#she’s goes after the messenger bird

[afkjourneyhasmebythethroat]

the whump potential behind master eomir sending cecia off to “stop them from causing problems” or whatever and bryon being the only one alone is just so *chefs kiss*

[vodika-vibes]

Hi Vodika 🥰

I'm back with a second ask for your follower celebration!

Could I get a Wolffe x Fem!Reader with a narcissus and pansy bouquet? Where the reader ends up in the hospital and Wolffe confesses his love for her when he visits and realizes how much she means to him?

Please and thank you 💚😘💚

@the-bad-batch-baroness

Accidents Happen

Summary: You've been crushing on Wolffe for, what seems like, forever. But you're convinced that he'll never feel the same. However, when you're injured at work, things change.

Pairing: Commander Wolffe x F!Reader

Word Count: 2020

Prompts: Narcissus - unrequited love, Pansy - you occupy my thoughts

Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni

A/N: You did say that Wolffe was on your brain! So I hope this story makes you happy! And here's your personal divider that I made for you. As a note This is Wolffe's message, and This is the reader's messaging.

Early mornings are the worst, you think as your alarm goes off at 5 am.

You lay in bed for a moment, listening to your alarm scream at you from across the room, before you sigh and swing your legs out of the bed and push to your feet. 

Early mornings where you actually have to do work the whole day are even worse. You blearily cross the room and hit the button on top of your clock, before you flip the lightswitch, making it impossible for you to go back to sleep.

And then you cross back to your bed, and grab your comm from its charger.

Several messages from your friends from the night before. Several more from your boss from last night and early this morning. A handful of emails that need to be deleted or responded to in kind.

You sigh heavily, and open the app for your work. You quickly log in for the day, before you go back to your emails. You absently answer several work emails as you pad through the apartment into your kitchen.

You set your comm down on the counter, still scanning your emails, and you grab your electric kettle to fill it with water. You set it back on it’s stand and flick the power switch, before you grab your comm again and turn to leave the room.

You start to reply to an email when the dark blue bubble of your instant messenger pops up on the screen.

You up?

Your heart speeds up and your face heats when you see the simple words sent to you by Wolffe. Your crush on him is, frankly, embarrassing. 

Tragically. Morning Wolffe. What’s up?

Comet has been harassing me to remind you about the book. The one with the birds.

You stare at the screen blankly for a moment, You mean The Raven Emperor series?

How should I know? Probably.

You giggle, Wolffe, there aren’t any actual birds in that book.

I really don’t care, sarad.

Well, someone’s grumpy this morning.

You’d be grumpy too if your twin brother stole all of your caf.

What, the GAR doesn’t give you a caf supply.

The GAR wouldn’t give us armor if we didn’t need it to win the war.

You can hear him rolling his eyes across the text message, and it’s kind of impressive. 

Anyway

Me and the boys are going to 79s this evening

Coming?

I wish.

I have a building that I need to appraise, and it’s something like 200 apartment buildings. 

I’m going to be busy until midnight

🥺

Ah.

Well, next time then.

You wait a moment for Wolffe to say something else, but he went offline soon after.

I want to go on a date with you. Your finger hovers over the send button, before you sigh and shake your head, deleting the message. 

Wolffe would never be interested in you. Not like that.

You just have to be happy with his friendship.

And here you thought ‘love unrequited’ was just something in the trashy romance novels you read in secret.

You allow yourself to wallow for a whole 30 seconds, and then you remember that you still have to shower and eat breakfast, and you toss your comm on your bed as you hurry into the fresher.

The chat with Wolffe means that you don’t have time for a proper breakfast, especially if you give yourself time enough to shower properly, but you think it was worth it. He’s Wolffe, after all.

Fifteen minutes later, you’re scrambling out of your fresher, pulling your wet hair into a messy knot at the back of your head, and you hurry back into the kitchen. 

In your rush you accidentally pour some hot water over your thumb as you fill your travel mug with the water, and you release a pained hiss. “I don’t have time for this,” You say to the empty apartment. You eye the blister critically, and decide that it’s not worth the hassle of treating it

Quickly, but carefully, you finish putting your breakfast together, and you hurry out the front door.

Your boss wants you at the complex by 6 am.

And luckily, you make it. By the skin of your teeth, maybe, but you’re still on time.

“You’re almost late,” the stern looking older man scolds.

“The keyword there being almost,” You counter, as you look up at the building, “This is the Meridian Complex?”

“Yep.”

“You spent how much on this?”

“2.5 Million Credits,” He sounds proud about it.

“This is a death trap.” You point out, cringing as a fake shutter falls off a window three stories up.

“It just needs a little work.” Your boss says, and then he pauses, “You are up to date on your vaccines, right?”

“Ha. You’re hilarious.” You pull your datapad out of your car, and glance at the information on the screen, “You have the keys?”

“Yup, all of the door codes are set to 00000.”

“Noted.” You make a note on the datapad, “After you.”

Half an hour later, you realize that your conservative estimation of this taking until midnight was far, far too generous. This is going to take days.

You look around at the rotting floorboards, and at the graffiti and holes on the walls, and you sigh. At least the paycheck is going to be really nice.

“Hey! I think I found a half decent apartment!” Your boss calls from down the stairs, “Second floor, 209. We can use this as a staging room.”

“Coming!” You shake your head at the sheer mess, and half wonder if you could message Wolffe and ask for the Wolfpack to help. You laugh softly at the idea, the boys would be more than happy to help, you’re sure, but it’s not realistic.

You start up the stairs.

But, if he was willing to help, you could spend more time with Wolffe, which would be a win.

A weird noise makes you slow to a stop, and you pause, tilting your head to listen better.

“What are you doing?” Your boss asks from the top of the stairs.

“...I heard something-” You trail off as there’s a cracking noise under your feet.

Your boss’ face goes gray. “Hurry!”

You go to take one more step, when the cracking noise returns. And when you put your foot down on the stair…it keeps going.

You don’t even have time to scream as the staircase collapses under you.

The last thing you see as you topple backwards is your boss’ horrified face, and you hear a shout of your name.

Wolffe is not having a super day.

On top of the fact that Fox stole all of the Caf and the fact that he’s been confined in his office doing paperwork all morning, the fact that the Wolfpack’s pretty sarad won’t be joining them at 79s tonight just shoved him into an awful mood.

Nights out are always better when she’s with them.

He glowers at the various documents that need his signatures. He should be grateful. He’s not Marshal Commander. He’s seen the amount of work that Cody, Fox, and Bly have on a daily basis.

He’s lucky that he is only a commander and he only has this much work to do.

…yeah, nope. That didn’t help.

He rests his head on his hand as he taps his stylus against the table. “When Alpha said that a command position was worth it, he was a filthy liar.” Wolffe announces to the room at large.

He should make Comet do this paperwork in exchange for the free time he’ll need to read that book series he’s going to borrow-

Wolffe’s thought process is cut off when his office door slides open and Comet bursts in, “Commander!”

“What is it?”

“Sarad is in the hospital.”

Wolffe’s heart drops into his stomach. He drops all of his work and grabs his helmet, “Which hospital?”

“Coruscant General. Sir, where-?”

“I’m going to go check on her, of course.” He pushes past Comet, “You’re in charge until I get back.”

“Yes, sir.” Comet pauses, “Let us know how she is?”

“I will,”

The trip to Coruscant General doesn’t take long, Wolffe is able to walk the distance. And, as luck has it, no one stops him when he enters the hospital properly.

“Can I help you sir?” The nurse at reception asks.

“I hope so,” Wolffe replies, before he offers her name, “I was told that she’s here.”

The woman nods, “Are you the husband?”

Wolffe pauses for half a second, “Yes, that's right.” He lies.

She nods again, “On the fifth floor, room 517.”

“Thank you.” He marches over to the lift, and presses the button for the fifth floor. Wolffe’s mind is whirling. How was she hurt? How badly? Does he need to set up a guard rotation for her?

Did someone attack her? Does he need to get the guard involved?

The lift comes to a stop and he steps out, and heads to the nurses station. He offers her name once more, and again, lies about being her husband, and he’s pointed in the right direction.

The door is shut, and Wolffe lightly knocks on the door. He doesn’t get a response, but he pushes the door open anyway.

“Sarad?” The lights are dimmed, but not so much that he’s not able to see her.

She looks…bad.

Covered in bruises and bandages. Various machines attached to her, monitoring her heart rate and blood pressure and giving her IV medication.

“Oh, cyare.” Wolffe walks over to her, and looks her over. Every inch of her is covered in angry looking bruises or cuts. “What happened?” Gently, very gently, he brushes a strand of hair out of her face.

A lot of the tension he hadn’t realized that he was carrying drains from his body now that he’s sure that she’s not dying or dead.

It’s kind of funny, in a way.

Sure, he’s always known that his sarad was important to him. He’s not been blind to the fact that she’s always on his mind and that he never isn’t thinking about her. But he didn’t know just how important until this very moment.

