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liketwoswansinbalance · 15 days

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Childhood Headcanons

These particular, sort of apocryphal headcanons (depends on who believes what after all) provide further context for the brothers' childhood under the constraints of my canon-divergent fic, "When Lightning Falls," that was proved wrong by canon after the release of Fall.

There's also an accompanying Creation Theory I made up, to provide context for the fic, which becomes especially relevant here.

And, if anyone's wondering, this post has been around for far too long—I just never posted it some while after the fic itself was done. I have a lot of stuff on backlog anyway, and figured I may as well edit and post this.

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Note:

Most of these thoughts focus on Rafal, and there is a slightly dark undercurrent that runs throughout this post.

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First, the brothers were originally foundlings, like in the fairy tales of yore.

Fittingly, they have been the youngest and the oldest beings ever to live at the School, at different points in time.

At first, they led a deathly existence, an insecure, unstable one, with potential death at every turn.

Rafal became used to death threats, and being called "demon spawn." He hardened in response. Ever townspeople tried to ward him off, but their feeble sigils did no good, did no true harm against him and his latent sorcery, even whilst he was still learning magic.

They were found, possibly, doddering around in the Woods, on the outskirts of the School, at somewhere from three to five years old? So, they conveniently have little to no memory of their existence beforehand, as vagrants, outcasts, rejects, waifs, who knows—they were alone in the world.

The twins crashed through the brambles, clothes torn, faces scratched, scrapes on their limbs, drenched by the rain, just... waiting to be taken in like strays, as if they simply... appeared.

Rhian trailed after Rafal who forged a path ahead, until they emerged in the light of a clearing, as if guided by the hand of fate, to the School for Good and Evil.

Shortly after their discovery, they became the youngest students to ever attend the school.

Of course, taking them in was the Good thing to do, but perhaps, if we let conspiracy run rampant, the Storian had a hand in the proceedings.

Oddly enough, the Pen just might have brainwashed all the faculty to come to the unanimous agreement of raising the brothers as their own, among the lot of them. How odd that they agreed for once, the one time in decades that Good and Evil have agreed on any matter.

It was probably done for the greater fate of the Woods, the way they were all swayed by the Storian, nearly unconsciously.

And so, they came to terms with the new status quo because there seemed to be something behind this decision of the Pen's, that was greater than they could ever know, or so they believed.

They accepted it. They didn't question it because it was so obviously the Storian's doing. Controlling their minds that had already been made for them. No chance to decide for themselves.

But, they let the Storian handle it, handed over all control to the Storian. Because, no one, not even the highest ranking sorcerer or fairy godmother of either School, or lord or lady could have taken issue with what the Storian did. No one went against it. No one could. Contradicting it would have been a death wish just waiting to happen.

And they all knew that. They knew that very well, considering the nature of the tales they taught.

Eventually, they came to the common conclusion that these children must have been their future School Masters.

Thus, they took the Storian's apparent decision to heart because it wasn't their place to step in.

No one could overrule the Pen, so they lived with it, and continued to train the mysterious, foundling brothers—while they worried for their lives and all that was to come.

That particular set of faculty became a little like the brothers' parents, until they died off, one by one, each from old age or the occupational hazards of working at such a School.

Their professional lives were demanding and they didn't pay as much attention to the brothers as they should have.

All they could do was follow through and hope the Pen had charted the right course, that it chose well in the end.

Even if they would never live to see the future, they were aware they had played a monumental role in securing safety and balance for the Woods, by acting as these children's first, human influences.

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"When Lightning Falls" takes place around three years after the brothers' arrival, when they're about seven, so they've had time to have grown used to the schools.

Everything has become a bit mundane to them. There's nothing new because it's all they've ever known and grown up with, unlike the incoming students' experience of the manor every four years.

So, they've never been around peers their own age, which led to Rhian feeling special and becoming fragile with no challengers and to Rafal gaining a massive superiority complex.

During those years is when Rafal starts on his skepticism, early in life.

Rafal starts to question the Pen, and ask why of everything and everyone that can possibly answer him, or that would answer him if he persisted and probed enough, and didn't relent. And he threatens his way to the answers, to get his way, to figure out what makes everything in this world of theirs tick.

