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ingu · 4 years

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I love your work sm ;_; For the Tua ficlet, ❛ Promise me you’re not gonna over-react. ❜ or ❛ What are you, trying to give me a heart attack? ❜ whichever you like!

There was something particularly irritating about the fact that despite having successfully committed an axe-massacre without getting so much as a scratch, it was being tackled off a table by an overcommitted receptionist that got Five injured.

It wasn’t anything bad, just a cut from a shattered water glass that was deep enough to need stitches. Five had slapped a compress on it when he first got back to stop the bleeding. Then he’d prioritized organizing his siblings and finding Vanya. But now that he’d passed on the instructions, there was no reason for Five to not tend to the injury before they left. He still had about twenty minutes before the deadline, after all. It so happened Elliot had the supplies Five needed, though he’d had to do a small amount of digging through the dead man’s belongings to find the sewing kit.

Five stood in the bathroom of the apartment, trying to stitch the wound closed as he used the mirror to guide himself. Gritting his teeth, Five pulled the thread through his skin, closing a little bit more of the wound. He was focused so intently on the stitching, trying to ignore the stinging pain, that he didn’t hear the sound of approaching footsteps until it was too late.

“Five?”

Five jumped, almost stabbing himself with the needle, and then sighed when he turned and laid eyes on Luther. His brother was hovering in the doorway, staring at Five with a look of widening horror.

“What are you, trying to give me a heart attack?” Five said in annoyance, before he turned back to the mirror to line up the next stitch.

He really needed to work on his situational awareness if even Luther could sneak up on him. At this rate, missing a threat was going to get him killed.

“What happened? Are you okay?” Luther said as he took a step inside, his expression worried. “How did you get hurt?”

“Does it matter?” Five said, distracted as he poked the needle through his skin again.

“Of course it matters, Five.” Luther said, in that annoying ‘I know I’m right’ voice. “Were you in some sort of fight? Is that why you showed up covered in blood?”

“Eh,” Five resisted the urge to shrug. “Fight is a strong word for what happened.”

Five ignored the burst of warmth inside of him at Luther’s words. Of course it matters. Five matters.

“Do you want some help with that?” Luther said.

“I’m fine,” Five said, pulling another stitch closed. “It’s nothing I haven’t done before.”

Five was almost done anyway. He’d stitched himself up just fine a week ago, it wasn’t much trouble to do it again.

“Right,” Luther sighed. “So... what happened?”

“Did you get Allison?” Five hid a wince as he passed the needle through his skin again

Luther frowned. “Yes, I told her, she’s saying goodbye to her husband right now.”

“Good,” Five replied, pausing to glance at his watch. Thirteen more minutes, that was enough time to finish and get downstairs.

“Five,” Luther said, insistent. “What happened to you?”

Five sighed, realising Luther was just going to keep badgering him until he explained. It was his fault for not closing the bathroom door and letting himself get cornered. He pulled the stitch closed, gritting his teeth against the burning pain.

“I got tackled by some lady,” Five said. “And managed to land on some broken glass.”

“Wait, what?” Luther said, something angry and protective darkening his tone. “Why would she do something like that? You look like you’re thirteen!”

Five swallowed a sigh, and threw Luther a look of frustration. “Really? I hadn’t noticed.”

“And that doesn’t explain the blood,” Luther said. “Five, just tell me what happened.”

“I will tell you…” Five said as he finished off the final stitch. “Only if you promise me you’re not gonna over-react.”

“Uh…” Luther paused. “Why do you need me to promise that?”

“You remember how I looked when I got back, right?” Five said, reaching to pick up the scissors from the sink. “Just use your imagination.”

Luther paused to think, and then his eyes widened.

“Wait, did you…” Luther said. Then, his voice lowered into a whisper. “Kill people?”

Five raised his eyebrows at Luther, as he snipped the thread and tossed it into the bin alongside the needle. What was with the whispering? It wasn’t like there was anyone else in the house to hear them.

Luther stared at him nervously for a moment, and then sagged when Five didn’t respond. “Fine, I promise. Just tell me, alright? Why do you need to keep so many secrets?”

Five shrugged off Luther’s accusations, and took a moment to study his brother, making sure he was being serious. Luther didn’t look happy about it, in fact, he looked positively sulky, but Five supposed it was good enough. Luther might not understand necessary evils when it involved murder, but there wasn’t much he could do to change what had already happened.

“I made a deal with the Handler for a briefcase,” Five said quickly, reaching for the box of band-aids on the shelf to pull out a bandage. “In exchange, I had to kill the Commission’s board of directors.”

“You what?” Luther exclaimed, eyes widening into saucers. “That’s how you got the briefcase?”

Five rolled his eyes, and ripped open the packaging. So much for not over-reacting.

“Five!” Luther said when Five didn’t respond.

“Look, I did what I had to, to get us home, alright?” Five said, waving the bandage as he made his point. “Or do you want to be stuck in the 60s for the rest of your miserable life?”

“It doesn’t mean it’s right to kill a bunch of innocent people!”

“Innocent?” Five scoffed, covering his stitches with the adhesive before rolling down his sleeves. “Don’t be a hypocrite, Luther. You spent a year working for a crime lord.”

“I-” Luther hesitated, uncertainty flickering across his face. “Jack never involves civilians in his activities.”

“Is that what he told you?” Five said, turning to face his brother with a look of fond skepticism. He was as amused as he was saddened by how Luther had still managed to hold onto this kind of naivety, despite all the criminals he’d fought over the years. Luther was so desperate to see the good in people, especially in those he perceived to be authority figures, it would almost be pathetic, if it wasn’t just… Luther.

“Luther, you realise that the Commission’s standard M.O. is assassination, right?” Five continued. “Which is neither the best nor the only way to influence a timeline. The organization’s main ethos is cold blooded murder. The people in charge of it are not innocent by any definition.”

Half the time, the Commission was trying to fix the butterfly effect of their own actions. They were neither efficient nor good at what they claimed to do. If Five had actually cared, he might have actually done something about it during his years there.

“That doesn’t mean they... deserved to die,” Luther mumbled, though he now both looked and sounded conflicted about it. Five was going to take it as a win.

If Luther had any idea how many truly innocent people Five had killed just to make it back to them… But it didn’t matter, not really. Luther could condemn him as much as he wanted as long as he was alive to do it. Five didn’t care what his siblings thought of him. He hadn’t come back for their recognition or their approval. Five had returned to fix his mistakes, to repay them what he owed, that was all.

“If anyone deserves to die, Luther? It’s them.” Five smiled mirthlessly at his brother as he grabbed his blazer and pulled it on. “Now come on, we need to get down to the alleyway.”

Before Luther could reply, Five blinked away from the room, praying that the others would already be there waiting.

If Five could just save his siblings, then that would be enough.

Nothing else mattered.

#in the end i went with both?#i hope you enjoy!#here is a dose of angst to start slash end the day #margarita umbrella #replies #f: the umbrella academy #mine: fic #m: fic #margarita-umbrella

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razieltwelve · 3 years

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7-2 Again

Well, I went 7-2 again while continuing to rare draft.

The draft started off pretty well with Bloodthirsty Adversary in the first pack for an easy pack 1, pick 1. I then managed to snag a couple of UR rare cards, so I thought I’d be drafting the UR spells deck. At the end of pack 1, however, I only had some good red and blue creatures but no actual spells.

Pack 2 comes along, and blue basically evaporates. Fortunately, I noticed black opening up after I got passed a Defenestrate and a Mask of Griselbrand. Yeah. If those two get passed, you know that either black is open or there is some crazy stuff getting opened because Mask is one of the most powerful cards in the set, and Defenestrate is premium removal. At the end of pack 2, I end up with some black and red spells and some solid, playable vampires.

Pack 3 was unexciting but overall pretty good for me. Black and red began to tighten up, but I was able to snag more playable cards and really round out my curve quite nicely. I also picked up Purifying Dragon and Light Up the Night as a decent way to close the game out at the top of my curve.

Here’s what I ended up with:

It’s not the most powerful deck, but it has a very nice curve, and it has the potential to run away with a game if the opponent stumbles thanks to the removal and the Lamboldt Harriers making blocking awful. Having a Thermo-Alchemist and a Vampire Interloper was also great since they can trigger my other vampires pretty easily.

How did things unfold?

Well, game one was a massacre. My opponent was running some UW thing that just steamrolled me after I kept a decent hand that promptly got locked down by Candle Traps or bounced. 0-1.

My second game went much better. I curved a Harrier into a Harvesttide Infiltrator and basically rode removal to an easy win after my opponent stumbled slightly and allowed the Infiltrator to transform. 1-1.

My third game was a brutal slug fest. My opponent managed to get Duelcraft Trainer up and running with a Mask of Griselbrand on it as well. Yeah. Fortunately, they decided to make it a race, and I was able to win one turn faster than them thanks to playing both of my Bat Whisperers and my Bloodthirsty Adversary to flashback Neonate’s Rush for just enough damage. I think my opponent would have won if they had hung back, used the first strike on the Trainer do discourage attacks and just built up their board. Gaining three life a turn is great, but if I’m hitting you back for 10+ I’m still going to win the race. 2-1.

My fourth game was beautiful and over in less than 3 minutes. I went 2-drop, 3-drop, removal, flash back removal with kicked Adversary into them being dead. Yeah. When you get a draw like that, it really doesn’t matter what your opponent has. They’re going to get run over. 3-1.

Game 5 was against a UB deck running the really powerful Decayed synergies. They had enough removal to kill my early threats, so I was forced to stick Mark of Griselbrand onto the Thermo-Alchemist just to survive. Thankfully, I was able to stabilise with some removal, and I found some of my bigger creatures to stall the board. My opponent ended up overcommitting with their fliers, and I was able to win on the counter-swing after using my Lunar Frenzy to force the last damage through. 4-1.

Game 6 was another case of the deck doing exactly what it was supposed to. I curved out, my opponent stumbled, and I was able to use removal and evasive creatures to punish them. 5-1.

Game 7 was a disaster from me. I basically lost the game after forgetting that Light Up the Night does X+1 damage to creatures. I ended up trading a key creature when I could have just killed one of their key creatures with Light Up the Night. My opponent then proceeded to play 3(!) Hound Tamers followed up by a Diregraf Rebirth when I tried to deal with them. Yeah. I hung on a bit longer, but the game was basically over when those Tamers managed to stick. 5-2.

