#land shark duel

[atomic-chronoscaph]

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe - art by Earl Norem (1986)

#earl norem #he-man and the masters of the universe #vintage toys #80s toys #motu art #skeletor #vintage 80s posters #land shark duel #road ripper #toy art #1980s #1986

[orqheuss]

A duel most desirable

(Sebastian Sallow/F!Reader SMUT)

Summary:

It was a dance, this game— two sharks circling, waiting for the other to bare their teeth and charge, and you had drawn first blood.  *** Emotions are running high, and a friendly duel between you and your best friend, whom you're completely and entirely infatuated with, takes a very...steamy turn.

Word count: 5k

Tags: Sexual content, feral behavior, p n v sex, handjobs, fingering, table sex, rough sex, switch!sebastian and switch!reader, competitive sex, slight breeding kink, possessive!sebastian (but when is he not yf)

AN: I'm back after camping out west for two weeks! Have some feral, animal instinct smut as a "thanks for sticking around" gift from me.

It all began with a simple challenge. Ever since you came to Hogwarts in your fifth year, the discussion of who was the best duelist in the school was a heavily debated topic, particularly between you and your best friend, Sebastian Sallow (the previous best duelist in all of Crossed Wands, as you liked to remind him). Within a week of coming to the new school, you had blown his record out of the water, much to Lucan Brattleby’s delight and the Sallow boy’s chagrin. The brunette challenged you often, and every time you wiped the floor with his, quite perky if you said so yourself, behind. Even still, he made it his personal mission to knock you down a peg. Little did the both of you know, it would all cumulate to one particular rapturous battle of fire and passion.

On this particular night, it was just the two of you in the Undercroft; Ominis had long ago gone to bed, with a snarky remark about keeping the “tension” to a minimum in his precious space, of course, as the moon reached its highest peak in the sky. Sebastian scoffed at the other boys' retreating form, musing in his mind that there was no such tension between him and you— his newest best friend. Even still, he couldn’t help his eyes flittering over your form every once and a while, admiring how the candles scattered around the space caught on the exposed skin of your forearms and the sliver of skin peaking out from between your skirt and socks. You both lapsed into a pleasant silence, simply enjoying each other's company in the late hours of the evening. Secretly, you agreed with your blond companion, you could feel the obvious desire that scorched the air between you and the Sallow boy— you could take a knife to it and cut it right down the middle. Not that you would want to— heaven’s no. See, that was your other secret: you knew all about how Sebastian felt about you, even if he hadn’t realized it yet himself. You were distinctly aware of how his eyes landed on you often, how his gaze would sometimes burn into you so scorchingly that it felt like your clothes would go up in flames any moment, and you loved it. It had become a game for you to see how far you could tease Sebastian, how far you could drive him into madness before he snapped like a weak-willed man beast. You had been doing this dance for a year at this point, and as the middle of your seventh year drew closer, time was running out for the boy to make a move. Even still, you were not going to be the one to break this silent battle— this push and pull of little flirts and lingering touches (no matter how much Ominis begged you to end the misery of hearing Sebastian lament about you on a daily basis). 

Unbeknownst to you, Sebastian was also aware of your fun with teasing him, as well as the mutual feelings that sent both of your hearts aflutter when together. He had decided that he, also, was not going to be the one to snap first. And so, much to the displeasure of everyone around the both of you at any moment of the day, you both continued to dance around your feelings and push the other more and more with increasingly crass whispers and near sinful touches. 

At least an hour later, you both had not moved from your spots, save for the occasional shift here and there. Each twitch of your hips caught the attention of Sebastian, to the point where he hadn’t taken his eyes off of you in some time. His eyes widened significantly after one particular movement shifted your skirt up slightly more, just enough to reveal the strap of your wand holder pillowing the flesh of your thigh, and you silently giggled at the audible hitch in his breath. Up and down, up and down your skirt had been going for the entirety of your time together, and the brunette was in agony. A dangerous smirk pulled at the corners of your mouth, the plan that had been brewing in the darkest corners of your mind slowly moving its way to the space just behind your temple. Flicking your irises up from the book adorning your lap and meeting your beguiling friend’s gaze finally, your gut began to burn at the hunger you found groveling in his pupils. It was time to put the next step in motion. 

Just as the boy was about to speak, your voice cut through the silence of the secret hideaway. “Sebastian, care for a duel?” 

A smile began to break the stony exterior of Sebastian’s face, something delightful but deadly tempting you in the way his shoulders squared in confidence. His wand audibly swished through the air as he stood, pushing the chair back with his foot before taking up his normal battle stance. You could hear the slight tease in his voice as he spoke— the playful fire that no one else ever saw from the dashing Slytherin, save you. 

“You’re on, sweetheart.” 

You stood from the settee you were lounging in, taking care to sway your hips slightly more as you strode to the other side of the room from him, adopting a similar stance and preparing your first strike. 

Sebastian’s lower stomach warmed, the butterflies banging against his gut catching fire under the scrutinizing gaze you had him locked in. He could feel the obvious power shedding off of you in waves, wrapping around his throat and squeezing before the battle even began. It was intense, otherworldly— a force stronger than anything natural, and he loved it. There was something so encapsulating about your strength, something that drew him into your orbit since day one. It took him like a forest fire takes ruined trees, quickly, ferociously, and with intense fervor. 

A basic cast struck his chest suddenly, sending him stumbling back a number of paces. His eyes quickly focused on you again, the slight pain shaking him from the daydream he had been sucked into for a moment. The smirk on your face grew even more, nearing the point of mocking as you stood watching him, your arms crossed across your chest and your foot impatient tapping at the ground. 

“Do pay attention, won’t you?” You purred. 

Sebastian’s eyes flicked between yours, how they were alight with a borderline evil glow, and the way your chest squeezed over the top of your crossed forearms, the soft flesh breaching through the button holes of your top like two loaves of fresh baked bread. He fought the desire to lick his lips. 

Yes, ma’am. 

The brunette held your gaze as he stood to his full height, taking his wand between his teeth and beginning to carefully undo each button of his school jacket. He haphazardly shucked the fabric from his form, wasting no time to do the same with his forest green vest before working on the buttons adorning the cuffs of his pressed dress shirt. It was your turn to begin to feel flustered, a slight blush coloring the apples of your cheeks with each inch of tanned, freckle covered skin revealed. The way the tiny flames of the braziers lining the walls danced against the veins lining his forearms made your mouth water— you wanted to bite into that flesh, wanted to feel the body heat of his palm pressed against your neck as he had his way with you. 

Sebastian loudly cleared his throat, a mischievous look in his eye and a laugh in his smile as he raised his eyebrow at you, silently questioning your sudden silence and lack of composure. 

Tease.

You huffed, furrowing your brow in anger and embarrassment as you holstered your wand again, doing the same as he did with your clothes and throwing them into the corner. Not one to be outdone, instead of just loosening the tie around your neck (which left a dastardly tantalizing view of the brunette’s collarbones) you took it off completely, slowly pulling it from your neck and letting it glide down your arm as your eyes drank the Sallow boy in. For one final tease, you unbuttoned the top two clasps of your shirt, giving him the smallest taste of your cleavage. You raised your eyebrows at him like he did you, knowing that you were beginning a very dangerous game— one that you knew he couldn’t resist. 

It was a dance, this game— two sharks circling, waiting for the other to bare their teeth and charge, and you had drawn first blood. 

 Sebastian frowned deeply, releasing a soft sound akin to a growl that sent a spike of arousal down your spine, and quickly shot a basic cast back, watching as it bounced harmlessly against the shield you generated. 

A silent sentence passed through the both of you, your eyes glowing in the low lamplight. 

Let the games begin. 

You chuckled darkly, listening to your explosive Confingo sing through the air only to be silenced by a loud shout of Protego. Levioso’s were met with Stupefy’s, Bombarda’s were expertly dodged as they slammed into the crates just beyond your view. Even a Diffindo or two could be heard (but don’t tell Ominis that. He banned you from the spell after you nearly sliced Sebastian’s head off one day). You danced around the room like an expert ballet dancer, your wand movements matching your feet in an elegant show of control and grace. Sebastian was enraptured by your beauty as you pushed him farther into the room, sending him stumbling back more and more. Sweat gathered at his brow, dripping down the side of his face and dampening the collar of his shirt. Your eyes carefully followed each of the droplets as they fell, only shifting your gaze away whenever another spell was launched in your direction. The brunette was no better, his own stare locked on the way your chest heaved against your breaths, your own sweat beading along your clavicle and tumbling delicately down the valley between your breasts. He sent two red-toned spells in your direction, them slamming against your shield in succession and creating an enticing incarnadine glow on your skin. A wicked smile stretched across your face as you glowered at your opponent; a look that said “You shouldn’t have done that,” taunting in your victory-hungry eyes. 

Sebastian couldn’t decide if he should feel scared or aroused. He settled on both.

You quickly fired back, your Depulso sending him slamming into the side of the table just behind him. His breathing came out in heavy pants as you inched closer, a lioness approaching her newest meal. He shouldn’t feel so desiring, so lustful about the look of triumph in your eyes. This side of you always intrigued him, the side that smiled at the Ashwinder's you conquered and blasted them to smithereens without a second thought. You raised your wand, preparing your final blow while your eyes drank him in hungrily. 

Unfortunately for you, but very fortunately for your prey, you had a tendency to stew in your wins prematurely. You always finished every duel the same, and this time he was prepared for it. 

You grinned at him, your eyes alight with laughter as you calmly spoke your final spell. 

“Descend—”

“Expelliarmus!”

Just as fast as you had flicked it into your palm moments ago, your wand was quickly thrown from your grasp, the small piece of wood flying through the air and clinking against the floor just out of reach. Your eyes widened in shock at the slight smirk on Sebastian’s face, his wand still smoking lightly in his left hand as his right held him steady against the table you had thrown him into. 

“Accio!”

He fired a second spell at you, the magic snagging on your clothes and pulling you through the air, smacking your front against his. His wand arm wrapped around your waist, your faces barely a hair's length away from each other as you fought for balance. Your breaths mingled in the space between your parted lips, each sigh heaving more and more oxygen into the other's lungs and vice versa— his inhales your exhales. He smelled intoxicating, a mix of mint and leather, a hint of the distinct smell of the old books he loved to pour over and the ash of the fire spells he loved so much hiding just under the surface. Flicking your gaze upwards, you stared directly into his eyes, finding them already trained on your face. His brown irises swirled with a feeling you were unfamiliar with, something similar to want, or need, or some intriguing, undiscovered third option. Sebastian’s pupils dilated with desire, his eyelids fluttering at the feeling of your hot pants against the junction of his neck and across his cheeks. His heart stuttered as your hands gently moved up his chest, your fingers splayed open as you felt the heat of his skin through his thin cotton shirt. 

You were the one who broke first, your hand reaching up that last little bit and winding around his low hanging tie, tugging him down to your level and slamming his lips into yours. He responded just as eagerly, his lips capturing yours with a ferocity you’d only ever seen from him in the most heated of battles and his arms wrapping tightly around your waist like a python capturing a mouse. He quickly lifted you off the ground, using the gasp you released as an opportunity to let his tongue begin to explore your mouth as he turned you both around, throwing you down onto the table and slotting himself between your thighs. Your kisses were bruising, each one more rough and clouded with more desire than the last. Nearly three full years of pining cumulated in that moment, bursting forth like a broken dam and sending a monsoon of lust into both of your veins. The brunette that had you tangled in his arms bit your lips harshly, sending a soft tumbling moan from your throat as he began to kiss his way down your jaw, his hands gliding up your arms and chest until he found the buttons of your shirt. 

You laugh breathily, little sounds of pleasure escaping through your parted lips with each love bite he sucked onto your skin. “Eager, ahh, are we?” 

He bit harshly at where your neck met your shoulder, pulling a whimper from the very depths of your soul. 

“You have no idea.” 

His fingers made quick work of your shirt, shucking the fabric from your shoulders at a speed that would make light itself jealous and flinging it to Merlin knows where. He pressed open mouth kisses to the new skin he had unearthed, admiring the way the tops of your breasts looked poking out of your chemises low neckline. Licking a stripe up your neck, the boy blew on it gently while he pawed at your chest, sending an earthquake level shiver up your entire body with sinful infatuation. 

