#right in the middle of the villain's master plan and all

[warningsine]

For the early punks, many of them white British blokes, their music was about declaring themselves outside the larger society. The Sex Pistols dreamed of “anarchy for the U.K.” The Clash howled for “a riot of my own.” To be punk was to give offense, to make one’s self unpalatable, to choose to stand apart.

But what is punk when your society has already made you an outsider? This is the musical question that the raucous, cheeky comedy “We Are Lady Parts,” returning Thursday for its second season on Peacock, seeks to answer.

The first season, back in 2021, introduced Lady Parts, a punk band of Muslim women in London: Saira (Sarah Kameela Impey), the caustic lead singer; Ayesha (Juliette Motamed), the fearsome drummer; and Bisma (Faith Omole), the earth-motherly bassist. Together with their manager, Momtaz (Lucie Shorthouse), a savvy Malcolm McLaren in a niqab, they recruit a reluctant lead guitarist, Amina (Anjana Vasan).

Amina is no one’s idea of a rock star, least of all her own. She is an introverted microbiologist who worships Don McLean, with a severe case of stage fright that causes her to heave her guts while performing — and not in a defiant, Iggy Pop way. (Vasan gives Amina an engaging nerd-hero energy, similar to Quinta Brunson in “Abbott Elementary.”)

Over the six-episode season, Amina finds that Lady Parts gives her a way of defining herself rather than being defined, whether by the conservative suitors who tell her “Music is haram” or by her free-spirited mother (Shobu Kapoor), who wishes Amina would wait to seek a husband.

The root conflicts of “We Are Lady Parts” are familiar rock-band woes — having no money, having no gigs, being judged by family and by hipsters. This is where making the series about Muslim women rockers accomplishes more than representational box-ticking: It makes an old story new and nuanced.

For Amina and the rest of the band, rebellion is complicated. It means being Muslim women musicians, with equal stress on both adjectives. (The name Lady Parts itself feels like an answer to the anatomical name of the Pistols.) It means owning their sexuality and spirituality, seizing the right to define what being Muslim means to them and affirming their Muslim identity, as reflected in their sly, effectively catchy songs (co-written by the show’s creator, Nida Manzoor).

“Voldemort Under My Headscarf” embraces the traditional garb as a badass statement as defiant as any ’70s punk’s safety pin. (“I’m sorry if I scare you/ I scare myself too.”) “Bashir With the Good Beard” addresses a certain kind of haughty, elusive boyfriend. (“Are my clothes too tight?/ Do I laugh too much?”)

The series has some resonance with the recently ended “Reservation Dogs,” though its sense of humor is more rowdy and brash. It, too, is a story about young people asserting their individuality while affirming their community rather than rejecting it. The first season’s climax, in fact, involves the band being mischaracterized by an article profile that labels them “Bad Girls of Islam.”

Season 2 finds Lady Parts in the flush of minor success. (The show also shows signs of having hit the big time, attracting guest stars including Malala Yousafzai.)

The band has finished a camper-van tour of England and is planning an album. Their fan base now includes not just Muslim kids, but Muslim kids’ parents, as well as middle-aged white people, whose cringey praise recalls the garden party guests from “Get Out.” Amina has mastered her stage fright and — with occasional wobbles — is embracing her confident “villain era.”

The show’s sophomore outing is as brassy as the first, but adds layers of theme and character. Early on, the band discovers it has competition in a younger Muslim band, Second Wife. (“That’s good,” Ayesha grudgingly acknowledges of the name.) Rather than set up a battle of the bands, “We Are Lady Parts” puts a twist on the “There can only be one” mentality that pits underrepresented artists against each other.

As the band progresses, and Amina grows into her romantic confidence, the season plays with the way a kind of fetishizing adoration can be as toxic as rejection, both artistically and personally. Being stared at because of your head scarf, in post-Brexit Britain, is alienating, but so is being asked to keep your head scarf on to protect your Muslim-punk brand.

Over six episodes, the season fleshes out its supporting characters, wrestling with who they are and what they want to say. Bisma, who is married and has an adolescent daughter, starts to feel typecast as the group’s maternal figure. (“I am Mommy Spice. I am Wholesome, Boring Spice.”) Ayesha is dating a woman but is reluctant to come out to her parents, which makes her worry that she’s letting down her gay fans. Saira, the most old-school-punk of the group, itches to branch out from “funny Muslim songs” and write more pointedly political material, but that risks hurting the band commercially.

It’s hard not to see this last story as a meta-comment, intentional or not, on what the series itself can get away with saying, on a major media platform, with these characters. There is reference, for instance, to Saira wanting to speak out on how Muslims are being persecuted around the world, but less reference to any specific conflict, be it in Gaza or elsewhere.

One striking scene makes this sense of invisible boundaries literal, as Saira struggles to put her politics into song form. She runs through a verse: “It’s like death and the maiden / Dancing with my corporation / I won’t mention the w—” The what? The world? The war? We never hear. Her mouth is pixelated as she tries to finish the line, over and over; she strains and screams but the word won’t come out. Whether “Lady Parts” chooses not to complete her lyric or can’t, the image of asphyxiating silence is potent. (The episode closes with a song by the Palestinian singer Rasha Nahas.)

Of course, getting silenced by the industry is another perennial tale of rock ’n’ roll, among other vocations. As in Season 1’s getting-the-band-together arc, the challenges of making it are superficially familiar from other music stories: What is selling out? How do you distinguish growth from compromise? Can you make it big without abandoning any of your mates?

But the execution and the details are captivatingly specific. What works about “We Are Lady Parts” is what works about great punk. You can still fashion something new out of the same old three chords. You just need a distinctive voice.

#exactly exactly #we are lady parts

[bloomeng]

I don’t normally share personal projects here but I'm happy with the art so why not. Anyway these are some character concepts for a game pitch assignment I've been working on. It's still very much in its infancy but the idea is a dating sim/visual novel-style game based around the concept of a support group for the henchmen of supervillains, called "Henchman Anonymous."

You-- the player-- are the familiar to Carmilla de Villeneuve, the Vampire Princess (pictured left). No, she isn't royalty. Yes, you're pretty sure she stole her name from popular vampire media. But yes, she's actually a vampire, a vampire supervillain more specifically, and a very mediocre one at that. After years of thankless work executing her extravagantly stupid schemes (that might also just be a wee bit genius) and styling her finger waves you've about had it. That's what Henchman Anonymous is for, breaking up with your abusive boss! Only one issue you might sort of actually be a bit in love with her... Perhaps what you need is a little help getting over her.

As of right now I only have two main routes planned.

Route #1: Amélie is one of Ring Master's many henchmen and she is also her daughter. Let's just say crime runs in the family, as in they're literally a crime family. Amélie is the fourth eldest of eight, meaning her smack dab in the middle and often overlooked. Between the size of her family and her mother's controlling tendencies, Amélie feels more than a little stifled. She hopes that Henchmen Anonymous will help her break free and lead a normal life. It's too bad her boss just happens to be your boss' villain rival— not that Ring Master knows that.

Route #2: Dorian is a man of mystery, well it's more accurate to say he's a stubborn jerk who refuses to share anything, despite being in a support group. You swear he looks familiar though. Little do you know the reason Dorian won't talk is because he's not-so-secretly the sidekick to the Ebony Knight-- your city's resident vigilante-- who's undercover trying to get insider information on supervillains so that maybe his boss will fully take him under his wing. Unfortunately for you, the reason he looks so familiar is that the Ebony Knight might just be Carmilla's nemesis and absolute obsession. (Lego Batman and Lego Joker vibes)

Main Route:

Ideally, I would like to have a non-romance-based route for those who want to explore the plots of both stories. This route would allow players to learn about both Amélie and Dorian's connections to Carmilla and allow you to befriend them. There are also a couple secondary non-romanceable characters that I haven't mentioned because I don't have concepts drawn up for them that would get more emphasis. I haven't decided if it would be something activated by not scoring high enough with either of the romanceable characters or if it's something I would let players choose.

Secret Route:

In my head, I'm calling this the "I can fix her" route, because that's basically what it is. It would focus on getting to know Carmilla. In all versions of the story, there would ideally be a plot about learning to set boundaries with Carmilla, but this secret route would basically allow you to then romance her. Unlike the other routes, Carmilla wouldn't be something you could choose, you'd have to earn it through the main route.

Notes on the designs:

Carmilla died in the 50's and is old Hollywood-inspired, specifically Marilyn Monroe who I used as a clothing reference. Overall I wanted this whole series to read very campy and lean into tropes, so I tried to also capture as many vampire motifs as I could. While she loves to look glamorous she's actually not all that good at styling herself. I sort of based her on the wwdits vampire logic of them being dated but not completely tied down to whatever century they died in. Committing to the aesthetic is the most important factor.

Amélie is based on court jesters and is absolutely supposed to be a Harley Quinn knockoff. I mixed several eras for her clothing. Court jesters are associated mostly with being medieval so I pulled some references there with the headdress, which I heavily stylized to look like devil horns. The ribbons are a call back to the veils women used to wear. The collar and sleeves are more Elizabethan, while the stays are based on 18th century fashion. (I've been drawing too much ofmd fanart my bad everypony) Don't ask me where the chemise is, maybe it's cropped. For the bottom half I referenced DC comics silhouettes. It might also be worth mentioning that I was listening to Chappell Roan while drawing her initial designs, so that really carried over in the make-up, but I swear she was always going to be a redhead!

Dorian's outfit I have to be so real about, I'm not super satisfied with. I wanted to do a more modern, street-wear look. The best way to describe the vibe I wanted to go for is "if DC's Nightwing were to try to style Marvel's Prowler." I wanted this sort of uptight, hyper-serious sidekick to dress like what he thought villains dressed like. So I opted to put him in stereotypical "bad boy" clothing; leather jacket, studded belts, fingerless gloves. I looked at a lot of Shadow the Hedgehog gijinka fanart. I don't hate what I came up with, but I definitely want to push the design more next time, really amp up the emo, bad boy-ness of it all. 

some notes on the design of the game:

Because I'm still very early on in the hypothetical process I don't have backgrounds or specific graphic design elements selected. However, my initial idea would be to use the classic comic book style font with the text bar emulating speech bubbles-- well, closer to the bubbles they use for inner dialogue or establishing shots. I want to play up that comic book vibe.

And for funsies here’s a facial sprite in action:

(ingore her lack of feet it's a sprite draft)

#i don't know if it's obvious but i go to art school teehee #txt #long post #oc #oc art #original art #original character #henchman anon #my art

[gardens-light]

The Girl Online

Don't know about you guys. But sometimes watching my old favorites brings back childhood/teen-hood crushes. Raphael and Leonardo. Currently writing ideas for Mickey.

During his down time, Donatello mainly played online games to get away from what felt like a rather lonely existence. The digital world gave him the freedom to mingle with others-in a way, without compromising his family secret. Most of his friendships online was rather short-term, and Donatello didn't mind it. Therefore his long-term friendship with you, came to him as a pleasant surprise.

Hours of gameplay rolled into months. Creating a bond between the pair of you. The cute nicknames and odd flirtatious comments became apart of your regular convocations. But it soon leaded to something more spicy...

Content- Cyber-Intercourse. Male and female masterbation. Courage language. Dildo BJ. Fingering.

"Enemy is right where we want him, Big Boy."

His cheeks darkened to a slight darker shade of green. The nickname always causing him to blush whenever it escaped your voice, and through his headset. A slight chuckle breathed down his microphone, while typing the commands upon his keyboard.

"Shot is lined up, and ready on your command, Baby Girl." A smile tugged at his lips, as your angelic laughter flowed through his ears. Donatello didn't had to see you in person, to know you were blushing.

His chosen Hero lined up their majestic weapon towards the final dungeon master. And with a few clicks of a mouse, the villain's health bar vanished, leaving the NPC body drop to the floor and fade away. Leaving behind rare loot for you and Donatello to pick up, and upgrade your characters.

"Yes!! Totally worth the grooling four hours! Champion's of World of Warcraft! Right here!" the turtle cheered gesturing to himself and his screen.

Your laughter was like a melody through his headset. "I am having a victory sip of Red Bull, right now. And I believe we'll be in an agreement, when I say, that's enough for one night."

Donatello let out a sigh, "yes, in complete agreement. It's like you've read my mind."

Exiting the game and bringing up Discord, the terrapin smile widened, once your features took up his screen.

"So? Any plans for the remaining of this evening?" You asked, while adjusting your hair and re-tying it into a messy bun.

Donatello slouched in his gaming chair, gently swaying around. "No. I mean... there's a few things I should do, but I'm feeling lazy and putting it off till tomorrow."

You unknowingly returned his smile, since on your end all you could see was the terrapin's chosen thumbnail. Only hearing the audio of his voice.

"What things are those?" You asked.

Donatello looked over to his work table, which stood in the middle of his lab. The surface littered with unfinished projects and inventions. "Oh... just a couple of things, my brothers want me to work on. I've been working it straight for the past couple of days, so tonight's distraction was welcomed."

"As always" he quickly added, turning his attention back on the screen.

Your cheeky smile caused him to raise an invisible eyebrow. Your voice changing into a teasing tone, "oh... so you wanted a distraction, Big Boy?"

"U-Um... yeah. Y'know?... Our usual gaming plans..."

As a small amber begun to build in your core. Watching you bite your bottom lip softly, made an unusual feeling spun within Donatello's chest.

"Maybe I could provide another distraction tonight...?"

The terrapin pulled a weak smile, "l-like what, Y/N?"

A flutter build in his chest, as his nerdy heart skipped a beat. His hazel eyes watching your hands slowly slide down the curves of your torso. His gaze widening as your fingers gently curled around the hem of your geeky shirt, and slowly pulled it upwards.

You could hear his deep and unsteady breathes through your Airpods. The low mutters of Donatello whimpering into your ears, as more of your torso became exposed. Pulling off the shirt and carelessly throwing it onto your bedroom floor, Donatello's jaw hung low and opened mouthed.

The sight of you in his colour. A bra adorned with lace, pushed up your cleavage to a stunning view, while the undergarment highlighted the delicate curves of your bust. Giving the terrapin a indeed good view. His breath got stuck in his throat, as you stepped away a little from the montor, but still in view of the camera. A whimper breathed through your Airpods, while you slowly yet teasingly. Took off your silky PJ bottoms, revealing a matching set of mini-briefs, which elegantly showed off the curves of your thighs and behind.

"O-Oh... baby-I-I mean Y/N-"

"You can call me, baby. If you want... Big Boy."

The nickname rolling of your tongue quickly took hold of a whole new feeling for Donatello. A deep green flushed his cheeks, fluttering feeling within his chest butterflied, and rolled into a strong amber within his core. His wide eyes watched you come a little closer to your monitor again, placing your hands a little forward onto your chair as you leaned forward.

Knowing he had a better view of your cleavage, caused your amber within your core to roll into a dim fire.

"I've been wanting to do this for a while." Your flirtatious tone admitted, "having a little... 'fun' between us. Should be the perfect distraction for you. How are you feeling?"

A nervous chuckle escaped into his headset, while a weak smile lingered upon his lips. "M-Me? Oh! Um... a-a little surprised. Nervous. U-Unexpected..."

His voice died down into whimpers of pleasure again. As the act of you playfully foundling with your breasts distracted him. Heavy breathing fogged up his glasses, while a tight sensation begun to build around his crotch.

"Turn your camera on, Donnie"

Your sweet pleading voice, echoing an innocent tone drove his mind into a spin. Looking down at the bulge in his jeans, Donatello's words begun to stumble out of his mouth.

"B-Baby Girl, if you keep doing this... I-I'm afraid of what might follow."

"Am I making you uncomfortable?"

Your sympathetic tone caught his attention. His eyes watched your posture slowly shift into a less seductive position. The terrapin's heart skipped a beat.

"Oh! No! Never! I-Is this moment unexpected? Yes. Am I a little nervous, but also turned on? Also yes. But you could never make me feel nervous. I-I mean, you're gorgeous!"

Your shy smile caused your blushing cheeks to spread the redness downwards.

"See? Right there! How you tuck a bit of hair behind your ear, whenever you're shy. You have no idea how much I look forward to hearing your voice on our 'game nights.' Or how it never matters, how shit my day goes, all I need is your smile to get me through."

"Donnie-"

"No, I'm serious! Having a girl like you, willing... wanting to do... with a geek like me? Man..."

Your sweet giggle echoed throughout Donatello's headset.

Although he always claimed to not really do well with expressing emotions. Donatello never failed on how to build your confidence, and make you comfortable. You knew he was extremely self-conscious of his appearance. Even the odd photo that he sent you (which you didn't know was digitally altered), only somewhat gave you an mental image of what he looked like. So you didn't want to ruin the moment by trying and convince him of turning on his camera. After all... you were only planning of putting on a show for him...

A cheeky, seductive smile returned to your lips. As you brung your legs up onto the seat of your gaming chair, and knelt against the soft leather. Propping yourself up a little, and adjusting your seating to sit on your feet. With one hand fumbling your breast and the other slowly working it's way down towards your core.

"Hey Baby Girl, what... oh, oh shit."

Your sweet giggles soon turned into whimpers of pleasure. Donatello's cheeks flushed a deeper green, as his wide hazel eyes watched you pleasure yourself. Moans leaving your voice sounded heavenly, as his kaiak jeans begun to feel too tight and restricting his erection.

Your breasts lightly bounced with each moment of your body. Heavy breaths moaned into your earpiece, as your roaming fingers pumped, massaged and slid into your wet entrance. Your hand stopped fumbling your breasts, and moved up towards your collar bone. Feeling your neck and toying with the small golden necklace. Before reaching up towards your lips, and seductively gave your index finger a suttle bite.

Your soft moans and whimpers of his name, caused Donatello's mind to enter a frantic spin. And his pulsing erection pressing tightly against his jeans certainly wasn't helping. His hands gripped onto the armrests' of his gaming chair, nail's digging into the torn fabric.

"Oh Donnie" your inccocent tone whimpered. "Are you just gonna sit there and watch me have all the fun?"

Don't say it! Don't say it! Don't say it!-

"Baby Girl, I want you on your knees!" words stumbled out of his mouth. But it was all that your ambered fire needed to build and burst through your core.

"Oh yea? And do what Donnie?" your teasing voice asked between whimpers.

With his mind clouded and too in the zone to think properly, Donatello's words slowly strung themselves together. "I want you on your knees, and put your mouth over something."

A small giggle escaped your lips, and a small, satisfying squish sound came to the terrapin's ears. As your fingers left your wet sweet spot. Watching you seductively lick off your sent, which dripped down your two fingers. Ripped a heavy sigh from Donatello's lips.

His gaze remained focused on you, as you speechlessly followed his order.

"You want something in my mouth, Donnie? I've got this which should create a nice image for you."

A small chuckle left Donatello's lips, as you held up a rather thick and green dildo.

"Oh yeah, baby. That's certainly gonna create an mental image alright."

Moving his camera close to his keyboard, and tiling the cam onto a lower angle. Donatello swallowed down his nerves before turning his camera online.

As you lowered yourself onto the floor, kneeling against the carpet. Donatello watched your eyes widen a little, as the close up of his crotch area came into view upon your monitor.

"D-Donnie...?"

"P-Please forgive and ignore my appearance right now." His tone temporarily switched to his usual sweet geeky tone. "Right now... I-I just want you to look up at me, while you suck off that dildo."

"Yes Donnie."

Your simple reply was all Donatello needed to fuel his confidence, and unfasten his zipper. Allowing his erection spring through the opening and glisten with pre-cum. Without a word, your lips found their way to the tip of the dildo. Your wide eyes watched the terrapin gently fondle with his balls, as your tongue licked and slid underneith of the dildo's shaft.

With a free hand, Donatello placed a flesh-light at the tip of his cock. Moans slipped into his headset, as the small vibrations of the toy erupted the sparks of excitement throughout his body. After watching you tease the dildo's shaft and tip with your tongue, Donatello slowly pushed his cock into the flesh-light.

His low grunts mixed in with your muffled moans. Moving the toy against him, in time with your mouth around the dildo. The terrapin leaned back into his chair, allowing his eyes to roll into the back of his head. Imaging your mouth sliding up and down his erection.

"Yeah... yeah. Baby Girl. Suck it."

Donatello's eyes fluttered open, as he heard your muffled moans slowly pick up peace. He focused back onto his computer screen, the view before him caused moans to escape from him. This would forever be imprinted in his mind.

From his point of view, he could just see the green dildo. Your plump lips moving around the toy, as your saliva made it glisten underneath your desk lamp. Your tongue gliding, cradling along the bottom of the shaft, each mouth movement ending in a lustful kiss upon the tip. Which you always looked up at your camera, knowing the terrapin had a perfect view.

The flesh-light kept up with your peace, creating a full emerged moment for the pair of you. A wondering hand of yours returned to your soaked entrance, allowing your breasts bounce with each moment as your hips bucked against your hand. Your free hand holding onto the dildo's base, pinning it against your keyboard as you begun to slowly deep throat the toy. The flesh-light glided along Donatello's member, like your lips effortlessly moved against the dildo. His balls became heavy, and knew his climax was building up.

Fireworks and bursting ambers erupted in both of your cores. Soon your moans and whimpers filled the air within your ears. Your mouth moved away from the dildo as you begun to jerk off the toy.

"Donnie! Donnie!"

