#the storybook [written responses] | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

calqlate · 11 months

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SUMMARY: You are the side character of someone else's fairytale and you fall in love with the male lead of her story. You think, "Can a side character get their happy ending?", and you hope you can.

PAIRING: iwaizumi hajime x gn! reader

GENRE(S): angst (with a happy ending) + pining (one-sided) + second choice syndrome

CW(S)/TW(S): coarse/foul/strong language used

WC: 4657

MASTERLIST

In all cliché love stories, there would always be a love triangle between the protagonist, the good guy, and the playboy. The protagonist would always choose the bad boy, no matter what, and the good guy would always be there as moral support. That was simply the unspoken 'rule' that posed itself as a trend in all novels.

In your life, you felt that you were definitely not the protagonist. If your life were a movie, you supposed, you would probably be one of those good-natured side characters who appeared in the film from two to four times, maybe even an extra in a story. You know, the kind chef that appeared on page sixteen of the storybook, or the dutiful store assistant who was moving boxes in the back.

Now, you might be wondering who the protagonist was. It was Sawabe Nagi: skinny, fair-skinned, and popular. She was bubbly, well-liked, and beautiful to boot; she was practically born to be the main character. Like the typical protagonist she was, she chose the bad boy, Oikawa Tooru, the dashing heartthrob of Seijoh. The good guy here was then Iwaizumi Hajime, who happened to be the playboy's best friend and childhood friend.

Before the plot was written, the good guy had a backstory with the side character. (Perhaps this story would change the course of the actual story? We would never know.)

You walked into class with your earpieces plugged in as you scrolled through your Instagram feed. As you sat down, you happened to come across a ridiculously hilarious post, something like a text post regarding your favourite band, and you tried so hard not to laugh. The pressure of holding it in was so great that as a result, you snorted out loud. Your eyes widened in surprise and you immediately clapped a hand over your mouth, hoping no one heard it. Unfortunately for you, your desk neighbour Iwaizumi Hajime had heard you, and he threw you a curious glance.

A sudden thought popped into your head: Huh, Iwaizumi really almost never smiles. Almost timidly, you decided to show him the post that had caused your earlier embarrassing outburst. Cautiously, you slid your phone over onto his desk and said, "Look at it."

The tan ravenette looked up at you from your phone, meeting your gaze. You simply tilted your head towards your phone as a response, and he raised an eyebrow at you. He still looked back down at your phone anyway, after angling the device, and looked at the post. Slowly, his lips formed the grace of smile. Shortly after, a chuckle resonated from his throat.

"Seriously, Iwaizumi, you should smile more," you commented casually, pulling your earpieces out of your ears, "It suits you."

"You think so?" Iwaizumi asked, somewhat shyly, handing your phone back to you.

You nodded, taking your phone from him, then tucking it carefully into your blazer pocket.

"I'll give you my number so you can send me more of these, then," he said.

You stopped mid-movement, then you laughed slightly. Very smooth, Iwaizumi, very smooth.

Ever since that day, the two of you would talk, laugh at ridiculous posts either one of you found on the internet or social media, eat lunch, and do usual things friends did. Slowly, through the passage of time, you realised a few small things: how you looked forward to your mini rendezvous during lunch, how you automatically lit up whenever Iwaizumi smiled, laughed, or complimented you, and how you found yourself wanting to know him inside out and as well as the back of your hand.

The final epiphany settled in: through the passage of time, you had undoubtedly fallen in love with Iwaizumi Hajime.

Your world was filled with endless joy, dizzying euphoria, and pure bliss: you would spend the rest of your remaining high school years with Iwaizumi. There was, indeed, a small part of you deep down that was afraid to come clean with him, to tell him how you really felt about him. However, you decided that it was better to keep him in the dark. You would wait for the right time to tell him everything. Your desire could wait.

That was, until he told you that he liked Sawabe Nagi — that was what burst your unknowingly fragile bubble of innocence. It was as though your ideas of your future dreamlike days with him had simply disintegrated into thin air.

However, you decided to put your friendship first before your selfish wants: you put on a brave smile, hid your sadness and slight jealousy, and wished him all the best in courting Sawabe.

You continued to hang out with him, though it pained you knowing that he never felt the same way you did. It was definitely difficult to feign smiles and speak comfortably with him. You had also once considered putting some distance between the both of you, but your better judgement convinced you otherwise as you did not want to dump your pain onto Iwaizumi like that. It would not be fair to him at all.

One day, after an afternoon of rigorous training, you walked out and was heading to the gate when you spotted someone sitting with their head low under the tree, just near the gates. The figure's silhouette was unmistakable to you; it was none other than your spiky-haired deskie.

"Iwaizumi?" you said as you approached him cautiously, watching his every movement with great focus.

"Oh, hey," he said as he glanced up to look at you, smiling slightly as if — no, definitely — trying to hide his earlier gloomy mood, "You're done with practice?"

You noticed that his characteristically mesmerising deep charcoal eyes were rather red and puffy, with dried tears on his face — a seemingly vulnerable look you never thought you would see on his being. A somewhat glassy look was in his eyes, as if he was looking into the fog, desperately searching for something far away.

You knew that you were not that something he was looking for.

"Were you crying?" you asked as you sat down next to him, eyes still on him, not daring to break away for just a breath.

He knew there was not really any point lying about it, for he knew he was easy to read, especially with you since he spent most of his time with you these days, and he nodded in response. He dropped his gaze to his hands, which were balled into fists on his thighs.

"What happened?" you asked, then added hurriedly, "If you don't mind telling me. I won't judge, I swear."

"Sawabe rejected me," he said softly as more tears formed in his eyes, the painful words getting lodged in his throat, "She... she told me she was sorry, that she... likes Oikawa instead."

"I'm... sorry to hear that," you whispered, not really knowing how you should be feeling. A part of you was overjoyed by the thought of Iwaizumi not standing a chance with Sawabe, and another part of you was disgusted at yourself for feeling this way. However, one could not stop the heart for desiring what it wanted.

Instinctively, you wrapped your arms around his shoulders to envelop him in a hug to console him. Iwaizumi wrapped his arms around you in return and gripped onto your uniform tightly, burrowing his face into your shoulder and staining his tears on your blazer. You rubbed small circles on his back to further comfort him, not knowing what else to say but let him cry his heart out and let time soften his sobs.

"It seems like no one'll fall for me," he muttered in self-hate after he could not seem to cry any longer since his throat was getting raw and his tear ducts seemed to run out of tears, then he began to dry his tears and rest his chin on your shoulder as he chuckled dryly, "Not like it's that surprising, really."

"Are you kidding me?" your outburst was incredulous, with you pulling him away from the embrace and staring at him with widened eyes and furrowed brows, "I can't believe you thought so lowly of yourself; I fell in love with you within these two months, you know!"

Once those rambling words left your mouth, you turned red, slapped a hand over your mouth, and bit your lower lip. You began to berate yourself internally, What a wonderful time you chose to confess!

An awkward silence settled between the both of you, and you decided that he was officially disturbed by your sudden (and inappropriate) confession.

"S-Sorry, I should really get going," you muttered, then mumbled a flimsy excuse and dropped your hand to your side, gathered your belongings up, and prepared to leave. You were very much ready to get home to cry, wallow in your misery, and eat a tub full of ice cream.

"Thank you," Iwaizumi said suddenly which caused you to whirl your head at him, a small yet empathetic smile tugging at his lips, "It made my day."

Suddenly, you had this strong urge in you to say something ridiculous that popped up in your head, something that you knew only worked in Korean dramas, not real-life scenarios. However, it was worth a shot, right?

"Listen, Iwaizumi," you said, choosing your words very carefully, "I know this may sound stupid and one-sided, considering how you got... you know." You waved your hand in the air vaguely, not wanting to verbalise what Iwaizumi had been through a couple of hours ago, then continued, "Anyway, I'm sure I can treat you better than her, and I'm sure I can help you get over it."

There was a moment of silence.

Have I gone too far? you thought, fiddling with your thumbs nervously, Maybe I should just tell him to forget what I just said—

His reply cut you off mid-thought, "Then let's date."

"Seriously, [F/N], if you want to look at videos of corgi butts, do so when you're not walking," Iwaizumi sighed as he sat next to the bed which you were currently sitting on in the infirmary.

You, being hooked onto this never-ending list of corgi underside videos a friend had recommended to you, decided it would be a great idea to watch them while walking towards the indoor sports hall. It just so happened you were walking down a rather steep decline while doing so, did not see that you were about to trip over a sizeable pebble, and went tumbling down the hill. Luckily, you were not too high up the hill, so you managed to not sustain any severe injuries other than a twisted ankle. You were even luckier Iwaizumi was nearby, because he had been trying to find Oikawa who seemingly vanished from his classroom ("Probably to flirt with other girls," Iwaizumi would always say with a massive eye roll).

"You really are a good boyfriend, Hajime," you said with a grin as he simply shook his head at you.

It had been about a month since both of you started dating, and you had been trying your best to help Iwaizumi get over his rejection. The first step in your relationship was to address each other by your respective first names (which was your idea). Both of you were a little bit awkward at the initial stage, but soon got over it and became a second nature to the two of you.

"[L/N]? Iwaizumi?"

The curtains separating the both of you from the next bed was swept open by the school nurse, revealing a very pale Sawabe. Her dark hair made a stark comparison to her unhealthily white complexion. To finish off the staggering look, there was a pair of eye bags circling the bottom of her eyes.

Iwaizumi froze in place, like a deer caught in headlights. You immediately noticed this and contemplated whether you should reach over and squeeze his hand gently as a form of reassurance. After all, his hand was now (fortunately) close to yours.

"I guessed it was you guys judging from your voices," Sawabe added with a little laugh (even though no one really asked her).

You did not take the chance and your hand remained glued to your side. Iwaizumi's hand was now drawn back to his side as he stood up.

"Sawabe? What happened to you?" Iwaizumi asked, walking up to her, an even more concerned expression taking over his face compared to the one he had given you, "Where's Trashikawa?"

"Tooru said he was busy and couldn't come, because he said he had some extra volleyball practice he wanted to put in," the brunette replied, "As for me, it isn't anything serious. Just a couple of things went wrong. I'm fine now."

You averted your gaze from the pair, clenching your hands into fists. You knew it was fine for Iwaizumi got get worried over sawabe since they were friends, but you could not help yourself and felt jealous. The way they conversed sounded as though they were dating, which seemed like a punch to your gut.

This also seemed to further highlight your incompetence in the whole point you and Iwaizumi were dating in the first place. Iwaizumi still seemed to hold a special place for his former love after all.

You then knew, I can't hold a candle to Sawabe.

Slowly, you slipped off the bed and limped to the doorway as quickly and quietly as you possibly could. You wanted to leave while you still had some control over your emotions, before it was too late and you started crying and made both a scene and a fool out of yourself.

Iwaizumi never noticed your disappearance, and you never felt your heart ache so badly before.

After practice, you switched your phone on to see a few messages from Iwaizumi. Earlier, you had turned it off after you fled the scene in the infirmary, not wanting to hear anything from Iwaizumi or anyone, really. Since you had busted your ankle, you could not take part in track activities, so you sat by the bleachers and finished up some of your biology homework. In the end, the coach told you to go home and get some rest.

Tentatively, your thumb hovered over his name in your inbox before you finally decided to read his messages.

Hajime: Are you at practice now?

Hajime: Why did you leave so suddenly?

Hajime: I'm sorry, I won't be walking home with you today. I have to walk Sawabe home since Trashikawa is still practicing and no one's home to fetch her.

Hajime: Text me when you get home, okay?

Kissing your teeth, sighing inwardly, and not wanting to answer, you put on some music and shoved your phone into your blazer pocket. Subconsciously, you knew Iwaizumi would still be worried over Sawabe. Your heart twisted in jealousy at this.

When you arrived home, you decided to switch your phone to aeroplane mode to refrain from any distractions while you were revising. The first exam was coming in a month's time; you could not afford to relax. You put on your Spotify playlist meant for effective studying and locked yourself in your room for a solid hour.

After a good hour of revision, you checked the time on the digital clock which stood on your table: 6.45 pm.

The thoughts of Iwaizumi walking Sawabe back home flooded your mind. Did he really move on, or does he still have something for her? Your eyebrows furrowed as your brain spiraled further into confusing thoughts, everything getting tangled in a chaos.

Not wanting to waste any time thinking about it, you buried your face into your arms as you crossed them on your desk, closing your eyes and willing yourself to stop worrying. Before you knew it, you had fallen asleep.

Knock knock. Knock knock.

The sound of gentle knocking woke you right up. Rubbing your eyes and blinking, you caught sight of someone at your window, fist to your window panels. You squinted at the rather well-built figure hovering by your window before your eyes widened in recognition.

Iwaizumi?

Quickly, you rushed over (all while limping) and opened the window to let him in. Panic filled your veins as you opened the grilles.

"What are you doing? This is the second floor!" you berated him as he tumbled inside and onto your bedroom floor, "Why didn't you use the front door like a normal human being?"