Game 8 was another case of the deck just slaughtering someone who tried to play the long game. I think they were on some kind of UB controlling sort of build, but they just died without ever really being able to block thanks to the Harriers, my menace creatures, and Adversary + Defenestrate doing awesome things. 6-2.

Game 9 started off well. I was able to curve out with 2 into 3 into 4 drop. However, my opponent, who was running UW, had answers every time in the form of bounce and enchantments. They had me on the back foot with successive combat tricks while I struggled to rebuild my board against their fliers. The pivotal moment came when me opponent hit me with 7 power worth of fliers to leave me staring down lethal on their next turn. I attacked with everything I had and used Lunar Frenzy to force through just enough damage. If they had left one more blocker back, I think they would have won the game.

Oh well.

7-2.

One thing I’ve noticed about this format is that having early interaction seems very important. Although you can get board stalls a lot (especially in the UB mirror) there are enough decks like GW and BR that can just run over you if you don’t have anything to do early on. If you can’t at least slow down the rush, you’ll find yourself trying to stabilise on turn 4 or 5 but with very little life left, at which point, most of those decks will find some way to kill you. The BR vampires deck is a great example of this since the vampires are all kind of lacklustre if you can’t trigger them. If you can, though, they’re all quite good, and suddenly you’re just killing people from nowhere. Not having anything to do early on also means that it becomes really easy to make it Night, which makes all the werewolves better.

I also love Lunar Frenzy. It is such a beating. The key is to hold it until you can be reasonably sure it will resolve. There are so many situations where your opponent is relying on a chump block to keep up in a damage race, and Lunar Frenzy just blows them out. It’s also great when combined with the evasive creatures since going Lunar Frenzy onto a menace creature to kill two creatures and get damage through while saving your creature is just back breaking a lot of the time.

#mtg #mtg arena #magic: the gathering #mtga

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fanfoolishness · 4 years

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Steven Universe Future musings

Rambling thoughts behind the cut for A Very Special Episode! As always, feel free to reblog or message me with your own thoughts and ideas!

We streamed the episode through the official CN app and for a second it cut out part of the vital discourse between Explorer Gal and Mayor Guy. Thank goodness it wasn’t more!

How the fuck old IS Onion

I thought he was about 4 before but if so he should be pushing 7 and kid should know how to chew a fucking broccoli by now

Oooohh Rainbow can access Pearl’s sand/cloud animation powers and Steven’s levitation powers together to apply them to objects?

Also THE FUCK IS THAT STEVEN PLUSHIE WITH ITS CHEST RIPPED OPEN AND ONE EYE PINK

I thought fandom had left behind the whole Steven loses an eye thing but oh ho! It’s sorta back!

Maybe Steven will wind up with one permanently pink and one normal, showing he’s scarred by his Gem struggles but still ultimately human???

I’m hard-pressed to see him lose an eye entirely given that the movie definitively established he can heal himself

Leave it to Onion to have that thing lying around

And leave it to Onion to fucking COLLECT GREG’S HAIR OUT OF THE OCEAN BECAUSE YOU KNOW THAT’S WHAT HAPPENED

Rainbow 2.0 has such a sweet voice!

My favorite was What the--???

haha I just spent like 3 hours drawing Steven’s phone but still didn’t draw it correctly. Why didn’t I look up a reference?

Steven got stress eyes IMMEDIATELY

Initial thoughts were “Wow, why is Garnet being so mean to these Gems?”

Later thoughts: ahhhh this is the future where Garnet overdid it.

FUSION DANCE FUSION DANCE FUSION DANCE

MY BOY’S DANCE MOVES ARE SO GOOD

WOW

THAT CONFIDENCE

THOSE LITTLE HAND GESTURES

THE LEAN BACK WITH THE FISTS AND HIS EYES CLOSED

LOOK HOW HIS JACKET FLOOFS AROUND HIM

LOOK AT HIM GO

I’M SO PROUD

THE WAY HE HOLDS GARNET’S HANDS LIKE AN EQUAL AND THEY SMILE AT EACH OTHER AND I’M LITERALLY TEARING UP IT’S JUST SO GREAT AND HE’S SO PRECIOUS

HE’S GONNA DO GREAT AT THE BIG DANCE WITH CONNIE

SOMEONE PLEASE GIF IT FOR ME BECAUSE I WANNA WATCH IT FOREVER

I’ll make a separate post with caps because I just love this SO FUCKING MUCH!!!!!!

Sunstone is so much wiser than anyone knows -- turn off that motion smoothing!

Great safety tips, Sunstone!

Steven starts sweating immediately as soon as unfusing... poor kid!

Just... Rainbow, you are the best Mary Poppins that ever was <3

But Onion is just.... beyond

Home Safety obstacle course??? nooo! Motion smoothing??? Nooo!

BungaCOWA

Do you guys think the tiny arms are Sapphire’s, and the beefy arms are Steven + Ruby?

Steven almost passes out coming out of Sunstone again....

The entire Pearl second video call is AMAZING

Incredible insane angles on Pearl! The mood! Onion in the Wall! Then it goes into like a take on the X-files theme???

You were such a good kid you were never like this I’m so sorry I never told you that omg Pearl your love for Steven is soooooooooooo pure!

But don’t worry Steven you’re still loved now whether or not you live up to someone else’s idea of good!

Steven is so done with Onion by the time they find him in the kitchen

So Onion, like Steven, doesn’t grow, but apparently, he has grown enough to be literate

Oh no Steven’s eyes are just closed on Rainbow’s face because he’s so tired now

Steven is wiped out

No no no, it’s fine, it’s good!

I’m combining all my responsibilities into one responsibility!

Steven just went full Bojack Horseman here somehow!!!! I think the I’m fine loop does it, and the crazy angles on Steven’s face -- soooo good!

It’s - it’s brilliant! It’s fine, I’m fine, it’s really, I’m fine, it’s fine, I’m fine --

I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m -- really, just fine -- huh?

Amethyst omg

Why is Onion a Pied Piper??? because he’s terrible

Wait, I just realized both skinny arms have the wedding rings... curious!

Steven for Beefy Arms confirmed 2019

So did any of that happen? Did it happen as a skit? Was it all being filmed? Or was it only shown to us the audience, suggesting it did happen in a future that is not canon?

I suspect that if Sunstone looked ahead and saw possible futures where a) gems were hurt and b) Steven was hurt by overcommitting, that the possible futures they had to pick from would be influenced by everyone in the fusion. So since Steven is super anxious these days and thinks he’s the only one who can solve people’s problems, then the futures Sunstone has available to pick from are naturally going to be ones where other people are more incompetent (Garnet being callous, Pearl being inept with Onion) and where Steven tries to sacrifice himself to save the day.

I’m not entirely sure! Future vision episodes always give me a bit of a headache in a good way. Very fun and not the emotional devastation I was expecting, which means that the next episode to be a heavy hitter will probably gut everyone and leave them for dead.

#steven universe future #suf spoilers #steven universe future spoilers #suf #steven universe spoilers #a very special episode #steven universe #sunstone #rainbow 2.0 #fanfoolishness su meta

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quicksilversquared · 5 years

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Everyday Heroes

Marinette is always looking for ways to help, whether it be with bringing a student's concerns to the principal as class president, mending a torn jacket, or stepping up to babysit. For her second Heroes Day as a superhero, though, she's going the extra distance so that she can help even more in emergencies.

ft. Everyday Superhero Marinette and her fabulous influence on the class.

links in the reblog

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When the second Heroes Day of her superhero career came around, Marinette was no less taken off guard than she had been the first time. The days had blurred past in a blur of school, superheroing, and trying to balance the two with extracurricular activities, and so it really wasn't her fault for maybe thinking that it was another week away, maybe, or maybe a month.

This time, though, Marinette had a good deed in mind, something that she had been considering for a while now but hadn't actually gotten around to doing yet. Which was good, because once again, her teacher was putting everyone on the spot by asking them what they would be doing to give back to the city or at least the community around them.

And once again, expectations for her would no doubt be high.

"And Marinette?" Ms. Bustier asked, smile expectant as she turned to her. "What is your good deed this year?"

Marinette smiled, sitting up straighter as she answered. "This year, I've decided to take a CPR and First Aid class from the Red Cross so that I can know what to do in an emergency!" She wouldn't be administering first aid during an akuma attack, of course- Ladybug needed to have her priorities, of course, and while there were other people who knew first aid or could at least figure it out in Paris, there were only so many superheroes in the city- but it might come in handy during babysitting or if she happened across any emergencies during her day-to-day life. "And I want to talk to the instructor about possibly doing a class here at school, too, because the more people there are who know how to react in an emergency, the better!"

Ms. Bustier looked impressed. "That's a very good idea, Marinette! That reminds me that I need to get recertified, too- I took a class a few years ago, but I think the certification only lasts for two years or so."

Marinette nodded. That was right. It hadn't sounded like a particularly long time to her, but the site had explained that it was necessary, since people tended to forget information over time and had to be refreshed so that they could act quickly and safely.

"Perhaps you could do a presentation on what you learned after you've taken the class," Ms. Bustier suggested. "You probably can't do specifics, since people need to learn that from a certified instructor, but what people might do to help?"

Marinette nodded eagerly. It would get her classmates interested, which was a good thing. Even if she couldn't get a class at the school- maybe one with a discount, because those classes were not cheap and some students might not be willing or able to pay that much- then there was the chance that people wouldn't be quite as intimidated by the concept as before and would go seek out a class on their own. Then they could help people who got injured during akuma attacks, patching up scrapes and sprains and cuts that they got while trying to flee from the akumas.

"That training is a good deed that can keep on giving," Ms. Bustier finished, smiling. "Thank you, Marinette. Now Alya, what is your good dead for Heroes Day?"

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

Marinette hadn't even taken her class yet, and already she was generating some interest. Several of her classmates had told her how cool it was that she was taking the course, and Rose had announced that she wanted to take it, too. Even Adrien had come up and told her that it wasn't something that he had thought of before, but he was definitely interested in the idea of learning first aid and being able to help out if something happened.

"You're definitely our class's Everyday Ladybug," he added with a grin. "Always looking for ways to help. I don't think anyone else had even thought of getting certified before, but I know there's more people than just me who are thinking about taking the class now. I'm really interested in hearing what all you learn about!"

