the skull ship took off, Sashi running to greet her friends. “You did it, Penn!”

“Yeah!” Boone chimed in. “I’m not exactly sure what you did...but you did it!”

Penn’s eyes watched the skull ship fade from view. Why did Rippen retreat? And why did he think he was trying to be his friend? Even with all these questions, Penn still couldn’t help but feel good about himself…

With another blue flash, the trio was pulled back to the movie theater, landing safety back onto their original spots. Penn looked at himself, no longer feeling uncomfortable, but a bit disappointed the cheerful feeling was gone. “That was probably one of the strangest missions ever...but in a good way.” He managed.

“Yeah, wonder what was up with Rippen after we won…” Sashi added, hand on her chin.

“Sometimes,” Phyills started, coming back down from the balcony. “Enemy is just a friend you haven’t made yet.” She looked at Penn. “Remember that, Penn Zero.”

Penn put his hands in his pockets, a smile. “I will.”

—————————-—————————-—————————-—————————-—————————-————————

4 - Epilogue

Later that evening, the space duo set up camp for the night. Sylvia was still trying to process exactly what happened earlier. Her fists were sore from punching Watchdogs, when she hadn’t even done that today? Or had she??

Wander, on the other hand, seemed to be in a particularly good mood. Normally, that wasn’t a surprise in Wander’s case, but it definitely was after the events of today.

“I swear,” Sylvia put some wood on the fire, the flames grasping onto it. “My head’s buzzing like a swarm of bees. The whole thing was so weird…” She sat down next to her friend, who was casually resting, playing a happy tune on his banjo. “How are you keeping it all together, buddy? Doesn’t your head hurt?” She asked, concerningly.

The Nomad looked up at her, smiling. “Because I helped someone.”

Sylvia blinked. “So...you remember what happened today?”

“Nope.” He cheerfully responded.

“...then..how do you know if you helped someone or not??”

“Just a hunch.”

Sylvia rolled her eyes, playfully, rustling his fur. “Okay, buddy…”

Deep within the stars, they saw the skull ship pass by, the voice of Lord Hater screaming into the night sky…

“I CAN’T BELIEVE I ACTUALLY ATE ONE OF WANDER’S STUPID SANDWICHES!!”

Wander chuckled, yawning as he got into his normal sleeping spot. “Yep, not a bad day…”

Sylvia still couldn’t remember what happened, but regardless of that, she was happy Wander still got to help out someone. And in the end, that was all that matters...

END

[k7l4d4]

Luz the Seeker (Owl House/Huntik: Secrets & Seekers Crossover Idea)

I want to ask, has anyone thought of a Crossover fic between the Owl House and Huntik: Secrets & Seekers? If not, I will discuss my own!! Everybody clap your hands!!!

To help with people who don't know it, I shall now info-dump some of the lore!! And by some I mean a lot. In the World of Huntik, spirits of incredible power, known as Titans, are native to a separate Dimension, also known as Huntik. For generations, the Titans have been summoned to Earth to aid humanity, with the most famous being the Legendary Titans of Casterwill, an ancient sorcerer who saved the world from the Nullifiers, another species native to Huntik, but are instead pure evil, consumed with nothing less than the desire to see all of reality destroyed and subsumed into them. After their defeat, Titans have been scattered throughout human history, lending their immense power and potential to those people who can bond with the Talismans that act as their method of summoning and anchor in our world; these individuals are known as Seekers. Titans are principally divided into Eight core categories: Draco-Titans, Gaia-Titans, Hecto-Titans, Krono-Titans, Litho-Titans, Meso-Titans, Swara-Titans, and Yama-Titans. Each corresponds to a region of the world in terms of design, though some can seem off theme to some extent, and each has some form of connection to historical myth, legend, and even historical facts. Draco-Titans are a type of Titans featured prominently in European legends, particularly those of Medieval England. The fighting style and noble, chivalrous nature that most of them possess, inspired people to act the same and developed into the code of chivalry followed by knights. Draco-Titans' amulets are usually steel-blue with a grayish-pink gem in the center. Gaia-Titans are a type of Titan which tend to be protective and helpful. Gaia-Titans are strongly tied to nature, particularly wood or plants. Because of these ties, most of them are green or greenish-brown. Some may be covered in bark or leaves, with some even looking like walking trees, such as Dark Dryad. Gaia means Earth in Greek, so these Titans are essentially Earth-Titans or Nature-Titans. Gaia-Titan amulets tend to be a pale silver white with a light green gem. A notable exception is the Amulet of Will for Overlos. Many Gaia Titans are found mainly in Ireland. Hecto-Titans are Titans based upon Egyptian legends. Many Hecto-Titans appear like mummies with a monstrous appearance, earning them a place as the monsters residing in Egyptian tombs. Their terrible nature and taking enjoyment from chaos and destruction means that bonding Seekers need to possess a similar attitude. Their amulets tend to be yellow with blue and green highlights and a pale silver gem in the center. Krono-Titans are Titans that are based off of Greek or Roman mythology. These Titans tend to be warriors, a fitting position considering the war-like nature of the Greeks during ancient history. The word 'Krono-Titan' may be based on Kronos of mythology, the imprisoned Greek Titan and father of Zeus. Krono-Titan Amulets tend to be orange and yellow with an aqua gem. Litho-Titans are a very durable type of Titan because most of them are composed of rocks or ice. Litho-Titans usually carve themselves a place in history, even among humans who know nothing about Seekers or magic. Metagolem became the famous Golem of Prague. Gar-Ghoul inspired the gargoyle statues on the rooftops across Europe. Fenris and Ymir are famous among Norse mythology, being responsible for the birth and death of the world. Litho-Titans act almost as if they want to be known for their power. Lithosphere is the ground part of Earth. Litho-Titan Amulets tend to be stone grey, with occasional light blue highlights for ice-based Titans, and have a purple gem in the center with yellow outline around the gem. Meso-Titans are powerful Titans that are difficult to control. They tend to be aggressive and may cause collateral damage if not watched carefully. Some Meso-Titans control powerful natural forces, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and tornadoes. Others use combat attacks based on stomping, jumping, and spinning. Meso-Titans often resemble creatures of Native American and Central American stories, such as fierce warriors and totem like monsters. Mesosphere is the middle part of the Earth's atmosphere. Only a Seeker with a very strong will can bond with, let alone control, a Meso-Titan. Meso-Titan Amulets are typically grey with black or yellow highlights and a blue gem. Swara-Titans are a type of Titan, most often used by villains, and are based upon African legends and insects. Like Araknos, a large number of Swara-Titans tend to lean toward arthropods such as arachnids and insects. Swara-Titan Amulets tend to be brown with a darker brown or gold trim and a red gem. Yama-Titans are clever and often overly independent. They often think that their way of doing something is better than their bonded Seeker; because of this, successfully controlling a Yama-Titan can require concentrating exactly on what one wants them to do. Human-like Yama-Titans often have features common to Asian myths, such as clothing or weaponry. Yama-Titans were appropriately common in ancient Asia. People told stories about them, and these stories eventually became myths. Yama-Titan amulets tend to be black with silver highlights with a pale green gem. A notable exception is the ring of Tao since the amulets of Legendary Titans are gold with a gem that matches the Titan. The Legendary Titans are an incredibly rare, powerful type of Titan which were originally controlled by Lord Casterwill and his family and whose Rings and Amulets were later hidden with greater safeguards than the Amulets of any other Titans. The Legendary Titans find their places in the legends of many ancient civilizations and were sometimes considered gods. If a Seeker attempts to use a Legendary Titan without the Amulet of Will or without passing the proper Casterwill test, they may be put under a powerful curse. Three Legendary Titans, Tao, Behemoth, and Araknos, are involved in a ritual to summon Overlos from the Amulet of Will. Because they could technically be considered a sibling species to Titans, I'll include some info on Nullifiers, especially as they can be summoned like Titans. Their isn't a whole lot to say about them, but Nullifiers are often ludicrously powerful, with a bevy of mind-bending abilities as a whole, they largely draw inspiration from the Cthulhu Mythos when it comes to appearance. Nullifiers do not have the standard Classes. In addition to their type, Titans can also be identified by their Class, that is to say, if they are Blasters, Enchanters, Explorers, Scouts, Sentinels, Sharpshooters, Sorcerers, or Warriors. Blasters are those whose specialty lies in high-power blasts as their combat method of choice, and are surprisingly rare. Enchanters are, like Sorcerers, those with principally mystical powers, but are usually geared more towards indirect combat or support, or are associated with more "good" legends as a whole. Explorer Titans are those that excel in espionage, information retrieval, and stealth, distinguishing themselves from Scouts by being larger, more humanoid, and often having more direct combat options. Scouts are often small, with a higher emphasis on information retrieval, spying, and so on, than combat. Sentinels are those which are typically used to guard or watch over something or someone, with a bigger emphasis on durability and defense than the other martial Classes, and are as rare as true Blasters. Sharpshooters are high flying ranged-attackers, with a big emphasis on movement and speed, and while pretty rare in terms of variety, are not as rare as those of Sentinels or Blasters. Sorcerer Class Titans are associated with magical abilities, but often of a darker bent than Enchanters, they are often more likely to be direct attackers as well. Warriors, the absolute MOST common Class, are straight up melee fighters, with the occasional esoteric power thrown in, often wielding swords and shields, or more odd weaponry on occasion. All Seekers, by virtue of the connection they have gained to the Titans, can wield magic. The forms of magical spells Seekers can wield are rather varied, and rather than being marked by specific schools, are instead based on how they are used. It's not something I'd go to much into right now. The nature of the connection that the Titans and their Seekers have is known as the Bond; Titans fresh from Huntik are essentially blank slates when it comes to bonding, and while certain personality types might bond easier, the first bond they gain will always color them when it comes to bonding later. Titans lack true personality when they are first summoned and bonded in our world, communicating mentally with their Seeker through Intuition, feelings, etcetera as opposed to words, and finding the language based thoughts of humans, and Witches, unnatural, not that it will prevent them from obeying. The mentality, thought process, and beliefs of their initial bonded will permanently influence who that Titan can later bond with, as they will invariably bond easiest with those that have a similar personality and attitude to their initial bonded, though the bond can sever if the Seeker's personality changes too much from the mindset that allowed them to bond in the first place. Seekers who've established a particularly strong bond with their Titans are capable of Powerbond, initiating an incredibly powerful transformation that greatly augments the powers and fighting abilities of their Titans and themselves. Anyway, now that the info dump is out of the way, my basis for this crossover is for Luz to be a young Seeker with a reputation for causing havoc. She basically enters the Boiling Isles the same way, but that is when the divergences start. In this AU, I would like to think that the Titan that composes the Isles is a Titan in the Huntik sense, that transported to the Demon Realm and died. As it perished, its essence merged with that of the Demon Realm, and gave rise to the Witches, who are analogous to a hybrid between Titan and Human, though not quite all the way. Titans summoned on the Isles often display heightened intellect and learning ability, and are capable of staying summoned functionally indefinitely so long as they are there, though sufficient injury can dispel them and send them back. Due to her background as a Seeker, however young and inexperienced she may be, Luz is even more used to insanity and danger than her canon self is, and is extremely curious as to the nature of the Isles and its magic (Eda: Can't you cast your own spells already, kid? Luz: Yeah, but not THIS KIND!!!). My biggest issue is finding a way to expand the idea beyond just having Luz use Seeker powers and Titans in the Owl House, with the appropriate butterflies and shenanigans as a result of course, so I've composed a couple of possibilities. My first idea is that Belos is unknowingly connected to the Nullifiers, partially to explain his incredible strength and extremely bizarre abilities compared to the already strange nature of the Isles, and that all his efforts have been unknowingly orchestrated by the Nullifiers to grant them a foothold in the Isles to destroy it and the rest of the Demon Realm, and then move on to Earth. My second idea is a new faction of Seekers, not so much evil as morally grey and with a mixed roster of good and bad, has stationed themselves on the Isles, and are conducting experiments on Titans there; the nature of the experiments is to find new ways of modifying Titans to possess new and interesting abilities for their goals, as well as the creation of genuinely artificial Titans entirely, dubbed Neo-Titans, which, if I got that far, would differ from the rest of their kind in having themes closer to Science Fiction and Alien-life than the mythological basis of their peers, being sleek and technological and possessing powerful abilities beyond the standard. Anyway, this is mostly me ranting, sorry, but if anyone is interested in this or wants to talk or has questions about it, let me, okay? Thank you.

