#but he understands her (not in a weird magic language way just in a he knows her so well way)

[mywritersmind]

pookieeee how are youuu 💗 I'm in NEED of a Franco fic where the reader is João Félix's little sister...

So she obvi speaks Portuguese and English (maybe some Italian in there too) butttt unlike her brother her Spanish is rusty. So when reader drags her brother (and of course some of the guys from the team) to support her best friend at a race, he's listening in to every little comment Franco makes about her in Spanish and trying to subtly give hints to reader that he likes her, and of course some good brother teasing! Just hardcore fluff, friend pining and good old family banter!

HE CAN UNDERSTAND - FC43

listen up : i used google translate don’t come for me. not proofread! super cute and fluffy! loved this request sorry if i didng execute it well😭

word count : 2281

⋆｡‧˚⋆

“Franco!” I jump into my best friends arms as he laughs. The moment I asked for three Grand Prix tickets, he sent them over immediately and went on a rant of how excited he was to see me.

“Y/n!” He grins widely at me, “I’m so happy you’re here!” He's in his race suit, his hair messy and extra wavy. I run my hand through it, fixing it a bit.

“You’re a mess.” I laugh as he pushes my hand away and rolls his eyes, “Oh!” I suddenly remember that my brother is standing behind me. “This is my brother, João! I can’t believe you two haven’t met!” I smile at both of them as my brother shakes Franco’s hand.

Oddly professional for someone he knows I love. “Nice to finally meet you. Y/n never shuts up about you.” I slightly blush at his words as Franco lets out a laugh.

“Good to know…” Franco gives us a mini tour. I'm so beyond happy for him. This has been his dream since forever, the first time I met him he even jokingly flirted and said I could be a WAG.

Franco is charming and hilarious so my brother likes him instantly. We end up in the William’s garage, everyone scrambling around and talking in languages I can’t understand.

Since it’s race day, i’m genuinely surprised Franco had the time to see us. Especially since Qualifying was earlier today.

But my best friend works in magical ways.

⋆༺

FRANCO

I watch Y/n talk to Alex’s girlfriend. I watch as her hair flows down her back and her hand covers her mouth as she laughs. “So,” João turns to me, sort of intimidating for his height but so far I think he approves of me. “You’ve known Y/n for a while, huh?”

I nod, “Yeah, she hasn't been able to shake me yet.” He laughs, nodding his head.

“You care about her?” Why do I feel like i’m getting interrogated?

I nod, “Of course. She’s my best friend.”

“I mean as more than a friend.”

I laugh uncomfortably, joking with him, “Are you asking me my intentions?” He does not find this funny. I clear my throat and breathe out, “We’re just friends.”

Y/n comes skipping back over to us. I’ve always been taught to not lie, but i’m not about to confess that I like her to fucking brother.

“J, you’ve got to see his car!” She takes his arm and pulls him away, “You coming, Fran?”

I’m about to follow after them but my engineer taps my shoulder, “Gimmie one second! Don't touch anything, Y/n, I know how you are!”

She gives me one of her signature smiles, making my pulse quicken and my smile falter. I catch her brother giving me an odd look before I sit up and wave.

I turn to my engineer who’s smiling, big, “Dios mío, te estás sonrojando.” (My god, you’re blushing.) I roll my eyes at him, turning to see Y/n point to my car and start asking questions to someone in blue.

“¡Cállate por favor!” (Shut up please!) Her Spanish is more than rusty. I've tried to teach her some but she gets distracted and she always ends up persuading me into something different. Still, it’s weird talking about her when she’s right there.

“Vamos, ¡te gusta! Es la forma en que la miras... como si fuera el sol.” (Come on, you like her! It’s the way you look at her… like she’s the sun.) I push his shoulder at his words. Christ, is it that obvious?

“Actúas como si fuera un cachorrito enamorado.” (You act like i’m some lovesick puppy)

“¡Porque lo eres! Siempre hablas de ella, tu pantalla de bloqueo es ella, ¡siempre le estás enviando mensajes de texto! Admítelo.” (Because you are! You always talk about her, your lock screen is her, you are always texting her! Just admit it.)

I cross my arms at him, not daring to glance back at her. “No voy a arruinar mi relación con ella…” I shake my head and tease him, “¡Ahora vuelve a trabajar!” (I’m not ruining my relationship with her… now get back to work!)

I join Y/n and João again, smiling and doing my duty as a tour guide. João gives me another weird look and i’m hoping it’s not because i’m losing his trust. I know i’m not her boyfriend, but I still want him to like me.

They are soon asked to step into the visitors area as I warm up for the race. Y/n kisses my cheek before she goes, “Good luck, Fran. Be careful!” I know my cheeks are red but all I can focus on is her so close to me, her lips on my cheek.

I nod, “Thank you. Have fun watching.” I wink at her and turn, getting ready.

⋆༺

YOU

“I’m so nervous! It’s so rainy!” I bite my lip as the cars go out on track in a second formation lap. The race hasn’t even started and someone’s already out!

My brother eyes me, he’s been acting weird all day and I hate it. He suddenly turns to me, “You don’t like Franco?”

It catches me off guard, “Uh… of course I do?” He rolls his eyes.

“I mean can you see yourself with him? I think you’d be cute.” I laugh out loud.

“João, when have you ever wanted me to date someone?” Especially Franco. I mean, maybe i’ve thought about it.

Okay maybe I've fantasized about it… a lot.

But what am I supposed to do? Confess to my best friend who’s always been there for me that I think he’s irresistible and criminally hot? No.

“I just think if you’re gonna date anyone… He’s a good option.” My cheeks heat as I shake my head, “You’re blushing! Come on, Y/n, why not?”

“Just shut up, the race is starting!”

The next time he brings it up is at a yellow flag, “He’s definitely nicer than your ex.” I give him a death glare and attempt to tune him out, “And who did you go crying to after he broke your heart….?” Franco. The answer is Franco because he’s always there.

It’s been hard recently because of his races, but he’s constantly texting or calling me. I think he just wants someone to gossip with.

“Again, he’s my friend. Just because you have a girlfriend now doesn’t mean you know everything!”

“No but I know everything about you, and you don’t look at your other friends like that.” I hate that stupid smug smile on his face. And I hate that he’s right.

My stomach drops when Franco goes into the wall. I grab onto my brother's arm who doesn’t look concerned at all and more happy that i’m so worried! I slap his arm, “You have no empathy!”

I cross my arms, biting my lip as I watch him exit the car. Thank god he’s okay.

Franco gives me a small thumbs up when he’s back in the garage. I can tell he’s absolutely gutted, the air is awkward and thick with tension since Franco’s crash meant that the whole team's weekend is over.

The race is long and honestly scary. Still, all I can think about is Franco.

Maybe this weekend, his attention to me, my brothers comments, and how Franco’s been looking at me, has finally sealed what I've been dreading.

I’ve known I like him for a while, but I don’t want to ruin us. I can’t be embarrassed by my closest friend!

I’m not an idiot, I see how he flirts with interviewers or even fans. Part of me wants to believe that’s just his personality, but the other part is screaming at me that he doesn’t like me.

His eyes though, he looks at me so deeply that sometimes I feel like I'm apart of some big trick.

“Hey,” My brother nudges me, “Race is over.” I snap out of whatever daze I was in and nod, “I gotta pee, go talk to Franco!”

When I look to where he points, Franco’s already looking at me. His race suit is unzipped and he looks so tired. “Hi.” He smiles softly but I can tell it’s forced.

“Sorry your first race with me sucked.” He frowns, leaning against the little barrier from the garage and friends and family.

“Hey…” I touch his arm briefly, “It did not suck! And It’s not your fault. It was scary though…”

His eyes look sad and I know it’s not just because he crashed. Franco feels so deeply and this weekend has been especially hard for him. I can tell he sees the worry on my face, “I'm really really happy you’re here. We’re getting dinner later, right?”

I go to the hotel with João first. We change and meet back at the restaurant. “I’m so hungry!” I groan as we sit down, Franco said he would be here soon but I am not above ordering early.

João sits across from me, “Gotta wait for your boyfriend.”

I eye him, “You better not say anything in front of Franco. I don’t want to make him uncomfortable.” He laughs a bit.

“I really don’t think I will.” He’s so ominous today. “I can tell i’m making you uncomfortable though. My only question is… why?”

“Why?”

“Why can’t you accept that you like him? He’s obviously not going to turn you down. He’s practically got hearts in his eyes when he talks to you.” The waiter brings water which I gulp down immediately.

“I- No! I can’t like him. He’s my friend.”

“So you’ve said… but the best relationships start out that way.” Why is he pushing this so much?

“I just… I don’t want to ruin our relationship.”.

“Funny…” he mumbles something, “That's what he said too.” but I can’t hear him because Franco sits and starts saying hello.

Our dinner is amazing, the food is perfect and I can’t stop laughing at Franco and João. “You’ve gotta come to a match sometime!” My brother laughs, “The team would love you.”

Franco grins, “I would be honored! Y/n always talks about your games, you’re pretty good apparently.” This boosts my brother's ego far too much and we end the night while talking about football and childhood stories.

“He always teased me with his friends!” I roll my eyes at the memory, “They were all learning Spanish in highschool so I never understood them!”

Franco laughs as João shakes his head, “Why didn’t you take spanish in highschool?”

“I did! I just never caught on. Plus João became fluent after school anyway so his schooling barely helped.” I shrug as Franco’s expression turns odd.

He blinks, looking to João, “You’re fluent?”

“Si.” He looks almost smug about it as Franco nods slowly, swallowing.

“Así que escuchaste…” (So you heard…)

“Todo.” (Everything) Franco’s smile drops completely at my brothers words. But my brother still carries on with a smile, “Eres muy obvio, pero lo apoyo.” (You’re very obvious, but I support it.)

I frown at their communication that I can’t understand, “Okay, can you two stop gossiping? I’m ready to leave.” Franco smiles at me, nodding slowly as we stand.

Our walk back to the hotel is short and luckily no fans interrupt it. The warmth of the inside makes me smile and the ding of the elevator makes me yearn for my bed.

“Uh, Y/n?” I look back at Franco as he talks, “Could I speak to you for a moment…” I look at my brother who nods, a smile still on his face as he disappears behind the elevator doors. “Let’s go outside.”

It’s no longer raining so we venture out into the hotel's garden. It’s beautiful with tall plants and trees, a small path that we walk on, and flowers that I've never seen before.

“What did you walk to talk to me about?” I turn to him, he looks oddly scared and a bit chilly. He starts to speak but then closes his mouth and thinks, “Franco…?”

“I like you.” As soon as the words leave his mouth, I freeze, “I really like you and not just as a friend… like way more than that.”

I blink, “You’re kidding?”

The panic on his face is immediate, “No?”

“Shit. Okay!” I realize i’m so caught up in my own world that he probably thinks I don’t like him, “I feel the same.”

He breathes out, stepping closer, “You fucking scared me.”

I smile, not believing this is even real, “You really like me? Because my brother has been making me feel delusional all day!” He takes my hand in his and I swear my heart skips a beat.

“He heard me talking about you in spanish…” I raise a brow, “My engineer was teasing me and I didn’t know he spoke it!” I laugh, shaking my head at his story, “But I'm glad he did. I probably would be sitting in my room all alone if he hadn't.”

I grip his hand tighter, stepping closer, “I’m really glad too. I didn’t want to ruin anything but fuck I really like you.”

He grins and leans in, He paused before I nod. Franco presses a kiss to my lips softly, “I can’t believe you have a crush on me.” I whisper as groans and rolls his eyes, trying to walk away.

“No! No taking it back now!” I laugh, pulling him back to me, my hand going to his neck and my lips meeting his, “You’re stuck with me now.”

[confused-and-dickless]

I am spinning my homemade blorbos in my head rn but I can't draw good and I don't even have a solid idea of what they look like. They don't even have names. But I know them like my own soul. And they're in love. And they're me. And they're everything. And they love each other. One of them loves soup. Tumblr I'm telling you you'd love these fuckers if only I know how to express anything about them. Maybe I'll write out their backstory and a few of their adventures.

[wordy-little-witch]

I am now hip deep in the Edge of Midnight campaign from legends of avantris and lemme tell you some shit -

1) I would lay down my life for Jericho Sticks without any hesitation. Torbek and Jericho are my sons now, no takesies backsies.

2) Lethica and Marius are so perfectly aligned to be end game lovers but I personally adore the idea of them being queerplatonic if only bc it's funny to watch people be confused and I think Lethica would adore that.

3) you can pry the concept of Briggsy having a some kind of magical fantasy cellphone equivalent from my cold dead hands - sending stone or smth idfk - and he's been keeping his buddy/boyfriend Torbek updated on all this like "Becky you would not BELIEVE what happened today-" ((listen I know the flirting bit between them in the yuletide one-shot was a feycurse but leave me alone it's funny as fuck))

4) briggsy @ jericho in ep 24 appropos nothing: Jerry, maybe we have to kiss ((sad, silly twinks with Literal Darksides are his type /j))

5) I have a friend-crush on Nikkie and I will never recover

6) I have an unyielding NEED to have Jericho get a final hit on a boss and yell yeehaw

7) I know stylistically Jericho doesn't have "skin" but I personally hc that his clothes aren't effectively his skin, he has a burlap body - and he has "tattoos" in the form of embroidery. It started when he had to stitch up his own cuts and stuff and he just kept it up.

8) Only Yorgrim has any constant sense of cooking in an actual kitchen-like setting. Farryn, Marius, and Briggsy can do journey or on-the-road cooking, but it's never.... great. Lethica burns everything somehow or gets the bright idea to 'experiment', and it's never good - she's fine if she's got clear end goals. Jericho is understandably skittish around fire due to his body and straw, but he is the closest to being able to cook well and do so semi regularly.

9) Virgil is a weird mix of a hater and lowkey overprotective. He does hate being imprisoned, but also he's kinda bound here so he HAS to keep this disaster of a bard safe. He refuses to admit he might have a soft spot. He is Stressed.

