#he is a good friend and a gentle and courageous leader

[everyryuujisuguro]

[mysterywriter2187]

Transformers: One - What's In A Kneel?

!!!!!MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!

With the responsibility of leadership and the dangers of pedestals and hero worship being such major themes, it only makes sense that all three of the film's leaders would show their true characters, and in doing so seal their fates, in moments where they have to kneel/bow.

Sentinel Prime essentially sets the entire second half of the film in motion when both the heroes and we as the viewer see him kneel to the Quintessons. It confirms everything that Alpha Trion was just telling them/us about him, and it's also the very thing that ends up getting broadcast to Iacon in order to finally expose Sentinel and turn the public against their False Prime.

For all his superficial charisma and his talk of looking out for the little guys, Sentinel himself is truly nothing more than a self-centred, spineless coward, who couldn't care less for the needs of the many and gladly bends to the will of bigger bullies/oppressors in order to keep himself in power.

After learning of Sentinel's betrayal and being subsequently captured with the High Guard, D-16 makes a point to stand while in custody and adamantly refuses to kneel. Even when Sentinel begins beating and torturing him, D-16 makes it abundantly clear that he has no intention of bowing to him or anyone else ever again.

In better circumstances this could be a heroic trait, a courageous defiance and the willingness to stand up in the face of injustice. But it just as becomes a negative one, and it's one of the last warning signs to the kind of leader that Megatron is going to be.

He may have started out with good and heroic intentions, but because of this Megatron sees himself as superior, and whether by choice or by force, he expects his fellow Cybetronians to rally behind him just as they did with Sentinel. While he sees himself as a revolutionary, in the end he's just going to become another tyrant.

And then we have Orion Pax. For much of the film, he's a far cry from the noble, legendary leader that we know and love from other iterations, but he starts to grow into it as he devises the rescue mission, and is tasked with rallying his fellow miners to help.

Having gotten a major upgrade since the last time he saw them, Orion now towers over his former peers and they're utterly awed by the sight of him. Rather than trying to take advantage of their admiration or even intimidate them with his new size and strength, Orion almost seems frustrated by the new height difference, and before beginning his speech he kneels down to literally speak to them on their level.

Orion doesn't make a point to do this, no one has to ask or prompt him to, in fact he himself doesn't even give that much thought to it, it's just his first instinct for how to best communicate. He may look larger and stronger now, but he still values the miners as his friends and his equals, and nothing is ever going to change that.

Gaining the Matrix later on may have gotten him the name, but it's this moment when Orion truly begins to embody the true core and heart of Optimus Prime. Powerful and inspiring, yet humble and caring. Or perhaps, as the legendary Peter Cullen himself has always said:

"Strong enough to be gentle."

[soberpluto]

Explaining Dignities: Exaltation

The reason why I want to talk about them is because I've actually seen dignities play a big role in readings, as they do describe how well or adverse certain matters can play out for the querent...so here's a little analogy to understand them better!

Context: In Hellenistic (traditional) astrology, exalted planets are said to be like the favorite guests of a given sign (host), so the resources they have at their disposal are equal or even greater than the host's. In other words, imagine a queen or king being invited to a neighboring kingdom, they will be treated with the greatest of honors and commodities! In a practical aspect, this means that the qualities of that planet (the guest) will be able to shine at their maximum, making that particular area of life (house) easier or more fortunate for the owner of the birth chart.

*Mind that below I’m speaking metaphorically of “house” as the SIGN the planet is exalted, and not the astrological house as such (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.). *

Sun in Aries: Sun is a friend of Mars, as both rule fire signs and are leaders by nature. Mars is delighted to receive his royal friend, as he’s anxious to show him how noble, honorable, brave, and pioneer he is, and just how much he has achieved on his own. His job is to win wars for the kingdom after all! He’s thrilled to share his best tactics and borrow his friend his most treasured weaponry. The Sun feels comfortable because he has all he needs to command freely in this household, as his creativity, charisma, leadership and authenticity are praised by his friend. Together, they come up with solutions and strategies to conquer whatever they want! They are not afraid of competition or enemies, as both are equally ambitious and powerful in their own ways. Mars trusts the Sun, as he believes nobody is as visionary and talented enough to lead as he does. The Sun, in return, feels even more driven and powerful to accomplish his goals, as he has access to an incredible arsenal and his mission is thoroughly supported by his friend’s energy and fiery ability to execute his plans.  

Personality keywords: high self-esteem, passionate, entrepreneurial, courageous, independent, self-reliant, proactive, resourceful, inspiring, competent, combative, non-stoppable.

Moon in Taurus: The Moon feels really welcomed in one of Venus’ places, as both value beauty, security, domestic life and emotional closeness. They speak the same language, as both love to connect and celebrate relationships. They allure through tact and sweetness instead of brute force as their counterparts (the Sun and Mars) do. The Moon loves Taurus’ palace since she’s fascinated by beautiful art, exquisite food, overgrowing nature, dreamy romance, and abundant wealth… she’s just so inspired and fulfilled with this kind of luxury and magnificence! In here she has firm and solid grounds to step on, so her moods and emotional needs are stable as well. The Moon is able to relax and enjoy life effortlessly as she becomes more in tune with her physical senses and the things that bring her genuine pleasure. With Taurus’ gentle and grounded approach, the Moon lets her love flow naturally in all directions without the fear of being judged, ridiculed, or getting hurt. Like her friend, she is moved to become the glue between the people she’s fond of and attracts what she desires through her feminine and gentle nature. The Moon is so pampered and taken good care of that she’s able to channel her emotional depth and excellent organizational skills towards the growth and embellishment of her relationships and surroundings in a lasting way.  

Personality keywords: soothing, calming, relaxed, adorable, loyal, possessive, down-to-earth, practical, trustworthy, maternal, cozy, warm, gentle, nourishing, wealthy.

Mercury in Virgo: Mercury is always eager to pay a visit to Virgo´s realm, as he feels productive and useful here. As the guest, Mercury has all the mental and practical resources to give his thoughts structure and build all the great things he imagines into reality. Virgo gladly grants her friend access inside her huge library so he can explore his wide range of interests and gives him the key into her laboratory and workshop, places where he can experiment and practice all his learnings and become an expert on what he chooses to. She knows how anxious and critical he can get when he doesn’t rest or when things don’t go his way, so she also allows him to use her gym and provides him the best doctors and nutritionists to ease his stress. Virgo is pleased to see that Mercury quickly understands the importance of wellness and health, as she knows he cannot get his job done without proper self-care. Once relaxed and restored, he feels inspired to be of service, as he believes his quick wit and knowledge are put to good use. Mercury, thus, is motivated to grow, upgrade himself, achieve mastery and share his gifts with the world to make it a better place thanks to the wisdom, tools and care her friend borrows.

Personality traits: methodical, skilled, expert, wise, smart, discerning, perfectionist, high-standards, inventive, detail-oriented, practical, productive, industrious, quick wit, self-made.

Mars in Capricorn: In this sober and ancient residence, Mars is forced to cool down a bit and think before he acts. He understands that there is no one to conquer or outdo but himself. As guest in other households, Mars, as explosive, impatient and ambitious as he is, sometimes can get lost in the way, initiating projects and strategies that he later on drops because he gets bored quickly or doesn’t get the immediate results he wants; he also throws tantrums and whims when this happens, and his anger makes him do reckless and foolish things at times, something other hosts find puzzling or repulsive, where they either encage him or make him submissive, something that irritates and demotivates him even more. Capricorn, his patient and wise host, on the other hand, knows just how impulsive and enthusiastic his friend gets, so he kindly but firmly teaches him the art of discipline to achieve his goals, explaining him that violence is of no use here, but instead, self-control and resilience. After many trials and tests, Mars sees how his dedication pays off, and finds out that with constancy and practicality, his immense passion and drive can get him to unimaginable heights! Capricorn teaches him the required organizational and leadership skills to leave a renowned legacy well beyond his years. With his inborn initiative and fiery spirit channeled into the material realm, Mars is ready to raise an empire if he wanted to!    

Personality traits: ambitious, self-made, responsible, go-getter, director, powerful, resilient, pragmatic, dedicated, strategist, organized, efficient, problem-solver, relentless, strong.

Venus in Pisces: When Venus enters the sacred and watery temple of Pisces, she is mesmerized by the enthralling type of beauty she finds in here. His generous and candid host takes her for a walk throughout the entire temple and reveals to her the mysteries of the universe. He grants her access to his secret chamber, where he teaches her the art of magic and spiritual healing, and lectures her about ancient and mystical knowledge, long forgotten to humankind, but very present and real nonetheless … these are wonders she didn’t knew existed before! Pisces knows how to inspire her soul in the most delicate and virtuous ways by reminding her of her true nature, that of divine precedence. Venus cannot help to spill what’s in her heat, so she asks her friend the tools to create beautiful music, paintings, and poems so she can share them with the world. Magnanimous and wise as he is, Pisces grants all her wishes, but also shows her the secret suffering that people are burdened with, and how cold the hearts of men have become before this pain. Awed and deeply touched, Venus’ empathy and understanding grows, and she starts to see the veil between the material and spiritual realms dissolve before her. She’s never felt such calling before! She knows her mission is to spread beauty, compassion and kindness, and she does this with unconditional love and devotion.    

Personality keywords: romantic, good-natured, fair, balanced, connected, spiritual, creative, artistic, imaginative, warm, gentle, generous, understanding, devotional, forgiving, tolerant.  

Jupiter in Cancer: When Jupiter enters the sanctuary of Cancer, he becomes even more lucky and faithful in life. He radiates joy and candor! This is because Cancer teaches him that without love, good-will alone is not enough to make himself and others truly happy. Jupiter is aware of this, but he sometimes can lose himself in fantasies and utopic scenarios, where he wishes things could be different instead of trying to build them into reality. He dreams and preaches, but he can sacrifice practicality in the process. When Cancer has him over, she shows him how to extend the bridge between good intentions and actions, as she’s amazing at ordering her surroundings and making a heart-felt home wherever she goes because of her innate gift for nurturing. She also helps his friend to tap into his intuition and use his common sense to tame his emotions, which can be boundless at times. She does this by treating him with praise, understanding and acceptance, so he can practice them with himself and others. Jupiter finally feels a sense of belonging, as his good intentions are not abused, misunderstood, or minimized... they are used to make good things happen. Through accessing his more feminine side, Jupiter is compelled to give selflessly more of himself to others, and since he’s in a house that governs creation and karma, what goes around comes around multiplied. By practicing morality, ethics, charity and unconditional love without expecting nothing in return, as Cancer does, he finds out that he attracts the best of fortunes.

Personality traits: kind, compassionate, loving, caring, sympathetic, cheerful, charisma, altruistic, supported, rooted, lucky, fortunate, cozy, happy, benevolent, comprehensive, soft, guided, protective.

Saturn in Libra: When Saturn is in Libra, his sobriety and coldness start to wash off and trade for diplomacy, elegance and a profound pursuit of justice and fairness. In the friendly home of Libra, Saturn feels the need to connect, as her host reminds him the importance of friends, allies, and partnerships. After all, he cannot get ahead in life alone! Saturn’s industriousness and wisdom are channeled into building loyal and lasting relationships, where all parties get what they need equally. Libra knows his reputation well, and although she recognizes that his friend can be a bit stubborn, stern and gloomy at times, she loves to lighten him up and remind him of his noble character, and how it can create enduring and strong bonds. She gives him the mission of justice and impartiality, as she knows nobody is better suited than him for his seriousness and sense of responsibility. Saturn protects and respects Libra and feels empowered because she realigns him with balance and high ideals. He does not feel rejected or lonely anymore. Libra teaches him to relax a bit and to seek pleasure from the warmth of social interactions, and in consequence, Saturn learns to apply his maturity and discipline to persuade others into creating a kinder, fairer and wiser world.   

Personality traits: noble, just, dignified, committed, loyal, elegant, eloquent, responsible, diplomatic, mature, moral, impartial.

That's all! Thanks everyone for reading!😘

Book personal readings here: https://starintuitivehealing.etsy.com

Written by @soberpluto

[todorokis-girl]

That's really not what I meant - Kuroo Tetsurō (pt 1)

Hey 🌸

Summary: Our protagonist struggles with unrequited love for her childhood friend and team captain, Kuroo Tetsuro. With the support of her twin brother Kenma and their teammates, she faces the challenge of moving on and finding happiness beyond her crush. This story is filled with high school drama, emotional moments, and the strong bonds of friendship and team spirit. 💖🏐

(part 2)

masterlist

"You're drooling," my brother remarked, his eyes glued to the screen, the distinctive music of his game continuing uninterrupted.

“I am not,” I retorted, though my voice lacked conviction. 

“You are,” came a voice from the opposite side of me, the familiar tone of the libero, Yaku, unmistakable.

“Yaku!” I exclaimed, feeling the heat rise to my cheeks. To add insult to injury, they were probably right. I had the most annoying crush on the team captain, Kuroo Tetsurou, a childhood friend who had grown from an awkward boy into an undeniably attractive and charismatic leader. Watching him command the court with such confidence and skill was mesmerizing.

I sighed deeply, resigning myself to the teasing. "Fine, maybe I was," I admitted, rolling my eyes as I stood up. I grabbed a water bottle and a towel to hand to the captain as he walked back from the court for the break. My heart thudded in my chest as I approached him, trying to maintain an air of nonchalance.

“Good job, captain,” I said, trying to keep my composure as I handed him the bottle and the towel.

Kuroo’s eyes lit up with a mischievous glint. “Thanks, miss manager,” he replied, taking the items from me. His fingers brushed mine ever so slightly, sending a jolt of electricity through my body. I rummaged in my waist bag and pulled out a band-aid, noticing a small scrape on his finger.

“You scraped your finger earlier,” I pointed out, trying to sound as professional as possible. “If you don’t put a band-aid on it, it’ll be bad. We can’t have our middle blocker out of commission.”

Kuroo chuckled softly, a sound that made my heart flutter. “Thanks for looking out for me,” he said, his eyes twinkling with appreciation.

I watched as he carefully applied the band-aid, my mind wandering back to the countless memories we had shared. Growing up, Kuroo had always been there for me, whether it was to bandage a scraped knee or offer a comforting hug when things got tough. Now, seeing him in his element, leading the team with such passion, only made my feelings for him grow stronger.

As the break ended and the players returned to the court, I found myself lost in thought, my eyes trailing after Kuroo. The way he moved, the way he commanded the court, it was all so captivating. I shook my head, trying to focus on my duties as the team manager, but my mind kept drifting back to him.

Yaku’s voice broke through my reverie. “You know, you’re not very subtle,” he teased, a knowing smile playing on his lips.

I groaned inwardly, knowing he was right. “I know, I know,” I admitted, feeling a mix of embarrassment and frustration.

“Why don’t you just tell him how you feel?” Yaku suggested, his tone surprisingly gentle.

I looked at him, wide-eyed. “Are you crazy? What if it ruins everything? It’s a lifetime of friendship! Not to mention that if I ruin it with Tetsu, Ken will definitely kill me and then forget I exist.”

Yaku shrugged. “Or it could make everything better. You won’t know unless you try. I just can’t see Kuroo not being your friend at the end of it, no matter what his response is. At the very least, I know he loves you—friend or girlfriend, I don’t know.”

I mulled over his words, my gaze drifting back to Kuroo. Maybe Yaku was right. Maybe it was time to take a chance. But for now, I’d continue to support Kuroo from the sidelines, hoping that one day, I’d find the courage to tell him how I truly felt.

When the last whistle of the day rang, signaling the end of practice, I started packing up the team’s equipment, handing items to Fukunaga, who was assigned to place them in storage. The atmosphere in the gym was winding down, players joking and chatting as they headed to the locker rooms.

“Ken, you have 20 minutes to get ready. I want to get started on dinner early,” I called out to my brother. He waved me off without turning around, his focus already shifting back to his game. It seemed video games provided all the sustenance he needed these days.

As I gathered the remaining items, I couldn't help but steal glances at Kuroo. He was talking to Kai and Yamamoto, his face animated as he recounted some play from the practice. His presence was magnetic, drawing me in despite my best efforts to stay composed. I sighed, tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear.

Yaku's words echoed in my mind. Maybe it was time to take a chance, to risk everything for the possibility of something more. The thought terrified me, but the idea of never knowing was even worse. I finished packing up and handed the last of the equipment to Fukunaga, my mind still racing. I could feel Fukunaga’s eyes on me, and I ignored him. I REALLY needed to get better at hiding how I feel.

Walking over to the edge of the court, I took a deep breath and leaned against the wall, watching as Kuroo and the others made their way to the locker rooms. Kuroo glanced back and caught my eye, offering a smile that made my heart skip a beat. I returned the smile, my resolve strengthening.

Later, as the team dispersed and the gym quieted down, I found myself lingering, my thoughts still in turmoil. The familiar routine of managing the team's needs provided some comfort, but it also underscored how intertwined my life had become with Kuroo. I couldn't imagine a day without seeing him, without feeling his presence nearby.

“I’m done, let’s go,” Kenma said, startling me out of my thoughts. He stood there with his gym and school bag over his shoulders.

I nodded and looked past him to see Kuroo still hanging out. “He’s staying past practice today. Says he has a date.”

“Oh,” I swallowed thickly and nodded, opening the gym doors to allow Kenma to head out first.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice unusually gentle.

“I’m perfectly fine, Ken,” I replied, forcing a smile. My heart felt heavy, and I could feel the sting of tears threatening to spill over, but I kept them at bay.

The walk home was quiet, the silence filled only by the sound of our footsteps. Kenma was lost in his thoughts, probably planning his next gaming strategy, while I struggled to keep my emotions in check. The idea of Kuroo on a date with someone else gnawed at me, a painful reminder of the feelings I had kept hidden for so long.

As we reached our house, Kenma headed straight to his room, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I started preparing dinner, the repetitive motions of chopping vegetables and stirring pots providing a small measure of comfort. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't shake the image of Kuroo with someone else, laughing and smiling the way he did with me.

By the time dinner was ready, I had managed to push my emotions to the back of my mind, focusing instead on the task at hand. Kenma joined me at the table, and he seemed to sense something was wrong with my mood “You’re not ok” 

“I’m fine, Ken.”

“Y/N, we’ve known each other our entire lives, we’re twins for a reason. Don’t gaslight me into thinking I don’t know you.” He stared at me, almost reading my soul, forcing me to speak.

“Were you teasing me, or was he actually going on a date?” Kenma rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone, taking a second to play around with it. Then, he showed me the screen on his smartphone.

It was a picture of Kuroo at some flowery local café shop, wearing one of his button-ups. Next to him was a familiar face. She sits next to us in class. How did I not notice… “Is that…”

“Yes, it is.” I let out a sigh and turned back to my food, deciding to finish the conversation, the weight of Kenma’s eyes on me trying to convince me to waver. “She asked him out during lunch break last week. She was very smart in timing it just as you left to the bathroom.”

“You didn’t tell me.”

“It wasn’t for me to tell.” I sniffled and cleared my throat, looking back up at him. I didn’t think my heart could’ve broken any louder.

“I think… maybe it’s time to move on. I can’t stay in this space forever. All I’m doing is breaking my own heart.”

