#isle of sky crossover story

[ladyinthebluebox]

every time Valhalla forces me into a drinking competition, i take 20 damage.

[drghostwrite]

Masterlist

prompt list: -> here

“rules”: -> here

Shows & Characters:

Criminal Minds:

Any character

Jennifer “JJ” Jareau:

Two hearts collide

A baby for Christmas

Did I hit too hard…

Derek Morgan:

• Under fire

Once Upon A Time:

Regina Mills (favorite to write in like love/wife stories)

Scars for Love pt. 1, pt. 2

Until My Last Breath

Out at Sea

Running Back to You

Black is my color

Power bottom(request)

Spellbound

Zelena Mills

Wife gives birth(x reader request)

Emma Swan

Other characters

Agatha All Along

Rio Vidal

Dancing with Death Herself

Agatha Harkness

Wednesday:

Larissa Weems:

Always You, pt. 2, pt. 3

Give You Everything

Seeing Green

Morticia

other characters per request

Marvel CU:

Natasha Romaoff:

You’re Not Alone

Dark Nights

Jealousy looks good on you

Maria Hill:

You are the Calm to my Chaos

Steve Rogers

Thor Odinson

When Lightning Strikes

Bucky

DC Universe:

Diana Prince

Lena Luthor

When the Sky Falls

When the Sun Sets on Us

Alex Danvers

Bond of Steel

Arthur Curry(Aquaman)

A Royal Bloodline

Grey's Anatomy:

Arizona Robbins:

If I Just Lay Here?

Already Taken

You’re my Comfort

The Shooting(request)

Next Time We’re Driving

My House, My Rules

Snowed In

Callie Torres

A Superstar with a Scalpel

Holding onto you, pt. 2, pt. 3

Addison Montgomery:

Code Black

Supply Closets & Satin Sheets

Operating Rooms

Some other characters but those are primary

X-Files:

Dana Scully (obvi):

You Remembered(prompt)

True Temptation

Fox Mulder

Monica Reyes:

• When I say go(prompt)

Others are special request

Desperate Housewives:

Lynette Scavo

Bree Van de Kamp

To love again(request)

Other wives and some other characters can be special request

Law & Order SVU:

Olivia Benson (The only right answer for a wife)

Something to Fight for...

ED(request)

other taskforce members

Rizzoli and Isles:

Jane Rizzoli:

That Thin Line pt. 1, pt. 2

Maura Isles:

Drown Our Problems

When the Music Fades

Frankie or Tommy Rizzoli

The Rookie

Lucy Chen:

Survivors

Scream:

Sidney Prescott:

We All Scream Sometimes pt. 1, pt. 2

Blood on the knife

Orange is the New Black:

Alex Vause:

Ex-Lovers (request)

Saints and Sinners

The 100:

Clarke Griffin:

Takes a Village

Abby Griffin

Octavia Blake

Game of Thrones(GOT):

A Rightful Heir

The Walking Dead

Reader gets shot (request)

Reader has baby during run

911

Evan Buckley:

• 911, What’s your emergency?

Crossovers:

(Criminal Minds) x (X Files), Pt. 2

There are some things I just won't write for but I do case by a case basis, I will put warnings if there is anything I view as may be triggering. Please give me more shows or characters to write for, I'm begging you! most fics are reader x character, some involve pregnancy and marriage but they will mostly be one-shots.

[sonicasura]

Ok hear are the stages we know so far for Shadow

- Ark

- A twisted combination of Westopolis and Radical Highway

- Rail Canyon

- Kingdom Valley

- Chaos Island

- Resistance Base, Sunset City ?

Trainer's stages will be

- Isle Of Armor

- Mt. Coronet

- Sky Pillar and The Surronding Islands

- Split-Decision Ruins and The Dynamax Tree

- Citadark Isle

- Poni Island with the focus being on Vast Poni Canyon and the Alter Of The Sunne And Moone

Mission Structure

Select Stages

All stages will always begin with only one of the Main Trio being able to enter, when one of the Main Trio reach the end it will allow all of the Main Trio to enter

These Will Be 1 Act

Trio Stages

The Main Trio will form a team of 3 with choosing one of the Pokemon to accompy them. Shadow will lead with Omega and the selected Pokemon at Shadow's side as they traverse the stage Sonic Heroes Style

These Will Have 2 Acts

Battle Stages

These stages are a brawlers with there being swarms of both Sonic and Pokemon Remnant enemies. Everyone of the Main Trio will be there, Trainer will send out 3 Pokemon to fight alongside Shadow and Omega as they advamce through the stage

I imagine these stages being like Kingdom Hearts styled fights from like 2 or 3 if you ever played or seen gameplay of that.

These Will Be 1 Act

Rivals And Bosses

Since the full game is still a ways of this will be speculation for some of Shadow's fights

Shadow Bosses

- Biolizard

- Metal Overlord

- Egg Wyvern or Egg Emperor

- Dark Gaia

- Hyper Eggrobo

Shadow Rivals

- Infinite

- Emerl

- Any ideas for the third rival?

Trainer's Bosses

- Cyrus

- Lusamine Nihilego Fusion

- Eternatus

- Greevil

- Ai Professor Sada

Trainer's Rivals

- Paul

- Bede ( This would be N, but the story of Black and White has yet too take place or maybe I should add N and change up the timeline a bit?

- Kieran

Boss Stages

The Stage these fights take place on is unstable so all Heroes may enter too fight the boss, same goes for the rivals. Each fight however will be drastically different as the Bosses and Rivals are controled by the remnants of The Time Eater and Black Doom, teamwork between the Main Trio will be the pathway to victory

This will be a big adventure for the Main Trio, as they face the remnant of The Time Eater and Black Doom. A lot is at stake and it will force our Heroes to face the one that brought Shadow's world to the brink and the one who tears apart Space-Time too stop both from fulfilling the end goal of the plan

Thankfully Ultimate Lifeform, The Most Powerful E-Series Robot, and The Frontier Brain will fight back this catastrophe and at the end find out quite a lot about the others past

Any Suggestions or Changes?

Shadow's third rival should be Mephiles as it's perfect for a mirror match between the two. For N, I say the clash is wrought because Trainer has the Black Stone. This enemy actually belongs to the Pokemon that been slumbering beside our unaware heroes: Zekrom.

An illusion bringing out a twisted form of Reshiram which causes the opposite to awaken in fury at the duplicate. Plus it further expresses Trainer's character to our Team Dark members. They are a person of ideas who doesn't care about the dark truth behind their companions, only who they choose to be.

So what if Eggman made Omega or Shadow is part Black Arms? They chose to follow their own paths and are Trainer's friends. A powerful heartfelt sentiment that convinces Zekrom to fully help the group without a required battle(like in Pokemon White game).

Plus it gives Trainer reason to explore the Unova region as to learn more about their newest companion.

Completely unrelated but I also thought about Zekrom awakening in the KN8 crossover. Why not give the cast(especially Kafka) a fucking heart attack than to witness Trainer battling a Legendary Pokemon as they want to test their strength. I won't be surprised if Zekrom been watching them while slumbering in Black Stone state.

Or for the Defense Force's jaws to drop when the Pokemon bows afterwards and Trainer catches them. The shock value would be immense if this is before the Tachikawa Base invasion. Like imagine their faces seeing a big dragon disappear into a tiny ball?

Although it might put a target on Trainer's head that No.10 could change his attack plans. How mean would it be if he goes for Reno's house instead? Or Trainer on their own during a night outing because that's Mina and Kafka's worse fear right there.

[cut-content-contest]

Matchups, Round One!

Botsun | beta Alice Yabusame (Your Turn to Die)

playable Zelda (The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword) | Vah Manta (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild)

life indicator rune | early concepts (The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild)

Termina Ganondorf (The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask) | Unicorn Fountain (The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time)

cut dungeons (The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker) | The Legend of Zelda: Mystical Seed of Courage

Yosuke Hanamura romance route (Persona 4) | devil Joker boss fight (Persona 2)

Moonjumper | Timmy (A Hat in Time)

Sand n Sails | Vanessa's manor third floor (A Hat in Time)

distilled emotions (Psychonauts 2) | Li-Po document (Psychonauts)

human woman (Star Fox 2) | Dinosaur Planet (Star Fox Adventures)

Michael Tutori (Wii Music) | fish render (Wii Party)

"like, half the game" (combined with cut levels of Monty Gator Golf) (Five Nights at Freddy's: Security Breach) | coconut.vtf (Team Fortress 2)

F-Stop | Cave Johnson cube (Portal 2)

Czar Dragon (Final Fantasy VI) | musketeer class (Final Fantasy XIV)

room_water_prebird (Undertale) | unused art (Undertale console versions)

twisted sword | everybody weapon (Deltarune)

unused Ralsei battle (Deltarune) | final boss battle backgrounds (Mother 3)

wolf howls | beast boy (Minecraft)

Rana | Steve and Black Steve (Minecraft)

beta Arceus | beta Giratina/Kimairan | ???-type Arceus (Pokémon Diamond/Pearl)

Pokémon Z | Paldean sea and skysphere (Pokémon Scarlet/Violet)

cut beta pokémon (combined with unused baby pokémon) (Pokémon Gold/Silver) | Kotora and Raitora (Pokémon Red/Green and Gold/Silver)

unused trade theme | Mew (Pokémon Red/Green)

Honey the Cat (Sonic the Fighters) | Tiara Boobowski (Sonic Xtreme)

good Cortex (split from Good Cortex and Evil Coco) | evil Coco (Crash Twinsanity)

8 beta colossi (combined with Spider colossus) (Shadow of the Colossus) | "Hot Coffee" minigame (NSFW) (Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas)

backdash | ancient_bench (Hollow Knight)

extended Abyss | Pure Vessel dream nail dialogue (Hollow Knight)

the Aviary | Daylight Prairie invisible boat | early Isle of Dawn (split from the entirety of Sky: Light Awaits) (Sky: Children of the Light)

arms on the player characters (Journey) | Omori keyhole cutscene (OMORI)

original rabbit designs (Splatoon) | octoling backup dancers (Splatoon 2)

Singing Mountain (Chrono Trigger) | multiplayer sabre (Halo: Reach)

Selph/Self | robo NiGHTS (NiGHTS into Dreams)

fur (Wobbledogs) | Ancient Castle Spires (Neopets: The Darkest Faerie)

Dude (Hylics) | FN F2000 (Hot Dogs, Horseshoes, and Hand Grenades)

BomBom (Angry Birds) | Snick the Porcupine (Pizza Tower)

Golden Deer!Ashe (Fire Emblem: Three Houses) | Jagen death scene (Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light)

Laura Cruz (Tomb Raider) | Kale quest (Eldin Ring)

Dragon King: The Fighting Game (Super Smash Bros.) | Melee selected animations (Super Smash Bros. Melee)

Meteor Slime (Slime Rancher) | SNES CD-ROM (Super Nintendo Entertainment System)

the original story (Bayonetta 3) | Kid Kirby

Bionis Shoulder (Xenoblade Chronicles) | pitcher plants (The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion)

Phoenix Wright heart eyes | early concept art (Ace Attorney)

cut character models | docks mission (Dreamfall Chapters)

Musa boss battle (Skeleton Boomerang) | the plot (Ace Combat 03: Electrosphere)

Starbeans café crossover cameos (Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga) | Bottles's Revenge (Banjo-Tooie)

Shipwreck Cove (MySims Kingdom) | MySims Agents 2

Shockwave (Genshin Impact) | doki17.mp3 (Doki-Doki Literature Club)

Satsuki Rin (Touhou Project: Embodiment of Scarlet Devil) | anti-piracy measures (Higurashi: When They Cry)

elh (Luigi's Mansion) | Tramplin' Stu (Super Mario Sunshine)

cats (Super Paper Mario Korean version) | dragonhead flower (Super Mario Galaxy)

[halo20601]

So, this was an idea for a fanfic I've been working on, a crossover AU: What if baby Kal-El's pod landed on the Boiling Isles instead of Earth, and Eda and Raine raised him? In this story, a young Eda and Raine were on a date when suddenly, something fell from the sky and crashed nearby. The two of them investigate it, discovering a pod, and inside it is a baby. They take the baby and the pod back to the Owl House, and Raine suggests to Eda that they raise him. Eda is against the idea at first, but she eventually comes around. She names the baby Kaleb Clawthorne after an old relative.

Raising Kaleb was not easy for either Eda or Raine, especially since he didn't have magic, but instead developed super strength, near invulnerability to almost everything the Isles can throw at him, flight, and all the other powers. (Kaleb will have a stronger resistance to magic; it can still hurt him, but not as much as it would hurt Superman in other media. Kaleb did grow up on the Isles; it would make sense, right?) After learning how to hone his abilities, similar to Mark from “Invincible,” and tries to use them for good, eventually becoming the Superman of the Boiling Isles. (I'm still writing the first chapter.)