Wolffe’s fingers linger on her cheek, and he’s startled when he hears a soft moan from her. “Sarad?”

Hazy eyes peer up at him, confused, “‘lffe?”

“Yeah,” He smiles at her, “It’s me. How are you feeling?”

“...wh’re?”

“You’re at Coruscant General, you were hurt, do you remember?”

Her fingers flex, and Wolffe takes her hand in his free hand, “Stairs,” She mumbles, some of the haze leaving her voice, “The stairs collapsed-”

“Unlucky,” Wolffe says quietly, as he sets his helmet on the side table and then sits in a seat, “How are you feeling?”

She’s quiet as she considers his question, “...fuzzy.” She finally says.

He chuckles, “I’m not surprised, by the look of it, you’re on some good pain medicine.”

“Wolffe?”

“Hm?”

“Why are you in the hospital? Are you hurt?” She asks, her brow furrowed as she tries to puzzle it out.

“Come on, Sarad. You know the hospital doesn’t treat clones.” Wolffe brushes his fingers across her lips, “I’m here for you, of course.” He pauses, “I also let everyone believe that I’m your husband. Sorry.”

She hums, “I don’t mind.”

“That I lied?”

“Being your wife.” She clarifies, “Sounds like fun. Let’s do that.”

Wolffe laughs, “I think we’re skipping a couple of steps, Sarad.”

She hums again, her eyes fluttering closed, “Don’ care. Love Wolffe.” She mumbles.

His breath catches in his throat for a moment. And then a wide grin crosses his face. “Are you still awake, cyare?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“I love you.” He whispers into her ear, and then he presses a light kiss to her temple, “You’re not going to remember this when you sober up, and that’s okay. I’ll just tell you again and again, as many times as you need.”

She smiles at him, the drugs hitting her hard again, “Stay?”

“For as long as you want me, sarad. Promise.”

[eri-pl]

Nostos,

or TIL it is a thing, but it explains many things about the Silm.

So. The Ancient Greeks had a word for a very particular kind of returning home. If you don't want to read the whole Wikipedia page, I'll recap: Nostos is

a hero returning (often from a victorious war)

usually by the sea, a long journey with many troubles

focus also on reclaiming his place at home (Odysseus!!!)

also, managing to return = fame and glory

OK, so. Tolkien. I'm sure he knew well and loved this concept.

Earendil is basically this, but split between two/three people: Turgon -[Idril, but she's female, so no cool deeds for her :( ] - Earendil. His journey to Valinor has the exact kind of trials that a nostos should have from what I understand. He's like… this trope but for the whole Noldor nation. In a way. [They do not return after a victorious war, because we're doing a deconstruction of a trope, not just using it straight. Also the Noldor can't look too cool, because of their bad choices.]

Also, this explains why Tolkien didn't let any of the Feanorians return, or anyone important at all, except Galadriel. Because a man returning from a war through the sea = he is cool and heroic. And kinslayers are not cool, and the flight of the Noldor was generally uncool.

I'm sure this is a beloved trope of Númenorean literature at some point BTW (Also, Pharazôn would have an epic of his glorious return written in advance, before he sailed to attack Valinor, he seems like this kind of guy.)

Elendil is like the antithesis of this, but still positive. He does not return home (but he does, Men were never meant to live so far West, tbh nobody was but let's not complain about that here), he is not victorious after a war (but he is, nor all wars are literal), he does reclaim his place in a way. And the sea is there, but the road is quick and dramatic, not meandering. Of course it is, because they get a lift.

A whole book subtitled "there and back again", and I think it checks all of the boxes except "the sea" (well ok, the hero is not very traditional, but still it is a very proper nostos)

Also also I don't really get the appeal of it, maybe that's why I don't vibe with some parts of the Silm (sorry Tuor, you're boring). I like the sea, sailing can be fun, but I don't get the epic mariner idea. I just don't. I guess it's a personal preference thing.

Oh, the tension between "returning home in well-earned glory" and "returning home with an apology", it is very present in the Silm. (Even if usually the return home is via the Halls of Mandos).

The tension between "I deserve the praise, because the road was so twisted and hard", and "I got lost, I'm glad to be back", and all those tensions. And I feel like with the Noldor as a group, Tolkien wanted both (see: Feanor's cool reply to Manwë's messenger, but also all the disasters that come later).

How does this all tie to the Silmarils? I'm sure that what Feanor expected, what his sons expected initially was "we fight a war, we get our jewels, we do a classical nostos [even if we don't know this term]". But also, for me, the Silmarils themselves tie to the concept of home very strongly, and nostalgia— oh, how ironic it is that nostalgia means "pain for returning home", and their nostos was supposed to be brought upon by reclaiming the Silmarils and they brought them only pain, and no clear homecomings.

Also, this is not related etymologically, but I can't avoid thinking of how "nostos" sounds like it was cognate to "nest" and how baby birds are at some point supposed to leave it and never return.

I'm sure there's more to be found in here, and probably some wise people already said more about it.

[@stellavesperis, this is this post that goes earlier]

[yarrayora]

because of the lack of female protagonists in... pretty much every genre, really, people tend to hype up a lot of series as "better than the average [insert genre]" just because it has a female protagonist rather than male

(personally i think girls deserve formulaic schlock, too, like how bofuri is basically the average MMOVR with a black haired plain looking boy repeatedly stumbling upon cheat powers except the protagonist is a girl)

but when i look for new titles saying "i want interesting worldbuilding where we get to see how this fantasy world works as a society and the court intrigue goes beyond high school level mean girl bullying" and people respond with titles like "i'm in love with the villainess" it's like asking for a grilled steak and getting handed a hamburger

burger's good, but not what i'm looking for

so here's a list of my manga/webtoon recommendations for stories of political intrigue in fantasy worlds with a female protagonist (not all of them are isekai or regression or reincarnation, most are straight up just fantasy world):

The Holy Grail of Eris

The story of a kingdom after the villainess is executed for attempting to poison the heroine beloved by the crown prince. Our protagonist is Constance Grail who finds herself being haunted by the ghost of the villainess Scarlet Castiel who saved her from suffering the humiliation of having her engagement broken because of a false accusation.

Scarlet claims that she has been framed, and together the duo is set to find out the truth regarding her death sentence.

Saying more than this would ruin the plot twists, but read this if you're interested in a story where it makes sense for a ducal daughter to be sacrificed in exchange for a lady of a lower class as the nation's queen.

Itsuwari no Freya (localized as Prince Freya)

A small kingdom struggles to defend itself against a powerful warmongering kingdom with the leadership of their cunning prince. Except, the prince has died. To prevent the flame of hope from being extinguished, the prince's inner circle employs the aid of Freya, a village maiden with the same face as the late prince.

There is no time to prepare her to learn the ropes of politics. Now Freya must plunge immediately into international turmoil and figure out a way to secure support from other nations with the help of the prince's knights and, of course, her own charisma and intelligence.

Ebony (localized as Lady Evony)

Sensational news sweeps the nation: the Grand Duke has put a criminal under his protection. Evony was accused of her father's murder and ended up suffering all kinds of abuse in the hands of the prison wardens who despise her.

Yet her time at the women's prison was also the only time she was able to gain education in a misogynistic nation who still bars women from learning while other countries have a headmistress for their famous college and traveling tradeswomen.

As she heals from the wounds inflicted both on her body and her heart, she realizes she wants to become someone who can stand equal to the Grand Duke and not just a fragile flower to be protected in his garden.

Great if you're looking for slow burn romance where the main couple are equals instead of the usual "obsessive yandere male lead who holds to power/lovely lady who struggles to be useful" or "stupid but doting male lead who needs his very smart lady to show him the way"

Also great if you're looking for a korean webtoon where all their problems CANNOT be solved by the protagonists being wealthy capitalists

The Falcon Princess

While other webtoons tend to focus on noblewomen's tea parties as a source of conflict, The Falcon Princess focuses on a kingdom in the middle of being invaded.

The protagonist is a princess on the run when the imperial palace ends up ransacked by the enemy nation. She wakes up as a falcon and ends up finding herself as her kingdom's commander's messenger bird.

Despite the language barrier, the princess helps the commander figure out the enemy's location, strategy, and various ways to defeat them and finds herself becoming a symbol of hope who leads the army into reclaiming her nation.

JK Haru is a Sex Worker in Another World

Last but not least but is definitely the most controversial pick. Haru is a girl who gets reincarnated in another world after she got hit by a truck alongside her otaku classmate.

While said otaku is living his best life as his power fantasy becomes a reality, Haru refuses to be his girl in exchange for a comfortable life, even though the only job she could have in a misogynistic world where women can't even eat at a restaurant without a chaperone is at a brothel.

And yet, she doesn't hate it. Although the customers can be rough, she befriends the other prostitutes at the brothel and figures out how to enjoy her job. It's a story that depicts sex workers with respect, acknowledging their struggles without turning it into misery porn.

