#to differentiate him from my other summoner oc | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

monodramatic-cannibal · 3 months ago

Text

Refs done for my UToc :DD He's called Nix-Ceto. His blaster's don't really have names, but oh well lol.

He's open for asks and such, I also don't mind ocs interacting as well. (also I don't mind others ocs being related to his lore either lol)

More info under the cut

Head canon voice: toe - グッドバイ / Goodbye

More info on his design:

His height is 5,9

Late 20s early 30s in terms of age (will edit if I choose an age), a little bit younger than most Sanses.

His clothing is made of somewhat waterproof fabric, so when water is available he may use it to travel as he finds it quicker to move around due to his tail allowing him to swim quicker

Tends to have triangle symbolism on his clothes that he wears, he does this subconsciously.

25% of the time he will have the fish blaster’s out just swimming along the air beside him. For no reason other than he likes watching them move around.

The sword and its case is something he can summon/desummon as well. But tends to have it with him 50% of the time since it does have a shoulder strap to carry it.

When his eyes flare with magic it flashes/fades back and forth from yellow to blue.His ecto colour is also blue on the outside and yellow in the middle. (sort of like the fish blasters ecto)

Will randomly lose teeth, but due to having shark teeth/very similar mouth to sharks the tooth will quickly be replaced.

Despite the somewhat formal fashion sense he tends to look a bit scruffy, hates it if anyone tells him to tidy himself up.

The gaster blasters are inspired by how @.tinylittlefox1 (Twitter) draws gaster blasters. What his gaster blaster sounds like (The 'fish' blaster's don't have a noise yet)

-----------

His magic:

Is able to summon multiple gaster blasters like normal Sanses, as well as the bone attacks and blue attacks.

His gaster blasters can go against his orders though, often doing different attacks e.g. instead of shooting a beam at someone they may bite someone instead. They might also not attack if Nix-Ceto doesn’t truly want to fight someone, or if someone had befriended the blasters.

Ceto also has two extra summons, in the ‘fish’ blasters, these can’t shoot beams but can create barriers/shields, can be used for multiple things, such as blocking attacks, trapping people, creating bridges, etc. He has more control over the fish blasters, but tends to let them do their own thing, since they seem to know the best times of when to defend him.

His other summon is his sword. His sword having a water effect whenever he swings it, and seems to create water when swinging it too, the more he swings it/the longer he uses it in a fight the more water it produces. Which Ceto will use to help in fights such as flicking this water in peoples faces to hopefully blind them for a second.

-----------

Nix-Ceto (can have the nickname of Nix or Ceto) is a Sans that came from an au where he didn’t feel like he belonged, having a very hazy memory, and no memories of childhood. It turning out he came from a different au, and basically took the place of the Sans in this new au. He still did care for the friends in this au, and still viewed the Papyrus as his brother. But finding out he didn’t really belong here it inspired him to try to find where he did come from.

After an encounter with Dream, Dream helped him discover the fact he has the ability to open portals to other aus. Which leads him to now take the nickname Nix-Ceto to differentiate himself from the other Sanses. Out of respect for Dream he also goes round dealing with the smaller problems that don’t have the attention of the multiverse guardians/The Star-Sanses. He does this to try to relieve Dream of some stress not having more problems, and also because Nix wants more allies on his side, via helping aus out.

Over time his focus became less on trying to find his og au and more so just making memories and figuring out secrets and mysteries within the multiverse.

Nix-Ceto is described as a quiet cold individual by most people that meet him. But the few that actually take time to get to know him a little bit better discover he is an individual that cares a lot for others, that is willing to fight alongside others to help them achieve their hopes and dreams. Though the ones who get to know him also complain about the fact he never says goodbye when leaving.

Ceto never says goodbye since he thinks goodbyes are sad. What's the point in saying goodbye if they might meet again, and what's the point in saying goodbye if you're not to meet again. Ceto has a realistic view on life, verging into pessimistic way of viewing things. But he still holds onto what he views as good, and cherishes connections that he makes in the multiverse.

He doesn’t mind teaming up with others, and wouldn’t mind if others were to travel with him from time to time. Him often acting as a beacon of hope for others who want to see the multiverse and find their place. Ceto has seen plenty of travel partners come and go, and tends to remember each of them, and will even pass along their stories not letting the memories of their adventures go.

Most aus he goes to tend to be pacifist or neutral. Since there's not much he can do for a genocide au, the only time he may go to a geno au is if it's getting destroyed by an outside source, he will often help move people into the omega timeline. Most aus he tends to try not to get attached too, since he knows he will only be moving onto the next very soon. But other than 'his own', he got a soft spot for the au 'Oceantale', even though everything is underwater in the au he has no problem moving around due to his shark tail. With Oceantale he also gets a feel of familiarity, though he isn't sure why, he assumes it's because maybe he was originally from an au that heavily involves water, but he isn't too sure on that. Just generally any au with some ocean theme, or aus that take place on the surface involving water he tends to like more than other aus.

-----------

Can either go by Nix, or Ceto as nicknames, most people tend to use Nix for him. Is sometimes thrown off by people using his full name if he's used to having that person use a nickname for him.

He often doesn't take many breaks when traveling around the multiverse. Often it's his companions who force him to take a break. He doesn't have too much he likes to do in his free time, but does try to take part in whatever one of his companions are doing in their free time.

He does enjoy music, often listening to quieter songs, most songs either with no vocals or with soft vocals in them. Preferring the music itself rather than a singer.

When it comes to food he's mostly not picky, he can make food himself, but it's normally 'decent', will often let companions he travels with make food instead. Though when feeling home sick he often misses food he'd make with Paps. Making a mental note to go visit his 'au'.

Doesn't tend to carry much, often may carry supplies with him, but tries to pack very lightly. This means he doesn't really like carrying anything around that he deems as unnecessary. Meaning if any aus try to give him gifts for helping he will often refuse, since it's normally gifts that aren't practical for him. Will normally accept food as gifts though, or generally supplies he will actually use.

One of the companions he travels with frequently is Tanue. Tanue has been a constant thorn in his side since they met. Basically since Tanue realized Nix could travel around aus without help from one of the multiverse guardians/outcodes Tanue has been using Nix like an multiverse taxi. Nix at first was a little annoyed about being used like that, but over time the two got to know each other. And Nix holds a little bit of respect for Tanue, only a little. Nix will be one of the first to admit that Tanue has a good heart, and knows what he wants from life. Nix is a little jealous of Tanue in the regard of knows who he is and what he wants from life. But he doesn't let that effect their friendship. Nix travels around to solve problems, but Tanue often ends up being a problem himself, due to Tanue's love for fighting. But Nix due to so much time with Tanue is able to reel Tanue back in.

-----------

(if anyone wants to have any of their utau oc’s lore connected to Nix-Ceto’s story, e.g. as one of the people who traveled with him or is currently traveling with him, go for it lol. I don’t mind peoples ocs interacting with mine.)

(also this info on him might be subject to change, and I may add more to it over time lol)

69 notes · View notes

hythlodaeus-mynewoldfriend · 1 year ago

Text

I have a few other ancient ocs but this isn’t for them. So! Have my boy Deimos!

He’s a summoner that studied under Lahabrea to try and differentiate himself from his cousin/brother Emet-Selch. He’s got the energy of a cooped up working dog and it led him to be dropped off with Venat who was impressed with his skills and took him on as her successor. He’s a bit reckless and only a few inches taller than Elidibus. When he was working on trying to find a way to stop the final days he split himself in two resulting in there being two of him when the sundering happened and therefore two WoLs. I don’t have any other good shots on my phone so apologies you get my edit 😅

To all of you who have an Azem/Ancient design for your WoL/FFXIV OC: I wish you a very can I see them and tell me their names/lore.

#deimos oc #endwalker spoilers

433 notes · View notes

iaintyourbro · 3 years ago

Text

The Unknown Journey Continues

Part 1

I know it's been a while... but I've been going down a rabbit hole with @starlight-samurai regarding time loops, Jenova, Minerva, and more fun. So I figured I'd try to put it into one post to get the insanity out of my head. Everything in here is based on things we've found by either going through more obscure Ultimanias, learning more about Dirge of Cerberus and trying to decipher what the hell Jenova is by putting together various sources - including other Square Enix games - and how they handled freakishly similar scenarios.

Did you know there is a companion mobile game for it that was out on the good old flip phones? Did you know there was an online mode in Dirge of Cerberus only available in Japan, but had story elements that were not in the main game?

The sad part is, there's still so much to go through...

(I've also had various discussions with @ourfinalheaven, Manu, who doesn't have Tumblr, so here is her Twitter. and Somebody's Nightmare (here is her Twitter). So I wanted to tag them here, as it's much more fun to discuss these ideas as a group, since it'll only help you build on and strengthen your own ideas.)

Please be aware, there will be Spoilers for FFVII - Almost all Compilation titles, Xenogears, and NieR Automata throughout this.

So let's go on a journey where we explore what actually already exists in the compilation - including the idea of the whispers and timeloops - how Minerva may play into everything, and what exactly Jenova is capable of doing.

I asked Sesi if he'd ever played any of the NieR games, because he'd said something that made me wonder if they were going to take a similar approach. As a very, very quick high level summary: NieR Automata deals with a time loop type of idea. The androids will be rebooted and repeat the same things over and over again. This is broken when 2B is killed by A2 because she becomes infected with a virus. That being said, you have the option after Ending E to either erase all of your data and end the cycle OR you can try again. The Pods have a discussion, and one asks, "But won't they just do the same thing again?" and the other replies with "Maybe. But it could also be different this time."

