#the supers can't hear through magic because they're weak to magic

[thevoidstaredback]

Okay, so, crisis averted. Both of them, really. Red Robin had not asked or attempted to get any more of Danny's drink and the World Ending Crisis was less World Ending and more World Threatening. Either way, no one is hyped up in lethal amounts of caffeine and the world is in no more pieces than it had been before.

That brings attention to a new problem, though. It's uniquely Danny's problem and Constantine and Zatanna and Deadman won't stop laughing at him. He's also pretty sure that Raven is laughing at him in the privacy of her mind, so that's making him feel worse.

The problem is that every single hero that had been at the meeting a week ago that was not a part of the JLD has been overly concerned about him.

So what if he half died when he was fourteen and therefore will never look over either fourteen or eighteen? So what if he consumes enough caffeine to kill an elephant within a few minutes? What is he gonna do, die? That's not a real threat as long as he only fights as Phantom.

Ignoring the fact that he can, in fact, get hurt to the point of near death as Phantom. It's not like anyone knows that, though! Besides, ghosts run on god rules. They can't die, only fade when forgotten. People aren't likely to forget about most ghosts, though, even if they can't remember their names.

He's not gonna share that, though. Let Batman keep his contingency that won't work because the only contingency that will work for Phantom is the one he made himself. Tried and tested! He's marked it off of his Bingo Card.

Anyway. Heros and their kids/proteges have been trying to track him down for the entire week. He can't risk even leaving the House of Mysteries because the Supers are all probably listening out for him and they can't hear him through magic. It sucks. He just wants to go get a cup of coffee as Danny. The second he leaves, though, the Supers will be on him like bloodhounds. He'd leave as Danny, but the rest of the JLD don't know what he looks like as Danny and he'd like to keep it that way, thank you very much. Being stuck as Phantom was going to start causing issues to his human half if he doesn't get to leave soon.

Should he risk it? Is coffee that won't kill him really worth risking the Supers finding out his civilian identity? Sure, they wouldn't tell anyone, but he didn't like the idea of someone being able to pick him out of a crowd when all he wanted to do was blend in. It's why he avoided Gotham and Bludhaven, actually, but that's both self explanatory and another story for another time.

"You're still here?" Zatanna sat on the couch beside him. "You're normally gone by now. You can't not be tired of us yet."

He sighed and sunk down into the couch slightly. "Believe me, I'm tired of being stuck here, but I can't leave. I can't leave as a human because you guys don't know what I look like and, no offense, but I'd like to keep it that way. I can't leave as I am now because Superman will be on my ass quicker than I can blink!" He whined this time, "I just want a cup of coffee."

"What about your special brew?" Raven asked, coming into the room.

"I want to drink coffee as a human. That stuff will kill me if I drink it as a human."

"At least you know your limits."

"That sounded like a dig at someone, Z."

"It was."

"Why don't you just go out under a protection spell?" Raven offered, "We could cast one over you and you could leave. Superman can't hear through magic, so he won't be able to tell. Neither will Superboy."

Danny thought for a second. "You're a genius, Raven! Has anyone ever told you that?"

"A few times," she blushed.

"Well, it needs to be said more!"

Zatanna laughed. "Alright, kid, let's get you outside before you drive yourself crazy."

Practically vibrating in place, Danny waited for the protection spell to settle over him. The second it did, he was out the door and wandering the streets of whatever city the House of Mysteries decided to drop him as Danny instead of Phantom.

"Who are you," was not the question or voice he wanted to hear the second he stepped into the open as himself.

"Danny," he squeaked out through his absolute panic. He didn't dare turn around.

The sound of fabric moving minutely clues him in to the second person behind him. What the hell were these two doing out? It's the middle of the day and there's no attacks going on anywhere in Gotham!

"Where did you come from?" Robin asked.

Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit! This was really bad! Why did the House drop him *here* of all places? Does it *want* him to die again? It was very painful the first time, thank you very much! "Illinois?"

"Was that a question or an answer?" Why is Red Robin here now?!

"An-an answer?"

"Ah, you guys are scaring the little guy!" That was Nightwing. They're surrounding him! Why is Nightwing here? This is Gotham, not Bludhaven. "Give him some room to breathe."

They did not, in fact, give him room to breathe. Maybe coming outside was a bad idea. If he gets out of this no more dead than he already was, he was going to move to the middle of nowhere and become a hermit. Smallville is a town in the middle of nowhere, right? He'll retire as Phantom and move to Smallville until the people get suspicious and burn him as a witch-!

Maybe moving to a big city would be a better idea. Or locking himself in the basement of the House of Mysteries. Yeah, yeah that's a good idea.

"-even listening?"

Oh shit. They were still talking to him! Now is not the time to panic! "Gottagobye!" And then he was running.

Good job not panicking, Danny.

Part 1 Part 3

[obeymeluv]

I'm Not a Zigvolt But I Bite - 2 - [Sebek x Reader]

Even though you'd been medically cleared by the nurses in the infirmary and felt way better than you had in a long time, Sebek insisted on carrying you back to Ramshackle. You didn't miss the way his naked hand stayed on a pulse point. Lilia wasn't going to say anything at first but the incurable urge to poke fun at the youngling bested him; he could only laugh and silently praise Sebek's sharp wit. The young man excused the lack of gloves by saying your skin might still be tender from the fight and healing magic so he was just being considerate.

You look up at him lovingly, resting your head on his chest. Sebek feels his ears burning, his insides squirming so much that he'll puke if he keeps eye contact. His sharp eyes dart away, cheeks a powdery pink. Malleus is no stranger to teasing Sebek and Silver, naturally, and offers to carry you. The offer is met with a pure crocodilian noise that Malleus recognizes as offended, possessive, and threatening.

Not the logical mind of his guard, obviously. Merely the teeth of his animal side.

"My apologies," Malleus can't deny the noise makes his fangs itch. "I shan't tease you any longer. It was simply in jest, my friend."

"I understand, my lord." Sebek hmphs as he stares ahead and ignores Lilia's muffled giggling. It's clear to anyone behind him that his neck is red. You somehow convince Sebek to let you walk around after Grim opens the door (Sebek woke him up from a nap). For sucking in a whole magical dragon scale, you don't really feel different.

Sleepy, but not different.

You kind of thought you'd immediately get super strength or be able to hear the gate rattling from the living room.

A wave of exhaustion hits you and you sigh defeatedly, crawling onto the beaten couch with Grim. Your companion pulls down a blanket and snuggles in, ready to get a more restful sleep now that you're home and safe. Lilia and the others take their leave.

Sebek listens to them lock the door, his eyes not leaving you. It's subtle but your skin is changing. There's a thin, twinkling veil over your body. With effort and absolute silence, he scoops you and Grim up. You're asleep now but he can feel something thrumming in you, your veins humming now instead of just flowing with blood.

He lays you down, tucking you in carefully. Grim runs hot, being a fire-breathing direbeast, but that heat can't hide the fact you don't feel as warm as he's used to.

Maybe it's just because you've been through so much? Maybe he's just imagining things because he's worried. Yes, that's it. It has to be.

What happens when a human becomes fae like this? Sebek texts Lilia. They're changing.

I'm not sure, my boy, Lilia texts back. Humans normally become part fae through marriage or contract. This is different. The most we can do is keep an eye on them and look for dragon fae traits.

Sebek wonders just what 'dragon fae traits' entailed as he sheds his tie and blazer. He changes into some spare clothes and nestles in beside you.

Whatever that means, he'll see you through it. A small part of him can't deny that he's intrigued by your change. His brain is suddenly consumed with the daydream of teaching little fae children how to walk and wondering if they'll have visible scales like his grandfather since both of you have the genes for them now.

Trait 1: Dragon fae, like most fae, are bewitching but their eyes are especially captivating. A dragon fae's thrall is strong.

Sebek had his own internal clock and despite being raised by nocturnal fae, he was an early riser. You get more things done when you wake early. He inhaled deeply through his nose, stretching up towards the headboard as one foot slipped out of the sheets to touch the floor. Grim gave a weak yowl of protest as Sebek stretched his other leg out; your little direbeast had somehow fallen asleep between you two and chose to lounge across your thigh and use Sebek's calf as a footrest.

"Come back to bed, Becky," Sebek looks over his shoulder at you, silently cursing the direbeast. Your voice is sleepy but your eyes grow clearer by the second. And they...seem to glow? Surely it's a trick of the light? You take pride in keeping Ramshackle clean but the windows are old and battered by time and the twisting branches of looming trees.

Surely it's the way the light's filtering in through your cheap curtains.

Yes, it has to be.

"Lay with me," your voice is hoarse from sleep but invitingly warm. A warm, simmering coo that wraps around him like the hands around his waist. Sebek's muscles flinch as you trace around his stomach and up his chest but you both know he's ticklish. There's a residual hum running on the heels of the warmth and he finds himself rolling over, sliding back in to face you.

Your eyes are bright and brilliant; there's streaks and flecks he never noticed before. Your pupils are bigger than they normally are, he observes, and something boyish in him squeals with glee because that means you're interested in him. He watches your irises glimmer with a soft candlelight-like glow, the colors flaring and dimming like a flame.

He is a willing bug. He was before your change but there's an otherworldly potency now.

You snuggle against him, nose to nose now, and your eyes glitter with absolute joy. The air crackles with something that makes his neck hairs stand on end, his skin pebbling with goosebumps. It doesn't make a physical noise but his chest seizes like he's been sucker-punched. "Ramshackle's colder than Diasomnia. I know you don't like being cold when you wake up so let's lay together for a while." you wrap your arms around him and Sebek melts.

For a brief moment he wonders if you'd hoard him. Does this count as your nest or is there enough royal lineage in you to turn your nose up at it? "I suppose we could rest some more. We've earned it after these last few days," his chin finds its normal spot at the top of your head.

Trait 2: Dragon fae forget their own strength

Sebek is ripped from sleep by a cacophonous splintering that makes his stomach drop. His first thought: Grim blew up the furniture again.

"Sebek! Help!"

He sprints out of the bed, sure the sheets have new holes to sew because he threw them off so viciously. Sebek's feet pound against the creaky wood and he slides to a stop at the top of the stairs. There's a huge chunk of the banister on the first floor now, splinters of wood scattered about. Your foot is in one of the steps and he can only guess you stepped down too hard. Trying to catch yourself on the railing didn't work and now you're dangling in the space it used to be.

"Hold on!" Sebek steps carefully around you, wary of your combined weight. "Be still," his voice is firm but not cold. You relax at the warm, reassuring feeling of his hands on your waist. He pulls you up and drags you back, hauling you up a step so your foot isn't twisted anymore. The fact that you're not gushing blood from the splintery maw you've put your foot in is a testament to your fae genes.

As is the fact you didn't break anything.

He pushes on the boards around your foot, trying to find weak spots he can break without stabbing you. You've scooted back a step and a half, trying to pull your foot out while he works. Sebek hears the woody groan before he sees the cracks, tucking himself against the wall and covering his face as wood rains down. The step is basically nonexistent but you're free now. "Um, good morning?" you blush, brushing wood bits off of him as you stand awkwardly on an in-tact step.

Your foot looks red and tender but that fades by the time he carries you down the steps. Had he not seen the scratches and dried blood on your foot before he picked you up, he wouldn't have known you were hurt.

"Why don't we get some breakfast?" he offers, brushing hair out of his eyes.

"We're in pajamas," you mumble quietly.

"I'll grab us some clothes. Stay down here, okay?" Sebek changes and fixes his hair, stepping outside while you change. Out of habit, he opens the door for you and makes sure it's locked before he, you, and Grim leave.

Trait 3: Dragon fae tend to collect shiny things

Sebek can tell by the crinkle in your brow and the tenseness of your jaw that you're focusing. He wonders if the fork and knife suddenly feel like nothing in your hand. Do you feel like you're cutting through the sausage or sawing through the ceramic plate underneath?

He's not surprised that you're eating more protein-focused foods. Dragon fae, like crocodilian fae, prefer protein heavy, nutrient dense foods. It was no secret to anyone at NRC that you ate healthy and heartily when you got the chance, being on a petty salary. So far you'd eaten two thick slices of Mostro Lounge's breakfast quiche, a sausage patty, and a piece of his bacon. Malleus and Lilia join you, bringing on a new round of croissants, spreads, and other delicacies.

Jade dutifully clears the plates, stacking them in an almost hypnotizing manner. They fit so cleanly together! He sets Sebek's parfait glass on top and pauses. "I believe my silverware count is off. Does anyone recall dropping anything?"

"We'll look around. No need to tire yourself!" Lilia dismisses him with his usual big smile. His pink eyes turn dark and sharp, boring into you like the bite of a dagger. He holds his gloved hand out, wiggling his fingers expectantly. Firmly, like a parent.

"What?" you try not to squirm. The look he's giving you makes your skin crawl. He doesn't miss the fact that you're sitting on your hands.

"Hand them over, Beastie."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

There's hissing and pissy noises but Lilia is unfazed. He's been through this for at least a hundred years with Malleus before you were even thought of. Lilia wrestles your hand onto the table, scalloped silverware gleaming in the lounge's lighting. The dragon part of your brain is too strong for you to feel shame. "It's mine!" you hiss.

"Your first hoard! Delightful!" Malleus is no help at all, eyes gleaming with pride as he rests his chin on his hand to watch Lilia lecture you, arm pinned under his at a weird angle until you give up your stolen treasures. Sebek distracts you with a cute little butter dish that looks like a crystal bell, twirling it in the light to make it twinkle. He quickly shoves it into Jade's hand, tangling his finger with yours. Lilia keeps a firm grip on your other arm, free hand full of the silverware and waving at Jade.

You scowl and pout, drumming your fingers angrily on the tablecloth. "Stop that before you shred it." Lilia smacks the top of your hand without even looking; it's a reflex to lay it flat and you see your nails have tapered into strong, sharp points.

"Would you like to go trinket shopping, Child of Man? It will make you feel better."

"Don't baby them, Malleus! You don't reward bad behavior."

"They're basically a hatchling, Lilia. It's not fair."

"Start them young!" Lilia shoos you away from the table before you can take anything else.

