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misterewrites · 3 years

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Intro Casey 101 (Mirror’s Edge)

Hello everyone, E hoping you are all doing good! Here it is! The next chapter of the side project that's now my second major one. Because I have a problem and cannot be stopped! Haha stay safe, wash your hands, wear your masks, keep yourself, your loved ones and each other safe, get the vaccine if you can and remember to take care of yourselves.

Feel free to share this with your friends, leave me comments, feedback, reblogs. every bit makes me happy and helps! Have a great week and stay safe! E is out!

If you want an easier time to read it or to read it from the beginning you can follow the link below. Tumblr hates links and will probably shadow block my tags but you know what? Tumblr hates me in general so oh well

https://archiveofourown.org/works/30599756/chapters/78163523

Summary: Casey is the head of the local Neighborhood Watch (and by head, he means only employee) Whenever not helping his best friend take down corrupted, evil jerkbutts, he spends his time running, maintaining and helping the magical/supernatural residents of Willow's Brook. Life is never static but Casey sometimes wishes it was a little less hectic. Just because he can handle it doesn't mean he wants to.

-----

Willow Rook was a peaceful neighborhood suburb located on the outskirts of Newton Haven, just within the city’s boundaries. Rows of mismatched houses and apartments spread out across the maddening maze that was suburbia. Fernspeaker Drift park was nestled in the heart of the neighborhood, its magical and mundane flora bringing a peaceful harmonic nature to the urban sprawl of man. The towering skyscrapers of downtown could be seen far into the distance, a reminder to the residents the city was never too far away.

The sounds of children screaming and shouting is what awoke Casey. He let out an unhappy groan as he rose from the hard wooden desk he accidentally fell asleep on. He rubbed his aching jaw, trying to loosen it from the rough night he had.

“Fuck” He yawned groggily “I really need to have a pillow here or something.”

He ran his hand through his normally wavy dark brown hair as his sea green eyes glanced about his “office”.

Office was much too generous a word for what he worked out of: It was tiny bungalow with barely enough room for a desk and chair, a case file drawer and the tv that sat ontop of it. Casey mentally prepared himself as he pulled open the curtains and allowed natural light to hit his face.

“Ugggggggh” Casey shielded his eyes from the harsh gleam of the morning “Why must the sun punish me?”

Casey stretched the crick in his neck while keeping an eye on the outside world: The neighborhood was particularly lively today with people out and about. The elderly elf Mr. Thistlebush was complaining about something or another to his dwarfish neighbor Mrs. Boulderfist who politely nodded and humored the old elf. Evan Starsunder, a muscular orc with dark green skin, tipped his mail cap tiredly to everyone he passed as he made his way into his cozy abode for a well earned rest. The newly married halfing (similiar but legally distinct from hobbits) couple Mr. and Mrs. Tealeaf took a stroll across the grassy field where Casey’s office stood, hand in hand and very much the picturesque ideal of young love.

Casey opened the window to let everyone know he was open for business.

“Good morning Mister Remington!” Mr. Tealeaf waved with a smile.

“How are you doing this morning?” Mrs. Tealeaf asked, half curious and half cheerfully.

“Great!” Casey lied, trying to stifle a yawn “Just great. Keeping on eye on the neighborhood, same as usual.”

“Keep up the good work!”

“We appreciate everything you do for all of us!”

“You’re welcome!” he gave a halfhearted wave after the retreating couple.

He sighed, mindlessly fiddling with the engagement ring on his finger.

“I should take it off” Casey spoke to no one in particular “She probably isn’t wearing hers anymore. I shouldn’t give people the wrong idea. I should just take it off and that’ll be it. That’ll be it. Yep. One slip and….yeah.”

His voice trailed off as he was unable to finish the thought.

“CASE!” A voice shouted.

Casey leaned out and squinted, trying to see through the glare of the sunlight to find the person who demanded his attention.

“CASE!” The voice called out again, the blurry far off figure slowly shifting into a more recognizable shape.

Casey rolled his eyes “What is it Kay? I’m working!”

Kasey Remington or, as most people called her, Kay was Casey’s twin sister. Nearly identical face with the same wavy dark brown hair and sea green eyes except Kay had gotten their mother’s button nose out of the deal. Growing up, the twins often questioned why their parents had named them Casey with a C and Kasey with the K but the only response they ever gave was it was funny.

Well not to the twins but they were used to it by now.

Kasey, in her mommy cardigan and white blouse, flagged down her brother to come outside.

“Yeah I’m good up here.” Casey smiled from his slightly elevated position.

“You’re tall for like 5 minutes and you’re already being unbearable about it.” Kasey huffed, shooting her twin a stink eye.

Casey chuckled “Mad with power. Classic story troupes.”

“Cliche you mean.” Kasey laughed “Sorry to bother you but….did you sleep in your office again?”

Casey rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly as he realized he was still wearing his purple tank top and black basketball shorts from the other day.

“Umm well you see….”

“Is your office still a mess?”

Casey glanced at the half crumpled burger wrappers and scattered papers that littered every inch of desk.

“Pfft, no.”

“That’s a yes” Kasey replied with a knowing smirk “Case….”

Casey fiercely pointed at his twin “Don’t.”

“Case, you can’t keep…”

“Yes I can. Watch me.”

Kasey rolled her eyes “I have better things to do.”

Casey scrunched up his face with false hurt “Better than hanging out with your brother? Alright I see how it is. See if I get you anything for Christmas.”

“No! Not my possible Christmas presents!” Kasey fell to her knees dramatically “You monster! How could you do to this to me?”

“Like this.” Casey spoke with a grin, closing the window without another word.

And made his way out of the building a moment later. He offered a hand to his sister and the twins burst out with laughter as Casey helped Kasey to her feet.

“So what’s up Kay?” Casey asked with genuine interest “Where’s Chester?”

Kasey scratched her chin thoughtfully “He’s...got...a….little league game today.”

“Wooooow took you a full five seconds to remember what your kid’s up today.” Casey snickered “Finally stop signing him up for everything?”

“Ha flipping ha.” Kasey shook her head mockingly “It’s not my fault he wants to do any and everything. Besides it’s not the worst thing in the world to enable my son’s interests. I just wish he slowed down a bit.”

“True. Did you thank him for the house he made for me?”

“Yes and he said you’re welcome. Still got it?”

Casey scoffed as he pulled out his necklace: The simple shape of home clasped carefully onto his chain.

“As a cleric of the hearth nothing is more important than a family’s love.”

“Except” Kasey murmured softly “Maybe your fiancée?”

“Nope!” Casey threw his hands in the air and turned away from his sister “Not having this conversation. Byeeeee.”

“Case! Casey you’re acting like a child!”

“Would a child do this? Hey Seth!”

A gawky human teenager with dark black clothing and every skull accessory imaginable flinched uncomfortably at the sudden attention.

Casey nodded his head in confirmation “Yeah you! Curfew’s 2:30 A.M. The Hallow spell won’t work during the witching hour so I want you back here before 3. Got it?”

Seth gave a low mumble and wandered off as quickly as his legs could take him.

“Casey.” Kasey laced her voice with a firmness only a mother could muster.

“Whaaaaaat?” Casey whirled around irritated “Look I made my choice and she made hers and that’s it.”

Kasey raised an eyebrow “You two have been in love with each other since we were kids.”

“Don’t you…!”

“Case, why don’t you ask her again?”

Casey said nothing, opting to gesture to his office to answer his question. Written in bright white letters across the walls of the building were the words “Neighborhood Watch.”

Kasey rubbed her arm guiltily “Case…”

“You gonna take over?” Casey questioned, his voice soft but controlled “You gonna take over for mom? Cuz she retired and unless there’s someone running the watch, all of this...”

He motions to the families walking, playing, living their lives together in harmony. A magical community at peace.

“All this goes away. We’re going to have to move everyone into other magical neighborhoods and under their Neighborhood Watches. And that’s not fair to them.”

Kasey let out a sad sigh “It’s not fair to you.”

“I’m fine” Casey lied “I’m okay I promise. It’s for the best.”

Kasey shook her head “You can lie to yourself but you can’t lie to me. See you for dinner?”

Casey hugged his twin tightly, pouring as much love as he could into the gesture.

“Of course. I’ll bring fries.”

Kasey made a face, playfully pushing him away “Would you bring something else, please?”

“Fine, mashed potatoes.”

“Ugh. Bye Case.”

“Bye Kay!”

Kasey eyed the engagement ring for a moment before taking her leave.

Casey ran his hands through his hair, wondering how much worse today could get.

He turned to make his way back to his office when he spotted a familiar face nearby.

His heart began to thunder loudly in his ears, the phantom sensation of lips pressed against his own ran chills down his spine while his cheeks flushed a bright red. His legs felt weak and butterflies filled his stomach as he took in the sight of Jaime casually walking down the street.

Jaime looked as beautiful as ever: Her long dark red hair was tied into a single braid that hung over her shoulder and shimmered in the soft glow of the morning. Her light brown eyes gleamed with a thoughtfully gaze as she looked at her phone. She was wearing his dark purple hoodie with dark blue jeans and sneakers. Her glasses were cutely askew and Casey felt the overwhelming urge to run over and fix them for her.

The engagement ring on his finger felt impossibly heavy yet light all at once.

He should talk to her. That was okay, right? To talk to someone he’s in love with and desperately wanted to be with. Did she want to talk to him? They left on decent terms. Well maybe. Hopefully. God what if she was mad at him? Or worse, hated him? She could never hate him that was silly. But perhaps she wasn’t ready to speak to him.

He knew he wasn’t ready.

Casey turned to Jaime’s direction then pulled away. He pivoted on his feet to face her again before glancing downwards towards the grass. His hands fidgeted uneasily as a shout threatened to spill out of his mouth.

Casey returned quickly to his office and shut close the window. Resisting the urge to stare at Jaime, he opted instead to reach for a crumpled piece of paper. He smoothed it out and began mindlessly scrawling upon its surface, drawing nothing in particular.

It was comical how automatic Casey’s responses became while he worked in this building: Upon hearing the knock at his door, he rose to his feet and opened it without a second thought.

Casey’s heart leapt to his throat at the sight of Jaime standing at the base of the steps from the bungalow. She smiled shyly, pushing up her glasses further up on the bridge of nose before giving a friendly wave. Her other hand was tucked deeply in the hoodie’s pocket.

“Hey sweetie” Jaime paused, pursing her lips for a moment “Case. How are you Case? Doing good Case? Can I stop now?”

Casey let out a genuine laugh “Hey swe….Jaime. You can stop. I’m good. I’m good. Good.”

He caught sight of his engagement ring gleaming in the sunlight. He quickly shoved it inside his pocket.

“That’s good. That’s good.” Jaime nodded “I’m glad to hear that.”

Casey caught her wandering glance across the office and quickly shifted his weight to block the view.

“So how’s the new job?” He crossed his arms in an clumsy fashion “Everything okay at the Grimoire?”

Jaime dug at the grass with her shoe “It’s good. Chaotic as usual but hey what do you expect for a magical library, right?”

The two chuckled together and locked eyes for a moment. As one they broke off their gaze, their cheeks slowly turning a pinkish hue.

Casey recovered first “How’s your brother? We talk but ever since last month he hasn’t recruited me to topple any corrupt bosses lately. I’m getting bored.”

“You sure you bored?” Jaime rolled her eyes “There’s no way the Neighborhood Watch is getting that soft.” “Haha I wish.”

An awkward silence fell over the couple as the realization of what subject they landed on washed over them.

“Finn’s good. Busy but good.” Jaime spoke with a fragile softness in her voice “You know my bro, always trying to save the world.”

“Right...”

Casey couldn’t help but noticed Jaime’s body language: She tucked both of her hands into the pockets, her frame shrunk like she was mentally kicking herself as she gawkily fidgeted back and forth.

“Hey.”

Jaime glanced upwards towards Casey, her light brown eyes shining brightly in the sun’s glow.

Casey could feel his heart ache with love and longing as he spoke simply “Don’t worry about it beautiful.”

Jaime said nothing. Instead, she closed the distance between them, gently cupping his cheek in her hand.

“Take care of yourself sweetie. Please. For me?”

Casey could feel his ache worsen but he just nodded, murmuring softly “For you.”

Jaime’s smile was sad but lovely. She pulled away slowly, allowing her fingers to linger for a moment.

“Bye for now Casey.”

“Bye Jaime.”

She left without another word and Casey felt exhaustion rush into every fiber of his body. He closed the door reluctantly and took a seat. He stared unhappily at the drawing of Jaime he hadn’t realized he’d be sketching.

“Fucking hell.”

He slumped deeper into his chair, feeling much too drained to face the rest of the day.

-----

“Shit, shit, shit” Seth muttered to himself as he raced through the night. The normally inviting, homely suburb was cold and distant: The shadows moved in eerie unnatural ways and once or twice Seth could soft pattering of paws follow closely behind. The modest homes and apartments were silent, basked in the darkness as they towered over him in silence.

“Just a cat” He mumbled to himself, glancing at his phone and wincing at the 3:30 AM it showed in a white font.

Seth entered Willow Rook proper and paled at the lack of comfort he normally felt in the air. Casey had warned him the Hallow spell, a powerful ward of holy magic that protected the neighborhood and hid it away from the world, would not work between 3 and 4 AM. Seth assumed he was merely attempting to scare him to return early. It never occurred to him that Casey was telling the truth.

Seth fumed silently “It’s fine. I’m late, it’s fine nothing followed me here and it’s fine.”

A chill ran down his spine as something rustled nearby. He whirled around in time to see something lunge straight for his chest.

He was ashamed how quickly he flinched, closing his eyes shut while raise his hands in a poor attempt to defend himself. He made quick prayer to whatever deity who happened to be on duty at the moment.

Something thudded against his chest. It didn’t stay long, instead quickly making its way up his shirt and tucked itself comfortably on his shoulder. It wasn’t too heavy but it was big whatever it was. Seth was surprised how warm and fluffy it was and swore it was purring in his ear.

He cracked open his eyes and found himself staring at an orange tabby cat: it was a fat cat with stripes of white and orange running down its body. Its dark green eyes stared curiously at him. If he didn’t know better, he would’ve thought it was asking him a question.

“Hey buddy” Seth breathed a sigh of relief, scratching the cat’s chin “What are you doing out here? Scaring the shit out of me?”

The cat pawed at his face rather roughly and with enough force to actually make him turn his head.

Seth felt the blood drain as he saw something approach in the shifting shadows: A monstrous thing, thin and skeletal. Its skin was a dark shade, almost as black as the darkness it blended in with. It crawled forward slowly on all fours, thick talons digging up and cutting through the pavement with ease. A bloody wrap covered its eyes and two thick, elongated fangs protruded from its lower jaw. The rest of its face was smooth and featureless.

The words died in Seth’s throat. The best he could do was a pathetic croaking noise he was grateful no one could hear in the dead night.

The creature tilted its head as if listening for any sign of its prey.

Seth couldn’t move, the fear gripping him tightly in its thrall. His breathing hitched and he could feel his body shake beyond his control as the creature inched closer and closer.

The cat leapt off his shoulder, silently landing onto the grass and bolting into the night.

Seth’s stomach churned and twisted anxiously as the creature stared in his direction, a growling rumble escaping its mouth. It let loose a maddening shriek, one that shook Seth’s very bones. It stood on its hind legs and grew to an inhuman height. Its mouth lowered, stretching impossibly wide as it leapt forward.

Seth felt cold and empty as the sight of the monster filled his sight. The fight ebbed out of him and left only an overwhelming sense of dread and finality.

This is how it ended.

It was an odd sensation to feel at the end: the warmth and glow of the sun at his back. Perhaps some higher being was taking mercy on him in his last moments on this plane of existence.

Wait, no the warmth was getting brighter and hotter. An unbearably stuffy and blazing with an intensity of a summer day that grew each passing moment.

Seth groaned, wincing in pain as a sudden flash of light zoomed past with incredible speed. It burned brightly, dispelling the silhouetted shadows with a burning flame despite it being no bigger than a baseball.

The creature reared back and thrashed about, too caught off guard by the sudden glow to realize it was coming straight for it. The orb collided with the creature’s chest and sunk deeply into its chest. The creature howled and buckled in pain, bending and twisting at unnatural angles.

The light faded and the orb with it but Seth could see the fist sized hole it had burned through the chest of the creature.

The creature weakly swayed, seemingly weakened by whatever hit it.

“Not in my neighborhood you punkass bitch.”

Seth weakly turned to find Casey standing there, the fat orange tabby at his feet. The head of the Neighborhood Watch finally changed his clothes: He wore a purple jacket with a black shirt that read “Neighborhood Watch” in faded white lettering. His gray sweats were wrinkled and his feet were adorned with two different sneakers. Outstretched in his hand like he had taken a swing at something was a glowing metal baseball bat that pulsed with radiant power.

“Casey, I…” Seth mumbled out but Casey motioned with his head.

“Go home kid. This ain’t the minor leagues.”

Seth was ashamed to say he ran, frantically and as fast as his sore legs could take him. Whatever just attacked him was out of his weight class.

Luckily Casey was in a league of his own.

The creature clicked its tongue unhappily as it moved uneasily on its hind legs. It bent and twisted its neck in a way that would’ve broken it if the creature had been human.

Casey rolled his eyes as he gripped the bat tightly in his hand “Drama queen much, aren’t you?

The creature said nothing. Instead it threw itself forward full force towards the cleric.

“Here we go.” Casey murmured tiredly as he drew his bat back.

The creature took a swipe at him but Casey already moved out of the way, dodging to the side and allowing the creature sail past him. It twisted its head around only to get a face full of metal: Casey’s swing caught the creature in the cheek and sent it reeling backwards.

The creature shrieked in pain as smoke curled off its face, the cheek swollen and charred an ashy black. It didn’t hesitate to attack once more: It stood up and tried to crush Casey under its full weight.

Casey just shoved the bat directly into the hole he made earlier.

The creature hissed and retreated away from the holy infused weapon. More smoke bellowed from the now enlarged hole.

Casey raised his bat threateningly “Go back to wherever the hell you came from or I will beat you out of existence you flipping abomination.”

If the creature understood the threat, it made no indication. Instead it doubled down on its poor choices.

It sat back on the balls of its feet, tensing its legs in preparation for a mighty leap.

Between helping the inhabitants of the neighborhood with their requests, talking to Jaime and frankly being awoken to a fucking demon attack at 3 am, Casey was just done with all yesterday and evidently today.

Casey’s hand glowed with a dazzling radiant light as he spokes the words of faith. Magic formed and condensed into a single ball of pure sun in his palm.

The creature sprinted forward, tearing up the grass underneath its feet while it desperately made one final dash towards the cleric.

Casey lobbed the ball high in the air and fell into a batter’s stance.

The orb hung in the air for a moment like a blazing sun then fell back to earth.

The creature leapt, talons aimed for Casey’s neck.

Casey let out a mighty swing. There was a loud crack as the bat made contact with the orb. The ball of light sped off and shoved itself down the creature’s throat. The bat follow through connected with the head of the creature and knocked it cleaned off.

The ball gleamed bright in the beast’s stomach before exploding outward like a supernova. The creature flaked away into blacken ash, head and all.

The gleam of light vanished and Casey found himself under the cover of night once more.

He wiped at his eyes tiredly as his phone beeped. He glanced at it to see it was now 4 in the morning.

There was a soft hum as the Hallow reactivated: the air shimmered with an unseen power and grew warm with comfort.

The ashes vanished without warning, the unholy remains cleansed by the sanctity of the neighborhood.

The cat drew closer to Casey, its eyes peering at him thoughtfully.

“Hey Julius” Casey greeted the cat politely “Long night?”

Orange Julius meowed in response.

“Thanks for keeping an eye on him. I knew he’d stay out late but hopefully he understands why we have a rather generous curfew.”

Orange Julius nodded.

“That’s been like what? The third demonic hell beast/ abomination this month. That’s a lot for a month.”

Orange Julius meowed in agreement.

Casey pursed his lips thoughtfully “Hey, did you see Finn?”

The cat tilted his head quizzically.

“I mean all this time you. He. Well you aren’t around whenever he comes by” Casey scratched his neck sheepish “You are his dad’s cat. You sure Fernspeaker wouldn’t want you to be with him?”

The cat paused for a moment before shaking his head.

“It’s not because Jaime’s folks adopted him after…..well that happened, is it?”

The cat pawed the grass below him.

“Right.” Casey nodded in understanding “Neighborhood’s your responsibility. I get that.”

Orange Julius meowed then vanished into the darkness.

Casey glanced at the statue of Fernspeaker that stood tall in the center of park. It had been erected the same time the park was named after him, both shortly after his and his wife’s death 22 years ago.

Fernspeaker Drift, Finnrick’s biological father, was once a powerful druid, deeply in tune with nature and a firm believer in helping others. This neighborhood was his passion project. The Neighborhood Watch was formed after his passing.

The Neighborhood Watch was created because of his passing. Nobody wanted a repeat of what happened all those years ago.

Finnrick told him it was okay for Casey to not to take the job but it felt like such a disrespect to let this whole place dissolve and scatter its residents.

