#then darius should totally get the same

[tawneybee]

I love Dadrius, but toh fans are totally missing out on cool uncle Eberwolf.

[viquipo]

No bc I'm so mad rn I usually post my rants on ig stories but I need the tumblrites to tell me if I'm crazy or what. Jwcc/ct spoilers WHATEVER

First of all I want to preface this by saying that this is just my opinion on the matter, I'm not saying your headcanons are "wrong" or whatever tf, it's a kids cartoon where they unironically use terms like "fam". You can play with the characters however you'd like.

That being said, this is why TO ME it does not makes sense for Ben to be anything other than gay. Again, if you think he's bi or straight or anything else that's cool. I'm also leaning towards the opinion that he does actually have a girlfriend. I don't think the shows gonna pull a 180 on it because, realistically, 2 queer characters is already a lot for a DreamWorks kids show. As much as I'd like it not to be.

But, since the beginning, Ben has been very clearly coded as exclusively into men to me. Before finally going into it, I remind everyone on here that I'm a lesbian. I have felt an affinity with his character specifically for the experience of only liking the same gender. I might be totally projecting.

Ok, so.

1. The arc Ben goes through during the show is yes, one of self discovery, but also one of self acceptance. He changes a lot from the start of s1, but he also comes to terms with stuff himself or other people didn't like about him. He doesn't throw the dork pouch away or tells Kenji to keep it, the first thing he does when he takes it back from Kenji is put on hand sanitizer. He is covered in dirt, he's not afraid of filth anymore, but he still does that action because it's part of who he is as a person. He also becomes very unashamed at the things he does. He went from being embarrassed of his carob bars to eating grubs in front of people who he knows think it's gross. He knows himself as he is and he accepts it. To me (and to lots of other people) this works very well as a gay metaphor, and pairs up pretty nicely with the whole "jungle boy? Jungle MAN" arc being a trans metaphor. But how does this make Ben uniquely into men?

Well, it doesn't. But I think this next one does.

2. Enter Yasmina. She's pretty, she's smart, athletic, funny, all that good stuff. I'm not saying that means every wlm character should automatically be into her, but it certainly helps. Now forgive me if I don't remember specific episodes/seasons, but we all remember that episode where Ben convinces himself that Yaz is in love with him for some reason. When he "rejects" her, he says : "I'm just now starting to find myself". That's cool, cause I'm pretty sure Ben's " finding himself " personality wise was over and done a couple of seasons ago. To me, that is a really good hint at him dealing with his gayness.

3. He's also the first person Yasmina talks to about her feelings for Sammy. Now, in this particular context, the options for Yaz to talk to were Darius, Brooklynn, or Ben. It would initially seem to make more sense for her to confide in Brooklynn, since the two of them are far closer than her and Ben, and it also wouldn't be the first time she brings up Sammy as a romantic interest for Yaz (see: everyone tweaking abt that one line back in like s2). So why does Yasmina, a very private and reserved person, choose Ben to talk to about her same sex crush? She has probably gathered from the previous conversation that Ben relates to her struggle in a unique way in which Brooklynn just can't. Ben seems very receptive of what Yaz is saying ("feelings, am I right?") and it seems like he REALLY gets where she's coming from.

4. This is one I don't see talked about a lot, and maybe it's just cause I'm too out of the loop with the fandom, but I want to examine it as well. It's when Ben decides to not actually stay on the island. Everyone (except Sammy) already knew he wasn't going to stay in the end, but still didn't force him out. I think this is especially clear in a line Darius says when they reunite on the boat that goes something like "you needed to figure it out on your own" *smile hand on shoulder combo*. No explanation needed I think

I am diagnosed with autism did you guys know what

[sergeantsporks]

Gilded Family

Rating: Teen and Up, Gen

Ch 39/39: Closure

Ch 1, Ch 2, Ch 3, Ch 4, Ch 5, Ch 6 , Ch 7, Ch 8, Ch 9, Ch 10, Ch 11, Ch 12, Ch 13, Ch 14, Ch 15, Ch 16, Ch 17,  Ch 18, Ch 19, Ch 20, Ch 21, Ch 22, Ch 23, Ch 24, Ch 25, Ch 26, Ch 27, Ch 28, Ch 29, Ch 30, Ch 31, Ch 32, Ch 33, Ch 34, Ch 35, Ch 36, Ch 37, Ch 38, Ch 38.5

An alternate universe in which Evelyn managed to save Caleb after his confrontation with Phillip. The two of them escaped to present day through time pools, and have been using time pools to secretly rescue grimwalkers just after Belos attempts to kill them. The story follows Darius' mentor as he adjusts to his new life, as well as changes to the course of canon.

Ao3

Xxx

“I don’t know about this.”

Cyrus tried to turn around, but A.T. caught his shoulders, turning him around, and Phoenix gave him a push towards the townspeople cleaning up wreckage and graffiti. Most importantly, towards the blue demon boy stabilizing a broken wall.

“Do you like him, or no?”

“I mean, yes,” Cyrus replied, “But we went on one sort-of date ages ago, before everything went screwy! What if he doesn’t like me anymore? What if he doesn’t even remember it?”

“You were halfway through a date before you were suddenly interrupted and dragged off by your family, and then a wild witch showed up and was chased through the streets,” A.T. reminded him, “How could he forget that date?”

“Yes, but what if the whole concealment stone thing drives him away? What if—if—”

“What if he’s got terrible amnesia?” A.T. suggested, “What if he’s got a new boyfriend? What if I unhinge my jaw and swallow him whole before you have the chance to speak to him?”

“What?” Phoenix and Cyrus asked in unison.

“Exactly, it’s all impossible. Go talk to him.”

Cyrus didn’t look too convinced, but he also seemed too startled by A.T.’s statement to protest, and made his way towards his one-time date. He waved awkwardly, saying something Phoenix couldn’t hear. The demon left his work, dusting his hands off, and tilting his head in a question. Cyrus pulled out his concealment stone, put it on, transformed, then took it off when his partner’s eyes lit up with recognition. He put the stone back in his pocket, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

“I’m actually super terrible for lying and you should never even look at me again,” A.T. mimed in a terrible imitation of Cyrus—a truly impressive feat, given how much his natural voice already sounded like their sibling. “I don’t think I’m worth it, even though I totally deserve a spectacular boyfriend!” He switched his voice to a lower pitch when the demon spoke up. A.T. even imitated his tentative hand one Cyrus’ arm.

“Wow, you look so much better without the concealment stone! Let’s get married forever!”

“I don’t think that’s what he’s saying.”

“Could be. You don’t know.”

Cyrus said something else, glancing back at A.T. and Phoenix. A.T. waved when the demon looked over, but the demon barely seemed to see him, his eyes latching onto Phoenix and sparking with something that was almost recognition, but fogged over by confusion.

Right. I ran into him when he was a puppet.

Phoenix wondered how many other former puppets would look at him with that unease, that sense of not quite remembering why he made them uncomfortable, but knowing somewhere in their unconscious mind that he’d played with the Collector, stood by while they were paraded around helplessly.

But Cyrus’ date shook himself, waved back at A.T., and turned back to Cyrus, enthusiastically explaining the work he was doing with a lot of arm waving. Cyrus went along with him, a small, happy smile blooming on his face.

“Aw, well, that’s sweet.” A.T. tugged his hair. “Boy, this place looks different. I hope they don’t rebuild it the exact same. I’d like to see something new.”

“Well, for one thing, there won’t be specialized cells for wild witches,” someone said behind them, “Thank the titan for that.”

A short witch grinned at them. She looked familiar, but Phoenix couldn’t quite place why until she nodded at an alleyway. “Seems like just yesterday you lot helped me out of here, and now, well, I’m back! This time without the chasing, hopefully. Where’s your little friend, the one with the jokes? And the older one?”

“Oh!” Phoenix blurted out. “The witch at the coven day—hey! You made it past the day of unity?”

“Mhm. One of the Collector’s little spies picked me up later, but I’m back now. You would not believe all the apologies I’ve been getting. It’s going to go to my head if I’m not careful. Maybe I should set some scaffolding on fire and give them a new reason to chase me out of town, for old times’ sake. Or at the least to test how far their ‘we’re so sorry, wild witches were right’ sentiments go.”

A.T. reached into his pocket and wordlessly held out a box of matches.

“Did you just have those on you?” Phoenix asked.

“You never know when you’ll have to light a fire,” A.T. remarked serenely, “Just ask Frank.”

The wild witch barked a laugh. “I like you. I’m Annette Thompson; what do they put on your wanted posters?”

A.T.’s face burst into a wide grin. “Matching initials!”

“What’s yours stand for, then?”

“I’ve been told not to ask,” Phoenix told her.

“Oh, a mystery?”

A.T. wiggled his eyebrows up and down. “One that is unlocked after we light enough fires together.”

Annette laughed again. “I suppose we better start, then.”

“Please don’t light anything too important on fire,” Phoenix called desperately after them, “Or better yet—no fires!”

Cyrus jogged over just as A.T. and Annette disappeared into the construction. “I think I need to quit distracting Raphael right now, but he told me when he gets off of construction work, and… where’s A.T. gone off to?”

“To light a fire? I think? He’s made a friend. Or… partner in crime? Possibly both.”

Alarm flashed across Cyrus’ face. “We should be worried, right? We should stop them? They’re just rebuilding.”

Phoenix waved a hand. “I’m sure it’s… fine. Ish.”

“Mm.” Cyrus squinted at the bustling streets. “I guess as long as he doesn’t light anything huge on fire in the middle of my second date.”

“On second thought, I think I’ll go find them.”

Xxx

“I’m leaving.”

Caleb glanced up at Joseph’s declaration, still mostly-engrossed in kneading bread dough for dinner. “Thanks for letting me know. What time do you think you’ll be back?”

“No, I mean, I’m leaving. To go do something else. I won’t be around for… I don’t know how long.”

Phoenix and Frank glanced at each other, but quietly kept chopping up vegetables, pretending they weren’t listening to every word.

“Oh.” Caleb struggled for words, finally managing a simple “I see.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong!” Joseph said quickly. Despite the confidence he’d originally announced himself with, he brimmed with nervous energy, turning a loose griffin feather over and over in his hands, “I love you, and I love the family, and I’ll definitely come back to visit, I just think…” He took a deep breath. “I want to go somewhere else. I’ve been in the same place for so long—and before that, I was with Belos. Now that our home is gone, and we’re rebuilding, and everything is changing anyway… I want to go up to the hand.”

He waved his hands, his nervous energy transforming into excitement. “I mean—the arm is sticking straight up! It’s taller than the Knee now—there’s no telling how the ecosystem up there is going to shift. Plants are going to change to fit the new shape, and the animals are going to have to adapt—and I want to see it. I want to see all the new creatures this brings, I want to see how the old creatures adapt or move somewhere new, or just fail… and I just want to get out and see everything the Isles has. I want to study beasts where they are, out in their natural environments, and I can’t do that if I stay here. I need to go. Please.”

“Okay,” Caleb said slowly. He wiped flour off his hands. “You don’t need my permission, you know that, right?” A wobbly smile appeared on his face. “I gave all of you the choice to leave or stay, remember? I never said that choice had to be permanent.”

Joseph’s shoulders visibly sank in relief. “Thank you.”

“What about the griffins?” Frank asked, finally breaking the unspoken treaty of silence between he and Phoenix.

“I thought—” Joseph rubbed the back of his neck. “—that is—if it’s alright—I thought I’d take Lucy. That’ll make the space restraints with moving closer to town less of an issue. The other griffins I think will be alright as long as they’re fed and exercised, but Lucy… anyway, this—it means the world to me.”

Caleb gave him a small, sad smile. “Permission to…?”

Joseph grabbed Caleb in a bear hug, squeezing so tightly that Phoenix thought he heard Caleb’s back pop. “Thank you, Dad,” he mumbled, his voice thick, “Thank you for everything.”

Caleb hugged back just as tightly. “I’m going to miss you. But I hope wherever you go—I hope you’re happy. I hope you find what you’re looking for. I hope… I hope…”

He didn’t finish his sentence, instead giving Joseph one last squeeze and letting go.

“Say goodbye to your mom, too, okay?”

“Of course. And everyone—I wouldn’t just disappear. Of course not.”

Joseph wandered out of the kitchen, searching for Evelyn, and Caleb sat down with a whump.

“Are you okay?” Phoenix asked quietly.

He managed a tired smile. “Of course, of course. I always knew that someday… I mean, I hoped that one day the world would be safe enough for you. I think I always sort of knew that the house was too small, and that one day some of you might want to leave.” He ran a hand through his hair. “But I don’t believe any amount of time would have actually prepared me for it.”

Phoenix thought of the first time he’d seen Darius after Belos’ attack—how he’d suddenly looked so grown up, how the realization that he didn’t need a mentor anymore had punched him in the gut. “No,” he agreed, “I don’t think it would.”

Caleb took a deep breath. “Things are changing right now,” he admitted, “We’ve been… living in a bubble. The only surprises were when one of you would join the house. But now… now the world’s opened up to us, and nothing will be the same.” He gave Phoenix and Frank a tired smile. “At risk of sounding like my brother, I’m not quite sure I’m ready for the change.”

Frank chuckled. “Now you know how we felt when we woke up in a different century.” He shrugged and chopped furiously at the vegetables on the board. “Things are going to be different. But some things are going to be the same, like—” he yanked back from the cutting board with a short scream.

Phoenix dropped his knife, and Caleb jumped up immediately. “Are you okay?! Did you cut yourself?!”

“My arm!” Frank yelped, “I’ve chopped it in with the vegetables! I didn’t even notice! The whole thing’s gone!”

“Terrible,” Phoenix told him, picking his knife back up, “You are just awful.”

Frank grinned, cheerfully resuming his chopping. “And that is something you can count on never changing.

Xxx

The front of Darius’ house buzzed with activity. Lake and Locke even managed to drag Sam out, although he still fidgeted with that strange box Ghost had found. Joseph paced nervously back and forth, and Lucy eyed him like she might be on the verge of sitting on him. But despite the nervousness, the saddlebags on Lucy and the backpack on Joseph looked natural. Right, even. Even his clothes—he’d bundled up for the likely lower temperatures—seemed to fit him better. His eyes shone with a healthy, excited glow.

“I’ll miss you.”

Joseph tousled Jason’s hair, grinning when Jason pushed his hand away. “Don’t get too mopey over me, or Lucy might turn around midair just to squash you.”