Trait 4: Dragon fae are possessive

Lilia sat Crowley, Divus, Vargas, and Trein down to explain your...new developments....before school resumed the next day. The only class you didn't need extra supervision in was Flying. It was open and vast and you weren't a direct danger to anyone since you walked while the others flew. You were itching to grab a broom and see if you could fly since Malleus could but Vargas refused on the principle that a juvenile half-dragon fae might pose a risk to others.

You'd start private flying lessons at a later date, just not today.

Miffed was an understatement, but you'd live. You tried not to think about it because it made your chest burn.

Being part fae meant seeing the world with new eyes; you were surprised at how easily you picked up the scurrying of squirrels in the trees or bugs in the grass. There was a near-constant chiming in your ear now. You'd seen little fairies on your walks with Malleus before and they seemed drawn to you, like they recognized the fae in you. The crisp sweetness of the grass was more apparent now; you could smell the richness of the dirt, too.

You could also hear some Savanaclaw students making fun of Sebek and that made your blood boil. Something about 'the reason he can't fly straight is because he already has a broom up his ass'? In you're head you're telling them to fuck off but that's not what comes out of your mouth. You don't even know what comes out of your mouth but it scares them and you're okay with that!

The rage buzzes in you still and you try to tell them to shut the hell up because they're making fun of you now. Mocking Diasomnia and the company they keep. There's a pop in your throat and it feels like you've swallowed wrong, like you've sucked something in and it makes you cough. Green blasts of fire tear through the sky, narrowly missing the guy's broom.

Everyone panics, brooms darting all around, and you close your mouth. It doesn't stop the burning or the violent urge to cough. Smoke tickles in your lunges and scorches your nostrils. You've seen Malleus blow smoke out of his nose before but it's not helping. Unable to help yourself, you cough. You cough until it feels gone from your lungs.

Vargas, who'd been casting protective shields and using magic to get the brooms down, blasted you with a water spell. You were now dripping wet and smoking but you didn't care. The terrified Savanaclaw student locks eyes with you and you point at him, clicking your teeth. Smoke slides out of your mouth when you do.

"Don't make fun of my boyfriend or I'll roast you, asshole!" you find your human voice again but it squeaks from smoke and dryness. The guy clearly heard you based on how he turned and ran.

Trait 5: There's rumors that dragon fae can influence the weather but not enough data to support it

Sebek is absolutely soaked through but he doesn't care about that right now. Vargas ushered everyone inside but he, Lilia, and Malleus stayed in the field with you. The clouds gathered almost instantly but there's no lightning. Just a lonely rumble and a flood of rain that hides your tears.

His footsteps go unheard in the wet grass as it drowns and sags. He moves your wild hair, cupping your cheeks to tilt your head towards the sky. You give great, heaving sobs and his thumbs dig into the corner of your lips to make your mouth open. "It will soothe your throat," his hand moves to cradle the back of your head, cheek pressed against your throat as you swallow.

You sputter and cough, drawing back to look at him. You make a feeble attempt to wipe your eyes clean but it doesn't matter because your hands are wet and there's raindrops in your lashes. "Are you mad at me?" your eyes are crinkling up like you're going to cry no matter what he says. "D-Do you want to break up with me?"

The rain gets heavier. It stings now instead of just being cold.

"Why would I break up with you?" Sebek cups your face again, pulling you in until your foreheads touch.

"Because I'm weird and I broke the stairs and I breathe fire? I don't know what I'm doing and it's really hard!" you sag in his hold and Sebek folds himself down so you both sit on the ground.

"That's just part of being a young fae," Sebek laughs. "You're going to do weird things and have to learn your body again."

"So it happened to Malleus?"

"Most definitely. Lilia could tell you plenty of stories. Pretty sure he has pictures, too." Sebek recalled one of Malleus looking absolutely murderous as he sat at a long table half-covered by ice magic.

The rain was letting up now. It was almost a gentle mist.

"What about you?"

"Had to wear a muzzle." Sebek gave a wry smile. "I tore up a lot of furniture and had an insatiable urge to bite everything when my new teeth were coming in."

Sun started to slide across the grass again. He stood up, brushing clumps of dirt and grass from his knees. Sebek helped you up and you scooped him into a crushing hug that made him yelp. You paused, realizing you'd lifted him a bit and put him down gently.

"Can I carry you?"

Sebek had to wince against the sun now, looking down at you. You looked up at him with those big, glowing eyes and he was glad your thrall hadn't activated. It was just the big, puppy eyes of his lover.

"If you must," he sighed, crossing his arms like a grouchy child as you carried him bridal style. Lilia and Malleus clapped in the background.

[lizzieisright]

Moon peppers (6)

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

were!Abby x witch!reader

Summary: Abby runs away from her (former) pack and into your forest. You're not happy with your new (woods?)mate.

Tags: fantasy au, sloppy worldbuilding, fem!reader, alpha!abby, witch!reader (so not an omega), sentient forest, stubborn idiots in love who annoy each other.

Notes: as I finished writing this chapter, I felt sad for Abby. Wish I could hug her.

Taglist: yikez-on-bikez beanbagbitch (if you want me to tag/untag you for the whole series dm me please)

Also I really appreciate your comments if you have any! ✨

-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-

The next day both of you wake up not feeling murderous towards each other, which you count as a win. Abby still freaks out when she sees you, but at least she finds it in herself to smile at you. The morning goes better than yesterday's, and even better for Abby since her senses come back.

She is cooking eggs on the small stove that, like everything else in your hut, is powered by your magic. It's been the most stable you've felt in more than ten years; it reminded you of walking with a lit candle: once it was the fire that burned everything you touched, then one day the fire became weak, almost going out if you were not careful shielding it from the world; now, it was a torch that was showing you the way, steady and reliable as it can be.

Guess you both got something good out of this horrible situation.

Abby looks at the eggs and takes a sniff - and then who whole face lights up. She smiles brightly and looks at you, while you watch her carefully in case she's gone insane.

"My senses are back." She closes her eyes in concentration. "I can hear your heartbeat again."

You blink, a little weirded out: on one hand, it sounds creepy; on the other hand, it sounds romantic, which makes it even creepier.

"Did your elders teach you to not tell the person that you're in constant state of violating their privacy or is it normal for wolves?" You joke and Abby rolls her eyes, but she smiles instead of frowning.

"Of course I'm not going to tell someone they smell, or that they're pregnant. I was brought up properly."

"Wait." You blink. "You can tell if someone's pregnant by the smell?"

"I can tell if someone's scared, or sad, or happy by the smell." Abby looks at you like you severely underestimated her. You roll your eyes: you know that weres can smell emotions. "Telling the change in hormones is like- like it's written on their forehead. I know how to tune it out, but everything that is connected to sex is almost impossible to ignore. Shit, I can tell how close you're to your period and I don't even want to know."

"Wow. And I thought feeling everyone's energy was bad." You think for a moment, and then look up at Abby. "If your senses came back, I need to check how the healing is going."

"You told me it would take a week."

"From three days to a week. I can't be super sure, it's not like I resurrect people every week. I've done it, like, three times."

"How are you even able to do this? No one can." Abby squints her eyes suspiciously.

"I like loopholes." You shrug. You're not about to tell Abby your life story and what this knowledge cost you. "I don't have to blood bind because I can energy bind. And this is all I need to resurrect someone. Well, this, and a lot of fucking energy."

"You make it sound so easy."

"Yeah, well. You can smell my period and tell if I'm lonely, and you also make it sound easy."

Abby shrugs and then puts the breakfast on the plates. You eat in a pleasant silence and think about your plans for the day: you have a free day, no patients, no herb gathering (although you need to check the still room), no cooking or cleaning. You go through the list of possible activities to not die of boredom, and then you remember.

"I want to check out what the woods were so excited for yesterday. Are you up for a walk?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Well, the choice is: stay inside and rot from boredom or go check out a rare baby animal."

"When you put it like that."

Abby lets you check how she is healing, and she can admit that after yesterday's tree hugging it's hard for her to be afraid of you, or your eyes, or tattoos. She is still curious about why you have them, but she can put two and two together. Right now, when your hands are so close to her face as you hold them above her head, she can see the runes - not that she can actually read them, but she knows what magical runes look like. You said that you needed energy to resurrect her, a lot of it, so when you got it, it probably activated your tattoos. Abby doesn't want to ask where you got the energy - for some reason she is not willing to harm this hesitant friendship you two formed.

"Okay. It looks good. I'd say by tomorrow morning the bond will cease."

"Great." Abby takes a moment. "Thanks."

"Look at us, from trying to kill each other to saying thanks. Team work, huh?"

"You not being a blood binder definitely helps." Abby looks into your eyes and she has her hearing back for sure, because she can hear your breath hitch and your eyes go big just for a moment. For just this millisecond you look young and flustered.

It's not so uncommon, especially for non-weres, to get flustered when there is a direct eye-contact, and weres are starers due to their need for hierarchy and dominance. So Abby doesn't even notice she stares you down out of her instincts - and then you lower your eyes and Abby can't help but smile. It means nothing to you, but for Abby it's a sign of submission, of acceptance, and honestly? It makes Abby feel good. (it also makes her protective of whoever submits to her, but she is not unpacking this right now).

"You using your words and not growling at me is also a bonus point."

Abby huffs and you chuckle in return.

"Make sure to put the shoes on, the ones that Coen gave you." You lower you voice like you're afraid someone will overhear. "The forest ground is like a prickly cold maze."

Abby doesn't question this: you may sound kooky, but after experiencing your connection to the forest first hand, you make perfect sense to Abby.

You don't pack anything with you, just put you warmer clothes on, and then both of you head out. Abby follows you, but she also listens closely to everything and sniffs around, making sure her senses function properly. When you leave the shielded territory, you crouch on the ground and put your hand into the soil, talking to the forest of whatever it's called. It should look cool, but Abby can't help her little snort.

"You're a fairy, not a witch." She teases you, but then a root trips her, clearly irritated with this remark. Abby only laughs harder. "You just proved my point."

"It wasn't me." You smirk. "I don't have control over the trees."

Abby looks at her feet, confused. The woods tripped her?

"How does this whole thing work? It didn't seem so protective of you when I tried to kill you."

"Eh, the woods have the mind of their own. They like to help, but they also like to be entertained. And they saved your life, so don't complain."

"You saved me." Abby corrects you, but she feels and sounds confused.

"Without their energy I wouldn't have been able to. I'll show you."

You change the path and Abby can smell a faint scent of comfreys as you go further. It's probably somewhere close to the place where she fought Isaac. As you walk, you stop and pick up a straw, clutching it in your hand.

"You see, energy binds don't have to be two-sided, like ours. I can do this."

And the straw in your hand turns into ash that crumbles on the ground.

"And you gain the energy of this straw. Got it." Abby murmurs. Your scent becomes stronger just for a moment before going back to its usual intensity. "So the forest gave you the energy. Um." Abby looks around, looks up, just in the general direction of trees. "Thank you?"

The warm wind blows in her face and you smile, pleased. Then you motion to follow you and Abby obeys. You walk a little more, and then Abby sees a patch of land fully covered in ash - her feet sink in it up to her ankle when she steps closer. It looks like the tree burnt down completely, but the fire didn't touch the rest of the woods. Just one, singular tree, fully gone.

You smell of regret, but it's not strong, and Abby finally connects all the dots.

"You took the whole tree." Abby states and you hum in agreement. "That's why you're glowing. Too much power?"

"No, not to much." You say quietly and crouch to touch the ashes. "I don't know what too much is, to be honest." You probably say it to yourself, but Abby hears you. She doesn't like the implications. "Well, this is where you died." You spread your arms out to the sides; Abby looks around the place and it makes her just a bit sick. The smell of ash is sharp and itchy, and Abby thinks she remembers it falling on her fur as she was choking on her blood.

"Yeah."

"Wanna stay and contemplate the meaning of life or can we go back to the baby animal?"

"We can go." Abby says, but her mind is elsewhere.

As Abby walks through the ashes of the dead tree, she doesn't contemplate the meaning of life, but rather the meaning of second chances. She got one, a damn big one - she came back from the other side. She should make the best of it, but the truth is - she doesn't feel different or changed. Well, no, she did change in these few days - she got friendly with you, after all - but it doesn't feel like enough. It doesn't feel like she did something good with her second chance. She guesses the death was not enough to terrify her.

You don't need super-senses to know that seeing her death site was not easy for Abby - she has been deep in her thoughts since you left the place. You can't say you know the feeling: you haven't died, and even if you did, there are only two people in the Lands who can revive others and one of them is you, and the other one would never revive a witch, so your chances on being brought back to life are zero. Having nothing to offer in terms of comfort, you leave Abby alone to work through her feelings.

You make your way to the west side of the forest and you feel the small, precious energy of the new life - it's something very small, not a cub or a deer, but it's strong and hell-bent on surviving. It makes you smile and you motion Abby to move slower. Abby snaps out of her thoughts and concentrates as she follows you.

In a few meters you see a bright ball of a baby bird. It's flapping its wings awkwardly, but it's already curious enough to leave its nest and come here to the ground to look for food. The fledgling doesn't notice you yet, so you carefully point at it for Abby.

"Is it-"

"A Firebird, yes." You smile. "It's small yet so we can look at it, but in a week it will grow and become so bright it will blind us. I haven't seen one in twenty years."

"I haven't seen one ever. Holy shit. A Firebird. A real Firebird. I thought people imagined them, like phoenixes." Abby whispers energetically, her eyes sparkle with excitement. "What do you know about them?"

"Not much, except what my elders told me. The legend says that they're pure fire and they appear to bring hope, usually in the spring. Maybe it appeared now after I took the tree to counter balance." You shrug as you watch the chick poke around with its beak. "They are extremely rare and one of a kind. This one doesn't have parents. All brave and bossy from the beginning."

"Can we get closer?" Abby asks, already moving. You chuckle.

"I can't, but you can, as a wolf. They let other animals come to them."