This is how I imagined Kaleb would look in the AU: A mix between Superman from "Dark Knights of Steel" and his 90s incarnation with the mullet—pretty much Raine’s fashion sense with Eda's hairstyle.

I used this little drawing exercise to get back into doing more graphic arts.

[metroxlr]

[Artwork by @epiccrasher.] 'Olivier Clawthorne winced in fright at the sound of distant thunder.

Anne chuckled at this. "What's wrong?, You afraid of a little-"

As it began to rain, Olivier quickly raised his hand and formed a golden energy shield shaped vaguely like an umbrella.

He then tried to grab Anne's hand, and pull her close to him. "What are you-!?"

"QUICK, get under the shield!" exclaimed Olivier. "It's starting to rain!"

"GOOD, I could use a refreshing shower after today!" said Anne, who pulled away from Olivier. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" exclaimed Olivier, reacting as if Anne had a death wish.

As it rained, Anne danced around with her arms spread out like wings. She twirled around, and looked to be enjoying herself.

Olivier, however...was confused at this. Why wasn't the rain hurting Anne Curious, Olivier reached out his hand in an attempt to feel the rain drops.

...and, to the Witch Boy's surprise. He felt no pain at all.

"The rain...It isn't Boiling?!"

Anne stopped to stare at Olivier. "Boiling Rain!?, of COURSE not!"

Anne then approached Olivier, and pulled him into the rain.

Olivier gasped at first ...but he eventually relaxed as he felt the cool raindrops fall upon his head.

no...the rain DIDN'T boil like it did back home in the Boiling Isles. The rain actually felt good as it splashed against his hair and skin.

Olivier stared up at the sky as the rain dropped down upon him. He then closed his eyes, and allowed himself to really FEEL it.

The rain felt so...Soothing. So refreshing (as Anne had described it earlier.)

Just then, Anne grabbed both his hands and spun themselves around in a circle.

"Dance with me..." said Anne, smiling cheerfully.

Olivier stared blankly as Anne began to laugh like a child would.

This Boonchuy girl was strange. But it was a kind of strange that kind of reminded him of his mother, Eda.

..and, He too eventually smiled and laughed along with Anne.

Once they stopped spinning, Anne noticed some water puddles forming at the ground. So, she hopped, and SPLASHED onto one. sending water flying around.

Intrigued, Olivier proceeded to do the same thing...and quickly found that he liked it.

The pair then began to hop around like frogs, laughing like young children as they splashed into every puddle they could find as it continued to rain.

Both Olivier, and Anne may be stranded in a world very far from their own homes. But, right now...Amphibia didn't feel like the worst place they could be.

In fact...It felt like a Paradise.' ********** For my birthday (June 1st), a close friend of mine drew an illustration of a scene from my Amphibia/Owl House crossover story. After receiving the okay from her, I decided to post it here Hope you all like it.

[dvdbonusfeature]

Okay, as the person writing a book where all fictional works coexist in one reality, let me just lay out some things about how these places would actually coexist.

1. I don’t know a single thing about Krull.

2. Oz is a place on Earth. It’s a physical country in the middle of a continent called Nonestica somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. Dorothy ends up there again after a ship to Australia she’s on crashes and another time after wandering through a subterranean world (under the ocean) that opened up in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

3. Narnia is in a different realm from Earth. Aslan is literally (not metaphorically) this other reality’s incarnation of Jesus Christ, meaning that whatever other lands are in this realm have a talking Lion as the Christian messiah.

4. In Peter Pan, London is referred to as the mainland, implying Neverland to be in the same realm as Earth. It is also said to sit among the stars of the Milky Way. This is all to say that the Disney depiction of it floating on a disc of water in space is accurate.

5. Hobbits are implied to have gone extinct (or at least into hiding) by the time Tolkien is translating Bilbo’s writings, so I have to imagine that a lineage managed to survive to modern day (circa 1900) in Oz by giving in and wearing shoes.

6. Wonderland should border a place called Looking-Glass Land. Wonderland is under London, and also Looking-Glass Land is the reflection in a mirror, and also both are dreams. Because of this, I really like the idea of them being near Kadath.

7. We know the geographical coordinates of Lilliput, so putting it on a hodgepodge fantasy map is a particularly odd choice. It’s just southeast of Sumatra. Where is Blefuscu? Why is Lilliput so big?

8. I don’t know anything about Westeros but it seems fine to be in a shared realm if the cosmologies get along.

9. The Wild Things definitely live in Lovecraft’s Dreamlands. I would move them to the bottom of the map.

10. Whoville is on a speck of dust. The implications.

11. Utopia is in the Americas and was (fictionally) charted on a map by Amerigo Vespucci himself. I don’t know how he missed Westeros if it’s supposed to be right there next to it.

12. Dinotopia broke off from Asia due to continental drift and the dinosaurs on it survived extinction by hiding in a massive underground cavern. The dinosaurs have their own gods. They deserve their own Jesus and shouldn’t be stuck with the Lion one.

13. Moomin Valley is in the Arctic. That’s where they were when the Westfold fell.

14. Terabithia is an imaginary place even within the context of the book. Physically, it’s in Virginia, but it definitely fits in the Dreamlands.

15. The Isle of Sodor bridges the distance between England and the Isle of Man. Thomas could drive on the tracks and reach London without having to take a ferry or anything.

16. The Living Island (from H.R. Pufnstuf) should be further out to sea so the boy can’t just swim to Sodor then take one of the many public transportation options home. The intro was shot in Big Bear Lake, California, and it definitely looks more like a lake than a bay, so the lyrics say bay to make it seem like the island is far out at sea. Despite this, Pufnstuf saw the boat attack, which happened before the boat left the bay.

17. Lidsville is also on Earth. The kid wants to steal the villain’s flying top hat to physically fly home in it. It had a crossover with Pufnstuf with Witchiepoo flying between the Living Island and Lidsville on her broom. The villains of the two shows went on a blind date.

18. Hyrule is nowhere near Earth. I can’t even comprehend a world where it borders Lidsville.

19. The Land of the Lost isn’t underground like I assumed before watching the show. It’s another realm, with three moons visible in the sky. Most of these other places only have one moon each.

20. Fantasia (presumably the one from Neverending Story) is not a physical place with geography and things. It is inside of a book. It is a manifestation of the words in the book and the memories real people have of its story.

21. Thra does not exist in a realm where anything human-like exists. I could see it being on the same speck as Whoville.

22. I don’t think Jareth’s kingdom is called Labyrinth. Of all the places that could bridge Hyrule and Earth, this is probably the only one that makes a bit of sense.

23. Earthsea is a planet with no continents, just islands. It doesn’t make any sense to put it next to these large landmasses.

24. Nehwon tracks, but it’s odd to grab it and not Erewhon.

25. The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath holds that dreams are actually the mind astral projecting to an ever-shifting realm they have control over. This could unretcon any “it was all just a dream” twist you want.

26. Avalon is an island in a lake in England. Camelot is not in Avalon.

27. Florin is also in a book. You can’t brush aside the best framing device any movie has ever had.

This was fun.

One of my favorite hobbies is thinking about the fucked up implications of this fantasy world map my parents got me for christmas

[Image ID: photo of a map. On the left side of the map is Middle Earth, with the Shire and Mordor labeled. To the direct right of Mordor is Whoville.]

[scribblewriting65]

I posted 322 times in 2022

6 posts created (2%)

316 posts reblogged (98%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@smallpwbbles

@moringmark

@thefloatingstone

@xxtc-96xx

I tagged 72 of my posts in 2022

#the owl house - 38 posts

#the owl house spoilers - 21 posts

#toh spoilers - 11 posts

#sonic the hedgehog - 8 posts

#scribblewriting65 - 7 posts

#sonic movie - 7 posts

#rwby - 5 posts

#archive of our own - 4 posts

#the collector - 2 posts

#rise of the tmnt - 2 posts

Longest Tag: 23 characters

#hunter the golden guard

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Hey guys, here's my next work: An original story called Overqualified! Sorry I haven't posted in so long, I'm going through burnout right now (it's not fun). Still, I hope that at least this piece's length can make up for my absence, and I hope to be consistently writing again soon. Thanks for sticking around, and I hope you enjoy!

0 notes - Posted April 10, 2022

#4

Hey guys! Here's a sequel to Leaving the Den! I thought it'd be interesting to see what Luz's crew could get into before Season 3. Sorry for having this one be a little late, this piece took a while and I'm likely still working through some burnout (especially with things like a soon approaching new job and moving).

Chapter 4 was inspired by @moringmark and their great work with Owl House on here. It’s inspired by their idea that post Season 2, the Boiling Isles essentially become a Mad Max-style wasteland, with survivors driving around in big rigs to find other people and avoid the Collector. Thank you Mark for the inspiration if you ever see this!

Lastly, I just wanted to say that burnout/motivation to actually START writing is still a struggle, but hopefully, I'll get past it eventually. With that in mind, I don't want to give a SPECIFIC date for my next story, but rest assured that I'm not leaving writing anytime soon. It may just be a while before I post another story, with the next one likely being for a fandom I've never written for before. I hope you look forward to that. Tell me what you thought of this story in the comments, and have a good day!

1 note - Posted September 19, 2022

#3

2 Scribble story posts at once???

In all seriousness, Here's another piece to my Owl House/Shadows collection! I wrote this in about a day after being super inspired by King's Tide and just had to get it out. Tell me what you think, and I hope you enjoy the angst!

One last thing: Since I’m posting these two stories so close together, I’m rewarding myself with an additional month to my self-imposed deadline. So instead of 2 months and a week bringing the next story to August 13th, the next one will be out before September 13th. Hope you look forward to what’s next!

3 notes - Posted June 6, 2022

#2

Hey guys! Here's my latest work: A continuation of my Owls and Wolves Owl House/Shadows crossover named Friends and Heroes! There'll be more canon divergence in this fic than usual because I've had this story cooking for months; before we even heard anything about Season 2B. Burnout isn't fun.

Nevertheless, please leave a comment on what you think, and I hope you enjoy!

3 notes - Posted June 6, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Owl Gushing

Can I just say? I love the Owl House with all my heart.

“And the sky is blue, Scribble, so what?”

So that means I get to gush about a natural beauty as much as I damn well please, and I’m gonna do so now.

When I first picked up the show, I didn’t expect too much from it. Having never been truly attached to Disney properties before then. Yeah, I liked shows like Phineas and Ferb, and Gravity Falls or the movies were always around in my media feed, but I never paid much hardcore attention to them, so I thought Owl House would just be a nice time killer while I was living with my sister during the worst of Covid. “Oh look, another story of a normal person being brought to a supernatural world. I’m gonna remember and love this beyond the next hour.”

Um, yeah, I will. Forever.

The Owl House, in my eyes, is not only the best thing on Disney’s library (more on that later), but it’s one of the best stories EVER. Even freaking Avatar: The Last Airbender, one of my first true cartoon loves, sweats when I mention Owl House. Avatar is certainly great, but I always willingly skip the Ember Island Players episode because it’s just embarrassing/cringy, and it hardly contributes to the show at large. None of Owl House’s episodes have done that, and I strongly doubt they will.

And just what makes this story so different from the others?

See the full post

8 notes - Posted May 22, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[skyfirecn]

Sooo... Since Amphibia and The Owl House share the same universe but a crossover won't happen since Disney decided to cut short The Owl House... How about an AU where the Boiling Isles and Amphibia are on the same planet? How would the two series interact and how would they change?

I could imagine it where the Boiling Isles and Amphibia are different continents in the same world :0 I can’t imagine they’d interact much, considering Amphibia at the very least seems to have no interest in traveling outside their continent, but I could see a frog or something making their way to the Boiling Isles and everyone just assuming they’re a demon lol It would be harder to explain the differences between the worlds; magic, the color of the sky and sea, boiling rain vs normal rain, etc, but I think it could be hand-waved with like a difference in where they’re located in the world, and what places magic can be/is present. If the worlds were smushed together like SVTFOE, it would be a lot of adjusting but I think things could settle down for sure. And in terms of how that would effect the stories of TOH and Amphibia, it would probably mean that Luz and Anne would be proper friends and hang out together and stuff, and would most likely intertwine their stories and character arcs with each other. Honestly, since seeing The Collector in the flesh, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about them interacting with Marcy from my No Patience AU (by the end of it, it gets wild) like it’s genuinely been giving me brain rot even though I have no idea how I’d handle writing The Collector in any capacity to make it work XD So for now, it’s a really neat idea to throw around, but I have no solid thoughts of what to do with it myself, though I have considered it

[dani-luminae]

Dani’s Fic List

As promised for my 300 followers celebration, a list of all my active fics on Quotev! I think this is comprehensive. If there’s a fic that’s left off, that’s by accident. All of these are on my “published” list on Quotev.

For this story list, I’ll start with ones that already have links posted on here, then move to other lesser-known ones (below the cut). These are listed in no particular order at all.

@auradon-bore-a-don Since you asked to be tagged, here it is! Like 95% of this is all Descendants-related. It’s been my hyperfixation since the first book came out back in early summer 2015 and it’s stuck... 

