#op you perfectly captured that energy here!

[gostosadeazulpassando]

How am i going to organize my Miraculous' remakes: Part 2/2 - Reworking on the Miraculouses' powers

When I was looking for reworks of Miraculous powers for inspiration, I stumbled upon this post. Literally spent the whole night processing the amount of information the text contained

So when I finally understood everything and organized my thoughts, I started writing, taking all the references in the post into account, but adapting everything to my personal tastes and current powers after all of them were finally revealed (OP's post is from 2019) since I don't want to leave a drastic change, because analyzing well, the canon powers match perfectly with each holder.

According to OP, following the Yin Yang, Wu Xing and Sheng Xiao symbolisms more accurately, the division of powers should look like this:

Ladybug and Cat Miraculouses - Five powers

Fox, Bee, Turtle, Peacock and Butterfly Miraculouses - Two powers

Mouse, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog and Pig Miraculouses - Only one power

"Why?" You may ask. And here is the answer. The Ladybug and Cat Miraculouses are the most powerful Miraculouses of the most powerful Miracle Box; They represent the Yin and Yang, concepts of Taoism that expose the duality of everything that exists in the universe and describe the two opposing and complementary fundamental forces. It really made sense to me that they should've had more than one power.

Thing is, they already have. Ladybug explicitly has 2 powers (3 if you consider capturing akumas and amoks as a particular power) which are Lucky Charm and the Miraculous Ladybug's cure. The issue with Chat Noir and Cataclysm is something I will address further down.

Back to the explanation, now I need to talk about the Wu Xing so that things make sense later.

The 5 phases theory, which is a more correct translation, states that wood (木), fire (火), earth (土), metal (金) and water (水) are the basic elements that form the material world.

There would be an interaction and reciprocal control between them that would determine their state of constant movement and change. They also represent the passage of time, seasons, cardinal directions, organs of the human body, cosmic periods and are even linked with properties of medicine.

There are four cycles: the generating one, the weakening, insulting and controlling. This concept would be something cool to play with, with all the possibilities of combinations, but I admit that it would be something more complex than it already is.

Apparently, Thomas took inspiration not from the colors of each element, but from what they represent. Still following OP's logic, each power and animal chosen would be derived from what the element affects and express. Therefore, the pattern would be:

Wood -> Mind -> Fox (Illusion)

Fire -> Energy -> Bee (Subjection)

Earth -> Body -> Turtle (Protection)

Metal -> Soul -> Peacock (Emotion)

Water -> Heart -> Butterfly (Transmission)

And each element would have its Yin and Yang ability, as it encompasses the Wu Xing. Every Yin ability would be more defensive/supportive/passive/collective, while every Yang ability would be more offensive/agressive/active/individual, so i came to this conclusion:

Fox

• Wood/Mind (Yin): Defense - Mirage

• Wood/Mind (Yang): Offense - ?

Bee

• Fire/Energy (Yin): Defense - ?

• Fire/Energy (Yang): Offense - Venom

Turtle

• Earth/Body (Yin): Defense - Shell-ter

• Earth/Body (Yang): Offense - ?

Peacock

• Metal/Soul (Yin): Defense - Amokization

• Metal/Soul (Yang): Offense - ?

Butterfly

• Water/Heart (Yin): Defense - Akumatization

• Water/Heart (Yang): Offense - ?

Now that I've determined the mind, energy, body, mind and heart thing, we can go back to the Ladybug and Cat Miraculouses.

As I said, the Yin Yang encompasses the Wu Xing, so Ladybug and Chat Noir's powers most likely would work that way:

Ladybug (Yang)

• Positive Mind: Inspiration - ?

• Positive Energy: Creation - Lucky Charm

• Positive Body: Strength - ?

• Positive Soul: Life - ?

• Positive Heart: Healing - Miraculous Ladybug cure

Cat (Yin)

• Negative Mind: Insanity/Madness - ?

• Negative Energy: Destruction - Cataclysm

• Negative Body: Weakness - ?

• Negative Soul: Death - ?

• Negative Heart: Toxicity - ?

But do you guys remember the thing I said about Chat Noir and his only power being Cataclysm in canon, unlike Ladybug? So, reading some Thomas Astruc's replies on Twitter, I discovered something quite interesting.

He confirmed that the Cat Miraculous' power is not to destroy anything per say. It's actually making something bad, in general, happen to what he touches; this is why Sentimonsters totally lose control and go berserk when hit by a Cataclysm. "The bad thing" that happens is the connection between them and their owners being interrupted.

To make something disappear from existence is annihilation, which is different from destruction, the official Cat Miraculous concept. The very name "Cataclysm" means disaster or catastrophe, which is why there is an association with bad luck or jinx. So basically I'll just be putting each possible effect under 5 distinct names according to the related element. Easy.

Finally, moving on to the Sheng Xiao, the Chinese Zodiac. There are 12 animals in total, which I already mentioned above. Getting to this point, I would also like to mention that I even researched what animals represent the Yin Yang and Wu Xing, just to check the consistency of Thomas. At the end, I wanted to say that I totally understand why he put the animals we currently have in the box.

The animals that represent the Yin and Yang are, respectively, Tiger and Dragon. Two animals that we already got in the zodiac. Gets worse with Wu Xing: Wood and Earth are represented by two more dragons, a Azure one (Qing Long) and a Golden one (Huang Long), while Fire, Metal and Water are the Vermilion Bird (Zhu Que), White Tiger (Bai Hu) and Black Tortoise (Xuan Wu), the last two being just varieties of animals that we already got in the box.

Back to the original matter again, shall we? All the signs within the zodiac are only equivalent and defined by a single element out of all the five and just one side of the Yin Yang, and that's what I'm going to use as a base to change the powers or just improve them. The list goes:

Mouse

• Water/Heart (Yang): Multitude

Ox

• Earth/Body (Yin): Resistance

Tiger

• Wood/Mind (Yang): Clout

Rabbit

• Wood/Mind (Yin): Burrow

Dragon

• Earth/Body (Yang): Elemental Storm Dragons or Wind, Lightning and Water Dragon

Snake

• Fire/Energy (Yin): Second Chance, honestly this is one that I might even have to change the name, maybe to something like Hypnosis – quite cliché I know

Horse

• Fire/Energy (Yang): Voyage

Goat

• Earth/Body (Yin): Genesis

Monkey

• Metal/Soul (Yang): Uproar

Rooster

• Metal/Soul (Yin): Sublimation

Dog

• Earth/Body (Yang): Fetch

Pig

• Water/Heart (Yin): Gift

I must say that I honestly don't intend to completely adapt, specifically the Sheng Xiao's animals powers, to the Yin Yang and Wu Xing molds, as it would completely change the powers, their symbolism, and their matchings with each canon holder, something I don't want because it would cause a mess in my head and I particularly appreciate the original content and stuff on the show. But I promise that I'll try my hardest to make at least some of them still contain precision.

Just like the other part of the posts about the remakes (the one that talks about how I am going to redesign the heroes' outfits), that end up in this one, I'll leave it to reveal the Miraculouses powers' changes in each individual post that addresses a particular hero.

Since this was a loooong text, I hope you enjoyed reading this far. Thanks for the attention!!!

And once again, credits to @loosescrewslefty

#ml powers #mlb powers #miraculous powers #miraculous ladybug powers #ml rewrite #mlb rewrite #miraculous rewrite #miraculous ladybug rewrite #ml #mlb #miraculous #miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug and chat noir #ladybug #chat noir #marinette #adrien

[makeste]

I, too, unconditionally love SIXQUIRKS. People really be forgetting that quirks are like body parts. Like AM (?) said: "If you suddenly grew a tail, you wouldn't know how to do tricks right away." They also forget the painful consequences of overusing quirks.

the biggest argument I always see against them is that they somehow make the other characters irrelevant, but tbh I've never really understood that. Sero and Ochako didn't suddenly stop existing once Deku developed Blackwhip and Float, and they're as relevant to the story as they've ever been. Ochako has her very own final villain all picked out and everything, and despite Sero being a side character, Horikoshi said he has an epic scene planned out for him in the final battle. there are a shit ton of bad guys out there to fight, and it's not like Deku is just gonna fight them all himself from here on out.

all SIXQUIRKS has done imo is make Deku's fights immeasurably more interesting than they used to be. back in the day, all he used to do was scream and jump around and punch things and break bones lol. compare his fight against Lady Nagant to his fight against Muscular, or even against Gentle. the newer fights are a thousand times more interesting and exciting because there's so much more going on. it's exactly like En said; he has all these different tools in his toolbox now, and he can strategize with them which plays to his analytical fighting style perfectly. and the thing is, he needs them too, because all of the remaining bad guys are just as OP as he is (and in fact, Tomura is currently way more OP which is actually a huge problem). that's what happens when you get to the endgame of a manga.

and yes, as you also mentioned they also serve to nerf him at times when needed, which is something that we were seeing less and less of before Blackwhip came along. he had to go all the way back to square one again just when he was finally starting to figure things out (his VA did a fantastic job capturing that frustration this week). and they're almost too powerful to control, and he has to be so careful if he doesn't want to get himself hurt (and unfortunately he's often not careful, and so yeah, sob). I give Katsuki a lot of credit for helping him get Blackwhip under control; I think it would have taken him much longer without all of their training sessions.

and speaking of Katsuki, as I said last week, his reaction to all of this really sets the standard imo. there is absolutely no insecurity; no "oh shit, Deku is going to be so much better and stronger than me and I'll never be able to catch up." he's not worried about it at all. and the thing is, he's not wrong. I don't think it's a coincidence that every last one of Deku's new abilities (with the exception of Blackwhip itself, which I'll note that Katsuki could imitate if he wanted to -- Ochako and Aizawa and Shinsou demonstrate that clearly enough) is something that Bakugou is already capable of.

Float - I mean, he says it himself lol. he's been able to fly for years.

Danger Sense - Katsuki already has arguably the fastest reflexes of anyone in the entire series. this is something he's been praised for repeatedly. he was able to save Deku at Jakku in a fraction of a second.

Smokescreen - lol yeah. chapter 118 is a good one if you want to see how capable Katsuki is of covering an entire area in smoke with little to no effort.

Fa Jin (or whatever it is) - tbh this quirk is still pretty confusing to me, but we know it works by charging up bursts of kinetic energy or whatever, and that's basically exactly how Katsuki uses his explosions. he can boost his own speed and power with a blast, or fire blasts off at opponents.

and last but not least, [mysterious as-yet-unknown quirk belonging to the Second User] - I will just leave this blank for now, but I think it's safe to say that this quirk is very unlikely to be something that Katsuki of all people wouldn't be able to duplicate.

I forget who said this to me (it was during a discussion I had in the comments of one of my posts a couple of years ago), but as far as Katsuki and Deku's power levels go, it's basically like Superman vs the Flash. Superman may be more OP, and he's got all those powers and is basically the whole package -- but it doesn't really matter if the Flash has only the one power, because his one power is so good that it makes him basically unstoppable. and Katsuki pretty much said this exact same thing during the Endeavor Agency arc. he literally doesn't care, because his quirk is still the best, and his goal to be the number one hasn't changed, and won't change.

so yeah, all in all I love the SIXQUIRKS and the extra spark of life they brought to the story, and all of the "they're overpowered and he's a Gary Stu" arguments just don't really gel with me. it hasn't affected my favorite part of the story (Katsuki and Deku's friendship/rivalry) in any kind of negative way so far. in fact, it's done the exact opposite, and has served as a catalyst for the two of them to become a lot closer. and the Vestiges are cool, and Blackwhip is sexy af, I've said it before and I'll keep saying it lol. so yeah, divisive as they are, this blog is very much pro-SIXQUIRKS, and for me they've been a fun ride thus far.

#midoriya izuku #bakugou katsuki #one for all #bnha meta #deku meta #bakugou meta #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha #makeste watches bnha #asks #anon asks

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 09 second part

(Masterpost) (Other Canary Blather)

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Wen Chao’s Weird Bird, Redux

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji walk away after killing the dire bird, and then Wen Chao, who was standing like 2 feet away, comes to collect its resentful little corpse. He totally heard Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji talking about him.  

Wen Memorial

Now we visit the Wen memorial, which Wei Wuxian 2.0 won’t remember when he sees it again. Everyone who isn’t a Wen is confused and awkward while the Wens have an impromptu family conference. Agenda: 1. weeping 2. apologizing to ancestors for involuntarily being turned into temporary zombies. 3. getting the fuck out of dodge before it happens again

This is a burial place, and the non-Wen cultivators are deferential and tentative where before they were bossy. Wei Wuxian’s affect is particularly different from his normal swagger and decisiveness. 

Look how gently he asks Wen Qing about this place, thinking carefully and making his expression conciliatory before he opens his mouth to speak. 

(more after the cut)

The others react to this revelation by becoming even more awkward and uncomfortable...

But Wei Wuxian responds with shock and sympathy, once again showing why he makes friends wherever he goes, and why he is so vulnerable despite his many strengths. There is no “not my problem” setting in Wei Wuxian’s heart.

It occurs to me, in watching his reaction, that Wei Wuxian doesn’t have a single living blood relation, as far as he or we know, and at this point he has never met a single member of his own clan. Yes yes, he has an adoptive family, and that’s lovely; I’m an adoptive parent myself. But genetic family is also super important, particularly in the ancestor-revering culture we see depicted in The Untamed. 

In any case, this moment of standing before the grave of Wen Qing’s people, with these few remaining members of her family--people who he will later get to know so well--seems to resonate with him.  

Baby Wen 

The scene at the shrine includes our first look at random cute kid massively important character Wen Yuan. 

Let’s pretend Wen Yuan is a different age from however old he will be at the end of the Sunshot campaign, since the actor did not magically change ages. Here the character is probably two years old. 

Rich Gege Lan Wangji in this scene is wearing the same gorgeous blue color he will be wearing years later when Wen Yuan grabs him and won’t let go. Maybe A-Yuan’s pre-fever memory was super good, and he remembered that Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian belonged together. 

Chicken Hunting

Wei Wuxian seems to be all in on this chicken hunt, making sure Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang join him, but then he circles back to talk privately with Wen Qing and Lan Wangji. This was a ruse to distract Jiang Cheng. 

Wei Wuxian is very good at manipulating Jiang Cheng and he does it frequently. He takes this ability way, way, way too far when he concocts the whole golden-core plan, which I’ll get into in the relevant episode. But this sibling dynamic is not great in either direction. 

Incidentally, nobody asks about the giant chain mark on Wei Wuxian’s throat after he and Lan Wangji come back from their time in the woods together. What kind of rep does he have, exactly?

Having cornered Wen Qing, Wei Wuxian starts to question her seriously, but can’t resist an opportunity to flirt with Lan Wangji like an embarrassing dumbass. 

Lan Wangji’s communication skills continue to improve, as he angrily tells Wei Wuxian "bì zuǐ! “ instead of storming off or shanking him with Bichen. [Chinese vocab OP has learned from watching CDramas: bì zuǐ (shut up),  duì bù qǐ (sorry), nú cái zuì gāi wàn sǐ  (your servant deserves to die for her offense)]

Wei Wuxian makes a visible effort to drag himself back over the line into propriety.

While Wei Wuxian apologizes to Lan Wangji with his eyes, Wen Qing wonders what she ever did to deserve being stuck in the middle of this crap.

Eventually the boys get the whole Wen backstory, and Wen Qing hits the road.  

In what will become a repeating motif, Jiang Cheng asks Wen Qing to forget her family, abandon her clan, and bail on her little brother. 

What the fuck, dude. You wouldn’t do that to Wei Wuxian and he’s your shige, not your didi. You are on this very road trip out of a sense of concern for him. As a female orphan who is the elder to her male sibling, Wen Qing’s obligation to Wen Ning is enormous even if she didn’t love him to bits. Not to mention she seems to be the clan leader for the Dafan Mountain Wens at this point. Jiang Cheng should understand her, but doesn’t.  

Club Ruohan

God I’m boring 

 At some point in the episode we stop by Club Ruohan. Yawn. WRH tells Wen Chao he’s a dumbass for targeting Wen Qing’s people, and to get back to his fucking project already. Wen Chao talks about wanting to get “Wei Wuxian” and his homies - he doesn’t namecheck Lan Wangji, the ringbearer Yin Iron having person. Just bird-killer Wei Wuxian. That doesn’t bode well for Lotus Pier.

Wen Ruohan is actually fairly reasonable, for a power-hungry megalomaniac who’s busily corrupting himself with dark energies. Most of the atrocities in the “fuck all of the other clans” campaign were Wen Chao’s idea. 

Downtown

The gang goes to Qiting and Lan Wangji gets ready to go doorknocking to find out where the next hunk of Iron is. Wei Wuxian stops him and says that his plan is stupid and it sucks. 

In a truly amazing display of his developing trust in Wei Wuxian, socially awkward Lan Wangji asks WWX for advice on how to proceed. 

Wei Wuxian’s answer is to go drinking. But...he’s not wrong. And he explains his reasoning to Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji before the grabbing and dragging part. Lan Wangji seems to be getting used to that part. 