Kenma reached across the table, placing a hand on mine. “You deserve to be happy, Y/N. Sometimes things don’t work out the way we want them to, but that doesn’t mean it’s the end. It just means there’s something else out there for you.”

I nodded, appreciating his words even though they couldn’t fully mend the ache in my chest. “Thanks, Ken. I just need some time.”

“Take all the time you need,” he said softly. “Just remember, I’m here for you.”

The rest of the evening passed in a blur. I went through the motions of cleaning up and getting ready for bed, my mind a storm of emotions. As I lay in the dark, staring at the ceiling, I couldn’t help but think about what Kenma had said, almost competing with what Yaku had said earlier that day. Maybe it was time to let go of my feelings for Kuroo, to stop torturing myself with what-ifs and maybes, IF all I had to do what tell him how I felt, I was too late anyway. 

But moving on was easier said than done. Kuroo had been a part of my life for so long, and the thought of not feeling this way about him was almost unfathomable. Yet, I knew that holding onto these unspoken feelings was only hurting me more.

As I drifted off to sleep, I made a promise to myself. Tomorrow, I would start the process of moving on. I would focus on myself, my friends, and the things that made me happy outside of Kuroo. It was time to heal and to find a new path forward, even if it meant letting go of the dream I’d held onto for so long.

(part 2)

[uselesssomebody]

could you maybe do poe comforting an overwhelmed reader by giving them his jacket to wear 🥺

𝕣𝕖𝕔𝕜𝕝𝕖𝕤𝕤 𝕒𝕓𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕠𝕟 - poe dameron x reader

complete masterlist | poe dameron masterlist

words || 𝟠.𝟟𝕜

summary || in which poe kinda makes the reader's life hell

a/n || 8,7k??? what is wrong with me

➵ nonnie you're gonna have to sift through like 8k words to get to the request but star wars fics need good world building

➵ yo send me moon knight requests or any oscar/pedro characters i'm banging them out right now

➵ not edited (yet)

➵ send me requests if you have ‘em. enjoy!

warnings || fluff/angst

her tools fall out of her hand with a distinct clatter, as she rises from her haunches for the first time in about an hour. she runs a gentle finger over the the edge of the removed metal plate, examining her handiwork at re-configuring, and then bettering the main control center.

it’d looked like hell when she'd first seen it, just 10 minutes after the black squadron had returned to d'qar - after a particularly nasty run in with some tie-fighters after attempting to survey a first order base. though all the members had bore a part of the violence and destruction, he who bore the brunt of it was their oh so brave leader - poe dameron.

of course, his extreme courage, and never-ending headstrong-edness did enough to serve his position as the resistance's golden boy. on the other hand, though, that same bravery owed to her consecutive long nights.

see, no one thought about the little guy - dameron was probably basking in the praise he was receiving at the moment, while no one ever remembered that the only reason his shots were so good was because she'd tinkered with the weapons system until perfection. the only reason he could ever complete any of his complicated maneuvers was because she ensured his controls ran smoothly - never jamming - and that the wings of his starfighter weren't falling off. though that may seem like a base requirement of her job, she knew that wasn't an occasional fix; no, it was much closer to weekly.

it was dark on the surface of the base, and she was beside a measly lamp to finish her work. she lightly tapped against the metal on the outside of the x-wing, satisfied with the adjustments, and, when she finally stretches out her body, standing fully upright, she feels the quirk in her shoulder from the hunching, and the cramp of her forearms and palms at her meticulous but firm grip on her tools. she sighed deeply as her bleary eyes made her see spots.

she hears footsteps approach her, and she collects her items as her close friend and fellow mechanic rose comes up behind her.

"how's it going?" she hums discontentedly in response.

"i'm done, at least." it's not a great answer, but rose understands, a soft smile gracing her lips as she grabs the lamp, holding onto it to allow her friend to place her tools away.

rose's own x-wing was one of the new recruits, given a lesser brunt during missions and scouting. thus, she'd finished ensuring it was in the best shape ages ago. she'd decided to finish up some other things in the meanwhile, before doubling back to see her eternally overworked friend's progress.

"you wanna head back to the bunks?" she rubs her nose as she thinks about rose's question. as they begin leaving the flight deck, she can hear the light echo of people from afar.

"if you want to, don't wait up for me. i need a drink, though." she finally decides, not wanting to deprive her friend of sleep, but also knowing that she needed something to help her unwind from the busy day. rose simply shrugs, gesturing to the both of them making their way to the cantina.

as they enter, a decent amount of people are still milling about, though many look ready to begin wrapping up their nights. there's a empty table a ways away from the bar so, upon taking rose's request, she urges her friend to sit down as she heads to the bar.

the bartender's a lovely guy: a weequay called aid-zarg, that everyone just refers to as 'ay' or, if they're close, 'zarg'. he'd been a bit against the nicknames, but had eventually caved to them.

"ay - how're ya?" she slides into a stool in front of him, attempting conversation tentatively. he shrugs - his expression seems cold, though she knows that's just how his face is.

"alright. long night?" she smiles, but it's almost a grimace.

"something like that." she orders for her and rose, and patiently taps against the wood counter as he prepares them. when he finally slides them over, she gives him a nod of appreciation, and he returns it with a nod of acknowledgement, before she turns back to join rose.

rose glances at her as she slumps into her seat, looking half-ready to pass out.

"maybe you should talk to the general about your schedule. you're half-asleep all the time; that can't be good for a resistance member." rose takes a sip of her drink as she presents a solution to her friend's never-ending dilemma.

"i - i would, but it's not fair to assign extra work to anyone - everyone's got a specific part of the base to tend to, or a specific ship, or fighter, or whatever." she thought about her hesitance as she watched the slosh of her drink, "everyone else's already working, and i don't want to make it anyone else's baggage just 'cause my pilot has an ego the size of a death star." rose purses her lips to keep herself from laughing - not wanting to encourage her friend's catty commentary.

"how'd you end up getting assigned his, anyway?" rose mumbled. her friend laughed into her drink, slowly recanting the reason:

even before she'd come to d'qar, it was common knowledge amongst the mechanics that being assigned to fix up dameron's x-wing meant you'd lose out on a weeknight or two, if it was temporary, and your entire night life - if it was permanent.

so, when she'd arrived, and presented her previous qualifications as a mechanic on tatooine, many knew that she was at least experienced and, at most, very efficient.

so, almost as a rite of passage amongst the mechanics, she'd been assigned the dreaded ship. and she'd fixed it up in record time. at first, it was an achievement she wore like a medal, the surprised faces of the resident mechanics enough to make her beam at her skill, and her knowledge of its contribution to the resistance's efforts.

then, though, it became a permanent assignment. and, for a while, it was manageable. but then, the fights got tougher; the first orders weapons more destructive.

"and suddenly, i'm up at 1 on a work night." she finally concludes. rose, having known her since she arrived, was privy to her friend's sometimes tired, always slightly pent-up rants on any topic that aggravated her, so she waited patiently for tonight's, "it's just-" there it is, "he's so fucking - ugh - would it kill him to just follow the plan? to listen to his instructions, to not be so reckless and not go out of his way to get himself killed - no, fuck that actually - his plane destroyed? i don't know - i get it's important to be versatile, and brave, and whatever bullshit, but c'mon - every time? keeping me up every night?"

rose was sure she hadn't even stopped to breathe in that entire time, but she definitely paused her rant to take sips of her drink, which then spurred on the vent further. she contemplated maybe removing the drink from her hand, but figured that after her long evening, she deserved it, along with a listening ear.

she sighs deeply into her drink as she finishes her story, not exactly expecting an answer from rose, but happy that she could at least get it off her chest.

suddenly, she feels a firm hand on her shoulder, making her and rose squeak and whip their heads to the person. what they hadn't realized was the volume with which they were speaking, causing her eyes to widen as she realizes that the object of her annoyance stood behind her, a goading smile plastered over his - unfortunately - gorgeous face.

“yeah - that guy’s a pain in the ass!” he hisses sarcastically, as though in his group of friends, gossiping, “what’d you say he was again?” he hunches down, so his face is in line with hers. she tries to glance desperately at rose, but all she can make out is her brown overalls behind poe’s jaw. she swallows, but looks him in the eyes, an unwavering look on her face.

“i was saying that he’s reckless. and he’s the reason i’m having a drink - as opposed to, y’know, sleeping. what anyone should be doing this late.” her voice is clear, and she watches the confidence in his face falter for a moment. then, as quickly as it hesitated, his smile returned, rising back up to his full height. he pokes his tongue into his inner cheek, looking between the both of them.

“enjoy your drinks, ladies.” he says it with a shockingly non-confrontational tone, accompanied with a shrug. she feels her cheeks heat in embarrassment as he gives her a slight nod to her, before turning and heading in the direction of one of the newer recruits - frank? flynn? - as she turns back to her drink, eyes closed in humiliation.

finally, she glances up at rose, and sees the uncomfortable grimace mirrored on her face.

“please, please, can you not shout when you complain about someone?” she chastises and begs her friend in the same tone, telling her off for her borderline rude behavior, and for the subsequent awkwardness it caused her. it makes her laugh, as she nods, assuring her that she won't. as rose bemoans she situation, she smiles into the rim of her drink, trying not to think about the warmth that she felt.

she wasn't quite sure if it was still embarrassment, or something else.

as she and rose had finally decided they'd taken enough from the night, and were ready to pass out into the longest sleep they had time to muster, rose heads towards the exit while she rushes to the bar to bid adieu to aid, and to front over the cost of their drinks. the quiet bartender thought her to be funny, so prices were usually discounted, but what did confuse her was the shake of his head and the shrug he passed when she asked to be reminded of the prices.

"already paid for." her eyebrows quirk at the non-descriptive explanation, and she wonders who'd paid for them in the short time they'd sat in the cantina.

"huh? by who?" aid was never great at names, but even he couldn't forget her infamous donor.

"dameron."

the revelation muffled in her mind over the night, as she wondered what exactly had possessed the cocky pilot to pay for their drinks, especially after hearing her bad-mouth him.

perhaps, she figured, it was a gesture of good-will, to imply that her snarky comments did little to actually affect him. and, for a moment she thought it was sweet.

until she passed by him in that same cantina, surrounded by both the members of his squadron, as well as some others, recounting the story of how he'd narrowly ducked in and between the cliffs of some outer rim territory in order to avoid a gang of small-time pirates. he spoke animatedly of how he narrowly made it out from a 20 meter gap in the cliffs, though how, tragically, one of his wings had taken a brunt of impact.

she grimaced at the casualness of his words, and of the enraptured expressions of everyone else, only speaking in order to reiterate how truly amazing they thought he was.

of course she remembered that mission, as she'd spent a grueling 3 days fashioning a new wing tip to add to his starfighter before his next mission - pulling maybe a collective 3 hours of sleep over the 3 nights.

and, suddenly, his gesture seemed almost more of a mockery.

though she knew that he continued to leave her blood boiling, and thus attempted to avoid him as much as possible, he seemed to have a remarkably different idea, deciding that his prevalence as a topic of conversation of her yielded him permission to become the one she spoke to.

he'd greet her as he hopped off of his ship, whenever he passed the flight deck as she worked, and somehow always managed to walk past her just as she knew he was clocking out for the night, leaving her to work an additional few hours - at least - to rescue his overworked vehicle.

poe didn't believe that he was being malicious - not at all. after all, she had no idea how difficult his job was either, so what gave her the right to complain? she didn't know that the only reason he pulled off complicated maneuvers was to divert attention from less experienced recruits, or that the days of planning missions - just for many of them to fail - also left him exhausted, and owed to many of his own contemplative, long nights.

thus, a strange, very aggravating dance occurred between the both of them. she was stubborn - as stubborn as him - but, of course, she - rather stubbornly - would never believe it, owing neither to want to secede and create a more comfortable environment by discussing their issues or - and this was completely off the table - apologizing.

though, due to this, both of their friends were subject to suffer through their passing remarks, or the strange tension that seemed to follow the pair. as the days continued, rose found herself seeking out the amused eyes of finn - poe's good friend - as he took in the scene, smiling or laughing alongside him at the absurdity of their situation.

it was this growing familiarity between their friends, in fact, that had owed to her current lonely late night. the black and green squadrons were responsible for the destruction of a medium, but connected first order base in the mid rim. it was an unlikely victory - outnumbered by tie-fighters at least 2 or 3 to one, but the meticulous plan crafted by finn, poe and a few of the others, and green-lit by the general, had created it.

there was much celebration when they'd headed back - and that spirit soared through the entirety of the base, with everyone coming together to remember their primary goal: weakening the authoritative role of the first order. it had gone on late into the night, as she can still hear the loud, carrying voices from the cantina. she's headed in the opposite direction, though, as she usually does. she'd seen dameron's ship when it'd come in, and - though it didn't look all that rough, she could tell it could do with a tune up.

she hadn't asked rose to stay alongside her, seeing the twinkle in her eyes as she'd spoken to finn in the aftermath of the mission, smiling widely in a way her friend didn't see all that often. so, instead, she’s left in company of just her tools and the occasional creak of the old, overworked machines.

there's quiet squeaks as she's unscrewing the control panel of the starfighter, but the noises are dwarfed by the sounds of steps approaching her general direction. she wonders if someone's forgotten something, or if it's rose stopping by the check on her, but she decides to ignore it, unable to pinpoint how close the other person is. that is, until she sees them round the nose of the x-wing.

it makes her start violently, dropping her tools with a clatter as she jumps. her heart's beating so fast that she can't even see all that clearly, and, when she finally realizes who it is, frustration clouds over her confusion.

"what the hell are you doing here?" it's harsher than she usually is, but it'd been a really long day, and she wasn't excited at the notion of dealing with him.

immediately, poe's defensive.

"kriff, calm down! i just wanted to check in on her." he lightly pats on the nose of his x-wing, as if it were a pet, and she suddenly wonders where his actual pet-droid - the orange one - is, "wanted to make sure nothing happened to it." he continues, not looking at her.

she opens her mouth, wanting to say how dumb of an explanation it was, but she truly can't find the energy to start a back-and-forth with him, so she simply goes back to work, shrugging. seeing that he still doesn’t leave, she drops her head, sighing deeply.

“what - what exactly do you need to know about it - her - dameron? do you need to watch the circuits as i reconnect them, or maybe eyeball every screw i twist in?” he seems shocked by the outburst, mouth hanging open for just a moment, before his hands raise up in a faux-surrender.

“if you want me to leave - i’ll go.” he pauses for a second, but she can still feel that more words are soon to leave his tongue, so she doesn’t say anything, eyes falling down to the circuits she'd just spoken about, “but i’m not exactly excited by the idea of you - someone - down here all by themselves.” she purses her lips.

“well, i’m sorry to inconvenience you - but you are flying again tomorrow morning, and your ship isn’t exactly tip-top.” she’s ready to turn back, hoping it’s enough of an argument to suffice him, but’s he’s adamant.

“at least take a break? everyone else’s at the cantina - it’s not like a drink’d hurt-” she rolls her shoulders, sighing deeply.

“if i agree, will you stop talking?” his voice stops, but a smile grows in its stead. he shrugged.

“you want me to stop? i thought you adored the sound of my voice-” she rolls her eyes, the hint of a smile ghosting over her own lips at the sarcastic joke. muttering a small shut up, she raises to her feet, dusting off her outfit, before stepping away from her work. he gestures to the large doors leading out the flight bay, and she nods, walking to meet his stride.

they reach the cantina in a moment, the silence between them filled instead with the increasing sounds from everyone else. as she enters, she notices the large overflow of people around the bar, evidently still celebrating. she takes a deep breath as she looks around desperately for where exactly she's supposed to do.

poe, keeping a close eye on her so as to not lose her to the crowd, points towards the table where their friends are sitting. she nods, flitting right behind him to benefit as he pushes his way through the crowds. when they finally reach the table, he can see a calm rest on her face, especially in the presence of rose. he follows her gaze to the close proximity between rose and finn, and, when she averts her gaze, she meets his, making him smile with a shrug, as if saying i know, right?

as poe grabs a drink for the both of them, and she's finally able to actually meet finn and speak with rose, she finds herself loosening up, grinning at rose's excited expression, or finn's somewhat deadpan humor, or the sweetness of her drink. sometimes, poe's own jokes forced an unwarranted laugh from her as well - which he definitely took notice of.

for a while, he'd also noticed the apprehension of not being able to finish her work, but he reminds her subtly that his ship hadn't been too beat up: it wouldn't disintegrate if he tried to exit the atmosphere tomorrow, and she'd have time to fix it up before it got to that point. it allows her to really mellow down, and she settles - alongside rose -with a few other members of the black squadron as they discuss the day, their missions, and the base.

poe's more decent, she realizes, than she gave him credit for, as when he's reintroducing her to the other pilots, the first words out of his mouth is acknowledgement for her hard work. it almost makes her giddy, especially after it's followed by miscellaneous praise from the others. she feels a smile creep up on her countenance, and it's only bolstered by the many small, sweet glances he'd shoot in her direction.

though, like all good things, it doesn't exactly last.

as the night drags - and maybe it's also her exhaustion, or the fact that poe's a few more drinks in - she can feel that respect that grew for him begin to chip away again.

his mouth just works too fast for his brain to catch up - she supposes - as she feels annoyance creep over her as she hears him gloat about his many stories as a pilot. though many of the stories have less to do with him giving her more hardship, when she sees the more egoistic parts of his personality reveal themselves throughout the night, she feels that same aggravation that led to that one night of late drinking with rose.

at some point, she feels that hearing him boast over and over and over was just too much to bear, so she knocks the rest of her drink back, waves rose and finn off, and slips out as she came in, deciding a night of good sleep may soothe her turbulent mind.

only a moment after she left, does poe return with a drunken smile, just about to introduce her to one of the many recruits he'd mentored - in order to remind said recruit about the importance of respecting your mechanic.

the smile fell as finn - almost sadly - mentioned that she'd left.

it's been a few weeks since then, and poe's reeled in his antics - much to her pleasure. though, she couldn't help the twang of something she'd begun to feel when he walked past her station, not acknowledging her in the slightest.

she wondered why; after all, that was what she'd initially wanted.

neither could continue ignoring each other, though, when they were called into the communications center of the base by the leader of the division, and the general herself.

she made her way up there quickly and, meeting poe at the door, hoped her confusion wasn't apparent on her face. if it was, he did little to quell it, as he instead focused on opening the large doors.

now, she'd only met the general a few times - and the other she knew only by rank. he, on the other hand, seemed very buddy-buddy with the pair, forcing her isolation for a moment as the three greeted each other. when, finally, they turned to outline the reason for the meeting, she was directed to sit down, and listen carefully.

she was told of how the resistance had recently learned from a rebel spy on an important first order ship that said ship had been collecting significant amounts of data on the resistance, and were soon hoping to transmit that data to a more central base.

the spy had gone on, stating that if there was a way to shut down the servers in the main control room of the ship, the data would be corrupted and would be useless.

there's a pregnant pause after the delivery of this information, and she swallows before speaking.