Behold, a bunch of nonsense that comes from an overactive imagination and no social life!

-

 Title + link: Sophronia

Fandoms: Disney Descendants

Basic plot: Sequel “A” to Good to be Bad: A Disney Descendants Twisted Tale, this story focuses on Ben and Audrey’s adopted daughter, Sophie. When the terrible Horned King escapes the Isle of the Lost, Sophie sets out to protect her kingdom from any evil, no matter who it is.

Title + link: Nightshade Rose

Fandoms: Disney Descendants

Basic plot: Sequel “B” and a sort of “What if?” take on Good to be Bad: A Disney Descendants Twisted Tale, this story is focused on Princess Nightshade, a Princess of Auradon who lives unaware that her parents are the Rulers of Evil who threaten her land.

Title + link: Never Enough

Fandoms: Disney Descendants

Basic plot: The sequel to Rewrite the Stars; Ben follows Lia to her home planet of Solasar as Lia prepares to marry her fiancé and become Queen. However, there’s more happening on Solaar than they could ever expect.

Title + link: The True Defender

Fandoms: Disney’s Descendants (mostly), Treasure Planet

Basic plot: A D2- and D3-based AU featuring Lia. Will also go on to cover an AU of Good to be Bad: A Disney Descendants Twisted Tale.

Title + link: Love from the Stars

Fandoms: Disney Descendants; contains elements from the world of Treasure Planet

Basic plot: Ben and Mal’s wedding is derailed by the arrival of space pirates who abduct Ben, but he’s rescued by an Etherial, one of the most powerful creatures in the galaxies.

Title + link: A Wondrous Place

Fandoms: Disney Descendants

Basic plot: Essentially an AU of Descendants, just with BenJay as the endgame instead of Bal.

Title + link: Come Alive

Fandoms: Disney ZOMBIES

Basic plot: Zeraphina is a Zombrid – half-human and half-Zombie – forced to hide her hair color and fit in. But now that Zombies are welcome at Seabrook High, she’s hoping to start on a new chapter of her life, one where she doesn’t have to hide who she is.

Title + link: Darkness Falling

Fandoms: Disney Descendants

Basic plot: Book 2 (of 3) in my Dark Haven series; Bianca, Princess of Dark Haven and daughter of the Rulers of All Evil, returns to the kingdom of Auradon to help Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos destroy the talismans (from Rise of the Isle of the Lost.) But there’s a more dangerous threat that none of them know of… (This fic is completed and this link currently acts as a placeholder for this series, until the sequel is published.)

Title + link: Fate and Fairy Tales

Fandoms: Disney Descendants

Basic plot: Carly is looking forward to a happily-ever-after with her fiancé Chad Charming, as Carlos looks forward to a future without their mother around. But the sudden and unexpected arrival of their father, the malevolent king of a magical race, complicates everything. (This fic is dedicated to Cameron Boyce, who passed shortly before its publishing.)

Title + link: Blue Fire

Fandoms: Sky High and Disney’s Descendants (crossover)

Basic plot: Haley is just your average, everyday super-powered teenager attending Sky High. It just so happens that her hair turns into blue fire and she has no idea where she comes from, or who her father really is. 

Title + link: The Crown and the Sea

Fandoms: Disney Descendants

Basic plot: a crossover between me and my girlfriend @megamultifandomtrashposts featuring our characters Bianca and Sophia. Bianca is with Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos as they return to the Isle of the Lost (from May Evil Reign), but the reign of Ursula’s daughter, Sophia, over the Isle complicates things...

Title + link: An Untold Story: Tales of Auradon

Fandoms: Once Upon a Time and Disney’s Descendants (crossover)

Basic plot: The second of three books in my An Untold Story crossover between OUaT and Descendants, this book takes place between Season 3A and Season 3B of OUaT. Instead of going to the Land Without Magic, Emma and Henry come to Auradon to stay with King Adam, Rose, and the rest of their adoptive family. This book includes an adaptation of Rise of the Isle of the Lost and the first Descendants movie.

Title + link: Heroes and Villains

Fandoms: Disney Descendants

Basic plot: This four-part story encompasses the first Isle of the Lost book, the first Descendants movie, and the Return to the Isle of the Lost book, before departing into an OG fourth part. This is the story of Royal, Mal’s half-sister, in a version of Auradon where the Isle of the Lost wasn’t the first solution for working with the villains and history is a bit different.

Title + link: Spells Were Made to be Broken

Fandoms: Disney Descendants

Basic plot: Basically a crossover between Heroes and Villains and the world of Descendants 3 post-D3, Royal, Chloe, and Skalja, the Princess Trio, are tasked to save the kingdom from an unexpected enemy.

Title + link: The Return

Fandoms: Disney Descendants and MCU (crossover, kinda?)

Basic plot: An adaptation of Return to the Isle of the Lost, featuring my OCs Lily and Balthazar, the children of Loki (from the MCU.) This isn’t an active story exactly, but it is the latest in the series while I’m planning out the next and final book.

Title + link: More than Flesh and Bone

Fandoms: Disney Descendants and Disney ZOMBIES (crossover)

Basic plot: Gwyn, a cheerleader in Seabrook, has mysterious ties to a certain Werewolf pack, ties that originate from her mother on the faraway Isle of the Lost.

Title + link: The Dragon That Cannot Fly

Fandoms: Disney Descendants

Basic plot: In the third and final book of her series, Nara, the adopted daughter of Queen Narissa, must team up with Naros, her brother from an alternate and almost-identical world, in order to put a permanent end to Queen Narissa’s evil.

Title + link: The Believers

Fandoms: Disney Descendants

Basic plot: In an OUAT-inspired story that combines OCs from various different stories, Ben awakens from a coma and discovers that his memories of Auradon were nothing but dreams. However, he soon learns that the world he’s in, Auradon City, is really his kingdom placed under a curse and controlled by Maleficent.

Title + link: Not All Treasure is Silver and Gold

Fandoms: Disney Descendants and Pirates of the Caribbean series (crossover, sorta)

Basic plot: Jackie is the daughter of Captain Jack Sparrow and Angelica. When she goes to Auradon, she finds a little adventure and a little romance with an old friend and a new one. (No love triangle, just polyamory.)

Title + link: Fathoms Below

Fandoms: Disney Descendants

Basic plot: In the final book of Selina’s series, Selina must confront and defeat Morveren, the first evil Sea Witch and the originator of her lineage, in order to protect her family and her kingdom. With fewer allies than ever before, this is quite a daunting task.

Title + link: The Unusual Kingdom Keeper

Fandoms: Disney Descendants and the Kingdom Keepers book series

Basic plot: Aria, the twin sister of Audrey, unexpectedly finds herself in the Magic Kingdom. In this world, Disney Characters are made real through the power of children’s belief in them, heroes and villains alike. And the villains are just as evil as ever.

Title + link: The Thieves in the Shadows

Fandoms: Disney Descendants

Basic plot: The second book featuring Jay and Aza, the two of them try to track down a mysterious rash of thefts throughout Agrabah. Unfortunately, they uncover a plot launched by Jay’s mother, the sorceress Azirah, to take over all the lands.

Title + link: The Rebel Descendant

Fandoms: Disney Descendants and Ever After High

Basic plot: Reign is Raven Queen’s adopted sister, and a Rebel to the core. But there’s more to Reign’s story than just a Rebel. She comes from somewhere else, somewhere that doesn’t need a Storybook of Legends.

Title + link: Maddie Baylor and the Second Titanomachy

Fandoms: Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Basic plot: Maddie is a friend of Percy Jackson, the son of Poseidon, and she’s no stranger to the world of gods and monsters; after all, she’s a daughter of Dionysus, herself. When it becomes clear that the Titans plan to rise again and defeat the Olympians once and for all, she’ll fight by Percy’s side in quest after quest to save the world.

Title + link: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

Fandoms: Disney in general, I guess?

Basic plot: Belladonna Valaise is an apprentice studying in Sorcerer’s Town in a hidden, magical dimension. When an unusually mouse-like apprentice from another place arrives, seeking help to recover his master’s Animating Pen, Belladonna decides to seek out a little adventure and help.

Title + link: Bringer of Spring

Fandoms: Dreamworks’ Rise of the Guardians

Basic plot: Embla Springbringer has a very important job: each year, on Groundhogs Day, she battles the Frost Giant Rasgol to end winter and allow spring to come to her small Norwegian fjord. Embla has been doing this job even since the Man in the Moon called on her to do so. Now, the Man in the Moon has a very different job for her: becoming a Guardian to help defend the world’s children against Pitch Black.

Title + link: The Heroes of Tomorrow: The Next Trickster

Fandoms: Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow

Basic plot: An AU and then some of the movie Next Avengers: Heroes of Tomorrow featuring my OC, Lokabrenna, daughter of Loki.

Title + link: Frost and Flame

Fandoms: Sky High and the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Basic plot: When Muspels, the Flame Giant enemies of Frost Giants, begin to come after Cassia for her half-Jotun heritage, Cassia is forced to turn to the last people she would like to help her: the Avengers.

 ~

Shared stories! These stories are shared/co-authored/inspired by @thetimelordbatgirl and her stories. 

Title + link: The Daughters of the Trickster

Fandoms: Disney Descendants, MCU, and Marvel’s Descendants

Basic plot: In our very first crossover, our OCs Lily and Locket meet for the first time and have to navigate the realization of alternate worlds and alternate families while battling Mariana, Lily’s mother.

Title + link: The Trickster’s Daughters Return

Fandoms:  Disney Descendants, MCU, and Marvel’s Descendants

Basic plot: In the second team-up, Lily and Locket return to join forces. They must face Mariana again, but this time the stakes are higher, with the impending freedom of the demonic Chernabogs.

Title + link: Sisters of Fire

Fandoms: Disney Descendants, Sky High, and Marvel’s Descendants (crossover)

Basic plot: An AU of Haley’s story, Blue Fire. Haley is not the only inexplicably fire-powered child at Whitefield Foster House. She has a foster-sister named Jayla, a powerful girl with golden eyes who can transform into a magnificent and fearsome dragon.

Title + link: Devil’s Due

Fandoms: Disney Descendants and Marvel’s Descendants

Basic plot: An AU of the above story. What if Haley was never kidnapped? What if she stayed on the Isle with her father? And what if Jayla had still found her way to this family? They’re quite the unexpected family, that’s for sure.

Title + link: Ties to Evil

Fandoms: Disney Descendants

Basic plot: A future AU on Heroes and Villains, inspired by the Family Business series. The second in the series featuring my OCs such as Adam (son of Royal) and Beryl (daughter of Beast and Belle.)

Title + link: The Dragon’s Son

Fandoms: Disney Descendants

Basic plot: A future AU on Nara’s series, inspired by the Family Business series. In which Fairen is the son of both Evie and Nara, he reluctantly leaves his mothers behind on the Isle when Prince Alexander chooses him to come to Auradon in his proclamation. While in Auradon, Fairen learns of Nara’s unlikely connection to Auradon, and the kidnapped Princess Roseleta.

Title + link: Heirs of Agrabah

Fandoms: Disney Descendants

Basic plot: A future AU on Aza’s story, inspired by the Family Business series. Ben’s proclamation never happened, but now his son Alexander chooses some children to leave the Isle of the Lost. One of these children is Jayra, daughter of Jay, who makes a unique and unexpected connection to Aza.

Congrats! You’ve reached the end of my list of masterpieces and nonsense.

[cloudninetonine]

Follow the light

Chapter 1

Synopsis: A Genshin impact/Avatar x fem!reader

A/N: INSTANT SECOND CHAPTER. Also, some stuff from my previous post about this crossover is probs gonna change

I do not own the Genshin Impact or Avatar franchise

Warnings

“Let’s try it again”

Nodding, you took a deep breath, focusing yourself on your actions as you began to move. 

Light on your feet, just like the leaf, if you meet resistance, you must be able to spiral away at a moment’s notice, move like the wind, move like you’re free.

Tsering had practically drilled that into you when you began to learn airbending. ‘It was a must’, she had told you, sending a blast of wind into the the spinning death trap- I mean, into the spinning gates, ‘if you are to be the Avatar you must know how to air bend, even if your power is just that of an average bender as of now’

She was right, of course, but the thought of helping restore Raava’s power and find your brother itched at your mind constantly, kept you awake at night as you practiced your moves, occupied your thoughts when you ate, never had you been so desperate to leave the temple.

Despite that, the thought of leaving these people caused your chest to burn, like you had been stabbed right in the heart with the intent to kill. These people had become family to you, on level with your brother, they cared for you and you cared for them, so you knew when it finally came time to leave, which if you were correct, would be a few days from now, you would shed tears.

You would be alone and it scared you.

“Much better” Tsering clapped, as did the other four nuns, the leading nuns, when you finally ceased, bright smile on your face “You’re improving every day, I’d say you could become a master in just a few more years”

You placed your hands behind you back, rocking on your heels “Would I be able to get my tattoos if I did?”

