#my guess is shes practiced most in healing magic i think

[zickmonkey]

I made a new self insert

[strawberrybasilsorbet]

Jilytober Day 11

Missed yesterday, but I'm hoping to go back when I have time! In the meantime, here's my try at today's @jilytoberfest prompt:

October 11th Prompt: 🎶“Uncovering feelings unfound”🎶 - Out of the Blue by Katie Pruitt

Lily peeked out from behind the corner of the cricket shed before surreptitiously lighting her cigarette. Smoking wasn't prohibited, but her break wasn't officially supposed to start for another twenty minutes; it had only been thanks to some fairly pitiable wrangling — and a promise to take on her Friday shift — that Anne had agreed to cover the last hour so that Lily could decompress.

Closing her eyes, Lily leaned her head back against the shed and sunk to the ground, taking a long drag. It was only half-past noon, but some blokes had made a mess of one of her tables at the pub last night, and she hadn't finished closing until after one in the morning. She was already looking forward to sinking into bed.

In the distance, she heard a splash and a shout. It sounded like some kid had flipped his canoe again. She snickered a little; Anne would definitely be more annoyed about switching shifts now that she needed to get her hair wet.

It had been a long summer. Seventh year was going to be expensive — she'd need money to pay the application fees if she wanted to try for a Healing apprenticeship, to pick up a set of dress robes for the Leavers' Ball, to make a deposit on a flat rental after she finished Hogwarts — and Lily was trying to save as much as she could. Most mornings, she got on the bus for her day job at the nearest holiday camp, only to take the 5pm back to Cokeworth, eat a quick supper, and start her evening shift at Oscar's pub. Lily didn't mind hard work, but after six weeks of both jobs, she was beginning to feel run down.

At least she didn't have to spend much time at her own place. Between Tuney's sniping at home and Sev's lurking around the park, hoping she'd forget his horrible behavior at school now that his pack of Death Eater-wannabes wasn't around, it was hard to get a moment's peace.

She took another drag. Maybe she could talk Oscar into putting her on the early side tonight. He owed her, after the amount of mopping up she'd done yesterday...

"There you are, Evans!"

Lily jumped and opened her eyes. She thought she'd heard...but that made no sense...

"Potter?" She blinked. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Improbably, James Potter — wearing a fairly convincing set of Muggle clothes, although his orange checkered polo shirt clashed horrendously with a pair of short, salmon-pink trousers — was striding toward her from the nearby woods, looking far too cheerful for the August heat. "Looking for you!" he said affably. "It seemed a nice day for a visit, and we'd been getting on well this summer, so I thought—"

"Potter, I'm at work." She stared in surprise.

He had the grace to turn a bit sheepish. "Oh, I'm sorry, Evans," he said, looking around. "Is now is a bad time?"

"No, I just—." Lily blushed. She'd given Potter her address earlier this summer — only so he could practice with the Muggle post, of course — and suddenly, she realized that she'd been writing him rather a lot.

Potter made a surprisingly charming pen friend. His letters, full of witty jokes and updates about his summer with his mates, were a welcome connection to the magical world and a relief from her tense avoidance of Sev and Tuney. More than once, she'd found herself looking forward to reading them as she came home from the pub, or scribbling quick replies by wandlight so she could get them in the mail before she caught the morning bus to camp.

"I just — how did you get here, anyway?"

"I stopped by your house," said James, shrugging. "Remember, you gave me your address? Someone — I think your mum? — answered the door and said that you were here." He still looked abashed. "I guess she might not have expected me to come by, but she said you might not be home until quite late, so I thought—"

"That's alright—"

"I can visit another day—"

"No, it's really okay, Potter," said Lily, who by now was quite red. Somehow, it wasn't the fact that Potter had showed up at her job, but the unflattering color of her uniform swimsuit that was on Lily's mind. She hadn't brushed her hair this morning, and she'd been sweating in the heat... "They're not too fussy here, and I'm basically on my break, anyway. It's nice to see you." She took another drag on her snuck cigarette, trying to look a bit less flustered. "You just showed up a bit out of the blue, that's all."

"Literally," said Potter, with a playful smile. He gestured toward the cloudless sky. "Stashed my broomstick in the trees back there."

She groaned theatrically at the terrible wordplay, knocking him with her shoulder. "Too scared to take the bus, Potter?"

"Oh, certainly. Petrol is too advanced for me, I'm still grasping bicycles."

She grinned. She knew perfectly well that Potter had likely passed his Muggle Studies exam with flying colors, as he did most of his others. "If you stick around until 5 o'clock, I'm happy to show you the ropes on my way back to Cokeworth."

"Gladly," said James. He peered curiously around the shed, taking in the archery setup, large lake, and row of cabins just beyond the cricket field. "What do you do here, anyway?"

"It's a holiday camp," Lily explained. "Families come to play games and get away from home for a bit during the summer."

"They don't holiday abroad?"

"God, you're posh." Lily rolled her eyes. "Why go to France, honestly, when you could stay at camp and win the donkey derby?"

"The what?"

"Exactly what it sounds like," said Lily.

"I have to see this. You run a donkey derby?"

"Not me personally," Lily said, giggling. "I'm hopeless with animals. I mostly serve lunch or take shifts dragging the little kids out of the lake."

"Why are the kids in the lake?"

"Oh, we do canoeing on one half and swimming on the other. Except sometimes the canoeing turns into swimming, because there's always some troublemakers flipping their boat on purpose."

James grinned. "Good for them."

"I'm appalled," Lily replied. "Are you trying to make my job harder, Potter?"

"In this weather?" said James. "Nah. I'm giving you an excuse to cool off, I expect."

James's eyes flickered to her swimsuit and quickly away. Lily swallowed, suddenly wishing she'd finished her shift after all. "I'm tied up tonight," she said, "but if you were to come back another day...if I took a night off from my evening job, I mean, and you wanted to go for a dip?"

James looked up. "Yeah," he said, a bit too eagerly. "Just because it's so hot, I mean," he said, smoothing out his tone. Lily noticed, amused, that his voice had suddenly got a bit deeper. She put out her cigarette, noticing that her earlier exhaustion had vanished.

"Well, alright then," she said. "It's a date." James gave her a dimpled smile. She hadn't noticed how sweet his smile was, before.

Where had it come from, this strange new fondness between them? Was it a fleeting thing, driven by Lily's exhaustion and James's boredom — destined to fall off with the autumn leaves when they returned to school, and to the old habits of their old stomping grounds? Or, maybe, could their letters be turning into something, well...a little bit more, maybe, lasting, or...

"Can anyone come to these holiday camps?" James asked, interrupting Lily's train of thought. "Because if donkey derbying is allowed, I want to kick Sirius's arse."

Lily threw her head back with a laugh. "With a day pass," she told him, "but if you've got a connection on the staff, she can probably sneak you in for free."

[terresdebrume]

Nobody sent me a prompt but I've still got images in my head that want out. Consider this my writerly equivalent to those sketch dump posts artists make about a specific AU without particularly intending to make anything bigger with it x)

"And this door leads to the private quarters. You shouldn't need to use it until Mr. Payne is done building your room, but should you need either of us, he's on the left and I'm on the right."

Curious, Crystal waits for Mr. Rowland to move on to the sparse washroom and hidden bed they keep for clients in need of protection, and opens the private door. It leads to a small-ish antechamber with a low ceiling, no windows, and one door on either side. The one on the left is a solid slate of pale grey wood, the silvered handle carved in the shape of a quill, Mr. Payne's tastes decidedly different from that of the wizards she'd met before. On the right side, Mr. Rowland's door is a pointed arch, made of a much darker, sort of reddish wood. The wood panels surrounding it are carved, intricate geometrical shapes sending shadows playing across the wood.

Behind her, Mr. Rowland clears his throat.

"Sorry," Crystal says, not quite as sorry as her expression makes it look. "I got curious."

"Can't really blame you for that," Mr. Rowland says easily, "Mr. Payne is very skilled with his enchantments."

He must be, Crystal thinks. She's a sorcerer, that much they determined, which means her magic is probably a lot more chaotic than Mr. Payne's, and she probably couldn't replicate what he did to this place. On the flip side though, it means she doesn't need her memories to realize this entire place is absolutely soaked in magic. Screw the innocent little cottage look: every knick knack, every piece of furniture, even the windows and the changing stained glass around their frames: everything make her skin tingle with magic, and the most surprising part is that almost none of it seems to have a practical purpose.

She didn't spend a lot of time with Mr. Payne: as soon as Mr. Rowland brought her in, the wizard took one look at her and went "Really, Mr. Rowland? Weren't you the one who requested a holiday?" And then he listened to Crystal's explanation for about five minutes before he made some noise about needing some proper research material and set off for the Grey Wake academy. That, as far as Crystal is concerned, was enough to establish his type: bookish, serious, blunt to the point of rudeness, and extremely disdainful of anything he seems irrelevant. Not the type, or so she thought, who would enchant a bookshelf so it plays harpsichord notes when you tap it with your fingers, or makes sure the tiny animals in his window panes can move on it like they're a field.

"How long have the two of you been working together?"

"Exactly?" Mr. Rowland asks, looking up at the ceiling as if in question.

He's not a bad looking man. Too old for Crystal, who looks and feels like a teenager, but a good looking adult nonetheless. In his... What, thirties? Forties? She gets the impression it's hard to guess with adventuring types. Too much healing magic, probably. Anyway, the point is, Mr. Rowland is looking up at the ceiling with a pensive expression, dark eyes shining with the hint of a smile, one hand on his hip and the other on the saber that doesn't seem to leave his side, and if he were about half the age he is Crystal would seriously consider making a move on him.

"About twenty years," he says at last. "Depending on how you count."

That is the weirdest way he could have worded it, Crystal thinks. But then again, she supposes after twenty years with the same weird wizard, the man was bound to be a little weird himself.

