#but seriously that cat power up was strong as hell it took me by surprise on how he was able to almost knock him out

[niyana-the-ambiguous-mobian]

Instances of Mario channeling his inner cat during his fight with Donkey Kong cause its so entertaining to watch;

Aww, they even animated him doing little paw kneads at the end of it XD;

#I love that once he realizes his advantage he goes full force on using the suit #the 3rd gif is my favorite one since it looked like he was seconds away from actually hissing at DK when he arches his back XD #but seriously that cat power up was strong as hell it took me by surprise on how he was able to almost knock him out #mario movie spoilers #mario movie 2023 #mario movie #the super mario bros movie #movie mario #donkey kong

[dessarious]

How the Sirens Adopted a Ladybug Pt1

So when I was writing the last chapter of How to Not Get a Date it went full blown angst. Since that wasn’t what I wanted for that story and rewrote the chapter that I posted but the other idea decided to blow up into yet another story so here we go again.

AO3   Next

“I don’t suppose I could convince you not to steal that?” Catwoman spun around to find a girl in what looked like a dark red armored suit with black spots. In the Louvre at two in the morning. What the hell?

“And just what are you supposed to be?” The girl just gave her a sardonic smile and Catwoman couldn’t help but notice how tired she looked.

“I’m Ladybug. Hero of Paris.” The sarcastic tone was unexpected and it took her a minute to actually process the words.

“Since when does Paris have Heroes?”

“Since some megalomaniac found a Miraculous and decided to use it for his own selfish desires. If not for the fact that he targets people with strong negative emotions I wouldn’t care what you do. But since the last time the curator of this exhibit was Akumatized it was a three day battle, I would really like to avoid it if I can.” She just continued to frown at the girl. That couldn’t be real.

“Did Harley and Ivy put you up to this?” That just got her confused frown mirrored back at her. She was either a really good actress or she wasn’t lying.

“Look, this exhibit is moving to London in under two weeks. Could you please just wait until it leaves Paris to take whatever it is you’re after?” This was so strange. She claimed to be a hero but didn’t seem to care that Catwoman was stealing, just that it would become her problem. Even most of the bats frowned upon that sort of thing.

“So you’re just going to let me walk out of here like nothing happened?” She sighed and ran a hand through her hair, refusing to make eye contact.

“The police have made it clear that it is not my job to apprehend criminals.” There was a lot of anger under those words. Catwoman walked up to the girl and gently lifted her head so she could study her. Seriously, what was it with black hair and blue eyes? Between the bats and Superman she was starting to wonder if it wasn’t a coincidence.

“When was the last time you slept?” She watched Ladybug’s eyes unfocus as she searched for the answer. “How about the last time you ate?” That produced a flinch.

“I can take care of myself.” Well that wasn’t a good reaction. The girl reminded her a bit of Tim and Jason. The sleep deprivation was all the baby CEO but the amorality screamed mister gun nut.

“I’m sure you can. I’ll tell you what; I’ll do what you want but in return you��ll come with me to meet a couple of my friends and let us feed you.” She hesitated but Catwoman didn’t see any worry in her expression. She wasn’t scared of being alone with criminals so it was likely pride holding her back. “I want to talk to you more about the situation here. It’s odd that I haven’t heard about it.”

“No it’s not. The Miraculous magic is very good at containing itself. Very few people outside of Paris have any idea what is going on.” That tone was odd. There was a trace of bitterness but it was mostly resigned.

“How old are you?” The way she held herself said she was experienced in what she did, but everything else screamed that she was still just a kid.

“Old enough to do what must be done.”  Yep, she was dealing with a baby.

------------------------------------------------------

“Will you quit worrying? I’m sure everything’s just fine.” Ivy just shot Harley an annoyed glance. She loved the woman to death but she really needed to take things a bit more seriously sometimes.

“She’s two hours late Harls, that’s a time frame for worry. Not to mention I’ve felt off ever since we got here. There’s something wrong with this city and I don’t like it.” She was constantly on edge and her skin felt like it was trying to crawl off her body. Ivy wanted nothing more than for Selina to get back so they could leave. Sightseeing be damned.

“As always your instincts are dead on.” She let out a relieved breath and turned to yell at Selina for trying to give her a heart attack but couldn’t manage to speak once she saw the person with her. Or rather once she felt the power coming off of them. She pulled Harley behind her and prepared for the worst. Selina was just looking at her like she was insane but the girl was studying her.

“Seriously, you’re scared of a kid?” Harley’s words made her really look at the person and that just made her more worried. Given what she felt this girl was capable of destroying the world without even trying.

“How can you not feel that? The energy radiating from her should be enough that even you should feel it.” Harley and Selina both just looked confused but the girl looked surprised.

“You can actually feel it?” Ivy just nodded. “I’ve never met anyone who could sense the Miraculous before. Whatever you sense though, I assure you I don’t mean any harm. There’s only one person I actually want to maim and I have a feeling when the time comes I won’t even be able to do that.” Well that was… odd. Even Harley was eyeing the girl like she had a screw loose.

“This is Ladybug. She’s a hero here in Paris.” Well that at least explained why she was late. “She’s asked me to hold off on my transaction until it leaves Paris.”

“And you agreed? She’s just going to go to the cops and make things more difficult for you later.” Harley’s words caused anger and hurt to flash across her expression before she controlled it.

“I said I wouldn’t. They wouldn’t take me seriously if I did anyway.” Now she saw why Selina brought her back with her. The girl looked like a stray cat. The stiff way she held herself was exactly like a cat who’d learned that people can’t be trusted, but she refused to run or show fear either. Then Ivy noticed the girls hair and eyes and almost groaned out loud. Selina had been spending so much time with her boyfriend that she was picking up his adoption preferences.

“I wanted to talk with her more about what’s going on here in Paris. We should order food since I have a feeling it’s going to be a long discussion.” Ivy saw the girl's cheeks turn pink and took the time to really look at her. She was the kind of thin that came from not eating rather than just being fit. Her mask hid any bags that might be under her eyes, but even standing still her body was swaying a little. The girl looked like she was about to pass out.

“Of course. Here, have a seat.” Ivy made chairs out of plants for everyone and the girl's face went completely blank before she turned to Selina.

“Is that normal for her?” Harley just started giggling but Selina gave Ladybug a sympathetic smile.

“Yes, Ivy has the power to control plants.” Ladybug let out a relieved sigh.

“Thank Kwami. I don’t think I’m up for another Akuma today.” Ivy shared a confused look with Harley. What the hell was an Akuma?

“You’re fighting people that control plants?” The girl blinked at her in confusion for a moment before understanding dawned.

“No, it’s complicated. I haven’t had to explain this to someone in a long time so I might not make much sense.” She sat while Harley went to order food. Ivy sat across from her and noticed how she melted into the seat. She obviously wasn’t used to being comfortable. When Harley came back in the room they were about to start asking questions when a little black cat shaped creature appeared. It was emitting just as much power as the girl.

“I don’t suppose any of you are willing to spring for camembert?” Harley gave out a squeak of surprise but Catwoman just looked stunned.

“Plagg! Are you out of your mind? Not to mention how rude it is.” Ladybug couldn’t seem to decide whether to be annoyed or embarrassed.

“Given that this one steals for a living I doubt they stand on good manners. Besides, you don’t know if you don’t ask.” The cheeky tone caused an eye twitch in the girl.

“What exactly is that?” Selina hadn’t stopped staring at the creature.

“I’m Plagg, Kwami of Destruction. I power the Black Cat Miraculous.” The girl actually threw her hands up in frustration.

“Tikki’s going to kill us both. Of all the people you could have decided to come out for why would you choose criminals?” Poor kid sounded close to tears and the creature flew up under her chin and started purring. Selina was grinning like a mad woman. Ivy had a feeling things were about to get a lot more complicated.

“Everything will be fine Bug, you’ll see. I’m the Kwami of bad luck and I can feel yours shifting.”

“I thought you said you were the Kwami of Destruction?” Selina sounded far too amused. Ivy shook her head at the woman. She still didn’t understand how no one else could feel the danger here.

“I’m both, just as Tikki is the Kwami of Creation and Good Luck, which is the Miraculous that gives Ladybug her powers.” The Kwami suddenly flew right up to Ivy to study her. “You’re an interesting being. Your abilities are inherently creation but you use them to destroy as well. She could be a good influence for you Bug.” Ladybug let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose.

“I’m not using your powers to smite the people you think have wronged me Plagg. And I would really like to stop having this argument.”  

“You act like it’s an opinion rather than a fact. Even Tikki agrees with me there.” The Kwami sounded indignant and more than a little angry. The energy around it was getting steadily stronger. They really needed to divert it’s attention.

“What were you saying about camembert?” The Kwami perked up immediately but Ladybug cringed.

“Kwami need food to recharge and while just about anything will do in a pinch they each have favorites. Plagg’s favorite is extremely smelly and extremely pricy cheese. Which I haven’t been able to provide for awhile now.” Plagg’s expression dropped at her tone.

“Oh kit, it’s not your fault.” The creature flew back to her and began purring again. Ladybug wouldn’t look anyone in the eye but Ivy could feel the guilt and worry coming from her. Whatever was going on this kid needed a break.

“I just need to go change. Then I can run to the store while we wait for the rest of the food.” Plagg looked ecstatic at Selina’s announcement. Ladybug looked mostly worried but there was a bit of relief under that.

“I wasn’t kidding when I said it was expensive. I feel bad enough, don’t let them guilt you into buying something that isn’t really necessary.” Selina scoffed.

“I know exactly how temperamental some creatures are about food and given Ivy’s reaction I’d like to stay on their good side for the moment. Besides, the money isn’t an issue.” She was walking out of the room before the girl could respond. Instead she frowned at Plagg who was still looking after Selina.

“I thought we agreed no more surprises.”

“Tikki and Wayzz agreed, I didn’t. Besides, an opportunity is presenting itself that we don’t want to miss.” Ivy shared a confused look with Harley, who just shrugged at her. Ladybug seemed just as clueless about what they meant. That couldn’t be a good thing.

AO3      Next

#Gotham Sirens #MLB DC Crossover #marinette dupain cheng #Selina Kyle #Harley Quinn #Poision Ivy #mom squad

[twstarchives]

Leona Kingscholar・Voice Lines

Additional Voice Lines: Gala Couture Event Card

School Uniform - R

Unlock Card “Why should it bother anyone how I look? Let me do what I want.”

Groovy “Hmph. Is my school uniform really that unusual?”

Home Setting “What’s up?”

Home Transitions “Ugh, I’m tired. Everyone telling me to get to class is so annoying.”

“Ruggie was lookin’ for me? It’s probably nothing important. Leave me alone.”

“If you’re bored you should just sleep all day. Think about how much time you could waste.”

Home Transition (Login Greeting) “Why’re you staring at me? What, you wanted to see me? Heh, you’re so direct.”

Home Taps “A necktie? You seriously think I’d wear something that fancy?”

“I’m starvin’... Oi, go get me something to eat. Don’t worry, I’ll share if there’s any left over.”

“I don’t like restricting clothes. Who cares if I look a little sloppy?”

“Your life is something that’s almost entirely decided for you the moment you’re born. You’re not gonna get far with dedication alone.”

“Stop poking at me; it’s pissin’ me off. If you need something then use your words.”

PE Uniform - R

Unlock Card “I don’t like getting hot and sweaty, but I hate losing even more.”

Groovy “Well, my magift skills will get rusty if I don’t take it seriously every now and then.”

Home Setting “Like hell am I putting any effort into this class.”

Home Transitions “Other dorms challenge me all the time in magift. Obviously I have very good sportsmanship.”

“It’s so hot... I’m feeling like a cold bath. I wanna head back to Savanaclaw.”

“I like competitions. If you ever want to challenge me, I’ll take you on any day.”

Home Transition (Login Greeting) “Strength training... hm. I don’t think it’d make a difference to me if I trained like that or not.”

Home Taps “Brute strength is way better than pretty-looking magic. But obviously the most important thing is using your head.”

“Ah, whatever should I do? I just hate doing things so feral like using fangs and claws to take someone down, but...”

“Jack? His stubborn side is irritating, but with a build like that he’d make a great magift player.”

“I enjoy the ‘using your wit to take down your opponent’ aspect of magift. I don’t really like the physical part of it.”

“My hair tie’s coming loose? Then fix it for me.”

Lab Coat - SR

Unlock Card “It’s boring having to do things you already know how to do. Classes are so tedious.”

Groovy “C’mon, stop followin’ me around like a little kitten. I hate being around kids.”

Home Setting “Let’s make it quick.”

Home Transitions “The Botanical Garden has the perfect temperature; it puts me straight to sleep. Don’t you feel that too?”

“You can tell what’s in something if you smell it, right? ...Ah? Must be inconvenient not having a strong sense of smell.”

“I’ve been looking for a good place to take a nap. Let me use the Ramshackle Dorm.”

Home Transition (Login Greeting) “Why are you looking at me like that? Even I sometimes participate in class. Just depends on how I’m feeling.”

Home Setting (Groovy) “...Achoo! Oi, you left some kinda weird pollen in the Botanical Garden. Go get rid of it outside.”

Home Taps “Ruggie washes my lab coat for me too. What’s wrong with that? It’s convenient.”

“I hate the smell of chemicals; they give me a headache. Makes me wish I had the same nonexistent sense of smell all of you have.”

“You want me to help you with your work? Ha, you must really be stuck if you’re coming to me of all people for help.”

“There are a lot of plants back in my hometown you’d never see at this school. Actually, it’s just full of nature over there.”

“Knock it off. You’re going to get it if you keep playing with my tail like that.”

Home Tap (Groovy) “You reek of strong chemicals... Go take a bath or something and wash off that odor.”

Ceremony Robes - SR

Unlock Card “A ceremony? I hate formal things.”

Groovy *yawns* “...Oi, let’s go nap somewhere.”

Home Setting “My plans after this? Like I know.”

Home Transitions “You wanna know if I’m skipping today...? ...I’d be doing that if I could. Ruggie was warning me not to.”

“Let’s go and get this over with already. Ceremonies are just child’s play anyway.”

“Having to listen to all the teachers’ long speeches now... Hah. Just thinking about it makes me depressed.”

Home Transition (Login Greeting) “Trein’ll blow up at me if I don’t have my hood on during the ceremony. ...Hah, it’s so annoying.”

Home Transition (Groovy) “Heh~ Even you can pull off these ceremony robes. Heheh... Don’t get mad, I’m just messing with you.”

Home Taps “No one’s gonna notice if one or two people are missing from the ceremony. Let’s dip.”

“Crowley always talks for so damn long. Doesn’t he know how to make things brief?”

“Savanaclaw will stay in line even if I’m not there. That’s what it means to be trained.”

“My ears are so pushed down... Why are the school’s ceremony robes made like this?”

“Yeah, yeah, we gotta go. You don’t need to pull me; I already know.”

Home Tap (Groovy) “You’re always so serious about things. Don’t you ever get tired? ...Ha, yeah, that was a stupid question.”

Dorm Uniform - SSR

Unlock Card “Calling out to me like this—you don’t seem to know fear.”

“I usually don’t let my prey slip by me... but I’m in a good mood right now. I’ll make an exception and won’t eat you.”

Groovy “I’ll show you what ‘leader of the pride’ really means.”

Home Setting “Savanaclaw students need to hide their vulnerable sides.”

Home Transitions “The Ramshackle Dorm is really nice. There’s no life or anything there so it’s the perfect place to sleep.”

“The ways of my dorm are simple. It’s a survival of the fittest. You better be careful if you don’t wanna get eaten.”

“If you need something then go talk to Ruggie. He’ll tell me if he thinks it’s important.”

Home Transition (Login Greeting) “Are you curious about Savanaclaw? Alright, I’ll tell you about the dorm life here.”

Home Transition (Groovy) “For an herbivore, you’re really lax about getting near me. Aren’t you scared? ...Heh, you’ve got guts.”

Home Taps “It’s annoying how the feathers on my staff are swaying all the time... but they’re supposed to pay homage to the bird that served the King of Beasts, so I’d get yelled at if I took them off.”

“Where I live, scars are seen as a sign of bravery. They say the King of Beasts had a big scar going through his left eye too.”

“A vice dorm leader? In the past I let some people try their hand at it, but everyone who challenged me lost and gave up. So we don’t have one for now.”

“‘Why did I become the dorm leader?’ Isn’t that obvious? It’s ‘cause I’m the most superior.”

“Oi, stop clinging to me. I hate the warmth. And you’re not a kid anymore.”

Home Tap (Groovy) “I don’t have time for you right now. The afternoon hours are the perfect time for me to sleep.”

Duo Magic Leona: “Oi Vil, after me!” Vil: “Don’t order me around, Leona.”

Tutorial “Oi, let’s go. Come with me.”

Lv Up “Getting some support feels nice.”

“This isn’t bad, but I’m still not full.”

“No amount of power in the world is going to get in my way.”

Max Lv Up “Haha, it feels like the whole world has become mine. Keep devoting yourself to me and I’ll let you have a reward.”

Episode Lv Up “I told myself I wasn’t going to hang around herbivores, but I’ve been getting interested in you. I’ll keep on looking after you as long as you’re not causing trouble.”

Magic Lv Up “Wanting to stay with me while I’m practicing my magic is so typical of you. Most people would just curl up their tails and whine about it.”

Limit Break “Obviously I can do it if I try. ...I just don’t wanna do it.”

Groovy “You wanna see me actually being serious? ...Haha. It’s 100 years too early to show that to an herbivore.”

Lesson Select “Hey, sit in front of me. If I’m in the back I can sleep in peace.”

“This isn’t really something to think so hard about. I’m getting tired of waiting.”

“Everyone’s sittin’ side-by-side working together? I’m good, thanks.”

Lesson Start “Ah~ Boring.”

Lesson End “...That class was so boring; it was all stuff I already knew.”

Battle Start “I know how to fight with more than just power and fangs.”

Battle Win “Didn’t you know I was going to win?”

Other

Profile Quote “Life’s not fair, is it? Don’t you agree?” ¹

January 2020 Trailer “Before joining this academy, don’t you think you should work on that little roar of yours?” ²

Countdown Poster “If you want to see the light of another day, then curl up your tail and do as you’re told.” ³

Login Bonus “You’re here again? It’s a waste doing this everyday. But I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you that someday your efforts pay off.”

Player Birthday Wish “You don’t have to look at me with those pleading eyes. Of course I know it’s your birthday. Forgive me for not leaping for joy.”

Magic History

Good ★

“The king, huh...?”

“The weather’s nice.”

“I made eye contact with the cat.”

“Wish I skipped.”

“Struggling with an incompetent king...”

“Zzz...”

“I’m tired...”

“He was a passive king.”

“Finish this already.”

Great ★★

“Doesn’t everybody know this?”

“I don’t need the textbook.”

“What are you surprised about?”

Perfect ★★★

“It’s feral instinct.”

“Move on already.”

“Obviously.”

Special Lesson Perfect ★★★

“Why’s Crowley here?”

“Making a country thrive...”

“It doesn’t matter who’s here.”

Flying

Good ★

“I’ve been tired since this morning...”

“That all you got?”

“What a pain...”

“Easy win.”

“Coach Vargas is so annoying.”

“I’m starvin’...”

“I don’t wanna move around when I just ate.”

“Have Jack teach you.”

“I caught a bird.”

Great ★★

“I’ll just do it.”

“Too easy.”

“Watch.”

Perfect ★★★

“I could do this in my sleep.”

“Aah? I was asleep.”

“This is easier than walking.” 

Special Lesson Perfect ★★★

“Does he really have free time right now?”

“Look ahead and fly.”

“How long do you want me flying for?”

Alchemy

Good ★

“Just do it however.”

“Gold... Not bad.”

“I'm not in the mood for this.”

“Seems like something Ruggie would like.”

“Crewel...”

“The smell of chemicals hurts my nose.”

“It’ll work if you just mix it.”

“I’m getting hungry.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“Let’s take a break.”

“Pay attention.”

“I wanna sleep in the afternoons...”

“Ah, the pot scorched.”

“Finished.”

“Is this enough already?”