She smiled back “Of course, you’re considered a nomad after all”

A familiar squeaky voice piped up from your left “Paimon thinks you could improve in your stance”

You sent Paimon the stink eye “You can’t even bend, elf”

“Excuse you! Paimon doesn’t need to bend to know you’re stance stinks-”

“Alright you two, no need to fight” Another nun, Nun Palmo laughed, “(Name), you are dismissed, remember to keep training and if you need help, you only need to ask”

With a ‘thank you!’ and quick bow, you headed off with Paimon for your daily walk around the temple.

“Paimon was only joking earlier, you’ve really improved, your bending was pretty flawless! Though, Paimon noticed that you looked a bit distracted, is everything okay?”

Paimon, the ever so observant, when food wasn’t involved, or when she wasn’t talking, or when she was just...herself. The spirit seemed to know you well enough to notice the shift in your attitude as you bent, mind fogged up over other matters that you didn’t need to think about at that moment.

“Yes, Pai, I’m fine, it’s just…” You searched for the words “I’m starting my journey in a few days and I know Raava is here with me but...I’m going to be alone when I travel so I’m nervous. I’ve never travelled by myself before, my brother’s always been with me so….”

A sigh fell from your lips. “It’s stupid-”

“No it isn’t!” Paimon leaned in close, shaking her fists in exaggeration “Being alone is a big deal! Paimon knows from experience that it sucks being by yourself, so, Paimon’s decided to accompany you on your journey! She am a spirit of guidance after all!”

Your head snapped towards her “Wait...seriously?”

“Seriously!”

The grin that spread across your face was contagious, the spirit mirroring your expression as you hugged her tightly, both of you laughing. “Thank you, Paimon, thank you!”

“No need for thanks!....Actually, keep it coming”

Your heart filled with warmth.

You wouldn’t be alone.

The day came faster than you had expected. As cheesy as it sounded, it had only felt like yesterday when Raava had first spoken with you and the two of you had merged, but it had been just over four months with air bending training being a subject for every single day. A mix of grueling and fun, because learning how to fly using a glider brought you back to earlier days with your wings, but getting your arse kicked by spinning gates, falling from far heights when you mess up your bending- not as fun.

A sort of leaving party had been held the night before, a great buffet for you hard work and just fun games to play with your newly aquired airbending skills. (Tsering had beaten you 5 against 1 in Airball and even then, you were sure she had given you the last one out of pity)

You were changed in your older clothes this time, pulling on your gloves and boots, looking yourself in the mirror in your room the last time. It was weird, seeing yourself in your travelling attire when for the past few years you had been dressed in the familiar orange, yellow and reds of air culture, it only further settled as a reminder that you were leaving today.

You had successfully held back the tears till this point.

“(Name)” Glancing towards your door, Tsering stood with her hands clasped together, a small smile on her beautiful features “Are you ready?”

“Uh, yes!” Fumbling for your bag, you made your way over “I’m- I’m ready”

“Good, but before that” Pulling something from behind her back, she presented it to you “You earned this”

Sat within her palms was an airbending staff, accompanied by your familiar red sash that you supported on your clothes previous. You stood in awe as the elder airbender tied the sash around you, tightening it gently before grasping your cheek, stroking it softly with her thumb. “I will miss you, (Name)”

Tears finally pushed through, eyes glazing over as you engulfed the woman in a tight hug, face shoved into her chest. “I’ll miss you too, Tsering”

Ten minutes later, you were heading towards the bison, specifically your bison, one you had befriended by accident and now considered one of your lifelong pals. You hadn’t meant to bond with him, only airbenders received bison, but you had stumbled upon the ordeal when exploring and he just didn’t seem to care about anyone else. Tsering had let you have him without much argument and smiled when you named him Viator, something she didn’t quite understand back then but now was a completely different story.

“Food has been packed for you, along with water, spare clothes and other necessities” Paimon was already sitting upon Viator’s back, munching on what you guessed was something from breakfast, when you jumped onto the bison’s head, stroking through his fur with love. “Be safe, (Name) and please know, you may return whenever you wish”

“Thank you, Tsering. Thank you everyone, you showed me kindness for all these years and treated me as one of your own. I’ll miss you all so much but I promise I will come back” With a commanding ‘Yip, yip’ Viator had pushed himself off the ground “Farewell everyone!”

The younger airbender girls screamed their goodbyes, waving their hands wildly while the older nuns bowed, sending waves once you began to disappear West, towards the mainland of Teyvat.

Finally, your journey began.

-----

“Look, there it is!”

It had taken an entire day, much faster than you had originally expected and you couldn’t have been more grateful for the existence of sky bison. 

From your point, you could see giant cliffs, a small, sandy bay sat beneath them with a path that led deeper into the mainland, your bison following it when you finally hit the shoreline.

“Did Raava say anything about the statues, like, how to even get the power in the first place?”

You shook your head “No, so I’ll just have to see once we find one- woah”

It had taken only five minute to reach a clearing and boy, was it a sight to behold. Cliffs surrounded the area in a crescent shape, the valley holding a plethora of beautiful trees ranging from the famous forest green to autumn time orange. Beyond it stood a city of stone, laid within a sparkling blue lake, Mondstadt you believed. Dead center sat a small isle within the valley, containing just the thing you were looking for.

“That was quick”

Viator grew closer, groaning when you called ‘Yip, yip!’ to drop the lot of you onto the tiny piece of land, Paimon clapping her hands excitedly.

“Oh!” She cried in delight “That’s the statue of the Anemo Archon, Barbatos! He’s the spirit of Air!”

Floating down, you jogged up the statue with your companion following behind, eyeing the tall structure with intrigued eyes when you finally stood before it, glancing around it briefly before Paimon spoke up.

“What now?”

You shrugged “I...touch it?”

“Paimon..agrees?”

Delicate hands reached out, brushing against the golden plaque molded into the botton of the monument when a beautiful glow was produced from the carved diamond patterns, both you and Paimon gasping in surprise as a heavenly sounded resonated through the area, the glow winding up the statue and forming into a beautiful light orb within the hands of the figure head. Slowly, the ball floated down towards you, like a leaf in the wind, then flew into your chest, a feeling of weightlessness flowing through your entire being.

You glanced over yourself.

“Was...that it?”

Paimon huffed “You know, that’s kind of rude to say about the power the Archon just gave you!”

“I didn’t mean it like that-”

A brilliant light flashed before your eyes, blinding you, the whole surrounding scene blurring away. You threw your hands over your face, protecting yourself from the harsh brightness when it faded as soon as it came, the sound of nature that once encircled you now replaced with a deafening silence.

“(Name)”

You turned towards the voice, smiling “Raava”

The spirit flew towards you, you once again lending your hand out only to notice the slight difference within the being.

“You’re bigger” You noted in excitement, watching her wind up your arm “Have I already restored some of your power that fast? If so, this’ll be easy-peasy”

“You mustn't underestimate this journey, (Name)” She spoke with a wisdom that you hadn’t experienced for what felt like lifetimes, your body straightening up in response to her tone “We have only just begun and the road will only grow more treacherous as we push forward. Not everyone will be so supporting in our quest”

A sigh escaped you “Yeah, you’re right, nothing is ever that easy. I wish we had more help though”

“You are not alone in this, (Name)”

“I know, I’ve got you, Pai, Viator-”

“That is not what I meant”

The noise of confusion you made was cut short at the sound of….wind? It grew louder with it second, until the whisper because a magnificent howl, collecting around the two of you before bursting outwards, forms of multiple figures appearing from the darkness.

“Air nomads?” You glanced around at them all “Wait, not just air nomads”

“No, each is an air nomad in their own right” The multiple air nomads eyes snapped opening, revealing a familiar white glow “Not every nomad is in touch with their culture, some fade away, whether that be from their own choice or anothers, while others stick with air custom”

It hit you.

“Past air nation Avatars….” There were so many, you couldn’t keep count! They even faded into the far distance of this mind space! You had known there had been plenty of Avatars but seeing this much was just...wow “But, I don’t get it, the Avatar cycle was destroyed. Wouldn’t the Avatars have vanished? Like in that Water tribe….Korra, like in Korra’s era”

But then again, Tsering had told you that the following Avatar, an Earth Kingdom boy named Genji you believed, had somehow restored the previous Avatars despite the new cycle. No one ever found out how, but no one really cared, they were just grateful for the Avatar.

“I, as well, am not sure why they are returning” The spirit glanced around before facing you once again, sliding further up to reach eye level “Perhaps it is our connection? Your own spirit? Or maybe it is just luck that they return, but they will help you in your journey, they will be your guides alongside me”

You grinned “Good to know I have more backup”

“(Name)!!!!”

The voice of Paimon echoed around you, concern evident in her voice and you glanced around, trying to find her.

“It is time for you to return, but you can always find us again”

The world around you began to fade, the past avatars disappearing within the darkness along with the spirit.

Paimon sighed in relief when the glow finally dissipated from your eyes, you blinking a few times then glanced towards her with an apologetic smile.

“You can’t just go all Avatar on Paimon like that!” She chided like a mother, waggling her finger at you “Paimon wasn’t sure if what happened was worrying or not!”

“Sorry, Pai, didn’t mean to worry you”

She huffed, floating back to Viator “Let’s just continue on, Paimon thinks we should head over into Mondstadt!”

You hopped onto your bison, patting his head “Why, Mondstadt?”

“It’s the city of Wind of course! Poetry and language flow like the wind, so there must be someone who knows about your brother! At least that what’s Paimon thinks”

“Sounds like a good start, yip- huh?!”

A large shadow cast over you, a bellious roar sounding through the valley, deep, thunderous and strong. Glancing upwards, you both watched as a giant creature, with beautiful blue fathers flew overhead, aimed towards the heart of the forest that laid ahead.

“What was that?!” You cried as Viator groaned in alarm, Paimon looking as spooked as you felt “Paimon!?”

“A dragon! We’ve gotta be careful!”

Dragon? What a weird dragon indeed. You had seen quite a few in your lifetime, exploring different worlds with your brother meant you got to experience a whole lot of different things, dragons were no exception. They differed in different worlds, some violent, some passive, some young and naive some old and wise, but one thing that tended to stay the same was that their appetite was a meaty one and when you glanced down at Viator, you decided to take a cautious step for your furry companion.

“Paimon, stay here with Viator” Opening up your staff, you hopped off your animal and flew in the direction of the forest. Your friend called after you, voice high with panic as she begged you to come back, but you weren’t listening, no, you were focused on keeping the people close to you safe, even if that meant fighting a dragon, which you knew for certain you weren’t ready for.

The forest was practically silent compared to the valley. The sound of life that played within the sun had dimmed with the looming trees of oak, muffling the wind that blew through the perfect path that had been carved through the nature with perfect precision, it’s goal on leading to Mondstadt clear with each tentative step you took that lead to where you had seen the great beast land.

‘I wish I had my sword’ Such words shouldn’t come to a nomad, you knew that to be true, but you had lived through battle after battle with your brother for so long, the weight of the blade, the leather of it’s handle, it had been burned into the skin of your hand many times ago. Guilt boiled within you during your years with the nuns, how could you think of fighting while surrounded by such peaceful people? But then again, you could take a warrior from war, but not war from a warrior.

“Don’t be afraid. It’s alright now, I’m back”

You pushed your back against the nearest tree, glancing around it’s wide trunk at the scene.

The dragon was great, indeed. Coloured in an array of blues, from aquatic to deep ocean, feathers and furs adorned it’s body, tipping the tail, decorating it’s wings, lining it’s belly but ended at it’s claws, replaced with silvery scales that reflected the light of the day. From it’s back, however, protruded two tainted purple crystals, that you could sense, all the way from your hidden spot, held nothing but a dark energy that made your skin crawl. The creature’s sheer size was intimidating enough, especially compared to the boy who stood before it, but those crystals- wait.

Only then did you finally notice, too focused on the dragon to see the small male who held his hands out towards it. Sure, you had heard the voice earlier, but the blue beast’s appearance had overshadowed it, though now, you saw him, clear as day and your thoughts screamed about how such a small, fragile looking human could stand tall before such an intimidating animal-

A shout echoed through the forest, a familiar high shout that made you groan inwardly when the dragon let out an ear piercing shriek, swiping towards the boy only for him to jump back to your relief, snapping his head towards you direction, then disappear in a flashing light, the dragon leaving along with him into the sky with a final roar for extra effect.

You glared back at Paimon, panicked stricken face frozen in terror atop Viator’s head, who had tucked into himself at the appearance of the other animal.

“Really, Paimon?!” Running over, you soothed your bison softly “I told you to stay put! What if that dragon attacked?!”

“Paimon- uh- Paimon….” The spirit stumbled over her words for a few moments, when she noticed something within the short distance of where the dragon had been perched “What’s that?”

On closer inspection, it appeared to be a floating crystal, shaped eerily similar to a teardrop which glowed a crimson red, screaming an aura of negativity and…

“Sorrow” You hesitated when you reached out, but ultimately grasped it between your fingers gently “You can feel it right? That sorrow from it?”

