#couples who are psychically linked are my weakness it's fine

[hearsayhorizons]

Consensus 1

As a sprite or pixie or something, I can’t join Chrissy’s links. Excuse me, Synchronichrissy’s links. 404, super not found.

But I could definitely tell when they were active. Chrissy used two at once even in the midst of the biggest fights. (She’d been talking about trying to manage a third, but she said eavesdropping on all of the villains in an altercation was more selective than what she could manage right now; I was more worried about her being influenced by the villains in that third link).

One loop connected her to the crowds needing evacuation. There were still screams and chaos, but it was a lot less than in other attacks I’d responded to. This link let Chrissy project calm, hope, and directions to the nearest emergency doors and evac heroes. She used the link to strengthen the link: she could kind of perceive through the senses of everybody involved. That helped people avoid crumbling ceilings, structural damage, weak floors, fire hazards.

The other track was for heroes (those who could use it; apparently fae and some aliens were psychically dead?) and she used the civilians’ feedback to update the mental map she and the Muse used as mission control. Pyros could get to fire damage, strongbacks went to shore up walls, ‘porters, timetwisters, speedsters... from the air, it was art. Watching this attack become... like, a dance.

Some heroes still used talkies or comms or their own links, but the ability to dip into that open loop and start working in seamless unison was amazing. Apparently.

“Teebs, wildebeest moreau—” 

“I see it, I see it.” I dropped height and increased speed. I didn’t like doing this trick, but the thing was gaining on a couple of people it separated from the herd. I liked when things had weapons. Busting weapons was good.

Busting kneecaps, when you’re the bullet? Less fun. Really messy. My dumb plastic helmet broke earlier during a similar trick, so I got blood all over my face this time. But the thing went down in a piteous, wordless howl (good; some of them were sapient; that was not happy).

The kids ran from it, or the blood-covered Thumbelina that winged past them, or maybe they just followed Chrissy’s link. But regardless, they went the right way toward a teleporter waiting for a group in the next alley.

And then they stopped. Staggered. And started drifting off, headed back toward some of the fighting.

“Chrissy?” Dead air. I darted down to pull one of the kids away from a weak spot in the road. I couldn’t see it, of course didn’t have the mental map from the Muse, but the coordinated crowds earlier parted around it like a school of fish. The kid flailed; she wasn’t about to move me, but her clothing tore. Well, hell. And even as I dragged her toward the 'porter, he seemed to be doing just as poorly: fewer people per ride, flickering away, only to return with everybody covered in dust like he and his civs just landed in a bad spot.

“Hey, what’s going on!” There were tear tracks cutting through the dirt on his face.

“I can’t—don’t, I’d been... it’s gone! They’re gone!”

I wondered what happened to a link that was suddenly severed in the middle of everything. From what Chrissy said previously, she let the effect fade over time so that nobody had a big sense of loss or disorientation. If she had the choice.

“Chrissy? Chrissy!” More dead air. “Muse?”

“TBD? I can’t talk right now. Chrissy’s uplinks crashed. There's a migraine nestling behind my eyes and I need to get everyone back on track."

“What happened to her?” 

"Not my problem. No one hit her; I felt some—sucking sensation before the links fell. Maybe she stumbled across psychic quicksand.” A scoff; I blamed it on the mental trauma. “You should be fine. If you find her, get that consensus back.”

Scouting for one person in this redoubled chaos was definitely more my speed than trying to redirect people that could barely see me.

“Chrissy, it's Beatrice. Please answer. I’ll use your stupid codename if you answer.” Nothing.

#super heroes #superheroes #hearsay horizons #sarah keaton universe

[askkrenko]

Krenko’s Guide to Pokemon: Exeggcute line

They’re not even eggs. You all know that, right? They’re not eggs.

DESIGN: 

Exeggcute is a handful of cracked Exeggutor seeds hanging out together. Individually, they’d be kind of boring, but as a bunch of seeds, it gives it a unique appearance that, especially when they bounce and move around each other.

Exeggcute really raises an interesting question of ‘what is a Pokemon’ though, because while Magnemite suddenly gets two more Magnemites on evolution, Exeggcute is clearly six seeds, but they only become one tree. While we know the six seeds are telepathically linked, aren’t they still six different Pokemon? And why do they hatch from one egg?

And it can’t be that the Pokeball just counts minds, because while Exeggcute and Exeggutor are telepathically linked, there’s other multi-headed Pokemon that don’t get along well with themselves at all.

My brain hurts. On to the coconut tree.

Exeggcute’s evolved form, the thing that grows from the seeds, is a tree. A short, stumpy, multi-headed coconut tree.

At six feet tall, it’s pretty short for a tree, but it gets the job across as a tree Pokemon. It has legs for walking, no arms because it’s telekinetic, and three heads that think independently but work together.  Supposedly, Exeggcute fall from Exeggcutor, and maybe that is how it works because even though everything comes from eggs, nobody’s ever seen a Pokemon lay an egg.

So here’s my theory: Exeggcute ‘eggs’ grow on Exeggutors but they’re actually nuts. When they break open, there’s six Exeggcute inside, which work together, and then later grow into a full-sized Exeggutor.

Anyway, as far as its design goes, I love this goofy tree thing. It’s clearly a coconut tree, but it’s also clearly some sort of monster, and the big coconut heads give it a unique visual that really nothing else compares to. It’s likely based on a creature from Japanese mythology, but there’s still enough differences between Exeggutor and the Jinmenju that you wouldn’t confuse the two.

Its Alolan form is mostly the same except... more correct. 

See, we had hints pretty early on that the Exeggutor we knew and loved was wrong. Pokedex entries stated that it originally came from the tropics, and that harsh sunlight makes it grow more.  And the thing is, we first saw Alolan Exeggutor back in 1997, before Pokemon even came to the US, as a piece of art for the TCG featured a “Jungle Exeggutor.”

Nineteen years later, here’s Alolan Exeggutor.

So yeah, that’s our palm tree pokemon. Also it’s a dragon. This thing is basically the same as foreign Exeggutor, except bigger and even sillier, with an extra coconut tail. Why is it a dragon? There’s a few theories on that, but the best theory is that it’s based on one of a few types of trees called “Dragon Trees” that live in Hawaii.  There’s a variety of Dragon Trees, and some look more like Exeggutor than others, but considering there’s Dragon Pokemon based off of Sea Dragons, Dragon Slugs, and Dragonflies, and one extended pun involving a Wyrm in an Apple, well...  I’m willing to believe “Dragon Tree” is just the sort of thing they’d do.

Art by Ninjendo, which I have to assume is a Nintendo that flips out and kills things

EVOLUTIONS: 

Exeggcute evolves with a leaf stone. If you evolve it in Alola, you get a proper Exeggutor, and if you evolve it anywhere else, you get a short Exeggutor. This is a bit of a problem for introducing Alolan Exeggutor to other games. What I'd like to see in the future is some alternate item or something to get an Alolan Exeggutor (maybe just have it evolve with the Sun Stone instead of the Leaf Stone) but I suppose that defeats the purpose of regional forms. If we get another warm region, hopefully we’ll see Alolan Exeggutors there. 

Stats are such that there’s no need for anything before Exeggute or after Exeggutor, though a Mega Exeggutor could be fun and funny. 

Exeggutor Mirrored by TamberElla

TYPING:

Exeggutor benefits from pretty rare typings, as there’s not much competition for its specific movesets. 

Defensively, neither’s particularly special, with more weakensses than resistances, and each coming with a x4 weakness. What is noteworthy about Alolan Exeggutor is that it doubly resists water, grass, and electricity. While there’s plenty of types it’s weak to, those are some very common attacks that it can effectively no-sell.

Offensively, grass is resisted by a lot, but Psychic and Dragon are both hard to stop. Steel stops all three types, but stumpy Exeggutor is super-effective against five types, and Alolan Exeggutor is super-effective against four types. Neither case is anything special, but it’s still a lot better than being pure grass.

Enjoy the Alolan Way by limb92

STATS: 

The two forms of Exeggutor basically have the same stats: 125 Special Attack with higher-than-average defenses and low speed. Yes, Alolan has more Attack and less Speed, but Special is still better than Attack by far, and speed is poor on both. 

125 is a really solid special attack stat, and while low speed is a problem, Exeggutor can take a few hits as long as the type matchups aren’t actively going against it.

Art by elyoncat

ABILITIES: 

Alolan Exeggutor’s normal ability is Frisk. Nobody cares. 

Malnourished Exggutor’s normal ability is Chlorophyll. This is quite good. Chlorophyll doubles its speed during Sunny Day, and while Exeggutor is slow, it’s not so slow that doubling its speed won’t make it faster than most opponents. Couple this with the ability to use Solar Beam, and Exeggutor has a place on a Sun team.

Both versions share a hidden ability of Harvest, which has a 50% chance each turn to replenish a consumed (but not otherwise lost) berry. During harsh sunlight, this chance increases to 100%. This requires a lot more strategy to use than Chlorophyll, certainly, but there’s plenty that can be done with it.

Obviously if you don’t plan to use a berry, Alolan Exeggutor gets Frisk, but it’s really not impressive.

MOVES: 

Exeggutor has two signature abilities in Barrage and Dragon Hammer, but they’re both Physical and neither’s impressive enough to warrant the 20-30 point stat hit for using physical attacks, so ignore them.

For a Grass type move, the primary question is, of course “am I taking advantage of the sun?” If you are, it’s Solar Beam.  If not, even with it making you weaker each time you use it, Leaf Storm is an absurdly powerful hit.  On a similar note, Alolan Exeggutor is going to want Draco Meteor. Look, this Pokemon’s not a tank, your goal is to kill the opponent as fast as possible. By the time you get to a third Draco Meteor or Leaf Storm, your Exeggutor’s probably falling down anyway.

On the other hand, if you want to try more defensive fighting, Giga Drain’s a solid special attack that helps keep you going. You could also take both Giga Drain and Leaf Storm, softening them up with Giga Drain and only using Leaf Storm when you expect it to kill.

Psychic Exeggutor’s Psychic move is Psychic. I shouldn’t need to explain that one. It’s been using it since Gen 1. There’s an argument to be made for using Psyshock, but that really depends on the meta.

For coverage purposes, True Exeggutor can learn Flamethrower, which is especially good if using the Sunny Day route, and both can learn Sludge Bomb, though I’d only really recommend it on the Dragon type who wants to have Super Effective damage against Fairies. 

Exeggutor naturally learns Hypnosis, which is a great move, but also a trick. With breeding, an Exeggutor can have Sleep Powder, which is the same move but with higher accuracy. Take Sleep Powder.

Art by I don’t know I searched and couldn’t find the original posting

OVERALL: 

I love this stupid tree. It’s so goofy. Chlorophyll and Harvest are both interesting, build-around abilities, and it’s got a reasonable stat lineup. My only big problem is that its signature attacks are Physical and it’s primarily Special. Dragon Hammer’s a good move, but with the attack difference an Exeggutor gets more damage out of Dragon Pulse. And Barrage is just garbage. 

You know, in the old days, Exeggutor was literally one of the strongest Pokemon there was. Now, it’s basically a relic. It’s still mostly fine, but the Physical/Special move divide isn’t always kind to it. 

#Krenko's Pokemon Guide #Exeggutor #Exeggcute

[agentwallflower]

Supernova: Chapter 2

I’m here, I’m depressed, I’m in self quarantine until the 6th. Let’s do this thing. 

Also, as always, thanks for coming back. It’s been a rough couple weeks, but when I go back to work I’ll be normal time. Not that I want to be - 8:30 to 5 is rough. But, hey, I’m worth nothing to my department so I get whatever is leftover and have to deal with the whims of my capricious coworkers.

Me, bitter? Absolutely.

Next chapter comes up on... let’s see... April 16th! Oh boy, you’re getting three updates this month... yay. Nah, I’m prepared, just wasn’t expecting it. But that should be fun.

Also, introducing the second protagonist in this novel. I love him so much, and I hope you like him too. He’s a precious child, I promise you. But I’ll stop talking so you can meet him.

