#pookas this was a little dark but i hope you enjoyed

[16sydd16]

Give me Fallen Angel AU too.... both of these were definitely not from pookas... definitely not...

For this ask game!!

From pookas?? No, definitely not... pookas isn't completely and entirely obsessed with the idea of Fallen Angel!Regina or anything...

Fallen Angel!Regina AU, but a little darker this time...

It's been almost a decade since Regina was kicked out of heaven, but she still hasn't been able to shake that unwavering desire to beat the fuck out of disgusting men do good. She may not have the supernatural gifts she did as an angel, but her heavenly beauty and her stubbornness remain, and those are just as useful.

Also useful are the muscles Regina's developed here on earth. After she gave up on regaining her status as an angel, she decided to make a difference here, in this filthy place with these filthy creatures. Lifting weights and working out like a professional athlete have aided her in her pursuit.

The first time Regina sees Cady is on the street. It's late, and Cady is so small and unaware that Regina wants to grab her and shake her until she understands how much danger she's in. Instead, Regina follows her home, just to make sure she gets there safely. Regina keeps up this routine for a couple of weeks before she starts to feel creepy. She swears tonight is the last night until she notices that someone else is following Cady too. He only manages to wrapsone hand around Cady's arm and tug before Regina is there, bringing him to his knees with a carefully-placed kick. Cady's shellshocked from the whole thing, so Regina walks her home. It doesn't occur to Cady that it's probably not safe to bring a stranger into her apartment until Regina is on her couch, holding her while she cries. Cady tells Regina as much, and Regina agrees to leave right away. Cady pleads with her not to, knowing that as soon as her "guardian angel" (disguised as a blonde bombshell, duh) leaves, she won't ever feel safe again. Not even here, in her own home. Cady drifts off to sleep on the couch, in Regina's arms. To Cady's indescribable relief, Regina is still there when she wakes up.

Regina walks Cady home from her job every night. Cady always asks Regina to come up, and Regina always says no. She tells Cady to get some sleep, and that she'll see her tomorrow. One night, Cady gets tired of her words failing her and just kisses Regina. (Regina accepts her invitation to come up this time.)

It takes a while before Cady gathers the courage to ask about the scars on Regina's back, identical, brutal markings on each shoulder blade. "Is this why you saved me? Because someone hurt you?" Cady asks, perched in Regina's lap, her legs wrapped around her girlfriend's waist and her chin resting on Regina's shoulder, her fingers tracing featherlight patterns over Regina's never-fully-healed wounds. Regina flinches at the touch, still so vividly and immediately recalling the searing pain of her wings being torn off by a supposedly merciful god, the deep gouges in her back left blue and bleeding. Cady's touches are soft, though, and so tender, that Regina thinks, with enough time and enough of Cady's touches, she may be able to forget the brutality done to her. A wry almost-smile finds her lips as she says, "I guess you could say I had an abusive father."

Okay we got a little dark and twisty, but here we are. Thanks so much for the ask!!💖

[boyswhowawa]

The Undead Of Winter, Introduction

The Undead of Winter

two slugcats, forever bound to walk the world

things that will forever haunt them echo on the icy winds

things that will forever hurt them watch in dark shadows

but there is never a lack of hope for healing from the things that hide on the edge of your reality

[ A bit more info, Character references, and a special message at the end under the cut! ]

first things first,

The Saint, also called Wallow, White, or Blender

This little guy has gone through. Far. Far too much. But we'll see how things go for him from here

(Pronouns are He/Its)

The Artificer, also called Beasty, Bomber, Heretic, or Booster

This not so little guy has also been through a lot, she's become something a bit more than a little violent rodent nowadays though...

(Pronouns He/She/They)

almost Immediately when I shared the Saint's design with some friends, my friend @draagu (sorry if tagging's not alright let me know and I will nnot do it again) was like "I wanna hug him" (since then I've had at least 5 people say the same thing lasjdfl;akdfjs;aljsf [As they should this man needs many hugs])

so I doodled that

here's a goofier doodle of the two

also featuring a little cameo from some art by @pookapufferfishjsad;lfkjasdf because I did these twos' designs while me and pooka were doing some drawing together

(which was still really fun oh my goodness I'm excited to do it again sometime)

and now!!!

A little bit more of a serious (?? ish??) note

The Undead of Winter is a project I'm really excited for

it's not gonna be anything too massive, but I just hope all who choose to watch and view enjoy the show

this project is going to be very personal for me, I'm leaning on writing styles that comfort me, and choosing to share them because I think it'll be nice, and one thing that comforts me is big angst, and what follows, the big healing

so this is your warning that this one might hurt a little, but it's not my intention to leave you hurting reading this, and i'm sorry if it does

if you're interested in reading along, I'm gonna be tagging all posts related to it with #RW The Undead Of Winter, as well as #RW TUOW

also if you wanna post thoughts or anything like that, please, feel free to come into my asks, or post anything like that with those tags, I really appreciate anything, wether it's constructive criticism, just some gushing about stuff if you feel like it, some feelings it may have given you, or if you doodle anything

I wanna see all of that, preferably, ajsdl;fkaj

I'm gonna have fun doing this

thanks for bearing with me rambling

and i hope you have a good day

[siodymph]

“A Hogsmeade Holiday”

Hey @ohlooksheswriting I was your secret santa for the RotBTD Gift Exchange! I can’t begin to tell you how fun your prompt was to work with! I hope you have as much fun reading this as I did writing this! Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

All around them powdery white snowflakes fell from the sky. For now it was a light snow, not even enough to coat the already-dead grass in ice. But in a few weeks, Hiccup imagined the entire school grounds would be blanketed in several feet of snow.

Soon it would look just like home. Berk was so far North, the island was almost always icy. Even during the summer there’d still be a bitter chill in the air. And Hiccup did not miss it at all. After a few years Hiccup had come to enjoy the climate at Hogwarts, even began to prefer it, the school was south enough to actually have seasons and change. Actually getting to experience the melting of spring and the warmth of summer. But when things became cold, it would remind him of home. Whether that was a good or bad thing depended on his mood really.

His best friend Jack however, absolutely adored the cold. Far more than any Wizard possibly could. It was like the cold gave him a new-found energy source. Just seeing the snow flurries seemed to put an extra spring in the Jack’s step. Practically bouncing as the two made their way off the school grounds and towards Hogsmeade Village.  

Jack had told him one of the Gryffindor girls in their year was hosting a holiday party at the Three Broomsticks. For Fifth-years only. Apparently it was an effort to bring their year closer together and ease some of the tension between Hogwarts Houses.

So of course, Jack was dragging his Ravenclaw friend to this holiday party.

“But I don’t even celebrate Christmas, I grew up with Sn-”

“Snoggletog, yeah, yeah I know.” Jack was quick to interrupt. “And technically Snoggletog and Yule came first before any Christians came on the wizarding scene. You told me before… I still hate the name though. Makes it sound like a holiday exclusively for swapping spit.”

“Gross.” Hiccup said wrinkling his nose. “So why are you bringing me?”

“Well they aren’t the same but they do celebrate a lot of the same stuff.” Jack explained. “Plus if you stayed cooped up in the library any longer, you’d probably start going looney.”

Hiccup huffed at that, quickly pulling a necklace out of his satchel. “Well unlike some people, I actually want to figure out this challenge Professor Flitwick gave us in Charms!”

Jack just shrugged. “I honestly thought he was just making Dreamworks up. I mean really, a secret necklace that you manipulate in your dreams? And when you wake up it just, happens?”

Hiccup looked down to gaze at his charm. It was a simple chain with a moon-shaped pendent that sparkled oddly. “I’m so close to cracking this thing. I can feel it!”