“Yeah, almost like spiritual energy but just...sad, really sad” Frowning, Paimon turned towards you “Paimon feels kinda sad now too”

“Yeah, me too”

A cloth emerged from your pocket with a tug, the crimson glow disappearing under the raggedy brown of the material as you wrapped it carefully before stuffing it a bag on Viator’s back.

“Take care of this, will you bud?”

The animal groaned.

“Thanks”

Hopping down, you grasped Viator’s reins and continued down the dirt path.

“So, Mondstadt?”

It didn’t take long to reach the end of the woodland’s winding path. The once dense forestry parting way to a clear road to that great city that stood proud a few acres away, towering cliffs decorating your left for quite a way while to your right laid the beautiful crystal blue waves of what Paimon called Lake Cider.

A strange name, you had to admit, but your spirit friend’s explanation of the city’s famous winery industry only seemed to make it fit.

“-If we ask around, we’ll find some information! Oh, this city is famous for bards! So we can definitely-”

“Hey, you! Stop right there!”

Another threat?

Caution was thrown into the wind and you raced into action, pulling forth your staff in a defensive stance and ready to protect your companions with every last inch of you. Viator seemed to feel the same, as his large frame grew closer to you, towering in size with a guttural growl that even shook you slightly, bearing giant teeth.

Paimon merely fell behind, cowering away nervously.

‘Wow, thanks a lot Pai-’

A figure flew overhead, leaping off one of the shorter cliff sides and descending down to the dirt before you, rolling for safety then bouncing back up on their feet.

Long, dark brown hair, lively golden eyes, fair skin and covered head to toe in red.

Fire nation perhaps? Nun Tsering did say that descendants were fond of the colour.

“May the Anemo archon protect your stanger-...” She started, face kind but guarded until she fell upon your sash and bison “Ah! You’re an Air nomad! I am so sorry!”

Then she bowed, deep and apologetic and you sent Paimon a side eyed glance when she floated back to your side.

“Mondstadt is the city of wind and considered air nation territory” She whispered, “Monks and Nuns are highly respected, well, everywhere, but much higher here. You’re basically considered royalty”

You nodded in understanding before approaching the girl “Hey, it’s okay! It was an honest mistake! What’s your name? Mine’s (Name). This is my spirit guide, Paimon and my bison, Viator”

The younger woman bounced back up, narrowingly missing your head with her own while she stumbled over herself, finally findinger her words as she saluted (?) towards you all, forming a fist on her chest then being thrown outside, hand flattening by her side “Yes, of course! I am Amber, Outrider for the Knights of Favonius. I would like to personally welcome you to Mondstadt, dear Nun and once again apologise for my rude approach”

“Like I said, it was just a mistake!” Laughing, you bowed “It’s nice to meet you, Amber”

Amber paused for a moment, eyes wide then bowed in return “Likewise, Nun (Name)”

“You don’t need to call me that! I’m only a...nun-in-training, really, so, (Name) is just fine”

“Are you sure? It seems impolite to call you that, even if you’re only in training!”

From the sidelines, Paimon smiled.

The spirit had been informed by Nun Tsering of your inner conflict when you had first stumbled into this world. How hard it had been to open up, how you had struggled to interact with the others nuns, always so closed off and scared, the festering feeling of abandonment brewing a deep rooted fear of interaction, lest any person you may come across would be the next to leave you in the dust, by their own will or not.

When Paimon had first arrived, you had still struggled with that fear, even now if was still visible, if you looked close enough, but she knew she didn’t have to worry as much now, you were doing so much better and seeing you grow more confident made pride bloom in her chest, where her heart would be if she were human.

“Please-” Amber gestured over to Mondstadt, “Allow me to escort you to our city”

“Are you sure? If you’re a knight, you’re probably out here for a reason and I don’t want to get in the way of that”

“Not to worry, my duties have been fulfilled for today, so taking you to Mondstadt wouldn’t be much trouble”

With a smile, you nodded and off your little group ventured.

The walk to the city wasn’t long, no, only 5 minutes at least, filled with friendly chit chatter between you, Amber and Paimon, your bison huffing for your attention like he usually loved to do when your focus shifted. The knight looked ecstatic when you offered her a ride some time, bouncing up and down excitedly then engulfing the beast in a hug.

You liked her attitude, her excitement. It reminded you of simpler times and on a more somber note, of Aether. He always was kinda like the sun, even when you two bickered like normal siblings did, he kept on that lightened aura that just kept you from staying mad at him, a smile surfacing on your face while he cheered in accomplishment, a small tease of ��You know you love me!’ before you smacked him right around the head and your famous fist fights ensued, the ones you always won.

You missed your squabbles, you his light, you missed him, but you had to remind yourself that this was the start of your journey to finding your brother and you would be reunited one day.

The guards bowed when you finally entered the city, as did the seemingly grumpy blacksmith you passed, the flower girl, the adventure guild receptionist, the jeweller- everyone and you did the polite thing of bowing back.

“You’re attracting quite the crowd already!” Amber laughed, the many citizens watching your group with wide gazes “It’s only natural though, I’m sure Paimon’s already told you that Nun and Monks are regarded highly in the city of wind!”

“Yup! Paimon made sure it was the first thing she knew!” You were positive the spirit ignored your stink eye, “So, who do we speak with about missing person posters?”

“Well, it’s best to speak with Master Jean, if you come with me I’ll show you the way! Here, I’ll give you a little tour around too!”

“That sounds great!” You glanced back to Viator, who stood patiently beyond the gates and watched you with soft eyes. “Stay here, bud! I’ll come back soon- and with some hay!”

The great beast groaned, waddling off somewhere beyond the gate and leaving the three of you to wander deeper into the city.

With each step you took, you felt as though you were being watched with the familiar sensation of eyes pinpointed onto you, though, it seemed... unwelcoming, their stare burning holes into your form. For a moment you glanced around, Amber and Paimon too distracted with talking to notice your focus shift. It didn’t take long to find the perpetrator, a man with long red locks, a few yards away, glaring at you with arms crossed.

You noted to yourself to look for the man later.

“Hey, isn’t that Barbatos?” Gaze shifting once again, your look upon the grande statue before Mondstadt’s church, a figure akin to an angel with long robes, wings and hands out, cupped towards the sky “You know, Paimon remembers him wearing less clothes”

The knight shared a disturbed look with you.

You didn’t really need that mental image.

“The headquarters is right over here-”

There was an instant shift in the air. 

The sky darkened with malicious grey clouds, hiding away the bright summer’s sun and replacing it with only a layer of doom, the wind picking up harsher undertones.

“The sky…”

There it was again. 

The dragon from the Whispering Woods.

It raced towards the city, circling it’s borders ominously while growling a thunderous and threatening growl before erupting into a blood curdling screech, the noise bringing forth a miniature cyclone along with powerful tornadoes. 

The people of the city screamed in fear, rushing around to escape the attack, parents crying for children, knights ordering for citizens to take cover, animals yowling out their own grievances, utter chaos reigned and you felt panic at the thought of Viator alone, waiting for you patiently where you left him.

“I have to go get Viator!” You were already sprinting back to the gates “I can’t leave him alone like this!”

Amber raced after you.

How had this happened so fast? And why when you had just arrived? What was going!? Only moments ago you were touring the city towards the Knights of Favonius headquarters and now this!

“Paimon thinks that the tornado is getting too close!” She was right, it was practically on your heels! “Hurry! Or we’ll get caught up!”

If only it had been that easy.

Amber had tried, you had seen her panic as you felt the pull of the powerful wind current begin to drag you closer, she had reached out, grabbing your staff with strength only adrenaline could cause, trying hard to keep you grounded but you could see it was for naught, as her feet slipped against the stone and the fear she would also get sucked in plagued you.

You made a rash, last minute decision.

“Get Viator!” Her eyes met yours “And take care of my staff!”

You let go and watched her horrified face as you were sucked into the winding wind.

It was terrifying, you had no idea what way was up and what way was down, left was right and right was left. Paimon was screaming, something you couldn’t hear in your throat crushing fear, curled into a ball and eyes shut tightly, hoping for it to end soon. If only you had your wings, if only Aether was here, if only...

“Ravaa” Your own whimpering could not be heard beyond the screaming of the wind, but you begged that the spirit still heard you. “Please, I’m scared”

A beat passed.

The wind still roared.

Another beat passed.

The screams of citizens still echoed through Mondstadt.

Then another.

And your eyes snapped open, glowing a brilliant white.

[ladyinthebluebox]

as much as I love the fact that we were given this crossover I still can't fucking fathom how stupid the whole setup for it is.

after all, there is no way another woman can possibly wear her hair in a sidebraid... it must be Randvi, who else could braid her hair like this if not her & even though she barely leaves the longhouse at all, she sure could travel unnoticed to some far off island to wreck havoc on the people's dreams there.

ffs. really? that was the best the writers could've come up with?!

[northwind-skyau]

WELCOME TO THE NORTHWIND ASKBLOG!

Northwind is a crossover AU of Sky: Children of the Light and Underhero, that I've been working on for fun for a while now. Originally, it was just a fanfiction I was writing, but I eventually realized that my writing wasn't keeping up with how much of it I wanted to share...

Soooo, I made an askblog. Without knowing much about how Tumblr works. It's a learning experience!

Information under the cut. Heavy Underhero and Sky:CoTL spoilers ahead.

Worldbuilding links:

Petrification Response

Now, first of all, the source material. I'm assuming most people on this blog are either my friends, or came here for Sky content, so in the case of the latter- Underhero's an indie platformer rpg about a monster who killed the hero. It's pretty neat. Means a lot to me.

Anyways, a brief-ish summary of the AU.

STORY SUMMARY

After killing Puzzleman, the Masked Kid (named Winter in this story) starts to walk into the void of the Endzone- However, a bright light pulls them to somewhere else entirely, and next thing they know, they wake up in Skyworld (as so creatively named by the Skykids. I'm sure the Ancestors had a cooler name for it.)

Upon waking up in the Daylight Prairie, Winter meets a skykid named Lanius, who becomes both their guide through this new world, and a good friend. Winter’s confusion at the way this world works is misunderstood as them being a moth (the Skykid term for "hasn't existed for very long), and they're a bit too nervous to admit that they literally just Aren't From This Universe. After a brief "detour" through the Isle of Dawn (they got lost), Lani and Winter meet Goggles, a more experienced Skykid who tags along with them every now and again.

Together, the duo-slash-trio travel through the world, learning plenty about eachother and the world around them- As the journey goes on, though, Winter begins to doubt whether they really want to go home, slowly realizing that they're much happier in Skyworld than they had ever been back home- All while a mysterious light appears in the Masked Kid's dreams again and again, providing as much mystery as it does comfort.

At the end of their journey, Winter and Lanius arrive in Eden- A terrifying wasteland full of darkness. Though they both wish to turn back, something about this place seems to pull Lanius further in, and Winter refuses to leave their side- Even when it ends in both of their deaths. For Lanius, this isn't a problem, as death isn't permanent for Skykids. Winter, though, would have died for good, if it weren't for Lanius desperately dragging Winter's soul through the afterlife, begging Megabird, the goddess of rebirth and the afterlife, to save their friend.

And she did, though just barely- Unable to directly bring the masked kid back to life, she did the only thing she could, essentially turning Winter into a Skykid. Before she sent the duo back down, though, she asked one thing of Lanius- To eventually, when they were ready, return to Eden, and to bring Winter when they did. And though it took Winter some time to get used to their new form (which wasn't much different, to be honest- The Light stuff was just a lot to get used to all at once), they later returned as promised.

The trip through Eden was far less dramatic this time around, and, upon reaching the Afterlife, Winter recognized Megabird as the light from their dreams- She had been observing the duo, both confused by and concerned for the newcomer in her realm. Megabird is quick to tell Winter that they are completely welcome to remain in this world, and quicker to consider them to be one of her own children. The duo linger in the afterlife for a while- Long enough for Winter to spend time with their new adoptive mother, and for the both of them to get some well deserved rest- Before returning to the living world, safe and sound.

As for Atlas, well... This is long enough as is. Didn't mean for that to happen. I'll answer any questions about the Atlas situation if you ask.

... yeah that was NOT a brief-ish summary was it

Oh yeah Character Information

Here's a quick little character introduction (using a drawing i did for unrelated reaons!) To get started. From left to right...

Goggles

Xey/Xem, They/Them

The "responsible" one of the group

Second oldest Skykid in the group.

Absolutely LOVES teaching things to Moths. That's how xey met the others!

Has ascended... A lot. Countless times. Xey know Eden like the back of xeir hand.

The image is a bit outdated- Their neck fluff is the same colour as the rest of their body. Xey're a COMICALLY fluffy skykid.

Lanius

They/Them

The first Skykid Winter met! They've stuck by his side ever since that fateful day.

Expert on survival... Which is concerning, considering how peaceful this world is.

