#sonja no last name

[davidluigi]

Skam 3x04 - ‘I want to go swimming’

[sofieartz]

[ AFK Journey Fanart ]

This was supposed to be a simple doodle, But then I blacked out... And suddenly I am here.

Have the sillies

[ego-meliorem-esse]

I felt high when i saw it

@ego-meliorem-esse and I were browsing a bookstore

Tell me why are Chilchuck and Marcille on a cover of a Croatian children's book and why is it so accurate

[blueiscoool]

Ramses II’s Long-Lost Sarcophagus Has Finally Been Identified

An Egyptologist recently concluded that a fragment of an overlooked granite coffin bears the great pharaoh’s name.

Ramses II, a pharaoh who ruled in the 13th century B.C.E., is one of ancient Egypt’s best-known rulers. The 19th-Dynasty king expanded Egypt’s territory into modern-day Syria, fathered some 100 children and boasted one of the civilization’s most ornate coffins. But the carved granite sarcophagus built to house that coffin has never been identified—until now.

Frédéric Payraudeau, an Egyptologist at France’s Sorbonne University, recently re-examined a sarcophagus fragment found in the ancient necropolis of Abydos in 2009. At the time, experts posited that the engraved stone box had held the remains of two different people at different times, per a statement from the French National Center for Scientific Research. The second occupant was Menkheperre, a high priest who lived around 1000 B.C.E. But the first proved to be more difficult to pin down: Archaeologists only knew that they were a very high-ranking figure from the Egyptian New Kingdom, reports Live Science’s Jennifer Nalewicki.

Ramses II's cedar coffin.

When Payraudeau studied the sarcophagus fragment’s inscriptions, including a previously obstructed and misidentified cartouche (an oval that typically encloses a royal name), he realized the hieroglyphs bore Ramses’ name. The scholar published his findings in the journal Revue D’Égyptologie.

Ramses’ reign lasted around 67 years, making it one of the ancient civilization’s longest. Dubbed the “builder pharaoh,” Ramses commissioned many temples throughout the region. As Payraudeau says in the statement, finding an ancient Egyptian site that isn’t marked with Ramses’ name is rare. The king even added his name to monuments built before his rule.

Ramses’ death in 1213 B.C.E. left a layered physical trail, thanks to multifaceted Egyptian entombing techniques and numerous pillagings of the Valley of the Kings, which held his and many other royal tombs. The pharaoh was buried in a gilded wooden coffin that was nested inside of an alabaster sarcophagus and a larger granite sarcophagus. Later, the coffin was stolen, the alabaster sarcophagus was shattered by looters and the granite sarcophagus—from which the fragment in question originated—was reused by Menkheperre.

As Payraudeau explains, the Valley of the Kings was plundered numerous times during ancient Egypt’s 19th Dynasty, an era of economic and social crises that led to scarcity, forcing even royals to reuse funerary objects created for their predecessors.

In 1881, Ramses’ mummy and coffin were discovered in a hiding place in the temple complex Deir el-Bahari, which housed the remains of 50 other members of the nobility, including the pharaoh’s father, Seti I, according to the Egypt Museum. Since then, the gold coffin and Ramses’ mummy have been exhibited at museums around the world. Whether the sarcophagus fragment, which is currently stored in Abydos, will one day go on display, too, remains unclear.

By Sonja Anderson.

[goldenocie]

We thought you were joking about giving Oscar a boyfriend-

and I find it really funny that that option was the option that actually was the right one???

Oh! Funny enough there are elements of my epilogue that didn’t get drawn/ mentioned as it’s finals and my last two months have been a bit of a struggle

One of those elements is that Oscar has a whole friend group (cough polycule, cough) when he’s older that are some of the new generation of guards for New Seaside. Turner, Raja, and Sonja!

Raja is an enderman and Sonja is an allay. I thought it would be neat if they’re all from the different realms. Their unofficial friend group name is “realm breakers”! I decided not to include it since it’s not super relevant but I love em. I showed off raja and Turner on Twitter before but I’d love to do a full group pose for them since these were just their concept sketches

[syn4k]

What's Mianite?

Mianite was a Minecraft roleplay series started in 2014 by Tom Syndicate and Tucker II_JERIICHO_II! It had two seasons, the second of which started late in 2015 and ended in 2016, and one spinoff series called Mianitian Isles that started in pandemic-era 2020 and ended sometime in 2022 IIRC. It also featured Jordan CaptainSparklez (yep, that CaptainSparklez) and Sonja OMGItsFirefoxx.

The premise of Mianite is that there are three gods: Mianite, god of order, after whom the series is named after, Dianite, god of chaos, and Ianite, goddess of balance. Each god has a champion (or champions), a player who carries out their will on Earth. A main point of tension present in all three series was that the champions were often caught between the bonds they had with each other and their loyalty to their gods, which made for some really damn good moments in all three series.

If that sounds interesting to you, good news, you can totally jump into this blind! I recommend starting with Jordan CaptainSparklez' POV first, since he's a central figure in s1 and involved in basically all the main plot points in s2. He also edited down his livestreams (the entire series was streamed live on Twitch) into shorter episodes with only the relevant clips sticking around. You can find his s1 playlist here, his s2 playlist here, and his Isles playlist here.

Fair warning: Seasons 1 and 2 but especially 1 are very much products of the time they were made in, and while they're pretty chill, some of the jokes and references made come off as dated and off-color today. The R slur is also dropped a total of like, four times over the span of the two seasons but I thought I'd point it out anyways jic. Season 2 also handles themes of abuse, torture, and is just in general a Little Bit (very) Strange.

is it worth watching it? i don't know. i don't know you. however if you can handle the format and the longevity of it (jordan's s1 and s2 povs combined are 200 episodes long), it tells a pretty damn compelling story about how uhhh [checks notes] divinity is found in the most human of places, how morality is farther from black and white than anything you could possibly imagine, and how and why it's important to pay attention to the way people present information and what motives they may have behind not only how they share it but behind why they might share it at all. it's also a testament to how humans will always find ways to stay silly no matter how serious things get around them. and last but certainly not least mianite is the forerunner of queercoded as FUCK characters interactions etc its just So Very, in more ways than one, All The Time.

but also ive had a raging hyperfixation on it for the past several months so who knows if any of that is accurate lol

good luck and have fun, anon :]

[wardrobeoftime]

Master Post - A to M

If you notice any show, movie or character missing that I’ve made gifs of, please let me know. Characters are sorted alphabetically by first their last name and then their first name.

