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#A Daughter of the Aurora
aurora-starwars · 5 months
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Oh my gosh your requests are open! I’m so hyped. Can I maybe request like a Dad! Jake Sully x Daughter! Reader where reader is just so much like Tsu’tey, stubborn and always spites him but they still get along? I can picture Jake missing his na’vi brother and his daughter is just him all over again. I mostly think of Ghost by Justin Bieber to be Jake trying to relive the short time that him and Tsu’tey get along.
Grief Is The Price We Pay For Love
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Pairing: Dad!Jake Sully x Daughter!reader (platonic)
Summary: Jake can’t stop seeing Tsu’tey in his oldest daughter
Word Count: 1.7k
Warnings: mentioned violence, like one or two curse words
Word Bank: Kuru - Neural Queue; Olo'eyktan - Leader of the clan; Ikran - banshee, large flying animal; Iknimaya - rite of passage for the Omatikaya; Omatikaya - na’vi clan on Pandora; Pa’li - direhorse, horse like animal; skxawng - moron, idiot;
A/n: It has been a while, and for that I am truely sorry, life just kept sweeping me away. But I enjoyed writing this! Thank you for requesting! Please enjoy!!!!!!! <333333333333
Masterlist
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As soon as she was born, her yellow eyes seemed to pierce Jake Sully’s just as Tsu’tey’s used to.
 Born alongside Neteyam, [Name] bore the distinct features of the Na’vi. Kuru starting at the top of her head, prominent lack of eyebrow, three fingers. All features he should associate with his mate, Neytiri, the mother of the twins. But as Jake watches her grow, he can’t help but see his fallen Na’vi brother.
Jake thought it would fade away, that it was something from his past haunting him and his daughter didn’t actually look like the reincarnate of Tsu’tey at all. Besides, if he were to see Tsu’tey in anyone, surely it would be his remarkably Na’vi son, who bore many of the same traits of his sister. But as they grew, Jake and Neytiri both could see just how similar [Name] and Tsu’tey actually were.
It started early, when they were teaching Neteyam, Kiri, and [Name] to walk, a fairly simple and necessary step for any child. This didn’t stop little [Name], who was a little less than a year old, from being stubborn. Neytiri and Jake started by holding their arms, lifting them up onto their feet so that they could stand. When they could stand, they would let go, moving away slightly in hopes they would follow. The ‘they’ was just Kiri and Neteyam. When they tried to help [Name], she only swatted her hand away and pouted, giving the most hateful glare one could receive.
Regretfully, Jake laughed at this, earning a smack to the shoulder from Neytiri. How could he not have though? [Name] looked just like Tsu’tey like that, acted like him too. Jake smiled fondly at his oldest daughter, who soon after tried to stand on her own, feeling left out from her siblings.
Another time Jake saw Tsu’tey in [Name] was when he was teaching [Name] and Neteyam how to hunt. They weren’t very old, five or six max, and they still had a lot of learning to do. This, however, did not stop [Name] from trying to teach Neteyam how to use a bow, despite hardly knowing how to use one herself. It was day three of teaching the kids and [Name] was on Neteyam’s back about his posture. She kept hitting his belly, telling him that he had to tighten his muscles, hitting his arm, telling him to raise his elbow. While she was right, Jake couldn’t help but chuckle to himself, how many times did Tsu’tey mock and criticize his form? Too many to count.
By the time Jake came to the present, Neteyam had half-heartedly thrown his bow down, huffing in frustration before running up to Jake and hugging his leg.
“[Name] is making fun of me!” Neteyam’s weak voice whined.
“It’s not my fault you suck!” [Name] laughed, her small hands on her hips.
Ever since then, [Name] seemed to beat out Neteyam in every subject. In skill, she beat all of the young warriors her age. She was quickly becoming one of the best warriors of her age, of the clan! Jake was more than proud. Proud of not only his daughter’s success, but just how Na’vi she has become. Na’vi, just like the most Na’vi person he knew.
Tsu’tey.