“Yeah, yeah. Come back soon, okay? I want to read about all the new things you find up there.”

“You’ll be the first to see the notes,” Joseph promised. He glanced over Jason’s head at Cherry. “Take care of them, yeah? Especially keep your eye on this one. He’s trouble. He’ll get another concussion if he can manage it.”

Jason stuck his tongue out.

“Always.” Cherry’s one eye flicked back and forth nervously, glancing up at the sky like he was hoping for some sudden terrible weather to appear and delay Joseph just a little longer. “Stay safe.

“Always,” Joseph echoed, “Don’t worry about us. We’ll be fine.” He turned to Evelyn and Caleb. “Thank you.”

“You’ll always have a room with us,” Caleb told him, “You know that?”

“I know.”

Evelyn straightened his scarf. “Go find some new wild things. I just know you’ll figure out some way to befriend them.”

“Will do, ma’am.”

Joseph hugged Evelyn and Caleb, climbed on Lucy’s back, and clicked his tongue. The griffin sprang up into the air, her huge wings beating massive gusts of wind onto their heads. Soon, the two of them were just a speck in the sky, sailing towards the raised arm of the titan.

Xxx

“I can’t do it.”

Evelyn gave Auric a gentle shove towards Hexside’s doors. “Yes, you can.”

Auric scratched at the scars on his neck, balking. “I’m too old. Hexside stops at eighteen, and I’m twenty. They won’t let me.”

“I talked to Bump,” Phoenix reassured him, “He and I go back—and Darius talked to him about it, too. You’re not going to be a regular student, no, but the healing teacher agreed to take you on after school, and help you transition into healing-specific schools for graduates. Like an apprenticeship.”

“I don’t have magic,” Auric replied, changing tack, “I can’t do the kinds of… I can’t do it. I’m never going to be as good as them, so—”

“Hey,” Evelyn said sharply, “Who kept Caleb and I from bleeding out?”

“You would have died without the pain sharing spell, I—”

“Who patched up all the refugees when I couldn’t heal anyone?” Evelyn demanded.

“Those weren’t life-threatening injuries, it wasn’t even—”

“You splinted and casted Clara’s broken bone and kept her cheerful,” Phoenix offered, “You were the first one to realize something was wrong with my arms.”

“You stitched Matt up when he came home injured,” Evelyn added, “Face it, Auric—you’re as good a healer as anyone. Magic or no. Magic healers have it easy—we draw a circle, and the wound disappears. But you? You have to put so much thought into what you’re doing, and you have to do it quick. You are incredible, Auric.”

Auric scratched at his neck again. “I’m just not sure.”

“If you really don’t want to do this, then we can go back home,” Evelyn said softly, “But I want you to look me in the eye and tell me with absolute certainty, that going to healing school is something you don’t want.”

Auric took a step back, then a step forward, hovering between Evelyn and the door. “You think I’ll really be able to do it?”

“Would I have put my life in your hands if I wasn’t absolutely certain?”

Auric took a deep breath, taking a decisive step towards Hexside’s doors. “Okay. I’m ready.”

Xxx

“Hey! Over here!”

A hand closed around Phoenix’s arm, pulling him into the empty kitchen. “Phoenix.” Matt laced his fingers together. “You were part of the emperor’s coven when it was actually, you know, a coven.”

Phoenix winced at the reminder. What was this about? “Yes?”

“So you were around a lot of people.”

Where was he going with this? “Yeeessss?”

“Do you know how to plan a party.”

Phoenix stared at him. “What.”

“A party. Do you know how to plan one? Cyrus and I were in town, and his boyfriend invited him to a housewarming party for one of the newly rebuilt houses—well, he invited me, too, but that was just to be polite, I’m not going. Anyway, the point is, I think a housewarming party sounds nice. We could have one for our house, once we’ve actually built it. It would be…” Matt waved a hand. “You know. A normal thing.”

“A normal thing,” Phoenix echoed.

“Something other people do. I think it might help us settle into the town better, you know? Break some of the tension.”

“Have you run this by Caleb and Evelyn yet?”

“I sort of wanted to surprise them. I’ll warn everyone else, of course, but if we’re going to get anywhere with this, first I need someone who can actually plan a party.”

“A party?” Like the word had summoned him, Darius seemed to materialize behind Phoenix. He arched one eyebrow at Matt. “And you asked Phoenix to help plan it?”

“Hey, I planned social functions.”

“The very fact that you just called a party a social function is proof that you aren’t up to the task. What party?”

Matt explained his plan, and Darius nodded slowly. “Doesn’t sound like a bad idea. Who would you invite?”

“You, obviously.”

“Obviously.”

“Um… Cyrus’ boyfriend Raphael? Maybe that woman A.T. started hanging out with… I bet Jason will want to invite the kids. I guess we could invite the refugees who stayed with us, if anyone knows where they went.” Matt scratched the back of his head. “Do we know anyone else??

“Oh, titan,” Darius murmured under his breath.

“Eda and Lilith,” Phoenix volunteered, “Eber. I think that’s everyone.”

“Small party,” Darius commented.

“There’s over twenty of us, any party we host is already huge.”

“Fair enough.” Darius twirled a finger in the air. “If you’re after goodwill from the townsfolk, shouldn’t you invite some of them? Other than Cyrus’ boyfriend, that is.”

Matt winced. “Inviting strangers isn’t the best plan. I don’t know if you’ve realized this, but most of us aren’t exactly the trusting, openly friendly type.”

“I had noticed something of the sort, believe it or not,” Darius said dryly, “Why don’t you go people watch? Pick guests you don’t find threatening. People who aren’t likely to cause friction, accidentally or on purpose.”

“Reconnaissance. We can do that.”

Darius squeezed his eyes shut. “Reconnaissance. Oh, heavens. Please take Jason with you.”

Xxx

“Not that one. Not that one. Ooo, that one gave me an apology basket, let’s invite him.”

Phoenix glanced over at Annette. “You don’t have to help us.”

“Hey, if they’re not friendly towards a wild witch, they won’t be friendly towards your lively bunch either. My insight is incredibly valuable.”

“Hm.”

“Now might be a good time to test that elixir,” Jason commented mildly.

Phoenix glanced down at his arms. Matt had chosen the top a construction crane, of all places, to people-watch from. It had been a miracle—and Annette’s magic—that he’d gotten up here in the first place. And being out in the town without a concealment stone… it made his skin itch. The curse shifted uneasily, reacting to the stress. It was so ridiculous it almost made him laugh; he’d gotten through the Collector’s “games, the apocalypse, and attempted possession, but being up a little too high and getting a little stressed was making the curse react?

“Here goes nothing.” Phoenix tilted the golden bottle back. Eda had warned him not to let it sit in his mouth, but she hadn’t prepared him for the explosion of terrible flavors that washed over his tongue. He swallowed with a gag. “Tastes like burned animal hair,” he said with a grimace.

“But look.” Jason pointed at his arms. The curse settled back into his normal flesh. He could still feel it curled up inside of him, throbbing in time with his heartbeat, but it seemed… passive. Dormant. Almost like it was taking a nap. Some of the bone-weary exhaustion that seemed to stay no matter how long he slept faded into a background numbness.

“Huh. I guess… I’ll be asking Lilith for her recipe.”

“You think it’ll help long-term?”

Phoenix shrugged. “I know the curse has been useful sometimes, but… it’s a little hard on my arms.” He flexed his fingers, wondering at the difference that slight lift from exhaustion had made. “And I’m starting to think it might have been taking up a little more of my energy than I realized.”

Jason nudged his shoulder. “Sam could have told you that.”

“Yeah, yeah. He’d probably love to run a thousand tests on my day-to-day fatigue levels with and without elixirs.”

“Nah, he’s too busy with that box. Potion-brewing lessons for Phoenix, then. Mom will be ecstatic.” Jason kicked his legs aimlessly, watching the people down below. “You guys ever think about what you want to do now that we’re not on the run?”

“Mix as many kinds of magic together as I can,” Annette answered immediately, “Let’s test the ‘wild magic is dangerous’ theory. I bet some of it could be.”

“Oh, wow, you and A.T. really are perfect for each other. Matt?”

“Something normal.”

“What’s that mean?”

“I don’t know. I just want to live a normal life. Make some friends. Get a job. Maybe fall in love, start a family. Do something stupid and young.” Matt shrugged. “I lost my childhood and my teen years to Belos. Everything was one nonstop, horrifying adventure. Everything was some grand purpose. I kind of want to just have a boring life now.”

He heaved a sigh. “I had a choice, you know? Belos just sort of ditched me in the middle of the boiling sea, so when Caleb found me, I was dehydrated and exhausted, but not… dying. I chose to go with Caleb forward in time. I thought if Belos was already destined to be alive for centuries, there wouldn’t be any escaping him in my time. Now that we’ve actually finally gotten away from him… I just want to leave all that behind.”

Matt gave them all a quick smile. “Not that I’d leave the family behind, of course! I still want to be with you guys, I just…” He fell into a pensive silence, staring out at the people below. “I don’t know. I guess Joseph wasn’t the only one with an itch to get out there. This party, getting our foot in the door and helping Mom and Dad get back in the social life of the Isles… it just feels like the right thing to do before going. Not that I’d leave right after. I still don’t have any solid plans. But someday.”

Phoenix didn’t respond. He didn’t know how. It had been enough of a shock when Joseph had left. He’d known, of course, that things would change. Phoenix himself wouldn’t even be at the house on weekends anymore. But between Joseph leaving, Matt’s plan, Auric’s apprenticeship, and the appearance of new people in Cyrus and A.T.’s lives… everything was moving so fast. Maybe they’d stopped running for their lives, but their lives still kept running. He’d barely had the time to get used to the quiet life in the woods before it was completely overturned.

“Wow,” Jason said finally, “Have you told Mom or Dad yet? What about Ash?”

“I don’t want to spring this on them right now. I mean, with the house building, and everyone still healing, and Joseph just leaving… it’s not right. I don’t have a solid plan, and even if I left right after the party, that’s still months of house-building away.” Matt brushed his hair out of his face. “So… don’t tell anyone just yet, yeah?

“My lips are sealed,” Jason promised. He pointed down at the street. “That one, Annette, they stopped to feed a stray, put them on the list.” He sighed. “Wish I had a plan.”

Phoenix ruffled his hair. “You’re eighteen. Give yourself a minute.”

Jason pushed at his hand. “Hunter has it all figured out, and he’s only sixteen! He already knows he’s going to be a palisman carver!”

“You’re not Hunter. Most of us don’t know what we’re going to do. I don’t. Eda offered the idea of mentoring, but I don’t know if I’ll take it.”

Jason looked up at him with big, sparkling eyes. “Awwwwwwwww, but you’d be so good at it!”

“We’re not talking about me, we’re talking about you. Nice try.”

“Hey, I meant it. I wasn’t just trying to distract you.”

“Sure. Anyway, take it slow. Joseph knew what he wanted. Matt kind of knows what he wants. But you don’t have to have your whole life figured out just yet. I mean, everyone on the Isles is a bit displaced right now. There are tons of scouts who have no idea what they’re going to do with their lives now. Everyone’s shaken by what happened and wondering what we’ll do without the covens. So just… take it easy. Forget your entire future, let’s plan small. What do you want to do in the next few weeks?”

“Hm. I sort of want to go back to the human realm. Visit Camila. Maybe go back to the library there. Oh—and I want to take Novus. Phoenix, they have so much mechanical stuff there. I think he’ll explode. And I want to help look for where we’ll build the new house. Of course I’m going to help Matt with his guest list and party planning. And… why are you grinning like that?”

“No reason,” Phoenix said lightly, “It just sounds to me like you’ve got plenty of plans for the future.”

Jason wrinkled his nose at Phoenix. “Alright, point taken. But hey, there goes my point. You’re a great mentor.”

“Thanks.” Phoenix tousled Jason’s hair again. This time, he let him.

Xxx

Caleb eyed Phoenix critically. ��You’re supposed to be resting your leg.”

He was, in fact, supposed to be sitting back at Darius’ house doing nothing, but Darius had left to deal with some Terra sighting, and almost everyone else was out close to their old home scouting for a new place to build. The whole place had been quiet, except for occasional mutterings from Sam while he fruitlessly searched for a way to open that stone box.

Phoenix sighed. “If I’m stuck sitting around resting my leg for five more minutes, the curse is going to take over from boredom and I’m going to run back into the woods.”

Caleb blinked twice. “Could that actually happen? Your curse activating from boredom, I mean?”

“I doubt it. Besides, I took an elixir today, it should be fine. I won’t move too much, I promise. I’ll find a spot to sit around out here. I just needed to get out.”

“Did you tell Sam you were leaving?”

“He’s not going to look up from that box for at least another twelve hours. He won’t even notice I’m gone.”

“He should just pour some explosive potion on that box and be done with it,” Novus suggested as he walked by, arms full of levels and angle-measurers, “Or cut into it. That’s the pragmatic thing to do.”

Caleb laughed. “It’s not about getting what’s inside for him, it’s about solving the puzzle. If he gives up, then I’ll let you at it with your tools.”

“That’s all I ask.”

“Anyway—you’re probably right, Phoenix, but still.”

“If Sam figures out I’m gone, he’ll probably just shrug and go back to the box. I don’t think he’s desperate to always have someone around. Unless he solves the box, in which case, he’ll tear over here immediately and demand to know why I wasn’t there to witness his moment of triumph.” Phoenix sat down on a log with a sigh. “I messaged Darius to tell him where I was going. Hopefully that’s enough.”

“Hopefully.”

Caleb wandered off, apparently satisfied that Phoenix wouldn’t rebreak his ankle. Phoenix sat on the stump watching his family. Novus kept laying out string where the house would be, testing different spots with his tools, while Lake casually picked the rope up and moved it just a couple inches to the left whenever he wasn’t looking. Matt wrote furiously in a small notebook—party plans, if Phoenix had to guess. Evelyn drew small circles, testing out her construction magic. Everywhere bustled with movement. If someone wasn’t actively making house plans, they were transporting construction materials, or overseeing everyone else.

“They don’t know how to sit still, do they?” Alex plopped down next to Phoenix. “Neither do you.” They shrugged. “I guess it’s good when we’re trying to build a house. What do you think they’ll find to do afterwards?”

“What do you mean?”

Alex gestured at the busy family. “When the house is finished, what do you think they’ll do? What will you do? None of us are good at stopping and staying still for a moment. We just keep going and going and going. So what are we supposed to do once we finish building the new house?”