Last updated: December 19th, 2024

A

Aladdin [2019] (Princess Jasmine)

Allerleirauh (Princess Friederike | Princess Lotte)

American Song Contest (2022)

Aschenputtel [2010] (Marie/Aschenputtel)

Aschenputtel [2011] (Annabella | Aschenputtel/Cinderella)

Australia [2008] (Sarah Ashley)

B

Barbie (Stereotypical Barbie)

Beauty and the Beast [2017] (Madame de Garderobe | Mrs Potts)

Becoming Elizabeth (Amy Robsart | Mary Tudor)

Blood, Sex & Royalty (Anne Boleyn | Mary Boleyn)

Bridgerton (Tilley Arnold | Lady Berbrooke | Benedict Bridgerton | Daphne Bridgerton | Eloise Bridgerton | Francesca Bridgerton | Hyacinth Bridgerton | Violet Bridgerton | Queen Charlotte | Cressida Cowper | Agatha Danbury | Penelope Featherington | Philippa Featherington | Prudence Featherington | King George III | Siena Rosso | Edwina Sharma | Kathani "Kate" Sharma | Mary Sharma | Tessa | Marina Thompson | Extras)

Britain’s Bloody Crown (Margaret of Anjou | Margaret Beaufort | Elizabeth Woodville)

C

Cinderella [2015] (Anastasia Tremaine | Drisella Tremaine | Ella)

D

Das Adlon (Sonja Schadt)

Die Galoschen des Glücks (Princess Aurora)

Die Kaiserin (Maria Alexandrovna / Marie of Hesse | Elisabeth “Sisi” of Austria | Archduchess Sophie of Austria)

Die Salzprinzessin (Princess Amélie | Princess Eugenia | Princess Isabella)

Die Schöne und das Biest (Elsa)

Disney Live Action (see the individual movies | Extras)

Doctor Who (Ashildr | Cyril Arwell | Lily Arwell | Madge Arwell | Reg Arwell | Rosanna Calvierri | Miss Chandrakala | Agatha Christie | Hugh Curbishley | The Doctor | Twelth Doctor | Clemency Eddison | Jack Harkness | King James I | Katherine | Donna Noble | Madame de Pompadour | Amy Pond | Bill Potts | Robina Redmond | Becka Savage | Willa Twiston | Extras)

Domina (Agrippa | Antonia Major | Antonia “Antonina” Minor | Emperor Augustus | Julia the Elder | Livia Drusilla | Marcella | Octavia Minor)

Downton Abbey (Lucy Branson (née Smith) | Cora Crawley | Edith Crawley | Mary Crawley)

Dune: Prophecy (Ynez Corrino)

Dynasty [2017] (Kirby Anders | Fallon Carrington)

E

Effie Gray [2014] (Euphemia “Effie” Gray)

Elizabeth Duology (Elizabeth I)

Emerald City (Langwidere of Ev)

Emma [2020] (Isabella Knightley | Emma Woodhouse)

Eurovision Song Contest (1970 | 1974 | 1979 | 1980 | 1982 | 1988 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1995 | 1996 | 1998 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024)

F

Frauen, die Geschichte machten (Catherine the Great)

G

Galavant (Madalena)

Game of Thrones (Myrcella Baratheon | Cersei Lannister | Ellaria Sand | Sansa Stark | Daenerys Targaryen | Margaery Tyrell)

Good Omens (Aziraphale | Crowley)

Grey’s Anatomy (Lexie Grey | Izzie Stevens)

H

Hamilton (Angelica Schuyler | Eliza Schuyler Hamilton)

House of the Dragon (Jeyne Arryn | Alicent Hightower | Mysaria of Lys | Aegon II Targaryen | Baela Targaryen | Helaena Targaryen | Rhaena Targaryen | Rhaenyra Targaryen | Rhaenys Targaryen | Laena Velaryon)

I

J

K

Ku’damm (Helga von Boost)

L

Legacies (Jo Laughlin | Hope Mikaelson | Elizabeth “Lizzie” Saltzman | Josette “Josie” Saltzman)

Les Misérables [2018] (Cosette | Fantine Thibault)

Little Women [2019] (Amy March | Margaret “Meg” March)

Ludwig II [2012] (Elisabeth “Sisi” of Austria | Ludovika, The Duchess in Bavaria | Sophie in Bavaria)

M

Maleficent Duology (Princess Aurora | Queen Ingrith of Ulstead)

Märchenperlen (see the individual movies)

Maria Theresia [2017] (Maria Anna of Austria | Empress Maria Theresia |  Mademoiselle de Chartres | Elisa Fritz)

Marie Antoinette [2006] (Jeanne du Barry | Marie Antoinette | Empress Maria Theresia | Marie Thérèse Louise of Savoy, Princesse de Lamballe | Extras)

Marie Antoinette [2022] (Marie Antoinette)

Mary Queen of Scots [2013] (Mary Stuart)

Maximilian - Das Spiel von Macht und Liebe / Maximilian and Marie de Burgogne (Mary of Burgundy)

My Fair Lady (Eliza Doolittle)

My Lady Jane (Jane Grey)

Go to N-Z

[catsonja]

Name: Cat Sonja (intentionally a play on catsona/fursona. Cat is my chosen first name. Sonja is my chosen last name, and is the fandom name for Garfield's Mom.)

Pronouns: She/Her

Gender summary: Trans Woman, Catgirl, Nonbinary.

Age: 32 (Birthday April 7th 1992)

Bio: I live in Seattle WA. I am kinky, and very specifically fetishize girl testes and just fucking love ballsacks so much it keeps me alive. I do however have my own girl testes, so I don’t need a partner to possess balls themself lol. I am also queer/poly. I like music, anime, gaming. I have habit of going thru hobbies so idk. I am a Cancer Survivor, and currently still fight cancer after 2 years of it. I am fully broke at all times bc I cannot work and the US government is garbage. Politics: Marxism-Leninism-Maoism (The mass line, and enabling the masses to liberate themselves)

Socials: my.bio/catsonja & catsonja.com (discord)

[dunbonnets]

READ CHAPTER ONE NOW

synopsis. ━━ when sonja smith's entire life goes to ruin with the fall of wall maria, she decides to join the cadet corps, in hopes of becoming a scout like her uncle. and it is there that she finds not only her purpose in life, but meets a boy that will change her life entirely. ( read full synopsis here. )

word count. ━━ 3,958k words

reading links. ━━ available on tumblr and ao3

tag list. ━━ @pseudonym-lux @void-daniella (want to be tagged? either comment or send me an ask or dm!)

Year 847

　　Two painfully slow years had come and gone since Wall Maria had fallen, and Shiganshina District along with it.

　　In that time, Sonja Smith had lost everything; her home, her family, and dare she say, even her heart and spirit. She was but a hollowed shell of the person she used to be, unable to remember the last time she was even happy or dreamed without reliving such horrible memories of that day.

　　Alone and with nowhere to go, Sonja made the choice to enlist in the Cadet Corps as soon as she was able, knowing that dedicating her life to protecting humanity was far better than cowering behind yet another wall for the remainder of her life — however long that may be.

　　She had talked about it once with her mother, who was not at all enthusiastic about the thought of her only daughter going beyond the wall to fight titans. And now, as she stood in orderly fashion with her fellow classmates of the 104th Cadet Corps, Sonja couldn't help but wonder if her mother was looking down on her with disappointment for the choice she had made.

　　Would she be angry with her for enlisting and for putting her life on the line? Or would she finally understand that this had always been her dream?

　　Sonja bit down on her bottom lip, ridding her mind of those thoughts, and peered up through her blonde bangs at their Cheif Instructor, Commandant Keith Shadis. He stood before them in uniform, his hands clasped behind his back, announcing with authority that their introduction ceremony had begun.

　　Upon hearing those words, Sonja immediately straightened her back, lifted her chin, and looked forward, trying her best to make herself look presentable as the Commandant's surveying eyes skimmed over the class of the 104th Cadet Corps in an almost intimidating manner.

　　“Hey, Mop-Top!” Commandant Shadis shouted, and the nickname, though not directed at her, had caused Sonja to frown.

　　From the corner of her eye, she could see a blonde boy tense up before raising his arm in a salute across his chest. “Sir!”

　　“What do they call you, maggot?” Commandant Shadis asked.

　　“Armin Arlert, from Shiganshina District, sir!” The boy introduced himself, voice loud and unwavering, though lacking confidence as he appeared to be nervous from being singled out amoungst the class already.

　　A sharp pain pierced her heart when she heard where the boy was from. Shiganshina. Her home. Their home, as it turns out. She never thought she would miss it so much. Silently, she wondered how many other cadets were from there as well.