"what - um, what exactly do you want me - us - to do?" poe's role may seem somewhat self-evident - as in, flying a passenger onto the ship or jetting them out - but her own contribution was a bit more dubious.

after all, this seemed a mission best suited for the few technical analysts on the base, as opposed to the mechanic that she was, if it included corrupting intel and shutting down servers. truly, she didn't know what the first thing about that.

the general, ever so observant, smiles lightly as she understands her question. the comms leader responds for her.

"the spy has mentioned that the core system and servers are held in an old compartment - a remnant of the original empire - and, thus, much of the system is reliant on old, though complex, circuitry." she inhales deeply, better realizing her stake in this. the other person continues, "as one of our best mechanics and - obviously - our best pilot-" okay, that stung a little bit, and the smug little grin on his face definitely didn't help, "myself and the general believe it best we run a covert operation: you will sneak onto the ship, make it to the servers, destroy them, and then come back. it's a bit technically challenging, but the likes of the two of you should ensure a smooth operation."

as they finish speaking, she can feel her heart going a mile a minute - unable to believe that she - she! - was going to try and play super-spy and sneak onto a massive first order ship. she was sure poe now realized her shock, as he gave her a small reassuring nod.

it wasn't particularly reassuring, though.

they were then told that time was of the essence, and that it would be best that they leave as soon as possible. they were told to recruit another pilot and mechanic, in the case of a back-up that may exist on the ship, before being given stolen first order uniforms, correct to their assignments.

as she headed back to the flight bay, poe and the comms leader in front of her, she felt a strange, nervous churn in her stomach. she mulled over who she'd choose as the secondary mechanic, but realized the answer was - quite literally - staring her in the face.

rose joins her at the entrance of the flight bay, curious as to why she'd been called in, and, as she recounts the meeting, she posits the position to her friend. as one of the most competent mechanics she knew, but also someone who knew how to think quick on her feet, she knew that she'd be a great fit.

rose agrees in a heartbeat - her loyalty to both her friend and the resistance unwavering against the fearful mission.

she walks further up the flight bay and, upon seeing dameron similarly speaking to finn - likely to convince him as well - she joins him, now intent on how exactly they would find a ship that would go undetected by the first order.

the general - having planned ahead - had an answer for that as well, taking the four out into a forest clearing behind the main base. two large tie/sf-fighters stood, just slightly battered, on the lush greens of the ground. they're in decent condition, she supposes, for what she knew were likely captured or shot down ships by d'qar's defense system.

they're each handed earpieces, going to guide them as they entered the first order ship, and they are waved off as she and poe enter one of them, while rose and finn enter the other.

"everyone ready?" the crackling of the comms for the mission - led by a lovely ex-bounty hunter called pala - came through, as she adjusted into the gunner's seat, and poe into the pilot's. rose answers first, a chipper 'yes' coming through between the other 4 devices. she nods to no one, as though she were really just trying to convince herself.

"as we'll ever be," she mumbles, owing to a grunt of agreement from finn. taking the answers into consideration, pala transmits the coordinates of the ship to poe and finn.

both vehicles rumble as they lift up off the ground, and she feels herself white-knuckling her seat as she anticipates the flight.

as they reach the range of the ship, poe flies ahead, surveying the entrance and - by extension - the exit points. she hears a deep voice crackle through poe's earpiece, but she can hear it echo along the narrow walkway separating her and the pilot as well. it lists off - what she presumes - is the plane's serial number, and she holds her breath as she waits for poe's response to the question, "what business do you have here?"

"the admiral sent us in for reintegration - i've got a deserter on board." she lets out a gasp at the answer he'd chosen, blatantly throwing her on the bus, but the approving echo left her annoyance to a minimum as, at least, he seemed to have bought it.

they begin lowering down into the ship's flight bay, and, before she can even stand up all the way after it becomes stationary, poe's behind her, helping her up. she doesn't know if she should thank him, but decides that she should definitely not, when she finds him grabbing both her wrists and pinning them - though gently - behind her back.

"the hell? what're you doing?" her words come out more shaky than she maybe intended, but he'd really taken her by surprise.

"you're a deserter, remember. can't exactly take you in like we're the best of friends." his tone is sarcastic and she scoffs, rolling her eyes.

"they only think that because that's what you said." he doesn't dignify her with a response, honestly making her more agitated. he opens the door of the sf-fighter and tightens his grip for a moment, as the two of them are greeted by what looked to be a colonel. it's confirmed as they near him, his nameplate engraved with the title, and poe nods at him - a little too comfortable.

"they caught this one trying to flee three days ago." he gestures to her, and the unrelated sour expression on her face was definitely helping his case. the colonel nodded, looking at her with the utmost disgust.

"and she will be reprimanded accordingly. bring her to the cell bay." poe nods, pushing her lightly as he continues forward.

"you're a good actor." she can feel his goading smirk, and she shakes her head.

"i hate you."

as they enter further into the ship, he finally releases her, their clothes helping them blend in as crew members. her fingers find her earpiece, ensuring it was on, as she spoke into it.

"rose, finn? you guys get in alright?" there's a beat of silence, and her worry grows strikingly, but it quells just as quickly when she hears the familiar tone of finn's voice in her ear.

"we're fine - heading down to the storage to find those back-ups." she glances at poe, who nods at her, before speaking.

"alright - we'll meet near the flight bay after." finn and rose both agree.

pala begins speaking a few minutes later, guiding them through the base as they reach the server room. poe keeps look-out as she crouches beside the large, cylindrical structure. circuits surround it in an orderly manner, but she can tell the ancientness of it - dust floating around, pooling around every crevice.

she reaches into her deep pockets, procuring a small screw before closely eyeing the intricacies, and getting to work.

poe's eyes flit between her frame and the hallway right outside, keenly watching for stormtroopers, and praying that none would come. he feels himself blank for a moment, not used to feeling so helpless - or, at least, not the one taking charge of a solution for a situation. he resigns himself, though, to simply waiting, gripping his blaster tightly as he waits for her to finish.

finally, she stands back up, watching the lights on the server begin flicking on and off rapidly and sporadically, owing her to believe that she'd done something right, and that the information contained was - at least - corrupted due to the circuitry she'd just purposefully fucked up.

she's by his side in a moment, peering out as well to see if they had any company. for a beat, there's nothing, and they think they have the all clear, until she hears rose's voice.

"shit!" her eyes widen at the exclamation, and they both immediately leave the room, heading back in the direction of the flight bay.

"rose? what happened, are you guys alright?" there's an eerie silence, as rose nor finn reach to communicate back through their earpieces.

"-over here! poe, we gotta head back, they're right on us!" finn's voice comes though, finally, but it does nothing to quell the pair's heightened worry.

"wait - finn, they'll chase after you - wait till we-" poe begins.

"we don't have time!" rose's voice is frantic, and the sound of blasters surround it. her eyes squeeze shut as she breathes deeply.

"rose - okay, get out of here. we're right behind you." there's no confirmation from the other end, but she tries not to let that deter her as she and poe continue towards the flight bay.

there's a smattering of patrolling stormtroopers, but her sharp ears and his sharper reflexes keep them from being caught as they slink along the shadows, tattooed to the walls of each hallway.

the large hangar finally comes into view, and they can see the familiar sf-fighter exiting it, evidently being chased by single-manned tie-fighters.

knowing they were unlikely not to be caught in this last stretch, they flee the short distance between the secluded entryway and their awaiting ship, with her rapidly beating against the button to open the door as poe covered her, keeping those whose attention they'd drawn at ever-decreasing bay with his calculated shots.

finally, the panel lowered, and they swapped positions, her shoddy shots managing to continue slowing them down as poe seats himself in the pilot's seat.

no sooner than had the panel closed upon itself are they up in the air, and she desperately straps herself into the gunner's seat, knowing she had to put her limited knowledge of the position to any use. the entrance to the hangar is rapidly closing as the colonel from earlier can be heard through the ship's comms, desperately trying to keep the pair trapped within the base.

she can feel her back imprint against her seat as poe speeds the vehicle up, just narrowly exiting the snapping jaws of the base's exit. as she takes the smallest breath of relief, does it disappear once more.

"'re you guys out? we could do with some help!" finn's voice evidenced that he was trying to keep his cool, but the fear in it was also obvious. poe's responding in a heartbeat.

"we're there in a second!" she can feel the ship begin climbing as poe checked the scanner for any other vehicles. finally, they see the sf-fighter, being narrowly tailed by two tie-fighters. poe - true to his word - comes between the forces in a heartbeat, almost dancing with the tie-fighters as he weaves between the both of them. she feels dizzy at the quick movements, but suppresses the urge to pass out and grips harder at the armrests.

"finn - get outta here, i have them!" poe's speaking through the comms once more and, as he finishes his sentence, the ship's horizontal, peeling away from finn and rose - the tie-fighters hot on his trails, evidently disgruntled by the flashy flying. finn doesn't wait a second, activating the hyperdrive and inputting the coordinates of d'qar.

on the other side of the galaxy, poe's still leading the two tie-fighter's away, but the shitty ship is impeding his ability to duck and weave like he could in his x-wing.

"'m gonna need your help here!" she jolts awake at the request, realizing that she needs to man her station. her eyes desperately flit over the various buttons, before she grips the aim stick. her eyes are trained against the tie-fighter directly tailing them, and she centers it in her view, before aggressively hitting the button to shoot.

and, it's a narrow miss. she curses, trying to refocus, but a dread begins creeping up her gut.

"i don't know what i'm doing, dameron - get us out of here!" it's an order, but, really who was she to order him around.

"we've got this - we can take 'em out." she's used to his confidence and belief in himself, but she knew they truly couldn't.

"will you just-" seeing another clear shot, she takes it. it goes a bit better, with it hitting the end of one of the fighter's wings, causing the ship to dip to one side. her worry is soothed as she celebrates the small victory to herself.

then, as though a higher power was absolutely fucking with her, it all goes to shit.

she feels the ship rumble and heave sharply as she hears a loud crash, and she whips her head around, trying to find the source of it. she desperately grips at the aim stick, trying to keep it steady and ready to fire again, but she doesn't have a moment to use it when another loud blast and creak is heard.

"shit!" her eyes widened at poe's exclamation.

"what the hell just happened - whad'ya mean-?" her words are cut off due to the wind being knocked out of her as she's slammed against one of her armrests.

"we're going - fuck - the engine's been hit - hold on-" his words are breathless against the comms, and she can hear the exertion of effort by the grunts that carry through the hallway. she grips the armrests for dear life as she waits to see what would happen. she can feel the ship make a sharp turn and, behind them, the tie-fighters trail behind a little, as if they were playing with their prey.

"what're we doing?" her fear is evident in her tone, and her voice is a bit croaky in her heightened confusion.

"i'm trying to set us down on that planet over there." she can't see it, looking out from the back of the ship, but she knows that can't be the best idea in their current state. though, seeing the creeping tie-fighters makes it seem like there's no other choice.

she can see as they enter the atmosphere, hearing the shrill whistle of wings singeing on impact. then, she closes her eyes, bracing for impact as the both of them sit in anticipating silence. she's thinking we're going too fast, the ship's gonna blow up with me in it - god fucking dammit-

and that's the last thing she remembers.

he wakes up to a mouthful of dirt, bent very awkwardly over the semi-buried dashboard of the sf-fighter. his window's broken open, and the sun - or suns? - is blinding through it. he blinks aggressively, his vision swimming a spotty as he spits the gunk out of his mouth, wiping his lips against his fucked jacket sleeve. there's enough of a space between the ground and the glass of his window pane for him to just about crawl through, feeling the heavy impact on his legs from the crash. he looks around, desperately wondering where the hell he was.

it's a grassy planet, filled with lush vegetation and small ponds and lakes. the ship was half-sticking out of one, and his pants legs are soaking wet, the skin of his fingertips pruned. he can feel a sharp sting of pane every time he moves his foot and, peeling back the end of the sopping cloth, sees the discolored swelling of his ankle - having been sprained or twisted in the crash. he lets his head fall back - could have been worse, a lot worse.

he looks up at the looming, though destroyed figure of the sf-fighter, and, seeing the other end balanced precariously above the ground. for a moment, he doesn't pay it much attention - until he remembers.

his shoddy ankle sings in agony as he makes large, limping steps towards the other end of the ship, realizing that he didn't yet know the fate of his other passenger - his mechanic.

of course, in the recess of his mind, he had a guess. but he couldn't entertain it.

finally getting to the end. he peers in to see if she was okay. he's panting heavily, desperately trying to ignore the pain as he focused on using the little light on this side to look through the broken glass. he could see her legs, bent a little awkwardly - but not broken - and he traces them up to her head and torso - which was tightly strapped against the seat. it was the only thing keeping her from falling onto the floor, and her heads hanging. she's definitely not conscious, and he can't help but feel his heart sink as he steps closer - ankle be damned - reaching through the broken glass to unstrap her. when he does, her body flops forward - as he believed it would - a bit like a ragdoll and, though the angle definitely didn't help, he did his best to pull her out. when he could finally observe her in the sunlight, he could feel his chest swell in relief at the movement of her chest up and down. pulling her towards him, he could feel her breath against his neck.

so relieved, he doesn't realize, for a moment, the shallowness of those breaths, and the dampness of the cloth around her shoulder. when he does, though, he desperately removes the fabric. he winces at the sight, having to look away for a moment, before looking back down to observe the extent of her injury.

her upper arm got a long, deep gash, and the blood from it had soaked through her sleeve. not wasting a moment, he slides the sleeves of his own jacket off, tearing a thick, long strap from the t-shirt he wore under it. he wraps it as tightly as he can manager around her arm to staunch any further bleeding, hoping it wasn't too late, and trying desperately to ignore the small whimpers or stuttered breaths that she let out at the action.

he rises to his feet, a difficult task, in his condition, and notices a small shade of trees just a bit away from the pair. breathing deeply - almost in an effort to will away his pain - he grabs her good arm and pulls it over his shoulder, hoping his good leg wouldn't give out, as he makes his way there.

she wakes up in a cold sweat, looking up to see the large leaves of a tree under the backdrop of an orange sky. she scrambles to sit up in a moment, unable to fully comprehend her surroundings. her heart's going a mile a minute, her body entering fight or flight mode, before she hears his voice.

"you're alright - you're good. m'here." she recognizes his voice more quickly than she'd maybe be willing to admit and, when she goes to turn to the source of it, she feels a scream of agony in her arm. her sharp grunt of pain is louder than she maybe had hoped, but fuck - did her arm hurt, "yeah - uh, you've got a bad cut." his voice is soft, as if he were trying to lull her into a sense of calm.

it worked. for a moment.

until she remembered what happened. the tie-fighters, her pleads to go the hyperspace, the engine failing, the jolt of the impact of the straps holding her body in place, the blood in her hair from the open wound on her arm, her head going blank and her passing out from the pain.

she remembered all of it. including what he'd said.

'we've got this'

there's a lump in her throat, and she desperately tries to swallow it down as she stares vehemently at the dirt under her. she refuses to look up at him, and hopes he realizes why.

"do - does anyone know we're here?" her voice is more broken than she'd hoped it was but - fuck, she was scared. she can see him shrug in her peripheral.

"i'm sure they'll find us." she sighs deeply, turning away to the extent that she can. there's a calm, though cold, silence between them, before she can hear him sharply inhale.

"helluva trip, huh?" there's a jokey cadence to his voice, and it takes her a moment to actually process what he's said, his casual tongue actually igniting a rageful fire in her.

"what?" it's a whisper - backed by such an anger that she worries if she speaks louder, she'll scream.

"i'm just saying - pretty, uh, pretty crazy thing, right?" she shuts her eyes, and a small part of her brain knows that, at best, this is his way of making the best of a bad situation and, at worst, this is just some shit attempt at small talk. but - be it his words in the past, or the pain of her arm, or maybe even just the fact that all she could hear was his confident words like a low buzz in her ears since she remembered what he'd said - she was furious.

"yeah - it's fucking insane how i'm lightheaded because of all the blood i lost, and how i can't move a centimeter without wanting to cut my arm off, and how i can feel the bruises forming where the straps kept me from splitting my skull open on my broken window. it's a helluva experience." her words are softer than she'd thought they would be, but she knew if she was any louder, she may have screamed at him until her lungs collapsed or her throat gave out - whichever came later.

she doesn't have to turn back to see the expression on his face, and, truly she feels a bit shit for lashing out at him.

but she was on a random fucking planet with a mangled fucking arm and her only company was a pilot with no fucking plane.

so, excuse her for the outburst.

"i-" poe's stammering behind her, but she can't hear it, as her vision swims when she tries to get on her feet. she can see the ship in the distance, and knowing that it was her best bet at company right now, she trudges towards it, "where're you going?"

she doesn't dignify him with an answer.

when she finally reaches the large structure, she situates herself against the pilot's dashboard, gently kicking away the broken glass as she tentatively crouches down. she looks over the panel, hoping that at least one of the comms was still working. she procures her screwdriver with her good arm - well, technically not, but at least it didn't hurt all that much to move - before lightly tapping the back of it against any and all of the buttons, seeing if anything worked.

her arm now had a dull, thrumming pain, and she desperately tried to ignore it as she focuses on identifying what the comms were. she traces over a panel that seems to be promising, pulling the screwdriver towards it to see if she could meddle with any of the circuitry under it to get it to work - however briefly.

pulling it up, she realizes both the awkwardness of her position, and of her grip on the tool, unused to using this hand for it. her muscles ached, her arm ached, her temples ached as she desperately tried to slot the head of the tool into the screw, failing once, twice, thrice, before dropping the tool with a groan of anguish.

she's heaving - no, sobbing, feeling the liquid of her tears roll down her cheeks. she slumps against the glass, palming her cheeks as she desperately tried to muffle her exhausted weeping, only the sound of her small hiccups escaping.

she hated getting like this - crying out in the open, and she only reserved the ordeal for true upsets. though, this was one of them. she was so tired, and in so much pain, and she'd just been so horrible to poe as well - when he'd just tried to lighten her mood.

through the blood rushing in her ears and the motion of her hiccups, she doesn't realize the heavy thuds of poe's limping steps. she only realizes when he's in front of her, blocking the dimming sunlight from her eyes, and she covers her face entirely, not wanting to see her in this state.

he doesn't comment, though, only falling to his own haunches before sitting beside her, granting a respectful silence and, more importantly, friendly contact.

she swallows harshly as she forces her hiccups down. she doesn't look at him, worried it'd make her start up again, but he knows she's not uncomfortable with him there.

taking her good hand, he gently drops an opened bag of nuts. she looks at it, a bit confused.

"always keep 'em on me. emergency snack." he says it so casually and, it being contrasted with the slight childishness of the information, makes her crack the hint of a smile.

maybe she was hysterical.

"- hope they'll make you feel better." he continues, and she nods, popping one in her mouth and absorbing the mild, sweet taste.

"thanks - thanks." she mumbles, and they're quiet for another moment.

she hands them back to her, and, in that moment of contact, he notices her cold skin. he glances over her, realizing her thin top without a sleeve, and he shrugs off his jacket. it's a bit mucked up from the crash, but it's better than nothing.

tentatively, he moves a bit closer to her, gently placing the material around her, careful of her arm. still she winces - but only for a moment. really, she's more confused.

"what're you doing?" she whispers, and he's close enough to hear her now.

