bored in class daydreaming about doing a sevensworn “re-release” with a new cover & an alternate romance for absolutely no reason

(divine) source? trust me bro

let's be real, a lot of us feel it, but can we actually ascribe meaning to intuition in a way that communicates it accurately to those that don't believe?

i was having a conversation with a friend earlier today, and he sits in a very skeptical camp around the idea of what he put, in less friendly terms, 'basic' spirituality.

the idea to me that there is such a thing as 'basic' spirituality is arguably an affront, or at least, demonstrates a fundamental lack of understanding of the 'vibe' itself. i think some people either don't know, or maybe are new to exploring this dimension of themselves - and sure, maybe some people take it as a facade or inherit it in a way that is either unfair on others, the wider perspective of spirituality as a whole, or whatever. but i don't think anyone should realistically be judged for that - i know through my own profound personal experience, that there is divinity that exists, and that permeates, throughout all life. intuition spans far beyond the conscious, and even the unconscious - the trained, and the untrained. inspiration, and creativity: meaning, really. these are all drawn from the same collective wavelength, that we all tap into, in my eyes. whether we know it, or believe it, or not.

i'm a big fan of the idea that, through cultural/spiritual/intellectual osmosis - and the passage of time, with individuals and their unique endeavours - we will traverse the landscape of spiritual enrichment and fulfillment in such a way that's (hopefully) exponential for ourselves, but for the collective, be it for those that live in the here and now, or for those in the future, and beyond.

personal truth is a core belief of mine. the universe, i believe, subverts our attempts to ascribe meaning beyond the accepted norm through either science or objective reality. i know there is more out there than we are currently capable of measuring, or at least, more than we are capable of demonstrating as being measured, to the wider world. i'd argue that there is something more fundamental than objective reality, but some sort of harmony between this trinity of the spiritual, physical, and objective, which ultimately forms into subjective reality - but then there's a 'true' reality, which some manage to tap into, and at times pay ultimate costs for being exposed to, or trying to draw from.

i sort of look at it like an approved run of the news. there's an editor, and only a certain amount of creative freedom bleeds through the end product, if any. and i'd argue that the universe is so fundamentally subversive in the sense of its ability to regulate these things, that we cannot undo it, or influence/change the ultimate path that this is following. it is the core principle axiom - god, the divine, or the universe, serves the dish of life, that we can only hope to have a say in its recipe. and heck, maybe we do? and we just don't quite know it? this is just a slice of my own interpretation, a slice of pie that i've attempted to review and find a basis for. really, it is all a form of our own unique tastes after all. (shitty analogy?)

but ultimately, maybe through a concerted effort, maybe the wider vision can be changed - and maybe then we can intellectualise concepts that many view as pseudo-scientific or outright falsehoods, or fabrications.

i have a lot of thoughts about this, and i don't expect people will want to read this. but have one of my diagrams that i did which i think exemplifies my attempt to make sense of this topic!

let me know if ya want to hear or see more :)

Being a bit of a sap over Valom

Ahhhhk I can be a big fucking sap, and this is a mess, but here we go...!

Valom was created in a joint effort (well, the version I draw at least) in summer of 2006. And I am, of course, very fond of the character. I wouldn’t be, if I wasn’t also fond of the person behind the character. Unfortunately that makes all the artwork all the much more confusing - but alas. Valom does have a double life. One is for my friend, the other is whatever role I want to put him in. 

I’ve always painted Valom as severely overpowered. Despite dragging him down in chains, bolting him to concrete floors, and occasionally sending some kind of sharp stick through him - he’s always kind of been the king of the world. Any vulnerability was either for a story, or emotional commentary. 

Some of that overpowered status, was fed by their person. When I drew them doing something I didn’t think they’d do - just to have my friend go “Oh yeah, they would”. So I mentally checked off ‘burglary’ as another thing they could pull off with ease.

As I, as a friend, cooled it a bit on the panicking - my character stepped up to 2nd place. And when they started interacting on paper - other people’s comments actually kind of helped shape things. It’s how Valom got so tightly linked to Lightning. It’s how in almost every situation of them being captured, they’re smirking. Because they’re “stronger together”.

But he really took a beating for a number of months, recently. I mean... I shoved a pole arm into his chest cavity. Was it fun to draw? No, actually! It was... cathartic, sure. But I was not in a good place (nor were they!).

And once things came to light, I felt (feel) really bad about what I put the character through. I don't know if my friend has seen (or remembered if they did) the artwork. But the reason I drew the images... makes me cringe to see them now. (I feel bad about what I said, felt, and thought at the time - but the artwork is a physical reminder)

And I feel like I'm trying to make up for it now. Maybe? Or maybe it’s a mental back log of images that got put off...?

Valom has always been a breeze to draw. He's fun, he's easy, he's recognizable even if I fuck something up. I can go straight to inks and rarely have an issue. His badassery means he can fit into any situation.  And I love the character, and their person. So putting him in these situations where he's set to win, set up to look like a badass - it's really fun.

Valom always comes out better looking (when paired with anyone else) so just focusing on him and what he can do - is fun. It's rewarding. It's good practice. And drawing for my friend is... the least I can do. I feel sometimes it's the only thing I'm worth, so being able to generate arguably good images of THEIR CHARACTER makes me feel like I'm not a waste of oxygen. (Feeling like a waste is nothing they did. That’s my own brain haunting me.)

But, again, I wouldn't care so much about the character if I didn't care about the person. I wouldn't care about making them be capable, or cool, or whatever - if I didn't think highly of the person behind the character.

And I sit here with maybe a half done image on my tablet screen, doing the math, and hoping there's plenty of years to come where I get to add another tally - and be more amazed with each one.

Not the one who requested the scara x tall!fem reader but as a female who's taller than the average in her country i'm thanking you with all my 173 cm of height :") honestly it was soooo good! loved it so much! ><

If this isn't too much to ask, could you write something more with that prompt? Say something like Scara wants to show off how cool and beautiful HIS tall gf is during some sort of diplomatic event he had to attend because all the other harbingers were already doing other missions and some ppl there decide that it's a good idea to comment on the height difference which sort of hurts his s/o a bit :') thank youu

I'm glad you could enjoy it! Also, of course! This can, arguably, be a continuation of the other but I'm not linking it for... Tumblr-Is-Stupid reasons.

[[ Summary: Scaramouche doesn't like big frilly events... However, even if he's forced to go to one, he's going to give you an opportunity to show off... and maybe he's showing you off as well.