　　Commandant Shadis quirked a brow. “Wow, seriously? Why would your parents curse you with such a dumb name?”

　　Sonja's jaw clenched, and she bit down on her tongue to keep herself from speaking up and defending the boy. She knew that the their Chief Instructor was only trying to intimidate them, but she couldn't help but feel slightly angered by his method.

　　Though she had not turned her head to properly look at the boy, she didn't see anything wrong with his hair, let alone his name. Armin was a nice name. She had never heard it before today, but she liked it.

　　“It was my grandfather, sir!” The boy—Armin—answered promptly.

　　Commandant Shadis was now standing directly in Armin's face, leaning down slightly to be eye level with the blonde boy. “Cadet Arlert! Why is a runt like you here?”

　　“To help humanity overcome the titans!” Armin shouted his answer, seemingly more nervous than before.

　　“That is delightful to hear!” Commandant Shadis straightened his spine, the volume of his voice never lowering as he spoke. “You're gonna be a great light snack for them!” He then reached out, placing his hand on top of Armin's head, spinning the boy around and making him face the other way. “Row Three, About Face, runt!”

　　He stepped away from Armin Arlert and approached another cadet standing in line, shouting in their face and demanding to know their name and hometown as well. And Sonja stood there, silent, her gaze forward as she listened to him move around, using the same method he used on Armin in an attempt to intimidate even more of them.

　　Nervous beads had accumulated along her brow as Sonja silently prayed that Commandant Shadis wouldn't direct his attention upon her. But just when she thought she was in the clear, he was suddenly towering over her small frame. Her racing heart leapt into her throat, her mouth drying.

　　“Now look at what we have here,” Commandant Shadis said, his booming voice nearly making her flinch, but she managed to keep her composure. “Tired of the tea parties, runt?”

　　Sonja almost scoffed, but raised her arm in a salute across her chest instead. “I've never been to a tea party, sir!”

　　“Is that so?” He leaned down slightly, getting right in her face. “And what do they call you, runt?”

　　“Sonja Smith, from Shiganshina District, sir!” She introduced herself, and it was just as she had feared.

　　A series of whispers erupted from her fellow classmates when they heard her name. She had to refrain from nervously biting her lip and looking down at her boots as she felt their stares burning into her head from all directions.

　　Sonja hadn't wanted people to know her name. It wasn't that she was ashamed of it, but she was worried upon enlisting that people would treat her differently because of who her uncle was. More importantly, she feared what would happen if they contacted her uncle and informed him of her enlistment into the military.

　　Would he decline her application? Would he send her back inside the walls? Sonja was scared to face him, though she hoped by the time she did that she would have proven her worth. Surely, her uncle wouldn't be able to send her away if he saw how capable she was… right?

　　Commandant Shadis continued to stare down at the uncomfortable cadet standing before him in silence, his eyes widened slightly. He observed her appearance carefully and couldn't help but notice the similarities between the girl and the Commander of the Survey Corps. Same eyes. Same hair. Same name. This couldn't be a coincidence.

　　“Smith, huh?” He eventually said. “Any relation to Commander Erwin Smith?”

　　And there it was.

　　The question that Sonja hoped would never be asked. But it had. And she knew she couldn't lie, so she gave an honest answer, which only seemed to erupt more whispers from her fellow classmates.

　　“Yes, sir,” Sonja replied, fist still pressed against her heart in an unwavering salute as she addressed her chief instructor. “Commander Erwin Smith is my uncle.”

　　Nothing but silence followed, and Sonja suddenly felt uncomfortable in her own skin as she waited for the Commandant Shadis to address her again. But he never said another word, at least not to her, and Sonja wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

　　He walked away, and Sonja relaxed her tense shoulders, exhaling a shaky breath.

　　The man went back to humiliating more of the cadets, one by one, choosing his targets carefully to see who would break and who wouldn't. He head-butted a boy named Jean Kirstein and lifted the bald-headed boy, Connie Springer, by the sides of his head, giving him a thorough talking to due to the disgraceful salute he had given.

　　It wasn't long before Shadis was standing in front of a brunette girl, shouting in her face as he had with many of the other cadets. Although, this time, Sonja could tell something was different, so she couldn't help but steal a quick glance at the girl to see what had caused the tone of Commandant's voice to change so suddenly.

　　The girl was… eating a potato?

　　Sonja couldn't believe it. What the hell was the girl thinking of stealing a potato and eating it out here? This was neither the time nor place to indulge yourself with a snack!

　　“You are officially on my shit list! Just who in the hell are you?” Commandant Shadis shouted into her face, yet the girl never once wavered. Her expression remained the same, and she didn't stop chewing her bite of potato either.

　　Immediately, the girl swallowed her food, and while still clutching the potato in her right hand, she lifted her arm across her chest in a salute. “Sasha Braus from Dauper Village, at your service. Reporting for duty, sir!”

　　He towered over the girl. “Sasha Braus, huh? And what is that you're clutching in your right hand?”

　　“A steamed potato!” Sasha replied. “It sat there in the mess hall begging to be eaten. Sir!”

　　“The theft, I understand,” Commandant Shadis said, the tone of his voice changing so drastically that even Sonja felt on edge from where she was standing. “But here? Why eat it here of all places?”

　　“It looked quite delicious. And it was getting cold,” Sasha answered nonchalantly. “So I gave it shelter in my stomach, sir.”

　　By now, all the cadets—including Sonja—were staring between Sasha and their Cheif Instructor with wide eyes, unable to believe what was happening. Their minds silently wondered just what sort of punishment the girl was bound to receive for her behaviour.

　　“Why?” He questioned, appearing both confused and curious at the same time. It was obvious this was the first time something like this happened, so naturally he was dumbfounded by the nonchalant answers the girl was giving him in return. “I can't comprehend. Why would you eat that potato?”

　　“Are you asking me why people eat potatoes?” Sasha asked with some hesitancy laced in her words, either not fully understanding the question or at the very least was ataken by it. “I'm surprised you don't know, sir.”

　　Commandant Shadis continued to stare at her in silence, eliciting a nervous sound from the girl as she lowered her head a moment later. Then, much to everyone's surprise, Sasha Braus tore her potato in half before offering the man a piece of her stolen, steaming food.

　　“Here, sir. Have half.”

　　The Commandant was surprised by her actions, and he snatched the half she was offering to him into his hand. “Have half?” He repeated. “Really?”

　　And then, shortly after, the girl received her punishment in full.

　　Not only had she lost meal privileges for the next five days, but the girl was told to run laps until she was on the verge of death. And as if everyone wasn't already surprised enough by what the girl's behaviour, Sasha Braus offered their Commandant a tight-lipped smile and accepted her punishment without a fight.

　　What the hell?

　　⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

　　Sonja Smith was, in simple words, an absolute nervous wreck.

　　Ever since her classmates had discovered she was the niece of Commander Erwin Smith, they had done nothing but stare at her for the remainder of the day, whispering amoungst themselves. They didn't even try to hide it either, which made her even more uncomfortable as she did her best to ignore them all.

　　When the sun had set, a bell rang across the camp, announcing that it was time for dinner in the mess hall. Having already changed out of her uniform and into some casual clothing consisting of brown pants paired with a navy blue blouse and a light blue cardigan, she had soon found herself sitting at a table alone with a tray of food placed in front of her.

　　Sonja kept her head down as she began eating her dinner in silence, avoiding the stares she could feel being cast her way. For a while, she thought nobody would join her, that she was going to be all alone. But that didn't seem to be the case when a tray of food suddenly appeared beside her own.