[mythgirlimagines]

The latest in a line of therapeutic robotic assistants, here is the latest in her lineage, in the circuits and metal herself: MY-3, the Former Ultimate Robot!

——————-————————————

BACKSTORY AND TALENT 

MY-3 (nicknamed “Mythie”, and eventually “Myth) was the third and most recent creation created by a pair of robotic engineering geniuses. MY-3 was created to  become a therapeutic robot, with her adorable appearance, personality, and voice, that makes her a massive success with both children, and even many adults, who find MY-3’s various adorable qualities to be calming and soothing. Many functions, such as a built-in oven, and a built-in musical speaker and TV, can offer different coping mechanisms, for all sorts of patients. All of those qualities resulted in a massive recovery success rate at the mental treatment facility that she currently works at, when not attending Hope’s Peak and learning more about humans and their behaviors. There otherwise isn’t that much backstory on MY-3, for she was only created about 3 or 4 years ago. Myth is currently working in Ward #137, helping Anons recover mentally from anxiety attacks and/or assorted mental trauma, and this story would center on Myth helping these Anons through their mental pain and trauma. 

——————————————————-

RELATIONSHIPS

Wyre Anon, Former Ultimate Entomologist

Wyre’s parents and Myth’s parents have been scientific business partners for a long time, and regularly collaborate on many projects together, namely studying bugs, in order to figure out how their robotic bugs are supposed to move. Despite Wyre’s rough demeanor and equally as dirty and gritty talent, Myth can’t deny that Wyre was only the bestest friend that she could ever ask for. As long as Wyre’s insects didn’t make their way into her circuits, Myth always found the various insects Wyre brings over to her fascinating. But for now, many of the now-fragile patients would rather not witness their much-cherished insect companions, much to the entomologist’s anger and dismay.

Outfit: A tan safari outfit with a red tie and an off-white pith helmet, off-white socks and brown shoes, regularly carries a butterfly net, the glasses from their original design.

Anon Scar, Ultimate Aikido Master 

Growing up with severe emotional and self-esteem issues, Scar’s parents sent her off to a temple and had an old master teach her all about using aikido (or the Art of the Demons, as the old master called it) to maintain emotional control. Scar’s skill in aikido gave her both something to be proud of and something to control her overflowing emotions. Unfortunately, her old master eventually passed away, and she more-or-less regressed into her old pre-aikido behavior. MY-3‘s tranquil presence and reassuring words regularly calmed the aikido master down, during her emotional highs, and allowed her true maternal side to show, especially when it came to teaching younger Anons about aikido.

Outfit: Hair in a ponytail held by a purple bow, a black coat slung over her shoulders like a cape over a white robe with purple hakama pants, bandaged arms, white ankle socks.

Fusion Anon, Ultimate Pianist

Revered by many classical music enthusiasts for being a piano-playing prodigy ever since he was a little boy, no one can deny that Fusion is both passionate in playing the piano and composing his own piano music. Unfortunately, the stress that came from being a musical wunderkind and his strict and overbearing parents repeatedly entering him in contests and forcing him to practice endlessly, in order to win prize money, caused Fusion to suffer a mental breakdown on stage, and, in humiliation and shame, ran away to never play on stage again. Fusion loves to teach those willing to learn about music, but Myth couldn’t help but detect pain hidden by that cheery and food-stuffed grin.

Outfit: A blue jacket with golden music note shaped buttons and black and white stripes on the sleeves, over a red hoodie, black and white fingerless gloves, yellow and blue headphones around his neck, glasses, pants, and shoes from his original design.

Fusion II, Ultimate Detective

Born to a police commissioner father and a criminal prosecutor mother, Fusion II always wanted to pursue a career in justice, and managed to get her wish, when she became a prodigy detective in her preteen years. Unfortunately, in her first major murder case (which she managed to solve in under a day), when she managed to expose the culprit, the insane and enraged culprit pulled out a knife and gouged one of Fusion II’s eyes out, which gave her severe trauma, and encouraged her to never pursue another murder case again. While Fusion II‘s knowledge on memes helps educate MY-3 on human internet culture, it’s clear to MY-3 that her sarcasm and meme references are hiding some severe past pain.

Outfit: A black and blue fedora, a black eyepatch that hides her gouged-out eye, a blue trench coat over a white button up shirt and a red necktie, black gloves, a black and blue skirt, long white socks and black heeled boots.

Just Anon, Ultimate Tennis Pro

Similar to Fusion, Janon is a prodigy that is well-renowned by both his adoring fans from his highly-prestigious private boarding school and tennis enthusiasts everywhere. Being raised to uphold his family’s legacy, ever since he was a toddler, Janon wants nothing more than to leave his family and actually get a chance to relax between etiquette lessons and constant tennis matches that come with autograph sessions. Janon’s cramped schedules eventually lead to burn-out and mental roadblock, earning him a spot in the ward. MY-3‘s overly affectionate attitude definitely rubbed the athlete the wrong way, and would much rather either take a long nap or dote on the Jr. Ultimates.

Outfit: The bunny hoodie and mask from his original design over a pink and blue tennis uniform.

Sparkle Anon, Former Ultimate Supreme Leader

With a love for the histrionics and a 30-person group at her fingertips, Sparkle doesn’t seem to like divulging into the specifics of her talent, for all she was willing to reveal about her organisation was that it, “SEEKS TO MAKE SHINING DIAMONDS OUT OF INSIGNIFICANT LUMPS OF COAL“. Ever since this theatrical self-proclaimed dictator arrived at the ward, she’s been trying to get people to join her group. Not even MY-3 seems to know what Sparkle is even doing at this ward, for she wasn’t scheduled for this (or any, for that matter) wards at the psychological ward. But that doesn’t mean MY-3 wouldn’t try to crack the rhinestone-covered enigma that is Supreme Leader Sparkle.

Outfit: A pink sparkly captain’s cap, hair in a sideplait, a blue suit and matching pants, a rainbow colored necktie, the cape and boots from her original design, always carries her sceptre.

Egg Anon, Former Ultimate Cosplayer/Assassin, and Wet Sock Anon, Former Ultimate Magician

The genius combination of the twin’s talents, with Wet Sock‘s brilliant magic shows and Egg’s ability to disguise themselves and blend in with the crowd, allows Egg’s true talent to shine and Egg to shank their targets from the shadows. They also regularly pull the classic “twin switch” in both their operations and their prison escapes, and nobody could even tell the difference. It’s very clear that their parentless and tragic lives on the streets took a toll on their psyche, and once the cops found the twins, they hauled them over to the ward and left them in the care of the therapists and MY-3. Egg and Wet Sock always love to mess with MY-3 and her functions, but they’re secretly thankful for her help.

Both Outfits: Standard stage magician tuxedo, cape, and hat.

Curious Anon, Jr. Ultimate Inventor

Born and raised in a war-torn territory and underneath a cruel and exploitative government, upon finding out their gift in mechanics and coming up with plans, Curious was raised to be both an inventor and a test subject for said inventions, and Curious, being the passive soul that they are, never stood up against the cruel government that they lived under, even after the constant experiments gave them both physical and mental scars. Eventually, after the war ceased, somebody found Curious, and hauled them off to the psych ward. Curious’s kind and passive nature made them really great friend with the equally kind robot, but MY-3 knew that no one can handle what was thrown at the inventor, without consequences.

Outfit: Sickly green skin with stitches and scars all over their body and bolts in their neck, an off-white jumpsuit with black and yellow gloves, and matching boots and goggles, long messy hair.

Anon Nerd, Former Ultimate Butler

In order to step above all of the other more desirable kids residing in the orphanage alongside him, young Nerd quickly practiced crafts of cleanliness and order (namely cooking and cleaning living spaces). Eventually, those skills managed to get him picked up by a family that only uses him as a personal butler (and occasional bodyguard, why else would a butler carry around a volatile scouter, and a temper twice as large?), and never as their actual child. Eventually, after shouldering their abuse into his adult years, Nerd snapped and set fire to the mansion with his scouter, earning him a spot in the ward’s roster. MY-3 considers Nerd to be one of the tougher cookies to crack, due to his temper.

Outfit: Literally the exact same outfit but with gloves and longer coattails.

Eldritch Anon, Ultimate Artist

Desperately yearning for the “sheep” of the world to ”wake up”, Eldritch channels his pessimistic and paranoid mindset into traditional art (never digital, he doesn’t want to contribute to the robot uprising), and wants everyone who views his artwork (detailing apocalyptic settings and themes of distrust, misanthropy, and all the secretly-disgusting citizens of the world) to frown and spread scowls and distrust amongst the general population. Concerned about his paranoia, Eldritch’s parents sent him off to the ward, to many protests from the tiny artist. Eldritch hates MY-3‘s metallic guts, and always tries to destroy her, before she becomes the leader of the machine uprising.

Outfit: A paint splattered version of his hoodie over a black shirt with a creepy white face design on the front, brown overalls, and yellow and black rainboots.

Dream Anon, Ultimate Anthropologist

Expressing a love of humanity and the varied cultures of them, Dream travels all over the world with grit and determination to learn more about this particular interest of hers. Despite coming off to others as a ditzy jock, Dream is actually a respected figure in the field of anthropology and her anthropology journals are well-known by all in the field. Unfortunately, the reckless anthropologist stumbled into uncharted territory, one day, and got attacked by the territorial natives. It took her several days before her fellow explorers found her again, but the damage has already been done, both physically and mentally. Dream likes to claim she’s fine, but MY-3’s lie detector can see right through Dream.

Outfit: Hair that looks awkwardly lobbed off and scars all across her face and body, a pink cardigan over a tan button-up shirt, a dark brown skirt, black leggings, dark brown Uggs, the sidebag from her original design.

Iris Anon, Jr. Ultimate Adventurer

Not wanted to stay confided in a stuffy orphanage forever, Iris packed a simple backpack, and set off on a world tour, to see all of the fascinating and exotic things that the world has to offer. Despite being a preteen (and a really clumsy one, at that), the sheer reach that Iris had in her travels and her contagious optimism, she has garnered fame all over the world, and gave her the title of Ultimate Adventurer. Iris loves going to hospitals and psych wards and tell stories about her travels, and Ward #137 is definitely no exception. MY-3 loves learning about humans from around the world, but considering Iris’s past, MY-3 can’t help but feel like part of Iris’s optimism is all a facade.