Word Count: 1'311 ]]

You looked in the mirror, twirling a little as you looked over the dress...

At first, you were... hesitant. It felt getting measured, and having to discuss specifically what you wanted, but looking at it now... Oh, it was wonderful.

Scaramouched walked up beside you, setting his hands on your waist, pressing a kiss to the back of your shoulder, "You look good," he praised, sweetly.

"Only because you knew that designer," you said, thinking aloud beyond all else.

"Well, it doesn't matter. Are you ready? The Tsaritsa is cruel to those who aren't overly-punctual."

Looking over your dress, ensuring there wasn't anything wrong with it, and examining your entire appearance in one last check...

"I'm ready."

Scaramouche stepped back, grabbing your hand, "Come, let's get going." He pulled you closer to him, an arm around you as he set his hand on your side--

Oh, you knew exactly what he was doing--he wasn't just going to a meeting, he was intending on showing you off. A warm feeling in your chest--He adored you so, he's willing to show off his love.

Before walking out the door, you bent down to give him a kiss, him trying to stand on his tip-toes to chase your lips... Only to huff, quietly pout, realizing that he couldn't exactly reach up and force you to kiss him.

He always got so huffy whenever he realized this.

...

As you walked in... you realized how mentally un-prepared you were. It was... massive. A grand, almost terrifying chandelier as you looked up at the ceiling, and it seemed that even your dress, at the time you had thought would might be a little too dramatic, eye-catching, it was actually one of the most mundane outfits in the room. From extremely rich merchants and industrymen to the other Harbingers themselves who seemed to adore drawing attention to themselves, with their clothes, their masks...

At least you didn't feel self conscious about being stared at anymore.

"Hey," Scaramouche said, garnering your attention, "I need to do something, I'll be back in a few minutes. Okay?"

"Oh, alright. I'll just... probably mind my own business."

"That's for the best. They're all monsters, here... Try not to get eaten up by them."

He sounded oddly serious as he walked away, you watching for a moment as he left, disappearing past the crowds of people.

Oh well. After looking around, feeling lost, you spotted a few chairs at the edge of the room, away from most people. It was probably for the best, reasonably easy for Scaramouche to spot you when he came back, and you wouldn't accidentally intrude on others... on whatever conversations, business or otherwise, they would be having.

You sat down, looking around... distantly, you could recognize many people of prestige, ones you've seen written about, or only in the distance as others listened to them speak, or nearly worshipped them as though they were divine.

Was Scaramouche posing a risk to himself, bringing you?

You suddenly felt self conscious once again, damningly so... And you shook your head, sighing softly.

"Well hello sunshine," you jerked your head up, looking at someone who was standing before you--A charming young man, with pretty blue eyes and messy, copper colored hair.

Childe, you believed this one was called.

"Oh, am I in the way of something," You asked, about to stand, but he immediately sat in a chair beside you.

"Of course not... I was just curious. You were sitting alone, and I wondered might be going on in that head of yours," He looked at you with adoration, and pure curiosity... you could only be flattered.

"Ah, I'm... just someone's plus-one," you said, "He's busy right now, so I just decided to wait for him."

Childe's eyes widened slightly, and his smile grew to a grin, "Oh, he left you, did he? How cruel. After all, you're like a beautiful white fawn wandering into the forest of grey wolves... How could he leave you like that?"

You laughed, unsure and nervous. Rejecting him flat out might not be the best idea, but...

"Ahem," You heard his voice, and Scaramouche walked over--not sitting beside you, but right on your lap, grabbing your jaw and jerking his head to kiss you--intensely, your face burning with the shamelessness of his action, and when he pulled away, you were gasping for breath, and he had your lipstick on his lips. He jerked to look at Childe, a smug smile on his face, "Oh, Childe, were you saying something to her?" He asked, and he... stared.

"Uhm, just chatting, I should probably go talk with Signora or something. See you later, Balladeer."

"Bye." He said, and then he looked up at you, "... He was flirting with you, wasn't he?"

You were still reeling, and you wouldn't lie, seeing Scaramouche with your lipstick on him was a prettier sight than you'd like to admit. "Y-yes, I was just trying to be nice."

"Being nice gets you eaten alive out here," he said, wiping the corner of his mouth, trying to wipe off his face, "Damnit."

"I, uhm..." you fumbled for a moment, and provided your lipstick, "I don't think it'll come off, but you might be able to just apply more and make it look good." You admitted, and he took it without question, applying it...

It, shockingly, managed to work on him. He handed it back, "Yours is smudged a little, fix it. We're going to start the dinner soon, I can bring you to the restroom so you can have a mirror to do it with."

"Right," you said, lightly tapping his lower back so he'd get off of your lap, "That'd be nice.

After a quick trip to the restroom, cleaning off the mess on your face and trying to calm down after such a shameless display, even if you had done nothing but sit there and mind your own business, and when you came out, he offered his arm for you to hold onto as he escorted you to the massive dining table, sitting down with the countless other Harbingers and big-name figures within Snezhnayah.

The Tsaritsa stood at the head of the table, and her voice--Gods, it was booming, and it sent a shiver down your spine. However, it quickly proved that this was something she had spoken about it constantly, over and over again, a sort of rite to promise that the words spoken here not be forgotten...

But focusing on it was hard when Scaramouche's hand rested on your leg, lightly pushing up the skirt of your dress to gently rub the skin, you lightly tapping his leg with your hand, warning him.

"Your skin is soft," He whispered, plainly, and his hand stilled, but it did not move away from your leg.

... Only for him to begin stroking your skin once again,

"Shouldn't you be paying attention?" You asked, voice low and quiet, terrified of a possible punishment...

But his smile, oh, that damned smile, you knew he was up to trouble...

"I'll behave," he said, softly, "But you owe me."

"I always owe you," you said, not trying to tease, but realizing how much he could toy with those words now that they were in the air between only the two of you.

"We'll talk when we get home." He declared.

He said this--And you knew, if he was any other man, he would end up wanting some... favor. A very particular one you could think of.

But Scaramouche?

He'd drag you to bed, and press kisses to your face until you were falling asleep, and if you even tried to leave just to go to the restroom, he'd whine, crying for you like a spoiled baby.

Maybe you did spoil him.

He was too sweet, in the quiet and safety of your home, not to spoil.