It's the only way he knows, to bribe or exchange, even unethically, or to beat and to hassle information out of others, to trap them in their own bedchambers or offices and not release them until they answered him or fulfilled his demands.

He learned the word "leverage" early on, and the Evil faculty thought he was a prodigy.

He doesn't know any other way because the Never faculty took him in first, claimed him as one of their own. They took a liking to him and his silence, over his crybaby brother.

Predictably, the Never faculty were rough around the edges and they never showed displays of pleading and begging, so Rafal never did that, even as a child.

He never learned the art of apologizing either. Everyone was remiss to let that pass by... but it was too late.

He refused to resort to such means as begging, to lower himself in that way, like Rhian would, even at such a young age, because he wasn't taught mercy. He was told kindness was a weakness and that justice was right. And so, even as a young child, he maintained an adult-like level of dignity in how he conducted himself, always.

Meanwhile, he'd look on at his brother, and wonder: why is he acting so childishly? Having Evil imposed on him forced Rafal to grow up sooner, before his time.

Evil taught him never to whine and whinge, to never cry to get his way. He could already get his way, by other, more sinister means. Cleverer, more artful, more guileful means besides, and in doing so, he could still feel superior, boosting his ego, inflating it and inflating it as a result.

So, that was what he'd grown up around. It was the natural way of things, to him.

At least, this is how children ought to be treated in his eyes, simple as that. And he turned out fine, didn't he? Of course he did. No question about it. He's him, and he's great. The best. Superior to all others, everyone else in his school.

He probably considered himself the smartest little boy alive, not necessarily the most knowledgeable, but the most clever or capable of outwitting others, of negotiating deals, and plotting schemes and doing other, crooked deeds. He thought himself smart in that artful sense, skilled to the point that he could outfox adults over twice his age, outdoing the teenage students in everything he did.

Oh, and if certain knowledge were established as forbidden? Rafal would still try all the more diligently to go after it. That's how he contended with all things.

And what of Rhian? To Rafal, Rhian was naive. Secretly, Rafal never considered Rhian his match. No way, no how. That brother of his couldn't tell Good from Evil in the simplest of challenges.

The Evil faculty were decently well-meaning, thinking Rafal would be good villain material, but again, they weren't exactly attentive or warm or caring like Good's faculty was in "parenting" Rhian.

They weren't neglectful either, but still, Rafal was left to his own devices outside of lessons, and he grew accustomed to being alone when Rhian wasn't around to play with him. Not that he really played that frequently.

Thus, time passed, and the staff believed the twins to be foundlings. That they were adopted, taken in under their wings. Children of the School.

In reality, the twins were children of the Storian.

Everyone knowingly buys into the lie because they didn't want to think beyond the present. They wanted to believe the brothers were of woman-born, abandoned, and insignificant. But, the truth could only be delayed, not buried.

The brothers are foundlings, they all said, persistently. That's what most of the faculty believed, and that's what the brothers were led to think.

Yet, a select few knew their actual purpose of existence: the brothers were not being trained up to follow the Rules of fairy tales themselves—they were being trained up to rule. (Or rather, "rule" as figureheads for the greater Pen.)

They were bound to the School grounds, and only a few people, none in living memory, knew they belonged to the Storian...

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Any thoughts anyone?

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apollosgiftofprophecy · 7 months

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Why Jason Grace is The Most Tragic Character in the Riordanverse

*in no way is this trying to dial down Nico's own suffering, I'm just stating my case for Jason because godsdamn SOMEBODY needs to say it!*

@most-tragic-character-tournament here's propoganda i came out guns ablazing

List of why fans are saying Nico:

Lost his mother

lost years of his life

found out he was a demigod at age 10

lost sister at 10

rough relationship with his dad

closeted gay

crush is madly in love with somebody else

forced to come out

List of why Jason is more tragic:

Lost his mom to alcoholism/mental decline

Lost his ENTIRE FUCKING CHILDHOOD because Said Mom gave him up to Juno to be raised by a PACK OF WOLVES who would've EATEN HIM if he was WEAK FOR EVEN A SECOND - AS A FUCKING TWO YEAR OLD

Was a trained demigod FROM THE GET-GO (again, TWO YEARS OLD)

Because of previously stated separation, was TAKEN FROM HIS SISTER WHO LOVED HIM SO MUCH SHE RAN AWAY BECAUSE SHE COULDN'T TAKE THE GUILT AND FEAR AND RAGE THAT FILLED HER AT HIS ABSENCE

Was set up into a "perfect" relationship by Juno/Hera WHILE HAVING HIS MEMORIES TAKEN

Jason may not have had the awful forced outting Nico had to go through, but...that's not really his fault? Nobody has any control over their sexual identity, and Jason? Well. He never really got to explore it. Because that was taken from him too.