　　She looked up from her food and turned slightly, finding a blonde boy sitting beside her. He offered her a kind smile, which she was too nervous to return.

　　“Hello,” Sonja offered instead, her voice quiet. She wondered if he could even hear her over the consistent chatter in the mess hall.

　　“I'm Armin,” he greeted, and it was then she realized that he was the same boy Commandant Shadis had insulted earlier during their introduction ceremony.

　　Finally, she produced a timid smile. “Sonja.”

　　“So is it true?” A twinge of sadness had found its way into his voice all of a sudden. “Are you really from Shiganshina District?”

　　Sonja frowned and looked away, her food suddenly far more interesting. “Yes,” she said eventually, her fingers fumbling with the sleeves of her cardigan.

　　“Is that why you are here?” Armin asked with caution.

　　She stiffened at the answer, remaining silent, flashes of bodies and blood and dust soaring through her mind, and Armin realized his mistake then.

　　His eyes widened when he noticed her reaction. He could tell he had overstepped by asking such a thing. It certainly wasn't his intention to make her sad or relive any painful memories, he had only asked because he was genuinely curious why she had joined the Cadet Corps. Because he couldn't for the life of him understand why someone like her—so kind and shy and a complete mystery to him—would be here otherwise.

　　“I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you,” Armin apologized. “You don't have to tell me if you are not comfortable. I just thought, if you were there that day too, maybe that is why you were here.” He eventually averted his gaze, unable to bear the sight of her sadness anymore. “I don't remember seeing you around Shiganshina much.”

　　She could hear the sincerity of his apology in his voice and turned to face him after a moment. He wasn't looking at her anymore, and his bottom lip was drawn between his teeth as he seemed to be internally scolding himself.

　　Is that why you are here. That's what he said to her. But she knew what he was really asking. He wanted to know if she had lost someone that day. She didn't have it in her to tell him that she had. That she lost everything. Even though it has been two years, the pain was still so fresh.

　　Sonja frowned as she stared at the side of his face, realizing that he had lost someone when Shiganshina had fallen too. She understood his pain, and suddenly felt a strong urge to reach out and comfort him but ultimately chose not to.

　　“It's okay,” Sonja said reassuringly. The sound of her voice caused him to look at her again. His brows were knitted in surprise, as though he couldn't believe she had forgiven him so easily. “And… I don't remember seeing you around much in Shiganshina, either. Though, I hardly left home, and didn't have any friends there, so I suppose that is why you must not recognize me.”

　　“Oh,” Armin frowned. “Why?

　　“Why?” she repeated in confusion.

　　“I mean, why didn't you have friends,” Armin elaborated. “You are not like the others. The kids who would… who would be mean to me back in Shiganshina.” He seemed embarrassed to admit that he had been bullied back in their hometown, and she couldn't for the life of her understand why someone would ever be so cruel to someone like him. “You are nice.”

　　Nice. The way he said it made her heart flutter.

　　Sonja shrugged and lowered her head, attempting to hide behind her curtain of blonde hair. “I've never been very good at making friends,” she admitted, almost painfully, and was unable to stop herself from wondering what he thought of her now.

　　Would he think me pathetic now that he knew I was too scared to make a friend?

　　“Well, you can be my friend,” Armin offered kindly and without an ounce of hesitation. Her eyes snapped up to meet his own, a look of surprise covering her pretty features, and his cheeks flushed as he averted his gaze once again. “I-I mean, only if you want to…”

　　For most of her childhood, she had been alone, with nobody but her older brother to play with. She had always wanted to play with the other kids outside, but never had the courage to ask if she could join them. The fear of being rejected or bullied had always made her look the other way. But now, after all this time, someone was asking her if she wanted to be their friend. She could almost cry with joy.

　　A sheepish grin inevitably spread across her face, which seemed to bring Armin some relief, her silence having been torture to him and only making the blush on his cheeks deepen.

　　“I would really like that. Thank you, Armin.” She bit her lip. “But you don't have to be my friend just because of what I said.”

　　“N-No!” Armin exclaimed, shaking his head at the assumption. He wasn't taking pity on her at all and he desperately wanted to reassure her of that. “It's not like that. I-I want to be your friend, Sonja. I wouldn't have offered otherwise.”

　　She believed him.

　　“Okay,” Sonja smiled. Then she held her hand out towards him, surprising even herself with her own actions. “Friends?”

　　Armin glanced down at her hand, and a relieved smile broke out across his face. She believed him. And that made him so happy that his cheeks started to hurt from how big his smile had suddenly gotten. He reached out and took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. Her skin was warm and welcoming, as was her smile. His cheeks were burning as he met her blue eyes, and he realized in that moment just how much they reminded him of the blue hydrangeas he would often come across in Shinganshina from time to time.

　　“Friends,” he echoed, his smile unwavering.

　　Neither of them seemed to be aware of the lingering moment that passed between them, far too engrossed in each other's smile to realize they'd been holding hands for far longer than they initially intended.

　　It was Sonja who eventually withdrew her hand from Armin's, a faint blush coating her freckled cheeks as she looked down at her tray. She took a bite of her bread in a futile attempt to hide the relentless smile still on her face, and swallowed just as two more people joined them at their table.

　　She looked up to see who it was, and found a boy sitting across from her. He had much darker hair than Armin's and his eyes were teal. The girl sitting beside him had dark hair as well, though hers was much darker and her skin was far paler, and a red scarf was wrapped securely around her neck.

　　Before Sonja could greet them, Armin spoke up from beside her. He was eager to tell them her name, as though it was something special and he had the great privilege to do so. And then he told her that their names were Eren Jaeger and Mikasa Ackerman, and that they were his best friends from Shiganshina. She offered them a polite smile as stared across the table at them. They returned it with one of their own, offering her polite greetings.

　　Not much later, a group of their classmates had formed around their table, their attention solely on Eren as they asked the boy questions about what happened in Shiganshina the day it had fallen. The topic of discussion had stirred an uneasy feeling in Sonja's stomach as she lowered her head and attempted to block everything out.

　　Eren didn't seem as bothered by their questions as she was, and it was something that Armin noticed as he turned slightly to look at Sonja.

　　Her head hung so low that he could barely even see her face through her blonde hair, and she wasn't eating her food anymore, her hands now in her lap underneath the table. He frowned, knowing that the conversation was upsetting her.

　　Armin was itching to reach under the table and grab her hand, wanting to comfort her in some way, but he didn't. Nor did he know what to say to make her feel better. Instead, he sat there in silence, a permanent frown etched into his features as he simply watched her, as though he was waiting for something to happen.

　　At one point, when Eren dropped his spoon with a clutter and reached up to cover his mouth, his teal eyes widening in a way that told Armin his friend was reliving terrifiying memories, Marco Bodt had suggested they stop asking questions. But before Armin could voice his agreement, Eren quickly reassured everyone that it wasn't like that, and he went on to further explain everything that had happened and how he was going to eradicate the titans.

　　When Armin saw Sonja shift uncomfortably in her seat and stiffen up beside him at something Eren had mentioned, that is when he finally decided to speak up, unable to bear the sadness practically wafting off of Sonja any longer.

　　However, before Armin could open his mouth in hopes of putting an end to the discussion all together, he suddenly heard Sonja's voice from beside him. She so quiet that he could barely even hear her over everyone else. But he had. Of course, he had. His attention had been only on her.

　　“Excuse me,” were the only words Sonja could muster up in that moment, as she quickly stood from the table and grabbed her tray of barely touched food.