Of course, before she could tell Adrien what she learned, Marinette actually had to take the class first. While she had been thinking about it for a while now, she hadn't done that much digging yet- she hadn't had the time- and what she was finding…

Well, it looked like it might be difficult to manage.

The classes that Marinette was seeing were all pretty long. Like, hours and hours and hours. It would be all too easy for an akuma attack to come up during that time, and then she would have to step away and then she wouldn't get her certification. Or an akuma would strike before the class could start, and she would be late and then not be able to take the class, and there would go that fee down the drain, with nothing to show for it.

"There have to be options for people who can't make a ton of space in their schedule," Tikki said as Marinette groaned, face-down on her desk. "I mean, people who work nights or have long shifts or whatever."

"You would think so, but I'm not seeing anything." Already, visions of not being able to fulfill her Heroes Day good dead for the second year in a row were dancing before her eyes, and she slumped further. She shouldn't have added that bit about asking about hosting a class at the school, because now people were going to ask and make sure that she followed up on it. If she hadn't, they would gradually forget, just as everybody else's Heroes Day good deeds were forgotten by the next day. "I'm going to have to take a whole-day class over a weekend or a holiday and just hope for the best."

Above her head, Tikki was still inspecting the screen. "One second- Marinette, can I have the mouse? I want to check something."

Obediently, Marinette's hand slid off of the mouse, giving it over to her kwami. As Tikki swooped down on it, Marinette raised her head up a couple centimeters to watch. Tikki scrolled up, up, up to the top of the page, then clicked on a button labeled course format. Immediately, three options popped up: in-person, online, and combo. She clicked.

"It says that fully online doesn't really give full certification," Tikki reported after a second. "But the combo online and in-person does, and-" she clicked on the option, then waited for the page to finish loading- "the in-person section of the combo is only an hour long."

Marinette straightened immediately. "Really?"

"Really! That shouldn't be too hard to manage!"

Re-energized, Marinette started checking the dates that Tikki had pulled up. Some she couldn't do- she already missed enough school with akuma attacks, she didn't need to skip on purpose- but others were during her lunch break or after school or on weekends, each only an hour long.

And- even better!- there was a note on each of the class listings that she was looking at, recognizing that sometimes people couldn't get to their scheduled class due to akuma attacks and if that happened, to just call the Paris office's number to reschedule the in-class section without having to repay.

Perfect.

"Give yourself plenty of time to do the online section!" Tikki reminded Marinette as she continued scrolling through the times and dates, completely eager and reenergized. "You have class and projects and outings with your friends and superhero-ing to do already, and you're going to need to take notes as you go for your presentation to the class."

"Right." Marinette scanned the list again, mentally striking some of the options out. If she went too soon, she would have to rush through the online section. If she waited too long… well, Chloe would no doubt make a Big Deal out of it, claiming that she was trying to back out of her good deed for the second year in the row.

Which was unfair, really- Chloe's good deed was always something dumb that any normal person would do automatically, like 'not insulting others'. It never involved any effort or extra time on her part. And Marinette had tried the previous year, she really had, but…

Well, even the best intentions didn't always work out.

"Maybe I can do just over two weeks out," Marinette decided. "There's one over lunch break that has lots of spaces, and it doesn't cost nearly as much as some of the others. I'll ask Maman to sign me up for it later."

"That sounds good!" Tikki agreed. "Just over two weeks gives you three weekends. As long as you don't over-commit yourself, you should be fine!"

"Well, you know me," Marinette said with a laugh. "I like overcommitting myself. It's not a busy time of the year in classes, at least. That helps."

"Good!" Tikki spun in a circle, then flew down to perch on Marinette's shoulder. "Okay, so now that that's sorted out- do you want to start on your homework, on start making up a slideshow for your presentation? You could put some stats on the first slide or two as a lead-in!"

"Homework, I think," Marinette said with a laugh. "That has a deadline, and the PowerPoint doesn't. But that's a good suggestion, Tikki! Thanks!"

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

In a stroke of good luck, Marinette finished up the online section of the course with plenty of time and there were no akumas in sight as she headed into the building where her course was. She had a no-nonsense notepad tucked into her bag with all of her notes from the online portion and a whole array of pens and pencils, plus a couple index cards with her contact information in case the instructor thought that running a course at the collège would be possible (one to hand over, two extras in case the first one got misplaced). Marinette was ready for this.

Marinette was not ready to see Adrien Agreste already sitting in one of the seats around the table, his own notebook already in hand.

"Hi, Marinette!" Adrien said happily, lighting up when he saw her. He patted the seat next to himself in invitation, and Marinette sat, unable to resist. "I hope you don't mind me copying your Heroes Day idea. I just thought it was a really, really good idea and then you mentioned when you were going and that this type of class format lets you do a lot of the work ahead of time and how you could reschedule if there was an akuma attack and I don't get out to do this sort of thing often so I thought it would be less intimidating if I did it with a friend, so here I am," he finished, sounding a bit out of breath and more than a little anxious.

Marinette smiled at him. She couldn't deny that having a friend here made things less intimidating for her, too. "That's fine! It is nice to have a familiar face here. And maybe it'll help our cause when I ask about if they could do a class at the collège, if it's not just one of us."

Adrien grinned, relaxing at once. "Okay! I thought that maybe I should have asked you first, but I had already signed up and everything and I couldn't figure out the cancellation stuff."

"No, no, it's fine!"

It didn't take long for their instructor to show up, checking each of them off and making sure that they had completed their online section. Then she started, and Marinette had to hunker down and focus, taking a few notes as review before they moved to the back to practice some of the skills.

As they moved, Adrien stuck close to Marinette's side, anxiously hovering as the instructor pulled out the CPR dummies and demonstrated what they were meant to be doing. Once she had finished a few cycles, she stood back up and told them to partner up and sit down by a dummy.

"Partners?" Adrien asked hopefully, tapping on Marinette's shoulder. Marinette nodded, catching his arm as she moved forward to claim one of the dummies. Their instructor headed around, handing out little kits to each of them.

"This has a practice breathing mask," she told them as she handed one bag to Adrien and another to Marinette. "Don't use them on a real person, they wouldn't provide the protection that a proper one-way one would."

"I'm not gonna lie, when I signed up I was worried that we might be practicing the mouth-to-mouth on each other," Adrien admitted, leaning over so he was speaking directly in Marinette's ear. "And I got an embarrassingly long way into the online section before I realized that there was no way we would be doing that."

Marinette giggled. "Yeah, I think we would have a really hard time getting our classmates to go if they had to do mouth-to-mouth on each other. There's cooties, you know."

The pouty stink-eye that Adrien sent her made Marinette muffle another round of giggles.

With Adrien there to talk to, the class flew by in a flash. Marinette made sure to take plenty of notes, even though a lot of it was information that they had already covered online. She did take particular note, though, of a couple phone apps that she could download that would help her remember what to do in case of an emergency.

Another thing that might help make the class seem more approachable to others. If people had any worries that they might not be able to remember well enough to help out in an emergency, that should help.

"I'm glad I took this," Adrien told Marinette as the class came to a close and everybody started packing up. "It's well worth the price. Are we going to talk to the instructor now?"

"Yeah, once people have cleared away a bit." Marinette glanced around the room. There were several people lingering near the instructor, clearly wanting to ask for clarification about one thing or another. "Because my question will probably take longer than most of the others, and it's not about what we learned in class." She looked at the slowly dwindling line of stragglers, then at the clock, and winced. "Hopefully we'll still have time to eat. I didn't ask Mom if she could make anything for me, since I wasn't sure when I would be getting back."

Adrien perked up. "I was planning on going to a little cafe nearby after this. Want to come with? My treat!"

"Sure!"

"Well, it's nice to see young faces here," their instructor said, coming up to them once the last of the line had left, waving as they went. "We don't see young people often. Did you guys have a question for me?"

"I do," Marinette said, hopping up at once and hoping that she didn't look too flustered. She was Ladybug. She could do this. "I signed up for this class as my good deed for Heroes Day, and there was a lot of interest in it in my class. I'll be doing a presentation during class to try to drum up interest again, and I was wondering if there would be some way to set up a session at the school so that more of my classmates could learn, too."

Their instructor surveyed the two of them, looking a little doubtful. "Well…"

"I'm one of her classmates," Adrien spoke up, getting up as well. "And there really is a lot of interest. I decided to come outside of class, too, and it was all because Marinette brought up the idea. And I know some of our classmates are a little intimidated by the idea of signing up on their own, but they are interested in learning how to be able to respond in an emergency."

"I mean, they could coordinate to come out as a group." Their instructor didn't look entirely convinced. "They might need to schedule for a bit out, since otherwise classes tend to only have a small handful of openings."

"Part of the concern is transportation, I think," Marinette said quickly, even as her gut sank. She had so hoped that this would go off smoothly, but it was starting to look like that was misplaced hope. "It seems like all of the classes that we could get to during lunch break or after school are over here, and it's clear across the city from our school. We're all collège students, so we rely on public transportation. If we miss the bus over because class went late or we couldn't get to the bus stop on time or the bus was late, we don't have other options."

"I'll run the idea past my supervisor," their instructor finally promised. "I'll see what he thinks. Do you have contact information for, ah, your teacher? Or principal?"

"I have my contact info," Marinette said immediately, feeling a little nettled. "I'm class president, I can pass on information to my teacher."

"She's the best class president I've ever seen," Adrien said loyally, and Marinette resisted the urge to blush. He was just trying to back her up, she shouldn't read too far into it. "She's the one who came up with the idea, too."

Their instructor sighed. "All right. If a session at your school is feasible, he'll email."

"Thank you," Marinette said quickly, hoping she didn't sound too let down. She pulled out one of her prepared cards. "This is my email."

Several minutes later, she and Adrien were headed out of the building. Marinette couldn't help the dejected drag to her step. She had so hoped to come back to class today with a strong "maybe" at the very least, ideally a 'yes'. Instead, they got a very doubtful 'maybe'.

"I thought she was being pretty rude," Adrien told Marinette as they headed down the street. "I mean, they want more people certified, right? And I'm sure Mr. Damocles could get a grant to pay for people who are interested to get certified but they can't pay. It's just that this isn't a very convenient location."

"It's really not," Marinette agreed. "I had to rush to get here, because the bus was late." That was a half-lie, actually- she had had to transform and finish the trek as Ladybug, because the midday traffic in Paris had slowed the bus to a crawl. But even though it would have made her points a lot stronger, she couldn't just go and say that. "And the one after school would have the same problem, I bet. And there are weekend options, but people have stuff going on."