"Yeah! Yeah! Baby Girl!-"

"Hey Donnie! What are you doing?"

An unexpected voice from the doorway, caused a small yelp to leave Donatello's throat. Quickly tucking himself under his desk, feeling the flesh-light fill with his cum. His hazel eyes darted around his lab, till they landed onto his younger brother.

"M-Mickey! I've told you not to disturb me while I'm in my lab!"

The young sibling raised an invisible brow, "but I heard weird noises coming from your room and I wanted to know if you were ok."

Donatello wiped the droplets of sweat off his brow, while momentarily removing his headset, so your constant moans couldn't distract him from attempting to recompose himself. He'd never been so thankful of placing his P.C set up in the corner of his lab.

"Are you ok...?"

The purpled masked turtle took a few deep breaths before answering his innocent brother.

"Yeah... yeah, Mickey, I'm fine."

"What was with the funny noises?-"

"I-I was playing a game. With ba- Y/N, my online friend. W-We're playing a ah- horror game. Resident Evil!... Eight! Super scary. Sorry for disturbing you Mickey. O-Our gaming session has finished, so I promise you'll won't hear anymore... funny noises."

"Ok! No problem. You didn't disturb me. I just wanted to make sure you were ok."

Donatello pulled a weak smile. "Th-Thanks Mickey... Goodnight."

Donatello counted to five after his brother left his sights. Slowly turning his attention back onto you, whom now was still kneeling against your bedroom floor but covered in the pretend cum from the dildo. Since he tucked himself a little more under his desk, in attempt to hide himself from Mickey. All you could see was Donatello's waist and small bit of his lower abdomen was in your view. He removed the flesh-light from his member, before running a hand over his smooth head, and adjusted his glasses.

"I-I'm sorry, Y/N. Y'know... about my brother walking in."

Your sweet laughter assured him that the intimate moment wasn't ruined, as you grabbed a nearby towel and cleaned yourself off.

"It's ok, Donnie. It was quite an expirience. There's no way I'm going to sleep peacefully tonight."

"You're telling me... this is forever imbedded in my memory, and I certainly wouldn't want it any other way."

A shy smile came to your lips, as the towel slowly folded into your lap. "Can we... do this again sometime...?"

"Fuck yes, Baby Girl! And perhaps... maybe in person someday...?"

Your flirtatious wink made Donatello's little geeky heart flutter again.

"I would love that, Big Boy..."

#teenage mutant ninja turtle imagine #tmnt 2016 #tmnt 2014 #tmnt bayverse #bayverse turtles #bayverse donatello #tmnt x reader #tmnt donatello #tmnt donnie #donatello x reader #x reader #x fem reader #fanfic #gardens light #donnie x reader #bayverse x reader

[c0smiccom3t]

A Lemur's Current Duty

"Yes, yes! The kind we keep shut! We have to go through, find my siblings, and fix this before some putz with a big evil plan and a bigger ego does something monumentally stupid!"

[Meanwhile... In the villains' base, Cortex is scratching his butt, yawning. After that, the mad scientist walks away, still tired, or bored. N. Tropy, meanwhile, is standing before his rift generator, monologuing. in the meantime, Ryonna, sat down with her legs crossed and her arms behind their head, is leaning on a device which Cortex starts to tinker.]

N. Tropy: Uka Uka unknowingly paved the way for our bright future. Once my Rift Generator is complete, dominion over all of time and space will be within our grasp!

[While he's saying that, Cortex silently mocks him by doing a "blah blah blah" hand gesture. Typical of him, of course. Except, Ryonna starts to silently snirk at it, since she thought it was pretty funny. Once they feel like N. Tropy is turning his head at them, they stop doing that and get back to what they're previously doing while N. Gin and N. Brio are walking towards Cortex]

Dr. Neo Cortex: N. Gin, N. Brio... You had some little projects you wanted to tell me about?

N. Gin: Master, my mechanical marvel will hypnotize you an army!

N. Brio: And my potion will make me-- (ahem!)--Them unstoppable.

[Cortex, uninterested, keeps tinkering with the device. Ryonna in the meantime is just waving "Bye-bye" at them while having a smug smile on her face.]

Dr. Neo Cortex: Right, yeah, fine, sure, have fun with your... Rayguns or whatever.

[As N. Gin and N. Brio turn to head to their respective rifts, they bump into each other. N. Brio angrily tries to kick N. Gin, only for N. Gin to dodge and bite down on his shin.]

N. Tropy: Hasten your steps!

[After that, N. Gin and N. Brio stay away from each other and go to their respective rifts. N. Gin runs while N. Brio is just waving the pompous peacock off, annoyed.]

N. Tropy: By my calculations, our enemies are already moving against us. And We. Will. Prevail...

[N. Tropy smiles menacingly, but then he of course, in the middle of his moment, gets interrupted by the sound of a stereo, playing a song. His eye twitches as he turns around to see Ryonna rocking out while Cortex is still tinkering with the device, meanwhile, the lemur lady is humming a little, as well as banging her tail on the ground to the beat while the music plays. N. Tropy gets annoyed. As he turns around he notices what's Ryonna doing, along with noticing a boombox stereo next to her, playing the music, suddenly he shoots the boombox, reducing it into ash, Ryonna of course gets startled when he did that, and so does Cortex, Ryonna then turns at him annoyed]

Ryonna: Hey, that was my boombox!

N. Tropy: So? I thought we agreed that you wouldn't fool around.

Ryonna: This isn't called fooling around, it's called minding your own business. Besides, what are we supposed to do anyway, tinker with stuff and do nothing?? I came here to break a leg and some bones! So, where's the action, where's the thrill, WHERE ARE THE EXPLOSIONS?!

N. Tropy: If you want to do something then how about you do something productive and not slack off at once?!

Ryonna: I'm not slacking, i'm relaxing. And heck, I don't even know what to do before our enemies get here! So, what's the point if i got nothing to do?

[N. Tropy snarls at her. Annoyed on how she's talking to him like an impulsive thrill-seeking moron. But then he gets an idea on what she would do.]

N. Tropy: Now that you question that last part, I do have a task for you.

Ryonna: FINALLY, That's all I was asking for! Now, what's it gonna be? Break intruders' bones, get some rare but powerful treasure, test out the rift generator, capture some people, guard the entire base top to bottom, build deadly traps, or maybe--?!

N. Tropy: It's none of them.

Ryonna: Uuuugh!

N. Tropy: Though i've got one question for you... Have you ever experienced with technology before?

Ryonna: Tech-no-lo... Wait a second, of course i have experience! Though it's been a long time since i've worked with technologic stuff, but i gotta say im a FAN! All the tinkering, all the coding, all the calculating, it's just so futuristic and that's definitely my aesthetic as a whole along with my tough-as-steel version o' it, y'know, one time i hacked into a supercomputer and despite a few errors here and there I successfully ran out of the scene with a USB Disk full of important information inside my back belt pouch! More importantly, I do recall that time I--

[While the ringtailed huntress continues on with her infodumping about her experience for technology, Cortex is quite suprised on what she's telling... Which causes him to have an inner monologue and talk to himself inside his mind]

Dr. Neo Cortex: Wait, how does this oversized furball have involvement in technology..?! She can steal treasure... And she's a genius, too?! As if the bounty hunting part wasn't enough... I don't know if i'm starting to like her... Or HATE her!

[Cortex of course, enrages a little during that last part. But in the meantime, Ryonna is still rambling on and on]

Ryonna: And more importantly I knew about the codes about deactivating a radioactive machine that was gonna--

[N. Tropy groans while facepalming in annoyance, Ryonna then stops talking after noticing that]

Ryonna: Oh, I-i'm sorry, was I talking too much?

N. Tropy: A lot. [Ryonna of course, after he says that, starts to pout while having puppy dog eyes, indicating that she feels bad for talking too much]

N. Tropy: No matter though, because this task will certainly be of your interest.

[N. Tropy then puts a technologic device which is used like a monitor to watch the bandicoots' every move. Ryonna, looks at it, extremely confused]

N. Tropy: Now, I want you to keep an eye on the marsupials through this device, in which you'll have to watch the progress our enemies are making, and if something happens to our two comrades, you'll have to notify me. Do you understand?

Ryonna: .... I really don't. THATS IT?! JUST MONITORIZING THEM LIKE THEY'RE BABIES?! I Thought it was something else that had to do with tech! Though... I do think it would be good to me now that i think about it... Hold on, why don't you also do it? I could help making the rift generator, after all i did say-

N. Tropy: Look. Ryonna, I do know you want to help me but the rift generator HAS to be worked on by somebody who knows how it's features work, more especially how time travel and interdimensional travel work. And you working on it? Honestly, I dont see it in you, you may be experienced with bounty hunting, technology and anything else you may mention, but time and space?! I don't think so. I am the master of time itself, and I shall get to work on it. In the meantime, you stay alert on our enemies, Cortex will keep doing... Whatever in the world he's doing, and I'll make sure the rift generator is complete. Have we come clear on this one, Ringtail?

[Ryonna looks disappointed, but yet she doesnt have no fear, she tries to stand up to him, but she fails to. she just sighs and looks away]

Ryonna: I... Yes, doctor.

N. Tropy: Good. Now, get to work.

[Her ears floop down in disappointment, she then gets close to the device and starts to look at it, beggining to watch the bandicoots' every move, all while still looking bored.]

Chapter 1 Chapter 2 - you're here! Chapter 3

#crash bandicoot #comet's blasted bandicoot buffoonery #ryonna #neo cortex #n tropy #crash bandicoot 4 #crash bandicoot oc #fanfic #crash bandicoot 4: it's about time #aaaand there we go! new chapter! Now maybe this little fanfic series will come out monthly. depends on how i am doing and if im busy lol #but yeah come get your food guys!!

[sepublic]

            They should’ve made the Knights of Ren catholic in the Sequel Trilogy. You have the obvious associations and imagery, what with the burning cross and the name, the idea of crusaders, a First Order and everything. We could’ve made them a dark parallel to the Jedi in a way that is different from the Sith, but also still similar.

         Because one of the big critiques of Catholicism is the constant emphasis on repentance, self-flagellation, always apologizing and atoning for who you are; Suffering is Good basically. Which is directly at odds with how the Jedi’s whole mission is to end suffering, given their Buddhist inspirations and all.

         But what distinguishes the Knights of Ren from the Sith is that they’re collectivistic, not individualistic. Whereas the Sith see themselves as the absolute best, masters of their destiny, the Knights of Ren claim to constantly be working in servitude and devotion to some higher, ‘divine’ cause. The Sith know they’re selfish and simply don’t care, whereas the Knights of Ren operate on this false sense of holy righteousness.

         In a way, you could see them being akin to what people accuse the Jedi order of being; A dogmatic organization of emotionally repressed cultists who are made to be inherently ashamed of themselves, and impose their own worldview on the world. It’s meta because we see the Jedi defeat the extremist caricature which others in real life and in-universe accuse them of being; Imagine Rey posting a selfie after defeating the Knights of Ren, captioned “Just beat the Corrupt Jedi Allegations (Literally)!!!”

         They’re like a twisted middleground between the Jedi and Sith… Except they’re still evil by the end of the day. They’re monks, but in a Christian sense, while the Jedi are Buddhist; And with the resurgence of Right-Wing Conservatism that espouses the Bible, that would make the Knights of Ren politically topical, as the villains of each trilogy are meant to be. They’re crusaders and missionaries, seeking to convert the entire galaxy, or else wipe out what doesn’t cooperate. They want everyone, force-sensitive or not, to worship and fear the Force.

         In the wake of Palpatine’s death, they see themselves as reinstating a lost spirituality that Order 66 had nearly wiped out; But they also see the Jedi as hedonistic heretics, and again, they plan to dominate the galaxy. They’re much more transparent about their goals, unlike the Sith of the mainline films, and they intend to convert the new wave of force-sensitives that have been born following Anakin’s redemption, and the final death of the Sith (They do not like the Rule of Two; The more Force, the better).

         They’ve allied with Snoke because both parties need the other; Snoke because he’s lacking in experienced force-sensitives, the Knights of Ren because Snoke has arcane knowledge and an actual army, as well as a program for indoctrinating children. Kylo is like their middle man, a chosen one, basically the Knights’ second coming of Christ or something; But he’s both beholden to them and Snoke, so it’s a bit hard reconciling these loyalties.

         Kylo is like Snoke’s inside man, and whom he can actually communicate with the hostile Knights of Ren through; He sees them as unruly and belligerent, only listening to their chosen leader, and apprehensive to talk to Snoke. While the Knights of Ren are dirty and scarred, Kylo’s uniform and equipment is clean and well-kept; He is an outlier, both as an ascended leader, but also as someone with outside ties.

         Despite being their elected leader, Kylo still has some ways to go; But the Knights of Ren are prepared to worship, support, and prepare him for that position of leadership. Him and Han are a reverse Abraham and Isaac; Not only does the son make the sacrifice of his father, he actually succeeds in going through with it. Each Knight of Ren goes through arduous trials to be knighted and given the prestigious title of Ren; And at the end, they must make a personal sacrifice, to prove their loyalty to their divine cause, and their willingness to prioritize it over all else. They really ARE a cult, insisting on no outside ties, Us VS Them, unlike the Jedi.

         They probably have a REALLY long history, older than even the Sith; Perhaps even older than the Jedi! A long history of persecution, with the earliest followers of the faith being hunted down by anti-Force regimes, and this continuing perhaps as recent as Order 66; So again, more parallels to the Jedi, and helps explain their scrappy, wartorn poverty. Since the Sequel Trilogy teased the idea of the Unknown Regions and the origin of the Jedi being explored, let’s go with that; Perhaps the Knights of Ren are among the very first Force-sensitive sects that emerged.

         Maybe we could even do a twist; The first Jedi was actually a Knight of Ren who realized their ideology sucked and redeemed themselves, as a narrative predecessor to Anakin. This would give the Knights of Ren a particular grudge against the Jedi, who they see as having made things Go Wrong, just when the Ren had begun to make things Go Right. And the Sith have their origins as former Jedi turned dark, so they see the Sith as merely offshoots of the original traitors; This original Jedi is their Judas, a former follower who turned corrupt, and basically sided with those persecuting them (the Romans/anti-Force majority).

        That might be why they generally don’t wield lightsabers; They might associate them with Jedi, especially if it was the first Jedi who introduced the usage of Kyber. Kylo is an exception, since he’s the Chosen One and all that, plus he’s already an outlier and outsider in other ways; Snoke insisted on the lightsaber because he pulls from Jedi and Sith teachings, much to the chagrin of the Knights of Ren. But Snoke believes a well-rounded education is necessary for Kylo’s full potential, and that’s another reason he tolerates the Knights of Ren, since THEY’RE the experts on the Ren. There might be some significance to Kylo’s lightsaber being an outlier even amongst lightsabers, too.

#star wars #knights of ren #sequel trilogy #snoke #kylo ren #jedi

[remmammie]

Can I get headcanons for riku, sora, and ventus babysitting a really hyper kid while traveling different worlds?

Sorry for the small hiatus, college threw a lot of exam intervention at me after my winter mocks so I had to get all that done before I could think about you lovelies. Still, I'm here now! I'm so excited to do some writing about platonic love with the Kingdom Hearts cast!

Riku, Sora, and Ventus babysitting an energetic kid on their adventures HCs

Riku

Now, over the years, Riku has learnt to be patient with a lot of things: his energetic friends, the darkness, meddling villains, etcetera. But he never really expected to be dealing with children.

I can't say he'd be experienced at all, so, after defeating some Heartless attempting to attack a young child in a world, Riku wasn't entirely sure what to do.

They clung onto his leg with an enthusiastic smile, toothy and wild. They were so in awe of Riku's style of combat and the Keyblade itself that Riku almost couldn't get a word in edgewise. Eventually, he managed to ask them where they were from and where he should take them to.

The child told him they were from a different world, that they had been dragged into some sort of dark portal and transported to this strange place. And, though Riku knew he had other things to do as a Keyblade Master, he couldn't exactly leave a child in a strange place with no guardian - they sort of reminded Riku of himself from not too long ago. Lost, confused, vulnerable... This was his duty as a Keyblade Master, right? To protect the light and, therefore, the people of the future?

After bundling the excitable child into the Gummi Ship, Riku knew exactly which world they had mentioned and planned the correct route accordingly. However, the main issue Riku was facing was keeping the kid away from the many flashing lights on the ship's dashboard. He felt bad having to tell them off and drag them away from buttons that would forcibly eject their seats or open a door in the middle of the Lanes Between, but knew he'd much rather be seeing the kid's pout than lose them completely.

Once arriving at the correct world, Riku almost feels sad to let the kid go. Their excitement reminded him of Sora, and their unbridled curiosity reminded Riku of his younger self. He'd refuse to give them the power of the Keyblade purely out of kindness, not wishing his cruel life on this innocent child who knew nothing of darkness or war, but would offer them a way to contact him again.

Riku told them that, if their world was in ever danger or if someone they knew needed protecting from darkness, they could call for Riku using their heart and he would be there.

Sora

I'm not entirely sure if I would trust Sora with a child on his own, much less a hyperactive one. He's quick to notice the light heart in danger and jumps in to protect them, but doesn't know how to react to the clinginess that follows.

When the child starts to show interest in his Keyblade, that's when Sora starts to lighten up to the idea of having a little companion for a bit, even when he recognises that they have to return to their homeworld eventually. So, he sets up the Gummi Ship to head out to this world he's...never actually heard of. Oh no.

Sora might end up taking the child to a few worlds before getting to the right one, choosing to use his heart to guide him. Maybe he also wanted to spend some more time talking to his new friend, but an excuse is always nice.

The two spend their entire journey together chatting about Sora's life and the Keyblade as well as the child's life in their homeworld. Sora adores talking about all the adventures he's gone on and about his friends, and the child watches and listens with stars in their eyes, perhaps sitting in Sora's lap as he (tries) to pilot the Gummi Ship.

Throughout every world, the two hold hands. Sora is eager not to lose such an innocent soul and he makes sure to fight off any darkness while he's there while he's at it. The child watches on in awe and might even try to copy him with a blunt stick on a big rock while Sora is asking townspeople about the child's home.

When the two eventually reach the child's home, Sora isn't excited to let them go, but he's glad they can get back to having a normal life, relieved that they have a nice home to return to. He makes a promise to return one day with the famous "paopu fruit" that Sora mentioned.

Ventus

As someone eager to prove himself to others as mature and reliable, Ventus immediately jumps at the chance to protect the child and swoops in to save the day. Of course, he also just can't sit idly by and watch someone as innocent as a child get hurt by the darkness.

At first, he's not quite sure how to take all the new attention. The praise is strange and it really warms Ventus' heart with a type of pride he never knew he was capable of feeling. He might take a while to take the child away from the world he found them in because he's too busy showing them how he fights with a Keyblade. Maybe he's showing off, but it's nice to have someone cheer for you.

Still, Ventus knows the child is someone with their own life and they absolutely need to return to the people that love them. So, he shows the kid something even cooler than the Keyblade: his Keyblade glider and armour. He places his helmet on their head to protect the kid from the darkness in the Lanes Between and tells them to hold on. They kid laughs heartily the entire time, thoroughly enjoying the ride through the Lanes Between.

With no real way to navigate the Lanes Between and differentiate between where worlds are, Ventus has to entirely rely on both his heart and the child's, asking them various questions about whether they feel closer to home or not. It takes a while, but the fun, exciting ride makes it all worth it.

When they arrive at the kid's homeworld, Ventus makes it his mission to speak to their guardian, making up some story or another about finding them somewhere in the world. He makes a pinkie promise with the child to never ever talk about what they did together, promising that they'll definitely do it again when they're older.

#kh fanfiction #kingdom hearts fanfiction #kingdom hearts sora #kh sora #kingdom hearts #kh x reader #kingdom hearts headcanons #kh ventus #kh riku #sora x reader #riku x reader #ventus x reader #kingdom hearts riku #kingdom hearts ventus

[neonacity]

ARCANE : INIZIO | CH.4 | NCT DREAM X READER

Summary: When human deviants granted with the abilities of the legendary Arcana cards find themselves racing against devious forces, they are left to make a choice that might change the fate of the world itself: be the victims of the game, or become the masters of it themselves.

But will this war end with a crowned hero?

Or will it just create another mad villain?

*****

Note: This is the second book of Arcane. The happenings in this story is a prequel to the first installment which you can check in my Masterlist. Since the lore is highly dependent on the first book, I highly suggest you check it out first—otherwise, new readers might have a hard time understanding what is happening here. Expect lots of time jumps and flashbacks throughout the chapters.

Pairings: Dream 00’ Line + Mark x Reader

Trigger Warnings/Themes: romance, violence, torture, trauma, poly dynamics, suggestive themes, language, psychological, mystery, sci-fi. The concept of the tarot or Arcana cards will be loosely used throughout the series. Note that I am not a trained doctor so there may be some slips here and there about medical things. Again, this is a work of fiction and I am not implying any likeness between the characterization here of the boys to their real life counterparts. I also reserve the rights to all my work—I do not post anywhere else other than tumblr. Minors DNI. Please do not repost. I only publish my works in Tumblr.

© neonacity, 2022

Previously > CH. 1 | CH.2 | CH.3

[6 years ago, Rosewood Academy]

"Do you want to know what I'm thinking right now?"