[crimeronan]

In titan P!Luz AU, in the scenario that Amity, Hunter, and Lilith do manage to escape to the Owl House (pRolOng ThEiR GriEf yyeeeSS >:)), how would Eda even deal with this? She’d understand how serious the situation is, but let’s say Luz does come back RIGHT in the middle of the Owl House, now looks like a humanoid version of King, and Hunter won’t let go of her while she’s like I need to go kill Belos RIGHT NOW.

i just showered and spent the entire time still thinking about this timeline because i love SO MUCH that it's like. a hunter extended grief spiral to match luz's over in the worst timeline. WHEEEE BE MISERABLE ABOUT EACH OTHER !! YAYYY

so.

antics in the owl house.

lilith is transparently coming apart at the seams, given that she's just lost her status AND any chance to heal eda's curse. amity is responding to this by scrabbling even harder for any bit of control she can get, which typically involves yelling at hunter and/or lashing out at hooty with her abomination magic.

and hunter is.... well. hunter.

so. eda is like well. we're all gonna kill each other eventually!! ah well. the world's gone to hell. this might as well happen . I Fucking Guess

at first hunter responds very similarly to the way he does in ftf -- after amity refuses to let him go martyr himself, he THROWS himself into making plans to attack belos. however even with all his castle knowledge and belos knowledge and wild magic knowledge, it's Pretty Fucking Difficult to assassinate the emperor. particularly when you are Public Enemy Number One.

after frustrating himself about a dozen times in a row, hunter starts digging through all of eda's books on wild magic and deeply illegal dark magic and other bullshit. eda assumes it's for more emperor-killing business, until hunter comes to her all like

hunter: owl lady.

eda: ....yes??

hunter: you know things about curses, don't you??

eda: well. some. obviously. you want to curse the emperor?

hunter: no, not that. it probably wouldn't take. i want you to curse me.

lilith, who was previously pacing around the kitchen, zipping into the room: hello. What.

hunter: there are Apparently curses that can take away a person's emotions. that'll make it easier to work without distractions. let's be practical about this

eda: ....those curses aren't a painkiller, kid. you wouldn't be able to feel anything positive, either. that's not the kind of life you want to give yourself

hunter: i don't Need positive feelings to get this done. i'll be able to remember my pre-curse priorities without any feelings getting in the way. as far as i'm concerned there's nothing but upsides!

lilith: cursing someone isn't something to undertake lightly-

hunter: wow! there is literally no one else on this island whose opinion i care about less than yours. anyway. eda, are you going to help me or not.

eda: ....not when you just lost someone, i'm not.

hunter, voice breaking: no, wait, please. Please. listen to me. i need to stop thinking about her. i'll do anything. i'm open to other solutions, i just - please.

eda: well, i'm not using a cursed solution to your emotional problems. that's a non-starter. i CAN get you really drunk, though. do you want to get Really, Really Drunk??

lilith: EDALYN-

eda: WHAT. it's not like drinking can make him feel WORSE.

hunter: actually. yeah. yeah that sounds great. probably the most useful thing short of a coma right now, so.

amity, muddy and covered in goop, coming in from where she's been outside wrestling hooty for like the tenth time today: if hunter is getting drunk, i would Also like to be drunk. just so everyone knows.

lilith: .....titan help me. fine. Fine. pour me a glass too. it's not as though anything matters anymore!!!! haHA!!!!

[rainbowxocs]

"I don't know, stitchin' the microhemmorages in my brain back together? Unless you're a magical brain surgeon, I don't think you can help. And yeah. I guess, if you don't mind."

He chuckles.

I actually am trained in most types of medical practice due to my previous work as a hero. And if I can’t do it, someone I know can. You’re standing in one of the greatest hospitals in the world at the moment..

Not- to brag or anything.

It sounds like a bit of a brag, He shifts back into a more serious expression afterwards though. He debates on whether or not he should let the mask slip a bit, and he decides it might be best to.

It’s a very long story. I’m not going to bore you with the full details. But essentially, before I dedicated my life to helping people I was an absolutely horrible person.

I don’t mean that in a self deprecating way. I was not a good human being. I had convinced myself that I mattered above all else. I killed people, I hurt people, I did anything to give myself more power.

My hubris, of course. As it always does. Caught up to me. I was cursed by the gods and thrown into the River Styx for several hundred years, I don’t take this word lightly. But when I crawled myself out of that.. horrid.. place I.. was insane..

Unfortunately, I came back to earth at a time where people didn’t see me as someone who needed help but as a monster that needed to be trapped. And so, I was imprisoned. They had never seen something like me before.. I was tested on.. and you.. can imagine it wasn’t.. ethical..

I managed to escape that place, and thankfully.. I found someone who showed me mercy.. and gave me a place to calm down from my- near constant psychosis..

I consider her a grandmother. She is part of the reason why I made this place. I don’t want to trap people or to hurt them or to bend them into what I want them to be.. I just want to help.. I want to give people a safe place so they can heal..

That’s all I want. I know I am known as a bit of a liar. But I mean that with my whole heart.

[punsmaster69]

11/FEB/20XX

got to practice my healing magic some more today as frisk continually papercut themselves during the construction of a heart garland.

"starting to wonder if that paper's red from paint or your 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 at this point, kiddo."

"I'm not bleeding 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 much."

frisk re-did a section they messed up from being cut, extra careful not to get sliced in the same way twice.

"so..."

"you just make these garland thingies for every holiday now, huh?"

turning to look at me, expression completely unchanged -

"Yes."

they answered confidently.

"..all right then."

they put glue around the edges of a paper heart and dipped it in glitter; repeating this process until they had however many shiny hearts they deemed 'enough'.

by this point, i'd already come to accept the glitter that was going to be everywhere forever.

that stuff doesn't come out of carpet well.

however, apparently me staring at the glitter going everywhere gave frisk a terrible idea.

"Hey, Sans. Look at me for a second."

i did.

i shouldn't have.

with a handful of glitter, frisk blew as hard as they could to coat my face in a glittery pink.

". . . ."

they couldn't stop laughing.

i took what i could off, eventually sure i had to have gotten most of it.

there was a knock at the door.

"Hello, Sans."

"I am here to pick Frisk up."

"Waitwaitwait, I'm almost done! Give me like five more minutes?"

"...Alright, five minutes it is."

"Me and Sans will be outside chatting in the meantime."

"Got it."

frisk sped up their paper-snipping.

"don't cut yourself again in the five minutes i'm not with you, ok?"

"I haven't cut myself THAT many times!"

"...."

".....Okay. I'll be more careful."

me and tori stepped just outside the door. the weather was just cool enough to still be pleasant.

she looked at me and started to say something before pausing.

"..Your eyesockets are looking quite glittery today!"

"."

"it's."

"it's still there??"

"If you mean-"

"the glitter."

"..Yes, it is."

"goddamn it."

"It is not a terrible look."

"thought i got all the glitter out. thought wrong, apparently."

"How did this happen, anyway?"

frisk would definitely get in trouble if i told toriel they blew glitter in my face.

i rejected that avenue of petty revenge.

"fell asleep without realizing i went face-first into the stuff."

"I see."

"If you are really so determined to remove it immediately, perhaps we could try some tape."

"worth a shot."

frisk looked confused when we re-entered the house.

"It hasn't been five minutes yet. It's been like... three and a half."

"I'm extending your time a bit."

"SICK! For how long?"

"..However long it takes to remove glitter from this skeleton's face."

"Oh."

tori poked around the room for some tape.

confused as to why they weren't being scolded, frisk gave me a questioning look.

"(didn't tell her.)"

"(Why?)"

"('s not a big deal, so why bother?)"

"(..Because you didn't want to bother.)"

"(yup.)"

"(Should've expected a lazy reason for it.)"

"If not here, where might you keep your tape?"

"oh, i think i had it in my room."

"..What for??"

i remembered taping things to a certain card.

"probably broke something. who knows."

"Alright then, I suppose."

"Is it alright if I go in your room?"

"yeah i- uhhhhh."

"actually, hold on."

opening and closing my door behind me, i looked around my room. no way in hell was i deep-cleaning the place, but kicking loose clothes under my bed and straightening the sheets a little was a start.

and by start i mean

"good enough."

then i opened the drawer that valentine's junk and the tape dispenser were sharing space in.

"ok, you can come in."

i kicked the drawer shut. tori entered and closed the door behind her. she looked around and inspected the bed for a moment.

"It is much nicer with a frame, is it not?"

"pretty cozy, i guess. still breaking that habit of flopping onto the floor though."

"Is that what that is for?"

pointing to a light i'd attached to the bottom of my bed.

"to remind me my bed's raised."

"Smart solution."

"May I?"

glancing at my bed.

"go ahead, but fair warning that my sheets'll probably make you smell of funky skeleton odor."

sitting down on the edge of my bed, she laughed.

"I do not mind 'skeleton odor'. Whatever it is that entails."

i sat down next to her.

"so, uh."

"you turnin' me into a tape mummy for this?"

motioning for me to turn around, toriel guided my head to her lap.

"...what's-"

tape was suddenly pressed into my left eye socket.

"....."

"no warning, huh?"

"Sorry. I figured you had understood where this was going."

"well i... certainly understand 𝘯𝘰𝘸."

the experience of having tape put 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 my sockets wasn't any less bizarre and slightly jarring than the experience having tape pulled 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 my sockets, but i think i'm pretty much glitter-free. at least she was more gentle from then on.

when we exited my room, i noticed frisk suddenly had headphones on. i tossed the ball of glitter-coated tape at their head to catch their attention. it bounced onto the carpet. they looked up and took off their headphones.

"Oh, you done making out?"

"Frisk! I was not 'making out' with Sans."

"she was helping me undo 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 mess, y'know."

"I thought you said you fell asleep in the glitter?"

"......"

frisk's face begged me not to tell. once again, i set aside the easy revenge.

"yeah, i did. anyway, you better take 'em home before they sparkle up the place any more."

frisk swept their paper and glitter mess into their bag and hopped up from the floor.

"Did you finish your creation, my child?"

proudly unraveling a glittery paper-heart string.

"Yup."

"It is very pretty! We can hang it up when we get home."

they swung up the front door and darted across the lawn to hop into tori's car.

toriel stopped for a moment, pausing to lock her eyes with mine. with a quick glance backwards to see where frisk was, she bent down a little to raise my hand to her lips.

"returnin' the favor?"

"It is only fair."

she gave a hopeful smile.

"You will visit me on the fourteenth, will you not?"

"..yeah. 'course i will."

[aangarchy]

Netflix atla live action review ep 7-8

Home stretch baby. I figured since i love the source material i should just be able to enjoy it, or at least be entertained by it somewhat. But even that was just not possible. I pirated it after the first three episodes just bc i didn't want to give netflix the satisfaction of a view.

