#children's short story

[dirtytransmasc]

I find it deeply depressing that every adult in Spider's life had children, yet he was never anyone's priority. every adult he could and most likely attempted to match in to. the adults he remembered as the closest things he had to parents since birth (Jake and Norm, even if they weren't acting as his parents, because Spider, genuinely, would not know better). down to his actual foster family (the McCoskers). essentially went out of their way to de-prioritize him.

like I'm not faulting them for having kids, for having a family. but Spider was their first priority. he didn't need to be adopted by any of them, per say, but he was their responsibility. he was their orphan, Jake especially, considering he was the chief of his people, but Norm as well, seeing as he's a prominent figure head of the clan/Hellsgate.

the McCoskers took him in, but over the years, as they had their own children, he was more and more neglected. he was now no longer his actually appointed guardians priority. and that only gets worse and worse as he ages until they become outright abusive (Nash does anyway, cause thats what I'm gonna call violently kidnapping his, throwing him in a room and locking him there, and trying to kill all of them, him included, when they run away. as abuse. and I'll get back to the whole "you have to turn yourself in to the RDA" x2 speech from Jake in a second). they also didn't really accept his culture. with their resentment towards the Na'vi brewing, Spider most definitely faced some heat for being more of the forest than of humans, in terms of culture.

3 times over, Spider came first and was put last. put last by parents who know damn well how much love, time, care, and attention a child needs. who should be able to see when a kid is being neglected. who dialed to advocate and protect him from neglect (instead of calling him a stray).

he was a child and they were his advocates. all three parties failed in their duty as advocates, to protect Spider. to ensure he always had a loving home that made him their priority. that fulfilled all his needs, not just the physical ones. but all put their own families first, and abandoned Spider to the scraps of their love, time, and affection.

imagine being Spider, an orphan who can't even mention his birth parents and is always treated like he is the physical rebirth of his father's sins by half the people around him. every adult in your life has kids and seems like they're such a good parent. you watch their kids being loved and tended to and having a steady home. they receive love and affection constantly. but your fosters pay less and less attention to you as they have babies. and now your a stray to the man you look up to so much. and the man who probably taught you how to put an exopack on has less and less time for you. no one has time for you. you're no one's child. no one's priority. just a stray. a nuisance. and you don't truly belong anywhere.

no one was putting him first. children need to be someone's priority. psychology. they need it.

and then the RDA returns. the McCoskers leave, Spider is expected to leave everything he has ever known, to join the very people he hates and has been trying so hard since he could understand what it meant, to prove that he wasn't like them. Jake, the man he once looked up to, was telling him to leave. sending him away. stripping him of the little amount of family he could somewhatly claim, that being his siblings.

once again, Jake is his chief, should be looking out for him. not even as a father, per say, but as his duty to Spider as his chief. a chief should never be sending away his most vulnerable ward, a child he should consider his own (as all of his clans children should be one with his own children), to the opposing enemy force.

this happens again when they're running away, Jake tells him ever more directly to hide in the forest alone until the RDA stops shooting at everything that moves and then turn himself in so he can his own children could run. once again, putting him last, instead of protecting all of them.

then for a year, Spider has no family. no one. the McCoskers are gone and no one has stepped up to bat for him. he's 15/16 and alone. his the big sibling to the Sully's. those kids are all he has, but they aren't really looking out for him. he's looking out for them. cause he's the oldest. that's just how it is. he is one with the clan. lives with them. does chores. watches out for his siblings, the whole nine. but Jake isn't doing his duty of watching out for his ward. he is once again giving and giving and giving, and not receiving.

and then he is taken, he is taken, and while Jake may not have had the means to go back for Spider, or been able to take the risk of going back for him, he abandons him without a thought for his safety, and puts his children first. it's the language and attitude be poses towards the situation that is wild to me. he has every right to be worried about his children, but he could not spare Spider an ounce of concern, even knowing the danger he was in, and is more concerned about him spilling details then anything else. Spider is, once again, not his first, second, or even third priority. he is a means to an end. a necessary loss.

people only care about Spider when there's nothing else they can put before him.

