#holy x elsie

[sansan9]

[urhoneycombwitch]

foreword: intro to a new series Mayhaps! name pending… adoptive parents Eddie x reader, origin story of their girl <3

cw: rehab mention, au (in which Eddie lives and has a sister), brief insinuation of infidelity

___

You’ve been through so many huge, life-altering events with Eddie Munson.

You’d seen him nearly bleed out in the Upside Down, red rivulets streaming from his nose, his mouth, as you and Steve carried him back home. You’d helped him through all the physical therapy, all the nights he’d wake wild-eyed and sweaty, teeth gritted around your name.

And him, just as many, with you- buying your first house together, turning the corner into young adulthood at each other’s sides, turning 25 and then 30, every milestone more exciting than the last.

All that, and more. And here the more was, now- in the form of a toddler, standing with one sock foot behind the other on your front porch, holding out an envelope addressed to Eddie.

She’s got some wild, dark curls, twisting down past her small shoulders, framing a doll-like face; some familiar, chocolate-bambi eyes, lashes so dark and long it’s a wonder they don’t get tangled.

”Oh, shit.” Eddie stares at the envelope now in his hand- name reflected in scrawling black ink. “I- where’s your mom?”

The kid blinks up at him, shy but unwavering in her stance, posing as much braver than she probably feels, on a stranger’s doorstep all alone in the middle of the woods. (A touch dramatic, perhaps- it’s a lightly-wooded area, neighbors as near as two orchards away.)

On instinct, you reach for the girl, and she stretches her arms towards you. Your heart is pounding as you settle her onto your hip, as she rests the weight of her head against your collarbone.

She’s dressed in an oversized t-shirt that falls to her knees, worn purple socks that keep slipping down her legs- every so often, she reaches down absentmindedly to tug them back up.

”Am I crazy, or does this kid kind of look like you?” The half-chuckle sounds strained even to your own ears, trying to keep it light in front of the kid even as dread unfurls in your stomach. “How come she looks like you, Eddie?”

”Sweetheart, I-” Eddie gestures with the envelope between him and the girl in your arms, eyes going wide- “This kid looks, what- two ‘n a half? Three? I’ve been with you for more than triple that, now, right? She’s not mine, mine, I don’t-”

His face falls with realization, and you wait, anxious, as he rips open the envelope.

“Holy shit.”

He swears for the second time in front of the toddler, and you shush him while pressing a hand over her exposed ear- “Hey. Munson. Cool it with the cussing.”

”Sorry. I’m… it’s Lydia. My sister, Lydia- it’s her kid.”

The bile in your throat recedes, relief coming but leaving just as quick- “Where’s Lydia, then?”

Eddie shakes his head, reaches back to close the door behind the three of you, sealing off the cold spring air, eyes still scanning down the letter. “She’s in rehab. Geyser Springs, apparently- it’s a few hours away from here.”

You nod, slowly, starting up a rhythmic bounce with the baby on your hip, one hand still covering her ear as you whisper, “Aaaand… her kid is doing what on our porch, exactly?”

You’ve never seen Eddie so pale before. Not even when he was bleeding out in an alternate dimension.

“She says the kid’s turning three in July. And her name is Elsie.”

Elsie picks her head up from your neck when Eddie says her name, dimples in her fist as she jabs a finger at her own chest.

“Yeah?” Eddie asks, voice gentle in way you’ve never heard before. “That your name, princess?”

This gets a smile out of her, little foot kicking out in equal parts delight and bashfulness, a warbly hum in response to his question.

The phone, on the hook next room over, trills. You and Elsie watch from the archway of the kitchen as Eddie answers, pushing back into his splayed hand atop the counter. “Munson residence. Yeah, this is he.”

He’s quiet for a while, soft mm-hms punctuating the silence every few moments. The one-sided conversation continues for a minute, two- then rumble of a stomach catches your attention.

”Hungry?” You murmur to the girl, signing eat with your free arm and hand. When she nods, you slip past Eddie into the kitchen, moving as quietly as you can to get Elsie a snack.

The voice over the phone drones on- you’re dipping into the fruit bowl at the other end of the counter, out of range to do any effective eavesdropping. Hoping an apple is a neutral enough food to not be an allergen, you offer the kid a Red Delicious to munch on while you try and read Eddie’s facial expressions.

“Okay, thanks. Yeah, that’s our current address. Uh-huh- yeah, see her in the morning. Ten AM.”

Eddie answers the jump in your eyebrow, after hanging up the phone to face you both- “That was the social worker. Apparently, Lydia paid a trusted friend to drop princess here off-”

Elsie grins toothily around her bite of apple at Eddie’s acknowledgement of her, and he almost melts at the knees, you can just tell, but he recovers-

“-but she’d called social services to let them know about me ‘n you before turning herself in to rehab.”

”Why us? Why not- an orphanage, or something?” You hope the kid is young enough to not understand what you’re implying; you’re starting to feel a touch of true alarm at the thought of being tasked with looking after a whole human being. “Or, like, I dunno- a fire station…?”

Eddie collapses in the breakfast nook’s window seat, staring blankly at the wall behind you. “She said she always looked up to me. Thought since I have a girl and a house I’m the most responsible person she knows. Shoot, kid,” he laughs, suddenly, addressing Elsie- “we couldn’t even keep a garden alive in this house. You’re in for a ride, kiddo- sorry in advance.”

”Don’t you listen to him.” You bounce Elsie once with a playful little swoop and she giggles, the first time you’ve heard a glimpse of her voice- “We had some perfectly good green beans from that garden, and your uncle Eddie hand-built me those raised beds with scrap wood.”

“I digress.” The thing about Eddie is he’s great in front of an audience, knows just when to hamm it up for a laugh; palms spread in an appeasing gesture, he continues- “We got green beans out of the whole ordeal. Lucky us.”

Even if she doesn’t fully understand the joke, Elsie does read the laughing cue, another adorable giggling bubbling from her small frame.

“Well… just until tomorrow morning, right?” You ask, placing a warm hand between her shoulder blades as she snuggles back into you.

Eddie nods in confirmation. “Yeah. Just one night with us, princess. Wanna watch Muppets?”

One sock-covered foot kicks out in answer.

[ari-shipping-stuff]

TWGOK x Percy Jackson where Keima Katsuragi and the girls were demigods? How would their intertraction with their parents going to be like? Basically the Jupiter Sisters' hosts are going to be the children of the Greek Gods (except for Artemis, of course). Kanon = Apollo's daughter, Yui = Mars' daughter, Ayumi = Hermes' daughter, Tenri = Nike's daughter (but she's also a Hunter of Artemis), Shiori = Athena's daughter (that would make her Annabeth's half-sister), and Tsukiyo = Hephaestus' daughter but her mother is the daughter of Selene (IDK about the others maybe Chihiro as an Aphrodite child?). Keima himself is the son of Zeus. Elsie, Haqua and the other demons were descendants of the Titans. (Sorry for this long post)

no need to apologize at all!! i adore demigod aus it is one of my favorite things to do with my media <333 AND kaminomi??? girl(gn) that's my Favorite Manga Of All Time?????? sign me up???

i put this under the cut because. yes this did get long hfsfjjgsdgj

i assume in this au there aren't any of the "goddesses" themselves? 🤔 or perhaps they Are there, but more like priestesses than the actual gods. i am curious as to how they'd get their names though,,

okay! first, main three: keima, elsie, chihiro

at first glance, i thought of keima being a mist-seeing mortal with comical levels of luck and plot armor (how is this bitch alive lmao) but keima as a son of zeus is so fucking funny to me

pov you're a regular camper and a big 3 kid came to camp! holy shit! amazing! aaand then you meet him. and. yeah

he's perfectly mastered all his abilities, he just. uses them for dating sims 😭 on one hand, bro. are you kidding me. on the other hand, due to his attitude with dating sims, he's surprisingly so similar to his father it's hilarious. let's keep this idea HDSHKGDH

(side note: of course zeus banged keima's mom. have you SEEN her-)

elsie i'd immediately say is a descendant/child of gaea 🤔 mostly because of her role in the later arcs, but also! her natural (arguable: motherly) caregiving personality, her general appreciation for the world around her, and. i just think that elsie being the most powerful thing in the universe is awesome <3

chihiro as an aphrodite kid is so personal to me actually 🥺 as a person who used to go around bragging about being an aphrodite kid. and on account of her being my favorite ever hfsgjgddfjj i can see it actually! either aphrodite or eros. i can also see a possibility of her being unclaimed, and that adds to her drive of trying to prove that she can actually do something and commit to it, but those things don't have to be mutually exclusive 🤔

goddess hosts! :DD

tenri: i am much more loose with my characterizations of the gods, and i don't stick much to canon, so i can see tenri working out just fine as artemis/diana's daughter. like how athena's children aren't born, but created. nike is an interesting idea though, and i'm curious about your thought process on that one! maybe diana's physical prowess? 🤔 another one i'd consider for tenri is hecate or another magic goddess due to her little magic trick hobby. maybe even hermes just the for sleight of hand

kanon: definitely apollo, for the music and the fact that the goddess apollo had powers related to healing, if i remember correctly

yui: yui as an ares kid is hilarious to me. why is the shoujo prince butch in the cabin with the roughhousers jgsfjkgddgj 😭 okay but listen. hear me out okay: yui as a child of aphrodite inheriting the qualities of aphrodite areia (her warlike epithet). she, in that epithet, is the goddess of beauty and war, making yui the perfect shoujo prince /hj hfsfjkhdsfg

shiori: athena kid shiori is enticing, but it feels almost too easy of a placement to me,, i'd personally put her as a child/legacy of mnemosyne, the titan of memory. i'd want to give her a god of knowledge rather than wisdom, because although she is quite booksmart, she doesn't always seem to think everything through due to the sheer amount of her thoughts 😭 not to mention, memory fits pretty well with how she memorized every book in the school library hdsgjkhddgj

tsukiyo: i cannot see her being anyone's kid but selene's. selene is purely about the moon, which gives a lot of flexibility on how the moon relates to tsukiyo in particular

ayumi: hermes also feels so easy but. i can't think of anyone else who runs lmao 😭 okay maybe athena, due to the athletic nature and fighting spirit. or maybe nike, goddess of victory

other characters 🤔

for haqua i want to do thanatos for vibes. like the scythe and the focus on her ties to hell

nora, i think it'd be funny if she was daughter of thalia, the muse of comedy hfdgkgddfh mostly for her unpredictable personality. but this is subject to change because i don't know her very well

i can see lune as a child of eris, goddess of discord. maybe kaori too? 🤔 in kaori's case i think a muse might be fitting as well because of her motif about acting and the whole play part of the arc

akari, i'd like to think is a child of athena? she just gives me the vibes

okay rapidfire for the other heroines: (feel free to argue with me on these i didn't put much thought into these ones)

mio: hera

kusunoki: ares/one of the hysmanai

jun: nike

minami: pallas/electra (it reminded me of her hair, mostly)

sumire: hestia?

nanaka: athena/ioke

hinoki: i think she'd have to be the same as kusunoki 🤔

urara: hebe

[ohbo-ohno]

book recs pls? U have amazing taste

im gonna assume this is half in reference to the lilith vincent book i mentioned earlier so i'll give you some of my favorite romances 💞 i tried not to rec a book i've already suggested here before, so some of my very favorites ever are left out!

the authors I'll read like literally anything by are Tessa Bailey, Lily Gold, Ana Huang, J.T. Geissinger, Elsie Silver, Harley Laroux, Rina Kent... and probably someone I'm forgetting tbh but those are some of my favs

also i got a little out of hand and these are kinda all over the place lmao, but here we go! my standards for romance are very low btw so don't judge my taste

Darker romances:

Sticking with Lilith Vincent - I love her books Brutal Intentions and (to a lesser extent) Pageant. Brutal Intentions is a step-dad romance, Pageant (the first of two books, I think the second is wayyy better) is like... dark, mafia, reverse harem, kidnapping, a whole lot tbh. Look up trigger warnings!!! I think she lists them at the start of the book

I don't particularly like H.D. Carlton (I very much so disliked Haunting/Hunting Adeline) but I fucking LOVED her book Does It Hurt? If you want fucked up characters, toxic relationships, noncon, and a pretty well-written subplot for a self-published romance I would recommend this one! (tbh I'm half convinced it's ghostwritten, I cant fathom Haunting Adeline and Does It Hurt? being written by the same person)

Sinners Anonymous & it's sequels by Somme Sketcher. Mafia romance. Age-gap. Kinda trashy but very fun imo. Also read Danielle Lori's Made series if that sounds neat to you!