“You know Hic, you don’t have to be perfect at everything.” Jack said with a laugh. “Maybe you’re just meant to be a Magical Creatures kinda guy. Like that one guy you’re always going on about. Commander Newt, right?”

“Oh you mean, Newt Scamander? Only the greatest Magizoologist of our time?” Hiccup asked dryly.

“Yeah, that guy!” Jack teased.

Hiccup chuckled and shook his head. “You’re lucky we’re friends. Otherwise you’d probably fail all your classes.”

“Not my fault you explain things better than any of our professors do.” Jack replied, his eyes sparked as an idea came to him. “Maybe that’s what you should do! You should become a professor!”

“Now there’s an idea.” Hiccup replied. “But I have no idea what I’d even want to teach. There so much to learn about magic. It’s overwhelming sometimes.”

Jack didn’t seem nearly as concerned as Hiccup. “I just focus on the subjects I feel a connection with. I’m just gonna follow that pull and see where it takes me!”

“Well good luck with that.” Hiccup said sarcastically. “So while you and all the other Gryffindor go flying by the seat of your pants, the Ravenclaws like myself will be trying to actually learn and master our subjects.”

“You’re always so quick to divide people into houses.” Jack pointed out.

“Well, everyone from my island normally lands in Gryffindor. So when I didn’t that kinda caused a schism.” Hiccup said. Though if he was honest, that schism between himself and everyone else from Berk had existed long before he met the Sorting Hat in first year…

“Well who knows? Maybe this party is just the thing to close that gap!” Jack continued enthusiastically.

“I still can’t believe a Gryffindor set this whole thing up.”

“What’s so hard to believe about that?” Jack asked.

“This whole thing sounds like something a Hufflepuff would do.” Hiccup explained. “Trying to get everyone to be friends? Being all… friendly?”

“Well, if you knew Anna they way I do, you’d know that girl is an absolute party animal.” Jack replied. “If that girl can find a reason to throw a party then she’ll throw it!”

“Maybe she should have been a Hufflepuff. They’re all sweet and kind like that.”

“Maybe.” Jack countered. “And maybe you should have been one too! Then maybe you’d chill out more.”

While Jack laughed Hiccup just shrugged.

Soon enough they arrived at the Three Broomsticks. The whole building was decked out in Christmas decoration. And when they stepped inside, the boys saw that the Tavern was packed to the gills with pretty much everyone from their year. Music drifted through the air, competing for volume with everyone hooting and hollering.

Instinctively, Hiccup felt himself move closer towards the door. But Jack moved forwards, taking Hiccup with him as they made their way towards the bar.

“Hey Bun! Get me a butterbeer!” Jack called out to the guy running the bar, a Pooka actually by the name of Bunnymund. The man gave Jack a very pointed glare. But Jack hardly seemed worried. “And make it frozen, extra icy!”

Bunnymund for his part just rolled his eyes, muttering something about Jack being a “sub-zero gumby”. Hiccup almost missed it when the Pooka asked him what he wanted.

“Oh, uh.” Hiccup looked around the bar before realizing Bunnymund had been talking to him. “I’ll just have a Pumpkin Juice cider, please.”

“Sure thing kid.” Bunnymund replied. Before disappearing to go grab their drinks.

Hiccup was about to ask Jack what he’d done to annoy Bunnymund so much when a girl’s voice suddenly boomed across the Tavern.

“Jack! Ye gommy eijit! Where’ve you been?”

Both boys, and almost everyone else in the tavern, turned to see Merida DunBroch standing up at a table. She was a Slytherin girl. Her dark green house scarf was wrapped loosely around her neck and completely countered her massive plume of curly red hair.

“Sorry, Mer!” Jack replied, slinging an arm around Hiccup. “Someone here needed a little extra persuading.”

“Well come on then, get over here!” Merida practically demanded, bouncing her hands off the table as she did so. “I’ve spent the last half hour staking out this table for us! Some nyaffs almost stole it from me!”

As they moved to go sit down, Hiccup noticed how Merida gave a few boys from their grade a very smug look. He remembered when they were all first-years Merida use to hang out with them a lot because they were all from Scotland. That had been before she got to know Jack and Hiccup. The boys for their part scoffed at Merida and walked away with a pout.

As they all sat down, Jack leaned over and kissed Merida on the cheek. And within seconds the two began to bicker. While they went at it Hiccup let his mind wander. Despite the goal of the party, it seemed like a big chunk of the students were sticking to their own houses instead of mingling. Oh well, at least Anna had tried to bridge that gap in their year.

This whole thing was meant to bring the houses closer together but personally, Hiccup already had friends outside of his house. So he didn’t understand why he needed to be here. He was good on the whole friend-quota. Not to mention, big gatherings between houses like these made him nervous. Because if Ravelnclaws, Slytherins and Hufflepuffs were all here, that meant Gryffindors would be as well.

And while Hiccup got along perfectly well with Jack, that same sentiment was not there for any other Gryffindor kids. Especially not the ones from his hometown of Berk.

As if sensing his dread, the universe decided it was time to mess with him again. Just as Bunnymund gave them their drinks Hiccup saw the front doors open out of the corner of his eye. And stepping into the Tavern was none-other than Berk’s finest. Most of the kids didn’t notice him, but one of the girls, Astrid, did. The expression on her face was unreadable.

Stumbling out of his chair, Hiccup quickly got up. “I- uh- I’m gonna go get some fresh air.”

“But it’s freezing out there.” Merida said.

“Yeah, nothing like a lungful of ice to get your blood pumping. Right Jack?”

Jack turned to see the group of Gryffindor kids and turned back to Hiccup, “You seriously gonna leave cause of them?”

“I’ll be right back.” Hiccup said, not even grabbing his pumpkin juice as he left. “I promise. I just need to go clear my head.”

And with that, Hiccup hurried out one of the back doors. Once outside, he leaned up against a wall and watched his own breath fog up. It always reminded him of a dragon when it did that. The thought helped him calm down a little.

He hated running into those kids. It was bad enough he had to live with them every summer. But Hogwarts was supposed to be his element. An escape from all that. A place where he didn’t have to hear how much of a scrawny weakling he was. He didn’t have to be reminded of how lowly everyone on Berk thought of him.

Hiccup decided he’d just have to wait until they all left and then he’d go back to Merida and Jack.

In the meantime, he walked around the outside of the Three Broomsticks and sat out front to people-watch. Hogsmead was an interesting town. If it hadn’t been for the school it would have just been a humble village somewhere out on the Countryside. But because there was a massive wizarding school next door there was a hodgepodge of different stores that either sold simple-yet-practical necessities, specifically school-supplies, or superfluous toys and candy. There was no in-between. And the same could be said for the people as well. They were either rugged elders who lived in the same town for generations, or were bright-eyed youngsters playing in the snow without a care in the world.

It was a unique bunch for a unique town, Hiccup guessed. At least everyone’s Christmas decorations, plus the freshly fallen snow made it all gentle and beautiful. As if blending the two polar opposites together somehow.

As he watched the snow fall, one figure walking through the streets caught his eye.

It was a girl around his age. But he had never seen them before in school. She was wearing a homemade bright purple cloak that stood out among the grey walls and grey ice. Her arms were full with bags and packages. And her hair was a beautiful golden blonde, so long that it had to be both braided and pulled up into a bun. Hiccup found himself immediately curious as to who the girl was. She didn’t look like a villager or a student, so why would she possibly be here?

As she passed her foot must have caught on a patch of ice. All at once the poor girl slipped and fell, and all of the items in her hands went scattering across the ground.