In fact Lan Wangji has already become a lot more comfortable with Wei Wuxian’s extroversion and high spirits than Jiang Cheng is, even though Jiang Cheng isn’t nearly as introverted as Lan Wangji. That’s love for ya.

Tavern Talk

Wei Wuxian slaps a heap of coins down on the table and proceeds to extravagantly order...three jugs of wine. That seems pretty moderate, but they all react like he’s a big spender. 

Wei Wuxian: No worries, Rich Gege's got me covered 

Wangxian’s old-married-couple dynamic appears on the scene fully formed, as Wei Wuxian slowly undresses a bottle of wine and Lan Wangji tells him to stop dawdling. 

Chatting with the guy at the Inn works exactly as well as Wei Wuxian said it would, as he tells them about creepy doings at the old Chang place. 

Lan Wangji’s bag of holding, which was definitely not tucked into his perfectly smooth chest placket a second ago....

bursts forth like the xenomorph in Alien, startling everyone and causing Lan Wangji a lot of pain and brow furrowing.

Wei Wuxian leaps over and puts a steadying hand on his shoulder, and tells him to relax and concentrate, in a bit of a role reversal from earlier. Lan Wangji doesn’t shake him off. 

Once the Yin Iron settles down again, they dash off to investigate the creepy doings, leaving Nie Huaisang behind to meet up with Meng Yao. I’m sure everyone will be glad some day that they created an opportunity for Meng Yao to join them and the new enemy they are about to capture. 

Cheng Compound

At the Cheng compound, the door is shut and there are creepy noises. Time for a talisman! 

It’s sweet how when anything fucked-up and necromantic happens, these guys immediately look to Wei Wuxian for the right way to deal with it. 

The outfits here form a nice a nice contrast, with the two clan lineal descendants dressed in near-matching blue with silver crowns, while Wei Wuxian has changed out of his blue and red robes and into his future signature black. The leather hair band is as fancy as he gets - he wears his outsider status pretty proudly, even at this early age. 

The boys open the doors on a scene so grotesque, even gravity has become meaningless. 

Lan Wangji: This is horrifying, so extremely untidy

Jiang Cheng: Do I know any of these people? No? Ok, this is fine then

Wei Wuxian: I wonder if I could kill this many people all by myself. That would be epic.

#fytheuntamed #the untamed #chen qing ling #the untamed gifs #wangxian #the untamed spoilers #restless rewatch the untamed #canary3d-original #my gifs #weird stuff keeps happening with my keep-reading cuts #sorry if there doesnt seem to be a cut on this post #i swear it's there

[pearl-blue-musings]

Hi!! Can I order spaghetti (msby) with mashed potatoes and green beans split between me and atsumu?

YES AHHHHH thank you for giving me my first haikyuu ask!!!! This was so much fun to write and think about!

ALSO I’M SO SORRY THIS IS SO LATE MANY MANY APOLOGIES 

A/n: I wrote this with some ideas I got from @cestcirque and her smau (which you absolutely must check out!) for this soulmate au, when you look into the eyes of your soulmate your world changes from black and whites to bursting with color. This is also post time skip so Atsumu is a wonderful black jackal

Pairing: Miya Atsumu x photographer!fem!reader

once again I got carried away what else did you expect from me

Warnings: 18+, smut, daddy calling, biting, slight edging, oral (fem receiving), fingering, vaginal penetration, relatively tame!

Enjoy your meal

~~~~~~~~

With sweat dripping down his face, Miya Atsumu was bursting with energy. It was down to the final point of the match and he was itching to win. It’s already been over a month since Hinata joined MSBY and their chemistry on the court has been proven a formidable force. First against the Adlers, and now with his former high school teammates team, EJP. His eyes are alight with a fire and desire to win. He can feel the rush of winning cloud over him as he keeps his eye on his teammates, setting the ball perfectly to the man everyone describes as an orange haired ball of sunshine in order to score the final set point. The yell of victory leaves his throat before he can process everything. His eyes scans the crowd of fans that have come to watch him, being excited but also a pang of emptiness hits him.

If only he could see the colors everyone talks about around him. 

Everything is greyscale for the man, who he’s been told has a strange yellow hue to his hair. Atsumu didn’t know what the color would look like but liked how it would be marked as different and easy to see when you get to see color. He resents the fact that his twin Osamu laughs freely at his hair color. The normal haired twin, to him, had met his soulmate in one of his business classes and demanded a facetime with his twin. Atsumu was angry at first, but on the inside was happy his brother had met his soulmate and his life bursting with color. 

Surely, he’d meet his soon right?

Atsumu is pulled from his thoughts when Bokuto wraps his arm around his shoulder to pull him into a hug and briefly chat.

“Hey hey hey! Why didn’t you set it to me at the end, huh? You can’t keep giving Hinata all the glory!”

“They were expectin’ ya. I couldn’t Bo. ‘Sides, we won that’s all that matters.”

The flash of cameras after games were very common. With different sports magazines and editors showing up to cover the game, it was something the team was used to. As per usual, a camera-person came up to him and Bokuto, completely ignoring who was taking the picture focusing on the lens. Once his eyes meet the lens, he puts on his signature smile and puts a thumbs up with his teammate for the photo op.

It had all happened so fast. 

You had been called to fill in at the last minute to take photos for the MSBY Black Jackals volleyball game. You didn’t think anything of it other than doing a favor for a friend. And this was an incredible opportunity for you, an amazing way to expand your sprouting portfolio. In this world of soulmates you live in, it was unheard of. Your pictures and photos always came out with the utmost care and perfection, despite not being able to see any of the colors to truly work the right lighting and angles. Even though touching and editing required the use of being able to see colors, somehow your eyes went beyond that and captured everything in a natural way that everyone could understand the message and point of all your photos.  

It was absolutely exquisite and breathtaking.

You had never been to a volleyball game before and you were hit with how exciting it was. The energy from the players and the fast fed into your blood as you began and continued to capture pictures of the game. It wasn’t just a regular game, it was an experience and you figured it was different for everyone. And as you felt that, you knew you wanted to capture it.

It was in moments like these you envied those around you who were able to see color. You yearned for the day you would be able to see all the colors that your peers and employers have paraded you for. Hopefully when you finally meet the one, you’ll be able to do your job even better. 

Before you knew it, the game had ended and you were doing what all the other photographers were doing by taking pictures of the tired and sweaty players as they interact with each other and their fans. You slowly walk toward the court, fixing and switching your lenses for up close pictures. You happen to place your camera right at your eye, seeing two players not looking your way yet as they were engaged in their own private conversation. Once you get their attention, you make eye contact with both before snapping the picture.

You had almost dropped your camera, lucky for the strap around your neck holding it together. You don’t even check your camera, knowing the picture came out horrible. But as you hold the black camera in your hands with your jaw slack-

Wait, black? That’s right it’s black.

And one of the two players in front of you had a matched expression on his face.

Atsumu should have asked his brother what it would be like when he meets his soulmate in order to prepare himself. He’s seriously kicking himself now as the bright white lights bounce of the beige and tan floor of the wooden court. He looks down to see his black and white jersey, the streaks of red and green on certain parts of the floor, the blues, yellows, and whites of the volleyball...

And the all encasing beauty that was you. 

Everything about you was stunning, he wasn’t sure where to look next. However his thoughts were interrupted by a boisterous yell next to him.

“Hey ‘Tsumu! Why’d you stop?”

The blond haired man turns to his friend and gives him a new look over. “Did ya know yer hair is two diff’rent colors?”

Bokuto freezes and attempts to look up at his hair and smiles widely. “Yeah! Yukie keeps it nice for me and- No way! Where are they?”

The owl like man quickly shakes his head back and forth throughout the crowd looking for his teammates soulmate is! He’s interrupted with a tap on the shoulder from the man in question.

Atsumu points to where you’re still starstruck, taking in everything around you.

“Her.”

You felt as if time had lost all meaning as the colors all around you began to come to life, being as lively and vibrant as everyone above you had described. You had zero expectations of ever meeting your soulmate, let alone at a randomly assigned job. You’re unaware of what your body is doing, but your feet are moving across the plane as you walk closer to the man who’s staring at you in a way you’d always hoped to be gazed at.

He’s taller than you thought he’d be up close, but you can smell his musk and sweat and you’re not turned off like you’d always been. The way his bright yellow hair matches his personality, from what you’ve seen, on the court makes your heart melt. It’s almost like everything about him is perfect. The way his eyes are tired but full of vitality isn’t lost on you, and he seems to see the same thing in yours. 

Atsumu for once is at a loss for words. There’s so many ways he had pictured this going but surely not like this. He opens his mouth to speak, but his eyes catch a gathering crowd. 

“Aw, shoot. There’s for sure gonna be a crowd comin’. Meet me after by the exit? I promise I’ll make it quick...”

“(Y-y/n).”

He chuckles and places one hand on his hip and the other in his hair. “Heh, cute name for a cutie like ya self. Name’s Atsumu. Wait for me will ya?”

You merely nod and watch him smirk at you before he meets up with his teammates to celebrate their win. You’re left standing there trying to process what just happened as he turns around one more time to wink at you. If you could melt, you would. You gather your yourself, pick up your camera and try to stealthily avoid any reporters and the like. Since this was your first volleyball match, you had no idea the power just being in the presence of Miya Atsumu held.

Fan girls and other photographers began to swarm you as you attempted to blend in the crowd. All these women had beautiful hair, beautiful complexions; you couldn’t wait to start taking photos in color. Not the right thought to have as you’re getting bombarded but what can you do?

Luckily you’re swept away by another photographer who saw your pain and helped you out. You thanked her and followed her to where the media had access. She wished you luck as she led you to where Atsumu wanted you to meet him.

About 30 minutes later, he comes out with a few of his teammates, laughing gleefully and somehow that made your heart flutter. How did you get paired up with a man like this? The soulmate gods must have really been looking out for you.

Once his beautiful deep eyes meet yours, his gaze softens as he walks toward you. His teammates tell him goodbye and that they’ll message him later. As he approaches you, he has to pinch himself to realize that this is real and it’s happening to him.

He speaks up first again, eager to hear your voice again. “Hiya.”

You giggle at his intro. To him, it sounded like heaven opened up and the angels were singing all around him. He gets to have this laugh to himself? Call himself blessed. 

“I never thought I’d actually meet ma soulmate. And yet, here ya are.”

He extends his hand out to you and you take it, noticing how warm and calloused it is against yours. There’s no way life could be this perfect. You rub your thumb on the back of his palm and stare into his eyes.

“Here we are.”

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

You’d think you’d be used to hosting events for his teammates at your shared place after almost a couple years of being together. but something always surprises you. This time, it turned out fate was working in mysterious ways today. On the way to your place, Hinata had met his soulmate and brought them to the gathering! Needless to say they were overwhelmed but in a good way. Sakusa was slightly concerned over the presence of someone new whom he didn’t know very well, but tolerated it for his friend’s happiness.

You’ve just finished washing the dishes as Atsumu dries whatever is left. You wipe your brow and sigh heavily. Your boyfriend looks over to you and smirks. 

“Whatcha thinkin’ bout baby?”

You smirk at him before leaning your head on his shoulder, “just, life I guess.”

The young man sighs contentedly, places the dried dishes in the rack, and kisses your forehead. “Care to elaborate? Or am I gonna have to tickle the info outta ya?”

You hear the smirk in his tone as he wraps his arms around your waist, pinching and tickling your sides. Your laugh bubbles in the air as you squeal and squirm against Atsumu’s grip. His tout body keeps you against him, holding you tight so you can’t escape his embrace. “’Tsumu! I give, I give!”

“Nuh uh babycakes,” he growls in your ear, “I’m not done with ya.”

You laugh harder as you feel him lift you off the ground, turn you around, and sit you on the counter. With his hands firmly on your waist, he surprises you with a small yet passionate kiss on the lips. Your hands fall onto his neck and face to pull him closer to you. 

You pull away and notice him bite his lip. “What was that for?” You don’t miss the way his eyes glaze over as you question him. 

“I just love ya so much. I never thought life would be s’ fulfilling once I got some color into it. Thought it was all mumbo jumbo, whatever.” He places his body in between your legs, letting your breaths intermingle. “Ya love my team, my friends, my family, and most importantly,” he trails off brushing your noses together. 

“Ya love me.” 

“You’re such a sap.”

“Hah?! But that’s why ya love me, right?”

You keep teasing him as you continue to touch along his broad shoulders. “Nah, I’m mostly in it for the money.” You peck his nose and grin at his pouting features.

“Aw c’mon (Y/n)! Yer making almost as much as me with all yer photos,” he argues back, missing your teasing tone. You can’t help but laugh at the pout your soulmate is giving you. It’s almost too easy to fake argue with him to get him riled up. 

You lay your head on his shoulder and can’t hold back your laughs. “Baby,” you coo, “you know I’m teasing you right?”

Since you can’t see his face, you don’t see the ever growing smirk as he nods into you. The blond tightens his grip on your hips, pulling you into his crotch so your neck is free for him to attack with his lips. He starts to kiss and suck lightly on your open neck, catching you off guard.

“Oh I know baby,” he lightly grinds his clothed erection against you, “I was just messin’ with ya.”

You lift your head in fake anger, but it dissolves when the lust in his eyes matches yours. He steals your lips before you could protest or bite back a response. The burning desire within you begins to rise as you feel his cock against your core, causing you to moan lowly into his mouth. 

“Mmm, feel my cock baby? Feels good, yeah? Been wantin to touch ya all evenin’.” He then brings your legs to wrap around his waist and continues to kiss you seductively. You feel his tongue swipe at your bottom lip before entering your mouth. His deep groan into went straight to your core and you move your hips into him. Atsumu lifts an eyebrow before pulling away, loving the connection of saliva between your lips. 

“I can already feel how wet ya are fer me, baby. Ya really want daddy that bad, huh?”

You can’t help but shiver at his voice when he says daddy to you and wiggle your hips, knowing what you’re in for. A whine leaves your lips as you pull him into your chest to feel him against you and so you can whisper in his ear how much you want him, your daddy.

Atsumu bites his lip and rolls his hips into yours at hearing and feeling your breath on his ear. He then promptly lifts you up, rest thing his lips to yours as his hands grope and fondle your ass. You can’t help but shift around as he carries you to your shared bedroom, seeking friction in any capacity. Atsumu chuckles darkly feeling you struggle against him, breaking the kiss to suck on your neck. If there was something he loved more than volleyball or you, it was leaving marks and traces of him all over you. Satisfied with the mark he left he growls out,

“I can’t wait to fuckin’ destroy you, princess.”

With that, you’re dropped onto the bed, awaiting orders from your love. His whole aura switched from teasing and playful in the kitchen to a sexual dom and you were living for it. 

“Take off yer shirt off, I wanna see all of ya.”

You lick your lips and nod, slowly removing your shirt and making a show of it. You don’t miss the way he bites his lip and whispers out a low “fuck” as you undress. You leave your bra on knowing that’s one of Atsumu’s favorite things to take off of you. You place your hands on the hem of your leggings and look to him, as if to ask him if it’s okay. He nods and you slowly remove them from your body, leaving you in your bra and thong ready for him on the bed.

The tall blond stalks toward the bed and situates himself in-between your legs. He brings his lips to your inner thigh, his brown eyes on you to watch for your reactions. His lips trail up the sensitive skin, kissing and biting as he gets closer to your awaiting heat. But he doesn’t give you what you want, not yet. He hears you whine as he moves to your other thigh and repeats the same actions. He can feel the heat your pussy is emanating, already seeing your juices leak out.

You whimper out, “fuck, please just do it!”

He sniffs, enjoying your smell as he slowly pushes your thong to the side. “Please what baby? Ya gotta use yer words.”

You hips roll as his fingertips graze over where you want him the most. You hate his teasing nature, but you love the reward you get after. “P-please just put your tongue in me!”

Atsumu snickers before enticingly putting his tongue into your slit, making you gasp out and grab at his hair. He hums happily as he laps at you greedily. His tongue swirls inside of you in the best way. Your hips move off the mattress as your voice lets curses and whines escape. 

“Nuh uh baby girl. Ya gotta stay still fer daddy.” At that you feel a weight on your pelvis, realizing its his arm to hold you steady. With you unable to move, the need for release bubbles faster. Your breathing gets deeper and your voice rises an octave. Atsumu was always a king with his tongue, and for some reason tonight he was pulling out all the stops. Once you think you can catch your breath, he sucks hard on your clit and inserts a finger into you.

“Haah, fuck daddy!”

He laughs into your cunt and you moan at the vibrations. His tongue directly on your clit is making you see stars. He slyly inserts a second finger, already feeling you clench and tighten around him. That won’t do. He can’t have you cumming on just his fingers, but he does need to prep you. Before putting a third finger in, he sucks on your swollen nub to have you screaming in pleasure. His fingers scissor and stretch you out and it takes everything in him to not add a fourth. He knows you two haven’t discussed it so he knew to table it for another time.

“Shit, I’m gonna, I’m gonna cum. Please daddy can I cum?”

That makes him take his eyes off his fingers and to look at you directly and ceases his actions. He slowly pulls his fingers out of you and crawls on top of you. “Suck,” he commands and you do as you’re told. You’re a little miffed at not being able to cum as your pussy clenches at nothing while you suck his fingers. You know you’re doing a good job when you hear him groan and lose eye contact with you. You get into the valleys of his fingers and he moans, “yeah ya like daddy’s fingers? I know ya do. Now kiss me.”

He tilts your head up and you meet his lips in a sloppy kiss, tasting yourself again but on his lips. You feel him align his warm dick with your slick entrance and whine into the kiss. You break away from the kiss to tap his shoulder. 

“Wait ‘Tsumu,” you pant, “condom?”

He stops everything before frantically reaching for the nightstand. Atsumu knows he can get carried away when he’s in the moment, so he knows that when he gets tapped on the shoulder he’s forgotten something or needs to slow down. 

“Ah sorry, baby.” His voice sinks as he sucks his teeth feeling the rubber cover his dick. “Are we okay ta keep goin’?” 

You smile and nod at him, placing your hands on his chest in reassurance. He meets your smile and kisses your lips softly. “You ready ta take daddy’s hard cock?”

“Fuck,” you moan, “just fuck me already-Ah!”

He didn’t need anymore goading as he slides himself inside you. Your walls tighten around him and he has to control himself from wanting to pound into you. He waits for you to adjust to him before he pulls out almost all the way before your hips meet again.

“Ya feel so good, princess. Ya like the way daddy fucks ya?”

You nod aimlessly. “Yes! Please, I want more!”

His smile is evil as he grabs one of your legs and hoists it on his shoulder. “Be careful what ya wish fer,” he growls before snapping his hips forward. The two of you whine and moan together, unable to hear the sound of your juices and his hips squelching. “Aw fuck, baby ya feel too good.” He’s got one hand on your leg to hold it against his chest and the other rests lazily on your hip. He continues to fuck you into the mattress, your hands holding onto the head board behind you. Atsumu catches this and is displeased. He abruptly stops and places your leg down and around his waist, doing the same to your other leg, You look at him confused, “why, what are you doing?”

“I didn’t like the way you were grabbin’ the headboard, so you’re gonna grab onta me.”

With that he keeps pounding into you, now with your arms around his back. He’s never admitted it, but he loves the way you scratch and grip at his back when you two have sex. It drives him wild. “That’s it, baby. Hold on ta daddy as he fucks ya.”

Your garble out something as you hold him harder, realizing a free hand had escaped your upper body and has snaked its way to your clit. He begins to rub small and fast circles on the swollen nub, grinning at your reactions. He’s never sure which part he loves best: the way your voice gets incredibly lewd or how tight you get around him. This time he thinks it’s both. He continues to rub at your clit vigorously while pounding you all the same.

Sweat clings to each of your bodies as the rush of release is evident. Your eyebrows are scrunched tightly as you feel your orgasm coming. With a shaky breath you whimper, “I’m gonna cum, I’m gonna cum. Please lemme cum daddy. I’ve been so good!” 

His hips rut into you as he chases his own release. “Yeah ya have. Been such a good girl fer me. Fuck baby ya feel amazin’! I’m gonna cum so hard. Cum with me baby girl.” His body moves faster the closer he gets to climax. Your legs are shaking and your toes curled as you feel the coil within you come undone.

You scream out, “I’m cumming baby, I’m cum-ah fuck!”

You tighten around him, causing him to curse and whine as he loses his rhythm. “Shit baby girl, I hnng,” he feels the condom fill with his seed as he humps the both of you through your orgasms. His grip on you loosens as he comes down from his high, rubbing them with comfort. He stays on top of you but not pressing down into you. The afterglow the two of you bask in is always something he looks forward to. His breathing returns to normal after a couple minutes of the two of you just laying with each other. 

“Fuck ‘Tsumu,” you croak out, “that was s-so good. Could you pull out?”

Atsumu lazily nods and slowly pulls out of you, not wanting to cause you any pain. Once he’s out, he gets off the bed and takes off the condom, tying it up and placing it in the trash can. He returns to the bed to place a kiss on your forehead before whispering, “You were so good ta me. Lemme grab us some water and towels, yeah? Do ya want a shower or a bath?”

You groan and roll to your side. “Some water.”

“Baby, I know, but a bath or shower?”

“I can barely move, Atsumu, what do you think?”

He chuckles before leaving the room and announcing, “I’ll get tha bath started.” He’s gone for a few minutes, but returns with two water bottles and a towel as you hear the bathtub being filled with water. He sits down next to you and places the bottles down. He opens one and hands it to you. You thank him and drink down about half of the bottle. He drinks from his own and uses his empty hand to trace the curve of your face. 

“Hey (Y/n)”

You lift your eyebrow at him, giving him your attention.

“Ya know I love ya, right?”

You hum and nod, sitting up to wrap your arms around his shoulders and give his cheek a kiss. “I love you so much, Atsumu. No one is gonna break our bond okay? We’re soulmates.”

He takes one of your hands into his gently, leaning into your touch. “I know I’m not here a lot cause of volleyball. But I do love ya. Yer my baby girl.”

You chuckle lightly and kiss his cheek again. “Sap.”

“Ya know ya love it. Now let’s go take a bath, yeah?”