Outfit: Hair cut to her shoulders, a brown leather parka with off-white fluff over a blue tanktop, bright pink pants and glow-in-the-dark sneakers, bandages all over her body, the glasses from her original design.

Purple Anon, Ultimate Astronaut

Raised by two influential pioneers of the scientific industry, Purple showed a promising career as an astronaut, for both her massive knowledge in astronomy and cosmology for someone of her age, and her oddly sturdy body that can take on the hideous vacuum of space, makes her the prime candidate for becoming astronaut. Unfortunately, despite aceing the astronaut exams, various technical difficulties with the spacecraft that she boarded ended up causing both the spacecraft and Purple’s hopes and dreams to crash and burn. Purple’s heavily scientific terms don’t detour the kindly robot from befriending the timid and solemn astronaut, or helping said astronaut to cope with depression and survivor’s guilt.

Outfit: Some hair held up in a small sidetail with a star hairclip, a black overcoat with white star-shaped buttons over a purple sweater, a black skirt with small white dots on them, grey stockings and black Mary Janes.

Getting things out of the way, this non-Kibo-Con AU is far more angsty and hurt-comfort, compared to the standard talentswap AU, for just about everybody has trauma of varying degrees. ——————————————————-

PERSONALITY

Despite her relatively seasoned (read: 4 years old) AI, MY-3 still shows a childlike fascination for humans and how different they are from her, and the eyes on her screen simply sparkle, when she learns more and more about the inner machinations of the very people that created her. Because she is supposed to be a therapeutic robot, MY-3 is determined to use whatever functions she can, to get her patients to open up to her, and finding the root of their problems. So far, MY-3’s therapy was shown to have positive results for just about every client that she interacted with, which proves that she has empathy and understanding of humans way beyond any other robot of her time period, including MY-1 and MY-2.

——————————————————-

APPEARANCE

MY-3 has a screen for a face that has different emoticons for different emotions, and a pink and white chassis. MY-3 has brown synthetic hairs dyed purple at the ends and an ahoge that functions much like a satellite dish. Instead of hands and arms, MY-3 has extendable arms with pink oven mitts on the end of them. As for clothes, MY-3 wears simple blue overalls and a bi pride bandana around her neck, with purple and blue rain boots on her feet.

——————————————————-

I’m sorry for all the trauma and angst I put on you, but I hope you like this AU! I’d love to hear what you think about this AU!

-Fusion Anon

[chaoticevilbean]

Flames of the Moon

Chapter One : Storms and Spirits

The South Pole has always been dangerous. Between wild animals, polar nights, and the constant ice and snow and freezing weather, life has always been rather difficult. The Tribe that lived there often found themselves struggling to get by. When there were many waterbenders, the Tribe thrived. They could use their environment to their advantage. Life was far easier, or as easy as it could be in the South Pole.

When the raiding began, life once again became a struggle every year.

By the time Sokka and Katara were born, there were no more waterbenders. When Katara showed the first of her bending abilities, the village was both thrilled and terrified. Their burdens might be lightened with Katara's powers, but there was already a chance that they would be raided. Her abilities would only draw more attention if they weren't careful enough.

One of their worst years was when Sokka was six and Katara was five. The midnight sun went well, but they weren't nearly as prepared for the polar night as they should've been. Low on supplies from the start, the men were constantly out on hunting and gathering trips, trying to stock up on food and fuel. Within two months, the tribe was in only a few of their tents, the fires constantly going to fight off the cold. Fuel was being used too fast to help and food wasn't going to last much longer.

Near the end of that second month, a blizzard hit their village. The men were out hunting, and the elders, women and children could only hope they would return safely. They all crowded into one tent, though it wasn't nearly as much struggle as it would've been many years ago. The wind and snow was barely kept out, and they all knew the supplies wouldn't last through the storm. When there was barely two hours worth of fuel left, Gran-Gran suggested they pray to the Spirits. Every elder, woman and child bowed and closed their eyes and did just that. They asked for the blizzard to end. For the temperature to rise. For the fuel to last longer, for the men to get back sooner, for so many things.

But Sokka didn't ask for any of the things that the others did. He had always been of a practical mindset. He knew that changing the temperature or getting rid of such a big storm might cause some change in the world's balance. The fuel would logically not last long enough even if it was stretched as far as possible, and there was no way that the men would make it safely through such a blizzard. Someone would get hurt or lost or something. So Sokka asked for what the Spirits could do. He asked for the Spirits to give him the strength to save his tribe, or to give someone else the strength, or all of them, or none of them. Whatever they could do to make sure that every villager survived this disaster.

The Spirits heard him. Their attention was caught by this little mortal boy who didn't ask any more of them than they were willing and able to give. But more important than what he asked for was who he asked. Which is to say, he asked all of them. While his fellow mortals mostly called upon Tui and La and other snow spirits, he simply asked the Spirits in general to help.

So help him they did. Most did not give much, but they did give. Koh gave Sokka immunity to his powers of face-stealing. Wan Shi Tong gave him a compass that always lead him to the Library should the mortal ever enter the Si Wong Desert.

The more powerful Spirits gave Sokka more powerful gifts. In particular, Agni, La and Tui gave him some of the greatest things they could've.

Agni bestowed upon him the gift of firebending, and since it was coming directly from the source of all firebending, the fire burned brighter and hotter than any others' inner flame.

Tui knew that Sokka would not survive as a firebender in the South Pole, given that the polar night gave no contact to the Sun. Therefore, she gave Sokka the ability to also draw power from her. He would not die on her watch.

La gave Sokka protection from his treacherous waters, and by extension, from the piercing cold of the pole. Snow and ice would not touch him like it did the others. His fire would not flicker because of the harsh winds that constantly seemed to be blowing.

All of these gifts together were mighty indeed. And so many were there that despite the speediness of Spirits with a quick purpose, he sat bowed and unseeing for many minutes after the others had opened their eyes. Katara was the one to point out Sokka's unchanging position. A half of an hour passed before he so much as twitched, and by then, the entire tent was trying to focus on him instead of the cold and despair that ate away at them. The elders found this easier, for if one so young and energetic was so still for so long, surely he was experiencing something they weren't.

Sokka's eyes opened slowly, as if he was waking up from a trance. Then, as though some other force was guiding his limbs, and it probably was, the toddler's hands cupped in front of him. A single deep breath in and out, and the first of his flames appeared.

None dared move. There was no way the boy was born a firebender, for the pregnancy had been far enough between raids to be certain, and the boy had never shown any flames before. The heat from the fire in his hands was real, the blue flames steady and controlled. Those closest to him, his mother and sister, another mother and her child, and Kanna, all felt the heat radiate from his body, strong and comforting. Kanna was the first to speak.

"It seems the Spirits have answered one of us and bestowed a great gift." The soft words were barely audible over the raging blizzard, but still heard by all.

"Gifts, Gran-Gran," Sokka whispered, confused but pleased at what had happened.

"What?"

"They gave me more than one."

That moment was etched into everyone's minds who were present for the rest of their lives. The fire was no longer needed because one of their children was of the Sun. None of the hunters were told when they finally returned, for the raids still occurred and Sokka was young and blessed, but anger and hatred is blinding. The elders taught Sokka all they could when they could, without arousing suspicion from their fellow tribe members. Sokka watched the benders that came to raid, hiding behind ice piles his sister made to memorize the forms. He found himself using a more smooth version of their movements, more fluid like water or air. It made it easier to use fire on the ice, though Sokka still practiced the 'true' forms.

He almost stopped bending when Kya died. Fire had been her death and it had brought so much harm. But Kanna told him not to. The Spirits gave him fire because the flames were life. He knew this. Fire kept them alive on the ice, bringing heat and light. So Sokka kept going.

He found that the flames were different colors, and he found their meanings. Red, yellow, and orange were meant for small things. Common things. They were fueled by anger, fear, and worry. Though Sokka instead called it all necessity. The need for light, or for protection from injustice. Green was fueled by wonder and mysticism and joy. The green flames came when Sokka was staring at a polar bear pup or at the biannual sunset. They didn't burn, but tickled and danced. They spread fast, but disappeared as the wonder wore off. Where they touched, plants grew better, and Sokka felt happier and full of energy. Blue flames were hot. Hotter than necessity. They were a greater form of necessity, but also controlled. They were protection and light and heat on a grander scale, and they never strayed from where they were told to go. Purple was healing. It closed wounds easily, though the experience could be rather unpleasant or painful. Pinks and indigos were much like the blues of green fire. The same but stronger. They were harder to maintain, but they made the bushes bear fruit in under five minutes.

White fire was the strangest. It was cold. When Sokka first made it, he was curious. He was looking at the different colors and the white came suddenly, naturally. When held against the puddle of water he had melted, it refroze it like Katara sometimes did with her bending. Not as fast and not as strong, but like an ice pack.

When Sokka's dad left, he was the only man. He had to be a man now, because he was Acting Chief. He quickly realized that every resource had to be utilized. So he moved as fast as green fire. He taught the women the basics of fighting that he remembered and how to gather and hunt. He used his fire to keep the pits going, and held the kids close on especially cold nights were his body heat was almost tangible. He had the kids play games to build strength and balance and agility and all the other qualities they needed without losing their attention. He had Katara build up their walls and structures with her bending. He did all he could, learning the ways of the home that usually were only taught to females, and had the boys below him start learning alongside their female companions.

When him and Katara got caught on a current while fishing, he wasn't worried about himself. His panic had turned off the logic that said he couldn't die in the Sea thanks to La, but he was more worried about what would happen to his tribe. His people. When Katara cracked that iceberg open like a nut (thanks to Sokka refusing to use his firebending to melt the floes and save their canoe, which, hey, he was panicking and he had hid it from a lot of the tribe for years, it's instinct), Sokka didn't see the Avatar and bison. He saw more mouths to feed, and one was a growing boy and the other a giant animal. He could barely keep people fed well as everything was.

So, yeah, he was more prickly than he should've been, and definitely didn't take the best approach, but logic and a filter do not come together.

"What was that?" he shouted as his sister and the newcomer, Aang, a flipping airbender and probable Avatar, ran into the village at top speed. "Did you set off a flare?" His sister fired off some excuse about proving the war and an accident and Aang said there was a trap, but the teenage Chief was more focused on the black snow that was falling. He turned sharply, effectively cutting off the two troublemakers, firing off orders like an archer fires arrows. The villagers gathered in the center, Aang hiding in one of the tents. The children remained behind a solid line of women, while Sokka stood in the front, war paint on and spear at the ready.

Metal ship met ice wall, breaking the barrier with little difficulty. It wasn't meant to keep out warships though. A gangplank slid out, and several soldiers followed a young looking captain with an awful haircut down the steel. Sokka moved forward into a defensive stance, prepared to charge. When the captain reached the snow, he stopped.

"Where is the Avatar? We know he's here!" Sokka's mind worked overdrive, adrenaline pumping. Aang was likely the Avatar, having been frozen for a hundred years and therefore presumed dead. Aang may be another mouth to feed, but he was also twelve and kind and made sure to help fix whatever he broke. This captain referred to all of the soldiers. We, not I. That suggested he saw them as a group, an unusual trait among the Fire Nation. Sokka came to the conclusions quicker than wind, and charged before the man had finished his last sentence.