Here's Sesi's message back to me when I asked him about this (cleaned up a bit since we were having a casual conversation over Discord):

Maybe I could just guess based comparatively on the Dirge storyline, because that was sort of SE's first flirtation with “robots and androids” since they’re all programmed and locked behind like task managers and shit that can shut them down. The story of the online mode for DoC that came out in Japan, we never got to see it, you’re basically an Android OC and you have to get to “the end of the level” and then essentially die, and a new one takes its place. This keeps happening until Weiss is essentially freed from being able to be task managed by the guys who are suppose to be able to control them and I know from tons of years with Square games that they’re verrrrry bad at differentiating their narratives they tend to just keep “ripping themselves off” so is it anything close to that?

Cuz if so I think I kinda know what you’re saying and yeah, I agree, I think with CC bringing in its poetic symbolism and LOVELESS, and DoC bringing back the cyclic nature of the lore, whispers, premonitions and future visions, proto-Materia and the perversion of this next cycle since the planet can no longer cleanse and protect itself and its will is weakening lesser and lesser to the point where it’s fate is “in a true sense of jeopardy This time essentially it’s all tied in together and sort of played as though it's a fated track; a cycle of events and something has hitched it, thus the whispers manifesting and Sephiroth's higher implied control over his destiny. Of course, even all that is just their new red herring game, but it’s definitely a part of the lore they want to play with, in order to go back and reMAKE the OG with the comp inserted from inception. Also gut punch a lot.

Time Loops

I was somewhat surprised to find out that this concept is NOT new to FFVII's universe. It's discussed in Dirge of Cerberus... probably one of the least played and least understood of the compilation. (Trying to sell a third person shooter with terrible controls to a market of mostly people used to turn-based combat wasn't going to go well.)

On top of it, we didn't even get all of it, since online mode was never released outside of Japan, and the Dirge of Cerberus Lost Episode was on Amp'd Mobile and Verizon flip phones back in 2006. Were you around for the cell phones in 2006? I had the ones on the list, and how somebody could play a game on those blows my mind.

Square has a tendency to reuse themes from their other titles. Probably one of the most blatant is the similarities between Xenogears and Final Fantasy VII. They were both being developed at the same time and a lot of ideas that didn't make it into FFVII ended up in Xenogears.

NieR

So how does this work? In NieR (both Replicant and Automata), you play the same path multiple times. Each time, it's slightly different depending on what side quests you did your first and second playthrough, but there's also other subtle differences throughout the story. In Automata, you get to play as 2B your first playthrough and 9S for your second. They follow the same path, but you get it from his perspective the second time and it reveals a bit more of what is going on. However, even with some slight differences, the main plot points stay the same and the ending result it also the same.

Then on your third playthrough, you wake up in the Bunker, and you're getting ready to go on a new mission. This time, though, 2B is killed and shit hits the fan. Things get crazy, you play as a new character: A2. In the end, pretty much everyone "dies", but you can choose to "reboot" and try again. You also can say you are done and let them all rest and delete your save data (the game gives you the option for both Automata and Replicant, and with Replicant, it actually leads to a new ending).

The striking thing for me is... There are certain events that will always happen, no matter what.

Fixed Points in Time

It's been years since I've watched Doctor Who, but there was something that stuck with me, and that was the fixed points in time. You can read about all of them here, but here's the basics:

Now, of course Doctor Who goes into this with much more detail and it's a recurring theme. However, as you read through that page, you'll probably find many aspects that have been used in various JRPGs that you've played. And Doctor Who most likely pulled some of the idea from classic Science Fiction novels. Each story puts its own spin on it.

How does this relate to FFVII Remake? Well, when they say that the major plot points will stay the same, it reminds me of this. No matter what, Cloud must fall into the Sector 5 Church, the Sector 7 Plate must be dropped, Aerith and Zack both must die, and Meteor has to be summoned, to name a few. So, with a time loop, those things would still have to take place in order to prevent a complete collapse of reality (at least in how Doctor Who uses it).

Therefore, the Whispers are ensuring that the Will of the Planet is followed.

One of the major themes in FFVII is that of loss. People die and they do not come back. Yes, other FF games do allow this to happen (FFX, FFXIII, FFXV), but VII is not those games. It was written with that idea in mind, that once a person dies, they, just like in real life, are dead and cannot be brought back.

I've previously written that I think they'll make us believe we are able to change fate, but we will eventually be slammed with the reality that we can't. That is because the planet has determined that certain events are fixed points.

Xenogears

Xenogears takes a bit of a different approach to the loop idea. Instead of repeating the same time period over and over, it has the characters reincarnated, and the same outcome happens each time: Elly dies. However, each time it's different. After all, they're in various time periods, in some cases thousands of years apart.

In all of the lives of Fei (who will have a different name in each time period) and Elly (who is always Elly/Elhaym), Elly will end up dying trying to protect Fei and the others. In one life, she is a religious figure at a totally not Catholic church, in another she's the wife of a scientist who was working to create children from nanomachines due to mass infertility issues. But she is ALWAYS with Fei, even if his name changes.

In her Mother Elhaym time, this is when Lacan (Fei) finally snaps. Though he's not fully aware of his past lives, he becomes aware, the anger consumes him, and he becomes Grahf. Fei is then reborn into the time period you play the game in.

There's a lot to unpack with this, so I won't go into it. Grahf wants to destroy God (Deus) because he thinks if he does, then it'll stop the suffering (his suffering).

If you do want to read more about Grahf, you can do so here, but it probably won't make much sense unless you've played Xenogears up to that point... Since it's much later in the game that this is all explained.

Lacan's desire was to stop the cycle of Elly always sacrificing herself for his sake. Though Grahf is not a perfect existence - he's not fully "The Contact", he sacrifices himself in order to let Fei move forward, and hopefully stop the cycle, by destroying the Deus system. (Elly also tries to sacrifice herself here, but Fei goes after her and stops her.)

Now, some people may think I'm saying that Cloud or somebody is going to do this in order to save Aerith or Zack (or his village or mom), but in FFVII if they do the loop method, I don't think Cloud, Tifa, Barret, and the others are aware of it. Most likely, it's only 'Sephiroth' and Aerith who are aware of it.

How this Could Be used for Final Fantasy VII

I'm stressing could because there's so many different possibilities on how they use this (if they are using this), so please, don't take this as fact. This is based on speculation based on what we know.

A time loop is a great way to explain away the differences in the story that we've seen: Biggs being alive, Wedge living for longer than he should have, etc. Since these are not major plot changes, they can simply say that this time it'll be slightly different... but your fixed points (major plot points) will remain the same.

It's a way to pull in some of the more obscure themes from Dirge of Cerberus and also play with the LOVELESS lore.

It could all simply be a big red herring and it's really just a remake of OG, but with the compilation tied together nicely... since it works much better when it's combined and not in 50 different games, books, movies, etc.

I don't think it's a "sequel" per say, not in the way I generally perceive a sequel. It's more of a loop of the same thing. The question is, when is the loop started and what will cause it to end? When will the planet (if it even is the planet) determine that it's good enough to begin moving forward?

JENOVA, Sephiroth, Genesis, and Minerva - Oh My!

Let's be real... Genesis isn't exactly the most popular character in the FFVII Compilation... but what if they make him one of the most important to the story? //Ducks as various fruits and vegetable are thrown in my direction//

I think what Genesis is probably most known for is his love of LOVELESS. He has the entire thing memorized and randomly says lines from it throughout Crisis Core. LOVELESS lore is still something I'm trying to grasp, so I am not going to comment much on it. Once I understand it more, I'll update this.

...And then this happens. The secret ending for Dirge of Cerberus, where Genesis picks up Weiss. Weiss, who has now been introduced along with Nero in FFVII INTERmission and is an optional ridiculously hard boss in the Shinra battle simulator in chapter 17 of the main story. There is some lore associated with the battle sim - so if you don't plan on beating it or you just can't, you can look up the pre-battle and post-battle cut scenes on YouTube. They're very short, but interesting. (I beat this asshole last night - it's a hell of a fight.)

....To Be Continued because apparently Tumblr won't allow more than 10 images per post now.... Next will be more on JENOVA and Sephiroth along with Minerva.

#ffvii #ffvii genesis #ff7 genesis #ff7 intergrade #ff7 intermission spoilers #FFVII intermission spoilers #FFVII Intermission #Final Fantasy VII #Dirge of Cerberus #FFVII Weiss #Xenogears #nier automata #final fantasy vii #ff7r #final fantasy 7 #timey wimey

68 notes · View notes

lov3nerdstuff · 4 years ago

Text

Voluptas Noctis Aeternae {Part 7.19}

*Severus Snape x OC*

Summary: It is the year 1983 when the ordinary life of Robin Mitchell takes a drastic turn: she is accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Despite the struggles of being a muggle-born in Slytherin, she soon discovers her passion for Potions, and even manages the impossible: gaining the favor of Severus Snape. Throughout the years, Robin finds that the not quite so ordinary Potions Professor goes from being a brooding stranger to being more than she had ever deemed possible. An ally, a mentor, a friend... and eventually, the person she loves the most. Through adventure, prophecies and the little struggles of daily life in a castle full of mysteries, Robin chooses a path for herself, an unlikely friendship blossoms into something more, and two people abandoned by the world can finally find a home.