You could feel every soft brush of his lips against your ear when he spoke, his hot breath warming you deliciously. “You have no idea how much I want you.” 

He bit the cartilage of your ear, causing your breath to hitch in eagerness. 

“How much I have wanted you since we first met.” 

You pulled him closer again, your teeth clashing together in your need for him to be as close as possible— hell, impossibly closer. Your hands wracked up the front of his shirt again, fingers digging into the holes separating some of the buttons and yanking with all of your might, pulling the two halves from each other and sending the clasps to the floor like the twinkle of tiny stars against the night sky. You had to show him that you wanted him just as much— that you desired him from the very beginning as well. Sebastian hissed at the feeling of your nails digging into the skin of his back, pressing his hips as close to yours as humanly possible and allowing you to grind against the hard length that had been tenting the fabric of his pants for some time. You took this opportunity to begin kissing down his throat, marking him as yours just as he did to you. With fumbling fingers and tiny moans spilling from his lips with every press of delicious friction against his groin, he undid the buttons of your skirt, throwing it to the floor before sliding your chemise up your body and over your head, leaving you completely bare before him. Your deft fingers quickly undid the button of his trousers, letting him tug them and his pants to the floor to be kicked in some unknown direction like every other piece of your uniform. 

You behaved like wild animals in heat, your feral sides taking over as soon as you both were free of your clothing. Papers on the desk behind you were quickly swept to the side, your body soon taking their place as Sebastian pressed you to the wood with all his weight. You could feel his manhood rubbing against the inner skin of your thigh and you keened at him, grinding your hips upwards into his and pleading for him to just finally take you. He was quick to respond, carding his hand down your side with a burning heat and letting his palm settle between your legs. With a precision you didn’t know he had in him, he ran a finger along your folds, collecting the wetness gathered there and locating the tiny button at the top of your cunt that made you see stars. 

He groaned deep in his throat, the sound dangerously close to a guttural growl as he mouthed hotly against the apex of your right breast. 

“Merlin. So wet for me, just from a little duel. I could just slide right in there already, no prep needed. So ready for me, my perfect girl—” 

His praise was cut off by your hand grasping at his throbbing cock, your soft skin dragging up his scorching skin like an ice cube on a hot summer day. He threw his head back at the feeling of you stroking him, his mouth open in a toothy smile and a silent moan breathing into the air around you. 

You smiled, eyelids slightly twitching as his finger rubbed tighter circles on your swollen clit. “Not so cocky now, are we, Sebastian?” 

His head pitched forwards again, his chin roughly smacking into his chest as he laughed breathlessly. With a quick movement he switched the fingers playing with you, instead pressing his thumb to your nub and sliding his middle finger into your winking opening. Your wanton moan filled the Undercroft, echoing off the tall ceilings and only being swallowed by the terribly ugly shag rug you conjured onto the floor last year during a particularly cold winter. 

Sebastian’s voice rumbled against your chest. “You’re one to talk, dove. Snake got your tongue?” 

You thread the fingers of your left hand into his soft curls, tugging him harshly towards your neck and shoving his face against your pulse point. He laughed again, a dark thing that made the spool of thread in your stomach knot tighter as he worked you closer to your climax, and bit lightly at your skin, seceding to your whims. 

Screw this little game of yours, his fingers felt too good for you to care anymore. 

Your moans mingled together in the air around you as your hand sped up, pumping his cock with quick motions. Sebastian buried his face into your neck, his unruly hair tickling your face as he moaned unabashedly into your skin, his teeth nipping you whenever your thumb ran over his slit. He in turn thrust into you at a more bruising pace, adding a second finger to your weeping, needy cunt and curling his fingertips against that one spot that made you scream with earth shattering pleasure. The both of you crept closer and closer to your orgasm, seemingly treating making the other finish as a continuation of your challenge— a second duel of the sinful kind. 

A sudden, very loud mewl that flew from your open mouth seemed to bury deep in the mind of the brunette, causing him to pull his hand from your center, yanking yours from his member with the same velocity before surging his hips closer, rubbing his length against your slick folds. The tip of his cock rammed against your clit with each delightful thrust, causing you to rut against him with a ravenous appetite, your voice howling into the air like a lone dire wolf searching for its pack. Sebastian’s groans answered your call— a truly feral, instinctual game of call and response in your metaphorical animalistic wild.  

The Sallow boy stilled his movements as his voice reached its peak, his orgasm just on the precipice and threatening to spill over. You whined deep in your throat, desperately grinding your hips against his once again until his forearm stopped you. You were so close, one more thrust and you surely would have toppled over the edge. Tears burned at the corners of your eyes from the lava that set your pelvis aflame. 

Sebastian heaved oxygen into his lungs, biting his lip and attempting to starve off his finish before he could get to the part he has been longing for. He timidly met your eyes, his irises soft and pliant. You gapped at all the emotion he held there; you could see love swirl around his dilated pupils, longing in the streaks of dark, almost black-ish green stemming from the centers, lust in the deep, mahogany brown that took over the rest of his eye, and finally vulnerability— nervousness— in the black circle that ensnared all of the colors together like a biogenic piece of twine. The boy softly pressed his forehead to yours, his eyes falling closed once again as he continued to try and catch his breath around the words he needed to say. 

“I can’t take it anymore. I need to be inside of you. Please, darling, can I? Can I claim you as mine?” 

That dangerous smirk took over your face again at the whine threading at the edges of his voice. “Can I claim you as mine, as well? Can you be my beautiful boy?” 

Sebastian whimpered at your words, liking being called yours a bit more than he originally thought, as he unconsciously rutted against you again. You sobbed at the feeling, your head nodding before the words even left your mouth. 

“Shit! Gods, yes! Make me yours, Sebastian.” 

His lips surged towards you, capturing you in another bruising kiss as he lined himself up at your entrance, pushing in slowly but with purpose. You both groaned loudly at the sudden intrusion, swimming in the sudden influx of pleasure that wrapped you both in a warm, steamy hug. He was completely filling you up, each ridge of his member rubbing in the most arduous way along yours with every inch pushed deeper inside. Sebastian pressed delicate kisses to your skin as he slid more into your awaiting heat, sending a flutter of love into your stomach and loosening your muscles like a perfect cup of tea. After a moment he finally hit home, his pelvis flush with yours as you became completely connected. You didn’t even need to wait for the stretch to stop burning before you were a writhing mess underneath him, begging and pleading for him to move— to do something to get rid of this ache in your loins. He easily complied, needing very little persuasion to rock his hips with yours, pulling out halfway before surging forwards again in a sweet taste of euphoria. You sang together like cicadas on a southern spring night, moaning with fervor as your peaks fast approached for the second time that night. Sebastian slammed roughly into you, absolutely wolfish in his impulses to claim you as his, to spill his seed deep inside of you until you were completely filled with him and only him. He had a primal desire inside of him to make you the mother of his children, and as loud as the voice in the back of his head told him that you both were too young, his beastly side continued to scream louder and louder at him as he got closer and closer to finishing. 

You weren’t much better at this point. You could feel your walls tightening around him with each little spasm of your approaching orgasm— every time his head would hit your g-spot with a rabid lust. You wanted to feel him empty inside of you, for his essence to pool inside of you and spread the warmth that you feel in your heart whenever he was near to your whole body. With what little strength your jelly-filled muscles had left, you wrapped your legs around his hips, pulling him closer and digging your hand in his hair once again, the other scratching down the entirety of his back and leaving long red welts. 

He growled in your ear, biting your shoulder with all his strength and drawing blood at the new deepness he was able to reach. He lapped like a Saint Bernard at the pebbling red liquid, feeling along the ridges his teeth left with his tongue and smiling slightly at his work. He could feel his orgasm getting closer and closer, and with a gravelly voice he murmured against the column of your neck. 

“Fuck, so close, baby. You want me to come inside? Huh? You want me to fill you up entirely?” He groaned headily as your hips bucked, his dirty talk doing something ungodly to you. His hips began to stutter and lose rhythm as he approached the precipice. “Want me to remember this moment whenever another man talks to you— touches you? Remember how it felt to fill you to the brim with my seed so no one else ever can?” 

You whined, long past words from the levels of rapturous pleasure that coursed through your system. Both of your hands clung to his shoulders as you held on for dear life, nails digging deep into his skin and creating little crescent moon-shaped scrapes. He pounded into you like a man possessed, dragging sounds from you that you had never heard even in the latest of nights— your bed curtains closed and all of your roommates at home for the winter holidays as you pumped your fingers deep into yourself over and over, the same boy’s name on your lips as every other time. The volume of your wails only grew louder as you inched closer to your finish, your legs wrapping even tighter around Sebastian’s thrusting hips as the only coherent thing that fell from your moaning lips was “inside, inside, inside.” 

With a final stutter of his hips, Sebastian released inside of you with a grand growl, his teeth once again latching onto the supple skin of your neck like a dog going in for the kill. You fell over soon after him, screaming into the night as every vein in your body was set alight with uproarious pleasure and a dash of pain. You both twitched as the last bits of your release shocked through your bodies, sending tiny whimpers from both of your lips as over-stimulation began to set in. With one last long groan, Sebastian carefully extracted himself from you, laughing slightly at the small sob that you let out when his tip rubbed against your sensitive clit. You both looked at each other for a moment, eyes taking in the sweat that beaded on your temples and the hair that stuck to your skin, the new scars that decorated your necks, shoulders, and various other stretches of skin, before dissolving into giggles. The brunette fell forwards again, wrapping his arms around the back of your neck and pressing your face into the junction of his throat. You hugged him to you, feeling his joy seep into the space around you and become one with yours. There was nowhere else you’d rather be at that very moment. 

 This time it was Sebastian to break first, releasing his hold on you and pulling back just enough to look into your eyes. He found the same emotion that he held in his before glowing in yours, a lovely concoction of love and acceptance burning into his corneas like the brightest of sun rays. 

You smiled wide at him, tired eyelids lowered but all of your teeth on display in a show of true happiness, and whispered against his lips. 

“Call it a tie?” 

The boy laughed loudly, mirth dancing in his eyes as he gently kissed you on the forehead. 

“Agreed. A tie sounds about right.” 

He smiled at you again, that same devious look shining in his eyes and mischief laughing behind his clamped teeth, as he began to kiss down your chest. Your breath grew deeper for the third time that night, your hand coming up to card through his hair and pull lightly at the root to gain his attention.

“Seb, w-what are you—” 

He quietly shushed you, stopping your sentence in the middle as he explained. 

“I have to clean up my mess, don’t I?” He laughed at your deep inhale, kissing one of the freckles he discovered on the top of your mound. “Just point me in the right direction.” 

He laughed again at your frantic nod before spreading you open once again and diving into your sweet center. 

It would be hours until the both of you emerged, newly invigorated but so, so tired all the same. 

And if the Undercroft were to smell like sex the next day when Ominis returned, well, that was a problem for future you.

***

like what you read? here's more!

#tina speaks #smut #hl smut #hogwarts legacy #hl #sebastian sallow smut #hogwarts legacy mc #sebastian sallow x reader #sebastian sallow x mc #sebastian sallow x you #ao3 #ao3 fic #ao3 writer #ao3 smut #masterlist

[anonyhex]

ooh, what’s The Charlatan’s Song?

So this is less exciting than most of my WIPs I think! (Although the title is a banger hahaha) It's a Wyll/Tav story.

So my Tav (Pimpernel) is based on a half-baked idea I've had for a D&D character I've never gotten to play. In the game I made her a halfling with the charlatan background, and she's a bard that claims to be a heroic figure from a minor noble house that was disowned after a torid love affair with a woman from a much more well-established house that was about to enter an arranged marriage. She dueled her love's fiancé and won (earning a scar on her cheek in the process) but was disowned because of the negative attention it brought her own house, and she now travels throughout the land saving people from their issues and then earning money through telling her tale in taverns.