“We just… live in it, I guess,” Phoenix answered slowly.

“Hm.”

“Do you know what you’re going to do?”

Alex shrugged. “Keep my feet on the ground, that’s the only thing I know for sure. Stay away from heights.”

“Seconded. How are the falling dreams? Have they gotten any better?”

“Careful, you sound like Dad.”

“Sorry, I just… you know, I don’t think I ever thanked you.”

“For what?”

“When you told me where you died—that’s how we found Ghost. So… thank you.”

“Oh. You’re welcome.” Alex went very still, staring pointedly at anything but Phoenix. “Hey, can I ask you something? And… do you promise not to tell anyone what I said?”

“Sure. But, uh… why me?” Surely there were other grimwalkers Alex was closer to. Phoenix had only ever spoken to them the once.

Alex eyed him critically. “Because you’re the only one who backed off, no questions asked, when I told you I just wanted space to process. I don’t know, I feel like I can trust you to understand. Um. Do you think it would be weird if I moved out of the house really soon?”

The question shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise. Joseph had already left, and Matt was planning on it—the moving fever was contagious. But still, Phoenix flinched at the idea of one more grimwalker leaving. “Well,” he said carefully, “I don’t think it would be… I mean, Joseph already broke the ice on that one.”

“I know.” Alex combed their fingers through their hair. “But Joseph was… Joseph. He was big. He was determined. He was capable of wrestling beasts and winning. He… well, he didn’t have a panic attack every time he tripped. What if Mom and Dad don’t think I’m ready?”

“They’ll let you anyway.”

“Right. But would it be weird? I mean, we’re building this house together, and then I… I wouldn’t be in it. They’d build a room for me, for what? For me to leave right after? I don’t want them to think I’ve wanted to leave this whole time and was just waiting for the all-clear.”

“Well, why do you want to leave?”

“Excuse me?”

“Why do you want to leave? Because you want space?”

“Oh. Yes. Something like that.” Alex twisted their hair and let it go. “Time. And space. And I love Mom and Dad and everyone, don’t get me wrong, they’re just… sometimes a little much. So. Um.” Alex gestured towards the town. “You know. Maybe I’ll leave. But I don’t want it to be…”

“Awkward?”

“Yes.”

“You should talk to them about it. I know that’s not your strong suit, but… give it a shot?”

“They’re busy right now.”

Phoenix watched as Novus gestured to Evelyn. She drew one glowing finger in a wide circle, and huge stone walls rose out of the ground where he’d laid out string, her eyes on his blueprints. Her free hand directed another circle, and abominations sludged their way towards the neat piles of tiles, shingles, glass panes, scooping them up and using the stone walls as a base to build windows and roofs.

“Not for long.”

Xxx

“Wow.” Phoenix’s voice echoed in the empty space. He hadn’t realized how everything in the old house had muffled sound until he stood in the empty rooms Evelyn had built. “This took two days?”

“And Evelyn will be passed out for about five,” Caleb said disapprovingly, “I wish she’d taken it slower.”

Lake bounced down a set of stairs, each footstep echoing off the walls and turning into a marching army. “Is Sam getting two rooms again? Because he’s already claimed one of the empty ones up there for his lab.”

“Oh, no,” Novus said casually, “I gave the house a couple of extra rooms for Ghost and Hunter, but I’m taking over the lab space for my work. Machinery will be far more useful than the glyphs now.” He laughed at Caleb’s stricken face. “I’m joking. There’s enough rooms for both. He can have a lab.”

Lake tilted their head. “Seems kinda… bare.”

“We’ll paint the walls,” Caleb promised. He moved through the space with a twinkle in his eye. “The kitchen will be here. Dining room right next to it, of course. What do you guys think of getting a family picture? I’ve always wanted one.”

“What about Achsah’s room?”

Caleb froze.

Lake scratched the back of their neck. “I mean… we saved some of her stuff. Some of the photographs were okay. We could try to set it all up again. But it won’t really be her room anymore. We’ll just be recreating it. Is that something you and Mom want?”

It was like in the absence of Locke, or Sam to bother, Lake had lost their usual goofy demeanor. Phoenix had never seen them be serious for more than two seconds—to drop this reminder on Caleb shocked Phoenix almost as much as it did their ortet.

“Um,” Caleb said in a strangled whisper, “I don’t know. I don’t…”

The kitchen and dining room area held a startling similarity to the old house—Novus had probably designed it that way on purpose. Caleb turned and wandered, half dazed, into the room that would have been Achsah’s back at home.

Lake watched him go passively. “That went well. Do you want to check out the rest of the house? Novus put a state of the art hidden room behind the dining room. The wall slides out and everything.”

“You’re not going to go check on him?”

“Nah, he needs a second by himself.”

Lake wandered through the empty halls, and Phoenix followed. “I don’t get it.”

“Don’t get what?”

Phoenix struggled for a moment to find the right words. “Why you?” he said finally.

“Because Cherry already took one for the team and yelled at Dad for sacrificing himself.”

“Really? That’s it?”

Lake shrugged. “Locke and I overheard Cherry and Novus talk about it when they first showed us the plans—you know how we like to lurk. Lurking is our favorite. Anyway, Cherry told Novus to just leave it in the plans, and we’d get there later, but, well, like I said, Cherry already did the lecture. Someone else’s turn to be the bearer of unwanted news.” Lake blew a strand of hair out of their face. “Would have loved for it to be Sam, Mr. Logic of Logics, but, well.”

They opened a door. Sure enough, Sam had claimed a space for a lab. Right now, he sat on the floor, twisting pieces of the box. He looked up.

“The box is a gridded cube!” he called excitedly, “Jason has compared it to something in the human realm called a ‘rubik’s cube’ and promised to find me one whenever he next visits. I just have to find the right combination…”

Lake closed the door. “You see the problem. Anyway, Locke and I rock-paper-scissors over it, which he ALWAYS wins, you would not BELIEVE how effective it is when he yells out his choice after I’ve already put my hand out. So I was Mr. Logic of Logics today.” They scratched the back of their head. “Not my favorite of jobs. I tried to channel Sam energy, how’d I do?”

Phoenix shook his head. “How do you do that?”

“What, channel Sam energy? It’s very easy, I just think ‘books, books, books’ in my head over and over again until I’m sufficiently stuffy and sneezing out big words.”

“No, I mean you and Locke—how do you stay so…”

“Charming?”

“…upbeat,” Phoenix finished.

Lake shook their head sadly. “It’s all a coping mechanism, we’re so sad and we cover it up with jokes so that no one will see the empty pit of despair welling up inside.” They grinned, immediately dispelling any thought Phoenix might have had that they were being serious. “Look, Phoenix. You just have to stop taking everything so seriously. We beat Belos! We survived! You’re on track for managing your curse! We’re building a great big house! We fought hard. Now enjoy the spoils.”

Loud banging echoed through the house, metal on wood. Lake glanced at an imaginary watch. “It appears to be checking on Dad o’clock.”

Caleb had left “Achsah’s” room. Instead, he sat in the empty place where the kitchen would be, building a table. He gave Phoenix a cheerful grin. “Been a while since I’ve done any woodworking.”

“You seem… chipper,” Phoenix said cautiously.

“Oh, for Titan’s sake, I can’t do this,” Lake whispered under their breath. They disappeared, and came back with Sam. “Go,” they ordered, pointing him towards Caleb.

Sam blinked, as if disoriented by how fast Lake had separated him from the cube and dragged him here. “Nice table. Avoiding our problems again?”

“I’m not avoiding anything. We need furniture if we’re going to live in this house. I’m solving problems.”

“Very reasonable,” Sam agreed, “How about that problem of Achsah’s room?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Phoenix sighed. This was going nowhere. “Are you okay?” he asked Caleb, “I know this can’t be easy. I know how much keeping her room meant to you.”

Caleb’s hand shook on his hammer. “I knew she wasn’t coming back. I mean, Eda and Lilith existing made that painfully clear. I guess I just hoped… But Lake’s right, aren’t they? It’s not her room anymore. The room’s gone, she’s gone…”

“It’s not wrong to want a reminder,” Phoenix said quietly, “You don’t have to forget her.”

“I don’t think I ever could.”

“You don’t have to decide now,” Sam chimed in, “You can leave the room empty for now. Leave it for last. Besides, you should probably talk to Mom before making a decision.”

“Yeah. Yeah, of course.” Caleb gave the three of them a wan smile. “Thank you.”

“Except Lake for bringing it up,” Sam added.

“No. Lake, too.” Caleb took a deep breath. “I’ll think about it.”

He turned back to the table, but the hammering seemed less desperate now. Phoenix swung out at the obvious dismissal, followed closely by Lake.

“Nice handling,” Lake told him, “Next time, I’m leaving the hard discussions to you.”

“No, thanks. I’ve had enough difficult discussions recently, and I don’t need one more.”

Lake gave him a lopsided grin. “Loosen up, remember? Makes the hard stuff easier.”

They disappeared back up the stairs, leaving nothing behind but the echo of their footsteps.

Enjoy the spoils.

Phoenix took a deep breath, looking around the new house with a small smile. They still had plenty to worry about—making this place home, what to do about Achsah’s room, Matt’s upcoming plans—but for now… maybe Lake was right. Maybe it was time to let go.

Days blurred into weeks of painting and building, moving one room at a time. Kitchen and dining room first, so that they’d have somewhere to cook and eat. Caleb set chairs and tables he’d built in the dining room, beaming with pride. Then came the bathrooms, and the common rooms, and finally, Evelyn declared that they’d picked over the ruins enough, and they wouldn’t find anything else, so they might as well start on their rooms. Phoenix still made the commute back to Bonesborough every weekend to see Darius and catch up on the Isles-wide reconstruction efforts.

Phoenix stared at the blank canvas of his wall. While Jason lined his room with books, and Mole lovingly set potted plants, Phoenix sat on his bed, wishing he could do something besides paint. Even before the house had been destroyed, he hadn’t been there long enough to make the room his own—and the time he did get was so hectic, he wasn’t even sure he’d had anything in the house to salvage.

“Going for the minimalistic approach, are we?” Darius asked from the door.

“Darius!” Phoenix jumped up from the bed. The cast had been cut off yesterday, but his ankle was so weak it almost folded underneath him immediately. “Hey—what are you doing here?”

“Getting all the stuff out of my living room. And having a top secret meeting with Matt about his party. You know, I’m not entirely certain he’s separated the idea of a party from coven work.”

“That sounds right.” Phoenix waved a hand at the walls. “What do you think? Bright purple for the walls?”

“Don’t you dare.” Darius looked around the room. “I know just about everything of yours was confiscated when you… disappeared… so I thought… ah, just take it.”

He handed Phoenix a photograph in a simple wooden frame, a photo of he and Darius during the mentorship. Phoenix gently brushed one hand over his photographed face. He’d gotten so used to the scars from Belos’ attack that seeing this photograph without them now felt strange and foreign. His face looked so… young. But even with the great grin plastered across his face in the photo while he headlocked Darius, a tired sadness seemed etched in his face.

“Thank you,” he said quietly, “I don’t remember this being taken—where did you find it?”

“My memories,” Darius replied casually, “I had a copy made.” He sighed. “I know things weren’t rosy perfect back then. I know so much happened to you that I never saw. And I know—or at least I hope—we’re headed towards a better chapter of our life now. But don’t forget the last chapter, eh?”

Phoenix set the photograph up on the dresser, sweeping elixir bottles to the side. “Never. And—Darius? Thank you. For the photo. For letting us stay with you. For… everything.”

“Anytime. Now, if you’ll excuse me, there’s a top secret party meeting I must attend. I believe we are discussing snacks.”

Xxx

“I see someone—wait, no, that’s just someone’s abomination that’s gotten loose.” Jason all-but had his face pressed against the glass of the front window, watching out for incoming guests. “They’ll come, right? I mean, of course our friends will show, but given that half the point is to get the townspeople used to the look-alike family that wandered out of the woods, we really need some people we don’t know.”

“I’m sure they will,” Phoenix assured him, but he watched equally carefully.

“Oh!” Jason yanked back from the window, opening the door and sprinting down the careful garden path, currently devoid of an actual garden. “Willow! Gus! Amity! Luz!” He bowed to Willow with a flourish. “Lord of Bats.”

She returned his over-the-top bow with one of her own. “House of Crows. How lovely to see you again.”

“It’s been three days,” Amity reminded them.

They both laughed, and Jason led the kids towards the door.

“Eda and Lilith are on their way with King,” Luz told Phoenix, “They’ll be here soon. I might take King home at some point, though. Don’t want him up too late and all.”

A loud gasp sounded from the path, and a witch from town clutched her chest. “I—I just thought I was meeting the new neighbors,” she stammered, “I didn’t know that Luz the human would be here—and did you say the owl lady was coming?”

“Yesssss?” Luz said uncertainly, as if unsure whether this information would scare the witch off or not.

“Oh. Oh, my. Excuse me. I’ll be right back.”

She dashed off back towards town, and Luz winced. “I think your guest list might have just gotten a bit bigger.”

That didn’t bode well. They’d kept the invitations small on purpose—not that anyone but Matt and Darius really knew who was coming, but still, Phoenix thought some of the others might notice if too many people showed up.

Eda, Lilith, and King arrived in a rush of feathers and a bag of elixirs pushed into Phoenix’s arms. He answered Lilith’s seemingly endless questions on their effects, wondering vaguely if anyone had warned Caleb and Evelyn they were coming, but mostly focused on the steady trickle of strangers now coming towards the house.

Caleb and Evelyn wandered into the living room, stopping dead when they spotted Lilith and Eda. Phoenix winced. Caleb didn’t look much like his descendants, but their resemblance to Evelyn was impossible to deny. He could practically see the wheels ticking in Eda’s head. But before she could say anything, the other guests reached the house and she was swept away in a tide of questions and admirations. Luz looked similarly swamped.

“Well, this wasn’t in the plans.” Matt stood on the stairs, chewing thoughtfully on a pen. “I should have guessed something would go wrong. I need to warn Silver.”

The mobs around Eda and Luz split into a third group, buzzing around Darius the moment he walked through the door. He arched one eyebrow at Matt, who winced and shrugged.

“Well, we’re getting a reputation for being well-connected,” Locke said at Phoenix’s elbow, “Fantastic, I’m sure this will hold no negative consequences.” He grinned. “We should invite celebrities over more often.”

