#like i have a similar thing with my own siblings where we r all brain weird but all have different flavors and conflicting traits

[mobs-99]

Sorry but I'll never stop thinking abt mp100 literally I think every main chara is some flavor of autist/adhd literally all of them

[antiendovents]

heyyy its ussss! its r (or maybe Eva idk) (nope yeah its r) and I just wanted to say you're awesome!!! (EVA GET OUT) we think you are super cool,sorry, but evalynn wanted to say smth to ya.

hiiiiiiii I think you're so cool and um I'm back and feeling way better and anyway yea love you (platonically) you're so cool yeah 💕💖

well that was rather embarrassing. the love letter we were referencing was our second message to you, in which saturn got way too in detail about me.

we are not dating lol, I have a gf (well, me and Eva share her, I think Saturn is aroace and evalynn is a child so yeah) (and our other alters almost never front) (cept one but I do not want to introduce her to you because she sucks and I really hate her) (shes very abrasive and generally assholey, she yells a lot at r and the rest of us).

anyway uhhhhh yeah I have like a quick question. can an alter have a backstory that's basically me but kinda tweaked? so evalynns backstory is basically mine (I'm the host), except I have a lot of trauma from COVID so for her COVID never happened. shes like forever in third grade, before COVID started and um kinda like a fictive but from real life. she also hates reminders of COVID so I'm gonna make sure she does not read the rest of this message cuz her mental health is already sorta iffy!!!

OH I NEED TO WARN YOU BOUT SMTH. my parents raised me z!onist and I'm not anymore cuz like... a lot of very obvious reasons, but evalynn does not have the skills to process this, so she generally does not talk about any of this. I've been doing my very best to make sure she doesn't know anything, so she may be a bit oblivious. we were never the sort of z!onist who wanted to like, kill everyone (tho I know some of those) we actually thought that the west bank and gaza should be allowed to be its own country even when we were younger, but she is still very connected to israel (we are Israeli, but again, stand for Palestine) so ummm please ignore her lol anyway bye lol (insert nervous laughter)

PLEASE DONT HATE US

-🌌🌠

hi again you two!! Thank you so much! You seem cool too (all of you) :D

And hi Evalynn! You're awesome and I'm glad you're feeling better now! Love you too (platonically ofc!) and I hope you have a great day(or night depending on where you are in the world!)

Also I didn't even notice that lol! When I go back now yeah that kind of was a love letter lol! but I guess a platonic love letter since you have a girlfriend and they're aroace?? Either way it's kind of cute (like in the way where you see best friends or siblings give eachother gifts or care about eachother a lot and you just go "awh")

And don't worry about that, we kind of get that! We'd probably introduce ourselves too if we didn't switch so much, infact we still need to work on introductions on our personal blog, we just don't know who to do cause they either stop fronting for a long time or cant be bothered to do it (and also we have a few alters like that, so we get why you might not want to introduce her to us, but either way you should know she's welcome here even if she is a bit "assholey")

And yeah, it is possible for alters to have similar but different "backstories" or whatever one would want to call it! I'd assume it would be that your brain just witholds memories of COVID from her due to it being too traumatic or stressful for her to handle, which might explain why she only seems to remember what happened before COVID and why she doesn't like reminders of it? (I don't know, I'm making assumptions based on how our system works a little, but our point is yeah it's entirely possible!)

And that's fine, we don't hate you for that. You cannot control how you were raised or what your parents believe in or even where you were born, you've changed and recognised that the belief is harmful and that's good enough, that's literally all you can do. It's understandable that some alters may not be able to fully process it, sometimes these things can be incredibly complicated and trying to change what you grew up with is hard, we're proud of you for doing it anyways, even if not all of you understand it perfectly

[crispyjenkins]

I might spam your box with ideas haha. S U F F E R. I’ve never liked the idea that after the Hardeen mission even Cody and Obi-wans men were all mad at him. There’s no one that would understand more than the troopers and Cody in my opinion. They understand having a duty and Following orders, even if you don’t agree with them. So I need me some Codywan + Obi getting so much more closer with his men and them being his support system now + ahsoka not being mad at her grandmaster. Please & thanks

(i have that one fill about the space fam™ figuring out obi-wan isn’t doing too hot after the deception arc, which is all well and good, but yeah the clones would absolutely understand and support obi faking his death for a mission and the fandom needs more of that. so here is fiori enabling me. and rex loving and supporting his general but also being super unimpressed with his tantrum

thank you for all the prompts, ad'ika ( ˘ ³˘) altho now I've had to shuffle my entire prompt list so that it's not you every other fill for the next month lmao)

“And he just goes right back to work?” Anakin snarls with a vague gesture across the bridge, to where General Kenobi is speaking with Cody and Wooley, and Maker, does the General look young. He had been reluctant to waste time on cosmetic corrections, and had only allowed the Jedi healers to give him some of his hair back; for better or for worse, he's letting the beard grow back naturally. 

  If the absurd amount of cooing that had happened at the Temple is anything to go by, many of the Jedi miss Kenobi’s baby-face, that he had supposedly covered with a beard as soon as he'd taken Anakin on as his apprentice. When Kenobi had given his first debrief after the Jedi had fixed his features back into his own, Echo had panicked and called him “cadet” in front of three different battalions, and the 501st is never going to let him forget it.

  Anakin had not laughed.

  “I’m not sure what you mean, sir,” Rex says carefully, turning back to the datapad in his hand to look over the command roster for their coming deployment. “General Kenobi’s injuries from the mission were superficial, he’ll be fully healed before we even make it to the Mid-Rim.”

  Scoffing, Anakin continues to glare at his former master. “You can’t tell me you’re not angry, Rex,” he says, and leans against the console behind him.

  Ahsoka had warned him that his general clearly wasn't over Kenobi’s supposed betrayal, and Rex is Mando enough to admit he’s been avoiding this conversation; he won’t lie to Anakin, no, they’ve been through far too much together for that, but no matter how close they are, their friendship would not save him from Anakin’s wrath.

  So he pretends to be reading the roster for another long moment, wishing he had Kote’s diplomacy. “I am not, sir, just as I was not angry when Kix feigned desertion for the mission on Odos II.” Glancing up, he’s relieved to see Anakin isn’t glaring at him yet, but if Ahsoka hadn’t been able to talk him down, Rex doesn’t stand a chance. “The Supreme Chancellor's life being at stake is no small matter, the High Generals had many factors to consider, including that Count Dooku would be watching you closely in the wake of General Kenobi’s death.”

  “Are you saying I can’t act?”

  “I’m saying that if Count Dooku thought for even a moment you were faking it, the whole mission would have been in jeopardy. Sir.”

  He doesn’t need to know banthashit about the Force to feel it when Anakin goes from simmering to incensed, not with the way Anakin warps the air between them, saturating it with his rage until General Kenobi sends them a concerned frown across the bridge. Anakin doesn’t seem to notice, glare fixed on Rex, and this really isn’t how he would have expected them to fall out. 

  Or that they'd have to fall out at all.

  The tragedy of the thought makes Rex bold, meeting Anakin’s rage with a calm and confidence stolen from far stronger men. “You were not the only one made to believe in the General’s death, you forget there are others who care for him as deeply as you do.” Kote, he doesn’t say, Vos and Ahsoka and the Duchess, Wupi and Choke and Boil. “I perhaps would not include myself in that count, but should you not put aside your anger and be relieved that the General was not actually murdered?” Kote catches his eye and taps at his wrist guard, his concern obvious as he asks Rex in didi if he’s alright, and Rex will gladly take the unintentional out his brother has given him. “Just something to think about, sir. Here is the adjusted command roster, Captain Sage was transferred to the Coruscant Guard following his injury during the campaign on Aslo. Excuse me, sir, Commander Cody seems to have a question for me.” He hands the datapad to Anakin, who is miraculously too stunned not to take it, before Rex moves quickly across the bridge. 

-

  Ahsoka sits gingerly across from Rex in the almost-empty mess, murmuring,  “I take it the talk didn’t go well.”

  He snorts into his cup of caf. “From a certain point of view, it went better than expected.”

  Wincing, Ahsoka rubs her own arms and casts her eyes down to the table. “I tried asking him about it before we left Coruscant, I’ve never seen him so angry, not even at the funeral.”

  Rex is used to being the little brother, of both his batchmates and the CC track, and this is one of the times where he laments that: when he doesn’t quite know how to comfort the way his brothers comforted him. “If I may, sir,” he says, quiet enough that the few vode at the table across the room won’t hear, “are you not angry with General Kenobi?”

  “No?” She chews her bottom lip. “I mean, yes, I mean– I’m happy he’s alive. It hurt, being kept out of the loop, but it’s not as if I was singled out for that, right? And I... I understand why he did it, why it had to be done and why it played out like it did, but it still hurt. But I’m also so relieved that Master Obi-Wan is alive, that I don’t think my hurt matters.”

  “And General Skywalker hasn’t come to that conclusion yet.”

  She shakes her head. “How... How has Cody taken it?”

  “I think he’s more angry that he was forced to miss the funeral than Kenobi faking his death." Rex isn't sure where Kote and Kenobi stand now, they had been heading towards a collision before this Hardeen fiasco, and he doesn't know where they've landed. Brothers? Lovers? Whatever the hell Echo and Fives are? He hadn't been able to ask before the 212th and the 501st split ways. "It was for a mission, wasn't it? We're soldiers, Commander Tano, we're born with 'Mission First' imprinted on our brains."

  Ahsoka giggles at the mental image, and Rex is relieved to see her shoulders relax. "All the padawans expected Knight Vos to react the worst," she says, crossing her arms on the table. "He grew up with Master Obi-Wan, you know? But he just... accepted it, he simply understood and... Letting go is part of being a Jedi. Knowing when you can't change things, and accepting failures, and understanding no matter the circumstances."

  It would certainly not be the first time Anakin has stumbled on the Jedi path. 

  "General Vos was a Shadow, no?" Rex asks, considering his watery caf and wishing he knew how to approach his general about any of this. "He would empathise most, wouldn't he?"

  "I suppose you're right," she says, bouncing her legs. "How have the others been? Echo and Jesse and them?"

  "They're most disturbed by Kenobi’s face, to be honest."

  Choking on a laugh, Ahsoka reaches across the table to steal an unused sucrose packet from Rex's tray. "I did hear something about Echo and cadets," she admits. "Oh no, how did Kix react?"

  Rex smirks at the memory. "He really does like Kenobi’s hair, doesn't he?"

  "He must have been devastated!"

  "I think he tried to get the General to let him shave designs in the undercut."

  "I suddenly know what I'm doing for the next Disaster Lineage prank war."

 Rex winces, remembering the last prank war and how long it had taken Anakin to stop smelling like hot sauce. "Jesse's the best with the razors," he says blandly, mourning his now-empty cup and the broken caf machine in the kitchen, "and will work for extra shower tokens."

-

is this what you wanted, fiori?? 1,400 words about obi-wan without obi-wan in it for more than two seconds???

Mando’a: didi — a Clone-dialect specific form of dadita, a Mandalorian nonverbal communication similar to morse code. i think the clones would have a modified version of dadita that utilised placement of fingers on their arm as well as the actual taps, for quicker communication in close quarters, so in this case, didi is short for gadi dadita, “wrist dadita”. They would use this alongside standard military hand signals!

vode — “brothers, comrades, siblings”, sing. vod, technically gender neutral but used most often in fandom as “brothers”

[emilycollins00]

Two faces of the same coin

Pairing: Tenma x ghost-looking! reader Part 1.

Hey! I had this awesome ask from sadly ages ago which I appreciated a lot bc honestly, just the fact that someone sent such a detailed thing?? My heart.

Request: (...) Tenma finds someone who looks like they got out straight from a horror movie- They could literally pass as a ghost anytime of the day! But once he talks to them they are just an extremely chill introvert, and actually really thoughtful and considerate? (...) So yeah, imagine Tenma who once was shitting his pants whenever that person was around slowly starting to enjoy their presence and even better: fall for them.

Enjoy! 💕

.

Classic horror icons and other disturbing creatures share common characteristics, pale skin, dark, sunken eyes, hunched posture, sharp teeth, and the like. These images inspire fear and revulsion in many with good reason. And while Tenma would insist he was okay with them- he really was and Yuki should really just shut up- he wouldn’t go out of his way to watch or read about that specific genre. And he was okay with that.

“A ghost in the school?”

He tried to not sound as worried as he internally felt, his brain still processing what Taichi was talking about while waiting for their drinks to drop. The redhead nodded unaware, eyes fixed on the vending machine “Yeah! You haven’t heard about it before?”

“W-why should I? It’s stupid to think paranormal stuff like ghosts exists anyway.”

With a clank, both drinks finally fell. Taichi crouched down to retrieve them humming happily, handing one of them to the summer troupe leader and keeping one for himself.

“I don’t know man, it’s kind of cool!” he crossed his arms behind his head, resuming their walk and looked behind. “What about you, Juza-san? You seen anything?”

The purple-haired boy considered it lazily, but ultimately shook his head. He didn’t seem too interested in the conversation anyway, and Tenma was pretty sure the main thoughts running through his head were today’s melon bread from the cafeteria.

It had been a while since their Ouka-high group had been able to have lunch together.

“Did you see? That Sumeragi Tenma is back!”

“Gosh, he looks so handsome!”

“Wait- don’t push me!”

“I heard he’s going to be a possible cast in that famous saga-”

“Are you serious?”

Whispers and tiny squeals kept circling them as soon as they entered the boundaries of the canteen. And while Tenma barely notices it at first, he can definitely see Juza’s stance going more rigid and Taichi’s eyes glowing at the attention received.

“I’ll go get our lunch” the golden-eyed teen announces heading towards the queue, hands buried in his pockets. He motioned Tenma with his chin. “You wanted set B right, no carrots.”

“Uh? Well yeah, but I can-”

“S’okay, you two go find some seats” he shrugged, looking around. There weren’t many spaces to start with and he’d honestly prefer focus on the food rather than the stares. “It’d be difficult to keep ‘em free with just one person anyway.”

“Roger! Come on Ten-chan, let’s go!”

.

.

.

“Aw, man. Everyone has their eyes on you as usual!” Taichi looked around, still indulging himself with all the people that were staring at them, some more blatantly than others.

How he didn’t get bored of mentioning it every time Tenma didn’t know, though he was low-key grateful. Not many people enjoyed being part of those types of reactions from a crowd- Juza for example-. When they finally managed to find some empty seats, Taichi placed his own bento on the table visibly excited. Tenma frowned.

“Since when did you start preparing lunch by yourself?”

“Ah, this?” the redhead laughed proudly at his confused look “See, I’ve been practicing my cooking skills! Tsuzuru has been super cool teaching me how to prepare some dishes for my siblings- plus, I’m sure I’ll get the attention of girls if they see my new talent!”

“Right…”

Tenma couldn’t decide whether he should make a comment as he took a long, thoughtful sip from his own juice can. Taichi’s lunch was a side of string cheese, a broken omelet, and some semi-burnt rice and it just didn’t seem very tempting.

He ultimately chose to leave it aside. Omi would surely know soon enough.

“So, uh, Taichi.”

“Yeah?”

He coughed, leaving aside the can and resting his back on the chair nonchalantly. “N-not that I care about that rumor, but- where is that ghost supposed to be?”

“Ah, the one we talked about? Mmm…” the autumn member caressed his chin, closing his eyes in deep thought. “No one really knows. It’s been spotted in pretty much all parts of the school” Tenma’s stomach sank at that. “But I’ve heard it likes room 1001 for some reason, you know, from the old side of the school? No one really uses it anymore- guess it makes sense!”

The redhead took again the chopsticks and started digging on the rice carefree.

“R-right.”

Tenma shook his head. Cool. Great. Now he knew which side of the school he would never even try to approach at least.

“Tenma-kun!” a female voice, not familiar, made him jolt from his seat. When he looked up a girl followed by two others were are already making themselves comfortable on the chairs next to them- one of them even deciding to sit on the table. “Hi there!”

Third years.

"Hi” he repeated.

“We saw your appearance in that new series, it was unbelievable!”

“Are you going to be a recurring character there? I’d love if you could ask one of the leads to sign a shirt of mine!”

He simply showered them a practiced smile. He could already tell what type of fans they were. It wasn’t something out of the ordinary- people approaching him about his shows or to ask for favors- and honestly, it was better not entering in that dangerous territory. “Thanks. Nothing’s been said yet, that’d depend on the company. I’ll be counting on your future support.”

They instantly beamed at his reaction. “Of course!”

One of them clapped her hand together “That reminds me, when is your next performance in that theatre company you play? I so want to go see it again!”

“Ah, that will take a while. We just finished a month ago so next up is the autumn troupe” he motioned Taichi with his head, a proud, real smile featuring his face this time “These guys have been going all out, you won’t be disappointed.”

“O-of course!” the shortest Ouka high student practically jumped into the conversation. “If you all want, we could ask for a few tickets from our-!“

“But Tenma-kun is not in that troupe, right?” the girls looked at each other confused. As if it wouldn’t be something it’d cross their minds to do, had the child actor not participated before.

“W-well, no but…”

“Plus, the summer troupe is hilarious! I kinda prefer those types of performances, you know?”

“I totally get you!”

From his peripheral vision, Tenma could register Taichi’s face growing red- a strained smile before sitting back on his seat, not trying to add anything to the conversation anymore.

Smile. Remember to smile.

“…We all give our all on those performances, I don’t think it’s fair if you have just watched the summer troupe. You’ll definitely enjoy it if you give them the chance.”

“Really?”

“I mean… If Tenma-kun says so maybe we could go take a look.” one of them gave a chuckle, playing with their hair. “You think we could ask you to get us some tickets for-?”

“If you are not eatin’ you should leave.”

“Uh? Can’t you see we’re-” the sentence died in their lips as soon as they turned and encountered Juza. Not that he himself was proud of his reputation, but during these situations at the very least it paid to see they knew who he was.

“Move.”

The resulting glare was terrifying in its intensity, and the retreat took no longer than a few seconds. No one mentioned anything afterward- Juza’s calm and blank expression coming back as he sat down, handing the summer leader his lunch and squinting down at Taichi’s.

“What the hell are you eatin’.”

“Hehe it caught your attention too, right? You see…”

Tenma observed them. They were acting as if nothing had happened. Not so long ago people tended to stay away from him for those same reasons, so it still took him a few seconds to find the words again- For feeling this relieved at their reactions.

He left the chopsticks aside. “Sorry this... keeps happening."

They momentarily stopped the conversation, sharing a silent look before turning to the teen actor facing the table in awkwardness.

“I-It’s okay, Ten-chan! They would obviously be more interested in watching you than an unknown performance” Taichi laughs and scratches the back of his hair. He seemed to be fine- a bit uncomfortable, but fine. “Besides, that just means we have to work even harder to be recognized, right, Juza-san!”

“Yeah, don’t get stuck thinkin’ ‘bout it. We ain’t losin’ any time soon.”

“Anyway Juza-san, are you sure you’re okay with only melon bread and pudding for lunch? I can give you some of mine!”

Juza didn’t verbally answer Taichi’s offer, merely staring at the burnt rice being held in front of him with skepticism “…nah. I’m okay.”

Taichi frowned at his own food, tilting his head confused. A few seconds later, he gave it an ultimate shrug before going for one more bite, Juza doing the same with his own lunch. Tenma scoffed at the view, trying not to smile amusedly. The autumn troupe really was made out of beasts.

“If Sakyo-san saw what you two are eating he’d skin you alive, you know.”

“Why.”

“What do you mean why, Juza-san you can’t expect-“

"Ah, that reminds me!” Taichi suddenly rambled, mouth full of rice “We should totally go to the arcade before we head up to the dorm. I heard they have these new games that are supposed to be super exclusive!”

Tenma winced “Can’t. I have a meeting with my homeroom teacher after classes.”

The other two replied with a similar expression.

“I almost forgot you came from a big shootin’ and all. We’ve been seein' you in the dorm pretty much everyday.”

“Yeah! Geez I always say I envy you, but dealing with that after working must suck!”

“You tell me…”

Taichi shook his head, giving him both thumbs up “It’s okay, we can go another time. Good luck though!”

.

.

.

“You can sit here. I’ll go bring your work in a second and then we’ll talk.”

With a lazy look on his face, Tenma caught a glimpse of his own reflection from a trophy case- one of the few resting at the entrance of the teacher’s lounge. He had never paid attention to them before; Second prize in a football tournament, first prize in some races and a few diplomas regarding different competitions, nothing too special. Ouka high had never had the best score regarding academics, which is exactly why he was able to enter.

Igawa liked to insist it wasn’t entirely Tenma’s fault he had so many troubles keeping up with schoolwork though- well, not more than the usual of not being good at studying. No one actually knew how hard celebrity kids had to push themselves- at least that’s what his parent had said. On the other hand, they hadn’t really cared much more, so long the school allowed him to be flexible with his schedules.

School time was usually done while moving sets and camera changes. He and other kids and teens were at different levels of schooling most of the time, so the teacher was forced to divide their time. Honestly, one would be lucky to get 30 minutes of full tutoring.

Anyway, it was rotten work and even Tenma knew it. He also knew what his homeroom teacher thought about it, which is exactly why he couldn’t help himself raising his eyebrows concerned as he saw the pile of papers being drop over the desk.

“Is this a joke?”

“I know you’re busy, but there’s a minimum to do keep up with your classes and… general results.” the old man frowned scratching his grey four-days old beard. He clicked here and there at the computer, probably revising the latest results of the tests they had done.

He then leaned back on his chair, trying to find a comfortable position before his wrinkly eyes turned to him again. “I wish I could think of another way, but you are getting quite behind everyone, Sumeragi-kun. We’re worried.”