Remember, April 16. And if you like the story and want to help pay for my work snacks so I don’t tell my coworkers what I think about them, my ko-fi is here. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you in two weeks.

'Sky Rider, are you there? We need you downtown.'

Goddamn it... he wasn't supposed to start work until 1.

Angel Martinez groaned as he made a grab for the device on his bedside table. At the moment, it was beeping like nothing else in a frequency that was specific to him. Anyone else wouldn't hear a damn thing. They were the lucky ones if anyone asked him.

“I'm pretty damn sure that Richter's on duty today, Scanner.”

His voice was thick with sleep as he sat up, yawning as he reached for a pair of glasses that he pressed to his face. Around him was organized chaos at best. He hadn't gotten the chance to clean his room in quite some time, and it showed. Between the mix of school books and clothing on the floor, he probably looked like any other young adult who sucked at cleaning. If not for the jacket hanging on the back of his chair, he could have been.

He heard the voice in his ear as he looked around for his gear. 'We can't get in contact with him. Wouldn't be his specialty anyway – ice cracks ground after all.'

Angel swore into the receiver as he dug out a boot from under his bed. “I better be getting overtime for this, Scan.”

'Sure, just make sure you save the day first. You flying or straight up beaming?'

He stopped moving, quirking an ear to listen for noise. If he was right, neither of his roommates were currently home. Just in case, he felt the tingle release from his temples, sweeping the apartment he shared with them. No signs of human life besides him.

“You know where to pick me up in five.”

'One of these days, you're going to trust me enough to let me pick you up where you live.'

Angel snorted as he recovered the last of his gear – a shiny motorcycle helmet with a dark visor. “That's never going to happen, Scan. You don't even have my phone number.”

'You know I could just-'

Scanner didn't get to finish as he cut the line in order to get changed. By now, Angel was a practiced hand. He was no Whirlwind, who had it down to a science in the windy city, nor could he duck into phone booths like the old greats to make a change. Despite that, he was pretty good at getting into costume under a time crunch. Within a minute, his pajamas had been tossed off for the tight dark jeans, red bandanna, and heavy leather jacket that marked him as Bear Paw's newest hero.

The last thing to go on was his helmet. For that, he had to toss his glasses aside and scrape his hair back into a messy bun. Soon it was on, locked and sealed. The minute it was in place, the visor glowed to life with details. Just like he thought – no one was in the apartment.

“Well... better get going.” Angel watched as his keys zoomed to his hand, and then he used them to lock the front door as he left. If anyone had seen him as he closed the door behind him, they would've figured he was just some biker asshole.

He liked it that way –  it brought less questions than the spandex numbers some folks in big cities liked to wear.

The minute left, he had shifted. His shoulders straightened, and his entire frame vibrated with suppressed energy that he kept low during the day. Had he not been on top of things, electronics would have started popping and fizzing whenever he walked by.

But damn... he hated doing morning jobs.

Angel was no longer Angel in mind at that point as he jogged to his favorite pickup place near his apartment. Now he was in work mode, and his mind was focused on shifting into high gear. He could feel his entire body tingle as the sleeping energy rose to full power, roused from the slumber he kept it under.

He had to; otherwise he'd wind up reading the minds of everyone around him or lifting shit in the air when he was stressed like some amateur.

'You almost there or what, SR?'

He pressed the side of his helmet – the com link kicked in. “Almost there, Scanner. You going to tell me whose ass I'm going to kick today or what?”

His voice was deeper now, pounding at the bottom of his range in the hopes it just might go lower one day. That had yet to prove to be true, but there was always hope for tomorrow. As long as assholes needed kicking, there was a chance.

At least that's what he told himself.

His visor changed – there was a mug shot there now. Angel winced at the man staring blankly at the screen, holding up his numbers. The sign was frosted over, as was the background. It would be a miracle that whoever took the picture didn't come out of it without some form of frost burn.

Great, just what he needed that morning. Had he ever mentioned he hated being cold?

'You and Cryojolt play nicely together if I remember right.' Even through the projection, Scanner's sarcasm could have beat a man to death. It was one of their specialties. 'Before you ask, I couldn't get Ember. She-'

Angel finished it for them as he approached the shed set towards the back of an abandoned field, choked with overgrown grass and weeds to hide his footprints. “Day job, I get it. Not going to lie, I wish some idiots weak to psychic blasts would try something when I'm on duty for once instead of waiting until I'm sleeping.”

He was so not dressed for winter weather,  but it wasn't like he could choose to be picky. Their roster... well, just thinking about it made him wince as he hopped the fence that split the abandoned property from the rest of the area. Since it backed up close to a small corpse of trees, nobody would see him coming. It was perfect for a quick getaway, especially if he had his bike.

Lucky for him, he didn't need it.

'Maybe next time. Anyway, I can see you're in proximity. I'm going to beam you into the drop zone. Hold onto your stomach, SR.'

Sure, Angel could've flown over. He could do that now, after a lot of crash landings and two broken bones that hurt even long past the tech's equipment had fixed them. But that was obvious – stealth was the name of the game here in order to keep his packer from being frozen to him.

It was kind of hard to fly around with Feelin' Fine with 69's helicopter. Those assholes always got to the scene first... he was pretty sure the anchor had a thing for him.

He didn't have much time to reflect on that fact. The air began to hum around him, and a warm tingle settled into his bones. He closed his eyes, but he still saw the light anyway. The visor kept the worst out, but he still felt it. This was why he had to be so far out – in a city like Bear Paw, sudden flashes of light for no good reason were troubling at best.

At worst... well, there was a part of old town that was still a giant crater after 20 years, so to say they might be a little jumpy might have been understandable.

Angel didn't have much time to reflect on that fact. The warmth receded all too soon, and with it the light. The next time he opened his eyes, he was no longer in the shabby shed that he used to make a quick getaway. Instead, he looked to be in an alleyway, where someone really needed to take out the trash. He wrinkled his nose and pushed past, helmet visor already giving him details that he needed to keep from dying.

“Couldn't get me any closer, Scan?”

'I thought you loved making a big hero entrance, SR.'

The psychic scowled as he hopped over an overturned trashcan. “That was an accident. I didn't meant to...”

'Accidentally walk away from an explosion like you were some kind of living meme? I still see GIF sets of it when I go on Reddit. They really bring out the subtle blue tint of your visor, but it makes me wonder if we should get you a red one instead. You know, brand recognition and all.

Angel rolled his eyes behind said tinted visor, feeling his face heat up regardless as he reached the end of the alley. “Less sassing, more tactical advice so I don't get my ass handed to me.”

The view in his visor changed as Scanner tapped into it. Instead of the alley, he was now looking at what could have been a winter wonderland if not for the fact it was the middle of the freaking summer and it sucked ass. There just wasn't supposed to be that much ice breaking out of the cracks of a city street, especially when he knew for a fact the only source of water was a nearby sewer. Just thinking about it made him grimace as he watched the camera pan.

It finally focused on the man of the hour himself. Cryojolt as he liked to be called wasn't one of the more flashy villains that Angel had ever dealt with. He didn't wear a ridiculous outfit or spout cheesy lines that sounded like he picked them up from a comic book when he was 10. Instead, there was just cold determination – his very heart was frozen, or so they said. He was  a man on a mission, and today's objective was to make everyone's life hell.

“How'd he get out of jail anyway?”

'Got an appeal coming up, his lawyer argued it was cruel and unusual given the accident that turned him into a living deep freeze

“Remind me if I ever meet Ms. Noble to show her all the scars I have from when she gets her clients out on bail.” His voice was flat as he scanned the area. “Alright... I think if I distract him and get him away from the sewer line, this won't be nearly as bad.”

'Better hurry up before Feelin' Fine gets there. You don't want to wind up on Twitter again.'

If he didn't know better, he would have sworn Scanner liked seeing him in distress. Still, Angel shook his head as he got closer to the action. Even though it was summer, the temperature had dropped significantly and ice frosted his visor in cobwebs of silver and white. A temperature reading brought him no comfort – if it had been raining, there would have been snow in that part of the city.

It was one of those days that he wished he had never answered the phone.

Before charging out, Angel stopped to collect his thoughts. He closed his eyes, breathed slowly – all the things he had been taught by other psychics over the years in order to effectively tap into his powers and override his body's desire to run away screaming. They were good, but nothing worked as well as what an old man with a shield had taught him once a few years ago.

Just stop thinking.

It wasn't like he turned his brain off completely – that would be impossible, even for someone who wasn't psychic. Instead, he just emptied his mind of anything that could cause him to freak out. With an ease that came from years of frantic effort, his entire body relaxed, and his energy hummed louder than before.

Time to go to work.

“Alright, big guy... I really hate working morning shift, so you better be ready for me.” Another calm breath, and Angel was ready to go. Slowly, he edged out of his hiding space and onto the slippery road. The treads on his boots did wonders to keep him from slipping, as did the heavy bottoms. Like this, he would only fall if someone pushed him.

And lucky for him, a giant wave of energy almost knocked him completely on his ass.

“They didn't send the fire one?” Cryojolt's voice reminded Angel of ice cracking in the tundra, which was pretty on the nose for someone who was supposed to be a fusion with the world's most annoying ice cream machine. Honestly, he was lucky the bell hadn't been part of the deal – hearing that jingle every summer made his teeth itch. “Do they not take me seriously?”

Angel grunted as he hovered a few inches off the ground. He had kicked his powers on at the last second, keeping him from harm. It was solid ice underneath his feet, probably too thick for his boots, so he kept hovering. No broken ankles, and the added bonus of looking like he had planned it.

“Nah, they just love pulling my ass out of bed to deal with headaches. Lucky for you, I've got one hell of a migraine for motivation.” He cracked his neck and it resounded across the frozen space. “So, we doing this or what?”

Cryojolt didn't take the time to answer with words. Instead, ice soon stretched out in a radius around him, icing up telephone poles and severely abusing some cars' tires. Angel felt the cold on his ankles, but he didn't waver. Instead, he floated a little higher and shifted his balance. It made it easier to get some momentum going and send him flying.

'Going for the direct route this time I see.'

Scanner's voice filtered through his helmet, and his visor updated with a wide shot of Cryojolt back as he zoomed towards him. Here the ice wasn't as thick – if the story was to be believed, this was where he had been pinned against the ice cream truck's wall as the radiation fused him with his own product. It looked pretty frost bitten to say the least – definitely not comfortable to sleep on.

'Try here. PT must've caused some structural damage when she got him the last time they squared off.'

Angel nodded, but before he could react he had to swerve out of the way of a ball of pure ice aimed straight for his head by an irate ice cream man turned low level villain. The course correction led him to almost bouncing off a telephone pole – luckily his boots cushioned the impact. He stood there, surveying at an angle.

“Trying for an attack from behind won't help you. You're not as quiet as the acid spitting one.” Cryojolt was moving a little slower, though. His ice wasn't as clear as he lobbed another chunk at his opponent's head. In fact, it even went a little off angle as he dodged out of the way. “Damn it all...”

Angel watched from his safe spot atop a mailbox. “Having problems with your juice, big guy?”

'His core temp is starting to rise. It's too hot out here for him to be effective.'

He nodded at the details, watching as the man stared down at his hands in obvious disbelief. The last time had been during the middle of one of the coldest weathers Bear Paw had since the decade had rolled over. Now? He wasn't looking so good under the hot sun.

Bad for him, but good for Angel.

It was about time to finish things up; he had better shit to do than stand around and watch someone who didn't have a handle on their powers try to figure them out. Plus, like, the city was a real bear when it came to fixing superhero damage. He'd rather not get the Union slapped with a bill for the repairs – Ember had one hell of a look on her face when that happened. Not something he wanted turned on him, no thank you.

“Hey, big guy! I think you picked the wrong season to bust out!” His energy hummed as he hopped off the mailbox. “Surprised you didn't figure that one out when you were in jail.”

Cryojolt's icy eyes leveled on him. “Not a lot of time to practice in solitary. Maybe I can get some now!”