The snapping sounds of thin branches breaking under heavy leather boots mixed with the buzzing hums of the forest insects. A light-haired boy of about sixteen grinned to himself as he hacked an offending stem hanging low on his face with a thicker branch he had picked up earlier. He didn't need to look around to know that the girl trudging behind him is frowning at the path they are trying to traverse, wearing that signature frown that always makes him want to tease her more. When she cursed under her breath, he tried his hardest to keep his shoulders from betraying the laugh he had been trying to hold back.

"What?" He asked casually, voice steady as if he wasn't grinning from amusement. He deftly ducked under a flowering branch of a tree before proceeding to go down the small dirt path they have been following for about half an hour now.

"Make a guess."

"Hm... That you hate how there are spiderwebs on your hair?" He proposed lightly. A slight scoff behind him answered his question.

"Spiders are not a part of my ick."

"How about inhaling three dozen insects so far?"

A pause.

"Okay, that is gross. But no. It's much worse than that."

Jaemin stopped and finally turned to face the girl behind him, his grin now in full display. She paused just in time before she crashed against him but he still easily caught her by the arm to steady her balance. His smile widened as she tried to find her footing on the rocky path, her face ducked away from him.  At this distance, he could fully see how he had grown just a bit taller than her since the last time she visited the Academy.

"What's on your mind then?" He asked again as he continued to observe her with his hooded gaze. When her eyes finally found his face once more, his fingers squeezed just a little bit tighter around her elbow before he finally let her go.

"I think you're bluffing. There is no overlooking oak tree in the middle of the forest. There is no view and you’re just leading me nowhere."

His brows slightly raised in interest. "Oh? Why do you think I brought you here then, noona?"

"I don't know. Two possibilities. One, you're planning to finally murder me and bury me under the dead branches."

"Mm. And the second possibility?"

"You're trying to flirt with me."

He paused, letting her words hang in the air for a moment.

"What do you think is the answer then?"

The slight change in his tone made her stop and finally think over what she just said. From the looks of it, she just came out with her guesses out of nowhere and didn't even consider them seriously. The look of dawning realization in her eyes made Jaemin's grin slowly melt into a much more gentle smile. He watched as her lips slightly parted, already knowing the next words that would come out of them.

"Jaemin, we've already talked about this before..."

His expression didn't falter. "We did. You told me to wait. And I did."

"I didn't tell you to—look, it's just a crush. All boys your age have it."

"You're talking to me as if I'm a kid. You're only two years older than me," he said steadily, voice as calm as ever. He closely watched her now, trying to break down every emotion that quickly flitted over her features. He knew she was trying her best to hold back, but she couldn't hide anything from him, even if she tries. She can act all she wants, but he knows she also feels the same for him, even for just a little bit.

He sighed and glanced away momentarily as he thought of another approach.

"Jaemin…"

"Is it because of Mark? Do you like him?"

She frowned at his question.

"What? He's my best friend."

It wasn't a direct answer, so he pushed on. "Is there anyone you like then?"

"I am not planning to date anyone right now so stop—"

"Then one last question. Do you not like me? Is that it?"

The way she froze made it seem like he asked her such a shocking thing. To be fair to her, he couldn't really blame her reaction, especially with how forward he is being now. Though he may not have grown up with her just like Mark did, they've also known each other since they were kids. She had always been aware about his childhood admiration for her growing up, but it is only now that he had decided to stop beating around the bush and put it out there once and for all.

"Just tell me if you like me or not, noona. If you say now that you don't feel the same, then I promise, I will leave you alone."

The look on her face almost made Jaemin want to punch himself. She looked so torn that it took every fiber of his being to not reach out to her and apologize. He may be determined, but he also didn't want to be an asshole. Still, he tried his best not to to be swayed by guilt for the sake of getting an answer.

"I... li—"

The loud crash of something heavy falling to the forest floor made the two of them flinch and quickly turn towards the direction of the sound. The noise seems to have come a few meters from their current spot, but they couldn't see anything beyond a few feet thanks to the thickness of the shrubbery framing the rest of the path beyond. Jaemin immediately reached out for her hand and drew her closer to him as they tried to listen for more additional noises from the distance.

"What's beyond there?"

"A clearing. And an ancient oak tree," he answered warily. "I think we should go. It could be a wild animal."

He was about to steer her back to the way they came from when another noise split the air. This time, it sounded like a low growl that quickly intensified into a shriek. Beyond them, a flock of birds took off from the trees, disturbed by the haunting noise.

"Jaemin, that's not an animal."

"Yeah. It could be much worse. Let's go, we need to go back to Rosewood as soon as possible," he said, his jaw tight as he tried to steer her urgently with a hand in the middle of her back. She barely budged, however, her head still turned towards the distance beyond.

"No, I think we should check what it is."

His eyes widened at her words. "What? You heard it. That is no animal or human. I'm not walking there to get the both of us killed!"

"Exactly. Whatever that is, it's something different. The grounds are shrouded by a protection shield, right? No regular human or supernatural can breach this area unless—"

Jaemin stopped dead in his tracks as he realized what she was trying to say. He turned to look at her and she slightly raised her brows at him in return.

"...They are related to the Arcana," she finished. It took him a while to finally react to that, unsure of what to feel about about the situation. Finally, he sighed in resignation.

"One look. If we see something weird there, I am whisking the two of us away from here, okay?"

The thankful smile she gave him only took a slight edge of the nervousness spreading in his chest. Swallowing, he stepped forward again to tread back towards the source of the sound, his fingers wrapping around the stick he had been using to clear their way earlier. He is convinced that flimsy excuse of a 'weapon' will do nothing against whatever beast they were about to face, but there is also no way he would go down without a fight today.

Fortunately and unfortunately, the walk back felt shorter and they soon enough reached the edge of the forest trail. He slightly turned towards her now and pressed a finger to his lips before nudging his head towards the view beyond. If they're going to be walking straight into danger, they should at least see from the distance what they will be up against.

It was the middle of the afternoon and the sun was just in the right place in the sky to bathe the view that stretched beyond them. Unlike the thick shrubberies they walked through, the clearing beyond was vast, dropping off into a slope where the rest of the thicker part of the forest stretched. It looked like an oasis in a sea of green, mostly bare with trees except for the lone oak tree that stood on its pinnacle. It was majestic and regal with its old age, with branches that spread wide and hung low to ground. Jaemin peered between the leaves of the bushes that covered them now, searching for anything out of place.

The next seconds that passed were choking. Everything was so quiet that it almost made him think that they simply imagined what they heard earlier. He was on the verge of speaking again when another round of ripping screams tore the silence of the surroundings, followed by a sight that made him flinch back in shock. A burst of black void burst straight out of nowhere in front of the oak tree, like a rip from an entirely different dimension. Coming out from the depth of its void are what looked like half a dozen of black, clawed limbs grasping and reaching out as if they were trying to escape. Screeches filled the air again so loudly that they clapped their hands over their ears to block off the hellish sound.

As soon as it stopped, Jaemin snapped and grabbed the girl beside him by the arm again. Without looking back, he hauled her off from her crouch and started dragging her back to the pathway.

"We need to run! Let's go!"

"Jaemin, wait—"

"Noona, this is not a joke—!"

"There's a boy! There's a boy there, we need to help him!"

Everything that happened next came too fast for him. He only stopped for a few seconds in confusion to what she just said, but it was enough for her to struggle out of his grasp and run straight to the clearing. The next moments were a blur of sounds and colors. He realized too late that he was also running, breaking through the edge of the forest as he tried to catch up. The screaming of the monsters grew louder as he ran straight to the middle of chaos, but he temporarily forgot them when he found her again, now kneeling next to a black haired boy propped up against the bark of the oak tree. She looked like she was trying to speak to him, but he seemed unresponsive, despite his eyes staring wide open in fear at the gaping hole and the monstrous limbs trying to reach out to him. It took him a chilling moment to realize what made the other's face look strange. When it did, it was like time snapped back to him again and he could hear the howls of the beasts once more.

The boy's eyes, similar to the dark hole and the creatures inside, were pure black.

"Jaemin! He needs our help!"

Her voice was the one that finally dragged him out of his frozen state. Blinking, he ran towards the two and immediately kneeled on the other side of the stranger.

"His abilities are out of his control! He's the one summoning those monsters!"

"What?! But what should we—"

"You need to calm him down! He needs to let me in so I can do something!"

The look of fear and doubt that registered on his face as soon she said that must have been so obvious because she quickly reached out to him and gave his hand a comforting but urgent squeeze. The truth is that Jaemin has never truly used his abilities on anyone yet, more so for this kind of situation. The prospect of it scared him, probably even more so than those hellish creatures.

"Hey. Jaemin. You can do it. I know you can. Just try."

He gave her one last look before he tried to rein himself in. He was terrified, but it wasn't like he has any other given the urgency of the situation. Gritting his teeth, he turned to the boy now and clutched his shoulder tightly to try and get his attention. From his peripheral vision, he saw her grab the stranger's hand as well, her fingers growing white from the intensity of her hold. Not even a few seconds passed when a faint white light started to glow around their linked palms. Jaemin felt goosebumps rise to his arms as he felt a current run down from the boy right straight at him.

"He's trying to resist. He needs to calm down more," she said, her tone sounding thin and stressed. The strain in her voice made him dig his nails harder against the stranger’s shoulder. It worked slightly as the other boy turned his head to look at him.

"Listen. You need to stop. Do it slowly. Your heartbeat's slowing down at this moment. You can do it," he said, his voice low and clear despite the hellish sounds of the shadow beasts filling the air. It was slight, but the boy in question slightly tilted his head in response, his black irises staring into his own.

"You can do it. Your pulse is getting better, see?"

Just as he said it, he subtly pressed his thumb against the other's neck to feel his pulse. It fluttered against his hold like the wings of a terrified bird, but it also started to slow down a little as soon as the words left him. Quickly, his eyes shot to the girl's hands still clutching the other. The light there has grown a little brighter... Stronger.

"Just a little bit more…" she whispered from the other side. Jaemin looked at her briefly, noting how pale she had become. Beyond them, the hole started becoming smaller, as if it was a cut that was slowly being sewn shut by the seams.

"Let her take over," he said, causing the stranger to blink his eyes at him. A headache was already starting to build at the back of his head, but he still pushed on.

"Do it. Now."

As soon as his last word left his lips, the boy's pulse stuttered, stopped, and started again all in a second. The same moment it happened, the light from the girl's hand grew until it snapped into nothingness again. Jaemin felt the shift in the energy that flowed from her to him. The buzzing feeling sank in his skin too, the force of it making him so dizzy that he had to let go of the stranger to catch his balance. It was uncomfortable—not painful—but numbing to the point that he felt like a part of him had temporarily shut off. The next time he caught his bearings again, the surroundings were back to normal. There were no monstrous cries, not even a trace of the rip in dimension just a few seconds ago.

Two warm hands cupped his face with panic and gave him a slight shake. He didn't even realize that he had his eyes closed until he found himself blinking to make his vision focus. It snapped on her after a bit, and that's when he realized that she was ducked over him, her face pale from worry. He must have collapsed after what happened.

"Jaemin! Jaemin, are you okay? I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to—are you hurt?"

It took him a good few seconds before things finally clicked in his head. Whatever it is that she has done to the other boy has somehow affected him too, probably because of the proximity of their Arcanas working together. Slowly, he gave her a nod as he propped himself up into a sitting position.

"I'm fine. Just a little dizzy… don't worry."

"Your Arcana. Is it—"

"It's back. I can feel it again…" he reassured her gently. Her fingers curled around him more, as if she was afraid of letting him go.

"How did you do that?"

The sound of a new voice made the two of them turn their heads at the same time. Their eyes landed on the boy by the oak tree, his gaze now clear and back to normal. He stared at them with an incomprehensible look on his face but didn't make any outward moves—his non-verbal way of saying that he doesn't mean any harm. Jaemin didn't buy it though, a cold look settling on him as he stood and pushed the girl behind him for cover. The stranger noticed the move, but didn't say anything.

"How did you get here? Who are you?"

The latter didn't answer. He simply stared at him before his eyes slipped towards the girl half-covered by him. Jaemin tightened his jaw and reached out for her hand which she silently took.

"You stopped me," the stranger said, his eyes still set on her. Slowly, he pinned his stare back to him again. "And you helped. You're IL Diavolo, aren't you?"

He didn't answer. Something about the unwelcome stranger told him that he is not an enemy, but that still doesn't undo the fact that he almost released a whole fleet of monsters from who knows where right into this realm. The girl's voice behind him confirmed what he had already been thinking.

"He's one of us…" she said softly as she carefully stepped beside him. The boy followed her movements closely, as if it was his first time seeing someone like her.

"You're hurt… do you need help?"

He didn't react.

"Did someone send you here?"

More silence.

Jaemin watched the one-way exchange silently despite his instincts being on edge. Far away, several warning shots fired from the direction of the Academy, an indication that a party is currently on its way to where they are. With the amount of Arcanas that were released in that tense exchange earlier, the Headmaster has probably picked up the burst of energy even from far away. The girl also noticed, and she threw a quick glance towards the direction of the school before turning once more to the stranger. Not once has the latter looked away from her.

"People are coming… If you want to leave, now's the best time to do it. They might hold you up and ask you some questions if you stay."

Jaemin looked at her, surprised. "Noona, are you letting him walk away? Your father—"

"He's not an enemy. I can feel it," she gently but firmly cut him off. "I'm right… aren't I? You didn't mean to do that earlier. That's why you should leave… If you don't want to stay here."

For a moment, the boy seemed to actually consider her words. A look of wariness briefly passed his face, but it only took another second before his features settled into an expression of finality. Both her and Jaemin noticed the silent decision and exchanged a quick look between each other. Finally, she turned back to the other boy and took a small step closer to where he was still seated. Jaemin let go of her hand, but kept himself ready to jump in if he needed to.

"What's your name?" She asked slowly. Almost a full minute passed without the boy saying or doing anything, except look at her. It was only when the sound of rushing steps had started sounding closer to where they were that he finally decided to break his silence.

"Jeno Lee."

*******

[5 years later, Rosewood Academy Dungeons, one year before the Cypher project]

"Jeno."

Jaemin called out lowly to the boy standing a little ways in front of him as he finished tying the lace around his forearm. Beyond them, just standing outside of their hearing range, was her and Jisung, locked in some quick pep talk with each other. Jeno slightly turned his head towards him at the sound of his name. From the look on his face, he already knows what he was about to say.

"You got it?"

The dark haired boy merely gave him a slight dip of his head in answer. He did, however, throw a quick but pointed look towards their two other teammates for the tourney.

"Back her up if she needs it?"

"Oh, you're going to be the offense now?" Jaemin asked with a teasing lilt in his voice. His best friend gave him a slight smirk that rivaled his.

"Me? You know damn well I'm not the ace here."

"You're right. Let's finish this quickly."

From above, Mijeong watched the scene with equal parts nervousness and excitement. While she is no longer a stranger to tense situations, this is the first time she will witness something on this scale—eight of the most powerful Masters of this generation about to square off against each other. The air in the room itself was different, crackling with energy as the seconds ticked away like a timebomb nearing its end. Beside her, Ten and Kun have gone as silent as ghosts, their eyes also set on the growing tension in the field below.

Five seconds passed. Ten. Twelve. Twenty–and then,

CRACK!

Everything in the room—from the arena below up to the pillars of the underground dungeon—shook as a loud, crackling sound split the previous silence. Mijeong flinched in surprise, her eyes swiveling automatically to the screens in front of her to see what was happening. Her panicked gaze was met by the feedback of the grounds below covered by settling dust. A huge black line now ran in the middle of the field with sizzles of electric blue running down its length. Mijeong's jaw dropped as she realized what caused it.

"Is that—"

"Lightning. It's Mark," Kun said beside her. He turned to Ten now who was back to typing something on his keyboard.

"Did he ever show this before?"

The bespectacled boy gave a quick shake of his head.

"No. But he showed signs of affecting the weather before. I guess he can influence their elements now, too."

Elements…. Matter. The Emperor. Mijeong squinted at the people below again, her eyes raking over their mostly unbothered form. Nobody looked distraught or panicked. If anything, the energy has shifted into an entirely different intensity now that the first blow has been made. It was on edge… On the verge of snapping.

"Dang, someone's pissed off today. And here I thought I was the only one jealous because of the teams, Marky~"

Mark ignored Haechan's teasing and instead nodded towards Chenle who was grinning from ear to ear now. The boy stepped forward, already knowing what the other was going to say.

"Chenle, we'll be the offense. Haechan, shield Renjun."

"Got that," the youngest replied in a sing-song voice as he slipped his hand in his pocket and pulled something there. It was a pen, and he twirled it between his fingers before the small object lengthened and shifted in his touch. Soon enough, he was holding what looks like a spear as tall as him with two blunted sides. Mijeong frowned at the sight from the control room.

Transformative Magic. 

La Luna.

"What is he doing summoning a spear for? We have to get the queen's ribbon, not whack each other," Jisung grumbled from the other side of the arena, his frown settled on the other. The girl beside him laughed, amused by his reaction.

"Do you think you can match him with your solar orbs, Sungie?" She asked. The boy looked a little hesitant at first before giving a small nod.

"I can. I'll try."

"I know you can do it. Without hurting anyone too.”

She gave him a reassuring smile that Jisung returned with his own, albeit a little nervous. Slowly, crackles of energy glowed around his open palm, forming small balls of light. It floated around him like living marbles made of the sun's rays. At that moment Jeno also stepped closer to them his eyes set on the opposing team. 

"I'll take care of Mark. Jisung, you handle Chenle."

"Okay, hyung."

"Be careful. They have Renjun, I'm sure he's already trying to read off our next actions," Jaemin said as a reminder from the back of their pack.

"Try not to think of your next moves too much, that'll throw him off a little," Jeno suggested as he rolled up his sleeves.

"It’s fine. Leave Renjun to me."

Jeno, Jaemin, and Jisung all looked at the girl standing between them at the same time. Her eyes were now also set on the other side of the arena, right at the boy stationed at the very back of the other team. She smiled, a gesture that was well caught by her own teammates. Jeno raised his brows slightly while Jaemin smiled silently from his spot. He crossed his arms over his chest before giving a slight nod.

"Go ahead then. I'll just be here… Acting all queenly and stuff."

From the other side, Renjun frowned slightly to himself as he caught the way the girl looked at him. It completely went unnoticed by Haechan who looked downright bored as he yawned beside him.

"Well? Can you pick up their plan? Noona's there. Pretty sure she's strategized about five different attacks already."

Renjun drew a deep breath before finally flicking his eyes towards Mark and Chenle at the front of their party.

"No. I can't get inside their heads. My powers are not working on them."

Haechan stopped in the middle of another yawn, blinked, before finally looking at him with pure confusion in his face.

"What? They haven't even attacked yet."

The other gave him a deadpan look that caused him to part his lips in sudden realization.

"They've already started. I think you shouldn't relax."

"Oh… shit."

Not a second after those words left his lips, an explosion of sounds swallowed the whole arena again. With no prior warning, the offensive pairs from each team launched their attacks at the same time. Chenle's laugh wove through the noise as he ducked and swung at the solar orbs Jisung sent his way with his spear, the burnt ends of the metal growing back to its shape every time the balls of energy would burn them off. On his other side, Mark and Jeno were engaged in close combat, their movements almost too fast for the naked eye to follow. Instead of simply throwing fists and kicks at each other though, sparks of light exploded from every time they would hit contact with each other. A dull red glow emanated from Mark, while pitch black wisps came from Jeno.

Mijeong watched, equal parts impressed and confused at what was happening. She pointed towards the pair at Ten's screen the same moment the two were pushed back by the sheer force of the impact caused by their collision.

"How are those two doing that?"

Ten answered her question easily, a sign that this wasn't the first time he'd witnessed this show.

"Mark controls matter as The Emperor, the basic building blocks of all elements. Jeno is the master of The Death, which means..."

"He controls everything related to the nether dimension, and all things that are opposite of anything living. Like anti-matter," Kun finished as he straightened up from his leaned position on the table. 

"Those two are like opposite charges… Opposing ends of the magnet that repel each other."

Mijeong slowly processed that information. "If that’s the case... then that means they are almost equal in power…" she whispered silently to herself as she turned her gaze back to the monitor. From the screen, she saw Mark blast a shot of flames towards the other with just a flick of his hand. Jeno counter-attacked it with what looked like a smoke of shadows that mixed with the flames before dissolving it into fumes. 

Finally, she was starting to see what Ten was talking about earlier about both teams having almost equal offensive ability.

Almost, being the operational word, with Jisung's orbs slowly being overwhelmed by Chenle's trained defense, at the very least. The older of the two boys have already moved past the border that Mark had blasted earlier with his lightning, which now, Mijeong realized was a marker created to make it easier for their team to gauge their advance towards the side of their opponent. Jisung didn't miss it and gritted his teeth before sending a more massive round of orbs to the other.

Chenle was too late to catch on to the new deluge of attack, but a burst of black hole ripped open on the space in front of him before the first of the orbs could even hit him. The void looked like a massive pair of jaws that instantly swallowed the rain of fire from Jisung, before it fizzled into nothing as soon as it appeared. Chenle quickly turned to Haechan and gave the other a blinding grin.

"Thanks for the save, hyung!"

The latter winked, looking pleased at himself.

"I got you."