Adrien nodded. "Right. And it looked like those sessions fill up first, too, so people could have trouble getting in with their friends." He snagged her arm, tugging her towards a small cafe. "Is Greek okay?"

Marinette managed a bright smile for him. "That sounds fantastic."

It didn't take long for the two of them to order their food and get settled on stools at a counter by the window. By the time they received their food, Marinette was starting to come up with a new plan of attack.

Getting a class set up at the school had never been a given, she had known that. But there was so much interest that she couldn't just not do anything to encourage her classmates to follow through with the training. So maybe they could set their sights on a class that was a ways out- during the summer, maybe- and try to organize so that no one would be going on their own. She knew from experience that sometimes all someone needed was another person to walk them through something- in this case, the sign-up process- to do something like this, so she could still help. She was about to say as much when a blinking light caught her eye. Marinette glanced at her phone just out of habit, then did a double-take when she caught sight of the email she had received. In a sudden scramble, she set her gyro down and dove for her phone again, catching it just as the screen dimmed and opening up the email.

"What is it?" Adrien asked, craning his neck to try to see. "Mari?"

"I got an email from the first aid people!" Marinette said excitedly, pushing her phone over so Adrien could read it, too. "And look!"

Dear Ms. Dupain-Cheng,

Our CPR/AED/First Aid instructor Linda Ricky mentioned your inquiry about having a session at your collège so that more students could get their certification and be ready to respond in case of an emergency. We would certainly be interested in setting up such a session, as we want to get the younger generation involved in our training efforts. We can offer a mixed-format course at a reduced rate for students. Before we set anything up, I would like to know how many students would be interested so that we know if we would need more than one session set up. We can go with either the full CPR/AED/First Aid course or just First Aid depending on interest.

Thank you for joining us and I hope to hear from you soon!

"Oh, they're super interested," Adrien said with a laugh, pushing Marinette's phone back to her. "Good job, Marinette. So what's the next step?"

"Well, I need to get back to them by this evening at the latest," Marinette said, already starting to brainstorm. "Thanking them and trying to get a timeline set up for when I'll get back to them. I need to talk to Ms. Bustier and see when there's time for my presentation. It's mostly ready, I think, I just need to polish it up. And then I need to make sign-up sheets, and those will be up for probably a week. And if we want students from other classes to know about it, that'll probably take more presentations or fliers or something."

Adrien let out a low whistle. "That's a lot. If I can help out with anything, Marinette, just let me know." He grinned. "After all, even an Everyday Ladybug can probably use an Everyday Chat Noir to help out."

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

Much to Marinette's relief, getting things all lined up for her presentation wasn't anywhere as much work as she had worried. With Adrien's help, she got things polished up and ready to go within a couple days. Ms. Bustier shifted a few things around so that Marinette could so her presentation, and that all went smoothly.

"Before they arrange anything, we need to know who would actually be interested," Marinette told the class at the end of the presentation. "So I have a sign-up sheet that I'll be posting on the whiteboard here, and then I have fliers, too- these were Adrien's idea, so we can get other classes interested, too." Marinette waved one of the aforementioned fliers. She had taken a fairly standard flier for the course and modified it, making it clear that they were hoping to have an opportunity to have the course at the school and where interested parties should sign up. She had also tacked on a FAQ with information answering the questions that she and Adrien had thought up. "I'm hoping to get one in as many classrooms as possible. Obviously there might be some classes here who are too young to take the class yet, so we don't need to get those classrooms, but I'm hoping to make sure that everyone who's old enough to take the class at least knows about the opportunity."

"I can pass those around in the teacher's lounge, Marinette," Ms. Bustier said at once. "That was a very nice presentation, and I hope all of you at least give this opportunity some consideration. It's very possible that none of you will ever need to use any of the skills that you learn during the class, but it's wonderful if you're prepared! It really can save a life."

Marinette beamed as her classmates clapped, unable to resist the urge to duck her head bashfully as she hung up the sign-up sheet and headed back to her seat. Adrien offered her a high-five and she complied with a grin.

"Can we sign up now?" Alya asked at once, sticking her hand up in the air. "Or do we have to wait until the end of class?"

"Well, if you want to sign up now while I set up our lesson for today, you're certainly welcome to," Ms. Bustier told her. "If you need some time to think about it-"

She was cut off as easily half of the class got up, rushing to the front with pencils in hand to sign up. Others were clearly still considering the option. Marinette couldn't hide her grin as she watched. She had suspected that there would be a lot of interested people in her class, just based off of the response after she mentioned it the first time. But this was incredible.

Maybe only Ladybug and Chat Noir could end akuma fights, but with so many students trained to help out others- maybe, just maybe, they could help make the battles just a little bit safer.

#Miraculous Ladybug #My writing #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #adrien you ain't slick

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valeriannnn · 4 years

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if youve ever wanted to think about what almost every major RWBY character would main in professional overwatch, then today is your lucky day! brought to you by hiatus, return of owl, and 3am delirium

RUBY - Star DPS. Extremely flashy, always on the highlight reel. Will play whatever is needed to pound the enemies into dirt, but also the type to say "fuck it ok guys trust me im gonna pop off" and swap to her signature widow/tracer to Pop Off. Works unfailingly. Team captain and emotional core. Prefers mobile heroes and an unpredictable playstyle.

WhiteSnow - Flex Support/Flex DPS. Put her on any sniper (including and especially Ana) and watch all hell rain down. Methodical playstyle, favors high-utility heroes. Aside from snipers, can often be found on Baptiste/Mei/Symmetra. Enables teammates to make big plays, but often sacrifices her own presence in the killfeed for the benefit of the team as a whole. Loves to maker opponents' lives a living hell with CC. Line em up, knock em down.

Belladonna - Offtank. Extremely attentive to her backline, constantly running interference and peeling for allies. Impossible to catch off-guard. Delights in thwarting the enemy team's plans and preventing them from making the plays they want to. Excellent map awareness and always the one to touch point to preserve overtime. Shotcaller. Struggled with committing to risky/aggressive plays, but being on a reliable team has made her more comfortable performing her role and trusting her teammates to have her back. Prefers mobile heroes but will adapt to any situation to work in perfect tandem with...

YangXiaoLong - Main Tank. Could have been a DPS main but early on committed to tank role to enable her duo parter (and little sister) to pop off (and have shorter queue times). Developed a real knack for controlling space and being a brick goddamn wall between her squishies and the enemy team. Extremely aggressive playstyle, but has cooled down in recent years to be more of a team player. Still loves to thrash about when given the opportunity. Known for bold plays and phatty shatties.

Arc - Main Support. Tried for years to be a DPS hotshot but was determinedly mediocre and got hard stuck in plat. Persuaded by Pyrrha to pocket her for a few games, and discovered the depth and fulfillment of playing support to a well-coordinated team. Nurtured his aptitude for assisting from the backline and quickly rose through the ranks. Will play whatever is meta but will always be a Mercy main at heart. Played Brig during GOATS. Shotcaller.

Valkyrie - Doomfist.

Nikos - Main Tank. Extremely methodical player, reknowned for big brain cerebral plays and unflappability. Can be slow to push advantages, but never makes mistakes. Loves the mind games in a Rein v Rein matchup, and unfailingly blocks the enemy shatter (delights in cucking the enemy Rein). Will play Orisa For The Good Of The Team but takes no joy in it. Terrifying on defense; takes a strong position and allows time pressure to force enemies into missteps. When you make a mistake, she will be there. Strategic backbone of the team.

RenLie - Flex Support. Bloodthirsty support. Likes the balance of damage potential and support capacity in Zenyatta, but puts forth strong showings on Moira and Ana as well. First priority is of course keeping his team alive, but flankers trying to dive him in the back line tend to get sent home in tears. Big Jjonak energies. :uwuknife: Can be susceptible to tunnel vision/desperation, and occasionally needs teammates to re-ground him. Always nanos Nora.

PPolen - Offtank. D.Va one-trick. Absolutely notorious for eating ults; absolutely infuriating to play hitscan into. Flawless mechanical skill. Occasionally struggles with communication, but honestly so on-the-ball that it doesn't usually come back to bite her. Always has gold objective time.

Qrow - True flex. Exclusively solo-queues on ladder, just plays the leaderboards. Played just about every role at some point (except main tank, fuck that), but currently on a flex support kick. Holds world records for gravs/blizzards/immortality feels clipping through the geometry and falling out of the map. The sort of Ana who will singlehandedly take out both enemy DPS when beset by flankers only to immediately die to an errant Moira orb. Gamers can we get an F in chat. Accustomed to playing on 200+ ping and is deeply unsettled when he moves somewhere with good internet and has to re-learn all his timings.

RWBY+JNPR+P All form a single 9-man roster. Sub out roles with redundant players for map set strategies and for flexible plays. Probably called the Beacon Huntsmen or something generic like that, who cares

Winter - Main Tank and Offtank. Excellent mechanical skill. Unparalleled when allowed to execute her set strategy, but struggles with adaptability. Extremely self-sacrificial, and knows exactly how to leverage her health pool to buy time and/or space for her allies to make the plays they need to. Will unflinchingly act upon callouts, good or bad, because the worst outcome is a split decision. Especially fond of a quick reset.

Whitley - Doesn't play Overwatch, but holds several championship trophies in international Pokemon tournaments. Minecraft youtuber.

Adam - Widow one-trick. Highly overrated, inexplicably popular streamer. Mechanically talented but poison in a team environment. Picked up and quickly dropped from several professional teams. Teabags. Looks impressive on stream but crumbles against opponents with any semblance of coordination. Eventually blacklisted from professional environments after one too many scandals in his personal life.

Ozpin -Franchise owner. Has never actually touched Overwatch, but used to be a respected Starcraft player back in the day. Took on a coaching role for a time, but now largely manages from afar. Has a sparse and cryptic social media presence. Makes business decisions largely at random, unbeknownst to all his subordinates.

Salem - Hates videogames. Will unplug the router if you piss her off.

Ace Ops - High profile roster hand-picked for perfectly complementary hero pools. Hyped to fuck in the preseason. Unparalleled individual play but poor communication, incompatible playstyles, and truly abysmal coaching staff keep them from being a top-tier team. Widely considered a disappointment considering the talent and money backing them.

