#my goodness if that man isn't the finest in existence

[faithsoneluv]

i made something at 3 am just bc i'm obsessed and i love me some harrymort moodboards thank u and g night . ♡

@obsidianpen

[inmoonsblood]

a dying fire - tim drake

tim drake x reader, 1.4k words, mentions of weed, vigilante!reader

synopsis: smoking and making out with your best friend is totally normal, mom!

note: early post because i got excited! this is quite literally just a thousand words of me yapping about tim semi-coherently. contains mentions of smoking, it isn't fluffy at all, but i tried really hard and this is the best i could do, i'm so sorry sweet anon </3. i love the characterisation of tim done by @glamourscat so much and i've (attempted) to base my tim off theirs because it's??? so??? good???

Tim Drake was a man of several talents. He was the smartest person alive (according to you, and you were never wrong), he could skateboard with a hand tied behind his back, hell, Ra’s Al Ghul had complimented him (covertly, of course, Mr. I-am-a-supreme-leader would never compliment anyone to their faces), and of course, he was the best partner to have on the field. 

Of course, you weren’t biased at all, how could you be when you were one of the only people who could testify that claim (aside from Brucey, Steph and Dick—maybe—but you were the coolest. Steph was a close second, of course). The fact that he was your best friend, your ride-or-die (bi or die, if you would), both in and out of costume all added to the fact that you were the best person to decide this. Period. 

One of these several talents included rolling the finest blunt seen to mankind, second only to the man who rolled it in terms of sexiness, and lifting your mood up with little kisses along your shoulders whenever you were tense after a bad mission. Think of it like a ritual of sorts: missions go bad, you get yelled at, smoke a blunt from Tim’s hand. A holy trinity if you will and your favourite, especially when it ended up with Tim kissing from your shoulder all the way up to right under your ear before nibbling on that spot till you gasped. Last week, That turned into making out till you both eventually passed out, limbs tangled and his head resting on your chest. 

You two never spoke about it after it happened, but that didn’t stop the both of you from repeating it.  Why would it? There was no downside to this aside from ‘elevating’ the both of you and your moods (because as much as Tim claimed to do it just for you, you knew that wasn’t the whole truth, not with the way his shoulders relaxed or with the way his face lit up when you came to his apartment. He carried the burden of bad missions just as much as you did, if not more, he just never showed it out loud). And so, this became a ritual even if there wasn’t a bad mission or a bad patrol, just something you did with your best friend forever: smoke, makeout, and then fall asleep tangled in each other’s embrace. Slowly, (for the sake of both your healths), smoking was replaced with video games and this became a weekly ritual, where Tim would fight god if he had to for making take for this. Luckily he never had to because Alfred took the joy of Tim taking regular (weekly) breaks where he slept through the night, and never let Tim opt out of it.

Perfect for you, honestly.

And still, there are days when the old ritual came back, and it was back to: missions go bad, you get yelled at, smoke a blunt from Tim’s hand. An optimist would hope those days were rare and preferably not existent during the #holidayszn, however, a Gothamite would know that Gotham gets worse around Christmas, because just like Mariah Carey, Mr. Freeze wakes up. Unlike Mariah Carey, Mr. Freeze does not bring karaoke and laughter with Tim, he brings curses and god-awful puns while terrorizing you, specifically you. 

Now, the thing about being partners with Tim was that missions with him rarely went wrong, because everything was planned to a T with multiple explosions and Batman not being able to say much about him because what, would he ground you? (Timothy ‘I’m an adult’ Drake and you, never his child in the first place) and they always technically follow his rules. Patrol, however, is a different story, especially with you and Tim’s patrol routes being forcefully torn apart during the holidays by Batman (he who is allergic to songs and had Mariah Carey blasted in his ear after he had just fallen asleep as a consequence of his actions) after you two were karaoking christmas songs to Calendar Man. 

And unfortunately, as much as you were good in your own right, Mr. Freeze hates you a little too much. Enough to ambush your patrol route with his very own version of your Christmas Gift, which led to a one-sided bicker contest, while you taunted him and Mr. Freeze kept hitting you time and time again. He had decided to do this at the end of what you called the longest patrol of your life, with you already somewhat injured and exhausted, because of course he had! You were his favourite one in Gotham. Unable to land any hits on him—listen, it was his new fancy ice device, okay? That thing did not let you get near him at all, plus you didn’t want to take him solo while already sporting a few injuries—you just continued to play a game of taunt and dodge while requesting Oracle for back up.

And just as you slipped on the ice, Mr. Freeze screamed in a pitch that made you wonder if Mariah Carey was just him facetuned. Looking up from your position, you saw Tim as Red Robin, absolutely kicking his ass. The look on his face was feral, and in all seriousness, kind of scared you because just for a moment there, Tim looked like he was out for blood. Things progressed in a blur after that, and you remained unable to get that look of his out of your head. Even as Bruce reprimanded you for being reckless earlier, even as Alfred checks you for a concussion, Tim’s face just stays there. The man himself can tell something is wrong, of course he can, he’s Tim Drake and he’s been standing next to you since you got back. You reckon he also knows you won’t tell him what’s genuinely wrong since it’s you and you never do, so he does the best he can and silently motions for you to follow him back home for your original ritual. It’s the best he can do because the only thing he wants to do right now is get that frown off your face, and anything works, as long as you’re smiling and okay. 

The hesitation that precedes your agreement isn’t lost on him, but Tim decides that he can delve on it when you two aren’t together and all he has in front of him is the memory of your arms around his body. 

There’s something largely different about that night, you realise, as you snuggle into his blanket at his apartment. The fireplace is lit up for the first time in years, your stocking is up right besides Tim’s and he’s not gone to roll a blunt, but you collect the hot chocolate you two ordered. Your hair is wet from the shower earlier and the open window definitely doesn’t scream no sickness, but the fire is keeping you warm as you desperately try to push that image out of your brain. You’re not sure why you’re so fixated on it: you’ve known Tim is a little scoundrel all your life, you’ve known he’s dangerous and smart, but that fight was different. It marked the first time you felt afraid of him. Maybe that’s how Tim looks when he’s mad, maybe that’s the look on his face Ra’s saw when the league had kidnapped you. Maybe he’s always been like that, but you were too lovesick to notice.

Despite that, however, you remind yourself that he’s the same as the Tim that fell down when he tried teaching you how to skate because you tripped on him, the same one that wordlessly ordered hot chocolate for you while lighting up the fireplace for the first time since he bought the apartment. Tim’s as full of love as he is of contempt and gods, you feel stupid for not noticing it sooner. 

You are swiftly pulled out of your overthinking with Tim pulling you into his arms and nuzzling into your neck. There’s two cups of hot chocolate in front of you and Mariah Carey’s music videos que-ed to start as the clock strikes midnight: Christmas Day. With a soft smile, you relax into his arms before flicking his forehead, Tim laughs before kissing along your neck before he gets to your face, littering it with kisses. 

Tomorrow, you will deal with whatever you felt back then. Tomorrow, Tim will analyze the situation head to toe, but tonight? You have hot chocolate and Mariah Carey to fall asleep to whilst he holds you (fully knowing that somewhere in the night, you two will end up switching with his head on your chest). 

Late at night, as the fire finally dies out, you no longer feel cold.

[sulumuns-dootah]

What WHB characters would wear in the human world: Niflheim

⟡ Masterlist ⟡ 

    ༺☆༻

Bold of you to assume he'd get dressed for going out

So if he has to go outside, he'll just sleep in normal clothes and be ready to somewhat go

Oversized and comfy clothing

With the whole edgy thing, he'd absolutely love the 90's nu metal fashion (as well as the music)

    ༺☆༻

Oh look, another demon wearing a suit

But who's really complaining since they all look hot in it, right?

Whenever he's out with Belphie, he looks like a father with his angsty son

Actually, I don't think he'd change up his suit that much

    ༺☆༻

As much as I love the whole grey shirt look he's got going on I need to see Gusion in the onesie from his original design in color ^^

And yes, maybe the Gusion we have now wouldn't wear much gamer stuff, but he's just lying to himself

Tell me this man isn't partially tired from losing MLBB games because his teammates are idiots

Also thinking about it, he's giving 707 from Mystic Messenger vibes

#BringBackTheOnesie

(There's literally zero good pics of men wearing cute onesies >.>)

    ༺☆༻

Our moon boy absolutelly loves the darker academia/witchcore aesthetics

While looking up references, I found Klaus from The Umbrella Academy and his look from the ending of season 2 (or at least i think) is definitely it!

A lot of moon imagery

Another member of the looking-like-a-dilf-while-hanging-out-with-a-friend club

I can honestly see Beleth and Bathin drop Belphie and Stolas their teen and toddler off at a playground and go drinking and gambling to the bar right next to it

    ༺☆༻

This poor baby can't actually see, but his style is always on point

Same as Beleth, why make him stop wearing a suit when he looks so good in it?

Andre is, however, very picky with his fabric textures and only the finest fabric usually passes

So don't be surprised if his single suit costs more than your existence

Hell, some of his suits could cost more than Bimet's designer statement pieces

    ༺☆༻

Ooh, dramatic cape moment for a dramatic ex-king

Flashy everything so everyone can make him out in a crowd

Will always be wearing a crown on his head

Ofc all the "peasants" will look at him and look for a camera bc who dresses like that on the daily

    ༺☆༻

Why was my first thought that "thought they were giving nonbinary slay, turns out it was just a priest" twitter post?

Either way, to feed into Agares' delusions, Vassago wears a matching suit and sometimes carries the cape so it doesn't get too dirty

Sometimes even the Hades nobles can get envious over how nice his suits look

[mammalsofaction]

Okay so,

A couple of weeks ago, I started getting back into my MARVEL phase, and since I had no intention of letting my Phineas and Ferb phase go in the meantime, it's cumulated into the desire of seeing a crossover. Before I remembered that a crossover existed, and it sucked. I DID end up rewatching it, and I fell asleep thinking about how wrongly it represented my favourite characters from BOTH fandoms. Natasha didn't feature, and they didnt even crack Tony out of his iron shell. They made Candace look like an idiot, and Isabella had such a small role as to be almost completely insulting.

I'm now 3/4ths of the way done, and the only reason it isn't is because I'm approaching the end of my semester, and I just got too. Overwhelmed. I really, really want to share what I have so far, because I had a TONNE of fun writing it while it was still going, and I'm already so so close to the finish line.

Context/Tags: Post Civil War, Prior to Ragnarok, featuring Irondad. Human Perry, selective mutism. OWCA is a bit more competent than usual in this fic, and while Fury doesn't completely LIKE Francis, there is an air of respect between the two of them.

This snippet mainly features the interaction between Perry, Francis, Carl, Fury, Natasha and Clint. Seeing (writing) these spies interact is at least half the reason I wanted to write this fic in the first place.

Snippet under the cut, Enjoy!

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *

Natasha liked Perry immensely, the moment she met him.

He stands at attention just a little behind a man she assumes to be his superior; a white haired monobrow-ed man in an olive green uniform. Bartholomew "Perry" Fletcher cuts an intimidating figure, though apparently shorter in person than he seems from afar, just a little taller than Natasha herself. Much like Tony. His naturally teal hair is just as eye-catching as it had been in his profile photo, though it brings out his Australian complexion, and the brown of his eyes.

He’s dressed eclectically, in what she assumes is something of a uniform within the organisation. A brown Kevlar-and-silk waistcoat over a light teal dress shirt, pressed brown trousers and smart, steel-toed loafers, topped off with the ever-recognizable OWCA fedora.

His gaze is sharp, calculating, but not particularly unwelcome. Perry carries himself not with braggadocio, but the familiar confidence of a man who knows his own strengths, and what he brings to the table. A man who knows himself to be good at his job. Natasha should know; it is a look she sees frequently in her line of work, in the company she keeps.

Time will tell if Perry would remain among them.

“It’s a pleasure to meet the esteemed Director Fury in the flesh." Said Francis Monogram, the superior in question, eager and a little bumbling. Natasha could see Perry rolling his eyes, even standing at attention, and Clint hides his chuckle with a well-timed cough.

“I wish I could say the same." Fury says, pointedly ignoring Monogram’s outstretched hand. "You understand this is no social call.”

Francis’ thick mustache quivers unhappily. It reminds Natasha of a fat, old caterpillar. “It never is. We’re glad to be of any service we can, of course. Agent Platypus will be glad to answer any question you have."

“Yes, Agent Platypus." Fury raises his eyebrow. Perry tilts his head when addressed. "Your reputation precedes you. We’ve been told you are OWCA’s finest.”

How someone could look so expressive and professional at the same time, Natasha can’t say. But that was Perry. I do my best, sir. He signs, simple and modest.

His ASL is sharp, quick and fluid, which confirms another point from his portfolio; selective mutism. Clint had been almost delighted to know. She respects that Perry does not pull any punches regarding how well they could understand him.

Nonetheless, a curly haired, freckled child (only a little older than Peter) standing with a clipboard by Francis’ side pipes up. “He said-,"

“We know ASL, kid, that’s not necessary." Clint intercepts gently. He shares a look with Natasha before addressing Monogram. “Sorry, should he be here? Or is he done?”