~~~~~~~~

The diner is closed

#the diner #miya atsumu #miya atsumu x female reader #miya atsumu x reader #msby atsumu #msby x reader #atsumu x reader #atsumu x black reader #atsumu x female reader #my writing #i did the thing

[r6shippingdelivery]

headcannons for hobbies? Like what they do on their off time?

Hi nonnie! I actually did a Hobbies HC for “all” ops a long time ago. But seeing that was before the expanded bios, and it only reached up to Gridlock and Mozzie, I’d say it’s time for an updated version, don’t you say? 

Some of the answers are unchanged from the old post, because I already nailed it or the new info didn’t disprove my ideas. But I had to revise a lot of the answers I gave the first time around! In order to find their hobbies and/or get a glimpse of their lives beyond Rainbow and what they might like, I read all the bios, and looked up concept art, and elites, and past battlepass content, etc. And when none of that was enough, I just went with my gut instinct 😂 Thank you to @grain-crain-drain, @dagoth-menthol & @todragonsart for bouncing ideas with me when I was stuck! 💕

Hobbies Headcanons for ALL ops (up to Neon Dawn)

FBI

- Ash: According to her savta, shooting things is not a hobby, but Ash disagrees. And since according to her expanded bio she knows Hebrew, Arabic, English, French and Greek, I’m willing to bet she enjoys learning languages as well. - Thermite: He grew up on a ranch and loves riding. He’s also taken an interest in improving gadgets it seems, so my old proposal that he dabbles in forging/smithing stuff seems plausible. And based on this concept art, demolition derbies attending and maybe even competing himself too? - Pulse: He’s interested in a variety of topics and goes through phases of intense, nearly obsessive focus, until something else captures his attention. He still has a lingering fondness for building muscle cars, since it was something he used to do with his father. And like Thermite and Hibana, it seems he might enjoy demolition derbies. - Castle: He’s a language nerd, studying/reading/practicing new languages is his hobby for sure. Since the expanded bio says he rescues abused dogs, I don’t think it would be far fetched he volunteered at animal shelters too.

SAS

- Thatcher: Aside from repairing his boat, The Iron Maggie, he also enjoys fishing. He used to do that with his dad & brothers, and tried to take the rest of the SAS fishing as a bonding experience. It didn’t go very well - Sledge: He plays rugby, and has an inexplicable fondness of trying the wildest ideas that tend to end with something broken, be it one of his bones or a structure or wall (just read his extended psychological profile and you’ll see, lmao) - Smoke: Boxing, it helps him focus all his chaotic energy. And chemistry in general, it’s not just a hobby but a passion of his. - Mute: he enjoys tinkering with stuff, taking it apart and then putting it back together in a different way, just to see if he can improve it or make it work in his own way. Flying drones plays perfectly into that, with the added bonus of being able to do the flying part just for fun too.

GIGN

- Montagne: His main passion is working with people, teaching and mentoring others, and therefore when he’s not on duty, his main passtime still is mingling with people and getting to know them. I could see him making overtures with Castle, interested in the American and fascinated by his knowledge of various languages, an area Monty feels insecure about due to only knowing French and English.  - Twitch: Engineering, robotics and developing an empathic AI is her life.Twitch is a workaholic passionate about those topics. She also greatly enjoys traveling and, according to her expanded bio, people watching.  - Doc: He surely had some hobby at one point, but he can’t remember it, or the last time he had free time for it. Doc is also a workaholic, although one that loves to complain about it.  - Rook: Apparently he’s passionate about cycling, auto racing, and rock concerts. Mainly cycling though, since he dropped out of university to cycle around France.

Spetsnaz

- Tachanka: He collects and repairs old weapons. Mostly soviet, but he has some interesting pieces from other countries too. And he dances surprisingly well.  - Kapkan: Aside from a certain interest in psychology, his main hobby is hunting, of course. But he also whittles and carves wooden figurines.  - Glaz: Quite obviously, painting. He’s an artist, and quite a good one. He also likes playing cards, especially poker. - Fuze: He builds new weapon prototypes for fun. And tests them, if he can convince Six of it. He also likes to bake from time to time, a skill he learnt thanks to his grandma - and because he has a sweet tooth.

GSG9

- Jäger: Planes. Model planes, repairing old WWI & II planes, you name it. And watching copious amounts of documentaries.  - Bandit: His bike is his main hobby, both taking care of it and riding it. He also likes playing pool; and, if pranking people counts as a hobby, that’s his oldest one, dating from when he was a kid. - Blitz: He was and still is an athlete at heart, and Blitz loves running. - IQ: In order to disconnect from engineering pursuits, she indulges in rock climbing, spelunking, and writing science fiction stories.

JTF2

- Buck: He crafts mechanical puzzles, and enjoys all kinds of physical activity that can take place outdoors. - Frost: She just loves being surrounded by nature, and often goes mountain climbing or diving.

SEAL

- Valkyrie: Swimming and diving, of course! She wanted to be a professional swimmer, but now it’s just a hobby. And apparently she enrolled for a helicopter pilot license, and language classes. - Blackbeard: According to the expanded bios, he likes sailing and even participated in a championship. And since he climbed Mount Everest, it’s safe to say he also likes mountain climbing.

BOPE

- Capitao: He loves football, playing or watching it, doesn’t matter, he’s all for it. - Caveira: Spends a lot of time practicing Jiu Jitsu, in the gym and also on unofficial tournaments.

SAT

- Hibana: For her it’s traditional Japanese archery (Kyūdō). And probably demolition derbies too accounting that concept art from before with Thermite and Pulse. - Echo: According to the expanded bio, he has few interests outside work, but I always imagined he’d be into gaming and e-sports. Hacking too, and that’s a direct influence from Dokkaebi.

GEO

- Jackal: He plays the acoustic guitar/spanish guitar, and sings too. And now we also know he volunteers with at-risk youth. - Mira: Fixing cars is second nature to her, and thanks to her expanded bio we know she also does metal sculptures that incorporate used mechanical parts.

SDU

- Ying: Extreme driving, which can sometimes trigger her PTSD, and traveling. Especially exploring cities by randomly jumping in public transport and just going anywhere. - Lesion: He is also one to volunteer in underprivileged areas (like Junk Bay, where he grew up), and clearing mines and other unexploded devices. I also imagine him with a certain gusto for playing blackjack.

GROM

- Zofia: If obsessing about her father’s supposed suicide and the oddities surrounding it, and desperately trying to reconnect with her sister count as hobbies, sure, she has those. - Ela: She’s also an artist, one with a very particular vision that some have called narcissistic. Apparently she also does some “freelance” volunteer work, roaming the streets at night and offering help/comfort, or a willing ear to the people she meets.

707SMB

- Vigil: He likes to take walks around the forest, just aimless exploring and marvelling at nature and any animals he might come across. Often listens to relaxing music while doing so, and he might pick a pretty rock here and there to bring home. - Dokkaebi: Hacking is her hobby, of course. She also has several social media profiles and is an active member in a couple of hacking forums. As per a previous battlepass, I believe she enjoys mountain trekking too. And dancing to electro beat, due to her elite.

CBRN

- Lion: His rebel years left him with an appreciation for rock music and a dream to be in a group. Lion still plays the electric guitar, when he’s not off volunteering at the local church. - Finka: Pushed by her parents from a young age to try different sports, just like her siblings, she eventually discovered a strong love for fencing and ice-skating.

GIS

- Maestro: Cooking, and boxing, an interest he shares with Smoke. But mostly cooking. - Alibi: She’s also a marksman, engages Ash in friendly shooting competitions.

GSUTR

- Clash: She’s very involved in different activist causes, mostly surrounding racial issues and inequality. - Maverick: Photography, mostly nature or candid shots of his fellow operators. I also think he likes horses and riding. And Buzkashi of course, but he hasn’t played since he left Kabul.

GIGR

- Kaid: Playing chess, he’s a good strategist and it shows. And  while dozing off with a cat on his lap is not a hobby, he also loves that. - Nomad: Traveling to all sorts of remote locations, she’s an explorer with a thirst to prove herself. She also keeps a travel journal, which includes maps and some drawings of the places she’s seen.

SASR

- Mozzie: Dirt biking, of course. The more dangerous the jumps and stunts are, the more he likes it. He knows his limits and works to surpass them. - Gridlock: Robotics. She still wants to compete again in robot championships, just like she and Mozzie did so many years ago. She would consider that fixing cars and vehicles has become more part of her job than a hobby, but still loves it too.

Phantom Sight

- Nokk: Fencing, as evidenced by some of her concept art, she participated in fencing tournaments. - Warden: He knows appearances are important, and he cultivated a very specific image, so he likes to take care of that, be it by buying luxury or antique cars, or designer suits, etc.

Ember Rise

- Amaru: Archeology and exploring the Amazon jungle is her passion. It used to be her whole life and job, but since she joined Rainbow, she’s been busy with training and missions, yet she never lost her love for adventure, history and protecting her country’s cultural artifacts. - Goyo: He’s a really good chess player, and enjoys other games where he either has to think, or his usual poker face and calm demeanor can throw his opponents off.

Shifting Tides

- Kali: When she’s not writing reports about her underlings progress, or making lists about who should be ascended/rewarded, who needs to be punished or chastised, etc, she’ll be doing yoga, since it helps her focus. Or hardcore pilates when she needs to burn away some frustration first. - Wamai: Diving and being underwater in general, be it on his special immersion tanks or on the actual sea, it doesn’t matter. He finds it calming (and he’s addicted to the anoxia sensation)

Void Edge

- Iana: Space exploration fascinates her, and she’s always trying to learn everything she can about the cosmos, watching documentaries and conducting her own in-depth research. - Oryx: Wrestling helps him hone his physical prowess, and it’s also a measured outlet for his deep seated rage. He also greatly enjoys reading poetry.

Steel Wave

- Melusi: She’s committed to the conservation cause, which stems from both her love of wildlife and nature, and her protective instincts. She likes to explore too, although she’s not driven by a will to prove herself or reach certain goals, but simply for the joy of seeing natural spaces. - Ace: Social Media. He’s obsessed with his public image and popularity. While he travels quite a bit, it seems he does it more to share new and exciting selfies on Instagram than for the pleasure of visiting new places.

Shadow Legacy

- Zero: He knits and crochets, it’s an engaging hobby that helps him clear his mind, plus he enjoys making stuff too. Not many people know about this side of him though. 

Neon Dawn

- Aruni: She and Hero, her giant pouched rat, volunteer on landmine detection and removal efforts. She also likes to travel extensively, and has done so in the company of Twitch and Nomad.