It also asks an important question regarding the trope of "overpowered isekaid protagonist changes the world for the better": CAN they actually change the world just because they have cheat powers? After all, societal issue isn't something you can solve using brute force and money alone

[raphael-angele]

Exotic Pets I think PJO Characters would own

Disclaimer: This post does not encourage the purchase or distribution of exotic/endangered animals to be kept in captivity. This is completely for entertainment purposes

Percy owns a Blue Mosaic Axolotl and he named it Mandy. This is because he originally thought she was a salamander. When he took it home and showed it to Annabeth, she corrected him but the name already stuck.

Annabeth has a Canary Barn Owl named Cato. She does not own this owl per se. Cato was flying near their apartment when Annabeth decided to leave some food out for him. Since then, Cato has been keeping an eye on her and following her around from the apartment to her college campus to the grocery store.

Grover has a Kinkajou he named Jumper. Again, he does not particularly own him. Jumper just happened to jump onto his shoulder while he was taking a hike through the woods one night. Jumper was hungry so Grover gave him some food. Every now and then, Grover would go back and feed him.

Nico (besides Cerby) owns two melanistic foxes named Aspen and Amber. No one knows the true origin of these foxes, all the campers know is that they just showed up out of no where and follow Nico around. Despite what they think, Aspen and Amber are actually very friendly and they only get defensive if you intend to harm Nico (besides Percy. They hate Percy for some reason).

Jason has a Racoon Dog named Jojo. Jason found Jojo while he was out for a walk. It was raining and it looked like Jojo was injured. Thankfully, they weren't that far from camp so he took him back and gave him a warm bath and treated him. Once Jojo was fully healed, Jason tried to release him back out there but he wouldn't leave

Piper has Anna's Hummingbirds. She built a bird house one time with Leo and hung it outside of the cabin. Next thing she knows, hummingbirds are inhabiting it. Two paticular hummingbirds she sees are two Anna's hummingbirds she named Luna and Aurelia.

Reyna (besides her two dogs) has a Serval Cat she named Aenea. Reyna does not own her but she goes to feed her every now and then and lets her take shelter during storms or when she wants

Bianca has an Unkindness of Ravens. Not one, not two, an Unkindness. EDIT: She was on a quest with the hunters one time and the ravens warned her about where they were going, where they should go, etc. The ravens got attached to her, being the daughter of the dead. And she eventually got used to it, but some of the hunters still get jumpscares when they wake up and see Bianca being surrounded by dozens of ravens. Two Ravens in particular, she named Argus and Sergio. These two are in charge of looking after Nico. Yes, she can speak to them; Yes, they are also messenger birds.

Thalia has a Sugar Glider named Jason. She found him on the shelf in her cabin looking for food. She was about to help him down when he flew to the drawer beside her bed. She took him to Annabeth to figure out what he is. She gave him some food after that and thought that he reminded him of Jason.

Hazel has a Chinchilla named Amy. Amy (short for Amethyst) looks like she's purple but really, she's a mix of grey and blue, which is why she looks purple. Amy was actually a gift from Frank.

Will, scarily enough, has an Edit 2: Sunbeam Snake he named Bowie. Again, no one knows where he came from, they just walked into the Apollo Cabin and freak out when they see the snake slithering around the cabin and they just go, "Oh, don't worry, that's just Bowie". Bowie only likes being held by the Apollo kids and Nico.

Leo has a Tarantula named Felix (Fix for short). Oddly enough, Leo was never scared of spiders, if anything, he loves them. The Athena Cabin always asks for his help to get rid of spiders. He found Fix crawling on his work table, almost getting killed when he interfered. He scooped him up and sent him back into the woods. The next day, he found him again on his table. He kept putting him back till he gave up and made a little space for him

[kirric-the-fan]

Artwork of my Love Bullet OC Koiro, commissioned from @4spaceknights- they're not on tumblr, but you can find their twitter here !

Koiro, cupid oc

- Koiro is a traditional cupid. She’s a bit of a loner who goes around doing her own thing and will just turn up from time to time. She’s been a cupid for a very long time, one of the old ones, old enough that Kanna and the others aren’t exactly sure how long she’s been around. They have theories, but then she’ll drop something like “And that’s what they said when they invented the cannon,” into the conversation and they’ll have to re-evaluate everything.

- She's quite imposing, and has no truck with this whole modernisation thing. She thinks the modern cupids have lost a lot of the art in their work. Spends about 90% of her time with other cupids glaring at and judging them for their weapon choices and such. Is hard to get along with and isn’t that fun to be around. Too much of a workhard. Stubborn. Uptight. Snobby. Thinks they represent everything that a cupid should be and could probably do with an attitude adjustment, but we love her anyway.

- Has a surprisingly cordial relationship with Kanna. Ena has beef with Koiro’s opinions on weapons and will air her disagreement at any opportunity, particularly in the bow vs sniper rifle department. Chiyo makes herself scarce. Something about not being able to hear Koiro coming. (She may have gotten on the wrong side of her in the past.)

- I hc that Kanna convinces Koiro to tutor Koharu as a tag-along apprentice for a day kind of thing. Koiro takes Koharu to learn archery, and then on to a target, which turns out to be an older person, who, while Koharu is initially surprised, she agrees that they deserve their second chance at love too. Koiro doesn’t say it outwardly, but Koharu made a good impression on her because she listened, and wanted to learn. Most other cupids don't make the effort, or don't understand where she's coming from. Becomes stoically protective of Koharu. In the 'I'm not looking after you, but I will sit here and keep the rain off you with my wing whilst you're sleeping' way.

- A big part of Koiro is that she is completely devoted to the goddess. And I mean Completely. Devoted, heart and soul. This is because, due to a quirk of her past, she actually fell in love; and with the goddess herself no less. Koiro’s been around long enough that when she was first made a cupid, they could still fall in love. This was stopped because it caused too many problems, but while all the other cupids from that time have moved on, she’s still working to earn the enormous amount of karma that might allow her to get the goddess to reciprocate her feelings. Maybe. Very few other cupids know about any of this though, so her dedication just comes across as her being single minded, uptight, and grumpy.

- Her love borders on obsession, and she’s been enough of a pester about it in the past that all the pigeons and doves now avoid her as much as they can. As messengers of the goddess, they straight up got tired of being asked to send the goddess love letters all the time. This does mean that Koiro’s arrival anywhere is heralded by the rapid departure of the birds, which can leave quite an impression on the newbies.

- She doesn’t like guns, but she did get fed up of being disarmed in disputes, and now has a smaller speargun-like secondary weapon concealed about her person. She only ever uses against upstart cupids ofc. She still has standards to uphold.

I have posted more about her in this post here

Extras:

- Yes I subscribe to the 'hair colour relates to how they died' train of thought

- The Kanna=goddess theory has funny but heart wrenching consequences for this oc because she just does not see it. Imagine searching all your life for a way to connect with the person you fell in love with, only to realise that you never noticed when they were right there.

[atomsminecraft]

Imagine if one of the fangirls hated MC so much that they decided that since she didn’t know much anyways, that they could try and see if they can convince MC to wear a cursed artifact to try and get her in a lot of trouble. They give it to her by a messenger bird so their identity stays a secret with the note “This will help you with your magic. Keep it a secret.”

MC of course doesn’t suspect anything and wears the piece of jewelry given to her. Her magic of course starts working after she wears it as well

It’s only until the cursed artifact goes haywire that she realizes the thing she was given was in fact something bad

I can imagine with just how much magic she has, the destruction is so much worse then how it would be with someone without magic or with less magic

No one would find the student that gave MC the artifact(I can’t really see any way that they could unless they gave every student a truth potion to see if they gave it to her or not) and MC likely gets away with a slap on the wrist since it wasn’t her fault

[linnoya-writes]

Zutara Childhood-Friends-to-Lovers Alter-Egos Forbidden-Romance AU (part II)

It was Zuko's idea, to write the first letter.

It had arrived to the Southern Water Tribe by a very cold and shivering messenger hawk, folded by wax stamp of a blue theatrical demon mask nobody had recognized. Nobody, except Katara, and she tried to keep her pounding heart from giving herself and her childhood friend away.

In the years that they had been allies, Katara only recalled the Fire Nation sending messenger hawks to the arctic tundra under dire circumstances (an island's epidemic in need of more healers, a village's drought in desperate need for ice)... and so she noticed the brilliance of her friend's gesture easily. How, in spite of their feuding nations, there was no need to let an innocent creature freeze to death by being turned away as soon as it arrived.

It was Sokka who read the content of the letter. "Her name is Caiduri. She likes fish." Their father had been with the tribal council, and so Sokka was left to decipher the significance of this letter and the writer. "We're supposed to keep this enemy bird?" Sokka deduced. But Katara jumped in immediately to calm Caiduri's annoyed ruffling of feathers, and the bird seemed to find a home on the girl's pelted arm. "She's not our enemy! She's sweet. And she should stay with us until the summer solstice." That meant they would have the bird for months, and Sokka shook his head in disbelief.