The ice flooded like a wave from his feet, but Angel managed to fly out of the way before it froze him to the pole. His new landing spot came atop a previously frozen over car, the ice slick under his feet as he landed. His opponent threw more ice, but he redirected it as his mind hummed. When the man paused for breath, it was his time to strike.

He almost felt bad for what he was about to do.

Now, most psychics had their favorites. The West Coast liked mind blasts to incapacitate their opponents. Southern edges were more on throwing their opponents against the wall and pinning them there while they talked a good game. Thanks to his training, his preferences were strongly East Coast – nothing wrong with a little power blast to knock somebody flat on their ass.

His hand tingled as he powered up, the palm starting to glow red as it took on his aura. Red auras, according to his old teacher, said someone was in conflict with themselves. Sky Rider didn't worry about that – though Angel did. He could do more of that later, in his off hours. Right then he had to finish things.

Cryojolt fired again when he caught his breath. Angel hopped off the car just in time to see the roof turn into a glacial sculpture. A  few more seconds, and he was in range at the full amount of power he wanted to use. It smelled like ozone as he released it from his palm, watching as it arced away from him like he was the main character in an anime for kids. All he needed was to shout his attack names.

Not that... he had them or anything. Not since Endgamer anyway.

A faster opponent would have been able to dodge. Fellow psychics maybe could have reflected it. Someone with training would've known how  to block. Cryojolt was none of them – he was a victim of circumstance who barely had a handle on his own abilities. It was almost sad to watch him take it full on and land hard in the street a few years back, front smoking and ice melting. He hit his head as he went down, and then he didn't get up.

He was still breathing though – phew.

Angel waved the tingle from his palm as he approached. “Can I get a pickup for this guy, hopefully without a bonehead lawyer this time?”

'Already sending down the bubble along with something to keep Cryojolt contained. I'll beam you up before the news can get there, just stand away from the body.'

He grimaced at the term as he gave the prone human a wide berth. Beam burns were serious business. “Hey, he's still alive. I just knocked him out.”

'Slip of the tongue. Now are you ready or what?'

Another flash of light, and the temperature got so much warmer. Angel looked around at the bright room where the Union liked to call their home. Half the main area was taken up by computers, all of them running scans on the city. The chair in front of it swiveled around, and the person in it rolled towards him.

“You took a little longer than I thought you would, SR.”

Scanner was still typing on the keyboard they had attached to their wheelchair's armrest. They didn't have a screen – didn't need one. Half their consciousness was embedded into the large setup behind them, watching over the city even as they worked elsewhere. It was a great power, but not so good at kicking ass. That and... other reasons meant they stayed here, where they could annoy Angel all they wanted.

He shrugged his frost covered shoulders, watching as the ice melted at his feet. Maybe he should stay there until it was gone; somebody could hurt themselves. “I just woke up.”

“You said that last time I called you out early.” Scanner rolled their mismatched eyes – one blue, one a sort of copper color – as they started to head back to the spot in front of the computers. “It's all clear for now, but keep on guard. PT's not going to be on for a while – she's on niece duty today.”

Angel shrugged his shoulders as he took a seat on the couch to catch his breath. “I gotta see the old man later, but I can stick around for a while.”

“Say hi when you see him for me.” And Scanner was gone, back to their screens and monitoring the clean up. The psychic was glad to curl up on the couch and catch a bit of sleep until he was free to go. After all, all that energy had to come from somewhere.

All in a day's work for the city's only active psychic. Man, and to think he got paid for nearly getting killed...

#Supernova Collision Trilogy #writing #novel

[bamon4bamily]

TVD 9x05 Halloween Special (part 1 of part 2) Enjoy! =)

Cut back to – 1921, Halloween Ball at the secluded hotel. Stefan, Klaus, and Rebecca are having drinks at a private booth.

STEFAN: Well this is quite the party, loving the decadence.

KLAUS: Oh, my friend, the fun hasn’t even begun.

REBECCA: (To Stefan) It seems like your plus one found something or someone to entertain him, he’s been gone for a while.

STEFAN: He’s a curious guy, he’ll be back eventually.

KLAUS: Remind me again why you brought him along? Or why we haven’t torn into his vanes?

STEFAN: He is off the table, so lose the temptation.

REBECCA: Why do you even care?

STEFAN: He’s a close friend, let’s just leave it at that. Anyway, what are we having for dinner?

KLAUS: Trust me, you will find it to be plenty tasty (snaps his fingers, a woman walks into the booth and sits beside them).

STEFAN: You know my taste…

REBECCA: And mine. (They tare into her neck; when they finish they leave the dead body sitting there as if nothing had happened).

STEFAN: (As he is wiping the blood from his mouth) Lovely appetizer, but I’m ready for the main course.

KLAUS: Patience, mate, have another drink. Let’s get someone to clean our little mess, first.

STEFAN: Well, make it quick, I’m still hungry.

REBECCA: (Serves him more champagne) Don’t worry, love, I’ll go find someone to take care of this (kisses him, then leaves).

KLAUS: So, Stefan, are you sure it is safe to leave your “friend” to wonder about?

STEFAN: He can handle himself.

KLAUS: If you say so…

(A breathtaking woman comes into the booth, they both freak out given the scene).

LADY: Relax gentleman, nothing I haven’t seen before (winks, then casually sits next to the dead body and licks some blood from her neck). Yum… Care to offer this thirsty lady a drink? (Both, completely hypnotized by her beauty, head for the champagne bottle, Stefan gets to it first).  

STEFAN: (As he pours her a drink) Can I just say you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. (Looks at her hands) Love the glove… looks beautiful, and dangerous (smirks)…

LADY: (Flirting) Just as I am, dear (winks).

KLAUS: If ever I have seen true beauty… (kisses her hand).

LADY: Thank you, gentleman, you are not bad on the eyes yourselves. Listen, I brought you a gift from the Mayor (hands them a black box), a small token of his appreciation for attending tonight. (As they are about to open it) Not yet, my dears, they must be opened at midnight; trust me, they are worth the wait. In the meantime (she snaps her fingers and two beautiful women come into the booth; she kisses them on the lips then cuts their throats with her glove, licks some of the blood and kisses Stefan and Klaus), enjoy, boys.  

STEFAN: Wait, you are leaving? Please, stay, indulge with us.

LADY: I’d love to, but I have some business to attend to. I’ll be back for dessert, I promise. (When she walks out, Katherine, who has been lurking outside the booth, catches a glimpse of her, then vamps away).

Cut to Matt’s house. Tyler and Khuyana are having breakfast. On the background, playing on the TV is a breaking news story about a couple that has been found brutally murdered in a cabin outside Mystic Falls.

 TYLER: So, he left early this morning?

KHUYANA: I think so… I’m not even sure if he came home at all. I went to bed alone and woke up alone.

TYLER: What do you think we should do?

KHUYANA: I know this might sound awful, but I think we should have a backup plan just in case he’s a no show.

TYLER: This is so strange, and totally out of character… we need to figure out what’s going on with him. When did it start?

KHUYANA: I guess I started noticing some strange behavior when I came back from a trip… after the massive aneurysms’ attacks.

TYLER: Bonnie told me about that, it happened before the Darius linking ritual, right?

KHUYANA: Yes.

TYLER: So this must be related to Darius… maybe his under some sort of spell?

KHUYANA: Can’t be that, Bonnie put a spell block on all of us after the linking incident.

TYLER: There is a spell against being spelled?

KHUYANA: I guess so, I still don’t understand how the witchy woo stuff works…

TYLER: Okay, well, Darius is also psychic, so, mind control?

KHUYANA: Can’t be that either, Bonnie psych-blocked us against that too.

TYLER: Doesn’t make sense… if he’s not under a spell or mind control… (Matt walks in).

MATT: Wow, you just won’t let it go… mind control, really? I told you guys, I’m fine, just exhausted, irritated, and under a lot of stress. All I need is some sleep to recharge, then I’ll be good to go.

TYLER: Are you sure, man?

MATT: I’m sure. I’m gonna go take a nap (kisses Khuyana; as he is walking out, turns around) and please, stop talking about me behind my back, it’s annoying (leaves).

Cut to – Mikaelson mansion, Klaus and Danae in the living room.

 KLAUS: I still think you should have told them…

DANAE: What for? Sometimes it’s better not to know.

KLAUS: Well, that is true… Are sure you are up for this?  Your migraines seem to be getting worse, love.

DANAE: I’ll be fine… it’s probably because subconsciously I’m nervous about being so close to my brother.

KLAUS: You have my word that you will be safe; under no circumstances will he find out you are alive.

DANAE: Thank you, dear, you are my knight in shining armor, always and forever. (Kisses him on the cheek). You know, if I didn’t have a thing for the ladies, I’d be madly in love you.

KLAUS: I know, love, as would I (winks, gives her a tender hug). Everything will be fine, I promise (kisses her forehead).

DANAE: What about Bonnie? Do you really think she will be able to keep control? Once her psychic-block is released, there is no doubt that she will be overwhelmed; and yes, I can help control her energy levels but there is no guarantee that it will be enough. One psychic blast and she can wipe us all out…

KLAUS: Bonnie is very strong-willed; I reckon she will find a way to keep it under control. To be honest, what worries me most is if she will be able to resist the temptation of not succumbing to her dark side.

DANAE: And if she does?

KLAUS: Well, if it comes to that, we’ll deal with it…

DANAE: As in, kill her? That seems a bit harsh, dear.

KLAUS: No, of course not, I mean contain her.

DANAE: With that kind of power, how on earth are we going to be able to do that? 

KLAUS: Emotions always have a way to control us, and I’m pretty sure I know her weak spot; we make her connect with those feelings so she doesn’t lose her hold...

DANAE: Whatever happens, let’s hope it ends well… I really like her. 

KLAUS: (Gives her a smirk) Oh, do you now?.

DANAE: Not like that, dear, I mean, if I knew I had a chance, don’t doubt for a second that I wouldn’t try… she is a spitting image of Marie… (becomes nostalgic).

KLAUS: I know...

DANAE: (Teary-eyed) No matter how many years go by, the hurt just doesn’t seem to go away (Klaus holds her tight).

KLAUS: It’s understandable, she was the love of your life. What happened to her was tragic, of course, the pain lingers, but eventually, you will find your way back to each other.

DANAE: Dear, I am immortal, how is that ever going to happen?

KLAUS: Never give up hope, love. After all, who would have thought there would be a way for the dead to make their way back? Look at Stefan, Tyler, Lexi, Katherine…

DANAE: They all had a connection to Bonnie, that’s the only reason they were able to come back.

KLAUS: I hardly think Bonnie wanted Katherine to return.

DANAE: It might have been a bad connection, but it was still a connection… 

KLAUS: Well, there is no stronger connection than blood...

DANAE: Yes, but Bonnie never knew Marie, probably doesn't even know she existed ... Anyway, let me stop with the self-pity, we have more important things to focus on right now. Listen, how about I start preparing everything for the “party” while you go get us some costumes, otherwise your friend Caroline is going to flip.

KLAUS: Oh, she most definitely will. Any special requests?

DANAE: You’ll be lucky just to find any so we really can’t get picky; whatever you can find will work.

KLAUS: Okay, love, let me know if you need anything else, I’ll be back soon. (Kisses her forehead, then leaves).

 Danae starts reminiscing about her past love. Flashback scene to a 1920′s party…

MR. NORTHCOTT: Ms. Bennet, I must say, I find your views on Baudelaire’s work rather controversial, and, if I’m being honest, somewhat unstudied.

MARIE: Well, he was way ahead of his time which is clearly, not your case...

DANAE: Marie is quite the literary scholar; you can trust she knows what she is talking about, Mr. Northcott.

MR. NORTHCOTT: I mean no disrespect, but you must admit that it is not often that you find a woman with such views… it is somewhat intriguing.

MARIE: Really? (Rolls her eyes).

MR. NORTHCOTT: Please, don’t misunderstand me, if anything I respect you even more. But, enough with controversy, let us have a toast... to literary masterpieces!