[black-suns-rim]

New Generation

"What... where... am I..?" The spirit woke from their stone encasing. Their blurred vision fell onto a small child who was standing over them with a lit red candle in their hands. The child tilted their head in awe and curiosity.

"You..? Who are you?" The spirit slowly stood to their feet. They towered over the child easily. They didn't respond to the spirit's question.

"Do you hear me? Who are you?!" The spirit grew frustrated. The child mimicked the spirit and then giggled. They let out a sound familiar to the spirit, but the spirit couldn't remember why it was familiar.

The child pointed to the clothing the spirit was wearing and made that familiar sound again. They touched the long fur cape the spirit wore and then hid under it, giggling once more. The spirit looked around at their surroundings now that their vision became lessed blurred. They looked for any sign of a parent or guardian for this child, but they saw no one.

"Where is your guardian, little one?" The spirit lifted up their cape to gaze down at the kid. The child pulled off a bag from the spirit's belt and looked inside of it.

"Do you understand what I'm saying?..."

The child looked up at them and made that noise. That noise... why was it so familiar?... The spirit sat down on the sand. The child copied them as they were still examining the contents of the bag they pulled off from the spirit. They sighed, "Well... What am I to do?... hm?" The spirit took off their cape and laid it on the ground. They noticed how their hands were slightly transparent and paused. They stared at their hands.

"What is this...?...." slowly, they remembered... they remembered what had happened.

"Oh... I am not... I am... I see..." They stared at the child, "Wait... then what are you?"

The child gave the bag back to the spirit.

[everybodyloveshippos]

"I was still very much a boy when I made my first kill."

Artemis Entreri

[thursdaysyme]

another criminally wrong developmental milestone for the books, this time a fic said a 4yo couldn’t talk

[fullmetal-scar-simping]

Average fma fan talking about 03 positively: Man, it's such a miracle that the 2003 anime is written even halfway decently! After all, the writers who, as we know, have never written anything in their lives before [citation needed], they had to work while locked in individual underground cells [citation needed], only fed scraps of fma lore by Arakawa herself [citation needed] while her story was actually fully formed by the first printing of her manga in Monthly Shonen Gangan [citation needed] but they were adapting the initial first volume of manga and oopsy-daisy shot past it [citation needed], so they made up every plot beat, character arc, storyboard, and lore change completely on the fly and very randomly [citation needed]. Even though they tried to 1:1 adapt her story [citation needed, contradicted by existing sources], they fumbled the job and butchered her story, characters, and lore. Arakawa sagely forgave them [citation needed]. But somehow it's a cohesive story?! Wow! Even though the story is sad, dark, scares me, makes me cry, violent, gorey, and my fave ships aren't endgame, so -50 demerits. Still, good job team! A treat! A treat for the monkeys working the typewriters at Studio Bones circa 2002-2004! #fullmetal alchemist brotherhood

[odetoalostpairofkeys]

Meet Trix!

Fell in Season of Dreams, She/Her

Trix is an Outsider, but she doesn't ever show her book (Especially after Outsiders began gaining a bad reputation).

She was friends with the Little Prince before he left, then she met Lethe. Her and Lethe didn't talk much while travelling together (both had a lot on their minds) but they consider each other good friends.

She doesn't talk much to other sky kids, but after getting to know Pix and Flix she began talking to them a lot. She enjoys pranking others.

Her favorite realm is Vault, but only because of the Starlight Desert. She like Valley otherwise.

Here's the shading layer because I think it looks cool (do I make these unnecessarily complicated? Why yes, yes I do.)