The captain attempted to disarm and kick Sokka away, but he ducked, grabbed his spear back and swept the leg in a single consecutive moment. The captain was caught by his soldiers, the unhindered ones moving forward to fight. Sokka relaxed his stance just enough to show he wasn't going to attack further, before leaning in ever so slightly to speak.

"We don't have much left. Your people have taken lives and supplies alike. Even if we have the Avatar, they would be one of us, and I'm not about to let you take a member of my tribe." The captain stared at Sokka, standing properly once more. He seemed to understand something, and signaled his soldiers to stand down, which they did so hesitantly.

"I am Crown Prince Zuko, banished prince of the Fire Nation. I have come to retrieve the Avatar by order of Firelord Ozai." Sokka slammed his spear's end into the plank, just enough to produce a good thud.

"Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe and sole Warrior of Tradition." Warrior of Tradition was what Katara had called him because he was technically the only male warrior left. "If the Avatar is among us, it is their choice. I will not allow you to take them by force should they exist as one of the tribe." Sokka knew he was laying it on thick, but he wasn't ever given proper formality training so it was the best he could do. It seemed to work.

"Can you find if the Avatar is with you? He'd be the age of her." Zuko pointed at Gran-Gran, at which Sokka couldn't help but snort. Upon the looks he got, he quietly explained.

"Don't let Elder Kanna hear you. She'll claim you as her grandchild and insist you call her Gran-Gran. It's her punishment for any person who calls her old." Leaving promptly, the teenager he hurried down the gangplank and towards where Aang was hiding, Katara and the elders following, though only Katara truly entered with him.

"Well?" was the first thing Aang said as they came in. Sokka sighed at the boy, turning so he was facing both him and his sister.

"If you decide to come willingly, they'll leave us alone. This captain is honorable. Not many would include their crew in statements but he did. He won't come back so long as he gets the Avatar."

"But I'm not the Avatar," Aang hurriedly said, causing Sokka to turn fully to the boy and hold him by the shoulders.

"Aang, the Avatar was thought to be dead for a hundred years. There was never a Water Avatar, so the whole world thought the cycle had been broken. But you were frozen for a hundred years. You're an airbender. It's kinda obvious you're the Avatar." Aang looked down sadly, caught in his lie.

"But, Aang, look at me." The boy's head slowly raised. "We don't care. Right now, you are a member of our tribe. Right now, we need to talk about if you don't go."

"What are you talking about, Sokka? Of course he's not going. There isn't an 'if'." Katara pushed her way into the conversation, hands on her hips and taking the new knowledge she apparently didn't have with stride.

"If Aang doesn't go with them, they'll attack. That captain is honorable, more so than most, but he's still Fire Nation. The Firelord wants the Avatar, and his soldiers will stop at nothing until they get you. There's not much we can do to fight them off, so we need to lay our options out."

"I could go with them."

"We're not letting you go with them. We could fight and you leave. If Appa can fly, they'll see him and start following you, and you'll have an easier time evading them."

"But if they all attack at once, the village will be destroyed in matter of minutes," Sokka pointed out. They all went silent in thought, before Katara clapped her hands together.

"You said the captain was honorable, right?" Sokka nodded, confused. "So if you remind him that you're the only warrior, which is technically true because you're the only one who was raised to fight, he might fight you alone! That way you can hold him off until Aang can fly over!"

"Are you guys sure?" Aang asked, looking between the siblings apprehensively. The two nodded, trying to reassure the hundred-twelve-year-old.

With their plan, Katara quickly instructed Aang on how to leave the village discreetly while Sokka went out to speak with the elders waiting. When both siblings were done, they walked together back to the main group, leading the elders behind them. Sokka continued walking, though only halfway to the soldiers this time.

"What have you decided?" Prince Zuko called out. He looked like he already knew the verdict.

"The Avatar will not go with you. We have accounted for your need to follow orders, so I was simply told to remind you that I am the only Warrior of Tradition left." Zuko nodded, turning and speaking quietly to his soldiers. Judging by their faces, they either didn't like or didn't understand what was being said.

The captain stepped forward, assuming a basic fighting stance. Sokka did the same, spear ready. No one moved, every person present holding their breath in anticipation.

Zuko made the first move, sending two fistfuls of flames towards the Water Tribe warrior, who dodged and charged forward. More fire kept Sokka away, and the two began a pattern. Zuko used fire to keep Sokka at bay, but the prince couldn't get a single hit in.

Sokka switched it up by sliding under the next wave of flames, ducking underneath the prince's arms and ramming into his chest. In return, the firebender grabbed his spear and broke it as he was pushed back. Sokka took his club out, holding the weapon at the ready. The next few moves from his opponent were startling.

The firebender switched to a hand-to-hand combat, surprising Sokka enough that he was able to be disarmed and tossed back. Sokka threw his boomerang at Zuko, who watched it 'miss' him with confusion. He sealed his fate by turning his back on the weapon, which quickly made its way back to its owner, hitting Prince Zuko on the back of the head and knocking his helmet off.

A few low gasps could be heard from the rest of the tribe as the helmet hit the snow. Sokka, to his credit, was only slightly stunned to find that the 'young' royal was actually a teenager. A teenager with a nasty scar covering the entire left side of his face, putting his eye in a permanent glare.

Prince Zuko gave no more time for his foe to gather his bearings, sending a wave of fire straight towards him. Sokka dropped underneath them, realizing a second too late that the flames would reach his tribemates. Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, depending on how you looked at it, there was no need to worry. An orange blur came speeding past the villagers, and suddenly Aang was dispersing the fire with his glider staff.

"Stop!" Aang commanded, his voice strong and sharp. If Sokka had not earlier that day seen the same boy crash into a tower of snow and get buried just to make some kids laugh, he would have been shocked into complete silence.

As it was, he instead rolled his eyes.

"Glad you could join us, Aang," he said, sarcasm thick in his voice. "I guess Appa was too boring."

A look from Katara told him the sarcasm wasn't appreciated, and a look from Aang said that the Appa comment was uncalled for.

"Is this the Avatar?" Prince Zuko spoke up, ignoring Sokka in favor of glaring down Aang.

"Yep! I'm Aang!" Apparently, talking to a stranger from an enemy nation who wanted to capture him and maybe even kill him wasn't enough reason for the boy to drop his bubbly demeanor.

"You're just a kid!"

"Well, you're just a teenager," Aang replied, and Sokka could barely stop the snort that threatened to come. Zuko shook off the surprise of seeing a twelve-year-old boy instead of a hundred-twelve-year-old man, and slid easily into his beginning stance once more. Aang looked worried, and glanced behind him, at Katara and the others, and then over at Sokka. Despite only knowing the boy for a day, there was no doubt in Sokka's mind what Aang was considering.

"If I go with you, do you promise to leave the village alone?" Aang asked. There was no preamble, no accusing tone, just worry and a bit of curiosity. Zuko stood tall again, taking the question as easily as one could in the situation.

"You have my word, Avatar. If you come with me, the village will be left alone." Aang nodded once, firmly, before turning back to Katara and pulling her into a hug. Something was whispered in her ear, Sokka just knew, and when Aang broke the embrace and moved towards him, he knew it was his turn. Sure enough, as the small boy held onto Sokka, he whispered in the lowered ear.

"Take Appa, yip yip." The hug was over then, and Aang waved goodbye to the village, striding over to the Fire Nation soldiers. Zuko took his staff from him, pulling the boy up the gangplank by the shoulder.

A few minutes later, the ship pulled back from the ice, leaving a broken wall behind.

"Alright, Katara, kids, get to work fixing that wall, we need it done ASAP. Gran-Gran, ladies, I'm gonna need supplies for Katara, Aang and myself that will last until we can get to a market or some wildland. Make sure we have a sewing kit and stuff. I don't think we'll be back soon. Anyone not doing that, come with me. I need to go over some plans for while we're gone." Everyone sprung into action, two of the women and the oldest kid besides Sokka and Katara following their chief. Those three sat around him in their central tent, awaiting the instructions.

"Alright, we don't got much time," Sokka began. "Aang is the Avatar, but he only knows airbending. That kid is gonna need some serious help to get where he needs to be, and Katara is gonna save him no matter what. I might as well tag along and make sure they don't die but that means that there isn't gonna be a chief here anymore."

"Since we need a chief, I'm going to appoint Gran-Gran Chieftess in Absence because she's the eldest. Shiyan, I'm going to need you to start filling in the gaps. Wherever you can, especially hunting and fishing. Fang, you're going to have to take over as leader of our warriors. I know you're still training yourself, but you need to take charge. Caiji, you're all gonna need a lot more firewood since I'm leaving. Get started right away. I know we have a lot stocked up but it's better to have a large stock than to use everything up and find that there's not enough time or there's bad weather."

"SOKKA!" Katara's voice broke past the tent's walls, and her brother quickly stood, hugging each of the three.

"Keep things going. Everyone needs to work together." They all nodded their assent. Sokka rushed outside and began hugging those out there. He wasn't ashamed to say a few tears fell, because he knew that the loss of the tribe's firebender and waterbender would cause more struggle for those remaining. When goodbyes were done, Sokka attached a new spear to his back and stood in front of his people.

"While Katara and I are gone, I'm appointing Gran-Gran Chieftess in Absence. Keep strong and keep united. Life is going to be harder, so you'll have to be stronger. Tui and La bless you." With that, Katara led the way to the giant fluffy snot monster they had met earlier. Appa the apparent-flying bison. The two teens climbed aboard him, Sokka on his head, and told him to follow Aang. Only, he didn't move.

"C'mon, Appa!" Katara called from the saddle.

"Didn't Aang say something to get him to move?" Sokka asked, thinking back to the day before. Until he remembered Aang's whisper. "Yip yip?"

A yelp escaped both of the Water Tribe kids as the bison took to the air, indeed flying. Sokka nearly fell off, but managed to hold on and direct the creature towards the path of the warship.

"Katara, he's flying! Look, Katara!"

"Sokka, I know, turn around!" Sokka did just that, and found his sister sitting in the saddle with green fire dancing around her, a smug look on her face at her brother's obvious delight despite having previously discrediting the bison. Sokka schooled his face into one of indifference as quickly as possible.

"I mean, big deal, he's just flying." The statement, however unimpressed it sounded, was made null by the continuance of the green fire. Katara laughed at his attempts to pull the green back in, but flames have life on their own.

Sokka turned back to face the direction of the warship. Don't worry, Aang. We're coming for you.

[labyrinth-runner]

In the Eye of the Beholder

Part of the “A Garden in Gotham” Series, a Roman Sionis x Reader fic

Words: 1900

No warnings

It had been a couple of weeks since you had first met that man, but he kept coming back. Every morning like clock-work, he’d stroll into your shop and order another bouquet. Every time a different meaning. Your heart skipped a beat every time you touched as you passed payment or flowers to each other. The way he smiled at you made your knees weak. Whoever was receiving these flowers was a very lucky woman, you thought. Part of you wished it was you. Sure, you work with flowers every day, but to have someone bring you a personal bouquet every day… to be adored like that… one could only dream.

This morning, you were making arrangements for a charity ball hosted by Wayne Enterprises, Inc. It was a prestigious ball. You were keen to deliver these arrangements personally, wanting a glimpse at how the other half lived. You didn’t want a life like that, but you were always curious about the kinds of people who had everything. Part of you wondered if they were truly happy in their castles surrounded by their belongings. You were so engrossed in your musings that you hadn’t heard the bell chime.