Casey sighed and wandered back to his office. Office hours were closed but the Neighborhood Watch’s job was never done.

#original work #my story #original story #mirror's edge

22 notes · View notes

kirencer · 3 years

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febuary seventh (i’m seeing you)

Y/n and Spencer's relationship collide around a single day: the one where they first looked into each others eyes.

[Or, the all of the secret love letters they wrote during the beginning of their relationship]

Word count: (part one and two) 9.2k

Warnings: Language

Rating: Gen audiences

A/N: it was too long for tumblr, so I broke it into two parts!! Enjoy. GN! Afab reader (it’s important, trust me)

Part Two

Y/n looked up. They had just finished reading Spencer’s journal, the one dedicated to them. Spencer was kneeling and in his hand was a small box, the dainty ring he’d gotten years ago from his mom sat in between the white.

“Will you, Y/n L/n, do me the greatest pleasure by marrying me?” Spencer said with his anxiety showing through. Y/n gasped and threw themself at Spencer, wrapping their arms tight around him.

“Yes!” they cried, pulling away for Spencer to slide the ring on their finger. Then they took a deep breath. “Wait here.”

They disappeared into the two’s bedroom, rummaging through some things before running back with a black binder in hand. “It’s only fair if you see my unsent love letters, too.”

Spencer grasped it and flipped the binder open as Y/n guided him to the couch.

“They’re in order but aren’t as neatly organized as yours - I stopped writing before you did, though.”

————————————————

For Spencer Reid, february 8th 2008 10:17 am

It was yesterday, a little more than 24 hours ago at 6 am that I was on a bus. Tiny, white and cramped, but now I realize it was actually a ferry to the love of my life. Even though at the moment all I cared about was when I was going to get to stretch my legs next, it still buzzed with excitement because I was about to be in your city even if you didn’t come to see me, that would’ve been enough. Being three feet away from you is more than enough. Being Two inches away from you is bliss. But your head on my shoulder is nirvana.

But then, only two hours after I had started my d&d campaign (the moon isles or something) there was an urge to look behind me. I tried to ignore it but I looked anyway.

What I saw scared me. Not because I’m afraid of you Spencer, but because I was scared of myself. I wanted to run to you and hug you, but I was too scared of scaring you away that I didn’t. My head seemed to spin as a second glance felt like a hundred years. Then a smile broke out on my face and I looked away. At first I didn’t think it could be you, I half screamed at the two people sitting on the left side of me. “Don’t look now, but my boyfriend’s here” of course they looked and Sophia told me that you were walking over here.

My insecurities flared up, but I remembered that you love me, even though I'm tired and probably covered in acne. She said you sat down behind me and I risked a quick glance, or two, or three times every two minutes. I tried to act as normal as possible even though if I looked back I would see the smile that lifted your cheeks when I looked at you. It was hard to focus on my campaign because it’s cliche, but I could sense you behind me and I was shaking. My friends were hyping me up to say Hi and I was trying to not scream. I ran to the bathroom, splashed water on my face and tried to calm down. I ran back, probably looking a little too excited. Ok, I was totally too excited.

My campaign finished up, you caught me staring at you a few times and my friends told me you were looking at me anytime we all made a loudish noise. After that, you followed us to lunch, well, followed me. You stood beside me and I said Hi, you replied the same. Then you grabbed your stuff and seemed to have left. I visibly deflated, my one chance to see you and I missed it. Then you came back, with a takeout bag in hand and some fries. I didn’t mention it already but you looked adorable in your glasses, from afar they look too big for you but then you see the big warm eyes behind them. Your cheekbones are so nice and everything about you is handsome, even more than I could have imagined. Photographs don’t do you justice. I hoped you had liked your dice, I got the red and black ones but I was scared you didn’t like yours.

You sat directly in front of me and my friends (Deriasia and Emma) immediately made fun of me and I almost died. At that moment. When you smiled and laughed. My friends gave us their blessing, which kinda fit because you were as tense as if you were meeting my parents.

I asked you to sit with me during the next campaign and you did (we snuck you in without paying). You played with the first character I ever played (Bida the high elf wizard). I was almost too distracted to really compete in all the things, instead focusing on you. You let me use your journal to doodle, a weird eye and a girl. Did you notice me fiddling with my hands? If I didn't keep them busy I probably would’ve put my hands in your hair or grab your hand. I remember you asking me if I needed a hug. I said yes and I think that hug is the most important one I've ever had. You laid on me and I didn’t care what my friends would say, all that matters was you.

My skin in two weeks will not remember the feel of your hair, my lips will not remember your cheek, but my brain forever will. At that moment, physical immortality is not as important as the immortalization of those touches.

They linger in my head, fuzzy and soft on my skin but they’re there.

I remember you telling me not to buy you anything (i still got you a resin skull magnet and dice) I remember flirting with you, i remember it all. I remember how you know all of Sappho’s poems and fragments, I want to remember everything about you. I know I won’t, you’re the one with the crazy good memory, after all.

I wish I would’ve looked in your eyes and told you that I saw you. I wish I would’ve pressed my lips to yours, but then again there’s always next time. And next time I will, even if it’s right in front of the whole world. Because I love you. I really fucking love you and everyone can suck it. I love you.

And I think that’s all that matters.

____

I have waited almost six months to hold you in my arms, and now I wait longer. I hate myself, I didn't hug you. I should’ve.

I didn’t tell you I love you enough, I didn’t kiss you properly. I wish I did.

Currently my arms ache to hold you, my eyes burn to see you and my lips yearn to touch yours. I can’t wait to indulge myself in thousands of kisses, I hope they are as sweet as your skin. Kinda licked my lips after kissing your nose, cheek, and right under your neck. You taste sweet, I think I'm addicted.

I still feel the ghosts of your touch on my skin, I love it. I love you. I want to have your actual skin under my fingertips, to hold you when you wake up from a bad dream, to dance with you under the stars. Decide what song is ours and argue over how cheesy it is. Cry on the day we say our vows, cry at the birth of our first child, cry when they go to school, cry when they grow up, cry when I realize that we did it. I can’t wait to have life with you.

If there’s such a thing as soulmates then the word was made to describe us.

I love you.

____

I fell asleep, I woke up right before you texted me. I dreamt about you, in my mind I fell asleep with you in my arms. In my mind I am sitting in a cafe, right across from you drinking tea.

I prefer it to real life, by about an infinite percent. My friend came in and basically yelled at me to let him use my box, I told him to fuck off. I know I won’t be able to fall back asleep but I do hope to continue my dream tonight. Currently im trying to believe that you think i’m “stunning” it’s starting to work it’s way into my mind that i’m not ugly.

Spencer, I love you.

You have such an effect on me, the first week we were together you weaseled your way into my mind. You sprouted a tree that is still a sapling but has rooted to the core of my mind, slipping into my heart and spreading through my limbs. You’re almost a drug (the only one I approve of).

You’re poison, searing through my veins and warning my skin. But you’re not toxic, you’re candy, sugary sweet, something tangible that almost floats in and out of existence.

If you are a God, I am your most loyal patron.

____

Time is meaningless but it goes so fast, only eight minutes left to talk then my day ends. So many more ‘I love you’s I could say.

But time will not permit our love, that’s fine, I’ll wait it out till the end.

You’re worth it.

Seven Minutes

____

You always deny that you’re adorable, and that’s so adorable.

It’s frustrating sometimes because you’re so beautiful you deserve to know it. But oh well, i’ll just have to prove you are.

I told you I’d rather go on a date with you first before doing anything sexual. you also deserve to know your love is all I need, not your body (that’s just a perk)

You’re hot, sue me!

____

In the shower, I have most of my daydreams. Ranging from cotton candy clouds to a place where my parents accept me. However, the best daydream i’ve ever had is about a boy. A boy with chocolate brown eyes and a beautiful smile. Ding Ding Ding, his name is Spencer.

My dream is about his last name, well it involves it. I imagine myself talking to him while I say an important speech, in front of a crowd of people. I’m talking about our relationship, about how much I love you, and how much I can’t wait for the next chapter of our life to start. I always tear up when everyone is quiet at the end, and then you say what you have to say. It’s fuzzy and I don’t remember any of it (kinda want you to make your own in the future) but after you say it. It's time.

You say two words, so low only I and the person standing next to us can hear, “I do”

That’s the best day dream I’ve ever had, because I know it won’t be just a dream (I hope)

____

The best part of my day is looking at any photos from you: they always make me smile. Even when my day has been utterly terrible, your bright eyes are always a light in the dark.

I often don’t even need to think about you to have your smile in my mind, it’s just there, like a constant bright sunshiny beam. A single thought about you makes my day, a single touch my year, remembering that you’re mine makes my life a whole much better.

You, make living better.

I live for you, you’re all I ever want to have.

Je suis fou amoureux de toi.

____

So uh, you might have noticed but I don’t know how to talk to people, let alone talk to you.

It’s not that I have nothing to say, I have too much to say. It all bubbles in my mind and makes me jump on topic every three seconds. But when it comes to you, I'm stuck on which way to tell you I love you.

So, how about all of them?

I don’t need to focus on a single part of your face to know that it’s beautiful, but I do. All the parts work in harmony, like a choir. But individually they are still beautiful. I love every single inch of your face, individually and together.

I love you for your personality, I fell in love with a genius who is so much more than his memory or intelligence. Then I fell in love with a sweet boy who whined when I said self deprecating things. When we first met, I instantly fell in love again, with a shy boy who would look up at me from under his lashes.

Fuck, my mind is racing too much to distinguish anymore. But, I hoped I showed you.

That, I love you now, and forever will.

Happy Valentine’s day, my love.

____

Happy anniversary, god I can’t believe it’s been five months already. It seems just yesterday I was crying over whether or not I should continue liking you (i had told myself I wasn’t good enough for you).

Well, turns out I was wrong. I’m just enough for you. It doesn’t matter to me anymore if you’ll ever leave me, well, it does, `but there’s something more important, you being loved and being happy is what matters. And I can’t wait to give you what matters.

I love you babe! I’ll try to write more to show it.

____

My mind is a cavern of echoes, words (well a name) revertibrating in my skull.

The things used to be about art, school, anything slightly important.

But now, it’s filled with the most important person in my life. Analyzing the color of his hair (a warm brown), thinking of his eyes, thinking of his name and my name with a change; Spencer Reid (and sometimes Y/n Reid) has taken over my mind and burrowed into my soul.

I think if the red string of fate was real then we’d have been connected when we first met. Fuck, we are connected.

If we weren’t why would I have fallen in love with you? It was fate that I sent a letter to a wrong address, fate that I stumbled upon the boy that would change my life for the better.

Our souls are connected, being pulled because of the distance though, and I can’t wait to be with you. Not two halves of a whole, but two souls that fit like a puzzle piece.

I love you, and you love me. Even though I'm a coward.

When we have a daughter, her name should be Rhiannon. We will both dote on her like the goddess she is. Just a thought :>

____

You were in my house today. I think I'm dying, I'm wearing your sweater. It smells like you. I think you left it behind on purpose.

You smell really nice. It’s not like a cologne or anything, but it's nice. You’re nice

You kissed me. You’re a really good kisser. You should do it again and again and again.

I got the news yesterday, my transfer went in, I'm sending my letter to you tomorrow. I know you’re in my city but I'd rather it be like this.

I don’t think i'm going to write any more, don’t think that means i don’t love you!!

I am going to hold you for hours, I promise, I love you.

————————————————

Spencer finished reading and smiled up at his new fiance. “We were such dorks! It's crazy how similar we thought.”

Y/n nodded and looked down at their ring. “We were dorks in love! Um, so how do you feel about the name Rhiannon?”

“It’s pretty, but I don’t think we need to be worrying about baby names - we need to figure out how to tell my team we’re engaged.” Spencer quipped, wrapping his arms around Y/n before it hit him.

Y/n’s morning sickness, the weird secretive doctors appointment, and what they had just said. “No!” he whispers, a smile growing on his face, “I’m gonna be a dad?”

They nod and bury their head into Spencer’s chest. Spencer can’t stop the smile that beams across his face. He grabs Y/n and spins them around in his arms, “This is the best news!!”

He pressed a deep kiss to Y/n’s lips, then went onto his knees to wrap his arms around Y/n. “Jason Derek Reid if it’s a boy and Rhiannon Penelope Reid if it’s a girl.”

Y/n smiles and nods, “I was thinking the same thing.”

“Let’s be on the same page, forever from now on, okay?”

They nodded, Spencer’s hands finding place on their back as he pressed his lips right below Y/n’s navel. Y/n’s hand’s dug into his hair: “Forever.”

Years later the two do indeed wake up on a Saturday morning to impatient kids who demand to be made pancakes. Sometimes after a hard case they do dance at three am in their underwear. Sometimes they do a lot of things in their underwear. They’re together in every way imaginable.

And to them? It’s the most important thing that could ever be possible.

The End

part one

#spencer x you #spencer reid x reader #ao3 #reader insert #writing #pregnancy

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dreaming-of-assclass · 4 years

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Oooooo if 3-E were supernatural creatures who would be what 👀👀👀

Oooohh this is interesting to think about! I’m sorry, I don’t know a lot haha so I did some research to have more options!!

Karma: Demon

I feel like I don’t need to elaborate on this too much lmao. The boy is mischievous, LOVES to mess with mortals for no reason. When he’s feeling a particularly strong emotion, usually rage, excitement, etc, his eyes glow a shade of yellow-gold (like what canon showed)

Isogai: Demi-God

His crazy perfection in everything has to come from somewhere. His father was a God who left his realm and lost his immortality to be with Isogai’s mother, a mortal. Isogai only became aware of his heritage after his father’s passing.

Okajima: Half-Angel

LMAO I mostly picked this for the irony, but it kinda fits ngl. He’s generally a good, loyal, kind person and a very good friend. His perverted nature is his one big flaw and comes from the influence of his mortal father, who was his main guardian since his mother remained on Heaven.

Okano: Werewolf

I’m gonna credit this one to @greengargouille haha. They made a wonderful post about this idea that I still adore with my whole heart. But yeah, Okano being a badass werewolf with crazy athleticism and defying femininity expectations? Yes please.

Okuda: Witch

She excels in potion-making, of course. She comes from a long line of witches and magic-users in her family. So she feels quite a bit of pressure to be successful. She’s very talented but needs a tad bit more of control in her magic.

Kataoka: Mermaid

This one shouldn’t be a surprise haha. She’s a very strong and powerful swimmer...but where does all that raw talent come from? Surprise, Megu is a mermaid and she can transform between her physical forms at will. She loves the water because it’s her home and what she knows best.

Kayano: Part-Phoenix

I don’t know how this works and how someone can be part-Phoenix lmao, but it fits her way too well. A being that goes out in flames and starts a new life...isn’t that basically what Kayano did after her reveal? Her new life is her going by Akari again and showing her true colors to the class.

Kanzaki: Goddess

She’s apart of a very royal family of gods...all with ridiculously high standards and little respect for her. Kanzaki is very powerful and has so much raw potential but she’s never been able to show it. Her best skills are teleportation, invisibility, and a strong grasp on aerokinesis.

Kimura: Centaur

I’m serious about this one lmao. He’s a very fast runner and impresses everyone, and it’s thanks to his strong physique and raw energy in centaur form. Don’t worry, he can shape-shift back to a human form, but he hates it because he loses his height and is back to being 160 cm.

Kurahashi: Fairy

Of course, this bright, sunny, cheerful sweet girl could only be a fairy. She has a very strong connection to nature and wildlife, to the point that if they’re harmed, she feels the pain. Her wings are very tiny at age 14 can easily hide underneath her clothes. But by adulthood, they’re grown and able to use for flight.

Nagisa: Half-Ghoul

Surprise...this soft boy is actually half-evil :’). His father is actually a ghoul, and Nagisa was very much unaware of it for all his life. Hiromi kept it a secret and tried to suppress that part of him too. Basically I imagine what it means for Nagisa is that death draws him, and his physiology is why he has such a high bloodlust. When he’s pushed to his limits, he’s terrifying... (cough Takaoka cough)

Sugaya: Wizard

He comes from a relatively average line of wizards, who all moved to the mortal realm and own artisan businesses. Sugaya wishes to do something similar and follow his passion for art. He mostly uses his magic for that, levitating his brushes, enhancing his work, creating new things. He’s quite talented at conjuring.

Sugino: Angel

Yes, I’m serious about this. Sugino is a very good person and always strives to lead others down the right path. He’s good at guiding, but even he wants to live for himself for once. So he learns what baseball is and grows a strong love for it.

Takebayashi: Wizard

Unlike Sugaya, he comes from a super prestigious line of successful and powerful wizards. His family is one of the top ones. He feels immense pressure to live up to them. His talents lie in fire magic, particularly creating explosions. And he’s a very skilled healer.

Chiba: Half-Dragon

Fitting considering his name 💜 He has the ability to change between his human and dragon form, but it’s very shaky for now. His eyes are a bright, terrifying shade of red, and it exposes his dragon heritage so he must hide it.

Terasaka: Half-Titan

His Titan physiology is the reason for his raw strength and physical prowess. He’s incredibly strong and has a high endurance, durability, stamina... He’s a talented fighter and will always use his advantage to protect his loved ones.

Nakamura: Siren

She hates being a siren so much. She has to deal with boring mortal guys all the time, who for some reason, love her voice. She gets a real kick out of fooling them though, and the pranks are always chaotic. Since she’s been having to sing and use her voice, she’s gotten the chance to learn many languages. She has an affinity for them, and wants to continue learning more.

Hazama: Witch

I know this is a little cliche. But in contrast to the potion-centered Okuda, Hazama excels in linguistic spells. She keeps a journal of every new one she learns, as well as images of herbs and such. She’s very interested in dark arts, but will only indulge in it with the presence of someone else, to make sure she doesn’t fall too deep.

Hayami: Witch

Wow I’m really repeating so many. Hayami is a very hardworking, talented witch. But she’s so focused on helping others, she tends to get taken advantage of unfortunately. She’s best at transfigurations, altering things to her (and others) liking. Her favorite test subject is Okajima. She’s quite talented in hand-to-hand combat and having kinetic vision, which helps in magic. She wants a cat as a familiar so badly.

Hara: Fairy

Hara says “fuck you” to the idea that fairies are traditionally small and frail. She’s proud of her physique and strength, and her interest in fighting. She’s still the sweetest fairy there could be, always looking after everyone and all of nature. She loves cooking and sharing it with as many people as she can find.

Fuwa: Ghost

Yep our crazy, lively Fuwa is a ghost! Specifically, she’s a poltergeist, the kind who try to create mischief in some way and move things around. The reason why Fuwa is kinda wild and open about her passions is so she can be noticed by people...if her presence isn’t being acknowledged, she loses her physical form and goes back to being a transparent spirit. It isn’t all bad though. Her favorite thing to do is read mangas in ghost form, so all people see is a floating copy of One Piece.

Maehara: Vampire

This one is a little cliche lmao, but he’s a vampire playboy who always ends up accidentally turning his girlfriends into vampires too with his bites. No one ever suspects him of being a vampire since he looks like sunshine incarnate. He’s quite reckless and has come close to being exposed multiple times, and Isogai always scolds him.

Mimura: Elf

Poor boy is a little insecure about being an Elf...he tries his best not to stand out, especially given his dad’s love for the spotlight. He is good at basic magic, slightly above average. His best talent and what he excels at is photokinesis. He uses it on his filming hobby, to change what’s on camera, adjust lighting, etc. He can go as far as even completely remove shadows from the sunlight.

Muramatsu: Alchemist

He comes from a relatively average family of alchemists that used their abilities for culinary purposes. He enjoys it a lot, and is very talented. He prefers to rely on physical prowess when it comes to fights, but is able to use his alchemy additionally.

Yada: Vampire

Yada is the hot vampire girlfriend we all wish we had 😔 Just kidding haha. But yes, she’s a vampire and no one would ever expect it with how good she is at hiding. She plans out her life and days to specifically avoid sunlight, garlic, etc. She’s a very busy member of the school community and has tons of friends and connections. She and Maehara, her fellow vampire, constantly compete to see who can get more dates.

Yoshida: Werewolf

This is slightly cliche since he’s the resident bad boy, but it fits. He tries to keep a tough image even in human form partly since his family taught him to do so, and because it is comfortable for him. But he’s a softie deep down, and is nowhere near as ruthless as he’s believed to be.

Ritsu: Magic Mirror?

Hmm this is kind of the only option I see fitting for her as it correlates to her role in canon. One classmate has to carry the mirror around for her to communicate, but she’s very powerful and helpful.

Itona: Mummy

Ok so storyline here: he was abandoned to die by his family centuries ago, and his 13 body was mummified against his will. In present time, Shiro awakens him, revives him, and uses him as a tool. He goes through a lot...but is able to live a peaceful life with 3-E once all that is over. He wears bandages almost everywhere, only exposing his eyes which glow yellow when he’s using his power.

Bonus:

Gakushuu is a Demi-God, of course. He’s pretty annoyed that his elemental magic only extends to hydrokinesis and cryokinesis, but he’s still amazingly talented.