M.L. Marian's Claimed & Tamed series. Each book follows a different man in the same family where the tradition is that men kidnap their wives. My favorite is Caught <3

Romcoms/Lighter stuff:

I like most Mariana Zapata books, but my favorite is either Under Locke or Luna and the Lie. I've read 7 of her books and they're all basically the same structure with the same characters, so if you read one and like the dynamics you'll probably like her others

One Percent of You by Michelle Gross is my favorite single mom romance of all time. Tattoo artist who hates kids falls in love with his over-worked neighbor who's a single mother of two. SO cute and soft

Bittersweet by Morgan Elizabeth. tattoo artist x baker, this is one of my favorite romcoms ever.

Sunny Disposition by Deanna Gray. Amnesia, college, hockey, roommates to lovers, this is a very soft and fun read that I enjoyed as a bit of a palette cleanser. Iirc it was a little long, but a good time

Other??:

When a Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare. I don't like historical romance much, but this doesn't really feel like one to me! A woman makes up a soldier to write letters to so she can avoid getting married, and years later he shows up on her doorstep ready for their wedding. This is so much fun

Transcendence by Shay Savage - two words for you: Caveman Romance. This is told entirely from the caveman's perspective and tells the story of him meeting a woman who's very odd (because she's from the future) and their life together. It drags a little bit at times, but I think it's so so fun and the end had me crying

King by TM Frazier goes a little off the rails, but I had fun with it. The main character is called 'Pup' for like 90% of the book and that was enough for me. Our FMC has amnesia and is taken in by a local gang leader and the plot goes from there

Under His Heel by Adara Wolf - ok before I say what this is about, I cannot overstate how dark and fucked up this book series is. They're disturbing. I loved them, I've read them all at least twice, but they are deeply upsetting. It takes place in space in the far distant future and follows our main character Alex as he becomes an indentured servant for a sociopath named Captain Tracht. These books are a weird mix of porn and plot, but if you want fucked up smut and fucked up relationship dynamics, this is the holy grail

[sweetdreamsbuck]

if anyone is looking for some reading recs from some recent romance reads I have done!!!! :

Flawless by Elsie Sliver– enemies to lovers, grumpy x sunshine, bull rider big manly gruff cowboy who is sooooo baby🤤

Games With the Orc by Kathryn Moon– my first monster fucker book and holy shit🫠🫠 so so delicious and perfect. he falls so hard

Mile High by Liz Tomforde– I will not be spoiling this one even a little bit you HAVE to read it. (hockey player. flight attendant who doesn't put up with his shit. felt very healing, fulfilled a big piece in my heart that was missing due to all those years hating myself for my size) he's sooooo fucking good to her you're not even prepared

[wh0reforcoriolanussnow]

I’ve posted sm in the last couple of days, especially today holy moly- anyways I hope you enjoyed my lil spamsie more will be coming soon 🙈 also just going to mention I’ve been getting lots of requests for dad!tom x Elsie and don’t u sorry I got u all! And I’m planning to write more tom x singer!reader just bc I love both tom and gracie with all my heart 💗 OH AND DW IM GOING TO POST A CORYO FIC SOON I PROMISE

[estrangedaframian]

pasiphaedemetriadevil [ x ]

"I don't know what to do!" Dean shouted in response to Louisa's question. He realized he already had made a mistake by attempting to remove the clothing that had stuck to her skin.

"I've only dealt with holy fires and hell fires-- I've never had to treat this bad of a burn before! Louisa, call a burn unit! Hurry! Please!"

For the time Dean's only plan was to stay with Elsie, not only to comfort her (emotionally) but protect her in case whoever put her inside of the bull came back to finish the job.

Dean leaned in close, doing his best not to touch too much of her. "... If you need blood, just drink... I don't care if you take too much, 'cause livin' or dead, I don't want to be anywhere without you... I love you, Elsie... I love you..."

[rou-luxe]

for my ikevil oc (elsie), what would the ship name be 💀💀 I always suck at ship names (my original ocs' ship name is "raynemi", raymond x sanemi)

alfie. alsie. elfie. alfsie. elfons. their names are too similar help

I could grab her real name but it makes it worse chelfons. alsea. chons. CHONS.

if we go with last names, though, we can end up with ju(l)vatica

cute enough

holy shirt it's 4:30 already

[star-on-a-beach]

Oh fuck it

Joining in on the ships rating thing, and I'm including almost almost EVERY SHIP IVE THOUGHT OF/HEARD OF. EVEN JUST FOR A SECOND. Please don't kill me for any of these

This will be a lot. BUT HERE WE GO

(Only romantic pairing ideas btw, if we wanna go through platonic pairings that's a whole 'nother post)

Ships I think about often (note that not all of these are canon)

Lancia: 100000/10. Obsessed. I think about them daily. They are my Roman empire. I could genuinely talk about them for hours but I'll save yall the walls of text. But I constantly think about them in a king/queen sense and I'm obsessed.

Goldenrain: 100/10. They are so fucking cute and the whole family of these two and Usa and Deedee is amazing

Spirals: 10/10. Always gonna be the OG and I will be clinging onto any spirals fanart for years because IN ANOTHER UNIVERSE, IT HAPPENS

Starro x Conny/ Boxsprings: 10/10. Already obsessed and I have so many ideas. I fucking LOVE being a multishipper.

Starro x Kade/ Starcade: 8/10. In theory it was cute, and I still think it is. But they'd be better as besties

Sammy x Alexander: 10/10. TWINK X HIMBO FOREVER

Firestone: 9.9/10. I like their dynamic of a no touch relationship, and even tho I'm a physical affection girlie FOREVER, it's nice to have rep of a relationship that's not like that

Lata x Latte: 9/10. Simple, yet tragic and lovely

Slyn x Hexe: 3/10. Abusive, and they're both horrible individuals

Gunshot: 8/10. I love seeing Mix happy, so I'm happy

Mix x Icia: 7/10. Obviously not canon, nor will it EVER be, but it was an interesting dynamic when I first thought of it

Sammy x Dunite: 9/10. They've always been super close so I've thought it's interesting

Icia x Aoki: 7/10. One of my favorite noncanons, but I love them having a sibling-like relationship in canon

Icia x Arthur: 6/10. Arthur intimidates me and lowkey intimidates Icia too so this ship is adorable but would also have me feel like I'm walking on eggshells

Starro x Dunite: 7/10. Cute, that's all I have to say

Sammy x Odette: 6/10. I could see it.

Mix x Silo: 7/10. THIS ONE FUCKING HURTS

Icia x Achilles: Get Therapy/10. The trauma is fucking UNREAL with this one, yall are NOT READY

____ x _________: 8/10. I know someone's gonna guess this one, probably Elsie- and I do have plans for it, it'll just be a while. And I gotta make it cute but also surprising without making it seemed forced lmao

Heartstrings: 9/10. Holy shit, so much fluff, and Jessy is just. HHHHHHHHH

Smith x Hans: 8/10. I DESPERATELY NEED MORE OF THEM *SHAKES FEI*

Pyx x Thanatos: 8/10. The sex jokes are funny to me, and the art is adorable.

Bob x Sign: 7/10. I feel bad for all the trauma they've gone through, and while I do think the sex is funny, sometimes I gotta just set my phone down and have a moment bc it gets far sometimes. I do really think it's cute when Bob gives Sign neck kisses tho, their fluffy moments are spectacular

Odette x Flare: 7.5/10. I still think it'd be cute

Mix x Drunkie: 4/10. Ran its course, and I'm glad it's over. But it wasn't the worst either

Ships I don't think about often BUT do cross my mind from time to time/ Crackships

Hammer x Chaos: 9/10. Pretty solid, funny sex jokes (maybe too many for my taste but still (like seriously those two make out so much I wouldn't be surprised if their lips literally ached, not in a good way either))

Icia x Raina: 6/10. Would be a cute queerplatonic relationship but it's just funny with Raina being the Lancia 3rd wheel (and being the one to first actually technically SUGGEST Lancia)

Starro x Sign: 4/10. Idk man, don't ask me bc I don't know

Bobelle: 3/10. I have no words.

Bob x Felicia: 1/10. Definitely concerning and uncomfortable every time I remember it

Chip x Alpen: 7/10. Don't think of them often, but they're cute

Helpful x Lucy: 5/10. Feels a bit forced and Lucy was a bit too relentless for me to enjoy it at first, she just feels like she was only made for being something for him and that's it

Helpline: 6/10. I don't remember much abt this ship but I thought it was cute that Dial cared for Helpful like that (despite me wanting to strangle Helpful like 60% of the time)

Sigilbeam: 9/10. Don't think of them often but they are just ADORABLE, I think Sun is really underrated

Icia x Dunite: 6/10. Some could see it, I could not lol

Sammy x Smith: 8/10. I don't wanna hear a damn peep about this one, it'd be funny as fuck (a bit more than just a crackship to me)

Sal x Amelia: 8/10. I've thought about them and I'm not afraid to say that I think it'd be cute (but I feel like there's a reason I forgot abt as to why it's not canon)

Sal x Dunite: 5/10. They're cute as friends and that's all

Starro x Pyx: 5/10. It's crossed my mind, but I see them more like brothers

Cit x Flare x Odette: 7/10. I'm not really a poly girl but HEAR ME OUT

Nova x Switch: 7/10. I could see it, but it's not for me

Mocha x Vaga: 2/10. Definitely not. More like a father-son thing imo. Or at least brothers

Odette x Achilles: 5/10. Chaos trio member brought this up, and I'm pretty neutral about it

Stitch x Chance: 👏👏👏/10. I still dunno how the fuck that dude did it, but kudos man.

Stitch x Icia: 3/10. He's too short for her lmao.

Icia x Sammy: 8/10. I could see it. I could definitely see it.

Icia x Slyn: 0/10. Hahahaha NO.

Belle x Helpful: ???/10. Is this even a ship? I have no idea

Toxic Helpline: Good ship name/10

Raina x Odette: 6-7?/10. Idk how i thought of this but I did and it's not my LEAST favorite ship ever? But. Eh.

Starro x Raina: 3/10. Dunno where this came from

Fred x Deedee: Cats/10. Idk it's funny man

Drunkie x Kopi: 3/10. No.

Mix x Kopi: 2/10. NO.

Kumo x Kopi: 5/10. No opinion.

Northeast: 7/10. Cute but too bland for me

Ciana x Apollo: 7.1/10. Same as Northeast

Ok.... I think that's it.... man I coulda been using all that time to write angst, damn

[newgeht]

idk how caught up w/ ez you are, but Holy x Elsie 44?

