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emblemxeno · 8 months ago

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Legend of Korra First Watch: Book 2 Thoughts

Decided on doing just overall thoughts instead of posting about every episode like I did with Book 1. Anyway, I... don't hate this Book (it's really hard for me to hate something), but it made lots of decisions that I really dislike.

Full list under the cut.

------Unalaq is a terrible antagonist. He has none of Tarrlok's charisma, and none of Amon's threatening presence. I understand his motivations from just a "okay I get what he's trying to do" standpoint, but, I don't quite understand why exactly this is something he himself wanted to do. The only reason I can think of is that he's more attuned to the spiritual world, and therefore he wants to reconnect it with the material world. Now, that makes sense, but IMO it's simply... not enough? The things he did to accomplish the goal seem so damn overboard when weighed against the goal itself. Why not just hammer the spiritual training into Korra? Was he just that far gone after having a hand in banishing his brother that he felt all he could do was take extremes? And why try to use Vaatu specifically to accomplish this feat when, as a spiritual man, Unalaq should know how destructive Vaatu is? Is it because Unalaq is so spiritual that he came to resent Wan's decision to close off the material world and spiritual world, and therefore resent the Avatar as a concept due to being Wan's reincarnation?

That last question is honestly the conclusion I'm sticking to, unless someone else can possibly grant other insight without spoiling Books 3 and 4. I'm a thinker, and I've thought out as many avenues as I can when trying to give this slightly above average waterbender with a white-bread personality a deeper reason as to why he's such a cunt.

------From what I've seen, the most controversial aspect of this season is the backstory of the Avatar, how bending was obtained/cultivated, and the existence of Raava and Vaatu.

I myself don't dislike the Avatar concept having a backstory-but, I'm the type of person where I don't need constant exposition, lore dumps, or over explanations of anything. If they are to be included, I really, really want them done well or else what's honestly the point?

The Wan episodes are artistically breathtaking, seriously, shoutout to the animators and whoever was the animation director or decision maker, cuz those episodes looked beautiful. Wan as a character I have no qualms with. He seemed to have started what I consider a "cardinal Avatar sin" where he jumps to conclusions and makes a decision that results in disastrous consequences. Korra does it, Aang did, and Roku did it (from what I've heard, Kyoshi, Kuruk, and Yangchen did stuff like that too). No issue here, I think having consistent Avatar-ness to a person's character-no matter how otherwise different their personality is to their past lives-is neat.

The bending thing is... half-baked. Apparently a point of ire among the Avatar audience is that TLOK retcons bending's origins from being taught by natural sources (dragons/badger moles/sky bison/the moon+the spirit koi) to being something that the lion turtles grant. I see the issue, though from what I understand, it's that the tion turtles give the power of elements to people, but spirits and animals teach the form (e.g. the difference between Wan bending fire as he learned from a dragon spirit versus how his friends from the city use it). So technically at once both a retcon and not one, though retcons themselves aren't inherently bad. My issue is that this revelation is a bit half baked, same as how ATLA introduced energy bending in Book 3. It comes and goes with fanfare, but little substance given how important it is.

------Raava and Vaatu get their own bullet point cuz maaaaaan, I don't like what these two are whatsoever.

On paper, having the Avatar be a fusion of a person and a spirit makes sense given their role as the bridge between worlds, and serves as a... fine enough explanation as to why they can bend all elements.

What I take umbrage with is that it seems their existence is inherently contradictory to what the story's trying to say. Raava kept Vaatu under wraps for 10,000 years to "maintain balance" but.... balance isn't one spirit dominating the other? One being light and the other being darkness isn't an issue (cuz light isn't always good and darkness isn't always evil), but one being chaos and the other being peace is an issue IMO. Peace is not a neat opposite of chaos, order is. Peace's opposite is war, peace can be orderly or chaotic and war can as well. Changing that one line of Raava's would've saved me a headache, though it still wouldn't change my problem with how they're fucking fighting for control of one another instead of trying to balance each other out. It's a mess, and it's one of the things of this season that should've been deconstructed and reconstructed some more before being released.

------Korra losing her connection to her past lives is certainly something. Definitely a thing that happened. Yeah.

Being serious for a second, I don't hold this against Korra whatsoever and never will. Much like Book 1 (and honestly what I expect for the next two seasons unfortunately), Book 2 is written as if the only way to beat Korra is to throw the unexpected at her. And that can work... for the first time. But subsequent times in a new season reads as cheap. IMO, it doesn't become a "oh they made Korra too strong and don't know how to actually give her a proper challenge to overcome and grow" situation, it becomes a "they don't know how to actually construct a challenge period without raising the stakes." Now those things sound like the same, but the difference is that Korra isn't strong in many defineable ways; she's impatient and hotheaded, spiritually inept, and has serious identity issues as a result of not being able to separate herself from being the Avatar. So those weaknesses are taken advantage of in both Book 1 and Book 2. But the difference is that Book 2 suddenly raises the stakes and consequences seemingly out of nowhere.

Amon taking away her bending is palpable and meaningful cuz we've seen it done many times before in Book 1 and that itself is a grand consequence. Raava getting ripped from Korra and being defeated, is also itself a grand consequence. It means Korra goes through a deeper identity crisis by not having her Avatar powers anymore, failing in her duty to maintain balance with her spiritual side, and not being able to stop the spirit and material worlds from destroying each other. That was enough.

So why now, does she also lose her connection the past lives? Raava was already established as being unable to be completely destroyed by Vaatu, so why does her defeat mean the past 10,000 years of Avatars are erased? Did I miss something? It doesn't make sense to me, and there's no reason for its inclusion other than to give more baggae onto Korra when the girl has already been through so fucking much. It feels tacked on and cheap, a shallow attempt to introduce consquences that ends up coming off as superfluous.

------Okay, even though I spent the previous paragraphs criticizing how the spiritual aspect of this season was done, I gotta say this: idk if this is an unpopular opinion, but I greatly disliked every moment in the show where it wasn't directly related to the spirit world.

Varrick's jokes fall flat for me half the time, and being a war profiteer is objectively interesting, but doesn't make me like him any more.

The relationship stuff again in this show is just so uncomfortable to watch since the dichotomy between the show attempting to tackle serious subjects and philosophy while simultaneously having the cast being terrible communicators is jarring and not a fun watch, and I'm happy that Korra and Mako broke up at the end.

Speaking of Mako, god fuuuuuuuck, I was so tempted to fast forward every time there was a police force scene. Now, I hate the police irl a lot, but this is a TV show and unless a show is attempting commentary on irl police, I don't bother to bring my own dislike into media criticism. However, this is still a TV show meant to entertain, and nothing about police is entertaining when you don't do anything with them. It's paperwork, lazy cops who are bad at their jobs, bureaucracy, taking advantage of people, refusal of other perspectives, infighting, etc. That shit's not fun to hear about or watch in real life, and it certainly isn't better in animated form either. Mako seems devoid of any character beyond the archetypal "troublemaker becomes law enforcement" and not getting believed, Lin is almost nonexistent which is a shame given how cool she was in Book 1, and every attempt at humor with the police and the gangs does not land cuz they're not likeable in any way. At least Varrick, though I didn't care for his quips half the time, had charm and was fun to watch! Nothing about the police force was fun to watch, and it was only as interesting as a "Rookie Detective B Plot" can be.

Now, Bolin's stint as an actor works in the grand scheme of what the Book's entire message/theme was, that being finding what you want to do and detaching yourself from what's expected/enforced upon you. I just found myself getting bored with watching his acting stuff. And yeah he's cute in the outfit, but honestly? I don't quite get the internet hullabaloo about him as Nuktuk. As a Gay™️ Lover of Men™️, he's certainly attractive, but he just doesn't do anything for me. Muscles are great, but idk, I'm not a fan of round faces or the Cute Excited flavor of Himbo. Maybe it's also cuz he's a teenager, and I've always found physical maturity to be extremely hot.

He also lowkey sexually assaulted his co-star, so he's not making my favorite character list anytime soon. I won't forget that he did this, though I do hope the next two Books give him something that pulls him out of the trench, cuz I'd hate to dislike him at the end of this.

------Uh, anyway. Themes! Characterization! Development! Yay! I liked it all. I think the message of finding yourself for who you are rather than what you think you're meant to be is inspiring and a good thing for younger audiences to hear. Korra obviously is the most significant example of this, but maaaaaan, I knew I was right to love Tenzin so much. He tries so hard to be Aang that he lacks identity for himself. It reminds me of when Iroh told Zuko, "Who are you? And what do you want?" And I think the emotional throughline from ATLA to this show was shining and it paid off. Tenzin didn't need to be shackled by Aang's legacy, he just needed to be himself. The mini instances of this while him and his family are vacactioning are great set ups to this; how he interacts with his siblings, trying to teach Meelo to lead through strict and isolating methods, and being almost envious or jealous that Jinora is so spiritually gifted while he's not. Ugh, he's just so great.

Like I said earlier, Bolin's moments in the season also fall neatly into this theme, and even Desna and Eska showed some growth from being their dad's lackeys to doing what they think they need to do rather than just what's expected from Unalaq. Bumi and Kya show promise in this regard, though there hasn't been a resolution. They've showcased baggage about being lowkey neglected by Aang in comparison to Tenzin, but beyond the siblings resolving their own differences, there wasn't anything else said about it. Maybe it's cuz they're both older, and don't feel the need to do the things Tenzin does, but eh. IMO there's always room for older characters to have well developed stories!

All of this makes it more confusing why Mako and Asami are kind of... not like this. They show shades of it (Mako being something other than Korra's boyfriend, and Asami being more than just Future Industries new owner), but nothing has come of it since there was so much focus on the police investigations rather than their characters. It's very disappointing, especially since in Book 1 Asami had a great showing in spite of the small time she had, and I felt Mako had potential.

That's about it I think. Deffo a step down from Book 1 to me, though I didn't find it absolutely terrible. Just sloppy. There's salvageable things here, but for the most part I find myself thinking "why couldn't this be done better?"

I heard that Book 3 is considered the best, or at least is a big fan favorite of the entire series. I have high expectations then. See you on the other side.

#tlok #tlok first watch #the legend of korra #tlok korra #tlok unalaq #tlok tenzin

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thedarkmistress16 · 1 year ago

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Assign an animal to each one of your ocs! ALL of them :3 (only if you wanna ofc)

aw damn okay XD here's all of them I've revealed (so far! muhahahaa-) I'm including insects as well :)

Selene: Black Mamba 🐍

Aiden: Lion 🦁

Andrew: Golden Retriever 🐶

Chase: Earwig 🦂

Phoebe: Bumblebee 🐝

Pyra: Fire Ant 🐜

Izzy: Polar Bear 🐻‍❄️

Stephanie: Sea Turtle 🐢

Ireland: Rabbit 🐇

APH OC: Bengal Tiger 🐯

#ask for moi #oc of moi #also see:#selene as a black widow #aiden as a peacock #stephanie as an electric eel #these are their names now for the w101 ocs #until i change them later XD #aph oc #wizard 101 oc

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stupidbeecandle · 4 years ago

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do you have more lighthouse stories?

So there was one lighthouse with a traditional foghorn where I spent most of my time and another lighthouse which was a quiet, inactive one on a far more lush island, it looked kind of like those new Zealand pictures of the shire only in Maine.

The lighthouse I mostly spent time in was on what could barely be defined as an island in a series of other outcroppings barely defined as islands that somehow mustered themselves to qualify as a tiny almost-archipelago. The island was about the size of a football field and made entirely of rocks, gravel, and boulders with the only plants being seaweed that washed ashore and the canned vegetables we kept in the pantry.

There was no electricity or running water but everything was really eco friendly and efficient with how the bathrooms, and kitchen and the like were set up, and there was a huge fireplace in the downstairs living room (later including the moose) that folks slept in front of during the winter months because it was A: warm and B: the room you'd be most likely to survive a storm in because it was rock solid compared to the other rooms which were made of wood and had glass windows.

You had to be familiar with how to survive somewhat to get assigned to this particular location, there were other jaunts you'd had to prove your muster on first like an assignment in a miserably cold bog (with another dead moose, this one incredibly old but perfectly preserved in the bog) or on the lush island I briefly described above which barely qualified as survival training and was more of a nice vacation than anything. Before you could go on any of the assignments you were warned a lot about the local backwoods folk who didn't take kindly to young science nerds island hopping and tagging various birds and critters for our studies. The basic rules were "don't fuck with the locals, and don't fuck the locals". Story went that a few years ago one of the researchers who had been fuckin one of the local girls had been found hanging from a barn rafter a few islands over, about two stories in the air in what the local law enforcement deemed a "suicide".

The island was covered in sea birds which is why my crew was there as a set of researchers. They were incredibly territorial and attacked you if you got near their nests which were pretty much everywhere except the lighthouse and the dock that led up to the lighthouse. They were also stupid as hell because they instinctually attacked the highest point on your body thinking it must be your head so the lot of us would wear one leather glove and raise our hands as we walked anywhere on the island. The birds would peck the fuck out of your hand for a bit then get tired and leave you alone after a while. For a long time after I came back to the mainland, I walked around with one hand raised above my head.

It was windy as fuck there all the time, and even on the days that it was beautiful and sunny in the summer, getting up in the seventies and the like the wind would feel frigid. I lost my baseball cap that I was new enough not to know better than to wear when I first got assigned and after chasing it across the jagged rocks for a few minutes it landed across the thick white "cross at the guarantee of permanent harm to your flesh and bones" foghorn line. My hat was within sight but sadly lost to the ages.

or it would have been if I hadn't spent all my points on intelligence instead of wisdom. My team and I waited until the horn went off and then they shouted a countdown behind me as I sprinted in a mad dash across the rocks that were especially slippery because we never traversed them for research. I grabbed the hat and sprinted back across the white line to cheers of my equally stupid but supportive friends. We went inside to celebrate my accomplishment and my hat, and were met with the appalled looks from the two dudes from the radio crew who explained that they could have just turned the damn thing off and that I was a stupid mother fucker who almost had her brains blown out by the horn. They later insinuated that I might not have actually been in any real danger since I clearly had no brains to lose.

Food sucked but also tasted divine. When you're miserably cold and you get your hands on some hot rehydrated eggs filled with all the amazing protein and nutrients your body needs you want to cry at the flavor and comfort powdered eggs can bring. We kept the beach moose and named him "moose" because we were very creative, but expired critters washed up on the shore fairly regularly. It was a big part of why we were there to study the sea birds who scavaged them. Depending on the critter, the bones would sell for a fortune so it was our job to suspend various sea lions, birds, leatherback sea turtles and the like so the birds would get to them easier and we could collect the bones, treat them, and take them back to the mainland to get passed off to various museums and private collectors depending on the endangered status of the animal.

Once we did a whale. If the foghorn was the loudest noise I have ever heard then, then the whale was the worst thing I've ever smelled. Nobody wanted to clean the dead whale, but it was part of our jobs. We called in backup from the other islands who were also under contract to help. Straws were drawn, friendships were lost, and people wanted to quit but were under contractual obligations to stay.

So it took ages but we cleaned the fucking enormous whale (which was actually a very small whale but still a fucking whale) with the help of some experts who bossed us around. The bones were collected and since this whale wasn't of any endangered status I think it was one of the lots that was sold rather than donated but I never handled the business side of things. There was no running water on the island and so we all smelled like dead whale for ages until we got used to it, cleaned ourselves as best as we could and thought we smelled pretty okay after changing into some clean clothes after scrubbing ourselves with some powder soap, shaving off all of our hair, and changing into some clean clothes.

When crew rotation happened the new seasonal shift arrived (you had to rotate every few months, it was a manditory mental health thing) they threw up when we got on the boat. It was horrible and triggered a chain of almost everyone but our senior field researcher puking. We apparently did not smell as clean as we had hoped and were made to ride in the back of a truck on the mainland because no one would let us in their cars. The lush island was considerably nicer but I don't think quite as interesting

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fatehbaz · 5 years ago

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On soil degradation and the use of non-native plants as weapons to change landscapes and sever cultural relationships to land; and on the dramatically under-reported but massive scale of anthropogenic environmental change wrought by early empires and “civilizations” in the Bronze Age, Iron Age, and ancient world (including the Fertile Crescent, Rome, and early China): I didn’t want to add to an already long post.

This is a Roman mosaic, from when Rome controlled Syria, depicting an elephant (presumably the Asian species, Elephas maximus) interacting with a tiger (the Caspian tiger, a distinct subspecies of tiger, lived in Mesopotamia, the shores of the Black Sea, and Anatolia up until the mid-1900s). This mosaic is striking to me, because I guess you could say that this is clear evidence of the higher biodiversity and more-dynamic ecology of the Fertile Crescent in the recent past, until expanding militarism and empire led to extensive devegetation. After all, does the popular consciousness really associate elephants and tigers with the modern-day eastern Mediterranean and Anatolia? Not really. But for the majority of human existence, lions, tigers, elephants, and cheetah were all living alongside each other in Mesopotamia. Pretty cool.

Anyway, I wanted to respond to this:

Which was in response to a thing I posted:

Pina: Thanks for the addition! I don’t know much about the technicality Rome’s devegetation of the Mediterranean periphery, but - like you - I’ve read some cool articles about it, and then forgotten to bookmark them. (I know that I have at least one good article in print form, about Roman devegetation; I’m going to try to find it.) I’m glad you mentioned it!