It's all a lie, as the charlatan background indicates. Her family are farmers or ranchers and are quite poor. The scar on her cheek is from a simple work accident (one idea I had was it's an injury from a boar's tusk while she was hunting or protecting her family's livestock). Her parents were killed while on the road traveling to sell their wares and she's either the oldest or second oldest of a ton of kids, many of whom aren't adults yet, and since she was dissatisfied living out in the boonies she used it as an excuse to leave and finally live out an adventure like the books she loves. Another adult sibling of hers is now the parent figure for the rest of her siblings, and she sends a lot of the money she earns as a bard back to them. Oh, and originally I planned on her having the gambler background (which isn't an option in BG3)...because the other way she earns money is by cheating in games of chance and generally being a card shark. The real reason she moves around a lot isn't because she's always on the hunt for people to protect, it's because if she sticks around too long in one place she risks getting caught. She's seen a bit of combat because she lives on the road, but not NEARLY to the extent she claims to, she's low level.

So imagine my shock when I realize Wyll is ACTUALLY the person she claims to be--a true hero, who actually is the disowned child of a noble house. Didn't know his background at all until I started playing the game and was blown away by the coincidence once I got to Waukeen's Rest.

I originally intended to romance Astarion but fumbled that BADLY (she might be lying about being a hero but she still WANTS to be one, so of course she was constantly helping others and I did not read him well at all until I got to the scene with the blood merchant so he's constantly irritated with her despite constantly getting inspiration from her because they're both charlatans lol). And once Wyll started talking about enjoying to dance...I mean, she's a BARD HALFLING, of course she's going to bug him to dance with her, so it was pretty natural to fall into Wyll's romance instead. (This is also more or less how I started getting into Wyllstarion, since they were the characters I was interacting with the most.)

The thing is...obviously the game isn't set up to give me a chance to actually play out this whole elaborate backstory with Pimpernel pretending to be the type of person Wyll actually is, only to have to admit it later to him that she's been lying about who she is. It makes sense that I can't, how in the world would a game be able to account for that? The only way I could think of would be if they did something like what Bioware did with the backstories for Dragon Age Origins and Mass Effect and Larian obviously wanted more open-ended characters for the players.

I really wished there was some way I could express what was going on with Pimpernel in the game, but I couldn't do it particularly well, so...I started trying to write it, and that's what A Charlatan's Song is.

“Oh Wyll, I never said she was a princess!” Pimpernel responded, in a tone that implied she very much was one. “Alas, it was quite a scandal. She loved me, but…well, if we had run off together, it would have damaged not only her reputation, but her family’s. So in the end, she refused me. And my family was quite mortified, and I’m one child of many, so it was easy to just…send me on my way, rather than keep me around as the family embarrassment.” 

“I’m sorry. That must have been difficult.”

“Oh, no no, I’m well suited for a life on the road. I’ve found I fit in much better in a tavern than I do in a ballroom, as much as I enjoyed my life there.” She shrugged. “And well…now you know.”

Behind her there was a slow, mocking clap. Pimpernel turned to look over her shoulder at Astarion, who was looking at her with a fang-baring grin. “Bravo! Quite deftly told, as you expect from a bard. It almost sounds like something out of a romance novel!”

Pimpernel swallowed and did her best to maintain her composure. “It does, doesn’t it? But it’s all true, I’m afraid.”

“Oh, of course, of course.”

[...]

Now he was digging into the chinks of her armor. She had something to lose, and he had been revealed and stayed safe. He had a natural royal flush, and she’d already played all her best cards.

She could only hope he’d decide to keep her secrets, for now.

So the PROBLEM IS as interesting as it would be to actually get to play this out in game...I dunno how to make her actually interesting as a character on the page without just huuuuge amount of exposition dump (I deleted a lot from this post!!) and internal monologues, and especially since I'm pretty settled in the no-Tav discord I'm just not all that interested in writing about my OC over the established characters in the game. I also don't have a good ending (my constant problem lol), especially since I still need to actually beat the game, so...ehhh...this one will probably stay abandoned at this point. Ah, well.

#baldur's gate 3 #fanfic ramblings #answered #odessa-castle

[nettleshuttle]

it never ceases to amaze me how quattro and shark’s relationship (“relationship”) is developed in the canon. the whole backstory dropped during WDC preliminaries/WDC itself arcs was pretty nice and reasonable, taking into account tron’s masterminding etc, but then the series just… did a summersault, landing in their tag and another one that got us to their Barian war duel. and if the nonsense didn’t show that much in the former (disclaimer: i still think it did), it just went wild around the latter.

first of all: gay. really, the whole concept of quattro/nasch duel and some of the lines delivered in the meantime are just immaculate. or rather — would be, if it tied up to anything previously said on their relation. that gets us to the “second of all” part: dude says it after setting shark up to get him disqualified from a tournament and nearly killing his beloved sister, with almost nothing happening between that and their current situation. and there’s a lot of similar declarations, like “even if you say that the bond of friendship between us is dead…” going on — what bond of friendship exactly?? cause i certainly didn’t catch you having one.

there may be something about the fact that to shark quattro’s suicidal sacrifice was shocking actually because they never had much of a relationship — if such a self-centered guy, who spent a lot of time hating shark and has little personal interest in rescuing him, decides to do something like this, well, this means shit’s serious. nonetheless, quattro still has a lot of audacity to say this stuff. besides, i assume he’s honest about the whole endeavor (after all, he leaves his brothers knowing they’ll most probably get killed by the Barians to do so) and that devotion appears to be taken out of nowhere. it would make remote sense as a guilt-motivated will to make up for all the times he tried to ruin shark’s life (and succeeded, mostly), but it really doesn’t come off as such and taking into account quattro’s personality, i don’t feel like that’s a drive he’d have.

or the way they call themselves each other’s number one fan?? this starts right on their first meeting after quattro drew shark into WDC and i get that it was probably meant to sound ironic and/or revengeful….. but it doesn’t. shark’s obviously ridiculing quattro’s stage persona and regarding quattro, i guess he was just parroting shark’s line to ridicule him in turn, though the later admiration may actually be genuine. they carry on doing it in their tag, where i assume it has a more friendly undertone, but i just can’t describe it otherwise than as very gay and very random throughout the whole of zexal.

on a more positive note: i see how they can bond over being older brothers that try to keep their families together and look after their siblings (each in his own way — let’s say quattro’s trying). that should make them more able and more inclined to understand each other’s actions (not in terms of justification or forgiveness, mind you). quattro refers to it directly (or almost directly) in their tag, making the idea more than just a speculation, though it still doesn’t nearly account for the change in their respective attitudes over the series.

it used to really annoy me, the way their dynamic (which has huge conceptual potential) takes such sudden, immense turns, rendering the whole relationship surreal and strongly unrealistic, but i don’t think i even care anymore to be honest. does it make sense? definitely damn no. do i still dig the ship? absolutely. i’m just taking note of how the creators could have easily made it even better, without all the rush and confusion (well, doing things, especially redemption arcs, in a needlessly sped-up manner is a general yugioh flaw).

#yugioh #zexal #zexal spoilers #ygozexal #quattro #shark kastle #ryouga kamishiro #disqualifyshipping #random complaining

[manfrommars2049]

Land Shark Duel by Earl Norem via ImaginaryTanks

#ImaginaryTanks #YanniRotten

[cyberdragoninfinity]

if you're still doin the character ask thing, i wanna know how you feel about jack atlas!

YESS oh hell yeah jack is one of my 5ds favs let's GOOOO

favorite thing about them: ok im not done watching all of the ygos but Jack is really one of my favorite ygo rivals, if not my top favorite (it's a close match, I also love chazz and shark...) I just... love that he's this rival character who Does move from being a pompous class traitor cunt to this Still Kind of Cunty But Very Openly Loves His Friends So Much guy (i mean. they did fuck his character up a little bit especially in the absolute final stretch but.i take what i can get.) I love the duel against Fake!Jack, this concept that a ygo rival has to fight a personified physical embodiment of all his worse traits and outwardly proclaims that he Cares About His Loved Ones RULES!!!! hes also hilarious and i love his Resonators--little freaks!!

least favorite thing about them: the aforementioned way they Fucked Up His Character in the second half of the show, just that way they made him Weird About Women and dismissive of Carly ESPECIALLY IN LIKE THE LAST 2-3 EPISODES?!?! :( Like the Carly thing sucks in general but that ship's been sailed. There were definitely better ways they could have 'reset' Jack's character in the second half...sigh. At least there's the aforementioned Fake!Jack duel which rocks hard...and his Arc Cradle duel which is. My Favorite :,)

favorite line: god everything out of dub jack's mouth is so fucking funny. "Like in the dirt." "I'll serve them up a barrelfull of Jack Attack!!" HE'S JUST A BIG DOOFUS. IT'S SO GOOD.

brOTP: his dynamic with yusei and crow is soooo so good ;__; they are BROTHERS!!!!!!!!! i think about his relationship with yusei a lot especially...... like they love each other but also jack fucked things over real bad but he's trying to be better. despite how much they screwed up jack's character in the last like. three episodes. the last 5ds duel with him and yusei does make me cry. it's just a real good duel.

OTP: gotta be that scoopshipping sorry tails if this looks straight to the viewers <3 there is nothing better or funnier than this Mr. Cool Toughguy and his Cringefail Loser Girlfriend that he loves more than anything. He can pick her up in the biggest bear hug i just know it.

nOTP: not big on yusei/jack or jack/crow myself....they are simply foster brothers to me and im vastly more interested in that read. sorry. also dont really like jack/rex goodwin lol that one uhhh kind of sucks!!!!! in the manga thats his fucking dad!!!!!

random headcanon: ive been thinking about transhet jack ever since someone mentioned it in the tags of one of my posts. rex goodwin-funded top surgery. i also know in my heart jack is jacked (lol) and huge. built like gaston. this isnt even subtext this is just text. he can pick up two 12 year olds one handed. also i think he doesnt tip

unpopular opinion: he's a good character and a really solid rival and despite the way they biffed the landing with him in the end game theres still merit to be found in him in the second season!!!! Dx I LIKE HIM....

song i associate with them: i dont know if i have one for him!! it's been hard for me to find songs for the kizuna boys for whatever reason. :(

favorite picture of them:

adios_white_boy.jpg

#THANK YOU I GENUINELY REALLY LIKE TALKIN ABOUT JACK HES AN INTERESTING CHARACTER AND I LOVE HIM #ygo posting #asks #anonymous

[magpiejay1234]

Some observations on Eliphas's first episode:

**They set up Yuma is Don Thousand's uncorrupted piece reveal decently, but like Nasch twist, the execution will be wonky.

***They do the Jesus symbolism a little hard, though. It is not purified Z-ARC levels, yet, but kinda weird since Astral World is closer to Buddhist conceptions of pure land, rather than Christian Heaven.

**Astral World is canonically conscious to a degree, creating Astral, and Eliphas do its bidding.

**Though these episodes are a four parter to parallel with Don Thousand's episodes, most of the four parter is really about Shark's past, and his defection from Yuma's gang.

**I guess Rainbow Kuriboh's alternate forms will be their own cards as well. Kuriboat definitely will.

**I probably need to check back all the pseudo-Shining Draws to see who may be secretly an Astral, but I know Kaito has it. He just did it in Kaninja duel.

#ygo random thoughts #shitposting

[ramrodd]

CNN Town Hall South Carolina Cold Open - SNL

COMMENTARY:

i was never a fan of SNL, The people I lived with in DC before Reagan were defined the Dewey Beach, a way of Life. It included a mix of anti-war draft dodgers, Woodstock Nation, future Yupups and combat crazed Vietnam vets like me who had more in common with the anti-war campus activists and civil rights warriors than I did with thugs like Pat Buchanan and Charles Colson. I voted for Nixon before I went to Vietnam and I voted for him when I got back and a great deal of SNL's appeal was its relentless anti-Nixon satire The only time I really got into SNL was the Summer of Land Sharks at Dewey Beach. I was a DJ and the company I worked for and played rugby with were able to convey Jimmy Buffet in our theory of commercial entertainment.