(if not, maybe 5 for wivry, ik helsie is kind of a rarepair(≧∀≦)ゞ)

So I went super overboard with this one, but totally worth it. I hope you enjoy Aqua!!

This an alternative ending to chapters 183-184

Ao3

Holy was wrought with disdain, her fingers gracing the rubble that lay before her. As much as her communications link has worked, all of her other applications were nigh in this metal fortitude. She could not ping or disclose if her battle mates were near her. Banging against her wrist, she cursed how reliant she had become to these technologies. She had come to the coordinates that Eden’s Zero gave and there was nothing in this chrome-landscape insight. 

Grimacing as she looked at them once more. Holy had switched some of the numbers around. The anxiety of this battle filled her and she knew that this would not be the ending that Feather would have foreseen if it wasn’t for this measly mistake. Yet again had they teamed up with the Galatica forces and this time she would be able to see her beloved. It may not be within her fellow comrades' tastes if she were to come by those chocolate coated eyes in battle. 

Forgetting about her prior irritations, she hummed along the mechanical structures and paid close attention for any signs of organic life. When she breathed, the mechanical whirring mimicked her exhale. A visage of the life that once lain in these lands. It had moved into a mechanical labyrinth and Holy was naught for the challenge. She had yet to see an opening or even a doorway in her passage of the steely land. 

This cold-hardened exterior could not match her own lonesome. A low rumble met her tracks. A small sensation of ether beckoning her calls for action. Finally, she mused to herself. She was still far but ardent she was to support her allies. There would be a quick change of plans to help and rendezvous to the original location. 

Landard’s toughened exterior breaks with the seismic impacts of the battle ahead, galloping to meet its calls. Holy broke against the wind as she sped toward the sharp blooms of ether. Maybe it could be Ziggy or even Acnoella, she was more than capable to take out another stone before her truest enemy. A glimpse of scarlet shining from the skytops, growing closer to the scene ahead. 

The commotion ceased. The eerie whirr pervades her once more as to tease that she missed her chance. The chance to come across Elsie and her combatant, but she was duly mistaken. A scream causing devastation to the white noise, stirring her own anxieties. 

Her beloved. 

The walls closed in as she knew the space pirate could not fall so easily. Time was not just a moment. It was a give and take relationship. An entity that would not be kind to the mortal wounds that had befallen. As to not disturb the land, Holy whispered, “Melt.” With one hand out and a dainty swipe of her fingers the wall before her began to corrode. Much like most men, it fell to her feet and she grimaced at the smell before her. 

So used to the smells of aluminum and harsh steel of this world, the familiar smell of copper tinted the air. Not the metal but of life. Pulling her violet strands behind her ear she held in her voluntary emotions. Scarlet drenched in a puddled pool of crimson. 

The pirate moaned as she crawled into the room. This was the first time Holy had seen her beloved worse for wear and she cringed at the sight. Such a powerful being had her petals ripped and sinewed by the enemy. If only she had been there sooner. 

With a quick tap of her ear-com she spoke quickly, making sure everything was precise to the singular digit. Making sure she didn’t make the same mistake as she did earlier. This was the only way her beloved could get the care she desperately needed. “My coordinates are negative forty-five, point five-four-two and fifty point six-four. I have found her Skull Fairy.” It was the least she could do for now as Holy had to find a way to defeat her attacker and Deadend Crow. 

Holy was not an optimist but she internally cured Mother. Stalking toward Elsie with quiet footfalls, admiring the elegant armor she donned. Elsie, Elsie, Elsie. What a cruel twist of fate that they had to be tangled like this. That name hadn’t left her mind since Justice had alerted the Galatica that she was wanted- a woman who had chosen the wrong side, but she couldn’t help but kneel before her. 

“Holy,” Elsie sputtered as the crimson filled her only eye. Her hands held forcefully against her stomach wounds. Her heavy breathing only ensured that she was close to fading, she would not pass under her watch. 

“Beloved Elsie. My beloved Elsie.” Holy crooned and cupped her chin. She wiped as much blood away as she could with her sleeve, inching closer with each word. “Stay with me now, we haven’t much time to spare.” 

The sparkle in her eyes was fading but Holy couldn’t panic yet. Her beloved would not reach the stars just yet, “Talk to me. Your team will be here any moment.” 

“My family,” Elsie struggled with her snarkiness but managed a chuckle out of her. 

Holy ripped the fabric of her coattails making quick work to wrap it around the most horrendous of her wounds. Quipping back, “Ah yes, my apologies. You guys and your families make me feel left out.” 

“Who did this to you?” Her teeth ground, knotting the last of the cloth. 

Elsie grunted and coughed as Holy pressed her hands onto her stomach. Her com-device signaling that some of the Skull Fairy’s crew was close. Raspy as she was, Elsie tried her best to speak, ignoring her question. “R-Remember when we met-” 

“At the Element shoot?” It was an attempt to complete her sentence but Elsie shook her head. Elsie’s conscious mind was fading, Holy knew it was best not to ask of the fight no more. 

“You know when,” Elsie rasped as she tugged on her hand, “when you took me as a refugee from Justice. Back when you first were named- rgh… a part of the Intergalactic party.” 

Holy smiled at the memory, Justice was furious when he found out but she had not known who the pirate was then. Elsie’s fingers were distracting as they caressed her wrist, adding more force to her hands. 

“What else should I remember beloved? You’re doing good, they’re almost here for you.” There were too many things to remember from the briefest moments they had shared thus far. What they had shared was less than common sight, she could reminisce in this present. Her only goal was to keep her mouth moving. 

The blood oozed slowly boiling up from the tourniquet and over her fingers. A stampede of distress turning her insides out but she would not break just yet. 

“I r-remember, Justice…Lendard…Shiki…” Elsie huffed along a list of names, blubbering on as her breathing slowed more, “and you.” 

Holy pressed a kiss to her forehead, “Breathe my beloved.” 

The mechanical white noise was abruptly overtaken by several footsteps. Their figures shadow the two as a blanket, “There she is!” 

Holy held onto Elsie for dear life as she wasn’t ready for this moment to end. Yet, she didn’t want her thorned rose to suffer anymore as she leaned over, soft scarlet locks tickling her lips. Reverently Holy freed her distress, “I wished for a better time to say this, my beloved. These tragedies have awakened my deepest regrets and hopefully you can return them someday. My lovely and dear Elsie, words are unable to describe how much I love you.” 

Holy grunted as she picked the pirate up, handing her over to the Skull Fairy’s crew. Elsie’s hand gripped her fingers as she tried to let go, “Don’t…” 

She didn’t want to let go. Holy had to brave the circumstances and took a mighty step back, sending her a smile. 

Elsie’s limp body came alive for a moment as she jumped from Gowen’s arms. Only to fall back into her arms, clutching on for dear life. Holy gasping as she resisted the urge to take her away from the battles that lie in wake. 

“Say it to me again,” her demand encased with an unrestrained plea. Her singular eye encased with fallen tears. “Tell me that you love me one more time.” 

Was it so hard for her to believe? Holy may be a sly snake from time to time, but it was a part of the persona she held for the intergalactic forces. With a soft squeeze, Holy silently debated on the repercussions of her small confession. She didn’t feel warm due Elsie’s blood loss but from their current embrace, shedding the last of her own walls. 

“Take my word and find me when you awaken, beloved Elsie. I love you,” leaving her with another wistful kiss upon the crest of her head. 

Elsie’s content spirits tumbled, overdue for her passing into unconsciousness. Holy didn’t need to hear the profession in turn, as she knew they would see each other soon. “Gowen,” cupping Elsie into her arms once more, “No detours or stops. Get her to the Eden’s Zero and ask for Ivry.” 

“You don’t have to tell me twice, lady. Our princess will be taken care of!” Gowen smugly remarked, returning Elsie back into his arms. Holy stood and waited as they took off from the room, following the short path back to the ship. 

Once they left, Holy was unruly. Never has she felt so much emotion until her sister’s death. She threw the scrap of metal from her ear and let out a languished cry. The beating of her hot tears reinstating her resolves. First Sarah, now Elsie, she would not let any of her comrades come next. It didn’t matter whose side they were on, those who harmed her beloved would meet their death. 

Time is of the essence. 

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Thanks so much for reading! My requests box is still open at this time. ((: Also thanks for everyone's support.

[burninlovebutler]

27 - The First Close Call // Forever Winter Series

pairing: austin x fem!oc (elsie) | word count: 3k-ish

warnings: core origin story anchors, alcohol, FLUFF, typical sad undertones, talks of cheating, cringey bedroom concerts, lightly inspired by maroon by taylor swift lol, 18+ MDNI

summary: when elsie wakes up the day after new year’s eve with both austin & nox no where to be found, she sits with the questions racing through her head. an unlikely item transports her to a memory that may hold the answers she seeks.

previous chapter -> 26 - NYE pt. 2 - Say It Again**

see masterlist for chapter log or other works

vibes: forever winter playlist ❄️

We never talk about what's going on We're casual, we're nothing

We're the furthest thing from love Until we drink

We’re just friends Until we drink

-ELSIE-

I stirred awake bringing a curled fist to rub the sleep from my eyes before shooting straight up. Flashes of everything that transpired the night before hit me like bricks, knocking every molecule of oxygen from my lungs. My hands frantically felt around the bed finding it empty, then searching it for any traces of Austin – or Nox for that matter. The rapid thumping growing in my chest threatened to crack my ribs like glow sticks.

My fingertips trembled as they curled around the fluffy duvet, bringing it up to my face. The scent of him filled my nostrils, immediately pooling tears in my eyes. My fists curled into the fabric and pressed against my nose, inhaling every bit of him.

How did we get here?

I threw the comforter off my body leaping from the mattress to inspect the room then quietly peering out the door to find Nox. But the apartment was empty, no Austin, no Nox. Relief momentarily poured into my veins before sending me into a cleaning frenzy. I ripped off every piece of bedding, the fitted sheet, the pillowcases, the duvet – it all smelled of Austin. Of us.

It wasn’t until the washing machine was full and rumbling that I was able to sit with the empty morning. My stiff couch squeaked as I laid back into it. The cold palms of my hands pressed into my tired and hungover eye sockets.

If Nox caught any inkling of suspicion I’d be dead. Just the idea of him finding out sent a chill through my bones.

It didn’t matter how many suspicions I had stacked against him. It didn’t matter the late nights out, the new phone code, the lingering perfume on his clothes.

“Fuck.” I muttered. I wanted to be angry that Nox never came home, at least it seemed like he didn’t. But how could I be angry at him when I did what I did with Austin?

I wanted to be upset with Austin too, for leaving me like I was just some one-night stand. But how was I supposed to be upset with him when he wasn’t my boyfriend, and he had a ‘not-girlfriend’, and Nox could’ve came home at any moment last night.

Holy fuck, are we all just cheating on each other?

One could only imagine that Nox’s absence meant he had also left with someone else. I had suspected it for a while –Sure, I could lie to myself and say he must’ve just crashed at a buddy’s house, but I knew it wasn’t the truth. It was a ruse.

So,

Nox was presumably cheating on me.

And I was cheating on him with my best friend.

And of course, now he was cheating on his new ‘not girlfriend’ with me. Official or not, it was clear something was going on between them. It made me sick.

That’s what it was, wasn’t it? I was cheating. No matter how much we masked it, how much we played the ‘no touching’ card, it was all just an excuse for our shitty actions right? Sure, he didn’t put his dick inside me, but we make each other cum – we’ve had each other in our mouths. One way or another it was sex.

Holy shit I’m having sex with Austin

Holy shit I’m fucking my best friend

What kinda fucked up geometric shape were we in and how did it all so complicated. I felt so many emotions at once, my head was so bogged with thoughts and memories of the night before, it was overwhelming. Suffocating.