The first image is in the public domain and depicts a rhino-shaped ritual wine vessel made of bronze, from about 1100 to 1050 BC, during the Shang era. (The piece is housed at the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco.) The second image is another bronze wine vessel from a site in Shaanxi Province, this time inlaid with gold and hailing from later in history during the Western Han period, about 205 BC to 10 AD. (Photo by Wikimedia user Babel/Stone.) The rhinos in both of these pieces are depicted with two horns, meaning that they likely depict the Sumatran rhinoceros; this is corroborated by the existence of fossil remains of Sumatran rhinos from across China prior to 1000 AD.

On devegetation in the ancient world:

Yes, it feels like the ecological effects of empires prior to the Middle Ages are not just “under-discussed,” but dramatically overlooked. Some “quintessential and iconic African fauna” like lions and cheetahs lived throughout the Fertile Crescent, until devegetation during the late Bronze Age and, a few centuries later, the ascent of Rome. Caspian tigers (a distinct subspecies of tiger) also lived nearby, in Anatolia, the Caucasus, the shores of the Black Sea, and Persia - right up until the 20th century, in fact! (Other iconic species present on the periphery of ancient Mesopotamia were Asian elephants; leopards are still present.) Aside from the devegetation of the Fertile Crescent and the later landscape modifications of Rome, I also don’t see a lot of popular discussion (there is academic discussion, though, obviously) of ecological change in Zhou-era and early imperial China, either. While early Mesopotamia is famous for the amount of social prestige ascribed to irrigators and engineers, who were evidently essential to maintaining the domesticated crops so important to “hydraulic civilization,” early China (apparently) also revered irrigators and engineers. At least according to folklore and written histories, before the Han period, seasonal floods, especially in the Yangtze watershed, would regularly destroy human settlements. Also, there far more tigers, leopards, rhinos, and elephants present; rhinos and elephants lived as far north as the Yellow River until empire really expanded, and the animals lived as far north as the Yangtze River into the European Renaissance era. So, those people with the technical expertise to “tame the wilderness” by damming rivers or calming floodwaters were given prestige and sometimes treated as folk heroes. [Chinese history is not a subject that I really know a lot about. I’m just relaying the observations made in one of the better books on environmental history in East Asia, which is Mark Elvin’s The Retreat of the Elephants - 2006.]

------

On empires’ use of soil degradation to “sever connections to land” and “indirectly” destroy alternative or resisting cultures:

Seems that empire uses ecological degradation to enact a “severing of relations” (in Zoe Todd’s words). Basically: If you destroy somebody’s gardens, then they have to come to you to buy food. Furthermore, destroying someone’s connection to land will also harm their cultural traditions rooted in that land, eliminating a threat to the imperial cultural hegemony and erasing “alternative possibilities and futures” from the collective imaginary. (And destroying the imagination doesn’t just harm the invaded cultures, it also prevents the relatively privileged people living in the metropole or imperial core from “achieving consciousness” or whatever, wherein someone living in 150 AD Rome or 1890s New York City might imagine an alternative system and potentially dismantle the empire from within.)

It’s violence; destroying soil, cutting forests, it’s violence. But when empires destroy soil, they get to maintain a little bit of plausible deniability: “Ohhh, it’s not like we outright killed anybody, we just accidentally degraded the soil and now you can’t grow your own food. Damn, guess you have to rely on our market now, which also means you have to assimilate/integrate into our culture.”

Europe, the US, and the World Bank did this in West Africa after “independence.” They said “oh, yea, sure, we’ll formally liberate you from colonial rule.” But since the palm and sugar plantations were already installed, and many of the ungulate herds of the savanna had already been killed, what were new West African nations supposed to do? Miraculously resurrect the complex web of microorganism lifeforms in the soil? So what the US and its proxies are essentially doing is saying: “If you want loans, you have to keep the plantations and also install supermarkets to sell Coca-Cola.”

Todd: “The Anthropocene as the extension and enactment of colonial logic systematically erases difference, by way of genocide and forced integration and through projects of climate change that imply the radical transformation of the biosphere. Colonialism, especially settler colonialism – which in the Americas simultaneously employed the twinned processes of dispossession and chattel slavery – was always about changing the land, transforming the earth itself, including the creatures, the plants, the soil composition and the atmosphere.” [Heather Davis and Zoe Todd. “On the Importance of a Date, or Decolonizing the Anthropocene.” ACME An International Journal for Critical Geographies. December 2017.]

-----

On the use of non-native plants as a sort of “biological weapon”:

The use of non-native plants and agriculture to enforce colonization and empire is the whole focus of this influential book from Alfred Crosby. (I have some issues/criticisms of some of his work/theories, but his work is generally interesting.) Crosby popularized the term “neo-Europes,” and he proposes that European empires attempted to subjugate the native ecology of landscapes in Turtle Island, Latin America, Australia, etc., while attempting to introduce European species, cattle ranches, pastures, dairy farms, gardens, etc. in an effort to “recreate” a European landscape.

-----

Speaking of Rome’s devegetation of the Mediterranean: One of the famous cases of Roman devegetation that made the rounds recently was that of silphium. A couple of excerpts:

[From: The Original Seed Pod That May Have Inspired the Heart Shape This historical botanical theory has its roots in ancient contraceptive practices.” Cara Giaimo for Atlas Obscure, 13 February 2017.]

Silphium, which once grew rampant in the ancient Greek city of Cyrene, in North Africa, was likely a type of giant fennel, with crunchy stalks and small clumps of yellow flowers. From its stem and roots, it emitted a pungent sap that Pliny the Elder called “among the most precious gifts presented to us by Nature.”

According to the numismatist T.V. Buttrey, exports of the plant and its resins made Cyrene the richest city on the continent at the time. It was so valuable, in fact, that Cyrenians began printing it on their money. Silver coins from the 6th century B.C. are imprinted with images of the plant’s stalk -- a thick column with flowers on top and leaves sticking out -- and its seed pods, which look pretty familiar:

[End of excerpt.]

Silphium is extinct now. There is a lot of conjecture about what, specifically, caused the extinction. But it looks like the expansion of Rome across the North African coast of the Mediterranean, and Rome’s development leading to soil degradation, is a likely cause.

-----

Thanks @pinabutterjam :3

The scale of ecological imperialism’s effects ... planetary, no escape. It’s exhausting.

#long #sorry #sorry sorry #thank you pina

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katerleegrand · 4 years ago

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FFXV Headcanon: Elements

*Originally posted to AO3*

In this headcanon, I take a look at each Bro's personality and character, and match them with what element I believe would best suite them. Basically my brain was like: "You like Avatar, the Last Airbender, right? And you like FFXV, right? So why not combine the two!“

Ignis:

As his name implies, I believe Ignis would most likely be a fire-bender. His fighting style somewhat reflects this, hitting with quick, calculated blows. He can stand his ground, but dodge when necessary.

It could be argued that there are two sides to this man. Much like fire, Ignis has the capabilities to burn down anyone and anything that stands in his way. He is ruthless when it comes to protecting Noctis, like a raging forest fire. However, the softer side he shows almost resembles a flickering flame. Fire brings warmth and nurture, much like Ignis does to the others.

He would not bend fire like most others, through anger; rather, he would learn of the old ways: through balance and harmony, such as the Sun Warriors and the Dragons in ATLA.

Special Abilities: I also believe Ignis would be able to control lightning. Lightning generation comes from separating positive and negative energies within, and guiding them through the arms and out through the fingertips. In order to separate these energies though, the user must have incredible peace of mind, according to Iroh, and those with great emotional turmoil have difficulty generating it (like Zuko). Ignis overall is a very calm and collected person, even in the midst of battle. There are very few times within the game when we see him unravel. I believe he would have no issue generating lightning.

Gladio:

I believe that Gladio would be an earth-bender, although his temper may argue otherwise. Earth is a stubborn element and requires those who wish to control it to be as stubborn, if not more. When this man fights, it is like his enemies face a mountain. He is unmoving and does not crumble easily. It takes water eons to carve out great canyons from the earth, air millions of years to shape the tallest mountains from rock. So to can this represent the Shield. He does not break easily.

It can be argued with Gladio’s hair-trigger temper that he would be a fire-bender. Fire by nature is prone to aggression and outbursts. But earth can be just as prone to this as fire, just not quite as obvious about it. Think earthquakes. Pressure builds up over time until something snaps, and those in the way pay the price. Even outside of battle this can apply to Gladio. Push enough of his buttons and you receive the brunt of his temper.

Special Abilities: It is difficult for me to see Gladio as anything other than a true earth-bender. He is a very straight and narrow man, and very traditional. Cut straight to the chase. It would be difficult for him to control something other than pure earth, such as metal. Lava-bending, on the other hand, could be a yes or no, as it is simply molten earth. The technique used to control it is a bit different than traditional earth-bending, which may prove to be an issue. But Gladio is also very clever and smart, so perhaps he could learn it.

Prompto:

Prompto is a bit difficult for me to place. His star sign aligns him with water (like myself) and his personality shows some characteristics of water, but I believe he would be more of an air-bender.

Looking at his fighting in the game, he flits about the battlefield, only striking when absolutely necessary and trying his best to avoid direct confrontation (well, most of the time...) We have also seen just how agile and flexible the blond is. Hypersensitivity is also another characteristic of airbenders, and Prompto has shown this before, such as alerting the others to Imperials even before you hear the sound of the airship.

Air is also the element of freedom, joy and enlightenment. While Prompto deals with many trials and tribulations, he always manages to bounce back. Even when all hope is lost, like after the fall of Insomnia, he tries to help rally the others. He never fails to bring a smile to the others’ faces.

Special Abilities: One special ability of air-bending is flight (without the aid of a glider), and I do not see Prompto having this ability. As seen in the ATLA and LOK series’, most airbenders can only glide or levitate for certain amounts of time (with the exception of Zaheer) True flight is usually only accomplished by sky bison and air lion turtles. In order for airbenders to accomplish this like Zaheer, they must detach themselves from all earthly tethers, other people included. Prompto cares deeply for those around him, and is bonded to them, so I could never see him doing this. Flying be damned.

Noctis:

Again, I had a difficult time placing Noctis, but I think he would fit best as a water-bender from a personality standpoint.

His fighting style reflects both fire-bending and water-bending. He is quick and explosive in some aspects of battle like a fire-bender, but he flows easily between moves and blows to enemies like a water-bender. He is very controlled in his movements, and usually works to turn his opponent’s strengths against them.

Personality is definitely what could make Noctis a water-bender. While he may not show much on the surface, this man lets his emotions run deep (insert iceberg meme here). Only those who take the time to look deeper past his surface are able to witness his true beauty as a human. His emotions are also extremely strong. He will occasionally let them take over and control his actions rather than a rational mind.

Noctis’s personality is seen with two sides, a yin and yang so to speak. As discussed with Ignis, these two sides of his personality would reflect in his water-bending. Noctis is usually very calm, level-headed, like a lake or a slow winding river. However, he also shows great power and aggressiveness when needed, much like an ocean in a storm.

Water is also known as the element of change, the element of life. He brings about the greatest change in his realm. Life cannot exist without water, and it can be argued that life on Eos would cease to exist without Noctis.

Special Abilities: I had a hard time determining whether or not Noctis could possess healing abilities. I think that he may have this ability, but has a difficult time mastering it. Healing allows water-benders to heal wounds by using water as a catalyst. It involves redirecting energy around the body and concentrating more energy into a wounded area to allow it to heal faster. In his younger days, Noctis shows difficulty in controlling his internal energies (no fault of his own, simply from his external experiences), which could inhibit healing. As he gets older though and matures (especially at the end of the game), he may be able to master this ability.

As for blood-bending, it is no question that Noctis would become a powerful bender, especially as he gets older, but he would never even consider this form of control over other beings, not even his enemies, unless the situation was truly dire.

*If you guys have any requests for headcanons and short fics (both SFW and NSFW), feel free to message me! Hope you all are having a good morning, day or night wherever you are! :D

#ffxv #ffxv headcanons #ffxv noctis #ffxv prompto #ffxv ignis #ffxv gladio #ignis scientia #gladiolus amicitia #prompto argentum #noctis lucis caelum #noctis #prompto #ignis #gladio

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teacupfulofstarshine · 5 years ago

Text

the crossroad of our destinies book one: earth

summary: virgil isn't sure how he got roped into this crazy adventure. somehow, he's traveling around with the avatar, his blind earth bending younger brother, a chipper air bender, and a banished fire bender prince, and they're supposed to save the world? virgil can't even tell them he's a water bender. he's not cut out to save anyone. little did he know, they're cut out to save each other - and maybe the whole world in the process.

(OR: an avatar the last airbender!au, centering around a water bender virgil)

a/n: i . . . wrote the entire first chapter in one day . . . how i still do not know . . . the confusion is real. huge, huge, HUGE amounts of thanks goes to @lovelylogans for cheerleading me through this and also beta reading the first chapter. this wouldn't exist without her, and i love her, and i am so eternally grateful

CW: atla-typical fantasy violence, brief nonspecific allusions to child abuse, angst, background death of minor unnamed OCs, family angst, mentions of burns

wordcount: 5882

read it on ao3!

“This is gonna be so interesting!” Patton says, draping himself on his belly over the ball of air beneath him. “I’ve never seen real earth bending before!”

“That would imply that there’s such a thing as fake earth bending, which there decidedly is not,” Logan says, adjusting his shirt with a huff. Virgil glances up from where he’s sharpening his knife next to the fire, raising an eyebrow.

“I’ve done all kinds of reading about earth bending!” Patton says, seemingly oblivious to Logan’s indignation. “There are scrolls about it all over the Air Nation temples, but I’ve obviously never seen one! Earth benders went extinct so long ago that -”

“What?” Thomas says, lifting his head to stare up at Patton.

“The Fire Nation desecration reaches beyond our home?” Logan asks, one hand curling into a fist at his side. “They have burned more villages to the ground than ours?”

Roman pokes at the campfire with a stick, keeping his eyes cast to the ground. “The Fire Nation is trying to wipe out all other benders. They don’t want anyone left but us. Why do you think I ran away from home? My father told me that the other nations attacked us first, but . . .”

“Falsehood,” Logan snaps. The earth begins to shake beneath him. “We would never do something so horrendous! The Earth Kingdom is a peaceful settlement, we - we would never -”

“Calm down, Rocky, I’m not accusing you,” Roman says. The campfire flares up, and Virgil’s eyes flicker to the waterskin at his side. His hands won’t move fast enough if Roman’s temper causes him to lose control. Something else might, but he refuses. “I’m just saying, there’s a lot of propaganda in the Fire Nation. We’re not all heartless evil bastards. Some of us are just trying to protect our homes. I abandoned a lot when I saved you and your brother from my father’s army.”

“Oh, yes, like what?” Logan snaps. “Like a cushy life in the palace? Like your status as the next in line for overlord of us all and destroyer of my people? Like -”

“Like my twin brother,” Roman says coolly, tone betraying the way the fire surges and sinks in time with his heavy breathing. “Like my best friend, the boy I was to marry. I loved him so much, and he helped me escape, and - and my father probably killed him for his insubordination. I’ll never see him again, and whose fault is that? Mine!”

The fire surges up in a pillar. Before anyone can react in a meaningful way, a vortex spirals to life around the flames. In a flash, all the oxygen is sucked out of the fire. It dies instantly, leaving a pile of half-charred twigs. Patton lets his bending stance drop, and the vortex falls away.

“Everyone,” he says quietly, “needs to take some deep breaths. It’s going to be okay. Everyone here has suffered at the hands of the Fire Nation. Everyone here has lost something. It’s okay to acknowledge that pain, and hurt, but it’s not okay to blame each other or ourselves. Roman, you can’t control what your father did to you any more than Thomas and Logan can control the fact that they’re earth benders.”

“I am an earth bender,” Logan says quietly. “Thomas is -”

“The Avatar,” Thomas says. He studies his hands in silence, and Virgil slides his knife into his boot.

“Yeah, well, Avatar or not, you were born an earth bender,” he says. Everyone looks at him in a surprise that he mirrors internally; he’s not really one for speaking up during moments like this. There have been plenty since they all started traveling together, but Virgil typically keeps his mouth shut.

“What?” Thomas asks. Logan turns his head towards Virgil’s voice. His unseeing eyes bore right through Virgil, as though they’re peering into his soul.

“You were born an earth bender,” Virgil repeats. “That’s the whole damn point of the Avatar cycle, isn’t it? The Avatar spirit gets cycled through all the nations so that each Avatar gets a new and different experience to the one before. No matter what anyone says, you’re an earth bender. Just ‘cause you’re the Avatar too, that doesn’t change your birthright.”

His voice slips away from him, falling into the familiar cadence of his grandmother telling him stories as a young child. “You are an earth bender. You were born with the pull of Mother Earth in your bones. The Lion-Turtles have gifted you with an awareness of what is beneath us, always, a firm and unyielding constant in a world too fluid to appreciate it. You must hold steadfast to what is right and true, because no one else will do it for you. Air, flighty and fluid; fire, scorching and shifting; water, rapid and raging; all these will move from one form to the next as it suits their needs. You must anchor them, or no one will.”

He blinks, snapping himself out of the strange trance he lulled himself into, and becomes aware of the other three staring at him. “What?” he snaps defensively.

“That was . . . something,” Thomas says. “Where’d you get a story like that?”

“My grandmother,” Virgil says, pulling a knife from inside his robe. He makes sure that everyone catches the sharpness of its edge glinting under the half-full moon before he goes back to sharpening it. “She would tell me stories of the other benders all the time, how every element has its strengths and drawbacks. She told me that every element plays a role in keeping the world balanced, and that someone would have to repair what the Fire Nation was breaking without destroying the Fire Nation in the process.”