"Dad's not gonna like this."

"Well, Dad doesn't have a choice, does he?" She smirked at her brother knowingly.

"Yeah. Well don't get too attached to it. Once it goes back, it's not coming back here."

"It's a she, stupid." But Sokka had already left their hut before he could hear that. Katara groaned, but then yelped as the bird started nipping at her ear. And it hit her that she suddenly had something to take care of-- something else, anyway.

After feeding her the last scraps of their salmon dinner, Katara took Caiduri out with a lantern towards the snowy forest that encompassed the tribal village-- a forest that sang of screeching snowy owl-cats and howling distant polar bear-wolves. The girl had grown accustomed to these sounds, they didn't phase her anymore... but the bird perched on her shoulder trembled from all of the new.

"Don't worry-- you're safe here." Katara reassured, grazing the birds' feathers with a finger. "I just want you to see what I've been working on since the summer."

The little lantern light directed Katara towards a centuries-old pine tree, its trunk leaning back as if basking in the blanket of stars. The tree was as thick as the Fire Nation eastern redwoods that Katara had seen as a child... and it was that memory that had granted her the idea: a tree that thick must have a village of roots underneath, so vast, it can bring up soil a good distance away. And so Katara had searched for a cavern... a bungalow... any place where animals had long abandoned and could still shelter soil and warmth for a foreign seed. Her plum seed was precious; she couldn't just plant it half-heartedly. She tested potential spots with local shrub seeds, first, and then, if it succeeded... with cranberry bushes... and finally, in a little damp bungalow a short hike west of the leaning pine, Katara boldly planted Zuko's gift. All she did was give water and a prayer.

She had done this every night, for weeks.

And when Katara introduced Caiduri to her secret bungalow, the seed's stem was beginning to sprout. Tiny leaves were shining against the lantern light like dew drops.

Katara let the hawk scrunch into her warm pelted hood.

She couldn't help but laugh, thinking that Zuko had been the one to beat her at the first message, the first gift.

It was only because her gift was taking a bit longer to make, and she would've sent it through a private courier or a a stowaway shipment towards the islands. She would've found someone to vouch for her, made up some story to get this gift to the palace after so many levels of clearance.

But Katara had to give it to Zuko; the hawk was a brilliant idea.

By summer solstice, Caiduri returned to the Fire Nation palace. A tiny tropical plum neatly wrapped around the bird's leg. The image of a woman's face obscured by a veiled hat was the first thing Zuko recognized, drawn with ink on the wrapping.

Zuko tried to hide his grin while his uncle and his advisors tried to decipher the strange message.

"As it turns out... she likes plums, too."

[thefivekins]

(banner photography by Neil Burnell)

OTHER ANIMALS: FRIEND & FOE OF THE KINS.

Even after living in their territories for moons upon moons, it is true that the Kins are not truly wild animals. Throughout the cycles they have made many friends and foes, those of which don't always comprehend each other yet crave the same thing: survival. Peace is never guaranteed between the species, and there is an understanding that some may need to be predator or prey to keep their place in the wild. Animals often keep to themselves because of this... however, sharing the same forests and moors and rivers leads to inevitable overlap.

BADGERS

Burrowing mustelids found throughout all the territories, badgers are a familiar sight to the Kins; however, they are not always a welcome one. Slightly bigger than the average cat, they carry sharp claws and fangs that they aren’t afraid to use, though most would consider that a last resort. While they have a bit of a rivalry with the Kins, the badger clans are extremely social with each other and other animals. Their underground homes known as setts are ages old, occupied by the same families for generations. It is rare and seen as a bit taboo for a badger to leave their clan behind, though not necessarily out of the question. Families have one major sett with smaller ones found throughout their territory; larger setts contain twisting underground tunnels, with some including secret entrances. 

Like the Kins, badgers can have conflict with other clans in the area, though outright violence between them is rare. Clan members will share a common name that is accompanied by a unique first name, those of which have no restrictions or themes to follow. Badgers commonly name themselves after ground plants, vegetables, and fruits they eat. 

Midnight, the Badger of the Sea, is known by most clans. What she is exactly is up for debate, but the badgers see her as a common legendary figure and the focus of most prayers (other animals focus their prayers primarily on Gealach, Grain, Beatha and Bàs). Badgers are aware that Midnight is Fae-aligned, and in turn believe their connection to the Fae is stronger than most, even when one doesn’t practice or leave offerings. 

With nocturnal habits and rare appearances during the day, the badgers of the territories go out of their way to avoid Kin cats, except for ShadowKin. The cats of Shadow and the badger clans share a truce that goes back to Star Shadow herself, allowing both species to roam freely at night in their woodland that overflows with Fae magic.

The Kin cats would rather badgers learn Catspeak than them learning Badgerspeak, but neither side can agree on how to communicate. Heads of badger clans will learn basic Cat for the sake of emergency, often with the assistance of the local corvids. 

RAVENS, CROWS, & OTHER CORVIDS

The winged family of corvidae are a rather unique case in the territories– interacting frequently with countless species (including twolegs) leads these birds to be rather knowledgeable and efficient in many languages. It is said that the ravens and crows learned Cat by observing the Kins as they grew, only introducing themselves as allies when the five began to flourish after foundation. Following their introduction, corvids (ravens, crows, jays, magpies, and jackdaws) became essential to the life of the Kins in the form of communication and trade. 

Lovers of shiny things and twoleg trinkets, the corvids have much to offer in return for protection in the territories. They bring scrap metal to the ThunderKin blacksmiths and RiverKin artisans, scroll bark and magic-inclined herbs to the scholars and druids of ShadowKin. They serve as messengers in WindKin, scouts and spies in SkyKin, translators and mediators for all. It is strictly prohibited for a Kin cat to catch or kill a corvid– those that may are subject to severe punishment or even exile. 

Unlike cats, ravens and crows don’t name their young until they’re old enough to accomplish something that earns them a name– many chicks don’t survive. A name is seen as a celebration of survival. These names are often descriptors, and the birds gain multiple names as their lives carry on, every time something notable is done or they develop. Referring to a raven or crow as their first name (also known as a chick name) is considered affectionate although rude if they have a more notable name.

Example: A raven is named Bites-Beetles. She then earns the names Speaks-Cat and Flies-Steady. In turn, her full name would be Bites-Beetles, Speaks-Cat, Flies-Steady. A stranger may refer to her as Speaks-Cat, while a fellow flockmate would know her as Flies-Steady. Her family and friends would call her Bites-Beetles. 

Magpies name themselves after trinkets they are gifted at birth; a family will most likely have a collection that they pass down through the generations. Jays and jackdaws are somewhere in the middle, giving themselves multiple names that honor their skills, materials, or natural things like the Kins.

(partially conceptualized by @toadsong)

OTTERS

Otters are very peaceful creatures, completely and utterly allied with RiverKin. While Kin cats may be sticklers about their territory, the cats of River have lived adjacent to the otter population for as long as anyone can remember. They are solitary animals, yet approachable and collaborative. Their homes are called holts; natural holes in the earth with multiple entrances that are lined with river plants and decorated with rocks, similar to the dens of the nearby Kin. RiverKin and the otters depend on each other for materials and food, and while River can be competitive when it comes to obtaining what they need, it is rare for the otters to interfere. 

The art of speaking Otter has been passed down through the Kin from Star River themselves. These large mustelids are primarily nocturnal as well, doing their deeds and protecting the territory when the RiverKin is asleep. It is easy to catch them on dawn or dusk patrols.

Otters in the territories share the prefix/suffix naming system of the Kins, something that too goes back to Star River and their influence. 

FOXES

Besides birds of prey and venomous adders, the animal that poses the most danger to the Kins is undeniably the red fox. Known to be eerily adaptable and greatly determined about most things, these clever creatures have clashed with the wild cats from the very beginning. They are known to be social within their species and can travel far; their groups, called skulks, are loose. They are still dedicated families, but their ability to come and go overshadows this to many Kin cats, leading them to believe foxes are fickle and untrustworthy. It doesn’t help that foxes don’t follow the same rules across the board; some are nocturnal, some aren’t, some live in the woods, some live in the village, some don’t mind the Kins, most do. A fox doesn’t have many expectations to rely on, making them seem a bit unpredictable compared to other animals in the territories. The Kins do not like this.

Foxes will go anywhere and eat anything. They know they are at the top of the food chain and will gladly take advantage of it to prove a point. There are stories of Kin cats, even kittens, being captured by foxes and killed as prey. Despite all this, some foxes and badgers share an alliance across the land. They will share food and dens, even if their opinions often differ. In turn, these differing opinions may cause them to clash– skirmishes between the two species aren’t unheard of either. The Kins believe the foxes of the territories have always hated the cats and see them as challengers of their place in the wild.