Babble surrounded Phoenix as people slowly got over their star-struck awe and spread out. They stuck in small packs, townsfolk interacting with their neighbors, and grimwalkers talking to other grimwalkers. Both groups eyed each other uneasily, skirting around each other and only occasionally exchanging brief hellos and ‘excuse me’s.

“Ah, yes,” Locke deadpanned, “I can feel the house warming up already.” He stuck his nose into the air, shaking his head back and forth. “Can you feel that, Lake?”

As if summoned, Lake seemed to materialize at Phoenix’s other side. “No, Locke, what is it?”

“The tension! It’s so thick it’s starting to physically manife—”

Thump.

Muffled murmurs. Evelyn’s immediate sprint, pushing through guests and grimwalkers alike. “Give him space,” she ordered.

“Steven,” Jason breathed, “He’s having a seizure—we need to move everyone away, there’s not enough space.”

More murmurs and exclamations. Across the room, Silver’s face was as white as a sheet, and they beelined for the nearest window, opening it and oh-so-casually leaning against the sill, prepared to leap out, if Phoenix had to guess.

This is bad.

It didn’t take Darius, party expert extraordinaire, to know that. People flocked naturally to a disaster—they’d crowd Steven, stress Silver, and probably panic themselves, which would only—

“Well, I think it’s time to move this party outside!” Locke hopped up on the stairs, raising their voice, “Do we have any plant witches in attendance tonight?”

Willow raised her hand, and a few others tentatively joined her.

“Who feels like a seed race?”

“What’s that?” someone called.

“Only the best way for a plant witch to show off their magical prowess! Winner gets to take home a rare human realm plant known as ‘mint,’ proven to thrive even in the Isles!”

A few ‘ooo’s rose up, and witches started to wander outdoors. Cherry had quickly assembled a circle of grimwalkers around Steven and Evelyn, blocking them from view while guests went outside.

Willow hung back, raising one eyebrow at Locke. “A seed race, huh? How come I’ve never heard of that before?”

“Because I made it up just now. Mole, you’ve got some seeds, right? Where did you want some of the plants in the garden to go? I’ll make it look natural.”

Caleb slumped against the banister. “Thank you, Locke.” Behind him, Steven slowly sat up, watched by Evelyn like a hawk.

“Hey, it’s what I do. Be a loud and annoying distraction. Just ask Sam!” Locke grinned, bouncing out the door. “Alright, three categories: speed, size, and healthiness! Line up!”

Caleb sighed, joining Evelyn and Steven.

Eda nudged Phoenix. “Hey, introduce me to your planner. We’ve been scheming up a quinceañera party for Luz, and so far, this party’s been a riot.”

“Wish it was less of one.”

She grinned and held out an elixir. “Bottoms up, kid.”

Phoenix glanced down. He hadn’t even noticed his arms had started to drip. Great. Another thing for the townsfolk to take home as a story. He gulped the elixir with a grimace. “Does the taste ever get better?”

“If anything, it gets worse. Ah, well, necessary evils and all that. Not to suddenly change the subject or anything, but do you mind explaining her?” Eda waved an accusing hand towards Evelyn.

“I think you’d better ask her. And Caleb.”

“Yeah, I kind of thought that would be your answer. Well, can’t blame me for trying the easy route.” Eda grabbed Lilith’s arm. “C’mon.”

“What? Where are we going?”

“Answer-hunting.”

Before they could approach Evelyn, Sam thumped down the stairs, puzzle box tucked under his arm. “Oh, is the party over already? Excellent, I didn’t actually want to go.”

Lilith gasped. “Ooo!” She pulled herself from Eda’s grip, reaching for the box. “May I? I love a good puzzle.”

“Be my guest.”

“Aaaaand I’ve lost her,” Eda muttered under her breath, “Right, just me then.” She squared her shoulders, and marched towards Caleb and Evelyn. Steven waved the two of them off with a tired smile, and the two nervously gestured towards Achsah’s room, still untouched.

“They are definitely going to botch the explanation,” Sam said cheerfully, “They always do.”

“Yeah…” Phoenix looked back at Steven to check if he was still upright. He was with Darius now, and the two of them spoke in low voices, occasionally glancing down at Steven’s burned-off sigil. Cherry stood only a few feet away, looking like he was desperately trying not to listen in and at the same time, straining to hear what was being said.

“You’re my WHAT?!” Eda’s voice squawked from Achsah’s room.

“Got it!” Lilith said triumphantly at the same time, “You were so close. I barely had to do anything.” She looked up. “What happened to Eda?”

Phoenix hurried to Achsah’s room, Darius and Steven forgotten. Eda jabbed a finger at him the moment he entered.

“You are not allowed to be my great uncle,” she told him, “Not allowed, do you hear me?”

“Sorry. I’ll try not to be.”

Lilith came in on Phoenix’s heels. “What’s going on?”

“They’re our ancestors, Lili. Our ancestors.”

“Oh,” Lilith said thoughtfully, “That makes sense. Fascinating.” She held out the box. “This is for you two, by the way. Someone called Achsah went great lengths to make sure it reached you through time.”

Caleb all-but snatched the opened box from her, his face pale. “Achsah?!”

Evelyn delicately lifted out a letter. Phoenix caught sight of a bracelet inside, hand-woven leather and beads. Evelyn scanned the letter, her eyes welling up with tears.

“Get Mole, please,” she whispered, and Sam was off. Mole arrived moments later, and Evelyn held up the letter. “Caleb, would you…?”

Caleb took the paper from her, his eyes devouring it like a starving man. “Dear Mom and Dad,” he read out loud, “I’ve buried this letter in a puzzle box under where the kitchen will be someday. I hope you finally get to work on that root cellar you always wanted, or else you won’t find it. Dad—” he choked up, and Evelyn took the letter.

“Dad, I know exactly what you’ve probably been doing since the moment the time pool washed away, and I want you to stop it. What happened wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t anyone’s. For a while, I was sad, and lost, and wanted nothing more than for you to pop out of another pool and bring me back home.” Evelyn took a deep breath. “But since then, I’ve met some beautiful people, including my partner.”

Caleb took the letter back. “You two would love them, just as much as I love them. I wish the three of you could meet. While I write this, your grandkid is tearing through the house like a tiny terror. He’s got your nose, Dad, and Mom’s eyes. And the healer tells me I’ve got twins coming—isn’t that crazy? I’d do anything to protect them, and I know if you could have come back for me, you would have. But I want you to know that I’m happy here and now. I miss you every day, but I don’t regret the people I’ve met since. Please don’t be sad I’m gone.”

Caleb smiled at Mole. “This next part is for you. Say hi to your lookalike for me, Dad. If he’s anything like you, the ‘don’t blame yourself’ bit goes for him, too. I don’t regret rescuing him. I only wish I’d gotten to know him. Bet he’s awesome. I made a bracelet for him. I know he was passed out, so he probably didn’t see me at all, but it’s just something to remember me by. His younger/older sister.”

Mole sniffed, delicately lifting the bracelet out of the box and slipping it onto his wrist.

“I know we were hiding. I didn’t realize it first, but now that I’ve spent my life here trying to pretend I’ve always lived in this time, I can see it’s the same. Mom. Dad. I don’t want you to keep hiding. Whatever happens, get out there. Show the world who you are. All the love in both dimensions, Achsah.”

Caleb folded up the letter, and they all stood there for a long moment, no one saying anything. Finally, Evelyn took Caleb’s hand. “No more hiding,” she said softly.

“No more hiding,” Caleb echoed, “No more grieving.”

“Are you ready to show the world who we are?”

“If you are.”

Evelyn smiled, and together, she and Caleb walked out to meet the Isles.

Xxx

“Latissa.” Evelyn said the word carefully, like it might shatter in her mouth. “That’s an interesting choice. Any reason?”

Steven rubbed his arm where his sigil used to be. “Darius mentioned something—I know it’s gone, but…”

“The sigil experiments,” Phoenix breathed. That had to be what Darius and Steven had been talking about at the housewarming party. He touched his own mark. The Day of Unity was over, and with it, the danger of the draining spell. The sigils didn’t affect him, but countless witches couldn’t access all their magic—Alador led the way in sigil removal research, and Darius was right there with him.

Steven nodded. “The sigil experiments. I don’t think mine is the same as the modern sigils, since it almost killed me instantly, but Darius said getting a look at the earlier attempts might help them understand the ones we have now.”

“But you said it: you don’t have yours anymore,” Evelyn replied, “How are they going to study it?”

“Questions. Anecdotes. And… the seizures. Darius thinks they’re related.”

“We knew that.”

“Well, yes, but this might be—I mean, if what I know can help them, and if their research can stop the seizures entirely… even if they can’t, I want to help.” Steven shook his head. “I used that glove on other people, even knowing what it would do to them. I can’t change that, but… maybe I can make up for it by helping witches suffering from those sigils now.”

Evelyn chewed on her lip. “Latissa is a bit of a commute without a palisman,” she said finally, “What’s your plan?”

“I’d be staying there.” Steven shrugged, as if trying to make it seem like nothing. “There’s space—they converted the old police station into their center. I’m sure we can fit a bed.”

“I see. Do you—do you know how long you’d be there?” Evelyn’s voice held a sort of desperate casualness to it, like she was trying not to scare Steven off, but also didn’t quite want to let him go.

“Not forever.” Steven’s voice matched Evelyn’s, somehow both intensely normal and strained at the same time. “I’ll be back. Um. I mean, how long could it take, really?”

“How much is Alador like Sam?” Evelyn joked. She rubbed her arm. “Will you be okay? I should go with you.”

“What? Mom, they need you here.”

“But the seizures—if one happens—will Alador know what to do?”

“I’ll tell him,” Steven promised, “And I’m almost certain healers will be involved—I’ll be in the best possible place if something does go wrong. Besides home.”

“Hm.”

Steven took her hands. “Mom, I’ll be safe. I promise. This could be… it could be huge for me.”

“It could be.” Evelyn sighed, wrapping him in a hug. “Oh, I knew you all would grow up. I just didn’t think it would be so soon.”

Phoenix thought uneasily of Matt and Alex. Neither of them had announced their plans to leave yet, but maybe Evelyn suspected. Or maybe with Jason always off with the kids, and Auric always off at his new apprenticeship, and Phoenix gone every weekend, she just felt… lonely.

“I won’t be gone for long. Promise.”

Xxx

“Where was that you said? The wreckage of the keep? Again?” Darius pinched his nose, nodding along to the conversation on the other end of the raven phone. “I know—yes. No, we’ll look into it. I said we’ll look into it! Yes, lovely day to you too, goodbye.”

Phoenix winced, setting his weekend bag on the floor with a thump. “Bad time?”

Darius tossed the phone to the side, letting it fly to its perch. “It’s fine. Just Terra rearing her head again. Most of the scouts and coven heads settled in peacefully enough, but every couple of months…”

Phoenix shuddered. He doubted she’d come after him specifically, but part of him was tempted to start checking his drinks for poison. “Is it safe to leave her on the loose?”

“Unlikely. If anyone’s going to cause havoc, it’s going to be her. But the…” Darius heaved a sigh. “…CATs… are spread too thin. Between guarding the new palistrom tree, rebuilding what Belos and the Collector destroyed, and keeping the peace between disoriented and disillusioned citizens, we haven’t had a lot of time or manpower to spare towards tracking her down. And I don’t want to assign someone inexperienced to the job—we need someone who’s used to handling threats. Big ones. People who can corner her, and…” he tilted his head. “You have a thinking face on. You know someone, don’t you? One of your siblings?”

“Yes,” Phoenix said slowly, “Or—at least, I think so. Let me see that phone again?”

One short phone call and a griffin-flight later, Meleager, Horus, Hamlet, and Venari sat in Darius’ living room, studying pictures of Terra with matching frowns.

“Plant magic…” Meleager mused, “Fire and ice, then. I think I still have some leftover frost potions.”

“We need to get her off the ground,” Venari added, “The further she is from seeds and dirt, the harder it’ll be for her to get away.”

Hamlet scratched his head. “Coven head, though, so it’ll be tricky to separate her entirely—any capture method like nets or rope can’t be made of plant fibers, because she might be able to manipulate those.”

“Once we get her hands and feet immobilized, that won’t be as big of an issue,” Horus declared, “Focus on the capture—containment after should be comparatively easy.”

“Sounds like they’ve got this under control,” Darius murmured to Phoenix.

“They’ve been bored,” Phoenix replied equally quietly, “Oh, just—make sure you prioritize capturing Terra alive.”

Darius chuckled, then glanced at Phoenix and stopped abruptly. “Oh, you’re not kidding. They’ll—”

“Without hesitation.”

“Huh. Well, would it really be that much of a loss? Kidding,” he added quickly, “I’ll be sure to tell them.”

Phoenix shrugged. “I’ve got no love lost for Terra. But I don’t want them killing anyone, for sure. I don’t think that’s a path anyone wants them taking.”

“Hey.” Darius gave Phoenix a small smile. “Give them a little trust. They met Petro—I don’t think they’re in any hurry to go down the killing spree path.”

“Hm. I hope you’re right. They still might engage in some light torture, though.”

Darius squeezed his eyes shut. “Why do I feel like you handed me a bigger problem than the one you’ve solved?”

“They’ll be fine. Just…”

“Reiterate the capturing her alive part, yes, understood.”

“We’re going,” Venari declared, “We’ll see you in… what, 3 days at the worst?”

“We’re staking out the keep. We might come back to steal Dagger,” Meleager explained, “We got this, Phoenix, she’ll never poison anyone again.”

“Alive,” Darius warned, “Capture her alive!”

Horus gave him a thumbs-up, and the four of them disappeared out the door. Darius watched them go, the worry on his face shifting to a pensive, planning expression. “You know, if this goes well, I might have a few other hunts for them. Terra’s not the only one who’s clinging to her old power.”

Phoenix grinned. “I’m sure they’d like that very much.”

Xxx

“Oop—watch the root—”

Phoenix caught Mole’s arm at Jason’s warning, keeping him upright when he stumbled. “Maybe we should take off the blindfold?” he suggested, “The footing’s getting a little treacherous.”

“But then it wouldn’t be a surprise!” Jason protested, “Maybe you could carry him?”

Mole’s nose scrunched up at the suggestion, and Phoenix shook his head. “Yeah, I don’t think he wants that.”

“Well, we’re almost there anyway. Come on.”

Phoenix didn’t pick Mole up, but he held his arm out for Mole to cling to and guided him slowly over the forest floor. Mole gave him a brief grateful smile, jabbing one finger at the blindfold and heaving a fond sigh.