Great ★★

“You didn’t even know this?”

“Don’t make light of me.”

“I’m tired of this.”

“Feels like my nose is acting up.”

“I did this last year.”

Perfect ★★★

“I’m bored.”

“I want an actual challenge.”

“I can do this without even thinking about it.”

“Do that later.”

“Need some help?”

Special Lesson Perfect ★★★

“Teach, explain this.”

“I don’t even have time to sleep.”

“Oi, smoke! By your hands!”

“Crowley’s real pushy.”

“I just have to do this, right?”

References from The Lion King:

Life’s not fair, is it?

You might want to work on that little roar of yours

You shall never see the light of another day

#leona kingscholar #voice lines

[lovemalecforever]

Chapter 18

Silver is the color of the moon.

*The next day*

Everyone was at Catarina's apartment, pacing in her living room or fidgeting with their dresses while waiting for Alec to arrive. Before Alec went to the forest for the awakening of his powers they decided to set the get-together at Catarina's place the next day so that they could comfortably discuss about his new powers and his feelings towards it. But things took a turn when Jace told them about what happened and the silver glow of his Parabatai rune. Now, they were all worried about Alec and were getting impatient by every passing second.

The awakening of his powers was a little overwhelming for Alec, Angel Ithuriel had been there for him the whole day and told and taught him about his new powers. He guided him and assigned him one of his winged nephilim for his further training as he's the new winged nephilim and also provided him with a way to contact him. Alec was somewhat glad that he got ahold of his new powers quickly, though his shoulders still hurt a little but it's better now. He still needed to get used to his new appendages, but he knew that he would in some time.

As he reached Catarina's apartment, he rang the bell. Catarina quickly opened the door with her magic, as soon as he walked in every eye was on him with a worried expression on their faces.

"Why are you all looking at me like that!?" He asked, uncomfortable with being the attention of the room.

"Alec!" Max yelled with excitement, ran towards him, and hugged him tightly.

"Hey, Max!"

"Alec, are you okay? We were all worried about you!" Maryse said and hugged her son tightly.

Alec returned the embrace. "Yes, mom. I'm fine. Why are you all so worried about me?" He asked, confused.

"Alec, your shirt! It's torn in the back, what happened, big brother?" Izzy asked worriedly.

"Umm.. that! That's for the wings! On that note, Catarina, I'll be needing your help to make space for it and glamor them. I can't keep tearing my clothes!" Catarina nodded. "Why are you all so worried, though?" He asked.

"Alec, our... our Parabatai rune.. it glowed in silver! I've been feeling restless since then.. are you okay, buddy?" Jace's voice was filled with concern making him sigh.

"That's because I am. I trained the whole day with Angel Ithuriel!"

As on cue, Catarina summoned a comfortable settee for Alec, more sofas for everyone and they all settled down.

"Thank you, Cat!" Alec stretched out on the settee, ignoring the crowd.

"That still doesn't answer the silver glow, kid, what about that?" Luke asked.

"I guess that's because my powers and wings are silver. Okay, it still sounds weird!" Alec sighed again, it's gonna take a hell lot of time to get used to it.

"You.. have silver wings.." Jace trailed off as his jaw fell open.

"By the angel, big brother! I still can't process it!" Izzy blinked in astonishment.

"Can you show them to us, Alec?" Max asked excitedly. Even as a teenager, he was still a kid.

Alec looked at Max, then his whole family, and they all had the same glint of excitement in their eyes. "Okay, but I need some space!"

He stood up and walked towards the center of the living room, making sure there's nothing breakable or sharp around him. Once he was sure he's in a clear space, he closed his eyes and focused on his wings, his shoulder blades pained a little, his skin cracked beside them, but didn't bled this time, soon enough a pair of huge appendages were hanging on his sides.

He opened his eyes and saw that his whole family was looking at him with awe and astonishment. Their jaws were on the floor, literally.

A loud gasp broke their trance, which was from Simon. They all looked at him but he was still looking at Alec. "Alec, your... your eyes.. it's..-"

"Silver!" Jace finished for him, earning a collective gasp from everyone.

"Wow!" Max and Clary said in unison.

"Sorry to break the moment but, I've never heard about angels being silver, from whatever I've read in that book, is it normal?" Catarina asked, curiosity visible in her voice. With being a downworlder, seeing a literal angel standing in front of her was beyond unimaginable.

"It's rare, but it is." Alec answered and explained to them everything that Angel Ithuriel had told him.

Everyone was speechless, not knowing how to respond but their eyes were talking for them.

"Can I touch them?" Max asked curiously, breaking the silence of the room.

"Of course, young boy!"

Max quickly ran towards him and reached his hand up to the feather he could, then traced it gently. It was soft and silky under his touch, it fluttered when Max ran his palm around it and curled itself around Max's body.

"Woah!" Max squealed.

"I'm just hugging you, Max, relax." Alec said with a broad smile on his face and ruffled his brother's hair.

"Ugh! Alec!" Max protested and everyone burst into laughter.

"Can I sit now? I'm tired." Alec said as he concealed his wings again, and eyes turned back to their natural hazel shade.

Everyone nodded and they settled back in their respective seats. That's when Catarina realized something.

"Wait! Alec, are you comfortable on the settee? Your wings must be glamoured but they could be hurting-"

"Cat, relax! They aren't glamoured, they're inside my body next to my shoulder blades and spine."

"Wait, what?" Jace asked, panic creeping inside him. Others were mirroring his expressions.

"Okay, relax all of you. I could glamor them too, but this is also a way to hide them."

"Alec, I'm confused, honey, how could those huge pairs of wings fit inside.." Maryse trailed off, shock and panic visible in her eyes.

"Mom, everyone, relax. They aren't huge when they're inside." Alec took a deep breath and continued. "Okay, I'll explain from the start. As Angel Ithuriel told me, and I said earlier, there are two ways to hide the wings, I could glamor them, but they'll still be there, which will be uncomfortable for me whenever I'll sit or lay down or when I'm in small space.

The other way is to shrink and minimize them back into my body, from where they originate, next to my shoulder blades and spine. There's a permanent scar over that area now, and if you focus on it you can see the tiny miniaturized wings there. It's painful in the beginning but with practice and time, the pain will fade away. It's more comfortable like this, I don't have to struggle with them at least. It's weird right now, but he said by time it'll become my second nature." Alec concluded, and looked at his family, they were all relaxed now.

"That's why my back is hurting and feeling heavy." Jace said, who was trying to adjust his shoulders for a long time.

"He's been like this since yesterday, Alec. He's restless and didn't even sleep properly." Clary said, worry clearly visible in her voice for her boyfriend.

"Don't listen to her, Alec, I slept fin... how's the pain suddenly gone and I'm feeling better, like strong and refreshed and energetic. How?" He looked at his Parabatai with curious eyes.

Everyone looked between them with surprised expressions on their faces. Alec looked at his Parabatai and smiled.

"I just focused on my Parabatai rune, then Iratze, Nourishment, Stamina, and calm anger rune." Alec shrugged. Everyone's eyes went wide.

"Hold on, What? How did you do that without using stele?" Jace asked.

"just like you do, idiot. the only difference here is that we can activate each other's rune instead of only ours. first focus on our Parabatai rune then the one you want to activate."

"Okay...." Jace said, unsure then closed his eyes and focused on his runes.

"Seriously, Jace! Clarity rune?" Alec shook his head.

"Okay.... Now that's pretty cool!"

"You were worried about our Parabatai bond earlier, right? Well, to answer your questions, our bond got stronger than before because of my powers, we can activate each other's runes without using stele, but it had to be used only in battles or emergencies and is only possible when we're together. I did it to show you how it works."

Everyone's jaws were on the ground as they witnessed their conversation.

"By the angel! That's amazing! But, not fair, you both are going to be stronger than me and Clary." Izzy fake pouted, earning Alec's legendary eye roll.

"That made me remember, where's my stele?" Alec asked and Izzy handed him his stele.

"Jace, come here." Alec said in his Inquisitor tone and Jace obeyed. Alec activated his stele and drew a rune on the back of Jace's arm, he asked him to activate his stele and draw the same rune on him, he was confused but did as he was told.

"Angel Ithuriel provided me this rune, it's a rune only for Parabatais, it got lost centuries ago. It's called lost sight. If there's an emergency or danger and we're not together, you can activate this rune and I will be able to see through your eyes and will be able to know and track your location." Jace was completely dumbfounded and so were the others.

"Alec! I.. I can't believe it.. I.." Jace stuttered, he didn't know why but he had tears in his eyes.

"Seriously, Jace! I told you we're always going to be Parabatais, no matter what!" He kept his stele down on the table and wrapped his brother in a tight hug.

Everyone had smiles on their faces.

"That's so cool! What else can you do Alec?" Max asked, still curious about his brother's new powers.

"Alec, do you have more power? This was already too much to process, sweetheart." Maryse said with concern and tiredness.

"Ah, yeah.. I kind of do, Mom. Cat, can you summon as many plants as possible in this living room?"

Catarina nodded and filled the whole room with different kinds of plants. From small to large of different varieties. "Alec, I'm confused as hell right now, my whole room is filled with plants. What are you up to?"

"Calm down, Cat! Also, can you and Simon stay back for this? This could hurt you both if you stay up close."

The two downworlders exchanged a look and stood as far as possible, not knowing what Alec was up to. When Alec was sure they were as far as they could get, he focused his mind and energy on the plants surrounding him. His eyes went icy silver again, and a thread of bluish silver started dancing on his finger tips.

He stretched his hands out and created a small ball of energy, the faint blues and silver interwining with each other. The whole room was filled with calming surroundings, it was peaceful and the ball was like a calming trance of everyone except for Catarina and Simon.

"Alec, please stop!" Simon begged, he and Cat were trying to move backwards as much as they could. The energy of the ball was creating a severe headache for him.

"Sorry!" He focused again and scattered the energy in all the plants. His eyes went back to normal again.

"W.. What happened? That power.. it was.." Maryse trailed off, her eyes were hazy and she felt like she was in some other world.

"Mom! Oh god! I should've asked you to stay back too. I'm sorry! Are you okay?" He ran towards her and helped Luke in sitting her down. She looked between them in confusion.

"Alec, what happened to her? That energy, it felt like.."

"Peaceful and.. and calming." Izzy said.

"And nice!" Clary added.

"For nephilims, yes it's like how you're describing it, but for mundanes, it's the same but much stronger. Mom, are you okay? I'm sorry." He asked, worry and guilt filled in his eyes.

"Yes, Alec I'm fine, just a little dizzy. Don't apologize, honey, it's fine, I'm okay." She reassured him.

"And I guess for us downworlders, or demons, it's dangerous and deadly." Simon said.

Everyone looked at them and gasped. Simon had his fangs out and Catarina was in her true form, her blue skin visible with long white hair snaking around her.

"By the angel! Simon, Catarina, I'm so sorry!"

Once Catarina was in control of her magic again, she glamoured herself and vanished all the plants. Simon had glamoured his fanga as well then they walked forward

"It's okay Alec, I'm fine. We both are. But, magic? There was no mention of that in the book. So how do you possess?" Catarina asked curiously.

"I do have it but it's only when I'm around nature. But it's nothing like what you, Magnus or other warlocks possess. From what Angel Ithuriel told me, not every angel has magic, it's rare to find angels with full magic. Guess I got lucky." Alec shrugged.

"Wait, Alec, so you can fly too, right?" Simon asked, knowing it was a dumb question, but he still asked, earning a look of disbelief from everyone.

"Yes, Simon, I can, but I'm still learning it. Angel Ithuriel had told me some basics but he had assigned me another winged shadowhunter for my further training. He has provided me with his details and how I can reach him."

Everyone's eyes went wide with the revelation. "How many immortal shadowhunters are out there, which no one knows about!?" Luke asked.

"Angel Ithuriel told me I'm the fifth one. Kasper, the one which I've researched was the first one. I don't know about the one who's going to train me, maybe he can tell me more."

"And what's that angel's name?" Jace asked, a hint of jealousy clear in his tone.

Alec suppressed his smile. With their bond becoming stronger, he could feel his jealousy clearly. "His name is Daniel Nightstorm."

"Nightstorms? Their line ended decades ago. They were never heard of anymore." Maryse said, a little surprised by this piece of information.

"I think we should call it a day, now. This is all a lot to process in, even for Alec." Luke said, and everyone nodded.

They all hugged Alec once again and said their goodbyes. Alec stayed at Catarina's to get some rest properly for sometime then with her help he made space for his wings in all of his clothes which he brought and Catarina glamoured them in that area.

The rest of the day was like a blur for him, he attended the meeting which they preponed which as usual went not so interesting, then completed the paperwork he was supposed to for his inquiry visit. By the time he was done it was late at night but he didn't care, he wanted to get back to his husband, his home. His family argued with him that he could leave the next morning but he eventually won and said his goodbyes to his family and left for Idris.

*****************************

As Alec stood beside his apartment door, he took a nervous deep breath. He didn't get a chance to talk to Magnus that day and his husband didn't know that he was coming back late at night so it'll be a nice surprise for him. He took a deep breath again and opened the door.

As soon as he entered the apartment his nostrils filled with a foul smell which was floating in the whole apartment which was dimly lit. He took in the state of the room which felt like it wasn't cleaned in decades, there were several half empty or full packets of take out scattered on the floor, some leftovers of food were placed on the coffee table and the glass table near the couch, broken shards of numerous glasses were scattered on the kitchen floor and in center of the living room, a empty bottle of whiskey was kept on the kitchen slab. He took in the scene and sighed heavily, rubbing the crease formed on the bridge of his nose.

He looked around and spotted water bamboo on one shelf. To his advantage they both were nature lovers and had many house plants in their apartment like Oxalis, Aloe Vera, Snake plant, different types of ferns and Anthurium. He focused on the lot at once, extracted their mixed scents and spread it in the whole apartment replacing the foul smell. He sighed then started walking towards their bedroom, avoiding the scattered shards of glasses.

"Magnus!? Mags!?" He shouted, his voice echoing on the whole apartment filled with dullness.

He opened his bedroom door and his eyes widened with horror. His husband was curled around in the center of the bed, sheets and pillows scattered around the floor,  eyes  bloodshot with his makeup all smudged and flowing down. His hair was down and messy and the man was completely naked, looking paler, lacking his usual natural glow. Alec's heart raced badly as he sprinted and sat beside Magnus.

"Magnus!? Mags? Love, wake up." From up close he could see that his lips were cracked and bleeding, and it looked like he hadn't taken a shower in days.

"Angels!! Magnus? Mags, wake up love. Please."

Magnus stirred, his eyes were heavy and he could taste metal in his mouth.

"Magnus? Hey, wake up love."

Magnus blinked his eyes when he spotted a figure next to him.

"A.. Alexander?" His voice was rough and croaky from his dry throat.

"Mags! Hey, what happened here?"

He blinked a few times to make sure he wasn't dreaming. "Alexander... W.. Water... I..."

Before he could complete Alec was back with water and some soaked cotton balls in his hands. He put it on the side table and helped his husband to sit properly, then cleaned the blood with the help of cotton balls. After making sure there was no blood on his lips he helped him with water.

"Slowly, Mags!" His eyes were filled with worry the whole time.

"M.. More.."

He filled the glass with more water and placed it on his lips. His fast heart beats refusing to slow down. "Magnus!? How long has it been since you've eaten anything or drank water?" He asked softly, voice laced with concern.

Once Magnus was in his full senses with enough water in his system, realization dawned on him. He lowered his eyes, unable to meet his shadowhunter's.

"Mags!" He said softly and placed his hand gently on his husband's cheeks. Magnus couldn't hold it any longer and tears started running down his cheeks.

Alec quickly placed the glass on the table and wrapped his husband in a tight hug. He winced in pain when Magnus unknowingly tightened his grip just above his left wing scar. He suppressed it down and let his warlock cry on his shoulders.

Magnus didn't know what to do, he couldn't meet his shadowhunter's eyes but he needed him, badly. 'What have I done!? How am I supposed to tell you that I..I kissed.. Camille.. that I.. I cheated.. No! It was Camille.. b.. but I got weak.. I let my guards down. I'm not ready to lose you. I can't. Not again. I don't know if I could, but if not telling you means having you for long enough, I'll add it to my existing pile of secrets.' he thought.

When Magnus' crying slowed down, Alec held his face in his hands and placed his lips softly above his eyes and pecked them gently.

"Magnus? What happened here? Are you okay now?"

"I.. Alexander.. I.." He sniffed, not knowing what to say but he couldn't keep everything from him. He could tell him half the truth, leaving the part where he cheated on his precious Alexander.

"Mags, look at me!" He spoke softly. "What happened, love?"

Magnus looked at him but still couldn't meet his eyes. "C.. Camille happened."

Alec's eyes widened with the information. Several thoughts started running through his mind. "What!? Was.. was she here? Did she hurt you?"

"No, I was at a client's.. when she... she's a vampire again, way more stronger.. more.." he trailed off and started crying again. "I'm sorry, Alexander!"

"Magnus, there's nothing to apologize for. I'll kill her if I see her again." He seethed with anger and wrapped his husband in a tight, comforting hug. He knew his husband was vulnerable right now, and Camille would have tried her way to get to him. Whatever she has done, she'll definitely pay for it.

He broke their hug when he felt his warlock getting relaxed under his touch.

"When did it happen, Magnus?"

"Th... this evening, seven to eight hours ago."

Alec sighed. "And you haven't eaten anything since then?"

Magnus shook his head, fidgeting with his husband's fingers absentmindedly, which were placed on his lap.

"Love, whatever she did, don't overthink it, okay. I'll make dinner for us."

"No, Alexander, I'm fine, there's no.."

"Magnus! I'm going to make dinner, you rest, okay?"

Magnus nodded, he couldn't bring himself to tell him the whole truth. Alec quickly prepared a dinner of spaghetti with meatballs for them and  took it to his husband, with a glass of juice for him. He fed his husband properly then helped him to clean up and changed him into more fresh and comfortable clothing. He himself changed into his night dress and cuddled closely to his husband.

"A.. Alexander, I.. I'm sorry, I was.. the apartment, I couldn't..." he was unable to form a proper sentence, he wanted to be with his shadowhunter, but the guilt was strong.

"Shh, Mags. It's okay. I don't care about the apartment, we'll clean it tomorrow. All I care about is you. Just sleep, okay. You need proper rest."

Magnus nodded and snuggled into his husband's chest, needing all the touch he could get from his shadowhunter. Alec kissed him on the top of his head, stroking his thick silky hair gently, he tangled their legs together and wrapped his arms tightly around his waist. He kept stroking his hair until his warlock slept peacefully beside him then he dozed off to sleep himself.