“Those are beautiful, darling,” a voice called out.

You jumped a bit, blushing. “Mr. Sionis, you caught me off guard.”

“What are those for?” he asked curiously.

“A charity ball later this evening,” you informed him, stepping back to wipe your hands on your apron.

“Ah, yes, when the rich pretend for an evening to care about the poor. How quaint,” he grinned awkwardly.

“What are your thoughts on charity?” you asked curiously.

“Oh, darling, you don’t want me to bore you with that,” he grinned as you came over to lean on the counter. In truth, he didn’t think you’d enjoy what he thought of charity. As someone who had to build his own empire, he was of the mindset that it should be every man for himself. Or at least… that’s what Zsasz always encouraged.

You smiled softly at him. “What are you trying to say today?”

“I want to ask her on a date,” he told you seriously.

“You haven’t done so yet?” you chuckled. “You’ve been buying flowers for her every day. I’m sure that she’ll say yes. She’d be incredibly stupid not to.”

You turned your back to him as you perused the flowers on the wall. “Lilies? No… Roses? No, that’s too heavy-handed,” you murmured to yourself. Your eyes settled on the irises, going over to pick up a handful of the purple flower, placing them in the carrying basket. Your eyes swept over the wall once more, lighting up on the black-eyed Susans. Color theory kicking in, yellow and purple were complimentary colors. Yes, you thought, those should pair nicely. Next, you picked up some of the filler greens to fluff out the bouquet before bringing the basket back to your work station.

“What do those stand for?” he asked.

“Irises stand for hope, because you’re hoping she’ll say yes. Black-eyed Susans represent encouragement. You’re encouraging her to take that next step with you,” you explained while your hands worked.

“You truly are an artist,” he grinned, causing you to blush scarlet.

“Oh, it’s nothing, really,” you murmured, hoping your words were heard over the thumping of your heart in your chest.

“Nonsense, flowers are your medium, and you create works of art,” he pressed. “Never discount that.”

“My art is fleeting,” you replied with a sad smile. “All flowers die at some point. They lose their beauty.”

“Not if you dry them,” he commented.

You peaked over at him. “Who has the time for that?”

“Someone who truly values the flower,” he murmured. Somehow you felt as though he wasn’t talking about flowers.

After tying the bouquet up with a bow, you walked over and handed it to him in exchange for his credit card.

“She’s lucky,” you blurted, looking at the screen of your card system, before sheepishly adding, “or at least really special if you buy flowers for her every day.”

“You are,” he said pointedly.

Your eyes flicked up to his. “What?”

“There is no other woman,” he smiled, “I keep coming back for you.”

“But all of those bouquets, and the meanings…”

“Were about you,” he repeated, holding the bouquet out to you with a charming smile. “Will you go out with me?”

Your mouth went dry. The various bouquets flipped through your mind, all those meanings were about you? He liked you? “I… I don’t know what to say,” you stammered.

“Well, hopefully these flowers will encourage you to say yes,” he grinned. His hand was shaking. Was he nervous?

“Yes,” you replied, reaching out to steady his hand, smoothing over his leather gloves. “Yes, I’ll go out with you.”

Relief washed over his face as you took the bouquet with your free hand, still holding his hand with the other. “Great, I’ll pick you up here after you close.”

“But, will I have to change? Is this acceptable?” you asked, looking down at your jeans and t-shirt.

“Don’t worry about that,” he grinned, taking your hand up to his lips to kiss across your knuckles. “I’ll take care of you.”

You watched in awe as he turned to leave, ringing the bell as he exited. After his car pulled away from the curb, you bent down to smell the bouquet, holding them tightly. You had it bad.

“Well, boss, how’d it go?” Zsasz asked in a bored tone as Roman looked down at the glove that had held your hand.

“She said yes,” he said, smiling softly.

They made it back to the apartment and Roman did a slight dance of glee.

“Does this mean we can get rid of all of these flowers?” Zsasz asked with a grin.

“Of course not!”

“Boss, they’re taking over the loft. It’s making it seem less… intimidating.”

“I don’t care, Zsasz. I collect art. Those bouquets are art.”

“But, they’re replacing the heads,” Zsasz sighed exasperatedly.

“So? These look much nicer. Not to mention, they smell better, too,” Roman said, raising an eyebrow at him, daring him to challenge him.

Zsasz backed down. “It’s your loft, boss.”

“Yes, it is, Zsasz,” he said in exasperation. “Just as she will be mine.”

“Is she going to be yours, or are you going to be hers?” Zsasz asked pointedly.

“What the fuck does that mean?” Roman asked, eyes ablaze.

Zsasz shrugged. “I’ve got business downstairs to take care of.”

Roman scowled as he walked away. “Of course she’ll be mine. It’ll be a cold day in Gotham when a woman owns Roman Sionis.”

Zsasz smiled to himself as he heard that. Good. The boss wasn’t losing his touch.

The rest of the day went smoothly. You dropped the arrangements off at the ball, in awe of the blatant display of opulence at an event meant to give money to the less fortunate. By the time you got back to the shop, your employees had closed the shop, so all you had to do was wait for Roman.

The car showed up minutes after you did. It was so odd to not take public transportation or a cab. The ride was silent as the driver sized you up in the mirror. You felt incredibly self-conscious, and incredibly grateful when the ride was over. However, when you found yourself in front of the club from the other day, you were confused.

“Are we at the right place?” you asked the driver.

He smirked. “Yes, sweetheart. Go inside and tell the bartender you’re here for the boss.”

The boss.

Your legs were wobbly as you made your way into the club. Who had you agreed to go on a date with?

The bartender picked up the phone after you told him who you were there for. A man with scars that you recognized as the guy who had given you a bit of trouble came up to you. “Follow me.”

Unease settled in the pit of your stomach as you followed him up the stairs and into an apartment.

“He’ll be out soon,” was all the man said before disappearing.

You walked down the main hall, pausing when you saw bouquets on pedestals. Your bouquets. He had kept them all. They were all in various stages of drying out. On the desk up ahead was the first bouquet you had given him. Footsteps sounded down the hall, tapping on the floor as they got closer.

“You kept them,” you murmured as he came up behind you. You looked over your shoulder at him.

“Of course. They’re works of art. I’m a bit of a collector,” he grinned.

You turned fully to take him in. He was in another one of his velvet suits. Hesitantly, you reached out to place your hands on his chest, running them up like you’d been wanting to do since the day you met him. The air was charged as he looked down at you, eyes darkening with a dangerous glint.

Roman bit back an admonishment. Normally he didn’t like it when people touched him without permission. Zsasz always told him he needed to make an example out of people who didn’t respect boundaries. But… he didn’t want to stop you. It was like you were exploring. It intrigued him. No one had ever looked at him like they didn’t already know everything about him, like they weren’t already afraid of him. But, not you. You weren’t afraid. You saw him like a normal person. You saw him as he was, not the image he’d built for himself. Hesitantly, he took a step back.

“I have an outfit for you,” he murmured.

“I thought you said this was fine?” you asked in confusion.

“I said I’d take care of it,” he corrected, taking your hand.

He led you over to his guest room where he had a few dresses laid out for you.

“Mr. Sionis, I can’t wear these,” you murmured.

“Roman, darling. Call me Roman, and you most certainly can,” he said, leaving to let you change.

You ran your hands along the fabrics. They were all so finely made. All so expensive. You would never have been able to afford one of these things yourself. You settled on the flowing silver dress. It was the least extravagant, which wasn’t saying much. You looked like a cross between an angel and a goddess, and took a moment to do your hair to match before leaving your clothes neatly folded on the bed. Somehow you felt like a different person, but not in a good way. You practically glided into the next room.

“You look gorgeous,” he breathed. “Turn around.”

You awkwardly spun. He may have thought you looked beautiful, and sure, you had to admit that you did look nice, but you felt fake. You didn’t belong in these clothes. They weren’t you.

He clapped as you stopped. “Splendid. Shall we?”

“Shall we, what?” you asked.

“Go on our date,” he smiled.

You nodded, shifting uncomfortably. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad? After all, as long as you were with Roman, everything would be okay.

[treeni]

Sanders Sides Theory, The Sides That Aren't Pt 1: Remy and Emile

Theories Master Post

So my sick and feverish brain had an epiphany when researching a theory on Roman and Remus (two epiphanies actually) that involved revitalizing a scrapped idea and latching onto something that initially started as a joke and then accidentally found evidence for. So let’s talk about that.

So let’s start with that scrapped idea here in part 1.

Let’s talk Remy and Emile.

These are two characters who are constantly associated with the sides in fandom in various interactions and ways, and yet why? Shouldn’t they be dismissed as just two random characters that Thomas and co made in the seemingly endless number of videos they’ve created? I mean, the two supposedly live in an entirely different universe than the sides. So we shouldn’t be “reading” them as sides, logically speaking.

So why such a big part of the fandom is latching onto these characters as sides (or equivalent to sides) despite the fact that they don’t actually appear in Sanders Sides (or at least haven’t yet, but we’ll get to that)?

Well, that answer is a bit layered.

The first and obvious answer is color theory, which I talked about in my Orange side theory. Essentially the audience knew for certain the sides were following color patterns from the moment Janus made his appearance with his bright yellow gloves. Patton and Logan’s colors existing independently of each other was what brought initial hesitation to that model because they were both blue, but they aren’t exactly, instead both primary color sets (Red, Blue, Yellow) and (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow) are being employed as well as the secondary color set (Green, Purple, Orange). (Yes, yellow is included in both primaries, which is part of the brilliance of it being used for Janus because it only adds to his character as existing in binaries.) You’ll notice however, that to complete the (CMY) model, you need the Magenta. Visually speaking, it’s easy to pick out the pink tied Emile to fill that role.

As I’ve already stated, I’m not the only one who thinks Emile’s the perfect slot for that ideology, there’s a reason why he keeps appearing in fan art and fiction related to the sides. Is it his tie alone though that pushes the audience into placing him into that role? No. If it were that simple, I would simply point out that c!Thomas is also often slotted into the “pink spot” and leave it at that because c!Thomas is clearly already included in the Sanders Sides as we see him there. No, instead I’m here to tell you that assigning pink to c!Thomas is a mischaracterization.

But again, the answer of how and why is a bit layered, so let’s move onto Remy for the moment and circle back to Emile.

Going back to color theory for a moment, (CMY) is actually an incomplete version of that primary model. It’s actually (CMYK), with the K standing for Black. So in truth, to fulfill that model we actually need both a Magenta and a Black side. You are likely already predicting what I’m going to say, but Remy is indeed the perfect fit for that role and not simply because of his outfit choice.

To start off by defining why Remy is a side, we need to understand what the sides are and what differentiates them from the “shorts sides”.

For those of you who are unaware, the Sanders Shorts has a set of characters (Teacher, Anxiety, etc.) who have their own names that call back to their roles in a simplified, easy to remember way (Teacher=Teal, Anxiety=Andy, Dad=Dyad, and Prince=Pryce). These four in particular are characters that the audience immediately connects with the main four sides from Sanders sides, but can also immediately recognize a dissonance between them.

