#is that the official ship name 'cause i have no clue

[wittecouple]

howdy fellow shippers o/

so a bit of context for this blog- i'm very new to the owl house fandom, but i have a big old soft spot for highly speculative and tragic pairings like caleb and evelyn (signless/disciple is my actual factual otp; iykyk). however, my main concern is that for whatever reason, people really like doing massive purges of their creations after leaving a fandom these days

if you're lucky, these works will have been cross-posted or reblogged somewhere, and so they can still bring fans a lot of joy- but as often as not, they wind up lost to time

one of my biggest hopes in making this blog is to be something of an archive for this pairing: a place where even years from now, new fans and shippers can share in the hype and headcanons and character designs, and old fans can look back on fond memories or find fanart they've never seen before.

it's going to be tricky to find older posts now that tumblr doesn't let you search by timestamps anymore (damn the Top and Latest categories straight to hell), so if you think that i have missed a post, please let me know and i will get it queued up! i am always taking song recs that we can add to a community playlist here, and i'm also happy to share any fic recommendations- i just don't have time to read them all :')

organizational tag suggestions are also very much appreciated; i'm probably going to add tags for things like flapjack, philip thirdwheeling, and parallels between our wittecouple (is that the best ship name to use?) and pairings like huntlow, raeda, and... lunter?? good lord the portmanteaus in this show are Bad.

anyhoo, thank you and enjoy! <3

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 9/10/2024

someone adopt this little orange man from me in Houston TX! more details here!

listening

the 1991 Ella Mae Morse compilation Capitol Collectors Series is the official driving-cats-to-the-vet album bc it is so mellow but still fun. this album has previously been featured several times in tuesdayposts but i think you should all listen to it again.

seven thousand three hundred days IS a long long time to sleep ur so right ella

-

reading

two different works that annoyed me: Emily Hamilton's The Stars Too Fondly. my first clue should have been that this is my least favorite poem, bc ppl would quote it to me smugly after my mom died. im sure they thought they were being so super comforting to a budding astronomer, but, much like how i can no longer eat lasagna bc ppl gave us Twenty! Party! Size! Platters! Of! Lasagna! after my mom died (they would just Appear on our front porch, frozen), too much of this poem really soured me.

i had this book on hold Forever and then delayed delivery twice bc i have not felt like reading lately. here's the publisher's description:

In her breathtaking debut—part space odyssey, part sapphic rom-com—Emily Hamilton weaves a suspenseful, charming, and irresistibly joyous tale of fierce friendship, improbable love, and wonder as vast as the universe itself. So, here’s the thing: Cleo and her friends really, truly didn’t mean to steal this spaceship. They just wanted to know why, twenty years ago, the entire Providence crew vanished without a trace. But then the stupid dark matter engine started all on its own, and now these four twenty-somethings are en route to Proxima Centauri, unable to turn around, and being harangued by a snarky hologram that has the face and attitude of the ship’s missing captain, Billie. Cleo has dreamt of being an astronaut all her life, and Earth is kind of a lost cause at this point, so this should be one of those blessings in disguise that people talk about. But as the ship gets deeper into space, the laws of physics start twisting, old mysteries come crawling back to life, and Cleo’s initially combative relationship with Billie turns into something deeper and more desperate than either woman was prepared for. Lying somewhere in the subspace between science fantasy and sapphic rom-com, The Stars Too Fondly is a soaring near-future adventure about dark matter and alternate dimensions, leaving home and finding family, and the galaxy-saving power of letting yourself love and be loved.

should be catnip for me, right? wrong. starts out as a chat fic, which i hate.

i had a lot of trouble finishing the first chapter, which also has an extended third-person omniscient narrator flashback in italics, a thing i also hate. i KNOW you can figure out how to integrate this information into the book in a better way instead of dumping it in my lap.

i think part of why this is not hitting like i wanted is the tone, because i think this veers more new adult than i was really hoping for. i think introducing a big group all at once is very hard to do effectively. i do not like a series of character introductions that feel like they are trying to sell me action figures. or perhaps blind-bag figures. i do not like a six-deep list of cheesy puns about someone's name. i do not have the patience to see if this debut novel finds its footing a little later on, though i am glad a sapphic ghost in the machine romance exists in this world.

i also read dean motter's mister x (both the original late eighties through early nineties run and the 2008 follow-on).

let's yoink the description from wikipedia:

Set in Radiant City, a dystopian municipality influenced by Bauhaus and Fritz Lang's Metropolis, the series concerns a mysterious figure who purports to be its architect. His radical theories of "psychetecture" cause the citizenry to go mad, just as he did, and he takes on the mission to repair his creation. To accomplish this he remains awake twenty-four hours a day by means of the drug "insomnalin", all the while coping with a Dick Tracy–like rogues gallery and supporting cast including his long-suffering ex-girlfriend Mercedes. (ed note: the redhead in the santa beard below)

the art in this comic book is really and truly stunning. everyone was firing on all cylinders. beautiful retrofuturistic advertisement vibes, very fun play with panels and word balloons while still being readable, there are airships, you know how it is. looooooooove a hardboiled noir.

the Concept of mister x, this horrible awful futuristic city that grinds its citizenry up and spits them out? both figuratively and sometimes literally? love it!!! love a great wounded beast of a city as a character!!!

unforch the "who is mister x" subplot does not resolve in a satisfying way, imo. there's a lot of flip-flopping, there's a lot of options, he ends up being (maybe?) someone he was very definitively proven NOT to be in an earlier issue, and it really soured me on the whole experience. and also i don't believe it! that specific person makes no fucking sense! who mister x is, is by far the least interesting part of the series. tell me more about how he's fixing the city. show me more of the city. shut up and dance, robot artists

-

watching

X-Men: Apocalypse (2016, dir. Singer). this movie did not need to be two and a half hours long. appreciated the EXTREMELY divorced energy from charles & erik though, quicksilver rescuing the school scene was also very fun. my bestie's husband has informed me we are NOT watching Dark Phoenix, i'm not sure if we're going to loop back and watch the ??? number of wolverine films or if we're going to see how i feel about deadpool. bc i find this character insufferable through clips only.

-

playing

there is a feature in the video game genshin impact to turn your World Level (TM) down in order to make overworld enemies a little easier. i am at seven out of nine bc i genuinely can't finish the boss to unlock world level 9, and i am finding some of the overworld enemies too hard at 8 and want to finish the achievements in a more relaxed fashion.

-

making

this is going to be a lot of previously posted pics so bear with me.

saturday morning/saturday evening. plants? repotted. porch and stairs? swept. old wasp nests? knocked down. different mirror on the porch to go out to the curb when i have the energy? yes. also a giant slab of engineered stone from the top of a dresser but that's out of frame.

speaking of the giant broken dresser that was in my apartment when i moved in just over a year ago, i ripped it apart with a crowbar and threw it in the dumpster. put my pretty zebrawood desk in the empty space and started thinking about what to hang on that wall. the wall across from it is maps, bc i think a cozy office should have lots of maps and it makes a good video conference background. maybe this will be the dedicated cowboy nonsense wall. i did so much dusting and vacuuming and mopping and the girls can't even hang out in here bc the orange boy is in the office bathroom. big sigh.

also a lot of driving around and emailing and calling thirty shelters and rescues figuring out how to get this orange man a home. please take this orange man off my hands.

[fogwitchoftheevermore]

Yes! The ways the mechs and mcyt handle narrative have always been so similar to me but I've never been able to put it onto words. Would Love to hear what you have to say on the topic (after you have had a good sleep)

HI, it's time for me to get insane. Thank you for sending this ask cause now I have an excuse to maintag the post, lol. Also, I'm going to be using the term MCYT interchangeably with MCRP (Minecraft roleplay) for my own sanity. You'll know what I mean from context clues, I think.

So, hi, anyone who doesn't know about The Mechanisms. This post is going to be about some meta analysis tools that popped up in the Mechs fandom when it exploded in popularity back in 2020-2021. Due to the nature of both the Mechs and MCYT (which I'll get into in a moment), these concepts are generally very helpful for meta analysis of MCYT as well, and I think you guys would love them.

First of all, what was The Mechanisms?

The Mechanisms, originally known as Dr. Carmilla and The Mechanisms, was a band that formed in the late 2000s. It had a rotating cast of members, though most of the stuff you can easily find from them (such as their albums) was made when they had 8-9 consistent members. The Mechanisms officially released seven albums and one single before the band broke up in early 2020. The reason this band is similar at all to MCYT comes from a few things- the characters the band played, the stories the band told, and the archival aspect/age.

Because the Mechs were not a regular band, it was also a storytelling experience. Each Mechs album tells it's own self contained story (except for the Tales to be Told albums, which feature songs with their own stories that don't tie into the album at large). But furthermore, each Mechanism is a character. All the members of the band had characters they played, acting as a band of immortal space pirates moving through the galaxy on their ship, The Aurora.

The similarity to MCYT here is, of course, the characters. It's not always as simple to tell the difference between MCYT characters and actors as it was with The Mechanisms, seeing as (a lot of) MCYT doesn't start with the acting/roleplaying intention that the Mechs started with. But nonetheless, they share the understanding that even though this isn't a play or a TV show or whatever scripted medium, and that even though these characters (sometimes) share similar/the same names as their creators, they are, ultimately, characters the creators are putting on in order to tell a story. Whether that story is something more connected to the base characters (less roleplay heavy servers, Mechs backstory beats) or a story where the characters themselves are filling a role to tell a new story (more roleplay heavy servers, Mechs filling in for characters on the albums to tell their stories), there is always a story to be told.

There is also, as I said, the archival aspect. Archiving is massively important to both The Mechanisms and MCYT. It's definitely a lot harder with the Mechs than with most MCYT stuff, since the Mechs are a whole lot nicher, but that is not to say it's easy for either group. Archiving is vital to keeping both fanbases, and both sets of characters, alive, and there is only so much archiving you can rely on the creators of either to do. Those of you who take this task on are genuinely so awesome and I love you.

Alongside the archiving aspect (and as such, the lost media aspect), there's also the age of the Mechanisms, and (similarly to MCYT), the large number of people involved in the project, which results in lost and oftentimes conflicting canon beats. Mechs lore was not a strict, planned out thing. Large swaths of it were made up on the fly or forgotten down the line and rewritten or just made to work because the story needed it. As such, a lot of Mechanisms meta analysis had to reckon with the fact that the story was often telling you two or three or more things that could not be true at once nonetheless were, or was telling you something with the assumption that you knew something else, but that something else is now impossible to track down. So, sometimes, you just had to pick and choose, or try to reconstruct that lost knowledge. Similarly, varying POVs and gaps in time or gaps in story result in a similar concept for MCYT analysis- sometimes it doesn't really work if you take every piece of lore into account, so you just can't, even though every piece of lore is equally canon; or sometimes, a specific source is lost and you have to trust the memory of people who saw or were involved in the source instead.

Now, what is narratomancy? And how is it relevant to meta analysis of MCYT?

Narratomancy is the name for a few concepts of meta analysis that popped up when the Mechs fandom exploded in 2020-2021. The term was coined by @lucky-sevens (who, unlike anyone else I bring up in this post, I feel comfortable tagging because they're inactive, lol, so this won't clog their notifs), but the credit for various concepts under the umbrella of narratomancy can go to a ton of people. Personally, I'm going to be heavily referencing one post in particular by @/gunpowderedtim when it comes to the four main pillars of narratomancy, and how they are relevant here. (BTW I know OP of that post has shifted at least a bit to the MCYT fandom as well, so if you see this and would like me to tag you properly, please let me know!)

(EDIT: I was informed in the replies that lucky-sevens did not, in fact, coin this phrase, but they can't remember who specifically did. Alas another Mechs thing lost to time.)

Narratomancy refers to the general concept of the narrative as a thing within the Mechs universe. The narrative, a story that wants to be told, is an (at least semi) sentient creature that is bending the universe to its will in order to be told. This living narrative helps to explain and work through some of the problems or plot holes in the narrative, and understanding this helps a lot for meta analysis, or even just understanding the story. As stated above, I'm going to be breaking down four main pillars that the post above identified, and how they may be relevant to MCYT meta analysis. Not all of them are going to work- these were concepts made up for The Mechanisms, after all, and for all their similarities, it's not a perfect 1 to 1. Let's get into it!

Pillar 1: Universal Story

This is a pillar that has one really important and relevant concept, but I do have to bend a bit of it in order to make it work. Namely, what we're calling "the universe" here. But it's still quite important. You'll see.

As mentioned up top, The Mechanisms were originally called Dr. Carmilla and The Mechanisms. Dr. Carmilla (both the character and the creator) eventually left the Mechs to do her own thing, tell her own story, but the story of the universe at large is still hers. She's still got her name in the title, she's still the one who created the original lore, so to the universe, she's still the main character. She might not be the main character of any given story, even any given story she participates in, but it's all her universe in the end. As such, both her stories and the stories of The Mechanisms are canon, but they might not be strictly canon to each other. Because ultimately, The Mechanisms were the universe's vessel for telling stories, and sometimes the stories they told made for a weird concoction of conflicting canon, so you just had to accept that these conflicting canon beats were both canon, but which one was canon depended entirely on which story you were looking at, which one was trying to be told, who that story specifically was about (this is a concept that'll come up again later).

The reason this is a bit less relevant to MCYT in that, if a roleplay server is being well run, you (hopefully) won't have a main character in this way. And even if you do, that main character is not always going to be the creator of the server/universe, ala Carmilla. But again, it's not irrelevant, because I think this can be applied when you're looking at individual POVs of any given event or server.

Every character is the main character of their own POV, even if they might not be the main character of any given story beat or event. They have their own lore and story to tell in that POV, and when you sit down to watch their POV that is the story you'll get. It just so happens that said story might have things that are canon to it that are not canon to other POVs, that cannot be canon to other POVs, and you as the fan have to reckon with that. Sometimes these things might be small or not something that's gonna really throw you, like the conflicting Magic Mountain lore in this season of Hermitcraft. Other times, these might be really big things, like Martyn's Watcher lore in the Life Series.

But either way, while the idea that there is a Universal Story that has a clear main character doesn't really apply to servers, it certainly ties in to the idea of POVs. And furthermore, the "all of these stories are canon, but not strictly canon to each other" idea that comes along with Universal Story is a really vital thing to keep in mind when it comes to MCYT.

Pillar 2: Casting Call (Narrative Role Filling)

There are two main parts to Casting Call. The first is that The Mechanisms have a role in the stories they tell, even the stories that are not their own, like the album ones. These roles are often trope heavy, or based on pre-existing characters that the Mechanisms themselves have similarities too. The second is that the Mechanisms slot into these roles not necessarily because they want to, but because they have to in order to make the story work. Because the narrative wants them to help the story along to the ending.

This is definitely more relevant in roleplay heavy servers, but it still comes up on just about every server out there. While for the Mechanisms, the divide is between "the character I am" vs. "the character I am playing so the story gets told", the divide for MCYT tends to be a bit more "the person I am" vs. "the character I am playing so the story gets told". This divide (and people's inability to understand it) is the reason why MCYTs so often have to give the "Remember, we're all friends in real life and anything that the others weren't comfortable with wouldn't be in the videos" disclaimer. Everyone involved in this story is playing a character to move the story along, and that character may be totally removed from their real life person (such as Scott playing Xornoth in ESMP s1) or pretty similar to their real life person, but dialed up so they can tell a story, get a reaction (I don't know any of these people in real life, so I can't confidently pin someone down for this, but you get what I'm talking about).

Regardless, there is a story to be told, even if that story isn't thought out in advance, and that requires people playing the villain or the damsel in distress or the knight in shining armor sometimes in order to get it done. And, tying back into Universal Story, who is playing which of these roles can change as the canon of each POV changes (such as in Third Life, where who is filling the "villain" role depends entirely on which POV you're watching).