Ren is a Merman who flirts with girls at the beach with sappy poetry. He’s gotten caught in a fisher net too many times.

Seo is an Ogre.

#assclass #assassination classsroom #ansatsu kyoushitsu #3-E #ask #gakushuu asano #ren sakakibara #seo tomoya #fantasy au #?

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leapyearkisses · 3 years

Text

Director’s Cut Commentary - Orbs Are Bad News Part 2

Second part of me blathering my thoughts all over this old story per the request of a very nice anon! I am still sleep-deprived, so yay~ Sorry, this commentary is probably way less interesting, since this part is just the sexy stuff, but if you have any particular questions, please send me another ask!

Happy to do any of my stories or just answer asks, whatever. I clearly enjoy reading myself talk XD

Comments in bold below the cut! This part is NSFW. Well, it’s all kinky but there’s also sex.

I forgot to mention this in Part 1, but the title of this story is because the homebrew campaign I ran for my friends involved magical evil crystal orbs. Hence they are bad news.

"Are you ever going to stop sneezing?" Remembrance asked. At the same time, Cordes said, "One thousand blessings, Llewellyn, one for each." The two of them were several yards ahead on the road, and only Cordes was looking back over his shoulder. Right now, the four party members were the only travelers on this particular stretch, although as they got closer to civilization, they'd started to pass the odd wanderer, farmers with wagons, even a merchant or two. The woods here were broken up periodically by stretches of arable land, clear-cut several decades ago and now waving with wheat, flax, or various vegetable leaves. The fields were golden in the late sun. Their shadows stretched behind them like taffy, rippling on the cobblestones. The day was vanishing quickly, and Gerrit could sense his companions' impatience to move on even as he stopped again himself, drawing out his handkerchief in a now very familiar motion.

Stick your people in a world. That’s my advice. Don’t have them just floating around in a no man’s land of generic scenery. (Also why I like period/historical snzarios and fantasy stuff, because reading about plain people in an apartment somewhere is boring to me.)

Llewellyn, for his part, could not answer them, face buried in his elbow as he ducked with another reluctant outburst. "Hahktschiu! Hahh- happtsch!"

"Bless," said Gerrit, and he stepped in front of the elf to shield him marginally from view. He laid one warm hand on the back of Llewellyn's neck and lifted the handkerchief with the other, capturing the next sneeze in the flannel folds. He settled his fingers firmly around Llewellyn's nose.

This was an arrangement that had been born out of necessity three days ago when the party had raided a bandit camp's plundered stores. Along with a good stash of gold and gems, they'd found a blue crystal orb, cursed perhaps, that had summarily become attached to both of Llewellyn's hands, rendering the sorcerer unable to do most anything... including take care of his cold on his own.

On the last episode of Orbs Are Bad News...

Llewellyn blew his nose into the handkerchief, wetting the cloth and dampening Gerrit's fingers through it. Originally quite opposed to such a display outside of the most private circumstances, the elf had been forced to put his pride aside and let Gerrit help him. His fever had abated the previous day, but the frequency of his sneezing had increased, as if his body was insistent now on ridding itself of whatever illness remained. It was a horrific prospect to Llewellyn to catch the resulting mess every time in the sleeve of his robes... so he suffered Gerrit to hold the handkerchief, even though they were walking along the road where any might see them.

Despite some initial teasing, Remembrance and Cordes had quickly grown accustomed to the practice and now cared not at all, except to complain. "We're going to have to camp again," grumbled Remembrance. "Five miles from Veigh and we're going to be stuck without a bath!"

Is five miles a realistic figure here? No fucking clue! I frequently engage in excessive and specific research for my stories, but I didn’t look up how long one might hike for in D&D. Oh well.

"Is there anything I could do for you?" Cordes asked, somewhat exasperated. The priest had made several herbal concoctions for Llewellyn over the past few days, but none had helped the elf's nose much. Cordes's specialty was unfortunately not the curing of disease but the mending of bones and flesh.

I will take any opportunity to make up an excuse as to why the snz cannot be contained. You’re welcome lol

"Ndo," Llewellyn growled, as fed up as the rest of them. "I'm beyond heh- help. Hngtschiu!"

"Bless you, arimelda," said Gerrit, trying to keep his voice even. He shifted the handkerchief so that Llewellyn could have a drier spot, trying to ignore a glimpse of slickness on the elf's face. "Remembrance, Cordes, why don't the two of you go on ahead? Find an inn, get a room, take a bath, whatever you want. It might be prudent also to send a message ahead to the Mages Guild about the orb. Will you do that? Llewellyn and I will join you when we arrive."

An elvish word appears! I researched this but not walking.

Cordes nodded. "Yes, I'll draft a letter as soon as- Hey!" Remembrance had grabbed his arm and was rushing ahead already.

"Let's go, man!" she said. "Everyone loves a damn priest; you're my ticket to a good room, so may your god help you if you dawdle." Her pointed tail swished as she practically jogged down the road. Cordes spluttered but could no more stand up to her as to a tornado, so off they went. It was a remarkably short time before the two of them were out of earshot, disappearing around a bend.

And again, removed so that the main characters can bang, lol.

Gerrit sighed but turned his attention back to Llewellyn, who was blowing his nose again. The handkerchief was running out of clean corners this late in the day, but the elf leaned back this time when he was finished. "All set?" Gerrit asked.

"Yes." Llewellyn rubbed his eyes on his upper arm, wiping away a spare tear from the effort. "...My apologies." He cleared his throat, refusing to meet Gerrit's gaze. "We may arrive after dark."

"You're ill," said Gerrit, trying to fold the flannel in a way as to avoid his pocket getting wet. "We'd move faster if you let me carry y-"

"No."

"Then I don't mind taking a more leisurely pace." Gerrit smiled. Even after everything, Llewellyn was stubborn. Honestly, since they weren't really in a rush, he didn't really care when they reached Veigh; they'd only detoured here to try and remove the orb. If Llewellyn, the most inconvenienced, didn't want to give up his pride and piggyback on... well, Gerrit found his noble hauteur inexplicably cute.

Me too, buddy. Don’t worry, you can carry your elf later.

He also wasn't in a particular hurry because it was awfully uncomfortable to make any sort of time with his arousal pressed flush to his thigh.

A reminder that sex is usually going to be involved in my stories. The snz is not enough by itself.

Llewellyn coughed into his elbow and then started walking again. Gerrit had pulled back his hood for him in the morning and braided his hair, and the crown of plaits caught the afternoon sunlight like an obsidian. Gerrit tried not to let his eyes linger on the sorcerer's pale nape. Or any other part of him. He and Llewellyn had been travelling together for close to three years, working for their current patron in the capital, and in that time Gerrit had felt himself growing closer to the elf. Wanting to be closer, anyway.

Llewellyn shot a glance at him and caught him looking. Gerrit flushed and turned his gaze back ahead to the road.

"You've been very accommodating during all of this," the elf said, tone carefully neutral.

Gerrit shrugged. "It doesn't bear mentioning. We're comrades."

"Comrades," Llewellyn repeated, an edge to his voice that Gerrit couldn't quite place. "Is that all it is?" He kicked a stick that had fallen to the cobblestones, sending it into the brush. Somewhere to the right, bumblebees droned over a meadow.

Llewellyn is kind of a asshole and not super great at communicating with any level of affection, although he does get better.

Gerrit swallowed. "Yes? You and I, we've helped each other before. I consider you to be a steadfast companion." Eyes on the road. Eyes on the dappled play of shadowed leaves and light on the ground. "Why do you ask?"

"So shy," Llewellyn exclaimed, a tad mockingly. "You've never been shy about taking me to bed, Gerrit." Despite his short height, the elf seemed to find it easy to look down his nose at the much taller fighter. "Has something changed?"

Height difference is also personally sacred to me.

"Changed?" Eyes on the road.

Llewellyn stopped walking. "You called me 'arimelda.' 'Dearest.' Did you think I wouldn't hear you over my sneezing?" He couldn't cross his arms with his hands trapped by the orb, but the set of his jaw was determined and his firm brows were arched. "I wasn't so distracted then as you seem to have thought."

Gerrit shoved his hands in his pockets. He stopped walking but didn't turn. "Apparently not," he muttered. "Look, we can set it aside. Doesn't have to mean anything – doesn't have to change anything. I know a highborn elf like you wouldn't consider an official relationship with a half-elven bastard, and I've known that from the start. For my whole life. So... I care about you. But it can just be as comrades, or whatever you want it to be." Llewellyn was quiet, and after a long minute, Gerrit did turn on his heel, desperate to know what kind of reaction he'd provoked.

The angst of the half-elven existence! Gerrit is a very typical half-elf in terms of D&D characterization, lol. Despite that, I do find these different-lifestyle pairings interesting, so they keep happening, cliche or not. There is a definite pathos in the elf/human relationship because of the different lifespans, of course - most famously depicted through Arwen and Aragorn, probably, although he’s not the exactly typical human. Anyway, it kind of varies how people like to determine elven and half-elven lifespans in D&D depending on the PHB and your DM’s weary forbearance lol, but Gerrit and Llewellyn will expect to live similar lengths because I’m a sap.

He saw Llewellyn standing with his eyes closed and head titled back, lips parted. The elf's nostrils flared as he gasped.

"Are you going to sneeze again??" Gerrit asked. He threw up his hands, then went for his handkerchief once more. They did have an arrangement.

He strode back over to Llewellyn's side and tucked the cloth around his nose again, thumb and forefinger just resting on the elf's nostrils. He started to rub Llewellyn's back. "You have the worst timing, you know? Here I am, spilling my heart to you and everything."

I laughed writing this part, too. You can’t always let things just be angst.

"Sh-hhuh-t up, I jh- just nih-" Llewellyn gasped again and gave in; he had no other choice. "Hahktscht!" He moaned and pressed closer into the handkerchief, thick congestion only aggravating the itch that remained inside. "Hkktschtt! Hngtscht! Hahh- ah-- ankcxttschiu!"

That sure is a bunch of letters crammed together!

"Easy... it's okay." Gerrit massaged Llewellyn’s nose, tried to soothe the irritation. He guided Llewellyn to the side of the road, and, in a moment of calm, settled him to sit on the grassy bank. He followed, kneeling at the elf's side. Llewellyn was tearing up again and his nose was twitching against the pads of Gerrit's fingers. Gerrit felt electric all over. He found himself wishing the handkerchief was gone so that he might touch the soft, heated skin of Llewellyn's septum, coax the elf to relax and loose his tension, sneeze into Gerrit's palm. The mess didn't bother him; none of it bothered him. He was supremely unbothered. His cock was almost painfully hard.

It took several more minutes punctuated with more urgent expulsions before Llewellyn seemed to trust himself to speak. His eyes were wet with unshed tears, eyelids tender and reddened. His nose was brightly ruddy, running to chapped. He had to take a shaky breath, collecting his thoughts. "Gerrit."

I’m a very visual writer. This kink is extremely visually-based for me. I wish I could draw as well as I want to so I could depict these scenes how I imagine them, but eh.

"Yes?" Gerrit lowered the handkerchief, gently pinching as he did to clear any lingering moisture. He wasn't ready to hear a rejection, nor did he feel particularly ready for a lecture or a tirade or even a logical exploration of why a relationship was a bad idea. He wanted, if possible, to keep walking to Veigh, side by side, listening to the bees and dragonflies and songbirds settling in for the evening, feeling the light breeze on his face, replete with the scents of summer.

"Kiss me."

Gerrit blinked, mental caravan bunching to a halt. "What?"

i am so funny omg

Llewellyn nudged him in the chest with the orb. "Kiss me. You're all worked up." He cleared his throat. "And judging by the state of you, you're not put off by my cold. So?" He tilted his head to the side, gently, closed his eyes. "I want you to kiss me."

An example of the B character not really forcing the admitting of the fetish but just kind of not caring. That is also okay, and I think it’s normal. People don’t just admit to all their kinks immediately upon entering a relationship.

Baffled, but feeling as though maybe all was not lost, Gerrit obliged, pressing their lips together. His own eyes slid closed and he cupped Llewellyn's cheek, deepening the kiss, touching their tongues together, trying to convey how he felt. Whatever had changed. The kiss lasted for too short a time; Llewellyn broke away to breathe, eyes half-lidded, but he didn't lean away.

I’ve never kissed anyone, but I consume media. I feel like I am pretty good at depicting things regardless of experience.

"I'm not going to dismiss you out of hand," he said. "You or your feelings. But I would ask for some time to think." He looked up through his lashes. "Are you feeling better?"

Another thing I like in romance, even in kink short stories like this, is a more realistic portrayal of the confession than just “It was obviously meant to be~”

Gerrit could feel his pulse in every extremity. "Not really," he managed, and he kissed Llewellyn again, this time sliding one hand under the elf's head and one at his hip and pressing him back to lay in the grass. He moaned in his throat as Llewellyn kissed back, and when they had to break for breath, he started to kiss at Llewellyn's forehead, jaw, throat, wherever he could touch skin. His hands roamed over the elf's body, smoothing over hip and thigh and belly until he could start to undo the buttons on Llewellyn's close-cut robes.

"Gerrit," gasped Llewellyn. He moved the orb between them, jamming it into Gerrit's sternum. "You are not going to sleep with me on the side of the damn road! Get ahold of yourself!"

He has standards!

Gerrit growled at the quick pain in his chest, then shook his head and leaned back. He flushed deeply and pulled his hands away. "Oh. Oh, fuck, sorry. I-"

"Pick me up." Llewellyn lifted his arms.

"What??" Gerrit's brain was having a hard time keeping up at the moment, all of his blood being elsewhere.

"There was a thicker copse of trees back about thirty feet, on the left." Llewellyn waved the orb at him. "Pick me up. We can lay down there."

His standards are NOT that high! But he does have them!

So. So Gerrit ducked his head into the circle of Llewellyn’s arms and picked him up, holding him securely and setting off down the road again, back the way they’d come. The elf was right; there, about twenty feet back from the bank, was a thick copse of pines, all grown together with wild geranium and maidenhead ferns. Gerrit pushed through, shoulder first. Despite its proximity to the thoroughfare, the inside of the stand was quiet and shielded completely from view. This would do nicely.

Told you you’d get to carry him soon.

He set Llewellyn back on his feet and made short work of undressing him, first freeing the sorcerer from his pouches and bags, then undoing the silver buttons on his robe from his collarbone to his crotch. The rich fabric fell open appealingly. Next, Gerrit freed the elf from his boots and leggings. A long white shirt, woven from the finest of elven angora, still covered him, but Gerrit pushed the fabric up over Llewellyn’s belly, leaning in to kiss the elf again and touching him intimately.

Llewellyn moaned and nudged Gerrit’s hip with the orb. “Now you,” he said. “I want to see your body.”

Gerrit complied, making quick time shedding his cloak, pack, leather armor, breeches, boots. Two daggers, two short swords, caltrops, a bow and quiver, a glaive, and a spiked whip followed. He pushed them to the side as Llewellyn rolled his eyes.

This is another funny trope lol, like when a hero or assassin or someone has to go through airport security and the metal detector keeps beeping because they’re carrying 18 knives on their person. Fighters are proficient in every weapon, so why not have one of everything?

"You can't possibly have a use for all of those," the elf said, and then Gerrit captured his mouth again.

He laid Llewellyn down on the soft carpet of pine needles, using his cloak to cover the ground and double as a makeshift pillow. The elf was beautiful in the shifting shade, skin flawless. He had the orb resting on his chest and it glowed intermittently in the inconstant sunlight. The gold chain netting that encapsulated both the orb and Llewellyn's fine-boned hands glimmered. "You know," said Gerrit, smoothing a hand down Llewellyn's bare thigh. "You'd look pretty good bound up in gold chain."

"This isn't enough for you?" He scoffed.

Gerrit laughed. "It would be fun to tease you. I love it when you fuss at me. So cute." He dodged Llewellyn's elbow and settled down on his stomach, hooked one of Llewellyn's legs over his shoulder, and nuzzled the base of the elf's cock. "Ready, arimelda?" His own cock was under him, pressed to his stomach in the confines of his shirt. He could feel his pulse in the head of it, quickening with the scent of his lover.

"Yes, you prick," sighed the elf, and he moaned when Gerrit started to kiss him and lave his skin. His fingers flexed on the orb, longing to wind into Gerrit's hair.

Licking is kind of thing, and I love writing about fellatio so. Yay~

Gerrit took Llewellyn into his mouth eagerly, fingers curled over the elf's thighs, fingertips pressing at the sensitive inner surface as he sucked and teased and swallowed. Like this, he could focus on Llewellyn's pleasure. The noises the usually stoic and prideful sorcerer was making were enough to make Gerrit moan, mouth full, and rock his hips. Nothing pleased Gerrit more than seeing Llewellyn undone, seeing the elf flushed and open and undone for him. And he shivered, all over, when he heard the elf's breath catch and his tone go wavery. He thought he could come from this, listening to Llewellyn sneeze while pleasuring him implacably with a heated, well-placed tongue.

This is also VERY IMPORTANT. Caretaking to the point of like, partner worship idk. It’s good!!

"Aa, aa, ahh- ih- Gerrit, I-" Llewellyn drew his knee up, curling, heel drawing along Gerrit's back. "I nih- need to snih- hh-"

Gerrit drew his head back, let Llewellyn's cock free for a moment. He didn't loosen his grip on the elf's legs, though, wound up and desirous. "Okay by me, melda, it's okay. Feel all right? Want me to stop?" He was breathless himself, had to force the words past the distraction of his arousal, but he would abide.

Consent is the sexiest thing.

"No, don't stop," Llewellyn groaned, then turned his head to the side. "Hpptscht! Hah- Haktschiu!"

"Bless, bless." Gerrit kissed Llewellyn's thigh tenderly, then nipped it, drew his tongue over the hurt, sucked a bruise to mark its place. He swallowed Llewellyn down again as the elf cried out in pleasure and then bent with another helpless burst. Gerrit wondered if he could make Llewellyn come simultaneously with a sneeze and what that might feel like. The fantasy set him alight. His abdomen was tight, his cock like a brand on his stomach. He redoubled his efforts.

Gerrit felt it first, when Llewellyn came, in the tightening of the elf's thighs and stomach, then tasted the salt of his release. His world narrowed down to taking it in, swallowing, milking with his mouth while Llewellyn cried out, going until the elf was pushing him away, keening, oversensitive. He didn't wait to lift Llewellyn then into his lap, cradling him with one arm and stroking himself with the other hand, desperate to come as well. Llewellyn pressed his face to the junction of Gerrit's neck and shoulder, tightly gripping the cloth of Gerrit's shirt as they rocked together. The elf's nose was gently wet and he was panting, sniffling. Gerrit came with a shout, holding him close, shaking with an overabundance of pleasure. He let go of his cock and embraced Llewellyn fully. He had enough presence of mind not to confess to anything, but he couldn't stop himself from murmuring how beautiful, how soft.

okay. o__o There’s only so much I can say about writing the porn lol. I write what I want to read.

Gradually the world came back. Birdsong, first, and the bees, the sounds of the trees swaying in the light breeze. The lingering heat of the day, dampened by the shade and the growing dusk. The musty smell of pine needles and the sharper hint of sap, the scents of sex, the pressure of Llewellyn astride his lap, the bite of uneven ground against his knees. Llewellyn was touching his cheek, trying to say something sweet, failing because of his cold again.

I tried to write this part so that it would not be immediately obvious to the reader, as it is not to the characters, that the orb is gone.

"Ah- hh- Ttschgktst!"

Wetness against his neck. Gerrit wound his fingers with Llewellyn's and kissed his jaw. "Bless you," he said. "I'll find you a healer in Veigh. We'll get you well again. Right after we free you from the orb." He laid his cheek against the back of Llewellyn's hand tenderly. Then he paused. "Wait." Straightening, he brought his hands between them. The right was laced with Llewellyn's left. "The orb is gone."

Llewellyn straightened also, looking down at his hands. His hands with no orb. He lifted them both, amazed. And then wiped his nose on his wrist, sighing in pleasure. Gerrit tried not to blush despite everything.

Me too, buddy.

"Where did it go?" he asked, looking past the elf's shoulder. "Why did it come off?"

"Who even cares at this point??" Llewellyn had let go of him and was stretching, running his palms over his body, touching his own arms and face and cock, finally able to move and feel again after three days of magical bondage. He wiggled his fingers and then clapped his palms together, raising a small flame with their parting. "I have my freedom back. I can cast spells again. I can-" He smiled brilliantly. "I can touch you, too." He dropped his hands suddenly to Gerrit's lap, nimbly taking Gerrit's cock between them.

Gerrit lost track of the orb immediately.

Me too, buddy.

---

It was dark indeed when the two of them made it to the inn in Veigh, but both were in high spirits. Gerrit had relinquished handkerchief duty back to Llewellyn with a great internal mourning, but he could always fantasize about this again in the future (he did, frequently), and he knew that Llewellyn, despite his best efforts, would catch more colds on the road (he did, more frequently than he would like).