"N-No one answered when I rang the doorbell, so I decided to climb up instead," he answered, and you noticed he sounded out of breath.

"Why are you breathless?" you asked, "Did you run over or something?"

"Yeah, I ran here since I got worried about you," he answered as he tried to catch his breath after sitting up, watching you carefully, "You left my texts on read and didn't read any of my new ones."

You just let out a soft sigh and said, "Come on, let's go downstairs and I'll get you something to eat."

Iwaizumi helped you down the steps (since you were injured, after all) and to the living room and was told to sit down, only he refused, because he pointed out you were still limping. You did not bother to argue with him and let him follow you.

The two of you then headed to the kitchen to get some biscuits and two glasses of milk, which Iwaizumi insisted on carrying. Both of you headed back to the living room with your snacks and sat comfortably on the sofa, with Iwaizumi balancing the plate of biscuits on his thighs.

After a few moments of hearing the sounds of crunching biscuits, he said, "Hey, let's play a game."

"Alright, fine," you said, reaching for another biscuit, "What do you have in mind?"

"Truth or dare," Iwaizumi replied simply, chewing his biscuit thoughtfully, "Now, truth or dare?"

"Truth," you answered without hesitation, popping the biscuit into your mouth.

"What do you think of our relationship?" he asked, then pointing between both of you, "You know, us."

There was a short moment of deafening silence (not even the prior sounds of biscuit chewing was heard) before you answered with a defeated look in your eyes, "There was never an 'us'."

He raised his eyebrows in curiosity, What do you mean?

"I love you," you proclaimed suddenly, turning your head to meet his gaze heads-on in determination.

No response. He just could not bring himself to say it. The words were lodged in his throat, being barricaded by an unknown force from escaping his lips, which were tightly shut. This silence confirmed your suspicions; this silence was as loud as a lion's deafening roar, an obvious statement of impending heartbreak and goodbyes.

"See?" you said softly, tears threatening to spill from your eyes, and you immediately looked away, "That's exactly what i mean."

Quickly, you wiped your tears away, put on your best smile, and said, "Okay, your turn. Truth or dare?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but the sound of his phone ringing cut him off.

"Sorry," he mouthed as he took his phone out of his trouser pocket and glanced at the caller ID (he looked somewhat scared, but of what?), then answering, "Hello?"

"Iwaizumi? Could you come back to keep me company?" Sawabe's voice was unmistakable from the other line, causing you to further shrink down in your seat, "I'm kinda afraid of being alone."

"I'm coming over," he answered without missing a beat before ending the call.

You whirled your head over and looked into his eyes, yours full of hurt and sorrow. Though you knew he had probably never genuinely loved you like a true lover from the start, you never expected him to ditch you for someone else, that someone being the previous apple of his eye.

Though, could Sawabe still be counted as 'previous'? Iwaizumi cared about her; he clearly still had her as his number one priority, it seemed.

Your head started to spin with wild thoughts as you watched him place the plate of remaining biscuits on the table: Was he really going to her? did he never get over her? Did he ever see me as his significant other?

"I'm sorry, [F/N]. I really am," Iwaizumi said, a look of sorrow and regrets gracing his face (the very face you came to love), before giving a slight bow and exiting the house.

You sat there, eyes hollow, head silent, heart broken. You did not know what else to think. The only thing you knew was that you were tired. You were tired of chasing someone who had another goal in their eyes. You were tired of trying to be the missing puzzle piece in someone else's life. You were tired of illusionising yourself that the one you truly loved reciprocated your feelings.

In the end, the joke was on you. You were left alone with nothing else, just you and your broken heart that had been shattered into tiny shards that lay around your feet.

In cliché romance movies, the protagonist gets into a messy love triangle and falls in love with the bad boy.

And in this film, you were just a side character who liked the good guy, but never had your love acknowledged.

You walked into class with your earpieces plugged in, muting the unpleasant world that surrounded you. Life still went on even though bad things happen, but you can still angrily say "Fuck you" to the world who bestowed empty promises upon you and wallow in self-pity.

In all retrospect, you had been thinking about how your relationship between you and Iwaizumi had been, and by judging the latest (dramatic) turn of events, it was not going to get far in the long run.

Once you placed your books and materials on your desk, you could hear a muted voice saying through your earpieces, "Good morning."

Though it was faint through the loud dance music you were playing, you still knew the voice's owner. After all, it was the voice you had come to love, too.

"H — Iwaizumi," you said simply as you took out your earpiece, cursing yourself mentally for the slip of your tongue. (You cringed inwardly at your second action following your response; you probably looked way too excited when you heard him call out to you. Bad habits were indeed hard to break.)

"I-I'm really sorry about yesterday," Iwaizumi muttered, looking down at the floor with his hands shoved in his pockets, not daring to meet your gaze on him that you were actually imposing yourself to do.

Without saying a word, you grabbed his hand and led him out of the classroom. Class was not going to start until another thirty minutes or so, anyway. You had more pressing matters at hand to discuss with him rather than something that was going to be forgotten in a few years.

You swiftly pushed past the hordes of students who were either gossiping about Oikawa, talking about a weekend party, or some other useless junk, bringing him to the school rooftop.

The school rooftop seemed like a secret haven: free of students' chatter, free of judgement, free of suffocating criticism.

You let go of him and walked a few steps forward, your back faced towards him.

"Are... you okay?" he asked tentatively. You had never behaved like this before, so this was completely new for him.

Without turning around, you said, "I've been thinking a lot since last night."

You turned around and looked into his eyes, hoping that what you were doing was right. You did not want to say it (you never would if you had the option to), but you wanted to spare yourself from the torture and did not want yourself to do this any longer. After all, it proved that your attempts to get him to move on failed. Love can be such a powerful force.

"Let's break up," you said simply, trying to keep your gaze levelled and not let your emotions take control and ruin this any further.

"What?" Iwaizumi coughed out with widened eyes, a little dumbfounded by this twist of events. Never in his wildest dreams did he expect you to break up with him. After all, you were the one who asked to date in the first place.

"This relationship is one-sided, and it's going nowhere," you stated, "So there's really no point continuing it. It's hurting both of us. Besides, it seems like I didn't help you get over her."

You took a quick and deep breath and continued, "It isn't good for any of us. so, let's break up and spare one another."

Feeling tears sting your eyes, you quickly strode past him, not wanting to let him see you break down. You willed yourself not to cry until you made it past that door back into the campus. It was going so well, too, so why—

Suddenly, you felt a warm and larger hand take hold of your wrist. The same hand pulled you back into someone's arms. It was Iwaizumi, of course, bringing you into his embrace, just like how you had done for him when you found him near the school gates being upset over Sawabe's reveal of her true feelings a month ago.

"You did help me," he said gently, "You're very special to me, and you've brightened my life. You've made me see the world in a different light, a different perspective, and for that, I want to thank you."

That was not exactly what you wanted to hear, but it still made you feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. Before you knew it, you found yourself wrapping your arms around his torso and you leaned further in, your head pressing into his chest and you could hear his steady heartbeat resembling a siren song.

"If you would give me a second chance, I will tell you those three words one day," Iwaizumi said, with sincerity embedded in his words.

"So you're going to force yourself to love me?" you asked, breaking the embrace and looking up at him with a somewhat offended look, "Because I don't want you to. It's not right to the both of us."

"I'm not," he answered quickly, then explained, "I'm unsure of my feelings as of now, but if you would give me a second chance..."

He reached for your hand, encased it within his larger one, and continued with sincerity in his eyes, "I'm sure I won't hurt you again."

You bit your lip as your heart struggled to make a decision. The rational part of you wanted to refuse and say no, to put an end to this tragic tale. However, the lovesick fool in you convinced you otherwise. A second chance would not hurt anybody, and maybe there would come a day where Iwaizumi would really say those three words you longed to hear with a sincere heart.

"Alright," you stepped forward and squeezed his hands, "I'll wait for you."

"Thank you," he wrapped his arms around you and buried his face into the crook of your neck, warmth spreading throughout his body. Moving on will be difficult, but for you, he was willing to do it and free himself from Sawabe's grasp.

In all cliché romance films, the protagonist gets into a love triangle and chooses the bad boy. The good guy supports them and thinks he is unloved, when there is a minor side character wanting and waiting to be with him, for him to extend his hand and accept their love, but never getting their happy ending.

It seems like, in this romance movie, the side character does get their own happily ever after after all.

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chillwildwave · 2 months

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The Wishing Kingdom: Prologue.

@annymation @uva124 @signed-sapphire @wings-of-sapphire @thisnameisnotspokenfor @mythartist21 @mafik-sun @lunellasflo @rascalentertainments @frogcoven88 @kstarsarts @oh-shtars @spectator-zee @emillyverse @gracebethartacc @gracebeth3604 @galacticstarslove17 @tumblingdownthefoxden @rylxdreams

(We hear the Disney intro with 100 at first but then we pan over to the Walt Disney Castle where a storybook titled “The Wishing Kingdom” is seen being laid on a desk, while we hear a choir harmonising, we hear a voice that is remiscent of an Golden Age male narrator.)

Once upon a time, there was a sky, so blank and so bare, even clouds covered its dread, what remained was a dark pit of nothingness.

It stayed like this until those clouds danced around the sky which caused cosmic dust to glide on by, it is said that when two elements are combined, you would get one of the most brightest creatures ever seen in the universe, responsible for looming over humans over the sky, day and night, providing every need that they offered.

So much so that the star god, Xanthos used his powers to create a habitat for all the stars, the kingdom of Starfell, where these creatures would live peacefully and decide in which star would grant wishes to their people…

Down the mist of the ever-so vivid Starfell, came the land of humans where they believed so much in the wishes that the stars held that they would hold a tradition, where their wishes would be written on a single strand of ribbons and wrapped around the branch of the first existing wishing tree…

(Little Asha interrupts the story as soon as her dad says “wishing tree.”)

“You mean the one we are on at the moment?” She enthusiastically questioned as she wiggled her legs, begging for her dad to answer.

“Yes, dear, now let me finish the story cause I’ve got more to tell.” Her dad replies when he turns another page on the book.

Even though some wishes were granted by the stars themselves, there were a few that were too controllable to grant, this happened with two specific people, a prince and a princess, held a wish in their hearts, trying to call the power of the stars to make them come true, however, the stars kept their powers shut after they found out about that wish, they thought that it would be too dangerous as it was said that if any dangerous wish was granted, it would release a dark void that would not only destroy Starfell, but also the entire humanity of Earth.

The couple tried to beg for their wish many times, not even days and weeks, but for years, until the stars decided not to grant it due to how much danger it could possess on causing destruction on the universe.

Even with their wishes in their hearts, they decided to head to a cabin where each book held a spell that would grant them magic, not just magic, but magic so powerful, it is almost impossible to avoid, so they scrummaged all the books from the shelf until the prince found one where he took deep breaths and summoned the old and powerful forces…

Magic, rare and strong,

Give me what I deserve,

Feed that feisty song,

And let the wind dissolve,

The wind dissolve.

(As he says that, he closes his eyes as we see Green effects swirling around the couple, the Princess holds onto him as he says the spell, it takes a long time until they are relieved that they had so much power from the one spell now.)

And with all this power they held, it was then that people believed that they were responsible for granting the wishes, as if they had the same power as the stars.

So it was there where they found an island on the Mediterranean Sea where the Kingdom of Rosas was established, with a hidden hamlet where the enslaved, scrubbed, cleaned and guarded their land until their chains were broken.

(We then go back to little Asha with her head next to her father.)

“You mean, that where we live, what is the cost of freedom if you can’t buy it her in this kingdom?” The little girl raised to question, her inquisitiveness kept flowing.

“I don’t know what the cost is, but it is part of what the king and queen say for their people.” Her dad replied with a solemn look on his face, he looks up to the stars while he touched his wish on a ribbon.

“Asha, there’s something I would like to tell you, look. You see these stars, right above us, legend says that these are used to believe us that with a wish, comes a dream.” (The screen then goes to the stars, the brightest one illuminating in the night as Asha’s dad speaks.)

“And when you have those, all you have to do is to keep believing, and when you have that dream, if you want to achieve something, you need to have the courage to get what you want.”

“What happens if…” She took her time to come up with another question, although she knew that it was negative, no matter what, she asked anyway. “I don’t work hard enough.”

“Well if you don’t, well, it doesn’t mean that your life is going to be entirely perfect, and if you don’t work hard, your goal will be much more complicated that it might seem.” (This causes her dad to look down at her notebook while Asha tries to get him to not look at it as she thinks he’s seen her swearing in her notes.)

“Dad, give me my notebook back!” She playfully teased him while still holding onto it.

(He still holds on to it as he reads her page while Asha slowly looks over it to see which page he is on.)

“It seems that you writing about what you want to achieve right at this very moment.” He giggles as he feels her embrace as she lays on his shoulder to look at the stars one more time before bed.

“Well, yeah and the start barely even begins with me, but tell me Dad, did you ever have a wish once, did the stars answer?” She spoke softly.