10) Farryn doesn't get the appeal of Girls Nights, but Jericho does!!! They join Lethica for some fun relaxation. Briggsy once asked why Jericho was allowed since he's also a dude, and Lethica just responded "he's allowed to be there - on account of him being a scarecrow and not a literal man after all." It's an inside joke which later has to be explained - Jericho is nonbinary but doesn't rightly care about stuff like that.

11) Yorgrim is the group dad, no I will not explain.

12) sometimes after a battle, Lethica and Marius will help stitch up some of Jericho's tears. Farryn may also add in random flowers she finds around because it makes him happy.

13) Briggsy is small but mighty. The only person he has yet to pick up and carry is Yorgrim - he swears that one day that tombstone will be gone and he'll be able to do it. It's all the rock's fault, he's sure of it.

Spoilers under the cut (caught up to present)

OKAY so I am caught up completely and have decided that Canon is not important leave me alone

• Yorgrim did not die - he got wounded heavily but survived.

• Farryn almost got taken but they got to her in time. She is mute for a time due to injuries and trauma - idk if she ever talks again bc we could use more sign language in the world. Maybe it comes and goes, fuck if I know, idk and idc

ONWARDS TO SILLIES

• Lethica strong armed her way into giving Jericho The Talk after he revealed he had no idea what a penis was. Scarecrows cannot blush, but apparently his fiendish glow can ebb and flow and he glows much MUCH brighter when he's embarrassed - she tries so hard not to laugh.

• Adella and Jericho btw are simply besties. His "crush" on her is a friend crush and Phillip just finds it painfully cute. ((Also -> Jericho has mommy issues and Adella always wanted a son/nephew/little brother. Peaceful alignment))

• Dark Mode Marius is a colossal flirt but still a giant dweeb. He's cool and suave until someone flirts back - then he's a mess.

• Briggsy is very happy with his Kannon & makes "shooting my shot" jokes at every and any opportunity

• Yorgrim, with his reward, manages to finally lay many souls tonrest but he still carries the tombstone on journeys - just not constantly now. He still believes he must pay penance, but it's a little easier to share the burden.

• Farryn, with her own reward, has not chosen to activate it yet. Something tells her to wait, to bide her time and remain. She does, however, get a little more at ease with the others. She and Jericho have come to an understanding, too - that being they they are a package deal, no takesies backsies, and they refer to each other as twin, much to the confusion of many, many, many people. WLW and NBLM solidarity.

• Jericho is pining HARD for Marius, but he's absolutely terrified of damaging the friendship so everyone is watching two oblivious dummies look longingly into each other.

• POLYAMORY POLYAMORY POLYAMORY

• Marius grows rather fond of Virgil, and the sentiment is very much NOT reciprocated bc this angry knight vampire is not good enough for his vessel and he's mad about it.

• Yorgrim: I've only had my friends for a few days, but if anything happened to them, I'd kill everyone in Druskenvald and then myself.

• I fully expect for Jericho to somehow befriend an enemy in disguise, not realize, and accidentally fuck up the evil plan with the powers of puns, music and friendship (/j)

• the first time the party sees Jericho presenting more feminine, he's been lended one of Lethica's dresses after his own clothes got torn up and the rest are being washed. Marius has a nosebleed and faints. Briggsy is staring somewhat respectfully. Lethica is trying valiantly not to laugh. Farryn and Yorgrim regret not dying when they had the chance.

• Marius: i cannot have a relationship because I have sworn to follow the duchess of sin

Lillith: whoa hold up, Do Not use me as an excuse to avoid the cutie pie over there. Besides, he has a demon. I'm queen of hell. I can make a small exception.

Marius: shit

• Briggsy Bi Icon: OH if ONLY Jerry here had a DASHING KNIGHT to SAVE THEM from this PERILOUS INCIDENT

Jericho: captain, I'm just getting off of a horse??

Marius: no no Briggsy has a point, no maiden should be unaccompanied or unassisted. Allow me-

Lethica&Farryn: We Know What You Are

• Yorgrim is watching all this inter party flirting and is definitely wondering if he's gonna have to have an aside with everyone about flirting tactics and communication skills. Briggsy is making it worse by enabling everyone.

• Farryn gets some sweet, succulent healing, that is all.

[annymation]

The Kingdom of Wishes- A “Wish” Rewrite

Chapter 13- Magic Mirror

Chapter 12

Asha is now sitting on the hand drawn bed that she drew with her magic pencil the previous night. Staring at the 7 teens in front of her, she looks at them completely stunned.

Asha was about to open her mouth to ask a million questions, such as how did they get there? Are they okay? Do they believe her now? Is the king dead?

(Man, if you've been missing the past few chapters this all must feel pretty weird huh?)

But she doesn't have time to say anything, as Dahlia rushes over and hugs her tightly:

"WE'RE SO SORRY WE WEREN'T THERE FOR YOU!!!" The girl's scream echos around the cave, she speaks quickly and on the verge of tears "We were so scared- and and Magnifico was looking at us like he was gonna cut off our heads if we said something! BUT THAT DOESN'T JUSTIFY IT! I should've spoken up for you! I'm the worst friend eveeeeeeeer!" Dahlia says dramatically.

Bazeema, Hal and Dario come in for the hug too, Bazeema being the next one to apologize

"I know it's not much, but I brought an apology gift..." she whispers shyly, while reaching inside a bag she's carrying, and takes out a plant, composed of small star-shaped blooms that cluster together to give the illusion of a single flower "A hyacinth, your favorite... They also symbolize the desire for forgiveness."

(Yeeeeeah remember back in chapter 2 when Bazeema made a garden of purple hyacinths as a birthday gift for Asha? Yeah... It was aaaaaall foreshadowing that eventually the 7 teens would ask her for forgiveness. All details in this fic are foreshadowing! Also I just love flower symbolism.)

Asha takes the flower and smiles softly while the four hug her.

Gabo is standing next to the bed with his arms crossed. He interrupts the sweet moment:

"For the record, back at the plaza I tried to throw a rock on Magnifico's head SEVERAL times, but Mr "respect the corrupt authority" here kept stopping me." He says, pointing at Simon with an annoyed expression.

"Uuh yeah I did, because otherwise you'd be executed for treason, you're welcome." Simon says matter of factly, he looks even more tired than usual, after all he and the others have walked through the woods the whole night to find Asha.

"I would've died a happy man." Gabo says with a cheeky smile.

"You're not a man, Gabo. You're 17." Simon, the 21 year old, says sounding as tired as he looks.

"I would've died a happy boy." Gabo corrects himself with the exact same tone and cheeky smile.

Asha giggles at that, and she finally opens her mouth to say something "I don't blame you guys for not standing up against the king... Simon has a point Gabo, Magnifico is really REALLY dangerous." Asha warns.

Hal leaves the hug and speaks sarcastically with a smile:

"Yeah, we could tell heheh! Next time you find out that the kingdom is ruled by a two sociopaths, just let us know, okay? We can handle it." She finishes with a wink.

Dario looks surprised by that comment and comunnicates in sign language: "Wait, we can? I've been freaking out about it the whole way here." He still has a dopey smile while signing.

"Speaking of which... HOW did you all get here?!" Asha asks them, baffled that they managed to travel so deep into the woods.

Dahlia is more calm now, as she explains with a knowing smile:

"Let's just say we got help, from a little someone who's reeeeeally good at finding you anywhere you go."

"I told you guys I could find her!" Exclaims a little kid's voice coming from bellow the bed.

Asha is confused as she crawls on the bed to see where the voice came from and-

"Valentino?!" Asha exclaims with her eyes wide.

The goat is as happy as can be, looking up to her with his tail wagging.

"Hiiii!" The little goat jumps on the bed and starts licking Asha's cheek " I'm so happy to see you! I explained eeeeeeverything to them, so they'd come with me!"

Asha hugs Valentino, happy to see him... But not understanding how is the goat talking again.

"I- I'm happy to see you too Val... But... Aster, I thought you said Valentino couldn't talk anymore."

Aster, who has been floating around watching the conversation with a pleased smile, flies closer to Asha and explains:

"It's simple really! Some of my magic stayed inside him. That time, he REALLY wanted to say thanks to you. Now, he really wanted to tell your friends that you needed help, so my magic was re-awakened, ain't that right lil buddy?" Aster asks the goat with a cheerful smile.

"Maaa!" Valentino bleated in confirmation... Aaaand now he doesn't need nor want to talk anymore, so he went back to normal.

(This is still THE idea I'm most proud of in this whole rewrite, I unlocked talking goat on demand.)

"I see... So did Valentino really tell you guys everything?" Asha asks her friends with an awkward smile, hoping the answer is yes because it's really a long story.

Dahlia confirms that Valentino did indeed tell them everything, by saying "You mean how the king and queen have been changing people's wishes for years?"

"And when you found out, you ran away and wished upon a star?" Bazeema continued, while looking at Aster with a shy smile.

"And the star... Or rather, "Aster" here, answered?" Simon finishes the train of thought, looking at Aster with a... Suspicious glance.

"YUP! Look's like you guys are all caught up!" Aster says excitedly while floating around the cave.

Hal already seems to like the star boy's energy as she begins to introduce herself "Well, it sure is great to finally meet the guy who protected our girl back there, pleasure to meet you, Aster! The name's H-"

"Hal Diallo, right?" Aster interrupts with a smile as he shakes her hand, his smile widens once he does so, since he's seeing Hal's star.

Hal is surprised that he knows not only her name but also her last name.

Aster then proceeds to list all the others while pointing at each one "And you guys are Dahlia Hayashi, Bazeema Latif, Gabo Brandt, Safi Ayad, Dario Allegri and Simon O'Donohue... Did I get all those right?" Aster asks innocently.

(And yes, I did research all those names to fit with each character cultural background, except for Simon's that is from the movie. Yes, I do have a lot of time in my hands.)

All the 7 look at the star in shock but then slowly turn to Asha in confusion, Asha looks at them with an awkward smile. So Gabo promptly asks:

"Geez Asha, I know you like us a lot but did you really tell everything about us to star boy over here?" He asks in a cynic tone.

Aster quickly corrects him "Oooh no no no you got it all wrong ha ha! I know you guys because I've watched everyone from the sky." Aster laughs it off a little more.

"... THATS SO MUCH WORST!" Gabo exclaims looking actually scared this time.

Asha intervenes while getting out of the bed "Ooookayy this is a whoooole other can of worms that we don't have time to get into right now!" She says, referring to everything she learned about Aster the previous day "All that matters is that Aster is here to help us defeat King Magnifico and Queen Amable, and save everyone." Asha says confidently while holding Aster's hand.

Aster's stary freckles begin to sparkle when he notices she's holding his hand.

Gabo begins to to ramble in his usual sarcastic tone "Oh really? Awesome! Wow! Mind explaining HOW, exactly? Because although we didn't stay to watch the fight 'cause the rain started triggering Safi's allergies-"

"It's true, you know how bad it gets, we ran away as soon as it started raining." Safi interrupts, speaking for the first time.

(This is my way of saying they didn't see Magnifico almost break Asha's wish by the way.)

"Yes, yes we know how bad it gets Safi-" Gabo looks at his friend frustrated, not liking to be interrupted, even though he interrupts people all the time "Anyway- Although we didn't stay to watch the fight, word of mouth says that shinny pants over here got tossed around by Magnifico like he was a mouse being chased by a cat."

"He was more of a snake, if you ask me" Aster says with a shrug, and proceeds to talk confidently "And by the way, I certainly was no mouse, I was the one who won that figh-"

"Wait..." Asha interrupts the star as she remembers what Aster told her yesterday... She turns to Dahlia and quickly holds her friend by the shoulders as she pleads desperately "Please- Please PLEEEEASE tell me that lightning killed him!"

Dahlia looks like she really didn't want to bring the bad news, but she says it anyway "Uuuum... Well, yes-"

"*GASP* WWWOOOOO-" Asha jumps with joy, throwing herself on the bed with her arms up and a huge smile on her face.

But then her celebration is cut short by Gabo being his straightforward self:

"For like 5 minutes, then the queen did some creepy stuff and brought him back from the dead."

Asha and Aster both looked at him in shock, Asha slowly lowers her arms as she asks:

"... She did what now?"

"I've heard she gave him a true love's kiss... Would be quite romantic if it wasn't so scary" Bazeema says in a whisper.

Both Asha and Aster seem very disappointed by this, Asha remains in silence kinda just processing it, while Aster thinks for a moment before he states casually:

"... Well that's just cheating" Their arms are crossed and his mouth has a pout.

Gabo begins throwing some harsh reality as he speaks frankly "Yeah but that's how it went twinkle star, because guess what? Those two are CRAZY POWERFUL. And as long as Magnifico has that magic of his, there's nothing we can do, none, nada." Asha looks very frustrated with those words "So we might as well get comfy living in the woods from now on. Get used to the humidity, Safi." He says as he also lays next to Asha on the hand drawn bed.

As if on cue with the comment about humidity, Safi let out a sneeze

"ACHOOOO! Sorry..." Safi says while itching his nose... He thinks for a moment, and an idea seems to cross his mind as his eyes light up "I think... The king might have weakness though." Safi says raising his finger with one hand while itching his nose with the other "... But it's just a theory, maybe I'm wrong."

"ANY clue might be great help for us, Safi. Please, what do you think?" Asha looks at her friend in the eyes with a hopeful expression.

Safi looks back to her, her words encourage him to tell his friends a secret he has been keeping in for a while, he takes a deep breath before saying

"Alright... Last year, my mom asked me to help her at the castle-

We cut to a flashback sequence where we see Safi and the same cleaning lady from chapter 8. They're dusting off a fancy room in the castle.

"She needed my help because they were short staffed that day, and the king really wanted the castle spotless. Then he came in, complaining that my mom didn't clean his bedroom yet or something... I didn't pay much attention, but I did notice he left his magic staff leaning next to a wall... I got curious, I wanted to take a closer look at it, so I walked towards it while pretending to dust off some furniture. But when I got too close to it... Some ACTUAL dust got in my nose. I tried holding it in but...