Was stuck in the Golden Wasteland for about a year. They’re still a bit shaken from that...

Said experience has left them a bit... Wonky. Specifically, they can't store as much light as most other Skykids. It’s not that bad, but they’re frail and tire out easily.

Absolute sweetheart and a joy to be around. They’re cheerful, try and help everyone they meet, and generally very sweet.

Very quiet- They talk a lot, but their voice just... rests at a very low volume

Winter

He/Him, They/Them

Not from Skyworld! No, really- They’re the Masked Kid from Underhero. Told ya this was a crossover. (Ellie's with him, don't worry.)

Chose to stay here after reaching the Vault. He's happier in Skyworld, after all.

Ended up as a Skykid after a close call in Eden. They almost permanently died, but Lanius managed to drag his soul all the way to Megabird and asked her to help him.

Still learning the ropes of being a Skykid. They’re not really the best flier. Or... Skykid-er.

Has a silly little tail. This isn't debatable.

Has been in Skyworld for a little less than half a year now.

Has trouble standing up for himself, and easily caves into other's demands.

(No Ref Yet)

Atlas

They/Them, He/Him

The King. Really. Y'know, that kid you see after you die in Eden.

Was saved from Purgatory by Winter! (I'm still working out how.)

HATES being alone. They've had enough alone time for a thousand lifetimes.

Absolutely REFUSES to be responsible. They’ve ALSO had enough responsibility for a thousand lifetimes.

Has a habit of slipping "Thou"s and "Thee"s and stuff into their sentences. He doesn't really notice.

Childhood friend of the Valley Elders! They go to the Valley temple to talk to 'em at LEAST once a week.

Newest member of the group. Still learning the ropes of how Skyworld is nowadays.

Never really got to experience being an actual kid- They were barely past being a moth when they did the Trials. They only did the trials because it sounded fun.

HATES being referred to as royalty.

Megabird

She/Her, They/Them, It/Its

Yeah, that's... That's Megabird. That's literally God.

She's not actually a member of the group, but she checks in on them (in their dreams) a lot, since her only ADOPTED kid AND the kid she lost a few thousand years ago are there.

Absolutely WONDERFUL mother, and tries her best to be present in her childrens lives- Even if just through their dreams.

Never actually intended for Skykids to go through Eden. They go through Eden anyways, since it's a direct path to visit her.

Gets emotional easily, and cries often. Over good AND bad things.

A little bit silly at times, even if just for her kids sakes. She's a good mama!

THE FIC, IF YOU’RE INTERESTED:

[secret-engima]

Title thing- Rivers course my blood, my breath is thunder

Ohhhhh I LIKE this title. I like it A LOT. FICLET TIME.

FFXV/Fairy Tail crossover. A dragon from the Dragon King Festival escapes death by Acnologia using an ancient spell and accidentally crashes into the world of Eos. Hides from humanity for a while, ends up retreating to some Jungle islands that don’t have many human inhabitants, and the ones that do are respectful and in awe of the massive dragon that just moved in and take pains to leave her alone. A few centuries go by and she gets … distantly attached to the jungle morons she sees flitting about, always carefully respecting the boundaries of her den, sometimes leaving little gifts in the form of food or jewelry after they witness one of her grieving rage fits over the ocean waves where none but the fish will be hurt as she calls down the storm and the waters.

Except one.

A small child, bright eyed and dark haired, fearless and curious, even more than most human hatchlings are, who creeps to the very, very edge of her den border and sits there, watching her with big, awe-filled eyes. Every day he comes from the nearby village, and eventually he drags along another child who is far more wary and respectful (”Nyx, we shouldn’t be here! We might anger the Storm-Daughter!” “It’s fine, Libs, as long as we’re quiet and don’t touch anything she doesn’t mind. Besides, I think she’s lonely.”). Somewhere along the way she gets used to them.

Somewhere along the way, the loneliness overpowers her bitterness toward the humans of her old world (betrayers, ingrates, a war against her own kin she fought and bled and nearly died for, only to be called monster and hunted down like a dog) and she speaks to them. She tells them stories and legends and chuckles like far off thunder when the bold one, Nyx, takes to telling her about life in the village and the old stories of Galahd in return. Libertus joins in, telling her of the world at large, of the kingdoms and the Astrals and the cosmology, of how magic is not free here, but restricted to two lines blessed by a so called dragon (she has seen pictures of Bahamut that Nyx brought and snorted, that was no dragon, that was a large man in fancy armor and too many swords).

Nyx brings his sister as soon as she’s old enough to toddle after his heels and calls her Selene. The dragon smiles, all razor sharp teeth bigger than a grown man is tall, and little Selene burbles a laugh as she toddles right past the boundary line to flop against a scaly claw, patting the bright colored scales in fascination that makes the dragon laugh.

And years speed by, for dragons age so much slower than humans, and soon Nyx and Libertus are bright-eyed, fearless teens and Selene an energetic, fearless, adventurous child, and the dragon, whom Nyx has boldly named Tempestas after her magic, is attached to her silly human hatchlings.

Then Niflheim comes. The ships open fire, the soulless metal men burn the jungle down. Tempestas stays in her den, for she has fought war for humanity once before and swore never again.

Until Nyx staggers out of the brush to her den, risking his own life by fleeing into the jungle rather than toward the boats where even now Libertus panics and screams his friend’s name as he searches the crowd.

In Nyx’s arms, he carries Selene. Tempestas’s littlest, her hatchling, her moon daughter, bleeding in his arms and so very still.

And the Niflheim units burst out of the brush after them, and Nyx goes down in a burst of gunfire before her eyes.

And Tempestas is not a healer, she is not a dragon of Wind and Sky that can stitch together wounds with the life of the four winds. Tempestas is a Storm Dragon, a child of the lightning and waters. She cannot restore…

But she can save.

She can wage war.

Tempestas’s roar shakes the isles, terrible and ancient and raw, the fury of a mother, of a soldier forced to once more take up arms. A swipe of her tail and the units are nothing but debris.

She presses a claw to the chest of Nyx and Selene and snarls that they will live. Pours her magic into them, the power and stubbornness of the storm, the natural enhanced healing of all dragons.

Their ragged gasps as they are dragged back from the brink of death is music to her ears. She scoops up her children (hers now, in magic and soul as well as heart and love) in a massive paw and spreads her wings for the first time in two centuries. She rises from the jungle with another bellow of fury, trees flattening and cracking beneath the power of her wingbeats, the earth and ocean shaking and shuddering under the volume of her rage, the clear skies Niflheim had banked on for their invasion seething over with snarling black clouds.

On the refugee boats, Galahd watches as the legendary Storm-Daughter, the great Wave Dragon that has slept on their isles for centuries, surges up to meet the army of mere men and machines. They watch as she opens her maw and roars and lightning spills from her jaws, turning anything in its path to less than dust. A slash of her claws calls down the rain to put out the fires and a smack of her tail sends to invasion flagship crashing into the water in two halves before another roar of lightning turns it to dust and less. The invasion breaks and scatters, every weapon, every trick, every pride and joy of their military splashing harmlessly off her scales and only draws her eye toward them in her howling rage. They try their last ditch attempt, their Astral killer, the weapon that pierced even the great Glacian’s skin, the one they had brought along in case Ramuh rose to defend his isles.

Galahd cries out as Tempestas falls from the air, plummeting towards the waves in smoke and light from the impact.

They cheer as her wings snap open and she rights herself, surging upward again to carve a bloody path to the weapon that stunned her for mere moments without actually harming her and tears it open.

Fools, she snarls in a tongue this world doesn’t know pathetic, human fools, you cannot kill me. And she is not boasting. For only a dragon can slay a dragon, only when humans were imbued with dragon magic in her old world were they able to draw even a drop of blood from beneath the scales of the great drakes and humans of that world had possessed magic far more terrible and mighty than any technology Niflheim could dredge up from the ruins of Solheim and power with the Scourge.

Niflheim’s invasion force is destroyed to a man. Tentatively, the Galahdian boats come back to the shore, afraid that the great Storm-Daughter will turn on them as well.

Instead, she lands with a shuddering impact and sweeps the rain-drenched crowds for one face in particular. Libertus staggers forward and she lowers the paw she kept close to her chest the entire time to the sand. Nyx and Selene stumble out into the sobbing Libertus’s arms, alive and whole, if disorientated.

Libertus looks into his friends’ eyes and sees slitted pupils, in their pulse beneath their tattered, bloody clothes (clothes that speak of death turned aside at the last moment more clearly than any words) he can feel the rush of rivers making for the sea. When Nyx speaks, there is the faintest whisper of thunder and ozone.

Libertus looks up at Tempestas, who is watching over the gaping, reverent Galahdians with a grim expression, and thanks her.

Tempestas looks at them sadly, “Do not,” she corrects, her soft murmur still carrying like the crash of river rapids over the ears of all present, “I saved them from death, but they may yet wish for it ere long.” Nyx and Selene look at her in confusion and Tempestas explains, “I gave you the magic of dragons. Only dragons can wield it. I will do what I can to keep you whole, but if you are not careful…” she growls at the distance and lightning sparks off her wings before settling, “If you are not careful, you will become dragons. That is the way of dragon magic and dragon-slayers.”

“My sister’s alive,” Nyx says, “I can trade having human skin for that. Besides, having wings would be awesome.”

Libertus slaps him upside the head, “Don’t. Tempt. Fate. Idiot.” and when all three of them suddenly break down laughing, the sound is hysterical and relieved.

Tempestas stares at her three hatchlings in fondness. Looks out upon the humans who have always respected her boundaries and existence and never once tried to strike her down, who have left her gifts and called her Storm-Daughter rather than monster. Then she raises her head to look in the direction Niflheim’s invasion had come from, and makes her decision. This is her home now. The home of her hatchlings. She will not fight for humanity again, but … she will fight for home. For family. For hoard.

Should Niflheim try to touch her isles again, she would destroy their army and then keep destroying all the way to their vaunted human capital. She would scatter their bones to the wind and turn their empire to ash and salted earth.

She is a dragon, and Galahd is her territory, it’s peoples are her hoard.

If it is war Niflheim wants, it is war she will give them.

And this time there are is no Acnologia, no enemy drakes to throw in her path.

This time she will not lose.

[thekitsune]

The Keyblade Witch, Luz Noceda

Here I am with a new fic! A Kingdom Hearts and Owl House crossover fic! Honestly, I did not even have this idea until I saw some fanart of the Kingdom Hearts 1 cover, but with the Owl House characters in place of the KH characters. It was amazing, and it made me realize just how well fitting these two series are to mix together. I hope everyone enjoys this fic as I have some ideas. Plus there will be some slight KH story changes to fit the crossover. Also, note, I will use worlds from the game as well as worlds based on other Disney cartoons/movies that have not appeared in the KH series. I might also add some worlds based on anime or video games, but if I do I will probably limit the number of them. We will see... Now enjoy the fic! And remember, that I do not own The Owl House or Kingdom Hearts!

Prologue ~ Dive to the Heart~

A void of complete darkness. No matter where she looked, she could only see infinite darkness. Was she trapped in some horrible dimension. With no possibility of returning to her friends or her mom? The very idea of this terrified her. She felt cold inside at the prospect of this. All of a sudden, she felt another cold chill before she lost her footing, and she began falling backwards.

Freaking out, she began waving her arms and legs erratically as she continued descending deeper into the black void. There was nothing to grab onto and no staff to catch her. Was this where she was going to die?! Her stomach felt like it did a multitude of flips as she fell even quicker. Flashes of her mother, Eda, King, Willow, Gus, and Amity passed through her eyes as she flinched in anticipation for a collision with some form of the ground.

What she got instead was a gentle breeze slowing her descent while also pushing her into an upright position. So shocked was she, that Luz took a couple of moments to realize that she was once again standing on something. Glancing down in surprise, she began to slowly walk around to try and find out where she was. However, the moment her foot made contact with something(?), the darkness beneath her shattered and fluttered away in the form of doves. Looking around in surprise, Luz was amazed and mesmerized at the sight.

Gasping in shock, she smiled at the sight before she realized that the ground beneath her was illuminating the entire void to different degrees. Looking back down, she was surprised to see that the platform was in fact a stain-glass platform of a girl that was a few years older than her. She must have been a princess considering she was wearing a crown.

"Wow..." Luz whispered under her breath as she gazed upon the platform. Smiling lightly, she once again began to look around. Now that there was some light, she was not nearly as scared as she was before. She was clearly in some void. What it was, she had no idea. She knew it was filled with darkness, but the platform beneath her proved that there might be hidden areas amongst the darkness. These platforms might mean something as well. While she did not know who the girl on the platform was, she had to be important.

The most important question in her mind though was: How did she get here? The last thing that she remembered was going to sleep in the Owl House. King had bunked with her again, and she cuddled up under the covers as she let sleep take her. So was this place a dream? But everything in here felt way too real. This fear, the amazed feeling at the seeing this platform, the sense of touch, and... "Ow! That hurt!" pain...definite pain.