“And why not?” Logan asks - not accusing, genuinely curious. He shifts one foot a couple of inches and a rock springs from the ground next to Thomas, allowing Logan to sit down.

“Because if we lose fire benders completely, we lose everything we worked to rebuild. We need harmony between all four elements. That includes Princey and his fire bending.”

Roman thrusts a fist forward, and the campfire reignites itself as a small fireball bursts from his fist. “Thanks, Waterboy.” Virgil flinches a little. “What? You’re from the Southern Water Tribe, aren’t you?”

“What? Yeah. What about it?”

Roman just shrugs and goes back to the campfire.

*~*~*~*~*

Logan is amazing at earth bending.

Granted, Virgil knows next to nothing about the techniques, other than the fact that they involve a lot of foot movements and heavy grounding. It seems to be the complete antithesis of Patton’s air bending and Roman’s fire bending, both of which appear to center heavily on movement. Still, it’s plain to see that Logan is something of a prodigy. He moves as though the earth he bends is an extension of his own body, controlling it with an easy, fluid grace that belies his solid stances.

It’s hard to believe, watching him, that he’s the younger brother. It’s hard to believe that he can’t see anything. Roman comments as much, and Logan sends him flying with a blunted earth spike without so much as turning to face him.

“Ow!” Roman shrieks. He’s unharmed, of course; Patton had swiftly leapt into the air to catch him and return him to the ground. “What was that for?”

“I can so see,” Logan retorts. He barely comes up to Roman’s shoulder, but he’s solidly built, despite his young age.

“I thought you were blind!”

“I am. My eyes have never seen a day of my life. That does not mean I cannot see, you moron. I simply do not see with my eyes. I use my feet to see. The ground tells me everything I need to know. You, for example, are currently clinging to Patton like a terrified lemur, and he is hovering approximately as far above the ground as my forearm is long.”

“How do you do that?!” Roman says, dropping from Patton’s arms to land on the ground. “Also, there’s no way that you’re strong enough to take me down.”

“And why not?” Logan asks. “I could so take you down.”

“This is a bad idea,” Virgil says.

“You could not!” Roman boasts.

“This is a bad idea,” Virgil repeats.

“That sounds like a challenge,” Logan says, turning in Roman’s direction and tilting his head in a clear act of dismissal. “Unless you are afraid to face a young, blind earth bender, Prince Roman?”

Roman’s face changes from pride to ice in a split-second. He’ll tolerate Virgil’s “Princey” jabs, but he hates being called by his proper title. “You’re on.”

“Not here!” Thomas yelps. “We are standing in a very flammable forest, and none of us can water bend!”

“Aren’t you the Avatar, master of all elements?” Roman says testily.

“Only in the Avatar state, at the moment, which I cannot trigger on my own! If you guys set the whole forest on fire, people will come and investigate! We can’t risk being found - I can’t risk being found!”

The sound of his older brother’s voice seems to snap Logan out of it, at the very least. He shifts his left foot, and Virgil shivers as a small earthquake rumbles through the ground. It’s low-scale enough that anyone else who notices it will pass it off as normal seismic activity. For their little group, however, it’s much more than that; it’s Logan checking the nearby terrain.

If that isn’t enough to terrify Roman into surrender, Virgil seriously worries about the state of his brain.

“There is an isolated rocky plain not far from here,” Logan says. “I suggest that we have our battle there. Will tomorrow suffice?”

“Fine by me,” Roman spits, stalking away. Patton drops to the ground and begins to croon to his giant sky bison Remy, stroking his nose. Remy huffs out a breath that rustles the trees around them. Virgil is inclined to agree.

*~*~*~*~*

“I have said it before, and I will say it again. This is a BAD idea.”

Virgil tugs his thick jacket on over his loose tunic and pants. Logan sits next to him, controlling a small mound of earth like it’s wet clay. With every shift of his perpetually-bare feet, he changes its shape.

“I will not be injured,” Logan says. “Roman will not intentionally injure me. He considers me an opponent beneath him, and he is too gallant to harm a child.”

“How old are you, anyway? Not judging or anything, I’m just . . . curious.”

Logan’s earth mound trembles. “I am . . . twelve years and six months old.”

Virgil just blinks at him. He’d thought that Patton, newly fourteen, was the youngest member of their crew; he and Roman are both sixteen, and Thomas is seventeen. He’s assumed this whole time that Logan is around Patton’s age, maybe a few months older, despite his slight stature. “That’s . . . younger than I was expecting.”

“Are you going to remove me from your expedition?” Logan challenges. He clenches his fist, and the earth mound shatters into dust. “I will not abandon Thomas. He is my brother, the only remnant I have of my family. Of my village, my people, my culture. He is everything to me. I will not return to an ashen husk of my home because you do not consider me mature enough for this journey.”

“You’re the most mature person here, and anyone who says otherwise is an idiot,” Virgil says, holding up his hands in an “I-mean-no-harm” gesture. He says it because it’s true, because he believes it, but he also says it because he can see the way the earth trembles below Logan. It reminds him of the sea, in a way - calm and quiet, but constantly roiling beneath the glassy surface.

Logan takes a deep breath, air in and out, and the earth calms to stillness on his exhale.

“Thank you, Virgil.”

“You’re welcome. Now that the mushy shit’s out of the way - this is a terrible idea and you shouldn’t fight Roman. Not because you’re young or weak or anything like that, but because if one of you gets seriously injured, it’s not like we can waltz into the nearest village and ask for help.”

Logan shakes his head, smiling. He looks much older than twelve and a half.

“Trust me, Virgil. This will not be much of a fight.”

*~*~*~*~*

“If I could talk him out of this, I would,” Thomas tells Virgil. They’re sitting on a tall mound of earth that Thomas had bended up from the plain. Patton hovers casually behind them, sitting cross-legged on a ball of air. Logan and Roman stand facing each other, arms at their sides.

“The duel will end when one of the participants is unable to bend, or when one participant cedes to the other,” Virgil announces. He’s still not sure how he got roped into refereeing this crazy death match. Patton bends the wind so that his voice carries down to Logan and Roman, but he doesn’t have to. It’s so silent that Virgil could hear for miles. “No attacks shall be permitted which may result in death or grievous bodily harm. Are these rules understood by the participants?”

“They are,” Roman says. They’re different than the rules to a Fire Nation duel, Virgil thinks, judging by the slight confusion that crosses Roman’s face before he settles back to cool indifference.

“They are,” Logan says. He and Roman are an arm’s-length apart.

“Bow!” Virgil calls. Logan and Roman each take a step backward and bow from the waist, a sign of respect between duel participants. Despite their bickering, they do respect each other. (Virgil thinks.)

“Turn and walk! Ten or fifteen paces!” The traditional standard is ten paces, but Logan’s legs are much shorter than Roman’s, so he has to walk fifteen paces to cross the same amount of ground that Roman does in ten. They turn around and walk, and once they’ve made it the designated distance they turn back to each other.

“Ready your bending stances!” Roman squares his shoulders and lifts his hands, curling them into fists. Logan spreads his feet apart, planting them shoulder-width apart. Virgil raises a hand up high, bringing it down sharply to connect with his palm like a knife slicing through a fresh kill.

“Begin!”

Roman immediately launches a huge fireball at Logan. It’s red, the lowest intensity Roman is capable of producing. Virgil laughs internally; Logan was right. Roman is holding back. Thomas makes a worried noise, but Logan is unaffected. He shifts one foot, thrusts his hands out and flicks them up, and suddenly a massive wall of earth rises in front of him. Roman’s fireball slams harmlessly into it, singing the upper layer of dust but otherwise having no effect.

“I knew you would temper your attacks for me!” Logan shouts, dropping his wall. “If that had been your usual strength, my wall would have disintegrated!”

“And you took that risk?!” Roman says.

“Because I knew you would go easy on me! That is not the point of this duel, Roman! Fight me like you mean it!” Logan stamps his foot, and two massive pillars of earth rise up beside him, one on either side. Another stamp, and the pillars segment into disks. Logan begins to move, still between the pillars as he hurls the disks of earth at Roman.

Roman dodges the first few disks easily, but Logan is relentless. For every few disks he throws, he stamps his food again, and the pillars rise up again. He draws more and more earth up from beneath him, and it’s all Roman can do to keep himself from being crushed.

“Are you trying to kill me?!”

“I thought you were a prince! You should be stronger than this!”

Roman stands perfectly still, and Logan sends a disk hurtling towards him. Roman screams and throws his hands forwards, and a massive burst of golden-orange fire roars out. It engulfs the disk, pushing it backwards and melting it. Molten rock splashes to the ground, and Roman runs forward. He has twin flames clenched in his fists, like knives, and Logan grins wildly.

“Finally!”

The ground grows soft beneath his feet. Roman yells, thrusts a fire-knife forward like he’s going to stab Logan in the head, and Logan vanishes. He drops down, sinking below the earth, and Roman whirls around, confused. The pillars sink down into the ground, and Roman growls.

“Get up here and fight like a man!”

The ground rumbles beneath him, almost like Logan is laughing, and then a pillar of earth bursts up beneath Roman and sends him flying into the air. As he falls, another pillar flies up, smashing into him, and then another and another and another. Roman is knocked around like a ragdoll; he fire bends in the air, hurling jets of flame at the earth, but Logan is apparently so far underground that he is unaffected.

Finally, he slams onto the earth, flat on his back. Logan pops up from underground, covered in a layer of dust, breathing heavily. He takes a single step towards Roman and collapses.

“Logan!” Thomas shouts. Roman pushes himself to sit up, placing a hand along Logan’s neck. The earth bender doesn’t stir. Roman says something, but it’s inaudible. “Patton, please!”

“On it,” Patton says, bending Roman’s words toward them.

“He’s alive,” Roman rasps in their ears. Thomas stands, slamming his foot into the ground, and a curved chute carves itself into their observation mound. Another stamp, and a flat piece of earth appears at the mouth of the chute. Thomas leaps onto it and begins to surf down towards Roman and Logan.

“A little help?” Virgil asks Patton dryly. Patton offers his hand, pulling Virgil up into his arms, and then they’re flying.

*~*~*~*~*

Logan sleeps for about six hours before sitting up, rubbing at his eyes. “What hit me?” he groans. “Did I lose the duel?”

“You both lost, morons,” Virgil says shortly.

“You and I are the only ones here - no, wait, someone else is laying by the fire. Roman?”

“Yeah. He’s sleeping off what you two did to each other. Patton and Thomas are off by the river getting water, because if I have to watch Thomas mother-hen over you two anymore I’m gonna lose my fucking mind.” He stabs angrily at the fire. “You over-exerted yourself with that crazy tunneling move.”

“I . . . have never tried it on that large a scale before,” Logan admits, shakily sitting up. “Even now, my bending feels . . . exhausted. My vision is foggy. I - for the first time since I learned to bend, I feel truly blind.” He sounds like a scared kid, and it’s enough to evaporate what’s left of Virgil’s anger.

“Hey, you’re alright,” he says gruffly. “No one’s dead, and you two hopefully have a better understanding of each other’s power now, right?” Logan nods, silent. “Good. Just know that if you ever scare your brother and Patton -” ( and me, he doesn’t say) “- again, I’ll drown you in the fucking river.”

Logan cracks a smile at that, and it doesn’t fade, even when Thomas returns from the river and practically tackles him into a tearful hug.

*~*~*~*~*

Sometimes, Virgil has regrets.

Remy coasts through the sky, Patton seated on his head with a loose grip on the reins. Logan, Thomas, and Roman all huddle together, Roman in the middle so that his warmth exudes out to encompass them like a bubble. Virgil is starfished on his back, staring up at the sky. It’s so different to the one that he’s used to seeing over the Southern Pole.

He misses home.

He misses the familiar sting of ice and snow against his skin. He misses the scent of seal jerky drying out next to the campfires. He misses packing down the firm snow to create walls for the igloo, misses hunting with his friends and family.

He misses bending.

The Fire Nation thinks that they have eradicated water benders from the Southern Pole. They believe that Virgil’s father, whom they cruelly killed on their last raid, was the final water bender.

They think incorrectly.

Virgil’s father sacrificed himself to save his son. The pendant Virgil wears around his neck, carved from the rib bone of an ancient and mighty Lion-Turtle, was the only thing he was allowed to keep when his father’s body was prepared for burial. His mother gave it to his father when they were married. She died bringing him into the world, and the Fire Nation made him an orphan.

“Virgil?” Thomas asks, shifting on Roman’s chest. “Are you okay?”

Virgil exhales, rolling over so that he’s facing his sleepy friends. “Yeah, Thomas, I’m okay. Just homesick, you know?”

“I get that,” Thomas says. He reaches over and gently touches his sleeping brother. “At least I have Lo with me, to remind me of home. You don’t even have that. I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Virgil says easily. “It’s not like I have a family to go back to, anyway.”

A sad look crosses Thomas’s face, but he doesn’t push. Virgil can’t decide if he’s grateful or disappointed.

*~*~*~*~*

It’s amusing to watch Logan drill Thomas in earth bending. Every time Thomas messes up, Logan throws a pebble at him, and not with his earth bending, either. He will literally pick up the nearest chunk of rock and throw it at Thomas. He hits him in the arm without fail.

Virgil snickers from where he’s darning a tear in his pants. He has a bone needle in his pack, and it doesn’t take a lot of skill to find plants that he can twist into sturdy fiber thread. He’s already got a pretty sizable ball of thread rolled up beside him.

“You can sew?” Roman asks.

Virgil flinches at the sudden noise, nearly pricking his finger with the needle. “Don’t scare a guy like that, Princey!”

An upset expression crosses Roman’s face, but he brushes it off. “Still!”

“Yeah, I can sew. In the Water Tribe, you have to learn to do stuff for yourself.” Especially when the Fire Nation kills your parents, he doesn’t say.

Roman bounces eagerly. “Do you think you could teach me to do that?”

“Why the hell do you wanna know how to sew?”

“If something rips, I have to be able to fix it myself,” Roman says firmly. “Teach me, please?”

Virgil sighs. “I only have one needle, so you have to wait until I’m done with this actual work before I start teaching you. You will prick your fingers a lot, and you are not allowed to bitch at me for this. You brought this upon yourself.”

Roman just grins, sharp and wild. It’s the grin of a Fire Nation child, and it should strike terror into Virgil’s heart. He’s almost more terrified by the fact that it doesn’t.

*~*~*~*~*

Virgil quietly creeps away, after ensuring that everyone else is soundly asleep. They’re fortunate enough to have camped near a river this time, despite the fact that they’re still in the middle of the woods as they travel. What their endgame is, Virgil doesn’t know. For now, they’re just traveling so that the Fire Nation doesn’t catch them off guard, complacent in one place.

He steps into the river, and the feeling of water around his ankles is soothing. “Hello,” he breathes.

Virgil knows that his father wasn’t a water bender. He doesn’t think his mother was a water bender, either, although it’s impossible to say. The pendant that she gave his father was carved by water bending, tiny thin streams of water manipulated skillfully along the surface until they etched grooves. It doesn’t make sense that she would have trusted its creation to someone else, but if she had no choice . . .

Despite his insecurities, being in the water always makes him feel closer to both of them.

He slowly lifts a hand, and a stream of water coils up to meet him. It wraps around his wrist, like a vine, like a friend, coiling up towards his neck. Virgil exhales, tips backwards, and lets himself fall into the water. He moves his hands as he falls, bending the river water so that it flows around his head. The water rushes through his ears, and Virgil is at peace.

He stares up at the full moon, pretending he can see his father’s smile staring back at him in the craters on its surface.

*~*~*~*~*

“There are spirits in this place,” Thomas says. His eyes aren’t glowing the way they do when the Avatar State overtakes him, but there is an unnatural shine to his irises. “They are here, and they are angry.”

“Why?” the village leader asks. Thomas turns his head towards the village leader’s young daughter, sees the way she cowers away from her father. Virgil doesn’t have whatever supernatural perception Thomas does, but he doesn’t need Avatar State eyes (or whatever the fuck is going on) to see the bruises that litter her arms under her tight sleeves.

Thomas takes a step forward. The earth shakes beneath him. Logan shifts to a bending stance in a single breath, but Thomas puts a hand out to stop him. Ice-blue wisps of fog coil up around him, and Virgil takes a step backwards as a massive spirit-dragon appears in the village square.

“They are angry,” Thomas repeats, and his voice reverberates with a power well beyond his years.

Yeah. Virgil’s pretty angry, too.

*~*~*~*~*

“I didn’t know you could do that,” Logan comments idly, as they fly away from the village. He’s holding tightly to his brother; without the ground to, well, ground him, he tends to cling to Thomas. “With the spirits.”

“You could sense them?”

“Not with my earth bending. They’re not solid. But I could feel them. I knew they were there, and . . . and once you spoke, I knew they were angry.”

“No child should be hurt,” Roman says darkly. He’s slumped over the side of the saddle, watching the ground pass by below him. “No - no child. No child should be hurt.”

Patton is silent, clutching Remy’s reins with white knuckles. He’s been silent since they left, but Virgil is too attentive to miss the tears streaming down his face. They’d saved the day, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a pit in all their stomachs.

*~*~*~*~*

When the Fire Nation soldier bursts through the bushes, everyone moves in an instant.