"a- A-AAAACHOOOO!"

I sneezed on his staff and knocked it over. Magnifico immediately heard me and RAN to catch the staff before the gem touched the floor, and he did it just in time. I was relieved and so was my mom. I even laughed a bit thinking he would too... But he didn't... He looked at me in the eyes like he wanted to kill me then and there. He grabbed me by the scarf and lifted me off the floor a little. He yelled to my face:

"YOU INANE, FILTHY LITTLE BRAT! YOU ALMOST COSTED ME EVERYTHING!"

I was so scared, I tried a apologizing but that seemed to only make him angrier... My mom only watched nervously from the side. Then, a hand touched his shoulder... It was Queen Amable. She looked at him worriedly, and he looked back to her, I couldn't see his face... And just like that he let go of me and left the room without a word. Then the queen smiled to me, like what just happened was no big deal

"Please do forgive the king, my dear. He has been under a lot of stress lately, that's all... But you shouldn't be here in the first place, now, should you? No, a castle is no place for children. So how about you run along and enjoy the rest of your day, hum?" She placed a finger on my lips as she said with a sweet voice "And we'll keep this as our little secret, won't we?"... All I could do was nod."

The flashback ends.

We cut to all the other teens staring at Safi with expressions of both surprise and pity.

Aster's is floating in a sitting position with his legs crossed, he looks very sad.

"... Why didn't you tell us?" Asha asks, sounding heartbroken that the king and queen treated her friend that way and he had to keep that pain in silence.

"Probably the same reason you didn't tell us when you found out about their secret... I was scared." Safi said quietly with a sad expression, Asha nods in agreement "Also my mom told me not to gossip..." Safi adds quietly.

Dario comes over and gives Safi a hug.

"Heh thanks bud." Safi says, feeling relieved to let all that out.

Gabo, as always, ends the sweet moment by saying bluntly "Ok so we all agree the staff is like, his achilles heel, right?"

"... Yeah, if not breaking it was so important then why would he run to catch it when he could just use his magic to make it float?" Dahlia ponders.

"Because he can't do magic without holding it... " Aster answers, with an expression of realization.

Asha also has that same face of realization as she says "... Of course! None of the kings that came before him even had magic staffs, they could do magic with their hands alone... Magnifico DOESN'T know magic!" A smile forms on the corner of Asha's lips, it's almost comical how every aspect of that man was a lie all along.

"Soooo if we break that gem on his staff" Aster says with a huge smile while flying closer to Asha's face, his hair shinning brighter and brighter.

"He will be powerless." Asha finishes his sentence, looking at Aster in the eyes with a determined smirk.

"Uuuh that's great but... How are we supposed to break it?" Simon asks confused "Even the literal STAR here couldn't use his powers against the staff's magic, so what are we supposed to do?"

Aster turns to Simon with a confident look "Yeah sure, it was too much for me to handle... On my own." He turns to Asha for her to complete his point.

Asha get's up and makes the bed that she drew return to her sketchbook, surprising the rest of the teens.

While she does so, she finishes Aster's point:

"But together... We can fight."

She uses her magic pencil to draw some drums.

And we transition to the song:

What We Know Now

Lines in Purple- Asha

Lines in Red- Dahlia

Lines in Yellow- Safi

Lines in Blue- Hal

Lines in Bold Orange- Gabo

Lines in Green- Simon

Lines in Pink- Bazeema

Lines in Bold Yellow- Aster

Lines in Bold White- Everyone

(Lines between parenthesis- Me)

(Asha begins to draw some drums with her magic pencil, making them fly out off the page. Aster immediately gets her idea and begins to play the drums as the instrumentation of the song.)

… We've been deceived That royal pair are not what they've claimed to be They're more vicious than I could have ever comprehended When I made a wish and Aster came down This is not what I expected or intended But now that it's happened I don't regret it

(She begins to sing turning to her friends, her expression is bold. As she says the line "When I made a wish and Aster came down" the two of them share a glance, with Aster smiling at her as he plays the drums, and she looks at him with a warm smile.) 'Cause now I've seen Them show their true colors, in shades of green Saying that your wishes aren't safe because of me and That's a lie, lie, lie, lie. And now we know how we'll get the upper hand

(Aster uses their light to reflect on the gems inside the cave, creating the figure of Magnifico and Amable on the walls, that turn from blue to green. As Asha says the last line she raises her hand to the sky and starts walking out of the cave, with her friends following her to the forest.)

… If it's not us then who and when? If we don't fight they know they'll win Not allowed Knowing what I know now The lengths they'll go there's no amount I won't sit back watch this play out That's my vow Knowing what I know now

(She marches with them to the clearing in the forest, pushing the tree branches out of her way, some birds fly off the trees upon hearing her sing. As they reach the clearing, she turns to her friends to know what they have to say... Dahlia is the first one to step in)

… Get up, yah! No, I'm not the only one that's (yah) Fed up (yah)

(Dahlia walks to be next to Asha as she raises her hand to the sky with every "yah", motivating their friends even more)

… Wait 'til they hear our feet go dun, dun, dun, dun (yeah)

(Safi sings as Dario grabs one of the drums that Asha drew and begins playing it at the "dun dun dun" part. Dario may not be able to sing but he helps Aster with the instrumentals.)

… I don't think they'll be prepared for what's coming

(Hal sings her line with a passion, as she extends her hand forward to call the others to join their hands together in a group circle)

… A revolution hit the ground runnin'

(And they do so, then they raise their hands together, and with that we transition to Asha making a drawing of the castle that turns into a miniature, for them to plan how they'll get in.)

… If there's one thing they can't keep down Uh-huh It's us and the strength we've found It's too loud (loud) Knowing what we know now (knowing what we know now)

(Asha then draws little miniatures of her friends and Aster, they all come to life and get in position on the castle as the group begins to formulate their plan)

… And who, who knows if we'll succeed?

(Simon looks unsure, as he holds the little miniature of himself that Asha drew.)

But we- Won't stop and we won't retreat or turn round

Round

(Gabo notices the fear in his friend's eyes and offers these words of motivation)

Knowing what we know now Knowing what we know now

(They all sing together with Asha... All except Simon, as we see a shot focusing on him a bit far away from the group, smiling at them singing, but his eyes give away how he's trying to hide from the others how he's unsure if they're doing the right thing.)

… Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo Hoo-ha-hoo-ha-hoo-ha Hoo-hoo-hoo

(We get a sequence showing small glimpses of the group making their plan, and we can see time passing as we transition from early morning to mid afternoon)

… Can they tell what we're becomin'? (Hoo) Hear it in the way we're drummin' (hoo) I was sweet but now I'm something else (oho) Yah, yah, yah, yah! (Hoo-hoo)

… Ain't it nice of us to drop in (hoo-ha) To take what's ours to take it back in? (hoo-ha) They think we're nothing (hoo) But we're something else! (Ha) Yah! (Hoo)

(In this sequence, the group already planned everything. The gang dances together, as Dario is now the only one on the instrumentals, Asha drew a bunch of drumming instruments for him to go crazy with... But the camera suddenly moves up, as we focus on Aster looking at the castle in the distance as the sun begins to set, and the star sings his verse.)

… I've seen too many bad things that I can't keep count (The sky) And land now both unite To fight (fight) Knowing what I know now Knowing what I know now (hoo-ha-hoo)

(Aster refers to all the bad things he has seen them do while he was in the sky, as well as all the bad things he could see inside Magnifico with his eyes. His expression as he sings is bold and serious, as if he can't stand all the injustices he has seen.)

… They shall see all of your stars (We are) Aligned by your own scars So profound (Ahh) Knowing what I know

(He's flies down and begins to sing looking at all the other teens, referring to THEM as stars, that have been aligned to fight this battle because of the scars that the king and queen caused)

… I know (hoo)

… I know (ha)

… We know now (hoo)

… Knowing what we know now

(And the song ends with them striking a group pose)

...

So we transition to the castle, as we get a scene of Magnifico and Amable in the throne room, with 4 guards lined up in front of them.

"So let me get this straight..." Magnifico speaks to the guards with his voice filled with frustration, as he's sitting on the throne with his hand on his forehead "After searching THE WHOLE NIGHT, none of your troops could find any sign of that girl, nor the star?" He glares at the guards in front of him.

The guards all seem nervous, but one steps in to say something

"W-we went as far into the woods as we could, your highness... But there were some setbacks."

"Setbacks?" The king pronounces the word like it disgusts him "What kind of setbacks are we talking about here?"

"Last night when we were searching... Some of our men could've sworn they heard voices and whispers, the likes of cursed spirits..." Another one of the guards begins to explain, he sounds frightened.

"I've heard some say that the trees attacked them!" Another guard adds in, also sounding just as scared

"And I experienced the most unbelievable thing!" Finally a third guard starts telling what he saw, and we get a quick flashback

We see the guard at night searching through the woods.

When suddenly the ground beneath him starts to shake and... A giant flower sprouts out of the ground and closes it's petals with him inside...

Our perspective in the flashback changes to Aster hiding in the branches of some trees, giggling quietly as the guard screams for his companions to get him out.

(So yeah, the whole night Aster was messing with the guards by asking the animals to whisper creepy things and giving life to the trees and so on... The Peter Pan vibes in him keep growing.)

End of flashback.

And we cut to Magnifico staring at them shocked, not shocked that those things happened, oh no, he knows exactly what those things really mean... He's actually shocked with how incompetent they are.

Magnifico stays silent for a moment... The guards are all standing up stiffly, waiting for what he'll say next.

"... he he ha aHAHAH AH HA AHAHAHA!" Magnifico lets out a laugh that echos through the room, the guards look nervous. The king turns to the queen sitting next to him, she's staring at the guards with a cold expression. Magnifico talks to her like he just heard the funniest joke in the world "Did you hear that, my sweet? Hah ah They retreated because of- aha hah- some scary little whispers, moving trees and a FLOWER! HA!-Ha ha ha-" The king's genuine sounding laugh descends into a fake, deep one, as he stands up holding his staff tightly. His expression is twisting from a smile to a furious scowl-

"You FOOLS!"

Using his staff, Magnifico attacks the guards with a lightning spell, the guards manage to escape it just in time. As they look to their king in horror.

"IDIOTS!"

He does so again, the four men are now running for their lives to the exit, but Magnifico slams the door shut with the snap of his fingers.

"IMBECILES!"

He summons a third lighting strike that barely misses them, as they're now cornered against the wall.

Magnifico marches towards them, his face is red with rage while his staff is glowing green, ready to attack them again at any moment.

"That was THE STAR'S magic! THAT MEANS HE WAS NEAR YOU!" He hits the staff on the floor, creating a loud clang of the metal against the marble, the white floor is now cracked. "WHY did your captain not alert me about this?! I gave him a mirror PRECISELY for him to tell me about ANY SIGN OF THE STAR!" The king exclaims to the four men cowering in fear in front of him.

His voice is loud but it's not hysterical, it's a booming and commanding tone that demands respect and attention.

They remain silent, trembling in their armor.

"WELL?" He insists for an answer to his question, threatening to attack them again.

One of them spills the beans "I- I heard a rumor this morning that he lost the mirror!..." The man immediately covers his own mouth, realizing what he just did.

Magnifico turns to the guard that said that, his face relaxes as he says "... Oh did he now?... How unfortunate." his voice sounds calmer now, but the sense of uneasiness is palpable... his staff stops glowing. "Well then. Congratulations men, it seems the captain's position will be vacant very soon." The king speaks calmly as he starts walking back to his throne "Who knows, if you don't disappoint me any further, one of you might even take his place."

The guards all shiver at that, not sure if the king means their captain would just lose his position... Or worse.

"That will be all for now. Dismissed." The king snaps his fingers and a large door opens, allowing them to leave. The four guards bow down before rushing out of there. Once they're out, Magnifico snaps his fingers again to close the door. "... UUUUUUGH What's the use of ruling a kingdom when you're surrounded by idiots?" He slumps down on his throne, sounding miserable as he vents to his wife.

The queen holds his hand, her previous serious expression is gone, replaced by a passionate gaze "Patience, darling. We'll have our star sooner than you think, I just know it." She says soothingly.

He kisses her hand before saying "So do I, my love... But you were right, as always. We can't rely on others to even tell us where that blasted star is. It's true what they say: if you want something done right, you must do it yourself." He gets up from the throne and starts walking to the exit "I'll go to the forest to get them myself." He stops on his tracks for a moment and turns back to his wife with a pondering look "Hmm... Say dear, would you prefer that I brought the girl dead or alive?" He asks her in a loving tone.

"Alive, I could use a test subject for my potions, but either way would be lovely." Amaya responds, smiling wickedly.

"Then I better be on my wAAY- " The king almost trips over on something when he was walking to the door, he looks down and it is- "BRAVO! Watch where you're going you little devil!" Magnifico berates their lynx.

Bravo looks up to the king unbothered by the screaming, and it seems like he did it on purpose, not to stop his owner from going out though... But because he wants to show them something.

The lynx let's out a growly meow as he looks to the king and starts walking to another room, after taking a few steps the feline stops and looks back at the king and queen, as if to ask if they're coming with

"... It seems he has something to show us." The queen says while rising up from her throne to follow her pet.

The king raises one eyebrow at that, not quite sure if that's worth his time. But he follows along either way.

The two royals follow their pet up the flight of stairs, until they reach the king's study next to the wishes room.

And on the table, they see a hand mirror, that looks just like the magic mirror from Beauty and The Beast. It's glowing with a green light.

"OH! So I guess he didn't lose the mirror after all. Well done, Bravo." Magnifico says as he pets the lynx's head, Bravo seems pleased. "Now, let's see if we get some good news today."

The king holds the handle of the mirror and begins to speak with whoever is trying to get in contact with him

"About time, O'Donohue! So, have you found the star ye-" The person trying to speak with him comes into view in the mirror, we're not seeing who it is yet, only the king's face of surprise and confusion when he sees who it is "You're not the captain..."