[haveyoureadthisbook-poll]

[jonsnowunemploymentera]

Something rubbed against his leg beneath the table. Jon saw red eyes staring up at him. “Hungry again?” he asked. There was still half a honeyed chicken in the center of the table. Jon reached out to tear off a leg, then had a better idea. He knifed the bird whole and let the carcass slide to the floor between his legs. Ghost ripped into it in savage silence. His brothers and sisters had not been permitted to bring their wolves to the banquet, but there were more curs than Jon could count at this end of the hall, and no one had said a word about his pup. He told himself he was fortunate in that too. His eyes stung. Jon rubbed at them savagely, cursing the smoke. He swallowed another gulp of wine and watched his direwolf devour the chicken. Dogs moved between the tables, trailing after the serving girls. One of them, a black mongrel bitch with long yellow eyes, caught a scent of the chicken. She stopped and edged under the bench to get a share. Jon watched the confrontation. The bitch growled low in her throat and moved closer. Ghost looked up, silent, and fixed the dog with those hot red eyes. The bitch snapped an angry challenge. She was three times the size of the direwolf pup. Ghost did not move. He stood over his prize and opened his mouth, baring his fangs. The bitch tensed, barked again, then thought better of this fight. She turned and slunk away, with one last defiant snap to save her pride. Ghost went back to his meal. Jon grinned and reached under the table to ruffle the shaggy white fur. The direwolf looked up at him, nipped gently at his hand, then went back to eating.

Jon I, AGOT

It's interesting that GRRM would dedicate several paragraphs to a seemingly unimportant exchange between a boy, his wolf, and an unfriendly third party. But there's just something about this passage that has continued to nag at me for years since I first read it because, considering how heavy handed GRRM was with the foreshadowing in AGOT, this feels important.

Jon is sitting at table full of squires - aka would be knights. We don't really know who they are or what families they belong to, but it's safe to assume that they come from a certain level of privilege; this is considering the fact that it cannot be financially easy to be a squire. And these boys already have a slew of tales detailing all their previous knightly exploits regarding "battle and bedding and the hunt" which suggests that they have some capital. So you have boys who will soon be men. And they will, presumably, become men of some power.

These lads eat their fill of the chicken until only half remains, which Jon then gives to Ghost. The direwolf's name is not so important here but what he represents is. Throughout the series, we're told that Ghost is reminiscent of the weirwood trees (because of his red eyes and white fur). He's stated to be of and from the Old Gods and since he's a personification of the weirwoods, he might as well be one of them. It's almost as if Jon is presenting whatever is left on the table to the Old Gods (Ghost). He lets them devour his offerings while he silently watches. And the motif of watching is so interesting here because it's kind of like Jon takes on a stewardship role - to watch over land/people/etc. He oversees Ghost eating the chicken, so he's overseeing whatever has been given to the Old Gods. This is not new imagery to his arc. As a brother of the Night's Watch and eventually its leader, we have several instances where he leads people to adopting the Old Gods in some fashion. In ADWD, several recruits swear their vows to the Old Gods while he watches on as their Lord Commander. The Old Gods are also primarily of the North and we're told that Jon has more of the north in him than his brothers; interesting that this also includes Bran. So perhaps whatever is being offered to the Old Gods relates to the North.

We must also note that Jon initially thinks to give only a small portion, a leg, before pivoting and providing the entire thing. It feels to me a bit like the process of carving up a kingdom or something similar. The lords (represented by the squires) take what they want and leave aside what they don't; or perhaps they have eaten to their fill and can take no more. Then when his time comes, Jon first considers a small piece of land/group of people before eventually absorbing all of whatever is left behind. The concept of carving up a kingdom rings harder considering that we have several callbacks to the ideals of kingship in this chapter. Robert, Jaime, Tyrion, and even Mance though we don't know it yet, all play into this. And then there's the aspect of Jon letting the chicken slip between his legs which evokes birth/fatherhood, a very curious choice when GRRM could've just had Jon place the chicken on the floor. So land/people are carved up and Jon then uses whatever is left to birth his own type of kingdom. And this kingdom is one for the Old Gods.

This also touches on something that has been quite prevalent throughout Jon's arc. It's the concept of accepting the "others" or "those left over" who live apart from the accepted social norms. Arya (a tomboy), Sam (a gender non-confirming boy), the Night's Watch (criminals, extra sons, and men who have no future left or place to go), and even the wildlings are all examples of this. And Jon takes on a leadership/paternal role to every single one of them. He looks after them as a leader would/should. Sometimes, in the case of Arya and the wildlings, he's equated to a king. He's a steward/shepherd/king. There's messianic undertones to this:

Come unto me, all you who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30).