Abby doesn't hesitate - she changes into her wolf form and you take a step back when instead of a blonde giant that Abby is there's no less gigantic wolf that scared the shit out of you a few days ago. Abby doesn't growl at you this time, but she does push you with her giant butt to the side. Being so close to her lets you see how big she is - her head is somewhere around your chest when she stands, her paws are the size of your head, but she somehow manages to make minimal sound as she slowly walks to the chick: she makes herself known in order to not startle it, and the baby Firebird stops poking around. It looks at Abby and lets her come to it just to flap its wing in her big face. You snort loud enough for Abby to look at you, and you just shrug in response.

The chick plays with Abby for a bit, but then it loses interest in the giant wolf and flies away, living you alone with Abby. You feel longing - you can't come closer to such a creature, being the opposite of what it is, and seeing it for so short is not enough. Abby changes back just as fast and walks to you, also disappointed.

"Well that was anticlimactic." You chuckle.

"It's warm this close. And the eyes are just-" Abby takes a pause, definitely stopping herself from saying something*. "They glow."

"Nice glow or my creepy glow?"

"Nice glow." Abby says and there's a small tense pause, but it doesn't come from hostility. It's entirely different and you press it down hard.

You decide to change the subject before you both trap yourselves in an uncomfortable conversation about (your) eyes.

"What are you going to do now? Tomorrow morning you'll be good as new and free of the bound."

Abby stops when she hears your question. The truth is, she has no fucking idea. She didn't plan on anything that happened: not on rebelling against Isaac, not on giving Owen and Mel a chance to escape, and sure as hell not on dying and meeting the kooky witch in the kooky woods. It's not like she had an amazing relationship with Owen or Mel - it was civil at best - but she wasn't going to let Isaac hurt the only members of her family pack. She has lost enough already.

"O-okay. I guess you haven't thought of that." You interrupt her thoughts politely. "What happened to you, by the way?"

Abby looks at you for a moment, deciding if she can trust you. Then she thinks - to hell with that.

"My family pack was killed a few years ago, and the those who survived needed to join a new pack if we wanted to live peacefully. We joined one, but they were- are greedy, want a lot of territory for themselves. It was fine to fight other wolves, but a week ago our pack alpha decided to attack humans and take away their land."

"Dumb idea."

"My- what was left of my family pack thought so too. They're mates, expecting in a few months. Did Isaac care? Not so much. He wanted to kill them for betrayal when they protested and I couldn't let it happen. So I fought, let them escape. Ran here, met you, tried to kill you, died, you know the rest."

"Shit." You seem like you're about to squeeze Abby's shoulder, but you stop mid air. "That's awful. Do you want to find them? Do you know if they're safe?"

"I don't know if they'd want me. Plus, I don't want Isaac's mutts sniffing around and finding me. It might lead them to Owen."

"Do you share blood with any of them? Owen and his mate?"

Abby recoils out of habit when you mention blood, but you haven't hurt her this far, only helped, so Abby allows herself to listen to your idea.

"No. Just pack bond. Why?"

"Pack bond will do too, actually. Blood lets me track anyone anywhere, I think you know that. You make a deal, I'm practically omnipotent in the area you asked for, blood magic is this unlimited."

Abby hears her own gears turn.

"But you can energy bind."

"Yup. I can energy bind. Not right now, we're still bound and it will fuck it up, but tomorrow? Chop me some wood and I'll be able to sense them. You know, to give you peace or whatever. And when all of this dies down, you can go to them."

"Can I talk to them?"

"Do I look like one of these assholes who close their eyes and pretend to talk to ghosts?"

Abby rolls her eyes, but the deal is not in blood - it's enough for her.

"Why are you helping me?"

"Why not? Again, you're gonna chop wood for me. It's not like I'm doing it out of pureness of my heart."

Ridiculous, silly witch, Abby thinks as she listens to you saying this seriously - you can ask for undying loyalty, you can ask her to do your bidding for the next thirty years and instead you ask an alpha to take care of your hut. Abby would do it for fun.

You walk back to the hut, and Abby thinks about what she will do tomorrow, after the deal - when she will be completely free of you. It sounded like a damn dream the day before yesterday, but now, with her heart clean of her anger and her head not worrying about survival, Abby doesn't know where to go. No plan, no options, nothing. Literally a clean slate.

She decides to stay in the forest for the time being, while she figures it out - she will be in her wolf form so it will be easier to hunt and take care of herself, she can live in the bear den: she is healed and strong now, she can fight for territory, and that den is pretty nice. It will be harder without a pack - hell, Abby has never been without a pack, but it's her only option.

You go to meditate when you two come back home, and Abby starts working on the dinner - the forest is big and you've spent the whole day walking around, missing lunch but catching the still warm weather. As Abby chops meat, she sees you on the front porch, glowing like the candle in the evening hours, your tattoos showing how the energy circulates in you. It's weirdly mesmerising, like watching a wheel spin, and not creepy at all. Not anymore.

The next day you wake up and grin in relief - maybe you and Abby are now friendly and there's a weird tension between you, it's still nice to have your energy flow to yourself. There's also a sound of an axe hitting the wood outside. It seems Abby decided to not waste time.

You put your clothes on and go outside - it's something past midday, based on the sun. You find Abby and immediately regret coming here to check on her.

Listen, it's embarrassing - Abby can fucking smell you and what this shameless display of strength does to you. She is panting a little as she swings the axe, and she doesn't wear a damn shirt! Just her chest coverings! It's autumn! And oh she is sweating all right, the whole- Fuck, you now understand what does it for Caitlyn - if you had to watch Vi half-naked, sweating, in the forge, you'd also call her your "starlight".

And it's not a revelation for you - you know you like when people are strong as fuck and have their bodies to prove it with every dip and curve of their muscles. But you've never had the knowledge that some of them can fucking smell it on you! (you're going to give Sevika so much shit for this when she comes back)

So yeah. You want to turn around and bolt out of there, but you also want to stay and watch. Before you make up your mind, Abby puts the axe down and turns to face you. Holy shit.

"Decided to start on your end of the deal now?" You ask weakly, praying that Abby won't bring this up.

"You were sleeping. I got bored." Okay, the way Abby smirks definitely means she is enjoying embarrassing you. "I left the breakfast for you."

"Thanks." You mumble, trying not to look at Abby's shoulders. Or chest. Or abs. (Is it a v-line?) "Not a fucking word."

"Wasn't gonna say anything. Go inside, it's cold here."

Cold here my ass, you think as you go home. You eat your breakfast and try not to catch glances of Abby, but she is right there, where you usually meditate. You can't escape her. So you finish your breakfast fast and go to your still room to prepare everything for the ritual.

You isolate the still room from any other energy flows so it won't distract you, clear it out with the rosemary and then start drawing the runes you need - it's been a long time since you did it, so you have to look up the runes on your left thigh, where your mom weaved it when you were little and tend to wander off. Thankfully, there is no need for blood bind between the mother and the child, so your innocence was saved that day.

You draw them all over your stone table with the charged white charcoal and then call for Abby.

"Are you done with the wood?"

"Yeah. Unless you need more."

"Fuck off." You huff, but Abby smiles. "Sit down and give me your hand."

Abby does as she is told, and you put your other hand on the runes.

"Are we going to see them in a vision?"

"In a v- No. Where did you get this staff?" You say, offended. Vision? The fuck? "You will see nothing and pretty much feel nothing. Just think of them. I don't know, go on a nostalgia trip, relieve some memories."

Abby's playful mood disappears and instead the corners of her mouth turn down. She doesn't close her eyes, but they gloss over when she fully zones out, lost in her memories. The runes on the table glow and you follow the energy flow of the pack bond. There are several of them, but only four feel welcoming, and only two feel old. These bonds are not as welcoming, but they're strong - like the bond between family members who don't like each other, but will be there when the push comes to shove. That's when you know you found them.

"They're stable. Maybe not to their full strength, but there's no danger to their life. They seem to be on the move, and- oh." You feel the devastation, the grief, and for a second you're scared they lost the kid, but the woman has zero signs of loss. "They're grieving, but the child is fine."

"They probably found out I'm dead." Abby says quietly, and you feel how upset, worried, and given up she is. "It's better this way."

You say nothing and check the other two bonds. There's also grieving, but there's rage and fear as well - nothing good to bother to tell Abby. You're not kicking her when she is already down.

You finish the ritual and break the bond between the two of you. It's quiet and sad, and you want to comfort Abby.

This time, you place your hand on her shoulder.

"At least now you know you've died for something. They're as safe as they can be."

Abby doesn't say anything, but gently squeezes your fingers in return.

"Thank you. For everything."

"Ah, don't mention it."

Abby spends the next hour alone - she feels bittersweet. It's good, knowing that the last memory Owen and Mel will have of her is her doing the right thing, protecting them. But she feels hollow - as far as her favourite people knew, she was dead, permanently out of their lives, not giving them more reasons to worry about her. Abby was right - it's better this way. Maybe when she licks her wounds she will go and find them, but, if she is honest with herself - she's happy they're free of each other. Yeah, at some point she will tell them she is alive, when it'll be safe, but for now - for now she has nothing and no one. Bottom is a great place to start building, after all.

Abby wants space, she wants time. So she comes to say goodbye to you when you're finishing up cleaning the still room (you might not be creepy anymore, but your still room sure is).

"I'll be going." Abby tells you and you look up.

"Where?"

"Don't know yet."

You're silent for a moment, clearly thinking her words over.

"You can stay here, if you want. I'm not kicking you out." You seem a little vulnerable as you say it and Abby chuckles.

"Thanks, but, uh. I want to be by myself for now."

"Well. You know where to find me if you need anything." You offer her, and now Abby can't help but smile.

"Thank you. Take care."

"You too."

Abby leaves you hut, trying not to smell the sadness and pity that you reek of, and takes off deep into the woods, somewhere where no one will find her. Not even a one silly witch that she grew to like a little.

_

*What Abby didn't say: "It's warm this close. And the eyes are just- like yours."

[blondeaxolotl]

🔆anon

If Vil’s mom is a super powerful immortal (almost immortal?) angel, is she still around or did something happen to her?

Also, if demons were on you list of powerful mythical things along with angels and dragons, are Ace and Deuce just weak demons or do they have some secret power?

Ace and Deuce are on the low ranking tier of demons so they aren't strong magic wise but they're stronger than the average human (Silver doesn't count). But compared to like other beasts they still have a higher chance of getting their ass kicked if they don't behave (but ofc they can be trained to get stronger)

Now for Vil's mom and what happened to her since it's going to be a long yap

In short words: she's dead

For the longer explanation: Angels are only immortal to aging, they cannot die from old age so they can live on as long as forever unless they're physically murdered by something (like a demon). But because they can't die from old age, there is another very common way they can die: That is from grief.

For angels, there exists a lethal disease that can infect any angel (excluding children) and it comes from grieving the loss of a very close loved one. An angels whole purpose is to guide the hopeless into a world of hope, show the souls of those who passed that there is a peaceful world waiting for them after death, it's simple as that. But if an angel loses the courage to guide and to continue on because of someone close to them passing, then they're deemed as useless, an angel that doesn't have hope in themselves is not fit to guide lost souls or other angels below them. Therefore, they end up infected with the disease as a sort of punishment for going against their duty.

Now what does it do? Simple, it turns the angel into stone, a lifeless statue. It spreads slowly and painfully from a random spot until the angel has no energy or is in too much pain to move anymore, eventually turning them into a stone statue. The disease manifests when an angel grieves and loses hope, but it can thankfully be stopped or at least slowed down from spreading if the angel regains hope in continuing their duties. The disease can even be removed if it's on a spot that's easy to amputate (like an arm or a leg) which will lead for it to never reappear on that angel again if it's removed the first time, but if it's on a spot that's difficult/impossible to remove (like the head or chest) then unfortunately there's nothing that can be done and they'd have to live on with it (and highly risking it spreading again in the future).

Now if you thought angels being painfully turned into statues, becoming empty husks of who they used to be was already pretty bad. Just wait until you hear that their statues move when you don't look at them! Yes! They're weeping angels 😇! Yes, they're also very hostile! Towards other angels as well! Because these angels that are turned into stone are in a constant state of grief, grief that eventually turns into envy and anger towards other angels who haven't gone through the pain they have, they are VERY aggressive if you're not careful enough. (Will note that this disease isn't contagious, meaning it can't be spread onto other angels. But that doesn't mean they won't tear you apart like flesh eating monster)

What is done after an angel was turned into a statue? They are taken to a graveyard, one specifically made for them. Even though the statues themselves are hostile if you're not careful enough, they are still treated like normal graves that other family members are able to visit. The graveyard is made specifically to make entrance safe for visitors, heavily monitored by guards, and the whole graveyard itself is covered in a magic forcefield that lets things get in, but nothing can get out in case of an emergency (it also helps keep activity to a minimum during the day, they still move around but the forcefield helps them stay calmer and less likely to attack visitors, who could be their own family members they aren't aware of).

The graveyard also has a strict curfew, visitors must leave before 8pm because it's harder to keep track of the statues when night-time rolls around. Angels are usually easy to spot in the dark because of their bright halos, but unfortunately statues do not have them, meaning they can see you, but you can't see them, aka you're fucked (adding any sort of light in the graveyard during the night is out of the question, everytime someone did that, the light source "mysteriously" ends up broken the next day). Another note is that demons are heavily forbidden from entering the graveyard, the statues do NOT like demons and will resort to attacking almost immediately if one enters the yard (they will specifically attack in groups which will make survival impossible), angels should also avoid being around demons who they consider friends, if a statue notices them together, they will be considered a traitor and will end up being killed just the same way a demon would be (doesn't matter if it's daytime or not. The statues do not believe you should be allowed to live if you're friends with the "enemies").

Okay after that whole fyi, now it's safe to assume that Vil's mother had someone close to her pass away, which caused her a life of grief and eventually lead her to her doom, being turned into a statue and placed in the said graveyard we've talked about. Eric and Vil often visit her, (Eric visited on his own most times but Vil started tagging along because they hate the thought of their father being alone in a place surrounded by "creepy statues") she's very easy to spot since she's one of of the few statues that tower over the rest (which also makes it easier to notice when she moves). Eric likes talking to her as if she was still alive, even though he's only talking to a shell that used to be his wife. Surprisingly, Miss Schoenheit's statue is smart enough to realise that the two people that keep visiting her seem to have known her when she was alive, (Vil doesn't, Eric does, but she doesn't know that.) even if she can't recognize them, she has seen them enough times to where she thinks "these two, I shall defend" from the other statues, making her one of the ONLY "friendly" statues there, at least to Vil and Eric (her being a high rank angel could be the reason why she's "more friendly" than the others, the others are mostly low-ranking ones who immediately go for aggression and aren't aware that they're dead. Miss Schoenheit is aware, and therefore is more cautious of who enters and visits her. She decides who's an enemy and who's not).