We still only focus on the king's face, as we hear a familiar voice coming from the mirror:

"Erm no... I'm his son, actually, I'm sorry for stealing this from him but... there's something I think you should know."

The king looks intrigued at the mirror, he's ready to listen.

...

And we cut to another scene-

(*Jumps on screen* I MIGHT write a small bonus chapter just to show you guys how THIS conversation went, because if this was a movie then we wouldn't see it, but I want you guys to know SIMON IS NOT A TOTAL JERK AS HE SEEMS! So like, if you guys really want it, I'll write a bonus scene showing what Magnifico and Simon talked about, like a deleted scene of sorts! Okay moving on!)

It's evening time, the sun is almost completely set. And we're back to the forest.

We see 6 of the teens, Asha and Aster all together around a camp fire, sitting on logs. There's a small pot above the fire with some mushroom soup that Dahlia prepared, she brought the pot it in her bag, and the other teens also brought bowls and eating utensils with them.

Asha has an empty bowl of soup next to her, she's already done eating. She's now focused on trying to draw something on her sketchbook, not paying much attention to what her friends are talking about. Valentino is sleeping next to her.

Meanwhile, Aster is staring at her with what can only be described as a teen absolutely smitten, resting his head on his hand as he admires her.

They're also “wearing” their human disguise, so he looks 3D like all the others, if it wasn't for his fancy looking clothes he'd blend right in with all the other teens.

The other teens are all sharing stories and venting about how they've actually always had their grievances with the king and queen, but they never told anyone because they thought others would think they were ungrateful.

"-And then, it only took me messing up my juggling act ONCE and the king howled with laughter, but he never laughed at all with my actual jokes- UGH I've always felt there was something off about him." Hal vented to her friends about her experience as one of the court jesters look.

"You think that's bad? I've lost count of how many times I've seen them complaining about my dad's food." Dahlia said while eating her soup with an angry face... But then she starts smiling as a joke comes to her head "Sometimes I felt like asking THEM to try cooking something for once... But I’m pretty sure if Magnifico got near an oven he'd self combust hahah" She laughs at her own comment

The others chuckle as well

Bazeema shyly chimes in with her own story "Once, my mother accidentally planted red roses in the garden, when the queen specifically asked for white ones, so my mom painted all of them white in secret, and the queen actually believed it hihihi" Bazeema giggles, finding the situation really absurd.

"... Wait, wouldn't that kill the roses though?" Asha asks, taking her face off her sketchbook for a moment.

"... Unfortunately, it did, but my mom said it was better to sacrifice some roses than to upset the queen." Bazeema explains a little sad for the roses "I managed to save a few of them though." the bashful girl adds with a hopeful smile.

Gabo cuts in with a smug look "Ya know, since we're competing to see who had the worst experience with the monarchs-"

"It's really not a competition." Safi corrects him

Gabo ignores him and continues to say casually "I'm pretty sure I heard Magnifico killing someone in the dungeons once."

Everyone turns to look at Gabo with eyes wide as tennis balls.

"... I’m sorry, you heard what?" Aster asks, in the same position he was sitting when staring at Asha, but with his head now turned to Gabo.

"Killing: The act of un-aliving something that was previously living-" Gabo proceeds to define the meaning of the word, like the star doesn't know what it means

"Wha- I- I know what the word means!" Aster says, annoyed that Gabo thinks he's THAT innocent.

"Sorryyy, I just can never guess what your galaxy brain knows and what it doesn't, few hours ago you asked what was the meaning of the word "Revolution"" Gabo said sarcastically.

"Ummm how about you stop mocking Aster and get back to what you were saying about the king, I feel that's kind of a big deal." Asha said seriously, placing her sketchbook next to her.

"Oh yeah, right right *ahem* this one time when I was a kid, I stole the dungeon's keys from my dad, cause I wanted to see how it was down there, ya know? Just give it a quick look" Gabo smiles as he starts narrating like he's telling a scary story "Then, I heard someone screaming behind a door, and I could see some green light coming from the keyhole, just like Magnifico's magic... then all of the sudden- CRACK" Gabo says loudly, scaring everyone, specially Bazeema "I heard the sound of something breaking... And the screaming stopped." He says sinisterly.

(Keep in mind the teens left when it started raining at the plaza, so they didn't see Magnifico almost break Asha's wish, had they seen that Gabo would probably connect the dots that what he heard was not a murder but an inmate having their wish broken)

"... You're making this up to scare us, aren't you?" Dahlia asks with an unimpressed look.

"NOPE! It's all true. I ran out of there so fast I almost lost my shoe, and I've been keeping this inside me for years. Joking about it is just how I cope." He explains quickly as he shrugs. He then turns to Dario with a smug "What about you D? Your dad's the royal announcer right? Did he or you see something you shouldn't?" He asks like he wants to hear more gossip.

Dario's face turns sad as he looks to the side, then he just signs:

"I rather not talk about it."

"Understandable, then how about you Si-" Gabo looks around and notices that there's only 8 of them in the circle

(ONLY?! Uhum, like coming up with dialogue for 8 people is easy, It's really not!)

"Hey, where's Simon? Did he even eat?" Gabo asks everyone.

"Sleeping, of course, he's inside the cave, has been there for a while in fact." Dahlia says pointing at the cave they were in up the hill.

"Ah, I should've guessed" Said Gabo rolling his eyes.

"Someone should go check on him before we're out of soup though." Asha mentions, worried that he doesn't have enough energy for when they go enact their plan.

"I'll get him!" Aster says excitedly, as he morphs from his human disguise form to his 2D animated real form, and starts floating so he can get there faster "Be back in a flash."

Aster flies to the cave quickly, when he's about to get in-

"AAAH!" Simon was already walking out of the cave holding his pillow close to him, he get's startled by the wishing star flying towards him.

Aster stops flying just in time before crashing on Simon "Oh good, you're awake! Come on, you should go eat with the others, can't break in a castle with an empty stomach, am I right? Hahah I wouldn't know though, I don't eat." Aster giggles.

But then they pay more attention to Simon's face and realizes... He doesn't look like he got any sleep at all, in fact... He looks scared... And it's not just because Aster just startled him.

"Hey Simon... You look kinda shaken up, did you have a nightmare or something?" Aster ask concerned.

Simon looks away from Aster, as he just holds his pillow tightly and starts walking to where his friends are "Nope, you just scared me. I'm fine." he says with his usual monotonous tone.

Simon is walking ahead while Aster is following him. Aster looks sad, he has been sensing that the gentle giant doesn't like him for some reason, he thinks for a moment, and an idea pops in their head:

"Ya knooow, if you're having trouble with nightmares, I can actually make dreams! If you'd like maybe I cou-"

"NO" The young man says sternly without looking at the star.

Aster is taken aback by that... He doesn't understand why Simon is acting so weird.

Simon takes a deep breath before he turns back to look at Aster, with a calmer tone "Sorry... I just-... I just really don't want you in my head, okay?" Simon says with a concerned look.

Aster thinks he understands the issue, Simon is just shy and the star has been breaking the "personal space" boundary that Asha told him about.

"Ooh I get it, you want privacy! Thats totally fine! Tell you what, I swear to you I won't use the magic in my eyes to look what your soul desires, deal?" Aster says reassuringly, hoping that'll make Simon like him more.

Simon just turns away from the star and says "... Deal."

Then he just walks to be with his friends.

Aster doesn't quite understand what's up with Simon... But it's probably just a human thing he doesn't know about yet.

The two join the others at the camp fire.

"Well hello there sleeping beauty, did prince sparkling wake you uuuup?" Gabo jokes as the two join in the circle.

"Will you ever call him just "Aster"?" Asha asks him while still trying to draw something on her sketchbook.

"As long as I have star related puns? Probably never." Gabo says with a cheeky smile.

"*sigh* Fair enough" Asha says smiling at her friend, knowing that's just how Gabo is. She then turns to Simon "So, did you sleep well Simon?"

Simon just sits down smiling as Dahlia hands him a bowl of soup

"*yaaaaaawn*... Not much actually, but I'm fine, don't worry. Promise I won't pass out during our plan... Heh heh" He says with an smile... That looks quite forced.

"He's totally gonna pass out guys, we're so screwed." Gabo jokes and a few of the teens snicker a little.

Hal is one of the ones who laughed a bit but still she stands up to defend Simon "Aw come on Gabo, don't be like that, yeah Simon may be a sleepy head, but he always been there to help us out when we need him, right big guy?."

Simon gulps his own soup with the face of someone who knows they've made a huge mistake.

"T-thanks Hal..." He smiles to her "Though I really wish I could do more t-"

Asha suddenly takes her face off her sketchbook to ask "Hey, by any chance did you girls bring a mirror?"

Simon almost chokes on his soup "MIRROR? HUH?? HOw-" He coughs a bit and tries asking more calmly "I mean haaha why would you need a mirror NOW, Asha? hah ha"

Asha and the others look at him confused by his weird reaction, but she brushes it off as Simon just being tired "I'm trying to figure out a way to draw myself perfectly... Call it a plan B I have in mind, for emergency." She winks as she shows some drafts of herself on the pages of the sketchbook. "But I'm not sure if they look quite right, I've never been that good with self portraits."

Hal has a big smile as she says "Heeeyyy I think I saw a river back there, you should try looking at your own reflection on the water!" she says, pointing to where she saw the river.

Asha smiles to her friend as she gets up "Great idea, I'll be right back. And after Simon is done eating and you guys get all your stuff organized we can get started on the plan." She says confidently

"Yeah yeah yeah best friend, go on! Go over there and draw your beautiful face, you can do it!" Hal pretty much rushes her to leave. And as Asha walks away Hal says quietly while looking at her get into the woods"... Aaaaaaand sheeeeee's faaaaaaar enough?... YUP" Hal jumps to sit next to Aster and asks "Alright Aster, come on, when are you telling her?"

Aster was distracted playing with the fire on a stick, but once he hears that he turns to Hal in confusion "Huh? When am I telling her what?" He asks curious tilting his head to the side.

"The thing anyone with eyes can see, you’re in love with her." Hal says with a smirk.

"............ I

WHAT?!"

Chapter 14

Final Thoughts

Guess what song we're getting neeeeeext!

Oooooh writing the 7 teens, how I’ve missed you, I love them so much! Poor kids went through so much.

Gabo is definitely the one I like writing the most, you guys can probably tell, I just love his sense of humor.

Can I just say that the funniest thing I ever came up with in this rewrite is that the answer to how they can defeat Magnifico COMES FROM SAFI??? LIKE?? THE CHARACTER THAT HAS HAD THE LEAST LINES AND ONLY PERSONALITY TRAIT IS SNEEZING??? THATS THE ONE WHO SAVES THE DAY?!? HECK YEAH!

That part when Magnifico is yelling at the guards is a DIRECT reference to the scene in Sleeping Beauty when Maleficent screams and zaps her minions with her staff by the way, like, the words “Fools, idiots, imbeciles” are exactly what she said. Magnifico is now a lot more of a short tempered kind of villain like Hades, while Amable is more like lady Tremaine or The Evil Queen, always cold when around others. But just you wait when they reencounter our heroes, oh the evil levels will go through the roof.

And I’m sure you guys are wondering what’s the heroes plan, right?… Yeah you’ll see :)

…. Oh and I need you guys to know that EVERYTHING bad that happens with our heroes from this point on is HIS fault, not mine!

👇

Thank You for Reading!

[randomshit657]

Community HeadCannons because I can

Abed

- This is canon but is Autistic

- When overwhelmed or having trouble speaking he’ll use the word “cool” for every answer. Like to mean yes, no, okay, etc. (once again borderline canon.)

- Has dyscalculia

- Had ARFID

- Bisexual and Agender

- Hate watches Supernatural and Greys Anatomy

- Hyper-empathic when it comes to inanimate objects

- Let’s Annie paint his nails

Jeff

- Has narcissistic personality disorder specifically covert narcissism

- Bisexaul

- Has ADHD

- Practices “Winger Speech’s” in the bathroom mirror

- Knows sign language

- Would most definitely listen to Dad Rock

- Views both Abed and Annie as younger siblings (just pretend all the Jeff/Annie stuff never happened. It always seemed weird to me)

- Makes sure he watches every movie Abed references (although he’ll deny that until the day he dies)

- Goes to Pride with Abed, Annie, and Troy (although they have to practically drag him the first time, but now he goes all in)

Troy

- Has ADHD literally no doubt in my mind

- Transmasc

- Gay and on the Asexual Spectrum

- Still believes in The Easter Bunny, The Tooth fairy, etc

- Loves stuffed animals but only has one very raggedy one from his childhood

- Religious Trauma

- Would try to do research on Autism, and Islam to try and understand Abed better but would keep getting distracted and get so frustrated he started crying. Annie would end up reading the stuff to him and helping him understand it.

- Loves the color purple

- Has always wanted a dog and is constantly bringing home strays

- Not really about him but when Troy gets Top Surgery Abed would drive him home and take care of him while he healed

- Listens to cheesy pop music

Annie

- I was going to say Audhd but what if she was misdiagnosed with ADHD as a kid but actually had Autism so that’s where the whole adderal addiction came from.

- Lesbian but with a lot of internalized homophobia

- Has always wanted a pet snake

- Has taken multiple self defense classes

- Is really into true crime

- Celebrates every year of sobriety one way or another (as she gets more comfortable with the group she invites them and they celebrate together)

- Loves heavy metal music and classical music

- Is surprisingly good at art

- Is the one who introduced Abed to Greys Anatomy

- Writes fanfic

Britta

- Transfem

- Exclusively listens to indie music

- Is secretly a Broadway nerd

- I honestly don’t have that much for her

Shirley

- Starts of as homophobic but as she gets to know everyone she starts to question whether her religion is entirely right about that point.

- She becomes a huge ally. Would wear a free mom hugs shirt to pride.