Well, it was not his fault he couldn��t remember all the information they gave him like a script. Was it really the solution giving him the same amount of work as his classmates with half the time?

Before he could open his mouth to complain, the man placed his hand on Tenma’s shoulder. It felt heavy. “I already talked with your manager. It seems you’ll be having a break for a month and a half just before finals and I’d like to help you. We can’t have one of the biggest faces of the school repeating a year, can we?”

Tenma’s jaw clenched. Of course, everything was always for Sumeragi Tenma the actor. Student Tenma could go drown himself.

“Here you’ll find some reinforcement materials I think will be good for you to do in school. Less time wasted while moving and I’ll be here in case you have any questions.”

His face twitched. That would mean he wouldn’t be able to ask for Tsumugi’s help or any of the adults back in Mankai. “I actually-”

“Suguro-sensei, Someone’s calling for you about tomorrow’s meeting!”

“Is it that time already... I’ll be right there in a second! In any case, I would suggest you go work on the library Sumeragi-kun.” the man got up, finishing that way their conversation. “It should be quiet enough, but if you see any students being too loud, give them a call.”

Tenma side-glanced again at his workload, groaning internally.

Just about his luck.

.

.

.

Twenty minutes walking.

How could such a big school not have a single sign to indicate where things were?

Squinting his eyes, Tenma looked both ways across the hall annoyed, his already short temper from before increasing. He was sure the library was two turns to the right, then left, and then up the stairs from the teachers’ lounge.

...or maybe it was a floor down now that he thought about it. Damn it. It wasn’t as if he had ever stepped inside that place, shouldn’t they make it more accessible for everyone?

“This sucks…”

It had been a while since he had seen other students or even teachers around, which also made him feel uneasy. He glanced down at the paperwork in his arms, gripping it tighter. He hoped no one would see him walking around like this.

Just where was the stupid library?

It wasn’t until Tenma decided to try entering inside any room that would allow him to work, that he found many were strangely closed. He was about to gave up when he finally saw the dusty word ‘library’ at the end of the corridor. Finally. With effort he managed to open the heavy door, immediately pinching his nose.

“Ugh, stinks.”

The person in charge of cleaning the school really did a worse job than Matsukawa- at least the man cleaned from time to time and organized stuff. The place was an absolute mess; boxes over the floor, piles of books on chairs and shelves full of documents and other various things he didn’t quite distinguish.

Leaving everything on the closest table Tenma sighed when he felt his arms relaxing without the weight. Frowning, he walked around the place, smelling a mix of dirt and old- even some shelves were full of dust. Really, how did a school like this had such a gross place to study? No wonder students didn’t try to come here.

He should have asked for permission to take his work back to Mankai. Less danger of someone noticing he was behind his studies and it becoming a gossip- or worse, finding he had been walking without an absolute clue for the last half hour.

Yeah, he had more options to pass the year with Tsumugi’s help rather than on his own. Just looking at the amount of work he had he was sure it’d-

The faint sound of walking steps brought him back from his thoughts freezing him on the spot- all his breath trapped. He hadn’t heard anyone since he entered, but it shouldn't be surprising to find others studying.

I’ve heard it likes room 1001 for some reason, you know, from the old side of the school? No one really uses it anymore- guess it makes sense!

Or it was probably the wind. The wind tends to make noises, Tenma reminded himself while swallowing with difficulty.

Was the air suddenly thick?

Crack!

He strained to hear, his heart pounding loudly. “I-Is anyone there?” the nerves made his voice come out higher than he had hoped.

More cracks and sounds of steps. He couldn't see anything yet.

His stomach turned as his breath became louder. This wasn't happening. Yup! It was his imagination. What was happening could not be real, because ghosts didn’t exist. “I-I’m not afraid, you know?!” he shouted, positioning himself on a fighting stance while carefully moving backward.

That’s right- Tenma wasn’t scared. He had just rested enough, with or without a ghost in the room, and it was about time to leave. Ignoring his sweaty palms and nodding once more to nothing in particular, he turned around at the same time a pair of eyes made contact with his.

The figure opened its mouth.

And Tenma proceeded to absolutely destroy his throat.

_________________________________________________

This took so long though I’m not even sure If they are around. If you are love, I apologize! I found a few walls writing-wise. So not entirely to say I made it longer to make up for it but on the other hand... maybe. Thank you so much for sending such a nice idea so I was able to make this, really hope you like it. 💕

I promise this is a reader insert lol thank you for reading!

Part 2 soon!

[woozi]

if you had to describe your friendship with your moots as seventeen ships (boochan, jeongcheol etc) which moots would it be and why? is it dynamics? your undying love for each other? rivalry? sorry if this doesnt make sense ^^

it does make perfect sense don’t be sorry!! <3 also i don’t really see myself as just a single member of svt (although i am eerily similar to jihoon irl, surprise!! JDFJKDFK) so going through 12 pairings through a single member may not be very telling for my r/s with my moots sdksjkdjsd that being said i’m just gonna go through a few select ones!! some of these also don't exactly match svt's dynamics, but for the sake of answering, i would say they're pretty similar, lol.

cheol x gyu — i’m not associating rhys (@heartgyus) with cheolgyu’s dynamics just becase she used to bias one and now biases the other (👀), but i think they simply encapsulate our relationship perfectly as well <3 what am i if not the older sibling that roughhouses and gets roughhoused by the younger one JKDSJKDSJK i think we can also be jihan but this is exclusive to what happens (uhh... evil things) in the DMs lmfao. and maybe because people always think there’s something going on between us dsjkjkdjkds

junhao — cliche as fuck but i can’t help it it’s how e (@junhaoshua) and i are KJSDJKDS i was actually going through the list when it hit me.. we ARE junhao <3 jun’s (who would be me in this case) the older and more playful one out of the two, but hao also does his fair share of crazy antics ESPECIALLY with jun. i also think e is so cool (just like hao is). that’s MY bestie right there!! inseparable. fond. loyal. a pact made in blood. perfect for e and i <3

jeonghan x hoshi — partners in crime. mother and child. this is also what aya (@bonknanab) is to me <3 when i think of jeonghan and hoshi, i get reminded of their vlives (which always give me comfort and a sense of familiarity like aya does) just like seokhan. i feel like i can talk about literally anything and everything with aya! and just like when hoshi is with jeonghan, i tend to be a little more grounded while still somehow retaining the potential crazy antics. my fun older sister <3

soonhoon — pure energy vs solid wall. it’s carrie (@art-hao) and i <3 can i just say that when i made this connection between us and soonhoon... i literally felt like i ascendeDDDD not to toot my own horn but im SO SMART for this JDKKJSD u all don’t understand because this is literally how we are (both as individuals and as a pair). i cannot explain it but i, for sure, can most certainly attest that if any of these pairings i’ve mentioned/will be mentioning just reflect similarities, soonyoung and jihoon are EXACTLY as carrie and i are. i don’t even need to explain it i’m just gonna link all of u to soonhoon vids <3

seoksoon — belle (@xuseokgyu) is literally the seok to my soon <3 as they say, it’s literally almost canon JDSJKSJ i also love how we recognized this because of one of the carat anon ask games, but u know what they are absolutely right lol. belle is my positive ball of sunshine who also guides me when i’m going off the rails (just like how seokmin is the part-time hoshi wrangler). just as seoksoon has their own little world sometimes, i think no one connects with me and gets me (esp my dino tunnel vision) like belle does and i think that’s special <3

soonwoo — no one balances hoshi’s external chaos better than wonu, and i think belle (@gotseventeens) does exactly that when we’re together <3 at first, people think wonu’s cold and intimidating, but in reality he’s just a calm ball of internal chaos and other miscellaneous knowledge DSJKJDSDSKLSD this is literally how i thought of belle at first (minus the cold part), but as soon as we actually got to some proper talking, i realized that i literally cannot go without this person. friends for life, just like soonwoo!! <3

seokhan — one of the first things i think of when i think about jeonghan and dk together is that iconic eating vlive in their dorm, and i think that sums cora (@ohoshi) and i’s relationship KJDSJKDS i don’t think we personally match jeonghan and dk’s personalities, but we do dynamic-wise (or at least I think we do DSKJDJKS)! cora’s also just very supportive of me, just like how jeonghan is to dk. and although we don’t talk much lately (just like how seokhan aren’t able to share hotel rooms anymore bc.. well.. they have nowhere to go lmfao), i still treasure this bond with her <3

verkwan — ok but literally oona (@vernons) and i <3 foremost, oona is just here vibing like vernon and i absolutely love that omg. she’s also very collected and keeps to herself for the most part but when she reaches out, her gestures are always so heartfelt, which again, is like vernon! i really admire oona just like how boo does vernon, and the way i see it, i’m the loud friend (boo) whose antics vernon always witnesses, but when it comes to things they’re also a confidant. 10/10 vibes on this one!! <3

seungkwan x dk — wholesome. besties. it’s chey (@soonhoonsol) and i <3 like cora and i with seokhan, chey and i aren’t really similar to booseok but when they’re together i just think of happy and good things, which is what i get reminded of when i think of chey. <3 going through the list, i think they are also what we’re most similar to? i don’t think our dynamic can be compared to one of svt’s but this is the closest (maybe chey can suggest a better one JDSSDKDSJK)!! another one i can probably compare it to is wonwoo x vernon because i just feel like i can rely on chey just like vernon does wonwoo. <3 and like the two who have their personal humor codes, i also feel this special bond and fondness with and for chey!

hoshi x mingyu — am i about to steal your wallet. am i gonna get pissy that you beat me in a worthless competition (i know u will <3). that’s it that’s the post for emily (@iiasha)​. SDJKJDSJKDS mingyu’s also the prime witness and the reaction-machine to hoshi’s shenanigans and that’s literally how emily is with me, especially when i first got into caratblr (icb she saw the dinonara in me even before i did oh M YGODD). also emily is my getaway driver so this checks out. <3

jeonghan x wonwoo — i just realized that these are two of anna’s (@haniehae) boys but maybe the things and people we like also say a lot about us jdkjsdjdsjkds. i think our dynamic would be similar to jeonghan and wonu! jeonghan always like starting shit up (like i do <3), but wonu (like anna) always handles it very well and elegantly at that lol. i also just can’t describe why i feel like we fit this vibe, but i just get the Feeling™ JSDJKSDJKDS together, these two aren’t very chaotic, but i think they are quite the powerful pair (esp when they combine their sexie brain power and scheme together, just like what we did for HourlyHannie - shameless promo DKJSKJSDJKDS). also anna has Cool As A Cucumber vibes like wonu as well so <3

jeonghan x woozi — i always think of the time during svt’s trainee days wherein jeonghan was intimidated of woozi DKJKSDJ that’s also how i thought of izzie (@coupsnim) when i first entered caratblr bc i thought she was so cool (she still is!! <3) i also see that jeonghan has a lot of respect for jihoon and i do likewise for izzie. like jihoon as well, izzie mentioned that she’s not good at conveying things, but i feel it when she tags me here and there in little things (which i also might have missed some bc i have not been checking my notifs JDSJJDSJS ILY IZZIE). she’s one of the constants here as jihoon is central to svt, and i think of izzie very highly <3

boochan — lee (@uriboogyu) and i aren’t frenemies (but maybe we will have this arc soon JDSJKSDJSD JK!!!!!!!!!!), and i don’t really know where i’m getting this vibe from either, but when i think of lee and i boochan comes to mind. i think it’s because we’re always screaming at each other JKDSKJSJKSD. but as i think more about it, i believe it’s also because lee is a bit like dino as she’s the younger sibling that always reaches out to grumpy old people like me (and boo JDSKJSDKJ). both are very confident too!! also boochan lives for the show, and i won’t elaborate, but lee and i do too JDSKKJD

hoshi x seungkwan — target practice. waiting for each other’s downfall. still besties nonetheless <3 @mulberry-rose. i’m always excited to see if boo and hosh are gonna be friends or enemies a certain day and this is exactly what happens to monet and i lol. she’s one of the people who snipe me for my bias list, but we love to see it <3

soonchan — FOND FOND FOND FOND FOND!! when i think of soonchan i think of that vlive inside boo’s hotel room wherein they were hugging and calling each other 😭 or that one time in isac where dino’s just resting on soonyoung’s lap 😭 that’s exactly the feeling i get with mina (@mango-mina). i treasure this one right here! the absolute sweetest <3

[thebrownssociety]

Across The Serververse, Chapter 11

Porky was pacing up and down, arms folded a cloud of worry above his head. A few foot away from him Foghorn and Barnyawd were trying to sound ‘encouraging’.

“Don’t, I say, don’t you worry Porky, mah boy!” Foghorn said, cheerfully. “They’ll be comin’ back any minute now!”

Porky screwed his eyes up and looked up to the sky again. “Y-you’ve b-b-been s-s-saying that for the last - for the last - the las - ages.”

The next scene opened up on Daffy and Porky leaving the hospital.

“You know where we’re going wrong, Porkster?” Daffy asked, musingly.

“T-t-the entire scheme?” Porky said, teasingly.

Ignoring him Daffy carried on. “We’re starting to small. We need to set up something grand, something...awsome...” With that declaration he rubbed his hands together and strode off.

Porky watched him go then looked up to the heavens and said. “S-s-somehow I don’t like the s-s-sound of that. Daffy! Wait up!” And he went running after him.

“Porky!” Petunia trilled as she hurried over to Porky and kissed him softly on the cheek. “Any sign?” She asked, sympathetically.

To which her husband made a sort of ‘hah!’ noise and indicated the empty sky.

Petunia then went about trying to convince Porky to put his guard down and come back to the house, even going so far as to assure him that both Foghorn and Barnyawd would be on watch for them [despite not actually asking them if they would be.] 

With one last look at the sky, the older pig sighed. “I-I-i suppose you’re r-ri- correct.” He linked arms with his wife, then looked back anxiously at Barnyward and Foghorn. “Y-y-you’ll tell us if they come b-b-back?”

“Nah, we’ll leave it a few months. Let ya worry a lil’ more” Barnyawd said, sarcastically. “Of coirse we will! Now go!”

Porky and Petunia started to walk off, arm in arm, talking quietly to each other when suddenly Foghorn yelled. 

“Incoming, I say, incoming! Watch out! Marvin’s crash-landing again!” 

Porky and Petunia immediately turned back and looked up. Contrary to Foggie’s dramatic statement, Marvin wasn’t crashing his spaceship but managing to land the ship gracefully a few feet away.

The doors opened, a lot of smoke curled out of ship and Porky could see the silhouette of his family beyond it. He thought his chest was going to explode as a rush of happiness overtook him and he ran into the ship, trying to say. “Oh my-! I can’t believe you’re all back! Amazing!” and instead just managing to do his normal stuttering act. 

Much hugging and exclamations later and Porky looked around the ship once more and asked, in concern. “W-wh-where’s everyone else?”

Porky, Petunia, Foghorn and Barnyawd were duly brought up to speed about everyone else’s locations and, at the end of the explanation, Bugs asked. “Eh...where’s Daf, Porkster?”

Porky sighed and looked at Petunia who made a ‘go on, it’ll be fine’ gesture.

After much stuttering and a few false starts the older toon managed to explain that Daffy was lying down having been given a sleeping tablet by Doctor Scratchensniff. “We-we’ve had s-so-something of an adventure.” Porky added, almost apologetically. “I-i know!” He brightened up. “I’ll explain via fl-flas-oh, just watch.”

And with that the his siblings - and Petunia - pulled up chairs and started to watch the flashbacks.  

*5 and a half months ago*

The flashback opened up on an image of Porky and Daffy screaming as they fell through the air towards a map with the words ‘D.C. World’ written on it.

The two toons smashed into the ground in a puff of dust and earth. There was a worrying gap then Daffy leapt out of the crater the two of them had just created with a ‘Hi-yah!’ and a kung-fu pose. “Alright Rhythm!” He yelled, eyes pinpricks and brow furrowed. “I’m giving you one chance to give yourselth up or I’ll be forced to go Duck Dodgers on ya! And I did two years of training for that role!”

There was a silence then, when it became clear Rhythm was nowhere to be found, Daffy dropped the pose and looked around for any of his siblings. He found Porky at the bottom of said crater and pulled him out by his tail while bemoaning that Porky’s life had been ‘Tragically cut short! He wasth young! Stho young!” * Beat* “Okay, so technically he was in his late 80′sth. But STHILL-!”

“D-daffy-”

The duck gasped and clasped a hand to his heart. “I can hear him! Oh, Porky...” His eyes welled with tears. “...You’ll always have a place in my heart-”

“D-d-daffy, I’m not dead.” Porky said, in annoyance from the ducks arms. 

Daffy blinked and leaned forward. “You sure about that, Chum? You look peaky-”

“I-i-is it any wonder!?” Porky snapped, pushing Daffy away and standing up. Dusting himself down the pig rattled through the list of things they had to do, namely see if any of the others were there and find out where they were.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

*A short while after that*

The next scene opened on Porky and Daffy walking down the street. The duck was noticeably subdued and was speaking in quite a serious manner. “Stho just me and you then, huh pal?” He said, thoughtfully. “Not even Bugsth hasth made it here? Hhmm. I don’t like it. C’mon! We need to try and get back.” Daffy screwed his face up as he racked his brains. “Can you remember where D.C. Worlds portal is?”

“Eh...” Bugs cut in as the rabbits brain leapt ahead about five steps. “Can I just stop you there, Doc? Oi bet oi can guess what happened next. Ya got ta the portal an’ it wouldn’t work?”

Porky glared and folded his arms. “I-i-if you know so much about it why d-d-don’t YOU tell the story then, Einstein?”

Bugs held his hands up and allowed Porky to continue.

The pig cleared his throat and began. “Yes, y-you’re right. The P-p-por - the thing wouldn’t work. And that was when D-d-daffy got his ‘great’ idea...”

*Daffy’s great idea*

“We’ll be superheros!” Daffy said, grabbing Porky by the shoulders. “And by ‘we’ I mean I’LL be a superhero and YOU’LL be my trusty sidekick! You can be...” Daffy thought for a moment. “...Pig Boy!” He declared after a moments consideration. 

“O-o-or I could just be E-e-eager Young Space Cadet?”

Daffy gave his friend a ‘look’. “Eh - copyright, Porkster?”

“W-w-we’re owned by the same company!”

“And? That doesn’t make any difference! Jus’ ask Mickey! ‘Mickey MELON’ my assth...now - with me!”

*One quick scene change later*

[Daffy is in a boutiques. He pulls aside the curtain to reveal he is dressed in his superhero outfit from the movie - which the author has forgotten what it looked like, so can’t give a description] “Behold! Duck Awesome” Leaning up close to the 4th wall, Daffy whispered. “It’s like Duck Dodgers, but not copywrited. Loophole abuse, you might sthay. Anyway - back to the plot...” Daffy cleared his throat and yelled. “An’ here isth my trusthy sidekick - the notorious P.I.G!”

Another set of curtains opened to reveal Porky dressed in a outfit similar to Robin. With a glance at the 4th wall he said, flatly. “I-it was the only way to get the re-ref-reference in.”

“Now my sidekick!” Daffy grinned and rubbed his hands together. “Lesth solve some crimes!” And he bounded off.

“I-i think you’re g-g-getting yourself confused with She-Sherlock Holmes.” Porky said snarkliy, before paying for the costumes and running after his troublesome younger brother. 

What followed was a montage of Daffy trying [and failing] to perform heroic tasks. In order these were:

1. Rescuing a kitten from a tree. [The kitten waited till it had been removed from the tree before attacking Daffy in a flurry of fur and nails. Porky then removed the kitten from where it was hanging off of Daffy’s beak and handed it to the grateful owner.]

2. Helping a little old lady cross the road. [Daffy picked her up and carried her while Porky stopped the traffic. She spent the short journey hitting the duck on the head with her handbag.]

3. Trying to stop a car crash. [Daffy stood between the two cars and put his arms out. He ended up squashed between the two of them making him a very interesting shape. Porky then transported Daffy and the two drivers to a nearby hospital.]

The next scene opened up on Daffy and Porky leaving the hospital.

“You know where we’re going wrong, Porkster?” Daffy asked, musingly. 

“T-t-the entire scheme?” Porky said, teasingly.

Ignoring him Daffy carried on. “We’re starting to small. We need to set up something grand, something...awesome...” With that declaration he rubbed his hands together and strode off. 

Porky watched him go then looked up to the heavens and said. “S-s-somehow I don’t like the s-s-sound of that. Daffy! Wait up!” And he went running after him.

[wshaeil]

*  ◟  ―  🍓cl - clang !! hello , it’s so nice to meet you all - my name is jada , but you can just call me 𝐎𝐇 𝐇𝐀𝐄𝐈𝐋’s mun !! i’m super excited to be here , and hopefully you guys take to me and phoenix’s leader , haeil ! he has a semi - sad vibe , but don’t be fooled, he’s a pretty cool guy ! below you’ll find trivia as well as general connections while i work on te real plots page ! and as always, please like if you’d like to plot alongside me and my boy !! lets go !

     𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐅𝐈𝐋𝐄 .  //  𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃.  //  𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐓. //

𝐁𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐆𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃.

i’m going to lightly touch on his backstory here but his bio is already loaded w stuff haha so !! i won’t bore you with too many details !!

came from a family w / high expectations of him, to always be the responsible big brother ... and he did ! always was good at school stuff, took care of stuff at home when needed, etc !

but deep down he was ( and is ) not happy w how he felt his own happiness was always sacrificed for others, despite not wanting to admit it & sounding selfish ? but anyways, it got him acting up, and he had a whooole little rebellious streak that was completely out his character !

though he realllyyy enjoyed the rush, his little adventure ended quick when his parents noticed him skipping class & all that ! so his first year of hs they made him join a school club to find better friends, and that’s where he found dance !

there he learned dance and well ... the rest is history !! loved every minute of it, but got a really bad injury that had him out of dances for a while, and it crushed him, but he came back with a newfound true appreciation for it !

time skip, his friends encouraged him to audition when word came around about yuseong auditions and ... voila ! here we are !!

𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐘.

ok so you’ll have to excuse me as haeil is one of those this . . . and also that characters HAHA, so he’s got opposing personality traits even within himself ! he even is confused by it hee heeeee

also sidenote his younger sister is @wsharin​ !! they’re definitely giving opposites yet crazy type, have quite different personalities, but grwing up in similar environments w each other has kept them very close ! kinda thinks he’s fake youngest out of them, yet fiercely protective of her !

but ! his natural instinct is actually to be pretty wild, outgoing, have fun. he’s the happiest when he can do that, and those closest to him probably know him to be quite the joker when he lets loose.

buuut for years now he’s been conditioned into the responsible leader-type he is now, though it def is his more manufactured side. but nowadays it’s what he reverts to, because he sort of just thinks there’s not enough room in everyone’s life for him to be so chaotic ??

haeil tries his hardest to blend in the background, as he feels it’s what a good leader does and he wants to give the rest of his team the shine. because he hasn’t been dancing as long as most others around him, and had a relatively short training time, he’s still v doubtful of his own worthiness of being in the position he is, therefore he sort of feels like ... he doesn’t deserve attention ?? ( and while this is true to an extent, haeil also needs to work through this constant pessimism within himself and learn to take pride in his achievements !! )

so a lot of times what you’ll see is a man trying to be a leader, with the inner child ( ! ) in him poking through. though he encourages participation from his other members rather than himself, his fans are known for pointing out all the moments he gets jumpy / excited / hyper, and he’s kinda developed this “tsundere” vibe because of it ? it’s not exactly correct but he’ll take it heehee

as a leader, esp on variety, you’ll see him doing little things to make the quieter / less talked to members heard this whole compilation ?? literally him.

if you’re close to him though, you’ll really see he’s not nearly as serious as he seems. he’s extreeemely caring, almost to a fault, w those close to him ? and will take care of literally anything they need. got rent due tomm ? send him your payment info and he’ll send over all he has in his account. but on top of that, he just loves to have fun, and if in an environment that allows, v spontaneous !

def mom friend vibes. doesn't like coffee but loves his morning tea, sweaters, tries to establish a bed time for phoenix, always managing to have remembered that one thing someone else forgot, packing snacks, all the good stuff !

but !! the entertainer in haeil is compleetely different, and largely why he got famous ! a charismatic dancer for sure, enjoys a lot of hip hop as it’s what he’s had most practice in, and whenever he dances he truly has fun !! 

he was so  deep in his own insecurities, and it showed in his dancing, untilll cherry bomb. phew cherry bomb haeil was ... a whole era, and what a lot of people attribute to being his vibe switch that made him 1000x more confident !

despite what many think he loooves aggresive rap. rock & r&b are right up there too. loves music that reminds him he can feel things !!

poor thing ... cannot handle his alcohol. legit tries to avoid drinking altogether bc like one drink and he’s already trying to crawl onto tables. actually loves going out for drinks but avoids it like the plague bc he thinks it ruins his pride lolll

while he claims he's too busy for love - and he genuinely is kinda - he is a hopeless romantic deep down. his mind always drifts to him & his future partner living all suburban w kids who match clothes and having a family dog, all the fixings ... he just wants a cute dad vibe and gets depressed when he thinks of how being an idol is kinda preventing that from coming anytime soon 

this is getting SO LONG WHAT lets move on !!

𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒.

someone who didn’t actually make it / hasn’t yet debuted in the industry, but who haeil reallly looks up to as a mentor ? whether a rapper / singer or just someone he admires, haeil gets depressed every time he remembers the person who got him where he is hasn't even got their shot of fame yet, and who he feels he owes quite everything to. though he’s got the whole leader thing going on, this person makes him act like a whole little sibling.

english tutor !! he genuinely wants to be so much better than he is, and doubts his skills as a good leader bc of it and would loove someone to help him !! also def down to learn from someone who speaks japanese, since he’s learning that as well ! he just wants to connect w more fans D:

someone who lets him lets loossee !! need i say more ?? haeil needs to have some fun and be himself before he pops a brain vessel, and that seems like it’s becoming more and more of a possibility oijdoidjodjod. alcohol may or may not be included iin the equation but if so prepare for chaos personified !

an ex perhaps ?? he’s bisexual so this could go either way, but someone he was w in high school and for whatever reason, it didn’t work out ?? we could give them awkward or tension w angst where they never got closure, or two people who just worked better as friends and maintained a great connection !

someone who he’s truly just ... whipped over ? something about their energy has him wanting to see them more and more and quite honestly, p out of character. openly a simp and just wilding whenever this person’s in the room hours .. let’s go !!

best friends. but i mean like .... beeest friends. they don't have to necessarily go back, not all best friends do, but what matters is them now ! friends who have an incredibly special connection, the type to just .. basically be talking in their own language of inside jokes and such.

for those who might not be from korea / have the closest relationship w their own family, haeil’s got you ! if your muse has always wanted someone who cooks for them, gives advice, or just listens and provides a shoulder to cry on, mr.haeil is the man for you !!

[gloves94]

Sunburn [Prince Zuko] 35

Warnings: Cursing Rating: PG-13   Pairings: Zuko/OC  

Sunburn Chapter M A S T E R L I S T

My fan fiction M A S T E R L I S T

Presently, Toph, Katara sat on the edge of the beach house’s inner courtyard watching the three firebenders practice their bending skills from the comfort of a refreshing shade.

Tsai had been complaining to everyone about how much she hated Ember Island but when asked why she would just grumble and seethe in her own anger and frankly it was getting on everybody’s nerves. It’s not something she liked to talk about in particular. Of course, this time things were a lot better than the last time she was here. Not wanting to spend another minute inside of the house that brought such terrible memories to her she spent the majority of the day meditating by the beach in an attempt to ease her terrible headache. She presently wore a set of maroon traditional Fire Nation clothes similar to the ones that Suki and Katara wore.

She was currently walking back to the courtyard to sit next to the girls that were watching the boys train.

She watched as the three benders moved in perfect synchronization in elaborate firebending movements. Blasting arcs of flames and fistfuls of fire. She really wished she could’ve been paying more attention to where she was going but was more distracted by a shirtless body. Her eyes were glued to the prince’s toned torso. She looked at the way his perspired body seemed to glisten with the light as he moved swiftly. Had he always been that well-built? She knew he was strong from holding onto his arms so many times before, but his abdominals- Her mind went to an erubescent compartment of her imagination. Why had she never stopped to appreciate the royal sight before?

The three benders straightened and turned towards each other relaxing in their stances letting out a deep breath slowly.

Then it hit her. Literally. She groaned slightly when she ran face-first into one of the courtyard’s pillars making Toph laugh loudly from where she was sitting. She stepped back and glared in embarrassment as she walked over to where Katara and Toph were sitting.

“You’ve got something on your face.” Toph continued laughing.

The girl rubbed the red line that had formed across the bridge of her nose and prayed that hopefully it wouldn’t bruise. “Yeah, I hope it doesn’t bruise.”

“I meant droll.” Toph dead panned. Tsai swore she could’ve strangled her in the spot. Mortified that she had been caught in the act of checking out the Fire Nation’s former prince in such an obvious matter.

"Doesn't it seem kinda weird that we're hiding from the Fire Lord in his own house?" Katara suddenly said absent mindedly. Thankfully Toph seemed to be the only one to have witnessed her embarrassing run in to the pole.

“Think of it as hiding in plain sight. Besides, you think the Fire Lord is going to come and hang out here?” The red head explained raising both of her arms up in a casual shrug.

"Yeah," Zuko agreed from where he was sitting at the foot of a concrete fountain, rubbing the sweat from his hair with a towel. He said something. Tsai was certain she saw his mouth move when he was speaking but she wasn’t listening. Her teenage hormones getting the best of her.

“You guys are not going to believe this!” Thankfully Sokka interrupted her daydream. She shook her head shoving those red thoughts into a cranny in the back of her brain.

Sokka and Suki stood at the entrance of the courtyard both with excited looks on their faces.

"We were just in town when we found this poster." Suki explained with both hands behind her back. She nudged Sokka, "Show them, Sokka."

“There’s a play about us!” Sokka announced unraveling a parchment scroll he had been holding behind his back. He snapped it opened revealing a traditional drawing of Aang and the Southern Water Tribe siblings in fighting stances. Zuko’s face in the background. An image of the Blue Spirit’s mask hovering in between the two parties.

Everybody came in closer to take a look at the poster.

"Listen to this," Sokka said as he turned the poster back around so he could read it capturing everybody’s attention as he began to read out loud. "The Boy in the Iceberg is a new production from acclaimed playwright Pu On Tim who scoured the globe gathering information on the Avatar from the icy South Pole to the heart of Ba Sing Se. His sources include singing nomads, pirates, prisoners of war, and a surprisingly knowledgeable merchant of cabbage."

Suki leaned over his shoulder and read the last line, "Brought to you by the critically acclaimed Ember Island Players."

"Ugh..." Zuko groaned and made a disgusted face his shoulder’s dropping, "My mother use to take us to see them. They butchered Love Amongst the Dragons every year."

Tsai couldn’t help but snort a small laugh. She knew that Zuko was a fan of theatre. Go figure. It definitely explained his fanfare for dramatic antics.

"Sokka," Katara sighed in exasperation, giving her brother a bland look as she asked, "Do you really think it's a good idea for us to attend a play about ourselves?"

“Yeah,” Added Tsai crossing her arms over her chest taking a seat next to Zuko at the foot of the fountain. “We shouldn’t be slacking off. We still have plenty of training to do.”

"C'mon!" Sokka whined before looking at the two girls persuasively as he unrolled the parchment again and showed it to the group. "This is the kind of wacky, time-wasting nonsense I've been missing!" He smiled at them with an eager expression on his face. “And it’s until night! So, we’ll have all day to train,” He shot at the red head.

Katara rolled her eyes, crossing her arms and looking away with a baffled expression.

“Yeah, why not?” Mecha asked as he sat next to his sister. He rested an elbow on top of her head with the intention to annoy her. She slouched forward under the weight of his arm. “I’d love to see what trouble ya’ll have gotten into.”

She glared at her brother and pushed his scarred arm off her head.

She let out an exhale in defeat. "Sure, why not? How bad could it be?"

xxx

The theatre house was grand. Composed of golden arches and red roofs and ceilings which were traditional to the area. The theatre was packed, and the group shuffled into the highest and cheapest seats they found at the very top in a small private box.

Toph sat on the edge, next to her Katara, Zuko and Aang.

"Hey, uh..." Aang faltered as he was forced to stand back up. He rubbed the back of his neck and tried to act casual as he said, "I wanted to sit there." He said motioning to the spot next to Katara.

Zuko then lowered his hood and glanced at Aang strangely, "Just sit next to me, what's the big deal?"

Behind sat Suki, Sokka, Tsai and her brother both of them sipping on some Ember Island iced teas.

“I really don’t want to be here. There’s literally 1001 more productive things that we could be doing.” She complained to her brother. “Am I the only one that is aware that Sozin’s Comet isn’t slowing down?”

“Simmer down. You’re acting as if you’rethe Avatar” Sokka said with ease as he slid an arm around Suki’s shoulders. “At least one of us is!” She spoke sharply bitterly the edge of her eye twitching in frustration as she glared at Aang who didn’t hear her snarky remark. “You’ll have tomorrow to train and do your sun greeting meditations or whatever it is you do.” Sokka waved his hand indifferent to her attitude.

“Relax,” Mecha said to her. “This is just what we need. It’ll be a good way to get our minds off things.”

She sighed deflating a little.

“Besides I’m excited to see all of our parts!”

Aang fidgeted a little in the seats at the front as he struggled to find a seat next to Katara. "I was... just, uh..." Aang stuttered and glanced over at the brunette, who was peering at him oddly before looking back at the stage. He looked back at Zuko and cleared his throat, "I wanted to..." He sighed in defeat sat next to Zuko in defeat “Okay…”

"Why are we sitting in the nosebleed section?" Toph demanded, crossing her arms and leaning back in her seat at the end. The theater lights dimmed signifying that the show was about to start. "My feet can't see a thing from up here."

"Don't worry," Katara stated in amusement, glancing at Toph from the corner of her eye before focusing on the stage once more, "I'll tell your feet what's happening."

Toph didn't bother to respond, as she heard the curtain being drawn up.

ACT I Scene 1

Sokka excitedly grabbed his sister's shoulder and pointed between them as their actor portrayals were revealed. The actress portraying Katara was an older woman wearing pounds of rogue cakey makeup on her face. "Sokka, my only brother!" She exclaimed dramatically with a loud sigh as she pretended to row a canoe through the moving cut-outs of blue waves.

"We constantly roam these icy South Pole seas, and yet never do we find anything fulfilling!"

Sokka’s actor had an overbite and his wig resembled more of a broomsticks’ end. He spoke next "All I want is a full feeling in my stomach, I'm starving!" He drawled out. The audience all laughed at the joke.

"Is food the only think on your mind?" Actress Katara asked in melodramatically.

"Well, I'm trying to get it out of my mind," Actor Sokka retorted and pointed to his mouth, "And into my mouth. I'm starving!"

The crowd of Fire Nationers once again roared with laughter.

"This is pathetic." Sokka complained, leaning over his sister's shoulder and waving his hand towards the stage, "My jokes are wayfunnier than this."

Tsai let out a humorous snort as she leaned back into her seat, arms crossed over her chest. Her brother’s body language mirroring her own.

"I think he's got you pegged." Toph quipped with a laugh, and Sokka glowered at her in reply then sat back with a huff to continue watching the play.

"Every day, the world awaits a beacon to guide us, yet none appears. Still we cannot give up hope!" Katara’s actress placed her hand to her chest and began to sniffle dramatically, "For hope is all we have," Her voice wavered with choked tears as she collapsed over the side of the canoe in an exaggerated manner. "And we must never relinquish it. Even...Even to our dying breath." She burst into fake tears lowering her head. Actor Sokka looked at her blankly and continued paddling.

Katara huffed and crossed her arms without amusement, "Well, that's just silly. I don't sound like that at all."

The row behind Katara all sniggered quietly behind praying Katara wouldn’t hear them. Toph however, felt no need to hide her laughter as she giggled maniacally. "Oh man, this writer's a genius!"

Katara scowled at her and stuck her nose in the air, closing her eyes in indignation.

It seemed like all Katara’s actress did was bawl dramatically, moan, sigh and cry about hope and feelings. Moments later the boy who was trapped in the iceberg came to the stage.

The actress portraying Katara stopped crying and sat up, turning to stare at the iceberg prop with wide eyes, "It appears to be someone frozen in ice. Perhaps for a hundred years!"

"But who?" Actor Sokka questioned loudly, "Who is the boy in the iceberg?"

Aang leaned forward on his seat in anticipation at his character’s introduction and great reveal. The eagerness on his face excited unmistakable as he learned even further to see the respectable actor that would portray the Avatar. Zuko glanced over at him, he then looked over his shoulder and saw that the Fire Nation siblings were watching the play attentively both of their attentions completely captivated. That’s right. They probably didn’t know that any of this had happened.

Actress Katara climbed onto the iceberg prop quickly, Actor Sokka climbing it at slower pace. She made a slashing motion with her arm and cried out, "Waterbend, hai-ya!"

The silhouette disappeared from view as the iceberg prop split in half. Smoke spilled out of it flooding the stage. It was time. The big reveal. The Avatar leapt out of the smoke and landed between Sokka and Katara’s actors. The actor struck a playful pose placing a hand on his- her hip and winking at the audience. The actress wore cake loads of rogue blush and a bald cap with a blue arrow as well as Aang’s traditional Air Nomad robes.

"Who are you, frozen boy?" Actress Katara asked in awe, reaching out as if to touch the other actress while theatrically clasping her other hand to her chest.

The petite actress portraying Aang laughed and spoke in a high-pitched voice, "I'm the Avatar, silly!" She balanced on the toes of one foot then twirled around, holding her arms out with another cheery giggle, "Here to spread joy and fun!"

Aang cringed and closed his eyes for a second before leaning forward becoming almost deflated, his eyes practically bugging out of his head. He made a choked noise, "Is that a woman playing me?"

Aang scowled and sat back in his seat with an irate huff, crossing his arms and glowering at the stage.

“Is it me? Or does that look like Ty Lee?” Tsai said more to herself than the others.

A replica of Appa made growling and roaring noises before leaping off the iceberg prop, revealing the three actors wearing furry pants to represent the sky bison's six legs. The replica landed to the right of the stage and ran across to the left side then disappeared behind the iceberg prop again.

"An Airbender!" The Katara actress gasped in awe, turning to look at the other actress after watching the Appa run around. She clasped her hands to her chest and dropped down to one knee as she exclaimed, "My heart is so full of hope, that it's making me tearbend!" She sobbed dramatically clinging onto theater Aang’s leg.

"My stomach is so empty that it's making me tearbend!" Actor Sokka wailed as he threw his arms up hopelessly then dropped to his knees, clutching onto Actress Aang's opposite leg and starting to cry just as dramatically as Actress Katara. "I need meat!"

Giggling cheerfully, Actress Aang ducked down, putting her arm around both of their shoulders after they had let go of her. She pointed upward with a cheeky smile, "But wait! Is that a platter of meaty dumplings?"

"Where?!" Actor Sokka asked excitedly, shielding his eyes and turning away from the actress in search of the alleged dumplings. "Where, where?"

Actress Aang laughed and shifted so she was sitting on the edge of the iceberg prop, playfully swinging her arm around as she chirped, "Did I mention that I'm an incurable prankster?" She crossed her legs and smiled cutely winking at the laughing audience.

"I don't do that!" Aang growled irritably as the audience continued to chortle, "That's not what I'm like! And-and I'm not a woman!" He threw his hands up in frustration as he slumped on his seat.

Toph cracked up and turned her head towards Aang, "Oh I think they nailed you, Twinkle Toes!" She continued laughing when Aang growled at her, lifting his head up to glare in her direction.

Scene 2 The scene changed, and a Fire Nation warship appeared on stage, the actor portraying Zuko poised near the front of the ship, looking through a telescope while a large man that was playing Iroh standing in the middle of the ship.

“Is this when you come out?” Mecha said to his sister in his classic style which never failed to show he could not whisper to save his life.

“You know when I come out!” She said to him roughly. “Not yet!”

"Prince Zuko," Actor Iroh called out as he held up a whole cake minus one slice towards the other actor, "You must try this cake."

"I don't have time to stuff my face!" Actor Zuko, dressed in armor and with a long ponytail, snapped as he turned towards Iroh’s actor, lowering the telescope as he did so. He turned towards the audience and clutched his fist in an assertive manner, "I must capture the Avatar and regain my honor!"

"Well, while you do that, maybe I'll capture another slice." Actor Iroh stated then held the cake up higher before bringing it towards his face and proceeding to gobble it down noisily.

"You sicken me!" Actor Zuko spat in disgust, turning away haughtily to look through his telescope again.

The Fire Nation crowd once again laughed loudly. Zuko scowled and gestured towards the stage with his free hand, "They make me look totally stiff and humorless."

"Actually," Katara commented in complacent amusement as she crossed her arms, "I think that actor's pretty spot on."

He heard laughing coming from behind and turned to glare at the two Fire Nation siblings who were miserably failing at controlling their loud laughter. “They totally nailed you!” She couldn’t help but laugh loudly.

Zuko swung his arm out and protested, "How can you say that?" He asked looking back at them.

"Let's forget about the Avatar and get massages!" Iroh said.

"How can you say that?!"

Katara and the two siblings in the back smirked and looked at Zuko smugly. The backrow laughed even harder. Zuko grumbled and slumped down in his seat, frowning at the stage.

Several scenes passed by all of them portraying dramatically exaggerated personifications of Aang and his friends on their adventures as they traveled to the Eastern Air Temple and Ba Sing Se. Tsai and Mecha had been enjoying the play so far. They were learning so much about what the group had been through before they came into the story.

Scene 7

“Here’s where we come in!” Mecha nudged his younger sister’s arm excitedly as the last scene faded.

But- it didn’t happen. Yu Dao never came into scene. She looked at the stage before in disappointment their spirits faltering a little.

“Guess I’m not relevant enough to be in the play,” She sulked as she sunk into her seat.

Lights representing lightning flashed though the stage followed by fake sounding thunder as the Pohuai fortress came into view.

"The Avatar is mine!" Actor Zuko shouted triumphantly as he stood in front of a raised platform Actress Aang was tied to while several actors dressed as Fire Nation guards stood at the bottom. Actor Zuko looked to the left and pointed with a shout of surprise, "Wait, who's coming?"

A spotlight swung to the left, illuminating an actor wearing a massive Blue Spirit mask that covered his whole body. "I am the Blue Spirit!" The actor shouted as he clashed his dual dao blades together and tap danced in place, "The scourge of the Fire Nation here to save the Avatar!"

Waving his swords around, the Blue Spirit actor walked across the stage, the fake guards falling down as he past them. Actor Zuko ran around the platform and came up behind the Blue Spirit actor, throwing a red ribbon that was meant to be fire at the Blue Spirit actor's feet. The Blue Spirit actor jumped back to avoid the streamer then thrust his sword forward at Actor Zuko, who ran off stage.

"My hero!" Actress Aang cried out, pulling her hands from her restraints and leaping on top of the large Blue Spirit mask.

Zuko glanced over his shoulder Aang, the two giving each other embarrassed looks before quickly looking away.