He doesn’t speak for a moment, his eyebrows causing a frown with his eyes looking up one more time. “Never, cause I’ve kept that wish for a very long time, for as long as I can remember, and since the king and queen became the new wish granters, I always knew that my wish should be worth keeping in my heart no matter what cost it had to get to me, and I believed in myself harder to the point where entered this area, with you and Sakina, and that wish, I wrote it on the ribbon and hung it on this branch of the tree, it is so special to me because it reminds me of that wish growing and growing as it lays on the branch, if it drives my heart, it’s possible that my dream would come…”

Silence… He just suffered something inside of him that the end is nearly near, there’s only silence, not much talking, Little Asha gets up and helps her Dad get up after he felt something but he fell back down causing her to carry him but it was no use, we also see Sakina running towards the tree after the commotion, as she runs to the tree, she sees her husband slowly dying while she stands next to Asha with tears running down her face, she also strokes her on the hair, gently.

Her dad continually coughs in agony, while Asha grabs his chest and tries to revive him. “No dad, you can’t, you said you would always be with me… You can’t!” Her voice is almost lost due to her pain.

The last words were spoken… “Asha… Sakina… Look at me, sometimes, not matter how old and young you are, the wishes will be dead if you don’t make it happen, there’s not a single thing like living forever to grant your wish, you shouldn’t have to live forever without that chance of wishing upon a star… Just, remember.”

He says after he closes his eyes, while he fades away to dust filled with sparkles setting their way to the sky, tearful Asha couldn’t even move after she tried to hug her mum because her hands were too shaky, despite that, her mum hugged her back as they watched the dust glide away, directing itself towards the cosmic sky of the stars…

And that’s the prologue for y’all, it would be nice if you give me your thoughts and also, I’m planning on doing an animatic to the same scene but who knows I could make some tiny adjustments to it as I go, here is my WIP animatic so far. There’s more to come.

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mobileleprechaun · 11 months

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On Home, Wally, and their dynamic

Warning: Big Long Post! Rambly. Speculative!

In the early days of the Welcome Home fandom, it was often speculated that Home's role in the narrative was antagonistic, one defined by coercive control and abuse of Wally. This idea of a sinister, manipulative Home has inspired many AUs, pieces of fanart and has overall made a big impression on the fandom's perspective of Home as a character.

While this still remains very possible as an outcome, especially given that the series is still in its prologue, a lot of what I've observed in the latest update has painted a very different picture in my mind.

Below are some miscellaneous observations, both from the update and from information we had prior to the update.

Wally is excited about Eddie potentially being able to lift Home in the storybook recording, as he would like Home to be able to get a hot dog from Howdy's bodega like he and Barnaby always do.

Wally speaks often of his love for Home in the guestbook, and even writes Home's signature for it at the bottom of the page.

Home is shown, in a famous piece of art on Clown's Tumblr, to be the "plus-one" Wally would invite to a wedding, and he's shown smiling fondly at it through the window of the chapel while it peers in from outside.

This piece of promotional art, as well as this crayon drawing from the April Fool's Day prank where Wally briefly took over Clown's Twitter to post his drawings, show a big Wally cradling a small Home in his arms. This is an inversion of their actual relationship, as Wally is just a little guy and Home is a great big house. In the latter drawing, Wally has obsessively written Home's name over and over again.

In the bug vignette featuring Barnaby and Home on the page with the script, Barnaby understands Home perfectly when it speaks and has a fluent back and forth with it. Its responses to him seem amused and sarcastic, and it generally looks to be having fun bantering with him and sassing him. When Barnaby becomes concerned for Wally at the end, Home's noises sound concerned and urgent, like worried questions. It's concerned for Wally's change in behavior too.

Conversely, Wally is shown in his audio excerpts from the show to be socially-awkward and unable to comprehend things like sarcasm and turns of phrase. At his best, he sounds like he's saying things he's rehearsed before. At his worst, especially in the audio messages he leaves, he struggles even to speak, as though he cannot find the right word or that speech itself is hard on him. He begins to hyperventilate and lose his grasp on proper intonation in the latter recordings, likely out of distress or frustration.

In the Morse code message on the So Below page, most people interpret what Home is saying as either "help" or "hello". The former indicates distress on its part, while the latter indicates it trying to go along with Wally, as he introduced it in the previous audio message and explained (while struggling not to hyperventilate) that it makes noises.

In the picture of Wally and Home in "So Below", Home's eye is shuddering in seeming distress while Wally is knelt at its window. Although this is commonly interpreted as an act of worship, Home does not look particularly happy or powerful here. Wally's outstretched hand may be caressing it, or otherwise trying to pat or soothe it. Wally's eyes shudder in a similar manner in the "Stay Quiet" page.

The dark substance beneath Home has begun leaking to the point that it is now visible on the desktop version of the Neighborhood page. This is very likely the same substance mentioned on the secret, staff-only page, which apparently causes "nausea, dizziness and fatigue" upon physical contact.

The impression that I've gotten from this is that Home and Wally are more akin to intimate peers – siblings, very close friends, possibly even romantic partners* – than they are to an abusive guardian and their child. Much of what I'm about to say is speculative, and may not hold up after further updates, but it's nonetheless the vibe I'm getting.

Wally and Home have a deep understanding of one another, deeper even than Wally's friendship with Barnaby. They are bound so tightly that one can scarcely exist without the other. Home shelters Wally within itself, granting him the sanctuary of its own body. Wally, in turn, grants Home a purpose as its inhabitant and tends to its needs, always making sure to help it feel included in neighborhood activities. Both are seen doting on one another with the sort of fondness only years of intimate familiarity can bring. Each is attuned to (and interested in) the other's needs.

Neither Home nor Wally are doing well at this point in the narrative. Wally is audibly deteriorating when he addresses us (or the Question-Answerer) in the audio snippets. He's barely able to keep it together, and some sort of horrific distortion is slipping into his voice. Home, meanwhile, has only seen its sludge problem get worse, and does not seem able to do much at all besides the occasional response in Morse code. These utterances are few and far between, especially compared to how chatty and lively it seemed in the Barnaby vignette. It seems withdrawn, perhaps even exhausted. It is very likely sick.

Home has, up until this point, been "the strong one" in the relationship, as a house must be. In addition to bearing up its body as shelter for Wally, it may have carried the little fellow's social burdens, as it seems to hold its own very well in conversation. But now it's fallen ill. Gravely ill. It's unable to go and look for help, being a house, and is put in a precarious situation due to its immobility. None of the other neighbors are around to help it.

Wally cares for his Home deeply. He is grateful for its shelter and its friendship. He's the only one who can help it now – it's finally his turn to be strong. He wants desperately to protect it, to find help for it, and this is what drives him to reach out. But he doesn't know how one asks for help, or how even to describe the problem. His tranquil neighborhood never made him confront that reality, and he's now left floundering. Home can only watch helplessly, through a haze of sickness, as he humiliates himself again and again in his pained, futile struggle to be understood.

It's driving him mad. It's forcing him to feel emotions he can barely describe. Every attempt only serves to further terrorize the Question-Answerer and double his own anger and misery.

But he can't stop. He must be strong for Home. He will make his neighbor understand.

So TL;DR, I see it as less "Home has Wally trapped!" or "Wally is doing something bad to Home!" and more this heartbreaking nugget from Learning With Pibby. If Home is malevolent, I think Wally's going to be right there at its side. And if he manages not to be, I think it will be a tragic effect of the corruption rather than any innate badness Home has in it. I think we are shown how wonderful and precious this Home can be so it will be all the more heart-wrenching when that is no longer the case. At any rate, I am enthralled and am so grateful to be able to engage with this wonderful piece.

*I hate that I have to even say this, but – please don't misconstrue that I think siblings and romantic partners are the same thing, or any other implication therein. I'm an eldest sibling myself and find the idea abhorrent. I say this only because relationships in a text can be very ambiguous, and there are many flavors of closeness between people that share similarities.

Anyway, thank you so much if you read this far! Welcome Home has really given me the analysis bug again... heehee, bugs.

#welcome home spoilers #wally darling #home welcome home #welcome home analysis

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starwithscarsxx · 29 days

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thank you to the lovely girl who requested for this on wattpad! <3

a hundred times over | s.b.

tw: dried blood, fluff, teensy bit of jily

evans! reader, sirius black x reader (when he ends up escaping to the Potters’)

Lying lazily on the couch in the Potters’ mansion, you tear a strip of paper and chew it in your mouth before shooting a spitball at James, giggling as he grumbled and swatted it away.

He was busy making small talk with your sister, as she tried to look annoyed but was hopelessly failing, what with the pink coating her cheeks. Lily was just as much in love with James as he was in with her, that much was obvious for everyone to see. Meanwhile, Remus was propped up on his elbows in front of the fireplace, his eyes locked on the storybook in front of him while Peter sat on the other end of the couch, face scrunched up in concentration as he tried to master a spell he learnt recently.

Everything felt right, spending the holidays with your twin and best friends. But the gnawing hole in your heart made you realise that something was missing, or rather someone - Sirius. You knew he’d never be able to spend the holidays at James’ place because of his horribly abusive family, but a small part of you missed his constant teasing and flirting. You found yourself aching to see that easy smirk which hung from his lips, and the stormy grey eyes which plagued your mind a little too frequently these days.

Sighing, you quit annoying James and flopped onto your back, gazing at the ceiling. “Moony?” you mumble. Everyone turns to look at you except him, as he hums in response, too engrossed in his book. “Do you think Pads is okay?” you ask quietly, the dark thoughts starting to get the better of you. Why hadn’t he written all summer? Remus frowns, tearing his eyes away from the page to glance at you, “Why wouldn’t he be-“

At that moment, the fire crackled loudly and turned a fiery blue as everyone swiveled their heads to look. A boy covered in dried blood and soot stepped out, a suitcase in one hand a broken wand in the other. His eyes looked stripped of their light, hazy as they darted around the room. It didn’t take long for Y/n and the rest to register their dark-haired friend swaying unsteadily in front of them, his eyes barely open.

You felt your heart jump to your mouth as he swayed forward. “SIRIUS!” you gasped, lurching forward to catch his arms just as he was about to crumble to the ground. Remus jumped up to help you lower him to the floor, taking a shaky breath as he grabbed your trembling hand and squeezed it reassuringly. James was anything but calm, his eyes wide in horror as he shakily yelled for his mother upstairs. Peter and Lily sat there with matching dumbfounded expressions, your sister letting out a shocked squeak.

You feel the tears start to well up in your eyes, terrifying thoughts running through your mind. You couldn’t lose him. Not now. Not ever. You couldn’t live without Sirius.

As though she could read your mind, Lily stood up and came towards you, gently grabbing your hand and pulling you away from Sirius towards the kitchen. You saw Euphemia flash you a small, reassuring smile as she helped Sirius into a spare room to treat him.

Your sister gently turned your head towards her, and you felt the lump forming in your throat. “He’s gonna be okay,” Lily murmured, squeezing your hands as you let out a small sob, clamping a hand over your mouth. She immediately pulled your trembling body into hers in a warm embrace as you muttered incoherently. “I… I can’t lose him… I love him too much.”

She just hums in response and rubs your back until your cries slow. “James’ mom is a great healer, you know? One of the best,” she says quietly. You sniffle, pulling away and wiping the tears off your face. “I know. I don’t know why I’m overreacting this much.”

She smiles softly, “Because you love him, duh.” You look away, your cheeks starting to turn red. “No I don’t,” you mutter, just as James comes into the kitchen, relief written all over his face. “Hey, Y/n, he’s better now. You can go see him if you want to.”

Lily nods at you as you take a deep breath, following James as he brings you to the room. You enter to see Sirius propped up against the headboard, his black curls all over the place and bandages wrapped on at least four different parts of his body. His eyes look up to meet yours, and you felt your whole world shift as you rush forward to wrap him in a bone-crushing hug.

“Wanker,” you whisper, squeezing Sirius tightly as he chuckled softly, wrapping his arms around you. “Hey gorgeous,” he sighs. “Missed me?”

You smack his back lightly and he lets out an exaggerated yelp of pain, making you giggle. You cling to him tightly, soaking in the warmth of his embrace which you longed to feel for so long. “I missed you.” he murmurs, his playful exterior finally melting away as he breathes in the scent of you.

You just snuggle more into him in response, unable to say anything. “I thought I lost you,” you finally say, pulling away slightly to hold him at arms length. You trail your eyes over his features, the light stubble that had settled on his chin and those metallic eyes you knew so well. He grins that same grin you want to wake up to for the rest of your life. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily, sweetheart.”

As you both sit there in silence, taking in each other’s features after being starved of the other’s presence for weeks, you find yourself slowly inching towards him. You were lost in the storm that was his eyes, and he was gazing at the art that was your face.

Sirius reached out his hand to cup your cheek and you could hear your heartbeat quicken, thundering in your ears as he grazed his thumb over your lips. You let your eyelids flutter close and let out a content sigh, him taking that as his final confirmation as he leaned forward and gently pressed his lips on yours.