Before he could even think twice, Hiccup was on his feet and rushing over to the girl.

“Are you ok?” Hiccup asked.

The girl looked up at Hiccup with a gasp. Green eyes wide with fear. But when she realized Hiccup meant her no harm she laughed nervously.

“I’m fine!” She replied. “I’m just really clumsy. Mother always said I need to watch where I walk.”

Taking her hand, Hiccup helped the girl up and began picking up all her things.

“Oh! Thank you!” She said, somewhat surprised.

“It’s no problem.” Hiccup replied.

As he collected the girl’s things, he noticed it was all books, uniforms, vials and cauldrons. The kind of stuff you’d buy at Diagon Ally before getting to school, not half-way through the year.

“What? Did someone steal your stuff?” Hiccup couldn’t help but ask. “Or did you just get here or something?”

“Last week.” The girl explained. “My mother has been teaching me privately. And normally the school doesn’t accept transfers, but they made an exception for me. I got a letter insisting I attend their school actually.”

“Oh,” Hiccup replied. He didn’t even know their school accepted transfers. “So you’ll be at Hogwarts from now on?”

“Yes, I’m so excited to attend. I’ve heard so much about the curriculum, and the library!” The girl replied. Before suddenly jumping as if she just remembered something. “Oh no, wait! I’m so sorry, I never even asked what your name is!”

“Hiccup” Hiccup quickly replied. “Hiccup Horrendous Haddock. And you are?”

“I’m Rapunzel. Uh, Rapunzel Gothel.” The girl, Rapunzel, replied with a little curtsey. “Pleased to meet you.”

“Feeling’s mutual.”

Rapunzel smiled as she scanned over all the buildings, clearly looking for something. “One of the girls from my class. Invited me to a Christmas party, at some place called the Three-”

“The Three Broomsticks?”

Rapunzel’s eyes lit up at the name. “You know it?”

Hiccup nodded, gesturing to the building behind him. “It’s right here actually. Every fifth-year at the school is in there.”

“Perfect!” Rapunzel said. “This way is much more efficient! I can meet everyone at once!”

“That’s one way to look at it.” Hiccup replied. He was still incredibly curious about the girl so he offered. “My friends and I have a table inside, you can sit with us and get situated if you like.”

“I’d love that.” Rapunzel replied. “Lead the way!”

As they stepped back into the Three Broomsticks, Hiccup made sure to avoid the table currently taken by Astrid. Instead sticking to the back wall until they got to Merida and Jack’s table.

When Merida saw them come over, she grinned.

“It’s about time you got here, ya Blether!”

Hiccup was about to respond but much to his surprise Rapunzel replied instead.

“Sorry! I had to stop on my way to buy some school supplies.” She explained as she set all her bags on the table. “I had a little trouble finding this place, but Hiccup here helped me out!”

Hiccup looked between the girls in confusion. “Wait, you two already know each other?”

“Nothing gets past you, Sherlock.” Jack teased.

“That’s m’boyfriend Jack, by the way.” Merida told Rapunzel. “Complete idiot but he’s cute. And Jakc, since you’re the last one out of the loop, this here’s Rapuznel.”

“How do you do?” Jack said with a nod.

Merida scrunched up her nose at her boyfriend before answering Hiccup. “Ey, Punzie here showed up in my D.A.D.A. class this week. I swear this girl’s a mad genius! She’s got a better grip than most the folks at this entire school!”

“So you immediately became her class partner?” Jack asked.

“You know it!” Merida replied. “If it weren’t for her, I’d be failing this new assignment for sure!”

Rapunzel blushed under all the sudden praise. “It’s not a big deal you guys. We’re just learning about some cognitive curses, and the defensive spells you use counter them with.”

“That’s a mouthful.” Jack teased.

“That sounds really interesting, actually.” Hiccup quickly said in defense. “What kind of curses are you working with?”

“Well,” Rapunzel began. “There’s this one that seems really tricky. It’s called the Disini Curse. Once activated, an evil wizard could steal ideas or dreams their victim has. If the victim doesn’t realize what happened to them, the curse can be active for years and they’d be none the wiser.”

“That sounds horrible.” Hiccup said with a slight shiver.

Rapunzel nodded in agreement. “That’s why knowing the counterspells and remedies is so important. The quickest way to counter the curse is with a mind-clearing potion to re-encourage an independent mind. Though if you’re not careful you can easily be put back under the curse.”

For a moment, Rapunzel looked around the table before looking down sheepishly. “I sorta just hijacked the conversation there. I’m sorry for being rude.”

“You weren’t being rude at all.” Hiccup replied. “I find cognitive spells like that very interesting. My D.A.D.A. class is kinda behind so we’re still going over magical-creature defensive measures.”

“Oh that sounds fun!” Rapunzel said. “I wish I had been here for that.”

“Yeah, it was fun at first. The C.M.C. professor brought in some actual animals.”

For a moment, Hiccup glanced towards Jack and Merida who were grinning to each other like they were sharing some secret.

“You two got something you’d like to share?” Hiccup asked dryly.

“Nope!” Jack replied.

Merida snorted but didn’t say anything else.

Deciding to leave it be, Hiccup turned back to Rapunzel. “Anyways, I don’t know when you’ll do the hat sorting ceremony, but when you do I hope they place you in Ravenclaw. We could use someone brilliant like you.”

After hearing that, Merida laughed out loud, cackling and smacking the table with her hand. “You- You gommy! She already got her house!”

“What?”

Rapunzel looked sheepish as she explained. “It was the first thing they had me do when I arrived.”

Reaching up, Rapunzel undid her cloak to reveal her school uniform. And there loosely wrapped around her collar was a tie.

A yellow tie.

She’d been placed in Hufflepuff?

While Hiccup looked shocked, Merida continued to laugh, clearly enjoying this.

“I’m sure you guys will have some classes together.” Jack said lightly, trying to console him Hiccup realized. “And it’s not like we don’t see each other all the time, despite us all being in different houses.”

“That’s true.” Hiccup had to admit.

Still he couldn’t shake his surprise. Rapunzel seemed so smart and creative. She was everything admirable in a Ravenclaw. How did she not end up in the same house as him?

Maybe he didn’t know the other Hogwarts Houses as well as he thought…

He was pulled from his musing when Merida reached over and put Jack in a headlock. “You’re lucky Jack! I don’t think that dis-curse would work on you. Cause your head’s already empty!”

“Hey I resent that!” Jack said, laughing as her began to wrestle with his girlfriend.

Rapunzel watched them with a curious smile. “Are they usually like this?”

“All the time.” Hiccup replied. “If they aren’t acting like wildlings, that’s when you really gotta worry.”

That made Rapunzel laugh. Hiccup couldn’t help but notice how melodious her laugh was. It made him want to laugh to.

Hiccup couldn’t wait for Rapunzel to join their little gang of Hogwarts misfits.

[nuwisha-laughs-last]

Changeling excerpts part 2: When a Pooka Goes to War

Another collab piece by my friend and I from World of Darkness Changeling: The Dreaming RPG.  Hope you enjoy! 

***********************************************************

“Morrigan, Morrigan!” The she-troll groaned and rolled over in her bed. Her (still) rather unwelcome pooka guest was leaning over her and shaking her shoulder in an attempt to rouse her. Morrigan was sorely tempted to roll back over, possibly right on top of the little menace; but the mousy pooka was known to get increasingly more obnoxious as she was ignored. Morrigan was more likely to get back to sleep if she humored the damned creature.

With a growl Morrigan sat up and held out a hand into which her companion scrambled and stood looking up at her, hands on hips. 