#rainbow 6 siege #r6s #rainbow six siege #rainbow 6 #headcanons #Anonymous

[majoraop]

The following one shot is loosely based on @jemichi90‘s fanfic “The Ruins of a Man” (it’s still unfinished but really good). I’ve had the wip of this short story sitting around for a while, and I finally decided to finish writing it since it was perfect for the “twist ending” prompt on my card for the One Piece Bingo hosted by @op-pirate-fleet .  ^^

White Nightmare

Law was walking down a wooded path, white all around him like in a fairy tale.   The trees were white, the city in the distance was white, even the sky was white—until it started turning a gentle shade of orange while the sun descended on the horizon. The white landscape shimmered when the night finally covered everything with its large protective mantle. The lights from the homes where families were reuniting to have dinner together reassured him, a comforting feeling of familiarity even as he kept walking alone on his lonely path.   Where am I?   Law only wondered about that after an undefined time. Had he been walking alone for days? Months? Years? Yet, he didn’t feel hungry or tired. He was accustomed to the whiteness, even if his brown complexion standing against the rest of the scenery made him feel somewhat naked. Slowly, though, he started changing: it was just small white spots at first; then, they grew larger and became splotches of fragile skin.   What is happening to me?   He kept walking, but his disease made him weak. He felt cold. He felt scared. The whiteness around him did not feel pure and beautiful anymore, but dangerous and cruel.   Why am I alone?   Suddenly, the whiteness around him became snow: freezing, fierce, extending as far as his squinting eyes could see. The lush forest became a barren land with scarce scrawny trees. The warm wind became a chilling breeze as the night howled with the snowstorm.   Where is the city with its lights? Where are the people?   Law dragged his feet, tired, aching more and more with each step he took. He wanted to sleep, but he knew that sleeping would mean not waking up anymore. The temperature was too low to stop, his disease too severe to ignore, but he didn’t have anyone to ask for help. So, he just kept walking. The landscape had disappeared, and the storm was so intense that he could only see the snow before him on the ground. Then, that same snow turned red.   Blood.   The snowstorm stopped at once, and Law looked up. He couldn’t see them, but he knew that strings were enclosing the sky, the land, everything around him. Trapped on a freezing island with no hope of getting away, Law felt the sharp threads getting closer, slowly but unstoppable. There was no way to cut them, to stop that giant birdcage from ensnarling him. He felt like he was suffocating and gasped to force air down into his lungs. It was so cold that he didn’t feel anything anymore other than pain as his skin slowly flaked off. Once his body turned completely white, he knew his end was near and couldn’t do anything about it.   But I can still fight.   Law’s body changed the moment that thought sparkled in his mind: he became taller, stronger, but his skin looked as pallid as before. He ignored it, together with the pain still accompanying him, and stared up at his enemy: Donquixote Doflamingo. For some reason, he knew his name. However, he did not know who he was and from where he came. But Law understood that he had to kill him if he wanted the cage to disappear.   “I love you.”   The moment Law remembered those words, his complexion reversed back to its natural darker colour. He felt energy returning to his limbs: his disease was no more. When he turned to look around and find who or what had made that magic, though, he screamed. Next to him on the stained snow was lying a man.   The same man who gave me back my life—and my heart.   Law recalled everything: Corazon, no, Cora-san, had given up his life to save him. And he also remembered his benefactor’s actual name: Donquixote Rocinante—Doflamingo’s brother. Law rushed to his side, falling on his knees in the puddle of melted snow and warm blood, and searched for a pulse. It was weak, but it was still there.   Don’t die, Cora-san! Don’t die!!!   A silent prayer crossed Law’s mind as he stood up again and drew his sword. He then leapt ahead in a final attempt to change destiny. Kikoku, the nodachi that had appeared in his hands when he had turned into an adult, clashed against Doflamingo’s invisible strings. He could fight back now: he wasn’t a sick child anymore.   Then, the scenery around him changed again.   Now, they weren’t on the snowy island of his memories but inside a dark dungeon unknown to him. Law jumped back to put some space between him and his enemy and stopped briefly to study the new surroundings. That place reeking of stale air looked like a prison. Large stones made its walls and ceiling, but he couldn't see its floor clearly since snow covered it. That recurring lack of colour haunted Law. When he noticed bloodstains, though, he wished he could go back to the aseptic whiteness of before. Fear gripped his heart as if a hand was squeezing it. He looked around, and his worries were confirmed when he saw Cora’s unconscious frame lying on the ground. The man’s chest heaved slightly.   He’s still breathing!   Law remembered that he was a surgeon—a doctor. He could help Cora-san! He needed to hurry and defeat Doflamingo for good. Then, he would be able to heal his saviour and to leave that place together with him.   “Fufufu! So full of yourself that you think you can look away while fighting me?”   For the first time, Law heard his enemy talking. His voice felt as familiar as Cora’s silence and as sharp as the strings that tried to capture him in a deadly web. Doflamingo mocking him made Law focus on the battle, and he sparred with him some more. He was fast enough to keep up with Doflamingo’s swift attacks, but he was getting tired. Again, he felt the merciless coldness of the snow and the despair clutching at his throat. Again, he felt as helpless as a child.   I can’t give up!   Law scolded himself, but his vision was already blurring. This time around, he couldn’t block his enemy’s attack. He screamed when the strings cut his flesh, blood spraying from the deep wounds in a red cloud around him. Incapacitated, he felt his body tossed around until it clashed against more invisible threads that cut his skin some more.   The cage is still here!   Law felt the strings around his arms and legs relenting just slightly, but he didn’t let that opportunity go to waste. He tried to get up and away from his enemy—until he could get his sword back at least: he was willing to fight to the death if that meant he had even the smallest chance to save Cora. However, no matter how much he tried to get up, he remained perfectly still.   The “Parasite”.   Doflamingo had rooted his strings deeply into Law and controlled his every movement—or lack of thereof. Law felt disgusted to be a puppet under his opponent's cruel smirk. Doflamingo imperceptibly twitched his fingers, suddenly pulling Law’s arms behind his back. After the first moment of shock, Law screamed. Doflamingo moved his fingers again, and the pain of his dislocated arms became so overwhelming that Law could only pant as tears filled his visions. He tried to turn his head to look at Cora one last time, but he couldn’t even do that simple movement.   “Where are you looking?” Doflamingo chuckled as he prepared to impale Law with more strings to finish him off. “You’ll die here, and I’ll take Corazon with me.”   “Nooo!” Law heard himself crying out, but it was like seeing the scene from outside his body. He saw blood covering his arms and chest, tears flowing down his face. He hated to see himself like that.   Please, stop!   A mute plea, but he still despised himself for begging before his enemy. At that point, though, he just wanted not to suffer anymore. Maybe, after dying, he would return to that peaceful white place of before. Cora-san may even be there...he must be there!   As Law’s consciousness started slipping away, something warm touched his shoulder gently. He opened his eyes again and didn’t see his tortured body trapped in Doflamingo’s strings anymore. His enemy had disappeared, too, and so had the cold dungeon and the snow. When Law realised Cora-san had also vanished, he started panicking. Soon, though, he recalled everything. His heart sunk, but he knew that sadness already and had learned to live with it long ago.   Law slowly turned his face around and saw Bepo’s paw on his shoulder and the bear's kind smile. Penguin and Shachi were there, too, and they looked like they were fighting the urge to hug him. Law tried to smile at them but didn't know how much of that showed on his face. He knew his life would never be easy and that he lost more than what he believed he would be able to withstand. Nevertheless, maybe there was still a shimmer of hope.   Maybe, I won’t be alone ever again.   The empty whiteness and pitch-black dungeon had crumbled together with the birdcage.   Now, I’m free.

#opbingo2020 #onepiece #one piece #trafalgar law #trafalgar d water law #law #opfanfic #opfanfiction #majoraop #long post #blood tw #torture tw #(If I need to add more tags please let me know! Any comment would be appreciated—and feel free to point out typos or errors if you find any! #queued

[calliecat93]

It’s been a long and chaotic hiatus period folks, but at least we’re here. RWBY Volume 7. There’s been a lot of hype in the leadup to this. New outfits. New setting. New characters. Old characters making long-awaited comebacks. There is so much to be excited about this season, and the absolutely insane opening only added more fuel to the fire. I’ve done a review/analysis on the opening already, which if you’d like to check that out, you can find it here. 

But for now, after nearly ten months of waiting, it’s finally time. Review season is in full swing. So why wait any more than we already have? Let’s kick the Volume 7 Reviews off with Chapter One, The Greatest Kingdom. Because of course, that would be the title of an Atlas-centric chapter. Of course.

Overview

We begin exactly where we left off before. RWBYJNRQOM have reached Atlas… but Ironwood’s fleet is armed and ready as though expecting an attack. Everyone is taken aback by this, especially Weiss. This causes complications. With Atlas this high alert, if they dock in an unauthorized ship, they’re going to be in a lot of trouble. Weiss also worries that if that happens, they may very well return her to her family, and to her father. But she then remembers that since they’re now back in Atlas’ range, she can contact Winter. Thus, Maria steers the ship downward, towards the city of Mantle.

We get our first glimpse of the former capital, and it’s telling. The location has a New York kind of vibe. It’s big and industrial but also run down. One reason for that may be because of the number of troops and drones in the city. They’re making people afraid or rebellious, even children as we see two throw a rock at a drone. But even more telling is that the holo-screens have Ironwood talking, claiming that this is all for their own safety. Everyone is unnerved by this, and worst? Winter is also spewing out the propaganda, shocking Weiss. Due to this, the plan is to ditch the ship and join the masses in Mantle.

Thus, the ship is parked… somewhere. We never see where. But the gang walks through the city, and get an even better look at how rundown that it is. Thre’s political posters around, namely featuring some kind of pale blonde-haired figure. We also see some headlines highlighting events like the Embargo, the discovery of a dead journalist, and damage to the border. Drones are going all around and take photos of Yang, which earns a kick from her and then it gets run over. Oops. We even see graffiti that says “Show Your Teeth”. Best guess is that that’s the White Fang’s doing. Life looks awful in Mantle, and Blake expresses this out loud. This earns her getting told off by two drunkards, who go off about Atlas being great and all that kind of stuff that we’ve heard before. But when one starts to make racist Faunus remarks at Blake, Weiss responds by gravity Glyphing into a dumpster. This attracts security attention, but it was worth it.

Maria knows where they can go, and she takes them to some kind of clinic. This is where she had intended to go in order to get her eyes adjusted. We, therefore, meet the man who runs the place. An elderly, wheel-chair bound man named Pietro. He is a well-known scientist who has made various advances for Atlas and Ironwood, but he volunteers in Mantle to get away from the stuffy atmosphere and to help the people below. The gang has questions about Atlas, so Pietro explains how Ironwood’s paranoia has gone into overload. Not just because of the Fall, but because of how badly his forces were hacked and made Atlas look like both terrorists and buffoons. But we do find out that they still don’t know who hacked their systems, but they /do/ suspect that it may very well be one of their own. With everyone blaming Atlas for the Fall of Beacon, the council is so scared that they’re just doing what Ironwood says. So needless to say, Atlas is in utter chaos and isn’t as safe as our heroes previously thought.

Pietro begins to talk about Mantle’s representatives taking action… until he recognizes Weiss. Yang tries to get things back on topic, only for Pietro to recognize her arm. He sounds… kind of offended that she painted it, haha! But he soon recognizes Team RWBY, having heard of them from his daughter. Who is his daughter? Well before Ruby can find out, a warning siren goes off. A group of wolf-like Grimm that I believe are called Sabers are attacking, so our heroes fight back. It’s a pretty good action sequence, full of a lot of high-paced energy and an awesome guitar riff in the background. Poor Blake’s sword is still broken, so she’s forced to stick to the gun mode. Fortunately, our heroes are ripping the Grimm apart with ease… but they ultimately don’t defeat the Grimm themselves.

A series of lasers blast away the remaining Grimm. We see a figure flying up above. A very… familiar looking person. Green color-scheme… red hair… a pink bow… freckles… wait… the figure lands, and we get to see them in full. Ruby’s eyes widen in shock as, for the first time since the Fall of Beacon, she sees Penny Polendina. 

You read right folks, Penny is back! Pietro tells her to say hi to her friends and… she recognizes them! She recognizes Ruby! She flies right into Ruby to hug her! That probably gave Ruby a concussion, but eh she’ll live. But only one thing matters right now: PENNY! PENNY IS BACK!!! SHE’S ALIVE!!! WHOO~!!!

As it turns out, Pietro is Penny’s father/creator. After Amity Arena was brought back to Atlas, they were able to recover Penny’s core and Pietro was able to rebuild her and even better. She is now the official protector of Mantle. Penny is excited to catch back up with Ruby… but another siren goes off, and she has to go off. Everyone has questions, but fortunately, Pietro is more than happy to answer them. So successful Grimm fight, they made it to Mantle, and they found a friendly face. Two friendly faces! Sure we had the rough patch with Ironwood’s forces and his propaganda, but hey! So far things are going pretty well!

Well, let’s ruin that!

The gang is suddenly captured and bound down by a group of blue and white-clad soldiers. This is a security force known as Ace-Ops. Qrow argues that he’s a licensed Huntsman and was doing his job, but Ace-Ops take their weapons and, even worst, the lamp. Pietro questions the meaning of this, and their leader named Clover Ebi reveals the list of charges. The unauthorized ship, disobeying commands from Control, and fighting Grimm despite all but one of them being unlicensed. As such, they’re being arrested and taken to Atlas. The episode ends with everyone loaded up into the back of a police van with Qrow hating himself for jinxing everything up. Stupid Bad Luck Semblance.

Review

So this was a bit shorter than the previous couple of premieres, but really? That’s not a problem whatsoever. This premiere was really good! Not the best, but certianly does its job and does it well. We get to see Mantle after so many years, get to finally meet Professor Polendina, and we get a big surprise in the return of Penny. We get a fun action scene as well, which is always nice. And it has a solid ending in everyone getting arrested… well okay, that sucks for them, but it was an appropriate place to end.

Before we go into more detailed stuff though… let’s talk about the elephant in the room first. That being Qrow’s new voice. For those unaware, Vic Mignogna was fired and I don’t feel like going into it any more than I’ve already had to. But long story short; Vic did a lot of gross, horrible stuff and he deserved to be kicked out. As such, voice actor Jason Liebrecht was cast to take over, and so far… I think that he’s good! It was a tad bit spotty, but he’s still new so I’m not expecting perfection. But it still feels like Qrow and the voice honestly sounds like a cleaner, healthier version of Vic’s Qrow. Which if Qrow starts to sober himself up, it will fit very well. So yeah, I am perfectly happy with Jason’s rendition and I am looking forward to hearing more of him going forward~

Okay, got that out of the way. So let talk about good stuff now!

Mantle looks amazing. IIRC, Miles and Kerry said that Mantle and Atlas are based on different periods of America’s evolution. Mantle represents the Industrial Era, in particular New York, and it certianly feels that way. It’s a big city, but it’s not happy. The place looks run-down and dirty, there’s tons of unrest, and they have to watch as Atlas stands above them in all of its glory. It was meant to be a symbol of hope, but now? It just represents the oppression of Mantle and how Atlas stands superior to them. One of the most telling scenes is when we see a wagon of miners pass by. All of them are covered in soot and just look sick and miserable. It paints a very harsh picture, and it’s only going to become all the harsher as we learn more in the future.

But there is a bright spot. We FINALLY get to meet Pietro. He’s as I expected, a kind old-man, if a bit scatter-brained and forgetful. He very much fits the image of a Gepetto-inspired character. Though him being wheelchair-bound and his frequent coughing certianly has me concerned for him… and I have a very bad idea about his final fate by the time that this arc is over. Still, we get a very clear image of his character and there’s a lot of Easter Eggs in his office. Like the whale statue on his shelf, another allusion to Pinocchio. It’s that attention to detail that makes me appreciate CRWBY so much. Also fun fact, his voice actor is David Fennoy. Which this isn’t his first time working on RWBY. The other time? As Dr. Merlot, the antagonist of RWBY: Grimm Eclipse. Who, if you don’t know, was a mad scientist… so great casting gag there CRWBY!

But speaking of Pinocchio… 

Well everyone, we knew that it was coming, but we weren’t ready. Yes, indeed, Penny is back. So… there’s been some debate over her re-introduction. While everyone is happy to have her back, some have questioned the under-whelming execution and lack of reaction from Ruby. Now I will admit that it is more subdued than I was expecting, but Ruby? I don’t at all get her so-called ‘lack of reaction’. You can see how wide her eyes are and how stunned she is, but it quickly evolves into over-whelming joy. Not every reaction has to be tearfully breaking down, guys. Ruby processed it quickly and was just overjoyed. Then after the tackle-glomp, you can hear her struggling to find the words to say as she starts to ask what happened since she thought that Penny was dead for at least a year. So no, Ruby’s reaction was perfectly IC for her and he DID have a reaction.

But yeah, Penny is back! But unlike what we all assumed, she has her memory! I was confused on how since we saw the Nevermore stomp on her remains… but considering that the area was sent back to Atlas, I can buy that they dug around enough to find the core and repair any damage that it had. I admit her return is a lot less dramatic than I thought it would be… but I really have no issue with it. For one, there’s plenty of things with her that can be touched on later. How she felt about dying. Her status as Mantle’s protector. What’s happened with her since the Fall. Plus after everything that’s happened, I think that we deserved this one break regarding Penny and her having her memory still. So yeah, maybe the execution could have had a bit more substance, but I really have no problem with it. Penny is back, and that’s all that matters.

Thre is a lot of good setup here. We have Ironwood’s paranoia on full display as well as the results towards Mantle due to it. We get a look at the mindsets of people like the kids throwing rocks at drones and the drunkards shitting on Blake for her comments about Mantle. But we also have Weiss Glyphing the one guy, which while it was oh so deserved, she did cause a fuss due to it when Blake was trying to deal with the matter peacefully and had even previously stopped Ruby when she was about to argue back. It’s good to see Weiss not dealing with any racist garbage thrown at Blake, but it was not the best way to deal with it when Blake had it under control, and that may very well be something that we see touched on more and more with the plot as a whole. Not just regarding Faunus racism, but regarding the conflict of Mantle vs Atlas.