Pillar 3: Story Echoes

Story Echoes are a very Mechanisms based concept, because unlike everything else here, they are explicitly canon. This concept refers to the fact that The Mechanisms' stories "echo" throughout the universe, or repeat over and over again. It's in different places and different times, but these stories are out there, over and over again.

This one can apply to MCYT, but I have to admit, it's a stretch and a half. Ultimately, the way this applies here is in the fact that there's no such thing as an original story. Every story borrows from or is inspired by or is similar to another story out there. It's the nature of story telling. The first example for MCYT that comes to mind is fan Life Series, stories that take the mechanics of the Life Series but put them somewhere else, somewhen else, with someone else. However, Story Echoes are explicitly the same story repeating over and over again, which isn't really the case with this example. As I said, it's a stretch, but I didn't want to skip over this pillar entirely.

Pillar 4: Narrative Imperative

And the final pillar, Narrative Imperative, also referred to as Narrative Flow. Despite this one also being explicitly canon to The Mechanisms, it is also very relevant to MCYT, and in my opinion, the most important concept on this list for MCYT meta.

Narrative Imperative is explicitly canon in the Mechs universe when it comes to how The Mechanisms heal from injuries or death. As discussed in this post from the official Mechanisms tumblr, that healing factor functions at "whatever speed the story wants it to". This concept of "sometimes stuff just happens because it must for the story, even if it doesn't make sense or actively contradicts previously established canon" has been brought up before when we were discussing Universal Story, in respect to lore, to roleplay based story beats, for both groups. Here, it's more discussing a fact of the universe at large, a fact of how the Mechanisms function. And while the general concept of Narrative Imperative can be applied to literally any conflicting lore thing in any MCYT server or story (it's flexible in that way), I think it works best when talking about how game mechanics tie into the story.

What does death mean for this character? What does death mean for this character when on this specific server? What does death mean for this character on this specific server in this specific moment? What does logging off mean for this character, on this server, in this moment? What does voice mod or discord calls or chat mean to this character? What do skin changes mean? What does the Player Heads mod mean? What does sleep mean?

There are a million mechanics you can ask these questions about, and you can get a million different answers to each of them. Death can and does mean wildly different things on different servers (see: a Hardcore series like Naked and Afraid versus Hermitcraft). But it can also mean wildly different things on the same server to the same character at different points in time (see: the concept of "canon lives" on DSMP). Death, and numerous other game mechanics, mean whatever the hell the story (and the universe and creators involved) wants them to mean. You just have to take it in stride, the rules aren't clear because if they were, there wouldn't be enough freedom to tell a story.

Even on servers where it seems like the rules are clear, like the Life Series or other death games, death doesn't always mean what the rules say it does. Take glitch deaths, for example, like Loony's (almost) glitched death in season 1 of Deceit SMP. He glitched into a wall and should have died, but Legundo was allowed to cheat (use creative) to save him, or, had he died, been allowed to use cheats to bring him back, for fairness' sake. But this doesn't only apply to glitches- take one of Scar's off camera deaths in Third Life. I don't have the source for when Martyn talked about this on hand, but Martyn has mentioned that Scar technically died earlier in Third Life, when Martyn just snapped one day when Scar provoked him, killing Scar in a short, boring fight. There was nothing technically illegal or unfair about that kill, like with a glitched death, but when all was said and done, everyone agreed it just sort of... felt bad. That it didn't feel like a good story. So, the death was overturned, and the server went on as usual. The rules may have been clear here, but sometimes rules get in the way of a good story, so they're disregarded, simple as that.

MCYT stories are not being told in spite of their medium but in harmony with them. And as such, that means that sometimes, the narrative rules above all, and narrative imperative says that this mechanic is going to work like this, at least for now, at least for me. It might not ever work like that again, for me or for anyone else on the server, but it works like that in this moment, so you take it as is.

So, yeah, there's my essay! My final thoughts: Go listen to The Mechanisms. Go listen to Maki Yamazaki (Dr. Carmilla). I hope you enjoy these four concepts and keep them in mind when you are analyzing or playing the space of MCRP, because I think they are really helpful things to keep in mind. Have a good one.

[hainethehero]

Just to follow up on the last ask about forgiving - right off the bat, you had an excellent point. I don't want to distract from that. Actually quite a few points. Were people sending death threats for real?!?! Anyway, one thing that's been bothering me. Is the real world views that people are enforcing. Along with this 'rule' that a character has to be redeemed/good in order to like. Like, why should I have to 'forgive' or have some stranger on the internet tell me 'they forgive' a character in order to like them. And why does the character have to have changed? I don't want to go on a tangent, but gosh if Tommy was still pulling the 'I'm a straight cis white guy card' to fly under the radar and told Buck to do it, and Buck did. That would make for interesting TV as Buck realized what he was doing was wrong/ hurting his friends and then his, Hen and Chim and Eddie could really bond/bring forward a compelling racism story line. Like, we could see that, and it wouldn't have to be a bad thing! AND! AND! Imagine how that would help the buck/tommy ship. Tommy's new boyfriend helping him to come out, not just when it's easy. Everyone wins!

But if we even saw a hint of one of Buck's LI's being anything but good and pure. And I'm picking on Buck here I know, this happens in a lot of other cases. But as we are seeing with Tommy in real time. Then we have to hate them.

I have no problem liking a villainous character that stays bad. And maybe that's why it seems odd to me that people say, 'oh they've done bad things, you can't like them.' Cause then I can't love my bad guys from say the comics! Or some of the heroes from the comics, either! But that's not exactly the problem I keep circling here and getting distracted from making this ask about - I'm rambling even when typing oie.

I think the real, main thing that I've been getting annoyed with, is the use of real world views to make people in fandom fall in line. Ignoring the real world and real people for a moment. Why does a POC person have to forgive Tommy, a not real person, in order for everyone to be allowed to like the character? We're each a monolithic group of separate minorities with one voice. There's no collective that can condemn or atone a person officially.

On the flip side, I know not everyone takes in media the same way. So my view of liking a character if I find them entertaining, even if they're a bad guy. Won't be the same for everyone. So a person who has dealt with some form of discrimination totally could see a character who does that form of discrimination and hate them for it. They could see the in-depth arch of 'redemption' or the throwaway line saying the character has changed. And for personal reasons choose to still not like the character. Or the character could still be flawed (art imitates life after all and no one is perfect) and they could still not 'forgive' or like the character.

But why does that mean everyone else needs to seek permission to do it? To say 'oh this character did bad things, but I can look past it, they've changed' or god forbid 'this is a character with flaws or is just bad' and still like the character.

It's also funny cause in Tommy's case, I don't really remember the begins episodes. Someone keeps brining up a guy named Sal to ship Eddie with now. And I'm like, who now? But anyway. I don't even remember Tommy from those episodes and a lot of other people who just tune in to watch week to week and all the new people who just started this season. Were probably like me and didn't realize Tommy was around before! Which doesn't really matter, I'm just now wondering how to clue up this ask.

So glad I can do this anonymously and not reveal to the world how awkward I can be when trying to communicate via the written word.

This was a bit confusing but I'll try my best.

First, yes, people were sending death threats both to Lou and Tim.

NO ONE is saying we can only forgive a character who did questionable things if POCs forgive them. I am stating that if POC have the right to dislike/have reservations about characters who showed racist behaviour in the past despite having redeemable qualities. No one has the right to police pocs about their feelings towards a character like that.

The initial point however, is that a large part of the fandom sees Tommy as the show meant to portray him- a flawed character who eventually reconciled his relationship with Hen and Chim. Tommy isn't a villain. He's literally a flawed character who was given a redemption montage in order to show how different the 118 was under Gerrard's racist and oppressive leadership versus Bobby's.

If anyone's a villain, it's Jonah. It's Gerrard. It's people with actual distorted complexes who just wanted to hurt people because they could.

And while Tommy's behaviour under Gerrard was bad and cannot be excused, it can and was explained by the show, that it was because of the environment fostered by the bigot Captain Gerrard. A layer of nuance is added when we find out in s7 that Tommy was actually very closeted in the 118 BECAUSE of Gerrard, hence the reason why he joined in on the questionable behaviour. Once Chimney saved him (and also humbled him) and Hen eviscerated them rightfully with her monologue speaking out against their racism, the power dynamic began to change. Gerrard was booted out and Tommy, Hen and Chimney became close friends, as evidenced by the farewell party they had for him, and the fact that they frequented that bar to hang out after work.

[grxmincvdescxnce]

( rosie huntington-whiteley, she/her, cursed blood ) to LEBLANC ASINASTRA, the whole world looks like an open page. with a leap of faith, their ability of CRYSTAL DEFENSE grows a little stronger.  they are a SEQUINED SPIDER shade aligned to NO ONE. for ONE-HUNDRED THIRTY-ONE years, they have survived a world of magic with both their SINCERITY and SELF-INVOLVEMENT. they work as an AIRSHIP PIRATE, but if they could change their fate, they’d want to REALIZE THEIR PAST AND HAVE THE FUTURE THEY DESERVE.

hello, hello! eva here again again. inspo includes the likes of the following, though by no means is this list exhaustive because, like always, i had a lot: tachikawa mimi of digimon, leblanc of ffx, faye valentine of cowboy bebop, boa hancock of one piece, alexis rose of schitt's creek, roxanne hart of chicago, stella of winx club, emma frost of marvel.

&. ⸻ BASICS

name — leblanc asinastra emilia claus

aliases — 'diamond skin' leblanc

birthdate — august 20

zodiac — leo

birthplace — sombertown unknown

sexuality — biromantic bisexual

alignment — chaotic good

temperament — choleric

element — fire

primary vice — greed

primary virtue — kindness

house — none

occupation — former actress, current airship pirate

markings — curse mark at the base of her wrist

&. ⸻ HEADCANONS

a former film actress. and while rumors have circulated on an unexpected death or other life drama, the official word on her absence is painted as 'health issues' per her agents and she is currently on hiatus. in truth, her absence is due to her cravings as a cursed blood getting the better of her and her wish to shy away from the public. she does desire to reclaim her spotlight in a proper capacity, but in the right way — in other words, cured of her affliction entirely.

most of her body of work as an actress includes soap operas and actual romance films. one of her final films is her in a dramatic action role as a vampire hunter, an intended departure. just after filming completed, she'd been bitten and left the spotlight mid-tour.

her dwindling finances as a result of her lack of work and insane debt being passed off in her name are among the reasons she's turned to piracy. she rather enjoys the venture, frankly, as it gives her the sort of life she craves — one full of spectacle, riches, and adventure.

as leblanc was turned many years ago, at the height of her popularity and by a man she trusted wholeheartedly to care and be there for her, her view on romance has since fallen to the pits. she is never serious about anyone she entertains these days and most her ventures in this regard are shallow at best — flirtatious and meaningless. and while there is a wish within her to find true love once more, her focus has predominantly turned towards her own wealth and worries.

a secondary part of her goals is to see her past life restored. she suffered memory loss far too many years back before coming into astra's care and has yet to recall anything, really. she considered herself the natural daughter of astra, given some similarities, until this realization dawned on her. as a result, her hunt for jewels and shiny things is peppered between her main wish for memory spheres — the orbs of collected history scattered throughout the world. she's under the more recent impression that her true past paints her in a royal light, and has been hunting down any clues to attest to this fact or any remnant of her past.

her airship, the lorelei, was attained through unknown means. and any occasion she's given to speak on her acquiring the ship, the story always seems to change. nevertheless, the vessel has been her favored mode of transportation for many years now and she welcomes all aboard it. cursed bloods, outsiders, ruffians of all make and nature. so long as they declare fealty to her and her cause and follow her orders explicitly when demanded, there are no troubles. her current crew count seems to change up rather consistently, given her habit of collecting strays and permitting her crew to come and go as they please.

unlike others in astra's family, where they may wish to do away with humans entirely, care for them, or see them burned alive, leblanc holds a rather curiously indifferent view of the species. so long as they worship and praise her accordingly, she's perfectly fine with their existence as a whole.

her golden hair is often decorated in diamonds, be they in floral arrangements or merely sprinkled throughout as a defense mechanism. cowboy hats are also a usual part of her headwear, favoring them quite earnestly.

steel-bladed fans and enchanted pheromone-enhancing perfume are a regular part of her arsenal

gossip and dramatics are among her favored indulgences

&. ⸻ DREAMSHADE FORMS

leblanc doesn't actually favor either of her forms as she considers them a bit unnatural and with her now being a cursed blood, unnecessarily painful transitions. she tends to use them, her final one especially, as a last resort.

tw: spiders

base form — here

example of crystal webbing — here

hollow form — here

&. ⸻ ABILITY

CRYSTAL DEFENSE — the ability to use crystals and minerals of all kinds defensively. leblanc is only capable of utilizing one type of mineral at a time, though she can alter the specific crystal in use at any moment. as such, she can go from sparkling diamond skin or emerald walls to the more poisonous adamite or erionite in a flash. infusing shards of said crystal into the bloodstream or body can induce various illusionary and lethal effects as well.

&. ⸻ FAMILY

astra asinastra — adoptive mother

jean-jacques asinastra — adoptive elder brother

sylvianne asinastra — adoptive elder sister

cerise asinastra — adoptive younger sister

jessica claus — biological sister

&. ⸻ KNOWN HISTORY

the most that leblanc recalls in her fractured memory is flames all around, a collapsed body, and eventually, the walls of the crystal caverns. she has absolutely no clue what else lies in her past, how she came to be among the asinastra family, or why.

her desire to be an actress frankly stemmed from her desire to be worshipped on a larger scale, to be idolized by humankind and anyone else. she would meet a man who would both see to it that this dream was briefly fulfilled and simultaneously taken out from under her with false promises, massive debt, and an empty altar.

these days, her life as a pirate sees her fulfilled in other ways. her intentions now lie in freedom from her cursed existence, to return to the life of celebrity in proper form ( rather than as merely an outlaw ), and of course, to see her memories restored.

[mellowshipsu]

Hellooo hope it’s alright to ask u to ship me w/someone

I’m a short female (4’11) who’s quiet most of the time and when meeting someone for the first time I get anxious but I’m energetic and physically affectionate once I get close with someone. I’ve been told to be easy to approach and I try to be nice to everyone. I always prioritize other ppls happiness and comfort especially with close friends. I tend to be sarcastic only to be humorous ofc, I don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings but it’s always funny watching other ppl be surprised that I can be sarcastic. I like art so I tend to stop and admire other pieces of art like paintings, fashion, anime,etc..Too much socializing drains my social battery and I just want to escape somewhere quiet.

He's always there to bother you.

He always knows where you're at.

He'll sneak up on you without having a clue,

He's the enigma---

Che'Nya the Cat!

(image source: unknown)

You met him on a random day in the evening of Hertslabyul, you were going to an Unbirthday party. When going through the hedge maze you ran into a floating set of eyes and a mouth!!

"Oh sorry, I thought you were Riddle." The floating mouth said, "Let me put myself together."

And then a head appeared and soon a body. You never saw anything like this before! He grinned at you and introduced himself as Alchemi Alchemevich Pinka, but he said you could call him Che'Nya. What a bizarre name. He figured you were going to the unbirthday party so he walked with you through the maze safely, asking you questions about yourself. Once out of the maze he just declared that he liked you and kissed you on the cheek before disappearing. What a really odd cat! You proceeded to the party and informed Trey and Riddle that a cat boy named, 'Che'Nya', kissed you. Riddle turned red but Trey calmed him down and apologized, Che'Nya was a childhood friend of theirs but he attended the Royal Sword Academy. So it was most likely you would never see him again.