#asaab #angst with a happy ending #angst #fanfic authors #alec lightwood #fanfiction #lightwood bane family #malec forever #malec fic #fantasy #fanfic #happily married #magnus bane #malec

[sodalitefully]

Enter freely and of your own will [GNR, Sluff AU]

I know, I know, I've written vampire AUs before… Several times.  But I had to write something about what a nerd Slash is for vampire fiction!  Mostly inspired by interviews Slash gave after gnr covered Sympathy For The Devil for Interview With A Vampire (so any digs at the movie adaptation are based on Slash’s opinion, not mine – I’ve never seen it!).  Occasional mentions of blood and stuff, but not particularly graphic.  This fic is expanding on an AU I originally drew here.

~~~~

In my mind, it all played out like the plot of a paranormal romance novel.  I’ve gotten familiar with those lately, thanks to the collection hidden in the bottom shelves of Slash’s library, buried below the gothic horror classics, the crime thrillers, and about a mountain of nonfiction.  Hell, I could probably write my own!  “Tall blonde unexpectedly falls for rock and roll bad boy with a dark secret,” yeah, the readers would eat that up.  Of course, our love story didn’t really start when the unsuspecting protagonist moved to a new city, or when the leather-clad love interest showed off his supernatural shredding skills.  No, I’d say it started a couple years later, when I found out Slash’s other deep, dark, embarrassing secret.   

It wasn’t a dark and stormy night… but it was a movie night at my place, a tradition for Slash and I.  Whenever we needed a break from the so-called rockstar lifestyle, we’d get together for a night in, smoke some pot and put on a movie. Slash laid back on my couch while I dug through a cabinet packed with VHS tapes and listed off a few options: 

“Let’s see, we have Jurassic Park, Alien, Interview With a Vampire – Uh, sorry, I guess that would be weird huh?”  Slash made a sour face. 

“Ugh.  I hate that movie, it’s such a bad adaptation. Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt, seriously?” 

“Wait,” I dropped The Empire Strikes Back and Blazing Saddles onto the growing heap of tapes and sat back on my heels to look at Slash in surprise. "You’ve seen it before?” 

“Uh…” Vampires may not be able to blush but I'd known Slash long enough to tell when he’s flustered.   

“And you’ve read the book?” 

“… Yes?”  I laughed, Slash ducked and hid his face, obviously feeling self-conscious, but I didn’t mean to laugh at him.  It was just… 

I’d assumed that a real-life vampire would roll their eyes at the cliche, over-romanticized movie interpretations of their kind.  Instead, I learned of Slash’s (nearly) indiscriminate love for all things vampire, anything from Carmilla to Buffy The Vampire Slayer.  He was a sucker (hah, get it?) for dripping fangs, swishing capes, even those crazy accents, ever since he was a kid.  And I can’t lie, it was pretty endearing.  I wasn’t in love with him yet, but the more he told me about his obsession, the more warm and tingly I felt, charmed by how genuine he was – Hell, I barely even teased him about it!  Somehow, that conversation felt even more personal than finding out he was a damn vampire.  I was really touched that he felt comfortable sharing his interests with me, that he trusted me with his softer, nerdier, more romantic side.   

I resisted the temptation to press for more details that night, but a month or so later, I caught him in the act!  I remember waking up in the afternoon after crashing at his place so late it was early the night before.  I wandered around his big, spooky house until I found Slash curled up in one of his fancy antique armchairs, his legs dangling over the armrest and a paperback book cradled in his lap.  I couldn’t make out the curlicued script on the cover, but from the captivated look on his face it was a favorite – his eyes were bright as they darted across the page, and his lips curled into a warm, gentle smile. 

I couldn’t stand to disturb him, so I snuck off before he noticed me in the doorway, and headed down the hall to the room he’d transformed into a tiny library – The man had a library in his house; between that and the subtly gothic decor it was hard to believe I never noticed that Slash was playing up the vampire aesthetic, consciously or not!  Anyway, I poked around until I found where he hid his collection of vampire lit, and snatched a few that were, shall we say, not quite as acclaimed as Dracula or even The Vampire Chronicles.  I don’t remember the titles, but there were a couple paperback romances and a horror novel with a badass-looking dude on the cover. 

I had to see what all the fuss was about, you know?  Yeah, this kind of thing wasn’t exactly up my alley, but Slash usually had good taste, so I figured it couldn’t hurt to check it out.  Plus, if it was important to Slash, I wanted to know about it!  And not just the well-known classics either; I wanted the guilty pleasures, I wanted to see what it was that could make Slash smile like that when no one was watching. 

I’ll be honest, it wasn’t bad.  I wasn’t a big reader at the time, but I raced through the horror novel in just two days, and trust me, I barely slept the night in between!  The trashy romance was more enjoyable than I would ever admit; even with all the cliches and melodrama there was something compelling about unraveling the tangled web of forbidden love in a world full of the supernatural. 

At this point, I was very cautiously beginning to entertain the idea that I might see Slash as more than just a buddy and a bandmate.  As friends, were were closer than ever, hardly spent a day apart, and I was beginning to notice things that I hadn’t noticed before.  Things like the way he always smiled at my lame jokes, the way he leaned on my shoulder when he was pretending to be drunk, the way he tossed his hair on stage… And I couldn’t help wondering whether Slash identified more with the heroine or the love interest.  Did he want to be the cool, mysterious vampire lover, or the unsuspecting protagonist who gets drawn into an alluring new world? 

I got my answer a couple months later, in town again after a leg on the road. It was a steaming hot summer day back in L.A., and Slash was dozing on his couch. This wasn’t unusual in and of itself, Slash’s sleep schedule had been fucked for as long as I'd known him. No, what made this instance significant was that I was also on the couch, reclined with my feet over the armrest and Slash draped across my chest. Tales From The Crypt played at a murmur on a brand-new TV set, but I wasn’t paying any attention. 

See, at this point I’d recently learned that, when Slash focused hard enough, he could hear a living person’s blood pulsing in their veins and detect changes in body temperature.  And that had me wondering: Could he tell that my heart beat faster when he leaned against me on stage?  Could he tell that my ears got warm every time he turned a smile my way? 

Could he tell how much I was affected by his weight on top of me?   

He was like a huge cat in my lap, relaxed from head to toe.  If you paid attention, you could tell that he was breathing more slowly that an ordinary human should be and his bare skin was slightly cool.  Other than that he looked completely normal… Except for his teeth.  His mouth was slightly open, allowing his pointed, knife-sharp teeth to scrape against his lower lip. 

To Slash’s chagrin, they weren't gleaming white, perfectly straight fangs; instead they more closely resembled a shark’s jaw, crowded with small flesh-tearing blades.  It was rare to see them exposed, Slash was careful to limit himself to tight-lipped smiles and mumbled dialogue whenever his secret was at risk. Even in private he was self-conscious about it, and I considered myself lucky when he grinned openly in my presence. 

“Hey, Slash?”   

“…Hmm?” Languidly, he shifted until he was looking up at me.  Midafternoon sun leaked through the blinds brightly enough for me to make out a hint of red in his eyes, the other (un)dead giveaway that was usually obscured by his sedately lidded gaze.   

"You know how you said the other day that you have really strong senses? Well... I was wondering what other, uh, non-human traits you have. How true are the myths about vampires, really?” 

“Well… Hm.  My eyes are pretty sensitive to daylight.  And technically I’m nocturnal.  But I don’t have fangs, I don’t really look like a vampire and I don’t have superpowers.” I swear to god, he pouted a little.  "All things considered I didn’t really get any of the cool stuff." 

“No super-strength?  Or mind reading? Can you shapeshift into a bat?” 

“Don’t you think I’d tell you if I could turn into a bat?  At least I don’t have any of those stupid weaknesses, I can be in the sun and eat garlic and whatever.” He paused ponderously. “…You know, I might be immortal, I was around a long time before Tony and Ola took me in.  Guess I’ll find out in a few decades.” 

“That would be pretty cool.” 

“Yeah, maybe." 

“So... do you enthrall your victims?” I prodded, in a spooky, menacing voice belied by my goofy grin. 

Slash snorted a laugh and shook his head at my antics. “No, I can’t do that either.  Well, I don’t know, do you feel enthralled?” 

I laughed awkwardly and counted my blessings when Slash didn't notice that my unspoken answer was an empathetic Yes. 

Slash chuckled with me, then sighed.  “Fuck, I wish vampires like that were real, though…” he confessed softly. 

“Like what?” 

“You know, badass, seductive, awesome powers…” He waved a hand toward a pinup poster on the wall with a corset and fangs, then let his head fall back to my chest.  He mumbled into my shirt, “Is it really so much to ask for a sexy vampire to come and sweep me off my feet?” 

“Slash, I hate to tell you this, but…” I couldn’t make it through the sentence with a straight face. 

He swatted my bicep – pretty hard too, was he sure he didn’t have super-strength? “Fuck you, Duff, you know what I mean." 

And, yeah, dreaming of being wooed by a beautiful, badass, intelligent and darkly mysterious vampire?  Who appeared in my life and changed it forever, who blew me away with his capability and his passion?  Who could captivate me with just a look? 

Yeah. Believe me, I could relate.

~~~~

Happy Halloween! 

#don’t think too hard about the timeline in this au #my sincerest apologies to any of you who is sick to death of my vampire aus #hell I’M not even that into vampires #I’m just into slash being into vampires… #slash #saul hudson #duff mckagan #gnr #guns n roses #guns and roses #halloween #gnr fanfic #guns n roses fanfic #sodafics

[wetalkinboutbooks]

New Year, New Review 🤩

A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir

Summary: The long-imprisoned jinn are on the attack, wreaking bloody havoc in villages and cities alike. But for the Nightbringer, vengeance on his human foes is just the beginning.

At his side, Commandant Keris Veturia declares herself Empress, and calls for the heads of any and all who defy her rule. At the top of the list? The Blood Shrike and her remaining family.

Laia of Serra, now allied with the Blood Shrike, struggles to recover from the loss of the two people most important to her. Determined to stop the approaching apocalypse, she throws herself into the destruction of the Nightbringer. In the process, she awakens an ancient power that could lead her to victory--or to an unimaginable doom.

And deep in the Waiting Place, the Soul Catcher seeks only to forget the life--and love--he left behind. Yet doing so means ignoring the trail of murder left by the Nightbringer and his jinn. To uphold his oath and protect the human world from the supernatural, the Soul Catcher must look beyond the borders of his own land. He must take on a mission that could save--or destroy--all that he knows. (Taken from Goodreads)

Our Ratings:  

 → Geena:  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

 → Kae: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Overall: The final instalment of the Ember Quartet had us crying in the metaphorical club. It’s exciting, terrifying, and probably the horniest book in the series and we loved it!

~Spoiler-full discussion below~

The Good:

→ Elias and Laia

Geena: In the final instalment of the Ember quartet, Sabaa deprives us of an Elias POV and slaps us with the Soulcatcher instead… He’s very much an ‘emotions are bad’ type of dude, the opposite of Elias who always had so many… but both of them are so angsty? The Soulcatcher really likes to beat up trees when his memories from when he was Elias resurface which was so emo to me. Despite being possessed by Mauth he is also such a coward, especially around Laia, because Elias’ feelings for Laia scare him and every single time he is like *running emoji*. We were surprised that Sabaa let him remain the soulcatcher for so long, every chapter I was like ‘Okay, maybe this is where Elias breaks through…’ but no.. Elias remained buried UNTIL their night in the cabin… the Soulcatcher was like ‘k I’m out’ but ONLY for ONE NIGHT and that still makes me scream.. The Soulcatcher was like ‘you kids are too horny for me, I’m gonna take a nap for a bit and let Elias take over bc Jesus.’ 

Despite it all, the Soulcatcher’s chapters were enjoyable albeit painful because this man was so duty bound, like even Elias wasn’t that dedicated when he was a Mask. But near the end, when we finally get the chapter that starts with Elias…. Ngl I cried a little, and immediately wanted to reread the whole series (I feel like Sabaa did this on purpose to torture us). I want to fight Sabaa though, like she did an amazing job showing how Elias’ conscious and the Soulcatcher’s conscious were constantly fighting one another, and how Elias’ memories of the people he loved ultimately fuelled the Soulcatcher’s actions… even though the Soulcatcher was like ‘I’m doing this for the ghosts’ like okay… no ghost told you to keep protecting and kissing Laia but you still did it…  

Kae: Okay, so Geena summed up my boy Ilyaas pretty damn well. Also, we LOVE HIS ETHNIC NAME IN THIS HOUSE. But um, YES. Elias was a sad boy ™ the whole time while fighting his emotions and ultimately losing. It was so PAINFUL as a reader, seeing all of  his chapters except the ONE say ‘Soulcatcher’. But when it finally said ELIAS again, I too, started to cry. Because he was BACK. 

You can all thank the power of Laia’s determination to seduce Elias back to himself, because our girl was NOT giving up. She said ‘you gonna get this coochie, dammit’ and in the cabin, Elias was like ‘well i’ll be damned. I sure as hell am. I am BACK BAYBEEEEE’

Geena: Sabaa Tahir said horny rights like ksjdnfdsjknfsdk

Kae: AUFVAHLHVKJ. BUT YES. In the end, love won. And so did sex because everyone was doin it or TRYING to do it. I guess when the world is ending, you only get one last time to uhh…. Have a good time. So they made sure they did lmao 

Now, let’s get into Laia. 

Laia. My sweet little cupcake. My mug of tea with too much honey. This girl has been through literal hell and back, and yet, she kept going. She NEVER gave up. Laia woke up in book 4 like ‘Today i will commit crimes. Helene and I crave violence’ and they both just started kicking ASS and I LOVED THAT. I was really happy to see the progression of Laia and Helen’s friendship and how they genuinely grew to like one another and see each other as besties. They both deserved a girl friend and I’m glad they found a friendship within each other. 

Laia is the bravest character in this damn book. She went from poor scholar, to slave, to hero and she was brave because she had to be. Laia is strong and took on their entire world. She had help, but she did a lot of it alone and that takes some real guts. She is the most genuine, sweetest, bravest girl and I love her. <3 

Laia also single handedly brought the Ilyaas back from his Soulcatcher shit. During this whole book she was just like ‘You know what? I think I’mma go mess with Elias’ emo ass today to see if I can get him to kiss me or something’ THEN SHE PROCEEDED TO SHOW UP AT THIS MANS HOUSE (realm or whatever) BUTTASS NEKKID. And he saw her and immediately flew the hell out of there it was TOO MUCH and he LIKED IT but couldn’t admit it. 

Geena: You know what I love about that whole scene was like earlier she was like ‘He’s a lost cause idc’ and then Darin was like ‘Elias wouldn’t give up on you if that happened’ and Laia was like ‘you’re right, he would show up stark naked and try to seduce me back to my body’ and she did just that...

Kae: SHE DID. SHE SHOWED UP AND SHOWED OUT! Like, her entire mission was to bring Elias back while also planning on taking down the Nightbringer. But she was straight up like ‘okay but not before i get my man back through SEDUCTION’. Ugh, the mango scene?  Superb. 

Geena: Laia is hands down one of my favourite book characters to exist. Her journey from the first book being a scared girl with a missing brother, to being the face of a revolution… like the GROWTH. Like Kae mentioned, she and Helene end up as BESTIIEESSSS, and I was surprised at how natural they seemed. Because we went from them hating each other to close friends, but despite not seeing their development, it came off so natural? So, I loved that! 

Kae covered Laia’s character pretty thoroughly, she was both a horndog and a bad bitch. Like this girl has pretended to be a Slave for the Commandment to travelling a desert by herself and facing off a squad of Jinn… In retrospect, Laia is a unique case, she’s allowed to be kind and caring and doesn’t have to be a fighter type to be strong. She’s not the chosen one, which this book made clear, it could’ve been anyone to fight the Nightbringer… but only Laia was strong enough to love him AND defy him. And I just love her a lot… she was very much an anime protagonist with the power of love, family, and friendship… anyways I love her and that’s all I have to say

→ Helene 

Geena: The way I ended up liking and rooting for Helene this book? Came out of left field. To be honest, in previous books I didn’t feel much for her other than ‘stop chasing after Elias and Laia pls.’ But this book I wanted her to win, especially with the fight against the germanic-esque invaders. She goes through substantial development, no longer seeing Scholars as slaves and taking their opinions seriously.. Like Laia, Musa, and Darin were all a part of her crew. A stark difference from Book 1 Helene, who thought Scholars only had one role in the world and that was slaves. 

Helene… like Laia… really has the Ember equivalent of hot girl summer with Harper… all the time she spends denying it she is like *jumps on him the chance she gets*. The bath scene… Helene’s power was turning her tortuer into her MAN… But also Sabaa said that ‘yes she has changed, but she has to repent for her sins’ and that’s why Helene is basically left alone at the end (save for Laia, Elias, and Musa). 

Kae: So not gonna lie, I never actually disliked Helene. I saw her as the flawed character she was in the beginning. During her cat and mouse chase with Elias and Laia in the beginning, she would piss me OFF because like, that’s your BEST FRIEEEEEND. JUST STAAAAHP. But also, it was him or her and her family's death, so I get it. But I always saw potential in her to be better. And thank GOODNESS she went through all that character development. Because she was a damn menace in the beginning. 

Also like Geena mentioned; Helly and Harper finally hooking up? I swear the heavens opened up in that moment because EVERYONE could feel their tension. LIKE JUST DO IT ALREADY. You can’t fight love, baybeeee

Watching Helly grow as a person was really rewarding as a reader. Like Geena said, she went from hating scholars to being like ‘hmm, maybe my opinions are shitty?’ and straight up changed.  I also feel for her because she lost her ENTIRE family and like, honestly? I would’ve given up. BUT SHE DIDN’T. She’s a literal fighter, bred for this shit. So she FOUGHT. And I was really scared she was gonna get murked because y’all know Keris’ tiny evil ass doesn’t have a chill button. And when they were fighting? I was like LAWD PLS DON’T  TAKE HELLY. But instead he took Harper *upside down smiley face* SO THAT WAS FUCKED UP AND I WASN’T READY FOR IT. But a piece of me knew it was coming. 

The Bad:   

→ Darin and Harper

Geena: As Kae mentioned… Harper kicked the can in this book :’( His eventual fall came from loving and caring for Helene too much, which left him open and gave Keris the chance to stab him. Harper was basically Helene’s heart outside her body, and when he went down so did Helene. I had had a feeling when Book 3 ended that Harper wouldn’t make it, but I WASN’T HAPPY ABOUT BEING RIGHT FOR ONCE… Harper had finally met his brother (Elias) and hadn’t even had a chance to meet the real Elias and talk to him about their father or other sibling stuff. LIKE OF ALL CHARACTER DEATHS… AND THERE WAS A LOT… The other one that came out of left field was fucking Darin of Serra… DARIN… THE ONE DUDE WE SPENT TWO WHOLE BOOKS SAVING… DEAD WITH A SNAP OF HIS NECK!! I WAS SO MAD

LIKE SABAA HAD US THINKING HE WAS GONNA BE SAFE, SHE GAVE HIM A LIL GIRLFRIEND AND EVERYTHING BUT THEN SHE GOES.. AND KILLS HIM?? JUST LIKE THAT?? Then we had to read the scenes where Elias helps both Darin and Harper pass over into the afterlife and I was just *cries angrily* 

Kae: Well, THAT was sad. Have you ever just like, felt your heart break into a million tiny irreparable pieces? That’s how I felt when Darin and Harper died. Because like, they were both trying to save the women they loved. Darin to Laia, (foolishly so against the Nightbringer) but I would do it for my little sister too. And Harper with Helene against evilass Keris. Dude, that shit just sucked. It hurt to read. It hurt to imagine the girls feeling the pain of their deaths. They were both such good men. And DARIIIN. 

Darin didn’t have to go out like that, man. It was such a harsh death. No last words. It was just over and his body was just gone. I wish Laia would’ve been able to talk with him at The Waiting Place at least one last time. But it is what it is. I hated to see both of them go. Especially since Darin pretty much sparked this whole series. 

Sure, Laia, Helene, and Elias were the main characters. But Darin was the spark that started the fire. And he didn’t even get to see it’s flames extinguished. 

Geena: He was the ember in the ashes… literally like Sabaa uses that for Elias and Laia but it applies to Darin the most

Kae: LITCHRALLY gonna get teary eyed over here. Our boys deserved better :( 

Conclusion 

Geena: This was not at all a disappointing end to the series we’ve followed closely for so long. The different plot points and character arcs were tied up nicely, and Sabaa Tahir showed us once again why she’s one of the best fantasy writers on this side of the Milky Way. We didn’t even bother including a ‘The Ugly’ section because we loved it too much ksfmsd. The only qualm I’d have with the end was the empire remaining, Helene recognized the Scholars as equals but centuries of pain isn’t easily forgotten you know? SO THAT’S WHY I THINK WE DESERVE A SEQUEL SERIES… BUT I DIGRESS… OVERALL, I loved this book and the ending for all the characters ESPECIALLY FOR OUR GIRL LAIA <3

Kae: YES. I AGREE 100% WITH GEENA. It was such a beautiful end to the series. Sabaa is  GENIUS and her storytelling is phenomenal. I loved every little surprise she’s hidden in all of the books. ESPECIALLY WITH COOK BEING ALIVE? I DIDN’T SEE THAT SHIT COMING AT ALL. LIKE HOLY SHIT? So Laia had some remaining family afterall, and I think that’s very sweet. I’m really sad to see the series be over with and Geena and I are both *~HOPIIIING~* for an epilogue or some little crumbs or SOMETHING with the gang and how their lives ended up into middle adulthood or something. 