No matter where she went, [Name] would always remind Jake of Tsu’tey. Remind him of when they got along. And when they didn’t.
Like the day after her Iknimaya.
Jake knew he shouldn’t be worried, she wouldn’t be alone, and yet he did not want her to go out riding ikran with her friends. Her friends where nice kids, all warriors like her, that he has taught, but she just bonded with her ikran, the bond was new, and he did not trust [Name]’s ikran just yet. He remembers Bob, it took a few days, at least a week for them to completely trust each other. He did not want [Name]’s ikran to get spooked by something and leave her for dead.
[Name] did not take this news very well.
She was just leaving their family home, a wide smile on her face, when Jake stopped her. He knew she was so excited to attempt her Iknimaya and was even more proud to have successfully bonded with her own ikran. That is why he was not surprised to see her smile fall, her ears pin back, and shoulders slump.
“What? Why?” she wasn’t unreasonable, if her father had a good reason, she would respect his commands.
“Baby girl, I have said you cannot go, do not argue with me,” unfortunately Jake was not great at communicating.
[Name] gave him a piercing glare, shooting daggers that seemed to wound Jake immediately. But he could not show it, would not show it. He is the Olo'eyktan, he must act like it.
But does not stop the pained look that washes over his face once she had walked away.
Later that night, Neytiri scolded him lightly for preventing [Name] from enjoying time kids her age for once, instead of taking care of her siblings or training. While Jake was still apprehensive about the situation, feeling as if his fears were justified, he felt his rules might have been too strict this time.
It was good timing for this resolution because not even an hour later, [Name] arrived back to the family hut, having been gone all night riding her ikran with her friends.
Jake stood up immediately, making his way to the entrance of their home, waiting for [Name]’s eyes to meet his. When they did, [Name] seemed to have more composure than him, he almost felt threatened by her eyes. As if he was the one to do something wrong, not her.
“Where have you been? I thought you were with your siblings?” Jake was more than confused, was she not just sleeping in her room with her siblings?
“Dad, we both knew where I was, no need to do this,” she did not seem angry, but she did stand her ground like the grown warrior she was becoming.
“Do not worry, Father. I have been watching the others,” Neteyam remarks, walking out of the Sully kid’s shared room.
He lays a hand on his father’s shoulder, “If anyone can go out alone on ikran and be fine, it is my sister. If anything, she was protecting the others, and you know they fight well.”
Jake smiles at his son, patting the hand on his shoulder. Jake nods, looking down as if thinking before looking back up at his daughter. He smiles at her, extending a hand, an invitation.
Her piercing gaze drops, her smile reaching her face again as she breaks out into a warm laugh, taking her father’s hand. Jake pulls his daughter and son closer, bringing them into his chest, where they rest their heads.
Later that night, all Jake can think about is how [Name] seemed just like Tsu’tey in that moment.
Tsu’tey patted Jake on the back, a harsh sort of pat, one you would give if you secretly wanted to do harm to the other.
“Jakesully, you do not understand our ways, you will never be one of us,” as much as his words sounded serious, with the smile on his face and the light tone in his voice told Jake that this was more affectionate than hostile.
Jake aimed his bow again, taking in a deep breath, eyes locking onto the makeshift target. He sucked in his stomach, raised his elbow and let go.
“Ah, pretty good,” Tsu’tey nodded, looking at the bulleye. “For a dreamwalker,” he teased, playfully smacking Jake’s shoulder.
Jake noted Tsu’tey’s smile was light, out of character for the Na’vi who usually wore a piercing glare around him. The smile was unusual but welcomed and only helped Jake prove to himself that he was, in face, becoming one of the people.
But what really sealed the deal for Jake, was when he assigned Lo’ak, Neteyam, and [Name] as look out for Lo’ak’s first mission.
He only let Lo’ak join because he had become awfully annoying with his pestering. Always on about how if [Name] and Neteyam could go, why couldn’t he? Jake figured that Lo’ak would lose interest or get too scared to do anymore if he let him join. How wrong he was.