Wrong.

The silly cat found out what dorm and room you stayed in and came about three times a week unannounced to bother you. You didn't know why, he just did. After a while you just let him do whatever. He would just talk your ear off, try on your clothes, watch anime with you, and then kiss your cheek before disappearing.

Then one day he appeared on a Friday and showed you tickets to an amusement park. Che'Nya then asked you on a date, just the two of you. You accepted and he kissed your cheek before disappearing once again.

When you two were out at the amusement park, he acted like a rather normal person, just with cat puns. He hugged your arm the whole time. He bought you all the snacks you wanted and won all the prizes that caught your eye. When the date was over he took you home and asked you if you two could be official. When you say 'yes', he gives you a big smile and kisses your lips for the first time. He hugged you before disappearing in your arms. You won his heart.

"Heya, heya. Guess who's back to visit yooou? Tis I, Alchemi Alchemevich Pinka! Make sure to practice saying it cause you'll have to say it once we're meow-rried."

[detectiveasho]

Coldflash, Detective Snart AU ❄️💨

This is the classic role reversal of the hero being the villain and the villain the hero, of course in a mood of "enemies to lovers" trope for the Coldflash ship (Captain Cold and Flash).

Yooo I'm very exited, vlog's first post!

Leonard Snart is a transferred detective from Coast City, he decided to return to his hometown, Central City, to be close to his father and sister.

The CCPD does not recieve him really well, although he has demonstrated to be an elite and devote detective.

Lewis (Len's father) was a strict man, but caring and loving. They had financial problems since their Ice Cream truck did not bring the necessary income, but he supported his children everyday, in every way he could.

Lisa Snart (Len's sister) is a famous jeweler, causing criminal attraction to her and her shop, "Golden Glider".

Len decided he wanted to join the police since his mother dissapeared and no one found her.

Nora Allen's death culprit was her own husband, Henry, or at least that's how the case got close, but their kid, Barry Allen insisted that it was a "fast yellow man".

After this, Barry was a smart, introvert kid, no friends and rarely talked to someone who wasn't Iris or Joe West, his adoptive family.

He had a dead animals secret collection in the backyard, and tried to guess how they died, thanks to this he discovered he wanted to be a forensic.

Growing up, there was something about the corpses that fascinated him, the though of the murder of his mother did not scared him, if not, kinda excited him.

He works at CCPD as a forensic examinator, and is the only one who welcomes the new guy, Snart.

❄️💨

When Len arrived to the CCPD, Barry wasn't busy so he was in charge of showing him the place.

The weather got stormy, and thunders accompanied the gray skies.

After a strangely pacific day, at late night, Snart went upstairs to Barry's lab for asking him to hangout, since was the only person he knew.

Right when Len opened the door, a lightning hit Barry, bathing him in lots of chemicals.

The scientist was unconscious, and the police was stunned by the loud thunder, their memories are dizzy, after that, Barry gains his super speed.

Thanks to Snart's talent as a detective and his partner Mick, the murder rate has slowly gone downwards, leaving Barry without lots of things to do.

Barry and Len have been hanging out, and they appear to be good friends.

Annoyed by the little work he had, Barry decided to rob a store, just for having something to do as a forensic.

He went from stealing convienence stores, to robbing banks. He liked the doubt and insecurity this caused on the police officers, specially on detective Snart, who gave this criminal the name of "The Flash".

Barry was obsessed with this "game", he enjoyed how Snart tried to solve his almost impossible clues.

Once, Flash kidnapped an old museum historian, and made history riddles and clues dedicated to Snart, this case specially took weeks for the detective to solve, so Flash just killed the man, his first official murder.

After this, Len talked to Barry as a friend, and told him how he felt about the Flash.

Barry started having crisis about his identity, he enjoyed way too much being the Flash, a criminal, a killer, but still cared about the West and his new friend, Len.

"There is a reason why he is a detective, he has a lot of fun solving crimes just as I do! Oh, I'm sure he loves the Flash!" Barry said to himself looking at the mirror. "Just as I love him."

Barry asks Len out, but that night Barry decides to make the first step and takes Len's hand, now he calls him "Lenny".

Tired of the Flash occurencies, Snart went to Star Labs looking for a way to stop him, where he was offered the Cold Gun.

Now, everytime the Flash does something, it's easier to stop him with the Cold Gun and Snart's excellent marksmanship, The detective is now considered a hero after saving one of the most important men on city.

Len and Barry start going out together even more, and the forensic starts calling this like "dates". They have the first kiss.

So ye, this is basically the general idea of the AU and a good summary of the mecanism they would follow.

Let me know if you have any ideas, questions or requests. 🔎✨

[e-one-seven]

(I hate being a literature student. Just know that literature students have a bad habit of over-analyzing stuff, and apparently D&D games are not exceptions.)

Normally I don't talk about ships. I think that everybody is free to ship whoever character they want with who they want and I am no one to judge them. Especially if the characters in question are from a live role playing game and one of the ships in question involves a couple controlled by a couple who is married IRL. But this one. Oh boy. Laura Bailey is an absolute beast and she deserves all the respect in the world if even a fraction of what I think it's happening/going to happen will effectively happen in game.

Fjord kissed Jester. He asked for her permission and he got it. It was beautiful. And I am genuinely freaking out because I knew that was going to happen and it's even worse than I imagined it. Why am I talking about it like it is something bad? Because it's possible that Jester is not ready to be in a relationship right now, and that Jester herself is not aware of it. Let's talk about it from the beginning.

Jester likes Fjord from the beginning of the campaign, we all know that. When Jester met Fjord for the first time, she was a sheltered girl who, in her head, just met the perfect man: a proud and strong sailor who wants to live an adventurous life just like the heroes of her novels, and she easily identified herself as the heroine the hero will inevitably fall in love with. They meet the rest of the Nein, live on their adventures and Jester keeps on acting like she is the Guinevere of her personal love story inside her head, while Fjord is blissfully unaware of what is happening inside the skull of his new friend.

Then Fjord meets Avantika, a mature woman who seems to share many traits and interests with him. Jester is clearly jealous, especially after that they sleep together to seal their alliance. That is also the moment when Jester starts to see Fjord's flaws and she seems to be willing to accept them, which is actually a point in favor for a possible relationship between them. But Fjord is still unaware of what the special attention of the blue tiefling actually means.

Then she meets a real married couple, and she starts to realize that romance is not always like she imagined it was. Nott/Veth and Yeza are married and have a child, and they are not as dependent to each other like the heroes of her novels: Nott does her own things and she is a strong independent woman and Yeza is pretty much the same, they are not allowed to be as intimate as they used to be because of "Nott's condition", but they still love and support each other through and through. And at this point, Jester starts to notice that there is a member of the Mighty Nein that seems to show her that unconditional love and support that Nott and Yeza radiate with every action: Caleb Widogast.

Caleb used to be a stinky wizard, a brash individual who joined the group just because he was too squishy to survive on his own. But ever since they are in Xhorhas, he cleaned himself, he is kinder with everyone and he wants to help her organize the Traveler Con even if the event has nothing to do with him directly. Jester is visibly touched by his newfound beauty and kindness. But he still loves Astrid. He called Jester with her name when they danced together in Hupperdook. And he seems to be interested in Essek Thyless too, so she is probably imagining it. The Mighty Nein travel, grow more powerful, and Fjord manages to set himself free from Uk'utoa's influence and becomes a Paladin of the Wildmother. He finally becomes more similar to the hero Jester imagined he was when he met him for the first time, but she seems to be only minimally bothered by his change. She needs time to think because she feels that something is changing inside her. Fjord might not be the right one after all. Caleb is always there for here with all his support, and she starts to want to be there for him.

Eventually, they stop the war, they defeat a fire god and Caleb sets up wonderful magic and illusions so that the Traveler Con is a success. But then, during the last night of the gathering, something happens and Sehanine, the Moonweaver herself is angry. She is taking Artagan away, and Jester is willing to follow him in the Feywild and share his punishment... but Fjord grabs her and begs her not to go. She has still the Mighty Nein, she has still him. For the first time Fjord is being explicit about his feelings for her. Luckily everything goes well and the Mighty Nein are free to come back to Wildemount... Where she finds out about Caleb's past and his intent to save his friend Eadwulf and his former lover Astrid from Trent Ikithon. They go dance again, Caleb pushes her in Fjord's arms, and the half-orc gives her a present. There is definitely something. But there is Caleb too, but he is too busy trying to deal with his demons to pay attention to her.

Jester meets Astrid and she antagonizes her. She is jealous, she thinks that Astrid is Caleb's ideal woman and she realizes they are not alike at all. She is a talented and ambitious wizard, while she is just Jester, the cleric of an Archfey. Astrid is just like Essek, and Caleb is attracted by Essek. Jester understands if Caleb doesn't like her after all: why should he be interested into a childish cleric whose power is not even her own? They are just very good friends. That's all. He should be back with Astrid and she will support him if that will happen once that she will be free from Trent Ikithon's influence. But Caleb is still so kind, and loving, and supportive... she is really confused about it. But he is kind and loving with all of his friends, so in the end it might not be important.

And then, there is Eiselcross with its weird ancient magic. A magic as dangerous as the one they found in the Happy Fun Ball, which contained a Blue Dragon and a trap that managed to kill Nott without them being able to prevent it. Everything is dangerous and the Mighty Nein realize as the time passes by that not everyone of them could get out of there alive, especially given what and who they are trying to stop. And Jester herself falls into a trap: she is given a vision that confirms to the Mighty Nein that what they feared is true, that the Tomb Takers' objective is to bring an eldritch floating city scary enough to cause a Morkoth into voluntary exile back to Exandria, where it intends to absorb its inhabitants into its hive mind. The price to pay for the vision are 5 years of her life. "Growing old" is different than "growing up", and it happens to her in a matter of seconds. Jester is five years closer to death now, and it is possible that she is lucky they are just five. The minor changes in her appearance are a reminder of what it could have happened if she wasn't lucky, and she has no idea about what else changed about herself and what will change in her personal life and relationships because of that accident. All she knows right now is that these might be her last days alive and she is afraid she might be missing something before her untimely death.

(And she would not be silly to think about it. After all, who they are facing is reminding all of the Mighty Nein that even if they are becoming powerful they are still mortal beings.)

And when she is in the middle of a mild existential crisis and confusion reigns inside her head, Fjord declares. And Jester, still willing to believe that she is her old self, the young woman who left Nicodronas and miraculously met the man of her dreams that will lead her to live an exciting life full of love and adventures, accepts to kiss him. It is very likely that she was not thinking about anything in that moment, but one thing: "If I say yes to Fjord it means that I am still me, right? It is happening because it was supposed to happen from the beginning, because we were supposed to be together."

There is just one little problem: Jester is ignoring the fact that she has changed from the person she used to be back then, and it did not happen because a group of stone statues magically aged her up. There is still something for Fjord, she will never forget him as he is and he will always be her first love. But she has some feelings for Caleb too, and even if she is "a good liar" they might be too strong for her to simply ignoring them. After all, Caleb "I was trained to lie and kill for the Empire" Widogast did an excellent job when he was trying to hide them. There are some clues here and there that hint that Jester might love Caleb as much as he loves her and that she wants him to be happy, even with other people... just like he wants it for her. Add the trauma she is just starting to deal with, and there is almost no way that her current relationship with Fjord is going to evolve into something healthy and angst free right now. This if that kiss was the effective beginning of a serious relationship, and not the promise of a future relationship between them if she will be still available. 

But these are the vibes that the beginning of a relationship between them is giving to me right now, and nothing will be confirmed until Laura Bailey will show up to Talks Machina to talk about it. I am also curious about how she will react when she will see Essek again: when the stakes were not high she used to tease him to be with Caleb... but now she has met Astrid, she might have feelings for him and being in a relationship with another person, and Caleb states that he doesn't trust him. I guess that if she still does, it will be mostly an attempt to show to everyone that nothing changed for her and that she is fine (and that would be a huge step back into her character development, but it was her defense mechanism until the Rumblecusp arc and she is dealing with a lot of serious stuff all together right now).

I'm not saying that the ship is going to die: I'm saying that because of the circumstances behind how it was made official and the relationship between all the character involved, I would say that it is very likely that it will lead to some cute moments, but that it eventually won't last. This is especially true if it will confirmed that Jester has feelings for Caleb too, as feelings for another person are not easy to get rid off, and I am fully expecting Jester to angst and talk to someone about them at some point. She needs to achieve true clarity and accept that she is going to break someone's heart in order to be in a healthy, happy relationship. Because, let's face it, we all imagined Jester would have been much happier if she'd ever entered into a relationship, shouting about it out loud so that everyone know. There is something weird here. So, or either the kiss is a promise, or Jester's heart is not fully into it and this means trouble.

But yes, Laura Bailey promised us that she would have romanced Travis's character and she is doing it. And whatever it will be the final result, she is still a legend for having achieved the impossible once more.

PS: Obviously this post in the end means nothing, as no one owns and knows the full truth behind the intent of these characters but the actors who control them. I just wanted to give my two cents about the question. It's more likely that this development will prevent Jester to suffer from a mental breakdown in Eiselcross instead of causing her to suffer from one, but I tend to over-analyze stuff. Please forgive me for this.

PS2:  As a final note, it would have been the same even if Caleb would have been in Fjord's place, if not even worse: I wrote a post about Caleb in Eiselcross too, and between him and Jester I have no idea of who is the most messed up at the moment. Poor children...

[caswellprmanager]

drawbridge

read it on ao3

Ship: Ricky Bowen/EJ Caswell

Summary: Snippets of EJ Caswell's life leading up to the mystery that is Ricky Bowen.

Notes: Hello. I decided to bite the bullet and post something here! This technically is in my Trans!EJ and Genderqueer!Ricky AU but I haven't properly written anything for it yet so consider this one to be the first official fic within that universe. Feel free to send some asks or other headcanons in my inbox about the AU! I'd love to hear what people think (but don't be unnecessarily mean. I will delete that very quickly.)

Disclaimer: I'm not an expert in all things transgender or genderqueer. I am writing from my own experience within the spectrum however so it's truthful to what I have been through, but will not represent everyone else's experiences. I also have friends within the spectrum who have given me great advice on how to go about these things but once again, it won't be accurate to everyone's experiences.

Warnings: Mentions of gender dysphoria, transphobia, and neglectful parents

People always told EJ that he had the picture perfect family.

His mom and dad were successful corporate lawyers, they lived in the wealthiest suburb in all of Salt Lake City, and he was the kind of child other parents would compare their own children to saying, "why can't you be more like EJ?"

But EJ knows that's farthest from the truth.

He doesn't have the picture perfect life or the paragon of White American families that people think they do. His parents are affectionate and supportive only when there are people around to comment on it. Most of the time, they're not even at home, leaving all of the child raising to their maids and other house servants. EJ spends more time at Ashlyn's house than he does at home because at least his aunt and uncle actually treat him like a son.

Because there are days his parents would forget they have a son. Sometimes they'd slip and call him their daughter, which makes EJ want to disappear from this world altogether. He supposes he should be grateful that they even bothered to pay for all the things he asked for — binders, testosterone shots, and regular visits to the doctor to check up on him throughout his transition. And he is grateful. He knows so many kids like him that can't even afford a decent sized binder without going bankrupt. He used to be that kid until he gathered up all his courage to come out to his parents.

But what they told him?

"Well, if you're gonna be our son, you will have to work twice as hard to make us proud now."

Yeah. It's a lot to process when you're 12 years old and scared shitless that you'd be disowned for "disrupting the natural order." But he figures things could be worse. So he sucks it up and vows to become the kind of son that his parents could truly brag about.