Geena: I would literally take a single paragraph… Ms. Tahir…. Blease…

Kae: But yes, in conclusion, Laia has a heart of gold and we LOVE HER. She’s brave and strong and smart, and was the only one out of THOUSANDS to stick for herself and defy the Nightbringer, and save the whole world. Helene has come a long way and she developed beautifully as a character. And Elias. Ohhh, Ilyaas. His continued self sacrifice and bravery and love still helped him live in the end and I think that’s beautiful. 

#a sky beyond the storm #sabaa tahir #booklr #book review #book rec #book blogger #book blogging #books #ember quartet #wetalkinboutbooks #an amber in the ashes #a torch against the night #a reaper at the gates #elias veturius #Laia of Serra #Helene Aquila #book worm #bookblr #our reviews #bookish #bibliophile

[duhragonball]

Yamcha if you're still doing the character meme?

I am still doing these, and I’m enjoying it, so keep ‘em coming.   Before I start, let me promote the original post, in case anyone else wants to start their own thing.  I’d link to the OP, but I guess they deleted this from their blog, probably because their notifications went nuts.

Give me a character and I will answer:

Why I like them: Let’s be honest, Yamcha doesn’t get a lot of big “hero moments” in Dragon Ball.   Or Dragon Ball Z, or Dragon Ball GT, or Dragon Ball Su-- Look, you get the idea.   In most arcs, he’s the first one to get benched.   In tournaments, he always loses in the first round.   He spent the King Piccolo Saga recovering from a broken leg.    Against the Saiyans, he was the first one to die.  Against the Androids, he was nearly killed and had to sit out the rest of that arc.   In the Buu Sagas he was retired.    In a number of major storylines, he just isn’t there, because no one called him.

But he remains a fixture in the franchise anyway, because he’s always showing up for more.  Let’s take the Buu Saga as an example.   It didn’t surprise me to find out he had retired, mainly from a dramatic standpoint.    There’s a lot of new characters in the Buu arc, and it made sense for some of the older characters to step aside and make room for them.   But he’s still there, because he wants to see Goku one last time, and he wants to hang out with his friends and watch some of them kick the crap out of each other.   It was kind of sad to see him stay behind while the others rushed off to follow the Supreme Kai, but he’s retired, after all.    Also, they didn’t stop to fill him in on what was happening.    I suspect he might have tagged along if they asked.  

As it was, he still ended up getting involved, and he was with the Dragon Team right up until Super Buu cornered them on the Lookout.     And the next time we see him, he’s on the Grand Kai Planet with Krillin, and King Kai seriously considers sending them in to take on Buu in case Goku and Vegeta can’t get the job done.   

And that’s a big deal, because it even comes up in the anime.   King Kai tells them that he arranged for them to keep their bodies as a precaution, but he’s totally in favor of letting them remain on the Grand Kai Planet with all of the other honored warriors, like Goku.  So you start with this desert bandit, a highwayman without a highway, probably because he’s afraid of all the women that use the interstate.   But he gradually overcomes his fears and insecurities, never completely, but just enough to put one foot in front of the other and become a better man.    And finally he ends up receiving a place among the great heroes of old.  

So why doesn’t that get more attention?   You could make a whole epic story out of that, except it’s not Yamcha’s story.  He’s a supporting character.   So the franchise itself tends to play it down.    Even Yamcha doesn’t really take it all that seriously.   I don’t know if that’s modesty or cluelessness or Big Himbo Energy or what, but that’s why it’s so easy for everyone to write him off as a loser or a failure.   They’re overlooking the bigger picture.

The best way to illustrate this is with this TFS short that serves as an epilogue to their DBZ Abridged series.   Yamcha goes back to playing baseball for the Taitans, only to get fired, because he’s so talented that he’s literally broken the game, and no one buys tickets anymore.    But he gets a gigantic severance package, and he still goes down in history as the greatest ballplayer in history.  What always gets to me is that they have to explain to him that this is actually a win.  As his coach puts it, “you do nothing but win.”   

Like Yamcha himself, we often see him from the lens of these insane Dragon Ball adventures, where you have to have glowy hair and a hot cyborg wife to be considered a success.   But to the rest of the world, he’s a jacked up millionaire with fantastic hair, and he’s a real sweetheart.   Who couldn’t like this dude?

Why I don’t: As you may have noticed, I tend to only use this section to talk about why I disliked the characters initially.   I have to think back to 1999 when I was still having trouble keeping track of who’s who.   In particular, I found Yamcha’s presence frustrating because he looked and dressed almost exactly like Goku, but not quite, which seemed bizarre.    Later, I picked up on the context, and it didn’t bother me as much.  

Yamcha does have a bit of an overconfident streak in some situations, which might look like unfounded arrogance, but I think it’s really just his carefree nature and enthusiastic can-do spirit.   He was confident about their chances against the Saiyans, but I don’t think that was him being cocky.   He just knew they had all trained hard and he was stronger than he’d ever been.    But that’s easy for people to jump on as a reason to hate the guy.  

Future Trunks claimed that he fooled around while he was involved with Bulma, but come on.    Does anyone really buy that?    Besides, at best, that would only apply to Future Yamcha, the one who died in the other timeline.   Once Trunks changed the past, all bets were off.

Favorite episode (scene if movie): I’m gonna get a little nuts here and go with TFS’s playthrough of Legacy of Goku I, where they decided to level up Yamcha and have him solo Broly.

Basically, in an RPG game like this, Wolf Fang Fist can do monster damage, so they maxed out Yamcha’s stats to wreck the game’s hidden superboss.  You have to skip to 1:40:00 or so to see the successful attempt, but I loved this video.   This is where I learned to respect the utterance of “Roga... fufuken!”  Broly probably would have respected it, too, except he died from all those hits he took.

Favorite season/movie: You know, that fight with Tien was a classic.   Not sure it’s in my top ten, but it’s on a lot of people’s lists, and I absolutely get that.

Dumb as it may sound, I enjoyed seeing Yamcha in the hospital, wrestling with his own despair as he recuperated from his broken leg.   And when he shows up at the end to congratulate Tien and accepts Tien’s apology, well, like I said, Yamcha has this great character arc, but it’s easy to overlook with everything else that goes on.

Favorite line: I forget which game it was in, maybe Budokai 3, but one of his pre-fight taunts is “Watch this, Puar!  I’m gonna win!”, which always makes me think of Puar sitting just off-camera, watching the action from a little lawn chair.  

Favorite outfit:

I may take some heat for this, but I like the Androids/Cell Saga version of Yamcha, with the short, spiky hair.  This dude’s long, luxurious rockstar ‘do is a national treasure, sure, but I dig this look more.  

Also, I consider Yamcha to be the only guy from the Turtle School who pulls off the slippers and no-blue-undershirt look.   It looks off when I see it on Krillin and Goku, but with Yamcha it just feels right. 

OTP: This guy gets shipped with a lot of people, probably because he’s one of the major characters without an established love interest.   Folks still carry a torch for Bulma, some people ship him with Tien, Frieza hit on him in FighterZ, and I’m still trying to make sense of that.   He flirts with your character in the Xenoverse games.    Years ago, I considered doing something with that, but I’ve fleshed out my OC enough to where I don’t think that fits. 

At the end of the day, I can only see Yamcha getting together with @cozymochi ‘s OC, Marzi.  

Brotp: Tien, Krillin, Goku.  Hell, I always figured Yamcha was one of the few people Vegeta could get along with to some extent.  

I mean, Tien couldn’t stand to be one the same planet as Vegeta, but Yamcha keeps coming over to have hot dogs at Bulma’s place, long after the Namekians have left.  

Head Canon: He’s Luffa’s type, don’t get me wrong.    I just don’t see any room in my fic for a whirlwind courtship.    The stars just don’t align.

Unpopular opinion: I’m not really behind this notion that they should give the humans more stuff to do in future series.   When it comes to supporting characters, sometimes they get phased out, and there’s no point in phasing them back in unless there’s a compelling story idea for them.   

I think it’s dumb how they teased Yamcha in the Tournament of Power prelude, only to leave him out of the tournament itself.    On the other hand, they put Tien on the team and barely used him, which tells me that even if they’d put Yamcha on the team, it wouldn’t have amounted to anything.   

I get it, people love these characters and want to see them used more, but I’d rather have one strong Yamcha story than a hundred non-starters.  And at this point, I think the only thing anyone can do is rely on fan-created content.    Be the change you want to see in the world.

A wish: Crap, it’s after ten pm.    I dunno, I wish Marzi was canon.  

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: I feel like the character’s already been through worse than I could come up with for him.   

5 words to best describe them: Cat loves food, yeah yeah yeah.   That’s six, but who cares?

My nickname for them: Yeah, I don’t have one.

#ask duhragonball #dragon ball #yamcha #yamucha #Anonymous

[darlingpetao3]

Miss Independent (Nash Wells x Reader)

Rating: T

Summary: You’re a tough and independent and oftentimes stubborn member of Team Flash, almost to the point of self-sabotage. But when Nash Wells pops onto the scene and beats you in a fight, you refuse to accept any form of help from him in the latest Team Flash mission.

Tag List: @fandomdancer​ @bluesclues-1234​ @blogforhoes​

You’ve always been a do-it-herself kind of girl.

In school, when you carried your books to class, sometimes boys would ask to carry them for you.

“No thanks, I’m good.”

And there’s always that one item at the store that’s on the top shelf, just out of reach. A fellow customer or a stock-boy will check to see if you need assistance in reaching the pesky missing piece of your grocery list.

“Oh, that’s fine, I got it,” you’d say, and proceed to scale the shelves and channel the essence of your stretchy teammate and friend to reach it.

You may even reach a new level of stubbornness when you decline to accept help to carry said groceries up and into your downtown Central City apartment.

“I’m nearly there, thanks though!”

And you by no means need a man to save you.

Since the infamous Particle Accelerator explosion of 2015, and subsequently gaining your new-found abilities, you can do it all yourself. You can take care of yourself. Team Flash has lovingly dubbed you Miss “Indy” Independent.

Of course, one night of working your second-job as a vigilante for smaller crimes (muggings, corner store thefts, that kind of thing), you come face to face with a man who will turn your life upside down.

As if it hadn’t been turned upside down already.

***

You’re patrolling a different section of the city than usual tonight, near the Ivo Labs building, when you spot a figure in the alleyway at the side door to the premises. You press your fingers to your domino mask to make sure your identity is secure for this upcoming bust.

“Hey, you!” you shout. “Get away from there!”

Fully expecting the tall shadowy figure to flee, you are surprised to find the opposite. In fact, they step out into the dim light of the street lamps. It’s a man. It’s…

Oh hell, it’s another one.

You catch him stash something into one of his pockets. So this Wells is a thief. Huh… that’s different.

You’re still not going to take it easy on him.

“Whatever that is,” you call out, making careful advancements toward him, “you better hand it over.”

“Let me guess, ‘or else?’” This new, apparently cocky Wells replies. You laugh.

“You better believe it.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

“Then you’re in for a world of hurt.”

You break into a run, effectively charging Wells the Thief. Only, what you didn’t expect was for the man to shoot a grappling hook at a fire escape up above. He uses the propelling motions to fly over your body and land on the other side of you.

“Neat trick,” you say with a growing annoyance. But why don’t you fight me for what you took like a real man?” To emphasize the figurative throwing down of your gauntlet, you get into fighting stance and put up your dukes.

Wells walks back towards you, not even attempting to leave the situation. You can already tell this one loves a good fight. Hell, maybe they all do. This ought to be good.

You throw the first punch - pulling back tightly like a master archer - and letting it fly. What should have been his face, your knuckles meet his palm as he catches it.

How-?

“Gotta do better than that,” he says. You continue to throw a flurry of punches, all of which this Wells manages to block. And then, on your last one, disarms you and renders both your hands incapable of moving.

“You have beautiful eyes,” Wells remarks. “Are you married to that mask, or…?”

“Shut up.”

By hooking a leg around his you get him to stumble down to his knees, but he lunges at your middle and knocks you both down to the ground. Luckily, your head didn’t hit the pavement, but the crash is still not at all pleasant on the ol’ tush.

You take your chance and attempt to rifle a hand into the pocket you saw Wells stash the mysterious stolen object. Only…

“Call me old fashioned,” Wells says with a sideways smile, “but I’d rather you buy me dinner first, my dear.”

After being momentarily confused, you realize what you are rooting around for in his pocket is not, in fact, the thing he stole.

“Give it to me, now!” you demand before you’re forced to use resort to using your special abilities on this crook. This Wells’ eyes twinkle with mischief.

“Sorry Beautiful, I’m not that kind of guy.” The pair of you scramble to get up and just as you lift your hands to power up your energy blasts, Wells flashes the item he stole at you. He shoots you a wink. “Rain check?”

Suddenly, there’s a loud noise, followed by a dense fog of smoke. You run into the haze, hoping that didn’t just happen - that a thief didn’t get away from you. You’ve fought big bad metas! How could you lose against a cocky, ability-less, cat-burglar with second rate magician’s tricks?

Still stunned at your failure, you head home for the night while replaying everything about the fight in your head until it nearly drives you mad. You can’t believe you lost. You never lose! Consider yourself clocking out of this night shift. You hope you see that bastard again because when you do, you’ll be ready. 

And he’ll regret the day he messed with you.

***

“(Y/N), meet Nash.”

You can’t believe it.

You cannot believe Barry is introducing you to him.

“You.” Your voice seethes with disdain. Of course this Nash, the Wells from that night that shall not be referenced, lights up like the sun at seeing you. He points in your direction.

“I’d know those eyes anywhere,” he says smoothly. “How’ve you been?”

“You two already know each other?” Cisco asks, scanning you both on opposite sides of the main monitor desk. You give a flat “no” the very second Nash says “we sure do.”

“‘Know’ is such a strong word,” you explain vaguely. “You know he’s a thief, right?”

“Yeah, he kind of helped us with our own heist…” Cisco says.

Great, so now we’re thieves?

“Anyway,” Barry continues hastily, “we’ve come up with a plan to catch Pinstripe at last. But there is a catch…”

“Let me guess. I serve as a distraction?” It would only seem fitting. You happened to have had a brief relationship with Pinstripe, one of Central City’s biggest gangsters. To be fair, though, this was before he ‘made it big,’ so to speak. You had no idea so long ago that your boyfriend at the time would become a heinous villain.

“Actually…” Barry scratches the back of his neck. Oh, great. “You’d be the bait.”

Welp, this might as well happen.

“Okay,” the word comes out as a sigh. “He’s been trying to track me down for years anyway. Just let me know the when and where and I’ll get it done. I’ll bring him down.”

“We’re going to send Nash in with you,” Barry tells you, “to keep you safe. Meanwhile, Frost and I will-”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” you interrupt your friend. “I don’t need anyone, let alone him to keep me safe.”

“I can help,” Nash steps in, “I have experience in-”

“-No, thanks. I got this all on my own. I don’t need your help.”

The Wells doppelganger holds his hands up in surrender. Barry and Cisco’s cringing expressions don’t go unnoticed as they exit, leaving you with Nash. As if to dissolve the extremely palpable tension, Nash leans against the wall.

“So, how about that dinner?”

***

You should have figured your ex-boyfriend would have shot you.

Really, the blast from his top of the line energy rifle nicked your shoulder, but it still hurt like hell. Part of the sleeve of your jacket has a singed hole. You could probably see the smoke coming off of it if you weren’t booking it up the stairwell of this office building. Pinstripe must have seen you dart inside…

“You won’t get away from me this time, (Y/N)!” the gangster calls up to you.

You press a finger to the comms in your ear. “You guys, I’m leading him to the rooftop.” There’s no reply. “Guys?” Well, shit.

Pushing through the exit door on the uppermost level, you keep running until you reach the ledge. You need to think fast. Maybe you have enough energy stored up for a good blast at Pinstripe? You have to try.

Pinstripe, with his suit that matches his Cisco-given villain name and slicked-back hair, he finally swaggers through the door. He’s no longer in a rush to capture you. There’s nowhere to run for you and still no sign of Barry or Frost.

“So, it’s come to this?” Pinstripe asks with a gross smirk. “Running away from our love again?”

“You’re a bastard. And I don’t love you.”

“Tell you what? You get away from that ledge, come home with me, and I won’t shoot you?”

“As if.”

You thrust your hands forward to let loose one of your energy blasts from your hands, but nothing happens. You have no stored energy left…

Pinstripe raises his rifle and aims. “I gave you a chance.”

Just then, your comms short-circuits in your ear, taking you by surprise and causing you to stumble back and hurtle over the edge. But an exhilarated shout grows louder, and before you know what’s happening, something catches you mid-fall. And now you’re… swinging through the air?

“Aw, (Y/N), are you falling for me?”

Looking up, you find yourself in the firm grasp of Nash Wells. The man smiles at you, but you are still in shock. You’re finding it hard to breathe.

When the pair of you finally touch ground again, Nash makes sure to set you down gently.

“Are you alright?” he asks you.

You do a quick self-check. “Yeah, yeah I think so.”

“Indy, are you safe?” Barry’s voice chimes in your ear. The comms are back online, it would seem. “We’ve captured Pinstripe. I’m taking him to Iron Heights.”

“I’m safe,” you confirm. “...Thanks to Nash.” The Wells beside you smiles at the recognition. “Seriously, thank you. I’d be pancake if you hadn’t…”

“Don’t worry about it.”

A wave of guilt and realization washes over you. “Listen, I’m sorry for biting your head off before. I was just bitter at having lost to you that night. See, I never lose. Apparently I’m on a downward streak.”

Nash simply nods, letting you get everything out.

“I was blind before, but now I know it’s okay to have help from others. Especially when you’re about to die!” You laugh awkwardly. “I don’t know why it took me so long to see it. I’m on a team, and I haven’t been acting like it.” Now you’re talking more to yourself. You proffer a hand to your saviour. “Welcome to Team Flash, Nash.”

“Thank you.”

You know, now that I think about it, this guy’s not half-bad looking...

“So,” you start, “how about that dinner?”

~

Requested by @emilyfandoms​: So the readers personality is more of a do it herself type of girl. She doesn't need a man outlook on life because she can do it herself. She is a strong meta and knows how to handle herself even without her powers. So on first meeting Nash maybe they get into an actual fight and she ends up loosing which she gets super salty about it and can't stand Nash after that with his cocky personality and all. So once he finally( flirty with her) joined the team they have to use her as bait to catch a villain who is specifically after her. She ends up getting hurt and Nash saved her literally sweeping her off her feet afterward. So she falls for him then because she never had a man actually save her and yeah she wanting some Nash booty after if ya get what I mean. 🍑 👀 😏

#reader insert #requested #emilyfandoms #harrison wells x reader #harrison wells imagine #harrison wells fanfiction #nash wells x reader #nash wells imagine #harrison nash wells x reader #the flash imagine #the flash fanfiction

[white-fire]

《In a dream we walked as if in reality》

Chapter 4

17 years ago, a member of the Umbrella Academy was assassinated. Ben Hargreaves was killed at the age of thirteen. They could not save him from a bullet wound to the heart and spine. Everyone was grieving except Reginald. He came up with a lesson from this again. It was not evident that he would be grieving. Such emotions are not alien to him. November 5, 2002. The day Ben Hargreaves died. For all. Except for Klaus.

***

Klaus found Reginald Hargreaves's diary, where EVERYTHING was written. All their weaknesses, strengths and the like. And Klaus found himself. 《Uses 2% of his power. Has potential, but tries to avoid its power for fear of the dead.》. Klaus knew. He knew what was a burden for the family, and always tried to hang everyone, not paying attention to the ghosts of people who tried to talk to him, as soon as they began to understand that he could see them. He sees all the dead, hears what they say. It hurts him especially to see small children, especially babies, still lying in front of a garbage bug. They cry. They cry from the fact that their own mother left them to their fate. But autumn ...

Of course, if Klaus saw all the dead, then he saw Ben too. And now, he stands and also reads with him.