- Is the mom of the study group

- Her purse is pretty much magically whatever you need she has it in there (that includes stim toys, and noise canceling head phones for Abed and the other neurodivergents)

That’s it :))

[robin-evry]

Maybe you could do Dungeon Meshi with Eda like reader? With all curse and rebellion stuff? Though, I do feel like they would hide their curse due to all shame they felt and when they tell the truth they would tell everyone that they "would understand if they want to leave them behind"

OMG, finally a dungeon meshi request. Ask and you shall receive, this eda is before eda makes peace with the owl beast.

𝐃𝐔𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐎𝐍 𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐇𝐈 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐀𝐍 𝐄𝐃𝐀!𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐄𝐑 🦉🪄

Eda is known as the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles. But due to her rebellious nature, she is pretty much an outcast/criminal who has a great number of enemies. Eda makes a living selling human treasures at the markets, and sometimes homemade elixirs and potions. She also happens to be a collector, as she keeps most of her human treasures at home.

( English is not my first language)

The island holds many interesting and powerful individuals. But there was always an elf sorcerer that had usually been talked about around the island.

The elf sorcerer is known for being one of the most powerful mages in the island as well the number one most wanted criminal there.

Even tho eda!reader is a merchant, they travel towards the dungeon for their free time, collecting ancient scrolls to find a cure for their curse, sell or to collect They are able to decipher the ancient text in the dungeon.

During one of these expeditions they met laois party, the party ambushed by a party of monsters and eda!reader save them. As a thank you they offer them some food from the monster

Originally eda!reader was weirded out by this food, but they started to enjoy it.

Eda!reader is also a user of ancient magic much more proficient than marcille, due to exploring the dungeon they manage to enhance their proficient in the magic.

They often give marcille some advice on ancient magic and how to get away with it, hiding the evidence.

Chilchuck originally doesn't trust eda!reader, due to some rumors heard about them, I mean they're the island number one criminal and are hanging out and what if they continue hanging out with them to steal their stuff and leave them stranded.

Even tho most characters look down on Laois, eda!reader can see right through him. Even tho he looks like an idiot as well a weak warrior. Laois is not someone that should be looked down upon. He's very powerful and they respect him for that.

They usually discuss monsters with him and are surprised at his knowledge about them, as well as learning about his sister. Eda!reader said they will try their best to help them if they do have a time of need or they will assist them in their journey as much as they can.

Senshi is by far one of the chilliest people that they ever come across usually people would warn others if they come across them or they will try to arrest them to get the bounty under their head, but no he's just talking to them as if they are just a normal person.

Marcille and chilchuck are by far the most worried about eda!yuu at the beginning, they are a criminal and at the mean time both of them started to warm up to them but never let their guard down.

As for izutsumi, they see eda!reader slyness is not a reason to trust them as well for their sarcastic humor. But there are still some moments of vulnerable moments between. Izutsumi is by far the first person to know about their curse.

By far they keep the secret of their curse hidden from the party. Until one day and they forgot to drink the elixir medicine and turn into their owl beast form.

Originally, the party was unaware about this and was fighting the monster, izutsumi realized that the monster has the same scent as them and asked the team to stop attacking and retreat for sometime.

She explained that the monster was them and they needed to find a way to wake them up. After a lot of brain scrolling they managed to turn eda!reader back to normal.

When they woke up, they thought laois or the party would be disappointed by them. But instead Laois looked at them with admiration saying how cool their beast form was. While the other party doesn't mind as long they are okay and they took their elixir medicine dayle

By seeing this they manage to give an idea towards the party how to save fallin. And Soon eda!reader will start to join their journey more often.

[sugarishapple]

Possession

(Day 6 of Feedist Kinktober)

A not so small story idea I went to write this past week, but I had to sit down and edit it (as English is not my first language: this was fully written as such), so this is a bit... outdated, lol. But, it's a fun little magical and witchy scenario that gives some background for both Marshall and Gail. How canon is it is up my guess right now since I'm still thinking about the possibilities of going through this (or a similar) route for them.

Word Count: almost 2800?

There used to be a rumor about Gail that was spread during high school.

People usually muttered that she was a witch.

Marshall didn't believe it back then. It was one of the most ridiculous statements he has ever heard. He would understand that Gail was a weird and "creepy" girl who believed in the supernatural, and people didn't like her that much (the girls usually, and derogatorily, called her “Ghoul”)... but he never bought that all of her "creepiness" was because she was a witch (or anything else related to it). Gail, however, instead of being insulted about the rumor, always decided to play it with humor. Mostly because, after all, it turns out there was a partial truth about it. "My family indeed has some witch lineage mixed in. My grandmother actually taught me some stuff here and there when I was younger.” This is what Gail told Marshall around the time they started dating,

Marshall was a little surprised about it, but as deeper their relationship went by, he started to see the signs. That would explain why his girlfriend was so persistent and stubborn about the supernatural, about magic, about ghosts. Even if he didn’t believe it at first, spending more time with her showed him how passionate she was about it.

And maybe because he was used to it, or maybe because it was more of a hobby to her as an adult, he didn’t think much about it. That is, of course, until...

It was one of those days where Marshall was too deep into his feedism fantasies. And the thought of Gail being a witch (to a degree?) was something that suddenly appeared on his mind. It wasn't about magical potions or spells... he was thinking much more bigger than that. He was thinking about the possibility of getting possessed… as a way to get more into his own fantasies of getting fatter. "Getting possessed, huh?" Gail questioned him, with curiosity, while eating dinner. "It was just a thought," he said, laughing it off, as a joke, "it's impossible." "Did you think it is impossible, Marshall?" She interrupted. "I can attempt summoning something perfect for you, you know...?" "You... you are pulling my leg for all those times I teased you in the past, aren't you?" "Hah. I’m not joking about this, honey. It's a wonderful idea, actually... as expected of my Marshmallow~" She held his hand, caressing it and smiling. "I have been thinking a lot about a way to expand that waist of yours, and this is perfect.”

"Is it?" Still doubtful, he continued eating. "Hmmm." Gail started thinking. "I may need to take a look to my grandma’s old books. I have a slight idea of which creature we can use... who, even..." Marshall was astounded at how serious she looked at that moment, especially for something was a whim. All he remembered from the past at that moment was about a stupid high school rumor that turned out to be true because here she was, passionate about the potential outcomes of using her magic skills. For him. For her.

---

"Ah. Yes. This is the one," Gail held one of her magic books, right on the page she was looking for, "a demon that rejects inhibitions of the gluttony kind." She snickered. "Yeah… and it looks like I have every ingredient to invoke them, even."

Marshall gulped as soon as she notified him about it. He didn't expect it to be pretty soon. But, deep inside him, he was excited for it. The sooner, the better. 

"You just have to give me a heads up to do it," his partner told him, "of course, I need to prepare a big feast for that, as well. Your favorites, everything you want..."

"How about... tomorrow?"

"You want this to happen... tomorrow?" This definitely caught her by surprise. “Are you sure?”

"Well, I feel like you are excited as I am, Gail." He smiled her back.. "Why waste time, right?"

Gail bit her lips. She knew Marshall was someone who preferred to do things in the more efficient way possible, without beating around the bush. She, however, still had some doubts, because she might be biting more than she could chew. A demon like that wasn't that easy to invoke although she had everything she needed at hand. But given that Marshall was on the same tracks as her, that was pushing her forward to do as much as he wanted.

"Okay, let's do it tomorrow. It is going to be a long day until then... I cannot wait to put my hands on that soft belly as it expands itself so quickly while you are under the influence of a demon..." "That's very specific, you know?” He chuckled. “But… I would be lying if I didn’t want to know how all of that may feel at the end. How little of me would get conscious while doing all of that under a demon possessing me? That kind of stuff.”

“Wow, who would believe you were this… kinky, huh?” Gail caressed his slightly round face before putting a kiss onto his lips.

“Heh. I wonder…”

---

It was a long day, indeed. Full of waiting and full of expectations. The demon summoning method had two parts, one of it was preparing a beverage as an offering, a “portal” of sorts which establishes the connection between the demon and their host, and the other step was a spell.

A foot note specified, however, that “there might be consequences. One of the hardest demons to persuade and please. Proceed with caution and risks.”

“Consequences?” Gail read the foot note again, and made her get cold feet. Of course, she knew, there would be risks about summoning demons like this one. Sure… but… shouldn’t they be able to risk it? She had to be prepared for whatever would be inf front of them, she had to make a good impression on the demon.

Reuniting the beverage’s ingredients and preparing it was a task that was quite easy. It was similar to brewing tea. The result had a bitter and spicy scent to it, quite flowery as well.

The table was set in a way it was like a great banquet, a big offering, full of greasy and heavy food dishes. It only lacked the two main guests for this feast.

Marshall was as doubtful as his beloved and beautiful partner. He was so worked up for the excitement it meant to fulfill some of his fantasies, but he wasn’t prepared for the potential long-term effects of a possession. Or even if he would come out of it without scars. What if they couldn’t get the demon satisfied? His mind was full of many questions.

On his side, Marshall researched a little about the aforementioned demon. And although the specifics weren’t too clear, he knew the demon wouldn’t be easy to get along with. What did mean “satisfaction” to a demon of gluttony?

“Marshall. I want you to trust in myself and this whole process,” Gail assured him as he was sitting down in the table, “if anything else happens. I will be cautious and try to cut the connection, immediately.”

He nodded and took a look at the decadent foods in front of him. His favorite dishes, fast food, and sweets. It was the first time that Gail prepared a feast like that for him. He always fantasied it, but Gail was never that adventurous.

“Overwhelmed?” She asked him, relaxing his shoulder muscles, to cut the tension.

“Slightly.” He adjusted his glasses. “It’s too much.”

“Too much, but still perfect for you.” She bent her head down to kiss his head, before reaching the tall glass of the tea-like beverage. “You have to drink this fully. Once it sets down, I will recite the spell.”

Marshall followed her instructions. He grabbed the glass, and gulped the whole beverage down. He tasted the bitterness coming from the spices. It wasn’t that any different from the teas Gail has brewed before. But there was a certain heaviness coming from it. He couldn’t explain how maybe it was because he was nervous, or perhaps he wasn’t prepared for what was coming to him. Licking the few drops that were on his lips, he posed his hands over his tum.

“How was it?” Gail asked.

“Bitter. Fulfilling. Was it necessary to be served on a glass?”

“The recipe said it had to be done that way. Now, relax, honey,” she squeezed his shoulder, “you and I know this isn’t the end yet…”

She bent down, and started whispering into his ear an old enchantment, full of words he couldn’t figure out. There were times where she swore she could curse him… but now? That’s how it felt? He was slowly feeling enticed by them. He couldn’t move and, little by little, it felt like he was losing conscience…

“Marshall…?” Gail asked as she was taking note of the state of her partner.

He grunted. He opened his eyes and started to evaluate everything… from the situation of his surroundings to the feast he had in front of him. He started to salivate. He smugly smiled and chuckled.

“Well, well, well. Is this all for me…?” He pronounced. “Splendid. I was getting too hungry…”

Gail felt it. It worked. Marshall wasn’t conscious in his own body, anymore. It was that demon.

Without any care, he reached the plates. The demon inside Marshall felt famished. He was so hungry, he wanted to stuff his face with greedy handfuls of all of the decadent food in front of him. In a similar fashion, the plates that were finished were easily discarded, while Gail was left to witness the scene.

On one hand, this what Marshall always fantasied to do, and it was something they agreed to do, sure. This was a face of him that Gail wanted to presence, and she wished that her Marshmallow would show her more frequent, the one where he was dominated by a ravenous hunger while wolfing down everything without restraints. Slightly slobby, even. But Marshall was still quite shy with all of this, especially in front of her. This was an eager Marshall that she usually wished for, including some of his gestures, from everything as grabbing his belly as a way to measure how full he was, to slapping it as a belch came out from his chest, all while his shirt was riding up as his stomach was expanding. All with a greedy smile where he communicated he wanted more.

Understandably, it was an astounding scene that made her aroused as more and more as it progressed… but it made her understand one thing: as much as it looked like Marshall was being a gluttonous pig… it wasn’t him. It wasn’t her beloved Marshall.

“You are the witch that summoned me, aren’t you?” The demon talked to her, using the voice of her Marshmallow. His breath was heavy and burpy. “I underestimated the ones of your kind. You have lots of guts to bring me here. You may know that I’m not easy to please… but there’s something about this human host that makes me… needed. Is that the word? Lucky him. I share his desires, and, perhaps, yours too.”

He let out a wet belch, which made Gail’s face to turn red. He eventually let his hand reach to hers.

“I can sense your desires, too. You sure are a watcher. An admirer. An enabler… you surely want him to get big, as much as he does.”

Gail held his hand, and followed his guidance, putting it against his belly. It was gurgling and digesting.

“Well... take a look at that. You seem to love the idea of his waist getting wider, don’t you?” He made her to slid down the elastic waistband of his pants, revealing his big and round stuffed belly, covered by the red marks that were left by his clothes. “Amazing what he can do with my help, right?”

She nodded, agreeing.

“Just imagine it. Always a little hungry. Always wanting to satisfy it… but never that full. This is just part of the result.”

Enticed by the way the demon talked to her, she started to give his tum some rubs, enjoying the pleasant feeling of his soft yet hard belly.

He started to moan as he felt her hands’ movements all over his torso.

“Ga… Gail…” He grunted, this being more Marshall than the demon himself. It was like he would easily recognize the hands of his beloved partner, even in such state.

She quickly took notice about that.

“Marsh… oh, Marshall. You are doing great, honey…” She told him. “You are feeling so… so good…”

He nodded.

“You know… your hands have always been… amazing… I love them… I love you so much...” He responded, before getting interrupted by the demon, “...Huh. I see why this host loves it so much… it makes me want to keep going, so your hands wouldn’t stop doing this...”

“...I want him back.” Gail pronounced, decisive, as soon as she stopped rubbing him. “Once you finish this feast… I want my Marshall back.”

There was a look in Gail’s eyes that the demon was trying to decipher. It was an unknown feeling for him. But he was, enchanted to say the least. Was it loyalty? Was it what they called “love”?