The Blue Spirit actor continued to tap dance on stage before quickly spinning only to reveal an older actress with a tacky red wig standing on the other side of the mask.

“They’ll never suspect it’s me! The greatest traitor to the nation!” The actress who was wearing pounds of make-up and a promiscuous ochre colored kimono laughed loudly in a most irate laugh possible.

Tsai sprayed out her beverage like a whale and looked at the scene before in horror. She didn’t think she had ever heard her brother laugh so loud before. That’s right… The Fire Lord probably still thinks she’s the Blue Spirit. She facepalmed.

“This is such an inaccurate portrayal.”

Scene 8

A Fire Nation warship returned to the stage were Zuko’s Actor gazed out through a telescope once again and Iroh’s Actor played Pai Sho.

“Yoo-hoo! Boys!” Actor Tsai pulled out a hankerchief and waved at the warship with a sultry look on her eyes. “Wanna take me on a ride?” She giggled flirtatiously and winked at the audience.

“Hot Fire Pepper Flakes!” Actor Iroh gasped dramatically. “I guess we have to! What’s theworstthat could happen?” Iroh laughed heartily. As the actress with the red wig jumped on the ship gleefully.

“Uncle! This is not a cruise resort! I don’t want this colonial pest on my ship! Although… I can’t say no to such a vixen.”

“Is that really how it happened?” Aang quirked a confused eyebrow.

“It’s not!” Tsai cried out from the back with a red face leaning forward speaking between Aang and Zuko’s shoulders. “This play is so inaccurate! I mean- They paint me like some kind of whoozy!They totally missed the funeral. And my laugh does notsound like that!” “I think they got the annoying laugh juuust right.” Her brother sniggered earning himself a hard punch to the arm.

Zuko sat stiffly and brought a hand to his face to hide his embarrassment.

 Scene 9

The backdrop was changed to that of the Freedom Fighters former hide-out in the trees and Actress Katara along with an actor portraying Jet, stood on a small platform attached to a rope that was hanging a few feet above the stage.

“Wait is that…” Tsai narrowed her eyes. “Is that Jet?” Her eyes went slightly wide. “You know Jet?” She whispered to Katara leaning over. “You know him too?” Katara whispered back with an embarrassed expression on her face. “Yeah, we had a thing-“She was interrupted by Zuko who loudly shushed the both of them not wanting to remember the little rendezvous Tsai had had with him. He certainly didn’t want to remember the two of them canoodling back on the ferry to Ba Sing Se.

Actress Katara began to mock sob loudly and Actor Jet, with a rose in his mouth held her close, "Don't cry baby. Jet will wipe out that nasty town for you!"He pointed at the stage briefly then lifted Actress Katara's chin up while a stagehand dressed in black pulled a large, blue sheet that was supposed to represent water, across the stage beneath them.

"Oh Jet," Actress Katara cooed in a sultry voice as the platform was raised, "You're so bad."

Katara blushed brightly and ducked her head, bringing her hand up to hide her face in embarrassment while Toph giggled unabashedly.

“Why are all the women in this play over-sexualized?!” A female voice in the back row protested angrily.

Scene 11

“Quit playing Pai Sho with my uncle!”

“As a woman from the colonies I can tell you, it’s notthe only thing we’re playing.”

“Ohohoho!”Actor Iroh laughed loudly and lecherously.

The audience roared with wild laughter at the vulgar stereotype of women from the colonies.

The girl hid her face behind her hands shrinking lower into her seat.

“That did nothappen…” She grumbled completely mortified. Not even wanting to see the weirded outlooks that the group was giving her. Her and Iroh had been close, but not like that!

Scene 12

“I can’t fight your bewitching spell any longer temptress! Kiss me!”

Mecha had a horrified look on his face as he watched the scene before where Tsai and Zuko’s Actors kissed on the warship. The girl had completely slid down her seat with a red face of mortification.

“That didn’t happen either, eh?” Toph snorted flashing the girl a teasing look.

“Not like that at least!” She roared out jumping out of her seat making several heads turn back to look at her. Zuko was wearing his black hood over his head back again he pulled it down so it would hide his equally embarrassed expression. He could almost feel both Katara and Aang looking down at him with teasing grins.

“That’s it! I can’t watch this anymore!”

“But Tsai- there’s about to be an intermission!” Her brother said sipping on his tea, regardless she exited the room and threw her own beverage away.

Some moments later after the Act I intermission the rest of the group joined her outside in outdoor balcony that lead to their private viewing box.

“I see what you mean by ‘they butchered Love Amongst the Dragons every year.’" Tsai grumbled blowing a hair out of her face as he sat on the steps leaning against the railing.

"So far, this intermission is the best part of the play." Zuko grumbled taking a standing on the steps next to her leaning his weight on the railing as well.

"Apparently, the playwright thinks I'm an idiot." Sokka complained as he walked down the stairs with a bag of spicy fire jerky, taking a seat next to Suki a few steps from the bottom of the stairs. "Who tells bad jokes about meat all the time!"

"Yeah," Suki drawled in amusement and a hint of sarcasm, "You tell bad jokes about plenty of other topics too."

Sokka bit off a piece of jerky and exclaimed around it as he chewed, "I know!"

"At least this Sokka actor kind of looks like you." Aang retorted from his seat on the bottom steps, Toph standing in front of him with an amused look on her face, "That woman playing the Avatar doesn't resemble me at all."

"I don't know," Toph quipped with a sardonic grin, "You are more in touch with your feminine side than most guys."

“Simmer down Aang, it’s supposed to be a satire.” Tsai explained calmly. “One written specifically to appeal the humor of the Mainland,” she said angrily covering her face with her hands. Aang scowled at the ground his pose mirroring hers. “Can you believe how they portrayed me? Just because I’m from the colonies!” She fumed at the stereotypical portrayal.

“Hey at least you’re in it.” Her brother rolled his eyes somewhat bitter he wasn’t even written in.

"Relax, you guys." Katara chided lightly from the top of the stairs, smiling gently at Aang when he looked up at her with a frown. "They're not accurate portrayals. It's not like I'm a preachy crybaby who can't resist giving overemotional speeches hope all the time." She frowned when the others just looked at her skeptically, "What?"

"Yeah," Aang muttered, rolling his eyes slightly as he sat back down on the step, "That's not you at all."

“Am I a whoozy?” The red head asked dramatically her voice raised in a lighter pitch. As her shoulder’s dropped to the side.

“No.” Scattered voices reassured her.

“I’m going to murder whoever wrote this junk.” Zuko grumbled under his breath inaudible for the others to hear. What was the name of the playwright again Pu On Tim?

Toph shook her head, amused at how bent out of shape her friends were getting over the whole play. "Listen, friends. It's obvious that the playwright did his research. I know it must hurt but what you're seeing up there on that stage is the truth."

ACT II Scene 14

"Well here we are in the Earth Kingdom." Actress Katara said as she stood with Actor Sokka, and Actress Aang. In front of a background painted to look like Earth Kingdom buildings.

"I'd better have a look around to see if I can find an earthbending teacher." Actress Aang chirped happily, opening up her miniature air glider prop and jumping into the air while a cable lifted her up.

Toph leaned forward eagerly, "This is it! this must be where I come in!"

Actress Aang flew around the theater and over the audience before landing back on stage.

"I flew all over town, but I couldn't find a single earthbending master!"

"Here it comes..." Toph muttered, clenching her fists in anticipation.

The boulder next to where the trio were standing beside on stage was held up by a hulking muscular man wearing Toph's outfit as he rose out of a trap door the rock prop had been covering.

"You can't find an earthbending master in the sky, you have to look underground." The man rumbled in a super deep voice as he threw the rock prop over their heads.

Katara clapped her hands over her mouth to hide her laughter, Suki mimicking her while Aang, Sokka, and Tsai laughed freely and Zuko dropped the play parchment he was holding in shock.

"Who are you?" Actress Aang asked as she pointed at Actor Toph.

Actor Toph spat off the side and rumbled, "My name's Toph because it sounds like tough." He flexed his muscles, "And that's just what I am."

"Wait a minute." Toph frowned and turned her head to the side, straining to hear the words before using her finger to clear out her ear canal, "I sound like a..." She made a shocked noise, "A guy. A really, really buff guy."

"Well Toph, what you hear up there is the truth." Katara commented snidely, smirking smugly at the blind girl, "It hurts, doesn't it?"

"Are you kidding?" Toph exclaimed as she grinned from ear to ear, "I wouldn't have cast it any other way!

"So, you're blind?" Actress Aang asked curiously as she waved her hand in front of Actor Toph's eyes, which were covered by his overly long bangs.

"I can see you doing that." Actor Toph laughed then gestured with his burly arms, "I see everything that you see except that I don't see like you do. I release a sonic wave from my mouth." He turned towards the trio and opened his mouth and screamed loudly at them, causing the actors to lean back and their clothes to flutter from the strong vibrations of the shout.

The entire audience grimace at the loudness of the roar. The backrow gazed in terror while Toph held onto the railings with an excited expression.

"There." Actor Toph said contentedly after he finished screaming, "I got a pretty good look at you."

Actress Aang giggled and clapped, promoting the audience to do the same while the other actors stared at Actor Toph in awe.

Scene 17

"Zuko, it's time we had thetalk." Actor Iroh said slowly as he stood on a metal bridge with Actor Zuko, who was now wearing a long-haired wig.

“I’ve had thattalk already Uncle.”

The audience laughed loudly.

Actor Iroh pointed at him, "About your hair. It's gone too far." Tsai’s actress sat between the two actors looking between the two with mock gasping expressions.

"Maybe it's best if we..." Actor Zuko flicked his hair as he turned his head away, "Split up."

He turned and walked away, Actor Iroh heading in the opposite direction.

“Oh no!” She gaped dramatically. “Will you stay if we have some tea?” She drawled on the last word coyly. Before letting out a loud high-pitched irritating laughter.

Again, cue for the audience to laugh.

Scene 19

It was the scene of Lake Laogai, but know with Actress Aang, Actress Katara, Actor Toph, and Actor Sokka, Actor Jet flailed around between the group, slashing his hook sword arm props around, while wearing a pair of crazy eye glasses, the tiny beads the represented his pupils spinning around to show that he had lost his mind.

"No, Jet!" Actress Aang exclaimed as Actor Jet spun around the other actors looked on with horrified expression. Actress Aang placed her hands on her cheeks and gasped, "What did they do to you?"

"Must." Actor Jet swiped his hook sword arm towards Actress Aang unsteadily, "Serve. Earth King!" He spun in place and swiped at Actor Sokka, who ducked, "Must...Destroy!" He fell to his knees and started making various agonizing noises as a rock prop floated down from above, and he crawled underneath it. "Oh!" he gasped as he fell onto his stomach, the rock prop covering his upper body before he pulled his legs underneath it.

"Did...Did Jet just die?" Zuko asked in disbelief, Tsai’s expression mirrored his.

"You know, it was really unclear." Sokka replied with a small shrug before going back to watching the play as if nothing had happened.

Scene 20

Actress Katara came to scene with a backdrop of the Crystal Catacombs behind. She smiled in a sultry manner as she approached Actor Zuko, "I have to admit, Prince Zuko, I really find you attractive."

A shiver went up Katara’s spine when she sensed a deathly glare coming from behind her. Zuko felt it too. They both did. Behind them Tsai’s eyes had turned into slits. Her jealousy getting the best of her the girl almost seemed to be emitting a dark green aura.

“Hey, um? You okay?” Her brother asked eyeing his sister oddly.

"You don't have to make fun of me." Actor Zuko spat harshly as he sat on a crystal prop with his legs crossed one over the other. His harshness caused Actress Katara to cringe before she batted her lashes at him.

"But I mean it." She sat down beside him on the prop, "I had eyes for you since the day you first captured me."

"Wait," Actor Zuko jumped to his feet and moved away from Actress Katara, "I thought you were the Avatar's girl?"

"The Avatar?" Actress Katara laughed coyly as she stood up and approached Actor Zuko seductively, "Why, he's like a little brother to me. I certainly don't think of him in a romantic way. And besides," She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, "How would he find out about this?"

"You're getting up?" Sokka whispered as Aang stood up and exited the theater. Tsai followed after him not particularly enjoying the present scene and not wanting to sit through what she already knew was going to happen next.

"Can you get me some fireflakes?" Sokka settled back in his seat and put his arm around Suki's shoulders before sitting up to loudly whisper again, "Ooh, and some fire gummies!"

“That didn’t happen right?” Mecha leaned his eyes bouncing between his sister and the actors. Sokka let out a raspberry laughing slightly at the absurd question.

Both Zuko and Katara looked extremely uncomfortable and were avoiding all eye contact scooched away from each other awkwardly.

xxx

“Stupid play.” Tsai grumbled as she entered the small balcony area sulking. She was surprised when she found Aang there leanings on the balcony’s railing.

She blinked twice in surprise.

“Oh, I thought you went to get Sokka’s fireflakes.”

Aang remained quiet, his head bowed to the darkness before him.

“Hey,” She said approaching him. “If you want, I’ll go get them. The gummies too.” She said cluelessly.

“Is it true?” Aang said in a broody tone his eyes were lowered as he brooded. It was then that she realized he wasn’t emotionally well. “What?” She blinked twice in surprise now leaning next to him.

He remained quiet and she thought about the scene that had just happened.

“Katara and Zuko? What?” She couldn’t help but laugh a little despite her rash jealous reaction. “He wouldn’t have lived to tell the tale.” She laughed a little harder at the thought.

However, Aang did not find it the slightest bit humorous. He remained serious a sadness lingering to his usually bright eyes.

“Alright, what’s wrong?” She nudged him lightly. “I know this play sucks, but you have to remember it’s not true. I’m not a whoozy just like you’re not girly.” She shrugged her shoulders slightly. Aang still remained silent. Maybe she had said something wrong... “And even if you were considered to be girly- that would be okay. You know? Nothing wrong with that. Girls are awesome. I’m all for everybody embracing their- “she had begun to ramble awkwardly.

Aang exhaled a tiresome breath, “It’s Katara,” he suddenly admitted. She blinked twice in surprise. She did not see that coming.

“You see, I like her, and I thought she liked me too. I mean we did kiss once.” Aang admitted bashfully. She leaned on her fist and listened attentively. “But now I’m not so sure how she feels about me.” He trailed off.

“Aang,” she said softy and he turned to look at her. “We are in the middle of a war. You arethe Avatar. You should be more focused on thinking about howyou’re going to take down Fire Lord Ozai. Not how to woo a girl.” She explained reasonably both of her eyebrows knotted together.

“It’s not fair!” Aang busted uncharacteristically and straighten out his back. “I never wanted to be the Avatar! I never wanted this!” He snapped throwing his hands up in the air a rare frown on his face. “And Katara is notjust a girl!”

She looked at him with an unfazed expression. This childish tantrum was nothing compared to Zuko’s old outbursts. She was silent for a moment allowing his anger to simmer down a little.

“I-I’m sorry,” he apologized before once again hanging his head down. This time feeling even worse about himself after snapping at his friend. “I’m just worried that all this time when she looks at me, she all she sees is a little brother.” She hummed slightly before turning to look at him once again.

“You know, my grandfather was the wisest person I knew.” She began. “He had a lot of sayings, but I think one of the most obscure ones was about love. How’d it go again?‘One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: That word is love’”She quoted wisely. “He would also always say that ‘Our lives, too, are fleeting’, just like plum blossoms… If it really bothers, you that much you should just talk to her.” She advised. Aang quirked an eyebrow up and again turned to look at her as if saying easier said than done. “Katara obviously cares about you. Just tell her how you feel and ask her how she feels.”

He continued to look at her with that incredulous expression.

“You know, I’m actually going through something similar myself.”

She smiled at him faintly. Aang nodded a little in understanding. He was more than familiar about the amorous turmoil and ups and downs that she and the prince had had recently.

“I’ve messed up and - Spirits - You know Zuko’s messed up. I’m not expecting anything to happen, but I’m probably going to have to have this conversation with him soon.”

“What are you waiting for?” He asked.

“The right moment.”

Aang looked pensive for a moment before speaking. “I don’t think there’s a right moment.” He said wisely.

She sucked in her bottom lip and nodded while gazing out at the dark island before them. She hated to admit it but Aang was right. Didn’t have the time or means to set up some elaborate act to confess her feelings to him.

“You know, he really loves you.” She gave Aang a strange look. “I can see it. We can all see it.”

Xxx

"It seems like every time there's a big battle you guys barely make it out alive." Suki commented from her spot leaning cooly against the wall her arms crossed over her chest, "I mean, you guys lose a lot."

The group was currently on the intermission of Act II loitering around the corridor in between the balcony and the box seats dissecting their thoughts on the play.

"You're one to talk, Suki." Sokka retorted and he turned to look at her sarcastically, "Didn't Azula take you captive? That's right, she did."

Suki frowned at him and asked seriously, "Are you trying to get on my bad side?" She arched an eyebrow.

"I'm just saying." Sokka muttered in a smart-ass tone.

Katara walked into the corridor, looking around with a small frown.

"Does anyone know where Aang is?" Katara asked worriedly looking around the corridor for any sign of the young Avatar.

“Has anyone seen my sister?” Mecha asked as well as he finished his beverage.

"He left to get me fire gummies, like ten minutes ago." Sokka replied then pouted in irritation, "And I'm still waiting."

"I’m going to go check outside" Katara said walking away.

“If she comes back tell her I went to the restroom,” Mecha said over his shoulder as he left the group walking in an opposite direction.

Zuko remained sitting on the floor next to Toph. He looked up and observed as a boy dressed up as the Avatar came running out of a door down the hall, his arms spread out as he squealed happily pretending to fly.      

Sokka stared at the boy as he ran past him and Suki and shook his head before looking over at his girlfriend leaning against the wall in front of him. "Hey Suki, what are the chances that you can get me backstage? I got some jokes I want to give to the actor me."

Suki straightened and stared at him with a deathly serious expression, "I'm an elite warrior who's trained for many years in the art of stealth." She said darkly. Her expression changed instantly, and she smiled brightly at him, "I think I can you backstage." She said cheerily.

Sokka blinked at her for several seconds then swallowed thickly and smiled at her nervously, "Great, let's go." She nodded and followed him down the hall, leaving Zuko and Toph sitting in the hall.

"Jeez." Toph shook her head in exasperation as she leaned against the wall between Zuko and the entrance to their viewing box, "Everyone's getting so upset about their characters.” She turned towards Zuko and smirked, "And you, you seem even more down than usual and that's saying something."

"You don't get it." Zuko muttered and he looked up at Toph with a frown that she couldn't see, "It's different for you. You get a muscle-y version of yourself taking down ten bad guys at once and making sassy remarks."

"Yeah," Toph snickered, "That's pretty great."

Zuko huffed and looked away from her, folding his arms on his knees and staring at the wall across from with an expression full of regret, "But for me, it takes all the mistakes I've made in my life and shoves them back in my face. My uncle...He's always been on my side even when things were bad. He was there for me. He taught me so much and how do I repay him?" He lowered his head to his knees and closed his eyes in shame, "With a knife in his back. It's one of my greatest regrets now and I may never get to redeem myself in his eyes…"

“And Tsai…” He ran a hand through his hair frustrated brining his hood over his head. “Everything I’ve done to her… Seeing it replayed all over again. And don’t even get me started on that stupid stereotype on women from the colonies.”

"You have redeemed yourself to your uncle." Toph stated matter-of-factly as she crouched down beside the older teen, resting her arms on her thighs, "You don't realize it, but you already have."

"How do you know?"

"Because I once had a long conversation with the guy." Toph replied, smiling a she remembered meeting Iroh after storming off and leaving her friends while they were being chased by Azula and her two friends. "All he would talk about was you."

Zuko lifted his head and lowered his hood, smiling slightly as he asked "Really?"

Toph snickered, "Yeah, and it was kind of annoying."

"Oh," Zuko looked away, but couldn't keep the smile off his face. "Sorry."

"But it was also very sweet." Toph continued. "All your uncle wanted was for you to find your own path and see the light. Now you're here with us. He'd be proud of you." She smirked.

“And Chili Pepper. Water under the bridge. Just talk to her.” Toph said encouragingly. “If you two suck it up I’m sure you’ll work out things and go back to making me want to barf my guts out.”

“How are you so sure?”

He wasn’t expecting Toph to punch his arm that hard.

"Ow!" Zuko hissed, rubbing his shoulder and frowning over at her. "What was that for?"

Toph smiled, "That's how I show affection."

“What are you guys up to?” Tsai suddenly approached them. It seemed like she was coming back from the balcony’s direction. She walked casually with her hands stretched behind her head seemed way more at ease than when she exited the Second Act of the play.

“I need to go wash my eyes,” she said bluntly using the fake excuse to leave the hallway and leave the two alone. “Hey,” Zuko stood up. “You okay?” He asked her concerned running a hand through his hair nervously. “The play… You know you’re not a whoozy. I don’t think you are either and I know neither does Uncle.” He nodded and paused for a brief moment. “And I think we should go backstage and teach Pu On Tima lesson.” He said determinedly popping his knuckle’s joints menacingly an angry look on his face.

She couldn’t help but smile a little and lower his hands at the suggestion of beating the living daylights out of the clown who wrote this trash. However as tempting as that was it would most definitely give them away.

The little boy form earlier ran out of the same door as before and stopped in front of the two of them. He smiled at the two and commented, “Awesome Zutsai costumes, but everybody knows Zutara is the superior ship.” The little boy said.

‘What the fuck is a Zutara?’She looked at the boy a perplexed look on her face.

“Also, your scar's on the wrong side." He pointed at Zuko’s face bluntly.