“Tell me, number seven?” Ben asked as soon as he saw the number. Why did their father write about Vanya? She's ordinary. Klaus wanted to close the diary, but the ghost grabbed him " Number seven. Dangerous, her power is too strong, that's why I had to put her on pills " Ben read aloud, and Klaus examined the box " The power of number seven lies in sound. She can bridle all sounds into tremendous power."

" Hey, maybe you won't read aloud?"

" Claus, what are you? Vanya turns out to have strength, and she does not know about it. What if..."

" Oh, yes, yes, mommy. Now we will go to her, and just like that, will we immediately behave nicely with her? It will be too suspicious " said Klaus, taking the diary from the hands of the ghost " And ... we will be kind only because she can cause the end of the world. And I don't want to behave like that ... " Klaus said in an unaccustomedly serious tone of voice, putting the diary in the box. He shouldn't have stolen it. He knew it. And yet he stole. He needed money for drugs, but common sense took over. He began to think sensibly when he was beaten in the alley.

“Are you going to return the box now?” Ben asked. He might not have asked. He knows that Klaus will give her to her. This is now thing number ten " You still took her words seriously ..."

" Phaha ... " Klaus laughed and sat down on the asphalt. He can still hear voices. Children call their parents, babies cry, and old people sob quietly when they see their grandchildren. Klaus would then have died in the driveway when he was beaten. But Bayan saved him. Those guys ran away, and she gave him a savory slap in the face. "You run from your very essence like a little child! You could have made them with one left, why the hell did you not, huh? Ben is ... next ..."

Klaus hit the asphalt with his fist and headed towards Vanya's house. Ben knows what he's up to. He will talk to Vanya, tell about what was written in the diary. Until the end of the world 6 days? Pfft, so what? There is a lot you can do in these days. You can die from an overdose, and make peace with your sister. The plan is a complete failure, of course. But still, there is a chance. If in truth Vanya will cause the end of the world, then you can make peace with her. Or does he want to befriend her out of fear? From the fear that she would kill everyone? The diary said that she was locked up, just like him. In some ways, you can understand her.

Ben followed Klaus. He always goes with him. He saw him from different angles. He saw how Klaus covered his ears with his palms so as not to hear the voices. He saw Klaus trying to forget himself from all this, and got drunk to smithereens. I even used drugs. But, no reason. It was especially painful for Ben to see how all his relatives behave like this. He saw Umbrella Academy gradually crumble. He was the first to leave, of course. Then, the Fifth was gone. Then Diego and Klaus. So he left with him. And when Ben saw the brothers and sisters again, he wanted to hug them all, kiss them and never leave. If he was alive, he would not have left. Never. He would stay with Aruzhan, talk on different topics and try to find someone who could start the end of the world. And he found it. Thanks to Klaus. Who would have known that his passion for theft would help everyone so much.

Klaus stopped by the wooden door. The house where Vanya lives, and the sounds of a violin were heard from the house. She played. If you think about it, of all the members of Umbrella, only she knows how to play the instruments. And they ... kill ...

There was a knock on the door, and a minute later Vanya opened it. She looks at Klaus in surprise and lets him into her house. And Vanya is not alone at home ... A man with curly hair is holding her violin. A little taller than Klaus, and his face degenerated with surprise.

" Oh, who is it? Your boyfriend? " Klaus asked, sitting down on the sofa. Vanya shook her head.

" Disciple. "

" Ah, you teach him to play the violin. For free or for money?"

" Free " answered Vanya, bringing tea "Leonard, we are getting acquainted. My brother is Klaus. Klaus, Leonard."

" Nice to meet you " Leonard smiled, and held out his hand for a handshake. Klaus waved his hand and started talking to Vanya.

" Vanya, we must talk. It's ... about you, about our family. And I would love to tell you everything, but this stranger does not leave " says Klaus. Vanya grinned.

“Right now, the outsider is you,” she said and went into the kitchen. Klaus followed her, leaving the box on the couch.

" Vanya, listen, I understand, there were disagreements in our family, however .."

" Claus. Even though I have not contacted you for many years, I know that you do drugs, alkagol. And I'm not going to give you money."

" Wha ... No, no, this does not concern me, but ... you and ... " Klaus already wanted to say that Vanya is the same as all of them.

Leonard examines the box. He got up from the chair and walked over to the object, and took her in his arms. Ben stands and sees how this man wants to open it, and wanted to prevent him, but his hand went through the man's. Ben rolled his eyes and went to the kitchen, where Klaus and Vanya were chatting. It was clear from her surprised face that she had not expected this. And it would seem that the brunette would agree with them to return to the academy, but no.

" Is this ... some kind of joke? " asked Vanya with a note of anger. Klaus began waving his arms and shaking his head in both directions " Not funny. I've always been ordinary. And I will stay like that ”she said and left the kitchen, leaving the man, as she believed, alone. It was quiet, except for voices in the living room. Klaus sighed and headed into the living room. Vanya gave Leonard candy, and Klaus gave tea without milk.

“This Leonard tried to steal the diary” Ben said. Klaus looked into Leonard's eyes, who did not make long eye contact. Klaus opened the box, and as expected, the diary is not there " Already stole it."

" Vanya ... "said Klaus, looking into her blue eyes, " What I said there in the kitchen is true. Come to the academy, and then we'll try to figure it out, okay? ”He got up from the couch and drank hot tea in one gulp and put it upside down. Ben watched in bewilderment as Klaus left, and approached him to express everything, but Klaus whispered to him " Follow that man ... " and left, closing the door in front of the ghost's nose. Only Ben, Vanya and Leonard remained.

`` S-so, will you go ... t-there? '' The man asked, squeezing his stomach. Apparently, there he hides a diary. Vanya was silent for a minute, then looked out the window, where Klaus was looking outside at the asphalt, as if someone was lying there. Ben also looked to where she was looking. Unlike her, he sees what Klaus is looking at. He looks at the cat. And he looks at him. Klaus wakes up very hard to cope with his strength. Ben knew that. Everyone knew that.

" Yes ... " Vanya finally answered.

#tua #the umbrella academy #tua fanfic #vanya hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #ben hargreeves

[undreaming-fanfiction]

A Night to Remember: A Late Visit

Fandom: Cats the musical Rating: T (could potentially go up later) Pairing: multiple in future chapters, Tuggoffelees, Victoria/Plato, Demeter/Munkustrap etc. Category: magical circus AU, slow burn Chapter number: 5 Chapter summary: Quaxo and Victoria are paid a very late visit. 

The previous chapter: One of Us

 It had been past midnight already when Victoria woke Quaxo up by shaking his shoulder, wildly gesticulating towards the door. Fortunately, he hadn't been fully asleep yet - the magician was a heavy sleeper and he found it difficult to focus on anything or anyone after waking up. At first, he couldn't understand what was happening, why Victoria would interrupt those precious few hours of sleep, but then he heard it too - a quiet, but definitely insistent knocking on the door. 

He was seriously considering going back to sleep, but his sister's worried expression chased all the exhaustion and laziness away. Reluctantly, Quaxo crawled from under the blanket. "I'll take care of it," he smiled at her and ruffled her hair. Barefoot and dishevelled, he made his way towards the door.

As soon as he opened it, only partially, to see what was so important that it couldn't wait till morning, a strong hand flung the door wide open and he stammered out a complaint as a familiar figure, much taller than he was, burst inside their small apartment. "Finally, what took you so long?"

Quaxo blinked. And again. This was one crazy dream. "Huh? What do you - how do you even..." But then his tired eyes finally focused on the intruder. "It's you!" he blurted out and pointed an accusatory finger at the tall man. His wild mane of hair and provocative smirk were unmistakable. "You always come to our performances and sit at the back."

"Oooh, flattered that you noticed me," the stranger grinned and assumed a posture that was, even to Quaxo's inexperienced eyes, rather...suggestive. "The name's Tugger," he waved at both siblings.

Victoria's eyes were huge and a little bit too focused on those tight pants, Quaxo realised with a tinge of annoyance. "Quaxo. This is my sister Victoria. So what-!"

But of course, Tugger did not let him finish. He completely ignored Quaxo's unfinished question and flung himself on their kitchen chair, stretching his long legs. "Enchanted," he winked at Victoria. "Look, I'm pretty sure you have a ton of questions and all, but I'm really not in a talking mood, so why don't you two just sit down and wait for my ever so responsible big brother to talk you through it?" His tone was self-assured, as if there was no doubt that they would follow his instructions.

And to Quaxo's disbelief, Victoria actually nodded and sat down with a content smile, made herself comfortable and started swinging her feet back and forth, completely relaxed. Before he could ask her what on earth she was doing, why would she listen to this stranger, a small voice started nagging in his head. 

Maybe he's right, you know. Maybe it would be better to just sit down and wait, after all, you're tired, he probably doesn't want to talk anyway...so why don't you join your sister? It will be much easier...

He found his will weakening and prepared to join Victoria on the bed, when he had another, very simple thought. Why? Why should I? He froze mid-step, torn between the urge to obey, to fulfill Tugger's wish, and something inside him that kept the single word - why. Say it. Why? I don't want to, he invaded our home, our privacy, so why should we abide by is rules? 

I don't want to follow what he says without a single thought, like Victoria did.And just like that, the persuasive voice in his head nagging him to obey was gone.

 Tugger watched in awe and rather comical confusion as Quaxo straightened his spine and frowned, his dark eyes staring daggers. The older man gaped at him as if no one had defied him ever before. "And why should I do that?!" the magician snapped and yanked Victoria towards him, to keep her out of Tugger's reach. "You barge in, act like you are the king or something. Our place, our rules! Now speak, what do you want? And sis..." he turned towards Victoria and gently shook her shoulders. The blank and content look in her eyes frightened him. "Snap out of it!" 

Finally, some recognition crept into her features. B-but...! she threw her hands up defensively. Her gaze went to Tugger and Quaxo, back and forward, as if she could not decide whose instructions to follow. He told me to sit down and wait!

"Yeah, I definitely told her to do that!" Tugger chimed in. "Also lady, don't forget to move your mouth during your telepathy thingy. I mean, I expected it, but anyone else would freak out. But back to the more important thing..." He rose up from the chair and walked towards Quaxo, poking his forehead inquisitively, ignoring the annoyed glare. "How did you do that?"

Quaxo took one step back, dragging confused Victoria behind him. "Do what? If you can't be polite, be at least coherent!" Only then had he realised what Tugger said and felt panic start creeping in. "Wait, what do you mean by- I mean, she definitely speaks normally, so-!"

Tugger snorted and imitated a talking gesture with his hand. "Yeah, cut that crap. I went to your shows, I know what she does. That's fine, I mean, most of us are like that. Have a quirk or two. So again. How did you do it? How did you say no?"

"I didn't say no, I said why!" Quaxo spat out, exasperated. "Why is it such a surprise to you that people don't obey your every single whim?! More importantly, what do you mean most of us?" He was intrigued now, despite having every reason to feel endangered by this stranger. Meanwhile, Victoria gave up on trying to find out the middle ground between the two men and sat on the floor in front of them, causing Quaxo to sigh and run his fingers through the already dishevelled hair. "And whatever you are doing, stop brainwashing my sister!"  

It was Tugger's turn to groan now. While wildly gesturing in her general direction, his eyes never left Quaxo's. "It's not like I do it on purpose! But to appease you... hey, young lady! Get up, will you? And make yourself comfortable...please," he added reluctantly when he saw that the magician's frown did anything but disappear. After Victoria was safely seated on the bed, he crossed his arms on his chest and leaned forward to examine Quaxo more closely. "Curious. You really are a strange one, aren't you? I've seen my share of weirdos, hell, we have twins who share control over each other's body, another pair that keeps talking telepathically because apparently, using your mouth to communicate is way too boring, a girl who can shatter glass with her voice...but you, I've never seen anything similar. What exactly do you do?"

The anger in Quaxo's gaze was replaced by confusion. "What...do I do?" Tugger nodded. "Yeah, what is your power, gift, weirdness, whatever you want to call it? I saw you teleport stuff, well, those kittens. That's how I found out you're one of us, I saw the exact moment the ball of fluff miraculously appeared in your hat, but then...you do other things, don't you? Swap things in different places. Make people do some things you want, perhaps?" 

"I wouldn't go that far." Quaxo felt like he was trapped in a very, very strange dream. Talking about his gift with someone else, and on top of that, a rock star-looking guy he'd just met, that was unimaginable. Or at least, had been. "I can cause small changes in what's happening, but it's nothing about controlling people. More like...chance, I guess? If there is a newspaper in your way, for instance, I can get it in your face with an accidental gust of wind...and similar things."

"Then you would be a great asset to our troupe," said a deeper voice from the doorway. 

Tugger spread his arms in exaggerated relief. "My dearly missed brother arrives at last! Be so kind and take over the talking part of this, yeah?"

Quaxo blinked, looking back and forth between the two men. The newcomer shared some facial features that were similar to Tugger, but looked more solemn and responsible. His hair was darker than his brother's, cooler-toned, and had a few streaks of silver, even though his face was not that old. "Now there's two of you? Oh great." But in spite of himself, he started feeling calmer, less agitated - yet he should be! There were two strange men in their apartment, way past midnight, and yet he did not feel endangered. It made no sense.  

The newcomer pressed his lips into a thin line and turned towards Tugger with a deeply critical gaze. "Take over the talking part? That was the plan, Tugger, before you accidentally - or at least that's how I assume you'll present it - left me in front of a wrong door and ran away to...here. I hope you haven't completely ruined our reputation by now. Has he?" he asked the siblings. 

Not at all! Victoria smiled at the same moment Quaxo mumbled "Pretty close."  

The stranger exhaled and rubbed his temples to calm himself. "Then I hope I'll be able to minimise the damage. My name, or at least what I go by in our troupe, is Munkustrap. You've already met my unruly younger brother, Rum Tum Tugger. From the very little I've heard during my arrival, my brother has already spoken to you about your powers, while also mentioning that you are not the only ones that are...different. We came to visit you as representatives of a certain circus that specialises in hiring of people with unique talents like yours." 

"What he means to say," Tugger interjected, "was that it's a shelter for people like you. Not just an employment." 

The siblings looked at each other questioningly. Um...why would people like us need a shelter? Victoria asked. We can earn enough to get by, as you know. 

Munkustrap's eye twitched when Tugger spoke, but otherwise he remained his composure. "An excellent question, one that was about to be answered a bit later, but obviously, someone here loves to make a mess out of any conversation plan. Allow me to explain - it is not that we think that you need financial aid or something similar. What my brother meant was that most of people with gifts like ours, it can be...difficult to maintain friendships or relationships with others. Mostly because we feel like we have to hide what is so natural for us." He smiled for the first time, and Quaxo found himself being drawn to this man, trusting him. Once again, not very rational, and yet...

"That...might be true," he admitted reluctantly, glancing towards Victoria. 

I can't begin to explain how tiring it is to pretend I speak normally, she nodded, fiddling with her nightgown. It's not that I feel bad about doing what I do, I just...don't want to explain. Or be known for it. 

Munkustrap's smile remained, calming and understanding. "Exactly. You are not alone in this, even though it might have felt like it for a long time. What we do is use our powers to perform, so however extraordinary they are, we can show them to the public, masquerading them as tricks or skills. And, being a circus, we are constantly on the move, so there is no risk of being revealed for who we really are." 

Victoria sniffled and Quaxo knew right then that Munkustrap won her over. Oh. That does sound wonderful! 

"Yeah...it sounds good," he admitted begrudgingly. "Too good, even. But that doesn't explain why you had to come at this hour. You could have easily approached us after our performance tomorrow. Care to explain that?" 

He noticed, with slightly mischievous satisfaction, that the brothers looked at each other uneasily. There was silence for a moment, but then it was Tugger who spoke. "Because I saw you get that note. And before you start making assumptions, it's not because the guy is our competition and we wanted to make sure we get to you two first. It's way worse." 

How do you know that Mr. Macavity contacted us? Victoria asked, disturbed by what she'd just heard. And that he offered us a job?

"Because that's what he always does," Tugger said, and perhaps Quaxo was only imagining it, but wasn't there a bitter undertone to those words? 

Munkustrap quickly interrupted his brother. "That is unfortunately true," he admitted, his smile now gone. "We were originally planning to approach you later this week, but when Tugger saw him sending you that note, we knew we had to act quickly. Macavity isn't our competition, although he spends significant time tracking down those with gifts. But where we offer a home, he only takes." He leaned towards the siblings, his tone quiet and serious. "Macavity, even if you may find it hard to believe, runs a business that seems completely innocent at first. A small favour here and there, nothing major, nothing to worry about. But slowly, inevitably, you start getting deeper and deeper. Eventually, you do something...questionable. And that's what Macavity wants, because then he can hold it over you. Forever."

"But..." Quaxo whispered, "...why us? Why would he be after two club performers? We're nobody." But he knew the answer before it came.  

"Because he knows what you can do. Macavity collects those with special talents for his criminal activities, uses their gifts for his own benefit. And just like us, he is very good at distinguishing tricks from actual unique powers," Munkustrap answered. 

Then we can just refuse his offer! Victoria stepped in, her movements restricted now - she wrapped her arms around her chest, as if the mere description made her feel unsafe. If we don't join him, he can't make us do anything bad.

Tugger chuckled, a dry and unhappy sound. "A few people had that idea already. Didn't go so well for them."

Munkustrap nodded. "Unfortunately, that isn't an option. Macavity doesn't leave anything to chance. If you were to refuse, he would use his influence to make sure that working for him is eventually the only option left for you. He excels at that, I am afraid. But," he quickly added, forcing the smile back on his face, "we have stolen enough of your time already. Please, think about our offer, I'm certain you're very confused and that some of our claims must have sounded rather far-fetched. If you want to meet our troupe before making a decision, you're most welcome to do so. Here is our card." He handed Victoria an old-fashioned card and bowed his head slightly. "We would love to hear from you, no matter how you decide." 

His words prompted Tugger to stretch his back and head towards the door. "Right. It's getting late and all that. Well then, hope to see you both later! And you, magician boy!" He pointed at Quaxo with an attractive grin. "You still owe me an explanation how you resisted my charm. I'm not forgetting that."  

And just like that, they were both gone. Quaxo and Victoria stood in the suddenly too quiet room, speechless.  

I...think I may need to sleep on this before I can think about what just happened. What are they even called... 

"Good question." Quaxo took the card from her hands and turned it around. "Jellicle Circus? What a ridiculous name! Just like Rum Tum Tugger, Munkustrap and....ugh. It's a circus alright!"  

But it sounded really nice! Victoria smiled and, when Quaxo's frown did not disappear, sighed and pushed him towards the bed. That was enough excitement for one evening! Sleep! And we'll talk about it the first thing in the morning. No arguing! she added when Quaxo opened his mouth to protest.  

"...I'm really hoping this all was just a dream, you know," he muttered in a disgruntled voice when she pulled the blanket over him and decisively switched off the light. 

And as he was falling asleep, he felt Victoria's voice in his head. I'm hoping it wasn't.

---

On the pavement outside, Tugger grinned and nudged Munkustrap's shoulder. "That went rather well, eh?"  

The taller man groaned and rolled his eyes. "Please, shut up."

The next chapter: Persuasion

#cats the musical #cats #cats musical #cats fanfiction #a night to remember #mistoffelees #Mr. Mistoffelees #magical mr mistoffelees #rum tum tugger #munkustrap #victoria #I would kill for a comment! #I really would

[flyingkiki]

Curiosity, 2/?

Oh, hohoho. I am so gone. These two are giving me tingly happy feelings. We needs to build our TimRae army. 

####

Raven had shitty family members, Tim noted. Not that it needed to go into his files on her because they already established that with her father, but seriously. Her demonic brothers were assholes, to say the least. He grunted as he swung his staff with all his bodyweight into the demon’s back, saving Batman from loosing an arm. But, fuck, man.

Basically, this is what’s happening:

Some cult, an offshoot of the Church of Trigon, has made its way into Gotham. For the past few days, they’ve been haphazardly opening portals and luring in demons into the city. They were under the belief a new lord of the underworld would bless them. Unfortunately, none of the demons that came into the world were demon lords – just angry demons out for some blood.

And, as it later turned out, after a half-sibling who killed their father.