Nikki Halley is from the Concord Bridge of the Southern Rebellion, the 1860 version of January 6, Halley is a hard wired Republican woman who plays Southern Comfort manners perfectly, People in the South of a certain white pedigree going back to Cromwell who are outraged that dueling is no longer permitted to test the argument of the divine right to succeed by breaking a sacred oath underwritten by the blood of their ancestors. People like Glenn Youngkin, who ran on the neo=Nazi platform in order to gain command of the Virginian public treasury to fulfill his lust to own the Caps and Wizards now that Abe Pollen is dean. From the point of view of the people Nikki has successfully negotiated to get to the point she can challenge a white anti-woke Republican in a fair fight, Nikki is  a woke Republican in Charleston or Savannah: the use of the word "slavery" in those polite societies where she had to enlist financial backing is like using the "N" word on CBS.

Of course, Richard Prior gave SNL permission to say "Nigger"  LIVE: its Saturday Night!, I loved his "Nigger: riff in his Live performance when he held up a match to symbolize himself. It pisses right wingers like  Tucker Carlson that right wingers aren't allowed to call Barack Obama and MLK "niggers" I mean, the largest structural racism in America is the Presbyterian Church USA ESPECIALLY those Presbyterian more less the same age as me and Trump when Norman Vincent Peale was the toast of Manhattan with his Prosperity Gospel George Gilder's Wealth and Poverty was aimed, sublimely, at this demographic because it pushes the Jim Crow racism of Woodrow Wilson to sell the white supremacist economics of Supply Side economics and Reaganomics

And that's what happened in that debate: this is her inner woke at work, preventing her, as a Souther lady in the best of traditions, to rhetorically fart  loudly in church.

And this is why incels resent Taylor Swift. The difference between Democrats and Reagan Conservatives  is that Democrats enable women to be uppity while Reagan Conservatives are Pro-Life, where you don't express the opinion that slavery was the cause of the Civil War when everyone knows it was the stupidity of white male slave owners with wives.

You go, Nikki. I'm voting for Biden to complete Stage 2 of Eisenhower's 1956 Presidential Platform and hand off the keys to Starship America to who ever wins in 2028, but I want to watch Trump, naked and in a bag with 7 cats. Taylor Swift is one of  those uppity women and that's why the incels are freaked out by Taylor Swift: These buys entire metric for masculinity likes in the M-16, Arab men claim that they make war or the women would laugh at them.

Nikki  has launched the Party of Lincoln tickect for 2024, GOP Convention LIVE: Its Sunday Morning

#youtube

[kurt-wagner-official]

Post #61: Nightcrawler issues 1-4

Other than Giant-Size X-Men and Secret Wars, this miniseries is the first thing I've read that isn't written by Claremont. Unlike those, however, this isn't required reading, but I want to read it and it's obviously relevant to the character. It's written and drawn by Dave Cockrum, one of the few collaborators that Claremont actually likes and listens to, so it fits in well with the main series. I've never actually read this series, but I know this is where real life Bamfs are introduced. At the start, Kurt is exercising in the Danger Room, and then tells Kitty and Illyana a story about Bizarre Adventures 27, another book I haven't read. But that's okay, cause it all gets recapped here: Kurt and the Vanisher, another teleporter, were trapped in another dimension where their teleportation powers didn't work. They escaped through the Well at the Center of Time, a magic portal that exists in all dimensions. Kitty makes a hologram of the well, but because it exists everywhere she accidentally summons the real well, and a flying squid comes out, grabs Kurt and Lockheed, and flies back in. This has all been very contrived exposition to get us to the plot, which is Kurt and Lockheed being stranded in another dimension full of weird aliens. They start off by fighting off the squid and landing on a flying alien pirate ship. The crew mistakes Kurt for a boggie, which is apparently a creature in this world, but he introduces himself and joins the crew. He has fun for a few days, but when they meet another ship carrying a princess and open fire, Kurt realizes these are actual pirates. He takes out their weapons and ports to the other ship. They also think he's a boggie, but he explains the situation. They still think he's a boggie, but they agree to give him a ride to a city. When he gets there, he finds everyone in the world hates boggies, and they all think Lockheed is a bander-snitch, so they have a hard time finding any leads on a way home. They're then attacked by the pirates from the beginning, who as revenge sell them into slavery aboard another ship, this one hung under a giant squid and captained by a shark looking guy named Shagreen the sorcerer.

Shagreen takes his slaves to L'un Dun-t'wn, his evil fortress. He casts a spell to block Kurt's powers and plans to dissect him to learn about teleportation, and he's also kidnapped the princess from earlier for some other evil reason. The pirates who sold Kurt learn about this part and decide to go kidnap her back to ransom her themselves. Meanwhile, Kurt is rescued by the real boggies, teleporting creatures who look like Kurt but smaller and more demonic. They tell Kurt that Shagreen is going to sacrifice the princess for more evil magic, but if Kurt destroys his object of power it'll lift the teleportation block and they can all escape. Kurt destroys the staff, but the evil lair starts disintegrating and Shagreen flees with the princess. Kurt ports after him onto his ship and sword fights him. Kurt with pirate swords is always fun, and I think this is the first time he's actually used them outside of fairy tales and Kulan Gath related fantasies. The duel ends with Lockheed knocking Shagreen off the boat and the pirates catching up. Kurt convinces them to accept a reward for the princess's safety rather than a ransom, and he's named a knight of the realm by the princess's father. Everything seems to be going well until, back in the Danger Room, Kitty and Illyana try to recreate the well (for time travel reasons, it's only been a few minutes for them). They do open a portal, but it just pulls Kurt and Lockheed into another dimension, where they meet a Bamf.

Kurt and Lockheed are in the actual dimension from Kitty's fairytale, which I did not see coming. Kurt is baffled as he's introduced to the island of Bamfs, who all think he's their father. Suddenly Shagreen appears, somehow alive and in this world, and he kidnaps all the Bamfs except one and runs off, telling Kurt to come to his new lair and give himself up if he wants to save them. The Bamf calls his friends giant Lockheed, Pirate Kitty, Colossus, and the Fiend, who give them a lift over the ocean to Shagreen's evil lair. On the way, Kurt tells them about his world and they all ponder multiverse theory, which at the time was a pretty new addition to the Marvel Comics world. When they get there, however, they're picked off one by one by Shagreen's minions. Shagreen kidnaps them and cackles evilly about how they're doomed.

The only one to avoid being kidnapped is the Bamf, because Kitty and Illyana accidentally teleported him back to their world before quickly reversing it. He goes to the dungeons and starts a Bamf revolution. Windrider the genie shows up to help her friends, and at one point Kitty accidentally teleports herself into the battle and back with Lockheed. In the end, Kurt smashes Shagreen's staff again, which opens another portal and pulls him into a world of dinosaur cowboys. It activates again, and he's back in the dimension he went to with Vanisher a while ago. One of the people there says he still has magic energy left in him from last time he was there, which is why the real well was accidentally conjured. As for why Shagreen was teleported with him, she says some vague nonsense about Kurt's will having power over dimensions due to the leftover magic inside him. He's able to burn up the rest of that magic by teleporting home, ending the adventure. He has a sweet reunion with Kitty before the two of them, Illyana, and Lockheed go get some cookies.

The beginning and ending of this series made absolutely no sense, but that's fine cause it was really just a framing device for some weird fun fantasy stuff. Kurt doesn't learn anything or grow as a person, and if it weren't for Bamfs returning way later you could argue this series isn't canon. But it was really fun to read, and that's all they were going for. Cockrum isn't my favorite artist for some of these characters, but I love how he draws Kurt, and he has a good voice for him. Also, part of the reason why these paragraphs were short is that this was actually a very funny book, and a lot of it was just jokes, which would not be funny at all if I wrote them down here. It's been a while since the last lighthearted story, so I'm glad this mini exists.

#wes reads xmen

[dailyadventureprompts]

I’ve been trying to think of a setting for a nautical campaign. A vast expanse of tropical islands and waterways with the obligatory shady towns that sit on the water and temples of worship deep in both the jungle and the water. Any thoughts?

Yeknow what, fuck it, I wasn’t planning on writing a full pirate campaign anytime soon but everything’s better with pirates so lets do this!

Campaign: Scoundrels of the Sundered Isles

The Priests debate as to how our hearts may be weighted against its bearer’s sins.. but we Sailors no Better: ‘tis not sin our hearts are weighed against, ‘tis coin, as only coin could get a man to sail out to the edge o’ the bleedin world and gettim to stay ‘ere long enough to get to sinnin in the firstplace. 

-Overheard at The Last Hurrah Tavern

Setup:  The Tropical waters of the Tourmaline Sea have been a flurry of activity over the past century and a half, as natives and settlers from three different continents work together to reclaim land once lost after a half-millennia of supernatural darkness rendered a large chunk of the mainland uninhabitable. Most people deserted the Sundered Isles ( their name derived from a mistranslation that they were “Sun-Dead”) fearing the raiders and plagues that issued from that calamity, and they stayed away even after the sun returned, letting the gentle creeping of green reclaim the once barren rocks. 

Ever hungry for expansion, civilization makes its first tentative steps into these dangerous lands, with ports popping up all along the coast and archipelagos, the first wave of resettlement of a land once thought consigned to oblivion. 

All is not peaceful however, as powers both foreign and continental strive to establish dominance in this new frontier, with settlers, traders, and foolhearty sailors caught in the clash between. Discover the Mysteries long buried in darkness and sunken beneath the crashing waves, as you and your party strive to make your way in the Sundered Isles

Campaign Start

Captives of the Villainous XROC Merchant company and on their way to do hard labor in one of a number of debt-colonies, the party is miraculously saved when a tremendous wave crashes against the ship where they are imprisoned, shattering it upon the coastline and giving them the chance to escape together through the island.   There they find themselves Port Calmayne, a prosperous trade hub where the party can get their sea-legs under them while determining the best course of action and evading the Company. 

Early Game: 

A Priestess of the sea god has work for the party, neverminded that she’s a “retired” pirate, and the job involves helping a group of smugglers exterminate some monsters they accidently imported from the continent 

Investigate the haunted manor of an old Commodore, recover a treasuremap, and perhaps acquire some funds by looting through his hold treasures. Don’t get shot by a ghost while you’re at it. 

Earn the Respect of the local sailorfolk by diving for treasure into shark infested waters. Hidden among the bones of a great dragon are tokens that prove the party’s skill and sea-blessed luck, earning them passage on any ship going anywhere in the Sundered Isles

Mid Game: 

Make your way to Greenveil Lagoon, hidden home of all true pirates and the Bretherin Court. Help reunite an old salty-dog pay respects to his long departed crew, or start treasurehunting for the world’s most skilled but unlukiest mapmaker. 

Hunt ruins for a fabulous relic, then defend it in a ship-duel from a mystic privateer intent on taking it back.  When a job goes bad, it goes bad, and it’ll take all the party’s skill as sailors to evade this tenacious ( and seemingly omniscient) foe. 

Sign on With the Monster Hunting Crew of the Leviathan’s Bane, travel to the most dangerous corners of the archipelago, fight creatures that break ships between their coils, learn how to cook seamonster

Explore an ancient, eternal lighthouse, used as a lair by an eccentric pyromancer. Help a wayward celestial find their misplaced chariot of fire and learn clues as to the darkness that overtook the mainland so long ago. 

Late Game

The Merchant company that enslaved the players wants control over trade in the Sundered Isles, and is willing to unleash a madwoman in order to get it. This renegade pirate is obsessed with becoming the terror of the high seas, going so far as to overthrow the brethren court that keeps order among the Isles’ freebooters, and even unleash a vampire on the populace in hopes of becoming one herself. 

Venture into the lush jungles and overgrown ruins of the continent, and meet the fallen demigod who caused the devastation in the first place. Now little more than an eccentric old lizardfolk, this seemingly benign evil has many stories to tell, and more than a little wickedness still in him. 

The Wave that set the party free was only the herald to a true upset, as over moths an entire new archipelago of islands emerges from the seafloor after millennia in the depths.  Dotted with ruins and artifacts of a long dead civilization, these new isles draw fortunehunters into a clash with the merfolk exiled by the sudden rising of their home, all the while an ancient power wakes, looking to assert itself over the world once again. 