"Carl is head intern of the organisation.” Monogram answers dismissively, leading the way down from the rooftop where the helicarriers had dropped them off before going their merry way downtown. "I’m afraid he goes wherever I go. He will be responsible for addressing future reports of our meeting.”

Big job for an intern. He shares another look with Natasha, and they both turn to Perry, as if to seek his unspoken opinion on the matter.

Perry gives them a subtle nod.

Natasha chooses to leave it, and follows them down the stairwell.

“I trust you’ve been briefed of our recent little…incident in New York.” Fury starts, as they all make their way through the building. Presumably for Francis’ personal office.

“I’m led to believe it was an accident." Francis says, throwing an indecipherable look over his shoulder. “The Flynn-Fletcher brothers have great untapped potential, and while we’ve had cause to doubt their intentions in light of certain…developments, I am ensured it is not for evil.”

"You think it was an accident.” Fury echoed.

At this, Francis shrugs. "Weirder things have happened in Danville.”

Natasha makes note of the unmistakable coil of tension that grows in Perry’s form with every new mention of the Flynn-Fletcher brothers. Perry clears his throat, loudly.

Francis sighs, as if he had been reminded of an incredibly tedious thing. “Our sources tell us that the boys were only involved peripherally, in any case. The ray in question hadn’t been their fault, even if it had been intercepted and collected in their satellite. The real culprit is a criminal we have been pursuing for years; a Dr Heinz Doofenshmirtz, and his latest Power-Drain-Inator.”

Clint shares another look with her, eyebrows raised. Now this was a new development. “Not the most creative name." He quips.

Francis scoffs. “I assure you, it’s more than made up for in the invention itself, as well as its effectiveness."

Natasha straightens. “So it was effective?"

“Your being here seems tangible enough proof that it was." Francis points out, and she almost hates that it’s a sensible observation. “Doofenshmirtz inventions have a 96% success rate. He is the third most dangerous villain in our database. Agent Platypus, as his nemesis, had neutralised the threat as quickly as he was able-although not quickly enough, as it seems, to fully prevent any harm.”

It is clear that the accusation of failure had been the one to hit a nerve, and Perry looks away, ashamed. Natasha almost felt tempted to reassure him; nothing more upsetting to an agent of their calibre to be accused of failure, after all. But it had a ring of truth-it was only luck that the beam had hit the Avengers after the fight had been done with, and not a second before. Tony, in particular, had been severely incapacitated.

“And where do we find this…. Doofenshmirtz?” Fury asks, as they arrive on the bullpen floor. It is not so busy, but the few OWCA agents lingering don't bother hiding their curious eyes as even when Perry sends a withering glare in their general direction. Carl ushers them all inside Monogram’s office, the largest personal space on one side of the floor.

Inside, the space is decorated with lush carpets and a grand mahogany table, like a high school Principal’s office. There are floor to ceiling windows with a view to the parking lot, as well as a clever viewpoint of the building’s entrances and exits. Not so glamorous, but Natasha could admit it was practical.

Perry closes the door behind them, and clears his throat once again. Carl jumps.

“Yes sir,” He said, adjusting his glasses. “Being a Friday, considering what we understand of his schedule, he should either be at his home address, or shopping for groceries, since Dr Doofenshmirtz gets custody of his daughter on the weekends due to an agreement with his ex-wife in the divorce. However, certain developments were brought to light that it may be…unwise to act so directly.”

Francis, who had been typing away on his computer when they had arrived, swivels the screen around to show them a purple and white themed webpage that is–on closer inspection, turns out to be an encrypted Tumblr account.

“You’re kidding." Clint says. "He blogged about it?”

“He has more professional blogs as well,” Carl says, procuring a tablet from his pocket (Not Starktech. Most networks prefer to use their own developed tech, and Natasha notes that OWCA is much the same) for Fury’s perusal. "It’s almost comically incompetent, but he also knows we stalk him, so we feel some two ways about it. I would like to bring attention to his most recent post, dated this morning.”

"Looks like he’s entertaining company.” Fury agrees, passing the tablet down to Natasha (with Clint looking over her shoulder.) “I assume you have…plans, for detainment?”

"What’s stopping us from apprehending them all at once?” Clint asks, fingers pointing to the background of the picture taken with all of their criminals in frame. "We have tangible proof of their collaboration, written confessions to their criminal intentions, we know where they are-,”

"Doofenshmirtz is a criminal no matter who he chooses to collaborate with." Francis points out. “And we have records of worse collaborations. These aren't confessions–only intentions, not yet acted out. These posts were made nearly an hour ago, where they’ve made plans to tour the Tri-State Area causing general mayhem. By all means, we don't know their plans, we don't know where they are or where they plan to be, especially considering Doofenshmirtz own historically unpredictable patterns and impulse decisions.”

"And apprehending them in public is out of the picture, I assume.” Natasha says drily. Predictably, all three OWCA operatives tense unhappily. "Too much collateral damage, as well as risk of exposure.”

"It’s not like you can do much, without solid criminal charges." Carl mutters. “Not if we detain them in the Tri-State Area. Doofenshmirtz’s little brother is the current mayor, and he’s stupidly well-regarded. His influence is wide-spread. Doofenshmirtz also has an exceedingly amicable relationship with his ex-wife, who owns a very influential legal firm. She even kept his name.”

"So we can’t pin them on jack shit, is what you’re saying.” Clint surmises. “Not until they do something drastic. Not so long they remain in the bounds of the city. And they will remain here. We know they want something from Doofenshmirtz, and they don't know how dangerous he is.”

“And how dangerous is that?" Fury asks.

Francis and Carl simultaneously glance to the side, where Perry had chosen to take position by the side of the door.

"Not much.” Carl says. "Usually.”

Natasha quirks an eyebrow.

Perry coughs, to call attention to himself, and brings his hand up in a see-saw motion with a twitch of his left eye.

He’s unpredictable, Perry signs. We mean that. He’s ambitious, single minded, and persistent, with the genius engineering know-how to walk his talk. But he follows his own rules, and standards of conduct, which are almost admirable. He also has an almost debilitating case of ADHD, prosopagnosia, and PTSD. Trying to follow his sense of logic can be…. difficult.

“I can believe that." Fury defers. "What do you suggest, Agent?”

Perry glances towards Francis, as if to ask for permission. When Francis responds with a brisk nod, Perry wastes no time.

There is a protocol in place. We call it Walking the Dog.

[onskepa]

Helllooo, could I get a Rapunzel AU fic? In this universe Spider would be the rapunzel of the story, he gets stolen from his family, the Sullies, at a young age (he was adopted by Jake and Neytiri a couple of months after his dad’s death, although he really isn't) Quaritch would be the mother gothel of this AU, keeping Spider in a tower because his magic hair is what is helping him keep being alive. Then Loak would be like Flynn, but in this case a prince going through a rebellious phase, so he stills his older brother crown ( he doesnt really know Spider, cause he was a baby when he was kidnapped) his thief name is “Tulkun” and his partners in crime are Lyle and Z-Dog.

Quite the intersting idea I gotta say, none the less! I hope you enjoy this one!

---------------

Our sun

The sun gives life to all, brings warmth and comfort. With its bright radiant light, it guides everyone to their path. Brings happiness and provides. A great gift humanity has ever gotten. For centuries, humanity has shown their gratitude in many ways. Praising, worshiping, believing the sun is their god. 

A god that is powerful and strong. The Omatikaya kingdom knows that better than anyone in the world. Festivals, sigils, legends, their symbol of the kingdom, all were dedicated to their sun. 

For centuries the kingdom has never wavered their belief in the sun. Remaining strong and true. Always grateful and never greedy. And so, the sun god who was also grateful for the people the sun provides to, believes they deserve a gift. 

A drop of sunlight fallen from the sky has touched the Earth. Gifting the king and queen of the Omatikaya their beautiful sunshine child. 

That is what the story says of course. 

“He is beautiful…” Jake Sully, King of the Omatikaya kingdom, gently coos at his believed son. Beside him was his queen, his love, and mother of their golden child, neytiri. 

“He is perfect,” Neytiri smiles as she rubs her nose gently against their sons button nose. He gives light giggles in satisfaction. Their son, their beloved child. A gift from the sun. His beautiful golden curly hair, bright blue eyes that can rival the sky. And his smile, so radiant and infectious. Their son, the kingdom's golden prince. 

Wrapped in the finest silk with embroidery intricately designed to that of the sun. The young baby was very much  snuggled in great comfort. 

“My lord, my lady, it is time” tsu’tey, their closest friend and top chief of the Omatikaya army, tells them. 

“Come on, we dont want to keep our people waiting” jake gently leads his wife towards the top balcony that oversees their people. 

“Yes my love, our people shall know of our sunny prince,” Neytiri says while she boops her baby’s nose. 

“Have you chosen a name for him?” tsu’tey asks as he follows closely behind. Neytiri chuckles as she shares a look with jake. 

“Spider, we chose to call our son, spider” 

The people cheered and roared out in happiness once the royal couple had presented their son. Many were in awe at how such an adorable child could ever exist. Truly a gift blessed from their sun. 

Many threw flower petals, confetti, horns blowing out, little children waving their flags. The crowd was booming with noise. All eyes on the prince. Including one set of icey blue eyes. Glaring at the royal family. 

No one noticed him. All too busy celebrating. A tall menacing man with a dark cloak to hide his face. The man glared with hate. Just how dare they? 

How dare the king and queen lie to their people? How dare they lie that their ‘son’ was a gift from their light above? How dare they lie and say the boy belongs to them? Lies, all lies. 

But Quaritch knows the truth. That baby, the child the royal couple holds is his son. His blood! His ‘wife’ was a foolish woman. Giving away their child to the royals. She is at fault in this mess too! Too bad she is dead otherwise quaritch would have given her a piece of his mind. But it is not too late. Good thing he still remembers the ins and outs of the palace. After all, he used to be their top chief. The king’s once right hand man. Now replaced by that snarky brat. 

Quartich will have his revenge soon enough. He will have his son back one way or another. 

Night came, and silent as an owl, quaritch entered the royal bedroom without a squeak. Quietly and effortlessly he passed by the couple who were sleeping soundly. Beside them was the cradle where HIS son was sleeping. The cradle was elegantly crafted with golden trims and plush pillows. Only a few days old and he is being spoiled rotten. Cant have that. 

Grabbing his scissors, quaritch goes for the baby’s golden locks. His hair will be a dead give away if anyone finds him. However, just cutting a small strand, the piece of hair turned dark brown and the baby began to cry. 

There was no time. 

When Jake and Neytiri awoke to the cries of their child, they were too late. 

In their eyes, a dark hooded figure stood at the balcony with their baby in his arms. Before Jake can reach him, the hooded figure jumps off and into the dark forest. 

Neytiri cried, not believing what just happened. Jake was quick to call out the night guards. Alarms were sounded, tsu’tey was quick to gather his army to search for the thief who stole their sun.

18 years later 

“Get your ass over here!” Z-dog, a professional female thief, growls at the little brat who seems to be taking his sweet ass time. Opening the top trap door that led  straight down to the golden crown that was heavily guarded. Lyle, her partner in crime, was also getting impatient. 

“Just a sec….wow……this view is nice, very nice…..guys I want my own castle” a young boy spoke. Age 14 and already making a long list of crimes against the kingdom. This will be the biggest one yet. 

“When we do this job, you can have you own castle” lyle grits his teeth as he yanks lo’ak back to the missions. Tying the rope on his waist, they lower lo’ak down to the crown room. 

Quickly he shoves the gold crown into the satchel until one of the guards sneezes loudly. 

“Ugh, day fever?” lo’ak asks. 

“Yeah” the guard answers casually. Until he realized what just happened. Looking up, he and the other guards saw lo’ak being pulled back up and quickly make a run for it. 

“What a great day to be aliiiiiiiiiiiiive!!” lo’ak shouts as he, z-dog and lyle run across the bride that connects the forest and the kingdom. 

The three ran fast at top speed. They already knew the royal guards were on their way to hunt them down. Capital punishment awaits them. tulkun might get some leeway. He really only wanted adventure, but for sure he does not want to really suffer the consequences. 

As they ran for it, they halted to a dead end. Hearing the soldiers nearing, acting quick was needed. 

“Give me a boost and I will pull you both up,” Tulkun said in a hurry. 

Z-dog and lyle looked at each other and then at him. 

“Give us the satchel first” z-dog says as she reaches for it. 

Looking quite offended, Tulkun places a hand over his chest, “I cant….after all we have been together, you guys still dont trust me?” 

Dead looks was all he was given. 

“Ouch” 

He gives the satchel to z-dog and the three were quick to holl up lo’ak. Purposely stepping in z-dogs face as he reaches the top. 

“Now help us up, pretty boy” she demands while reaching her hand up. 

“Sorry, but my hands are full” tulkun smirks while holding the satchel and makes a run for it. 

“What the- TULKUUUUUUUUUUN!!”