“He’s a bit excited,” Phoenix agreed, “He’s been taking trips out here with Hunter and Willow an awful lot, but they’ve been tight-lipped about it to me, too.”

“Okay, Phoenix, now you have to close your eyes, too!”

“I thought this was a surprise for Mole?” Phoenix protested.

“It is,” Hunter agreed, appearing at Phoenix’s elbow with Flapjack in his staff form, “But it’s a surprise for everyone. Don’t worry, I’ve got you two.”

Phoenix closed his eyes. Hunter’s hand closed over his arm, and he heard the tell-tale sound of a flash-step, his balance just ever-so-slightly thrown off at the sudden change in placement.

“Okay, open them,” Jason ordered.

Phoenix opened his eyes, and beside him, Mole took off the blindfold.

A massive blue tree towered over them, blooming with blue leaves and flowers. Phoenix had never seen a tree like this, but something about it seemed… familiar. His skin crawled with that feeling of just knowing something, deep inside, like how his curse recognized Belos, but more positive.

“Is that… palistrom?” he asked.

Mole stepped forward as if in a trance, putting one hand on the massive blue trunk. He nodded in answer to Phoenix’s question, pressing his forehead to the bark like it was an old friend. Silent tears streamed down his face, and Phoenix remembered just how long ago Mole had technically been born. He must have been used to seeing palistrom forests peppering the Isles, and had woken up suddenly in a world without them.

“The palisman this tree could make,” Phoenix murmured, “It grew so big so fast!”

“Willow had a lot to do with that part,” Hunter explained, “But, well, there’s a reason there was a shortage for so long.”

“Palistrom were kept strictly monitored by Belos,” Phoenix remembered, “You think he kept them small on purpose? Of course he did,” he answered his own question, “Why wouldn’t he? The more magic stifled, the better.”

Hunter fidgeted, twisting his hands around each other. Jason nudged him. “Go on,” he whispered, “Tell them.”

“Tell us what?”

“I’m going to be a palisman carver,” Hunter burst out, “Caleb’s taught me some, and I’ve been talking to Eda’s dad, Dell—he was a professional carver, you know—and he’s going to take me on as an apprentice.” He looked up at the tree, eyes shining. “With the way this tree’s been growing and flowering, we should be able to repopulate the Isles with palistrom in no time. Luckily, the palistrom is a self-pollinating plant. And even just a solid branch from this tree—anyone can have a palisman. Everyone can.” He scratched the back of his neck shyly. “I was thinking… I was thinking I could carve one for Caleb first. Since… you know. He carved my palisman.”

Phoenix smiled warmly. “That sounds like a great idea.”

“And… I could carve one for everyone in the family. Or you could adopt!” he added quickly, “The Bat Queen has dozens of palisman looking for a home. But yes. I could carve one. Hypothetically. No promises yet, I’m still learning, but—oh, okay, you hate the idea.”

“What?” Phoenix reached up to find tears running from his eyes. “No—no, Hunter, I don’t hate the idea, I…” he searched for the right words to describe how he felt. A palisman? For him? He’d never even considered it, not with the life he’d lived. The curse curled up inside him rumbled at the idea, but he couldn’t tell if it was the remnants of Belos protesting, the palisman eager for a palisman of their own outside of him, or something hungrier. “Is that a good idea?” he said finally, “I mean, with…” he gestured to his arms.

“Do you want one?” Jason asked.

“Yes.” The word slipped out of Phoenix’s mouth almost without a thought. He hadn’t realized he wanted one until now, but he knew it deep inside, watching Flapjack and Hunter. “I do.”

“Then we’ll find a way to make it work,” Jason said firmly, “Whatever that means.”

Mole nodded joining them. He pointed to himself, tilting his head in a question.

“Yeah, of course I can make one for you,” Hunter interpreted, “Any idea what you’d want? We can always go the egg route if not. Sounds pretty easy to carve, too.”

A mischievous grin crept over Mole’s face, and he pointed to himself again. Hunter frowned.

“I don’t know what you’re asking—sorry, we’ll figure it ou—”

Jason groaned. “Oh, no. You want a mole for a palisman, don’t you?”

Mole nodded vigorously, breaking off into peals of laughter. Phoenix groaned with Jason, but Mole’s laughter was infectious, and a smile took over his face despite himself.

Palisman for us. It didn’t seem right—not after all the palisman he’d handed over to Belos. Maybe Mole or Jason deserved one—after all, Belos had tried to kill Jason for protecting the little creatures. Phoenix? He’d never even considered another option besides giving them to their doom.

But Flapjack sat scarred and proud on Hunter’s shoulder despite everything, like a beacon saying it’s possible; you just have to want it enough, and the tree loomed over them, big, and beautiful, and strong despite what Belos had tried to do to its species, and right here, in this forest, Phoenix did want it.

We’ll find a way to make it work.

Xxx

Phoenix climbed out an attic hatch onto the roof—another holdover from the old house’s design. He didn’t quite join Cherry where he sat on the edge of the roof, legs dangling over, but he sat down close.

“I thought this was Jason’s brooding spot. Enjoying the view?”

Cherry glanced back at him. “It’s quieter than I thought it would be.”

“Hm?”

Cherry waved a hand at the town sprawling in the near distance. “I thought it would be noisy, living so much closer to other people. But in the evening, if I close my eyes, it’s almost like nothing’s changed. It’s like we’re still back in the forest, and we’re all together. No one’s left and gone where I can’t protect them. And then I open my eyes, and… it’s all so different now.”

“It’s not a bad thing. They’ll be okay.”

“Mm.” Cherry stared out over the town again, his hair almost red in the light of the setting sun. “You ever think it was strange, how close to Belos we were hiding? I mean, the third rib? We might as well have been on his doorstep. But we weren’t discovered. Somehow, we were never discovered. Somehow, Mom and Dad managed to save every one of us, no matter how badly we were injured. Isn’t that odd? We didn’t lose a single person.”

He ran a hand through his hair. “Belos always said loss was so necessary, and I believed him. I saw it firsthand, how sometimes people had to be sacrificed. We were some of those people. But somehow, no one died. None of us—despite how many people we killed, not one of us went down. Why did we get to survive when so many people didn’t?” He chuckled, a low, humorless sound. “Doesn’t that seem so improbable, when you think about it? Belos might have been lying about the titan having plans for us, but sometimes it almost does feel like there’s some higher power out there who’s decided to keep us alive.”

“Or one determined human and witch.” Phoenix scooted closer to Cherry, eying the edge of the roof. “It does seem improbable,” he admitted, “People died—and we were responsible some of the time. But we all made it. Against the odds. I think this family is good at that.”

Cherry heaved a sigh. “But what’s the point, if we’re not going to stick together? What’s the point, if after everything, everyone goes their separate ways? We got so far, only to fall apart at the end.”

“We’re not falling apart.” Phoenix looked up at the moon and stars slowly replacing the sun as the brightest things in the sky. “You know… I used to see Darius every day. I’d take him with me on missions. I’d test his skills, but I was always there to protect him if something happened. But when I first woke up with Caleb and Evelyn… he’d grown. He was a capable adult who could handle himself. And that was a hard thing to accept. If he didn’t need me to protect him, if he didn’t need a mentor, then what use was I to him?”

Phoenix smiled. “But we haven’t fallen apart yet. Maybe he doesn’t need a mentor anymore. Maybe he doesn’t need my protection. But I think he still needs me. Just me, because I’m me and that’s enough of a reason.” Phoenix nudged Cherry’s shoulder. “It’s not going to be the same. They’re not going to be as close. They won’t always need your protection anymore. And that’s going to be difficult to get used to. But I don’t think they’ll ever stop needing you.”

Cherry watched the sun finally disappear completely over the horizon, silent until it was gone. “I don’t want our lives to change,” he said finally, “I think I’m glad for the others finding what they want, but I’m not sure who I am without them. I’ve been looking after them for so long, trying to forget the past for so long… I don’t want to be left alone with myself.”

“Hm.” Phoenix leaned back, finally kicking his legs over the edge of the roof and sitting fully next to Cherry. “Well. I can tell you some good news about that.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Yes. Even if they all leave, even if we all go our separate ways, you aren’t going to be alone, Cherry. We will always have your back. We’ll only be one raven call away.”

A smile flashed across Cherry’s face. “You’re going to have to teach me how to use one.”

“Oh. Right.”

“But… thanks, Phoenix. For having my back.”

Xxx

Despite Phoenix’s late start, his room filled up over months of living. Mole commandeered his window space with new plants, human realm varieties that Camila shared. Light blue walls were quickly covered over with scribbles that Ghost had presented him, and photos Willow shared. She always seemed to be dropping by, picking up Hunter or Jason or both of them. Sometimes, even Mole went along to visit the palistrom tree. Little practice wood carvings that Hunter made with Caleb and Dell surrounded the photograph Darius had given to him. Hunter hadn’t carved any palisman for the family besides Mole’s mole, but one day, Jason came back from the human realm library with a massive book full of animal pictures that he and Phoenix pored over for hours, looking for a creature that felt right.

Jason tapped one foot. “We’re going to be late. Hunter and Willow are outside waiting.”

“Yeah, yeah, give me a second. We’ll have at least half an hour while Caleb and Flapjack catch up.” Phoenix drank an elixir. Today had been a good day for the curse, but he didn’t want to push it staying up late.

Jason wandered over to the window, peering into the garden. “He’s gotten taller than me,” he grumbled, “Traitor. I’ll be inconsolable if Ghost gets big like that. I cannot be the shortest in the family.”

Phoenix ruffled his hair, his arm braces clicking gently at the movement. “Aw, don’t you want to stay the baby forever? You don’t want to be Evelyn’s little snuggle buddy?”

“I will always be Mom’s little snuggle buddy, thank you very much, but that doesn’t mean I have to be the shortest. Ghost has to be shorter. They have to.”

“Do not.” Ghost wrinkled their nose at Jason from the doorway. “I’m gonna be so big. Gonna eat griffins. In one bite.”

“Don’t let Joseph hear you say that,” Phoenix joked, “He’ll disown you.”

Ghost squeaked, tugging on Phoenix’s arm. “Nee-Nee, it’s time to go,” they said impatiently, “I wanna see King.”

“Alright, I’m coming, I’m coming.”

Phoenix followed Ghost downstairs. Hunter chattered excitedly to Caleb about the palisman he was working on, and Willow gave Jason their customary bow and exchange of royal titles.

“I can just walk, right?” Phoenix asked Hunter.

“Low and slow,” Hunter promised.

“You never actually mean that,” Phoenix grumbled, but he sat behind Hunter anyway, picking Ghost up and holding them tightly in his lap.

Hunter did fly too fast and too high for Phoenix’s taste, but Willow and Jason still beat them by a mile, so he supposed Hunter had been taking it easy on him.

Ghost squirmed out of Phoenix’s lap almost before they’d completely landed, bolting to tackle King in a hug. The titan fell in mock defeat.

“Curses! You’ve defeated the king of the demons this time, little Ghost!”

“She’s coming!” Eda called, “Everyone ready?”

Luz walked through the door, and the quinceañera passed by in a blur of well-wishes and laughter. Phoenix exchanged smiles and hellos with what seemed like everyone on the Isles.

“You thought any more about the mentoring offer? The university’s really taking off.”

Phoenix smiled tiredly in response to Eda. “I’d need a way to get there. Getting Ghost to Hexside is going to be tricky enough.”

“Man. Get a palisman already, would ya?”

Eda’s grin dispelled any bite to the words, but Phoenix’s attention hung fully on the portal door hanging wide open behind her. He glanced around to make sure Ghost was safe—they chased happily after Flapjack, who Phoenix was relatively certain was one of the more responsible people here—and quickly pushed through into the human realm before he could convince himself not to.

Creak.

Phoenix’s eyes darted over furniture that formed monsters and familiar specters in the dark. Wait a minute…

“Petro?” he called, just in case.

“No,” Jason’s voice called from the basement, “Just me.”

Phoenix creaked his way down the stairs to the basement, wincing at every sound. He sat on the bottom of the stairs next to Jason. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Jason gestured out towards the mound where Phoenix knew Belos’ remains lay. “Do you ever wake up and just… forget for a minute that he’s gone?”

Phoenix rubbed his arms. A part of Belos would always live in him, in the curse—for him the problem was more remembering that he was gone at all. “Sometimes,” he admitted, “I’m guessing you do.”

Jason sighed. “I know it’s been years, but… sometimes it just doesn’t feel real. Sometimes I feel like he’s still coming for me. I mean, after all he’s survived, how can I even truly be sure he’s gone?” He rested his chin on his knees. “I don’t know if I’ll ever really believe it.”

Phoenix chuckled dryly. “Can you imagine how furious he’d be if he was still alive?”

Jason cracked a smile at that. “A university of wild magic?” he joked, “He’s probably spinning in his grave fast enough to generate the electricity needed to power this whole neighborhood. Not to mention us.”

“Not to mention us,” Phoenix echoed, “He’d be devastated if he knew we were happy.”

“Guess we better keep being happy, then. Just to spite him.” Jason’s smile faded, and he went back to looking over Belos’ grave.

Phoenix nudged his shoulder. “Hey,” he said quietly, “He’s dead. For real this time. He’s not coming back. But when it feels like he might, when it feels like he’s going to jump out of nowhere and sink his claws into you… you know where to find me. Or Cherry. Or Caleb, or Evelyn, or Mole, or anyone else. You’re going to be okay.”

“Yeah. I think I am.”

Jason got up, stretching and offering his hand to Phoenix. “Let’s get out of here.”

Phoenix happily obeyed, following Jason back into light and laughter. Ghost wandered over, their eyelids drooping. Flapjack chirped an admonishment, tugging affectionately on their hair.

“Hey, Ghost,” Phoenix said quietly, crouching down next to them, “You all tired out?”

They rubbed their eyes. “I’m not sleepy,” they said stubbornly, in spite of their giant yawn, “I just… want to go to bed and rest my eyes.”

“Fair enough.” Phoenix scooped Ghost up, holding them as easily as if they were still a toddler. “Come on. Let’s go home.”

[green-planets]

StEx Appreciation Month Day 23: The Nationals!

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Favourite Song/Scenes: This answer is going to be the same for all of them so the races, Rolling Stock, and Coda of Freight! They all have super fun background interactions too!

In addition, I also believe Bochum could probably get away with gender blind casting for all of the national engines

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Ruhrgold!