Thinks he LOST LEO VALDEZ, ONE OF HIS ACTUAL FIRST FRIENDS, WHO LIKED HIM FOR HIM AND NOT BECAUSE OF HIS STATUS

FORCED TO COMPLY TO A DEMANDING SOCIETY THAT EXALTED HIM FROM DAY 1 BECAUSE HIS DAD IS THE OH-SO-IMPORTANT JUPITER (*cough victim of nepotism cough*)

AND WHEN HE TRIES TO COMBAT THAT NEPOTISM HE KEEPS GETTING PUSHBACK UNTIL HE FALTERS

then. then his girlfriend breaks up with him - not because of any drama, or even a disagreement, but over a very valid point

their relationship didn't exactly start out very...honestly. Jason had been mind-wiped of all memories and Piper had fake ones implanted into her to make her think she liked Jason as more than a friend. sure. they had a pretty nice relationship, but when everything slowed down and they took a look at their lives?

Piper's the one who sees it first, and makes the decision. Jason is heartbroken, but understands - he even, dare I say, agrees that they should end the relationship. it was built on fake memories - you could say it was built on lies.

and now Jason has this opportunity to step back and analyze who he is and what he wants.

what he finds is depressing. everything he's had, everything's he's been up till now...

it's not him.

he never wanted to be raised by Lupa and her wolves.

he never wanted to be Jupiter's son

he never wanted to be the exalted leader Camp Jupiter praised him for

From day 1 his life was somebody else's. his first steps were under the tutelage of a wolf, not of the loving eyes of his sister

Camp Jupiter only ever saw him as the demigod to be praised and turn to above all others, even before he became praetor.

Jason's life...was never his own.

and now that he's away from all that pressure and expectation...he doesn't know who he is.

Son of Jupiter?

Champion of Juno?

Praetor of the Twelfth Legion?

Member of the Prophesized Seven?

Hero of Olympus?

no. he was never himself under these names.

he was never...Jason.

but maybe now he could start navigating his own life. without some god intervening for once. this would be good for him, and for Piper, to find their own way.

but then. then they talk to Herophile...and find out one of them will die. And Jason? Well, he's not going to let Piper be taken from the life she deserves. he may not be her boyfriend, her knight in shining armor, but he sure as HELL loves her - especially as a friend. And if there's one thing you should know about Jason? It's that he loves his friends.

so what does he do? He sacrifices himself. He duels Caligula himself, and urges Piper, Meg, and Apollo to Go, save yourselves! and -

he's stabbed. through the chest. the only thing he can do? Look to Apollo, to the blue gaze so much like his own drenched in horror, and ask; Remember. because he didn't get to live the life he wished, but maybe Apollo could - no, Apollo can, he can make the difference Jason wanted. Because he trusts Apollo.

Jason doesn't regret his sacrifice. he saved Piper from the prophecy, after all. He saved Apollo & Meg's lives too.

in fact, Jason didn't really mind dying. Because he didn't have much of a life either. And a life like that? shrug It's worth sacrificing for those who deserve theirs.

and as icing on the cake, remember who Jason's father is? The almighty, all-powerful Jupiter himself, King of the Gods?

he doesn't do a damn thing to help Jason. Not a single. Thing.

because Jupiter/Zeus doesn't care about his children. Especially his sons.

Zeus saved Thalia. But he didn't even try to save Jason.

Trying would have at least lessened the pain...

People like to claim Jason is a bland, boring character who's never suffered a minute in his life. That he's a golden retriever with no flaws.

Well.

Take a look up there and ask yourself - it that the life of a boy who knows no suffering?