We have the propaganda being spewed in Mantle not just by Ironwood but also from WInter. Something that Weiss is clearly unhappy about, and something that may cause friction down the line. We have the Ace-Ops, who going by the opening is going to play a major part in the volume. Which funny how they showed up to arrest the gang… but none of the vast amounts of security forces were around to stop the Grimm. Sure Penny was there and she is officially Mantles protector, but a good chunk of the Grimm were stopped by our heroes. So much for looking out for Mantle’s safety, huh Ironwood? Clover doesn’t even listen to Qrow or ask to see his license for proof of it… okay yeah, Qrow would still be arrested for the unauthorized ship, but still. There are so many small things that show us exactly how oppressed the people of Mantle are, and we’re probably going to see even more of that unrest and protest as we go on. Especially with this Robyn Hill character that we see is running for Council, and against an Atlesian tycoon. And I have a good guess at who that tycoon may be…

Chapter Two Predictions

Introducing a new section to the reviews! Which I will also add to the Red vs Blue reviews when that starts up again (2020, hurry the heck up!). But yeah, I’m gonna start doing predictions and see how well I do… or more likely, how badly I do. It’s all for fun though, so keep that in mind.

So the gang has been arrested and is going up to Atlas. So we’ll probably get to see that and get to compare it to the worn-down Mantle. We see in the trailer that Ruby and Ironwood are talking, so chances are Ironwood will recognize them and hear them out. If we’re lucky, he may have gotten the letter that Qrow sent as well. Now whether hell license the kids or not I’m not sure, but he clearly is going to allow them to work with Ace-Ops (likely under his strict rules) so it could be that or he’ll mark it as Community Service to make up for the charges against them. I can also see him deciding to take Oscar under his wing both for his own safety due to Ozpin, and/or to properly train the kid since even with Oz’s muscle memory, he needs all that he can get. After that, the gang is able to get their new gear, get some haircuts, etc. Only one IDK what’s going to happen to is Qrow… but he’s likely gonna do whatever the Hell he wants or Ironwood’s gonna give him the harder jobs. But we’ll find out soon enough.

Episode Stats

Favorite Character: Pietro and Penny Polendina Favorite Scene: RWBYJNORQ vs The Grimm Least Favorite Scene: The intro before they went into Mantle since it was just re-establishment exposition. Favorite Voice Actor: Taylor McNee (Penny Polendina) Favorite Animation: Either the Weis and Ren combo on the Grim or Ruby slaying the Grimm. Final Ranking: 8.5/10

Final Thoughts

We are off to a very good start! We get to see Mantle and understand exactly the state that it, as well as Atlas, are in. We get a nice action sequence. We get a lot of setup for things later, like the propaganda and introduction fo the Ace-Ops. But most of all, we have Pietro finally appearing and, of course, the return of Penny. Not my favorite premiere, but it did its job and was a very satisfying watch. So I say job well-done CRWBY! It sure as Hell makes me excited for what’s ahead!

#rwby #rwby7 #rwby reviews #callie reviews

[quietlysatan]

A Land Not Mine - theprosefool, AO3

Link: Here!!

Rating: Explicit

Favorite Quote(s): I just, love this part so much???

Kaidan didn’t take his hand, but he smiled a relieved, worn sort of smile that added a crinkle to his eyes. “I’m glad to hear that, Shepard. I was....” He trailed off, cleared his throat.

“What?”

“I was worried you might feel like you... owe them. For bringing you back.” He looked down as he said it but his voice was firm.

"No," Shepard said easily. "I'm glad to be alive, I am--especially right now--but I didn't ask for this. Any of this. I don't owe them a damn thing."

This is how adults work children, they figure out “Oh, this person won’t back down on this subject that I also won’t back down on” and figure out a compromise or they move on until a later date. Some of y’all don’t know this and it shows.

And that was that. Shepard could tell he hadn’t entirely won Kaidan over to the idea of working with Cerberus, but Kaidan didn’t seem to have anything else to argue with. Neither of them was going to get what they wanted, so they put it away and moved on, finding no lack for conversation.

Gods how this must feel, the energy this must carry for two people to experience

Kaidan moaned against his mouth and thrust upward just a bit, but then he put his hands on Shepard’s hips to steady them both and tilted his head back to sever the kiss and look at him, eyes following the lines of scars once again. No words, just a look, his brow furrowed and his mouth a tight line despite the flush of arousal coloring his cheeks. He released his hold on one hip to touch the glow at his jaw with trembling fingers, and Shepard couldn't bare that look, not directed at him, so he closed his eyes and focussed on his touch instead. Kaidan traced that scar before moving on to another, and the trembling didn’t stop so Shepard made to distract them both, pressing forward and capturing Kaidan's lips again.

It’s almost painful in the best way possible

And that was another lie, really; as desperate as he was to stay at Kaidan’s side, he was headed back in the morning, back to his ship and his fight and his responsibilities. But it was the truth, too, somehow. Some part of him--every part of him that wasn’t Commander Shepard, Spectre, the parts that were just John, those parts would stay with Kaidan.

Smiles during sex are always a win, always, smiling and laughing is just, the best part of being With somebody else. 

Kaidan must have felt his smile because now Shepard could feel his, and it left him light-headed and more than a little hard.

To know someone loves you as much as you love them, must truly be the greatest treasure in all the worlds

And maybe Kaidan wanted it just as bad as he did, for as long as he had. It felt like it, the way he touched him, greedy hands rolling hard over the muscles in Shepard’s back from the hem of his pants to the nape of his neck, the way he kept their bodies pressed close, never allowing Shepard more than an inch of distance. Not that he wanted even that. 

CONSENT IS SEXY AND IT IS EASY. PERIOD. END OF STORY. NO ARGUMENTS ALOUD. (Except for the BDSM people in the back, cause y’all are better at consent even when it’s r*** play and honestly, it shows.)

He was desperate for more friction, but he wasn’t going to make the next push. He would eagerly receive and return with enthusiasm anything Kaidan offered him, but he would stop the second Kaidan hesitated. Tonight, it was Kaidan’s call.

I wonder if you can sense my gay longing the more I type

But before he could get a taste Kaidan leant down, capturing his mouth, and now all he could see was brown eyes, and that was good too, maybe better, because Kaidan was straddling his hips as they kissed,

Humor during any form of intimacy (fun fact, intimacy is My English Word that I cannot spell even though it’s my first language, we all have one, that, language and farenhehe) is important, and so is hoping for the absolute best (whatever that may be)

“I don’t, uh....” Kaidan lifted his head to look at him, a nervous smile creasing the skin around his eyes in a way that had Shepard’s heart in a clinch. “I don’t have....”

It took him a moment to grasp what Kaidan was talking about, distracted as he was by everything he could see and feel, but when comprehension dawned he had a nervous smile of his own. “M--my bag.”

Kaidan arched an eyebrow, that devilish smirk Shepard had seen so little of, and somehow it worked to calm his nerves--though not as much as the light kiss that followed. “High expectations, huh, John?” he chuckled when he pulled back.

“No. Just hopeful.”

DO YOU FEEL THE FUCKING LOVE RIGHT HERE???? BECAUSE I DO, AND NOW i’M SUFFERING FROM GAY LONGING 2.0

Shepard would never know, because Kaidan opted for taking his mouth rather than finishing the thought, but it was slow and sweet and so Kaidan that maybe Shepard knew exactly what he meant, because kissing like this felt a little like dying and a little like starting anew. 

SAFE SEX IS IMPORTANT AND EASY FFS IT’S 2020

It took him longer than it should have but he found what he was looking for, a pack of condoms and a bottle of lube.

Words & Chapter(s): 30,443 words and 8 chapters

Pairing(s): Kaidan Alenko/Male Shepard (Whose name is John btw)

Summary: After being dead for two years, there’s only one person Shepard wants to see. So he writes a letter.

My summary: If I could tell you what this fic is about I’d say it is about Kaiden Alenko and John Sheppard falling so completely and irreversibly in love that it’s nearly painful to watch, or in this case, I suppose, to read

Score: 13 (I read it twice guys, me) ((Three times cause I lost half of this in an edit))  You have already left kudos here. :)

Warning(s): Shepard, and thus Kaiden, aren’t 100% sure Shep is Shep, which is fair. 

Also, ME2 settings.

Mentions of Shepard dying, or rather, “dying”.

Really good lemon, you can tell when it’s going to start, basically a little after they start full-on making out. Also, I don’t mean really good as in “This got me really hot” but like “This made me Feel Emotions but In A Good Way”

Also, hope you don’t mind mid-coitus interruptions ;)

The collectors still arrive there

And so does the angst but not too much, like, Just the Right amount of angst

Minor OC character that you probably liked death

Mentions of painful injuries not gruesomely described though

Also, mentions of PTSD and Sheppard has a nightmare

Pros: This is actually my second read through, so obviously it’s good. Honestly, even if you don’t like this ship I’d still recommend it just for the story of it all.

I think my favorite part of this fic is that while there’s angst and “how do I know you’re you?” moments, it’s not needlessly dragged out to create a painful heaping pile of woeful angst. It’s a very realistic and accurate both to the characters themselves and real-life response, it’s very organic and every moment between them has this feeling of like, “Of course that happened next what else could you possibly have done there?” realism, like is Shep and Kaiden were actually real live people what else could you expect to happen but what you’re reading, if that makes any sense.

Also, I love how in love with each other they feel, how magnetic they are, how inevitable it seems, ya’know?

I just love this story and its author so freaking much, honestly, it’s just too sweet and calm and honest, even during the angsty moments it still feels good, ya’know?

But seriously, I love how close to the edge they are throughout this whole fic, how close to just, tipping over at the beginning there, it’s so, satisfying to watch and experience, and it’s amazing and filling and fulfilling and just. So. Fucking. Good.

I don’t know man, I just, really love the little ways that theprosefool gets across them being in love, or being close to it, or falling into it, like, the way this is written is just so perfectly good that I don’t even want to skip the lemon scene which is, kinda rare for me normally just for overall various reasons.

Cut from the part of the favorite lines because it grew too long to go there imo 

“Smiles during sex are always a win, always, smiling and laughing is just, the best part of being With somebody else, even if it’s not sex, it’s so nice to have an intimate moment with someone and to see or feel or hear their smile, their laughs, and giggles, and chuckles, and snorts, and to just, feel how in love you are with them and in return how in love they are with you. Because, much like the song (and unlike the story, I promise they don’t break up no worries) even if you break up permanently and forever, it’s important to remember the good if at all possible. It’s important to remember that, even if y’all ain’t now, you were. 

And that means something. “

Gods I’m so glad op didn’t use warmth or heat or something like that, it always jars me from the story, however they do use shaft 

But they also say dick instead of throbbing erection, member, manhood, etc. so it’s okay!

Aesthetic: But in all seriousness, the realism and humanity flowing like a gentle river through your hand in the form of words is just, so fucking refreshing. It’s like drinking lemonade in a Vegas summer, like playing with your friends the first day of fourth-grade recess, like holding hands with your girlfriend, like remembering your first kiss as a preteen, like being hugged by your friend during a panic attack, like laughing so hard you snort AND cry and lose your breath, it feels like looking at him and just, falling, it feels like jumping into the pool and making the biggest splash, like playing in the neighborhood streets, like being a kid, like remembering that homework you swore was the hardest and thinking back and realizing that just wasn't true, but also how proud you were to finish it.

Food Aesthetic: Vanilla ice cream cones during the summer, French hot chocolate during the winter, cheesy fries during fall, and fresh sweet plums during spring all while still holding their hand, and kissing their cheeks and nose and lips, and making a mess and laughing about it. Just, silly food moments that make you fall in love a little bit more.

Word Aesthetic because I can: Longing. (Obviously.)

Song Aesthetic: Wolf Alice - Don't Delete the Kisses (And the video and possibly the whole fucking playlist too) but the ending feels like this one Alanis Morissette - Hand In My Pocket oddly enough and maybe also, the innocent unwavering love of this song, and it’s music video Heartless Bastards - Only For You

Gif Aesthetic: Their relationship feel like this (disclaimer, they’re not girls, sadly... I should look for that👀)

And this

And this too

But also, meanwhile, Sheppard and Kaiden @ Cerberus immediately and without hesitation at all times 25/∞

#kaidan alenko x male shepard #kaiden alenko x shepard #Mass Effect #mass effect fanfiction #mass effect fic #Satan has great taste in: Shlenko #shlenko

[ladyloveandjustice]

Fifteen Favorite Anime Openings Part 1

The $5 tier on my patreon allows people to nominate/vote on one post a month- about anything!  This is one of those posts. Go to my patreon here to learn more.

“Favorite anime openings” was nominated this month

Unfortunately, this unleashes a MONSTER because I love anime openings. I love watching them. The best ones get you so excited to watch the show. They can contain gorgeous animation and imagery. I like to discover songs through them, and I like to watch the ones for shows I love when I’m feeling down because it reminds me of all the stuff I love. It’s like a mini amv or music video or whatever and I’m alllll about those.

Aaaand it turns out tumblr doesn’t let you embed more than five videos per post- so I decided to upload the full list on Wordpress here and post it on tumblr in parts, with this being part 1.

My favorites were pretty hard for me to pick,. I decided to go with the ones that I love that were excellent on BOTH a visual and musical level and the visuals were really timed cohesively with the song. They tend to be from shows I actually like too. I just like ops more when I actually am attached to the characters.

Also, I chose to put openings everyone and their mother hasn’t seen near the top and more popular/obviously-I’m-gonna-put-this anime on the bottom, so hopefully more people can appreciate the less well-known openings. Check ‘em out, they introduce you to a great show!

Natsume Yuujinchou Roku Opening

The imagery in this opening is so flippin’ gorgeous that immediately after seeing it I posed an excited photoset, as some of you may remember. The song is calming too. It’s so tranquil, and exquisite, celebrating personal growth and natural beauty. perfectly reflecting the warm, lovely, soothing tone of the show it comes from.

(I’m trying to keep these to one op per show, but I also love the Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou  op, which starts out showing these empty spaces…then goes back to them at the end and shows them through Natsume’s eyes, and we see yokai were there all along. It’s very cool).

Michiko to Hatchin Opening

I looove the aesthetic of this opening and the jazzy, jaunty tune. The bold, tropical colors that switch from scene to scene, seeing Michiko expertly outrace the cops on her scooter while Hana clings on- it captures the energy and cheekiness of the show so well. My only qualm is the nude images of Michiko being kinda eye-rolly, but even they’re done more tastefully than most anime would manage.

Chihayafuru 2 OP

This is another opening so pretty I remember post screencaps celebrating its prettiness. I love how the card game aspect is incorporated, with the words/characters floating around in circles and Chihaya eventually grasping one, I love the sequence where the younger versions of the main characters are framed with card shapes, but then bb Chihaya breaks out of the frame when she excitedly grabs her friends... and I love the leaf blowing by as younger Chihaya turns to the older one. It also all really syncs well with the song, so it feels cohesive.

Nichijou OP 1:

This is a perfect example of an OP reflecting the energy and zaniness of the show it comes from. The wacky imagery is non-stop and lets you know just how weird these characters are, and the song is frantic and contains several different melodies and it makes your head spin. It packs so much in that the OP actually feels longer than it is, and that’s impressive. But it still comes together to be an enjoyable watch and listen.

I actually might like the melody and energy of opening 2 of this anime even more, that op is also pretty obviously meant to be a viewed as a sequel to the first one (its style and format being the same and also there's callbacks). Since they're a matching set I figure part one should be the one on the list.

March Comes in Like a Lion Opening 3:

March Comes in Like a Lion has many gorgeous openings, but I think this one is my favorite. The eye-candy visuals, the arc, the warmth of it all…and the action matches the pretty song and even the lyrics are taken into account. I did a full breakdown of the OP here.

#anime openings #monthly patreon posts #natsume's book of friends #natsume yuujinchou #march comes in like a lion #nichijou #chihayafuru #michiko e hatchin #michiko to hatchin #videos #long ish post

[ganymedesclock]

You might have answered this question already, I can't remember, but....I've seen quite a many member of the fandom insisting that Lotor can't be trusted, but one argument that caught my attention is that Lotor's story about the colony he cared for that was eventually destroyed by Zarkon was CLEARLY made up as a means to gain Allura's trust and sympathy. Do you think you could explain why this isn't true?

I’ve made a lot of posts about a lot of general topics around this, but I absolutely have it in me to spin a specific counter-argument to this.

The short version of it is, I think that people are failing to understand Lotor, not in a “oh, he’s really sympathetic and much nicer than that!” way, as much as, they’re failing to understand Lotor as a schemer.

Because yes, Lotor is a fairly calculating and paranoid person who will do some considerable things to save his own hide. However, you have to consider that the entire show up to this point has illustrated very specific patterns for Lotor’s behavior. Furthermore, since the universe generally doesn’t fold over itself to be an accomplice, we have outside evidence on the subject we can gather from other sources.

I’ll discuss all of those in more detail under this cut.

Everything Lotor tells us checks out

Lotor’s story of the colony can be condensed to several claims.

He was placed in charge of a colony by Zarkon.

He chose not to depose the local population, but rather negotiated with them.

Part of his objective was harvesting quintessence sustainably without harming the planet in long-term.

When Zarkon discovered this, he ordered Lotor to destroy the planet.

Lotor refused, and Zarkon took the matter into his own hands. Presumably, Lotor was forced to witness this. This was the beginning of his exile.

The first two points we can actually find supporting evidence for all the way back in s3e1. Throk is a pretty good source in this sense- because he hates Lotor and doesn’t want him to succeed, most things that he and Lotor agree upon are probably fact, since Throk has absolutely no reason to lie for Lotor’s benefit.