This was real. Somehow, someway, it was real. And she was trapped here alone. Feeling her pockets, she winced when she realized that she did not have anything to draw glyphs on in case of something dangerous happening. Her fingers began to twitch as the thought went through her head. She had been through various dangerous situations since coming to the Boiling Isles, but she had always had someone or something to help her out during it. Now though...

Fear. It's a common emotion to feel in a situation like this.

"Ack! Who's there?!" Luz shouted after falling backwards in shock. Glancing around, she tried to see someone through the darkness, but she knew it was futile.

Ah. There's so much to get done, but alas we have so little time. We should begin.

With that statement, Luz froze as she heard a cracking noise. Looking back, she saw a crack begin to form across the platform. Shooting up, she felt sweat beads begin to form on her forehead as she looked around for somewhere else to go. Sadly, the crack turned into a full-blown spider-web before the entire platform shattered into glass shards. "Not againnnnn!!!...." Luz shouted as she immediately fell again. Gasping, she began floundering around again before letting out a grunt as she collided with another platform.

Rubbing her chin, she pushed herself up while suppressing a groan. Once she got back to her feet, she looked down and spotted a different princess on this platform. And she was surrounded by multiple circles, each with their own little man. They were kinda cute. Giggling at the sight, she looked back around before looking up into the sky. "The heck was that for voice?!"

As you know, danger can lurk around any corner. What will you use to defend yourself?

Blinking in surprise at the complete dismissal of her question, she jumped back in surprise as three pedestals arose from the platform. A spotlight emerged above each one. One had a sword with an odd symbol on the hilt and a blue handle. Another one had a magic wand...or was it a rod? The two ends of its handle were tan with the main portion of the handle being green. The head of the rod was a blue version of the symbol on the sword. The last pedestal had a shield resting atop it. The shield itself was pentagonal in shape with a red border and a black face. Once again that symbol was present on this weapon and was sporting a red color.

"Uh...I get that I'm suppose to pick a weapon, but I want to ask a very important question. What the heck is that symbol? It's on all three of these things!" Luz shouted in exasperation before sighing and shaking her head. She really had no idea what was going on, but she should just go along with it for now. Plus...that rod looks pretty cool...

Running over to the pedestal with the rod on it, she grasped it tightly in her hand and smiled in triumph. Now she had a wand like everyone else! Deciding to test it, she tuned out the voice as it spoke again, and began drawing one of the glyphs in the air. Smiling as the glyph shone before her eyes before bursting into a bright light like it usually would whenever she drew a large version of the light glyph. As the light expanded, she felt a warm feeling in her chest at the sight of her first spell with her own wand.

Choose one to give up. Please. I am tired of waiting.

Luz finally tuned back into the voice right as her wand disappeared which earned the voice an irate ''Hey! That was mine!'' Growling in anger, Luz let out a little "Hmph" as she folded her arms over her chest and pouted. Her mind finally registered what the voice had said which gave her something to distract herself with. Looking back over at the sword and shield, she let out a little "Hmmm..."

"I have a wand now so I don't really need a sword. However, that shield looks really big and heavy. My weak, nerd arms might not be able to lift it. Hm...Oh I know!" Luz shouted as an idea popped in her head before closing her eyes. Pointing at the sword, she began her choosing process, "Eenie meenie miney mo! Catch a tiger by the toe! If it hollers let it go! Eenie meenie miney...MO!"

Luz opened her eyes and saw that her finger had landed on the sword. Smiling in victory, she walked over to the weapon and grasped it tightly in her hands. Listening to the description of the sword, she was kind of disappointed since it apparently was a sword that gave someone invincible courage and caused terrible destruction. It must be really powerful...

"Well...do I really need a shield?" Luz whistled innocently as she turned on her heel and walked over to the other weapon. Grabbing it, she winced at the weight of the object. She was right, her weak little nerd arms wouldn't allow her to use this that effectively. As she was about to announce that she chose to give this one up, the description for it rang out:

The Power of the Guardian. Kindness to aid friends. A shield to repel all. Is that what you wish to give up?

Luz froze at this. She would lose her kindness? She wouldn't be able to help defend her friends anymore? The faces of everyone that she held dear flashed through her mind. Looking back at the shield, she grasped it tightly before shaking her head no. Releasing it from her grasp, she walked back to the sword and announced that she gave it up. The sword vanished from the pedestal along with the shield, but she didn't feel any different so she knew that she didn't lose her kindness.

Be aware of the dangers that surround you. They can come from anywhere. Even the shadows.

Gasping as three black silhouettes shot out around the platform, she watched as they all sped around before slowly taking shape. Stepping back, she saw one shoot pass her, under her feet, and she heard a wooshing sound. Listening to her instincts, she threw herself forward right as the creature shot up from the ground and took a swipe at where her head was. Rolling forward, she jumped back to her feet and watched as the other two creatures rose from the platform as well.

Feeling a power begin to form in her chest, she stuck her hand out and watched as the magic rod that she chose only a few moments earlier materialized into her hand. Grabbing it tightly, she narrowed her eyes as she jumped back and quickly drew three small ice glyphs in the air. Each one was focused on one of the creatures. The rod shone before the glyphs lit up as well. Immediately, a spike of ice shot from each glyph and struck the creatures dead-on.

Smiling, Luz began hopping up and down in victory. Her victory hopping was cut short as another creature suddenly jumped at her. Shouting, she swung the rod and smacked it across the face which sent it flying off the side of the platform. Breathing hard, she collapsed to her knees and let her eyes dart around to survey the entire area.

Thankfully, the mysterious voice gave her the all clear as it soon began speaking again.

Nice work. Now, there are some questions that need to be answered.

Blinking in surprise as a door materialized on the platform. Pushing herself back up, she slowly approached the door and inspected it for any kind of trap. She wanted to trust this voice, but...it's sent her falling who knows how many feet and summoned shadow creatures to attack her. Sure it provided her with a weapon, but...it was sending her mixed signals.

Sighing, she grabbed the door handle and pushed the door open. A bright light shone through which caused Luz to shut her eyes tightly to try and shield her vision. Walking through the doorway, she winced as she kept moving forward. The hard platform beneath soon changed to feel like...dirt. Was she standing on regular ground now? Peeking down, she was surprised to see grass staring back at her. Did that door really just send her to a different location...then again, Eda has one as well so it's not too surprising.

Looking up, she gasped at the sight of the Owl House. "I'm back! I'm back!" Luz yelled in excitement as she was about to run towards the place that she's been calling home for the last few months. However, she screeched to a halt as soon as she saw three figures standing outside of it. None of them made a move to look at her. Looking at them cautiously, she held her hand out and watched as the rod...wand, she still wasn't sure, appeared in her grasp once more.

"Oh come on voice! When can I go home?!" Luz complained with a pout on her face.

There was a pause before it began speaking.

Just answer the questions, and it will speed up the process.

Luz blinked in a surprise before nodding and turning to face the three people that this world was showing her: Eda, King, and Amity.

Walking over to the fake King, she saw that he had his arms crossed while running his foot back and forth in the dirt. Holding back an 'Awww,' she waited for him to ask his question.

"What are you most scared of?"

Surprised at hearing King's voice in such a serious manner, she quickly went over the question in her mind before opening her mouth to answer, "I'm scared of losing my friends and family. I don't know what I would do if that happened." Fake King stared at her before looking back down and going back to what he was doing.

Walking away from the fake version of her friend, she walked over to her teacher, well the fake version of her anyway. Fake Eda smirked down at her before petting her head in the usual manner that Luz had become accustomed too since meeting her. "Hey kid, you know I'm not the real me, right?" Surprised at how direct she was being, Luz just nodded back which earned a chuckle out of her fake mentor. They failed at capturing King's personality, but they seemed to hit the nail on the head with Eda.

"Heh, anyway, I'm going to ask some stupid question that you have to answer alright. After this, go ask the fake version of your little friend over there the last question and then move on. Some things will be going on soon, and you need to be prepared for it. Now then," she coughs into her fist before raising her hand up, "What do you want out of life?"

Luz pursed her lips and began thinking hard. She really wants to be a witch, like Eda and Azura, but was that really all she wanted out of life? That was such a hard question... "I...I'm not really sure Eda. I mean...I want to become a powerful witch, but that's not the only thing I want! Maybe...maybe I just want to make some lasting friendships with others and have people who accept me for me as well? I don't know..."

Fake Eda looked down at her before running her hand over Luz's head once more. Luz glanced up and saw that the fake version of Eda went still once more which signaled that she needed to move on. Sighing, she turned and headed to fake version of Amity.

Fake Amity glanced up at her from the book that she was holding. Nervously waving at her, Luz quickly grabbed her hand when she realized this was not her real friend and pulled it back down. Fake Amity watched silently before speaking up, "What's most important to you?"

Luz didn't even hesitate to answer, "Everyone." Fake Amity briefly smiled before going back to her book. Before Luz could react to this, the entire world began shining brighter before she was once engulfed by light.

Opening her eyes after a few moments, she saw that she was on another platform in the endless void. Sighing, she looked up and saw that this platform had a path that lead to another platform. Raising an eyebrow in confusion, she shrugged before running down the path.

"Almost there, almost there, almost there..." Luz muttered to herself as she approached the second platform. Taking a break to catch her breath, she looked around and saw that there seemed to be another spotlight like before shining down in the middle of the platform. Blinking in surprise, she slowly walked towards it.

Be careful. The closer you are to the light...the larger your shadow becomes.

Luz froze in shock before glancing back and spotting the elongated shadow that was attached to her feet. Summoning her rod, she began to draw another glyph in the air only to let out a grunt as an invisible force slammed into her gut and sent her flying backwards. Skidding to a halt, she opened her eyes when she realized her head was not lying on anything. Shooting up into an upright position, she glanced back and realized that she was almost sent flying off the platform.

Climbing back up to her feet, she watched as her shadow disconnected itself and rose from the platform's surface while transforming into a giant, hulking behemoth. Eyes wide, mouth hanging wide open, Luz almost dropped the magic rod in shock, but she quickly tightened her hold on it.

Don't be scared though. You have the power-

"Yeah yeah, 'I have the power to defeat it, blah blah,' Hush! I'm trying to concentrate on this boss fight so I don't get crushed!" Luz shouted in anger while holding the rod with both hands. Seeing the behemoth staring down at her, she quickly drew five small ice glyphs in the air and activated them which sent five ice spears straight at it. The behemoth swiped its arm down and smashed straight through them with ease. Wincing, Luz quickly ducked under another swipe and ran inbetween its legs to get behind it.

"Light spell!" Luz shouted as she drew a light glyph. Before she could activate it, she stumbled and fell to the ground as it smashed its fist into the platform. "Ughhh...stupid monster thing..." Luz grumbled before pulling her head up.

Glaring up at the creature, she tried to think of what to do before remembering something that she's done before. Looking down at her rod, she saw a small light shining at its tip. Pushing down on the platform as she stood back up, she began running around the platform while dodging the behemoth's swipes and punches. With a few close shaves, she smiled as she jumped onto its fist when it slammed it back onto the platform.

"Take this! Ice spell!" Luz shouted as she used the behemoth's momentum to send herself high into the air and right outside the glyph's area. Activating her rod, she watched as the glyph lit up before a huge pillar of ice shot out beneath the behemoth and sent it flying high into the void. Looking down, Luz flinched as she saw that there was now a massive hole in the platform. Sighing in relief, she de-summoned the magic rod and waited for the voice to say something...only to trip.

Straight into the hole.

"Ahhhhh!!!!"

[primrooks]

Wands of a Feather: An Elena of Avalor/Sofia the First Crossover

[Chapter 1] // [Chapter 2]

*One of the most surprising and fun aspects of writing this story has been creating all sorts of different OC's, sometimes right on the spot! Quarry, Isadora, Hiba and Raadi are all my characters (as far as I know, we never do meet the royal wizard of Khaldoun in StF), and I was especially excited to tap into the idea of deaf mages and non-verbal magic within this universe. I'm not part of the deaf community myself, so if anything looks off, do let me know!

AO3 link here!

Chapter 3: The Tri-Kingdom Showcase

The lone figure suddenly formed into two, one a few inches taller than the other. The first presenters stepped into the spotlight, another stage effect courtesy of Isadora. The shorter of the two was a kindly middle-aged woman, wearing a midnight-blue robe and draped with a shimmering silver cloak, her head covered by a knotted white headscarf. Next to her was a teenage boy with freckles dotted across his brown skin, clad in an elegant teal robe and a patterned russet turban. A leather satchel hung from his left arm.

Both bowed deeply before the crowd, then the elder wizard stepped forward to gauge her audience.

Her hazel-eyed gaze held some kind of gravity that pulled at Mateo’s attention. Nothing in it was scrutinizing, just attentive. Quietly aware of the people before her, and silently asking them to share in that awareness.

The woman gave a tender grin, and then began to gesticulate with her hands, smoothly forming various signs while never tearing away her gaze.