He started cackling. “Hahah, oh, witch… you and your beloved amuse me a lot. You talk as if I’m going to stay forever in this host’s body.” He inspected his hands, and looked back at her. “But, I have changed my mind. I will make a little deal with you. Let’s say I will be your ‘little enabler’, wouldn’t it be better for you and me?”

“An… enabler?”

“Let’s put it this way.” The demon gestured as he was feeling Marshall’s body in a more intimate manner. “I will let him succumb to his hunger and gluttony desires. I will make his metabolism much more slower, as well. Making him fatter faster would be a good thing for you, right~? All of this feast is going to make wonders on him, that’s for sure”.

Gail was perplexed. “There was a foot note in my grandmother’s book, are these the consequences it was referring to?”

“The consequences…? Oh, dear. Hahah!” The demon laughed. “Oh, no, no. Of course there are consequences... But not for you two. This is a reward, a present from me. I will leave part of my essence in him”.

“Hmmm.” She went thinking. “How do I know you aren’t lying?”

“You are more of a skeptic than him, looks like. But, I will tell you something useful for the future. Those magic books? They are not a joke.” He replied. “I can feel the power of your ancestors through you. And, besides… why would I trick you? This feast? It was wonderful.” He grabbed a handful of pecan pie, before stuffing it into his (Marshall’s) mouth. “No one has gone this far in less of a whole day. I like you both, witch.” He talked with his mouth full, before gulping it all down.

---

Marshall grunted. He was not even sure how long he has been sleeping. All he knew was that he was feeling slightly full… and that there was a slight cold breeze over his exposed tum.

“How long has it… been?” He reached his hand up to his gut, noticing it a little more flabbier than before. “Huh, that’s definitely new.”

“Hey, Marshmallow. Good morning~” Gail gave him a kiss. “How did you sleep?”

“Like a rock. I don’t remember much after the demon possessed my body. But, I suppose it worked.” He jiggled his softer belly.

“Of course it worked. He even left us a little gift”.

“You look pretty nonchalant for whatever it has to be as a gift. Wasn’t the demon supposed to be hard to please?”

“Apparently,” she responded, “we were all good. He seemed to like us both. And he left us something to enjoy later. This,” she pointed his softer belly, “is just part of it.”

“Uhuh,” he nodded as he passed his hand all over his gelatinous belly, inspecting it. “Well, I suppose this fat definitely wouldn’t be made in less of a day under very normal consequences.”

“How do you feel about it?” She asked.

“Well, it doesn’t feel too bad…” Marshall gave it some rubs, before looking at her again. “But I will appreciate it even more if you give me a hand, you know…?” He gave her some bedroom eyes, a message she understood quite well.

Gail smiled. “Of course. I want to help you out with that…”

[historicity-was-already-taken]

I want to echo all the nice things people have said about your work, and add one more: I appreciate that your blog offers space to mourn the Holocaust. Not the Holocaust as a metaphor, not the Holocaust as a rhetorical invocation, but the Holocaust in and of itself. It provides a sobering kind of relief. When I was a kid learning about the Holocaust, my classes always showed me Life is Beautiful and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (UGH) and one teacher insisted that she wanted me to understand "how the Jews kicked Hitler's ass!" Which... no. On so many levels. So I admire how your work holds the dialectical truths of mass tragedy and brave resistance. Your scholarship matters, your mental health matters, and I can't wait to read your book next year!

This message is so lovely I was too verklempt to even answer it last night. Thank you, so much, for taking the time to write and send this.

And yes I totally get what you mean. It's not some, as you put it, rhetorical invocation populated by faceless martyrs, but the very real murders of millions of real, flawed, living, breathing humans. I think the rhetorical version, with its ideologies and hagiographies, is easier to swallow.

I hate most Holocaust movies. At least, American ones. They just want so badly for there to be a happy ending and...the Holocaust doesn't have one. [Unnamed legendary Jewish director] optioned the rights to [book similar in scope to mine which came out in the last 4 years] and I'm not even upset, because I don't enjoy that director's gentile-focused quasi-uplifting attempts to depict said events. Hitler said he was going to destroy the majority of European Jewry, and he did. In the space of 12 years he destroyed civilizations, cultures, and languages spanning 1000+ years; more, if you hold him responsible for the ethnic cleansing of MENA Jewish communities post-1948. Nothing uplifting there.

That's why I think I like weird, post-modern, magical realist approaches to Holocaust fiction [see: my boyfriend recently convinced me to watch Jojo Rabbit and Inglorious Basterds]. Telling any of these stories doesn't fit into Western narrative conventions. So make it weird; have the characters dance to David Bowie; make it a Western with subtitles; make the audience wonder if magic or just mundane in the specific context of the story. That's, imo, the only way to capture the sheer unreality of these very real events in fiction. I would LOVE a work of magical realist Holocaust fiction that involves the golem of Prague (if it exists omg tell me!) or something similar. Keeping in mind, of course, that I'm neither a film not a literary scholar. Just, as a historian who took one cultural criticism course in undergrad, those feels the most...right.

And oy your teacher. I feel for her; this is a difficult subject to teach. But...the Jews didn't kick Hitler's ass. That's the opposite of what happened. The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising is the most famous instance of organized Jewish resistance to the Holocaust, and those fighters only kicked ass until the Nazis (quickly) realized that they needed reinforcements and flamethrowers because oops these Jews came prepared. And even the fighters themselves knew that they weren't going to "win" anything. They were making a symbolic historical gesture/statement and fully expected to die. To the point that survivors almost uniformly express in their memoirs and testimonies that the ones who died fighting were the only real heroes and they rest of them are nbd, and this isn't something that should be talked about (which, is something that I'm trying to respect in my book! Like the fact that Zivia Lubetkin utterly rejected any attempt to describe her as a hero matters, even though that's how I personally view her).

Anyway I've rambled enough. Thank you again for the message!

[barn-anon]

You wake up feeling squished and realize why when you spot your Space Marine. Last night you had thought to do a movie marathon with him even though you're not sure if he truly understands everything. At some point you must have fallen asleep and he didn't want to risk waking you. He's still asleep but you know he'll be on his feet at the slightest hint of danger.

You spot his purple armor sitting in a corner of the room. You remember how he had originally been oh so stubborn about not taking his armor off. He would scold you in that language of his and swat your hands away. Then one day when he came back from one of his typical ventures without you, he was noticeably worried and disturbed. You never expected the face that was beneath the heavy helmet. Those vibrant eyes that till that moment were constantly hidden behind lens.

He shifts, crushing you even more. Without hesitating, you poke at his cheek, waking him. He looks at you and you see the mild annoyance that is accompanied by adoration. You sigh when he asks you something in his language. If only you could understand him, imagine the questions you could ask! How odd that even though there's evidence of Space Marines being around for at least a century, there's no dictionary or translation for the words they speak.

You know that there's people who understand and even are able to speak in the mysterious language of the Space Marines. So why is there no translation anywhere? You frown, getting the attention of your Space Marine who rests a hand on your shoulder. You shake your head, it's nothing you say. Yet as the two of you start tidying up the living room, you can't help but wonder if there's a reason why there's no study done on the Space Marines.

Surely some organization or even a government would've investigated and researched them? Why then is the official government stance on the Space Marines a non-answer? A shrug and a roundabout way of saying "they're here and weird, good luck". The most in depth "study" you found, was none other than some granny's blog about her life long Space Marine companion. The numerous forums of people exchanging information about their Space Marines all seem to lack any substantial answer to any questions about Space Marines. It's almost as if something is stopping people from studying them. It's impossible though right? That's just supernatural bullshit, like some fantasy magic stuff.

You fold the blankets neatly and set them on the couch by the pillows. A loud thud behinds you makes you snicker knowing that your Space Marine had bumped into the new coffee table again. You'll never know the whole truth about Space Marines, but maybe you don't need to know. It can't be something that would wreak this wonderful friendship anyways. Despite his armor and weapons, you can't imagine him as anything other than your lovable artistic roommate/companion.

[yuurei20]

Hi hi! I have a weird question/thought after seeing the talk about Idia's use of language. There are a lot of things that are just unable to translate from Japanese to English, and some things that get changed as short hand. The whole nerdy implications of Idia using "-Shi" are basically absent from EN, instead he seems to use "Mr." (If I recall correctly) which really doesn't give the same impression? In your personal opinion - is there anyway you'd personally localize it? Stick with the same? Remove it completely? Use "M'lady/M'lord" instead? (haha)

Hello hello!! I love your "M'lady/M'lord" solution more than I can say ♡ It is associated with the past while still being used by some people in present-day just for fun, which is just like how Idia speaks! That would have been so great for the English-language adaptation!

As you say, Idia's honorific for others has (kind of) been translated as "Mr." on EN, but only in a select few places.

For the most part it has just been removed, but the curious continuity makes it seem like he thinks that only Malleus, Azul, Grim and Riddle are (sometimes) worthy of "Mr." (the Riddle screenshots below are even both from the same vignette).

And then there is the Harveston sub-plot between Sebek and Marja, where Sebek refuses to refer to Marja with an honorific until she proves herself worthy of respect (by fixing his plushie).

At that point he awards her with an extremely respectful honorific (equivalent to "-sama," and the same word Silver uses with Lilia).

Marja, however, immediately gives him permission to refer to her in the same way he has been throughout the entire trip.

Idia is a psuedo-narrator for this sub-plot, commenting on Sebek's disrespectful way of speaking in both languages.

But on EN he then proceeds to refer to Marja in the same way as Sebek (and everyone else) does.

This has the unfortunate result of making Idia look odd for mentioning it in the first place, when the odd person is actually Sebek, as everyone else is using a respectful honorific with Marja.

Idia using "M'lady" and everyone else (except Sebek) using "Ms." probably would have been a lot more successful in getting the situation across to people who may not be familiar with such Japanese-language nuances!

As for what I personally would go with...this conundrum reminded me of this amazing joke by @anottercoffee on Twitter:

And I would be very tempted to go for the "fansubber" solution of translating everything literally, but just having the words doesn't mean that the players are going to understand the nuances, and might cause even more confusion.

If "-san" and "-senpai" are just mouth-sounds to someone, they're not going to understand the significance behind Riddle and Azul dropping it from Leona and Riddle's names in important moments, for example.

But maybe that's okay! Because at the moment, the alternative that we have is everything getting removed from everywhere, and no one has the chance to understand anything at all.

The best comparison I have come across is Lord of the Rings and Star Trek, where authors incorporated languages that are completely invented, giving no one any chance of understanding them.

Japanese is a language that already exists, so it seems like it would actually be less of a challenge to introduce world-specific terms like "-sama" and "-chan" for people to either glaze over as a world-building aspect that doesn't interest them, or to gradually adapt to through sheer repetition, so by the end of Book 6 they might have a greater-than-zero understanding of the nuances of a foreign language (much like another magic-school series did with Latin).

The manga is actually approaching the honorifics in a different way than the game and giving “Mr.” to everybody, so Azul’s “Riddle-san," Crowley’s “Trappola-kun” and Deuce’s “Diamond-senpai” are all now Mr. Rosehearts, Mr. Trappola and Mr. Diamond (more here).

So it seems that VIZ Media did not agree with Aniplex USA's localization?

What is going to be the most interesting is the novel! Slated for an August, 2024 official English-language release, the novel is also being overseen by VIZ Media.

This means that we might see "Mr." being used everywhere (to uphold continuity with the manga), but the novel goes much deeper into character relationships than the game, and relationships are what honorifics are all about.

Cater, for example, uses them with everyone:

“Usually, Cater does not ever yobisute anyone. When he calls to Trey, he always adds ‘kun’ to his name...When Cater uses Trey’s name like this, it is only when he is really serious. Only when it is important.” -Twisted Wonderland the first novel

Is Cater going to be calling Trey "Mr. Clover"? And how are they even going to localize these sections describing a feature of a language that is not being spoken? It gives us a lot to look forward to!

In the end, writing out Japanese-specific honorifics into English might actually cause more confusion than it's worth, which is why Twst (and so many other foreign-language-adapting-to-an-English-speaking-audience properties) has gone in the direction that it has.

I like to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume that they know more than we do about what is going on, and that there are important reasons behind the choices they have made.

But I also think that the sheer popularity of the "fansubber" approach to this situation is a good sign that maybe people are sometimes okay with not understanding things, as properties like Lord of the Rings and Star Trek have shown us!

While too late for Twst, it will be interesting to see how this situation continues to evolve in the years to come. Maybe, one day, we will even get an official localization that introduces honorifics directly!

If such an experiment fails it will be most expensive for the localizer, and money is likely a large factor behind why companies might be reluctant to take such a gamble and would rather play it safe and just have everyone say "Mr."

[holdharmonysacred]

I made the mistake of reading the tv tropes page for Little Goody Two Shoes the game earlier and I gotta complain because whoever wrote the game's pages blatantly just does not understand what is going on in the game's story in some very specific ways (spoilers under the cut)

No, Father Hans is not responsible for all the weird goings-on in Kieferberg leading to the witch panic, he's only responsible for about 50% of it at max, nor has he figured out as much about the supernatural goings-on as the page editor thinks. Father Hans is working to summon Walpurga into the town because he wants to ask her what's going on and who the hell "He" is because he doesn't know! He somehow can't figure it out, no matter how hard he researches forbidden magics! He's started getting onto the right track of "there's devils in town", but the Walpurga situation has confused and sidetracked him from that should-be-obvious conclusion of "there's devils in town". He's not cooperating with the demons, he can't even figure out there's two evil supernatural forces at play, he probably thought he was feeding the horses and Apfel and everything to Walpurga. I just don't know how TV Tropes Editor Person came to the conclusions about Father Hans that they did.