Because it sure as hell don't look that way to me.

To me, it looks like Jason was a used, depressed young man who never got to choose his own path. Who's father abandoned him first to his wife's mercy, then to a cruel emperor's.

Jason Grace suffered.

and he never got to live that happy life he saw within the Fates.

Never got to get that family, those grandchildren he saw himself telling the story of the Argo II to.

Because The Fall of Jason Grace is a true, utter tragedy.

#jason grace #i have feeeeelings #remember when people complained about jason being “boring” and then rick was like “okay he's dead now” and then those same people screamed #about never reading toa because “how could rick do that!!! jason was supposed to marry piper and have kids!!!! :(((”#well my friends you DO remember the first page of the lightning thief don't you?#“look i didn't want to be a half-blood”#being a half-blood is dangerous #sometimes it can get you killed in painful nasty ways #~don't say i didn't warn you #- percy jackson #rick warned us at the very beginning #in greek mythology...there's triumph and victory #but the one thing greece is known for in theater?#it's tragedy #and rick perfectly displays it with the fall of jason grace #life's not all sunshine and rainbows #it's not going to be “they all lived happily ever after the end”#it wouldn't be a greek story without tragedy #and really...how many of you ~actually~ cared about jason until he died #hmm?#i'm not judging #i ~was~ one of those people #he wasn't my favorite but i was more...eh about him #he existed for me #until i took a step back and looked at his life and went...#oh.#he's not who i thought he was #and he's not who you think he is either #thank you for coming to my tedtalk #the burning maze

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solradguy · 8 months

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Johnny Guilty Gear Strive is not a single day under 37 years old. "Age: Unknown" my ass. Face of a man whose frequent all-nighters in his 20s finally caught up with him. I understand, Johnny, I empathize...

#Photopost #Beard Johnny is awakening something in me...#Jk Johnny's always been a babe. Putting a beard on him's like garnishing a good steak #And like any juicy rare steak worth it's weight I will pick him up with both hands and tear him apart betwixt my jaws like an animal #The power went out and there's so much red and bright blue lightning outside it's like an alien planet. My phone is at 50%#The wind was blowing apples off the tree in the backyard and they were bouncing off the roof haha #Tomorrow I need to go see if it knocked down any of the ripe red ones from its apex... They're small but they're delicious #Tree had so many apples this year a big branch snapped from their weight. Bees'll be happy though when the apples fall and rot #Anyway I think Johnny mostly bottoms for men and less so for women but for Johnny/Sol... well... ;^)#I've imagined that Sol only bottoms if his partner can kick his ass #Lmao this took a turn. Bored and stoned. No internet and no lights to even read by. Unfiltered Sol Radguy after dark thoughts #Suggestive cw #Drugs cw

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supreme-leader-stoat · 1 day

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Kidnapper, smugly: "As I'm sure you're aware Mr. Holmes, you need a warrant to search someone's house."

Sherlock: "You know Watson, this gentleman is correct. We really have no legal grounds to be here." pulls out a gun. "Oh, well, I suppose that makes this a robbery!" :)

#stoat reads sherlock holmes #I am reminded of that post about sheev palpatine #where one of the things that makes him a great villain is that when his evil mastermind plans fall through he can just start blasting peopl #''aw shucks no new evil apprentice for me. well can't blame a guy for trying ONE THOUSAND DARKSIDE LIGHTNINGS ATTACK''

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disastersteps · 3 months

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casually giving julia a new look in the happy ending au ✌

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wheredidalltheusersgo · 1 month

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I had a dream where I was discussing a total drama AU with r4bidcherry and Total-Drama-Brainrot.

The contestants were all werewolves and Lightning and Cameron divorced, Lightning got with Geoff, and they had kids.

Then Cameron asked for custody of them. I specifically remember him saying "Lightning let me see the kids"

And then I woke up.