Foxes have rather short lives– this leads them to live large, live boldly, unashamed and unafraid. They see every day as a puzzle to be solved, a battle to be won, and even if they don’t survive come sunrise they are assured that their legacy will always live on. Foxes refuse to fear death. These creatures hold large celebrations before Leaf-Bare to honor lives that have been lost. They also very commonly sing– death and survival being popular subjects– with most being made up on the spot to announce their presence if not for celebration or general fun. 

It is much more common for cats to learn basic Foxspeak than foxes to learn basic Catspeak. Fox names are words with personal descriptors, like so: Bramble’s Whiskers, Yew’s Cunning, Blueberry’s Voice. Similar to the corvids and cats, the second part of a fox’s name is earned as they mature, though it is a title that is selected by the individual themselves, not by others. 

OWLS

Owls, mysterious and nocturnal beasts, live most of their lives in secrecy. These birds are dedicated followers of Gealach, dedicating their time studying the world around them and how the night shapes it. Some stereotype them to be arrogant or pretentious. They fill a similar niche to the scholars of the ShadowKin, just within their own kind– the first scholars got the idea of writing from them, who got it from the twolegs in turn. Owl writing looks most similar to cursive, loopy and decorative, and it is something the cats have tried to copy and incorporate with some difficulty. 

The naming system for owls involves names being passed down, followed by a descriptor and a number if they aren’t the first in the family with such a name. These names can also include the location of their birth. One may be called Tawny the Wise from the Gnarled Oak, while another could be called Weevil the Belligerent III. It is very important to refer to an owl by their full name, no matter how complex.

Even after sharing their writing skills with ShadowKin and additional craftsmanship with RiverKin, owls often refuse to align themselves with the wild cats. Traditionally, an owl is fully dedicated to their solitude, having few friends and limited time to mate. Some circles have come to critique this, and even if an owl disagrees with the thought, they are expected to stay silent. Their solitary ways lends them the ability to develop their own unique perspectives of the world, and it is seen as extremely disrespectful to question another’s life if they are otherwise faithful. 

DEER

There are several different types of deer found amongst the territories: Fallow, Muntjac, Red, Roe, and Sika. All are seen as sacred, descendants of the legendary Grain, and the cats of the Kin are taught to treat them with utmost respect. Beyond the religious beliefs of the wildlife, it is seen as an honor to share territory with something as elegant and powerful as a deer. Deerspeak is not a language commonly learned by the wild cats.

HEDGEHOGS

The sleepy, opportunistic, and peaceful spiky creatures of the wild. The cats of one Kin may see them as extra prey (with an added level of difficulty to catch) while others may see them simply as friends of the forest. Hedgespeak is most similar to Badgerspeak out of any of the spoken languages in the territories, but considering that badgers are possible predators for them, the two species don’t communicate often and usually avoid each other.

[legends-of-time]

Strength of a High and Noble Hill (Outlander Story) - Masterlist

Timelines:

19th and 20th Centuries

17th and 18th Centuries

Fraser Descendants (family tree)

Warnings:

Major Character Death, Minor Character Death, Period-Typical Homophobia, Period Typical Attitudes, Period-Typical Sexism, Period-Typical Racism, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, unhealthy relationships

Summary:

May 1744

He wriggles his toes, feeling his environment. He quickly realises how much his surroundings are constricted, his legs are tightly bound and he is being cradled in someone’s arms. He opens his eyes and sees a woman leaning over him and realises she must be the one holding them. She’s humming softly with a warm and happy smile. He can see that her skin is clammy and there are bruises under her eyes, the eyes that are amber, golden-brown as well as smoky topaz, but that doesn’t dim her smile as she gazes upon the person in her arms. She’s white and her brown hair surrounds her face in messy curls.

——

What if Claire and Jamie’s first baby survived and what if it had been a boy. How will the story change?

Chapters:

Chapter 1: Birth

Chapter 2: First Months

Chapter 3: Peaceful Family Life Disrupted

Chapter 4: Goodbyes

Chapter 5: New Beginnings

Chapter 6: A Fish Out of Water

Chapter 7: Conflict

Chapter 8: Sister

Chapter 9: Returning

Chapter 10: The Truth

Chapter 11: The Loss of Hope

Chapter 12: Coping with Change

Chapter 13: Finding Him

Chapter 14: Moving to the Past

Chapter 15: Loss

Chapter 16: Lost Family

Chapter 17: A New but Old World

Chapter 18: Reunited at Last

Chapter 19: Big Brother

Chapter 20: Coming Together

Chapter 21: Fathers

Chapter 22: Dreams

Chapter 23: Fathers and Their Archaic Ways

Chapter 24: River Run

Chapter 25: A New but Old Face

Chapter 26: Caught in the Act

Chapter 27: Family Time

Chapter 28: New Beginnings

Chapter 29: Waiting

Chapter 30: Old Dreams

Chapter 31: Inferiority Complex

Chapter 32: Community Swelling

Chapter 33: Purpose

Chapter 34: First Sight

Chapter 35: Is it Happily Ever After?

Chapter 36: Gifts and Awkward Conversations

Chapter 37: Unravels

Chapter 38: Lay Up Trouble For Yourself

Chapter 39: War Wins Land, Peace Wins People

Chapter 40: Life Goes On But The Threat Looms

Chapter 41: Building Arsenal

Chapter 42: Romeo and Juliet

Chapter 43: Baggage Weighs You Down

Chapter 44: Misunderstandings

Chapter 45: Should auld acquaintance be forgot?

Chapter 46: Jesus H. Roosevelt Christ

Chapter 47: Best Not To Tell

Chapter 48: Putting a Reluctant Ring on it 

Chapter 49: Unrequited

Chapter 50: Death and Rebirth

Chapter 51: Caught With Your Pants Down

Chapter 52: A Confession, a Warning and a Truce

Chapter 53: Snuffing Out the Messenger Bird

Chapter 54: Fighting to Survive

Chapter 55: We Have Always Had Each Other

Chapter 56: Waking in a Nightmare

Chapter 57: The Sounds Of Silence

Chapter 58: Saying Goodbye

Wattpad access

fanfiction.net access

Ao3 access

[im-not-buying-it-ether]

More Shazamily/Marvel Family headcanons

Billy has a deep seated hatred for the Indiana Jones movies, there is no force on earth that can get him to watch any of the movies the whole way through

Normal magic rules don’t really apply to them in practice, they break and bend the rules a lot without realizing it. It’s one of the many perks of being champions and guardians of eternity, magic just goes with them and what they want to do

Have used spells from fantasy media’s to see if they work in real life; They do work but only for them, so each member of the Shazamily has a trump card in the form of random spells from random kids tv shows but they all use wands when they remember to just incase a spell backfires

Darla copied Star vs the forces of evil’s spells, no Fawcett villain likes admitting that they got beat by a Narwal Blast or a Warnicorn Stampede. Uses her wide array of princess and fairy wands she already has

Eugene, as seen in the first Shazam! movie, copy’s mortal combat moves and phrases. Doesn’t use a wand or a stand in for one much but uses a classic magicians wand from a magic kit he got

Billy binge watched every episode of Ben 10 and made a spread sheet of magical attacks shown in the show with Freddy to copy. Both use “Scribo in incendia” to multitask with homework and “Somus” to fall right asleep after patrol. Freddy uses his foam Wonder Woman sword and Billy just has a stick he picked up one day when he was 9 and hasn’t let go of since

Mary has copied some phrases from Sabrina the Teenage witch with varying levels of success, in part due to her not having full confidence in every attempt she makes. Bought one of those fancy wands with a gemstone at the end of them to cast spells

Pedro took a page out of Harry Potter and started using Latin to come up with his own spells. Uses whatever he has on hand as a wand, be it a pencil or the spork he was eating his lunch with

Billy has an older portable movie player he got as a hand me down gift from a foster sibling and a CD booklet with some kids movies in it that he’s held onto, its how he passed his rare instances of downtime when he was still homeless. Liked borrowing movies from local libraries to watch on it, some of the discs he actually owns are Matilda, the Night at the Museum trilogy, the Iron Giant, Tangled, Atlantis: the Lost Empire, and a CD copy of the second season of The Worlds Greatest Animal Detective; Tawky Tawny.

Freddy spends the first few years of his hero career pretending to be able bodied, constantly using his flight as a mobility aid, but decides later on to utilize a Wizards staff formed in a way to double as a crutch for him.