“What do you want – “ she left the statement hanging. The pooka might not be able to consistently answer to one name, but she was fairly good at remembering to give Morrigan the name of the day.

“Faraday” Morrigan raised an eyebrow.

“Faraday? Really?”

“It’s Friday,” Faraday said defensively, “So it’s Faraday.” Morrigan resisted the urge to groan. The statement might have made some sense, if Faraday hadn’t demanded to be called Cordelia last Friday.

“And what’s your real name?” Morrigan asked. She’d been trying to get it out of the pooka for a while now, but she usually just brushed it off with something ridiculous. She’d also tried to bait it out of her by just calling her “pooka” all day. That hadn’t worked either since she’d gotten treated to a tirade about how Morrigan called the other pooka in the freehold by their names and how being called “pooka” was a slight against the plight of Argentinian Newts.  Morrigan wasn’t sure if those even existed but she wasn’t about to argue, she had hoped that telling her companion about the other pooka would convince her to leave and adopt one of them. But, Faraday hadn’t seemed at all interested in meeting other people in the freehold. Not even the prospect of meeting another seer had lured her away from Morrigan’s home which, incidentally, the pooka had not once ventured out of since the day she had appeared in Morrigan’s pantry. 

“My real name?  It got stolen by a black dragon alchemist with bowed knees and a stutter. But it’s all right; he can have it. I took his carrots and they can tell the future.”

Morrigan rolled her eyes and scratched her head, it was too early and she was too tired, “So what do you want?”

“Where’s your broom? I’m going to war.”

With a confused scowl Morrigan stood up, dropping Faraday onto the bed with a squeak, and stared at the currently sprawling pooka.

“You can’t take a broom to war.” Morrigan told her. The seer looked confused.

“You can’t?”

“No. You can’t. You’ll get yourself killed.” Morrigan strode from the room, leaving Faraday to shimmy down the comforter to the floor.  Flinging open a large wooden cabinet, Morrigan pondered her extensive weaponry collection. “Let’s see if I have something small enough for you. A dagger might work.” Morrigan pondered to herself, eyeing her collection and staring at Faraday who had just appeared at her side, huffing and momentarily mute from the exertion.

At length she flipped the smallest blade of her collection off its hook and held the hilt out to the pooka, “This is the smallest one I have, but you can use it like a broadsword.” Morrigan looked at Faraday suspiciously, “Do you even know how to use a sword?” In response, Faraday held the dagger with both hands and started swinging it around like a baseball bat. Morrigan took that as a no.

“Stop that! You’ll hurt yourself and take the furniture down with you. Now stay still.” Morrigan grabbed one of her swords so that she could show the pooka what she wanted her to do.

"I had a sword like this once." Faraday frowned as she looked at the dagger, "Though I think it was bigger." Morrigan snorted -- she could barely wrap her head around the pooka with the dagger she had at the moment, and that was right in front of her. Imagining Faraday with something even bigger was just plain ridiculous.

“Okay,” Morrigan instructed, “hold the sword over your right shoulder. Point the blade upwards. This is called roof, okay?” Morrigan demonstrated the position for Faraday.

"I promise to give this back by the way, my friend Nory took mine and she didn't give it back. She wanted it to make crème brulee which I told her was an awful idea. It causes cancer you know!" Faraday explained, resting the pommel and bottom part of the blade on her shoulder. Morrigan shook her head.

“No, don’t lean it against you, if someone hits it then they can shove it into you. And you’ll want to lift the sword up some more because you’re so short. When you’re ready to attack you’ll bring it down and visualize cutting diagonally across your opponent’s body.” Morrigan demonstrated the move, sliding from roof to plow. Then Morrigan adjusted Faraday’s arms, raising them and the blade higher and the angling the pooka so that her stomach became a harder target. "Who is Nory?"

"An old friend of mine. She wasn't very clever though -- her younger pooka was a skunk. She kept telling us that it really was a pooka that he just liked his other form better because he was shy. I told her that was ridiculous. No one likes being a skunk, not even skunk pooka. Anyway, don't tell her this because it would hurt her feelings and she was always a sensitive one, but I think she left her real pooka and took the skunk home by accident. She had red eyes, you know, and that's never a good sign. Sign of genetic predisposition to cancer and all."

Morrigan started to laugh but managed to turn it into a cough before the pooka noticed. After all if she actually started to laugh at the pooka’s jokes she might never get rid of her. “Okay, now swing down, and step forward.” Morrigan watched and then glowered as Faraday left the tip of her sword pointing down to the ground.

"And I mean it wouldn't have been so bad, except she kept taking him to dinner parties. I mean, a skunk, to a dinner party. Completely inappropriate, even for Nory. And she was frequently inappropriate. There was one time when she went to fancy dinner party in a white tea dress. It was completely outrageous. I mean for one thing it was after Labor Day and you can't wear white after Labor Day -- unless it's winter white which is really just cream so I have no idea why they call it that. And even if you didn't consider that, she was wearing a tea dress! Then again, you can't blame someone for their poor breeding -- well, you could, but in Nory's case it was more genetic than nurture, so one had to forgive her. And she was a sweetie. Nory and the skunk, both, though he never said much. Except for that day the foxes came." Faraday grinned.

"So what happened to her?"

"Who?"

"Nory? What happened to Nory?"

"Oh," Faraday said, losing some of her smile, "She passed away, about two hundred years ago. It was a real tragedy. Nory was such a nice girl. But, you know how it goes, Labradors don't live very long. It was to be expected. But I had hoped --" Faraday trailed off. Morrigan was about to go into the next part of her lesson but froze as the implication of the pooka’s last sentence dawned on her. 

"Two hundred years ago? You can't be two hundred years old."

"I'm not. I'm three hundred and twenty one." Faraday said, dropping the point of the dagger to the ground and placing one hand on her hip. Morrigan stared. "Give or take a decade or so. One can't be held accountable for forgetting the details in her dotage."

"That's. Just. Impossible." Morrigan said, but even as she spoke, she knew that wasn't so. Improbable, but not impossible. In fact, one of the older trolls at the compound was said to possess such a trait. She shook her head, falling back on her instruction.

“Put the pommel by your hip and point the blade up. That’s plow. Roof to plow is fairly easy. Go back to roof and swing into plow again.” Morrigan instructed. She watched Faraday perform the move a few times and decided that she’d gotten good enough to move on. Faraday had to be teasing her. She couldn't really be that old. She looked no older than Morrigan, if not younger.

"You’re really lucky, to have something like that…" Morrigan said, looking at Faraday. Faraday stopped practicing and stared at Morrigan with an indecipherable look. Morrigan resisted the urge to shudder -- she'd never seen the pooka look so serious before. And her expression…

Faraday abruptly smiled and turned back to her practicing. "I suppose I really must be lucky, right?" Morrigan was typically insensitive, but even she could tell that she probably shouldn't push the topic. So she moved on.

“Alright, now from plow we can upswing into ox.” Morrigan demonstrated, twisting the blade up and cutting her imaginary opponent from hip to shoulder. She ended up with the sword horizontal to her head pointing right at the victim and ready to downswing into plow again or to lower the end into roof. She drilled Faraday on that and then, deciding that the pooka was now less likely to get herself killed, followed her across the living room to where the couch was situated.

“For the honor and glory of the marmot kingdom and all who watched her sink!” Faraday shouted. Holding the sword triumphantly over her head, the pooka sprinted towards the couch, sliding right into it with a squeak and a wumf. Shaking her head she stood back up unsteadily and sheepishly retrieved the knife from where she had impaled the cushions. Then, with another yell she promptly dropped to the floor and skittered beneath the couch, disappearing into the shadowy depths.