Face Claim: Josh Crowther, George Olney, or Will Luckett

Favourite Costumes: ICE RUHR SUPREMACY FOREVER AND ALWAYS

Favourite Ships/Friendships: Ruhrgold x Carrie, Ruhrgold x Joule (as exes). He's friends with all of the nationals but closest with Coco and Espresso, after he and Carrie start dating I could see him hanging out with some of the coaches, and he becomes friends with Rusty post-canon

Headcanons: He's extremely charming. Whenever he's late, all he has to do is smile and apologize and most people forget why they were upset at him in the first place

Unpopular Opinion: I don't have any!

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Bobo!

Face Claim: Fraser Fraser or Darren John

Favourite Costumes: Orange Bobo!!!

Favourite Ships/Friendships: Bobo x Espresso.

Headcanons: Bobo started flirting with Espresso as a power move (trying to psyche out his rival with mind games). Over time, his flirting became more and more genuine until he finally confessed his feelings

Unpopular Opinion: I like Coco way more than Bobo (but I don't think that's unpopular lol)

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Coco!

Face Claim: Molly McGuire!!! or Clare Maynard

Favourite Costumes: I love her costume! I know girl=skirt is a bad design philosophy but unfortunately Coco slays. I wouldn't be sad if they swapped the skirt for a pair of shorts or something though

Favourite Ships/Friendships: Coco x Pearl, Coco x Brandi, Coco x Volta. She and Zero are bitch buddies, of the nationals she's closest with Ruhrgold and Brexit (he may be a twerp but he's HER twerp), she has no problem hanging out with Bobo or Espresso separately but thinks they're absolutely insufferable when they're together, she's also friends with Greaseball and Brandi

Headcanons: She's the same Coco from the Japan/Aus tour! Trans Coco real!!

Unpopular Opinion: Not unpopular, but the Chanel references need to go

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Espresso!

Face Claim: Noah Jordan or Darius James

Favourite Costumes: Current Bochum! I really like the red and green split!

Favourite Ships/Friendships: Espresso x Bobo!!, Espresso x Zero (more of a one-sided crush on Zero's end), Espresso x Bidecker (as exes)

Headcanons: He finally realized that he was gay while dating Bidecker. She was planning on breaking up with him anyway because their personalities were too incompatible as romantic partners, so their split was fairly amicable and they stayed friends afterwards

Unpopular Opinion: I don't have any!

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Brexit!

Face Claim: Kevin Köhler!!! (Born to play silly little guys!!) or Anthony Cragg

Favourite Costumes: I really like his costume (minus the tie)! The flat cap is so cute

Favourite Ships/Friendships: Brexit x Rocky 1!! The other nationals like to pick on him the most but they are friends! He also befriended Memphis Belle and I could see him getting along with Rusty

Headcanons: Brexit was going to apologize to Rocky 1 for dropping out of the race but when he saw how upset he was, he chickened out and hid. He ended up meeting Memphis Belle in the freight yard. She made them some tea and they had a very pleasant chat (she also gave him advice on how to approach Rocky 1)

Unpopular Opinion: Also not unpopular, it would be so sooo easy to change his name to something silly like Biscuit and give him a different tie. And they should totally let him race with Rocky 1 at least once

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Turnov!

Face Claim: Chris Southgate or Joseph Connor (but Jayred Lempriere Turnov slayed)

Favourite Costumes: Current Bochum costume, I like the red padding he has under his chest and shoulder boxes more than the dark gray

Favourite Ships/Friendships: Turnov x Hashimoto (platonic or romantic, I just think they're close). Hashimoto is his closest friend out of the nationals, he also hangs out quite a bit with Brexit and Brandi

Headcanons: Turnov and Hashimoto were perfectly content to sit in silence with each other and do their own things, but after the race they spend a lot more of their time together bitching about a certain caboose

Unpopular Opinion: He could be cut and I wouldn't really care. He's the national I think about the least :/

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Hashimoto!

Face Claim: Mayo Kawasaki

Favourite Costumes: I prefer the blue costume but I don't mind the current Bochum one

Favourite Ships/Friendships: Hashimoto x Turnov. He's closest with Turnov, but friends with the rest of the nationals

Headcanons: He's usually pretty reserved, but really cuts loose during the races and after-parties. He likes to spend some one-on-one time with each of the other nationals before they all have to part ways again

Unpopular Opinion: Also not unpopular but holy shit stop casting white people to play him </3 And stop giving him stupid names!!

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[thousand-winters]

It might be terrible, but i like to imagine a scenario where some time after the epilogue, just when Hunter has somewhat healed and got used to his new life, something bad happens that threatens his new life and his family, and Hunter either goes a little feral or just shuts down.

in particular i imagine it as Darius getting injured, maybe because of a plot from remaining Belos supporters or even a freak accident, and for double angst Hunter either shuts down, not knowing what to do, or immediately goes after whoever caused the injury, so later he blames himself for doing that instead of actually helping (as he sees it).

Honestly, while the main threat (Belos and the Emperor's Coven in general) is gone, it is likely things will be a bit of a struggle for a while. On one hand, there's the rogue Coven Heads that still seemed to want to keep the Empire going except with them at the helm, aka, Terra, Adrian and Vitimir, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if it's not only them, but other scouts who don't love the dissolution of Belos' reign and would like back the power they used to have.

There were some really weird scouts out there, like that one that wanted to straight up kill Hunter for kicking them.

So yeah, I can totally picture some kind of accident occurring and it would make sense if it's, say, the rogue ex-Coven Heads, going after Darius, Eber and Raine since they were the rebels who they could easily blame for "ruining everything", even if they were proven right when it came to Belos' intentions. How they could get the jump on Darius is hard to say since he's, well, Darius, and I love him a lot but my man is a little bit overpowered with that skillset of his. Their best chance would probably do the same thing they did during the Day of Unity and weaponize someone he cares about against him, because Darius particularly tends to panic when his loved ones are on the line.

I could see them potentially targeting them during some kind of family outing because then they have Darius and Eber right there, which means they can also use Hunter and Eber to keep Darius from tearing them to pieces right there if they're fast enough.

What I'm picturing here is they try to take them by surprise and perhaps they DO grab Hunter, Eber and Darius freeze a bit because that's their kid and they might risk many things but they wouldn't risk him, and even if it's a moment of distraction only, it's just enough for someone to attack Darius and injure him.

That would probably only work if Hunter's teleportation magic is a bit flickery and doesn't always work, but I imagine he would absolutely lose his head as soon as he sees Darius bleeding, and while perhaps the smart choice would be to grab him and try to get him away or stay behind to guard him while Eber fights (like Eber would probably tell him to do), considering how protective Hunter is, I think he would definitely have a little moment of shock and then get absolutely vicious with whoever it was that managed to hurt Darius... probably Terra considering those three skillsets, hers is the better suited for that.

Between him and Eber, they can probably at least fend them off and get Darius somewhere safer, but then the guilt is so gonna hit Hunter because while he didn't want to leave Eber alone either, he just sees Darius looking a bit pale and thinks that not only was it his fault, but his first instinct was to attack instead of staying by his side like Darius would probably have done and now he feels like the worst person on the Realms.

They're going to need a long talk about how protecting Darius and Eber is not Hunter's responsibility and it's also not his fault that everyone knows they're protective enough of him that he makes good bait if they can get their hands on him.

(By the way, this comes at a really good time because this lovely fic has a very similar premise to what you described, and if you haven't already, you should totally go check it out)

[lovethebadguy]

Alright. I've seen a heck of a lot of gifs and fanart and comics about The Owl House. I'm finally gonna watch it and write down some of my observations.

(spoiler alert, obviously)

• Omfg her name is "loose". I've been pronouncing Luz like it rhymes with "buzz" this entire time.

• Nothing could have prepared me for Hooty's voice. In fact, no one sounds like I thought they would. Eda is Wendie Malick? Was no one going to tell me this?

• I've only known King for five minutes, but if anything happens to him I will kill everyone in this room and then myself.

• King's voice was also not what I was expecting, which in hindsight was foolish of me. I knew it was Alex Hirsch. The Bill Cipher vibe should not have been a surprise.

• When does Hunter get here?

• Amity is the snobby high-achieving school bully?! BUT THE ROMANCE?!

• I know it's coming. I've seen far too many cute fan works of Amity and Luz for that not to be the case.

• SHE SQUISHED KING'S CUPCAKE THOUGH. 😡

• Ahhh. There's a teeeeny tiny glimpse of the Lumity that is to come. All is right with the world.

• Gus is just a little fella. Comics did not fully portray how smol he is.

• When does Hunter get here?

• I am up to episode 16 and I still watch the opening theme in its entirety for three reasons. One: it's fantastic. The music, the animation, it's all tops. Two: I'm waiting to see when/if the image of Amity changes. She still turns her back at the moment, but she's warming up, I know it. And three: the image of King perched on Luz's shoulders just before the title card makes me smile every time. He's so dang cute.

• Ok. So, I obviously already knew from tumblr that The Owl House is beloved, in part, for its representation of LGBTQIA. And now that I'm experiencing it first-hand? I totally get it. Everything feels so natural and understated. Luz blushing when either of the older Blight siblings spoke to her? The short, sweet glances between Luz and Amity? They're all the typical moments you'd expect to see between a male and a female character, and it's honestly so refreshing (and surprising, coming from Disney) to see it happening between two girls in a way that feels real. I am all aboard the Lumity train.

• In the span of 10 minutes, Eda has referred to Luz as "her kid", called herself "mama", and been shown wearing a watch with King's face on it. I love Mama Eda so much.

• DANCE BATTLE DANCE BATTLE DANCE BATTLE DANCE BATTLE DANCE BATTLE

• Amity has fallen so hard and honestly? Same.

• OMG EPISODE 18! I think that was my first glimpse of Hunter! Lilith cursed Eda?! Eda sacrificing herself for Luz! The end credits with that haunting beating of the heart!

• Season 1 is done and dusted! All those feel good family and found-family moments. This show has so much heart. Gravity Falls is one of my favourite shows, and The Owl House seems to share a lot of its tropes and themes. I'm really loving it! I have so many things I should be doing today. Am I going to watch start watching Season 2 instead? Darn tootin.

• ENTIRELY NEW OPENING SEQUENCE!! I love it! Everyone's kicking ass! And Hunter is there!! And they kept the final scene with King on Luz's shoulders!

• They're setting up The Golden Guard as this new, mysterious, powerful rival for Season 2. But I know too much so every little glimpse of him has me sitting here grinning goofily like a proud mum at her son's soccer game.

• Gus is less smol. Kids grow up so fast. :(

• Finally met Amity's parents (beyond the shadows of them we saw in Amity's memory). Odalia sucks. But I officially love one tired dad.

• "Stay away from my Luz!" !!!!!!!

• Baby King is the cutest thing I have ever seen in my life. King is king of MY heart.

• The Hunter episode was everything I ever wanted. He must be protected at all costs.

• Huh. Tumblr gave me a veeerry different impression of what Darius was going to be like. Incoming plot twist?

• LUMITY IS A GO!

• Eda immediately destroying the stress toy because of her need for chaos whilst never once breaking eye contact with Bump nearly killed me. I choked on my tea. Worth it.

• Hunter has just learned the truth. Someone give this kid a hug.

• KING IS A TITAN?! How big is my sweet baby boy gonna get?

• Steve is so cool getting around in his Steve shirt, just doing Steve things. Haha, classic Steve.

• Luz and Amity just shared their first kiss and it was perfect. And I feel like the animation in that scene was extra nice? Maybe it was just me, but it just seemed beautifully bouncy.

• Once again, the near-silent end credits for part one of the finale haunt my soul. Part two now. Bring it on!

• ...Take it back. D:

• That musical montage to kick off Season 3 packed in SO MUCH STORY. Luz coming out as bi and introducing Amity to her mum was incredibly sweet. Vee (who I admit I was a little bit creeped out by until now) has captured my heart. And I absolutely adore the friendship between Gus and Hunter.

• "Time to go home, Flapjack." 😭 HAS THIS BOY NOT BEEN THROUGH ENOUGH?!

• Raine being hearteyes for Harpy Eda, Camila being hearteyes for King, everyone being hearteyes for Stringbean? Mood.

• Obsessed with Eda's haircut.

• My girl Willow has been carrying a lot. Her realising that she needs to let things out and lean on her friends was such a tender moment.

• Willow and Hunter linking their pinkies! ❤

• Not prepared for this amazing show to be over, but here we go...

• Brb, too busy crying.

• Still crying, gimme a minute.

• I was holding it together riiiight up until Flapjack's grave. "Thank you for finding me" broke me.

• Ok. So, generally speaking... this was pretty much everything I wanted in a finale. Happy, healthy relationships, hints at future pairings, redemption for characters who deserved it, and a big middle finger to those who didn't (which, honestly? Refreshing af).

• Eda and King going feral after losing Luz, the reveal of Titan Luz, and the trio coming together to defeat Belos was utter perfection. The animation was on point!

• I am not ashamed to admit I said "NOW EAT THIS, SUCKA!" with Luz.

• Also, the Dad bod, the "Bad Girl Coven" tshirt, and the "I loaf you" pun were exactly what I should've expected from King's dad.

• The time skip end credits were a wonderful way to let us see the characters we know and love, living their best lives. Hunter finally able to exist peacefully, making new palismans with his own little Bluejay on his shoulder (admittedly, I'd hoped he'd get a wolf, but the Bluejay did seem well-suited), Willow and Gus truly coming into their own, Lilith rocking the Harpy form (and hinting a possible romance with Steve?? EDIT: ignore that, I just learned that Lilith is aroace and I am so excited about it.), lil' gangly King growing bigger and stronger... well, I don't need to keep pointing things out. Suffice to say, there were so many little details that worked together to create a beautiful picture.

• In the span of three days, I've watched a show that so many people were obsessed with for years.

• I get it now.

• Thank you Dana Terrace and everybody involved with making The Owl House. The world needs more shows like this, with a great story, genuine characters, represention of people from all walks of life, and heartfelt messages.

• Excuse me while I go and wallow in misery over the fact that it's finished before I start consuming as many fanfics as I can find.

• OH! One final note as someone who learned far too much from tumblr before actually watching the show. I kept seeing fanart that seemed to depict a Hunter lookalike (so, Caleb) and an Eda lookalike, who apparently was Evelyn Clawthorne? CLAWTHORNE?? So here I am waiting for another flashback/memory episode that would lay it all out and do that big reveal BUT APPARENTLY THAT'S FANON??? Y'all had me thinking I'd missed an episode.

