#wren and raven

[wander-wren]

bothers me in trc fandom when people refer to “ronan’s suicide attempt” because it was pretty importantly NOT a suicide attempt. gansey, noah, adam, they all assumed it was, which is why gansey freaks out when ronan goes missing overnight at the beginning of trb, but it is not. it was a dream creature he brought back that had clawed him up.

i’m sure you could argue that that’s just an indirect suicide attempt, ronan’s subconscious, etc (opal tells him the night horrors are him), but i don’t see it that way. ronan is angry and grieving and violent in the wake of niall’s death. the night horrors, to my knowledge, don’t target ronan so much as they target any soft, living thing they can destroy. we don’t see this scene happen. we don’t see the day or the nightmare that comes before. we just have ronan’s word, and ronan says it wasn’t a suicide attempt, so it wasn’t.

and we can talk in circles then about whether ronan is suicidal actually—personally i think he has a sort of reckless disregard for his own life (see: drag racing, dream drugs) and has internalized a lot of the ideas about him being a “bad kid,” but i don’t think he’s actively suicidal. and that’s important to me. it’s important that ronan doesn’t actually want to die. i think he’s struggling to see the point of what everyone wants him to do (school), and struggling to envision a future for himself.

if ANYTHING was going to make ronan suicidal, truly, it should have been the dreamer trilogy. he’s isolated from all of his loved ones, literally starts dying if he’s not careful with the ley lines, and also the world is ending. we can see his same thought patterns repeating (“you’re always the car crash, ronan”) and we see him struggling with reality and identity (every conversation with bryde, who remember is part of ronan’s psyche, and also the looping dream with the mirror). and he’s not suicidal in the dreamer trilogy.

we talk a lot in this fandom about “gansey kind of wanted to live.” i think we should talk about how, despite everything, so did ronan.

[matchamabs]

for one of the suggestions of drawing a black raven beach episode style thing. i bet the lake at barde manor is a huge summer spot hehe also for comedy, the initial sketch cos it makes me giggle lmao

[justewil]

i love these little .icons ... they're so silly ...

[somepsychopomp]

Winged!Ed AU ft. Hohenheim (Pt.1)

rotating an idea for an FMA(B) AU in my mind where Ed has wings that are typically folded tight against his back and hidden by his red coat. He's basically born a chimera and chooses to hide his status to avoid obvious questions and suspicions.

But I want to lay down the background details, starting here:

Xerxesians, being prodigious alchemists, would of course have dabbled in chimeras and were the first to produce "successful" chimeras- similar to Greed's crew where they pass pretty much entirely for human. Most of their test subjects would have been servants, slaves, poor folk trading their bodies for coin, etc.

that's how we get Hohenheim- or 23, the twenty-third in a long line of chimerical experiments. He himself wasn't fused with an animal, but his mother or father was. 23, in turn, was actually born with a set of wings.

(Hohenheim being born a chimera is important to note bc it means his master not only made a series of healthy chimera, but ones that could reproduce! unfounded at the time)

Hohenheim was born w/ the wings of a lesser kestrel. I chose this bird more because it fits Ed more than Ho, but I just liked a few key details about it!

The lesser kestrel occupies a territory from Germany across the Middle East all the way to East Asia, which isn't super important given that FMA is set in a fictional world but loosely speaking, it's feasible that a Xerxesian alchemist could get his hands on one for human experimentation purposes.

I like the faintly red-brown coloration the males have on the back of their wings in combination w/ that black- very Ed.

They do well in grasslands/agricultural fields but are also adaptable to urban environments & co-existing with humans.

They are birds of prey!

however, they're quite diminutive birds of prey- meaning they're small and arguably very cute. (They're like 10-13 inches in length and notably smaller than Common Kestrels & other birds of prey)

Hohenheim's wings are proportional to his body tho, giving him the ability to fly.

As a slave, his physical fitness was well tested. He can fly and glide with great agility, but he was never allowed to go far because his master always kept him tethered to prevent his escape. Hohenheim also has a trail of feathers going down his spine but interestingly enough, he lacks a kestrel tail. He supposes that's not surprising, he lacks talons or a beak or eyesight far beyond that of a human. But perhaps he carries the genes for a tail. (Foreshadowing)

As an adult post-fall of Xerxes, Hohenheim found himself lost and shell shocked.