Nor is Old Jochen actually wrong about Elise being involved in the supernatural shenanigans, let alone being a witch! Because the other 50% of what's going on is the fault of the demons Elise is hanging out with! The crows and windmill problems, the well problems, the rainstorm and basin flooding, those were all Murim and Aziel's fault as they took the chance to mess with the townspeople while telling Elise what to do for the testaments. Even Father Hans letting Eugen's horses loose and luring Apfel into the woods were situations where ultimately it was Murim who finished the fight. None of the supernatural events in town would've happened had Ozzy and co. not decided it's time to be Hilarious, prompting Walpurga to make her own move. All Jochen is guilty of is being an absolute dick about it to the point of thinking "fearful murderous frenzy" is a good way to solve things.

The actual problem the townsfolk have is they just can't quite seem to figure out that 1. there's multiple supernatural forces at play that are harassing them and 2. the Devil is like, a thing that exists as even just a concept. Father Hans is the only one who ever really mentions the Devil and demons, and even he can't parse the obvious red flags of "oh shit, Holle made a deal with the Devil". Everyone else is only worried about the witch, none of them seem aware of the possibility that it's demons also. If they could figure out that it's demons along with witches, well........ they'd still be very stupid and panicky about it, but they could potentially combat it beyond just "fearing a witch around every corner".

also with Walpurga, hey TV Tropes editor, Walpurga isn't trying to get Elise's soul, she's trying to get Elise's body and flesh - she's obsessed with creating life and giving birth, she wants to take Elise's body and life because she wants to use her to live as a normal woman and presumably have more babies. She is, metaphorically, the kind of shitty mom who uses her kids as a proxy for the life she wishes she had, and tries to live vicariously through them regardless of her kids' actual wishes. Maybe there's something I missed or need to reread, but given how much Walpurga hollers about wanting Elise using very visceral language I'm not sure how the hell the editor concluded she wants her soul instead.

Like, surely these aren't elements of the story that are that hard to miss, right? Like, they're right in the text. I will admit that maybe the editor was a kid or a teen, in which case yeah fair if they missed these elements, if it was an adult who wrote it the page though then like. how??????

[queengiuliettafirstlady]

Magical charms under the moon

Magical charms under the moon

Fandom: Ikemen Sengoku

Pairing: Kicho x OC (Juliet)                                                                   

Prompt : Festival After Dark

Part of : Sunshine and Starlight hosted by @violettduchess and @lorei-writes

Tag: Platonic Love Festival Dancing

Word Count : 1.261

Author’s Note: A festival turn into so much more, love spurt under the stars as destiny meddle with two people seemingly at odds but more similar than what they thought, bringing them closer into a relationship created to change the world and themselves in unpredictable way, powerful and weird like the emotion binding them together. 🤩

Side Note: All the images were found on Pinterest-Google and I was unable to find the source, please if any of you know the owner tell me and I will provide to give the artist the credit for the image.

Tag list

@kissmetwicekissmedeadly @aquagirl1978 @violettduchess

@nightghoul381 @william-rex @writingwhimsey

@fang-and-feather @moonstruckmelancholic

@rjthirsty @ike-garden2024 @lichtluv

@jollibeeshappiness @starzyquee              

@maeko-kun @oda-princess @rkmaru

You can find me on AO3 as QueenJuliet 😊

Thank you for everyone who will like, reblog, or comment please be gentle with me english is not my first language so please do not leave rude comments I apologise for eventual errors I hope you will like it😊

He was a yaksha. She was a yōsei.

They should never have met.

But they did.

That meeting was only the beginning of something that was destined to change them.

Moonless curls cascaded over her shoulder, scattered in the wind adorning a gorgeous visage, big and round tourmaline eyes, a canvas of emotions, glimmering just like the gem itself as the light flickered and swam in them sheltering under the feeble shadow of her long and graceful eyelashes, her lips a rose bud curled in gentle, albeit shy, half-confident, ever kind, smiles.

She alone shone bright in the night like a star with her fair complexion and her emerald kimono, that hugged luscious feminine curves he was unused to, moving so gracefully as she walked with a touch of innocent sensuality that it was hard to tame and impossible to resist, bewitching him to get closer and get burn in her light.

Like a moth was drawn to a flame even though it hurt its wings, he was drawn to her irresistibly because he didn't know any other way to live.

A mad desire burned in him to know more about that mermaid, that enchantress that put a spell on him bewitching his every sense against any rationality.

In what maybe everyone else would have seen the bud of love he saw his ruin, and yet this too was not enough to pull him away from her.

Her quick wits and curious nature luring him in to discover more of her, to ask, to seek, to understand that entrancing mystery she was to him, forbidden desires kept him awake until late at night, picturing all that could have been between them.

He was defenseless caught in strange ideas in a daze between dreams and reality, until Morphoeus coaxed him to sleep dreaming of her in vivid real dreams he woke up from sweating, shook to the core with an inexplicable yearn to make them real, to have her in his house as she was in his heart.

The only thing preventing him from pursuing his dreams was the fact that his plan, inevitably, would have upset her.

But this too was not enough to pull him away from her, unconsciously scanning the crowd looking for her like a man gone mad with love.

And maybe he was.

Little did he care about that, even though his business partner couldn’t say the same, but nothing ever stopped his determination.

Or so he thought.

Deep down he knew that if she had said so much of a word against his plan he would have tried to listen, that's how much of a fool love made of him.

In the end he was no better than his sister, damning himself for love.

His past self would have mocked such a thing, but he was no longer the man he was before meeting her and he surely couldn’t go back to being.

Their meeting was a chance.

Their love destiny.

It happened on a visit to a nearby village, way too close to Azuchi for his liking, but business was like that and he had no intention to let anything stop that trip from going on smoothly.

But he hadn’t taken her into account.

It was sunset, the meeting had just ended and he really couldn’t wait to go home at once but the roads were stuck for a festival.

He frowned in annoyance, deeming better to walk by foot than to wait for who knows how long to cross the city on horseback thus he gave up on the idea of borrowing one, grateful for the fact his loyal white mane stayed at the inn while he reached the merchant’s house by rickshaw.

It was then he saw her, standing like the sun at the center of everything.

“It must be a festival, what a bother they are holding it today of all days.”

His companion rebuffed annoyed but he couldn’t hear him bewitched as he was from that sight.

Beautiful like the moon, and as much as unreachable, was her dancing with a man with rosy hair, who judging by his expression, was coaxed in the dance by her.

And in the moment she smiled he knew exactly why.

There was no doubt any man would have fallen on his knees giving up all for her if she smiled, he knew because he felt the same way, fact soon proved as he looked around seeing women and men alike enraptured by her.

A yōsei casting her good grace and kindness like a rain of cherry blossom petals in spring, her laugh tingling like the rain caressing the trees’ leaves during a warm summer storm.

As long as she allowed him, he would have bathed in her light.

The moment their eyes met he felt destiny had been set in motion and there would have been no going back.

Shining like the star she was, she beckoned him to come closer, an invitation to share, be it for a fleeting moment, the warmth of what could have been.

Of what could still be if he was brave enough to pursue it.

A spell he could not resist, and a part of him did not want to.

He took her hand in his, letting her smile seep into him, allowing himself, for that night alone, to be happy, not caring nor thinking about anything but that moment.

He let her guide him in a frenetic dance, enraptured by the carefree happiness of the festival, switching position at every turn giving him a better view of each facet of her.

The music gets louder in time with his heartbeats as they spin around faster, in a frenzy of motion that leaves no space to think, to breath, to see, anything but her.

To think a yaksha would have been enchanted by a yōsei was laughable in itself but he didn’t care if this was what happiness felt like that so be it.

He would have done everything he could have to stay with her, and even though he knew it was forbidden and maybe wrong, all that mattered to him was getting to know her better, doing his best to protect her all the same.

A contradiction he would have done his best to resolve.

In an instant their gazes met and held, tourmaline meeting chartreuse glimmering with the same warm light of the lanterns and something dangerously akin to curiosity that set his heart ablaze.

Their lips were close, Oh so close it could have been sinful.

And in a way it was.

Ever gallant he pulled back bowing to her as she did the same, reluctant to step back from the sun, he bought himself time taking her hand in his only to leave a gentlemanly kiss on its back, revelling, for a minute longer, in the adorable rosy blush that spread on her fairy cheeks, already reddened from the dance so much to resemble a strawberry, one he wouldn’t have minded kissing to savour its sweetness.

“I hope we will meet again.”

“Me too.”

Her voice sweet as a persimmon and as much as refreshing to his heart, accompanied him all the way back to their inn.

Upon their return to Sakai her memory was all but vanished from his mind, more determined than ever he went to work to find more about that peculiar westerner girl that awakened his every sense as nothing ever did, a strange sensation, but not unwanted, spread in his heart as he greeted the morning with a smile.

[blue-winged-boy]

Some thoughts about the whole Kim dressed up as Shannon scene and Eddie's arc...

Is it royally fucked up from the both of them to do this weird roleplay? Absolutely. We still don't know what Kim's agenda is at this point or if she's just like that, and wanted to do something good in a roundabout twisted way but she's not the focus this episode.

We have known for a long time that Eddie never processed Shannon's passing and the idea of the divorce. He desperatly needed that closure and even though it's far from the healthiest way to do it, this man definitely needs therapy, I don't think anything else would've allowed him to properly face his deepest fear and trauma. It broke everything. This man has put up so many walls to protect himself and lives so far in denial that he litterally had to be presented with a clone of his dead wife to finally be able get closure. He loved her so much and he never understood what he could've done to make her stay, to make her love him back as much as he did. Finally saying out loud that he deserved a letter too, that he deserved as much love as he gave, he can finally let her go. She's gone but he did everything he could, he doesn't have to blame himself for her death, for the divorce, for her leaving Christopher. He's broken but now he knows that it's not a relationship or another Shannon that will fix him and make their live magically happy again. He needs to work on himself and re-build himself without the ghost of Shannon always present.

I know Christopher is gonna take it hard but ultimately he wants his dad to be happy and I think he's gonna understand eventually what his dad's going through. Who better than anyone to understand the grief of losing Shannon than Chris. He's gonna be angry for sure, but mostly he's gonna be worried for his dad and I think he's gonna share his concern with Eddie, and that's what will push Eddie to really go to therapy. Chris knows they have plenty of people to take care of them, that love them so much them for who they are and won't judge them (cough cough *Buck*) and he's gonna help Eddie realise that whatever happens there's always gonna be someone to come back to. But he's gonna tell his dad that he's not okay, that he's suffering and he needs to be happy by himself. Eddie will do anything for his son, whatever it takes.

Would I have liked the arc to be handled differently and for less people to be hurt? Definitely. But the writers did a good job with Eddie's grief and what it took for his character to get to his lowest point. It can only go up from here.

And let's not forget that Ryan's delivery was gut wrenching and an amazing performance. This man deserves his title of actor with all the hard work and the heart and soul he puts into his performance.

(This is my first theory-ish post and just some rambling and what I think of the scene. Sorry for any formating, grammar or spelling mistake as well since english is not my first language).

[necrotic-nephilim]

for the choose violence ask game: 3, 8, 16 :D

for the choose violence ask game!

3. screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr

i was going to be kind enough to not screenshot but i lied i'm choosing violence. this is less of a take and more of an incorrect quote i suppose but. every time i remember it exists i stare at a wall for like 20 minutes.

most posts under the "chaotic tim drake"/"unhinged tim drake" tags do. get to me. they are all liable to make me spontaneously combust but something about this one. the way Tim's fanon kill count magically gets higher every time it's brought up. the way it directly contradicts Tim's internal deep-seated fears about turning into Bruce and that's why he has always planned to retire after being Robin the *entire point* of Tim Drake of Tomorrow is to show how horrified Tim is and how future!evil!Tim will always go too far. like i genuinely do not know what character ppl are talking about with the "Tim is most likely to become a supervillain and somehow this a cutesy headcanon" sort of thing. it plagues me. consider me plagued. i could go on and on about it for hours and how deeply it contradicts Tim's character to his core. also just why does the fandom want to make him a villain so bad? i don't understand.

8. common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

i already gave one answer to this question here, but worry not i have endless answers to this one. a bit one for me is: the idea Cass should use ASL. it icks me out. i will close a fic if Cass is using ASL i will not lie. firstly, she does not canonically know ASL. secondly, it doesn't make *sense* for her to use it bc her disability has nothing to do with the ability to speak, it has to do with her language learning skills. and ASL is, *still a language*. and would be just as difficult to learn, if not more-so bc it could set back her learning of English and would not be as easily applicable as English to her daily life. it's a headcanon that ranges from well-meaning misunderstandings to just downright ableism that infantilizes Cass and infantilizes ASL. honestly i get touchy in general about fandom using ASL when not written by a Deaf writer/someone who knows ASL bc... you can tell. you can always tell. (hearing fans stop trying to come up with sign names for the Batfam i'm gently begging you.) there are many good posts breaking down why this headcanon doesn't really work but i'm just salty and feral about it.

16. you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

the headcanon/fanon concept that Tim has lasting psychological trauma due to the Titans Tower incident, or that it has caused him to be afraid of Jason. (the same can be applied to Damian cutting Tim's line being something that Matters to Tim longterm or causes fear of Damian) like? beyond the "that is not canon, that event really didn't bother Tim and Tim was a cocky little shit the whole time", i'm unsure how this... fits into the fanon version of Tim? like i don't *understand* it. how it is that fandom likes "Tim has a super high kill count and is going to be a supervillain" but also... thinks one bad fight that roughed Tim up a bit has made him terrified of one person specifically? these feel contradictory. either he can Take The Heat or He Can't. this weird waffling where he's both the biggest badass around but also somehow a wilting traumatized kid confuses me. i don't necessarily mind the exploration of Tim being angry or pissed off about these events, or even him being more injured than he was in canon and dealing with that, but him being like. so afraid of Jason it influences their relationship has always eluded me. it contradicts everything else about fanon!Tim and makes him seem... sort of cowardly? like not that events like these can't be traumatizing but in his field of work they're not unique events. these are normal Tuesdays for him. why is it affecting him so much in fanon.