As always, I’m tremendously grateful for all my followers, but if you’d like to support my creative efforts, consider checking out the links below:

If you liked one of my adventure ideas and would like to leave a one time tip: https://ko-fi.com/villainforhire.

If you’d like to support Daily Adventure Prompts and future creative activity, consider becoming a patron: https://www.patreon.com/Villain4hire

Art 

#Anonymous #campaign #Scoundrels of the Sundered Isles #adventure compendium #D&D #D&D adventure #Homebrew Adventure #Adventure #DnD #Press Start

[blocktransfer]

ChronoBlock Part 2

Presenting ChronoBlock - Block Transfer so far -- in order!

Part 1 (1963-64)

1965

First Doctor - William Hartnell, cont. Season 2, cont.

January 2 - 9, 1965: The Rescue (TV)

January 16 - February 6, 1965: The Romans (TV)

January 23 - February 6, 1965: The Dalek Chronicles - Genesis of Evil (comic)

January 23 - February 27, 1965: The Therovian Quest (comic)

February 13, 1965: Radio Times cover - The Web Planet (artifact)

February 13 - March 20, 1965: The Web Planet (TV)

February 13 - March 27, 1965: The Dalek Chronicles - Power Play (comic)

March 1965: The Earthlings - Landing of the Daleks (music)

March 6 - 20, 1965: The Hijackers of Thrax (comic)

March 27 - April 17, 1965: The Crusade (TV)

March 27 - May 1, 1965: On The Web Planet (comic)

April 3 - May 15, 1965: The Dalek Chronicles - Duel of the Daleks (comic)

April 24 - May 15, 1965: The Space Museum (TV)

May 27 - June 26, 1965: The Chase (TV)

May 8 - June 12, 1965: The Gyros Injustice (comic)

May 22 - July 3, 1965: The Dalek Chronicles - The Amaryll Challenge (comic)

June 17, 1965: The Dalek Painting Book (book)

June 19 - July 17, 1965: Challenge of the Piper (comic)

June 25, 1965: Dr. Who & The Daleks (movie)

July 3 - 24, 1965: The Time Meddler (TV)

July 10 - August 28, 1965: The Dalek Chronicles - The Penta Ray Factor (comic)

July 24 - August 7, 1965: Moon Landing (comic)

July 1965: Roberta Tovey - Who’s Who (music)

July 1965: Jack Dorsey Orchestra - Dance of the Daleks (music)

July, 1965: Prisoners of Gritog (comic)

August 14-28, 1965: Time in Reverse (comic)

August 1965: Paint and Draw the film of Dr. Who and the Daleks (book)

September 4- 25, 1965: Lizardworld (comic)

September 4 - October 16, 1965: The Dalek Chronicles - Plague of Death (comic)

Season 3

September 11 - October 2, 1965: Galaxy 4 (TV)

September 16, 1965: Doctor Who and the Zarbi (book)

September, 1965: The Dr Who Annual (book)

September, 1965: Doctor Who and the Crusaders (book)

September 1965: Prisoners of the Kleptons (comic)

September 1965: The Caterpillar Men (comic)

October 2 - 23, 1965: The Ordeals of Demeter (comic)

October 7, 1965: The Dalek Pocketbook and Space-Travellers Guide (book)

October 9, 1965: Mission to the Unknown (TV)

October 11, 1965: The Dalek World (book)

October 16 - November 16, 1965: The Myth Makers (TV)

October 23 - December 4, 1965: The Dalek Chronicles - The Menace of the Monstrons (comic)

October 30 - November 20, 1965: Enter: The Go-Ray (comic)

November 13, 1965 - January 29, 1966: The Daleks’ Master Plan (TV)

November 27 - December 18, 1965: Shark Bait (comic)

December 21, 1965: Curse of the Daleks (stage play) (artifact)

December 25, 1965 - January 15, 1966: A Christmas Story (comic)

December 11, 1965 - January 8, 1966: The Dalek Chronicles - Eve of War (comic)

October 1965: Doctor Who in an Exciting Adventure with the Daleks - paperback (book)

1965: Give-a-Show Projector Slides (artifact)

#doctor who #chronoblock #1st doctor #1965

[a-bottomless-curse]

[ protect ]   -   for my muse to know the time and cause of your muses death, and prevent it.

The beasthide assassin. Brador. She hadn’t expected such a fight against him, and though her body ached, she kept pressing on. Something was wrong here -- aside from the usual of course. Something was going to happen, something terrible. She knew it, could feel it in her mind, her heart, a strange certainty in the knowledge that she needed to move, to act. It was only upon realizing why Brador had fought her did she realize in a clearer mind, no longer muddled with confusion or blood, who his next target was.

She ran. 

Past the fisherman and their harpoons that they sent lancing past her head, past the shark-like trolls that certainly wanted to eat her and grind her bones to dust, past the witch by the well who would surely curse her like the others. 

“SIMON!” 

Her voice echoed, the air vibrating, crackling as if a thunderstorm was fast approaching the hamlet. Lightning was shifted into the sound of her threaded cane splitting apart as it crackled, whipping through the air past Simon’s shoulder, just close enough for the tip to hit Brador’s bloodletter and force him to step back.

She would not -- could not -- lose him. So focused on protecting him was she, that her mind itself was surprising silent, all energy and focused pinpointed onto Brador, on killing him to protect Simon the only way she knew how.

Moving as fast as she was, she didn’t try to stop her momentum. Instead, she body slammed into Brador, knocking him as far back as she possibly could before tucking, diving in to a roll to stand and face him. Kayden was still, eyes split apart with insight, her very breathing seemed to halt as she stared down the beasthide assassin with intent shining clear through her very being. 

“Get back, Simon. Let me take care of this.” Her voice was soft, light, like satin and silk ribbons dancing in the wind, yet tied to a blade.

Lightning truly crackled over her blade, the bolt paper now disintegrated as all of the tension in her muscles released, spurring her into the duel with an aggression and relentlessness usually hidden. Everything else faded away. The only things she even knew still existed was the scent of the ocean, the taste of blood in her mouth and the feeling of it dripping from her wounds, the fur of Brador’s coat as he moved, the crackle of lightning against her fingertips.

And then...it was over. At least, it was over for now. She watched with icy eyes as his form faded from view, leaving only the blood-soaked sand and gravel in his place.

Exhaling slowly, she felt her own blood pool underneath her. How many blood vials did she use? Her mind was hazy, but not as bad as it was the first time she used too much blood in the Nightmare. Licking her lips, it was only then that she noticed her mask and her hat were discarded, her hair now partially loose from it’s half-braid. She looked frazzled, and possibly mad, as she finally stumbled away from the pool of blood, her gaze darting to and fro till it landed on Simon.

Swallowing past the blood in her throat, she went straight to his side and administered two blood vials. “Are you alright?” He had to be. By Kosm, by Freya, by any god alive still, he had to be alright, and safe.

#blood-stained on the cobble streets || bloodborne #bcwblade #( i really need to make a tag for these two #but also thank you for this #i quite enjoyed writing this #and it'll keep me from writing the alternative for a while longer for certain ) #( she cares quite a lot about him and in this state #is totally oblivious to how open emotionally/mentally she is right now )

[judediangelo75]

Day Three: Birthday

Fun fact: October 17th is my actual birthday, I don’t know if anyone else gave their MC the same birthday as them 😅 but I did. I didn’t realize that it was also Professor Flitwick’s birthday until last year. 

Which I found pretty cool. If my character was a Ravenclaw (I was gonna choose between Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, that was her Hat Stall), she would’ve spent time in his office, eating cupcakes with him.

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

~1990~

Talbott bit his lip as he stared at the calendar in his dorm room.

Today was October 17th.

In previous years when he became a student at Hogwarts, he wouldn’t really bat an eye at this. 

He would normally would tell his Head of House happy birthday and spend some time in his office.

So what makes this day suddenly different?

It was Judith’s birthday as well.

His girlfriend’s birthday.

For all the years that he known her, never once did he know when was her birthday. Until their night at the greenhouse on Valentine’s Day.

He just missed her 16th birthday.

When she saw the look of sadness in his eyes, she immediately tried to console him, telling him not to worry about it.

“It’s been many years since I last cared about my birthday, Talbott. Don’t worry about it. It’s just another day to me.”

She never elaborated further, so he went to the next best source. Her dead father. 

With Penny’s help, he managed to sneak into the Hufflepuff Common Room and dormitories. Once in her room, he found the safe she showed him under her bed. Whispering the password, he was happy to find the signature shark tooth necklace the deceased man wore inside.

Touching the tooth, he stood face to face with the elder Harris.

After explaining why he was there, Kendrick looked down at the Ravenclaw youth with sad eyes.

“The year of Judith’s 9th birthday was a hard one on her, Talbott. Jamal ran away exactly two weeks afterwards. Not too long after that I contracted my heart virus and died with her in my arms. Her mother doesn’t really care for her, often forgetting her birthday entirely. That’s when she virtually stopped caring. If I could come back just one year to put a smile on my little girl’s face, I would...”

It made sense as to why his little bird didn’t celebrate it or even make it known to anyone.

Two of the people she expected to be there, to see her grow, were gone. With her brother’s disappearance, yet again, he wouldn’t be surprised if she truly didn’t give a damn about the day.

Especially this year.

He was more determined to make this year different.

He thought long and hard for the past few weeks for what he can do for her. What he could give her.

Judith wasn’t a person who expects anything. Let alone asks for anything.

He’s come to know his girlfriend well enough. 

The girl was both practical and sentimental. 

She prefers things that she knows she can use or something that has a hidden value.

He had a few ideas leading up to the day...

He just hoped that she’ll like them.

--------

Talbott was on a manhunt for his girlfriend. 

He barely saw her at breakfast and hasn’t seen her since he finished Herbology class for the day. He asked her Head of House if she seen her.

“Why, yes I have actually. She usually spends time with Professor Flitwick today. Since the two share the same birthday. And that she usually hides out from Miss Brown. I believe you can find them in the Charms classroom.” 

Thanking the older witch, he heard off to the Charms classroom. 

Standing in front of the door, Talbott took a deep breath and opened the door.

“Professor Flitwick,” he called. The short man in question was standing on top of his stack of books.

“Mr. Winger! What a lovely surprise,” his Head of House greeted with a smile.

“Happy birthday, Professor,” Talbott said with a small smile. The older wizard let out a laugh.

“Why thank you, my dear boy. To what do I owe to this visit?” Talbott blushed as he rubbed the back of his neck. It looks like Judith wasn’t here...

“I was wondering have you seen your birthday twin,” he shyly asked. Professor Flitwick paused and let out another laugh.

“Ah, so Miss Harris has told you? Well, it shouldn’t surprise me, you two are dating after all,” Flitwick smirked. Talbott felt a blush rising to his cheeks.

“Yes... but have you seen her?” Before the man could answer, something landed on Talbott’s shoulder, nuzzling against his cheek. 

A Black Sparrowhawk. 

Talbott smiled.

“Hello, little bird,” he said softly, scratching under his girlfriend chin. The bird preened and cooed before flying on ground and transforming back into the Hufflepuff witch he came to adore.

“Happy birthday, Judith,” Talbott smiled shyly at his little girlfriend. The girl’s lips spread into a smile.

“Thank you, love,” she said. Talbott glanced at his Head of House.

“Professor, do you think I can be alone with Judith for moment?” The former Dueling Champion smiled at the young couple before him. Just a few years old, Judith was confessing her feelings towards his student. And now the two were happily together.

“Of course, Mr. Winger. Good day, Miss Harris. And happy birthday.” The young witch and wizard thanked the man as he made his way out of the room.

‘Ah, young love...’ he mused quietly to himself.

Once Professor Flitwick was gone, Judith turned to her boyfriend with an arched brow.

“Something wrong, love,” she asked. Talbott shook his head, a blush staining his cheeks.

“You know how I am with people around...” Judith took note of his hand reaching into his pocket, pulling out a neatly folded sheet of paper.

“What’s that?” Talbott swallowed, hoping to calm his nerves.

“I wrote you a poem... for your birthday...” Judith’s brows shot up to her hairline. She remembered Talbott telling her that he wrote poetry back in their third year, when they were trying to find his necklace.

He wrote something for her?