For many years, he contemplated cutting off his wings so he could better blend in with humans. But as a living Philosopher's Stone, he felt like it would be pointless endeavor and instead learned to hide them with a long coat.

Most of his canon story is basically the same until he meets Trisha.

When he fell in love with Trisha, Hohenheim knew full well that as a born and fertile chimera himself, it's fully possible their children will be born like him. He wasn't certain how great of a chance it was, it could be a recessive trait with no hope of ever resurfacing down his family line, or it could be a guarantee.

Hohenheim first has to reveal his wings to Trisha.

Even though he fully expected her to reject him at that point, understandably so, she instead accepted Hohenheim for who and what he was. She understood the possible consequences of their relationship and was completely willing to raise a potentially chimera child, together.

cue their first son.

To be safe, they have a home brith without a doctor or midwife, relying instead on Hohenheim's knowledge of alkahestry and human anatomy to tend to and heal Trisha.

And at the end of it, Edward Elric is born with wings. His were characteristic of baby kestrels, puffy and white and lacking the coloration or streamlined appearance that Hohenheim had as an adult.

Turning Edward over to properly examine his body, Hoheheim is horrified to see a small, tiny tuft of a tail protruding from Edward's lower back.

Dear god, his child was even more of a chimera than him! It's devastating to think of, until...

Hohenheim and all his souls cry at the sight of Trisha cooing at Edward as if he were a normal child, kissing his forehead and soothing his chip-like cries. She loves him. She loves their child, even if he was like Hohenheim. So brave, so loving, his Trisha.

But it also terrifies Hohenheim. He knew Trisha wanted at least two children, partly so they could help on their small family farm and partly so that the children could keep each other company.

All he has to go off of is the fact that his one and only child was very visibly a chimera. Ed will always be lesser than those around him- he will always have to hide his true self. But Trisha loved him and still wanted another child with her whole heart.

So they have Alphonse. And to Hohenheim's amazement, their second child has no visible chimera traits whatsoever! He's for all intents and purposes, human! He's human, and beautiful.

And perhaps, perhaps, just perhaps...even if Hohenheim does his best to treat both his boys equally, there's just the tiniest part of him that wants to recoil at the sight of Ed in the bathtub, flapping his wings and sending up bubbles. He's arguably slow to help Trisha bind Ed's wings before he goes out to play with Winry so they aren't seen, as well as when Trisha fits Ed with some kind of outer garment like a loose sweater or coat to hide the shape of his wings. He's possibly, if one looked close enough, a tad bit reluctant to groom Ed's wings. To gently pinch his pin feathers to release them (new feathers are encased in a white sheath as they grow out to protect them before they're fully developed), or combing his feathers or anything else.

The only thing Hohenheim does persistently and with excruciating effort/attention is when he clips Edward's flight & tail feathers so that even if he tried, he couldn't fly. It's honestly better if Edward never, ever learns how to fly and never develops the desire to. Far less a chance of someone ever uncovering his condition.

Hohenheim and Trisha have the same argument many times over the course of the first few years of the boys' lives. Hohenheim, as Ed's father, wants to take responsibility for his son's unfortunate condition by severing Ed's wings and tail before he's old enough to really remember them and the procedure.

Trisha, in contrast, argues that Edward's extra extremities are perfectly healthy limbs, even if his wing muscles are underdeveloped, and that it would be a tragedy to cut out such an integral part of himself.

[teenytinyapprentice]

Black Raven week: Day 1 - Black Raven

“I am the Black Raven. Welcome to my market.” love the design for this guy... he’s so creepy and yet so playful at the same time, feels very fitting for the kids who don his mask!

[gummygoatgalaxy]

Twins💕💕😈

Just Raven and Wren

[chopper-and-ap5]

Zeb: [On the phone] No, Hera, everything is running smoothly. Chop, tell Hera everything is fine.

Chopper: [Takes phone] - Hi, Mom. We haven’t eaten for days, we lost Ezra, and I got kicked off the crew. Love ya, bye.

[surroundedbypearls]

The Seal and the Ravens

OC INTRODUCTION - Wren

“I am going into the wide world also,” replied the stranger; “Shall we keep each other company?” “With all my heart,” he said, and so they went on together. Soon they began to like each other very much, for they were both good; but Jeric found out that the stranger was much more clever than himself. He had travelled all over the world, and could describe almost everything.