If you're familiar with Judeo-Christian tradition, you'll know that Jesus is often personified as one who spent the majority his time among the outcasts. The idea is that he came to save them too and that anew kingdom (or new earth depending on your translation) would spring up after the end of the world where he would forever rule as king; which presents the idea of a final king after the earthly ones are done away with. Now GRRM isn't so heavy handed with Christian allusions as other authors out there, but he does have a Catholic background and Jon is so overtly a Jesus figure. And in Revelation, Jesus is king and god at the very end....

One last thing: the mention of the mongrel who challenges Jon has always been rather interesting but confusing to me. A mongrel doesn't really relate to one specific type of dog. But it's interesting that Jon notes several roaming about where he is. They follow the serving girls who carry the food to be offered. Mongrels are used to describe antagonist/villainous groups in ASOIAF. Sometimes, they're used to describe slavers in Essos. But what's interesting is that most of the time, they're used to describe Euron's Ironborn especially in Victorian's POV. So I don't think the mongrel who challenges Ghost is a supernatural threat of death (i.e., the Others) but rather a human one. They represent those who are called to the scene once the lords have finished playing their games. It almost feels like a feast for (carrion) crows....

But it doesn't really matter because this mongrel isn't much of a challenge for Ghost. Though the mongrel is much larger, the direwolf is able to fend her off very effortlessly. Given that "mongrel" is used to describe Ironborn raiders, could this exchange between Ghost and the mongrel point to reavers or sea raiders who rise and fail challenge Jon kingdom? There is a historical King Jon Stark who did this....

When sea raiders landed in the east, Jon drove them out and built a castle, the Wolf's Den, at the mouth of the White Knife, so as to be able to defend the mouth of the river.[1][2] His son, Rickard, followed him on the throne and annexed the Neck to the north.

ref.

So this might shed some light not only on Jon's already published arc, but also on what we can expect in the future. We have some foreshadowing through Jon's ADWD dream that he will not only rise with the dawn (thereby live through the Long Night), but will be in a position to lead people (wildings in that chapter) to a new peace after a hard fought war. Also remember that the wildlings, rather enthusiastically, swear oaths to him as if swearing oaths to their king. In this instance, the supernatural (a dream of the war for the dawn) is followed by the natural/human. So perhaps this particular passage (and Jon's dream) can be used to predict that Jon comes out on top, and quite effortlessly too, as a leader. And he becomes a leader who rules by association with the Old Gods; or rules a kingdom for them.

To end, I think it's of note that this passage immediately precedes Jon's conversation with Benjen where he voices his desire to go out on his own - the hero's call to action. This is the adventure that's going to kickstart his growth as a man, warrior and most importantly, a leader. So it looks like before we even began, GRRM telegraphed how it would all end in just three short paragraphs.

[wronghands1]

[michellymy]

Martra’s kids live in hardcore mode

Actual parent: Kenyan (can’t take care of herself, much less of her son)

Wine dad: Sylris (gives alcoholic drinks to the child; his intentions aren’t clear)

Great at babysitting: Hélio (the child wouldn’t be alive without him)

Mediocre at babysitting: Yuno (eats raw meat and offers to the child)

The house is on fire, god is dead: Behati (took the child to an execution and tried to kill the goddess)

Is the child: Ethan (he’s unable to understand how they survive like this)

The only ones following Martra’s culture is Hélio and Yuno; the others are plainly traumatized and traumatizing. Still, as an Earthling, Ethan is horrified by all of this ❤️

(Hélio would sacrifice himself for Ethan; it’s a rule that all the children are extremely important and have to be cared of to protect their innocence. He still sees Ethan as a child.)

(Auvies eat raw meat; has an intense sweet taste, according to them. Yuno pretends the blood is juice.)

[black-suns-rim]

Ceremony - Ethereal Star AU

Click for short story below image

"It is time... Are you ready?" The Unspoken turned to the young prophet. They held an orb of light in their hands. "I... I am ready." Anubis held his head high and puffed out his chest. His palms were sweating from his nerves, but his excitement overpowered his anxiety. "Good." The Unspoken gestured with their head for Anubis to follow them out of the tent. As they walked out, many voices started to cheer. The noise was overwhelming to Anubis, and he had to hold back the urge to cover his ears. He kept his head held high. The Unspoken carved a way through the people, they parted as they walked forward through the crowd until they came to a stone pillar.