This is already getting pretty long, but I want to say a few more other things before I stop this yapfest. Due to this disease existing, a lot of angels are very against forming attachments/close bonds with other living beings that aren't other angels, they will basically tell you "you're wasting your time" and "to stop having childish attachments". Remember how I said Vil was told as a kid that because their dad is a human, he won't live long unlike them? Yeah they were told that by the other angels who took care of them, basically telling Vil to get ready to detach yourself from "this guy" (Did I forget to mention that angels are dickheads? A lot of them even backtalked Vil's mother for succumbing to the disease, calling her a "a waste of a good leader"). Yeah that backfired and Vil only grew more attached to their father, it's almost like they should've told Vil that when they were a bit older and not when they were a CHILD. (Vil grew up heavily dislikes other angels, you could take a wild guess why.)

The last thing I'd like to add that makes Miss Schoenheit's death more sad, is that angels who regain hope after catching the disease are usually parents, their children end up being their hope to continue on. Sadly that wasn't the case for Miss Schoenheit, as she already accepted her fate the moment she realised it, Vil was not enough to make her continue on. Which is a shame, she would've been a wonderful mother- at least that's what Eric says. Vil also does not know about the fact most angels who survived the disease are parents who regained hope because of their kids, and honestly that's probably for the best that they don't know. They already got too much shit going on I think the last thing they need to know is "you weren't enough for your mother for her to continue living on" They do NOT need that right now.

But yeah that's basically it, Vil's mother died from a lethal disease that turned her into stone, she's kept in a graveyard, and both Eric and Vil often visit her. And those curious, the disease is literally called "Grieving Angels disease", inspired by weeping angels heheeheheheheh.

[racke7]

Dani in Mahora

Another idea that I'll never write.

Dani (from Danny Phantom) ending up in Mahora (Mahou Sensei Negima) and going on various adventures there.

Dani travels the world, cheerfully writing various postcards and letters to Danny and posting them from weird locations.

She doesn't have a return-address, and since Danny can't respond to those letters, she never actually learns how a letter should be written, so her writing is a jumbled mess of rambling nonsense about whatever.

Regardless, at one point she ends up falling through some kind of natural portal, and ending up at Mahora.

Mahora

Dani thinks that the World Tree is very neat, and is definitely curious about magic. The principal enrolls her in the All-Girls School at Mahora, mostly through bribing her with tasty food.

(The magic-side is worried that a girl visibly flying around unchecked would be really problematic for the Masquerade. Dani is willing to admit that magic is potentially dangerous enough that she shouldn't pick a fight with people over it without knowing how to run back home first.)

Dani knows a lot of languages, and some weird bio-engineering stuff, but has zero knowledge of basic math, and is nearly-illiterate (she's really bad at writing letters).

(Danny has been treating her weird postcards as a "oh cool, she's still alive and traveling to new places, good for her. I ain't reading that shit though".)

Needless to say, Dani gets to be part of the Baka Rangers.

Dani gets bored of exploring the regular campus pretty quickly (even as a moderate-sized town, Dani is used to exploring countries on the regular), but Library Island is at least pretty entertaining.

Yes, Dani can just go intangible to dodge all of the traps, but she's not supposed to use her powers (because magic is supposed to be secret). And also, if she did, then Yue would probably call her a chicken for needing supernatural powers to traverse it (she would, but only because she'd be childishly jealous of it).

Dani's relationship with Sayo is that she considers Sayo to be the single most pathetic ghost she's ever encountered. Dani will absolutely defend Sayo, since she's so pathetic, but Sayo thinks that Dani is super-scary.

(Sayo is a very weak ghost, and her instincts tell her that Dani is very strong. From her perspective, spending time with Dani is a bit like having a hungry grizzly-bear breathing directly into your ear.)

So Dani is politely pretending that she doesn't notice Sayo, and Sayo hides under her desk whenever Dani sneezes.

Negi

Dani settles into life as a member of 1A, and then Negi shows up.

Dani thinks that Negi is hilarious, but is also confused about everyone calling him "cute" and being obsessed about it.

(Dani trying to subtly approach the principal about love-potions or something, only to immediately retract her previous worries about it when seeing what an actual love-potion makes them act like. Clearly they're just being insane.)

Letters

Dani continues to write her letters to Danny, because it's what she always does. (It's basically a hobby at this point.) But she doesn't have anywhere to send them (since he's in a different world).

Her classmates know about her writing to her cousin (on behalf of her never hiding it), and when pressed for why, Dani told them a lie about Danny giving her one of his kidneys, saving her life.

Negi, upon hearing of this reason for Dani writing letters, obviously tears up about her cousin being such a noble soul. Dani feels pretty awkward about this.

During one of Negi's escapades (Chamo's fault, probably), it's revealed that Dani's closet is filled with unsent letters. When confronted about this, Dani simply responds that she doesn't have anywhere to send them to.

(Dani internally: "Where would you even buy postage stamps for inter-dimensional travel?"

Everyone else internally: "Oh no, her cousin is dead and donated his kidney posthumously. She's been writing these letters to a distant relative that saved her life and that she'll now never actually get to know. How tragic!")

Evangeline

Dani knows Eva as "that kid covered head-to-toe in chains". She thinks that this is a really weird fashion-statement, but she isn't going to be pointing fingers about it, because that'd be rude.

Dani briefly stumbling across Eva when the seal on her powers goes down, and immediately blue-screening.

Dani thinks that Eva is the single prettiest girl she's ever seen, and is now very obviously related to Danny.

(Danny with hearts in his eyes: "Paulina"

Dani with hearts in her eyes: "Evangeline")

Notably, this isn't about "adult Eva", because Dani can basically see that transformation as a kind of weird wire-mesh of magic, and so has no particular feelings about it. She's however very smitten with regular-sized Eva (though better at hiding it when Eva is visibly covered by the chains of her seal).

Most everyone else in their class is confused about Dani's taste in women. ("She doesn't even have boobs!") Eva is vaguely flattered, but not interested in kids ("No, you're into a different kid!" "Shut up, 'zero!"), and kind of annoyed about Dani doing dumb shit like fluttering her eyelashes at her.

(Dani is godawful at flirting, and her classmates are enthusiastic but utterly useless as wingmen.)

Dani also has a moment of rage when she hears about Eva ambushing Negi in the bath ("It should've been ME!").

Kyoto

Dani does join the magic-side during the fighting, though she doesn't fully transform, and briefly gets stabbed enough to bleed. Even in human-form Dani actually bleeds green, and Eva sees this.

Eva very much considers "green blood" to be incredibly yucky, and she wants no part in that shit.

More of Dani's complicated backstory comes to light, but not necessarily in an important way.

Mahora Festival

Dani participates in some of the training inside of Eva's resort, where Eva is unbound by her seal, but she has no interest in participating in the tournament-stuff.

This is the first time Eva confronts Dani with her "adult form", and is very disappointed in the lackluster results.

This basically escalates into Eva trying to go full vampire-dominatrix on Dani (for the sake for her pride), and forgetting about Dani's green blood. As in, she takes a bite of Dani's finger and immediately starts trying to puke her guts out, because what the fuck.

Then Eva wakes up the next day and realizes that her underwear is too small for her body. As in, for the first time in centuries her body has changed.

The rest of the crew find her basically sobbing in her too-small-panties, because she's wanted to grow up for so long, and even this tiny fragment of hope feels overwhelming.

A brief investigation results in fingers being pointed at the catalyst for this change being Eva drinking Dani's blood.

Eva nearly gives up on her dreams of puberty on the spot, because Dani's blood tastes so fucking bad.

(Dani is mostly thinking thoughts of sexy-vampire-Eva biting her in various places all over her body. She's not really paying enough attention to be offended.)

Summer

Dani has no interest in joining Ala Alba on their quest to find Negi's dad. Dani just wants to spend time with Eva.

Eva is kind of treating drinking Dani's blood as a horrible medicine to start the day, but it is kind of fun to have Dani shivering in excitement under her.

Eva's solution to this is to make a massive production of everything leading up to actually biting Dani, and then desperately trying to keep a straight face when actually drinking the blood.

She mostly fails at the latter, as she keeps tearing up (adorably) from the horrible taste. But the former is a massive success and makes everyone watching very uncomfortable ("Should they... be doing that in public?").

(Setsuna is trying very hard not to imagine Konoka doing something similar to her. Konoka is actively taking notes. Yue and Nodoka are only embarrassed because it's overtly sexual, and they're definitely not at all thinking about each other.)

Because of this, all of their classmates are now convinced that Dani and Eva are in fact dating. Nobody understands Dani's taste in women, but clearly she's got some moves to be able to seduce Eva (they want advice for seducing Negi).

(The reason we haven't revealed Dani's ghost-form yet is because the reveal happening when Eva is straddling Dani is so much funnier.)

Eva realizing that Dani isn't just a weird kid that bleeds green, but practically some kind of demi-god. And she's wrapped around Eva's fingers, and happy about it.

Eva basically has such a power-trip upon seeing this that she decides that she's just going to have to marry Dani. To make sure that nobody can take this away from her.

Return

Yadda-yadda-yadda, things happen, Eva gets freed, Dani finds a way back home (and obviously brings her wonderful fiancee Eva with her).

Upon reaching the Ghost-Zone, Clockwork shows up to inform them that Dani has only been "missing" for about a week in her home-dimension.

As that's easily within the time-limits between her letters arriving, nobody has had the time to consider her "missing". Dani shrugs about this, because it doesn't really matter to her.

Dani deciding to show off her beautiful sexy fiancee to Danny (Eva at this point definitely looks older than Dani). Also, she can finally dump all of her letters (most of which are completely unreadable) on him.

Danny is confused about the massive amount of letters, a bit worried about Eva being older than Dani (he's got some trust-issues about age-gaps, due to ghost-shenanigans), and definitely creeped out by Eva playing up the "sadistic evil vampire"-role.

(Danny: "Dani clearly has terrible taste in women, she must've gotten that from Vlad."

Sam, staring at him with eyes that have seen more teenage-stupidity and wanton-sighing than anyone should be forced to see: "... Sure.")

Vlad actually showing up to harass Danny about something, and Dani suddenly not being happy anymore (PTSD will do that for you). Eva deciding that actually Vlad should probably just die right now, and deciding to be proactive about helping him along.

Danny is a bit horrified about Eva beating the shit out of Vlad (he's not even in his ghost-form yet), but also like... fuck him.

Vlad ends up transforming into Plasmius in full view of everyone around them, because the alternative is to have all of his bones broken by Eva.

The Drs Fenton show up just as Vlad transforms into Plasmius, and they're very confused. As is their habit, they decide to simply fire indiscriminately at anything that moves, since that'll probably help them capture the ghost.

They barely manage to aim their weapons in Dani's direction before Eva freezes them in ice up to their necks, and starts threatening them over trying to hurt her fiancee.

(Danny in the background casually captures Vlad in a thermos, before Eva can remember him and kill him all the way dead.)

Eva readily admits to being a vampire, and that she's more than happy to murder people. (Eva doesn't really want to murder her future brother-in-law's parents, but they don't need to know that.)

Jazz shows up and apologizes for her parents (which they object to, because a vampire is probably just a different type of ghost). Jazz is also a bit wary of this woman who's now dating her maybe-little-sister, and decides to invite her over for dinner.

Eva rejecting the offer immediately because literally everything in their home is ecto-contaminated and the thought of eating food that taste like that is horrifying.

(Danny: "Hey, I take offense to that. Our toast is mostly-edible."

Eva: "I can smell your blood from here. I'm not touching anything you eat."

Danny: "Pah, the ectoplasm-levels in my blood is perfectly safe. It doesn't even glow that much. Usually.")

Drs Fenton aren't happy with either of their children for playing nice with the probably-a-ghost, but kind of get distracted when they hear Danny casually mentioning having glowing blood.

(Danny, feigning casualness: "Eh? My blood has been like that for as long as I remember."

Jazz, deciding to jump on the bandwagon of excusing Danny's ghost-powers as a contamination-thing and not a died-and-is-maybe-a-ghost-thing: "It's only that bad because you keep eating the food that comes back to life!"

Danny: "It's perfectly edible food. Sam would kick my ass if she heard I contributed to food-waste."

Jazz, not sure if Danny is actually being serious, or if he's thinking the same thing she is, and with genuine frustration in her voice: "Glowing green and still-moving hotdogs are not edible!"

Danny also not sure if he's doing a bit or not: "Yes they are. And look, now I can do this!" *transforms into Phantom* "Can you do that? Huh? Didn't think so!"

Dani, a lot more cheerful after Danny showed up to stuff Vlad into a thermos: "That's nothing! I can do that too!" *transforms*

Danny: "That doesn't count! Vlad grew you in a vat!"

Dani, smug: "It totally counts! You're just jealous that I got the sexy part of your genes!"

Danny, actually offended: "You did not!")

And then... I'm not entirely sure how the story would end. But this final exchange made me laugh, and it'd be sad not to be able to share it somewhere. So...

[pika-ace]

Ask you about your Dark Choco Cookie joins the Brave Squad au (please I'm curious)

I explained the basic premise in the replies of the original post but FUCK IT, I've had time to ruminate, it's time for more details!!

SO! We begin right after the Brave Squad have their fight with Dark Choco. Everything basically plays out the same, but maybe with a few more added lines from Gingerbrave, saying wholesome things and basically being a foil to DC's edgy bullshit.