The other team was so caught up in the quick heat of their last minute save that nobody noticed Jaemin when he took a slight step forward as if to closely observe what happened. Casually, he draped his arm over the girl's shoulder, the tips of his fingers lightly grazing her forearm.

"Impressive. I think Team Black is getting so tired with all this jumping around though. Perhaps a quick break would do you good, Chenle? Maybe Mark-hyung, too? The corners of his lips tipped upwards as the words rolled smoothly from his lips. Pointedly, he ducked a little closer to the ear of the girl beside her, his eyes dancing..

"What do you think of the idea, noona?"

It took a while for her to react and consider his words. Finally, she blinked and gave a slight sigh. Mijeong watched as she lifted her hand, her fingers lightly grazing over the boy's hand still resting on her forearm.

"Yes. Maybe just a little while."

Jaemin's smile curved into a full grown smirk. The moment she said it, both Chenle and Mark froze on their spots. It was a strange sight to see, with their faces going from confused, to blank, until they finally relaxed. The shift was so subtle and mundane, but it seemed extremely out of place in the setting that was highly-charged with energies from both sides just moments ago. 

Mijeong watched everything unfold with stunned silence. What she just witnessed was the last thing she could have ever expected, and she slowly straightened herself up as she realized what it is exactly that happened. This might be the first time that she is seeing actual Masters in action, but she knows enough about the history of the Arcana to understand its intricacies as well as its limitations. IL Diavolo’s ability is considered one of the most diabolical in the ranks because it compulses and controls others, but its influence weakens when it comes to influencing fellow Masters. It’s almost impossible even... Especially for a younger wielder like Jaemin whose abilities are presumably still maturing. 

"…He wasn’t supposed to be able to do that," she said slowly, her eyes moving over to Kun. The way her voice came off sounded like she was convincing herself more than anyone else. The look the man gave her made goosebumps rise on her skin before he even spoke. 

"He didn’t. IL Matto did."

*******

"Papa?"

"Yes, darling?"

"Do you think I'm useless?"

The Headmaster looked up from the pile of papers he was reading to peer at his daughter. She was currently sitting on one of the loveseats in his office, her small hands flipping over the pages of the book that she had on her lap. The child had been so silent in the past hour that her question, specifically the nature of it, entirely took him by surprise. Slowly, he put down the documents he had been reading to give her his full attention.

"May I know where that came from, honey?"

The way her eyes flickered guiltily towards him before slipping back towards the page she is obviously not reading told him that she had been simmering on the thought for quite some time now. When it looked like she didn't have any plans of answering, he picked himself up from his table and went over to her side. He nudged her playfully to urge her to make room for him on the seat, a gesture she responded to by pouting slightly before letting him squeeze in. He draped his arm around her small form after and gave her shoulder a gentle, reassuring squeeze.

"Come on, talk to Papa. Did something happen?"

The child chewed on her lower lip for a moment before finally giving in. Without looking at him, she carefully closed the book on her lap and started unconsciously picking on the edge of its leather cover, a tick she does whenever she is unsure of something.

"Mark and I… We were playing yesterday. He showed me that he can make fire with his hands. It was small, but he made it from nothing…"

He listened silently despite already knowing where the conversation was going. His daughter continued, her eyes still downcast on her lap.

"Why… Can't I do something like that?"

The way her voice softened at the end of her question made his chest slightly constrict. He watched as she shifted her face away from his, her eyes landing on the small flickering candle in the middle of the coffee table in front of them. He let her sit for a bit on her thoughts while he also tried to think of the best approach to talk about this.

"Do you remember one of the chapters in The Snow Queen story that you love so much, Princess?"

The girl a confused look at his sudden question. He, on the other hand, merely gave her a smile before continuing.

"There's this part of that story that I really love. It's when Gerda met the Lapland woman who was supposed to give her something to help her defeat the Snow Queen. Do you remember what that something is?"

She only thought of it briefly, having almost memorized every word from the fairytale by now.

"The power of ten men… She wanted to be strong to defeat the Snow Queen."

"Mm… and do you remember what the woman said after she asked for it?"

"She didn't give it to her. She said…"

"The power of ten men would be of very little use. There is nothing anyone can do for this girl that she cannot do for herself," he gently cut her off by dictating the exact words from the story she—and her mother—loves so much. He watched as her small face morphed from confusion, into a look of slow realization. Still smiling, he tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear before he continued.

"The Lapland woman didn't grant Gerda any special powers, because they weren't something she needed for her mission to save her friend. What she already has is so much more powerful, because she was able to go that far with what she has, despite being human. Gerda saved Kai even if she was just herself."

The look on his daughter’s face told him that she already got the gist of what he was trying to say. Still, he wasn’t surprised at all when she decided to push on.  

"But I am not just a human. You told me yourself," she reasoned, and for the first time he saw the traces of doubt that she often works so hard to hide from him. "You always tell me that I should be careful. People treat me like they hate me or they're scared of me but I—" she stopped, her eyes looking brighter in the flicker of the candlelight. "I don't see why. I can't make fires. I can't move objects with my mind. I'm useless on my own."

A flicker of guilt teased the edges of his own features as he listened to her words. In the few years that she had manifested her ability, he had never heard her talk like this, and it's only now that he realized she never did because he never gave her a chance to. The moment he knew that the powers he hated so much—the very same who took his wife—chose his daughter to claim next, he set on doing anything and everything to hide her away. What he didn't realize, however, was how much his actions alienated the very same person he was trying to protect.

"How big was the fire that Mark made?" He asked again now, his face set. He turned to the direction of the coffee table and gestured at the flame there. "Was it like this candle here?"

Her daughter frowned before giving a slight nod.

At the confirmation, he leaned forward in his seat and reached out for a scrap of paper lying next to his bundle of notes. Without saying anything, he held it up to the fire and let the small flame lick it until they grew bigger and brighter.

"What happens when you create a bigger fire, Darling?" He asked quietly, his eyes set on the burning paper. He kept on holding it, unperturbed by the fact that the page was slowly being turned to ashes.

"It… becomes scarier," she answered, still looking doubtful about what he was trying to do. When he didn't react, she glanced at him, worry and panic obvious on her face.

"Papa. Let it go. You'll burn your hand."

That was enough for him to drop the paper to the same bronze plate where the candle's wax melted and curdled. The two of them watched as the remainder of the page got consumed by the flames before growing even more bigger as it started eating into the wax droppings on the plate.

"That's how it is with you, Princess. The small flame is Mark, but you can turn him into a big fire that can eat up and burn everything in its path. Arcana holders like us have our limits but you… what you do is beyond the usual boundaries that no generation of Masters have ever seen. You can turn a flame into an explosion, or make it destroy itself as if it never existed at all. You will meet many other flames in your life, some of which will want to have and use you, or destroy you."

The look on her face almost broke his heart. He pushed on though, knowing full well that there is a possibility that he might not have the courage to talk to her about this again. This is a necessary evil—something she must open her eyes early on so she could also protect herself.

"Why would they hurt me?"

"Because everyone wants more. More power, more influence, more fire. It's human nature, something even you and I have deep down in our instinct. But people are also terrified of what they can't understand and control. And darling… you will be exactly like that when you grow older."

He reached out for her small, cold hand now and engulfed it with his own.

"You and I are the only members of the immediate circle who can outwardly affect and influence other masters. Without them, we are useless—just people who can easily blend in with regular humans if we want to because we have no physical manifestations of what we can do on our own. With us though—with you most specially—they can be so much stronger." His hold on her hand tightened as he felt the slight tremor that ran through her.

"You can make Arcana powers more powerful if you will them to.  You are an asset, but also a threat. This is why you should never fully trust anyone, and why you should always be one step ahead of everyone. No one can use or betray you then."

She kept quiet, taking in every word he said. He is sure she had this train of thought before being the smart and observant girl that she is, but right now, he gave her the hard, uncoated truths she needed to hear. He hates doing this, but if it means he can save her from facing the same fate as her mother, then he is willing to sacrifice even some parts of her own happiness just to keep her safe.

"Do you understand it now, honey? Why I'm working so hard to protect you from everything? Can you promise me you'll try your hardest to keep yourself safe?"

Something flickered in her eyes that made a hollow spot in his chest tighten. It brought back flashes of memory of another girl who, at one point, also found herself lost because of a power she never even wanted in the first place. His daughter's voice finally saved him from the memory before it consumed him again.

"Yes, Papa… I promise."

*******

"Ability Amplification. That's the power of IL Matto," Kun said calmly, his eyes set on the figure of the girl on the screen. Mijeong looked at him as if he was saying the impossible. He’s no longer surprised by the reaction, knowing how ridiculous and far-reaching it might sound, even for members of the Family who are acquainted with the Arcanas. In the long history of recorded manifestations of IL Matto, this is the first time a master who can affect the strength of other abilities has been born.

"And they know?" Mijeong asked, her own voice still unstable. Before she even got her answer, she moved to step away from her hovering position over Ten’s shoulder and stalked to the open balcony overlooking the field. Her eyes zoned in on the same girl she had been trying to protect in secret before studying the other boys in the field. Kun and Ten exchanged glances before the former followed her there.

"The Headmaster has only let a certain number of families know about her. But yes, the boys know."

"Is that safe?"

Kun paused. His eyes strayed towards the open field, briefly studying each face there.

"It probably isn't," he finally said, deciding to be honest about it. 

"But it's strategic."

*****

"What the fuck, Jaemin? That's such a dirty move," Haechan scowled from the other side of the field to the amusement of the silver-haired boy on the other team. The latter openly smirked at him, pleased at his reaction.

"Hey. Only rules of the game is that a Queen cannot attack another Queen. The rest of the knights are fair play."

"You know damn well your Arcana's black listed for things like this," Haechan shot back, his jaw tight. Jaemin merely shrugged and pulled you closer to him, a blatant move that only made the other boy fume more.

"Oh? So you're admitting I'm stronger then?"

You sighed and shot him a quick look. He easily caught it, his eyes sparkling in amusement.

"Stop it already. You've done what you needed."

The boy gave a slight shrug but didn't say anything else to deny what you were implicating. He did finally let you go though, wearing a pleased look that he didn’t even try to hide. Jaemin is the type of person who mostly doesn't care about things like this, but when he starts to get serious, he is also not afraid to play a little dirty. After all, it's in his nature to know how to get under anyone's skin using their emotions.

"Sorry, love. I had to. Somebody has to piss someone off or else we'll be in this field for hours. I think it's kinda working."

"Kinda is a very humble way of putting it," Renjun finally spoke from the other side. His voice was steady, but anyone who knows him enough could see that he was also not amused by what his friend just pulled. He raised his hand now and snapped his fingers twice. As soon as he did, both Mark and Chenle flinched, as if somebody woke them up from their stupor. Unlike Jaemin's Arcana that controls, his protects, shielding all of his teammates from other mental attacks. The two boys who were just released from the devil's spell both looked around, gathering their bearings.

"What the hell…" Chenle frowned and pressed a hand at the back of his head. Mark seemed to have caught on faster about what happened as his eyes moved from Haechan, to you, and finally to Jaemin's Cheshire grin.

"Did you just…"

Renjun sighed and rolled his eyes slightly.

"Yes. He did. Before you get pissed, hyung, please know that this guy here is already doing a pretty bad job in controlling his temper," he said as he jabbed his thumb towards the boy on his side. "Yah, Haechan. Calm down. Irritating you is exactly what Jaemin wants."

"And that’s exactly what he is getting," the other answered without even batting an eye. "He's right. Let's quit playing."

"Time to get to business."

At his words, two black holes resembling jaws of void opened up on the still air beside him. They snapped and howled like two wormholes ready to swallow anything their way.

From the other side of the arena, Jaemin watched with a pleased look as the opposing team started to lose their cool. Jeno moved back closer to where you all are huddled, his eyes silently reading the energy of the other boys. He slightly pressed a hand on your lower back to catch your attention.

"Now?" He asked in a voice only you could hear. You gave him the slightest nod ever as your eyes shifted to Jaemin. The latter is already looking, and he leaned his head a little to the side in confirmation to your silent message.

"I got you both," he said. "Go off."

At his assurance, you moved to reach out to Jisung next. The boy looked down on you, a questioning look on his face.

"Jisung, can you shield us?"

He frowned, clearly confused by the request.

"What?"

"Shields. Can you do projected energy fields?"

His confused look slowly morphed into that of panic.

"I—I haven't tried. I don't think I can do it yet."

"Well, you have to. You have ten seconds to do it before Haechan tries to swallow all of us with his void monsters."

The boy’s face paled at your words. "No, you don't understand, noona. I literally don't know how to do it—"

"Seven, six, five…" you said in reply, softly counting under your breath. Jisung whipped around, looking absolutely terrified. From the other side of the arena, Haechan's black holes reared back their heads like cobras preparing to attack.

"Oh my god."

"Come on, Jisung. You can do it. Just think of summoning it."

"I c-can't—"

You squeezed his hand in yours and gave him a smile.

"Go ahead. I'll help."

He barely had any time to process what you just said when Haechan's shadow tunnels finally snapped and hurtled straight towards where you are. Jisung threw out his arm in instinct before impact and sure enough a bright burst of light flashed in the arena, temporarily blinding everyone. When the air cleared out again, a bright golden dome stood high above your heads, covering the good half of your end of the field. Grasping and snapping its jaws outside of it, trying to break through, were Haechan's voids.

Jisung's jaw dropped as he stared, dumbstruck at what he just conjured. Outside, Chenle straightened up as well, his eyes round with surprise.

"Holy shit dude… You just unlocked a new game skill."

Your smile widened as you patted the boy in the back. "Good job. Now try to hold that a bit more." Turning around, you looked at Jeno who was still calmly observing everything from his position. You watched as the ground beneath him seemed to ripple and shake before long shadowy figures started to rise from it. They moved like smoke, bearing the resemblance of slender women about 6 feet in height each. None of them have any solid features nor a body, but their eyes glowed bright like beams of light. You smiled. The figures sauntered forward, their bodies dispersing slightly as they passed beyond Jisung's shield. They snapped back to their form again as soon as they did and started slowly advancing towards the other team.

Mark and Chenle, who still brought the front, exchanged tense looks. Behind them, Renjun watched the shadow maidens fan in formation like predators eyeing their prey. They moved languidly but tensely, like strings about to snap anytime.

"Haechan…" he murmured under his breath. The boy beside him didn't need to look at him to understand what he was trying to say. Nobody moved, waiting for the tension to finally break. When the pin finally dropped after the suffocating silence, it drowned the field with deafening sounds that exploded at the same time.

Mark lifted chunks of earth from the ground, hurtling some straight at the shadow monsters that had sprung into action to attack. Assisting him was Chenle who turned some of the rubble into orbs of steel, some of which went straight into Jisung's shield. The dome grumbled under the force, making the boy grit his teeth from the attack. Lifting his free hand, Jisung pushed back against it, a move that caused spears of light to shoot out of his barrier. Haechan moved back his own monsters, the two voids merging together to form one big black hole that swallowed the younger boy’s attack. He flicked his wrist afterwards, causing the beast to swoop down and grab two of Jeno's shadow maidens closing in on Mark.

Mijeong watched, petrified, at everything that unfolded in a matter of seconds. What she had witnessed earlier was nothing compared to the scale that she is seeing now, the whole arena being torn apart from the ground up. Explosions were erupting everywhere and it was getting harder and harder for her to follow everything that was happening. When the field finally cleared again after a particularly strong blast, her gaze made a beeline towards the sole girl in the arena to make sure that she is still unharmed. She froze. There was something about her face that seemed out of place at first, and it took her a moment to realize that her eyes had turned lighter—the color of amber—as she watched everything that was happening.

"Is she alright? Ten?" Kun spoke before she could ask her question. The other boy took a while to answer, his lips pursed.

"Her heartbeat is rising, but everything else is okay."

"How about Jeno?"

"His control is more stable than his last record. He's good."

"What is going on? Are they in danger?" She finally spoke up, her voice barely masking her panic now. Kun, however, simply turned back at the carnage below.

"No. Everything's fine."

"Fine? Your kids are killing each other!"

The man smiled, an expression that seemed entirely out of place in the situation. "They're being a little more energetic right now, but everything's still under control."

Mijeong wasn't convinced but she pursed her lips anyway.

"I'm more worried about her. She's influencing that boy's powers, right? The one who created the shield?"

"Mm. That and the two others with her. Why do you think she asked Jisung to create that wall? I can assume it's her way of containing the reach of her ability to her teammates to tip the scales to their favor. Otherwise, Haechan and the others would be affected too."

His answer did nothing to assure her. "Isn't she pushing herself too much this way though? What if she—"

"Goes overboard? I doubt she will ever let that happen. Besides, Jaemin and Jeno are both there," Kun explained, nodding towards the two boys. At the look of confusion in Mijeong's face, he continued.

"Masters can lose control over their abilities when they falter in their focus and let the Arcana take over them. Jaemin will step in for her—and for anyone else in this arena—the moment he senses that. As long as they let him, he can bring them back to focus. Jeno, La Morte's abilities, come from the Nether. The rest of Arcana's originate from the Aether. If he wants to, he can also cancel or stabilize other powers since his source is the direct opposite of the others. She'll never go mad, as long as he's with her."

"And Jeno will never lose control, as long as Jaemin and her are there,” Ten added, his eyes twinkling as he looked at her. “Why do you think we put them in one group? Those three…"

"They're a package deal."

Mijeong processed all of that slowly. She turned back to watch the battle as she put together the pieces in her head.  So this tourney is not only done to check each of the Master's abilities. They also do it to see how abilities mesh well with each other. It’s a training and a study in one.

A blast of force shook the field once again making her and Kun slightly duck for cover. Unlike the damage caused by flying rocks and exploding metals though, this one is silent and invisible, like a wave of wind running through the bare arena. Rocks split and shattered as it swept through, including the shadow figures who were now just a few meters from breaching Mark and the others' side of the arena. When it hit Jisung’s force field, the surface shook under its force.  

You looked up, surprised and confused by the attack. You know Mark, Chenle, and Haechan were too focused on defending their spot, which only means…

"Renjun," Jeno said from beside you as more of his shadow maidens rose from the ground to replace the ones the force obliterated. Your eyes rounded in response.

"Psychokinesis… Since when did he learn to use it?"

Jaemin was the one who answered. "Nobody knows. He barely shows it, but when he does, it means…"

"You're very pissed," Haechan smirked and stated the obvious as he closely watched the boy beside him. Renjun had pretty much remained calm and quiet in the middle of all the chaos, but the set of his lips easily gave him away, now that Haechan gave him a real good look. The boy in question scoffed in reply to his teasing. 

"I'm not. I want this over.”

"Sure, dude. At least you seem like you impressed her,” he snickered, amused by the denial of the other. “Look, how about we all give it one last shot so we can finally get this done?”

For once, the pair agreed on something.

"Sounds like a good idea."

"I think we should end this," Jeno said as he noticed the shift in energy from the other team. You caught it too, and you gave him a slight nod in answer. Walking over to Jisung, you whispered to him in a voice you made sure only he could hear.

"Jisung, I need you to release your shield at my signal."

The boy gave you a look as if you've finally gone mad.

"What? But they're attacking us, noona."

"Just do it quickly then bring it back up again. I just need to do something."

He still looked unconvinced but both Jeno and Jaemin gave him a look that finally made him give way. In front of you, the shadow figures moved to guard the front of your team, just beyond Jisung's border. You watched with bated breath as the opposing group quickly responded to the move, every boy's attention set on getting the last line of your defense. When Haechan's void reared back again to do its final attack, you started counting the seconds in your head.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

“Jisung, now!”

You gave the signal the exact same moment that the black hole burst straight towards all of you. Its jaws split wide, it hurtled forcefully in the air with the full intent of swallowing the shadow army acting as your last line of offense. Jisung almost missed your signal in panic, but he thankfully managed to dissolve his force field at the last moment, enough for you to slip in the same periphery where Haechan’s targets are. You fell in the right spot just in time for the void to swallow you whole before everything disappeared, leaving nothing in its wake.

*******

"Haechan!" Mark turned and shouted in panic as he saw everything unfold in front of him. He wasn't the only one who shared the reaction though, with both Chenle and Jisung giving gasps of horror while Renjun froze in shock. Haechan paled as he realized what just happened, his eyes wide.

"Shit. Shit, shit!"

Above, Mijeong gave a wordless scream as she watched the full extent of the scene from above. Before she even realized what she was doing, she turned, ready to storm the field. She had barely made two steps when she felt Kun grab her wrists and pull her back.

"No. Don't go there."

"What the hell?! Let me go! Can’t you see—!"

"Stop. Just watch."

*****

You tumbled and stumbled inside the void, hands trying to find purchase on something, anything so you could slow down your spiral. Everywhere was dark, but you could hear sounds merging over each other as if you were speeding through different worlds and realities. You couldn’t figure out which direction you are going, or whether you are floating or falling. There was no sense of time or velocity where you were but you could also feel Haechan all around you—his fear, his shock, and his panic.

You didn't know how long you got suspended there, but when you heard Mark scream out your name from what sounded like a distance, you closed your eyes briefly and grasped at the weightless void surrounding you. The noises around you intensified, but you focused everything that you have in a single command. Whether you said it out loud or screamed it in your head, you weren't sure, but you poured every bit of your concentration on the thought, even as you struggled in the chasm surrounding you. 