(Above is altered from the original tale and not written by me)

When out on his lonely travels, Jeric comes across a mysterious stranger, who volunteers to accompany him wherever he might wish to go. Where exactly they are going, Jeric isn’t sure, but his mysterious companion seems to know everything. 

See more about The Seal and the Ravens here! Leave a comment or send an ask to be added to the taglist.

[magpielark]

I drew some birds from my backyard : -)

[littlemoondance]

Posting my purple wearing characters collage. I was a but surprised to see I’d drawn enough characters to fill this. How many characters do you recognize? 💜

You can see my green character collage here.

[foundfamilyhq]

[matchamabs]

Maybe something with Marilyn and Louis? Passing the time chatting at their stalls in the market or the like? :)

iiiiii like them togetherrrr 😳

edit: lmfao didnt realise this was my 2000th post. black raven stuff, as it should be 😔

[spacey-png-art]

I was gonna wait til I was finished with my friends character drawings but it’s been like months! So! Wren, my character for Curse of strahd :D!!!

(Ps click for better quality!!)

[wander-wren]

wrt to the “adam shouldve been a visionary” dreamer trilogy/greywaren post i’ve seen a few times (possibly reblogged?)….well, maybe, but also no.

it’s not that i don’t have my own gripes with tdt (namely, yes, not enough adam), but i just…i can’t get behind visionary adam. not canon visionary, anyway.

like. you’re telling me ronan “the choice was death or hurting adam, which wasnt a choice at all” lynch would have handled it with ANY amount of grace if adam “i will be your hands. i will be your eyes” parrish was given the ultimatum “hurt others every time you have a vision and live, or turn the visions inward and quickly die horribly”??? no!!

and maybe in this alternate version of tdt that’s the whole point, yknow. if that’s what you want, ABSOLUTELY go ahead, dream on about it, write the fic, send it to me i’d love to see. etc etc etc

but the point of the dreamer trilogy is that it’s about ronan. so if we’re keeping with that vision (ha), and with the basic premise of the series, then no, i don’t think visionary adam is a good idea.

which begs the question…what WOULD i have adam do?

[disclaimer i read each book as they came out and havent done full rereads since so my memory is spotty, pls correct anything i get wrong]

in all honesty i would keep call down the hawk essentially as it is bc i think it was good. it takes place during november, no? so potentially add in/exchange a shorter adam moment for thanksgiving break. he can help scry and figure out psychic things and be distrustful of bryde.

have winter break be during part of mister impossible. seriously where are adam’s school breaks lmao. adam is relentlessly practical and cares about ronan and he should be here to sow doubt and try to curb some of ronan’s more ecoterrorist tendencies. ronan can sneak around and hide from him and there can be tension and worry and anger. but also a lot of good pynch feelings still, ofc, bc its Them.

but don’t worry! they can still have a big fight/falling out over the ley lines/bryde/the ecoterrorism before adam leaves for school again. as silly as it is that ronan freaked out over an unread text when adam was literally napping, maybe this time it’s deliberate. or maybe adam really was napping again, or driving, or whatever. the rest of mister impossible can play out from there, or a condensed/reshuffled version of it to accommodate adam being there for a while.

greywaren can start the same, but for the love of god let ronan get out faster it is HIS BOOK. i do like henessey helping him do that i think its an important part of her character, and adam’s part in all that was very good and angsty so i wouldnt change it, but i would have it happen in the first half. ronan and adam make up and go off to do whatever was happening by the end of greywaren tbh i got confused. or something totally different! who knows.

also i just want to see adam interact with the actual visionaries and with carmen and henessey more and with bryde i think it would be very cool. very fun.

i also think gansey/blue/henry shouldve shown up literally ever at all but idk how they fit in so shh

[teenytinyapprentice]

Black Raven week: Day 5 - Work

“We keep meticulous records here. A black market needs organization!”

Documenting, pricing, packaging and storing plenty of found and refurbished pieces for the market. I’m sure it’s no easy task, especially keeping everyone on the same page so nothing slips through the cracks and exposes their clever operation. The sheer size of a lot of their wares backstage impressed me, must a feat just to transport the stuff down into the market’s auction house!