Also the second half of the dream was in r4bidcherry's art style

#it was.....something #geoff you fucking homewrecker #total drama #td geoff #td lightning #td cameron #I have no clue why they were werewolves #the kinda dreams you get when you fall asleep at 3am #bree I know you'd never break camning up 💔💔💔

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thekidsarentalright · 22 days

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literally cannot believe i got my favorite song of all time in the entire world a second time last night. never in a million years did i dream that i’d be lucky enough to actually hear it again, never in a million years did i dream it would be one of the last songs of the tour but somehow i got lucky enough that it was. somehow the universe was listening and the stars aligned Just right and i got to sing ‘and in the end, i’d do it all again’ with my favorite band on the last night of the tour that healed them all like it healed me. what a time to be alive

#NOT to get horribly sappy but tkaa is just. part of the reason im alive its like a hug its like a promise and hope and light to me #and i really did never think id get to hear it EVER and thought i was capturing lightning in a bottle hearing it ONCE #last night i just fully expected like. live debuts etc for any 8 balls but. they pulled out tkaa.#and i Am joking when i say like someone follows me/they know me but it truly did feel like for Me. it was so insanely special. words cannot #properly describe it actually. im rambling now but u get it. i love fall out boy #txt

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skyward-floored · 10 months

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Man I could watch thunderstorms all day

#there was even a double rainbow for a bit #but I'm really here for the clouds and lightning #when you see that huge bolt but its far away enough you don't hear the thunder right away #and you're anticipating it and the tension grows and grows and then...#BOOM #height of my day #rambles from the floor #I'm romanticizing life since I seem to be falling into a slump again #we'll see if its one of those day or two ones or the kind that stick around longer...#either way I saw I saw a firefly and nearly cried so I'm doing GREAT. (sarcastic)#hope y'all are having a nice evening at least

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piningeddiediaz · 2 months

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say what you want about tfios but “I fell in love the way you fall asleep, slowly and then all at once” changed my understanding of love forever

#it’s groundbreaking when you’re 14 and you’ve got this idealistic idea of falling in love #you think love is supposed to be a lightning bolt from the sky that strikes you suddenly and changes you completely #and this tells you that actually no love is something gradual. it grows on you and you grow with it #my understanding of love came directly from this quote fr #tfios #the fault in our stars

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magnusmodig · 3 months

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headcanon/development qs / @heroicvaliant / no longer accepting !

╰┈➤ Would your muse use the word ‘brave’, about themselves? Should they?

answered (HERE) !

╰┈➤ What’s one of the bravest things your muse has done? Did they consider it brave?

His self-sacrifice in Thor (2011), hands down.

"Brother, whatever I have done to wrong you, whatever I have done to lead you to do this, I am truly sorry. But these people are innocent. Taking their lives will gain you nothing. So take mine and end this."

It was the culmination of Thor learning true humility; changing to be more authentic to himself, and in turn: becoming worthy of his father's throne. Thor has always been a selfless individual concerned with the well-being of his people. (It's telling that in the vault, what sets him off is the sight of his slaughtered guardsmen more than anything else.) By the time he faces his brother through the Destroyer, Thor has been broken down to his core and is ready to accept the consequences of his past actions ... even when he has no idea what he's actually paying for. The 'what' didn't matter to Thor though. Not more than rectifying his past mistakes, and keeping the people of Earth safe. Especially when it came to safeguarding the lives of his closest friends, and the lives of the earthen people who treated him kindly throughout his banishment.

Thor would not consider this brave. He would consider it a "necessity", so to speak. Simply put: the right thing to do. It wasn't something that Thor was trying to do for fame or fortune or even to be spoken about across a banquet table. It wasn't a moment of glory. It was very simply ending the fight so no more people would get harmed because of him.

He laid down his life for them, and he would do it again in a heartbeat.

#(yknowwww i think there's a lot to be said about thor and how much good he does in 2011)#(like for a movie that's supposed to be about an 'arrogant' prince he sure isn't all that arrogant)#(i think about characters like kuzco or lightning mcqueen. THOSE characters were arrogant through and through)#(thor is /nothing/ like that and isn't any more “arrogant” in the script either. chr.i.s he.msw.orth did a fantastic job-)#(-when it came to conveying the type of anxiety that makes people act aggressively or overly-forward/confident to compensate)#(while never losing the /heart/ of thor: which is selfless kind and humble)#( ooc . ) — stories that leap from the page .#( headcanon . ) — glory to the man who toils for his land . may it ever prosper .#( answered . ) — black feathers fall to a raven's call .#heroicvaliant

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