Fireworks explode in your heart as you melt into the kiss. One hand automatically goes up to cup his cheek, the other threading through his hair. His lips were chapped, his skin rough, and his hair knotted. Sirius was a mess right now, but he was your mess. Yours. This was all you ever wanted, and all you ever needed.

You finally break the kiss, feeling butterflies churning in the pit of your stomach as you pull away to smile at him. Sirius grins, resting his forehead against yours as he rubs his thumb over your cheek. “If I knew almost dying would make you fall in love with me, I’d do it a hundred times over.”

#sirius black #marauders #sirius being sirius #harry potter #sirius x reader #sirius x y/n #sirius orion black #comfort #hurt/comfort #fluff #james & peter & remus & sirius #james potter #remus lupin #peter pettigrew #lily evans #the noble and most ancient house of black

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dc-and-arfrona · 11 months

Text

Lullabies

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Jason Todd x Gn!Reader

Jason Todd and you adopt a kid!

Type: Fluff

Word Count: 1200+

Masterlist

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The night air was crisp as you walked the streets of Gotham City, the dimly lit alleys casting eerie shadows on the walls. Jason Todd, the Red Hood, walked by your side, his presence bringing a sense of security amidst the chaos that surrounded you both. Despite the constant danger, there was something comforting about having him by your side.

As the two of you turned a corner, you caught sight of a poster on a lamppost—a picture of an adorable child with the words "Adopt a Child, Change a Life" written in bold letters. You stopped in your tracks, your gaze fixed on the image. A longing, a yearning welled up within you—a desire to provide a loving home for a child who needed it most.

"Jason," you spoke softly, breaking the silence that hung in the air. "I've been thinking... I want to adopt."

Jason slowed his pace, casting a glance your way. His piercing blue eyes held a mix of curiosity and concern. "Adopt? Are you sure about this, [Y/N]?"

You nodded, your determination shining through. "Yes, I am. I've been thinking about it for a while now, and I believe it's the right thing for me. I want to make a difference in a child's life, to give them the love and care they deserve."

Jason's expression softened, his gaze fixed on you intently. "You know it won't be easy, right? Parenting is a huge responsibility, especially in this city."

You took a deep breath, knowing the challenges that awaited you. "I understand, Jason. It won't be a walk in the park, but I'm willing to put in the effort. Besides, with you by my side, I know we can handle anything that comes our way."

A faint smile tugged at the corners of Jason's lips, a mixture of emotions dancing in his eyes. "You really are something, [Y/N]. Your heart is pure, and your determination is unmatched. Any child would be lucky to have you as their parent."

Your heart warmed at his words, grateful for his support. "Thank you, Jason. That means a lot to me. I believe that together we can create a loving and safe home for a child who needs it."

Jason's hand found its way to yours, his touch reassuring. "I'm with you every step of the way, [Y/N]. We'll navigate this new chapter together. Just promise me one thing—promise me you won't lose sight of your own happiness in the process. Being a parent is fulfilling, but it can also be challenging. You deserve to be happy too."

You squeezed his hand gently, feeling the strength and love that flowed through the connection. "I promise, Jason. I won't forget about myself in this journey. We'll find a balance and make sure we take care of each other."

He nodded, a sense of determination mirrored in his eyes. "Then let's do this. Let's bring joy and love into a child's life, and in turn, they'll bring it into ours."

With those words, the weight of the decision lifted off your shoulders, replaced by excitement and hope. Together, you and Jason embarked on a new adventure—a path filled with challenges, but also with immeasurable rewards. Hand in hand, you walked towards the future, ready to welcome a child into your lives and create a family built on love, trust, and the unwavering bond between the two of you.

Time had passed since that fateful conversation when you and Jason decided to open your hearts and home to a child in need. The paperwork, the interviews, and the waiting had finally led to this moment—the moment when you became parents.

As you stood in the doorway of your child's bedroom, a soft smile tugged at your lips. The room was adorned with toys and colorful decorations, a sanctuary of love and warmth. There, in the dim glow of a nightlight, Jason sat on a small rocking chair, cradling your new child in his arms.

You watched with awe as Jason read a storybook in a hushed voice, his voice filled with tenderness and care. The child's eyes sparkled with delight, completely captivated by the tale unfolding before them. It was a sight that filled your heart with immeasurable joy.

The story reached its end, and as the final words left Jason's lips, you saw a yawn escape his own mouth. He looked down at your child, a playful smile dancing on his tired face. "Looks like someone's getting sleepy, huh?" he whispered.

The child let out a contented sigh, snuggling closer to Jason's chest. You couldn't help but feel a rush of affection as you witnessed the bond forming between them—two souls finding solace and love in each other's presence.

Jason's eyes began to droop, his exhaustion catching up to him. With utmost care, he stood up from the rocking chair, gently placing your child into their crib. He leaned against the edge of the crib, watching over them with a protective gaze.

But sleep wouldn't be denied any longer. As the soft lullaby of the night embraced the room, you saw Jason's eyes flutter shut, his head slowly tilting to the side. He had succumbed to the tranquility that filled the space, finding comfort in the presence of your child.

Moved by the sight, you stepped forward, your steps barely making a sound on the carpeted floor. You retrieved a soft blanket from a nearby shelf and approached the crib, careful not to disturb the peaceful atmosphere. Gently, you draped the blanket over Jason, ensuring he stayed warm in his slumber.

With a tender touch, you brushed a strand of hair away from Jason's face, the gesture filled with love and admiration. Then, you turned your attention to your child, tucked safely in their crib. Leaning in, you placed a soft kiss on their forehead, whispering words of love and protection.

In that moment, surrounded by the peacefulness of the room, you realized how your lives had changed. You had become a family—a family built on love, understanding, and the shared desire to make a difference in each other's lives.

With a final glance at Jason and your child, you made your way out of the room, leaving the door slightly ajar. As you settled into your own bed, your heart was filled with gratitude for the blessings life had bestowed upon you.

In the stillness of the night, you found solace and comfort, knowing that your dreams were intertwined with those you held dear. And as you drifted off to sleep, the image of Jason and your child, wrapped in warmth and love, lingered in your mind—a testament to the beautiful journey you had embarked upon together.

#Jason todd x reader #jason todd x you #red hood x you #jason todd x y/n #jason todd imagines #jason todd #red hood #red hood x reader #red hood x y/n #red hood imagines #dc #dc imagines #dc universe #robin x reader

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siflshonen · 1 year

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Trauma Doesn't Make Someone Right or Wrong but It Does Make Them Easier to Manipulate: Tomura Shigaraki and All for One

I decided I should talk about the MHA villains more, particularly Shigaraki.

BNHA presentations masterpost

BNHA presentations on Ao3

Let’s mosey under the cut.

The color key is not necessary, exactly, but I will be referencing my other posts with similar color keys. I thought it would be helpful to give a quick visual refresher to what they are. I’m going to referencing the other stuff I’ve written a lot in this one when it’s time to get into the details, so please be aware of that.

Regular white text can also be neutral and mean none of these things, but I think you’ll see what I mean by including All for One on here when you see the graphics.

There is Tenko Shimura and there is Shigaraki Tomura. One of them is the scared child who looks like the perfect victim in need of saving. The other is the obstinate, stubborn, short-sighted and naive social deviant shaped by his trauma and grooming. The only thing he seems to exhibit individuality over is his love of video games and which kinds he prefers.

They are the same person. Traumura Shigaraki. Tenko Traumura.

Shigaraki is sometimes hard to pin down as a character because his individuality beyond his PTSD is rarely allowed to shine. However, I do believe that there are common threads between Tenko Shimura and Tomura Shigaraki. He sincerely wants to make connections, and he sincerely wants to do right by those that accept him, though his own desires and emotional responses often get in the way - as do the desires of another teeny, tiny influence upon him.

His fucking Master, All for One.

Part of what inspired my initial Bakugo presentation was showing how he breaks down the tropes of “hero”, “antihero” and even “antagonist” in shonen manga. The entire cast of Heroes and Villains (remember, they are also social designations and legal definitions in the world this manga) are doing this to some extent. Shigaraki, in particular, is headlining how there is nothing inherently special that makes someone a villain or hero. The determining factor is the perspective of the observer (or affected society.)

Shigaraki may be an antivillain in this story, but to him, that makes him appear the hero of his own story - all while still wearing the self-determined label of “villain”.

Arguably, the actions he chooses to take as a result of his trauma and fear of rejection also make him the villain of his own story at the same time, but we’ll get into that later.

Deku also has at least one mentor (in the Second User) that makes no bones about telling him that his life and well-being is less important than achieving the goal of stopping All for One. But at least he is honest, I guess.

Still destructive, though.

Most of the characters act truly heroically not in moments of glorious victory, but moments of pain, suffering, or even failure (Early-series Deku does this a lot, like when he falls to earth after heroically saving Ochako in the entrance exam. Bakugo, who is sent crashing to the ground in the ironically-named “Katsuki Bakugo: Rising” chapter after putting himself in harm’s way to save someone else, also has a habit of doing this over and over again), which is not the expectation for an archetypal hero in a storybook or comic.

Shigaraki’s glorious rise with cape, model hair, and awesome suit is likewise a moment that does not bode well for him, though he doesn’t know it in the moment.

I don’t make a slide for it, but as he ascends, Shigaraki becomes, well, ethereally beautiful. As his post-family-death amnesiac self, his suffering made him more fragile, frayed, and conventionally ugly in appearance. But after going through All for One’s training and modifications, he was given a new, beautiful facade.

But he was still on the fast track to misery either way.

This discussion isn’t super duper political, but this is your heads-up that many of these “big presences in power” characters also stand in for political ideologies or even entire countries, in some cases.

Endeavor is, roughly, the Japan before modern foreign influence. I’m sure Horikoshi could give us the specific party or movements he had in mind, but he’s not the focus of this post. If you want a more in-depth breakdown of Endeavor and the Todoroki family, please see this post.

The Kirishima Presentation post I made has the most relevant information to the topic of Westernization’s impact on Japan’s attitudes and military power, though it isn’t quite for the same approach and purpose.

All Might, the “band aid” on the My Hero Academia society, is a Japanese guy wearing the appearance of the West while wielding a power that was given to him by someone else, and at seemingly random from an outside perspective. While Toshinori’s true heroic qualities have nothing to do with his nationality (and neither do the features and purpose behind One for All or All for One, when all is said and done), it is important when understanding what Toshinori represents to Endeavor and how he views him.

Both the Heroes and Villains in this series make an entire journey and daytime soap opera of fucking themselves over, honestly.

All for One doesn’t just want to be a dictator or tyrant or king. No, he wants to be the ultimate evil and unapologetic about it. He is the big bad and he is reveling in it. He is going to make himself a cartoon, and then he is gonna rule this cartoon world. Why? We’ll find out eventually. But maybe we’ll never know! I don’t really care. He’s meant to be a static evil.

Naruto tried to be real cool by having their big bad talk about how they were gonna take over the world through hijacking the economy and using that as their in to take over all the Ninja Villages and be real fascists or whatever, but My Hero Academia jumps over that angle by taking a more emotional and universal storybook (or comic book) approach. I greatly prefer it.

I also prefer that the story is blatantly framing the movement it opposes by calling it out as a fucking cartoon villain, though there’s also a twist to this that I think Horikoshi has very intentionally performed.

Fascism most recently swept over Japan as a result of influence from the West. Bam. Easy. So it’s no surprise that, regardless of where he is from, All for One doesn’t just look like a white guy, but like fine art of a white guy from the West. Pretentious. But it’s also kinda funny since he looks like a Greco-Roman god and is trying to flatten his marble curves into lowbrow comic form.

Nazi Germany and the Italian flavor of fascist regimes dressed snappy and loved their high art. Surely y’all know how Nazi Germany defined and tripped all over themselves at the idea of an Aryan race.

Meanwhile, American comic books are a Jewish invention. Superman and Captain America were staunchly anti-Nazi, anti-fascist, anti-all that. For All for One, icon of the type of art branded as “Aryan”, to do what he’s doing in the form of a comic book and saying he likes them is... oh, it’s truly disrespectful of him, to put it mildly. It reminds me of the discussion and fallout surrounding Captain America being part of Hydra for some issues.

Anyway, All for One is rebranding again to sneak into the hearts and minds of those with more modern sensibilities (read: “lowbrow”) to do his same routine. It’s truly villainous, selfish, and disrespectful. Fuck this guy. Rip him apart.

...All of this is a compliment. A hateable static big bad is a good thing when it is what the story wants to achieve.

One could split hairs and say, “All for One’s approach doesn’t resemble fascism! It’s like X!” And if you want to do that, great. Pick your poison of specific flavor of awful Authoritarian or Totalitarian movement that causes extreme suffering. Go nuts. I chose this one because I think a broader approach is more applicable - All for One is a timeless, recurring evil with worldwide reach.

I’ve taken the qualities of Ur-Fascism, or “Eternal Fascism”, listed above from this article, which is also an abbreviation of a longer work on the topic by Umberto Eco. I don’t want to regurgitate the whole thing here, so I encourage you to read it. I did incorporate two of the 14 qualities into other items on this list, but I think you’ll find that All for One checks all of these boxes.