Patton and Logan spring in front of Thomas immediately; Logan is in an earth bending stance and Patton has wind spiraling around his fingertips. Virgil draws a knife from his sleeves and grips it tightly. The soldier looks to be in his mid-sixties or so, with gray-white hair pulled back in a topknot and a beard flowing down his front. He has a round potbelly, but there is something sharp and militant in his eyes.

Roman is the only one who hasn’t moved. “U - uncle?!”

Everyone stops and stares at him. “Uncle?” Patton echoes. The Fire Nation soldier blinks at Roman, and his entire face softens.

“My beloved nephew.”

Roman throws himself at the strange soldier, and the soldier catches him, hugging him and holding him close. “Uncle! Uncle, you - what happened?! After I left, Remus, Dee - what happened to them?!”

“I will explain all in time,” the soldier (Uncle?) says. “But first, perhaps you should tell your new friends that I am not a threat before they kill me?” There’s a wry smile on his lips as he looks at them all, a bedraggled group of teenagers ready to fight and kill.

Roman just hugs the strange man tighter, and Virgil sheaths the knife when he hears Roman’s muffled sobs. Despite their constant bickering, he knows that Roman really, truly does miss his home, and now he has a small piece of it back. Virgil imagines he’d react in a similar way if a member of his family showed up right now (even though he has no one to show up). He can’t begrudge Roman this little scrap of comfort.

*~*~*~*~*

The Fire Nation soldier is revealed to be Roman’s Uncle Emile, brother of the current Fire Lord. “My brother,” Emile says, stroking his beard slightly, “can only be described as . . . a little bitch.”

“Remus,” Roman repeats, sitting next to his Uncle and gripping his hand. “My brother, Uncle, what happened to him? What happened to Dolos?”

“Your father was furious at them for letting you and the young earth benders escape the capital,” Emile says. “He dared not wound Prince Remus, but Dolos is only a noble’s son. He was spared no such courtesy.”

“Is he dead?” Roman whispers. He’s shaking; Virgil wonders if he should attempt to offer some sort of comfort.

“He is not dead,” Emile says. “Your father challenged him to an Agni Kai - a traditional fire bending duel. Dolos barely fought back. He knelt, prostrated himself, begged for forgiveness. The Fire Lord did not grant it. The left side of his face and torso are badly burned. But he will survive.”

Roman blinks, and tears pour down his face.

“Your father banished him, and you as well,” Emile says. “Remus has been sent on a mission to capture the Avatar - to capture you.”

“Where is Dolos?” Roman rasps.

“Remus insisted on taking him with him. He told your father that he would leave Dolos in an outlying colony somewhere, but he remains below deck on the ship. He is healing from his wounds. He will be scarred for life, but he will still have a life.”

“I want to see them,” Roman says.

Emile shakes his head. “Prince Roman, no. It is a bad idea.”

“Why?”

“If you are spotted on board the Fire Nation ship, the crew will have no choice but to take you back to the Fire Nation as a prisoner. You are a fugitive. It cannot be risked.”

“I’ll risk my own safety if I damn well please!” Patton flinches at Roman’s shout, but Emile remains calm.

“I will not risk your safety, Nephew. Will you risk the safety of your twin? Your betrothed? Your new friends?”

Roman’s fire-angry glare shifts to them, to Virgil, who meets his eyes coolly even despite his terror. He won’t let Roman know that he’s afraid. He knows how much Roman hates it when they look at him as though he’s a fire bender to be afraid of. Roman exhales, and the campfire flares but he remains calm.

“I . . . I won’t. But I miss them, Uncle.”

“I know you do,” Emile says. “My status as a disgraced general has finally come in handy, for I have been assigned as your brother’s advisor on this so-called fool’s errand. I will do my best to keep him safe and out of trouble.”

Roman fidgets with his hands. “Could . . . could I write them a letter?”

Emile hums, considering. “I suppose that could be arranged.”

Roman scribbles down two scrolls and passes them to his uncle. “Please take care of them for me, until - until I can come back and take care of them myself.” Emile nods, kissing his forehead.

“I am proud of you, my nephew.”

He disappears back through the bushes he came from, and Roman stares longingly after him. “Roman?” Patton asks. “Would - do you want a hug?” Roman stands stiff, back straight, shoulders pushed back. For a moment, he doesn’t look like their friend. He looks like a soldier.

Then he turns around, and his eyes are wide and wet, and there’s snot dribbling down one corner of his face. “ Yeeeeeeeees,” he wails. Patton smiles, opens his arms, and lets Roman come crashing into them.

*~*~*~*~*

Before they head out the next morning, a bird flutters down to land in front of Roman. He gasps when he realizes what it is, gathering the sharp-taloned bird into his arms and crooning over it. He showers its head in kisses. Virgil is lost.

“This is Dragon! He was my pet back home, he’s a messenger hawk!” The bird chirps, nibbles on Roman’s ear lobe, and presents him with the parchment tied to his leg. Roman snatches the scroll, unrolling it eagerly, and Virgil peers over his shoulder.

The upper half of the scroll is a near-illegible scrawl, with a splotched signature that Virgil can barely make out as “Prince Remus” accompanying some doodles and a splatter that looks almost like blood. The lower half is in shaky but beautiful calligraphy. The opening address is “My darling flower,” and the ending signature reads “Yours forever, Dolos.”

“My love,” Roman whispers, tracing his fingers over Dolos’s signature. “And my brother . . . I love them . . . so much.”

“You gave up a lot to be with us,” Thomas says. “I appreciate everything that you’ve sacrificed. Logan and I would be dead without you.”

“I’m glad no one is dead,” Roman says softly, voice wavering. “I just . . .”

“You love them,” Patton says. “We understand.”

Roman strokes the parchment. His fingers come away slightly black with ink from the upper portion that his brother scrawled, and he exhales. “I am going to write them back. I’ll send Dragon to them. I’m not losing touch with my family, not again. Not this time. Remus and Dolos aren’t going to leave my life, not this time. They’ve got just as big a bone to pick with my father as we do. They can give us usable information.”

“Will that endanger them?” Logan asks.

“Uncle Emile is there, too. He can help them be discreet. I’m not abandoning my old family for this one, but - but I won’t betray you to my father, either. That’s not what a prince does.” Roman squares his shoulders again, and Virgil blinks in surprise. Roman doesn’t look ridiculous, like a child-soldier, or militant, like an enemy. He looks proud and strong and regal.

He looks like a real prince.

“I support you,” Logan says, startling all of them. “You are a prince, even if you are not our prince. I trust your judgement.” Roman seems the most shocked of all of them by Logan’s bold proclamation, especially considering the heated duel they’d had just three weeks ago, but Logan’s milky grey eyes look like they’re staring into Roman’s soul.

Virgil is familiar with that look.

“If Lo trusts you, I trust you,” Thomas says, and he smiles widely. Patton nods, smile bright and bubbly, and Roman looks to Virgil. He offers a thumbs-up and ruffles Roman’s hair. Roman squawks and bats at him, pushing him away. Virgil laughs and falls over easily into a back-bend.

“Once you’re sure Thomas is solid on his earth-bending, we’re going to a sacred Fire Nation site on the fringes of the empire,” Roman tells Logan. “Fire comes next in the Avatar cycle, right? After earth?”

“I think so?” Thomas says.

“I know so,” Logan confirms. “And I think he’s ready.”

Roman nods, and the fire blazing in his eyes is the most reassuring thing Virgil’s seen in quite a while. (It’s strange to say, considering Roman is a Fire Nation prince, but Virgil’s used to people judging him by appearances. He’s learning to reconsider his assumptions.)

“Alright then,” Roman says. “I’ll write back to my brother, try and find out what sites might be relatively empty so that we can camp ourselves out there. Fire Nation, here we come.”

#starshinewrites #avatar!au #platonic TLAMP #sympathetic remus #sympathetic deceit #romantic roceit

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whenimgoodandready · 5 years ago

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(ancient Chinese background music plays) Long ago, a grand temple stood in China, in it, held the most powerful artifacts unknown to man, the miraculouses. They were under the reign of a group of monks known as The Order of the Guardians. A young guardian was chosen to watch these magical items, but during their duties, caused a destruction that would soon lead to an even worse fate. The guardian survived protecting the Miracle Box, but lost two in their escape and the grimoire. The guardian lived with the guilt of their actions. They feared it would one day come back to haunt them............and it did! The story continues here:

*Feast-What has been seen in the Louvre that we haven’t already seen? The Mona Lisa being stolen (“Copycat”), Alya almost becoming a sacrifice (“The Pharaoh”), that big rock thingy with some kind of Chinese symbol on it. Wait! What’s that about? Well, let’s look that up............on the Ladyblog! According to our aspiring journalist, Alya has been researching the secrets of the miraculouses and how they’ve been around throughout the centuries! All the way from the Renaissance to the Ancient Greeks where all the great heroes were secretly miraculous holders and Alya discovered that through all of them bearing the same symbol like on the Miracle Box! (and that big rock thingy).

That’s pretty good, but let’s go ask someone who’s living proof of all this, Master Fu! Alright Wang Fu, we’ve been in this fandom for a few years now and we deserve to hear some God damn answers already! Now spill! Ahem! (sits down cross legged and tells the tale) When Fu was around Marinettes age, he was the chosen one to guard the Miracle Box, but like any (pre) adolescent, he hated the responsibility of the job especially since he was taken from his family and forced to sit around watching the box for 24hrs w/out food. Yeesh!😬 Fu used (out of all the miraculouses) the peacock one to create a sentimonster and have it fetch him some food. Unfortunately, it went outta control, due to Fu’s angst about being a guardian, ate the temple, the monks, the other miraculouses (wait! There’s more!?), so Fu ran away with the Miracle Box, as it had a craving for miraculouses, and he accidentally lost “you-know-which” along with the grimoire (the miraculous book) and the sentimonster fell into a lava pit. The End!

Um Alya, Sweetie, I think maybe you should stick to your other blogs cuz all that info you just put out there about the miraculouses, it got Hawk Moths attention! Now no thanks to that, Mayura (yes, Nat is still doing this, but this was before the “Ladybug” ep) is gonna unleash whatever’s in that big rock thingy (actually a lava rock) containing a “special surprise” inside! (P.S: it’s not a chewy caramel nouget). It’s the sentimonster! It’s name was Feast! It survived for centuries! And it’s still hungry! He was a small blue frog-like thing with a Chinese symbol on its head and no face, but a mouth and that tongue! Oh God! That tongue!😱👅. Hawk Moth promised it all the miraculouses (after he’s done with the two most important ones) and his and Mayura’s as a bonus if Feast fetched ‘em for him. Huh, you know, that’s actually the nicest thing I’ve seen Hawk Moth do. Really!

Driven by his extreme centuries old guilt, Master Fu takes back the heroes miraculouses and we have a very bizarre street chase that involves Marinette in a motorcycle suit/helmet (her signature disguise look) and Adrien in a banana suit!?............where the f*ck did he get that!? And yet, they believed they were their crime fighting partner cuz, Hey! Who else knows a tiny hundred year old Chinese man?

FINALLY! We got a backstory on what Master Fu’s biggest mistake was and how it all happened! Well it’s about damn time! (for f**ks sake, it’s Season 3!). He’s mentioned it in “The Collector” and he’s lived that nightmare in “Sandboy”, but the truth comes back to bite him in the a**. So, you mean to tell us, that the reason why the temple was done, why the peacock and butterfly miraculous were lost, why Emilie is in a coma, how Gabriel’s start of darkness happened, why we have the love square and how this whole show started was because Master Fu-HAD THE MUNCHIES!? WTF!? Are you f**king serious!? “This” was the cause! Okay, I get it! Fu was just a teenager when it happened. He was stubborn and selfish (just like our heroes) and of course, he didn’t know any better. He never asked for this! He was just a kid. He wanted to have fun and hang out with friends and not be put through a life changing experience from higher ups! Sure he made a huge a** mistake that caused a chain of events to happen, but he learned from those mistakes. We’ll get back to that, Alya meant well, she was only trying to help Ladybug unmask Hawk Moth cuz after 3 seasons already, they need to start tracking him down. First clue, he’s in Paris. Nathalie sensed an amok in that lava rock cuz Feast was in it and ate the staff where Master Fu put the amok and it caused her “dizzy spells”. Hmmmm, same as Emilie before her.......... “nap” (Gabe, get a second glass coffin). Something we learned in this ep, Hawk Moth can akumatize sentimonsters! Whoa! And Ladybug can “de-evilize” both an akuma and an amok at the same time! Sure it was wrong of Fu to take back the heroes miraculouses w/out their permission (especially after that sweet piano duet Adrien and Plagg had that was straight outta “Looney Tunes”/“Tom and Jerry” cartoon), but he did so out of safety concerns cuz Feast would’ve eaten them. Speaking of which Ladybug took up the role of Jonah again and this time w/ a sentimonster! And w/ Cat Noir! Lol! He was so done w/ that sh*t! Feast also ate Cats “stick” (Badum-tish!🥁). Mwah! Good-night everybody! Hey! Like Tikki told Marinette, “(Marinette) are Ladybug, w/ or w/out the mask!” (“Antibug”). Wayzz points out how determined and devoted the heroes are to help Master Fu and stop Feast despite their lack of powers cuz that’s what makes a true hero. That’s what made Fu realize he should stop giving himself a (literal) guilt trip and let them fight back! Sadly, no Jade Turtle transformation once again. Ugh! Why bother showing us the art of him when you don’t even show it! All we got was “Bikerbug and Banana Noir”! (still don’t know where he got that suit). After 172 years, the temple is brought back along w/ the monks and the rest of the miraculouses in Tibet thanks to Ladybugs “Miraculous Ladybug” fix-up (so it was 1844 when all this sh*t happened?). The Chinese miraculouses were the only ones left, but now that we know there are others (like the fandom OC-ed), we’ll be seeing ‘em! Like that Brazilian miraculous holder in Season 4 I heard! Hmmm, I know that there’s a Chinese zodiac and there’s also a Native American and Celtic one and last, but not least, the Western zodiac (with our own five elements) that includes a lion like how Hercules/Heracles was symbolized from what Alya said. Hmmmm, wasn’t there a concept art of a lion miraculous we saw? Marinettes training as Ladybug is fully complete and now, as was promised in “Backwarder”, Master Fu makes her the new guardian of the miraculouses!🎉Congrats! Marinette!🎉 Gabe/Hawk Moth will eventually realize Fu was Adriens Chinese substitute teacher (“Syren”) like how he almost figured out Adrien was Cat Noir (“Gorizilla”) from his discovery (“Simon Says”) now that he knows what the guardian looks like as well as his name (“Backwarder”). Watch yourself, Fu! Don! Don! Don!

#miraculous ladybug #feast #miraculous ladybug feast

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surveys-at-your-service · 6 years ago

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Survey #205

forget picking song lyrics, i’m going the hell to bed now.