When EJ was a kid, he loved mysteries. His parents were the greatest mystery of them all. He's spent so much of his time trying to figure out what makes them happy, or angry, or sad. He's put the clues together and has a cork board of pictures and red string at the forefront of his mind whenever he so much as tries to interact with them. Soon, he sort of figured out what makes his parents smile at him — when EJ is excellent.

So, he became excellent at all kinds of sports, took up piano lessons, studied until his eyeballs burned with the lowlight of his desk lamp — all so that he could maybe get a pat on the back from his dad and a small smile from his mom. Their versions of "good job" or "keep it up." He drank that all in, craved it even, and worked his whole life until now to get even an iota of his parents' affection.

So, when he meets Ricky Bowen, the lanky and extremely clumsy skater who seems to live in the detention room, he was met with a brand new mystery to solve.

"Who's that?" EJ whispers into Nini's ear, who just seems to be irritated by the new person's presence.

"That's Ricky," she says with the barest hint of affection but with a whole lot of irritation. "My ex."

"Huh," He says, intrigued by the way Ricky's movements stutter like a half-finished stop motion film and how their wide doe eyes scan the room like — unironically — a deer in headlights. They looked nervous, confused, and all around terrified and EJ wants to reach out to them and tell them that this was a safe space. That they could be whoever they wanted to be in the theater.

He glances at Nini when Ricky starts singing a song that she seems to recognize. The immediate tensing of her shoulders and the way she subconsciously reaches out for EJ's hand for support tells him that this song... means something. Or meant something. EJ's not quite sure but he squeezes Nini's hand in silent reassurance, bringing himself to half-glare at the guitar playing skater just a few feet before him.

--

He met Nini during theater camp. A firecracker of talent with a voice that could melt the heart of even the coldest man on earth. She was beautiful in the spotlight and even more ethereal beneath the stars. She was kind, gentle, and a mystery that EJ solved quickly enough. She wore her heart on her sleeve despite it being broken because she believes that broken hearts can be mended with time and patience.

Nini was patient with him. She was patient with him when he took her up the little hill next to the campsite just to watch the stars on an old picnic blanket he stole from the camp counselors. She was patient with him when he couldn't keep up with the dance steps. Her hand was warm in his own and the flush of her palm by his neck was a grounding force that kept his head from going in the clouds.

She was especially patient with him when he took her to an empty tent and told her about his life. Nini was kind. Nini was patient. Nini was safe. And if she were to walk away and tell him that she wanted nothing to do with him after what he told her, he would have understood and learned to not associate kind brown eyes and ukulele calloused fingers to what could be barely described as home.

But she held his hand in her tinier ones, a smile on her face that radiated warmth that seeped into the depths of his soul, and told him that she was proud of him.

It was the first time that someone was proud of him... for just being him.

He cried into her arms that night, knowing he's got a lifelong friend within the kind brown eyes and ukulele calloused fingers of one Nini Salazar-Roberts.

--

"She thinks I'm a Chad?" He asks, less incredulously and more with a burning curiosity.

Nini rubs his arm comfortingly but he keeps staring at the cast list like it was going to burst into flames any second. "You're still a Troy understudy! You could still go on as him in one of the shows."

"Shows only run for three nights, Nini." He says with barely concealed frustration. Great. If he can't even get the role he was technically destined to play, how the hell is he going to explain himself to his parents?

You're not the lead? Oh, then we won't watch. If you're not onstage the whole time, why be there?

EJ grits his teeth and slowly brings his gaze to the person who has just taken away one more way for him to prove himself to his parents. Ricky Fucking Bowen, who stands there once again with their enormous brown eyes, gaping like a fish. EJ wants to deck them in the face. But Nini's hold on his arm grounds him back to reality and he lets out a long breath through his nose.

This is gonna be a long next few months.

--

"Look, I'm just trying to make the best out of a bad situation."

"Don't try," He ends up saying, still wiping at the blood caused by the basketball Ricky hit him with only moments ago. "It's painful to watch you do something you clearly don't want to do."

"What makes you think I don't want to do this?" Ricky asks with furrowed brows and EJ throws the wadded up tissue paper stained with his blood into the trash.

"You hated musicals before you auditioned. You landed the part of Troy without even fucking trying. And now you think you can get through rehearsals without fucking trying? It's tiring to work with someone who couldn't give two shits about this musical in the first place!" He says, every sentence rising in volume as he steps closer and closer to Ricky. "You also need to stay the fuck away from Nini."

Ricky scoffs then. "Why? Cause you're her boyfriend?"

"What? And you are?" He retaliates, which effectively makes Ricky click their mouth shut. EJ smirks. "Yeah. That's what I thought."

"Nini can choose whoever she wants to talk to." Ricky ends up saying with tense shoulders and a glare that could murder if EJ weren't already a person who doesn't fear death. "You can't tell me what to do."

"Well someone has to!" EJ throws his hands up in frustration, grabbing his jacket and zipping it up angrily. "Because you don't listen to Nini though, do you? Have you ever listened to her? Do you listen to anybody?"

"EJ I—"

"You better listen to me right now Ricky Bowen," he laces every syllable of Ricky's name with venom. "Stop trying to make things right. Stop trying to become a person you're not. If you actually cared about Nini or – god forbid – the musical, you'd stop trying and just get your shit together."

EJ doesn't even bother to look back at Ricky as he exits the bathroom, unaware of the look in Ricky's eyes when he walked away.

--

It isn't until Ricky approaches him one day after rehearsals that EJ was finally starting to unravel the mystery that was Ricky Bowen.

"Hey... EJ?" Ricky asks, looking at anywhere but at him and EJ would have been annoyed if it weren't for the way Ricky was holding themselves in front of him. They were tense, eyes glassy and unfocused whenever EJ caught a glance, and their fingers were gripping their bag straps so tightly that he was afraid Ricky was going to rip it apart if they weren't careful.

"Hey Ricky," He says with a softer voice than he's ever used with Ricky. "Is there something you need?"

Ricky's eyes dart around the still full rehearsal room, at the dangerously close proximity Miss Jenn was, at the stage managers that were just behind EJ who were reviewing the blocking notes, and finally at Nini who was engaged in a conversation with Carlos and Seb. Ricky's eyes lingered on Nini for a bit before they reluctantly settled on EJ's pristine white sneakers. "I would have normally asked Nini for this but – and you can say no by the way I'd completely understand – it's just..."

Ricky looks around again before leaning closer to EJ and shakily whispering, "Do you have any tampons?"

And just like that, the walls that were built around a certain Ricky Bowen were starting to crack. And EJ was allowed to see the smallest snippet of the kind of vulnerability that Ricky was capable of.

And it was the kind of vulnerability that he could relate to completely.

"My emergency stash is in my locker," He says, hastily packing up the rest of his things while Ricky continues to stand there dumbfounded. When EJ turns back to him with his own bag over his shoulder, he could see that there are a few unshed tears shining in Ricky's eyes. EJ softens for a second, knowing how difficult it must have been for Ricky to come to him for something so private.

"Come on. I'll even guard the bathroom for you." Ricky eventually follows him after a few seconds of just staring at his back and they fall in step around the corner. Ricky stays silent, fingers all fidgety and eyes still darting around like they'll be caught any second. EJ, instinctually, wraps a comforting arm around Ricky's shoulders. Ricky doesn't relax immediately but they do lean a little closer, somehow finding the weight of EJ's arm around them safe.

They eventually reach EJ's locker and Ricky smiles a bit because it's directly across from Sharpay's famous pink lockers. "Did you choose this spot specifically for Sharpay's lockers?"

EJ glances behind him and chuckles, rummaging through his stuff. "Oh yeah. If you say Ashley Tisdale three times in a row while touching her locker, you're guaranteed good fortune for at least a week."

Ricky looks at him with a smirk. "Have you tried that before?"

"Every year during finals week. I'm telling you, that shit works."

"Or maybe you're just really smart."

"Maybe," EJ says, finally locating his emergency stash of period essentials. "Or maybe it's just Ashley Tisdale bopping me to the top."

That's when Ricky lets out a laugh — an honest to god booming belly laugh that makes EJ pause just to stare at him. They look... nice like this. Without the worry lines and longing gazes at a girl who won't give them the time of day. They look just like a little kid, carefree and alive despite the world crumbling all around them, and EJ feels a weird surge of pride at being the person who made Ricky laugh like that.

He wants Ricky to laugh like that more. He wants to be the person who makes Ricky laugh like that more.

And so the walls around Ricky crack a little further, and the drawbridge is opened for one weary traveler to come in.

EJ doesn't notice the cracks on his own walls, nor the knowing little princess who watches from the east tower, smiling.

--

"Hey, what are your pronouns?"

Ricky doesn't look up from their practice skateboard, concentrating hard on their balance. "I don't have any. I'm just Ricky." They look up though, giving EJ a warm smile. "But go ahead and use any pronouns with me. I don't mind if it's you."

"So would you mind if I call you your majesty?"

EJ doesn't miss the flush on Ricky's cheeks at that and definitely doesn't miss the way they say "I'd like that very much." with the barest hint of embarrassment.

"Okay," EJ says with his chin propped up in his hands. "Your majesty."

Ricky falls off of their practice skateboard then, soon glaring up at a cackling EJ still with a blushing face.

--

EJ forgot his binder today.

And his body loved reminding him every time he took a step.

Thankfully, there wasn't going to be water polo practice today and he could get away with wearing multiple layers to school. But even with the sports bra, the t-shirt, the sweatshirt, and the letterman jacket doing a good job at making his chest look flat, he still felt his skin crawl looking at the mirror. His jeans hugged him a little too tightly, forcing him to notice the still feminine curve of his hips. His sports bra was a tad smaller than the last time he wore it, so the pinch at his chest doubled in size.

EJ resolved that he was not going to have a good day today.

But today was tech rehearsals and he couldn't ditch that. He was starting to really enjoy rehearsals now that he and Ricky are on good terms. Even the stage managers ask him to hang out with them time to time outside of rehearsals. EJ actually felt like... he really belonged somewhere now. And he wasn't going to let this ruin it for him. Not today.

"Hey EJ," He heard Nini say to him as he got out of his car. "What's with all the layers? It's pretty hot today."

"It's one of those days, Neens." He says with a heavy sigh and Nini just grabs his hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze. Ricky rolls up to them two seconds later, their head suspiciously missing a helmet.

"How many times do I have to tell you to wear a helmet when you're skateboarding, Ricky?" EJ tries to scold the junior despite this weirdly overwhelming fondness growing inside of him every time he even looks at Ricky now.

"Haven't gotten into an accident yet," Ricky shrugs, smiling politely at Nini and changing it into a cocky little smirk the second they look at EJ.

"Yet being the operative word here," EJ rolls his eyes and opens his trunk for Ricky to stash his board in for later. "I won't drive you to the hospital if you end up getting a concussion for not wearing a helmet."

"Yes you will." Ricky says, knocking their shoulders together. "You love me!"

EJ freezes for a bit but before he could even respond, Ricky is already catching up to Big Red and Gina, waving back at EJ and Nini with a wide grin. EJ stares at him for a few seconds, not quite sure how to process the last few moments, until Nini waves a hand in front of his face.

"Hello? Earth to EJ?"

"Huh?"

"Care to share with the class what's going on?" The little smirk on her lips says it all and EJ was not going to fall for that.

"Nope. There's nothing to share."

"Mhm," She says, looping her arm around EJ as soon as he closed his trunk. "Of course there isn't, EJ." Nini pretends not to see EJ staring at Ricky as they walk into school. EJ pretends to not notice that she's pretending to not see EJ pretending to not overtly stare at Ricky.

Besides, EJ has gotten pretty good at pretending.

--

Aaaannndd that's it for now. I hope you guys liked that! I really enjoyed exploring trans!ej and genderqueer!ricky through this au and it means a lot to me. Maybe next time I'll write something in ricky's pov but for now thanks for reading !!

[incorrectsnkships]

OKAY OKAY OKAY! I CAME TO THIS CONCLUSION LAST FUCKING NIGHT! CONNIE THE MOTHERFUCKING SPRINGER IS GAY!

So at first I just thought he was a really confident and comfortable heterosexual, y'know? BUT NOW! NOW!? oh no, no, no!

Reason numbrero uno! He has feminine hips. Straight boys don't strut like that, straight boys don't fucking be flexible like that.

Reason numbrero duex! He says bitch waaay to much. So if you don't know the history of the word bitch, bitch was also used a a gay slur for y'know twinks. You don't see Jean or Levi OR EVEN EREN going around going bitch, bitch, bitch, fucking crazy bitches. Sure maybe once in awhile, but Connie use it like a sister y'know?

Reason numbrero drei! Look at who the fucking hell he's hanging 'round with! Ymir; the fucking bitch lesbian. Christa/Historia; the lesbian or bi girl dude. He's the fucking second lesbian protector (next to Eren). You see that gay ass gay homie grab in like what season 3? Or was it 2? He's friends with Sasha, who does she hang out with most of the time!? Ymir and Historia! Sometimes Jean and Mikasa. Speaking of Jean, he ain't sleek either! Connie hanging 'round with a fucking bi-saster a bi disaster! Not to mention Reiner and Armin! We see him worry about Reiner and Bertholdt when they “missing” asking someone to check on them to see if there alive! Man looking out for his gay homies! Also in one of the games he asks Armin why he spends so much time with Eren, to which Armin shoots back with one of the most gay awakening responses, “Hm well what about Ymir and Historia, or Reiner and Bertholdt?” Like yo.

Reason numbrero shi! He mom picks out gay ass fucking names! Sunny, Martin, Connie. Fucking gay dude. (everyone seems to think Sunny is a girl but judging by there titans I actually think Sunny was a boy dude. That’s just a hunch tho~)

Reason numbrero five! He seems like the kinda guy who would wear jewelry. Not really necessarily gay BUt~ I think earrings would so be he thing, and if he we’re to come out he’d probably start wearing one earring!

Reason numbrero six! Look at the kind of shit this man does! He fucking carried Armin princess style, put him down like a prince, bruh he fucking CHOSE to he CHOSE to. He knew what he was doing. And that one official art where he’s wearing that blonde lopsided wig with makeup on. That dress with the fake boobs in it!

Reason numbrero 7! My mama always say, that if a boy is best friends with a girl he will almost always usually fall for her. Connie is close as HELL with Sasha. And while I LOVE springles. This know discovery is D A W N I N G on me! Connie don’t really seem to show that much interest in women. But not necessarily to men either. And that factor being. I think bby Connie is shy!

Overall I think he’s a great fucking character! I love Connie, but this just made me open a whole new chapter for him. I’m currently rewatching AOT with my mom ‘cause she done wanted to watch it and I couldn’t let her watch that cringey dub so yee. I’ll be paying attention for other Easter eggs and clues. I never researched Connie to much but now that I have I’m made some pretty interesting discoveries! In conclusion Connie Springer is probably fucking gay. SO in other words you were RIGHT! ATTACK ON TITAN IS FUCKING GAY! 😍

( j u s t l i k e m e l o l )

srry for the late reply, but you’ve actually convinced me

mans comes across heterosexual but he definitely had a crush on every single male member of the 104th. literally every one. and like many others, one of the older scouts was his gay awakening. and im not saying that connie had a crush on them or anything, and this is definitely not a ship post between connie and any adult in the show, but im just saying that he admired them. a lot. too much. and had to look away when they got changed in front of him.

“connie why do you offer to go kill titans with captain levi whenever we have a mission?”

“i admire his skills!”

“connie, you do realise that erwin doesn’t have time to have tea with you right?”

“no i know i just wanted to talk about stuff with him. professional stuff. as a soldier.”