[oddishfeeling]

do you have any book recommendations? pls i need lots 💙💙

this is such a loaded question friend. but lucky for u, i am procrastinating assignments, my take out has yet to arrive, and i just finished another book!

horror fic has been my choice for the last several books

the centre by ayesha manazir siddiqi is about a young Pakistani woman living in the UK. she's a translator for Urduru films. language and translation are central to this book. people are becoming fluent in a matter of weeks in complex languages.... the centre is gorgeous if not entirely mysterious, magical even. but whats the catch?? beautifully written. vivid details. anisa is a flawed, honest, and genuine feeling mc, as are the people in her life. i just finished it a couple hours ago n i miss my girls.

slewfoot by brom is set in 17th century Connecticut. our protag, Abitha, is not from this town but she does he best to adhere to the Puritan standards, if not for her well being, than that of her husband's. something stirs in the outskirts of the village, in the forest and beyond. she finds help from an unlikely source while also fostering a deep inner power of her own. these characters felt so well thought out, the writing is magnetic and the action is well paced. it puts so many preconceived notions right on their head. i loved this book and can't wait to read brom's other novel, the child thief, a retelling of peter pan and the lost boys!

sister, maiden, monster by lucy a. synder was oh so gay and oh so cosmically horrendous. this is like h.p. lovecraft wasn't a weird racist. this is like if biblically accurate angels were once just women in love. this is horrifying, visceral, and relevant to our COVID world. i was gawking at so many of the details. there are so many monster themes actually, it's perfect. the story is told through 3 povs of 3 different women. and we love women! and horror! i didn't expect to pick this one up but I'm so glad i did.

mary: an awakening of terror by nat cassidy do u know what it's like to be virtually invisible? forgotten? disaffected? do u know the pure joy of having a precious collection, adding to it over time, and it being almost ur only reason for living anymore?? then you're a lot like mary. and mary is a lot like plenty of women who get the chance to live beyond adolescence, who are cast out by society-- deemed invaluable. mary is utterly lost at a time in her life she feels she should have it all figured out. she goes back to her hometown, an ambiguous small town in the middle of the desert, and some unlikely characters help her piece things back together. i finished this book feeling so close to mary. we are friends now. there is mystique, horror, fables, myths, bad guys, mysterious architecture, and well mary is not the most reliable narrator. loved this one too.

the last house on needless street by catriona ward i had no idea where this book was going and i loved piecing the narrative together through several characters and their povs. it forces u to confront ur own biases regarding mental health. u are sympathetic to the characters in the most painful, heart wrenching ways. there is murder. there is mystery. there is missing children. there are cats. this book surprised me and it was fun to have to find a couple reddit threads to be sure i was understanding the story correctly. i felt like i read this kind of fast! which is always fun too.

brother by ania ahlborn this one pissed me off a bit. but in a good way because i was so deeply invested. this one is set in Appalachia. i'm not one for stereotypes, especially bc i think Appalachians have a bad rep and it's of no fault of their own. that being said, the insular feel of the book and the absolute claustrophobia those mountains create in this story were like a character in it of itself. our protag, michael, knows there's something beyond. he's seen them on colorful postcards. but his own mind and his own heart seem utterly trapped here. this one is heartbreaking. it's horrifying. and it'll make u dizzy from the amount of times u change ur mind. excited to read her other novel, Seed, because this one stuck with me so much!

a couple honorable mentions that fit the theme:

the vegetarian by han kang korean food. infidelity. art. nightmares. inexplicable mindfucks! this story was scary because it felt very.. possible? no monsters this time. no spells. just... the mind deteriorating. could happen to any of us.

a certain hunger by chelsea g. summers what if girlbossing is just a quick pivot from sociopathy?? what if the crimes are so much more gratifying than say, fame or fortune or even love?? women can be sociopaths too, you know!! this one is fun bc the protag is crazy and it's fun to slip into these characters. cathartic even. omg did i mention, she's a foodie too! just like me :-)

[oncewhenalongtimeago]

Hi! Sorry for my bad English, it's not my first language and I hope it's understandable :(

Anyway, I love how you write about Hiccup and look forward to the continuation of "Sorry, but I Think I Lost Your Plot" (If there is continuation) <3

Well, I do not know what your conditions are, but I would ask something related to Hiccup have a huge crush on Y/n and he end up accidentally confessing his feelings for her. Thank you !❤

Sorry, but I Think I Lost Your Plot pt 3

Pairing: Onesided!Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III x Modern!Fem!Reader

Words: 1934

After things get dicey you share a little bit of your future knowledge.

Tags: Time Travel, Reader into Movieverse, Dragons: Riders of berk, When Lightning Strikes

<Previous - Next>

The thing about getting jointly kidnapped with Hiccup by Meatlug was that people also gave you credit. Fortunately for you, as the months went on and after the hassle of Snoggletog, people stopped congratulating you on the street and you fizzled out into blessed anonymity, just the way you liked it, and life went back to your new normal.

You’d been avoiding going into town since summer hit, which was lightning storm season, boy was it rough, and everyone had started putting up large metal objects. You could practically feel the buzz of electricity, the hairs on your neck standing on end. However, you couldn’t avoid everyone forever, though you made one hel of an effort. 

Hesitantly, you knocked on the forge window, package in hand. Over the counter was Hiccup, with a rag, doing some scrubbing over what looked like a very large, very crude statue of who you’d come to know in the island as Thor.

“Delivery!” You called, with as much good humor as you could muster, “Hi.”

The way into the forge was open as it usually was. You scuffed your feet in the dirt and looked back and forth, as if someone would jump out at you and tell you you weren’t allowed to go in. When no one appeared magically to tell you off, which might have been difficult considering the clearing behind you was empty, you slipped inside.

“Hi,” You said again, closer to Hiccup this time. Hiccup himself startled, looking back like you’d caught him in some sort of foul act.

“Hi. Hi, hi, hi, hi, hi,” He said, shoulders stiff, “How are you- I mean, what brings you here?”

You creased your eyebrows, before deciding to ignore his weird behavior.

“...What are you working on?” You asked, peering around him at the statue with only minor dread. It would probably be just another thing to avoid until the end of summer, yeah, but it looked pretty cool.

“Uh- statue!” He deepended his voice unnaturally and cleared his throat, “Hoping to appease Thor, you know. The works.” 

Hiccup not-so-casually leaned on the statue, though you didn’t find it very odd as everyone in the village was acting the same way recently. Something about the perches, which wasn’t very surprising. You’d seen a mob go by earlier, ranting something angrily about dragons. You weren’t super familiar with many of the plots past the movies but you hoped you hadn’t changed anything vital.

“How come?” A small part of you hoped the statue wasn’t some sort of secret you’d stumbled onto by accident. That would be bad news, and very counterproductive.

“You’ve heard about what’s been going on recently, right?” Hiccup deflated.

You shook your head no, setting down the small brown paper wrapped parcel onto a nearby workbench.

“Well, uh,” He started nervously, A line of sweat gathered by his brow, “Since the storms hit, lightning started hitting the perches. It’s been following Toothless around, and everyone;s been saying it’s because of him, so the other Riders and I- they were here earlier- we built the statue.”

He looked incredibly put out and tired, the same way you’d been around Snoggletog.

“If he’s the Offspring of Lightning and Death then why would, you know, the lightning go for him?” You offered, cringing, “It doesn’t make sense.”

You’d done your best to stay out of the dragon politics. It was hard to take seriously, given your background. And, also, everyone got a little bit heated whenever the subject was brought up, which usually ended in blood. Double also, as an outlier who was quite literally very disconnected from the situation, you had a lot of odd and unpopular opinions. So, yeah, you avoided it. But now, looking at him, you kind of felt bad.

 “I mean, I’m not trying to sound blasphemous or anything, but also then theoretically shouldn’t the Gods have shot you down earlier? There are better ways to have done you in, probably. And still get the message across. I don’t know.” 

You paused, and when he didn’t react, you hesitantly continued, despite every instinct shouting at you not to. 

“Either way, setting up more metal is kind of a dangerous way to go about it, isn’t it?” You shuffled your feet nervously, “Would probably be best to take them down?”

Maybe then you could run around town more often.

“What do you mean?” Hiccup looked a little scandalized. Definitely blasphemous. There was no going back now, though.

 “I mean, metal attracts lighting. So it doesn’t matter who you’re trying to appease. You’re probably just going to get your signals mixed.”

You didn’t say any more on the subject. Probably wouldn’t be helpful to say that most people in the modern day didn’t believe in the Norse Gods. You were so going to get axed.

“What do you mean?” He asked again, still staring at you blankly.

“Lighting is usually attracted to tall objects, but if there’s metal in the area, it’ll go to that. Learned it in elementary.”

“Elementary,” Hiccup mouthed, confused. The thing about being in the past and being able to speak two languages, one of which didn’t even exist yet, was that you could say whatever word you wanted and no one would get it. That was also a downside, in multiple different aspects.

“Anyways,” You stuttered, unwilling to explain that, “There’s a thing people used to set up by their houses back home so lightning wouldn’t hit their houses when it got stormy. A metal rod or something. The perches are probably, ah- the statue’s good. If you gave it to her, Gothi might appreciate it. I mean, she does live on top of the mountain. Would probably keep her from getting struck, you know?”

“Are you sure?” Hiccup asked. He looked like a dog who’d just gotten a bone.

“About Gothi?” You asked, rubbing the back of your neck, “I mean…”

You paused, rolling up and down the balls of your feet and looked around, unsure of what you were supposed to say.

“Am I going to get in trouble for being in here? I don’t want to-” You turned back around. Hiccup was gone.

Gobber had just walked by you shaking his head at the sky, seemingly blind to your appearance.

You looked left and right at the dispersing crowd, wondering what was going on as you began to slog your way through. Everyone, as they left, seemed sort of disinterested and annoyed.

At the front of the crowd was Hiccup, looking incredibly singed and dazed from where he was on the docks. His father, the Chief, and Astrid, were nearby. Astrid had just begun to leave. Stoick, it seemed, was finishing up a hardy lecture and scolding.

You decided to wait politely until he was finished and ogling at the small array of large and small metal rods until the Chief left. Perhaps that was what had drawn you outwards. You’d heard rather than seen a pretty big commotion earlier, which led you down the cliffs  despite your ultimate resolution to stay out of everyone else’s crazy business. Some things were just unavoidable. Or unignorable. Curiosity was a part of human nature, after all.

“Oh,” Hiccup said, once the two of you were left mostly alone, besides the occasional straggling fisherman, “Hi.”

“You made all this?” You said. You put the pieces together fairly quickly, “That’s really cool.” 

“Couldn’t have done it…” He mumbled, “Without your help.”

“You probably would have figured it out on your own,” You suggested wearily. His eyes were sort of glazed over, like hw wasn’t completely there, which set alarm bells ringing in your head, “Hey, are you alright?”

Hiccup stumbled forwards, roughly tugging your hands into his own before he picked them up, grinning widely. His hands were oddly hot to the touch and his left hand was red in a pattern that looked sort of like worms. 

“I think I love you,” He declared. It looked like he was going to lean forward for a second, before stumbling backwards and collapsing onto the wood dock.

“What happened…?” Hiccup uttered exhaustedly, cradling his bandaged head.

He looked around groggily, slowly taking in the grassy dried herb smell of Gothi’s hut and the bowls of spices and bones lining the walls

You were seated on a stool by the bedside, currently his, probably Gothi’s when there were no patients around. 

“You collapsed. So I, uh, I pulled you up here. How are you feeling?” You asked cautiously, wrinkling your brows. 

“Uh, hi?” Hiccup’s eyes widened, flushed like he was embarrassed, “I’m good. I’m so good.”

Hiccup tried to lean back, though the heavy bandaging wrapped around his lightning-scarred arm prevented him from doing that safely. His expression stiffened and he looked down, eyeballing his ruined sleeves.

“Yeah, sorry about that,” You said, “I couldn’t understand what Gothi was saying and we kind of had to cut your sleeve off to get to your arm. The lightning kind of burned it weird too, and it was sticking to your skin, so yeah.”

“Oh, it’s alright,” Hiccup scratched at his cheek with his alright arm, looking a little bit bummed out, “I have more at home.”

“Well, yeah, maybe, but-” You sighed, a little put off, “Anyways, I didn’t have enough to pick up anything nice but a bunch of people heard and helped me pitch in for a new shirt.”

You nodded down to the red tunic laying on the bed by his foot. It wasn’t his signature green but they didn’t really have that, which was unfortunate because red dyed fabric was expensive. Hopefully he’d be out of it soon and in his normal wear. It was going to be weird seeing him in red.

“Oh, wow.” Hiccup said, “Really?”

“Oh, sorry,” You said, after your knuckles scraped each other. You met him halfway with the tunic and pulled it taut when he tried to unfurl it with one hand, so the whole thing was on display.

“Th-anks,” Hiccup said, as if a spare piece of food had gotten stuck in his throat.

You responded with an unhurried “No Problem,” as he gave it a once-over. 

After a moment, he let it down and you took the signature to let go as he clumsily folded it again, leaving it to sit in his lap over the old, scratchy blanket Gothi had provided.

“Yeah,” Hiccup mumbled, squinting, after a moment, “What… exactly happened? I mean, I have a few memories, but it’s all really blurry. I remember- I- Uh-”

Hiccup shut up.

You winced. 

“Yeah, you, ah, got struck by lightning, I think. Unfortunately. But you did prove Toothless was innocent, so there’s that.”

“Yeah?” Hiccup very studiously examined the wall to his left.

“By the way,” You started him, “You said something before you fell unconscious.”

Hiccup laughed nervously, “Nothing weird?”

“I’m not sure. I haven’t really learned the word in Norse yet.” You said, shifting in the stool, which was just starting to make your back ache.

“Learned-? Uh,” Very decidedly, Hiccup shut his eyes. His face said exactly what he was thinking, which was ‘Oh Gods,’ “What did I say?”

“What does ‘love’ mean?” You stared at him, question in your eyes. Hiccup opened his mouth once, then closed it, then he opened it again.

It looked like he was having some sort of battle with himself. You decided that maybe you should leave him alone about it for now. And rightly so, because instead of answering, Hiccup decided to lay back down and roll back towards the wall.