Followed by pidgins relentlessly. If a pidgin can go there they follow the Marvels everywhere. They’re chill, don’t steal their food or land on them, but they follow them everywhere. They all collectively blame Hermes influence as a patron god of messengers since pidgins are messenger birds (and yes it is the fault of his divine influence on them)

Billy got permission from the Wizard and other greek goddesses to have separate blessings for his sisters (Agility of Selene, Strength of Hippolyta, Stamina of Artemis, Flight of Zephyrus, Invulnerability of Aurora, and the Wisdom of Minerva) for the sole reason of keeping the influence and voices of Billy’s patrons out of their heads and away from them. (Because there’s no way in any form of hell he’s cursing Mary or Darla with Zeus to be in their heads)

They can talk to animals with the omnilinguistics the Wisdom of Solomon gives them, if anyone on the mortal plane can understand the language so can they. This has led to people seeing Captain Marvel coo back and forth with pidgins like they’re having a conversation (they’re talking about favorite snacks) and the one time he interrogated a rat through small squeaks to know which way a group of smugglers went.

Billy is an awesome gift giver, every year when the justice league has their annual white elephant on Dec 20th people pray they get their names drawn by him. He got Wally a bunch of shoes that were enchanted to not wear down from his speeding (dress shoes, running shoes, slippers, flip flops, the works), did some dimension hopping and time traveling to get a box full of Kryptonian books for Clark (including a collection of folklore with English translations so he can read a bedtime story to Jon), and a crud ton of sweets from the Funlands for J’onzz (including a giant Choco’s cookie big enough to sleep on.)

Freddy’s YouTube channel has a lot of videos of the Shazamily testing their powers based on comments, it has 2.3 million followers and the ad revenue they all rake in goes to helping out with the expenses at home and buying a lot of games at a 50/50 split

They are literally the only group of child vigilantes that are home in time for curfew/bed consistently, they’re more daytime heroes. The only exception being Billy when he has to go off world or to another dimension for League/Champion business but he always tells the Vasquez’s about them so they can call him in sick from school

Billy worked out an agreement with Harley Quinn so that him and his siblings could have semi-regular therapy appointments (hero/villain work permitting), she works her degree every other Tuesday and in return she gets Superman style flights whenever she wants and access to magical plant stuff for Ivy. Victor and Rosa worried about their kids mental health with all the responsibility and horrors of hero life but had no idea how to start getting them professional support for it so they’re glad Billy was able to find someone already in that life who could help and isn’t likely to endanger their identities.

[annachum]

A drawing I did of Sansa Stark when she visits Margarey, Loras, Olenna and Renly's Graves in Highgarden, sometime after Sansa becomes Queen of the North.

Scenario :

It was a few months after Sansa became Queen that winter, and spring was in bloom across the Seven Kingdoms.

It just so happens that Sansa has a diplomatic mission in Highgarden, capital of the Reach. Repairs and rebuilding are made all over Westeros since the bloodshed Daenerys have spilt. All the Westerosi kingdoms sought great efforts to accommodate those hundreds of refugees who fled from Kings Landing.

And it also happens that The Reach is known for its beautiful springs. So Sansa may as well see the beauty of Spring at Highgarden herself.

' You should come to Highgarden - you'll love it there. '

The words of Margaery Tyrell rang through Sansa's ears as she and her Northern entourage stepped through Highgarden. A tear is tempted to slip from a deep blue eyes of hers as she remembers an old friend, a true friend when she was going through tough times at the Red Keep. In a way, Sansa is glad that the Red Keep is destroyed and the House Lannister has fallen - she no longer wants anything to do with the Red Keep or the House Lannister ever again.

The mission went on smoothly, with Sansa being received a warm welcome by dignitaries at Highgarden, having a brunch with some diplomats in tow over repairs of trade ties between The Reach and the North that Cersei ( Sansa shuddered even at the memory of the mad Lannister Queen ) tried to break, and Sansa also takes time to admire the blossoming florals of Highgarden.

Things have changed a lot since Sansa became Queen of the North. No wars have happened between the 7 Kingdoms yet ( much to Sansa's relief ), Arya off to a new adventure somewhere in Essos ( Sansa has been receiving some very welcoming souvenirs from her sister in her sister's travels ), Bran juggling to rule over the South while several households have been wanting to recommend potential brides to him. There have been rumors going on that Bran may want to marry a Tyrell, or a Martell. Sansa smiles in amusement at such rumors, for she would like to see where this goes, albeit being a counsel to Bran about such things. She seriously didn't want Bran to make similar mistakes in romancing and matchmaking as she did again.

After that brunch, as per her request, Sansa and some of her handmaidens in tow visited the Highgarden Graves near the Highgarden castle. Smoothing over her black and gold dress that day, coupled with black boots and gloves made from the north, with her veiled headdress that complimented her lovely braided bun beneath it, she took a deep breath, clutched her forget me nots in her basket, and went into the grave.

Amongst the Graves included the gravestones of Olenna Redwyne, Margaery and Loras, and also Renly. Sansa smiled to herself at her old school girl crush on Loras, only for Loras to have an affair with Renly Baratheon until Renly died. She may have forgiven them about it, but she hasn't forgotten.

Still, Sansa is eternally grateful for Olenna and Margaery's kindness towards her, how Olenna also gave Sansa a handful of tips on queenship.

With a wistful smile and a tear in her eye, she placed a forget me not at their Graves.

' Hello, Olenna, ' Sansa breathed, as she curtsied at that grave, ' Hello, Margaery, Hello Loras, Hello Renly, ' she continued, and Curtsied to each one of them.

' A lot has changed since you all have been gone, ' Sansa smiled. ' I am no longer a ' little bird ' as the wretched Cersei once called me. I have become Queen of the North. '

She paused to try not to shed a tear, and then continued. ' And yes, the House Lannister has fallen. So much has happened since Kings Landing....'

Sansa paused to catch her breath. She still remembers the horror she felt when she heard from a messenger of the thousands of civilians dead or injured when Daenerys Targaryen burned down Kings Landing...

Gathering herself up, Sansa continued, ' Arya is currently on a new trip to somewhere in Essos, probably going to Bravoosi. Jon Snow is now a Night Watch. Tyrion is now a hand to Bran - its alright, he has proven his loyalty to the House Stark several times before. Even he becomes sick of House Lannister. ' she chuckled. And continued. ' Bran is doing fine, so far. He also got several potential brides recommended to him. I do hope he chooses wisely at these matters. '

Looking down at their Graves, Sansa also whispered. ' Thank you, ' Pause. Continue. ' For showing me decency during the Red Keep. I'm not even sure how I would survive if it wasn't for these acts of kindness. '

And with one final, deep curtsy, she gathered herself up, dabbing a few tears, and moved on with her ladies in waiting.

And as Sansa leaves, she somehow felt as if Olenna and Margarey smiling at her with pride and respect from the afterlifes. And at that, Sansa's heart is more at peace with content.

It took some time, but she has no resentment over Loras and Renly in their affair. She sincerely hopes that they, and Margarey and Olenna, can have peace in afterlifes, especially after all they been through.

' Your Majesty, ' a lady in waiting of hers spoke up, ' I just got word from Jon Snow. He says he would like to have dinner with you. Something about the border guard matters, I think. '

A faint blush crept on Sansa's cheeks. She liked Jon Snow. He has become a good friend and ally of the Starks since a few years back. But as this spring approached, Sansa felt there may be something more between her and Jon Snow.

Sansa herself isn't sure if she is ready for romance again after all she been through, between abuse from Joffrey, and the humiliation from Ramsey. For now, she is contented with being single. Another marriage can wait. With Jon Snow.....she will take her time and see where it goes.

' Tell Jon that I will meet him at night fall once I return to the North. ' Sansa spoke to the handmaid kindly

The handmaid bowed and nodded. And, with a knowing smile as she looked away from the Queen of North, the handmaid written a note of that and attached it to a raven to send to Jon Snow

Things sure changed a lot since Sansa became Queen of the North.

And as Sansa later on boarded on the carriage back to Winterfell, Sansa has a hope, as she gazed out of her carriage to the red roses of Highgarden, that things CAN get hopeful even after all that happened.

And from what happened in Westeros so far, it seems to be so.

[artsy-hobbitses]

I wonder what kind of relationship Omar/Op had with his parents before they died...

He’s always has a very good relationship with his parents! They’re Kurdish political refugees and kept him linked to his culture/instilled in him a love for reading and advocacy work.

He’s always admired his mom, Uzma, who was an independent journalist who ran an underground publishing house back in Iran —she died when he was in his teens and he channels her energy/spirit when he himself gets around to running underground publishing for copies of Megs’ magnum opus, Towards Peace, with help from the families who received the writings with the bodies of their loved ones sent back from the offworld mines.

He and his dad Mirza were very close—Mirza is a university professor who raised pigeons on the rooftop of their apartment and he carries that hobby with him (he thinks messenger pigeons are one of the most amazing birds ever), and Mirza remained his biggest supporter even when Proteus made him and Megs public enemies #1 and #2.

Omar/OP is devastated that he doesn’t even have Mirza’s body to bury (no one knows where or how Sentinel disposed of Mirza after the public hanging), but does find solace in Mirza’s last words to him in small notes which Mirza passed to Roller (who by chance was incarcerated next to him, and Roller passed these notes to OP when the resistance managed to free the rest of Sentinel’s political prisoners) where Mirza assures OP that he’s always been proud of him for fighting the good right even in the worst of times, and that he does not blame OP for what Sentinel has in store for him.