“connie, you know that moblit doesn’t need an assistant right? he is the assistant”

“WELL SUE ME FOR WANTING TO BE HELPFUL JEAN-“

he’d simp for armin so hard. every week he has a crush on someone new, and then it goes in a loop. and he’d “practice” kissing too. like he’d occasionally bring the topic up in conversation and then go from there based off of the persons reply. “hey uh, jean, so like- have you had your first kiss yet?” and then jean would tell him no and connie would go full internal gay panic. “o- oh yeah, thas- thas cool, um, well, i havent- had mine either so like- would you wanna practice? it doesn’t count-“

connie would have his first everything with jean and it would be so funny because it just happens all at once. like hed get asked if hes ever kissed someone and hed just glare at jean and be so flustered

connie finds it so difficult to tell romantic and platonic feelings apart and thats why hes fallen for all of his friends

armin: oh, connie, thanks for doing that favour for me! i dont know what id do without you!

eren: wait! hurry, where do they keep the extra blades?!

connie: in the cellar!

eren: great- connie, i love you!

marco: see connie? if you just fold the paper a little more, youll get there :) youre a pleasure to teach and i love spending time with you :)

also why do i feel like connie and marco dated for a little while? not even dated then, had a thing going on for a bit. like besides from jean because he doesnt count, but connies first romantic encounter was with marco, fight me

and i definitely feel like connie went to hange for some advice about his sexuality. he was so confused and liking everyone at the same time, so who else better to go to than the person who tried to convince erwin to start an lgbtq+ youth club right?

but when eren and armin announced that they were officially dating, that was an eye opener for connie and it made him realise that its okay to be yourself

and it took him a while to actually realise that he was gay. hence the fact that hed physically gag whenever someone suggested for him to date sasha, and all those times in the boys changing room that hed have to turn around or leave completely

so yes, i can see where youre coming from, and i agree with you. but if we were to list the people connie has simped for from most-least?

marco

armin

jean

eren

levi (not really simping, more fanboying/celebrity crush)

reiner

moblit (same as levi)

bertholdt

[scarlettriot]

Welcome to my Fantasy MHA AU Fic!

I'll be posting specific content warnings at the start of each chapter just to give you a heads up but you can expect swearing in almost every chapter and some NSFW 18+ content down the line.

Plan for ships though I don't know which ones just yet.

An OC or two might pop up. In the chapters they appear I'll be sure to give you some information on them.

Hope you enjoy it!

CHAPTER ONE

WARNINGS: SWEARING

The king stood atop the hillside, admiring the vast expanse of his kingdom laid out before him.

King Enji couldn't have been more pleased with the results of his tedious plans and tireless efforts if he tried. In fact, everything had gone off without a hitch!

Flames engulfed buildings. Smoke and embers choked the sky as well as the lungs of his citizens, and King Enji watched it all happening on high.

The sword of the once famed paladin rested on his shoulder. There'd be no one else now in his kingdom for anyone to worship other than him. He'd finally be treated with the respect he deserved.

Magic and projectiles soared through the sky, chasing down every last dragon they caught sight of. The beasts were the perfect villains for his plan. They'd be killed or chased out and once over the magical barrier he'd been working for years to create, they'd never be allowed back.

Two of his biggest problems were taken out in a matter of minutes.

King Enji Todoroki had won.

The celebration of the Phoenix King took place on the same date each and every year. The day that their kingdom had once burned to the ground was now celebrated with dancing and food, music and costumes as a way to remember how their great King chased off the fearsome dragons and did what he could to protect the Paladin of Might.

Izuku could hardly remember the day. What he could recall was filled with smoke and a burning in his lungs. He also remembered his best friend, Katsuki vanishing on that day.

His mother told him that many had died, that sadly, young Katsuki was probably among them. But, Izuku never believed it. Katsuki had been the strongest person he knew and so, even 18 years later, Izuku held out faith that his best friend was still out there... somewhere.

The festival was in full swing, Izuku's stomach was stuffed and his chest felt light seeing everyone around him so happy. His mother, Inko, was using vibrant colors to paint a beautiful flowered mask on a young boy. She'd already marked Izuku's own face, swirls of green in various shades that went over the bridge of his nose and extended down onto his neck. It had been his preferred design since he was a boy.

Horns sounded in the distance at dusk, the signal for everyone to turn their gaze towards the large grey stone castle and witness the light show presented by the top mages in the land.

The first flash of color, bright orange, flooded the sky and Izuku felt a hand in his own tugging him backward.

He turned, noticing a hooded figure but more importantly, the red and white bangs that were just barely visible beneath it.

"Sho?" He breathed the name and it was lost over the sound of the lights exploding. "You're supposed to be-"

"I know." The man mumbled, "But this was my best chance of getting out... getting this out."

He pulled back the cloak just enough for Izuku to see the gleam of a golden hilt. "Shoto, is that what I think it is?"

"Yeah, yeah Izuku, I finally found it."

The two men slipped through the crowd unseen, their eyes transfixed on the light show high above to notice two figures slipping in between buildings. Izuku begged Shoto to keep the sword hidden. The last thing they needed was for someone to see it and recognize what it was.

"He lied." Shoto gritted out. "You were right all along, Zu, my father lied. It was never stolen, he kept it hidden right under our noses. In the damn treasure vault for fucks sake!"

Izuku rarely had seen the young royal so livid but when he got this way his father was usually the cause. Izuku had hoped more than anything that he'd been wrong about the King and what happened 18 years ago. He really hoped that a dragon had been the one to hurt the Paladin and steal the sword, that the King had just arrived too late but something about the story had never sat right with him.

As he grew older, the more he learned about the Paladin, it made him question things. Everyone thought he was mad, Izuku hardly had any friends thanks to him voicing his opinions when he was too young to know better but, to his surprise, a boy with two-toned hair listened. He listened to Izuku's theory long before Izuku knew Shoto was the prince, and he believed him.

"I remember my father coming home that night," Shoto had confided in him, "He just had dirt on his clothes, no scorch marks or burns. Not even blood. He couldn't have fought a dragon!"

Izuku had just thought it odd that the Might Paladin had been taken down by a dragon. Sure, the King said it'd been a horde of them but the man had left without another word, he'd only made a brief appearance at the King's side and then was said to have wandered off into the woods alone; his will to fight and protect, gone.

He couldn't believe a man who slew hundreds of vile creatures could go down so easily, not that handling a horde of dragons was easy but the Might Paladin was practically a God!

What Shoto had told him as kids only further solidified the idea in his mind that things didn't add up. Of course, Shoto wasn't allowed to ask questions. Hells, he was barely allowed to leave the castle grounds but he promised Izuku he'd search for answers. He wouldn't stop until the truth was uncovered.

"I also found this with it, tucked away inside the scabbard."

Shoto handed over a piece of aged parchment folded up small enough to fit in the palm of Izuku's hand. It was scribbled designs, spilled ink blotched out a couple of words and the rest didn't make any sense to Izuku.

"Any idea what this is?"

Shoto shook his head. "No clue but there are some witches that live out past the woods. Maybe they can help?"

Izuku looked at his friend with knitted brows. "You know as well as I do that witches practice unsanctioned magic. And if either one of us were to engage with one, we'd be thrown in jail at the least!"

"Then you better be sneaky about it, Zu." A slight smirk played on his lips. "We can't go to official mages with this, so, witches are the next step to solving this mystery."

Izuku sighed and hung his head. "Fine. Fine, I'll leave in the morning. I'll tell my mother I'm helping you with your power analysis again." He looked at the slightly taller man in his oddly mismatched eyes. "You better make sure she says safe while I'm gone."

In truth, it took very little to convince Izuku to investigate and explore. He loved it actually and if it wasn't for his mother, he'd have the whole damn continent mapped out by now! But, it was just the two of them and he couldn't leave her for too long at a time to tend to the farm all by herself.

"I'll be sure a few guards come by to assist her in the field." Shoto unhooked the sword from his belt. "Take this too. Maybe a witch will know where the Paladin has gone and you can return this to him."

Izuku almost refused but Shoto shoved the weapon into his hands and the moment his fingers wrapped around the hilt, he felt... something. What exactly, he couldn't find a word for it but there was a feeling of magic to the weapon. Shoto had to have known that, that had to be another reason why he wanted him to take it and so, with some hesitation, he strapped the sword to his side.

"Write to Sir Iida with anything you find. Use the code though, just in case." Izuku nodded. "Be safe. Let's get to the bottom of this once and for all."

A/N: If you feel inclined, please let me know your thoughts. I might delete and rewrite this depending on how I'm feeling. Thank you for reading :)

[thoughts-on-bangtan]

Hi, I know you’re a fan of namjoon so I wanted to ask your thoughts on this ring thing? I’m kinda new and assumed all these namjoon is married with kids stuff were a joke. But some people seem to totally believe that. I mean where he’d get the time to see a partner and kids is beyond me but who knows? Anyways I was looking at some of their recent pics and he doesn’t wear it all the time - which if it was a couples ring - wouldn’t he? I thought maybe he would only wear it if they were appearing on Run or Korean shows, but he didn’t have it on for either of the new shows they’ve been on recently, as they may not have been as widely watched. I mean I guess it’s none of our business - but I’m trying to rip of my delulu hat for making me think Seokjin gave it to him 🙈

Hi anon, I hope you don’t mind that I’ll combine my answer for you with my answer to another ask since I feel like they fall into the same kind of category, as in people taking things too far and/or blowing things out of proportion. And, coincidentally, both have something to do with rings.

I’ll start with your question though and give you another example that followed a very similar trajectory as the omg namjoon is married with kids because ring narrative/theory. Some months ago, Namjoon posted a few pictures on twitter and among them was a picture of him with another guy wearing a green sweater. His face though was covered. At first ARMY didn’t think much of it, but then, eventually, someone started a joke that “remember that sweater Joon wore for BV4? The guy is wearing the same one, what if that's his boyfriend?” and it went viral.

It started out completely harmless with hundreds of positive and funny tweets made in good humor, no one taking it that seriously knowing that we’d never find out even if it were true. But, as the jokes started to simmer down, everyone had their laugh, the next wave came in and this one decided that this isn’t a joke at all but serious matter. Quickly this harmless fun turned into a witch hunt of “ARMY” trying to figure out who the guy might be, if he is Namjoon’s mysterious friend that once sent him a coffee truck with custom drawn designs on it, perhaps the same one with whom Namjoon already once posted a picture sitting on this garden porch swing type thing, some even trying to prove that the guy is either Seokjin (in which case, what would be the need to cover his face?) or Florist Isaac whom they met during that one RUN episode.

So, very quickly a few idiots turned harmless fun into something almost malicious and got into fights with ARMY who were trying to tell them to stop.

The ring thing followed a similar story. It was once a harmless joke based on the fact that Namjoon wants to have kids one day, so some made jokes about what if he’s already married but we just didn’t know etc. But very quickly that got out of hand as well, going as far as people claiming the little girl in his pictures which he posted around his birthday or something is his daughter (even though it was said it’s probably the child actress from BTS WORLD) and that him making jokes (during a BangtanB while trying on glasses before their MOTS7 press con) about his child being able to read/write hangul at a very young age wasn’t jokes at all but solid proof of the fact that he is married with a child (despite the fact that he would’ve had to have gotten married and his wife pregnant not long after their debut for the timeline to even work out somehow which makes it seem even more ridiculous). This even went as far as people spamming the comments during this vlives with questions about it, flooded his selcas on twitter with questions and “jokes” and, again, attacked anyone who told them to stop.

In all of this, watching it happen from the sidelines as someone whose bias is Namjoon, I was confused why these particular rings (which I don’t even think were the same ones each time) caused such a reaction. The members have all worn so many different rings over the years, on all fingers, sometimes even like eight at the same time, and yet it wasn’t until 2020 and their KBS interview after their first BBH100 #1 that things went bonkers. All because Namjoon decided to take the ring off before they started filming or something.

In all of this I see two things that make me wonder:

When would he have the time to find a girl (since same sex marriage is not a thing in Korea) with whom he would have enough time to befriend her, trust her (considering who Namjoon is, that one is a major thing), fall in love, date and be together for a few years, and then get married? From Seokjin we know they have maybe two or three days off a month and work at least ten hours a day on their BH regulated schedules. Add to that the time they spend in the studio working on music outside of schedules, gym time, a few hours of sleep, and perhaps a few scarce hours of free time to (in Namjoon’s case) go to a museum or ride his bike, does that really leave enough time for romance (with an outsider) that leads to marriage (and a child)?

Is age 26 at the height of their career really the time for marriage? Even more so when you are someone like Namjoon, the leader of the world’s biggest group with more responsibilities than we can likely imagine as outsiders. Sure, he said he wants kids, but he can still have those in his thirties, he can also get married in his thirties, after all, life does not end once you hit thirty despite what some teens believe.

Lastly, I actually think that if it were true, Namjoon, or really anyone from the hyung line, would be the ones who wouldn’t have to hide it, at least not when compared to the maknaes. You could argue that “it would threaten their career” but would it really? Perhaps if the ring were from a man (some namjinists did make jokes that it’s like his promise ring from Seokjin or whatever, but it was all in good fun, nothing more than that), then yes, but connected to a woman? That one member from EXO also came out and said he’s getting married because his fiancé was pregnant and all it did was cause a few fansites to close and a handful of people to “protest” in front of the SM building. 

Little correction about my comments about that EXO member, though even with this my point still stands:

From anon: Re: your last post about namjoon’s rings! I agree with everything you said but just a small correction. I’m not an EXO stan but it wasn’t just a a few “protests” or fansites closing. From what I read online, he his fiancée and later wife, and his child were harassed, threatened and stalked to the point where he enlisted early just to give his family some relief. We all know there are people like this in every fandom and I know BTS would be aware of these things, so they’ll be extra careful.

Would there be delulus like this who’d go crazy if Namjoon were to say “ARMY, I’m (getting) married”? Of course. Would it ruin BTS’ career? I seriously doubt it. Do I think Namjoon would actually come out and say it if it were the case? No, but not because it’s bad idol etiquette or because BH wouldn’t allow him, but because people are insane and who knows what they would do.

It’s the same with times when people argue “I wish X ML members would just say he has a girlfriend so the ship wars would end” without taking into consideration the girl’s safety and the fact that a partner different than the one X member is shipped with has never been that big of an obstacle for some before. Just create a conspiracy theory about the company forcing this upon them and voila problem solved. We’ve seen that before when the tattoo scandal happened, and people thought JK might be dating that tattoo artist and therefore it would mean he isn’t in a relationship with Jimin or Tae.

Whatever happens in the members private lives, it is safer for all parties involved if it stays private, even more so if their romantic partners were non-idols, or non-celebrities, or another member.

Now onto the second ring question:

From anon: I am a young army and I am slowly losing my bearings. I've seen Vlive S, H and V. Many say it was a Tk*ok day (?) And all three emphasized it, and the V even wore the friendship ring for Jungkook. Is it true? I don't understand anything about it, I don't see it. After the last BTS interview on TV, I thought Vmin are best friends, not Tk*ok. I thought V said he didn't want Tk*ok and yet he was so happy during Vlive because it was Tk*ok day? Help!

Now this one, I was curious if we’d get an ask about this, even more since, if you’re a reader of our blog, you likely already know what I’m going to say.

Let’s start where you usually do—at the beginning. The day of the vlive coincided with what T*ek*okers have decided on is T*ek*ok Day, based on how supposedly some years ago this was the day Tae and JK named their subunit like this. I tried to find where exactly this happened, as in in which piece of official content, but I couldn’t find anything except for a screenshot. Anyone have a clue or a link?