Throk and his friend, who harbors similar sentiments, discuss that Lotor has ruled colonies in the past, and he specifically does so working with the local people.

This is further supported in s3e2 when Lotor and the generals clearly set out to spare the lives of the people of Puig, injuring and taking hostages but explicitly by design, killing no one. Lotor also promises to show the Puigians mercy before he actually starts bargaining with the Puigian leader.

Lotor’s proposal to Puig is that no matter what they choose, he’s going to pull his soldiers out of their planet and leave them alone. But if they take his side, then he’ll personally intervene on their behalf, and serve as their liaison to the empire- people who’ve never listened to them before.

This is a context when Lotor is not “playing nice” and has no reason to try and make himself look friendlier than he is. If anything, his appeal in s3e2 is much more emphasizing his strength and efficiency, and the forces he has at his disposal.

The prison Lotor had control of that’s seen in s5e1 is noticeably fairly humane, as far as imperial prisons go- there’s no experimentation or torture, the guard system seems entirely automated so you don’t have abusive bullies in the guards, there isn’t forced physical labor. It is by nature exploitative (it is a prison after all and these people are still being forced to work on things that benefit their captors, not themselves) but if you compare it to, say, Beta Traz, whose warden was using electrical torture to drag inventions out of Slav’s head, the facility in s5e1 is tame in comparison.

(And we’re not certain how long Lotor had control of it; given that Sam Holt was captured by the main empire and shipped off to a labor camp by them, Lotor would not be in a good place pre-s3 to have been poking around prisons looking for scientists, and the facility lacks Lotor’s distinctive color scheme and aesthetics. All of that would suggest it was an acquisition sometime after s3e1)

What he purports to have done in s5e6 aligns perfectly with his actual shown policies of colony management.

As far as gathering quintessence, this is supported both by Lotor’s overall attitudes about resource management- 

(he tends to be very frugal and cautious, wanting to carefully evaluate even his enemies, Voltron, before sending them into the rift. Even when he said it would work out in their favor if Voltron failed to return, he didn’t want to risk them without a good guarantee they could succeed at his objective for them)

-and that being able to tap quintessence directly from the rift, thus completely negating the need for new colonies, has been a priority for Lotor that he’s sunk a lot of energy and resources into. Far too much effort for it to be a mere farce. There’s far less expensive ways to put himself in a flattering light.

If Lotor’s so dissatisfied with the old system that he’s trying to tamper in mysterious periphery technology to avoid it, it’s fair to assume that dissatisfaction would have reared its head in less drastic solutions, like the sustainable quintessence farming he proposes.

The last three points boil down to that there is a long-term conflict between Lotor and Zarkon, and Lotor, so far, has tended to lose.

Nothing about Zarkon’s role in this is out of character for him. Zarkon is pushy, destructive, and already has a marked tendency of lashing out at people who don’t do things the way he wants them to, even if they fulfill the objective he tasked them with. 

Remember Prorok, who was framed as a spy and then dismissively made into a robeast even after Haggar made it clear she knew he was innocent- purely because he tried to capture Voltron on his own?

This is absolutely a guy who would burn a planet down because he doesn’t like how his resident crony is running things.

Furthermore, we even have specific evidence that this is something he’s done to Lotor before.

Again, Lotor’s frugal with resources. He doesn’t waste time doing things that won’t get him results. And in s4e3, he clears his schedule for the express purpose of throwing himself at Zarkon’s feet and showcasing how helpless and ineffective and eager-to-please he definitely is.

Lotor doesn’t want Zarkon to know anything he’s doing. S4e3 basically illustrates that Lotor, more than disliking Zarkon, fundamentally doesn’t trust Zarkon.

Which, also, as soon as Zarkon figures out even a scrap of what Lotor’s doing… he mobilizes most of the fleet to shoot down Lotor’s cruiser and kill him.

There’s no part of the story that really seems fishy compared to things that we know and have observed, most of it from interactions with people who have absolutely no reason to humor Lotor and in fact, would want to spite him.

This is not the way that Lotor lies

Here we move away from evaluating the claim and onto Lotor’s tactics.

Many people point to Lotor’s manipulation of Throk as an example where Lotor pretends to be someone’s friend, but if you actually look at what Lotor’s saying and doing, he actually never insinuated that he liked Throk, or trusted him, or even really intended to be all that nice to him.

When he offers his hand to Throk, Lotor explicitly says “Each ally gained only makes us stronger. While those who stand against us will be crushed.”

Throk just got baited out into single combat by Lotor who made it clear he knew Throk’s plot before it had gone into motion. Lotor then defeated him, insulted him multiple times (“Your repetitive attacks are getting you nowhere”, “your tactics are stale, and in the end your own aggression is your undoing.”) and then threatened him at swordpoint.

Now that he offers his hand, he does so with a smirk and an obvious warning. If Throk refuses Lotor’s hand, if he “continues to stand against” Lotor… well. Lotor made it clear what he intends to do.

The most positive sentiment this seems to express is “I’d like you to work with me… but believe me, Throk, you really don’t want to stick to being my enemy.”

Lotor’s threatening Throk. And literally the second his little photo-op is done, he makes sure to take his back out of Throk’s stabbing range.

So Lotor’s actual only con in that scene is the vague implication that Throk can cozy up to him by acting like an ally and recanting his attempted coup. The part Lotor’s lying about is the implication he trusts Throk a tiny amount, when he really doesn’t trust Throk at all, and his response is to get away from Throk immediately.

He doesn’t wait until Throk has served some kind of goal for him.

On other occasions, when Lotor presents himself as weak and vulnerable, he has a clear agenda that he wants the other person to attack him. When he’s trying to goad the paladins into using Voltron against him, he leaves the safety of the cruiser for a tiny fighter ship. When he wants Zarkon to dismiss and ignore him, he diminishes himself and pleads for Zarkon’s guidance.

When Lotor is trying to get people to ally with him… both on Puig in s3e2, and towards Voltron in s5e1 and s5e2, Lotor’s obvious tactic is to make himself seem strong and influential. “I can give you all of this information, I can give you an imperial alliance- Zarkon’s trying to get you to give me up because he knows losing me will weaken you, you don’t want that, do you? You’re playing into your enemy’s hands.”

Lotor has never been shown, at any point, to use his own vulnerability as a way to milk sympathy from people. If anything, even when he has a truly breathtaking potential sob story, he doesn’t even seem to consider it.

When his generals betray him, when he runs to the paladins as his basically desperate last-ditch solution, either time you would expect protest, you’d expect complaint, you’d expect “haven’t I endured and suffered enough here?”

But there’s nothing. Instead, again, Lotor’s entire appeal to the paladins boils down to “I’ll be useful.”

It’s very consistent with Lotor’s behavior that he doesn’t seek reassurance or comfort from other people when he’s hurt. He stiffly tells Allura he’ll be fine in s5e3 after having killed Zarkon.

He’s been given hundreds of opportunities to milk sympathy at this point. And at every turn, he doesn’t- to the point of even sitting on information that would make Allura more sympathetic to him. He has an entire conversation with her in s5e1 about how she doesn’t trust him because he’s part of the galra royal family, knowing full well that he’s half-Altean.

Instead, he reveals it obliquely by talking about his connection to Honerva- after Allura’s decided to trust him and after he’s already in power and his survival is no longer contingent on Voltron thinking kindly of him.

The story in s5e6 also comes after Lotor would actually have a vested interest in getting Allura to trust him. Why would she possibly hesitate to help him at Oriande if she’s already made up her mind to put him on the throne? One of these things is a far greater leap of faith than the other.

Furthermore, when Allura does say something positive in response, suggesting Lotor’s risen in her esteem, his response is to contradict her.

Allura’s comment that he stood up for the people of the ill-fated colony means that in that moment, she imagines him heroic, like herself standing up for what’s right against the force of the empire. She believed that he saved them.

Lotor himself is the one who immediately says “No. They all died. I’m a failure.”

And not in a particular way that reads as one fishing for sympathy, either- considering how quickly he moves on from the subject and doesn’t look at Allura until she thanks him for helping her.

Nobody who is trying to get their allies to trust them and think of them as helpful and competent tells a story about how they completely failed to do something that their allies see as objective number one, protecting people.

The way Lotor talks about this story does not paint him in a good light. It doesn’t describe him as a villain, but he basically accuses himself of being a bystander while an entire planet of people were murdered.

Anyone with any skill at manipulation or deception is not going to think this is a good idea. If the objective is to seem like a victim but with good ideas, there are so many more direct, “clean” ways to reveal that without making himself look bad.

This is not an effective tactic. Lotor doesn’t know Allura that well, and for a good part of this partnership she’s been coldly passing judgment on him. Hearing that the only past venture towards heroism was a complete failure where he lost standing (and emotional health) and gained absolutely nothing in return.

This serves as significant context to how Lotor talks to the white lion during his trial, and his responses to the universe in general

The idea that Lotor and Zarkon have lived in a cycle where Zarkon’s disrupted Lotor’s life, destroyed things and killed people he got close to, and isolated him lines up with a lot of Lotor’s issues- the obvious difficulty he has trusting people, the fact that he’s this slow to even tell Allura relatively trivial details about his life, including things that aren’t secrets.

Everyone at the Kral Zera knows Lotor’s half-altean- when this is a crowd of people that will want to brutalize, enslave, or kill him for it- but Allura, one of the few people that would welcome that side of him, doesn’t know until an entire episode later.

Lotor is an isolated, paranoid person who’s very slow to trust and reflexively tries not to show people anything that might be construed as “weakness”. This tactic was clearly not developed to avoid particularly empathetic people, either, because Lotor’s “I’m fine, absolutely not hurting at all” body language basically consists of going absolutely wooden and shutting down, which is probably the most not-fine thing you can do.

pictured: someone who is Definitely not regretting everything he’s ever done in chronological order.

So what does this come back to? There is an obvious narrative reason we’re told about the colony right then.

There’s a difference between Lotor and Allura the second they enter the trial in s5e6.

Allura looks around, confused.

Lotor startles.

This defines each of them entirely throughout the scene- Allura remains confused but never fearful, while Lotor never once considers that the lion isn’t something to be scared of. 

It’s not malice or hatred that Lotor’s lashing out with- the things that he says to the white lion make it very clear that he’s made a lot of assumptions about this creature, which explain why he attacks it at the end.

Lotor assumes that the white lion is coming to kill him. That it’s decided he’s not worthy, that it’s separated him from Allura- who’s “pure”, who wasn’t abused, who’s a “real” Altean raised in that culture by Alfor- and it’s here to drive him out of there and force him to give up because he doesn’t deserve any of this.

That everything he’s doing, everything he’s worked for to get here- is going to be taken away from him if he doesn’t fight tooth and claw to defend it right now, no matter what else might happen to him.

It’s set up as a very direct parallel to his killing of Narti- and just like that time, it has the same end result. There’s a price to pay for that action- but more than the target of his aggression, who dies quickly and silently... Lotor’s the one who goes on to suffer from it.

I have a personal pet theory that the Sincline ships will eventually take the form of Lions, and that Lotor’s ship, as the counterpart to the Black Lion, will be a white lion. To me, I think this adds another layer to s5e6 and the trial.

Because Lotor’s not actually hurting anybody else that time, not like he did with Narti.

Lotor’s just hurting himself. This is one step in a cycle of self-destruction born out of Lotor’s fear and self-loathing.

This is where the story about the colony slots in perfectly. This is why it’s essential context before Lotor’s presented to the trial, and acts the way he does.

This is not Lotor telling Allura a sad story- this is Lotor telling the audience- without realizing it- why he’s so afraid, and why he hates himself so much.

Because everything he’s cared about before has been destroyed, because he feels like it’s his fault for never being smart enough, or strong enough, or proactive enough to stop it.

Because he’s been set up to fail. It doesn’t matter if he did everything else right.

When Allura’s confronted by the lion, she sees Alfor- who’s argued with her, but only ever because he had a point, who never meant her badly unless something else had gone wrong to force him against her, and that’s exactly how she talks to it. This isn’t right, this is a holy place, a life-giving place- this is not a temple for death, so the only right action can be not to fight.

When Lotor’s confronted by the lion, he sees Zarkon- who has never, in his experience, meant him well. The setting and context are irrelevant, the important thing is this enemy is here, and if he doesn’t have enough power to stop it, the colony’s going to burn again, all of his friends will die again.

And it’s going to be his fault again.

#voltron legendary defender #vld #Lotor #readmore #thenorthernphoenix #I firmly stand by that the take home moral of s5e6 #is not that Lotor is evil #it's that Lotor is afraid

[crimsondomingo]

Day 5: Space

For my July AU a Day Challenge

Barry couldn’t believe he had an Allied agent in his cargo bay. He had to be insane for not shooting him out the airlock the second he discovered him. But that wasn’t Barry's way. He wasn’t a killer. He was a smuggler, just trying to live on the Fringe without making enemies from Allied or Non-Allied planets alike. He wanted nothing to do with this war, not when it had cost him both his parents.

“We can still shoot him,” Iris said. She'd been the one to strike the final blow to knock the agent out, his second in command, best friend since the orphanage, and love of his life—if only he could tell her that.

“Not funny, Iris.”

“I’m not joking. He knows us, Barr. The ship, our faces. We let him go, he could send every Allied force in this sector after us.”

“He boarded us. He’s a stowaway. We didn’t even do anything this time. Our cargo’s legit!” They always made a few trips above board to throw off suspicions from when they smuggled artifacts or rare minerals or blasters.

“Do you think the Allied care? Who knows what this guy's mission is. His badge is one of the highest ranks they have.”

“Why would an agent openly carry his ID when stowing away?” Eddie asked warily. “Aren't they suppose to be the best of the best?”

Barry was captain and pilot of the ship, Iris his front man and security officer, Cisco his engineer, Caitlin his medic, and Eddie…well. Eddie had connections since he was related to one of the council heads of the Allied Planets.

He was also Iris's boyfriend. Barry wished he could hate him, but Eddie was just so…nice, no matter who his family was.

“Maybe he was in a hurry. Maybe he’s here for you,” Cisco said to Eddie, “and figured why hide.”

“My uncle doesn't care about me.”

“He might if we smuggled something we didn’t know the value of,” Caitlin said.

“Speculating is getting us nowhere,” Barry snapped.

“Then make a decision. What are we going to do with him?” Iris stared at him expectantly.

“We'll bring him to the Crossroads. That station is neutral. I’m sure we can find some Non-Allied agents to take him off our hands, then it won’t be our problem anymore.” It basically made Barry one step away from murder, since they'd surely kill him, but one step was good enough in this universe to help him sleep at night.

No one questioned the decision. They wanted this over too. It would still be a few hours to the Crossroads, so Barry set in the course for autopilot and left the bridge to get some space from his crew.

He hated this. Why did he have to have an agent on board of all people?

After the first hour, Barry decided he'd had enough sulking, but on his way back to the bridge, passing the makeshift brig they’d thrown the agent into, he heard Iris and Eddie, and for whatever reason, his instincts told him to hide.

“After this, how close we might have come to everything imploding because of that agent, maybe it's time,” Iris said.

“Are you sure? I know how much you love this job, this ship.”

“I do, but I love you more. It’s time we settled down to live our own lives. We could stay at the Crossroads a while, then decide where to go. I just need to find the right way to tell Barry.”

Their voices faded as they headed down the corridor, but what had been said sat in Barry’s stomach like a gravity bomb.

I love you more, she'd said. More than Barry, which had always been the problem.

He slammed his hand back against the wall.

“My, my, Captain. I take it the lovely femme fatale should be with you instead?”

Barry started at the unfamiliar voice. He hadn’t realized he’d hidden right beside the entrance into the brig and was in plain view of their prisoner, who was awake.

He was older than any of them, maybe 35, maybe older, Barry couldn’t tell by his face alone. It was a handsome face too, perfectly chiseled with piercing blue eyes and a teasing smirk. The all black flight suit wasn’t bad either, hugging his slender but well-muscled frame. It infuriated Barry that a prisoner could look so attractive and at ease with his wrists and ankles bound. The man had even managed to lurch up onto his knees.

“Pleasure to meet you officially, Captain. And what comes after the title, may I ask?”

“None of your business,” Barry said.

“No need to be cold, Scarlet, I’m merely making conversation.”

“Scarlet?”

He nodded at Barry’s red flight jacket. “Until I have a better name. I’m Len, by the way. Rogues Ops agent, Leonard—"

“I don’t care,” Barry said quickly. “I don’t want to know.”

“Ah. So my fate is already sealed, I take it?”

“We're bringing you to the Crossroads. Someone there can decide what to do with you.”

“Someone… Not loyal to Non-Allied then?”

“No.”

“Allied?”

“No.”

“A free spirit. I like it. Well Scarlet, I assume you’re the ‘Barry’ she mentioned, but I’ll wait for you to confirm that. You can still call me Len until you sign my death warrant by passing me into venomous hands. As for Miss Femme Fatale, my apologies. I’m sure you would have made a lovely couple.”

“Shut up,” Barry growled, but he knew he sounded as weak and wounded as he felt. He let his head drop back against the wall, not looking at…Len. “No one’s fault but mine. I never made a move. Then he came along and I missed my chance.”