They turned to face the crowd and slowly raised a hand up into the air. The people hushed as The Unspoken began to talk:

"This day marks the end of my reign and the beginning of a new - a new Overseer for our sacred trials. He has shown me his abilities time and time again; his delicate care for the injured, his vast understanding of the magics, and his ability to adjust to any kind of challenge. This day, I pass on the sacred Flame." The Unspoken gestured for Anubis to step forward, and so he did. The Unspoken raised their hands up, making the orb ascend. They then moved their hands quickly outward, causing the orb to expel light from it at a rapid rate. The light from the orb swirled around Anubis. Each small flame began to hit him and enter through his skin. It started out as a few at at time until all the flames began to absorb into him. The light slowly raised Anubis from the ground. He felt a deep warmth within his chest, and the feeling grew hotter and hotter as it spread through his body.

The orb faded as all the light went into Anubis. When the orb was gone, Anubis fell to the ground. He shook as he struggled to get up, fumbling and unsteady. He gripped his chest as the warm sensation throughout his body returned to his core. Once he was on his feet, he looked at The Unspoken. They were on their knees, weakened by the transfer. They looked up at Anubis and nodded their head. Anubis nodded back.

Anubis turned to the people. All of their unblinking eyes were on him now. He took in a deep breath and let out a soft sigh. He placed his hands over his chest, summoning the orb of light from within him as he slowly moved his hands out from his body. The crowd cheered at their new Overseer.

I wanted to redesign the overseer for the Ethereal Star AU since I thought his design looked a little bland. I might redesign the other elemental prophet's designs too, but I'll see... Anyway, this was just a fun short blorb of lore for the AU

[binabadaboom]

who remembers these books?? i loved them as a kid and was dead set convinced they were real haha

[pathological-runaway]

Samekh are incredible. They move with elegance and speak with confidence, always knowing what to do and what to say to make others like and respect them. Some of their skills rub off on Alef with each little smile directed at them, each minute spent in companionable silence or laughing along, and the Prince cannot imagine where they would be without them. Alef admires Samekh. At least for some time. At least to a certain extent.

read the fic here or below the cut

Alef fears Samekh.

The two are sarcastic, loud and self-confident, and the Prince would rather avoid them completely.

There is a smirk on their face as Alef trips, rumours when they turn their back. They are dismissive and not afraid to show that they clearly do not like the Prince.

It is only fair for the Prince to not like them back.

At least for some time. At least to a certain extent.

***

Alef trusts Samekh.

They are the first to approach Alef after they share their ideas. While others still have questions, the Valley Elders appear convinced that the strategy the Prince made up will work. They interrupt each other as they whisper tempting invitations and proposals, and it is hard for Alef to keep track of everything they say.

As days and weeks go by, Samekh seem noticeably less sarcastic and less embarrassed by the young Prince’s company. They still crack some jokes, but they do not make Alef feel like an incompetent freak anymore. Most of the time, at least.

The Elders start treating them like an equal. Like an adult. Like a fellow Elder, almost — although Alef knows there is an abyss between them.

Somehow, the abyss seems to grow narrower over the years.

At least for some time. At least to a certain extent.

***

Alef admires Samekh.

They are closer now than the Prince could ever imagine, which, while a little scary, is gratifying. Who would have thought they would go this far?

Samekh are incredible. They move with elegance and speak with confidence, always knowing what to do and what to say to make others like and respect them. Some of their skills rub off on Alef with each little smile directed at them, each minute spent in companionable silence or laughing along, and the Prince cannot imagine where they would be without them.

It is a well-known fact that the twins are brilliant and excel at their job as Elders, but Alef finds themself wondering if there is more to them than this cheerful façade and the endless parties they throw in their own and the Prince’s honour. There might be. There might not.

Alef hopes they will unravel this mystery someday.