"you're cold." he's not wrong, but she still protests.

"and you?" he smiles.

"well, i'm pretty hot-headed. i'll be fine." it's a joke, and she really wants to laugh at it, but she can't help but feel bad once again for her words. taking it differently, poe continues solemnly. “i’m sorry.”

it’s a quiet mumble into the still air. it sounds foreign, coming from his mouth, as he tries to fit the extent of how apologetic and shitty he feels into the fleeting, overused phrase. she stays quiet, the only noise being her soft exhales.

“i - i know.” she mumbles back, unsure of what more to say. of course he was - he’d never intended for this. nonetheless, he’d been subject to her own emotions, to an unjustifiable degree, “i am, too.”

his contemplative expression returns a smile instead, now, and she finally turns to look at him.

"i'll buy us a drink when we get back, okay?" he offers, making her scoff.

"you're so great at apologies." he shrugs, as though it's obvious fact, and not a light jab.

"then what about dinner?" her eyes widen a little at the proposition, and she's speechless for a moment. then, she snorts, pushing her good hand across his face and playfully pushing him.

"get us out of here; then, we can talk about dinner." he smiles widely under her palm, and laughs as she takes her hand off. he leans back just that bit further against the metal, and the readjustment causes the dashboard to shift just slightly.

a small item comes rolling down, and falls right in his lap. he grasps at it and, realizing what it is, his eyes widen. he brandishes it in between the both of them, and she also realizes: it's his earpiece.

he gently presses the input button, and immediately starts calling out for finn, rose or pala. they wait a moment, with baited breath.

"poe - kriff, we thought you were dead!" finn's voice is unmistakable, and the revelation makes the pair's spirits soar.

in no less than a couple minutes were the told that a ship was coming by to collect them, and, as the earpiece's output stops for the moment, she rests more peacefully against the destroyed ship, and he mirrored her movements.

"so, about that dinner?"

[winter-parrot]

Wherein will be discussed the wedding prospects of Les Amis

aka my ficlet for @spinningyarns for the @drinkwithme-exchange! I’m a little rusty writing les mis but this was fun to write, I really hope you enjoy!!!

———————————

“I have just met Marius’ new hat and new coat, with Marius inside them,” Courfeyrac declared. The door to the back room swung open dramatically wide in front of him, emphasizing both his entrance and his statement. “He was going to pass an examination, no doubt. He looked utterly stupid.”

Alas, his grand entrance did not meet an audience deserving of its magnificence, for the evening was still young and the room nearly empty save one. But it seemed Lady Fortune had not abandoned him entirely, for that sole occupant was Prouvaire—who glanced up from his papers with gravitas befitting such a declaration. “An examination, you say! That may prove disastrous for our young friend. Surely you prevented a catastrophe?”

“My dearest Prouvaire, do not doubt that I tried my utmost to save Marius from his new hat and new coat,” Courfeyarc said, approaching Prouvaire’s table. “Only he refused to acknowledge me at all! Why, if I did not know the fellow, I would say he considered me beneath his new hat and new coat.”

“But then, how are you so certain he was going to sit an examination?” Prouvaire asked, leaning forward over the table.

Courfeyrac fell heavily into the seat across from his friend, with a dramatic throw of his hands. “What other folly could possibly make a man suddenly put on his new clothes on a nameless Thursday?”

“I’m afraid you’ve forgotten the simplest answer,” Prouvaire said with a smile. “Love, Courfeyrac. The man is in love.”

“Love!” Courfeyrac gasped. “Impossible! Surely I would know already if he were in love. Marius is not a man suited to keep such momentous secrets.”

“Well, we’ve all of us yet to be arrested,” Prouvaire said, shrugging his shoulders with a nonchalant ease that belied the grave weight of his words. “Evidently, he does know how to keep at least one momentous secret.”

“Now that is a different matter entirely,” Courfeyrac said, drawing away with a touch of hurt. “Come now, my friend, I know better than to bring around a man I would not trust with my own life.”

“Oh, pray do not misunderstand me,” Prouvraids said, reaching across the table to lay a gentle hand on Courfeyrac’s arm. “I certainly do not mistrust your judgment, especially in the valour and trustworthiness of a man. I merely wish to point out that you contradict your own assessment of Pontmercy.”

“Marius cannot be trusted to keep a single secret about matters of the heart,” Courfeyrac amended, “especially his own. He all but writes his emotions across his forehead in ink.”

“Ah, but that is simply passion that must make itself known!” Prouvaire declared, a dreamy sort of look falling over his gaze. “He has much of that, as he aptly demonstrated at his first—and to date only—meeting within these rooms.”

“Why, Citizen Prouvaire, my republican friend,” Courfeyrac said, gleefully emphasizing each word, “are you praising Marius for his exaltation of the Emperor himself?”

Prouvaire sniffed with a touch of disdain, or perhaps offense. “I am more than capable of admiring the heights of a man’s passion, while also despising the recipient of that passion. It takes a man of great courage and great conviction and great passion to make his case so valiantly. And in face of Enjolras and Combeferre both, no less!”

“A combination to be feared, to be sure,” Courfeyrac agreed easily. There was, after all, a good reason one was their leader and the latter his complement. “They were rather at top form that day, as well. Their best repartées in months, perhaps.”

“And yet Pontmercy did not flee! Even after Enjolras’s flawless retort. My mother is the republic, indeed.” Prouvaire let out a sigh of admiration. “That is a mark of passion, my friend. It will be a lucky woman indeed, she who is the target of his love.”

“Do not declare the case solved in such haste,” Courfeyrac insisted, rapping on the table with a half-closed fist. “I still maintain that he would have told me, were he truly in love. Or given himself away by some other sign, at the very least.”

“I do not doubt he would confide in you, should he suspect the inclinations of his own heart,” Prouvaire agreed easily. “Only it may be that he himself does not yet recognize it as love. How long has he been acting in such odd ways?”

“Depends by what measure you mean to ask. By the standards of the average man? For as long as I have known him.” Courfeyrac paused a moment to comb through his recollections. “By the strange standards of one Marius Pontmercy? Perhaps a day or two at most.”

“Et voila,” Prouvaire said, with all the satisfaction of a lawyer who has found the winning argument. “Our M. Pontmercy is in love, only he does not know it yet as love. Perhaps it is his first, even! Ah, but nothing can compare to the sweetness of such youth, such novelty. Who knows? If all goes as he wishes, perhaps we will see one of our friends married before some fateful day arrives for us all.”

Courfeyrac sat upright, aghast. “Come now! We have yet to confirm if love is indeed the cause for Marius’s strangeness, and here you are already pealing his wedding bells! And before anyone else, to boot. I am not certain if you give Marius too much credit or the rest of us not enough, but I am quite certain the credit is misplaced somewhere.” Here, he paused a moment to consider, then began to account for their friends one by one. “I grant we shall likely never see Enjolras marry — any more than he is already married to the Future of France itself, that is. Combeferre is too far like Enjolras in this matter, for all my best efforts. Though it is not only the great cause that claims his focus; rather, he is far too busy with all the rest that life has to offer to enjoy some of her sweetest fruits to the fullest, at least of yet. Grantaire, the poor fellow, struggles nearly as much to keep a woman as he does to pretend he does not wish to. Feuilly, alas, has certainly the heart and the passion to keep a woman well-pleased with ease, but not the means. Ah! But what of Joly and Bossuet and their Musichetta?”

Prouvaire smiled indulgently. “One of them would surely marry Musichetta—if only they could decide which of them is to marry her. I, for one, rather think Musichetta will sooner declare it all a bore not worth their endless debating. What matters of the official seal of marriage, when they all are radical revolutionaries intent on overthrowing that very government? Now, I admit Bahorel and his laughing mistress may save us yet from collective bachelorhood. But I suspect Bahorel cares too little for formality and detests the very hint of lawyers too much to ever wed properly.”

“You discount me so easily?” Courfeyrac said, a hand pressed to his heart with mock indignation.

“My dearest friend,” Prouvaire said, with a sweet sincerity that did nothing to dim the perceptive gleam of his eyes, “you are a little too fond of your mistresses, I think, to settle on one just yet.”

“You wound me, and yet I find I cannot deny the truth of your assessment,” Courfeyrac admitted rather easily. “Alright, so I am a lost cause—or at the very least a distant hope for the future. What of yourself?”

“I have borrowed of your problems, and some of Combeferre’s. That is to say, I am certainly not immune to the charms of a pretty grisette, but not yet particularly fond of one—and I have too many other companions to occupy my thoughts to truly keep a woman happy.” A somber mood descended rather suddenly upon him, as he added, “There is also the added matter of discretion. Friends of the future such as ourselves much take care with our close associates, lest we give away too much of our hearts and our secrets to the wrong person. In this matter Pontmercy is luckier than us, as he is not so deeply embedded in the inner workings. He has the liberty yet to be a little cavalier with his affections, and risk breaking nothing more than his own heart, precious as that is.”

Courfeyrac suppressed a frown, saddened by the sudden turn of his friend’s mood. He could not argue with the content of Prouvaire’s words, perhaps, but he could argue with their dark sentiments. Primarily by taking a deliberately light and carefree tone, as he declared, “Ah-ah! You simply must give me more time. I am certain I shall disabuse him of his Napoleonic heart and bring him around to our perspective someday. Have a little faith in me, and in him.”

Prouvaire met Courfeyrac’s eyes with a smile at once knowing and grateful. His tone was equally light as he answered, “I have the deepest of faith in you and your wiles, my dearest Courfeyrac. Pontmercy will not last forever under your assault. And a good thing for us all! It would be helpful, I think, to have all that passion on our side, when the day comes. He may yet prove an asset to France herself, and not just to the gilded altars of Love and Passion.”

[dyns33]

All fine

I'm still not done with Shane.

I did a little Reader!Rick x Shane, even if I already wrote something a bit similar.

"I know. It's fine."

It had taken a long time for Shane to come to Y/N, his eyes indicating that he was finally ready to tell her the truth.

Before, they had been very happy.

They had met at work, at the Atlanta police station, first forced to work together despite their differences, then becoming friends, lovers, then married.

When Y/N had taken a bullet, Shane's face was the last thing she saw before losing consciousness.

"No. Baby, no. Shh. Shh, shh, shh. You stay with me, okay ? It's okay, you stay with me. You're not leaving me. I love you, baby. Stay with me. No, stay with me ! Y/N !”

What happened next, Y/N still didn't fully understand today. She had been taken to the hospital, and Shane had come to see her every day while she was in a coma, and then the dead started walking.

The first thing her husband had wanted to do was go get her, not caring about the chaos and danger. But Y/N hadn't woken up, and moving her would mean killing her, so Shane had barricaded the door so she wouldn't be eaten in her sleep and left, crying.

According to him, he had been a coward. An asshole. He should have stayed in the room with her, until the end, so they could die together, or he should have been there when she finally opened her eyes.

But he was afraid. He didn't want to die.

He had found a group of survivors, including his best friend Rick's wife and son, who had not survived.

Shane had never looked at Lori before. He had always seen Rick's wife, nothing else, and he didn't look at other women since he was married anyway. He wasn’t really looking at her now, even though he thought Y/N was dead. He just felt alone and hopeless.

When Y/N had arrived at camp, it had been over a month since the apocalypse had started, and two weeks since he had been secretly sleeping with Lori.

She didn't want others to know, especially her son, because they would ask too many questions. He didn't want the others to know because he was ashamed. He felt like he was abandoning Y/N again. The fact that she was alive didn't help.

Oh, he was happy she came back. He had kissed her again and again without being able to stop, crying like a baby, refusing to let go and apologizing.

"Everything is fine." she told him, without knowing what he was really talking about.

Nothing more happened with Lori after her return. It wasn't a problem, she wasn't jealous, her son was her priority, and Shane continued to do everything to protect them.

Strangely, it was Andrea who was less accepting of the situation. Not only had she guessed what their leader was doing in secret, waiting to be able to taste him when Lori had finally thrown him away, but she found him too nice, too gentle, since his wife had returned.

"You seemed to have more balls before, but I guess she's the one calling the shots in the couple."

"You know what ? Yeah, exactly." Shane muttered, standing very close to her. "She's the one who decides. She's always been the brains of our duo, and I the muscles. She says, I do."

“And you don’t mind being a good doggie ?”

"Don't think I'm a good doggie. I bite when necessary, and take care of problems without her needing to know."

The threat was clear enough, and Andrea seemed to calm down for a time. Her remarks hadn't managed to disturb Shane, but it was true that the dynamic of their relationship had always been complicated, at work and at home.

Very dependent, very possessive, very jealous, Shane always needed to receive Y/N's approval, to know that she was proud, to feel her eyes on him.

He had done some bad things since the end of the world, but one was worse than the others, and he didn't dare admit it to her, too afraid of losing her.

When he finally found the courage, it had been almost four months, they had found refuge on a farm, and Lori was pregnant.

“I made a huge mistake…” he began, sitting down next to her during her shift. "I thought you were dead. I really thought you were dead."

"I know."

"No, listen. I really need to tell you…"

"Shane. I know. It's okay."

One of the reasons he fell in love with Y/N was because of her intelligence. Her ability to deduce things, which helped her a lot to understand him when he wasn't able to speak.

She had noticed his behavior, Lori's behavior. She had seen the signs. And on top of that, Andrea had spoken to her.

Y/N had known for weeks, saying nothing, waiting for him to come to her. And now that it was done, she promised him that everything was okay, touching his back and smiling.

"… No."

"What no ?"

"No !" he repeated, jumping out of his chair, suddenly furious. "Everything's not okay ! You should yell at me ! Hit me ! You can't act like you don't care ! I cheated on you, dammit !"

“Calm down, please.”

"Hit me ! Insult me ! Do something !"

“Shane…” Y/N sighed as she tried to touch his cheek, continuing to respond with gentleness instead of the violence he expected, that he demanded.

If she had done that to him, he would have gone crazy. He would have killed the guy, and he would have wanted to hurt her, and since he loved her too much for that, Shane would have hurt others, himself, before doing something really stupid.

He had thought she would react the same way, and like when she returned, he was not relieved that he had been wrong.

"You don't fucking care !"

"I do care ! I understand."

"You understand ?! You were rotting in a hospital room for a few days and I was already taking off her panties !"

"You were desperate ! You were alone ! It doesn't feel good, I wish it didn't happen, that we were together, that you didn't touch her, but it happened, I understand why, I love you and I don't want you to torture yourself about it anymore !'

Yes, Y/N had always been the brains of their relationship, and the heart, and everything in between. Shane just felt like an idiot who was lucky to have her, completely clueless as to why she was with him.

Before, she had forgiven him for a lot of things, the outings in bars, the fights, the fits of jealousy. He wasn't perfect, but she accepted him.

Nothing forced her to stay with him, now that society was in pieces, their rings no longer meant anything, and he had clearly proven himself to be nothing but a cowardly bastard.

Despite this, she had chosen him. He had been her first thought, her goal, and she had returned to him without the slightest hesitation, not suspecting what he had done.

“I abandoned you…” he sobbed, falling to his knees. “I let you get shot, I left you in that hospital, I cheated on you…”

"None of this is your fault. Nothing. You were there to help me, you closed the hospital door. I wouldn't be here if you hadn't done that. You held on because she comforted you, otherwise I would have found a group that would have told me you were dead.”

"I'm too cowardly to die."

"Stop it. Please stop. You've been upset for weeks, I see the look in your eyes. Sometimes… Sometimes I wonder if it wouldn't have been easier if you'd left the door open."

"Don't say that !" he yelled, grabbing her by the shoulders. "I love you ! I love you so much…I don't want to lose you…"

"I'm here. I love you too. Shane, I love you more than anything. It's okay." Y/N said, kissing him tenderly, pulling him into her arms, like she did after every pointless argument.

"She is pregnant."

"I know. It's okay. We're together, everything's okay."

The world was still shit, and it didn't seem like a quick fix could be found, but Shane decided that as always, he just had to listen to his wife and she would know what to do.

And if that wasn't the case, he would fix the problem without her knowing, and it would be all fine.

[artstar1997]

The main characters of my fairy AU, which is the adaptation of the Hidden AU and its collaboration story, Journey to Harmony are made by me and @georgi-girl. Each of the seven fairy tribes and subtribes has wings and antennae based on different insects or the wings are based on their elements (the country tribe as earth fairies have leaf or flower petal or fruit slice-shaped wings, the techno tribe as water fairies have fin-like wings, etc.) and the pop trolls as fairies are more of butterfly fairies while Cooper is a moth fairy, just like his parents and his tribe and Queen Rose and her tribe, the platinum trolls are dragonfly fairies. Their outfits are based on the fashion from the Middle Ages, though the fairies' clothes are made out of natural materials, such as leaves and flower petals.

The new Platinum leader and the fairy queen of the fairy kingdom, Queen Rosetta a.k.a Rose has dragonfly wings and antennae just like the members of her court, which is known for the use of light magic. She wears roses and rose petals in her outfits because the flowers match her personality and the rose symbolizes royalty, romance, love, beauty, and courage.

Queen Poppy, the older twin of King Peppy's twin daughters and one of Queen Celestia's wards has the antennae that she, Queen Celestia, and the members of the Snack Pack share because they came from the same court. During the group's search for the Pop court, Poppy acts as a trusted best friend for Queen Rose to rely on in lending a helping hand or wing because they have been inseparable at most times, especially during lessons. She shares with her boyfriend, Branch. Her wings are based on the king swallowtail and her outfits have camellias and their petals as skirts because the flower symbolizes beauty, grace, elegance, love, longevity, happiness, and good fortune,

Branch, on the other hand, is still the cautious and protective but talented butterfly. His skills in survival and protectiveness towards his friends allowed him to join the knights and earn his title as a sir. He and his brothers have the same monarch butterfly wings and his outfits were made of Mexican sage petals and leaves. The sage plant symbolizes bravery, esteem, domestic virtue, longevity, thoughtfulness, good health, and wisdom.

DJ Suki is a music-savvy fairy herself since fairies are known to be musically inclined and she was trained to be a troubadour ever since Queen Celestia took in the Snack Pack after they were separated from the pop fairies during their escape from the giants (the bergens). Sporting red lacewing butterfly wings and wearing clothes with lotus petals, I kinda match her with lotus flowers because they symbolize transcendence, purity, rebirth, and strength.

Cooper is the only moth fairy in the group and is known to work in the castle bakery with Legsly. He was aware that he had a different antennae shape and that his wings were based on a rosy maple moth but what he didn't know was that he was born a fairy prince. His outfits are made of morning glories, which match him perfectly because the flowers symbolize eternal love, rebirth, resilience, life, and unyielding love.

Smidge is a skilled flyer and fighter in her group and she is one of the transgender members. She is the strongest because she trained with the knights alongside Branch but, she tends to be more of a berserker. Her wings are based on an orange sulphur butterfly and her outfits are made out of red dahlias, which symbolize strength, power, perseverance, and prosperity.

Biggie is a big butterfly with a heart of gold. As an animal tamer and the caretaker of the Snack Pack, he takes care of them and keeps them safe with his bow and arrows but he owns a pet fox, whom he names Mr. Dinkles. He has blue morpho butterfly wings and his outfit is made out of pansy flower petals and leaves because it matches his gentle personality and the pansy symbolizes love, loyalty, honesty, devotion, sympathy, and care.