DC: I once clung to the naive notion of friendship and happiness, but I was wrong

Brave: Well...maybe you didn't have very good friends back then. ...You could be OUR friend :3

Wizard: BRAVE, NO-

Anyway, they go on the usual story, blah blah blah, White Lily Cookie, crystal cage, whoopsie we freed Dark Enchantress Cookie, oh shit, she just summoned that huge monster from the opening cutscene. FIGHT! Dark Choco watches the fight, and for the first time, he feels...impressed, watching these kids fight. This monster is showing NO mercy, but they're still getting up and going. They're not giving up even though they're getting the tar beaten out of them. Of course, they win, and DC is just confused as all hell. These cookies were able to best him AND Dark Enchantress Cookie?! Dark Enchantress then starts her evil manipulating talk that she says in the scene. 'You lost to kids, wow, you suck, but if you do what I say, then I'll make SUPER strong >:3'

And before DC can respond, little Brave pipes up 'He's NOT weak! Don't listen to her, mister! Just because you lost once doesn't mean it's the end of the world! Heck, we've gotten kicked around a bunch of times on the way here! But we didn't give up, and neither should you! You ARE strong, and she's just taking advantage of you!' The rest of the kids speak up as well, mostly agreeing with the point that Dark Enchantress is absolutely tricking you, she doesn't have your best interests at heart, don't just blindly do what she says, and Dark Choco is basically reeling. No one has said that to him in so long and maybe that was something he really needed to hear...?

Before he can really have a crisis about it though, DE is absolutely OVER this mushy friendship talk, and while they're distracted, sets up for a powerful magic attack. Dark Choco sees this, and the next thing he knows, he's between the kids and the attack, deflecting the magic blast with his sword, and honestly, EVERYONE is caught off guard.

Brave Squad: :Oc

DE: Did you just...BLOCK MY ATTACK?!?! >:O

DC: ........I guess I did 8/

Jokes aside, Dark Choco makes it clear that he can't let DE hurt these kids. He has no idea why or what is going through his head right now (feelings???) but whatever it is, it's something he can't ignore, just like how he was drawn to the cursed sword. Dark Enchantress is obviously pissed about this, saying that if that's the path he chose, then he would die with the rest of these miserable little cookies, and the portal opens. The school goes boom (I'm going out on a limb here, I mean they kinda skipped what happened after the giant hell portal with a dragon opened up, so I ASSUME that a lot of nearby areas got kinda fucked up) and the Brave Squad and Dark Choco are left in the rubble, a bit banged up, but alive.

Now, in a normal situation, the Brave Squad would press on and keep looking for the Vanilla Kingdom, but they kinda have to address the big, scary, dark, cursed elephant cookie in the room. Brave is the first to jump up in excitement, gushing about how FREAKING COOL it was when Dark Choco deflected that attack like that, but DC isn't exactly in the right mindset for this right now. He just betrayed his Dark Master and now he has nothing left for himself. But of course, Brave jumps in, 'Don't be silly, you have us!'

DC: ...?

Brave: Look, you really saved us back there! I don't think we'd be here if it wasn't for you! I wasn't lying when I said you were super strong! And now, since Dark Enchantress Cookie is gone, and you don't know what to do...why don't you join us?

Squad: WHAT!?!?!!

(cue Wizard Cookie yanking Gingerbrave aside for a VERY SERIOUS group discussion!)

Wizard and Chili Pepper are the ones most against this. I mean LOOK AT HIM! How can we POSSIBLY trust this guy?! But Brave shoots back, 'Uh, because he saved us! Duh!' Strawberry is mostly just terrified of him and Custard is ruminating on the idea of having such a big strong swordsman as one of his royal subjects; I mean, his manners could use some work, and maybe he could dress a little less 'black' but, he has potential... The discussion basically goes nowhere, cause Brave is DEAD-SET on this, no matter what anyone says. Eventually, Chili caves, saying that if he tries anything, they can just beat him up again, which seems to calm Strawberry and Wizard who also puts in the condition that he is going be keeping a VERY close eye on him, and if he so much as TWITCHES wrong, he's getting a lightning bolt to the FACE. Brave is perfectly fine with these terms, they break the discussion circle, and Dark Choco is officially on the team!

Dark Choco has no idea what he just got himself into, especially when Chili Pepper comments that she's so glad that she can FINALLY stop being the 'adult' of this group cause the stress was killing her. ...This is gonna be quite an eventful journey.

Tune in for more when pikaace is able to farm enough EXP jellies to actually level up her damn cookies and progress past World 9 XP

[girl-in-the-tower]

CHAPTER I

Ramshackle Dorm - Birthday Party Venue

Kore: Woah, to think the ghosts would go all out like this just for today! Even though I told them that they didn't have to bother with it, they wouldn't listen, at all... It's... It's kind of embarrassing to be fussed over like this! If it was Grim I would have understood but this, uh...

Ah! And I'm supposed to have a guest over today as well! Hm, I guess some tea should be in order... maybe some cakes as well... I wonder if there's any sugar left...

Ace: Yo!

Kore: Ah, just a moment- Oh, it's just you, Ace.

Ace: Ha? What's that supposed to mean? 'It's just you'? It's super rude to greet your dear guest like this, you know?

Kore: Is that so? But calling you a guest is...

Ace: What's that?

Kore: Hm...

Ace: Well, doesn't matter because my feelings were hurt either way! So I'll help myself to this krumkake to make myself feel better! Let's dig in~

Kore: Hey, that- Aaah, that was meant to be for Grim. He kept complaining all day yesterday that he should have a cake all to himself too since it's a special day so I woke up extra early just to make it for him. Now he's gonna be mad...

Ace: Haa? A whole cake just for that furball? You've got to be kidding me!

Kore: What are you talking about? You know how much he likes krumkake.

Ace: Nah, I doubt there's really anything that guy won't eat... But that's not the point. You're spoiling him too much. He's gotten really fat, you know?

Kore: It's fine. I still make sure he exercises and he looks cute round like that too, so it's not a problem.

Ace: No, I definitely still think there's something wrong here. Mainly with your head.

Kore: Haaaaaaa, you wanna pick a figh-

Ace: Oh, I almost forgot! Here you go!

Kore: ... What's this?

Ace: Isn't it obvious?

Kore: Well... Huh? Wait a minute- That can't-!

Ace: Ta-da! It's a limited edition Griffons varsity jacket that's been all the rage with Magift meatheads like you~

Kore: No way!! This is- This is-

Ace: Cool, righ- Hey!! Don't jump on me like that! You almost knocked me off the chair!

Kore: Sorry, hahaha! I was so happy I just couldn't contain myself! To think that I would be able to actually get my hands onto something so valuable!

Ace: Yeah, we figured you'd like i-

Kore: This season has really been a blessing from above for them, you know? Everybody is in top shape and playing at their best! I heard their new manager actually made them go through this super difficult training regime that has been working wonders for them. Though it's only speculation so far!

Ace: Uh, Kor-

Kore: If you ask me, it's definitely also thanks to those new brooms that they ordered for the team. The wood is apparently from the Valley of Thorns and super-resistant so they go all out without worrying about breaking them. For the moves that the team is pulling, they really need that propulsion time! Even a second helps when you're in a headlock. I remember back in the vs Mandrakes game that they switched brooms in between-

Ace: Heeeeey! You Magift boar woman! Can you hear me?

Kore: Wh-Why are you yelling like that?! I'm right next to you!

Ace: Haaaa, when you start talking about Magift you might as well be in a completely different world... No wonder they all think of you as the Magift Encyclopedia. I bet you have hundreds of useless pieces of information like that stuck in your head.

Kore: You-! Huh? What's this?

Ace: A-Ah! That!

Kore: It's rice pudding- Ah! It's homemade from the Mountains!

Ace: Hm? Ah, ye-yeah... That came with the jacket...

Kore: Eh? They put pudding in jackets when they sell them?!

Ace: O-Obviously! Don't tell me you didn't know? Bwahaha, man, you sure are clueless...

Kore: ... It's my favourite flavour too...

CHAPTER II

Ace: Alright, next to the first question!

Kore: Eh?! Question?! Is this a quiz of some kind?!

Ace: I guess you could think of it like that, so anyway- Your first question as today's birthday girl issssss: "If you were stuck on a deserted island, who would you take with you?" Hm, here it says that you can't pick members of your own dorm, but given that you guys don't even have a dorm, I'm not sure that the restriction applies. Not that it matters since you wouldn't choose Grim anyway, right?

Kore: Huh? Why not?

Ace: You're serious?! You'd pick that furball?! Hey, we're talking about a deserted island here so think carefully! Don't you want to get off it?!

Kore: Well, obviously I would... But...

Ace: But?

Kore: I can do that on my own.

Ace: Huh?

Kore: Survival is all about securing shelter, food and formulating an escape plan. If it's a deserted island I assume there would be some fauna and animals too, so we could feed ourselves through fruit gathering and hunting. It might be hard if we don't have any tools, however, but I think Grim's claws would be sharp enough to cut through the skin and meat fairly easily. I make sure he takes good care of them after all.

Ace: I-I see...

Kore: If there's no drinkable water then we'll have to boil some from the sea in order to deal with the thirst. Grim's flames, when properly utilized, would be able to do such a thing. Not to mention that he could start fires to keep us warm at night and to cook food to sustain us! Also, it could be a great emergency signal if we end up at sea and need rescuing.

Ace: You want to use him as a flare?!

Kore: That sounds so mean! I would only do that as a last resort, however! Grim's pretty sensitive about having his belly scratched so I wouldn't do anything to make him uncomfortable like that!

Ace: Haaaa, I get it, I get it! So you're saying that the furball has his practical uses too. But I can't help but worry about some flaws...

Kore: Flaws?

Ace: No matter how much you feed that glutton, his stomach will never be full, you know! Whatever provisions you managed to gather, he's sure to inhale them with the first occasion!

Kore: Wah- That's a horrible thing to say! There's no way my Grim is so selfish!

Ace: My Grim?! What is he?! Your child?! And he's totally selfish, you know!!

Kore: HAAAAA?! ARE YOU REALLY PICKING A FIGHT WITH ME?!

Ace: Ca-Calm down!! I take it back, ok?! You can bring the furball with you!

Kore: Hmph.

Ace: Seriously, getting this angry over that cat...

Kore: Isn't that normal? Grim is my special person, after all!

Ace: SPECIAL PERSON?!

Kore: The person you care for a lot, like they're part of you, right? Like Cay-senpai said!

Ace: I-I see, so that's...

Kore: Being on a deserted island isn't ideal, but at the end of the day I know I can be ok on my own. Farmwork, housework - those are things that I'm used to from the Mountains. Life isn't so easy back home, but we all make do with what we can - magic or no magic. Even if I'm stuck in a bad situation, I can manage to get through so I don't need anybody else.

Well, that's what I thought before I came to this place anyway...

Ace: ...

Kore: Besides you're wrong about something!

Ace: Huh?

Kore: In order to survive it's not just physical attributes that are important, but mental ones as well. And in that case, Grim has the real trump card!

Ace: He-He does?!

Kore: Mm! You see, Grim, he... has the cutest paws and the fluffiest fur in the world!

Ace: HUH?!

Kore: Mm! Every time I feel like giving up or am reaching the end of the rope, all I'd have to do is give his paw pads a little squeeze or lay on his tummy and my mood would instantly clear up again! In a situation full of despair like that it would make a world of difference, you know?

Ace: SO HE'S THERE JUST FOR MORAL SUPPORT?!

Kore: Well, that too! It's important after all!

Ah, this pudding is really good actually...

CHAPTER III

Ace: Haaaa, I give up... Your boar mind is way too difficult to understand...

Kore: HUH?!

Ace: Anyway, let's get on with our next question and- Ah.

Kore: Hm? What is it? You suddenly stopped in the middle of the sentence. Did the falcon get your tongue, hehe?

Ace: It's a cat, not a falcon! And I only stopped because- uh...

Kore: What?

Ace: "You're offered the chance to pick another dorm, which one would you choose?"

Kore: ...

Ace: I swear, that Headmaster doesn't even think of these questions at all...

Kore: Yeah, there's no way I can answer that...

Ace: I figured. So instead! "Please share your opinions on the dorms!"

Kore: Ah!

Ace: Nice, right? You can definitely count on me when it comes to quick thinking, you know?

Kore: ... I guess.

Ace: You guess?!

Kore: I'll start with Diasomnia then!

Ace: Hey, don't ignore-

Kore: Hm, I'm not really sure about the atmosphere there but- Don't you think that their interior decor is pretty fancy? I haven't seen stuff like that in magazines for quite a while, so I feel like it's definitely something that must have required a lot of work! It's kinda dreary though, what will the windows not letting enough light and the greenery around it could stand to be looked after better, hm...

Ace: So you're only interested in the decor, huh? Alright, what about Ignihyde?

Kore: It's too technological.

Ace: Huh, I guess that you're right. For somebody like you, it would really be a struggle living there...

Kore: ...

It's even more depressing than Diasomnia, so I feel like I would be stuck in a bad mood without enough sunlight, you know? Though I must admit, it really is super clean inside! That's a very important detail! Clean homes are necessary for good health!

Ace: There you go again, sounding like a mom... Next is Pomefiore!

Kore: IT'S SUPER FLASHY!

Ace: I know~?

Kore: No, no, you don't get it! It's so flashy it actually scares me! All that pomp and glamour! The rugs themselves look like something from the fall collection that sold out about twenty years ago and the chandeliers are bound to be at least four times Theo's salary! Walking through those hallways is like stepping on opulence! A continuous loop of flashiness!

Ace: HEY! Get a hold of yourself! Let's go over to- Ah, Scarabia...

Kore: It's so hot there!!

Ace: Oh, yeah, you're super weak to heat so you'd definitely hate it there. Right?

Kore: Mm, hate is... I think that if it was the old me, I would never have even stepped in there. But now I feel like... Yeah! I definitely think that I can give it another try! Scarabia is pretty rich too, but it feels more homely? There's a lot of people gathered around and there are banquets and feasts pretty often too. It's always lively and warm... In a way, I imagine that's what a home would feel like...

Ace: ...

Kore: I can't say the same for Octavinelle however. Hmph!

Ace: Bwahaha, that's true. It really feels like you'd get scammed in there pretty quick.