General warnings: professor x student, blood, violence, trauma, neglectful families, bullying, cursing

Words: 6.3k

Read Part 1.1 here! All Parts can be found on the Masterlist!

______________________________

Snape held up his own glass while quirking an eyebrow at her, then summoned the first bottle from one of the shelves. "We shall start easy. This is an ordinary dry wine."

Robin held out her glass for him to fill, then waited while he did the same with his. "Cheers then." She gave him a smile, clinking her glass to his before moving to take a sip. The taste was entirely different than what she had imagined, but very pleasant nonetheless. Fruity in a way, but not sweet, not at all like juice… but it didn't burn either. She took another sip, both because she quite enjoyed the taste and to differentiate between the many combined flavors.

"How do you like it?" He inquired after another moment, having finished his drink as well. There really hadn't been much in the glasses in the first place, but they were only testing things after all. For now.

"It tastes like classical literature, with a touch of night and the smell of rain." She smiled down at her empty glass, then up at Snape again. "I like it. A lot, actually."

"You certainly have a peculiar taste. I'm curious to see how this continues. A sweet wine next, perhaps?" Now it was him who didn't wait for an answer, and went to pour them the next sample. The smell of this wine was different from the previous one already, and when Robin took a sip, she pulled a face immediately.

"This just tastes like grape juice with a dash of headache." She mused down at her glass, contemplating if she even wanted to finish the rest of it. It wasn't horrible, alright, but just by far not as good as the previous one. With a small sigh, she gulped down the rest of it as well, then shuddered a little. Right… small sips.

Snape just snorted at her move, and finished his drink as well. "I have to admit, this isn't my choice of liquor either."

"Why do you own it then, if you don't like it?"

"It was a gift from Dumbledore. Or rather a bribe, considering that he expected me to do him a favour in return."

"Uuh, what did he want you to do?" Robin's eyes lit up in curiosity, and her grin spread over her entire face while Snape went to pour an amber liquid into their glasses next, after cleaning them out with a spell; probably the same they used for the cauldrons.

"You would like to know that, wouldn't you?" He asked in amusement, and Robin tried to glare at him but couldn't convey the hostility at all, especially not when she finally couldn't help laughing a few seconds later.

"You really are insufferable! And yes, I would like to know… I'm just not sure if begging or playing uninterested will do the trick for you."

"Neither, likely, but I will spare you the efforts of finding out for sure. He wanted me to deliver a letter to someone in Hogsmeade one night, without asking questions. I didn't ask, but I didn't forget either."

"Sounds reasonable. Especially with Dumbledore."

"It was a long time ago. Now, try the next one and tell me what it tastes like."

"Fine…" Robin sighed and took a careful sip of the amber liquid, then frowned to herself while she thought. After having another sip and effectively emptying the glass, she decided that she liked it, in a way. "It tastes very sweet… like honey and a little like caramel. But it's got something wine-like to it too. The sweet one, not the dry one."

"Close. It's mead, which is a type of honey wine."

"Close indeed!" She grinned, and slowly started to notice how her head grew a bit fuzzy. Like someone was slowly starting to put cotton in between all her nerves, which made it both easier and more difficult to think at once. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling, but she was still somewhat weary of it. "I like it, but not as an all-evening kind of thing. More like… a snack in between."

"You really do have a peculiar taste."

"Why?"

"Most women I have encountered prefer the sweeter types."

"I've never been one for overly sweet." She shrugged, toning her own grin down to an amused smile. "Gets dull way too quickly."

"I have to agree, I'm not too fond of it either." He replied easily, then summoned the next bottle with the tiniest smirk. "It seems we have a similar taste then. How fortunate for you."

"Indeed, it's fortunate for you. Now you get to share all those lovely drinks with me instead of downing them alone."

"I definitely should have thought better of that beforehand." He sighed dramatically, pouring another amber liquid that had a clearer colour however. "Now I have doomed myself into sharing my alcohol with you for the times to come."

"As if that wasn't the intention behind this entire experiment in the first place…" Robin raised an eyebrow at him with a knowing smirk, then took a tiny sip of the golden liquid in her glass. It tasted almost like the firewhisky! But… earthier in a way, with less of a hot fiery burn and more of a tickling sharpness. "I like this one a lot. It's like the firewhisky, but with more nature in it. What is it?"

"Scotch."

"Ah, so that's why it's so similar!" Her eyes lit up, and her smile did too. "A magical whisky and a muggle whisky. Interesting comparison."

"I thought you should have an object of direct reference, at least."

"I certainly do now. It's different, but also very similar, and I appreciate that."

"I'm afraid that was the last sample I could provide for now." He said, then leaned back with a curious expression. "How would you evaluate the experiment?"

"Well, I really liked the Scotch and the dry wine. The mead was good but not for now, and the sweet wine… oh well." She thought, frowning to herself a little, which seemed to amuse Snape for some reason. "But I think for tonight I will stick with the firewhisky. Not that I should have much more in the first place, my head is already swimming as it is, and I'm feeling way too warm."

"You keep surprising me… But we have an agreement, so firewhisky it is. A good choice, actually." He said, then got up from the sofa and returned the other bottles to their places on the shelves. When he sat back down, he handed Robin a small vial filled with a dark purple liquid, then opened on for himself as well. "Drink this. It should keep your head from swimming as well as prevent some of the other… less favourable effects of the alcohol."

Robin did as he said, uncorking the vial carefully before gulping it down with a grimace. Disgusting stuff… it tasted bitter and rotten and all kinds of unpleasant. Snape however drank his without even pulling a face. As she put the stopper back into the fragile glass, she could already feel the fog in her head decreasing to a pleasant but still noticeable haze, and when she handed the vial back to him she couldn't help but frown at whatever he had just given her. She'd never heard of a potion like this… there were similar ones, mainly antidotes and neutralizers for toxins, but then again, alcohol was a toxin in a way, wasn't it? For a moment she pondered over various possibilities to alter different antidotes to have this effect on her, but she couldn't determine the exact components of the purple potion she had been given.

"Watching you think is quite entertaining, you know…" Snape finally remarked and thereby brought Robin's attention back to the outside world. "But hearing your thoughts is still by far preferable."

"Sorry." She chuckled softly, brushing the strand of hair she had been twisting around her finger back behind her ear. "I was just thinking that I've never heard of a potion that prevents intoxication, or slows it down at least. Which is ironic, really, considering how useful of a remedy that is!"

"Well, most people drink to get drunk, which obviously eradicates the necessity for a potion like this. I came up with it years ago, when I still frequented a different kind of company that made it necessary to keep a clear head at all times."

"You invented this?!" Robin's eyebrows rose up high in an instant, and a ridiculously large wave of admiration crashed over her in accordance. She decided to forego any inquiry about the company he had mentioned, for she had a decent idea of it already and no wish to let any sadness come up tonight. So she made no efforts to dim down her awe at his talent for once, and allowed herself to simply marvel. "That's incredible! Honestly, if it's not a common thing in existence as of yet, then I can't imagine it to have been easy to come up with in the first place! And it does work quite perfectly. Wow…"

"Will you stop gushing now…" He grumbled in obvious discomfort at the amount of positive attention and admiration he was receiving, and made an attempt to keep his eyes everywhere but on Robin after he'd put the vials down on a side table. "It's just a potion, not a deathcure."

"It's an extremely useful potion! And I'm absolutely certain that you could come up with a deathcure too, if only you wanted to."

"Nonsense. I invent things to solve the problems at hand, not because of some noble cause."

"I have seen only very few of your inventions and creations… I wish you would show me more. Will you, at some point?"

"I doubt that you would like them much. The potions I come up with serve rudimentary purposes, and the spells are more often curses or healing charms than anything of the impressive kind you have created." He huffed, still avoiding her eyes by staring into the flames in the fireplace with a scowl. Robin couldn't understand how he saw so very little of what she saw in him. How he refused to believe any sincere words of admiration. She would make him believe it, if he wanted to or not.

"Look at me. Please…" She tried, calmly, requesting it more than demanding him to.

No reaction, he remained sitting sideways on the sofa with one leg tucked beneath him, facing Robin in the same way as before, but his eyes were glued to the flames. Orange sparks dancing in pools of black.

"Look at me, Severus!" Robin's tone was more insistent this time, but again it was the use of his name that finally drew his eyes back to hers. She gave him a soft smile, and the utmost sincerity possible to convey with a gaze at times like this. "Everything I have seen of what you have created was bloody amazing. There isn't a single person in the world whose work I admire more. Who I admire more in general. I think your talent is incredible, as are your inventions, and it's a tragedy that you don't let people see that more often. And since I don't lie, you know you have to believe me… You know that I mean every word of it."

He didn't reply, but his eyes stayed on hers for a calm moment of drawn out breaths and the quiet sound of music, until finally he shifted in his spot on the sofa to move closer to her. Not much, only so that his knee was touching hers, only so that he could reach out to her without leaning forward. And he did, he lifted his hand to her face in a painful slowness, in careful reluctance, and when the back of his fingers ghosted over her cheekbone so very lightly, Robin couldn't stop the faintest gasp from escaping her lips as they parted on their own account. Her heart stood still as did time and thought, but when it were his eyes that flickered down to her lips for less than a broken second now, all stillness broke down into an untamed frenzy of eclectic emotions, and she remembered how to breathe when her heartbeat burst back into action. But it was mere two seconds later when his hand dropped again, and the corners of his lips lifted in the tiniest smile.