"The scar's noton the wrong side!" Zuko shouted angrily as the boy ran off. He yanked the hood back over his face with a scowl. She couldn’t help but bent over in laughter.

He turned around after shouting at the boy and turned to face the teen that was trying to stop her fits of laughter.

“And I don’t think your laugh is annoying.” He muttered cynically. Turning away from her. He suddenly felt hyper self-conscious about the ugly mark that scarred his face.

“Zuko,” she approached him with a loop-sided smile an endearing look in her eyes. She reached for the edges of his hood and looked at him before lowering it slightly. Aang was right. There would never be a right thing and this- this felt right.

“I love you.”

She wanted to say.

There was no embarrassment no crippling anxiety. It was just the honest truth. She successfully got halfway through the statement before being interrupted.

“What are you two dorks up to?”

An imaginary needle zipped on a record making a loud scratching noise that only the of them seemed to hear as they were brought back to reality.

She had never wanted to murder her brother as much as much as she did right now.

“Come on guys! Show’s about to start.” Sokka said casually. It sounded like he was munching on something.

Neither turned around and both heard how the rest of their friends all walked inside of the viewing box. They stood frozen in place not moving a muscle. Awkwardly petrified. She hadn’t even been able to lower her hands from the sides of his hood as she looked at him with a horrified bashful expression the color of her face blending with the roots of her hair. Zuko looked as if the air had been punched out of his gut. His eyes were large.

“Uh-“ She stammered and jerked her arms back to her side. “Act III is starting.” She said quickly before rushing inside to the viewing box before he had a moment to react.

“There’s no right moment.”She cursed Aang. ‘Idiot!’that was most definitely the worst advice she had ever received from anyone. Wasn’t he the Avatar? Wasn’t he supposed to be wise and all knowing?

She reached the box and stood aghast when she saw that the back row was full as Aang had taken a seat next to her brother and leaned forward sulking. Under normal circumstances she would’ve been concerned for her friend and presumed that the talk with his love interest did not go well, but she presently couldn’t care less. This was an emergency. She couldn’t sit in the front row next to him. Not after that – whatever the hell that had been happened.

“Hey,” she said quickly. “Can I-Can I trade seats with you Aang? I want to sit next to my brother.” She lied through her teeth.

Aang was too busy wallowing in his misery to do anything about it. “Tsai! Shhh,” her brother shushed her rudely. “Sit down, Act III is about to start I want to see if I come out towards the end.”

Zuko walked in and she felt caught like a deer dog caught in headlights. Instantly plopping down on the seat next to Katara who looked oddly at the girl that sat stiffly with her back at a perfect 90-degree angle.

She felt like she was sweating bullets and now she was stuck in this painfully awkward situation sitting next to him after his silent rejection.

She could’ve sworn she was sweating bullets. Even facing the Fire Lord hadn’t been this nerve-wrecking.

“Hey? Could you scooch?” Toph complained from the end before roughly pushing Katara to the side which pushed the two Fire Nationers against each other. “Much better.” Toph smirked triumphantly and sniggered lightly at the feeling of the rabbit-paced heartbeats of the two painfully awkward teenagers through the floor’s vibrations.  

Tsai mumbled an apology before straightening out, he mumbled something similar.

Scene 22

Actress Katara stood on a fake submarine prop with Actress Aang, "I just want to let you know Aang, that I'll always love you." She placed her hands on her chest and sighed deeply with a wide smile, "Like a little brother."

"I wouldn't want it any other way!" Actress Aang chirped with enthusiasm taking Actress Katara's hand, both of them nodding at each other in a friendly gesture. Still beaming, Actress Aang snapped open her glider prop and raised it above her head as a rope pulled her up into the air while Actress Katara waved.

Aang gawked at the stage for a moment then flushed and yanked his hat down over his face, hiding behind his knees miserably. Katara glanced over her shoulder at him then looked away sadly.

‘What the hell was I thinking?’ Tsai’s mind was running a thousand miles an hour during her internal panic crisis. ‘He didn’t say anything. Why did he just stay quiet?’ She looked at him from the corner of her eyes his own golden orbs were attentively fixed on the play. A serious expression on his face. ‘He must think I’m crazy. Is it because I have a spirit in me? I’m so dumb. Why did I even listen to Aang? What the hell does he know about these things?’This was definitely the last time Tsai look love advice from a hundred and twelve-year-old.

She didn’t even notice that the scene was over.

"I guess that's it." Sokka commented as he stood up and stretched, "The play's caught up to the present now."

"Wait," Suki whispered, yanking Sokka back down and pointing towards the stage, "The play's not over."

"But it is over. Unless..." He trailed off and rubbed his chin thoughtfully before his eyes widened and he whispered in an overly dramatic and spooky voice, "This is the future!"

Scene 23

The stage was now pitch black. They all watched carefully as an actor portraying Fire Lord Ozai walked out from the darkness his sharp cheekbones and face being illuminated in a menacing lighting.

"With the energy harnessed from that comet, no one will be able to stop the Fire Nation!" Actor Ozai proclaimed evilly as an orange paper lantern was pulled across the now dimly light stage, the cut out comet passing over the throne.

"Father!" Actress Azula called out stiffly as she ran onto the stage and kneeled before oversized throne, "Zuko and the Avatar are at the palace! They are trying to stop you."

"You take care of Zuko." Actor Ozai pointed towards her and ordered harshly, before placing a hand on his chest melodramatically, "I shall face the Avatar myself!" He raised his hands and smoke filled the stage.

Actress Azula stood up as the smoke cleared, revealing that the Actor Ozai had disappeared. She turned just as Actor Zuko ran on stage from her left while Actress Aang was lowered to the stage floor.

"Aang, you fight the Fire Lord, I'll hold her off!" Actor Zuko instructed theatrically. Actress Aang nodded once and was pulled up by a rope out of the stage leaving Actor Zuko and Actress Azula alone on the stage.

Zuko’s eyes were fixed on the play but he wasn’t watching. Not really. His eyes bored straight ahead as he observed the stage confrontation between him and his sister. Something he knew was bound to happen sooner or later, but his mind was in a very distant place.

‘”I love-“ she had said. I love what? What was she going to say? Your face? Your costume? Wait- he wasn’t wearing a costume! Your jokes? Was it all a joke? Was she messing with his head?’ He looked at her from the corner of his eye. She sat stiffly her back completely straight. Her face twisted in an anxious expression as her eyes remained frozen starring at ahead at the play.

He would never know but internally she was having a meltdown. This had been a terrible. Terrible idea. Things had been fine! Well, not fine, but decent and now this happened?

His eyes lowered from her worried expression and he saw the way her hands were anxiously clutching and playing with the fabric of her clothes. He looked at them, the way her fingers squeezed her skirt and tugged at it.

"You are no longer my brother!" Actress Azula exclaimed, clenching her fists before flinging her arm out to the side. "You are an enemy!"

"No," Actor Zuko retorted and he pointed at Actress Azula, "I am the rightful heir to the throne!"

Actress Azula smirked slyly and narrowed her eyes, "We shall see."

He did it.

He placed his hand over hers. He eyed her expression from the corner of his eyes carefully looking for any micro emotion that might betray the mask she wore. Zuko felt as if it was the longest minute of his life when he felt her intertwining her fingers with his fitting perfectly. He saw the slightest of smiles bloom on her face. She turned to look at him from her peripheral vision and his expression mirrored hers. Both relaxed slightly at the gesture when their eyes met.

“HONOR!” Both of their attentions were once again captured by Zuko’s actor who raised his arms as if in pain after having been struck by one of Azula’s blue ribbons and wailed as he coiled into his destined fiery demise.

“And you!” He pointed at Tsai’s actress who had somehow entered the scene. “Scourge of the Fire Nation, the Greatest Traitor of them all! You will live the rest of your life in misery!”

Azula’s actress jumped and tossed the blue ribbons at her. “And you will neverhave tea again!”

Faux paper flames engulfed the actress as she also coiled in a fake fire wrap.

“Nooo! My tea!” She shouted reaching for the sky.

Actress Azula turned towards the audience and bowed along with Tsai and Zuko’s actors before being lowered through the stage’s trap door.

Tsai made a strangled noise as the audience began to cheer and applaud after Actor Zuko's apparent 'death'at the hands of Azula and the ‘imprisonment’ of the Fire Nation’s greatest traitor. Both starred in stunned disbelief at the stage.

This was their reality. Not hand holding in the comfortable darkness of a theatre.

Dread began to fill the group as they continued as the scene changed, the backdrop painted to resemble a red dragon's face.

Scene 25

The last and final scene of the play was the confrontation between the Avatar and Fire Lord Ozai. Like the rest of the play it had been depicted to appeal to audiences of the Fire Nation. In this version the Fire Nation triumphed over the resistance and defeated the Avatar. A terrible future which was not a distant reality.

"Nooooo..." Actress Aang wailed as she was circled with in a red cloth before the rope detached from her waist and she fell to the ground, the cloth spread out around her form symbolizing her consumption in flames. Ozai’s actor stood triumphantly above hovering from his throne with a cruel smirk plastered on his face. He then glanced over his shoulder as Actress Azula walked up behind him.

"It is over, Father." Actress Azula stated as she raised her arms triumphantly, "We've done it."

"Yes, we have done it!" Actor Ozai exclaimed and trusted a fist into the air dramatically before the space he was standing on began to rise up while papier mache and cut out flames surrounded him, "The dreams of my Father, and my Father's Father, have now been realized!" He threw his arms out and a massive Fire Nation banner unfurled behind him in a bold display of nationalism "The world is mine!"

The audience rose up with a vibrant cheer, loud applauding and deafening cheering as the audience clapped in a standing ovation over the triumph and victory of the Fire Nation over the world.

The group sat speechless in horrid disbelief at what they had witnessed. Aang swallowed the fearful knot that had formed in his throat and glanced away from the stage. Tsai felt her stomach churn uneasily as that haunting feeling of dread that kept her up at night returned to her. So much for getting their minds of things…

xxx

"That...wasn't a good play." Zuko muttered breaking the silence that had been lingering as the group walked down the worn path away from the theater.

"I'll say." Aang added flatly slouching as he dragged his feet away from the theater.

"No kidding." Katara muttered, crossing her arms and glaring at the ground. “Horrible,” Suki added from behind.

"You guys said it." Toph remarked with a scowl basically stomping her feet as she walked beside Katara. “I told you all it was a bad idea.” Tsai grumbled from the back. “But no- nobody everlistens to me.” She said dramatically. “I’ll give this one to you.” Her brother for once in his life agreed with her.

"But the effects," Sokka shrugged and waved his hand around matter-of-factly as he walked beside Suki, "Were decent."

xxx

Sunburn Chapter

M A S T E R L I S T

NEXT https://gloves94.tumblr.com/post/622943347798081536/sunburn-prince-zuko-36 PREV https://gloves94.tumblr.com/post/622676028408643584/sunburn-prince-zuko-34

[gleam-and-darken]

Zelda AU #2: The Triplets

The sketch is rough at best, but Zelda is supposed to look like she does pre-calamity, Tetra looks like the girl from the BotW 2 trailer (because it is her, I might explain that later if anyone’s interested), and Sheik has his design from Smash Ultimate. This is really just my take on the twins AU which was originally created by someone else (rockingthegraveyard, I believe).

https://triforce-princess.tumblr.com/post/627266504652668928/this-is-awesome-your-brain-is-so-good

Anyways, I was thinking of what this might actually look like as a fleshed-out story, and I decided that Zelda’s twin could be named Tetra. And then I thought, “hey, we can’t leave Sheik out!” And so here we are. Basically, thanks to her siblings, Zelda is able to stop the calamity and (almost) everyone lives happily ever after. I don’t actually plan on writing this into a formal story so this is a long post where I just dump a lot of my ideas concerning the trio. I will not be writing this into a story, because I’ve never played BotW and I fear I would get everything wrong, but you’re welcome to! If someone ends up writing something based on this, I’d love to know so I can read it. I also have lots more ideas about this, so if you want more content (aside from this ridiculously long post), just ask!

Zelda is technically the oldest, although it hardly matters since they’re triplets. Thanks to this, she is arbitrarily the one who had all of the responsibilities heaped upon her. She’s pretty similar to how she appears in BotW, except Link isn’t even a potential love interest for her. He’s just her knight whom she’s gradually grown close to - as a friend.

Tetra is the middle child, and by far the most troublesome. She is outgoing, adventurous, brash, and basically everything you don’t want in a princess. King Rhoam tried to raise her to be proper, constantly reminding her that it was the hero’s (Link’s) duty to be the courageous one, not the princess. This often resulted in her running away and threatening to join the gerudo. She and Revali got along like a house on fire, often bonding over how overrated Link is. She absolutely hates Link, because to her, he represents not her failures, but the failures of her country and family. Why can’t a princess with no triforce be the hero as well? She makes no attempt to hide her distaste for him, although she might have changed her perspective a little if she realized that Link actually greatly admired her. It’s too bad that he was too scared of her to tell her himself. Speaking of being too scared to admit things, the one thing Tetra can’t bring herself to say aloud is that she has a huge crush on Princess Mipha.

Sheik is the little brother, known as the quiet one. Unlike his eldest sister, he knows how to fight, but hates doing so. He would much rather prefer to be exploring the lonely areas of the wild, or researching ancient tech with Zelda. He’s trans, and while his sisters support him and his father respects that, King Rhoam also saw that as an excuse to ignore him. After all, the legends never told of princes doing anything noteworthy. Thus, the king, and by extension almost everyone in Hyrule, more or less forgot about their quiet prince. The champions knew about him and were varying degrees of nice to him, especially Lady Urbosa, which was more than almost everyone he met could say. He didn’t mind it too much, and didn’t even realize that it was wrong until after his father was dead.

Link had a varied relationship with the triplets. Originally, both Zelda and Tetra despised him, because he reminded them of everything wrong in Hyrule - Zelda’s own self doubt, and Tetra’s failed attempts to become her own hero. Since his two sisters were always talking about how much they hated having this royal knight follow Zelda around, Sheik grew to dislike him as well, despite having never met in person. However, there was a time in the castle when Tetra practically kidnapped Zelda and whisked her away to an unknown location in Hyrule, sending everything into chaos. Sheik was pretty sure that they were both in on it and were simply trying to prove how well they could manage without Link, but they hadn’t informed him of their plan before they left, so he really had no idea. What he did know was that they left Link behind, and now the royal knight was panicking because he thought the king would blame him for letting his daughters vanish, and feared he’d be at the very least jailed.

Link, to his surprise, was not punished - the king was too busy cursing his own tomboyish daughter - but was sent to go find them alongside a team of Hyrulean soldiers. Not wanting to look useless, Sheik joined the quest. In their travels, Sheik discovered that Link was actually a lot like himself, just in completely different circumstances (and much more reckless, unfortunately), and the knight found that the prince was one of the few people who didn’t meet him with impossibly high expectations, for which he was thankful. They became fast friends, although since they both said an average of ten words a week combined, their friendship often looked more like them being present in the same room.

Much later, after both princesses had returned to the castle (“of our own accord,” Tetra had reminded everyone within earshot), the king doubled down on Zelda discovering her powers. She and her knight were rarely seen around the castle, always visiting springs and whatnot, while Zelda’s siblings were left at the castle doing... basically nothing. They were both training constantly for a battle that they were beginning to believe would never come.

Their seventeenth birthday started like any other day. They were at the castle while Zelda and her knight were off at another spring to pray, along with the champions. Then all hell broke loose. (Literally.) Something monstrous decided to rear its ugly head from under Hyrule Castle, and it took over the guardians to boot. Of course, both Tetra and Sheik became extremely concerned for their older sister, since she probably couldn’t fight a bokoblin, much less corrupted ancient technology. This, combined with the fact that the castle was probably the worst place to be right then, prompted the two to bolt into the field and find their sister. They had to fight guardians the entire way, and Sheik recieved a nasty injury, but kept denying how bad it really was.

Despite the storm, she wasn’t that hard to find, thanks to that explosion of what they guessed was her divine magic that had finally decided to say hello. They found her as opposed to the sheikah, but arrived on the scene a bit to late for the hero. He wasn’t dead (or was he?), or at the very least he could be saved/brought back, but he was clearly not about to help them fight. (Still, Sheik absolutely lost his mind when he saw the state Link was in, to the shock of his sisters. Neither of them knew he was close friends with the knight.)

Zelda quickly explained her plan to her siblings, where she would return the sword to the forest and face Ganon herself, to which Tetra said “hell no.” The Master Sword was right there! Hyrule needs saving, and the princess found herself to be a perfectly competent hero. The sword could be fixed. Somehow.

This part is where I’m a little on the fence about what happens. The sword’s health and power does seem to be tied to Link’s, as evidence by how it heals with him over 100 years and can only shoot sword beams when he’s at full health (I think), but since Tetra actually was worthy of wielding the sword, Fi could have been restored when she accepted the blade. Alternatively, Tetra and Sheik could have been the sages of earth and wind without realizing it, and we’re able to restore the sword on the fly. You get to decide how the sword repaired itself.

So now Tetra has roped herself into fighting Ganon with the Master Sword, Zelda by her side, while Sheik is losing his mind over what is basically the corpse of his closest friend. It’s at this time that Zelda realizes just how injured her brother is. She knows that he can’t fight the calamity like that, so she tasks him with taking Link to the Shrine of Resurrection, like Fi said. Initially, he refuses, but he soon decides that it’s all he can do and agrees.

The triplets go their separate ways. Somehow, the sisters are able to get to the castle very quickly, and start to challenge the Calamity. Zelda uses her new sealing powers to force him into a mortal form, while Tetra beats him up with her new weapon of choice. Ganon originally shrugs them off, more or less, but as they start to win he activates Panic Mode and summons all of his blights back to the sanctum to fight the sisters. Luckily, the blights were snatched right out of their battles with the champions, who were beaten and shaken but still alive.

However, thanks to his new allies, Ganon starts to win. Just when the princesses think they’re about to die, the divine beasts - which are under the control of the champions after the blights left - strike, finishing off the Calamity. Naturally Ganon has a few tricks up his sleeve and transforms into Dark Beast Ganon, moving to Hyrule Field. By Hylia’s (late) divine grace, Tetra and Zelda are teleported to the field as well, alongside Sheik, surprisingly. He’d just set Link up in the shrine before getting pulled here. Zelda is able to summon the Bow of Light, which becomes his weapon.

Together, the three of them are able to take out the dark beast. Zelda creates weak points, while Tetra and Sheik shoot them with Master Sword beams and light arrows, respectively. (Maybe Tetra DID die, but her health was restored by a fairy, or she’s at full health for some other reason.) So now Ganon is dead. Castle town is in shambles, and multiple people are dead, including the king. But don’t worry - Urbosa quickly makes herself the new parental figure of the triplets.

Hyrule is rebuilt. The people celebrate the defeat of the calamity, and the guardians are restored to their former abilities. Tetra becomes the new Champion of Hyrule Castle, wielding the Master Sword and the Sheikah Slate. For an extra happy ending, maybe she and Mipha formally become a couple. Sheik pioneers work on improving ancient and modern technology, showing a special interest in ways to reverse aging. After many years, Queen Zelda’s son, Daphnes Link Hyrule, becomes the ruler after her reign ends.

And so, the people of Hyrule live happily ever after.

... and 100 years later, Link wakes up.