Side note: T*ek*okers love using the “ship” naming as proof that not only are they real but also proudly showing it off by giving themselves a name but continently forget that they are not the only ones who gave themselves subunit names. After all Jimin and Namjoon named themselves MiniMoni, or Yoongi and Jimin who are MiniMini, Namjoon and Seokjin calling themselves RJRJ last year, or that one vlive with JK, Jimin and Seokjin where they also put together their names the way you build ship names. At the end of that vlive Tae, thanks to come prompting from the chat, named their trio vsope, so does that mean they are a romantic ship now too?

If you were watching that vlive as it was happening, and decided to look at the chat, then you know what was happening. For those who did not, basically the chat was flooded with comments about T*ek*ok Day, asking where JK is whom Tae loves, where his boyfriend JK is, congratulating Tae for T*ek*ok Day etc. Basically shippers took their shipping into a space where it doesn’t belong, into a space where the members can see it, and therefore purposefully broke one of the shipping rules (I even saw some tweet about how they were proud of themselves for literally spamming the chat with T*ek*ok comments which is so wrong, and I mean that regardless of which ship we talk about). In between those were the usual other comments like speak English or say hello to XYZ or say XYZ in whatever language, and very few comments that actually reacted to what the members were doing on screen. Like when Tae said he didn’t shave, instead of telling him that it’s fine, which it is, it’s his face after all, some decided to tell him he should shave more often, basically telling him what to do, which he saw and read out. Great job.

But all the madness came to a “climax” when Hobi was reading comments and among some other ones read out T*ek*ok, just the word not the T*ek*ok Day ones, and unfortunately we all knew he wasn’t reading out the Korean word for Thailand, which sounds the same though it is spelled a little differently. In that moment all hell broke loose. Focus cams of Tae’s facial expression in that moment went viral among shippers, most of course claiming he looked so happy, while other non-shippers claimed he didn’t look happy at all. It’s a micro moment so I won’t get into it, who knows what Tae thought in that moment and what his facial expression meant and if it even had any connection to the word and Hobi reading it out loud at all.

Because he read that comment, Hobi was basically crowned the new leader of the T*ek*ok shippers (I thought that role already went to Jimin?) and twitter basically had a meltdown.

As for the ring, I know this is something a lot of ships have, with romantic connotations according to their shippers, so I was curious how these rings supposedly look like in T*ek*ok’s case and if they even match the ring that Tae wore in the vlive. If it would, fine, if not, well…

If it’s not clear from the picture, the “supposed couple” or friendship rings are very delicate and thin, and sure enough I did find a lot of pictures in which both Tae and JK wore them, usually at different times, I will admit that. But the ring Tae wore during their vlive recently was much thicker and had some kind of design on it, therefore it’s a completely different one. Sorry. Why he wore it, if he bought it for himself or received it from someone, what emotional connotation to may or may not have, those are things we won’t know anything about unless he would tell us, so there's no point in speculating.

“Many say it was a Tk*ok day (?) And all three emphasized it” now this is curious to me since I watched the vlive as it was happening, and I didn’t see that at any point in the vlive. Sure, Hobi read that one comment, but if 95% of comments were about that, I wasn’t even surprised by it. Perhaps he thought that it would get people to stop? Perhaps he just read whatever comments his eyes landed on? Perhaps something else entirely? We have no way of knowing it so there is no point in trying to fixate on it. But besides that, they were talking about many other things and having fun making their smoothies, decorating them and just having a good time together with each other and with ARMY. 

So, this way of presenting the vlive basically comes down to shipper perception, confirmation bias, and simply, almost, rewriting history.

Rings do not determine who your best friend is (according to a quick google search, wearing a ring on your index finger simply means friendship or self-esteem/authority), after all many of the members have rings either from each other or ones that match, like Namjoon buying Jimin a Cartier ring for his birthday a few years ago which Jimin proudly wore since it’s really pretty, or pink and blue rings (there are several different ones, actually) that Namjoon has worn with Seokjin in the past (which fits into the Namjinist pink and blue agenda), or the rings Jimin and JK have together according to their shippers, and many more. Jimin and Tae have a whole plethora of matching jewelry in form of necklaces, rings, bracelets, even contact lenses (as in wearing one of each pair to match each other), some which were chosen by their stylists and others they bought themselves for themselves (which are all conveniently “forgotten” by those who ship either big ML ship). Though we’ve seen that even with clothes given by their stylists they were still the ones to choose their own accessories, like Namjoon choosing a pair of glasses from a whole box of different ones, or the members choosing rings from two big boxes before going on stage.

Tae himself said, on multiple occasions across multiple years, that Jimin is his best friend, even his one and only best friend, and that he’s the one he likes most which he even proclaimed on national TV. As long as Tae doesn’t say that this has changed in the last, what, two weeks and suddenly JK is officially his new best friend, those who claim otherwise are basically nothing but shippers pushing a narrative that willfully ignores Tae’s own words. Just like they ignore and twist his Weverse comment about how T*ek*okers should get out of their imagination. What doesn’t fit is ignored or adjusted until it does fit.

Lastly, sure enough, Tae really was happy during that vlive but I’m fairly certain (though neither you, them or I will ever know for sure, we’re not in Tae’s head) it had absolutely no connection to T*ek*ok Day, something shippers created and not Tae and JK themselves, seeing as Tae has been in a very good and happy mood for a few months now. Whatever makes him so happy, I truly hope it’ll continue making him happy and I wish shippers (and solo stans) would stop trying to force a reason (which fits them) upon his emotions.

I know it’s easy to get confused by how loud shippers are online, especially as young ARMY (in this case both ARMY who are young age wise but also young in the sense of being new to the fandom), but shipper opinions, in many cases, are just noise, and also noise twisted and skewed a certain way to suit them. If you kept to OT7 spaces on the day of that vlive, no one really paid attention to the ring, most were annoyed by and furious at the shamelessness of the shippers in the comments, and tried to just focus on how fun the vlive was instead.

[fangirlwriting-stories]

Reflecting Light

Chapter One

Chapter Eight

Remus wasn’t really thrilled with stopping at an orphanage.  It tied a little too close to his fake backstory for him to be comfortable.  He had no clue what he would say if someone expected him to know how they worked for some reason.  But there were apparently a ton of orphanages around that didn’t get enough food or supplies, so they had a couple as part of their rounds.

That was complete bullshit, for the record.  Remus had picked up a lot of things about his former home from his new life as an accidental rebellion member, but it was easy to say this one made him the most angry.  The food hadn’t been spectacular in The Light, but they’d always had enough of it.  Definitely enough leftover to supply a place that took care of orphaned children.

Remus spent the morning with Janus as they both organized the supplies they were dropping off.  Janus looked irritated and a little exhausted as he finished counting the last one.

“We’re gonna have to stop at home before we finish our rounds,” he said, glancing at Remus.  “We’re almost out of food, and we need to pick up supplies for our next stop.  Have you ever been to the rebellion base before?”

“I can safely say I never expected to go to the rebellion base,” Remus said with a wide smile and a nod.

Janus chuckled.  “That’s fair,” he said.  “A lot of people end up in the rebellion by desperation or by chance.”

Or by both, Remus thought, although he didn’t say that out loud.  “I would like to meet you and Virgil’s father,” he said instead.  “I’ve always wondered what kind of person runs the rebellion.”

It wasn’t technically a lie, because he had always wondered that.  Granted, there was also some context missing there.  Namely that Remus had wondered such as someone from the opposite side.

“Just don’t ask him about any embarrassing kid stories and we’re all good,” Janus said.

Remus grinned.  “I make no promises.”

Janus sighed, writing one last thing down and setting his checklist aside.  “Yeah, I probably shouldn’t have said that out loud with you in the room.”

“You’re learning!” Remus called happily, following Janus out of the storage room.  They both headed back up towards the deck of the ship, where everyone was preparing to land soon.

Remus had somehow ended up with an official position that didn’t have anything to do with the actual movement of the ship, meaning if he wasn’t desperately needed no one would ask for his help.  He therefore decided that while Janus and Virgil were busy at the wheel he was going to sit next to Jackson and comment on everything he was doing wrong, which made Jackson shoot him several delicious glares throughout the process.  But Jackson was his favorite person on board to mess with (barring Janus and Virgil of course, but they were busy), so it’s not like Remus was going anywhere.

When they finally landed, Remus gave Jackson a firm pat on the shoulder.  “Alright, I have some notes, but overall, that was passable.”

“Suck my dick.”

“Oh, if you insist!” Remus said, moving like he was going to pull his pants down.

“Ugh, gross, stop!” Jackson exclaimed, but he was starting to smile.  “God, I should really know not to say that kind of stuff around you by now.”

“Yeah, everyone else does, keep up.  So you’re coming with today, right?”

“Yep,” Jackson said, giving Remus a smile.  “Only cause the rest of you are too weak to carry the boxes yourselves.”

“Oh, is that so?” Remus walked forward and scooped Jackson up bridal style.  “Well allow me to help you down to the cargo hold so you can carry all of the boxes then.”

Jackson sputtered indignantly, and Remus cackled before he dropped him straight onto the deck.  “Come on, I can grab a couple,” he said, and started down to the cargo hold as Jackson pushed himself up off the deck.

Remus beat him down there by a couple steps, and grabbed both of the boxes that had the food they were dropping off, as Jackson picked up the ones with the blankets and the clothes.  They both carried the boxes down off the ship, where Virgil and Janus were waiting with a cart to put the boxes on, since they’d have to travel a little further to reach the orphanage.

Remus set the boxes down on the seat and hopped on top of them to sit, where he was joined by Virgil a second later.

“You make me carry the boxes and then make me walk the miles to the orphanage too?” Jackson asked, looking up at them where there was no space left on the box.

“That is correct,” Remus said with a grin.  “Go talk to Janus, I’m sure you two will have a grand old time.”

Jackson grumbled in irritation, and Virgil laughed from where he was sitting beside Remus as the horse that was pulling their cart started off.

“So, this has got to be weird for you,” Virgil said as they started moving.

Remus looked at him for a moment.  “No, why?”

“Oh, I just assumed it would be a little different for you to come back to an orphanage after so many years.”

Remus swallowed and rubbed the back of his neck.  “Eh, not really.  I mean, this isn’t the orphanage I grew up in.  I’m more looking forward to meeting your father at the next stop.”

“Fair enough,” Virgil said with a nod.  “I’m sure that will be mortifying.”

“You say that so casually.”

“I’ve accepted it.”

Remus laughed.  They both continued to chat for the ride through the town and out the other side, then the little bit of distance into the countryside that ended with them pulling to a stop outside the orphanage.

Remus hopped down from the boxes and picked the same couple up again, as Jackson did the same with the other two, looking thoroughly more exhausted than Remus, which he was definitely going to be teasing him about.

Janus knocked on the door, and a second later a woman pulled the door open and gave Janus a bright smile.  “It’s good to see you sir.  I was beginning to worry.”

“We’ve been running a little behind lately,” Janus said with an apologetic smile as they both stepped inside.  Remus followed and set the boxes down in the doorway.  Jackson did the same and then turned immediately with a call that he was going to sit in the cart until it was time to leave.

Virgil walked in behind Remus and moved to lean against the wall as Janus continued to talk to the woman.

“Oh, you dears can help yourselves to a glass of water,” the woman called over to them.  “Kitchen is right through there.”  She pointed towards the back of the house.

“Thanks,” Virgil called, pushing himself off the wall and heading towards the back of the house.  Remus followed.

“Hey, Virge, do you think we should bring Jackson a glass of water?”

“I think we should, but we should hide his until he starts complaining.”

“This is why I like you,” Remus said with a grin, reaching out for the door and opening it.

There was a cry of surprise from the room and the sound of something falling and shattering.  Remus pushed the door open the rest of the way to see a kid who looked about ten years old, staring at both of them in terror.

“Woah, hey,” Virgil said, starting forward past Remus and towards the kid.  The kid scrambled backwards, away from Virgil, and kept looking between him and the glass, like he was expecting—

Oh.  Oh, Remus got it.

“Hey, Virgey isn’t gonna hit you, kid,” he called.  Virgil turned around and stared at him in surprise.  “He’s too nice.”

“What?” Virgil asked.  “What are you talking about, why would I—” he paused, and turned back around to see the way the kid was staring at him in wide-eyed fear.

Virgil’s whole demeanor shifted immediately.  “Hey,” he said softly, kneeling down.  “Hey, do you think I’m gonna hit you?”

The kid didn’t say anything, just moved further back and pressed himself into the counter.

Virgil moved back too.  “Can you tell me your name, buddy?”

The kid was quiet for another moment before he squeaked out, “I’m Thomas.”

“Thomas.  Okay,” Virgil said.  “I’m not going to hurt you, Thomas.  You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Well, that depends,” Remus said.  “What do you normally get hit for?  There is a standard to uphold.”

Virgil turned around again, staring at Remus like he had two heads and one of them had just exploded— shock and a little disgust.

“Remus,” Virgil said.  “Go wait with Janus.”

“What?  Why?”

“Now.”

Remus flinched at the anger in Virgil’s tone and backed out of the kitchen, seeing Virgil turn back to Thomas as he did so.

Janus was still talking to the woman, and they were looking over a couple of papers, using the boxes as something to write on.

Janus glanced up at him as Remus approached.  “No water?”

“Nah, Virgil got mad that the kid in the kitchen has been hit before.”

Janus stood up straighter.  “I’m sorry, what?”

Remus shrugged.  “This Thomas kid dropped a cup and got scared Virgil was gonna hit him.”

Janus turned back to the woman he’d been talking to, who had suddenly gone very pale.  Something in her face must have bothered Janus, though, because he immediately dropped the paper he was holding and moved towards the kitchen, the woman following right after.

Remus stared after them, not sure what the big deal was.  Yeah, the woman was probably gonna be embarrassed if she got caught in the fact that she hit Thomas, but if the kid had done something to deserve it, what was the problem?  But after a moment, he heard a lot of tight, angry words.  Oh, that definitely wasn’t going to help the kid calm down.

Sure enough, a couple seconds later, Thomas sprinted out of the kitchen and into the living room.  The second he spotted Remus, though, he backed up again and moved towards the wall as far from both the kitchen and Remus as possible.

Remus sighed.  Well, shit.

“I’m not gonna hurt you kid,” he said, holding his hands up and shifting backwards so he could move from the boxes, because if Thomas was anything like him he didn’t want anyone near him right now.  “Promise.”

Thomas didn’t quite look like he believed him, but that was okay.  Remus would just move as far away as possible and keep his hands behind his back.  He wasn’t sure what else he could do, he didn’t want to leave the kid alone right now.

Eventually, Thomas seemed to understand that Remus really wasn’t going to hit him, and he jumped up and sprinted across the room to hide behind Remus’ leg.  “Are you going to let her hurt me?” he whispered.  “I didn’t mean to drop the cup, I promise.”

Remus sighed.  He didn’t really know enough about this kid’s life to make a proper judgement call, but he did know that he didn’t like seeing Thomas scared.

“Nah, I got you, kid,” he said, patting Thomas on the head.  “Don’t worry.”

Thomas whimpered and buried his head against Remus’ back.  Remus reached his hand behind and offered it to Thomas, who held onto it and squeezed it tightly.

The door to the kitchen had been left open enough when Thomas ran out that Remus could now hear the shouting coming from inside.

“You don’t understand, he doesn’t listen!” the woman was exclaiming.  “I had enough children already before he showed up out of nowhere—”

“I don’t even know where to begin with how that’s not an excuse,” Virgil snapped.

“Virgil.”  Janus sounded much calmer, though he still sounded more pissed than Remus thought he’d ever heard from him before, which was baffling given the situation.

Thomas hid further, behind Remus’ back, and Remus squeezed the hand he was still holding.  “Hey, Thomathy,” he said.  “Do you have a favorite color?”

“I like red,” Thomas said quietly.  “Why?”

“What do you like about it?”

“Uh… it’s pretty.”