"Ｔｈｅ Ｓｈｅｒｉｆｆ"

Warnings - Mentions of Guns, crime, mentions of bleeding

Note: Part 1 of the wild west series. Was it a mistake starting this? Maybe. No going back now though 🥰

FEM READERS DO NOT INTERACT (SHE/HER, SHE/THEY)

/̵͇̿̿/’̿’̿ ̿ ̿̿ ̿̿ ̿̿

Not much went on in the town after dark.

Shops were closed, people were in their homes. The occasional whinny of a horse or crumple of a wanted poster the only noticeable sounds. The bar was open, of course, though only one or two people were ever left. The only person you could be certain was up at this time is the sheriff.

"What are you doing here."

His hand was already on the pistol at his side. Even from under your hat, you could see the glint of the badge on his vest. His voice, as always, wasn't outwardly threatening. Gravelly, smooth on the tongue. You knew there was malice behind his tone, though only because you'd heard it so many times.

Truly, even as enemies, you knew each other better than anybody else.

"Can I not pay you a visit, Sheriff?" You sounded almost like you were taunting him. Lifting your head, you pushed your hat back and smiled at him through bared teeth. Daichi did not look amused.

Any other law man would arrest you on the spot. The wanted posters all around town told the story for him. Robbery, unlawful gunfights, property damage, arson. You'd done a lot.

Except, of course, actually hurt anyone.

He ran his free hand through his cropped brown hair best he could, a heavy sigh escaping his lips. He knew he should arrest you. Lock you up and let the judge do the talking. Still, in any case, he couldn't bring himself to.

"I'll ask again. Why are you here?" He lowered his hand from his pistol slowly, instead opting to lean against the door frame. He knew jail cells wouldn't hold you. Maybe he should just play your game. If bars couldn't keep you in check, maybe he could.

You hummed, sliding out of the padded seat to approach him. You could practically feel his body tense, with how still the air was. "I'm here," you lifted your hand to his chest, "Because," you trailed your finger up his chest, "I wanted to see you." A cocky smile made its way onto your lips as your finger rested underneath his chin.

His expression didn't change.

At his lack of response, you frowned. You let your hand fall from his chin and you turned your back on him. "Honestly," you shrugged, "I don't know why I'm here." You reached up to remove your hat, shaking your head a bit.

"You know why," Daichi pushed off of the wall, "Or you wouldn't have come."

Blowing out a breath, you turned back to face him. "Stress, maybe. Who knows."

Daichi raised his brow. "Stress? (L/n) (y/n), notorious outlaw, stressed?"

You glared at him and nodded yes, pulling yourself up to sit on the worn mahogany desk. You didn't meet his eyes.

When it became apparent that you weren't going to say anything else, Daichi sighed again. "And you came to me." He stated it as a fact, though you could tell it was a question. Again, you'd heard him so many times. Every single incident where he showed up to 'arrest' you, every little interaction. He's an open book to you now. And, no doubt, you are to him as well.

"Of course I did!" You barked out a dry laugh. "Who else would I go to?" While you said it in arguably the most condescending, bratty tone of voice Daichi thinks he's ever heard, it's easy to see that you did think about it. You thought and thought, eventually coming to the conclusion that out of everyone in this town, he was the least likely to turn you in. Ironic, considering his standing in this place.

This time he hummed.

You turned your eyes to the ground, a look in them that Daichi doesn't think he's ever seen before. It was...remorseful. Sad might be a tad bit simple for it. You looked tired. If he didn't know any better, he'd say you were about to cry. Your hand twitched as he approached.

His hands, calloused and strong, rested on either side of you. "I find it surreal," he started, "How you, the criminal, can only come to me."

Your eyes finally met his. You considered the words for a moment, sentence backed up in your throat. "I don't have anyone else," you eventually said. It didn't sound like you though. That boisterous confidence, the attitude, none of it was in sight. Only a soft, wavering sentence.

Daichi didn't say anything for a moment.

Maybe you did only have him. And, on the contrary, maybe he only had you. You brought your hand to his cheek, cupping it softly. "Please?" You whispered. You weren't even sure what you were asking for. Maybe you just wanted to spend time near him, maybe you wanted to have a conversation that wasn't just sheriff and outlaw. Right now though, you just really wanted to kiss him.

He leaned into your hand, only slightly. Just enough so you knew he was okay. "Stupid, stupid boy," he sighed.

You brushed off the comment. After all, you knew he didn't mean anything by it. You were used to just grabbing roses anyways, no care for the thorns. "Please," you asked again, voice more firm than it was before. He only grunted in response, leaning in ever so slightly.

"Thank you," you whispered, just before gently placing your lips right on top of his. For a guy like him, his lips were surprisingly soft. Warm. You melted into it instantly, Daichi faring no better. After a second you let your eyes fall closed, the hand on his cheek drawing him closer to you. The sheer passion in such a soft kiss was enough to throw him off. It felt like it fit, though. And who was he to deny what felt right?

You knew it was stupid and reckless. Daichi knew it too. Even as you both drew shaky breaths in between kisses, even as the heat slowly rose into the both of your cheeks, you knew it.

Daichi never did learn just why you were stressed. Even still, he got a slew of new things to think about, to worry about.

Grabbing roses without caution was never a good idea anyways. You were always bound to get pricked.

~

Do not repost, translate, or copy my work on to other platforms.

do you have a meta post about why jeremy has no relationship with elena and what lead to having no contact? if not, would you like to share now? i'm very interested in what you have to say! (especially considering i wholeheartedly believe jeremy has every right to hate her)

why THANK YOU FOR ASKING NONNIE! i don’t know if i’ve ever formally written out something fully, but i’ve definitely done mini-metas here and there that sort of point out SOME of the reasons he has no relationship with her - but, in reality, it’s a combination of a lot of reasons, both canon from the show and things i’ve come up with on my own. so... here we go.