Lo’ak was a pain in the ass as always, and Neteyam and [Name] were doing their best to keep him inline. The whole way to the checkpoint was full of non-stop chatter and jokes about how he was going to destroy the RDA, how he was going to beat them all up all on his own. [Name] though her eyes might get stuck with the amount her eyes would roll.
“Lo’ak, shut your damn mouth or I will tell mum what you keep in that basket in our room,” [Name] practically barks.
Lo’ak goes quiet, and [Name] can see the purple of his cheeks, even from where she is on her ikran. Neteyam smiles at her, and she takes that as a thanks.
The problem came when they arrived at the checkpoint, bombs went off, the train went off track, and Lo’ak decided he wanted a piece of the action, diving his ikran in the direction of the pa’li riders.
[Name] just held her hand up at Neteyam, telling him to keep on look out, and she dove to join her youngest brother.
When she landed, she found Lo’ak holding a gun, letting out a battle cry.
“Lo’ak!” [Name] came running, eyes dark and her ears pinned, straight for Lo’ak.
“Put that thing down,” she ordered, shoving the gun into someone else’s arms. “Today is not the day to be a skxawng, let’s go,” [Name] grabbed him by the ear and dragged him back to his ikran.
Jake watched this from where he was stationed, feeling a glimmer of pride for his daughter in his chest and a sparkle of deep annoyance for his son. But he was left little time to think before Neteyam warned him of an incoming RDA aircraft.
When they made it back to base, the three young warriors lined up, all three practically unscathed but their sisters still came and checked on them.
Jake looked into his eldest daughter’s eyes, he saw a warrior, a warrior that cared for her loved ones, one that did not take BS. He saw Tsu’tey. His na’vi brother. He looked into her eyes, yellow eyes filled with focus and determination, and he brought his hand from his forehead downwards in a smooth motion.
“I see you, daughter.”
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Master-list
A/n: Thank you so much for reading! My requests are open so please feel free to request! <3333333
Taglist:
@nyotamalfoy @adrunkskeletonsduck @luvlykrispy @tainted-artist4161 @gamorxa @valentineheartzz @nighttimemoonlover
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Charlie: *sees Hell in chaos on her day off*
Charlie: “Not my circus, not my monkeys. Not my circus, not my monkeys. Not my-“
Charlie: *realizes it’s her and Vaggie’s daughters causing chaos*
Charlie, panicking: “My circus, my monkeys! My circus, my monkeys!”
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stubz · 20 days
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Drill Day
'Attention participants, the drill will be starting in 1 minute. Take this time to prepare yourselves and to remember that everything that will happen is a simulation. Nothing can or will legitimately hurt you. Should you wish to stop the simulation tap the centerpiece of your vest and you will escorted off, should you be unable to do so simply say 'moon' and you will escorted off.'
"Okay the sound system is good, the holograms and drones are a go, and our actors are ready."
"I still don't know why we need actors when we have perfectly good holograms and drones." Glip didn't want to admit but she was a little hurt that Calis and the Captain didn't trust her work.
"We've been over this. As good as your holograms are they aren't physical which can lower the realism and while your drones are physical they can can be too predictable which is something we don't want. Hence the actors."
"Doubt they'll even be convincing." she grumbled.
.
To Glip's annoyance and Quip's entertainment the actor's where in fact convincing.
"What are you doing you idiot?! Your in a supply closet with tons of stuff around to use and you use a towel?? You deserve to be captured by enemy forces."
The poor Vrool get's tackled to the ground by an actor who roars in their face, fake fangs and mandibles making them ink themselves.
"Aw buddy, aw there we go! Good sportsmanship actor!" the actor uses the towel to clean the Vrool best they can before finding them a new uniform to change into them a before sending them to the 'jail' set up.
"Shlip who did they hire for this?" honestly this was some of the best simulation acting she's seen in a while.
"Some random ship members who had too much time and was down for a free dinner on Cap."
"Huh, any apexes?"
"Oh yeah, like two thirds of them. Those big ones dressed like a Mors Crawlers? That's a tighalax and a rextalian."