　　Sonja wasn't hungry anymore. At least, not since her classmates had started asking Eren questions about that haunting day she could never seem to get out of her mind. Her stomach was in knots and the entire room felt hot and crowded. She felt like she was going to be sick. So she left without sparing anyone a single glance or another word.

　　When she stepped outside, taking a moment to breath in some fresh air, Sonja finally realized that her eyes were burning. She quickened her pace to reach the barracks before the girl, Sasha Braus, who was still outside running her laps, could notice the state that she was in.

　　Sonja hastily opened up the door to the girls' barracks and walked inside, completely unaware that when she let the door close behind her, she did so in the face of Armin Arlert, who had quietly followed her outside to make sure that she was alright.

　　She crossed the room in long strides and climbed onto the top bunk that she had claimed as her own earlier, her bunkmate, Annie Leonhart, rather insistant about having the bottom. She turned so she was facing the wall and pulled the blanket up to her nose. And she laid there for the rest of the night, silent tears spilling down her cheeks as images from that day flashed behind her tightly shut eyelids.

　　She saw everything as if she was reliving it all over again.

　　The Colossal Titan peeking over the wall. The clouds of dirt when the gate had been breached. Pieces of the gate soaring through the air, raining down on their homes. The titans that had flooded inside. All the blood. Their faces. She could suddenly hear their terrified screams and cries, loudly echoing in her ears, and she reached up to cover them with her hands, as though it would help block them out.

　　Eventually, the boy standing outside the barracks turned around and left, sadly trudging back towards the mess hall to be with his friends. And it wasn't much later that Sonja had cried herself to sleep, finding herself trapped in yet another nightmare.

authors note. ━━ ughhhh Sonja and Armin are just so cute already that I could literally cry 🥺 I can't wait to develop their friendship into something more. Most of all, I can't wait to share all the fun (and painful) things that I have planned for this story with you all.

anyways, I really hope you all enjoyed the first chapter and are as excited as me for more! Thank you so much for giving this story a chance, it means the absolute world to me ❤️

[miss-anachronism]

It’s exam season, and you know what that means! I’m procrastinating by writing fic!

I dont think this one will go on ao3 (maybe it will idk). It’s also not beta read so if theres any horrid mistakes uhhh. Ignore

Tags: fem!Merlin/Sonja, character study, Sonja & Nara

Content warnings: corpses. Lots of corpses. Shipwrecks. Dismembered body parts. Etc, etc.

Fic under the cut!

Sonja usually finds these calm mornings peaceful. After the rattling of last night’s storm, the horrible whistling of the winds and the rumbling thunder that wouldn’t let her sleep, the respite seems like a reset, or sorts. The smell of the rain, the chill in the air; it does much to soothe her racing nerves. Today, she is glad for that comfort; she breathes in those salty winds, seeking for absolution.

The beach is littered in corpses.

It’s not uncommon. After a storm of that magnitude, and so soon following a shipwreck, it's completely normal for the sea to dredge up debris and bodies alike, washing them up on Rustport’s shore like a cat dragging a dead rat back to its owner.

A few Whispers have gathered on the beach as per usual, shooing away any scavengers searching for treasure, covering each body for later identification. Sonja watches a pair of them pull a bloated corpse up on shore, its ghastly face and mismatched body marking it as a Graveborn. For them, identification is near hopeless. They are bundled up and buried without a name.

Raking the beach for bodies is well above Sonja’s pay grade. It’s probably one of the least glamorous jobs that the Carmine Whispers handle, trying to match body parts together, pulling bloated, waterlogged corpses onto the shore. She knows that Tesio never bothered himself with this. And yet, every time there’s a storm, she finds herself drawn here. Drawn to the stench of rotting flesh mixed with salt, drawn to the pale, bloated bodies hidden among the beached wreckage.

A severed arm sits in front of Sonja, the stiff fingers gently swaying in the soft push and pull of the ocean. Small, surgical threads still cling to the severed stub, though they no longer hold the broken flesh together. A Graveborn’s remains.

Sonja takes a step forward, and gently prods at the hand with the tip of her cane. The sharp point forces the fingers to unfurl, revealing the pale, purplish palm.

Nara had a small scar near her thumb on her right hand. This hand is unblemished.

Sonja sighs.

The hairs on the back of her neck stand a split second before she hears the slight shuffling of sand behind her, followed by a quiet cough. Sonja furrows her brow. There's only one person who can sneak up on her so effectively- and only one person brave enough to try. She looks over her shoulder.

All of the Hypogeans and monsters she’s fought, all the enemies that have fallen at her feet, all of the trials she's withstood and mastered… and yet, Magister Merlin’s greatest rival is still early mornings.

Anne blinks blearily at Sonja, seeming as if she’s struggling to keep her eyes open. She shudders in the sharp sea breeze, hugging the wool cardigan she’s hastily thrown on tighter around her body. Her white dress flutters in the wind, revealing leather boots that haven’t even been properly tied. Her brow furrows as the wind aggressively snatches at the few stray hairs that havent been caught into a tangled updo.

“You look horrible,” Sonja mutters dryly. It’s not even true. Anne rolls her eyes.

“Good morning to you too.”

“What are you doing up?”

Anne’s gaze falls to her feet. She digs the toe of her boot into the sand, watching as it dips with the pressure.

“Lucca told me you were dredging up bodies. I thought you might like… an expert opinion, of sorts.” She glances back up to Sonja with a tight, strained smile.

Sonja can’t find the energy to find the humour in her little joke. She sighs, and turns back to the water. She hears the sand shuffle as Anne moves to stand next to her, joining her in quiet contemplation.

The waves gently lap up against the beach, softly kissing the sand before they retreat, shy once more. The hand gets pulled with them, beginning to drift out into the open seas once more.

Sonja skewers the palm with the tip of her cane, and drags it back onto shore.

“Well, doc,” she sighs, gently nudging the limb off the sharp point with the toe of her boot, “what do you suggest we do with all of… these? Is there a protocol for burying unknown Graveborn?”

Anne purses her lips. “I don’t think so. Really, the same you’d do with all your other unidentified dead. Though some places take… precautions. Manacle the hands, put heavy rocks on top of the coffins… just in case. You know, they come back.”

“Seems cruel,” Sonja mutters. To come alive in one of those coffins, to push against not only layers of dirt, but rocks, pressing the lid in, splintering the wood, splinters digging into your fingers as you try to claw your way out- Nara always hated splinters, she’d try to hide them from Sonja because she hated getting them pulled out so much-

…

Sonja tilts her head towards the Whispers raking the beach. They’re still a ways away, preoccupied trying to sort through a large pile of wreckage, what looks like the remains of a mast.

Slowly, she inches her hand towards Anne’s. Their fingers brush. Anne isn't wearing her gloves today, her skin is cold in the chilly morning air. Her fingers unfurl, slowly intertwining with Sonja’s.

“We’ll give them a sea burial. Somewhere a little further from the coast, and in proper coffins. The… estranged limbs can be cremated, and the ashes spread, or sunk, in the same place.”

Anne hums, eyes glued to the horizon. “I like that. If there’s one thing I’ve come to learn about sailors, it's that they prefer to embrace in death the waters they struggled against in life.”

Out of everything, it’s that that draws a soft chuckle out of Sonja. She catches herself quickly, shooting another rapid glance to the Whispers to ensure they aren’t paying apt attention. They aren’t- though with Anne, she isn’t so lucky.

”What?” The great Merlin asks, a small smile tugging at her lips.

“Nothing,” Sonja mutters, willing her face to lie flat again, “you just have… a very poetic way of seeing the world.”

Anne huffs and glances away, suddenly bashful. “In a good way, I hope,” she mutters, failing to hide her grin.