Dissolve.

Now.

As soon as you expressed your intent, the churning darkness around you froze into a standstill. When you finally opened your eyes again, rips of light started puncturing the void, widening and pulling until…

You stumbled back to the field, the maw of Haechan's black hole releasing you back to the right dimension. Instead of finding yourself in the right side of the arena where the rest of your team are, however, you are now standing directly in front of Haechan who was currently looking at you, frozen in shock.

You smiled. Without saying anything, you flicked your wrist slightly, the move making his still gaping void to splinter into glass like pieces behind you. His expression changed into that of understanding as he watched it dissolve right in front of his eyes.

"You boys were so focused on attacking so you got distracted. Number one rule in the game, never forget your goal. In this case…" your gaze moved towards Renjun who was still standing beside the other boy. He looked at you, still surprised and confused, as you reached out towards him. It was too late for him to stop you from gently pulling at the ribbon on his arm.

"Your Queen's lace."

The bell sounded off again, this time, announcing that a team had won. Your smile widened.

"Checkmate."

*******

"What…"

Mijeong stared, thunderstruck, at the scene below her. Everything moved so fast, but she doubts her eyes were tricking her about what she saw. Kun quietly voiced out the thoughts that were already crowding her head.

"Ability Nullification. She dissolved Haechan's powers. Made his Arcana completely null," the man said, his eyes calmly set on the girl below. "The Fool always has two sides, a strength and a weakness. The true force of IL Matto's Arcana does not lie on how it can amplify powers…"

"But how it can void them."

The silence in the balcony was matched by that in the field. The only sound that disturbed the room where Mijeong, Kun, and Ten were on was the slight ding of a message that popped out on the edge of the latter’s screen. Ten quickly clicked on it and promptly read the short message there. His gaze shot to Kun then before he leaned over to the mic, his face set.

"Tourney's over. Winner of this round is the White Team. Please go back to your dorms and rest. Everyone here needs to report to the head office this afternoon..."

"The Headmaster is back."

CHAPTER 5

*******

Note: I had to redo my taglist because of Tumblr problems. The new list below are those who requested to be re-added or recently requested to be part of the new list. 

NEW Taglist: @effulgentfireflies, @kasperneo, @lostlovesoul11,  @byunniebaekhyunnie​, @smolpeyy, , @dearj43, @bettyschwallocksyee​, @babyksworld​

Untaggable for some reason:  @yongboksfreckles,  @user103843

#mark x reader #renjun x reader #haechan x reader #jaemin x reader #jeno x reader #nct dream x reader #nct dream 00 line x reader #nct dream fic #nct dream imagines #nct dream scenarios #nct dream supernatural au #jisung fic #chenle fic #ten nct fic #kun fic #nct dream fantasy au

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

IOTA Reviews: Evolution

Well, here we are again. Season 5, originally meant to be the last season of the show before the network decided to pull a Kim Possible and give it two more seasons. Although to be fair, this season will mark the end of an era, as Astruc won't be as involved in future seasons. Either way, this season has a lot to live up to, mainly the fact that it has to actually wrap up the plot after spinning its wheels for the past six years.

But for those who have just discovered my blog (in that case, welcome, stranger), or haven't caught up on the show yet, allow me to provide a brief recap of the fourth season. After being made Guardian thanks to Master Fu's incompetence, Marinette reveals her identity as Ladybug to Alya in order to have help dealing with the stress of her new responsibilities, eventually giving her the Fox Miraculous full-time. Of course, Cat Noir isn't happy that Ladybug is starting to rely on other heroes for help, and whines about it for the entire season because he's an idiot. On the villain front, Gabriel begins to use the newly repaired Peacock Miraculous with the Butterfly Miraculous, adopting the new alias Shadowmoth. Aside from the introductions of new heroes and a few minor identity reveals across the season, not much really happens until the season finale. After revealing she's working undercover when she supposedly stopped being a superhero to Nino, Alya loses her Miraculous because she's an idiot. Felix, Adrien's cousin and walking middle finger to anyone who was interested in one of the show's earlier drafts, manages to trick Ladybug into giving him the Dog Miraculous, which he uses to steal her yo-yo with a connection to where she stores her other Miraculous, but decides to trade all fifteen Miraculous to Gabriel in exchange for the Peacock Miraculous (which he may or may not be an artificial creation of) instead of beating his uncle up himself because he's an idiot. After nabbing all the Miraculous from Ladybug's yo-yo, Gabriel acts like this was his plan the entire time, even though he just lost again, because he's an idiot. And even though Ladybug was literally under the influence of an Akuma that made her take more risks, she gets blamed for everything going wrong because the writers want us to believe she's an idiot. The season ended on a cliffhanger where Cat Noir decided to actually help Ladybug without complaining because he actually has to do his job now.

So now that we're caught up, let's get into the first (chronologically the first) episode of Miraculous Ladybug's fifth season: Evolution

We start off right where the previous season ended, with Ladybug and Cat Noir staring down an illusion created by Hawkmoth, now calling himself Monarch. Not even the civilians really fear him anymore, as they just boo him while still supporting Ladybug, even though she's supposedly the reason why Monarch is like this in the first place. Sure, we could have had the public start to turn on Ladybug while she desperately tries to stop Monarch to signify how dire the situation is, but that would actually imply the writers know how to write serious story arcs.

Ladybug and Cat Noir easily get rid of the illusion and reaffirm their trust in each other.

Aw, isn't that sweet? Cat Noir spent most of the last season complaining about the other temp heroes, and now Ladybug has literally no other choice but to rely on him now. This really is one of the best superhero teams of all time.

We cut to Gabriel, wearing all the Miraculous (which are all now gray to remind the audience that he's evil), doing what he does best, monologuing to his wife's comatose body about how he stole most of the Miraculous from Ladybug, neglecting to bring up that Felix did most of the work for him. What's really weird about this scene is how it goes back and forth between Gabriel and the two heroes. When Gabriel says his victory is almost complete, Ladybug tells the public that Monarch's victory will never be complete. When Gabriel orders a concerned Sass to stay silent, Cat Noir tells the public not to be silenced. When Ladybug says that they won't be prisoners of Monarch, Gabriel makes it clear that the Kwamis are in fact, his prisoners/slaves. Is this meant to be funny? Is this meant to set up the conflict of this season? The tone is very vague here.

For once, Gabriel decides to do the obvious and use the Rabbit Miraculous to try and travel through time first, giving us a good look at his new form.

Monarch's design is... his design is... Oh my fucking God... It really looks like the animators have some kind of bet for who can make the worst unification design going on. The purple skin looks ridiculous, the vest has a really weird design, and I don't get why the Rabbit Miraculous' umbrella the and Turtle Miraculous' shield are purple while the other Miraculous are the same colors as when they're used by their normal wielders. I just... I just can't even begin to describe how utterly atrocious this form looks. And this is supposed to be the most menacing form Gabriel has taken to date! I had all kinds of jokes written as soon as I got a glimpse of this design, but wasn't sure which ones to go with. So I decided to put down all of them. Enjoy!

He looks like a fusion of Joe Biden and Grimace.

I've seen better designs from video game character creators... which were intentionally made to look ridiculous as a joke.

So are you supposed to be a supervillain or a cartoon character meant to teach kids about colors?

This is exactly why Pretty Patties didn't last too long.

Ivan Ooze called, he wants his look back.

So I take it you're a Poison-type Gym Leader?

Tonight, the role of Gabriel Agreste will be played by Henry the Octopus.

How did Gabriel even get his hands on some of Kaos' Petrified Darkness?

I think Gabriel heard about how cool Mayura looked, so he thought changing his skin color would help his new design. It really didn't help at all.

We've heard of Ursula's crazy sister, but how about Ursula's crazy brother?

Gabriel's Lotor cosplay could really use some work.

“Fun isn't something one considers when trying to get Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous, but this does put a smile on my face.”

Is this a character from that Rainbow High show I've heard so much about?

“What the hell is that?” “Well it ain't a well designed character model!”

I'm pretty sure even the Ginyu Force has better fashion sense.

This is a weird sequel to Home.

Gabriel didn't take his rejection from the Abomination Coven well.

You know, when I started watching Star Trek: Prodigy, I was curious to learn just what Dal's species was like. I really should have been more specific there.

So would this be considered blackface among Sinestro's people?

Man, Ebon really let himself go since Static Shock ended.

🎵I love you, you love me, how did this get on TV?🎵

Oh hey, here's something Monarch and my dad's Captain America costume have in common: The masks are both made of duct tape.

I'm starting to think the consequences for using multiple Miraculous at once are just really poor-looking suits.

See, this is what happens when you eat stuff without Willy Wonka's permission.

“Uh, Pim? What the... uh.. what the hell are you doing?” “Don't worry, Charlie. All I have to do is get Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous, and our latest client will have a big smile on his face!”

Man, has Gabriel really gotten this many bruises from all the losses he's had?

I remember when the suit designs for Kamen Rider Revice were first revealed, I thought the color scheme looked ridiculous, but I slowly warmed up to it. I don't think that's going to apply to Monarch's design here.

Gabriel, your new form, woof!

I didn't know Gabriel was really a Moonshadow Elf. It certainly explains his poor impression of a human.

Who wore it better: Gabriel, or Percy in that one episode of Thomas the Tank Engine where his face was covered in jam?

Man, I know people have problems with Lightyear's animation, but I didn't know their version of Evil Emperor Zurg looked this bad.

You know, some historians say that the reason Gothic churches like the Notre Dame Cathedral had stained glass windows was to emphasize the beauty of these places and to teach the illiterate about stories from the Bible. What kind of message is Gabriel is trying to get across with the stained glass pattern on his vest?

Feel free to pick your favorites from this list, or even make your own. Although, let's be honest here. The fact that Gabriel thought he would look badass in this form is funnier than anything else we could come up with.

Just as Ladybug starts to tell Cat Noir about how she lost the other Miraculous, Monarch conveniently stumbles through a time portal, with another version of her and Cat Noir in tow, the latter unified with another Miraculous. Bunnix, the wielder of the Rabbit Miraculous in the future, AKA, Marinette's friend, Alix, comes to warn the present day Ladybug and Cat Noir about Monarch planning to screw up the timeline more than the average episode of Kamen Rider Zi-O. Seriously, Monarch didn't even think about being subtle and just barged into the events of Season 1's “Lady Wifi” where the titular Akuma had Ladybug at her mercy. He didn't even think to use the Fox Miraculous to disguise himself as someone who could have tricked Ladybug into a false sense of security. For a butterfly-themed villain, Monarch really doesn't get the idea of the Butterfly Effect. As for the how the present day Ladybug and Hawkmoth factor into this? Don't worry, the writers didn't care enough to add that in, not even a throwaway line expressing their confusion.

Having the power of time travel on their side, Bunnix obviously takes Ladybug and Cat Noir back to where Felix was about to steal Ladybug's yo-yo and make sure Gabriel never gets the Miraculous—I mean, she takes them to stop Monarch from stealing back Ladybug's Miraculous instead. Ladybug ties up Monarch with her yo-yo, and the three heroes take back every Miraculous in Monarch's possession—I mean, they just explain how Bunnix's powers work and say they're going to take back their Miraculous... which gives Monarch the opportunity to unify with the Bee, Fox, and Turtle Miraculous so he can escape, distract the heroes with an army of Mirage copies, stun Bunnix with Venom and trap her in a Shelter. Cat Noir uses his Cataclysm to break through the barrier while Ladybug ties up Monarch again, but Monarch uses the Dragon Miraculous' Wind Dragon power to escape again.

This scene is supposed to convey how powerful Monarch is with seventeen Miraculous, but when the heroes had a lot of chances to undo all of this with time travel and nab all the Miraculous obviously on display on Monarch's jacket, it makes them look more inept than anything else. I can't believe I have to use this clip again, but...

Seeing how Future Alix isn't able to travel through time on account of having an unhealthy amount of magical neurotoxin flowing through her bloodstream at the moment, Cat Noir takes the other Rabbit Miraculous that Monarch failed to steal for some reason and offers it to Ladybug.

I'm... very mixed on this scene. On the one hand, as much as I hated Ladybug being forced to admit she screwed up through no fault of her own, I do like the idea of her actually trusting Cat Noir with something as big as this. This, as well as their partnership in general this episode, is a sign the two are far more in sync and bickering less than last season. On the other hand, it's pretty out of left field for Ladybug to trust Cat Noir with the Rabbit Miraculous when she herself was shown to use it no problem last season. Out of the three times Cat Noir has used other Miraculous (Reflekdoll, Desperada, Miracle Queen), he was only able to use it right one time, and that was a unification. 

Yes, Snake Noir was able to turn the tide of the battle in “Miracle Queen”, but it wasn't really this triumphant moment of the pinnacle of a character arc for him. Because there was so much focus on the conflict with Hawkmoth and Miracle Queen as a whole, it just kind of... happened, and didn't really get acknowledged much. It's kind of weird how the first step Ladybug is taking to trusting Cat Noir with more responsibilities is to trust Cat Noir with the most dangerous individual Miraculous during a tense situation when she could have easily used it herself. It's a weird time to give him a new power like this when she could unify with the Rabbit herself, and after the conflict ends, then she could start to train Cat Noir to use other Miraculous like the Rabbit.

As for Rabbit Noir, Cat Noir's new form unifying with the Rabbit Miraculous... THANK GOD WE HAVE A UNIFICATION DESIGN THAT DOESN'T SUCK! It's simple, but it honestly looks amazing. The neon blue lights along Cat Noir's suit go perfectly with it, and it evokes a futuristic aesthetic, and those, along with the rabbit ears and cottontail, don't feel as intrusive as other unification designs which try to blend two hero suits together. This is what most of the unifications should be like: simple aesthetic changes that don't compromise the design of the suit while still reminding the audience that another Miraculous' power is being used. In general, Rabbit Noir does a good job with these powers and understands the severity of the situation, taking the conflict with Monarch very seriously. He's honestly the highlight of the episode for me.

Rabbit Noir uses Burrow to follow Monarch to the events of the Season 2 episode, “Riposte”, specifically, the scene where Cat Noir is helplessly watching Ladybug duel the titular Akuma. Monarch's plans to ambush the past Cat Noir are thwarted by the writers FINALLY remembering the danger that comes with using multiple Miraculous, giving the present day Ladybug and Rabbit Noir the chance to catch up. And once again, the present day Ladybug, Cat Noir, Riposte, and Hawkmoth are too oblivious to what's going on when he's right behind them. Monarch attempts to head to the events of “Heroes' Day” and ambush Ladybug and Cat Noir when they try to recover after escaping from the Scarlet Army, but the present day Ladybug and Rabbit Noir knock him out and through the events of “Animan” where Alya and Nino are kissing, and the two lovebirds can't even hear all the commotion going on behind them. Back at the events of the first act of this episode, Ladybug and Cat Noir notice the chase from earlier was actually the chase they were about to take part in.

Monarch travels to an unknown time, and even though he's visibly exhausted, Ladybug and Rabbit Noir once again fail to think beating the crap out of him right then and there is a viable option, thinking that if they tell him to return the Miraculous, he'll just listen. Monarch unifies with the Dog Miraculous in an attempt to tag the Rabbit Miraculous he has with the ball, intending to use Fetch if they ever get it, but because he's currently using seven Miraculous at the same time, his body starts to collapse.

HOW THE HELL DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT?! You were literally told about the dangers of using multiple Miraculous all the way back in “Kwamibuster”! Did the writers seriously forget that happened, and that this kind of negative reaction is a brand-new rule they just made up?!

Okay, whatever. Monarch is clearly unconscious, he's exhausted from the long chase through time, and his body is probably a wreck after using seven Miraculous, so the other Miraculous are ripe for the taking... How do they screw it up now? Well, my dear reader, rather than take the chance to steal as many Miraculous as possible, they only get back the Rabbit until they're distracted by the past versions of Master Fu and Marianne being targeted by the vague Nazi-esque military, revealing that they're currently in the prologue of “Backwarder”, so Monarch has the chance to use Fetch to get the Rabbit Miraculous back and escape.

Okay, I gave Ladybug flak for blaming herself during the Season 4 when nobody could have predicted Felix's plan, but this entire episode has been nothing but her and Cat Noir screwing up and failing to take back the Miraculous Monarch is wearing when he's gotten weaker and weaker. They're clearly trying to establish how powerful he is, but he's only getting this far because the plot is forcing Ladybug to not do the simple thing and take back the damn Miraculous. Hell, Cat Noir points out the obvious fact that even if he can use Fetch to get back the Rabbit Miraculous, Monarch will eventually detransform, yet this episode still insists that this buffoon I spent two pages making jokes about is untouchable right now.

Ladybug finally wises up and uses her Lucky Charm and gets a box meant to contain a single Miraculous in. This was the same Lucky Charm that Ladybug got during “Heroes' Day”, with the plan being to peacefully get Hawkmoth's Miraculous back. While thinking about what she can do, Ladybug's vision centers on the Miracle Box the past version of Master Fu has, and gets an idea.

Meanwhile, Monarch accidentally travels to the events of “Reverser”, right after Ladybug and Cat Noir took a taxi to the Eiffel Tower while under the effects of the titular Akuma. Of course, even though the taxi driver sees Monarch in his mirror, he just ignores him. Monarch tries to attack them, but is forced to retreat, with Sass revealing that because none of the Kwamis have gotten food through the Monarch's use of their powers, so Gabriel is forced to travel to right before he started his little mission through time by walking up to Nathalie, who was on the phone with him while still on the Startrain with Lila and Felix, demanding she give him food for the Kwamis. Yeah, that's the reason why Gabriel is having a hard time, because the writers really forgot the rule they established in “Kwamibuster”.

Ladybug and Rabbit Noir walk up to the past version of Master Fu right after he and Marianne went their separate ways and explains what happened, saying she needs to borrow a Miraculous. Even though the whole point of “Backwarder”'s opening was to show how paranoid he was to use the Miraculous in such a dire situation, Master Fu just goes along with this and lets her have the Dog Miraculous on the condition that she return it to him so the timeline doesn't get more screwed up than it already is.

Okay, so... doesn't this mean that Ladybug and Cat Noir don't have to worry about not having any other Miraculous now? Yeah, they still need to get back the Miraculous from Monarch, but if the timeline wasn't bashed over the head after introducing themselves to Master Fu before they actually meet him in their time, and he's completely fine with letting them borrow some of the Miraculous, why the hell can't they just do that now? If they need the help of someone like Carapace or Vesperia, all either of them has to do now is use the Rabbit Miraculous, travel back to a period in time where Master Fu wasn't busy, ask for a Miraculous, get back to the present, beat whatever threat they're facing with the help of said Miraculous, travel back to the past and give Master Fu back the Miraculous, all while history mostly remains intact. If the original temp hero system where Ladybug had to haul ass to get a Miraculous from Master Fu worked before the Season 3 finale, why can't they just go back to doing that again, but with time travel? You could even argue that it's more efficient this way because they can travel back and forth from the Akuma fight to wherever they decide to get Master Fu's help. It's honestly unbelievable. The entire premise of this season is that Ladybug and Cat Noir are fighting an uphill battle since they don't have any of the temp heroes on their side, and how is the first episode of Season 5 going to be resolved? By using another temp hero for help. Seriously. The writers really didn't think this through, did they?

Back in the present day Louvre, Alix and her father are talking until Ladybug and Rabbit Noir show up, the former handing her the Dog Miraculous. Because screw Sabrina, am I right? The difference is that once Alix gets the Rabbit Miraculous back, it's full-time, and she'll have to leave her friends and family to watch over the timeline until Monarch is defeated. Alix's father is surprisingly cool with all this because it turns out future Alix wrote letters to him to make sure he wouldn't be worried. After a quick embrace between the two Kubdels, Alix takes the Dog Miraculous and transforms into Canigirl.

Compared to Miss Hound and Flairmidable, I think Canigirl's design is a nice step up. There's a good balance of black, white, and brown, and it's a nice touch that her hair looks like Bunnix's, which makes sense given how eager Alix is to get the Rabbit. The only major problem I have is the beret. It honestly looks like it's about to fall off at any second.

Rabbit Noir opens a Burrow to the past for Canigirl to tag Monarch's Rabbit Miraculous with before Monarch himself can do it. Ladybug leaves the Miraculous box in the burrow while the three heroes decide to travel to the frozen Eiffel Tower in the climax of “Heroes' Day”. While all the Kwamis are recharging, Nathalie brings up the obvious fact that Gabriel could easily travel to before Emilie used the damaged Peacock Miraculous. Gabriel transforms into Monarch again and plans to travel back to the night he gave Emilie the Peacock Miraculous in the first place and give his past self a flash drive with the information needed to repair it. However, he gets distracted by the box Ladybug left in the Burrow.

This is supposed to be framed as a tough decision, but it really isn't. He's just trying to drop a flash drive onto the picnic blanket where his past self was eating at. Like with Ladybug, the only reason he's hesitating is to make sure we get a full season. Failing to realize fixing the Peacock Miraculous means Ladybug and Cat Noir won't “ruin” his future, he travels to when Ladybug first used the Lucky Charm, planning to ambush their past selves yet again, only for Canigirl to use Fetch and get back his Rabbit Miraculous, immediately unifying the two into... Canix? Bunnigirl? I don't think she ever got a name.