That was close, way too close for tulkun’s liking. Tsu’tey was close to seeing his face. If he did then its game over. For now, he will have to lie low, no doubt his family will be worried to death about him. His parents are way too protective. They will be even more once he gets back. Not something he looks forward to. 

For now, he found a little cave that was actually a little entryway to a tower. How long was that there? 

Not giving much thought he was quick to climb the tower and shut the doors[?] windows. Finally being able to be at peace, he opens the satchel to see the golden crown. Sighing in relief. 

“Hello at last-” 

Darkness was all he saw. 

“Who are you and how did you find me?” 

Miles demanded to know from the young stranger. Tied to the chair, miles made sure his long dreads were enough to make sure the invader didn't escape. Who the hell was he to just climb into someone's tower unannounced? And talking to themselves? 

Father was right, there are crazy people out there. 

“Is this….all hair?” the stranger asked as he looked at his long dreads. 

“Hey! I asked you first! Answer!” miles shouts. Holding the pan tightly, he points it at the stranger. His little friend, payakan climbs on the pan, looking dead in the eyes of the stranger. 

“Is that a blue lizard…?” the stranger asks another question. Do all strangers keep on asking questions? 

“Hey! I get to ask questions here, not you! Got that?” Miles narrows his eyes trying to look as threatening as possible. The stranger rapidly shook his head agreeing. 

Miles starts to walk around the stranger while swinging his pan. 

“So stranger, have you come for my hair? Cut it? Sell it?” he begins to accuse. 

The stranger looks at him confused. 

“What? No! Look, I came here to hide because a horse is on my ass! And now I have to-wait wait! My satchel! Where is my satchel!?” 

Crossing his arms, confidently smiling, miles responds “I’ve hidden in, somewhere where you will never find it” 

The stranger looks to his left, “It's hidden in that pot, isn't it?” 

BANG! 

Tulkun woke up once again, this time feeling something wet in his ear. Turning he sees the weird blue lizard outstretching his long tongue in his ear. Feeling grossed out, he shouts, “STOP THAT!!” startling the lizard. 

“Now I’ve hidden it somewhere you’ll never find it” the weird boy says. 

“Now back to the main question, how did you find me?” the boy asks again. 

“Look, in all honesty, I was running through the forest ok? I have an army at my ass and a horse! Just give me the crown back and I will leave. Alright?” tulkun replies honestly. 

The weird boy, or guy since he looks older, stares at him confusingly. 

“Wait, you don't want my hair?” he asks. 

“Why on earth would I want your hair? Actually, why do you even want your hair this long? Don't you have a knife or scissors in this place?” 

The weird guy didn't say anything. Walking away at some distance to talk to his blue lizard friend. Whispering some stuff he couldnt make out. However, using that time to try and free himself. No use, the guy tied him up pretty dang good. 

“Alright, it seems you are saying the truth. Now to important matters, look over here” the guy says as he shifts his hair for the chair to move, making him land on his face.

Lifting a curtain aside, the boy reveals a beautiful painting on top of an empty chimney. It showed a dark blue sky with lanterns floating up in the sky. 

“Do you know what these are?” the guy asks. 

“The lanterns? Yeah, they do that for the lost prince” tulkun says automatically. No real emotion behind it. Holding in his indifferent feelings for that specific day. His face is starting to hurt against the floor. Trying to push himself up, he couldn't hear what the guy said. Until suddenly he was being lifted up. 

“I have a deal I want to make,” the weird guy said. 

Take him to see the lanterns and in return he gets the crown back. No big deal. Seems simple enough. Except for one thing. 

“WOOOOHOOOOOOOO!! 

“What have I done?” 

“I LOVE THS!!” 

“What if he finds out??” 

“I DONT CARE!!” 

“I am horrible” 

“I FEEL GREAT!!” 

“I'm going back, i'm a horrible son” 

“I AM NEVER GOING BACK!!” 

Tulkun didn't think he would also be a babysitter. Damn, and he thought his sister was terrible with mood swings. This weird guy clearly is older than him yet acts just like his baby sister who is 3. 

After what felt like centuries, the weird guy calms down but not in high spirits. 

“It seems you seem to be in turmoil. Look, it does seem a lot. But from the bits I heard, it seems you got a protective father, leaving without telling, talking to a stranger whom you never met and now going somewhere that you need to rely on said stranger to get there. This is pretty serious stuff you know” 

The weird guy just stares at him. 

“Part of life you know. Kinda late but it seems you are going through what I like to call “fuck the rules” phase. Personally I hope it's not a phase. Normal stuff” tulkun continues to say while simultaneously shoving the blue lizard off his shoulder. 

“Really…?” the guy asks. 

“Yup, but this might make your dad upset. Hell, break his heart and crush his soul even. But its fine” 

“Wait, you are gaslighting me aren't you” the weird guy was picking up on what tulkun was trying to do. 

“I tried” tulkun answered honestly. 

“No, we are going to see those lights,” the weird guy says, standing up for himself. 

“Oh yeah? What I don't want anymore?” tulkun mocks him. 

“I will use this” the pan was pointing at him again. 

“Ugh, fine” 

“Miles” 

“Hm?” 

“My name is miles. I forgot to tell you my name earlier” miles says. 

“Oh nice….” 

“What is your name?” miles asks. 

“......its tulkun” 

Miles heard that slight hesitation. Perhaps its not his real name. 

“Cool, this is payakan. My one and only friend” 

Payakan stands on miles’s left shoulder, glaring at tulkun. 

“He really doesnt like me, does he?” tulkun eyes at the reptile. 

“Eh, he will warm up to you. Now, what was that place called again?” miles claps his hands, getting a little hungry. 

“It's called recom port. Best steaks and cold drinks. Hits the spot all the time. And the folks there are super friendly” tulkun says. Smirking inwardly. Surly that place will scare miles back to his little tower. 

Wherever miles goes, tulkun can't help but notice how it was so easy to bring in people. The recom outcasts were super friendly towards him! And they hated tulkun! The hell?! Even worse, miles managed to have them all sing for hours non-stop. Tulkun is just so done. He wants the crown and go back home. Screw with whatever punishment his dad will give him. He can take it. 

Even worse since miles somehow tamed that demon of a horse. 

“Awe, such a good girl aren't you….zeze!” miles coos at the light blue horse. Reading the collar the fowl beast has. 

Zeze was wagging her tail like some dog. Ready to comply with whatever miles tells her. 

“You cant be serious, that thing is capable of murder!!” tulkun tries to reason with miles. 

“Did she kill?” 

“Umm…no but I wouldn't doubt it!

Miles rolls his eyes and continues to pet zeze. 

“Look, we are tired from walking and zeze seems to have a lot of energy. Why not ride her the rest of the way? It's a win-win. What do you think, big girl? Want to blow off some steam?” Miles suggests to the hell beast who neighs in agreement. 

“Oh you have got to be kidding me” tulkun rolls his eyes. He would rather walk on hot rocks than deal with her. 

“Come on, it will be easier. Look, I can tell you both dont get along but please just until we get to the lights? Please?” miles pleads. 

Zeze seems to side with him, offering her hoof, she and tulkun shake in agreement. 

“Wonderful! Now lets get on!” miles says happily as he climbs on zeze. Payakan sitting on zeze’s head getting a good view and tulkun sits behind miles. 

“Have you ever rode on a horse before?” tulkun asks. 

“Nope, first time! HIYAH!” 

Zeze takes off, letting the winds hit their faces and excitement filling their lungs. 

It was amazing! Miles has never seen this many people before! And they all live together in smaller yet wider towers? So cool! And the food! So delicious! More books to read, new music to listen to. It was so perfect. 

A kind lady even gifted him a small flat with a sun design and a flower. He admires the pretty flower until he sees other people laying their flowers in front of an interesting mural.

“It's for the lost prince” a child says to their baby sibling. 

Lost prince? 

Miles takes a good look at the mural. There stood two proud looking people. A man and a woman, wearing fancy looking clothing. In the woman's arms was a baby. A child who is smiling and have lovely golden hair and blue eyes. 

“Poor baby…” miles mutters. He places his flower on the base of the mural. Whoever the baby is, hopefully he comes back to his family soon.

Night came and tulkun managed to get a small boat for them to the surrounding moat. The lanturn festival was about to begin. Tulkun look to see miles not smiling anymore. 

“Hey, you ok..? Feeling excited?” he asks. 

“Feeling kind of terrified actually…” miles confesses. 

Tulkun tilts his head, “how come?” 

“All my life, for as long as I can remember I look at my window and see beautiful stars in the sky. Always wondering what they were. And here I am, about to see the truth….I'm scared to be disappointed” 

Tulkun, understanding his new friend, places an arm over his shoulder. 

“Nothing wrong with being disappointed. In the end, you will get to see what is more than the stars as you call them” 

Miles smiles a bit, “and what if they are? What then?” 

“That is the fun part I guess. It opens a path for a new journey” 

Neytiri straights jake’s outcoat, making him presentable. Her eyes meet his. Sadness and sorrow are all there is. No words are needed to be said. She knows. What is supposed to be a joyous day has now become a sad tradition for all. 

They meet their children on the balcony, all holding their own lanterns. Yet, neytiri and jake notice their third son is missing. It was just putting more salt on the wound. 

Taking the lead, they light up their lantern and together they let it go. The royal children followed. Moments after, all of the kingdom let go of their lanterns. The darkened sky now filled with lanterns, all goes at their own pace. 

Neytiri and jake hold each other close while holding their children. Their hopes depleting each year. The hope that one day, their first child would return home. That hopefully their son would find these lanterns and use them as a guide back to them. 

But its been 18 years. A grown adult by now. 

They make sure their children know of their big brother, and how he would have loved each and everyone of them. Their children never doubted that. 

“He will come home this time, right mama….?” The first princess asks her mother as she stares at the lanterns. Every year she asks the same question. Every year, neytiri answers the same thing. 

“He must” 

Miles was in awe. The lanterns were so beautiful! Each one was different yet all burned brightly. 

“I finally know the truth…” he says. 

Tulkun hears this……

“Lo’ak” he speaks. 

“Hm?” 

“My real name is Lo’ak, tulkun was just a disguise name…” lo’ak admits. 

“Why?” miles asks, curious to know. 

“My family….well my parents to be precise. Are very protective. Like super protective. Cant go anywhere without someone spying on me or my siblings…” lo’ak says with what sounds like defeat in his voice. 

“You see….I have an older brother and two younger sisters. My parents however, had a son before my big brother neteyam. Spider was his name. My parents said he was only 3 months old before a dark cloaked guy took him away. They never knew who he was or why the stranger took him. That night traumatized them for life. Dont get me wrong, it is sad. He would have been 4 or 5 years old by the time I was born. Its just….” lo’ak couldn't continue. 

“So that is why you are rebellious…wanting to get out of their tight hold. Needing to breathe and just take risks for the fun of it” miles finishes for him. 

Lo’ak looks at miles’s long hair. 

“Yeah…but what about you? You never told me why you lived in that tall, isolated tower” lo’ak asks, wanting to change the subject. 

“My dad….he too is overprotective. Growing up, he tells me all of the dangerous things that happen outside of the tower. Baby stealing ghouls, men with sharp teeth, diseases, blood sucking monsters. I was terrified. But in reality…he kept me there because of my hair…” 

Miles moves his dreads to the side to reveal a short dark strand of hair. 

“My hair….is what is keeping me alive. If cut, it affects my health. He doesn't know why, niether do I but…something like that, it has to be protected” 

“So….you never left that tower?” lo’ak was astounded. Miles, a grown adult at this point, has never seen what life has to offer? 

Miles nodded. 

“And you still want to go back…?” 

Miles looked to be contemplating on that question. But before could be said, near the dock was two unpleasantly familiar people.

“There, it will be just like it never happened” his dad says. 

Miles was back at the tower. Any traces of him being outside was gone. Lo’ak left him and took the crown. Leaving him vulnerable to two dangerous strangers who wanted to cut his hair for higher value. If it wasn't for his dad finding him, who knows what could have happened. 

“Hey, I will make that coup you like so much, that will lift your spirits up” his dad was exiting his room. 

“Look son, I know it seems unfair but you have to understand. Not everything is bright and good. Terrible people who sees any trace of goodness, they will destroy it no matter what” with that, he goes downstairs. 

Leaving miles alone. He stares at the paintings he has done on the ceiling. Why do they look familiar? 

Pulling out the little flag he still kept, he compares the sun to the familiar shapes. 

“What the…?” why do his painting have the sun symbol? 

Suddenly, he got a massive headache. 

Memories of a past he didn't know he had came flooding in. 

“WAIT WAIT DAD!! YOU DONT GET IT!!” lo’ak shouts as he tries to fight back his uncle figure tsu’tey. The other night he was knocked out by z-dog and lyle, tying him on a canoe with the crown. Now being punished, he was to be sent to a neighboring kingdom as a form of punishment for stealing a royal crown.

Jake, having had enough of his son's lies, false promises, and fake sympathy, didnt want to hear him anymore.