It's not so much the acting, the costumes or even the bad/mediocre cgi, it's the writing. It's an absolute shitshow, a mess of the highest caliber. For someone who claims to love the source material, it really seems like Albert Kim didn't understand why a lot of the things in the original worked the way they did. Things that are important for character growth got removed, and lore that we normally don't see til later on in the show (or even in a completely different story within this universe!!) got crammed in. For no good reason too bc it doesn't really add anything, just gives us another obstacle or useless exposition that's supposed to explain another useless thing they added.

Both of the last episodes take place in the north pole. This makes sense somewhat because in the original all three of the last episodes took place there. The reason they did this in the original is to have room for all of the stories that still need to take place (pakku, zuko, spirit world, koh, waterbending training, sokka and yue etc.) However in this version, even though minutes wise we have more time, we have less story. Like way less. Also episode 7 proportionally is much shorter than 8 and it really gives issues with pacing.

Let's start with what annoyed me most. Where is the waterbending training? Where is it? The season's title is Water and Aang bent ZERO water this entire season unless he was in the avatar state. Katara "trains" yes, but it's mostly practicing moves she found on the scroll (which gran gran just gave to her? Why didn't this woman give it to her sooner???). She gets NO guidance from anyone, and the way she gets better at bending each time is because a BOY told her encouraging things. A BOY. In the OG we get Pakku saying "raw talent alone is not enough", which makes sense because bending in this universe is an extension of martial arts, and you have to train to become good at martial arts. This LA show however treated bending like a magic power, basically giving some mumbo jumbo about balance and a clear head and think of the people you love to become a better bender. And while yes, your mental headspace also is important (as highlighted in the original where zuko couldn't bend anymore bc he had no aggression left) it wasn't the only factor, it wasn't even the main factor.

When we arrive at the North Pole, Pakku and the chief of the North both expect Aang to help with battle strategy in order to stop the attack bc they're already aware it's coming. Aang tells them he doesn't really know how (wtf were they even expecting it mean that is a whole 12yr old) and they turn away going "guess we can't count on the avatar" like? Dude?? If they have such good intel that they already know the fire nation is preparing an attack, and that the Avatar is alive, how tf did you not hear that the Avatar is also 12 years old and far from a master of the four elements? Idk this weirded me out.

They removed the deserter episode, which means Aang doesn't renounce firebending, which means we get no storyline of Aang dealing with his conflicted feelings surrounding firebending because fire gives life, not just destruction. Katara also doesn't find out she can heal naturally. We just get told that healing is just a thing all waterbenders can do if they train for it. Katara's necklace has no significance at all in the story currently. Yugoda doesn't recognize that Katara is Kanna's granddaughter. Katara's gran gran being from the north originally doesn't play part in the story at all. Katara doesn't even once utter the words "this necklace used to be my mother's". Idk why that bothers me so much but it does. They also removed her rage at not being allowed to fight. Sure this show's Katara also goes to fight Pakku, but literally everytime she speaks she just sounds reasonable. She fights him not because she's So Enraged at not being allowed to become the master she's meant to be, but because the script demands it. She says it so matter of factly too. She's like a mellowed out shell of who Katara is supposed to be. I feel like this overall for her character in this show btw. I don't blame Kiawentiio bc i saw clips of her performance in other works (anne with an e notably) and she's good. This genuinely just seems like poor writing and directing. They removed all of Katara's passion. She's not warm, she's not feisty, she's not angry, she's not nurturing, she's also not flawed at all. I hate to say it but in this version she's giving Mary Sue, especially bc she just learns waterbending on her own, and then gets called a master out of nowhere. That's not how that's supposed to work. You're supposed to earn the term master.

Let's talk about Yue. Amber Midthunder is a great actress, but damn, that wig. Their budget was over 100 million dollars and yet they couldn't give my girl a lace front? Her wig was so structured and stiff, and if it were any other context like cosplay or a drag show this would have been perfect. Now it just looked really unnatural and instead of the hair being platinum it was gray. Yue's character got given more to do here. They changed the story to have her break her own engagement, but it's implied that the reason she did this is bc she met Sokka in the spirit world and... fell in love? Idk it was a bit weird. Both Suki and Yue were inexplicably entranced with Sokka. In the OG it's implied that Yue likes Sokka bc he's so different from the boys in the north, kind of like a city girl falling in love with a country boy. But here it feels different, he doesn't stand out at all compared to the other boys, and Hahn isn't a dickhead like the OG. I will say i like that Yue is a stronger character here. She takes charge of her own destiny and she is the one to realize that she can save the moon spirit, and wasn't told by someone else that she could do it. I am confused by them making her a waterbender, but i'm not mad at that change per se. I liked her sacrifice scene, her own acting was great. Sokka however... i genuinely burst out laughing, like so loud. The zoom in on his face, the expression, it was too much and too little at once. Overall, Yue's story was okay. Was it better than the original? Debatable. But it wasn't bad and that's a win.

We get Avatar Kuruk way earlier than we originally got him. I'm still kind of confused about the whole "you can talk to past Avatars but only in their shrine with their statue" thing, because if that's the case how in the hell is Aang ever gonna ask advice from Roku (or Kyoshi, since the writers clearly have a bias towards her and want to make her the main Avatar guide ig) without having to travel all the way to the shrine? Can they only talk in the one specific shrine or can we take a miniature set of Avatar action figures with us just in case we ever need advice? Also this lore abt the shrines and statues is flawed at best bc later on Kuruk shows up for Aang during the fight, while they're not present at the shrine. Either way, Kuruk was far from the go with the flow Avatar he was characterized as in the original. I know that we got some insight into Kuruk's story in the Kyoshi novels, and turns out it's a lot darker than expected, but Kuruk never let that change his character. He always remained chill, or at least kept up the facade, and i don't think OG Kuruk would be the type of man that is angry about how his life turned out. In this version, Kuruk is this scared, mean, bitter man who is really unsatisfied with his destiny, which he lashed out at Aang for. He seemed really angry at Aang to for no good reason. We're also not supposed to know this part about Kuruk's life yet. It's too much information and de waste time learning about his life story, the only reason we learn it in the first place is to explain the Special Spirit Killing Knife. Also the actor for Kuruk.... yikes bro. Idk which hallmark movie they pulled him from but he and his stupid polar bear hat looked like ass the whole time.

So there's this weird part about Kuruk having a Special Knife that is able to kill spirits. Idk if this is a thing from the Kyoshi novels that also made it into this show bc truth be told i haven't made it far into those novels yet at all, but it was strange to me. Somehow Zhao has this knife. We don't know how he ended up getting it (did the fire sage give it to him? I didn't see it but i might have missed it) and we pretend that this is the Only Thing that can kill spirits even when the spirits are mortal. Doesn't that negate the fact that the spirits are mortal, if they can only be killed by a Special Knife? Also there's this weird convoluted part about how the spirits actually live in the spirit world and only cross to the physical world once every ice moon to know what it feels like to be "mortal" and choose a different "mortal" form each time and this time they happened to be fish. But still, they can Only Be Killed By The Special Knife. Huh? What's the purpose of this added extra lore? I saw someone say the underlying point is that it shouldn't be this easy to kill spirits but.... that's the whole idea behind the Ocean and Moon spirits having permanent mortal forms? Them being mortal and choosing a form as insignificant as a fish, constantly circling each other to represent the precarious balance between Ocean and Moon, a balance that can be thrown off very easily. The whole point was that they're fragile so why add all this extra exposition for no reason? Why make the spirits harder to kill if in the end you're still just gonna have a guy stabbing a wet bag and not some rough spirit killing battle?

Zhao also just gets told by the fire sage that killing the moon is a thing he can do. I don't like what this changes about Zhao's character. Zhao is supposed to be this cunning man. He's scary, determined, strategically inclined, but alas overconfident and willing to go too far which ends up being his downfall. His ambition is what led him to do his own research by visiting a spirit library to find any weakness he could potentially exploit, and that's precisely what he found. In the original, Zhao always fought for his own career. His own accomplishments got him the tools to try and beat Zuko in the Avatar race. But in this version, Zhao just keeps getting handed things. He's a slippery snake that plays friends with Zuko and then tries to steal the glory from under his nose. He gets handed the archers, he gets handed the information on the moon spirit, he gets handed a war balloon (which completely ruins the surprise of the fire nation suddenly having air power at the invasion), and he gets helped by Azula of all people. It makes him look a bit chumpy in this story, and it really worsens his villain qualities.

On a completely other note, this LA seems to have a thing for making adults yell at a 12yr old Avatar for leaving the world behind, and it doesn't make any sense, because in this story Aang left on Appa for a joyride to clear his head. Aang didn't purposely leave. He had every intention of returning after an hour. Yet every adult in this show, even the past Avatars that know damn well Aang didn't flee from his responsibilities, yells at him bc he accidentally got encased in ice. And somehow this Aang gets made to feel worse about it than OG Aang even though he deserves it way less bc this Aang didn't actually run away! I don't like what this changes about Aang's character. In the OG, Aang has one fatal character flaw and that's avoiding responsibility. He runs away, and has problems with taking accountability for what his actions cost the world. He goofs around, plays games and likes to have fun to avoid having to face his destiny, all while carrying the guilt and blame for the century war. It's a huge part of Aang's character journey. The guilt he feels isn't misplaced bc Aang knows he ran off, and he knows that the world is in its current state because of his decision. In the end he takes responsibility by showing up to the fight with Ozai alone. In this LA, even though by all means Aang shouldn't feel responsible, he ends up taking responsibility right away. He goes to Kyoshi Island, not to goof around and ride giant koi, but because he knows he can talk to Kyoshi there. Kyoshi yells at him for leaving (again, why? She knows he didn't run away) and gives him a vision about the watertribe getting destroyed. Instead of panicking about it (like OG Aang did after finding out abt the comet) he just accepts that he needs to go and help. And while this Aang does get to have fun moments (i especially loved how in the first episode he sees playing watertribe children and immediately joins them, that was quintessential Aang), he just seems very down and serious a lot of the time. He's scared of people getting hurt and is very worried abt the safety of his friends to the point where he agrees with Pakku and tells Katara she shouldn't fight. It's not Aang at all bc OG Aang was rooting for Katara when she fought Pakku. To sum it up: i think the casting for Aang was perfect. A cute southeast asian skater kid that loves to have fun and genuinely just looked the part? Brilliant! I am genuinely not upset at Gordon's performance at all (although sometimes i wish he'd enunciate a bit better). But the writing messed up the character so much that i couldn't even feel the joy for having the perfect looking Aang. I will say Koifish Godzilla (Koizilla if you will) looked dope. What did confuse me abt the Koizilla scenes is that sometimes there was no music (which is a choice i often like bc it gives the scene extra gravitas) and then sometimes there was a majestic score playing in the back, like they couldn't choose how they were gonna execute it and just picked both. I know that's nitpicky but it bothered me nonetheless.