Guy Diamond is a transgender male but he is considered the most beautiful fairy. Sporting glitter on his pink-tipped satyr butterfly wings, he can emit fairy dust from his wake when flying. Queen Rose uses it for potions while Fuzzbert uses the dust for healing. As a new dad to the newborn baby Tiny Diamond, he tries his best to be a good example to his son. His outfits are made out of amaryllis lily petals, which match him because the flower symbolizes pride, strength, determination, beauty, and love.

Satin and Chenille, the fashion twins still love fashion designing and making clothes but their outfits are known among the younger generation of the nobility, the elite, and the wealthy class. They have matching purple emperor wings, cherry blossom outfits, and ponytails that face each other like a mirror, but the sleeves, personalities, and colors set them apart. Cherry blossoms match them because of their traits and the flower symbolizes beauty, passion, love, courage, rebirth, renewal, new beginnings, and the start of spring.

Fuzzbert, though mute, is a skilled healer among his teammates, which comes in handy because of the difficulty of their quest. Using his knowledge of potions and spells to cure his fellow fairies and help anyone in need. His wings are based on a species of a swallowtail butterfly and his outfits are made of sweet pea leaves, which symbolize blissful pleasure, good wishes, kindness, gratitude, and friendship.

Legsly works at the castle bakery with Cooper but she is mainly the most outgoing among the teammates. As a baker, she has a "happy-go-lucky" attitude with a liking for any "good things" and her cooking talent impresses both her friends and guests alike. Her dress is made out of the leaves and the flower of the daffodil, which symbolizes rebirth, new beginnings, hope, joy, and good luck.

[juniperss]

Band of brothers medieval au ,that's just a thought...

anon, your mind….lets take this a step further if you don’t mind me doing so:

knights of the round table au. Now I’ll be honest and admit that my knowledge on King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table is entirely sourced from BBC’s Merlin so you’ll have to bear with me BUTTTTTTTTTT

“We would fight a thousand armies with our bare hands for you. We are never alone. We stand together." -Elyan to Arthur

In this AU I clearly picture Richard as Arthur. Just as in Band of Brothers, we see how quickly Easy Company (led by Lipton and so on) admit they would rather be transferred (or even killed) than to have to serve under Sobel. It’s clear from the beginning who the loyalty of the Company belongs to and that is Winters.

Now there aren't enough Knights of the Round Table to have each member of Easy Company, so I'm going to divide Easy into the Archetypes of each Knight that they most reflect in either all or most aspects (in my opinion!) -Sir Gwaine Archetype: "I think we have no chance. But I wouldn't miss it for the world." Bold, seeing the best in others, flirtatious, confident, fiercely loyal, humorous, throw hands first and ask questions later, and believed that people should be defined by what they did rather than who they were [Guarnere, Toye, Speirs, Talbert] - Sir Lancelot Archetype: "It is not just his deeds that we'll never forget. It is his courage. It is his compassion. His unselfish heart." Kindhearted, compassionate, courageous, humble, loyal and self sacrificing. [Lipton, Roe, Malarkey] -The Sir Elyan Archetype: "He's [Elyan] just one of those types of people, never settles down, never thinks about the future. Just follows his heart wherever it takes him." Affectionate, adventurous, loyal, brave, kind to others, cunning and quick on their feet, giving. [Muck, Skip, Nixon, Liebgott, Luz] -The Sir Leon (THATS MY MAN!) Archetype: "I have fought alongside you [Arthur] so many times, there is no one else I would rather die for." Steadfast, loyal, sensible, knew the difference between courage and foolishness, outspoken, humorous, good natured, self sacrificing for the greater good [Martin, Buck, also Lipton] -The Sir Percival Archetype: "Your enemies are my enemies" Quiet, man of few words, skilled, brave, gentle and softhearted, decisive, mischievous in the right company. [Shifty, Bull, Babe, Skinny]

Prince Richard presents his plan to stop an evil that has grown so powerful and destructive that he isn't sure he can actually succeed but he vows that he will try anyway. He doesn't ask his friends for help, but one by one they pledge their aid to him.

The Knights that Richard chooses aren’t all nobility nor are they approved by the King. They are simply men who have shown unwavering loyalty and love to him, they are men he trusts. And they are there when he has no one else, and they commit themselves to his cause knowing full well that they might not survive. Their numbers aren't many (only 5 Knights with any skill in battle and 3 honorary members) but they are steadfast and skilled.

After Richard establishes the Knights of the Round table, he would later abolish The First Code of Camelot that states that only men of noble blood can be Knights. After all, blood does not make the man. It's his actions and loyalty that do.

I do absolutely adore the idea of the Knights (Easy) wearing red cloaks and armor like the Knights do in Merlin. It's so dramatic and I think it should be allowed *bangs gavel*

Something something the Knights were so deeply loyal to one another that it bordered on something more than platonic something something the dedication to one another that after the death of their leader there was too much grief to continue on something something.....

While the Knights are meant to be a symbol of the realm and its power, I also see them as representative of the common people, especially in the BBC Merlin version after the Round Table is established. These are men who have come from varied backgrounds and experiences and there's not a way that they wouldn't be seen as what could be for the future.

watch this video and tell me i'm wrong (pls don't tell me i'm wrong)

[anime-x-readers]

PART TWO

Anime: Attack on Titan

Pairings: Levi Ackerman X Reader (Your name is Yuna)

Genre: Fluff, Tension

Summary: After you've been attacked, you'll get back on with some body exercises, having an unexpected "date" at night

A numbing morning. Before getting out of bed, you made sure to stretch all your muscles and check that your left leg and broken rib were okay and ready to start the day as well. You? You weren't. Not after what happened yesterday.

You had no idea how to interpret the actions of the dark-haired guy. Full of concern for you? No, definitely not. Who would do that just full of concern for someone? Not even Eren treats Mikasa that way. You were sure Levi wanted to convey something to you. To show you more, but it was up to you to understand what.

You hoped it was what you thought because you liked him. You liked Levi. For many months, and you hid it, thinking it was in vain. He's a fierce fighter, not a corner lover. Maybe... maybe you're wrong? In what way did you exist in his world, in his eyes?

You were in love with him. The way he knows how to be a leader, the way he moves in battle, it was threateningly attractive. He was a tough guy who had the courage to face Titans with his bare hands. And you? You admired him immensely. You wanted to be as good as him, but he was inhumanly good at what he did.

And that drew your attention to him. He probably didn't even intend that. But he motivated you to get stronger from the beggining.

You were given a week off for recovery. Now, you were in the training yard, dressed in a very loose white shirt and a pair of dark shorts. The sun was scorching your skin.

You were waiting for your best friend. The first day of recovery had fallen on his shoulders since the superiors were either outside the walls or in offices with paperwork.

"Armin!" You shouted after him, and his blond hair fell over his eyes when he turned to see you. A small, scatterbrained boy, but he made you smile everytime.

"Oh! The captain informed us that you were awake since yesterday. He told me to help you with recovery." He said, but you already guessed how today would go.

"I know. I figured it would be like this." You smile again.

The recovery went well. Since Armin had grown and matured, he had become more rigid. He helped you with a few exercises for your sprained leg and some light stretches for your abdomen. It went well, but you could still feel pain.

You remember Historia's expression when you had the courage to reveal to her the guy you thought of more than a friend. She was a little shocked, given the circumstances. You always got along with Historia, thus becoming your best friend and advisor, but she didn't expect Levi to catch your eye.

"But you are so different, Yuna. His physical features are amazing, but his personality doesn't suggest he could have feelings for a girl." That's what she said. But you didn't agree. "Are you saying he's a monster?" You asked her. But she shook her head negatively. Anyway, she supported you but didn't want you to have a broken heart or anything, so she made you promise to take care of yourself, and that's what you do.

After a few hours of recovery with Armin's help, in the evening, you decided to go down to the dining hall. You were starving, especially because the heat had tired you more than the physical exercises.

"Have some salad, you need to recover." Then Mikasa placed two green leaves on your plate. You thanked her with a smile.

And suddenly, you remembered it was evening, which should have meant that the troops had returned home. You hoped everyone returned safely, including him. But then you saw him. He had taken a seat at a table with the other superiors, and his posture with crossed arms, stoic aura, and expressionless face conveyed that he had an exhausting day.

You wanted to talk to him, but the hall was full of people. Until you met his blue gaze. He was serious, as usual, but something was different. You could feel a certain gentleness, but you didn't know if the rest had noticed.

"Hmm, tell me, Yuna. Why is Levi looking at you like that?" Hange sneaks with her curious nose under your chin, making you jump and feel your cheeks burning. You felt very embarrassed at this moment, and everyone at the table was staring at you. Mikasa, Armin, Jean, and Eren.

"At least we know Captain Levi has good taste in girls." Jean states, munching on a piece of boar meat.

"I'm right here! Stop gossiping about me to my face!" You glare at them, but they all chuckle, including Mikasa and Armin. You expected a little seriousness from them. You didn't even want to know how Levi viewed everything happening at your table.

But, one thing you knew. When you reached your room, you found a small note left on your bedside table. Someone had dared to break into your room.

"22:00. Waiting outside."

[shima-draws]

Hi all thanks for letting me infodump about my new kids <3 Anyway here’s their general info and personalities. They don’t have names yet so suggestions are welcome. Also elemental power suggestions are welcome (remember, this is within the ATS verse so it’ll have to be 1 of the 15 elements). Some of them are already set but not all of them so ;)

Protag boy: THE boy of all time. He’s lovable. He’s stupid. He’s absurdly powerful. He’s really chill UNLESS you mess with his friends then he goes apeshit. He’s got a boyish charm that every single member of the group is attracted to. He’s the official leader of the group and they would do ANYTHING for him. His childhood friend passed away due to an incurable illness so whenever someone gets sick he mother hens to the EXTREME. He rarely ever cries so when he does the entire group flips their shit trying to comfort him or trying to beat the hell out of whatever made him cry. And most importantly. He is BABY

(Yes I got inspired bc I’ve been watching too much shounen lately. I NEEDED to make the boy ever)

Mute girl: Originally she was a VERY famous singer but she “vanished” five years ago. She’s kept this a secret from the group. Due to trauma she has chosen to go mute and has not sung in a long, long time. She communicates solely through sign language and eventually the rest of the group picks it up. Is generally closed off, but opens up to the group as time passes. When she does finally get the courage to use her voice and sing again, everyone absolutely loses their shit at how beautiful her voice is and they all cry and it’s very emotional.

Rabid feral girl: Little feral child that is just a gremlin and was taken in by the group bc she had no family. She thinks of protag boy as her big brother and absolutely adores him. She’s also a BEAST in battle, one of the strongest members of the group. She has no memories of who she was before she met the group, and has a mysterious past that will soon catch up with her. She’s probably the most blunt out of everyone and can sometimes say rude things without meaning to. You want to get roasted by a 10 year old? Yeah she’ll roast you alright

Edgy boy: He’s stoic and strong willed and stupidly powerful. Has more of a physical fighting style rather than using magic. Was the first member of the group to fall in behind protag boy. Would do ANYTHING for protag boy, even betray the other members. Is surprisingly a really good dancer, but will only dance in public if it’s with mute girl (who’s also had dance training). Everyone is jealous of this. Is one of the few people to have known sign language from the get go, so he translates for mute girl a lot at the beginning. Might also secretly come from high society.

Standoffish mechanic: He’s a jerk, but he’s so lovable. Would die for protag boy. Protag boy gushes over his inventions and it boosts his ego way too much. He comes off as arrogant and cocky but he’s a real softie deep down :’) He butts heads with edgy boy a LOT. There’s some weird sexual tension going on there that nobody else wants to bring up. The “everyone is so not worth my time except for the people I love and care about” kind of guy. He will be brutally honest with you.

Non-binary parental figure: The oldest one in the group who watches over all the others. Very gentle and kind hearted, but willing to be strict if necessary. Acts as a sort of mentor figure to protag boy (and p much everyone else tbh). Is arguably the most powerful member of the group, but rarely ever uses their magic. They’re the kind of person that lets their kids learn their lessons the hard way. Is the first one to figure out mute girl’s story and acts as her confidant.

Violin boy: Has a history with mute girl and went through a similar trauma as her. Due to a misunderstanding he holds a serious grudge against mute girl which is eventually solved. He probably ends up joining the group. Or just runs into them once in a while. He’s socially awkward and can’t hold a good conversation to save his life…unless it’s with mute girl. Is actually very attractive but hides his looks due to low self esteem. Thanks trauma.

Himbo: I’m holding out for a himbo til the end of the night

(Dumb and strong and respects women and ride or die. Also gremlin girl’s best buddy and unofficial guardian. I really don’t have much else to say about him I honestly haven’t given him a lot of thought yet.)

Healer girl: Soft spoken and kind, she takes care of the group’s injuries and provides support in battle. Everyone’s a little intimidated by her bc she’s scary when they don’t immediately come to her for medical treatment after battle, or brush off their injuries. Grows close with mute girl. Is the calming presence of the group, and everyone comes to her when they are stressed. (This causes her to have a complex about being the calm one, the cheerful one, the one who always has their shit together. This is unhealthy. Lmao)

Smart girl: “I’m surrounded by idiots but they’re MY idiots” kind of person. Brilliantly clever and quick witted and has a sharp tongue. Thinks protag boy is SO dumb but she loves him anyway and has absolute faith in him. Has a loving family back home and gets embarrassed when her softer family side is brought up since she’s kinda arrogant and cold. Regularly spars with edgy boy. Gets easily flustered and then gets angry about it.

Cute baker: His pastries are SCRUMPTIOUS. He wears glasses. And has freckles. And he’s nerdy and kinda shy and awkward and he’s perfect. He’s more of a behind the scenes kind of strategist. He works with mechanic boy a lot to improve on their gadgets and gizmos and also on food related things. Is also wickedly smart but more in the book smart kind of way (while smart girl is street smart. Life experience smart.)

Now that you’ve met the squad…

(Also pssst tell me who you voted for in the tags/comments if you wanna!! I’m curious 👀)

[honey-minded-hivemind]

Hi! I’ve been a long time fan of your works and love how you do platonic yanderes. So I have an ask (finally have the courage to do so lol). So I know one of the requests/asks you got mentioned Mommy Fortuna from the last unicorn and it got me thinking.

What if the X-Men stumble upon a side show type attraction with various different mutants forced to show off for crowds (like in the last unicorn) and Reader is there too but their mutation is they can turn into different mythical creatures and take on some of their abilities (like breathing fire if a dragon or magic/healing if a unicorn). And they’re the star attraction (of course with a mutation like that) and the X-Men first see Reader in their unicorn form (which the leader prefers Reader to be in cause it garners more crowds). I also imagine the leader of this to be some random person and not really a known villain but if you have one in mind I’d love to hear it!

I don’t know if this is too specific for an ask, sorry it’s my first ever request for anything like this. But I thought this idea was cool and I love your writing. Feel free to ignore it!

Also if I could be referred to as unicorn anon if it’s not taken and you’d like me to keep sending ideas?

That sounds so awesome! Welcome to the platonic yandere X-Men club, Unicorn Anon! (You can ask some questions!)

I imagine Reader in this AU used to be free, maybe not in a good situation, but at least not chained up amd put on display for others to ogle at. They enjoyed being different creatures, enjoyed having their features sometimes in human form, they even loved the adrenaline rush that came with flying or running or using their powers. Yet it all ended when this Lady Fortunata caught them.

She was a crazy old bat, someone who caught actual living breathing people, mutants, amd put them on display! And she even used some form of charm or power over those who put up too much of a fight. Reader knew they'd never leave if they showed their true anger, their deep sadness and fear, so they hid it, simply ignoring those they could and only putting on a show when truly needed. They knew that wicked woman had them chained up, the key hidden and where they couldn't reach... Yet one day, a new being is brought in, something fuzzy and blue with a little tail, and Reader can't help but try to warn him, being as aoft-spoken as possible, even if he's confused...

Reader had many forms, but the one that others preferred, the one that kept them safe and kept away crueller hands, was that of a unicorn. One with long, graceful legs, a flowing, whispy tail, a long mane that swayed when they walked, and the crowning jewel, a long, shining horn, able to heal others and gifting them magical abilities. It always drew in crowds, and it certainly never disappointed. Reader resented others for seeing them as just a trophy, a beast and no more. Yet their new friend was rather gentle, telling fantastic stories of his other friends and all they'd done together. It all seemed rather nice, but sadly, no one was there to rescue any of them...

Then one day, wandering through the mists and into their encampment and faire, was a group of strangers. Most of them were young, about Reader's age, one with red glasses and one with orange hair and one wearing pink and one in black and even one with cream hair; there were even a few adults, one who smelled of metal and something earthy, one who seemed regal as any unicorn, and a man in wheelchair... What Reader didn't expect was for Lady Fortunata to come by, quickly telling Reader to keep an eye out, and to not cause a ruckus...

Ha! If she said they were bad, then they must be good. Of course, Reader would have to be rather crafty with their warnings to the others...

The moment they approached, Reader could hear gasps and whispers. Yet poking at their mind, gentle as a cloud, was a voice. Barely a whisper, yet asking if they were in need of help... Reader answered, and flicked their head slightly over to their new friend, hidden in the shadows of their cage... Asking if they'd help him, too...

Except... they all let out gasps, and soon Reader saw blades pop from the other man's hands, and could smell the burnt scent of lightning... Their friend, a blue teenager named Kurt, was quick quick greet them, introducing all of them and speaking quietly of the horrors of this place... The anger of the others only grew with each word, so much so that Reader feared Lady Fortunata would sense it...

Yet she never showed up.

The orange-haired girl was quick to find the key, and the others fanned out, a few running off to cause a scene elsewhere while the rest freed Reader and their friend and the other mutants caught in this evil place. The moment Reader was on the ground, feeling dirt and grass ebanth their hooves, they let out a peal of laughter-

And there, standing where the once were, was a human with a horn and a thin tail, hugging their blue friend. Yet that was when a fight broke out, as it seemed Lady Fortunata and her workers found them, and they tried to overpower these newer mutants. Reader was quick to help, freeing another mutant who they'd seen captured awhile ago, one who was beastly and large, who had sworn vengeance on the old woman and to end her...

Was it wrong? Reader didn't think so. And it would be crueller still to leave it there, at the mercy of the witch who held them as her prisoners...

Reader told the others to run, pushing them deeper into the woods and urging them to stay hidden, shushing them not to say a word as they fled... Even when screams arose, or the sounds of fire, the pop of breaking glass and smell of blood and burning wood, Reader told them not to look back or cry out... And luckily, no one argued...

Ending up on their hidden jet, heading back to civilization, going going a place that was safe for them, Reader couldn't help bit sigh lightly, tired and soft. Perhaps these people would be better... maybe they'd be worth sticking around for...

[mariposakitten]

Whenever I see fanon about Wen Ning, it always seems to propose a dichotomy: Wen Ning was a gentle, timid, peaceful soul until Wei Wuxian turned him into a fierce corpse and made him into a weapon. If that had never happened he would have remained timid and gentle and ever so slightly befuddled all the days of his life.