“Hopefully this will teach you a lesson son. You knew how important that crown was. Stealing was the last straw "Jake says. His family beside him, none wanting lo’ak to go but it was necessary.

“NO!! YOU DONT GET IT!! THEY TOLD ME!! HE IS ALIVE!! DAMN IT!! IM SORRY UNCLE!!” with a quick hit with his head, lo’ak managed to free himself from tsu’tey. Acting fast he made a run for it.

“ZEZE!!” he calls out. The majestic yet beastly horse answers his call, he climbed onto her.

Tsu’tey calls his soldiers to follow lo’ak, his family yelling to come back. “HE IS ALIVE!! SPIDER IS ALIVE!!” was all lo’ak said before zeze ran faster, heading straight to the forest. This whole time, this whole time! His big brother is alive!! He has a lot to make up for right now, lo’ak needs to get him out of the tower and away from the stranger miles calls ‘father’.

There was so much blood. Miles didnt know how to heal him. He wanted to save lo’ak, save him, tell him of his newfound revelation! Yet his dad has him tied to chains like some feral animal. 

“That is enough! You are going somewhere far more hidden! Somewhere where you won't even see the sunlight!” his father says. Miles can hardly recognize him anymore. All he sees is a scary, tall man who sees miles as some golden item rather than a human being. 

Yet miles fought back, as best as he could. Lo’ak is dying,he needs to do something! 

“Let me heal him please!” miles begs. Tears ran down his face. 

“Let me heal him, and you and I will be together. Just like we always have. Please dad, let me save him” 

His dad saw lo’ak laying still, thinking he won't last long. He ties a chain to his ankle, just incase the brat gets any ideas of following them. Miles was quick, panicking but doing his best to close the wound. 

“Miles…” lo’ak whispers weakly, “dont…I can let you…” he tries his hardest to say, 

“I cant let you die…” miles whispers, more tears falling out. 

Lo’ak gets closer as if to tell miles something, however, in a surprise move, he cuts miles hair. 

“Lo’ak!! What did you…!!” his was was quick to turn a dark brown, his dreads also losing their golden color. 

“NO!!! WHAT DID YOU DO?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!?” the mad man shrieks. In a hurry he tries to collect the hair, not carrying where he is stepping. He tangles himself in the dreads, unknowingly wrapping himself. In a daze he trips. 

Over the tower’s window. 

Falling to his death. His screams are now silent. 

Miles couldn't comprehend what just happened. Yet he had to focus on lo’ak. 

“Im sorry….brother….” lo’aks arms went limp, his eyes closed. 

“No no no!! Stay with me lo’ak! Please!!” miles cries out loud. Now he truly is alone. No friend, no father, no one. Just himself. He lets his tears fall on lo’aks wound. 

“Please save him…!! I beg you!! Save him!!” miles didnt know to who he was calling to. To himself? To some holy being? Perhaps he was already losing his mind now that he lost his golden hair. Or perhaps, not all is lost…

Bright light flooded the tower from the outside. Its light radiating warmth, reminds miles that of the lanterns. Bright yet gentle. It was like being swaddled in a blanket. The light surrounded him and lo’ak. His hair, although now messy, its golden color returned. The light touches lo’ak’s wound, sealing it, healing him. 

Just as it has appeared, the light has dispersed. As if it never did. 

Holding in his breathe, miles looks over at lo’ak, hoping to see something. 

A cough was heard, more coughs, and a scruff. 

“Oh fuck…did I hit something?” Lo’ak asks as he sits up. 

Miles shouts in happiness. Hugging lo’ak tightly, he says his thanks to the mysterious light that saved his friend. His brother. 

Quickly, neytiri and jake along with their children make haste to the balcony where tsu’tey said was where he was waiting. 

They all hold hands tightly, reassuring one another that this is real, its not a dream. 

Opening the doors, they see lo’ak. Beside him was someone jake and neytiri thought they would never see. 

A young, tall man with short yet very familiar golden hair stood before them. Wide, sparkly blue eyes that can rival the sky. His familiar smile, his aura radiant of warm happiness. This is him. 

“Spider…” neytiri whispers, getting closer to him. Touching his cheeks, his hands, his ears, hair, everything. 

“It is you…my spider, my son” she confirms. A mother could never mistake her child. 

Hugging him close, she cries out in joy. Jake followed soon after her. Holding his son after so many years. Kissing his head, hearing his heartbeat. Their son has returned. 

“You did find him…” jake says to lo’ak. 

Lo’ak smiles, joining in the hug, not saying much as to let his parents have this moment. 

“Come come my children, meet your big brother! He is home!” neytiri gestures her three other children, neteyam, kiri and tuk. The three join in one massive group hug. 

This is what miles, or now, spider, wanted. To feel truly loved. This is his family, may take some time getting used to, but spider truly felt at home with them. For they are warm and radiant, like that of the sun. 

Aaaaaaaaaand that is it for this one! Hope you all liked it! Until next time! See ya!

[egg-emperor]

in today's twt recommends me shit I'm absolutely not the target audience of

actually I DO condone everything evil Eggman does because it's cool and sexy 💜 I'm offended when people assume I *don't* support him in everything he does lol

why would he be my f/o ig I hate everything he's actually about, to the point I can't even enjoy it from an entertainment perspective because he's evil? skill issue

also man all the replies are filled with "even tho they're bad people I can fix them!!! or shit like this reply

and my god if this isn't exactly what everyone who has a problem with me embracing Eggman's canon evilness does. they're saying the quiet part out loud

like by your own admission you just genuinely don't even like the character. it's like when I thought I was talking to fellow Eggman fans and they'd tell me they literally didn't like his evil and chose to ignore it- even though his evilness is literally on display 99% of the time he's onscreen

I cannot fathom why you'd call yourself a fan let alone want to self ship with them if you don't get any sense of enjoyment out of them being evil, when it's the whole point and focus on their character as the villain

that og post and all the replies are the finest example of how fandom puritanism is ruining how people see villains, their entire purpose and the way we are actually supposed to like them and see them as entertaining. it's not a moral obligation to condemn their evil actions. ignore them, or "headcanon them away into oblivion"

anyway you'll never catch me doing this. I'm a fan of and self ship with a villain because they are a villain and I also actually like the character. if I wanted a good guy I'd like a good guy and I don't need to try to change an already existing character into something I'd like more

I adore the evil bastard Eggman just the way he is and have no shame. I support him following his evil dreams and I'd happily be his partner in crime if he asked it of me lol 💜

[butterfrogmantis]

Religion is a bit tricky in the Butterverse. Since humans exist, human religions exist, and some are even referenced through Smurfs and other characters. But unlike certain universes, there isn't one 'true' religion or god. Instead, there are 4 true deities - Mother Nature, Harold, Father TIme .. and Death.

Also CW for some messed up stuff right here

Mother Nature and Father time are pretty well known and honoured, even worshipped in some cases. Harold is looked to as the man in the moon as as symbol. Death is. An interesting figure. Smurfs - or any race for that matter - don't have a personal connection with Death the same way they might have a tea part with Mother Nature because seeing Death in of itself is an omen. And they sort of like it that way. Death is an enigma. Feared or respected, Death is neither kind nor cruel. It is simply inevitable. Indeed, it's the only true equal of the world. At least, for most.

Necromancer Smurf was born in an ancient village to a village doctor and a village mortician. Even as a child there was something a little bit different, he didn't talk for years after the expected time for the first word ceremony, didn't play with the other kids, and had an odd fascination with the gruesome elements to his parent's work, including the graveyard business. The Smurfling's father died unexpectedly whilst he was quite young, and even then he showed very little emotion to the loss of his father. He'd been in the room when it happened, supposedly felt the presence of an omnipresent figure. His fascination with the death itself far outweighed any grief he may or may not have had.

His obsession become more sinister - strange things kept happening. Animals going missing, random bones disposed of in the garbage around Smurf village. And as a teenager, the worst of all was uncovered. Necromancer was caught graverobbing at his father's burial sight - and when questioned, simply responded that he simply needed a body to work with, and his long deceased father clearly wasn't using his.

Necromancer was placed into solitary confinment, and his hut raided. The Smurfs doing the search told horrors of jars with organs, bones, someone's pet that had gone missing last week, clearly dead but somehow breathing … very unsmurfish things. The Smurf leader moved to banish Necromancer for good, but his mother, who had been suffering for years after the loss of her husband - and in spite of the horrors her son had committed, protected him best she could. Both of them became outcasts in their own society, but for Necromancer he didn't care. Perhaps his biggest mercy was when his mother finally passed a few centuries later, he left her grave untouched.

But his appetite for defying death wasn't through, not by a long shot. He could reanimate animals and even plants for certain periods but he needed something bigger, better. He knew the village would exile him as soon as he touched one of his own so he sought through records in the public library until he discovered, by chance, an old journal belonging to a pirate Smurf named Captain Bluebeard, amongst who's stories was a retelling of a great treasure heist, and a lift of a young pirate who was lost on the island and who's body wasn't recovered. This was the opportunity Necromancer needed - a deserted island and a lone body he intended to reanimate. This could be his finest hour.

-----

Short intermission now to listen to Rafflesia talk about the types of undead! :)

-----

*"You may not know me, Skeleton Smurf. But I know you - do not be afraid. Although the nature of your existance defies me, this was not your fault. My quarrel is with the one who's lifeforce sustains you, and in doing so has prevented us from meeting. In my kingdom, you were a worthy subject"

Skelly looked up at the empty eye sockets of the crow skull upon Death's face.

"I was in your kingdom? Then perhaps .. you could tell me who I was?"

Death sighed, seeming almost apologetic.

"I'm afraid … that might compromise your current situation. I do apologise, there's little in my power to help you as you are now. But that is not why I am here, Skeleton. I may no longer have the power to bring you back to my kingdom, but I am still a diety. And since you have been wronged in many ways, I would like a chance - however slim - to make it up to you."

Skelly looked curious, so Death continued.

"I am offering you a wish. A single wish, to be used at any time. Know that there are some things even outside of my power. But as long as holds, or as long as it takes, you have this promise"*

Skelly meets Death ,, part 2! They have a gift for him.

Death, Necromancer, Rafflesia and Skelly are mine / Franchise The Smurfs

[spectordameron]

5, 7, and 10 for the fandom asks

5. Favorite song, album, or artist to listen to this year

Rachel, I can always count on you to come in clutch and enable my music infodumping 😌 this is a hard choice for me, though, because I had a lot of faves this year song wise. But I think that Under Your Thumb by Nom Fabrique ended up being my favorite song of the year? Frankly astounded it wasn't higher on my Spotify Wrapped. I also found and fell in love with How Did You Love by Shinedown, Sing to Me by MISSIO, Wet Dream by Wet Leg, and Fear is Like a Forest by Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile.

My favorite album is definitely a tie between LOOM by Imagine Dragons, or Short n' Sweet by Sabrina Carpenter — who definitely earns the "artist of the year" for me because she definitely became a hyperfix. But bonus points to the soundtrack for My Lady Jane because that was also on repeat for weeks.

7. Favorite TV show episodes of the year

This year had a lot of good TV, like...holy crap. I definitely think my top episodes go something like this:

The Acolyte 1.05 “Night” — despite breaking my heart twice over this episode was so fucking good, and definitely Star Wars at its best.

X-Men '97 1.03 “Fire Made Flesh” — I am a sucker for good characters briefly turning evil arcs AND the "face your fear" trope and this episode delivered both?

X-Men '97 1.05 "Remember It" — REMY LEBEAU THE MAN THAT YOU ARE. Absolutely devastating, Marvel at its finest.

My Lady Jane 1.03 "With a Girl Like You” — erotic medieval medicine practicing? Sexually charged sword play? Slowburn that isn't even slowly burning they're both just on fire at this point? What's not to love

My Lady Jane 1.05 “I'm Gonna Change the World" — not going to lie, it's on here for the opening sequence, the sex scene, and the argument at the end because I looooove angst. "Fuck England, heal me!" ough Guildford...

10. Biggest fandom disappointment of the year

There was...a few. The Tortured Posts Department was a let down in practically every sense but especially left me incensed with the rampant ableism riddled through the album (and its music video). The Acolyte getting cancelled also felt like another nail in the coffin for my patience with Star Wars as it currently exists.

But I think the biggest disappointment was Doctor Who. I thought it would finally be good again (see: well-written, fleshed out storylines and characters) but instead we got rehashed slop, a Doctor that doesn't feel like the Doctor (funny how remarkably quick the ability to write them as the Doctor vanishes once he's not a white man!), a companion who, if you pointed a gun at my head, I couldn't tell you what motivated her in the slightest or why she's even traveling with the Doctor in the first place. The discovery that it's mostly written because RTD was bitter about the sequels has really only furthered my disappointment and irritation. They're not doing anything new, and they're rehashing storylines so badly it's a popular fan theory that it must be this bad on purpose? Like...

If you're going to just waste actors like Jodie Whitaker and Ncuti Gatwa, and refuse to let anyone but the same three white men who have been writing the show for literal two decades, write the show, then frankly? It should have ended back in 2017 with Capaldi. *shrugs*

fandom year in review!