ONE : the lack of pictures of jeremy in the gilbert household. this is something i’ve expanded on in a few ways, but really - it’s canon. if you actually pay attention, in the show, you see pictures of miranda and grayson, of elena, but... the ONLY picture you ever see of jeremy is a picture that elena has on her bedroom mirror. point blank, you never see anything else of him/his childhood in the household. now, i’ve sort of created this headcanon that, as miranda would have fallen pregnant with jeremy when elena was only a few months old (as i believe? that she is supposed to be sixteen at the beginning of season one, and jeremy is 14 in the first few episodes, and has turned 15 by the time 1x05 comes around - the closest i can get to an estimate, considering his birthday is october 13th, and 1x05 is the halloween episode, which mind you, i will never NOT be mad about the fact that even though he Has a canon birthday, his birthday is never actually celebrated on the show), they had sort of taken this effort, given their children were so close in age, and elena was adopted, that they made this... effort to make sure that elena would never feel second best, like less than because she was adopted, but within that effort (and because miranda most definitely had a closer relationship with elena, with that mother/daughter relationship), jeremy sort of... fell through the cracks. combined with my own headcanon that jeremy has a few learning disabilities that makes/made school incredibly hard for him, and the MAJORITY of his “quality time” with his parents was them helping him with him homework (which he hated, because he hated school), inevitably getting frustrated in that very “smart white wealthy suburban family doesn’t understand learning disabilities when it’s in their own child, even if they’re supportive of it in other kids” way, and then simply giving him the answers because it’s late and they’re tired and there’s just not enough time in the day to hold his hand through all of that work, thank you very much. (i also headcanon that miranda had been looking into getting him formally diagnosed before the gilbert parents died, but unfortunately it never happened, and he doesn’t actually discover he has a legitimate disability until denver) and then, he is never actually shown as having ANY friends before the accident. we are thrust into him being in with the stoner crowd, but that he only became involved with them because of his parents’ death, so... where are the friends? it’s my own particular headcanon that he was simply so bad at school, that doing his homework took so much time out of his day, that there just WASN’T enough time in the day to form legitimate friendships with anyone, so when they died, he sort of just... stopped doing homework. withdrew, and then had nobody, which is how he ended up with the stoners. but, all of those things combined, jeremy felt incredibly INFERIOR when it came to elena. the rest of the town heard “gilbert child” and IMMEDIATELY thought of elena. jeremy wasn’t much else other than the “other gilbert”. second fiddle. an afterthought. so in a lot of ways, he resents her because of that. it’s not HATRED... it doesn’t turn into hatred until you combine it with everything else, which brings me to...

TWO : jeremy was fourteen when the gilbert parents died. it is, arguably, old enough to be left home alone for an hour or so while they go pick up elena from a party she’s not supposed to be at. but that doesn’t change the fact that the both of them didn’t NEED to go. but they chose to, because (in jeremy’s mind) their first thought was always elena, and he was an afterthought. because they are not alive to say otherwise, there is a part of his mind that firmly believes that when they got the call from her, they didn’t even stop to think that he was (probably) in bed/asleep, and they would be leaving him alone. so he wholeheartedly blames her for their parents dying - both for going to the party in the first place, and for being so much of the ‘golden child’ that both miranda and grayson left without a second thought, when really, only one of them needed to go. to this day, jeremy has a certain degree of PTSD from that night, where if someone knocks on the door without him knowing that they’re going to be knocking (so, he needs someone to text him like ‘almost there’ so he can prepare), he is IMMEDIATELY thrown into a flashback of that night, of being woken up by the police knocking on the door and telling him that there’d been an accident, that he needed to go to the hospital, where he had to sit and wait for jenna to show up, which, since she was away at college, i also envision took at least a couple of hours. a couple of hours of him being completely alone, all because of elena (at least, that’s what he sees).

THREE : the memory tampering. after he discovers what she had damon do, he gets incredibly angry, and resents her for it. because the pain of vicki never went away (which, i headcanon for different reasons than the show gave, but still valid nonetheless), he really just saw it as a control tactic. she wasn’t helping him, because he still hurt, he still felt empty. and all of these things coming together, given that jeremy is still very young (this all happens in season 1, mind you), and not fully emotionally developed, so all of this pent up rage just builds inside of him, and it gets focused on the only thing he can find to focus it on - her. he doesn’t have a healthy outlet for it, so he attacks her, because it’s the only way he can find relief for what he’s going through. hating elena is easier than anything else, really.

FOUR : also, please note that if you pay attention in the show, there are MULTIPLE TIMES where they end the episode with jeremy angry at elena, and rightfully so, but because the the writers didn’t care about him, in the next episode, they’re back to normal (or whatever is normal for them at the time, at least), without elena ever saying she’s sorry or apologizing in a meaningful way, because 99% of her on-screen apologies to him are “i’m sorry you think that” and not actually owning up to what it is that she does. so, basically, when it comes to my jeremy - HE DOESN’T IGNORE WHAT SHE DOES. it’s why i’m a strong proponent of ‘if i write with an elena and she actually apologizes, jeremy is willing to have a marginally better relationship with her’, because... she just. never actually apologizes.

FIVE : then she drags him into the mess. and he hates her, for all the reasons i listed before this. and he’s just so angry that he firmly just “i do not believe your life is worth the trouble we are all going through for this”. ESPECIALLY when more people die on her account. his mindset at that point is just “just kill her and get it over with” because he is quite literally watching people around them die, time and time again, for her. he dies HIMSELF a few times, despite the fact that he certainly never wanted to, not for elena.

SIX : and then she sends him away. and he doesn’t hate her for that. his life is actually pretty good in denver - but he DOES hate her for bringing him back after sending him away, because they’re inconvenienced and need his ability to see ghosts, and he hates her because she literally takes away possibly the only chance he has at a normal life, a chance for him to actually get real help with his learning disabilities so he can get an education, and he just... doesn’t have a choice in the matter. she and damon show up like “okay time to come back” and he gets no. say. and when he’s back in mystic falls, that support for learning is no longer an option because everything is so hectic there, around them, so he... loses that. he loses his chance at a future, away from mystic falls, to be a normal man.

SEVEN : then they quite literally force him to become a hunter. he starts seeing the tattoo, literally out of nowhere, he can’t explain it, and they go “great so you need to kill more vampires so we can get the cure for your sister”. he never WANTED to be a hunter. there is literally a scene where they essentially force-trigger the hunter in him so he will kill a vampire to further progress his own tattoo, so they can use him as a map. and then there’s the fact that them FORCING him to do this leads to his death. and not even his first death, just one of the literally many deaths he’s gone through. something he NEVER WANTED TO DO, gets him killed. it just further fractures their relationship, and at that point, it’s basically beyond repair for me. BUT I STILL HAVE MORE DON’T WORRY.