As much as I really didn’t want to address it, the dread of knowing Austin and I would have to talk about it eventually settled between each rib. I wanted to ignore it, like we had been this whole time. Aside from the obvious uncomfortableness, I mostly just didn’t even know what to say.

‘I don’t want to keep doing what we’re doing’ – that was a lie.

‘I don’t like what we do’ – lie.

‘I want you stop calling me, baby’ – lie.

‘I want to stay with Nox’ - …lie?

‘I want to be with you’ - …lie?

I didn’t fucking want that, why the fuck would I want that? What the fuck did I want?

He’s my best friend, he’s always been just that. My friend. My person.

The person I run to when I’m sad, when I’m angry, when I’m heartbroken, when I need to vent, when I need someone to tell my secrets to. We’d seen each other go through multiple partners, isn’t that weird? We’ve talked about intimate details of our relationships. Though, the exchange of relationship details dwindled the longer we were friends.

Did everything we had done ruin our entire friendship? Last night was way past anything we’ve ever done. How do you go back to normal friendship when I literally fucked myself to him – in front of him? And he did to me…all over me.

And why the fuck did my belly flutter when he called me ‘baby’? God, I could barely even say it in my head. I shouldn’t fucking feel that way about my supposed ‘best friend’ calling me that. I didn’t even feel like that when Nox called me it. Friends don’t call each other baby.

“Oh god,” Curling over my thighs holding my hands over my face. The memory of me literally sobbing beneath him basically begging him to call me that name again. The New Years champagne had really done me in this time.

“Why the fuck would I do that.” I groaned and tugged at my under eyes.

Then the memory of what I told him.

‘Friends don’t do the things we do.’

“I’m so fucking stupid.” I reprimanded myself outloud, smacking my palm hard against my forehead.

How do you come back from that? How was I supposed to face him after that?

Even if I wanted to be with him – which I don’t – everything would change.

I wouldn’t be able to run to him anymore, not like that. I couldn’t share my secrets or just play video games with him. Or anything – all of our friendship traditions would be gone, right? How do you just shift into that different dynamic?

I never pictured us here. What the fuck were we doing? How did we get here? How do we go back? Can we go back? Do I want to go back?

I laid back and let the couch swallow me whole, curling into the corner and wrapping a draped blanket around me like a tight cocoon.

‘How did we get here?

‘How did we get here?’

‘How did we get here?’

The question haunted me, ringing over and over in my ear drums. Another equally as daunting sequence of questions swirled –

How, where and when did this start?

How did we get here, without me even realizing until we had crossed some fucked up line?

How long had this been looming in the background?

I brainlessly zoned out looking into my kitchen across from me when I spotted a half-drank bottle of rose that I didn’t remember opening or drinking.

The seemingly impertinent glass decanter brought forward a memory I had long forgotten. As the recollection unfolded in my memory, the details began to piece together a puzzle that perhaps held the answers I was looking for.

-5 years ago (Sophomore year)-

We sat on the floor of his dorm, my legs across Austin’s thigh with my feet in his lap. Our fit of laughter died down as the annual end-of-winter-break New Years party raged on downstairs of the giant fraternity mansion. The same house where we’d met just a year ago, and a year before all the shit hit the fan after his dad. Things were simple then, fun and innocent.

“I still think it’s funny that you’re in a frat.” I giggled, taking a swig of a bottle of Rosé that we stole.

The blonde rolled his eyes, “You know it’s just for my parents.” He snatched the chilled bottle from my hand, “Plus I get to live here, which is better than the dorms.” His lips curled into a cocky smirk before taking a sip. He dragged his sweater sleeve across his mouth to wipe off the excess wine and handed it back to me, “I am happy that we’re moving in together soon, I can’t wait to get out of here.”

My top teeth reflexively tugged my bottom lip in, for some reason wanting to hide the wide smile that begged to be worn, like a cozy cardigan on a cold winter day. But I swallowed it down with another chug. “Yeah, me too.” I hiccupped and set the glass bottle down.

In the year we’d grown to be friends I watched him blossom out of his shell. He says that it was me who made him bloom, but I don’t think I had anything to do with it. I think he was just waiting for someone or something to give him the chance to. Regardless, that shy boy I met just a year ago wasn’t the same one that sat across from me – at least not fully.

I watched him bring the glass bottle to his eyeline, reading the label for god knows why. But in the dim light of the desk lamp lit room… it was like I was seeing him through a new, different lens. The way his blonde hair curled at the edges, long straight lashes around crystal blue eyes, just how pink and plump his lips were. It had to be the alcohol, right?

“Hey Elsie,” He waved his hand in front of me, “Whatcha lookin at?” He laughed, “You checkin’ me out or something?” It was a joke, but it settled nervous swirl in my tummy.

I tried to mask the nerves in my chuckle with a light smack to his arm, “Yeah, you wish.” Rolling my eyes at him. I felt this daunting urge to remove myself from the situation, I needed to get my legs off of him, away from him. I never ever felt that way around him, he was normally a comfort to me, he would calm me down before an exam or watch movies with me when I was sad. But this… this wasn’t comfortable. I was uneasy, he made me uneasy.

I pushed a stray curl out of my face, letting out a breath before hastily pulling myself up from the carpeted floor. He took notice of my speedy escape as soon as I was on my feet, propping himself up on his elbows behind him. “Where are you goooooiiinnng?” He whined.

“I just wanted to um-“ I scanned around the room for any inspiration of a distraction landing on his record player. “I wanted to play music!” I perked walking over to the wooden box that held his vinyls.

“Why? The music from the party is so loud already.” He questioned, propping up a brow at me but I kept my back to him. Blood rushed into my cheeks and I couldn’t let him see it. The alcohol definitely was not helping the redness. For whatever reason, I grew aware of the missing makeup on my face. I never felt the need to wear it around him before, but now it felt like I was naked.

“Well, uh, yeah, that shit is so overrated.” I faux scoffed while thumbing through his record collection looking for a good one. I let out an involuntary gasp when I found an Elvis vinyl, plucking it instantly from the box and holding it close to my chest with my arms wrapped around it. “Elvis!” I exclaimed excitedly turning to him like a little kid that found a new toy at the store.

He raised his brows surprised at me then let out a laugh saturated in alcohol, “You like Elvis?” He questioned.

“Eeep!” I squealed, “Yes I love Elvis!” Nearly jumping from excitement like a 2012 One Direction fangirl.

“Wow I never pegged you as an Elvis fan, all you do is listen to Lana Del Rey.” He teased, knowing full well that wasn’t true.

“Shut up.” I rolled my eyes, “No no you don’t understand, I love Elvis.”

A sincere smile curled the edge of his lips, “Wow I just really didn’t know-“

I leaned down to grab his shoulders looking him dead in the eyes, “No, you don’t understand. I watched his ’68 Comeback Special like 500 times.”

He laughed hard and put up his arms in defense, “Okay okay, I believe you.”

I squeaked going back to his player and gently pulled the vinyl from the sleeve, precariously placing it down and settling the needle on the outer edge of the black disc. I nearly screamed when one of my favorites began to pour from the small speakers, promptly turning the volume to its max. With a spin on my heels, I snatched the rose bottle from the neck taking a long swig, proceeding to dance across his floor. Every inkling of tension in my body disappeared, the music soothing the nerves with each hip swing.

I could feel his eyes on me but in that moment, I didn’t care if he was judging me, the only thing I cared about was staying on rhythm. He sneered, “You’re so ridiculous!” He teased.

My arms followed the dance moves I’d seen Elvis do in his old recorded concerts, spilling some wine on my burgundy t-shirt as I did so. I’d probably regret this debacle later, but I was having too much fun to stop. The spill abrupted my choreography causing me to stumble back and let out a tiny hiccup.

“Oh my god Elsie,” He shook his head with a chuckle, going to pull himself off the floor but was struggling with the wine in his veins just as much as I was. “You’re gonna hurt yourself.”

Once solid on his feet he stretched to grasp my shoulders, but I spun just out of his reach. I suppose my next attempt at eluding him was to start belting out the lyrics, the dancing alone just wasn’t cutting it. “Here we go again… askin’ where I been!” I sang loudly and off tune.

Austin shook his head and as our impromptu concerts always went, he joined in, finally getting with the program and managed to steal the rose bottle back. I snagged a nearby hairbrush to replace the bottle as my microphone in preparation for the chorus. And as if we were on some stage somewhere, we turned to each other dramatically, ready to put on a show of a lifetime.

“We can’t go on together, with suspicious minds!” Singing in harmony into our respective makeshift microphones, “And we can’t build our dreams on suspicious miiiiiinds!”

Austin took over the vocals while I recreated one of Elvis’ famous ‘taking a knee’ moves and for a split second I swore I was 15 again, performing alone in my room. But I was 21 and in college and in my best friend’s fraternity dorm.

I got excited when I heard him finish off the line, “Oh honey, you know I’ve never lied to you…” And knew I had to get into position for another iconic line. Again, we were facing each other in our drunken duet, “We’re caught in a trap, I can’t walk out!”

Whether it was the alcohol, Elvis, or something I didn’t fucking know but I swore there was a slo-mo switch that flipped on as our eyes met. “…because I love you too much baby.” We sang softly in unison, our voices hushed under the blaring music, and he was closer than I realized. His sapphire eyes flickered to my lips and every ounce of air left my lungs. He dropped the empty glass bottle hitting the cushioned carpet with a thud and unexpectedly took hold of my hips pulling me to him.

‘Why can’t you see, what you’re doin’ to me…’ Elvis continued to sing in the background. Every part of him that touched me scorched like fire - his fingers on my hips, his chest pressed against mine. The insatiable burning spread throughout my body like a raging forest fire, every inch of skin, every muscle, every blood vessel, every single cell in my anatomy was totally and utterly consumed by him. The crystal ocean in his eyes, each individual blonde lash, the disheveled waves slashed across his forehead, the constellation of freckles I didn’t notice until then, the deep berry in his lips. The lips that were not even a centimeter from mine, just a hair from touching. I thought they’d land, I didn’t comprehend it at the time but god, I hoped they’d land. I was praying for them to land.

In that moment I realized that 15-year-old-alone-in-my room-comfort feeling wasn’t new, rather something that had been present for the past year. Anytime I was with him, anytime he entered the room, or his name was mentioned. He was comfort, he was safety. A true north I didn’t know I found.

Regular speed clicked back on, and we immediately retracted from each other like nothing had happened, like it was just part of the performance. The flurries of butterflies he left me with stayed though - I’m not entirely sure they ever left.

The next morning when I woke up on his floor, he didn’t bring it up and neither did I. Relief never felt so good, it was just some freak drunk accident, a close call. That all, just a close call. I didn’t know what I’d do without him, what something like that would do to us… I didn’t even want to think about it.

I eyed him looking over the menu at our favorite breakfast diner, Harry’s, pretending he was going to order something new, when we both knew it was gonna be chocolate chip pancakes.

“So, whatcha gonna get?” His eyes snapped up at me, the noon sun shining making his blues glimmer, even above his dark eye bags.

“Oh uh-“ I shook the haze from my head, “I don’t know if I’m gonna get anything, I’m uh, I’m pretty hungover.”

“Ah, don’t worry,” He just beamed at me with a optimistic smile that made me feel like everything would be okay, “Pancakes will fix it.”

And then there was a feeling in the pit of my stomach I didn’t recognize. At first I thought maybe I was hungover. It was a flutter, a churning, a nausea – a sinking trepidation, like I just signed a bad business deal, a contract that would cost me millions.