“At least Council Head Thawne's nephew is nothing like his uncle from what I hear.”

Barry snapped his attention back to him.

“Yes, I know who he is, but I’m not here for him.”

“Then why did you board my ship?”

“I needed a speedy getaway and your ship looked the fastest. The Flash. Great name, by the way.”

“You needed a ride?”

“That’s all.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Then you might as well jettison me now. It'll be much kinder than what the Non-Allied will do.”

Barry turned away again with a cringe.

“Or you could let me go.”

“I can’t put my crew at risk like that. If it was just me…”

“Noble. That’s rare out here. Would it matter if I said I was running from my own? That I’m done with this war?”

“How would I know if I can believe you?”

“Guess you’d have to take it on faith.”

“Don’t have much of that, sorry.”

“Take the trip to think about it then. Maybe you’ll change your mind when we get there.”

Barry sighed. He wished it could be that simple.

“Can a doomed man have a last request at least?”

“What?” Barry glanced at him warily.

“Coming off a long mission, a long…everything. Been a while since I had good conversation. And you have no idea how rare it is to be captured by a pretty face. I could help you forget Femme Fatale, drown our sorrows in each other.” He cast a telling leer down Barry’s body.

“You are unbelievable,” Barry gaped. “You think I'd let you get me that vulnerable.”

“That’s your only issue with the offer? Not that I’m the enemy? You must like my face too.”

“No one is my enemy,” Barry said, even as he felt his cheeks flush. “I’m not on either side.”

“Then why not take advantage of the time at our disposal? You can keep the manacles on. I’m hardly a threat like this. And don't worry. The flight suit is two pieces. You’ll be able to get my pants off.”

“I’m leaving now.” Barry pushed from the cell door. It was just an energy field separating them, translucent to peer through. He really shouldn’t have glanced over one last time as he walked away, but he couldn’t help his curiosity.

Len was looking at him like he'd never meant an offer so whole-heartedly, like he could eat Barry right up. “If you change your mind, Scarlet, you know where to find me.”

#coldflash #au a day challenge #space au #crimson's writing #i've had a version of this in my head for a while actually #originally it was pairing my smuggler and imperial agent together from swtor

[mycoffeeacademia]

➥ Tōgata Mirio ღ

                 ➳ Lemillion: What happens next?

“Nothing I’ve done up till now will ever be useless. I will always be Lemillion!”

When I was catching up in the manga Mirio’s character caught me by surprise. I was instantly interested in what he had to say to class 1-A. Along with Nejire and Tamaki of course. The Big 3 (Biggu Surī ) were all introduced as students who exceeded and outclassed many pro heros. I adore their characters, this trio all have outlandishly fantastic personalities, unique to them; Mirio’s energy, Tamaki’s social anxiety and Nejire’s endless curiosity. Make them especially fun to follow through the manga.

It was Mirio’s character that caught me by surprise the most. The insatiable thirst and sheer drive to be better, and not give up despite the obstacles ahead.

Not out of self gratification, or personal goal but truly to do well by his mentors and people that need help. This is a common theme in most hero universes, where you have the all loving, all perfect, all mighty (sorry had to do it) protagonist who runs straight in to the fire, uncaring if they get burned. This is commonly a trope that occurs, and sometimes it’s fun. Such is the case with current Marvel movies, Captain America being the most glaringly obvious one that comes to mind.

..but here’s the difference and why I think Mirio is absolutely spectacular!

What I feel really makes Mirio stand out as Lemillion is the way he processes the bad stuff, the stress of failing academically, having a quirk that is very intensive and hard to control, and the shaky foundations he had to build from.

Struggling as a transfer student without a proper introduction he struggled to make friends because of his social awkwardness. After a time however he found Tamaki, and finally had a friend.

Having been laughed at by his class and other students for not being able to control his quirk, or use it in a socially approved way he trained relentlessly to overcome it. Where he failed academically he jumped in physically to chase his dream, even after failing at his class year Sports Festival .

More importantly for me however it is in the way he treats his friends, especially Tamaki who struggles with severe social anxiety. Though he himself had problems he never let Tamaki see him fail. Even if he struggled Mirio would pull himself through - as he wanted that for his friend, so he helped pave the way for him to do the same. It was almost like Mirio couldn’t let himself fail, not for himself, but for others who looked to him. I find that more inspiring, because here’s a character that has struggled all the way. There was no magical transformation, like a drug or inheritance, or some magical OP gift, only grueling hard work. His motivations slowly changed and stretched beyond himself over time, and his want to be the hero that saves 1 million became focused on protecting and nurturing his friends and others.

This panel above perfectly captures what their friendship entails, how determined Mirio is and how that impacts others around him. Tamaki is almost frightened at first but as you can see a comfort seems to reach him a moment later.

This force of will is especially visible in his fight with Chisaki:

as even beaten, bruised and bloody – shot and rendered quirkless…

he.. out of sheer determination saved the girl.

All I’m trying to say is - in such a short burst of chapters we are introduced to an amazing character, and I for one cannot wait to see what happens for him in the future…

Which brings me to my next point, after the shock of losing his quirk what do you think is going to happen now?

➥ Predictions

1. I’ve seen some predictions which believe he will become a police officer. Which i believe to be in the characters nature, he certainly wont give up trying to save people, however there will have to be a compromise now that he is quirk less. This may sadly compromise his dream and lead him to a more assistive role.

2. In the world of Boku no Hero Academia there apparently isn’t such a thing as quirk less hero. However i believe this is just old fashioned prejudice. If you actually look at some of the main villains such as the Stain, or even hero’s like Nighteye, then you see people who use their quirks to assist their fighting but not define or dominate it. Mirio has went through some pretty intense training, so wouldn’t it be possible for him to continue hero work?

3. There is a mixed bag opinion over Mirio regaining his quirk. But I believe there are several ways this could be handled.

The most obvious is Eri gaining control of her quirk and reversing the drug effects.

Another is the quirk enhancing drug which is used in the arc where people’s quirks are enhanced. If Mirio’s quirk isn’t completely gone and is only muted maybe the enhancer could bring his quirk back for short bursts?

The third is the possibility that the drug he was shot with isn’t permanent. Overtime his quirk slowly comes back.

A lot of people seem to feel these predictions are copout’s and would cheapen the story and Mirio’s character arc. However I feel that it would be interesting and would add to the lore of this universe if done right. The thing is as well, he’s only 18 and to lose something so important is incredibly tragic. I get it, i know it’s the point of the whole thing.. but still.. maybe as compromise he gained his quirk back with slight changes in duration for example?

4. The worst case scenario. He hangs up his cape and Lemillion steps down forever. I really, really don’t want to see this. It would be such a waste for the character, and a betrayal. I mean I truly believe he could have his own series. This guy is a main character on his own!

These are the predictions I’ve seen floating about. However like most I feel that there will be people who wont be satisfied no matter the outcome.

Any thoughts? Do you think there is a better way to write it? What do you think of this character?

Let me know!

As for now I’ll just leave this here to cheer us all up!

#mirio togata #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #lemillion #manga #manga spoilers #academiamanga #tamaki amajiki #nejire hado #eri #izuku midoriya #deku #mha #bnha #academiacharacters

[tigerlover16-uk]

GT Goku is a gary stu

Okay, now I just finished episode 63. You know, at first I was enjoying this one. They set up the tension perfectly as Omega Shenron starts destroying the earth. And THEN we get to the biggest contrivance in the show so far.

What is GT’s obsession with making base-form kid Goku seemingly stronger and more useful than when he’s in any of his super saiyan forms. First he manages to hold off Omega Shenron’s last strongest attack for a while, despite having been severely beaten throughout the last fight without even so much as eating a senzue bean at any point in this fight, so he should be almost out of energy entirely. He wasn’t able to put up a decent fight against Omega Shenron as a Super saiyan 4, it was a curb stomp battle. So HOW is he able to hold off a full powered giant energy ball of doom in his weakest form when he’s that battered? How the HECK was he able to SURVIVE that attack without getting obliterated, long enough to mentally communicate to the people of the world to form a normal sized spirit bomb and heal himself. THEN HOW WAS HE ABLE TO SHRUG OFF A BARAGE OF ATTACKS FROM OMEGA SHENRON, WHO DOESN’T EVEN SEEM TO HAVE BEEN SLOWED DOWN BY THIS WHOLE FIGHT???!!!

And how was he able to survive it long enough to communicate with the Kai’s and gather the energy of everyone in the universe for the spirit bomb to finish the villain off??!!

This entire conclusion was a load of baloney! It’s not even that nothing Goku pulls off here makes any sense when you stop and think about it. This is just legitimately horrible writing! It kills any and all tension the episode and the entire arc had built up until that point. It throws any remaining semblance of logic to power scaling out the window, after lighting it on fire and having it land in a tub of explosive acid!

And to add insult to injury, this entire conclusion was just a rip off of how they defeated Kid Buu, except not NEARLY as good. The build up to the super spirit bomb was perfect. It brought back all the past characters and both Vegeta and the good Buu were important in holding Kid Buu off long enough for it to be formed. It felt like a natural conclusion, and like this is what the spirit bomb was truly meant for since it was introduced way back during the saiyan saga where we were just lead to believe it was a fake out when it didn’t work on Vegeta or later Freeza. And even when it was completed, it STILL wasn’t enough to overpower Kid Buu at first because Goku was out of energy! It took the final wish on the namekian dragon balls to restore Goku to full strength in order to push the spirit bomb forward to finally end that fight. The set-up and execution to the super spirit bomb was PERFECT! It was the perfect way to defeat the final villain of dragon Ball Z, and the entire sequence was just beautiful and tense and epic!

THIS WAS JUST TRIPE!! This was a pathetic attempt to just imitate that glorious moment, only BIGGER, without actually putting in the effort to do any of the things that made that moment work. It’s such a lazy re-tread and an attempt to re-capture past glory. Like the writers just went “Yep, that ending was perfect in Z. So let’s just do it again and people will still love it” instead of, you know, trying to come up with a unique and more interesting way to achieve victory over their final villain, a moment that was truly their own?

This was pathetic and aggravating. This whole saga really is some of the laziest, most awful writing I’ve seen in the franchise. I love Goku, he’s my favourite character and one of my childhood idols. But even I refuse to let him get away with being THIS REDICULOUSLY OP! This last act of this saga is just the worst, most forced attempt at drama and a crowning moment of awesome that I’ve ever seen. I hate this show. I hate it so much. AND NOW SHENRON IS HERE. So that means I have to sit through the show’s nonsensical ending now too, doesn’t it?!

This show DESERVES the hate it gets. seriously.

#Dragon Ball GT #stinks #Dragon Ball Super #Dragon Ball #dragon ball z #Dragon Ball GT thoughts #Goku #anti-DBGT #losing my patience

[whatisonthemoonarchive]

Confessions of a Deprogrammed Trump Supporter

Originally posted here: strategic-culture.org/news/2021/01/22/confessions-of-a-deprogrammed-trump-supporter/

As many people are aware, CNN recently aired a wonderful interview by former Moonie-turned-cult-deprogrammer Steve Hassan giving advice to Americans wishing to deprogram their MAGA-hat wearing loved ones, now that the age of Trump is coming to an end.

Video included in the original post: https://youtu.be/TnblPVMEYAc

I was fortunate enough to have read Hassan’s book and had the loving scrub-brush of truth wash my brain of all of its formerly pro-Trump sympathies and can honestly say that I am most certainly better off for having left those old delusions in the past.

For one thing, I used to enjoy my right to free speech… but thanks to the terrible events of January 6, 2021 that left 3 people dead, horned Q supporters doing photo ops for media, pro-Trump rioters let into the capitol building by guards, and busloads of conspicuous violent figures whom some say were “provocateurs” (whatever that means), I have come to realize that I was all wrong. Free speech is actually very dangerous. Words we took for granted like “patriot”, “nationalism”, or “vote fraud” are actually very racist and using them is a sure fire sign that you might be a domestic terrorist. At any rate, using them should at least be enough to get someone banned from social media and put under surveillance.

For a long time, I thought that record numbers of Black and Hispanic voters supporting Trump in 2020 meant that Trump was not racist, but I now realize that these poor folks just suffered from “multiracial whiteness”.

I thought that questioning voting machines that had been caught red handed manipulating elections across the world was patriotic and that somehow some conglomeration of Big Tech, the media, intelligence agencies and a thing called “deep state” were colluding to create a color revolution in the USA… but I now realize that I was actually supporting conspiracy theories and thus violence and thus domestic terrorism.

I was so far gone that my pre-deprogrammed self was actually persuaded in the crazy idea that depopulation agendas hid behind the cover of a “Great Reset agenda”, concocted by a shadowy elite of sociopathic oligarchs. I have now learned that this was either a silly conspiracy theory, the result of my own delusions or if it was true, then I can at least say with certainty that it is all for my own good.

The truth that I have now come to discover, is that free speech has just gone too far. This practice has reached its limits, and Twitter’s legal executive Vijaya Gadde is absolutely right. Social Media should do its civic duty and extend its censorship of “dangerous thoughts” to citizens and political officials outside of the USA in order to protect the world from itself. If other world leaders are worried about this new truth, then they should seriously do some soul searching and learn to think differently.

The old me is long gone, and now all I can say is “thank god” Joe Biden has found himself in the position of leader of the free world at this historic moment of change.

For awhile it was looking like Donald Trump would actually stop forever wars, and untie the U.S. military’s involvement from the CIA. That white supremacist actually came precariously close to destroying the foundations of globalization that many enlightened billionaires had put decades of energy into organizing- first destroying Obama’s Transpacific Partnership, then the Paris Climate Accords and THEN he had the nerve to scrap NAFTA itself by giving nation states a say in economic affairs!

He even committed the sin of criticizing NATO itself- the very foundation of western collective security from the obvious threats of Russia and China!

He called for insane things like “bringing back manufacturing to the USA”, “restoring protectionism”, and “making space exploration and arctic development a priority for the nation” and everyone knows that this is all so 1963.

But now the “disturbance” is over, and the age of Biden has arrived!

Joe Biden is a man who understands what liberal values and the “rules-based order” are really about.

He was wise enough to get onto the unipolar bandwagon before it was popular by drafting the 1994 surveillance bill that John Ashcroft later used verbatim for the Patriot Act after 9/11.

He was smart enough to know that Wall Street couldn’t lead America into the 21st century as long as Glass-Steagall was in place and voted for its repeal in 1999.

He was one of the loudest supporters of NAFTA which helped reduce carbon emissions drastically by exporting dirty industrial jobs oversees where they should be.

He also gave the Credit Card companies the political support they needed to stop citizens from abusing their generosity which went a long way to help Americans build character and take responsibility for their short sighted consumer decisions.

After 9/11, Biden also brilliantly supported the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq (who may not have had anything to do with 9/11 but at least showed the terrorists who’s boss).

Unlike those cultish Trumping fascists, Biden was courageous enough to proclaim even before the horrible insurrectionary riots of January 6th, that a new Patriot Act/Domestic Terror Bill would be needed to purge the republic of dangerous terrorism and the insidious thought crimes which spread doubt in honest elections, and distrust in the benevolent political structures leading the western world. Thinking people know, that thought does sometimes cause action… and if we want to truly remedy wrong actions like the riots of January 6th, or dangerous COVID-denialism, then we should most certainly take the battle to the realm of the mind.

The brilliant Steve Hassan even recognized this reality in his CNN interview when he said that “the bottom line is all of America needs deprogramming because we’ve all been negatively influenced by Donald Trump.”

Sure, some people think that the 46 deaths and 32 riots caused by Antifa and BLM over the past six months might qualify as domestic terrorism, but that’s only because they are infected with racist wrong think and don’t realize that these groups were just fighting against fascism and racism.

Certainly, the first 100 days after Biden’s inauguration will be inspired.

Already, Biden has made commitments to sign the USA back onto the legally binding Paris Climate Accords to help us win the war against climate, and has shown the good sense to reverse Trump’s disastrous decision to break the anti-China TPP in 2016. Biden always said he would renegotiate the TPP in order “to hold China accountable”, and everyone knows Trump’s selfish decision only helped China by freeing up its neighbors to work together on the BRI. If only Trump hadn’t killed TPP, then the 14 nation strong Regional Cooperation Economic Partnership which China just finalized would never have happened.

Most importantly, our benevolent overlords who meet at Davos every year are happy once more and have even kicked off Biden’s inauguration with a special celebration entitled “the Davos Agenda” running from January 25-29. According to the WEF, this event will “mark the launch of the World Economic Forum’s Great Reset Initiative and begin the preparation of the Special Annual Meeting in the spring. Each day will focus on one of the five domains of the Great Reset Initiative.”

The USA’s new Special Envoy on Climate, John Kerry, captured the excitement of this wonderful moment perfectly when he said: “The notion of a reset is more important than ever before… we’re at the dawn of an extremely exciting time.”

According to the Great Reset architects, this is definitely the right idea.

WEF President Klaus Schwab has taught us that the “age of owning things” is so passe, and we know that this obsolete relic of capitalism isn’t compatible in our new age of global peace and brotherhood.