[wheeloffortune-design]

Hmmm ok so I’m from Perú here, but is not necessary for a Latino to have a Hispanic name, my family are immigrants so we have all kind of mash-ups. Like example:

Asian (first name) and second name is María xdd, all that kind of stuff

Or maybe a nickname could work too.

Example

Someone named Enrique can be referred as “Quique” , “Quico”, “Henry”, etc

So I just saw this, and you're totally right, but I'll take the opportunity to talk about how I name characters, if it's alright with you.

This ask refers to a post I made where I complained how hard it was to name your latino gay romantic lead when all the names in baby names lists are people from your family tree (and said family is probably gonna read the book and ask why you pick great uncle's name for your gay porn.)

I know I don't have to give them typically latin names. Myself, I'm named out of something my mom saw in a dream, so it would be pretty hypocritical.

But at some point in my writing process I decided that I would have to make my own representation myself, and vowed to make all my protagonists Chilean-Québécois. And for some diversity, then can be Chilean-Ontarians. And they're all gonna be queer, but that's a given.

I may be slightly exagerating, but you get the intention behind it.

So, parallelly, something our unconscious minds do, when given no information about a character, is to imagine the default. And, where I live, the default is white, male, cisgender, straight, abled, thin, etc. I thought I was spared from that, until I read a novel that only revealed 3/4 in that the protagonist was Black. I had to sit down and rethink about how I perceived the world.

It was certainly a choice from the author, and also the cover art, to not describe or show the protagonist as Black from the start. I'm intrigued with that choice, I think I know where that can come from, but I'm tempted to do the exact opposite. Our goals are the same- more diversity in litterature, I'm just going to take a more direct way, at the surprise of no one.

So, I write a book. Here's the public presented with a new character. Maybe the cover didn't show him, but I have control over the words used to describe him. With the same care I use to describe skin (té con leche), a certain type of hair (curled, thick, strong), a certain kind of body (round face, broad shouldered, strong arms of a baker, soft middle with the strong core of the hardworker). And I'll add in pieces of what I know- great eyebrows, amazing eyelashes, moles everywhere.

And I know the white normativity (is that the word? i should be sleeping, words are already in bed) is so strong that people can even keep imagining a white person despite all that. So I give them no choice. I will give my character a name that sounds latino, so they can't escape it. I will give him three first names and two surnames like any of us.

Now, we arrive at the more technical side of it. I'm on the babynamer lists, on typical latin names for boys, et oh dear. Number 1 was my father's name. Number 2 is my brother's. The followings are all cousins, uncles. I'm also putting a lot of them aside for future kids.

I think I'm gonna go with Mateo. It has all the qualities I look for in a protagonist name: simple, memorable, sounds spanish without having a letter like j that just gets butchered by other people, wouldn't sound weird in a romantic or smutty scene, none of my cousins have it. The sounds are nice, it's different enough from the other main character and pairs well together. Mateo and Darius.

(Darius has been named after the Persian emperor, because I want to write a typical LOTR fantasy but with gay romance, but also my skin crawled at the idea of ther another fantasy book set in medieval white europe. My first book is in ancient Egypt for a reason.)

I have a lot of things I think about when chosing the name of a character, I'll post about it some more later if it interests some people.

[hererafjastori]

I don‘t know if it‘s fanon or canon, that some of Hunter‘s scars where inflicted by Belos when he was in his cursed form, but I can‘t get this scene out of my head.

There is this specific kind of fanfic that I love, where Hunter gets adopted into the owl house and slowly unlearns all the toxic nonsense Belos taught him. He is allowed to be loud. He doesn‘t have to earn his bed, his meal, medical supplies, the roof over his head, etc. He is allowed to be loud. He is allowed to be childish. He is allowed to take a break. He is allowed to make mistakes. He is allowed to talk back to, and disagree with authority figures. Love and care (especially from a guardian to their child) should be unconditional. Getting physically punished is NEVER an appropriate reaction, he deserved better, and Eda would never do that, no matter what he does. And so on.

But I want to focus on the curse thing. Because in Belos has a cursed form. And the worst physical scars Hunter has, were inflicted upon him by Belos when he was in this state. And Hunter thinks that Belos isn‘t at fault for those things because he wasn‘t in control. That it was his own fault for triggering his uncle in some way or another. That he deserved those injuries because he set Belos off in the first place.

Eda also has a curse she doesn‘t have total control over that makes her more volatile. And we know, that even after turning into the harpy, she still needs those elixirs to stay in control (see ftf). There are infinite ways this can play out, but I can think of these:

1. Eda turns into a harpy and Hunter inacts plans to put himself in harms way to let Luz escape without injury. (physically shielding her; playing distraction;…)

2. Eda gets stressed/scared/starteled/frustrated/… and starts growing feathers. Hunter immediately panics, backpedals, apologises, maybe he has a panic attack.

3. Luz gets injured somehow. Maybe elixirs have run low and they couldn‘t get a hold of Morton in time. Maybe Eda grew claws at an inopportune time. Maybe there was a trial and error phase before she was able to properly judge the Harpy‘s strength.

4. Luz was injured by the owl beast in the days leading up to the season 1 finale, where Eda transforming seems to have been a regular occurence. She could have been attacked. She could have stood too close during a transformation. She could have held a shiny in her hand and get badly scratched whem the beast grabbed it. No matter what happened, she and Hunter start comparing scars inflicted on them by their guardians, and tell wildly different stories.

No matter how they got there I want to see Hunter react to Eda‘s reaction. She is in a similar position as Belos. She could use the same excuses: ”I couldn‘t control myself, why didn‘t you move out of the crossfire, or better yet, never let it get to this point in the first place, this is your fault”. She doesn‘t. If there are injuries, she helps patch them up. She gives them space if they need it. She apologizes. She takes accountability. She does everything in her power to keep then out of harms way. She is open and clear about what sets her off, what can be done to avoid that, what she does to keep the curse at bay, what are signs of an oncoming transformation and what they/ he can do in case she does transform/ lose control. She offers to help him move in with Darius/ the Parks/ Gwendoly/ Dell/ anyone who can protect him, and won‘t sell him out to Belos he would feel comfortable with, if he isn‘t willing to bear the risks of living with her. She doesn‘t demand forgiveness for whatever harm she caused, or for him to trust her in spite of that.

And Hunter is confronted with the fact that Belos could have - no, should have done the same, and has no excuse for doing what he did to him.

___________

tldr: Eda would be the second parental figure of Hunter, that has a curse liable to cause anyone in her vincinity harm, and I want to see Hunter confronted with that and the way she handles such a situation.

[bluephoenixdruidicprincess]

So some of you might remember I had gotten into Zodiac Academy. I was making my way through the series but knew I would need to slow down so I wouldn't get stuck having to wait for Book 9 to come out. Well, I ended up having to stop for a while in book 5 because the dreaded moment finally came where everyone found out about about Orion and Darcy's relationship. This is one of the things I dislike about teacher/student relationships (besides the whole power play and predator aspects that gives me the ick). I decided to check out with the series for the time being as I wasnt super interested in seeing how that plotline went. So a few months went by and I'm back in it.

Spoilers below so dont continue reading if you dont want to be spoiled.

Some thoughts about the Orion and Darcy thing. Overall I find them cute and I do find myself rooting for them even though I dont necessarily like all aspects of their relationship. Again, power dynamics are a huge reason I dont go for these types of relationship tropes. But, I will say they are super cute together and I've caught myself smiling in their interactions. But I was not looking forward to when all of Solaria found out about them. It was rough getting through the first few chapters after the big reveal. And honestly I have very mixed emotions on the whole execution of this. For one thing, I fucking knew they would be found out because Darcy left her damn phone or tablet or whatever the atlas is supposed to resemble around. Everytime she forgot it, I'm just like, "girl, you're having an illicit affair with a teacher and that device has all the proof on it, stop leaving it around!" I generally like Tori and Darcy as characters, but they maybe super powerful, but they dumb af for real. Actually, the heirs are pretty dumb too, Solaria essentially is just fucked all around regardless of who gets the crown, not a single brain cell shared among any of the contenders for the crown really. But back to the whole Darcy thing, I honestly have a hard time believing Kylie was the one who turned Darcy in. I totally buy she would find out about the relationship via Darcy's atlas but using that info to turn Darcy in? Kylie's not smart enough nor brave enough for that, and also just doesnt seem like Kylie, lets be honest, shes a simpering idiot (I fully wouldve expected her to go the Seth route and make Darcy do things for her like Seth did to keep her mouth shut about it). Also, it's like really short sighted of her because now she has no ammunition to use against Darcy to keep Darcy away from her man. And if Darcy was a petty bitch, Kylie should really have been worried about Darcy going to Seth and doing all the things with him shes been afraid of out of pure spite. Kylie essentially gained absolutely nothing from this. Before the Vegas and the Heirs acted, her social status didnt even really change, it didnt help her relationship with Seth. It's like you got 10 minutes of fame and that was it. And how did she think the heirs were going to react about that. The leader of the Heirs is Darius who has a known bonded relationship with Orion. And the love of Kylie's life is Seth who is Darius's best friend and Seth is a wolf so he's a touchy feely guy who gets uber protective with those he loves, Darius is hurting from this, no way Seth would just let that lie. How did she think this was going to go? But anyway, Kylie's an idiot, it makes sense and doesnt make sense at the same time.

I havent finished book 5 but I am back to being invested in it. Despite the audio book being over 20 hours long, way longer than it probably really needs to be, I do enjoy the fact that it does take so long for the plot to go anywhere. Like did we really need to see the heirs have a stint in the mortal world and beat up Tori's boyfriend and see how the twins lived before they found out they were princesses? No, but it was still pretty fun. So I'm back in the Zodiac Academy game and by the time I finally get through Book 8, Book 9 will already be out so yay! No suffering for months from an abrupt cliffhanger for me!

Also, I dont think I've mentioned this in previous posts, but Darcy and Tori's face names are Roxanya and Gwendolyna (its like word vomit but in name form). I really hate these names and I cringe so bad whenever they're used. It's also super weird they have names like these. When everyone else has basic ass names. (Just my opinion, please no one hate me for this).

[gethooked]

Here's my thoughts from tonight's dynamite

Hook vs Samoa Joe main event, ok I'm totally not nervous at all. This video package feels like it's a ppv. Ok but Hook's voice 😍 he needs to talk more. His slow walk oml.

Christian Cage vs Dustin Rhodes where did this match come from. I hate how Christian walks and I don't know why. Nick Wayne though 😍. Dustin's theme reminds of his Goldust theme. I honestly think Christian is going to win. Christian got yeeted over those steps oml. I feel like Dustin has been wrestling for 100 years, but I might actually cry when he retires. Hopefully he has a match for his retirement match. Not Nick trying to cheat. Yes Dustin, yambag jones, yambag city like Taz said. Dustin beat Nick's ass. Yess, get Nick out of here. (I love you Nick) Christian taking Adam's move 🫨 what did I say Christian was gonna win.

Who's house? Swerve's house! The way Swerve laughs is so weird to me. Renee looks sooooo pretty tonight. Did Swerve quote Harry Styles or am I going insane. Swerve's house!

Just looking at S🤮mmy passes me off. From what I've heard about Jericho recently I don't like him. A pizza cutter? Maybe he will cut your hair. Sydallllll!!!! Sydal beat Jericho before? Never knew that. At least we get to see Sydal.

Orange Cassidy and Trent with Chuck say whatttt... since when was he back. Hopefully OC and Trent win. Oh wait Penta and Komander... this match is gonna be a banger. Trust me I know bangers. Cero Miedo! I love that Rey's back too. Classic OC. I think my dogs like wrestling because whenever wrestling is on they have to wrestle to. They even do their own promos. Ok sorry back to the actual match. I hate picture in picture I get distracted by the commercials. So far I've been right about the winnings for 2 matches. Let's see how many more I can get. Bruh the undisputed kingdom can suck a fat one. Roddy shut the fuck up. Why are YOU trying to tell him what to do. Belongs to you? Bitch what? I agree with the other fans. OC another match?

Hangman you look different, did you dye your hair? Grow a mustache? Again Renee is sooo pretty. He doesn't think about Swerve? Yeah right. Hangman never threaten HOOK like that again.

This might make me cry. Rip Jay. Rest in Heaven. Poor Mark, he already looks emotional. #DemBoys period girl!! Good for you! The love Mark has for his niece is so cute. Now I'm gonna cry for real. The fact that Jay was a family man breaks my heart.

The bucks? What the hell happened to their faces. Nicholas and Matthew is crazyyyyy. Hypothetical he's using that word to much fr. Stiiiiiiiinnnnngggggggg. #changetheworld the shade towards cm punk is my favorite thing. Sweetheart is crazy.

Bullet club gold. Honestly I only like Jay. Mogul embassy? This match is gonna go crazy. I loveee Prince Nana. I think Toa missed. BCG won, knew that was gonna happen. We love Bowens btw. Scissor me Daddy Ass.

Wardlow? Adam Cole? Get off my screen sellouts.

Toni on commentary? Oml i love her but her gimmick gets irritating after awhile in my opinion. Deonna vs Anna? Deonna has to win. If I see anyone make comments about Deonna I will personally beat you the fuck up. What does virtuosa even mean? Yes Deonna as you should. Toni's faces are sooo funny bro. Poor Luther. Right in the what? Poor Taz. They must have been watching a telenovela. (I'm mexican I can make that joke)

Top Flight vs Private Party? I want Top Flight to win, butttt I think PP is going to win since Marq Quen is back. Idk I just hope both teams have fun. I loveeee PP's theme. Aww he gave away his durag. Same thing with TF's theme. I've been loving Darius' hair braided. What did Taz call them? I love when Zay does that little scream. Wasn't Darius on the ropes? Andretti? We love him too.

Hook vs Joe? Bae's gotta win this. Come on Hook. Hook looks so majestic. I'm gonna cry my poor Hookie. Joe you didn't have to actually have to kill him.