I didn’t know what fucked up clause we just implemented, but some dull ache in my bones whispered that it would cost me more than I could afford.

Next Chapter -> Temporary Fix* [coming soon]

Thank you for every like, reblog or comment, it means the world to me truly. I love hearing your thoughts and I'm glad you're liking my little story 💗

Tag list: @cryingabtab @slowsweetlove @purejasmine @feverdreamcaoilainn @coloradohighs @iluvnerds69 @denised916 @julie181 @navsblog @centaine @golden-kiwis @michellelv @suspiciouselvis @presleysdarling @eddiesgorlie @unicornelliesparkles @navsblog @ranaissingle

(if you'd like to be added pls comment 💗)

[macbetha]

So very excited to share this! It’s a playlist for my upcoming Free! fic, This Heart of Mine, the rewritten sequel to Eyes Wide Open All the Time. You can listen to the playlist on YouTube; this list simply helps define who or what a song represents to me. This list also includes some lyrics that you may want to pay special attention to. I recommend reading the lyrics by themselves before listening to the playlist. Mind you - some of these lyrics only act as symbolism. Some mean more. Some songs have connections. Some don’t. ;) *go girl give us nothing* List below! 

 THIS HEART OF MINE: PLAYLIST GUIDE 

Theme: Bring Me The Horizon feat. Halsey - In The Dark (MTLT / amo version) Oh so tall, it broke the fourth wall Guess our fairytale had a few plot holes Don’t you know you’ve lost control ↳ Honorable Mentions: ✧ grandson - Bury Me Facedown When I go into the ground I won’t go quietly I’m bringing my crown I won’t get tired Set the town on fire Thinking that they’ve won It’s only just begun  ✧ Lorde - Everybody Wants to Rule the World ✧ Ry X - YaYaYa ✧ Rihanna - Goodnight Gotham

CHARACTERS

✦ Haruka ✧ WDL - Monster vs Angel Got my own monster Nobody but me  Got my own angel  I would never call him enemy He’s the good god I need  But both of the sides Fight for me  ✧ Mumford and Sons - Broken Crown I’ll never be your chosen one In this twilight  How dare you speak of grace But in this twilight Our choices seal our fate I’ll crawl on my belly till the sun goes down I’ll never wear your broken crown  ✧ Lia Marie Johnson - DNA Dark as midnight 6 Pack Coors Light You don’t look the same Past my bedtime Blue and red lights come take you away I won’t be like you Fighting back, I’m fighting back the truth Eyes like yours Can’t look away But you can’t stop DNA 

✧ Cat Power - Sea of Love Come with me, my love To the sea, the sea of love ✧ Al Green - Love and Happiness (side note: this if my favorite song of all time) Love and happiness Something that can make you do wrong And make you do right 

✦ Makoto ✧ The Oh Hellos - Soldier, Poet, King There will come a soldier Who carries a mighty sword He will tear your city down Oh ley, oh lei, oh lord ✧ Labrynth - Still Don’t Know My Name I took your heart I did things to you only lovers would only do in the dark I made you a god Priests, popes and preachers would tell me I did wrong ✧ The Civil Wars - Devil’s Backbone Don’t care if he’s guilty Don’t care if he’s not He’s good and he’s bad and he’s all that I got Oh lord, I’m begging you, please Don’t take that sinner from me  ✧ Sleeping At Last - Make You Feel My Love (Cover) I could make you happy Make your dreams come true There’s nothing that I wouldn’t do Go to ends of the earth for you To make you feel my love  ✦ Sousuke ✧ Angel Haze - Detox You dance in a cage with some rats in it I’m about chemistry, you just react to me God might turn us to ash, baby I might just taste your last stars tonight  We were gods in a world that did nothing but doubt us But fuck it, I got us, from the dirt with the flowers Put in work in the shower ✧ Kaleo - No Good  You better start runnin’ When you hear the man coming It won’t do you no good Kiss your baby goodbye Come on love, it’s all right Heaven knows they wanna break you apart  ✧ The Oh Hellos - The Lament of Eustice Scrubb Brother, forgive me We both know I’m the one to blame When I touched the water They told me I could be set free ✦ Rin ✧ Halsey - Young God (Lullaby / Music Box Intro, Live from Webster Hall) Running, running, running And we’ll be running, running, running again ✧ SZA - Good Days Tell me I’m not my fears, my limitations I’ll disappear I gotta keep from losing the rest of me Chasing a fountain of youth that’s in the present I’ll await my armored fate with a smile Still wanna try, I still believe in good days ✧ Lola Blanc - Angry Too Does it get your blood boiling? Does it make you see red? Cause it gets my blood boiling It would eat you like poison if you knew what I knew I don’t wanna drink the venom they made me I don’t wanna be controlled by the past But boy, if you were me Could you really blame me?  ✧ Kendrick Lamar - u And if this bottle could talk: I cry myself to sleep, everything is your fault Because you shook as you knew confinement was needed I know your secrets Don’t let me tell them to world  About the shit you thinking  And the time that you - I’m ‘bout to hurl  I’m fucked up But I ain’t as fucked up as you ✧ Halsey - More Wooden floors, little feet Flower bud, concrete A little screen, a photograph Mine to take I still believe it won’t be like before I’ve loved you for all of my life ✦ Nao ✧ Johnny Hollow - Worse Things Anger grew like ecstasy And Leda threw the swan on me There are worse things, perverse things You should answer when the phone rings There are worse things I could do ✧ Young Heretics - Bones of a Rabbit You play with wolves But you sleep with the bones of the rabbit  You have conquered cities And torched the mighty sea You may keep yourself afloat But you cannot outswim me  ✧ Phantogram - Black Out Days (Future Islands Remix) Hide the sun  I will keep your face out of my mind  I’m hearing voices all the time And they’re not mine  Haunting my mind ✦ Natsuya ✧ Gang of Youths - Achilles, Come Down Remember your virtue  Redemption lies plainly in the truth Where you go, I’m going When you jump, I’m jumping There is no me without you  Today of all days See how the most dangerous thing is love ✧ Florence + The Machine - Cosmic Love The stars, the moon They have all been blown out You left me in the dark ✦ Ikuya ✧ Penelope Scott - Cigarette Ahegao So like, I guess I call it the sophomore slump Always crying and always drunk A few dead, more gone, the rest well on their way Thanks! I hate it Everyone that I love is stuck Because this, that, the other, and the state fucked up We covered it in a class that I’m about to fail  ✧ 100 gecs, Laura Les, Dylan Brady - Money Machine Tell me what's the deal, I've been trying to go to bed I've been up for days, I've been trying to get ahead Said it all before, and I'll say it once again I'm better off alone ✧ Halsey - Clementine  Through a breakdown or a blackout Would you make out with me Cause I don’t need anyone I just need everyone and then some ✦ Hiyori ✧ Florence + The Machine - Seven Devils Holy water cannot help you now A thousand armies couldn’t keep me out I don’t want your money I don’t want your crown See I’ve come to burn your kingdom down ✧ Michael Buble - Feeling Good (Cover) It’s a new life for me This old world is a new world And a bold world for me Freedom is mine And I know how I feel I’m feeling good ✦ Asahi ✧ Sam Henshaw - Broke If I wasn’t broke Would you spend more time with me Like you said you’d do Tell me what I’m supposed to do Cause the only thing I need Is to be loved by you  ✧ Mikky Ekko - Smile Smile, the worst is yet to come We’ll be lucky if we ever see the sun ✦ Aki ✧ Aly & AJ - Church I did bad things, can’t you see it on my face? I get caught in every lie I need redemption for sins I can’t mention For all the things I can’t reverse For all the places where it hurts ✧ ZZ Ward - Ghost Here the devil call out my name I’ve broken promises, burning flame God knows, darling God knows I gave Now the truth cuts like a knife ✦ Nii ✧ Of Mice and Men - My Understandings  Keep in mind that I’m a sore eye With blurry vision  ✧ Neoni - Outlaw They say that I’m wanted Hear the whispers in the street You better start running Cause nothing scares me  Faster, faster You’re the one I’m after  You built a fortress But I’ll never kiss the ring I’m my own king

✦ Gou ✧ Melanie Martinez - Lunchbox Friends We can be friends if you wanna be But only till the clock hits three I don’t want no lunchbox friends, no I want someone that binds the ends, no Come to my house, let’s die together Friendship that will last forever ✧ Maroon 5 - Come to the Water Come away little light Come away to the darkness Away from the life that you always knew Come away little lamb Come away to the water To the arms that are waiting only for you ✦ Isuzu ✧ Jessie Reyez - NO ONE’S IN THE ROOM  Spent my whole life being graded, being told I’m not enough Being told go find the one and sit and wait for death to come I don’t want to I need to talk to God There’s things I just don’t understand Like who am I when no one’s in the room EMI - Bad Friends Yeah, I got some bad friends No you cannot have them If you wanna talk to them  You talk to me, yeah We don’t fuck around with just anybody, yeah

✦ Takuya ✧ Imagine Dragons - Ready, Aim, Fire Off in the distance, there is resistance Bubbling up and festering Here in the casing Shaking and pacing This is the tunnel’s light Blood in the writing, stuck in the fighting Look through the rifle’s sight ✧ Billie Eilish - you should see me in a crown (acapella) Bite my tongue Bide my time Wait till the world is mine, ocean eyes Count my cards Watch them fall  Blood on a marble wall You should see me in a crown I’m gonna run this nothing town Watch me make ‘em bow One by one ✦ Kinjou ✧ Urban Country - Knife and Stone Tell me, have you ever seen a mirror Mirror in the middle of the forest Just waiting for the rain or the crown I’ve been up for thirty days Someone point to lost and found Ain’t no blood in the temple Just a knife and stone

✦ Mikhail ✧ Elsie Lovelock - Friends on the Other Side (Cover) The cards, the cards The cards will tell The past, the present, and the future as well I got voodoo, I got hoodoo I got things I ain’t even tried And I got friends on the other side I hope you’re satisfied, but if you ain’t Don’t blame me You can blame my friends on the other side ✦ Ryuuji ✧ elbow - Grounds for Divorce I’ve been working on a cocktail Called Grounds for Divorce Down comes him on sticks but then he kicks like a horse There's a hole in my neighborhood Down which of late I cannot help but fall ✧ Mumford and Sons - The Enemy I am not the enemy It isn’t me, the enemy I came and I was nothing So why did you choose to lean on A man you knew was falling? ✦ Nadia ✧ Halsey - Castle (Orchestral Version) They wanna make me their queen  There’s an old man  Sitting on the throne  Saying I should probably keep my pretty mouth shut I’m headed straight for the castle

THEMES: GROUPS

✦ FREEBIRD ✧ Kaleo - Way Down We Go Oh father, tell me Do we get what we deserve They will run you down Down till you fall They will run you down Down till you crawl Till you can’t crawl no more And way down we go ✦ ROUGH RABBIT ✧  Imagine Dragons - Who We Are Up on the mountain Down in the king's den  It's who we are Doesn't matter if we've gone too far Doesn't matter if it's not okay Doesn't matter if it's not our day ✦ DIAMONDBACK ✧ Florence + The Machine - Bedroom Hymns This is good a place to fall as any We’ll build our alter here  In the wine, the women, the bedroom hymns Such selfish prayers, I can’t get enough I’m not here looking for absolution Because I’ve found myself an old solution

✦ HONEYBLADE ✧ Megan Thee Stallion and Normani - Diamonds I love me this much My pear-shape all dripped up He want me to be a little more lady-like? Come through with my girls and beat your ass on ladies night ✦ BLOODHOUNDS ✧ Angel Haze - The Wolves Nothing left out there for me  I left my fucking heart out at the sea This shit sounds like the danger zone  I’m the big bad wolf  Gonna take the throne 