Do you live by yourself? I live with my mom. Do you like cleaning? Does anyone???? Who is your favorite character from Harry Potter? I've never watched the series; not even a single movie, actually. So I don't have an opinion. Do you watch PewDiePie? Extremely rarely. He's funny, but I'm not interested in his channel's content anymore. Do you like "Despacito?" My sister showed it to me once when she learned I'd never heard it, and I found zero appeal in it whatsoever. Do you play Pokemon Go? It's a brilliant idea, and I really do wish I could play it, but here where I live, there are like ZERO PokeStops (where you get Pokeballs), even in cities, so it's pretty much impossible. Did you ever color your hair pink? No. Do you like Dr. Phil? I don't watch the show and don't know him as a person. Do you prefer to be inside or outside? Inside. Do you eat meat? Sadly. I'm HOPEFULLY quitting when I get to the weight I want; I wasn't getting the nutrients I needed when I was vegetarian to where my body was desperately clinging to what it had or something like that (basically, my weight wouldn't budge in a couple of months), but even still, I don't know if I could do it without depriving myself again. I'm just such a picky eater. Do you need to do the dishes? Yeah. Not desperately, but. Are you scared of clowns? No. Do you have any subscribers on YouTube? *checks* A very impressive 66. Do you believe in ghosts? Yes. Do you salt your popcorn? Yes. Do you like McDonald's? Don't even lie to me, you'll eat there. I don't mind it at all. Do you have a Steam account? Yes. Do you like gaming? Not as much as I used to, but yes. Have you ever played Five Nights at Freddy’s? No. I don't consider jumpscares to be genuinely "scary," but rather a natural reaction to surprise, but FNAF's are intense, and I know they'd have me jumping like crazy. That aside, the games aren't of my personal appeal to actually play (though it's a fun game to watch). Do you like horror movies? Yes. Do you like chicken nuggets? I love me my chicken nuggies hunty. Have you ever tried Akinator? Yes. Can you twerk? I don't know and don't care to. Do you like dabbing? It looks stupid to me. The meme of it makes me laugh, though. What was the last country you visited? I've never left the country. Do you know your phone number? No, actually. It is incredibly difficult for me to memorize sequences, and besides, it's not like I give out my number almost ever. Do you swear in front of children? No. What’s your opinion on Brexit? Shit, I don't even remember what it's about. So obviously I can't have an opinion. It doesn't affect me, anyway. If you want children, what are some of your reasons for wanting them? N/A When you cook a dish that has beans in it, do you prefer to use canned or dry beans? I don't cook, and you'll never see me willingly eat a bean. What were some fun experiments you did in science class as a kid? The two that sharply stand out to me are dissecting an owl pellet in elementary and a frog in middle school. Both were SO cool. What was the last strong emotion you felt? Excitement. After finishing a bowl of cereal, do you drink the leftover milk? Only ever if it's Cinnamon Toast Crunch that I ate. And even then, only sometimes. Do you use dry shampoo between washes? No. What’s the scariest thing you’ve ever done? Overdosing. What’s the most severe allergic reaction you’ve ever had to something? Nothing severe, besides pollen allergies flaring up. What’s your favorite sub-genre of rock? Hard. Who was the last person to get frustrated with you, and why? Mom, but she was more than frustrated. We were having a serious fight about her attitude towards Dad and his wife. What’s something that makes absolutely zero sense to you? Anti-vax shitlords. What’s your phone background? Lock screen is Darkiplier, home screen is Sara kissing my forehead. :'> Have you ever lived with someone you didn’t get along with? No. Do you have a fitness tracker? No. What types of animals have you had as pets? A billion cats, dogs, snakes, lizards, rats, gerbils, guinea pigs, rabbits, fish, box turtles, hermit crabs... and probably more. How well do you understand economics? Have you ever taken an econ class? Not well at ALL. I had one my senior year. What was the last fruit you ate? I had two bites out of a watermelon 'cuz I was really hungry, but we didn't really have anything as a snack. (I fast daily, so I have to watch when my meals are.) I'm not a big watermelon fan, but I hadn't tried these cubes before, and at least it was something. Can you remember your first day of school? I believe I can very faintly... very faintly. I think I had a complete breakdown because of my insane separation anxiety regarding my mom, or it was the complete opposite... alskdfjaweiajr it's like I can kinda see it in the back of my head, but it's super blurry. What’s your favorite movie? The Lion King. It was my favorite as a kid and became so again as an adult just truly acknowledging how damn good and meaningful it is. Plus the soundtrack was a banger. Would you rather jump out of an airplane or go scuba diving? Scuba diving. Do you get bored looking at other peoples’ holiday pictures? Eh. If it's a whole lot, yes, but as a photographer, I enjoy noting which ones I like and why I favor them. Do you give money to charity? Not currently, no. I have no money to give. When I do have a paying job, I plan on definitely donating any time Mark does a charity stream. Are you more into music or movies? Music, easily. When was the last time you went to a swimming pool? WOW. It's been years. Either when I still lived in the apartment or once at Colleen's in-laws', I can't remember which was last. Would you rather have a pet snake or a pet turtle? I have a snake, and I'll take another for sure. Have you ever seen a band live? Who was the last you saw? Just Alice Cooper. Ma and I are seeing Ozzy next year (if the poor man ain't dead), tho!!!! And he's gonna be with Judas Priest and Megadeth. We are NOT going to survive. Do people who use massive amounts of emoticons annoy you? Yes. Emojis, more specifically. If you're writing a sentence and you use an emoji after each and every goddamn word, it drives me up a wall. What was the last clothing item you bought? Underwear, I believe? Or a bra? What does your washing powder smell like? Idk. Normal? Do you have a dishwasher or do you do dishes by hand? By hand, which I cannot explain how much I loathe. It feels disgusting. Are there any cobwebs in your room? I don't believe so, no. Have you ever used a pick-up line and had it work? Ew, I'd never use one to begin with. Have you ever entered a modelling competition? Would you? No to both. The current modelling industry is so, so harmful. Did you keep any drawings/stories from when you were younger? Like around two years ago, I remember going on a mass destruction episode of those super old things, as they embarrassed me horribly, even though I know it had no real reason. Just everything I create embarrasses me. My mom has old school stuff, though. Who did you last have an argument with? Mom today. When was the last time you cooked for yourself? If you include putting things in the microwave with few steps... not that long ago. Maybe two days back. Do you have a safe? Mom does. When was the last time you saw a relative? Mooonths ago when Grammy and her husband were driving through. My brother and his son are visiting real soon, though!! Do you shout out the answers at quiz shows? Yes, lol. Have you ever been in a TV audience? I've been to like three-four hockey games, so yeah. Have you ever entered the lottery? Won anything? No. Well, Mom or Dad would rarely get those scratch-off tickets at random, but the most we've ever got was just like five bucks or so. Do you prefer crosswords or word searches? Word searches. Have you ever drawn on a wall in your house? No. Do you like making collages? No. Have you ever kept a scrapbook? Yeah. What’s your favorite video-game? Silent Hill 2 and Shadow of the Colossus. Sigh, I want a PS4 SO bad to get the SotC remaster. I actually teared up when I saw the opening cutscene for the first time, and I just marveled through the EEEEEEENNNNtire playthrough I watched. It's unbelievable. Do you remember any inside jokes from childhood? Not off the top of my head. I'm tired, don't make me think. Have you ever made up a word? Well, as a writer, I've made up names and places. A word itself, I don't think so. Do you get nervous speaking to people you don’t know on the phone? VERY!!!!!!!! Are you scared of anything irrational? You mean like, half my fears? Do you have a passport? What’s the picture like? No. Have you ever had a full fringe? (bangs) As a kid I did. Is there anything you would never admit to liking? Don't think so. What’s the weirdest craze you can remember? Fidget spinners. Do you use bug spray or fly swatters? Fly swatters. Then we also have this hanging cylindrical sticky... thing that flies and gnats are apparently attracted to with the smell, I guess. Works like magic, though I agree it's pretty cruel. Just stuck there until you die. Are you a clumsy person? Boy, am I. Do you have tiled floors in your house? In three rooms. Do you listen to any movie soundtracks regularly? No. Do you bruise easily? Way too easily. Like normally something simple won't leave behind an obvious one, but even a normal poke in the arm hurts a lot and leaves the spot sore for a good while. I was tested for anemia, but apparently, I don't have it. What would you love to learn to do? Play the electric guitar. Do you prefer monkeys or lemurs? Ehhh... lemurs as far as cute goes, monkeys overall. Do you watch movies based on the actors or the movie plot? The plot. Do you have any phone charms on your mobile? No. What is your opinion on sex without emotional commitment? That's a big 'ole honkin' nope. Last time you puked from drinking? Never. Have you ever gotten drunk and danced on a bar? No. What is your favorite simple ice-cream flavor? Vanilla. Though sometimes I prefer chocolate. Do you pay attention to calories on the back of packages? Only for dinner. I forgot the science behind it, but one of my meds for bipolarity only works to its full effect after ingesting at least 350 calories; I only get about a 20% effectiveness of the medicine when eating less. I know it sounds weird, but my psychiatrist is a goddamn genius, and I trust every word that comes out of his mouth. When was the last time you slept on the floor? Two years ago when I was living with Colleen and I didn't have a blow-up mattress yet. Are you currently wanting any piercings or tattoos? When???????????????? do I?????????????? not???????????????????????????????????? Do you wear flip-flops? That's pretty much all I wear just about year-round... I remember in 7th grade, one of my teachers asked me about it a lot and I just told her I didn't mind the cold, which was true. Pretty sure she thought I was lying and was too poor to buy new clothes or something, as she gifted me socks one day, which I thought was incredibly sweet. I miss my 7th grade teachers. Best school year. Who was the last person to kiss you on the cheek? Pretty sure my niece Aubree when saying bye. What is your favorite sauce to eat with spaghetti? Normal Prego sauce, I think. Have you ever seen a magic show? A little one as a kid. When was the last time you vomited and why? Months and months ago when I was testing a medication. Quit that shit real fast, as it made me sick so many times. Where do you usually sit when you eat dinner? Uhhh I eat in my bed usually, lmao. We almost never sit at the table. I normally do if Mom's there, though. How often do you get headaches? Ugh, often. Why did you call the last person you called? I was calling back about my job application that I was supposed to hear about yesterday. How many windows are in the room you’re in? Two. Do you have Facebook friends that you’ve never actually met? Yes. When was the last time you had your photo taken professionally? Not since senior pictures, pretty sure. I hated how it came out. I have a lazy eye when I smile, gah. How long does it take you to get to school or work? Currently N/A. Let’s say you had a baby with the last person you kissed? We're both female, so. And neither of us want kids anyway. When was the last time you completely broke down? A couple weeks ago in a totally random and severe panic attack. Do you have someone you can spill your heart out to? Yeah. Is there a person that you would do absolutely anything and everything for? No. I'm not gonna, say, murder someone just because they want me to. What’s something you really want right now? To go and get my tattoo cleaned up by a more professional artist alsdkjfalwei. I got the approximate cost, I just have to wait until I can afford it. This tattoo is so so so important to me and it needs to be perfect. What is your relationship status? Taken. What was the longest time you’ve wasted on a certain person? Not even two weeks lmao. I said yes to dating mostly out of fear of hurting his feelings, and he QUICKLY proved he was NOT for me. Are you listening to music right now? Yeah, my iTunes is on shuffle. Anyone you would like to get things straight with? I wouldn't want to be friends I don't think, but I REALLY want to see Jason one final time to tell him how sorry I am. I recently acknowledged just how fucked up I treated him after the breakup; he wasn't the only one who made mistakes. I sure as hell did. He deserves to hear it badly. I do believe our last talk was a good ending, but I feel me finally admitting that I fucked up would be the perfect one. What was the best thing that happened to you today? Seeing Dad for his birthday. When was the last time you did something for the first time? I talk-talked to some WoW friends a couple days ago, though very very briefly. I couldn't figure Discord push-to-talk out and I ended up panicking lmao. What color are the last new pair of pants that you bought? Black. Is your room clean? I should dust and vacuum, but the latter doesn't currently work. List all the countries you’ve visited. I've never left America. At what age would you allow your kids to dye their hair? Shit, whenever they wanted tbh. So long they sounded serious about it and it wasn't just a brief episode of "oh this would be cool." Which fast food place do you eat at the most? Hm. Wendy's or Sonic. When was the last time you weren’t lonely? Jesus fucking Christ, who knows. What kind of movies do you like? Horror, fantasy, Disney/kids' films, comedies, rom coms, and emotionally moving ones. Bats are not spooky or are they? They're adorable, omg. Do you think blue is a gay color? Fuck off. What's your opinion on gays? Fuck off harder. Do you like the song "Womanizer"? Don't even talk to me if you don't. Where is your favorite place to get fries? You can't live your fullest life without having Bojangle's fries at least once. Do you know anyone who was raised by their grandparents? Idk. Have you ever made your own pie from scratch? No. Who was the last person you had an in-depth conversation with? Sara. What was the last fast food item you ate? A hot dog. What is your favorite gaming console? You know PS2 was the best, you know it. What was the last major city you visited? Raleigh, if that even counts. Do you always have a stock of alcohol in your house? No. Have you ever had a pumpkin latte and if so, did you like it? I hate everything pumpkin-flavored. Is there an antique store in your town or city? I think so... Have you ever been to a baby shower? My sister's. Maybe others', but idr. Do you know anyone who has been to rehab? Pretty sure yes. How many romantic relationships have you been in so far? Genuinely "romantic" ones, two. Would you consider yourself to be a picky eater? I am 99% sure I am the pickiest human being to ever live. Have you ever lived in a house with a pool in the yard? Not a built-in one. What color is your toothbrush? Blue. Do you have gluten intolerance or know anyone who does? I know a few people. Have you ever slept in a car overnight? No. Have you ever fainted? Yes. Do you avoid conflict as much as possible? YUP. Do you like ice cream cake? I'm not a big fan. Have you ever made out with someone of the same sex? Yes. Where is your second home!? The place I'm second-most comfortable is probably Sara's. What song always makes you sad? I avoid listening to "The Mortician's Daughter" by Black Veil Brides unless I just really, really want to hear it. I always tear up due to memories. Have you ever played a game that required removing your clothes? No. Where is your favorite place to be kissed? Breasts and neck. Were you mean as a little kid? No. Who was the last person you hung out with? Dad. What is your mother’s name? Donna. What is your favorite song at the moment? I've been in true love with a heavy metal cover of "Invincible" from the WoW soundtrack for like a full month. What day will you never forget? The breakup night. Suicide attempt. My niece and nephew being born. Meeting Sara. Getting Teddy. First time hanging out at Jason's. 16th birthday. Alice Cooper concert. Putting Dale and Cali down. There's a lot. What was the last thing you took a picture of? Some crazy shit on FB to show Sara. Something you're looking forward to? Getting a goddamn job. What is God teaching you right now? Lul. What does Notre Dame Cathedral mean to you, and how has its fire affected you? I was devastated to hear about it; it was the one event that actually got me paying attention to the news. It is a monument of incredible art and history, and for Catholics, a house of their god. I am so thankful the damage wasn't too tremendous. What’s the last dumb decision you made that you beat yourself up over? I dunno. Surprisingly. What’s your favorite version of the Bible to read? N/A If applicable, do you underline verses in your Bible? N/A When was the last time you went to church? Not since Colleen had her extreme Christian phase two years ago. What’s the last song you listened to on repeat? "Radio" by Rammstein. That new album's gonna be bangin'. Does your town’s hospital have a good reputation? NOPE. It sure does not. I have no issue with the psychiatric care unit there, though. Every time I went to the ER for suicidal thoughts or the attempt, they were sweethearts to me. But as far as physical health, they do NOT have a good rep. I know someone's grandfather that nearly fucking died thanks to them, and I can't recall what it was exactly, but Mom had some complaints during her kidney cancer treatment. What is your hometown known for? Crime. Are you longing for and missing a toxic person? I honestly miss Colleen sometimes, but I can't go back to her. I can't. I'm done giving her more chances than she deserves. It was nice to actually have someone to hang out with, but she is just overall not a pleasant person. What’s your greatest longing? Financial stability, probably. Have you ever read a Bible verse and thought, “this isn’t true”? BOY HOWDY- What are you behind on? Being an adult. I am 23 and a SOOOOOORRYYYYYY excuse for one. Is there someone who’s stolen from you and never got caught? Yes. Someone stole our basketball hoop from my childhood home. Have you been lonely for most of your life? Most of my life, no. What color is your sleeping bag? I don’t have one. When was the last time you used a sleeping bag, and what for? When I lived with Colleen and slept on the floor for a bit. Do you live near the woods? Yeah, there's woods across the road. What do you want to be for Halloween this year? List 1-3 ideas. I wanna be the dumb blonde witch from Hocus Pocus, lmao. A pastel vampire would be pretty cool. And Rhett from the "Sleep Tight" video has instilled in me the great desire to be a steampunk toothfairy at least once. List five things people have been jealous of you for. Idk. List five things you have felt jealous of other people for. More than anyone, a friend of many friends' photography success when I can genuinely and modestly say I really think I'm better than her. That is easily the worst envy situation I've dealt with (and still do), as this is the one that is actually almost spiteful, wrong as that is. Then I have another friend who is a FANTASTIC photographer as well and is now a professional one in the fashion industry, I believe. Then there was a girl I went to school with called Cailin whose drawing skills were naturally INCREDIBLE since elementary school, and I remember back then, me and her would always get the most attention for our work, but she did moreso, but I wanted to be the "best" artist. Once I hit high school I just had great respect for her talent. Next, one of my former best friends Hannia was a natural GENIUS that got perfect scores on LITERALLY almost anything; she had the highest GPA in the entire school, while I was right behind her. And uhhhh five... I have been and still am jealous of my sisters for being proper, successful adults. What is your favorite shade of brown? Like a caramel tone, I guess? What color is your toilet seat? White. Would you rather live in an apartment or a house? Definitely a house. What’s one thing you had growing up that you miss now? Energy. Do you prefer kale, lettuce, or spinach? Lettuce. Do you listen to instrumental bands such as Hammock, Trentemoller, etc.? No. Have you ever gotten a manicure or pedicure? Just because my sisters went and Mom wanted me to hang out with them. I may have with my old friend, too. Have you ever self-harmed? Yeah. Never the answer. Do you have any eating disorders? No. I'm afraid of developing one once I (hopefully) get to the weight I want, though. Have you ever met a celebrity? No. Do you like Monster Energy or do you prefer other energy drinks? I hate energy drinks. They taste like poison. Do you plan on getting married? Yeah. Do you want kids? That's a big fat nope. What’s your sexual orientation? I don’t judge. Bisexual. At what time of day do you normally feel the best? The morning. Name one reason why someone should not commit suicide. YOU. CAN. GET. BETTER. Seek professional help if you feel suicidal, and after what I understand is a serious struggle, you truly can go into the light at the end of the tunnel. You've got, to our understanding, one shot at this. Don't end it when there is a possibility for a beautiful future. If you’re unhappy, what would it take to make you fulfilled? Have a job and be in school. Name someone you know who is a cancer survivor. My mom. Are you friends with any cancer survivors? I don't think so. Do you wish the sunrise and sunset lasted longer? Hm. Sunset, maybe. Idk. Name a country whose history you know nothing about. Lmao most. What is your favorite store at the mall? Hot Topic. Do you have a bed or do you sleep on a mattress on the floor? I have a bed. When was the last time you went for a run? Shit, not since high school gym. Do you keep Christmas lights up year-round? No. What did you win a scholarship for? Nowhere. What type of bug do you see the most often in your home? Flies. Do you put off things until the last minute? I tend to. Is your mom the same size as you? No, I'm smaller. Do you know any Christians who aren’t judgmental? No shit. Do you still think of that Gwen Stefani song when you spell bananas? Ha ha yup. Do you like the way your hair naturally is, or do you change it? It's fine. But I want it dyed badly. Do you know anyone who died accidentally by doing something stupid? Yes. How many different languages have you taken in school? Latin and German. How tall is your father? (Estimate?) Idk. Over six feet. Would you meet Miley Cyrus if you had the chance? No. What is your favorite slow song? Oh yeesh. Idk. Maybe "See You On The Other Side" by Ozzy. Do you believe in karma? No. Do you constantly check your cell phone? No. Only Sara or Mom ever text me, and I pick it up just if the green light is blinking (means I have a message). If there were aliens on earth, would you be afraid? Well yeah. If you could spend 1 hour 20 years in the future, would you? Yes. I want to see where I am, so long as I can change my behavior to improve that future if needed. Otherwise, I don't wanna know. Are your pets asleep? Teddy probably is, Bentley might be, idk where Roman is, but he likely is, I can't see Mitsu from where I am currently, Venus may be (no eyelids, so you never know) as she's in her rock, and Kaiju is awake. Have you ever wished you were an only child? Never. Have you ever hurt someone on purpose? Yes. Have you ever gotten hurt while sledding? No. Do you enjoy going through old pictures? It depends on the subject of them and my mental state. Kid pictures I'm always up for, high school ones are okay, though they can make me really upset with how healthy and skinny I was, and I deleted all photos I had on Facebook of Jason and me last year so I couldn't even risk looking at them ever again, as there's a good chance some would trigger my PTSD. Of all your exes, who do you think you had the deepest feelings for? Jason, obviously. Do you tend to have a lot of drama in your life? I have the most uneventful, bland life. No. When’s the last time someone was disappointed in you? Idk. What song are you listening to right now? Is this one of your favorite songs? "Alone I Break" by Korn. No, but I love it. What is something you have to explain a lot? My sweating issue. Gross to talk about, but I sweat seriously excessively, like you would not believe. It can be 70 degrees and I'll be sweating in seconds. People worry about it, and in VR, I've had to explain it so many times due to it affecting suitable jobs (I think we can all agree being drenched in sweat at work looks extremely bad). Hopefully I won't have to anymore when my doctor decides what to do about it. It's most likely a thyroid issue, which I have no clue about how to subdue symptoms of. There's really a shitload I have to explain lately between doctors and VR... Which compliment do you receive the most? From those that know me/see me, that I'm losing weight. From people in general, "I love your hair" or something like that. Who were you last on the phone with? My sister. What is one thing you have always wondered? Uh. Idk. I'm sure there's a lot, just nothing's coming to me atm... What do your friends think about the music you listen to? Your family? My friends and I like similar stuff, as do my parents, especially Mom. My sisters are the total opposite of me and don't enjoy metal and the like at all. Has anyone ever told you to grow up? Essentially. Do you believe people when they say they don’t judge people? Hell no. How many true friends do you have? Excluding family and my girlfriend as they're more than that, like... one or two, it feels like most of the time. Can you honestly say you’re happy right now? No. What is something you are exceptionally bad at? Doing math in my head or spelling up there. AND READING LIPS. Do you have a house phone? No. Who do you love more than anyone right now? Don't make me choose between Mom and Sara. How much money do you have saved up? I literally have $11. Do you like bright/neon colors? Yes, but I prefer pastel. What is your favorite wild animal? Meerkats. Do you ever eat breakfast? I almost always do. Do you remember who your first grade teacher was? Yes. Have you ever won any trophies? What for? Yeah, for A honor roll all through elementary school (save for 5th grade; I got one B and was so upset, lmao), then in all kid sports I played, everyone got lil ones, some from dance I believe, and I think there's one or two others I'm not thinking of...