Speaking of Koizilla. Wtf was that thing they added about Aang "succumbing" to the ocean spirit and being "lost"? They didn't even explain it at all, but both Yue and Iroh talked about how Aang would be lost forever now. We don't get a why, we don't get a how. And "lost" is such a vague word for it too. Like would his spirit be lost and only his body remain? Would he be completely swallowed up by the ocean? Would he remain Koizilla, forever rampaging at the ice wall? They added this for extra tension i guess, but it doesn't really work when only minutes later Aang is able to return no problem bc Katara talked him out of it, so we don't even get to find out what "he'll be lost forever" means. Also: the scene with Katara talking Aang out of it was cute, but the execution was weird. Originally Katara gives this speech when Aang goes Avatar state at the southern airtemple. I like that they still kept Katara's speech to Aang bc it highlights their bond which is especially important for later on in the show, but I don't like how now Katara had to give this really heartfelt emotional speech to Aang in front of everyone else at the northern watertribe. It's supposed to be quite an intimate moment between her, Sokka and Aang as a new family, they're supposed to promise they won't let anyone harm him, which eventually calms him down. Here though Katara's just yelling these words at him in front of everyone and all the intimacy is gone. It also doesn't work as well bc we barely got any time of the gaang bonding. They spend episode 3-6 apart most of the time, so really they shouldn't feel this bond towards each other just yet. Because this LA removed a lot of the side adventures, we don't get the feeling that these kids have known each other for months.

Another thing they removed is Appa and Momo as characters. In the original they each get their own moments, we even got one whole episode with Appa as the main character (which won an award btw). Here though, Appa is solely used as a transportation animal and Momo... honestly i don't even remember what he does but i think it's mostly a small comedic bit? Also he hands the acorn to one of the characters. This is a bad change bc in these episodes Momo gets hurt so bad he nearly dies, and it has no emotional impact at all bc he's just an accessory in this story. I felt no emotional attachment to Momo and he just has no personality. I wonder how this choice is gonna play out when we get the kidnapped Appa story bc so far it's not looking good.

Anyway, for positives. I warmed up on Dallas's performance a lot, i wasn't that mad at Ian Ousley's performance and there were moments where he genuinely made me laugh. The cgi for the creatures was decent, but for the backgrounds it looked horrible. I liked that they showed how devastating the Seige of the North ended up being, with the unnamed kid and Hahn both dying. I liked the effect showing those two had on our main characters. I liked when Aang, Sokka and Katara all worked together taking out that one firenation ship. I liked the way they showed Sokka and Yue bonding. I really warmed up to the costumes as well, i still wish they dirtied it up a little to make them look less new.

There's probably some more positives but they're really minor compared to the negatives and also my brain is just done atp. I'm never gonna rewatch it for more analysis either bc i don't think i'll survive it lol. I might make another post abt my opinion on the show as a whole? Like an overall summary? Bc this shit is VERY long and i do apologize. If you made it this far, uhm. Thanks for caring abt my opinion so much that you sat down for like 10 minutes to read my angry yapping? I appreciate it.

Anyway bye

[vivi-the-goblin]

Oh hey I actually made a thing again, who would've thought. I've been making some stuff for a new adventure, trying to make the monsters in both 5e AND PF2e. Gonna start doing that from now on, best of both worlds I guess. It's my first ever PF2e monsters though, I hope you like! Here's the associated video first.

The Priest I think has the most interesting abilities despite relative simplicity for a spellcaster. The area I'm putting him in has an effect that randomly swaps the party members around every round, which combined with his ability to swap with other party members will make for a fun fight. I know some of his spell list isn't divine, and there's a reason! He's a devout of Sivanah, whose domain is all about secrets and illusions and tricks. In 1e her illusionist followers were said to mimic divine healing using Shadow Magic. Shadow magic's gimmick is that disbelieving it makes it barely real. I wanted to reference that here, he's actually an arcane caster able to mimic Divine Magic. This includes his "Belief Manifest" ability, basically allowing him to replicate any spell as long as the target believes he can do it.

The Oilslick Spiders you may remember from last year, I touched them up to be a bit more interesting. Nothing too special though, I was mainly just practicing using a monster I'm familiar with.

And here's Amy, the wildfire witch! She was kicked out her town as a child for being an uncontrollable little wild magic sorceress, but now she's back and out for REVENGE. On the first version, the "miraculous escape" is for lore reasons and help her reach stage 2 later in the path. Originally when the priest tried to kill her, her wild magic kicked in to warp her away at the last second. So she developed magic to recreate that moment if neccessary.

In the big version, the "new enchanted form," she's all about that AOE and burning difficult terrain. I really like wildfire primal mages if you haven't noticed. The 5e version is focused more on slowing the party, the PF2e version is focusing her efforts on setting everything ablaze. Less outright danger, but good luck if you go down with that persistent damage. Did mention I got the idea of this adventure from Aviator's Scarlet Vow? Inspiration can come from anywhere! Especially from Aviators, an artist I've followed for...11 years now, holy shit. Somehow still hasn't made a song I didn't like.

[dolceaspidenera]

Vesuvia Weekly: Apprentice and LI Dynamics

Decided to throw my hat in since I came up with so much material in my head about my apprentice, Venere, and then realized I never posted anything, poor girl has been sitting on the bench for so long like “Am I a joke to you?” 

@iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia Thank you for coming up with these prompts, I had fun doing this!

(I also mixed a bit of poetry in these hcs because I love it so much. Unfortunately, I suck at it, so don't mind too much of what I call my wordy farts)

VENERE x JULIAN – In a nutshell? The overly flirty, bisexual disaster that we all know meets a very practical and unimpressed girl (also, tall lanky man x small menace). What could go wrong?

A whirlwind. She’s swept away by it. Masks and play, it’s easier that way.  A feverish dance, a push and pull, like sea waves.  Backtracking, pacing, restlessness. The mind never stops and thinks and thinks and thinks. Where do you see value? You should leave but you are under my skin. Chasing shadows, facing gallows He can only be a martyr, the guilt takes its toll as the bell tolls  The rope is made of faults and the executioner is called love.  Now there are more hurts, and another love turns into flaming anger. How can she make him see? Gentleness, understanding, calm. We are in this together. Always.

Julian enters her life like a hurricane and turns it upside down. She is swept off her feet by his energy, but she is also sharp enough to see through him. 

They have a rocky start. Julian is kind of intimidated, kind of intrigued, obviously his answer is to double down on the flirting.

Venere is… You guessed it: unimpressed. Don’t be fooled though, she is actually quite charmed, she likes Julian, but she needs her time to feel comfortable around new people. In the meantime, she has one of the biggest resting bitch faces ever.

Most of their early interactions involve Julian aggressively flirting and Venere blushing internally while exteriorly maintaining a deadpan expression.

Julian inevitably starts to question everything; does she find him so ugly? Does she find him annoying? Should he hide in the hole and never come up again? The poor man doesn’t know what to do.

Once they clear the air and Venere feels more comfortable, is when her true character starts to shine. She is passionate and has a fiery temper, which is good most of the time, but also means she tends to react with anger to upsetting situations. Julian is much better and practiced at controlling his anger and is a good counterweight to Venere.

This is also when the table turns and Venere starts shamelessly flirting with Julian. The poor doctor is a blushing mess.

She is ready to give him an earful whenever he is acting foolish, and she is not afraid of calling him out on his bullshit, but she also learns to be very patient with him. She is determined to make him understand that he is loved, and she is always there to remind him of what an incredible, beautiful man he is.

He teases her about her magic jargon, calling it her whimsical gibberish, she teases him for his medical fancy terms and most of all his unreadable writing. 

When it comes to their respective work fields, they had to learn to communicate effectively; Julian is more comfortable with tangible and concrete things, while Venere tends to think in more abstract ways. Over time they learned to come together and communicate clearly.

They are actually a very good team. Venere is trying to implement Julian’s extensive knowledge of medicine with her magic, making medicines more effective and trying to come up with spells that can accelerate the healing process.

She is much more introverted than him, so she is always happy to let him handle social situations and let her full glorious resting bitch face shine while he charms his way out.

Their differences in social battery also mean that Venere needs her moments of solitude to recharge. The first few times it happened Julian panicked; was it something he said? After a much-needed conversation, he understands. Now, when she needs time alone, he goes to the Rowdy Raven or stops by to see Portia and Mazelinka.

Venere loves singing and dancing and Julian often accompanies her with his vielle. There's always music in their home.

After a period of travel, they settle down in Vesuvia and adopt a dog. Venere takes over her magic shop and Julian opens his clinic.

Their favourite moment is in the evening when, after a day of work, it’s finally time for a long, relaxing cuddle session. Julian wraps his arms around Venere and gives her one of his all-encompassing hugs and they snuggle on the sofa. They always say they’ll go to bed early but end up falling asleep like this.

RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER CHARACTERS:

ASRA 

Complicated. Abandonment. Hurt. Mistakes. Easier to run, easier to avoid. She doesn’t understand. He doesn’t know how to explain.  The past is a heavy burden of memories forgotten and others that would have been best to let rest.  Only a half of what once was whole, but what has been broken cannot be repaired, you learn to live with what remains. You learn to live again.

Her relationship with Asra is very complicated.

There were a lot of hurt and misunderstandings. He kept disappearing without explanation and she never understood.

But the truth runs way, way deeper.

After everything is out in the open, they have many conversations.

After clearing up everything they share one of those incredibly rare and deep friendships.

They are family. They will always be there for each other and always root for each other happiness.