THEMES: PAIRINGS 

✦ Makoto + Haruka ✧ Phoebe Bridgers - Smoke Signals One of your eyes is always half shut Something happened when you were a kid I didn’t know you then and I’ll never understand why It feels like I did ✧ Radical Face - Welcome Home Peel the scars from off my back I don’t need them anymore I’ve come home ✧ The Track Team - Heart Chakra ✧ Blackmill - Redemption ✦ Sousuke + Rin ✧ Kaleo - Bang Bang (Cover) Seasons came and changed the times I grew up, I called him mine He would always laugh and say: “Remember how we used to play? Bang, bang.” ✧ Zayn - Good Guy I’m not a good guy But I know you’re mine (bang) I know you’re mine (bang, bang) ✧ L'Orchestra Cinématique - Crazy In Love (Instrumental Cover)

✦ Natsuya + Nao ✧ Cosmo Sheldrake - The Moss But have you heard the story Of the rabbit in the moon? Halsey - Colors Your little brother never tells you But he loves you so I hope you make it to the day you’re 28 years old 

✦ Hiyori + Ikuya ✧ Elvis Drew - Where Are You  I been trying to figure out where you from Is it the moon? Is it earth? Is it this place, where nothing is worse?  Nothing can compare to the life we had My dear just grab my hand and let me take you To my wonderland ✧ Swae Lee - Sunflower Some things you just can’t refuse I’m not tryna lose

✦ Isuzu + Gou ✧ Snow Patrol - The Golden Floor I’m a peasant in your princess arms Penniless with only charm

[randomestfandoms-ocs]

This is probably too much and it’ll probably be difficult but take each of your OC’s and their love interests and tell us which Taylor Swift song you would relate to their relationship. ❤️👏🏻

Cracks knuckles 

Okay so I’ll be totally honest, this ask took me literally forever and I still don’t have every ship and I feel very bad about that but I did list exactly 100, so hopefully you like them!  And if you want to know a specific ship that isn’t here, or why I chose a specific song for a ship, just shoot me an ask!!!!

I divided them by fandom to try and make it a bit easier to navigate!  And the OC’s name is tagged to their general tag, the ship character is tagged to their ship tag!

Riverdale

Amethyst x Sweet Pea - Call It What You Want

Amethyst x Jughead - Delicate

Amethyst x Fangs - Fearless

Amethyst x Toni - Dress

Amethyst x Joaquin - State Of Grace

OT6 (all of the above) - New Year’s Day

Stevie x/& Kevin - Fearless

Stevie x Joaquin - Enchanted

Stevie x Kevin x Joaquin - State Of Grace

Stevie x Becca - Mine

Kris x Toni - Enchanted

Bella x Reggie - Fifteen

Bella x Fangs x Sweet Pea - Begin Again

Harper x Fangs - Our Song

Harper x Fangs x Sweet Pea - Fearless

Summer x Archie - Love Story

Astoria x Jughead - You Belong With Me

Fallon x Sweet Pea - All Too Well

Fallon x Toni - Dress

Fallon x Reggie - State Of Grace

Fairy x Jughead x Sweet Pea - I’m Only Me When I’m With You

Ariel x Malachai - Wildest Dreams

Anastasia x Jughead - Wonderland

Angela x Veronica - Back To December

Jennifer x FP - Everything Has Changed

Juliet x Fangs - Fifteen

Lyra x Jughead - Delicate

Rose x Jughead x Sweet Pea - Love Story

Delaney x Reggie & Chuck (it wasn’t poly, they just fucked her over together) - White Horse

Delaney x Sweet Pea - I’m Only Me When I’m With You

Delaney x Archie x Jughead - King Of My Heart

Ryann x Toni - This Love

Beatrix x Harvey - Hey Stephen

Piper x Nick - Gorgeous

Beverly x Fangs x Sweet Pea - You Are In Love

Descendants

Finley x Jay - Ready For It

Avalon x Jay - King Of My Heart

Isabelle x Mal - Untouchable

Elise x Evie - Hey Stephen

Percy Jackson And The Olympians

Atalanta x Jason - I’m Only Me When I’m With You

Ashley x Percy - Treacherous 

Cassandra x Jason x Reyna - Ours

Ciara x Percy - Sparks Fly

May x Jason - Jump Then Fall

Summer x Luke - Last Kiss

Victoria x Jason - This Love

Viola x Percy - Out Of The Woods

Marvel

Aphrodite x Thor - Long Live

Adelaide x Sam - Mine

Alessia x Steve - Out Of The Woods

Anya x Bucky - I Know Places

Aria x Steve - Ours

Bianca x Steve - Stay Stay Stay

Calypso x Clint - You Are In Love

Diana x Peter - King Of My Heart

Ellie x Peter - Call It What You Want

Felicity x Natasha x Steve - Welcome To New York

Grace x Peter - Mine

Jamie x Bucky x Sam - Treacherous

Lillian x Bucky - Long Live

Mia x Pietro - I Know Places

Nikki x Peter - You Are In Love

Nerio x Thor - Untouchable

Tesla x Peter - I’m Only Me When I’m With You

Stephanie x Tony - Innocent

Dorothy x Bucky x Steve - New Year’s Day

Elsie x Bucky x Steve - Long Live

Zora x Clint x Natasha - Dress

Teen Wolf

Abigayle x Allison x Scott - Ours

Aspen x Stiles - Everything Has Changed

Alexis x Lydia - Sparks Fly

Alcyone x Derek - Innocent

Arianne x Erica - Don’t Blame Me

Catia x Stiles - Teardrops On My Guitar

Luna x Scott - You Are In Love

Carmen x Jackson - Holy Ground

Carmen x Lydia - Out Of The Woods

Carmen x Malia - New Romantics

Carmen x Scott - I’m Only Me When I’m With You

Selena x Derek - Safe & Sound

Terra x Scott x Stiles - Stay Stay Stay

Shadowhunters

Bex x Isabelle - Jump Then Fall

Twilight

Mariana x Seth - Call It What You Want

Supernatural

Evelyn x Dean - Sparks Fly

Girl Meets World

Carrington x Lucas - Enchanted

Emilia x Zay - You Belong With Me

Hope x Farkle - Mary’s Song

The Umbrella Academy

April x Diego - Getaway Car

Joey x Five - Safe & Sound

June x Klaus - End Game

Ophelia x Ben - If This Was A Movie and Red

Young!Ophelia x Ben - Everything Has Changed

Stranger Things

Angelica x Steve - Out Of The Woods

Beth x Steve - Teardrops On My Guitar

Cara x Steve - So It Goes

Olivia x Steve - Our Song

Samantha x Nancy x Steve - Dancing With Our Hands Tied

Misc.

Aella x Tim (DC) - Starlight

Danielle x Ava (The Perfectionists) - Stay Stay Stay

Venus x Nathan (Misfits) - Sparks Fly

[flowersintheattic254]

imjustkyian IG post NOVEMBER 18, 2016

Glee's Darren Criss on George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight: Interview

Hollywood Today Live 2016 24 Aug 2016

cg fuse interview 20 June 2017 released after Queen concert

Darren Criss on American Crime Story and Third Annual Elsie Fest | Elvis Duran Show 3 Aug 2017

Having just read @chrisdarebashfulsmiles post X I was reminded that I had this in my drafts where I’d been trying to put together a compliation of Darren’s tics, twitches and swallows during times he was asked an lgbt, chr/s related question or had to talk about TP.  I am sure there are many more examples, but here is a small compliation.  I have linked the videos if anyone wants to watch these interviews again. To me it is quite clear how he reacts to stressful situations.  He has eye tics, shoulder and neck twitches as well as swallowing.   Body language is defined as the conscious and unconscious movements and postures by which attitudes and feelings are communicated.  Anyone watching can see that his body language is telling its own story to the what he’s actually saying.   You just need to watch.  Remember these movements are uncontrolled and purely a reaction to the situation and conversation he was in at the time. 

1. Stage door at Hedwig LA 2016 -twitches start in earnest once the word husband is mentioned at 0.5s, as does his babbling of ‘Mazel tov’ and ‘holy shit’. Watch his shoulders, mouth and eyes.

2. The now famous 2012 interview during Glee when he was asked who he had to come out as a straight man to - very clear shoulders and neck twitches and swallows (3.29).

3. Hollywood today 2016 when he was told that during Glee he was dating Chris Colfer (1.45s). That swallow /lip pursing was right after he was asked that.

4. CG fuse interview recorded 20 June 2017, but released later, on the same day that a tweet occured that Darren and Chris had spoken at a Queen concert the night before.  The whole interview again is a mix of tics/swallows, but the above gif where he talks about being a straight dude and his role as Blaine shows quite clearly how uncomfotable he was (59s).  Also I’m sure there was footage that could not be used due to his tics, which is why there are so many text shots during that video.  So if what we see of him are the bits they could use I really wonder how bad the bits they cut were and how severely stressed he was during that interview.

5. Recent Elvis interview 3 Aug 2017 when he dropped in the story (5.08 onwards) regarding the singalong and ‘let it go’.  He’s more relaxed as Elvis is a friend so it’s not as obvious, but it’s there - watch his eye and neck especially in the above gif. 

I’ve been in this fandom 2 years and I’m sure there are more, please feel free to add any you have to this post. 

Finally remember what Darren said during that CG Fuse interview.

“What I can find are the common denominators of what it is to feel scared, what it feels to be marginalized. And I will carry that torch until the day I die.”

Those are not the words of someone who is living the charmed PR straight life we are shown, those are the words of a man who understands having to put other peoples interests before his own constantly and who has empathy with marginalized groups, because he knows exactly how they feel.  

[natsubeatsrock]

Interesting Details from HERO’S

As a big fan of almost all of Mashima’s works, (I’ll get to Monster Hunter Orage), Hero’s was one of the most fun I had all of last year. There were plenty of fun things that I’m not sure a lot of people got. To celebrate Mashima’s 43rd birthday, I wanted to keep my word and talk about some of the more fun connections between HERO’S, the series each character comes from, and a few other works that Mashima’s responsible for.

As a bit of a warning, there are mild spoilers for each of the series. I’ll do my best not to spoil too much crazy stuff from any of the series. However, I absolutely expect you to have read HERO’S before coming into this post as I talk about every chapter in great detail, including the special bonus chapter.

Chapter 1

Let’s get the obvious one out of the way. The series is called HERO’S because... Hiro Mashima. Not everyone will be like this.

Gray formed the habit of uncontrollably stripping during his time training to be an Ice Make Wizard. It was help him get over cold temperatures. And yes, this is only a Gray thing.

The necklace around Rebecca’s neck is her B-Cubing device. As a B-Cuber, she wants to do her best not to miss a good video opportunity, as we’ll see in Chapter 10.

Pino is particularly interested in magic abilities. While meeting Fairy Tail mages does much to satisfy that desire here, it’s not as if that thirst isn’t satiated in her own series.

While Mashima has gone on record to say Edens Zero exists in a separate universe from Fairy Tail (pun not intended), this explanation does a great job in showing how the series could have been made to work together.

I, along with others, have made the joke a few times that Homura is the love child of Kagura from the wizard guild Mermaid Heel, and Erza. Glad to see Mashima nodding off Kagura in ths series.

Shiki’s hilariously eager to make friends with people he’s cool with. Natsu’s also fairly amicable, but Shiki’s more interested in making a ton of friends in his series.