"You had ink on your skin; three black speckles on your cheek and two just above your lips. I thought you might want them gone." He finally commented, almost too quickly, too easily to be quite as nonchalant as he made it seem, but Robin was too concerned with her own emotions to try to analyze his as well right then. Bloody hell… he should not be allowed to do this to her, not when she so desperately wanted him to do more. But at least the moment had yet again been too brief for her to make a fool out of herself; that perhaps was the best outcome of it, even if her heart wanted to object. Gods, she loved every second of his touch, no matter the reason, no matter the outcome.

"Oh." Was the most eloquent reply she could muster up the will to give, and as much as she wanted to refrain from showing any reaction, her eyes dropped down to the empty glass in her hands nonetheless. Ridiculous, really… what had she been expecting?!

"I apologise if I made you uncomfortable, that wasn't my intention."

"No!" Her eyes snapped back up to meet his gaze in an instant, and she couldn't help laughing at the irony of that situation. "You really didn't, don't worry. I don't think you could do anything at all that would make me uncomfortable, actually."

"In that case, you are welcome."

"Thanks." She chuckled, and her heart rate thankfully settled back for the normal drumming. Honestly, she couldn't care less about ink stains on her face and she was rather sure that he wasn't the type to be bothered by it either, but she decided to let the issue go for now. Pondering over it would only leave her hoping for something she had no right to hope for.

"Now, where were we…" He mused, then picked up the bottle of firewhisky and raised an eyebrow in question. Upon Robin's nod, he poured them a proper glass each, then set the bottle back down and finally clinked his glass to hers now. "Cheers. To the drink I no longer owe you."

"Cheers." She chuckled again, observing him while he took a sip at first, then she went to taste the already familiar burn as well. In an odd way, it smoothed out the raging fire in her heart, and at the same time it stoked it to no end. Great.

"Would you actually want to know more about the spells and potions I invented?" He asked after a short moment, leaning into the backrest with his right side so that he stayed facing Robin.

"Yes! Absolutely!" Again, her eyes lit up in honest curiosity at the prospect and she radiated an excitement that had him rolling his eyes with a stifled smile.

"It started early on in my time as a student here, actually. I believe I was in my second year and already rather familiar with a large number of curses unfortunately, when it dawned on me how they are composed in their very core. Reading used to be my preferred pastime even back then, and soon enough I had learned enough about spell creation to start my own attempts." The smile on his lips broadened ever so slightly, wavered for a moment, but then stayed. "The first few went horribly wrong, that is safe to say. It took me a while to find a path between chaos and control that was the right degree of both to function as one. From there on I created all kinds of spells, some more successful than others. Mostly curses and hexes though, for a while at least."

His words reminded Robin of the story about why he had started wearing all black, and she didn't want him to go down into that darkness of mind again. Not tonight. "Curses are also just spells that one has to handle with a bit more responsibility." She shrugged with a smile. "They're often more useful than most charms."

"Indeed." His smile turned into a smirk instead of fading, and Robin felt immensely pleased with herself as he went on. "When I was in my sixth year, I rewrote the entire potions textbook and experimented more in that field as well. The vast majority of my time as a student went into it, and some of the spells and potions I created back then I still use today."

"That's amazing." Robin smiled at him warmly, then however had to snicker at a stray thought. "I'm honestly not surprised though. That you would be smarter than the books given to you, I mean, and probably the only capable person around. It's ironic."

"Why?"

"Because you must've felt like I do all too often these days. Especially when I am slowly becoming a somewhat qualified professional, while the dunderheads around me try to use enlargement charms on their private parts."

Snape's eyebrows rose in an instant at her words, and he almost spluttered out his sip of whisky, which made Robin laugh in return. Probably because she had shown pretty much the same reaction when Jorien and Gideon had talked about it earlier that day.

"Please tell me you weren't a direct witness of this instance." He sighed dramatically, a tease more than anything, and now it was for Robin to almost spit out the sip she had just taken.

"God no! Obviously not!!!" She protested after the burning in her throat allowed her to, while the burning in her cheeks prevailed. But she still had to laugh at his expression no matter the topic. "It's just the prime gossip among the sixth years currently. Supposedly happened yesterday evening, Friday I mean, in that dark fifth floor hallway. You know, the one with the-..."

"I know. It was already a hotspot for hormonal idiots during my student days. You might have noticed how to this day we always have avoided that particular hallway during patrols… That is why."

Robin let out a snort; everyone had heard of that fifth floor hallway before, it wasn't much of a secret, but much of a myth. Then she continued with the story. "Well, rumour has it that Friday night a Ravenclaw and a Gryffindor were caught trying to undo a failed 'engorgio' that obviously was causing immense pain for the guy who had tried to… well, use the spell for things it wasn't made for. The guy supposedly was sent to the hospital wing, and the girl landed straight in detention. I'll spare you the details I unfortunately had to hear during dinner… Jorien and Gideon made a show out of discussing it quite thoroughly."

"If that rumour should be true –which I do not even doubt at this point, knowing how idiotic the majority of students is– I sincerely pity you for having to be associated with such imbeciles."

"Thanks…" She huffed in amusement, and took another sip of her whisky. "They're a year below me, but what difference does it really make? I mean, even people in my year are so far away from me at this point that I feel out of place everywhere but with you."

"You might be the very first person to ever feel that way about my company. But I understand what you mean, I… feel the same about you, actually."

"I take that as a compliment." Robin grinned, and a wave of tingles ran down her back and arms, which she tried to cover up by speaking on. "Especially since your peers are quite alright on average, competent in some subject at least and usually with a certain level of sophistication, if one doesn't count Morgan in. Mine however consider a sloppy shag in a dark hallway the most romantic thing ever and don't know how to use second year charms appropriately."

Snape made a sound between a scoff and a snort, but couldn't help the smirk that tugged on his lips a second later. "If you say it like that, I am almost tempted to think better of my colleagues than I would want to."

"And I'm tempted to think worse of my peers than I should. Everyone is entitled to their own taste and choices of how they want to do things."

"That doesn't mean we can't judge them for it."

Robin's lips curled up into a smirk as well, and she finished her whisky with one more sip before holding her glass out to be refilled. "Precisely."

They each had another drink then, while chatting on about the latest gossip among both students and staff, and another as they discussed the events of the past day and their plans for the following one. By the time Robin had finished her third whisky, she was feeling too warm yet again, and the fuzziness was back in her head as well, but she didn't mind. It was a strange feeling rather than an unpleasant one, and it was making her drowsy more than anything else. On the other hand, it might also simply be the time of night that was making her more tired by the minute, causing her to curl deeper into the cushions of the sofa while her will to get up and leave shrunk by the second. It was past three in the morning… they usually would've called it a night by now. And yet here they were, still on the sofa, still talking. If their current state could even still be considered as 'talking' in the first place, with Robin more lying than sitting in her corner, eyes closed and a soft smile on her face while she listened to the surprisingly rhythmic flow of his voice. She didn't exactly know what he was saying, didn't hear the words as words but as a melody of the most alluring song that lasted way beyond the music they had run out of an hour ago. Honestly, she could just listen to him forever and would be perfectly happy.

"Robin…"

"Hmm…"

"You might want to set the glass down before you fall asleep entirely." He sounded tired as well, but undoubtedly humoured in a way that at last got through to Robin. Oh damnit…

"I should go…" She mumbled, brows creasing at the effort it took to speak at all. "Not sleep."

"And possibly run into Morgan in this tired state? I don't think so."

"Hmm…"

"Stay here." He said, an offer and a request more than an order. "If that would be acceptable for you."

The corners of her lips curled up ever so slightly in return, and every thought of leaving vanished into thin air in an instant. "Would love to." She sighed under her breath, relieved and content at once as she let herself sink deeper into the cushions and into sleep's sweet lure, upon which she received a quiet chuckle in return. The movement that followed she barely still registered, how the sofa rebounded at the loss of his weight, how the glass was taken from her hands and her wand removed from her hair. At the latter she merely sighed in appreciation, and a quiet goodnight was the last she heard before she was wrapped in darkness.

… … …

It was quiet sounds of agony, ragged huffs and laboured breaths that brought Robin back to her senses. Her eyes fluttered open, heavy with sleep, and she blinked a few times until she could place where she was. The sofa, Snape's room… softly illuminated by dim moonlight that barely still fell through the windows and bathed the space in gentle brushes of silver. Serene almost, the deep shadows and cold whites…

The gentle haze of heat and sleep lifted off her mind in an instant when she heard another strangled sob, the rustling of fabrics, a sharp intake of breath. She sat up immediately; her head was spinning ever so slightly at the rash movement, but not enough to cause actual dizziness even as she scrambled to her feet. This had happened before… once, a year ago, when they had accidentally slept in the lab together. On her tiptoes, Robin moved from the sofa to the other end of the room, up the steps and towards the curled up figure on the bed, and her heart broke a little when she saw the tortured expression on his face. Did he have nightmares like this more often? Her heart broke even more upon the answer she didn't dare to give herself. It hadn't been like this in summer, the two nights spent on the couch in his home… What had been different back then? What had she done last year? She had been there, close to him, offered comfort through the lightest touch… And without a doubt she would do it again.