NADIA 

Loneliness. The princess is trapped at the top of the tower, but the dragon is in her head, the dragon is everywhere around her. Judging eyes, power struggles, impossible expectations, who can you trust? Elegance, perfectionism, strength, intuition. She is many things, but most of all she is Nadia. Most of all, she needs someone to see it.

Nadia is… Well, she is Nadia! She is awesome!

Venere’s first impression was of someone very lonely. Although a bit intimidated, she took a liking to her very quickly.

In time, they cultivate a very profound friendship.

They chat about magic, and Venere always knows who to ask for fashion tips. 

Most of all she knows who to turn to when she needs sound advice.

She has deep admiration for Nadia, she doesn’t know how someone can always look so perfect and in control and make appear so easy everything she does. But she is also there to remind Nadia that it’s okay to slip occasionally, and letting go sometimes feels good!

MURIEL 

Gentle, coy, reserved. Violent scars on a delicate soul. Does a tree make noise when it falls in the forest? It’s easier to forget but if everyone forgets, were you even ever there? Long silences can become deafening in loneliness. And yet, when you start to listen you realize there is so much more life around you. Small details you usually don’t catch. It’s always in the details.

Muriel and Venere have one of those friendships that don’t require many words. They are content to spend time together, enjoying each other company in a relaxed silence.

When Venere needs some reprieve, she knows she can accompany Muriel on his walks around the forest and she loves being immersed in nature.

Venere adores Inanna, she gives the best belly rubs to the best of girls.

They spend time enjoying the quiet of Muriel’s hut and he allows her to feed the chickens! One of Venere’s favourite activities.

If someone bothers Muriel, despite Venere being much, much smaller than him, she is the one to fly into a rage and put the offender in their place. Has anyone never told them not to provoke a magician?

Venere often comes to visit him and brings him lots of baked goods to taste. She is still learning to cook decently, so not everything comes out exactly as intended. He still eats everything without batting an eye, probably to be polite.

PORTIA 

Bubbly energy. Movement, flow, a tidal wave. Hunger for adventure, but she is always left behind. There is worth in the work you do but sometimes the work becomes all you are worth. There is more under the surface, you are allowed to slow down. You always have value.

Portia is Venere’s adopted little sister. She loves her energy and positivity and is always happy to pass the ball when Julian needs a good kick in the shin.

They have a book club now. They take it very seriously and religiously make time each week to sit down together to discuss stories and characters.

To the delight of Julian, Venere teaches her magic. He has a small panic attack when she accidentally sets a tree on fire. Luckily, Portia is an eager student and recovers very quickly without further fiery incidents.

In return, Portia tries to teach Venere to bake, with varying degrees of success. She is trying, okay? Luckily, most of her culinary experiments are still appreciated by Julian, Asra and Muriel.

When Portia feels like going on an adventure, she always knows who to call for. 

LUCIO 

Cold metal spikes all around. Hurt others before they can hurt him. Mistakes, regrets, there’s much to learn. Pride is always the mask shame wears, covering itself with sparkly meaningless. 

Let’s say that she doesn’t take well of Lucio hurting her loved ones. When she discovers what he did to Julian she is furious.

In an alternative universe, she would be more than happy to be his friend. She believes in second chances and respects his willingness to be better.

Lucio ends up relying a lot on her when he makes an “Opsie” and needs someone to help him fix it.

With time, he gets better at handling his mistakes and learns how powerful accountability can be.

She isn’t one for big parties, but the rare times she needs some tips on the subject she can always count on Lucio.

When she needs to let out some steam, she knows he is the guy to go to. He has always a good monster on the list ready to chase, or some other adventure to go, Portia can come too!

[scribeofskyrim]

Middas, 18th of Last Seed, 4E 201

Good gods, I need a bath.

I woke up and I ache all over but worse – I smell like a bucket of mudcrab shells and fish heads that got left out in the sun.

That would be the blood, I guess. I didn’t sleep in my armor, but I know I’ve got… Stuff in my hair. I was too tired to clean up much last night, so I’ll have to ask Gerdur where the bath house is.

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

There’s no bath house.

Not just in Riverwood, but… In all of Skyrim. Bath houses aren’t a thing here. She said there were hot springs in places, but that’s it. You either bathe somewhere outside – the water has little bits of ICE in it – or you bathe in a little wooden tub with water you heat over the fire.

Luckily, she took pity on me and kicked the boys out while we took turns with the tub. She was intrigued by the idea of bath houses, though. Hopefully I convinced her to build one.

At least now I’m presentable enough to sell off the loot I gathered and get myself something to eat. I don’t want to impose on Gerdur any more than I have to. I’m sure I can get some real clothes and some warm gear to keep out the chill. She offered me some of hers, but I assured her that I had plenty to trade for my own. Besides, I’m not built for this climate. I’m sure the thin cloak she offered me is enough for her, but it felt like a bedsheet to me.

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

So… Today was eventful! I’m writing this from somewhere on the mountain on my way to Bleak Falls Barrow.

When I left the house I found a dead body wearing fancy clothes laying the street. People seemed understandably shocked, but for the most part left it alone. I took everything I could off the poor man and headed to the blacksmith.

His name is Alvor, and we made some small talk while we traded. Nice guy, if a bit rough; he offered me the use of his forge should I need it. He explained to me that Gerdur’s family founded the town a long time ago.

Once I was outfitted, I went to the Sleeping Giant Inn for some food. The lady who ran it (I assumed) was yelling at the barkeep about the ale going stale. Guess what I did not order.

I just bought an apple, instead. I asked about the alchemy table in the corner and Orgnar, the barkeep, said I could use it so long as I picked up after myself. Told me a little weed and blisterwort makes a healing potion! I’ll have to try that out.

There’s not much growing wild in the City, so while I’ve always been interested in alchemy, I haven’t had much chance to actually try out ingredients or make potions. I’ve been trying my best to grab whatever ingredients I can get my hands on since I escaped. Now that I could actually make something out of them…

Let’s just say that alchemy’s not for the squeamish. Good thing I’ve got a cast iron stomach! Years of eating the “Forever Stew” growing up saw to that. Thank you, Miss Agrippina. You taught me not to be picky, and you’re why I ate a spider egg, along with a lot of other things, with my breakfast.

After I made as many potions as I could, I chatted with Orgnar a bit more. He said that there was a little kid in Windhelm trying to contact the Dark Brotherhood! Why would a kid want to hire an assassin? Did a bully steal his sweetroll?

I asked him about magic and he told me about the College of Winterhold. True to form, he scoffed about magic blowing up the place.

Why do they only think of magic as something that explodes? I learned how to use Flames as a child, but I mostly just used it in the kitchen. Using it in the streets will get you arrested, so I’ve not had any real practice with it until I got here.

Oh, before I forget, I picked up a copy of Sparks, so I learned that one and I can do a bit of lightning damage, now!

Anyway, the lady's name is Delphine. She seems suspicious of me. I can't blame her. An Imperial asking about magic after what happened at Helgen? She’s another sharp one. She’d already heard about Ulfric’s escape, and is convinced the war will get worse.

I left to go unload the rest of my loot at the Riverwood Trader, and walked in on an argument. The shopkeep and his sister, Imperials, were arguing about a recent break-in. She wanted to recover what was stolen, but he said it wasn’t safe.

The man, Lucan, told me that the thieves made off with only one thing: a figure of a dragon’s claw made from solid gold! He offered a reward for its return, so I agreed to help get it back.

I know, I should be getting to Whiterun to talk to the jarl, but cities are expensive and I know I don’t have enough money to find a decent room once I get there.

We made our deals, and the sister, Camilla pointed out the way to Bleak Falls Barrow, where they believe the bandits are hiding.

Yes, the same way the dragon went.

I sold off the potions I’d made, but I wanted more, so I took some time to gather ingredients. I ran into a wood elf named Faendal. He made no secret of his dislike for Sven. Sven’s been sweet-talking his crush, Camilla. According to Faendel, Sven’s a lazy, self-styled bard who slacks off in his work at the mill a lot.

Faendal asked me for help wooing Camilla, and while I normally don’t like getting mixed up in relationship drama like this, I couldn’t help myself. Faendal wants me to give Camilla a fake letter from “Sven” that he wrote, so of course I said yes.

I mean, can you blame me? It’s just too juicy, like the trashy street plays the buskers put on during lunch back home.

I ran into Sven later at the Inn while I was making potions. He’s actually not half bad at music. Not half good, either. He’s got that annoying, cocky attitude that you see a lot in bards. It’s like being overconfident and boastful about your skills is a requirement.

I was tempted to show him the letter from Faendal, but then he started talking about Camilla like she already ��belonged” to him. She “just has to realize it.”

Gross.

Faendal talks about Camilla like she controls the stars. I mean, she’s got fire in her, I give her that – Willing to haul her ass up here all alone and fight off who knows how many bandits to get back the claw for her brother?

I’ve met three women so far in Skyrim, and even though Camilla’s an Imperial, this place must grow them different.

I’ll give her the letter when I return with the claw. She deserves better than Sven.

I told Gerdur I was going to help out the Valerius siblings, so she gave me a waterskin and more food. She understood my motive, too. It was wise to get better equipped and fuller pockets before setting out. She’s not too confident about the Jarl, though. He's in over his head and trying to stay neutral, but that won’t last long. 

After that, I started on my way up. A wolf came at me, but I set it on fire, then cleaved its skull open as soon as it got in range. I’ve never done anything like that on my own before, and it was like time slowed down. I didn’t even have to think. I just – Killed it.

Not far past the wolf I found a little tower on the side of the path. The snow got heavier, and I saw two men. I approached unarmed, hoping they were friendly, but one man drew his weapons as soon as he noticed me.

So, I backed off. I could have probably snuck past them, but it was getting late and I needed to rest and find shelter. He put his weapons away and I decided to try the bow I’d picked up. He was too far for my flames to work, anyway.

You can’t really practice archery in the streets, not unless you find an empty alley. I’ve never fired a bow before, but as it turns out, I’m not too shabby at it! The first guy went down easy, but he didn’t have a bow. The second one did, but I put my last arrow into his brain.

I guess all those nights playing darts paid off!

I took what I could – Found a knapsack on one, which is a godsend because I couldn’t afford the big backpack in town – and went into the tower. It was pretty sparse, and I thought I was safe until I ran into another man at the very top!