Kore: Not even that! But building a dorm underwater? I admit the decor is pretty nice and classy, but the atmosphere is too cold! There's a lot of types that I can't get along with at all so it would definitely be a miserable time for me. No, I definitely don't want to set foot there ever again!

Ace: I totally get it~ All that commotion after the exams was enough for me too. Guess the same goes for Savanaclaw too, then?

Kore: ...

Ace: HA?!

Kore: I-I refuse to believe that anybody who loves Magift is a bad person!

Ace: There's that meathead in you talking again! Are you seriously that obsessed with it?! I feel like there's a sickness that applies in this case!!

Kore: He-Hey!! That's way too- I understand that what they did was bad, and I definitely haven't forgiven Kingscholar-senpai yet, but there are definitely good points to them as well! I think!

Ace: So you're not even sure?!

Kore: A-Anyway, as for Heartslaybyul-

Ace: Don't go changing the subject!

Kore: - if I had to pick that would be my favourite.

Ace: Huh?

Kore: I love Scarabia too, a lot, but at the end of the day all that rich atmosphere is scary. I really don't feel like I would belong there at all. I'd stick out like a sore thumb among everybody else - more than usual at the very least. But in Heartslaybyul, even if Rosehearts-senpai is strict, I feel like everybody is sort of content with the oddness. There's not much that stands out about it, but I think that's what makes it so appealing, you know?

Ace: ... So... what you're saying... Is that we're a shabby dorm full of weirdoes?

Kore: I-I wouldn't go that far...

Ace: But that's the gist of it, isn't it?!

Kore: Ummmmm...

Ace: ... Alright, I get it.

Kore: Huh?

Ace: You know, it just so happens that there's one more thing I have to tell you about.

Kore: One more thing?

Ace: Yup! You see, there's this tradition where the presenter has to give the 'gift of fortune' in order to make sure this ends up being a great birthday! And it just so happens that you're lucky enough to have me here today to deliver the goods~

Kore: Huh? What are you-

[SPLATTER]

Kore: ...

Ace: BWAHAHA, I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU JUST STOOD THERE LIKE THAT!

Kore: ...

Ace: Oh man, the look on your face is hilarious! Oh, let me take a quick picture to show the others too!

Kore: ...

Ace: Ok, so then- He-Hey! Don't- AUGH! MY FOREHEAD!

[clearlymiraculous]

I'm late to the party but I have a couple of thoughts about the Encanto post

Firstly: spoiler warnings for Encanto.

I'm assuming we all know what was said, but as a refresher, here is what was originally posted:

I think we've all recognised by now the hypocrisy of a few of these critiques - his dislike of the scale of the film, for example, seems more like a personal issue and if he was given the same critique I'm sure he'd dismiss it because we're not established animators (personally I'd love to know what he thinks of Die Hard, 12 Angry Men, Saw, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Rear Window... etc;) ...

A few things however...

1: Having not seen the French dub I can't say whether or not it's good, but I'm a subs girl through and through, so I definitely understand why he'd say that.

2: I agree that there are too many characters to really get attached to any of them - I feel like I only really got to know Mirabel and Abuela beyond those surface traits, and Bruno to some extent (and really he's just the best character of the movie). Would I get rid of any of them? No. I think that this movie really should be a stage show with extra time dedicated to other characters - namely Dolores, who talks not only about being in love with Mariano (only for it not to come up again until the last possible second) and also about being able to hear Bruno through the walls?! And this is said at the end and not beforehand?! Girl needed her own solo song. Anyway. Make it a stage show. moving on.

3: He's lying if he says if he doesn't remember We Don't Talk about Bruno but the majority of the songs do fall a little short when we consider what Lin Manuel Miranda is capable of.

Now that I've got that out of the way, here's where I very strongly disagree and honestly it's the purpose of my entire post:

Thomas Astruc has no right to say Encanto has a weak base mythology.

By saying this, he's both demonstrating that he doesn't really know what makes a good mythology (especially in children's media) and that he didn't apply any critical analysis to the film whatsoever.

The mythology of Encanto on a surface level is actually super simple: the candle is magic, therefore the house is magic, therefore the family is magic. Their bond as a family is what keeps the magic alive and thriving. It is, as it's repeatedly described by the characters, a miracle, which has no explanation (beyond, perhaps, being born out of Abuela's grief)... and it doesn't need one. Miracles don't necessarily need explanation, especially in cases such as these, where the magic system is really simple to understand.

If we're going to compare Encanto with Miraculous, here is where we can really say Encanto has done better, because it picked a lane and stuck with it. If you're a fan of @immaturityofthomasastruc, as I am, or read Astruc's twitter often, you would notice he flip-flops back and forth between the show being really simple and the show being really complicated. The same goes for the magic system - if we look at the entire extended universe of this show we have kwamis, miraculous(es), akumas, amoks, renlings, prodiguous, guardian monks, wives in comas, Eyes Wide Shut parties, superheroes in America with actual super powers... did I mention that there are apparently infinite kwamis that represent abstract thoughts or concepts and this is only explained in a comic book that only had two issues, never mind the fact that originally the magic was at least visually built on Chinese philosophical principles and their zodiac mythology... All this I could forgive if the rules were a little clearer or at least coherent in the show, but unless you consult Astruc's twitter, they're not. What five year old, as he professes the intended audience to be, is going to think to look up the show creator on Twitter to figure out how the show works?

Going back to his critique of Encanto's apparent lack of mythology, I assert that he's demonstrated a complete lack of critical analysis of the film because as far as I can see he doesn't understand the importance of the magic in a thematic or symbolic sense.

Before I explain myself, I want to let you know that I'm a white Australian. I haven't been to Colombia. The closest I've gotten to Latin American culture is the Mexican pavilion at Walt Disney World (plus the friends I made whilst I worked at the parks but they were also Mexican, not Colombian, so you can see where my expertise is lacking here).

A lot of people online have recognised that this film uses intergenerational trauma as an underlying theme of the film. I mentioned earlier that the candle and its magic was perhaps born out of Abuela's grief. She is a guardian of this magic, but she forgets that her survival of the traumatic experience is part of the gift she received and that her family is special with or without their 'useful' magic gifts - "The miracle is not/some magic that you've got/the miracle is you/not some gift, just you." Less specifically, the magic is a visual representation of their genuine closeness as a family - when the family becomes fractured as a result of the distance between Mirabel and her abuela, the magic is fractured. In some ways, the fact that the family have magic powers doesn't actually matter. The real story of the film is about a family. I can't believe Astruc doesn't see this. My guy... you're supposed to be a showrunner. Are you really telling me you don't know the importance of narrative themes?

Lastly: losing your magic, or your way of life, is a higher stake than Astruc thinks. He obviously doesn't know the profound effect that the panini has had on a lot of people, who lost their way of life and are still trying to get back to normal. On the stakes of Miraculous, well. You kinda lose that when the status quo is maintained after 4 seasons and using time travel to undo the villain's victory twice. Just saying.

[thevoidstaredback]

Tim was curious. Maybe a little addicted to whatever the hell was in that coffee, he's still standing by the point that no other coffee will ever be enough, but that's not the point.

He wants answers. The Justice League want answers. No one has been able to get them. Because Phantom stays in the House of Mysteries, no one but the JLD can actually get time him. The Supers have tried listening out for him, but magic is something they're weak against and therefore can't hear through. Batman has tried to get into the House, but he's been sent everywhere else for his attempts. They would track him down as a civilian, but no one actually knows if he has a civilian disguise. It's very hard to hide hair that starkly white and skin pale enough to be blue.

Regardless, everyone wanted answers and Tim was determined to be the one to get them. Why does Phantom claim to be thirty-eight, fourteen, and eighteen all at the same time? Where did he come from? When did he die? How did he die? What the hell is in his coffee because damn was it good!

Off topic.

Tim had the rest of the Titans return to the tower while he stayed out. It'd be easier to track if he was the only one doing it. Besides, these guys work with Raven, they won't hurt him. Probably.

The fact that Phantom apparently smelled like death was another concern Tim had. Was it because he was dead? And what did Constantine mean that 'the smell lingers'?

More questions kept popping up like goddamn daisies, and there was no answers to clip them down. Tim was getting frustrated, to say the least.

***

Danny made an effort to at least try and help Constantine with the demon problem the building was having. Honestly, it wasn't even that bad, in Danny's humble opinion. The demon was just messing with people, not hurting anyone or stealing anything! He was, at most, planting minor inconveniences everywhere.

That's not technically his monkey, though, and it was most definitely not his circus. He figured he'd offer to be helpful, though, if only so that Constantine would owe him a favor. A favor he already knows how he's going to cash in.

"Why'd you really want to tag along?" Constantine asked Danny while they searched for the demon.

"What do you mean? You offered to bring me along."

"Yeah, but that's because you need to get out of the House more."

"Funny, coming from you."

"I spend more time outside of the House than I do inside." the Brit scoffed, "Now tell me why you agreed to come along. This is demon hunting. You only ever go ghost hunting."

Danny sighed and ran his left hand through his hair. Not that he could feel it, stupid nerve damage. "Deadman's been on my ass about my first trip to Gotham. I would've left to go find some place to crash, but the entire Justice League is also on my ass for some reason! I'd honestly rather not have to face any of them."

"You've been to Gotham?" Constantine asked, "When?"

Danny groaned, "Not you, too!"

"Whoa, okay, okay. You don't need to share with the class."

"Sorry."

"You better be."

"Hey!"

"Now tell my why the JL proper are after you?"

A sigh. "You remember at that meeting when Red Robin mistook my drink for his?"

"Yeah. Hard to forget. You freaked everyone out a little bit."

"Yeah. Turns out they all have questions that I don't want to answer. Avoiding them all has been the best way to not answer."

"You know you can't dodge them all forever."

"I know, but I really don't want to have to explain anything!" he whined, "The questions that they'll end up asking are gonna be really painful to answer."

A raised eyebrow. "How do you know what they'll ask?"

"Because everyone always asks the same things. Worded differently, but still that same."

"Then refuse to answer."

Danny met Constantine's eyes with a deadpan glare. "You're gonna look me in the eye and tell me that the Justice League and their sidekicks will leave me alone if I tell them 'no'?" He shook his head. "Lying's a bad habit, old man."

Constantine rolled his eyes as he went for his lighter, remembering they were were in a no smoke zone and retracting his hand. "Don't sass me, brat. Wonder Woman and Superman, at the very least, would back off. They'd get everyone else to, too."

"What about Batman and his brood?"

"Touche." the man said, "But you can't hide from them forever."

"I can try,"

"But you'll fail."

Another groan. "Can we just get this thing over with? I want to lock myself in the basement and wallow."

Part 5 Part 7

Tag List:

@zaiothe4th @someonebored0100 @wolfeyedwitch @angelheartgamer @nymanders @princessbelix @luminanightfall @kgne-k @bianca-hooks123 @reigning-catsanddogs @sassywombatranchhorse @dontfightmecauseillcry @soul-lime @anarinette @serasvictoria02 @the-chaos-goblin-child @confusedshades @caicie @fantasticstoryteller @randomshtickidk @itsberrydreemurstuff

[danceworshipper]

Tessa Chiva HPHM - Profile [Redone]

(information is as of sixth year - same universe as Gracie and River)

Identity

Name: Tessa Gracie Chiva

Gender: Female

Age: 16

Birthday: August 17th, 1973 at 3:37 am (leo)

Species: Human/Witch

Blood Status: Pureblood

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Alignment: Lawful Good

Ethnicity: White - German, English

Nationality: British

Residence: Chiva Manor, a heavily warded house in the wizarding part of the English countryside

Personality Type: ISFP-T (the adventurer - that's ironic)

The Mage

Wand: 13 1/4 inches of cherry wood encasing a dragon heartstring, flexible. The wand is dark red and slightly thicker than the average wand, with a smooth handle molded precisely to her hand

Animagus: Sparrow Hawk

Misc. Magical Abilities: Legilimens, moderate strength, with weak Occlumency

Boggart Form: Gracie, angry and coldly saying that she'll never love Tessa because Tessa is weak and beneath her

Riddikulus Form: Gracie deaged to a toddler, saying the same words but meaning them less

Amortentia (how she smells): Tessa would smell like sugar, strong deodorant, and salt water

Amortentia (what she smells): Tessa smells metal, strawberry kiwi drinks, and nail polish (River)

Patronus: Lioness

Patronus Memory: the first time she and Gracie were ever allowed to go wandering in the woods on their own. They found a creek and spent the afternoon barefoot, eating berries and splashing each other

Mirror of Erised: Her family together and happy as if nothing ever happened

Specialized/Favorite Spells:

- Aguamenti

- Vermillious

- Orchideous

- Visus Aqua (a spell for Quidditch to see in the rain)

- Revelio

Appearance

(picture made using the zepeto app)

Height: 5'6"

Weight: 124 lbs

Physique: Skinny, slightly wider hips than Gracie. More physically muscular than her sister as well

Eye Color: Army green

Hair Color: Dark brown

Skin Tone: Pale but human looking. Has spattered freckles around her nose

Body Modifications: Two piercings in each earlobe and a cartilage piercing in her left ear

Scarring: Various small scars on knees from childhood, nothing major (yet), will end up with faint scars all over from the final fight with R

Inventory:

- Her wand

- Her father's old watch, not worn but kept in her purse

- Around twenty Galleons

- A poem about her from River folded in her pocket

Fashion: Tessa is willing to sacrifice comfort for fashion. When not in her uniform, Tessa is usually in a skirt of some kind with a cute fitted top and possibly a stylish jacket. She wears either flats or wedged shoes. Her hair is kept in two braids or low pigtails. When she's being athletic, she wears black fitted tracksuit pants and either a loose tank top or a Slytherin sweatshirt, with her hair in a tight messy bun. She wears small gold hoop earrings and a gold cartilage stud, and in later school years a peridot ring that was a gift from River. For makeup, she only wears lip gloss and mascara.