For example, Virgil and Andy are not at all synonymous with one another. Andy wears Virgil’s old jacket, it’s true, but he also has a very relaxed attitude whenever he’s not specifically “giving” anxiety. He also is different than Virgil because he clearly does not suffer from the symptoms of anxiety he gives. Instead, he simply turns up, does his job and is satisfied in that accomplishment. Andy is more like what Virgil tried to be in the first season, but failed because he simply cared too much.

Andy is more of a one dimensional character who fulfills a single role, he isn’t shown to have specific likes, dislikes, hopes, wants, dreams, or fears like Virgil is. Virgil is a complicated, multi-faceted character who cares, quite a bit. He has as much, if not more anxiety than he gives because he cares about the result of c!Thomas’ actions. He wants to protect c!Thomas and the other sides, he likes the color purple and MCR, he dislikes being patronized, but he yearns for love and acceptance as who he is.

What ultimately differentiates the Sanders Sides, from the Sanders Shorts sides is their dimension. The Sanders Sides are characters with layers, depth and personality, while the Sanders Shorts sides are flat characters in comparison.

So what does that have to do with Remy?

Remy is a multi-dimensional character. He’s defiant and rebellious, he likes to stay out late and party, he likes lavender, loud music, pumpkin spice, layered clothing, autumn. He’s over dramatic sometimes and funny. He stands out from the one dimensional characters in the Sanders Shorts because he is much more layered than them.

However, Remy’s stuck in the Sanders Shorts videos because of how c!Thomas sees him, as Sleep. How is a character who represents Sleep meant to help c!Thomas in his everyday life afterall? Except, c!Thomas historically simplifies and misunderstands his own sides. Patton is more than morality, he’s at the center of a whole range of emotions, he’s the heart. Logan isn’t just simple logic, he tries to be considerate of the others, he’s hopeful and has a deep understanding on a whole range of subjects that often go outside the bounds of simple, logical knowledge. Saying that Patton is Morality or Logan is Logic is an oversimplification of what the characters represent, that was done specifically by c!Thomas. Then, understanding Janus as Deceit was in many ways a flat out misunderstanding of what the character represented. Patton told the audience from the beginning that Janus is self-preservation. Lying is one of the tools Janus uses to achieve that end. (More on that in another theory.)

I believe that Remy being labeled as Sleep is a misunderstanding of him by c!Thomas. (I also believe that this is an intentional move made by Thomas & co.)

So, if not Sleep, then what is Remy? Well, as I’ve stated, that answer is complicated because all of the Sides are an array of things. They’re complex characters who can’t really be simplified to a single term and doing such is a fallacy, but as it helps audience understanding I’m going to do it anyway.

In simplest terms, Remy is Apathy. Consider for a moment that at his baseline c!Thomas is someone who cares a lot, like a lot about everything. The whole nature of Sanders Sides as a show is literally how much he cares. However, caring too much can be a problem, leading to emotional over-exertion. People need a certain level of apathy to be able to sleep, to push all their problems away for a little while and take time to decompress and recharge. This would be why Remy is associated with sleep. He gives c!Thomas the mindset to be able to sleep, rather than being the function itself.

We can also see evidence that Remy is apathy in the character itself. Remy lives a very “in the moment” kind of life. He parties, constantly drinks coffee, and generally seems to do what he wants, even when it gets him into trouble. (Like getting completely lost.) He plays on his phone when people talk to him too long, he gets bored with being chastised, and essentially shrugs off criticism. It’s because he’s apathetic. He is essentially the embodiment of “fuck it” behavior. In real life it’s the often people who party most nights that care the least about their lives because they’re unhappy and a little dead inside. The partying “in the moment” behavior acts as a distraction from the nothingness. Sort of like simulating emotions with physical rushes (high amounts of caffeine or alcohol, loud music, crowds, essentially anything to drown out the “nothingness”). On top of that, Remy also embodies some gay stereotypes in a way that many of Thomas’ characters don’t. Again, it’s because he doesn’t care about being stereotyped. He’ll say want he wants, act how he wants, and live how he wants.

Even his name is evidence. While we might be drawn to the conclusion that Remy is a play on the Rem-cycle (and that is almost certainly part of it given the Sleep connotation, though the Rem-cycle is actually the point at sleep where the brain is most active and a person is easiest to wake from sleep) You should also be aware that it’s a nickname for the name Remington. Remington is derived from the old English word “hremm” that meant both “raven” and “settlement”. While a raven is the perfect association for the black color-scheme and some of his personality traits, the literal and metaphorical meanings of the term “settlement” I think is the perfect idea to associate with what I believe Remy is meant to embody. Both the literal place to stop and rest, a safe place, but also the settlement of the mind, being able to push all of the emotional and literal fatigue of the day away. The fact that Remy is gone so often is very telling in the stressed and emotional state that c!Thomas is in.

Also in regards to names, Remy and Emile are intrinsically connected. While both have name meanings that are very important to their characters, they’re also the names of the brothers from Ratatouille. (A movie basically about pursuing your dreams when the world and even your family are against you.) Their names and the connection between their names is evidence that the two characters were designed together as a tribute.

So let’s get back to Emile for a bit. Like Remy we know he’s more complicated than many of the characters from the shorts. For example, we know he loves cartoons, references, and jokes. He’s generally seems to be a happy person and is a therapist (or at least plays one). So, what exactly is he if he’s a side? Well, as I’ve said none of the sides are so simple as to signify one single thing. On top of that, I think his lack of appearance in almost anything besides Cartoon Therapy is evidence to the fact that c!Thomas doesn’t understand him. Like, I think he has some grasp on Remy, despite misunderstanding him, however I think he simply has no connection or understanding of what Emile does/represents. Yet, if I had to label him with a single trait for simplicity sake, it would be Acceptance, essentially the other reason why Sanders Sides exists (or at least has conflict).

There is so much that c!Thomas hasn’t accepted about his life, his career, but most importantly about himself. It’s why the debates go on with each new episode and why the sides struggle to accept each other. It is also why Emile would not have yet made an actual appearance yet in Sanders Sides, I would consider him to be a rejected and repressed light side. Also, embodying acceptance, it would be his job above all else to listen to the other sides. A good therapist does not add their own voice and opinion into the mix until their client is ready to hear it. They need time to get through it all and process. That is exactly what Sanders Sides is already doing for c!Thomas.

Let’s get back to names for a moment, as I said, Emile’s name meaning is also incredibly fitting for what I believe that he represents as a Side. Emile literally means “coming from the Aemilian family” which is in turn derived from the Latin word “aemulus” meaning complete.

My theory is essentially that Emile is going to be our last surprise, maybe coupled with Remy or maybe directly after Remy. Remy, the “darkside” who is often AWOL because he’s self aware of how dangerous he can be in too high of doses and Emile, the “lightside” who is repressed. Essentially, Apathy, reminding him that it’s okay to let go of things for a while and Acceptance, teaching him how to accept himself above all things.

I had initially scrapped this theory because a friend told me Thomas and co had already denied that Remy and Emile are in the Sanders sides universe  and I have a little bit more to say about that in particular in part 2 (which should be coming out in the next couple days, so keep an eye out) but also I want to just set a reminder that you shouldn’t believe much about what a creator denies about their work. Of course they aren’t going to reveal secrets or surprises to you early. Do I know for a fact that Remy and Emile are Sides? Absolutely not, all I can do is align the evidence and present to you my findings.

(Also general shout out to @candied-peach for listening to all of my insanity to get me to this point. Seriously, thank you.)

[slashermom]

PLEASE do a soulmate au with Asa i’ll die!!

(AU: You see in black and white until you meet your soulmate)

It never upset Asa that he couldn’t see in color.

At least not when he was younger.

Now it was only bothersome because he had trouble identifying certain bugs because he couldn’t see their color pattern.

But like everything else he worked around it.

He truly didn’t see the point in the whole soulmate thing. He’s heard people describe it like it’s the best thing in the world. To which Asa always responded with doubt.

What was so great? The ability to see color? The possible euphoria of finding the one person who was created for you? All things he could see why they would be pleasurable but didn’t entertain or dwell on.

Look at his parents! Look at how well they turned out.

He’ll pass.

Asa wasn’t expecting to find his soulmate period. He especially wasn’t expecting to bump into the supposed love of his life while picking up dog food.

It was late on a Tuesday night, the store practically dead. Asa was just about to head home after dropping off his trunk at an undisclosed location when he remembered he had to pick up dog food.

He always liked grocery shopping at night. Fewer people to taking up confined isles. Funnily enough, that was the same reason why you were there that night.

You were checking over your list as you pushed your half-full cart through the store. Not particularly paying any mind to your surroundings, believing you were one of the only customers in the store.

As you check off the last item on your grocery list you looked up at the last minute to see a brooding figure about to step out in front of your cart. Clenching the handle tightly in an effort to stop its motion you shut your eyes tightly as you felt the cart bump into the man who so politely decided to hop out in front of your cart without looking both ways.

You slowly peak your eyes open getting ready for the sight of one very pissed, very tall man.

But as your eyes meet his you’re met with blinding, nauseating color.

Blues, reds, greens, yellows and oranges.

Words that meant absolutely nothing to you before suddenly had incredibly meaning.

You feel laughter of disbelief bubble in your chest as you tear your eyes away from the colors that surrounded you both and brought them back to your soulmate who’s clothing was devoid of all color.

You expected him to be mirroring your same smile but instead, his lips were pulled into a tight line. His sight flicks around your head - seemingly just a flabbergasted but better at hiding it - before coming back to your face where he seems to study you for a moment.

Without saying a word he pushes past you and gets the hell out of dodge.

You didn’t know just how bad rejection could hurt until you stared your soulmate in the face and watch him without as so much as a bat of an eye walk away from you like you were just another stranger on the street.

Don’t hold this moment of panic against him for long.

Asa’s mindset: If I pretend I didn’t see it, it didn’t happen. If it didn’t happen, I don’t have to do anything about- Wait… You mean to tell me this entire time that rug has been TURQUOISE?!

Asa tries to convince himself to drop it and for a good while he does manage to push you away from the front line of his thoughts.

But it’s kind of hard to push away someone when your whole world is now drenched in pigment and they’re the cause.

Asa finally caves in and decides to check up on a few things.

Of course, he goes back to the grocery store around the same time you were there and waits for you to show up for weeks. Of course, he gets your personal information from your family members to your place of work.

These all seem like rational actions.

Asa can’t deny your attractiveness. Maybe it was just the world in color talking but he did find himself drawn to you in more ways than one.

He needs to do something about this.

Attraction and attachment on this level could be dangerous.

Maybe he should add you to his collection, keep you in the trunk that he now knows is a deep red.

Just until he understands you.

You’re special. You gave him the ability to see color, he can’t just let you slip through his fingers.

[loveafterthefact]

Love After the Fact Chapter 24: Between One Strike and the Next, I See You

Keith’s actually a pretty good teacher.

Also, who could possibly have been yeeted across a training room? Gee, I wonder...

First  Previous  Next

Lance watches as Keith passively dodges the soldier’s attacks, hands clasped behind his back. It’s the soldier he’s been having issues with: Griffin. Griffin isn’t particularly awful or anything, but he’s arrogant, stubborn, and can’t seem to come around to the fact that Keith is not their enemy. Which might be why Keith seems to spend much of his time kicking Griffin’s ass whenever he has something he wants to demonstrate.