EIGHT : then i do write him as having a bit of an affinity for kai, regardless of relationship status. in the end, it doesn’t actually matter if he’s dating kai or not, he just... develops this entrancement, attraction to him that draws him in and makes him pick kai over mystic falls and everyone in it - mostly because of how broken his relationship with elena already is, but i have also written a full meta on why jeremy is so protective of kai, and can see things in him that a lot of people ignore, mostly stemming from the idea of that just what jeremy went through growing up made him hate his sister, but after finding out how kai’s father treated him? there is a large part of jeremy that believes if he’d been put in the same situation, he would have turned out exactly like kai. and then ... kai dies. because of elena, really, but at that point, it really has nothing to do with elena. all jeremy knows is that the one person he truly cared about, the one person he felt that he had (regardless of how kai felt about him in return, and whether or not he was just manipulating him, or whatever) is gone. and he... breaks. he’s an adult at that point, and he crumbles, he’s angry, and i headcanon that the mystic falls gang had to hide elena’s magic-coma body not only from vampires who might want the cure that she has in her veins, but because of the fact that jeremy is actively hunting her, trying to find her so he can kill her, both as revenge on damon for taking away the one person he cared about (very ‘an eye for an eye’), and because he feels he has nothing left to live for, so if he dies in the pursuit, he’s okay with that. there’s even a part of him that believes he might get to see kai again if he dies, even.

NINE : this is the final Big Reason, and it’s sort of subjective. what makes jeremy FINALLY cut off all contact with elena, to the point of not even really telling his daughter that she has an aunt (cali literally thinks that she and jeremy are the only gilberts left in the world), is elena marrying damon. granted, some elena’s don’t take it into account, and it doesn’t even really make a difference overall in the relationship if they don’t get married, because jeremy’s already too lost in his hatred to ever have a real relationship with her again. but the way he sees it, it’s... damon killed him. and yes, later on, they become sort of friends. but because jeremy already hates elena so much, when she gets engaged, he sort of just sees it as a slap in the face. a sort of... “yes, i forgave him, but it was ME who he killed, you have NO RIGHT to forgive him for it. i am the only one who can do that”. and he sees it very much on her part as this idea of “my brother’s life doesn’t matter as long as i get what i want.” whether that’s true or not, it doesn’t matter, because that’s what he truly believes. granted, it’s only been cemented in his mind considering he has died multiple times for “her cause”, even when he specifically did not want to. he genuinely believes that, at that point, elena sees him as a means to an end, and not as a brother. again - WHETHER IT’S ACTUALLY TRUE OR NOT DOES NOT MATTER. what matters is that that is how he perceives it.

so uh. yeah. that’s why jeremy hates her and has no relationship with her. MIND YOU, i probably forgot something bc i didn’t actually sleep last night and i’m tired and this is super long, but AT THE VERY LEAST, these are the important bits.

Ok so, I was reading and super enjoying your hunger!verse Tsuna thingy and I was forced afterword to go seek out more arcobaleno fic (FORCED. Pshhh). Annnnyway I did and now I'm desperately curious if we'll be seeing more of it? Maybe the first time Fon sees Tsuna eat? Will we ever find out how hard Lal Mirch smacks the Sawada Idiot? Where is Skull in all this? So curious! Anyway! Love your fic! Even when you're dragging me kicking and screaming into new fandoms:D

I’m not getting any Skull-writing-motivation atm, and Iemitsu is always a headache to write, even when he’s getting rightfully smacked. So I’ll just do a very short blurb of Fon&Tsuna interactions.

OMFG TUMBLR WHY DID YOU GET RID OF HORIZONTAL LINES-

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-0-

The first time Fon witnesses it, he’s torn between a morbid sort of fascination and a revolted sense of trepidation.

“You don’t have to be here,” Tsuna tells him, not for the first time, as Viper goes to check them in and Reborn leaves to make sure there’s no one with so much as an unpaid parking ticket to their name within five miles of the hotel they’ll be staying in.

It still surprises Fon, a little, even after two months in their company, which is actually one month more than they’ve ever willingly spent with each other. But even back before they realized the kind of woman Luce really was, not even Reborn was as protective of her as he is of Tsuna. Or maybe it’s just a different kind of protective. Where there was always a respectful distance between themselves and Luce, no matter how kindly she treated them, there’s none of that between Reborn - and Viper - and Tsuna.

That’s not to say they don’t respect him of course– in a rare moment of quiet honesty when Tsuna had fallen ill - again - with a mild fever, Viper had confessed to Fon that their new Sky was a kind of strong that still utterly baffled them as much as it was worthy of their admiration as well. And Reborn hadn’t slept a wink until Tsuna got better.

But Tsuna lets them close in a way Luce never could’ve, guards their health and wellbeing in a way Luce never had, and in return, it’s easy to see how Reborn and Viper consider him beloved and friend and Sky and boss, in exactly that order too.

Devotion. That was what they lacked when it came to Luce. That was what Luce could never quite earn from them, even before they learned the terrible truth, even from Reborn. She had gathered them and charmed them and earned their trust, but she had never been able to inspire the steadfast instinctual dedication that both Reborn and Viper show Tsuna these days, so in tune with the boy that even the way they move somehow seems in tune with each other, like… well, exactly like elements woven in with their sky.

And maybe that’s why Fon assures, also not for the first time, “I understand, Tsunayoshi-kun, but so long as you do not object, I would like to stay.”

He’s self-aware enough to know where this is going, that it’s only a matter of time for him too– one of these days, he’ll have enough courage to offer his own Flames as well, it’s on the tip of his tongue already, and even the echo of remembered agony and instinctual fear isn’t going to stop him.

And considering it’s only been a little over two months since he first met Tsunayoshi, well, even Luce hadn’t tamed them all as quickly.

(Fon worries about that sometimes. It’s not natural, is it? To care about someone so fiercely, so fast. But it actually helps that Tsunayoshi’s fought him just about every step of the way; he’s a Sky who so obviously cares, and so even if it makes Fon a little uneasy, he’s also equally determined to return that care. He can’t be a Storm to a Sky - doesn’t deserve to be a Storm to a Sky, especially this Sky - if the bond between them doesn’t go both ways.)

It’s… not as terrible as Fon thought it would be, once they’re shut away in the top-floor suite and Tsuna’s lips are dyed with yellow and indigo. He looks healthier in this moment than Fon has ever seen him, cheeks less hollow, bones less brittle, skin flushed with a healthier colour. Fon pays close attention to the entire process despite some part of him screaming at him to back out of the room, and so he also notices the way neither Reborn nor Viper show any signs of hesitation or pain when they draw out their own Flames and feed them to Tsuna.