Allegiances

Hogwarts House: Slytherin

Affiliations/Organizations:

- Chiva Family

- Black Family

Professions:

- Current student and Slytherin Quidditch Captain

- Future Quidditch Player for the Montrose Magpies

- Future advocate for creature rights

Hogwarts Information

Class Grades:

- Astronomy: O

- Care of Magical Creatures: O

- Charms: O

- Defense Against the Dark Arts: E

- Divination: E

- Flying: O

- Herbology: E

- History of Magic: O

- Potions: O

- Transfiguration: O

Quidditch: Chaser, team captain from fifth year on

Extra Curriculars:

- Dueling Club

- Assistant for Kettleburn

- Weekly Legilimency lessons from Snape

Favorite Professors:

- Professor Kettleburn: Tessa adores his wacko personality and enthusiasm for creatures. He's encouraged her whenever she feels hopeless and is a surprisingly good listener

- Professor Flitwick: The number of times Tessa has nearly cried in his class is insane. She used to be worried about being too unskilled at magic and her nerves made her fail a spell at first, but Flitwick was gentle and talked her through it until she was one of the best in the class. Her bad nerves left in third year, but he's still more gentle with her

Least Favorite Professors:

- Professor Trelawney: Tessa is good at Divination. She enjoys Divination. What she does not enjoy is Trelawney acting like a freak and driving people out of the class. Tessa learns much more from her textbook than from the professor

- Professor Snape: Yes, he's her head of house, but he's an asshole. He's insulting to her and many others and makes her feel more worthless than she already does. If she didn't have Gracie and Penny to help her learn outside of class, she would have failed his O.W.L. Her Legilimency lessons are the worst part of her week

Relationships

Twin Sister: Gracie Tessa Chiva

- Gracie is only eight and a half minutes older than her, but Tessa sometimes feels like Gracie is years older

- She regrets quitting the vaults because she feels like she and Gracie are different people now

- Tessa still blames herself for Gracie's curse. She can't remember the incident, but her wand was two inches from her hand when she woke up and she had no injuries besides the concussion that she thinks is just from falling, so she believes she failed her sister

- Tessa desperately wants her sister's approval and doesn't realize just how much her sister loves her

- She wishes she could do something to protect Gracie for a change

- They were super close as kids and grew apart in the later school years

- All Tessa wants to do most of the time is latch onto Gracie and never let her go into danger again

Older Brother: Vance Riley Chiva

- This bastard

- Vance always favored Gracie

- Tessa still loved him, but she would sometimes feel excluded

- Vance did in fact leave her a few memories, but they were locked in the same box with Gracie's and when Tessa saw how many more Gracie got, she refused to watch hers

- When Vance is freed in fifth year but leaves again without seeing her first, Tessa shatters the picture of him, her and Gracie. It's repaired the next morning, and stays fixed until the end of sixth year when Gracie shatters it too

- Tessa hates Vance

- When he dies in place of her, she realizes she never hated him. She loved him and just wanted him to love her

Younger Cousin: Aiden Carter Darkling

- Aiden is the son of Rachel Chiva, Jason's sister. Rachel and Aiden's father divorced while he was still young, but it was relatively amicable and he comes around for holidays

- Tessa never payed the kid much attention when they were younger, but after he started Hogwarts she took him under her wing a lot

- Aiden comes to her for advice when he has his first crush, when he's nervous about a test, or simply needs a hug. Tessa gets to be a big sister and she loves it

- She's way closer to Aiden than Gracie is, and Aiden isn't hesitant to tell Tessa that he likes her far better. It makes her feel good

Mother: Clarissa Vanessa Black

- Tessa loves her mother, but she doesn't agree with her on a lot of things

- She tries her hardest to make her mother proud, because she knows she's the only "decent" child Clarissa has left

- She actually suggested a contract marriage in hopes of making her mother happy. She was really confused when Clarissa forcefully shut the idea down, not realizing all that her mother went through in her own past

- When Tessa is in her coma in seventh year, she hears her mother go insane (it's what wakes her up) and realizes just how much Clarissa loves her

- Tessa takes much longer to figure out Clarissa and Margaret than Gracie does

- She keeps better in contact with her mother throughout her adulthood than Gracie

- Family dinners are awkward but hey, they're still family

Father: Jason Harvey Chiva

- Tessa, like Gracie, admired Jason a lot as a child

- She only visited his Auror office a few times, because while she thought it was cool she wasn't interested in it as a career

- Tessa didn't see him murder their family friend and didn't believe it when Jason's partner Thomas came to tell her and Clarissa

- She still can't quite believe it, and she misses him a lot, which is why she carries his watch with her *cough cough daddy issues cough*

- The day Gracie has to kill Jason, Tessa destroys the watch

- He tries to kill Margaret in front of Tessa's young daughter Octavia, and that's when Tessa fully believes that Jason lost his mind

Ex Boyfriend: Barnaby Lee

- They met in first year (obviously, they're in the same house), but Tessa never paid him any attention

- It was only in second year when she and Liz were allowed to start getting early lessons from Kettleburn that she started noticing him

- Barnaby was a character during these early lessons

- He hadn't actually signed up for them, but he heard Liz talk about them and just assumed they were open to anyone

- Kettleburn didn't care obviously, he's a bit unstable anyway

- Barnaby would always carry the heavy stuff and Tessa's raging puberty hormones took one look at the muscles and said "heyyyyyyyyy"

- Then of course she actually started talking to him, and dear fucking god was he dumb. But then she talked to him more and he actually wasn't? He was kinda smart in a weird way? And really really nice?

- She never told him she liked him, and by the end of the year he was starting to slip under Merula's control

- Tessa was the one to try and get him to think for himself in year three. She's also the one who dueled him, and she lost miserably, but she stood back up whenever he knocked her down and he admired that. A few weeks later, he asked her out to Hogsmeade

- Gracie was pissed but Tessa didn't care that much

- They were a super cute couple and all of Slytherin (besides her dorm mates) shipped them so hard

- They ended up growing apart in fourth year and deciding they're better off as friends

Love Interest: River Mund

- As of sixth year, they are not together, though it's pretty obvious they both fancy each other

- River is an exchange student from Ilvermorny who arrives the same day as Alanza. Tessa is made to be their tour guide, and while showing them around she can't help but notice that this (very handsome) new boy seems really stressed out. She assumes it's from being so far from home and tries to be encouraging, but he doesn't say a single word the entire time

- River ends up staying in the Slytherin dorms, and Tessa watches him all the time (just out of curiosity of course). He almost never talks to anyone, and is very jumpy when someone gets too close

- After about a month of this, Tessa decides to sit down at the same table as him while doing homework. He seems almost scared of her, but after a week it becomes normal, and she hears his voice for the first time when he asks her for help on his CoMC essay. Another week, and when River packs up his things to go to the dorms, he leaves her a folded up piece of parchment containing a poem he wrote about her

- Tessa starts noticing how often River sneaks into the Forbidden Forest, and gets curious enough to follow him. This is how she discovers he's a vampire - a rarer subspecies theorized to be stemmed from partial vampire breeding together

- River is horrified and thinks she'll hate him since he hates himself. He wasn't born a vampire. His family illegally paid a vampire to break into the hospital and change him to save him from cancer without any input from him. It's why he wanted to come to Hogwarts, to get away from them

- Tessa is scared, obviously, but she tries her best not to show it because he had just started to open up and she didn't want to lose the progress they had been making. When she tells him she's not scared of him River doesn't look like he believes her, but he's so relieved she's trying that he hugs her

- They very quickly become much closer after that, and Tessa realizes that she might be in too deep when she shoves her wrist in his face for him to drink from when he weakly confesses he hasn't had any blood in two weeks without a second thought

- He buys her the ring during January. He claims it's for being such a good friend, but Tessa hopes it's because he likes her (they're both so oblivious)

- They'll get together in seventh year over Christmas break. They both stay behind at the school, and end up confessing while sitting in front of the fire in the Slytheirn common room

Best Friend: Liz Tuttle

- Tessa and Liz met in first year, the first night in the dorms

- Liz, being her awkward self, asked slightly too loudly if anyone wanted to discuss the Fwooper

- Tessa did indeed want to discuss the Fwooper

- Boom, best friends

- Tessa tries being vegan like Liz but can't take it, and reverts to being vegetarian. She's not exactly good at that either, but she never eats meat in front of Liz (at home is fair game)

- She and Liz spend a lot of their free time outside, sneaking into the forest even

- On an assignment from Kettleburn, they accidentally discover the Room of Requirement and now spend free time during bad weather in there

- Liz constantly reassures her that she's not a bad sister for stepping back from the vaults

Rival: Skye Parkin

- They may have been teammates, but Tessa and Skye HATED each other. It really threw off the team dynamics for a while

- Tessa almost quit because Skye made practices miserable for her, and this is when she and Erika ended up friends. Erika convinced her to stay on the team and make Quidditch miserable for Skye instead, and even helped train her

- Orion picking Tessa as his successor and not Skye (who was a year older and more experienced) made Skye so mad she broke her broom and quit. Tessa couldn't help being happy about that. Skye brings out her inner pettiness

Enemy: Vance Riley Chiva

- Tessa is just so sure he's lost all humanity

- She's mad at him for getting them into this mess in the first place

- She swears the next time she sees him, she's going to smack him

- She doesn't get the chance, nor does she get to say anything at all

Dormmates:

- Gracie Chiva

- Liz Tuttle

- Rowan Khanna: they're friends, but very casually, as Rowan is Gracie's best friend

- Merula Snyde: they're not friends, nor will they ever be, but they try very hard not to argue for Gracie's sake

- Ismelda Murk: they too are not friends, but they study History of Magic together because they have similar studying styles and both find the subject interesting

- Colette Belrose: see below

Pets:

- Ruby, the family Crup

- Clara, Vance's toad (she's more Gracie's pet)

- Elaura, a shared owl

- Lemmy, a moke

- various creatures in the reserve that Tessa and Liz coparent

Closest Canon Friends

- Chiara Lobosca: the werewolf quest? Tessa did that. She adores Chiara's kindness and resilience, and frequently uses her Animagus to accompany her on full moons

- Diego Caplan: he helps train Tessa's magical strength. He was totally into her at first, but he calmed down and now they hang out a lot in and out of the Dueling Club

- Erika Rath: Training buddies with a healthy Quidditch rivalry. Tessa has even gotten Erika to come over to her house so they could hang out over the summer

Closest Noncanon Friends

- Gracie Chiva (Jacob's sibling canonically has no other siblings)

- Rosalie Sonnenschein: A German model one year older than her who attends Durmstrang. A first generation part Veela with a very strong natural allure that has men (and women) swooning

- Kyle Orchan: the Squib son of one of the shopkeepers at the clothing store Tessa frequents. He's the best listener Tessa has ever met and loves hearing about her magical adventures. He does sometimes get very sad hearing about this world he'll never be a part of, but he's too nice to ever mention it

- Colette Belrose (@gcldensnitch): Tessa met Colette their first night in the Slytherin dorms. Granted, Tessa spent most of that night talking to Liz, but she went to bed relatively early so Tessa struck up a conversation with Colette. They're super similar and plan to go on a tour of Europe one day. Colette helps Tessa step back and remember to breathe, and she loves her for it

(Storyline has to be in a different post because of tumblr's dumb text limit)

Future

Marriage and Children: Tessa and River get married at the age of twenty one, and almost immediately Tessa gets pregnant with her oldest daughter, Octavia. Her body reacts very negatively and she almost dies while giving birth, so she and River agree to not have any more children. Six years later, Tessa accidentally gets pregnant with twins, Meredith and Alexander. It's a terrifying experience, but all three of them live and the twins are healthy

Career: At the age of twenty two, Tessa is recruited for the Montrose Magpies after one of their scouts watches her casual group's practice. She takes a short break years later to have the twins, and they welcome her back when she joins back up. Her replacement was shit. Tessa gets better at International Apparation so that she and River can spend time in America, England, and Germany without interrupting their work schedules. After she eventually resigns from the team, she uses her "fame" to bring more attention to the petitions for creature rights

The Second Wizarding War:

- Tessa isn't in the country for the most part when the war starts up, though she stops bringing the kids when visiting her mother after it starts getting bad

- After Bill's attack she and River temporarily stay in England for their friends, having her kids stay with Merula and her and Gracie's kids

- She doesn't fight in the Battle of Hogwarts. She's too scared for both herself and Gracie, as if Tessa went to fight Gracie would follow

- Tessa finally discovers all of what happened when Gracie joined R, and how much she truly was one of them for a little while when Olivia Green suddenly enters the picture. That takes her a while to get over, but she's able to

Old Age and Death: Tessa dies at the age of 120 of natural causes, after Gracie, River, Liz, and basically all of her friends. When she gets too lonely, her soul gives up

Personality

- ambivert

- horribly insecure, not so much about her looks but her strength, both magical and physical

- a wee bit of a masochist, constantly pushes herself too hard

- has a good memory

- is good at strategy

- very very kind, even sometimes when someone doesn't deserve it

Misc Information

- Tessa is bilingual, fluent in both English and German

- From all her practicing, Tessa is an amazing cook/baker - River's drinking buddies absolutely love her for it

- She can sing beautifully, and can play simple songs on the piano

- Tessa's depression never quite goes away, but it never gets very bad

- She has pretty bad misophonia, which developed around age nine and got worse with the anxiety and depression

- She ends up with a doll collection that River is terrified of, so much so that she has to put charms around each one so he can't see them unless he focuses

- Tessa is a massive pasta hound

- She hates any drink that fizzes. It's very inconvenient considering she frequently attends parties with things like sparkling water and champagne

- Tessa likes pineapple pizza

- Her favorite color is green

- She's left handed like her siblings and her mother

- She loves thunderstorms

- Her favorite season is winter

- She loves going stargazing

- She has a weird obsession with water. If she's upset, the best thing to do is draw her a bath, and sometimes she'll fill a bowl and stick her hand in it while studying or reading

- She sweats a lot, both from being active and from unlucky genetics (hence why she smells like strong deodorant)

- Tessa doesn't exactly believe in aliens, but she's pretty sure we're not alone in the universe

[templeofshame]

did you ever get around to fully finishing stranger things? what did you think of the ending? love hearing your Thots and Onions lol

To be honest my friend and I are waiting on the second half of the s4 finale until s5 is out.  Yeah, that's weird, but I know most of what happens and it's mostly a bumner, so we haven't felt motivated to finish after she fell asleep mid-ep, and we got into Yellowjackets instead.