This quintant, he’s demonstrating how pathetic everyone is. Griffin’s been on the offensive for a good twenty doboshes now, and he hasn’t landed a single hit. It’s concerning because Griffin is perhaps their best officer.

“As you can see,” Keith calls, completely impassive. “When dealing with a larger opponent -you are all bigger than me, and most Galra will be bigger than you- you are likely much faster. One of the smartest choices you can make is to use that speed. Dodge their blows -they are likely stronger than you- and either wait for an opening or let them tire themselves out.

“A tired enemy is a sloppy enemy. Isn’t that right, Griffin?” Keith sidesteps, sticking out his foot and tripping his opponent. “And you’re dead.”

“I have killed… dozens of Galra… I can definitely… kill a little runt like you.” The Altean is gasping, dripping sweat. Keith is entirely unruffled, circlet level on his head, not a hair out of place, where it's knotted at the top of his head. It’s not the first time today Keith has chosen Griffin as an example.

“Prince. I am a prince. And thus far, it seems you can’t kill me.”

“I don’t understand,” another soldier says, stepping forward. “Who trained you? None of the enemies we have ever faced have your skill or control.”

Keith turns to the soldier, tail swishing. “I was trained Captain Takashi Shirogane, my littermate, captain of the Galran Imperial Guard, a private force known as the Blade of Marmora. I was a part of the Blades for two years before I gained my current station. His troops are elite, disciplined and trained beyond reproach. He trains with Prince Lotor’s generals.”

“So… You are one of these elite soldiers?” the soldier asks.

“I am not a soldier anymore. Now I am a warrior prince.” Keith holds out a hand to help Griffin to his feet, but the soldier ignores it, stumbling up on his own. The prince turns impassively back to his pupils. “You are all excellent soldiers. But you could be better. You have the potential to be the best this kingdom has ever seen.”

Keith finally catches sight of Lance leaning against the wall. Lance waves, not wanting to interrupt. Keith waves back. “Come join us! You could learn something too!”

Lance sighs, smile small as he joins his spouse, kisses his cheek. “Apologies, beloved. I’m not much of a swordsman. I just came to watch.”

“Have you ever received actual instruction, or have you only fought training bots?”

“Well… I had some basic training as a child, but it’s been just bots since then.”

“Hm.” Keith holds out a hand to the soldier he just spoke to, and the soldier hands over her sword without hesitation. Lance decides he likes this soldier, the one that’s kind to his spouse. Keith passes it to Lance. “A robot is not a person. It does not think as a person thinks, feel as a person feels. It does not feel pain. It does not feel greed, or fear, or bloodlust, or desperation. It does not feel an old injury that limits mobility. Its purpose is far too simple: offend and defend as its programming finds appropriate.

“People are too varied and complex to be substituted for by a machine. You’d do better getting your butt kicked by me than defeating a pile of metal and wires.”

“Well, getting my butt kicked by you seems far more likely and way cooler, so let’s do this.” Lance looks around as the soldiers step back to watch. He takes a deep breath and lifts the sword, taking a stance. Keith smiles. He admires Lance’s humor even when he lacks confidence.

“Is that how they taught you to stand?”

“I think so… I don’t remember.”

“Widen your feet… good. Bend your knees. Never, ever lock your knees. Or elbows, for that matter… good. Now, this is a broadsword. This particular type of broadsword has a longer hilt, so it can be used with one or two hands.”

“It’s heavy.”

“Yes, because it’s made for hacking people into pieces.” Keith stares into Lance’s eyes. Lance notices how bright they are right now. They burn like stars. “You don’t hunt game with a sword. A broadsword, like all other swords, was made for killing people. Specifically by cutting off limbs and heads.

“Now, to begin.” Keith draws his own blade, letting the dagger lengthen into a gorgeous luxite sword. “I’m going to come at you. I want you to either dodge or block my attack.”

Lance gulps, nods, takes a deep breath. Keith leaps forward, pounces, drives his sword directly at Lance’s head. Unsure of what else to do, Lance attempts to block, both hands locked around the broadsword’s grip. He looks away, flinching as the glittering blade draws near. Keith hits with such force, Lance is almost brought to his knees.

He turns back to his spouse, stares into violet eyes, his face reflected in yellow sclera. The eyes stare back, glinting, blazing with an intensity that Lance hasn’t seen since Keith first arrived here. Keith’s enjoying this. He’s enjoying contributing something. Letting Keith teach had been a very good choice.

“Good. But you flinched.” Keith draws away. “You flinched, your body twisted, you leaned back, and it upset your balance. You couldn’t have taken another hit. Let’s try it again. This time, hold firm. You chose to plant your feet instead of dodge. Own that decision.”

“R- right.”

“Take responsibility for the blood on your hands. It’s the only way you’ll ever live with it.” Keith charges again, and this time, Lance lifts his blade, stares into his spouse’s amethyst eyes. He does not flinch. This time, when their blades cross, Keith tries a second time, diving for his legs, and Lance manages to meet him again. “Excellent.”

Keith turns back to the watching soldiers. “See how easily improvements can be made? That was one strike barely blocked, then two strikes effectively blocked. All it takes is the right mindset.” Keith smiles, pokes Lance in the middle of the forehead. Lance chuckles. “And a sword. A sword helps, since your kind are so useless.”

“Hey!” Lance yelps. “That’s not fair!” The soldiers grumble assent.

“Look at you!” Keith teases, perhaps putting on a bit of a show. “Now sharp teeth. No retractable claws…”

“We can shapeshift,” Lance offers. “I bet I could turn the exact color of Dabazaal’s sand. You’d never find me.”

“I’d just walk by and give you a compliment and you’d get all sparkly. Then, I’d shoot you in the face.” While Lance blusters, Keith turns to the soldiers with a satisfied smirk. “We’re done for today. You all did well, and you are improving. Griffin, a word.”

Keith nods to Lance, steps away with the soldier. He looks the man up and down. Brown skin, brown hair, dark blue eyes, deep violet scales, gleaming iridescent red. Violet base with a red edge, he thinks. He’s learning a lot about quintessence and about the connection the Alteans have with it. “I want to use you for another demonstration quintant after tomorrow.”

“Yes, because you only ever use me.”

“You show a great deal of potential. If you can learn some humility, patience, and respect for people who are not your own, you will make a fantastic leader. That being said, if you do not learn, and if you continue to disrespect me, I will have you removed from our military faster than you can say ‘quiznak’. Are we clear?”

“Yes,” Griffin grits.

“Yes what?”

“Yes, your Majesty.” Griffin bows, stiff, resentful.

“Then we have nothing more to discuss.” Keith turns on his heel, satisfied. “If you’ll excuse me, I think my husband wishes to speak with me.”

Lance smiles, kisses his cheek again once he approaches. He seems somewhat lackluster today. “Hey, beloved. You’re very good at teaching.”

Keith smiles, bashfully eyes the ground. “Thank you. I just… To be honest, I just say and do what I think Shiro would say and do. He’s the real teacher.”

“Well you’re doing a wonderful job.” Lance’s ears wilt a tiny bit, scales a little dull.

“What’s wrong?”

“We should take a walk.”

Keith takes Lance’s hand on instinct, squeezing it tight. The longer he lives at the Castle of Lions, the more deeply he finds himself attached. The more empowered he feels, despite being at the mercy of his enemies. He looks his spouse dead in the eyes.

“Lead the way.”

[jesswsc1]

Initially, I wasn’t overly sure how to interpret our title of ‘black books and black holes’. I’ve felt awfully low for a while, and it’s been heavy on my mind, so I figured I’d take this project as somewhat of an opportunity to reflect on the past, troubles i’ve had as well as using it as a kind of venting of current frustrations. These low points act as my own personal black hole, as I fall down into them for some time. Similarly to how black does, they absorb any kind of light surrounding. To me, at times, this has meant not enjoying things I’ve adored prior - such as spending time with loved ones, music and hobbies. Growing up there were several black holes, but amongst them I have fond memories with my cousins, siblings and childhood friends. Somebody who has always been there for me (whether it be through choice or not) has been my brother. I decided to incorporate pictures of us throughout my little black book as homage to him as he is truly one of my favourite people ever, despite the troubles I don’t think our bond has ever gone away - it’s merely taken small redirections. I have such admiration for him and know I can rely on him and speak free from judgement. Years ago, I believe it was 2013, he fell ill and this meant he had to be hospitalised for a couple months. It was really hard for my family and was of course even more difficult for him. Seeing as he was hospitalised, this meant regular trips to the hospital, on the car journeys we’d always have the same Passenger CD playing in the car. I guess we just never got around to changing it. On this CD was a particular song that we’d all sing along to, which funnily enough is called ‘holes’. Hearing this song now makes me feel so safe and hopeful, knowing it got me as well as my family through a rough period in time. I made sure to incorporate some of the lyrics into one of my book spreads. One line reads, ‘but we carry on’, which has definitely stuck with me.

The constellation element of our project had me reflecting on space and the universe, and what exactly it means to me. Although I’m not too into space, I’m definitely fond of the moon. After my parents divorced, I was left in custody of my mum for a while. A teacher told me to look at the moon, because she’d be looking at it too at the same time and thinking of me. During this time I was living in a troubled home (I made this house the exterior of my book*) and would be heavily supported by her in school. She’d give me notebooks to express myself in and explain what was happening, as well as a departing gift when I inevitably left to go live with my dad here in Bury. Despite being a small part of my life, she still means a lot to me and has a place in my heart. Though not physically present with me anymore, she cared enough to find me years later and reached out to make sure I'm doing fine. It's reassuring knowing there are people as pure as she is. Because of this I dedicated a small section of my book to her that looks like a slither of the moon when the pages are flipped back onto it. 

My black book was titled ‘Wailing Ghosts’ by Pu Songling, containing 14 tales of various monsters and creatures, which is fitting to my work revolving around numerous burdens I have that seem to act as these little monsters also, creeping up every now and again. I did consider creating my own ‘chapters’, one for each black hole of mine, but didn’t want to structure my book in that way as I didn’t want to disrupt my creativity or force things.

          I say ‘was’ because I actually decided I wasn’t all that keen on how i’d layed my pages out. I instead took a second black book and collaged, reworked and inserted pages into a new one. I’m really glad I did so, as I now have a book I much prefer over the first. An aspect I did keep relatively whole was the swirly, illusion-looking front cover with a hole burned through the centre, almost like a little entrance to another world. Stanley Donwood inspired this page through his swirly seas he often features in his works, as he uses a bold thick line against white ones. I opted to put this page underneath my front cover so it still got to be showcased - only cutting a part off the corners to make sure it fit. 

Featured in my book are a few small self portraits, in varying cartoon-y styles. Some are only inspired by my face whilst others were drawn whilst staring into the mirror, then back at the page. Having struggled with low self esteem, there have been times where I don’t even want to perceive myself let alone interpret that into a drawing. Meanwhile doing my book work, I realised I have never drawn a self portrait - not since being a kid anyway - and had even actively avoided doing so during GCSE art. Over the past year or so, I’ve overcome an array of issues I’d had, so found myself able to draw these little portraits. It sounds pretty insane to me now that I would’ve found it so hard before, knowing I enjoyed coming up with various ways to put me in my book, even wanting to print pictures of me (sadly our printers decided to act up so I was not able to implement these). I feature my bathroom mirror on one page as it’s been the target of over-analyzing and although I have come far in self love, it still remains a deadly weapon. 