Remus nodded like that was logical, which it decently was, to be fair to Thomas.  “Good reasoning.  I like green, it looks like puke.”

“What?  Ew!” Thomas exclaimed, in a voice much less scared, which was what Remus was going for.  “Why is that your reason, gross!”

“Oh come on, who doesn’t like puke?” Remus asked, shooting a grin over his shoulder.  “It looks so delicious.”

“Ew ew ew no it doesn’t!” Thomas exclaimed, waving his hands out in front of him, even as he started to grin.  “You’re disgusting!”

“Why, thank you,” Remus said with a grin of his own.  Thomas laughed, which was exactly what Remus was going for.  He turned around and scooped the kid onto his lap, and started asking him other basic questions, like favorite food, favorite shirt, if he had a best friend.  Thomas answered with what sounded like essentially any kind of treat, the one he was wearing at the time which was coincidentally red, and no.

They talked for another couple minutes and managed to avoid any of the arguing going on in the kitchen until Janus and Virgil emerged from it.  The woman from before didn’t come with them, but Janus and Virgil both looked thoroughly ticked enough that Remus was pretty sure he got her reasoning.

“Okay,” Virgil said.  “So Thomas is going to be coming with us now.”

Remus raised an eyebrow.  “He’s going to what?”

“Come on, let’s head back to the ship.  You and I have to talk about something anyway,” Virgil said, starting for the door.

“Woah, hold up a second,” Remus said.  “I understand you’re upset.”  Still didn’t understand why, but he could work that part out later.  “But maybe we should consider asking Thomas his opinion on the matter?”

He got a confused look from Virgil, but looked down at Thomas anyway.  “Hey, kid, do you want to stay here or do you want to come with us?  I promise we’re gonna take your feelings into account, okay?”

Thomas looked like he was very overwhelmed with everything that had just happened in the last 30 seconds, and Remus couldn’t say he blamed him.  But Thomas seemed to still give the question a moment of thought before he wrapped his arms around Remus’ neck.  “I wanna go with you.  Even if you like green for a gross reason.”

“I’ll try not to be offended by that,” Remus teased, standing up and taking Thomas with him, who he shifted around behind him so he could ride piggyback style back to the cart.

Virgil and Janus both gave him bewildered looks as he passed, but Virgil followed him to the cart, and Janus gave a small remark that he was going to get whatever belongings Thomas had.  Jackson was sitting on the cart when they got there, looking much less exhausted than earlier.

He sat up a little when he saw Thomas.  “Remus, why is there a child clinging to your back?”

“He’s coming with us,” Remus said, letting Thomas hop down onto the cart, and then onto Remus’ lap again once he sat down.

“Remus is gross,” Thomas announced to Jackson, as if the rest of the crew didn’t know this already.  “But he’s nice too.  I like him better than Ms. Weston.”

Virgil gave Remus another baffled look as he sat down.  “I was in the other room for three minutes,” he said.  “What the hell did you say to that kid?”

“He looked scared, so I asked him his favorite color,” Remus said.  Thomas started to fidget on his lap so Remus offered Thomas his hand, which he proceeded to play with.  “You were all yelling kinda loud, you know.  If someone’s scared of getting hurt, loud noises are not going to help.”

“What— but you—”

Virgil was cut off by Janus pushing the door open and walking out, holding a bag.  He carried it over to the cart and set it down at Thomas’ feet before climbing in next to Virgil.

“Thomas, sweetheart,” Janus said.  “Do you know if Ms. Weston was hurting any of the other kids?”

“Wait, what was happening?” Jackson asked in shock, and Virgil shushed him.

Thomas considered that for a moment, then shook his head.  “I don’t think so.  I just stress her out because she has to deal with all the other kids, so she said she needed something to be a stress reliever.”

He went back to playing with Remus’ hand after that perfectly normal sentence, but everyone else in the cart all seemed to exchange looks with varying levels of sadness and horror.  Remus wasn’t going to question it at this point.

“You don’t think she’s going to pick another kid, do you?” Virgil asked.

Janus seemed to consider that for a moment.  “I think we put the fear of God in her,” he said finally.  “Threatening to stop bringing supplies is a serious thing.”

“You threatened to stop bringing supplies because she was hurting one kid?” Remus asked in shock.

Virgil shot him another glare, but Thomas reacted to that before he could reply.  “Please don’t stop bringing supplies!” he exclaimed.  “None of the other kids did anything wrong!  I mean sure they could be kind of mean to me sometimes, but it’s okay!  I’m fine, I don’t want them to starve!”

“Hey, no one said we were going to let them starve,” Virgil said.  “We’re not going to stop bringing supplies, okay?”

“Promise?” Thomas asked, sounding so scared at the prospect that Remus was a little awed.  Damn, this kid had compassion.  Sure, he wasn’t going to accuse Shane of something horrible when Remus had done everything to deserve his treatment, but if he was given the option of letting Shane and everyone else who had ever been horrible to him starve to death… he honestly had no idea if he’d protest.

“I promise,” Virgil said, sounding a little in awe himself.  Thomas sighed in relief and took up Remus’ hand to start playing with it again.

There was a moment of stunned silence, before finally Janus took up the reins and flicked them, prompting the horse to start moving, and then turned them around towards the ship.  They made the journey back mostly in silence, after which Janus took Thomas to the ship to let him pick out a room, Jackson headed back to start preparing to launch with everyone, and Virgil grabbed Remus firmly by the arm and dragged him up to the top of the ship.

“Remus,” he said, sounding so furious Remus actually took a step back.  “What the hell is wrong with you?”

Remus blinked at Virgil a couple times.  “Do you want an actual list?  I could give you one but I’m not sure what you’re actually referring to right—”

“I’m not fucking joking, Remus.  Did you actually ask an abused kid to his face what he normally gets hit for because there’s a standard to uphold?  What the actual fuck made you think that hitting a child under any circumstances would ever be an okay thing to do?”

Remus blinked at Virgil a couple more times.  Was he joking?  He had to be joking.  But he had started that statement with “I’m not fucking joking,” so what the hell?

“Well…” Remus started, then stopped.  “Well, if a child screws up, they have to be punished, right?”

“Punishment and abuse are two very different things, Remus,” Virgil said, still sounding like he was ready to murder him.  Okay, maybe Remus was wrong.  Maybe Virgil wasn’t too nice to hit someone.  He took another step back.

“But if—”

“No buts.  No maybes, no ‘just this once’s, no nothing.  That’s a line that you don’t cross, period.  For any child.  Ever.  There is never a circumstance where hitting a child, or you know what, fucking anyone for that matter, as a way to punish them, is ever, ever, okay.  Do I make myself fucking clear?”

Remus felt like his world had tilted off axis.  Virgil’s words weren’t quite processing, but he sounded so absolutely furious and certain that Remus couldn’t find it anywhere in him to doubt what he was saying.

“I… I was never going to hurt Thomas,” Remus said weakly.  “I swear.”

Virgil must have sensed the genuineness in his tone, because he finally seemed to calm down a bit.  But he still looked firm even as he took a deep breath.  “I believe you,” he said finally, and something in Remus’ chest loosened.  “But you might want to make that clear to Thomas.”

Remus nodded, still dazed.  “Okay,” he whispered.  “I um, I need a minute.”

Virgil took another breath.  “Okay,” he said.  He took yet another breath and crossed his arms.  “I’m sorry I got so angry, Remus, I know that’s not easy for you.”

“It’s… it’s okay,” Remus said, still feeling kind of like he was about to collapse.  “I kinda deserved it.”

“I’ll tell anyone not to come up here, okay?” Virgil said, his tone significantly softer than it had been at the start of this conversation, and Remus was pretty sure this was what emotional whiplash felt like.  “No one’s gonna bug you.”

Remus nodded, and walked back to the back of the ship as Virgil adjusted the wheel to put it on autopilot, then headed back down to the main deck.

Remus sat down straight on the deck and leaned back against the side of the ship, trying to process any single one of the thoughts racing through his head.

Virgil had just indirectly said to him that what he’d gone through wasn’t okay.  That what Shane had done wasn’t okay.  But if what happened with Shane wasn’t okay, then… then… then what?  Then that made him some kind of victim?  He didn’t want to be a victim.  Didn’t want to consider what that might mean.  If he didn’t deserve to be hurt, then why was he?

Shane had seemed to have perfectly valid reasons all throughout his life.  Remus had messed up the mission, so he got a black eye as a result.  He accidentally got someone else hurt, so he got a broken leg so he could understand what the other person was going through.  He had failed his guard duty, so he had to explain what he’d done wrong and accept a worse punishment if the same thing happened again.  It was just cause and effect.  Logan would call it logical.  But now Virgil implying that none of that was okay?

Well… Remus paused.  Now that he thought about it, the idea of what he’d gone through not being okay wasn’t totally alien.  That had seemed to be Patton’s viewpoint when he first found out.  Had that been why he wanted to tell someone else?  But Patton had learned that telling someone was a bad idea, Remus had just also kind of assumed he’d learned the whole situation wasn’t as messed up as he’d originally thought it was.  But what if that wasn’t the case?

Remus sat there and breathed for a while, trying and failing to decide how to feel about everything.  Maybe for now he should just do what Virgil said and apologize to Thomas for implying that he deserved to be hurt.

He stood up and walked back towards the main deck, trying to decide how to ask Thomas to talk to him, but it turned out he didn’t have to worry about it, because Thomas was already on the main deck, and the second he saw Remus he lit up and ran over.

“Remus!  Remus!  Guess what, I get my own room!  I’ve never had my own room before, how cool is that?”  Thomas ran up to the top of the deck and started bouncing in front of Remus, beaming up at him.

“That’s pretty cool, kid,” Remus said, smiling weakly.  “Hey, Thomas, I need to apologize, buddy.”

Thomas tipped his head.  “Why?”

Remus tried to think of a way to put this.  Eventually he took a couple steps backwards and sat down on the deck again.  Thomas walked over and sat down in front of him.

Remus considered what to say for a minute, and sighed.  “I used to live with this person named Shane,” he said finally.  “And Shane would hurt me, just like Ms. Weston hurt you.  I thought that was a very normal thing, and I just realized that it might not be like, half an hour ago.  So I assumed your situation was the same.  But Virgil is right.  There’s nothing you could have done to deserve getting hurt.  Not a kid with a big heart like you.”

Thomas looked at Remus for a minute.  He nodded slightly.  “Yeah,” he said quietly.  “It’s really hard not to see yourself as the screwup, huh?”

Remus blinked.  Okay.  Yeah.  No one was ever going to hurt this child ever again.

“Yeah, it’s pretty hard,” Remus said.  He smiled a little at Thomas.  “Maybe we can try to get there together.  How about it?”

Thomas beamed, and threw his arms around Remus.  “Yeah, that sounds good,” he said happily.  He pulled back and sat himself down in Remus’ lap.  “Sorry you lived with a jerky jerk who hurt you.”

“I’m sorry you did too,” Remus said, ruffling Thomas’ hair.  Thomas smiled up at Remus, which quickly turned into a grin when Remus smiled back.

“Hey,” Remus said.  “You want me to teach you how to navigate the ship?”

“You can do that?” Thomas asked, eyes widening.

“I had this friend named Logan growing up who knew all the constellations, so I know how to use the stars for navigation.  I can show you tonight if you want to.”

“That would be amazing!” Thomas said, beaming.  “Do you know all the constellations too?”

“Oh, yeah, I learned them years ago,” Remus said, leaning back on his hands.  “I can show them to you tonight, it would probably be easier if I can actually point them out.”

Thomas seemed very enthused by that idea, and started happily talking about the one constellation he knew, which was the big dipper.  Remus wasn’t sure how he’d react when he explained that it was actually part of Ursa Major, but that could be a problem for that night.  For now he could sit and watch this child who was too adorable for his own good get excited about the stars.

Chapter Nine

[franeridart]

Anon said: i dont know what blue lock is but that art you just posted is making me interested lol

AHHHHH please getting people interested in it is all my life is about lately hahahaha it’s a sports manga about soccer! Kind of!! Definitely has all the good sides of sports manga, but it’s also different enough from the usual sports manga that I know people who aren’t huge sports manga fan who loved every second of it, please do give it a try if you find yourself with the time for it! It’s such a cool manga!!!

Anon said: I don't even like BNHA anymore, haven't for more than a year, but your blog still has me shipping the characters somehow. I live for your KiriBaku content (and your KamiJirou stuff, when you post it!)

Gosh, I’m glad I can make you like them still!! It’s such a compliment, honestly ;A; <3

Anon said: so i was looking through your art and stuff and was wondering "hey i wonder if theyve ever drawn voltron stuff" and tbh, i didnt expect you to have

To be fair, if you checked it means that at least a little you thought it was possible lol I haven’t watched anything past s1 of it though, so the chances of me ever picking it up again are less than zero

Anon said: You... are one of the loves of my life... and also the main reason I check tumblr everyday lol.

Anon!!! You’re gonna make me blush here!!!!! ;;;; thank you so much!

Anon said: i started reading bluelock because of u and now im obsessed soooo,,,,, thanks!❤️😭

SO HAPPY TO HEAR THAT!!!!!

Anon said: Hii, do you have a Spotify account? If you do, can you share it? I really like the songs u use on your arts, and I would love to see your Playlists Sorry if it's already on your FAQ, I didn't find it And sorry for my bad English ps. I LOVE YOUR KIRIBAKU ARTS THANK YOU

I don’t! I listen to all my music from youtube, because I’m that kind of person lmao happy to hear we share music tastes, though! And thank you so much!!! <3

Anon said: What's your favorite arc of ToG both story wise and art wise?

SCREAMS I don’t know!!!! I’ve been thinking about this ask since getting it I have genuinely zero clue I love all arcs so much for so many different reasons!!!!! The first that comes to mind when I think about it is the workshop battle arc, because I love Viole with everything I have and the whole arc (plus the build up to it too!!) hurts in the most wonderful way, but then I keep thinking about it and I realize there’s so many character I live for that don’t appear in it - I love the floor of death arc SO MUCH cause for one, there’s nearly all my favorite characters in it, and also because it’s such a good, dynamic arc?? everything that happens is so much fun and interesting?? also Hockney is there, and Urek is there, and Garam is there, and the Hell Train gang is all there, so!! AH and the hell train as a whole is so damn good (the dallar show???? my whole soul rests in there, Khun’s trust in Bam!! the coin flip with rachel!! Bam’s whole everything!!!!!!!! GAH) but my fav part of it has to be the hidden floor?? because!!!!!! it’s perfect from start to end, everyone in it is wonderful, Bam’s growth in it!!! GODS! My favorite scene in the whole webtoon is in the hidden floor arc, it’s how much I love it - THEN THERE’S YAMA and the whole arc there is so so SO good too, and the latest arc!! how good is the latest arc!!!!!

so yeah I can’t pick - art wise I think it goes without saying that SIU’s art has only gotten better, so the closest to the newest update you go the more I like the art.... though, my favorite Bam is still the short haired one from the Hell Train arc haha

Anon said: Oh, wow, how stupid of me. Like 2 months ago, I sent you a message telling you how much I loved your work... and I didn’t see it on your page, or anywhere else. Finally today, I discovered I had an inbox where you answered me... 🤦‍♀️... I still love your work, by the way...

AHHH yeah I always answer off-anon asks privately! And thank you so much for still liking my things!!

Anon said: Have you read the last haikyuu chapter? How did you feel about it?