I do still have opinions though...

like I think Mike sucks this season and I don't buy him and El this season; they were so cute in the beginning but now they're all performative, lies and superheroes and I'm not sure he even sees her as a person, it's Very Important that El has people who care about her as a person and not as a magical deus ex machina. I do know he's gonna say he loves her like 6 times, I'm sure he believes it, I don't buy it.

I also feel like this season has a plot about trauma/survivor's guilt (via vecna/victims) and abuse (via el and a bit max) and I'm not sure very thoughtful about what it's saying about them. Forcing El to go work with her abuser, Max grieving hers, the relationship between Max and Nancy and El and others in terms of survivor's guilt... these are super complex interesting things that get barely touched on. And with Chrissy's apparent trauma seeming relatively mundane compared to what literally every major character has been through (and I forget what Patrick's is, is his name Patrick?), vecna's choices seem kinda weak. Maybe he says something in the second half but I'd rather them have all been dealing with survivor's guilt specifically.

I felt like the guitar scene was anticlimactic and weird for how much buildup eddie the guitarist had, and the plan seemed kinda bad? I guess it's harder for me to say how things should work though because the rules of the Upside Down have substantially changed since s1, like in this Upside Down Will and Barb could've just hid in someone's house with barely any tentacles, there seem to be lots of safe places.

What else... I think Jason was more worried about people thinking Chrissy was cheating on him than Chrissy's death. I think the jock death mob has vibes of that hyena episode of Buffy, and overall I think we could have a lot less of them (I like Lucas being caught in the middle but otherwise they're uninteresting). I wish Eddie was a little less musical theatre in that first scene, it just felt like he was in a totally different show than anyone else (possibly Rent, or Glee). The issues for Nancy & Jonathan feel very contrived and the show trying to throw Steve at Nancy is just annoying. There was no logical reason for her to date him twice, let again another time. Also could've done with less Hopper torture porn, like we get that it sucks. Similarly with the bullying, it's so over the top that it took me out of things rather than really hitting me. I think I've posted already about how the characterization of Robin changed so much and while she has great lines, it doesn't feel like her (and like is it because we know she's a lesbian now that she can't be snarky coolgirl anymore and has to be dorky mess?).

The positives! Love Argyle. The scenes with Will & Mike and Will & Jonathan are lovely heartstring pulls, so well done. (Will deserves better than Mike, but he's young and stupid so). I don't overall love how separate everyone is this season but for that setup, love the whole pizza freezer thing. I love Murray, I love Joyce&Hopper (even though irl I would 100% tell her not to touch a man with that much assault history with a 10-ft pole). Lucas finally gets material to work with and his acting has gotten so good! Running Up That Hill is obviously a great song. I am biased by fic but after that initial scene, I like Eddie and his face. I love the humor.

I'm probably forgetting a lot! I'm sure I'll be bummed about how only Dustin and Wayne seem to care about Eddie's death, and how much of the season was about protecting him just to have him die anyway. I'm sure I'll be annoyed they don't kill vecna. I'm sure I'll be worried about Max.

[floralbfs]

WIP Ask Game!

thank u anon!!!!

1: Summarize your WIP in 10 words or less.

orphan gains powers, gets adopted by alien, saves the world.

2: Post a line from your WIP with no context.

'There's a whoosh of air, and Leo suddenly hears a voice he never thought he'd ever be able to hear again.'

3: Does your WIP have a title? If so, explain its significance. If not, what are you calling it for now?

Okay so I have been calling it the Youtuber Superhero AU (because it started as a fandom au but then i made it an original!!) but I thought maybe it could be "Thicker than Water", since my MC, Leo, is an orphan and he lives alone for most of his life (most of his life lmao at least until canon point? read also: around 9-11 years when in canon he's like 19?) in a remote, lowkey magical place/dimension?, but ultimately he comes back to his hometown and creates a family for himself!!!! i won't give spoilers but, since i already said this, part of his found family is his adoptive dad, an alien who is also a superhero!! If not TtW, I would call it maybe,,,,, Moonstone???? at least the first book!!! (ooh, maybe TtW can be the series name and Moonstone the first book's name?) because Leo kind of gets his powers through a moon stone????? it's not actually moon stone; it was a strange rock he found in the magical dimension that seeked out a champion for the god Huitzilopochtli??? and the closest word Leo could get for it was Moonstone, because of its uhhhhh singular qualities!

4: Describe the setting of your WIP.

OKAY, this is a fun one!!! Leo's hometown is named Star Nova, idk why it just seemed cool, and it is a futuristic city!!! They don't follow capitalism Because I Said So, and they're really into, like, environmental stuff!!! So you'd see SO much flora all over the city kshdsjfh like those???? idk what they're called but like the towns overridden with plants? but controlled!!! There's a tiny percentage of the population (tho I still haven't decided if this is worldwide?? I have a way to make it worldwide but idk) who have superpowers, either due to "individual" factors (e.g Leo's powers are bc of the moonstone, and Matthew(his dad)'s powers are due to him being an alien!) or were affected by a weird experiment an Evil Corporation™ were doing; ECtm was trying out an illegal experiment that could alter living beings' genetics to their will, but it went wrong and their substance exploded and went airborne. Those who were working on it knew about its risks and toxicity, ergo they were wearing a special suit and weren't affected, but the gas contaminated and ??mixed?? with the air and spread to the nearest city, Star Nova (the unofficial capital of the Joint Pacific Nations) and affected a Whole Lot Of People!!! this all happened a while before canon, and the corporation got away with it bc they were filthy rich basically. Anyway, a lot of the people who were affected to the "virus" reacted negatively and died, some were uhhh """immune"""???, and a few Seemed to be immune but had actually had a successful celular-level bonding with the substance! It didn't do anything to them, but their children/grandchildren were born with physical or mental anomalies, also known as super powers (gasps)!!!! BUT!!! a lot of the story happens in the magical city of Coatl (it means serpent!), located within a pocket dimension somewhere inside the Mexican southern forest, where Leo finds himself when he's four years old, recently orphaned, guided by a magical ....bird....being....? he lives there for around eleven years, and he's granted Huitzilopochtli's Champion's power once he's like. Not A Baby lmao. Coatl is.... kind of like,,,,, an Olympus, I guess? Only those with like the destiny to find it know where it is, and they can lead other people there if it's for good causes! It's almost like a sentient city, and the Aztec gods kinda. chilled there???? my theory is that a lot of religious mythologies exist, at least in this universe, and they all co-exist on earth, or pocket dimensions inside of it!!! anyway, Leo lived there and was basically raised by gods???? and an AI???? bc i love AIs???? and uhhhh i think that got away from me ajdhsjdhsj does all of this even count as setting??? am i missing anything????

5: Search for the word “knife” in your WIP. If you find it, paste the line and explain the context.

no knives sadly :( i guess i haven't reached Those Scenes yet???? tho there should be one in the first chapter….. my wip document is just kind of very messy ajdhsjdjsjdh i might just have to make a new document????

6: Search for the word “dream” in your WIP. If you find it, paste the line and explain the context.

???????????? why am i not using any words?????????? sorry :/

7: What are you most proud of?

probably the worldbuilding and characters (at least those with superpowers? maybe i should say superpowers period)!!!!! they're very complex and thought-out????? and i THINK they're original!!!!! so!!!!! ＼(￣▽￣)／

8: What is your biggest challenge?

oooooof,,,,,,,, probably..... getting an actual plot lmao????? like i have an overall view of my would-be first and second books, but i don't know if they actually have enough to them to be written as they are?????? like… idk if the conflict is really like??? worthy to be a Main Conflict™????

9: How would you describe your writing style?

oooooooh uhhhhh maybe….. flowery prose???? i'm a poet at heart, so if i don't use loads of metaphors and language uhhhh idk their name in english but language variators??? i will literally die. but seriously nsjdhsjdhsjfh nothing too serious!!!! most of my “”””angst”””” scenes are….. not so sad, i think skfjsjfj

10: How would you describe your WIP’s narrative style? (1st person, 3rd person, multiple POVs, single POV, alternating chapters, etc.)

oh!!!! well, i think it'd be multiple povs, alternating chapters, third person???? i'm still not sure whether to use 1st or if i already have??? p sure that's a different wip i'm thinking about tho

11: Which character do you have the most in common with?

uhhhhhhhhhhhh seeing how underdeveloped she is right now??? probably Persephone???? bc she's genderfluid skfjsjfjdjfh or uhhhh Scott??? bc i too love leo with my heart and would die for him and stay with him in the afterlife. (hypothetically, of course….)

12: Which character do you have the least in common with?

Maeve, probably!!!! she's, uh…. Something.

13: Your characters are stranded on a deserted island. What happens?

They Are All A Mess. akfhajfjajfj Matthew would probably become the leader and like. establish order and shit???? but he's also the hugest nerd so he'd just give the leader role to someone else (probably seph staine?) and goes exploring and cataloging shit skfhsjfhdjf Leo is probably the most resourceful one of the bunch, so he would immediately like. start planning for huts and food and stuff???? also idk if they would have their powers in this situation cause it'd be too easy to get them all out of there????? but let's just say they do but the island is inescapable by flight?? he can talk to animals, so he could communicate with the local fauna and like form alliances???? Seph is a good leader, so he'd probably like….. keep everything in check???? and Leo's friends are all good and resourceful, so they'd make a good team!!!! tldr they basically create order immediately and do their best to not struggle??? after a few days/weeks, some of them start to like. break down? but the adults are like. wise and shit??? and i'm pretty sure at least one of them is like a licensed therapist??? so they help each other out uwu

14: Have you chosen birthdays for any of your characters? If so, when are they?

oh!!!! only for a few!!!! Leo and Maeve's birthday is on March 25, Scott's birthday is on August 27, Matthew doesn't really have a birthday??? because time is different in his planet????, Percy and Persephone's birthday is somewhere in November, and uhhhh im p sure that's all i got akfjsjfjsj i suck at birth dates

15: Do you know your characters’ MBTI personalities?

GOD, no. maybe i should do their tests???👀

16: What would your characters be for Halloween?

Leo… doesn't believe in/care for Halloween, as he didn't grow up around it, but it's totally Scott's jam!!! they are dirt poor in a good first half of the book, though, so they can't really dress up :( they met in the library, and after (spoiler alert!!!) scotty's death, Leo feels it appropriate to dress up as Scott's fave characters every year. Percy and Persephone are (very weak) shapeshifters, so their costumes ROCK!!!!! they always do matching costumes, so they get cliché pair costumes!! Matthew….. uh. he is… way too old for that. he was literally alive before Halloween was even a thing, so it's not really his thing. Leah just……. does her own thing??? she can see ghosts, so she sometimes does like historical costumes and stuff with their help!!! and Ben…. oof tbh that depends on what his fave song/album/whatev is at the moment??? he kinda creates like a story/aesthetic for them and dresses up that way!!!!

17: Does your WIP have any themes or motifs?

uhhhh found family, definitely!!!! i really can't think of any bc i'm an idiot, but uhhhh intelligence??? if that's a thing??? like,,, they're all powerful and shit but it's also like. brains over brawns????

18: What’s easier, dialogue or description?

i think description!!!! neither of them are… hard??? but!!! description is like…… where i can go hog wild akfjskfjsjfb

19: Post a picture or gif that describes your WIP.

20: Post a brief excerpt.

Leo @Leoberry

You asked, I answered. New Q&A video is now up!

[3k retweets, 10k likes, 9k replies] 20 min. ago

[My First Q&A- video transcription excerpt]

[Leo Berry, a nineteen-year-old brunette guy with green eyes, wearing a red shirt with a lightning symbol on it that's loose on his muscular form, waves at the camera and smiles widely, dimples showing up on his cheeks.]

Leo: Hey, guys. You've been asking me to do a Q&A for a while, and the day has finally arrived! I told you to ask me questions on Twitter with the hashtag #AskBerry, and I've picked a few!

[Leo smiles brightly and lifts up his cellphone.]

Leo: First off, here's one by @razzberry- nice username, by the way-: “what's your cat's name? Do you have more than one?”

[The video shifts, and there's suddenly two cats sitting on Leo's arms: a large, orange cat quickly falling asleep on his shoulder, and a black kitten hugged in his arms.]

Leo: I do! This little fella-

[He gasps as the kitten in his arms struggles to get free and runs off-camera.]

Leo: Don't leave me! Okay, that little fella is Onyx, and, as you can see, he doesn't like me very much. Anyway, this little gal asleep over here…

[He points toward a small orange cat sleeping on his shoulder.]

Leo: ...is Tigress! She's my little baby. You've probably seen her around a lot on my vlogs, since she really likes to hang out on my bed.

Leo: Next! @Honeybats asked: ‘“is it true your dad is Jade?”

[Leo smiles and, after a few seconds of trying to school his features, bursts out laughing.]

Leo: You mean to ask whether my dad is Matlal Jade, the greatest superhero of our era?

Leo: ...Well, yeah! My dad- [more laughs] my dad is totally my Jade. His name is Matthew, and I keep asking him to fly me to school. He says it's not funny!

[He sobers up for a second.]

Leo: Jokes aside, he adopted me a few years ago and he'll always be a superhero in my eyes. I was in a really dark place when he found me, and I can't thank him enough for all that he's done for me.

[Leo looks away for a second and loses his smile. The video cuts and skips again, and Leo appears once again, this time sporting an easy smile and a blue shirt, this one tighter around his shoulders.]

Leo: things got a bit too deep! This one was sent by @shazhangs: “are you dating anyone at the moment?”

[Leo laughs.]

Leo: God, no. I mean, I'm not really a people person, you know? And I’ve been so focused on work, vlogging, and, uh, extracurriculars, that I really haven't had any time to socialise.

[Leo laughs again.]

Leo: This one comes from @perspartone: will you collab with any other youtubers anytime soon?

Leo: Yeah, sure! I don't think I have done any videos with other people in the past, so it'd be a fun thing to do! I just have to find a friend first.

[Leo laughs loudly.]

[End of excerpt. For viewing of the video, refer to Leo Berry on Youtube, and find the full transcription here at DailyBerries in a few hours.]