Whatever the case may be, the suit design is okay. It's pretty much the Canigirl model with bits of Bunnix's color scheme, but like with Rabbit Noir, the simplicity makes it work.

Monarch tries to get back the Rabbit Miraculous, but Canigirl/Bunnix uses Burrow to escape, and even though he collapses at the realization he screwed up his one chance to save Emilie via time travel, Ladybug and Rabbit Noir STILL don't think to take any of Monarch's damn Miraculous while he's distracted. They aren't even distracted by outside circumstances. They willingly leave Monarch in the past and don't think about how he could screw up the future with his knowledge. Yeah, they bring him back to the present in the next scene, but it's only because he doesn't move from the spot they left him in.

Ladybug uses Miraculous Ladybug to heal Future Alix, Rabbit Noir gives her back the future Rabbit Miraculous for her to use to transform into Bunnix again, while Present Alix plans to give Ladybug back the present day Rabbit Miraculous, but Ladybug tells her it's time, so she transforms into Bunnix herself.

Like her future counterpart, Past Bunnix's design is... decent. It's got a nice balance of blue and white, but it doesn't really feel like something Alix would wear. Both versions of Alix are snarky athletes with a lot of spunk, so seeing this form-fitting jumpsuit on either of them is kind of jarring. I still like both designs, but I still think they should have been changed a little to match their personalities more, because Canigirl looks more like it fits Alix’s personality.

Present Bunnix gives Past Master Fu the Dog Miraculous back, while Future Bunnix brings Monarch back to the present. Ladybug and Cat Noir capture him again, and for the fifth time this episode, fail to consider taking any of his Miraculous in favor of once again telling him what they're going to do, giving him the chance to escape via Wind Dragon again. Ladybug isn't happy at her own incompetence costing them the victory.

AT NO COST, DUMBASS! YOU CAN TRAVEL THROUGH TIME NOW! WHAT'S STOPPING EITHER OF YOU FROM PREVENTING MONARCH FROM GETTING ANY OF THE MIRACULOUS IN THE FIRST PLACE?!

So, surprise, surprise, the last scene of the episode has Gabriel talking to Emilie's body about how he failed, and how it's Ladybug's fault he couldn't drop a flash drive onto a picnic blanket. Even Nathalie has it up to here with the plot—I mean, Gabriel's behavior.

Okay, while this isn't nearly as bad as the speech Plagg gave chewing Ladybug out in “Kuro Neko”, this still has a lot of problems. While Nathalie has every right to call out Gabriel for his stupidity, the show never made it clear that his problem was his obsession with beating Ladybug and Cat Noir. If anything, it's his determination to save Emilie, no matter how many innocent lives have to go. Pretty much every focus episode he gets highlights his dedication to his wife (Queen Wasp, Cat Blanc, Gabriel Agreste, Ephemeral, Risk), not his Captain Ahab/Moby Dick relationship with Ladybug and Cat Noir. If this was meant to set up more of a decline showing how his tenure as a supervillain had slowly been driving him insane, the show really didn't do a good job at it.

Also, it's pretty rich that Nathalie is the one calling out Gabriel for doing stupid things in the name of achieving his goal when she's just as bad. The whole reason she even needs those robotic leg braces in the first place is because she kept using the damaged Peacock Miraculous even when Gabriel told her not to. In general, she's one of the only people willing to help him without a question She's really not the bigger person this scene is making her out to be. If this partnership was more like a villainous version of Oliver and Diggle's relationship in Arrow, where the latter only went along with some of the former's schemes so he could act as more of an advisor and make sure he didn't do anything too stupid, this scene would work a lot more.

So Nathalie cuts off all ties with Gabriel out of frustraton, and let's hope unlike Kagami, this moment sticks. However, just as she breaks into a coughing fit, Lila approaches her. You remember how she was at the end of the previous season, right? She saw Nathalie starting to collapse and gave a devious grin, hinting she had something planned.

What did this moment end up leading to?

That. Just... that. Lila just offers to help Nathalie back to her seat, and that's her only line in the episode. What a payoff, am I right?

What was even the point of setting Lila up like that at the end of “Strikeback” just to have that amount to nothing? Was this even Lila genuinely showing concern for Nathalie's health, or is this just part of a plan she has? If it was the latter, kudos to the writers for actually writing a convincing lie for Lila.

After that, the episode ends with Gabriel letting out the wimpiest scream you will ever hear in your life. He's clearly supposed to be angry at Ladybug because he refuses to take responsibility for his actions (like father, like son, am I right?), but the scream just sounds so whiny, it's impossible to take seriously. The best way I can describe it is like that one McBain clip from The Simpsons where he screams someone's name, but even McBain manages to have more dignity there, and it's a parody of these kind of dramatic screams.

This episode was pretty mediocre, but as a season premiere? Honestly not that bad. The writers do a decent job setting up how unpredictable Monarch is now that he has more than a dozen Miraculous while also explaining why he can't head into the field and needs to go back to sending Akumas to fight Ladybug and Cat Noir. Granted, not once is the Rooster Miraculous' god-like power mentioned, even after Gabriel loses the Rabbit, but it still shows off all the powers he has now. As flawed as the execution was, the decision to remove the Rabbit Miraculous from the plot first was a great idea, as it answered the obvious question of why Gabriel couldn't time travel to save Emilie after failing to do so. Ladybug and Cat Noir are also shown to be on more equal terms now, which is good. Granted, the road to get there in Season 4 was bumpy as all hell, but hey, hopefully there's going to be less bickering between the two.

As for the episode itself, it's still a very convoluted mess. The idea of a race through time to stop Monarch sounds cool, and the action here is very fluid, but a big part of why the conflict fell flat was because both Ladybug and Monarch didn't think to use their respective Rabbit Miraculous to travel and undo the events that put them in their current predicament. The circumstances behind how Ladybug lost all of the extra Miraculous aren't mentioned at all, which is really weird, considering this takes place right after where Season 4 ended. Felix isn't mentioned once, and it's not explained why Nathalie and Lila are still on the Startrain if Gabriel canceled the commercial Lila and Adrien were going to be a part of. Hell, where was Alya in all of this? I get she isn't a key player, but you would think Ladybug would at least mention she's still in danger after her cover was blown in the previous episode.

So yeah, as far as this episode goes, it's passable at best, but not the worst way to start the fifth season. I'd say it's somewhere between “The Collector” and “Truth”, though it's closer to the latter than the former. And before I wrap this review up, I'm going to introduce a new segment on these reviews: The Biggest Idiot Award.

This is something that internet reviewer Phelous did during his retrospective on Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation, where at the end of every episode, he would judge which character was the biggest idiot of the episode based on their actions, and I figured that since this show is no stranger to characters acting like morons, this formula could easily apply to this season. Let's just hope I don't get sued for doing this gag. For now...

THE BIGGEST IDIOT OF THE EPISODE IS: LADYBUG

I get Ladybug was still shocked from everything that happened during the previous two episodes, but she and Cat Noir had five opportunities to at least try and take some of Monarch's Miraculous. Instead, they kept telling him that they won and that they were going to take his Miraculous and gave him plenty of chances to escape. It's kind of hard to take the show's claims that Monarch is this super powerful villain when the only reason he got as far as he did while suffering from the drawbacks of his new form was because Ladybug failed to do the simple thing and nab any of the Miraculous he had all over his body.

#immaturity of thomas astruc #iota #miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug salt #ml salt #marinette dupain cheng #ladybug #adrien agreste #cat noir #chat noir #alix kubdel #canigirl #bunnix #bunnyx #gabriel agreste #hawkmoth #hawk moth #monarch #monarch miraculous #nathalie sancoeur #mayura #lila rossi

[kyndaris]

Heart of Darkness

After finishing off a slew of quick games before my trip overseas, I decided that as I traipsed around South Korea and Japan, it would be good to tackle another Square Enix title. No, it was not Final Fantasy XVI, although I'm sure bleachpanda would have approved. Alas, I didn't have the game on a portable handheld and I wasn't planning on packing my PlayStation 5 into my luggage.

No, I brought something much smaller.

This was a game akin to Octopath Traveler. Except, instead of having playable characters explore the one world and stumbling upon their fellow travellers, this title would see each and every protagonist play out their own self-contained stories of varying lengths across space and time. And all of them would be tenuously linked by a seed of hatred fuelling all the villains they would end-up taking down by the end.

More importantly, the game in question was also a remake. The original had come out aeons ago and had never been translated into English. But with the resurgence in recent years of pixellated art-styles and the success of the 2D-HD hybrid in titles such as Triangle Strategy and Bravely Default, Live a Live was gifted a second chance to appeal to the hearts of gamers worldwide.

Now, when this game first released in 2022, I have to admit, I was a little sceptical about picking it up. There hadn't been much in the way of fanfare for it and I already had quite a few other games on my plate to tackle. COVID-19 might have put a damper on many blockbuster triple-AAA titles but I'd enjoyed a glut of smaller niche titles.

As such, it was hard to try and squeeze Live a Live into my very packed schedule.

And so, it is with a heavy heart for me to admit that I didn't pick up this game until quite a while later. But pick it up I did. And knowing I'd need something to help me unwind during my trip, I chose it to be the game I played.

After all, it had sold itself as having many different stories that could be played independently of each other. So, in my mind, it would be the perfect pick-up and play game.

What I hadn't anticipated was that the first two chapters I'd pick end up being two of the longest: The Near Future and Prehistoric. I was also at a loss to know which order to play the chapters in but settled in for the first option in the rotation.

Near Future stars Akira. After his father passes away, Akira is whisked away to live in an orphanage with his sister. There, he whiles away the time by helping out his friend, Matsu, at a taiyaki stall and lounging on benches in the city park. After a few altercations with the local gang, he stumbles upon a conspiracy where humans are liquified to bring back a bird God, Odeo. The story ends with Akira duking it out against the revived God in the Steel Titan mech, piloted through Akira's psychic powers.

Prehistoric, on the other hand, has Pogo stumbling upon cavewoman Beru, who had fled her own tribe after nearly being sacrificed. Unfortunately, her tribe manages to track her down. Pogo, with the help of his gorilla friend Gori rescue her, bringing down the Tyrannosaurus Rex Beru would have been sacrificed to. In so doing, Pogo wins the respect of his tribe and that of Beru's.

But the story that stood out to me the most was the Far Future one, starring the iconic Cube, a small round robot, who was created by the engineer Kato to assist around the spaceship. The story plays out like a horror story with elements of Alien and System Shock. It isn't long before Cube is forced to face off against the rogue primary artificial intelligence, OD-10.

Then, of course, there are the stories of Sundown Kid, Oboromaru, the Earthen Heart Master and Masaru. Completing all seven of the stories unlocks an eighth chapter: The Middles Ages.

In the Middles Ages, players step into the shoes of Oersted. A knight of the Kingdom of Lucrece, he shows off his prowess at a tourney held by the King. Besting the sorcerer Streibough, Oersted is rewarded the right to marry the king's daughter. That night, as he celebrates his victory, the princess is kidnapped by the Lord of Dark. Oersted sets off on his journey to slay the Lord of Dark at Archon's Roost.

The rescue, however, does not go as planned and Streibough dies. Hasshe, the previous hero who had slain the first Lord of Dark, also falls. With a heavy heart, Oersted returns to Lucrece to report to the king.

It is later revealed, however, that Streibough is alive. Jealous of Oersted, Streibough orchestrates a plot to besmirch Oersted's good name and paint him as the villain. After accidentally killing Lucrece's king, due to an illusion, Oersted finds himself alone and without allies, the citizens of Lucrece quick to denounce him as a new Lord of Dark. Upon Oersted's return to the Archon's Roost, Oersted is forced to confront the traitorous sorcerer. Streibough slain, the princess emerges. But instead of being overjoyed, the princess expresses anger toward Oersted and commits suicide.

Overcome with hatred and despair, Oersted steps into the role of the Lord of Dark, christening himself a new name: Odio and extending his tentacles across time and space. These are, of course, the enemies the rest of the characters fought in their individual stories.

With the end of this eighth chapter, a ninth one opens up: The Dominion of Hate. Here, Odio transports the heroes of the previous chapters to the Kingdom of Lucrece, questioning the reasons why they fight and engaging in battle with them.

Much of the messaging in these last few moments still feel quite relevant to the current situation of our world. Especially as wars rage and people treat each other with disdain, drawing lines in the sand and forgetting that not everything in the world is so black and white. And as more and more people struggle with mental health, giving into the darkness of their hearts as they lash out at others through the anonymity of the internet, I'm reminded once again that most of our lives are more than a few comments or a status update on social media.

And yet, many have now squeezed themselves and their whole personality into 60 second video clips or 240 characters.

The internet may love their 'morally grey' love interests but somehow we've also forgotten there is more that motivates an individual than just one post they might have put up ten years ago.

In the end, it all comes down to what we make of our situations and how we react. Far too often, we rush ahead, blinding assuming people are out to get us without stopping to think things through. And in our bid to remain relevant, we fail to think about the human on the other end of the text chain and their feelings and their lives.

Yes, you may be the 'main character' of your story. But so are others. They aren't just bit characters in your play.

And maybe that's something we need to remind ourselves each day when we take to sending hate through the internet.

In this day and age, I'd hate to fight what sort of Lord of Dark might come out from all the vitriol dwelling inside. Joseph Conrad might have depicted a man's slow descent into evil by venturing deep into a jungle but we are seeing a modern day descent into savagery play out right before our very eyes.

I didn't mean to end everything on a downer though.

From a gameplay perspective, Live a Live keeps it simple with its turn-based combat a la Chrono Trigger and other role-playing games of yesteryear. What was intriguing to me, though, was the grid-like combat and the ability for players to position their characters just-so to deal critical damage or to target more enemies through area-of-effect attacks.

While this necessitated some form of strategy, I also found it easy, once sufficiently levelled, to just hit the final boss with all my strongest attacks without much thought on how long they would take to charge.

Overall, I enjoyed my time with Live a Live and somewhat regret not picking it up earlier. Should Square Enix ever release another experimental title, I think I'd be quite intrigued to see where it might lead.

#video games #live a live #cube #akira #oboromaru #sundown kid #earthen heart master #masaru #oersted #odio #pogo

[artificidel]

good night, sleep well

As the spell rips from Colla's palm and implodes on Farina, something new roils within Ephidel. It grows within them, moving their digits to press the saw just a hair's breadth closer to his throat-

Before it all flickers out to the scene now before them. The darkness, the town, the allies they sought. The emptiness inside Ephidel feels deeper now somehow. That they were once again a doll left behind. Their gaze comes to each of their captured companions, before drifting to the Xs drawn upon the ground.

'Where do you belong?' echoes in their hollow.

Ephidel wandered the streets of this doll house, alone. Always alone, because solitude was his only companion anymore. Even here, even now, reunited with the rest of those from Fodlan, the morph stands not with them, but at their periphery. The illusion shattered and his damage repaired, he now remembers that he was on the boat bound for Elibe. It matters little though, he thinks. He is no more a stranger to them than his once-enemies returning home.

So he paces the streets, finding this place where he 'belongs.'

Down a darker side street, Ephidel finds a mannequin with a coin purse tied loosely at their hip, and a splattered X behind them. It is not hard to guess this is his place. People in this illusion easily called him thief, and he can not help but think back to another one.

'You took something from me.'

Matthew had said with an unreadable expression.

'I have taken much from many.'

He had countered, and the words echo loudly in his chest now.

So this was the role his new puppet master had for the morph? It seemed as though he was already well fit for it. Ephidel steps upon the X behind an unsuspecting mannequin holding a purse of gold and hopes at least, that he may be useful to this puppeteer.

***

Ephidel's gaze is skyward as he stews in his isolation, until finally the unexpected happens. Farina joins him, in this spot, in this role. It only makes sense--she gained the same dark robes as him, the same deft fingers--and is not out of any sense of companionship. But all the same, Ephidel can not help but think something of it.

Words catch in his throat as he tries to form them, but any are quickly stolen away by the eruption of screams and violence. All throughout the tiny town, members of their group are attacked; having apparently chosen the wrong answer. There is little time to ponder this before the voice echoes again, bringing with it visions of props.

'Your hand must fit its mold.'

They were still this voice's playthings, fulfilling the role given to them. In that case, Ephidel envisions the ring of keys and other useful tools but he can not help but think again that it is all too fitting.

Ephidel had always viewed everything--people, most of all--as tools, and he in turn, was but a tool for his master's hand.

***

A ring of keys materializes, and drifts down into Ephidel's palm, before all goes dark again. High above a spotlight illuminates them in red, and before them is a mannequin bathed in green. It cowards and hides, flinches away from their gaze; and Ephidel can not help but be sickened.

They see Ninian. They see Marquess Santaruz. Marquess Lauz. Every one who was a stepping stone or road block to Lord Nergal's plans. The voice wants Ephidel to pick their pocket and scurry away like the petty thief they had been told they were. But they are more than that. The voice was right about one thing however, the world would only ever see them as a villain. Everyone (nearly everyone. But the morph dismisses their kindness in this moment) on the boat to Elibe made that clear that this is how they saw them. This is what they were. This is what they would always be.

Ephidel looks down to the keys in their hand, catching sight of a small blade on the ring, and clutches it tight. With confident and measured ease, Ephidel takes two slow strides towards the mannequin, before plunging the blade through its middle, and pushing up, up, deep into the thoracic cavity. Twisting the blade in just the way Lord Nergal had once guided their hands. This was how to ensure a pawn was dead, with the least effort, the least mess, but far from quick or painless. When their hand could reach no further, Ephidel dropped the blade and it clattered to the floor.

This is what they were. This is what the world saw them as. Fodlan had merely tainted the purity of their purpose.

***

The lights rise, and the familiar tug of puppet strings guides Ephidel's limbs. They don't fight it. This is what they were meant for. Through the streets they come upon the young dragon; her quintessence is marvelous, it would make for a wonderful gift for Lord Nergal. They close their eyes for what they know is to come.

The blade twists, and the blood crawls up their limb, racking shocks through their frame. Ephidel does not flinch before it, it is a fitting penance.

When the damage stops and their eyes flit open again, the three mannequins are presented. Ephidel takes in the garments of each.

The people of Nahan tossed Colla at their enemies feet to beg for mercy. He was not welcome in their homes. The gilded gaze drifts to the black armor. The enemies of just before. Perhaps prior to this moment, Ephidel might have considered him among their ranks. But his hesitation... his inaction... the morph is not utterly convinced.

Then the final mannequin. It is of a banner Ephidel does not recognize, but it is unmistakable as a soldier uniform. Colla had said as much to them... and Ephidel thinks they are perhaps alike in that way. A tool that is one day discarded when it has exhausted its use.

Still, Colla had stood in opposition to Ephidel. The ways they were alike mattered little against the allegiances they stood for, and it was enough to want to see the young man cut down.

Ephidel clasps their hand to the livery of the last empire and shoves the mannequin roughly to the ground, signifying their choice.

***

All the spotlights but the one illuminating the livery cut out, and Colla's story plays in the wake before all goes dark again. A hazy silhouette appears in the distance and the voice comes not from above but the shadow.

'Do you know who I am?'

The voice is familiar. From memories and dreams of Rusalka. Ephidel and the others who had witnessed it turned to each other. Confiding what they already knew. She was the one from the dreams. The one who wrote the letters. The one who sought revenge, and this was it.

'My family was fated to die either way. You will die because you are sheltered by the foul beast that condemned us for who we are[...]Pasithee is my name, child of Celephais and Keranes. Do you know where you are?'

Darkness closed in around them, but it was Maria with her quiet voice who stood to answer Pasithee's final question.

'Is this... ...your second 'eternal punishment?''

The voice does not answer. Instead the darkness grows closer to all of you until it’s all you can sense. Endless nothingness. Then you are nothingness.

#svverdane2023 #i know we were told we don't have to just copy chat plays verbatim #but i actually like most of the writing i did in mine #and it actually tells a cohesive enough story that i think it works on its own #tw for graphic description of violence at one point though #also a lot of text from my copy/pastes #writing that is not my own in block quotes

[slashingdisneypasta]

I love complicated relationships between heroes and villains.

Andy keeping Chucky near and calling him best friend even while he feels fury and disgust and fear just looking at him, because to be fair Chucky has been there, haunting him, for as long as he can remember. He was just a child when this started, he barely remembers a time without Chucky hunting him. They have each other in the worst way.

Meg looking at Hercules and seeing his uncle sometimes. They were more then servant and master to each other and everyone knows it; Just because it was never said doesn't mean its not true, and Meg has to live with that all the time. She thought she had nothing to lose, it wasn't like she liked him- but that doesn't change the fact that her and Wonder Boy's shared monster-- will always mean something slightly different, to her. She wants to recover but without anyone to understand her trauma, where does she start??

Laurie wanting to kill Michael, wanting to shoot him in the head over and over until his head is just bone fragments and blood on the pavement looking like a Picasso. But at the same time feeling connected to him because there is no Laurie Strode in the world, without the monster that keeps trying to kill her. Without Michael.

Basil grieving Ratigan. Like, seriously grieving him. And honestly?-- Hoping, that he... survived, somehow. He cant say it out loud and he cant talk about it with anyone, not even dear Dawson- he can barely even face his own thoughts on the subject. But Ratigan was the only other that... understood, and... that could contend, with him... And he'll miss that for the rest of his life. For the rest of his life, there will be something missing from him. And he has to live with the fact that that thing he misses, was a disgusting, nefarious criminal that hurt more people then even he could count and would have happily continued.