“You should eat a bit more,” Viper huffs, shoving more indigo fire at their Sky when he tries to protest. “If you insist on going days without a proper meal, at least eat your fill when we do this.”

Reborn just stares Tsuna down until the boy sighs and accepts more of the handfuls of Flames the hitman is holding out.

Later, when it’s Fon’s turn to walk Tsuna to school (they’ve worked out a schedule, just to give each of them a bit of time alone with their Sky, although it took almost two months before Reborn and Viper - with Tsuna insisting - grudgingly agreed to add Fon to the rotation), he remarks, “It does not seem to hurt them, or otherwise affect them negatively.”

Tsuna doesn’t bother playing dumb. Everything about him droops for a moment instead. “…Maybe not. I mean it definitely did at first, and I don’t know if it’s just because they’ve gotten used to it, they said it wasn’t that and I don’t think they were lying to make me feel better but…”

He shakes his head and glances away, and for a moment, it doesn’t seem like he’ll continue his train of thought. But Fon waits patiently and is rewarded a few minutes later by a near-inaudible, “I just don’t like it. They’re literally sustaining me with their souls. And all I do is… take that from them. But what do I give them?”

Ah. So that’s the crux of the problem.

Well, Fon supposes it’s not so much of a surprise, for this boy. It’s a good thing then, that Fon knows the answer already.

“You give them a home,” He says, steadily, honestly, and something in his chest floods with a warmth that tethers him to the Sky beside him. Judging by the way Tsuna’s eyes widen and his hand jumps to his chest, Fon’s not the only one who can feel the creation of their bond.

“You give us a home,” He continues. “A place to belong, something to hold us together when we would otherwise be adrift in the world. Perhaps that does not sound especially important to you, but for us who have lived for decades with no one to care about and no one who might care about us, a Sky like you is… everything.”

Tsuna does not reply for a long moment. They’re entering through the school gates when he finally speaks again, and even then, it’s a succinct answer, less question and more dawning realization. “You guys were alone. And lonely.”

Fon smiles wryly and thinks of how even with every alarm bell ringing in his head, he still hopped on the first flight to Japan after hearing about a Sky who might actually be a proper Sky. Thinks too of how Reborn approached first even though he’d arguably been burned worst, and Viper who had long decided that trust was for fools and yet had still so desperately wanted someone to be worthy of their trust.

“We were,” Fon admits in a way he knows Reborn and Viper - even to Tsuna - would be hard-pressed to do. “And sometimes, being alone is the worst thing anyone can experience.”

Tsuna nods a little as he changes his shoes. “Yeah. Yeah it is.”

-0-

After that, Tsuna is still firm about only eating their Flames once every few days, but he eases up on the protests, and when Fon offers his own Flames up the next time, Tsuna grimaces but also nods slowly without arguing. Reborn and Viper both give Fon suspicious side-eyes but since this works in their favour too, neither of them bring it up.

On his part, Fon feels the same instinctual fear swell up inside him, but he looks at Tsuna, his Sky, and his resolve is infinitely stronger. The core of his Storm Flames flare bright and fierce, and when Fon gathers a piece of it and breaks it off from the rest, there is only a brief spark of pain, like a hard pinch, and then he’s breathing easy again, and his hands burn with the wild pulse of his life-fire.

When Tsuna accepts it with reverent hands, and the red twines with Reborn’s yellow and Viper’s indigo as their Sky eats, something in Fon sits back, satisfied, and the newly forged Guardian bond inside him strengthens.

-0-

The very next morning, Fon wakes to a crash and Reborn very uncharacteristically shouting, “What the fuck-”

Fon’s barging into Tsuna’s room with a Viper who hasn’t even remembered to grab their cloak on his heels before it actually registers, and even then, it’s only because - for the first time since he was still a student at his first master’s dojo - he literally trips over his own feet.

He sits up and stares. Viper’s deathly silent behind him, and even Reborn’s fallen quiet from where he’s half-leaning against the nightstand. His hammock is ripped down the middle and hangs limply from the ceiling. Tsuna stares at all three of them from his bed, wide-eyed and stunned.

Fon looks at Reborn, whose ass is on the floor but whose head levels with the bedside table. He twists to look at Viper, who’s forgotten to float and is standing and... now seems to be about Tsuna’s height.

And then he looks down at himself, at hands that are no longer the tiny ones of his toddler self, at longer limbs that feel clumsily awkward and a heavier body that takes up more space than he’s used to. He’s nowhere near the size of his adult self, but he’s definitely now almost three times the size he was when he went to bed last night.

Reborn had the right of it.

What the fuck.

So I'm reading your CoS reviews and something jumped out - you seem to think that Egwene blackmailing the Aes Sedai into swearing fealty is different from Elaida because there is no Oath Rod involved. But that's what compells Myrelle & Nisao to keep their oath. Also, you seem to think that there is a distinction about obedience, but if she can assign Siuan to be in charge, they ARE being made to obey, not just be loyal.

(2/4) Another issue with Egwene’s Oath of Fealty in CoS. Elaida had convicted rebels swear the Oath in mitigation of their rebellion against the same authority. It was the EXACT rationale used to make Myrelle & Nisao swear, except Egwene just did it for personal advantage, and Nisao herself didn’t even do anything wrong, she was just facing the same sort of unjust Tower justice as Elayne for the secret of the Kin. What should her priority have been, saving Lan or being holier-than-thou with Myrelle? 

(3/4) More Egwene’s Oath: Egwene’s attitude in the whole morning is very contradictory. The night before she was smug about taking control of minor admin stuff from Sheriam and aghast at the idea of anyone blackmailing AS or AS swearing fealty, but in the AM, she’s mad about the papers on her desk & blackmails AS into fealty. Also she’s in the middle of a false flag operation, tricking people into fighting a war they’d never fight if they had the facts. It seems like Egwene is secretly in the wrong 

(4/4) Final issue with Egwene in aCoS, I promise: How did we get from two books of Rand being the priority in Salidar, both in N&E’s motive for going there, then searching for the Bowl, lying to make them think they need Rand, and suddenly it’s all about Egwene’s power? She’s 18 with no qualifications, and for all she’s supposed to make the Tower help the good guys, she gets mad at N&E because SAVING THE WORLD might cause HER problems & condemns Rand for doing what she did except AS actually hurt him.”

For context: Since answering the previous string of asks about Egwene a few days ago, I have received 12 asks, in addition to these, telling me in less civil language about how Egwene is a hypocrite/evil/annoying/the worst and I’m reading her wrong or giving her too much leniency. Just putting that up front in case I sound impatient, because I do value good-faith discussion but the overall tone of my askbox right now is…not so good faith.