”Of course,” Sonja mutters, rubbing her thumb across the grooves of the rose on her cane. “Dura knows we could use some poetry around here.”

“Oh, there’s poetry everywhere, if you look for it,” Anne sighs, resting her head on the soft fur that covers Sonja’s cloak.

“Is that so?” Sonja mutters, allowing herself to enjoy the soft weight on her shoulder.

Anne hums in agreement, but she doesn’t offer up any more explanation. Maybe she doesn't need one. Sonja doesn’t read much poetry, but she has to admit there is something rhythmic in how the waves lick at the corpses on the beach, how Anne’s thumb gently rubs across her knuckles, how the muddled voices of the Whispers seem to merge and mingle with the harsh caws of the seagulls.

“She’d have loved you.”

Sonja isn’t sure what happened between the thought forming and the words leaving her lips.

”Nara would have?” Anne asks. The words float in the air as if the wind is trying to convince them to stay.

“Yes. She was always asking me to tell her stories. You have so many… and such a way of telling them. She’d listen to you for hours, I… I know it.”

She can picture it so clearly. Nara, curled up in a blanket on the floor of Anne’s library, a mug of cocoa in her hands. Anne in her chair, a pile of storybooks beside her, parsing through them to find just the right one, something with a brave princess who befriends the dragon instead of killing it. Nara would listen to half of it, and then take off part way through, narrating her own ending, describing in detail how each character would get their happy endings, or comeuppance, if they deserved it. Anne’s eyes would crinkle at the sides as she grinned, nodding along, agreeing in the end that yes, Nara’s version was much better, and they should just go with that. They’d never get through a single book. Anne would help Nara write her own.

“You’re looking for her, aren’t you?”

Sonja presses her eyes closed, tight as they can go, until little lights begin to dance behind her eyelids. “Yes,” she whispers, “of course I am.”

The waves lap against the shore. Once, twice. A bell rings somewhere deep in Rustport. The wind picks up, carrying the voices of her subordinates with it.

“Well,” Anne mutters, gently giving Sonja’s hand a squeeze before slowly loosening her grip, “she’s not here, so we’re sitting ducks. I suppose you’ve combed everything West of here?”

“I… yes,” Sonja confirms. Anne’s hand slips out of hers, leaving her palm sharply cold in her absence.

“So we go East,” Anne concludes. “The two of us can move faster than the poor souls who have to collect the bodies.”

“… you don’t have to help.”

“I guess not. Parsing through corpses is a bit of a poor date idea.” She presses a finger to the corner of her mouth, as if in deep thought. “Treat me to damedangler tonight, and we’ll call it even.”

There’s something serene about how Anne’s hair flows in the wind, how her voice seems to chime in time with the breeze, how the bags under her eyes seem lighter in the morning sun.

“Deal,” she says, the word leaving her before she can think about it. Anne smiles at her, sad but true, and offers her hand. “Okay,” she whispers. “Let’s go find her.”

And what can Sonja do but let herself be pulled along?

[coolcattime]

AU Snippet December: Day Five!

Unnamed Fantasy AU! (yeah... if anyone has suggestions for names let me know ^-^ )

“Look, I can't go back in there. If I hear one more person laughing about Red running away I'm going to kill them,” Capsize said.

Sonja knew she was being serious. With all that had happened the last few weeks, she'd have to have been completely oblivious to miss her mounting frustrations with the procedure of her coronation.

Today wasn't originally meant to be the beginning of her coronation. As per tradition, now that Capsize and Redbeard were of age, they were meant to compete for the throne. The date had been set for two years now and it was supposed to be today.

However, only a couple of months ago, Redbeard had gone out for a ride and never returned. Such a disappearance should have had the kingdom on high alert looking for the man, but their advisors and regent apparently disagreed and hence now Capsize was getting crowned queen in the morning.

Needless to say, Capsize was completely pissed and most of her actions for the past month had been to spite her advisors. Sitting on the balcony hiding refusing to attend her own ball was no different.

Sonja rubbed her face. If she didn’t take her back to the ballroom, then an advisor was eventually going to track them both down and she’d be the one getting lectured for this. That was something she’d prefer to avoid.

However, said advisors were the same people that had forbidden her from attending the ball as lady consort. Instead she was attending as Capsize’s bodyguard and - seeing that Capsize was not officially engaged - had to watch every visiting idiot with a title flirt with her. So she had as little desire as her finacée to rejoin the party.

“Don’t need to convince me. Do you want me to stab whoever comes to drag you back next?”

Capsize laughed for what felt like the first time in months.

[yellow-dejavu]

MARek TannHAus = MARTHA nielsen

SONJA tannhaus = JONAS kahnwald

There is this interpretation that i really like that says that Jonas and Martha are like a reflection of Marek and Sonja. Jonas and Martha only exist because of Marek and Sonja. Even their names create them, Martha can be formed with Marek's full name and Jonas is basically an anagram of Sonja.

I like to think of it as the origin world splitting what was already there and mixing in the pain and vision of the creator (H.G. Tannhaus) to create this anomaly. It's like an exaggeration. It made two worlds that depend on each other to ever happen and erase itself in just a moment of time.

Nielsen Siblings and Marek Tannhaus

The three Nielsen siblings start with an M because of Ulrich's brother (Mads). However, I think that each of them can represent a way in which H.G. Tannhaus saw his son.

Magnus: Something I always noticed about Magnus in season 1 is how protective he is of his mother. He is constantly trying to help her with everything that is going on and trying to be on her side. We get to see that side of Magnus again in Season 3 when we see a different version of the characters at the beginning of the chaos for them. When Ulrich comes to visit, he doesn't want him there the moment Katharina gets home. He also thought Martha was talking nonsense about the end of the world, and he just didn't wanted her bothering their mother with it. When we meet Marek, one of the things he says to his father is, "No wonder Mom couldn't stand it here." Marek is someone who understands his mother's point of view and seems to be on her side most of the time. Just like Magnus.

Martha: I think Martha represents the most misunderstood side. Something we see about Martha is that she stands up for herself when she thinks her parents are being unfair. She usually does this when her parents are too focused on their things and don't pay attention to her wants and needs as their child. In one way or another, it can be seen in both worlds as her father abandoning the family. We also see her more than once having problems with Katharina because she feels ignored by her. It is the same with Marek when he says that his father never saw him. Still, we see that their parents really want to try to connect with them, even if they don't know how. I think the best way to describe it is something Katharina said to Martha in 3x06: "I'm sure i'm the last person you want to talk to, but If you do I'm here. Your dad and I… A lot of things might be different now. But that's not necessarily all bad."

Mikkel: He is the little boy. That's how his parents would always remember him, and they would do anything for him. No matter how much time passes, they would still try to save him even if they can't save themselves. It doesn't matter if they lose their freedom or their lives. Even damning the whole world is an option. Ulrich tried to kill someone and got locked up because he thought he could find his son. Katharina fought until her last breath to reunite her family, while in other world she died holding Mikkel during the apocalypse. Tannhaus split the world in two because he couldn't let go the pain of losing Marek, Sonja and Charlotte. He couldn't accept a world without his family. Like Ulrich and Katharina, Tannhaus also did everything he could to bring his little boy back.