Jasmine, having grown up with Jafar - him being almost another uncle to her over the years, - , having to sort through her memories differently, now... Those times she ran into him stalking the halls in the middle of the night and she snarked pettily at him just because she didn't like him? Was there an even darker note to those moments that she didn't recognise back then??

Lori waking up in the middle of the night, sometimes, wondering about Jason. He didn't deserve what happened to him, he was a victim. She wishes she could have saved him... that someone, could have saved him. Will worries about Freddy, but while he's shaking and hyperventilating about nightmares, Lori's in her own head- at Crystal Lake, looking for the boy who deserved better. Hoping he finds peace. She doesn't dare say it out loud, though.

In the night, Simba remembers his uncle the way he was when he was a kid. His silly uncle- kind of sad, and a little scary, but fun. His favourite adult. But during the day he remembers the terrible way Scar looked at him in the end, how he manipulated him and took away years with his mother... how Simba had killed him... And he doesn't know how to merge the two no matter how many times Nala tells him Scar was always dark. Sometimes Simba cant sleep from the guilt from murdering his uncle.

Drake looking at Jim in that old costume and that chainsaw with that insane look in his eyes and feeling utterly heartbroken. He looked up to this Darkwing Duck for his whole life- Jim helped him to get through the worst parts of it, in fact. Without Jim he may not have made it! But now Jim's a destroyed person, mad with envy and his hero is trying to hurt him!! All Drake can think is how This isn't right, this isn't right. This isn't right...

Jim (Gordon) looking at Barbara now and despite the horrors that she has willingly committed, sometimes he sees the woman he was planning to spend the rest of his life with...

#Villains #Villains and Heroes #Slashers #Disney #Disney Villains #Gotham #Fox Gotham #Barbara Kean #Jim Gordon #Drake Mallard #Darkwing Duck #Jim Starling #Simba #Disney Simba #Scar #Disney Scar #Disney Nala #Lori Campbell #The Lion King #Ducktales #Ducktales 2017 #Jason Voorhees #Freddy Vs Jason #Princess Jasmine #Disney Aladdin #Aladdin #Jafar #Disney Jafar #Basil of Baker Street #The Great Mouse Detective

[panicatthediaz]

These three parts make for a nice chapter, I think, so they have been posted to AO3! Future chapters will probably be longer. Here we are on part 3. As promised, season 4 events. Have fun! [Part 1] – [Part 2] – [Part 4]

@madaboutmunson @lamburrito @benjaminrussell @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @dijkstraspath @swiftiebuckleys @spectrum-spectre [Let me know if you want to be tagged!]

Pin a String to My Chest – 3

The spring break from hell

Of course, none of this was what Eddie had expected to happen. He'd known, on some level, that things weren't okay with Chrissy, but he didn't think he would ever see someone murdered by a freaky, evil mind-controlling wizard from another dimension.

Not that he had known that was the case that Friday.

That night, the only thing he'd known was that she died an impossible death in the middle of the Munson living room.

He panicked.

And he ran.

Eddie really hoped, after he managed to catch his breath at Rick's boathouse, that his uncle could forgive him for running.

Then he was found. Dustin, his own little sheep, and Buckley, band nerd. Max, his new neighbor. King Steve Harrington himself.

And even though their explanation was absolutely insane, it… it helped that they believed him. His only hope became seeing his uncle at all, forgiveness or not, no matter what the old man thought.

Nancy said, a while later, that he believed in him. That he'd been the first to deny that Eddie could have done any of it.

The relief he felt was huge, but it was tainted by the second impossible death he had to witness.

With Jason right there, the city's golden boy who'd never do wrong, who the fuck else would believe in him?

Then there was a whole parallel dimension that might as well have been hell, flesh-eating bats, visions of the villain's origin story and said hell bleeding into their world with a vengeance, and finally a plan that could just get them all killed.

Sure, why not? These people are absolutely insane, but fuck, he could really come to care about them. Even Harrington, which at any previous point of his life would've seemed extremely unlikely.

But, well, he wouldn't begrudge someone's character development.

Maybe he could do something different himself. Something… better. His job — and Dustin's — was to distract the bats, lure them away from the Creel house long enough for the Vecna Slaying Team to kill him, then get out of the Upside Down.

He would do his very best, he'd decided. He'd do it well, loud, and in style.

Master of Puppets was an easy decision.

Just as easy as sending Dustin back through the gate and turning back around.

If he was going to run one more time, might as well do it in the opposite direction; keep the bats away from the gate and from Dustin.

Draw attention to himself then run with it. Literally.

It didn't work every time. It didn't work back in his first senior year, when Hagan was dumped by Steve, and it certainly wasn't working now.

Never handled crowds that well, he thought a little hysterically when the bats dropped dead all at once, as if feeling overwhelmed in a tiny space full of people could be compared to being eaten alive and bleeding out.

He didn't have room for much thought after that, the pain too all-consuming to focus on much of anything else.

At least… At least Dustin would be safe. He'd look after Hellfire, the kid was passionate enough.

Never change, Dustin Henderson.

But… he would, wouldn't he? This wasn't—

The kid wasn't supposed to come back. He wasn't supposed to see him die.

I love you, man.

But at least, there was some truth in all the bullshit he'd just said.

#asexual Eddie Munson #Stranger Things #Eddie Munson #Steddie #Stranger Things fic #Eddie Munson fic #ace!Eddie Munson #asexuality #Steve Harrington #Dustin Henderson #wereswriting

[npcemi]

I’m back from the hospital so lets start with an update for my KP fic

So this the link for the latest chapter: https://archiveofourown.org/works/38375071/chapters/120852103

Link to the beginning of the fic as a just in case since I haven’t posted this fic in a while:  https://archiveofourown.org/works/38375071/chapters/95894818

“Betty, I got an Idea,” Shego said as the leader of Global Justice motioned for her to continue.

“We’re in Middleton, right in Cupcake’s backyard. They’re expecting her to show up and nine times out of ten she comes through the vents.” Kim picked up right where Shego left off.

“So if we flush the vents beforehand, make them think I’m coming through the vents then when GJ breaks the front door we can pull their attention in multiple spots!” Dr. Director sighed saying it was a good plan in theory, but what about the fact that they’d be sending Joker gas into the open air.

“Betty, we were able to get a sample off of Dr. Possible's clothing. It’s variant 14. Made primarily for driving animals rabid, it affects humans the way traditional gas does but only in ultra-high concentrations. Meaning it’s safe in the open air. We just can’t use the dogos.” Harley said more seriously before relaxing back into her persona.

“Then we’ll make it happen, Oracle will link all of your coms. Let's get this done people!” Dr. Director said as everyone got into position, ready to strike, Oracle gave the signal and Nightwing, Red Hood, and Global Justice blew through the main entrance to the Space Center. The lobby was smoke covered and in the rubble of destroyed sculptures, desks, and similar fixtures.

“Duck!” One of the agents screams as a hail of throwing stars are sent the group’s way.

“What the hell Damian!? Why are your guys attacking us with fucking ninja stars!?”

“Todd, you know my assassins use Kunai and would never use something as low-skill as a shuriken. Besides we haven’t made an entry, we’re running into…difficulties.”

Back down on the ground floor of where the building where the main attack happened Kim and Shego get ready to break in.

“Okay, how are we doing this?” Kim asks.

“Grapple to the roof, I have a special charge that will give us a good hole for entry.” As the green villain completed her sentence she used her jacket's inner grapple to pull herself to the roof and left Kim to roll her eyes and follow suit. When she gets to the roof Shego has already placed the charge. It looks like a five-by-five rug with a round silver object the size of a one-gallon paint can in the middle. Shego directs kim over to where the green woman is standing, which is a good thirty feet away.

Shego clicks the detonator and there is a soft thump. “Wait for it, princess.” She says holding Kim back. A few moments later a large explosion rings their ears as the ceiling gives way leaving a perfect five-by-five crater. The two women jumped down and were immediately attacked by a horde of monkey ninjas.

“Why the hell are monkeys dressed like ninjas attacking us?” a rough male voice came over the coms.

“It’s Monkey Fist, What is he doing here?” Kim said through her coms fighting off three monkey ninjas.

“Don’t know who this monkey Fist is, but we’re coming in, it should help even the odds,” Damian says over coms as the League of Assassins finally breaches and makes contact with the monkey ninjas.

“You know I’m actually glad outside right now,” Ron said not realizing he is on coms.

“Seriously you haven’t gotten over your fear of monkeys yet?” Kim said in an exasperated voice kicking a Monkey ninja.

“Are you telling me that the supposed Mystical Monkey Master, the future leader of the Yamanouchi clan of Ninjas specializing in Monkey Kung Fu, is afraid of monkeys?” Damian said with disbelief as he and the League were cutting their way through hordes of monkey ninjas. The only response heard was Ron’s nervous laughter. “And to think my opinion couldn’t fall any lower.” Before anyone could respond to Damian's jab at Ron, Dr. Director gave them a reminder to focus.

Kim was having trouble fighting off the monkey ninjas, her shurikens weren’t stopping them, and her combat knives only got so far. “What the hell, these guys aren’t normally this tough!” After stabbing another monkey and flipping backward to gain some distance before drawing her pistol and opening fire.

“Welcome to Jokerized enemies princess!” Shego said as she was fighting the ninjas her plasma was lit hot enough to melt steel on contact. The primates didn’t stand a chance.

Their fight continued until both girls were breathing heavily surrounded by the remains of the Monkey ninja army. Any celebration would have to wait as they heard the howling mad laughter of Monkey Fist. his eyes wide and mouth large with an unnatural grin as he stood about to make some kind of grand speech. Shego didn’t wait, attacking him with the full power at her disposal only for her plasma not to work. Her eyes went wide, and she jumped back and screamed. “Kim attack”

Kim fired a few shots before holstering her pistol and launching a series of taekwondo fast kicks and tornado kicks before being thrown off by the mad hybrid. Shego decided she wasn’t going to take any more chances and told Kim to stay back. Kim looked on as she saw Shego’s eyes begin to glow. The villainess ignored the taunts being thrown at her by Monkey Fist. Shego took in a breath as Kim swore a ring of plasma traveled up the woman's body from her waist. There was a bright flash and a massive beam of concentrated plasma hit Monkey Fist in the gut leaving a gaping hole that nearly cut the man in half. Behind him, there was a hole in the building going through until daylight.

Kim saw another bright flash of green surround Shego before her new partner collapsed. Kim barely managed to catch the woman. Both women, tired and exhausted, shared a weak smile before hearing something come from Monkey Fist’s direction. Both girls looked up to see the man advancing, stumbling slowly, but somehow he was advancing on them despite the massive hole in his gut. There was a sound from the vents that caused the man to stop. Harley comes crashing out and lands on the Monkey hybrid and pins him to the ground under her feet. Harley swings her bat up over her head and swings it down like she was playing Suikawari.

“Remember Carms, when it comes to jokerized enemies. Especially the human-animal hybrids, it’s zombie rules.” Harley wiped the blood off her face and then announced they were all clear on their end over coms. It was only a few more spare minutes before the other teams reciprocated. Kim helped Shego back out to the medical tents.

Days after the battle at the Middleton space station, Kim sat alone in her room. She knew Shego was coming over soon to discuss their partnership more. Kim was trying to clear her head of her conversation a few days ago after her short-lived coma. Apparently, she was in hell living through some of the worst memories of her life. It was parts of those memories that were nagging in the back of her mind. Parts of the conversation between her, Shego, and Tom, no Lucifer. Kim let out a tired laugh, right Lucifer, the actual devil. It was parts of that conversation and her time in hell that had led her to this moment. Kim didn’t go to church often, a handful of times when her mom gave in to the wishes of Grandma Smart. What she was about to do spat in the face of everything she learned those few times at church.

She knelt at the foot of her bed and put her hands together and prayed.

“Well, well, well It’s not often someone prays to me, with good intentions at least.” There he was, her former therapist sitting on the edge of her bed. “Although, I am still deciding on whether or not I’m surprised that it’s you doing the praying miss Possible.” Kim was still speechless. She expected her little prayer to go off into the void like all the other times she’d seen people pray. She didn’t think he would show up in her bedroom.

“Well, consider your prayer heard, how may I help Ms. Possible?” The devil looked at her with a wide, yet comforting smile. The one she was used to seeing in her therapy sessions.

She cautiously asks, "So, if I were to have these... potential feelings, is that why I went to hell?"

Lucifer’s face knits together with a soft sympathetic expression, with a calm and reassuring tone, he responds, "My dear Kim, it is not the mere existence of these feelings that determines one's fate. It is guilt that often drives people towards their own personal hells."

He continues, his voice carrying a genuine sense of compassion, "As long as you do not allow guilt to consume you, as long as you embrace and accept yourself without shame or self-loathing, your feelings, whatever they may be, should not be a reason for you to go to hell."

Kim was frustrated that Lucifer didn’t give her a straight answer. He had to be vague and not just tell her what she wanted to know. She was about to speak up when she heard a voice from behind her.

"Well, well, Kimmie," Shego begins, her voice dripping with a little too much mirth. "It seems there's more to you than meets the eye. Cupcake, have you been hiding something from me? Perhaps some secrets simmering beneath your goody-two-shoes exterior?" Kim goes red, wondering how much Shego heard and how much she understood.

Shego’s voice dances with amusement as she continues, "Oh, Pumpkin, don't you worry. Your secret's safe with me. But Princess, I can't help but wonder what other surprises you're hiding. But more on that later, come downstairs we have much to discuss." Kim watches Shego saunter her way back downstairs.

Kim turns to look back where Lucifer was only to find him gone. She starts to wonder if the whole interaction with Lucifer was just a hallucination. She decided to go downstairs and as she went to close her door she saw a red sticky note.

‘Be honest with yourself, be kind to yourself, be brave, and remember you can do anything!’~ LM

Kim shoved the note in her pocket and made her way downstairs. When she got downstairs Shego informed her a man named Jason was coming over to discuss what will happen and the process Kim will go through as she makes her transition away from a hero. Honestly, this was all a lot more bureaucratic than she was expecting. They all decided to relax as Anne turned on the TV.

“This just in we have a couple of special reports.” Summer Gale turned to her co-anchor Lance Thunder.

“That’s right, first during the attack on the Middleton space center. Global justice moved quickly to mitigate any damage, however, a local citizen managed to film part of the attack. It shows what appears to be Kim Possible and an individual that resembles international super thief Carmen Sandiego who seems to have changed from her signature red color to a green color scheme. This begs the question why was one of the world's best thieves at the attack, was the attack just a distraction and why did it seem that Kim Possible was helping her and not stopping her?” As Lance finished his statement Shego muttered something about never letting global justice do the coverup ever again.

Summer Gale continued the report, “And in related news, Carmen Sandiego’s signature red outfit was found at the Gotham Natural History Museum replacing the now missing Joker exhibit. Investigators found a cryptic note left on the glass of the exhibit. It reads: ‘Now that the real Carmen Sandiego has come back into the public eye. I have no use to imitate the world’s greatest thief. I leave this gift here as a sign of honor and respect. I will still be doing my best to counter the villain’s international league of evil. It was my honor to hold the mantle for as long as I have, I leave it now to you Carmen as it always should have been, signed Black Sheep’ Does this mean there’s been more than one Carmen Sandiego? Does that mean this new green Carmen is the real one and the one that popped up in the last few years was a fake?” Shego angrily turns the tv off almost destroying the remote

“That little shit, she planned this” Shego screams, making everyone in the room except Kim jump.

“Did you like my gifts?” Isabella comes waltzing her way into Kim’s living room, she got by GJ’s best security system that Wade also had a hand in making, and yet. Kim instantly tensed going on red alert, Anne took a cue from her daughter and sent the twins upstairs.

Isabella wore an all-form-fitting black blazer, a red vest with dark crimson buttons, a black dress shirt, and a red tie. Her slacks are skintight, and hold her utility belt which also holds a Drop Leg Bag on her left calf. her combat boots are all black with a steel-toe cap. She wears two black gloves. She has a black fedora with a red band.

“Black Sheep,” Shego says curtly.

“Well, did you enjoy them?”

“What gifts?”Kim asked.

“Well, first I have given Carmen back her birthright,” Isabella said.

“One I never wanted in the first place!” Shego nearly shouted.

“Well too late now or are you really going to let the carmen sandiego fade away into the history books.” Isabella gave a smirk and Shego’s only reply was an aggressive “Fuck you!”

“And the second?” Kim asked desperately, trying to defuse the tension.

“And take away from your learning opportunity? Seems like the waste of a good gift.” Isabella chuckled.

“Or you just tell us and not be a bitch.” Shego chided as Isabella sighed.

“Funny thing is that the Gotham History Museum, first built in the early 1900s with funds from the Wayne Foundation, didn’t actually create its Joker exhibit until after the battle of Metropolis City.” Shego looked at Isabella, her eyes narrowed before going as wide as dinner plates. The green woman took a breath and her expression hardened.

“You’re helping when this all comes to a head.”

“Naturally,” Isabella said cooly, Shego turned to Kim and told her to get her Kimunicator and to contact Betty. When Shego turned around, Isabella was missing.

“I really hate that trick.”

________________________________________________________________

1. That wasn't Ron bashing I swear, it was just Damian being Damian. 2. I had Isabella/Carmen Sandiego (2019) give a little paragraph-long history of the Gotham Natural History Museum because that totally tracks for her character, but it ended up ruining the flow a bit so I compromised with her giving an extra factoid. 3. I am going to be getting a bit more upfront with Kim's feelings and struggles about her queerness. My original plan was to make that plot line happen slower over more chapters, however with me slightly increasing the pacing speed I've needed to cut down on a chunk of "downtime" where those plot points would have more focus.

#Kim Possible #shego #Kim x Shego #kim possible fanfic #Kim Possible x DC #DC Universe #harley quinn #jason todd #damian wayne #lucifer morningstar #dr. director #carmen sandiego #ron stoppable

[somedayonbroadway]

Cruella DeVil and just the au as a whole plz🥺

This was a fun AU, I really had fun making these mood boards. I hadn’t actually thought about turning it into a full fledged AU, especially because these villains are from completely different worlds. But I really enjoy thinking about these as desperate AUs.

Cruella is one of my favorites. That and Maleficent as Jack. Truly iconic.

But here’s Race’s story, based mostly on the newest Cruella movie with a few added whump twists.

Buckle up.

When Race was young, he was attached to father’s leg. He was a shy little boy and hid behind the man at every opportunity. He was quiet and withdrawn, the only person he opened up to was his father. Until one day, of course, when his father went into a strange party and was knocked off of a cliff by the dogs that were at their owners beck and call. Race watched his father fall, so young, so much to give to the world. Race’s father was the only one who ever understood him, who knew that Race wasn’t like any other child.

Race was creative and wild, just waiting to be set free.

After Race watches his father die, he runs, nearly falling off the cliff himself and somehow being saved by the very same dogs that just killed his father. They protect him and hide him from their master like they know him and Race narrowly manages to escape with nothing left of his father. He sleeps in the middle of a park where two other boys, brothers, find him and accuse him of trying to take their spot. They throw him into a fountain and try to take back their place but Race watches them from behind, begging and stealing money to survive and Race manages to get more money than the both of them combined.

That’s how Race becomes a part of the Delancey gang.

They grow up together, conning and thieving their way through their young lives as Race and Oscar grow closer and closer, eventually falling for each other. Morris doesn’t like this at all. He didn’t hate Race. He just didn’t like that Race was stealing his brother from him. He also didn’t like Race’s fascination with dogs and the need to protect the mutts on the street.

Oscar, however, was trying to find any way he could to make Race happy. They were teenagers in love. Oscar found Race a job at a fashion company, knowing that Race wanted to design and model clothing, and Race ended up becoming a janitor, hating his life, much to Morris’s amusement. However, it isn’t long before Race manages to stand out enough to become noticed by his favorite designer and hired as a designer that gets no credit for his work. Oscar is determined to help him while Morris insists he stick it out. Race plans to stick it out before the designer, Mr. Obadiah Weisel is seen wearing a pendant that Race recalled his father owning many years ago.

Morris does the research needed to prove that it was the Weasel that killed his father that night and thus, Race starts planning his revenge.

He adopts an alter ego, named Cruella DeVil, a feminine designer who makes extravagant and original designs, giving Weasel a run for his money and trying to dethrone him as well as drag his name through the mud. He enlists the help of the Delanceys to try and get the pendent back but is caught by Weasel’s security, his right hand. A kind young man by the name of Jack Kelly who recognizes Race and insists he run before getting caught.

The trio still attempts to take Weasel down, until Morris devises his own plan to get rid of Race once and for all by outting him and Oscar to Weasel. Race is nearly killed and Morris convinces Oscar it was Race who sold him out, leaving Oscar to allow Morris to beat and assault him before leaving Race all on his own. It is Jack who manages to find Race and take care of him, revealing to him who Weasel truly is.

Jack explains that he was a little boy when Race was born and he knew Race’s mother well, as she was his own mother and a servant in Weasel’s mansion. Weasel had assaulted her and gotten her pregnant. He later had Jack’s mother taken away to a mental facility and sent the baby with a man named Bryan, a servant in Weasel’s house, to drown the baby as Weasel did not want a scandal to follow him. Bryan instead stole a pendant from Weasel, intending to sell it and gain enough money to raise the baby himself as he ran off with him. Bryan, however, never ended up needing to sell the thing, as he had money left over from working with Weasel.