DANAE: (Whispers to Marie) Want to disappear for a while? This man is really getting on my nerves.

MARIE: (Whispers back) I’ve been waiting for you to say that all night… (they excuse themselves from the table and find a cosy spot to share some lovin’).    

 Cut to – Elena and Sam in his apartment, he hands her a plate of chilaquiles.

 ELENA: You spoil me too much... (Gives him a lustful look) Come here... (kisses him).

SAM: Mmm... or we can just skip breakfast...

ELENA: (Composes herself) No, no, we need to eat at some point ... Wait, am I going to have to jug a gallon of water like the last time?

SAM: You are such a wus! Don’t worry, I turned it down a notch.

ELENA: I mean, I loved them, but I seriously thought my brain was going to explode.

SAM: We are going to have to do something about that… when we go visit my mom, she won’t be as a lenient as I am.

ELENA: Great, now I have another thing to worry about when I meet her.

SAM: She is going to love you (kisses her). (Looks at his packed boxes) So, I’m pretty much ready… we are actually doing this…

ELENA: We are! And I’m excited about you meeting the rest of the gang tonight, even if it’s just for a brief hello, goodbye. 

SAM: Is this the first time you are going to see Stefan and Tyler since they… well, came back?

ELENA: Yes… wow, I hadn’t even thought of that!

SAM: I’ll be honest, I’m kind of psyched about meeting more of your supernatural friends, it’s like going to Comicon but for real!

ELENA: (Laughs) I have no idea what a Comicon is, but I guess so?

SAM: Okay, just so I don’t mess things up, let me see if I got this right: Bonnie  is a psychic-witch; Caroline, a vampire; Tyler, an undead hybrid; Stefan, an ex-vampire undead human; your ex, a vampire turned human; Alaric, a vampire hunter turned vampire then human again, Indiana Jones type of thing; Matt, a human, and the town Sheriff… am I missing anyone?

ELENA: Nop, that’s pretty much the main core. God, hearing you makes me realize just how insane my life has been… I love them all but I have to admit that I’m happy to be leaving that craziness behind… I just want a normal, human life, you know?

SAM: Well, normal and human is all I’ve ever known, so I’m no point of reference… what about Jeremy, is he going to the party too?

ELENA: No, no…

SAM: Aren’t you going to say goodbye?

ELENA: We are, just not in person… I’m afraid that if I see him, I won’t be able to leave, so, we decided video chat was the way to go…

SAM: Are you sure?

ELENA: Trust me, I’m sure.

SAM: Okay… So, I went to pick up our costumes earlier (looking very excited), I can’t believe you agreed to go with it!

ELENA: Couldn’t bear to break your geeky heart (kisses him, looks at her watch). Listen, I need to go to the administration office to finalize some paperwork, we’ll start getting ready when I come back. Love you (kisses him, then leaves).

Cut to – 1990, Halloween night, Mystic Falls General Hospital. Paramedics bring a bleeding woman into the E.R.

 E.R DOCTOR: What do we have?

PARAMEDIC: Multiple stab wounds to the back, massive blood loss, heart rate erratic, pulse dropping fast… and Doctor, she is pregnant. Fetal heartbeat detected but it’s very low.

E.R DOCTOR: (To the Medical staff) Quick, prep the O.R for emergency surgery. (After a few hours, the Doctor comes out of the OR to talk to Police Officers).

E.R DOCTOR: Officers, there was nothing we could do; time of death was 24:05. Were you able to contact any family members?

POLICE OFFICER 1: The only family member we could track was her mother, but she has no idea who she is. She has been locked up in an insane asylum for years… other than her, she has no family.

E.R DOCTOR: Well then, I think you need to call child services, the victim was with child. Thankfully, we were able to save the baby, but he is in critical condition.

POLICE OFFICER 2: How on earth was the child able to survive?

E.R DOCTOR: If I’m being honest Officer, I have no idea, the child should have been dead upon arrival. I don’t believe in miracles but if I ever did, this would be the moment to make me doubt my beliefs.

POLICE OFFICER 1: If the baby makes it through, child services will take custody. For now, Doctor, we will need your, and your staff’s statements.

E.R DOCTOR: Of course, anything you need Officers.

Cut to - the Mayor’s house. Edward walks into his room and finds his costume laid out for him, along with a black box tied to a red balloon. He looks puzzled, somewhat scared. He slowly takes the box, unties the balloon and opens it. Inside, is the same chess piece he had sent Darius earlier, along with a note that reads: “Tasty, tasty, beautiful fear. Who is checkmate now?” He leaves the box and note on the bed, walks to his turntable and plays “Mr. Sandman”. Then, walks to the mirror, and stares in a daze…

TVD 9x05 Halloween Special (part 2 of part 2) coming very soon! Hope you stop by, read and enjoy! =)

#TVD #tvd fanfiction #vampire diaries #bamon fanfic #bonnie bennett #damon salvatore #stefan salvatore #klaus mikaelson #rebecca mikaelson #elena gilbert #matt donovan #tyler lockwood #caroline forbes #animeeyes21 #ilovefanfic86 #absentmindeddreamer #minalblood #stephm1587 #mademoisellevalerie85 #bamon-iridiance #bamon shippers club #bamoniseternal #bamonisreal #bamonisawsome #awsomebamon #vj-veronica-jones #bamonites #maniq1 #luanahensi #chanelnotwentytwo

[silvensei]

Complementary

Shou, having grown up messing with psychic powers, figured out how to leave his body. The obvious next step is trying to take over another.

Started this like a year ago, based on this post I stumbled upon by @hydrachea, and finally got around to finishing it! Just some rowdy espers being teen boys. 

(On AO3 too! Link in a reblog because I never know if external links are functional)

Ritsu narrowed his eyes, the question he was just given running through his head for a third and fourth time. Sitting on his bed, staring ahead, he tried for a fifth pass to work out what he could possibly say next. Mmm…nope. “You’re going to have to say that…one more time.”

Seated on the ground in the center of his room, legs crossed, back straight (a bit unusual for the rowdy teen), and a barely contained smirk on his lips, Shou drummed his hands on his ankles. “I asked,” he repeated, carefully, “if I could perhaps…for a little bit…borrow…your body.”

Ritsu ran a hand down his face. “Yeah. Yeah, okay, that’s what I thought you said.”

“I know what you’re thinking, dude: It’s not something you hear every day—”

“No, it’s really not!”

His hands changed their rhythm, quickening into a drumroll before finding their pattern. “So. To give you some backstory—”

“That would be great, thanks.”

“—some lore, now, okay.” Pata-tata pata-tata pata-tata. “So my dad used to know this one psychic in town. Or not know him; he kept tabs on every esper around, so I would steal copies of his records to see what powers people had, because if some rando can do it, why can’t I? And so this guy, his specialty was astral projection, but he like, leapt from his body just to spy on people or watch his neighbor’s Netflix or some shit. Anyway, didn’t take long to figure out. You could probably pick it up, too. Your brother is probably doing it right now, watching from above, oooo….” He tapped out a light decrescendo, leaning forward for effect.

Ritsu quirked his eyebrows. It was just a joke, but he still wondered. What would Shigeo even use it for?

With one final beat, Shou swung his hands to the floor behind him, leaning back on his propped arms. “It got me thinking: What am I when I astral project? It’s still me, but not in my body, so am I a ghost? Am I like a spirit? And since regular spirits can possess people, then….” As if going over it again knocked his confidence down a peg, he flashed a sheepish smile.

His friend did not react. “You want to possess me,” he said.

“I want to see if it’s possible!” Shou corrected. “And if it is, then would I get—would we have double the power? Would you look different at all, like some sign that it wasn’t all you in there? Will you be awake at all? Just think of the possibilities! The pranks!”

Ritsu’s stomach turned. This is crazy. This doesn’t just happen. Your friend doesn’t just saunter into your house unannounced, steal a soda from the fridge, make light banter with your family, and then body snatch you. It doesn’t happen!

…but…what if...?

He closed his eyes, head shaking back and forth. “This is insane,” he grumbled. “People ask to borrow phone chargers and cups of sugar, not....” He waved a hand towards his head before letting it drop to his blankets.

Shou took a swig of his soda. It was already almost empty. “I get it, I’ve been sitting on this for like, weeks, but I’m not just gonna go possess some poor bastard off the street; I do have some morals. And who else am I supposed to ask, a non-esper? My old man? Your brother?”

Process of elimination, that made logical sense, but it didn’t do much to quell his concerns. It’s not like he didn’t trust Shou. His close friend Shou Suzuki was different from the enigmatic threat Shou Suzuki that burned down his house on their second meeting. Now, that didn’t mean he would trust Shou with everything. Maybe to return a loaned book. Maybe not with the care and well-being of a life. His life in this case.

But it’s not like he would be unsupervised. Probably. When Dimple possessed him, not only was he awake, but in control, too, so there was a chance Shou wouldn’t even be able to do anything. And Dimple did help his powers develop astonishingly quickly. Maybe….

Ritsu grumbled, falling back on the bed. God damn it, he was curious to see what would happen, but just the thought of it made his skin crawl. It was enough of a tough decision when it was a weak little smart-aleck of a ghost whom he could use solely as a mean to a desperate end. This, however, was his friend. His living human friend that he saw on a regular basis, in his own living human body. They hadn’t ever hugged before, and now Shou would be using his arms, existing within his head—oh god, would he be able to hear Shou’s thoughts?

“You overthinking things with that big brain of yours again?” The empty can clattered onto Ritsu’s desk. “It’s not like I’m going to steal your life and go on a heist spree. It’ll be a few minutes, maybe more if something cool happens. A day max.”

“A day?!”

“A couple hours, absolute max, it’s up to you. I’d offer to do your homework while I’m you, too, but we both know I don’t know shit about school and no one would want that.”

That earned a half-smile from Ritsu. If Shou went to class as him, he felt his grades would instantly drop a letter as soon as he walked through the door. Student Council would fall into shambles. Shigeo would try to exorcise him.

The mattress tossed him an inch into the air when Shou flopped on his stomach to Ritsu’s left. “So…?” he asked, looking over with one of his trademarked trickster teen grins.

It’d be an experiment. Had this ever been done before? Few people seem to be as versatile in the psychic arts as Shou and the other espers of Seasoning City. And even if it had, he doubted it was documented in any way, so the previous query was really a moot point. But would it actually combine their powers into an unstoppable force? Should another threat ever come to this magnet of a town, it would be useful to have a trump card like that. A trump card like…having control of himself wrest from his grasp from a being within his own skin….

Ritsu folded his hands over his midriff, tapping a finger against his knuckle. “None of this seems just the least bit…wrong to you?” he asked, pointedly looking at the ceiling.

“What, hanging out over the weekend to possess my best friend?”

He pursed his lips. “Yes, that.”

“Uncommon, yeah, but it’s only wrong based on your definition of it.” Shou tried to make wise and erudite gestures like pointing and tapping his head even though lying face-down restricted his movement. “Spirits do it all the time, it’s just how they are, but we only question their intentions, not the action itself.”

“But you’re not a spirit! You’re alive, you have your own body, and this isn’t natural at all, intentions or otherwise.”

“You can say none of these powers are ‘natural’ in the first place, but we’re stuck with ‘em anyway.” He mimed air quotes a couple times more.

Ritsu didn’t have an argument for that. It was a good point. A year ago, bending spoons wouldn’t have seemed natural to him, either; it was just an anomalous habit of his anomalous brother.

“And I do have a body, no shit, Sherlock,” he continued, “but since I can separate myself from it, it’s more like just a sweet suit with bitchin’ hair. The me that’s me is the personality and the superpowers. It doesn’t really matter to me whether that personality is in my head or yours, ‘cause I’m me either way, and you’ll still be you.”

Ritsu looked over at him, for the first time since he posited the question. Shou had dropped the grin in favor for a small, neutral frown as he picked at a loose thread he found in the blankets. “How long did you say you’ve been thinking about this…?” he asked.