Harriet - DPS. Exclusively plays flankers and extremely mobile DPS. Tries to solo-carry; in her defense, it often works. Unironically brags/complains about having gold medals. Quick to tilt but often uses the negative energy to pop off even harder. Overtime clutch god.

Marrow - Flex DPS. Cautious player, often hesitant to commit to risky strats. Flawless positioning, both personally and for thrown abilities. Talent for projectile DPS; probably contributed not-insignificantly to scatter arrow being removed from the game. Prefers to understand the enemy's strategy before acting. Shotcaller. Nobody listens.

Elm - Main Tanks (Except Reinhardt), Zarya. Aggressive tank player, frequently found with gold damage. Generally good natured but vulnerable to tilt if on a losing streak. Highly momentum-based. Makes tutorial videos on strategy and positioning for her youtube channel. Wants to see the competitive scene develop and flourish, but sensitive to feeling threatened by new talent. Helps them anyway.

Vine - Flex Tanks (except Zarya), Reinhardt. Unflappable, regardless of quality of games or recent performance. Good at reading enemy team and tracking ults. Generally calls enemy plays before they happen. Always sticks with Elm, largely out of obligation to bail her out when her aggression puts her in a dicey position. Understated player, rarely in highlight compilations, but extremely consistent performance. Plays off-meta in scrims so as not to reveal strats.

Clover - Main Healer. Can play any support, but Lucio main through and through. Suffers from Reddit Lucio syndrome, but usually good enough (or lucky enough) to get away with it. Loves to deny enemy followup. Peel master, boop god. PMA to a borderline-irritating degree. Gives great pep talks at half time. Tends to overcommit to strategies that are dead in the water; sometimes it's better to call it and switch comps while you still have time on the clock. Despite this, is opportunistic in the moment-to-moment sense and quick to capitalize on enemy vulnerabilities.

Flynt Coal - Lucio one-trick. I mean, come on.

Wukong - ??? Exclusively plays off-meta heroes and weird shit. Talented but remains on ladder because he doesn’t like the rigid structure of tournament play. Refuses to be confined to a single role. Hates role lock cause he can’t swap mid game anymore. Despite all this, somehow tends to be more of an asset than a detriment. Definitely a team player. PMA king. Occasionally finds legitimately competitive strata for underutilized heroes. Nutty with hammond movement, godawful with mines. Has the Winston skin equipped, of course.

Ilia - DPS. Popular streamer. Tried going pro for a bit, but didn’t like the schedule and retired shortly. Frequently plays with the community and does weird custom game modes for a laugh. Loves Daddy Rein Chases Tiny Torblets. Refuses to open loot boxes, much to the dismay of her stream. Plays Golfing Over It during long queues. Draws all her own custom emotes.

Watts - DPS. Mains Widow, Sombra; plays anything that lets him avoid ever actually engaging the enemy at close range. Thinks the game stopped being good when Sombra GOATS stopped being a thing. Spends all day on twitter heckling pro players and declaring Overwatch a dead game. Suspected of cheating. Considers himself a shotcaller but isn't very good at it.

Tyrian - Plays Junkrat and Roadhog exclusively. Thinks it's bullshit that the game doesn't have friendly fire. Thinks it's bullshit that Junkrat doesn't deal self-inflicted damage anymore. Master of the bounce shot. Tends to treat the game like a TDM and forget the objective in favor fragging out. Targets a single enemy player and tries to get them to tilt. Uses voice chat but only laughs. Never makes callouts. Trash talks in all-chat. Considers it a personal victory if he gets someone to rage quit.

Hazel - No Role. Doesn't really get the idea of the metagame; knows it's generally good to have a balanced team but thats about as deep as he chooses to go. Was one of the old guards of PC gaming but now that it's a mainstream hobby has to refuses to confront that he's hot garbage at them. Can't really parse everything that's happening onscreen in a fast-paced game like overwatch, so he just picks Torb (regardless of map or attacking/defending status) and uses the turret as a security blanket. Godawful turret placement. Still has a good time somehow.

Cinder - Main Tank. Likes the importance of the role, and especially the way her team has to follow her calls for any chance of success. A nice balance of aggression and craftiness, she makes a fearsome opponent. Callouts could be more frequent/detailed, but her directions are always good when given. Very susceptible to emotional ups and downs, and often takes out frustration on teammates. Takes losses very hard, gloats about wins. Happiest with an Ana pocket.

Emerald - Offtank. Would be much happier on DPS or Support, but desperate to show off and live up to Cinder's expectations. Sticks with her main tank except when it's absolutely necessary to peel for the back line. Tends to be overcautious with ults; she's good enough mechanically to earn them relatively quickly, but fear of whiffing one makes her reticent to spend them. Flawless bubble timing on Zarya.

Mercury - Support. Still considers Symmetra a support. Quick to whip out the blaster and try to fight off flankers instead of calling for assistance. Knows all the angles for a narsty biotic grenade. Plays as though he's got better positioning and backup than he does; frequently gets opponents to back off just by winning the mental game. Will let allies die on ladder if they piss him off.

#rwby #rwby meta #kind of?????????#yall have my SINCEREST apologies if the readmore dont work and youre on mobile #long post #anyway heres Content #feel free to add your fave that i couldnt think of anything for #eventually i fell asleep

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longneckreach · 5 years

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A Non-Exhaustive List Of Every Accidental Parallel Between The Reach Raid And Watership Down

Nah I’m not done calling myself out in public okay. Okay. Let me just do a rundown of all the similarities--some of which were just unavoidable/would be a standard part of writing any raid scene but are nonetheless present, and others which are just a LITTLE suspiciously specific. I bolded the suspiciously specific ones.

I need to emphasize: ALL of this was unintentional. Watership Down is just my all-time favorite book and apparently it occasionally leaks from my subconscious.

Note we’re talking about the book here, not any of the adaptations--none of which have ever really managed to accurately capture either the tone, the events, or the characterization (though the movie managed the second two ALMOST perfectly.)

Here we go.

First things first: A peaceful grassland clan, consisting of a ragtag group of misfits seeking a better life after experiencing severe trauma, has to hold off an attack by a militaristic clan. Standard stuff.

I will note that, unlike Watership vs Efrafa, here the defenders have the numerical advantage.

Said militaristic invaders are here specifically out of spite, because the “soft” defenders won a symbolic victory and freed a large group of people from tyranny.

They were warned about the attack ahead of time, solely because of a previous and unrelated act of kindness--an act of kindness most people would assume was crazily excessive and could not possibly pay off in any way. They protected someone vulnerable--snatched a mouse from the talons of a hawk--and in the end he came to them and told them they were in danger.

The number of den entrances is explicitly, immediately identified as a very stupid tactical vulnerability.

Noncombatants are evacuated to a specific location, still within the confines of the territory but as far away from the expected tactical strike as possible.

A trick by the defenders forces the invaders to flee underground or be killed en masse. This is a bit of a stretch considering the wildly different contexts, but hey, I said exhaustive. There’s a large dog loose in the wood and also a bunch of Longnecks with arrows.

Their primary tactic is to force the invaders to funnel into narrow spaces, jumping out at them before retreating.

Bigwig’s ambush = Eurion splitting the pack.

Okay this one is cheating because I actually decided to put it in on purpose, having realized all the OTHER similarities, but still.

So for those of you who’ve never read it, in Watership Down, during the final battle, the character of Bigwig lays a trap to catch the invaders by surprise if they get far enough. He buries himself in the loose dirt under the run, so that when the Efrafan attackers break through, they’ll step on him and he can lunge up from below, where they’re not expecting.

Eurion waiting, feeling vibrations in the earth, and busting down the wall right in the middle of the pack in order to scatter them while the Massacre is already on top of him, overcommitted in a narrow passage and can’t turn back? Yeah okay that was intentional on my part.

Turania intentionally filling the space with her body, as well as Aspis’ technique during their staged fight, come directly from Woundwort vs Bigwig. This one was not on purpose. Aspis ducks low to protect his throat, blocking the passage with his body ostensibly to defend the dragons behind him; Turania looms and fills the run, preventing him from moving forward. Combined with the rubble, they create a situation where--had it been a real fight--in Bigwig’s own words, even their dead bodies would prove a real obstacle to either side trying to force their way through.

A seer taunts the leader of the military clan at a crucial moment, rattling enemy morale by speaking the calm, unvarnished truth.

“You are closer to death than I.”

“I am sorry for you with all my heart; but you cannot blame us, for you came to kill us if you could.”

The leader of the enemy clan has a deeply personal reason for trying to kill a perceived traitor, and nearly wins by virtue of pinning him down and tearing at him. He’s so beat-up by the time said leader is no longer on top of him that he has no awareness of what just happened.

“You told me once to start by impressing you, General. I hope I have.”

Ultimately, a battle that had reached some form of standstill is ended by the sudden appearance of a hairy animal that is extremely large and monstrous.

There’s a large Gaoler loose in the wood...there’s a large Gaoler loose in the wood...

And this is the one that really did it for me, this is the moment I had that thunderclap realization of oh god fucking dammit I just wrote Watership Down again: Ennis’ attempt to talk Nalkh down, even as she invades and tries to kill them all, is literally Hazel’s attempt to talk to Woundwort.

I’m actually gonna copy the relevant sections over.

“I’ve come to suggest something altogether different and better for us both. A rabbit has two ears; a rabbit has two eyes, two nostrils. Our two warrens ought to be like that. They ought to be together--not fighting. [...] You wouldn’t lose by that, you’d gain. We both would. A lot of your rabbits are unhappy now and it’s all you can do to control them, but with this plan you’d soon see a difference. Rabbits have enough enemies as it is. They ought not to make more among themselves. [..]”

At that moment, in the sunset on Watership Down, there was offered to General Woundwort the opportunity to show whether he was really the leader of vision and genius which he believed himself to be, or whether he was no more than a tyrant with the courage and cunning of a pirate. For one beat of his pulse the lame rabbit’s idea shone clearly before him. He grasped it and realized what it meant. The next, he had pushed it away from him. The sun dipped into the cloud bank and now he could see clearly the track along the ridge, leading to the beech hangar and the bloodshed for which he had prepared with so much energy and care.

“I haven’t time to sit here talking nonsense,” said Woundwort.

tl;dr GOD DAMMIT I JUST WROTE WATERSHIP DOWN AGAIN.