#survey #quiz #questions #random

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feelingsdusk-writes · 6 years ago

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Mojo shenanigans

From According to plan's verse.

Up until Peter graduates, Stiles visits him a lot at New Haven, always detouring to surprise him with at least a short visit. What can he say? He’s a sucker for the surprised and pleased smiles that spring on his face when he spots him.

It also leaves him wanting to march back to Talia and throttle her badly. He knows that she was being influenced and twisted by Deaton, but the damage she did to Peter is huge. Because Peter also tries to cover those smiles… It took him a while to get that part of the surprise is because he can’t fully believe that anyone would do something like that for him. Even after more than two years of relationship.

It’s the three year anniversary of their first date and they are walking through East Rock Park, Stiles continuously making puns about cheeks that make Peter snark back good naturedly about three headed dogs and sarcastically remark about elite hunters. He hasn’t stopped milking that ever since a rookie from another family gushed about the Argents and especially about Stiles. He still grins like a lovesick idiot when he remembers Peter’s peeved face and territorial growl, though.

Of course, with his luck everything goes south. Maybe taking a stroll in the dark for the sake of remembrance wasn’t such a good idea, after all?

Peter stops and cocks his head and, really, Stiles shouldn’t find it so cute, and he’s internally gushing, and… then he hears them. His eyes slowly follow the rapidly approaching sound to the manhole to his left (a frantic WILL YOU FUCKING PIPE DOWN!!! comes clearly through the grid) then further as it moves away.

“Ladies and gentlemen, I present you the elite,“ Peter quips drolly.

His phone rings.

No, absolutely not. He considers seriously not picking. This day is for Peter and just for Peter and he has a damn present that took forever to track and he’s going to give it to him over that horrible coffee and almost stale muffins the place where they had their first date has, dammit.

Peter blinks before a slow smile creeps into his face. He grabs his face gently to kiss him… and at the same time filches his phone and picks up the call, pressing the phone to Stiles’ ear.

“I’m all about tradition,“ he smirks sassily after he hangs up, pulling him in the direction of the screams he undoubtedly still hears. “Maybe we can bring another species to extinction today. It does wonders to the self-esteem.”

“You would love that, you beast,“ he grumbles as he follows him dragging his feet and pouting.

“OH MY FUCKING GOD, STILES" Brandon cries when he spots them ahead. From behind him, screams approach fast. “IT’S A FUCKING TANK! BULLETS FUCKING REBOUND!“

“RUN, RUN, FUCKING RUN!,” Madison screams, pushing her brother forward and past them.

“FUCKING LANGUAGE!” Reaches them, the voice steadily coming closer. “I DIDN’T FUCKING PAY A DAMN KIDNEY FOR THAT MOTHERFUCKING POSH AS HELL SCHOOL TO HEAR YOU CURSING LIKE SAILORS, DAMMIT. AND PIPE THE FUCK DOWN OR WE’RE GONNA WAKE THE HOLE FUCKING TOWN!!!“

“Ah, the elite,“ Peter snorts and Stiles rolls his eyes. “Well? Where is the big bad? It can’t be that-WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!” And then he proceeds to grab Stiles and run, survival instincts kicking in hard.

“AND YOU HAVEN’T SEEN ALL,“ Anthony wheezes as he catches up with them. “HI, STILES!”

“WHAT CAN BE WORSE THAN THOSE TEETH?!” Peter gasps.

“I DON’T KNOW, WHAT ABOUT THE SCORPION TAIL?”

“ARE YOU TELLING ME IT’S A FUCKING TARASQUE?!“ Stiles cries.

“A FUCKING W-” Anthony’s scream gets abruptly cut when they are pulled to the side and they get their mouths covered. Only Stiles’ firm grip on Peter’s arms stops his immediate violent reaction.

Meghan appears running and Clara grabs her too. Not even a minute later a humongous beast passes them, only to stop and start sniffing around. They even contain their breathing.

Several things happen at once. Peter looks as it physically hurts him not to comment about the fact that ten elite hunters are huddled together like scared and puffed kittens (never mind he’s doing the same) when faced with one single enemy. Meghan starts frantically gesturing at Stiles and mouthing MOJO while Clara, Anthony, Brandon and Madison look at him hopefully. Stiles gestures back just as frantically what he hopes conveys clearly a what the fuck can he do about a dragon with the head of a lion, six short legs similar to that of bear legs, the body of an ox, the shell of a turtle, and a scorpion stinger-tipped tail??? The rest of the hunters are eyeing the proceedings confused and is this really the best time for this?

A tiny almost nonexistent frustrated sound escapes one of the rookies and everyone freezes as the tarasque stills and sniffs around. It doesn’t move in the end, but everyone glares at the rookie and he makes a plaintive gesture. Clara breathes out slowly, leaning a little bit on the disgusting wall, utterly exhausted.

A rock falls.

Daniel eyes the group of people that just entered the coffee shop incredulously and then turns to look at his boss wordlessly. They are filthy and smell horrible, but there’s such a dangerous aura around them that he doesn’t dare to say anything. His boss, an asshole of the highest caliber, motions at him to start attending them.

One of them approaches the counter. His left eye is twitching a bit and when he speaks, it’s like it’s physically paining him to be polite. He’s also clutching a package in his hands in a white knuckled and almost manic grip. He involuntarily takes a step back and the guy behind him smirks.

“What I don’t get,” one of the guys by the door (not) whispers pouting like his three year old sister, “is why didn’t he do that mojo thing right from the start.” Some of the group gasp as if he’s blasphemed.

The guy from the counter pauses ordering and twitches. Two of the nearby guys take a step back and he unconsciously mimics them. One of the hot twins headslaps the guy by the door hard. “Okay, bitch, engrave this in your brain,“ and she pokes at his forehead so harshly that several (including Daniel himself) wince.” You never ever question the mojo again if you wanna live. Fucking rookies.”

Which what? Who the hell are this people? He looks anxiously at his boss again and he makes a chop-chop gesture at him.

They stay for breakfast. Why? No one does that? The coffee is a sludge that could be used as a degreaser and the pastries are so stale that could be used as military weaponry and they look like the kind of people that would kill for something like that. That smirky guy is just saying what about extinction? And did that hot chick (the other twin) just embed the knife on… they are those shitty plastic ones!

“Fuck this, I’m not paid enough for this shit,“ he mutters as he flees to get his things and leave.

“Now, this is something wouldn’t mind making a tradition out of,” smirky guy crows as he watches him leave. He walks faster ignoring his boss’ cursing. “It’s another type of extinction, after all.“

Tick guy laughs and the rest of the party seems to relax. He really wants to flip sarcastic guy the bird, but… those teeth… did they just… He sprints the hell out of there.

—

On a sunny and beautiful Sunday afternoon, Stiles and Allison nearly die.

It’s summer and Stiles babysat six year old Allison yesterday so that Chris and Victoria could have a date night that didn’t involve ghouls or hydras or anything supernatural (they haven’t been very lucky lately), and have a good dinner on a nice restaurant that just opened last week and has had very nice reviews.

He’s pretty sure her detailed analysis of the food is going to be hilarious and not very flattering. After last time, he’s never doubting her culinary skills, though.

He’s meeting her and Chris, along with several visiting family members (it’s Alexandrine’s birthday) at the picnic area that has become so popular lately. You can’t go by car (only police and emergency services are allowed), but it’s just outside town proper, after a nice ten minute walk you cross a pretty big bridge and you’re there.

Allison insisted on baking a cake for grandma so they’re running a little late. It’s lopsided and made almost entirely out of sprinkles and gummy bears more than actual cake, but since it’s Allison’s, he’s pretty sure everyone is going to be gushing at the feat.

He eyes her fondly. She’s insisted on walking, so right now he only has the cake box on his hands. She’s on her princess stage, so she’s wearing a pretty light pink and white (Victoria is going to kill him for letting her wear that to a picnic) dress with matching Mary Janes. He’s also put her quite long hair in a braided crown with flowers interwoven on it and she’s been squealing about it on intervals ever since he finished.

What. He researched, okay? Chris is hopeless about those things and last time Victoria had to leave for a week… He couldn’t stand it anymore, okay? Kate can mock him all she wants (it’s a fair price for letting him practice on her beforehand).

“We’re almost there,“ he tells Victoria on the phone. “Just crossing the bridge. Where are you? It’s pretty crowded.”

“I’ll meet you at the end and lead you there.“

“Perfect. No one has killed Peter yet, right? I’m hearing a car coming but since I don’t hear the sirens…”

“I can’t promise you more than a few minutes more of safety if he continues like this,” she deadpans and he cracks.

“See you in a few. Say bye to mama, Ally.”

“Bye, mama!“ she squeals and he melts like always.

He can tell the car coming from behind is driving quite fast. “Ally, come here, honey.” She runs up to him, slamming into his legs and hugging them, and he picks her up. He spots Victoria ahead and he makes Allison wave at her for him as they continue crossing the bridge. He presses himself to the edge to leave more than enough way for the vehicle to pass them safely.

A few seconds later Victoria screams, terrified for the first time since nearly seven years ago.

Instead of slowing down, the car goes even faster, obviously targeting Stiles and Allison. It crashes on them and then falls over the edge.

“CHRIS!“ she screams, calling him to her as she starts staggering towards where she last saw them. Peter grabs her as he passes, helping her before she falls.

“I can still hear their heartbeats,” he says urgently before letting her go and sprinting towards the edge and jumping before anyone else appears. “I hear his voice! STILES?!”

She forcefully composes herself and sprints after Peter. People are starting to appear when she lets herself slip on the hillside, her heart pounding wildly.

“I know it hurts a little bit, honey, but it will be over soon.“ She hears Stiles’ pained and strained voice. She reaches Peter and then looks up.

“Mama!” Allison cries, big tears sliding down her face.

Stiles’ palms are stuck to the ceiling and he has Allison grabbed tightly between his legs. Even from where she is, she can see the oddness of one of his shoulders, probably dislocated. He’s trembling badly and gritting his teeth. Allison looks unharmed, even if shaken.

She hears the sirens getting nearer. They have to act fast because it’s obvious that the way Stiles is keeping himself up is not normal.

“Peter,” Stiles grunts as he lets the palm of the not dislocated arm unstick, a pained scream escaping him. “It’s okay, Ally,” he gasps and hoists Allison up to press her to his chest. Her stomach rolls. When he speaks again, she can clearly hear in his voice the extreme pain he is in now. The deputies start to slide down the hillside, running towards them. “You’re gonna have to catch us.”

“I’m ready when you are,“ he answers, gaze intense.

He lets go, curling himself around Allison as he falls and putting her above him. The deputies yell alarmed. She reaches for them too.

Peter catches them with a grunt, steady as a rock.

Later, at the hospital, after being checked (Allison is unharmed, Stiles pulled several muscles and really dislocated his left arm), they get the whole story from one of the deputies. The man that tried to kill them was Alan Richardson, a recent divorcee that had decided, under the influence, to get revenge from his ex-wife by trying to take from her what she loved the most, their daughter. His crazy idea was to search for them across the picnic area, not caring about who he run over until he found them. If he hadn’t spotted Allison before reaching the actual picnic area and drunkenly thought her his daughter, he would have killed a lot of people.

“Those are pretty good reflexes you have there,” the deputy says, “and a very good luck.”

“He’s a tough cookie,“ Chris says fondly.

“I’m hungry, mama,“ Allison pipes from Stiles’ side. “Can I have some cookies?”

“Here, honey,” Victoria answers as she passes her a little bag. Homemade cookies, of course.

Stiles’ lips twitch. At the moment the rest of the family is in the waiting room (Peter’s not very happy right now, he bets). Allison refused to part from Stiles, and her parents refused to part from her, so the doctors have made some allowances. He’s happy that apart from some clinginess on her part, the whole ordeal doesn’t seem to have left any lasting consequences on her.

His left arm is taped to prevent him from moving it and his right arm is around her, so he nuzzles her hair to catch her attention. “Share?”

She’s such a generous cutie. She hums and turns to put a cookie in his mouth, still munching hers.

Right them, his father enters the room, relieving the other deputy. He freezes, nearly choking and Victoria places a hand on his back. Chris eyes them curious but doesn’t say a thing.

“You seem to have an uncanny ability to be in the middle of all the trouble, son,” he says drolly, smiling slightly at the picture he and the little girl make.

“I’d like to point out that I also have the ability to get me out of it normally,“ he answers, mouth partially full. Allison puts another cookie in it the moment he swallows.

“One of these days I’ll get how you do it and share the secret magic with the rest of the police force.“

“It’s the mojo.” Allison pipes helpfully. Stiles chokes, Chris is flabbergasted and Victoria shakes containing her laughter.

“The mojo,“ he humors her gently but obviously not taking her seriously.

“Never doubt Uncle’s mojo,“ she nods seriously and proceeds to try to put the last cookie in Stiles’ mouth. “Right, uncle?”

He bites only half, letting her have the rest. She munches happily. “Right, sweetheart.”

He takes in his father’s expression and he cracks, hiding his face in her nearly undone updo. She doesn’t really get why he’s laughing but she joins him.

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promisedangel · 6 years ago

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BronyCon 2018 Highlights

Wednesday

-Pretty rocky day of travel. Ended up getting to Baltimare (yes, I’m going to pun it this whole post) around eleven pm. Mostly because of stops and a storm on the way in. By then, I was pretty cranky. -The Hilton staff didn’t help this. I won’t do into much detail, but let’s just say there were problems with our room situation and the person seemed either untrained or unprepared for this. It ended up taking an hour to get into our rooms because of it >.> I unpacked only a few things before I went straight to bed, still surly.

Thursday

-Day zero. We used this day to go to the aquarium! We got there pretty early so we could enjoy it slowly. The most surprising exhibit was the Golden Tameren Lion Monkey up top in the Amazon Exhibit. He was a lazy little darling. -We got to see the dolphins do a couple of tricks during the nurturing show, where they showed us the dolphins’ curriculum and how they stay in shape. -There was a giant sea turtle! She was so cute! She was in this huge tank with other fish and we finally got a good shot of her sleeping in some coral! -Got to pet a ray in the touch tank and pet some jellyfish! I knew they’re soft, but they live up to the name in spades! -The cafe the aquarium has was REALLY good. Cheap and they give you a lot of food that doesn’t taste cheap. -So, they take a picture on the way in. We decided to get a few copies of the picture. One of our friends wore a green shirt that blended in the green screen. The lovely ladies at the photo desk not only showed us this but also uploaded the picture onto our digital copies for free!! -Swung by the convention center to pick up our badges. Little more crowded than last year but was still an easy pickup. -Most of us swam in the hotel pool. we had a lovely time horsing around. :P -Had some pizza and relaxed the rest of the night. A friend introduced us to the Fallout board game, but we only played for about an hour before most of us were too tired to continue (mostly because of swimmer’s eye for me, I think).