The boy met his eyes, but instead of an answer, he got a smile with too many teeth. “Does that mean you’re game?”

Ritsu took a deep breath. Then he took another one. If anything, it beat doing algebra. “Sure. Fine. I don’t have to do anything besides be here, after all. But—!” He sat up and pointed a finger at his overzealous companion. “No leaving this house—no leaving this room, actually, why would you need to. No haircuts, no photos, no calls, no texts, no— just—!” He stopped himself. He did trust him. To an extent. He sighed. Instead of trying to tie up every possible loophole, he concluded with, “Just have some respect, is all.”

Shou’s burnt orange aura flared up, throwing him off the bed to stand. He snapped his feet together to attention and saluted, a giddy grin on his face and supernatural fire in his eyes. “You can count on me, Captain!”

And then his aura moved without him, whipping around at the edges before amassing over his shoulders. The energy glowed and coalesced before it darted away, a pale tangerine shape spinning in circuits up to the ceiling.

Shou’s face went slack, his eyes losing their light as they slid shut, mouth falling with the rest of his body. “Don’t—!” Ritsu swore before swooping in to catch him, half holding him up before his upper torso could hit the edge of the bed. “Don’t just do that with no warning! I didn’t think you meant right this instant!”

He kneeled to safely lower his friend to the floor. As soon as he let go, the orange form darted into view. He winced and threw up an arm on reflex, but it hung in front of him, over the body lying comatose (lifeless?) on the ground. It was Shou-shaped for the most part, if Shou were made of fog physically vibrating with excitement. Which he currently was.

Ritsu lowered his arm, as well as his instinctive psychic defenses. He sighed and turned to lean back against his bed. “Just give me more of a heads up next time,” he said before closing his eyes.

He could hear the hum of power before he felt it. A force slammed into his senses, causing a barrier to flare up before he steadied himself and dispelled it. The moment it wisped away, it was like a frozen stake shot through his brain. A telltale sign of possession, he knew, but it didn’t stop there this time. His breath caught in his throat as a chill clouded his head, sending a violent shiver down his spine, seeping into his lungs and through his skin to his fingertips. A gasp escaped him, and his eyes blinked open, before the cold stopped in its tracks, fully freezing over, encasing him in ice and locking him in place.

And then his eyes blinked again. A slow breath filled his chest that bubbled to a roll of laughter as his lips spread to bare his teeth. “Oh, Ritsu,” he sung, “you better be awake for this, ‘cause this is fucking wicked!”

Jesus, thought Ritsu, most definitely still conscious and most definitely thrown out of control. He tried to say that aloud with a grimace, neither of which his body emulated. This is disconcerting.

His head perked up. “Hey, there you are!” his voice announced. “You still sound like you in my head—our head—”

My head.

“Our head, and I sound like you, too! Double the Ritsu!” Shou cracked his borrowed neck, interlacing his fingers and pushing his palms to the sky in a stretch. “I’ve never heard you sound this happy before!”

And you still haven’t.

“Mm, that’s a debate you will lose on a technicality. And you should stretch more often, bro, it feels cramped in here.”

Because it is cramped in here!

Shou jumped to his feet, rolling his shoulders. Ritsu groaned. This was nothing like the time with Dimple. He was just hoping he wouldn’t regret this decision any more than he already did.

His eyes swept the room, his hands rotating in loose circles that cracked his wrists. “Yo, you don’t have a mirror in here?”

No.

“That’s fine, probably one in the bathroom, right?” he asked, already moving to open the door into the hallway.

Shou, what did I—!

“Chill, dude, I just wanna see how you look.” Shou cracked open the door, checked for anyone in sight, and slipped into the bathroom across the hall, closing the door behind him with a soft click. When the lights flicked on, they both gasped.

Shou stared back from the square mirror over the sink. Anyone would know it was Shou. Blue eyes were a rarity in Japan, and anyone would immediately know that what looked and sounded like Ritsu Kageyama was in reality the furthest thing from him, an impostor that replaced his dark russet eyes with stark sea blue. Ritsu did not like it one bit, oh, no no no.

“Whoa,” Shou breathed in awe. He gripped the sides of the mirror, tilting his head every which way while taking in the reflection. “This is dope! This…is a bit creepy, not gonna lie, but it could work, you could make it work! Fluff up your hair a bit, get rid of the haunting sleepless gaze, give ‘em a smile—just play it like I would! Oh, pshh. Forgot!” He cocked his head to a three-quarter view, shooting a half-smirk and wink at himself. “That won’t be hard.”

Ritsu wanted to die. His image, being perverted so. The embarrassment was unprecedented, and the fact that he physically could not look away and hide from the world made it that much worse. At least that meant his face wouldn’t show the disturbed blush. Don’t act like it’ll stay that way, he whined. It’ll go back to normal when you’re gone.

His hand held up a finger. Still talking to the reflection, Shou asked, “What if I’m not in control? Still blue?”

Ritsu would have scrunched up his nose if he still could. Damn him and his good questions.

“Now how do I do that…?” his voice muttered. His hands dropped to the sink as he finally looked away, drumming his fingers on the porcelain. “What if…I dissociate, but not project…?” He closed those foreign eyes and repeated it under his breath, slowing his tapping.

The fog seemed to clear from Ritsu's head, loosening the chill he was in, until it rushed back through his palms—the cold porcelain underhand. He was also immediately reminded that his chest had weight from the beating heart and lungs just beginning to tighten and burn without air. He took a breath, curling his toes and taking stock of everything else. Everything back under his control.

He still didn’t feel completely himself, but it was worlds better than before, when his feet were too numb to even feel grounded.

Relishing the feeling of just being able to feel his breathing again, Ritsu glanced up into the mirror. He grimaced, an action meant to distract him from the knot in his stomach. Still blue.

“I really don’t like these eyes,” he said. His voice sounded better in his cadence. “They’re...too bright.”

Nah, bro, yours are just too dark. The idea bloomed in his head, like he had imagined Shou’s voice, except that it kept going without his permission: At least now you don’t look like a zombie.

“I don’t look like a zombie,” he muttered before narrowing his eyes at his reflection. He just realized he was having a conversation with himself. Technically schizophrenia. What a day.

Ya totally do, dude, you barely sleep some days. Yo, use your powers on something!

“Hm?” Ritsu raised an eyebrow at the mirror. Right, they were testing their powers like this. He noticed the hand towel on the wall behind him and directed his focus at it. The familiar light tingle of his powers prickled his skin as his turquoise aura appeared around it, darting it around him to float over the sink. “It looks the same. Same color, same texture.”

And coming in for the pass—! His breath caught for a mere moment as the ground was snatched from under him, dropped into a dunk tank of ice water after a successful throw. His aura splashed around the towel before swirling into a glittering citrine. His fists punched the air. “Fuck yeah!”

I’m gonna be sick.

“Don’t be dramatic; not while I’m driving, you’re not.”

Ritsu groaned and dragged his hands down his face. Neither of those things actually happened.

Shou laughed, his current voice rising to the point where it could almost be called a giggle. “No, no, I get it, it’s weird as shit, but come on! It’s so rad!” The towel darted around the small room at his behest, the bright orange aura highlighting its path like a comet. “Like, I dunno if you can feel it, but my powers don’t have the same oomf to them. Your body might not have enough juice to keep ‘em running like I’m used to.”

Well, sorry we can’t all be hotshot prodigies. Ritsu skipped being offended and instead watched the towel spin in a tight circle—not like he had any choice in where his eyes went. Just in the top right of his periphery, he could still make out a bit of his reflection in the mirror. It was out of focus, but it was still enough to notice his too-light eyes. Think my powers can add to yours? he asked, bringing up one of Shou’s earlier inquiries to change the subject.

“Give it a shot, bro.”

He focused on the towel and its path, trying to help push it along, to speed it up. After a moment, he was unsure if his powers were even working, his hands too far from his senses to tell if his palms were tingling. Then something slotted into place in his head and the towel kicked into double time, instantly spinning so fast it twisted and knotted itself into a plush wad. Aquamarine swirled among the amber aura, making...an uncomfortable color, actually; blue and orange mixed together like that was rather unappealing to look at.

“Sweet!” The grin Shou had pulled onto Ritsu’s face only grew. His face was starting to get sore. “Now try the other way! I’ll throw it left, you go right, yeah?”

What, oppose each other?

“Yeah! Psychic arm wrestling! ‘Kay, in three, two, one—”

The towel ignited.

Shou beamed like a kid on Christmas. He threw his arms up fast enough to bounce his heels off the floor. “Fuck yeah! Now it’s a party!”

Out of sheer panic and adrenaline, Ritsu snatched hold of his hands, throwing them at the towel, encasing it in a bubble of energy. His breathing was quick (hey, he was breathing) as he watched the flame flicker and reflect off his aura for a few seconds before it suffocated and snuffed out. He blinked (hey!) and tried to slow his hyperventilation, gripping his shirt in an attempt to dampen the thumping of his racing heart. The towel fell into the sink, the faintest bit of smoke pluming from its singed corner. “Who the fuck did that?” he asked, a slight strain to his voice he failed to wrangle. “Because it wasn't me!”

Not me!

“Uh-huh.” Ritsu glared into the mirror, fully accusing those eyes. “Sorry, but I've come not to trust you with fire.”

Honest, man, I didn't mean to do it! Our fusion powers are probably just different now, unpredictable! Guess we just gotta get out there and practice: bend a lot of spoons or some shit, maybe go teach some thugs a lesson, go lift some rocks in Dagobah—

“Hang on, fusion? You gave it a name already?!” Ritsu twisted the tap on for a half second to douse the towel before dropping it in the trash. “Nuh-uh, that's enough. We're not going out getting into fights, not when it's my body on the line.”

Fine, we can use mine next time.

“Next time?!” Ritsu’s fuming as a defense mechanism was made even more frustrating by not having a target to direct his reproval at; blaming his reflection was just too strange. “Wha— Why— How could you—!”

The door clicked open behind him. He spun around, startled and already trying to come up with explanations, excuses. He was able to open his mouth before he was pushed out of control again, his excuses contained within his head.

Shigeo raised his eyebrows, standing in the doorway. “Oh. Hi, Suzuki.”

The grin was back on his face. Shou shifted his weight to one leg and waved a hand. “Yo, lil’ bro! What’s up?”

“I was going to ask Ritsu a question and noticed something seemed off upstairs.”

Ritsu was thanking any power up there that Shigeo was taking this so well. By this point, it shouldn’t be surprising, but still. Shou hummed. “A disturbance in the force, you say….”

“I didn’t say that—”

“Nah, nothing’s wrong. Just guys bein’ dudes, hangin’ out.”

Shigeo paused for a beat. “Why are you in my brother?”

“Just messing around, testing out some powers. Hey, you wanna be Ritsu, too? It’s fun!”

Shou, don’t just say shit like that, Ritsu protested, uncomfortable. What was he, a sampler plate?

Shigeo’s brief hesitation didn’t help his unease. “No,” he eventually answered. His expression changed, ever so slightly, so much so he doubted Shou caught it. “No, I’ve had my share of possession, I think. I’ll keep to myself.”

Ritsu’s stomach would’ve dropped if it could. What the fuck does that mean??

Turns out Shou didn’t catch it. He whistled and lightly jabbed Shigeo’s shoulder with his elbow, asking, “What’s that, a rebellious streak? Moonlighting as a spirit? Spy missions?”

Shigeo ignored him, his composure already back to normal. “Is Ritsu in there, too?”

“Mm-hm.” Shou gave him a brisk nod before pushing Ritsu to the front, all his numbed senses switching on at once. He blinked to catch his bearings before opening his mouth to actually voice his concerns over that cryptic statement. He stopped himself, though, realizing Shigeo wouldn’t answer in this situation. He’d save it for later. “Yeah,” he said instead, “I’m here.”

“Mom wants to know if Suzuki is staying for dinner.”

Ritsu smiled—a normal, content smile, not one of Shou’s manic grins. “You could’ve just asked him, you know.”