"Great asteroids no wonder those orcs were shaking."
"Yep," he said popping the p. "almost as terrifying as the real thing."
..
"Wait wait wait, hold the shlipping communicator, we got younglings doing this?"
"Oh quiznack. . .well it's probably gonna be toned down right, right?" he asked looking at his co-worker.
"Yeah, yeah it should be. Look. Like half the actors are leaving...leaving only the scariest ones left." they looked at each other concerned.
"CAAAPPPTAAAIN??"
"What!? Damnit Quip and Glip don't yell into the comms!"
"Are we actually sending younglings into this??"
"Isn't this like youngling endangerment?"
"The kids have been briefed about this and their parents signed off on this. Perfectly legal and safe. I also brought in some experts on this."
"Experts on scaring children?" who the shlip does that??
"Just do your jobs."
...
"OH MY GODS..HOW THE ACTUAL SHLIP?!"
"how the deq are these kids fine with this..."
Said younglings are being chased by actors, dressed as Mors Crawlers and Domitors, the actors giving them very little breathing room.
One of them swipe at the younglings with their prosthetic claws, catching on the little ones clothes. They yank back and the child is sent sprawling towards the jaws of the Domitor, the child's vest lights up red. They're out.
Some more children get caught by claws, tails, and wings. Each one of them are out.
The remaining few duck into an open vent too small for the predators to follow. They claw and roar at the entrance.
"HA! Can't get them now, score one nothing for the younglings!"
"Nope, look at screen 3."
While the actors at the entrance roared and thrashed a few of them ran through the halls until reaching the other side of the vent. Just as the children were coming out.
They could run but to where? Back into the vent? Forward into their pursuers?
Well they tried both.
The largest and strongest charged forward while the smallest ran back.
While the larger and stronger ones were from species known for their power and abilities, they were still younglings going against adults. After some struggling their vests turned red.
Only a handful of younglings reached the vent without getting caught. The ones inside were safe...for now.
....
'Only 5 minutes before the simulation is over. 5 minutes.'
"Well, looks the kids win this one."
"Good for them. They earned it."
"Yeah-hold up...what are they doing?"
The actors were...breaking the wall. They had grabbed chairs and any heavy objects they could and were using them to break down the wall.
"IS THIS ALLOWED?!"
"THERE'S NO WAY IT IS....gods wrath it is...JUST LET THE KIDS HAVE THIS!!"
When a foot of the vent was now revealed they grabbed it and started to pull. The other side, now aware of what was happening, started to push and increase their efforts in grabbing the younglings.
"They're pulling it...oh my gods they're pulling it out of the actual wall!"
"IT'S 15 FEET LONG THOUGH!!"
"HOW MUCH TIME IS LEFT?!"
"2 MINUTES."
Inch by inch the predators pulled out sections of the vent. Almost a third of the way done. The hole left behind now big enough to send over their smallest predator on the other side.
"BODY CAM BODY CAM"
"I'M DOING IT I'M DOING IT"
The beast crawled as fast as it could through the tunnel. The younglings yell and kick at its claws.
A child screams while being dragged out of the body cams view.
"They're dead."
"Yep, you owe me five tix."
"No, I betted on the other rextali-"
"MOON!"
Quip and Glip quieted. Then went into a flurry finding the right camera, searching for the child who said the safe word.
They found the child; Zyz, age 6 years old, species rextalian, being comforted by an actor. Face pressed into the adults fake fur while stroking the child's spine with their palms. Keeping their face and claws out of Zyz's view.
All the other actors around them softly put down the vent pieces and children already caught.
They then step back and then kneel or crouch. Claws are up or by their sides.
The children go to one another, checking up on each other, a few check on Zyz.
One of the actors slowly approaches Zyz on their knees. Hand out holding a tissue.
A tiny hand takes it. Along with the tissue.
And just like that all the other adults scoop up the children. Some are cradled into their chests, needing comfort and to not have them see their masks. Others are put onto their shoulders and backs, not as riled up or in a more playful mood. Some are tossed and dangled, to put them at ease despite the adrenaline coursing through their small bodies.