At least for some time. At least to a certain extent.

***

Resh appreciates Samekh.

The atmosphere in the kingdom is tense, but the Valley Elders remain by their side, and their support is an ace up the King’s sleeve they would not dream of losing.

But there are less smiles now, less jokes. Resh catches their allies exchanging worried looks when they think the King is not looking. The two sound less sure about what they are doing and appear reluctant to do what they would initiate before. They do not confront the Ruler, not yet, but it is obvious they do not agree with them like they used to.

Still, Samekh provide financial support, and this is what matters.

At least for some time. At least to a certain extent.

***

Resh despises Samekh.

They turn their backs on the King once they realise the latter has crossed the line. Once it becomes impossible for them to ignore Resh’s cruelty and greed for the sake of their own gain anymore.

The Ruler does not care, of course. They are way past the point of caring for the spoilt brats. They are perfectly capable of going on on their own — no traitors can upset the King’s plans.

At least for some time. At least to a certain extent.

***

The light goes out like a blown out candle, and the whole world is silent and dark.

The King turns out to be wrong, but it is too late to fix anything. The world is finished, and there is nothing left to do about it. The torn kingdom breaks one last time, and, after years of returning to life time after time, this once, it cannot be brought back.

Sitting alone in the soulless nothingness, they know there is nothing to do other than to look back and wish things had gone differently.

Freezing cold and engulfed by this pointless reverie, Resh misses Samekh. For the whole eternity.

At least to a certain extent.

[laurelslegacy]

doodles

“You’re artistic?!” the voice was shocked, the carrier, shocked and quickly slamming the padges of the book shut. Sabine reaching- or tried to- over Zeb’s shoulder. “Oh no you don’t!!” she was persistent- like any Mandalorian.

Zeb’s longer reach helped. “I am NOT!” he hissed at her, his long reach however did not deter the young woman who simply used Zeb’s arm and his strength to half crawl over his arm and grab at the tattered covered spiral ring book and yank it from him. A roll and a foot kept him at bay as she flipped through the pages. “GIVE THAT BACK” He growled, this was something he suspected of Ezra- NOT Sabine.

“Zeb… these are beautiful.” the purity in her voice, paused the Lasat. She flipped the page and her fingers ran over the ink stained pages, sketches of the Ghost Crew, Kanan, Hera… HER even. Trained, refined, at her level- no….but the scratch marked portraits of her little family in everyday life was… beautiful. She knew Zeb worked with wood, clearly more of a sculpture than a fine artist… but these were wonderful. She flipped a few pages and saw the faces of Lasat sketched out and her eyes started to burn closing the sketch book as if she had been burnt and offered it out to Zeb. “I…. I’m sorry.”

Zeb looked heavy. Ears down and he took the book from Sabine trying to offer a smile that was willed to his face “Thanks fer that. ‘S all good.” he gave the lightest bump of his forehead to her’s and kept that willed smile.

[yasmeensh]

Paleolithic Media Catalogue

Hello everyone :) Short story first: When I began brainstorming for my prehistoric story, I started wondering what other prehistoric fiction there is out there. I was not familiar with it and have not seen much. That's when I started my grand literature review and began a search for what fiction exist out there. I wanted to know what kinds of stories are being made with this time period. What are the common themes or recurring ideas (I found lots of humans and dinosaurs works. And time travel). Since I've had a growing collection on my computer, I decided I should keep on enlarging it and put it online. It's nowhere near complete. I'll slowly keep accumulating the collection as I find more. I only have fiction books and comics right now. I still need to work on the film section.

You can access the blog here!

***

As for where I am in my reading, the one's I've finished reading are Earth's Children series (book 1-4. Dropped it afterwards lol. I made a post on with fanart) Dance of the Tiger and it's sequel Singletusk (They were good! I'll upload my review on the blog), and Sisters of the Wolf (It was ok!). I got my hands on The Inheritors and excited to start reading it. I REALLY want to read the Shiva trilogy, but I found no PDF online... and it's out of print :( There is certainly old copies on ebay. And I want to read Chronicles of Ancient Darkness. There seem to be lots of good books out there.