[edelest]

blue lions recruiting plot fix!

hey fe3h fans! it’s been a while... sorry!

previously on this ongoing series: i made a post trying to give reason to why the students would join black eagles, because some people just couldn’t settle for “they’ll follow byleth anywhere.” someone requested a similar post to this, where i’ll be justifying why some black eagles and golden deer students’ll still be in blue lions post-time skip! my next post will be lions + eagles with golden deer :) please enjoy! and Yes, i DO stan edelgard.

here’s the link to my black eagles recruiting plot fix ~

petra: it took me a while to actually figure out why petra would join blue lions—hence the writer’s block that prolonged this post—but then i remembered the support between shamir and petra, and it hit me: petra doesn’t like the empire. and you might be thinking, petra doesn’t like them empire but trusts edelgard! see, that’s the thing. she TRUSTED edelgard. to be in a foreign land, completely vulnerable, she put her whole trust in edelgard (and others as well) only to find out that edelgard had been plotting to start this war behind her back all this time would crush her. she’d be hit with the memories of her people dying by the hands of the empire’s soldiers, only this time she’d witness the slaughtering commanded by edelgard, who broke her trust. in one of her conversations after war during battle, she says that she used to be a hostage (not sure if hostage, prisoner, or something else) but that it wasn’t the case anymore. she Admits that she was a captive of the empire through that conversation, which all the more supports my theory.

dorothea: dorothea makes me heart break, whenever i recruit her into blue lions/golden deer. dorothea went through a lot growing up, and went through a lot jusy to get into the officer’s academy as well. she puts her (incomplete) trust in her classmates and professor and hopes for a peaceful (with a rich noble in mind). even in her support conversations, she hints that she wouldn’t mind a future with edelgard. but dorothea is scared. scared of bloodshed, battles, and war. she doesn’t outright say it, but in a ton of her support conversations or any conversation you have with her, right before time skip and post time skip, she often finds herself wishing for peaces and she’s often sentimental over past memories. even when she levels up post time skip: "Feels like fighting is all there is." "I'm growing, but at what cost?" "All this power just to survive." dorothea hates the war, and it’s taking a toll on her happiness, of course she’d be afraid to join edelgard, the one who started the war.

ferdinand: ferdinand’s always wanted to one-up edelgard, probably due to either his father or his competitive spirit. so when the war breaks out and ferdinand loses everything because his father is stripped of his rank, ferdinand of course would want nothing more than to defeat edelgard and stop the war, to stop the unnecessary bloodshed caused by his self proclaimed rival. ferdinand would join byleth to save fodlan and at the same time prove his self worth... for years, trying to prove to himself that he IS as stronf as he says and that he’s strong enough to protect people. it’s always him trying to prove his worth; he says it himself when you battle him at the great bridge of myrddin. he says something along the lines of “maybe now edelgard will see my worth.” instead of trying to prove his worth to himself, he tries to prove it to edelgard. which only shows that he still cares for edelgard’s opinion after all these years, just that it changed to wanting recognition and acknowledgement.

linhardt: linhardt is scared of blood, and unnecessary fighting. his own morals are changed through the battles he goes through at garreg mach (i.e. remire village.) linhardt doesn’t want a war, he wants to nap and research about crests, and other things that interest him. he’d follow byleth and dimitri because he at the start knew that byleth would want peace and to stop the bloodshed, and he’d be glad to hear that dimitri was changed and now wants to protect fodlan as well. linhardt may not seem like he cares about much (he really doesn’t,) but he knows when something isn’t right. he knows that these people don’t have to die.

caspar: caspar grew up to protect people, not hurt them. in more instances than one, he gets angry for not being able to join certain missions or gets angry at certain people for simply being evil. he has a heart of gold, and a sense of chivalry that puts him right in with the blue lion class. his sense of righteousness is what pushes him to believe that dimitri can change, and that dimitri will change fodlan. he believes that blue lions is where he belongs, because it’s where people are most like him. hearts of gold, hearts of bravery... all around him. he’s welcome there. and he knows they can stop this reign of massacre.

bernadetta and marianne: i put these two in the same category due to similar reasons, both are shy and tend not to speak up for things and would rather not be involved in a war. imagine them out there, fighting edelgard’s fight when all they want to do is be at peace with life and live life in mundanity. they’re pushed into this world of madness against their own will, and are forced to kill or be killed. bernadetta literally says “Wish I could've at least died at home...not in this big, stupid field...” and all edelgard says is thank you for everything or something like that. bernadetta deserved better than that, she deserved to at least die happy. and marianne deserves a life where she doesn’t need to live in fear of the unknown everyday. let my shy girls live and be happy, for goddess’ sake!

leonie: we all know why leonie would join blue lions. leonie is against this war, she lives to protect those who can’t protect themselves, just like jeralt did. she will fight for what is right, and she’ll fight with those she knows will fight. claude tried to stay neutral for 5 whole years of the war. this is of course madness, as leonie is the type to believe in the ideology of helping those who can’t help themselves if you know you can have the power to assist. leonie would be mad at claude for staying neutral, because being neutral is being nearly as bad as the one causing turmoil. in cases of war, neutrality is ignorance, and leonie will do nothing other than fight for what is right.

lysithea: she would join the cause of faerghus for one crucial thing: her freedom. and you might be thinking, “of course everyone is fighting for their freedom it’s a goddamn war, op!” but here’s the thing, lysithea spent her childhood trapped in house ordelia, her and her siblings being tested on by those who sliter in the dark, her parents being powerless in the situation at hand, causing her to live her life being tortured in a prison-like environment, everyday wondering if this is how her life will be, or if she’ll die like the others. she was trapped, and pre-timeskip we see her do so many activities and try to quickly learn so many things. why? because she wants to catch up on all those years she lost in house ordelia. that’s why i sympathize with her when claude teases her for being young even if it’s only done in a humorous manner, lysithea has been through so much that she at least deserves respect (and yes, i know claude was unaware of it pre-timeskip, let me be emo.) when lysithea finds out about the war, she’d be struck with fear of being imprisoned by the empire again (at the time she didn’t know that TWSITD weren’t soldiers of the empire.) she’d join the cause of the rebellion, choosing to fight instead of staying neutral. her position (house ordelia) is of course a threat to her as well, they can be easily captured by the empire at any time any time, and she can’t help but flee for her life.

raphael and ignatz: both are sons of merchants, difference is raphael’s parents are dead, which makes raphael the one who has to provide for his sister. they, in my humble opinion, would join faerghus during war for no reason other than to protect their families and business. while i do believe that they want to save fodlan as well, how will they even provide for their family in a failing economy where war tramples over merchants? we know this happens because the merchants at the monastery constantly talk about how business is hard during war. raphael and ignatz need to keep their families alive and fed, not dying because of their pride.

hilda: hilda’s always been ‘the lazy one’, as we all know. but this, too, brought me to a halt. why would hilda join the faerghus rebellion? in the start of azure moon, if you recruit hilda she mentions something along the lines of edelgard is crazy and so is dimitri or something like that. so i kept digging and digging in my brain until i realized that the reason she would join blue lions is because of fear. fear that if she stays neutral in the leicester alliance that her position would cause her to die much easier than if she were to join byleth and dimitri and the rest. neutrality was a problem for the alliance, some wanted to join forces with the empire and some didn’t, which already made her a targer for assassination for the other houses in the alliance (to start conflict/to make a solid point.) and of course, staying in goneril territory would be terrifying too, because there are almyrans who would try to kill those at/near fodlan’s throat to take advantage of the weakness of this part due to the war. hilda is scared, even if she’s completely capable of protecting herself. strength doesn’t always equal bravery, and her whole life she’s gotten free passes to things due to her laziness, and now she has. to protect herself in a kill or be killed place, her instincts would tell her to go where she is safest, in the hands of her classmates from the blue lions, and in the hands of the professor.

lorenz: lorenz is a man of virtue, how ever absurd those virtues may be. depending on route, lorenz is either the cower in fear and succumb to the enemy to survive kind of guy or the fight for what you know is right and fight for those who can’t kind of guy. which leads me to believe that due to claude’s neutrality and wanting to protect the people of the alliance, (especially those in the gluocester region,) he’d join the cause of faerghus to stop the war once and for all.

[msephy]

Upbringing chap 8/?

And here is chapter 8 :)

There should be 13 or 14 chapters in total.

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7

Cross-posted to AO3

Earth 53 - Jason Todd

Speeding through Gotham alongside Bruce was all kinds of wrong. First of all because if felt right. Of course. Damnit, and damn him, and damn the original him, and… Fuck.

Now wasn’t the time to think about how fucked up Jason’s life was. Now was the time to find a lost Robin. Or Damian. Or whatever name he used.

“Nothing on the North side, either,” Dick (Robin) (this was going to be confusing) said in his ear.

He’d received his own earpiece right after jumping into his gear, Dick slipping it to him as he accompanied them to the Batmobile, explaining he’d use the cameras to help them out.

His gear had been washed. Not the armor, but the clothes. Nobody had touched the weapons. His guns were still there.

This whole thing was confusing.

“Thank you, Robin,” Bruce answered, his voice tight, without even slowing down. Of course he wouldn’t.

“What his codename?” Jason asked, mostly to distract himself from the worry churning at his belly. Probably for nothing, too. Damian was though, his own remarks notwithstanding.

“Who? Robin?”

“Obviously not, I heard that one. I meant the kid. Younger kid. Whatever.”

“Ah. Shadow.”

“Of fucking course,” Jason grumbled. “At least it’s not a bird.”

“I tried to make him chose Crow, but it’s already taken,” Dick babbled in his ear, his good humor hiding badly is own worry. “Or Blackbird. Or Nightbird.” Jason snorted. “Or Starling. He threw a fit at that one. Or…”

The enumeration stopped abruptly. Jason and Bruce froze in a same movement. “Robin?” Bruce called, ordered. Jason felt his spine straightened.

“Not Damian,” Dick said. “I mean Shadow. But I spotted something.”

“Elaborate.”

“Please,” Jason mocked. Bruce glared at him.

“I’m not entirely sure,” Dick was saying. “But I think it was Talia.”

Jason swore. Then swore again when he saw Bruce relax. “What the fuck is wrong with you? She’s bad news.”

“She wouldn’t hurt Shadow,” Bruce said with the assurance of the unaware.

“Are you fucking kidding me? She’ll obey Ra’s, whatever the cost.” Jason argued. Then he frowned. “What she can do is find a loophole and make sure things go the way she wants them to anyway. She’ll obey the letter of his words, not the meaning.”

“You think she showed herself on purpose.”

“I think that no camera would have caught her if she hadn’t meant it to.”

“But what could Ra’s possibly want from Damian?” Bruce exclaimed. He’d never sounded so much younger than his counterpart.

Jason shrugged. “The same he’s wanted from the start. I mean. Why else would he have allowed Talia to keep him? If he didn’t order her to have him to start with.”

Bruce winced visibly despite the cowl. Looked like it was a sore point.

“Anyway, we’d better find out if Ra’s is around before he possesses Damian or something.”

“Ra’s wouldn’t hurt Shadow,” Bruce said pointedly.

Jason stared. But he seemed to mean it. “Are you a moron?” Jason asked, unbelieving. “Ra’s is a criminal. Him not behaving as destructively as the Joker doesn’t give him a pass. You of all people should know that!”

And Jason couldn’t believe he was the one who had to say it. God knew how often he’d secretly hoped Bruce would give him a pass. But no, no, that was reserved for beautiful, dangerous women.

Jason inspired, trying to calm down. “Besides,” he managed. “I wasn’t pulling that out of my ass, that’s what Ra’s actually tried to pull off, in our world. I don’t have the details, only as much as Drake told me.”

“More birds?” Dick whispered, Jason assumed, in his ear only, because Bruce didn’t snap back at him. It really wasn’t a good time. Yet the joke loosened something inside Jason; something bad, that had been growing since the morning and which retreated suddenly in the depths of his feelings.

Jason relaxed. Bruce, on the other hand, was so wired you could have broken stone on him.

“Where did you see her?” he finally asked Dick.

“The Bowery, next to the flower shop.”

Bruce fired his line and Jason followed. It was too early for the Demon Head to want Damian’s body. No?

Please let it be too early.

###

Earth 1 – Jason Wayne

Jason got out of the shower feeling invigorated. They hadn’t made a full patrol, just half, allegedly to discharge Bruce a bit. The only thing Jason didn’t know was if Dick had taken the patrol as excuse to observe him, or if he’d observed him as excuse to actually discharge Bruce a bit.

Either way, they’d had fun without tiring themselves so much.

Jason sat down at the computer and started updating the files, checking on the latest updates from GCPD and some information sent by Oracle.

“Who is this Oracle? They’re amazing,” Jason said absentmindedly when he heard Dick get out of his own shower.

“Bruce allows you to use the batcomputer? I wouldn’t have expected him to.”

“I didn’t really give him the choice. Checking what I do will take him less time than doing it himself. I log all the details, to make sure of it.”

Dick snorted, sitting on the table. Jason raised his eyebrows. Dick made a face. “You’re not Alfred.”

“He’s old and cleaning after you boys all the time.”

“I’m not getting anything dirty! Also, you are barely older than me.”

“Still older.”

“Jackass.”

“Love you too.” Jason blinked. “I mean,” he laughed. “We barely know each other. But clearly, we both have siblings.”

“Clearly,” Dick echoed. Then he sighed.

“He’ll be back,” Jason assured him. “I don’t intend to stay here and I’m pretty sure your Bruce wouldn’t leave one of his sons in another world, even the prodigal one.”

“How is your world? Is he going to be alright?”

Jason shrugged. “It’s pretty much similar to this one. Very nice way to guilt me into giving you intel, by the way.” Dick grinned. Jason smiled. “In any case,” he continued. “I think my Gotham is a bit better off than yours, but there are still dangerous people out there. Bruce – my brother I mean – won’t let your Jason get hurt, though.”

Dick darkened. It looked like his Bruce had let his Jason get hurt. It happened, in this kind of life. Jason would rather not know the details.

“So, Oracle?” Jason asked to distract him. “Who are they?”

“Oh.” Dick blinked. “It’s Barbara. She doesn’t help, in your world?”

“In my world, she’s busy studying law and determined to become a cop. Can’t say that Jim is delighted, but I think he’s secretly proud.”

“A cop? Babs?” Dick seemed to think about it, then shrugged. “I guess I always thought she had too much of a tendency to find trouble to follow that path.”

“Oh, she still does. She kicked Luthor in the balls once.”

“And she survived?” Dick marveled.

Jason grinned dreamily at the memory. “She was pretending to be drunk at the time. He had to let it slide.”

“Oh god, I wished I’d been there.”

“It was very satisfying,” Jason confirmed, smiling broadly. “Especially since, you know, we had an informal meeting right after. I plucked some of Lex’s feathers. He was very offended. And had a hard time sitting.”

“You do business with Luthor?”

Jason shrugged. “We’re mainly competitors but his R&D department does have some significant advancements that we can’t ignore. Mostly it’s not with LexCorp directly but one of his subsidiaries. He does own a lot of them. Isn’t it the same here?”

“I guess so. Clark is the one who handles him, mostly.”

“But in regard to WayneEnt?”

“You’ll have to ask Tim,” Dick shrugged. “He’s the brain of the operation. I merely show up on galas or support one specific project from time to time but handling the day to day of a business that huge? That’s not for me.”

“No, I guess it’s not,” Jason said, thinking about how the younger Dick from his world struggled to even learn to sit down for classes for more than an hour.

“You’re thinking of who to throw to the wolves in your own world?” Nightwing laughed.

“I doubt it will be you. Damian, maybe, if he settles when growing up.”

“Is Bruce the one with all the kids?”

“I didn’t think accepting Talia’s offer would be a good idea,” Jason smiled, before realizing it was a mistake. Nightwing’s head titled slightly. Ah, well. It didn’t really matter, if someone from another world knew about his bitterness.

“She seduced you both?”

“We seduced her back. We went to train to the League together, Bruce and I, or rather,” Jason laughed, “I refused to let Bruce leave by himself. To be honest, I loved it.”

“And Talia, too.”

“It doesn’t matter much. She wasn’t going to leave her life for either of us, and neither would we. It was a moot point.”

“Mhm. Sounds like I’m not the only one who should take more care of myself.”

Jason sighed. “I guess you aren’t.”

[ask-shakespearehigh]

Q&A post with the Mods!!!!

This is going to be a long one oh boy

How strict is the delineation of creative control vis-a-vis characters/plays between the mods? (@pedanticlecturer)

We generally have the plays split up along lines of “what we know”— we have a list at the very beginning of the blog. Sometimes we’ll draw the others’ characters (mostly me drawing some of Star’s…) but even then the final say on characterization is up to the “main” mod for that play — mod aster

what aster said -- mod star

What is your favorite play? What is your favorite character in terms of how they were written in the source material? (@pedanticlecturer)

I think my favorite play overall is Macbeth, just because I like the vibes (and the fact that I too could kill Macbeth), the fact that you don’t say it’s name in theatres, and the fact that it’s a play I did a full read through and analysis of in class. Favorite character? Puck from Midsummer. — mod aster

uhhhh,, hmm. ive always had a soft spot for midsummer since i saw it with aster esp bc of how fun the costumes were. of the comedies it has the largest potential to be the most visually pleasing bc of the concept of fairies,,,and im gay and dramatic so i love that. id die if i got to costume design for midsummer,,,or be in it,,,yeah. fav character. hmm. probably mercutio?? i recently saw a version of romeo and juliet where mercutio was played by a woman and oh my god it was amazing!!! not to mention mercutio’s portrayal in baz luhrmann's INCREDIBLE version of r n j!!! (I based my mercutio design on him) he just spends the entire time making dick jokes. love that. -- mod star

How do you answer asks so fast? I mean it's great but I'm impressed 😂 (Anon)

Personally, it’s a mix of: notifications on, quick drawing speed, and using the blog to avoid my class work — mod aster

aster is fast and (as you can see from all of my answers) im lazey -- mod star

Are there any elements/characters of the plays you're covering that you would have liked to work into this blog's plot, but couldn't due to the constraints of the setting or the synthetic nature of the blog? (@pedanticlecturer)

I wanted to make everyone gay but unfortunately due to plot constraints we have to have some hets but that wont stop me from making it lgbt as possible. -- mod star

I did want to make The Tempest more of a central play, but it just didn’t translate well. Similarly, other supernatural elements like the witches in Macbeth. This isn’t so much a constraint mentioned, but my own time/energy means that I want to show the Macbeth backstory, in a specific format, but I can’t right now— mod aster

Is there a hierarchy of import when it comes to each play's individualized impact on shakespeare high's general arc? If so, what plays are crucial to the foundation of the story? Which ones did you do mostly for shits and giggles? (@pedanticlecturer)

This is phrased like an ACT question and i might not answer it right so sorry in advance but: mod aster and i only selected a few plays for each of us to do given we dont know all of shakespeare’s works, but we tend to put more emphasis on the the more well known. But it also comes down to 1. How much we have plotted out for each play and 2. What the followers ask about most. Our two most popular are hamlet and macbeth bc people are familiar w those but around march caesar always becomes relevant again. I didnt even have designs for some of the characters until someone asked about them. -- mod star

I would say the same as star— it generally comes down to what people ask about. I will say that the overall plot is sort of separated into “has happened” and “is happening”. Like, the human potion of Midsummer, Julius Caesar, and Macbeth are all in the “aftermath” portion, while Twelfth Night, Hamlet, and Romeo and Juliet, among others, are happening. We’re trying to incorporate as much as we can, and I don’t think any of them were really put in without some thought.— mod aster

What personal significance does shakespeare hold in ur guys' lives? (@pedanticlecturer)

I go to a theater school rn and so ive dealt w shakespeare (although not all of them) it also helps that i was in loves labours lost last year as moth and that i read hamlet and r n j. Theres also a theater in my state that always does One Big Shakespeare per season and they always do them super well!!! My love for shakespeare probably started w seeing midsummer at that theater w mod aster!!! So. Theater kid rights!! -- mod star

To be honest, I got back into Shakespeare Because of the blog. I’ve been friends with some people that got really Pretentious about Shakespeare, and it kinda put me off of it. I did have a book of abridged plays (the plays’ plots written out in prose, basically) that I read as a kid, which is what got me into not only the plots of a lot of the plays, but also the idea of having them illustrated. And, same as star, the theater in state does the One Big Shakespeare— and they tend to do some really cool things with the costumes, setting them in diff time periods. I haven’t been able to see any lately since I’ve moved, but they still slap. — mod aster

🥰😘💙🥰🥰💜💟🥰I 😍💗💚😍😍LOVE🖤🖤 YALL ♥️♥️🧡💛💚💝❣️💕💘💖💗💓💞💝❤️💛💜 okay now i have a question i swear— how long have the two of you been doing art??? and what were your first shakespeare plays??? (@hellaghosts)

Uhh i started drawing when i was like idk 12 and i have the giant boxes of sketchbooks to prove it!!! I moved to digital art at abt 14-15 but mostly stayed traditional until this yr when i got a Neat New Tablet so some of my sketchbooks are sitting abandoned rip. My first shakespeare was either romeo and juliet or midsummer nights dream and i love both of them v much!!! I have a very old piece of art that i did for r n j for my freshman class assignment on it and it hasnt aged well alsdjfjafd circa 2016 i think??? -- mod star

Oh man. I started drawing when I was about 10, but it was Bad. I don’t think I got much into drawing again until I was about 14? Sometime around the end of middle school/beginning of high school. I would say I started getting into drawing as more than doodling/coloring edits sometime around 2015-16? I would draw on my iPad with my finger, then I got a tablet for my computer, and now I pretty much stick to my iPad with an Apple Pencil. My first Shakespeare play was….. uh…… probably Midsummer???? I have No idea. We would go to plays when I was little, so I honestly don’t remember if I saw others before. It may have been Romeo and Juliet— I had that book where it was the original and the “modernized” with the little dog that explained things— which, if you know it makes sense, but if you don’t is probably a bonkers answer. — mod aster

Do you think this blog has like? An overarching thesis (be it b/c intentionally or simply b/c ur own take on the world has bled thru to the point where u believe it’s central to the piece at this point)? (@pedanticlecturer)

Not gonna lie, I had to read that like three times AND dm you to figure out what you were asking from us and all I have is “be gay, respect women, write your own happy endings”. — mod aster

This blog started with an ides of march shitpost and you think we have enough brain energy to write a whole thesis? I projected feelings of found family onto my half of the blog but idk if that counts. Be gay do crime 420 69 -- mod star

What’s the nature/rough dynamic of ur relationship? How do y’all know each other? (@pedanticlecturer)

Met mod aster when i was like 4 and even tho we didnt live close we became like, best friends although the Best part didnt start until we were like 13-ish and eventually we talked like non stop (about anime and homestuck. Yknow. 13 year old kid things) and we didnt see each other a lot bc of Distance and now its even worse bc aster is in colleg.,e but we consider each other siblings regardless of family bc we’re adopted into our own respective families so that bled over into our friendship and it would feel weird calling him anything other than my brother now. We’ve seen each other at our best and worst and if you really want a good insight on what we’re like as siblings watch griffin and justin mcelroy’s overview video of catlateral damage wherein i am griffin and he is the long suffering justin. -- mod star

Star is basically my long distance sibling and functionally the only cousin I recognize bc like their parents are basically an aunt and uncle and like our dads look enough alike that we’ve both accidentally gotten the wrong dad for a hug or similar so like. Anyways yeah Star is the Griffin to my Justin, complete with our absent middle brother who we love dearly— mod aster

Dubiously relevant q but what kind of music do y’all listen to when u do art (if that is indeed a habit either of u partake in) (@pedanticlecturer)

It can depend on the piece? I was working on some (unrelated) oc prints that were song-focused, and for those I just listened to said song on loop. Sometimes I have playlists. Sometimes I’ll just be in a Mood and throw a song on loop. But a lot of time for the blog, I’ll listen to The Adventure Zone for the billionth time, because I have Too Much Attention. I’ve also, on request from Star, linked the most recent “loop song”.— mod aster