The “fireworks“ Lord Mashyre creates bear a resemblance to Nakajima, a house plant in Haru’s house and technical co-star of the extra seiies “Rave 0077″. We later learn there’s a whole island of creatures like him, and even meet his parents.

If the name Musica sounds familiar, it’s because Panther Lily’s sword is called the Musica Sword. (Note the similar note on it and Haru’s base sword.) In Rave Master, Musica learns to do a bit of sword crafting of his own.

Chapter 2

Elie’s pajamas have a similar sign as Erza’s base armor as Heart Kreuz is a company that exist across all three universes. Lucy’s pajamas has the Aquarius mark across the top of the chest. Rebecca’s pajamas have cats across them as she’s a huge fan of cats.

Speaking of cats, the Edens Zero version of Happy, who shows up later, has more than a few similarities and differences between the two of them. A notable one is that EZ’s Happy is only partially a cat.

Similarly, Elsie Crimson looks very similar to Erza. She’s an infamous galactic pirate who is responsible for gifting Shiki and his friends the titular Edens Zero.

In a chapter published after HERO”S, Pino compares herself to a rabbit.

Homura going to the desert is likely a part of her training against heat. This will matter later on.

The prison guards have M’s on their face. Use your best guess as to who that’s for. In Fairy Tail, an evil guild left their prisoners in equal or worse states of dress, depending on your version of Fairy Tail.

Fans of Fairy Tail’s anime will likely remember Rave Master’s Jiggle Butt Gang. In Rave, they were train robbers who made infrequent appearances after becoming less evil.

Haru’s sword, the Ten Commandments, has the ability to change into one of ten different swords. Fans of Fairy Tail may recognize the names and abilities as similar to the spear Erza Knightwalker used.

As a silver claimer, Musica’s able to manipulate the shape of his necklace into a weapon. Silver Ray is a ship Musica was looking to destroy. About halfway through the series, he finds and destroys it. It later becomes his most powerful weapon and unbreakable spear. It means a lot to him.

Griff’s cartography makes him an important member of the Rave Warriors. However, he’s fairly annoying because of his more pervy tendencies. Weird to see a mesh of that in this chapter.

Much of Rave involves the Rave Warriors fighting enemies using Dark Brings. Rave Master gets its in-series name from the five Rave Stones and the Rave Masters are considered wielders of the Holy Stones.

Chapter 3

Most of the other characters on this cover are in this series and I’ve talked about Griff and Nakajima. But Ruby the penguin isn’t. Before joining the Rave Warriors, he was the owner of a casino and tied in unknowingly tied to less than good affairs.

Let and Julia are members of Rave Master’s Dragon Race. Unlike dragon slayers, they’re closer to dragons. At 20, they look like hybrids between dragons and humans. After a year of training, they go through a special ritual. If they suceed, they’ll look more human; if they fail, they’ll look more like dragons.

Being corrupted by evil desires turns a man who wants to use the powers of creativity for himself into a lookalike of one of Mashima’s most copied off characters. Touche.

For those who don’t know, Rave Master, Fairy Tail, and Edens Zero all have characters who bear a resemblance to Sieghart. Though we’ll get to that soon enough.

Chapter 4

Before releasing HERO’S, Mashima tweeted out a rough sketch of the cover picture with Weisz, Musica, and Gray.

Rebecca uses a few different types of guns. However, Edens Zero Happy is able to transform into a pair of blasters. As he’s currently on the Edens Zero, we get this line.

Part of Rebecca’s B-Cubing life revolves around playing video games. Tome Rider would no doubt be one of them.

Ichiya does break into his more muscular form every now and then in Fairy Tail.

Mosco was also held as a prisoner in Edens Zero, though he was held under much better conditions than he likely was here. Unfortunately, he didn’t get the best introduction to the EZ Crew.

“Greck” is a curse used in Rave Master. Depending on how you read Rave, you’ll see other curse words used...

Haru and Elie have a closest relationship than the hero and heroine couples of the three series. We get a glimpse of that in this chapter, calling back to a number of moments in Rave.

Note the “HK” on the arrow sling. These are Erza’s weapons and she has a bit of a contract with Heart Kreuz.

Pino does have the ability to disable electronic devices. While this is particularly helpful throughout Edens Zero, it’s of no use against these monsters.

If it wasn’t clear already, Natsu and Shiki not recognizing each other confirms that this works outside of a similar crossover Mashima did between Fairy Tail and Rave Master.

Chapter 5

Mashima does have an Aki and a Fuyu. Aki is a member of the Black Airs in Mashima’s Monster Soul and Mafuyu is the main character of Mashima’s one shot Combo Squad Mixture.

Incidentally, Mashima has two Shiki's. Before Edens Zero, he gave the name Shiki to the main character of Monster Hunter Orage. He’s also mentioned naming a character named Seison, which is French for seasons in an interview.

Plue exists across Mashima’s various universes in different forms, as early as Mashima’s first one-shot. In Fairy Tail, he’s one of Lucy’s minor spirits. In Edens Zero, Nikora is a species of dog that serve food at a restaurant. Mashima’s even joked about one being his own personal pet.

In Rave Master, Sieghart was a powerful magician that was important in understanding Elie’s abilites and backstories. He was one of Mashima’s favorite characters and he wasn’t happy with how he ended up in the series. He said that me might show up in another series.

Enter Jellal. He became a part of Fairy Tail’s magic council under the alias Siegrain. He went from villain to vigilante across the span of the series, even now as the sequel is running.

While they haven’t met, Shiki is likely aware of a character in his own universe named Justice who is part of the Interstellar Union Army. One of his prime targets is Elsie.

This chapter represents one of the missed opportunities of the Fairy Tail x Rave OVA. Let and Julia don’t know that Wendy and Natsu received their Dragon Slaying powers from actual dragons. They’re less apt to kill real dragons than others might be.

Chapter 6

Speaking of Dragon Slayers, Gajeel the Iron Dragon Slayer is shown playing chess. He’s accompanied by Levy McGarden and Panther Lily. Note the chess pieces have Plue icons on them and that Gajeel seems to be winning.

This is the clearest example of something I’ve said a number of times before: Mashima’s series aren’t interchangable. Haru’s goal is destroying the Dark Bring. Natsu’s goal is beating a powerful enemy. Shiki’s goal is finding his friend. Each of these goals makes sense given their characters and respective series universe.

As contentious as this was at the time it was released, it’s hard to say that Lucy is stronger than Wendy past the halfway point of the series. I wouldn’t compare her to Natsu, Gray, or especially Erza.

Elie has lower INT points than Mashima’s later female leads.

Gray and Musica’s meeting represents the most disappointing omission from the OVA for Fairy Tail x Rave. In that meeting, Musica notes the similarity between Gray’s necklace and one of the Rave stones. This was a nod to a plan Mashima had to make Gray a Rave Master in Fairy Tail.

As an Exceed, Carla has the ability to transform into a more human form. Of the Exceeds in the Fairy Tail guild, Happy is the only one unable to do this.

The Fairy Tail guild is used to fights in their guild hall. On a couple of occasions, the enemies have come to their guild hall for the fight.

I don’t want to talk about the many guild members in Fairy Tail in too much detail, but I’ll list the ones I’ve yet to talk about. 

Panel 1: Max Alors, Warren Rocko, Nab Lazaro

Panel 2: Mirajane, Lisanna, and Elfman Strauss

Panel 3: Juvia Lockser and Cana Alberona

Panel 4: Including the trio from the cover, Jet and Droy

Panel 5: Laki Olietta, Wakaba Mine, Romeo and Macao Conbolt, Laxus Dreyar, Freed Justine, Bickslow, Evergreen, Alzack, Bisca, and Asuka Connel, Reedus Jonah

Panel 6: Makarov Dreyar

Fairy Tail’s Eighth Guild Master, Makarov Dreyar’s appearance suggests that this series takes place closer to the end of the series.

Shuda and Belnika are characters that join the Rave Warriors past the halfway point of the series. Shuda started out as a member of Rave Master’s Oracion Six, but later reforms and joins the Rave Warriors. Belnika is a mage who has the ability to use healing magic.

Chapter 7

Belnika and Wendy share a cover with Hermit from Rave Master. While Mashima has drawn a Twitter sketch of Hermit and Wendy together, the more interesting connection is between Wendy and Belnika. In addition to both being primarily support mages, Wendy buys a Belnika doll in the Fairy Tail x Rave OVA.

Elie learns to shoot magic bullets out her tonfa blasters very late in the series.

Fact: this isn’t the first time Natsu’s used his hands to cover Lucy’s naked boobs. Unfortunately, this wasn’t his last.

Shiki is deathly afraid of bugs. It gets bad at times.

Elie has been shown to be an especially skilled dancer, even winning an in-series dance contest. Though, it’s hard to call her a “nude dancer”.

While I’ve mentioned the out-of-series reason for the series name. In-series, it’s worth recognizing that HEROS allows all three series protagonists reach their goals.

This broadcast is coming from the Edens Zero. On board, we see Edens Zero’s version of Happy along with three of the Demon King’s Four Shining Stars: Hermit, “the Mind of Edens”, Witch, “the Shield of Edens”, and Sister Irvy, “the Life of Edens”.

Witch calls Shiki the Demon King. He inherited the title from his adoptive grandfather, along with his Ether Gear powers.

Chapter 8

This is an interesting cover with series baddies. Lucia Raregroove ended up being the final villain of Rave Master. Zeref is responsible for much of the mischief in Fairy Tail. Ziggy is the former Demon King from Edens Zero. We haven’t seen enough of Ziggy for me to say that he truly belongs in the same company as these guys, but I doubt “Demon King” was a nice title.

Remember what I said about Elie’s INT points? When Let joined the Rave Warriors, she called him “Mr. Alligator” as he was in his half-dragonized form.

Natsu’s a much bigger fan of fighting people than Shiki or Haru. His personal preference is tests of skill as opposed to battles to the death.

Weisz is fairly pervy in his own right. It wouldn’t be wrong to say he is like Griff in those regards.

Dual Explosions is part of a techinque where Haru combines the abilities of his swords together. Here, the properties of Blue Crimson and Explosion are combined.

It’s worth recognizing that Genesis is obviously corrupted by magic and coming up with spells that come from other series. Sema is one of Jellal’s spells.

Elie doesn’t have as much qualms about being “the weak one“ as Lucy and Rebecca do. In fact, one big issue she has with her friends is that they seem to want to protect her, as opposed to wanting her to help them.

Chapter 9

Very funny, Mashima. Here’s the order: top left is Genesis, top right is Jellal Fernandez from Fairy Tail, bottom left is Sieghart Caesar from Rave, and bottom right is Justice from Edens Zero.

A bit of perspective is worth recognizing. Rebecca is from x492 and the guild she’s apart of is 50 years old. Fairy Tail ends at x793 and a good amount of the set up for the series events takes place about 400 years before the series starts. The Rave Master timeline starts with the birth of a character named Resha Valentine who was born about 70 years before the series starts.

I’ll admit I didn’t know this on my own. The gods refer to other mangakas in Monthly Shonen Magazine. George Morikawa writes Hajime no Ippo, Yuuji Terajima writes Ace of Diamond, Seo Kouji writes Fuuka, and Kei Sagusa writes Domestic Girlfriend.

Note the difference in the descriptions of stories: Rave’s focus is on finding the Rave Stones, Fairy Tail’s focus is on the guild, and Edens Zero’s is on the journey through space.

Being a mangaka is notoriously difficult work. We see that manifested in a bit of Lord Mashmyre’s history.

Much of Elie’s personal quest in Rave Master is regaining her own memories. That’s all I’m going to say on that.