If you read the article or essay, please pay attention to language used like “in the name of liberation”, or how these movements tend to start in another movement with one similar ideal or begin to absorb other movements. Think about how that relates to what happened to Re-Destro’s group and ambition, and the fate of the Liberation Army as it was absorbed into Shigaraki’s/All for One’s. Think about how fascism is contradictory in many ways, but still considers itself a single movement.

For more further reading - @transhawks hits the nail on the head regarding what the League of Villains are in relation to Hero Society and All for One. They’re not really revolutionaries or a unified band of anything standing against their evil government for ideological reasons. They’re being used. If you want to enter a more extreme political pick-apart or commentary of this series, this is a good place to look and a crucial thing to understand.

It would be real cool if the USA was truly a well-meaning, if hasty, rude, and entitled do-gooder superhero, but, well, this is a comic book. Y’all know that Star and Stripe is meant to be the idealized USA rooted in Democracy and Liberty and all that stuff, right?

But even the superpowered and ideal version of the USA can be corrupted. The USA has neo-Nazis (and a total shitshow political scene, particularly conservatively but not exclusively limited to that party, currently) and stuff, too. The “We Are All for One” sign in the My Hero Academia panel of violence and chaos in the United States’ establishing shot is a good way to represent how the conditions for All for One to take control can come about anywhere.

This dude, and the fascism he represents, is a parasite.

Anyway, that’s all big-picture stuff. Let’s talk about All for One’s specific approach to getting his hooks into Shigaraki and the League of Villains.

Public opinion is one of All for One’s most important tools, especially when starting out.

Again, All for One is a parasite. And I think the moth wings Shigaraki sports in figurative representations in the manga are meant to suggest the lower two of a Death’s-head hawkmoth, which has an association with death in Japan and some other cultures. I’m not totally sure about this, though.

As for me, personally, I am familiar with this genus of moth because I grew up with the Five-Spotted Hawkmoth’s larvae, which we called tomato hornworms, in the garden. Parasitic wasps like to lay eggs in the backs of the hornworms and then the larvae in the eggs eat the hornworm from the inside out before maturing. I don’t know if Horikoshi had those in mind when he made this manga because I think they’re only in North America, but, well, I thought about them.

My point: Shigaraki was an easy target and a natural choice for All for One.

Tenko fucked his whole family over when his quirk destroyed everything. The damage was not limited to his father. His family may not have stopped his father and maybe could have done more to try and stop him (and Hana could have not sold out Tenko and blamed him for their intrusion into their father’s office), but killing them didn’t exactly help anyone.

As @transhawks pointed out, the message of “destroying the existing system (house) to root out the existing power causes more sacrifice than it is worth” is a comparatively moderate one.

But for a boys’ manga series, the major idea that, “hey, maybe try to help one another and don’t act in negative emotion - and DEFINITELY don’t become a fascist ‘cause it’s a trap” is perhaps a more immediately relevant one for that audience than a more complicated political critique. The readership of a boys’ manga is at (or about to be at) high risk for becoming the vulnerable youth Shigaraki, Spinner, and perhaps even Dabi or Toga represent.

Sometimes, things can be as simple as the story of a shitty dad doing shitty things to his family because he sucks. Sometimes, this story can also be an allegory at the same time, if it helps your cause. Dabi certainly thinks about it like this!

Shigaraki seems to flip-flop between these hikikomori and NEET categories.

The Kirishima Presentation post talks about this in great detail with more articles.

When I think about this turn of phrase, I think about Princess Mononoke and how the musket ball inside the boar god is what turned him into a monster and sent him on a rampage, and then infected Ashitaka. There’s a lot to unpack here about that, but this is long enough.

It seems that quirks, while not a definite indicator of what a person is like, has an impact on these characters’ individuality, themes, and preferences in the story.

He rises from the ashes always, it seems. And this isn’t even his final form.

“I hurt, so I want YOU to hurt!” If you don’t know much about folks affected by Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, well, Shigaraki is pretty much a perfect textbook example.

And you could have it all... my empire of dirt... I will let you down... I will make you hurt!

People are individuals. Degrees of and conditions for suffering are all unique. But the end result of trauma upon people is the same. They hurt.

So, I think now is a good time to link to this discussion regarding Tenko’s name.

I don’t know if this alike-sound is obvious to the Japanese readership or not, or if it’s just an English speaker’s ear making the observation in similarity between words. Sometimes, what sounds like a pun to an English speaker is not a pun to a native speaker. I really do not know because I am not a native speaker. But even without knowing that for certain, it’s interesting to think about and good, relevant information regarding some of Japan’s general history. If anybody knows, please let me know.

For the longest time, I thought his name was ironic because “ten” sounds like “heaven/sky” and “ko” like “child”, so he would be named “heavenly child” or “child from the heavens”, which contrasts with his “villain” status, though remains accurate because of his incredible, otherworldly power and appearance by his transformation’s end. But it’s not written like “heaven child”. I asked. But I still think it’s funny.

Anyway.

This is a story, so I literally cannot do anything about this situation except say that I am certain that a hero will come for him. I know it’s a cop-out and I am no different than the old woman who left Tenko on the street, but, well, that’s all I’ve got.

I hope they reach him soon.

#shigaraki tomura #all for one #afo #league of villains #lov #tenko shimura #dabi #bnha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #toya todoroki #star and stripe #izuku midoriya #fascism #ur-fascism #eri #eri bnha #eri mha #bnha meta #shigaraki presentation

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fanby-fckry · 3 months

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Like I had a dream of Season 2 last night, and weirdly it seemed exactly like what Season 2 might actually be like in terms of reveals. Like it turned out Alastor was actually a fraud, he didn’t kill all those overlords when he first got to Hell, but rather lied and said he did, and began attaining some power over the years with that rep, never a lot but enough to beat out smaller names, that being why he was so dependent on smaller deals like those he had Rosie keep an eye out for. He wasn’t pacing himself but desperately trying to live up to the myth of the Radio Demon. And it turned out Husk had been more powerful than Alastor when he acquired his soul, and the day he did was just as stressful for Alastor as it was for Husk. Then Vox tried to have him join the Vees, Alastor turned him down since he didn’t want to truth of his power being much lower than thought being found out, they got in a fight, and Alastor was legitimately hurt but managed to hide it and leave before Vox realised, just as he did with Adam. Alastor then encountered the real force responsible for those overlords going missing: Eve, the first woman. Basically in the world of ‘Hazbin’, before Heaven and Hell, there was simply Good and Evil, literal personifications, concepts given awareness. Good was the first to gain mass, becoming God, creating the angels and then Earth, Adam, Lilith, Eve, while Evil was left a simple force, until Lilith formed the apple of free will and gave it to Eve, infecting her with Evil, and so she became its embodiment, God’s counterpart in evil. Who could be seen in the opening storybook in the first episode, Go(o)d a closed eye amongst clouds, Evil a red eye(s) and smile amongst darkness, I checked once I woke up to ensure that shot was real. So basically all descendants of hers, humanity, would have both good and evil within them: the reason Adam was in Heaven was that in spite of being a jerk, he never had Evil as a concept within him. So what neither Alastor or Eve would have known was that because of this, he was among the few that could ever kill her (Evil), and now that Niffty took him out of the picture, the only ones left who could do so are Lilith and Charlie, the only ones of human descent not to be infected with Evil on some level (angels not having the right stuff to make it work). Anyway my dream had it that Alastor and Lilith hadn’t really met, but once Alastor made his deal with Eve, and she got herself a representative, Lilith felt it, and immediately fled to Heaven. And we would find this out since in Season 2, overlords started to go missing again as they once did before, only this time Alastor couldn’t really claim credit. My dream ended before it was clear who had killed them, whether it was Eve trying to find a new rep (the process having dissolved the souls of most whose wills were not powerful enough to escape her, before she had found Alastor, who would have spent the seven years he was gone attempting to escape her mass, regain corporeality to act on Eve’s behalf), or whether it was Lilith trying to figure out which overlord was Eve’s rep and wipe them out, but it did feature Vox be killed later on in the season, and Valentino and Velvette had a beautiful mournful ballad in response to this, like with her being the source of all Evil in this world I could have seen Val apologists in real life saying all he did wasn’t his fault because of her, what her influence did, which wouldn’t be great, but the scene my mind came up with was (great). So anyway Alastor’s purpose would have been to prevent redemption within Hell from being possible, since it would ruin Eve. It seemed surprisingly plausible to canon as we know it: I was thoroughly impressed with my subconscious mind on waking up.

Anon, I am going to dramatically throw myself in between you and Apollo’s dodgeball like I’m taking a bullet.

Your subconscious is incredibly thorough and well-written, but I swear if any of that becomes canon I will cry.

Ok, so some of it seems fine, but my poor Alastor loving heart cannot take it if he turns out to be entirely a fraud.

Don’t get me wrong: The smile is a mask, he’s hiding his weaknesses, he’s hiding his Deal, and he is not infallible by any means. But I can’t see him having faked the whole thing to begin with, and I will be fucking devastated if that was the case.

Now, at the risk of getting this post as a copy-pasta in my inbox:

Yes, I am going to critique your dream.

In regards to Rosie offering up “smaller deals,” I just kinda have to say, they don’t sound very “small” to me?

I got a premo-connect on a guy with about eight blocks of territory and not enough goons to run it. Prime pickin's for a deal to be made, my friend.

I mean, sure, it’s not another Overlord, but eight blocks of territory is still a pretty big achievement. It’s possible the guy has some Souls in his inventory that Alastor could get access to, or that his Soul is worth more (either in terms of power or just for the bragging rights, lol) than your average Sinner’s.

Meanwhile, the Vees appear to be picking up ordinary, less powerful Sinners one at a time through exploitation and/or capitalism.

Of course, Alastor didn’t actually go for the guy Rosie offered up, which makes me think either:

He didn’t think it was worth his time.

He wanted to focus on Extermination 2 Electric Boogalooo.

He thought that discussing it in front of Charlie would damage her view of him.

Something in his own Deal prevents him from getting the most out of it. (People have talked a lot about how despite having a reputation as a Soul-stealing Dealmaker, none of the Deals post 7 year disappearing act have actually resulted in Alastor getting someone’s Soul.)

I think option 1 actually further supports the idea of Alastor’s power. He’s powerful enough that he can be picky about what Deals he chooses to go pursue.

Meanwhile, 2-4 don’t necessarily say anything one way or the other about his power before the 7 year disappearance.

And the one Soul we know for a fact Alastor owns is Husk’s. Who was 100% an Overlord. So it’s not like he hasn’t gotten at least one Overlord, one way or another.

As for the disappearing Overlords, while we don’t have definitive proof that Alastor was the behind it in the form of like video evidence or eye-witness testimony, nobody else came forward to claim the kills.

If it wasn’t Alastor, and Alastor took credit anyway, why is he even still alive? Er, after-alive? Why didn’t the mysterious Overlord killer kill Alastor for taking credit for their kills?

I’d be pissed if that was me. You think you can show up and claim my kills? Nuh uh, you’re next, radio deer.

Alastor is hiding something. And he’s coming apart at the seams trying to keep his secret, trying to maintain an image that does not tell the whole truth. But I don’t think it goes that deep. I think if it did, he would’ve crumbled decades ago.

#fanby answers #anon #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel theory #kinda?#alastor #id in alt text

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coltrainbat · 1 year

Text

High Off You

A/N: Ok so not a day goes by I dont think of this quote:

I dont think it’s talked about enough that my our little ray of sunshine use to smoke. Makes me love him a little more! So this is for my stoner girlies... I see you!

WARNINGS: Mentions of weed, being high

Disclaimer: All characters and events written, even those based on real people are entirely fictional and are no representation or comment of said characters in real life.

Chris took a drag of the rolled-up joint, placing it back on the ashtray beside him. Blowing the smoke into your mouth like he always did, placing a wet open kiss to your mouth sealing the smoke between you two.

You loved this time of year, when Chris had ceased all commitments for the year, and you took time off work for the holidays. You had a decent week between both of you finishing up for the year and when the chaos of the festive season started so you’d always take time for you two. With no responsibilities and nowhere to be, you’d both go to his LA home and lock yourselves inside, spending the majority of the time reconnecting and occasionally, such as nights like this, getting baked on that sweet Californian green. It made you both feel younger and meant for many funny, giggling nights wrapped up in each other’s arms.

The intimate moment was promptly ruined though when Chris barked with a jolt;

“I got it! I’m the George Clooney!”

“You’re what?” Your eyes squint in confusion as you tilt your head to look at your boyfriend more clearly.

“Like the George Clooney effect that’s me!”

“Explain” you went back to laying on his chest, eyes looking up at the starry night.

“Ok so older guys settle down...”

“You’re not old”

“I’m older than you by 10+ years.”

“You don’t act it.”

“Shhh baby let me finish.” He placed his hand over your mouth lazily.