I will say upfront, I am only working with CQL chronology. I understand there are drastic differences between the book and the show; those who know the book better are free to add onto this, either to agree or disagree. But from the perspective of the show: I call bullshit.

This is the man who disobeyed both his sect leader and his sister, putting himself at risk, to save Wei Wuxian from the dungeon-wolf and smuggle medicine to him. Who went against his entire sect again, risked his own life AND faced social ridicule (and it’s anyone’s guess which was scarier), to save Jiang Cheng – not because he particularly cared about Jiang Cheng, but because his friend did. Who risked his life again, and his sister’s life, AND risked his sister’s anger, asking her to shelter and care for the Yunmeng trio. Who died, in the labor camp at Qiongqi Path, because he was trying to protect his fellow prisoners.

Before he was ever a fierce corpse, this man lived and died a hero. The fact that he was by nature gentle and timid just makes his courage more noteworthy – he was scared, genuinely scared, for most of his heroics. He did what needed doing anyway.

And everything, everything he did was to protect others.

Do not let the wide eyes and the babyface fool you. Wen Ning was a badass long before he was reanimated by resentful energy; he was just a quiet, self-effacing badass.

Wen Ning might, in a quiet moment, regret that his natural death was interrupted, that he may have been taken out of the cycle of reincarnation. He might be upset that someone with enough power could control him against his will. He might be saddened that people instinctively fear him or see him as a threat. But I can’t believe that he resents being “made into a weapon" or “corrupted by resentment.”

The resentment  was always there. It is a testament to who he is as a person that he stayed as sweet as he was despite it, but it was no accident that he had enough resentment to revive his own body. A good man surrounded by bad men will always be resentful, and for good reason.

As for being “made" into a weapon? At every opportunity, he put himself between the people he wanted to protect and those who would hurt them. No matter how he felt about the rest of his transformation, I can’t imagine he would be anything less than thrilled about finally having the physical ability to make that protection stick.

Being a weapon that can be wielded by someone he didn’t choose is a problem. Being a weapon, in and of itself, is not.

Wen Ning is not and never was the guileless innocent some make him out to be. He is gentle, yes; he would rather heal and nurture than hurt. He is timid, yes; words hurt him and he fears confrontation. He is good, always and to his core. But he was always strong and brave enough to overcome his fears and stand up for what he thought was right, always determined enough to fight for his people even when he thought he’d lose, and it is a disservice to his character to claim otherwise.

[mikyx-daily]

⚔ g2 lol 2024 as lord of the rings characters ⚔

originally from twitter (link) but this feels like it belongs on tumblr so here we go!

caps - frodo baggins

- brave, loyal and kind

- has a pure and incorruptible heart

- i'm 99% sure his keyboard also makes him hear voices

yike - aragorn

- promised myself i would not make a joke about ents

- makes people respect him not by words but by actions

- gentle and caring, yet strong and resilient

brokenblade - gimli

- this was not a height motivated pick i swear

- energetic, friendly, spontaneous and vocal

- would trust him with an axe

hans sama - legolas

- reserved, perceptive, adventurous and competitive

- would look good with elf ears

- not entirely sure if i would trust him with a bow

mikyx - samwise gamgee

- the defender or the protector

- willing to sacrifice eveything to save his friends

- tenderhearted

- though i'm pretty sure he would have thrown gollum off the mountain

dylan - gandalf

- this one was obvious

- invaluable wisdow and guidance

- powerful leader and strategist

- “i fear i am beyond your comprehension.” (gandalf the white, the two towers)

duffman - faramir

- i adore duff so i gave him my favorite character and i will not accept any criticism

- "personally courageous and decisive, but also modest, fair-minded and scrupulously just, and very merciful” (Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, 323)

rodrigo - saruman

- i just had to

- powerful and logical thinker

- time has corrupted him and i'm pretty sure that's the reason why we will be witnessing camille sup soon

isma - elrond

- great wisdow and foresight

- master of healing

- overall underrated powerful character

romain - éomer

- assertive, direct and self-confident

- strong and posessed with great passion

- a true warrior

click - imrahil

- have never seen this man in my life

- lives in my imagination only (imrahil was not in the movies)

[unattainablesillygoose]

My take on what the Pevensies' patronus/houses would be if they went to Hogwarts:

Peter: Gryffindor, Lion

I know this one seems obvious, but seriously. Peter was given a lot of responsibility from a young age, but he never once complained, instead taking to it graciously. He's a natural born leader, and his siblings and his subjects look up to him. He's fiercely protective of his siblings and will stop at nothing to keep them safe, including going up against a wolf to keep his little sisters safe despite his lack of training. He's brave, bold, often brash and impulsive, proud and stubborn, strong-willed and noble. He's also definitely got a soft side for his siblings, but them only, unless you're a close and dear friend like Tumnus and the Beavers. Lions are often called the "king of beasts," and Peter wasn't called "High King Peter the Magnificent" for nothing. Lions are brave, strong, noble, and leaders of their pride. They're also gentle with their cubs and teach and lead them just as lioness' do.

Susan: Ravenclaw/Slytherin, Doe

I could see Susan being either. Susan isn't any less brave than her siblings, but she's clearly less impulsive and brash, instead preferring to strategize and think through her plan of attack as seen when she tells Peter not to charge the wolf on the river. She's intelligent and quick-witted and more grounded, as seen when she tells Peter that they should stop and think their actions through before crossing a potentially dangerous river. She's also ambitious and resourceful. You see this when she, when it becomes apparent that they're to remain in Narnia for the remainder of the war, immediately goes to practice with her bow. She, while a gentle and maternal queen, was quite influential and powerful in her own right.She never let anything stand in her way. The Doe patronus represents gentleness yet strong determination. Fiercely protective of her loved ones, as displayed through her caring and nurturing nature. With her high level of intuition and sensitivity, she battles life's challenges with the utmost grace and vigilance.

Edmund: Gryffindor/Slytherin, Tiger

we all know his character was based off of Judas, and the tiger patronus represents a unique sense of courage and willpower, able to rise above conflicts and pass through all forms of adversity with grace and skill. They're highly protective and territorial, going to great lengths to defend their loved ones and home. Edmund, while certainly cunning and ambitious, is also brave and bold. He's often seen by Peter's side as they charge into battle, leading the troops alongside his brother. He helps others, and like Peter, is chivalrous as well. Like a Gryffindor, he's impulsive and brash, as seen when he jumps into a fight in the train station to help his brother, as well as when he confronts the white witch and breaks her staff in half leading to his stab wound. Like Slytherin, however, he's cunning, as seen when he manipulates Miraz into dueling Peter by toiling with his emotions and poking at his pride. He's misunderstood like a lot of Slytherins are, as well. I think he could be either.

Lucy: Gryffindor, Otter

Lucy is 100% a Gryffindor, no doubt. I've seen a lot of people putting her in Hufflepuff, and while she is incredibly loyal and patient, she's incredibly brave and bold in her approach. She always puts others before herself and isn't afraid to get her hands dirty for a good cause. She's very skilled in sword fighting as well as archery, but she's also very kind and fair. As seen on the bridge where she stood off an entire army with only a dagger, she isn't afraid to tackle big challenges and has a need to prove herself, likely from being the youngest of four siblings. She's bold, as seen when she tells Peter that they're being too quick to fight. She speaks loud and proud about what she believes is right and will stand by her opinions. I think the Otter patronus suits her despite Aslan himself saying, "If she were any braver, she'd be a lioness," (which is also a clear indication of her Gryffindor spirit) because she's playful and curious. The Otter patronus represents life and purification, and we all know Lucy is pure and full of life. Otters are fearless and will pursue their curiosities as such. They're also associated with friendship, which I attribute to Lucy. She sees Narnians as her equals and has no trouble befriending new people/animals.

[birindale]

SHE-RA™

PRINCESS OF POWER™

© COPYRIGHT 1984 MATTEL, INC./FILMATION ASSOCIATES

The time for words is past.

It is time for action.

A time for the taking of vows, the forging of alliances against tyranny... a time for leadership.

For over twenty years, the EVIL HORDE have ruled Etheria with an iron fist and cruel calculation. Their rule has gone largely unchallenged — until now. A band of patriots, brought together by their love of freedom, have pledged their lives and their swords to bring down the dark dictators from another world, willing to tackle impossible odds in their quest for an ideal: Freedom.

Leading this band of patriots is SHE-RA, PRINCESS OF POWER!

Twin sister to HE MAN, daughter to King Randor and Queen Marlena, it is she who will lead the assault on the invaders.

07044/100JMS

SHE-RA, PRINCESS OF POWER will burst onto television screens in sixty-five daily installments of high fantasy and adventure brought to life in the long-standing tradition of quality associated with Filmation Studios, creators of the number one rated syndicated children's program, HE MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE.

There will be action tempered by gentleness... adventure mixed with compassion... characters that will appeal to young girls as role models, without losing the interest of boys... rich in the currency of non-violent ideals. And other values — loyalty to friends and country, courage, bravery, honesty — will not be merely given lip service, but vividly displayed, and fiercely fought for.

The war is on at last... and they have barely begun to fight.

THE BATTLE IS JOINED

The story of SHE-RA, PRINCESS OF POWER will debut with a sweeping five-part saga guest starring HE MAN, during which the viewers will learn the secret that could not be told until now. They will discover Adora, twin sister of Prince Adam, son of King Randor and Queen Marlena, who was stolen from her parents by THE HORDE while still an infant.

Taken to the distant planet Etheria, recently conquered by the Horde, Adora was raised in the dark ways of the Horde. Under the evil spell of SHADOW WEAVER, the Horde's dark enchantress, Adora’s sense of right and wrong was reversed, and in time the beautiful Adora grew to become the enforcer of Horde law on Etheria.

But the Horde's evil act of years ago caught up with them at last, when a strange twist of fate brought He Man to Etheria. When the most powerful man in the universe was brought face to face with the Horde's enforcer, each sensed something special about the other, something deep and buried, reaching out, trying to be reborn.

In that instant, the future history of Etheria was to be irrevocably changed.

Breaking through the years of conditioning, Adora was at last reunited with her brother... and when He Man gave Adora the miraculous sword — very much like his own, entrusted to him by the good Sorceress — Adora instinctively held it high and cried out the words she had never before heard: "For the honor of Grayskull!"

And with a brilliant flash, a surge of unparalleled power, where Adora had stood there now stood She-Ra, Princess of Power!

She-Ra, who has seen first-hand the horrors of the Horde, and who now knows that it must be stopped. She-Ra... who not only possesses awesome strength and agility, but has the power to heal, and who has a mystical empathy with man and beast. She-Ra... who deeply feels an obligation to her adopted planet.

And so, rather than return forever to Eternia, she elects to remain on Etheria, there to become leader of a dedicated band of patriots, fighters for freedom. United by their love of liberty, their loyalty to Etheria and to one another, they free their captured Queen and then set about the long task of reclaiming their birthright, their home... Etheria!

They will fight on, knowing that for as long as the fire of freedom burns within them —  an ideal that many of the younger have never enjoyed, and which is only a dim but wonderous memory in the minds of the older — they will find the strength to strike one more blow, seize one more inch, fight one more battle than the enemy can fight off. Like the drops of water that in time can crack a boulder or split a canyon, they will continue until the Horde is driven once and for all from their beloved homeland.

The story of SHE-RA, PRINCESS OF POWER is at once ground breaking and rich in tradition. It is the story of Robin Hood, of the American Revolution; it is the Force behind Star Wars, for it deals with that rare quality we call freedom.

IMPACT

Once launched, the series will draw the attention of young girls across the country — for in SHE-RA they will find all of the qualities they hold close. Since the series also will include those factors that have made HE MAN a success, boys will also be attracted to the show. The series will highlight high fantasy and vivid characters, action and comedy, drama and gentleness — something for everyone. The result: a show with tremendous crossover appeal.

But that is not the full extent of the projected impact of SHE-RA, PRINCESS OF POWER. Recognizing its responsibility to its young audience, Filmation Studios will impart to this new series the same emphasis on morality and justice as is currently being done in HE MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE, which has received critical praise from educators and parents for its success in creating worthy role models for the young audience.

SHE-RA, PRINCESS OF POWER will reinforce the fact that one person can make a difference. Man or woman, boy or girl, you have the potential to make the world a better place.

In addition, each episode will conclude with a supplementary message — variations on the themes of loyalty, courage, honesty, and the other values upon which so great a premium is put.

The variety of ways in which the messages will be imparted, and the different types of messages that can arise from such very different circumstances will serve as an excellent counterpoint to HE MAN. And like HE MAN from first concept to finished product, SHE-RA will involve the work of uniquely qualified advisors who will monitor the program and work with it in the best interests of the young audience. In the words of Educational and Psychological Consultant Donald F. Roberts, Professor at Stanford University:

She-Ra has an excellent chance to garner a new audience of females while retaining the large portion of the male audience He Man has already developed. The series will thus have the opportunity of reaching a new segment of the viewing audience with the kinds of pro-social messages you have been developing for the He Man show, while at the same time reinforcing those ideas among current He Man viewers.

The plan to present the pro-social messages in She-Ra in a novel and challenging way can engender a significant increase in learning among those children who view both shows.

He Man has demonstrated that it is possible to engage in worthwhile values training with no sacrifice of entertainment quality. I think She-Ra will continue the tradition.

Now that we have discussed what this series will strive to achieve, let us turn our attention to those we will be meeting each day in the universe of SHE-RA, PRINCESS OF POWER .

THE WORLD AND PEOPLE OF ETHERIA

Etheria is a vibrant, colorful world rich with enchantment and wonder... a fantasyland of shining rivers, gleaming cities, snow-capped peaks... and surprises waiting behind every tree and hill.

Before the coming of the Horde, it was unspoiled, a place of fantasy and delightful mystery not unlike the world of Middle Earth made so popular in the works of J.R.R. Tolkien.

With the Horde came their machines — black engines of destruction that leave ruin in their wake.

The consequence is a contradiction. Side by side there exists the gentle world of Etheria, and the technological monstrosities of the Horde.

One of them will have to go.

Embodying the former is the magnificent, spired Palace of Power, dear to the heart of Etherians everywhere, and for the latter there are the vile swamps of the Horde's dreaded Fright Zone, a sight to strike fear in the heart of any but the most courageous Etherian.

The story of Etheria is a story of two worlds, two societies on a collision course... from which only one may emerge.

SHE-RA and her fellow patriots are determined that the survivor will be Etheria and her people.

And in addition to Adora/She-Ra, among the people of Etheria whom we will be seeing most regularly are these brave crusaders of freedom:

GLIMMER

A teenage Princess with limitless enthusiasm, Glimmer was once leader of the Rebellion. Glimmer uses light-based powers — light blasts, light walls, light ropes, etc. She is as brave as they come, though her age tends to make her reckless or gullible at times. Glimmer resides in the Palace of Power with her mother, Queen Angella.

THE TWIGGETS

Twiggets are Munchkin-like little guys and gals who inhabit the Whispering Woods, the site of the rebel camp. Twiggets are rebel allies and a staunch little bunch they are. Twiggets are brimming over with clever tricks which they use to good effect against the Horde nasties. They are very good at blending into forest terrain so as to become virtually invisible. Twiggets love company, and music, and animals. An odd thing about Twiggets is that all their names begin with the letters "SP." Sample Twiggets are Sprig and Sprocket (males,) and Sprinkle (female), but there can be many more as needed.

WILLAWAND

Willawand is a handsome beanpole of a man who is a travelling entertainer. He sings, he tells stories, he works stage magic (not the real McCoy, just sleight of hand tricks). His love of freedom prompted him to join the Rebellion and his ebullient, ham actor personality does much to lighten the load. In a battle, he is reckless and cunning, and he and Bow are good comrades.

BOW

A master archer who likes nothing more than a good donnybrook with Hordesmen, Bow is handsome, reckless, daring — a hero's hero. Bow rides a swift, black stallion named Streak and has a most curious companion, a butterfly-winged owl named:

KOWL

You've heard of the wise old owl. Well, now meet Kowl, the wise-guy owl. This little bird may look cute, but he's got a tongue as sharp as She-Ra's sword. And he uses it constantly. Kowl is always ready to remind Bow and the others of how much he knows and how little they know, and he's got an insufferable habit of being right.

QUEEN ANGELLA

Queen Angella is the monarch of the Kingdom of Bright Moon, the first kingdom to be freed from Horde clutches by the Rebellion. She is a glamorous, blonde woman, with angel wings that unfold from her back so she can fly. Her magic is very powerful, light-based like her daughter Glimmer's, but she has much more control of it. Queen Angella, despite her youthful appearance, is something of a mother figure to the Rebels. She is very wise, very regal, a true Queen of Etheria.

FROSTA

Frosta is the Ice Empress, dressed in gorgeous ice blue attire. She is the ruler of the Kingdom of Snows and can "quick freeze" enemies with the mere pointing of her crystalline arm. Frosta is otherwise a normal human female, with one flesh and blood arm and one crystalline arm.

CASTASPELLA

As her name implies, Castaspella is a worker of magic. Her power comes from a strange, star shaped disk on her back which spins gaily when she weaves one of her magicks. Castaspella can paralyze someone in his or her tracks, create a "window" out of thin air through which faraway places may be viewed, set up a mystic shield which deflects magic bolts and the like, wrap foes in bands of force, and fly through the air like a comet. Castaspella is known as the Wizard Queen and rules the whimiscal Kingdom of Mystacor, a place brimming over with enchantment and magic. She tends to be a bit flighty at times and would rather seek adventure than deal with affairs of state. She is known as Cass or Casta to her friends, Frosta and Queen Angella being her nearest and dearest of these.

MADAME RAZZ*

This lovable old crone is the wackiest worker of magic to ever whip up a spell. Madame is so old she's quite forgotten her age. Her spells are quite effective, though she has a small problem — she tends to say the wrong word, making the results not quite what she expected. For instance, while casting a spell to put some foes to sleep, she said "sheep" instead, and wound up with a whole flock of them. Madame also has a bit of trouble with her eyesight and sense of direction, making every one of her flying landings (Madame flies on a broom. More about that in a minute) an adventure in itself. Madame's best friend and, coincidentally, her mode of transportation is:

*NOTE: Since Madame Razz long predates the arrival of the Horde, she has had a lot of personal experience with pre-Horde Etheria — she has seen kings and empires rise and fall, acts of bravery and treachery — plenty of fodder in this for stories of Old Etheria.

BROOM

Imagine a dilapidated old broomstick with an old duffer face and voice, walking around on his bristles. This is Broom. Broom is Madame Razz's life-long buddy. They've been together for centuries and are very close. Broom prompts Madame when she messes up a spell (usually when it's too late) and flies her wherever she wants to go.

Unfortunately, Broom is just about as nearsighted as Madame, the reason for their often comically disastrous landings.

SPIRIT/SWIFTWIND

Spirit is Adora's horse, a dappled mare. When Adora becomes She-Ra, Spirit transforms into a flying unicorn named Swiftwind. In this guise Spirit can take She-Ra wherever she wishes to go, and communicate with her telepathically.

And arrayed against our heroine freedom-fighters are the massed, technological might of THE HORDE, the most colorful villains ever assembled on one planet, in one series. Elements of the confrontation between the two sides will provide opportunity for light comedy, and the villains will be treated in serio-comic fashion. They are...