[pollyperks]

honestly I wish huntlow got a kiss just to stick it to the antis. it feels like m/f ships are getting pushed to the side in the show and in the fandom to prioritise same sex ones and it's honestly weird. like they get one kiss and are on their high horse for the rest of it

yeah, i mean, long answer, sorry it took 3 days, but i know i'm personally totally squealing happy with what we got and i'm just ?????? confuzzled over people saying that it could be platonic? because they didn't kiss? does that mean raida is platonic too? no kiss on the lips???? lmao platonic lap sitting but seriously. i'm gay i want representation i'm super happy that lumity got kisses and that raida happened like i'm not bitter at all about those ships being canon i'm super super happy! and the huntlow content we got was freaking adorable. but if they got a kiss then antis would probably find some way to say it was one-sided or non consensual or whatever, WHATEVER ANTIS! anyway, luz is obviously the protag so her romance should take front and center but it does feel a little weird when peeps are like 'omg gus and mattholomule (sp? i don't care enough about him) and omg darius and alador' like that's another confuzzlement when 3 second interaction=canon when it platonic hand holding durrr. but tumblr has always loved its slash shipping so why am i even pretending to be surprised idk

also?????? why do these people not want willow to have things? like, i'm trying to think of another show where the side character who is plus sized (and wow is it ever more acceptable for men to be large!!!!) ends up with the 'bad but sad boy' (or a serious love interest at all ughhhhh don't@me with grenda from gf) like bad boys (i mean, calling hunter 'bad' sort of makes me crack up, but that's how he was introduced and he has the appearance down) usually either end up with the protag or in a love triangle with the protag, not with a character like willow. even if willow is buff as fuck in the timeskip, she's still muscular and of a larger build than the other girls, so i love love love love love that for her and why do people want to say huntlow is platonic when it's super great to have not only that body representation in an animated show but to punch the idea in the face that those characters shouldn't be able to experience love interests like everyone else?

(also hunter's relationship with willow and gus was part of what really pulled him into the group so it makes sense from a writing standpoint if they wanted either of them to have a love interest for it to be with each other)

so yeah idk i haven't seen anyone on their high horse exactly, mostly just people being happy about their ships! and their same sex ships! but the antis are driving me nuts they're not here to be happy about anything they just want to scream about how huntlow sucks and isn't real and i think half the time (and this might be what you were talking about anon) they just don't want it to be canon because it's m/f and that's...why don't they just take their hate and push it somewhere else?

unfortunately we just have to try not to listen and find the good content

[itsagirlwithglasses]

✨ B O O K R E V I E W ✨

📖 Zodiac Academy: Book 1-7

✍️ Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valentti

ZA1: 5/5 ⭐️ 2/5 🌶

ZA2: 5/5 ⭐️ 3/5 🌶

ZA3: 5/5 ⭐️ 5/5 🌶

ZA4: 4.5/5⭐️ 5/5 🌶

ZA5: 4/5 ⭐️ 5/5 🌶

ZA6: 5/5 ⭐️ 4/5 🌶

ZA7: 4/5 ⭐️ 5/5 🌶

⚠️ MIGHT CONTAIN SPOILERS

💭📝 THOUGHTS:

This whole series is a great concept and I think the authors were extremely smart because I was HOOKED from book one.

The downsides of this series so far have been how long the books are considering the time span in each of them. A lot happens in a short amount of time and the multiple PoVs — although helpful (to really understand the characters) — sometimes made the story a little confusing, and even unnecessary at times.

Now, this series has some of the best characters/relationship developments I’ve ever read.

I want to shoutout some of my favorites:

Seth Capella — the absolute shocker — to me — because I never thought I would grow to love this wolfie boy as much I do and how I’m rooting so hard for him with Bitey C. He’s such a controversial character — specially after the first books — but the way we finally get to see him for who he really is, it’s a total game changer.

Xavier Acrux — I cannot see Xavier as anything other than a little brother and even tho he wasn’t present in the first books he never failed to make me laugh. He’s the clumsiest, most poor timing baby and I came to care so badly for him.

Geraldine Grus — my girl Gerry and her way of speaking is something that I’ll never get tired of reading and laughing along. My heart almost broke in the end of book 7 because I thought we had lost her but to know that she lives it made me truly happy. She is the kind of character that you think will never grow on you but then clings to you like crazy. I love her craziness and her loyalty and how real and humble she is.

Seth/Caleb — tell me why I absolutely hate miscommunication trope but whenever these two come around I just wanna scream. I absolutely love them and I’m always craving their POVs. Although it pisses me off at time I think it is just right for their characters.

Lance/Darcy — talk about a teacher/student relationship! They are honestly so cute together and we all knew they were meant to be together either way but oh my god, not even after being mates the stars made it easier for them! And my heart always breaks for these two.

Gerry/Max — probably the funniest couple/fling ever! Gerry is already a funny character, and then Max is just so soft heart for her and it makes me so happy every time they are together!

Darius/Tory — the ultimate enemies to lovers! But oh no, they are so toxic together! 😂 I still live for all the spice tho, and I felt that with the ending of book 7 things will change even more for them!

The heirs — I was very glad to see the change in all the heirs after the first books once they realized they were all fighting for the same purpose with the twins and not the other way around! Darius was probably the only one who was still too stubborn to see it — even until the end of book 7 — but it made me happy to see the rest of them finally aligning together.

Overall, it is a very addicting series with a lot of things going on at all times. It has the spice, it has a lot of different tropes, and I feel like it is worth giving it a shot!

Prepare yourself for a lot of death, abuse and violence! I feel like this triggers should be taken into consideration before diving into it! ❤️

[cyarsk52-20]

Y'all keep talking about how Darius Dalton is traditional man, but a real traditional man wouldn't have embarrassed the mother of his child publicly. A real traditional man would've never bring shit the internet and had others even chiming into his family affairs, but whatever. If he was upset then he should have made it a private conversation not a public spectacle . Imagine if I had a man who had embarrassed me for wearing a long black dress and I was at some concert with(insert male performer) performing, he pulls me on to the stage and I’m serenaded, he’s not really upset about me wearing the black dress he’s just insecure and jealous about the fact that some good looking and talented man is singing to me (or rapping or both) and he has the nerve to talk about traditional values on social media when he doesn’t have a job and doesn’t provide. That would be the first and last time he’ll humiliate me like this, I’m not your doormat or your plaything dude. If you’re a real man you would have handled this in private

this jonah hill / darius dalton situation is exposing all the people who have never had healthy relationships and that jealous insecure men exist at all levels (wealthy or not.) it would require them to admit they do the same or how people in their own romantic lives do the same. if you got men like these two, cut it off. (Oh and the same thing for the men who are dealing with this too because women can be controlling too I ain’t forgotten about that okay)

Between this and Keke bd I say we have a full stop on straight men until we figure out what the hell’s going on.

And to all the straight guys who are going to say “that’s not me”, if you’re one of the good ones, this statement doesn’t apply to you.

If Darius Dalton really did have a problem with her outfit, you know what he could've done that didn't make him a total ass? Talked to her about it in private. Cause thats what ppl in relationships do. It's the fact that your FIRST thought was to SHAME you wife on the internet.

and for a “traditional man” he’s not showing any examples of traditional men like being a provider and getting a job and asking his baby mother for his hand in marriage. Plus traditional men don’t have children before marriage and even with that traditional men shouldn’t shame their wives/girlfriends or life partners for what they wear or anything because that’s controlling behavior

he’s is proving Beyoncé’s point!!! IF YOU LIKE IT, THEN YOU SHOULD’VE PUT A RING ON IT!!! TUH

Don’t date a baddie if you can’t handle it young man.

I am going to giggle very loud when we get that “Keke Palmer has separated from Darius Dalton” tweet from all the pop news accounts

[thousand-winters]

20 questions for fic authors

Thank you for tagging me, @candyskiez!!! I shall use this wisely (to procrastinate. And to ramble because I love rambling). Tagging @pascal-oswell @justmagicalgirl and @drbtinglecannon if you wanna do it, if not, that's okay!

1. How many fics do you have on ao3?

36, which would probably be insane to me a couple of years ago, but they're nothing compared to the amount of wips I have, enlisted or not (please, send help).

2. What's your total ao3 word count?

170,058! Nice

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Mainly The Owl House.

I have a couple of fics for the Shadowhunter Chronicles, mostly The Last Hours (though I do have a Wicked Powers wip) but I haven't had the most pleasant experiences in the TSC fandom so that'll probably be it.

Oh! I do have 4-ish Mob Psycho 100 fics in the works and a Star Wars one.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

So, what was your name again? No surprises there, it's still lowkey insane to me how much attention that one got

Sentimental, grieving to survive: I think we all were longing for the family reunions after Thanks to Them, so I get it too

Operation 'Make Darius like me': If I had to pick something as my fic writing legacy, it would be Hunter causing Darius psychic damage by saying"meow-meow" in the most deadpan expression in the world

Long lost lies: I remember being sooo excited to write this one and then having a mental illness episode in the middle of it so overall it's funny it came out nice

An unsung melody, mine for safekeeping: I think this was like my third fic??? And it's just pure fluff so... really nice to have it here

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do! I cherish each comment dearly so I try to reply to them all within the week. Though I have been going Through It the past couple of months, so I've been falling behind on that :( I love them tho, I'm kinda sad when I don't get any

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Okay, it's either "Loyalty Binds you" or one of my puppet Dadrius reunions which is, in retrospective, incredibly funny because I wrote those 3 one after the other, no hurt/comfort to be found.

I would argue the puppet ones have some hopeful undertones tho, so perhaps "Loyalty Binds you", especially because there's no hopeful ending in sight unless the whim strikes me to write it. It exists. In my head.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I write SUCH cheesy endings, you have no idea, I'm generally not one to leave things in a sad note because I'm too soft for that. But if I have to pick, I woud say "So, what was your name again?" if only because the ending is happy like in most of my fics, but this one, because it's a reunion fic, has a ecstatic sort of quality, I would say.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I have gotten a couple of weird comments, but not hate, no.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Girl, I can barely write people kissing, this is asking too much from me. In all seriousness, I mostly write found family, so no smut here.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

Same as candyskiez said, I prefer to write AUs in the setting of other media. I think crossovers can be fun but most of them aren't my thing, ngl.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Once as far as I know. When I went to ask the person to take it down, they deleted their whole profile so... win?

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Someone asked me once for permission to translate a fic to Russian, I believe, but I'm not sure if they went through with it.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Not really, but Will and I should really get on with the one we have planned. To be fair, I have not replied our unhinged planning in a While™ so it's mostly on me. Oops.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

I don't think I have one. Half of the ships I like don't compel me to read fics about them and the other half feel to fresh to even begin to compete as all-time favorite.

If I had to pick tho, I'm going with Cecilos because they meant everything to me from like 14-17.

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

All of them /j

Okay, kidding, I have been so exhausted lately in the writing department buuuut probably "Children of Dust and Ashes". I still love the concept and ideas I had for it but the one other person who cared about it is an ex-friend and as I mentioned before, TSC is a tricky fandom for me so I don't think I can cheerlead myself into finishing this one. I'm sorry to the like... 2 people who seemed interested.

16. What's your writing strengths?

You think I know myself that much? /j

Um. I'm gonna say characterization? I don't think it's perfect, but I do try to keep it consistent and it's something people have praised before so let's go with it.

17. What's your writing weaknesses?

In theory I know a shit ton of vocabulary. In practice, I feel like the language I use is too basic, which I blame a bit on the language barrier, and my descriptions too simple, which is a problem for me in Spanish as well, so that one is all me lmao.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I eat that shit up. Of course, I think it also depends on the context, keep it consistent! Like if a character canonically sprinkles their speech with words/sentences in their own language, one should absolutely strive to imitate that.

I think adding the translations at the end as a note works well.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

In general in life? Lord of the Rings, especifically, about Gimli, he was my guy.

Actually posting online? I'm. Huh. I'd rather not say... I'm willing to say the second one was Voltron Legendary Defender, so you can imagine how bad the first one must have been.

20. Favorite fic you've ever written?

"Loving Echoes (In loving memory of Emperor Belos)" is one I was super fond of when I wrote it and I still think back to it when considering my best pieces. I just really liked writing the speech/monologue there.

[sepublic]

I know people joke about Alador screwing up Eda and Darius’ plans to keep the kids safe by taking them directly to Belos, but at the same time... He only did that to rescue Luz, and likewise, the kids were definitely going to the skull to save Luz regardless of permission. No kid should get left behind, so I think Eda and Darius can at least understand why Alador did that, he wasn’t just being reckless with the kids for no reason! And if Alador hadn’t taken the kids with him, he wouldn’t have made it to the skull due to the draining spell... Which means Luz would’ve died without backup. So Al very much saved her life in letting her friends tags along.

Considering Eda dropped everything and went with King to save Luz as early as the show’s second episode, I think she’d ultimately appreciate the effort, or at least have to admit that she couldn’t have done anything differently in good faith, and risk jeopardizing Luz like that; Alador eventually had to send the kids in his place. Same for Darius, because of empathy; Though I wouldn’t be totally shocked if Alador blames himself regardless, he self-berated over those Abomatons after all.

And the kids aren’t around to vouch for him, nor does anyone know they’re alive at all... So it might seem like Alador got all of the kids killed to save just one, but even then. If it was for Luz... Yeah. But don’t let that stop Al from blaming himself for his daughter’s death after finally getting the chance to make things right with her, and being relieved and pained that at least he left the twins out of this!

[alstroemeriadissonance]

I really, really like your analysis of Vyn. It's nice to see a balanced take on it.

I think you have a really good point about what he chooses to do. I think something else to mention to that point is his work in the mental health field. It says a lot about him that as much as he hates imperfections and things that are broken, he tries to heal people who have been broken.

He's a very complex and fascinating character. But that being said, he's an incredibly large redflag who apparently has yet to realize that playing puppet master, since that seems to be his game, might come back to bite him.

Thanks very much! I'm glad I managed to put my point across with my obsessed babbling haha

And YES, can't believe I totally missed touching on his god complex and his need for control. That's one red-flaggy tendency that Vyn possesses and consistently does (being quite unrepentant about it too).

He does temper it by respecting the individual's need for freedom. Vyn, with all his questions asking Rosa if she would choose to stay with him, should the chips fall down ("If we must go against the world, will you choose to stand beside me?") implies that he will respect her choices, even if that choice involves knocking down what he had painstakingly built--controlled--to foster their relationship (their happy ending).

We do get some foreshadowing that Vyn may suffer consequences as a result of his god complex shenanigans. Kirstie from Near and Far for example hints at Vyn--the more insane one between the two of them, she said--eventually crawling on the ground one day. Darius in Vyn's Personal Chapter 3 is kinder with his words, but basically says the same thing: his god complex tendencies will come to bite him in the ass, because people will not always act upon his expectations.

I think what Darius said sort of reached Vyn--it did influence his phone call to Rosa during that morning when Vyn got slandered in the net.

Thanks for pointing this out (and giving me another opportunity to talk more Vyn ehe)