I tend to obsess over the same like 3 songs every few weeks so those get listened to on repeat but it also depends on the tone of what im drawing or who im drawing i might genre switch bc of that. If im drawing ophelia i stick to lana del rey and if im drawing hamlet its the neighborhood, horatio is sufjan stevens etc. i have categorized,. Most of the characters i draw into different songs/genres/energies of music but not like i ever follow that. Sometimes i just pull up a really long nonsense video and forget to draw. Essentially: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ -- mod star

How’d y’all come up with ur pseudonyms? (@pedanticlecturer)

I love space so much and my main blog is starryeydsailor space gay rights!! Im also tiny and full of energy and bright so basically i;m star -- mod star

Uhhhh i was like “hey i want to do uhhhhhh flower?” And then I google searched flower names until I found one I liked —- mod aster

How did you end up deciding the rough timeline of events in canon? (@pedanticlecturer)

It’s mostly determined by like. How we choose per story? If that makes sense. Like, we just take story by story, and decide “is it happening, has it happened, and when?” And then we fit them together in relation to each other just by dint of. All existing at once. Like, I knew I wanted Macbeth to be in aftermath, because like, even though there’s no murder, the way I’ve translated it to the AU is still kinda heavy, and it’s something that I don’t know that I could do properly if it were happening right now. Also, it’s more interesting IMO to have them at different times. Tl;dr we wing it per story and slot them together— mod aster (mod star agrees I just can word better, in theory)

If you could tell the story of shakespeare high in a different format than an ask blog, would you? Obviously y'all are making very good use of the format, but would you want to write this as a animated series or like? a comic book? or is the form inseparable from the story? (@pedanticlecturer)

I kinda wanted to do a webcomic or maybe to plot develop through like, animatics but the element of surprise comes from the asks we get and really makes us think so the blog is a good start. We didnt think we’d get this far -- mod star

Pretty much what Star said— there are certain elements where it’d be neat to do as a comic or as an animatic. Like, the fantasy dream is like, an anthology webcomic of each story, where you can like, see other characters in the background and stuff. But to be honest, we develop a lot by what we’re asked— there was a post about developing worldbuilding by being asked questions and then pretending you’ve thought about the answer, and it’s not far off. Personally, it’s hard to just lay out a story, because I have a whole WORLD and what’s relevant? What are people interested in? It’s by getting questions that I can then focus in on an area to develop. And yeah, we Super didn’t think we’d get this far lmao — mod aster

Any headcanons about your characters that you don't think will ever come up on the blog through asks or plot posts? (@pedanticlecturer)

I could make a whole separate post for this!!!!! Mostly its voice headcanons (and by mostly i mean like 1 or 2) or relationship hcs!!!! -- mod star

Honestly same. I don’t think I have voice headcanons for mine, though I bet I could find some. I’ve got a bunch of miscellaneous headcanons that just kinda float around, but like they’re scattered, too numerous for this post, and also not always things I’m sure are canon yet.— mod aster

[matamisin]

Consider: Mina is a genuinely happy and positive person, but everyone has bad days (especially people who have been thru trauma, like seeing your loved ones regularly beaten to a bloody pulp). The thing is that Mina just. Refuses to show that trauma has actually been effecting her. She starts suppressing negative reactions to situations bc she wants to "stay strong." Beginning of the year? She cried when they got rescued from USJ. End of the year? "Lmao guess we survived another one! Ha! Ha! :)"

oh my god like millennial humor?? if yeah then lmao mina please

if not ahhh Mina baby you have feelings too that you gotta tend to!\

Alright- All (or at least all the angst headcanons I received) are answered below the cut! Please be careful, there are some, well angsty things in there!

TW: Eating Disorder, Gore/ Graphic Depictions, Homophobia, Depression, Suicidal Tendencies/ Self harm mention, Death, Possible spoilers to those not caught up with the BNHA manga- Please ask to tag if I missed any!

(looking at all these warnings made me realize omfg YALL DID NOT HOLD BACK IM CRYING ASK AND THOU SHALT RECEIVETH I SUPPOSE)

a-single-eyelash asked:

Denki accidentally hurt someone as a kid, say a sibling or good friend, with his quirk. It made him hate his work, until he saw a hero with a similar work to his. This is what made him think that not only is his quirk cool, but also that he can become a hero. Well until, he hurt Sero. His boyfriend, got electrocuted by him on the battlefield. (Sorry this is an idea I’ve had for a fic)

O H

BRUH THAT HIT ME LIKE A TRAIN COMING OUT FROM BEHIND THE BUSHES I THOUHGT THERE WAS GONNA BE A HAPPY ENDING THIS IS STILL GOOD THO 

anonymous asked:

Bakugou is still sad, Sero is suicidal (Read to may fics about it man), Kami is legitimately afraid he’ll disappoint his parents, Tsu feels to normal, Kiri feeeeeelsss way to useless, and idk maybe Aoyama feels ignored. My own angsty headcanons.

Ah, yeah I can see how those can play into those characters!

anonymous asked:

Sero’s fight or flight response with a villains ice-like quirk (if your for that headcanon) OR Sero overwhelming his quirk trying to rescue a goddamn building of people

OH YA I AM FOR THAT

Also NO STOP HAVE I GOT SOMETHING IN STORE ABOUT COLLAPSING BUILIDINGS

anonymous asked:

Ashido + Bakugou bond over their quirks being destructive and not really knowing how to use them to actually *help* people

oh wow, I’ve never actually seen it that way.

But how about this: while they vent to each other about how their quirks can’t help people, the other is like, full on giving them descriptions of how their quirks actually CAN but they just never realized and they’re opening each other’s eyes while having their own insecurities knocked down

anonymous asked:

Omg your angst au is so angsty it’s beautiful

AH thank you haha!

anonymous asked:

Angsty headcannon boi-  Sero was bullied in middle school for having wonky teeth and actually had braces. Which is why he has such a pearly white smile now.  Sero was the last in his class to get his quirk and when he did he was laughed at because it was a ‘useless quirk’

n O ANON IM SOB

IM CRYING LEAVE HIM ALONE ILL SQUARE UP WITH THOSE BULLIES

anonymous asked:

Angst head cannon.  Sero flinches whenever kirishima hardens.  Sero’s parents are majorly homophobic and are actually quite strict. So whenever sero isn’t with bakusquad he tries to revise but it doesn’t work and he’s scared to ask for help.

Aw, man that’s heart wrenching to have parents so unsupportive- I feel it :( He’s just in a constant worry state whenever they’re around

anonymous asked:

If you’re still accepting the angst hcs… i think kaminari gets like really overcharged whenever there’s a storm and since they moved to the dorms there’s nowhere for him to release all the excess energy. So he just kinda hides away in his room in pain.

Aw, that’s terrible!

I dunno.. I feel like that one day when someone finds out during a storm, they’ll like, ask the teachers about “where someone could discharge a lot of energy askingforafriend” and they immediately know who they’re talking about and they’ll ask Powerloader and Mei and others in their department to build something for him to discharge all the excess AND be able to utilize it somehow :0 just a thought!

anonymous asked:

My headcannons: Sero is anorexic Bakugou has PTSD Kaminari has depression Kirishima had self-esteem issues Ashido is perfect (canon)

Oh that last part- she is, she is *clap**clap*

Though.. I will say that just because the others are haunted by those- it doesn’t make them less perfect. It’s their struggles that they learn to cope with and grow from, and it makes them, well, them. Not a definition of perfect can define that :’)

(sorry just speaking from my thoughts cause these hit close to home ahhh)

anonymous asked:

Lmao i sent a lot sorry if their not the best but hopefully some heart strings will be pulled

NONSENSE ANON ALL MY HEART STRINGS WERE PLUCKED BY ALL THESE AND NOW ITS YALLS TURN

transcandydemon asked:

Todocanon; todoroki has constant nightmares of the boiling water incident and of his father hurting him or his mom which causes him to not get as much sleep ie his calm attitude and how he’s not quick to get into conversations because of exhaustion

oh ya, such a traumatic past is def something that could still be haunting him in his dreams :’( but when the others notice, they’ll make sure to check up on him and try to find ways to help reduce nightmares or at least comfort him whenever they’re in his dreams

anonymous asked:

Deku head canon : deku is super jealous of kirishimas and bakugoa relationship since hes been trying to get close to kacchan for years and kirishima managed to do it within days

D’: He probably would feel that- jealousy’s very strong! But ah, in my personal opinion, i think he’d feel that, but after time learns that maybe it was best that he stopped dwelling on it and moves on, and learns to accept and be happy that he and Bakugou could at least be acquaintances that could eventually work well :’)

anonymous asked:

Denki headcanon: where he wants to be as close to bakugo as kirishima is and he tries so damn hard but takes bakugos insults to heart and he really does get torn up and upset about it(ex: the sports festival scene )

Oh wait which scene? Dunce face or?? :0 but yeah, I feel like he’d take it to heart at times. (but my bakukami heart tells me to say that when Baku realizes he gives him a good ass pep talk and beings hold back on his insults, or reassures Denki)

anonymous asked:

Bakugou could have PTSD and nightmares

Oh same headcanon! :’D Ah, but poor Bakugou. I’m sure the others would take it into mind and be aware of it and help him subtly so as to not provoke him, :’(

violetsare-tblue asked:

Bakugo: because of his inferiority complex, feels like he needs to prove himself over and over or he’ll be just the victim again  Iida: his left arm is completely numb. He isn’t paralyzed and he can move it. He just can’t feel anything in his hand or arm. Makes holding hands with someone feel empty and useless  Sero: he is so scared of being worthless as a hero and a person. He doesn’t want to be left behind by his classmates so he overworks himself and comes to school with random bruises

Oh mmhmm, I definitely see the Bakugou one! Especially after what he said during his fight with Deku, it def shows :(

Aw, Iida probably still looks back at his actions back in the Stain arc and regrets the errors of his ways. Luckily, I’m sure he’ll find someone who helps him through it and reminds him that mistakes don’t define him :’)

:’( Serooo MAKING ME CRY

casua-aria asked:

I have this Sero headcanon where he was the disposable (like how when tape dispensers run out and become disposable) friend in groups throughout his childhood, but now that he goes to UA, he has true caring friends that would never do that to him.

D: !!

That’s so sad- he must have thought his quirk was just life taunting him for being “disposable” hence the tape quirk :( but heck yeah, once he meets the students of UA he definitely begins to see that he wasn’t the problem in the past, but rather those that he was “friends” with!

anonymous asked:

Sero remembering very clearly all the pain that happened when his arm got cut off, maybe being a little scared of Kirishima for a few days after he first wakes up? Idk

OH YEAH THAT ONE HURTS

Like maybe.. once he’s able to respond again, he flinches and has an anxiety attack when he sees Kirishima because the sight of him just sends a flood of the memory to play in his head OOF

anonymous asked:

A personal favorite that nobody’s really thought of: a villain cuts off one finger from each of Ochako’s hands so she can’t use her quirk

OH MAN THATS BRUTAL OMG

That’s so dark!! I feel like a villain would do that should they get a hold of her and, mm maybe wanna rile up someone close to her to lure them in

meptoonzart asked:

Kirishima traitor

b R U H ID CRY MY EYES OUT IF HORI MADE HIM THE TRAITOR

                                                                                                                             Anonymous said:                                                                 

I have a lot of angsty headcanons about Kaminari specifically so I’ll just spam you with those. He attracts electricity, so he often gets struck by lightning and has almost died from it twice. Kaminari knows people think he’s the traitor and it eats him up inside every day. He’s been ‘propositioned’ by quite a few creeps because he’s pretty and his quirk is, well, what it is. He has nightmares a lot and it causes power outages, he’s terrified his classmates will hate him for it.(1/?(Idk2maybe)            

Sero got into a fight with someone after the sports festival, because how the hell did he make it into UA’S hero course, and Kaminari happens to be with him and he actively threatens the dude who started the fight with his quirk. No one bullies his friends. His overuse of his quirk is slowly killing him, he hasn’t told anyone that it’s destroying his brain. Bakugo reminds him of living in an abusive household but he doesn’t know how to say it so he laughs it off.(2/?(Okaymaybe4wearegettingthere)             

Kirishima and Sero are the first to find out about both the frying brain and the abusive household, and Sero asks Kaminari if he wants to go try something. Kaminari says sure and Sero reserves a training ground for them, and Sero swings around with Kaminari and he hopes it works for Kami the same way it does for him. Sero is smiling because he doesn’t know what else to do, but swinging through the air helps him feel better and free. It helps. But there’s always, always the anxiety (¾)  

the anxiety of ‘Maybe today is the day I fall’, but he doesn’t realize that Kaminari is helping him stay grounded. He won’t fall. Not when he gets to see Kaminari fuller of life than he’s ever been. They land on one of the buildings in ground Beta, and laugh like idiots as it starts to rain. Kaminari’s dying, Sero is a mess, and they just sit there for hours, past the end of their reservation, talking through their anxieties. Kaminari is scared to die. Sero is scared to lose him. (Okay1more4/5)        

Sero promises Kaminari he’ll be there, he’ll do everything he can to help keep him alive as long as possible, and he asks Kaminari how long he has from his last estimate. Kaminari laughs, starting to cry. Six years. Sero tells the Bakusquad, and they promise him that they’ll be there when the time comes. Not villains or Dadzawa could stop them, and finally it does. For only being a hero for three years, he’s made history for kids who have terminal illnesses (ranoutofspacedammit)      

 And the drawbacks of quirks come more into light. Kaminari may not be a great student or hero, but he brought hope to a lot of people, and everyone will miss him. They can’t hear thunder crack without thinking of him, can’t see the golden sunrise without thinking of his smile. Can’t even bear to look at the classic lit section in a bookstore. He saved people and raised awareness, but he wrecked their hearts as well. (Somehow this turned into a near-fic I’m so sorry Hope you’re doing well(Done))       

ANON OMG THANK YOU FOR THIS BASICALLY FIC IM CRYING THERES SO MUCH I DONT EVEN KNOW WHERE TO START CRYING   

iamnootthedabmast-r said:                                                                     

Heard you want some angsty headcannons- so Kaminari tends to stay up due to his quirk and he likes to stay in the dormitory lobby, so he just sits on the couch on his phone or just sits there in the dark- but this leads to him finding some secretive angsty stuff about other people in the dormitory for ex; Bakugou comes downstairs and just starts cooking cause he has terrible night terrors and Kaminari just quietly witnesses as Bakugou cries silently while he eats. (Part 1)    

(Part 2) the next morning Kaminari kind of wants to try ask or comfort him but feels rude and awkward so he also kind of struggles with the knowledge of knowing that everyone in his class is a little to a lot of broken.  So yeah, sorry if it’s a little confusing- in awkward when it comes to writing what I want to write…

DUUDE THIS IS SUCH A SAD CONCEPT IF YOU WRITE IT I WILL LEGITERALLY PERISH ON SPOT

                                                                                                                             Anonymous said:                                                   

May we… suggest directly… angsty oneshots? Please feel free to ignore this if you preferred hcs

 (lmao sorry, im not caught up with the manga or anime to know what the first part is referrring to :’D) but ah yeah I’ve seen that headcanon, not too sure how to feel, but it’s out there!                   

[thejordipie]

in efforts to stave off boredom and to avoid doing dishes it is time to tell a STORY that's right! bunker down kiddos, it is s t o r y t i m e . This is a tale about ghosts, murders, and being abandoned in a moment of need and you bet your buttons it's not only all true, it happened to ME: It was the first night of moving, and by that I mean we had driven all freaking day and had only managed to get only 7 or so hours away, maybe. So we had split into two vehicles; the van, which Thing 2 had dubbed "The Man Van" since it housed The Father, The Brother, The Brother II and Dogs 1, 2 and 3. The Mother and the Me followed close behind in the suzuki that I tried to dub "Suzy" but it never quite caught on like " The Man Van". I do suck at naming things. Except for /my/ car, the SS Huckleberry aka Frankencar aka heart of my hearts and love of my life. But I digress. So Me, in the smaller car, watching Iron Man on my laptop (because that's just who I am (this week, lie in the grass next to the mausoleum i'm just a notch in your bedpost you're just a line in this song)) and I notice on the radio chatter (sidenote, it was legit radio chatter, we had walkie talkies we used to communicate across vehicles since this is The Olden Days and phones did Not Exist) that they're choosing a place to settle in for the night. This is a welcome plan for me, since I am good at one thing and one thing only, and it is Sleeping. So then we pull up to the motel. Now, couple things to know about me: 1) upon seeing this hotel, my Spidey Senses kicked in. I know I just said that I am only good at sleeping, but my spidey sense is nothing to turn your nose up at. This thing is freaky accurate. Some examples: the morning my grandma died, everything was off and felt a little hazy and I felt like I was supposed to be sad; this was before my Grandpa called to tell my mom. Another time, I was walking back from a wedding reception to my airbnb and every time I tried to turn down a specific road, I got sick to my stomach and so uneasy and every time I turned around and walked away, I immediately felt fine. Another time I was following a thunderstorm down a gravel road and the rain hit HARD and I knew if I didn't turn around something was going to Happen and I kept going trying to live my Twister Dreams (tm) and almost got stuck before I had the good sense to turn back and get myself out of that mudslide I was driving into. So when we pull up to the motel and my caveman brain starts yelling "NO TURN BACK" I am on edge and on guard from the start. 2) I am a Percy Jackson aficionado and, by extension, Greek mythology. And I think the place was called Osoyos or something else unintelligible and unpronounceable but my brain immediately snapped to "CIRCE" due to the similarities in spelling between "Odyssey" and this motel. For those of you that don't know, Circe is not exactly the b e s t host and a place that reminds you of her does not leave you with warm, fuzzy, "oh boy i can't wait to be willingly unconscious in there" feelings. I was not the only one to share these misgivings. Thing 1 and Thing 2 and Me the Perfect, tried to convince the Parentals to keep driving. The Fathbert got all "hURrrAHG we Stay HeRe" and started to bring all the things into the room. But even Mothership was sort of considering sleeping in the car to make sure none of the Unsavory Youths of the area tried to steal any of our loot. But Father and his, "HrAr hRUgH I deCiDe" mood decreed that we stay there. But here's the thing. The Parentals, Thing 2, and dogs 1, 2, 3 all had a room together. Thing 1 and I? a b a n d o n e d . They might as well have drawn a pentagon/pentagram/whichever one summons the devil on the floor and opened a portal to Outer Darkness and rolled us in. Because they got us a DIFFERENT ROOM. The mothership, still retaining a semblance of maternal instinct while father had clearly left his behind on the island we fled not 6 hours ago, walked us to the room next door. It felt much like a walk to the gallows must have. We opened the door and the musty air hit us. I was just about to make an excuse about seeing bugs in the bed and let's sue the place and leave, when I actually! saw! a bug! on the bed! Just! Jumping? It was jumping on the bed. Mother and Brother saw it too, and yet she made us stay, What did we look like, I wonder, the 17 and 14 year old BEGGING our mother to stay and not leave us while she backed out the room, swatting off my clinging hands and yelling that she loves us while she clearly proved the opposite. The door shut. Thing 1 and I stood alone. The decision was quickly made to not even bother brushing our teeth or changing into sleeping outfits; the sooner we were asleep, the sooner we were awake, the sooner we were leaving. I remarked that the place looked like the Bates Motel. Thing 1 straightened up, marched into the kitchenette and started opening cupboards and drawers at an intense speed. It wasn't until he started on the freezer/fridge that I asked what he was doing. "Looking for body parts," he says, while holding an opaque container he pulled from the otherwise empty fridge. Our eyes slowly drop to the closed lid. We stare at it for a moment, exchange a wide eyed stare with each other. He purses his lips, shakes his head, and then he puts it back in the fridge. I don't think we ever actually opened it. I promise something terrible was in it though, because the spectacular Spider-Dan (it's me, I am Spider- Dan-- I tried to make a play on Jordan and Spider-Man and that was the best I could do) was in full precognition mode. My teeth felt ridiculously grimey from a day of snacking and I eventually opted to brush my teeth while Brother watched the trailer for Psycho on his phone to compare my analysis of it looking like the Bates Motel with what footage he could find (in the end he agreed, and I'm to this day not sure if that counts as a win in that particular debate for me or not). Let me tell you though, I walked into that bathroom, toothbrush in hand, saw that clear shower curtain closed around the tub, and turned and walked back out. Thing 1 stood on the same spot I left him. He looked up from his phone where I can hear the familiar SCREE SCREE SCREE of the Psycho theme and says, monotonously and with very wide eyes, "Ahhh." I let loose a garbled giggle/scream and plucked up all the courage I pretended I ever had and marched back into the bathroom. But you folks better believe I gave that tub a wide berth lest I stumble upon the remains of whoever owned whatever organs were in that container in the fridge, and I kept the door open, and I brushed my teeth for maybe 7 seconds and I kept my back to the mirror so nothing could POP UP behind my shoulder suddenly. I come out of the bathroom, probably still foaming at the mouth with with toothpaste and Thing 1 and I stare distastefully at the beds. I lunge for the non-bug one but the brat gets there first so I tromp over to the other one, convinced I am about to become that outlier who should not have been counted and eat 10000000 bugs in my sleep in one night. I start to ask Thing 1 to turn off the light I left on in the bathroom in my haste to claim a bed since he's closest and our eyes meet again and a wordless communication that only siblings can understand is passed between us-- the light stays ON. Well into our teen years we may be, but we have been abandoned by our parents and not given any of the guard dogs for protection and dadgummit we are pretty sure we're about to be murdered and if anyone is going to judge us for sleeping with the lights on it is NOT gonna be Norman "Mummy's Boy" Bates as he chops us to bits. Brother/Thing suddenly yells, "OW" and I yell "AHHHH" and I start to think that this is it, this is how we go out, will people ever know how cool I was beneath this thick layer of lame. Then I yell, "WHAT??" because no further, "help I'm being murdered" sounds came from the corpse that used to be my brother. Instead he says, "It just.... felt like someone poked me in the eye." And I am so relieved that we are Not Dead, that I try to make a joke. It backfires. "Oh. Ha. Maybe it's the ghost of whoever stayed here last." We both start to laugh and then cut off abruptly and at the same time as the terror and potential truth to the statement sink in. The eerie silence of the sudden absence of uncomfortable laughter haunts me to this day. I got chills just typing about it. I normally cannot ever sleep on my back. I gotta be facedown like a starfish or I will not sleep. That night I lay flat on my back, ready to kick upwards (STREET SMARTS) at whatever entity tried to do me in overnight. I was closest to the door and the window which meant I was either a) gonna get eaten first or b) could make a better run for it while it ate Thing 1. I fell asleep contemplating whether or not he was worth saving; I had a spare brother after all, how many does one really need? As suddenly as I fell asleep, I woke up. And I slept with my glasses on, but they had shifted through the night, so I could see /something/ at the foot of my bed and I started to run through the whole, "here we go, take me quickly Death, I have a very embarrassing need to not annoy the neighbours with my screams and death gargles" thing again when I focused and realized it was just Thing 1. He only looked like he was hovering at the foot of my bed. He was actually stood at the door with his face pressed to the peephole. "What.... what are you doing?" I ask. He peels his face from the peephole and turns what can only be described as a wild and unhinged eyes on me. "Waiting," he says simply, and turns back to the door and smacks his face back to the peephole. I decided then and there that he got possessed through the night. Good bye brother, you annoyed me only most of the time, and your dry wit was appreciated, but I always said there could be only one middle child and here I am, still standing, while your soul has been devoured by a demon. C'est la vie. I do remember that the night before, it was determined we would be summoned to return to the car when the others woke up and had taken the dogs out, but I don't remember if he called or if they called but almost immediately after that exchange, he was on the phone to the Parentals. He made some noncommittal grunts, he nodded, said "Bye" and then left. LEFT. HE LEFT ME. You better believe I /SCRAMBLED/ outta that room. Swooped outta that bed, crammed my toothbrush in my backpack and jammed my shoes on my toes (not even on my whole foot! just the front half! I was walking like a bowlegged troll trying to keep myself from losing a shoe and lingering longer and still i was a proper speed demon!) and I was out. that. door. Now, seeing it all written down, I cannot properly capture the OOKY feeling that place gave me. And even now, years later, brother and I will mention the Eye Poking Guy of 105 and give short clipped laughs before meeting wide eyed gazes and looking behind our own shoulders. but anyway that's it, that's the story, night all

[its-moments-like-this]

My Blackness.  Is this self hate?