I’d smartly switched to my axe and flames earlier, just in case, but - Why do they run right into the fire? It’s fueled by magicka but it’s still REAL FIRE. I axed him as soon as he got in range, just like I did the wolf. 

I found a decent amount of food in the tower, along with some gold and a warm fur cloak. There was even a chest up top, but they hadn’t bothered to lock it.

I’ve set up camp inside the top level. It’s a small tent, but it should do well enough.

Time for sleep. 

---

Back | Next

[valeriefauxnom]

Euden's Disregard of Self - A Comprehensive Analysis

I think we all came to learn very, very quickly just how far and how often Euden will go to prioritize others over himself. So for this next rant-nalysis I'd like to address the dragon in the room of the most obvious of Euden's problems that serves as the core to most of the 'whys' he has his other problems. Consider this a sequel to part one of my completely unprompted deep-dives into Euden here!

In any case, yadda yadda, this is very long, here's a cut...

Ahem. Back to Euden. So, I'll start this off by noting that this is far from a new thing for Euden. One of the very first conversations in the game has Zethia commenting that perhaps the only reason she's good at healing magic is because Euden gives her 'so much practice'. To which I ask: so much practice how? Despite Euden occasionally being a bit mischievous and getting him and Zethia to sneak out of the castle, he's largely been confined to the castle and Sol Alberia at large. Either he had a strong tendency for clumsiness or otherwise is accident-prone, but darn. How much trouble can you find as a child prince in a castle?

Regardless of how, though, he has. And while it might've been innocent stupid fun back in childhood days, as a young adult, Euden hasn't exactly learned much.

Even as early as chapters 1 to 3, Euden makes it clear he can and will push himself beyond common sense would tell one to rest/stop, a thing that actively endangers his life.

This continues into events. All in all, Ranzal puts it quite succinctly himself in the very first event in describing his pattern of behavior:

I know early on, Euden was often ragged on for appearing to many as a generic do-gooder selfless hero, but I think he holds more interest than that, even before the whole identity crisis started getting underway.

Specifically, he's a deconstruction of what being an outrageously selfless person actually is and does to those around him. Even his behavior in his backstory essentially amounts to forsaking most all ambition in his life (though not letting himself be incompetent or a burden as that would be 'bad') as to try and preserve harmony among his family.

Again, though, present day Euden is quite the source of worry and panic for others. Gala Sarisse's story has him collapsing outright from likely overwork-induced illness. Once Cleo notices he's not keeping up the appearance he's perfectly fine, what does he do?

Is it A: Acknowledge he could use a breather B: Alert somebody that he feels faint or C: Spend his last conscious moments insisting nobody 'fuss' over him in the interest of morale? If you guessed C, you are unsurprisingly correct.

I think this is a nice segue into part of the reason why it's such a big problem for him and everyone else: it's bad enough he's so set on pushing himself so hard for everyone 24/7/365, he desperately tries to pretend he has no problems because of it. He conceals infirmity, claims he's fine when he clearly isn't, pushing himself even further beyond just in that extra effort to refuse to show weakness.

Like sister, like brother, as a very similar scenario pops up in Gala Luca's story. Every single human in the Halidom is incapacitated and only getting worse. It's far from mere personal weakness at that point. Surely that would justify a bit of rest now that you can soothe the self loathing that you're being weak? If nobody else can fight whatever is going on, why do you think you can?

And yet, Cleo quickly needs to resort to threats to physically stop him from attempting to join combat, much less even sitting up. Mitsuhide gets an honorable mention in that she convinces half the castle before Euden finds out to give him a metaphorical heart attack solely just to try and take care of himself more and be more selfish.

All in all, I think it explains a great deal of the more excess protectiveness the group has for Euden. Aside from being their leader, he's well-established that he's not going to take care of or protect himself adequately, and so they are forced to pick up the slack to keep him alive and well. I believe me or my friend once called them his minders, and yeah. That about sums it up. That and 'living child leashes for the toddler who keeps gunning for the antifreeze'.

Because when he's left to his own devices, even things as simple as trying to peel vegetables turns into orders from him to rest before he faints of blood loss. He just does not stop at any reasonable point regardless if his task is peeling veggies or saving a village.

He's a veritable menace to himself, and the others know it. Whether it's Euden throwing himself into blows for others or trying to keep every emotion he thinks isn't fitting for a leader locked down tight, Euden cannot, for the life of him, save himself. That's where they have to constantly step in to create this pseudo-Ouroboros: Euden saves them, they save him, and they can only hope that they can do so in time so the snake keeps on spinning in a loop.

And he, on some level, seems to understand his flaws and the dangers they hold. He sometimes seems like he's actively preparing the others for his own death, even in chapter six when he's telling Notte to get ready to flee with the civilians, or chapter 10 where he stresses that the fight is getting serious and might take real sacrifices including himself. Then there's exchanges like this which pop up in places like Elias' story of all places.

It's clear he more views himself as the latter in his understanding of royalty. He's coldly resigned about being 'bricks' to the future, both of his family and nation, and treats himself accordingly. In Euden's view, it's more important to use his life to protect others rather than himself.

All this is a lot of hullabaloo detailing the exact lack of self-respect and willingness to take care of himself in any capacity, but I'm also going to draw attention to how his friends react to this.

While they largely have thrown up their hands in trying to get Euden to change his selfless habits and have resigned themselves to being damage control and voices of reason, they do still understand and treat Euden's behavior as a problem.

I think it's one of the smaller underlying threads in the main story, for instance, especially after Euden forcibly calls attention to just how destructive and dangerous his tendencies are after 14 and doubly so after 15 with lines like this.

Heck, even before they had some understanding, as when Euden first starts to fold to Morsayati's offer to possess him Ranzal accuses him of "losing the last damn marble rolling around [his] head". Which. last. I dunno, to me it implies some understanding that Euden isn't exactly 'healthy' in mindset, since the typical phrase is 'lost your marbles'. Euden understands, too, he's not exactly doing the best, judging by his 'I'm fine...for now. It's the best I can do' comment. And what do they do with this?

We immediately see Ranzal, in chapter 17, contemplating leaving the party, not for good old JRPG party fight reasons born of misunderstandings and miscommunication, but because he understands how much everyone is piling on Euden's plate. So much, in fact, he's growing worried the plate will break even more than it already has started to fracture, and he hopes removing the burdens he's placing on Euden would ease the pressure.

Chapter 18, of course, brings Luca's scene with Euden. What's the main focus of that conversation, (questionably winter-ready clothes aside)? Trying to insist to Euden that he is allowed to not be 100% all the time, and encouraging him to rely on them. To be a bit more invested in pursuing more personal desires aside from 'saving others'.

Even in chapter 19, Chelle steps up to the plate in this scene:

Chelle, spymaster always looking for the truth and details, understands well enough even in their short time close together that Euden was teetering on a precipice from which there might not be a return to offer him a last-minute out. She's concerned enough about whatever behaviors he's been exhibiting on the side or those others shared that she's offering to throw away the answer to a subject of great interest and one they've spent valuable time and difficulty on reaching this point.

This is getting way too long already even if I said this would be comprehensive, so I'll try to wrap it up here soon. Still, I think it's interesting how a not-insubstantial amount of time was devoted to showing the darker consequences of Euden's personality and slowly trying to give him therapy.

As a last note, I'd like to point to the JP only story writers' (there were 3!) interview here. Standard disclaimer I do not understand Japanese and am relying on translation, but I think this is pretty clear cut in this instance given the consistency and clarity of the themes they are discussing.

In it, writer Muneyuki states: "...I was conscious of writing a story about Eudiel (Euden's JP name), who realizes that even though he lost his title as a prince, he was still loved by everyone and seen as a person." and later that "I hoped that users would sympathize with and be encouraged by the sight of Eudiel starting again as a 'human' instead of a prince."

While it's not quite directly related to the essay before it, I do think it shares a connection to my points above. For all of his life, Euden has taught to put others above himself, whether it be for friends, his country, or his family. He's cultivated a huge mess of tangled issues about how he derives his own self worth in others, the 'duty' to be as perfect a leader possible to live up to his luminaries, and generally be the face and heart of a ragtag group of people trying to pull together a country in war. During the story, all that shatters as one piece of glass hits several of these tangled knots in one go.

Now he had to start finding an answer for who he is aside from his relations to others, what he wants. An identity aside from being a prince in service to others. Maybe, if I'm stretching, something beyond his compulsory self-sacrificial tendencies potentially sowed and wrought by virtue of being the selfless part of a god's heart. He's having to develop into his own person who can live for himself.

And that's the crux of his issues that were ultimately a surprise to no one. But they stuck around to protect and guide as they ever-so-slowly tried to encourage him to that better frame of mind and behavior because they cared. In essence: yet another of Dragalia's themes was 'the slow burn of trying to get someone recklessly self-destructive to stop and live for himself'.

In short short: Dragalia is about self care and learning to love yourself. It's just too bad it takes so much to get there, but I suppose to get to a peak there's a long steep climb, huh?

[dragongutsixofficial]

Whenever I work with Byleth I have her be crap at magic.

Couldn't tell you why, I think she's quite good with everything else. Preference for the swords. Her being crap at magic just speaks to me I guess. She tries so hard at white magic though. All she wants is to be able to help her kiddos if they get hurt! She does get it eventually, but it is a struggle to get there. It'd be her budding talent I guess.

So anyway I was curious, how's Siyn on the weapons aptitude front? What's their boon and bane, if they got one?

(Assuming that is what Awakening calls it...)

HEY remember this ask ??? I've finally finished it !!! =D

Hehehe that's very interesting and also is gonna allow me to dive a little deeper into the physical manifestation of Siyn's character development.

First things first, when I first created Siyn, I decided it'd be interesting to translate some of the ways i played in-game to how her abilities would evolve. Right off the bat, i could see a few things i always did:

start with a sword as her main weapon

and immediately start practicing the bow on the side because archers are some of my favorite units ever thanks to Takumi.

This usually meant that by the time the timeskip rolled around, she was proficient enough in both weapons.

After timeskip though, I most always have a realization that although as the Enlightened One she should be able to do magic I haven't done sh*t in that regard.