“So older guys like me who people think are a player…”

“Think? Are.” You mumbled under his hand.

“Shhh I’m talking here!” His Boston accent was thick as he playfully hushed you. He tried to be serious, but the giggle threatened through his voice.

“Eventually… ya know… settle down with an educated, independent, success, BEAUTIFUL woman who just happens to be younger than them.”

“Are you saying you’re like George Clooney?” You snorted

“I’m saying you’re my Amal Clooney baby.” He nuzzled his beard into your neck.

“Ok I like that.”

“It’s true, I got lucky with youuuu.” He pursed his lips, looking at you with bloodshot eyes.

“You’re high baby.”

“So are you.” He giggled

“Yeah I am.” Your giggles soon turned into a fit of laughter.

“You know what we should do?” He cupped his hand around your ear, whispering into it. Even though it was just you two on the porch. Cuddled under a singular blanket on the outdoor couch, lit up by artificial light as you watched the stars.

“Make popcorn and go watch Fantasia.” You bit your lip up at him.

“I wasn’t gonna suggest that but it’s a way better idea than what I was thinking.”

“What were you thinking?”

“We go for a walk around the block.”

“Chris, we did that an hour ago…”

“Was that an hour ago? Did we actually? Well… what if somethings changed?”

“In an hour…?”

“You don’t know Y/N, you just don’t.” He put on a serious tone to the ridiculous suggestion which made you burst out laughing.

“Yeah, no you’re right maybe in the hour since we last walked around, a new owl has appeared.” You got up from his arms and started to make you way inside.

“Ya never know!” He quickly followed up behind you. You got up too fast and suddenly realised the effects of the drug had hit you more than you expected. Wobbling slightly, you almost fell before Chris caught you in his arms, quick on your step.

“Easy girl.”

“Omg why is the floor moving!”

“It’s not your just stoned out of your mind… come on take my arm.” You wrapped both of your hands around his large bicep as he eased you through the back door back into the house, closing it behind you two. You looked like a storybook witch wrapped up in the tartan blanket.

“Ok popcorn.” Chris clapped his hands together as you made your way into the kitchen. You sat on the bench seat and watched as Chris just stared mindlessly into the pantry.

“Bottom shelf.”

“I know I just forgot how much food we have… holy shit… Y/N.. have you seen this?”

“Chris!”

“Yeah sorry sorry but wow what a nice pantry.” He shook his head in disbelief, dopey smile planted on his face as he bent down to grab the popcorn.

You watched as he slowly and methodically read the instructions on the packet, rubbing his face a few times to focus on the task.

“Do you need help?” You looked at him

“No it’s fine, don’t get up, but just quickly, does it matter which way I put it in? Like will the kernels get confused?”

You sniggered at the insinuation that kernels get “confused” and the way his words kind of slurred when he spoke

“Turn it over.”

He turned it over still looking at you for clarification

“What does it say in big red letters?”

Chris moved the packet around a couple times bringing it closer to his face, inspecting the writing “This.. way… up.”

He looked up at you with a smirk “God you’re so smart baby.” Leaning over to kiss you on the forehead. He put in the microwave and grabbed his phone, putting on music as he waited for it to pop.

Chris loved to put on 70s disco when he was high so when he landed on Young Hearts Run Free you couldn’t stop laughing at his ridiculous yet shockingly good dance moves as he mouthed the words and put on a little show for you.

You got up and decided to join him as he took you in his arms, doing exaggerated spins, turns and hip thrusts into your direction. Grabbing you close when you tried to move away, holding you back against his chest as he swayed you in front of the microwave, leaving wet sloppy kisses on your neck.

“Chris… stop! It tickles!” You laughed, reflexes forcing your chin into your neck as you felt the vibrations of his laugh on your shoulder.

Once your little dance party was over and you had settled on the couch, exaggerating your annoyance at the fact that you had to go back to sharing your makeshift witch’s cloak. Chris turned on Fantasia.

“Come closer.” He cooed.

“Chris I’m right here.”

“Yeah, but I want you on top of me.” He groaned like a disgruntled toddler.

“Fine!” You moved your hips onto his lap, leaning back into his chest.

“Besides you get paranoid and hit the ceiling at the scary part.”

You instantly froze in his arms “omg I forgot about that part.”

Chris laughed “How do you forget, last time we did this you hid under the blanket and cried TURN IT OFF! TURN IT OFF!” He was full belly laughing now reminiscing at the memory.

“And you just laughed! It is scary! With the fire and the weird bat thing!”

“Y/N… it’s a fucking DISNEY movie!” He was wheezing at this point, his whole body laughing, threatening the stability of your position on his lap but he was quick to keep the strong grip of his arm around your waist.

“Ok ok… hahahaha… god… that’s… ok… fine we’ll watch something else.” The remote still in his hands as he backspaced the search.

“Let’s say it together on 3.” You turned to look at him.

“We are both gonna say the same thing aren’t we?” He quirked an eyebrow up, eyeing you with a smirk.

“You’re definitely thinking what I’m thinking.” Your eyes widened, flipping yourself over so your hands lay on his chest and you’re face to face.

“3” he said

“2” you said

“1… Rick and Morty” you said in unison

“God this is why I’m gonna marry you, holy shit!” He laughed, his head falling back.

You woke up to the sound of birds chirping. You and Chris still on the couch, popcorn kernels spread amongst you both as he snored peacefully, grip lazily on your back as you noticed the small patch of drool on his shirt from you, and Netflix asking if you are still watching. Realising you had fallen asleep on the couch in a high haze, you shut off the TV and went back to cuddling your boyfriend, who instinctively kissed your forehead and pulled you closer towards him.

#chris evans fanfiction #chris evans fic #chris evans x reader #chris evans x y/n #chris evans fluff #chris evans x you #chris evans x reader fluff #chris evans imagines #chris evans one shot #chris evans fan fiction #chris evans fanfic

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theres-whump-in-that-nebula · 5 months

Text

I remember when I was little, I’d play a game with my parents, going up and down the staircase one step at a time.

I’d yell down, “What comes next, the Mumma?”

Then she would yell back, “Four!”

Then I’d move to step four and yell down, “What comes next, the Dada?”

Then he would yell back, “Five!” and I’d sit on step five, refusing to move to the next step until I got a response. It had to be an alternating pattern between the two parents.

I also remember persistently nagging my parents for about a year straight to come up with scenarios in which “my cousins come over” and try to get me to do something bad, so I could come up with responses in case it ever happened, so I’d know the rules for any given situation, and just because I thought it was fun.

At age five or six, I insisted upon getting a book entitled First Aid for Children: FAST instead of an age-appropriate storybook about penguins, because I was obsessed with all things medical and worst-case-scenario (and look what kind of blog I’m running now LMAO). I also thought because it said “for children,” it meant the book was written for children; not that it was written for adults to learn how to treat sick children. After convincing my mother to buy it, I then proceeded to read that book cover-to-cover multiple times over the next four or five years. Even if I wasn’t reading it, I was carrying it around the house. I treated that book very gently and I still have it today.

I remember actively memorizing the scientific names of dinosaurs out of a book from ages five to eleven; and from ages ten to fourteen, memorizing the names of Star Trek alien species, as well as the names and plots of episodes and movies Data was in. It got to the point where I could watch exactly ten seconds of the beginning of any episode and tell you the name of the episode, and explain in detail what happens, regardless of whether Data is in it or not.

I started becoming interested in learning the year things were made at age thirteen when I found out Alien was made in 1979 and not the mid-80’s like I thought it was. I now know the exact year of most movies I’ve seen; and I have the publishing and printing dates of much of my book collection memorized. I also enjoy grabbing a random handful of books and seeing if I can sort them by date by memory or by looking at them if I can’t remember the date (heaven forbid).

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ask-twoyearsafter · 2 years

Note

"So it turns you into a literal stoneface? *snrk*"

◈◈◈𒁍

Oh, those literal-sense jokes. He huffs and crosses his arms, all the while Rikka giggles.

"Hehe! Good one! <3"

Seriously.

#a ghastly lion [ghost!king arthur]#rosey fighter [rikka]#the storybook [written responses]#two years after #tya #mystery skulls animated #mystery skulls #msa #arthur kingsmen #oc #mod jack #mysteriouslyhopefulstranger

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waytooinvested · 2 months

Text

fanfic writer questions

Thanks for the tag @sssammich! I haven't done one of these in years, I'm excited :D

1- How many works do you have on AO3?

Only 11, but a couple are long ones (100,000+ words)

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

406,700 and counting - one of those is a WIP that will have a lot more to add so I MAY make it to 500,000 in the coming months, if I write another couple of short ones on top.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Right now I'm just writing for Supergirl (and supercorp specifically). In the past I wrote a lot for Call the Midwife (Patsy x Delia, my beloveds), and I have written one small one for Strange the Dreamer, just because I had an idea that wouldn't leave me alone until I got it out.

I tend to be a bit all or nothing with fandom, so I am usually only in one at a time.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The Hands I Used to Touch (Patsy/Delia - Call the Midwife) by a landslide. It also (briefly) had the most comments of any fic in the fandom which was very cool (it was the one I was writing for longest during the peak engagement era for the pairing, but still it is my crowning achievement as a fic writer haha)

After that Vengeance, Victory and Undying Love (Supercorp), Little Things Mean A Lot tied with A Paper Bag of Pick n Mix (both Patsy/Delia), and Storybooks and Siren Suits (also Patsy & Delia, but as children so not a romantic pairing)

5. Do you respond to comments?

Definitely! I try to respond to every comment, because they mean so much to get and I want the people taking the time to write them to know they are extremely appreciated. Also I have made some wonderful friends that way!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I am allergic to angsty endings! Angsty beginnings? Almost inevitable. Angsty middles, sure. Angsty ENDINGS? Never. So angstiest: maybe "The Static of Distance" from my Paper Bag of Pick n Mix, because they are still half a world away from each other during a threat of nuclear war. But even so it's only an angsty ending if you squint really hard.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

They all have pretty unambiguously happy endings honestly, I'm not sure I could pick between them!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I don't think I've ever had hate as such. Some maybe less than whole heartedly positive responses, though most of that was when I was teasing an apparently dark character arc before a twist and making people worried about what I was up to. But see above re: all of my fics having absolutely unambiguously happy endings, so we got there eventually.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Not so far - I think the closest I have come was my wife and I writing a silly crack fic together that involved smut, but it was not at all meant to be actually sexy and we never posted it anywhere, sooo...

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

Not typically, but there was A Misplaced Midwife, in which Barbara from Call the Midwife (a fairly sheltered young 1960s midwife played by Charlotte Ritchie) traded places with Hannah from Siblings (a modern day selfish, chaotic disaster human also played by Charlotte Ritchie) and how they got along in each other's lives. It was silly and crack-y but a lot of fun to write.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge, thankfully!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Alas, no

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

The aforementioned crack fic with @cynicalrainbows but that was just for our own entertainment. She also contributed several lines/ideas to A Misplaced Midwife. I don't think I have apart from that.

14. What's your all time favorite ship?

I only really have two that I've been invested enough to fic about it, and while my current all consuming obsession is Supercorp, I have only been in it for a couple of months compared to the years long love affair with Patsy/Delia that also led to me meeting my wife and many good friends. So for now, Patsy/Delia still reign supreme. We'll see if that is still the case in a few more months!

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I try to always finish my fics, but I do have one unfinished wip on my conscience, and that's Storybooks and Siren Suits. I still open it and do battle with progress now and again just in the hopes that I will manage to drag it across the finish line and put it to bed once and for all, but so far nothing doing. It remains stuck on the same chapter it has been stuck on since 2021.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Oh no don't make me pay myself compliments... Angst with happy endings? That is not really so much a writing strength as just a description of the type of story I write, but shh. I guess I got a lot of compliments on characterization back in my Call the Midwife days. Whether that follows through to Supercorp remains to be seen. I like how I'm writing them, at least!

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

My dialogue transitions tend to be clunky, at least so I'm finding lately. Also I am a total feast or famine writer, so any kind of sensible process or schedule discipline is completely non existent.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I avoid it for the most part because I would certainly make a mess of it, though I have one or two very very brief bits here and there. I think the longest piece was a character recalling their own long distant school french, which contained deliberate mistakes the character was making that acted as excellent cover for the genuine mistakes I no doubt also made.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

I'm trying to recall if I ever wrote anything as a young teenager for Buffy The Vampire Slayer (Willow/Tara, naturally), but I don't think I did, and if so it definitely stayed as tucked away in an old notebook never to see the light of day. The first proper/definite one was Call the Midwife, just after they decided it would be a good idea to hit Delia with a car and give her amnesia right at the moment she and Patsy were about to move in together.

20. Favorite fic you've written?

Well right now it's Forgotten Not Forgiven for sure, because that's where my obsession is currently living.

Of all time though? Probably still The Hands I Used to Touch, because I poured everything into it at the time and it played such a big part in me finding my feet in the fandom world. No pressure to do this at all of course but tagging @cynicalrainbows @fabulousglitch, @shut-up-heather-d and @fazedlight as people I know write fic and may enjoy this if you haven't done it already. Anyone else interested feel free to claim me as your tagger, I would love to see your responses!