Raven faintly wondered where she got her luck. All she wanted was to have some peace and quiet for the week – things were going surprisingly well in Jump. But no, some assholes had to play church and worship demons. What the fuck. She grunted and blocked an attack from one of the more gnarly demons, and flipped over it. She sent a ball of black energy to its back just as it was about to turn to her, and she watched as the demon skidded across the ground.

Raven briefly looked over her shoulder, making sure Red Robin and Batman were still alive somewhere in the forest clearing. Good, they still were. She faintly wondered if she should take them out for dinner as a peace offering for having to deal with her shitty family. Raven watched them struggle with a bigger demon – did these demons grow over the past few days? She furrowed her brows. Grunting, she turned back to the demon she was fighting and frowned.

“Sister,” red eyes glowed and the demons arms twitched, as it stood in front of her. The demon growled, fangs baring and it looked ready to pounce again.

“I hate my family,” Raven breathed, hands glowing and with a chant let go of a large blast of black energy.

“You killed father,”

Raven’s eyes widened as she listened to the first coherent sentence from the demon. They never really said anything, aside from sister. This was a first.

The demon growled, noting her opening, and pounced Raven. Fangs bared and claws sharp, it made a swipe at the smaller girl.

Raven grunted as she barely dodged the attack. She felt hot claws dig into her back and blood trickle down her side. She inhaled sharply as searing pain flashed through her body and she stumbled away from another attack. This was not good.

“Die,” the demon growled and started to run towards her.

“Raven!”

She faintly heard Tim in the background but her eyes were focused on the demon that was charging towards her. This whole situation was pissing her off. This stupid cult should have never started trying to bring demons into the world. Her brothers should just fuck off. And if she got her hands on one of the cult members, she’d –

The demon yelped as Raven’s soul self rose from her body. Her energy pulsed, anger and frustration running through her system. Her demon brothers should not be here. They should be no where civilians. She growled as her eyes glowed red, and her soul rose higher. Inky tendrils flooded the clearing, crawling over the floor and towards the two demons who were frozen to the stop.

Tim’s eyed widened as he watched Raven turn into her soul self. She rose off the ground, black energy pulsing through the air and black tentacles slithering across the floor towards the two demons. He inhaled sharply as her red eyes glowed, her face hooded and a shadow if a raven looming over her. He had never seen Raven use this kind of power before in battle, his heart hammered in his chest as a black tendril slithered just past his boots and towards the demon he and Batman were fighting earlier.

“Don’t come back,” Raven growled and with pulse of black energy, the demons were engulfed in the black tendrils. There were loud howls of pain and the tendrils crushed the demons into the ground. Black dust billowed in the air before slowly settling on the ground. The black tendrils slithered on the ground for a moment, before retreating back into Raven’s cape. Nothing was left of the demons.

“Raven,” Batman stepped next to Tim, watching as Raven lingered in the air. Her eyes continued to glow red as she stared at the pentagram on the forest floor. She turned to Batman, red eyes furrowed.

“They’re gone,” Batman supplied, waiting on guard for Raven’s next move.

Red eyes blinked and they flashed white. Familiar large purple-blue eyes stared down at Red Robin and Batman and she let out a soft gasp. The black energy around her disappeared and she landed unsteadily on her feet. She sent them an apologetic look.

“Sorry you had to see that,” she mumbled. She glanced at the pentagram before adjusting the hood over her head.

Batman nodded, eyes narrowing as he surveyed the scene. The cult members that summoned the demons were long gone after making a run for it during the battle. His frown deepened. This cat and mouse chase had to stop soon.

“You’re bleeding,” announced Red Robin, looking at the blossoming red patch over Raven’s right shoulder.

She forgot about that. Drawing her left hand underneath her cloak, Raven pressed her hand against the torn flesh. She winced. This might take a while to heal. “It’ll heal,” she said.

Tim frowned. He knew about her healing abilities, but he also knew that the display of massive amounts of energy can slow down her healing process. “Let’s go back to the cave,” he said. “Ride the Batmobile with us,”

Raven made a face. “I’ll fly,” she said and began levitating.

Batman frowned. “You lost blood and your energy is low. Better just ride with us,”

She waved them off and spun on her heels. Like hell was she going to ride a car in a shape of a bat. She knew they’d drive like Dick – like lunatics. “See you at the cave,” and without waiting for their reply, she flew off.

Batman frowned. “Stubborn,” he clicked his tongue.

Tim chuckled. “Seems pretty familiar,”

They arrived at the Batcave in record time and found Alfred making his way down into the med bay of the cave with some medical supplies and a steaming cup of tea. Alfred stopped and watched his two charges jump out of the Batmobile and remove their cowls. “Miss Raven is in the med bay. She arrived a few moments ago and we’ve been working on cleaning her wounds. Some of the cuts ran in deeper than expected,” he supplied as the trio walked towards the med bay.

Tim nodded, long black hair falling into his eyes. Pushing it back, he offered Alfred a soft smile. “Thanks, Al,”

Raven looked up from tending to her wounds. She had peeled off the top of her uniform, leaving her in a utilitarian black sports bra. Her bloodied cloak hung over the end of the bed she sat on. A bloodied sterile gauze was in her left hand, fresh from wiping away some of the blood from the back of her shoulder. “Hey,”

Bruce noticed the bloodied gauze. “Are you alright?”

Raven shrugged. “I’ve had worse,” she said. She thanked Alfred when he set new supplies next to her. “My family doesn’t like me all to much. I can pretty much say the feeling is mutual,”

“Do you think they are after you?” Bruce asked. “The demon you fought looked keen in killing you,”

Raven rolled her eyes. “Most people, and metas, would like to see me gone once they know who and what I am,” she sent a knowing smirk at Bruce, remembering the first time she met the Justice League and asked for help. It wasn’t a warm welcome, to say the least. She shook her head when Bruce continued to stare at her. “Honestly, no. I don’t think so. I’m not really very welcome in the family after we killed Trigon. We’re just dealing with a ragtag team of cult members and blood thirsty demons who find themselves on earth for the first time with no idea what to do expect kill,”

Bruce nodded. He sighed and pushed himself away from the medical cabinet he was leaning against. “Okay,” he began. “We’ll keep our ears close to the ground and listen for any new activities. I’ll coordinate with Oracle and see what we can do,” he said and began making his way out of the med bay. “Rest and get your energy back,”

“Understood,” replied Raven, watching Batman leave.

“Need help?”

Purple eyes slid over to Tim, her stare heavy and calculating. Raven reminded Tim a lot of Bruce, he could barely read her emotions. He eyed the bloodied gauze in her hand and took a small step forward, faintly wondering if he was stepping over boundaries. She was after all, half naked and they barely knew each other. Emphasis on the half-naked.

Raven watched Tim take another step forward, a tentative smile playing on his lips. She could feel several emotions coming off of him – concern, interest, curiosity, attraction. Raven blinked. Tim was so different from all the other Robin’s she met. Dick was a mix of seriousness with a strong intent of proving himself, he was strong willed, guarded, and such a hardheaded asshole sometimes; Jason was a wild mix of chaos and charm, and Damian was, well, Damian. The young boy was practically a storm of emotions. But Tim, Tim of all the Robins was a sea of calm in all of the chaos that goes around them – despite of the amount of caffeine he kept on drinking. She knew that he was the smartest of the Robins; an excellent strategist – she could practically feel how fast his brain works. Yet, he was so different from all the wildly active Robins she knew in her life. This intrigued Raven.

She titled her head and offered Tim a small smile. “Okay,”

Tim paused briefly, surprised that she would let him help her. Nodding, he stepped behind her on the med table and took a look at the three wounds that ran along her shoulder blades. He whistled at the sight of the gaping wounds. “Yikes,” Tim made a face. “Remind me to never get on the bad side of your family,”

Raven snorted.

With nimble fingers, he finished cleaning the wounds and set out to stitch them closed. He noted a few other scars that ran down her back and sides and disappeared into her uniform. He faintly wondered where they were from and what stories they told. These were not in her medical files. He always taught she could just heal herself completely.

“Sometimes, when I’m too tired, my healing process is slower than normal. Sometimes some scars stay,” said Raven suddenly, tilting her head just a little bit so she could see Tim over her shoulder.

Tim paused, blue eyes widening in surprise as they connected with amused purple eyes. His needle hovered close to her skin. “Huh? I –”

Using her good hand, she tapped the side of her head. “You think pretty loudly,” she quirked her lips. “Also, empath.”

“Oh!” Cheeks warmed, blue eyes averted from her amused purple ones and Tim focused on closing the wound on her shoulder. “Sorry,”

Raven shrugged, a small amused smile playing on her lips. “It’s okay,”

Tim concentrated on finishing his patch up job, trying to slow his thoughts down. After a few more moments of silence and after finally, finally, taping the last gauze over the wound, Tim was done. “I’m sure Cyborg does a better job at the tower,” he said after stepping away from the bed.

Raven looked at her shoulder briefly and hummed softly. Cyborg did a better job, but Tim didn’t need to know that. She looked up at Tim and tilted her head. “Thanks for the help,” she said and hopped off the table. She looked at what remained of her torn leotard and wondered if it was even worth trying to slip back on. She let out an exasperated sigh. Just her luck.

Tim watched Raven struggle to put her torn uniform back on. He averted his eyes briefly when he caught sight of her sports bra. Also, abs!

“Oh, wait. Here,” he said trying to hide his flustered voice and quickly turned on his heels, rummaging through one of the medical cabinets. Making a triumphant sound at the back of his throat, Tim turned around and grinned, offering Raven a grey t-shirt.

“I keep this here for emergencies,” he said as Raven took the offered shirt.

Raven chuckled softly and slipped on the oversized Superman shirt on her. She practically disappeared into the shirt as it hung over her body and fell mid-thigh. It was nice and soft, very comfortable. She looked at the worn Superman logo and she lifted an eyebrow at Tim. “Nice merch,”

Tim laughed, desperately trying to ignore how cute (?!?!) Raven looked in his shirt – she looked so small! “We taught it’d be nice to annoy Bruce once in a while,” he said. Blue eyes twinkled. “Jason has a full wardrobe and, uh, boxers,”

Raven rolled her eyes, amused still. “Of course he does,” her lips quirked a bit in a little smile. She picked up her torn robe and nodded at Tim. “Thanks for the help, Tim. I’m going to rest now,”

“No problem. Good night, Raven,” Tim watched as Raven walked out of the med bay, movements slow and graceful. As he watched her, he quickly squashed down any thoughts of how good she looked in his shirt. Tim swallowed and looked away, instead focused on putting away all medical equipment they just used. Notes, Tim, notes. Raven’s healing process is slower when she is drained. May leave scaring when healing slows down. Scars dip down the small of her back and tiny waist – oh god.

“Good night, Tim,”

Tim paused from returning the antiseptic and saw Raven pause briefly at the doorway and glance at him briefly before slipping through it. Tim blinked.

So much for taking notes, Tim.

#TimRae #RaeTim #Red Robin #Raven #TimRae Fanfiction #TimRae Fanfic RobRae #tim/raven #teen titans #fanfiction #rachel roth #Curiosity TimRae

[praphit]

Gretel & Hansel: White people, hear me!

I know, I know, some of y'all were hoping that my next review would be Taylor Swift's "Miss Americana". 

I'm sorry to disappoint you. Why and how is she still making movies anyway? I thought that everyone associated with "Cats" had been banned from Hollywood.

Now, it WOULD be cool, if Taylor got involved in Horror. I'm thinking that a bunch of horror monsters could get together to track her down; kinda like a contest. They would, you know... do their thing to her, and then bring her back from the dead in the sequel, and repeat the process. Every now and then, they could throw in Justin Bieber or someone else with his same level of annoyance. BOOM! Franchise! So, donate to Praphit Productions (millions), so I can make that happen. I'll just CG Taylor Swift in, if I have to; I'm sure she'd be ok with that.

Just picture Jason Voorhees or Kanye West chasing her.

No, people, I'm here to talk to y'all about Hansel & Gretel!

No, no, no, I'm sorry! "Gretel and Hansel!"

I almost forgot about that blow up in their studio. Y'all remember that?

Sophia Lillis' (who plays Gretel - SHE’S GREAT IN THIS-BTW) first day on the set was raw! 

She walked up to the director and was like "Bleep this bleep! Who is Hansel? Who the bleep is he?! No one knows that actor! What is he, like 5 years old? Bleep him! How is his name first?! So, a woman can't lead a man, huh??! It's always gotta be Hansel first, right?! And what always happens?! That witch bitch always tries to eat them! Bleep that! Y'all know who I is! I'm Sophia bleeping Lillis! I was in "It" one AND two. What has "Sammy Leakey" (playing Hansel) been in??!

Not a damned thing! I want my name first! You will put it first or so help me God, I will UNLEASH THE FURY!"

Director (Oz Perkins): "I actually like that idea"

SL: "I don't give a bleep what you like! Just make it happen!" 

Then, she went to her trailer, and when she came back out, it was "Gretel & Hansel".

(Hansel’s not even in the shot. Lillis was too raw for him.)

Let's see if Gretel fairs better in this story, now that she's getting the chance to lead.

We all know this Brothers Grimm story. There's a family (I don't know what Gretel & Hansel's last name is... we'll just say "Shakur"). So, the Shakur Family was struck by a famine in the land. Stuff happens, and G & H end up off on their own, in the woods, and eventually meet up with a witch, who later tries to eat them.

White people, hear me! Are you listening? STOP GOING INTO THE WOODS! Seriously, STOP! I'm trying to save you. Black people know better, but y'all... smh. I know y'all like to go hiking, and camping, and taking selfies on mountain tops and shit, but PLEASE... STOP! Nothing good is waiting for you out there!

Quit going into the woods to get footage of alleged monsters/spirits. Quit going into the woods to spend the night in cabins. Quit going into the woods to party on the anniversary of the night that 12 people were mysteriously murdered in those same woods. STOP!

JUST STOP! DAMN!

Some of you might be thinking, "Well maybe Gretel will make it. Maybe now that she's leading the duo, things will be different." Nope, she's white... *sigh* so we all know what she and Hansel did...  went right into the woods.

This movie is mainly from Gretel's perspective. Right from the jump, we see Gretel being pimped out by her mama. Gretel of course declines to become a professional hoe, but when she comes back to her mama for a possible different direction in life, Mama is like "Would it have killed you to get on your knees for your family?! We're starving!"

I know - Mom of the Year.

Dad isn't even around. I may have missed something, but I don't remember where he was, or if maybe he ran away, a long time ago. One of those "Daddy went to get a pack of cigs, and never came back" scenarios. He may be off in a land flowing with Big Macs and Fries, Idk. Or maybe, being that his "selfish" daughter wouldn't put-out, he decided to get to work on the corner himself. Who knows where he was in this movie??

Gretel was def tough though. And she loved her brother! She was very protective of him. There is a scene where there's some sort of vampire creature chasing down Hansel, and Gretel stands up to the creature. That's the type of character that she is in this movie. She's smart, tough, and though sometimes hard on her bro, she loves him very much.

Hansel on the other hand is annoying as shit. And Dumb! Man, is he dumb! I'm surprised that we never see Gretel slap him. But, she is always able to compose herself in the midst of her annoying brother, and keep the journey going. She even calms him down at one point with some drugs. They end up eating some shrooms on their trip. Now, THAT'S love, people! Seeing someone in need of calming the bleep down, and offering them some good shit. What's a road trip without a moment when the group gets high??

There's a Lando-looking character that they meet along the way. 

He doesn't have much of a role in this movie. I'm not saying it's because he's black, BUT he's a fascinating, noble character, who's black and barely in the movie. And they do not trust him at all. I'm not saying it's because he's black... you know what?? - YES! Yes I am saying that!

He saves their lives, offers them food and shelter, and gives them specific instructions that will keep them safe. But, after that (the only character so far that has had G & H's best interests in mind), Gretel immediately questions his motives. White women, hear me! If a black man willingly sticks out his neck for you, IN THE DARKNESS, in order to save YOUR life, that's a man that you can trust. Cuz we (black men) all know, that if we try to save a white woman out in public (even if we succeed), there's a good chance that the cops will still swing by to shoot us. They're thinking just like Gretel is in this movie - "I know it LOOKS like they saved her, but... can we really trust him? - let's shoot him just in case." Granted, this Landoish character sends them off (again with instructions for their safety). They had no quarrels about leaving (and quickly).

So, they runaway from the compassionate black man, who just saved them, and they meet an old lady (the witch) who has black fingers, and house smells a lil like death... and they say to themselves "Let's sleep here!" Ain't that some shit??! 

White people, HEAR ME!

STOP!

They don't even question her black fingers, they just let her handle their food. I question people of whom I don't know, with normal fingers, handling my food, but... I guess that's just me.

Then, the rest of the story is legend.

The production design in this movie is absolutely amazing! If this film had no dialogue, and was just silent, it still would have been a beautiful movie (despite the cannibalism:)

The plot, I felt, was secondary to the cinematography.

Some of you might say, "Well that's nice and all, but is the movie scary? Does the witch, at some point, rev-up a chainsaw, and chase the two kids around her house?" No. "Ok, but does the movie, at some point, have little, pale Asian kids making creepy noises at H & G while they're trying to sleep?" NO! "Yeah, but is there some sort of human centipede action happening in the basement of the witch, and she tries to..."

NO! NO! HELL NO! What's wrong with y'all?!

No, none of that. The story that The Brothers Grimm have painted is horrifying enough. Famine and crappy parenting, leading to witch who wants to eat you... I'd say that's all that's required; the director knows this.

They don't need to use any gimmicks, just the same story (pretty much), a lil dark magic, the mentioned cinematography, and well-placed spooky music keep the movie in a consistent place of dread.

I think RT got this one wrong (59%). I don't have much bad to speak of, concerning this movie. I can't give it an A grade, due to it being a copy of a story that we've seen copied many times before. Plus, there are some ending issues I have with it, that I'll get to in a sec. BUT, this film is a hell of a B grade :)

SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!

SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!

SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I WARNED YOU!

A few things:

Soooooo, Gretel has some sort of connection to the witch that is never explained. Apparently, she has within her, the same powers as the witch.

She ends up sending her bro off to Lord knows where. She sends him off on a horse that she says she SPOKE TO, and he (the horse) will get Hansel there (where? who knows??) safely. So, she's talking the animals now?? When did she pick-up that skill? And where the bleep did she even get a horse?

There's some super grease that her and the witch use to do magic, that is never explained.

Now, none of this took away from my enjoyment of the film, but... still though.

There's a message of false empowerment at the end. Like I said, she abandons her brother, so that she can... fulfill her destiny or something. She has dark magic in her, but she is convinced that she'll use it for good. Like I said, Gretel is a SMART character... what happened to all of that smart? It's like saying "Hey, I have this STD, but instead of tending to it, I'm going to use my STD for good. It's going to be hard, but I've gotta be strong."

WHAT?!

I said "false empowerment". The movie isn't painting a picture of this being a good thing, but the "false" part is subtle enough to where people could walk away thinking it's an empowering message.

You abandoned your brother to become a witch! But, maybe I'm not being fair. Perhaps Gretel will be just fine. Throughout the history of human beings, we've had many people who were in power, and who thought that not allowing their power to be checked was the brave and noble thing to do. I think those times in history all worked out well right??

I could have added some pics to accentuate my last statement, but I feel it might have been a little too real:)

So, instead I'll leave y'all with this slightly less horrifying pic

... and bid you adieu.

STAY OUT OF THE WOODS!

#gretel & hansel #john praphit #praphitproductions.com #movies #Movie Reviews #Horror Movies #praphit #taylor swift #miss americana #sophia lillis #oz perkins #hanselandgretel #witches #cats #black people #white people

[agentwallflower]

Supernova: Prologue

Here it is. Back at it again at Krispy Kreme. Here’s the prologue to the new novel. I hope y’all like it, and thank you for the wait as I decompressed from finishing HTT. I hope you like this new series just as much.

Also, like I mentioned. I have a Ko-Fi under my mostly legal name my life is a lie I know I’m sorry if you want to drop me some change after. I didn’t set the price, I’m just a free user... I don’t even like coffee. I’m a Coke Zero man.