And I really don’t mind if people disagree with me on Egwene. That’s fine; you’re entirely within your rights to do so. There are parts of her story and characterisation that are very, very easy to disagree on. That’s okay! They’re supposed to be! She walks pretty close to some lines at various points (like many characters in the series), and whether she steps over those or not is sort of up to you.

But there’s only so much I can respond to on the same topic, especially because it feels like a) I’d just be rehashing things I’ve already said in the liveblog, b) like I said before, it could just keep going because Egwene’s a main character in a 14-book series and there’s a lot of material there to disagree on and c) we clearly do not see eye-to-eye on her character. That’s absolutely fine, but it again contributes to the…lack of enthusiasm I feel about this. 

tl;dr: I like Egwene, and I disagree with some of the specifics you’ve pointed out, but will also acknowledge that she does some things that are morally questionable and arguably hypocritical, and while I don’t have a problem with that in particular, it’s fine if you do.

More on the oaths, the ‘false flag’ operation, and Egwene’s lack of qualifications below.

1: Egwene’s oath

Yeah, this is one where the line between what she does and what Elaida does (and what Rand and Taim and eventually Verin do) is rather fine. I think oaths of fealty, even with the Oath Rod preventing untruths, leave more flexibility, especially to an Aes Sedai, than a very specific Oath of obedience; we see that in how the Aes Sedai sworn to Rand behave. And I think her wording is that they have to treat orders from Siuan as if those orders had come from her: there’s definitely some wiggle room there, if you want to get into technicalities…which I kind of don’t, really. For me, that’s not specifically the point. I also think Elaida’s and Egwene’s respective positions and rationales make enough of a difference that, for me, what Egwene does falls into the category of ‘morally rather shady but in a way I like rather than dislike’.

And most of it comes down to just that: a very subjective liking of this kind of thing. I like watching characters play around in moral grey areas, or struggle with their own pride, or do complicated or questionable things for complicated or questionable reasons. I like when desperate characters, backed into a corner, find a way out that works but isn’t always easy to live with. I like when characters I like find ways to get what they need, and I will absolutely admit that in many cases this is subjective. The more I like the character, and the cleverer their solution, the more likely I am to enjoy it.

Given that…yes, I like seeing Egwene find this solution and implement it. Yes, it’s politically manipulative and at times morally questionable. Yes, I condemn Elaida for something that I see as different but not hugely different. No, I don’t have a list of technicalities that I can use to draw a clear delimiting line and say ‘Egwene is right because X and Y, while Elaida is wrong because Z’. I think Egwene has more justification for what she does, given her position, her options, and her capabilities…but that’s just what I think. It’s messy and ambiguous and there’s a bit of ends justifying the means here, which again I’m kind of…fine with, in fiction, because I like morally sticky situations. If you don’t like those, or you have a line in the sand drawn at a different point than I’ve drawn mine…yes, I can 100% see where you’re coming from, and I’m not going to change your mind, and you’re probably not going to change mine, and that’s fine.

2: Egwene running a false flag operation and tricking people into fighting

They asked. A general. To build. And lead. An army.

Before Egwene even got there.

They started the rebellion. Well, no, Elaida did by leading a coup, and I suppose the Black Ajah by influencing events in that direction and Ishamael by pushing them to do so…

But the Aes Sedai who went to Salidar fought their way out, refused to recognise Elaida’s authority, set up a centre of power and operations outside of and antagonistic to it, and decided to appoint an Amyrlin, and let’s not forget, asked Gareth Bryne to lead an army for them. One of his conditions, which they agreed to, being that they have to see this through. And then they try to get out of that.

She’s tricking them–or rather, manipulating them; I’m not sure it really qualifies as trickery specifically–into actually doing what they have already effectively committed themselves to doing. 

You say ‘if they had all the facts’. What facts don’t they have? Any of them at any point could look at what Egwene’s doing and see where it’s going, but they kind of deliberately don’t. Egwene’s authority, and her motivation for getting them to vote (vote!) to go to war, is a technicality in Tower Law, which they have every reason to know. That they don’t and Egwene does is… kind of their own problem. Also, that they’re surprised at all by the vote of war in the first place is their own problem given, again, that they started a rebellion and hired Gareth Bryne to give them an army.

Does Egwene try to manipulate the political situation? Yes. Does she try to push the Aes Sedai into action when they’d rather sit and talk about acting and actually do nothing? Yes. Is that a false flag operation? No.

3: Egwene is 18 and has no qualifications

3.1: 

Rand al’Thor is 21 and has no qualifications. Perrin is 21 and has no qualifications. Luke bloody Skywalker is 20-ish and has no qualifications. There’s an entire genre out there filled with characters who are young and have no qualifications, by that definition, and Egwene is hardly less qualified for her role than plenty of other WoT characters are for theirs. In real life, that would be more of a problem. In fiction…eh. Depends how well it’s executed, for me. Some people have a higher or lower tolerance for this, and that’s fine. But it’s not remotely specific to Egwene, so I have a hard time taking it seriously.

3.2: 

Is she unqualified? An important point of context here is that this is the apocalypse. Things are falling apart in ways that no one’s really prepared for. The Aes Sedai are broken. This is sort of a theme across the books: the existing powers and systems and authorities are either in denial, or unprepared, or outdated. We can argue all day about the validity of that narrative premise, but that’s how this is set up. It’s how any of the young protagonists end up in power: because, in this ‘nothing is normal and everything is breaking’ world, no one is specifically qualified and those who can’t accept what’s happening are even less so.

Anyway, let’s look at Egwene. She’s trained under Moiraine and Siuan - political experts and also two of the Aes Sedai who have spent the most time preparing for the coming of the Dragon Reborn and the apocalypse. She’s trained under Amys and the Aiel Wise Ones - political experts, though in another culture. She even, arguably, has military experience in that she’s been trained by the Seanchan to be a weapon. She certainly has a great deal of firsthand experience in foreign affairs, having been held by the Seanchan, spent months with the Aiel, and travelled across the continent and interacted or negotiated with various countries’ leaders and governments. She’s familiar with Tower Law (thanks to Siuan), and highly skilled in the use of the One Power. She’s also intimately familiar with a great deal of the shit that has recently hit the fan: she’s a childhood friend of the Dragon Reborn, and has been front and centre at a number of rather key events lately. Also, she’s got good mentors: Siuan and Gareth Bryne, both leaders or former leaders in their own rights, teach her and vouch for her capability.