Morrigan stared at the couch speculatively and then sat down in the chair across from it, curiosity rising. Sure enough, five minutes later, Faraday slowly dragged herself out from under the troll-sized piece of furniture, covered in dust.

“Avenge me.” Faraday said pathetically, before dropping her head on the ground and collapsing in front of Morrigan’s coffee table, knife stretched out in front of her. Morrigan eyed the pooka and then the couch and groaned as comprehension dawned on her.

“You need a bath.” She sighed back at the pooka as she headed to the closet where she kept the broom. When she got back to the living room, Faraday had disappeared (presumably to the shower). Morrigan moved the couch, and, sure enough, found the small army of dust bunnies that Faraday had been fighting. She swept the area out (reclaiming some of the objects that Faraday had stolen from her and hoarded there) and moved the piece of furniture back into place.

“You could have just told me what you were up to.” Morrigan remarked. Faraday had just finished her shower (which had taken much longer than was needed) and was curled up on the couch cushions wrapped in a towel, drying her hair. Morrigan had offered to put out smaller towels that wouldn’t make the seer look like she was swimming in terrycloth every time she used it, but Faraday hadn’t seemed particularly keen on the idea.

Faraday looked up, twitching her nose and blinking.

“War is baying:

'Victory –! Hail the winner! Fail the loser! '

Pitiful; there are no winners, sinners!

If winners that we must define, it’s

But the side who suffered less – yes;

No less! Powerless be us all."

Faraday chanted like she was quoting something, "Edgar Allen Poe,” she sniffed, “Besides, you looked like you were having fun.” Morrigan’s shocked expression and any questions she might have had were interrupted by the ringing of the grandfather clock in the hallway. Morrigan’s eyes widened and Faraday tilted her head toward her.

“Didn’t you have an appointment at eleven?”

“Shit!” Morrigan leapt off the couch and raced toward the door. Snagging her boots off the floor she pounded out into the hallway. The pooka only had to wait a moment before a crash and the sound of cursing echoed back up the stairwell where Morrigan had, inevitably, attempted to put on her shoes and most likely hopped herself over the edge. Faraday smiled and tilted her head, waiting to see if Morrigan had forgotten anything in her hurry and was coming back in. When she determined that it was safe and anything Morrigan had forgotten was likely to stay forgotten, she scurried over to the clock, crawled up it’s face, and reset it to half an hour earlier. Youth these days ran around so much. She wasn't quite sure what all the fuss was about.

Part 1: Here

(Note: the actual poem she quotes is "Ode to War" by Mark R. Slaughter)

[characternerdocs]

The Fool, Death, Temperance (for mun, and also Heather :3c)

☀️🌙✨ tarot questions ✨🌙☀️ ||| @icybreaths

the fool: do you have any nicknames?

I go by Eri, it’s not my real name, but it’s my preferred name. Other then that I don’t have any nicknames, though in High School I went by ED in the theatre club, as E and D were my first and middle initials. Though my college roommate did suggest that for a dark persona I could go by Eerie Lorewright, but funnily enough some people at my work do call me Eerie cause they don’t know how to pronounce Eri. I don’t mind the Eerie pronunciation as it give me a chuckle, but the other mispronunciations of my name is “R-Ee” when I pronoun it as “Air-Ee”

Heather//: Oh, I’ve got a ton of nicknames, Vincey Bear calls me Pooka, but sometimes calls me simple thing; not like he’s calling me simple like stupid, tho. And Heath calls her Sis. but I AM his sister so… maybe that not really a nick name… Logan calls me firecracker, Sparky, and fruit loop (But I gave her the a-ok to use that one) Rox calls her Pipsqueak and half pint, still warming up to those.. Levi calls me Tator Tot but he’s also started to call me Boss. Skid calls her Tweetie, I think cause of my yellow hair. Then Beeyel calls me Puck and Fun Size, which is rude. Ramiel calls me freak. And Sammy calls me the weirdest things- creepy things…. and I’m like the queen of creepy but gotta say what he says makes me uncomfy…

death: what are three things you want to do before you die?

Three things I’d like to do before I die, One, publish my writing. Two, I want to do something that earns me a place in the credit roll of a movie. Three, learn how to animate.

Heather//: Interesting, Gotta admit, I don’t really have huge goal from myself. After getting outta Glenbrooke I sorta just live everyday as if it would be my last. But I guess if I had to choose, Definitely want to commit the world’s BIGGEST heist with Vincent by my side. cause that be a dope ass legacy to leave behind. Arm-wrestle the top 27 most deadliest predators of the world. Also be a dope thing to have as a title. Then- prolly convince V Bear of his self worth- Like I know he know he got it, but like i don’t know I want him to see himself like i do, cause he really lets others’ stupid option of him get him down.

temperance: can you describe a strange dream you’ve had?

One of the weirdest and honestly scariest dreams I've had, I was out shopping with my sister and I was really upset with her. So my dad came to pick us up, but I refused to get in the car with my sister, I was so pissed. so instead I walked home thinking and hoping it would cool me off. But as I was walking it started to rain. When I finally got home, my sister was standing in the yard and started to taunt me about about having to walk home in the rain. And I got some mad I beat her into coma. I started to freak out when my mom came out and saw what I've down and simply said: "don't worry, you're on meds for that (my anger) now." And then I woke up.

Heather//:  I don't know... I really don't like talkin' bout my dreams besides with Vincent. their creepy and it leaaves me feeling really raw, having them ans talking bout 'em. They're like, either these gold tinted meremories of a life I don't think is my own or trauma filled horrors of what I was put through at Glenbrooke. Like being summerged in a tub of ice as I was getting that weird sappy serum pumped into me. The Doc always hoverin', spectating overhead. That horrible, awfuling feeling of constantly being under observation but completely alone. Utterly alone. And this miserible state of sub-human exist, reduced to being that lab rat, a play thing for this surgical mask-wearing creep, who sees the live and death of patients as a data point, nothing else.

Thanks for the ask @icybreaths, Hope you enjoyed finding out a little about me and a little bout Heather. You even started to breakdown Heather’s feral, crackhead persona with that dream question.

[25yearsofstories]

25 Years of Animated Movies - 1997: Anastasia

1997 - Anastasia

IMDB page: here.

Synopsis from IMDB: The last surviving child of the Russian Royal Family joins two con men to reunite with her grandmother, the Dowager Empress, while the undead Rasputin seeks her death.

Age restriction: none.

Passes the Bechdel test? Yes.

LGBT+ characters? Nope.

Race representation other than white? Nope.

Should you watch it? Nope.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Review:

 I had this movie on VHS, and barely remembered it. I just had brief flashes of green light and a little white bat that popped up in my mind when I thought about it. Still, I was glad to see a non-Disney movie appearing so soon in my list, and thought it would be a lighthearted but enjoyable film.

I did not like this movie.

I swear I started watching with the best of intentions. But by the end I was just… disappointed.

First, the technical part.

The animation is weird. Ok, the painted backgrounds are beautiful, great representations of the opulence of Imperial Russia under czar reign, but the characters… Their facial expressions were deeply within the uncanny valley. I did some research and found out that they apparently used rotoscoping, a technique in which animators trace over live-action footage, to create a more realistic style. Well, maybe the technique was still in its early days, because the only effect that managed to be created to me was the effect of creepiness.

The interaction between 2D and 3D animation was really obvious and weird. Is not that the 3D parts weren’t well-done; they were, specially the “jewelry box”, but there was a striking contrast when both styles interacted. 

All these were minor annoyances in the beginning, but I got the impression that these problems got more and more evident the closer we got to the end, and in the latter part of the movie I was really distracted.