[gildedcageif]

💗 GROWING HEART - if they have a crush, is it noticable? what changes when they're in love?

Ahmad: He believes he is really subtle, but is absolutely obvious about it. Overnight he is suddenly wearing only his finest of clothing and his hair is combed to perfection. He finds the stupidest of excuses to be near the person he likes. Suddenly, he has a bunch of gifts to give out also.

Like "Oh, look what I have hear. A million dollar ring I just found in my dresser randomly. Shame I can't keep it. It would look great in your finger. Want to have it?" or "anyway so I wrote a love poem about this person who looks like you, sounds like you, acts like you and generally just is you... oh my Annur, how did you figure out it is devoted to you? You are so smart. Here have a family heirloom by the way"

When my man is smitten, you can see it from another plane of existence. He is smiling, he is grinning, he is pestering their lover with gifts and whenever they are not around, he stares wistfully out of the window. Meanwhile he thinks he is super covert.

Selim: Selim is an expert at hiding his emotions. He thinks he is at least. He is kind of like Ahmad in that way.

He tries to hide how he feels, but then literally just stares at his lover the whole time like he wants to consume them whole.

When he falls in love, he becomes more considerate for lack of a better word. He leaves pauses in conversation desperately trying to find the right thing to say in order to pull them closer but also not too close for comfort. He thinks about them throughout. About small things he can do to help them out. His love will mainly be shown in how he helps them with their tasks. You have lots of work? No, you don't anymore. Some other concubine is bullying you? Oh no, they tripped and died.

It is a... unique way to express love, but it's still love.

Nazli: Nazli is actually good at hiding her emotions. You probably won't realise her emotions have changed until she tells you to your face.

The main changes will come from how much time the two of you spend together. All of your duties and tasks change suddenly and now they all involve serving her in some way- and thus spending all day with her. Then even at morning and night, she wants you to break fast and dine by her side.

She, similar to her son, also becomes very generous with gifts. Jewels, clothes, furs, art pieces, anything and everything that comes to mind is yours. Some of the clothes she has actually sewn herself!

Meryem:

You will know when she has a crush because she will literally come up to you and tell you. Girlie does not waste time.

But even beforehand, if she tries to hide it, she kind of does a terrible job at it. She is constantly smiling and giggling and blushing and stumbling all over her words. She constantly seems to gravitate towards her crush, finding an excuse to be around them and touch them.

When in love, she is the most affectionate person in existence. She wants to hold and exchange kisses and to brush your hair for hours. She even starts coordinating outfits with you so you can always match wherever you go.

The main tell is that she is constantly smiling. Like the world could be burning down and she is just giggling cause "isn't her love the cutest?"

She will also try to get you to bond with her son, Mustafa. She wants you two to have a good relationship so she will constantly be inviting you for bedtime stories or to play at the gardens.

Emil De Angelis

Emil is really, really good at hiding it. It helps that half the time he is so deep in denial that he genuinely misses the signs that he is in love or crushing on someone. When he does realise, he basically goes through an existential threat session.

When in love, Emil is not exactly like a talking feelings kind of lover. He may never say the actual three words, or say them very rarely, but that does not mean he does not feel that.

When in love, he will build whole ass statues and paintings devotes to their lover. Many of those will never see the light of day. They are not meant for the public eye. No they are meant for him to immortalise their love. Not to be feasted on by people who won't understand the magnificence of their love. (He is dramatic like that)

He generally becomes much more relaxed. He is glad to just lay down with them early in the morning and talk about utter nonsense. He does not mind wasting time so much if it is with them.

Helena

Helena is really obvious for a specific reason. She is a massive flirt. She will spend all her time trying to butter you up, using pick up lines to try and charm you.

The way you truly know she is in love though is when she gets flustered. Helena is a player. She likes to flirt, she likes the game, she likes to play around. The result of having so much experience is you don't get flustered too easily.

When she blushes, when she stumbles over her words, that is when she is hooked.

When in love, Helena wants to share everything with her lover. She wants to see them as they are, to understand them completely. And she wants the same to go for them. The total truth of it, nothing more, nothing less.

She wants to cuddle and joke and to go on wild adventures. She is the type to make grand gestures. Standing outside their window and singing to them type of energy.

Thanks for the ask!

[popculturebuffet]

Richard Moll Tribute: Batman TAS Review: Two-Face Parts 1 and 2 (Comission for WeirdKev27)

In Loving Memory of Richard Moll 1943-2023 Just one year. Just one damn year after loosing Kevin Conroy another treasured member of the Batman The Animated Series Cast passes. I wasn't expecting this and i'm hoping with all I got this isn't a trend.

While Kevin requested a tribute for Moll it was an easy request: While I sadly can't do a tribute for every tragic death as my schedule is packed, it's why poor Matthew Perry didn't get one even though his death is also truly gutting, but Moll is an actor I loved and still deeply repsect and I'm proud to honor him.

Ironically I first became a fan of Moll not thorugh two face, who I liked fine but wasn't really a faviorite of mine yet, but through his other famous roll that came before this: Baliff Bull Shanon on the NBC sitcom Night Court

If you haven't seen Night Court it's free on freevee and amazon prime so please do when your done here, but for the short version it was a sitcom about Harry Stone, a young judge who was both a goofy prankster and a kind, wise man who judged fairly and always tried to help his staff, played by the sadly also late Harry Anderson.

Bull was big, strong.. but also entirely kind and goofy. He had a childlike sense of wonder to him, missed the point often, but refrenshingly for a sticom he wasn't portrayed as a complete idiot, having a lot of emotinal intelgence. He was simply oblivious. And while VERY sweet he had a habit of reminding people, paitcuarly dan the court's prosectuer and sex pest, that he had his job for damn good reason. Moll was a treasure and never lost his step in the roll though sadly he declined to return for the recent revival and now never will.

So it suprised me when I found out Moll was Harvey all this time. It wasn't that Moll lacked talent or even him doing something after night court, he'd done plenty. It was more the range, perfectly playing Harvey in all the forms the show gave him: early on as bruce's pepppy friend, as a man grappling with his split personality in these episodes, as Harvey's brutal personality.. and later as a horrifying combo of the two as two face. All distinct, all using a diffrent vocal tone, all great.

So we're honoring his finest performance. So join me to remmeber Richard Moll under the cut as Harvey Dent grapples with the other person in the mirror.. and both become something else.

One touch i've always liked about Batman TAS is that Harvey was a recurring character before this two parter. It was only two episodes, On Leather Wings and Pretty Poison, but the former was a nice cameo to show he exists and the latter really showed off Harvey and Bruce's friendship, their easy report, the hint they had a long history we were never privy to, and it made the stakes higher when Harvey got poisoned by Ivy. It's remakrable how much legwork that one episode did to setting up this one. You can watch one without the other, Batman TAS is still largely episodic and one of the best shows ever at pulling that off... but the two enrich each other. While Batman TAS wasn't the first to try and have Harvey Dent around before he got faced, Batman 1989 ATTEMPTED it but then didn't bring back Billy Dee Williams and retconned Harvey to be Tommy Lee Jones because fuck me I guess, it's the work i'd credit with popularizing it as the Long Halloween and the Dark Knight after it made sure to show us who harvey was BEFORE, which makes what he becomes that much more tragic, that Bruce didn't just loose an ally.. he lost a friend.

It also makes what we see at the top of the episode have even more weight: Harvey having a troubled dream as he's harassed by a shadowy version of himself with a growly voice flipping a coin. Harvey is only freed from his nightmare by his assitant Carlos, who informs him the raid they've been planning is on boys.

The target is one of Rupert Thorne's gambling dens.

For those who've forgotten this guy, Rupert was the series mafia presence, head of Gotham's organized crime and slimeball, played by John Vernon aka the dean from animal house aka the character that inspired the dean from futurama. Rupert is the perfect arch enemy for a pre face harvey: it's easy to arrest a guy who kidnaps the police on christmas day after rocketing out of his aslyum on a christmas tree, it's harder to arrest someone who covers his tracks.

It's also hard because Throne's men have a bunch of high end weaponry stockpiled in there including grenade launchers. Thankfully Bat beats Grenade as bruce decided to pitch in to help with his buddy's relection campaign, helping clean house to make it easier on the police. I also like the touch of Harvey being ambivilant, not against Batman's presence but not really cordinating with him like Gordon would.

Unfortunately one of the goons makes the mistake of taunting harvey... and that wakes up the other person. As it turns out Harvey has Disociative Identity Disorder, and his alter, big bad harv, is all of the anger Harvey's surppressed his whole life condensed into a person. And Big Bad Harv suckers the goon before nearly beating him to death, with Harvey waking up from the episode horrified and making a lame excuse. As if things weren't tense enough Rupert Throne's decided to do a bit of digging into Harvey's life: he's become too big a thorn in his side and the irony's a bit too much to swallow on that, so he has Candice, his right hand minon look into that.

We cut to Harvey giving a speech at a big campaign rally Bruce is throwing. It also brings me to Batman The Animated Series Version of bruce who I like a lot: instead of playing up his uselessness or just barely using the identity when necessary, this bruce is a bruce wayne I like to see: a philamprohist who still fights to help people. It makes hiding he's batman harder sure.. but it shows Bruce more as another side of who he is rather than a mask he wears because society won't let him go around beating up people in a mask all day every day.

At the party is Grace, Harvey's girlfriend who wants to bump it up to fiance. It's unknown just HOW long it's been since pretty poison but given Harvey was willing to marry Ivy after a week, it's on brand for him to jump into life alterting decisions and he makes it clear he only hasn't because he's busy trying to get reelected, not getting that the engagment would probably bump up his raitings but whatever. Grace is mostly here so Harvey has more to loose. She's the weakest part of the episode, only being there so Harvey has a love intrest to weep at what he's become when we already have bruce. Though given this was the 90's I woudln't be shocked if Fox wanted to give Harvey a case of the not gays.... which come on. Why WOULDN'T it make sense for Two-Face to be BI-Sexual. It fits too well. Like Batman giving oral.

Every party needs a pooper though and the pooper for Harvey's party is a phone call: THrones men are being let go as someone "misfiled" a warrant.

So naturally out goes the good harvey, in comes the Big Bad Harvey who straight up THROWS his assitant carlos into an ice sculpture cleaving the thing in two.

And nearly beating BRUCE up this time when Bruce tries to calm him down. It's only grace begging him to stop that brings back standard Harvey.

Bruce didn't get to be the world's greatest detective by ignoring the obvious , so he goes to talk to harvey .And I absoutely LOVE Bruce's attitude in this scene.. the man was almost punched in the face by his best friend.. and instead of raging against him or recoling in horror he runs up to help him, recognizing this wasn't just harvey flipping out, but something deeper, correctly guessing Harvey has some sort of mental illness and needs help.

And as someone with some mental illnesses and a neurotypical brain not helping either of them, I really like how the episode treats Harvey's illness. The talk about it has aged REALLY well: While it was even MORE stigmatized back then, Bruce's reaction to all of this is recommend Harvey get help and then be utterly PROUD when he finds out Harvey already is doing the work, it's just taking time and the pressure of being a public figure AND hunting a crime lord really isn't helping. Harvey is treated as he should be: as a man who needs help and is struggling with it, not as some monster but as a man who simply needs help after a childhood trauma left him with an extra guest in his head. Harvey is never accused for what Big Bad Harv does and while Big Bad Harv's actions are seen as awful, as they should, no one ever blames Harvey for them if they know. It's something I struggle with: I also have big freakouts where I can't control myeslf. Diffrent type as i'm still ME when it happens, but I can still relate to this episode and harvey's struggle of both letting his pride down to ask for help and worrying about what people would think despite getting therapy being entirely normal.

Unforutnely Candice overheard this as we cut to Harvey in sessoin with his psychatrist, Nora Crest. Nora is a wonderful therapist, helping harvey slowly and making it clear what Big Bad Harv does isn't his fault. She also draws BBH out to try and help manage him better. Unfortunately.... she fails to recognize that Big Bad Harv dosen't WANT to be managed, want to be locked away, or want Harvey to come back again and in the most horrifying display yet trashes Nora's office, breaks a window and tries to attack her before she undoes the hypnosis. Again it's done well as Nora simply misunderestimated HOW bad things were and while sh'es trying her best.. .as she puts it Harvey NEEDS to check himself into a hospital. And I love how that's not portrayed as a bad thing: A dire circumstance, but we've seen how bad harv is. She's not suggesting locking him up in arkham or anything drastic, she just wants him where he can get help and where big bad harv can't hurt people.

Ultimately what holds Harvey back... is a combination of pride and society itself. In a better world Harvey going in to get treatment after two public outbursts would be seen as a heroic act and he'd win the election. Sadly we don't live in that world and Harvey correctly fears the voters would just sterotype him as crazy and he'd loose the election. He TRIES to mitgate it by having more sessions an da reduced work schedule and it works to a point.. but it's clear it's putting a band-aid on an open wound.