Soon the sniffles and hiccups are replaced by laughter and cheers.
The claws are replaced by warm sweaty hands.
Fangs and mandibles are replaced by sweaty smiling faces.
Wings and extra appendages are replaced by children hugging the tired actors.
"...they were HUMANS?!?"
"Hey it's Max! ...Ohhh that's whose a professional in scaring kids. That makes sense now."
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dcs-fkin-mystics · 3 months
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DC’s magical apprentices & protégés:
Warlock’s Daughter — Enchantress’s apprentice
Misty Kilgore — Zatanna’s apprentice
Salem the Witch Girl —Doctor Fate (Kent Nelson)’s sidekick & apprentice
Aurora — Felix Faust’s first apprentice
Billy Batson — Wizard Shazam’s champion
Fauna Faust — Felix Faust’s third apprentice & daughter
Nevermore — Raven’s protege
Stitch — Doctor Fate (Khalid Nassour)’s apprentice & kid
Osiris — Black Adam’s protege & brother-in-law
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whozui · 7 days
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ya know how bruce finds hal jordan so insufferable?
imagine hal having a daughter around jason's age, and they just so happen to get along... wink wink.
think of the headache this would give bruce, think of how hal would make jokes about "family dinners" even if he himself isn't particulary stoked about his daughter dating a bat, he's looking at the bright side which is bothering bruce.
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lavendersartistry · 2 months
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Space Riders AU - @onyxonline
Tis the queen, Aurora!
Her hair flows like the princesses from MLP (she is very Luna-coded)
When she was Queen, she took a liking to the Astral Jellyfish from the gardens because they gave her peace
Her favorite bird were owls✨
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oddberryshortcake · 3 months
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There’s literally no way to end this unless Malleus can be convinced to let everyone go.
Given Diasomnia’s history of talking Malleus down from tantrums (Lilia’s done this Malleus’s whole life and they do it as a group in Cater’s Halloween SSR) they’re going to do essentially what happens to other overblots, except no overt ‘beating’ because Malleus is literally too strong for them
I can’t help but feel we may get a little callback to Silver’s speech in Fairy Gala remix, where he apologizes for tricking the fairy queen and expresses his wish for humans and fae to get along and understand each other.
And I wonder if that’s going to go down in a sweet emotional way or turn horrifying if it goes awry 🥲
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lsleofthelost · 6 months
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descendants tweets [20/?] Audrey edition
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mintharan · 5 months
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I've been burdened with terrible visions. Walk with me.
It struck me how Spawn Astarion with Duke Wyll and Ascended Astarion with Duke Wyll could work as negatives of each other.
For instance, Wyll marries spawn Astarion, they are so happy everyone around them gets hit with the fallout. Wyll singlehandedly makes nightly soirees a thing. "I just think parties should happen at night, there's no point in holding any kind of grand event during the day if you really think about it." Just so Astarion can attend and be the centre of attention and speculation.
Everyone wonders about the Duke's mysterious husband who never goes out during the day. Rumours abound. "I hear Duke Ravengard is extremely jealous and doesn't let his husband out of his sight, locks him up inside the house so none may gaze upon him." "Nonsense, I hear the man is actually a pale drow and the sun hurts his eyes." "More nonsense, I hear he's an insufferable prick who thinks everyone is beneath him and only comes out at night because the sun makes other people's flaws too apparent."
You get the gist of it. Astarion delights in having all these rumours about himself, and tells Wyll to stop trying to dispel them. "Darling, the people of Baldur's Gate get bored easily, let them speculate, it's better than starting yet another cult." They adopt Lily Aurora, who Astarion raises to be a menace. Wyll thinks she's just darling even as people look in horror as she attempts to chew the furniture.
It's all very sweet, despite Astarion's occasional maudlin periods about not being able to go out into the sun.
Now, Ascended Astarion and Duke Wyll get exactly the same story, except no one's happy about it.