I would love to play a fetish-friendly D&D campaign, but it would be way too embarrassing, probably. My current PC has allergies, but I have never mentioned them in-game and probably never will lol. God help me if my DM ever remembers that I wrote them into my character sheet.

Remembrance and Cordes had only been able to secure one room, it seemed, with two beds. Gerrit resigned himself, going up the stairs, to sleeping on the floor. But... it was apparent upon entering the small space that... well, their priest and thief had ended up taking up only one of the beds, together. Gerrit and Llewellyn traded glances.

"I don't think I want to ask," said Llewellyn, going for the free bed.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Gerrit replied, joining him.

The untold story, lol

In the morning, Cordes, with great dignity sprung from embarrassment (the cause of which he did not volunteer) informed them that a letter had not been sent to the Mages Guild yet. He was immensely relieved to find that one was no longer needed and quick to congratulate Llewellyn on his newly regained freedom. Remembrance just chuckled from the bed and took her time buckling her armor back on.

Already in Veigh, the party spent some time stocking up on medicines and liquefying some of the heavier treasures they'd liberated from the bandit camp. Gerrit sent a message on to their patron to expect them back in the capital in a couple of weeks, barring disaster. They purchased horses and set out, ready for the next adventure.

---

The orb lay still in the pine thicket, nestled like an egg among the ferns, waiting for the next hapless traveler.

Faust’s Orb of Rope Bondage. Make a Will saving throw [DC 15] upon touching the orb with any body part, wearing clothes or not. Upon a failure, the orb will find its way to adhere to the hand of the hapless adventurer. If both hands touch the orb, they will both be stuck. If two people fail the save, one of each of their hands will be stuck. The spell can be broken only if each attached party has an orgasm.

I GUESS

#lyk writes #snz #llewellyn mistwalker #gerrit truestride #gerwellyn #director's cut commentary exercise

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maxparkhurst · 4 years

Note

How did you create your characters? What was your process?

TMI Tuesday: How did you create your characters? What was your process?

// <offers out a chair> You’re going to want to sit for this. It’s going to be a LONG story. For those who’re looking for a short answer: I’m actually in the middle of creating these two. Edits and tweaks are always being made to make them appear real and true. And it’s thanks to everyone on here and in-game that they’ve progressed so much.

Now for the long version.

Evolving as an Author:

Maxinora and Augustine Parkhurst are a culmination of ideas inspired by a myriad of things. The process of creating them isn’t linear. It has a lot of pit falls, unexpected twists and turns, and a ton of hills. To understand how we got the current versions of these two, we need to go back a couple years ago.

It’s the summer of 2012. In efforts to get me off of his account, my Dad gifted me my own. This was when I made my first ever serious roleplay character- a hunter named Evelon Holmwood. Well, at the time I spelled it like Evavllyn but...Yeah. We’re going to gloss over that fact. Now, Eve was my pride and joy for the last several years. I played this character nonstop, refusing to play or write about anyone else. In retrospect, I used this character more as therapy than anything of creative merit.

Eve’s story was basic at best. But I got better with story-telling the older I got. Unfortunately, her story got so convoluted that I had hard time salvaging anything from it. Now, you’re probably asking: How does this relate to Max? Fear not. I’m getting there. It was around this existential crisis that a mutual friend of my boyfriend and I convinced us to leave WoW and hop on SWTOR. My boyfriend was more than eager to make the switch but I was skeptical. Leaving WoW meant leaving Eve. And was I ready for that?

He assured me I was and helped me make a character on SWTOR. This was the first iteration of Max. A bounty hunter from Nar’Shadda named Maxinora Fenrik. My intentions was to make her a lowkey copy of Eve. At this time, I wasn’t very confident in my writing abilities and liked to stay in my lane. But, the more I roleplayed this character the more she took on a life of her own. She evolved past Eve and exceeded my expectations. Playing a new character bolstered my confidence and while I no longer play SWTOR -due to OOC reasons- I still have fond memories with this character. I enjoyed this character so much that I reused several components of her design when making Max. Some which include her name and being blind in one eye.

I flipped between the MMOs when Legion dropped. Expenses started to pile up and between the two subscriptions I didn’t have the time to play both. In the end, WoW won my affection and I made a Blood Elf because I had friends on Horde Side. Rorien Hawkthorne was her name. A drunk artist and master assassin. She’d be the second iteration of Max. She had an older sister complex, an affinity for being melancholy, and it was my first experience with playing a character who could kept secrets- or tried to at least. Another new character under the belt and I was feeling a little more confident in my story telling abilities. I’d probably would’ve kept playing that character if not for OOC drama happening in a guild I was in. The fallout had me jump back to the Alliance where I indulged in creature comforts. It was back to Eve.

Tumblr made an entrance in my life around then as I ventured forth with a refreshed look on my hunter. I salvaged what I could and made a half-decent story. A lot of her misadventures are still posted up on her blog @evelonholmwood On the side I made the third iteration of Max. A fire mage and blacksmith combo by the name of Rowan Celwick with her younger brother Thomas Celwick. They were just two orphaned kids trying to make a life in Stormwind. Rowan was an arcane drop-out and blacksmith wannabe and Thomas...Was...Well? Thomas? A glorified side-piece? A way to garner pity for Rowan. I didn’t place a lot of emphasis on them or their characters. My main focus was Eve. But these two would be the underlying foundation of Max and Auggie’s characters.

I eventually took a hiatus from WoW and focused on more personal writing. The details are boring so I’ll gloss over it by saying that creating a character completely from scratch was the final push in the right direction for me. Fast forward several months to a year aaaaaand BOOM! Pandemic.

Writing is an escape for me. It’s one of my best coping mechanisms during trying times. And when nothing else works, I over indulge in some Warcraft. So, I resubbed. There was hesitance when re-entering the RP scene. I didn’t leave Eve’s story off on an convenient note. For lack of better phrasing, I wrote myself into a hole I couldn’t get out of. So, with the help of my boyfriend, I decided it was time to give Eve her happy ending and shelf her for good.

Which put me in a dilemma! Who was I going to RP? Well, you remember the Celwicks? They became my newest project.

The Creative Process:

I knew the Celwick story was weak and read much like a middle-school fanfiction. Revising was a must. But there were integral pieces to their story which I enjoyed:

Familial Sacrifice

Juxtaposing concepts

Intertwined Fates

These were themes I could work with and evolve. Keeping these in mind, I started to deconstruct the Celwick story line. They were no longer Gilnean but Kul’tiran. This prompted a name change from Celwick to Parkhurst. And I won’t lie, I like the sound of Parkhurst better than Celwick. Thomas became Augustine and Rowan became Maxinora (Mainly because I actually HAD the name Maxinora and not Rowan). The little changes got me hyped for the characters.

Next, I started to trim away the unnecessary details that bogged down the narrative. Things that either didn’t fit or made the timeline too convoluted were replaced. Pyromancy was a great example. The age I wanted Max to be wouldn’t yield to her understanding of Pyromancy. At least, not to the level I WANTED it to be. SO, I turned it into lament’s magic. Alchemy. (I also always wanted to play an alchemist since watching FMA)

A girl with two professions seemed excessive as well. I had to look at why I wanted her to be both an Alchemist and a Blacksmith. The answer was simple. I just liked the juxtaposition of an intelligent woman being rough and tumble. Which made me ask: Was Blacksmithing necessary to achieve that imagine? The answer was no. To pay respect to her previous iteration, I made their parents blacksmiths. It also let me keep themes of fire in her concept. The change in profession brought on a change in her appearance. I made her a little more slender to fit with the alchemist appeal.

Max’s aesthetic was brought on by my previous characters. Rorien inspired more internal facets of Max while Fenrik inspired outward appearances. Max’s auburn was strictly a decision made on the fact that I had one too many character’s with black hair. There wasn’t any other reason for it.

Designing Max was easy. The real challenge was with Augustine. Up until that point, all I had to go on for his character was Tommy Celwick and...Well. There wasn’t a lot there. He wasn’t much more than a poorly used trope and I considered doing away with him all together. But I realized that I REALLY liked the trope and I liked what he did for Max’s character. So, I buckled down and made myself think through all the reasons why Thomas Celwick -AKA Augustine Parkhust- needed to exist.

I decided that I needed him in order to present themes in Max’s story. He was the foil to her character. Cynic older sister? Meet optimistic brother. He also appealed to not only the three themes listed above, but also the newest one I wanted to explore: two sides of the same coin. Max and Augustine are simultaneously the same, having similar traumas, and yet different. If for nothing else, Augustine could help propel Max in the right direction. Be her moral compass, you know? With a bit of half-assing here and there, I managed to get a decent character out of Augustine. Took the cliche nerdy brother idea, physical design and all, and ran with it. Shortly after I made their Tumblr account. In no way did I expect this BOY to take on a life of his own. Like, Auggie knocked on my brain’s door and was like, “Yeah. No. I’m not a side character. Give me my own story...”

Which will bring me into my final point!

The Characters Write Their Own Story:

I’ve never been able to sit down and plan a story. My mind doesn’t work in such a structured fashion. It wanders and explores. When I’m creating, I’m watching. Watching the scenes play out before my eyes as these characters take what I’ve given them and grow into something almost independent of me. The basic pieces of Max and Auggie’s back story, along with character design, were purposeful. Yes. But everything that came after was THEM.

It’s cliche, I know, but I can’t describe this experience any other way. These two grew outside of my influence and now dominate a space in my brain. They talk, work, and interact without me. I mean...Not REALLY. But...It feels like that. It feels I’m watching through a keyhole and just recording what I see as their story plays out.

I guess a better analogy is me being the director. I’m watching the movie in the stands as two actors improv. On good days, I’m in control and rework scenes until I’m satisfied with the results. Try this. Move here. Say this. On bad days, I don’t see anything. My actors went home. The lights are off. Show’s cancelled for the day. These days make me sad...But they’re worth it because on the BEST days...The best days Max and Auggie run the whole show, and I am watching through the keyhole as their story unfolds little by little.

It’s truly magical.

The last part of their creation was the voice. Character voice, for me, is like building muscle. You need to work out. Start small and work your way up in weight. Every little piece I wrote made their voices stronger; and that’s including asks and threads. Interacting with other characters helped to flesh them out as people. And while it was hard and intimidating at first, it’s started to become easier.

Wrap-Up

My method is messy and untrained. I don’t claim to have any secrets. My knowledge of writing is mediocre at best. But I’m having fun. And that’s were the real magic of any character comes in. Fun. Because if you aren’t writing about something that sparks your soul- either with love, happiness, hatred, etc- then it’s nothing more than a forced, hollow husk. Writing is meant to evoke emotion. At least in mind. And want to express complex emotions and share them. In a perfect world? My characters -any of my characters- resonates with someone. They become the escape someone needed. That’s the ultimate goal.

It’s thanks to all of you that Max and Auggie have come this far. It’s from their interactions with others that they’ve managed to evolve into something incredible- especially Augustine. He just kept shining brighter and brighter until I felt obligated to make him an in-game character. So, you all are just as much a part in the creative process as me. Thank you!

And a special thanks to my boyfriend for always being a sound board for my rambling ass <3

THANK YOU FOR THE ASK, ANON! Sorry I posted an essay...<3

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leah-halliwell92 · 4 years

Text

Crush

Summary: It’s 5th year, Professor Flitwick had the idea, in tandem with Madam Sprout, to do something different for that year’s Valentine’s Day. Something extra aside than just a ball. Professor Burbagge had suggested a karaoke list for the students and teachers alike. When the announcement was made that it would be a thing, one Katherine Tanner thought it was the most detestable idea she’d ever heard. Pairing: Sev x OC

Saturday...finally. The weekend, time to rest and get ready for another week of school work and lessons. But also a set timer for the Valentine’s Day ball that would surely be happening at the end of the week.

Katherine made her way to where Severus, her best friend since first year and secret crush, was sitting at the Slytherin table a few minutes before morning announcements were said.

“Good morning Severus,” she said with a kind grin as she sat down next to him.

“Morning,” he said with a small kind grin, “Sleep well?”

“Better than I have all week you?” She asked.

“About same...until I remembered what this coming weekend will bring about,” he said with a sneer.

She nodded half heartedly at this. She wasn’t opposed to the ins and outs of the general idea of what happens on the day. And didn’t think the Valentine’s day was a bad idea...especially if it gave her the chance to ask out who she had in mind.

Sadly for her though, two professors were about to dig her grave.

“Good morning students!” Professor Dumbledore said jovially, “As you all know this upcoming weekend is the Saint Valentine’s Day ball, please remember that semi-formal attire is expected from all participating. Two of your professors have decided on adding activities to the already set festivities. Professors Flitwick, Sprout and Burbbage please.”

The three teachers stood giving the Headmaster their thanks and announced that instead of magical band coming to play for them, karaoke shall be the music entertainment supplied additional to the magical jukebox that will be provided.

Despite the pureblood Slytherin’s reactions to the idea, most of the school seemed to like the idea of something new to try that wasn’t part of the norm.

Katherine could practically hear Lily Evans squealing in delight at this and could have groaned as she saw a small smile appear on Sev’s face as he turned to look at her. Katherine felt her heart drop to her stomach at that but shook her head and focused on not tearing up. She’s had quick developing crush on Sev since the beginning of third year, she’d hoped he'd see her in the same light. Despite knowing he seemed to only have eyes for Evans.

She came to some when she saw breakfast appear on their plates and table.

Severus spoke at her as she focused on eating her her breakfast.

She caught a word here and there but remained deep in thought. She thought of the constellations and their names, she thought of what hand movements belong with what spell. Anything to keep from thinking about the elephant in the room.

“Kate?” She came to as Severus called her a worried look on his face.

“Yes?” She said quietly.

“Are you alright?” He asked worriedly, “You seemed far away.”

“It’s nothing,” she said with a shaky grin, “I’m fine.”

With that she took one last drink of her pumpkin juice before rushing out without another explanation.

Despite being in another house, Kate had found comfort under the wing of the head of Gryffindor Professor McGonnagall. It hadn't taken long for her to convince the professor of who was picking on Severus. She had argued that a school is a space for learning and exploring. And while the slytherin stereotype did not afford them much of anything regarding a neutral standing, the very idea of being bullied for being in Slytherin the moment they are sorted as first years is as traumatizing as it is abusive.

Needless to say the professor found this brave and found it a valid reason to be more involved with students from other houses if need be. It wasn't until the end of their third year that some students had come to her with complaints of being jinxed from nowhere and laughing that follows it. The professor had taken matters into her own hands when the headmaster wouldn’t do anything. Give came to shove and the professor discovered something that led to not only James Potter but his entire crew being put in detention after Pettigrew ratted them out. Rumor had it around school that Mr. Potter the elder was non too pleased to find his son had stolen, or “borrowed” as Kate was sure James had put it, his heirloom invisibility cloak.

“Miss Tanner?” Professor McGonnagall said as she walked into her office to find Kate sitting on the chair opposite the teacher’s desk.

Kate looked at her and gave her a small smile.

“Oh dear,” the older woman said tenderly.

With a wave of her wand the professor cleared the desk before transfiguring it into a small round table and asking a house elf to bring tea and all the fixings with some biscuits.

“You my dear will have to tell him,” the teacher said after taking her seat opposite Kate.

Kate nodded and said, “I wanted to be cliche and do it at the ball.”

Minerva grinned softly in understanding and said, “Your young still lass. This is just a passing fancy...it’ll pass.”

“I want to say I understand, I want to agree.” Kate said sadly, “But...it feels like all I've known is slipping away. I’ve known him since first year ma’am. And for four years I've been his friend and in that time he’s somehow managed to have me following him around like a lovesick pup.”

Minerva felt for the young lass and wanted to give her comfort, but sometimes heartbreak is inevitable.

“There is high possibility he’ll unwittingly break Professor,” Kate said feeling like she’s about to cry, “But I’m sick and tired of having him there but not. I’m tired of almost telling him only to have him stare at Lily Evans like she walk on water. I understand she’s one of your ma’am, but she acts like she deserves all she’s getting and more for knowing and achieving the same things I have in the same amount of time.”

Minerva let the girl talk, it wasn’t too often that she got this side of the mirror between students who have similar if not equal achievements in school.

“The only reason she’s getting more notoriety and roses and rainbows thrown her way is because she’s a riotous lion who can do no wrong,” Kate raged tears of pain and anger running down her face and she went on, “What they don’t see is that she is cold, self-centered, attention seeking, dismissive and vindictive. Especially if she doesn't get what she wants how she wants in the manner of which she wants it.”

This was and wasn’t news to Minerva. Ever since discovering the ins and outs of what had been the torrent of attacks by the so called Marauders. Not only that, she’d taken the precautionary measure to do a little digging on Mr. Snape. The discoveries she made may as well be the very thing to aid magical children muggleborn or not so they do not grow in such environments...Dumbledore or not.

“To Sev, she is on this unbeatable pedestal that no one can reach no matter what,” she said with a defeated sniff, “So much so that he cannot see that her love for him is that of a sibling’s. Or worse, that she will discard him as soon as he shows his supposed true Slytherin colors and fall pray to the dark arts as they think he will. Have they ever thought that without studying them, grey areas would’ve never been found? Or that some would be too dangerous for the general public? I’ve learned that magic is never truly dark or light...its the intent and emotion that judge how a witch or wizard use their magic.”

Minerva stared at Kate in awe at what she’d said and how she’d said it. She could see the truth in Kate’s words, she also knew that the young woman is right. Without those willing to study the dark arts, understanding would not be gathered. After all this is how cures or antidotes are created, this is how one understands what a spell or jinx does.

“What will you do?” Minerva asked the silently crying girl.

“I’ll sing him a song,” Kate said with a small smile, “And probably go with Reg and Remus. I’m not shooting for a happy ending ma’am...I know that is impossible.”

~Time Skip~

The weekend after that went by slowly for Kate, Severus tried to get her to talk to him to tell him what was bothering her all the while getting looks from both Remus and Regulus.

Severus did not understand what these looks meant nor how they had anything to do with Kate. This drove him to ask Lily and Alice what was wrong with his second best friend.

Lily said that it was most likely Kate’s time of the month and didn’t go any deeper into it bar from opening the conversation to something else. While Alice pulled him aside before going into dinner Sunday evening.

“Have you ever thought that Kay may like you?” She asked gently in a hushed tone.

The look on his face told her in no uncertain terms that no he had not.

“What makes you say that? She’s my best friend,” He said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Only second to Lily though,” Alice said trying to see where it is fell in relation to her friend.

Alice had known of Kate’s crush for Sev for a while now, had even spoken to her at length of it. She never thought Sev would be so blind to Kate’s attentions to block out the very idea that she could be better for him than Lily.

“It’s different with Lily,” he said emphatically, “She gorgeous, smart, talented and–”

“And everything Kat is,” Regulus finished for him.

Regulus Black while young, has seen more than he’ll ever care to admit. Affording him the knowledge necessary to garner what he wants, like a true slytherin. In this case, he just wanted the one he saw as his sister to be happy with his house brother. Sev may not see how Lily uses his natural gift in Potions but the tight knit group of friends do.

Severus glared at Regulus. He knew Kate was good...just not like his Lily.

Regulus rolled his eyes at him practically hearing the thought and pulled him to their table to wait for dinner.

“So I’m not good enough,” Kate said from a hidden alcove.

Alice’s gaze softened as she approached.

“I’m not...” Kate stopped and breathed deeply swallowing her tears, “I’m not pretty enough, smart enough or talented enough to garner his attention. Is that it? Alice is that really it? That I’m not enough.”

Regulus stepped out having settled Severus in their spot Remus not too far behind him.

The boys shared a look hating how Severus was breaking down their friend bit by bit and didn't even seem to not only know it but care.

Alice pulled Kate into a hug and said, “We don’t have to have dinner here tonight Kay, let’s go to the kitchens a pick something from there yea?”

“I have to stay with him,” Regulus said nodding in the direction of the great hall, “Someone’s gotta keep an eye on him.”

Remus nodded mutely and watched Alice practically drag Kate away from the hall.

“Do you think he’ll ever piece everything together?” Remus asked.

“He’s too far gone over Evans to see his own bloody feet as he walks when it comes to her so no,” Reg said anger clear in his voice as he answered, “To him Kat is a good friend a second best friend...But as Alice has said, only second to Evans.”

“Ever since James has been in detention and all he’s done to Sev over the years came out, she’s been acting as if Sev’s just popped up from wherever she though he was,” Remus said with a hum.

“Like he realized that Slytherins are pure evil and all bad,” Regulus said with a scoff, “What you lions don’t seem to realize is that good or evil, us snakes stick together and help each other out when we can instead of breaking each other for being different. Not to mention he’s acting like she hung the moon and stars affording her a love sick pup that would do anything for her.”

Remus nodded at that knowing that there is truth behind the words.

“We should head back before we’re missed,” Regulus said.

“I’ll keep you included on the ins and outs of Lily,” Remus said weakly.

“No need,” Regulus said with a sad grin, “There’s nothing to be done with the information that would end in a favorable manner for either party. Sev wouldn’t believe it if the information was proof that Evans is the worst form of hellcat and the back lash would probably be against Kat. For things she’s never been or felt in relation to Evans.”