“Would you like to hear it,” Talbott asked slowly as he unfolded the piece of paper. He never read any of his poems to anyone before. 

To say that he was nervous would the biggest understatement of century.

“Yes...” Judith didn’t understand why she felt breathless, but something felt different about this. This moment felt rather intimate...

Talbott cleared his throat and began to read.

“Your name is like the sweetest honey on my lips,

You radiate with confidence with each sway of your hips...

With a single look with those mystical gold eyes, I am lost,

With the warmth of your smile, my heart slowly defrosts...

I constantly long to be by your side,

Be the one who you would confide...

Your secrets, your troubles, your beautiful heart,

Allow me to learn your mind, heart, and body like a unique piece of art...

I want to be the one who kisses away your tears,

The one who protects you from your darkest fears...

I want to be the one who holds you close,

For the all the times you desire it the most...”

Talbott can feel her eyes burning into him as he read his poem, doing his best not to blush. 

Which failed tremendously as he went on to read the next part.

"Mystical gold eyes, you have charmed my heart to its knees,

Can't you see what you do to me?

Your beautiful dark curls resemble an ancient waterfall,

The way how you look flawlessly breathtaking, no matter where the strands fall...

You possess sunshine within your beautiful smile,

Its loving warmth and brilliance make me want to bask in it for a while...

Your dark skin resembles milk chocolate: smooth, delicate and sweet,

With my undeniable sweet tooth, you might be my new favorite treat...

I desire to hear your lovely voice next to me every morning,

Feel your kisses along the planes of my face, lazily exploring...

I yearn to turn over in the early hours to listen to the melody that is your heartbeat,

Knowing I can find peace in that gentle melody and fall back fall asleep...

I wish to learn every dip and curve your body,

Whether it's to simply hold you or to worship you like you were someone godly...

I always look forward to receiving your sweet kiss,

For I believe you have the lips of an angel and can bring my soul eternal bliss...

Judith faintly wondered if her face looked as red as Talbott’s as he read this part. She raised a hand to one of her enflamed cheeks.

Never had she ever heard someone bare their feelings to her like this. She knows that Talbott is a rather private person.

She knew how he felt about her, but he shows it through more quiet gestures.

This was... wow...

“Sweet little bird,

What is this sad song I heard?

So heartfelt but heartbroken,

You feel pain that never seems to stop growing...

Heartbreak resides in your mystical gold eyes,

The same eyes of your father who now resides somewhere in the skies.

Beloved, turn those eyes to the sky,

Listen to the voices of your wise grandmother and dear father and fly high...

When you begin to feel alone,

Feel my arms around you and take comfort in my cologne.

When tears fall down your cheeks,

I’ll be there with the comfort your wounded heart seeks.

When you feel like all love is gone,

Then let my love be your new dawn.

My dear Judith, I wish to forever call you mine,

Let us create a love more addicting than the sweetest wine...

Queen of my Heart,

I await for the day where we’ll come together in matrimony and never part...

Happy birthday, my dearest beloved,

Know that while I don’t say much, that you are forever loved...”

Talbott finally finished his poem with a beet red face and slightly shaky hands. He wasn’t prepared for the full body tackle of his girlfriend, causing both of them to fall to the floor.

“Jud-MHM?!” Burgundy painted lips silenced the confused Ravenclaw. Her hands cupped his face as she straddled his hips. 

Despite the intimate position and her sudden kiss, Talbott melted into her. The embrace was slow and passionate, the two unhurried as they explored each other’s secret spots.

A hand massaging her lower back.

Another caressing the delicate skin of her neck.

One hand toying with the hair on the nape of his neck.

It’s dancing along his abdomen. 

The demand of oxygen finally made itself known and the two separated.

“I love it, thank you for sharing this with me,” she whispered, looking into those red eyes she’s come to love.

“Of course, darling. Anything for you,” he said softly, pecking her sweet lips. The girl let out a small giggle as she got off him. 

The two stood at full height, readjusting their clothes so they looked presentable. Talbott picked up the paper that fell out of his hand and handed it to her. The girl took it with a blush on her cheeks.

“I still have more planned for today,” he told her with a kiss to her temple. 

Judith narrowed her eyes at him.

“What did I tell you about my birthday,” she asked. Talbott chuckled.

“I remember what you said. But you’re not gonna stop me from trying to make it special for you,” he said. He can the locket that he intends on giving her later on in evening.

She sighed.

“Fine,” she huffed. Talbott chuckled.

“Happy birthday, little bird. I love you.” A small smile tugged on the Hufflepuff’s lips defiantly.

“I love you too, bird boy. And thank you...”

#30dayswritingchallenge #hphm #hphm jacobs sibling #hphm mc #hphm talbott #hphm talbott winger #talbott winger #judith harris #talbott x mc #talbott x jacob's sibling #hogwarts mystery #hogwarts mystery talbott #hogwarts mystery mc #jacob's sibling #jacob's sister #harry potter hogwarts mystery #hufflepuff!mc #ravenclaw x hufflepuff

[aion-rsa]

Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 2, Episode 2 Easter Egg and Reference

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Spoilers ahead for Star Trek: Lower Decks, Season 2, Episode 2, “Kayshon, His Eyes Open”

In The Next Generation episode “The Most Toys,” Kivas Fajo tried to keep Data forever. The idea that someone thought it was okay to “collect” was an oddly self-referential concept for Star Trek even in the 1990s. Just like now, the idea of a Star Trek collectible was a thing hardcore Star Trek fans thought about all the time. But, other than the fact that everyone would actually want to “collect” Data, “The Most Toys” wasn’t actually about Star Trek collectibles. 

But, the newest Star Trek: Lower Decks episode, kind of is? In “Kayshon, His Eyes Open,” the crew of the Cerritos encounters one of those famous collectors, while the crew of the Titan deal with some very familiar transporter clones. It’s almost like this is an episode that is filled with as many Easter eggs on purpose. Here’s everything we caught.

Beta Shift 

When Jet joins the Lower Deckers at the start of the episode, it’s implied they are on “Beta Shift.” This seems to check-out with Season 1, in which it was clear that the Cerritos was on a four-shift duty rotation, which included the night shift known as “Delta Shift.” (This idea was first introduced in the TNG episode “Chain of Command,” an episode Lower Decks LOVES to reference.)

Sonic Showers 

Although sonic showers are referenced a lot in Star Trek, we’ve only seen sonic showers a few times. The first time was in The Motion Picture, and since then we’ve only glimpsed the showers. The visual effect for the communal sonic showers here is very similar to TMP, but the idea of communal showering for the lower officers vaguely references the novelization of The Motion Picture, too. If you know, then you know.

Collectors

Again the idea of various “Collectors” in the galaxy references Kivas Fajo and “The Most Toys.” This is what Freeman means by “they all tried to collect Data.”

Dr. Migleemo

 Notably, the Cerritos’s counselor, the avian Dr. Migleemo returns in this episode, once again, voiced by Paul. F. Tompkins. Echoing Counselor Troi’s non-standard uniform, Migleemo appears to wear whatever he wants while on duty, even sitting on the bridge.

Items Owned By the Collector, Take 1

When the landing party for the Cerritos first boards the ship, just in the first room alone there are a ton of Easter eggs. Getting all of these is gonna be tricky, but we’re gonna give it a go. Here’s what you can spot when you pause the first couple of shots in the first room of the Collector’s Ship.

Captain Picard paper mache head from “Captain Picard Day” (TNG, “The Pegasus”)

The Game (TNG, “The Game”)

Baseball Bat and ball (Possible DS9 Sisko reference?)

Giant Unicorn (Possible Blade Runner reference?)

Marty McFly’s Shoes (Back to the Future)

Terran Empire Flag (TOS, “Mirror, Mirror) 

Khan’s Necklace (The Wrath of Khan)

Valiant flight recorder (TOS, “Where No Man Has Gone Before)

Gold TOS Uniform

Giant Pink Tribble (TAS, “More Tribbles, More Troubles)

M-113 lifeform (TOS, “The Man Trap.” Also, this is AT LEAST the third time the Salt Vampire has appeared on Lower Decks. And, having the M-113 lifeform as a collectible not only references “The Man Trap,” but also, “The Squire of Gothos,” in which your boy Trelane had an M-113 creature as a museum piece, too!)

Special Shout-Out: Betazoid Gift Box 

First appearing in TNG’s “Haven,” this was a talking box that was meant to “bond” with the person who got the gift. 

The existence of this artifact here is also possible a double reference to two other things: In “Haven,” the face of the Gift Box was played by Armin Shimmerman, more famous later as Quark on DS9. But, on top of that, back in 1994 the Star Trek: The Next Generation Collectible Card Game (published by Decipher Inc.) had a very powerful card based on the Betazoid Gift Box. If you played the game, you know this was a rare and useful card that was well…very collectible.

Special Shout-Out: Whose trombone is that?

We briefly see a trombone in one of the collector’s cases, which seems like an easy reference to Riker. But, which one? Because this episode also directly references “Second Chances,” and Will Riker’s duplicate Thomas Riker, it’s possible that this is the trombone that Will gave to Thomas at the end of that TNG episode. Briefly, here’s the case for that being Thomas Riker’s trombone: In the DS9 episode “Defiant” Thomas Riker tried to steal the Defiant, but was later arrested by Starfleet. Presumably, this would mean all of his stuff would have been confiscated, including his trombone! 

Keyshon is a Tamarian 

Tamarians or “the Children of Tama” originate in the TNG episode “Darmok.” In case you forgot, Picard cracked the case with this species by learning they spoke exclusively through metaphor and analogy. Mariner mocks this by pointing out all you have to do is listen for “context clues.”

Riker loves…Rogue Squadron?

Riker tells Boimler to use “attack pattern delta,” on the Pakled ship. This seems to be a reference to The Empire Strikes Back in which Luke tells the snowspeeders of Rogue Squadron, “Attack pattern delta, go now!” 

Items Owned By the Collector, Take 2

Here’s another go at seeing how many Easter eggs were jammed into like less than 2-minutes of screentime.

Kataan Probe (TNG, “The Inner Light”)

Vulcan lirpa weapon (TOS, “Amok Time,”)

Klingon bat’leth (TNG, DS9, Voyager et al.)

Andorian dueling weapon (Enterprise, “United.”)

Shark in a Tank (A reference to the real-life artist Damien Hirst, probably?)

Mars Rover 

Kadis-kot game set (Voyager)

Château Picard wine crate (Picard)

Isomagnetic disintegrator (Worf’s bazooka from Insurrection)

Tendi is later holding:

A trident scanner (Scotty loved this thing in TOS)

And…a Kurlan naiskos (TNG, “The Chase,” a very big episode for canon!)

Kahless’ fornication helmet 

Tendi says that this specific Klingon artifact is clearly something Kahless (the Klingon Jesus) wore while…well, the name speaks for itself. But which Kahless? Hmmm? The fake clone Kahless from “Rightful Heir?” or the real-deal Kahless from the 9th century? The Kahless reference gets doubly meta, because, as you’ll see later, Lower Decks eventually references the very first reference in canon to Kahless, too. 

Data’s Picasso-esque painting of Spot

Barely visible, just as Mariner and the gang are trying to escape, we see Data’s painting of his cat Spot, first seen in the TNG episode “Inheritance,” and later in the background in the movie Generations.

Boimler’s description of the Enterprise-D

Let’s combine two scenes here! In two pivotal moments in the episode, Boimler is defending the honor and relative coolness of the TNG adventures on the Enterprise-D, which he just calls “the D.” Here’s what it seems like he’s referencing.

“They went to other dimensions… (This seems to reference the idea that “The D” did go to another dimension in the episode “Where No One Has Gone Before.” It also could reference “Yesterday’s Enterprise,” but nobody would remember that.)

“They fought the Borg…” (This references “Q, Who,” “The Best of Both Worlds,” and “Descent.”

“They insurrected!” (This seems to reference Star Trek: Insurrection, which was not the Enterprise-D, but instead, the Enterprise-E! The Lower Decks writers surely know this. Why doesn’t Boimler know this? Maybe the game of telephone in the Federation is a little inaccurate? In LDS Season 1, the news of Data’s brother seemed to travel…very slowly?)