It also looked a lot like a Disney movie. Not just in structure (the princess, the musical, the cute animal sidekick) but in its style, too. Pooka, the dog, and the lady that manages the orphanage where Anastasia starts her journey to Paris remind me VERY much of Disney characters. Rasputin also reminices a lot of Maleficent. When he entered the party uninvited, wearing the same color scheme of dark and green… let’s say I wasn’t that surprised when he launched a curse on the royal family soon after.

The music is… forgettable. I really liked “Once Upon a December”, with its haunting and imposing melody, but the rest I just don’t remember.

But about the story. I was hoping to enjoy a simplified and disneyfied version of what happened to the Romanov. But this was a whole other thing.

Explaining the Russian Revolution, one of the most controversial happenings in recent history, which led to the deaths of thousands and to the creation of the URSS, as being caused by “magic” of an “evil wizard” is historically insensitive in ways I can’t even describe. It’s one thing to gloss over the details, as it was a bloody event that wouldn’t really suit the lighthearted “Disney-like” tone; it’s another to reduce a complex, controversial and tragic event to “hey kids, a wizard did it!”. Nope, there were no other reasons at all! If it wasn’t for that evil Rasputin, everybody could have kept living happily ever after under the reign of the czar!

And don’t get me started on the romanticization of the Romanov… Yes, the killing of the czar and his family, including poor children who had nothing to do with what was happening, was a tragic event that induces empathy in everyone who has a heart. But you know… Czar Nikolai was an absolutist monarch who lived in unimaginable wealth while his population starved. “Bloody Sunday” also ring any bells? It was hard to feel sympathy for the characters reminiscing about the “good old days”, when they had immense and luxurious parties and lived in glamorous palaces, when you have enough historical knowledge to know that many people were stuck in poverty, famine and disease to sustain this life-style.

This cognitive dissonance permeates the entire movie, and I don’t think it would have been released in more recent times. Not, at least, without heavy backlash. It is Pocahontas level of historical washing.

But let’s talk about the characters.

Anastasia starts as a quite refreshing take on a typical “Disney” princess, actually. Her initial I-was-raised-by-wolves attitude is quite entertaining and makes her likeable, with her oversized clothes and sleazy posture. Unfortunately, the plot involves disneyfying her, so these initial aspects that made her an endearing and somewhat unique princess for the time are mostly lost. Talk about a glow down. I really liked the initial exploration of her thoughts of abandonment and wanting to find a family, though. Also, you gotta respect that she was willing to throw hands with Rasputin at the end of the movie.

With Dimitri, the con man and love interest (seriously, why does every movie so far reminds me of Tangled?), they tried to go with the route of “roguish character who is a jerk with a hidden heart of gold”. But they went too heavy-handed with the “jerk” part, and Dimitri’s heart of gold only shows through when 1. he is a child and 2, Anastasia puts on a dress and he finds her beautiful and stops being a jerk to her. Those aren’t really enough to dismiss all the jerkness of the character, and I felt disappointed in his shallowness, especially when we come from “The Hunchback of Notredame”, with its amazing examples of male characters.

His relationship with Anastasia suffers from a serious case of Avril Lavigne’s logic. “He was a boy, she was a girl; can I make it any more obvious?”. Yes. Yes you can. It falls in the old logic of equating initial animosity to attraction, but it’s an especially poorly made version of it. There’s not even that energy, that tension, between Anastasia and Dimitri, actually. It’s not that they’re abiding by the playground rules of “they’re fighting because they like each other” or the “bickering old couple” trope; these characters just genuinely don’t seem to like each other. The romance as a whole, in conclusion, was poorly handled. 

One relationship, in contrast, that I thought was well constructed was the one between Anastasia and her Grandmama. There’s genuine love between the characters in the beginning and in the end of the movie. Child Anastasia’s antics with her grandmother are endearing, and the scene of their reunion is genuinely heartwarming. Grandmama as a whole was a good part of the movie; her stubborn resolution to avoid seeing Anastasia as a way to protect herself from more heartbreak is sad to watch, and also a good obstacle to be overcomed.

But I almost forgot one character. Rasputin, the villain. 

Well…

He is entertaining. His “falling apart” moments are the funniest and most creative parts of the movie. The problem is that he could have been removed without almost any alteration to the plot. During most of the film, you can barely remember he’s there, like he was added as an afterthought. The other obstacles that existed without a cursed lich involved were already enough to hold the plot, and as a result, poor Rasputin ends up being forgettable.

Apart from that, some parts of the movie are just plain weird. My head is still spinning from the French musical sequence. What was that? I get that they were supposed to represent the Roaring 20s in Paris, but all the French people acted so over-the-top and weird that it became cringe-worthy. I was cringing physically as I watched.

The only weirder thing was the villain sidekick bat randomly getting a pink bat girlfriend with no context whatsoever during the last 10 seconds of the movie. What was that?

Another random thing I noticed was that men in this movie are very grabby towards women, in a way that borders creepy. Seriously, the way Dimitri and Vlad suddenly grabbed women around them made me uncomfortable, and I wasn’t even the one being grabbed.

But, to finish this disastrous review, let’s talk about the ending. I guess it was supposed to be a good happy ending, but it broke my heart.

First, I understood that they were trying to say that Anastasia wasn’t comfortable being royal anymore, after being raised as a commoner, but the movie didn’t construct this that well. Showing the animal sidekick being sad during parties is not a way to construct the social inadequacy of your main character. It would have helped to show Anastasia herself more conflicted about this.

And… seriously, after spending her whole life longing for a family where she belonged, she really left her Grandmama? The old woman who had spent 10 years looking for the only surviving member of her family who died tragically? To get with Dimitri? Is that supposed to be the happy ending? I was just left feeling devastated by Grandmama, alone again just knowing her beloved granddaughter is alive… somewhere.

So, yeah… not a good movie. But to not end in a sour note, these are the things I liked:

The clothing is quite beautiful, and really reminds you of portraits that you see of the era. Anastasia has quite some dresses during the story, avoiding the character-with-one-set-of-clothes-during-the-entire-movie trope.

Rasputin’s death is also a good moment. The way he melts into goo and his skeleton just turns into dust is really awesome and was nice to watch.

And I guess that was it. I personally didn’t really like the movie, especially considering that the last movie showed that there was potential, even during the late 90s, to make more complex characters with well-structured plots. In the end, this gave me the distinct feeling of one of those straight-to-DVD Disney sequels, like Cinderella 3 or Mulan 2. Just a copy of a well-known formula.

Favourite character: Vlad. He’s the kindest character in the whole movie. His almost fatherly ways with Anastasia and Dimitri are endearing to watch 

Most awesome moment: The moment Anastasia gets into the palace and remembers the balls she used to attend. The animation is quite beautiful and the music, “Once Upon a December”, makes everything even more grandiose. 

Funniest moment: Rasputin falling apart gets me everytime.

Most heartwarming moment:  When Grandmama finally finds out that Anya is really the granddaughter she had been looking for for 10 years, after so much heartbreak, and they sing Anya’s childhood lullaby together.

Saddest moment: The ending. I know it’s supposed to be happy, but I got sad about Grandmama being left alone again.

And that’s it. I hope I have not upset the fans of Anastasia. You’re still allowed to enjoy it, it just wasn’t for me.

Next movie will be: 1998 - Mulan

[fanarchoslashivist]

Prompt! Post a peice of a WIP you started but never finished and probably never will.

Long ago Jackrabbit week, fusion day. Fusion was with Tin Man. Unlike other ideas this one will probably never leave the idea folder, and this is the only actual writing I've done for it. It became a monster during the planning stage and I was intimidated.

*

“He hoped you could fix him.”