This works best imo if they were together before Astarion's ascension and then Wyll broke it off. In this case he'd choose to become a Duke out of an extreme sense of duty to protect the people of Baldur's Gate from the monster Astarion had become.
They would orbit each other constantly, Wyll reminding Astarion that he couldn't go too far without consequence and Astarion testing the limits of Wyll's feelings for him (the love was still there, just twisted).
Eventually the loneliness gets to them both, but mostly to Wyll, who can never get over Astarion, and in a moment of weakness gives in. It feels like a victory to Astarion at first, but like everything else about Ascension he soon realizes it's hollow.
Wyll isn't happy about compromising his morals, even if it's for love, and he despairs in not recognizing the man he fell for in Astarion. Wyll tries to end it many times, but Astarion has him wrapped around his finger, with sex, but mostly with the mimicry of the romance they enjoyed during their early courtship.
Astarion fears one day he'll leave him for good and that he'll be alone. Again. Haunting the halls of his former prison with only his memories for company.
So he brings Lily home, and at first Wyll is horrified but soon he finds comfort in the child's presence. He stays home for longer periods of time. Less 'Duke' duties take him away from Astarion. He's a fucking genius, he solved it.
Except it's obvious Wyll loves the child more than he loves Astarion. He takes to being a father like a duck to water, and while he's home more often all his time is spent with their daughter. His daughter really, he seems to think Astarion will be a bad influence on Lily if he as much as breathes near her.
So his grand plan backfired and now he's so jealous he can barely see straight. He wishes he could take back the damn girl and return her to the Ilmater priests.
But then he remembers. Cazador had made good use of a father's love for his daughter when he made Leon do everything he wanted to keep Violet safe.
Astarion starts doing the same, manipulating Wyll with veiled threats to Lily's life. Wyll knows exactly what he's doing, but he's powerless to do anything. Astarion got the child on his own, they're not married, Wyll has no rights to her.
But he could have, Astarion reminds him. Dangling the promise like a noose. If he agreed to become Astarion's consort, he could have everything.
"Have I not been made into enough of a monster?"
"Darling, at least we'd be monsters together."
It all comes to a head when Astarion threatens to turn Lily instead. "Think about it, she'd be your sweet child forever. She'll never grow up to blame you for anything."
Wyll gives in, allows Astarion to turn him and becomes his consort. They get married, it's a grand event, with the whole city in attendance.
Astarion is triumphant, Wyll is resigned. He becomes more accommodating to Astarion's whims, and Astarion wonders if that's the result of his influence over him through their bond, or Wyll finally accepting the love he can give him.
It kills him that he'll never know.
Astarion has everything he ever wanted, he just wishes he could be happy about it. Wyll still dreams about the shy kisses they traded on an empty beach with only the moon for a witness. Another life.
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chronically-unlucky · 7 months
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Listen all I’m saying is it’s weird that Adam would name his kingdom after Princess Aurora that’s all. Like I get they couldn’t use France but AURAdon? Could’ve been Belladon after his wife and as a reference to the plant which is used for headaches like how “Auradon” was created to get rid of the headache of dealing with villains
(Belladonna is primarily a poison though which still works because the Isle of the Lost was a bad thing to make since the people there are forced to live in squalor even if they were not directly villainous I.e. the sidekicks and offspring)
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rocknroll7575 · 1 month
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I think it's funny that I have one story idea where Jaune is Ozma's first body he reincarnates into and then I have another story idea where Jaune is Ozma and Salem's 5th kid and Jaune has ghost sisters who can take physical forms and help him.
Like one is two people struggling to co-exist while dealing with an ancient evil that Salem and Ozma defeated a long time ago who wants to end the world.
While the other one is just a huge Family Fight with emotional drained and tired father, an evil mother who wants to end everything, and 5 kids trying their best while struggling with their own issues.
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aurora-starwars · 3 months
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I have an idea for an Clarisse La Rue x reader fic and i was wondering if anyone would be interested in me writing this
(i have other clarisse fics in the works dw)
The reader (fem) would a daughter of Poseidon and Sally jackson, making her percy's older sister.