HORDAK

Hordak is leader of the Horde, and a rottener, meaner guy never lived. Hordak is a master schemer and has the power to change parts of his heavily-armored body into new shapes and uses. He can turn his hand into a buzz-saw or a battle-axe or a laser pistol. He can switch his legs into tank treads or become a mini-missile if he so chooses. He's happy with his lot as ruler of Etheria and wants to keep it that way, hence he hates nothing more than She-Ra and her outrageous Rebels. He is aided and abetted in his schemes against our Princess of Power by his evil magician:

SHADOW WEAVER

Shadow Weaver is the stuff of which nightmares are made. She is a completely mysterious figure, the only thing we ever see of her being a pair of baleful red eyes peering out from the darkness of a cowled cloak. Shadow Weaver glides around through the air in this cloak, never touching ground, and wisps of shadow constantly waft up around her. She works dark magicks that are extremely powerful and is dreaded by all.

LEECH

As his name implies, Leech is a lizardy creature with sucker discs on his hands and feet and a huge sucker mouth. He can use these discs to climb the sheerest height or attach them to a foe to drain energy. Ooooh, he's scary. And ugly, too .

SCORPIA

Speaking of ugly, this lady takes the prize. Attired in scaly armor and possessed of tremendous strength, Scorpia can use her pincer claws to rip out walls, or employ her stinger tail to paralyze an enemy. Fortunately, she's thick as a brick and thus easily foiled by a foe with some intelligence.

GRIZZLOR

This furry, tusked villain is the Horde's main prison keeper. He's a gruff, toadying type, and thoroughly afraid of Hordak. He has more than his share of bludgeoning power, but is more apt to run from a fight than get into one. Unless, of course, Hordak orders him to. Then he will fight like a berserker if only to stave off his master's wrath.

IMP

You might call Imp the Horde's comic relief. At roughly six inches in height, he's not about to terrorize anyone. However, he can change his normal floppy-earred, devil-tailed shape into any configuration, so he makes a quite effective spy. He can appear as a goblet on a table, the hilt of a sword, the brooch on a Queen's dress, or any other small item. He is also the only Horde member who actually dares to make jokes about Hordak, though Hordak greets such jests with less than enthusiasm.

When these two forces, the very embodiment of good and evil, confront one another, anything can happen. There may be stories of great bravery, of cunning in the face of superior technology, of personal loyalty. There may be excursions into the world of high fantasy, and into the depths of high-tech menace.

Drawing on the diverse backgrounds of the many characters, the many villages, kingdoms, and states that comprise Etheria, and the need for this group to travel from place to place in order to stay one step ahead of the plans of the Horde, the possibilities for story lines are almost without limit.

The stories will, though, be unified by their emphasis on humor and warmth. There will be some personal stories, stories of romance and comedy, adventures of epic scope, and tales of magic. In many situations, She-Ra will not rely on strength alone to accomplish her missions, demonstrating that might doesn't necessarily make right. So while there will be action aplenty, the emphasis will be on the cleverness and charismatic leadership of She-Ra and her followers.

Because of the emphasis on personal stories growing out of our characters' every day lives, feelings, and histories, our audience will have a far greater opportunity to get to know the characters in this series than on any other.

There will also be crossover shows between SHE-RA, PRINCESS OF POWER and HE MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE, further feeding the popularity of each show, and luring audiences from one show to the other.

Here are just a few examples of the types of stories that will comprise SHE-RA, PRINCESS OF POWER:

A little girl idolizes She-Ra, but when the Princess of Power's healing ability fails to save the little girl's pet from a serious disease, the little girl's love turns to hate. She-Ra must show the girl that while we cannot always live up to the expectations of others, there are times when those expectations themselves are false.

Madame Razz's friend Broom is stolen from her. She does everything in her power to find Broom but cannot, and must enlist the aid of She-Ra and the Rebels. Highlighted in the story is the friendship between Madame and Broom and the cooperation of our various characters as they work to bring Madame and Broom together once more.

The Horde is capturing Etherian animals and using their super science to turn them into dangerous monsters. She-Ra and the Rebels must stop this with the added complication of having to battle innocent creatures made savage by the Horde.

Bow wants to enter a horse race competition that is held each year in the Kingdom of Alver. Bow has won this race the past few years and is reigning champion. However, now that he is a known Rebel, to enter the race would not only put him in jeopardy, but the whole Rebellion as well. On the other hand, if Bow does not ride in the race, he will lose his own self-esteem. She-Ra and friends must figure out a way to allow Bow to ride while at the same time keeping the Horde occupied elsewhere.

The Horde imports a diabolical female named Huntara from their home world whose mission is to hunt down Adora and She-Ra (not knowing that they are one and the same). The catch is that Huntara is an old friend of Adora’s — they trained together as little girls when Adora was still under Horde control. Adora does not want to harm her old friend, but neither can she allow her to endanger the Rebellion. In the end, it is their one-time friendship that turns the tide and causes Huntara to give up service to the Horde.

CONCLUSIONS - AND BEGINNINGS

Because it emphasizes entertainment with responsibility, SHE-RA, PRINCESS OF POWER will be one of the most — perhaps the most — dynamic television series for children currently on the air, rivaled only by the phenomenally successful HE MAN AND THE MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE.

It will be a series of magic and fantasy, adventure and courage in the face of overwhelming odds.

It will entertain...

educate...

elevate.

It is a story that reaches deep into our souls, where our hopes for the underdog, for those who stand against the wind and are determined to fight for the rights of those who cannot fight for themselves, are kept and nurtured.

It is, in short, an attempt to teach the children to recognize the face of personal courage...

... and to realize that it's the same face that looks back at them from the mirror.

SHERA, PRINCESS OF POWER

BACKGROUND INFO

BASIC CONCEPT: "Shera, Princess of Power" is a light-hearted, action-adventure fantasy designed with strong kid appeal. The key words are light-hearted and fantasy, for while action is a necessity, it's those elements that will make the show fly. Stories should have mounds of humor, sentiment, magic, and just a trace of romance. Steer clear of combat-oriented stories, and when combat does occur, take pains to make our heroine's cleverness and dexterity the winning feature rather than sheer strength. Use magic over sword-slinging, and fill your tales with color and wonder.

Women should play a major role in all stories, not only Shera and her super-powered friends and enemies, but women of all kinds. Don't neglect our male characters. They are important too, just don't surrender to the macho-syndrome of many cartoons in which the females are wispy Princesses always in need of rescue. Strive always for a true equality of characters, thinking of our people as just that, people, regardless of sex differences .

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BACKGROUND: "Shera, Princess of Power" is set on a planet known as ETHERIA. As its name implies, Etheria is a beautiful place, very natural, very charming, very enchanted. It is filled with verdant forests, shining rivers, white-capped mountains, gleaming rain forests, ethereal cities, and small, pleasant villages and towns. It has the feel of King Arthur's England melded with a bit of Middle Earth, a touch of Cloud CuckooLand, and a dash of Oz. Its a low-tech world, people don't carry ray guns or flit about in rocket-powered vehicles. Transportation is by horse, by wagon, by sailing ship. If flying transportation is part of a story it will probably consist of some flying beast rather than a high-tech flying ship.

The exception to all of the above is the villains of our show, the collection of slimy nasties known as THE HORDE.

The Horde are the conquerors of Etheria, but are not native to the planet. They came there some twenty-odd years ago from another world (see Character Sketches for more background). The Horde is a high-tech band. They use flyers for travel from place to place and are able to bring to bear such equipment as Destructo Tanks, Bat-Meks (robot planes), Stunner Cannons, Energy Batons (truncheons that fire beams), and anything else you care to create. It is precisely this terrible technology that allowed the Horde to triumph over the kingdoms of Etheria. The Horde controls the planet and their places of operation are always dark and grim and ugly. In essence, think of it as smoking industrial complexes set down in otherwise organic terrain.

In the five part story that introduced Shera and her friends, we saw the Horde's first set-back, the taking of the kingdom of Bright Moon by a group known simply as the Great Rebellion. The seat of power of Bright Moon is a large, gorgeous, enchanted castle known as the PALACE OF POWER. Here dwells Queen Angella and her daughter Glimmer (see Character Sketches). Shera and her brother, He Man, were instrumental in the taking of Bright Moon, but this was only the beginning of our saga. As the show develops, we will see the Great Rebellion spread to the other kingdoms of Etheria even as the Horde tries to stop it once and for all. This back story of the reclaiming of a world is the skeleton of our show, but the flesh that covers this skeleton will take many varied directions. We do not want a heavy hero vs. villain approach in every story, nor do we wish to dwell on the "Horde oppression" in a grim manner. Indeed, many tales may not even deal with the Horde, though they are certainly around when a villain or two is needed.

SOCIAL SET-UP OF ETHERIA: Etheria is divided into numerous small kingdoms, each independent of the other. Bright Moon is one such kingdom, Mystacor (ruled by Castaspella — see Character Sketches) another. Outside of the kingdoms currently part of the Rebellion (Bright Moon, Mystacor, and the Kingdom of Snows), the various kingdoms are nominally under Horde rule. Some have actual Hordesmen governors (e.g. the Kingdom of Woodsedge is ruled by Terrora, a Horde villainess), most are run by native Etherians controlled by the Horde's might. The Horde keeps the kingdoms in line through one major factor, stark fear. As for the Horde itself, its headquarters is a dismal tower located in a dark, brooding region of Etheria known as FRIGHT ZONE. Here Hordak dwells, keeping an eye on his turf.

The various kingdoms do trade with each other and are in the main friendly to each other. Of course it would be against Horde law for a kingdom to have any dealings with the Great Rebellion, so kingdoms won by the rebels are somewhat isolated. Each kingdom would have either a major city or some seat of power, a castle, a tower, etc. They would also have towns and villages.

Etheria is at heart a pastoral world, its major occupations being farming and herding. There are mines as well, all of them controlled by the Horde who are systematically plundering the wealth of Etheria. Fishing is another major occupation, confined, of course, to the seaside kingdoms. There are many islands off the main continent of Etheria that constitute small kingdoms in themselves, or sometimes several islands in a chain will be considered one kingdom. Other occupations include travelling merchants, bards, foresters, jewelers, and of course magicians.

As regards the people of Etheria, consider them a widely varied group made up of many colors and backgrounds. Moreover, since Etheria is a world of faerie, non-human races are certainly possible, e.g. cat-people, insect-people, bear-people, etc. Attire will depend on prevailing terrain and weather (you wouldn't expect to find desert dwellers wearing parkas), but as a general rule people of Etheria will wear very bright, colorful garments made of organic materials. Etherian weapons will be standard medieval melee weapons, swords, spears, maces, bow and arrow, etc., but most Etherians will not carry weapons. Likewise Etherians will seldom go around in any sort of heavy armor, in fact at best chain-mail and shield (usually reserved for guardsmen in the various royal palaces). A light, non-violent look and feel should always be maintained. As there are always exceptions to any rule, there is an exception to the light, non-violent look, namely the Horde. Hordesmen are always bristling with weaponry, usually of the high-tech variety, and always have a dark, foreboding look, whether cloaked in standard Horde Trooper uniforms or in the heavier armor favored by Horde supervillains.

An important factor to keep in mind in the social set-up of Etheria is that the Horde has ruled the planet for a significantly long period of time. What this means in terms of story is that not every Etherian is on the side of the Great Rebellion. Indeed, it's much more logical to assume that rebels make up a small minority at this point in time. In many cases, Etherians may very well support the Horde, either out of fear of reprisal or simply through acceptance of enforced authority. Therefore, in one episode, an Etherian village may welcome rebel forces with open arms, while in another story villagers may actually betray our protagonists. By maintaining this "shades of grey" concept, instead of a black and white approach, we provide our story tellers with more scope.

GEOGRAPHY OF ETHERIA: Etheria is very Earth-like in terms of its geography. In other words, a mixture of mountains, plains, deserts, forests, jungles, ice fields, etc. Stories can be set in any type of terrain, the only exception being outer atmosphere, i.e. space. Though the Horde definitely has interstellar travel capability, stories set exclusively in space should be avoided. This does not mean the Horde could not pose some threat from space, only that the bulk of the story should take place planetside. In dealing with the natural environment of a story, please maintain a respect for the physical laws of nature. Rivers start in mountains and flow to the sea, they don't just crop up where convenient. Swamps do not have cliffs in them, nor do they adjoin steaming deserts. In the LOCALES section of the bible, we will be naming some of the natural sites on Etheria. However, writers are free to contribute new locales to the Etherian map, as needed.

CHARACTERS: There are a large number of characters involved in the show, good guys and bad guys alike. These characters are detailed in the CHARACTER SKETCHES included in this bible. However, keep in mind that not every character need appear in every show. Indeed, shows that follow just a few characters work better. Certainly every story must include Shera (and by logical assumption her alter-ego Adora), but the rest of the cast can and should revolve frequently. You can also feature people in the cast rather heavily, so long as Shera remains involved. This means it's possible to do a story featuring Glimmer, or Bow, or Madame Razz, or any other character, but our heroine must be instrumental in some way. The same applies to our nasty villains. If Catra makes our heroine's life miserable in one show, in another it may be Mantenna or Leech who carries forth the machinations of evil. Our list of "regulars" is certainly extensive enough for writers to choose the character or characters that best fit a story. Writers may create their own characters for the show (at times this will be a necessity, in fact), but we suggest steering clear of coming up with a new supervillain for the Horde or a new superhero for the Rebellion. Let's face it, gang, we’ve got plenty, and until we adequately cover them over the course of a show, there's no reason to haul in another.

LOCALES: Here are some areas of Etheria, useful in planning stories.

THE PALACE OF POWER — This magnificent edifice is the home of Queen Angella and her daughter Glimmer. It is a fantastic bit of real estate, composed of gleaming stone walls with an overriding avian motif. It is a place of powerful magic, good magic. The Palace constitutes the seat of power in the kingdom of Bright Moon. (You might think of the Palace as the capital of Bright Moon.) Its magical force, which only Queen Angella can control to its fullest extent, makes the Palace virtually immune to anything but an all-out Horde attack. The Horde avoids such an attack because of the feeling toward Queen Angella in the other kingdoms of Etheria. Their reasoning is that to attack Angella could urge kingdoms not yet part of the Rebellion to join it, because Angella is popular with other rulers. Therefore, the Horde counts instead on subtle subversion of Angella's realm. Many magical devices and vehicles are housed in the Palace of Power, ready for use by the rebels.

WHISPERING WOODS — The Whispering Woods is a large, enchanted forest in the kingdom of Bright Moon. It is also home to the Great Rebellion. Adora, Madame Razz , Bow, Kowl, the Twiggets, and all the other rebels reside in Whispering Woods. The enchanted nature of the forest makes it impossible for the Horde to locate the rebel camp, for the woods actually twist and turn about anyone entering them who is not a part of the cause of good. The Woods also resist destruction attempts by the Horde (fire bombs, rays, etc.) and the dark, dreadful spells of Horde magic workers like Shadow Weaver. The Whispering Woods is, in fact, the focal point of the lines of magic power which run all over Etheria. Given this fact, it is logical that visitors from other dimensions (such as He Man) will appear either in or very close to the Whispering Woods.

THE VILLAGE OF THAYMOR  — This small, pleasant village is typical of Etherian hamlets. Village social life revolves around the Council Hall and the Laughing Swan Inn. The people of Thaymor are mainly in farm related occupations (farmers, tanners, wheelwrights, etc.). Thaymor is also located in the kingdom of Bright Moon.

THE FRIGHT ZONE — a dual term, it refers to both the sinister tower keep where Hordak resides, and the surrounding land area. One thing characterizes the Fright Zone — it's scary! The tower itself is a massive edifice of dark stone with eerie asymmetrical looks. Inside, there are pictures whose eyes follow people down the hall, spiders and snakes scuttling and slithering around the corridors, chains rattling, mysterious screams, ghostly apparitions, fluttering bats — in short, the tower is like a massive haunted mansion. The tower is surrounded by a huge moat in which dwell the most horrid underwater creatures imaginable. The terrain of Fright Zone is swampy, boggy, fully as horrid as the tower itself. Monsters roam freely, there are dire plants and natural perils, it is ugly in the extreme. Most people would think twice before braving the Zone. While Fright Zone in essence is a kingdom unto itself, it is also bordered and buffered by three evil Kingdoms: DARKEDGE, CRIMSON WASTE, and SKULLPATH. These kingdoms are all ruled by evil Etherians who collaborate wholeheartedly with the Horde.

BEAST ISLAND — Beast Island is a semi-tropical isle far out in the Growling Sea. Many monstrous things walk the island and it is perilous. Beast Island houses one of many Horde prisons, prisons in which valuable captives are incarcerated and interrogated. You can consider the island the Horde's equivalent of a state pen.

THE KINGDOM OF SNOWS — This is another Etherian kingdom, located high in the Dreaming Mountains. The Kingdom of Snows is ruled by Frosta, the Ice Empress (see Character Sketches). As its name implies, it is a kingdom of snow and ice, its people living in large, almost igloo-like structures, the most magnificent of which is Frosta’s own Castle Chill.

THE KINGDOM OF MYSTACOR — Mystacor is a magical kingdom presided over by Castaspella the Wizard Queen (see Character Sketches). The laws of reality have little to do with Mystacor, where everything works in a magical fashion. It is the home of many magical types, not all of them on the up and up.

THE VALLEY OF THE LOST — A dread valley in which prehistoric monsters roam and the terrain is either deadly stark or menacingly primordial. It is located far to the east near the lip of the SIZZLING DESERT. It is not a place you would expect anyone to hang around in (good guys or Hordesmen), but is useful as a locale for stories involving ancient ruins and objects of interest from Etheria's dim past.

SINGING RIVER — Singing River is the chief waterway of Etheria. It snakes the length of the entire main continent before emptying into the Southern Sea. Barges or galleys ply its course frequently, and the various towns dotting its banks are usually lively places where people from many different kingdoms meet.

THE GROWLING SEA — Already mentioned as the spot where Beast Island is located. The Growling Sea to the west of Etheria's main continent is the largest Etherian sea and can be quite rough at times (hence its name). Other seas are the Southern Sea, the mysterious Sea of Sighs (an inland sea), and the Cracking Sea.

STORYLINES

The heart of any show is its stories, and on "Shera, Princess of Power" this is all the more true. As already stated, though the background of the show is the struggle between the Horde and the Great Rebellion, stories need not fall into a constant pattern of "the Rebels do this, the Horde does that." Also to be avoided are shows based on mere MacGuffins or gimmicks, e.g. if Shera can find the Mystic Kazoo of Wazoo, the Rebellion will be able to defeat the Horde decisively. Such stories are possible, but they must have much, much more than that to go. So what do we want? First and foremost, characterization. Study the characters you have to work with, find their appealing or troubling qualities, and build stories around that.

Examples would be:

Shera is idolized by a young girl who then changes her mind about our heroine when Shera's healing power fails to save the young girl's pet from some disease or accident. Shera must then show the little girl that while we do not always live up to the expectations of others, those expectations themselves can sometimes be false.