Without a second thought she walked right up to the edge of the bed, but froze in her movement when she looked down at him, so inexplicably vulnerable for once, in a moment both surreal and painfully clear. There was no doubt that he wouldn't want her to see him like this… but Robin also had no doubt that it changed absolutely nothing for her. She had known this side of him for a while now, and it was as much a part of who he was as were the scowls and the teasing. But that didn't mean she had to make it more difficult for him by drawing attention to the fact that he was at her mercy right now, without his choice.

So she merely reached out and gently curled her fingers around his, taking a hold of his hand slowly but firmly nonetheless. Seconds later his hand tightened around hers as well, the deep lines on his face disappeared and his breathing evened out as well. A tiny sigh in sheer relief escaped his lips at last, and Robin smiled instinctively. She would do anything to keep him happy… and holding his hand all night certainly wasn't the worst of that. With a silent sigh in return, she sat down on the ground while keeping their interlaced hands on the edge of the mattress. She knew that she would definitely fall asleep if she'd sat down on the bed instead… and she also knew that Snape likely wouldn't be too happy if he woke up to find her wrapped around him. On the ground, however, there at least was no way she could fall asleep and embarrass herself… And if she couldn't sleep, she might as well spend the time resting her mind in other terms. Thus she silently summoned her backpack, and with her free hand dug out one of her favourite non-academic books. A collection of short stories, nothing extraordinary, but some of which were written rather beautifully indeed, and at the very least, she had always found them calming. So she started reading, and like she was sharing calm and comfort with him through her touch, she now tried to share these stories as well. Not by any means of actual magic, really, but just… by feeling them. Perhaps it worked, perhaps it did not, but he slept calmly without another interruption all night, holding her hand tightly as she held his, and that was all that mattered.

It was only when the room started brightening at a surprising rapidity that Robin finally stopped reading and glanced at her surroundings once more. Her eyes were burning, her arm long gone numb from being held up the entire time, and she was cold and aching all over. But she was happy nonetheless, and even the realization that an impending sunrise meant an impending breakfast at this time of year couldn't take that from her. With tired eyes and an even more tired mind, she read the last few pages of the second to last story, then shut the book quietly and put it back into her backpack; she wouldn't get through another story without her eyes turning into sandpaper. Perhaps closing them for a minute would do her good… only until Snape woke up, which surely would be the case sooner rather than later. She would have to be alert enough to see the tutoring through after breakfast, ideally without yawning every two seconds like she did right now. Really, it was ridiculous how much rest her body needed… how jittery and shaky she got when she didn't sleep, how cold she was and how unfocused. That wouldn't do for tutoring, and the thought made her sigh. But with just five more minutes of closing her eyes at least, she surely could push through it somehow. This by far wasn't her first all-nighter after all. Thus without trying to find any more reasons why this could be a bad idea, she closed her eyes indeed and leaned her head against the side of the bed. Just five minutes of closing her eyes… but it wasn't even five seconds later when she was fast asleep.

… … …

Warmth, comfort, and the sound of rain pattering against the windows was what Robin woke up to this time around, but it wasn't what had woken her up. No, there wasn't a cause for her to come to for once, none but that she was actually feeling well rested and ready to rise for once. Still, the incredible comfort she found herself in made her bury her head deeper into the pillow and hug the covers tighter around herself as well. They were so soft… so warm, and everything smelled like home. Home… what did home smell like? She frowned to herself, eyes still closed, until it started to dawn on her that the scent of home was the scent of Snape. He was home to her. Finally she opened her eyes and already found her first suspicion confirmed; she was curled up in his bed, wrapped up tightly in the dark green sheets she had been admiring before. Her heart skipped a beat, then another for good measure, and a sudden rush of delight and excitement washed away the very last remainders of sleep. She sat up with a quiet groan, and immediately found that the wide space on the mattress around her was empty. Fortunately for many reasons, and unfortunately for others. Wait a second… she had fallen asleep on the floor, dead tired and shortly before sunrise. Now it was raining, and she was nice and toasty in bed. Wide awake. Bloody hell…

"Good morning." Snape's voice made her jump immediately, and she gripped the covers so tightly that her knuckles turned white. She hadn't even seen nor heard him coming up the two steps to where the bed was perched into the corner next to the window… but then again, she hadn't been paying much attention to the world beyond the bed in general before now.

Snape was dressed in his usual teaching robes as always, but he did look surprisingly well rested for once, which likely was a difference that was so subtle that it probably was only visible to Robin. With that same odd expression he had already worn in the lab last night, he then leaned against the far post of the bed with one shoulder and merely held her gaze for a moment while the rain continued its gentle drumming against the glass.

"Good mo-… uh… What time is it?" She asked when her heartbeat had calmed back down, while she made a vain attempt to smooth down the mess of waves and knots on her head.

"Almost twelve. Not long before I would have woken you up anyway." He answered, and noticing the immediate shock that was painted on Robin's face in return, he continued straight on. "You needn't be concerned about your appointments. I let your roommates know during breakfast that their tutoring would be moved to the afternoon, due to unforeseen circumstances that were holding you up."

"You did?" Robin's eyes widened, but at the same time the tension in her body disappeared, and her shoulders dropped down visibly as she let out a relieved sigh. "Thank you! But you really just should've woken me up when you got up… I didn't mean to fall asleep in the first place, nor to seize your space like this."

"First of all, you did not seize anything. I picked you up from the ground and put you onto the bed when I got up." He murmured, and Robin hugged her legs to her chest under the covers while waiting for him to continue. "I couldn't let you stay on the ground, or even the sofa… not when you obviously sacrificed your rest to ensure that I could have mine."

"Thank you." She offered him a small smile in return, and at the same time she was more certain than ever that staying awake to let him sleep had been the right decision. "I actually didn't even want you to find out that I had done that in the first place, but I guess it's kinda hard to deny now."

"Why wouldn't you want me to know?"

"Well…" She shrugged with a small sigh. "I guess I just didn't want to make you uncomfortable. Neither about the whole hand holding thing nor about the reasons why it was necessary."

"The only thing that makes me uncomfortable is the fact that I could sleep peacefully for the first time in ages, at the cost of your own rest and comfort."

"It's fine, really, I just wanted you to have a good night's sleep, which you obviously had, so all is as it should be." Robin gave him another encouraging smile, and it eased the frown on his face ever so slightly at least. "And since you were gracious enough to let me rest instead of waking me up, I certainly have gained more than I've lost; I haven't felt this good after waking up in longer than I care to remember. Your bed really is terribly comfortable, do you know that?"

Now his lips curled into an almost involuntary smile as well, but he averted his eyes nonetheless. "I am aware, yes."

"Gotta be a professor to enjoy such luxury, I guess…"

"Or befriend one who you can bribe to share."

His words as well as his tone made Robin laugh, and at the same time it set fire to her insides and electricity to her skin. Geez, he couldn't say things like that and expect her not to wonder what exactly he had meant by it. Nothing probably, as always, but she still couldn't quite suffocate the sparks of hope, the whispered 'maybe' in the shadowy parts of her mind. She shouldn't go there, no matter how tempting it was. Time for a change of topic.

"I hope I didn't keep you from anything by, uh… being here." She said, and finally convinced herself to flip the covers back, only to shiver immediately at the loss of warmth. Right… more windows meant more cold seeping in. "I just mean, usually you're not in your room during the day, are you?"

"Very true. Today however I chose to work here up until now, on the little I had to do. After lunch I will return to the office."

"Can I have your classroom? For my tutoring?" Robin asked with an innocent but very much hopeful smile, then stifled a yawn as she rose to her feet and stretched her limbs. Unsurprisingly, they didn't even ache anymore after a few hours in that cloud of a bed. Gods, if only she could wake up like this every day…

"Obviously."

With a content sigh, Robin moved to stand right in front of Snape, who in return stood straight once again and frowned at her questioning expression as she went to ask the next question that came to her mind. "Does my hair look alright? Preferably like I didn't just fall out of bed?"

"Don't make me lie to you." He replied in an undoubtedly humoured way, but he was trying to tone it down nonetheless, to hide it beneath a layer of calm neutrality, which however didn't work nearly as well as he probably would've liked.

Robin groaned under her breath and rolled her eyes to herself in return, then however decided to just go with it. "Fine… but if you don't want me to run through the castle looking like this, I'll have to seize your bathroom."

"You were the one concerned about your appearance; I am not. But feel free to seize whatever you please."

"Oh, you will regret saying that." She laughed as she skipped down the two steps, then halted at the door and turned around once more. "At the latest when I come back here ever so often and bribe you indeed. You'll definitely regret it then."

"I will…" He replied with a not smirk, just when she was about to close the door behind herself. And just when she barely was still able to hear, he added under his breath a quiet "...Never."