(He goes knowing he raised a Good Man, and that’s all he needs to take with him to the afterworld)

[safely-in-vhagars-belly]

Pillars of salt and sand (Aegon x oc, Aemond x oc) Chapter 7 (Two Princesses, one dreamer)

CONCEPT: You were once a princess, now you are Aemond's prisoner. You are taken to King's Landing to bend the knee to Aegon.

WARNINGS FOR READING: This fanfiction is dark. It will contain themes as: Non-con, dub-con, dom/sub themes, murder, torture, blood, graphic descriptions of sex, graphic descriptions of murder and graphic description of torture. As well as animal abuse, war crimes, genocide, massmurder, sadism, power-abuse and incestious relationships. Warnings will be updated as the fic goes on

They placed you on a stone bench. You are crying openly as your aunt Helaena tries her best to comfort you. But she has difficulties doing so. It is her words after all that keep ringing in your head. ‘’It isn't so bad. Most times, he just ignores you. Except sometimes when he's drunk.’’ You would prefer a life of solitude and ignoring over the few drunk times that he will notice you and climb on top of you and do unspeakable things with you.

Your friend betrayed you for Aemond. Your best friend, Floris. Aemond killed your brother in front of you, feeding him to his dragon. You had locked up your dragon, Justyce. Your only other friend in this world, and handed the key of her pen to Aemond. Of course this was before he killed your brother. The only reason you complied, obeyed and played the part of being his prisoner was because of Luc's safety.

You should have seen it from the start. The very first agreement you made with that one-eyed monster. He never planned on letting Luc live. He never forgave him.

You feel stupid for trusting him. If you had not, you would have both died. A fate you prefer over being Aegon Targaryen's wife. You heard rumors of his reputation and you will hate being his wife. You know so. You hated being a princess, you always did. You doubt you will love becoming a queen. Or so, a Queen-figure. You won’t be granted any real power. The Greens believe a woman is unfit to rule, after all.

Somewhere near yet you feel it as incredibly far, your mother is having her baby, and instead of being by her side, you are captured by enemies because you were stupid enough to wander into Aemond's trap. Your aunt keeps rubbing your back as if you are a little girl, but you don't mind her gentle and sincere approach. ‘’Hush, my sweet niece. Hush.’’ She tells you with comforting little pats on your back. It's a little awkward, but she tries at least. No one else will risk even glancing at you. You are an enemy. Even glancing in your direction, nevermind comforting you over the death of your brother, a traitor would get any servant in deep trouble.

The birds in the garden sing a mocking happy melody as if the gods are taunting you. You glare at a mockingbird that sits on a branch. Helaena continues to comfort you in her own special way. ‘’I found a ladybug. They say she is a messenger of the Mother. Make a wish.’’ She offers you the bug by pushing it in your face with a smile.

You do not feel like making wishes. Daemon once told you a story about a man. He had a child and a wife and lived as a farmer. One day, he found an ancient bottle. He opened it and a genie came out. He had three wishes.

The first wish was to spend on riches. He became rich beyond compare, outriching Kings and Lords across the entire world. But his child died.

The second wish he spent wishing for an eternal life. But his wife died.

Daemon would ask you, always would ask you, what would the last wish of the man be?

At first you became upset by his tales and Rhaenyra scolded him for upsetting you. Daemon shrugged. ‘’She won't be a child forever. If I don't make her strong; her enemies will crush her.’’ He was right. Damn him. He always is right.

You think now, that you finally solved Daemon's riddle. What is eternal life compared to losing your true love? And what is riches if it takes away your child? The man from the story has one wish left and he should wish to undo his other two wishes. There is no other way.

You look at the Ladybug that Helaena places on your hand. You sigh. ‘’Helaena, I don't believe In wishes or magic. I barely believe in myself.’’ You admit your voice is teary and fragile of all the crying. She glares at you, annoyed you won’t play her game with her.

The Queen forces you to play her games. ‘’Just wish. What is the worst that may happen?’’ A ladybug is the messenger of the Mother. You look at the tiny bug and close your eyes praying for the first time in weeks.

You wish for your mother's baby to be healthy. For her to deliver her child safely into the comfort of her bed, with Daemon by her side. You wish she could forgive you. You wish you could forgive yourself for your future.

The ladybug takes off the moment you have made your wish. You and Helaena watch it take wing and leave the gardens. ‘’I love bugs. No one notices them. No one stops them from going where they want to be.’’ Helaena's descriptions are almost dreamlike. She makes a pretty picture. You never knew your aunt to have dreams that big. You wonder where she would go, if she had wings herself.

You try to get yourself together. You have to be strong. They cannot see you cry. Not as much as you like to cry. You like to throw yourself on the bench and just sob until your throat hurts. The Queen's chest rises with a soft sigh and you understand she made a wish herself.

Neither of you are eager to share what you wished for. You both know by now: The Gods are merciless to those who dare to dream out loud. She grabs your long dark locks and starts braiding it. ‘’I am so sorry, you are to become his as well.’’ His. Aegon's.

Your walls build quickly to defend yourself. What is she after? You knew they were married but you never considered how uncomfortable it would be to share a husband. You never were jealous of any of your betrothed siblings or your aunt and uncle. It was something that stood so far away from you.

It was miles away, marriage that is. A ‘’someday’’ a ‘’maybe’’ a ‘’if’’. So how come it has snuck up on you, poking you on the shoulder and grabbing you by the throat?

Helaena ties your braid into a side bride. You must look like a fool. One other member of your ancestors wore her hair almost always this way. She was as comfortable in ringmail as in silk. She was one of Aegon I’s wives. And she was the lesser one. The ugly unhappy greedy woman. She was Visenya. Braiding your hair, dressing in certain colors, it sends a message to the outside world when you are royalty. Helaena knows what she is doing with this braid. So you rip your braid lose instantly. ‘’Is this a cruel joke? Braiding my hair as Visenya had hers?’’ You bark at the Queen.

Helaena's eyes fill with tears as she watches you undo her hard work. ‘’I...I never had any friends...I thought...You look so pretty with your hair when it is braided. You look as true princess.’’ She speaks softly, nearly muttering when tears fall. ‘’I never meant to insult you.’’ You can't have a friend here. Especially not one like her.

She is the Queen. She is in open rebellion to your mother, sitting on her throne and you are worried that after Floris anyone would betray you to become better themselves. Yet you must play along…for now.

‘’It has been a long day, your grace. Please forgive me.’’ You manage to blurt out an apology, to hide your displeasure from Helaena as best as possible.

Yet she reads you so well. ‘'D-don't your grace me. Please I beg of you.’’ She whimpers as a lost little puppy that lost her mother.

You sigh. ‘’Very well.’’

An uncomfortable silence follows. You both feel terrible by your actions. You rejected the only kind person in this city and made her cry as well. Helaena claims she wants to be friends, perhaps and thought she did you a favor by making you pretty. You look into the reflection of a polished vase. There is dried blood on your face, and your hair is a mess from flying your dragon. Helaena mutters. ‘’ābrar botagon kesrio syt vali find zirȳ gevie.’’ She speaks. Women survive, because men find them beautiful. You touch the dried blood on your face.

You need to win information about Aegon. That is the important thing now. For your own sanity. You need to know who you are about to marry. For you, he has always been a stupid boy you once had a crush on. A silent and absent soul that haunted you by family meetings. Never spoke to you, never bothered you. ‘’Is...Is he kind?’’ You need to know. Does he abuse her? ‘’Is he a good father to his children?’’ You have to know what kind of future you are facing. ‘’I heard rumors but...Rumors can lie.’’ You say.

Your aunt is silent, her face a mask. ‘’The way your grandsire was a father to his children.’’ Viserys was a good loving grandsire and father. He loved Rhaenyra and made her his heir. His love never weakened, not even when his sons were born. He would never replace her, this is what makes the usurping of the Greens so terribly sad.

You are relieved that Aegon won't neglect your children, at least. ‘’So he’s very good.’’ You mutter to settle your nerves. You may be forced to have his children, but he won’t be absent. He won’t be a stranger to any children you may have.

You laugh at your own thoughts. You woke up today, in your rooms at Dragonstone. And now you are thinking of your future as Aegon II’s miserable wife bearing his children and other miserable things that make you want to run into a sword.

The Queen of bugs smiles. ‘’No. He was terrible as is Aegon.’’ You feel your brows frown. Viserys, your grandsire, terrible? A terrible father? You laugh thinking she is joking.

Your laugh dies the moment you see her eyes and they for the first time since you've met her, filled with rage. ‘’What?’’ You stutter a little helpless.

Helaena sighs wistfully and laughs. ‘’He never recalled my name day. I never spent a moment in his company. It never mattered how many bugs I caught, how many hours I waited. How late I stayed up until I passed out in his rooms, waiting by the door...My father was never there for me.’’