It’s worth mentioning that the Edens Zero’s secret weapon is called Etherion. Unfortunately, they can’t use it now as there are only three of the Four Shining Stars currently on the Edens Zero.

We’ll get to Rave Master’s Etherion, but in Fairy Tail, Etherion was a special weapon used by the Magic Council capable of destroying entire countries.

“Ducky” is another series specific saying, this time from Rebecca. She’s the only one that says it.

My favorite moment of the series is Plue being thrown to destroy Oasis. In Rave Master, Plue’s nose is well known for destroying Dark Bring.

While Lucy and Elie are both adept magic users, Rebecca is just starting to get the hang of her Ether Gear power. However, Ether Gear works very similar to magic in other series, hence her ability to help in this situation.

Grand Chariot is a spell shared by both Siegrain and Jellal.

Chapter 10

Shuda has a bit of personal interest in the safety of Haru, as the person responsible for his changing to the light. Among other reasons...

As I’ve previously mentioned, Haru and Elie are the only one of the main duos to become an official couple, as of the time I’m writing this. (Fans of Fairy Tail may notice my self-restraint.)

I should mention that Let and Julia are also lovers in Rave Master.

Juvia’s had a number of perceived threats to a romantic relationship with Gray starting the same chapter they first met. While Pino might seem like a weird rival, she’s also considered another Exceed named Frosch to be a love rival.

Erza’s bunny costume makes yet another appearance in a crossover between Fairy Tail and Rave. Yeah, this was a thing there as well.

Speaking of that crossover, Elie considered Happy to be a bug when she first saw him then. In her defense, she also thought Plue was a bug the first time she saw him. Wait...

Gray’s master is Ur Milkovich, one of the strongest Ice Wizards. Homura’s master is Valkyrie Yura, a member of the Demon King’s Shining Stars, the Sword of Edens.

Weisz is a fan of bunny girl outfits. As part of a wager, he got Homura to wear a bunny girl outfit.

I’ve yet to talk about the various types of swords that the Ten Commandments turns into in this series.

Eisenmeteor - base sword.

Explosion - sword that causes explosions

Silfarion - speed-enhancing sword

Runsave - sword that cuts through intangible objects

Melforce - pushes enemies away

Blue Crimson -fire sword and ice sword

Gravity Core - sword with gravity abilites

Shiki’s quite an ugly crier. He has plenty good reason to cry about friends, given his own series.

Note how Mashymre’s final words correpsond with the series: talk of worlds for Edens Zero, talk of people for Fairy Tail, and talk of tasks for Rave Master.

Lucy is also an author. Fans of Edens Zero might have noticed her breakout hit novel “Iris Adventure” as an easter egg in a chapter.

Bonus Chapter

Along with Symphonia in the last chapter, Song Continent displays how the names in Rave Master were based around music theme

Weirdly enough, both the time Lucy and Elie were naked are tied to spoilery events. Suffice it to say, these actually happened and neither case was of their own will.

Remember when I said heat training would matter later? Homura sees being in the spa as “part of her training”.

Etherion is Elie’s special magic in Rave Master. Incidentally, the number 3173 is important to understanding both. Even as it’s not the Etherion Hermit or Irvy know, it’s likely as potent.

Lucy joins the ranks of Edens Zero Happy and Homura as people who have completed the “Mind Numbing Torture and Pleasure Massage” and live.

Lucy has poor luck when it comes to setting traps for people in Fairy Tail.

Rebecca is shown to be as big of an eater as Shiki in Edens Zero. Being drawn by the smell of food makes sense for her.

This wouldn’t be the first time Elie has been accidentally seen bathing by Haru.

The shot of Haru and Elie holding hands is a call back to a moment in the manga where they fall asleep holding hands. Mashima also drew a similar moment with Natsu and Lucy as part of a cover, but without the hand holding.

Xiaomei serves as the narrator for Edens Zero and Mavis Vermillion was the first guild master for Fairy Tail.

While we’ve seen most of the men in this final page, Lazenby the White Demon makes an appearance from Rave Master. He also appeared in the OVA version of Fairy Tail x Rave.

This was supposed to be only 43 fun details to celebrate his birthday. I got carried away.

Hopefully I can talk about HERO’S more in the future. I talk a lot about Fairy Tail on this blog and have done chapter reviews of Edens Zero on charlierejouis. I do plan on talking about Rave in the future, as I’m currently collecting the physical volumes of the series (against my better judgement).

Mashima’s managed to make a number of amazing worlds across his career as a mangaka and I’m excited to see what he does next. Here’s to more years of health and happines!

[thisiswhatwereupagainst]

616 Donald Pierce Part Two: The Reavers

Hey guys! Welcome to Part Two in the complete comics history of Donald Pierce! If you missed it, here is PART ONE and the accompanying IMAGE POST for it! Now, where did we leave off? Ok, so Pierce busts out of Shaw's private prison, and he heads where all criminals go, to Australia! ….can I make that joke, am I gonna piss off Australians, or??? Anyway, little-known fact, he did not MAKES the Reavers. The Reavers were already a criminal gang when he got there. He just took over them and added his buddies Macon, Cole, and Reese to their number. I'm not entirely clear if they were already cyborgs when he took over them, or if he enhanced them afterwards. Due to Lady Deathstrike's own...modified nature...and her hatred for Wolverine, she also joins up with them. And Pierce is VERY interested in her. He talks about how he likes her and how sophisticated and complex her mechanical parts are, and says that he finds her “irresistibly fascinating as both woman and machine.” He calls her “milady” so you know he’s a douche, but then, we already knew that) Also, there is smooching.

The Reavers are an...interesting bunch, particularly Pretty Boy. http://thisiswhatwereupagainst.tumblr.com/post/155814768208/much-like-the-shadow-king-the-reaver-cyborg-known Seriously, what in the HELL? Bonebreaker is half tank, okay.  Skullbuster is a Red Skull rip-off with giant guns, okay. And Pretty Boy's power is...RAPE?! Are the Reavers like this in the movie? Seriously, please tell me they did NOT put Pretty Boy in the movies!

Anyway, they attack Wolverine in Australia (where the X-Men were hanging out in secret at this time) and not only manage to overtake him, they stake him up on an X-shape crucifix. Damn! Pierce tortures and taunts him, but Wolvie refuses to scream. A massive storm hits, so the Reavers go inside. Guys, no! This was the time period in comics when his healing factor had limits! You could have killed him! Sorry, it's not that I want Logan dead, just...leaving the bound hero alive and alone and just assuming he won't get away is SUCH A CLCHE VILLAIN ERROR! And of course, Jubilee showed up to help Wolvie escape. Jubilee was not an X-Men at this time, she was a kid who had secretly been hiding in their base, and this was the first meeting between her and Logan. That's right, Donald Pierce was a part of bringing this iconic duo together! Donald Pierce sends cyborg dingos after them (YES CYBORG DINGOS get it cuz they're in Australia!) but Wolvie scraps 'em while Jubilee fires her powers at a wall so it falls on Pierce and buries him! That's the end of that adventure! When we next see the Reavers, Cole, Macon, and Reese (remember, those Hellfire guys? They joined the Reavers with Pierce!) are pissy they have the clean water out of the Reavers base (I love seeing slice-of-life stuff like that; even bad guys have to clean house!) but are happy they're not getting 'retoole' like the others. Like, say, Pierce knocking Pretty Boy's head off when he taunts him and grafting it on to an ugly robotic body. Since decapitation ends up being something that happens to Pierce more than once, it's kind of ironic to me he does this to someone else. And frankly, I'm glad it was Pretty Boy -shudders-  Anyway, after this little...tiff...they attack Moira MacTaggert and the mutants who are living with her on Muir Island, as Pierce believed Wolverine had retreated there. To be honest, I kinda wonder why Pierce cares so much about Wolverine? I get why Cole, Macon, and Reese do, because Logan fucked them up in particular, but I don't know why Pierce has a special grudge against him over the other X-Men.  But, considering that those three henchmen AND Lady Deathstrike all have special grudges against Logan, and that's WHY they're working for Pierce, to get at Logan, maybe it's not that Pierce gives a shit about Wolverine but that he knows his minions do so he's making sure to keep them happy by going after him...and that's fine with him because he's happy to kill any mutant, especially an X-man. Anyway, it failed, but Pierce did kill the superhero Stonewall and Pretty Boy killed the mutant Sunder, so they did strike some blows to the Muir Island bunch...if only to characters I'm pretty sure no one remembers or cares about. :/ Pierce approached a woman, Cylla Markham, a pilot who ha recently suffered terrible injuries when her plane was shot down, and offered her the opportunity to become a cyborg if she served him. She agreed, but while she was still in the works, so to speak, the Reavers came into conflict with the Punisher. Long story short, the Punisher seriously fucked them up, and they had to flee, much to Pierce's displeasure. They also attacked Emma Frost's company, and had a surprise visit from Rogue and Ms. Marvel.   Elsie Dee and Albert were created by Pierce during this time too. They're androids, and you can read about them here: https://uncannyxmen.net/characters/albert-elsie-dee  Anyway, that's about it for Pierce in the 1980s. Then the 1990s rolled around. Now, with the 1990s came a squad of new writers, and several of them worked on issues concerning a squad of villains called the Upstarts. The Upstarts were a group of young new villains, and their purpose was basically the wipe out the old ones. So we had Shinobi Shaw killing Sebastian Shaw, Fabian Cortez killing Magneto, Trevor Fitzroy putting Emma Frost in a coma...the idea was that these kids were clearing the way for a new generation with new baddies. But, fans still wanted their old favorites, so none of this lasted---Sebastian and Magneto came back to life and killed their killers, Emma woke up from her coma and joined the good guys, etc.---but they did get Donald Pierce amongst their casualities. And in a REALLY hilarious way. Basically, the Reavers are sitting around drinking (because I guess cyborgs can do that?) and all of a sudden HOLY SHIT SENTINELS! And Sentinels are just supposed to go after mutants, but these Sentinels belong to Trevor Fitzroy of the Upstarts, who has reprogrammed them to kill the Upstarts targets. So they take out the Reavers, but Pierce manages to get away (his cowardly tendencies get mentioned by someone, but, uh, I don't think you have to be a coward to want to run from GIANT DEATH MACHINES) and he gets the teleporting mutant Gateway to send him to the Hellfire Club. Pierce tells him to send him to the person responsible for the Sentinels, and I think he thought they were responsible, which is an understandable guess since Shaw built Sentinels for profit. But Gateway decides to be a dick (probably because it's Pierce) and SENDS THE SENTINELS AFTER HIM AHAHAHAHA! Anyway, one of the Sentinels blasts Pierce to bits, and then they start on the other mutants who are there---Emma Frost, her Hellions, and the X-Men. Fitzroy is there too, and personally kills the Hellions, while Emma Frost is knocked into a coma. Then, wanting to brag to his fellow Upstart Shinobi Shaw, Fitzroy breaks into the guy's room in the middle of the night holding his prizes---the unconscious Emma and THE HEAD OF DONALD PIERCE AND HE TOSSES PIERCE'S HEAD INTO SHINOBI'S BED SHINOBI COMPLAINS ABOUT MOTOR OIL GETTING ON “MY VERY EXPENSIVE SILK SHEETS!” And after that, it's just...never explained what happens to Pierce's head from there. The X-Men recover Emma, but I guess Pierce's head just gets left in Shinobi's room indefinitely as like a REALLY ugly piece of home décor! And guys, if you know anything about Shinobi Shaw, you know Pierce SAW things there, man. I almost feel sorry for the guy! Next time: Pierce’s adventures in the 90s! In the meantime, check out this IMAGE POST!