#writer questions game

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the-nosy-neighbor · 2 months

Text

Black Stuff in Staff Only

Potential spoilers, read at your own risk (though most of this is from the July 2023 update).

Welcome home

Black stuff

What is the black stuff? I think we first encountered it in either the original document that is a storybook page featuring Julie and siblings, or in the space underneath home. The original and a lightened copy are below, and definitely has paint smeared on top of it as well as some of the black stuff.

“All of the paper materials tucked away inside the envelopes we have received are usually crammed together and covered in paint and ink. Despite this, volunteers have both restored and recreated most of what was found on the documents. Below is an example of our work as we extract information from the original document and translate it into a digital state.”—(emphasis mine) About Us

Information about the black stuff from Staff Only:

We know not to touch the black stuff, based on information from W, written to the QA.(interestingly, it seems to say that the QA got all of the stuff that they had to this point, but the information given by W in awayfrompryingeyes seems to indicate that W was holding the weird stuff back) In the photo we have of the original document (Julie and sibs) they already know or have an instinct to wear gloves when handling the stuff.

In the letter below, the QA approaches W to let them curate the items, aka clean and preserve them in a way that won’t damage the items, and is told no in no uncertain terms.

The response to this seemed a bit over the top, but as we have seen, the WHRP members (maybe just W) have reported some kind of influence from the items. The insinuation here is that the black stuff has lead to a number of symptoms and they are bad symptoms:

“It means it is inside of you too, then, this urge to find it. Our efforts won’t be in vain.”—About us

The statement, “it is inside you too, then,” is an interesting one, because I have always taken it to mean that some mysterious force or unknown evil is spread by touching these things. It hasn’t been specifically linked to the black stuff, but it seems the obvious choice in “being infected” with Welcome Home.

“To be honest, we were drawn in unexpectedly. All of the information found on this website was extracted from documents that had been uncovered in brightly colored envelopes. We are thankful to be the first to jump start this exciting journey! But it hurts.”—About us

As we have seen above, items received have black stuff on them. It is after exposure that they become obsessed with solving the mystery of this show (have we been exposed?) The person above is using gloves, and there are notes in Staff Only about wearing gloves and they are available. There are also dirty gloves on the table. I would assume that means that they are taking the necessary precautions. But, these are far more dirty than the exhibit items. (Maybe the gloves were used with the paint roller? At least some of the black stuff appears to have been spread by fingers and hands, based on look. In addition, you can see two paint cans in the bottom corner of the image. Is this where the paint comes from? It would seem less mysterious with the paint cans there, unless this is the black stuff controlling the QA and staff and making them paint.)

To begin with, I assumed that people had become lax and were handling them directly, but it is possible that whatever influence is spread, it isn’t through direct touch. They are asked to return any items with black stuff on them:

“We are overjoyed you have received all of the work we have so far uncovered! Please take care of it while it is in your possession, but under no circumstances should it be touched with your bare hands. Please wear gloves: If a substance begins to grow on anything delivered (?), please place it back in the box it was shipped in and return it to us at your leisure. If you or anyone on your team experience nausea, dizziness, or fatigue, please don’t be alarmed!”—Staff Only

You can see in the picture below that they have gloves for this purpose. The letter instructs them to return anything that has growth on it, though they don’t specify what it would look like. It says not to be alarmed if any of them experience dizziness and fatigue. I don’t know why the QA would take the risk of the black stuff, and it seems that W knows it is there, potentially there, or that it grows quickly and unexpectedly.

This particular email has always captured my interest for two reasons: the content, but also, you can see the black stuff in its physical form. Where on the paper and walls it looks like ink, this stuff looks/acts more like kudzu (for those that aren’t familiar, an invasive species of ivy native to Japan and other Asian countries that massively took over the American south, also known as “mile a minute” or “the vine that ate the South” from Wikipedia).

In these pictures, you can see instances of the creeping black stuff. It is all over the staff only room, and on the ceiling in the exhibit space/or back room (I think it is exhibit space). We can see that this stuff has gotten out of hand and is creeping along. Is this what happens after the inky stuff starts to spread? Or when staff members touch the inky stuff and then touch something else?

As previously discussed, there is a roller on the table, and in some shots you can see what looks like paint cans. This could mean that the roller on the table and the black stuff on the walls are related and it’s just paint. There are some gloves close by covered in the black stuff as well. The QA believes someone is punking them, so this could be evidence of that, but who would know enough about this stuff to play that particular prank?

Known symptoms of contact are headache, dizziness, and nausea, and while WHRP says it isn’t anything to worry about, we know that the QA was sick for quite a while, and whether that is physically, mentally, or both is not stated. I believe paranoia is listed as a symptom as well, with both W and QA experiencing this (as evidenced by their written concerns that someone is tricking them..)

It appears that the QA didn’t take that advice in the email (or is subject to another force), leading to the spread of black stuff. Given the state of things in the Staff Only room, it would appear that the black stuff has arrived. This leads me to wonder, can they see it?

What we can extrapolate from all this, is that the black stuff could account for the behavior of the individuals we have seen so far. The ick, which can be seen underneath Home, and has grown in size during the last year, has stringy bits that reach further and further out.

(Could this explain why Eddie has his moments of paranoia during the Commercials? All his increased heartbeat and strange faces, the sweating and feeling disoriented?)

W doesn’t mention the black stuff. The curator only mentions “more of that stuff is on the walls.”

There is more of that stuff on the walls. I keep hearing phones ringing.—Staff only, QA’s notes

The association of the black stuff and the ringing has stuck with me as we have progressed.

It’s probably a not so common reference, but it reminds me of Red vs. Blue, where Tucker keeps getting volunteered to go through the portal. Tucker comes out covered in black stuff (which I believe he says is carbon.)

I don’t believe it gives Tucker any special powers, just a lot of armor cleaning. But he is pushed to be the one to go through it, because those kinds of portals have potential consequences. The rocks they test it with come out black, and they make Tucker do it anyway. (bowchickawowow?)

But the direct reference to more black stuff and the phone is ringing reminded me of W as well. They hear the phone ringing. They hear Wally talking sometimes. W finds themselves seeing things on a TV that they shouldn’t be seeing (hmm…but Eddie specifically), and the QA has a note on the TV that says to replace it ASAP if it gets broken. I can see two different ideas here: either the QA thinks the TV is broken when it starts playing things it shouldn’t, but also could be a note to have it fixed ASAP, because like W, they are seeing things in the TV that they aren’t supposed to be able to see. W, in particular, knows that there is weird stuff going on in the website, going as far to test Wally’s response. They don’t seem to be willing or able to make the connection to Wally specifically.

What if all the stuff on the website is for W specifically? Wally could be talking directly to W.

I think it is very possible that touching the black stuff not only opens you up to symptoms/not feeling well, but also infects you with something that allows you to hear or see Wally and Home. Those are the only two that have spoken to us directly. There is an argument for Eddie speaking to us, but I don’t think he is aware of us. I’m not sure where the video comes from, in universe.

But we do know that Wally has stated we draw eyes, and that allows him to see through us (or W and their team.) We have seen eyes littered throughout. On the website, all the eyes in the borders are presumably from W, since they are still on the site. In Staff Only, there are post-its with eyes littered around, including one that says “who are you” and eyes on the WHRP folder as well (in addition to the background being upside down eyes. With upside down text. OK, maybe upside down eyes.)

We are all drawing his eyes, but does he know about us? I don’t think we have communicated back in a way that is specifically identifiable as us. It could be that Wally/Home are trying to desperately break down barriers through contact with individuals in W’s universe.

That would make for a good explanation of why the show disappeared. If the black stuff started to spread in our reality, any of those kids would see the show for what it is. I don’t think we have a full idea of what it is yet, but we haven’t touched the black stuff. If kids started to act weird, and people started to notice black stuff around, they would have avoided it.

I can really see something like that coming through in a toy or other merch, and begin to spread, leading to strange behavior in the kids, leading to parents thinking it is black mold or something and pushing the series away for that reason.

This concept art portraying Sunny seems to lay out the plan a bit more (though it could have been a former plan, not the current plan for the story). “Children have seen it and now they know what to do!” It’s really creepy and shows Wally as an oppressive force.

“Everything is so disgusting to touch. Sometimes the mail doesn’t come for weeks. I want to rip into everything I have. My head feels so muddled, too. Ever since I opened that envelope.”

This interview/questions for the website are asked by WHRP and answered by QA in the email above. The note discovered by using blacklight is presumably the QA, either answering in some kind of invisible ink, or maybe they don’t remember, leading them to think it is another part of the supposed “prank.” I suppose it could be an actual prank, but I don’t think that fits the story very well.

I haven’t ever really understood the use of the blacklight/invisible ink. The messages are of the type that Wally leaves, but there is no expectation that it is Wally who wrote them. It could be the QA or another of their staff, as well. But the QA leaves instructions to use blacklight on everything. I assumed in the beginning that maybe the blacklight catches the black stuff, but given the use of ink, maybe the QA is looking for the messages from Wally. I don’t think there is enough information at this point to know the answer to that, but am open to hearing some, if anyone has theories about it.

The important thing about the black stuff, especially as experience in the Staff Only page, is a visible type of infection into our world. If we can see this stuff, either we are able to see it because we haven’t been infected, or because we have. Either way, in the realm of Staff Only, we see a physical manifestation of the influence of Welcome Home on people who come into contact with it, even now.

As we see more of it, I will try to adjust my theories, but the black stuff is an important part of the explanation of what is exactly happening to people in the direct sphere of influence of Welcome Home.

#welcome home #welcome home theories #welcome home arg #the question answerer #staff only

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gerardwayissexah · 7 months

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20 fic author questions nobody asked me

Sorry if this comes off as overly self-indulgent, when I’m not nearly popular enough as a writer for people to ask me stuff like this. But it’s my platform…so yeah. :) The list of questions is not mine. It’s one of several lists of fic author questions that’s made the rounds on Tumblr and I have no idea who created this one. If you made the list and would like credit, just let me know!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

I’m at 39, last I checked.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

This one’s a point of pride and embarrassment, in equal amounts. I’ve posted 360,000+ words since late 2022. I have over 100,000 words of fic that’s written, but hasn’t made it to publication yet.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Right now, Naruto and others, when I participate in multi fandom fic exchanges.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

“Bird in a Gilded Cage” — Neji x Original Hyuga character romance and family drama. I should say this one skews the statistics because it has so many more chapters than anything else I’ve posted.

2. “Walk You Home” — short, fluffy SasuSaku oneshot set during part 1 of Naruto.

3. “These Hollow Vows” — short multi-chapter Neji x Tenten, smut with plot. Again, I think the chapter count skews the raw statistics.

4. “The Ultimate Defense” — short multi-chapter NejiTen set before, during and after the chunin exams.

5. “Between the Lines” — NejiTen smut oneshot with a heavy helping of angst.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why? Why not?

Always, unless it’s a flamer. I have few enough comments (0-5 per week) that I can afford to answer every one with at least a “thank you!” I know getting responses from authors encourages me to comment, and I want to thank my readers for choosing my stories when there’s so many out there. Especially those who keep coming back.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?.

I don’t do outright unhappy endings. I’d say the ending to the Neji joins the Akatsuki AU I started will be rather angsty. As for stories I’ve already published, the ending to “Wildflowers for Hinata” has a good bit of unresolved familial angst, but things are trending in a good direction for the characters.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

“These Hollow Vows” has a pretty standard storybook ending with Neji and Tenten married in all but name, with a child. There’s no bittersweetness or lingering angst in that ending.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Outright hate? Nothing recently. I had one anonymous flamer who made me cry when I was 13. Sorry my fic gave you AIDS but stopping was always an option, friend.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Yes, but it’s only around 1/3 of what I write and post. I exclusively write M/F, without any hard kinks. Most of what I’ve written is Neji x Tenten (Naruto). I like writing scenes in the context of romantic relationships, or showing the love and trust between characters. I’m not interested in writing smut without feelings.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

No, and I’ve never written one. I do think Sasuke Uchiha and Arya Stark would make a good crossover crack ship.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Thankfully never!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Never, but anyone can feel free. It would be a huge honor if it ever happens!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, and I’m not sure I’d be a great co-writer. I’m too protective of my own style and I have very set ideas of how some characters would behave.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

The first ship I ever passionately loved was Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter. I was a weird kid who had few friends (shocker, I know), so I liked the idea of two losers finding love and acceptance with each other. Unfortunately for me, the ship has never been all that popular — too vanilla, perhaps? I’m not into Harry Potter much anymore, but maybe I’ll write it one day.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I’m not going to count myself out yet. I’m working on them all, slowly in some cases, but I don’t let myself start new fics if I have too many outstanding WIPs. Edit: I totally forgot about the Rock Lee harem fic I wrote 2,000 words of, before the cringe got too bad and I never finished! It was pure crack about Lee receiving a pair of leg weights that imbues him with infinite sexiness to all women.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Obviously “good writing” is highly subjective when it comes to fiction, but I’d probably say romance and family dynamics. I’d hope those are my strengths because I practice writing that kind of story the most, and I get to draw from personal experience when writing.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I’m not good with fight scenes and political intrigue in stories. High-concept worldbuilding also isn’t my forte. Too little smooching involved.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

It’s jarring when I read it, and not something I incorporate.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

The Hunger Games. It was a 300-ish word oneshot from the perspective of Foxface as she dies. I thought 300 words was such an epic amount — and now I’ve worked up to where I can write that amount in 15 minutes. Did she eat those berries by accident? Or maybe not? :0

20. Favourite fics you’ve written?

“Bird in a Gilded Cage” has a special place in my heart because it’s been my longest and most ambitious fic project to date. It’s also the first longfic I’ve finished.