The deep unfamiliar voice was the first thing Bunnymund heard as he entered the unusually quiet globe room, followed closely by the indignant protestations of the young woman in his immediate line of sight.

The workshop, normally loud and chaotic even through what passed for night in the arctic autumn, was disturbingly silent but for the conversation and the creak of metal from the ever spinning globe.

“Glitch doesn't need to be fixed!” the girl squawked in a voice that cracked between pitches like a preteen boy’s.

“No offense princess,” her companion, a dark figure in a hat with his back to Bunny, drawled, “but it's not your brain in a jar.”

“Bunny!” North rose from his seat at the sight of his friend. “Great timing my friend, we have unexpected guests it seems.”

Bunnymund adjusted the container of chocolates and sized up the two humans who turned to him. The girl, squat curly haired mess in a biker jacket, openly gawked but the man in the hat simply studied him with the same measuring eyes Bunny imagined were on his own face.

“That.. is one big rabbit.” The girl said bluntly and her companion rolled his eyes heavenward. 

“Pooka.” Bunny and the man in the hat said simultaneously. That earned the human another look, but North was there and blocking his view before he could ask.

“You have new chocolates. Good, good. We shall try them with refreshments yeti left. Come, you save me time to call you.” In a span of seconds North had herded Bunny towards the formal meeting table and fair shoved him into the booth. “Sit.”

Bunnymund glared at him, but wisely kept his mouth shut. If they were using the booth, and the workshop was cleared, it was something important. Either one of these two were someone, or from somewhere, that had North on the political defense. Santa didn’t hide his mystical toy making process for just anyone, show off that he was.

“Sooo.” the girl scooted down the booth until she was directly opposite him, with her companion perched on the edge. She folded her hands, fingers laced, in front of her and regarded him with wide eyes. “If he’s Santa, does that make you the Easter Bunny?” 

She said it with a little lift to the corner of her mouth, as if making some joke, Bunny had heard the remark before from non believers they’d had to drag in on the occasion. 

“At your service.” he said blandly, and watched her pale complexion flush and her altogether too large eyes dart away. 

“Oh.” She hummed, “that makes sense then.” She chewed on her lip as North brought mugs of cocoa piled high with whipped cream and plates of his new chocolates. “So, are there any other children stories I’m going to walk through or is this it, because honestly? I’m not really up to the whole extended universe thing. I was fine with just the one adventure.”

“Kid.” Her companion took his hat off and smooshed it onto her head, almost smashing her face into the cream along with it. “Shut up.”

She sat up, white cream on her pert button nose, and glared at him. “You can’t tell me to shut up, I’m a princess now remember? It's like a rule.”

“Like the rule against running away from home and riding storms across the desert to strange worlds. Sure thing your majesty, you’re all about those rules.”

“It's not strange to me. I grew UP here, remember?”

Bunny leaned back, amused. “Yer from the Outer Zone.”

The girl, princess, pursed her lips and tucked her head into her shoulders. “Maybe.”

“Sheila, ain't nobody outside the O.Z. ride storms.” He crossed his arms and side eyed North, who was humming as he sipped his chocolate. The O.Z. had been locked down for years, since the Witch had been freed. Sandy made sure of it. “What brings you to the Pole?” 

“Our friend Gl- Ah, Ambrose is missing.” The princess said, “He was on his way here when… he got lost.”

Ambrose, Bunny knew the man. Lanky pale man with a barely contained head of curls and a mind like a cosmic storm. He’d enjoyed many conversations with the brilliant advisor to the queen while visiting the Outer Zone. If he had gone missing then the situation on Oz must have taken a turn for the worst. Still.

“Sorry your grace,” Bunny’s voice was sympathetic, but firm, “Oz has laws against our interference, we’re not allowed in except on our holidays, and since the Witch was loosed we’ve been forced to shut it down. I’m sure ye noticed the Dream Sand.”

“How could you say that?” the princess demanded, “how can you just… LEAVE people to suffer like that.”

“Was not our decision.” North spoke up, and they exchanged frustrated looks. “We obey their laws or we aren’t welcome. Your mother,” North indicated the girl, “I assume the Queen, was firm on that law ten years ago when we offered.”

“So you just.. Just close us up in a wall of deadly sand?”

“Not deadly, just.. They just sleep. It wasn’t our first choice,” Bunny explained. “But we couldn’t let the Witch escape. There are forces, very old and very dangerous, that could do far greater damage than the Witch if they joined her.” The last of the fearlings had been sealed away all over the world, the Witch was only one of them. If she had loosed them all… Pitch would be more than just a bad dream. “If we couldn’t fix the problem, we had to contain it.”

“The Witch is dead.” Cain spoke up, face serious. “So the conversation is pointless. We’re not here for that.”

“Cain!” the princess objected, softer but just as fierce. “All the damage, everything. Cain, your family.”

“I know the laws D.G.” he turned to her, just as severe, “I didn’t agree with them, but I knew them. Your mom told them to go, they went. Not their fault.”

It was hard, Bunny knew, for the young to feel the weight of their parent’s mistakes. It had taken a great effort for Bunnymund to swallow his pride hundreds of years ago and let the Guardians share in his authority. There was a fear of loss of control, of usurpation, of being annexed into a greater power structure and finding everything you cared about, the lines you drew, the morals you held to only a small voice in a conversation. 

It was a hard thing, separating your own pride from leadership. The Queen had chosen pride, and belief in her own power. 

He had hoped she hadn’t chosen wrong.

“I’m glad to hear the Witch is no more.” North broke the tension, refilling their drinks though little of it was touched. D.G. took her cup and drank deeply, getting cream on her lip and nose. She wiped it off with the back of her sleeve, and by her sniff probably a few tears as well.

“So, what is the problem then? Why would Ambrose go missing?” Bunny asked once she’d settled.

“He was on his way here, to the Laughing Valley, to let you know we’d defeated the Sorceress. And…” She looked at Cain, who seemed intent on letting her speak. “He wanted help with… and injury.”

Bunny tensed. An injury from the Witch that needed the Guardians could only be one thing.

Infection.

“She took his brain.” D.G. burst out, eyes burning with tears. “She tortured him and when he didn’t help her she just, she took it, and she put it in a machine, and she used it to do terrible things.” 

“Hey, hey there sheila.” Bunny reached across for her hand and Cain had her other in an instant.

Children weren’t meant for wartime, Bunny thought, yet they were always the first victims. That same impotent fury he had felt when he had stood in her mother’s castle and been told to leave surged forward. This was the cost of isolationism, this was Oz’s most common affliction.

He met Cain’s eyes, stress lined and full of misery and pain, the man hadn’t wanted this, but it had been necessary. “He was headed to here,” Cain spoke up now, “because there was no one else could put him back together. He kept saying he had to catch the train. ‘Catch the train at Hohaho.’ We didn’t understand him at first..."

[the-purple-hero]

(Spyro)’S RP PLOTTING CHEAT-SHEET

Want new-and-exciting plots for your character? Long to reach out to more of your followers, but don’t know where to start? Fear not! Fill out this form and give your RP partners both present and future all the of juicy jumping off points they need to help you get your characters acquainted.

Be sure to tag the players whose characters YOU want more cues to interact with, and repost, don’t reblog! Feel free to add or remove sections as you see fit. Template here.

Mun name: Please call me Blake. c: OOC Contact: The IM system or asks is the best way to contact me. As I actually don’t have Discord or Skype.