[hydn-jpg]

Hi, it's your secret pal! I'm curious - what is your favorite aspect from each of your pairings? How would you describe them, what draws them to each other? Feel free to ramble, I'd love to get to know more about them!

hi hello!! i'm so sorry i couldn't answer earlier, there's been several losses in my family (not my immediate family but very close relatives) and it was kind of a lot so i wasn't able to go online for a while ,, i know this is probably not very helpful anymore at this point but i will try to answer it still!

i'm not good at writing and i don't really think about them much outside of reading their books and drawing them so for the most part, my mcs and their lis closely follow their 'canon' stories and personalities ,, but i will try to describe some thoughts i've had abt them!

trystan x noel

i've always been a sucker for the kind of dynamic they have, where one is really flirty and charming and the other is a gruff, no nonsense person (i'm sure there's a name for this dynamic but i can't think of it rn,,). i also love the forced proximity they had at first, with noel reluctantly letting trystan work with him but thawing and warming up to him over time!

i definitely love their interactions most in book 1 and kinda wish they stayed in that sort of dynamic for a bit longer (in fact, i would've liked if book 1 was just them flirting back and forth, and for the actual romance to start in book 2 haha). i liked book 2 but it felt a bit rushed and some parts were kinda weird to me. haven't read book 3 or the proposal book yet and idk if i want to lol

i think trystan was fascinated and attracted to noel right off the bat. noel's gruff and sarcastic demeanor is refreshing and dare i say, sexy to him :3c the attraction might be superficial at first, but over time he starts to notice noel's little quirks (like how his handwriting is complete chicken scratch, unreadable to everyone but himself and ruby somehow, or how he pouts when deep in thought, something noel himself doesn't realize he does). at first, he finds them amusing. but then that amusement became fondness and that fondness became something more, and things kinda just snowballed from there!

i don't think noel thought much of trystan until a lot later (at least, a little bit later than in the books). he was hot, sure, but he was also kinda annoying, too talkative and entirely too flirty. but i like to think that trystan's "annoying" traits are also what eventually draws noel to him, like his talkativeness(?), his chatter, his voice — the same one that used to annoy him when they first worked together on the sonja case becoming the balm to soothe his nerves as they get closer to each other. does that make sense?? idk lol. he pretends to be annoyed but he secretly doesn't mind it. maybe even finds it endearing, not that he'd admit it at this stage haha

noel doesn't just fall. he plummets, even though he's reluctant to acknowledge it at first. but when he does, he's all in for him <3

i think they definitely fit into the 'he fell first, he fell harder' trope!

i don't see their dynamic changing much after they get together. their banter stays the same, but you could definitely tell that it's also become more affectionate! they're also more open and vulnerable with each other, but i think that's kind of a given haha. i see them cooking together pretty often too! noel's a great cook, and trystan is always eager to help out :D

in my personal canon, noel and trystan wouldn't get married (although i do have a wip of trystan proposing... but that's a joke post haha). maybe i'm projecting but they just don't seem like marriage-type people. i see them being common law partners instead!

oh also! noel is bisexual but has never been in a committed relationship with a guy until trystan. by the start of book 1 he hasn't been in a relationship in quite a while (idk if i want to make it canon or not yet but his last relationship probably didn't end very well) so falling for trystan was kind of scary for him, but with trystan's help he was able to warm up to it quickly c:

cas x jiwon

immortal desires was one of those books that i kinda scoffed at when i first saw the cover but it ended up being my second favourite book after crimes!! i love cas (and gabe but this is not abt them), he's the classic bad boy with a secret heart of gold trope c: maybe cas is the real golden boy all along haha

cas was interested in jiwon bc he was new in town, a fresh face. that was it, until he noticed that gabe was clearly interested in him. then it became a game of sorts – whenever gabe was near the new guy, he made it his personal mission to invade their space. so he hung around jiwon mostly to get under gabe's skin (though he had to admit, jiwon's witty comebacks and sharp remarks made it all the more enjoyable), but the more they were together, the more he genuinely enjoyed jiwon's company. eventually he wasn't there to annoy gabe anymore, he's there bc he wanted to be.

he loves that jiwon doesn't take his shit. he stands his ground where others would cower or straight up ignore him.

i think what jiwon likes most abt cas is that despite how he (tries to) act, he's really just a big softie and also kind of a dork :3c that's it lol. cas isn't as subtle as he thinks he is, and jiwon sees right through his bad boy facade (in fact, he thinks cas is kinda terrible at the whole bad boy thing. like, "oh i just gave you my jacket bc if i don't you'd freeze to death and i don't wanna deal with that" ?? please). cas is cas, and that's why jiwon loves him <3

lucky x woojin

they're a newer pairing so i haven't had many thoughts about them but i think of them as having a playful, teasing relationship (the teasing mostly on lucky's part haha)

idk how to explain this but in the nicest way possible, i think of woojin as a bit of a cringefail loser. idk why. but i do think that's part of what makes him so endearing to lucky! he's cute, but in the loser kind of way, if that makes sense

he probably already had a crush on her growing up, whenever she and destiny and the rest of the gang would hang out at their home he would always try to find an excuse to talk to her, or try to impress her by doing something probably dumb (i'm thinking somewhere along the lines of young rhett and link hijinks), much to destiny's ire and to lucky's amusement

other than that, i think of lucky as being the more dominant one in the relationship (not necessarily in just a sexual way, but like in general).

i think that's all i could think of them rn ;; i haven't actually finished reading terrorfest yet so it's a bit difficult for me, a (mostly) canon enjoyer, to visualize what they'll be like at this point. but i will try to write more about them when i finish reading!

(also ik what could happen to lucky if your points with her aren't high enough(?), so that's definitely an alternate route i'm interested in exploring!)

__

again i'm sorry if this wasn't very helpful! i feel like i didn't really answer your question ;;; ik you said feel free to ramble but i literally wrote out my train of thought so it's kinda all over the place haha

[leahnardo-da-veggie]

Honeycake

I sat along a dusty alley, watching carriages clatter by with bitterness. Today had been a slow day. Nobody with their pockets hanging loose, or a purse that was begging to be nabbed. No, all these stingy old bastards were clutching their belongings to themselves. Fake nobility, the whole lotta ‘em. All I managed to stea- Ahem, I mean procure, was a grimy brass locket. And what was a woman supposed to do with such slim pickings?

That was when he showed up. Almost feminine in his features, with a distinct air of elfin grace. A proper high noble, it looked. I eyed his coat, hunting for the telltale bulge of a wallet. Of course, because it was just that sorta day, there was none.

"Bugger it all,” I mumbled. It looked like I was skipping the beer tonight. The cashless noble paused at the entrance to my alley and sniffed. His pampered nose probably couldn't stand the scent of reality, I thought bitterly. Then he strode in, walking to stand over me.

Instantly, I pulled up my coat. Noblemen walking into dark alleys never meant anything good. They were always looking for whores, drug dealers or assassins, and I was none of ‘em. I scuttled aside, hoping he was looking for someone else, but he said, “Hello. Miss Bella, daughter of Rose, daughter of Sonja, yes?”

I twitched slightly. Why did bad things come in heaps? Was he a copper, come sniffing about my little alley in search of Bella-the-thief? “Dunno whatcha talkin' ‘bout, milord. I nevva ‘eard of no Bella, and me mam, sure as Ako knows, wassn no Rose,” I said, praying he wouldn't push further.

The noble pressed his lips together. “I see,” he said, looking down at me, faintly amused. “Well, did you write this, Miss Not-Bella?”

Ah, crap. I knew learning to write would haunt me someday. My mother had, in fact, been Rose-the-baker, and she had brought me to Ako's temple to learn to write. The priestesses there watched as I drew squiggles in the dirt, learning from Ako's Word. They taught me other things too. Like how to pick locks, how to lie through your teeth, and how to steal without getting caught. Great people, Ako's priestesses were. But then the gov'nor of Jannik decided they made too much trouble, and burnt their temple down, and hunted all their followers.