#naruto fanfiction #nejiten #fandom thoughts #neville x luna #neji x oc #get to know me #nobody asked but I’m answering

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phantom-of-the-ruckus · 5 months

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Fairy tale Au Post 1

TW: For blood, scars, mentioned murder, and slight gore

I love the Grimm Fairytales and Fairytales in general. So, I decided to make an au with Hello Puppets which takes inspiration from the tales intertwining in the musical "Into the woods"

Credits to Bright and Elena's picrews:

Bright:

Elena's: https://picrew.me/en/image_maker/1855819

So here's a brief summary of the Au

I don't believe in Fairytales: When Sarabeth was 5 years old, she swore every night an angel-like woman would burst out of her grandmother's storybook to tell her stories every night. The stories, of course, were Fairytales in the book itself. The fairy would read her stories until one night she stopped as Beth grew older.

22 years past, and, now, journalist Sarabeth "Beth" Jenkins finds the storybook in her mother's attic once more and decided it to a local library as she is too old for Fairytales ...or she anticipated because fate gave her an unwelcoming twist

After opening the book, Beth finds herself trapped in the book itself unable to escape unless she fixes the torn pages. With new friends and foes, Beth will try to find a way to return the balance of the storybook and the real world as soon she realizes there is more than stories.

TO NOTE:

1. The only romance to be found would be only with Beth and Anthony, the established couple of "The Iron Stove", and Owen and Amy

2. I took some creative liberties with the stories themselves for fun and for oblivious reasons

3. Stories do interconnect, as the fairy tale world is not exactly that complex due to the characters being from written stories (so here's the inspo from the "Into the woods")

4. Gremlin doesn't have a second picrew due to gremliness (picrew didn't have her blue

5. I didn't realize until too late there was an axe option

Here are some of the main characters!

Sarabeth "Beth" Jenkins

Story: Not yet written/Forced into "Red Ridding Hood" by book

Character role: The human from the real world/Red Ridding Hood

When she opens her grandmother's fairy tale book, she is sent to the beginning of Red Ridding Hood's story as she is off to see her Grandpa...until she remembers she doesn't have one.

But, hey, At least she got to wear modern clothes!

Although she is stuck in a world where danger constantly lurks around...

Owen Gubberson "The Wolf Man"

Story: UNKNOWN/ Red Ridding Hood

Character Role: Unknown original role/ Big Bad Wolf

He appears to be the Big Bad Wolf in "Red Ridding Hood" but...he is not fully a wolf, isn't he? Maybe he is a werewolf or something, but there is something off about him...

And why he wants the storybook so badly?

Still, he is clearly someone to avoid....

The Fairy Godmother

Story: Unknown original story/ Cinderella and other stories relating to fairy Godmothers

Character role: Unknown original origin/ The Fairy Godmother in fairy tales

It is unknown how she came to be a Fairy Godmother, or where did she originally come from. Some say that she was not a fairy tale character at first, or that she was responsible for the narrator to disappear.

Nonetheless, she was a benevolent protector, and helped Queen Daisy to go to the festival before becoming a Queen. She also did help many fairy tale characters before her disappearance.

It is rumored that she is still alive somewhere, but it's well known she lost an eye and a rose bloomed instead

Rumor goes it was the Wolf Man behind the incident because she allegedly cursed him...

Daisy Danger (The Baker Queen)

Story: Cinderella

Character: Cinderella, now the widowed mother of two charming twin princes

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful but sorrowed baker girl who lived with her wicked stepmother and brothers as a servant after her parents died. She dreamed to go to the Prince's Festival to have fun and not work for once. Sadly, her stepmother destroyed her dresses and forbid her to go to the festival. The young woman wept at her mother's tree until a mysterious Fairy arrived and gave her a lovely dress among with slippers. The girl went to the festival and became the belle of the ball as she danced with the prince. Her wicked stepmother never recognized her.

Eventually the girl had to leave and forgot her slipper, the prince swore to find her but ironically found her through her banking and the two fell in love and married and had twin sons.

The king sadly died at war and her sons were off to help. Thankfully, she befriended the widow of one of her step's brother, and a blind prince from far, far away

Riley Ruckus (The widow with an Axe)

Story: Blue Beard

Character: Blue beard's wife/Daughter of Red Rose (Dora Ruckus) and Rapunzel's son (Manfred Ruckus)

Once upon a time, a vengeful trickster stole away the daughter of the late Queen (nicknamed) "Red Rose" and the late King for cutting his beard and breaking the curse on Manfred's brother. The trickster gave the child to a cruel couple, and the girl grew up to soon be married to a wealthy widow with a heart black as coal with a blue beard. The girl, however, was smart and managed to outsmart her husband many times. One day, the husband gave her the keys of his mansion so she could visit any room she liked except one with a red door while he was out in business. Realizing something was off, the ever so smart girl opened the door and realized the widower murdered all of his six wives, and she was probably next as the key to the forbidden room was enchanted so when she accidentally smeared it would never come off.

The husband return knowing his wife opened the door, and he took his sword ready to murder her in that dreaded room. However, when he entered, he never realized his axe was missing until too late. The girl bravely chopped off his head and inherited his wealth and adopted his dog. Her late husband's brother swore to avenge his brother

She sold his mansion, and befriended the Queen, who pardoned her crime and punished her cruel fosters. Now she lives with the Queen ready to find her home, and help her and the queen's friend, a blind prince, to find his sisters and break his curse.

Nicholas "Nick" Nack (The blind Prince)

Story: The seven Swans/the princess with the star in the forehead (gender bent)

Character: The prince and brother of seven sisters/Nephew of Prince Snow White's princess (Nicole/ @dolly-royal OC)

Once upon a time in a far, far away kingdom, there was a king with seven lovely daughters. Sadly, the king was slowly becoming mad and obsessed with having a son to take the throne, to the point that he swore to kill his own daughters if the next child of his was a son. The queen hid her daughters in the forest and promised to raise a white flag if her child was a girl (meaning they could return), or a red flag if her child was a son (meaning they could never return.) A red flag was rose and the seven girls never returned. Eventually, the queen died, and the king married a witch, however the only son made a promise to his mother to visit his sisters behind his father's back. The girls loved and swore to protect their brother from any danger, until sadly the witch found out about them and saw the seven girls as a threat to her throne.

She cursed the girls to be swans, and then took the Prince's eyesight so he could never find his sisters ever again unless a gentle girl from another world's tears fall into his eyes, breaking his blindness.

His father died, and a mysterious fairy turned his stepmother into a mirror. He was eventually found by the dog of a widow, friend of a benevolent Queen, who took her under wing. Now he is trying to find his sisters and break the curse

Until Beth broke his curse, and offered to find his sisters so he and the rest could get their happily ever afters.

Mortimer Handee (The witch)

Story: Sleeping beauty and the Iron Stove/ Most stories with a witch (except from some like Hansel and Gretel. He's not the trickster in Riley's story)

Character: The witch/sorcerer of some fairytales

Once upon a time, there was a magician king who lost it all, and swore to get revenge on anyone that wronged him. So, he turned to dark magic and began to torment princes, princesses, damsels, knights, etc. He particularly cursed the trouble making daughter of a noble king into a deadly slumber unless the tune of a magical harp was played to wake her up. He then locked a handsome prince into an iron stove, before a lovely Princess broke him free. Furthermore, he turned the prince into a talking iron stove himself. He tricked a young farmer into buying magical beans to help his family, and tricked the noble king into lying to said farmer so he could retrieve the harp from a giant to save his daughter.

He spent around tormenting people, until he was threatened by the Wolf Man to take away his powers if he didn't help him capture a woman in a red jacked and her book.

Likewise, he decided to bring back to life a puppet of a childless toy maker in hopes to capture the mysterious lady and her book.

Anthony Pierson (The Puppet boy)

Story: Pinocchio

Character: Pinocchio

Once upon a time, there was a childless toy maker and his wife. They couldn't conceive, so they spent their time making toys for children. After his wife passed away, the toy maker created a wooden puppet lad to become his son to cope with the grief. A mysterious fairy Godmother took pity of the man and brought the puppet to life. Sadly, the puppet boy wasn't exactly the greatest boy and had a complicated relationship with his father who left him, and the boy became dormant and bitter. Years later, a witch brough the puppet back to life with the promise he could make him a real boy and take revenge from his father if he helped him capture a mysterious girl and her story book.

Sadly he didn't expected that the fairy godmother that first gave him life, also curse him with his nose growing if he lied...nor that he would ended up falling for the girl (and vice versa), and wanting to help her quest.

Sadly the Wolf Man and the Witch aren't to happy about this...

Angelize "Angel" Analyze (The feather princess)

Story: The iron Stove

Character: The princess in the Iron Stove

Once upon a time, there was a shy but wise princess reading books into the forest when she heard a sweet lad's voice asking for help. Hesitantly, she rushed to help only to find an iron stove. It turned out that the lad was trapped because of a wicked witch wanted revenge from his father, so she used a feather she carried to open the Iron Stove and free the prince. The two eventually became friends and fell in love, the prince proposed and they became engaged. However, the princess father was not thrilled with the idea of her daughter marrying some iron stove in the forrest, so he gave away the Prince's location to the witch that cursed the prince.

The witch turned the Prince into a stove, and the princess ran from her kingdom and father to help her lover return to his original self.

She eventually realized there was hope as Seven swans told her and her lover to find blind prince, a widower, and a benelovent queen to guide them.

Charles "Charlie" Burlington (The Iron Prince)

Story: The iron Stove

Character: The prince trapped in an Iron stove

Once upon a time, there was a clumpsy prince charming, whose father tricked an evil witch. One day, the young lad was up getting a stroll into the gardens when an elderly man asked to him out get log and coal for his iron stove. The boy rushed and help the old man, but when he was about to turn on the stove, the old man (who was in reality the witch his father tricked) lock him in and cursed the lock so it would become unbreakable and no key attempted to be forge would open the stove. So he spent his days asking for help and begging for someone to free him, until a shy princess managed to open the stove as a feather was no key or strong enough to break the lock. They became friends, and then lovers to soon marry off.

Sadly his lover's father was not pleased and told the witch that curse him his hiding place. He was turned into a stove and became hopeless until his love return swearing she will find a way to break the curse

On their long adventures, he offered to keep a young swan warm burning log an coal on himself with the help of his lover. Touched by their kindness and their situation, the swan calle dher six sisters and told him to find a blind prince and his friends to help him break the curse.

Scout Harper (Briar Rose)

Story: Sleeping beauty

Character: Sleeping Beauty/Briar Rose

Once upon a time, there was a trouble making but sweet princess running wild and causing trouble in the town. She eventually befriended a young farmer, after he took care of her stuffed Rabit. The two became friends, and she promised to tell her father to help the farmer and his mother. However, she was drawn by a spinning wheel in an old cabin and when she touch spindle, she fell into a deep slumber. This was because her father refused to invite a wicked witch, who was once a kind, into the part on held when she was born. The wtich placed a curse on her that she would fall into a deadly slumber when she touched the spindle of a spinning wheel (which his father foolishly decided to destroy all) and could be only be woken up by the melody of a golden harp.

Thankfully, her farmer friend found the harp through some beans and a magical beanstock,and helped her wake up. The down side, was that her father tricked him into stealing that harp from a giant living up in the clouds. So, the two basically became outlaws and now are finding a way to avoid the giant's wrath and get revenge on that witch man.

Thankfully they found a mysterious girl with a red jacket/cape whiling to help them out along with her friends. Sadly, she also appears to have that crazy Wolf Man and the Witch after her...

This took longer than expected, but alas I still got some more cast to create and work on more picrews as I got a lot of drawings to get done + Picrews help me visualize better and honestly I kinda don't want to get full designs of so many characters yet.

Anyways, I've been brainrotting lately about this fairytale AU, which kinda helped me bring back my energy and love for HP once again.

For those curious about what Charles looks like a stove as the curse does take time to break, here it is:

He has eyebrows and his mouth shaped into a smile when he needs to. The Au of course takes into the angsty side but sometimes we need a bit of comedy to lighten up things up + honestly I could not resist the stupid urge to make this a thing

Ask box is always open and I would be thrilled to answer your questions while I work for the next batch!

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