I’ve reread it at least twenty times and then I went and reread the whole of the last game again and it’s been three weeks and I’m still thinking about it more or less constantly and feeling giddy happy about everything that manga has ended up being, genuinely one of the best manga I’ve ever had the pleasure of following till the very end - that’s how I feel about it <3

Anon said: I really like looking at your art it’s so therapeutic it’s wonderful please keep drawing I want to support you on Kofi and patreon and yet I am broke please just know I love u very much ok bye

Ahhhh it’s okay anon! I try to keep as little completely unavailable for my followers as I can, and I’ll do my best to keep drawing! Can’t promise the fandoms will always be stuff you care about though haha

Anon said: This is my FAVORITE art blog. Is blog even a word that ppl use anymore?? Idk but anyways your kiribaku gives me life and cures my depression so ily and thank u

I’m so so happy to hear that! Thank you so much!!! TTATT <3

Anon said: just now realizing your oc looks like the human version of kamakiri

To be fair the only thing they have in common is the green mohawk, but I get where you’re coming from! I was very happy when Kamakiri’s official colors came out exactly cause he makes me think about my boy, after all xD my love for Kamakiri is definitely biased, in that sense haha

Anon said: Just wanted to let u know im very gay for ur oc giulia that is all thanks

Anon I’m gonna cry I’m so glad you like her!!!!!!!!!! She’s one of my oldest OCs out of that group, it’s always so thrilling to know people like her ;A; <3

Anon said: I really like how you draw kirishima’s hair

Thank you!!!!!!!!!!! I have a lot of fun with it, though it does mean it ends up being kinda off canon more often than not haha

Anon said: hi! just a random question but how’d you come up with your name?

Fran is my name! Erid comes from Eridan from homestuck! Art is what I try to do! And that’s the incredibly interesting story behind my screen name haha

Anon said: Heya, so i sent the ask about the person who i suspect either heavily referenced or traced your art (i sent another ask about this tho im not sure if it went through) anyway, it was posted by ****************** you'll know it when you see it i think

Ahhhhhh sorry for how long this took me to answer, I went to check and it’s!!! fine, I mean, would have preferred if they had credited but I don’t think it was completely traced so I don’t mind too much, I used to copy art of people I liked too back when I was first starting, after all haha

[rosethornewrites]

Fic: a grain of millet drifting, ch. 1

Relationship: Niè Huáisāng & Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn

Characters: Wei Ying | Wei Wuxian, Original Characters, Nie Huaisang

Additional Tags: Assassination Attempt(s), Introspection, Regret, Travel, Post-Canon, POV Third Person, POV Wei WuXian

Summary: Wei Wuxian wanders after parting from Lan Wangji, looking to understand the changes in the world since his death, seeking to understand his place in it. He doesn't realize he's being watched. Frankencanon, so this has a liberal mixture of CQL and MDZS.

Notes: See end.

AO3 link

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Wei Wuxian hadn’t lied to Lan Zhan after their brief confrontation with Nie Huaisang in Cloud Recesses, not exactly. 

Knowing why he’d been brought back, whether somehow his old friend had chosen him specifically for his own reasons, or if that had been entirely Mo Xuanyu’s call, wouldn’t change anything.

And part of him didn’t want confirmation of how much Nie Huaisang had meddled with along the way.

So much had been broken, so many people lost, and a part of him wanted to believe the façade that the indolent Nie Huaisang he had known during their days in the Cloud Recesses still existed. 

But once he’d left Lan Zhan and set off on his travels with Little Apple, once he started getting used to being alive again, to having even the tiny wisp of a jindan, barely beyond zhuji, that Mo Xuanyu had gifted him, something he could build on, something other than the gaping hole that had ultimately consumed him, he’d had to face some truths. 

He had no family, no home. He didn’t know if Jiang Cheng would ever want anything to do with him, and he wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t. As much as he would always love Lotus Pier, he didn’t know that it had ever really been his home. 

In some ways, his leaving had been inevitable. Despite being head disciple, he’d never been welcome. And the fall of Lotus Pier would forever be his fault, the ghosts of his own doing. He’d never regret protecting Mianmian and Lan Zhan, but he would always regret the massacre that had followed. 

Even if he’d technically been absolved of the death of Jin Zixuan and the bloodbath of Nightless City and shijie’s death, his actions had still led to them. 

Wei Wuxian spent long, sleepless nights under the stars and listening to Little Apple snore outrageously coming to the understanding that he’d left the Burial Mounds with his sanity shredded. The war and continued use of resentful energy without a jindan had only worsened it. He’d raised the dead, the ancestors of their enemy, defiling their bodies to win the war, and he’d earned a dark and deviant reputation in doing so.

After the war, he’d taken to drinking to dull it all, and doing so had destabilized his mind further. He was sensitive about his inability to cultivate, but couldn’t explain why. Surrounded by people who wanted him to do what he could not, he had spiraled. 

Really, by the time he’d saved the Dafan Wen temporarily from their fate and gone back to attempt to live in the Burial Mounds, he’d been hanging by a thread. Wen Qing had bullied him into taking care of himself, for the most part, but he’d spent more days than he could count in the Demon Slaughtering Cave capable of little more than opening his eyes, what little energy he had dedicated to keeping the Seal under control. 

He remembered very little past Jiang Yanli’s death and waking up in the Burial Mounds with the remnants of the Wen who knew death was coming. The seal wanted more, another Nightless City. And he’d known he could absolutely destroy the Jianghu—but that the Seal wanted it gave him enough pause that he knew he needed to destroy it and end it all. 

He’d managed to find a way, but the Siege happened just as he was ready. What little sanity he had left went toward an attempt to hide A-Yuan—maybe the one good thing he had managed. And then, as the aunties and uncles and popo were massacred around him, he could only focus on destroying the seal. 

Dying in the way that he had, ripped to shreds by corpses, had been agonizing, though the benefit of Jiang Cheng stabbing him had meant he’d died faster. He didn’t know if his shidi had meant it to be a kindness, but ultimately it had lessened his suffering before he died. It was likely a better death than anyone else would have given him. 

But Jin Guangyao had been right: even before he’d absconded with the Wen remnants, his actions during the war, his temper and frayed sanity, his rages, his desecration of the dead… All of it had painted a target on him. 

No, he’d painted it on himself with blood. 

Wei Wuxian had come back in a body not tainted by the resentful energy that had burrowed its way into his bones before his death, despite it being his old one free of scars and birth marks, his sanity somehow restored, and was able to see his own self-destruction and how he had made that the only path he could walk through his own trauma-fueled hubris. 

Maybe those years dead had done something to heal whatever damage he had inflicted on his own soul, as well. He remembered nothing of that time, and waking up in a body had been like opening his eyes after a long sleep. He’d known he’d been dead, had known time had passed, though not how much at first. Everything that had occurred leading to his death felt so immediate, particularly shijie’s death and the knowledge he’d left A-Yuan hiding but didn’t know if he’d survived. 

The relief he felt that he had at least saved one person couldn’t be quantified. 

Part of the journey was trying to find where he fit into the world now, but most of it was reflection and coming to terms with the reality that now existed. 

He’d steered away from larger cities, opting to travel smaller roads to villages off the beaten path. Many, it seemed, had problems with restless spirits and the like—the occasional yao, even. He took care of what he could, and drafted letters to Lan Zhan when it was something that required more than he was currently capable of. 

Perhaps that was something he’d learned—to rely on others and not try to fix everything himself. He could probably handle it all, but there were costs of using resentful energy too much, and in this life he didn’t particularly want to pay them. 

So he communicated with the odd hungry ghost, used talismans to take down roaming fierce corpses, and handled the smaller yao that he could handle with the jindan he had, using these night hunts to help develop it further, hoping one day he could retrieve Suibian from Jiang Cheng and be able to wield the blade again—assuming his once-brother would let him have the sword. 

Everything beyond, that would require more spiritual energy than he had or more resentful energy than he was comfortable using, he sent to Lan Zhan so the local cultivation sect could be alerted. He dared not send them a letter himself; people still had strong feelings about the return of the Yiling Patriarch, and it was just as likely he’d be blamed for the problem as anything. 

The rural route he took left him able to travel in anonymity as a rogue cultivator, offering essentially any name but his own. Thanks to the ugly Yiling Patriarch talismans, the common folk didn’t know what he looked like. Most often, he went by Wei Yuandao, reminded of Mianmian’s happiness at seeing him when he did, that there were people in the world who didn’t hate or fear him. The villagers didn’t know him, were grateful for his help, whether in setting a spirit to rest or helping with odd jobs in exchange for a meal and a place to sleep by a hearth. 

Much of the time, though, he slept beneath a blanket of stars. 

One night like that, he heard the sounds of a scuffle and rushed to see what was going on. He expected to need to fight off a bandit, but instead he found a man in Nie colors running through a man dressed head to toe in black, face masked.

As he stood gaping, the Nie disciple bowed to him.

“Wei-gongzi.”

That confirmed a suspicion, and the logic of the situation ran through his mind at the speed of light. The courtesy, the Nie colors, what was clearly a would-be assassin’s body at his feet. Finally, Wei Wuxian sighed. 

“How many assassins?”

The young man smiled.

“Five in as many weeks. You are as smart as Nie-zongzhu said.”

Wei Wuxian snorted at that. 

“Not if I didn’t realize assassins were being sent after me. I’m guessing Nie-xiong knew they’d be hired and sent you to protect me in secret?”

He’d honestly thought he was being left alone by the cultivation world, especially since he wasn’t causing any trouble. How very naïve. 

The man nodded curtly, then bent to rifle through the corpse’s clothing, looking for clues and stripping it of valuables, every bit a Nie. 

“He wanted you to be able to travel without worry.”

Ah, Nie-xiong…

Perhaps Nie Huaisang was used to working from the shadows and had an agenda, or perhaps he truly just wanted Wei Wuxian to be undisturbed. Whatever his reasons for the secrecy, with this that ship had sailed. 

But Wei Wuxian had no idea why Nie Huaisang would bother, not after he threatened him at the Cloud Recesses. Implied threat, but still—he’d expected that would burn a bridge. Not… this. 

“I suppose I’m overdue for a visit to the Unclean Realm,” he said after thinking it over. “You may as well travel with me openly, unless Nie-xiong would prefer you watch over me in secret?”

Despite the protection he’d sent, Wei Wuxian didn’t know if he wanted the Nie clan officially associated with the Yiling Patriarch.

“Sect Leader was not specific about this eventuality. Traveling together openly may deter assassins, though it is easier to catch them off guard if they believe you unprotected.”

Ah, so Nie Huaisang didn’t care. Wei Wuxian waved off the concern. Now that he knew the threat, it was easily dealt with. 

“I can set talisman traps around the campsite. Probably should have done that to begin with.”

But he’d been trying to have faith in the cultivation world, he didn’t say. Once again, misplaced faith and he should’ve known better. 

“At least that way you can get real sleep as we travel to meet with Nie-zongzhu.”

They were a week of travel from the Unclean Realm, and he supposed he’d get answers to questions he hadn’t known he had then. 

He headed back to his campsite, happy to see his Nie protector was following, and set a gourd of water near the fire to heat and pulled out some tea. 

“In the meantime, we can talk about these assassins, eh? We’ll bury the body in the morning.”

It’d been over a decade since he’d last dug a grave, and it wasn’t to bury a body, but he was sure he could manage with the Nie’s help.

----------

Zhuji is the foundation building stage of cultivation, the stage before forming the jindan/golden core. Basically, Wei Wuxian is saying Mo Xuanyu was barely into the stage of forming a golden core, so it’s barely a wisp, but is still something that has the foundations built for him.

This fic was… unexpected. I wanted to write something for Nie Huaisang’s birthday, kind of a reconciliation between him and Wei Wuxian, and this happened. It will likely be no more than three chapters.

The title is a reference to a translation of a Su Shi poem, “First Ode on the Red Cliffs,” which was written after his first exile (he was exiled twice, both times for his poetry), while he wandered. There are several translations floating around, but I liked the wording of this one.

[scotianostra]

An investigation subsequently concluded that it was on December 15th, probably in the afternoon that the three Keepers of  Flannan Isles Lighthouse disappeared in the year 1900.

Work began on building the Flannan Isles lighthouse in 1896. Unfortunately, the building process was plagued with accidents. Several workers died or vanished while working on the lighthouse.

Way before the lighthouse was built, the island was said to be inhabited by mysterious ''little people.'' Large birds also were said to live there, too, and have contact with the little people.

The first record that something was amiss on the Flannan Isles was on 15th December 1900 when a steamer The Archtor crossing the Atlantic from Philadelphia to Leith reported that in poor daylight the beacon was unlit, this was passed on to the Northern Lighthouse Board on them reaching Edinburgh on December 18th.

By December 20th it was time for their replacement keepers to come, but the relief boat, which was due to set sail from Lewis had been delayed due to bad weather, it eventually reached the island on the 26th.

On arrival they noticed that there was no light to greet them as they arrived.  On walking inside the lighthouse he found  no sign of the keepers, looking around the only thing out of the ordinary, was an overturned chair. The logbook had been filled out up until the 14th., The stories have evolved through the years, some adding there own take of what happened including that they found an untouched meal on the table, this is untrue, a first-hand account made by the the relief keeper, stated that: 

"The kitchen utensils were all very clean, which is a sign that it must be after dinner some time they left."

They searched the island but the three men, James Ducat, Thomas Marshall, and Donald MacArthur were nowhere to be found. 

Looking through the log the entry on the 12th of December, Marshall writes about a storm the likes of which he’s never seen, and mentions in passing how quiet Ducat was and how MacArthur had been crying. 

This perhaps shows the stress these men were under, day in day out, there wasn't even a radio back then.

Captain Harvie of the relief ship sent a telegram to the Northern Lighthouse Board dated 26th December 1900, stating:

A dreadful accident has happened at Flannans. The three Keepers, Ducat, Marshall and the occasional have disappeared from the island. On our arrival there this afternoon no sign of life was to be seen on the Island.Fired a rocket but, as no response was made, managed to land Moore, who went up to the Station but found no Keepers there. The clocks were stopped and other signs indicated that the accident must have happened about a week ago. Poor fellows they must been blown over the cliffs or drowned trying to secure a crane or something like that.Night coming on, we could not wait to make something as to their fate.I have left Moore, MacDonald, Buoymaster and two Seamen on the island to keep the light burning until you make other.

Robert Muirhead, superintendent of the Commissioners of Northern Lights, wrote later in his official report:

I am of the opinion that the most likely explanation of this disappearance of the men is that they had all gone down on the afternoon of Saturday, 15 December to the proximity of the West landing, to secure the box with the mooring ropes, etc and that an unexpectedly large roller had come up on the island, and a large body of water going up higher than where they were and coming down upon them had swept them away with resistless force.

While this (or a similar approximation) seems possible, the explanation left considerable room for doubt. The lack of bodies, supposedly calm conditions, and sheer experience and know-how of the lighthouse keepers still hadn’t been accounted for, and never would be. In the years following, other keepers claimed to hear voices in the salty air screaming out the names of Thomas Marshall, James Ducat, and Donald McArthur. Another strange little fact is that hanging up was the dry "waterproof" oils of one of the men, if indeed a freak storm hit the island, why did he go out without these while two of the men thought it prudent to wear there's? 

On Eilean Mòr, the men scoured every corner of the island for clues as to the fate of the keepers. They found that everything was intact at the east landing but the west landing provided considerable evidence of damage caused by recent storms. A box at 33 metres (108 ft) above sea level had been broken and its contents strewn about; iron railings were bent over, the iron railway by the path was wrenched out of its concrete, and a rock weighing more than a ton had been displaced. On top of the cliff at more than 200 feet above sea level.

My uncle Eric is an electrician and he worked for the Northern Lighthouse Board on the automation of the beacons, and I once asked him for his thoughts, he too believes freak weather and a giant wave swept them to their deaths.

I shall leave you with the words of Folklore writer Bob Curran..........

.“For many local people, there was little doubt that they had been spirited into the otherworld.”