This meatball mental surgery DOES enough to get Harvey through the election, and almost to propose to grace.. but sadly dosen't last as Thorne has stolen his medical files and wants a meeting. Once again it's not Harvey that's the issue.. it's that society won't accept that he NEEDS help and it's OKAY to get it. And Throne's all too happy to exploit it.

Thankfully for Harvey his best friend is batman, so Bruce is able to follow Harvey and put a tracker on the car he's taken in. Thorne makes the BOLD decision to confront the man whose DiD is shown to be triggered by extreme stress... in a remote room with only a few guards, only one of them actually armed, and mock his mental illness. We also find out WHY Harvey has DiD: as a kid he hit a bully in the face. Said bully wound up in the hospital and Harvey blaming himself vowed never to be angry again. Turns out it was apendcitis. Hence Big Bad Harv.

And unfortuantely for Harvey's future and Throne's present.... Big Bad Harv comes out. He does manage most of the thugs, with some bat help, but given whose origin this is.. you know this can't end well. And it dosen't: in a truly gutting moment Harvey rushes after Throne, the goon from earlier tries to fire.. and in stopping the guy batman accidently directs his fire at a power coupling in the factory, causing an explosion. Harvey Dent as we knew him .. is gone.

Some time later Harvey's in the hospital in bad shape, with doctors promising they'll restore him with plastic surgery. Instead... we get

I know he was heavily burned, and that his face would be hard to fix.. but how did you think "make him look like a blue goblin man with a bigger eye on half his face" was EVER going to go down well. Does oscorp own this hospital?

While I joke, because i'm a goofy bastard, I do love the nod to Batman 89, with Harvey asking for a mirror in the same way as Jack Napier and Lisa Simpson... only instead of laughing he throughs a raging fit and then gapes in horror when his new visage makes his fiance pass out.

So thus ends part one. One last thing I want to note is how LITTLE batman is in this. Ther'es an action bit with bruce at the beginning of the episode and later at the climax. That's it. It's something TAS did a lot, having a more methodical build up before the third act is all I AM THE NIGHT, but it feels diffrent here as we aren't WITH bruce for most of the episode. He's still present and important to the plot, but he's a supporting character in Harvey Dent's story. There's no breaking things down with alfred, no break from the tragedy of Harvey Dent, and it's why the episode works so well. This isn't a Batman story yet.. it's Harvey Dents.

Part 2, naturally, splits time between both men as both go on their own journey. It's 6 months later and the man who was once Harvey dent has abandoned his old names: No more Harvey Dent, upstanding DA or Big Bad Harv, Harvey Dent's anger and hatred given shape and form... the two have merged. It's something I never noticed before till tv tropes pointed it out: Fitting his dual nature Two Face is a bit of both: he's aggressive, rageful, and quick to anger, berating his twin thugs when they go off script. He'd of killed them by now but damn can they belt a cover of Don't Pull Your Love

Yet we see a tactical side that just wasn't present in Big Bad Harv.. but was in harvey, with the raid being his idea and his attacks on thorne being calculated, using every bit of info on his operations Harvey ever aquiried but going outside a law he no longer belivies in. Two-Face is a new personality.. and a fairly haunted one.

He also naturally now has his gimmick, using coin flips to decide his decisions, hence why he hasn't seen grace in a while as the coin keeps telling him no. After all he lost, after all that happened he now belivies only in chance... the only justice left. And given the system allowed thorne to thrive while Harvey sacrficed his health, his time and ultimately who he was to stop him only to get nowhere.. it's hard not to see why.

It's what, once again, makes this work: it's not just Harvey's DiD that turned him into Two-Face. IT's the main cause, sure, but the regular Harvey still had an obessive, vengeful streak about him: he may of locked his anger away.. but he still hunted thorne, obessed over the case and put beating thorne over his own well being. Being DA was important, beating thorne was important.. but it wasn't worth loosing himself. He was doing the work, had he taken his doctor's advice and checked himself in.. Harvey may of been okay. He wouldn't of had the office but he'd have his mind and the love of his life. Now only rage and a determinatoin to destroy thorne remain.

Thorne naturally isn't taking this sitting down. He has some shit to throw around in anger dammit. After months of Two Face hitting him hard then fading away into the night he puts out a bounty: a million a face. And Cadance, being sneaky and what not, sets her self on the path to the moolah by pretending to be a cop and giving grace a tracker.

Meanwhile Bruce, naturally, is also doing pretty bad. In his dreams Harvey cries out to bruce asking "Why couldn't you save me?"... and Bruce has no answer.. nor one when his own father asks "WHy couldn't you save us son?" Once again Bruce has lost someone he cares about. And while with his parents the guilt isn't warranted, it was a random gunman and he wa sa children, you can see WHY he has it here: You can just feel Bruce replaying the moment he tackled the gunman, again, and again and again, thinking of all the ways he coudl've done it BETTER, all the ways that don't end in Harvey becoming Two Face. All the ways he should be BETTER. We know it was just an accident but Bruce.. can't accept it. He has to fix this, he has to save harvey from himself.

Harvey's decided enough fucking around. He's gotten Thorne weak enough, it's time for the killing stroke. Only Harvey isn't being THAT merciful: he COULD kill Thorne, but like any good super villian Twoey has a sense of irony: Thorne ruined his life and reputation, it's only fair Two-Face do the same

So TF and his minons raid a place where THorne has his most secure files, the ones that outline everything. YOu know your standard maffia macguffin. Bruce naturally shows up ... but tragically he can't help someone who dosen't want to be helped, a harsh lesson of the episode: Harvey is buried deep within two face, impossibly tangled with big bad harv. There's the possiblity he could become harvey again, but he has to want to. But all that's left in harvey is a want for revenge.

Batman does at least spot a pattern: all the clubs and establishments are two themed, and thus finds his hideout, Club Deuce. Unfortunately he's not the only one as Two Face finally decides to see Grace, who thinks the police would be genuinley invested in the health of someone with a mental illness

And triggers the signal. Grace almost gets through to harvey who starts out wearing.. this

Grace takes it off, almost convinces him to get help.. then Thorne busts in

Thorne manages to ransom grace so he can get the files.. and then plans to just shoot everybody because Two Face was stupid to trust him. Thankfully it's time for the bat to make his big entrance, and our hero, villian protagnist and cardboard cutout clean house. Well okay Grace takes out Candance as is standard catfight protocol, but props to her for contributing.

It ends with Thorne in a chadelear and Harvey about to finish this. Bruce begs Two Face not to as there's no coming back from this.... but Two Face dosen't trust int he law anymore and Batman certainly hasn't finished off this son of a bitch, so he plans to play count the bullets.

How Batman stops him.. is creative as it is heartbreaking. When Two Face flips.. batman dumps a bunch of other silver dollars, stolen earlier in the ep, in. Two Face is paralized.. and Batman and Grace are left to mourn what they've lost. The episode ends somberly. No one won here: Thorne is still out there, Harvey is in arkham.. and all bruce can do is flip a coin himself into a wishing fountain.. and HOPE his friend can one day recover. It's all he has left, the same cruel fate his friend is now servant to.

So as you can tell Two-Face is a banger two parter and one of Batman TAS' best. Moll is spellbinding the whole damn time, playing all three versions of harvey perfectly, while Kevin Conroy gets some graet acting himself in both acts, as Bruce trying to be supportive.. and as the Bat desperately trying to save his friend. It's tight, gripping and a masterpiece. Check it out now, thanks for reading.. and rest in piece Richard. Thanks for giving us so much joy, so much sorrow.. and so much of you

[taralen]

Love...

911 What's your emergency?

I want to know what it's like to feel loved romantically.

I have had at least one person, a girl I used to be friends with, confess she loved me, but I could not reciprocate.

I only like men, so I dated a man.

I thought I would spend a long time with him since we chatted for months before meeting in person. I felt his strong back and stomach and called him my dark angel. (Yeah, I know it's cheesy.) I loved the smell of his [[100% tobacco]] cigarettes, his cool smile, his long black hair, and how he played his guitar to serenade me. I slept in his arms, and it was chaste. We never went further.

I headed back home after two days of long dates and fun. I asked him over the phone: "So, are we official now? Are we dating?" 8^D He paused, then said, "Yes." I nearly screamed. I said "I'm so happy!" before getting off the phone and feeling Bliss (lol ironically his nickname. Hurr.)

I changed my Facebook status to "In a relationship." The girl who later confessed she loved me had an emotional meltdown even though I told her I don't like girls. Made me feel bad, but I don't know what she expected me to do.

However, just a week later, my boyfriend called me back and said he was breaking up with me. I didn't know how to react. We were bonding so well! I asked, "W-Why? What changed? I don't understand!"

He said, "It's me, not you. I'm just some loser working at a corner store here, never going anywhere, but you're in university and well-educated. You'll go places, I won't. I know you're concerned about my health, but I think I'm just naturally underweight. I don't know how to live without soda. I'm sorry."

I sat on my bed, floored. Who breaks up after a week? I told him I didn't care that he wasn't a college student and that he worked at a corner store! I apologized if I didn't meet his expectations, but I really wanted it to work. I asked if I was not attractive.

"Oh, no. You're hot as hell! But that's the problem: you're too good for me! You deserve someone better!"

Someone better? I told him that he was the only one I wanted, but he wouldn't believe me. TOO GOOD for him? Excuse me?

??????????

I cried when the call ended. For the first time ever, I was able to reciprocate feelings back, only to be dumped after a week. My friends and roommates told me he wasn't worth it and that there were better guys out there. They were probably right, but man did that sting.

Oh, if only he could see me now. He thought I'd be some BIG SHOT somewhere; he said it, not me!

If only he knew that we're not so different, him and I. Maybe we could have pulled each other up together!

So many people assume success rather than think of the possibility that something can go wrong. He imagined me in a fancy suit, lounging in an expensive car, not knowing that years later, I don't have my fancy suit anymore and have a used 2016 Honda Accord.

Can I ever find love proper instead of some strange parasocial relationship I have with some guy I watch on the internet who has no idea I exist? In fact, that's sort of waned now, too. Sad, isn't it? This moronic ex was the only one who approached me that wasn't just in it for sex. There has to be a nice man out there, one who can stand beside me and give me a reason to don my finest dress shirts, slip on some fancy shoes, and take my silk clothes to the dry cleaners!

Yeah, I know I'm crazy, but I take a cocktail of medications these days, so sweetheart, don't worry, I am here to play!

By the way, if you're a salesman, you immediately earn 10pts to my love meter. Eheheheh....... [[Yes, I really put this bit on a dating profile.]] HAHA. Still haven't had any luck yet! OTL

I CAN'T SEE OR FEEL ANYTHING WAHHHHHHHHHH

[[4.99]]

[askyourwritergrandma]

Hello there once again! @thewriterscoffee here

I was wondering if anyone had any advice for balancing the characters with the plot?

I know that characters are probably the most crucial aspect of a story and must not be overshadowed by the plot but how could one deal with the internal conflict of a character-especially if it deals with wild thoughts and mental obstacles, that are just as intense as the external conflict if not more so,-and artfully balance it with the external plot?

Especially for genres such as high fantasy where the plot and world building are crucial to the story and can very often take away from the character's internal conflict because of the more magical or dangerous stakes?

Hello there once again! @thewriterscoffee here

I was wondering if anyone had any advice for balancing the characters with the plot?

I know that characters are probably the most crucial aspect of a story and must not be overshadowed by the plot but how could one deal with the internal conflict of a character-especially if it deals with wild thoughts and mental obstacles, that are just as intense as the external conflict if not more so,-and artfully balance it with the external plot?

Especially for genres such as high fantasy where the plot and world building are crucial to the story and can very often take away from the character's internal conflict because of the more magical or dangerous stakes?

Hello @thewriterscoffee I literally have no idea how old this ask is because I've honestly not been able to drag my moldering corpse onto the internet for months. Life is a real pain in the ass sometimes, you know.

However, I do have some general advice for this.

This is just a matter of figuring it out as you go. Everyone balances the plot and characters differently especially in those genres that you're referencing because they have different goals. In plot-driven high fantasy the characters exist less to be real people and more to be ideas that support the central plot. Some effort might be made to make them more than an archetype or a symbol/stand in for an idea but also many times there just isn't any effort put in at all.

But you asked specifically about how to balance characters with plot so lets focus on that:

Type your characters flaws and goals to your plot. Say you need Grigori the Finest to overcome the Curse of a Thousand Years and restore peace and quiet to the Kingdom of Slumbertime. Grigori's emotional need cannot be to break the curse directly, but it needs to be something thematically similar and/or adjacent so that when he accomplishes the plot goal (Unleashing the Great Lullaby of Poppins the Merry) he is also fulfilling his emotional need and all of us reading get that big emotional pay off. So maybe Grigori thinks what he wants is to get everyone to take a nap so Master and Mistress Grouch will let him date their daughter Grouchella who he has been longing for since he first set foot in the kingdom. That gets him on the path to fulfill your plot. But along the way you're going to reveal that emotionally he just wants to be seen as something more than a stunningly beautiful man who clearly has nothing but naughty intentions on his mind toward women. He's tired of being this hot all the time, ok and he's not giving you a sexy look that's literally just his face. You also reveal that in order to accomplish his main goal (the Great lullaby) he is going to have to give up something. I mean his good looks here seems to be an obvious thing. But he stumbles along that path because he wants to be seen AS HE IS not to disfigure himself. This will somehow echo with how the curse got started in the first place? everyone's shallow? vain? arrogant? proud? naturally he's going to have a buddy or a love interest that is going to be there at the last minute to tell him that he is seen, valued, loved idk whatever he needs to hear in order to fling open the doors to the Music Room of Olde and wind the Music Box of Impressive Name.