“Kay’s never been envious or jealous of Lily,” Remus said, “What annoys her is that she’s not getting the same or equal treatment for her achievements as Lily.”

Regulus walked away with a nod over his shoulder at Remus.

In the kitchens, Alice held a sobbing Kate as the information sunk in.

“What am I supposed to do Alice?” She asked as she calmed, “I can’t keep going on like this.”

“I agree, but none of the boys our year seem to know their heads from their dicks,” Alice said nonchalantly.

This caused both girls to laugh and for Katherine to say, “Except for Frank?”

Alice blushed at this making her break into a fit of giggles.

The duo spent a while there just enjoying their time together and talking before it was time for them to go back to their respective houses.

The week went on cold when it came to her relationship with Severus. Kate managed to get herself together enough to pretend she wasn't hurting and approached him as she usually did only to have him get pulled away by Lily. Remus and Alice both said she was hoping, or “hoping”, Severus would ask her to the ball.

Kate rolled her eyes at that and continued on with her week as usual despite Remus telling her that Sev had been trying to talk to her...Lily apparently had good, or rather bad, timing.

She wanted to believe that she really did. But all Severus had done and said when it came to Lily Evans told her otherwise.

It was the day before Valentines Day, and the ball, meaning last minute shopping, tissues, chocolate, and spelling her preferred crying spot after the whole event that is Valentine’s Day.

She’d woken up that morning semi-hopeful that it would be tolerable at the very least. Sadly that would not be the case...

As soon as she stepped into the great hall for breakfast, owls and folded notes were flying from one end of the hall to the other. She saw a few girls crying either in happiness or heart break, she saw cheering as well as shy blushing declarations and worst of all the kissy and affectionate couples celebrating their love. She spotted Severus and was about to join him when Lily stood from her table and pulled him to sit next to her.

Kate sat at the end of her house’s table closest to the great hall’s doors ready to bolt if the occasion called for hoping to not receive anything, yet a small part of her did. She ‘read’ the book she’d brought with her staring at the card she’d made for Sev as if giving it to him was no longer an option. She tucked it between the pages and read on as if nothing was happening. She forced herself to eat and go over the lyrics of the song that she’d chosen earlier that week.

She snuck a peek at him and saw the look he was gracing Lily with. Such devotion and love, it ate at her. A tear fell on the page she’d been reading. She knew this would happen, but that didn’t mean it didn’t hurt all the same.

The day seemed to drag on as lessons were half given due to the buzz that seemed to have pretty much everyone feeling alive through out the castle. Severus looked like he would approach her on a couple of occasions but all Evans had to do is walk by and it was like someone had obliviated her from his mind. Since afternoon classes were canceled for the ball, this gave Kate time to go over her lyrics in more detail than she had that morning.

Kate went over her plan for the ball was to go in sing her piece and leave. There was no point in prolonging the agony. And being her mother’s daughter, she’d wear black. She always looked beautiful in black, or so people had informed her. Plus, when one has the opportunity to be extra you don’t pass it up.

~Time Skip~

Kate remained close to Minerva once inside the great hall. To her great relief, the hall itself had been tastefully decorated. The golden hue brought in with the warmth of the seemed to pop with he red sashes that horizontally lined the walls and the hearts that took over half of the amount of normally floating candles. All in all, the combination of hearts and candles made the hall look warm, inviting and romantic.

“I was in charge of decorating this year,” Professor McGonnagall said with a satisfied grin, “The plans Professor Dumbledore had are not for human eyes.”

“Oh?” Kate said with a small smile.

“The red was too much even for my eyes,” she said with a chuckle.

Kate breathed a laugh and shook her head.

She didn’t know when it was that the singing would start, she was coming the minutes hoping that she didn’t bolt before hand. It’s been close to two hours now, night had fallen and all this may or may have anything to do with the fact of how Severus did and didn’t react to her when he saw her at the great hall’s entrance.

“Did he really do and say what I heard?” The professor asked her quietly as she kept an eye on the crowd.

“He did,” Kate said her voice small, “He saw me and it was like he was seeing me for the first time. He looked at me and it was...it was so tender and sweet. He’d said I looked beautiful.”

Minerva saw the small smile on Kate’s face and would have shaken her head at how star struck she looked; but let her continue.

“He’d said I looked beautiful, he then took my hand and kissed it like a proper gentleman,” Kate swooned as she saw him dance with Lily a dreamy look on his face, “We were talking before he said ‘look at how beautiful’, I thought I was referring to me but then I turned to see Evans looking resplendent in her dress. He then turned to me and said that he was escorting ‘the most beautiful lass he’d ever had the honour of laying his eyes on’.”

Minerva put a supportive hand on her shoulder and was about to say something when...

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Professor Dumbledore called out jovially, “I’m here to announce the first group to sing either in groups, duets or solos.”

Kate draws a breath and was ready to bolt when...

“Don’t worry lass,” Minerva said, “I’m here as are your friends. There is no shame in leaving if it becomes too much.”

Kate nodded as she heard her name called out.

She spotted Severus’ look of astonishment at this along with his searching gaze. She deliberately kept to herself not wanting to lose her footing at seeing him.

“The groups will go first followed by the duet,” Professor Dumbledore said, “For the first wave. Everyone find your places and your partners. The first will be called in fifteen minutes.”

The music was returned to its original volume and couples went back to dancing. Kate sighed and focused on her breathing, there is no point in getting overtly nervous before she got on stage.

Minerva hid a grin as she saw Remus approach them.

“Kat?” he said a soft blush on her cheeks.

Kate looked at Remus eyes wide, “Yes?”

“Would you like to dance?” He asked a soft grin on his handsome face.

She nodded and took Remus’ hand where he led them to a corner of the dance floor.

Together they danced and for once Kate felt ok. Not something huge but ok, enough to at least do what she’s set out to do and finally move on from this crush. A few minutes before the first set was due up, Reg to her for a spin doing all he could to make her laugh and distract her not only from the obvious elephant in the room but also baring her soul in front of the entire, almost entire, school body.

When the time came for the first group, she’d been impressed with how they sang “Light My Fire” by The Doors. She could see their respective dates swoon and one nearly faint causing her to laugh in delight. Kate while not into super public or overstated displays of affection, could see the appeal of your significant other do such a thing. It looked nice to see that he was happy with her...it had to feel nice from her end too.

The following was a duet, this one was even bolder that what she had planned. This duet was singing to each other via Elvis. Kate felt tears building as magic seemed to radiate from the stage from the heartfelt words the couple was singing to each other.

Kate was surrounded by her friends when all too soon her name was called for her to sing her set.

She met supportive grins and smiles from her friends as she went wait for the person ahead of her to finish up. She caught Professor McGonnagall’s eyes and reassuring grin making her feel a little bit better. Her gaze shifted over the hall looking for the object of her affection and her heart broke as she spotted them in the middle of the floor leisurely kissing to the soft swing of Elvis.

‘Can’t help falling in love with you indeed,’ she thought her head spinning at the realization that Evans like always...had won.

With this in mind she swallowed her tears and put on her big girl bra and got on stage when called. She ignored the surprised look on Severus’ face as the music started and she began to sing.

I got a girl crush Hate to admit it but I got a heart rush Ain't slowing down I got it real bad Want everything she has That smile and that midnight laugh She's giving you now

Kate focused on the lull of the song, pretending the hall was empty but her and a darkened room.

I want to taste her lips Yeah, 'cause they taste like you I want to drown myself In a bottle of her perfume I want her long blonde hair I want her magic touch Yeah, 'cause maybe then You'd want me just as much I got a girl crush I got a girl crush

Kate changed a look and saw Sev’s astounded expression. Whether they are at what she’s singing, to whom, or the meaning behind the song she didn’t know. It was...bittersweet to know that she did indeed still have somewhat of an effect on him.

I don't get no sleep I don't get no peace Thinking about her Under your bed sheets The way that she's whispering The way that she's pulling you in Lord knows I've tried, I can't get her off my mind

Kate drew a final breath as the last chords of the song echoed through the hall before being engulfed in a sea of applause. She smiled at her crowd and bowed before getting off stage.

Once off, she was met with a nearly frantic Severus.

“Why,” he said clearly not knowing how to feel, “Why didn’t you say something? Anything!?”

Kate looked over his shoulder and saw a smirking Lily.

“Because I’m only second best to Lily Evans,” Kate said simply, “Tell her she won.”

//00//00//00//

A/N: Like and reblog if you liked the first part!! Let me know if you want to be tagged.

Tag List: @disneymarina @hoefordarkness @thebeautyofdisorder @lets-talk-about-claes-baby @toooftenobsessed @smailaway @lady-sigyn, @therealcountdracula1931 @lokiisbrucebanner @197863451 @always-severus-stan @miranak @nanasoo @thehallowsden @the-life-and-times-of-a-nerd

#severus snape #lily evans #minerva mcgonagall #one-sided crush #Minerva is good cat momma

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secret-engima · 4 years

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alyss-spazz-penedo

Two things: 1) Huh, I thought there'd be more Dwarven presence in Niflheim. Magitech development and war machines and all that, you know. (Also Dwarf!Besithia makes a hilarious mental image, even if Elf is more fitting.) 2) So Shiva still messed up Niflheim's weather patterns. Then the Astrals ARE a thing in this verse? Is there still a Prophecy or something related to the Accursed that Noct's arrival derailed? What's Bahamut up to?

alyss-spazz-penedo

Also thing the third that I forgot to mention: AHHHHHH FICLET I LOVE YOU SYLVIA MY QUEEEEEEEEN

Me: That was gonna be my first impulse, but then I decided that forging/technology = dwarves was a bit cliche for my mood so I went with Elves. Though, admittedly Besithia as a dwarf would have been hilarious. XD. Yes, she still messed up the patterns. Still working out what the Astrals ... DO in this verse but so far I’m thinking they’re these- ancient, giant beings that originally had a large part in running the kingdoms of the world and stuff, but after Ifrit Fell, they grew disinterested and retreated to their own special ... Palaces? Shrines? Something like that. After that people had to come and petition them and hope the Astral in question was in a good mood. Then Niflheim decided that it would FORCE Shiva to give her Blessing to their empire for extra power.

Pretty sure you can guess how that turned out. But also plot twist they didn’t kill Shiva, they just tried to fight her and so she laughed in their faces and disappeared into a blizzard that wiped out nearly half their army. After that Niflheim discovered that they were cursed with winter basically 24/7 (minus a few thaw months that let the plants and animals survive before going back to miserable cold and snow). Let it be known Niflheim likes to CLAIM it killed Shiva to help soothe their pride, but ... yea no that isn’t what happened here.

No there is no Prophecy because the Scourge doesn’t exist. The daemon races are just a Thing that exists, some sentient, some only semi-sentient, but no Scourge. Some suspect that Bahamut was involved in the Accursed, since he was the one who Blessed the Lucis Caelum line with their Crystal Magic but no one really knows and Bahamut isn’t talking.

Honestly Bahamut is mostly just ... chilling somewhere. Watching the world go by and being vaguely bemused by the new Night King. Bahamut in general is a lot more Chill in this dimension, less “I will make glorious Prophecies to save the world” and more “Black Mages were a Problem so I gave Lucis Caelums and Oracles magic to help even that out and give you all the edge you needed to recover and regulate. Figure the rest out for yourselves. You have brains. Use them.”

Ramuh lives in Galahd and is a wandering Grandpa, almost never uses his true giant form and takes great glee in teaching history to the youngsters and listening to the latest shenanigans of the Ulric Clan.

Leviathan is vaguely more Chill™. Mostly because she has her merfolk to look after. To literally anyone but merfolk and the few non-mer’s who were born and raised in Altissia however, Leviathan has No Chill™. She will Eat You™. Go away she is napping.

Titan is ... I’m not sure where he is. I don’t think he’s under a Meteor tho. He’s probably snoozing in a mountain range somewhere.

Ifrit is still in the Rock of Ravatogh. Not sure if he’s alive or not. If he’s alive and ever breaks out he’s probably going to pick a fight with Insomnia and be Incredibly Surprised when he gets his butt handed to him by a Noctis Night King who is 110% DONE with all Astral nonsense.

Sylva is QUEEN. Such an underrated character. Needs all the love.

#Secret Engima Rambles #Demon in the Dark verse

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mochidoodle · 5 years

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Houseki - 宝石

Since there’s been some curiosity about it lately, I’ve decided to officially introduce Houseki! Houseki is my original series made with the help of my faithful editor-in-chief @ukitakejuushiro.

It all began with my first D&D character, a half-elf druid named Eizan Shen whose backstory I fleshed out over the past year. The story takes place in the elf nation of Liang (Chinese: 亮), meaning “light/brightness.” I incorporated my Asian heritage into a fantasy, magic-filled world brimming with all the classic (and favorite) fantasy story tropes. Sky-high towers and mages and dragons...a mix modern fashion with ancient Chinese wardrobes...and a set of unique customs built on Asian foundations. (ok now I sound like a chef on Chopped😅)

This explanation ended up hella long, so the rest is under the cut! I’m so happy people are curious about Houseki. It’s the culmination of my love for drawing, world-building, and storytelling (and anime ofc lol). Hope y’all enjoy my first original story!

The Kingdom of Liang

The prosperous Kingdom of Liang is a country landlocked on three sides, facing the sea on its west coast. It’s ruled by an oligarchy-monarchy mishmash I’ve yet to totally work out and three big political factions I won’t delve into too much now. The important thing to know is Eizan’s wife, Saya, connects him to the nobility because she’s the niece of the king. Her entire backstory is a wild ride involving a dispute for the throne, “dishonoring” her clan, and finding a family for herself.

For the most part, the main plot revolves Eizan and his job. If you’ve read MTNN by Matsui Yuusei, you’ll figure out exactly who inspired Eizan...in fact he’s kinda like a (slight) Pokemon evolution of my favorite MTNN character (lol oops...)

Anyway, for that reason, I gave Eizan a similar-ish job. (I’ll keep Eizan spoilers to a minimum here because the campaign I’m playing right now has yet to reveal his deets... but if asked, I’d be happy to give’em!) We follow his adventures and meet his best friend, Taizi (a human) and his brother-in-law, Chai (an aspiring mage).

Due to a horrific 100-year-long war (appropriately named the 100 Year War), Liang experiences the aftereffects of rampant xenophobia. Nowadays, border relations are peaceful and the xenophobia is minimal, but the bitter aftertaste of intermittent racism and elf elitism remains.

We get a dose of this in Taizi’s backstory — Taizi and his human family were immigrant beggars rejected by the locals until Eizan’s father offered them a home and helped them get back on their feet. Ever since then, Eizan and Taizi have been the best of friends, like brothers.

Meanwhile, Chai, the snooty son of one of the biggest royals around, learns what it means to be the “non-elite.” He meets Taizi, his sister marries Eizan (a commoner and a half-blood), and he becomes a working apprentice at the local woodshop. His is a tale of self discovery, treating people with fairness, finding his own goals, and opening his worldview when he crosses paths with characters from all walks of life.

Jade

One of the most important customs in Liang is the symbolism of jade. Jade is the most sacred stone, symbolizing a lifelong promise between two (or more) people. It is a vow of friendship, family, love, and loyalty. Jade is not to be gifted lightly. Royals tend to have a family and/or individual ring made of jade.

Most, if not all couples, will exchange unique jade pieces when they marry. I call it “Trade a Jade” (˚▽˚) For example, Eizan gave Saya her hair clip and she gave him a set of earrings. Sky gave Yuri a beautiful hair ornament, and she gave him jade chevron ear cuffs. (Couples do trade other items, but these happened to be similar gifts.)

Magic

The theory of magic in Liang is based off the number eight, representing harmony and balance. Mages use “anchors” to connect themselves to the natural energy of the world. While magic theory/technique may vary geographically, Liangese magic always utilizes eight anchors. A gate between the first seven anchors and the universe is established using your soul anchor (the eighth pillar, one’s own mana). The first seven are elemental anchors (fire, earth, water, etc) which draw power from the natural world. The stronger the mage, the purer the magic, meaning one can draw a greater quantity of power with a better connection.

Gemstones — houseki (宝石) — are used to enhance the channels established by anchors. Certain jewels even have elemental affinities. Stones with high purity resonate strongly and channel the best magic.

Fun fact: If you take away the hat-shaped radical in the first character of Houseki, you get the word for “jade”...!

Connecting to different anchors produces different spells. For example, combining several elements provides complex magics like telepathy and foresight. Using only one type of anchor creates create pure magic, such as straight up fire or water spells. However, magic is not produced out of thin air — it requires a trade of the user’s mana for the world’s energy. A spell’s strength still depends on the caliber of mage, not just what anchors they use.

Magic tools are very common. They use magic batteries made of gems/metal ores or simply rely on the user’s mana. Inscriptions and magic circles establish anchors if none are enchanted into the gems. High quality magic tools are made of metals with high magic compatibility. The more common items made from regular steel, stone, and glass include thoughtography radios, magic-infused cameras, and quartz crystal TVs.

Additionally, healing is possible by accessing life element anchors (found in your soul anchor or in organic objects) to summon sheer life force energy. Liangese healing magic is very advanced to the point where one can conduct brain and open-heart surgeries. However, the usage of certain magics is forbidden without qualification. Medicinal magic is limited to certified clerics, and alchemy is strictly prohibited unless you’ve graduated from the capital’s School of Alchemy.

Note: Much sketchy underworld business revolves around black magic, illegal alchemy, and magic weapons trade.

Basic spells are taught in grade schools, but not everyone has strong magic affinity, so mastery isn’t a requirement. Most children continue on to a regular university, vocational school, or magic academy if they don’t enter a direct apprenticeship following primary education. Easy spells are frequently used in daily life to simplify tasks. For example, one can check the quality of materials or speed up certain processes using analysis/trace magic. Cooking magic is an entire art on its own, and very difficult to master.

There are laws banning time-altering magic and revival of the dead, but very few ever violate them. This is because these spells never end well. You can land in an eternal time loop or accidentally create a soulless, man-eating zombie. And then you die. While spells that save someone on the brink of death in exchange for one’s own life force do exist, you cannot bring back the dead.

There is only one exception to this, and even that singular instance required hundreds of years of research and preparation, not to mention the cost.

Finally, certain noble clans specialize in different magics, often attaining mastery of multiple disciplines. I’ll save that for a different post, but for now, just know that the Cheng Lis are primarily fire, alchemy, and space/time mages. Eizan is good with earth or plant-based spells (aka he has a great green thumb!)

commissioned art by Ling

Plot (???)

The plot of Houseki is still a work in progress. I have a general outline that I keep adding to as more ideas come. I’m writing out the fine details/arcs, which will include the dark underbelly of the royal world, black magic, a threat to the nation, the secret to life (?), and the truth behind the throne. Love me my cliches hehe~

Here are some character facts you might find interesting! ...okay, yes, my cast is like 90% one royal family and I have terrible naming sense (I legit named Taizi after my fave badminton player) but here ya go!

MAIN CAST

Eizan Shen: A half-elf druid created for my first ever D&D campaign hosted by a friend! He’s a huge family man and an avid tea enthusiast. Very calm, levelheaded, and specializes in handling a knife...or many knives. (I don’t know where he keeps them...😨) Eizan gives off ultimate dad vibes and his most treasured thing in the world is his family.

Saya Shen: Eizan’s wife, a full elf born to one of the most powerful royal clans. She was supposed to be the first princess of Liang, but was disowned by her family when she rebelled from their ideals and married a commoner (and a half-blood, to boot). She’s an incredibly strong woman both mentally and physically, but also one of the warmest, most loving characters in the series. Oh, also her biceps are made of steel.

Chai Cheng Li: Saya’s little brother, a young mage prodigy who specializes in fire magic. He’s a tad snooty and arrogant, but at heart just a nerdy bookworm who loves magic. He grows up admiring his sister, feeling heartbroken when she “abandons” him and leaves the family, but later rediscovers himself and in his journey to become king.

Taizi Ying: Eizan’s childhood friend. He and his family were immigrant beggars shunned by the locals until Eizan’s parents offered them a place to stay. After his parents died of illness, Taizi made it his life goal to repay the kindness that Eizan’s family showed him years ago. He becomes the greatest swordsman in the nation and earns great respect despite the human blood in his veins.

Dae Ongaku: She is spunk in the form of a small elf girl, the one and only Dae. Head apprentice of the Shen Woodworking Company, her skills are nearly unrivaled. She’s known for her contagious smile, eccentric love of cheese, and her liveliness. It really isn’t a day without Dae Ongaku. (Character inspired and written by @ukitakejuushiro)

Sky Silvers: A cool and aloof elven ranger who befriends Eizan during our D&D campaign, later residing in the Shen household temporarily before he becomes a disciple of the greatest archer in Liangese history, Hanzhen Cheng Li. In the future timeline, Sky also ends up falling in love with Han’s daughter and marrying her. (Sky belongs to @ukitakejuushiro, and is her player in the campaign.)