“They had a regular string quartet.” (This references several TNG episodes, notably “Sarek,” and again, “Inheritance,”) 

“Riker was jamming on the trombone” (A ton of TNG, including “The Next Phase,” “Future Imperfect,” and of course, “Second Chances.”)

“Catching love disease” (Probably TNG’s “The Naked Now”)

“Acting in plays” (This mostly references Riker acting in one of Crusher’s plays in TNG’s “Frame of Mind.”)

The remains of Spock Two?

In the spooky skeleton room, we see what appears to be a giant humanoid skeleton wearing a blue TOS–era Starfleet uniform. Who is this? The best guess? This is the giant Spock clone from The Animated Series episode “The Infinite Vulcan.”

Excalbian Bones and Abe Lincoln

Toward the end of the episode, the gang is trapped in a diorama that seems to have an alien and a skeleton of Abraham Lincoln. This references the TOS episode “The Savage Curtain” in which the Excalbians produced copies of Lincoln, along with Kahless and Surak. This episode was the first reference in Trek canon to both Kahless and Surak, and so, basically created the backstories of both Vulcan and Klingon cultures through historically inaccurate versions of those people. Funny, right? 

Transporter clone 

When Boimler beams the away team out through the distortion field, Riker says “oh, I’ve heard this tune before.” This references the TNG banger “Second Chances,” in which Riker’s transporter duplicate was discovered on a planet years after the fact. In this sense, Boimler’s transporter clone got off easy. Also, the idea that one of the transporter duplicates makes different decisions that the other also references “Second Chances,” in which “Thomas” Riker ends up being a different person than Will. The idea that both can’t serve on the Titan anymore might reference the idea that the TNG writing staff considered killing off the “first” Will Riker, and replacing him with his duplicate. This would have meant Data would have become the first officer in Season 6, and Riker, the operations officer. It didn’t happen, but from the point of view of the Titan crew, something like this basically DID just happen.

The Riker lean 

While talking to the Mr. Boimlers, Riker puts one foot up on a couch. Classic Riker lean. Classic. 

“Computer play Night Bird”

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Just before Boimler leaves the Ready Room, “William Boimler” and Riker are sharing some Romulan Ale. Riker says “computer, play ‘Night Bird.’” This also references “Second Chances,” in which Riker is unable to play the trombone solo for this song, which Troi teases him about endlessly. “Night Bird” also appears to be a made-up song. But who knows, maybe William Boimler will be able to master it? Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 2 airs on Paramount+ on Thursdays.

The post Star Trek: Lower Decks Season 2, Episode 2 Easter Egg and Reference appeared first on Den of Geek.

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

[nataliedanovelist]

GF - How A Star Is Born ch.V

A Hercules AU, founded by @evaroze, whom this fic is a gift for. I hope y’all like it!

ch.IV - ch.VI

AO3 link

~~~~~~~~~~

Years went by. Both Dipper and Mabel went through vigorous training under their uncles’ supervision. After allowing Mabel to visit the world, Stanford had combat training be added to her lessons so, if needed, she could defend herself. Now a master of duel swords and a brand new goddess of the arts, Mabel spent her days inspiring humans, helping to keep Olympus beautiful and safe, and exploring the woods throughout Greece.

She also spent a lot of time talking to Dipper. At least once a week he would sit at night and draw in his journal to talk to his sister, swapping stories and inspiring each other to learn and grow.

Dipper was no longer a scrawny little boy, but a strong, muscular, clever young man of seventeen. Stan had never been more proud in his entire life, boxing with the kid and having him go through trials and tests and watching him grow up. He even managed to teach Dipper a few swears.

Stan coughed into his fist, standing at the end of the most difficult obstacle course Dipper had ever been set to. He grinned as Dipper emerged from shark-infested waters, blazing hoops, electric spikes, and racist homophobes, without a scratch on him, and Stan and Dipper high-hived and cheered and celebrated.

“You did it, kid! You were great!”

“Thanks, I couldn’t have done without you.” Dipper said with a smile.

“Obviously.” Stan smirked, earning him a soft punch in the beer belly. “Oof! Okay, okay. You go pack up, ya gremlin. We’re going to Thebes!”

“Isn’t that place, like, the worst place in Greece?” Dipper asked as they headed back to the Mystery Shack.

“You got it, you’ll be just what the doctor ordered.” Stan explained. “Young hero like you can help a lot of people in an Underworld-hole like that. Great place to start out. If you can make it at the Big Olive, you can make it anywhere.”

The men set sail before the sun rose the next morning. For some odd reason, Stan locked up the shack in a way that made it seem like they were never coming back, but Dipper assumed it was only because Stan believed that Dipper could make it big. The young man smiled, determined not to let his teacher down, and made sure they were on the right track.

After sailing across the ocean for a few hours, they floated into a river that traveled along the woods, taking a shortcut for Thebes rather than travel through the sea for Greece. Stan was resting in a chair with a cold drink in his hand, letting Dipper sail for a while, when they heard a scream.

The old man shot up and grinned. “Perfect! A damsel in distress! Good warm-up before we hit down. Lower the anchor here.”

Dipper did as he was told and they crept down the river for the waterfall, where they saw a young lady stumble away, groaning and growling in her throat.

The girl had long, beautiful blonde hair and stunning blue eyes that crackled like raging fire, wearing a long baby-blue dress. She hurried to her feet but was soon scooped up by the enemy that came around the river bend.

A huge Manotaur with a toga around his waist was so huge he grabbed the woman in his fist around the waist. “Not so fast, sweetheart.” He growled.

“Put me down right now, Chutzpah, or I’ll…!” The woman threw a punch at the monster, but he held her away and laughed.

“I like ‘em fiery!”

“HEY!” Dipper yelled from the riverbank and stomped on the river, leaving Stan in the bushes to munch on some popcorn.

“My money’s on Hooves.”

The girl and Chutzpah stared at the newcomer and the monster growled, “Beat it, twerp, I’m busy.”

“Sorry, mister, but you’re gonna let her go, or…”

“Keep moving, junior.” The girl sneered.

“... or I’ll…” Dipper’s sentence dropped and shattered. “But aren’t you… er, a damsel in distress?”

“I’m a damsel.” The woman said as she tried to pull herself free from the giant fist. “I’m in distress. I can handle this. Have a nice day.” She said with a sly grin with cold blue eyes.

Dipper swallowed and cleared his throat, reaching for his sword. “Uh, ma’am, I think you might be too close to this situation to realize your…” But the Manotaur punched him with so much force that Dipper flew onto a big boulder on the other side of the river.

Stan winced while Chutzpah laughed and the damsel looked bored. “C’mon kid, shake it off!” The old man coached.

Dipper charged, leaving his sword behind, and started to toss left and right hooks back and forth and landing, making the monster dizzy, and then used his head to hit him so hard it was his turn to fly back onto a hard surface, landing behind the waterfall and dropping the girl in the process.

“YES! That’s what I’m talking about, sport! Keep it up!”

“UGH!”

Dipper looked down at the wet girl and gently scooped her up out of the river to sit on a rock. “Oh, I’m sorry, ma’am. That was dumb… Excuse me, please.” And he and Chutzpah resumed their battle, the demigod using his strength to throw the Manotaur over his shoulder and putting him in a head-lock.

“Fight! Fight! Fight!” Stan chanted while the girl rang her hair dry, a smirk on her face.

“Not bad, not bad.”

“What are you talking about, he’s great!” Stan cheered. “Throw him a left! Atta boy!”

With one final punch, Dipper made Chutzpah the Manotaur fly up in the air and then come back crashing down face first in the water, a shiny bruise on his snooze button.

“Alright! Nice work!” Stan coached. “You could’ve gone without the distraction from a pair of big goo-goo eyes, but good recovery! Alright, let’s hit the water and move on.” And he walked off for the boat.

But once again, Dipper was distracted. The woman was rubbing her arms dry and sliding off the rock to stand, stretching her slender back; Dipper’s face felt hot and his whole body felt like it wasn’t even there. “Uh… are you alright, miss…?”

“Pacifica.” The girl said with a voice that dripped with sarcasm, like she believed she had better things to do than be standing here and talking to him, but she didn’t know what. “I’m fine. Thanks for the save. So, you got a name to go with all those rippling pectorals?”

“Uh… um, ah… I’m uh… uh…”

“Don’t speak Greek or something?”

“Dipper!” The man cleared his throat and answered in a calmer tone. “M-My name is Dipper. How did you get mixed up with the…”

“Knucklehead with hooves?” Pacifica finished for him. “Ah, you know how men are. They all think ‘no’ means ‘yes,’ and ‘get lost’ means ‘take me, I’m yours.’ Well, thanks for everything, Dip. Bye-bye.” And Pacifica began to walk away.

“Wait!” Dipper called out quickly, a reflex of seeing someone beautiful and cool-headed going away, and he offered sheepishly, “Uh, c-c-can I give you a ride on my boat, erm, me and Stan’s boat?”

“I’m fine,” Pacifica giggled coldly. “I’m a big tough girl, I tie my own sandals and everything. I can look after myself. See ya, Dippin’ Dots.” And Dipper watched as she disappeared beneath a hill.

“Uh… bye.” Dipper said weakly, clumsy on his feet as Stan sailed their small boat behind him, going down the river for Thebes.

“OY! Knucklehead! We going or what?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah… yeah…”

Dipper pulled himself on board, smiling with his head in the clouds. Stan sighed and shook his head, muttering, “Twitterpated.”

As Pacifica walked further and further into the woods, the atmosphere got darker and darker. The young lady walked as coldly as the air, unafraid and all too familiar with who was approaching her. When a huge gust of blue fire erupted from the Earth and a floating triangle appeared before the teenage girl, she rolled her eyes and sneered, “Great, I needed cheddar for dinner.”

Bill cackled as he held his three-sided body and kicked his legs in the air. “Oh, my little Llama. Care to explain what exactly happened?” He made a chess board appear before him with various pieces of monsters and anomalies on the board. “I thought you were gonna persuade the River Guardian to join my team for the uprising and, here I am, kinda River Guardian-less.”

“I gave it my best shot,” Pacifica said coldly as she flicked Chutzpah off the board. “But he made an offer I had to refuse.”

“Okay, fine,” Bill replied as he made the board disappear, closing it like a book. “Instead of taking two year from your lifetime sentence, Imma add two on, okay? You got your best shot?”

Pacifica groaned and walked away, leaning against a dead tree. “Look, it wasn’t my fault, okay. It was this Wonderboy who beat your Manotaur up.”

“Wonderboy?” Bill repeated.

“Some new hero who came with this big innocent farm-boy routine, but I could see through that in a Peloponnesian minute.” Pacifica said with a cold snap of her fingers.

“New hero, huh?” Bill said, a hand to what might have been his chin but was really just under his eye. “If some new guy is beating up my minions it could weaken our chances of over-throwing Sixer…” The demon stopped his talking when he heard a voice. He swooped Pacifica up into the trees as a dark cloud, just in time to hide from the intruder.

Mabel was running through the woods with a pig at her feet. He had grown quite large since the young muse had met the pig, and now they both ran as fast as they could, but the teenage girl made it to a tree first, planting a hand on it, making the dead tree sprout leaves with life, and she jumped and cheered and punched the air. “That’s twenty-two for me… How about twenty-two out of forty-five?” She asked Waddles.

The big tired pig flopped over and showed his belly lazily. Mabel awed and fell to her knees to scratch him. “Aw, you’re just a big dummy-dumb. C’mon, why don’t we go see if Grunkle Ford is too busy to hang out. This Mabel’s gotta have some family time.” And she picked up her pet pig and skipped back home.

Bill plunged back onto the ground, dropping Pacifica, who sat on a rock boringly, as Bill glowed red with fire and yelled loudly, “WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!” And soon every tree circling them was no more.

~~~~~~~~~~

“Who’s a cute lil guy? You are!” Gideon said into his hand mirror, sitting at the front desk of the Underworld.

The huge doors flew open as Bill, still red and fiery with anger, entered and grew to the size of a giant before his minion. “YOU SAID YOU TOOK CARE OF THE TWINS!”

“The what now?” Gideon asked calmly.