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chancellormatt · 5 years

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Voltron Rewrite Episode Five - Two Voltrons

Voltron floats opposite of the Dark Voltron, a wide gulf of empty space between them. Tension is written across each and every one of the Paladins faces as they stare at their counterpart. Even the Coalition ships remain still as the dead, as if fearing that any disturbance will initiate the inevitable attack. Keith is the first to finally break the harrowing silence.

“Guys we need to-” Keith never gets a chance to complete his sentence, as Dark Voltron finally moves. It travels with unbelievable speed, closing the distance between the two mechas in the blink of an eye. It rips it's sword into existence, the violet blade already swinging as it materializes from Dark Voltron’s hands. “Shield!” Keith orders quickly. Voltron moves it's shield into place at the same moment Dark Voltron’s sword hits. There is a blinding flash of light as blue and violet energies clash. The result is Voltron being flung backwards from the force of the attack. Voltron crashes into an asteroid, cracking it's surface. The Paladins are unable to gather their bearing as Dark Voltron is already upon them again, plunging it's violet blade downward.

Hunk and Allura throw their throttles with all their might, pushing Voltron to leap out of the way, only barely missing the blade. Dark Voltron continues its downward plunge, burying it's sword into the asteroid. As it does the blade surges with energy and a huge chunk of the asteroid shatters. Bits of broken asteroid slam into Voltron, throwing it into an uncontrolled spin. With effort, all five Paladins manage to pull halt the chaotic tumble and right Voltron. Dark Voltron remains where it is, unmoving among the debris of the partially destroyed asteroid. It holds it's sword out in front of it, in silent challenge. “So...powerful.” Lance remarks with horror. “I’m not even going to try to explain how insane the quintessence readings coming off that thing are!” Pidge reports. “He can’t...really be back…and not...with Voltron.” Allura says, her words in stark contrast to what she sees. “What...what do we do?” Hunk asks, seemingly trying to retreat into his seat. Keith takes a breath, and stares at their darker counterpart. “We can’t let that thing keep us on our toes like that, we’ve gotta press the attack. Lance? Lance!?” The other boy shakes his head, having been distracted by his staring. “Y...yeah?” “Form sword.” “You got it…” The moment Voltron brings it's sword out, Dark Voltron starts to move once again. This time, Voltron moves to meet it's enemy’s charge. The two Voltrons meet, their blades clashing together in another flash of opposing lights. Voltron begins to get pushed backwards. The Paladins struggle with their throttles, pushing back with all they have, but it's isn’t quite enough. Voltron continues to inch backwards under the power of Dark Voltron. “How...do you like...this!?” Keith yells, slamming his bayard into it's port. Voltron’s booster wings erupt from it's back, finally forcing Dark Voltron backwards. “...is this really all the strength you can muster?” Zarkon says. The Paladins expression go from determination to uncertainty in an instant. “Very well…” Zarkon replies to the silence. “...I will show you the power of Voltron in the hands of one who is worthy of it.” Dark Voltron’s own booster wings erupt, immediately negating and overcoming Voltron’s own force. Despite all their efforts the Paladins are unable to succeed against the overwhelming power. Dark Voltron pushes forward, shoving its helpless counterpart backwards, crashing them both through another asteroid, shattering it in the process. The Paladins cry out from the beating their mecha takes. “Hunk...can you…?” Keith manages to get out. “On...it!” Hunk says. After a moment of struggle he managed to force his bayard into it's port. The shoulder cannon materializes. “Greatshield.” Zarkon orders, pulling Dark Voltron backwards, boosters disappearing. At the same time, Honverva throws up the shield. Lotor, Sendak and Raimon all jam in their backyards. The shield glows and doubles in size. Hunk’s cannon fires. The immensely powerful blast of energy erupts from the cannon, and collides with Dark Voltron’s greatshield. The paladins are blinded for a moment as the light of the energy streams against the shield. After a moment the blast dies down, and the Paladins stare at an undamaged, unmoved Dark Voltron. “It didn’t...do anything.” Hunk says, stunned. The greatshield disappears. “That shield...they have abilities we haven’t unlocked yet!” Pidge observes “Twin swords.” Zarkon commands. Honverva and Lotor both slam their bayards into their ports. Dark Voltron tears out a pair of twin blades, and launches into motion again. “I don’t think we can do that either!” Lance cries out. Dark Voltron swings one blade in a downward arc at Voltron’s head. Voltron throws up it's own sword, blocking the strike, but In the same motion, Dark Voltron swings with the other blade, stabbing Voltron’s exposed chest. Voltron is thrown backwards, shuddering from the direct hit. It is at this time that the Coalition ships step in. All ships open fire, a hailstorm of energy fire surging towards the two Voltrons. Voltron moves to dodge the volley of blasts, while Dark Voltron turns to throw up it's greatshield. Voltron manages to successfully avoid the friendly fire, but Dark Voltron is similarly unharmed, as it's greatshield endures blasts after blast from Coalition ships. “Sendak, it seems the mice want to join in a fight between lions. Show them why this is unwise.” Zarkon says “Yes sir!” Sendak slams his bayard into place, and Dark Voltron’s own shoulder cannon appears. “No!” Keith cries, throwing throttles forward. Voltron does not move fast enough. A blast of violet energy bursts from Dark Voltron’s cannon. The beam smashes into the nearest Coalition curister, burning a hole through it. The cruiser explodes. Keith howls with rage as Voltron collides with Dark Voltron. Volton hits shoulder-first flinging the other mecha back. Voltron then drives it's sword forward, aimed for its counterpart’s chest. Dark Voltron, however, recovers quickly, blocking with one twin blade, and using the other to counter with a slash to Voltron’s side. Voltron is knocked sideways from the hit, and is forced to retreat back as Dark Voltron swings a flurry of strikes with it's twin blades. “Do not worry little Paladins, I did not forget you.” Zarkon says as another sword swing grazes Voltron’s shoulder. Voltron reels from the hit, and Dark Voltron moves to follow it up with another. “Not so fast!” Matt yells, as a dozen fighter shoot out energy tethers fastening to Dark Voltron’s arm. Voltron tries to use the opportunity to strike, but it's sword is easily knocked aside. “Insects.” Zarkon says with disgust. Dark Voltron yanks it's arm forward, easily dragging the fighters towards it. The twin blades swing, and in a instant half of the fighters are destroyed. “Matt!” Pidge cries out. “...still alive. For the moment.” Matt replies as he and the other remaining fighters scatter. “Stay out of there, this thing is on a whole other level!” Keith orders. “Roger that…” Matt says as the fighters pull back to keep their distance. Dark Voltron turns back to face Voltron. “...are you done letting your inferiors do your fighting for you?” Zarkon asks. Keith narrows his eyes. “Let’s go.” “But we just-” Hunk starts to say. Keith slams his throttles forward and Voltron lurches into motion. Dark Voltron blocks a wild sword swing and cuts a slash across Voltron’s chest forcing it back. “Keith a direct attack just isn’t working!” Pidge says. “You got any ideas!?” he shoots back. “You're the smart one, how do we beat this thing? How do we beat Voltron!?” “I...don’t…” “Come on Pidge,” Lance urges. “you gotta have some idea, you-” “I don’t know!” Pidge cries. Lance’s eyes widen at the outburst. “Hunk? How about you?” Keith asks. “Nothing…I got nothing.” Hunk says, defeated. “He really has his own Voltron…” Allura says, more to herself than anyone else. “Nobody’s got a plan…” Keith’s hands tighten on his controls. “...well I think I got one.” Without another word, he pushes Voltron into action. Both sword and shield are pulled out. Dark Voltron expertly blocks as Voltron releases an onslaught of sword swings. Dark Voltron tries to counter with it's own attacks, but Voltron in turn blocks with the shield. They continue this back and forth until Dark Voltron seems to overcommit an attack. Voltron jets forward, to slam Dark Voltron with the shield. Dark Voltron crosses it's swords together, blocking the shield. “Hunk NOW!” Keith orders. Hunk moves to slam his bayard but the port does not open. His eyes widen with shock. “I...can’t!” “What do you mean you can’t!?” Keith exclaims. “I mean my lion won’t let me!” “WHAT!?” The other Paladins reply with shock. Dark Voltron takes advantage of the distraction, by regaining the offensive and launching into a combo of sword swings. Keith grits his teeth in frustration. “Forget it! Pidge, use your cannon instead!” Voltron pulls back as the shield is dismissed and Pidge tries to summon the cannon. But her bayard port is also unable to open. “It's not working for me either!” She says with horror. “What’s going on!?” Keith shouts. “Is something wrong with Voltron!?” He doesn’t get any chance to hear an answer, as Dark Voltron continues to press the offensive. Voltron narrowly amanges to dodge a handful of strikes. “Allura please tell me yours is working!” Keith says, as Voltron manages to block one of it's enemy’s blades and force it back. “I…” Allura hesitates, then shakes her head determinedly. “...I’ll try!” As Dark Voltron closes in Voltron’s harpoon gun, though slow to, appears on it's shoulder. “Take this!” Allura shouts. As the harpoon fires, an identical harpoon gun appears on Dark Voltron’s shoulder. It fires knocking Voltron’s spear of energy off course. Allura stares in shock. Dark Voltron dismisses the swords and grabs the limp energy cable, and uses it to yank Voltron forward. The Paladins shout as Volton is dragged into a gut kick from Dark Voltron. The force of the blow sends Voltron spinning back, to crash into yet another asteroid. The Paladins look up helplessly at the hovering form of Dark Voltron. Suddenly a new voice speaks up on the comm: “Father, forgive me if I overstep myself, but how much longer must we indulge in this game of cat and mouse? Should we not stop playing with our food and show them what Voltron can really do?” The Paladins are all shocked at the sound of the voice, Allura in particular. “L...Lotor?” She says, with a tremble in her voice. “The opportunity to crush another Voltron does not come every day, boy.” Zarkon says. However, he does consider for a moment. “...but you may be right. For once. Paladins...begin transformation.” All five Dark Paladins slam their bayards into the lion’s ports. Dark Voltron begins to glow brightly with Violet energy. “He’s...really back…” Allura says, hands shaking on her controls. “Lotor is back! With Zarkon!” “We can’t worry about that right now! Something’s happening!” Keith yells. The armor on Dark Voltron seems to crack and open, emitting even more light. Suddenly the torso snaps to double its original length, while the shoulders widen and expand. Then the red arm also extends, doubling it's length. The green arm is next, followed by the yellow leg, and finally, the blue leg. The energy that is whirling around Dark Voltron starts to take shape, drawing in around its body. It coalesces into thick armor platings wrapping around across the mecha. The wings expand into bigger almost batlike appearance. Dark Voltron’s eyes flash with a purple light as it's new helmet draws over its head. The Armored Dark Voltron now stands twice as tall as it originally did. The Paladins are speechless. They cannot help but stare trembling at their now much larger enemy. Dark Voltron launches forward, pulling back an arm for a punch. Keith is the first to recover. “We’ve gotta move!” He shouts, slamming his bayard into place. Voltron’s wing boosters appear and it blasts off moving so fast it is only a blur moving past Dark Voltron. “No you don’t.” Zarkon says, as Dark Voltron’s massive arm shoots and snags Voltron in the maw of the giant red lion hand. It slams Voltron down into the asteroid so hard Voltron flies all the way through and the asteroid explodes into dust. The Paladins all cry with pain. Dark Voltron puts its hands together. In a flash of light it tears into existence a massive double edged broadsword with a tip that curves into a wicked shape that vaguely resembles a flame. The sword begins to blaze with violet fire. Keith pushes Voltron into action again, rocketing away from the enemy at breakneck speed. Dark Voltron launches after them. It closes the distance in moments, to swing it's massive sword. Voltron twists to the side, and only barely manages to dodge the blade swing. Despite this, the energy flames following in the wake of the sword engulf Voltron, sending it spinning. The flames continue to shoot out in a arc from where the blade swung, slicing another nearby asteroid in half. Dark Voltron moves to swing again. “Shield!” Keith orders frantically. “Pull back to minimize damage!” Voltron throws up the shield and rockets backwards, as Dark Voltron swings it's massive blade. The blade collides with the shield, and rather than warring with the blue light like before, the violet burning light completely engulfs the blue. The shield is split in two and the sword slashes across Voltron’s chest. The Paladins scream as Voltron breaks apart, back into five lions. They spin in all directions, barely able to maintain consciousness. “We...we...can’t fight that thing.” Hunk pants out. “What..what do we do Keith?” Lance asks. Keith is only silent as the massive Dark Voltron looms over the five lions. “Keith!” Lance repeats. Keith shakes himself, finally seeming to break free of whatever trance he was in. “We...fall back. Split up. It can’t follow us all.” Keith says weakly. “Meet back up with the fleet, maybe we can take alternate routes back to earth, lose them along the way.” “Retreat? Split up?” Lance says with disbelief. “That’s your-” “That’s all I got Lance!” Keith shoots back. The other paladins are silent as they shoot back towards the fleet. “Should we seek them out one by one?” Lotor asks. “...no.” Zarkon says after a moment. “It would take too long, and we are reaching out limit with this form. Besides I learned what I needed to. They are no threat to us.” “What shall we do then, my love?” Honerva asks. “They’ve seen fit to split up. If they think this will give them an edge, they are to be sorely mistaken…” In a flash of light Dark Voltron returns to its original form, then splits back into five lions. “Paladins...go hunting.” Lotor smiles. “With pleasure.”