Friday

-Day one. Went to opening ceremonies, but I ducked out early in order to go back to the room and change into my Pinkie Pie cosplay and bring The Cake of Friendship down to the con! -I went straight to autographs and got M.A Larson, the first of many guests we got this time around! His handler REALLY liked the cake. -Met back up with my friends and went with Green Ranger Dashie. A few of us, including him, organized to give Dwillstinator a gift. We showed it to him, the hat, and he flipped out. IT FIT PERFECTLY! -to the cosplay photoshoot. We had some fun talking with Blue Star (I think that was his pony name?) and some Flim Flam Brothers cosplayers had some fun before they were ‘chased’ out of Harmony Plaza by my friends and a few others. -The “Quillin’ It with the MLP Writers” panel was amazing. Nick Confalone was hilarious, Amy Keaton Rogers was a little nervous, but M.A Larson had some awesome deleted scenes from Slice of Life! It was a great panel. -Went to Them’s Writing Words, but I didn’t really absorb much since I was standing, holding the cake, and standing near the back. It was alright. -Went to the community guest panel to FINALLY get Nowacking’s signature. Missed him last year and I’m SO glad I was able to get him this year. -Went down to the vendor hall. Bought a couple of things and took pictures so a co-worker could choose a gift. -Got some food, briefly went back to the vendor hall, and changed out of my Pinkie Pie cosplay. -I placed fourth in the Prance tournament!!! Also, another person from our local meetup group placed first! Way to represent northeastern Ohio! -Briefly went to Bronypalooza. Then I went to relax at karaoke until I finally was able to sing. I was the last one to get a number and I sang “This Day Aria”. -A dance group went after me. They were pretty good. -I was too tired to continue on at this point. I went back to the room and passed out.

Saturday

-Day two. -We decided to try the buffet breakfast at the Hilton. Pretty good! -Jackbox games with the MLP crew was kinda funny and relaxing. -went to “Singing Studio Vs. Broadway”. Lot of interesting information. Not gonna lie; I got a little salty that they cut the question line right before I would ask my question. I was only going to ask Gabe and Michelle what their expeirences in recording western animation vs. anime. I’ve heard form a lot of anime voice actors that there are some differences and I wanted a take from someone who’s more versed in western animation. -A couple friends and I tried to get Tabitha’s autograph, but they capped the line way before we got there. I ended up changing out of my pinkie cosplay early. Came back to get Lena Hall’s signature!! Though we had to miss Tabitha’s panel and Pinkie Tales to get it D: But we got all the singatures we wanted except Tabitha during all that time! :D -Went back to the vendor hall to get a quick present! -caught the end of The Princess Paradox, which gave a new perspective on Twilight’s character development. -Got some dinner then got to the Screaming into the Mic panel. Very informative and fun! -Went back to the room to drop off my purchases and the cake. Then went back down and decided to go to Peter New’s 21+ panel. Lots of laughs and signing strange body parts. I was going to see Gabe and Michelle’s set in Bronypalooza, but this was fun. -Went to the 2D vs. 3D panel. I noticed there was a certain 3D animator there we wanted on the cake. I rushed back up to the room to get the cake and got armademon to sign the cake! -The Advanced writer’s panel was interesting! The five questions deep point was so funny! -Got tired, so I went back to the room and passed out. I somehow didn’t wake when ppl came back at about 2:30 AM.

Sunday

-Final day. -Went to autographs early to get Tabitha St. Germain as soon as we could! I was pretty chill about it, but the two boys accompanying me freaked out either during or after. We had a lot of in line talking with people. -We decided to go down to the vendor hall quickly; I had to show someone in our group where I bought my T-shirts! Decided to explore down there for a while. -At 2, we did an Escape Room based on Edgar Allen Poe. I wasn’t too good with it, but I did help with a couple puzzles and had fun! We succeeded with 9 minutes and twenty seconds to spare! -Ran back down to the vendor hall cuz I forgot to buy a keychain! Got there in time. -We went back to the room because the damn keys no longer worked, even though they said we didn’t have to come back Sunday to re-instate the keys (LIARS!). Ran back down to closing ceremonies just in time to hear the news that BronyCon will be 4 days next year, but will be the end!!! I took it kinda hard at first, mostly cuz of the running around and the ceremony starting with ppl still in line. One of our group took it REALLY hard. -Helped two of our group pack up and leave. They had business monday and didn’t want to be late. -Ended up getting food, but that whole situation wasn’t fun. Not going into details. I’m still surly about it. -I was left to relax alone until bed since I was one of the drivers. Gave me time to catch up on my Tumblr feed the past few days.

Monday

-Time to go home. We checked out before 11 AM. We ended up getting a bellhop to our room. He helped with the remainder of our stuff. Tipped him for his trouble. -One of us ended up getting a hug from Dwillstinator. Now he knows for sure they’re friends. -we said our goodbyes once again to Baltimare. We know that at least a few of us are coming next year. I’m already planning to save up for a big Cadance cosplay, I just need to find a good dressmaker.

#bronycon 2018 #bronycon #promised reacts #long post #I'll post pictures of my swag later

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wesleyv21-blog · 7 years ago

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Galapagos: Been there, done that(;

Hello once again!

Quito has never felt quite like home until now. After about 6 hours total of travel (including the hour I lost due to the time difference) from the Galápagos back to the Andes, I’m very glad to be back home-loosely speaking. There’s so much to tell yet so much that words can’t express, but I’ll give it my best shot to review everything that was our excursion to Guayaquil and the famous Galápagos Islands.

Last Wednesday we flew from Quito to Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city. Nicknamed the Pearl of the Pacific for its beauty and the pride of its inhabitants, Guayaquil is the financial hub of Ecuador and really always has been. It’s named after the legendary figures of Guayas and Quil, an indigenous couple who according to legend led the resistance against the Spanish in what is now the area around the city. It was damn beautiful—and hot as hell compared to Quito! Upper 80s with 100% humidity and no clouds! Our first stop was the centrally-located Parque Histórico, where we took a tour of the zoological/botanical gardens that featured animals and plants from all over Ecuador. Crocodiles, otters, parrots, mangroves, monkeys—it was pretty cool! After that, we ate lunch on the famous Malecón (Boardwalk) that sits right on the River Guayas. Then, we toured an art museum that housed an impressive collection of pre-Columbian art from all around Ecuador. Ecuador is home to the first culture in South America to make pottery (the Valdivia culture). The Ecuadorian coast can also boast to be the home of the Manta-Wantawillka culture, the best and only ocean navigators in the southeastern Pacific. In addition, the infamous Spondylus shells are found in the depths off the Ecuadorian coast. These shells were traded as far north as Baja California and as far south as Chile and formed an important part of the economies of various ancestral societies. Alas, our time in Guayaquil was limited to a day, but what a day we spent! It’s a beautiful city that doesn’t have a tradition of tourism interestingly enough, yet I couldn’t recommend it more.

Thursday was the big day, the one we were all looking forward to: the arrival in las Islas Encantadas, the Galápagos Islands. The word “Galápagos” comes from old Spanish and means a saddle; it originally referred to the various species of tortoises that inhabit the islands and then came to refer to the islands themselves. We spent Thursday and Friday in San Cristobal, the capital and home of the oldest human settlements on the islands. Unlike mainland Ecuador, there is no history of ancestral communities living on the islands. Even though the Manta-Wantawillka were the first to discover the islands, they didn’t settle them because they’re very inhospitable. Only 2 islands have natural sources of fresh water. Only 4 are inhabited. I never knew the meaning of “desert island” until I came here. Yet they’re a curious mix of tropical, desert, and high altitude. On the same island (such as San Cristobal or Santa Cruz), you can encounter 5 different micro-climates, each with their own vegetation, animal life, and weather. And then there are the islands that look like they’re otherworldly, such as Bartolomé or Baltra. Bartolomé is red and rocky with an occasional cactus sprouting out of the lava flows and this scraggly grey lichen sprawled out over the entire surface of the island. Baltra has completely red soil, like deep red soil, and the same grey lichen except in much vaster quantities. There are also ruined buildings all over the island—probably dating from the WWII U.S. military base—which give the island an Old West-type feel.

But anyway, Thursday we spent on San Cristobal. We checked into our hotel and chilled the rest of the day, heading down the boardwalk to the beach and swimming with sea lions (which are called lobos marinos in Spanish, or sea wolves, which to me makes a whole lot more sense than sea lions). Sea lions are literally everywhere on San Cristobal—on the benches, on the beaches, on the sidewalk, on the outdoor patios of the restaurants, sometimes on the street. They’ll chase you sometimes if you get too close—as some of the students found out! The way human settlements work on the Galápagos is that 97% of all the territory of the islands is reserved as the national park, leaving 3% for human development. San Cristobal boasts a population of about 8,000 people; Santa Cruz is the biggest in population with around 18,000. So yea, Thursday we spent exploring and swimming and trying to avoid sunburn (which would prove a losing battle the entire trip, as there was hardly ever a cloud in the sky all the days we were there. The sun would be roasting us from 8:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. every day).

On Friday we took a boat out to a tiny rock called León Dormido to go snorkeling! This was the first time I had ever gone snorkeling and it was amazinggggggg. We wore wetsuits, flippers, and masks—the whole outfit lol. The current around this rock was such that you could just float effortlessly while looking at all the wildlife literally right below you. We swam with schools of fish, sea lions, sharks, and even sea turtles! It was absolutely incredible to be only 10 feet from all these animals you see at the aquarium or on TV. One of the students brought a GoPro camera and got the whole experience—including the animals—on video! After eating lunch on the boat and taking a wonderful nap in the sun (which I later came to regret due to sunburn), we returned to San Cristobal to hear a talk by a local political activist about the tourism industry and local relations of power. This to me is far more interesting than the wildlife, although it’s never emphasized. The activist told us that some people come to the Galápagos not realizing that people actually live on the islands lol, which is indicative of the image projected to the rest of the world. There’s basically 4 entities that run the islands. There’s the Charles Darwin Research Station, which has the most funds of any of the entities I’ll discuss and enjoys the most privileged access to all of the islands—such unrestricted access that not even the local politicians or national park people have. Their agenda, which is ostensibly one of conservation and study, often prevails over the local interests of the people who inhabit and try to make a living on the islands. Second, there’s the Parque Nacional Galápagos, which is the administrative body of the national park aspect of the islands and is overseen principally by the Ministry of the Environment. Their agenda often meshes with that of the Charles Darwin Station, yet the key difference is the amount of money the two have. Whereas the Parque Nacional is funded by the state (meagerly), the Charles Darwin Station is an NGO affiliated with the Charles Darwin Foundation, which receives much more money from international donors. Third, there is the political system on the islands which includes local governments for each of the 4 inhabited islands as well as an overarching political body. Whereas the local governments are elected directly, the Minister of the Galápagos is appointed by the president and thus often a) is corrupt, b) is unpopular, c) does not govern with the interests of the local population in mind, or d) some combination of a, b, and c. Finally, there is the tourism industry, which really comprises two sets of individuals and companies: local and foreign. The foreigners are technically not allowed to operated in the islands by law, yet one always sees the fleets of international cruise ships circling the islands like vultures with their tourists on board. The corrupt politicians allow the international cruise lines to operate illegally, and the fucked up thing is that the conservationist agenda usually goes along with it because the rhetoric of tourism in the Galápagos is ostensibly to minimize the environmental impact of tourists by having them take up as little space as possible for as little time as possible. So, it’s very common for a trip to the Galápagos to be spent almost entirely on board a Royal Caribbean cruise ship or another similar one, which then lays anchor at various ports only long enough for tourists to disembark to take pictures, buy things, eat, etc.

We’re not taking this route obviously. In fact, this piece is important for yall to know in case you ever want to come to the Galápagos or have friends/family who do. It’s vital that visitors to the islands DO NOT rely on big-name, international travel agencies to visit the islands. In addition to the environmental impact these companies leave behind, they siphon money out of the local economy. Only 1/3 of the money spent in the Galápagos stays in the pockets of the local galapagueños. Even though the islands are the richest province in Ecuador, they should be a lot better off. Instead, their environment and their jobs get auctioned off to foreign companies because of corrupt politicians and because tourists don’t know any better and go with the household names over the local establishments and tours. The latter is wayyy more fun, trust me. And part of the fun lies in knowing that I’m contributing to a responsible tourist ethos. I came into this trip thinking that tourism was inherently exploitative. Now I understand that that’s not the case. However, when big transnational companies appropriate the livelihood of the local population, that’s when tourism becomes a problem. Now yall know and can plan a smart, eco-friendly, and relatively sustainable trip to these magical islands.

On Saturday we arrived on Santa Cruz, the biggest island population-wise and the tourism hub. We stayed on land and checked out the Center of Environmental Interpretation, a system of trails with cool information about the formation of the islands as well as sociological information about the human aspect of the islands. We hiked up breathtaking (literally and figuratively) trails and spied frigate birds, boobies, big spiders, marine iguanas, giant cactuses, etc. I found out that the colonists as the residents are called have their residency pretty much for life; the only way they can lose it is by failing to renew it once every 10 years or so. Yet obtaining residency in the first place is tricky: one must marry someone with residency or be born to parents who have residency. Living on the islands is so exclusive so as not to upset the delicate ecosystems or overburden the economy. This whole time we had been eating fabulously. I’ve never had seafood so fresh in my life. Lobsters, tuna, shrimp—out of this world delicious. At dinner some of us met this random U.S. dude touring the islands after having just graduated college. He rubbed me the wrong way from the beginning, but then he mentioned how he really wanted to try ayawaska recreationally. Ayawaska, or ayahuasca, is an entheogen that combines two vines found in the Amazon—one contains a neurotransmitter released at birth and at death, and the other contains an enzyme that allows for the metabolization of the neurotransmitter. This combination is distilled into a drink and taken by shamans (yachakuna in Kichwa, where the term ayawaska comes from) of various Amazonian nations in order to divine the future, receive instructions or warnings, or cope with loss or other powerful life events/emotions. It is a sacred plant, and partaking in an ayawaska ritual requires years of dedication, preparation, and for outsiders, trust and bonds of communion with a local population. It cannot be taken recreationally, and the fact that this tourist expressed an interest in doing so even after one of us pointed all the above out to him just really irritated me. However, it’s important I use him as an example and continuously strive to root out my own ignorance and prejudices toward cultures different than my own.

Sunday was the best snorkeling day by far. We took a boat from Santa Cruz to the little island of Bartolomé, which is home to perhaps the most iconic image of the islands (Google Galápagos and you’ll probably see it, or check out my Facebook as I posted a picture of it). Bartolomé is so inhospitable that it’s been used as a site to film movies that take place on Mars. There’s dried lava plumes, ridges, cliffs, and tunnels everywhere, and the sparse vegetation only adds to the merciless landscape. With no trees and no clouds to shade us, we were sizzling as we climbed up to the summit to look down on the bay. But it was all worth it once we jumped in the water! We snorkeled and swam with penguins! The second smallest species in the world. They were adorableeee! And they zoomed in the water right past us as we snorkeled! We also saw numerous sharks lurking on the seafloor, as well as seastars and tons of fish. There’s this giant fish called a parrotfish that is as brightly colored as its namesake. They are absolutely breathtaking. And the water was a bright turquoise—I’ve only ever seen water that beautiful in the movies haha. We also ate lunch on the boat (an incredible experience), and on the way back to Santa Cruz (about a 2 hour ride), I sat up top with the captain and jammed out to his playlist of reggeaton classics while the wind whipped my hair and the sun beat down on my back. Simply beautiful.

Monday was our last full day. We visited two sinkholes that are named Los Gemelos (the Twins) because they’re right next to each other. They were pretty cool but uneventful haha. Then we visited the famous Charles Darwin Research Center. We toured the tortoise breeding program and saw baby tortoises! They were absolutely the cutest things ever—only like the size of your hand, moving all around their enclosures exploring to their precious little hearts’ content, and eating leaves like you’ve never seen anything eat a leaf. The day passed far too quickly and left us all with sadness and nostalgia. We played classic group games like Hot Seat and the question game and games of that sort through the night. As we were leaving today, I couldn’t help but feel that this is an adios and not a chao—a goodbye forever and not an “until next time.” I certainly would love to return but I just don’t see how I’ll ever be able to for the rest of my life. Then again, I’m one of the 1% of the world population who has ever visited the islands. And what a fulfilling trip it was. Still though, returning to Quito has filled me with a profound sadness. It’s not just leaving behind such a paradise and knowing that I’ll never be able to recreate that experience in the same way. It’s also returning to the daily grind of classes and homework. But even more than that—being in an airport for the first time since January has filled me with homesickness for one of the really only times so far. I can’t really explain why beyond that just physically being in an airport made me recall the flight to the unknown that took place what feels like eons ago. The domestic and international arrivals share the same exit point, so I was literally back in the same place I was when everything was so new and I didn’t know anybody or anything. It was a weird feeling.