______________________________

Tags:

@ayamenimthiriel @chibi-lioness @t-sunnyside @alex4555 @purpledragonturtles @istrugglewithphilosophy @meghan-maria @hidden-behind-the-fourth-wall @darkestacademiaaa @nizem8 @girilimoni

General Tags:

@wegingerangelica @dreary-skies-stuff @wiczer @lotus-eyedindiangoddess @theweirdlunatic @caretheunicorn @kthemarsian @lady-of-lies @strawberrysandcream @noplacelikehome77 @theoneanna @mishaandthebrits @i-am-a-mes @nonsensicalobsessions @exygon @hiddles-lobotomy @rjohnson1280 @annwhojumps @spookycatqueen @salempoe @headoverhiddleston @fanfiction-and-stress @createdfromblue @thecreatiivecorner @themusingsofmany @kinghiddlestonanddixon @scorpionchild81 @crystal-28 @adefectivedetective @lokis-girl-in-mischief @booklover2929 @iamverity @lovesmesomehiddles @akk4rin @whitewolfandthefox @stuckupstucky @kassablanca13 @delightfulheartdream @hayalee8 @lemonmochitea

83 notes · View notes

garden-of-succulents · 5 years ago

Text

@bardofspades suggested we #wipitgood, which is to say, since Check Please is ending soon, clean out our WIP folders with all the OMGCP fic we never got around to finishing.

This is my first WIP to post. Trigger warning: Child sexual abuse

A bit of backstory: Curtis O’Brien, my OC, fills the same space, more or less, as real-life hockey player Sheldon Kennedy, who revealed as an NHL player that he was sexually abused by his hockey coach when he was a teenager. He traded off the ability to sue the pants off the Canadian Hockey League for the ability to force them to implement training and policies aimed at preventing and reporting child abuse. After he got his PTSD somewhat under control, he became a full-time advocate against child abuse.

My headcanon is that Kent likewise suffered abuse from his Bantam coach, and has spent a long time determinedly not talking about it. I wanted to write a fic where, before he did start talking about it, someone (in this case, Andy) got him to talk to the one man who’s an expert on what it’s like to be an NHL player out as a survivor. This piece really stops before any of that actual stuff takes place. You just get, you know, Kent being awkward, and everyone being giant nerds about public health. Oh, and the claim that Cummerbund was Andy's dog before she moved to LV, when I later determined that Kent and Andy adopted him together.

---

Andy met Curtis O'Brien when he came out of Customs, smiling her customer-service smile with a card on his name on it but feeling a bit silly. He was easy to pick out of the crowd: an ex-hockey player in a suit, a tall man with a slightly jerky walk who scanned the crowd for her. When he approached she tried to upgrade to the relaxed cheer she tried to copy off rich people who had never been afraid of getting fired, transcending Director of the Aces Foundation to the offhanded, casually powerful just Andy. She couldn't think of him as a prominent expert in his field or the board member of national-level organizations in two countries or a consultant on an important initiative key to her job's success; she just had to smile and welcome a guest to her home. He clutched his checked baggage when she offered to take it from him at the carousel, so she just led him out to short-term parking.

Kent was back from morning workout when they arrived at the house, so he faked calm like Andy and shook Curtis's hand with the hockey-player head dip and mumbled greeting, which Curtis returned. Andy wrestled his suitcase to their guest room, having pounced on it when she parked the car, and invited him to make himself comfortable.

"Nice house," he said, but apparently there wasn't any kind of hidden message behind it. It was a nice house, for a strictly median definition of "nice"; Kent's teammates claimed mansions outside city limits and he'd left a penthouse taking up half a floor to come here, but nothing differentiated their house on the street from any other three-bedroom split level on the block. Its yard was neatly xeriscaped, its carpets clean, appliances undamaged, and she could afford the rent, which had long been the height of Andy's domestic ambitions, but a lot of people didn't think it befitted Kent's dignity or whatever.

"Nice dog," Curtis added, bending over to let Cummerbund wash his hand enthusiastically. Speaking of things that didn't fit Kent's dignity—but the dachshund had been Andy's first.

"Yeah, he's a big suck-up," Andy said. "Smell a fresh mark, hey boy? I bet he'll even scratch your belly for you."

"Don't be hard on him," Curtis said, scratching behind Cummerbund's ears. "He's a good boy."

Cummerbund sat under Curtis's chair and looked beseeching during lunch, while the humans ate cobb salad and made smalltalk. Andy was friends with some of the CWHL players Curtis did an annual fundraiser with. Kent thought one of the kids on Curtis's local WHL team was a good pick for Team USA for World Juniors. Curtis's officemate was doing Crossfit and using the supplements one of Kent's sponsors made; he was training for a marathon. Easy stuff.

From the tension in his shoulders Andy thought Kent would leave it there and move on for the afternoon, claim he was letting their guest settle in. Instead he grimaced in a friendly way and said, "You know, tomorrow will be the first time I've actually sat through one of your guys' trainings."

Curtis reached down to scratch Cummerbund's head. His movements were quiet, but still betrayed a lot of energy, like he was used to slowly leaking stress around the edges while keeping his eye on the puck. "It's getting rarer that anyone lasts very long in hockey without taking one of our classes," he said. "Almost everybody who works with kids does."

"Yeah," Kent said, his hands twitching where he kept them held down on the table, like he wanted to gesture. "I had to, I read the material and took the certificate exam online? I couldn't—I went, like, the morning of it, but I had to leave, so I caught up after." He paused, lifted a hand to scratch the back of his neck, and admitted, "You came to my team in Juniors to give a talk, and I pretended I was sick. Hid at home, got one of my friends to tell Coach I couldn't make it. They scratched me for a game." He was red by the time he'd finished saying it, reaching for his water bottle and fiddling with his lid, didn't look up; instead he picked a cube of cheese off his salad and offered it down to Cummerbund.

"Hard stuff to deal with," Curtis said oddhandedly, though high spots of colour were appearing in his cheeks. He was trying his best to downplay it, though. "Some people gotta take their own time."

"Yeah," Kent said, and blinked, like he'd expected a scolding that hadn't come. He shook his shoulders out a little. "Yeah. It's... yeah. I can't deal with... I couldn't, for a long time."

Curtis stayed quiet, looking at him, as Kent suffered through silence, until it seemed at Kent had no more words to summon up; then he turned to Andy and asked, without fuss, "You're organizing all the people coming in tomorrow, correct?"

"Yeah," she said, curling a hand around Kent's under the table and trying to pick up the conversational ball. "I, uh... yeah. We've got the researchers and the Children's Services people, and some state athletic associations, about ten different sports, and uh, we're expecting about twenty coaches and other people from the Four Corners area."

Curtis raised his eyebrows. "I thought you couldn't get steady numbers from them?"

"Well actually," Andy said, "I have a friend? She's indigenous Mexican and she's got some friends at the Hualapai reservation, and they invited us down to this inter-tribal baseball tournament in Phoenix last month, so I ended up meeting a lot of people there, some of them people I'd been emailing the last six months. But it was making the in-person contact that really got them to commit."

#omgcp #wipitgood #stuff i wrote #kent parson #andy scarlatti #csa tw #child abuse tw

38 notes · View notes

jacksgreysays · 5 years ago

Note

DonKoogrr on AO3 has a story titled SoulBond (which is quite good), and from late in chapter 16 through chapter 18, we see a lot of focus on Tobirama and Mikako (who is Shikako, actually) drafting legislation to treat nin-animals as people, with rights, privileges, and consequences same as humans. And I'd like to know your take on how the Elemental Nations legal code would have to adapt to account for the fact that, say, Inuzuka ninken can TALK (and think long before then)

Ooh, I’ll check that out!

I think, without having read that fic and without knowing how DonKoogrr resolved that issue, I’d have to say it wouldn’t be too different from the legal code around shinobi clans and bloodlines. Or something like--I mean, if we’re differentiating from nin-animals who naturally exist in the human world and happen to be “awakened animals” (to borrow DnD terms) versus summons who are from a separate plane of existence where all creatures have sentience...

From what I remember there’s only really the Inuzuka ninken and the ninneko of Sora-ku in canon, though there are most likely other nin-animals in other countries/villages. (My character Hibiki from our DoS-based discord game Legends of Sunshine has a capybara name Shokupan. Technically he can talk, but he’s of the opinion that Hibiki should translate for him instead. It’s very human-centric to expect him to learn to speak instead of having other people learn to understand capybara communication)

But even with my OC, the three instances of nin-animals seem to be adjacent to an existing clan--Inuzuka, Uchiha, and Kuwabara--so it would be more convenient/ “acceptable” (for the powers that be, that is) to treat the nin-animals as, well, “branch” of that clan.

Because, well, if you compare how the Hyuuga treat their branch family versus the Inuzuka treat their ninken... would I rather be a dog in this situation? I mean...

For those nin-animals that don’t have a corresponding clan--for example, if the Uchiha had actually completely died out. I guess it’d just make sense for them to be treated as a clan by itself--as in the way that, should all the Hyuuga Main Family were to die off, it’s not as if the Hyuuga would stop being a clan. Leadership would just have to go to Branch members, however they figure that out internally.

But if, somehow, a family of nin-animals separately gained sentience without human ninja being involved--although evolutionarily, I highly doubt that? Again we’re differentiating nin-animals who originate from the same world as humans against the summon animals who have access to a plane of chakra. I propose that it’s the proximity and use chakra that makes nin-animals "awakened.” (Maybe the nin-animals have access to their corresponding summon animal family--as may be the case with the nin-neko of Sora-ku being able to reverse summon Team Seven to complete the paw print encyclopedia?--but they are most likely separate)

But let’s say... oh, okay. For example. The messenger hawks of Konoha. The amount of chakra being used around them, I wouldn’t be surprised if they “awaken” within a few generations, if they’re not already “awakened.” And since there is no one clan connected to the Konoha aviary (I mean, in canon at least. I have an OC whose family is in charge of the aviary so they’d be the “main family” for the hawks. But since that is not canon, we will disregard that) it could be argued that the hawks CAN’T be connected to a specific clan because internal politics. So in order for them to remain neutral and work with ALL shinobi of Konoha they’d have to be recognized as their own separate clan.