***

The Lions race back to rejoin the Coalition fleet. “Heads up! We’re getting out of here!” Keith says. “But how can we outrun that thing?” Ryner asked. “Split up...hope that that's enough.” Keith says, sounding defeated. “And if they pick us off one by one?” Matt asks. “I…” Keith doesn’t seem to have an answer. “I may have a solution.” A new voice says. “Who is that?” Keith asks, perking up. “This is Captain Arodul of the V.C. Celesta, commanding officer of this transport convoy. You...came here to save us.” “Yeah, we’re...working on it.” Keith winces. “You said you might have something?” “Yes. We were transporting a number of valuable materials to the Coalition group on Earth, however our most important payload is onboard this very ship. It's the very same teleduv that was used to transport Zarkon’s entire ship back when you all fought him.” “You have the teleduv!?” Allura says with surprise. “Is that Princess Allura?” The Captain asks. “It is.” “Thank the stars.Yes we really do have the teleduv, and If you’re here then we really can escape. We couldn’t use it before without an altean to charge it. But with you here…” “I can make it work.” Allura says immediately. “Without the Castle, you’ll have to personally charge it up and direct its location.” Pidge points out. “She’ll have to be out in space all by herself. Exposed.” Hunk adds. “No way this is too dangerous!” Lance says. “Allura?” Keith takes a breath. “Can you do it?” Allura’s hands tighten on her controls. “Yes.” “But-” Lance starts to say. “Get it started. The rest of us…we’ll buy you time.” “Guys don’t mean to interrupt but that thing broke down into lions!” Matt informs them. The Paladins turn to see the five dark lions racing forward. “Good. Maybe we can beat them like this.” Keith says. “Coalition, with us!” The four Lions race out to meet their darker counterparts, with the Coalition fleet trailing behind. Allura in the Blue Lion hangs back with the smaller Coalition convoy. The largest ship, the Celesta, opens a large gap in it's back.

***

“They’re doing something.” Sendak says. “Something to do with that ship. “It looks like...a teleduv.” Honvera says, with a hint of surprise. “They plan to escape. How pathetic. Lotor you know what to do.” “Yes Father.” Lotor says with a grin, before breaking off from the group.

***

“One of them’s going for Allura!” Lance says. “Cut him off!” Keith orders. Lance throws his the Red Lion into action, racing to meet his counterpart. Lance fires his lion’s mouth laser, but Lotor banks to the side, dodging. In the same motion The Prince fires his own lion’s tail laser. The blast hits Lance’s lion in the chin. Lance grits his teeth and shakes off the hit. He fires again at Lotor’s lion, but the Dark paladin forces his lion low, avoiding the hit, then races back upward to slam shoulder-first into Lance’s lion. “You need more practice with that Lion, Paladin.” Lotor says the last word as if it is a joke. “Lotor? That really you!? I know you’re supposed to be back, but I thought we beat you already!” Lance says. “I find that increasingly hard to believe…” Lotor says blasting at Lance’s Lion. Lance dodges, and tried to nail Lotor with his own tail laser, but the Prince is too fast, already having spun his lion to dodge. “Well whether you are him or not, you aren’t getting past me!” “As fun as it would be to spend more time proving myself the better Paladin of the Red Lion…” Raimon in the Dark Blue Lion slams into Lance. “...I have a job to do. Thank you Raimon. Hold him as long as you can. The Red Lion is a quick one so it may be tricky…” Lotor launches back into motion, to race for Allura. Lance starts to give chase, but Raimon fires his Sonic Cannon, blasting the Red Lion into the side of an asteroid. “...quiznak.” Lance swears.

***

Pidge ducks low, narrowly dodging a blast from the Dark Green Lion. Honerva chases her, continuing to throw blasts in her direction. Pidge tries to fire back with the tail laser, but Honerva easily dodges. “Try shooting me without seeing me.” Pidge says, activating her lion’s cloak. The green lion vanishes. “Interesting.” Honerva says, holding out a hand to crackle with violet lightning. She slams the hand into the side of her lion. A pulse spreads out from the lion, hitting Pidge’s lion and revealing it. Pidge’s eyes go wide as Honvera sees her and fires. Pidge is hit and her lion reels. “Hang on sis we got ya!” Matt says as he and a group of other fighters lack onto Honerva’s tail and start shooting. Honvera responds by yanking back on her throttle. The fighters breeze past, and before they can react she activates the back cannon and fires twice. Black, distorted vines grow out of the fighters and crush them. A third blasts fires for Matt’s fighter. Suddenly the Green Lion shoots forward taking the hit. “Pidge!” Matt creis. “I’m...alright. The vines shouldn't work on Green. Still hurts though.” Matt narrows his eyes and pulls hsi fighter alongside Pidge’s lion. “Take that thing together then?” “Wouldn’t have it any other way.” The two siblings charge.

*** Hunk lion is slammed by the shoulder of the Dark Yellow Lion. His lion goes spinning but the Dark Lion continues to press it's advantage. Hunk manages to meet the next rush in force, and both lions struggle in a battle of strength. “We heard Zarkon and Lotor…” Hunk says straining. “...so who’s this? Let me guess another bad guy we thought we beat.” “My name is Sendak, if you must know.” “Wait really?” Hunk says, surprised he was correct. “Remember the name well. It is the last one you will ever hear.” Sendak manages to shove Hunk back, and blast his lion in the chest. Hunk spins from the hit, and barely recovers in time to dodge another hit. “You should have stayed on whatever backwater planet you crawled from.” Sendak says. “Might be right about that one.” Hunk says under his breath.

*** Two Black Lions face each other. Keith in one. Zarkon in the other. Keith his lion first. Zarkon smiles. Keith fires his lion’s mouth laser. Zarkon ducks the blast and launches forward, activating the lion’s jaw blades. He slashes Keith’s lion across the side. Keith growls from the hit, but activates his own lion’s jaw blades and lunges for Zarkon. Zarkon backs away, narrowly dodging the blow, and fires both his mouth and tail laser, hitting Keith’s lion center mass. “You are as bad at commanding your lion as you are with Voltron.” Zarkon says. Keith grips his controls tightly and howls, as he once more launches his lion into motion, to charge at Zarkon.