Who the heck is my muse anyway:

Spyro is an Artisan dragon from the Dragon Realms. He is the local hero of the realms after saving the world from Gnasty Gnorc and many others in later times, he is best friends with his dragonfly companion Sparx. Spyro & Sparx currently are living in the peaceful Artisan home after recently defeating Red the Dragon and saving the realms from darkness. Despite their latest victory, Spyro & Sparx are always willing to lend a hand if he’s needed or if another villain tries to stir up trouble in their home. One recurring issue to note is the egg thieves always trying to snatch eggs away and Spyro always saves them and returns them where they belong.

Points of interest:

Both Spyro & Sparx  were stolen as unhatched eggs by thieves, who were stopped by the other dragons and soon were both hatched at the same time. Despite the thieves not being able to take them far, they both never met their parents and just like that, they were orphans. They grew up together at each other’s side, growing close as brothers. He was raised by the dragons of the Artisan home with Sparx at his side. 

After almost a decade unexpectedly, a goblin-like creature who was banished long ago named Gnasty Gnorc attacked the realms with a spell that froze all the dragons in crystal.  Spyro & Sparx were spared from it’s effects as well as Gnasty’s army. As the gnorcs began to invade, Spyro went on his first adventure and in the end the feisty little dragon had saved all the dragons and defeated Gnasty Gnorc. In the aftermath he would be praised as a hero and go on to achieve many other great things and defeat many other villains and save other worlds.

What they’ve been up to recently:

Spyro & Sparx are currently enjoying life in the Dragon Realms since peace had been restored once again since Red’s defeat. Beyond that point in time he hangs out with some of his new friends that’s he’s met on his adventures and the younger hatchlings look up to Spyro and he is always happy to help when someone needs something from him.

Where to find them:

The Artisan Homeworld. In the Dragon Realms. 

Current plans:

(Post-Canon/Main Verse) Just wind down for a while after many adventures, but is still helping out with the problems around the Dragon Realms should someone need him. 

Desired interactions:

I am very happy with the many characters Spyro has interacted with so far, most are crossovers but I find them all very enjoyable. The classic Spyro fandom may be small and rpers from it are rare, however I would be very interested in interacting with some of the villains from the series like the Sorceress or Red.

But a really interesting one I think would be Bianca, cause she was once the apprentice to the Sorceress and an enemy of his. she eventually turned on the Sorceress and redeemed herself to help him defeat the Sorceress. Bianca even won the affections of one of his good friends, Hunter. He doesn’t think she’s a threat anymore and doesn’t think she’s out to hurt him or any of his friends. Spyro trusts her now because he does forgive others such as her, so I think it’d be great to interact with her. :)

For other characters, I would like to interact with some Crash Bandicoot characters or any other kinds of hero or villain characters would be really awesome!

Other dragon characters would be a great too!

Besides all that that, I will say I REALLY love crossovers and I accept anyone that would like to interact, One thing to note though for certain is I will absolutely accept any cartoon or videogame character there is. :D

Offered interactions:

For me I’ve thought a lot about Spyro thoroughly and deeply, finding out every bit of information about him that’s canon outside the games themselves, and wondering about some of the unknown aspects of his life. For instance what happened to his parents and what his childhood was like up to the events of the first game, where to me I believe he was around 9-10 years old. Something I really like is his close relationship to his best friend Sparx, he keeps him safe and vice versa. Sparx likes to tease him a bit  but they still clearly are looking out for one another and make sure each other is safe. That goes for all of Spyro’s friends, he’ll always defend them if they’re under attack or in any kind of danger. I do like his personality, he’s funny and has a lot of sass and likes to have fun but I also think parts of his story are interesting. I offer lots of things on this blog because I’m mostly okay with nearly anything you’d like to do with Spyro in terms of characters when I say Nonselective I mean it, I accept everyone and it includes OC’s. I also am alright with any type of rps or elements you want to include whether it be dark, horror, adventure or really anything you’d like. The one thing I would rather not do is straight up sex or bathroom fetishes (E.G Scat) for a few different reasons. But everything else for the most part is fair game I’d say, and I don’t have any triggers either. Spyro is a really tough guy, and feisty, he likes to joke around even with the villains he faces, But he isn’t easy to bring down mentally or physically, however just cause he’s a well known hero and has been through a lot he still has feelings and cares about things.

Current open post/s:

Memes are one of the best ways start out, I don’t exactly make open starters but I’ve considering it for a while and that might change. But for now, memes are a really fun way to start interactions if you want to interact and none of the memes expire so if you see something from a long time ago then it doesn’t matter, you may send it in. :).

Anything else?:

Nope, I think I’ve covered everything. I hope you guys all have fun with this feisty little dragon. ^-^

Tagging: @ancmalychild @chainsxwsmile @lxvexdxrkness @randy-boggs @bruiiser @the-smallest-invader @szatanism @starveincd @pxppeteering @pooka-dragon @dragonxup @ofgemsandwumpa @chaosdragonrp @parainvestigator-mothman @askolivar @zimisnotdefective @dovahbornchild @tricotheguardian @betelgeusessonajblog @unsungcaninehero @championofdarkland @wolf-the-boss @dragevenn @lightpokemonking @riptothesorcerer @billyjoelmutt @ask-lee-twdg @nostalgicrobot @theavionicsoldier @tainted-cloud @queen-of-iceolation @stitchiisms @tiinybutton @villanosblackhat

[corvidpooka]

:>

well, you’re really lucky that i happened to find you! i’ll help you learn all about the different kinds of fae. i’ll mostly just talk about the ones who are most populous in your kingdom!

the sidhe, that’s what you are, are also known as “callowfae”. they rule the kingdoms, but only marginally as all fae have equal value in how the government runs. it’s kind of like... you’re just there to look pretty? basically if you want to be a good prince just do what non-sidhe say to do, most sidhe don’t really know what they’re doing (between you and me).

the pooka- that’s me- are kind of like the gods of this world. we’ve influenced basically every religion there is. we’re the ones with the animal facial features. we LOVE human invention and creation, because a lot of it was our doing. personally, I am a common blackbird pooka, and my name is marriebellie. I’ve been alive for 238 years, give or take a few, so I know a lot about this all. And thats not COUNTING past lives- yes, those exist, but only to pooka.

now trolls, trolls are very very dishonorable. it’s best to ask a lot of questions before you take their advice and make sure they know what theyre talking about- don’t you know about the stories about trolls under the bridges? they’re based in some truth!

boggans lie even more than trolls, don’t let their friendly demeanor fool you. they HATE the sidhe, and i’m honestly not even sure why.

nockers never take offense to anything! they’re all very good with a little jab now and then at the creations they make or their fashion. they love pranks too! real fun to hang out with.

satyr are... sooooo... boooring... they hate fun and you have to be real stuffy to talk to one. if you see one acting to the contrary, they’ve probably gone into bedlam (basically magic overdrive) and should get some help.

eshu aren’t very superstitious, they don’t believe in things like curses. they also really like to swear, so if you wanna get along with one you should do that.

sluagh LOVE company, despite being shrouded in mystery and darkness. they’re just real shy, it’s really a shame. they love discussing- oh i didn’t tell you about this, did i? they love talking about the ‘winter’, basically the apocalypse where theres no more fae magic, because a lot of them have some very good theories on them.

and finally... redcaps. theres two kinds, the scary-looking ones might seem like they’ll rip your face off but they all love a bit of back and forth arguing. it’s how they make friends! the other types look real jolly, and they are! You should enjoy a bite to eat from one.

i really hope i could help you with this!! :>

according to the “seelie court” the “sidhe prince” of their “kingdom” was “cursed” to “have his soul removed from his chosen human vessel and placed into the vessel of a newborn” to “teach him humility” and the baby was me and now everyone expects me to remember fairy things and all these fancy bitches think we’re friends. Help