Hanzhen Cheng Li: Youngest brother of the king and Saya’s uncle. Known far and wide as the One-Eyed Archer, Han is the strongest archer in all of Liangese history. He lost function of his left eye in the 100 Year War, hence his nickname. His wife passed away due to cancer, but thanks to my incredible plot armor (backed up by a decent magic theory), she will come back to life. They’re the cutest shit you’ll ever see, so I have absolutely no regrets. Best decision ever.

Yumiko Cheng Li: Han’s beloved wife, a cute little lady with a head of fluffy chestnut hair. She died approximately 75-85 years ago due to an incurable cancer, but I brought her back to life because Han was too lonely and I love her to bits. She is pure sunshine, the actual greatest good in this world.

Just look at this...how can you say no....

Yuri Cheng Li: Daughter of Han and Yumiko. Like her parents before her, she is a skilled archer, and her personality is a perfect mix of the two. She has a passion for fashion, art, and teaching, but her emotionally tragic past hinders her confidence and her relationships. Fortunately, she meet someone who helps her becomes brave again, and fate aligns just right :’)

Hokuzhen Cheng Li: We should finally introduce the King of Liang himself, shouldn’t we? Cheerful and easygoing, Hoku is a kind and intelligent king. He’s very perceptive of the state of the nation, while also keeping up with “hip and cool” trends much to his daughter’s dismay. He can be somewhat clumsy, often tripping over his massive robes. A good man with one too many dad jokes...

Alishan Cheng Li: The Crown Princess of Liang, named after the literal Alishan mountain range of Taiwan. She’s Hoku’s daughter and Saya’s cousin. Ali is polite and well-mannered but not particularly adventurous or motivated. She knows for sure that she doesn’t want to inherit the throne. Oh, and she loves food (especially mantou) ♫

Bonus:

Wakamori Yakaze: A spirit mage from the western island country of Kouhaku. Yakaze is Sky’s first teacher and Han’s best friend. Though he doesn’t appear in Houseki’s main plot, he’s a main character in Han’s spinoff story, which will rejoin the final timeline of the main series. Yakaze’s tale is one of angst and hopelessness and his journey to someday becoming whole again. Personally, I believe his friendship with Han is unrivaled, far surpassing both love and life. Keep an eye out for him in YUMI TO YA —弓と矢 (Yakaze belongs to @ukitakejuushiro)

ANTAGONISTS

Yan Wu Seigi: A cunning mage who runs an underworld spy network. He is the head of the Seigi clan (and political faction), but his heinous actions in the 100 Year War dishonored his clan, and they were stripped of their status. His sly methods and ulterior motives drive the underlying plot behind Houseki.

Akagi Kanshikan: Yan Wu’s adopted son. Akagi lost his family to a house fire when he was young. He grows up a wild, obsessive, and unstable youth who craves social intimacy but doesn’t know how to achieve it. His love for violence and lifelong training as an assassin don’t help much either. He meets Eizan during their school years and plays a large role in one of the more devastating arcs.

Jimo Kanshikan: Akagi’s younger sister, a small, emotionless, and cold assassin. Trained to be a killer since her formative years, she is fast and deadly...but somewhere deep inside, she wishes Yan Wu would show her fatherly approval and she seeks warmth from her sibling(s).

Shanmu Seigi: Yan Wu’s only biological daughter, a wicked poison enchantress who adores mind games. She supports her father’s regime but also has an evil plan of her own. The shame of their clan drove her to mother to madness, and Shanmu’s hand in her mother’s demise explains why she has become so twisted. Shanmu is a recurring antagonist who cleverly slips beyond reach of the law.

Hayazhen Cheng Li: The eldest Cheng Li brother, Saya’s father, and formerly the Crown Prince of Liang. He was once a benevolent man to his loved ones, but after an unfortunate plot twist, he begins seeking vengeance in the form of cruelly grooming his heir. Hayazhen is a key national figure and maintains strong influence behind political tides.

Asuka Cheng Li: Hayazhen’s wife, mother of Saya and Chai. She supports her husband’s endeavors regrets her inability to help Hayazhen make wiser choices. Instead, she blindly takes his side, thinking it was the only way to support him.

Junzhen Cheng Li: A stingy, arrogant second Cheng Li brother. He’s just straight up mean and rude, no holds barred. But no one gives a damn about him either lol.

SUPPORTERS & FRIENDS

Setsuna Reifan: A renowned healer who spearheads the movement for workers’ rights and class equality. She becomes an important ally to the main cast.

Ichirou Reifan: Setsuna’s son, a member of Eizan’s team. A really average joe. Pleasant to be around, but not very interesting.

Hyouka Tsaomei: A quiet, sweet girl who specializes in illusionary magic. She loves strawberries. Her name means strawberry. Will kill for strawberry shortcake.

Qiuzhen Rin Koori: Magic forensic specialist who only likes three things in this world — coffee, candy, and sleep. It pains him to get out of his chair, and it’s near impossible to extract him from his magic lab.

Old Nao: Headmaster of one of the military academies in the capital. A kind man, but also incredibly ancient.

Torisu Bia: One of the Ongaku Daily Sun’s best political journalists. Doesn’t sleep much, loves to write, and gets her nose into sticky situations every now and then. Uncovers a great conspiracy.

Osamu Raisan: A bard of the royal court who plays the shamisen. Something about him is particularly ethereal and all-knowing...

Maikku Shantian: Another bard of the royal court. He sings. Loudly. A very popular bard amongst the populace.

Layla Zanabaq: A local florist in the capital’s most immigrant-populated town, where Eizan and Saya live. Has a huge crush on Maikku. (Inspired and created by @harunnn)

Shu’un & Ranshao: Two of Chai’s university friends. The first is a salty little mage who uses familiars, and the second is the token idiot who only knows how to use explosion magic.

Paiya Yoon: Dae’s childhood friend and rival. She moves into the capital when she finds a new job there, rekindling their competitive friendship. She’s named after a papaya. Yes, you heard me, a papaya. (Inspired by @kyahgamis)

Rem: Sky’s eternally sleepy childhood friend. Even while holding a conversation, there is a 99% chance he is asleep. May or may not be a ninja, but you didn’t hear that from m—

Collie: An archery kouhai from Sky’s youth. She looks up to him a lot and she flaps her ears when she’s excited, as if she might try and fly away. Collie is often mistaken for a boy.

Ra: A very Extra™ healer who has 100% faith in his skills (as should you). He calls people by their full name all the time (a power move), doesn’t skimp on eyeliner, and has known Sky since his village days as well. (Rem, Collie, Ra by @ukitakejuushiro)

FAMILY

Ezi Shen: The plucky, curious daughter of Eizan and Saya! She adores the color pink and loves bows of all kinds: bow ties, ribbon bows, bow tie pasta, you name it! Ezi is quite the fearless little adventurer and one should consider it an honor to be invited to her weekly tea parties.

Daizan Shen: Eizan’s father, a master woodworker who owns the shop where Dae works. He’s a strict but fair man who earned great respect amongst fellow craftsmen with his hard work and skills. He and his wife serve as the liaisons between local mixed-race business and the corporate elf society.

Meihua Shen: Eizan’s mother and Daizan’s wife. Though she was born to elite elven family, Meihua pursued her dream of being a seamstress. She now owns a beautiful dress and tailor shop. Despite being a pacifist, Meihua’s incredible intelligence was needed at the end of the 100 Year War, and she temporarily served as the head military strategist.

Tian Cheng Li: The only daughter of the previous king and sister to all of the Cheng Li brothers. Tian is an absolute riot who turns proper princess stereotypes on their heads. She is the root source of Saya’s spunky nature, the rebellious and boisterous Cheng Li aunt.

Hayano and Irino Cheng Li: The notorious family twins, Tian’s youngest sons. They are the most chaotic duo of memes elves you’ll ever meet. They always have their hair dyed one wacky color or another. Lately it’s been orange (Hayano) and lavender (Irino).

Hokkaia Hibari: Saya’s maternal grandmother, a very loving and tender woman who taught her grandchildren how to read and write. When the family dynamic turned sour, the children sought comfort in Hokkaia. She taught them to hope and dream :’)

The Ongaku Family: Dae’s family of two fishermen, a navy boy, and the editor-in-chief of the Ongaku Daily Sun. They’re frequently so busy with work (coastal fishing, deployment, running the newspaper, etc) that they’re often absent from the household. As a result, Dae practically lives with the Shens nowadays.

Rei, Jun, & Maeno Cheng Li: The rest of Saya’s cousins. Rei is the oldest, an elegant but stiff woman. Underneath her guise of propriety, she seems lonely, like she just wants to have fun and be friends. Meanwhile, Jin is her stuck-up asshole of a little brother, a true snob. Don’t give Jin time of day, ever — it’ll get to his head. Finally, Maeno is the benevelent older bro of Tian’s twins. He has a soft, round stature and a warm smile.

Sei Ling Zhou: The former queen, mother of all the Cheng Li siblings, and the most renowned healer in history. She’s known for her quirky attitude and snarky clapbacks, having once turned down the proposal of the last king himself. Sei Ling will discover a never-before-seen spell that could very well be considered the “secret” of life...

Akira and Kawano Cheng Li: Akira is Junzhen’s wife and mother to Rei and Jin. She married into the family forcefully, desiring access to their magic libraries. Akira is not a stranger to getting what she wants. Kawano is Tian’s husband, a calm and steady man to balance out her spontaneity. He comes from a family that owns a fruit import company.

CUSTOMS

Jade: As mentioned before, the jade stone is the most precious and worshiped gem. Recklessly gifting jade would tarnish one’s reputation and belittle Liangese culture. Of course, they are understanding of mistakes, especially when foreigners are just learning about their customs.

Festivals: Liang has four big seasonal festivals — the Lantern Festival on the summer solstice, the Lunar Dance Festival in mid-autumn, the White Tiger Festival on the week of the new year, and the Jade Horse Festival on the spring equinox. People gather to pray to shrines, dance and sing, eat good food, and visit their families.

Tournaments: Similarly, Liang also has four seasonal tournaments called “Medals.” Winners of the Medals, appropriately called Medalists, are recognized as the greatest master in their respective fields. (Minor competitions also occur, but these are the big ones):

There is the Swordsmanship Medal, which lasts five days and ends on the summer equinox (the day the Lantern Festival begins).

The Ceremonial Dance Medal in mid-autumn, which perfectly coincides with the Lunar Dance Festival.

The Archery Medal on the winter solstice.

And finally the Horsemanship Medal during the spring equinox.

(all statistics are approximate and not quite final yet!)

Mastery of Arts: In Liang, mastery in any field (magic, arts, athletics, medicine, etc) is a very respected achievement. Oftentimes, masters are the older folks, hence why elders are held in high regard. An important plot point involves Taizi achieving mastery of the sword and winning the Swordsmanship Medal, defying classism and racism, and becoming one of the youngest and most respected masters of his generation.

Market Day: A day-long event akin to an Asian night market or western farmers’ market. Shop owners, farmers, and restaurateurs gather in the central marketplaces of large and small cities alike to sell their specialty items. It’s a day to celebrate food and advertise your best goods!

PLACES

Hisui: The capital. It has a circular layout and lies in the western central region of Liang. The Royal Palace sits at its center, hugged by a river that comes from the north. The Inner and Outer Capital are areas separated by the imaginary circle drawn by the river. This line divides the government and business sectors from the smaller residential districts.

Hayashi: Saya’s main hometown growing up. An industrial city slightly northeast of the capital.

Bing Harbor: Han’s city of residence in the northwestern province. It is Liang’s biggest port town, and thus the “gate” to the western world. Bing Harbor is known for its beautiful winter landscapes and seamless escape into vast forests.

Huamao: Eizan’s hometown, where he met Taizi. Known for its peaceful gorges, clear pools, and beautiful small cascades.

Mountains: The mountain ranges surrounding Liang are classified into three different regions, each with their own specialty resources (i.e. mountain ore, lumber, etc). They are home to a few aboriginal clans.

Huen: The southernmost Hisui district. It has the highest immigrant and non-elf population in the capital. This where Eizan currently lives.

Haretsuki Lake: A large lake shaped like a crescent moon crashed into the sun. It lies in a valley to the southeast and has much historical relevance.

Here is a vague, incomplete map of Liang (still a really rough draft so far, and not quite the shape I want it to be...):

As you can see, I have great naming sense (´∀｀；) I either name on a whim or I throw in references to my family in some way or another... Anyway, I plan to change the shape and layout a bit. I’m not quite satisfied yet...

In conclusion...

That...was a lot. If you made it this far, holy shit? Thank you?? Feel free to check out my Houseki tag and ask questions and just...please talk to me about my OCs omg I’m so excited ( ๑>ᴗ<๑ )

This is kinda my first big original “project.” I’ve always wanted to do something like this and I’m super excited to share it. Most of it’s on my personal docs or in chats with Danie, but I will share it all eventually! And I’ll update the (very unfinished) Houseki blog with all the formatting and plot, so stay tuned!

#houseki #about houseki #mochi projects #AHHH so I finally wrote up this WHOLE THING and it's ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE #if you're curious and have lots of time to spare #PLS CHECK IT OUT AND TALK TO ME ABOUT MY OCs #special thanks to my houseki editor @ukitakejuushiro #BLS TALK TO ME ABOUT MY OCs huhu ;w;

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lycorogue · 5 years

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Who Wants to Meet My OCs? (Part 2 - Gyateara)

First and foremost, I meant to have this whole series to be sort of churned out the same day/week as Part 1. Life.... didn’t let that happen. I then figured “okay, I’ll update the series every Sunday” and then yesterday came and went...

Regardless, from the NEXT POST onward, I’m aiming to update every Sunday. Now, back to the series itself.

Ever since at least November, I’ve wanted to do individual posts for each of my OCs so you could meet them all. Well, I’m finally getting off my butt and working on this massive project (we’ll ignore that I’m spending hours working on this instead of my ML fanfic.... >_>).

In Part 1, I gave a broad overview of this whole Meet My OCs series, as well as gave some generic IRL background to the two main worlds my OCs hail from:

1) Gyateara

2) Glitches

Well, in this part of the series, I’m going to stay IRL as I explain where each individual OC within the Gyateara universe came from. If this is interesting to you, feel free to check below the break.

If you’d rather just skip ahead to the character bios themselves, my first one about my Glitches character Willow should be up in two weeks (sorry for the wait).

If I’m talking about Gyateara characters, I should probably talk about the one that first birthed the world:

Amara Yori

Amara was my first-ever D&D character. I had known of the game for ages since my father used to play it frequently (and apparently roped my mother into at least running the monsters so she’d be included; ignoring that she’d rather not be included XD).

I really got interested in D&D when I was a teen and saw the gorgeously stylized covers for AD&D ver 3.5. My father had passed away before officially introducing me to the game (although we did used to play Dungeon all the time, so that was a start...), and none of my friends were going to touch that “nerd culture” with a 10ft pole, so I simply admired the books, but never actually played. Then I went to college and managed to Nerd Out.

Hubby (then boyfriend) offered to help me build my first-ever character, but in 2004 the D&D 3.5 expansions were so massive I had far too many choices to choose from.

So Hubby had me go through some of his extra minis, and let me pick out one that I really liked. With his help, I ended up with the 2003 version of the Wood Elf Skirmisher.

Based solely on this mini, I started building Amara.

Hubby suggested that I try out the Scout class for my first one, since I couldn’t choose between a Rogue, Ranger, or Druid, and Scout is sort of in between at least the Rogue and Ranger classes. For whatever reason - I can’t remember it now - I also decided I wanted to play a half-elf.

Upon reading the generic backstory description the D&D books had for the Scout class, I figured my character needed some sort of Tragic BackstoryTM that would explain her scouting skills. Things like trap finding and dismantling, masterful rope use skills, hiding and tracking skills, and connection to animals.

I was in a big The Vision of Escaflowne kick at the time - which shows up in a couple other characters’ backstories - and was fascinated with the history between Van Fanel’s parents. Van’s human father Goau stumbled upon Varie, a Draconian woman, in the woods one day. Draconians have the ability to manifest feathered wings which allow them flight. It was rare to see a Draconian, and her beauty - with her wings shimmering in the moonlight as she waded in a small pool of water - mesmerized Goau. He instantly fell in love and brought Varie home to be his wife. The duo seemed to love each other deeply. Amara’s parents, on the other hand....

I’ll get into more when I break down their actual bios, but I took the idea of “Human stumbles upon exotic non-human in the woods and instantly marries her” and twisted it slightly. Amara’s mother was very much emotionally, and possibly even physically (I haven’t confirmed this yet), abused by Amara’s father. Amara, being a half-elf, also had to deal with abuse at the hands of many of her fellow clansmen - both the human and the elven clans; pretty much exclusively because she was a “half-breed” (Yes, I was really into InuYasha then too).

As I kept building Amara, I kept adding more and more tragedy to her backstory. I do enjoy what I created, but, especially after reading a lot of posts here on Tumblr, I’m afraid her history is nothing but a giant knotted ball of cliches and tropes. For now, though, I’m running with it. Perhaps I can figure out work-arounds later....

I never did get to play more than a session or two with Amara before the game disbanded (which seems to be a repeat thing with my gaming group), but she still lives on in my mind, and eventually in Gyateara.

Natalie

As I mentioned above, The Vision of Escaflowne very much inspired me while I was working on the earliest bits of Gyateara. Therefore, Natalie is your basic Isekai protagonist.

For those who don’t know the term (I didn’t know an official genre term existed until about a year ago), Isekai refers to a subgenre of fantasy/speculative fiction where the main character is abruptly teleported from their world to a new one; usually one with a fantasy setting.

It’s a massive subgenre and includes most of the fantasy animes I’ve watched:

InuYasha

The Vision of Escaflowne

Fushigi Yuugi

The Devil is a Part-Timer

The Rise of the Shield-hero

The Saga of Tanya the Evil

The Familiar of Zero

How to NOT Summon a Demon Lord

Sword Art Online (technically)

.Hack//Sign (technically)

Digimon (first season, specifically)

Psyren (manga)

The list can go on, but that’s not the point of this post. Getting back to the actual point, I clearly enjoyed this genre without even realizing there was a term for it, and created my own Isekai story. Natalie is from our world, but is abruptly teleported to Gyateara’s main Northern Isle, where she must save the country from being destroyed by a power-hungry, put painfully charismatic, villain.

I had taken elements from Kagome (InuYasha), Hitomi (The Vision of Escaflowne), Miaka (Fushigi Yuugi), and I think I had Ariel (The Little Mermaid) in there as well at one point. She was - and still kind of is - just “Generic Isekai Female Protagonist”, which is one of the main reasons the story she was in failed so soon into NaNoWriMo back in... 2014, I think. Almost a solid decade after I started dreaming up her Isekai story. She definitely needs to go back to the drawing board a bit to be properly fleshed out.

Connor

He was from the same story as Natalie. Connor was a denizen of Gyateara’s Northern Isles, and became Natalie’s traveling companion as he helped her try to find a way home. Ya know, that old Isekai chestnut. I even leaned heavily into the cliche and had the two of them fall in love throughout their journey. Which would lead to a third-act twist of “Okay, we can defeat the villain, but then what? Could they stay together? Would Natalie stay on Gyateara? Will Connor instead try to go home to Earth with her?” Real original. I know. Add in that Connor was a sort of Frankenstein’s monster of a character. Grab a snack, this is going to take a minute...

Connor’s traits included:

The basic backstory and drive of the player character in the video game Fable, in which his father was killed, his mother and sister tortured (and presumed dead, only to be proven still alive and captured), his home village burnt down, and he was taken in by the local guild so the guild master could train Connor to become the hero the GM believed Connor was prophesied to be.

The half-demon traits of InuYasha (InuYasha), which transformed him into a sort of were-cat. His mother, a full-demon, could become a 15ft (4.57m) tall panther with split tails. Connor’s half-demon heritage was hidden from him, and he only transformed under extreme moments of stress.

Yes. The “love interest is the only one who can snap the protag back from a monstrous rage” trope was heavily evident throughout the story.

His overall look was inspired by Link (Legend of Zelda video game franchise). His basic fighting style - swordsmanship and expert archery - was a sort of tag-teamed “thieving” from Link as well as Van (The Vision of Escaflowne).

A highly resistant, and begrudging submission to become the Hero of Prophecy lifted off of Tamahome (Fushigi Yuugi).

I know he was much more influenced by Van from Escaflowne when I was first making him. I even used Van as a reference guide when I tried to create character head shots of him. I just can’t recall now what else I swiped from that character.

I feel like there are also other male anime/video game protags I swiped traits from, but I can’t recall them anymore. Regardless, I threw them in a blender, and poured out the mixture that became Connor.

Jolene Crisslebalm

Ah, the character whose last name I always have to look up, because I can’t recall how I spelled it. Good starting point, right?

I am a very reserved person. In particular, a very sexually reserved person. But I do enjoy sex, and I love the act of flirting, and the “thrill of the chase” when it comes to dating, so a part of me always wonders what I would be like if I had let go of my reservations and just enjoyed the carnal pleasures of life.

So, two characters in particular - Willow (from Glitches) and Jolene - are my exploration of that Path Not Traveled.