This means that a significant part of the timeskip is spent working on her magic abilities, whether offensive or defensive (but mostly offensive since I have a number of well-prepped healers by that point)

So I had a few things to work with and with time she grew a lot. In the end, here's what I came up with, some of it purposefully, some of it not.

Siyn isn't the best at magic in general, and she doesn't necessarily try to be either. At best, she knows a healing spell or two, but nothing much.

However, Siyn loves tea, and drinks a lot of it.

What does that have to do with anything I hear you ask ? Well, as someone who drank a lot of tea before Byleth was even around and saw them as my kin because of said heavy consumption of warm tasty heavenly liquid, I know for a fact that I spend my time forgetting I've got a cup somewhere and by the time I remember it, it's cold. And I thought, it'd be very sad if Siyn was condemned to drinking cold tea for the rest of her life. So, I decided I'd give her the ability to warm her cup of tea with a really minor fire spell; nothing concretely usef on the battlefield. I came to really like this little detail about her because that is something she learnt to do entirely for herself, just because: which is important in Byleth's journey of self-discovery and an act of self-love. At that time, i didn't really think anything more of it.

In the end however, Siyn ended up blowing way out of proportion and out of my control. In particular, her identity crisis and conflict with Rhea made her a far more emotional character than I had anticipated- but she doesn't always know how to process emotions that strong.

She started using a bit of her fire magic on the battlefield, mostly as a way to enhance the damage dealt by her weapons or simply her fists. However, this didn't mean that it had to go any further. Until.

I think the anguish or concern she feels for her students would eventually make her snap and send her into an unimaginable state of anger and sorrow- and she'd want to burn those responsible for their suffering to a crisp, until the only thing left are ashes. And since fire needs to be incredibly hot in order to completely consume a corpse...

... This would eventually lead her to master blue fire (2500°C to 3000°C).

However, it's only after she finally comes to terms with her own nature and identity that she finally manages to master fire magic entirely, by making white fire (which the internet has told me is the hottest but I can't find it anymore, and even if it ain't it's a fantasy universe so i can do what i want), which is reminiscent of the Enlightened One's color scheme at the very moment she "becomes human again"- signifying her acceptance of both parts of herself.

[queenpiranhadon]

A/N: Teehee I actually love this chapter- it's so cute 🥰 This chapter is written by the lovely Nyota (@labaguetteisdabest). You can find the masterlist here

Warning(s): Injured animal, almost murder, blood, injuries, fighting, espyn-animal hybrids, cursing, the usual

Pairing(s): Kaepex

Good gods, those bandages are itchy. 

How in the world did I wear that dress when I was younger? 

I reach for my dagger and sheath it, forcing myself not to scratch my back 

 unless I want to feel ungodly levels of pain. 

“Hey, Apex,” Kaeda says. I turn to her. 

“What?” I didn’t mean for it to sound snarky, but it does, and Kaeda rolls her silver-blue eyes. 

“Where’d you get that dagger?” 

“Oh. Follow me.” 

I stroll down the halls I’d been running down merely two days ago, dragging the ice princess behind me. 

When we reach the armory, her breathing is heavy. 

I realize it’s a day that would be hot for people not used to Fujimura weather... especially for people from Khaenpanii. 

“Are you okay?” 

She glares at me and tosses her frizzy hair behind her shoulder. “Fujimura weather is Khaenpanii summer on steroids. Does it seem like I’m good with this weather?” 

“I’m sorry you’re comfortable with temperatures that would otherwise freeze an espyn. It’s not like I’d do much better in Khaenpanii’s wintry climate,” I retort. 

“Gods, you are insufferable.” Kaeda sighs. “Let me get a weapon and we’ll be on our merry way.” 

She turns away without another word. 

How the hell are we supposed to try to get along if she keeps walking away like that?! I think exasperatedly. 

I lean against the cold stone wall and wait as Kaeda picks out a weapon. 

After waiting for what felt like ages, she comes back with a light brown bow and a darker brown quiver filled with silver-tipped arrows. The quiver has little runes carved into it, probably being written in the Ancient Script.  

I wish I could read it. Then I could tell if the bow’s cursed and tell Kaeda the opposite and let her have the cursed bow. 

I raise an eyebrow. “Long-range?” 

Little Miss Flawless nods. “A bow is what I was trained with, so a bow is what I’ll use.” 

I shrug. “You do you, I guess.” I don’t find bows practical, but for the sake of Dodomi, I’ll try to get along with her. 

If she won’t, I will. 

We walk through the halls of Burgunjax Palace together one last time before going off to save the continent. 

“So, where are we going?” I ask, realizing we hadn’t talked about it. 

Kaeda has a determined light in her sparkling eyes. “I was thinking about that earlier. Where in Dodomian history are problems solved or fixed with magic?” 

It’s almost like a flame sparked on in my brain. “Cör! The place where all the gods have a shrine! Including the one who could heal all of Dodomi! Gods, I wouldn’t have thought of that.” 

Kaeda’s cheeks turn rosy. “I figured it was the place that made the most sense.” 

“But... Thanirrh is the god of healing, and we need to heal everyone who’s infected, right?” I point out. “So shouldn’t we go to Hydeau?” 

“That’s true...” Kaeda muses. “We can go to Cör first and follow Guna River if the way to heal everyone isn’t in Cör.” 

I nod in agreement. A sudden warmth spreads through my body as the two of us step outside the castle. 

“Here, let me lead the way now. I know the way to the main road to get to Cör,” I say. Kaeda nods and lets me take charge. 

We walk in silence for around fifteen minutes until I hear a barely audible noise. 

Mrrp! 

I stop, Kaeda shooting me a weird look. 

“Don’t. Move. A. Muscle,” I shoot back quietly. She rolls her eyes but obliges. 

I hear it again, coming from my right, in the bushes. 

Mrrp! 

I creep towards the sound, motioning for a confused Kaeda to follow me. 

Mrrr... 

A baby-sized, golden yellow creature with bat-like wings and a catlike body and face whimpers softly.  

A plygorthan. 

It looks like it’s on the brink of death. 

“Poor thing...” Kaeda murmurs. Who’d have thought the cold-hearted princess known for her icy glare wears her heart on her sleeve? 

“I think it’s infected.” I unsheathe my knife, ready to end the poor creature’s misery. 

“Wait!” Kaeda puts a cold hand on mine, and I feel a tad jittery all of a sudden. 

“What?” I ask sharply. Is she as stony as I had originally thought? 

“I don’t think it’s infected. Look, its eyes aren’t red.” 

I take a closer look. She’s right. The little plygorthan has honey-brown eyes. It looks up at me, a deep pain stabbing me in the heart. 

Now that I think about it, Dax’s eyes had had a hint of blood-red to them. 

“I guess not. Do red eyes signify an animal being infected?” 

“Yes. And the plygorthan seems like it’s just injured.” The princess leans down and looks closer. “Yeah, look. It’s got scratches all over its body.” 

The scars look fresh – and pretty deep. 

“Poor kit... I think we need to heal this guy now,” I say, sorrow leaking into my voice. 

I crouch, reaching out my arms to pick up the kit. It hisses at me, and I notice the little wing-like ears are bigger than they would be if it were female. 

“I think this is a boy,” I tell Kaeda, then switch my attention to the fluffy yellow kit before me. 

“It’s okay, little guy,” Kaeda whispers reassuringly to the plygorthan.  

I manage to pick up the little one, stroking its soft fur, and sit down in the grass. Kaeda sits beside me, making some ice. I create a flame above Kaeda’s cupped hands. When a life is at risk, the two of us can cooperate. 

Kaeda carefully washes out the dried blood from the gashes in the kit’s fur, and he whimpers in pain. I continue to say reassuring things and warm my hands so he feels warm. 

His eyes begin to flutter open and shut. 

“The poor guy must be so sleepy...” I say, then purse my lips. “Kaeda... can we keep him?” 

Kaeda groans. “Fine. I guess I’m attached to him too.” 

I smile and exhale a breath when the kit’s eyes stay shut. His breathing slows, and his fluffy chest rises and falls. 

“If we’re keeping him, we need to name him,” I say. “You can do that.” 

“Uh, okay.” Kaeda thinks for a moment. “How about Sol?” 

“Yeah, I like that.” 

Kaeda gets up to get leaves to make makeshift bandages for Sol. I stroke his fur and breathe in the fresh air. 

It’s peaceful. 

Better savor it until there’s none left. 

The ice princess returns, tossing her frizzy hair over her shoulder again. She gives me half the leaves, wets hers slightly, and gently places them over the scratches on Sol’s body. I follow her lead, and one by one, all of Sol’s scars are covered by leaves. 

Kaeda may have packed a small bag, but I guess she either doesn’t want to waste our measly resources or she didn’t pack bandages. 

She sits down beside me, and we’re sitting so close that I can feel the warmth radiating from her body. 

Something flutters in my stomach. 

Am I sick? What is happening? 

We look at Sol’s small body for a few minutes together before we realize we need to keep moving. We’re short on time already, and I don’t want less time. 

I carry Sol’s lightweight body and Kaeda slings her bag over her shoulder. 

We follow the road for hours... 

The light from the sky is fading. 

Soon the infected will come out. 

Sol begins to stir. He blearily blinks and looks up at me, yawning. 

“Mrr?” he purrs. 

“Hey, buddy,” I tell him. 

“He’s awake?” Kaeda asks. 

“Yeah, just woke up. Whoa, hey, careful, bud!” He tries to leap from my arms, ready to spread his wings and soar away. “You’re too weak for that. Stick around with us, we’ll make you feel better.” 

Gods, what am I doing? It’s not like he can understand me. 

But there’s a look on Sol’s face that makes me think that he can. He ponders something – my request, maybe? – for a moment before settling himself in my arms. 

“Mrow...” 

He perks up, ears twitching. 

“What is it, Sol? What do you hear?” Kaeda looks around with narrowed eyes, hands ready to nock an arrow. 

Then we hear it, too. The creature swiftly runs in the trees that line the path. 

I step back behind Kaeda to protect Sol. 

Kaeda whips out her bow and an arrow. She nocks it at the speed of light and pulls her elbow back.  

Then silence. 