Ownership of “things” just makes us selfish and forget about the real purpose of life.. which is really about sacrifice. Establishing new supranational organizations to manage the levers of consumption and production according to evidence-based standards and scientific realities of carrying capacity is the only remedy to the evils of populism and being ignorant to this reality doesn’t lessen the fact that boards of experts who are smarter than you say that it is so.

According to the WEF’s Great Reset website global CO2 output collapsed by over 7% during the 12 months of global COVID-19 shutdowns… which means the COVID-19 is more of a blessing than many dim witted selfish nationalists who like owning things realize.

So what if the world population will contract under the shutdown of the world economy under COVID lockdowns? And so what if we lose our capacity to support industrial civilization through the imposition of global green energy grid?

Didn’t the late great Maurice Strong (who was WEF Executive Director and father of the Great Reset), ask the question in 1991:

“What if a small group of world leaders were to conclude that the principal risk to the Earth comes from the actions of the rich countries? And if the world is to survive, those rich countries would have to sign an agreement reducing their impact on the environment. Will they do it? The group’s conclusion is ‘no’. The rich countries won’t do it. They won’t change. So, in order to save the planet, the group decides: Isn’t the only hope for the planet that the industrialized civilizations collapse? Isn’t it our responsibility to bring that about?”

So get ready for an exciting time in history, and hopefully China finally learns that the new world order is Unipolar – with a big green hug for all well behaved leaders who get rid of such silly ideas as “nationalism”, “industrial progress” or “ending poverty through development” which dangerous concepts like the Belt and Road Initiative threaten to unleash. Most importantly, China has to really deprogram itself from her belief that Russia is a worthwhile partner in the 21st century. Xi made a good decision to attend this month’s Great Reset conference and both he and Modi would do well to abandon dirty fossil fuels, their support of nuclear energy development or space mining in order to adapt their realities to the computer models which have been telling us how to hitch our destinies to a world of entropy and diminishing returns.

[the1rei]

Little Moments: Reboot Chapter Twelve: Fumbling in the Dark By  Ericobard and shadows59 Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Fandom: Ben 10 Series Relationship: Ben Tennyson/Gwen Tennyson Some Additional Tags: Bullying, No proofreading, Family is Drama, Long burn

Old wounds don't heal as much as we think sometimes, but with trust, you can get through anything.  Their second summer begins with a bang as the Tennysons' plunge into danger, proving they are still heroes.

Read my review below:

Wearing plumber suits was never something Max insisted they did in the series, even he didn't often wear his own, even when entering unknown situations, so why is he insisting they do so now? Not to mention the suit would cover the Omnitrix making it difficult to use.

What is the point of changing the bolder into a stump? Why would the Plumbers have the symbol used by the necromancer or whatever from the first chapter carved very conspicuously on the underside of it? It's also convenient that Gwen noticed it for a moment and then got so distracted by it that she completely forgot about it after that.

I find the subtle reference to the claustrophobia Gwen developed, due to nearly being killed, in the original to be a far better representation of Gwen's character then her having a panic attack.

"(He) glared at her with an eye that was only a shade greener than the rest of this body." Wildvine's eye was blue in the original series, the only series that counts, and the one Shadows59 didn't seem to bother reviewing before writing this story. Gwen also expressed a little anxiety at Wildvine's appearance in the original, but because he was Ben, she handled it.  

"She remembered the first time she used that spell and how it barely blew away a mist. She'd gotten better." This story has explicitly shown that your magic is strong because of the chapter nine power up rather than your skill with it improving.

This chapter in the original captured the fun, high energy action of the series perfectly.  In the reboot, however, like in the first chapter, the action lacks that fun excitement and is dragged down by unneeded drama.  

Why is Shadows59 bothering to humanize the bug creature for it just to go wild and get squashed? It comes across as pointless virtue signaling of Gwen by making her seem like an overly moral person for trying to talk to something that is trying to kill her.

Why does Gwen have this weird obsession with thinking that if she cries, Ben will think less of her?

They have this big dramatic moment about Gwen being afraid of Wildvine and the tight, enclosed tunnel because of her near-death experience, but they resolve it and bond as partners. I liked this scene much better in the original when it was done more subtly in the first chapter of the story. To repeat from the chapter one review: "Gwen is having a nightmare in which Gluto doesn't reform to save her. Gwen wakes up to Ben, holding her and telling her it will be all right. She cries in his arms all night, and from his silence, it is obvious that he too will never fully overcome what happened to her." But they've faced that pain together so Ben knows Gwen can handle the dark tunnel and him turning into Wildvine, because he has shown her he'll always be there for her. How is the long drawn out drama in this chapter an improvement to the simple love and dedication expressed in just a few lines of the original?

I like how Ben listens to heavy metal and Gwen to classical. I'm a pop/rock fan myself, but even I know that if you're interested in music that takes great skill to make, you will listen to metal or classical. The music choice does a good job showing that they are complementary opposites. (The kind of opposites that really do attract ;)

Max really starts acting out of character in this chapter, more like he did in the 'Ultimate Weapon', but less severe. Dissecting these changes and why would take too much time and guess work as the nature and history of the Plumbers fluctuates even in the original series, the situation with the mudpuppies, for instance. In the original, due to the summer Ben found the Omnitrix and the invasion of the Highbreed the Plumber to become active again, including Max, and black-ops causing him to have to go underground and pretend to take the Omnitrix with him. In the reboot, the same seems to be happening except with extra drama, particularly about how much Max is lying to Ben and Gwen. In the series after the truth came out, he always was open with them, lying to them is broadly out of character for him.

"his green eyes shone yellow around his green irises" Blitzwolfer's eyes don't have irises or pupils for that matter, like most of his alien forms.

So just to be clear, Ben suggests that they use her as bait to get all the insect monsters to attack her while he stands safely on the sidelines. Ben would never suggest such a plan in the first place, and for him to do so after having had a moment with Gwen where they come to terms with the trauma she suffered by being dragged into a tunnel by an alien monster is beyond parody. The only reason this is happening seems to be so that Gwen can have more of the spotlight. How is it that these creatures have already created a massive hive?

Ben calls Gwen pretty; it comes across as a cheap replacement for the original when he calls her beautiful before they go on their first date. Why did Shadows59 trade that meaningful moment of realization for a cheap joke?

Shadows59 also replaced Gwen getting a little distracted by Ben's guns with her cracking jokes about how his guns are water pistols. Does making Gwen get distracted due to her attraction to Ben somehow detracts from her character?

Gwen doesn't think the damage to the plumber suits is possible then describes it as looking like someone stabbed through the suit when earlier she explicitly said the suit doesn't protect against stabbing weapons.

Ben uses his karate training to put Exoskull in a hold so Gwen can trap his head in an airtight magic sphere causing him to pass out due to lack of oxygen. This has to be one of the clearest examples of Shadows59 taking an accomplishment of Ben's, one that showed what an intelligent and capable combatant he was, and giving it to Gwen. In the original, Ben as Wildvine, learning that he can't overpower Exoskull, wraps him up in vines, squeezing him tighter with each breath Exoskull tries to take. It takes Gwen a moment to even realize what Ben is doing, when she does, she praises Ben before moving in to help him with his plan. Why change that, why take away from Ben to give to Gwen?

Do I even need to comment on the color of Four-arms eyes in the original series?

Ben is now pinching Gwen's ass; I guess it is supposed to be fine since Lili taught Gwen that's just how boys express that they like a girl. Wouldn't that be at least a little more appropriate in a few years when Ben wouldn't be doing it to another eleven-year-old?

The problem with italicizing dialogue that mentioned back in chapter three is far more noticeable here as several characters have all their speech stylized this way.

-Erico Every time I read this chapter I am reminded of everything this story has lost, fun, subtlety, and a balance between the main characters. In their place we have melodrama, clear proof that Shadows59's skills have eroded.

In the original, Ben wasn't afraid to use Wildvine because they had come together to come to terms with what happened none months ago. Gwen was afraid of not being there for Ben in the original as well. I don't know about minor details, but one major detail that has changed is Ben's willingness to send Gwen out into danger while he sits on the sidelines.

When I started reading this story I thought that not only did you have a big influence on Shadows59, but that you were the author because all the long rambly melodrama that I read in your story had wormed its way into the reboot.  So let me assure you, you are having a profound influence on Shadows59.

(As always, please go leave Shadows59 a nice positive review he won’t delete.)

#ben 10 #bwen #ben x gwen #gwen x ben #benxgwen #gwenxben #ben and gwen #gwen and ben #fanfic #review #Little Moments

[k1reynolds]

It was with eager anticipation that we set off on our journey to the first annual Experience Alexander Valley. We’d been invited as guests of Alexander Valley Winegrowers*, and based on all we’d heard about this new event, we knew we were in for something special. We wrote a couple of preview pieces, which if you missed them and want to catch up, you can read here, and here. But the previews don’t come close to capturing the magic and adventure that Experience Alexander Valley delivered.

* As guests, our event admission was complimentary. We received no other compensation or incentive. All descriptions, opinions, and reviews are our own.

Like many wine country events, this was a two-day adventure. Unlike many wine country events, rather than racing from winery to winery, guests got to choose two Experiences per day. Since we were invited as bloggers, to cover and promote the event, Robyn and I wanted to participate in as many Experiences as possible…to a point – we do enjoy each other’s company! So we decided “divide and conquer”, at least for a couple of Experiences. We each selected one Experience per day to fly solo, and one to attend together.

Saturday dawned clear and bright. And warm.  Weather forecasters predicted highs near 103F, and they weren’t far off. This meant that many outdoor Experiences had to be canceled or at least modified. Nevertheless, we were undaunted and headed from our hotel to Robyn’s first destination, deLorimier Winery. I’ll let Robyn tell the story of her Experience herself. Watch for her blog post in a few days.

I had a bit of a drive to get to my first Experience, at the Medlock Ames Winery. Though they have a tasting room on the valley floor, they wanted to treat guests to a Sustainable Winemaking Experience at their vineyards and production facility. The drive was beautiful, along the east side of the valley, then up Chalk Hill Road. The thing that struck me most: No Traffic! I was virtually alone on a Saturday morning in Wine Country.

Turning onto a single lane road, I started to get a little nervous that my trusty Google Maps might have failed me. It was a paved, single lane road, so that was hopeful. Alas, my trust in Google ran out two hilly ridges in. I turned around, beginning what would be a 30 minute detour that ended up taking me right back where I was. Around a curve about 100 yards beyond where I’d turned around was the entrance to Medlock Ames. Sigh. I’d done it to myself, and was almost 45 minutes late!

Fortunately, friendly Isabella saw my plight and left her post in the tasting room to rescue me. She came out into the already 90+ degree day, and caught me up with the small group on the outdoor tour. Isabella handed me off to Chelsea, who was leading the two other guests, Jimmy and Maryanne, on a tour of the grounds.

Medlock Ames is a sustainable, organic winery, and includes a one-acre vegetable garden, and a one-acre fruit garden. Due to the heat, we were not able to walk to those gardens, but still got a brief overview of the property and history. Chelsea led us to the shade of a large tree at the edge of a vineyard. There she told us that the two acres of vines were looking at were nearly ripped out when owners Chris Medlock James and Ames Morison purchased the property in 1998. The vineyard had been planted by the previous owner, a sheep rancher, and nobody knew what variety they were. Ames, the head winemaker, was hesitant, however, and decided to walk the vines before excavation. He found a tag on a vine, from a nursery in New York. After a call to the nursery and some research, and they found the answer: Merlot. But not just any Merlot. These vines are Jefferson clones; descendants of vines that Founding Father Thomas Jefferson brought from France to his Virginia estate! With that kind of pedigree, the former Tulane University roommates decided to leave the vines in.

Jefferson Clone Merlot

Grow, Merlot. Grow!

All Medlock Ames are made from 100% organic, estate grown fruit. The winery is fully solar powered. Of the 338 acres on the estate, only about 55 acres are farmed, leaving the rest of the land to its native flora and fauna. There are more than 800 olive trees, five retention ponds for irrigation, and at least 50 barn owl boxes on the property. To help conserve energy, the barrel room is underground, below the production facility.

Speaking of the barrel room, where better to continue the tour on such a hot day? After a brief visit among the fermentation tanks upstairs, we ventured down into the 55 degree cellar to meet Ames, and enjoy some barrel tasting.

The beauty of the Experience Alexander Valley event is that the three of us had about 30-45 minutes of interrupted time with the head winemaker. (I was enjoying myself too much to keep track of time.) We could ask whatever questions we wanted, and he took the time to answer in a way we could all understand. You don’t get that on a party bus tour!

Ames is clearly passionate about what he does, and is very knowledgeable. He thieved us samples of their 2017 Lower Slope Chardonnay, the 2017 50 Tons Cabernet Sauvignon, the 2017 Kate’s & B’s Cabernet Sauvignon, and the 2017 Secret Ingredient Malbec. Each of the wines has a nick-name, and a story. The Kate’s and B’s is named after Chris and Ames’ wives; Kate is Ames’ wife, and B (stands for Bradley) is Chris’ wife. They chose the very best grapes from the very best vineyards to make the wine with their wives’ names on it. Smart men!

From the cellar, we walked back up to the tasting room where Chelsea hosted us in a wine and cheese pairing. The cheeses are all local, Sonoma County artisan cheeses, and paired each of the wine amazingly! I’ll let the pictures tell the story here.

As we were finishing up, I got Robyn’s text letting me know her Experience was over, and she was ready for me to come get her. So I didn’t have time to explore the preserves, marmalades, and olive oils they make with estate fruit. No worries though; that gives me something to look forward to when I bring Robyn on our next visit!

After a quick lunch break, we headed to our next Experience, this time together. Turning up the tree-lined drive to Stonestreet Estate Vineyards, we were taken with the beauty of the property. Here, we were to enjoy a chocolate and Cabernet Sauvignon tasting. Originally scheduled outdoors on their beautiful patio overlooking the valley and nearby Mayacamas Mountain range, they thankfully relocated the tasting indoors, in their air conditioned tasting room.

We were greeted by DTC (Direct to Consumer) Manager, Michelle, and our host and guide for the day, Tasting Room Manager, Samantha. Having never heard of Stonestreet before, we were in for a bit of a surprise.

Video credit: Stonestreet Estate Vineyards

Stonestreet Estate Vineyards owns a large chunk of the Mayacamas Mountains we had admired as we entered the property. 5500 acres, to be more specific. Yet of those 5500 acres, only 800 acres are planted to vines. Committed to sustainable and environmentally friendly winemaking, when the owners purchased the land in 1995, they conducted wildlife studies; migration patterns, breeding grounds, etc. and planted around those areas so as to not disturb the native wildlife. This also helps to keep the critters out of the vineyards. But that wasn’t the biggest surprise. Stonestreet Estate Vineyards is part of Stonestreet Farms, located in Kentucky. Stonestreet Farms breeds thoroughbred race horses, very successfully, including such standouts as Rachel Alexandra (depicted in the beautiful statue on the grounds.) The founder of Stonestreet Farms was Jess Stonestreet Jackson. Jess Jackson. Yes, the Kendall-Jackson Jess Jackson! Surprise! Who knew?

Now on to the chocolate and Cabernet pairing. Some might think that it is difficult to pair chocolate with Cabernet Sauvignon, and it can be. The wine is often too tannic to work well with the creaminess of the chocolate. But Stonestreet sent samples of the wines for the pairing to the local pastry chef they’d commissioned for the event. She, in turn, created the chocolate confections to match each of the wines. It was exquisite! While it was hard to select a favorite, if forced, I’d say mine was third from the left, the Chocolate Budino with huckleberry compote. Robyn fell in love with the Opera Cake (second from left) made with dark chocolate genoise, espresso cream, and topped with a sprig of lemon thyme. Each of the single vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons paired perfectly with the chocolates.

Running a little ahead of schedule allowed Samantha to give us a brief tour of the barrel room, and some photo ops. We also had a chance to sample their Meritage, Bordeaux-style red blend. Made from all five of the noble grapes, it was amazing!

  And that’s it. Just two Experiences per day. I’ve prattled on long enough for now, and we’ll cover Sunday later. Robyn will write about her solo Experiences in separate post, too. Oh sure, there was the fantastic blues concert at deLorimier Saturday evening, but Robyn will write about that in her first Experience post.

The biggest takeaways for us on Saturday were these: One, Alexander Valley is a hidden gem; a peaceful wine oasis mere minutes from the crowds and bustle of Napa. There was virtually no traffic all weekend, and no crowds, either. Sure, the heat may have kept some away, but Sunday was much cooler and yet no more crowded.

The other takeaway was this: though the lack of crowds was nice, Experience Alexander Valley was noticeably under-attended. Experiences had capacity for up to 24 guests. Of the four I attended, two had only three guests, one had four, and one had seven. Intimate to be sure, but really, folks, come out next year and let’s make this an event, an Experience, worth repeating! You’ll remember your Experiences forever.

Cheers!

By Kent Reynolds, with Robyn Raphael

Photos by Kent Reynolds and Robyn Raphael, unless otherwise noted.

Experience Alexander Valley, Day 1 – Medlock Ames and Stonestreet It was with eager anticipation that we set off on our journey to the first annual…

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