And of course, the easiest way to find a follower of Ako was by looking for lowborn who could write and used His name in their cusses. “Damn,” I said, not bothering to look at the paper. “Milord, I dunno howta write. Nevva even touched a piece o' paper in my life.”

The nobleman sighed. “Please, little one, stop this farce,” he said, his voice gentle. “I know you are Bella, and I mean no harm. In fact, I have come to tell you that your plea to Ako has finally been registered and granted.”

I choked on my own spittle there, and looked up at the paper. It was in my child-self's hand, awkward and emotional, little drops of tears staining and wrinkling the paper where they landed. I had written it after my mother was taken by disease, when I had just seen my tenth winter. It was a desperate prayer for safety and love that never came. I had it memorised by heart.

“Ako, I know you can't bring my mother back. But please, could you send me to a place where I will be safe and loved and have as much honeycake as I want? Your Faithful Bella, daughter of Rose, daughter of Sonja,” I read aloud, knowing the gig was up.

Yep, same letter. I looked up at the nobleman, wondering if he had been a priest at the temple. That was when I finally noticed his eyes. They were a vibrant purple, like dye freshly harvested, or a bellflower in full bloom. It was an eye colour no mortal would have. I sighed heavily. “Wait, milord. Dinnae tell me you're an Angel of Ako. I wouldn' believe ya,” I said. Maybe I'd had too much beer last night, and I'd wake up tomorrow with a horrible headache.

But the nobleman still stood there, a mildly bewildered grin on his face. “Look, little one. I am sorry it took so long to get back to you. But there were hundreds of thousands of letters, and it took so long to fulfil some of them,” he said apologetically.

I couldn't help it. I started laughing, cackling like an addict high on Bonny. “Twenty years,” I said. “You heard my pray'r twenty years later. Oh…” I looked up at him, at those utterly impossible eyes, at the depths that lay within them, and I found that I truly believed. “This has to be a dream.”

The nobleman, or angel, or hells, even Ako himself, offered me his hand. “Lady Berralis would never be so cruel, my child. Come on, now,” he coaxed, pulling me to my feet. “Come home.”

Flicking his wrist, a portal opened. The light on the other end was warm, like an eternal summer. It tore the weariness from my bones like I had soaked in the hot springs of legend, and broke the chill that had grimly settled into me. I glanced back. “Tell me,” I said. “Are you an angel? Or…"

“Or am I Ako himself?” The nobleman laughed, a sound like the sweetest honey, the deepest-flowing rivers. “Do you truly think the God of Mischief himself would tell you, little one?”

I smiled at that.

“Wait,” he said, as I put a foot into the portal. “I almost forgot this.” From the depths of his coat, he withdrew a little package.I accepted it curiously and opened it up.

“A honeycake,” I said, grinning. “All the honeycakes I could eat, eh? Takk, Milord. For everything.”

I took a big bite of the honeycake, savouring the richness, and the undercurrent of spice. A tiny part of me wondered why I wasted my money on all that beer when I could have been buying honeycakes instead, and I laughed.

Then I stepped through the portal.

[blueiscoool]

Sword with Markings of Ancient Pharaoh Ramses II Unearthed in Egypt

Archaeologists unearthed a series of mudbrick rooms filled with religious tributes, soldiers’ personal effects, engraved weaponry and animal bones.

Researchers have discovered a 3,200-year-old Egyptian fort filled with archaeological treasures. Located at the Tell Al-Abqain excavation site in northwest Egypt, the buried structure contained religious tributes, military barracks and a bronze sword inscribed with the name of the pharaoh Ramses II.

The fort was unearthed during ongoing excavations at Tell Al-Abqain. A team led by Ahmed El Kharadly, an archaeologist with Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, found a series of mudbrick architectural units in the area, according to a statement from the ministry.

Those buildings, or barracks, contained a trove of artifacts, including the necessities and personal effects of the soldiers stationed there during Egypt’s New Kingdom era, a period of prosperity, territorial expansion and peace that lasted from around 1550 to 1077 B.C.E. The barracks show the military power Egypt expended to grow and defend its territory during this time.

“It is an important discovery highlighting the strategic role of Tell Al-Abqain area as a crucial military outpost on the western military road, protecting Egypt’s northwestern borders from potential invasions by Libyan tribes and sea peoples,” Mohamed Ismail Khaled, secretary-general of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, tells Ahram Online’s Nevine El-Aref.

The barracks’ advanced architectural layout exemplifies the engineering talents of the ancient Egyptian builders, who skillfully harnessed the existing landscape for military objectives, Khaled adds.

At the site, researchers also found granaries, cow burials and pottery containing fish bones. In ancient Egypt, cows were “revered as celestial deities” and symbols of “strength, abundance and prosperity,” per the statement. However, these specific burials indicate that soldiers likely ate the cows: The bovine remains were found in an area near an oven, “which confirms that they were probably divided into parts and then stored in silos after drying,” El Kharadly tells Live Science’s Owen Jarus.

Along with evidence of soldiers’ daily provisions, researchers found accessories and toiletries, like ivory applicators for kohl eyeliner, necklaces of carnelian and faience beads shaped like pomegranate blossoms, and scarabs engraved with deities’ names, per the statement. The archaeologists also found two limestone blocks, one inscribed with the name of an official, “Bay,” and the other mentioning Ramses.

The pharaoh Ramses II, or Ramses the Great, ruled Egypt from 1279 to 1213 B.C.E., as the third king of the 19th Dynasty. Nicknamed the “builder pharaoh,” Ramses commissioned many temples during his reign, ensuring a lasting legacy. The newly discovered barracks also illustrate his sprawling influence.

One of the most intriguing discoveries was a bronze sword engraved with the cartouche of Ramses, or hieroglyphs arranged in an oval representing his name. Its presence suggests the fort was an important site during the pharaoh’s reign, per Ahram Online.

The barracks are an “important discovery” illuminating Egypt’s military strategy during Ramses’ rule, as Peter Brand, a historian at the University of Memphis who wasn’t involved in the excavation, tells Live Science.

“The weaponry demonstrates the place was well armed and may even have been able to produce some weapons on site,” Brand adds. The bronze sword was “likely given to a high-ranking officer as a royal reward. … The king’s name and titles engraved on it increased the prestige of its owner and ‘advertised’ the [king’s] wealth, power and generosity.”

By Sonja Anderson.

[ofbeautsandbeasts]

Yaaas, I received my Christmas gifts from @timebird84 last week!! 🎉🎉

I love my new Praying Mantis plush!! It's so realistic and adorable and very different from my other plushies 🥰 I haven't settled on a name for him yet...maybe I should call him Baladin like you suggested? The other name I thought up was Preyton Manting, but I can't decide if that's clever or dumb 😂 (Peyton Manning is a former NFL quarterback)

The crustacean socks are perfect for me! I love the colors and the theme of them 🦀🦞 I'll definitely wear them soon!

It's amusing that you gave me a Titanic magnet since I'm about to go watch Titanic in 3D later this week and I haven't seen the movie since the 90s! 🚢

🐡 That little glass blowfish is sooo cute 😭 and the ghost enamel pin is neat, too. The coaster is funny and the Kolsch glass looks like it stays cold for awhile if I put it in the freezer (which is definitely useful for the summer!) 🍺

As always, I'm fascinated by the snacks you give me since we don't have them in the US (or at least not around these parts)! I've started on the lebkuchen already since those are my fave 😍

Thanks so much for thinking of me and getting me such wonderful gifts, Sonja!!! I'm grateful for our friendship 😄💖