“Welcome, friends. I am Hiba, Royal Wizard to His Majesty King Nasir of Khaldoun,” interpreted the young boy, who’d stepped up to Hiba’s side.

“This here is my apprentice, Raadi,” she signed, at which Raadi gave a small nod.

“I am humbled to be performing this morning for all of you, though I must say, the journey from our country to the isle was… more eventful than perhaps our company hoped,” Hiba continued. It amazed Mateo how Raadi matched his voice to the subtle inflections of his master’s gestures and facial expressions, with only cursory glances away from her hands.

Then as if on cue, Raadi took a couple steps to the side, while Hiba extended her left arm and summoned a tall staff out of thin air. The top of the bronze staff was adorned with gilded feathers curling around a bright sapphire orb, and the body was carved with rows upon rows of delicate engravings. Mateo vaguely recognized some of them as runes, but most of the writing seemed to be calligraphy native to Khaldoun. Another wave of Hiba’s hand caused the engravings to glow a purple light, and as they did, Mateo noticed the various jeweled bracelets and swirling golden bands that decorated Hiba’s forearms.

A swirling array of lavender lights emerged like ribbons from the staff, coalescing with one another and steadily taking solid shape before their eyes. The lights took the likeness of a giant thirty-foot serpent, its eyes blank as snow and its maw lined with jagged teeth, with enormous tusks curving out of the sides. The illusion looked big enough to ram its head through a fortress, and it eerily stared down upon the audience while gliding through the air. Its jaws opened and closed just slightly as it prowled in a circle, and Mateo couldn’t help but gulp as it passed above his head. No one made a sound, even as the serpent stopped above Hiba’s head.

“Our ship happened to be passing through a pod of these serpents, and some feared the worst,” Hiba signed.

She then turned toward Raadi. “My dear apprentice confessed that he thought his life was forfeit right then and there.”

Raadi dutifully interpreted his master’s last comments, before he shot back at her with a piqued expression.

“Leave it to Madame Hiba to never skimp out on the details,” he spoke, turning so that he directly faced his master with his signs. Hiba chuckled, as did the audience. But then the spectral serpent curled upwards, and the laughter stopped as it towered above them at its full height. The room grew tense once more as it stood with its eyes unblinking, mouth agape, and then…

It started to sing.

Waves of a soft and ominous melody filled the air, like a shell horn’s strain ringing through a cave. The effect was similar to how Mateo had heard Naomi describe whale songs back at school. Its voice carried echoes of some dark and fathomless part of the ocean, its melody as unhurried as the tide. Mateo then remembered one other thing Naomi warned about serpent calls: many an untrained sailor had met their watery fate by mistaking their song for a whale’s.

Serpents travelled in large pods beneath the water’s surface, using their song to guide their brood during summer migrations to the north. If boats lingered too long in the migration path, they were met by the viciously territorial serpents. The lucky ones knew to make a swift and quiet escape with their ships, and she meant lucky. Even Naomi’s mother, a master of the seas, had vessels nearly capsized by their tusks and tails.

The sound carried beyond the theater area to the further corners of the pavillion, and Mateo briefly turned his head to see if anyone outside this crowd had noticed. There were a few curious faces (mainly children and their parents) who looked up at the illusion in awe, though others carried on unperturbed.

He turned back to the serpent, and saw that more light illusions had flown out of Hiba’s staff. They formed a few smaller serpents, brighter in color, which flocked close to the first serpent as it led them higher above the stage. Isadora’s spotlight followed them as they swam through the air in synchronized twisting and swirling patterns, joining one another in song.

As they circled closer around the theater area a couple of times, showing off well-timed maneuvers that earned bursts of applause from the spectators, Mateo caught Hiba in the corner of his eye. From her billowing sleeves she drew a small square of paper inscribed with thin ink lettering. She flicked it into the air, and the paper burst into a flash of fire.

And just as quickly, the whole pavillion dissolved from Mateo’s sights. Stalls, trees and solid ground had vanished, and all background noise was covered by a pregnant hush. Darkness surrounded them, until an array of tiny lights blinked and swirled into being. Before long, the crowd found themselves sitting in the middle of a galactic cluster, where the brightest star of all shined above: the North Star.

“The crew on our vessel managed to pull us out to safety, but I grew curious as to how often such encounters occurred.” Raadi stood by Hiba once more, holding her staff as she continued her speech. “I asked the captain for records of the sea serpents’ migration patterns, and he gave me an even more invaluable asset.”

Raadi drew three pieces of paper from his sleeve, folded into neat boomerang-like knots. He tossed them one by one into the air, and the papers morphed into their own streaks of light. As with Hiba’s illusions, the streaks gathered like strings rolling up into a ball, and expanded to become different sea creatures: blue caballos marinos, green tortoises, even a gigantic scarlet kraken. They each joined with the serpents as they looped around one last time, before gliding upwards to the North Star.

The crowd’s applause broke out louder, before being quelled by a sharp knock upon the stage. Hiba gave three gentler taps with the staff, and the light illusions she and Raadi conjured formed into a luminous, emerald-colored orb. The orb ballooned into a large globe, and white lines formed around its surface, mapping the various continents of the Ever-Realm.

“The captain showed me all the records of different migration patterns that he and past generations of Khaldounian sailors had collected through their many voyages.” Moving her hand in a curling motion, Hiba conjured an illusory sun, casting light upon her globe.

“The creatures of the sea follow where the cold and warm waters flow. They track the seasons as we still sometimes do with the stars.” Hiba stretched both of her arms out, and summoned her sea beasts once more, in smaller versions that ducked in and out of the surface of her globe. The globe then started to rotate on an axel around the sun, tracking the seasonal paths of the creatures with the sun and the North Star as their constant guide.

As he stared up at the map, Mateo vaguely recalled Abuela and Mamá’s stories about the North Star, how the star’s different positions in relation to the Ever-Realm horizon acted as a compass to early Avaloran sailors. The most fascinating stories recounted how the ancient Maruvians created calendars and predicted turns of fortune from the night sky.

He once tried to map the sky himself, and although he found the process a bit too precision-based (resulting in many scribbled-out and ink-stained parchment notebooks), he loved to just look at the maps from school and compare them to the star and moon charts in his Abuelo’s archives. While the calculations behind the charts felt weighty and tedious back when he was nine years old, something about his Abuelo’s notes on the constellations and the stories they told would keep him up for hours past his bedtime.

“My hope with this Astral Atlas is that all who sail upon the seas will instantly know where and when the most dangerous creatures of the sea might cross their paths, and to see how all life, no matter how monstrous its appearance, follows the same patterns as we do,” Hiba explained, giving a knowing smile.

With another sharp “TACK!” from her staff, her illusions - the globe, beasts, star field - vanished in an instant. Mateo blinked, gathering his senses back to the canvas-filtered sunlight and the general murmur of the exhibition hall. His confusion was shared with some of the younger sorcerers, but the elders looked more quietly impressed with Hiba’s showcase.

“And before you ask: no, you won’t need that whole light show to use the atlas. In fact, one shouldn’t have any trouble carrying one of these around. And yes, everyone will get one to take home,” Hiba finished, eliciting a number of excited whispers.

After he was done interpreting, Raadi reached into his satchel and pulled out a black board segmented into two. He folded out from the part, and from its surface popped out an animated atlas just like the one he and Hiba conjured, though on a smaller scale. The detail was no less impressive on the model, and the board itself was as thin as a school slate.

At a small nod from his master, Raadi closed the board and placed it back in his bag. He joined Hiba in bowing to the audience, who responded in kind with elated applause. Mateo even saw some of them give a standing ovation.

He looked back at Hiba and Raadi, who were signing between themselves, grinning ear to ear as they exchanged words that he wished he could follow. But their expressions carried all the clarity he needed: while Raadi appeared bashful, in contrast to the collected front he presented on stage, his master couldn’t be more proud.

+++

“Incredible...” Cedric muttered to himself.

He’d been watching the Khadounian wizards’ performance from a hidden seating area backstage, located off to the side from the main platform. The longer he thought back to Hiba’s star map, the more his stomach felt like a black hole, warping him from the inside. He wanted to pace around, but he stood stock-still, afraid of making a spectacle.

He’d have expected no less from a wizard of her caliber, but Hiba had created an invaluable aid to sailors and adventurers of all stripes. How could his trick match up? What was a gussied-up child’s toy compared to that?

He hoped that Quarry wouldn’t take notice of his nerves, as the eagle-owl busied himself with treats while resting on his own perch.

“Heh. And she had the mettle to tell me that she came up with all that last minute,” chuckled a sagacious voice from the bench next to his.

Wu-Chang was seated with his oak staff laid across his lap, stroking his long white beard as he looked over Cedric’s shoulder. Hiba and her apprentice were now making their exit towards the opposite end of the stage, while the young master of ceremonies stepped up to the center in a dazzling dash of pink.

As she began raving over Hiba’s act to hype up the audience for their next performer, Wu-Chang stood up and leisurely smoothed out his gold-and-veridian robes.

Cedric could recall a few times in his childhood when he’d seen the Royal Sorcerer of Wei-Ling perform, either for King Roland I or in shows with Cedric’s own father, Goodwin the Great. Goodwin was not a man known for his flattery, and one thing that used to (somewhat) quell Cedric’s anxiety over his father’s approval was that, however critical he was about his son’s magical education, Goodwin would apply the same eagle eye for error on his own rivals.

Wu-Chang was one of the rare few to escape any scathing appraisal, and Cedric could see why. The elder sorcerer was a master of the traditional arts, held a storied record of service, and performed for royals and subjects alike with the same gentle reverence that eased his crowds into some truly wondrous spectacles. For all his years of service however, Wu-Chang rarely spoke of retirement, which made Cedric wonder how he himself would fare the further he got along in his years.

“Hopefully I won’t lull our guests too well,” Wu-Chang joked, standing by the curtain leading up to the main stage.

Cedric tried to laugh, but the pathetic exhale that came out of his mouth sounded more like a wheeze.

“Is your throat alright?” asked Wu-Chang, clearly concerned.

“It is, it is,” Cedric assured him. Out of habit, he cleared his throat, immediately undercutting his claim.

“Do you need to sit down?”

“No, thank you, I’m fine.” Then Cedric plopped down on the bench, briefly spooking Quarry. In place of smacking himself on the forehead for making a fool out of himself, Cedric gave a blithe shrug.

“Oh, perhaps I didn’t get as much sleep as I thought.” His words weren’t doing much to save face, judging from Wu-Chang’s slightly raised brow. Cedric avoided his gaze, trying to seem distracted by giving Quarry another snack.

“They wouldn’t be out there if they didn’t want to see you,” said Wu-Chang.

“Pardon?” Cedric asked, looking back up.

Wu-Chang gave a small smile. “I’m just recalling what my old master told me. He said that all I could do was give them the show I prepared. Whatever I did, be it a success, failure, mediocrity, was still a learning experience, and after that I only had to focus on how to make my next act even better.”

Cedric bit back a groan. However well-intentioned, he was not in the mood for a pep talk.

“I should say so,” Cedric stated, effecting a proud tone and stance. “A Royal Sorcerer must strive for nothing less than excellence.”

“An admirable goal, in theory. It would depend on how one measures the concept of excellence,” Wu-Chang countered.

“I think that neither you nor I have little to worry about in that regard. Experience and expertise should speak for themselves,” Cedric touted. Quarry flew up to his shoulder and gave two happy hoots.

“I can see that. You’ve improved considerably since you were a child, Cedric.” Wu-Chang had replied with nothing but sincerity, but that didn’t stop Cedric’s shoulders from tensing nor his throat from tightening.

“Oh, you… you remember me from back then?” Cedric uttered.

“How could I forget? Your dear father and mother always had so much to share about you.”

“Ah, as I’d expect,” he sighed.

“And! Without further ado! We’ve got another spectacular guest lined up and ready to go! Let’s see who’s behind Curtain Number Twooooo!” boomed the emcee. Cedric had taken note during rehearsals, but that young woman’s voice could fill a canyon.

“I bid you luck,” said Wu-Chang.

“Yes, I-” Before Cedric could finish, the other sorcerer vanished with a snap of his fingers, leaving a puff of scarlet smoke. The red smoke quickly evaporated, though Cedric still had to fan some of it away from his eyes.

“-To you as well,” he finished drily. He didn’t have to see the ecstatic welcome Wu-Chang was getting from the crowd. Their cheers were proof aplenty.

“Greetings. My name is Wu-Chang, Royal Sorcerer to His Imperial Highness Emperor Quon of Wei-Ling.”

As the introductory speech went on, Cedric sat back in his bench, and Quarry settled onto his lap. He gently stroked a hand down Quarry’s crest, letting his familiar’s quiet hoots fill the space.

He couldn’t let his nerves get the better of him, not after all those days of planning and practice. He never felt more prepared for a performance, and he especially didn’t want his new familiar to look bad because of him. Unfortunately, one thing hadn’t changed: the waiting was always the worst part.