3.3:

She’s put into the position she’s in precisely because the other Aes Sedai believe her to be too young and unqualified to think or act for herself, and believe they can use her as a figurehead and puppet. They know the things an Amyrlin is and isn’t legally and technically empowered to do (and if they don’t, that’s on them), and they seem to accept the risk they take in appointing her to a position with those powers, trusting that she won’t be able to use them. That they’re wrong about this is their own fault. The lesson here is: don’t put someone in a figurehead role if you’re not prepared for them discovering that they have actual power, and deciding to use it. Look at historical monarchies, and young monarchs, and what happens to their advisers who think ‘I’ve got everything under control’

4. Everything else you’ve mentioned

The rest is subjective enough that trying to argue it would be an exercise in futility, and I feel like that’s not the point here anyway. For instance, “she gets mad at N&E because SAVING THE WORLD might cause HER problems” is…several degrees into interpretation and subjectivity; I disagree that this is what’s happening here, but the framing of this makes it hard to go anywhere productive. Same with “what should her priority have been, saving Lan or being holier-than-thou with Myrelle” - I disagree with the premise of the question itself, so there’s not much I can say.

So I’ll just…leave it there. Nothing’s stopping you from putting together these arguments as a post of your own, but I’m probably done airing them on my blog, given the sheer volume of vitriol I’ve received in response to the last set of asks. 

How do you feel about fanfiction where it's a whole new setting and world, but using characters from a show? I'm loving Arcanum by Coeur Al'Aran, but am wondering would I enjoy this is if it didn't have RWBY characters in it. It's a original setting with RWBY names and concepts thrown in. Part of me wonders why not make a new story entirely if so much of it is new compared to a typical RWBY fanfic.

It’s a tricky question, isn’t it? Some fics definitely seem more primed for filing off the serial numbers (i.e. revising enough for mainstream publication), so why not just do that in the first place? Right off the top of my head I can think of a few craft and practical reasons. 

Despite that oh so common dream of becoming a best selling novelist, a lot of fans don’t have an interest in mainstream publishing. Outside of those dreams, anyway. It’s time consuming, expensive, and incredibly difficult to break into. It takes what was once a hobby and turns it into a job. For me personally, audience is largely what draws me more towards fic over original work. Meaning, if I carve out the time to write 50,000 words do I want that to sit in a drawer until I theoretically land a publisher? Do I want to self-publish it, online perhaps, and enjoy the few hits/downloads I see? Or do I want to upload it as fic where I’m already an established author in these communities, confident that, even if it’s not my best, I’ll get some comments, some kudos, some anon messages, and the like. The payoff from fandom is more assured; I have confidence that I’m guaranteed to get a return on all the hard work I’ve done. Or at least it often feels that way. 

In addition, characters are (arguably) at the heart of a story and unless you’re writing the reverse (a RWBY setting with all OCs) it’s incredibly hard to morph that influence into something original. As you say, anon, you wonder whether you’d enjoy this without the RWBY characters as the initial draw. Familiar characters can both open us up to new experiences--–I never would have read a mystery otherwise!–--as well as help us appreciate things we might otherwise have dropped, simply because we love how these characters are interacting with the experience. All the emotional labor of learning to love a group is out of the way, which is a HUGE draw given how hard it can be to warm up to new characters. And sure, you have the new location, a great plot, etc. but is that story still that story if Jaune isn’t Jaune anymore? If Ruby isn’t Ruby? Even AU versions of themselves? (That’s something I’m exploring in my own research atm: how fic writers consistently strive to get everyone in character even when an AU implies that they’d be different. If Character A is defined by his sullenness and anger because of a war in canon, then AUs either give him a new reason to be sullen and angry, or just make him like that For Reasons. Because that’s who the character is. Changing him with “Well he’s only known peace so he grew up bubbly and optimistic!” logic would immediately turn a lot of fans off. That’s not the character they’re looking for.) So you either need to keep things as they are and just change their names---which many people would view as stealing---or change the characters into your own creations, which would in turn radically change the story itself. Or at least it should. 

Same with those “concepts” you mention. How much and how many are influencing the work? Would the story fall apart if you removed them? If you don’t are you in a legal position to claim those concepts as universal and/or suitably changed for you to take authorship of? 

Finally, I’d actually argue that the mainstream fics we have now–like Fifty Shades–don’t function as well outside of their fandom contexts. Sure, they sell (obviously), but if you read the text and you know fic you can see the choices James made, choices made in the interest of fandom as opposed to a mainstream audience. As a small example, take Jenny Trout’s observations on the lack of character descriptions: 

No, seriously, if you haven’t notice by now, there is barely any description of any character (besides Edward Cullen) in this book that doesn’t rely entirely on the reader’s familiarity with Twilight. I can predict at least two comments to this entry will be some variation of, “You’re wrong, because I didn’t read Twilight and I read 50 Shades and I totally saw the characters in my mind,” and I’m going to stop you right there and point directly in your face and shout, “WRONG! WRONG WRONG WRONG!” and possibly do a little dance, because I’m a poor winner, at best. Whether or not you read Twilight or have watched the movies doesn’t matter. If you live in the Western world, you know what the cast of Twilight looks like. You know this, because the commercials are everywhere. Their pictures are in magazines. They’re on the side of your Burger King cup. Whether or not you are consciously aware of them, you know what the characters of Twilight look like, just like anyone who hasn’t read or seen Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone knows that Harry has a scarf, an owl, and eyeglasses. The fact that James does little in 50 Shades to describe any character (who is not Chedward the Adonis) beyond “They had blonde hair and looked mean/nice” is because she knew that Twilight and your knowledge of Twilight, willing or unwilling that it might be, would mean that you both knew exactly who she was talking about. Because these aren’t characters of her own invention. They belong to another writer.

For a lot of people the answer to “Why didn’t you just write an original novel?” will be “Because I didn’t want to” and you can insert countless reasons why here. Regardless, I personally think that no matter how new a fic might seem… it really isn’t. It’s a completely different mindset to enter a fic sandbox than it is to try your hand at an original creation. If Coeur Al'Aran had been in a mainstream novel mindset as opposed to a RWBY fanfic mindset then we wouldn’t have Arcanum. Whatever we got instead might look very similar on the surface... but only the surface.