Which means they’d have to have their own internal leadership and infrastructure. Although with their “awakening” that means they’d have to figure out the relationship with the village now. Like, where do they live? In the Tower still? Do they have to pay rent? How do they get paid for the missions they do run (or fly as the case may be)? Do they pay taxes?

As for laws pertaining to specific nin-animals and their actions (+rights/privileges/consequences) I can’t imagine it would be too different from humans in terms of legal language. Using the word “being” instead of “person” (the same way language has to adapt to the existence of aliens in sci-fi) should cover a lot of that. There may have to be additional laws made--anti-discrimination, if there aren’t already in existence. Clarifying what a “being” is, which is probably going to be the most difficult since... well... how do you differentiate between a cow and a “awakened” cow if the awakened cow doesn’t talk and there’s no “cow clan” that can translate for them? O_O

I think it depends on the situation of the family of nin-animals in question...

#jacksgreyson #lionheadbookends #prompt response #links #dreaming of sunshine #naruto #brainstorm #rant #world building #meta analysis #ask box advent calendar

16 notes · View notes

randomkposts · 5 years ago

Text

Up the down way

So I once wanted to write a FFIV AU, with a very different universe and an OC Callian Jackson. here was my attempt at note taking.

Callian is here in the story as Kain and Rosa's best friend. Kain and Rosa are dating, and with Callian here, there is a different dynamic to their friendship, as Kain has two girls teaming on him to do things, and is probably not left alone to brood as often as he would like, among other things. Callian is mostly here, because Cecil was being raised elsewhere, and Callian is a girl who lost both her parents in the war, and chose to take up the way of the dark knight, and passed it, becoming good enough to be a Captain of the red wings. She is not a cannon clone of Cecil or Kain, though she may take some elements of the roles, she is ultimately her own weirdo in the story. I do not intend her to be an expy, and hopefully she does not come off as a Sue either. Cecil is still in this story, just obviously not here in Baron. He'll probably show up briefly soon. The characters will not be as you remember, because the blue planet they grew up in is not the one we are used to, and there are some odd consequences to that. The social chemistry of the world is different, and so are they.

Is a bit of a parody and an AU Alice in Wonderland style, in that the characters can be downright odd.

Plot: When Callian Jackson's invasion of Mysidia goes wrong, she is sent to be a delivery person as atonement. Callians invasion likely went wrong because of a stray berserk spell, and her soldier's went nuts on the people. Never less, a good commander should rise above that, and accomplish the mission, keep the men's respect. Kain, wondering what Rosa was talking about, Comes into the room to ask, and ends up getting sent alongside Callian to Mist. ---

The scene starts with Callin quietly but furiously questioning her men, and her men too ashamed to say anything to her, beyond monster warnings. She begins, quietly, and intensely angry, getting details about the mission , until a monster attack distracts her, much to their relief. To the king, she is quietly upset, trying to hold her temper. Kain wanders into the room, and gets sent along. She does let it out when Rosa comes to her room, as Rosa often serves as an outlet.

Differences from IV: Kain is dating Rosa, and is not nearly as broody or secretive in part to having two woman who would pester him if he was off. Rosa is a lot more outspoken, and has Scrying abilities, as well as being Paranoid of Troians. Callian had a crush on Kain, but when Rosa asked him out, they talked about it, and Calians happy for them. I think in the original, Cecil was a peacemaker who asked Rosa to leave Kain alone,even when he deserved a chewing out.

Day two: They leave the castle with a feeling of Destiny in their hearts. At Baron, Calian goes and finds stuff with "treasure hunter senses", and Kain goes to buy supplies, (bartering , an act learned from Rosa). While Kain contemplates sporks, he runs into fan-girls and an eager dancer, and helps Calian take a tent from a river when he jumps. Once out of Town, the two decide to train like mad, then ride the Chocobos to the mountain , so they go south. They earn goblin and cocatrice. Meanwhile, at the castle, a Scrying Rosa sees them going the wrong direction, and decides to catch up with them using many Hermes sandals, and remembering why using too many items outside of battle is bad (made her more susceptible to the illness later). Meanwhile, Callian and Kain reach the grove after fighting enough battles with goblins to win the summon , and grab Chocobos. When Rosa arrives after, she sees a black Chocobo and uses it, much to the pale haired man's upset utterances. -(Yes that is Cecil, Lol)-She flys over the mountain and lands , deciding to rest in the grasslands. Meanwhile Callain and Kain arrive at the mountains, and take a rest instead of going in and facing zombies. (Rosa tells many horror stories) They get through the cave fine, and decide to rest in the tent before entering Mist.

Day two, part two: Well rested, our hero's enter the cave and run into porcupines and the dragon of Mist. Kain is not fond of attacking Dragons, so they try to run, only to have to kill it anyways. Entering the village, bombs attack from the Carnelian Signet .Rather than Come to the logical conclusion, Callain concludes its a test and she is meant to be foiling a ninja plot , and begins shouting orders and getting people to safety "taking command" of a chaotic situation.She decides to evacuate. Following orders, Kain goes to help a little girl, who- furious her village is being invaded- summons Titan, separating Kain from Callian. Meanwhile Rosa, believing they would be taken to Kaipo until they were transferred to Fabul and shipped to Troia, wanders around outside of Kaipo, trying to find the blasted place In the desert. She runs into Tellha, who informs her she is not the Mage he's looking for.

Day three: Kain wakes up, and decides to find a place for the little girl he accidentally orphaned to sleep, and perhaps be adopted. So he goes to Kaipo, a neutral city, and more importantly, close. In the middle of the night, three Guards come for Kain and Rydia. Kain sends them away stating Calian asked him to watch this kid. The Captain then asks if Rosa was here, since she has been missing and that their purpose here was a search party. Kain offers to take over the desert search party, much to their relief, and they go. Kain is glad that encounter could be solved by negotiating, as that was one of Callins competent Captains. Meanwhile Rosa collapses at Kaipos gates.

The next day, Rydia wakes up and can't remember the attack, or what she's doing here, and asks where her mother is. Kain informs her that her mother is dead. She is quiet after that. They hear some rumors about a girl with desert fever, and some more about the prophetic chick Anna who everyone had talked about the other day when they were looking for an inn. They find Rosa and discover she was the one with desert Fever. Kain goes off to find a sand pearl, and Rydia comes with him. In fact she refuses to leave him, very assertively. Kain gets Rydia some weapons. Rydia proves competent at Healing, and distracting monsters with weak attacks for Kain to counter. They use this strategy since Kain can't jump and leave her. Beyond battle, Rydia is quiet and unobservant in terrain. Kain has to hold her hand to prevent her wandering off.

Randomly added note.(Edges difference in attitude comes from a more comprehensive training due to an attack on the palace he almost died at. He is quieter and more ninja like.)

R.A.N2(Edward is determined to get the prophet who tried to save him back! He is more determined than sad.)

R.A.N3( Palom is already a sage, spellwise. He had to learn some cure magic until someone gave Porem a cure staff. The problem with the twins is that they are five year old prodigies, who are probably pushed because of paranoia over Baron. They have some issues. Palom has high standards, is hypercritical of himself, and uses lots of false bravado. He needs the rest of the world to believe he's awesome. Porem has a terrible bedside manor, and anger management issues, so carries a cure staff, so when she hits people, it heals them. They are quite nervous about teaching her hammer style fighting, even if she might be good at it, because no cure hammer has been invented. )

RAN 3.5: (Kain has to protect them on his way up the mountains. That means covering and countering the attacks directed towards them in battle, taking breaks for them, and giving them piggybacks. He also gives Rydia piggybacks. The trip up the mountain is a long and grueling journey. PS: Write a story about Cecil and the twins climbing the mountain, frame as elders revenge)

Finally Kain and Rydia arrive at the cage and meet Tellaha.

Rn4( Tellaha can see the future. Or at least possible outcomes of the future. Kain being here, makes him realize something is different, but he can't quite remember what. He has trouble differentiating between what is a possibility and what is real, leading him to sway between right for the wrong reasons, and completely off base. He seems to believe in the original timeline at the moment, and may leave on a quest for Cecil. Tellah is also amnesic, and can not remember past Anna's eleventh birthday)

Rn4.5 (This world's Anna is kind of Joan of Arc, and Callian’s main opponent, and they will clash more throughout the fic. Callin kind of sees her as worthy adversary, and keeps her alive, but gives her to Kain so she doesnt have to explain it.)

Tellaha informs them they are late, much to their confusion, and they enter the cave. Throughout the cave, they find several potions, and pieces of dark knight armour and a sword . Kain notes he does not have to worry about getting Callin a birthday present now. Tellaha focuses on teaching Rydia thunder and ice spell words, as fire will not be very useful in an water cave. Rydia tells them the smell of smoke terrifies her.

Kain and Tellaha reconsider their plans to have goblin for dinner, in favour of smoked goblin. Then again, fire keeps away Zombies. Kain and Tellaha debate the merits of fire as they continue through the cave.