Madame Razz loses Broom and must get him back. This story works on several levels, i.e it will show the depth of the relationship between Madame and Broom, allow Shera to use her abilities to find Broom, and present a good bit of comedy interaction.

Bow wants to race his stallion Streak in an upcoming horse race in the Kingdom of AIver. However, as an outlaw, Bow would be putting his neck on the line by making such a public appearance. If Bow goes he could also be putting the whole Rebellion in jeopardy. If he doesn't, he loses some of his own self-esteem. He must also disobey direct orders from the Rebellion leaders to do this thing, a further enhancement of the character value in the story.

When you're thinking of tales for the show, think fantasy, not sword and sorcery or science-fiction. Those elements do exist in the show, but we are not going to emphasize them overmuch. A good fairy tale is a better source of inspiration for this show than an episode of Star Wars. Keep those stories simple, accent action but not violence, and make the characters live and breathe, for us and for yourself .

From time to time, we will be doing crossover stories between "Shera, Princess of Power" and "He Man and the Masters of the Universe." In such stories Shera and one or two of her friends may pop into Eternia, or He Man and some of his cronies may wind up on Etheria. Since the two planets are in different dimensions, this is always accomplished through a magic spell (a dimensional gate, for example) rather than by space travel. However, unless the writer is very conversant with both shows, we don't suggest coming up with crossovers, for obvious reasons.

SHERA, PRINCESS OF POWER

CHARACTER SKETCHES

SHERA AND FRIENDS

SHERA — He Man's twin sister. Shera is a beautiful woman with long, wild, golden hair. She is sleeker than He Man (i.e. not as muscular looking), but every bit as powerful. Any stunt He Man could accomplish Shera could do as well. In addition, she has other powers, to wit:

LIMITED HEALING BY TOUCH — Shera can transmit a golden aura that heals. Always works on animals, may work on people.

EMPATHY — she can sense the feelings of people and animals by concentrating. (Note: she cannot "read minds," only pick up sensations of feeling, e.g. this animal is hungry or frightened, that person is sad or angry.)

Shera also has an alter ego...

ADORA — Unlike Prince Adam, Adora is not considered irresponsible or reckless. She is tied strongly to nature, to the trees, the earth, the sky, as indeed Shera is. There is also a strong sympathy and tie with animals.

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BOW — Bow is a handsome, dark haired, roguish sort of chap, a little irresponsible (he and Adam would get along fine). He is a crack shot with bow and arrow, but has no super or magical powers. He rides a stallion named STREAK. He is more than a little fond of Shera/Adora. He also has a companion/pet named...

KOWL — Kowl is a butterfly-winged owl who speaks in pompous tones. He is above action and derring do, but he has the ability to sense danger, figure out complex puzzles and in general use his wise old owl wisdom to the Rebellion's benefit (though he makes a quick exit- during a melee). He is almost like a conscience to Bow, always berating him for one irresponsible action or another. Kowl should be a strong comic figure.

SPIRIT/SWIFT WIND — Spirit is Shera's dappled mare, a steed she has ridden since childhood. But when Adora becomes Shera, she transforms Spirit, just as He Man transforms Cringer into Battlecat. When the transformation is complete, Spirit becomes a winged unicorn with gleaming silver horn and hooves, attired in fashionable battle armor. The name of this unicorn is SWIFT WIND, of course. As an added attraction, Swift Wind is able to communicate with Shera telepathically (in a silvery, fluid female voice). Neither Spirit nor Swift Wind actually speaks.

MADAME RAZZ — Madame Razz is the Witch of the Woods . She has forgotten her age, but reckons it at near one thousand or so. She is about three feet tall, with a double pointed, goofy-looking witch's hat on her head and a pair of square granny glasses, thick as coke bottles, over her eyes. She rides a dilapidated broom that talks, but unfortunately is as nearsighted as she is. The trees shudder when Madame takes off on a flight because she is bound to bounce off a few before she reaches her destination. Madame Razz has probably forgotten more spells than she knows, but she can usually come up with some sort of magic to bail Shera out of a situation. At the same time, her magic can be very unpredictable, a situation helped by the fact that she often throws the wrong word into a spell (e.g. she really did intend to put those villains to sleep, but said sheep instead. So she turned them all to sheep. Worked out, if not quite the way she planned). Madame Razz is a cherry old crone, always looking on the br ight side. And when villain threatens Shera and the Rebels, she can be counted on to supply her own wacky brand of Razzle dazzle.

BROOM — Broom is Madame Razz's friend and transportation Broom is a broom (logical, isn't it?), but he's like no broom you've ever used to sweep your floors with. First of all, he speaks. And he flies. And he walks. Broom’s personality is that of a competent old duffer, someone who’s seen and heard a lot over his many years with the wacky Madame. He has a little face located near the top of his handle, and wears tiny spectacles and sports a beard . He walks on his bristles (like the walking brooms in Disney's Sorcerer's Apprentice segment of Fantasia), but prefers levitating along, using his flying power. Madame Razz always "pilots" broom when they fly, and this generally makes for a comic catastrophe since both Madame and Broom are somewhat nearsighted. Broom is not forgetful like Madame, so he often prompts her on spells or information she's not quite sure of. He also spots her mistakes (unfortunately only after they happen) but at least Broom knows why they happened! Madame and Broom are the best of friends, and their relationship is fertile ground for stories .

THE TWIGGETS — Short, plump, comical little folk who inhabit the woods of Etheria. They are good friends of Madame Razz and thoroughly frightened of the Horde and its villains. They are very good at blending into forest terrain to spy on a villain or pull some trick. And Twiggets are brimming over with tricks. There are Twiggets all over Etheria, and any number can appear as needed. Twiggets LOVE company, so they seldom travel alone. They can be shy with strangers, though generally not for long. As friends of Shera and the Rebels, they add a touch of comedy to the story. Twiggets we have met so far are Sprig, Sprockett (male Twiggets), and Sprinkle (female Twigget).

GLIMMER — This brash, impulsive, terminally cheery young lady is one of the deposed Princesses of Etheria, a fact she never lets anyone forget. Glirmer has light-based powers, enabling her to teleport as a beam of light (range about ten miles), throw stunning light blasts, cause flashes of light to disorient her enemies, and create things out of solidified light (ladders, battering rams, etc.). Glimmer's power comes from a magnificent jewel in her palm, an energy source that is not without limits. She must expose it to bright light for three hours every day to keep it charged and can easily run out of enough power if she does too many things in too short a space of time. GIimmer has multi-colored eyes and hair and breath-taking attire. Her recklessness often causes problems and her age and inexperience make her the perfect dupe for scheming villains. She is a fun character, someone who can laugh through the most dire of circumstances and pass on her good cheer to her comrades.

These characters constitute the "regular cast" of Shera, Princess of Power.

As on He Man, Shera has a band of heroines to help her out as needed, popping into and out of shows exactly as Ram Man, Stratos, Mekaneck, etc., do on He Man. Here are a few of them:

ANGELLA — Queen of the Kingdom of Bright Moon. Angella is Glimmer's mother  She is a sorceress-warrior. Her beautiful, glittering costume contains expanding wings which enable her to fly. A little older than the other rebels, she is a character to whom people often turn for guidance and leadership.

FROSTA — The Ice Empress, dressed in gorgeous ice blue attire. She is the ruler of the Kingdom of Snows and can "quick freeze" enemies with the mere pointing of her crystalline arm. Frosta is otherwise a normal human female, with one flesh-and-blood arm and one crystalline arm.

CASTASPELLA — As her name implies, Castaspella is a worker of magic. Her power comes from a strange, star shaped disk on her back which spins gaily when she weaves one of her magicks. Castaspella can paralyze someone in his or her tracks, create a "window" out of thin air through which faraway places may be viewed, set up a mystic shield which deflects magic bolts and the like, enwrap foes in bands of force, and fly through the air like a comet. Castaspella is known as the Wizard Queen and rules the whimsical kingdom of Mystacor, a place brimming over with enchantment and magic. She tends to be a bit flighty at times and would rather seek adventure than deal with affairs of state. She is known as Cass or Casta to her friends, Frosta and Queen Angella being her nearest and dearest of these. She is the perfect character to be involved in stories dealing with magic items or effects or places.

WILLAWAND — This handsome beanpole of a man is a travelling entertainer whose most prized possession is his freedom. It is because of this that Willawand joined the rebellion (not typical, since he isn't a joiner). Willawand is a teller of tales, a songster, and a stage magician (note that he doesn't do real magic, only sleight-of-hand tricks). He tends to ham it up in the most mundane of situations and is positively florid during crises situations. He is a very creative fighter and reckless enough to be a good friend of Bow's, though Kowl and he have an on-the-edge relationship, constantly trying to one-up each other. Typical of Willawand's tricks is the use of flashpowder to “disappear”from enemy hands or the firing of small knock-out darts from his bard's harp. His dress is outrageously flamboyant, multi-colored tunics and breeks, a floppy hat with a huge plume, etc. He is very acrobatic and not likely to carry weapons, though he is probably better with a sword than most of the rebels.

DOUBLE TROUBLE — Double Trouble is Glimmer's cousin. She comes from the Kingdom of Green Glade and functions as the chief spy of the rebellion. Double's forte is disguise, and she can look like almost anyone with a little time. She is very dextrous and can squeeze herself into almost impossibly tiny spaces or climb the sheerest of walls to carry out her missions. She is not much of a fighter, though her agility makes her a good dodger. No disguise is beyond her. She can look like an aged king one moment, or a Horde villainess the next. She can also change her voice to suit her disguise. Double can fast talk her way out of the tightest spots and is very effective against the Horde, whom she adamantly hates. This stems from the fact that she plays Horde supporter in her normal guise, the better to spy on them when the time comes. She is often mistrusted by Etherians not in the know for this very reason.

SHERA PRINCESS OF POWER

CHARACTER SKETCHES

THE EVIL HORDE

THE EVIL HORDE is a generic term for a collection of bad guys who have totally overwhelmed the planet of Etheria. The Horde are, in effect, the rulers of Etheria and an iron-handed rule it is. The Evil Horde are not natives of Etheria. They come from a strange world known only as HordeWorld. This world is the hub of a vast conquered empire, of which Etheria is only one component. The mysterious ruler of HordeWorld (his identity will remain a secret throughout the show) keeps tabs on all the planets under Horde control and woe betide the appointed ruler of a planet if Horde interests are not served there. In the five part show, we will concentrate on the "regular" cast of Horde villains without too much attention to the Horde’s background. While the regular Horde council membrs will not be vanquished, keep in mind that the Horde can call upon an infinite number of minions. You may beat five of their worst one day, but you can bet the Horde council will send five more on the following day. And now let's take a quick look at the folks you’ll love to hate:

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HORDAK — Encased in heavy black battle armor, HORDAK is the man who rules Etheria in the name of the Evil Horde. As might be expected, he is rotten to the core, thoroughly ruthless, and thoroughly dedicated to keeping Etheria and its residents under his black-gloved thumb. Hordak's philosophy is might makes right, and he takes every opportunity he can to carry this philosophy out. He is a master schemer, cool and calculating, except when his schemes go awry, in which case his temper generally gets the better of him. Hordak is in reality part organic person and part machine. This is emphasized in his modular ability, i.e. he has the power to actually change pieces of his body to any desired configuration. Thus he might turn himself into a mini tank by switching to his tank tread legs and cannon arms, into a flying dreadnaught by attaching a jet pack and glider wings, or he might simply attach various weaponry to himself to succeed in a personal battle. These changes are lightning quick, controlled by Hordak's "on board computer," an integral part of his armor. Hordak totally hates Shera and her friends and constantly seeks to end the threat of the most powerful woman in the universe. Hordak fears nothing, with the single exception of HORDE PRIME, the mysterious figure who rules HordeWorld. Since Hordak is in essence the governor of Etheria, Horde Prime is constantly checking on the job he is doing, via the special monitor in Hordak’s quarters. Thus should Shera destroy a Horde outpost, or prevent a shipment of valuable research material from Etheria to HordeWorld, it is very likely Hordak will be getting a chewing out from his exalted leader.

SHADOW WEAVER — Every Evil Horde needs an evil magician and Shadow Weaver is that. Shadow Weaver is a mysterious cowled figure, a female, whose main feature is a pair of evil red eyes that seem to float in the darkness of her cowl. Shadow Weaver can work rituals that gain the Horde information, and use her magic aggressively, throwing Shadow Blasts, Coils of Shadow (bands of darkness for subduing foes), changing her form into living shadow (like a mist that can move under doors, through cracks, etc.), or becoming the image of some other person. The sight of Shadow Weaver fills most people with a chilling dread. She is very valuable to the Horde since she can sense the workings of magic and to some extent predict the future.

CATRA — A whole lot of evil in a deceptively petite and pretty package. Catra looks like a normal female most of the time, but when she dons her mask of power she becomes a fierce catwoman, complete with sharp claws. In this guise she has all the stealth, agility, and cunning of a feline, which she uses to good effect on behalf of the Evil Horde. She can also control any feline species to do her bidding, even the mighty Battlecat! Definitely not a lady to fool around with. Catra replaced Adora as Horde Force Captain (see Shera character sketches). She will be a major adversary.

MANTENNA — Truly a bizzare figure, this heavily-armored villain's eyes are mounted on retractable stalks that emerge right from the eye sockets in his head. He can use his eyes to peer over things or around corners, and can fire a variety of beams from them (paralysis beams, stun-beams, balance-distortion beams, etc.). Naturally, he can fire in more than one direction at once. He is a basic enforcer type.

GRIZZLOR — This humanoid boar has two tusks and a large shaggy body. He has the strength and ferocity of a wild boar, but is not the greatest in the smarts department. Grizzlor is the Horde's Prison Keeper, presiding over the terrible dungeons on Beast Island.

LEECH — A hideous creature with suction discs instead of hands and feet. Leech can climb even the slickest of surfaces with ease and can use his suction discs to drain energy from his foes with a single touch.

SCORPIA — Scorpia might almost be good looking if it weren't for her armored tail, her pincer claws and a disposition fully in keeping with the insect from which she takes her name. Scorpia's sting can paralyze a foe in seconds and she has the strength to rip out walls. She is not terribly bright, but she makes up for it in sheer meanness.

IMP — Imp is only about six inches tall, but it's all mischief and deviltry. This character has floppy ears, a devil tail, and snaggly, sharp teeth. His basic talent is infiltration, for he can turn himself into most any object with a thought (however he cannot turn into any object much larger than himself). Thus Imp might disguise himself as a goblet and set himself down on a conference table to overhear a plan or become a sparrow to make an escape. Combat wise, he has no power, though he can provide impish diversion, a smoke screen, a hot foot, a trip wire, etc. He too is played more for comedy.

THE PALACE OF POWER/DARKHOPE — ADDENDUM TO BIBLE INFORMATION

The Palace of Power is the most magical spot on all Etheria. In the Palace are gathered all the forgotten secrets of the First Ones (the founders of Etheria, equivalent to Eternia's Ancients). The Palace is located at the very top of the gigantic mountain called SkyDancer. This mountain is at the edge of the Kingdom of Bright Moon. The mountain top is constantly wreathed in clouds that obscure it and even when these clouds are pierced, the Palace is not immediately evident. It takes powerful enchantment or the power of Shera's sword to reveal the magnificent avian facade of the Palace and permit entry.

In the episode in which Shera finds the Palace (PP#67022, "The Palace of Power") she also meets DarkHope, the living spirit of the Palace. DarkHope is a very mysterious being. He appears as a pair of baleful red eyes, floating in a corridor of infinite darkness at the bottom of the palace. This coriddor is behind a very magical-looking door which opens to reveal him. DarkHope sees all that transpires on the planet of Etheria, EXCEPT for what occurs in the Fright Zone and the Shadow Kingdoms around it. The evil of these places prevents even DarkHope from seeing what occurs there. DarkHope also tells Shera that the Palace has long awaited her coming. She is the heroine for which the Palace was constructed, the person on whom the fate of the planet rests. For this reason, Shera is told to treat the Palace as her personal Haven. She comes there to meditate, to ask advice of DarkHope, to explore the myriad secrets contained in the Palace or to undertake some quest or another at the behest of DarkHope .

Like Castle Gray skull the actual extent of the Palace is unfathomable. Its corridors and staircases cover miles of unedning space, its chambers are more numerous than anyone could count.

While Shera will make use of the Palace often, it is not an automatic answer to the problems facing her. Shera will only seek the help of DarkHope and the Palace in the most dire of circumstances, never abusing the great power inherent in its walls.

As for DarkHope he looks forward to the day when the last Hordesman leaves Etheria and the world is once again free. At that moment the Palace will manifest itself to all Etherians and DarkHope's true identity will at last be revealed. Until that day only Shera, Princess of Power will share the secret of the Palace.

SHADOWWEAVER — ADDENDUM TO BIBLE INFORMATION

The Horde's dark Sorceress has her own private sanctuary to which she retires to study her evil spells or merely rest up after a hard day's nasty work. This sanctuary is known as HORROR HALL. Horror Hall is located in the Shadow Kingdom of DARKEDGE, one of the three evil kingdoms surrounding Fright Zone. Horror Hall is set in an active volcano, a mighty belching monster of a mountain. All manner of monster flies, crawls and creeps around this volcano. Entrance to the Hall is through the volcano's crater and this entrance is hidden by the constant flames shooting up from the lava pit and the thick black smoke caused by these flames. There is ALWAYS some sort of guardian monster on the entrance to the Hall and the portal is nothing more than a patch of darkness.

Inside, Horror Hall lives up to its name in grand fashion. Furnishings are eerie, gloomy, bizarre. Dark corridors go in all directions and weird noises abound. The center of the hall is the workshop of ShadowWeaver, a place filled with the trappings of evil magic. There are also dungeon cells, for those unfortunate enough to be the victims of ShadowWeaver's terrible experiments.

Attempting to breach Horror Hall would put even the Princess of Power in dire jeopardy, for it is here that ShadowWeaver is at her most powerful.

SCORPIA — ADDENDUM TO BIBLE INFORMATION

Though its not common knowledge, our pincer-clawed villainess also has her very own hideaway for those moments when evil-doing has taken its toll. It is called SCORPION HILL and is located in the blood-red sands of the Shadow Kingdom known as Crimson Waste. Scorpion Hill is a gigantic sand dune at the base of which is a large rock. Scorpia uses her mighty tail to push this rock aside and gain entrance to the underground passages which lead t o her lair beneath the giant dune. The corridors of the hill are patrolled by Scorpia's "pets", monster scorpions the size of St. Bernards. In her lair Scorpia plans and schemes to make trouble for the Rebellion and prove to Hordak that she and not Catra should be Force Captain of the Horde. Invariably such schemes involve not only the forces of the Rebellion but also the downfall or discrediting of Catra as well. Of course Catra is well aware of the scorpion woman's intentions and is usually prepared for her plots.

Possibility: Scorpia might be given a vehicle with which to cross the treacherous sands of the Crimson Waste. This vehicle would be known as the Scorpion Crawler. It would be a heavily-armored, tank-like vehicle with a scorpion motif and treads. Its tail-like appendage is a heavy-duty blaster and its pincer front can chomp through obstacles or capture foes.