Well great this sounds impossible but you wrote it like it's so obvious. Thanks for that, geez

Practically speaking you are either going to have to choose working on your plot or your character first. I always start with a character but that doesn't mean its always the best way to do it. High Fantasy is very much driven by a theme/message/plot. So start with the general emotion/feeling/mood/message/theme (whichever one you know at the start) and create someone that is as opposite of that as you can manage while still getting them to walk the path you need them to go. Don't be afraid to make them a little more opposite than you think you can handle at first.

Take your oppositional duckling and without thinking about why he is the way he is, just try to figure out how to get him to set foot on the path. Don't come up with ways for the plot to force him, don't just put him there and hope for the best, think what trigger does he need to get involved. Even if its not happily or willingly what would make him participate in your plot.

First step accomplished, you start building him from that moment. If he has to be promised a fat sack of gold, why does he need it? Why does he want it? If he has to be offered a pretty girl's hand in marriage, why is that? If you had to hogtie him and throw him in the back of a caravan of travelling bards, why did he not immediately kill them all upon escape?

As a general rule if you're writing something and you have a character doing a pivotal or important thing simply because you need them to do it for the plot to move forward you're writing to the plot and not the character. That's neither good or bad, it's just accomplishing a different goal.

If you're writing to plot, having your character hit the plot milestones because the plot said so makes sense and you have no issues

If you're writing to character, you need to hit the breaks and take the time to sit and really work out how and/or why the character would do this thing you need to do. It might be you've got a subplot that needs developing or that you need to tweak the plot a bit so that your character can follow it in their own way.

I hope that helps!

[sorcerous-caress]

I like to make all my Tav's co-exist, I have them "cover" The other companions if the current PC doesn't interact with said companion during that PCs playthrough. Ex: Kira wouldn't be that interested in talking to Gale during her playthrough, so in my Canon I'd have Khal'ian in the party to filter out information about Gale to Kira.

Basically, if that Tav/durge isn't the leader during that playthrough the others get delegated to be walking sparknotes, and or being a companion who's story plays out differently that time around.

As for Kira & Khal'ian, I don’t think they'd get along at first initially.

Kira is the type of person that loves to quickly get under people's skin to sus out their motivations and real personalities; To Kira how someone handles their rage speaks volumes.

She'd see Khal'ian shy/soft demeanor as a challenge to split open (her corruption kink coming in). She'd find cracks in his mask; find the pressure points that make him mad only to find that Khal'ian recedes into himself emotionally instead of getting angry.

Not the type to be dissuaded Kira would switch to trying to dig out secrets,but at the same time she'd find his distance an annoyance.

Khal'ian would find Kira irritating. Not for her remarks, he's heard worse from kin and the digging for secrets he could understand given the circumstances.

Khal'ian would hate how Kira uses her charisma, finds himself green with envy. He'd see how easily Kira can get others to believe in her character then see how instead of making connections, she uses that belief to tear them down. If he had half of her charisma, his life at the monastery would've been so much more bearable.

They'd only start being friendly with each other after fully observing how both sides fight.

Neither one of them can pinpoint which battle it was, but they noticed parts of each other that shined bright.

Khal'ian saw clearly how tactical Kira was in battle; to the unobservant eye it would seem that Kira floundered about like a tom-cat in heat, pulling random gambits out of her boot without any rhyme or reason.

But if he grasped her masks, pulled them apart and cut himself on their jagged edges. It became clear to him that Kira was a highly effective tactician, who calculated each detail down to the finest hair.

A woman who used her charisma to pull the worst out of people not to harm them, but to try to protect them from others and themselves.

It was effective.. but it made Kira seem very lonely as an end result. Khal'ian question her about it once and after the shock was done washing over her face, Kira spoke solemnly.

" Life at sea is hard and being a captain even more so, it's not all Tits n' Rum Khal. If I'm not careful enough with my plans, my own men would have my head on a pike before an enemy even reaches me."

"No, a ship needs a captain who loathes the sacrifice of even a single man. And in order for that to be a viable option, I need to know my crew inside and out; even if they curse me in the end, they'd still be able to breathe to do so.."

And she let out a laugh, one that seems to be too tired for a woman her age.

"Unfortunately for the group, that includes you little dragon. I'm starting to see you as my crew"

And as she sauntered off, Khal'ian swore that he would try and help that weariness, because unfortunately for Kira he's starting to see her as a friend.

I'll talk more about how Kira began to see Khal'ian differently in another ask, alongside talking about Issal ( My Drow Artificer). How she met Khal'ian pre-game, but she has to survive the first hour my Honor run first.

Wyll drabbles are fighting their way out of WIP hell

-githzerai anon

You really know your characters well and put a lot of thought into them and the world building! It's impressive

Good luck with the wip anon!

[tsuki-sennin]

Wow, Adventure Heaven! What a good movie I totally just saw! I liked the part where Moffun showed up and ate an entire box of Milk Duds, cardboard and all~! And the part where Racules spelled his name out in Romaji on a blackboard and it wasn't "Rcules" because goddammit that is fucking bullshit~!

Anyways, time for Episodes 24-26~!

Spoilers, I guess...

-I don't know why you seem so surprised about Dezzy blowing up the planet, Jimmy. I mean, have you met him?

-Gerojim! I missed you, yo!

-Ahhhh, so Tikyuu's already got its core science down.

-Oh!

-Okay, apparently bedrock just doesn't exist in this universe.

-"I will be king! And none will challenge me!"

-Spiders Jeremy comes to play the game!

-Grandpa putting you to bed.

-Jeremy hijacked the intro entirely for himself this time, okay!

-The king is boiling alive, and he hasn't even been coronated for a few days!

-Holy shit, 90%???

-Damn Yanma, do you not have liquid nitrogen lying around?

-...Rita, is there some secret stash of Moffun and Me merch hidden somehwere in this castle that Racules had? Are there Moffun Chunkopops?

-Three cities! For three baskets of crops!

-Oh, Gira...

-Boone...

-"How can you people party when we're all melting?"

-Matsuri, matsuri da~!

-...Tarou-san...

-"I know all about your stupid planetary genocide plan~!"

-Goddamn, Jeremy looks great in that torchlight.

-One of the best staples of any JRPG~! The festival sequence~!

-Gira-sama~!

-Have fun, my beloved peons~!

-Oh my god, the plushie's got his own Akracing (TM) Gaming Chair.

-

-AN ENTIRE SKYSCRAPER

-Oh you motherfuckers hjlkh

-Stupid carnies!

-Lunch time~! Lay it on us, K-Man.

-Utage ja Ohger Jumpscare

-Rita's so adorable in that outfit, holy crap

-"Get out there, boy."

-Dezzy's insight is rather surprising. Forced to answer for crimes he had no hand in while those who put his people there party above them...

-Ohhhh, those are simply lovely parallel effects...

-"I will be the pen that writes my tyrannical legend."

-"Ehh... idk, maybe this whole tyranny thing isn't working out for me."

-Th

-Awww, Douga :)

-Man, looking at the green screen for long is fuckin' with my sense of perspective.

-It's like if George Lucas directed a season of Power Rangers.

-"Oh, hey Jeremy :)"

-Jeremy...

-All this time...

-Big crawfish!

-Po boys for everyone!

-That boy can dig.

-"Anyone got any bright ideas?"

-Fishing!

-Okay, that is smart writing.

-Can't burn somebody already boiling alive.

-Now to plug all these holes.

-Oh Dezzy...

-Oh, goin' full King already.

-Holy shit, he tanked that.

-Idomonarak??

-Ohhhhhhhh

-Family...

-He's just shuffling on...

-And yet he hears nothing.

-OHHHH?

-Everybody!

-"The man who done fucked up."

-Go even further beyond.

-Oh

-Okay, that simple.

-Twenty guys.

-Ah don't worry, I saw the preview, you guys'll find 'em.

-GEROJIM

-DUDE

-"I'll handle this one."

-OHHHHH

-That is devious.

-:O

-Holy shit

-Testing a man's resolve so hard.

-"Serve your king. As the first of the Bugnarok."

-Chosen by the gods.

-Kofuki's unprepared.

-"...I'm starting to regret this idea now."

-King Nerd and his posse ride on!

-I see Himeno's retinue are quite resolute.

-Last meal.

-"My nasty-ass hands ask to be taken! Kuroda! Suzume! I beg of you!"

-Hello, Morphonia~!

-Kabedon

-Ohhhhhh the hug!!!

-"The will to succeed."

-Kuwagon...

-Thump!

-No more sacrifice plays! Only the finest perfect run here!

-Damn

-Boone didn't hesitate for a second.

-It's time for your advent, God King-Ohger!

-That is one huge son of a bitch.

-Long-ass jingle too.

-God descends, and they are a chimeric arthropod!

-Removed.

-Ikuzo!

-This is simply marvelous.

-"On your call, Ant Boy!"

-Ohsama Sentai! King-Ohger!

-Goodbye, Emperor Dethnarak.

-We saved the world~!

-...kinda!

-One last episode for this arc, of course.

-Ah yes, the best solution for racism. Genocide.

-"All the Bugnarok will die too, you moron."

-"Let's meet somewhere nicer. You can even borrow this if you want."

-Sweet prince Jeremy...

-Oh?

-"Hey, Arbiter! Can't arbit with goosebumps?"

-Ohhhhh

-I see...

-Oh crap, Himeno.

-OHHHHHH

-Those're the locusts!

-A pile of dead flies.

-Jesus Christ...

-Oh, already revolting.

-That is messed up, man.

-Emperor Dezzy's got a stummyache.

-Gerojim's a force ghost.

-Oh!

-It's a little guy!

-"Can you help him?"

-Dethnarak...

-I never expected much from him, and yet...

-Goddamn, this is some tragic-ass theming.

-"Get out of here! You stupid dumb animal!"

-They fightin'!

-"Look at how bright and beautiful the sun is!"

-Gira...

-Yep. We would've done the same goddamn thing.

-And we would've kept doing that same goddamn thing over and over again.

-Let it fall, buddy.

-We're doing it good!

-Oh

-Oh fuck you Kamejim.

-"Two thousand years of planning! Stoking the fires of prejudice, killing, stealing, lying, destroying. All down the drain!"

-What the hell is that

-"Be king. Let our people see the beautiful shining sun!"

-Dethnarak...

-Returned to nothing but cinders.

-Jeremy's fucking pissed.

-Time for everybody to play their part once more.

-"Now, what to do with you kids~?"

-Clocked

-Even at his last breath, Kamejim refused to get it.

-Goodbye, stinkbug man.

-The Bugnarok are heretofore recognized as their own domain.

-There's no need for hatred any more. Never there was.

-Man and bug. Hand in pincer, hand in wing, hand in leg.

-No cheer or joy. Just a message made clear.

-"Now, let's make a beautiful new story~!"

-Ohhhhhhhhh

-Ah, yep. Planet.

-I forgot.

-Alienses~!

-Galactinsects, they're called.

-Oh wow, a timeskip.

-WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH FINALLY!

-I'M CAUGHT UP!

-THE CURSE HAS BEEN LIFTED!

[princeofteevs]

1. If you were to sum up the objective of your religion, CREATIVITY, in one sentence what would that be?

    A. That objective would be: The Survival, Expansion and Advancement of the White Race.

2. Why is that so important?

    A. It is a matter of priorities. Our religion is based on the ultimate of all truths: The Eternal Laws of Nature. Nature tells each species to expand and upgrade itself to the utmost of its abilities. Since the White Race is Nature's finest achievement and since we encompass the White Race, there can hardly be any other goal that even compares in importance.

3. Isn't your religion based on hate?

    A. No, on the contrary, it is based on love — love for the White Race. Besides being based on the Eternal Laws of Nature, CREATIVITY furthermore is based on the lessons of history, on logic and common sense.

4. But isn't it part and parcel of your religion to hate the Jews, blacks and other colored people?

    A. True, but if you love and want to defend those whom you love — your own family, your own White Race, then hate for your enemies comes naturally and is inevitable. Love and hate are two sides of the same coin. Only a hypocrite and a liar will go into battle against his enemies proclaiming love.