(RN5: Rosa has a crazily complex family tree that includes, but is not limited too, Tellaha &Anna, Palom&Porem& Sheila[ Yangs wife]. It debatably includes Rydia. Maybe. Callian of course has no idea of this when she sits down and tries to relate to Rosa just how odd this is.)

(RN6: Rosa hates Troians. Troia, in this universe, are the Amazonian-esque city. They are fierce magical archers who steal or entice men into their castle, in an attempt to sire strong warriors. As a magical archer (white) Rosa is often accused of being one, and has grown a tad resentful. It doesn't help that Rosas family is from Mysidia, Barons former close ally [before the attack], who is traditionally rivals with Troia. Kain has huge respect for ninjas, like Callain has for monks )

After a brief rest, Tellah attacks Kain, asking where they are, who they are, and what happened to his daughter. Kain reminds them of the current quest, and Tellah asks where Cecil is. Kain asks who Cecil is, and they continue on through the monster packed cave, to face the Octomamoth. Kain has to keep to the strategy of defending Tellaha and Rydia, and countering the monsters attacks, while Tellaha and Rydia put their lightning based attacks to good use. It's a fairly long and painful battle, but they emerge victorious. Upon exiting the cave, they see an attack on Damcyan in the distance. They go to investigate.

Upon entering Damcyan, they meet Calian at the entrance, with Anna unconscious. Tellaha is out of it. Calian asks if they have seen Rosa, as she has gone missing. Kain affirms they have, and that she has desert fever, and they need a Damcyan person to get a sand pearl. Callian tells him, that although she still feels disturbed with Baron actions of late, she's happy to report, there were fewer casualties, her men were controlled in temperament, and once the tactician was knocked out, resistance fell apart. She believes Anna may be a genius tactician, and brilliant leader.

Upon seeing the tactician Anna, Tellaha attacks Callian, accusing her of being a spooney bard who ran off with his daughter, married her without permission , and got her killed.

Callin tells Kain to keep his companions under control, and get their stories straight. She also insists to Kain she is not a lesbian, and that she better leave if he wants help from the Damcyains. Before going, she tells him she found this among Mist, and gives Kain the bomb item hoping it will be useful to him.

Kain tells Tellaha he was attacking the wrong person, and they should go inside. They see people bringing a either pot downstairs to the wounded, and begin healing them. Rydia and Tellah spend time helping with magic, and Kain uses first aid, and helps with moving people downstairs. Eventually he comes across Edward mourning his mother and father. Kain, having some tact, leaves him alone for now. Once the cleanup is done, they begin moving the bodies Kain comes up, to talk with Edward. (Rosa has had him come on talks to patients families and he and Callian have also done so to their soldiers families). Kain is still quite blunt, but has learned some thing about talking to grieving people. Sorta.

They have a talk, and he manages to convince Edward to both help them get the sand pearl, and warn Faboul, once his kingdom is better. Rosa being a healer is mentioned. Rydia has no outburst. Once a second for Edward is appointed, they go to move out. Tellah yells at Edward asking what he was doing with his eleven year old daughter, and is asked what he is talking about by Edward. The only Anna he met was the glorious savior of Damcyan.

Tellah gets mad and runs off, much to Kain and Rydias discomfort. Finally they set off for the anitolin den. Much to Kains annoyance, he is still the group shield. The Antoilon is not a difficult foe, and after many battles they earn not only the sand pearl, but the elusive rainbow jelly for Edward, who is not going to give this one to Callain.

(RN7 Callain is crazy prepared in some ways. She insists on fighting many monsters with Kain outside of town, to stock up on items & Gil harvester as an ability. She and Cid had airships capable of invading the moon, that were destroyed by the red wings, because they left them with the RW in preparation to invade the moon. She also has oddly convenient timing, and a love of training people, with a dream to fill the bestiary. She buys every weapon, shield, ect. It's why Kain had Goblin on him. )

They then battle their way out of the cave, and take the hover across the shoals. They fight a few battles and get cockatrice summon.

Rydia is pleased. Rosa is revived.

The story goes on, but I haven't moved far past that point.

So some explanations and headcanons to make sense of this verse

Baron is at war with Ebalan. The crystals being stolen and the army, and Callian’s explanation of “foiling a ninja plot” are tied to this. The war started over a catastrophic failure in marriage negotiations.

Rosa is the current heir of Baron. She is tied to the lineage of the throne through her grandmother, a princess who married a mysidian mage, who had her mother, who married a dragoon in Barron. It was a scandalous story back in the day, although it is kept on the down low now that the king has fathered no children, and they are at war. Kain is looked at as the future ruler, because of this. Politics will play a part, particularly during the Fabul castle invasion. Also Rosa needs to be depicted with more muscle please, she wields a bow for crying out loud. She should be soo buff.

There are rumors that Calian is the heir. Callian plays along with this to protect her friend.

Calian is loyal to her friends, but she is also loyal to her country and the people she leads. She is not leaving on Kain’s quest because she intends to take care of the people back home. I wanted to contrast the personal reasons of Kain being an antagonist from cannon, and avert brainwashing. She’s not as blind as she pretends to be, and comes up with some very bizarre explanations to others in the intention to subvert the malice in her orders. She won't be able to look away forever, but in the meantime she can use “alternative explanations” to do things like prevent Mist from being a genocide, or win Damcyan with less casualties ( Anna of Arc was a pretty big factor in this too). The surviving summoners will play a part later.

Who cast the Berserk spell is a small ongoing mystery. (The brainwashing is not contained to Baron)

At this point in the story, Rydia is amnesic, and I tried to include some realistic symptoms of that. She is also under the impression that Kain is her previously unmet Dad, who came for her after her mom died, and does not remember the invasion, probably the trauma from it. The “Kain is secretly my dad” is not revealed until after the Faymarch, because it had no reason to come up, and it's pretty hard to dissuade her of it after she has lived with it for years.

Oh, heres some older notes

-“Honesty, my first attempt went from crack to serious, to crack. Like at the beginning, I decided there's no way the mages should be that easy to defeat, so I decided that a berserk spell had been cast on half of both armies. Of course, it's a pretty chaotic battle between being turned into frogs or pigs , and the fire spells, the mages berserking and everything. So, Calian decides, let's complete the objective, get in, get the crystal, get out.

So once she recalls her troops, she is on the airship, and trying to figure out WTF happened. Of course back home!e, she is responsible, and the king is questioning her competence there. He sends her on a milk run to deliver this ring to some nowhere village in the mountains.

Like in canon, Kain comes along.

Rosa talks to her to try to cheer her up that night.

The next day they go to town. Kain goes shopping, and Callian goes Item hunting. When Kain runs into a crazy dancer fangirl, he jumps off a bridge and finds Calian contemplating a tent in the water.

They decide it would be better to catch a Chocobo. Of course they run into so many goblins there they find a goblin summon. (Ffiv has a ridiculously low drop rate) . Then they set up a tent outside the cave.

The next day, they face the dragon, accidentally kill the summoner. Then they find out the purpose of the ring was to summon bombs on the village. Callin interprets it weirdly...

"It is an Ebalanese ninja plot. I must do what I failed last time and take control of the situation. Command it. Kain, help me evacuate."

So, more villagers survive, but Rydia still summons Titan

The nation of Barron is being taken over by Golbez, who is also possessed. He had the king brainwashed, then disposed of and replaced, and Barron is now making war for crystals of other nations, and bombing the village of summoners, and in cannon Cecil and Kain agreed this is not the king we want to work for. Then they are separated by a magic earthquake, and end up on opposite sides of the mountain. Cecil is left caring for the child whose mother he inadvertently killed, and Kain is presumably taken back to Barron and brainwashed.

In this one , Kain will be with the kid, and Calian will be back in Barron not brainwashed, (yet,) but loyal and willing for the time. She's a capable captain, and as long as she is loyal to home, well someone needs to lead the army.

Like Cecil, she's friends with Kain and Rosa. Unlike Cecil, Kains group dynamic is changed, because I sort of get the feeling that Cecil let Kain brood too much. Like Kain and Cecil were said to be BFF\Rivals, but the game didn't really show it much. There was a love diagram with Kain crushing on Rosa, who was dating Cecil, so I get the feeling that tension was never properly talked out in Cannon, because Kain kind of behaves like a creep towards her when brainwashed, and then apparently stays on a mountain for 30 years post game. Some shit needs to be said here.

So yah, different dynamic here

So Cailan takes Cecil's role at first, being captain of the red wings, Kains Rival, and generally regarded as essential for being a knight. She worked hard to get there, and is pretty competitive. Cecil is still around, and will show up later, as a different person with different teachings.

She is loyal to her home country and her troops, and that will get her into trouble and scapegoat in the long run.”

So Cecil. Here Cecil is still a dark knight, who grew up the apprentice of the wandering dark knight whose armor we find around the game, and is mentioned in Fabul. As an apprentice to someone who the dark knight class is a family style, he has a lot more battle techniques and equipment then in game. He is investigating why there are increasingly frequent monster attacks, and trying to find out why the world is out of balance.

Edward sincerely admires Anna.

Anna and her father have hereditary clairvoyance. It takes a toll on them as they age.

#Random K #Up the down way #Callian Jackson #kain highwind #final fantasy iv #rosa farrell #plotting #plot bunnies #the notes

1 note · View note