Bill towered down at the white-haired chubby teenager and bellowed, “Sixer’s brats! The ones destined to stop me from ruling this dimension! You said they were dead as doornails! But the girl is still alive!”

“Yeah, so?” Gideon asked. “The prophecy said both twins had to be there for you to lose. There’s only one. So there. And besides it took you seventeen years to realize Stanford was still dotting on his niece. If anything you suck at keeping up with your own prey.”

Bill shrunk down, shaking with anger and still red, but he had to admit that the jerk was right. “Fine, but the boy, Mason, is dead, right?”

“More or less.”

“”WHAT DO YOU MEAN MORE OR LESS?!”

“He will be when the mortal world is done with him.” Gideon sneered with a crooked smile. “That scrawny twerp doesn’t stand a chance in Thebes.”

“And you know all of this HOW?!”

“It’s fun watching him struggle and lose.” Gideon admitted with a shrug.

“I’m not taking any chances!” Bill yelled and floated away. “We’ve got one year until I can free my friends and take over this dimension! Since I can’t curse Shooting Star into a mortal, I can still kill Pinetree.”

“I’m telling you,” Gideon said, following his boss. “That loser doesn’t stand a chance. I know just who to send to kill him.”

And Bill’s anger melted away as he listened to his minion’s plan and helped make it better.

#GF #gravity falls au #fanfiction #hercules #dipper pines #mabel pines #stan pines #pacifica northwest #bill cipher #hope you like it!!! #gift

[city-writes]

Bygone Amity (Chapter 2)

Upon arriving at the castle, Yuma comes to an uneasy realization: He's got no plan, and no one but himself to rely on this time.

Warnings: Post-Canon, Time Travel Pairing(s): Vector/Yuma Tsukumo (Foilshipping)

Read here on AO3! Commission info!

_________

It wasn't long before Yuma found himself led out of the forest, and once he and the guards were clear of the trees, Yuma saw it: A white brick castle, shining with gold accents, standing prominently within view. It was in a hilltop, surrounded by more trees, but the sight of it was rather captivating.

Yuma's mind called back to when he'd seen this place in ruins, when hunting down Numbers with the others, it having contained Numbers 65: Judge Buster. A feeling of dread went through Yuma then as he recalled Rio's telling of the ruins' prophecy, of how the prince - Vector - ended up committing suicide after slaughtering all his people.

Did those deaths haunt the Vector in the present day, too?

Regardless, Yuma vowed, he'd stop that, stop it all, from happening.

The walk to the castle was a quiet one, and Yuma wished one of the say something, anything, so that he could get his mind off of Vector's traumatic... past? Future? He wasn't sure what to deem it now that he was here to prevent it. But nevertheless, it didn't stop Yuma from wishing he'd be spoken to. He'd start trying a conversation himself, but the one guard was... kinda a jerk? And he was afraid of saying something off, something suspicious that would give them reason to not even take him to Vector.

Perhaps it was best that the walk was silent.

As they approached the castle, Yuma began to feel further uneasy, seeing more guards with spears along the castle grounds, staring at him suspiciously as the two guards who found him led him into the castle.

Yuma marvelled at the sight of the castle's interior, it being every bit as regal as the outside of the castle. Armor lined the hallways, small tables with expensive looking trinkets and vases of exotic flowers, red carpets accented with gold draped along the white stone floors.

It didn't take long for them to reach a room with large wooden double doors, the guard in front of him knocking twice before the doors opened.

Led inside, Yuma looked straight down the center of the room, and saw him: Vector, with a much softer expression on his face - one that reminded Yuma of his Shingetsu days - sitting on the throne; dressed in what Yuma deemed regal-looking attire, his arm sheathed in golden metal armor, and a ruby circlet on his head.

Vector and Yuma's eyes locked onto each other, and Yuma felt his stomach flip under the other male's curious gaze. Oh crap, what was he going to say? How was he going to explain who he was, what he was doing here, where he came from? Should he lie? Should he--

Vector's gaze suddenly left him, turning to the pair if guards instead. "What is the meaning of this?" Vector asked as he leaned forward slightly, his tone even and calm, kind.

The first guard to speak, the one who treated Yuma more respectfully out of the two, moved his spear, the butt of it placed firmly on the ground, the spearhead pointing straight up. "Forgive us, my prince, but we found this boy wandering the forest to the west of here, all on his own."

The other guard then spoke, mimicking the same action as the first with his spear. "We brought him here under the assumption that he was up to something nefarious, my prince." He then sneered as he looked at Yuma. "His clothes aren't of any kingdom I've seen. He could be a spy, or worse."

Yuma frowned at the second guard, but before he could say anything in his own defense, Vector stood up. He made his way towards Yuma, looking over his clothes once before reaching for Yuma's hands, untying the rope that bound them.

"M-My prince!" The second guard protested.

"Forgive my guards," Vector said softly, handing to rope off to the first guard. "Its not often we get a visitor from a foreign kingdom." Looking over Yuma's wrists for any sign of the rope having been too tight, Vector kept his grip on Yuma surprisingly delicate for one wearing metal armor. "I am Vector, prince of R'yleh." Gentle purple eyes rose to meet Yuma's red. "Tell me, what is your name, and where are your parents?"

Yuma gulped slightly, exhaling his nerves away before speaking. "My name is Yuma Tsukumo. My parents..." Yuma thought about his mother and father then, a small, sad frown coming to him. "My parents and I got separated."

"Separated?" Vector echoed, looking at Yuma sympathetically. He took a moment to examine Yuma's clothes, the style being one he'd never seen before. He must have been from a neighboring kingdom, as this style of clothing was unlike anything in R'yleh. A thought occured to Vector then. With his father having attacked surrounding kingdoms before his illness, could the king be the reason why Yuma got separated from his parents? A deep feeling of guilt settled in Vector at that thought. That meant anything could have happened to the other's parents.

"Prince Vector?" At the sound of a woman's voice, Vector turned his head, and Yuma followed suit, watching a woman come from a nearby room. "Is something wrong?"

"Mother." Vector acknowledged, Yuma's eyes widening slightly. One of the only real reference points Yuma had had for Vector's mother was her dying moments that Don Thousand had shown them during Vector's duel with Shark. But now that he'd seen her under better circumstances, Yuma recognized her.

"The guards brought a boy from the forest." Vector said to his mother. "He says he's called Yuma, and he's been separated from his family." He turned to look over Yuma once more, a slight frown on the carrot top's face as he thought for a second. He then looked to his guards, his expression kind - very unlike the modern day Vector. "Thank you for doing their duties. This boy shall be under my protection from this point on."

"But, my prince!" The second guard began to protest, but Vector gently raised his bare hand, in a motion meant to silence the guard.

"If Yuma was in the forest, there's a chance his parents might not be far behind." Vector began as he spoke to his guards, Yuma's gaze falling to the floor at that. "So if you, or any of the other guards see anyone, bring them here." Behind Vector, his mother nodded at the guards, them finally leaving once she nodded.

Vector's metal gauntleted hand reached for Yuma's cheek, cupping it as he looked over the red-eyed male's face. "You look rather healthy... Were you separated recently?" Before Yuma could answer, the young prince then brought his hand down, looking back to his mother. "Mother, would you kindly bring me a map of the neighboring kingdoms? I want to see if Yuma can pinpoint where he lost his parents."

Yuma paled at that. How was he going to get himself out of that one? He knew nothing of the land around them. Vector's mother spoke then, an ashamed look on her face.

"Forgive me, my son. But the maps are in your father's war room." She flinched slightly at her own words, Vector exhaling slowly as she spoke. "I don't believe any of them are viable to look at."

Vector closed his eyes for a moment. Right. His father's war plans... the same look of shame came over Vector, and he shook his head slightly. "Right then." He looked to Yuma, a somewhat sad smile on his face. "What kingdom do you hail from?"

Kingdom? Yuma mentally scoured his mind for the names of kingdoms that he encountered on the hunt for the Numbers in ruins, but realized that if he named an actual kingdom, and someone here had actually been there, he could be in big trouble. "I... I come from Heartland."

"Heartland?" Vector repeated, a bit of a frown coming to him as he thought. "That kingdom doesn't sound familiar." It was then he'd really wished they had a spare map, one his father hadn't taken for his war-planning. "I do honestly hope my father's madness didn't reach to your kingdom before he became ill. But... I'm relieved in knowing that if I have not heard of this kingdom, then more than likely neither had my father, and the chances of us finding your parents unharmed are rather good."

"What of this boy until then, Prince Vector?" His mother asked, walking forward to stand behind her son, and place a hand on his shoulder.

Vector very faintly leaned into her touch, looking up at her for a moment before looking back at Yuma. "I'd prefer you stay here, in the castle, until we find or hear word of your parents. To send you back out into the forest would be inconsiderate. I want your parents to see that we took care of you, not treated you poorly."

"But if you'd rather head back out into the wild to search for your parents on your own, I won't stop you." At that, Vector's mother's eyes widened, and she looked down at her son, who simply kept speaking. "But allow us to provide you with whatever you need if you do; whether it be food or clothing, or even a horse. I only ask that you forgive my guard's actions from before, and to speak kindly of my kingdom. I know my father's reputation has tarnished my people's name, but... I'm aiming to change that."

Yuma was silent, taking in Vector's words. Not that he was considering his offer to leave - he couldn't, not when there was a mission to be carried out. But... to hear Vector speak like this, to experience Vector at his most earnest, most genuine self, untainted by Don Thousand? It made Yuma wonder whether or not Shingetsu was truly, completely, an act.

"I'm..." Yuma frowned as he tried to word together a proper response, not wanting to come off as unappreciative or something of the like. He really wished Astral had come with him to give him pointers on how to talk in a way that wouldn't arouse suspicions. "I'm honored at your offers, Vecto-- err, Prince Vector." Yuma closed his eyes for a moment, before looking at Vector and his mother. "I don't mind staying in the castle with you until you can find them."

Vector's mother looked relieved at Yuma's words, not having wanted to send the boy back into the wild, even if they had provided him with whatever he would have needed. A soft smile came to the slender woman, who gently placed a hand on top of Yuma's head comfortingly. "I shall see to it that your stay is a most welcome one, child, and I do hope we can reunite you with your parents soon. I can only imagine how worried they must be about you."

She then pulled away from both boys, bowing her head slightly. "My prince, I'm off to find one of the chambermaids, and to locate a room for young Yuma." Vector nodded at her words, and she turned to leave, disappearing behind a nearby door.

Vector had seen his mother off with a fond smile, then turned back to Yuma, having noticed before how he had glanced to the guards. "I'll personally inform the guards we have here that you're our guest until further notice. You won't have to worry about them."

Yuma nodded his thanks, a hand going to grasp at the Emperor's key around his neck. "Thanks, Vec-- Prince Vector."

Vector smiled, chuckling slightly as Yuma corrected himself. "Its alright, when it's just us, you may call me just 'Vector' if you wish."

Sighing his relief, Yuma allowed himself to relax. "Gee, thanks. That's alot easier." Yuma blinked at his own words, before backtracking and stammering. "I-I mean, I've never really interacted with royalty, ya know?" Yuma laughed awkwardly, a hand going to rub at the back if his own head. "Its tough to remember to use like, titles and stuff!"

Vector blinked, before raising his non-armored hand to his mouth, laughing somewhat. "You're rather... interesting, Yuma."

"Sorry." Yuma apologized, lowering his hand. "I just... am nervous, I guess."

"We'll find your parents," Vector comforted, his non-armored hand going to rest on Yuma's shoulder. "We'll reunite you with them soon."

Yuma nodded, but he knew that that wasn't what he was nervous about. How far away in time were they from the day Don Thousand took everything away from Vector? Would he even be able to save him, save his mother? How much time did he have to prepare, to start forming a plan?

"How about," Vector began, taking his hand off of Yuma's shoulder, "I show you around the castle?" Vector nodded towards one of the doors. "If you're going to be staying here, the least I could do is try to make you feel welcome."

Yuma blinked, then nodded, a small smile coming to him. "I'd appreciate that, Vector."

#Krys Writes #Zexal #Yuma Tsukumo #Vector #Foilshipping