5. But doesn't the Christian religion teach love and understanding, in fact, love your enemies, and yet it has survived?

    A. The Christian religion is a good case in point when we talk about liars and hypocrites. Whereas they talk about love, the history of the Christian movement shows that they were as vicious and brutal in savagely hunting down their enemies, labeling them as "heretics" and burning them at the stake, torturing and killing them, as are the Jewish communists of today. Were the Christian church as powerful today as it was 400 years ago, it would still be doing it. During the various Inquisitions, the organized Christian churches killed millions of their own kind for having insignificant differences of religious opinion. They killed Christian rivals by open warfare, by the rack, by burning at the stake and other grizzly and gruesome means. In fact, the Christians over the centuries killed and tortured a thousand times more of their fellow-Christians, than the Romans ever did in their supposed persecutions.

6. But wasn't this done by people who were not following Christianity's teaching of love?

    A. Since these killings, tortures, and persecutions were carried on by the highest leaders and authorities of the various Churches themselves, such as the Popes, by Zwingli, Luther, Calvin, etc., we must presume that the teachings of Christianity, which at best are ambiguous, contradictory and hypocritical, must be held responsible for producing these kinds of people and this kind of insanity. But if we turn to the New Testament, we find Christ himself dispensing such hateful advice as for example in Luke 14:26: "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother and wife, and children, and brethren and sisters, yea and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." What idiotic and destructive advice!

7. What then is CREATIVITY'S position on love and hate?

    A. We follow the eternal wisdom of Nature's laws which are completely opposite to the suicidal teachings of Christianity. Whereas Christianity says to "love your enemies" and to hate your own kind, we say just the opposite. We say that in order to survive, we must overcome and destroy those that are a threat to our existence, namely, our deadly enemies. At the same time, we advocate love and protection for those that, are near and dear to us — our family and our own race, which is an extension of the family.

8. How does this differ from Christianity?

    A. Christianity teaches love your enemies and hate your own kind, we teach exactly the opposite, namely hate and destroy your enemies and love your own kind. Whereas Christianity's teachings are suicidal, our creed brings out the best creative and constructive forces inherent in the White Race. Whereas Christians are destroyers, we are builders.

9. What do you mean by Christianity is a destroyer?

    A. Christianity teaches such destructive advice as "love your enemies", "sell all thou hast and give it to the poor", "resist not evil", "judge not", "turn the other cheek." Anybody that followed such suicidal advice would soon destroy themselves, their family, their race and their country.

10. If Christianity is as destructive as you say it is, how do you explain the fact that it has survived for nearly 2,000 years?

    A. Small pox has survived for longer than that, but the damage it has perpetrated on its victims has been devastating. Similarly, the creed and the church have survived for nearly 2,000 years, but the horrible damage it has wrought on the White Race is something else again. The Jews' primary objective in concocting Christianity was to destroy their mortal enemies, the Roman Empire. In this they were successful beyond their wildest dreams. Two thousand years ago, before the advent of Christianity, the Roman Empire had reached an astoundingly high level of civilization, art, literature, law-giving, road building, language, and in dozens of other fields that are the hallmarks of progress in the White Man's civilization. Beginning with the reign of Augustus Caesar, Rome enjoyed two centuries of peace and prosperity (known as Pax Romana), the longest such span in history. As Christianity spread, and more and more poisoned the Roman mind, the good Roman citizens lost touch with reality and their minds meandered off into the "never-never land" of the spooks in the sky, fueled by fear of that horrible torture chamber, HELL. The result was the collapse of the Roman Empire and the White Race retrogressed into chaos, barbarism, and a thousand years of the Dark Ages. Poverty, ignorance and superstition were rampant. Like a monster, the Christian church fed upon, and capitalized on these miseries. But the church itself grew fat and powerful.

11. Does CREATIVITY not believe in a hereafter?

    A. No, we do not — because there is not the slightest shred of evidence of any "pie-in-the-sky-when-you-die," nor, thank goodness, do we believe in "fry-in-the-sky-when-you-die."

12. What do you believe in?

    A. In order to get the full scope and breadth of our beliefs, you must read and study "NATURE'S ETERNAL RELIGION," and the WHITE MAN'S BIBLE.

13. What, in substance, is that belief?

    A. The aim of our religion, briefly, is promoting the best interests of the White Race, the highest pinnacle of Nature's creation.

14. Do you have a "Golden Rule" in your religion?

    A. Yes, we do have a Golden Rule in our religion, and it does not coincide at all with the Golden Rule generally accepted in the Jewish-Christian philosophy. Our Golden Rule briefly can be summarized as follows: That which is good for the White Race is the highest virtue: that which is bad for the White Race is the ultimate sin. See page 274 of NATURE'S ETERNAL RELIGION.

15. Don't you believe in the commonly accepted Golden Rule of Do unto others as you would have them do unto you?

    A. No, we do not, and the reason we don't is that when you analyze it more closely, just like many of the other shibboleths of the Jewish-Christian Bible, the so-called Golden Rule does not make good sense. To quote some examples: We would not treat our enemies the same way as we would treat our friends. Our relationship to our employees would not be the same as to our boss. Our relationship to our children would not be the same as that to our parents. Our relationship to members of the White Race would not be the same as to members of the black race, for instance and we would not expect the same kind of response. The numbers of examples that could be quoted are endless, and on closer analysis, it is a completely unworkable principle.

16. Do you have an equivalent of the Ten Commandments in CREATIVITY?

    A. We have the Sixteen Commandments which set forth the basic philosophy of our religious creed. However, our creed and our program are not limited to these 16 commandments, but the wider ramifications of our philosophy are spelled out in their totality in NATURE'S ETERNAL RELIGION, and this, the WHITE MAN'S BIBLE.

17. Upon what principles do you base the Sixteen Commandments?

    A. They are based on the most solid foundations imaginable, namely, the Eternal Laws of Nature. On page 26 of NATURE'S ETERNAL RELIGION at the end of Chapter 1, we have listed 24 observations and conclusions from the Laws of Nature. Most of our beliefs, creed, philosophy, and in fact, our total program, are based on these 24 observations.

[clover-mittens]

BLOODY HANDS

Arthur Pendragon x f!OC

Summary: Rabia came to Camelot with one objective, and that one objective only. Protect Merlin, yet that quickly proves to be a seemingly impossible task as that boy always finds some way to put himself in danger.

Words: 1.6k

next chapter ⎸ master list

Bloody Hands

part two: Finding the boy.

After staying at the beach for a few days, Rabia decided to make her way to the town to find a tavern or an inn to stay at. People were giving her all sorts of stares as she walked through the town. She knew she wasn't dressed the same way they dress around here.

Rabia's hometown is a lot more progressive when it comes to what is deemed appropriate since she's from an all-women elven village. People around the world still have no idea that elven people actually exist, but they do, even though they've been close to going extinct a few times. Rabia has been trained in combat from a very young age for this exact reason. Any weapon is deadly when put in the hands of Rabia or any woman in her hometown - which primarily is why she's here. A woman from Ealdor sent a letter to the elven town, asking for them to send an elf to protect and keep an eye on her son Merlin, all Rabia has to do now is actually figure out who Merlin is, which could prove to be a tough challenge. Camelot is a lot bigger than the young woman had originally thought.

As Rabia walked around the town, doing her best to ignore the looks she was getting she stumbled upon a tavern, hidden nicely in an alleyway that leads to the town's center. "Good morning!", she says, announcing her presence to the elderly man behind the bar. The man looks like he's been through hell and back - a traveler. The tavern is currently empty, but that's because everyone in town is out tending to animals and farms. "Your finest room, please.", the tone in her voice is joking, there obviously isn't a fine room in this tavern. This is the rundown side of the town, the part of the town that's hidden away in alleyways, shops that don't get the same attention, love, and care as all the over shops.

"Never did I ever think I'd see an elf in my tavern.", he says, catching Rabia by surprise. As she opens her mouth about to deny it, he cuts her sentence short. "Oh don't worry, as a magician your secret is safe with me. We gotta stick together.", till now Rabia didn't know how the town felt about magic, but apparently not well at all. In fact, any sort of magic had been banned by the king long ago.

"How many are there around here? Warlocks and witches I mean."

The elderly man shrugs. No one could ever know for sure how many magicians truly lived in Camelot. Even a man as wise as Alvaro could never know with certainty. "Now, about that room; follow me, please.", Rabia did as told, following Alvaro up a few sets of stairs, leading her to a small room at the end of a hallway. Inside the room, there's a window pointing towards the center of the town. "That window, right up there.", the elderly man says, walking to the window, and pointing towards one of the castle windows. "That right there is Gaius' chambers, he's the court physician. You'll find what you came for if you go to him."

The young woman was beyond confused. How did he know her intentions of coming to Camelot? "How?", she didn't really need to ask, he's a warlock so however, he did it, he'd already found out what Rabia's purpose of coming here was. "Actually, never mind, I'd just have to take your word for it. So before I go - how much do I owe you for the room".

"Not a dime. Like I said; we've ought to stick together. Now go on."

Rabia's shoes clicked against the ground as she made her way up the stairs leading toward Gaius' chambers. Her small, rough, yet feminine hands knocked on the wooden door - when getting no reply she decided to just walk in. A wonderfully messy room meets the woman's eyes. "All this equipment.", she whispers to herself as she takes in everything around her carefully. Rabia lightly runs her fingertips over a few books before she stops at one of them. A magic book - laying out in the open. How careless could he be?

The young woman's head snaps towards the door as it's opened. She quickly hides the book behind her back. "Who are you? And what might you be doing in here alone?", it's a young boy who immediately makes Rabia's eyes widen. Merlin. Rabia and the other women in her hometown are all prime protectors. Anyone with knowledge of her people and village knows that there are no one better to recruit.

"Um... I was, as a matter of fact, looking for Gaius."

Merlin steps closer to the woman, closing the door behind himself. "Yeah? Well to me it would look as though you're stealing. Now answer me truthfully or I'll have no choice but to call for the guards."

Rabia let out a sigh, putting the book back down on the table. She didn't need it, she just had to be sure that whoever entered was someone with the power of magic. "I wasn't stealing, I swear, I was making sure no one came in and saw a magic book laying around."

"You can read that? The stuff in the book.", Rabia nodded, taking Merlin by surprise. "I guess that's all fine and dandy, but who are you?"

"My name is Rabia, I came to Camelot to look for Gaius, he's a legend and I want to work for him.", the young woman lies. Merlin can not know that she's actually here to take care of him for his mother. "So, where might he be?"

In all honestly; Merlin had no idea. Gaius was usually in his chambers, but not today apparently. "He should be back soon.", the boy sounded unsure and quite confused, yet Rabia still took his word for it. At least she now had a reason to spend time with and get to know the young warlock. "You can wait here.", Merlin wanted to get to know more about Rabia. It wasn't ofter he came by a real witch - or what he thought to be a witch.

"So-"

Before the woman even had a chance to talk, she was interrupted by the door yet again being opened. Merlin quickly pushed the magic book, along with a few others, off the bench and onto the ground. "Merlin! Where have you been? I've- oh.", Arthur hadn't expected to ever see the young maiden again after she'd upped and left the beach, but here she was, standing in front of him in her revealing black dress. Around her waist hung a scabbard, containing a beautiful sword with flowers carved into the side. "Sorry, Merlin, I didn't expect you to have company."

"He didn't expect it either - Rabia Thunder, herbalist. I've come to Camelot to hopefully work for Gaius.", her words take both of the boys by surprise.

"He's already got me."

"Yeah? Well, I guess I've traveled this far for nothing, what a shame."

"NO!", both of the boys exclaim in unison, making the woman chuckle. Arthur had just noticed her a few days ago and she'd already managed to become the one thing on his mind, the fact that she was standing right there was enough to pique his interest enough to not be able to let her get out of his sight. "Erm... I bet Gaius could use another assistant, the one he has now is highly stupid."

Merlin shoots the young knight a wide-eyed look. "What did you come here for anyways, Arthur? If you came to insult me-"

"I didn't actually. My armor needs shining.", Merlin sighs before excusing himself and leaving the room. Arthur says behind for once - odd, he usually never stays in Gaius chambers when Merlin leaves, but as a knight, he can't just let a stranger stay alone in here, what if she did something? At least that's what he told himself. "So Rabia, why would you wanna work for Gaius? And at my father's kingdom at that."

Rabia shrugs. She had heard about a physician in Camelot who helped the birth of Arthur the great, but never would she ever have known that he was Gaius till now. "He's quite a legend, you know? It's been a life dream of mine to work for a man like him."

Arthur doesn't buy the young woman's story. No herbalist needs a sword like that, or the bow and quiver hanging on her back either. "And the weapons? I'm surprised the guards even let you up here with all of that. And I'm afraid I'll even have to confiscate  them till I know you're not here with ill intentions."

"Are you kidding? If I wanted to kill anyone here I would have done it already. You don't get this kind of sword if you aren't worthy of it.", the young woman protests, but Arthur's not having it. He's enjoying her fiery voice though. Arthur shrugs, holding his hand out to receive her belongings. "Fine! Don't lose them, they're important to me, got it?", Rabia got her first real sword when she turned thirteen and later got the flowers carved into it when she turned eighteen to celebrate her becoming an adult. The bow was one she got from her mother when she was just ten years old. Her mom thought it was important that she knew how to hunt, just in case she ever found herself out in a forest with nothing to eat and no village close.

"I wouldn't dream of it."'