Jack explains that he stayed with Weasel hoping to track down his long lost brother and it took a little longer than he’d hoped.

Race hatches a new plan, with Jack’s help, to steal Weasel’s dogs and leave him defenseless. Race then makes a coat out of the dogs fur, though he doesn’t actually, and making a mockery out of Weasel who has now hired the Delanceys as his own personal security.

Thus begins Race’s true villain era.

What do we think?

Let me know what other villains you wanna hear about!

#anonymous #anon request #anon ask #newsies #newsies live #newsies musical #much love #racetrack higgins #newsies au #modern era #modern au #newsies fanfiction #modern newsies #oscar delancey #morris delancey #the delancey brothers #disney villains #villain au #cruella de vil #Cruella Devil #jack kelly #weasel #Obadiah wiesel #origin story

[bkdk-art]

Love and Fear in the Light of Day

Summary: Izuku and Katsuki finally got closer but Katsuki’s mumbling in his sleep leads Izuku to fear that Katsuki is seeing someone else, already feeling his heart breaking.

Fandom: My Hero Academia / Boku no hero academia

Characters: Bakugou Katsuki, Midoriya Izuku

Pairing:  Bakugou Katsuki/Midoriya Izuku

Word Count: 3,000

Rating: General / Teen

AO3-Link

Notes: Slight mention of sex / Takes place after UA / Izuku and Katsuki are hero partners 

________________________________________

Izuku grumbled softly as he opened his eyes. Light was shining merciless on his face, waking him up.

He sat up, rubbing his eyes.

Why was it so bright in his room? Did he forget to close the curtains?

He looked to the window and blinked in confusion. He looked around, realizing where he was and the truth began so sink it.

It hadn’t been a dream.

It really happened, he thought, looking at the person sleeping next to him.

Izuku’s stomach dropped. He wasn’t sure if he was the happiest or he most scared person on this planet right now. Probably both.

While looking at those familiar features he started recalling what had led to his unfamiliar awakening…

~~~

… Izuku was yawing for the fifth time already.

“I’m sorry, Kacchan. The week has been rough”, he said, “But I’m focused, I promise.”

They were sitting in Katsuki’s living room, files were laying all over the place. They were working on a case that had been going on for weeks because the villains in question were masters of disguise and now they had finally found a promising trace.

Katsuki tossed the paper that he was just reading to the side, cracking his neck. “Yeah. This case has fucked up my sleep schedule too.”

Izuku smiled at his hero partner and childhood friend. He really did take his sleep serious.

“Should we stop then, for today?”, Izuku asked, somehow torn. He longed for his warm, soft bed to finally fall asleep but he also craved every minute he got to spend with Katsuki.

Katsuki shrugged and said: “Let’s take a small break and see if we’re still tired after that.”

“Yeah”, Izuku nodded, “Sounds good.”

“Of course it does, it’s my plan”, Katsuki said casually and started to stretch out on the couch. Izuku’s whole being seemed to be put on pause when Katsuki rested his head on Izuku’s lap. He was lying flat on this back, face turned to Izuku. His eyes were closed.

Izuku was afraid to move.

In the last couple of years, they had spent more time together than most married couples usually do – due to their work and due to their friendship. And they had grown more and more comfortable around each other. Physical touch was nothing uncommon between them.

But that kind of physical contact was still something new. Izuku had kind of started it a few months ago. During a night shift, while they were patrolling around town, Katsuki had opened up about how he still felt terrible about their middle school years. Seeing how worked up he had been, Izuku had just wrapped his arms around him, refusing to let go, even when Katsuki tried to shove him away. Since then, Katsuki was mostly the one initiating sudden, short hugs or was leaning against Izuku.

And now this.

Izuku swallowed. He couldn’t help himself and was bluntly staring at Katsuki’s mouth.

Get yourself together, he said to himself but that didn’t help.

During their years at UA, after they had started to repair their friendship, he had realized that he was in love with this mouthy, loud, amazing person. That it wasn’t just admiration and platonic affection. He truly loved him.

Izuku held his breath when he reached out to stroke Katsuki’s hair. He relaxed when Katsuki approved with a soft hum and let his fingers glide through spikey but yet soft hair, losing himself in Katsuki’s features.

Katsuki had cooked for them that night, making Izuku’s favorite food: Katsudon.

“You have to stop spoiling me like that”, he had warned, “I will get used to it way too quickly and start bugging you about making it all the time.”

“I can handle you, nerd”, Katsuki had said unimpressed, refilling Izuku’s bowl.

Katsuki was still explosive and rough at times. But he had grown to be more calm, more thoughtful. He took care of Izuku.

Izuku realized his hands were shaking now. The butterflies in his stomach had turned into bees, stinging his insides. It ached. Not being as close to Katsuki as he wished to be – it physically hurt.

He needed to be closer, just a little, just a tiny little more.

At that desire Izuku’s brain seemed to shut down for a moment, because he found himself bending his head down and softly touching Katsuki’s lips with his own.

Katsuki’s eye shot open and that’s when Izuku started to think again.

He instantly jumped to his feet, throwing Katsuki off of him in the process.

Oh no, Izuku’s heart was racing, he could feel his face heat up, No, no, no, what have I done?!

Katsuki was his friend, his hero partner! He had no interest whatsoever to be in this kind of relationship with Izuku. What was he thinking?!

He could feel tears prickling in the corner of his eyes.

Katsuki groaned, rubbing his shoulder where he landed on it, coming back to his feet.

Oh no. Izuku had to fix this!

“Kacchan, I’m sorry”, he pressed, almost choking on his own words, “I- I- I-“, he realized he had no idea what to say. He had no excuse in the back of his head. Absolutely nothing came to his mind, everything went blank.

Katsuki was now looking at him, arms crossed, head leaning back. Izuku was shaking.

“I”, he started again but still didn’t know what to say, “I’m sorry.”

Katsuki narrowed his eyes, studying Izuku’s face and those moments were the longest of Izuku’s life.

“Why’d you do it?”

“Huh?”, Izuku titled his head.

He expected Katsuki to go bat shit crazy, throwing him out of his apartment and yelling at him.

But instead, he was calmly standing in front of him, waiting for an answer.

Izuku just said without thinking: “I felt like it.”

“Tch”, Katsuki clicked his tongue, “You just felt like kissing me.”

Izuku started to shift uncomfortable. He looked away, wasn’t able to hold Katsuki’s stare any longer.

“Yeah”, he whispered, still having no idea why he wasn’t lying to him. But had he ever? Had Izuku ever been able to hide something from Katsuki?

“You felt like it”, Katsuki huffed to himself.

The following happened so fast, Izuku couldn’t even register all of it: Katsuki suddenly moved quickly, closing the gap between them.

“Then I’ll do the same”, he said in a low voice and Izuku let out a surprised sound when Katsuki started to kiss his neck, grabbing his waist.

“Kacchan?”, Izuku whispered, feeling dizzy.

“Shut up, nerd”, Katsuki was now kissing Izuku’s mouth, “We’ll talk later”, he said, sliding his tongue over Izuku’s lips and sliding it into his mouth as soon as Izuku let out a deep sigh.

Kacchan is right, he thought, letting all his worries go, just following Katsuki’s movements, Talking can wait.

Izuku was finally getting what he wanted, what he had craved for so long, his analytical brain would have to shut up for a while.

 ~~~

But Izuku was wide awake now and this analytical brain of his was back on track.

Izuku looked at Katsuki. The blond was laying on his stomach, the blanket covering his lower body, face turned away from Izuku.

Izuku’s eyes ran along Katsuki’s spine. He noticed the fresh bruises and bite marks on Katsuki’s neck. Izuku felt shy at the memories of placing them there.

He suddenly felt a panic attack creeping up at him.

I slept with Kacchan, he thought, I slept with my oldest friend, with my partner. With Kacchan!!

His chest tightened.

Izuku buried his face in his hands, trying to steady his breath.

My name is Midoriya Izuku, he thought, recalling his grounding-routine he learned in therapy, taking in deep breaths, I’m 21 years old, my birthday’s on 15th July. I’m a professional hero. My mother’s name is Inko. My father’s name is Hisashi. I graduated at UA. My apartment is on the fourth floor. It has four doors, six windows, I’ve got two All Might posters in my bedroom…

It helped. He was slowly calming down.

He let his hands sink into his lap, looking at the still sleeping Katsuki again.

We’ll talk later. That’s what Katsuki had said and Izuku would be here for it. Of course he would.

He sighed, relieved at that decision. He let himself sink back into the pillow, humming. That’s when Katsuki moved for the first time, grumbling in his sleep, and turning to face Izuku. His eyes were still closed. He scooted closer, pulling Izuku towards him.

He hummed something incomprehensible and added: “You okay, love?”

Love.

Love…

Izuku’s body reacted on its own, just like yesterday: He jumped out of bed.

He had to get out of here.

“What the…”, Katsuki was now actually waking up.

Izuku was collecting his clothes that were scattered all over the place, pulling up his boxers.

Love – that’s nothing Katsuki would ever call him. Nerd, dork, reckless idiot, dweeb – yes. But love? Never would he call Izuku that.

Katsuki being half asleep must have mistaken him for somebody else. Somebody he was calling “love”.

A sob escaped Izuku’s mouth, sounding like an explosion.

“Yo, what the hell?”, Katsuki’s voice sounded husky, “What’s happening?”

But Izuku was just heading for the door of the bedroom.

“Nerd!”, Katsuki called out.

Ah, there it is, Izuku thought. He stopped. Izuku looked over his shoulder, fighting back another sob.

“Are you”, Izuku’s view was blurry, “Are you seeing someone else?”

Katsuki made a surprised sound.

“Why do y-?”, he began but Izuku couldn’t take it. He hurried to the apartment door.

Katsuki wasn’t denying it and Izuku was in no state of mind to hear about someone else. He started picturing who it could be, whether or not he knew them.

Izuku was bawling his eyes out by now, trying to slip into his shoes.

He heard Katsuki running after him, cursing like he hadn’t heard him do in a long time.

“Fucking wait!”, he demanded.

Izuku recalled how Katsuki was smiling at him, kissing him, asking him if he was alright. At the thought of him doing this to someone else Izuku felt sick. He was afraid he would throw up then and there.

“Izuku!”

Izuku was just fiercely shaking his head. He couldn’t talk to Katsuki right now. Why wouldn’t his feet fit into his shoes?!

He heard Katsuki sighing deeply.

“You will run straight into the paparazzis down there. And you’re half naked.”

Izuku stopped his clumsy attempt to put on his shoes and sank down, sitting on the step in the entry area. He couldn’t fight that logical reason to stop.

So he was just sitting there, pressing his clothes against his chest and crying into them, grasping for air.

He felt Katsuki sitting down next to him. A warm hand was placed in the nape on his neck, offering silent comfort.

After a while Izuku ran out of tears. Or his body just refused to get fully dehydrated because of a stupid broken heart.

Although he was scared out of his mind, he eventually turned his head to look at Katsuki. The sight stunned him.

Katsuki looked completely gutted.

Izuku had known the blond his entire life but he had never seen Katsuki looking this… sad.

“What the fuck is going on?”, Katsuki asked in a low voice.

Izuku pressed his lips together, feeling his throat closing up again. After a few deep breaths he was finally able to speak: “You… you called me ‘love’ in your sleep. And I just assumed you were mistaking me for someone else.”

It hurt even more to say it out loud. It made him feel like the absolute stupidest person alive. “And when I just asked, you weren’t denying it.”

Katsuki was now staring at him, eyes big, face expressionless.

“You fucker!”, he barked a second later, “I was just waking up! Of course I wasn’t prepared to have a serious talk just right after opening my eyes!”

Izuku blinked at Katsuki.

“That’s why I wasn’t denying it, you…”, he let out a frustrated growl, “Fuck, Izuku, I thought you regretted last night, crying your eyes out like that! Don’t give me a heart attack like that!”, his hand wandered from his neck into Izuku’s hair, grabbing it.

Izuku’s brain had a hard time processing what Katsuki was saying.

“Are you”, he said quietly, “seeing someone else?”

Katsuki exhaled sharply, shaking his head. “Are you for real? We are almost spending every damn minute of the day together. How am I supposed to date anyone!”

“Then why”, Izuku continued, “did you call me ‘love’.”

Katsuki clicked his tongue, looking away.

Was he blushing?

“I… this is so stupid”, Katsuki pinched the bridge of his nose, “I’ve been calling you ‘love’ in my head for a while now.”

“Huh?”

“You heard me just fine.”

Izuku must still be asleep. This couldn’t be reality. It was impossible. He must have hit his head and-

“You’re mumbling”, Katsuki interrupted his thoughts and ruffled through his hair, “This is real. I can punch you in the face to prove it.”

Izuku laughed at that. His aching chest was finally starting to feel lighter again.

Izuku closed his eyes, focusing on his breathing once again. He was counting from 10 backwards. When he reached 1 he opened his eyes again, meeting crimson eyes.

“Kacchan”, he said, “I love you.”

There was no point in denying it any longer. He was bawling his eyes out three minutes ago because he had thought Katsuki was seeing someone else. It was obvious by now.

Katsuki mouth opened a bit, his eyes went big.

“I probably have loved you my entire life”, Izuku continued, “But I only came to realize it at the end of our second year at UA. I was happy we were solving all of our problems but after a while I noticed that I didn’t feel the same for you as I do for my other close friends. I was jealous and I was obsessing over every interaction we had. That’s when I figured it out.”

There it was. Izuku had said it. Now it was out of his hands.

Katsuki let go of Izuku’s hair and brought his hands to his face. He rubbed his face way too roughly, Izuku wanted to stop him but was too afraid to move.

Katsuki eventually stopped and took in a deep breath. He looked at Izuku.

“Remember when I went to that stupid Onsen trip together with those extras and brought you that All Might-colored lucky charm?”

Izuku curiously titled his head, nodding.

“I told you I just happened to come across it and because exams were coming up, I thought you would need them”, he chuckled at the memory, “You were happy, but you were also pouting like a little brat because your grades were obviously good enough to get straight As without a stupid lucky charm.”

“Don’t call it stupid!”, Izuku protested, “I still have it in my locker at the agency.”

Katsuki looked surprised. “You do?”

Izuku nodded.

“Of course you do, sappy nerd.”

“Hey!”, Izuku frowned, “You’re the one calling me ‘love’!”.

Izuku was surprised by his own cheeky response.

“I’ll give you shit for this later, nerd”, Katsuki warned him with a little smile, “But for now”, he sighed, “What I’m trying to tell you is that I didn’t just came across those charms. I”, he shrugged, “I saw them on a stupid website and how the city was famous for making them. I ended up searching them for hours. The others were teasing me about it. That’s when Pinky called you my crush and”, Katsuki cleared his throat, his voice started to shake, “it dawned on me that she was right. Well, not exactly. That I was not only crushing on you. I was head over heels in love with you. And that hasn’t changed.”

Izuku was reaching out, taking Katsuki’s hand.

“I swore to make you happy”, Katsuki sounded almost defeated, “I swore to myself to only take what you’d give me, to never demand something from you in that regard. So when you were the one kissing me yesterday, I…”, Katsuki’s voice broke and that’s when Izuku couldn’t hold it in any longer.

He pulled Katsuki closer, wrapping his arms around him.

“Kacchan”, he whispered against his shoulder, “I love you so much, you have no idea. I just never thought you’d want me.”

Katsuki clicked his tongue, also slinging his arms around Izuku, almost breaking his ribs.

“I want you more than anything.”

Izuku started to cry again.

If someone had asked him what Bakugou Katsuki AKA Dynamight wanted the most, Izuku wouldn’t have missed a beat saying he wanted to become the No. 1 Hero. To win, to surpass anyone before him. To be the best.

“Anything?”

“Anything, you dumbass.”

Katsuki gently pushed Izuku an inch away, so he could look into his eyes, “I’m not seeing someone else, I don’t intend to ever do. Even if you’re not down for… me.”

Izuku leaned forward, kissing Katsuki.

“Be aware, Kacchan”, Izuku said, “You won’t be able to get rid of me once we start this.”

Katsuki shrugged. “I’m counting on that.”

Izuku felt his face brighten up.

“Can you say it again?”

“Hmm?”, Katsuki frowned, confused.

But Izuku was just silently beaming at him. Katsuki got flustered when he realized what Izuku wanted.

He grumbled, biting his lips.

“I hate you”, he said.

Izuku chuckled. “I have a blue-red-yellow-colored lucky charm to prove you wrong.”

Katsuki glared at Izuku. “Smartass”, he said, standing up and pulling Izuku back to his feet too, “Let’s make some breakfast, love, I’m fucking starving.”

Izuku’s heart missed a beat at the sound of Katsuki calling him this, now fully conscious.

“Me too”, he answered.

Katsuki scoffed, walking towards the kitchen.

Izuku stood there for a second longer.

“Kacchan!”, he called out.

Katsuki looked over his shoulder, raising his eyebrows.

“This will be awesome!”

Katsuki blinked at him. Then he smirked. “You bet your ass it will! Now, come”, he held out his hand and Izuku rushed to his side, being finally as close as he had always dreamed to be.

#bkdk #bkdk fluff #bakudeku #katsuki x izuku #decchan #bakugou x deku #bnha #bnha fanfiction #bkdk fanfic #fluff and angst #wonder duo #mutual pining

[pitynostars]

sorry but i'm going to have to disagree. rtd's comment SOUNDS innocent and well meaning, but when sacha, an asian villain wore jodie's clothes it was fine and nothing has been said about that, but when its tennant thats unthinkable?? also, jodie specifically went to her designer and asked for an androgynous outfit because she'd seen a gnc person and wanted the doctor to be similar - why wouldn't they be? the doctor's gender is literally fluid. in the most literal sense of the word. i was hoping for some in-universe explanation for the clothes change but if its just that, i'm going to be genuinely disappointed.

i appreciate disliking the choice (i'm not actually a fan of it myself just pointing out some potential thoughts behind it + getting fed up of people spreading lies about what was actually said), but i'll repeat my pov on your points here!

"when sacha, an asian villain wore jodie's clothes it was fine and nothing has been said about that, but when its tennant thats unthinkable??"

thats exactly the point though, right? the subset that WOULD make horrible comments about it, are the type of people who also wouldn't blink twice at a “villain” “crossdressing” lets be real here. a lot of media plays that up. similar to how the reaction to whittaker!doctor and gomez!master was quite different. its different when its the actual lead. RTD would v likely know this (but bear in mind, RTD likely didn't know Dhawan!Doctor was happening in tPotD when he was planning the regeneration scene)

Dhawan almost immediately switched out for a mix of all the Doctor's outfits and eventually gets back to his Rasputin fit, it’s not his ONE look for the episode compared to it would have been 100% of DT’s screentime

with Dhawan Doctor, it was in the middle of an episode which Chibnall wrote apparently thinking the show was being CANCELLED (so like, didnt need to think abt the media reaction as much even if it had OCCURRED to him to do so)

coming out of the episode, what were all the headlines about? the regeneration. Tennant. which is what ALWAYS happens with these eps. RTD probably suspected this was going to be the main chat of the next YEAR before there’s new eps because that’s what ALWAYS gets the attention/publicity.

"also, jodie specifically went to her designer and asked for an androgynous outfit because she'd seen a gnc person and wanted the doctor to be similar - why wouldn't they be? the doctor's gender is literally fluid. in the most literal sense of the word."

Sure and the whole REASON Whittaker herself had to emphasise "these are not women’s clothes they’re the doctor’s clothes" "anyone can wear them" etc. etc. back when she first started is because SHE knew the public/media reaction too and was trying to get ahead of it in the same way as RTD is with this.

RTD hasn't said the Doctor is cis, or can't be played by a woman again, or that cosplayers can't dress as 13 (or whatever people are making up now) it's purely about the REAL WORLD reaction of having Tennant be the last shot of the ep, the ONLY official shot of his Doctor we would have had for a whole YEAR for the vultures to potentially latch on to. The Doctor doesn't exist in a vacuum.

"i was hoping for some in-universe explanation for the clothes change but if its just that, i'm going to be genuinely disappointed."

this still might happen!! the article (that i know of) doesn't say anything about whether it'll play into the plot. i'm hoping it will too, especially as the end of tPotD plays it up as feeling so Wrong/out of place (which... again is probably why RTD didn't want Tennant in Whittaker's outfit here if that was the vibe he was going for!!! the optics there would have been very 😬)

#replies tag #i typed this out once and then tumblr glitched out so i rushed retyping it if u see typos lmk 😔 #rtd #doctor who #once again i dont rlly agree w it wholeheartedly but i do get where rtd is coming from #i get why people are upset/angry just offering potentially some logic/reasoning...... #obvs i cant read rtds mind so ! #also as for innocent and well meaning 1 i never said that #2 like... yeah he wants to protect ppl from seeing vitriol towards trans ppl/gnc ppl/ppl who do drag etc... like... #seems well meaning to me even if i dont agree w the choice and the way he worded his explanation is a bit clumsy #bear in mind he's been working in british media how long now lmao he knows the game he knows the reactions so well by now #he had to fight SO hard to be allowed to get its a sin on air