It would a be a slow burn enemies to lovers story (like SLOW)
and idk maybe the reader is like a surfer girl or smth. I'm not sure when she should be claimed and what not, but the reader would be like 5 years older than percy and the same age as clarisses.
Idk, you let me know. I am on a percy jackson kick right now
I'm on book three at the moment.
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loola-a · 3 days
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@yulgurr has infected me with cowboy au brain disease 💔 there is no cure
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lovewillabides · 10 months
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"I wish I could stay."
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witchthewriter · 1 year
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𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞
Women who are caught between worlds, or between who they are. Both light and darkness are within them. Do they stay within their safe confounds, or branch out and find adventure? These women are challenging traditional norms and societal standards. They’re strong, and fierce, while upholding their femininity. 
𝐿𝑢𝑐𝑦 𝑃𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑒
𝑀𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑖
𝐴𝑟𝑤𝑒𝑛
𝐵𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑎 𝑆𝑤𝑎𝑛
𝐴𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑎 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑜𝑣
𝑆𝑎𝑛𝑠𝑎 𝑆𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑘
𝑆𝑜𝑝ℎ𝑖𝑒 𝑆ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑑𝑎𝑛
𝐹𝑒𝑦𝑟𝑒 𝐴𝑟𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑜𝑛
𝐴𝑢𝑟𝑜𝑟𝑎
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olithetalker · 6 months
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Speculation: Why many people find Ben Florian unlikeable
Okay so just for the record, this is essentially an analysis post on the Disney series - Descendants. Specifically on the character of Ben Florian, but more so about the reception of his character and why I think people have responded to him the way they have. Gonna be fairly longish so yeah. Anyways, hope you enjoy! :)
Introduction
Pretty much ever since I first saw Descendants, I have been a huge fan of Ben. (Which is no secret if you've read my blog ;)). I think Mitchell Hope did a fantastic job with the character, and his performance really drove it home.
So it's always been quite... Confusing to me that so many people don't like his character. Tumblr isn't too anti Ben, but on YouTube videos and on TikTok, a lot of analysis around him is typically quite negative. The charms of the character that I see and that really make the series for me, really don't work on everyone. And that's something I've found very hard to understand.
But as of a conversation I have had with @hannahhook7744.. I had an epiphany. As to why this character just seems to be a breeze of annoyance to many. And I think the answer lies in tropes and expectations.
First let's talk a bit about another character, a fan favourite - Audrey Rose.
What role does the character of Audrey Rose play in feelings of spite toward Ben?
I think most dislike for Ben stems from the story of his ex girlfriend -Audrey. We get shown it to some extent in the first movie, but it's much more explicit in the third.
In Descendants 1, Ben and Audrey were together. And while under the influence of a love spell cast on him by protagonist Mal Bertha, he performs a love song to Mal in front of the entire school. Naturally humiliating Audrey and breaking her heart.
After the performance, Mal and Ben start dating each other, much to Audrey's understandable anger.
The movie ends with Ben and Mal happy together and everyone is delighted about it yada yada. And then we get an entire sequel where Audrey does not make a appearance.
It's then in Descendants 3 that she makes a comeback. We see that she and Ben have been friends since childhood, and that she's still hung up on him.
Then, again publicly, Ben proposes to Mal. Mal happily agrees and everyone is delighted, except of course, Audrey. She is further heartbroken by this.
The devastation Audrey feels from losing Ben to a girl who literally enchanted him, causes her to have a emotionally moving breakdown in her bedroom, singing "Queen of Mean", a song about heartbreak from rejection.... At least that's what it's about at first.
It then turns into a song of vengeance. Audrey swears revenge on Mal and Ben for the ordeal she has been put through. She takes Malificient's sceptre from the Auradon Museum, and it changes her look, style of talking etc etc. She's a new person. A person hellbent on getting even with the two people who are (intentionally or not) responsible for her heartbreak.
And that's where we enter - the tropes.