Claude Heath’s sketchy, rough portraits inspired me to create my own. I really enjoy how reckless his style is, as I'm trying to escape the ‘this has to be perfect’ mentality, Heath is a great example of how you don’t need to overthink your work. It can just exist and look cool. It’s fine. This was also encouraged in Thursday drawing sessions where we did blind drawings. I kept this mindset whilst doing my book as I tend to either overwork myself trying to create ‘perfect’ or do absolutely nothing, so I went with the flow of how my book panned out. 

Seeing as my work theme is a little on the darker side, I considered subduing the colours or perhaps even going full black and white. However, I love utilising colour in my art and felt this would make me feel unmotivated and uninspired. Especially seeing as this book is about me, it’s not insensitive to anybody to make it colorful and exciting. So, I have. Plus, despite everything I’m still smiling so I wanted to convey that somehow. Sort of, making the best out of bad situations. Damien Hirst’s usage of colours influenced me to just have fun with it, in the same way he does when creating his works. 

Throughout my book I have experimented with oil pastel, paint, staples, collage, rorschach ink blotting, screen printing, spray paint, photocopied pictures, flip book, tracing paper, washi tape and i’m sure there’s more. Point is, I wanted to cover a wide range of techniques seeing as there were many pages. In doing so I believe this was the best way as it meant there was a flow of ideas coming as I worked. I’ve learned that I love a range of ways of working as it keeps my brain ticking, meaning the work doesn’t feel stagnant and dull. Sadly there were lots more ideas I had for what to do into my book, but due to various reasons I couldn't. Such as wanting to sew using a sewing machine into my book, I tried to set my sewing machine up but when I would go to sew the thread would snap. But I believe it’s definitely something worth trying another time, as I was intrigued to see how it’d turn out. I also wanted to make a better flip book from the corner of my little page (see animation on blog) as it’s really simplistic. But drawing the little stick men alone took me an hour or so, and I didn’t see that being of much importance compared to getting actual pages filled out. Thus, I left it as a simple stickman. That being said I think the stick man illustrates the cycle of being in a slump, which is relatable to how lockdown is feeling and fits well with my book contents. I felt inspired by an artist who goes by ‘inhalerqueen’ (Amanda) on tiktok, who draws a simple, silhouette-like figure repeatedly. She calls this figure ‘void’ and i’d consider her work to be vent art, expressing how she feels. Originally I wanted to make my stick men look like void, however I don’t think that would be all that beneficial/change the effectiveness and would only take up more time.

If I were to have a soundtrack to my work I would opt for ‘Yellow’ by Coldplay. Reason being, regardless of my state of mind I return to this song and feel the same listening through every time. It’s such a lovely song and just feels like peace, as cheesy as that may sound considering Coldplay is very much dad music. It reminds me of my yellows, and how much they mean to me. Even with the black, I have my yellows. Lyrics to the song can be found in my book also. 

Overall, I’m relatively pleased with my work. There’s no doubt things I would do differently, but I’m glad I’ve had this experience and was able to vent a little similarly to how Amanda does. In future I hope to perhaps recreate this book and treat it as kind of a ‘rough’ or ‘plan’ for a more refined and thought-out version, perhaps this time with chapters like I'd considered and with ideas I didn’t get to delve into.  There are pages I’m not so keen on, but I’m proud of myself for just leaving them as opposed to overworking them and/or scrapping them just because they aren’t what I like. I love the pictures of me and my brother, if I could I would’ve collaged more into my book however our printer simply wouldn’t allow it. As well as the exterior of the book, as I think it adds a personal element as opposed to being left as it was. 

[wtfzodiacsigns]

Tarotscopes

Cancer: Take some advice from sensation Marie Kondo as you go along your week Cancer! Find the things that “spark joy” and keep them close. As for the things that don’t? Thank them and move on! You’re taking this week to be grateful. Thank your home for being sheltering you, your job for being stable, your laptop for working even though it’s a thousand years old. Look deep within and find the things that have been holding you back from true happiness - if it’s your job, figure out why. List things that make you grateful for having your job (and not just money!) while you search for another one. If it’s school that’s got you down, focus on a vision board for what you would like life to be like AFTER you get your degree. Give thanks for the present and future Cancer, both are just as important.

Leo: You’re surrounded in the color of yellow and orange - but most of it has to do with a neglected or abused sacral chakra. You’re going through heartbreak, through disappointment: it’s making you really question your beliefs, your practices, and causing you to put distance between yourself and your higher self, as well as the divine force you believe in. Well Leo, the pity party is over! You can’t heal unless you put forth the effort to do so! You want to reap the rewards of any and all kinds of wealth but you aren’t putting yourself through the process it takes to get there. Stop saying that “January was a trial month, my real news years starts in February…no, March.  . . Okay, April!”  The new year has started and it’s time for you to make the most of it. Get in touch with those sacred energies you have within. Get in touch with your GENUINE emotions, with your real truth. Then, and only then, will you reap your rewards.

Aries: This week Aries, you’re learning all about temptation and purification. As a sign who is always full steam ahead, you forget to look back into your life from time to time and figure out what’s no longer serving you or what unhealthy habit you’ve picked up. This week you’ll be facing some of your greatest temptations yet - with the gift of really reviewing it and being ready for a change. Your temptation could come in the form of anything (depending on you) - maybe you’ve been offered a job you feel uncomfortable with, sex before you’re ready, unhealthy eating habits, gossiping, putting off studying, overspending, working out to extremes, overthinking, and so on. The truth is, your temptations and unhealthy tendency/thinking is what is holding you back from achieving that which you desire. You are at a very powerful point in your life right now where you can open your hands and expect to receive… but first you have to get rid of that bad habit of yours. As a fire sign, purification THROUGH fire seems to be the best for you… burn a paper with your nasty habit or thought on it, burn a cleansing candle.

Virgo: Time is heavy on your mind for the opening of the years second month. It might have something to do with  Valentine’s day being just around the corner… But you’re really overthinking your life, subconsciously seeking all the wisdom you’ve collected from your visits and lives on Earth. You have some fear within your this week, thinking of how time is running out to make a name for yourself, to make loved ones proud, to catch up to your classmates, to find love, leaving a job, legal situation, etc… Don’t fear it Virgo, accept it! Time is what makes life so special. You already have the wisdom within you to achieve everything you’d like, you have a great amount of success and prosperity coming your way… A “cornucopia” if you will. But first, you must face an ending to usher in this new, prosperous beginning. Your blessings are here for you, stop worrying. Let go and flow with the winds of change.

Taurus: Recently, you’ve dealt with some form of hostility (purposely done to you or not) and it’s really put a damper on your spirits. Never fear! Now is the time for you be brave and stand up for yourself, putting your best foot forward and guess what? Keeping your mouth shut! As a creature of habit, it can be hard for you, Taurus, to break the normal and “be brave”, moving out of your comfort zone. This week it’s best for you to start (or work even harder) on your goals in SILENCE. The hostilities are over, even if their impact is long lasting, because you are being guided to create. To release your power, your energy, your inner thoughts - and prosper from them! Find things that help you achieve your inner creative … crystals, sigils, alchemy studies, etc. and stick to it. You are being guided a time of creation and silence. Trust in your goal and yourself.

Gemini: February starts off with you feeling much like a “Duchess” and possibly receiving signs from your spiritual team via the form of “a Duchess.” You’re taking a look at your life and have come to one conclusion:  that you’re tied up. You feel stuck, bored, and even suppressed - which is a dangerous thing for an intellectual, constantly moving air sign such as yourself. Gemini, it’s time to admit that the largest reason you’ve been stuck is because you haven’t been honest with yourself. . and others around you haven’t been given you full disclosures either. Expect some real heart to heart this week - from others to you, as well as yourself to you.

Libra: Libra, February starts for you … with the closing of a door and a few windows. But don’t worry, there’s about to be a huge, marvelous hole in the wall that reveals your true goal in sight! Many of you are working on something that can’t be done alone and because of this, your harmonious nature is being put to the test! Beliefs, styles and even energies are clashing between you and a partner and it’s driving you absolutely mad… Trust this: your inner Venus will not only find a way to achieve peace - but she’ll be head over heels for the final result! A manifested new beginning is here, even if it at first it seems impossible. When you’re feeling disheartened by it, try this simple exercise: take the word “impossible” and think of it as though yourself are the problem. Now, keeping that mindset…   break the word “impossible” into two words. “I’m Possible!”

Scorpio: Despite your best efforts, despite following the script exactly the way it was written and always meant to be - you feel as though you’ve been tossed into chaos. Obsessing over where you went wrong, where you lost yourself, and if you’ll ever have a chance to redeem yourself. Yes Scorpio, you will! Your outer calm has proven to be your best survival trait during a long standing problem and the time has finally coming for it to finally have it’s resolution put into forward motion. Know that it’s okay to seek yourself during this time, that none of your loved ones will be hurt because they are all protected. You are protected and eternally loved and have a right to healing. Possibilities you’ve never expected are coming to you and you can expect a miracle to set it’s course to you this week!

Pisces: You’d benefit greatly from some healing energy presented to you by the ocean itself. If you’re lucky enough to have the resources to dig your feet into the sand - go do it! If you’re not… Then take a bath with salt water, listen to the sounds of the sea, holding a seashell or wear a necklace you got down by the shore. You’re especially sensitive to the planetary energies this week Pisces, especially after you receive some important but not focused guidance and advice. Your throat chakra is aligned and ready! Voice what matters to you - no matter how global the scale because for you, this is the most healing activity you can be a part of. Trust that you’re ready to get rid of people with dangerous and conflicting beliefs as well as that you’re ready to clear your space and take care of Mother Earth!

Capricorn: The energy surrounding you this week can mean only one thing - you’re about to rock it! Things have finally settled in and you’re exactly where you’re meant to be at the moment: opening the doors to your dreams! Your golden age is beginning now and you’re in for a treat. A surge of energy, a surge of creativity, peace on the home front followed with the possibility of meeting somebody significant… At this time life is going to truly be what you make of it Capricorn - so for once, follow your luck and happiness without worry of the consequences!

Aquarius: The past stands beside you, using all of it’s might to get your attention. Habits, people, and memories of the past seem to be working their hardest to drown your Aquarius! Know this: you are the water bearer, you can scoop it up into a vase and pour right back into the river that is life. You are protected and the past can no longer control you. Neither can your feelings. Accept that being vulnerable is part of you - but it doesn’t define you. Cry for your past and then cry tears of joy for your future. Look at all you have accomplished, all you have become, look at the fact that you are still standing here today. You did that! It’s time to say goodbye to the past in order to see the full beauty of the rising sun - are you ready Aquarius?

Sagittarius: For some reason Sag, it feels like this week you just can’t get Mercury off your back… or perhaps that’s the influence of some inner Aries (or external Aries people). You’re starting to act out - and you’re angry! The fire within has been fueled and you’ve been working nonstop, demanding your blessings and expecting them. .  rightfully so. But, are you ready for them? Deal with your feelings of insecurity, of fear, but also those negative beliefs you’ve inherited during youth. Sag, it feels like you are personally leading “grind culture” and it’s exhausting.  Put the bow and arrow down for a night or two. . Take a nap then go and do something you love to do! Treat yourself this week! Self love is one of the best forms to set Law of Attraction in motion. Neglecting yourself isnt in the recipe for success.

Source: taurustarot