So, there ya have it—the Galápagos episode over and done with. These words fail to do justice to the sights, smells, sounds, emotions, and thoughts that comprised this trip. I encourage yall to go and see for yourselves, because the Enchanted Islands will certainly enchant you—as they have done me.

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kathpad · 7 years ago

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Voltron Shiro-Centric fic recs

Fanfictions about Shiro, that are Shiro-centric or have Shiro as the main character,- because we all need more of our precious Space dad. ♥ - I personally recommend this Story.

This list is not finished yet

Part 1: Non-Pairing

Hurt!Shiro or Sick!Shiro

♥ Parasite Knight by VelkynKarma [Chapter 14/14 Words:86,840] “You may refuse all you like, Champion, but I have found the one thing in the universe that can be absolutely counted on is that everything that exists desires to survive. Even you. Perhaps especially you.” Something’s not right with Shiro, but it may go far deeper than anybody anticipated.

The Opposite of Sorrow by nightwalker [OS / Words:6,165] Shiro takes a hit from a druid spell that causes its victims to just quietly give up and die. Fortunately he's got six good reasons to keep fighting. Light of the Galaxy by thekingoftrash [OS / Words:5308] Sometimes, it's the aftermath of freeing a planet that gets you. OR Shiro's hurt, Hunk's helpful, and Lance and Keith argue over the proper grammar usage of quiznak. Hurricane by a_fearsome_thing [Chapters:2/2 / Words:4778] Shiro is injured and very pragmatic about it. Hunk is decidedly less so. Silence is Golden by VelkynKarma [OS / Words:10,291] It's just a sore throat. It's really not that big a deal. But the rest of team Voltron doesn't really see it that way—and Shiro's taking a day off whether he likes it or not. Senmō by The Otaku With Hazel Eyes [Chapter: 2/2 Words: 5,078] While under the effects of an alien fever, Shiro dreams of another time when he was sick. Confused and ill, he cries out for the only person he thinks can aid him- his mother. (A moment of Shiro bonding with the paladins stemming from him being sick, and a look into his thoughts. Two-shot.) Phantom Limb by Paint_the_Angsty_Memer [OS / Words:2,295] Patients who undergo an amputation, often feel sensation of where the missing limb was, as if it's still there.The symptom is called phantom limb.It's as if the body can't accept that a terrible trauma as occurred. The mind is trying to make the body complete again.Patients who experience phantom limb report many different sensations. But by the far the most common, is pain. Not Ready to Die (Not Yet), Pull Me Out by realityisiron [OS / Words:872] What Shiro hadn’t told any of them was that when a lion had settled in his bones, death had settled right beside her. Shiro being the Black Paladin had some unfortunate implications. Part 1 of the series Train Wreck ♥ Giggle at a Funeral by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions) [OS / Words:2,375] Stranded and wounded on a planet, Shiro is bleeding out. Luckily, he can still contact his team. Unluckily, he's well enough to talk at them. ♥ One Hundred Percent Probability by VelkynKarma [OS / Words:14,004] Shiro has no one to blame but himself for getting stuck on a mission with Slav, really. And of course it has to go all wrong, because really, when does it ever not.

Post-Season 2

what the living won’t let go by mumblefox [OS / Words:9132] After their battle with Zarkon, it takes Shiro a moment to realize that something's a little strange. It takes him even longer to fix it. a hollow nest to dream by lacking, Quadriviuum [OS / Words:14428] Shiro blinks and sees a black sun reflected on dark water, his own fingers wrapped tightly around his lion’s controls. Constellations spin overhead and a view screen flickers in front of his eyes, the images blending together like a poorly exposed photograph. There’s a sharp pull deep within his chest, a hook slipping in between two ribs that catches when it tries to lift free.Shiro becomes unfixed in space and time after vanishing from the Black Lion, slipping between alternate versions of his life. The paladins try to bring him back, but their interference could be causing more harm than good. Reconstruction by grimwoode [Chapters:6/6 / Words:15,677] When their explosive battle with Zarkon is finally over, the paladins are shocked to find the Black Lion lifeless and her paladin missing. Little do they know, Shiro has unwillingly entered his own battle where his very essence is in danger. With the help of the paladins and the Black Lion, Shiro has to pave his own way back to reality. Out of Phase by LittleWhiteTie [Chapters:5/5 / Words: 18,740] Shiro is lost, only able to contact the paladins during their dreams. He helps them through their nightmares when they need him the most, but it's getting harder and harder to find them as he starts to lose track of what's real and what's imagined. He's losing his grip on this reality, and his sense of self is beginning to fall apart. He's going to need their help to get back before he disappears entirely. Finding Home by PencilofAwesomeness [Chapter:7/7 / Words:34,969] Shiro is nowhere to be found, but the paladins aren't going to give up on finding him. Problem is, the galaxy is a big place to find one person.Shiro isn't sure exactly where he is, but he's determined to find his way back. But the road home is longer when one doesn't know where it is. Part 1 of the Finding Home series The Black Paladin by GriffinRose [Chapter 22/22 / Words:80,488] The empire is not as defeated as the team thought, which make's Shiro's disappearance that much more bitter. Everyone's a little lost and confused, some physically, some mentally. No one knows what's going on, and honestly the appearance of some Prince guy is the last thing they wanted. But they'll be damned if they let this prince stand in their way of finding Shiro. Part 2 of the The Black Paladin series Wild Boys by cocopops1995 [Chapter 10/10 / Words: 13,575] Shiro wakes up back in Galra captivity. But he's not having any of that this time. This time he's determined to escape or die trying. Along the way he meets up with some familiar faces, some more unexpected than others. (Written before season 3 aired)

Shiro & Voltron Lions

And I'll Form the Head by QueenofCheese (Supertights) [ Chapters:4/6 / Words:13,421] Five times Shiro pilot's a Voltron Lion that isn't his when he returns. And one time it is. In My Eyes by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions) [OS / Words:5,804] After a fight with the Galra, the Black Lion has to take control of Shiro for a longer period of time. Allura finds herself uncomfortable. Noise in the Cockpit by pentapus [OS / Words:2067] Piloting the black lion was unlike piloting any ship Shiro had ever flown. And it wasn't just the bizarre weight balance. It was that he didn't know on any given day how loud the Lion was going to be.Today was one of the loud days.

Shiro & Team Voltron

Give Them Shelter by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions) [OS / Words:3,488] Have some freakin' gen fluff, you goddamn animals. Of (Space) Dogs and Good Intentions by realityisiron [OS / Words:7753] When in doubt, get your friendly neighborhood Black Paladin a dog for his birthday.Well, considering you're in a galaxy far far away, at least get him a space dog.Nothing will go wrong probably. Playing With Your Food by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions) [OS / Words:1,720] Shiro did not sign up for this grocery shopping trip. Days of Gladiator Love by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions) [OS / Words:3,589] Turns out, there was a fair bit of merchandising involved with the Gladiator battles, especially with their more famous fighters. Apparently, this includes romance novels. Bridge This Gap by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions) [OS / Words:2,287] Forming Voltron comes with side effects. Kiss From a Rose by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions) [Chapters:6/6 Words:14,176] 5 times Shiro got kisses from the team, and one time he returned them Like Broken Satellites by itsthevoid [OS / Words:4,854] Shiro has a history of losing the people he loves. what's needed by eugyne (AreteNike) [OS / Words:2,704] The one time Shiro gives everything to his team... and the five six times they give it back. The Let The Spectrum In series by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions) [Works: 7 Words:139,444]

Aftereffects of Shiros time in captivity

(Everything that has the focus on his galra arm, PTSD, special skills he acquired etc.)

Oathkeeping by SassafrassRex (Serbajean) [OS / Words:5213] Dirt on your head. My dick in your mother’s rib-cage. Forgotten turtle’s egg. Wear a green hat. Fuck your second uncle. (And those are just from Earth). Shiro didn’t always have an Altean babelfish. But he figured it out eventually. OR Sport and violence and violence for sport are the universal languages. ♥ Routine Maintenance by VelkynKarma [Chapter 6/6 Words:50,777] Being an amputee with a prosthetic limb is difficult enough. Having a solid metal alien prosthetic forced on you by another species entirely is even worse. OR: Five times Shiro’s Galra arm caused him trouble in some way and another member of the team helped him out with it, and the one time the same arm is the only reason any of them survive. Part 2: Advanced Maintenance [Chapters:2/? / Words:4,863] Maintaining an alien prosthetic limb can be difficult even with help from your friends. Fortunately, Shiro's able to get a little extra assistance from a few unexpected places. Like Forgetting The Words by BossToaster (ChaoticReactions) [Chapter 6/6 Words:12,797] 5 times Shiro forgot about his metal arm, and one time he was comfortable remembering. Part 1 of the Follow-Up series Melody to my Soul by chidori-blossom237 [OS / Words: 6,840] When the group bring back a piano from the space mall, its presence causes an unexpected reaction in Shiro. Will he find the courage to face this new obstacle in front of him, or have the galra scored another point in their game of torment? Based on 8 prompt words. Post season 2 but Shiro didn't disappear after battling Zarkon.

♥ Empty Night by BossToaster [OS / Words:5250] From the Chicago Yellow Pages: "Takashi Shirogane – Wizard Lost items found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates. No Love Potions, Endless Purses, or other Entertainment."When the Chicago Special Investigations Unit finds a murder victim surrounded by strange symbols and candles, there's one person to consult. Road Trip to End Times by VelkynKarma [ Chapters:4/4 / Words:20349] The outbreak is at its peak, and the country is in ruins. But there's still hope: Safe Haven, the colony on the West Coast. Reach it, and you'll find safety and a chance to rebuild a new life in this zombie-controlled world. If you reach it, that is. But Shiro doesn't intend to give up on trying. Not when he's got four teenagers desperate to find their families again under his protection. ♥ When the Wolfbane Blooms by a_fearsome_thing [OS / Words:20,055] Shiro never makes it back to Earth, instead crash-landing on a planet filled with what seem to be giant wolves. Injured and without a ship, he needs to find a way home to warn the Earth that the Galra are coming. (the one where Shiro gets adopted by a wolf pack in space) ♥ something strange by ashinan [OS / Words:3,453] Shiro can see ghosts. The rest of the team can't. This isn't always a problem - except when it is. Part 1 of the Stranger Things series Geartooth by EndoplasmicPanda [ongoing / Words: 19,287] The Shiro they rescue in the desert the night before everything goes to shit isn't the Shiro Keith remembers. (Or: It takes a lot more than a rip in space, an armada of the universe's most menacing villains on his tail, and ten years of rewritten time to keep Shiro from protecting the only friends he's ever truly had.) Time travel AU. Author recommendation: BossToaster (ChaoticReactions) VelkynKarma

#Voltron #voltron: legendary defender #vld #vld shiro #voltron fanfic #voltron headcanons #rec list #voltron rec list #takashi shirogane #voltron shiro #voltron paladins #black paladin #voltron lions #fanfiction #voltron fanfiction #shiro-centric

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pupfresh · 7 years ago

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Pup and Coming: Persona

Persona Genre: Indie/Pop Rock/Pop Punk

What’s your hometown?

Persona was born in a Bethpage, NY basement

How did you become a band?

Costas: We had music written before we had a name. We felt that there was such a diverse and bi-polar sound, that this music needed to have a name to fit its many faces and multiple personalities.

Sam: We became a band after realizing we had a musical connection through alternative indie vibes and were all Greek!

Tom: With this band we didn't want to cater to one sound or put ourselves in a corner like most bands do. When I think of Persona its almost bi polar and so is the sound we developed. We have songs that sound like pop punk anthems and then there's songs that are dark, indie and progressive. When our bassist Sam popped out the name Persona we knew it was a done deal.

CJ: We used to play gigs together in the music scene with other bands. Talked about jamming one day and fell in love at first sight.

Where did the band name originate from?

Costas: We were sitting in our practice space throwing names out one day and Sam said something along the lines of “It needs to fit in the Persona” and I turned to him and said “Persona”. We all looked at each other in agreement that the name just found it self.

Sam: The band name came from the latin word for “Mask” and our endless need to show whats hiding under the mask and monotony of the mundane everyday life.

CJ: I'm not sure, but it’s pretty damn cool. Great play of a word if you ask me.

Where do you guys draw your influences for your music?

Costas: My influences come from past and present experience, the feelings that they have made me feel. Persona collectively is a group of 4 guys who come from different backgrounds and different personal experience. Persona is driven by life, vibes, emotion & heart.

Sam: Third Eye Blind, Minus The Bear, Taking Back Sunday, American Football, Blink -182

Tom: If it wasn't for Blink 182 I don't think any of us would be playing music today. We also draw influences from bands like Third Eye Blind, Cartel, Motion City Soundtrack, The Dangerous Summer, As Tall As Lions, Circa Survive, Minus The Bear and so many more!

CJ: All around. We all grew up with bands like Blink-182, Sum 41, Green Day, and Third Eye Blind. Personally I ventured off to more of the metal/hardcore scene… but still love my roots

What sets you apart from all the other bands out there?

Costas: I think what sets a part from other bands is the fact that you never know what you’re going to get. In my opinion, each song is its own entity and sparks a completely different emotion. Some songs may touch you more on cloudy days, some songs make you want to party on the beach. That’s the beauty of Persona. I feel there are too many bands and records out there that stay within this one element, which is great and all but it doesn’t leave much room for diversity in that sound. Too many bands out there trying to sound like the other guy, who is trying to sound like the other guy.

Sam: We are set apart from other bands with our own natural mix of instruments and vocals. Persona original songs come from our collective personal experiences: when listening or watching Persona play live, one can get a sense of each band members individual experiences through how they play their pars

Tom: What sets us apart from bands is like I said with our name, we don't cater to one genre or sound. Lately during the summer months we've been releasing very bright pop rock songs that make you feel like your being uplifted. During the fall and winter months we plan on releasing darker more progressive and vibed out songs. Usually bands find there sound and are pinned to a corner. With us the options are endless with a name like Persona.

CJ: We are all Greek and handsome so that stands out. Might as well have John Stamos in our band!

What’s your favorite part about being in a band?

Costas: I love the whole process. But I’d have to say writing and jamming. Taking nothing and making it something. Or taking an idea and watching it become something special. Watching a feeling become a song and watching that song come to life is such an incredible experience.

Sam: My favorite part about being in a band is always stumbling upon the perfect mix of musical ideas and influences once we complete a song. There is a unique and natural energy given off by each of our songs that always reveals itself once we pool all of our ideas together.

Tom: The best part about being in a band is expressing your soul through sound and impacting people from the music you make. Getting comments like "I was having the worst day until I heard one of your songs and my day is better" is probably the most rewarding feeling. Playing a show and getting that feeling and vibe reciprocated by the fans has no words to the feeling I get.

CJ: Favorite part of being in a band is just the impact you put on other people. The feeling I get is indescribable when someone writes something positive or even them personally writing to us and saying you changed their life. That’s what special about music, it not only connects people. Its brings out the best in all of us

What are the bands future plans?

Costas: September is a busy month for us! We are playing at Amityville Music Hall on September 29th with Emarosa, A Lot Like Birds, & Jule Vera, which is presented by East Coast Collective. We’ll be back in the studio finishing up 3 more songs we started recording last month! We are trying to keep constant with song and media releases. We will also be announcing some exciting news about a new EP. We are looking to hit the road and bring our live show to you!

Sam: Our future plans include showing the world our music, one interested listener at a time

Tom: To impact as many people as we can through music. We are starting to cross over into the darker sound with the fall/winter months ahead and plan to release a new music video each month and playing with some awesome big names like Emarosa and A lot like Birds. The options are endless and we can't wait what's ahead.

CJ: Planning on putting our hearts in this band, rocking the stage and have the world hear our songs. #believethehype #letemknow

What was your favorite cartoon growing up?

Costas: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Darkwing Duck, Eek The Cat

Sam: Hey Arnold!

Tom: My favorite cartoon growing up had to be Rugrats. I would get home from school, drink some apple juice and put on Nickelodeon waiting for the Rugrats to come on.

CJ: I would say Rockos Modern Life, Close second is courage the cowardly dog. Ill never forget when the first episode was released and it scared the shit out of me

Favorite pizza topping?

Costas: Pepperoni with Cold Cheese

Sam: Buffalo Chicken

Tom: Bacon! or should I say pineapple to anger society for fun?

CJ: We are from LawnGuyLand New York baby! The best pizza and bagels there is! Actually maybe favorite topping is extra cold cheese on top! (little vincents represent)

If you could have one superpower what would it be?

Costas: I’d have to go with flying

Sam: Flying so I can be one step closer to becoming super sayian

Tom: Invisibility so I can see everyone naked!

CJ: To be able to shit out money, cause I shit like 5 times a day and I would never have to work a day in my life again and just be a road dawg cruising gig to gig

What's the first album you ever bought?

Costas: Blink-182 - Enema of the State

Sam: Limp Bizkit significant other edited version

Tom: Bustah Rhymes mixtape from 1995 but, I would say the first real album would be Third Eye Blind's self titles from 1997.

CJ: First album I ever got was Austin Powers: the spy who shagged me soundtrack. First album I believe I bought was at an FYE and it was Sum 41 “All Killer No Filler”. There is not a single bad jam on that record. I think I melted the cd cause I listened to it so much on my discman.

What's the last show you watched on Netflix?

Costas: The Dave Chappelle Special

Sam: Its always sunny in Philadelphia!

Tom: Twinpeaks

Anything else you'd like to say?

Tom: Lets party!

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#persona #interview #pop punk #pup and coming #music

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