You have trouble understanding how good a father he was to Rhaenyra and so badly to his other children. Perhaps he neglected Helaena a tiny bit but surely his other children have fond memories of your late grandsire. Your brothers always loved it when Viserys came over.

You had a lovely childhood growing up with Laenor. He may not have fathered you but he would always be your father. Harwin Strong is your real father and your memories were short and brief but they were true and no insult will take it away from you.

Grandsire...was not feeling well his final years. Perhaps the bug queen is a little upset about him forgetting a few things and attending his duties more than his children. ‘’He was sick.’’ You defend him.

Helaena muses, amused by your words as she defends herself sharp as if stabbing you with a needle. ‘’Yet healthy enough to visit Rhaenyra. Illness does not cages us. It sets us free. We see who we want to spend our last moments with...and with who we do not.’’ It does raise an important question. A question that might explain why Aegon and his siblings hate you and your brother so deeply.

Was this all avoidable, was this all for jealousy and neglect? You doubt it has an answer so simple. The war has been a poisonous mix of multiple factors. It is not as easy to blame Aemond for killing Luc. It not as easy to blame Viserys for neglecting his children. It is a combination of factors, a deadly dance where everyone did their best...and had a part. Yourself included.

Helaena speaks, breaking the silence as she lovingly gazes at the flowers in a pot. ‘’You know, I never wanted to become a princess.’’ Helaena confesses softly. ‘’I always wanted to be...a gardener.’’

Your eyes go wide in surprise as you become intrigued by this. A gardener? What is exciting about that? ‘’A gardener?’’ You repeat carefully to not let her know you think it boring. If you were not a princess, you’d start a bookshop. Not very exciting either, but that is fine. Your books can give you excitement. Or perhaps you would sail to old Valyria, uncover it’s secrets. If you ever would make it, that is. You could also become a knight. A fearless soldier. If only.

Helaena’s eyes shimmer with wishfulness and dreams. ‘’Yes. Surrounded by trees in the open fields, the wind blowing through my hair, a good boring husband who is not a usurper and endless fields of leaves for me to lift and see if there are bugs hidden beneath it.’’ Her eyes sparkle and her voice lights in ways that you never heard her speak before.

You wonder if her bug obsession has anything to do with her desire for freedom. In a way, she and you are alike in ways you did not think possible. You both are princesses, and both desire freedom. And you both live in a world where even your titles won’t ever grant you true freedom. The only true freedom…is the freedom of death. ‘’It has never been easy. Being myself. They all say we are insane. Yet no one is as ill as I am. My illness cannot be helped.’’ She speaks, rattling nervously as she pulls her nails.

You feel sympathy for her. You scooch closer. ‘’Your brother is not healthy either. He killed my brother, fed him to his dragon. You have done nothing to harm or shame me or my family.’’ Unlike Aemond, Aegon, Alicent, Otto….

She shakes her head at your words. Refusing to believe them. ‘’My brothers both have their reasons. We all do. You see us as the enemy but it is not as black and white as that. Life is more complicated than a one-sided story. Everyone has one. And who the villain is, that changes with every book.’’

For some reason that truth upsets you. It makes it seem as if all of this is reasonable and justified. ‘’My mother was going to grant you mercy.’’ You speak. ‘’She always wanted a little sister. She sees you as her own.’’ You know your mother does.

The birds sing in the distance as the clouds roll one by one. Helaena ignores your words with great effort. ‘’Ask my brothers. They have tales too. Only worse. I am the lucky one. You all think me insane and mad in the head-’’ You do remember thinking so when you were little. But not anymore.

‘’We don't think that-’’ You try to touch her back but she grabs your wrists nearly breaking them when glaring at you.

She hisses through her tears. ‘’Don't lie to me. Do not lie to me. You have taken enough from me.’’ You whimper in pain. ‘’You think I want to share my husband? You think I want any of this? No! But I do it regardless. Because it is expected of me. Because ….well. None of it matters.’’ She mutters the last word to herself, a devastating heartbreak written in her eyes. ‘’None of it will matter, in the end.’’

[ecargmura]

Hirogaru Sky! Precure Episode 8 Review: The Orange Bird

A two-parter? Wow! I’m actually pumped up for what happens next episode with all the tension that happened towards the end. This episode also gives us a lot of information about Skyland with the introduction of the new character and also gives answers to some questions I had in previous episodes!

One particular question I had was back in Episode 3 about the Skystones. This episode shows that storms causes cracks in rifts which causes a portal to Skyland to be accidentally opened. When it does open, things from Skyland fall into Earth like Skystones. I think this makes absolute sense now as storms always come and go and if Yoyo has been on Earth for the past fifty years or so, it makes sense that Skystones can accumulate as much as they can here. This is a brilliant detail!

The mystery of the orange bird is finally unveiled! The bird is part of a bird tribe in Skyland called Puni Bird Tribe. They are bird folk that traded their flight to become humans. In this bird’s case, he can change into a human boy named Tsubasa. He came to Sorashido City by accident one year before Sora did because of an accident during his attempt to fly. He’s a character who’s fascinated with the idea of flying because he’s a bird that can’t fly. He has been staying with Yoyo for the past year in order to study aerodynamics and use the knowledge to teach himself how to fly.

Tsubasa is a rather sweet character in general. He means no harm at all. I think he has the potential to be my favorite character in this anime, but having one particular favorite is hard since Sora and Mashiro are already likable. I’m just anticipating the epicness of Cure Wing’s debut. I just pray that his transformation scene is better than Cure Prism’s. Also, I know for a fact that Cure Wing is the first main male Precure in the franchise, so it will also be a historical event for the franchise. Hearing Ayumu Murase’s voice makes me happy because he has such a nice voice.

Princess Ellee gets some development too! She’s growing up fast! She’s already trying to walk step by step. She’s also eating baby foods and not just milk now. However, the fact that she commands the sling to come to her and is rushing towards where the Precures are makes me worried. She’s definitely going to get captured by Kabaton at this rate! Despite this, I know that Ellee has been plot device, but seeing her have a bit more focus here makes me wonder if she’s going to have a more important role other than being the mascot and plot device. I wonder if something big will happen once all four Cures come together.

Sora reveals that birds in Skyland talk and that humans and birds coexist harmoniously there. It makes sense as the messenger bird in the first episode was talking to Sora in the beginning. The fact that birds are important beings in the world itself is also interesting world building. Mashiro is going to freak out if she goes to Skyland.

Also, Sora was a little annoying in this episode, but it makes sense as she’s dedicated to protecting Ellee. Though, the way she was barking at him was funny. I do like how the animosity she had towards Tsubasa immediately fades as she learns about his dream of flight. She’s someone who has a broad dream of her own, so it would be weird if she continued hating him even after learning about his dream.

Kabaton is actually being a menace for once with his Drone Ranborg actually being threatening. I’m actually on edge on what’s going to happen next. It does make me wonder if this will be Kabaton’s last stand and he’ll get replaced with a new villain or if he’ll still be the recurring villain throughout the rest of the show.

Because this is a Skylander focused episode, Mashiro doesn’t get much screen time. Hopefully, she’ll get some next episode. Ageha makes an appearance too! I think dedicating this episode to Yoyo, Tsubasa, Ellee and Sora makes absolute sense because we need to build on Skyland lore too. I can’t wait for next week!

[calicohyde]

Tagged by @howlingbreeze to find the given words in my WIP(s). His words for me are blue, mountain, kiss and grow.

blue

Beck is the first to see him, and waves him over. Cal goes to him quickly, relieved beyond measure to see a familiar face. He's wearing almost an identical outfit to the one Cal first met him in, stylish but loose and casual. His nails are painted now, a glittering dark blue, and he's wearing trendy glasses.

from Paid Training draft 2.1, currently 10k

mountain

There’s a snort from just beyond the decorative partition that nominally separates their group table from the rest. A person-shaped shadow moves behind mass-produced ink cranes flying over blue mountains. And, lo and behold, there is Stanley Uris. He holds Richie’s eyes as he emerges, just to really bring it home that he heard that.

from gold rush, currently 29k

kiss

"Whuh…?" Stan croaks. They'd told her he'd feel intensely dehydrated even after transfusion and saline, not to mention pained and weak and confused. They'd told her he might not remember what he'd done, and not to ask him why. Patty had thought, at the time, of course she wouldn't ask him why, not right then. She'd tell him how much she loves him and how grateful she is that he's alive, and she'd kiss his eyebrows and his lashes and the bridge of his nose, the curve of his cheek, the tip of each finger. But here and now it's the only thing she can think: why? Why, Stanley; why, God; why why why-

from summer birds, currently 4k

grow

Crystals grow, after all. Some of them faster than others.

from Curse The Messenger draft 1.4, currently 29k

I tag @blind-the-winds @ceph-the-ghost-writer and @silvertalonwritblr. My words for y'all are message, change, time, hang, and know.