The Tropes
The kind of character arc Audrey has had is pretty common. A girl gets her heart broken by a guy. Maybe he cheats on her. Maybe he breaks up with her in a unfair manner (like in this case). And the girl decides to get even with the guy and the "other girl" who has taken her place in his life.
Except... Here's the thing.
Most of the time in this story archetype, the guy really is a heartbreaking douchey thob.
I mean think of any time you've seen this storyline other than Descendants. When is the guy who has dismissed the girl ever really portrayed in a decent light?
In this specific situation, it's not that simple. Yes, Ben did break up with Audrey by publicly humiliating her. And yes, that's extremely brutal. But he didn't choose to. He was acting under a mind controlling love spell.
But nonetheless, this is probably the only instance where the guy breaking the girl's heart like that genuinely was not his fault. It's pretty odd to get a situation where the guy cheating on the girl really didn't willingly do anything wrong. But nonetheless that's what this is.
Ultimately 9 times out of 10, the role Ben plays in this archetype storyline really is of the bad guy. And so it is very compelling to see this the same way. To overlook how at least as far as the break up incident itself, Ben was not at fault, and just see him as the jerk who hurt Audrey.
Audrey's story is also relatable to real life stories too
Another thing which sadly does not go in Ben's favour either, is that this kind of story isn't just found in fiction. Art reflects life, and what Audrey is unfortunate to experience, for the most part, is all too real.
Many people are unfortunate to get hurt by their partners in real life through things like cheating, or just something involving a "other girl/woman". And the pain from this.... Is not forgettable.
And so I think a revenge fantasy of hurting the unfaithful person and their new consort is very common.
Add onto that that lines Audrey speaks in D3 are written to be relatable and impactful. ("There's nothing to lose when you're lonely and friendless, I won't let another person take advantage of me, the anger burns my skin third degree, now my blood's boiling hotter than a fiery sea etc)
I think with that, it's all too easy for victims of these sort of situations to project their own case onto Audrey's. To see Ben the same way they see the guy who hurt them. And in some cases, to see Mal as how they see their homewrecker, and perhaps want to see her get hurt by Audrey too.
And in real life, there is no love spell that makes people cheat against their will, like there was for Ben. People in reality who do the thing that Ben did really are responsible for their hurtful actions.
So ultimately, the sorts of real life people Ben is being associated to by viewers, aren't particularly decent.
Also, the revelation that Ben and Audrey are childhood friends just exaggerates all these feelings. The people who have been hurt by partners who actually had significant meaning to them are the ones who will naturally relate to Audrey most. And again, project their own experiences onto this girl and the people in her life.
The mistake Ben DID make; wrong but taken out of proportion
Ultimately, while what Spell!Ben did is the sort of thing that gets done all the time irl, it is also pretty evident that as I keep saying; he wasn't in control of himself when he did it. So for many people, even the ones who can relate to Audrey, that fact will be acknowledged.
But the truth is, there is a mistake Ben made. After the love spell was lifted, Ben never went to see Audrey to comfort her after what happened. No doubt that inaction would have fuelled the already existing heartbreak. I mean if Ben had had a word with her, maybe he could have given her closure and made her feel better. But he didn't.
There is no justification for this. Ben was in the wrong for this failure.
But it should also be considered that Ben isn't a 40 year old man who has just left his wife of 10 years. He is a teenager. He is still developing in terms of maturity.
Communication, especially about difficult topics, isn't something teenagers are the best at. I mean if Ben were to approach Audrey, we can tell that it would have clearly been very understandably awkward for him (again, not an excuse, but a point to consider). I mean, if you had just done something so awful to your childhood friend/ex girlfriend, regardless of whether or not it was your fault, approaching someone who you'd expect is probably very angry about it is quite unnerving.
But none of these factors would be considered by a lot of audience members, and for understandable reason:
Because of the tropes, expectations and their personal experiences, they are pre set to see Ben in a negative light. So the thing he WAS wrong for, they understandably will find it harder to empathize with and see from his perspective.
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