Anyway, enough text written through. Here’s the chapter! Next one is going up on April 18th! Stay safe, and wash your hands!

Dark nights were busy nights, and even at the end of the millennium that was no different.

“PT, have you finished patrolling the area yet?”

The ancient speaker crackled in her ear. PT scowled as she glanced around, taking note of the forms in the darkness. None of them would be getting up anytime soon, they were hurting a little too much for that. Sweat dripped down her forehead as she pressed the device in her ear, wincing at the static feedback.

She hated that thing.

“Yeah, I'm done here. How about you, Ember?”

It didn't take long for the other end to respond as she started to walk, the heavy coating on her boots squeaking ever so slightly as she walked. By now, she was used to it – it was either do that, or have her shoes melt every time she powered up. Small price to pay for not having to keep buying more, even if the people she dealt with tended to call her a squeaky toy.

They only did it once, mind you. Then they got knocked on their ass. It was a quick learning process.

“Pretty much. Everywhere else looks to be -” Ember paused, probably to choose her words wisely. They hated the word she would've used – it was a damn jinx. “So far so good. We've got thirty minutes to the secular new year. As long as Spark keeps an eye on the system, there shouldn't be any problems here computer wise.”

Great – maybe then she'd get to sleep off the rest of her shift instead of listening to some tech whine about the end of the world. Though, she realized she was being a little unfair as she walked – it was probably the headache. Holidays always caused an uptick in activity, even when it was below freezing out. You think people who had been born and raised in the little middle of nowhere called Bear Paw, Ohio would know that... but in the end alcohol was one hell of a drug.

Then again, she was from Russia and she was out there – she definitely should've known better.

PT left the alley behind her, merging back onto the main road that made up her patrol. The merrymakers paid her no heed as she walked, even though she was wearing a mask. They were used to her by now. She was glad for that. With how much energy she was using, she was going to have one hell of a headache in the morning.

Thirty minutes left, huh... well, the 90's had sucked, so what would the 00's bring with them?

“PT, are you there?”

A deep voice shook the woman from her reverie. She blinked back surprise as she pushed the button to begin the conversation. They didn't need to say who they were – she knew that voice anywhere. Could practically hear it in her sleep. Actually did some times – bastard was always waking her up for something.

“Yeah, Paladin?”

Their team leader as it was kept it simple. “Something's strange at the old packing district. Meet me there. Nova's not answering their com and they were spotted heading in.”

PT swore as she broke out into a jog and threaded her way through the sparse crowd. That was a good ten minute run away, and she really could've used a chance to not sweat. She was already coated in the stuff, and if she lost focus... well, the city would be on her ass. It was bad enough when she intentionally melted the place with acid – she still had a headache from the last time.

In her defense, she did pay taxes... but try telling them that.

“When's the last time you got in contact with them?”

Paladin sounded as though he was running too – quite a feat considering his battle gear. “About twenty minutes ago. I had hoped they would have contacted you since you two are partners.”

At that, PT snickered despite herself. “You know Nova, their damn head is always in the clouds. Probably forgot to push the button or something.”

Her gut was hoping for that, rather than... well, it made the acid try to escape from her throat in a way her body didn't like. Despite telling herself Nova would be fine, something didn't sit right with her about the whole thing. Why the packing district? And why at this time?

Something was up... and her bones were already aching.

It wasn't hard to find Paladin when she closed in on the packing district. The glow from a weak overhead streetlight bounced off the metal of his shield, currently strapped to his back. He wore his nickname well, especially on a night like that. Just looking at him made PT cold as she came to a stop at his side.

“We got any optics?”

Her voice carried over the silence. There should have been more energy – the city's homeless often took up residence in the abandoned buildings thanks to the fact they were dry and mostly quiet. But it was like the whole place was dead – a graveyard without any tombstones. That didn't make her feel any better, to say the least.

Paladin shook his head. “I asked a man passing by, but he didn't see anything. We're going to have to go in. The counter's kicking up.”

He nodded to the device in his hand. It was something they all carried if they were working with the other hero. Without it, they had no idea if it was safe to get close to them, or if they should turn up the protection in their gear. Right then, it was a little on the high side, but not an all out emergency yet. Nova was kicking up some energy, but it wasn't enough to suggest a fight.

But they were leaking energy nonetheless.

PT grimaced at the sight as she fiddled with the device on her wrist. “Let's go in slow. As far as we know, they're following a stray cat or something.”

“That does sound like Nova. Maybe they just found a nice calico.”

There were 10 minutes left in the old millennium as the pair started into the district, steps quick but measured. Something about it was making the hair on both their arms raise. Though neither said it, both had the same feeling – turn back or else.

And, like idiots on the clock, they ignored it. They seriously didn't get paid enough for doing this.

It was deathly quiet in the compound, with the wind whistling through the cracks. Not even the rats were scurrying as Paladin and PT kept their eyes peeled for a hint that their missing comrade was there. With every step they took, the counter in the man's hand continued to beep. Had they not had protection, things could have been dicey.

“Are you sure they're not fighting? It's getting high.” PT's voice was a whisper as she glanced around in the pitch black night. Since no one was around to pay the bills anymore, there were no lights. They were too far from the street for anything else, and the flashlight from her wrist did little but cast a small circle in front of her feet. She may have seen better in the dark, but this was a bit much even for her standards.

Paladin's voice was higher than usual. “We would have at least heard explosions by now. Nova's fighting style isn't subtle.”

His eyes narrowed and he pointed. “There. That door doesn't look like it's been on the ground for very long.”

PT followed his finger to a building near the back of the compound. The remains of the heavy steel door lay yards away from the gaping opening that looked as though it had been pulled apart by someone's fists. The shredded metal edges, when they got closer to inspect them, didn't have so much as a hint of rust on the ends.

The meter clicked even higher, towards dangerous levels, the moment they walked through the recently made entrance. A few steps more, and it hit the other side and stopped moving. The pair exchanged glances, and then dialed up the controls on their protective gear even higher. It beeped in protest, and then fell silent.

Though the dust lay thick on the concrete ground, scuff marks in the floor indicated something had moved towards the stairs. Something dark hissed on the floor, eating a hole in the rock and melting through the railing. Incredible heat leaked from the floor below, enough to knock the air from their lungs.

A bright light nearly blinded them both. They closed their eyes at the right time, training having kicked in. Then there was silence, and a low bubbling hiss that sounded as though someone had upended a vat of acid. Normally that was a comforting sound to PT, but it froze the blood in her veins even amid the heat.

“Miri? Leo? You... get out, now.” A small voice, monotone and yet so tired, sounded from the basement below. “It's... I can't hold it. I'm sorry...”

The meter broke in Paladin's hands. It didn't take the pair much convincing as they turned on their heels and fled the building. Behind them, a wall of incredible heat all but blew them out into the empty yard that stretched out below them.

PT grabbed for her headset with trembling hands and switched it on. “Radar, put out a state wide alert, they're going nuclear!”

“What?!” A voice screeched in her ear with the furious clicking of keys. “I can get the warning out, but there's no way to get you out in time!

Paladin's voice rose above. “Don't worry about us, Mercer.”

There was a finality to his voice that made the world fall silent, even as the world rapidly heated and grew brighter. PT had already thrown away her broken device and was bracing for what was to come. She didn't need to look at him, she felt it. There was always a rush of energy as he gathered his energy to form a shield around them.

“But... sir...”

The man had a smile in his voice. “It's ok. Just make sure the alert goes out. I'll see what I can do here. This is Paladin, signing off.”

“PT, signing off as well.” PT's voice was strong as she heard the com link die. Despite the sweat dripping down her brow, she smiled crookedly as she turned to her partner. “Kind of funny, the two of us dying together. My mother always wanted me to meet a nice Jewish guy.”

His laugh shook the world as a glittering, translucent shield powered up over them. “You know your mother would have hated me, even if I wasn't married. But let's stay positive, the blast might not kill us.”

“That fills me with so much confidence, you know that right?”  

There wasn't much more time for words after that. Just as the clock struck midnight on the new millennium, a large explosion rocked not just the city block, but the entire town. Bright light, stronger than any firework, shot up in the sky and turned night to day. Unbelievable heat bounced off the shield, cracking it but never causing it to shatter. But it glittered against it all the same.

Sometimes, it was nice to be friends with one of the strongest psychics in the world.

PT's eyes were shut, but her hearing worked just fine as the world was one big explosion. If not for Paladin's shield, her hearing would have been gone. For that matter, so would the rest of them. In the back of her mind, she could remember Nova warning them should the day ever come. Funny now things worked out that way.

Tears still leaked from her eyes as she hunkered down against the blast. “Damn it, Cass... what was so serious you'd go out like this?”

She didn't get an answer, or anything other than the noise and light. Maybe, if she was trying to delude herself, Nova was whispering goodbye. Eventually, sometime in 2000, the noise and sound slowly started to ebb away.

Paladin released his shield with a trembling arm ten minutes later. Sweat was pouring down his face as he dropped to his knees, breathing hard. The fact they were still breathing was a miracle in and of itself. Some in the area wouldn't be so lucky – though no doubt he had tried to project to them. Finding those bodies was going to be... unpleasant to say the least.

But at least they were alive enough to be on body retrieval duty instead of the ones being picked up. Ember was big on that look on the bright side thing, must have rubbed off.

“We survived the blast.” his words were a hoarse whisper. “Now what?”

PT had to remember the fact she was alive at all as she slowly opened her eyes. The dust was just starting to settle, blanketing the ground. What had once been a couple warehouses was a giant hole in the ground. She heard the sirens in the distance, and an approaching helicopter overhead. The police were going to be all over this.

Not just the police... there was no way they were going to be able to keep this quiet. If they were lucky, they wouldn't lock the entire area down to go digging in the hole. That... well it was something she had promised Nova once. And she was a woman who kept her word.

She swallowed hard past a lump in her throat that hopefully wouldn't turn into cancer in a couple years. They had both probably kicked up their risks for that by a thousand clicks or so. For all she knew, she was just one big tumor now under the skin. “We wait until whatever's down there cools off enough to pick up and wish it a happy birthday.”

Her watch had frozen on the date – January 1, 2000. It was as good a birth and death date as any, she supposed, though the headache they were about to get from the fallout would last for years to come. Even there, amid the ruins of the warehouse, she could feel it in her bones.

What a way to ring in a new year.

Paladin nodded towards the hole. “May their memory be a blessing.”

“I don't think anyone's going to forget them with - “ PT bit her lip. She couldn't finish that. “Yeah... what you said.”

She swallowed hard, eyes burning. “I uh... we're going to have to make some calls. See who we can get in as a replacement for Nova.”

That shouldn't be hard. It wasn't like Bear Paw had just become a nightmare zone or anything. Maybe they would get hazard pay out of it. PT wasn't sure, and right then she didn't really care as she stared at the hole where her partner had once been.

Replace Nova? Impossible.

“We'll start looking once we deal with this.” Paladin squeezed her shoulder. “You should call your family and wish them a happy New Year once we get out of decontamination.”

“Yeah... you too. Tell the kids aunt Miri said hi.”

Normalcy; it was the last thing PT expected as she waited for the world to stop spinning. But she had to try, if not for Nova's sake then for her own. She could already see the sirens in the distance, rushing towards them at top speed. With them came the questions nobody would want to answer. Their little town was about to get a whole lot louder, and probably busier too.

She had wanted a little more action but... not like this. Guess it was a careful what you wish for sort of thing.

#Yeah Chuck is a penname lol... #But I've been testing it out as a new name for myself one day maybe #Matthews came from a brother that died before I was born #I like to take him with me #Also I'm sorry if things are missing letters #my keyboard is slowly giving up the ghost #Supernova Collision Trilogy

[chemicalmagecraft]

The Gamer Hero, Deku Chapter 17

A/N: I know I said that I probably wouldn't post for a while because finals, but then I had a flash of inspiration and my poor time management instincts took over. But seriously, now that I'm done clearing my WIPs so they don't distract me later, it'll probably be a week or so until I start working on my fanfics again. Need to do a bunch of essays, then I'm giving myself a bit of time to be lazy once break starts up. So for once, I'd like to ask you guys to not give me suggestions for a bit...

The first part of this chapter is something that I figured should happen eventually. How would magic change an already superhuman society?

Have a Little Feith: Thanks for the suggestion! I certainly don't mind using legendaries, however I already have plans for that particular one. My idea for Momo was more along the lines of manufacture.

Xekless: With the exception of elementals, humans (and some animals) are the only inherently magical beings that exist as of this point in the story. Let's just say there's a reason nobody knew of magic before Midoriya...

xoxoxo

In the weeks leading up to the sports festival, we saw a surprising amount of magical advancements in the world. Supernatural healing, which was once considered rare and often involved some sort of caveat that meant it couldn't be used freely, turned into a matter of training, skill, and mana, even if it was weaker. I actually did some volunteer work helping some local hospitals out with the spells, as well as the regular medical help I needed to do for Shuzenji-sensei's healing course.

While only lightning mana could be directly converted into electricity, special generators were built to use other kinds of mana as fuel, meaning more people could work at power plants and more clean energy. There was probably also research being done to use mana as it was. More water-users meant improved water services. Construction businesses flourished with earth mages. Apparently Uraraka's parents in particular gained some profit because she was able to use her elementals to get her parents a few interesting spells in their elements. She and Aizawa were really happy about that, actually.

Conservation only benefited from a new wave of bio-elementalists and other kinds of magic-users. In fact, I heard there was a group that was in the process of getting permits to use magic to deal with the trash in the sea and on the beaches better. Not to mention, even unaspected magic was incredibly useful in agriculture, so farms were able to produce more crops. I even heard about some experiments in infusing plants with magic, which sounded interesting.

While there was, unfortunately, a bit of a rise in villain attacks with the advent of magic, pro heroes were better able to combat it with the fact that hero agencies had more or less turned into modern-day mage guilds. I'm sure there was someone out there biding their time until they learned how to cast Ultima or Raise Greater Undead, but at the same time pro heroes were organized, well-funded, and now produced their own spells, so they could handle it. I even saw on the news that the Wild, Wild Pussycats now had a series of cat-themed spells.

There were still some limitations on dissemination of magical knowledge to the general public, but a few weak spells were made available to everyone. With the buzz about magic, I heard there were talks about reducing Quirk- and magic-usage laws, which was exciting. I mean, I may or may not have been using my magic in public a bit already, but it'd be nice to be a bit less sneaky about it...

xoxoxo

"Poor thing," I said as I looked at the small, gold-furred cat that Juniper alerted me was in a nearby alley. She was missing part of her right foreleg, and the stump was bleeding. She had a few more scrapes, and her fur was dirty. She gave me a weak meow. I'd always liked cats, so I felt a pang in my heart to see one so hurt. "What happened to you?

Stray Cat

LV 6

Kitten

I reached my hand out to her, but she shied away. I concentrated, trying to use Magycked Words to put my intention into what I was about to say. "I want to help," I murmured in a soothing tone, then closed a popup for a new skill, Animal Whisperer. She looked a little bit calmer now. "Good, now just hold... still..." I slowly reached my hand out to her, whispering affirmations to her. She let me touch her, and I activated Healing Hands. "That's a good girl. I'm healing you now."

Unfortunately Healing Hands couldn't do much for her missing limb, but at least it wasn't bleeding anymore. After her wounds were dealt with, I gave her a quick rinse to clean her off, making sure to dry her off completely before she could get cold. Oddly enough, though, her temperature didn't drop at all from the water. She purred at me, now doing much better. She didn't have a collar, but... "Does she have a chip on her, Raimon?" I asked.

"I don't... think so?" he said. "I can't find anything like that on her."

I grinned. "Then I guess you're coming with me, girl." I picked her up. "A cat with golden fur... I think I have the purrfect name for you." She purred, and her fur... glowed. She got really warm. "Okay nevermind Yang it is," I said.

Stray Cat

LV 6

Yang

A cat with a Quirk... I'd heard of people having pets with Quirks before but I wasn't entirely sure what the rules were. I assumed I'd have to register her, though.

"Don't you still have school today?" Claude asked.

I bolted up. "Crap! School!" I looked at the time. Kacchan was probably looking for me. I looked around for a place to put Yang, then had an idea.

xoxoxo

"The hell were you taking so long?" Kacchan asked me when I ran up to him.

"I, uhhh... had a magic thing?" I said, then rubbed the back of my head.

Wait crud that's was the wrong hand! I quickly lowered my arm, but not before a meow escaped from my sleeve...

"Why the fuck did I just hear a cat?" Kacchan asked.

"Oh I don't know, maybe there's a cat nearby?" Kacchan looked around, then focused on my sleeve. I acted totally natural, nothing up my sleeves at all! For a second I felt like he would buy it.

He didn't buy it.

"Oi Deku, what's up your sleeve?" He grabbed my hand a bit more forcefully than I'd have liked, causing it to fall out of my sleeve. "...What the actual fuck," he said after a few moments of holding my disembodied right hand.

"Stupid Rayman limbs..." I muttered.

"Meow," Yang said as she poked her head out of my sleeve. To be honest I wasn't entirely sure how my sleeve was staying in proper shape considering most of my forearm was made out of air, but it was. Somehow.

"Did... Is your arm a cat now?" He looked between my still very much real hand and the cat's head coming from my sleeve. "You know what, I'm going to hold your hand hostage until you fucking explain."

"Not my hand!" I shouted. "I need that to not get arrested." I started trying to fly my hand out of Kacchan's grasp. Because my hand was attached to a body part I'd turned to air, it could fly. Somehow. It wasn't strong enough to escape Kacchan, though. Actually, I wondered how much of my body I had to turn into air before the rest would fly. I'd have to test that later...

"Stop muttering and answer the damn question."

"I wasn't just going to leave Yang there! She lost a leg."

Kacchan facepalmed, letting go of my hand. It floated back to Yang, and I scratched her chin with it before nudging her back so I could put my hand back in place. She was taking Air Embodiment surprisingly well. I was actually a little worried she'd activate her Quirk... "You named her already. In hindsight, though, I'm more surprised you haven't done something like this already. Actually, is it okay that the cat's breathing your arm?" He stopped walking and just rubbed his temples. "Hang... hang on, I just need a fucking moment to process how fucking absurd that last sentence was."

"I've confirmed that it's perfectly safe for both me and whatever's breathing me. Same for other elements. And I'm sure someone's said something like that before."

He started walking again. "Right. Your life is fucking weird. Not gonna give myself a headache. So how long can you do that?"

"Partial Embodiment is a lot less taxing than Full Embodiment, so it's just slightly more than what Mantra gives me back. In fact, if I get another point of INT, then it might just break even. If I use Meditate every so often, I'll be able to keep this up until we get home. Assuming we don't have practicals in Hero Studies today."

He shrugged. "Fuck it, good for you. Now we should probably hurry as fast as we can without you jostling the cat. We're already a little late."

xoxoxo

I was walking in the hallway on my own when I heard a meow. I froze and so did Aizawa-sensei, who was walking past me. I silently pleaded with Sonia to help. She gave me a grin. A grin I could almost describe as like the Cheshire Cat's...

"Meow," she said. Audibly. Even with Gamer's Mind, I could feel my heart pounding. I tried not to let it show on my face. I tensed up, though, when Yang meowed again. Though I noticed that Aizawa also grimaced. Yang pushed my hand out of the way, but at the same time a black cat with golden eyes poked her head out of Aizawa-sensei's capture weapon.

Alley Cat

LV 4

Blake

I nodded at him.

He nodded at me.

Yang and Blake meowed at each other.

I offered Aizawa-sensei my right arm in an invitation to pet Yang. He gratefully did so, then pointed to Blake. I used my floating right hand to pet her.

We nodded to each other, then gently nudged our cats back into their hiding spots and walked away. I had to Meditate in the bathroom for a bit because the stress of the moment deactivated Mantra, though.

We never talked about our encounter, though we did trade a few cat puns later in the day. I'm not an expert, but I think that makes us brothers.

xoxoxo

"Hey mom?" I said as I opened the door. "I have something I'd like to ask you about..."

"What is it, sweetie?"

I brought Yang out from behind my back. "Her name is Yang."