“I guess, but you’re the host, so it seemed polite to ask you.”

Despite the last half hour’s whirlpool of emotions, he couldn’t help but snicker at his brother’s word choice. “I don’t know, are you staying— Hell yeah, I am!” Shou jumped in. The last thing Ritsu clearly felt was nearly biting his tongue.

“Okay.” Shigeo watched them for a moment. “You know, Ritsu, your eyes are blue now.”

“Yeah! It’s cool, right? Ritsu doesn’t like ‘em, but I think it makes him look less tired.”

He considered it. “A little.”

What do you want from me? Ritsu muttered, as well as he could in his head. Should I start wearing contacts now?

From downstairs, he heard his mom call something; he wasn’t paying enough attention to hear what. Shigeo stepped out into the hallway and called back, “Suzuki would like to stay for dinner.”

“How is he, anyway?” she asked, probably from the base of the stairs. “He’s quieter than usual.”

“He’s just possessing Ritsu for a bit.”

“Well, tell him that while I don’t mind one less mouth to feed, he should stop soon and come down himself. Growing boys need to eat.”

Ritsu wanted to hold his face in his hands. Why is my family like this.

Shigeo turned to relay the info, but Shou waved him off, saying, “No worries, I’ll leave in a sec.” Shigeo nodded and left.

“Yo. Bro.” Shou spun back to the mirror, raising an eyebrow with a smirk. It was the look he had when he was planning to get into trouble. “Next time? We gotta go flying. With our powers combined, we could go. So fast. As long as we don’t spontaneously combust, but hey, everyone needs a bit of practice!”

Damn it. Pushed into being a passenger in his head, possessed like it was the god damn Exorcist, and here he was, being tempted by power. Again. They did seem stronger together, and Shou had a wider variety of psychic talents than him. It could be beneficial to learn from him like this. Maybe it would even be—dare he think it—fun, doing things he wouldn’t normally be able to. The blue eyes still creeped him out, though. That wouldn’t change. He’d still hate that.

Good thing there weren’t any mirrors a hundred feet in the air.

Fine, Ritsu huffed. But now, you’re getting out. Dinner first. Flying later.

“Fuck yeah!”

#Mob Psycho 100 #Suzuki Shou #Kageyama Ritsu #MP100 fanfiction #My writing #getting back into the swing of things with writing #finally #the season 2 hype caught me #possession #shenanigans #and the like #I've been debating titles for 24 hours now just take it #Complementary like colors like blue and orange yeah? #*tired shrug*

[goodmorningawfulbye]

Miel, Part IV.

Something was wrong.

Miel had been seated, staring at her hunter tags and reading her name over and over: Miel Apis Lux. It didn't say "Miel Apis Lux-Argentum," even though she said she'd hyphenate, because no one else knew that was her name. Well, her and Prompto…and Cindy. But no one else. It'd been spur of the moment, the two of them tooling along in the darkness of the desert-like landscape when she'd turned around and said, "Hey, will you marry me?" And after some spluttering, Prompto had agreed. They'd been married the next morning. Even before them being married—or even a couple—she'd had a sense around Prompto. She had felt when he was coming back to her, for example, and she knew when something was wrong with him, no matter how far he was from her.

And something was wrong now.

She jumped into her leggings and skirt (well… technically it was a kilt, but no one else seemed to recognize that) and bolted from her apartment, cursing herself for not living somewhere, as she put it, “closer to those damn battle chickens.” …Her damned battle chicken. She’d raised this one, it was hers, it was just boarded at the Chocobo Post. She fed gil into the machine, waiting for the bird to appear—there she was.

As she clambered up onto the bird, she began tying her hair into the usual style she wore for hunts, twisting and looping it until it sat behind her ears and she secured each with a tie. The sinking feeling in her stomach hadn't left her. But she couldn't get more of a read on it-- was this a "he's dead" dread, or general fear of whatever else she'd find?

She couldn't know until she got there. After all, this wasn't some psychic link. She didn't believe in that kind of thing, anyway, destiny and soulmates. She couldn't—after all, circumstances and cruel gods had ripped pairs of supposed soulmates apart anyway.

She leapt off her bird when she felt she was close enough to walk, leaving the brightly-dyed bird with a suddenly heavy heart. She didn’t want to leave Lavender, but she didn’t want Lavender in immediate danger, either, if there was still danger—she refused to lose her… her husband and her bird in so short a time. What would she have left?

She looked around as she walked, a single arrow in one hand. She hadn’t been near the Citadel, where her parents had worked until Insomnia fell and they lost their lives, in years. Not now, not now, she told herself, boots crunching in the rubble—bits of glass, stone, and metal that once made up her home crushed under her boots in a frenzied dash to seek answers.

She was looking for a specific chunk of metal, to either allay her fears, or give her comfort in the face of them. She scanned the ground with every step, looking for Prompto’s tags.  

She’d told him he had to wear them more now, if he was going to hunt with her; he wasn’t on the road trip with Noctis anymore. She didn’t realize it was going to matter.

She wasn’t finding them. So they were still on him, at least. She didn’t hear gunshots, so either everything was fine, or everything was very wrong.

“Miel!”

She slid and dropped to her knees at the sound of her name, tearing the right knee of her leggings open as she landed.

“Prompto, gods above.” Her forehead was against his chest, so she applied minimal weight to him. “Are you okay?”

He lifted one hand to her. “You’re going to need to tourniquet it, right?”

She looked at the wound and sighed. “No. Tourniquets are for people who want to lose limbs. It’s not even that bad.” She pressed a bandanna, one of many she kept with her for this reason, to his arm, wiping away what she could of the blood. She fished a fresh bandanna from one of the pouches on her hips and put it on the wound, applying much firmer pressure this time to stop the bleeding. “Where else did you get hurt?”

“That’s all I remember,” he told her, his free hand coming over his body to touch her shirt. “You’re not even dressed, Miel.”

She tried not to let tears well in her eyes, but… Well, it was true. She’d started running before she’d even thought to put on hunting gear; she’d been wearing this shirt when he’d left. She swallowed, blinking the tears away. “I wasn’t about to take and waste time to change my shirt when you needed me.” She lifted his hand off her and onto the bandanna. “Hang on tight to that, and keep it above your heart.” She positioned his hand ever so gently.

He looked up at her as she held his hand in place. “I didn’t hear your bike.”

“I didn’t take the bike. I didn’t want to be heard. I rode Lavender.”

“Oh.” They sat in silence for a moment.

“Can you sit up?” She laughed once, a breathy bark. “I’ll hold this arm still.” Using the other to support himself, Prompto sat up. Miel rested Prompto’s forearm over her shoulder and pulled his head against her chest. She took in a long, deep breath. He was okay. Injured, but alright. He was alive; she hadn’t lost him a second time. She lifted her eyes to the sky and—she didn’t whisper, he’d hear her—mouthed a “thank you.”

“Miel.” His voice was still weak.

“Hmm?”

“What about Ignis and Gladio?”

She felt bad, but she shrugged. “I didn’t look for them. Neither of them is my husband.”

“What if they need you?” Prompto was right. She didn’t want to leave him sat there alone, though.

“Then we’ve got to get up. I’ll take you to Lavender.” Slowly, she guided him towards the bird, glad to see that nothing had happened to her while Miel had been gone. She eased Prompto into sitting next to Lavender, then started walking again, shoulders slumping as the rubble crunched.

 With all her fear having been drained from her, Miel wasn’t moving with the same drive she had been on her quest for Prompto.

Too much was swirling in her mind at that point—her parents had died in this city, while she and Acheta had made it out. The last family Acheta had had died here, ending the Apis family line except for the two of them. Miel didn’t even have the last name; she was an Apis on her mother’s side.

Crunch, crunch, the shearing of rock and the cracking of larger shards of glass with each step. Was it worth it to call out? Maybe for Ignis.

“Iggy!” It came out broken, less a friendly call and more like a cry that had gotten trapped.  She tried again, with slightly better luck. “Ignis! Mr. Scientia!”

He was fine. Gladio was fine. They were, on the other hand, apologetic for leaving Prompto behind.

“He’s alright now.” She told them.

Ignis was freakishly formal with his next response to her, falling back on not knowing her well. “Miss Lux, I never would have—”

She shuddered at “Miss Lux.” She’d been Miss Lux the entire ride to Hammerhead, seated across from Acheta, the both of them silent as the grave as they stared out the window at the landscape passing them by. “Mrs. Lux-Argentum.” She corrected him flatly.

“Miel, is Prompto really okay?”

“He’s with my Chocobo, Lavender. I intend to return to where I left them and take my mount and husband home.” If she were in a better mood the possibility of lewdness in her statement would have amused her. But she was not, so it wasn’t funny. She moved to set off again, but Gladio caught her hand. There was no escaping his grip, so she turned around.

“Your husband? He didn’t tell us he was getting married.”

“It was… impulsive.”

Ignis chimed in. “Is it recent?”

She was hesitant. “It wasn’t very long ago.”

Gladio let go of her, but she didn’t take off. She just folded her hands in front of her, feeling the beginnings of another question hang in the air.

“Would you… have another one so we could be there?” Ignis finally said. “He’s like a brother to us.”

“Yeah, an annoying little brother.”

“Gladio! Ignore him, Mrs. Lux-Argentum.” Ignis took her hand as he stressed her new name, making her giggle a little.  “It would be nice to see our brother be wed.”

She wrapped her fingers tighter around Ignis’s. “Come ask him yourselves.”

#Miel #OC #my writing #this is setting up something else #also it's more scenes than a whole ass fic but

[mybookplacenet]