A friend of mine was hosting a D&D campaign via Roll20.net, and wondered if I wanted in. I hadn’t been involved in a D&D game in a year or so at that point, and I’ve enjoyed playing a couple of one-offs with him DMing, so I leapt at the chance to join. I had almost always played a form of Rogue class (hence the internet persona) in previous D&D campaigns, so I decided to stay the course, but with a twist I hadn’t tried before.

I wanted Jolene to be a sort of reluctant adventurer, preferring instead to be a cat burgler, but I also wanted that sexual/sensual exploration of character. So, she was a traveling prostitute (not exactly legal without proper ties to a brothel; much like a Sex Trade Guild sort of thing), but she also used her “alone time with clients” to scope out the place to see if it’s worth robbing.

Fast forward about 3 years, and I end up watching the first episode of the Freeform Marvel series Cloak and Dagger... where I saw Tandy doing the same thing, but roofying her targets instead of sleeping with them first... Great minds, and all that?

Eh, Jolene figures “might as well make money off of them before coming back and robbing the rest... less to carry later...”

In the end, while Jolene had an.... interesting run... and one I actually did enjoy role playing, even if it did leave me a bit frustrated afterwards (a good frustrated?)... Jolene just didn’t fit the world the DM created, nor did she fit in quite as well as I would have hoped with the other players.

They were all AMAZING players, by the way. Some of the best role players I’ve had the pleasure of meeting, and such fantastic writers as well. BTW, we wrote out everything in the Roll20 chat log instead of verbally playing or using video-chat. I must admit, I was quite envious of their skills. It was just a tighter knit group, and I wasn’t able to feel out their play-style well enough to continue with the group. Eventually they all had to go their separate ways anyway when their schedules no longer lined up.

Still, I LOVED Jolene, and she was the D&D character I had the joy of running the longest, so she NEEDED to live on. She did, in my first NaNoWriMo “win”. I managed to hit those 50,000 words, but I still had about 3/5ths of her story to write.

See, while coming up with Jolene’s jaded attitude towards love and her pull towards a more hedonistic lifestyle, I went with the good old cliche of Heartbreak Was The Culprit. (With so many cliches in my character builds, is it a wonder why I just stick with fanfiction... the characters are already created...)

Jolene had her heart broken five times between the ages of 13 and 21. She was the type who fell quick into love, and fell HARD into it, and always felt intensely betrayed by her lovers when they left her. To be fair... they did routinely leave her for a woman of better social standing, or - in her youth - someone more willing to put out, or just straight up abandon her without so much as a farewell note. Eventually, she gave up on trying to find love, and joined a brothel, and then the thieves guild, and then headed out on her own from there.

The DM thought it unlikely that she was a prostitute for the better part of 5 years without a single pregnancy, so he rolled for it, and Jolene had one miscarriage, one still born, and one healthy child she gave up for adoption. I was not expecting to include that in her backstory, but it actually worked fairly well.

And all of that was the subject of my NaNo project: Lost Loves and Paramours. Jolene’s full biography leading up to the campaign: every man she fell in love with, every person she slept with, the one client who tried to murder her to avoid a scandal of his lust getting the better of him, the pain of her miscarry, the devastation of her stillborn, the heart break of giving up her surviving child, the struggles against a stalker, and her over-all YOLO attitude.

(Bitmoji is a beautiful thing...)

Well, second long post of this series is now complete. Next week, I’ll talk about the IRL inspiration for my Glitches characters. Thank you so much for indulging me on these epic ramblings.

#writing #LycoRogue writing #OCs #Meet My OCs #character creation #IRL character inspiration #writing process #cliches #long post #Gyateara #Amara Yori #Jolene Crisslebalm #Natalie #Connor #series post #2 of 17?#LycoRogue original

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here-there-be-nerds · 6 years

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Single Dad Taako 6

( 0 ) ( 1 ) ( 1.5 ) ( 2 ) ( 3 ) ( 4 ) ( 5 ) ( 6 ) ( 7 ) ( 8 ) ( 9 ) ( 10 ) ( 11 )

Thank you to all of you that suggested dates! I’ll be adding more in the next one.

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While everything had been pretty settled during the quest the boy's ended up calling Crystal Kingdom for the obvious joke it turns out there were a few loose ends Kravitz wanted to go over. Taako was more than delighted to take on the task on meeting up with Kravitz. He wasn't a fool though, despite the stupid shit he got up to, he arranged to meet the reaper somewhere more public to control the scene lest things go south.

The Chug N' Squeeze was the big new thing that just opened up on the moon base where the Bureau of Balance did most of its business and its launching. This establishment was known for its fine wine selections and entertaining pottery classes. Have a drink, make a pot, have a fun night.

This is where Kravitz found himself awkwardly walking into, of all the places to meet Taako to discuss something that could potentially take the elf to the Astral Plane. Kravitz says potentially, but he had already discussed the case with the Raven Queen and she found it a sound mistake, she also said that Lady Istus explained the situation and cleared the matter. So really this was no longer necessary but...Kravitz found himself intrigued by Taako.

Kravitz found Taako easily enough and took a seat at the pottery wheel next to him as he greeted him. As he looked around the room he noticed all the stations were set in pairs and everyone in attendance seemed enamored with each other. They were all couples certainly.

"Hey homie~" Taako greeted as he sat down.

They both worked on pottery as they discussed the issues of Refuge, arguing the concept of the boy's being special edge cases and not just the run of the mill souls to worry over. Taako insisted on making a fine bowl despite the theme of the night being vases, it was incredibly endearing. The more they spoke the more Kravitz couldn't understand Taako.

"If you don't me asking, but why are you doing all this? Risking your life and putting yourself in known dangerous situations?" Kravitz asked.

"Because I'm afraid no one else would have me." Taako responded without missing a beat.

The phrasing haunting familiar to Kravitz in a way he wasn't prepared for, he felt like that was something he should recall with but couldn't place it. He was far too unnerved in the blatant honest, it was disarming.

"Wow." Kravitz said blindsided. "That was a very honest answer; I have to admit I'm a bit shocked."

"Well, I mean, it is the truth. And if I can't be honest in the...in the Chug N' Squeeze, where can I, my man?" Taako said with restrained laughter with how absurd that must sound.

They spoke more of personal things after that, Kravitz had even shared his dreams of when he was alive of being a conductor for an orchestra. Taako told a tale of how he had lived out his dreams of being a traveling celebrity chef for a few years but dodged when asked why he stopped.

During things Taako had slid his chair closer to Kravitz's station as he showed signs of struggling with his piece. Taako placed his hands over Kravitz’s, having to move behind him some and pressing against his shoulder.

"Ah, hatchi matchi, those are clammy." Taako said as he discovered the icy feel of the reaper’s skin, he supposed he shouldn't have been surprised.

Taako noted how flustered Kravitz had become and smiled secretly to himself as he assisted in the shaping of Kravitz's vase. If he shared with the reaper a half lidded look that was rather sensual, well, that was how Taako do.

Taako giggled as Kravitz began to go skeletal in the middle of things and finally backed off, oh yes, this was going to be interesting.

That had been their first date, something to this day Kravitz had been thrown off by. Their second had been a more official affair that Taako allowed Kravitz to plan. The man did not disappoint.

While inter plane rift traveling was something that would be something to get used to it was the best way to find yourself literally anywhere.

Where Kravitz had taken him was breath taking to say the very least, it was a stunning lake that went on for miles that at first he thought it was the ocean. Kravitz couldn't have known this, but the beach had been a special thing for Taako, he and his family had spent an entire month out on the beach front because...well that was another story. So Taako's heart clenched pleasantly as he watched the sun sparkle like diamonds crashing against the shore.

Kravitz cool hand slipped into Taako's and it drew him out of himself as he saw a smile grace the reapers face. It felt like Taako was caught up in the waves the way Kravitz looked at him, like the man was seeing a sunset for the first time. It was like the world shifted as Kravitz lead Taako down the shore.

They abandoned the idea of wearing shoes in favor of holding them as they rolled up their pants and allowed the cold waters to wash over their feet. Taako was delighted to see buttoned up Kravitz in such a relaxed state.

The venture had lead them a good ways from where they had started, Taako didn't mind at all as he looped arms with Kravitz and they chatted through the journey. Taako had teased him relentlessly for being so cliché and loving how incredibly easy it was to fluster the Grim Reaper.

They came upon a blanket in the middle of the beach that was strewn with a simple picnic set up and a wine bottle set in a bucket of ice.

"What...did you really?" Taako asked as he turned to Kravitz.

"Too cliche again?" Kravitz asked, almost genuinely concerned.

"Well..." Taako leaned more into Kravitz as he looked over the blanket. "It’s classic for a reason, my dude, it's...sweet."

When they settled in and Kravitz served Taako up a plate he sheepishly admitted he hadn't made of it and actually had to find a vendor to pick it up from.

"I don't think I've been in a kitchen for a few decades and that was still for work." Kravitz said with a nervous laugh.

"No worries, can't all be five star chefs." Taako said as he took the plate of boneless chicken and sides of coleslaw and mashed potatoes. "Did you go to Fantasy KFC?" He snorted.

"No?" Kravitz said puzzled. "Would have you preferred that?"

"Hell no." Taako scrunched up hoax nose. "None for Taako, thanks. Nah, this does look much better, less greasy."

It wasn't half bad and the real treat was watching Kravitz try to figure out how to eat a drum stick. The man ended up using a fork and knife insisting he didn't want to get it all over his hands. Taako could hardly stifle his laughter despite his best efforts.

It had been a simple thing but it had Taako on cloud nine when he came home. Angus was probably in bed by now, grumpy that Taako had Barry and Lup watch him.

Taako sighed dreamily to himself, ignoring how silly it was to feel like this after just a few dates but after all the shit in his life? He felt he deserved some school kid gushing over the cute boy that actually wanted to keep seeing him. Kravitz was a sap, Taako could already see that. He was so cheesy but it was so attractive? He treated Taako like he hung the moon, it was hauntingly familiar but at the same time utterly unique.

Taako's ears flicked as he heard small sounds down the hall and he silently moved to catch Angus hiding in the hall.

"Ah!"

"Ah!" Taako mocked, rolling his eyes playfully. "What are you doing up, squirt?"

"I...I just wanted to make sure you were home." Angus stammered, flustered at being caught.

"Yea, just ol'Taako." Taako said, ruffling Angus' hair as he passed him on his way to his room. "Hit the hay, kiddo, its late."

"Okay..." Angus mumbled and it stopped Taako in mid reach for his door.

"You okay?" Taako asked looking back at the boy.

Angus shifted his weight from foot to foot; his gaze down and Taako realized he was wearing his glasses. He'd been up for a while.

"Sleep over?" Taako asked softly.

Angus nodded a little and went into his room to retrieve a pillow and joined Taako into his room.

"Did you have fun hangin with your nerdy aunt and uncle?" Taako asked as he started getting ready for bed and Angus got under the covers.

"Yes...but I don't need babysitters when you go out on missions and stuff." Angus huffed haughtily as he sunk under the covers. "I'm almost ten years old now, sir; I can take care of myself."

"You can barely reach the cupboards." Taako pointed out as his disappeared into the master bath to change into his pajamas.

"I...I have a stool!" Angus protested.

"Anges, it just makes /me/ feel better." Taako said as he came back out. "Knowing people who can reach the food are here."

Angus hid a smile under the covers, Taako may have had him a year and something now, but it always funny to watch the elf try to act like he didn't care about the little things. It was something Angus learned about quick and he saw right through it and it always made him really happy as strange as it was. Because it meant Taako /cared/ about /him/. It meant a lot, these moments.

Taako had swung some pretty baller tickets if he did say so himself~ It was actually something that had been a bit difficult and he had a bit of a time about it but Taako could be quite Charming when he wanted to be. It wasn't like that guy was gonna be there night of anyway.

It also gave him the perfect excuse to go all the fuck out wardrobe wise, he finally got to slip into that sleek navy gown that fit him like a glove, dust off his pearls and his finest heels.

A night at the opera, usually not Taako's thing, but Kravitz was going to lose his mind. They met at the theater and instantly Kravitz dropped his jaw, had he been in skeleton mode it literally would have fallen to the ground, Taako would have loved to see that.

"Ready babe?" Taako smirked pleased with himself beyond belief.

"I...you...wow." Kravitz swallowed, something Taako was sure wasn't something the reaper needed to do, but he had been picking up some mortal traits the longer he kept up a physical form. A form Taako dug.

"Yea, this ole thing." Taako unfurled his hand fan to cover his shit eating grin. "Bout time I got some use out of it."

"You...you look astounding." Kravitz breathed as he looked Taako in the eyes and it sent pleasant fluttering through the elf.

That wasn't something he was used to, his dates usually said things like that looking a little further south and the honesty of it had Taako resisting to squirm. What the fuck?

"Could say the same, but you always look killer." Taako snorted. "Maybe not the best turn of phrase, but works all the same."

Kravitz smiled as he chuckled and offered his arm which Taako graciously took.

"I had no idea you were interested in Riley Switz's work." Kravitz said as they made their way inside.

"Oh yea, for sure, he's totally the best, never go unless it's my dude Switz." Taako said as he pressed into Kravitz side.

"You've never heard of her have you?" Kravitz lifted a brow good-naturedly.

"I've never heard of them." Taako admitted, grinning slyly.

"You're in for a treat; she is a very talented composer." Kravitz said.

Kravitz went on and on about his favorite pieces by this whoever as they handed over their tickets and found their box. Yes, box, Taako didn't half ass a fancy ass date. Kravitz was ecstatic and the way his lit up at the view was worth the gold spent and how he jabbered on this that went straight over Taako's head made the elf bite his lip to keep smiling like a dope.

The show started and Kravitz took Taako's hand in his own and the cool touch was really starting to feel nice in his hands. Kravitz was like a child when he watched the opera unfold, getting to the edge of his seat at parts, covering his mouth at the dramatics, squeezing Taako's hand along with every emotional reaction.

It was stunning; Taako almost missed most of the performance because of the better show he had up here in the box they shared. Kravitz really was something else, always surprising him.

After the show, Kravitz was on another high of rambling as they went back down. So focused on discussing his favorite parts that he hadn't noticed that Taako had been leading him back stage.

"You wanna tell them that?" Taako asked as he jerked his head in the direction of the members of the orchestra that was finishing up packing their things.

Kravitz focused on where they were and gasped, unnecessary for a man that doesn't require to breathe. How could Taako get more of these reactions?

"I, we, what?" Kravitz sputtered.

"Got back stage access, baby~!" Taako bragged as he grinned.

Kravitz looked at Taako and the elf gripped his clutch bag tightly, he was looking at Taako like he had been the performance the whole time. Like he was the dazzling lights, the stunning costuming, the rise and fall of music perfectly executed. It was flooring to be so adored by a single person.

"You did all this...for me?" Kravitz asked astonished.

"Yea, it's whatever." Taako shifted his gaze, it was too much. "I know you like this music crap so I was like what the hell, y'know?"

Taako started as Kravitz took his hands despite the clutch in his way, squeezing gently and Taako looked at him. Breath taking, fuck, Kravitz was over the moon right now and Taako put that look on his face.

"Thank you." Kravitz said softly.

The words so simple so common, but Kravitz's eyes spoke volumes more. It swept Taako away in emotions he hadn't felt in years and also never at all. These were original and untainted. The reaper might as well have said the big three and maybe in a way he had?

"It's...n-nothin'." Taako stammered as he tried to maintain his aloof allure.

Kravitz's smile shifted into something more knowing and pleased. Well fuck.

They spent the rest of their time at the theatre speaking with the band members, Taako's arm lopped with Kravitz as the reaper asked question after question. When he wasn't asking he was complimenting them all like the huge nerd he was. It was a great night.

At the end of the night Kravitz dropped Taako off at the moon base dorm he was staying at for an upcoming mission, that and Taako hadn't wanted Angus to be uncomfortable with a stranger around the house. That was a different thing for a different time.

"I had...the most amazing time." Kravitz said as they stood outside of Taako's door, a strange formality for a man who can rip open rifts to anywhere.

"It was pretty bitchin'." Taako agreed, biting his lip as he looked into Kravitz's adoring eyes. "Let's do it again sometime?" Taako restrained himself from clenching his hands, shoving his insecurities off the side of the moon base.

"I'll try to live up to this level of entertainment." Kravitz joked without pause, no hesitation, already planning their next date in his head.

Taako relaxed and smoothed out the tension in his shoulders with a shrug.

"No worries, kemosabe, not everything can get up to the hype of a Taako event. Anything is chill." Taako said casually and it had been honest, Taako didn't need flare from Kravitz, just his company would be enough. Taako tried to ignore how sappy that was.

"Still, I already can't wait." Kravitz said as he stepped into Taako's personal space, looking flushed as he gazed into Taako's eyes, possibly his soul.

"May I? Uh, may I kiss you?" Kravitz asked so politely Taako wanted to laugh but he couldn't find it in him to do it.

"Yea, lay it on me." Taako blushed lightly despite his flippant response.

Kravitz didn't seem to mind, he didn't seem to mind so much about Taako. He seemed thrilled and delighted in the elf's very existence; it was something to get used to.

Kravitz placed a cool hand on Taako's hip and held them flush against each other as his other hand cupped Taako's cheek as if he was delicate fine china. Looked at him like he was a precious thing meant to be cared for and Taako was swept away and they hadn't even kissed yet!

Their lips meet in a softness Taako wasn't used to. Rough, sharp, with demanding hands handling him with the intention to break, hell yea; that was the usual for ol'Taako. But not Kravitz, he was so gentle in his affection as they slotted together, as if Taako was his prized possession that he took the upmost care of least it get damaged. Except...Kravitz would never think of Taako as a possession but a gift to be near, the way he kissed Taako, giving the elf every opportunity to pull away at any time.

It was so overwhelming that Taako had almost not noticed how cold Kravitz's lips were. Sure it was a bit weird at first, but he delighted in it, it was so Kravitz. When they parted Taako couldn't open his eyes for a few moments, he didn't even know where he was for a second.

"I...fuck." Taako sputtered as he opened his eyes to see that adoring face. "Like...damn. How were you ever single?"

Kravitz stared at him perplexed for a beat before laughing boisterous and unrestrained. Oh no, Taako was done for, for sure.

They shared another, shorter kiss before they parted for the night. Taako pressed his back against his door once he was inside.

Was it possible to fall in love this quickly? In this short of time? The one thing people in love rarely have enough of? Oh boy, he was in it now.

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Thanks for reading and hey....I love you guys.

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canvaswolfdoll · 6 years

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CanvasWatches: The Dragon Prince

Netflix is making a live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender series.

Just… no? I realize time and development has been put into this. People are employed. But… the first series was magic, stop trying to recapture it.

Netflix has this problem where they want to propel themselves forward with original content, but that content is very mediocre. They try reviving old series and produce productions that disappoint.[1] The original concepts mostly fade into obscurity, are Stranger Things (which had one pretty good season, and then a mediocre second season), or is BoJack Horseman which I haven’t watched but haven’t heard a bad word about.

Then there’s their irritating handling of Anime.[2]

Netflix is willing to experiment and let creators do what they want. I admire that. But (and trust me, I hate to say this), they need focus testing. They need a stricter format. Edges for creators to bump up against and work around.

A standard season length, for one. An allotted time per episode maybe. Make production a puzzle to solve.

Instead they say ‘Let’s do the live-action Avatar series no one asked for, and is a passive insult to the original!’[3]

Which drags us into The Dragon Prince.

Spoilers! You might want to watch it for yourself (it’s nine episodes), but if you don’t mind spoilers, go ahead. I’m not the City Watch.

So, I think we’ve finally figured it out. We had Avatar: The Last Airbender, which was great. Then we distilled the creative staff, ran experiments and isolated elements.

Legend of Korra was good. Had the creators produce it, but not the head writer. The world was the same, but evolved in interesting ways. Good character concepts and real heart, but still missing the magic and character relationships that resonated so well in the first series.

Now, with The Dragon Prince, we get to see what happens when you isolate AtLA’s head writer, Aaron Ehasz.

You get a cliche fantasy setting, weak main plot, and a lot of cheap AtLA mimicry. But you also get some super charming child characters, intriguing (if not currently complex) villains, and small details that could build up to something great.

Which is to say: go to Bryke for the world and myth arc, go to Ehasz for the character interactions.

There it is! The ultimate break down! Let’s pack this up and…

Okay, fine. You want to hear my opinions on The Dragon Prince. That’s… fair, I guess.

So, in this setting, magic comes from six source: The sun! The moon! The Stars! The Ocean! The Earth! I think the sky?[4]

However, then humanity created a seventh magic! Dark Magic! Ooo, so evil, so dastardly!

Sigh.

Just once, I’d like dark magic to just be misunderstood. If they called it Life Magic, they’d probably have better PR.

Anyways, humanity went to war with the elves, but the Dragon King got sick of the fighting, so he sent the humans west, elves to the east, and divided the continent in half with a lava river.

Humanity didn’t really like this, so they killed the dragon king and his egg. So that’s vengeance.