Mom sighed. "Honey, you know a cat is a big responsibility..."

"I promise I'll take good care of her!" I promised.

She frowned, then nodded after a moment of thought. "Alright, you can keep her."

"Thank you!" I shouted. "Oh, uh... By the way, she has a Quirk..."

"Izuku..."

xoxoxo

As it turned out, the Japanese government is very approving of Quirky animals being pets with responsible owners, though there was some red tape surrounding it. It made sense that they wouldn't want animals who had no concept of Quirk usage laws just roaming the streets... First I had to get her registered and fitted with a special chip that could withstand a lot more heat than normal chips thanks to her fire-based Quirk. Then we had to go to specialized classes for us to be able to deal with her if she activated her Quirk. I also got a good prosthetic for her with some of the money I got for various prizes related to discovering magic.

Thanks to Animal Whisperer I gained an increased understanding of all animals. After a few talks with Yang, I could pretty much speak cat, which was neat. I was hoping to get a familiar skill, though. Even if I never used Yang like a proper familiar, a familiar skill might give me access to her Quirk, I Burn, which would be nice.

For my preparation for the sports festival, I decided to focus mainly on DEX and INT. Because I was more or less indestructible due to Damage Reduction and Elemental Embodiment, I didn't need to worry about VIT at all. Because of that, I decided to focus on my original idea I'd had before Roaring Muscles to train my DEX, though with INT training as well to power up my magic. It was close, but a few days before the sports festival I got both above one hundred.

DEX gave me three skills, Light Step, Flash Step, and Weird Flex. Light Step was the next version of Fleet Foot and Flash Step was, well, a Flash Step. I could use MP to cross a few meters in the blink of an eye. Weird Flex... had a fitting name. It seemed to just make me disturbingly flexible. The flavor text implied that it was what made contortionists contortionists, and I couldn't really disagree with that. It seemed like it'd be useful, though, because it was a passive that didn't use MP.

Raising INT gave me Mana Talent, Eye for Magic, and Open Mind. Mana Talent, like Light Step, was a better Mana Affinity. Eye for Magic, which I got because I had an eye-enhancing spell, was a spell that allowed me to "see" magic, which was absurdly useful. I could probably copy spells just by looking at them, for one. It gave me really bad eye strain, though. Open Mind was also a potentially useful spell. The flavor text said it was mind magic, which was useful in and of itself because it gave me a base for mind magic, and it allowed me to hear other people's thoughts. When I used it, I was able to hear the internal monologues of everyone in the spell's radius, and could hone in on one person in particular. I wouldn't use it much because it was clearly an invasion of privacy, but I was sure I could put it to good use.

With my stats where I wanted them, I spent the rest of the time before the sports festival practicing various spells and skills. The day of the sports festival, I knew I was ready.

xoxoxo

A/N: I thought of that scene with the cats and was legally obligated to write it. This is a little shorter than my usual chapters, but I figured you guys would prefer one short one now and then a longer one in however long it'll take me to do all my school stuff and then start the sports festival arc than just an especially long one later. And now I have no excuse not to do my schoolwork. Pray for me...

#fanfiction #bnha fanfiction #bnha #The Gamer Hero Deku #Gamer Hero Deku #GHD CH17

[miraculously-dedicated]

Ikari Gozen

🚨 HUGE SPOILER WARNING 🚨

The whole episode was played during the Miraculous Ladybug panel for SDCC so for those that wish to wait for the proper release, I will keep everything hidden under the “keep reading” tab. (it’s going to be super long anyway)

You still here?

Great, LET’S GET INTO IT!

HOLY SHIT I LOVED THIS EPISODE❤❤ (I say that for pretty much almost all episodes but can you really blame me?)

The friendship challenge sounded like a such a cute and cool concept that I personally really liked. Like you know how we have so many National something days that nobody really cares to much to even remember? PARIS DOESN’T HALF-ASS ANYTHING Y’ALL. They take the concepts that TRULY matter and make sure it is celebrated, respected, and appreciated to its fullest. Making sure to remind everyone about what’s truly important, keeping their faith in humanity strong, strengthening the communities bonds, just like in Heroes Day! It’s honestly just such a sweet feeling and I really wish people would talk about this concept more. I can’t wait too see what other fun events the show has planned.

Tomoe continues to be a badass. A good mother? ......UHHHH 😬😬

Aaww, Kagami just wants more friends.

WTF, THEIR CAR??? OKAY THEN. I guess I really shouldn’t be so surprised since they ARE rich. (Especially since Gabriel has a freaking hologram in his car, so that really makes the Tsurugi’s pale in comparison)

Ooooohhh clever girl. I love how both Kagami and Adrien are rebellious against their commanding parents.

“OH NO SHE’S CUTE”-Marinette Dupain Cheng 2019😂

I am Mari in public🤣🤣

“She’s such a weird girl” You’ll get used to it sweetie 

MARINETTE NO, WHY??? COME ON! (She REALLY has serious jealousy issues)

“Okay on second thought, maybe you shouldn’t play the game” YOU AND ME BOTH TIKKI

(No hate towards Marinette, I love her with all my heart, but the girl still has to seriously work on her emotions)

KAGAMI TRYING TO SMILE IS MY FAVORITE (everyone is a constant mood in this show)

I love how there are so many awkward characters, and how the writers did such a good job showing how different characters with different upbringings have different ways of displaying that. Just like with any other emotions or personal issues, it is a wide spectrum and never just one-dimensional thing. I appreciate it so much is because as a very awkward person myself, I can relate. It feels nice to have something like that be acknowledged and positively included and definitely helped boost my confidence when I was younger🥰.

Okay Marinette is definitely 100% me I’m really indecisive as well  

*Kagami listing down Marinette’s traits to determine her blood type*              “Split personality” Excuse me?? The reason it stuck out to me the most is because the definition of split personality is:  Another term for dissociative identity disorder; A rare psychological disorder in which two or more personalities with distinct memories and behavior patterns apparently exist in one individual. In this case the different personalities have no memory or even knowledge of the others existence.                                                                          ...WELL I’m pretty sure Marinette doesn’t have DID but if you think about it... What if Kagami meant it as a, less extreme, figure of speech to describe Marinette’s behavior? Marinette is filled surprises, so much so, that I honestly have a hard time figuring her character out. She may seem like a simple, typical  shoujo-esque character but OH NO MY DUDE. I HEAVILY disagree. (But that’s a different post all together for another day)

“HEY”

Cue montage of Marinette trying to screw everything up but Kagami still wins with ease (aka Chaotic Neutral vs No Bullshit🤣)

“Trust exercise. Exchange unlocked phones with your partner.” OH NO. PHONE THIEF MARINETTE MAKES A COMEBACK

MARINETTE DON’T GO THROUGH HER PHONE

Wait Kagami doesn’t even have Adrien’s contact? And she even searched up how to make friends.  AWW MY POOR LONELY BABY, MUST PROTECT AT ALL COSTS.

Not to mention how proud I was of Marinette for immediately realizing her mistake and wanting to fix everything between the two of them. I will definitely make a future post about the relationship development between Marinette and Kagami, but all I can say now is that there has been HEAVY miscommunication between them up until this moment. Both girls did not have a good impression on the other leading to false interpretations and a overall poor thought of character towards each other. In Marinette’s case, she thought Kagami was full of herself with her bold and and competitive streak, due to her many success in the the past. She thought Kagami literally couldn't care less about others but learned it was quite the opposite. Kagami yearns for friends and companionship but is just awkward at showing it. Learning that, Marinette changes her idea about Kagami completely and wants to make her wish come true.

“Are all humans this noisy?” Marinette just smiles awkwardly. AT LEAST SHE’S SELF-AWARE (Seriously I’m glad their bringing up this unhealthy behavior, my girl needs to CHILL) 

AW NO SHE SAW THE VIDEO, NO BABY, FUCK OFF HAWKMOTH

AH SHIT HER MOM FOUND OUT SHE LIED

MARINETTE IS PROTECTING KAGAMI. 

KAGAMI IS GENUINELY GRATEFUL FOR THAT AND CHEERS UP

I’M GOING TO CRY THIS IS SO BEAUTIFUL 

I honestly love how in a second, their relationship took a complete 180. Marinette just suddenly becomes very protective and attentive towards Kagami. She is taking full responsibility of her past actions by genuinely caring for her new friend and the best part is, I think Kagami saw that as well! I love my girls, their friendship is so sweet.

OH MY GOD IKARI GOZEN’S DESIGN IS SICK

Did...Did she just EAT HER DAUGHTER???

WAX ADRIEN MAKES A COMEBACK😂

A movie ticket??

Wait Fu works at the movies???

WAIT HAWKMOTH KNOWS WHO HE IS, WHAT I’M SORRY WHAT ELSE DID WE MISS???????? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH

HELL YEAH DRAGON KAGAMI FOR THE WIN

Bath-bombs now????

YEET

OKAY I’VE KNOW LONGG FOR LIKE THREE SECONDS AND I ALREADY LOVE THEM

Best transformation phase so far

AAAHHH RYUKO IS LOOKS SO BEAUTIFUL I LOVE HER

AND HER POWERS ARE AWESOME

AND SHE’S SUCH A BADASS I’M IN LOVE💖💖

SHE’S PERFECT

 Ladybug being a true mentor, supporting Ryuuko 😭❤❤

AH SHIT NOT CAT NOIR TOO

Ok that was a really smart plan

“I have good teachers” MY HEART

THE DRAGON MIRACULOUS HAS SUCH COOL POWERS I WANT IT

My new FAVORITE akumas and battle in the show so far 

THAT POUND IT😭😭❤

AH NO PLEASE LET KAGAMI USE THE MIRACULOUS AGAIN IN THE FUTURE

“I don’t have many friends.” “ What matters isn’t having lots of friends, but the ones you do have are true friends.” I SWEAR THIS SHOW IS GONNA KILL ME WITH ITS SWEETNESS. Also I swear, Ladybug proves time and time again she is the emotional support everyone needs.

“The game is over. We lost.” “No. We won the right to get orange juice together! If you still want to that is.”  MARI, YOU’RE AN ANGEL I LOVE YOU💖. Seriously I’m really proud of Marinette for always being so mature at the end of the day. Even when Kagami mentions how Adrien was right about Marinette being a good friend, you can see Marinette was a bit upset over it, BUT she immediately got over it and focused on having a fun time with Kagami. I LITERALLY HAVE NO WORDS FOR HOW I FEEL AFTER SEEING THAT.

Also the long awaited question since day 1 has been answered. Marinette’s zodiac sign is a snake.

THAT CUTE SELFIE AT THE VERY END

So yeah! That basically summarizes all my (MANY) feelings about this wonderful episode! I loved the theme of friendship, the development between my two best girls, the akuma battle and dragon miraculous, all the asian cultural references, there was just so much to digest. Ikari Gozen was definitely a character heavy episode that adds so much more context and depth to the overall understanding and arcs for both Marinette and Kagami, there is only so much more to go from here! With that said I will definitely do my best to come up with a full blown analysis post for both girls and how their relationship developed and some for Kagami alone as well (Mari too of course, that just might take a bit longer). There is already something I have in the works😉...

#ml s3 spoilers #ikari gozen #marinette dupain cheng #kagami tsurugi #how many times have i written both their names in this post?

[cruddyborderlandstheories]

Okay so I wanted to make a seperate post about this because it’s got me like  🤔 but i didn’t wanna get too off topic with my answer. context? The wonderful @luxury-of-insanity asked me to take a look at a pic of Tyreen he took during the We are Mayhem trailer. Here is the screencap he took for reference (because it’s infinitely higher quality than any of the ones I would take aha)

The topic was Ty’s tattoos and I noticed something really, really interesting here that I didn’t pick up on from the cosplay guide (like they were deliberately not showing where her tattoos end)

her tattoos stop before her shirt

she is clipping thru her jacket a little bit here lol but the point is, that big tattoo bit just cuts off before it goes under her shirt. Just like Troy’s don’t go down his abdomen

Now as I understand it there are a couple reasons why this could be:

there is an awesome theory that Siren tattoos get bigger and more expansive the more powerful (and, usually, the older, im guessing) a Siren gets

Ty has unique tattoos like her brother, where they are different because they’re twins (? or something??)

Ty got her powers from a non-natural source- eg she isn’t a natural/normal Siren

The tattoos are fake and the source of her succ power is something else entirely

idk what the right answer is, but I'm gonna try to go through these 1 by 1. the first one has been talked about in depth a lot (on this blog) so i won’t be addressing it here, but the others i’ll try to talk more about!

minor commander lilith spoilers below the cut

so before we begin, i just want to point this out. All theories aside and looking at the facts: every Siren we know of at least has chest tattoos. Barring Angel, because we can’t see, every known Siren has tattoos that extend down her torso.

At the moment, Tyreen is super covered up. Unlike Troy, we never see anything except her arms/head/parts of her thigh. We don’t know if her tattoos extend beyond her shoulder/arm. Personally? I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t. Amara has her hip tattoos, but no leg tattoos, like Tyreen has no leg tattoos (you can see through the gaps in her pants)

it’s possible that Lilith is the exception (for any of the theories discussed) and the tattoos don’t normally extend down their left legs. We just don’t know for certain. I do think it’s interesting how covered up Ty is in general, considering every Siren we’ve met so far at the very least has shown off their chest/neck tattoos. 

Ty has unique arm-only tattoos like her brother, where they are different because they’re twins

Sooo the unique arm-only tattoos one. Not really much to say about this tbh? We know Troy’s tattoos 100% do not go further down his abdomen. 

Timeline wise, I really don’t think he gets the tattoos after Lily has her powers stolen, but I can’t say for certain. 

If it’s the case that his tattoos are 100% based off Lilith’s powers then idk if Ty having only arm tattoos would make sense. Maybe it’s because they’re being filtered through her powers that he only gets arm tattoos and not full tattoos? Maybe bc they are twins, Ty’s powers got split in the womb (explaining the only-arm tattoos) or whatever and they needed other powers to awaken (or heal, cause apparently he’s sick- that could be the tattoos) Troy’s or some shit. idk, just spitballing here. 

But yeah, looking at Troy’s tattoos and the way they don’t go down his abdomen, beyond his shoulder area, I wouldn’t be surprised if Ty’s don’t, either.

Moving on from that one mainly because I don’t have a lot to say due to lack of evidence/info on it lol

Ty got her powers from a non-natural source- eg she isn’t a natural/normal Siren

This theory i am a fan of and y’all know it lmao

There’s a bunch of ways this could have happened: they’re products of experimentation, maybe they met an alien that gave them the powers, it’s the product of a Vault (possibly the red Vault we see in the HBC).

For the first one, it’s possible it was a corporation, be it Maliwan/Atlas/Jakobs/Hyperion/etc. Maliwan and Atlas would be my first guesses, Atlas for reasons you guys already know and Maliwan because of their elemental focus (and for some reason being on Athenas/having Amara’s tattoos on a building in the Academic District?). Hyperion is also a strong contender because of their research with Angel, though I don’t know about this one... We know they’re under new ownership, and I can’t imagine Jack would’ve captured Lilith/been so protective of Angel if he knew he had another Siren. So I guess it’s possible they were created within the 7 years between bl2 and bl3... Jakobs I threw in cause they’re apparently having a hold on the story of Eden-6. Doubt it’s them, though. If it is i’m gonna be questioning everything i know lol

It could’ve also been Tannis, as we know she’s experimenting on Lilith and [Spoilers!] now has all of Jack’s research on Angel. I have been looking all throughout the Backburner but can’t figure out where she had been staying, so it’s possible she is staying somewhere off base until her and the other Crimson Raiders take to space. That would definitely give her some room to start some funky experiments. Though I am curious where she’d get the test subjects. Also, I just realized it’s possible she could set up a room like control core angel in order to capture the twins/Tyreen. I’ve seen it being discussed that she could also create the collar Jack made which has me like 👀. She could’ve also done her experiments between bl1 and bl2, which leaves her with 3ish years iirc. Though I don’t think she has a lot of info on Lilith before bl2.

It ALSO could’ve been a totally new outside force. Kinda would suck cause all the theories haha, but hey, it might happen. 

Oh part 2. It could’ve been some alien bullshit giving Ty Siren powers (not that... siren powers AREN’T alien bullshit already, but you know what I mean). We still don’t know what the Seraphs are, yet we’re supposed to fear their return. Well we know they’re able to create the Seraph Guardians (that drop Seraph Crystals), so maybe those were them experimenting with creating their own version of Sirens? Or maybe a rogue Eridian/Guardian (a smart one like the Watcher) giving out Siren powers to offset the balance of the universe (6 Sirens) for some reason (war is coming? maybe it’s a civil war between the Eridians). Or some new type of alien. We’ve seen so many new flora/fauna in bl3, I wouldn’t be surprised if they introduced a new race of aliens as well. (in this context I mean alien like... intelligent ones. at least on the rank of human. probably more tho, let’s be real). I also am looking at those demon dragon looking things, idk they seem really unique and I’m super curious to see how they come to play in the story. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were a product of an experiment as well. They seem to be inside an Eridian temple tho (I will make a post on this later prob)

part 3. kind of a play off part 2 but whatever. The tattoos came from a Vault. we see in the HBC wall art that looks like the twins opening a red Vault. I think this may be propaganda art and that it’s just part of the believer’s stuff, like “join our cause and this will happen!” as it shows the twins with boxes of food and guns and shit, but it’s possible that they’ve already opened it. Maybe Tyreen wants to absorb the powers of the other Vault Monsters because she thinks that will help her Vault-gifted powers grow stronger. We know as outsiders that all the Vaults lead to a huge power (Hector and also the website used to say “Universe-destroying power”), so maybe that power is super strong Siren powers? (full body tattoos hell yeah) Or can only be opened by all the Siren powers as a failsafe and that’s why Ty absorbed Lily’s... idk lol

Okay and my favorite one of all of the options we have:

The tattoos are fake and the source of her succ power is something else entirely

so. okay hear me out. I know her tattoos look like they’re glowing under the surface, but they’re super ‘perfect’ looking compared to the other Siren tattoos we’ve seen. Could also be a reason they’re products of an experiment, maybe these two theories tie together. (lol) My friend (@bonelesspotter​) also pointed out that it’s possible to use jellyfish to make cats glow in the dark. anyway. They also don’t seem to glow when she’s using her powers (which are black and red/orange instead of the normal purple/blue??) (also thank you for allowing me to see this @luxury-of-insanity) 

I made a post about the tattoos being fake as sort of a joke, where they saw how Lilith had a cult as the Firehawk (Ty does tell us to thank Lily for the ‘Firehawk’ powers) and decided to masquerade as Siren(s?) in order to build their cult up.

and it is slowly, slowly, looking more and more like the truth the more we learn about Ty lmao

I am gonna posit the idea that it’s not her tattoos that give her powers, but some other sort of technology.

possibly? hidden inside her glove??? idk

idk it just seems to clunky and BIG 

seriously, this thing is thicc, i could totally see some sort of drainage tech being hidden inside. I know Moxxi’s weapons have a lifesteal component, as do transfusion grenades, so it could be based off that. I point this out mainly bc Troy is a smart boy, it’s possible he built her something so they could pretend they were twin gods. Maybe his sword/mechanical arm will do something similar/give him his own set of ‘powers’? Or maybe those screws in his left arm could also do it, too.

idk, this is all me just speculating. I will not be surprised if she is an actual Siren, I just like being extra when it comes to theorycrafting. don’t have much to do for uhhh 90 more days, sooooo

i am also curious if her powers have something to do with the tablets with the crystals coming out of them considering her lifeforce suck makes statues with eridium-like crystals coming out of them

... maybe not. different shapes and all.

are they even the same ones as the ones on promethea?

hmmmmmmmmmmmm

i do think there’s something on that tablet(?) on eden-6 that we gotta uncover by breaking the purple crystals cause when moze does it she uses a special melee tool and breaking them doesn’t add anything to her inventory.

“let’s free you up”

but that’s getting wayyyy off topic. that’s all i got for tyreen today

byeeee

#borderlands #bl3 #borderlands 3 #tyreen calypso #the calypso twins #commander lilith and the fight for sanctuary #spoilers i think