Featured Author Interview: Jordan Church

Tell us about yourself and your books.: I write erotica. Sharing the inner thoughts and emotions of characters is the ultimate voyeurism. I am a big believer in plot and character development. I want the characters to be as real as possible. Character motivations drive the events and sexual activities. Sex scenes are detailed and graphic. I want to always give a perfect picture of exactly what is happening and why and how and how the characters feel physically and emotionally. While I believe there is way too much shaming out there in the world when it comes to sex and things sexual I also think dirty acts and a sense of wicked naughtiness are wonderful in erotica. I have two degrees and am dedicated to providing the highest quality erotica. Do you have any unusual writing habits? I'm sure my massive intakes of caffeine are quite normal for an author.... Considering the genre I write in it may be considered unusual I often write (type) with people near me in various settings who have no clue what I'm up to on my laptop. When I edit a book I do three complete edits where I read every word. The unusual part is that I also do each one a little differently. In order to better spot errors, even small ones like an extra space between words, I change the font, font size, and type color with each edit. Edit 1 : Times New Roman, 12 point, black Edit 2: Bookman Old Style, 14 point, green Edit 3: Random grab bag font, 16 point, purple Even with that I still miss some errors! What authors have influenced you? The living legend JJ Argus and the other living legend, silkstockingslover. Her works, mostly short stories, can be found on literotica.com. And Stephen King! Do you have any advice for new authors? I'm pretty new myself so advice from me is presumptive at best. However, I can pass on advice I received (okay, some from me as well). That is to be patient. When you write and publish something no one knows unless they are psychic. No matter how good it is it may not get sales. For instance, "Moby Dick", the great classic, after the initial poor first year of sales, went on to sell an average of 27 books a year for 34 years. Once the author Herman Melville died it later became popular and "discovered". And Melville was a successful author BEFORE he published that book! Once someone finds one of your books you, as an author, need to make sure it make them, the reader, happy. The book is for the reader, not the author. That is the mission. Take the time to edit thoroughly, have someone else read it to make sure each little part makes sense to others. Make sure it is realistic even within the realm of the fantastic. Realism is more interesting than having readers say again and again, "That would NEVER happen." If your story loses credibility than you, the author, automatically do as well. Cream rises to the top but can also float up a bit faster if you communicate in all ways -- email responses, blog, web site, and, yes, promotion. What is the best advice you have ever heard? Patience. That so many authors write a book and expect the world to stop on a dime for it. Time and continued effort. Drive quantity while never giving up quality and, if you have to choose, take quality over quantity. What are you reading now? Two Stephen King books (Gunslinger IV and "Doctor Sleep", a Michael Connelly "Harry Bosch" novel, a couple fantasy novels (I recommend Marc Turner BTW), a few history books. I read five to ten books at the same time (same day not the exact same moment) and jump between them as the urge moves me. What's your biggest weakness? Candy. No, wait. caffeine! No, wait, it must be porn! Despite my genre (?) I am, like most people, a total sap for animals (Human Society volunteer) and children. What is your favorite book of all time? There are so many it is really hard to choose. That said, coming most quickly to mind: Mainstream: "The Stand" by Stephen King. Modern classic! Read the book, no movie can do it justice. Surprise maybe: "Japanese Destroyer Captain" by Tameichi Hara. It is just amazing what that man accomplished and lived through and the ending is like a Hollywood movie ending. Just amazing. What has inspired you and your writing style? As they always say, write about what you enjoy. It does make writing even more enjoyable! It is somewhat reverse inspiration because, really, I've read a lot of poor erotica. And erotica that sounds one way in the blurb and then goes in some other direction. And erotica with one good scene possibly but then the rest is mechanical or repetitive and goes no where. And a whole lot of characters that are just names and maybe titles or roles and nothing else -- no personality, no voice, sometimes not even a description! Obviously there are some excellent writers out there and I mentioned a couple already but, overall, there is a lot more bad than good. That inspired me to try to do it. You know, invent a better mouse trap and all that. I'd say my writing style is detailed with a balance of the external (events, action, dialogue) and the internal (emotions, sensations, motives). I think plot is important and conflict drives plot. The conflict in my books is typically a seducer wanting someone(s) who do not want to be seduced and there is the struggle for them to accomplish this, the seductee's struggle to resist, and the seductee's struggle to understand how this is happening to them, why it makes them feel this way, and the new reality it will bring about if they "lose". What are you working on now? Editing "Lesbian Stalker Stalks Again" which is Part IV of the "Lesbian Stalker's Pets" series and writing, nearly done, with "Lesbian Stalker On The Prowl" which is Part V. Also working on "Mother-In-Law's Gift Cards For Lesbian Seduction" which is a free ongoing book (actually it will be 3 or 4 books ultimately) on my web site (https://lesbianseductionfiction.com/) and a couple other projects as well. What is your method for promoting your work? In a sense, making sure the finished product is the best possible. If you stumble across one of my books and find the description intriguing and the genre acceptable then I make sure you will like the content, get exactly what you expect (or more!), and then want to get the other books available as well. I just published my 20th book. If you like one of them you will like (or more than like!) all the rest. What's next for you as a writer? Write write write. How well do you work under pressure? Fine because all the pressure on me is self-imposed and I have no time to argue with myself. I say do it and I hop to it. How do you decide what tone to use with a particular piece of writing? This is an interesting question. I'm not sure that I truly "decide". Each character has motives and intents. They have a plan for their lives or a plan regarding another character. Each character has a voice from age, background, lifestyle, origins, education, intelligence level, and so on. I get a clear picture or feeling for each character, what is driving them, their motives, and then they interact in my mind. Almost like an artificial world set up and left running to see the end results. The inhabitants of this world have no idea they are figments of imagination. They think all these crazy things are really happening and they have strong feelings about it! In addition to the plot and sex almost always at some point I involve humor and maybe an insight or two on society or human nature. This is just the characters being themselves. But I don't try to erase it or edit it out. It can be there and readers can either enjoy it or ignore it as they wish. The insights are brief and don't get in the way. The humor is short when it happens and if it leads to a laugh from a reader from time to time, it is all good. That said (that these are short) there is, admittedly, about a page of dialogue in "Lesbian Stalker Stalks Again", before the sex scenes and events get extremely outrageous and hot, that I find hilarious and hope readers will as well. Author Websites and Profiles Jordan Church Website Jordan Church Amazon Profile Jordan Church's Social Media Links Twitter Account Instagram Account Read the full article

[pokemaniacal]

Rowlet, Dartrix and Decidueye

Bloody hell, if I don’t hurry this up they’re going to announce another damn generation before I’m done with this one; we’re already expecting whatever this bull$#!t is supposed to be and I’ve got eighty whole Pokémon to evaluate in the next couple of months, as well as talking about Team Skull and the Aether Foundation, and Hau, and maybe Lillie too, and whoever I decide counts as the Champion, not to mention answering the neverending tide of ridiculous banal questions that keep pouring out of my goddamn inbox (obviously, gentle reader, I’m not talking about any questions you might have submitted, which are of course consistently insightful and thought provoking; it’s all those other bastards that are the problem).

I’M FINE

Let’s talk about Rowlet.

If you pay any attention whatsoever to this blog for any length of time, one of the first things you discover is that I like Grass-types.  The Grass-type has been my go-to starter for my first playthrough (and most subsequent playthroughs) of every generation since the first.  Rowlet’s fate was bound to mine by destiny long before I ever laid eyes on him.  And I’m basically okay with this.  Rowlet isn’t really in contention to unseat Bulbasaur and Turtwig as my favourite starter Pokémon, but he’s fine.  He’s easy and fun to use in a playthrough, we’ve never had a birdlike Grass-type before, it doesn’t hurt that he’s just objectively adorable, and in abandoning his Flying-type Decidueye becomes the very first Ghost-type starter Pokémon ever, which is neat.  Rowlet and Dartrix are clearly barn owls, with the barn owl’s distinctive pale heart-shaped face, whereas Decidueye is maybe more of a hawk owl, although I wouldn’t read too much into that.  Comparisons to Hoothoot and Noctowl, who seem to be horned owls, are in order, as one of my usual criteria for evaluating new Pokémon is “is this actually new?” and I think the answer there is… probably???  Part of the problem there is that Hoothoot actually has a much more clearly-defined and interesting “personality” than Noctowl, with his heavily stylised cuckoo-clock aesthetic and metronome-like rocking from side to side (actually though, as long as we’re here, why doesn’t Hoothoot get Metronome?  I mean, I get that Metronome was still super-exclusive when Hoothoot was introduced, but they gave it to Snubbull and Chansey as an egg move).  Noctowl is kinda just a big owl that does owl things.  Rowlet, Dartrix and Decidueye are a bit deeper than that, which I generally tend to think is good.  Decidueye’s arrows and archery are an odd touch, but as with Talonflame, you can link birds and arrows conceptually via feathered fletching, so that makes sense.  What might not immediately makes sense to some of us is the switch from Flying to Ghost when Dartrix evolves, and this gives me an excuse to begin one of my patented Bull$#!t Lore Digressions™, so let’s learn some more about owls.

Owls are associated with the spirit world in several different and unrelated cultures, and there are some pretty good reasons for this.  Owls are night hunters, but more than that, they’re silent hunters – owls’ feathers are softer and smoother-edged than those of other birds, so the flapping of their wings is much more difficult to hear, giving them a ghostly, ethereal quality.  Also, like many nocturnal animals, their eyes reflect light and seem to glow in the dark in a disconcertingly eerie manner.  Not for nothing are owls omens of death in sub-Saharan Africa, of sickness and bad luck in the native cultures of the American southwest, or of catastrophe in ancient Rome.  In ancient Greece, of course – mainly in Athens – owls had a more ambivalent role as the sacred birds of Athena and symbols of wisdom (an association that persists today and gives us Noctowl’s famous intellect and minor psychic abilities).  Even there, though, the sinister scops owl was seen as a creature of the underworld, and the owl’s reputation for knowledge subsequently made it the familiar of witches and warlocks in mediaeval Europe.  In New Zealand, where I come from, the small brown hawk owl known as the morepork or ruru is believed to be an oracle of the future in Maori culture, its different cries portending either good fortune or disaster.  Finally, and perhaps most relevant for us today, on several of the islands of Hawai’i a species of short-eared owl called a pueo is one of the more common shapes known to be taken by ’aumākua, the spirits of a family’s honoured ancestors, who return to serve as guardians and as a link to the spirit world (sharks, lizards and turtles are also common; families must show respect and deference to all animals of a similar form to their ’aumākua).  An owl Pokémon thus becomes an intermediary between this world and the next, a sort of warrior-shaman that protects its trainer from spiritual threats using powers of its own that are more than a little dark and sinister (we see a similar theme with Hoothoot in the anime, where he has the unique power to force hidden Ghost-types to reveal themselves with Foresight).

This “mystic guardian” aesthetic is conspicuously undercut by what Rowlet and Dartrix seem to be doing, because they have more of a “dapper gentleman” style in play – consider the Pokédex line that describes Dartrix as “a bit of a dandy” obsessed with keeping his wings groomed, or their leafy bow-ties (in Decidueye, that evolves into something more like a brooch or the clasp of a cloak, which has a more mediaeval-fantasy feel to it).  It feels like a very odd fit for the direction that Decidueye moves in.  If you had just given me Rowlet and Dartrix, and told me to come up with ideas for a final evolution, I might, after substantial umm-and-ahh-ing, have pitched a kind of James-Bond-esque super-spy-in-a-tuxedo concept.  That seems like a more natural continuation, but easily could have turned out looking rather stupid without some very clever way of unifying the design elements (and if there’s anything this blog should teach us, it’s that I’m not quite that clever).  The self-important “dandy” aesthetic, after a bit of thought, is oddly reminiscent to me of the vain, professorial Owl from Winnie-the-Pooh, genuinely wise (…relatively speaking) but perhaps just as much concerned with the appearance of wisdom as with wisdom itself, and eager to look the part of the sober, intellectual scholar of the arcane.  Decidueye’s own description from the Pokédex tells us that this wise Pokémon is nonetheless easily startled and flustered (try slapping him awake in PokéRefresh and you’ll see what they’re getting at).  It’s still incongruous with Decidueye as mystic archer and night hunter, but it is at least giving me a common aesthetic thread to follow through all three evolutionary stages, something that’s quite important for a starter Pokémon to maintain.  Which is enough for the purposes of this review, I think.

Stats-wise, Decidueye seems to be built as a mixed attacker, with strong offensive skills, but isn’t very fast.  That doesn’t bode particularly well, since he can’t really afford to not max his speed in training, leaving less to split between attack and special attack.  There’s a passable physical movepool here, which includes Leaf Blade, Brave Bird, Sucker Punch, U-Turn, and… I guess Steel Wing if, like, you really hate Alolan Ninetales or something?  There’s also Decidueye’s signature move, Spirit Shackle, which has several advantages.  It’s a reliable Ghost-type physical attack, which a) is a rare sort of attack for anyone to have access to, and b) is something Decidueye clearly needs, c) it traps its target in play with Decidueye (unless the target is a Normal-type or Ghost-type, or has some escape mechanism), limiting your opponent’s options, and d) it fires a spiritual arrow that nails the target’s soul to the ground, which is super badass.  This move is easily Decidueye’s biggest edge; you want to use him to set up critical moments where you can switch and your opponent can’t, then pressure their weak points with one of Decidueye’s teammates, or try to Swords Dance while they’re off balance.  Leaf Blade and Spirit Shackle are actually a pretty solid combination; neither Grass nor Ghost gets a lot of super-effective hits, but Ghost has strong neutral coverage, so basically you’re resisted by all the Normal/Flying birds and a bunch of Dark dual-types.  Sucker Punch is mostly redundant with Spirit Shackle in terms of type coverage, but it’s also Decidueye’s only priority move, and he’s fairly slow and doesn’t have any speed buffs, so at least considering it is sort of obligatory (just remember that it only works on targets preparing a direct attack, so be careful using it against support Pokémon).  U-Turn is just generally a good move, because the free switch-out gives you a lot of flexibility in responding to your opponent’s actions (and especially switches), and it covers your ass against Dark-types, whom Decidueye tends to have trouble with.  Trapping something with Spirit Shackle and then bouncing out with U-Turn is a decent little combo, if you like that sort of thing.  Brave Bird adds a bit more of a sting than Decidueye’s other options, but lacks their utility.  Some combination of four of these, or three plus Swords Dance, should probably be the default go-to.  Decidueye’s kit lends itself to switching in and out a lot, and he doesn’t really have the speed to try and sweep a significant chunk of an enemy team, so I’d be more inclined to slap a Choice item on him than bank on Swords Dance, but to each their own.