[cluelessteam]

Charmed: Chris' Identity is Discovered {~Chapter 3~}

Summary: The Phoenix Clan is after Chris, and the sisters are trying to help. But there are many questions that they need answering. How long can Chris keep his identity a secret? [Before Chris-Crossed]

Characters: Charmed Ones, Bianca, Chris, Leo

Pairing: No Pairing

Warnings: Angst, Heartbreak

Word Count: 862

Masterlist

Chris was still wondering, who could be after him? Could it be Wyatt? Could Wyatt have sent an assassin after him. Well, he has done worse. Chris winced as he remembered the memories that have scarred him for life, literally.

“Hey Chris,” Piper Appeared by the playpen in the attic. Chris jumped slightly. Piper smiled. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s fine. I was just a little distracted, I didn’t see you come up.” He admitted.

“Any progress?” She asked.

“Not really. I mean, I have made a few strong vanquishing potions, but what’s the point?”

“Chris, they are after you! Don’t say ‘what’s the point’!” She exclaimed, shocked at his words.

“I mean, even if we vanquish the Phoenix who is after me, they will just send more. We need to find out why they are after me. And it says in the book, someone hires them. Who? Who is after me? There is just a lot to figure out. And we don’t have a lot of time.”

“Wow, I guess I never thought of that.” Piper admits.

“Piper, I will just go to P3. I don’t want to endanger you or Wyatt.” 

“They aren’t here yet.” She reminded him.

“But they will be…” He added.

“Way to kill the mood.” She said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. He smiled at her. She sat on her grandmother’s couch once she was certain her son was okay.

“Did Leo orb down at all while I was having my nap?” She asked.

“No. Sorry Piper.” 

“It’s fine.” She smiled, but the smile didn’t quite meet her eyes.

“You know what. You shouldn’t have to suffer through this. It’s Leo’s loss. Not yours. You have your sisters at your side, your safe son, a bitchy white lighter to help babysit whenever your amazing and successful job. Plus, all the magical powers you could ever ask for. Please, Pipe, don’t let Leo put you down. You deserve better. I mean, right now, he is probably in a room full of Elders wearing robes acting all serious. And, you know what, they say they are good people. But you guys, here on Earth, are the ones who are fighting and putting yourself in danger for the greater good. What do they do? Come down and heal us every once in a while.

And they say, THEY do the most. They aren’t worth it Piper. Please, don’t feel like that.” She looked stunned.

“Wow. That’s one hell of a speech you got there. How long have you been practicing that one?” She asked. He smiled.

“Well, in case you haven’t figured out by now, Elders aren’t exactly my favorite people.”

“Lucky for you, I have been observant. I have noticed that. Why? I mean,  I have a ton of reasons, as you know. But, I am curious as to why you don’t like them.” 

“You want the list?” He asked. She nodded.

“If you want to tell me.”

“I do. Well, when I was a teenager, my mother. Um…my mother was hurt so I called an Elder or a whitelighter down. And well, they were too late. And she died. AndI asked why they didn’t come sooner. And they said they didn’t think it was important. They never care about anyone else apart from themselves. And when I became a whitelighter they think they can dictate who I have a relationship with. And what I do with my time. And that isn’t right. They have too much power. I mean sure, they are the ‘good’ guys. But, they take witches for granted. They take everyone for granted. And as long as they are happy and safe, nothing else matters.” He looked down, not wanting Piper to see him like this. He said too much.

“I am sorry you had to go though that. Were you there when your mother died?” She asked. He nodded. Not wanting to say anything.

“I’m sorry. Was your mother a witch then?” Again, he nodded.

“Okay Chris, I have to ask. You seem to know a lot about us. Phoebe, Paige, Wyatt, and me. How? I mean, the other day you struggled to open the drawer in the sunroom, and you tapped it in the exact right place for it to open well. No one knows stuff like that if you don’t know the people. Do we know you? Are we going to know you? Do we know your family?” He moved his gaze up to meet hers finally.

“Piper, I know you are sick of me saying this. But, I can’t really tell you anything about myself. Future consequences. But I promise, you will know everything there is to know about me. And soon.” 

“Okay. Thank you for telling me that about yourself.” She said,

“It’s okay. I am going to go into the Underworld, to see if anyone knows who has hired the Phoenix to come after me.”

“Okay. Phoebe messaged me. She will be home in a few minutes. Go on, be safe.”

“I will.” He smiled warmly at his mother and orbed away to the Underworld to see if he could get any answers.

[haamuart]

Ok story time! A story how my OC Heidi came to be. Check it under the cut if you're interested, otherwise enjoy these sketches of a fantasy royal family.

Warnings: infidelity, infertility

So Mariam, as the queen, is married quickly so she can produce heirs. She choses Othos or Othos is chosen for her. The first picture is their wedding portrait.

When they're young, Otho has to go on longer trips sometimes because of his work. Sometimes, but not always, Mariam has to stay behind to take care of her duties. They do not get pregnant immediately after the wedding.

Mariam is a beautiful young queen, surrounded by a lot of people. Unlike some royals, however, she also gets time alone, and not there is not someone always following her. During her time alone, while missing Otho (and their bed), she meets a fairy soldier. He's been around before, so Mariam is not completely unfamiliar with him, but they've never talked. Somehow they have a chance. Maybe Mariam is sulking in a garden and the man is doing is rounds around the yard. Idk.

They get along really well. Mariam doesn't think anything of it to spend time with him, and as you already probably guesses, they end up in bed. Or on the grass in the garden. Or behind a convenient heavy curtain somewhere. You know.

Othos returns pretty soon and when Mariam turns out to be pregnant, it is a joy for everyone. Mariam stops thinking about the fairy soldier she had an affair with and throws herself into celebrating the coming of an heir to the throne of Rozavie.

Heidi is born. She is a pretty young girl child, with blonde hair and dark blue eyes like her parents. Nothing seems amiss.

Until Heidi grows a little, and starts showing magic. Magic she shouldn't have.

You see, both Mariam and Othos are wizards. Wizarding magic is very different to fairy magic. While wizards always need some sort of an object to channel their magic through, fairies need none of that. Fairy children especially are very carefree and easy with their magic.

It is very clear to everyone in the know that Heidi is most certainly not Othos' child. Both Mariam and Othos come from long lines, all of which have been marked down carefully. Wizardry is the highest valued magic in Rozavie, and practically everyone in their lines are wizards.

I have not thought this far yet but I think they will make up an affair somewhere up in Othos' line which would explain why Heidi is a fairy, so there is no scandal. However, that does not heal her parents relationship, and it turns chilly for years. They halfheartedly try for more children, but they do not conceive.

(The problem is Othos, unfortunately. I'm not sure if they ever find out, but there definitely are people who suspect.)

When Heidi is a teenager, Mariam and Othos finally make up. This time they throw each other more passionately into making children, in hopes of getting a boy child. While Heidi is and will be the legal heir, they are hoping to trade her with a boy. It is the latest fashion, after all. They do not believe Heidi would be a popular queen, or a strong one.

(They are wrong.)

[freezerbnuuy]

Act 1:8- Fatherhood (Page 8)

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Reynold

"Why does it matter how much time it is? Even if we only had a month, or a week, or even a day together, wouldn't it be worth it?"

"I didn't say it wouldn't be worth it, Áine- I said it wouldn't be a good idea, is all. Unfortunately, I think we're both going to have to get used to being far apart more often than we're together. There's no predicting what the future holds for either of us. Such is the life of being a witch- you're never in the same place for very long."

"I guess you're right," she says, with a sigh. 

"But that doesn't mean we can't make the most of the time we have together, yes?"

"No, not today, Reynold. I'm not in the mood. I'm going to help Annabeth tend to the animals."

I know how much it must hurt her, but the circumstances are entirely out of our control. As much as I'd like to daydream about an ideal future for me, for Áine, for everyone- I know deep down in my heart that it doesn't exist. All I can do is my best.

Before she heads off, I almost forget to give her the present I bought her ages ago, and only just got around to enchanting very recently.

"Áine, before you go- I have something for you."

She holds out her hand, and I tell her to close her eyes. I wrap her fingers around the pale stone, and tell her to open her eyes again. They light up like a magpie's as she rolls it around in her palm, watching the light glint off of it. 

"Is that white moonstone?"

"Indeed," I reply, placing my hand over hers. "I bought it from a woman at the Withernham market a while ago, who had arrived in Henford from somewhere miles away. I placed a sort of enchantment on it that is supposed to help with pregnancy and childbirth, if you hold it in your hands once in a while. You'll have to charge it in moonlight every now and again, though."

"Oh, no, not the 'C' word," she says, shuddering. "I've still got a few months before I even think about that- but this is so thoughtful of you, Reynold. Thank you so much."

She gently embraces me, and we don't say anything for a few seconds, just making the most of the moment until she leans in and kisses me passionately. I think back to our first kiss during Beltane, amongst the fire and festivities. When the two of us are together, the anxiety and the rage at the world fades away temporarily.

When Áine leaves to help the witches tend to the farm, I think back to when I lashed out at Shepherd Julian and at Clem- the latter of whom not deserving it. It isn't like me. For countless months, I had everything in check, but even without everything else, it's hard to not be enraged at all that is going on.

From the witches in the refuge to the starving poor- everywhere I look, there seems to be naught but undeserved pain and suffering. There was great power in being in a position of leadership at the church, but even with that power, I don't know if there's much I can change.

What the nobles will charge for, witches often offered cheaply or for free, and so they were an enormous threat. Witches have the power to solve many issues. Practical magic grows and maintains crops and creates food. Mischievous magic provides mostly harmless self-defence. Wild magic, powerful and sometimes daunting as it is, has its uses. Fires to keep people warm, and even the enigmatic Fulguris spell, which some witches think could be used in the future to 'power' objects. 

Once the witches are extinct, the rest of humanity will no doubt come next, yet people still follow blindly in this inevitable self-destruction. Most of my own people were the first victims of the modern witch-hunts.

Our magic could aid fertility. It could help protect people, and heal wounds that may otherwise be fatal. It was also capable of helping to ease issues of the mind, though it seems no-one quite understands or cares about the human mind enough to consider it.

Maybe I need to be persistent and get Shepherd Julian to see the light. He doesn't have to be like me. He doesn't have to believe what I believe, but charisma and influence like his are wasted on fear and manipulation, when he could be solving real issues instead of fear-mongering about witchcraft...