Except this upset the elves because, y’know, murder’s bad. So they send a party from the assassin elf faction: The Moon Shadow Elves! They turn invisible under moonlight![5]

They’re gonna kill the Human king and his son to make things even. Because suddenly murder’s not so bad?

However, a member of the group is a child who couldn’t will herself to kill.

Basically, that cool and exciting setting you created when you were fourteen? Good news, it’s a Netflix Show now! Yay!

Also, the first season is Book 1: Moon.

And the title card is formatted exactly like Avatar, but with white text on a black background.

So the world isn’t special, and they’re deliberately aping some Avatar trappings. But that’s fine, there’s still the characters and plot. We could bicycle this!

So, what do we have with the humans? A beloved king with a dead wife and two children? Okay… both are sons,[6] so at least it’s not the usual nuclear structure. And, hey, the eldest prince is the king’s step son! Nice change.

Who else? King has an advisor that uses dark magic, suggested killing the dragon king and the egg, and talks above his station. But, hey, Lord Viren has two charming children, and he seems genuinely concerned about his king’s survival and the good of…

Oh, he gets a magic makeover in the final episode to make him look more inhuman, and spends the season plotting to take the throne.

Ugh. Of course.

Well, what about Viren’s children? Claudia is a mage like her dad, and is a cloudcuckoolander. Good choice. And she doesn’t do much that’s actively evil. We’ve got Ty Lee in Zuko’s role. I’m game.

Soren is… well, he’s going to be Azula. He doesn’t have her sadistic streak, but he’s been given the job of eliminating claims to the throne, is a competent combatant, and Viren motivates him with being in line for the throne.

He could turn, but my money’s on just being Azula.

Now, to be clear, Viren wasn’t obviously evil. There were plenty of early moments that hinted that he could be sympathetic and non-evil. However, he does spiral into torture and deceit, so once the season is over, there’s no ambiguity. Sorry.

Hey, what about the main cast?

Prince Callum is voiced by Sokka! Awesome! Jack De Sena needs more work. This time, he gets magic and impressive artistic skills! But he had to give up his sword abilities, and kept the daddy issues. But there’s still that snarky edge and loving brother personality, though the weight of them have been swapped.

He’s the half brother of Prince Ezran, who is the heir apparent of the kingdom. He’s… a goofy young boy. I dunno. Aang light. No overt talents. He’s fine.

So those two are hanging out at the castle, when suddenly their father tries to send them off to the winter cabin, despite it being not winter. He suggests made making a dirt man or going mud sledding.

Callum finds this suspect, and eventually logics out that King Harrow expects to be assassinated and wants to get his sons a safe distance away.

Meanwhile, the Moon Shadow Elves are planning their assassination, making a vow on a magic ribbon that will amputate a limb if they fail. Two targets: King Harrow and Prince Ezran to make up for killing the Dragon King and his egg. Even, you know?

Of course, they dragged a literal child along and had her make the same oath with the same ribbon, so screw ‘em. Child soldiers are bad.

This girl is Rayla. She’ll be the rogue of the main cast! Yay![7]

However, after making this promise, they find out she let a guard go so the humans know they’re coming. You’re off the mission Rayla! Turn in your fancy switchblades and ribbon!

Except the ribbon is magic and won’t come off until the job is done, so keep that I guess. And it’d be mean to take away your knives, so… look, stay at camp while the five adults go murder a dude and an actual kid.

Please remember, these jerks wanted to murder an innocent child.

Rayla decides to redeem herself, and sneaks into the castle. She finds the two princes, Callum attempts to martyr himself for Ezran, shenanigans occur in secret tunnels, and… oh, look, it’s the Dragon King’s Egg. Guess they didn’t actually kill that?

Well, let’s call the whole thing off!

Oh, nevermind. Rayla’s Uncle still wants to kill the king and prince. What a jerk.

So our three heroes escape the castle with the egg, planning on returning to the Dragon Queen. We got our mission!

Oh, and the elves killed King Harrow. So… that’s fun.

To be honest, I wouldn’t discount Lord Viren using dark magic to sidestep this. But he’s also trying to claim the throne, so maybe the king is actually dead.

Could go either way.

The kids head off to the royal cottage, where they stumble onto Callum’s aunt. She’s mute! (Maybe deaf, not one hundred percent on that, since lip reading was referenced but also some ambiguity…)

She’s a military General, fights with a shield, is super awesome, and I’m sad how Callum didn’t bring her into the scheme.

Like, yes, for the plot to work, Lord Viren needs to know the princes are alive and the boys have to be careful and having General Amaya know and supporting the boys would’ve caused other troubles.

But… c’mon Callum, literally signing to Amaya that Rayla is a monster and forcing the elf to do a Blue Spirit act is terrible. Like… they’ve established a sweet way for Callum to communicate a secret past her soldiers, and they didn’t use it for a sweet twist?

Ugh. Intentional miscommunication and unnecessary secrets. They are hitting a bunch of my hated tropes.[8]

The children run off and… don’t really do anything very interesting for a couple episodes.

The villain side of things is where the real fun is! General Amaya goes to the castle to report on the survival of the princes and stop Lord Viren from taking the throne.

However, Lord Viren offers her the throne. Again, how the scene is written and acted, I still found myself doubting what role Viren’s supposed to take. He seems genuinely concerned for the general populace, and offers compromises at every turn, and communicates honestly and…

I want Lord Viren to be a misunderstood good guy. I really want Dark Magic to not be an irredeemable evil. A story without a Big Bad, just factions with cross purposes would be great. There’s so many good escape routes for a more interesting story.

Then Lord Viren throws the man Amaya chose (her interpreter, Gren. He’s neat! I like him!) to lead the Prince Recovery Team into a dungeon, where he can watch Viren torture Rayla’s uncle for information.

Yeah… this is who our villain is.

In Gren’s place, Viren sends his children. Soren is given secret instructions to insure the princes don’t make it home alive, and Claudia is given secret instructions to prioritize the safety of the egg. So that’s our Zuko and Azula doing the Avatar hunt.

They have a fun dynamic as Soren doesn’t put much stock in magic and Claudia is an adorable dark magician girl![10] I look forward to more of them.

Now, back to the D&D campaign of the kids: Callum is trying to learn magic after stealing Claudia’s storm magic orb, and he’s pretty good at it. Rayla is worried about the ribbon cutting off her circulation and is an awesome rogue. Ezran… needs to learn healing magic so we can have a Cleric.

They accidentally drop the egg into a frozen lake and are afraid the baby dragon within is dying, so they head off to get help at a town. There’s a fun kid moment with Rayla turning a snowman into a snow-elf (it was a cute moment and Rayla needs more).

Then the group picks up a girl, Ellis, so abruptly that she might as well have been a player that joined between sessions. Ellis rides a giant puppy named Ava, so we’ve got a beast-master fighter!

Ellis tells the boys about a magic healer on the top of a scary mountain filled with scary monsters. With no options, the four go to the mountain.

They fight one monster, have some self reflection, get to the mountain, learn Ezran can talk to animals,[11] and the monsters there are illusions.

They get to where to where the healer is, only to learn that, nah, she’s just a powerful illusionist and Ava only has three legs.

The only way to save the egg is to hatch it. But they need a storm to do so.

Thus, Callum shatters his magic orb to release a storm, the egg hatches, and the titular Dragon Prince is able to gently bite off the magic ribbon Rayla couldn’t cut off with a magic sun knife.

(Either the dragon is magic enough, or saving the baby dragon was considered equal to assassinating Ezran).

Soren and Claudia use a spell to pinpoint the group!

Lord Viren inprisons Rayla’s uncle in a coin and transforms into an eviller looking form!

Also, there’s some mystery with a magic mirror? Cliffhanger stuff.

So… The Dragon Prince is not amazing. The dialogue and character interactions and relationships are great, but the story and world is paint by numbers.

The next season has plenty of room for subversions and interesting experiments, but… until I see it, I honestly think the show’s skippable in its current form. Filler episodes to build the world and characters would do a lot to help, and committing to nuances hinted at for Lord Viren would be great.

Also, hopefully they improve the animation. I’m not normally one to care about frame rates, but boy did the animation stutter a lot for a finished product.

It’s average.

Thanks for reading this review! Consider checking out my other writings, sending me comments and questions, check out my webcomic or RPG Blog, or whatever. Next time, Netflix is releasing an Anime I’ve been excited for nearer the end of the month. Keep an eye out for that, which will post to my Patreon first. I’m also slowly rolling out a Review of Digimon there!

Until we go flying with dragons,

Kataal kataal.

[1] Admittedly, modern fandom is filled with loud obnoxious people, but I haven’t heard anything good about Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, even from my less frothy-mouthed sisters. [2] If you’re gonna simuldub series in Canada, you can do it in the US, you jerks! [3] Everything can be improved. But actually remaking something just says the original wasn’t good enough. That’s why people hate reboots. [4] Can’t remember if that’s under the purview of the stars or not… [5] Which is Warcraft, Ehasz. [6] Unless there’s a spoiler with Ezran’s voice cast. [7] Canvas likes playing rogues. [8] Let’s see if season two can get inappropriate student-teacher relationship![9] Then they can get a free sandwich. And my eternal ire. [9] For the record: when Claudia inevitably defects and starts teaching Callum magic, that’s not going to count. The two are close in age and it’s not an institutional power imbalance. [10] I want a show about Claudia, Rayla, and Amaya on awesome adventures. [11] He’s a druid! Learn to heal, nerd.

#CanvasReviews #the dragon prince #dragon prince #atla #CanvasWatches

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septembercfawkes · 7 years

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Fixing the Mary Sue Character in Your Story

The term "Mary Sue" started in fanfiction, back when someone wrote a Star Trek story that had a character with that name, but a Mary Sue can pop up in original fiction too. Really, she can pop up anywhere. But she hardly ever pops up in published fiction or professional fiction--because she often bars those works from those markets. So if you've only ever read books you can buy off a bookshelf, you may have never meet her.

"Mary Sue" is a derogatory term for a particular (yet reoccurring) character type that many beginning writers write about. But she's a problematic and poor character for several reasons. A lot of people may have different definitions for what "Mary Sue" means, and there are different subcategories for different types.

Probably the most common Mary Sue is the one that is inexplicably talented at everything, falls in love with a hunky guy or is related to a significant person, gorgeous, and embodies pure wish fulfillment. This sort of Mary Sue is what usually crops up in fanfiction, because she's inserted into an existing universe that the author already knows and loves.

However, as someone who edits unpublished, original fiction, the Mary Sue I often run into is a different type.

Does your female character embody these?

Is Your Character a Mary Sue?

Often she contributes almost nothing to the story or plot--and yet, everyone adores her. (Alternatively, she's insanely talented and every problem is ultimately solved easily by her--more common in fanfiction.)

At some point, she might eventually be considered very valuable, by others or to the plot, but often it's a passive value. Something she just *is* instead of anything she does.

She's probably clumsy. Sometimes ridiculously so, as in, she can't even walk down the sidewalk or go down a couple of stairs without worrying she's going to fall. Bonus Mary Sue points if a male (usually a love interest or family member) comments on how klutzy she is and has to have her hold onto him just to walk somewhere. Extra bonus Mary Sue points if she falls in front of a cute guy or the love interest or when it would be most embarrassing (which, of course, is in front of a cute guy).

She doesn't see herself as beautiful, but somehow the author finds a way to convey to the audience that she is drop dead gorgeous without even trying.

She does nothing, but yet people feel sorry for her and her problems. These are often problems she makes little to no effort to fix, or problems she doesn't even consciously think about fixing or improving.

She needs a lot of saving--either from these problems, or because she's a helpless [insert character trait (hint: probably has to do with being a klutz)]

Often other characters (usually male) go out of their way to help her with her problems--and sometimes really out of their way, like they might miss the most important meeting of their career, a prestigious performance opportunity, their mom's birthday party, or work. Whatever they miss, one thing often holds true--it was more important than whatever the female character needed help with. It might be an injury she got while being clumsy or maybe she's just sad about school and how "hard" (hint: she has one of the easiest lives of all the characters) her life is, or maybe it's just that perennial problem that she has and has made zero effort to try to solve and/or would not have even been in to begin with if she weren't so darn passive. Whatever it is, people (friends, males, family, males (whoops, did I say "males" twice?)) inexplicably bend over backwards for her. Usually people--plural, not singular.

She probably cries more than any other character, even though many of the other characters have more significant things they could cry about. She cries sometimes over day-to-day challenges that the average person faces anyway. It might be over a problem she hasn't tried to fix or that she puts herself in (though the author never points those things out). For example, she might cry repeatedly over a school club she's a part of but hasn't bothered to leave. She probably cries on the behalf of other people too--people who don't even cry about their own problems.

She'll likely trip in the first 50 pages, but in a way that highlights and exaggerates her beauty.

If you took her out of the context of the story, you might realize she's actually kind of pathetic and passive, and yet, inexplicably, everyone STILL adores her.

Often she feels stupid or foolish, but the hottest guys fight over her (heaven knows why).

She's more romantically or sexually inexperienced than the love interest and worries about not knowing what she's doing and what he'll think. (Bonus points if she somehow ends up being the best thing he's ever had regardless.)

All in all, she just attracts a lot of male attention, whether it's romantic or brotherly or just male strangers in the street.

A lot of the time she's a wish-fulfillment character (traditionally, the author's wish fulfillment). This is why she's adored and hailed as the most important person in other people's lives and considered very special, even though she feels stupid, uncoordinated, and helpless; this is why she's actually gorgeous when she feels ugly; this is why people drop the most important moments of their personal lives to save or nurse her back to health.

The flaws she has are meant to be endearing and don't actually contribute to the main problems of the plot. They may exist, but are unimportant beyond the very surface of the story

She tends to be in "parent-child" relationships. This relationship can be exaggerated with her parents, but it often crops up in other relationships--whether it's from the best friend, love interest, or brother. Whatever the case, she's usually the "child" while the other person is her "parent" in the relationship. The "parent" is taking care of her, warning her, helping her, praising her, directing her--even though she's 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, or 23 years old. Whether or not she obeys, she listens to them and maintains her role of "child" in that relationship. In fact, she often seems utterly accepting of her "child" role.

Bonus Round (yes, there is more)

She has a unique hair or eye color (in a story with fantasy or sci-fi elements, the colors may change or be unnatural compared to ordinary humans) and it's described in "I'm-trying-to-be-poetic" language (a.k.a. "purple prose"). Extra, extra bonus points if it takes at least five words to describe.

She has an unusual or rare name.

She's a stand-in for the author (an extended version of wish fulfillment), so that the author can live in this fictive universe. This is especially true for fanfiction. ("I wish I could go to Hogwarts and be in a relationship with Draco Malfoy")

She's a half-breed of some sort. Half-blood, half witch, half alien, half elf, half animal, were-dragon, (again, this is something that makes her special based on what she *is* and not what she does).

She discovers she has a familial bond with another character or discovers a family secret. Extra points if there is a tragic (often cliche) backstory.

While she might be uncoordinated or pathetic, in other versions she's unusually and unrealistically talented at just about everything--more things to further extents than anyone could realistically be that good at.

In the opening of the story, she's late to somewhere important. Extra points if it's her own fault, negligence, or because she slept in.

She may have over emotional reactions to things that don't merit such an emotional reaction. For example, she might yell at someone who is trying to help her or cry because her (ordinary) school day is "hard."

If you are sweating it out now, don't. I'm going to give you some tips that will help.

First off, an important point. Can a male character be a Mary Sue? Yes, but they are called a "Marty Stu" or a "Gary Stu." They may be a little different than a Mary Sue, particularly in the fact that they don't necessarily need a ton of female attention or a romantic plot line (though it's not uncommon to have a million girls falling all over him either). Just as a version of Mary Sue is that she is good at everything and that her flaws are meant to be endearing rather than real flaws, Marty Stu is often insanely good at everything too, and any flaws he might have might actually be cool or tough or likeable (like being overly arrogant). Marty Stu is not as common as Mary Sue though, and he's usually more tolerated in today's society, as his attributes are still often praised as the epitome of male-ness, while today's society finds many of the traits of Mary Sue to be offensive to women.

Not all of the Mary Sue Traits are Terrible

There are reasons this character type reappears over and over and over again--hundreds or thousands of times a year (most of them don't make it to the bookshelf or big screen, though both Bella from Twilight and Rey from The Force Awakens have been accused of each being a Mary Sue). It's because there are people who are attracted to those character traits. Not all the Mary Sue traits are bad, but together, they cause problems. Look at what kind of person those outlined features created. And yet everyone and their dog adores them? Love interests fight over them? It doesn't make sense. Look at how unrealistic that person is.

Many of these traits would be fine added to a more realistic, rounded character:

She's beautiful, but doesn't know it.

She has innate or inborn value

She's half human

She discovers a family secret

She's inexperienced

She's clumsy

None of these are inherently bad (though most of them are overused--especially the first and last in the list).

Wish fulfillment isn't innately bad either. There are loads of successful wish fulfillment characters and wish fulfillment stories. In fact, most if not all successful stories feed into some sort of wish fulfillment (that's usually why people pick up the book).

The Problems of the Mary Sue

One of the main and common problems with the Mary Sue is that the relationship between her traits and how others treat and react to her, don't make a lot of sense.

If you knew a person in real life who cried regularly about her problems but did next to nothing about them, are you really going to miss your chance to break into a big acting career to go nurse her pathetic, fragile emotions? Probably not. (And if you are, aren't you just enabling that kind of mentality?)

If you knew someone who acted as the "child" in all her significant relationships, would you really look up to her?

If you were a love interest, would you really fight over a girl who is so passive she gives Bella Swan a run for her money?

If there was a girl who got scratched up from watching Aragon take on armies of orcs and Frodo almost die destroying the Ring, would we later compliment how brave she was?

No!

Sometimes what's unrealistic are the character traits themselves. In some cases they may even be contradictory. For example, she's incredibly clumsy but later in the scene she wins an athletic competition. Everyone tells her how beautiful she is, and she acts like she's hearing it for the first time . . . .every time. All the guys in the story have crushes on her, but she's shocked when the hot guy actually asks her out, and we learn she has no experience with guys (even though she's always wanted a boyfriend and every guy in the story ogles her). The other characters have lived through more trauma, but she subconsciously expects or hopes that they will nurse her insignificant problems.

If she has any flaws, they are portrayed as endearing or acceptable. As a society, do we really want to portray passivity and incompetence and uncoordination and child-like dependence as endearing? Acceptable? Now, I'm not saying you can't have a character who has these traits, but it's important to watch how they are handled, and the ideas that have already been established and perpetuated in entertainment (especially outdated entertainment).

By the way, it's completely possible to make your character endearing through other traits. In Harry Potter, in Harry's viewpoint in the sixth book, Hermione is described as endearing in passing because of her loyalty and faith in libraries and books. Intelligence and tenacity can be endearing, not passivity. Endearing comes from other characters knowing and appreciating a character's traits or personality.

Nursing the Mary Sue Back to Reality

The Mary Sue character isn't some gross, obscene character that only the most incompetent people write. She has a name because so many passionate writers have written her at some point. If you have a Mary Sue character, you're probably normal.

In an effort to fix the Mary Sue, some writers try to take her traits (some or all) to the far opposite, creating what is called an "Anti-Sue," which really isn't much better. I talked about this similar thing happening in my post The "Twins as Clones" Writing Epidemic, where in an effort to differentiate twin characters, the author tries to make them extreme opposites. This can be just as cartoony and unrealistic.

If you really love your Mary Sue character and can't part with her, you are free to keep some of her traits and abilities. But in order to create a more rounded, likeable, believable character, you need to be her best friend, brother, love interest, or mysterious stranger that nurses her back to the real world--or at the least the real fiction world. Some of these things may seem straightforward when you start looking at them. If she's crying a lot, cut the crying. Excessive crying often happens in stories when the author is trying too hard to create sympathy for the character, instead of empathy. But true empathetic emotional power often comes from focusing on and rendering what causes those feelings rather than only on the feelings themselves. If everyone loves her inexplicably, change it. However, be careful not to make the only people who don't like her rude, unlikeable, and unsympathetic, which is another telltale of a Mary Sue in a story. Cut the clumsiness and give her a flaw that is more unusual. If she's passive, make her more active in the story and in solving problems. She can fail, fail, and fail again, but in her sphere of power, she should at least be trying, and if she's not, show us a clever reason why. For example, in M. Night Shyalaman's most recent movie, Split, the protagonist is a very passive, young female. But not only do we learn multiple reasons why she is so passive (and they're legitimate), but we see that in reality, she does have a plan, but it's quiet, subtle, and requires waiting for the perfect moment. If everyone bends over backwards for her, give the secondary and side characters their own lives, and moments where they chose their own lives over hers. Ultimately, though, perhaps the most effective way to nurse a Mary Sue is to brainstorm not broader, but deeper. Don't make her more broad by adding more and more things to her; instead, dig deeper and deeper into her psychologically and explore interesting inner thoughts, motivations, fears, and contradictions, and how those things manifest themselves outwardly and in the story. Brainstorm and brainstorm and brainstorm some more, because the cliches are always what come to mind first, and if there is one thing about nursing a Mary Sue to reality, it's moving beyond cliches.

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