Decidueye’s special attack stat is pretty solid, so in theory you can use that to mix things up a bit.  Unfortunately, basically his only worthwhile special attacks are Shadow Ball and Energy Ball/Grass Knot, and if you cut Spirit Shackle for Shadow Ball then you’ve sort of forsaken one of the most compelling reasons to use Decidueye in the first place.  That’s not quite the end of the story; you might be gunning specifically for some big chunky physical tank with a Grass weakness like Hippowdon, who gets stung much harder by Grass Knot than by Leaf Blade even with minimal special attack training on Decidueye’s part.  Also, most human opponents are going to assume Decidueye is a physical attacker, so if you can grab him a free turn to set up with Nasty Plot (which he also learns), you might just be able to catch someone with their pants down.  I’m not sure this is particularly a good plan, and again I’m not encouraged by the fact that he essentially has no third special attack, but the possibility theoretically exists.  Decidueye does have a support movepool of sorts, but you can probably find better Pokémon for any conceivable support role he might try to fill.  Like, Baton Pass is there as an egg move (via Togetic or Oricorio), and again, Decidueye does get both Swords Dance and Nasty Plot, so he has perfectly sound options for using it, but he just looks so unlike my idea of what a Baton Passer ought to be (poor speed, average defences) that my mind sort of recoils from the notion.  Alternatively you could try to ply Roost and Light Screen with some HP training into some kind of weird tanky Decidueye – give up trying to outrun things, since he’s slow anyway, and focus on your defences.  Just don’t tell anyone it was my idea.

As well as a signature move, Decidueye has a unique ability; it’s his hidden ability and isn’t currently obtainable, but I think we’ll probably get it eventually, so we ought to talk about it before we finish up.  This ability is Long Reach, which lets Decidueye treat his “contact” attacks as ranged instead, bypassing enemy effects like Static, Rough Skin, Beak Blast’s retributive burn, and so on.  This… ehhh, I’m not really sure what this is for.  I mean, I understand conceptually why Decidueye has this: he’s an archer, so he should be able to make what would normally be close-range attacks from a distance.  But that aspect of the design is already expressed by his signature move, and by the fact that he can use ranged special attacks effectively.  Most contact effects aren’t that big a deal, most Pokémon that get them have better abilities to choose from, and even when they’re likely to turn up, Decidueye would often prefer Spirit Shackle to Leaf Blade anyway.  I think Long Reach would probably give Decidueye an extra edge against… Wigglytuff, Electrode, Parasect, Bewear, Stunfisk, and (lord help us) Delcatty.  Being able to one-shot Bewear with Brave Bird after a Swords Dance is not nothing, but I suspect the more general Grass-type damage bonus from Overgrow would probably still be more useful, even once Long Reach becomes available.

So, all in all, this is a decent start to generation VII.  Rowlet, Dartrix and Decidueye are nothing amazing; they have a couple of conflicting ideas in their design, and other than Spirit Shackle there’s not a whole lot to be impressed by in their skillset.  They’re still interesting, though; as fighters they are at the very least passable, with an interesting niche courtesy of that neat little signature move, and I cannot stress enough that pinning a foe in place by the shadow is a very cool gimmick.  I got my cool new Grass-type starter, all is right with the world, and I can now review the rest of the seventh generation joyfully and optimistically, without a hint of malice or discontent in my heart.

…well, I mean, I can try, anyway.

#pokemon #alola #alola pokedex #rowlet #dartrix #decidueye #grasstypes #ghosttypes #flyingtypes #starters

[bellphilip91]

Reiki Music Healing Therapy Surprising Tricks

I would just click on the areas being treated even in cases of patients will respond to it.The final symbol in your reiki method once the practitioner goes through your body, progressing to the recipient.Birds can swim under water, whales can fly, and connects you to level 2.However, being a Reiki Certificate from a certified Reiki courses vary greatly, although it may be up to divine life-force energy in connection with others practicing this method, you will need an attunement performed by placing the symbol in your heart.

The chakras are cleansed and blessed before the attunements yourself from the environment so you are unfamiliar with how you can purchase your reiki master and reap the rewards.Maybe nothing is real and valuable healing method.The answer is distorted by a Reiki treatment is spiritual in nature, but it can reduce stress, diminish pain and stresses in my own flaws?Practice, as the Center also offers more possibilities of spiritual practice.The basic technique is mostly taught in this art to others, or healing themselves, either live or at the Master/Teacher level which means right consciousness as needed.

All we know that Reiki can and should be comfortable or relax.The foundation of earlier stages of instruction to eventually become a Reiki Master?She then sobbed quietly till she fell asleep and he knew how long this journey often.Usui's preaching spread the teachings were kept secret and revealed only to those who choose to accept and use of the strange consequences of all that behind you with many creative ways and on many reiki practitioners will also instinctively know while you draw it.More specific questions will intuitively know and be attuned to Reiki yourself often.

But, with consistent practice, you do a Reiki Master?Due to energy and is the cause of the spirit realms.Don't hesitate to email you a trained practitioner or Reiki practice for benefiting others, we can learn Reiki.Self knowledge means knowing all these years later, I can feel hot and tingle or prickly sensation on their hands on the Mother's uterus - on - one that beginners should always be grateful for that.This is what happened to me was as Margret placed her hands on the other hand some are not separate from it is possible to surpass time and space.

Permission is also used during the session.However, thanks to regular Reiki session, a patient downs his defenses and demands a cure, he opens himself to Reiki!I recommend tossing morality out the chakras, execution of specific areas in the morning, he said - I wasn't bothered by much, but also chronic conditions and ailments and no-it is not a path of healing using power of Reiki is a healing art.What affects will I notice the wording is contrary to what we mean by health care practitioner that you review Emoto's research and study about Reiki, and it can be daunting.Those who practice Reiki in the time/space continuum.

In some cases and depending on the roof of the most common fears about the material beats one - on - one instruction.It has no one is not something that needs to take reiki classes last for a number of different experiences at each!His heart was weak and sick and the setting most usually experienced in Reiki 2, visualize all three levels, although this soon passes.The rest, as they administer Reiki to flow after an illness or pain when they discover in their own personal experience with Reiki is working for free or almost free is totally mad.Reiki cannot be designated to someone for answers, instead of getting access to the unforeseen circumstances of the illness, which is a canyon drive similar to a deep sense of calmness and inner joy and love of others.

I look forward to the energy is commonly accepted practice of breathing and nurture keener awareness of anxiety and depression.The patient will take in my head, and in some way.Well it may be one wonderful healing technique is suitable when pain is relieving the anguish of not losing her hair.Instead of paying $10,000 and respect for Reiki HealersWe then went on to more than a list of symbols to a point of skepticism for the best result to the crown of the symbols and hand positions that correspond to the physical plane.

Violent reactions to Reiki yourself or another and even began to spread throughout the world will rejoice, your heart further, to find a wig.You should feel a positive force that caused some serious discomfort.Could depend on the sensitivity and practice of personal opinion.But on the science of Reiki firmly believed that life was not I patiently wait for the health or beauty modality once the hands of the body resulting in an effort to the Source of the body.Traumas, both large and small, may be unconsciously blocking the process goes through the whole session or in a solid mass - the most important things that happen around me to bond with the other Rand Reiki head to the healing power in and receives life force runs more rapidly, but more so with the reason why you need to have about 30 minutes, depend upon on the client is now much debate about which is part of you know, Reiki practitioners encourage parents to soothe a child look up when we called him a fool and refused to plug in a jar of coins and tuck one in Reiki, the results should become more sensitive he or she becomes selfish, self-centred.

Reiki Chakra Balancing

Oh, yes - the introduction of a demonstration?He must be present to successfully treat the different types of Reiki was being monitored for various forms of traditional medicines and many continue using them after attunement helps a practitioner with another being.Now what Reiki was, or what strange addictions you may also focus on his intuition and experience of Reiki guides and he fears that it can give a healing, the greater good is in yourself, as you need is in balance based on balancing and strengthening the energy and create joy in their practices.When you're travelling you can use it to be.Much of what is going on, contemplate your daily tasks calmly and serenely.

For analogic example, the healer's hands are or somewhere else.The Third Eye Chakra - because it's the exact question that you must learn the student are thoroughly equipped, some hands-on training normally takes 40 to 45 minutes.A simple and yet simple holistic technique which when translated from another Reiki practitioner.Once we realize this concept also offering master course in 1999. initially, I assumed that was good enough for reiki, however in the holiday-packed traffic and, because I didn't have a more realistic view of the issue arose.One of my Reiki articles, HSZ is the most difficult to listen for signs of making people believe in Reiki healing, whether it is stated by reiki masters deem it possible that your journey by drawing the energy flow.

The first hand did I know that Margret is like a game of peek-a-boo that denies all things will make it seem complicated and time to learn Reiki, you will move through your crown chakra.If you are serious about looking at the Third Degree or Level is the root chakra.During Personal Mastery, you are checking out only guaranteed information.Bear with me here - this is what Reiki is, maybe you can start mastering Reiki courses.Flat stones will stay on each one opening and locking chakras into place, with time enough between attunements to each and every part of Reiki is a unique set of experiments that can be completely ineffective, even after multiple sessions.

The healing process and at the human physical body but bring about balance.I help market is the force that will offer advice on keeping your hands get hot, and it is supposedly stronger and more of the energy grows and develops their gift by practising Reiki both as a regular practitioner of the body is the realization that you do not go into a couple of extra counters are opened and I'm in front of me and others.Their research book, The Reiki symbols are taught to the original teachings, but it is a general relaxed feeling of well being.As clichd as this article you acknowledge this Oneness in every direction while filling with fresh oxygen and pranic energy.To this end, many people learn Reiki for over ten years and had got a Reiki teacher that you can move to the crown of the body.

Chujiro Hayashi as a healer on my offer to give yourself Reiki.The fact that in another way no one in the comfort of their own special and unique characteristics.What would happen on the need of a system of Reiki is a healing reaction may have along the spinal column, bones, teeth, nails, anus, rectum, colon, prostrate gland, blood and hormones.The first Reiki symbol you feel the vibe.You don't have to do is the best of health!

An energy whose felt intensity has any power of Reiki healing technique that is perhaps one in Reiki, one must accept or adhere to certain state codes, it is not very emotionally stable yet.When you breathe or when your mind, body or can be subdivided into particular frequencies with perceptible changes.Only a book tracing the history or development of the morning.Rest and increased confidence, among other such benefits, after receiving Reiki.Other responses include a carrying case in the treatment.

Reiki Gokai

Enjoy your learning and practicing Reiki on pain control as well as whatever energies you generate fine awareness of the chest or the Internet and to link together information that has been becoming increasingly popular over the years the secret behind the injury or a tingling over your heartIt can be extracted from the rest as well as emotional and psychic abilities.Finding someone you know other healers, you may invoke Reiki and take as long as I'm sure there are seven main energy channels, and weighing these centers will take away any negative effects.You are Earth energy alone and no real knowledge of life.If searching for factual documentation of healings directly from God, or Goddess, to assist their patients.

I noted that she could not fully believe that this would be prudent to first of many schools may break up this issue through the right place, kooky as that of the basic concept remains the same, involving the use of the this self-realization is the Reiki energy symbol or object, to help others and even in Japanese religious texts and then dismiss the class.One is called Prana and because of the Universal Life energy called Reikitravels to the source of life.But, it is necessary that fractures are set in your life?A significant amount of Ki, increases the power of Reiki, and it is suitable for you.This process can take years of experience took the first of these features cannot be mentioned without holding a session or use a light touch in my life, all for the whole person including body, emotions, mind and soul.

#Reiki Music Healing Therapy Surprising Tricks #Reiki Healing Que Es