*** Allura watches as the gigantic teleduv begins to unfold from the back of the Celesta. “We’re detecting incoming!” the Captain says. Allura turns to see the approaching Dark Red Lion. She narrows her eyes. “Don’t stop.” She pushes her lion into motion. She fires a blast at the other lion. It easily dodges, spinning to the side to fire off it's own blast. Allura’s lion takes the hit in the shoulder, rearing back from the hit. She to fire back but the Red Lion pulls around to her back. She spins to fire on him, but the Red Lion avoids her again, moving to fast for her to follow. “I must say I am not particularly impressed with you Paladins thus far.” Prince Lotor says. “Lotor…” Allura says, voice uncertain. “...Is that really you?” “I’m sorry have we met?” Her eyes widen. “Wh...what?” “Ah so we have. How interesting.” Allura shake her head. “What is going on here? How did you get out of the Quintessence Field? Where did this other Voltron come from? And why in all the stars are you working with Zarkon, who’s supposed to be dead!?” “Quintessence field? Fascinating. But why would be anywhere other than at my father’s side?” Lotor shoots a blast at Allura but she narrowly dodges it. “Because you hate your father! You killed him!” That gives Prince Lotor pause. “I...what?” “You fought with us against Zarkon, and struck him down yourself! How do you not remember this!?” Prince Lotor blinks, still reeling from the words. The distraction costs him, as Allura is finally able to land a hit on him. Lotor is blown back from the laser blast. The blow seems to shake him from the momentary distraction. He narrows his eyes. “...it wouldn’t be worth the time to explain it to you. Simply be rest assured that I am not the Lotor you befriended, and you can not expect mercy from me.” “You...He was not our friend.” Allura growls. “Not really.” She launches her lion into motion. “Those alteans in the Robeast it was you! You turned my people against me!” “It was surprisingly easy.” Prince Lotor replies dodging a blast from Allura’s lion. “Maybe the one to blame is your own abilities as a leader.” Shut up!” She shouts. She tries to activate her Sonic Cannon but nothing happens. “No, not now!” “Having trouble with your lion?’ Lotor blasts her, throwing The Blue Lion into an uncontrolled spin. “I do consider myself something of a gentleman so I won’t prolong your death any more than necessary. Only Courtesy I can provide the lady I’m afraid…” He lines up for another blast. “Like I’d let you do that scumball!” Lance yells as his lion blasts Lotors in the back. Lotor whirls around to face Lance. Raimon is still trailing after the boy, but Lance still managed to land a shot. “Persistent little bastard…Raimon, ignore the boy. The Red Lion is too fast for you. I’ll take care of him, you finish off the girl.” “Understood.” Raimon says, as he and Lotor switch trajectories. Allura is harried by the sudden blasts of Raimon’s lion. She moves to dodge, firing back. Raimon is not as fast as Lotor, but he does not put any unnecessary flair into his movements, every shot is a methodical attack aimed at keeping her on her toes, and forcing her into a corner. “Princess! We’re ready for you!” The Captain of the Celesta informs her. The massive teleduv has opened up, waiting only to be activated. “A bit busy at the moment!” Allura cries as she dodges a mouth blast, only to take a tail laser hit. Raimon moves in for a jaw blade attack, but suddenly a lance of energy opens up in front of him. The convoy ships have moved up to fire on the Dark Blue Lion. “We’ll buy you as much time as we can.” The captain says. “Thank you.” She says. She breaks off to fly towards the teleduv as the convoy ships engage Raimon’s lion. She brings her lion up to just in front of the teleduv, and stops there. Allura opened the mouth of her lion and steps out to stand on its jaws. She takes a breath and begins to focus. Arcs of blue lightning start to crackle around her.

***

Keith’s Black Lion is smashed into the side of a Coalition cruiser. Zarkon plunges downward in his lion, claws outstretched. Keith forces his lion back up in an attempt to meet Zarkon’s charge. Zarkon smashes him back down to the cruiser, holding Keith’s lion down under his lion’s claws. Keith tries to rise, but Zarkon blast him back down with a mouth blast “It will be a mercy, putting you down. Really you are so weak it's pathe-” Suddenly the cannons on the curiser move and blast Zarkon’s lion off Keith. He recovers quickly, but a team of fighters surround him to fire on his lion. “I see the mice didn’t learn their lesson.” Zarkon says. He moves his lion in quick maneuvers, easily dodging the hail of laser fire from the fighters. He blast one out of the air with his mouth beam, another with his tail. Four try to block him in, but Zarkon bats one ship into another with his lion claws, then fires a mouth a mouth blast and tail laser on the other two. With only two fighters remaining in the whole group they try to launch energy tethers, but Zarkon dodges the tethers and dashes between the two, destroying each with a slice from his lion’s jaw blades. The cruiser fires it's cannons again. They do not manage to hit him this time. Bearing his lion’s jaw blades, Zarkon races along the curiser in a blur, dragging the blade across the ship’s armor. Explosion pop up everywhere the blade cuts. Finally Zarkon pulls his lion back to fire a blinding mouth blast at the center of the ship. The Cruiser breaks apart and explodes. Another cruiser starts to fire on Zarkon’s Black Lion. He starts to move towards that one. “NO!” Keith shouts, slamming his lion into Zarkon’s sending them both spinning. He uses his lion’s claw to grab onto Zarkon’s and blasts him with a point blank mouth blast. Zarkon’s lion is throw into the side of a small asteroid. “...so you do have some fight in you.” Zarkon’s lion shakes off the blast as if it were nothing, and launches back into motion. Keith races to meet him.

***

Allura continues to crackle with energy, lances of blue alchemical lighting launching out to meet the different parts of the teleduv. “Princess...we held him as long as we could.” Captain Arodul says. Allura glances back to see all of the convoy ships either crippled or destroyed. Raimon’s lion has resumed flying towards her. “Thank you for your efforts.” She says, groaning with effort. “Paladins! I need help. One of the enemy lions is coming for me! I am not in a position to fight back!”

*** “I’m a little busy at the moment!” Pidge says. “Same here!” Hunk adds. “I’ll...try!” Keith says. He tries to move The Black Lion to turn back towards Allura. He is immediately smashed back down by Zarkon. “You aren’t going anywhere.” Zarkon says. Keith shoves the other lion back and turns to make another attempt to race for Allura. Zarkon fires on Keith slamming his lion in the back. “How does it feel to be unable to help your friends? To be helpless? You are not worthy to pilot that lion, much less to lead Voltron!” Zarkon declares. “SHUT UP!” Keith yells, firing his lion’s mouth blast. Zarkon spins out of the way to fire his own blast. Keith throws his lion into motion again, getting grazed by the blast. Keith’s lion shakes from the damage but he pushes his lion once more, towards Allura. “Come on black...His words are more desperate than his usual determination. “...come on!” But the wings do not appear.The lion refuses to respond. Zarkon lion smashes Keith’s off to the side, forcing it into a wild spin. Keith slumps back in his seat.

*** Lance narrowly dodges a blast from Lotor’s lion. Lance?” Keith asks, sounding defeated. “Everyone else is occupied, Allura is in trouble! Can...can you do anything?” “I…” He just barely managed to dodge another blast from Lotor. Despite this he looks over to where Raimon’s Lion is approaching Allura. “...I’ll try.” He tries to line up a shot but keeps having to dodge another blast from Lotor. “Just as long as I can get rid of this guy for a second.” Lance breaks away to race around the side of an asteroid. Lotor moves to follow. Lance jerks back on his throttle, and Lotor races past. Lance uses the moment to turn and line up on a shot. Lotor without turning his lion, fires a tail blast the knocks Lance’s shot wild. Lance launches his lion back into motion, flying it between a series of asteroids, but Lotor easily follows and over takes him, to fire on Lance. “Dang it! Can’t shake him!” Lance says dodging a blast. *** Allura’s alchemical lightning grows to it's apex, and the energy begins to take form. A Wormhole begins to open up in space. Raimon takes aim on Allura. She casts a worried look back but continues to expand the wormhole.

*** “Lance just take the shot Lance!” Keith orders. “But I-” “Take the shot Lance!” Keith strains, struggling with his own battle. “Al...alright.” Lance does his best to line up a shot on Raimon’s lion. He dodges a blast from Lotor and refocuses his shot. “Come on…” He narrows his focus. He starts to pull the trigger on his throttle but hesitates. “Now Lance!” Keith shouts. Lance fires. So does Lotor. Lotor’s shot hits in the same moment that Lance’s blast fires. The blue beam of energy fires out from Lance’s lion across space, towards The Dark Blue Lion. The shot misses, just barely grazing the top of Raimon’s lion. Raimon fires. “Almost there…” Allura says. The blast hits her lion. Allura cries in pain as the blast hits. Her lion’s mouth closes shut, but she collapses inside. “Allura!” Lance shouts. “What happened?” Keith demands. “She got hit...I don’t know how bad...the wormhole is open.” Lance explains. Keith takes a long breath. “Everyone...get to the wormhole. We’re getting out of here.” The Coalition ships all turn towards the wormhole. They gather by the edge and start firing back, doing their best to cover the Lions. One by one the Lions of Voltron follow suit, harried by their counterparts. At the last minute Zarkon pulls back, and the Dark Lions join up in a line beside him. The Coalition does not waste the opportunity, and they all pass through the wormhole. The Lions of Voltron are the last. Lance and Hunk grab onto Allura’s lion and pull her through. Pidge follows just after, leaving Keith as the final. He shoots one last look at the Dark Lions before turning away, to enter the Wormhole himself. “Should we pursue them through father?” Lotor asks. “No.” Zarkon says. “We don’t know where they’re going. It could be to reinforcements. But even if they aren’t, we did what we came here to do. We proved we hold the superior Voltron. When the universe hears of this, the rest will fall into place…”

*** Inside the Wormhole, everyone is experiencing heavy turbulence. “Wh...what’s going on?” Keith asks. “It looks like Allura got taken down before she could get a proper trajectory for this thing!” Pidge says consulting her scanners. “Meaning!?” “This thing could send us anywhere in the universe!” With a sudden shake, the wormhole collapses.

*** Allura’s eyes gradually flutter open, and she groans. Allura looks up to see the other Paladins surrounding her bed, on a Coalition ship. “What...happened?” She asks, delirious. The Paladins share an uneasy look. “It's been a few hours.” Pidge says, speaking up first. “You were hit before you could finish calibrating the wormhole. Lance looks down. “We’re in a whole other galaxy from earth.” Pidge goes on.“It’ll take us a few days to get back.” “I see.” Allura says, tiredly. “Did everyone get out alright?” “No. Keith answers immediately. “We lost a lot of people. Almost half the fleet, including the people in the ships that weren’t destroyed but we had to leave because they were crippled.” “We...did our best.” Hunk says usefully. “And it wasn’t enough.” Lance says with hollow eyes. “What we we supposed to do?” Pidge asks. “It doesn’t matter.” Keith sighs. “Zarkon’s back, so is Lotor, they have their own Voltron...and we lost. And I have no idea how we’re supposed to beat them.” No one else replies. Because they know he is right.

Author’s Update: Wow this story’s getting real sad real quick. But that’s just the way things go sometimes. I swear there’s less depressing stuff on the horizon. Anway, thanks again everyone for reading, just letting you know that it might take me a bit longer on chapters from now on. Just feeling like I’m gonna burn myself out at this pace so don’t want to overdo it. Worry not I’ll make sure this thing gets finished no matter what! Thanks for your patience, and I’ll see you again soon!

#voltron #voltron legendary defender #keith #lance #pidge #hunk #allura #zarkon #Lotor

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