Prejudice against my own people

For the majority of my life, I have had to deal//struggle with what it means to be biracial. How it looks, and what it implies for my life in this country (USA.) A country that would much rather have me check a singular box (those of you who are also like me understand what I’m talking about.) Still have not figured that out yet, but I am learning daily.

Being raised by my single white mother, I never had a chance to experience my black culture aside from the R&B music she loved to listen to. It wasn’t until I was about the age of 5 or 6 that started to spend time with my black side of the family.

You can read a little more in-depth telling of my story and struggle with being biracial here.

For the longest time, I have had to fight to be seen as a person of color. That I do “belong at the table” so to speak… or rather that “I am invited to the cookout.” Because of this inward desire to be seen as who I am, I have long suppressed all self-reflection on my own biases and prejudices, because I can not be prejudiced against my own self or people... right?

Then everything happened this past summer with Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and then George Floyd (as well as many others) unjustly losing their lives. Then Black Lives Matter taking to the streets in protest. I felt more than ever the need to post, spread awareness, and “educate” others. Yet, a part of me felt I had to do those things to (again) prove my black-ness (all the while subconsciously denying thoughts of myself having prejudices.) But as days went by these thoughts began to surface and stir in my mind as I read post after post and watched the news.

After months of wrestling with my thoughts and one long honest conversation with my then-girlfriend now fiancé, Micha, I have come to a realization. I am prejudiced against my own people. The causes and situations where it shows itself are not often or deliberate but happen all the same. I was so disappointed in myself and that had taken so long to come to grips with this reality.

Micha prompted the question on that same phone call as to why I think those prejudices exist in the first place. I thought for a bit and the first two conclusions came pretty quickly, childhood bullies and family harassment. The third, however, never came to mind before, but when it came into my head (which I can only attribute to God working) it completely clicked, I had “culture shock” trauma.

Childhood bullies came to my mind pretty easily as I had been bullied most of my time in grade school. While my oppressors came in various races and genders, I remember the cruelest, happened to almost always be of African American descent. They have become such permanent figures in my brain I can remember them each by name. I have always been an easy person to mess with. Despite my efforts to show indifference, it is always obvious when I am uncomfortable or hurting.

I remember during 6th grade, a kid named Deeshawn told me on the bus ride home from school, he was going to fight me when I got off the bus (for what reason I still don’t know) as the other kids cheered him on. I remember ashamedly running home from the bus stop praying I was fast enough to get inside the house to grab my BB gun as some means of protecting myself (I admit it was not a well-thought-out plan.)

Another time in 8th-grade gym class Marquis decided to make me his personal target of a dodgeball game, many hard hits to my gut, face, and crotch, my body not athletic enough to avoid his throws.

For almost my entire sophomore year a football player named Kameryn decided he would refer to me as “Flat Top” based on how one side of my head is a little misshapen, an effect of me being born prematurely. (While it was something I had gotten used to over the years, I was still self-conscious about it.) It took the help of my best friend and school faculty to get him to stop his torment.

In an effort to not go on for days, I will spare you accounts of every bully encounter. These situations isolated might not have resulted in too much, aside from your general childhood trauma. However, I’m convinced they have affected how I perceive anyone who marks a similar resemblance to them, in particular, black men.

To say my family life growing up was complex would be an understatement. While there are no doubt people who have had it rougher, I would still like to believe mine was not all rainbows and butterflies.

Switching from being an only child one week to being the middle child of six the next and as the sole biracial child took a toll in the early years. While my siblings and I did play, joke, and have fun, I was still vastly different from them and they made sure I knew that. I was constantly made fun of and beaten-up on by my older sister and two younger brothers. Sibling squabbles are a pretty normal concept for those who have siblings, it’s something you learn to grow with and even love. However, I was a softy when I was young (a mommas boy if you will) and I did not have a bone of violence in my body. Often coined the “good one” of the bunch. I also had an inability to defend myself well against my siblings which resulted in the aforementioned treatment. This had a negative effect on my mental health, for the most part unbeknownst to me until I reached adulthood.

Another big difference between my siblings and myself was our lifestyles. Each of my siblings at some point in their childhood grew up in less than favorable conditions whether it be living in the ghetto or off food stamps at least for a little bit. While I had not truly felt what it was to go without, if my mother was nothing else, she was a fighter. We were middle class and had a brief stint of needing government assistance but again I never felt the effects of that. 

Something else that only furthered the divide between my siblings and me was culture. Music, style, slang, and the like were worlds different from my own at the time of our meeting. One specific memory I will forever have is all six of us kids eating cereal at the table. Kevin commenting for me to “stop smacking.”  Initially, I did not even realize he was talking to me until he said it again with more force and demand. To which I just stared at him while chewing my cereal a little slower than before, completely confused as to what he meant. Only to have him finally yell moments later, “Stop chewing with your mouth open.” My immediate internal response being “Ooooh” and quickly shut my mouth. The language barrier is something that continued to stifle my relationships with my family until I eventually (slowly) caught on (something I now know as “code-switching.”)

The differences between my siblings and I could not be further apart. I was always the odd one out in every scenario because of that and I would be lying if I said I didn’t hold at least a little resentment. The lifestyle and culture they grew up in was just life for them so why would there be any conscious that I might not understand any of it, especially as kids. If the responsibility fell on anyone aside from myself, it should have been my father who helped me understand… but that is a conversation for another time.

Lastly is the issue of culture shock trauma. A lot of this has to do with my previous paragraph and how I grew up. Before the age of five, I don’t have many memories of my father, he was there in some capacity during the early years but I do not recall seeing him often enough. For a few years, the only “interaction” I remember having with him was when he would send me birthday or Christmas presents. Another being when my mother would put him on the phone to get me to behave (these phone interactions I now realize made me associate fear with his voice.) My mom and I moved from Ohio to Indiana in 2000 just before I was to start 1st grade. We moved to be closer to both sides of my family including my father himself. I remember the day my mom told me I would be spending some time with my dad and his new family, just recently remarried to wife #2 Shannon mother to Kevin (older), Keeshawn (younger), and Mercedez (younger.)

Probably an important thing to note, Kevin, Keesahwn, and I technically share no blood relation but because we have grown up together we consider ourselves no less than blood.  Of those three Mercedez and I share our father. Also while we are on it, my older sister Destiny and other younger brother Eric share our father but each has a different mother from myself or the other three aforementioned. #complex

I was thrown into staying with my father and his new family for what felt like years but in reality, was only for the summer. I remember that day so vividly. I remember they met us at a family member’s house. I got into my dad’s Ford Expedition, seeing Keeshawn directly in front of me with Mercedez in her car seat next to him and Kevin in the seat behind. I offered them some Skittles my mom had bought me just 30 minutes earlier at Lowe’s. I remember that summer how different everything about their lives was from my own and how I felt so entirely out of place. I remember how I was forced to eat everything on my plate before I could get up from the table or drink anything. I remember how I had a panic attack from losing a sock because I got anxious about losing anything of my own while I was there. I remember how I was not allowed to call my mom and how my dad would tell her to stop calling. I remember crying… a lot. I remember there was one night a month after being there my mom got to take me to a fair for the evening and we played games and ate super sugary fair food. Then the feeling of absolute dread when she told me I had to go back later that night. I begged and begged to stay with her. I remember as punishment for whenever we did something wrong we would have to do this T-pose thing where we keep our arms up and out for minutes (but felt like hours.) I remember whenever we were in public and misbehaved we got a hard swat to the back of our hand. I remember learning all the slang my siblings spoke and feeling so scared and confused when I did not understand what was being said around or to me. I remember going to our all-black southern baptist church being the only, not entirely black person there. I remember how we would often go without breakfast and sometimes lunch. I remember being in a perpetual state of grief because Shannon seemed so mean and angry all the time. I remember how my Dad forced us to call Shannon “Mom” and how much of a gut punch it was because I disliked Shannon a lot, and equating her to someone I loved so dearly felt wrong. I remember how I never actually got to spend one on one time with my father ever. I remember how for the most part during a lot of this my father was not ever around. I remember Kevin acting viscerally toward us because he was always forced to babysit us younger kids. I remember how I never wanted to be there and always wanted to go home when I was. I remember how I felt like I would never actually belong there and no one told me otherwise.

All of these differences are cultural but drastic compared to what I was familiar with, with just my mother. I was thrown into them without hesitation or a moment to acclimate. I went from being raised as an only child by a single white woman to the aforementioned being my life for the rest of that summer then rotating weekends and following summers until I was 18. I can only define these experiences as culture shock trauma. However, if I have missed the mark and that is not a depiction of culture shock trauma I am genuinely not sure what is.

Now, all of those experiences might sound grim and maybe even abusive but, I would boil it down to simple cultural differences. The eating all the food thing comes from Shannon (rightfully so) not wanting to make another meal for me or my brother’s picky asses when she spent an hour or more on the one in front of us. The whole drink thing because if we drank a bunch before eating we would think we were “full” and would not eat. The T-pose because let’s be honest the belt would have been far worse and she was saving us haha. Shannon was not necessarily mean she was just tough, because black women have to be, and dealing with three, four, five, or six kids (depending on which combo of us were there) is exhausting to do on your own so patience was thin - a true expression of tough love. And while time with my siblings was rough it was not all bad. Some of the other stuff was just reality, outside of everyone’s control and not anyone’s fault. Now the stuff involving my dad was not and is still not okay and I’m dealing with that.

All of these things affected my young and growing mind and I assume warped for better or worse my outlook on life and black folks. In more ways than one these things traumatized me.  They took the base of what I had grown to know and understand and flipped it upside down for better or worse. But now I am forced to question myself whenever I tense up as a group of black men or teens pass me by. Whenever I’m in the “not so nice” part of town why do I lock my car doors if someone is strolling by my car without thinking. Why do I look over my shoulder when walking down the street in the evening as I hear the boom of the bass coming from a strolling vehicle. Why do I get nervous and skittish if a black stranger approaches me on the street?

My journey in understanding myself (and my people) and ultimately loving myself (and my people) as I am (as they are) still has a long way to go. Considering I’m only uncovering these prejudicial truths at the age of 25 and why I have them in the first place, it is safe to say I have work I must continue to do for myself. But I’m optimistic for the future and everything it holds.

PS - - I am sure my outlooks and conclusions are far form perfect and in some areas miss the mark. If you think so please let me know, but please do so in the mindset that I am working to face my prejudices head on, I am in no way denying they exist. Be honest and blunt, but be gentle.

[travisxsimmons]

old man

travis’s shitty moments turn even shitter after seeing his dad at the bar, gts all around!!

“You alright, darlin’?”

Travis glanced up from his fist to the bartender as she eyed him. She was an older lady with make-up way too heavy for her age, and she wore a sympathetic expression. He wasn’t exactly sober, but in compassion to the rest of the drunk idiots there, she seemed to have actually taken pity on him.

“Not so much, but that’s nothing another hit can’t fix,” he sighed, tapping against the glass and wincing.

“Sure thing, but...you might wanna think about cleaning up those hands, sweetie. Not that I suspect anything, it’s just a bit odd looking, that’s all,” she shrugged.

Travis’s eyes darted back down to his bloodied knuckles. So maybe beating the shit out of Whitney’s ex wasn’t the best thing to celebrate with a drink. In fact, celebrate wasn’t the right word. It was a kind of mourning, in a way. If anything were to bring death to their relationship, this was it. All the little things like Miami, the bathroom, Molly, the karaoke video, and nude’s being leaked all seemed to lead to this one particular downfall.

“Yeah, well...the prick deserved it. It’s kind of like a badge of honor at this point,” Travis shrugged, tossing back his refill as if it were water. And it was true. He’d gotten an incoming of texts: Molly, Dylan, Philip, Meredith. All of them asked a mix of if he’d seen the photos, what was going on, if was Whitney okay. He didn’t know, though, not until it was too late. He’d caught enough of the live-stream to send out a rare, angry tweet to Woody, one that he was sure his publicist would be on his ass for later. The moment that was brought up and laughed at over Instagram, something snapped. It was personal from that point on. He knew it may have been stupid or even hypocritical considering the countless times he’d hurt Whitney himself, but something about driving to his place and watching Woody wincing against each blow directed towards his face was worth it. Just because he’d fucked with her head didn’t mean anyone else should’ve had the right or gotten pleasure from it. Maybe that’s what felt so good about seeing Woody’s wrecked face and walking away with bloodied hands. It was an eye for an eye.

“Honey,” she sighed as he tapped it once more. “Are you sure you don’t wanna slow down? I don’t want you doing anything else too stupid.”

“Carla,” he said, catching sight of her name tag, “I trust you. Trust me back, yeah? There’ll be a good tip in it for ya.”

She hesitated briefly, but ended up filling his cup to the brim once more. “Just...be careful, hon. If not for you, for me.”

He opened his mouth to reply to her, maybe even thank her for being over the top nice when him of all people didn’t deserve it, but a roar of laughter from the other end of the bar caught his attention. It was familiar, and it actually made him tense up. It was enough to feel like every inch of hair on his body was standing up straight. He carefully turned his head to see the small group of men who appeared to be in their 60′s or 70′s, all seemingly piss-drunk. He wouldn’t have thought much of it if it weren’t for the one in the middle, arms flailing about as he seemed to tell some story with dramatic flair. Must’ve been where he got it from.

“Fuck,” he sighed, getting to his feet and digging into his pocket to slide a hundred dollar bill towards Carla.

“Baby, you didn’t even finish your refill. This is too much.”

He licked his lips before grabbing the glass and finishing it off, giving her a small nod as he placed it back on his napkin.

“S’for being a decent person. God knows we could use more of those in the world,” he responded, his voice gravelly. He needed to get the fuck out of there. He was all prepared to, reaching down to button up his coat, the pound of his boots echoing as he walked to the entrance.

“Travis?”

The voice had him skip to a stop, and he felt as if he were just grabbed by a creature in a haunted house.

“Travis! My boy! Fellas, that’s my fuckin’ son right there! In a bar of all places. The fucking irony, eh? Really taking after his old man,” he heard his father’s chatter, his eyes squeezing shut as they all roared with laughter again. He couldn’t leave now, not without saying something. He hesitantly turned around, feeling Carla’s protective stare on him as he walked towards the oldies gang and stopped about a foot away from.

“Well son, don’t you think it’s rude to not stop to say hello? Especially to your father, of all people.”

“Not sure if the alcohol has blurred your eyesight, but I was just leaving, dad,” he replied, his tone curt. It definitely caused a stir from the other older guys, an awkward hush falling among the group.

“Big mouth you’ve got there, boy. You certainly didn’t get it from your mother, that’s for sure. Another gift from old pops, huh?” he prodded once again with a chorus of snickers from his goons.

“How about you keep mum’s name out of your mouth?” Travis replied. If there was sore subject, it was that. His mom practically raised him and his siblings on her own, and even though she’d moved on, it still wasn’t fair. “Besides, you never stuck it out long enough to really know her, did you?”

“You’ve got a lot of nerve,” his father drawled, eyes going from a unfocused blur to a narrow, faltering glare. Strangely enough, it was accompanied by a deep smirk, once that he wished he could just smack off of his face. He was sure the drinks were the cause of that. “You should be grateful I decided to stick it out with that bitch long enough for you to be alive. Count your lucky fucking stars.”

He didn’t want to let this rattle him, despite feeling the way his fists were starting to tremble at his sides. “Classy as ever, dad, but you’re not exactly hot shit yourself. She’s moved on, and you’re here in a random bar. If you think any of us should feel grateful towards you, then I guess it’s not just liver damage you’ve got going on. It’s starting to effect your brain, too.”

The comment promoted another loud round of laughter from his dad, although his friends didn’t have the same reaction. It was more awkwardness, unsure if they should be laughing along or leaving him be.

“Maybe you’re right, son, but from the looks of it, you’re following right behind me, huh? Almost exactly in my footsteps, and not surprisingly so. I’ve heard your brother’s already managed to fuck up his marriage, and you’re here looking like you just buried a dead body. Probably can’t keep a girl yourself, right?”

“Wrong. My girl, she...” Travis’s voice cut off when he suddenly remembered that, technically, Whitney wasn’t his girl. Not at the moment. His dad didn’t have to know that, though. He didn’t owe him any explanations. “She’s a country singer. A fucking fantastic one, and I care about her enough that you’ll never have the honor of ever getting to meet her in person. Not if I have any say.”

“Well that sounds like a nice, fake, fairytale girl you’ve made up there, son. Let me guess, that song, the ‘Travis’ one is by her and it’s about you, right?”

His silence and the look on his face was the only answer his dad needed, his moment of shock turning into an ugly, cruel cackle.

“It is! Well, fucking hell boy, I should’ve known. Robert can’t make it work, and you leave them high and dry enough to get a song written about you. You’re both your father’s sons. Not sure if I should be proud, I expected as much. Let’s hope your sister isn’t out there selling herself short or swinging around a pole and shoving money in her panties. I’d hate to see another waste of potential.”

In almost a second, Travis had lunged and had his dad’s shirt taken up in his fist. The others were quick to jump in, feeling a pair of arms attempting to tug him away from his dad.

“Hey! It’s fine, let him go,” his dad bellowed, and Travis felt himself being released from the hold that was on him. “You wanna punch me? Go right ahead, boy.” He got uncomfortably close to him, enough so that Travis took in the stench of whisky and cigarettes from his breath. “You better make it a fucking good one, too. You’re a lot of things, but hopefully not a pussy.”

Travis stared at him, heavily breathing before shaking his head.

“You’re not worth the time. You’re not worth shit.”

Despite deserving more, he settled for giving his dad a hefty shove. He didn’t relish in the way he stumbled backwards with a drunken grin. It was all just so stupid and sickening.

“Guess you’re a little bitch, too, huh? Isn’t that right, Travis? Go on, get the fuck out of here.”

He turned to walk away, to just block out the comments, leave everything in the dust and carry on. However, he was met by the presence of two police officers walking through the doors.

“Is there a Travis Simmons here?”

Fuck.

“I, uh, yeah...me. What’s the problem, officer?”

Instantly, he received the ‘you’re under arrest’ spiel and felt a pair of cuffs wrap around his wrists. It was actually pretty impressive how fast they swooped in. No, it wasn’t his first time having something like this happen, but it was the first time he’d actually felt the gut punch of shame. Not for what he did, but for who was observing it. He glanced to Carla, who was almost as horror struck as he was, then reluctantly over to his dad who raised a glass in his direction.

“My kin, ladies and gentleman. He’s getting more similar to me with every passing moment.”

Travis’s eyes squeezed shut, not wanting to watch as he tipped the drink back. He couldn’t help but think about how similar they looked doing it. If he was actually becoming anything like his dad, then that was just the biggest fuck you life could offer him. It was almost torturous when the song over the speakers changed and he recognized Whitney’s voice, singing about the shitty things he’d done. His dad’s chuckling in the background as it played was a punchline to the whole fucking joke. Maybe he deserved it. Maybe all of this was something he’d been asking for. Even so, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been this low. He didn’t dare look back, eyes glued to the floor as he was lead to the cop car.